victuals & libations

Procrastinating

2010-12-13T09:05:00.003-05:00

Today is December 13, Christmas is in 12 days. I have yet to order Christmas cards. I have yet to purchase, much less wrap, the vast majority of my gifts. Christmas cookies, candy and the like? Yeah right. As much as I try to pretend I'm not, I'm a procrastinator at heart. I've been that way since I was a child, maybe it's time to embrace it, or at least come to terms with it.

Seeing as I dropped the ball big time and never ordered any birth announcements, I knew I had to get on it and order photo cards for Christmas. Thank God for Shutterfly. They have such amazing products and at a great price too. Because I procrastinate, I've only ever ordered prints from them before. But there are a ton of things on their website I'd like to purchase. I always buy my Mom a calendar for Christmas, and can't wait to order her one from here next year. She'll love the pictures of her Grandchildren and I'll love the price!

This is the design we've decided on for the Christmas cards, just need to put the last photo in and hopefully they'll arrive before Christmas.

And while I'm ordering stuff on their site, maybe I should order Fiona's first b.day invitations. Maybe if I order them six months in advance they'll arrive on time! They have some super cute invitations, like this one or this one.

Shutterfly is running some amazing deals right now, perfect if you still need a couple of last minute gifts. Free shipping on products over $50, buy one get one 50% off on photo books & 20% off cards. But the best deal is over Wednesday, so hurry if you'd like to take advantage of this offer. Shutterfly is offering 50 free photocards when you blog about their products! What an amazing deal!

Be Still My Beating Heart

2010-08-20T21:18:00.004-04:00

I was browsing Tastespotting, which I don't recommend you do if you are even the slightest bit hungry, and ran across this. Holy sweet mother of everything that is good and sacred. Macaroni & cheese, check. Pulled pork, check. Barbecue sauce, check. All grilled between two slices of bread and even more cheese. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.

And to make it even better this glorious sandwich hails from the Grilled Cheese Truck. Are you kidding me, the Grilled Cheese Truck? Can it get any better? And in case you're wondering, it can. Check out their menu and drool.

Product Rave!

2010-05-20T09:19:00.005-04:00

I've never really been a fan of processed teriyaki sauces. To me they're just way to salty and leave a lot to be desired in the flavor department. Awhile back someone was telling me they felt the same way, until they discovered Soy Vay's Island Teriyaki sauce. Not exactly your typical teriyaki sauce, it's pretty much exactly as described - your basic teriyaki sauce with a touch of Hawaii thrown in. And let me tell you it's delicous, I could eat it on everything! It's perfect as a marinade for just about any meat or vegetable and would also make a delicious dipping sauce. We finished off our bottle earlier this week and I'm going to need to add it to the grocery list, it's perfect for summer grilling!

For recipes using this delicous sauce check out the following (I've only done a version of one of them, but the rest sound delicious!) -

Soy Vay Recipes - recipes for all of their products

Magic Meatloaf - this sounds delicious!

Stir Fry Soba Noodles

Pad Thai

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp Kebabs - I've done a version of this recipe before, very good!

Photo obtained from Soy Vay.

M&M Cookies

2010-05-13T10:17:00.008-04:00

These cookies are good! Nice and soft, with just the right amount of sweetness. Not that I didn't think they would be, but I've had my fair share of bad M&M cookies - you know the type, they show up every Christmas and would in a pinch make perfect hockey pucks. I personally don't like M&M cookie recipes that call for a cup or more of shortening, so when I saw this recipe and remembered my leftover bag of M&M's from my baby shower, I knew I needed to try them. The addition of pecans to this recipe was really nice, though any sort of nut would work. The goal is to freeze these cookies for a quick snack once the baby arrives, though I'm not going to hold my breath that half of the batch doesn't make it to the freezer! Especially considering I've already eaten four, but really that's only two for me and two for the baby!

M&M Cookies

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 1/3 c. M&M's, divided

1 c. chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Add eggs; beat well.

3. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in 3/4 c. M&M's and all the nuts.

4. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Press 5-6 of remaining M&M's on each cookie before baking. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool completely.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies (depending on cookie size)

Source: Beantown Baker (via Delish via The Cookie Bible)

My thoughts: Initially the batter is pretty dry, but don't worry - when you add the eggs it makes it easier to mix. Adding 5-6 additional M&M's to the top of the cookies seemed like a lot to me, but the cookies spread out some, so it's really not a lot and you could probably add even more if you have them. I didn't quite have the 1 1/3 c. of M&M's called for, so they're a little skimpy - but still delicious! My cookies baked for closer to 13 minutes, again all ovens are different so just watch them - you could be under or over the estimated time.

White Bean and Sausage Rigatoni

2010-05-10T20:51:00.004-04:00

I've had this recipe saved for quite awhile and I'm really glad I got around to finally trying it. The dish comes together really quickly and makes an excellent and quick week night meal. This isn't your typical sauce & noodles dish, so if you're looking for more sauce you'll want to add more tomatoes. While it was cooking it reminded me more of a stew, which you could easily adapt the recipe into. I really enjoyed the flavor profile, despite the fact that I got a little heavy handed with the pasta and added way to much!

Just saw an updated version of this recipe on BHG's website which adds spinach and some more liquid to the original recipe. While I really liked the flavors in the original recipe, I think the addition of spinach as well as chicken broth and tomato paste would make it even better. Try it either way.

White Bean and Sausage Rigatoni

8oz. dried rigatoni (2 cups)
1 15oz. can white kidney (cannellini), Great Northern or navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 oz. can Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained
6 oz. cooked smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/3 c. snipped fresh basil
1/4 c. finely shredded Asiago or Parmesan cheese (1 oz.)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; return pasta to saucepan.

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine beans, undrained tomatoes, and sausage. Cook and stir until heated through. Add bean mixture and basil to pasta; stir gently to combine. To serve, sprinkle each serving with Asiago cheese.

Yield: 4 servings
Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information (per serving): 399 calories, 8 g. total fat (3 g. sat. fat), 36 mg chol., 813 mg. sodium, 64 g. carbo., 7 g. fiber, 23 g. protein

Thoughts: Any tube shaped or larger ridged pasta will work, I used a combination of rotini and fusilli. I used a pound of lite smoked sausage, again either sausage or kielbasa would work fine. I added one 28 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, chopped them up a bit in the skillet and added dried basil, oregano and garlic. Obviously fresh herbs would have been better, but don't stress about it and just use what you have - it still came out delicious.

Simple Sweets Bakeshop.

2009-07-09T11:49:00.003-04:00

Sitting outside with my Dad this morning at Cup o Joe in Clintonville, he noticed a new bakery sign across the street. Now if you know me, you know my parents used to own two bakeries back in the day. And if you know my Dad you know the man likes his baked goods, hell hath no furry like a doughnut shop that doesn't have his favorite in stock! He tells me he has to check this place out and proceeds to race across High Street. He came back a few minutes later with a chocolate chip cookie and a piece of whole wheat pumpkin bread - both he scored for free! The cookie was soft and full of chocolate, not too big and not too small. The slice of pumpkin bread was large about half-inch thick and pretty tasty too.

Simple Sweets Bakeshop - 2991 North High Street* - grand opening this Saturday, July 11th. Make sure you stop by after you hit up the Clintonville Farmers Market!

* Simple Sweets is located right next door to Hungry Howie's Pizza, in the same strip as Lavash Cafe - directly across the street from Cup o Joe. Pattycake Vegan Bakery, Don Patron - this area is really starting to boom!

Sorry I don't have pictures of the store front or what we sampled. Normally I carry my camera with me all the time, I took it out of my bag this morning and of course needed it later. Such is life.

PS. I just saw a couple coming out of the store carrying a big bag of treats & they look happy!

Free Food On Tax Day.

2009-04-14T12:40:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow, Wednesday April 15, is tax day and if you still haven't filed your taxes you should get on that. Several businesses are offering special deals tomorrow to help ease the pain of having to deal with the IRS. Wonder if they can write off all these freebies?

Maggie Moo's will be giving away single scoops

Cinnabon will give out free Classic Bites from 5-8

McCormick & Schmicks- Wednesday diners will get a $10.40 certificate for future use. There'll be $15 - $20 entrees discounted to $10.40. And bar patrons can choose themed drinks, such as a pint of Samuel Adams Deduction Draft.

The P.F. Chang's -15% discount

McDonalds - Buy One Get One Big Mac's and Free McCafe's

Dunkin Donuts - Free Donut with Coffee Purchase

Papa John's is also offering "a large cheese pizza and up to three free toppings for $10.40 when you order online". Code is 1040M.

Taco Del Mar is also giving away a free taco, but there aren't any located in the central Ohio area.

T.G.I. Friday's will give Wednesday customers $5 Bonus Bites gift cards for food and beverage purchases of $15 to $25 and $10 cards for those who spend more than $25. Members of the 1,000-outlet chain's frequent-customer program also will get double points.

Fifteen (15) free prints from Walgreens Photo: Orders must be placed by 11:59pm (Central Time) on 04/15. Enter code TAXDAY at checkout.

As always freebies are at the discretion of participating stores, so don't kill the messenger if the store nearest you isn't participating. If you know of any other specials for tomorrow please leave them in the comment section.

(illustration: mediabistro.com/fishbowlLAoriginal/taxes.jpg)

Salsa Black Bean Soup.

2009-03-05T21:27:00.011-05:00

Salsa chicken & black bean soup was the second recipe picked for the winter cooking club chosen by my friend and soon to be mommy Allison. Holy guacamole this soup was delicious, like eat your weight in it delicious! You might have noticed that the recipe has the word 'chicken' in the title and that it's not in the title of the blog. That's because we were out of chicken, honestly I'm not even sure it was missed - it was pretty rockin' sans the chicken.

1) What kind of salsa did you use? Did you like it? I used Jose Madrid - Clovis Medium. I love their salsa!

2) Did you use canned or dry black beans? Canned, simply because I had them already.

3) What other changes did you make to the meal? I didn't use mushrooms, because I didn't think they fit. I also made it vegetarian, basically because we were out of chicken and I didn't want to buy any! My jar of salsa was also 12 oz instead of 16 oz. Next time I'd add two jars of salsa. When I served the soup I added: shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, dried cilantro, sour cream, chopped avocado & crushed tortilla chips.

4) After trying it once, what changes would you make next time? I think fresh cilantro added to the soup would have been really good. When I had my second bowl, I smashed up my avocado and I liked that a lot better & think smashed avocado mixed into the soup would be really good. Maybe a little lime juice.

5) Did you (and your family/DH) enjoy it? Yes, a lot! I love soup and black bean is one of my favorites!

6) Did you serve the soup with anything else? Just the additional add-ons.

7) Any other thoughts or comments you'd like to share? I'm super happy that I finally got to use my immersion blender in this soup. I've had it forever and for some reason just never used it, I think it might be my new favorite kitchen tool!

And if you have never checked out A Year of CrockPotting you need to do so, it's fantastic!

Hibernation.

2009-02-25T15:40:00.008-05:00

No recipe here and no real story, just the first time the smoker has been put to work in 2009! A random nice day and the husband decided to smoke some chicken wings, thus the trusty smoker was brought out of hibernation. Usually she's seen a few appearances by now, the husband is an all-weather griller and smoker - all three have manned their fair share of snowy days. But the arrival of nicer weather means the smoker will be out even more and so will the neighbors. It's amazing how much more friendly they all become when the smoker is doing her thing!

Mozzarella Parmesan Chicken.

2009-02-25T14:15:00.006-05:00

I'm participating in another session of the online cooking group, we only had six participants this time, so it'll be a short session. The first recipe was for Mozzarella Parmesan chicken courtesy of Tricia. Despite 52 people giving it a pretty high rating of 4 out of 5 stars, this recipe just wasn't what I was expecting or something I normally make. So while this particular recipe wasn't for me, lots of people obviously like it, if you think it sounds good I encourage you to make it!

Whoever posts the weekly recipe in the cooking group, comes up with a set of questions based on the recipe. Since I'd already answered these questions, I figured I'd just re-post the questions & my answers here.

Looking at the recipe, did you think you would like this? I'll be honest, when I looked at the recipe & read the ingredients I did not think I would like it. I'm not really a fan of creamed soup meals. But I try everything, even things I don't think I'll like!

Did you and your family like this dish? It was ok - the husband liked it and I thought it was better than I anticipated.

What sides did you serve with it? I served it over penne pasta. I had planned on serving it with roasted asparagus, but wasn't feeling it today.

Will you make it again? Probably not, it just took way too long to cook and this really isn't our style of cooking.

Did you change anything? If so, what? I only used two chicken breasts & used cream of chicken soup instead of the mushroom because that's what I had. I was also lazy and did not chop garlic or onion and instead used garlic & onion powder. Oh and my total cooking time was 85 minutes for two thick chicken breasts.

Would you change anything if you made it again? If so, what? Holy salt Batman! The combination of the soups & the salty cheeses were too much & I love me some salt! I didn't see the point of separating the two soups and think you could dump it all in at once. If I ever made it again, I would completely change things around - which I guess defeats the purpose of the original recipe! I would chop up the chicken & mix with the soup, add more seasoning (basil, oregano, lemon pepper, etc.) and probably add a bag of mixed vegetables. Maybe add pasta or rice to the dish, or just serve it over that and I would like if the sauce was a little thicker.

This Is Why We're All Fat.

2009-02-10T19:30:00.004-05:00

My friend sent me this awesome blog, she's a fantastic friend because she knew how much I'd appreciate this site. I'm drawn to strange & unique food and this blog is right up my ally. It's hilarious and sadly, or not, makes me hungry!

PS. So far my favorite is the french fry encased deep fried hot dog. What's your favorite?

A Dish By Any Other Name....

2009-02-09T19:56:00.008-05:00

This is what we had for dinner, there will be no recipe - you are lucky to even get a picture. It was shameful how easy this meal was to make, almost as easy as something Sandra Lee would put together. So why then am I posting a picture of our dinner if I'm not going to share with you how to make it? It's because I'm asking you dear reader to help settle a little debate amongst the husband and myself.

What do you call this dish?

I realize this dish goes by several different names depending on where you live, but no matter, give me all the names you know this dish by. The husband and I thank you.
________________________________________

Updated 4/09: several people have brought this post to my attention recently and I thought I should go back and give you some background. The husband's family calls this meal - a hot shot. When I suggested this for dinner our conversation went something like this -

me: what about open faced turkey sandwiches for dinner?
the husband: nope.
me: why not?
the husband: turkey hot shot, yes. Open faced sandwich, no.

He thinks he's funny like that, or should I say he thinks he's a hotshot. He insists this is what they're called and I say it's just what people from southwestern Ohio call it. This usually starts another mini food battle where he mocks my southeastern Ohio hometown, but I digress. I say they're open faced sandwiches and more people know them by that name than a 'hot shot.' So dear readers that's the debate in a nutshell. Yes, you waited this long for that....riveting, wasn't it?

Crock Pot Chicken Stroganoff.

2009-02-08T20:05:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe for crock pot chicken stroganoff awhile back on Teale's Meals. I don't normally make dishes like this and was somewhat tentative to try it out, but all the reviews were favorable so I decided to give it a try. The recipe was better than I anticipated, which is always good! Even the leftovers heated up well. I served the chicken stroganoff over egg noodles, but as the recipe states pasta or rice would also be good substitutions.

I added a couple of things to the recipe, which I thought made it even better. I added sliced fresh mushrooms to the crock pot as the noodles were cooking and I also adding several different dried herbs (parsley, garlic & herb chicken seasoning, garlic powder and of course pepper). I did not cut up my chicken until the noodles were cooking, I cut the breasts into chunks and sort of let them fall apart too. The sauce had seemed really runny prior to that, but once I cut up the chicken it helped to thicken the sauce.

When I was searching for reviews for this recipe, I ran across another version which is a little different, but looks good too.

Super Bowl Eats.

2009-02-03T08:08:00.010-05:00

The game was good, the commercials were ok and the food & friends were fabulous! Oh and The Office was freaking hysterical, seriously I almost choked I was laughing so hard when Dwight cut off the dummies face!

Just a few pictures of the food...

Beef sliders with cheese on King's Hawaiian buns aka crabby patties as the kids call them.

Beef chili with red kidney beans (recipe coming soon)

Awesome guacamole

Yeah, it's that awesome! When you're guacamole can make a kid this happy then you can call it awesome too!

Banana Blueberry Muffins.

2009-02-03T08:07:00.006-05:00

I tend to procrastinate a lot. For instance the fresh blueberries I had planned on using had already rotted by the time I got around to making this recipe. I used some frozen berries, but was disappointed to find out I had less than half a cup. I should probably rename this recipe banana muffins with a hint of blueberries, since there were on average two berries per muffin. I was afraid these muffins wouldn't turn out well since they lacked an egg and the batter was pretty dry when mixing together. They turned out fairly well, despite being a little dense which I'm positive is a direct result of over mixing on my part. The flavors were tasty, though I felt like they were missing something - maybe vanilla or cinnamon. Still they were quick & easy to make and great for relaxing with coffee and the Sunday paper.

