What's cooking...Sissy?

Menu Monday (on Wednesday...)

2011-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:00

The MLK holiday has me a bit behind in posting this.

Monday Date Night! Woo-hoo!

Tuesday Whole wheat penne with Italian turkey sausage, green beans and chopped salad

Wednesday Homemade Chicken Noodle soup and whole grain baguette

Thursday Turkey burgers and baked sweet potato fries

Friday Thai chicken pizza and green salad

Saturday Chicken Chili (freezer meal) with cornbread

Sunday Lunch: Shredded Chicken BBQ Sandwiches with Eric's homemade bbq sauce, whole wheat buns and light coleslaw salad

Chocolate Fix

2011-01-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

It's 7:30 in the evening. The little ones are in bed. You are ready to curl up and watch your favorite show but there is nothing yummy in the house for dessert. And you are trying to keep that new year's resolution about eating healthy. Here is your solution: these fudgy brownies from Cooking Light. You probably have the ingredients in your pantry. It calls for 2 oz of dark chocolate- I don't always have that on hand (because I eat it all!). Once I substituted chocolate chips and one time I used unsweetened baking chocolate and they turned out delish both times! {Can you tell I've been desperate for brownies?}. One more thing- add walnuts. That's for you dad- everything's better with walnuts right?

Review: Trader Joes Baking Mixes

2011-01-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

I like to cheat when it comes to baking. I'm usually all about the cake from a mix and homemade frosting. I did a lot of baking last week for the hubby's big birthday and these mixes were a huge time saver. I also tried out the frosting mix from Trader Joes. It was really good- but basically it was just sugar and coco (you add the butter and whip). So for the cost, I'm not sure if it is worth it just to save measuring out two ingredients.

Their vanilla bean cake mix is really delicious and the chocolate mix is so much better than grocery store brands. The layers came out perfectly flat which is just what I needed to make a round, layered cake. Letting your eggs get to room temperature is a tip I learned from Ina and it really makes a difference when baking. By the way, Ina's mix for brownies is to die for! It is a little pricey-but maybe for a special occasion. All this brownie talk reminds me that I have actually have found a light recipe for brownies I need to share- you won't believe how good they are.

Extra Large Lasagna

2011-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure this isn't the last time I will make lasagna to feed a crowd so I want to jot down my proportions before I forget. I don't use a recipe- I just basically try to make it as close to my mom and sister's as I can. This would serve 18-20 people easily.

Meat Sauce:

1 onion
11/2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2 Italian Sausage
2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
1 large (12 oz?) can of tomato sauce
6 lb 6 oz can whole tomatoes (this is a huge Costco sized can)
{plus garlic and lots of seasonings}

Other Ingredients:

2 1 lb boxes of lasagna noodles

2 32 oz containers of ricotta mixed w/ 4 eggs (use a little less of this next time)

5 8 oz balls of fresh mozzerella, sliced

2 cups of parmesan-reggiano cheese, grated

Menu Monday

2011-01-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

New week...new menu:

Sunday Pork Tacos with Chipotle style sides (cilantro lime rice and pinto beans)

Monday White bean soup (planning to "lighten" this Paula Dean recipe a bit)

Tuesday Taco Salad (w/leftovers from Sunday)

Wednesday Cheese Tortellinis with light cream sauce and peas

Thursday Breakfast for Dinner: Crust-less Ham and Cheddar Quiche (We didn't end up having this last week)

Friday Pizza with chicken sausage and veggies

Saturday Kids and Eric: Leftovers? Sara: Par-tee!(not very nice of me- I will have to work on this)

Breakfasts: More of the same -Baked Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt with homemade Granola, Eggs with Double Fiber English Muffins, Cereal

Lunches: PB & J, Turkey Wraps/Sandwiches, Leftover Tacos

Ina's Granola

2011-01-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

This was a last minute Christmas week project. Our friend brought us some bags of almonds, cashews and dried fruit from a farmer he knows. I knew immediately that I needed to make Ina's granola. I needed a gift for a neighbor and for someone else on my Christmas list, so this worked out perfect. And it is a healthier option for this time of year.

This recipe is really flexible- you can leave out what your family doesn't like or add almost anything. I add cinnamon, but you could add vanilla.

[Gift tags from Tiny Prints]

Round Table

2011-01-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

Seeing a picture of this table today made me think about my sister. She wants a new white round table. Actually I think she wants my table--but that is a long story about a little scheme we are cooking up. My table is a hand me down from my parents--the table I grew up with. It has two leaves, but I really prefer to keep it round. Now that Georgia sits at the table (because Charlotte is in the high chair) the five of us are a bit of a squeeze. But I love the way it feels with us all close. We can all reach to hold hands to say grace before we eat. We are close enough to cut food for the little ones and passing food is easy too.

My favorite time of day is that moment at the dinner table just after the amen when I can take a deep breathe and share another meal with my sweet family. We've all heard the studies about the importance of family meals, but I don't need research, I know first hand how dinner around my table grounds us and connects us.

*For Sissy: The gorgeous jars of orange marmalade on the table reminded me of you too. I love the yummy tangerine marmalade you made last year. You should share that recipe one of these days.*

Baked Oatmeal

2011-01-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for some new breakfast ideas. My oldest does not like eggs. What I love about this recipe for baked oatmeal is it uses eggs and milk. Good stuff to start my boy's day out right! I bake it in these glass cups and save a few in the fridge for the upcoming week. It's almost better reheated the next day.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (or brown sugar Splenda)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (2 percent)
3 eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon melted butter (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional additions:

1/2 teaspoon maple extract
3/4 cup raises
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Heat oven to 350ºF. Spray 8 (6 oz.) custard cups or ramekins with nonstick cooking spray; arrange on rimmed baking sheet.

In large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar and salt; mix well. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, butter, vanilla and maple extract. Add to dry ingredients; mix until well blended. Spoon into cups. Stir raisins each cup, dividing evenly; sprinkle evenly with walnuts (if using).

Bake until knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 23 to 26 minutes for Quick Oats, 25 to 30 minutes for Old Fashioned. (Centers will not be completely set.) Cool 10 minutes.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time Time: 25 min

Shredded Pork Tacos

2011-01-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

This week my hubby is having a BIG birthday. So I'm busy planning, shopping and cooking. For his family birthday party he requested Mexican food and a game of Mexican Train Dominoes. I love a theme! There may be Mariachi music and pinata too.

I'm going to make these pork tacos (at my sissy's recommendation) with Chipotle style sides (cilantro rice, pinto beans and corn salsa). Everyone can build their own burrito, tacos or "bowl". I think this will work great with kids- everyone can customize their meal just how they like it.

Menu Monday

2011-01-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

What the Karlson's are eating this week:

Sunday BBQ Chicken w/ homemade sauce, Roast Cauliflower and red potatoes

Monday Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Tuesday Flat Bread Pizza with Chicken Sausage and Kale

Wednesday Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Thursday Breakfast for Dinner: Crust-less Ham and Cheddar Quiche (Need to plan and pack for the big party!)

Friday Lasagna for Eric's Birthday Party

Saturday Out to eat with kids for Eric's Birthday

Breakfasts: Baked Oatmeal, Greek Yogurt with homemade Granola, Eggs with Double Fiber English Muffins, Cereal

Lunches: Lentil Soup, Tuscan Tuna Salad. Turkey Wraps/Sandwiches

Mad Hungry for Lentil Soup!

2011-01-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Have you seen Mad Hungry? It's a cooking show with Lucinda Scala Quinn (Martha Stewart's Food Director). I love how she teaches as she cooks and her style is easy and appealing to families. As I type my kids and hubby are finishing up bowls of her Vegetable Lentil Soup. Eric says it is the first he's ever had and he thought is was great--but he likes basically everything. Surprisingly the kids devoured it too. The Garlic Croutons garnishing the top is what I think made it appeal to everyone. Lentils are not something I cook a lot, but I should. They are full of fiber and protein and they are really inexpensive--just what this mama is needing in her kitchen. Did I mention this recipe came together in about 15 minutes? It simmered for 30 more- and was delish!

Christmas...

2010-11-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Please don’t mind the break from cooking topics to talk about Christmas!!! I love celebrating Christmas- but it is *sadly* also very stressful for me. So much to do…so little time! And such BIG expectations! (Really that is the problem right there!) This year my goal is breathe and just enjoy the season of life we are in this year. I’ve also realized I have to say no to things I want to say yes too. With four little ones there is only so much of me to go around. That might mean no to parties or events that I would really enjoy- but this just isn’t the year. I’ve considered everything that is a part of our celebration and what will stay and what will go. I even considered emailing Christmas cards {gasp! The horror!}. But ultimately I decided that a family picture was in order this year. Plus, I really do love receiving all those pictures. And for me, email just isn't the same. I haven’t sent a family picture in five years (just pictures of the kids). So two weeks ago we took a family picture (the hard part!) and now my goal is to order my cards BEFORE Thanksgiving.

Shutterfly has an amazing promotion for bloggers this year. I'm open to giving them a try and honestly I’m really loving their designs this year. They have new premium paper {which I love} and they are more like matte card stock than glossy photo paper. They even have an offer for a free card so you can order one and see how you like it. (Which I did by the way and I was really impressed with the quality- you can even add more pictures and/or a letter inside).

