Pumpkin Pound Cake

A few weeks ago I was on a roll with my blog or at least my eating. Planning and making. Here's one product of that week, a pumpkin pound cake. I took this recipe from the land o' lakes web page. Although I added more cinnamon than the below recipe calls for I felt like something was still missing. I may work to tweak this recipe a bit OR just create my own pumpkin recipe because it is that fall harvest season!

Here's the recipe I used:

Pound Cake
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice* I choose to use this instead: 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp ginger

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups Butter, softened
6 Eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk

What to do:
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine sugar and 1 1/2 cups butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding eggs one at a time, until well mixed. Add pumpkin; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture alternately with 3/4 cup milk, until well mixed.

Spoon batter into greased and floured 12-cup Bundt® pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.

I also made a simple glaze using powdered sugar, milk, butter and vanilla extract. The measurements are really iffy so at this time I can't tell you how to do it. It's all about eyeballing it. I know, I know, that's not good enough!

As I said, I hope to have another pumpkin recipe made and to post. What's your favorite pumpkin dish?

Love.

A while back I was using my stand mixer a lot. There were cakes being made, whipped cream being whipped up and it was just beautiful. It reminded me of the love that came from this mixer. It has a history, a little sordid and slightly embarrassing to myself. It is not one of my finer moments, more of awful selfishness. And I want to tell this story now. This post doesn't have a recipe attached to it today. It has a deep heart felt meaning though, so choose to read it or not but the truth is it's a love story.

My husband is the best gift giver I know. He wasn't always that way though. Long before Jay and I married we dated. He was my quintessential "high school sweetheart"(I loath that term). I was given surround sound systems and wireless PlayStation controllers.Oh yes, it's true. Then there was the Christmas the stand mixer made its appearance.

It was wrapped and under the tree. It was a BIG box. I had been told I couldn't move it. I'm an excellent guesser by the way. If time serves me right it was maybe 2 weeks before Christmas and I decided to figure out what the big box was. With a one finger push(seriously) I tapped the box and instantly knew what it was. It was the ever so coveted KITCHEN AID STAND MIXER. I CRIED. I SOBBED. I WAS FURIOUS. Jay was not home yet so I pouted, thought about what I was going to do. Was I going to tell him I knew what it was? Was I going to tell him how I felt? He came home. And I blurted everything out. How I thought I knew what my gift was, how I didn't want it and how upset I was.

***Back story to this: I lived with 4 boys, I was 20 years old. I had dated Jay for close to 4 years. He couldn't think of anything better??? Many times I had said how much I'd love to have this mixer-IF and WHEN I had my own place, when I was older. Not now.***

It was selfish that I was so mad about this gift. I knew by the look on his face he was hurt. Jay knew how much I would love to have this mixer. I explained that I wanted to be able to pick out a fun color one day to match my kitchen and it was going to be so "adult" of me. He thought since he had a good job and could afford the mixer he knew I would love why not? He even explained he got a white one because it went with everything. Such logic. It was an argument. He told me he would take it back. But he didn't. And truly I didn't want him too.

Dramatic? Yes. But today-that White, Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer sits proudly on the counter in the kitchen of the house that Jay and I pay the mortgage on. In a house we have spent four and a half years in. Together. With our 3 crazy dogs. I made mashed potatoes and a pumpkin pound cake in that mixer last week. I'll make so much more in it too. Before I had that mixer I made homemade cheesecakes for everyone as a Christmas gift one year. My grandmother said she thought hers was delicious and she could taste the love I put in it. That's the way I want everything to taste that comes from that mixer. There are so many words to describe food, why not love?

Corny Cakes in the Cooky Book

On the first chilly fall Sunday of this season, I made chili. I make the same chili every fall and winter. It's my own personal mixture of meat, beans, tomatoes, some veggies and spice. That's not what's on the menu for this blog entry though. What is? The accompaniment to the chili-Corn Cakes. I found this recipe in my stand by Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I've had this cookbook for as long as I can remember, in fact I think this maybe the first cookbook I ever bought. There's a whole chapter on fruits and vegetables and I wanted to use the frozen corn I had chilling(it's a pun). This recipe is the perfect substitute for cornbread, bite size and delicious.

Here's what you'll need:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I substituted whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup boiling water
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 slightly beaten egg

Approximately 1 tablespoon green onions, separated bottoms from green tops
3 tablespoons canola oil
sour cream

How this is going together:

1. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Set aside

2. In a medium bowl stir bowling water into cornmeal to make a stiff mush. Stir in milk until smooth. Stir in corn, egg, and 1 tablespoon green onion tops. Add dry flour mixture to cornmeal mixture and stir until just combines.

3. In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the oil on medium heat. Drop the batter by rounded spoonfuls into the hot oil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Transfer corn cakes to serving platter and cover. Continue with the remaining batter.

4. Meanwhile, if desired, stir in 1 teaspoon of green onions into sour cream and serve with the corn cakes.

A few notes: Definitely serve these warm, there's no exception. I also enjoyed putting my corn cake in the bottom of my chili bowl and finding it as a welcome surprise while eating. The next time I make these I'm going to substitute out the frozen corn for a can of cream corn to give them a sweeter, denser flavor. Oh and I definitely don't keep yellow cornmeal in my cabinet but it's super cheap!

Hope you enjoy them on a cool fall day...maybe watching some football!

Bridal Brunch

A week ago today I was busy celebrating the impending wedding of my very best friend. Her sister and I took care to create a brunch menu which of course had to include quiche. This was the first time I had ever made one and I'm really happy with the way it turned out and I think everyone else thought it turned out well too. A quiche can really be a hodge podge of whatever leftover veggies or meats you have in your fridge along with some eggs and a pie crust.Below you will find what I whipped up for this special occasion.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
3 teaspoons minced garlic, I cheated and used the jarred stuff
1 small onion, rough chopped
don't hate me-1/2 a carton of fresh baby portabellos
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 (6 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled
1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

2 frozen prepared pie crusts OR 1 frozen deep dish pie crust

8 eggs
1 cup milk salt
salt & pepper to taste

What to do:

1.)Preheat oven to 375

2.)In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned. Stir in spinach, mushrooms and feta
3.) Spoon mixture into pie crusts.

4.)In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pie shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.

5.)Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle tops with Cheddar cheese, don't be afraid that it will be too cheesy because it will be delicious. Bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center.

Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

I think next time I'd love to throw in some grape tomatos!

Here are some additional menu items we served to compliment the quiche~

Fruit-canteloupe(balled to perfection by the lovely Annie, stawberries and pineapple
Store bought cinnamon coffee cake
Bloody Marys with pickles,olives, cubed cheddar and pepperjack
Store bought pin wheel sandwiches

Enjoy!

Veggies + Pasta= Healthy!

