Recipe Round-Up

I haven't posted any recipes for a while, but I have made several new things in the past few months. I put a new tab at the top of this page to keep all the recipes in one place, and for most, there is a link to the recipe if you want to try it. I will try to note as well which ones are decent or not! Here are a few quick notes on a dozen recipes I have tried recently:

1) Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars- I didn't have high expectations since I am the type of person who feels like a dessert is a waste if it doesn't have chocolate in it. But, these are really good. Totally worth the effort. A lot better cold than warm, though.

2) Panko-Crusted Fish Sticks with Herb Dipping Sauce- Actually, Ben made these. Good but nothing outstanding. Loved the dipping sauce, though.

3) Buckeye Bars- Very good! These are easy to make because you start with a brownie mix. Once again, much better room temperature or cold than warm.

4) Key Lime Coconut Snowballs- I attempted to make these as part of my Christmas baking. FAIL! They tasted good but had the consistency of raw cookie dough. Would not make again.

5) Reese's Stuffed Oreos- Yes, they are as good as they sound. I made them for Bennett's birthday and could.not.stop. eating them. Mine did not turn out as nice-looking as the picture on this blog, but let's be honest, who cares. I am drooling right now just thinking about them.

6) Apple Oatmeal Cookies- These were decent. Again, no chocolate. I left out the raisins.

7) Avocado Chicken Salad- I'm disappointed in you, Paula Deen. This recipe seemed so promising, but was just kind of blah. It didn't help that I couldn't find any good avocados at the time I made it. I would take plain ol' chicken salad any day over this.

8) Overnight Caramel French Toast- I made this for Courtney the weekend she came to visit. Total fail! It tasted fine but was so, so soggy. Maybe it would be better if you used a really thick bread. Would not make again.

9) Caramel Cereal Treats- Yes, I'm realizing there's a theme here, and it's that most of the new recipes I've tried have been unhealthy desserts. I'm breastfeeding, and I'm hungry all the time. Sue me. Courtney & I made these together and they turned out good. Again, not my favorite thing because of the overall lack of chocolate, but Ben took them to work and got good reviews. The recipe calls for Sugar Smacks cereal, which I could not find. Do they even make that anymore? I also had trouble getting the chocolate chips melted to the right consistency in the microwave. We kept adding something to them to make them more pourable, but I can't remember what. Butter or sweetened condensed milk, I think. Either way, super healthy.

10) Quinoa Salad- This was my first experience at cooking quinoa, and it went well. I really enjoyed this salad, because I love all the flavors that are in it- cilantro, lime, cumin, etc. And I love black beans. It was great with tortilla chips, therefore making it a lot less healthy. What can I say- it's my special gift.

11) Fluffy French Toast- Really good mix. We use this every time we make French toast now.

12) Pretzel Hugs- I wanted to make these because they were so simple and it was a project that Bennett could help with. If unwrapping about five Hershey's hugs in under three minutes and shoving them in your mouth is helpful, then she was a huge help. Unwrapping all the Hugs can be a pain, but it is worth the effort. These treats are the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I sped up the hardening process by popping them in the fridge- they are just too good to wait for!

39 days and counting...

I thought I should update since it has been a month since I've blogged...

