Putting food on the table

The husband is now back in the full swing of classes and homework and reading and paper writing and homework, and more, etc.... So his wife is back in the kitchen.

This means that I need your recipes. PLEASE. Dooney is amazing at choosing recipes and going to the grocery store - it'll take an entire hour out of his day. Just now I realized that I've been looking through recipes for 30 minutes and I only have a chicken salad picked out - gimme a break. I truly suck at this. So, I was thinking that if you could just leave a link to an online recipe that you enjoy, it would really help me out. Because I know I can count on you.

And to make this a fair trade, I am sharing our favorite recipe with you. This is our go-to meal. We started eating it every Sunday during ski season because it's quick and easy and we always have the ingredients in the kitchen. and after a weekend on the slopes, the last thing you want to do is pick your brain for tonight's menu, grocery shopping, and preparing a meal. So this is what we have. It's delicious, cheap, vegetarian, and easy and most of the ingredients come from your cabinet (not your refrigerator) so I always keep my pantry stocked with these things.

It comes from a childhood friend of mine's sister's blog. Ha! Who is an amazing homemaker with a large family. So this recipe makes enough for 3 meals for us and it's just as yummy as leftovers. (thanks, Kristen, you are a life saver!)

Here it is:

Rice and Bean Wrap by the Hopeful Homemaker

You should just click on the name of this recipe to go to her website. She does such a good job with her instructions. You know, Pioneer Woman style. Just trust me.

(her picture)

Christmas Coffee

This jolly time of year has me craving something a little more festive than my morning favorite (black coffee). So I threw some of the season's best flavors together to have a special cup of Christmas coffee love!

1/4 Cup water with scoops of hot cocoa in the bottom of the coffee pot before brewing

1 tsp. of cinnamon on top of the grounds

Yields a delicious cup of Christmas coffee. 

Poured into my favorite Christmas mug and topped with marshmallows, I'm in the Yuletide mood!

Best Apple Cider Ever

Right now I have a batch of Apple Cider brewing on my stove top. It smells amazing.

Today the husband and I are stranded in our little house. We were supposed to be driving to Denver for Thanksgiving, but we were hit by an intense blizzard last night. This morning, we woke to a world of stillness, cold (8 degrees), and white. We are snowed-in and I am hoping to make the most of it (movies and apple cider sound pretty good, huh?).

This is my third batch of Cider in the last two months. It's amazing. When I used to work at ACSI headquarters, Teresa Bolton would have cider brewing all day on special days for the taking. And I loved it. I loved it so much that my first Autumn away from ACSI, I emailed her and asked for her recipe. I can't enjoy an Autumn season without it.

I thought it would be a great thing to share with you, just in time for your holiday.

Teresa's Apple Cider

• One gallon of 100% Apple Cider
• One orange cut into fours
• Ten cloves on the peel of each fourth of the orange
• Four cinnamon sticks

Brew for a minimum of two hours, covered. 
Leftover cider put back into original cider container and refrigerate. 

A Favorite

Orange-Yogurt Cake

Yummiest, easiest, quickest cake EVER

Delicious cup of Autumn

Today is the Fall Equinox. Wow. I am so grateful to live in a place where seasons change so drastically. I LOVE experiencing each unique season, although Autumn is by far my favorite.

Today, in honor of Autumn, I made myself my first ever home-made pumpkin spice latte. Starbucks has NOTHING on this delicious drink!

Here, indulge yourself:
1 cup milk
1 tbs. pumpkin puree
1 tbs. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
heat and stir together, not to boil (i just use my steamer on my espresso machine)

Layer your cup like this:
2 oz espresso (or brewed rich coffee)
milk/pumpkin mixture
foam/whipped cream
spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc...)

If you're not into coffee, you can definitely leave it out (and then check yourself into a mental institution!!!), in which case this would simply be a "steamer" instead of a "latte". Or you could double the recipe and use it like a creamer in your morning coffee instead. Enjoy.

By the way, my momma has been visiting so that is why I neglected you for so long. I have a lot to share with you, so stay posted!

Quinoa Taco Salad

In the last two weeks I have made this recipe twice. It is a real winner. We enjoy it so much every time!