How cute is this design? Love how the photo is really the star. See- I told you they were cute! The one I'm thinking of picking is similar.

How about these cute Christmas thank you notes! Wouldn't it be fun to use pictures from Christmas day to create these? They even have darling ornaments I'm thinking of ordering for Charlie's 1st Christmas ornament.

Hurry- if you are interested, they have 20% off all cards today- and their prices are better than others I've used in the past.

Here's to keeping Christmas simple and focusing on what matters.

Salmon Citrus Salad

2010-11-02T00:17:00.000-07:00

We've been eating healthier around my house lately. And we have a new baby...so meals have been less about actual cooking and more about "assembling". This week I'm trying to recreate something I had recently at a local resturant. The most amazing salad ever. I don't have a recipe, but I promise to take notes as I figure it out and let you know how it goes.

Easy Chocolate Frosting

2010-03-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am not above using a cake mix. (These cupcakes are a white cake mix with green food coloring). But I always make homemade frosting. Last night I went to make my standard Hershey's frosting (on the can of cocoa powder) when I realized I was out of cocoa powder!

I found this easy recipe online. It is almost like a ganache- very thick and fudgy. What I love most is it was so easy- and you don't have to mess with a mixer or sifting powdered sugar. I'm not sure this recipe would be enough for a layered cake, I might double it for that. It frosted about 18 cupcakes. As this frosting cooled, it got a little grainy. I just warmed it for 10-20 seconds in the microwave and is spread perfectly.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
6 ounces choc. chips (about 1/2 bag)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except chocolate in saucepan over medium high heat. Stir constantly until melted. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, still stirring. Remove from heat. Add in chips and stir until completely melted. Spread on cooled cake (or cupcakes).

Chicken Pasta

2010-03-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

This pasta recipe was from my friend Nina's blog. It is actually a recipe she got from her friend Megan (I want to give credit where credit is due).

I love this pappardelle pasta from Trader Joe's. I used two packages for this recipe and it worked out perfectly.

This was a big hit with the family and it will a summer favorite for sure. Next time I think I will throw in some grilled veggies and greek olives too. This recipe has a lot of flexibility.

Did I mention the kids loved it? Go to Nina's blog for the recipe.

Weekly Produce Delivery

2010-03-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Some of you have asked April and I about our produce delivery. We have signed up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) through Farmer in the Dale. The produce is all local and mostly organic. What we like best is we can select the produce a week in advance. We feel like the price is reasonable and you can't beat the convenience of delivery to your front door!

Here are some of the benefits I've found since we've started ordering from Farmer in the Dale:
1.) Cooking with fresh vegetables is a priority because you don't want to waste one bit of this amazing produce! This translates to healthier coking.
2.) Taste- the organic apples, Yukon gold potatoes and the spring salad mix are delicious! They are significantly better than anything I've bought at the grocery store. (Eric doesn't usually like spring mix- but now he does because it is so fresh).
3.) No mater how busy my week is and if I've made it to the store- we have fresh fruit for snacks and veggies to go along with something out of the freezer for dinner.

Okay- so the question you are asking is how much? We pay $30 a week for 10 units of produce. We split it between the two of us. I still supplement some produce from the grocery store. We do have a local farmers market twice a week but it isn't at the most convenient times and isn't really close to where I live. Plus taking three kids... need I say more? Check out the Farmer in the Dale website for more info http://www.farmerandthedale.com.

Cupcakes

2010-03-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

Our sweet friend brought these cupcakes over for Pete yesterday, are they not the cutest cupcakes you've ever seen? Since I haven't really cooked anything in over two weeks I thought I would post these little beauties. Peter loves them and can't wait to have the last one after lunch today. Thanks Becky!

Chicken Pot Pie

2010-02-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite winter time foods. It's warm, comforting and a perfect one dish meal.

The players: onion, carrots, celery, frozen peas and of course chicken.

This is my new favorite and EASY way to cook a chicken (to use for soups, enchiladas, etc.) all you do is wash your chicken, clean out the inside, and put it in a large pot. Add about 2-3 cups of water and lots of salt & pepper. Cook on med-med/high for about 20-30 minutes and then let it sit another half hour or so and it's done. Take the chicken out let it cool and either cut or shred. I cut most of the breast section out for the pot pie and then I'm going to use the rest for chicken enchiladas in a couple of days.

The rest of the players: butter, flour, chicken broth, half-n-half (or cream), salt, pepper and fresh thyme if you have it or dried (that's all I had on hand).

Okay, the process: Get out a Dutch oven or good size heavy bottom pan and melt the butter, about 1/2 a stick (1/4 cup), add in the mirepoix (carrot, celery & onion) I know it's a fancy French word, but doesn't it sound so much nicer than carrot, celery & onion??

Anyway, saute the mirepoix until softened and almost cooked through. Then add in 2-4 Tbls. of flour and cook a couple of minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Add in a couple of cups of chicken stock (I used the stock from the chicken I just cooked, but you could also use store-bought) and stir to mix it will begin to thicken, add more stock as necessary and add about a cup of half-n-half or cream (whatever you have in the fridge). Season with salt and pepper and the thyme (if using fresh just throw a couple of stems in) if using dried add about 1 tsp. Let this cook for a little bit to meld all the flavors.

In the meantime, cut up your chicken and roll out your pie crust. I just used my standard pie crust recipe from my Williams-Sonoma Baking cookbook. Just use your favorite or you could save a step and buy one.

Add in your chicken to your filling, this will be your last chance to taste and season and adjust any liquid amouts. You want it thick, but thin enough that it's not too solid you want some liquid to come out when you cut into the pie.

Last step! Dump mixture into your pie dish (you can use any casserole dish or make individual pies with oven-safe bowls). And then place your crust on top, pinch the edges and then brush on an egg wash so it will get nice and golden brown.

My pie crust and I had some issues (Sissy is really the expert on pie crusts) so it wasn't beautiful, but let me tell you it still tasted good! Just ask my husband, he couldn't stop eating this meal!! I also did a great thing and doubled the recipes for both the pie crust and the pot pie filling and froze them separately so I can have a super easy dinner in a couple of weeks! Enjoy!

Three Bean Dip

2010-02-09T09:42:00.000-08:00

I made this delicious dip for Superbowl. It was really good! I saw a spicy black bean dip recipe on the Pioneer Women's website and thought it looked good, I had wanted to make some kind of bean dip and set out to try this one...with some tweaking.
Here are the players and my Lysie Lu watching mama...she's going to be a good little cook someday soon. Tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, garlic, orange juice, white wine vinegar (I would have used lime or even lemon juice, but I didn't have either - so I opted for the combo of the two), salt and pepper, oh and beans. (see below) The beans, I opted for a combo of black beans and great northern, there they are in my food processor with a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce.
Then I tasted it to check the spice, WOW! I knew my husband wouldn't eat this...too hot, so I added about a cup of pinto beans. I'd been cooking beans for two days for my chili and for Elyse so I had some on hand I could add in. (I'm on a kick to use only dried beans these days so I did cook all of these myself, but you could certainly use canned beans.)

Now for the cilantro...don't you just love cilantro? I love cilantro.

This is the mixture with the everything added in, I added the tomatoes and onions last and just pulsed it a few times to incorporate, I wanted some of the texture of those two to still be a little chunky so you would know there were fresh ingredients in the dip.

Here it is with a good mound of cheddar cheese on top, I decided to warm my dip. I prefer beans hot rather than cold, so I just popped it in the oven for about 10-15 min at 375 degrees.

This is how I served it to my husband, notice that I had to take a couple of bites first!

1 cup great northern beans
2 cups black beans
1 cup pinto beans (this really could be any combo of beans you have on hand)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce and about a tsp of the sauce
juice of 1/2 an orange & 1 tsp white wine vinegar (you could also just use the juice of 1 lime or 1/2 of a lemon instead of the combo)
1 clove of garlic - chopped
1/4 of a red onion - chopped
1-2 tomatoes - chopped
salt & pepper

Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream and cilantro and serve with chips. Enjoy!

Barley Beef Soup

2010-02-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

I love a really thick soup. Okay- really, I love any soup! I could eat soup for lunch everyday of the year. My whole family really loved this recipe- it is in my file now.

P.S. (Aren't my new bowls cute? A gift from my favorite sister in law!).

Recipe coming later today...

Potato & Leek Soup

2010-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dinner a couple of nights ago was this amazing soup! I had some leeks from Farmer and the Dale (a local CSA that delivers) and some nice red potatoes and it was raining...it was going to be a match made in heaven.

Here are the Leeks and Potatoes after they have roasted in the oven for a good 40-45 min with some olive oil and salt and pepper...yum! I had to take a taste and make sure they were tender, wow! MENTAL NOTE: make this as a side dish for another meal, maybe with a pork roast or some chicken. This combo is really delicious, you MUST try!

Here are the leeks and potatoes in the food processor getting ready to be pureed with some chicken stock.

And the soup finishing up on the stove, I didn't have any arugula, creme fraiche or shallots, so I can only imagine how much better it is going to be the next time I make it with those three ingredients. I did add some sour cream instead of the creme fraiche and I just topped the soup with Parmesan for garnish.