E-Z Banana Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

3 ripe bananas

2 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. canola oil

3/4 c. unthawed frozen blueberries

1 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. butter

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1. In a medium bowl combine bananas, sugar and oil. Mash well. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to banana mixture. Stir together until just combined. Fold in blueberries. Pour into a greased muffin pan or muffin liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine butter and brown sugar until coarse crumbles are made. Sprinkle over muffins.

3. Bake in 350 oven for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Yield: 12 muffins (I made 16)

Source: unknown

Pasta With Garlic & Oil.

2009-01-29T19:24:00.009-05:00

If there were any vampires lurking around our house, I'm pretty sure tonight's dinner scared them off. Garlic, more garlic and some red pepper flakes is what keeps the after dinner mints in business. But I would gladly reek of garlic to eat this dish, it's seriously one of my favorite ways to eat pasta. Pasta with garlic & oil is a classic, yet simple Italian dish. When it's done well, it's fantastic and when it's not....well so far it's only happened once and I still have nightmares about it.

There is a first time for everything and tonight I actually used a recipe to make one of my favorite meals. Normally I don't add raw garlic to this dish, which this recipe called for and I think I'm sticking to my way! I did like the addition of the toasted bread crumbs on top though. Lastly, I had fresh basil and decided to use that in place of parsley - I think I'm more of a parsley girl though. A note on the salt, I prefer Kosher salt - the husband sea salt, just use whatever you like best or have on hand.

Pasta with Garlic and Oil - Aglio E Olio

1 lb. spaghetti
table salt
6 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. minced garlic (about 30 small, 20 medium, 10 large, or 5 extra large cloves) from 1-2 heads
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, coarsely grated

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof serving bowl on rack and heat oven to 200 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to roiling boil, covered, in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add pasta and 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt to boiling water, stir to separate pasta, cover, and cook until al dente; reserve 1/3 cup pasta cooking water and drain pasta.

2. While water is heating, combine 3 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in heavy bottomed nonstick 10-inch skillet; cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until garlic foams and is sticky and straw colored, 10-12 minutes. Off heat, add remaining tablespoon raw garlic, red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons pasta cooking water to skillet and stir well to keep garlic from clumping.

3. Transfer drained pasta to warm serving bowl; add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and remaining reserved pasta cooking water and toss to coat. Add garlic mixture and 3/4 teaspoon salt to pasta; toss well to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling individual bowls with portion of Parmesan, if desired.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Source: Cook's Illustrated, March 2001

Cook's Illustrated Note: For a twist on pasta with garlic and oil, try sprinkling toasted bread crumbs over individual bowls, but prepare them before proceeding with the pasta recipe.

My Note: I skipped the warmed dish in the oven & never add salt to the pasta water - but that's just me. You can do as you wish.

Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup.

2009-01-28T20:35:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow's leftovers are going to be killer! This soup is seriously good & before I even tell you about how great it is, and I promise it is, you need to commit to making this really soon.

I have no idea who Aunt Mary is, but if she's anything like her soup she rocks! Aunt Mary's recipe was found on the back of a can of Dei Fratelli tomatoes awhile back and I'm glad I finally got around to making this. Cabbage soup is a classic winter soup, which was perfect for dinner since we're currently snowed & iced in. The cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes & kielbasa all come together to make a flavorful pot of wonderfulness! It's rustic, healthy - even more so if you omit the kielbasa (which of course then makes the soup vegetarian), hearty and makes enough to feed an army. Seriously what more could you want from a soup? Now if only the beer bread I made had turned out as well.

Aunt Mary's Cabbage Soup

1 Tbs. oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. smoked kielbasa
3 medium carrots, cut in 1/2 slices
8 c. coarsely shredded cabbage
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 1/2 qt. water
1 (15 oz) can seasoned diced tomatoes
1 tsp. salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. pepper
3 medium potatoes, peel and cut into 1" cubes
2 Tbs. oil
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. paprika
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1. In a large heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion softens. Cut kielbasa in chunks and add to pan. Add prepared vegetables (except potatoes), water, seasoned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes over medium heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer, then add potatoes. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil and stir in flour. Cook, stirring until golden brown. Stir in paprika and remove from heat. Ladle 1 cup of liquid from soup pot and whisk into the oil and flour. Continue whisking while adding tomato sauce until mixture is smooth. Stir into soup.

Yield: 10-12 servings
Source: Dei Fratelli

Thoughts: aside from halving the recipe, I only adjusted the seasoning. I used dried onion because I was out of fresh onion, but the fresh onion is the one ingredient I felt the recipe lacked. I ended up adding a lot more fresh garlic, pepper and paprika, as well as garlic powder, a bit of chili powder and some dried parsley.

Triple-Layer Mud Pie.

2009-01-24T08:39:00.006-05:00

The husband whipped up this simple & delicious dessert for his Mom's belated birthday dinner and it was really good! But you can't really go wrong with a triple layer of chocolate can you? Easy to make, delicious and totally not good for you, ummm do you seriously need more reasons to make this? So the husband goes to cut into the pie and the crust was rock solid. Seriously, we thought we might need to get out the power saw. At first we thought it was because he forgot to add the sweetened condensed milk, but after reading some of the online reviews it seems others had this problem as well. It didn't matter though, the triple-layer mud pie was still fabulous and cutting into each bite just provided lots of laughs for everyone!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes & Cheese.

2009-01-24T08:38:00.005-05:00

Last night for dinner I made this dish from Cooking Light. I'm still not sure about it, it's not that it was bad - there was just something about it I thought could be a lot better. Really my biggest complaint was the pasta was pretty dry, and looking over the online reviews it seems others had that problem too. Hopefully adding more tomatoes, or even tomato sauce to the leftovers would help. Because despite halving the recipe, we still had a ton of leftovers. I agree with some of the reviews that said it's a good recipe to build upon, but you know it's just baked pasta and I have other recipes that are fabulous as is. So while it wasn't even a bad recipe, I doubt I'll make it again.

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust.

2009-01-22T12:18:00.008-05:00

I printed this recipe off of Better Homes & Gardens website in 2005 and it's no longer on the website. Which posed a little bit of a problem, since the version I had was missing some of the measurements. Luckily, I found the exact same recipe for baked pork chops with Parmesan sage crust on Recipe Zaar. The husband LOVED these pork chops, me I'm not so sure. I thought they were ok, not sure why I wasn't into them as much as the husband - who ate not only his pork chop, but half of mine too! They were totally not healthy though, but pretty easy & quick to prepare.

I followed the suggestions for halving the bread crumb mixture and even then I threw a lot away. My lemon had seen some better days so I decided to not use any of it's peel, instead I added some juice to the egg mixture. I also added one teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning to the bread crumb mixture too. I browned the pork chops in a skillet, but decided to cook them in the oven a little differently. I made a makeshift roasting rack using a cooling rack, my theory being the pork would be crisp on both sides and not smushy on the bottom like it would be if you just cooked it in the skillet.

Presidential Chili.

2009-01-20T11:01:00.009-05:00

Though Barack Obama has been making this chili since his college days, the recipe started making its rounds to the public during his 2008 Presidential campaign. Obama says he "can't reveal all the secrets, but if you make it right, it's just got the right amount of bite, the right amount of oomph in it, and it will clear your sinuses." (Good Morning America, 2008)

Following Obama's call for change (that was bad, huh?), and trying to use what we had instead of having to go buy more, I altered the recipe just a little bit. I used two flat iron steaks, instead of the ground beef/turkey. I used a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh and only used half of a large onion. The recipe said it could be served over white or brown rice, but we ate the chili as it was. The rice would be a good addition, since it's a pretty thick chili.

The chili was better than both of thought it would be, and I'm sure the leftovers will be even better! As the husband pointed out, it's a good base to start with. The great thing about chili is you can pretty much dump anything into a pot and it's going to be good. If you like your chili spicier, you'll need to add more spices or even throw in a few chili peppers. I liked the use of ground turmeric and the red wine vinegar, both added a different flavor. I think this is the first chili I've seen that used turmeric, which is traditionally used to flavor Indian dishes. If you've never used turmeric before just be careful what it touches, as it turns everything a delightful shade of orangish-brown and is almost impossible to get out.

Hopefully you were able to watch some, if not all, of the Presidential inauguration today. What an exciting & historic time to be an American.

For more presidential family recipes check out the following links:

Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies
Hillary Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
George Bush's Pralines
Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup
Pat Nixon's Meatloaf
Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson's Pickled Okra
Mary Todd Lincoln's White Almond Cake
Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream (an easier to read version can be found here)
Martha Washington's Sherry Crab Soup
George Washington's Beer

Orange Mojito.

2009-01-18T21:54:00.002-05:00

I just ran across this recipe for orange mojito's and was happy to let the husband make us a couple tonight. Normal people drink mojito's sitting outside in the summer, but being far from normal I think mojito's can & should be enjoyed year round. Plus citrus is in season right now!

The husband didn't add any mint because it's buried under snow and I apparently didn't freeze any for winter use. I thought it needed something else in it, so he added some cranberry juice which seemed to do the trick. These were very tasty and will likely make an appearance alongside the pineapple mojito's at the lake this summer!

A BIG Breakfast.

2009-01-18T15:49:00.014-05:00

I'm still full. We decided to take advantage of a lazy Sunday & the cold weather, by making a ginormous breakfast - well it was more of a brunch by the time we finished everything. On the menu: scrambled eggs, the husband's awesome fried potatoes, sausage & gravy and biscuits. Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day (especially when it's unhealthy) and this menu did not disappoint, we were definitely fat & happy after this meal. Though not exactly productive for awhile!

Sausage Gravy

1/2 lb. ground sausage
4-6 Tbs. butter
2 2/3 c. milk
4-6 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

1. Brown sausage until completely cooked. Add butter to melt. Add flour and stir until mixed together.

2. Add milk, salt and pepper; stir. Boil over medium heat for 2 minutes or until thick; stir as needed. Add more milk if mixture becomes too thick.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Source: the Mother-in-law

My notes: This isn't the time to be healthy and watch your fat, you need a full fat pork sausage. The fat is what makes the gravy. Do not drain the fat off or buy a lower fat sausage, I did the first time I made this and it wasn't pretty. I reserve adding the salt & pepper until the sausage is fully cooked, it all depends on the type/flavor of sausage you get. Additionally, if you just get plain sausage feel free to add dried fennel & sage. Red pepper flakes are good too.

Biscuits

3 c. all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 Tbs. chilled vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/4 c. buttermilk

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter and shortening in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in buttermilk until combined.

2. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth, 8-10 kneads. Pat dough into 9-inch circle, about 3/4-inch thick. Using 3-inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out rounds of dough and arrange on prepared baking sheet. Gather remaining dough, pat into 3/4-inch thick circle, and cut out remaining biscuits. (You should have 8 biscuits total.)

3. Bake until biscuits begin to rise, about 5 minutes, then rotate pan and reduce oven temperature to 400. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Yield: 8 biscuits
Source: Cook's Country, April/May 2008

Test Kitchen Notes:
*If you don't have buttermilk on hand, whisk 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 1/4 cups of milk and let it stand until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

*Stamp, don't twist the biscuit cutter! Twisting the cutter when stamping out biscuits pinches the dough, resulting in an uneven rise. Using a well-floured cutter and pressing down with equal pressure on both sides of the cutter (not twisting) ensures that the biscuits will rise evenly.

My notes: This has just become my go-to recipe for biscuits. They were perfect - light, fluffy, thick & delicious. I don't have a biscuit cutter and didn't have any luck using a glass, the dough is too thick. I ended up using the cut-n-seal from Pampered Chef, which is a little larger than 3-inches. It worked out great, but only gave me 6 full sized biscuits and 1 randomly shaped one.

Turkey & Black Bean Tostadas.

2009-01-17T23:35:00.003-05:00

I loosely followed Rachel Ray's recipe for turkey & black bean tostadas and they turned out pretty well. I used leftover frozen turkey and chopped it up pretty well. I used the juice of an entire lime and used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. I also added lots more hot sauce than called for and some additional spices (oregano, chili powder, cilantro & cumin). Fresh herbs would have really been delicious in this dish.

We're generally pretty hit or miss with Rachel Ray recipes, but this was pretty straight forward. The meal came together quickly and would make a great weeknight meal. Leftover roasted chicken would be good in place of the turkey and you could also use a different variety of beans. I rounded out the meal with Mexican style rice, which would also be good placed on the tostado.

Odwalla Apple Raspberry Energy Juice.

2009-01-11T18:28:00.003-05:00

One of the side effects of a newer medicine I'm taking is that I can't drink carbonated beverages. Well I can, but they taste horrible - really horrible & nothing is worth having that awful taste in my mouth. Unfortunately that means I can't drink energy drinks, which was helpful for staying up late & getting up early - all things I'm doing more of to finish up my final few classes.

I've never tried Odwalla juices before, honestly I think they're too expensive. But I was at the grocery store the other day and it was on sale, sale being a relative term for juice, and I picked up a bottle. Now according to the bottle, this juice will provide me with serious focus, as well as enhanced concentration, attention & mental sharpness. I need all the serious focus I can get these days and was really hoping this juice help in that department. I'm so gullible, I know.

The color of the juice looked good, a nice mauve. I shook it up and opened the seal, it doesn't smell good - which should have been my first clue. I'm immediately hit with the overpowering taste of what I assume to be the green tea extract. Now assuming I could get past that taste, the drink would be pretty good. There is a half second where all you can taste is the fruit and it's really good. Then the green tea extract hits you again and it's all over. It isn't the most awful drink I've ever tasted, but it certainly isn't the best. I could only muster down a quarter of the juice, maybe it will be better tomorrow?
_______________________________________________________________

What I tried: Odwalla Apple Raspberry Mental Energy Juice Drink ($2.50, on sale).

The fine print: 56% juice, 14% organic ingredients & approximately35mg natural caffeine per serving, so 70mg for the entire bottle.

Nutritional Information: (servings per container 2) calories 170, fat 0, sodium 15mg, potassium 200 mg, total carbohydrate 40 mg, sugars 37 mg & protein 0. Green tea extract 850mg & ginseng 6mg.

Would I buy/try it again: No, not unless they got rid of that dirty grass taste. It also has way to much sugar in it, I think I'll stick to more natural fruit.

Cheaters Jambalaya.

2009-01-11T13:21:00.011-05:00

Awhile back my Mom gave me a box of Zatarains Jambalaya with Cheese (avg. $2.60) and we just got around to trying it out on Friday. I added some smoked sausage and leftover canned diced tomatoes to the box mixture and hoped for the best! The dish was better than I anticipated it would be, though a little too cheesy for my personal tastes. The husband had no complaints. The box indicates it makes 6 cups of Jambalaya, I would say it could feed 4 people if you had a side dish too.

My thoughts:

Would I eat it again? Yes.
Was it easy to make? Yes.
Was it filling? Yes.
Was it good? Surprisingly yes.
Did it need some hot sauce to liven it up a bit? Yes.
Would I give up homemade jambalaya for the boxed version? No way.
Did the leftovers reheat well? Yes.

I'm So Busy My Head Is Spining....

2009-01-05T11:53:00.004-05:00

My apologies, I've been busy. I did manage to take a few pictures & hold on to a few recipes, in the hopes that one day I would catch back up. I have a lot of saved drafts, so expect to see some random & older posts in the next several days (weeks). Happy 2009 to everyone!

Sausage Flowers.

2009-01-05T10:59:00.006-05:00

Tonight is the big game, Ohio State v. Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. Having had our asses handed to us by SEC schools the last few bowl games, we're due for a win - hopefully it's a big one! We're going to a friends house to watch the game and we needed to bring a dish with us.

I've made this recipe before and it's really fast & easy to make, not to mention delicious!

I decided to not top the wontons with sour cream since they'd be sitting out all night & not everyone at the party is a fan. Personally, I don't think you even really need it. You could also add some salsa, shredded cheese, chives or green onion to the tops to make them look prettier.

Sausage Flowers

1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 c. Colby cheese, shredded
1 c. salsa
24 wonton wrappers (3 1/2" square)
12 oz. sour cream
1 bunch green onions, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a miniature muffin pan.

2. Brown Italian sausage. Drain well. Stir Monterey Jack and Colby cheeses into sausage until cheeses melt. Stir in salsa. Cook until heated through.

3. Gently press wonton wrappers into prepared muffin pan, leaving edges extended. Place a heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture into each wrapper. Bake 10 minutes, or until wonton edges begin to brown.

4. Transfer filled wontons to a serving platter. Top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream and sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Yield: 24
Source: The Baum Opera House Community Cookbook: Generations of Good Cooks, Vol. II 2004.

