scraps of me...

Tasty Tuesday

A super simple  yummy soup...pefect for these cold days we're experiencing.

 

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. cumin
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 T. oil
3 (15 oz.) cans black beans
1 ½ c. chicken broth
3 c. salsa
2 T. lime juice

Directions:

In large saucepan over medium heat, cook onion, garlic, cumin, and pepper flakes. In a small amount of oil until onion is tender, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. In blender, puree 2 cans of beans with chicken broth, working in batches if necessary. (Do not drain beans.) Add to pot. Stir in remaining can of beans, salsa, and lime juice. Heat to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve topped with sour cream, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday

This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy potatoes. Yum! They're great with some grilled steak or chicken.

 

Pesto Potatoes

8-10 red potatoes
1 pkg. McCormick pesto sauce mix
1/4 c. olive oil

Wash and cube potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large ziploc bag. Mix oil and pesto sauce mix together in a small bowl or 1 c. measuring cup. Pour over the potatoes and shake to evenly coat. Place potatoes onto a large roasting pan. Bake in the oven at 375* for 30-40 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Tasty Tuesday

Hmmm....What to do with all the leftover turkey...

Make this pot pie. It's what we're having for dinner. yum.

 

Cheesey Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

3 T. olive oil
1 1/2 c. choppped onion
1 c. finely chopped carrrots
1 c. diced celery

1 c. frozen peas
1 c. steamed broccoli
2 c. diced red potatoes
2 c. diced turkey breast
1 T. minced garlic

4 T. butter
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 refrigerated, rolled pillsbury pie crust

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onions, carrots, and celery for 8-10 minutes. Add peas, broccoli, and potatoes. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlice, cook for one minute, then add the turkey breast. Reduce heat to low and cover.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir for one minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Continue heating, while whisking constantly, for 3 minutes or until thickened. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Pour the sauce over the turkey-vegetable mixture.

Divide the vegetable mixture evenly between two pie plates. Unroll the pie crusts and place one on top of each pie plate, crimping the edges. Bake one, for 30-40 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Wrap the other one in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for dinner another night. Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday

Gooey Caramel Apple Cake

 

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. sugar
1 ½ c. oil
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. diced apples
1 c. chopped dates, rolled in flour
1 c. chopped walnuts

Topping:
1 c. brown sugar
½ c. butter
¼ c. milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and cinnamon with a wire whisk and set aside. Combine sugar and oil using a mixer until blended. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add flour mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts, dates and apples. The batter will be very thick. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake for 40-45 minutes until done. Cool cake and using a skewer, poke holes in the cake. Cook topping ingredients on stove until mixture bubbles. Pour topping over cake letting it seep into the cake.

*I made this cake on Sunday for Life Group. Troy ate the last tiny piece tonight after dinner and immediately asked me when I was going to make it again. I'd say that it was a big hit! :)

Tasty Tuesday

Tonight, I have Parenting Q&A. I'm looking forward to it...some time to fellowship with other mom's and feel refreshed.  I wanted to take something yummy along to share, and decided to try making my Mom's Caramel Popcorn. Here's the recipe...

 

Caramel Corn

1 1/2 c. unpopped popcorn kernals
2 sticks butter
2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white corn syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Pop popcorn in small patches using a hot-air popper. Place in a large, greased roaster pan. In a saucepan, cook butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt until melted and combined. Cover and cook on medium heat for an additional 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over popcorn and mix well to coat evenly. Bake 1 hour at 250*, stirring at 15 minute intervals. Cool and store in a tightly sealed container.

Amy's Notes:

Since this was the first time making it, I didn't know what to expect. I only had 1 1/2 c. of brown sugar, so I made 3/4 of the recipe. I should've made half a recipe. My large roaster pan was FULL and it made it hard to stir in the caramel mixure without getting it all over the counter. So...unless you have a roaster pan the size of a bathtub...I would probably just make half a batch. :)

Tasty Tuesday

...a day late. I just ran out of time yesterday to type this up. :)

So last night, we had one of our favorites for dinner...Italian Beef. For a side, I made coleslaw. This is the best recipe and tastes a lot like KFC's famous coleslaw. Enjoy!

 

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
2 1/2 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 T. minced dried onion
1 bag pre-shredded coleslaw mix

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients, except the coleslaw mix, in a large bowl. Add coleslaw mix and stir to combine. Refrigerate up to 30 minutes before serving.