The finished product waiting to be enjoyed!

We rounded out the meal with a salad with chicken, pear, toasted walnuts and a little red onion with a balsamic vinaigrette and this great bread machine white bread that is started in the bread machine and then finished in the oven to give it that 'real bread' look. It is the best and easiest white bread that I've tried so far in the bread machine.

February's Challenge

2010-02-06T18:58:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted on this blog. So many excuses to offer, but you don't want to hear my excuses, well maybe just a couple: a baby girl was born, I've been lazy, uninspired about cooking, not constantly uninspired, just not inspired enough to blog about what I've been cooking. I'm sure many can relate to that last excuse.

Well, things are changing!! That baby girl is almost a year old and I'm newly inspired these days about many things.

One is laziness, I'm embarking on new journey of rising early, I've been challenged by a blog I read (you can check it out here) to rise at 6am every day. The club is called 'the 5:00 o'clock club, well right now I'm starting slow with 6am. It's a big deal for me! So I'm hoping this will help me fit some more things that I want to do in my day.

Two is food. Healthy, good, maybe local, maybe organic food for my family. That is what I'm striving for these days. How to make this happen and stay within my budget as well.

If you're interested in joining us on this journey and hopefully be inspired with some new recipes, please stay tuned. I promise it will be real, insightful and hopefully attainable.

What are your thoughts sis?

Another use for pesto

2009-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Chicken Fettuccine with Pesto Cream Sauce

We love this simple pasta recipe-

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound fettuccine
4 cubes (1/2 cup) frozen Basil Pesto
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap.With a meat mallet or heavy skillet, pound chicken to an even 3/4-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet; cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Slice each piece across the grain into 4 or 5 strips; cover to keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot.
In a small saucepan, heat pesto over low until liquefied. Stir in cream; heat until warm.Toss pasta with reserved cooking water and half the sauce. Divide among shallow bowls; top with chicken. Drizzle with remaining sauce.

From Everyday Food, September 2005

Spaghetti Squash

2009-09-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Trying out this new recipe tonight-

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 lbs.)
2 cups milk
2 to 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for pans
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded jack cheese

Preparation

1. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds. Poke several holes in skin of squash with a fork and microwave it on high 10 minutes. Squash should be tender when pierced with a fork; if it isn't, microwave on high in 1-minute intervals until tender. Let sit until cool.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm milk and jalapeños until bubbles form along the edge of the pan. Remove mixture from heat and let sit 15 minutes. Strain and discard jalapeños.

3. When squash is cool enough to handle, use a large spoon to scrape the strands out of the skin and into a large bowl.

4. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 2 tbsp. butter. Whisk in flour and salt and cook, whisking, until flour smells cooked (like piecrust), about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in jalapeño-infused milk while whisking. Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking until mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour mixture over squash and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a buttered 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with jack cheese and bake until bubbling and brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Chicken Mozzerella Panini

2009-09-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Here's what's cooking this week:
Slice a loaf of focaccia in half (ciabatta works well too) .

Make the sandwich:

Spread bread with pesto (store bought or this homemade). Top with two grilled chicken breasts thinly sliced (I marinate them with some balsamic salad dressing and rosemary).

Add sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and red onions.

Brush a grill pan with olive oil. Preheat to med. high and weigh the sandwich down (I sit my heavy dutch oven right on top, some people use a brick wrapped in foil).

Turn sandwich and grill until the cheese is melted.

Simple Vinaigrette

2009-09-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my new favorite vinaigrette -perfect for a simple green salad.

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons of olive oilWisk together and add kosher salt and pepper to taste.

Making Pesto

2009-09-01T07:04:00.000-07:00

I'm making pesto to stock my freezer for easy fall dinners. If you don't have basil in your garden, now is a great time to buy it at the farmers market. This recipe has never failed me. (I'll share a couple of dinner recipes using this pesto in the next couple of days)
Makes 1 3/4 cups

1 cup walnuts or pine nuts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.
In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze. To freeze, spoon pesto into an ice-cube tray (2 tablespoons per cube); cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight, then transfer cubes to a resealable plastic bag; keep up to 6 months. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about 20 minutes (or at 30-second intervals in the microwave). Mash with a fork before using in recipes.

Georgia Peach Cupcakes

2009-08-31T15:26:00.001-07:00

We just had a "peach" party for our little Georgia. We served homemade peach ice cream, but of course she still needed a cake!

I used a cake mix. There I said it and I'm not ashamed. It was moist and it only took 5 minutes to make, but I always make homemade frosting. This recipe turned out great with a subtle peach flavor. I think you could substitute any fruit (Strawberries? Bananas?)

Peach Buttercream:

¾ cup butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar

¼ cup peach puree (fresh peaches pureed in the food processor)

A few drops of lemon juice to keep the peaches from turning.

Vanilla, to taste

Whip the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until well combined. Add peach puree and vanilla and beat again until smooth. I added just a touch of yellow and red food coloring to enhance the color.

Pork Chops

2009-03-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have to apologize for not having a picture with this post. I forgot to take one the other night when I mad these and then I assumed there would be one on the recipe page, no such luck. I hate posts without pictures so sorry ladies!

I had some really thick-cut pork chops in my freezer that I've been wanting to cook and the last time I made them they were just okay, so I was on the hunt for a new recipe. During Thanksgiving my sister-in-law told me that she had great luck brining pork chops (I brined the Turkey's, per my brother-in-law's advice) so I thought I would brine these chops! Well, this recipe is awesome, a really simple brine and they only have to stay in it for 2 hours (any more and he says they get mushy). It's a Tyler Florence recipe, which are usually pretty good. Here is the link if you want to try them. I didn't have raisins so I used cranberries, but they were juicy and moist, which is sometimes hard for pork chops to be especially when they're this thick! Enjoy!

Banana Muffins

2009-02-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

This muffin recipe has become a family favorite- feel free to customize to your taste (you could leave out the coconut or walnuts, or even add raisins).

Here's the link: Ina Garten's Banana Crunch Muffins
Enjoy!

Ina's Grilled Asian Salmon

2009-01-04T02:01:00.000-08:00

I tried a new recipe tonight. As usual with Ina's recipes- I cut it in half. It was really good- even the boys loved it!

1 side fresh salmon, boned but skin on (about 3 pounds)

For the marinade:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons good soy sauce
6 tablespoons good olive oil

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

Light charcoal briquettes in a grill and brush the grilling rack with oil to keep the salmon from sticking.
While the grill is heating, lay the salmon skin side down on a cutting board and cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Whisk together the mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle half of the marinade onto the salmon and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
Place the salmon skin side down on the hot grill; discard the marinade the fish was sitting in. Grill for 4 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. The salmon will be slightly raw in the center, but don't worry; it will keep cooking as it sits. Transfer the fish to a flat plate, skin side down, and spoon the reserved marinade on top. Allow the fish to rest for 10 minutes. Remove the skin and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Chicken and Dumplings

2008-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

I really like Chicken and Dumplings...and tonight is the perfect weather to have them! It's cold out and raining, it will probably be snowing soon. There is nothing like good comfort food to make the winter seem worthwhile. It's also a great one-dish meal and reason to use my Dutch Oven! Here is the really easy recipe that I use from Martha. What's for dinner tonight in your house?

Menu Planning

2008-12-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've just discovered a great blog:

She has a great article on menu planning that is definitely worth checking out. I menu plan using my Outlook calendar. She does it with Google calendar and gives step by step instructions.

Do you menu plan? What method works for you?

Tangerines

2008-12-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Today I took the boys to my parent's to pick tangerines. There is something so cool about picking produce or fruit. You feel so connected to it. You value it more than if someone gave it to you or even if you bought it at the store. You don't want to waste even a little of what you worked hard to grow and harvest. Maybe this is why my grandmothers canned.

They boys really didn't like tangerines last year- but today they were eating them up! I even taught them how to use the special citrus clippers. We also picked some lemons and oranges I'm going to juice and freeze some in ice cube trays to have on hand for recipes. Now for some tangerine recipes. Any ideas?

Going Green at the Grocery Store

2008-12-10T22:42:00.000-08:00

These bags are cute enough to make me want to "go green". The prices aren't bad either (5.99 for one bag or $18 for 4) The bottom one even says...

"God created the Earth and commanded us "to tend and keep it" Gen 2:15"

Ouch. Lately I've been reading some great articles on how as a Christian it really is our job to take care of the earth God has left us with. If you are interested you can read more here .

Hershey's Cinnamon Chips

2008-12-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you haven't tried these yet...you should! They are so yummy! I've only been able to find them around the holidays at Save Mart (however I hear some Super Walmarts carry them as well).

In oatmeal cookies, coffee cake or even scones they are a delicious change of pace. If you like them- stock up, because they won't be back til next Christmas.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2008-12-06T23:21:00.001-08:00

Yes- I know, I'm on a bit of a roll with the bundt cakes. I borrowed my mom's pampered chef stoneware bundt cake pan. I love it and I'm never giving it back. You can borrow it if you need it-okay mom?

On to the recipe (again from April) for her amazing coffee cake.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Mix Dry Ingredients and set aside:

2 ½ c flour
2 t baking powder
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt

¾ cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 ¼ c sugar

4 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 ½ c sour cream

In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches alternately with the sour cream and mix on low speed just until the batter is blended and almost smooth.