My notes: This is a pretty forgiving appetizer recipe and you could add just about whatever you wanted to the wonton wrappers. We had some at a friends house on New Years Day, which were normal muffin sized and also included black olives.

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

2008-11-08T19:12:00.009-05:00

We are usually pretty busy on the weekends and often times I don't have enough time or patience to make a good weekend meal. This is the biggest hurdle facing me as I try to make the last few recipes from my cooking group, as they all take a bit longer to prepare and cook. My friend Amber (check out her real estate blog) posted this recipe and it's perfect for the cold dreary weather we're experiencing, it's also a good hearty meal to eat while watching college football. Which is what we've done all day,well minus a nap or two!

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

1 1/2 lbs ground meat
1/2 chopped onion
1 lg. can tomato sauce
1 head of cabbage, chopped
1 c. uncooked brown rice
1 tsp. salt
2 - 14 oz. cans beef broth
pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat over medium heat. Drain off the fat.

2. In a 5 qt. (11x15") baking dish combine onion, tomato sauce, cabbage, rice, salt & pepper; add meat.

3. Pour broth over the mixture and bake covered for 1 hour.

4. Stir, replace cover, and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Yield: A lot! Probably 10-12 servings.

Thoughts: Amber said she generally uses a combination of ground beef & pork, I just used ground beef. I also cooked the onion along with the ground beef and only used half a head of cabbage. I followed Amber's suggestion for topping each individual serving with mozzarella cheese, though just about any type of cheese would be good! Someone in our group said she served the dish along with mashed potatoes and I thought that would be really good. Especially served over garlic mashed potatoes!

Pizza Dough Sans Yeast.

2008-11-06T18:59:00.005-05:00

I've been wanting to make calzones for awhile now, but didn't want to deal with yeast or go to the store for pre-made dough. I checked out a bunch of recipes online for pizza dough without yeast and finally settled on this one from Recipe Zaar. The majority of the reviews were favorable, though I was a tiny bit concerned about how the calzones would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency of the dough and thought it made perfect dough for calzones - not too doughy. Obviously a yeast dough would have tasted better, but in a pinch this dough is a great substitute.

I apologize for the poor picture quality, now that it gets darker so much earlier I really need to get some new light bulbs.

Chocolate-Banana Snackin' Bars.

2008-11-06T10:11:00.009-05:00

I picked up this magazine back in the winter when I was looking for new more healthy recipes. I'm glad I finally got a chance to make these bars, which have been marked to make since I bought the magazine - almost a year ago! This recipe was very easy to make - with prep and baking time I was able to sample a bar in about 30 minutes. Delicious, with just a hit of chocolate and they're healthy too!

Chocolate-Banana Snackin' Bars

1 c. mashed ripe bananas (2 medium-large)
3/4 c. packed light-brown sugar
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. milk
2 lg. eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. chocolate mini-chips
Icing Drizzle (directions follow)

1. Heat oven to 350. Line a 15 1/2 x10 1/2 x 5/8" rimmed baking sheet with foil, letting foil extend above pan at ends. Lightly coat with nonstick spray.

2. Beat all ingredients except flour and chips in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until blended. On low speed, beat in flour just until blended. Stir in chips; spread in pan.

3. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Drizzle with icing if desired, let set.

4. Lift foil by ends onto cutting board. Cut into 40 bars; remove foil. Store airtight in refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.

Icing Drizzle: Stir 1 Tbs. milk into 1/3 c. confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Yield: 40 bars

Recipe obtained from: Eating Light magazine (vol. xvii, number 3) - a Woman's Day Special Interest Publication.

Nutritional Info: (1 bar) 72 cal., 1 g. pro., 11 g. carbo., 3 g. fat (1 g. sat. fat), 11 mg. chol., 48 mg. sod.

Thoughts: I used a glass 15" pan instead of the baking sheet, a misread on my part, the only difference was my bars weren't as thick. You could definitely change up the chips used, peanut butter, cinnamon or butterscotch would be good. Adding chopped nuts would also be a good addition. I skipped the icing drizzle since I'm going to freeze the majority of these bars to enjoy later on. You could also top the banana bars with sprinkled confectioners' sugar, cocoa or even cinnamon.

Chicken Pot Pie.

2008-10-26T20:41:00.007-04:00

The second session of my cooking group ended last week & of course I'm still trying to make all the recipes! Week five's recipe was a healthy version of chicken pot pie, a classic cold weather dish. The dish took a decent amount of time to prepare, so if I make it again it will definitely be on the weekend. It was flavorful, hearty and most importantly healthy! The dish doesn't photo well, but it more than made up for it flavor wise! As with most comfort foods, it made for delicious leftovers!

I used frozen carrots and peas, only three potatoes, no tomatoes & used a whole can of chicken broth. Seasoning wise I added a lot more than called for, and think it would be a little bland if made as written. Just add more, or less, of whatever you like or think would be good. I'm thinking if I make this again, I would freeze the mixture into smaller baking dishes and just add the pie crust & bake. This way we could have it on a weeknight, but not have to spend the time making it.

Things I Wish For.

2008-10-24T08:59:00.003-04:00

I want this pan. Despite it being to much money and only good for a few times a year, I want this pan. I want to be able to make cute little acorn cakelets. I can only hope it will be at the outlet soon, before I forget how much I want it.

I'd Like To Thank....

2008-10-19T19:02:00.006-04:00

It's been a week of firsts for this lil' blog - finally achieving my 100th post and my very first blog award, which I interpreted as "you mean someone really reads this and likes what I'm doing?!?!" Really though, I was nominated way back Kate for the Arte y Pico Award and since I just recently became aware of my nomination, I'm really late in my nominee choices. I guess better late than never right?

So here are my nominees for the next five winners of the Arte y Pico award, along with the rules and regulations.

Congratulations to my five nominees -

Becke @ Columbus Foodie

Joelen @ Joelen's Culinary Adventures

Jan @ Jannypie's Craft Empire

Erin @ Our Extra/Ordinary Life (who is also a super talented photographer too)

Amanda @ Life Without Dragons

The fine print:

1.) Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material and for contributing to the blogging community, no matter the language.

2.) Each award needs to have the name of the author, as well as the link to her/his blog - so everyone can visit and offer congratulations!

3.) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name & link to the blog that has given her/him the award.

4.) All award-winners should link to the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of the award.

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach.

2008-10-16T13:47:00.017-04:00

Break out your party hats kids, it's my 100th post! Sadly it has taken me almost a year & a half to get this far. Sometimes life just gets in the way of cooking and blogging, not to mention sometimes we eat Chef Boyardee and that's just not blog worthy! The previous statement is a lie, I eat without shame Chef Boyardee - the husband refuses to touch the stuff. His loss in my opinion!

So to continue with this weeks love affair with the sun dried tomato, I tried my hand at a pasta dish. I knew I wanted to make a pesto out of the tomatoes, but my biggest decision of the week came down to should the pesto combine spinach and the tomatoes, or just tomatoes on their own. In the end I decided on just a tomato pesto, mainly because I wasn't sure the spinach would look good as part of the pesto sauce. Oh the places my thoughts take me........

I tried this time to measure things out as I went so it would be easier for others to make on their own. Some measurements are the way the way they are simply because that's all I had on hand. Luckily, pasta and pesto are very forgiving so add more or less of any ingredient as you see fit!

I haven't sent anything into Ruth's Presto Pasta Night for awhile now, so I'll send this recipe. This week's round-up is hosted by Judith of Think on It. Um... yeah, a pasta event hosted by a real Italian who lives Italy - talk about some pressure! Check in tomorrow for all the wonderful dishes sure to be submitted!

Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato Pesto and Spinach

1 lb. pasta of your choice (short shaped pasta tends to hold pesto better)
13 sun dried tomatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt& pepper
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 c. fresh basil, packed
Fresh spinach, several hand fulls, probably 6 c. worth
Parmesan cheese

1. To toast pine nuts, place in a 325 degree oven for about 3 minutes, or until they begin to change color. Remove nuts from the oven and let them cool to room temperature.

2. Boil water in a large pot & cook pasta, according to the package directions. Drain pasta and reserve about a cup of pasta water.

3. To make the pesto, in a food processor combine sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt until finely chopped. With the food processor running, slowly add more oil - add as much oil as needed to make the mixture smooth, basil, Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts. Process the mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste.

4. While pasta is draining add spinach to the pot and allow to begin cooking down. Return drained pasta to the pot and stir pasta and spinach together. Add pesto to the spinach and pasta; toss well. If the mixture seems to dry add some of the reserved pasta water.

5. Transfer pasta to a serving dish and serve.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Recipe obtained from: me.

* I hate that it gets so dark so early now. Clearly I need to figure out some new lighting in my kitchen based on the quality of the above picture. What kind of light bulbs/lighting do you have in your kitchen?

*Photo disclaimer* The cat at the top of the page, wearing his wonderful party hat is not one of our cats. Sadly, no such pictures exist of our cats wearing hats and in fact bad things happen when we attempt to make them wear hats. The beautiful cat pictured is Calvin and the photo was taken on his first birthday!

Sundried Tomato Turkey Burgers.

2008-10-14T10:13:00.006-04:00

I was reminded over the weekend how much I love sun dried tomatoes and remembered I had some at home. There was some ground turkey in the freezer as well, so I decided to combine that with the tomatoes and make a somewhat healthier burger. I served the turkey burgers with my "I have mastered making frozen fries taste delicious" frozen french fries. Because sometimes I am lazy, not to mention using frozen fries is just plain easier. So I guess I'll share my secret.... let the fries thaw out a bit before you put them in the oven. How simple is that? After they have thawed out some, drizzle them with olive oil, salt, pepper and your desired seasoning. This time I used sprigs of rosemary and parsley from the garden.

I don't measure much when I make up a recipe, which I guess is bad when posting a recipe for others to try. But with burgers, you really don't need exact measurements. Just add what sounds good to you, add more if you really like it! It's really hard to mess up a burger, well unless you over cook it.

Aside from the turkey & tomatoes, I just randomly went through the cupboards and the herb garden and picked out what I thought would be good. The end result was a very flavorful & moist (I hate that word, but couldn't think of another to use) turkey burger. The addition of spinach on top of the burger, added some extra healthiness. Actually the spinach would have been really good in the burger as well. Next time I make these, I'd add more of everything listed below - for even more flavor! This mixture would also be good as meatloaf or meatballs.

Sun Dried Tomato Turkey Burgers

1 lb. turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 Sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Balsamic vinegar
Dried onion
Plain bread crumbs
Fresh rosemary, parsley, thyme & oregano, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Basil mayo

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except the basil mayo. If the mixture appears to wet for grilling, add more breadcrumbs. If you are using a skillet, the mixture can be more wet - since it can't fall through anything. Form turkey mixture into patties.

2. Grill burgers for about 10 minutes, or until done. Add sliced mozzarella cheese, or cheese of your choice, and allow to melt 1-2 minutes.

3. Serve on a toasted bun topped with basil mayo and spinach.

Yield: 4 burgers

Recipe obtained from: the depths of my brain.

Basil Mayo

Fresh basil, chopped
Mayonnaise

1. Combine basil and mayo in a small container; stir well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

You could also add salt & pepper or any other herbs/spices for additional flavor.

Oh and a grilling trick for you, courtesy of the husband's Grandma. After you form the patties, make a hole with your thumb in the middle of the patty. Apparently it allows the burger to retain their size, allowing the burger to stay flatter and reducing the chances of the burger shrinking. Here are some additional links on this amazing fact: how to make a hamburger patty stay flat?, hamburger patty question and oddly enough even the Democratic Underground has posted about this as well.

Buttermilk Pancakes.

2008-10-13T12:02:00.009-04:00

Yesterday for breakfast I wanted to make pancakes and use up the buttermilk I bought, but never used. Homemade pancakes are fast to whip up, and so much better than the boxed pancake mix. I think buttermilk pancakes are my second favorite type of pancake, after cornmeal. Delicious! After eating & cleaning up the kitchen, I went back to bed. Being sick sucks big time & this is why there have been no blog updates either!

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (see tip below)

2 Tbs. cooking oil

1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside. Combine the egg, buttermilk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Add additional buttermilk to thin batter, if necessary.

2. For standard-size pancakes, pour or spread about 1/4 cup batter into a a 3" circle onto a hot lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden born, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information (for all varieties): 114 cal., 5 g. total fat (1 g. sat. fat), 28 mg chol., 202 mg sodium, 15 g. carbo., 3 g. pro.

Whole Wheat-Buttermilk Pancakes: Prepare as above, except substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour and brown sugar for sugar.

Regular (or plain) Pancakes: Prepare as above, except substitute milk for buttermilk, increase baking powder to 2 teaspoons, and omit baking soda.

-Making sour milk - If you don't have buttermilk on hand, substitute sour milk in the same amount. For each cup of sour milk needed, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1 cup total liquid; stir. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Football Feast.

2008-10-04T17:52:00.008-04:00

The husbands love to smoke, the husbands love to smoke more when it's followed by OSU football and beer.

The well worth waiting for spread.

I don't think I'll make cornbread in any other shape than this from now on. Love it's perfect little size!

The husbands smoked six racks of ribs (beef baby back & pork spare ribs) with their top secret rub and mop sauce. I think this was the best rub & sauce combo to date!

These ribs were excellent! Probably the best they've ever made and certainly the best ribs I've EVER had!

Seriously, check out that smoke ring, that's what six hours in the smoker will give you! Fall off the bone tender.

The husband sampling some of his hard work.

Fresh collard greens, we all agreed these were the best we'd ever eaten. Recipe posted after the pictures.

The baked beans peaking into this picture were *gasp* canned beans, Bush's Grilling Beans - Southern Pit Style. I highly recommend them.

Miss J's fabulous & delicious Halloween cupcakes, complete with bat, pumpkin & ghost shaped sprinkles!

Country Collard Greens

3-31/2 lbs. collard greens or kale, tough stems removed and roughly chopped
1 smoked ham hock (about 1 pound)
4 medium onions, chopped
2 medium green or red bell peppers, chopped
2/3 c. cider vinegar, preferably unrefined
1 Tbs. honey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. coarsely ground black pepper
2 tsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or more to taste
2 tsp. celery seeds

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot with 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for about 2 hours. With a slitted spoon, remove the ham hock. When the hock is cool enough to handle, pick the meat from it in small chunks or shreds and return it to the pot. Reheat the greens briefly, if necessary. Serve warm with some of the liquid, the pot likker. Leftovers keep for several days.

Yield: 8 servings
Recipe obtained from: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the real way to Barbecue by Cheryl & Bill Jamison (If you have a smoker, this cookbook is a must! None of their recipes have disappointed us & have all been awesome!)

What the husband did: We actually bought the greens (we used collards) already chopped, which saved some prep time. The husband also added some salt pork, which added more flavor during the cooking process.

*Oh and if you thought I'd slip up and post the rub and sauce recipes, you were mistaken!

Applebutter.

2008-10-04T17:48:00.009-04:00

Week 3's recipe in my cooking club was apple butter. I love love love apple butter! If this recipe hadn't been posted as part of my cooking club, I likely would have skipped it simple because my Mom & Aunt's make a ton of apple butter each year from the apples in our orchard. The smell of this cooking is heavenly and it fills the house with wonderful scents of apple and cinnamon! That alone was worth making it for me! I used jarred applesauce since I happened to have some on hand already. I used one jar of cinnamon & one jar of natural applesauce. I only added half the amount of sugar called for.

I took the apple butter to a friends house for the football rib smoking feast. There isn't anything better than apple butter and cornbread (recipe follows), especially to go along with ribs!

The following information is from the poster: This can be scaled down pretty easily to make just a small batch for yourself or make a large batch to share with friends and family! There are essentially 2 ways to make this recipe: from apples or from apple sauce. If you are starting with whole apples all you do is peel and core the apples cook down in a non-reactive pot and mash to make apple sauce.

Full Size Recipe

6 cups unsweetened apple sauce (either homemade or store bought)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 cups sugar (depending on how sweet the apple sauce is & how sweet you want your apple butter)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Add the apple sauce, 1/2 the sugar, vinegar and spices to a crock pot and stir well. The applesauce mixture won't look very spice but as it cooks the spice flavors concentrate.

2. Cook covered on high 8hours. Give it a taste test, if it needs more sugar add the rest of the sugar. If the apple butter is watery cook uncovered for a couple more hours.

This is a very forgiving recipe, it can be scaled down to the size of a "little dipper" crock pot to make just enough for one family as long as you watch your cooking time closer, or even scaled up if you want to make a lot. If you are gone for a day over 8 hours, say 10 or even 12 your apple butter will be just fine. If you don't particularly like one of the spices you can leave it out (except for the cinnamon)

A few serving suggestions: on your toast in the morning, as a sauce for a pork roast, apple butter cake.