Last week I was prepared to make stuffed tomatoes. I'm pretty sure they were going to be yummy. And then my tomatoes went south on me. So no stuffed tomatoes. But what happened before that was yummy veggies and pasta and a great leftover. I picked up some tomatoes to stuff right before my mom had called to tell me she picked up a whole basket of homegrown tomatoes at a local veggie stand and she had to many. Great! What am I going to do with all these tomatoes? And here's what happened:

What you'll need:

1/2 cp chopped onion
1 cp chopped zucchini squash-sliced into circles and then roughly chopped into 4's
1 cp chopped yellow squash-same as the zucchini
1 cp chopped green bell pepper
4 medium sized tomatoes diced, it's okay if the seeds and inside squish out
1 1/2tsp chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt+pepper

Cooked spaghetti

What to do:

1. Add olive oil to medium heat pan. Saute onions in oil until slightly soft. Add green pepper to onion and cook until soft as well.

2. Add zucchini and yellow squash to pan. Sprinkle in just a touch of salt and pepper for seasoning. Cover pan for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add diced tomatoes, basil and garlic. Stir slowly and make sure everything heats evenly. Cover and continue to cook on low 10 minutes.

4. Spoon veggies over cooked spaghetti.

Enjoy with a garlic bread and a nice red wine. Yum! As long as you went light on the salt this meal is really quite good for you. Yes, I will be making those stuffed tomatoes soon...I promise!

Chicken Makahani~Vegetarian Style

I began the week with a requested recipe so let's keep the theme rolling. Shall we?

At the beginning of this blog one of my fellow bank employees had suggested that I should try to figure out Chicken Makahani, her fav Indian dish. Let's get something straight-I've never eaten "indian" food before tonight.I needed to do some research and actually find out what this dish was and how to make it. One of the key ingredients is garam masala-a mixture of at least 9 spices. While I was unsuccessful at acquiring garam masala I did create a mixture of my own that utilizing the key spices in this particular ingredient capture the flavor. I often try to stick with what we keep in the cupboards buying only essential exotic ingredients so hopefully you only have to pick up a few of these spices mentioned below. While cooking this dish the house smelled utterly amazing. Sweet, spicy and shall I say a tad like Skyline Chili?

This recipe serves 3-4 people

What you need:

1 cup yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup
15 oz can chickpeas
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 cup cubed baby potatoes(the little bitty red kind)

the improv'd garam masala mixture, I made just enough for this recipe, bear with it. Mix in a small dish:
a shake of cumin
a shake of black pepper
a shake of chili powder
a shake of cinnamon
a shake of nutmeg
a shake of ground cloves

What does a "shake" mean? For me, it means I need to see it in the bowl, I need to see it on top of the other spices. This creates 2 teaspoons. Don't be afraid, although do consider going spare on the ground cloves.

Rice cooked, I went with long grain white


What to do:

1. Heat oil in large pan on stovetop, add onion and garlic to heated oil. Stir frequently until onion begins to brown.

2. Stir in all the spices, stirring frequently for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Begin adding soup, drained chickpeas and boiled potatoes. Slow stir in milk, adding a little at a time until all is added. Let this sauce simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Serve over rice.

Oh how I loved this recipe! While eating I even declared this may be my favorite recipe to date. It's a filling meal, meatless and pretty healthy aside from the sodium. Oh and it's really easy to make, I got it done after work with out feeling like there was tons of prep.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did. Get a sweet treat for dessert, my husband and I were craving a ice cream or cookies after. And it's a Sara Creation(maybe not an original.)

Sweet Desserts (on request!)

I get someone dropping me a request every once and a while and I do try to oblige although I am not (as of yet) so expediant to try or post the recipes as soon as I'd like. Please bear with me. I want to try everything that you give me an idea for.

This recipe comes from a link that one of my husband's co-workers sent to me. I thought it sounded fresh, delicious AND I had just frozen some berries that I got at a $1.00 a pint. If you run across this deal...GET THEM! Blueberries and Blackberries freeze very well and are perfect for baking and of course Sunday morning pancakes. Anyway, this frozen Lemonade Pie comes from the foodtv.com website with a few tweeks from me.

Here's what you're going to need:

For the Crust:
1-1/2 cup cinnamon graham crumbs, I used my little bitty food processor and crumbed them myself....calling KitchenAid
5 tablespoons butter

For the Filling:
2 cups whipping cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate (do not thaw)

For the Topping:
1 cup blueberries and blackberries (or just blueberries or raspberries are all interchangable)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Some Cool Whip Lite too!

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbsand melted butter. Press firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes; cool completely.


Make the filling: In a cold medium bowl(or if you have a stand mixer!), whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, stir together the condensed milk and frozen lemonade. Gently fold the lemonade mixture into the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the crust; freeze overnight.


About an hour before you serve the pie, make the topping: Toss the berries in a medium bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Then, add a thin layer of cool whip on the entire top surface, garnish the edges with the berries and make it look sort of pretty.

I only tried the filling before it was frozen and without the berries. My husband said it was good as he took it to work for his co worker to enjoy. I hope everyone in the office got a taste. I also took a picture before I left for work that morning however it wasn't so good. Which brings me to pictures on this blog. I enjoy taking pictures of the food I make for the blog and like cook books with pictures it helps. The last time I tried to upload several pictures it didn't go so well but I do hope in the near future to add the pics I've taken to their corresponding entry.

While making this pie I came up with a twist or two-maybe I'll get to making it.

Keep on enjoying...

Stuffing the 'Room

I've been waiting to stuff some mushrooms and to get a great idea for what to put in them. Some mushrooms that I've tried in no where particular can be too greasy or have no flavor. I didn't want this to be where my take on the stuffed mushrooms ended up.

Disclaimer: You really should like mushrooms before you try eating them. If you don't like them just don't. This is not how I feel about all foods but mushrooms yes.

Here's whatcha need:

6 Baby Portabellos, stems removed and I'll share a trick
1 cup frozen spinach, thawed
4oz crab, I chose "Crab Select" from Kroger. At only 2.19 for 8 oz of IMITATION CRAB, I'll take it.
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
Grated swiss cheese(how cheesy do you like it?)
Some olive oil

Here's the trick-

I take a small melon baller to scoop out the stem to create bowl in the mushroom. These are soft fungi so be easy!

What to do:

1.)Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.)In small bowl, mix crab meat, spinach, bread crumbs and Swiss cheese.
3.)Use just a drop or two inside each mushroom to coat.
4.)Scoop the mixture you created in step 2 in the mushroom bowl.
5.)Bake for 10 minutes, mushrooms will darken.

Best enjoyed warm...My ever lovely husband and I ended up eating them as a meal, really we didn't mean too but it was a warm day and apparently we just weren't in need of a 3 course meal. And did you know? It's a Sara Original!

And just as a matter of knowing-Do you like mushrooms?

Yummy Potato Salad

I don't know about you but I love making an easy potluck dish that doesn't require too much thought or too many ingredients. This recipe is just that. Easy, most of the ingredients I usually keep on hand and it ends up being yummy. This recipe is a small batch, double your ingredients and you'll have much more.