Option Streusel Topping and Filling:
2 T butter, at room temperature
¾ c chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted
1/3 c brown sugar
1 ½ t cinnamon

If you use the streusel topping, pour half the batter in the pan (spray pan well- I use the spray with flour for baking) then half the streusel topping. Then the other half of the batter and the rest of the topping.

Bake at 350 for about 60 min. sometimes it takes an extra 10 min or so. (Use a really large bundt pan). If you don't have a bundt or a mom who has one you can steal- I think you could use a 9x13 but it would bake much faster so keep your eye on it.

Options- I folded in Hershey's Cinnamon Chips (I'll post about these later). You could also fold in fresh blueberries and a little lemon zest, or Cranberries and a little orange zest. April also does a version with mini chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar layered in the middle (also called a Brooklyn Bundt).

Kahlua Cake

2008-12-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

1 chocolate cake mix
7 oz chocolate pudding (instant)
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup kahlua
16 oz sour cream

Blend all ingredients until smooth, batter will be fairly thick

2 cups chocolate chips

Add chocolate chips and mix into batter

Pour into bundt pan and back in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour

Sissy - Here is my recipe, just a couple things are different. Sherri also makes this and puts a glaze over it after you take it out of the bundt. I think it's just water, sugar and kahlua that you simmer and then brush on. It makes a moist cake even more moist! Enjoy!!

Chocolate Kahlua Bundt Cake

2008-12-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

This wasn't as good as April's version (see her recipe above).

1 chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. 3 - 3/4 ounce instant chocolate pudding
1 pint sour cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup Kahlua
6 ounces chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chops in mixing bowl until well blended. Fold in chips by hand. Pour into well-greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour. Let cool 20 minutes in pan then invert on cake plate. Serve warm.

Thanksgiving!! We Survived!!

2008-11-29T20:08:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we had Cliff's entire family (all 22 of us) up to Hume to celebrate, this is a tradition Cliff started about 10+ years ago. But, this is our first time having everyone up since we've been married. The last time they were all up was 5 years ago when we were just dating, we tried to have everyone here 3 years ago, but it didn't work out with the families schedules. So this year we decided to bring back the tradition. Now of course this year is the first year that I've been a part of the family, so there are some different expectations with a single guy hosting and the fairly new sister-in-law & daughter-in-law trying to figure out the family traditions. I think overall we did a pretty good job!

Here is a picture of the whole family out by the lake. Everything was good and most importantly I think the family was impressed, my husband said that I "rocked Thanksgiving Dinner" but what else is he going to say right? I had some great cooking advice from my wise brother-in-law who is king of great Turkey and Stuffing, the two main things you want to be great right? I brined the Turkey and we roasted one and BBQ'd the other. They both came out very good and very moist! And Cliff did a great job carving it (after he told his brother that he could take his judgemental looks into the other room while he carved)!!! Way to go babe!

So here was the menu for the day:

Thanksgiving Breakfast

Egg & Sausage Casserole

Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Fresh Fruit

Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey

Sausage & Apple Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes w/Gravy

Sweet Potato Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Salad w/apples, cranberries & feta

Variety of Rolls

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Pecan Pie

The kids table: I made them a Turkey Centerpiece with feathers made out of construction paper so they could write what they were thankful for, I read a few after dinner. One child had written "Barack is my Hero", good to know they are thankful for so many things! I'm not sure that went over very big, but that's okay I'll keep trying.

This is the Adult Table, our camera had been outside so the pictures I took came out blurry, this was the only one of all the cameras. But at least you can see the table.

We have had a good weekend, full of activities and of course plenty of food. I am a little tired and ready to jump into Christmas decorating, shopping and planning. But, I still need another day or two to recover. I had everything listed out to do for the last week or so and tried to make it where I only had a couple of things to do each day, until Wednesday and Thursday of course. For the most part my plan worked well. I said we were going to eat at 4:00pm and I think we sat down about 4:45pm. Not too bad, what can I say it's in my gene's!! I'm not sure we've every had a family meal on time for any Briner family gatherings!

Mac-n-Cheese

2008-08-16T20:48:00.000-07:00

I was in the mood for some macaroni and cheese yesterday and I had just bought a cauliflower the other day (not sure why I bought one in the middle of summer) so I wanted something to use with the cauliflower. I have also been trying to find ways to get vegetables into Peter's food, since he's been on more table food I've realized that his vegetable intake has gone down in the last month.

So I made a fairly typical cheese sauce and at the same time steamed the head of cauliflower and then pureed it in the food processor. I added it to the sauce and mixed in the macaroni and you really could not even taste the cauliflower. It was really good! Peter enjoyed it, Cliff enjoyed it and so did I. Here is a link to Jessica Seinfeld's recipe, I didn't really follow this one except for the cauliflower.

Happy 30th Sissy!

2008-08-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

Ina's Coconut Cake!

The layers are baked, the frosting is made and a dozen cupcakes are ready to go to make sure we have enough! I can't wait- hope you love it!

Edamame!

2008-08-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

They like it! They really liked it! I've been meaning to try Edamame for awhile now- finally last night I needed a quick veggie to go with our dinner and this took 2 minutes to boil so it was fast and easy. I sprinkled on some kosher salt and really thought I would be the only one eating it. In fact, I didn't even put it on the boys' plates...but soon they were reaching for it and the four of us ate a bowlful! I'm so happy to find a veggie that the boys really love (besides carrots, corn and cucumbers)! Here's what you'll find in a half-cup serving of shelled edamame (or 1 1/8 cup edamame in the pods):
120 calories
9 grams fiber
2.5 grams fat
1.5 grams polyunsaturated fat (0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)
0.5 gram monounsaturated fat
11 grams protein
13 grams carbohydrate
15 mg sodium
10% of the Daily Value for vitamin C
10% Daily Value for iron
8% Daily Value for vitamin A
4% Daily Value for calcium

As you can see, that little serving of edamame gives you a bunch of fiber: 9 grams, about the same amount you'll find in 4 slices of whole-wheat bread or 4 cups of steamed zucchini. It has almost as much protein as it does carbohydrate. It contains around 10% of the Daily Value for two key antioxidants; vitamins C and A. And for a plant food, it's quite high in iron; it has about as much as a 4-ounce roasted chicken breast. (Info from MedicineNet.com )

Roasted Fingerlings and Green Beans

2008-06-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe from the April Southern Living was delicious! With such easy main dishes ready to go in the freezer- it is nice to have a little extra time to spend on a special side dish. The extra tarragon dressing was great on the salad too!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

2008-06-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

I know, I had you at the title right? These are amazing! Sissy posted about them a while back and I couldn't get them out of my mind! I made these for our American Idol (YEA, David Cook) Finale party. We topped them with ice cream (vanilla & American Idol mint cookie crunch) and homemade hot fudge -they were amazing! Here is the link to Ina's recipe with the PB, but it's really easy you just swirl the peanut butter and bake. I sprinkled a few peanuts on top for added crunch and flavor! This will solve all your chocolate cravings!

Freezer Cooking

2008-05-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

I'm joining two friends to try out freezer cooking. We are all making three (family sized) servings of four different meals plus one side dish. Tonight we are getting together to "swap" meals. These are the four I have in our freezer-

Turkey Taco's

This recipe is my invention- but really yummy! I also use this meat for taco salad and yesterday I even threw it in a basic mac and cheese recipe for a quick pasta dish.

Pulled Pork We already ate our serving of this, and I must say it was really good. This is a great summer slow cooker recipe.

Rub:

boneless pork shoulder (about 4 to 41/2 pounds- I used two roasts for 3 families)

4 tablespoons kosher

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1/4 cup paprika

2 to 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

4 cloves garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Scant 1 tablespoon cayenne (I used way less)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cook on low in slow cooker for 10 hours. Chill in fridge, remove fat and shred. Mix in favorite bbq sauce and bag to freeze. To serve: Defrost in fridge overnight, reheat on low in skillet or in microwave and served on buttered, toasted buns. Yum!

Freezer Mashed Potatoes

This is a new recipe I'm going to try- I'll add roasted garlic.

Garlic Lemon Chicken

This is a Karlson family recipe I can make with my eyes closed. It is my go-to summer recipe when entertaining because it always turns out and everyone seems to like it (and it is easy!). This works for any type of chicken but I usually use bone-in or boneless breasts.

Marinade:

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 olive oil

3 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. soy sauce (gives chicken great color)

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

One Tablespoon fresh (or teaspoon dried) of each:

Basil

Oregano

Thyme

Rosemary

I really like how this turns out with fresh herbs- but I used dried because we are freezing it and herbs turn black in the freezer.

Marinate for a few hours then grill.

Marinated Tri-Tip Steaks

Marinade:

Garlic salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1/4 c. Kikkoman teriyaki sauce

1/4 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. red wine

This is a new recipe- I hope the girls like it!

I have been cooking up a storm this week (and my kitchen now needs a serious deep cleaning!). Next week I'm looking forward to kicking back and just pulling dinner out of the freezer!