Corn Bread

1 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
2-3 Tbs. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. butter
2 beaten eggs
1 c. milk
1/4 c. cooking oil or melted butter

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. Add the 1 tablespoon butter to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or a 9x1 1/2" round baking pan. Place in a 400 degree oven about 3 minutes or until butter melts. Remove pan from oven; swirl butter in pan to coat bottom and sides of pan.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Pour batter into hot skillet or pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm.

For different sized pans (corn sticks, muffins, small loaves, etc.): prepare as above, except omit the 1 tablespoon butter. Generously grease pans and heat in the preheated oven for 3 minutes. Carefully fill preheated pans two-thirds full. Bake in a 400 oven about 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.

Yield: 8-10 based on original recipe

Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information: 219 cal., 10 g. total fat (3g. sat. fat), 60 mg chol,. 390 mg sodium, 26 g. carbo, 1 g. fiber, 5 g. pro.

NOTE: Do not use the spray stuff to grease your muffin pan. The spray will burn and cause your muffins to have black swirls of grease through them! Use butter or shortening.

Fresh Vegetable Quesadillas

2008-09-30T20:33:00.008-04:00

Still trying to get randomly caught up on my posts, so tonight wasn't really tonight and I'm also sorry about the poor picture quality, but I was hungry.

Tonight for dinner I made Martha's fresh vegetable quesadillas with corn relish and it did not disappoint! This recipe was posted awhile back in the other cooking group - we have two, based on when you grocery shop, etc. Ever since it was posted I've wanted to try it and I am so happy I finally got the chance tonight, since it was delicious! I am a huge fan of quick & healthy dinners to make during the week and this recipe fit the bill perfectly.

I only made a few minor changes to the recipe. I added cilantro to both the corn relish & the quesadillas instead of scallions and I used pepper jack cheese instead of monterary jack. Oh and I did use a red pepper instead of an orange one, but that's not a big deal. The husband has a thing about eating cooked vegetables that are crunchy, so he put his squash & red pepper in foil packets and grilled them first. These were even good as leftovers the next day, though obviously not as crispy since they were cooked in the microwave.

Grilled Eggplant Panini

2008-09-24T18:25:00.005-04:00

I'm still randomly trying to catch up on all of my belated posts and of course still trying to catch up on all of the recipes posted in my cooking groups first session. Mind you this is the fifth week of the second group, I'll get caught up eventually.

So this was the final recipe for the first session of the cooking group and it was posted by my friend Kristy, check out her cooking blog - she's funny & sarcastic and that's why I like her! Plus she makes good food & cool aprons. How's that for a plug?!?! She chose a grilled eggplant panini and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it.

First I'd like to toot my own horn, check out those grilling marks on that bread. Yep, that's right the husband wasn't home so I manned the grill all by myself - the first time ever too! Don't even tell me that it's pretty hard to mess up grilled bread and eggplant either, allow me to bask in my joy for awhile. Small steps people........

I did change a few things about the recipe, but those were primarily because of person preferences. No onions, because if you don't know by now I'm not a fan - at all. I also didn't add the roasted red pepper because I didn't have any and sometimes I don't like them, this was one of those times. I forgot how I was supposed to cut them and ended up with half moon shapes, which worked pretty well. It didn't say to peel the eggplant, but I think I should have. Lastly, I used Texas toast which is superb on the grill.

As mentioned above I really wasn't sure I would like this, but wanted to give it a shot. I like eggplant, but it's one of those foods I can't think about or I get creeped out by it. I know I'm strange. But I did end up liking it a lot and will probably make it again next summer when the eggplant crop is in season. The brother & husband said it was good, but I don't really think they liked it much. Much of their eggplant ended up on the plate & the husband added ham to his sandwich.

I served the sandwiches with *gasp* frozen French fries, which I think I've finally figured out how to make them taste better. The key is to let them partially defrost then add some seasoning. I used a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and some Italian spices (garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary & Kosher salt). They were delicious and didn't taste like frozen fries at all.

Farmer's Market.

2008-09-20T18:20:00.006-04:00

Some pictures from today's trip to the Worthington & Clintonville Farmer's Markets. I didn't buy much this time just two bunches of basil, a red pepper & some pepper jack cheese. The weather was perfect for strolling around, sampling products and taking pictures.

Northstar Cafe

2008-09-13T13:43:00.004-04:00

I'm really behind in my postings, so bare with me as I randomly update!

After a morning of visiting several farmer's markets, my friend and I decided to have lunch at the Northstar Cafe. In Columbus there are two Northstar Cafe locations, Clintonville (we went to this one) & the Short North. Both have decent outdoor seating available. We got there around noonish, but apparently on the weekend they only serve from the brunch menu until 3. I wasn't feeling all that great and wasn't very hungry, plus I had already had breakfast so not a whole lot on the brunch menu sounded appealing to me. I looked at the lunch & dinner menu online and think I will definitely have to go back and try some more items off the menu, or go back for brunch when I haven't already eaten! My only complaint was I thought it was pretty expensive, I ordered soup and a cookie and my total was $9.

My friend ordered the Northstar burger (11), from the menu "made with organic brown rice, black beans and beets, topped with white Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion + simple salad." The burger came with chips and salsa, which was pretty good. I thought the burger looked great and I liked that there was a ton of toppings on the burger, so many toppings that you could easily take some off and have a salad to go along with your burger (or for leftovers).

She also got a side of roasted sweet potatoes with onions (3, as a side dish), not sure if this was a substitution for the simple salad or if it was a separate order. They looked good, but I'd have to take her word that they tasted good as I do not like sweet potatoes in any form.

I ordered a cup of roasted tomato soup (4.50). I'm a sucker for tomato soups, I order them everywhere I go. This one was different, not in a good or bad way, just different. At first I disliked it, I think it was all the junk on top (herbs, garlic, etc.) but once I stirred it up it got a little better. But still it was more like a tomato salsa soup, than tomato soup. It wasn't the most horrible soup I've ever had, but something about it wasn't doing it for me. Oh well....there are plenty of more soups for me to try out there!

I also ordered a double chocolate cookie (3). It was pretty big and was VERY chocolately, but almost too much - at least for me. This cookie wasn't really cooked all the way through, as it was almost pudding like. Now normally I am a fan of cookies that are kind of undone in the middle, but this was just to undone for me.

Jambalaya

2008-09-12T17:33:00.007-04:00

This was the first week of our new session for my cooking group and our theme this round is "fall." I switched weeks with someone, so I ended up having to post the first recipe. After a lot of debate I ended up going with jambalaya. I decided to go with this recipe because it's filling, it's versatile, the entire dish can be made in one pot and is a good for watching football!

Jambalaya is a lot like chili, everyone has a recipe and believes theirs is the best. As this was my first time making jambalaya, I look forward to trying out other versions. You can make jambalaya as healthy or unhealthy as you wish. Healthier choices include: brown rice (will increase your cooking time), low sodium products, white meat chicken and turkey sausage.

I used chicken breast instead of thigh and added turkey sausage because it's what I had. I also omitted the shrimp because we didn't have any on hand. Green onions make an excellent substitution for scallions. I had some problems with the meat & rice cooking in the begining. I'm pretty sure it was because my pot wasn't big enough, as it was nowhere near close to being done in the 20 minutes the recipe indicated. I put the mixture in a larger pot and cooked until finished. While I was looking around online, I noticed a lot of people cook theirs in the oven, I think I might try that next time around.

I served the jambalaya with sourdough bread and some white wine. The husband and I both thought the jambalaya was delicious and it made even better leftovers!

Chicken & Cashew Stir-Fry.

2008-09-10T18:33:00.005-04:00

My cooking group has started the second session this week and I'm still trying to make all the recipes from our first session! I'm almost caught up, just a few more to go.

Chicken & Cashew Stir-Fry via Annie's Eats (by way of Liz's Cooking Blog, by way of Gourmet magazine [May 2007]) - how's that for some citations?!?!

I added some sugar snap peas, used green onions instead of the scallions, used chicken breasts and doubled the sauce. I apparently got a little heavy handed with the red pepper flakes so I added some hoisin sauce to counter the spiciness. I agree with some of the reviews on Epicurious which suggested adding additional vegetables - bok choy, mushrooms, onions, broccoli, water chestnuts, you get the idea. Served over brown rice this is a super quick weeknight dinner.

I am going to enter this into Joelen of Joelen's Culinary Adventures Chinese Cuisine Adventure. Check out her blog, she's amazingly talented and has all these great cooking parties & classes, makes me wish I lived in Chicago!

Fettuccine With Lemon, Mint And Parmesan.

2008-09-03T08:13:00.005-04:00

Martha called this dish, 'simple & sensational ...' and it probably would have been if only I'd followed the directions! I don't really follow directions with pasta dishes, especially when they looked as easy as this one, I use the ingredients listed and just sort of go from there. This pasta dish was good, but it just had too much liquid which is what happens when you cut the amount of pasta in half, but not the liquids. Oh well, it still tasted good and I'd try it again - but paying more attention to the details.

The original recipe as posted does not call for chicken. I added it to the dish and thought it worked really well. This dish would also make a great side dish to chicken or seafood.

Fettuccine with lemon, mint and Parmesan

1 pound dried fettuccine
Coarse salt
3 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (1 cup), plus more for garnish
2 Tbs. julienned lemon zest
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. fresh lemon zest
1/2 c. torn fresh mint leaves
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Crushed red-pepper flakes, optional

1. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

2. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and mix in reserved cooking liquid, cheese, lemon zest and juice, mint, oil and red-pepper flakes if desired. Divide among dishes, garnish with cheese and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Martha's notes: To lend this dish a different aromatic boost, add torn fresh basil in place of the mint.

Recipe obtained from: Martha Stewart Living, September 2008.

My thoughts: Any long strand pasta would work in place of fettuccine, I used linguine because it's what I had on hand. Next time I would chop the mint, I think it would work better that way.

Easiest Chocolate Cake.

2008-08-29T09:51:00.010-04:00

Well of course you need a cake to celebrate the birth of a new baby! I wanted to make this recipe because it sounded & looked good, not to mention it didn't make a whole bunch of cake. There were only four of us and while we could eat a layered cake, we're all not as young as we used to be! This is another reason why I love this cookbook, it's designed for smaller mouths so all the recipes don't make a lot. Yeah, yeah I know you can divide recipes in half, but sometimes I don't want to think and I just want to eat.

Easiest Chocolate Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
sprinkle of salt
1 large egg
3/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Grease and flour the sides of the round metal pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and mix.

4. In another bowl, use a whisk to stir the egg, sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla until smooth.

5. Still using the whisk, stir spoonfuls of the flour mixture and splashes of milk - switching between the two - into the sugar mix. Stir until smooth.

6. Use a baking spatula to scrape the batter into the pan. Bake about 50 minutes. Cool completely.

7. To unmold the cake, run a dinner knife twice around the edge. Set right-side-up on a baking rack to glaze and ice/glaze using your favorite recipe.

Yield: 1 8" cake

Recipe obtained from: Kitchen for Kids: 100 Amazing Recipes Your Children Can Really Make. (aka - my new favorite cookbook!)

My thoughts: I ran out of flour while making this and ended up using about 1 1/4 c. The cake was a little flatter as a result but didn't alter the taste or anything else at all.

To ice the easiest chocolate cake I went with my Grandma's famous caramel icing. It wasn't a party in our family without her chocolate cake & caramel icing! So here it is, my Grandma's famous caramel icing recipe - enjoy! This is my favorite icing...ever!

Caramel Icing

1/2 c. margarine (or butter)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1 3/4 - 2 c. confectioners sugar

1. Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add brown sugar. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the saucepan from heat and cool. When the mixture has come to room temperature add the confectioners sugar.

*Add more milk if you add too much confectioners sugar.
** Caramel icing isn't really pretty to look at, but I promise you it tastes delicious!!

And of course the real reason for cake & celebration - baby Brynn!! Seriously one of the most adorable babies! Congratulations to K & J and their happy new little family!

Sweet & Sour Chicken.

2008-08-27T14:45:00.006-04:00

I'm trying to go back and catch the recipes I didn't make from my cooking club, sweet & sour chicken was posted way back by Erin, check out her photography - she's very talented! Sweet & sour chicken is the one Asian inspired dish the husband says he doesn't like, so since he's drafting one of his many fantasy football teams tonight I decided to try this out for dinner. I halved the recipe, used ground ginger & didn't use water chestnuts. I also added a little bit of Trader Joe's Sweet Chili Sauce. For my vegetables I used frozen snow peas, carrots & broccoli.

I liked this recipe way better than I thought I would! And the husband "I don't like sweet & sour chicken" even liked it too! I liked that it was healthy, fast and uses ingredients I generally have on hand. I thought the sweet chili sauce added a nice bit of heat, without overpowering the dish. I think halving the preserve & replacing the other half with the sweet chili sauce would be good for next time. Maybe a few dashes of red pepper flakes or Sriracha for even more heat.

Awhile back I bought some Minute Rice 'Ready to Serve Brown Rice' (170 calories, 4.5g. fat, 175 mg. sodium, 28g carb., 2g. fiber, 3g. protein). They come in two little containers and are already precooked, I just put them in the microwave for one minute. They were pretty good, I'll have to buy some more for lunches. I think they make a white and seasoned variety too.

Chocolate Two-Times.

2008-08-27T14:28:00.011-04:00

Procrastination is my middle name. Why study, when I can make cookies - which is why studying from home is a bad idea sometimes. I returned some books from the library this morning and left with an arm-load of cookbooks, as if I need anymore. I found this cookie recipe in what appears to be my new favorite cookbook Kitchen for Kids by Jennifer Low. The
recipes are easy to make and the portions are just right for the husband & I. I'm thinking this book will make it onto my Christmas list this year.

Chocolate Two-Times

1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
2 Tbs. white sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
sprinkle of salt
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (1 oz. each)
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 c. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. In a small bowl, mix the flour, brown and white sugars, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. Melt the squares of chocolate and butter in a medium sized bowl at 50% power in the microwave (about 3 1/2 minutes, stirring halfway).

5. Stir in the vanilla into the melted chocolate. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips.

6. Use a lightly greased tablespoon to scoop the dough and drop in mounds on the lined baking sheet. Make about 12 mounds, 2 inches apart.

7. Bake about 14 minutes, or until the edges are firm but the middle is still a little soft. Cool until lukewarm before removing from baking sheet.

Yield: 12 cookies

Recipe obtained from: Kitchen for Kids: 100 Amazing Recipes Your Children Can Really Make by Jennifer Low.

My thoughts: If your baking sheets are in good condition, you don't need the parchment paper. I used white chocolate chips, because they were already opened. Any kind of chip would be delicious. I used my melon ball scoop and got 14 cookies, I probably could have gotten 16 if I hadn't eaten the cookie dough.

P.S. You will definitely need a large glass of milk to go along with these cookies. They also remind me a lot of another easy brownie-like cookie I made awhile back, cocoa fudge cookie's.

Brown Sugar Salmon & Chicken.

2008-08-26T12:45:00.003-04:00

Tonight we tried out last week's recipe from my cooking club, brown sugar salmon. Since I don't eat seafood, it's a texture thing, I had two chicken tenders and the husband had a salmon fillet. The recipe called for baking, but the poster of the recipe thought it would be good grilled so we went that route. Additionally, I used the juice from a whole lemon in lieu of the white wine and I used butter instead of margarine. Another reviewer from our club used olive oil instead of butter, which would add to the overall healthiness of the dish.

Our verdict.....we both thought the marinade was good, but probably not something we'd ever want to make again. Actually, the husband thought it was better than I did but he thought it might have just been the fish - I hardly ever make it at home & he really likes it. I just felt like it was a little plain and didn't have that much of a wow factor for me.

In all honesty, if I didn't happen to have some salmon on hand, I likely wouldn't have tried this recipe. Mainly because I don't like seafood and wouldn't have trecked out to buy some (call me lazy or selfish).

Oh and I did try a bit of the husband's salmon, I always try a bite of whatever he gets. But again it reconfirmed that I just don't like seafood, blah...tastes like styrofoam peanuts!

Garden Harvest Chili.

2008-08-26T12:44:00.007-04:00

A great friend had her first baby last week, she's one week old today, and I wanted to take her some food to make the first few weeks (months) a bit easier on her and her husband. I really liked that this chili was much lighter than most and packed full of fresh summer vegetables. I'm so happy for my friend & her husband and can't wait to see them later this week!

Garden Harvest Chili

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 1/2 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

2 Tbs. chili powder

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 c. zucchini, sliced

2 c. frozen sweet corn, thawed

1 1/2 c. (6 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese, optional

1. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high.