Texas Caviar

We enjoyed this last week with some grilled chicken. Light and easy.

 

Texas Caviar

1 (15 oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
3/4 c. chopped red pepper
3/4 c. chopped green pepper (which I didn't have, so I left it out)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 (2 oz.) jar diced pimientos, drained
1/4 c. minced fresh parsley (which I didn't have, so I used 1 T. dried)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c. Italian salad dressing
tortilla chips

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tasty Tuesday

Although this isn't an "Amy" recipe...it was too tasty not to share.

Today, since it was cloudy, cool, and drizzly...I really wanted some soup. I decided on Pioneer Woman's Roasted Vegetable Minestrone.

Me, being me, of course...had to tweak it just a little. I already had some cooked pasta in the fridge, so I used it, adding it at teh very last minute. And the kids are always more likely to eat a soap laden with vegetables if I add some turkey sausage. I chose Italian turkey sausage for this soup.

It was very yummy and everyone enjoyed it, except for Kaitlin who refuses to eat anything with zucchini in it. :)

Cookie of the Month

Chip 'n Dip Cookies

1 pouch of Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix
3 T. oil
1 T. water
1 egg
1 c. crushed plain potato chips (I used baked Ruffles)
4 squares of chocolate almond bark
1/4 c. finely chopped salted peanuts

Heat oven to 375*.
In a large bowl, stir cookie mix, oil, water, and egg. Add potato chips and mix until a soft dough forms. Scoop dough onto a baking sheet or stone, placing 2 inches apart.
Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool slightly before removing from the sheet onto a cooling rack.
Cool completely.
Melt almond bark according to package directions. Dip each cookie half way into the chocolate, letting the excess drip off before placing the cookie on wax paper. (I didn't have much almond bark, so I just spooned some over the top instead of dipping them.) Immediately sprinkle the each cookie with chopped peanuts.
Let set for 30-45 minutes until chocolate is hardened before storing (or eating.) :)

Spaghetti Pie

 

Ingredients:

8 oz spaghetti, cooked
2 T. olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic salt (or powder)
1 c. ricotta or cottage cheese
1 1/2 c. Italian seasoned tomato sauce
1 c. shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Toss cooked pasta with olive oil, eggs, garlic salt (or powder) and parmesan cheese. Pour into greased 10" pie plate to form a crust. Spread ricotta over the crust evenly, then top with tomato sauce. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350*. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 5 minutes more. Cool 5 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Number of Servings: 8

*In order to make this a little healthier, I used whole wheat spaghetti and fat-free ricotta. I also used about a cup of frozen spinach, which I thawed and squeezed dry. I added it on top of the ricotta, before adding the tomato sauce.

With my changes, the nutritional info per serving is as follows: 243 calories, 9.3g of fat, 3.1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 454mg sodium, 28.5g carbs, 4.1g fiber, 14.4g protein

Enchilada Pie

This is one of our (many) family favorites. It freezes well too, so I usually try to make two and freeze one for a friend or for a later day...

Enchilada Pie

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef

14 oz. can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg. taco seasoning mix

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

4-6 large flour tortillas

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

Directions

Brown beef. Combine tomatoes, seasonings, onions, olives, and

meat. Layer the meat mixure, tortilla, meat mixture and cheese

(3-6) times in a pie plate. End with cheese on top. Cook for 30

minutes at 425*, uncovered.

S'Mores Pops

We made these yummy treats for the 4th of July. They're a lot of fun to make and simple enough for the kids to help with.

All you do is...

1. Push lollipop sticks (in the cake decorating section at Walmart) into large marshmallows until they almost come out the opposite side.
2. Melt chocolate almond bark in a 2 c. glass measuring cup.
3. Place graham crackers into a ziploc bag and smash into small (but not too fine) crumbles. Add sprinkles if desired.
4. Pour the crumbs into a shallow tupperware container.
5. Dips the marshmallows into the chocolate, then roll in the cracker crumbs.
6. Set on wax paper until hardened, then enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

Homemade Strawberry Shortcake

(my mom's yummy recipe!)

Ingredients

2 T. sugar

2 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 stick butter, melted

1 c. milk

1 egg

Directions

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add egg and milk and mix well.

Add melted butter and stir until combined. Pour into a lightly greased 9x9 baking dish. Bake at 350* for

20-30 minutes. Top with sliced, sugared strawberries and whip

cream.