Baby Shower

2008-04-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

We had a very cute Baby Shower for my friend Jen. She's having a baby girl and that was a great excuse to have a brown/pink theme (one of my favs).

My inspiration for the food part was cupcakes! I figured that everyone woman needs an excuse to eat a really good cupcake. We used Ina's recipes for the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and the coconut cupcakes wow were they good! We also had chocolate with pink frosting (they were really cute w/sprinkles) and white with chocolate frosting. We kept it mostly in the brown/pink theme.

Ina's Croissant Bread Pudding

2008-04-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

We had some leftover (read stale!) croissants from the bridal shower last week. Eric remembered this recipe from Ina and decided to try it out today. We rarely make dessert unless we are having guests over so this was a serious treat. We topped it off with a carmel rum sauce and holy smokes- good stuff!

Dinner this week:

2008-04-26T01:12:00.000-07:00

Honestly- I don't follow these recipes too closely (click on links), they are more of a jumping off point for me...

Steak Fajitas {Tyler's amazing mariade! Worth trying- also awesome on chicken}

Thai Chicken Wraps {I'll probably simplify this recipe a bit}

Philly Cheese Steaks {Never made these before- still craving beef though!}

Portabella Ravioli {in the freezer from Sam's} with chicken and alfredo sauce

Country Style Pork Ribs on sale this week at Vons {but this is an Eric meal}

Taco Salad {never fails me!} Everyone has their own version...mine is with ground turkey and a 50/50 salsa & sour cream dressing

My new favorite sandwich

2008-04-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

Four simple ingredients:

baguette

raspberry jam

+
sliced brie

ham

= really amazing, really delicious sandwich!

After having this at a family party recently, I decided to add these to the menu of the bridal shower last weekend. They were so easy and really a big hit. I think they are perfect for a bruch or a luncheon. Plus they are great at room tempurature- so great for buffets or open houses.

* Pictures of the shower coming soon!

Menu for Bridal Shower

2008-04-08T22:18:00.001-07:00

I'm throwing a bridal shower luncheon in 10 days and I still need to nail down so many details! I think I have my menu planned- (I would love feedback and/or ideas).

Chicken Salad on Petite Croissants
Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Brianna's Red Wine Vinaigrette
Fresh Fruit Salad
Crudités Platter
Additional Side Salads (provided by bridesmaids offering to help)
Chocolate Cake by Eddie's Pastries for dessert
Strawberry Lemonade

Now ideas for favors and games...?

I heart Ina

2008-04-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

I love the barefoot contessa for her sophisticated yet back to basics approach to cooking and entertaining. I just picked up Ina Garten's newest cookbook at Costco this week. (It is about $14 less than Boarders). I love the two other cookbooks I have by Ina and this one looks wonderful as well. My goal is to try one Ina recipe a week. Tonight was her Turkey Meatloaf from her first cookbook. Meatloaf is something you either hate or unashamedly love. Since it is Eric's favorite- and I love leftover meatloaf sandwiches, meatloaf it was! Her recipe calls for 5 lbs of meat! I cut it in half it (as I usually do her recipes). It was great- but I'm really looking forward to the leftovers on toasted sourdough tomorrow!

Outrageous Brownies

2008-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Outrageous Brownies (by the Barefoot Contessa- Ina Garten)

*Ina's recipe is HUGE! It is dangerous for me to have so many brownies in my house- so this is 1/4 of her regular recipe. You could also half it. Here is her full recipe in case you are having 25 people over for dessert! (It calls for a full pound of butter!).

1/4 pound unsalted butter

1/4 pound plus 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

1.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1.5 extra-large eggs

1 tablespoons instant coffee powder

1/2 tablespoons real vanilla extract

½ c. + 1T sugar

¼ c. + 1T flour, divided

1 t baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cups diced walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 8 by 8 by 1 1/2-inch pan.
Melt together the butter, chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and chocolate chips with flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Sound like too much work? You can buy her mix here or I've seen it at Williams Sonoma or Crate and Barrel as well. (But it is not your betty crocker $2.99 mix- try $10.95!)

My new favorite snack

2008-03-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Friends, meet my new favorite snack- Mozzarella Roll! You can buy these at your local grocery store in the specialty cheese section but I've also seen them at Sam's Club. My favorite is one with spicy salami and pepperoncini inside- but they come in mild versions too. While pregnant I need quick, high protin snacks- and this is it! You could even make one yourself using Paula Dean's recipe. Everyone needs a signature appitizer- something you are known for bringing to parties and get togethers- I think this along with some other antipasto trimmings is going to be mine!

Pioneer Women's Most Favorite Salad Ever. Ever, Ever, Ever!

2008-03-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Do you know about The Pioneer Women Cooks? It is a great down-home food blog that you should check out. This salad just screams summer and I can't wait to give it a try. Check out her step by step pictures (and super funny directions) if it looks yummy to you.

Asian Noodle Salad

adapted from Jamie Oliver

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled
1/2 to 1 head sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 to 1 head sliced purple cabbage
1/2 to 1 bag baby spinach1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced thin
1 orange bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small bag bean sprouts (also called “mung bean sprouts”)
3 sliced scallions3 peeled, sliced cucumbers
LOTS of chopped cilantro—up to one bunch
1 can whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet

DRESSING:
Juice of 1 lime
8 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 hot peppers or jalapeños, chopped
More chopped cilantro—LOTS

Mix together salad ingredients. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on platter.*Dressing keeps up to three days before serving, WITHOUT cilantro.

Blog Abandonment

2008-03-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog-
I need to apologize. I have abandoned you. Left you high and dry. Ignored you. Pretended like you didn't exist. I'm sorry. Mostly to my 3 readers- but really, truly sorry. And to my co-blogger and sister, you rock…I stink. Here I dragged you into this blogging thing- and then abandoned you too.

I can offer only two explanations for my lack of effort for the last three months…

January Resolutions- eating healthier has been b-o-r-i-n-g! Nothing inspiring to blog about has been coming out of my kitchen! (My sweet husband has lost 25 lbs though!)

First Trimester Exhaustion. I’m pregnant and things are going well, but I'm really tired. And just doing the basics around here (laundry, dinner, diapers) is about all I’ve had in me. Now that I’ve made it to my 16th week, I’m hoping my energy level is going to pick up here- soon!

I miss you dear blog and I’m really going to try to devote more love and attention your way.

Sincerely, Sara

This Week's Menu

2008-02-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

I know it's only Saturday and I'm letting you in on the plan for dinner for the week. Here goes, of course there is always the chance that it will change if I feel like something different!

Sunday: Chili & Cornbread

Since it's SUPER BOWL, I thought I would at least make an effort to support the game and have some 'game day food' maybe I'll make some 7-layer dip or at least guacamole and chips I don't have any chips, maybe I could bake some corn tortillas and turn them into chips.....hmmm that sounds pretty good, I'll have to work on that.

Monday: Whole Wheat Ravioli w/tomatoes and basil & salad

This is one of Cliff's very favorite meals, he even likes it since I've 'lightened' it. It is really good, so it will probably appear on our menu at least twice a month.

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas

I have a ton of red peppers, so this is a good meal to use them up!

Wednesday: Dinner with friends

I'm supposed to bring dessert, so since it will be our one dessert for the week I want to make something really good. I've been thinking about red velvet cake. Now I used to think it was weird, but then I watched Bobby Flay on 'throwdown' against a chic that made these REALLY good looking red velvet cupcakes and my friend made one in December and I didn't get to try it and was pretty sad about it I think what I really want is the cream cheese frosting, how can you really go wrong with that? The other option is a flourless chocolate cake. I'll let you know how either turn out!

Thursday: Halibut, Roasted Potatoes & Veggies

I'll probably use my wonderful new grill pan with a little lemon, maybe some thyme or rosemary for the fish. I'm trying to have fish once a week...obviously I failed last week.

Friday: Chicken/Broccoli/Califlower Casserole

This is going to be an experiment, does that sound gross to throw califlower in there too?

Saturday: This Crust Pizza

I'm not sure what my plan is for this, I want to find a homemade crust recipe that is thin crust...we'll see how it goes.

Last Week's Menu

2008-02-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

It is kind of a funny title to post what we have eaten this last week, but I'm a little behind the game lately. Sissy and I are really big slackers! My sister the internet, blog queen...what happenend to her? What is she pregnant, working and have a couple of crazy boys to raise every day? What happenend to my 3:00am blogger? I hope that you come back to us soon. I am in need of some of those new recipes that I know you're trying.

Here is my menu from last week:

Sunday: Chicken Pot Pie, made light with Phyllo Dough

This was really good, I just made my own chicken pot pie filling and then did the phyllo dough on top, the whole thing had a little bit of a sweet, but savory taste - so good!

Monday: Chicken w/goat cheese & Basil

This is an Ina recipe, everything she makes is good. Just enough flavor from the goat cheese without being over-powering.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Down the Hill

(I did have a really good salad and pizza at CPK, how great is my husband that he splits things with me) I won't tell you what I had at Red Robbin that isn't really a part of a "healthly eating plan." :)

Thursday: Sesame Chicken w/brown basmati rice (did you get some yet sissy?) & broccoli

This was REALLY GOOD! My favorite meal of the week, and we had some good ones! Try it!