Here's what you need:

1 cup quartered red potatoes, skins on
1/4 cup diced red onion
3/4 cup miracle whip-you can go mayo if you're that person
2 hard boiled eggs chopped, yellows separated from whites
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 milk

What to do:

1.)Boil the quartered potatoes with a sprinkle of salt. The potatos should remain firm. We're not making mashed potatoes here. Let cool in a medium bowl.

2.)Meanwhile, using a fork mash your hard boiled yellows in a small dish and add the mustard. Add to this mixture the miracle whip, onions and Old Bay Seasoning creating your "yellow mixture".

3.) Fold your yellow mixture into the cooled potatoes and combined until most the potatoes are covered. Add milk to this and combine, this should thin out your yellow mixture and add creaminess to the potato salad.

4.) Let chill 30 to 40 minutes and it's even better if you choose to make it the night before a gathering.

I'd never used Old Bay before but found it while grocery shopping last week. I bought a goodsized shaker of it for 1.99 which is a bargain in the spice world. As far as I can tell it has a little of everything in it including paprika. It also hawks it self that it can be used in everything from seafood to popcorn. I don't know that I'd go that far however.

Variations to this recipe may include adding some celery, again utilizing mayo instead of miracle whip and doubling or tripling the recipe. Enjoy this *Sara Original!

Delicious Stuffed Peppers!

A while back I posted a stuffed pepper recipe, this one is completely different. It's a great summer recipe you can make in the crock pot to keep the kitchen cool. Taking this recipe from the cook book I mentioned in my last post I tweaked it to my liking and cooked it at half the time suggested.

A few notes, this recipe is based on stuffing 4 peppers however depending on the size of the peppers depends on how many you actually have enough stuffing for. Cook them a touch longer than the 2 hours for a softer pepper and a short time for a crisper pepper.

Here's what you need:

3 to 4 medium bell peppers--> I used 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow. The green are always less expensive.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup purple onion, chopped
2 cups cooked long grain rice
1/2 cup or slightly less chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime(a must!)
3/4 cups sweetedned flaked coconut
1 ripe mango, peeled, halved and chopped

What to do:

1.)Slice the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and other membranes. Remove the stems and chop up the pepper tops and set aside. This leaves about 1 cup chopped bell peppers.

2.)Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and chopped pepper tops, cook until soften.

3.)Mix up the rice with the onion mixture, coconut, cilantro, lime juice, mango and add a little black pepper(preferably fresh ground). Mix well and spoon into the pepper cavaties, packing lightly. Place stuffed pepper in slow cooker straight up, it's okay if they lean on each other. Pour approximately 1 cup of water in the bottom of the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours BUT if you need them done sooner cooking them on hight for 2 hours is fine too.

4.)Serve and ENJOY!

FRESH mango is my new favorite fruit. I just love it! Try it, they are super cheap. The local Kroger has had them everytime I go to buy them 2 for $1.00. Please try it and let me know what you think!

Catching Up

Gheese...I've been making things but not posting them! It takes so much time to prep and cook something that I'm not familiar with that when it's done and tasted I'm ready to hit the sack. What I'll share tonight is something I made at least a month ago I'd say. It wasn't a hit for me but I think someone might enjoy it.

This is a slow cooker recipe that I took from the book
"Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker"
Cheesy Garlic-Stuffed Artichokes

Here's what you'll need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz soy sausage(you can use the real stuff sausage too)
3 cups dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, I used the stuff out of the shaker but by all means use the fresh stuff too.
1 tablespoon dried parsley
a dash of cayenne pepper
4 large artichokes
about 2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups water

What to do:
1.) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in sausage and cook for 5 minutes stirring to blend. Remove from heat, stir in bread crumbs, cheese and parsley. Dash with cayenne, pepper and salt. Mix and set aside.

2.)Slice the stem off each artichoke so that they may sit upright-This may take a little elbow grease. Cut about an inch off the top of each artichoke and with kitchen scissors, snip off any sharp tips of the artichoke leaves. In a bowl, combine half of the lemon juice with the water and dip the cut artichokes into the lemon water to prevent browning. Spread the leaves apart as much as possible, this is where your stuffing mixture will go. Press the mixture in between the leaves. Using a small spoon and good old fingers are the easiest way.

3.)Stand the stuffed artichokes in the slow cooker, this should be a single layer, hopefully yours is big enough for this. Pour about an inch of water in the bottom of the cooker. Drizzle each artichoke with remaining olive oil and lemon juice. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until the leaves pull off and are tender. Serve hot.

Good luck! I hope you like them more than me!

Pool Inspired~

I've been spending my free time at this week at the pool. Any pool. It doesn't matter; my bathing suit, towel and of course sunscreen are in the car ready to go. So with all the warm weather it had me thinking about what I could add to the blog that would convey my mood.

Last time I was at the grocery they had frozen grouper, individually wrapped for 4.98 and there's no passing up a deal like that. So here's what I did to combine the poolside mood and great deals- GROUPER TACOS with TROPICAL SALSA. ***Totally a Sara original!***

Start with preparing the salsa, here's what you need:

3/4 Cp can crushed pineapple
1/2 Cp fresh chopped mango
1/2 med red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 Cp diced yellow onion
1/2 tsp cayenne (you can even go a little less than this and be okay)
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Mix it all up and if you have a fresh lime just a little bit of juice is perfect.

The grouper taco is so easy, what you need:

Grouper, I purchased mine at Kroger in the frozen seafood section
a little olive oil
a touch of fresh lemon juice

soft taco shells

A glass baking dish works best to bake this fish at 400 degrees. Spray the pan with something like Pam or even a little oil spread around will work. A spritz of olive oil and the lemon juice to liven up the fish should be all you need. Bake for just about 15 minutes, grouper is a thin fish which requires delicate handling.

To assemble your taco:

Break up your grouper, place in soft taco shell, add your salsa and enjoy! Feel free to add a lettuce leaf for some extra crunch. I served a mixture of brown rice, black beans and diced tomatoes. All from my cabinet.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband and I did.

Light weight alfredo

Last night I was really feeling the cooking game. My husband was out playing kickball, I didn't have errands to run, it just felt right. So the kitchen, a glass of wine and I got down to business. Easy business. The other day I had an email in my inbox from recipezaar.com, a website that has a lot of recipes from online users. This particular email hyped up vegetarian dishes-awesome for a lady with a veggie blog right? So here's a goodie I tried out with a few alterations:

What you need:
almost 1 lb linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups zucchini, coarsely chopped
16 oz low-fat sour cream
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, I used sharp cheddar, pre-shredded
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

What to do:
1.)Start pasta.
2.)Heat oil, add garlic for about 30 seconds.
3.)Add 1/4 of the zucchini; cook on high; stirring to coat with oil.
4.)Add rest of zucchini. cook about 3 minutes.
5.)Add sour cream and cheddar cheese.
6.)Turn off heat while cheese melts.
7.)Toss with pasta in with the sauce.
8.)If you wish for some extra creaminess add a little shredded cheese to top it off.

It turned out to be such an easy recipe, what took the most time was the prep. My new love is fresh garlic. It takes a little extra work to peel and chop but the flavor in a dish asking for garlic really deserves a fresh clove.