2. Saute garlic, peppers, mushrooms and onion until tender.

3. Add tomatoes with liquid, tomato sauce, chili powder, sugar and cumin; heat to boiling.

4. Reduce heat to low; add beans, zucchini and corn. Simmer, uncovered, about 10 minute or until zucchini is tender. Spoon into bowls; sprinkle with cheese if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

Nutritional information: 1 3/4 cups (prepared with low-sodium tomato sauce; calculated without cheese) 252 calories, 7g. fat, 675 mg. sodium, 44g. carbohydrates, 10g. protein.

Recipe obtained from: Fast & Fit Recipes: Healthy Eating In No Time (Taste of Home Books)

My thoughts: In the summer when you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes you could definitely use fresh instead of canned. You could also use tomato juice in place of the tomato sauce, it just won't be as thick. Chili recipes are great to use as a base, you don't really need to measure out all the ingredients - just add more of what you like and spices to taste. This recipe would be great with meat as well, I think I might add sliced turkey sausage next time. It would also be good served over brown rice or elbow macaroni. Additionally pretty much any vegetable combination would work well here. If you're going to freeze the chili, like I did, make sure you let it cool completely.

Berry Oatmeal Muffins.

2008-08-26T12:43:00.004-04:00

I found this recipe in a magazine at the Grandparent's cabin while on vacation a few weeks ago and thought it not only sounded good, but was fairly healthy too. When thinking of what to take a friend who just had a beautiful little baby girl exactly one week ago, I thought these muffins would be a good idea. I'm thinking she's not going to have the time, or energy, to make breakfast and muffins are an easy and delicious grab and go breakfast. I told the husband I think these are my new go-to blueberry muffin recipe. I hope my friend and her husband enjoy the muffins and I can't wait to deliver them and visit with the new family!

Berry Oatmal Muffins

1 1/2 Tbs. + 1 c. old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, divided

1 1/2 Tbs. + 1/2 c. packed brown sugar, divided

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1 Tbs. + 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, to taste

1 c. fat-free raspberry yogurt

4 Tbs. melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400. Coat a muffin pan with cooking spray or line it with paper baking cups.

2. Combine 1 1/2 Tbs. oats and 1 1/2 Tbs. sugar in a small bowl and set aside. In another small bowl, gently toss blueberries with 1 Tbs. flour and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine remaining oats, sugar, flour, baking powder, an cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine yogurt, butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Gently stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until dry ingredients are moistened, but batter is still lumpy. Gently fold in blueberries.

4. Fill muffin cups almost to the top. Sprinkle reserved oats and brown sugar over muffins. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve muffins warm, or if they are cool, slice in half and toast.

Yield: 12 muffins

Nutritional information: 186 calories, 4g. protein, 31g. carbohydrates, 5g. fat, 3g. saturated fat, 29mg. choesterol, 2g. fiber, 62mg. sodium.

Recipe obtained from: Diane - The Curves Magazine (unknown publication date/issue)

My thoughts: I ended up getting 14 muffins out of this recipe, though I could have probably filled a few of the cups a little fuller. You could make these even healthier by using whole wheat flour instead of the all-purpose flour. Any berry would work in place of the blueberries.

Chicken Scampi

2008-08-21T11:40:00.006-04:00

Cilantro grilled chicken breast was the recipe to make last week in my cooking group. Since we were out of town, I'm just now getting around to making it. I decided to take the original recipe and expand upon it using some of the fresh produce we had.

I followed the recipe for the scampi butter fairly closely, as in I used all of the ingredients listed just didn't measure them out. I used dried onion and parsley in place of fresh, didn't have any white pepper on hand and didn't use the white wine - if you want measure it all out that's fine, if not just add ingredients to taste - I think it's fairly hard to mess this up.

In a large skillet I sauteed chopped mushrooms and halved cherry tomatoes in some of the scampi butter. Let the mushrooms and tomatoes cook down for several minutes, add more butter if needed. Add spinach leaves and let wilt a few minutes. Chop the grilled chicken and add to the skillet, combine all ingredients. Add whole wheat spaghetti and combine, add more butter if needed.

Both the husband and I thought the pasta was delicious, he even said he thought it was the best pasta concoction I'd come up with recently. Next time I think I'd forgo making the scampi butter and just saute the mushrooms and tomatoes in a little bit of butter and olive oil, adding the herbs and other stuff to the skillet as I go.

Someone in my cooking group played around with the original recipe and made a pizza, which I think sounds delicious. She melted the butter on a pizza crust and topped with diced chicken, mushrooms, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Provolone cheeses. Yum!

As has been my habit of lately, I'm submitting this dish last minute into Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's wonderful blogging event Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Got No Milk. Check out the round-up tomorrow for some delicious pasta dishes. *Disclaimer* I was late with my entry for this week's PPN round-up, but am first for next week's which will be hosted by Ruth. Make sure to check out this week and next for great ideas & recipes!

Dime A Dog Night.

2008-08-18T21:02:00.004-04:00

You can't really go wrong with 10 cent hotdogs, especially if you pair them with a baseball game, peanuts and a cold beer. If the tickets are free, well even better. There are two more dime a dog nights at Clipper stadium - Monday 8/25 and the final game at the stadium Monday 9/01. Time is winding down to see a game at the stadium before they tear it down, what better opportunity than to come on dime a dog night?

FYI - with old ticket stubs you can get free general admission tickets, I saw several laying in the parking lot prior to the game. Also if you purchase reserved seats in advance you can get your own dime a dog t-shirt!

Cooper Stadium (1932 - 2008)

Closed.

2008-08-11T11:10:00.002-04:00

*victuals & libations will on vacation from 8/11 - 8/17.*

This chicken has nothing to do with our vacation, it just made me laugh when I saw it in an email from Williams- Sonoma. I like how the chicken looks like it's just hanging out and how it also looks like it's flipping off the person who shoved the roaster up it's ass. The vertical chicken roaster can be yours for $30. Have a great week/weekend!

Due Amici - Finally.

2008-08-10T07:27:00.004-04:00

A wonderful friend passed along a gift card they were not going to be able to use, so we finally made it to Due Amici this weekend. Initially we had hoped to get there earlier in the day for brunch, but didn't make until late afternoon. The online menu & menu posted at the door said we had another 40 minutes to order off the brunch menu, but our served said it was dinner only. I was ok with that considering the time of day, but the husband had really been looking forward to the hamburger with fried egg, so he was a little disappointed. Since it was a beautiful day, we sat outside and were able to enjoy the scenery and fantastic weather. I really like the area (Gay Street, between High & 3rd) and one of my favorites is located right next door. Our server was wonderful and I wish I could say the same things about the overall quality of the food. We ordered four things, two were pretty good and two were not so good. Had we not had the gift card I would have probably been more upset with quality of food. I'll give Due Amici two more chances, trying brunch and a dinner entree. I've heard such great things from a lot of people about the food, so I'm hoping this was just a fluke.

The view from my seat was nice.

The husband started out with a Caesar salad ($6). He ate most of the salad, which is more than I could have done. There were a lot of things we didn't like about this salad: the lettuce was too cold, the flavors of the Romaine and dressing should have blended together better - they tasted like two very separate components, which I think had to do with the salad already being made well in advance, instead of tossing the Romaine with the dressing just before serving. Plus are we the only ones who are bothered by salads that are $6?

I started out with the tomato basil soup soup ($5), which should have been more accurately called cream of tomato soup. The only presence of basil was the limp 'fried' piece on top. I think crisp fried chiffnade basil would have been a more formal version. And while I'm thinking of ways to better the flavors & presentation, a swirl of creme fraiche sprinkled with chopped basil would have added a lot to the presentation of the dish. Despite my constructive criticism, I actually liked the soup a lot. It needed more salt and pepper, but once I added that it was almost perfect. Working on the flavors & presentation a little bit, would kick this dish from pretty good to awesome.

We decided to share two smaller dishes instead of ordering an entree each, spinach artichoke dip ($8). The dip was very good! I liked the presentation of the dish with the toasted bread sticking up and out of the dip, the bread was as the menu advertised, crisp & held up well to dipping. The spinach & artichokes were chopped into uniform pieces which was a nice change of pace from the typical larger chunks of artichoke. The portion was large enough to share with several people, we took most of ours home.

Our second shared dish was margherita pizza ($11). I'll be honest, there was nothing I liked about this pizza and I think it's incredibly hard to mess up something as basic as pizza. The husband thought it was ok, but I don't seem him ever wanting to go back specifically for the pizza. The crust lacked any flavor and wasn't all that thin or crisp, there needed to be a lot more basil and way less cheese, and some simple seasoning in the form of salt & pepper would have been nice. It was a cheese pizza, not a margherita pizza, which is categorized by very thin & crispy crusts and sparse toppings.

Birthday Cupcakes.

2008-08-09T19:04:00.003-04:00

I made drink inspired cupcakes for my friends birthday this weekend.

First let me point out how nice my cupcakes look. No cups runneth over here, the most perfect cupcakes I think I've ever made.

Margarita cupcakes (24 cupcakes) - I followed the recipe almost exactly: I used orange juice concentrate in place of Grand Marnier, subbed tangelo zest for lime zest & added a bit more lime juice to the icing. The cupcake batter was similar to angel food, very light & airy. I thought the recipe was ok, but not quite the margarita taste I was hoping for. It was more like a lime/citrus cupcake than anything else. Everyone else seemed to enjoy them, so I guess that's all that matters!

Chai latte cupcakes (18 cupcakes) - At the last minute I abandoned my original recipe and went with this one. The only thing different between these two recipes was the cake, the original being chocolate based & the one I made being more of a spice cake. I think I could have just used a boxed spice mix and gotten the same results, next time I'll try the chocolate which I think will give it the additional depth of flavor the cake seemed to be lacking. The icing was spot on perfect! I'm a hard sell on most icings, as most are crap. I can see using the icing recipe on a variety of baked goods: ginger, chocolate, carrot or pumpkin cake, or maybe some fall flavored Whoppie Pies. Yum!

Free Breakfast @ Panera.

2008-08-09T10:32:00.003-04:00

From now until August 17, all central Ohio Panera stores will be giving away a free breakfast sandwich with the donation of a non-perishable breakfast item. All donations will help to stock the pantry of The Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

There are three varieties of sandwiches: egg, egg with bacon & egg with sausage. The husband had the bacon variety & I went with the sausage. The husband said his sandwich was on the dry side, but he'd still eat it. I thought mine was fine, I liked the bread & cheese the best. Overall it was good, but with prices starting at $3.40 I probably wouldn't get one in the future. I like this promotion because I can try something new for free and be charitable at the same time!

Pasta With Prosciutto & Peas.

2008-08-07T15:42:00.004-04:00

This is the fifth recipe from my online cooking club. Another quick, delicious & fresh tasting dish! Plus I'm a sucker for a creamy lemony sauce!

I'd like to point out that the labels below aren't wrong, it does say both vegetarian and ham to identify the same recipe. I wasn't going to use prosciutto because I didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store. But we ran out of milk and some other stuff so I decided I'd get some while I was there. I put the prosciutto in my basket and am almost positive I put it on the counter, but when I got home there was no prosciutto & I hadn't been charged for it either. Very strange........so tonight's dinner is without prosciutto and therefore vegetarian.

I'm also submitting this, although last minute, into Ruth of Once Upon A Feast's wonderful blogging event Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Michelle of Greedy Gourmet. Check out the round-up tomorrow for some delicious pasta dishes.

I served the pasta with salad and my new favorite, which I'm calling make-do garlic herb bread. I spread a little bit of butter on some leftover hot dog buns and sprinkled with fresh herbs (basil & marjarom) and topped with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Put in the oven on 350-400 until cheese is melted and bread is slightly browned & toasted.

Pasta with prosciutto and peas

coarse salt
fresh ground pepper
12 oz fettuccine
1 tbsp butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen peas, thawed
8 slices prosciutto (4 oz total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise (1 cup)
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente according to the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat; add the shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, peas, and prosciutto; bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the peas are heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Stir in the lemon zest and juice. pour the sauce over the pasta; add the Parmesan, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add enough of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 4
Source: Martha Stewart Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

My thoughts: I used whole wheat penne instead of fettuccine, on the advice of a few who'd already made the recipe. I used minced garlic instead of the shallot and had a bag of peas & carrots, so I went with that instead of just plain peas. I put in more heavy cream than called for and used the juice of one whole lemon. The addition of crushed red pepper added some nice heat to the dish.

Fun At The Fair.

2008-08-06T22:43:00.008-04:00

I love The Ohio State Fair & everything about it - the rides, the animals, the food, the exhibits/displays, people watching, the smells - though some are more plesant than others & did I mention the people watching?!?! We didn't have a chance to go last year, so I was super excited to go with our good friends and their two kids. Going to the fair with kids is always fun!

The petting zoo

My favorite, the poultry barn

The rides

And the real reason why people go to the fair......

FOOD!

The husband started off with a sirloin steak sandwich with the works - mushrooms, peppers, onions & marina sauce. It looked, smelled & tasted delicious!

I had to get the "famous" $2 corndog, which is only famous in my family for being one of the cheapest* corndog's at the fair & conviently located directly next to the big yellow slide. *Family members, didn't it used to be $1?

The D family hit up the fry stand twice & were rewarded each time with hot, delicous and one of a kind fair fries! Love them with lots of salt, vinegar & ketchup.

Our last stop before leaving the fair is always cinnamon sugar doughnuts from the Inky Dinky doughnut cart. We handed over $4 and got a bag of 15 of the most incredible doughnuts I've ever put into my mouth. Seriously they melt in your mouth! I limited myself to four, which if you know my love for doughnuts is an amazing feat.

More food pictures, I love the fair at night when everything is lit up & sparkling. We did not get a lemon shake up this year, which is sad. But I did find a recipe on a freinds blog for a healthier version, which I will have to try out soon. I also had a rootbeer float, fabulous, but styrofoam and foamy brown ice cream don't photo well.

*FYI - tickets are only $2 after 8pm (the fair is open until 10), which leaves you with plenty of money for more food!

Lime Marinade.

2008-08-05T23:23:00.004-04:00

Quick, easy, delicious & fresh.......not much else to say.

Lime Marinade

2 large chicken breasts
3 limes, juiced
Handful of cilantro leaves
Spices: garlic powder, chicken seasoning, ground cumin, chili powder, seasoning salt & pepper.

Put chicken in a large container and cover on both sides with spices. Add lime juice and cilantro and marinate until ready to grill. Grill as you normally would.

Source: me

My thoughts: I used chicken, but this would also be good with pork, seafood & vegetables. Chopped garlic could be used in place of the garlic powder, I was just too lazy to chop some. I also thought about adding hot sauce and or jalapenos to the marinade, but decided to leave it as is. I think both would add some nice heat to the marinade, as well as using spicier spices (is that redundant?). I just threw a bunch of cilantro leaves into the marinade, but you could use it whole, as in the leaves & stems since you're just using the herb for flavoring & not actually cooking it.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

2008-08-02T21:08:00.008-04:00

I took advantage of Trader Joe's wonderful selection of frozen appetizers and two tried & true recipes for my recent book club meeting. A friend, who makes delicious lettuce wraps, suggested I go with the knock-off PF Chang's recipe. She was right, they were delicious and the sauce was perfect. The rice recipe is courtesy of America's Test Kitchen and is seriously the most perfect rice I have ever made, not to mention it's easy to prepare and tastes great! I struggle with rice, it's a joke in our house, I almost always ruin real from scratch rice. Who am I kidding I have problems with Rice-a-Roni too. So this recipe is a life saver for me and since I've made it more than once I know it wasn't a fluke!

Appetizer's

Trader Joe's vegetable egg rolls with sweet & sour sauce.

Trader Joe's pork & chicken potstickers with potsticker dipping sauce. We also had steamed edamame sprinkled with Kosher salt.

Main Course

Chicken lettuce wraps, with Chinese sticky rice and steamed Asian style vegetables.

For dessert I had brownies, just used a box mix I had on hand though I did add some mini-marshmallows for fun! The brownies were topped with ice cream - either cookie dough or cookies and cream. I'm making myself hungry as I think about this.........delicious! Oh and fortune cookies too, because the meal wouldn't be complete without them!

Extra Produce Sought.

2008-07-31T11:41:00.002-04:00

From this past Sunday's Columbus Dispatch (Garden/07.21.08)

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 25 million people have poor diets or rely on food banks or soup kitchens. "Plant a Row for the Hungry" is a service program of the Garden Writers Association Foundation. It encourages gardeners to donate surplus produce to food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations. Many of the 70 million gardeners in the United States harvest more vegetables and fruits than they can consume. This excess can be donated to food banks and soup kitchens, or gardeners can plant an extra row of vegetables for this purpose. If you have extra produce in your garden this season, consider donating it to the Mid-Ohio FoodBank or another food bank near you.