Friday: Orange Chipolte Pork Chops, Sweet Potato Chili Powder Fries & Salad

I really like these, I used my new grill pan, which is great because nothing sticks to it. It's always nice to find a new way to cook Pork Chops. I did take note on a couple of the reviews that said there wasn't enough flavor and I marinated the chops for an hour or so and added a little chili powder, garlic and orange zest, I thought they had a kick from the chipolte peppers! I love sweet potatoes this way too!

Saturday: Chicken and Dumplings & Salad

Cliff loved this! It was really good I must admit, it reminded me of something my grandma would make...looking back at this weeks menu I guess I was in the mood for comfort food. I probably has something to do with all of the snow we've been getting lately and the fact that I've been inside most days this week...I'm just starting to go crazy!

A light take on Pizza Margarita

2008-01-18T15:29:00.000-08:00

I made a great lunch today, we needed something different than the usual Turkey Sandwich. So I had some fresh Mozzarella and Basil, yum! But, no pizza dough and at 11:15 no time for dough either. What I did have was some lavash bread (really thin for roll-up sandwiches). So I thought, why not make that into a really thin crust pizza. And that is what I did, and it was super tastey! My husband loved it, we had a couple of pieces and a half of a bowl of leftover soup and it was perfect!

All I did was spread out the lavash bread, topped it with fresh motz, tomatoes, fresh basil, a little drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and a light dusting of parm. cheese! So good and easy, it would be a great dinner with a great chicken salad or something.

Try it sometime!

It's a New Year!

2008-01-16T15:51:00.000-08:00

2008 for us is getting back to healthful eathing...so with that in mind here is our menu for the week. I know the week is half over but better late than never!

Jan. 13-19

Sunday: Beef & Tomato Gratin, Salad

Monday: Turkey Chili w/cornbread topping @ Sissy's

Tuesday: Grilled Teryaki Salmon, Brown Basmati Rice & Stir-fry veggies

Wednesday: Leftover Beef & Tomato Gratin, Salad

Thursday: Braised Mushroom Chicken, Spelt & Bocollini

Friday: Sissy's Tacos (love these!)

Saturday: Whole Wheat Raviolis w/a light Tomato, Basil Sauce, Green Beans & Salad

Loved the gratin, it was a nice change from your typical heavy au gratin potatoe dish. Also nice to have everything in one dish. I'll post next week's menu soon.

Brownie Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

2007-12-25T00:14:00.000-08:00

Bake a brownie mix (as directed) in a 9 inch spring form pan. Let cool completely.Soften a half gallon of this ice cream and spread over the brownie layer (I use about 1/2 to 3/4 of the container).
Top with fresh whipped cream and chopped up Peppermint Bark (candy canes would work too!) Freeze for several hours-preferably overnight.

Thanks sissy for this great (and really easy) dessert idea! It was a hit at the Karlson's for Christmas eve! Have you noticed every Christmas dessert I've made involves Chocolate and Peppermint? There is a pattern here...

Chocolate Graham Toffee Bark

2007-12-20T18:03:00.000-08:00

These delicious toffee candies start with plain graham crackers and are topped with chocolate and macadamia nuts. They make a fabulous fast and easy gift from the kitchen for any occasion.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pound (two sticks) butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 box (about) graham crackers (not crumbs)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional) I like almonds- but pecans would be good too
PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350˚

Arrange whole graham cracker to fit the bottom of the pan in a single layer, breaking up the last few (if needed) to fit the space.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add brown sugar and white sugar. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and let the mixture gently bubble for 4 minutes. (Set a timer and watch this step closely). Remove from heat. Carefully pour sugar/butter mixture evenly over the graham cracker layer. Spread to cover. Bake for 10 minutes. When done, remove from oven and let rest until bubbling subsides. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Wait about 2 minutes for chocolate to melt, then use a spatula to gently spread chocolate chips into an even layer on top of the toffee graham cracker.

Optional: Sprinkle with the chopped nuts, pressing down gently into the chocolate. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 hours. Break into 2-inch irregular pieces. Refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: about 1 pound candy bark pieces

Peppermint Cheesecake

2007-12-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from Sunset (a few years back). I love Sunset- have you seen the article this month on Frenso's Christmas Tree Lane? Check it out if you haven't.

Here is the recipe-

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 1/2 hours, plus at least 4 hours to cool and chill
MAKES: 12 to 16 servings

12 ounces Oreos, broken into pieces
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
4 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy

1. Place cookies in a heavy zip-lock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour into a buttered 9-inch round springform pan and pour melted butter over crumbs; mix to coat, then press evenly over bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake in a 300° oven until crust is slightly darker and looks a bit dry, about 10 minutes (leave oven on).

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in sour cream. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in flour, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan over baked crust.

3. Bake until edges are just golden and center jiggles slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of pan rim. Place pan on a wire rack and cool cheesecake completely in pan. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Run a knife around rim again, then release rim. If any liquid has pooled on surface of cheesecake, blot dry gently with a paper towel.

4. Decorate top of cake with crushed peppermint candy, pressing it in gently with your hands.

Per serving: 356 cal., 61% (216 cal.) from fat; 6.3 g protein; 24 g fat (13 g sat.); 31 g carbo (0.6 g fiber); 373 mg sodium; 108 mg chol.

Notes- be sure to add candy just before serving- or else the top will turn pink the candy won't look as good.

Baking update

2007-12-17T09:38:00.001-08:00

Keeping it really simple this year...

Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Peppermint Bites

Christmas Cookie Shortcut...

2007-12-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

I love baking- but this is the craziest, busiest Christmas season I've ever experienced. So I'm looking for some short cuts. I'm not above pre-made cookie dough (okay, I used to be- but now I'm seeing the light!).

Try this-

Two ingredient Christmas cookies!

Roll the mini brownie bites into little balls (each package makes 40!) and dip the top into the peppermint crunch. Bake as directed on the Toll House package- and your friends will call you Martha! (Michelle P. did when I made these- I just smiled and nodded!).

I have to bring 4 dozen cookies to church on Sunday and Vons has the brownies bites buy one get one free- so this is my plan!

Easy Entertaining Breakfast

2007-12-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over for breakfast on Sunday morning and I made this Omelet for two (I increased it to four) and it was so good! And great because it was EASY! I highly recommend it for breakfast, it was so fun to have people over for breakfast and then you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want.....we should have breakfast with friends more often. I also made my favorite (and famous) Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (the recipe came from Jill's mom actually). I'll post that recipe later.

Little Italy

2007-12-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

This is really what my kitchen looked like about 2 hours before the party. But... here is the after... (The kitchen was clean too!)

We had a fun itunes mix going with Frank, Tony, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin that set the mood. I didn't take a lot of pictures at our house because I was busy hosting- but you can see the recipes here and here.

Christmas Around the World Progressive Party

2007-12-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

So the concept for this party was to have hors d'oeuvres at each house ending with dessert. Each home had a different country as their theme.
The first stop-
How cute is their sign?

This was not take-out for the record! These amazing asian hors d'oeuvres were made from scratch! Egg rolls, dumplings, chicken satay and lettuce wraps to DIE for! Very impressive- the other hosts including myself were feeling a little nervous after the Holck's went all out!

Great job Brad and Kel! Next post... our house aka "little italy".

Marinated Mozzarella and Grape Tomato Tree

2007-12-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

I took this Friday about 3 hours before the party. Ben is my little "helper". I'm using that term loosely. Very loosely.

This was one of my crazy ideas that actually turned out! I have lots more pictures of the party I'll be posting later today.

Merry Christmas Boys!

2007-12-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

This darling little blue kitchen is safely tucked away for Christmas morning for our two little boys! I love that it will encourage imaginary play- and who knows, maybe some day we'll have our own Emeril!

Ina's Cheese Straws

2007-12-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

I will not hide my undying love for all things Ina. These cheese straws are also on the menu for tomorrow night. I've got to pull my puff pastry out of the freezer right now before I forget. After this quick post-

2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry defrosted overnight in the refrigerator

1 extra-large egg

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup finely grated Gruyère cheese

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Roll out each sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board until it's 10 - 12 inches. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the Gruyre, 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and some pepper. With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into the puff pastry. Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Don't overbake or the cheese will burn. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Pizzettes with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto

2007-12-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

How fun does a pizzette sound? Perfect finger food for the itailan themed Christmas party on Friday! I've been looking for a great new appetizer to try out- and this is the one! This will be the first Giada recipe I've made. When I used to get a weekly produce box I made a fig, goat cheese and prosciutto pizza and it was delicious! (What else do you do with figs?).

I'm also making Ina's Cheese Straws (thanks sissy for the recommendation!). The anti-pasta platter with tons of goodies I picked up from Sam's Italian market will be the centerpiece.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Deluxe Butter Flaky Pastry Dough (Pate Brisee)

2007-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

My friend Suriya has asked me to post the pastry crust recipe I always use-

Deluxe Butter Flaky Pastry Dough (Pate Brisee)

From: Joy of Cooking: All About Pies and Tarts by Irma S. Rombauer, et. al

Excerpt:
This dough is richer in fat than ordinary flaky pastry and is thus softer and more difficult to handle, but it yields a marvelously tender; flaky crust with a superb butter flavor. While it is possible to make this dough with butter only a small amount of shortening makes it flakier without interfering with the buttery taste. Since this dough tends to puff out of shape during baking, you should not use it to make a crust with a tightly fluted or braided edge. If you want to make this in a food processor; see link below. If you need only a single pie or tart crust decrease all ingredients by half or freeze half the dough for future use.