• As much as I hate to admit it, my life is pretty much consumed these days by preparing for the upcoming birth of our second child...39 days 'til my due date!
• This pregnancy has been rough! Physically, I am so ready for it to be over, but in all other aspects I hope I make it the entire 40 weeks. I don't want him/her to come out before s/he's ready, and I definitely need all the time I can get to get things done before then, too!
• I'm still convinced it's a girl! Bennett thinks so, too. 
• I stopped weighing myself like 6 weeks ago when I reached the same exact weight I was when I had Bennett. I figure no good can come of checking the scale at this point! I'll just dwell on it/obsess over it. Even at the doctor's office, I look the other way and don't ask! I plan to weigh myself right before going to the hospital- I figure I'll have other things to worry about then and surely I'll lose at least a few pounds before I come home. ;)
• I've been having contractions for the past 3 weeks- they are getting more painful, but not longer or closer together. At this point, I've just gotten used to them! They started so much earlier this time around.
• I've done three rounds of antibiotics for an infection that could cause premature labor- and now that I've made it to 34 weeks, my doctor said we are past that worry. I'm so happy! I hate taking antibiotics. 
• Sometimes when I walk, I feel like my legs are wheels that are not properly attached to a car and are about to fall off. 
• It is so hot outside.
• Sometimes I feel like I am sucking air in through a straw or trying to breathe with a 50-lb. weight on my chest. 
• It takes me a few seconds when I wake up each morning to remember my physical state. Am I really this big? Am I really this uncomfortable? Yes! But, I'm also extremely excited and very grateful, so that gets me through. 
• I've been flipping through some old baby magazines I had when Bennett was first born- not a great idea. I am now convinced that I've forgotten everything and will have no idea how to take care of a newborn. 
• I can see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as finishing all my 2011 work. As long as the baby doesn't come early, I should be able to get it all done and have four months off. I am so excited!
• I have been slacking on reading. Still slogging my way through The Beautiful and Damned. 
• I did try one new recipe recently- Shredded Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing. You can find the recipe here. It was an awful lot of work for something that was not even a main dish. And, adding so much olive oil to a lime-flavored dressing made it taste pretty weird. However, the seasoned black beans tasted great (I used Penzey's Salsa Salad Seasoning since I didn't have any sazon seasoning), and we loved the cornbread croutons. I would definitely make them again and use them on another salad! 

ETA picture of the salad- at least it looked pretty!

Pinteresting

So, I'm definitely becoming obsessed with Pinterest. I'm a serial bookmarker, but when when my hard drive crashed in February, I lost everything, foolishly thinking all my Google Chrome bookmarks would be saved under my Google account. Wrong. I was so sad. Pinterest is the perfect way to organize my bookmarks and keep them online where, hopefully, I'll never lose them.

I've been going through some of my bookmarks and transferring them over to Pinterest, and I came across this delicious recipe I made in March and forgot to blog about. I made these cupcakes for my dad's 60th birthday since he is an Elvis lover. They were so good, especially the peanut butter frosting. I would call them more like muffins than cupcakes, and they're really rich so you can't eat a lot in one sitting, but they are certainly worth the effort.

Find the recipe here!

Food Obsession: Breakfast for Dinner

Why is breakfast for dinner so good?

I could probably have breakfast for dinner at least once a week. I think I love it so much because we rarely take the time to make breakfast for breakfast, except occasionally on Saturdays or when we have out-of-town company. Today, I had chocolate pudding for breakfast followed by handful of sour cream & onion chips. That sounds even grosser when I admit it out loud. Don't worry, Bennett eats healthier- she had a Kashi fruit bar and strawberry yogurt. She tried a sour cream & onion chip, said "I like different chips," then put it back in the bag.

Anyway, one of my favorite breakfast-for-dinner combos is egg casserole and fresh fruit salad. I know there are a million egg/breakfast casserole recipes out there, but I am biased toward my parents', and I really think it's one of the best. Here's the recipe:

Egg Casserole

12-15 slices bread, torn up (I like using white bread)

8 eggs, mixed together 

2 cups milk

3 generous "squirts" of yellow mustard

1 lb. sausage, browned and drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Mix all the ingredients together and spread in a greased 9 x 13 pan. If the mixture seems too dry, you can always add a little more milk. Add more shredded cheese to the top (if you want), and bake at 350 for an hour or so until it starts to turn brown. I think it turns out better if you make it a day ahead and let it "soak" in the fridge overnight. 

I think this casserole tastes SO good with a fresh fruit salad- pineapple, grapes, strawberries, bananas, and oranges or apples. Yum! I try to keep a fresh fruit salad going in my fridge all summer long. 