Ranch Oyster Crackers

This is one of our favorite snacks...not very healthy...but very tasty. The kids call them "Messy Crackers". They do leave quite a mess on your fingers. They also leave you with some stinky breath, so have some mints close by. :)

 

Ingredients

10-12 oz. plain oyster crackers

1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. dill weed

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/3 c. oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 250*. In a large bowl, combine the dressing

mix, dill weed, vegetable oil, lemon pepper, and garlic powder.

Add oyster crackers and toss to coat. Spread evenly on a baking

sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool before serving.

June's Cookie of the Month

Chocolate Coconut Lime Cookies

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 ¼ c. flour
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 c. sugar
½ c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
juice of 2 limes (zest before juicing)
zest of 1 lime (reserve zest of 2^nd lime for topping)
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. rolled oats
¾ c. shredded sweetened coconut
1 c. white chocolate chips

Topping:
2 squares melted white almond bark
zest of one lime

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lime juice.

Add the dry ingredients (baking powder, soda, flour, and salt. Stir until just combined. Add oats, coconut, and white chocolate chips. Fold in gently.

Chill dough for 2 hours. Drop tablespoon sized batter 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before drizzling with melted almond bark and sprinkling with extra lime zest.

Buckeye Bars

I made these yummy little treats a few weeks ago for Troy's birthday. They were a big hit with everyone! Of course, our entire family loves anything that chocolate and peanut butter.

 

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup  crunchy peanut butter

22 vanilla wafers, crushed

2 cups  powdered sugar

1/2 of 8-oz. tub COOL WHIP (Do not thaw.)

3 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Mix in wafer crumbs. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of pan.

Microwave the cool whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high for 1 min.; stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve.

  

Primavera Pizza

This recipe has quickly become a family favorite! I hope you'll enjoy it as well!

Primavera Pizza

2 cans refrigerated pizza dough
olive oil cooking spray
2 T. grated parmesan
6 T. ranch dressing
Garlic Salt (to taste)

12 oz. cooked chicken breast strips, chopped (I buy the precooked Italian ones from the refrigerated section)
2/3 c. chopped red pepper
2/3 c. chopped red onion
1 c. torn baby spinach leaves
2 c. shredded Italian blend cheese
2 tsp. Italian herb seasoning

On 2 greased cookie sheets, unroll dough and spread to edges of pan. Lightly spray dough with olive oil spray and sprinkle evenly with parmesan and garlic salt. Bake 10 minutes at 400*. Spread ranch dressing on each crust. Divide and layer chicken, red pepper, onion, spinach, cheese, then Italian seasoning. Bake 8-10 minutes more.

You could also easily cut this recipe in half to make only one pizza...but we love having the leftovers! :)

 

Troy's Favorite Chicken

I really should come up with a better name for this recipe...

I don't even remember where I got it from...

but I think it was originally called Bacon-Mushroom Honey Mustard Chicken...and that just seems like too long of a name for a pretty simple recipe. :)

This is what I made for Troy's Birthday dinner last week...since it is, afterall...

Troy's Favorite Chicken

1-1 1/2 lb. chicken breasts or tenders
1/2 lb. bacon
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 small package fresh mushrooms
1 T. (or so) of butter
McCormick Honey Mustard Chicken Glaze

 

Place chicken in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Follow the directions on the Honey Mustard glaze packet. Mix well and pour over the chicken. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into small pieces and brown in a heated skillet until browned and crispy. Drain on a papertowel lined plate.

Also, thinly slice mushrooms. Melt butter in a large skillet (or you can use the same skillet from the bacon and use a bit of the leftover bacon grease instead of butter.) Brown the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes. Set aside with the bacon.

When the chicken is done baking, top evenly with mushrooms, bacon, and shredded cheddar  cheese. Return the pan to the oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

*some of our chicken didn't have mushrooms...the girls don't like them...so you could easily leave them off as well. :) 

Cowboy Potato Salad

With Memorial Day next week, I thought I'd share one of our favorite cook-out recipes. It goes great with anything on the grill and our sweet 'n sour cucumbers as well!

Cowboy Potato Salad

10-12 medium red potatoes
1 lb. peppered bacon
4 green onions
5 hard boiled eggs
1 c. (or so) mayonnaise
1 T. spicy mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Dice potatoes. Place in a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and cool.
Cut the bacon into small pieces. Cook in skillet until browned and crispy. Drain.
Chop green onions (white and green parts) and hard boiled eggs.

