cowboy caviar

mamas are sweet.  they'll make your favorite foods (without the onions!), and then they will eat with you so you don't have to feel bad about being a pig alone.  :)

thank you, mama. it was delish!

2 avocados, diced

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 can shoepeg corn, drained

1 can black eyed peas, drained

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1 t cumin

s & p

stir it up and enjoy!

sausage and lentil stew (for the freezer)

i tore this recipe out of a rachael ray magazine (october 2011 issue), and here's a link to the same recipe.  i actually followed the recipe pretty closely this time, but you know i have to something different.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb sweet italian sausage
1 onion, quartered so it's easier to pick out since we like its flavor but not eating it
3 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
8 oz lentils, rinsed
4 c chicken broth
2 bunches kale, coarsely chopped
parmesan cheese

in large pot, brown meat and drain. 

heat oil in pot, and add onion and carrots. 

cook 3-4 min., or until softened.  add garlic, lentils, broth, and 3 c water.  bring to a boil, then simmer 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender. 

stir in kale and sausage.  cover and cook until kale is wilted and sausage is warmed. 

serve with cheese.

this is mostly for the hubby to take for lunch, because soups work well for lunches and because it didn't really sound very good to me.  :)  but, he tried it and gave it the go.  i put most of the batch into containers, added the cheese on top, and stuck them in the freezer!

freezer burritos

when things are hectic and busy, i often wish there was a quick meal waiting for us!  i've been wanting to get some meals made and into the freezer so they'd be ready for those busy evenings, cheaper than going out, and healthier. 

so, i spent some time with google, and we found a few recipes for me to try.  this recipe will probably end up getting used for a lot of lunches, but we need quick options sometimes then too.  :)

this bean burrito recipe from martha stewart is where i started.  hers sounded good, but i hate using 3 T of something from a can and then wonder what to do with the rest of it.  so here's my take, and this makes 24:

1 c (unprepared) rice
1 can tomato paste
1 t ground cumin
1 t garlic powder
3 lb dried beans, cooked per package directions (i use 1 pinto, 1 navy, and 1 black) OR 9 cans rinsed and drained
16 oz bag frozen corn
24 burrito size flour tortillas (these should come 8 to a package)
6 c cheddar or colby-jack shredded cheese
2 16 oz jars salsa

cook rice per package directions. 
stir spices, tomato paste, salsa, and corn into beans.

fill tortillas with 1/4 c rice, almost 1 c bean mixture, and 1/4 c cheese.

fold up burrito style, and wrap in foil. 

place on baking sheet, and freeze on the sheet.  (can be removed and placed elsewhere in freezer once completely frozen.)

decided to try these out instead of putting the whole batch in the freezer, so i heated up the last few cups of bean mixture.  they were tasty, although not very spicy, so you might want to add additional salsa, sour cream, avocado...

baked eggs w/cream, spinach, and parmesan

middle sis got me a brunch book, and i really enjoyed this recipe from it.  easy, and yummy!

of course, i didn't follow the suggestions recipe as stated, so i'll share my take.

15 oz spinach (1 1/2 bags), lightly wilted, and placed in bottom of greased casserole dish

8 eggs placed on top of spinach

1/2 c cream (i used heavy, but just because that's what was in my fridge) poured on top

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over it all

bake at 325 for 15 minutes or so, depending on how you like your eggs.

it goes really well with homemade bread and blackberry jelly...

doughn't ya like bread?

i was inspired by the post over here to make some bread.  i really don't like store-bought bread very much, but i could eat literally loaf after loaf of the homemade stuff!  my first attempt was a tad dry, but i suppose it's been a few years?? since i made bread.  the second attempt turned out MUCH better.  used the recipe that tamara supplied for this site, and loved it!

 cinnamon rolls in progress

 wow, this looks like a lot of dough.  gonna split it in half - one side for rolls, and one side for a loaf.

 ready to be sliced!