________________________________________

Ok, be honest. The economy sucks right now, but I have a roof over my head and food in my kitchen. I bet you do too. Many do not have these luxuries that we take for granted. Don't think about what you don't have in life, think about what you do have. Most of us will never go hungry. I know there isn't a lot of extra money lying around these days - but a little goes a long way. Save up your spare change, plant an extra row or container to donate, buy a few extra cans or boxes of food every time you go shopping, or simply donate your time. There are many organizations around Columbus who do their very best to feed, clothe and shelter those in OUR city who are less fortunate than ourselves. Do your part to help, you never know when you might need help down the road.

Recipes I've Missed.

2008-07-30T10:06:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I'm part of an online cooking club. Someone posts a recipe, we make it & then report what we thought of it, etc. This week the fourth recipe was posted and I'm sad to say I've only participated in one, and it was the one I posted. Bad huh? Here's a recap of what's been cooked so far. Let me know if you make any of these and your thoughts, etc.

Week 1 -I just didn't have time to make it, I'll come back to it eventually. Here's the recipe: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/beef-pork-lamb-recipes/grilled-pork-chops-with-peachy-hot-salsa/article.html

Week 3 - The husband does not like sweet & sour chicken. I thought about making a scaled down portion for my lunch, but it just seemed like a lot of work for lunch. I may or may not come back to it, haven't decided. Here's the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/lf_hl_eatingwell/recipe/0,3190,FOOD_30878_100936_,00.html

Week 4 - Neither one of us is a fan of fruit & meat combinations. Sweet & savory just usually doesn't do it for me. I doubt I'd ever make this, but here's the recipe:

Weight Watchers Apple Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 apples, unpeeled,cored and thickly sliced
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Sprinkle chicken with thyme, salt and pepper.
2. In large fry-pan, heat half of the oil over medium high heat; brown chicken all over.
3. Transfer to plate.
4. Add remaining oil to fry-pan.
5. Cook apples and onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.
6. Add apple cider, bring to boil, stirring and scraping up brown bits from pan.
7. Return chicken to fry-pan.
8. Cover and cook over medium low heat, turning once, until no longer pink inside (about 7 minutes).
9. Transfer chicken to serving platter.
10. Whisk vinegar with cornstarch; whisk into fry-pan and cook, stirring, until glossy and thickened (about 1 minute).
11. Pour over chicken.

WW POINTS per serving: 5
Nutritional information per serving: 241 calories, 8.4g fat, 2.1g fiber

4 servings

Big Ass BBQ

2008-07-28T22:17:00.015-04:00

About 40 some people were in attendance for The 5th Annual Cornhole Tournament & Big Ass BBQ. It really doesn't seem like we've been hosting this event for five years, time really does fly! As always we had tons of food and some great BBQ! The husband went above and beyond in his quest for the perfect beef brisket this year, rising at 2am to start all 15 pounds of the brisket on the smoker - and somehow he still managed to be one of the last people up, 24 hours later!

The winning team this year took home $240, not bad for a few hours work! We hope everyone had a great time & can't wait for year six!

*On a technical does anyone know why Blogger is rotating my pictures when I download them? More importantly how do I rotate them back? Thanks!*

Now onto the food.......... I will post recipes later, the formatting issues on this post was starting to drive me insane!

The Meat

Beef brisket

Brats & burgers

Chili sauce, hot dogs & brats and sauerkraut

Side Dishes

Spinach artichoke dip with rosemary crackers

Kelly's famous taco dip

Vidalia onion peach salsa & beefy cheese dip

Fresh vegetables & dip

Fresh salsa & mango salsa

Jalapeno roll-up's

Ramen noodle salad

Roasted potatoes with squash & zucchini

Potato Salad

Macaroni & cheese and cheesy potatoes

Guacamole & my award winning salsa

Desserts

Zucchini bread

Tim Horton's Tim-bits

Brownies

Strawberry crunch cake

Giant chocolate chip cookie

Peanut M&M's

Gooey butter bars

Chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles

No pictures of - Asian style coleslaw, red skin potato salad, pesto with grilled garlic toast & brownies.

Random party pictures

Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard.

2008-07-21T12:59:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure why, but I probably wouldn't have tried this dish had I not already been growing Swiss chard. To my knowledge I've ever had chard before and likely this recipe would have been archived away until I eventually dug it out and followed the recipe. I'm so glad that didn't happen though! This dish is wonderful, and both the husband and I will definitely be enjoying chard more often! The ingredients are fresh, flavorful, simple and most of all the dish comes together pretty quickly. Not to mention it's also fairly healthy.

I liked this dish so much, I decided to enter it into Presto Pasta Night, hosted this week by Katie of Thyme for Cooking. Make sure to check out the weekly entries for lots of delicious pasta dishes!

Pasta with Kielbasa and Swiss Chard

3/4 lb. Swiss Chard (preferably red; from 1 bunch)

1/2 lb. kielbasa, quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces

2 Tbs. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 c. water

1/4 tsp. dried hot red-pepper flakes

3/4 lb. penne

1 oz. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus additional for serving

1. Cut out center ribs and stems from chard, then thoroughly wash, along with leaves, in several changes of cold water. Cut ribs and stems crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces and coarsely chop leaves.

2. Cook kielbasa in oil in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2-3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Cook chard ribs and stems with salt in fat remaining in pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add chard leaves, water, and red-pepper flakes and simmer, partially covered, until chard stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir in kielbasa.

3. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, then reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water and drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to chard mixture with cheese and salt to taste and toss until combined well. Thin with some of the reserved pasta water if necessary.

Yield: 4

Obtained from: Gourmet Magazine, June 2006

What I did: I used whole wheat penne, turkey smoked sausage and rainbow chard. Any pasta with ridges would work in place of the penne. Any variety/color of chard would also work. I misread the part about adding the cheese to the pasta before combining, and instead just sprinkled a little on top. Either way would work. I did not need to use the reserved pasta water, but some could probably be added to the leftovers to ensure they don't become dry.

Pretty rainbow chard

Mykonos Burger.

2008-07-14T09:20:00.003-04:00

Recently I joined a cooking group on a chat board I frequent and our theme for this session is main dish entrees. Lack of time and planning on my part prevented me from participating in the inaugural round (this was the recipe). This was my week to choose the recipe, so I knew I had to get my act in order. I've been holding onto this recipe for Maria Menounos' Mykonos burger since it was published in Health magazine back in April. Truth be told, I mainly picked this recipe because I had all the ingredients on hand and it sounded delicious, not to mention quick.

This recipe was created for Maria Menounos of ET/MTv fame by celebrity chef Bethenny Frankel, better known from The Desperate Housewives of New York City and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.

My verdict? This is a seriously easy, healthy, fast, delicious and fabulous turkey burger. Can you tell I've found my new favorite burger? I didn't have any feta, so I omitted it and saved some calories too! I topped the burger with spinach leaves, banana peppers and the ketchup-Dijon sauce, which I added chopped parsley to. I honestly wouldn't change a thing next time, which is unusual for me.

Turmeric Honey Wings & Spicy Potato Wedges.

2008-07-11T06:25:00.006-04:00

I was foiled again. For the life of me I can not get chicken wings to retain their flavor without resorting to flour and oil, a la the deep fryer. One day I'll get it right and when that happens I'm coming back to this recipe for Malaysian turmeric honey wings. The flavors were tasty, with the honey providing just the right amount of sweetness to offset the other spices. This would be a good marinade for grilled chicken too.

Along with the chicken wings I tried out another new recipe for spicy potato wedges. While the flavors were good, I would probably never make these again. I have a better way to roast potato wedges and they just weren't all that spicy.

Spicy Potato Wedges

1 lb. large, firm potatoes, such as round white, round red, Yukon gold or russet

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 Tbs. paprika or 2 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. turmeric

Salt & pepper

Chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Scrub the potatoes, then cut each in half lengthwise and then in half again until you have 8 even-shaped wedges. Put into a large pan of salted water, bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Drain well and return the wedges to the pan.

2. Ad the oil to the pan and toss the potato wedges in it until coated. Add the paprika, cumin seeds, and turmeric, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well together.

3. Spread the potato wedges out on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until tender and golden brown, turning 2-3 times during cooking. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped cilantro to garnish.

Yield: 4

Recipe obtained from: Spices: A Cook's Guide to Spicy Recipes

Our dinner tonight was a delightful shade of yellowish brown thanks to all the turmeric. Be careful if you've never used turmeric before, it will stain everything it touches.

Fabulous Grilling Giveaway!

2008-07-10T13:20:00.005-04:00

Rachel at Coconut & Lime, has been posting great grilling recipes every Friday and will continue doing so until Labor Day. In honor of the almighty grill, she's holding a contest and all you have to do is make a comment to be entered. The winner will receive an assortment of McCormick spices, rubs & marinades - 19 in all! The contest ends July 17th.

Good Luck!

Woofy Pop!

2008-07-09T17:46:00.005-04:00

Today is Carson's one year anniversary of being adopted from the pound. Even the cats would agree that Carson is an important (and funny) member of our home. Carson spent his anniversary, as he does most days, sleeping in front of the fan and chasing his tale - though he did get a treat to celebrate his special day.

Someone had given us a bag of Woofy Pop peanut butter flavored popcorn and this seemed like a good treat for Carson. Woofy Pop is a microwave popcorn dog treat that comes in various flavors dogs enjoy (bacon, chicken, cheese, etc.). You pop it like regular popcorn and is essentially just regular microwave popcorn with added flavors. At first Carson wasn't sure what to do with it, I think he thought it was a trick and he'd get in trouble for eating it. But once he realized it was for him, he dug in. Though he did prefer to eat it on the floor and while laying down. The husband said I should have tossed it to him to catch, he loves doing that, but it was more fun to watch him, and the cats, investigate this new treat.

I've never seen Woofy Pop in the store, but then again I've never looked for it either. All the reviews I read were favorable towards the product, though I'd have to agree with those who suggested just using plain ol' regular popcorn for an occasional treat. Carson was happy with his treat and ate it all, so that's all that matters!

From now until July 13, The Franklin County Dog Shelter is having a sale on all dogs adopted who are six months or older. We adopted Carson during their sale last year, and it's a great deal. If you've been wanting a dog, this is a great opportunity to add to your family and save some cash at the same time!

An Iced Mocha & I Didn't Even Have To Leave the House.

2008-07-09T17:39:00.006-04:00

One of the good things about being in school is going to my local coffee shop to study. I can get so much more done while I'm there than I could at home, plus the aroma of coffee is a nice motivator. What I don't enjoy about being there is the temptation of sweets and looking at what everyone else is drinking and thinking I need one of those too. Unless you get plain ol' regular coffee, coffeehouse speciality drinks can be a bit pricey - not to mention unhealthy. But sometimes that's exactly what I want, calories and price be damned. In my ideal world everything I crave can be delivered to me, coffee included. In reality though, I'd have to leave my house and I wasn't having any of the yesterday so I did the next best thing - make my own coffeehouse drink.

The ingredients were easy enough to figure out, but I thought I should refer to the almighty Google and see if there were any special techniques I should be aware of. Most websites said I should start with fresh hot coffee and go from there. This wasn't an option, as I wanted my drink now and didn't want to wait to brew coffee and then let it cool down. Perhaps my drink would have been that much better had I followed this process, but it was just as good my way too. This recipe is designed to be adjusted to suit your taste buds. Certainly it's much cheaper to play around with flavors at home than at the coffee shop. Carmel syrup would be a good replacement for the chocolate, as well as almond or mint extracts. You could also add everything to the blender and have a more frothy drink too.

Iced Mocha

Leftover coffee
Milk
Chocolate syrup
Dash of vanilla extract
Pinch of brown sugar
Ice

Add all ingredients, except ice to a glass. Stir well and add more ingredients as necessary. Add ice and serve.

I didn't measure any of the above ingredients, just started out small and added where needed. I'm not sure I even needed the vanilla or brown sugar. The sugar is added to the coffee as it's warm, dissolving to add some additional sweetness to the drink. Since my coffee was already room temperature and sugar only dissolves in warm liquids, I could have easily left it out. Next time I may try adding it to the hot coffee to help cut the bitterness a bit.

Recipe obtained from: Me, with the help of a several websites.

Mexican Food Rediscovered.

2008-07-01T11:55:00.005-04:00

Located in Gallup, New Mexico - where the Dad currently lives, Grandma's is a very small authentic northern New Mexico Mexican restaurant tucked away in a residential area south of downtown. Definitely stop if you are ever in the area.

What was ordered:

The brother thought one quesadilla wouldn't be enough so he ordered two. Silly mistake - they were huge, cheesy and cooked just perfectly. To drink he had the aguas del dia (water of the day), which was horchata. It's delicious! They were out of my Dad's favorite variety, agua de sandia or watermelon water.

I ordered the adovada burrito and it was beyond great. Seriously the most tender pork I've ever had and the flavors and heat of the red chile sauce was spot on. Certainly the best Mexican dish I've ever eaten. The entree was served with rice & refried beans.

The Dad ordered a combination of Mexican favorites, including the tastiest looking chile rellenos. Smothered in shredded cheese and green chili sauce, it was served with rice and refried beans. His dish was also delicious and cooked perfectly. He also had horchata to drink.

No pictures of the sister's equally delicious steak & eggs, served with hasbrowns and toast - I was too busy eating.

Will Travel for Food.

2008-06-30T13:00:00.008-04:00

The ocean, sunshine, lounge chair, strawberry daiquiri, and a freshly made taco - life doesn't get much better than this! One of my favorite things about traveling is indulging in the local foods, and my favorite place in Puerto Penasco was the taco stand on the beach outside our hotel. These weren't your typical bogged down American style taco's - just simple, fresh & delicious. Once someone gets this teleportation thing all worked out, I'm going back once a week - they were that good.

So good, I didn't even get a picture - just one of my brother eating his burrito.

Love the old Coke bottles, I've heard they're making a comeback?

Mantecadas

2008-06-28T19:43:00.008-04:00

Spanish for small sponge cakes or muffins, I tried Tia Rosa's brand of pan dulce (sweet bread) while in Mexico. The muffin was nicely sweet, though had that processed taste and feel to it. I would eat one again if I was hungry, though I'd like to try a real one from a bakery next time. I think I'll see if I can find any available around here.

Alien Beer.

2008-06-28T00:38:00.005-04:00

Getting stuff for dinner one night, we came across a smiling green alien staring out from the beer case. For sure the Roswell Alien logo is catchy & touristy, which is exactly why we picked up a six pack. Brewed by Sierra Blanca Brewing Company in New Mexico and described on their website as, "we have blended eight different styles of barley with a variety of domestic hops to create this medium bodied amber ale with a mild hop finish. The taste is out of this world!"

Personally, I think this is a beer you'd buy for the label/bottle only. Taste wise, I thought it was an ok beer. Something about the flavor wasn't doing it for me, and at times I thought it tasted pretty flat. I haven't seen this beer in our area, so I'm not sure if it's available for sale outside of the southwest.

Navajo Fry Bread

2008-06-28T00:36:00.005-04:00

Fry bread plays a significant role in Native American cuisine & culture, and is found throughout the southwest. Though now considered a traditional food, fry bread didn't appear in Native American diets until the mid-19th century. From 1863 - 1868, more than 8,000 Navajo's were detained at Fort Summer in New Mexico and given very little in terms of rations. Flour and lard were two of the commodities given to the Navajo's and with these ingredients they created fry bread. For more information about the history of fry bread & a recipe, click here Navajo fry bread.

Fry bread can be served plain or with a variety of toppings: butter, cheese, honey, cinnamon, powdered sugar, chili beans, or as an Indian/Navajo taco. Fry bread is similar to the American carnival staple the elephant ear.

Cooking for 2.

2008-04-17T17:13:00.003-04:00

Best of friends Oliver (cat) and Carson (dog), relax after checking out some luscious fondue recipes courtesy of Cooking for 2!

Tostada Pizza.

2008-02-10T21:44:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you cross the ubiquitous taco dip with a pizza - why the tostada pizza of course! This is a pretty simple and flexible recipe which I made for dinner, but think it's more of an appetizer than an entree. Just about any mashed bean would work as a base for this pizza. Additionally, ground turkey or chicken could work in place of the beef or just skip the meat all together.

Tostada Pizza

1 pound lean ground beef
1 4-oz. can diced green chile peppers, drained
1/2 of a 1.5 oz. envelope taco seasoning mix (about 2 Tbs.)
1 tsp. chili pepper
1 Tbs. cornmeal
1 10 oz. package refrigerated pizza dough
1 15 oz. can pinto beans with jalapeno peppers, rinsed and drained
1 c. shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 c. thinly sliced green onions (about 4)
Bottled taco sauce

1. In a large skillet cook meat until brown. Drain off fat. Stir in 3/4 cup water, chile peppers, taco seasoning mix and chili powder. Bring to a boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is gone.

2. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cornmeal. Pat pizza dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle on the baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

3. In a bowl mash beans with a fork; spread over partially baked dough to within 1/2 inch of edges. Spoon meat mixture over beans. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more until crust is golden. Sprinkle with cheese cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes more or until cheese melts. Top with lettuce, tomato, and onions. If desired, serve with taco sauce.