Serve with some crescents and a dark green salad. This is truly a prefect summer substitute for a heavy alfredo.

Enjoy!

Grillin' and Chillin'

With a little help from my husband(or A LOT) we had a tasty grilled Memorial Day dinner. It wasn't fancy or well planned-it was a let's run to the store and get some stuff kind of meal. We picked up a decent salmon fillet from the seafood counter,some prepared steak and veggie skewers in the meat department and a fresh pineapple from the produce section. Mind you when we went to the local grocer it was still light and almost sunny but by the time we were ready to grill the gray clouds had moved in and rain was on the way.

Here's what Jay did to make the meal great:

The skin was removed from the salmon, placed in aluminum foil, and fresh lemon and lime juice was squeezed onto the fish. Jay left the slices of citrus in the aluminum foil with the fish and used some smoked sea salt to season. Wrapping the foil around the salmon creating a packet he placed it on the grill. Unfortunately, when asking Jay how long he cooked the salmon he guessed. He can't tell me how long he cooked it but his best estimate is 15-20 minutes on low heat.

How I made the meal great:

Grilled Pineapple. So easy. So delicious. I cut the pineapple top off and cut away the skin with my ELECTRIC KNIFE. Yes, I have an electric knife. It was a great gift. If you have one its the only way to take off the hard skin of the pineapple. Now, I didn't have a corer so the pineapple didn't have the core removed but that's okay. I sliced the pineapple into 1 inch thick slices and placed them straight on the grill. The slices cooked on either side for about 5 minutes until they were golden.

This was a sweet, delicious, easy meal. A little tropical and a great way to spend the last part of the holiday weekend with my husband!

Time for Tzatziki!

It has been so long since I've been able to share a recipe, which I am extremely upset about. But I haven't been doing anything new-so you haven't missed out! I've been busy running errands and taking a much needed vacation that this blog has taken a backseat. What I was so happy about while I've taken a break from the blog was all the questions that have been asked about why the blog was started, am I becoming a vegetarian? and when are you going to post new things? THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ASKING!

Here are the answers to these questions:
1. I started this blog because I was stuck in a rut. I'm constantly searching for who I am, what I want and what I need. On top of this, my very good friend is on a journey to become a vegetarian and I wanted to help find new ideas for good food-the vegetarian way.

2. So, am I becoming a vegetarian? NO WAY! While I commend anyone who is and I understand some of the reasons why I don't see my self giving up meat completely.

3. New posts are absolutely coming. I have a backlog of ideas, recipes that have been collected from the internet and magazines and the desire. Not so much time. My goal is to get back in the swing of things and get at least 1 new recipe up each week in June. Please try to hold me to it folks!

So with all that said....while on my fab vacation to Florida, the good vegetarian friend I was talking about above took me to a delicious Greek restaurant. She ordered a great appetizer called Tzatziki(pronounced dza-DZEE-kee). I found a few recipes online and combined them just a little to get this recipe below.

What you need:

16 oz thick Greek yogurt-I used 'plain traditional' and it can be found in most grocery stores next to all the other yogurt

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup of finely diced english cucumber

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon of dill

How to prepare:

Dice cucumber, squeeze out excess water using a paper towel.

Combine oil and lemon juice in medium bowl, fold in yogurt slowly, making sure it mixes completely. Add the garlic, the cucumber and dill. Stir evenly but do not over mix, this will make the dip much more watery which it should not be. Refrigerate to allow flavors to mix. Serve with warm pita and/or triscuits.

It's a very light and refreshing dip, feel free to use it as condiment too. Carrots and cheese are good compliments too!

Wine night rewind

I've tried out some new recipes but haven't found the time to blog until today. Last weekend I had a little wine party with some gals, on the menu were some appetizers including my hummus from a previous entry(it was a little more chunky than it should have been), salsa from a previous entry, some stuffed mushrooms my mom brought and 2 recipes that I'm about to share. The night was a lot a fun and it was great to try the different wine that everyone brought.

One of my favorite things about this caprese salad is how light it is and still has a great flavor. Don't be afraid about how much basil you put in it.

Here's what you need:
8oz Fresh Mozzarella Balls(grape tomato size), you can find this is the deli/cheese section
1 container Fresh Grape tomatos, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 or 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar(I love the stuff so use as much as you want)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
a sprinkle of salt
a sprinkle of cracked black pepper

What to do:
Toss tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, balsamic, basil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until well coated. Cover with plastic and marinated for a little while before serving.

AND for Dessert:

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com after I bought strawberries and blackberries but I didn't know what I wanted to do with them.

Here's what you need:
3/4 cup cold milk
1 pkg. (4 serving size)vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups thawed cool whip, divided
1 (10.75 ounce) package frozen pound cake
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups mixed raspberries and sliced strawberries
1/4 cup blackberries

What to do:
1.Add milk to dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping.

2.Cut cake horizontally into three layers; brush with juice. Place bottom layer on serving plate; top with 3/4 cup of the berries, half of the pudding mixture and middle cake layer. Repeat layers of berries and pudding mixture; cover with top cake layer. Top with 1/2 cup whipped topping and the remaining berries; cover loosely with foil.

3.Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

It does kind of topple, or at least mine did! There were no leftovers, the recipe doesn't make a ton so if you're looking to feed a crowd make two.

I'm going to get back into a regular routine of posting if I can....I've got some ideas coming too from magazines and cookbooks I've been getting from the library. Maybe even a doggie treat for all the dog lovers out there!

Can you dig it?

Today is not a fun filled recipe day as most Sundays are. Today is however the day I tell you I've planted my very first fruit and vegetable seeds. After much deliberation as to what I would plant, how to plant and if I even should plant, I did it! The task included scouring the libraries of two counties for a good book related to container gardening and if you will excuse the pun, a fruitless attempt at making a few key purchases at the local Wal-Mart.

Now the question arises- What did you plant?

Ah yes. I planted just a few things, taking a basic approach to my first attempt at gardening. Strawberries are in a pot on the deck right now. These were actually planted on Easter Sunday and were started from little bulbs. Odd actually. Today I utilized an old egg carton to begin my seedlings of bell peppers and sweet onions.

Why did you choose these?

Simple I suppose. I like strawberries, we were at the Home Depot and they were there. Both the bell peppers and onions are something I use often in my cooking and put them in almost everything. If things work out and my plants render the vegetables they are supposed to, I could save a couple bucks at the grocery store every week. That's quite nice considering the packet of seeds for each were only $1.00(thanks wal-mart).

I am looking forward to seeing how these plants grow, what I can learn about growing fruits and vegetables and planning my garden for next year. My hopes are that things work out and I may possibly grow a variety of crops in the ground behind our house versus the planters on the deck. As the summer progresses and when (and if) the bounty grows I will keep you updated.

It's a berry good dessert!

Promising great things and following through with them are two different things. So, I'm finally making good on a shortcake recipe I intended to make last week. I won't even try to tell you it wasn't good, because it was.