Another breakfast-for-dinner favorite of mine is chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs with ham- not like a slice of ham on the side, like thin deli ham mixed in with the eggs. So good! What do you like for breakfast-for-dinner?

More books and food...

I just wanted to update with a couple new recipes and a new book review before I "reset" myself for a new year of blogging and list-attacking. This past month has been busy with travel and having company, but before all that started, we made a couple of really good new meals. The first was a crock-pot meal I found in Taste of Home for Slow-Cooked Carnitas:

• 1 boneless pork shoulder butt roast (3 to 4 pounds)- I actually wound up using a package of boneless ribs because I couldn't find a roast in the right size- the meat guy at the store told me it was the same cut of meat in different packaging
• 
  
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced- I minced it with my new favorite kitchen tool, my Pampered Chef garlic press
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups minced fresh cilantro
• 1 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup tequila or additional chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
• 12 flour tortillas (8 inches), warmed
• Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped avocado and chopped tomatoes, optional
• 
  
• Cut roast in half; place in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Sprinkle with garlic, oil, salt and pepper. Add the onions, cilantro, salsa, broth, tequila and chilies. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
• Remove meat; cool slightly. Shred with two forks and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Spoon about 2/3 cup meat mixture onto each tortilla; serve with toppings of your choice. Yield: 12 servings.

Here's a picture of my plate:

The recipe is really good but what makes the meal is definitely your toppings. We had sour cream, avocado, fresh tomatoes, fresh limes, cheese, lettuce, tortilla chips, etc. I will definitely be making this again!

Another delicious and EASY dinner we had recently was another Taste of Home idea. I don't know that it's really a recipe but the combination of flavors was so good.

California Chicken Wraps

• 1/3 cup prepared hummus
• 4 whole wheat tortillas (8 inches)
• 2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast- I marinated chicken breast in Greek vinaigrette and then Ben grilled it and we sliced it up
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted sweet red peppers- Instead of buying peppers, I bought a red pepper & cheese coulis spread- it was DELICIOUS!
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
• 
  
• Spread hummus on tortillas; top with chicken, peppers, cheese and basil. Roll up. Yield: 4 servings. This made a really good meal with a side of olives and Sunchips. :)

My weekend trip to Florida with a couple of my best girl friends was the first time I'd really had a chance to travel with my Kindle. A great experience! The only downside is having to turn it off for take-off and landing- at least the flight attendants can't make you put down a regular book. :) For the trip, I had a great read- 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan:

This novel is based on a true story of murder that occurred in New York City in the 1850s. As is so often the case with a really good historical novel, the setting itself is a central, fascinating character. I absolutely love New York City, so I really enjoy books that are set there, and I also like glimpses into what life was like there during different times in the past. I won't get into the whole murder mystery, but I like it when a book takes you almost all the way through and you still have doubts as to who the culprit really is. This particular work is also a very interesting look into how the legal system worked at this time in our country. A good read I definitely recommend!

Closing in on a year...

I was just sitting here thinking that almost the entire month of April has gone by and I have only posted once. Life has been so busy lately and May is going to be even busier. I can't believe the first year of my 30s will be over in less than a month. I've been thinking a lot lately about what I've accomplished so far and what kind of year it's been. I would definitely say it's been an eventful year, full of highs and lows. I've worked on several of my list items, but I know full well in the back of my mind that I have not tackled any of the really difficult ones, the scary ones, the ones I haven't even yet had the guts to share with anyone, let alone take on head-first.

I'd like to say that the second year of my 30s is going to focus on accomplishing some of these tough goals but realistically, that isn't going to happen. I'm having a baby in about 4 months, and there's going to be an adjustment period, and before I know it I'm going to be 32. I'm OK with this, though. There's nothing on my list that's more important to me than my kids, so they're always going to get the priority. I'm only planning on having two, and I know the next few years of their "littleness" will be tons of work for me and at the same time, will go by so fast. It's not that I won't have any time to work on personal goals, but I just know that time will be limited.