Yield: 6 servings
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information: 384 cal., 17 g. total fat (7 g. sat. fat), 67 mg. chol., 882 mg. sodium, 34 g. carbo., 5 g. fiber, 27 g. pro.

What I did: Pinto beans with jalapenos do not exist at my grocery store, I had sliced jalapeno' but forgot to add them. The added heat would have been greatly welcome.

Warm Pancakes For A Cold Day.

2008-02-10T20:29:00.003-05:00

I simply adore pancakes, they really are one of my favorite foods. I especially love pancakes when they are slightly crispy on the edges and still a little undone in the center - a technique I have yet to master. It's a technique my Grandpa had down pat and is generally served in the best greasy spoon diners. Even though I haven't mastered this technique yet, these pancakes still delivered a hearty and delicious breakfast. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination would also work wonderfully in this recipe.

Blueberry Pancakes with Maple-Orange Syrup

1 egg

1 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. milk

1 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed and well-drained)

Margarine, butter or shortening to grease griddle

1. Make maple-orange syrup (below).

2. Beat the egg in a medium bowl with a fork or wire whisk until yolk and white are well mixed. Beat in the flour, milk, sugar, oil, baking powder and salt just until smooth. Gently stir in the blueberries.

3. Heat the griddle to 375 or heat the skillet over medium heat. To test the heat, sprinkle the griddle with a few drops of water. If the bubbles jump around, heat is just right. If the griddle or skillet is non-stick you can cook the pancakes without any margarine. Otherwise, melt 1-2 teaspoons of margarine each time, before pouring the pancake batter onto the hot griddle.

4. For each pancake, pour a little less than 1/4 cup batter from a measuring cup or pitcher onto the hot griddle. Cook 2-4 minutes or until edge of pancake is golden brown and slightly dry and bubbles begin to appear on the surface. Run a turner under edge of pancake, and flip pancake over. Cook other side of pancake about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

5. Serve pancakes immediately, or keep warm by placing pancakes in a single layer on a wire rack in a 200 degree oven for up to 15 minutes. Serve pancakes with syrup.

Maple-Orange Syrup

1 c. maple-flavored syrup

3 Tbs. orange juice

3 Tbs. margarine or butter

1. Heat the maple syrup, orange juice and margarine in the saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warm.

Yield: 4 servings (two 4-inch pancakes each)

Recipe obtained from: Betty Crocker's Entertaining Basics

Nutritional Information: Calories 580 (calories from fat 180), fat 20 g. (saturated 5 g.), cholesterol 60 mg., sodium 780 mg., carbohydrate 94 g., fiber 1 g., protein 7 g.

What I did: Using a little less than 1/4 cup of the batter this recipe made 11 pancakes. Next time I would half the syrup recipe, it made a lot.

Northernized Muffuletta.

2008-02-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

Technically, I shouldn't even call this a muffuletta as it's by no means the standard authentic New Orleans version you may be familiar with. For the authentic version, check out Nola Cuisine's delicious looking sandwich! The reason my sandwich is not authentic is it completely lacks the olive salad goodness. Since the husband seriously dislikes olives in any form, I opted not to include it and was simply too lazy to make some for my side of the sandwich. In the end it's more like an Italian sub than it is a muffuletta, but who cares? It was still good and it's still Fat Tuesday - bring on the Paczki!

Northernized Muffuletta

thinly sliced Italian ham

thinly sliced salami

provolone cheese

mozzarella cheese

1 small loaf Italian bread

1. Slice loaf in half and top with the meats & cheeses. Top with peppers or olives if desired.

2. Bake in 350 oven for about 15 minutes or until your sandwich looks they way you like it. I do not place the top part of the bread back on, instead I lay it alongside the bottom half. That way the cheese & meat get more direct heat.

3. Top with lettuce or anything else your heart desires, slice in half and enjoy.

Quick Breakfast = Muffins.

2008-02-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

Today I decided it was time to make a few more batches of muffins to freeze for those hurried mornings when you need to eat on the run. There are some clever people, like my mother, who never eat on the run. My mother manages to sit down and eat a proper breakfast every morning and if you are like her, you can can enjoy these muffins on the weekend - without having to bake anything.

These muffins split 50-50. The banana blueberry muffins were heavenly and the husband and I nearly ate all of them on Sunday alone! I think the key was the pureed banana which gave the muffin a subtle flavor. Substituting blackberries or raspberries for the blueberries would also be good. The coffee cake muffins weren't bad, just not what I was hoping for. The muffins were more dense than I like them, which I admit could be a stirring error. Overall they just felt like they were lacking something, perhaps chopped nuts included in the batter and more spices would make them better.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

2 extra ripe, medium bananas
6 Tbs. margarine
6 Tbs. brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 c. frozen blueberries, rinsed & drained

1. Puree bananas in a blender (1 cup)

2. Beat margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in bananas and egg.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon peel. Blend into banana mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.

4. Line 6 large muffin cups with paper liners. Coat lightly with vegetable spray. Divide batter evenly.

5. Bake in 375 oven for 20-25 minutes.

Yield: 6 muffins
Recipe obtained from: Favorite Brand Name Bake Sale Cookbook

What I did: I had enough batter to fill about 9 cups and I didn't use liners - just spray & fill. I also used fresh blueberries, because that's what I had and there was no issue.

Coffee Cake Muffins

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 butter or margarine
1 beaten egg
1/2 c. buttermilk or sour milk

1. Grease twelve muffin cups or line with paper cups; set aside.

2. For topping, in a small bowl, stir together the 3 Tbs. flour, brown sugar, and the 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Cut in the 2 Tbs. butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts; set topping aside.

3. In a medium bowl stir together the 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, the 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. In another bowl combine egg and buttermilk. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy)

5. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one-third full. Top with half of the topping, the remaining batter, and the remaining topping. Bake in a 400 oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Yield: 12 muffins
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens

Nutritional Information (per muffin): 180 cal., 8 g. total fat (4 g. sat. fat), 34 mg. chol.,196 mg sodium, 25 g. carbo., 1 g. fiber, 3 g. pro.

What I did: I had less than 12 muffins and used walnuts.

Comfort, It's What's for Dinner.

2008-01-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

Dinner tonight was also in celebration of the husband starting his new job tomorrow. The meatloaf was profiled on here awhile back and I didn't change anything, except to bake it this time. Along with the meatloaf we had Williams and Sonoma's stuffed baked potatoes, which were really good. For the potatoes I used a combination of broccoli and cauliflower, sharp cheddar cheese and did not add any meat. Both dishes were comfort food at its finest and will make for excellent lunches!

Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies.

2008-01-27T16:51:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow the husband starts a new job and I wanted to treat him to some cookies. A friend mentioned making these cookies last week and the husband decided that's what he wanted too. I already had two of these cookies yesterday at book club and am keeping mum on how many I've had today! This recipe made a lot of cookies and it's becoming harder to eat healthy with these sitting around! I may be leaving cookies around town tomorrow!

Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves (optional)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. rolled oats

1. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and, if desired, cinnamon and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in rolled oats.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375
for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Oatmeal-Chip Cookies: Prepare as above, except after stirring in oats, stir in 1 cup semisweet chocolate, butterscotch-flavored, or peanut butter-flavored pieces and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans.

Yield: about 48 cookies
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Nutritional Information (1 cookie): 86 cal., 4 g. total fat (2 g. sat. fat), 17 mg chol., 51 mg. sodium, 12 g. carbo., 1 g. fiber, 1 g. pro.

What I did: I did not add the cinnamon and cloves and did not add any nuts. My cookies needed to cook a little bit longer than the suggested time - as with all ovens time will vary.

Red Beans, Sausage and Rice.

2008-01-26T20:16:00.000-05:00

I admit I'm not that great at coming up with catchy titles for dishes I concoct - hence this one. However, the title, like the dish, is pretty straightforward, it's also simple to make and delicious to eat! This dish was inspired by a dinner our friends made while on vacation this summer and could have more (or less) ingredients (onion & celery for starters) added to suite your individual taste buds and whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand. Quick, simple and great for cold winter nights.

Red Beans, Sausage and Rice

1 green pepper, chopped
2 links smoked sausage
1 box Spanish rice (Rice A Roni Whole Grain Blends)
1 can diced tomatoes, sorta drained (no salt added variety)
1/2 pint red kidney beans
Pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, to taste

1. Saute the green pepper in a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage and continue to cook, about 10 - 12 minutes. Drain peppers and sausage and return to the skillet.

2. Cook rice and add to the sausage and peppers. Add the tomatoes and kidney beans; stir all the contents together. Add any additional spices to taste. Cover with a lid and cook on medium until all ingredients are heated through.

Yield: four servings
Recipe obtained from: me.

Best of C-bus '08.

2008-01-25T12:19:00.000-05:00

It's time again to vote in Columbus Alive's "Best of 2008!" Vote for the best C-bus has to offer in dining, shopping, arts & culture and nightlife - the winners will appear in the March 27th issue.

Southwestern Chicken Burgers

2008-01-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

I came across this recipe and thought it would be a new way to use up the ground chicken I had in the freezer. I'd never made chicken burgers before and wasn't sure what to expect and after this recipe, I'm still not sure what to expect! The burger was definitely lacking in flavor, and to the husband and I it needed a whole lot more than chili powder. Call me strange, it wouldn't be the first time, but it takes me awhile to get used to a burger that isn't a real burger, as in a beef burger. So in addition to being flavorless, I think a lot of me not being sure if I like the sandwich or not had to do primarily with it being made out of chicken. I'll give the ol' chicken burger another shot, I'm not that easily deterred! At least not yet.

Now, the fries are a whole other story. These were probably hands down the single best baked fries I've ever made! I have tried several different methods and recipes for making baked fries only to have them turn out burnt, yet undercooked. I had pretty much given up on the baked fries until I came across Ina Garten's recipe. I honestly don't know what's different about this recipe and it could be a fluke, but they were incredible while they lasted!

Southwest - Style Chicken Burgers

1 slightly beaten egg
1/4 c. finely crushed nacho-flavored or plain tortilla chips
3 Tbs. finely chopped green pepper
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. ground chicken
2 oz. Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
4 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted
1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and sliced
4 lettuce leaves
1/4 c. bottled salsa

1. In a medium bowl combine egg, tortilla chips, green pepper, chili powder, salt and black pepper. Add chicken; mix well. (Mixture will be wet.) Shape chicken mixture into four 3/4" thick round patties.

2. Place patties on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4" from the heat 14 - 18 minutes or until no longer pink and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 F, turning once halfway through the broiling time. Top burgers with cheese and broil for 1 minute or until cheese melts.

3. Serve burgers on toasted rolls; top with avocado, lettuce and salsa.

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe obtained from: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Nutrition Facts per serving: 522 cal., 26 g. total fat (5 g. sat. fat), 66 mg chol., 698 mg sodium, 39 g. carbo., 4 g. fiber, 32 g. pro.)

What I did: I significantly cut the calories and fat by not including the cheese and avocado and also didn't use the salsa.

Baked "Chips"

4 lg. baking potatoes, unpeeled
4 Tbs. good olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Scrub the potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half in thirds lengthwise. You'll have six long wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with one cut side down.

3. Bake the potatoes for 30 -35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside, and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.

Yield: six servings
Recipe obtained from: Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten

What I did: I halved the recipe and did not use any rosemary. I was lazy and used powdered garlic instead of fresh and added a few liberal dashes of cumin. I always think recipes for roasted potatoes take longer than printed, mine roasted for probably 50 minutes.

Martha's Lentil Soup

2008-01-21T21:02:00.001-05:00

I've had a bag of lentils sitting in the cupboard for quite some time and decided it was time to finally use them up. Being a fan of lentil soup, I decided to try the lentil soup recipe from the March 2005 issue of Everyday Food. While this recipe wasn't the best lentil soup I've ever had, it was a nice filling meal. The recipe makes a good base to expand on and next time I'll add some more flavor and make it a little more spicy, which is how I like my lentil soup. Since Monday's are meatless in our kitchen, I omitted the bacon - which obviously would give the soup some more flavor, but not the overall flavor I think it was lacking.

Simple and delicious.

2008-01-15T20:35:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I've looked at other food blogs, so this past weekend I devoted some Internet time to seeing what others have been making in the last few weeks. I found several new recipes and ideas for future recipes, but one recipe in particular stayed with me. I love meals that not only taste delicious, but are very easy to prepare and the recipes for Mojo Crock Pot Chicken & Healthier Taco Rice from A Taste of Tina fit the bill perfectly.

Essentially I followed Tina's recipes exactly as written. I made a couple of modifications, but those were mainly for personal preferences. I omitted the onions in both dishes because I don't like them, though I did add a few shakes of dried onion to the chicken mixture. To the rice I added some frozen corn and a can of died tomatoes. I wrapped the chicken in a flour tortilla and topped it with black beans, Monterey Jack cheese and lettuce.

I had some problems with the rice, simply because for the life of me I can not make rice. During my take two with the rice, the husband even told me I shouldn't make rice anymore. Eventually, I did finish the rice and I thought it was good (the husband isn't a fan of brown rice anyway, so his opinion doesn't count). And perfecting the art of cooking rice has shot to my list of goals to complete for 2008!

The Best Pie Ever!

2008-01-12T22:22:00.000-05:00

According to Abby, as in Dear Abby, there is none better and I couldn't agree more! In the introduction to her recipe book, Abby says she asked the pastry chef of the Phoenix Hotel in Lexington, Kentucky for the recipe in 1959. Though the hotel is now demolished, thankfully the pastry chef turned over the recipe and the "most delicious pecan pie" lives on!

This has been my go-to version of pecan pie for years, and no Thanksgiving would be complete without it. For my mother-in-law's birthday, she requested pecan pie and since this is the first Thanksgiving in a long time I did not make one, I was happy to make one for her. Seriously, if my waist would allow it I would eat a piece of this pie every day!

Abby's Famous Pecan Pie

9 - inch unbaked pie crust
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 heaping cup pecan halves

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Prepare pie crust.

3. In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and vanilla; mix well. Pour filling into prepared pie crust; sprinkle with pecan halves.

4. Bake at 359 for 45 - 50 minutes or until center is set. (Toothpick inserted will come out clean when pie is 'done.') If crust or pie appears to be getting too brown, cover with foil or a pie protector for the remaining baking time. Cool pie on wire rack.

5. You can top it with a bit of whipped cream or ice cream, but even plain - nothing tops this!

Tip: Original recipe stated that the pie should be baked 45 - 50 minutes in a preheated 350 gas oven. If an electric oven is used it may be necessary to add 15 - 20 minutes to the baking time. Begin testing the pie with a toothpick after 45 minutes.

Yield: serves 8 - 10.
Recipe obtained from: Dear Abby's Favorite Recipes (Copyright 1998)

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. cold shortening
4-5 Tbs. cold water

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-sized.

2. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bolw. Repeat moistening flour mixture, using 1 Tbs. of water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

3. On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter.

4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it.

5. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges as desired. Do not prick pastry. Bake as directed in individual recipes.

Yield: 8 servings (1 piecrust)
Source: Better Homes & Gardens

FYI: If you don't have a pastry blender, you can use two forks. You can also use canned goods in place of a rolling pin - just make sure to wipe off the can first!

Banana muffins.

2007-12-17T12:25:00.000-05:00

There have been three banana's laying on the kitchen counter for about a week now. Each day I look at them and think I should make something. But I've been busy and am just now getting around to using them up. Initially, I was going to make some banana apple bread, but decided at the last minute to go with something else.

I wanted to make the Banana Crumb Muffins I found on All Recipes, mainly because I'm a sucker for streusel topping! I followed some of the suggestions posted and added cinnamon to the batter as well as using oil instead of butter. Other than those two items, I followed the original recipe exactly. The recipe turned out 10 beautifully delicious muffins, which were light and airy and had a nice combination of banana and cinnamon flavoring. The crispy streusel topping was delicious!

Pasta, Damn Near Perfected.

2007-10-11T20:15:00.000-04:00

I realize my title is a bold one, but as they say on Top Chef, "I stand behind my dish." And holy crap was this a great dish to stand behind.

The only downfall was the lack of camera batteries & therefore no pictures.

Pasta, Damn Near Perfected

3 c. Dry campanelle*
Extra virgin olive oil
3 Cloves garlic - chopped
1.5 Tbs. Capers
5 Small tomatoes - chopped
1/4 c. Sun dried tomatoes - julienned & chopped
1 Small jar marinated artichokes
Fresh spinach
Bigger Pinches of: pepper, caper juice, dried basil & dried oregano
Smaller Pinches of: Kosher salt, red pepper flakes, dried Italian herb blend & fennel seeds

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saute pan. Add garlic and capers, stirring until fragrant - approximately 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes (both kinds) and artichokes - marinade and all. Cook over medium-low heat for approximately 15-20 minutes. Add additional herbs & seasoning. Chop artichokes as the sauce cooks down. Add additional caper juice and or olive oil as needed. Add spinach during the last 5-7 minutes of cooking.