In a small bowl, blend mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, bacon, onions, and eggs.

Pour mayo mixture over the potatoes and gently stir to combine. Add more mayo as needed.

Enjoy!

I love Google.

Do you want to know why I love Google?

Because you can find out virtually anything within a matter of seconds.

So here's my story...

Fresh pineapple is one of my all-time favorite things to eat. seriously! I could live off of it.

However...they're one of the more expensive fruits at the store and for some strange reason, I just don't spend the money of them. And trust me...frozen or canned pineapple just isn't the same.

But a few weeks ago, they were on sale. So after sniffing all of them with the kids (I'm sure the other shoppers were probably laughing at our deliberations), we chose the yummiest smelling pineapple.

Once we got home, I didn't know what to do with it. I'd never cut up a fresh pineapple before.

So GOOGLE to the rescue.

Serated knife. check.
Cuttin board. check.
Fresh pineapple. check.
Empty bowl. check.

I followed the directions that I found online and we ended up with a wonderful juicy sweet succulent pineapple...

that was wiped out by the 5 of us less than 24 hours later.

I think that maybe...just maybe...I may have eaten the majority of it though.

Thank goodness, they were even cheaper last week...and my sweet husband came home with TWO this time!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

So I've gotten a few requests to post this recipe...sorry it's taken so long to finally get around to doing it.

 

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix
1 small box lime jello

Prepare cake according to package directions. Bake the cupcakes, as usual. Remove cupcakes to cooking racks. Use a fork, chopstick, etc to poke holes in the tops of the cupcakes. Prepare the jello according to package directions as well, but instead of putting it in the fridge, spoon some of the jello over the top of each cupcake. You probably won't use all of the jello. Place cupcake in fridge to cool completely.

and now the best part...

Frosting Ingredients:

1 c. butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
1-2 T. marachino cherry juice

Using a mixer, cream the softened butter and cherry juice. Gradually add the powdered sugar allowing the butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. Continue until the frosting is smooth and thick.

Spread over the cooled cupcakes, adding lime wedges, cherries, and sprinkles as desired.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday (on a Wednesday edition)

I just simply ran out of time yesterday to get this typed up. :)

I don't know if I ever mentioned, but last Christmas...well, technically, I guess it was 2 Christmases ago now...but anyway...

Christmas 2008, I gave some dear friends a special gift. I made them a certificate to recieve a dozen (or so) cookies each month...and thus began the "Cookie of the Month Club". At the time, they were the only members.

This year, they expected to recieve the same gift, which they did. But I also added my Dad and his wife Vicky to the Club membership list.

They (as well as other friends) are encouraging me to put myself out there...to offer others the cookies for a price. But frankly, I just feel strange charging people for something I love making...and giving.

I've even had a name suggested for my endeavor..."Bay-Bay's Bakery". I love it.

But anyway...I thought I'd at least share the recipe here.

Oatmeal Snow-Berry Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. oatmeal
1 1/2 c. dried cranberries
1 c. white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix butter and sugars until smooth and creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Add remaining ingredients, stirring until completely mixed and blended. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

yields: 3 dozen (or so) cookies 

Enjoy!!

10.27.2009

Candy Corn Cookies

Mix up your favorite sugar cookie dough...

Here's my favorite recipe...

Ingredients:

1 c. butter flavored Crisco 1 ½ c. sugar ½ c. brown sugar 3 eggs 2 T. milk 1 tsp. vanilla 4-5 c. flour 1 ½ tsp. baking soda 1 ½ tsp. cream of tartar 1 tsp. salt

Directions

Cream the Crisco and sugars together. Beat in one egg at a time; add milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until well blended. Chill for one hour. Heat oven to 350*. Roll out dough on floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 6-8 minutes. You can sprinkle with sugars or decors before baking or frost after they are cooled. Here's a few extra instructions... **Add red and yellow food coloring to make the dough orange, after adding the eggs, but before adding the flour. **Roll out the dough and cut into triangles, bake, and allow to cool completely. **Melt chocolate almond bark. Dip the bottom 1/3 of the cookie. Set on wax paper to harden. **Repeat with white almond bark, this time dipping the top 1/3. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

10.06.2009

 

Marshmallow Surprise Cookies

1 chocolate cake mix
1 stick softened butter (not melted)
2 eggs
2 T. water

12 large marshmallows, cut in half width-wise

Mix all ingredients well. Spoon (or scoop) batter onto baking stone or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350* for 8 minutes. Place one marshmallow half on the center of each cookie and push lightly. Return to oven for 1-2 minutes more. Remove cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze

6 T. butter
4 1/2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

melt in saucepan over low heat, stirring occassionally. Cool slightly and pour into large mixing bowl.