Here are some wonderful things about it:

• It is super healthy, vegetarian, low-carb
• Since it is served chilled, I can make it in the morning or the night before and then just toss it over the leaves
• It is just as good as left-overs
• It can easily be altered to your personal taste - we will add tomatillo and jalapeno next time

Quinoa Taco Salad

by Katie Goodman of goodLife{eats}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• half a red bell pepper, chopped
• half a green bell pepper, chopped
• half a yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons chili powder, depending heat preferences
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1 -15 ounce can black beans, drained
• 3/4 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 2 limes
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6-8 ounces baby spinach
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1/3 cup cheddar or feta cheese
• 1 avocado, diced

Instructions:

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.

Meanwhile, swirl a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent and tender. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne and peppers and saute an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips like you would shred iceberg lettuce for tacos. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. Top each plate with a scoop of the quinoa salad. Top each salad with your choice of cheese and diced avocado. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

I obviously cut and pasted these instructions from Katie's blog. You should go there - she has a lot of great recipes (liked up top).

I was talking to Anna on the phone yesterday about this recipe and she mentioned the expense of Quinoa. It is expensive. However, if you know someone with a Costco membership (thanks mom!), then you can get a humungo bag of it for the same price as a tiny box of it from the healthy food isle in your grocery store. And it is a very healthy substitute to rice and other carb-ey fillers -something that maybe should be a staple in your kitchen anyway.

A-mAzing Fajitas

This week, i pulled out my all-time favorite cook book, the Sugar Solution Cookbook by Prevention in order to find some healthy recipes for dinner.

We like to make varieties of Mexican dishes around here. They always usually cheap and usually very yummy.

This is the best marinade I have ever tasted for Beef Fajitas. Landon and I were thrilled and made sure to place a bookmark in our cook book. This is a very cheap and easy marinade and only has to sit for 4 hours.

Here's the recipe:

Beef Fajita Marinade 
you can print the recipe from Prevention's website here

(photo by joshbousel)

Stuff:

• 1 T olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
•  2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 lb lean round tip sirloin, trimmed of all visible fat
• 1/4 t salt

In a resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, garlic, lime juice, lime zest, and cumin. Add the sirloin and toss well to coat. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the grill or broiler. Remove the sirloin from the marinade, reserving any leftover marinade, and sprinkle with the salt. Grill or broil 4" from the heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 145F for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil.

Cook your fav. fajita fixins and enjoy!

South of the Border Stew

(photo by ::big daddy k::)

When I was a little girl, this quickly became my favorite dish. And when i would visit home while away at college and Mom asked me what I wanted her to cook, this was always it. My fav. family dish. So easy to cook, very cheap and so very yummy - and just as delicious as left-overs. 


I cooked this for the McBrayers (read triple the recipe) while we were in GA for Christmas and I've had familia asking for the recipe ever since. Enjoy:


South of the Border Stew


Ingredients:
1lb. ground beef
1 onion
1 can tom. paste
1 can tom. sauce
3 cups water
1t salt
1t cumin
1/2t garlic salt
1 C cooked rice
1T sugar
1t oregano

Directions:
Brown meat and chopped onion. add sauce, paste, water, oregano, salt, sugar, cumin, garlic, and simmer until reduced (about 15-20 mins, i think). stir in cooked rice at the end.

We serve this over a plate of fritos and top it with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, coconut, jalapenos, or whatever else you might want!

Bonnye's Breakfast in a glass

Landon's parents made us Bonnye Woodlief's famous breakfast smoothies while we were at their beach house with them this summer. They made them for us again while they were visiting us here in Salt Lake City this fall.

We've been enjoying them every once in awhile ever since. I thought I should pass it on, because we all love it.

Disclaimer: this was never written down, so this may not be exactly right, but it's still yummy.

Ingredients:
Ice
1 cup green tea, brewed concentrated
1 banana
1 cup of yogurt
A handful of almonds
1-2 tsp of ground flax
1/4 - 1/2 cup of frozen blue berries

(I've been known to add orange juice, or vanilla ice cream on occasion. and keep in mind that the measurements are guestimants.).

:::::::BLEND::::::::

It's obviously full of antioxidants and is really yummy. Landon and I both like it!

