Time in the Kitchen

Today I spent a few hours in the kitchen.  I did a bunch of food prep for this week's meals.

For starters, I made dessert.
I am trying to make food that is as natural as possible.
These babies only have 4 ingredients!
Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

Expensive, but easy to make.  I am trying to adopt the phrase "Pay the farmer, or pay the pharmacist."
Son, LOVED them and asked for another.  Hubby liked them.  I really liked them, though I think I would double the chocolate part and maybe decrease the coconut oil just a tad.  Though I think I need to buy coconut oil in bulk.

Next up was the food prep.  (I realize that some of the recipes/ingredients are considered processed, but I am learning, ease up.  heehee)

Here I have chopped vegies for:
Pork and Vegetable Lo Mein from this months issue of Taste of Home Simple and Delicious.
Chicken Wontons (tonight's dinner) would double the filling.  I had some mashed avocado and added it to the filling.
Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce
Grapes to munch on.
Italian Chicken ( a family fave) from a scrapping friend.
  Throw all of the ingredients into crock pot and let it cook!
  1/2 stick butter (or equal amount of coconut oil)
  1 brick cream cheese
  1 can cream of chicken
  1 envelope of Italian dressing
  good amount of any cut of chicken you want.  There is plenty of sauce.
  Serve or noodles, rice, potatoes, whatever suits your family's taste.

Pork for above Lo Mein.
Lentil Brown Rice Casserole...I am going out on a limb with this one. 

We'll see how all of this food prep works out and if I can pull it off on a regular basis.  Looking at the photos it doesn't look like much work, but it was.

Right away I did this too.  Not good, but not bad either.  More of a nuisance.

Have a good evening!

Cleaner Eating

Don't have much time to write but I wanted to post a few food items that I have tried and or made.

We have been trying out Gluten-free food and my tummy sure seems to like it.
Here are a few items I picked up at a local shop.  They sell dented cans, boxes, etc. for a lesser price.  Which when it comes to buying GF items less is a real deal.

 Aleias's cookies were delish!  Hubby said they taste like Grandma's.  I have yet to try the pancake mix.  I do know that King Arthur products are good.

 The Pumpkin Butter, our daughter has it on toast every morning.  I don't know if anyone else has tried it.  I did buy it with her in mind.  Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco bars...they taste natural, good for you.  So, the kids didn't like them.  Hubby and I did.  They are rather small, but filling.

 While this cereal is not GF, I have to tell you what son said while holding it in his hand.  "I would hate to be in the advertisement for this."  (at 14, anything naked is still gross and funny)

I made this for mine and hubby's lunch.  Iceberg lettuce, chickpeas, cabbage, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and a couple of toppings.

Last night I made this.
Gluten Free, Oil Free Baked Eggplant Parmesan

 And geez, I forgot the name of the potatoes, but you peel a potato, cut thin slices almost to the bottom (not cutting through is the hard part), sprinkle with melted butter, and your favorite seasonings, bake at 350 for 50 min.

The potatoes were a hit, the eggplant, not so much.  Hubby and I liked it.  The kids can be a hard sell.  I am serving the eggplant again tonight with turkey.

Gotta run, the oven is about to ding.
Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Dinner

You know I am always trying out new things as far as health and food go.
Tonight I made a gluten-free (as far as I know), vegetarian dish that was really much tastier than the original.

I switched up a few for me.  I made the "real" recipe for the fam and a small dish for me.

The original recipe: Well, the Christine version of the original with noodles.

Penne Bean (sausage) Bake
1lb. penne or medium tube pasta
1 small onion chopped
1 TBL olive oil
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb. turkey Italian sausage, casings removed)
3 cups (or more) fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan chesse

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  In large skillet saute onion with oil, add sausage until no longer pink or beans.   Drain, in needed.  Add sauce and noodles.
  Transfer to a 3-qt. casserole dish coated with oil spray.  Cover and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake until cheese in slightly browned.

Yields: 9 servings

The Gluten Free Version
Enough Quinoa to equal 1 cup pasta. 
(I just made a small amount and spooned the onions, garlic, beans, and sauce over about 3/4 cup Quinoa.)
1 small onion chopped
2 heaping tsp. crushed garlic
1 TBL olive oil
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 lb. turkey Italian sausage, casings removed)
3 cups (or more) fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan chesse

Cook quinoa according to package directions; drain.  In large skillet saute onion with oil, add sausage until no longer pink or beans.   Drain, in needed.  Add sauce and noodles.
  Transfer to a 3-qt. casserole dish coated with oil spray.  Cover and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake until cheese in slightly browned.  For vegan, leave off cheese.