Add:
3 c. powdered sugar
6 T. milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla

Whisk all ingredients together, adding additional milk as needed to getting the consistency you desire (not too runny). Spoon over the tops of the cookies and marshmallows and add sprinkles.

 

Enjoy!
We've made these with a yellow cake mix and a cherry chip cake mix. They're all delicious!
 
 

Tasty Tuesday - Italian Beef

 

This recipe is an old family favorite. Most of the measurements are estimates, depending on how big of a roast you buy. It's just one of those recipes that you can make to your liking. I hope ya'll enjoy it as well!

Italian Beef

3-5 lb. beef rump roast
1 head of fresh garlic
1 jar sliced mild banana peppers
fennel seed
hoagie rolls

Peel approximately 5 - 7 cloves of garlic and thinly slice.

Place roast on a large cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut slits all over the roast, on every side, being careful not to cut all the way through. In each slit, insert one slice of garlic and one slice of a banana pepper. 

Place the roast in the crockpot. Sprinkle fennel seed over the top, enough to mostly cover the roast. Pour about a 1/2 c. of water into the bottom of the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove roast from crockpot and thinly slice. Serve on hoagie rolls, adding condiments, or extra juice/gravy, if desired.

Tasty Tuesday: 08.25.2009

 

Pepperoni Loaf

1 frozen loaf of bread dough, thawed

12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pkg. sliced pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)

1 egg white

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

4 tsp. italian seasoning

14 oz. jar of pizza (or spaghetti) sauce

Directions:

Thaw bread dough on greased baking sheet. Flour lightly and use rolling pin to create a large rectangle of dough. Brush the dough lightly with egg white. In a small bowl, mix together the dry mustard, garlic salt, pepper, and italian seasoning. Sprinkle evenly over the dough. Next, sprinkle the cheese evenly over the dough, and finally, the pepperoni. Roll the loaf up, length-wise, pinching the ends to seal. Place seam side down and brush the top of the roll with egg white. Bake 20-30 minutes at 350* until top is golden brown. Serve with warmed sauce for dipping.

Notes: We all LOVED this! We also thought it'd be yummy stuffed with mushrooms, red peppers, onions, and/or italian sausage. The possibilities are endless. Enjoy!

03.10.2009

 

Here's a family favorite of ours...Just please don't mind the bad photos...it was a cloudy day and the lighting in the kitchen is bad.

Gnocchi with Sausage and Spinach

2 (9 oz.) packages refigerated gnocchi or 1 (17.5 oz.) package shelf-stable gnocchi
1 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lb. (turkey) Italian sausage, casings removed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 (5 oz.) bag baby spinach
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. grated paremsan

 

Step 1: Get a large pot of water boiling (for gnocchi) before chopping the onions. (*whew* this one was strong and made me cry!)

 

Step 2: Heat olive oil in saute pan, then add the onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes until they soften slightly.

 

Step 3:  Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned.

 

Step 4: When the sausage is browned and crumbled, Add garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh spinach.

 

 Cook, tossing frequently, until spinach wilts, about 3 mintues.

 

Step 5: By now, you should've added the gnocchi to the pot of boiling water. Before draining it, scoop out 1/4 c. of the cooking liquid and add it to the sausage/spinach pan.

 

Step 6: Add the drained pasta and the parmesan cheese. Stir gently to combine, then serve and enjoy. :)

 

YUM! 

02.24.2009

Check this out...I'm actually posting a 'Tasty Tuesday' recipe on a Tuesday. :D

 

This week's recipe is...

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

1 (16 oz.) can black beans (or any other kind)
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. finely chopped fresh mushrooms
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 small red pepper, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
dash of worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

 

Step 1: Finely chop all the veggies. For this step, I saved some time by using my handy dandy Pampered Chef food chopper. Oh, and instead of a regular carrot, I used 5 or 6 baby carrots.

   

  

Step 2: Put them in a bowl and add salt, pepper, and garlic. (I didn't have any garlic, so I replaced the salt and garlic with garlic salt. :)

 

Step 3: Drain and rinse the beans. I decided to make a double batch to freeze, so I added a can of pinto beans, since I only had 1 can of black beans in the pantry.