Makes two 9-inch pie crusts, or two 9 1/2- or 10 inch tart crusts, or one covered pie crust

Using a rubber spatula, thoroughly mix in a large bowl:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon white sugar or 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Working quickly to prevent softening, cut into 1/4-inch pieces:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

Add the butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, chop the butter into pea-sized pieces. Add:

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

With a few quick swipes of the pastry blender [or two butter knives], cut the shortening into large chunks and distribute throughout the bowl. Continue to chop until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Do not let the mixture soften and begin to clump; it must remain dry and powdery. Drizzle over the flour and fat mixture:

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

Cut with the blade side of the rubber spatula until the mixture looks evenly moistened and begins to form small balls. Press down on the dough with the flat side of the spatula. If the balls of dough stick together, you have added enough water; if they do not, drizzle over the top:

1 to 2 tablespoons ice water

Cut in the water, then press with your hands until the dough coheres. The dough should look rough, not smooth. Divide the dough in half, press each half into a thick, flat disk, and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably for several hours, or for up to 2 days before rolling. [Don't skip this step] The dough can also be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 6 months; thaw completely before rolling.

Link for recipe and for directions to use your food processor: http://www.recipelink.com/ch/2002/october/jocpiesandtarts1.html

Perfect Thanksgiving Hostess Gift

2007-11-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

In our family- if you aren't hosting Thanksgiving, you are helping with dishes. Wouldn't this be a great hostess gift to bring on Thanksgiving? There is nothing better than fresh, new flour sack towels for drying dishes- and I'm in love with Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Lemon Verbena dish soap. I picked it up at Home Goods- but her products are wonderful and you can find them online.

{Note- this is not a hint for my family members- I picked up some new dish towels since mine were looking rather sad- so I'm all set. Just passing along the info for others. really.}

Finally: Quiche Recipe

2007-11-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

The long awaited quiche recipe is here! The problem is I didn’t really follow a recipe…I usually take recipes and then just tweak them a little bit so here is an example. I followed this basic Quiche Lorraine recipe (a very traditional quiche) and added some vegetables to make it a bit more full of flavor. I sautéed some red pepper, mushrooms and green onions in olive oil and added some frozen chopped spinach. I didn’t add any cayenne pepper and I’m not sure I used a whole cup of cheese, probably more like ½ – ¾ of a cup of gruyere (I love this cheese). I just added the bacon and veggies to the bottom of the tart crust before pouring the egg mixture over the top, I also just sprinkled the cheese on top. It probably doesn’t matter too much about the cheese. So I hope you all enjoy this quiche. Another thing I like to do is make this same recipe without the crust, that way you don’t feel quite as guilty when you eat the croissant (which were amazing) or scone with your crustless-quiche.

Bon Appetite!

Quiche Lorraine

The northeastern French province of Lorraine gave us this traditional savory tart of eggs, bacon and cheese that seemed to be on every weekend brunch table and ladies' luncheon menu by the mid-1960s. The classic filling ingredients are included here. Some versions add chopped onion or leek that has been sautéed in butter, a nod to the cooking traditions of neighboring Alsace. (Did I mention that I've been to the Alsace region of France...just thought you should know)

Pumpkin Scones

2007-11-16T15:25:00.000-08:00

I have been in the mood to make scones for a couple of weeks now. I was going to make some for Monica's shower, but ran out of time because I was feeling a little under the weather. What better type of scone to make than Pumpkin this time of year. We are almost to Thanksgiving and it will be time to think about peppermint and pumpkins will be just a memory for about 9 months. So I searched online to find a pumpkin scone recipe. Here is the one I made, I like it although it is not very 'pumpkinie' I added mini-chocolate chips instead of raisins because I really like a touch of chocolate with my pumpkin.

Knives

2007-11-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

So one of my big things is "Have Good Knives" and I do have some great knives, but they were DULL! So I took my own advice "Take Care of your Good Knives" and got mine sharpened a couple of weeks ago. There is a guy that is at the 'Vineyard' Farmers Market at Blackstone/Shaw every Saturday morning between 8am-12pm. His name is Budd (Julio) Solaegui. Yes I'm serious that's his name. He did a fantastic job! It's like my knives are brand new! I should have gone to see him sooner! Here is his info if anyone else is in need of some good sharpening of their good knives.

Perfect Edge Sharpening Systems of Fresno

Phone/Fax: 658-7381

Cell: 908-2191

perfectedge@sti.net

Pig Sandwich

2007-11-12T01:17:00.000-08:00

I really hate calling it that... but let me tell you this recipe from my friend Rachel is amazing. If you have ever been to Dog House Grill and ordered their pig sandwich- you will swear she used to work there. She didn't- she just experimented until she got this recipe just right. And let me tell you...it is so, so right.

Rachel's Pulled Pork

Ingredients:
1 Pork Roast (use an inexpensive cut)
1 bottle of Hickory & Brown Sugar flavored BBQ sauce, divided
1 & 1/2 cups of brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup of honey, divided
1 bottle or can of beer

sandwich rolls & butter

Place the pork roast in a crock pot. Pour a bottle/can of beer over it. Then, mix together 1/2 of a bottle of BBQ sauce, 1/4 cup of honey, and 3/4 cup of brown sugar and pour over the roast.

(Cook on high or low depending on when you're wanting it finished). It is done when you can stick a fork into it and it starts to easily shred. Then, when it's cooked, drain the "beer juice".
Mix the BBQ sauce, honey, and brown sugar together again and add it to the pork.

Butter sandwich rolls and broil til lightly toasted. (Don't even think about skipping this step)Enjoy!

Mom's Pecan Pie

2007-11-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

This is really our family's favorite Thanksgiving dessert. I made it for a dinner with friends from church tonight. {This is our friend "girl Sam" helping me make some fresh whipped cream to go on top}.

The filling turned out great- the crust however needed some help. I'm not sure what I did wrong- but I was running short on time and didn't let it chill as long as it should have. If you need a short cut Trader Joe's makes a great pastry dough. It is made with butter and tastes like home made.

Pecan Pie

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. light Karo Syrup
1 t. vanilla
2 T. butter, melted
1 c. pecans

Beat eggs and salt. Add next four ingredients. Fold in Pecans. Pour into and unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375, then lower oven to 325 and bake 35 minutes more.

Polka Dots

2007-11-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Polka dots make me happy. I'm pretty much in love with this holiday runner. I love table runners- not much to iron or get dirty for that matter. I saw this one shopping with my friend Debbie on Friday. We loved it- but not the price. It is nice and wide and made of a gorgeous fabric with individually embroidered polka dots. But it's not going to happen. Too bad my husband doesn't read this blog and get the crazy idea to surprise me with this. Too bad my sister doesn't get her employee discount anymore. Too bad...

Say Yes to Tacos

2007-11-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

Mondays are not my favorite day- and this last Monday was pretty crazy. So I said yes to tacos. Everybody makes their tacos differently. In our family growing up-- they were ground beef, taco seasoning and re-fried beans mixed together and served with all the toppings in a flour tortilla.

But Monday I really switched things up a bit. I used ground turkey, an onion, a red bell pepper, a large green pasilla chili, taco seasoning and some corn and black beans. I wanted these to be full of flavor and veggies as well.

Here was the amazing trick- I lightly fried the corn tortillas and sprinked the shells with kosher salt (I think this is the ticket friends!)

Then while the tortillas were hot, I put a little cheese in the center and then folded them in half.

Next spoon in some meat and add sour cream and lettuce- and sheer brilance has been acheived.

Say no to drugs and say yes to theses tacos.

WANTED: Quiche recipe

2007-11-05T22:54:00.000-08:00

You're slacking sissy. Please post. asap. really. I mean it. (I'm not always this bossy- right?) LSS [little sister syndrom] is a big fat lie. It doesn't exsist.

white stuff

2007-11-04T12:21:00.001-08:00

Okay- between the croissants, sugar cookies and the creme brulee- it's getting out of control! I'm going to try to go off the white stuff (sugar and flour) for a while before the holidays arrive. I made our family menu plan for November today and I left off pasta and bread- and I'm going to stay away from baking this month as much as I can. (Of course there is a certain birthday this week that is a pretty big deal...so we might have to break that rule for a day).

Monica's Brown and Lavendar Baby Shower...

2007-11-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Sissy flew out her good friend Jill (from ~~Maine~~ okay Maryland) for a brunch baby shower for Monica. It was so fun- and the food was amazing. I love quiche and I thought I made a pretty good one- but April's blew me out of the water. Please post the recipe sissy!

The darling sugar cookies are from my friend Nina that has started her own business "Baked with Love by Nina". These lavendar baby carriages were perfect!

Croissants? Check!

2007-11-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

I picked up the croissants at Le Parisien today. The boys and I split a turkey and swiss on a warm croissant! Yum! It was the last croissant of the day- the Dr. ordering his behind me was told I got the last one-my lucky day!