Enjoy!

Seriously good!

 In attempts to make more of our food by hand and to provide healthy food for my family, I try to reproduce the main food items we eat.  We eat a LOT of granola bars!  While this is not the healthiest, it sure beats store bought any day.  The only down side is that they go so fast.  I seriously have to limit the kids (and myself)!

I replace the wheat germ with Ground Flax Seed all of the time.
I need to make these again this week!

What is something you regularly make homemade for your family?

Breakfast Casserole

This comes from a good friend of ours.
Enjoy!  This one is a keeper.  We are a family of four and it is almost gone!

Just make sure you read the directions all of the way through! (insert hand slapping head!)

Thanks Norma!

My Everyday Smoothie

This is really for my mom, but you can enjoy too!
For a few months now I have been drinking this for lunch (sometimes dinner).
You have heard me talk about it a few times.
It is really a create your own smoothie kind of thing.
Which I love.
Here are the goodies I put into my shake.  (Sometimes the fruits vary.)

Here's the basic goodies for the smoothie-yogurt, milk, banana, kale (or spinach).

I don't measure, ever.

It will all blend better done in this order.  The fruit weighs down the kale.

I cut up my own papaya and any other fruit about to over ripen.  I LOVE blueberries on here too.

It usually makes more then this.  I usually completely top of the cup.

Some tips/notes:
Mangos make the smoothie thick.
Apples, grapes and skinned fruit don't get all of the way smooth.
You can add vanilla extract if you need to sweeten it up.  (I use unsweetened yogurt.)
Depending on the fruit you may need to add more milk.
Spinach blend smoother.
Kale tastes more "green".

Feeling Domestic

Yesterday I was feeling pretty domestic.

I made my own vegetable stock and pesto.  

Here they are, frozen.  Don't they look like jars of honey.

I use the fresh basil right outside our door.  This plant started as a seed.  I had originally planted it in the garden on the backyard.  It wasn't doing good, so I moved to it to the front and went wild.

The basil totally over shadows the lemon thyme.

Here's the Vegetable Stock Recipe:

(from fresh and fast vegan cook book)

2 Tbl olive oil

3 medium onions, roughly chopped

4 carrots,  roughly chopped

2 leeks,  roughly chopped

1 celery stick,  roughly chopped

1 small green lettuce

1/2 head of broccoli, cut into florets

1 bay leaf

4 black peppercorns

pinch of sea salt

handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

12 cups (6 pints) water

*Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions, carrots, leeks, celery, lettuce, and broccoli, and sweat the vegies over low heat for 20 min.  Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, salt, parsley and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 1 1/4 hours over a very low heat-it is important that the liquid only just bubbles.  Every now and then you will need to skim the form from the top of the liquid with a large spoon.

*Strain the stock, making sure you don't push any of the vegies through the sieve.

*Let it cool, and refrigerate (or freeze) until needed.

Makes approx. 2 qts

prep time: 20 min.

cooking time: 1 1/4 hours

A New Favorite

I have a new favorite coffee.

 I found it in a WalMart ad of all places!

Holiday Au Lait Recipe (modified)

It honestly tastes better than it looks.

Holiday Au Lait Recipe (modified)
Ingredients:
2 cups hot brewed coffee
2 cups milk, heated
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (or less)

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a container, mix, and serve.
DO NOT put back into coffee carafe whi e the machine is still on.
Taste much better warm.

Vegetarian Cooking

So, you all know that hubby and I are part-time vegetarians, right?
Well, I have been trying new recipes here and there.  We are getting some favorites too.
Here's one from Three Cooks Too Many.
Reuben Burgers

It was good at the first few bites.  Then you had to keep eating because, golly, it's good for you.
All-in-all it got one BIG thumbs down from son who hates anything bean and three this was okay but don't make it again.