 

Step 4: Place the beans, oats, and ketchup into the food processor and pulse until blended. I did mine in small batches because 1. I made a double batch and 2. my blender doubles as a MINI food processor and it wouldn't all fit.

   

Step 5: Now at this point, I may start to lose some of you. You now mix the bean stuff in with all the veggies and the dash or two of worcestershire sauce. I have to admit...the mixture doesn't look very appetizing...but trust me. Look past it. The end result is great!

 

Step 6: Divide the mixture evenly and shape into 4 patties (I have 8 due to the double batch). The easiest way I've found to do this is to shape it into a rectangle and then use a knife to cut into even sections.

 

Step 7: Finally, place the patties onto a baking pan coated with non-stick spray. I lined mine with foil because it makes clean-up a breeze. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Carefully flip'em. Then bake another 15-20 minutes, or until they're browned and a little 'crispy' on the outside edges.

 

Now we had these on buns with all the usual hamburger fixin's. Very yummy. But my mind is racing with the possibilities. Substiting the red peppers for maybe green chilies, adding some corn in place of the carrots, then topping with guacamole and salsa. Or even just having the patty on a bed of lettuce topped with a little ranch. There's so many ways to alter this basic recipe and I'm excited to try some of them.

If you try these, let me know what you think. :) Enjoy. 

Frosty

 

I've got a super simple one for you today...it's one of our favorite snacks around here...

Favorite Frosty

1 c. milk
8 ice cubes
2 T. instant sugar free pudding
2 T. fat free cool whip

 

Dump it all into the blender.

 

Blend on high until you can't hear the ice breaking up anymore.

 

Pour into a glass (or two, if you have a little one who wants some) and enjoy!

 

I just happened to make plain'ole vanilla today. But Chocolate is fabulous...lemon too. I've also added a few maraschino cherries to vanilla before. total yum! Experiment...have fun...and share any new flavor combos with me so I can try them out. :)

01.30.2009

So about a month or so ago...I was reading one of the many blogs I read each day (sorry, I don't remember which one). The blog author shared a book that she borrowed from her mother-in-law called Managing Your Meals by Winnifred C. Jardine.

 

It contains a year's worth of menus, shopping lists, and the recipes.

  

I was intrigued. Meal planning and grocery list making has felt like such a chore lately. And I feel short on ideas on how to incorporate more veggies into our dinners in a yummy way the Troy and the kids won't turn their noses up at. So I headed over to Amazon to take a peek at it, only to find that it is out of print. Thankfully, there were a handful of used copies available. I purchased it for $9.00 plus shipping.

A week later I received it in the mail. The cover a little worn around the edges. Some of the pages curled in the corner. Some notes in pencil here and there throughout the book. I fell in love with it immediately!

So I read the introduction that explained the the book from ...

• A Nutritional Point of View
• A Money Management Point of View
• A Time Management Point of View
• A Weight Control Point of View
• A Family Enjoyment Point of View
• The Author's Point of View

Interesting to say the least.

The meals are very simple, old-fashioned, vintage in nature...which only added to the appeal for me. I also love the way it is organized.

On the left side of the each page is a week's worth of menus, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The page numbers are in parenthesis and send you to the back of the book to the recipes.

 

For example, here's a close-up of January, Week 4: 

 

The right side contains the grocery list, including quantities.

 

And at the bottom of this page...a list of the 'staples' you'll need for the week, reminding you to check your pantry and make sure you have them on hand.

 

So cool!! Or am I just strange because I think this is the neatest book ever! I can't imagine how much time it took the author to put all of this together.

Now, I won't be using the breakfast or lunch menus...I have to follow my daycare menus during the week. But I am planning to stick to the dinner menus as closely as possible.

Some of the recipes sound a little different than what we're used to...
Some of the recipes call for a lot of butter, cheese, and other not-so-healthy stuff I'm trying to avoid...
So I will be making some substitutions and alterations...
But I'm looking forward to trying lots of new foods and recipes as well. 

Troy's grocery shopping this afternoon after work and the new plan starts next Monday with salmon with cucumber sauce, broiled tomato halves, and wheat rolls.

I can't wait!

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So I just headed over to Amazon, to get ya'll a link in case you're interested. YIKES! There's only 2 available, starting at $36.24! I'm so glad I got this one when I did!

If you're interested in it, let me know...maybe I can do an email with the menus/recipes each week or something like that...