A little while back I posted about how working at home and being a full-time mom was really stressing me out. Things are still kind of frustrating (especially with potty training- any advice is welcomed) but I do have a wonderful friend who is now watching Bennett one morning a week, and I am so thankful! I have to admit that so far I have not even used any of this time to get work done. One week I went to the dentist and another week I spent the whole time straightening up my house for company coming over the weekend. But, it was so nice to have those few hours to myself to get some things done. That little break makes a big difference in my week, and it's great for Bennett to have a change of scenery and another kid to play with as well. So, thank you, "Miss Lela"!

I've also been working hard these past four months- and will be working hard the next four months- to finish all my work for 2011 by the end of August. The baby is due September 4, so s/he better not come early! :) I'm planning to take off September, October, November, and December just to be with my kids and get through the initial transition of 1 to 2. I'm really excited about this. It's a lot of extra work/stress right now, but I think it will be worth it!

In other news, I did try a new recipe recently for Orange Chicken Piccata. While it looked lovely...

...it tasted just OK. Not worth posting the recipe. The sauce was fine, but it turned out tough. Maybe it's the technique but I have yet to find a stove-top chicken recipe that satisfies. I am convinced that chicken is meant to be either baked, broiled or grilled.

I also finished another book- The Last Child by John Hart.

I would classify it as "pretty good but not stellar." I was convinced about halfway through the book that I had the plot twist totally figured out- it focuses on a boy searching for his missing twin sister and the detective who helps him- but I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. I like a book that can surprise you. However, one of my pet peeves is child characters who are ridiculously mature and insightful and speak in totally unrealistic, adult-like dialogue. I would say the author is guilty of that in this work. 

Back to my busy week! There is a royal wedding going on and it's not for William & Kate. :) Very excited for my friends Tim & Alisa this weekend! Too bad I didn't put "Be a pregnant matron of honor" on my list. :)

Back to the list...

So, if I want to try 300 new recipes during my 30s, I need to try 30 a year, and I'm not doing that great so far. I thought it would be a lot easier, but I guess I'm not as adventurous as I thought, or I just don't take the time. Or, I get pregnant and throw up for a few months and can't imagine eating anything but saltines, let alone trying something new. But even when I wasn't eating much, I was looking forward to enjoying food again and thinking of fun ways to find and try new recipes. I came up with a couple of ideas. The first came by looking at my baking/spices cabinet. This is what it currently looks like:

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a total mess. Everything is thrown in there, and it's impossible to find what I'm looking for when I need it. I knock at least four things out every time I look for something in there. It is in dire need of organization! I do have a lot of great stuff in there, though- thanks to my dad's influence and a wonderful spice store we have here in Columbus (Penzey's)- so I know there are limitless cooking ideas waiting for me in there if I just take the time to look. So, one of my goals is to get this cabinet organized and see how many recipe ideas I can come up with based on fun spices and things that I already have. 

My second idea came from looking at the family cookbook. My great-aunt put this cookbook together at least 25 years ago and it features recipes from almost everyone on my dad's mom's side of the family (she was one of 10 kids, so it's a big family). My grandma had a copy for me and saved it all those years to give to me at my wedding shower. I cherish it!

I recently realized that the only recipes I ever really use out of this book are the ones that come from my own little part of the family, specifically my parents. I thought it might be a fun idea to try to "cook my way" through it. I don't know if it will be possible to make every single recipe, though. One of my great-grandfather's calls for at least 30 hens. So that one's probably not going to happen. But a lot of them would probably be great to try, so I'm going to start on that, too.

I've also made a couple of new recipes out of Taste of Home. Ben got me a subscription for Christmas, and it is one of the best gifts ever! I have never made anything out of Taste of Home that wasn't good. Last week I tried this Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet which was labor-intensive but good- thankfully my brother was here to help me saute the shrimp- I always do it wrong and overcook them. I also made these baked tomatoes to accompany the dish- but I was not overly impressed. I love the idea of baked tomatoes, though, so if anyone has a recipe or suggestions, let me know. 