So at Williams Sonoma frozen croissants are about 2.60 each (plus shipping!) And today I paid about 1.25 each (and they are twice as big). I cannot wait til Saturday for Monica's shower!

Birthday Cake

2007-11-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

How cute is this train cake? The pan is a silicone mold and they "pull apart" to about the size of a cupcake. I think this is a little too much for my skill level (and the time I have) but it sure is cute!

Halloween Cookies

2007-10-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

Since it is better to give than to receive- we started a tradition of delivering cookies the night before halloween to all of the boy's little friends. Halloween is always so busy- so the night before is perfect! My plan was for the boys to have a "dress rehersal" in their costumes- but since they were delivered to the wrong address, they weren't quite ready. (They needed some alterations to say the least!). This idea started because I wanted to support my friend's new bussiness selling the most darling sugar cookies.
I bought a dozen from her (the candy corn in the center below). However, I realized I should have ordered more! So the boys helped (mainly with the sprinkles) and Tuesday we baked cookies! They turned out pretty cute! This was the first time I have made royal icing- it holds up great, dries hard for packaging, but it is not the tastiest. So I'd like to experiment with different recipes. The sugar cookies are Martha's recipe. A little hard for my taste- but again they held up great and we didn't break one! I think I'll go back to my recipe- but use her techniques (frequently chilling the dough etc.). Sugar cookies are TIME CONSUMING! But- pretty!

My kind of Pumpkin!

2007-10-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

Happy first Halloween Peter, Peter, Pumpkin eater! I'm sorry I didn't get to hug and love on you more tonight! You only get to be an ity bity pumpkin once in your life- but I was so distracted by a couple of wild Indians! You are the cutest pumpkin ever!

Baby Shower

2007-10-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Menu for Monica's shower

Vegetable Quiche

Plain/Chocolate Croissants

Orange Cranberry Scones

Fresh Fruit

Flemings...

2007-10-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

gives you complimentary creme brulee if you are celebrating a birthday! I'm sorry you missed out on this sissy! It was a great meal- thank you dad!

60 looks good!

2007-10-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

Sissy- we have nothing to worry about with mom's genes (not to be confused with mom jeans!). She looks so young...we have it made! Happy birthday mom! You are an amazing mom who has taught us many important lessons- especially about love and family- and how they go hand in hand. We love being your daughters. Thank you for laughing with us. And singing at the dinner table (well, just when the guys are gone, right?). And hurray to dad for taking us all out to eat tomorrow night to celebrate as a family- I can't wait!

Lemon Cheesecake to die for...

2007-10-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

LEMON CURD MARBLED CHEESECAKE

For lemon curd

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For crust1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) springform pan

Accompaniment: blueberries

Make lemon curd: Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes. Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Make and bake crust: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. 3Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of springform pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in springform pan on a rack.Make filling and bake cheesecake: Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.

Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.

Cooks' Notes:

Lemon curd can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.

Crust (without filling) can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 2 days. Cheesecake must be completely chilled before covering to prevent condensation on its surface.

Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd.Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.

Cooks' Notes: Lemon curd can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered. Crust (without filling) can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature. Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 2 days. Cheesecake must be completely chilled before covering to prevent condensation on its surface.

Apple Peacan Salad

2007-10-26T15:08:00.001-07:00

October's Better Homes and Gardens had a great section on Apple Recipes. This salad was amazing! The only thing we did different, was add some blue cheese. The dressing is really good too. I highly recommend this for thanksgiving if you are looking for a special green salad for the big day.

Mom's Birthday Dinner

2007-10-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I'm not worthy of my sister's culinary genius.

I put myself in charge of setting a date for the party (no small task!), inviting the guests and of course hosting the party at my home (read=cleaning the house). Our fabulous sister-in-law did an amazing job decorating and setting a gorgeous table (not to mention providing the talented wait staff). But April, she baked, marinated and cooked her booty off! Not only was everything delicious- it was beautiful! Our mom enjoyed the evening with her girlfriends—and we enjoyed dreaming about a future in party planning. To see the menu for the evening click here and the recipe for the risotto here. More recipes from the evening to come soon…

Salad Dressing Challenge: Red Wine Vinaigrette

2007-10-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

Red Wine Vinaigrette
3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions: In blender, add all ingredients except the olive oil. With blender on, add oil in a slow, steady stream. Serve with favorite salad greens. Makes about 1 1/4 cups. Refrigerate any leftover dressing.

Recipe Review: This was a little too mustard-y for me. I choose this recipe because I thought the sugar would balance out the acidity. But I think I want something a little sweeter. I might try it again with only a teaspoon of mustard and a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Making fresh flowers last for weeks

2007-10-23T23:16:00.000-07:00

I love having fresh flowers on the dinner table. It makes dinner just a little more special. Since I’m lacking an Oprah like income level, this doesn’t happen all the time. But when I spring for a bouquet at Costco, or my hubby brings me flowers (or in this case, my sweet sister), I want to make them last.

I do this by 1.) changing the water often and 2.) picking out the dead or dying flowers and filling in with random greenery and blooms from my yard.

I don’t have a cutting garden, but just a few rose bushes and lots of shrubs. You can do this too by just thinking creatively. Here are two arrangements I stretched:

To this arrangement I added those blue flowers and the green berries from a shrub. I also filled in with the last few roses of the season. There weren’t enough to make a bouquet of their own, but mixed in they look fine.

After about half of the original bouquet had faded, I removed the dying flowers and added berries and leaves from a tree to the fall flowers I had been given.

Using a little creativity and what is growing in my yard I can stretch my flower arrangements for weeks…works for me!

For more “works for me Wednesday” tips, check out Shannon’s Blog- Rocks in my Dryer.

Mom's 60th Birthday Dinner

2007-10-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Menu:

Rosemary/Lemon Roasted Chicken Breast
Butternut Squash Risotto
Green Bean Bundles
Salad Greens w/Caramelized Apples
Crunchy Baguette
Lemon Cheesecake w/Fresh Berries

Rosemary Topiary

2007-10-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

I just picked up this rosemary topiary from Lowes last night. I replanted it in this pot I had (from my dead kumquat tree). Hopefully the rosemary fares better than the poor kumquat.

Weekly Menu Plan

2007-10-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday-Beef Stew with mashed potatoes
Monday-Orange Chicken, Asian veggies and rice
Tuesday-Chicken Spaghetti
Wednesday- Pork chops with apples, caramelized onions and sweet potatoes

Thursday- Mom's Birthday Dinner Party with her friends (April-post menu when you have time)
Friday-Date Night! (CSUF Football Game) Hallelujah!
Saturday-Dinner with our small group @ Michelle and Joe's
Sunday- Family Birthday dinner for mom (How does a couple different soups and bread sound?)

On the menu plan this week...

2007-10-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

...Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti. It looks like a classic (although I've sworn off cream of anything soup, I think I can't resist trying this recipe. Click here for the recipe and step by step directions with pictures! Or a printable recipe card here. Her cooking blog is really fun so is her regular blog about life on a ranch. I'll let you know how we liked the Chicken Spaghetti.

What's cooking...Sissy?

Menu Monday (on Wednesday...)

Chocolate Fix

Review: Trader Joes Baking Mixes

Extra Large Lasagna

Menu Monday

Ina's Granola

Round Table

Baked Oatmeal

Shredded Pork Tacos

Menu Monday

Mad Hungry for Lentil Soup!

Christmas...

Salmon Citrus Salad

Easy Chocolate Frosting

Chicken Pasta

Weekly Produce Delivery

Cupcakes

Chicken Pot Pie

Three Bean Dip

Barley Beef Soup

Potato & Leek Soup

February's Challenge

Another use for pesto

Directions

Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients

Preparation

Chicken Mozzerella Panini

Simple Vinaigrette

Making Pesto

Georgia Peach Cupcakes

Pork Chops

Banana Muffins

Ina's Grilled Asian Salmon

Chicken and Dumplings

Menu Planning

Tangerines

Going Green at the Grocery Store

Hershey's Cinnamon Chips

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Kahlua Cake

Chocolate Kahlua Bundt Cake

Thanksgiving!! We Survived!!

Mac-n-Cheese

Happy 30th Sissy!

Edamame!

Roasted Fingerlings and Green Beans

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Freezer Cooking

Baby Shower

Ina's Croissant Bread Pudding

Dinner this week:

My new favorite sandwich

Menu for Bridal Shower

I *heart* Ina

Outrageous Brownies

My new favorite snack

Pioneer Women's Most Favorite Salad Ever. Ever, Ever, Ever!

Blog Abandonment

This Week's Menu

Last Week's Menu

A light take on Pizza Margarita

It's a New Year!

Brownie Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Chocolate Graham Toffee Bark

Peppermint Cheesecake

Baking update

Christmas Cookie Shortcut...

Easy Entertaining Breakfast

Little Italy

Christmas Around the World Progressive Party

Marinated Mozzarella and Grape Tomato Tree

Merry Christmas Boys!

Ina's Cheese Straws

Pizzettes with Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese, and Prosciutto

Deluxe Butter Flaky Pastry Dough (Pate Brisee)

Perfect Thanksgiving Hostess Gift

Finally: Quiche Recipe

Pumpkin Scones

I heart Ina