So, I am sending the recipe off to my mom.  She is much more vegetarian than we are.

are you serious?

can someone tell me, where did this year go?

i haven't meant to not write for so long, but b.u.s.y. is what i've been.

so, here's goes a random catch up for you.

thanksgiving was great!  the weather so nice we ate outside.  (first time ever.)

unfortunately this is the only photo i was able to take.  we were just setting up.

we had so much leftovers that i actually had to throw some out.

onto our venture into vegetarianism.  we are much more vegetarian then vegan.

i want to show you a couple of recipes i have made this week.

this one i'll call veggie stack.  (taste better then it looks.)

sliced eggplant, sauteed in olive oil, garlic, chopped onions and balsamic vinegar.

sliced blanched tomatoes

sliced zuchs, sauteed like the eggplant

layered with feta

topped with salt and pepper

warmed in oven

served with wild rice with browned pinon nuts

YUM!

This one is from Two Peas and Their Pods.   LONG name which basically tells you everything that's in it.

canneli (sp?) beans

spinach and fresh basil torn

artichoke hearts, drained and cut

sourdough flute bread (everything tastes better with sourdough bread)

feta, 1 tbls lemon juice, salt and pepper

cut and brush with olive oil the bread (i sprinkled them w/garlic powder), toast for ten minutes

mix the rest of ingredients in bowl and serve over warm bread.

i loved this one.  wasn't sure about the fresh basil, but loved it.  hubby liked this one too.

Being Fruit-tee

Ready for a SUPER easy, extra tasty fruit recipe?

Pile your favorite fruit into a bowl.

(cantaloupe doesn't taste too good for this.) 

Top with vanilla yogurt and cinnamon.

Amounts depend on the amount of fruit.

Give it a good few stirs.

Enjoy!

You can keep the yogurt mixture separate in a bowl and dip the fruit.

This is GREAT for picky fruit eaters.

bistochitos and too much food

This morning I am home from church. 

Our son was up most of the night, more moaning than anything else.

Too much, too many combinations of food the past two days did his poor tummy in, we think.

We a wonderful Christmas with friends.  Stayed up too late and we all ate too much.

Photos of the great time we had, of the food we made, gifts we got...you ask.

Batteries not charged.  

My gift to the kids!  hee hee  They were pretty excited.

The batteries died right after this photo.  Sorry I don't have more.

Biscochitos, also known as biscochos (depending on if you're from the north or south), are the state cookie in New Mexico and have a long tradition in the state.  Some call them an afro-de-ze-ak.   They were originally introduced to Mexico by Spanish explorers in the 16th Century.

(information adapted from here)

While you can serve them all year-round, they are more commonly served Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.  One other New Mexican tradition on Christmas Eve are the luminarias.  A small town near us has a luminaria display every Christmas Eve.  There is one house that hands out biscochitos.  We always make sure to stop there!

Now for the recipe.  I noted the few changes that we do.

Biscochitos

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups lard (or butter, though lard tastes more authentic)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons anise seed (can use 1 tsp seed and 1 tsp ground anise)

2 eggs

1/4 cup brandy (can omit)(if omitted, add milk or water to moisten)

I like to add about 2-3 teaspoons anise extract

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the lard and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Mix in the anise seed/ground anise, and beat until fluffy. Stir in the eggs one at a time. Add the sifted ingredients and brandy, and stir until well blended.

On a floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/2 or 1/4 inch thickness, and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. The traditional is fleur-de-lis. You can also form small balls, then roll them in the sugar cinnamon mixture.  Place cookies onto baking sheets. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the tops of the cookies.

Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.

Enjoy!
 
I also made my Mother-in-law's cheesy potatoes.  We brought back an empty dish. 

the tale of two chairs

A quick note before I tell you about the chairs:

I have hardly taken any meds for the GERD in two weeks! 

I KNOW that God healed me, because I could not do that before. 

 I would be in alot of pain.

Priase God!

Now onto the chairs.

I may redo our kitchen table one of these days.

(out of my comfort zone) 

I may want to have mix-matched chairs.

(love it in mags and books, but not sure if I will love it in real life in my dining room.)

So with that in mind, I found this chair which is in need of some serious repair for 50 cents!! 

(even if I mess it up...no biggie...50 cents!)

I took hubby over to the thrift store and asked him if it could be fixed. 

He gave me the go ahead. 

(which means he'll help.  heehee)

Some sanding, paint, material, and the back put on and she should look grand!

Remember this chair?

I showed it to you here.

I didn't redo much other then the fabric.