I'm also behind on reviewing books, but I have finished a couple lately. I have to say that I loved, loved, loved Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.

I loved Walls's memoir The Glass Castle, so I was excited to read another one of her works. This is a "true-life" novel about her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who was born around the turn of the century and spent her life ranching, teaching, and raising a family. I love the voice she gave to her grandmother and how she clearly tried to stay 100% true to who her grandmother really was. The dialogue is realistic (something I really love in a book), and it draws you in from page 1- you're instantly transported into Lily's life and want to dive right in. My only complaint about the book is that it ends rather abruptly, and I would have liked a bit more closure on Lily's life. But all in all, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it! One of the best books I have read this year. 

Goodbye winter...

It's been a long, hard winter, and I am ready for it to be over! I love to look outside and see the sun shining, even if the temperature is still a bit cold. I can't wait for Bennett to be able to play outside, for us to be able to take trips to the park, the zoo, and the pool. I've never loved cold weather or snow, but I especially hate it now that I have a little one- being stuck inside for several months takes on a whole new meaning. I am feeling a lot better in the past week or so- hardly any sickness or throwing up. The second trimester has begun, and I think I've finally turned that corner. I'm so grateful!

I have so many things I want to post about, but I'll just pick a couple for today. First of all, I'm really looking forward to enjoying food again. I have been craving so many things, but especially cherry tomatoes. I cannot wait for all the fresh produce to start rolling in and to start making trips to the farmers market as well as growing a few things in my little garden. I have really gotten behind on trying new recipes, and I have a few ideas on how to catch up on that (for a later post). For now I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes and something that I made a LOT of this winter- it often tasted good to me even when I was feeling sick. It's my grandmother's spaghetti sauce- really hearty and has a great flavor. It also freezes well, so you can make a huge batch at one time and save some for later. It's a great end-of-winter meal and so easy to make!

Nan's Spaghetti Sauce

Brown 4 lbs. hamburger (I always use sirloin) with one medium chopped onion (or more, if you prefer). Drain.

Add:

46 oz. tomato juice

15 oz. tomato sauce (sometimes I use a little more)

28 oz. tomato puree

1 bottle of chili sauce (I like the Heinz brand)

Then add seasonings:

2 bay leaves

1.5 - 2 tsp. oregano

1.5 - 2 tsp.Italian seasoning

2 pinches of red & green pepper spice (can be kind of hard to find, but worth looking for!)

1.5 - 2 tsp. chili powder

Stir it all together and simmer for 3 hours until thick. I usually simmer it uncovered so it will get thicker. 

I also wanted to report that I finished the first book on my Kindle--Deception Point by Dan Brown. It was a little (OK, a LOT) far-fetched, but I liked it for the most part. I was just in the mood for a fast-paced book like that, and it was a fun read. Like many people had told me, it's not as good as Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code, but it's entertaining nonetheless. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about meteorites, that's for sure.

I'm a little behind on my reading for the year (if my goal is to read one book a month), but I'm into a new book now that I'm loving, so hopefully I'll catch up soon. Looking forward to spring and catching up on just about everything! Happy Tuesday!

Cookies!

I wish I had more time for holiday baking, but at this time of year, with Bennett's birthday, shopping, working, preparing for travel, etc., there just isn't a lot of opportunity for it. Which is probably a blessing in disguise, since I tend to sample way too much of everything I make and these last 5 pounds of "baby weight" just aren't going away. I did do a little baking over the weekend, though- our pastor and his wife had a Christmas open house so I made a tray of cookies to take to that and thought I would share the recipes. The first is a tried-and-true classic that my mom has been making ever since I can remember:

Double Treat Cookies

½ cup soft butter

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

½ cup sugar

1 egg

½ tbsp. vanilla

1 ¼ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tbsp. salt

1 (6 oz.) package chocolate chips

Cream butter and peanut butter together. Add sugars. Add egg and vanilla. 