Easy Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh blackberries, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons amaretto

1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
1/2 tablespoon orange extract

4 shortcake dessert cups

What to do:

1. In a small sauce pan add the first 4 ingredients. Keep burner on low for the first five minutes, for another 4 minutes cook on medium high. Stirring occassionally, raspberries will begin to break apart.

2. Remove berries from heat, setting aside for approximately 30 minutes to thicken slightly.

3. Whip cream times! Place bowl in fridge to cool or at the very least run cold water over bowl. Heavy whipping cream should not be removed from the refrigerator until just before making whipped cream. This provides the thickest peaks.

4. Pour whipping cream into bowl and using a hand mixer or stand mixer on high begin mixing. After a minute you will begin to notice peaks forming and the cream to stiffen. Add confectioners sugar while slightly blending and add orange extract. Whip to a stiff consistency.

5. Place shortcake on plate, scoop a small amount of berries and juice on to cake. Add a dollop of whipped cream (as much or as little as you'd like).

The sugar and touch of amaretto takes the tang out of the raspberries, the fresh whipped cream adds some indulgence. What a great spring treat or anytime you can catch a deal on fresh berries. Guess what? It's a *Sara Original.

Enjoy!

Pasta in a pan

Tonight was a pretty simple night for me. I had a whole bunch of veggies begging to hop in a pan and a husband who was out. Pasta was in order here too because I could make enough for a lunch left over. When thinking about the measurements, I didn't keep track of how much angel hair pasta I made but it was by no means a whole box. Can you hang with me on this?? It's a *Sara original.

Ingredients:

Half a green pepper, sliced long and thin
Half a red pepper, sliced long and thin
1/4cp chopped onion
1/2cp sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2cp-1cp grape tomatos
fresh lime juice, I cut the lime in half and squeezed as much juice as I could from it!
2 table spoons lemon juice, totally out of the bottle not my first choice though.
1 Tablespoon dried italian seasoning
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cp extra virgin olive oil
shake of black pepper
shake of salt
3.5 oz crumbled goat cheese

What to do:

1. Boil your pasta, angel hair is a good choice. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil and add onion until slightly tender.
3. Add Green and Red peppers, mushrooms, italian seasoning and cook on medium/low heat for about 3-4 minutes. Stir occassionaly.
4. Add lemon, lime juices and minced garlic to step 3. Also add grape tomatos and cover for about 4 minutes.
5. Remove cover, tomatos maybe slightly popped but it's okay.
6. Turn off stovetop heat, add cooked pasta to pan with vegetables and toss around until coated.

Transfer to bowls and add a shake of goat cheese to your liking. Goat is a soft cheese that is super creamy and will almost melt in your mouth. I bit into a grape tomato with a little goat cheese crumble, I think I said yum aloud! Typing all this out now makes me wish I would have a crusty bread and some smooth butter to compliment the flavor. Butter does not have it's own flavor it enhances other flavors.

-Just a quick note about the pictures I've been promising. I tried to upload a bunch on Monday and blogger wasn't co-operating with me. Sorry, I'll try again soon.

2 Recipes, 1 Day

Yesterday I was feeling creative and willing to make 2(or 3 recipes). My mother-in-law had shown me a recipe a few weeks ago that she'd like to try so I obliged her request and had the crew over. This recipe actually comes from an American Heart Association magazine. So its definitely good for you! On the menu: Chilled Asian Asparagus Spears, Grilled Salmon, Homemade Mac & cheese and Hawaiian rolls. All yummy, but I'll focus on the asparagus right now.

What you need:

Asparagus spears, trim the bottoms, I used about 15 spears
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons orange juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce, save on the sodium
1 teaspoon toasted seasame oil
1 teaspoon Worcestshire sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon seasame seeds for garnishing

What to do:

In a skillet large enought to house about 2 inches of water and to lay the asparagus flat, bring water to a boil and add aspatagus, arranging spears in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes. Prepare an ice bath in a bowl- this is down simply by putting ice in a bowl with some cold water. Using tongs, plung spears into ice bath to stop cooking process. This will give your asparagus a crisp texture but still chewy. Yum. Dry the asparagus with a paper towel. Meanwhile, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the seasame seeds. Place asparagus into a shallow dish and pour mixture over asparagus, turning to coat. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours. Note here**I did not read this part of the directions so I only had two hours for my dish to marinate. It was still delicious but I am sure that the flavors really get to mingle if you let them refrigerate longer. Sprinkle the sesame seeds prior to serving. My mother in law Michelle said some of the flavors that really stood out to her was the crisp orange juice and the green onion. She took some spears to go so she better have liked it!

Recipes 2 and 3

Black Bean Croquettes ended up being a great appetizer or light lunch. Delicious. I took a good portion of this recipe from the "Eating Well" website.

Ingredients:
2 15oz cans black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs + 1/4 cup to roll croquettes in to coat croquettes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat baking sheet with cooking spray
2. Mash the black beans and cumin with a fork until no whole beans remain. Stir remaining ingredients minus 1/4 cp bread crumbs for coating and 1 tablespoon oil.
3. Create patties with bean mixture, lightly mix remaining 1/4 breadcrumbs and oil and coat lightly the bean patties.
4. Bake patties until heated throughly and breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Fresh salsa~

Yummy! My favorite accompaniment to the black bean croquettes. Definitely a "Sara Original"

Ingredients here are:

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatos,drained
2 tablespoons diced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

*additon of 1 avocado diced can be mixed in BUT sometimes people are allergic so leave them out or add them in. I added them and it was a great add.

This is easy: Just mix all the above ingredients lightly until well combined. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving so the sugar and vinegar have time to bring out the juices in the tomatos and the cilantro adds flavor to the mix. Serve it on the side of the Black Bean Croquettes or use it as a dip for chips.

I am so happy with the recipes this weekend. Watch out for more this week, with easter coming I have a few good ideas, and some shortcake cups in the drawer.....

Also promising that I will upload pics to this post and prior. Believe me I take pictures when I plate the food!

When things get crazy-make a cake.

I know, I know, I haven't made a home cooked meal since Sunday. What's my problem?? Things just always get so busy in the week and I don't slow down. I ended up not feeling well on Wednesday so I ended up not making my black bean croquettes BUT I think they'll be a nice appetizer to my Sunday meal so watch for a double post on Sunday.

Things have also been a little disconjointed because I've been baking cakes for everyone this week! Last Thursday I attempted to make a lemon ricotta cake which failed miserably for my boss' birthday. It did not come to work with me. Sunday night I made a wonderful chocolate cake for a co-workers birthday. She is a chocolate freak so it fit her well. Last night was another chocolate cake with a few tweaks and more confectioners sugar on top. This cake is for my husband's work "Bake Off". Let's get something straight however---> I HATE BAKING! I am not good at it, it requires patience and exact measurement. If you've read prior recipes in this blog you know exact measurement isn't my thing. However, if you work with a boxed cake mix, throw in your own favorite ingredients, you can come up with something pretty delicious.

I know this isn't exactly a veggie post but I wanted to keep you updated on why there's no veggie post. So there....I'll see you tomorrow!