2. As the sauce is cooking, prepare pasta according to the package directions. Drain pasta and add to saute pan, mixing well to combine the pasta & sauce.

3. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

*Any pasta shape with ridges or holes will work well - cavatappi & gemili being two of my favorites.

Yield: 3-4 servings
Recipe obtained from: me

A Birthday Feast.

2007-09-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the husband's 30th birthday and we celebrated tonight, as we have all weekend, with the husband's favorite foods - meat & beer, this time in the form of steak & Guinness. It was a fabulous meal, better than the vast majority of steak houses we've been too - certainly much cheaper. We've got some extra steak which will make a great steak salad later in the week. There aren't any real recipes, just some minimal flavoring which enhanced the natural flavor of the meat & vegetables.

The husband grilled some thick NY strip steaks, which were perfectly seasoned with some seasoning from Old Hickory (a steak & rib place in Dayton). Accompanying the steak was grilled asparagus seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper and chopped garlic, baked potato, salad and some olive oil bread with a dip of olive oil, Kosher salt, basil & red pepper flakes. For dessert, which may be eaten tomorrow as we're pretty stuffed, I made the classic Southern banana pudding layered with 'Nilla wafers & banana's.

Our meal was washed down with several different kinds of beers, one of which has already been profiled on here & another that any true beer connoisseur should already be intimately familiar with. The new beer of the evening was a Red Hook Long Hammer India Pale Ale (6.5% / $7 six pk.). Brewed in Portsmouth, NH, this IPA has an incredibly smooth & mild flavor, which went well with dinner. The vast majority of IPA's have a distinctive bitter aftertaste, which this one did not. We both agreed it tastes a little watered down, but overall I think it's a great beer that will at some point be worked back into the rotation.

The history of the India Pale Ale is an interesting one, it's also fitting to mention here because not only did we sample some tonight but I've just finished up a unit with my 8th grade American History class on the early colonists, British mercantilism, triangular trade, etc.. I'm sure many of you are wondering what this has to do with the history of the IPA, so I'll boil it down for you. The British had somewhat of a problem when it came to transporting beer around the world. Their beer didn't do well on long voyages, especially in more tropical locations such as the East Indies. As you can see from the map to the left (obtained from On Tap), it wasn't a short trip from England to India and as a result the beer was often sour & flat, and likely didn't make for a happy crew. I know I'd like to enjoy a beer after a journey that long! Many experimental tries later, it all came down to some tweaks on a recipe and a way was finally found for beer to make these long voyages and for eventual retail sale in the East Indies. George Hodgson, of Bow Brewery in London, altered a recipe and began shipping Hodgson's India Ale in the 1790s. Considering the sun never sat on the English Empire, this likely made British sailors, explorers & merchants very happy. Falling out of favor in England, the IPA has made a tremendous comeback in the U.S., with many micro brews producing new and distinctive flavors all their own.

Fit For A King.

2007-09-23T19:13:00.000-04:00

Elvis's love for peanut butter & banana sandwiches seems to have inspired Reese's new Peanut Butter & Banana Cream candies. These limited edition cups are essentially a normal peanut butter cup, with a thin layer of banana creme. I think the picture, on the right, makes the banana layer look much creamier than it actually is.

The husband has a deep love for the original Reese's Cups and also enjoys peanut butter on a banana, so I thought I'd buy a package of these for him. I'd seen them around in the store, but really didn't think they sounded good. I like peanut butter on a banana just as much as the next person, but wasn't to sure about this "artificial" concept.

The final verdict - I liked them and the husband didn't. He said he doesn't like artificial banana flavoring. We ate ours frozen, which more than likely alters the intensity of the flavors slightly. I thought they had just the right amount of banana flavor, but like I said we froze ours. In the end I doubt I'll buy them again, but they were good to try out.

A Duo of Muffins.

2007-09-16T19:32:00.001-04:00

I've been waiting most of the week to bake some muffins to freeze for those hurried mornings, that are likely going to start creeping up even more! I decided to make some healthy oat bran applesauce muffins and since I had a lot of very ripe bananas to use up, I went with the strawberry banana muffins from Annie's Eats. Both batches of muffins turned out well & tasted great, and will great to grab from the freezer when we don't have time for a proper breakfast.

Coming in with 6g each of fiber and protein, the oat bran muffins provide a big nutritional punch in the morning. These muffins were delicious and had just the right touch of sweetness. A spoonful of homemade apple butter on top made them even more delictable! I love finding new recipes that are both healthy & delicous! The recipe for the oat bran muffins is from Hodgson Mill Oat Bran Hot Cereal, and can be found on the back of the box. I'm going to reprint the recipe for those that may not have any oat bran on hand or at least not this brand.

The strawberry banana muffins could also be considered fairly healthy and could easily be played around with to make even healthier. I'm not generally a big fan of combining bananna and strawberries, so I did have some reservations about these muffins - thankfully, I was won over by this particular flavor combination! Like the previous muffins, these also had just the right touch of sweetness and had a delicate note of banana - nothing overwhelming like some bananna baked goods can be. I'll certainly be keeping both of these recipes in my muffin rotation.

Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins

1/2 c. Brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 c. Oat bran cereal

1 1/2 c. Unbleached white flour

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 1/2 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 tsp. Salt
2 eggs or 4 egg whites

1 c. Applesauce, chilled

4 Tbs. Vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease muffin cups.

2. Blen together dry ingredients. Add eggs, chipped applesauce and vegetable oil. Mix until well blended. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Bake 15 inutes or utnil golden brown.

Yield: 12 muffins

Recipe obtained from: Hodgson Mill

What I did: I used 2 eggs, only because I was to lazy to seperate the whites out. I used natural applesauce & think using a flavored applesauce would also be good. I might even experiment with apple butter in place of the applesauce next time. I also thought about trying out different spice combinations - ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. or even some dried fruit or nuts. Lastly, I used canola oil in place of the vegetable oil with no problems.

Faking It.

2007-09-06T22:58:00.001-04:00

Lesson #1 - You can always add more, but you can never take out.

This recipe was supposed to be part of a soup I sort of just threw together. Of course sometimes when one throws stuff together, it doesn't come out well and this soup was an example of one of those times. It should have been delicious and it was until I added one too many jalapenos without thinking or tasting. I'm talking four-five worth - stupid I know. I de-seeded them so I wasn't anticipating them being that hot, um yeah, they were.

In addition to the the massive amount of jalapenos, the soup included: black beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, radish, tomato juice, s&p, cilantro, basil, chicken & vegetable broth, avocado & the Chipotle rice - I think that's it. Really I just added a whole bunch of stuff I thought would be good in a soup and blended it all up in the food processor. Oh and in case you're wondering we sort of salvaged the soup, we just took two ladle's full and added more broth - vegetable because it was all I had left. It was still pretty spicy, but at least eatable and it really was pretty good.

Now even though the jalapenos took center stage, the star of the soup was the knock-off Chipotle rice! Yeah, this stuff was good. It wasn't the exact consistency of the actual restaurant's, but I was impatient, hungry and certainly frustrated by the time it was finished. If you think Chipotle's rice is somewhat crack-like, I urge you to try this recipe out.

As a PSA, I'll advise you to steer clear of the nutritional content link on the Chipotle Fan website, if you'd like to remain in the dark about what a trip to Chipotle will cost you! You've been warned.

Chipotle's Basmati Rice
1 tsp. Vegetable oil or butter
2 tsp. Fresh cilantro
2/3 c. White basmati rice
1 c. Water
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Lime

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

Yield: 2-3 servings
Recipe obtained from: Chipotle Fan

What I did: You'll notice the recipe calls for cilantro, yet it's not added in the instructions. When I made this, I didn't even add the cilantro - since the rice was a base for soup. But I think I'll add it right at the end next time. Other than the cilantro, I followed the recipe exactly and was rewarded with delicious "almost" like Chipotle style rice.

The Wildflower Cafe Revisited.

2007-08-26T17:05:00.000-04:00

The husband & I decided to start a new tradition for ourselves, weekend breakfast & a movie. For our first installment he decided we should go to the Wildflower Cafe and while I wasn't that blown away by my lunch there a few months ago, I did remember they had hash on the menu and I'm a sucker for that.

I ordered eggs, over easy, which came with a side of fried potatoes and some toast, sourdough. I opted to also add a side of my beloved hash. The hash did not disappoint, however it would have been the same as if I'd opened a can of Armour, which it probably was. The rest of the meal was good, but seriously nothing to write home about - which I think summed up both of our opinions about the meal. The husband, who is the breakfast chef, could have made just as good - if not better & certainly cheaper breakfast.

Speaking of the husband, he ordered French toast. His meal came with a side of meat -I don't remember now, and he added some potatoes too. We both agreed the potatoes weren't that great and I don't think either of us finished ours. The coffee was great, simply a must have for any respectable breakfast establishment. Final verdict, it was ok - not great but not the worst breakfast I've ever had. It was also fairly expensive for what we had, which is beginning to annoy me about restaurants in general. Since when did it get so damn expensive to order really simple & basic foods?

Onto the movie, I gave in to the husband's wishes to see HP on the big screen. See I'm behind on my HP reading, I still need to read books 5-7 and didn't want to see the movie before reading the book. But given my schedule, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon - so off to the movie we went. We both enjoyed the movie - I don't have anything to compare it to though, I was told I didn't miss anything good. Random part I liked: the moving family tree room - very cool.

Finally, the Farmer's Market.

2007-08-25T23:10:00.001-04:00

I love farmer's markets and have been so busy that my first trip to one this season just occurred today. Better late than never I guess! My typical Saturday begins by meeting my friends M & S at Worthington's Farmer's Market, we get coffee and check out what's selling that morning. After checking everything out, I generally I head down the street to the Clintonville Farmer's Market and then make my final stop at The North Market & their Farmer's Market. I love spending my Saturday mornings this way, there is something so relaxing about farmer's market's for me! My schedule is beginning to relax so I'm happy I'll be able to make it to more market's this fall. I'm also excited to learn Worthington is having their first ever indoor winter market starting in November, I can't wait to check that out.

This Saturday my treasure included: radishes, cilantro, a cranberry orange muffin which I ate immediately after paying for, cantaloupe, grapes, figs, plums and a tangelo.

Vacation Wrap-up.

2007-08-24T09:49:00.000-04:00

The husband & I, along with six of our friends headed down for a week on Lake Cumberland last week. We all had a great time lounging in the water, skiing, tubing, wake boarding and of course drinking! The Grandparent's came over a few nights for dinner & to hang out around the campfire. Everyone had a great time and we're already starting to look forward to next years trip!

I was a bad food blogger and only took a few food related pictures, but my excuse was I was on vacation! So using pictures & recipes where I have them, here's the food wrap-up for the week.

Monday

The Grandparent's came over to the cabin and we had brats & sauerkraut, baked beans, and Paula Deen's pasta salad. I think the pasta salad needed to sit a lot longer, which was our fault for not making it earlier, and I thought it needed more of the sauce.

Tuesday

We had the Grandparent's over for dinner again and had steak, macaroni & cheese, marinated cucumbers & tomatoes and grilled French bread.

Wednesday

I made Paula Deen's overnight French toast casserole, it was really good and easy to make.

It's somewhat of a confusing drive through Deliverance territory to make it back to the cabin, combine that with it being pitch black & no cell phone coverage and we thought it best to meet our other two friends at a restaurant in town. We were the only people there at the time and everything seriously took for-ev-er! We should have just went to McDonald's. Some liked their dinners & other's didn't; the Grandparent's have eaten there before and never had that problem. Oh well.....

Thursday

K & J made awesome breakfast biscuit muffins with sausage, cheese, egg and tomato. This recipe is pretty similar to what they did. The muffins seemed easy to prepare and were delicious to eat!

For dinner they grilled pork chops and we had baked potatoes & corn. A delicious meal!

Friday

E & M made one of my favorite breakfast's, bagel sandwiches with scrambled eggs, cheese and ham. If my metabolism would allow it, I could eat one of those everyday!

Their dinner was delicious and is going to find a new spot in my 'go-to' meals! They made grilled blackened chicken, which for some reason I've never made before, Spanish rice and chili beans. Personally, I thought this was the best dinner of the week!

Saturday

B made another one of my favorites, sausage breakfast casserole. This isn't the exact recipe, there was also a can of cream of mushroom soup, but it's pretty close.

For dinner the husband & I made grilled ham & Swiss burgers, herbed potato salad with green beans & tomatoes, sauteed squash & zucchini and marinated tomatoes (which we had at every meal, since we had about 30 pounds of tomatoes).

Aside from your bathing suit, which I forgot to pack - thank the lord for Kmart, stocking up at Liquor World, or the Sam's Club of beer & liquor as a friend calls it, is the most important thing to bring to Lake Cumberland. All of the counties surrounding the lake are dry, though some restaurants are starting to serve alcohol. Stopping here, to stock up for the week is always a production and this trip was no exception! Needless to say we had many bottles of liquor - including a new favorite Sailor Jerry Rum and lots of cases of beer. We even picked up a few cases for the Grandparent's! The important thing is we didn't run out. This story doesn't involve Liquor World, but it's amusing.

Many of the drinks we made were random concoctions of various liquors & mixers we had on hand. We did have Bloody Mary's one morning and a batch of pineapple mojito's one night - they were both delicious. For the mojito's just add pineapple juice to your regular mojito recipe

Sometimes, the Best Things Do Come To Those Who Wait.

2007-08-20T19:22:00.000-04:00

I printed this recipe off in December 2001 and for some reason waited almost six years to make this pasta dish. It's been pulled several times and added to the "make" pile, but it's never made the final cut and I have no idea why after finally making it! It's one of the simplest & most flavorful pasta dishes I've made. This was a great meal to welcome us home after vacation and allowed me to put off going to the grocery store for another day. I really liked the simplicity of this dish and decided to make this pasta my first entry in the Presto Pasta Night event, hosted by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. I've been eyeing this event for awhile now, but was always intimidated by all the fabulous entries. This dish isn't the most elaborate or complicated of pasta dishes, but you know sometimes you just want to eat right now & that's what's so great about this dish. It allows for quick & delicious pasta, without opening a can!

I re-discovered The National Pasta Association's website after making this dish. It is a great source for learning about all things pasta, including finding great recipes.

Angel Hair with Pink Tomato Sauce, Peas & Roasted Peppers

4 oz. Angel Hair or Cappellini, uncooked

3 md. or 2 lg. Ripe plum tomatoes (about 1/2 lb.), cored and quartered

1/2 Tbs. Olive or vegetable oil

1 Clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 Large pinch hot red pepper flakes

1/2 c. Frozen peas, thawed and drained

1/3 c. Diced roasted red peppers

1/2 tsp. Dried basil

3 Tbs. Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and light pink, about 1 minute. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds. Add the peas, roasted peppers and basil and stir 1 minute. Add the pureed tomatoes and heat just to boiling. Remove sauce from heat.

3. Drain the pasta and transfer to skillet. Stir over medium heat until pasta is well mixed with sauce. Divide pasta between two serving bowls. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

Recipe obtained from: National Pasta Assoc. (the original link does not work anymore -original recipe written above)

Nutritional Information: 370 calories, 15g. protein, 60g. carbohydrates, 8g. fat, 2.5g. saturated fat, 24% dietary fiber, 22% iron, 15% calcium, 220% vitamin C, 70% vitamin A.

What I did: I doubled the garlic, olive oil, basil, peas & red pepper flakes. Red pepper flakes do add a significant punch to the pasta, so use sparingly or omit completely if you don't like things on the spicy side. The recipe as written does not call for salt & pepper and I really think it needs it, especially if you're using fresh tomatoes. I didn't use roasted red peppers either, because I didn't have them on hand and the husband doesn't really like them. Personally I think I like this dish without the red peppers.

A few weeks ago the husband randomly picked up some wine and some flowers for me, isn't he nice?!?! We got around to drinking the bottle of wine he picked up with this meal. Fetzer Riesling Valley Oak (2005, $9) was a great wine on it's own and paired well with this pasta dish. The wine was light, bright & crisp and had just the right amount of sweetness - almost a perfect Riesling, especially for the price. I'll definitely add this one to my list of 'go-to' wines.

On Vacation.

2007-08-12T19:13:00.000-04:00

The husband & I are leaving tomorrow morning for a much needed week at the Grandparents cabin on Lake Cumberland. I'm looking forward to boating all day, enjoying the sun, campfires, hanging out with friends & family and all the great food we'll be eating! When I return, I'll post all the great recipes, pictures & and of course the many libations we consumed over the week!

Hope you also have a great week!