Combine dry ingredients and add to creamy mixture. 

Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonful and push down with a fork. 

Leave out chocolate chips if you want a delicious peanut butter cookie. 

Bake 8-10 minutes at 350. Makes about 3 ½ dozen. 

The second was a new recipe that I tried. Ben & I both love anything mint chocolate so I couldn't resist trying this one. I will post it but you can also see it here. I was a little skeptical since I have not used many cookie mixes in the past, but they turned out good and were so easy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 pouch (1 lb., 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup soft butter

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. mint extract (I used 1/4- I've ruined things before by adding too much mint)

4-6 drops green food color (I used too much and they wound up looking like St. Patrick's Day cookies instead of Christmas cookies!)

1 egg

1 cup creme de menthe baking chips (I chopped up Andes candies)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, mint extract, food color, and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.

Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

We are leaving for my parents on Thursday and then off to Iowa on Saturday, not back until January 1, so I'm sure this will be my last post of 2010. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Sending you lots of love from the Borich family!

My michelle

I was just sitting here thinking about Michelle, my best friend since 3rd grade. I am so proud of her- on Saturday, she completed her first half marathon- the St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis (where she lives)- and she did it in under two hours! She finished in the top 10% of females in her age group- and it was her first half marathon. Way to go, Michelle!

Running a half-anything is definitely not on my 30 in my 30s list. Maybe halfway around the block...if I'm chasing the ice cream truck. What is on my list is trying 300 new recipes, and Michelle will be a great help with that since she is always making good food. I recently tried a recipe that she gave me for Italian Sausage & Vegetable Soup- it was delicious and very simple and fast to make. I don't think she'll mind if I share it here. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage & Vegetable Soup

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 2 cups frozen chopped spinach 
• salt, pepper, parsley to taste

Directions

1. In a stockpot, brown sausage with garlic and onion. Drain. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt, pepper and parsley. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans and zucchini. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach. Simmer another 10 to 15 minutes.

Thanksgiving recipe wrap-up

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning stresses me out a little, but I do love the holiday. This year we had our Iowa family with us, which was a lot of fun. Ben wanted to roast a turkey, which neither one of us had ever done. My family was never very traditional on holidays- our Thanksgivings over the years included everything from chicken to lasagna to BBQ. Anyway, he did a great job and it tasted delicious. He used Alton Brown's recipe (here) and he also added a package of frozen berries into the aromatics. We got a Honeybaked ham as well- I know those are quite a bit more expensive than the store-brand hams, but wow, they are so good and I think they are worth paying extra for.

I've been slacking on my 300 new recipes I'm supposed to try during my 30s, so I thought Thanksgiving would be a good time to add a few. I had actually never made homemade stuffing or sweet potatoes before, so I did both of those and they turned out good. To save oven space, I made the stuffing in the crock pot, and a little while before serving, we spread it out on a pan and put it in the oven so it would be nice and toasty. We also had gravy, cranberry-apricot sauce, rolls, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes.

For desserts, I made an apple crumble, my mom's chocolate pudding dessert (I'll have to do another post with that recipe sometime), and another new recipe- butterscotch crescents. It was a Taste of Home recipe I found here. Good, but labor intensive and I'm not sure I'd make them again. The frosting was wonderful, though!

Now we plunge into December- parties, birthdays, shopping, Christmas, and traveling! Hopefully a little time in there to also relax and enjoy the season!

Simple desserts

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, I thought I'd post a couple of my recipes for simple but yummy desserts. We had a community meal at church last night, and I made both of these. Either are great for when you don't have a lot of time and need to throw something together quickly. The first actually doesn't even qualify as a "recipe." You just take your favorite brownie mix, make it as directed, and when you take it out of the oven, open an entire package of Andes candies and place them evenly all over the top of the brownies. In a minute or two, they'll melt, and you can spread them evenly over the top. Let the brownies cool and the chocolate on top will harden. It looks pretty and tastes delicious! You can also chop up the Andes candies and put them in the brownie batter.