Noteworthy

There's a few things that should be noted about this blog:

1. Almost all the recipes here have my twist on them if they aren't mine. I will always note where I found the recipe.

2. Some of these recipes are actually "Sara Originals"! and going forward I'll definitely point this out. My husband has been very encouraging in the last week for me to take credit for my recipes and continue to create my own. I'm taking his advice.

3. There are some great recipes coming- look this week for Black Bean Croquettes,Asian Asparagus and Mexican Bean Casserole.

4. Have a great time cooking, if you have a question, ask.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the support and encouragement I have been receiving about this blog. I am so proud of it and look forward to creating new things to share.

Who Tofu's??

I came back to the blog this week with a vengeance. Tonight's recipe was all about something new. Uncharted territory in my kitchen. Tofu. Fresh Ginger Root. Really. While doing all the searching for new recipes and inspiration a couple weeks ago I came across this recipe- Ginger Noodles with Tofu. I found it in "Everyday with Rachael Ray" magazine, titled as Dinners for 10 Bucks(or less). The recipe calls for soy sauce but I didn't have any so I improvised, you'll see. Who has sesame oil hanging out in their cabinet but not soy sauce? Me, apparently.

Ingredients:
One 14 oz package, extra firm tofu, cut into 3/4in cubes and dried.(Tofu is packaged in water so be careful when you open the package)

1/4 cp soy sauce OR my way- 1/4 cp worcestershire sauce and 1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons finely grated ginger(real ginger root! Don't be intimidated)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

3/4 lb fettuccine pasta

1 1/2 tablespoon veggie oil

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1- 12oz pkg broccoli slaw(I bought an organic bag in the prepared salad area)

What to do now:

1. Season tofu with salt and pepper. In a small bowl combine the soy sauce(or my mixture), 1 tablespoon grated ginger and the sesame oil.

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil with the remaining grated ginger. Add pasta and cook until al dente;drain, reserve 2 cups of the pasta water.

3.In a large skillet heat the veggie oil over medium high heat. Add the seasoned tofu in a single layer and cook, until browned on 1 side about 3 minutes.(It feels like forever...)Repeat until all sides are golden browned. Transfer to plate. Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occassionally, until browned.

4. Add broccoli slaw, mushrooms, ginger-soy mix(from step 1) and reserved pasta cooking water to the pasta and toss to coat. Divide pasta to bowls with broth and top with tofu.

Now, here's my honest take. It's not for me, I am not a fan of sesame oil so I pick up on that taste heavily in the recipe. However surprisingly my husband didn't find it so bad. You never know until you try it I guess.

Oh, Rach says this recipe costs a total of $9.82, I'd go less than that because the tofu I bought was 1.99, I had veggie oil, sesame oil and my mushrooms were 1.50.

One note: Ginger is GREAT for nausea.

Feeling Tropical

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, my husband(Jay)and I were hanging out on the couch and he asked if I'd ever made coconut shrimp and said "Doesn't that sound good?". Well, I've never made coconut shrimp and in my head I was thinking that it really wasn't what I had in mind but since I had the computer next to me I decided to see what I could find on the subject. And keeping with what has become the theme of my week, I already had everything but the flake coconut. The recipe I found is something I found on allrecipes.com. Great website for finding a good recipe when you don't have one, you don't have inspiration to figure one out on your own or look for a variation on a standby.

So here's what it called for:

1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer, I had a budlight lime on hand
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
24 shrimp, I used about 50 small ones because I already had them but next time I'll make sure I use the large prawn style
Oil for frying

What we're going to do:

1.In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.

2.Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut.

3.Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain.


Prior to making the shrimp I pulled out some peach preserves I had and made a sweet and delicious dipping sauce:

1/2 cp peach preserves or orange marmalade would work too

a few squirts of yellow mustard

and just a sprinkle of chili powder

Mix until smooth, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you serve the shrimp.

Oh, I made a quick rice dish too.

Make some boil in a bag rice,
chop half an onion
dice half a red bell pepper
1/2cup fresh cubed pineapple

Saute the onion and bell pepper together
pour rice in with sauteed onions and peppers and mix around to keep warm
add pineapple and cover and turn to low for 5 minutes

And voila! Easy side to coconut shrimp.

AND....I made a dessert that was sooo easy.

1 angel food cake mix
20oz crushed pineapple

Preheat oven at 350 degrees
Just mix the angel food cake and pineapple together(leave out the water that the box mix calls for)
Add some of the leftover coconut from the shrimp for extra flavor
Bake for 30 minutes in a bundt or tube pan

While this entry isn't exactly a full on veggie inspired meal my husband did make the good point that I used fruits and veggies so I should blog it!

Stuffed Peppers

This was a throw together meal with things I already had. It truned out well and I have lots of left over "stuffing" for a burrito or 4! I only had 2 green peppers so that's all I made.

Ingredients:

1 bag of brown boil in a bag rice
half can of black beans
1-11oz can of "southwestern style corn" (green giant packages it)
a few scoops of mild salsa
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

2 medium size green bell peppers

What to do:

1. Cook the boil in a bag rice according to packaging instructions. So easy!
2. Pre-heat your oven to 375, Cut of top of green peppers and core. Place peppers in small pot of water to boil until desired tenderness. You don't want them flimsy however or they wont hold the delicious stuffing! If you want a real crisp pepper forgo the boiling and put water in the bottom of the dish you will be baking the peppers in and cover.
3. Mix cooled and fluffed brown rice with the beans, southwestern corn and salsa. Mix in cheddar cheese.
4. Spoon in rice mixture to the top of pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, top with more shredded cheese if desired and/or sour cream to garnish.

This was a fairly quick meal to put together with little fuss and I won't forget to mention I drank a Budlight Lime while I waited for the peppers to bake! Last night I went through a great cookbook I've mentioned before and some Rachel Ray magazines and got some great ideas for future entries. I've had some great input from friends on what kind of recipes they'd like to see made so hopefully I can fulfill those requests soon!

Adaptation

Last night by the time I got home, cooked dinner and cleaned up I wasn't feeling like looking at the computer to blog about my nice little meal. It was an adaptation on lasagna/stuffed shells/manicotti. The ingredients are mostly leftovers from previous meals and everything is pretty interchangeable.

What you need out of the cabinet:

6 lasagna noodles, the real ones, boiled until slightly tender.
about 2 cups of ricotta cheese
approximately 1/2cp finely chopped onion
about a quarter cup diced red bell pepper
2 cups frozen spinach, thawed
shredded cheese- cheddar, mozzarella, whatever you have
a jar of spaghetti sauce

a touch of olive oil to sautee onion and red bell pepper

1. Let the lasagna noodles cool, you don't want to play "hot potato" with slippery lasagna noodles! Slice each noodle in half, creating 12 smaller noodles.