after supper, this was left.  ONE piece of plain bread, and ONE piece of cinnamon.

stuck the rolls in the fridge to bake for breakfast the next morning, but somehow, i didn't get a picture of them before they were gone!  they were topped with cream cheese icing, which is actually the only good kind of icing.  yum!

thanksgiving - at home

although we missed our families on the actual holiday, we had our own little turkey dinner. 

kinda nice to fix and eat it in our jammies - maybe we'll make this our tradition!

while the turkey was baking, we tried roasting pumpkins for the first time.  we followed these instructions, and would highly recommend the custardy pie recipe.  thanks, troy & youngin!  mmmmm.

granola update

for anyone who tried this granola, it works a lot better with 1/4 c brown sugar instead of 3/4 c.  apparently, i misread the original recipe.  oops!  1/4 c makes it not so sticky, and it doesn't stick to the pan either.  wahooo!

spicy chicken tomato soup

this soup was quick, easy, and tasty!  didn't take a picture, but i'll share the recipe anyway.  i tore it out of some magazine at some point, but i can't tell you which one now.  i poured a little something on it...  oops.

the soup:

• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
• 3 c cooked cubed chicken
• 2 c frozen corn
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) tomato puree
• 1 can (10ish? oz - i doubt you could really go wrong with whatever size you've got stashed in your pantry) diced tomato
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t+ chili powder
• 1 t+ cayenne pepper (or less if you want)

combine and heat to boiling.

top with tortilla strips baked at 375 for 5 min or tortilla chips.

pretty yummy!  it turned out to be a 2-coke meal, tho, since i put in so much cayenne...  the kiddos were in bed when i made it, so they were spared in case you were wondering.  it was one of those chilly nights, and we did this instead of a pan of brownies.  you should be proud!

potato soup w/ bacon and spinach

adapted from this bon appetit recipe

1/2 lb bacon, cut ino 1/2" pieces
2 small onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
7 c chicken broth
9 oz (or bigger) bag spinach

Cook bacon until crisp in LARGE pot.  Transfer to paper towel.  Add onion to drippings in pot, and saute 7 min.  Add garlic and thyme; cook 1 min.  Pour through fine mesh strainer to drain extra grease, and return onion mixture to pot.  Add tomatoes, and cook 2 min.  Mix in potatoes.  Add broth; bring to boil.  Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer 15 min. or until potatoes tender.  Stir in spinach until just wilted.  Add bacon.

classic vanilla pudding & peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies

gonna sneak a couple more everyday food  recipes in.  sorry.  :)

ripped these recipes from that magazine, but linked you up here and here if you'd like the recipes also.  (i used 2% milk in the pudding, not whole milk.)

the pudding was super rich, but oh-so-tasty!  the cookies were a bit dry, but went well with the pudding so serving them together was a good idea.

what?  you say you want to know what i'd do different next time?  ok!  i would not strain the pudding, because i didn't notice any chunks that needed to be removed.  that step was a time-consuming mess, and the pudding would've been quick/easy dish without it.  wouldn't change anything on the cookies!

peach crumble pie

yet another everyday food recipe post.  i'll try to branch out a little more next time, but...  i tried a recipe from rachael ray this week that didn't turn out so great, so we'll see.  (yep, i'll spare you those details.)

peach crumble pie a la me:

next time, i'd double the crumble topping.  it was good this way, but that would make it better.  and, you know it's hard for me to just be happy with the way a recipe was written...

lasagna soup

found this recipe in family fun, feb '09 issue, and did a little bit of tweaking.  forgot to take a picture (lame, i know!)  it turned out ok, and i'll probably make it again.  i wouldn't put it in the "super-special" category, but it was pretty quick - and easy.

here's my take on the recipe:

1 lb ground beef
4 t minced garlic
2 t dried oregano
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 T tomato paste
28 oz can diced tomatoes
6 c chicken broth
8 oz fusilli pasta
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
ricotta cheese
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese

brown beef, and drain.  add spices, and saute 1 min.  add tomato paste, and saute until a rusty brown - about 5 min.  add tomatoes w/ their juice, and the broth.  bring to a boil, then reduce heat but keep bubbling for 15 min.  add pasta, then increase heat to boiling again for the amount of time recommended on pasta package.  stir in basil.  to serve, put 1 T ricotta in each bowl, and top with parmesan and then mozzarella.  ladle soup on top.

eggplant ricotta bites

made this like the recipe said, and they were yummy.  i think next time i'd just do fresh tomatoes and skip the vinegar on them.

here's the recipe i used, and how they turned out:

spinach & ricotta dumplings

this was a big hit w/ the whole fam, especially the kiddos!  didn't get a picture taken, but there's one here (and the recipe is there as well).  mine looked very similar.

here's what i did differently:  used fresh (wilted) spinach instead of frozen, and no nutmeg for this girlie.

i'm really not sure what purpose the butter in the sauce served, so i'd leave it out next time to save a couple calories.

we didn't have crusty bread w/ this, but did have grilled steak...yummy  :)

pioneer woman meatballs!

i tried these this week, and they were tasteeee.  problem is, they took forEVER, and you can see why here.  oh yeah, and i didn't put all that nasty onion in.  i did sub some onion powder in the meat mix, but that's it.  soooooo not a fan of onions, and i think it's kinda mutual. 

so, while i might make them again, it will most definitely not be for a weeknight supper. 

see those nasty looking veggies?  they were actually pretty good.  they're butter peas that i picked up in the frozen section a while back.  problem = when i use frozen veggies it's usually because of a time issue.  these lil guys took 45 min on the stovetop, and microwaving wasn't recommended.  so, i'd pick them out of my freezer, and toss them back in again.  this time, though, they made the plate.  :)

yogurt waffles

ever get the feeling i got tired of unpacking?  it was fun to try new recipes, but i suppose i better get back to the boxes.  these bad boys are waiting...  problem:  i know they are full of sweaters and it's been SUPER hot here.  blech.

anyway, i have digressed.  i made these yogurt waffles, and they were a hit!  the recipe is from everyday food (martha stewart) magazine, but i don't know which issue.  i'm a ripper you see - no magazine is safe!

heated up some frozen blackberries and cherries to put on top.

and now, my favorite part - thing 1 and thing 2 gobbling them up!!

wouldn't you know, trying new recipes is on my 101 list.  unpacking should be on there, but it of course is not!

granola

started out with a recipe from family fun magazine (which i highly recommend, btw!) - november '10 issue, pg 86.  but since i can't ever just follow a recipe exactly, and it's kinda hard to make a bad granola - here's what i ended up doing:

4 c oats
3/4 c walnut pieces
3/4 c slivered almonds
1/3 c flaxseed
3/4 c brown sugar
1 t cinnamon (well, more actually, because the stuff shifted as i tried to tap out just a little more - maybe closer to 1 T?)
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c honey
1/3 c water
1 c dried cherries

i would've added 1 c wheat germ like it said, but i didn't have that this time.

heat oven to 300.  stir together nuts, oats, (wheat germ,) brown sugar, and cinnamon. 

make a well in the dry ingredients and add the oil, honey, and water. 

toss until well combined, then spread on cookie sheet.  bake 40 min, stirring every 10.  let cool completely, and then stir in cherries.  i would recommend stirring every 10 min or so while cooling as well, because i had a little issue with it sticking to the pan once cooled.

mine made about 10 cups.

slow cooker yogurt

a friend posted a link to this recipe, and i tried it.  LOVE it! 

my first attempt turned out a bit (ok, a LOT) soupier than store-bought yogurt, but i didn't strain it and we decided kinda like it that way.  it was a lot better than i expected it would be, and i'll be making it again soon.  :)  went soooo well w/ granola (recipe to follow soon!).