Happy blending

and slurping...

Vegetarian Recipes

For the sisters. And those of you who are trying to eat more vegetarian, these are a few that we really like. I'm going out of town Wed - Fri so this week i am making both of these since we will have plentiful left overs. Landon will be set for dinner for the rest of the week. And the best thing about eating these two for left-overs is that they're just as good a second time!

Both of these recipes are from my favorite cook book, The Sugar Solution Cookbook by "Prevention" (this link will actually take you to the entire cookbook on "Prevention"'s website. definitely go there.) I also included the link to each individual recipe which you can access by clicking on the name of the dish.

Spicy Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, coarsely choppped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" chunks
• 1 pkg. frozen corn (10 oz)
• 4 cups [free range] chicken broth
• 1/2 C salsa
• 1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

In a Dutch oven, warm the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, salt and black pepper. Cover and cook, stirring often, for 1- minutes, or until tender. Stir in the cumin and oregano.

Add the sweet potato, corn, and broth. Cover, increase the heat, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 12 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender. Stir in the salsa and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes longer.

Ladle into bowls and top each with some of the avocado, cilantro, and extra salsa, if you want to.

Makes 8 first course servings (or 4 -5 main dish servings)
prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 27 minutes.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
This is a standing staple recipe for our family in the winter. I make it probably every three weeks. Some of the ingredients are a little pricey (ricotta AND mozzarella AND parmesan - oh my!) but it makes so much that i usually think of it as buying ingredients for 2 or 3 meals instead of just one.

• 3 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2' thick lengthwise slices
• 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1' wide strips
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 box (8oz) sliced mushrooms
• 4 medium carrotts, coarsely shredded (i grate mine)
• 1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (10 oz)
• 1 container (15oz) reduced fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 jar (26oz) spaghetti sauce
• 9 no boil lasagna noodles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat the over to 450 F. Coat bottoms and sides of 2 baking sheets with cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini and peppers on the baking sheets. Coat with cooking spray. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until tender, moving the sheets to the opposite over racks once. Remove sheets and reduce the over temp to 350F

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Stir in the carrots and cook for 1 minute longer. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir the spinach, ricotta, parmesan, and egg until blended.

Spread 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking dish. Top with 3 of the noodles, overlapping if necessary. Spoon on on-half of the ricotta mizture, spreading to cover the noodles. Top with one-half of the roasted veggies and one-half of the mushroom mixture. Spoon 1/2 C of the sauce over the veggies and sprinkle with 1/2C of the mozzarella. Repeat the layering. Top with the remaining 3 noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the noodles. Cover the dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 C mozzarella. Bake for 20 -25 minutes longer, or until hot and bubbly. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings
prep time: 35 minutes, cook 1 hour and 10 minutes.

this one is a bit tedious as far as the prep work goes. but it's worth it. we love this.

and the winner is.....

Okay, so we've completed our week of Real Simple recipes and I'll share with you our favorite one. We rate all of our recipes 1 - 10 after we make them (as long as i actually follow the recipe), and this one got a 9, which is pretty dang good - we're pretty tough critics.

Here it is:
Potato, Leek, and Feta tart:
(picture from Real Simple's website)
Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 20m
Total Time: 1hr 20m

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into half-moons
2 small zucchini, cut into half-moons
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled Feta (about 2 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 Red Bliss potatoes (8 ounces), thinly sliced
1 store-bought 9-inch piecrust

Directions
Heat oven to 375º F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks, zucchini, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the Feta and dill. Add the potatoes and toss to combine.
On a piece of parchment paper, roll the piecrust to a 12-inch diameter. Slide the paper onto a baking sheet. Spoon the potato mixture onto the piecrust, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold the edge of the piecrust over the edge of the potato mixture. Bake (covering with foil if the crust gets too dark) until the piecrust is golden brown and the potatoes are tender, 50 to 60 minutes.


So, so, so delicious. Landon and i actually ate the whole thing between the 2 of us, but we didn't have any sides except for green beans, so there wasn't much to fill our tummies.

Also, we couldn't taste the feta too well (and i even put in a bit more than the recipe calls for), so i think next time i will take add the feta on top during the last 20 minutes of the baking.

ENJOY!