2. Heat olive oil in small skillet, sautee onion until soft and add the bell pepper until it's softened too. Take off heat to cool. Pre-heat the oven to 375

3. Mix ricotta, spinach and onion/bell pepper in a reasonably sized bowl.

4. Using a small spoon take a heap of the ricotta mixture and place it at one end of each noodle. Roll each noodle so that the ricotta mixture is in the middle, the mixture should not bulge out the sides.

5. The lasagna rolls should make one single layer in a 9x9in square pan. Sprinkle half the shredded cheese on top of rolls, pour about half the jar of spaghetti over the rolls.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes, sprinkle desired amount of shredded cheese on top of sauce towards end of baking until just melted.

I used what I had hanging out in the crisper and freezer but some other delicious fillers would be-mushrooms, fresh basil, some finely chopped zuccuhini or any other colored bell pepper you have on hand. The red pepper gives a great sweet flavor to the filling. Sorry no picture up right now, just not into plugging in the camera right now. This dish was great with some garlic bread and a glass of beaujolis-villages (a delicious red wine) and great conversation at the table with my husband. Enjoy!

So on this Sunday I'd like to say I flaked out. I didn't get to the veggie lasagna as my plan had been a week ago. It was ambitious. I did however hit up the grocery yesterday and have some good ideas. Look for some stuffed peppers around Tuesday, the lasagna on hmmm, Thursday?? My lovely mother in law also approached me about an interesting marinated asparagus that I hope she'll let me make for her soon.

Have a healthy week, what will you be cooking?

Goodness

First, let me say, as promised I am 2 recipes down 1 to go! Woo-hoo! Next, the balsamic roasted green beans I made are FANTASTIC! I can not wait for summer and getting green beans at the farmers market. In fact as I type I eat. That's how excited I am to tell you about them. And have no fear they are so easy to make and there's really no fancy ingredient you need.

Pull this out:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, but I don't think it would hurt for just a touch more
1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
about 1/2 a red onion sliced

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 400. Place beans, pepper and onion on a sheet pan. Pour over the spread the oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic. Mix it a little so that the beans are coated with oil and balsamic. Roast for about 20 minutes or until they reach the desired tenderness(I like my beans to have a good crunch).

Now I found a larger recipe in none other than a mailing from Kroger but I cut down the recipe to the one above because it was just me eating tonight. Hopefully you love the green beans as much as I did. Haven't tried it but with a little more balsamic I think this mix would be great over a bed of spinach for a great salad. The pic tonight is from my phone, sorry if it's a little fuzzy, just couldn't get the camera out this evening.

If you have ideas let me know!

Spinach Dumplings

The time constraints were on me today. Would I have enough time to go to the gym, make a recipe to post and make it the finish with "The Bachelor"?

Well, I didn't make it to the gym but I did do a little yoga/pilates at home and I made this next dish, Spinach Dumplings. I made a mistake with the measurement of the main ingredient, spinach and learned a few things I will do differently next. Yes, there will be a next time.

Here's what you need to pull out of your cabinet or frig:

This is what the original recipe called for-

1 package of frozen spinach, thaw it. Make sure it's 16oz...I only used 10 oz.
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2 eggs, and 2 egg yolks- these are important binders
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese

water to boil in a pot

Now, I added-

a pinch of salt
a few cranks of black pepper
about a tablespoon of dried italian seasoning

What I would add in the future-

finely chopped onion
finely chopped carrots
more italian seasoning

Here's what you do:

Squeeze excess moisture from the spinach. Add ricotta, 1 cp parmesan cheese, 1 cp flour, eggs and the yolks, stir well. Add the seasonings here too. Shape the mixture into balls and roll in the extra flour until just covered. Bring water in a small pot to a rolling boil. Drop the dumplings gently into the water one or two at a time. Cook about 1 minute or until the dumplings begin to float. *I have NEVER made dumplings of any kind and was nervous but it's so easy. Remove dumpling from water with a slotted spoon to drain water. Place in a lightly butter dish, sprinkle with remain parmesan and Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.

I'm still trying to choose what I would serve these with. They turned out smooth with a decent flavor. And as I come to the end of this post....who with Jake choose? Vienna OR Tenley?????

Exactly 7 Days

It's been a week since I've created a great veggie dish. Sorry, if you were checking the blog looking for something fun, it's just been a crazy week. I've been busy at work, after work activities (to celebrate MY Birthday!) and getting things together for a little weekend jaunt to Gatlinburg. I left my vegetables behind, unless you want to count the blueberries that were in my mediocre pancakes at breakfast yesterday or the cherries in my deliciously alcoholic "cherry flip" at the Hardrock Cafe.

However, I remembered my promise to retry the plantains. Pretty sure that plantains just aren't my thing. First, I let it get almost black and after a week I could still see the yellow skin. Come on a banana doesn't last that long. Tonight I sliced it thinly and horizontal. I prepared them just as I had last Sunday, with brown sugar and buttered by way of frying in the skillet. They did not have the "green banana" taste but were still missing something. Sorry- I just don't think I've got the taste. Try them though, you might like them.

While I took the week off cooking there was research done. I've prepared a shopping list and some recipes for this week. It's a little ambition for me to get these 3 dishes in but with your encouragement I know I'll get it done. Here's a sneak peek for what's planned:

Balsamic Greenbeans

Spinach Dumplings

Vegetarian Lasagna

Stay Tuned....and have a healthy week!

Jazzy Jambalaya & the Plain Plantain

Folks, 2 great lessons in cooking were learned today. One, the jambalaya I have been fretting to make this week turned out pretty good. I've never thought about making the dish until a good friend was throwing ideas around about what my next post would be about. I also need to note that this is a "vegetarian" version plus shrimp-sorry no sausage. Lesson 2 is, if you want to fry plantains even if they look very ripe they aren't and you should wait for them to get black for the best flavor. At least the way I prepared them. I'll be waiting 2 more days at least.

So here goes the deliciousness....

Do remember that I don't always use exact measurements when cooking. This isn't baking. Also be warned these makes a heaping helping. I had 4 people eating and it didn't make a dent.

Jazzy Jamba:
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
4 cups diced tomatoes (I used the canned kind)
3 boil in a bag brown rice
2 cans organic black beans

a nice sprinkling of parsley, I went dehydrated because Kroger was out of the fresh stuff
a sprinkle of salt
a good sprinkle of paprika
a good sprinkle of chili powder
smidge of cayenne, based on your tolerance for heat
sprinkle of black pepper
3 bay leaves

raw shrimp,the bag I bought was 51-60 with tails but take the tails off!

Here's the word on making it:

I half cooked the boil in a bag rice based on box instuctions but not all the way.

In a large pot use the oil to cook until tender the onion, celery, green pepper and garlic. Stir in diced tomatoes, rice, parsley, salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and pepper. Add in shrimp and watch for them to get pink. Toss in DRAINED black beans.

Transfer to a 2-1/2 qt baking dish rubbed down with some butter. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until a fair portion on the liquid is absorbed.

I served with mini corn bread muffins which seemed to be a hit.

Ahhh the plantains. I did alot of research on how to make this a good experience and I thought it would a breeze.