The other is a recipe that's been in my family for years. My mom got it from one of her friends long before I was born. These bars are satisfying without being overly sweet. They're a favorite of my best friend Courtney and taste so good warm with a glass of milk. Enjoy!

Toffee Bars

Cream together:

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Add: 

2 cups flour

1 (6 oz.) package chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Spread in ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Make sure you don’t overbake! They may not seem quite done when you take them out, but they will bake a little more in the hot pan. If you overbake them, they won't be good. 

Food Obsession: Chili

I'm pretty sure that almost everyone loves fall. I don't know anyone who doesn't. Football, hay rides, apple cider, cooler weather...and especially soup. Soup is a staple at our house, even in the summer, but especially in the fall and winter. We like to make a big batch of soup over the weekend so we have lunch and leftovers throughout the coming week. And now that I have another freezer in my garage, I plan to freeze a lot this year, too.

One of our favorite things to make is chili. I love chili because there are so many different ways you can make it. If you went down the street and asked each of your neighbors for their recipe, you'd come up with something different from everyone. Even ours is a little different every time. Our chili recipe is something we came up with when we first got married. I feel sentimental about it because it takes me back to a time when we were young and poor and lived in a little apartment. Time goes by so fast! Nothing reminds me of that more than autumn. So, here is our chili recipe- we love to serve it with a little bit of shredded cheese, a little bit of sour cream (fat-free for you WWers), and a little bit of crumbled-up cornbread.

Ben & Sarah's Chili

2 lbs. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped (more or less depending on what you like)

1 chopped green bell pepper

1/2 chopped red bell pepper

2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2-3 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes

1 packet chili seasoning (Chili-O is what we like to use)

1-2 tsp. ground cumin

1-2 large cans V-8 or any brand of vegetable juice

Combine the ground meat, onion, and bell peppers in a large saucepan. Stirring constantly, cook over medium-high heat until the meat is crumbly and the onion translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, chili seasoning, cumin, and V-8 (until it reaches your desired consistency). Bring to a boil, then simmer until you're ready to eat.

I'm still 30...and I made Indian food

Life has been a little better lately. Circumstances haven't necessarily changed, but I've just been making a real effort to be content and to make the best of things the way they are right now. It helps. But life is still going by so fast. I really psyched myself up for turning 30, but lately I'm just feeling old. Then I look in the mirror and my feelings are confirmed. Then I look at my list and tell myself I need to get moving. I promise there are more exciting things on my list than cooking and sewing and reading, it's just a matter of getting to them. I realize that being a working mom is more than a legit excuse for not getting a lot of stuff done beyond the basics. But I also realize that I'm not going to look back when I'm 40, 50, 60 and be satisfied with that reason for not accomplishing my goals. So expect some more progress from me- as soon as I finish this freelance project, catch up on laundry, find the DVD Bennett wants to watch, figure out when I have time to take a shower.......

I did try a new recipe a couple weeks ago. I have no idea if this recipe is truly Indian food or not, but I thought I'd try it. It's another one I came across in Better Homes & Gardens, and you can find it here if you're interested. I love almost all kinds of food, but Indian food is not something I've really had a lot of. I had one homemade Indian dish many years ago, and I hated it. A few years ago, Ben spent about a month in southern India and he loved the food there. He felt good eating it and lost weight. Since then, I've always intended to be more adventurous about Indian food but it just hasn't happened. When I saw this recipe I thought it would be a good first try. I have to admit I cut back on both the curry and the ginger out of fear of the unknown. I also used chicken breast instead of chicken thighs. I really liked this dish- and even more so because it is low in calories and fat- but I didn't go crazy over it. Ben liked it more than I did, and my parents liked it, too. Another plus is that it's a crock pot meal- I love anything that cuts down on prep time.