It is much nicer to look at.

I had photos of me working on it.  Where they are???

All I did was staple the fabric on,

draw lines on, tape and then paint.

Our son said it looks like a race car. 

(He hasn't seen the blogs with the feed sacks, etc.)

Hubby, is happy I am happy!

Now for the food!

I LOVE brisket!  I mean L.O.V.E.

I came up with this yummy recipe.

It's all to your tastes and depending on the amount of meat you have.

Clean Your Fridge Brisket

Brisket, here I used about 2-3 lbs.

Ranch Dressing, maybe about 1 cup

Sweet Pickle relish, 2 TBLS

Dijoin Mustard, 1 TBLS

Housain Sauce, just a dab, hubby isn't hip on the taste that much.

Soy Sauce. A shake, shake, shake will probably do.  Ok, shake some more, it's fun!

Mix your sauces in a bowl and pour over the brisket.

I had to make more.  I wanted the brisket to be good and covered.

Slow cook.  Shred with fork.  Spoon sauce from slow cooker over the meat.

Can be served with bread, as in a sandwich or eaten as is.

Enjoy!

The F-Word

I know...you don't like to hear it or say it.  It can conjure up some bad thoughts.  But sometimes you just need to say it.

I'm talking about...fiber.

We have tried to eat healthy (not crazy healthy) over the years and have found ways to add fiber to our diet.
Now more then before I need to add fiber to my diet.  (side note...the problems I mentioned in an earlier post were some health problems I was having.)  I know we all have heard of the benefits from adding fiber to our diets.  Well, it's not all bad.  Take last night's dinner for example (sorry no pics).  I took a chicken recipe and replaced it with two types of beans.  It was a hit.  Except with our son, he doesn't like beans.

Cheesy Beans Simmer

Two cans beans (I used red and great northern), drained and rinsed
One can cream of chicken
4oz cheese, you know the block kind you use for nachos
Broccoli enough for your family
Cooked brown rice, again enough for your family

Cook the rice and the broccoli.  Heat the beans in a skillet with some oil.  Once heated add the cream of chicken and the cheese.  I added some garlic and onion powder.  Stir until melted and well mixed.  Mix the cooked broccoli in and serve over the rice.

That's it!  I am sure can add whatever else you like.  Our daughter went in for seconds!

Cooking with PW

I am sure you know about the Pioneer Woman. Well, we are hooked! I have made probably about 6-8 of her recipes. my hubby and I like her so much I bought him her cookbook for his b-day.
Last Thursday we had our pastor and his family over (they are leaving :( :( ) I made this dessert for them and wanted to share this one with you.

Mocha Brownies
makes 16 (very rich) servings

Disclaimer, I tried taking photos of just about each step, but I think you'll get the idea. These are very good and rich. I would half my piece and then come back later to finish. Well worth the sugar rush and the crash afterward! Most of the following is from PW's cookbook. Italicized words are mine.

Brownies
four 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter (watch out Paula Deen)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
**1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Mae's Mocha Icing
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
5 cups powered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 3/4 cup brewed coffee (I used the strong brew setting for this), cooled to room temp

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

2. To make brownie batter, place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. I melted mine in a small sauce pan.

3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set it aside and let id cool slightly.

4. In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs.

5. With the mixer on low speed (I just used the whisk.) drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and mix.

6. Add the flour to the bowl and mix until combined; do not over mix.

7. Pour the batter in the baking pan. (I forgot this photo!)

8. Spread it to even out the surface. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until center is no longer soft. (This one too.)

9. Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing. (**Note: I used self-rising flour. So I think that is why the edges are so high. The center took much longer to cook. Then it sank when cooled. PW's did NOT look like this!)

10. To make the icing, in a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla.

11. Mix until lightly combined, then add 1/2 cup of the coffee.

12. Whip (I did use the electric beater here.) it until the icing is desired consistency. If the icing is overly thick, add 1/4 cup more coffee.

13. It should be very light and fluffy.

14. Ice the cooled brownies, spreading the icing on thick. (It will be very think.) Refrigerate until the icing is firm. Then slice the brownies into squares.

I didn't take any photos of the brownies cut up. I thought PW had these on her blog, but no. If you look close to the photo above you can see her cookbook. In the upper right hand corner there's a photo of her brownies.

Very yummy!