I peeled and quartered the plantain(or huge banana) got the skillet primed with a large spoonful of butter and put some brown sugar in a bowl. I shook the pieces of plantain in the brown sugar and coated them and placed in the skillet. Pushing the pieces around they began to form a nice caramel in the pan. It looked ooey, gooey and yum. Serving them over vanilla ice cream was the best thing I could do. Even the sugar laden bananas could not be taken for delicious by my 10 year old sister. The concensus from my taste testers (sister and mom) was that they tasted like a green banana. Forgive me for my short report but I wasn't impressed but this blog isn't just about the successes. It's the mistakes too. Like I said earlier I will try again later this week with my super ripe version of the fruit and try again. How's that sound?

What will be next on the veggie venture???

Makin' It Saucy!

Today being Valentines Day, I wanted to make my husband a special dish that incorporated what this blog is about. Pasta was on my mind. A tomato based sauce has been on my mind as of late. So perusing the internet I decided a Vodka Sauce would be my target. Finding a decent recipe on allrecipes.com
I decided to kick it up to my level. The basic recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup butter
1 onion, diced
1 cup vodka
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 pint heavy cream

In a skillet over medium heat, saute onion in butter until slightly brown and soft. Pour in vodka and let cook for 10 minutes. Mix in crushed tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes. Pour in heavy cream and cook for another 30 minutes.

But I did it a little differently. Choosing olive oil over butter and adding yellow squash and zucchini(which I decided is one of my least favorite words to spell)and a few pieces of yellow bell pepper while the onion/crushed tomatos/vodka simmered. With a touch of some fresh cilantro, dried italian seasoning, black pepper and 2 tablespoons of sugar to break down the acidity of the tomatos.

The smell in the house is amazing, my husband said it smelled great. I'll go ahead and admit this now- I LOVE to taste test my food as it cooks. I dipped my spoon in before the heavy cream was added and it was delish. I went in for a dip or two after the cream and it is rich. Serving the sauce over angel hair style pasta, with some crescent rolls. Sounds sexy to me on Valentines Day!

By the way, it makes a TON of sauce I'm sure will freeze well or work for leftovers....I do have some of the meatballs left that I made on Thursday.

Lull

This week has not been so adventurous with the vegetables. I had a spinach salad with grape tomatos for dinner on Monday but since then I've got nothing inspiring for you. Unless....could we count the apple jacks I for dinner as part of the fruit category? Consider that, get back with me. It's just been a crazy week, I did dabble in swedish meatballs but my sauce was a little bland.

I may not get back to creating a meal until Sunday so if anyone out there has a suggestion I'll consider it.

Until next time...

Game Day Snacks

I meant to get all my blogging done yesterday morning however laying on the couch until noon sounded like a better idea. Super Bowl Sunday brought me 3, count 'em THREE ways to use veggies.

For breakfast there was my Spinach, green pepper and purple onion omelet. Here's what it included:

3 whole eggs with a touch of milk
a sprinkling of fresh organic spinach (rinsed and dried)
a smatter of chopped purple onion (just so I could get a little bite here and there)
and a few bits of leftover green pepper I had in the crisper

I topped off the delicious egg rolled garden with a touch of cheddar cheese on top.

Now for the important stuff. What was being snacked on while the Saints and Colts got their game on??? Fresh guacamole and roasted red pepper hummus. While preparing these creamy dips it made me realize that the Procter-Silex food processor that holds maybe 1 cup of chopped food needs an upgrade. But until then I'll keep using it to make the green monster of party dips which included these ingredients-

3 organic avocados
a handful of organic grape tomatoes (chopped)
finely chopped red onion
5-6 sprigs of fresh organic cilantro
fresh lemon & lime juice

I halved my avocados, pitted and slide into a glass bowl I realized that the avocados weren't as ripe as they should be (improvising is sometimes key in cooking) I squeezed some fresh lime juice on the avocado with a sprinkle of salt and stuck in the fridge for about and an hour and a half. BING! When I pulled the bowl out the avocados were a little softer so I gave just as much as I could stuff into my mini processor a whirl to get it creamy and transfered it back into the glass bowl. I added the tomatos, red onion, cilantro and squeezed some more lime and added lemon juice. Once we got to our friends house we added a heaping spoonful of sour cream to give it a creamy consistency, however we did reserve some without the sour cream for those who preferred it less white :)

And when you thought you had enough veggies.....Hummus came along. Such an easy, easy dip to make. Here's whatcha got:

1 can of chickpeas, you find these right next to your assorted baked beans, chili beans, etc.
a jar of roasted red peppers, which I cam acrossed in the produce cooler. Great find.
a touch of minced garlic
a swirl or two of olive oil

Draining the chickpeas and scooping just as much as can be held in my little processor again, I added just enough olive oil to make the peas blend easier. I took a few slices of red pepper from the jar and sliced it into pieces and through it in the processor with just a little(not even a spoonful) of minced garlic. By no means is my food processor a work horse so it did take me a good minute to 2 minutes getting the right consistency. Have you ever had store bought hummus??? This was what I wanted. I served it with pretzel crisp. Those little flat pretzels are great with almost anything.

Sheww....what a long post but I just had to give you the play by play of all my veggie ventures! Side note, none of these recipes came directly from a book, I just wing it sometimes.

Christening the Blog!

With my very first blog post comes the sharing of my favorite oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Now wait...this is a blog about making things with vegetables. Right? Yes my friend it is. A few years back I got a fun new cookbook as a gift. "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld holds this moist, texture fantastic cookie recipe. She uses fruit and veggie purees to sneak nutrition into recipes. Though I have tried maybe 2 recipes in this book I'll be sure to try more as the blog progresses.

I made it tonight as a snack but quite frankly I'll probably eat one for breakfast too! Here's how the recipe goes but please be warned I am not a firm measurer but I'll give you what I got here:

1 cp of whole-wheat flour
1 cp old-fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cp firmly packed light OR dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons trans fat free soft tub margarine spread(I cheated here I used regular ol' country crock)
1/2 cp banana puree*
1/2 cp zucchini puree*
1 large egg white
1/2 cp raisins
1/2 cp walnuts(I don't add these)

*Making the puree is a cinch, cut your zucchini into about 1in pieces, steam them and then put them through the food processor or blender. For the bananas, smash them up a bit then whirl them through the processor too.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and spray your baking sheet with some cooking spray.
2. In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir it to get it combined.
3. In another bowl, large enough to house all the ingredients, beat the brown sugar and margarine until just combined. Add the banana and zucchini purees, the egg white and stir just to blend. Add the flour mixture from Step 2 and the raisins and walnuts at will.
4. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet about an inch apart. They won't spread out all over though so don't get carried away measuring because it's not too big of a deal. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 4-5 minutes, just until firm enought to handle.

Enjoy! While baking these I thought of a few variations I may try as I have a little zucchini puree, several bananas and half a bag of chocolate chips in my cupboard. I'll let you know how that turns out......with a photo to come.

~Word to all the dog lovers out there, remember that raisins ARE NOT our puppies best friends. If you drop a few while making these pick them up.