New recipes

I have tried a couple new recipes lately. One of them was totally against my will. A few weeks ago, we were out in Iowa looking after my mother-in-law after she had a lengthy hospital stay. We spent a lot of the time cooking and filling up their freezer with food for the coming months- lasagna, chicken noodle casserole, mac & cheese, split pea & ham soup, beef vegetable soup, chicken & rice soup, minestrone, etc. During the first several days we were there, I barely saw my mother-in-law take more than a few bites of dry toast or applesauce. But one day, she decided that Jell-O salad sounded great to her. I have to admit, I have never made Jell-O salad before. So, with her direction, I mixed the cottage cheese, orange Jell-O mix, crushed pineapples and Cool Whip together. Totally.gross. I couldn't even bring myself to taste it. I actually like cottage cheese, but there was just something about the mixture of those ingredients that did not seem like responsible cooking to me. However, she loved it and that's all that matters. And, now I know how to make a Jell-O salad should the need ever arise again.

A couple weeks ago, I also tried a new recipe that let me use one of the million zucchinis from my garden. I saw this recipe for Zucchini-Wrapped Pork in Better Homes & Gardens earlier this summer, and it can be found online here. I love recipes that are simple and have only a few ingredients, especially during warm weather. I can never seem to make things turn out the way they look in a magazine, though. For the life of me, I could not get my zucchini to slice in ribbon-thin slices with a vegetable peeler. It was pretty pathetic:

So instead of zucchini wrapped pork, I wound up with more of a zucchini topped pork. It was delicious. Can't wait to make it again!

Food Obsession: Guacamole

Forget the banana- I think the avocado just might be the world's most perfect food. I can't believe I spent over 25 years of my life not liking it. Now, slicing up a gorgeous, ripe avocado makes me so happy. My avocado appreciation started a few years ago in Spain. Ben & I had just arrived in Barcelona, and I was absolutely starving. We had no idea where to eat, so we decided to grab a bite at our hotel (which, off the subject, was the weirdest hotel I've ever been in- it was just like those SNL sketches with all the crazy furniture that no one can figure out how to sit in. The shower in this hotel was glass-encased with no curtains and stood smack dab in the middle of the room. I couldn't figure out how to turn it on. When Ben came over to try to help me, he walked into a glass wall so hard it knocked him backwards several feet. Then all the sudden the shower turned on and sprayed him in the face and got water all over the room).

Anyway, back to the avocado. I ordered a club sandwich at this hotel and it came with slices of hard-boiled egg and avocado on it. It was heavenly. I don't know, maybe it was because I was so hungry and so sick of strange European foods (like black cherry soup, ugh), but whatever the reason, it tasted so good. Thus began my love affair with the avocado.

My favorite use for the avocado is fresh guacamole. I love making guacamole, and I make it a little bit different every time. A few avocados, some fresh lime juice (don't even bother with lime juice if it's not fresh, seriously), a little fresh cilantro (sometimes yes, sometimes no), some salt and pepper, a couple spoonfuls of sour cream, occasionally a little salsa (my favorite is Newman's Own black bean & corn), and lots and lots of Penzey's salsa salad seasoning (or any type of taco seasoning you have handy). I pop it all in a bowl and stir it around with a fork. I don't think there's any real reason to put guacamole in the food processor. The chunkier the better as far as I'm concerned. I love making things that don't require the same ingredients each time and don't require exact proportions. (Sorry, Courtney!) I'm sure that I get this from my dad, who cooks this way and is one of my biggest kitchen inspirations.

So this post actually does have a little bit to do with my 30 in my 30s list. One of the items on it is to Try at least 300 new recipes. I will plan to keep track of them here, but I'll try my best not to turn this into a food blog or a list of recipes. Like reading, I think cooking is about the experience- where you were, what you learned, how you remember it. We can't live without food, so we might as well make it fun.