Be Cr8iv

Grain Free Thanksgiving

2014-12-05T09:04:00.001-06:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

I decided to try something new this year. I wanted to have a grain free and gluten free (GF) Thanksgiving. Easier said than done! I pulled recipes from my new favorite magazine, Fine Cooking. So far I have loved all the recipes I have made from this goodie! I will put links throughout so you can make them too.

Most of my modifications were to use GF alternatives and all organic ingredients throughout. Here are some of the nummies I made and the recipes I used.

First, lets talk turkey. Well turkey roulades. I made two different ones because I just could not choose between them!

The first one is a turkey roulade with a gluten free (GF) cranberry, pecan stuffing. The second is a roulade stuffed with fontina and sage, wrapped in bacon. I think there was a tie up between which one was liked better. They were both really exquisite, but the one wrapped in bacon was a big more moist. I believe you were supposed to make up for it with gravy on the first one, but I am just not a big gravy lover.

Speaking of stuffing, this one was very good. I made it with GF bread. I didn't know much about GF bread but squeezing them in the grocery store did not get me excited. I think the one I settled on was a Canyon brand, but no matter the bread gets toasted anyhow! This was an apple, leek and sage stuffing - and there is a bit of prosciutto in there as well. Moist and flavorful.

Lets talk cranberries. I usually like the canned jelly stuff. I know, yuck. It is basically sugar, with cranberry flavor, most likely why I enjoy it! I made Cranberry Sauce with Orange, Ginger and Thyme from scratch and boy are they worth it!!

This was something I added to the menu at the last minute...mostly because I was curious and I wanted something in case the stuffing was a fail :-) Now I don't think rice is grain free, but it is probably the easiest grain to digest, so we will let it slide.

Wild rice with roasted grapes, pecan and sage. Wow - this was good. People were hesitant but pleasantly surprised when they tried it. When you roast the grapes you toss balsamic vinegar on them - it really gives it a pop. I used a rice medley I got from Costco.

I bet you didn't think carrots could be interesting? Well these were. Carrots with pistachio herb butter. This was fun and flavorful. So simple, I think I will make more herbed butters to use!

Simple roasted brussel sprouts with caramelized onions. These should make your dinner table any weeknight. Some at the table had never had brussel sprouts or had them but didn't like them and they liked these. Very delish.

This picture is totally unfair. It should have fireworks coming out of it. These are the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Seriously. Locate these ingredients and make this. Put this on your bucket list. Just saying. Mashed potato, parsnip and parmesan gratin.

After all that there is clearly room for dessert....after a few hours :-) Lets start with pumpkin pie. This was a bit of a few recipes. To make the crust I used Namaste flour from Costco. I started with this pie crust recipe, but used butter instead of shortening and arrowroot powder instead of xanthan gum. Speaking of ingredients - spend the extra money on good butter, you won't be disappointed. Unsalted butter made from grass fed cows. I buy this brand.

Chocolate needs to be present too, yes? Yes. This cake was so cool to make! It is a Chocolate Beet cake with pink sea salt. Yep you read that right, beets. You roast them, let them cool, peel 'em, puree them with almond milk and boom - it is the wet side of ingredients for this cake. Very moist and dense, almost brownie like. I made a substitution - I didn't have any almond flour, so I used tapioca and coconut flour, plus the rice flour called for in the recipe. There is no way you would know there are beets in this cake.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving as well, here is to hosting fun, foodie parties more next year!!

Chicken under a Brick

2014-07-01T09:25:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read that title correctly.

I enjoy cooking, learning new techniques, combining different flavors and hopefully pleasing the lovelies sitting at my table. There is a local shop here that I adore going to that has a great array of all things kitchen, plus cooking classes. Monthly, they send out a newsletter and it often inspires me. This last newsletter talked about a book called "The Grilling Book". The pictures alone had me hooked. Once I saw the recipe for Chicken under a Brick, I was off to the hardware store to get a brick! I bought a square paver brick. Boy did they think I was nuts for buying one 60 cent brick!

The hardest part about this recipe is you have to butterfly a whole chicken. This involves removing the spine and breast bone. Let me tell you, that was hard for me. Not because it is terribly difficult to do. It is because I get rather squeamish about that sort of business. I found out after, if you ask your butcher, they will most likely do this for you (ey yi yi, wish I would've knew that sooner!).

I will save you the details of how to do it. You can either ask the butcher or google it - there are a bunch of videos that will give you all you need.

Once that is done, flatten it out on a clean surface and season. Liberally put kosher salt and pepper to your taste, and some cayenne pepper.

Rub grape seed oil on it everywhere and now zest an entire lemon over it. Last cut up about 3 Tbsp of fresh rosemary and put that on as well. Season a bit more than you think. This is not just a chicken breast, it is a large piece of meat and will need that flavor. You can use your hands to rub in the seasons or a silicone brush:

Make sure you oil the grill grate before you start and then get it up to a medium-high heat. While it is heating up, wrap your brick in foil so it is clean.

Place the chicken, skin side down on the grill and put the foil wrapped brick on top. Cook until browned and crispy, at least 15 minutes.

Use tongs to set the brick aside, flip the chicken and place the brick back on top of it. This keeps the meat in contact with the grill grates. Cook for 10 minutes and repeat the flipping process until it is done.

How do you know if it is done? Put a thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh to check for doneness (165 degrees). It took about 55 minutes for my 4 pound chicken to be done. I just set a timer for 10 minutes and would keep flipping it. Once I got to 50 minutes, I started checking the temp.

Remember to let the meat rest while you get the rest of your dinner ready. Don't cut for a solid 10 minutes.

I also, grilled avocados. Slice as normal, rub a bit of coconut oil, grill for 30-45 seconds. NUMMY My only regret is they didn't get more grill marks, but that is just aesthetic.

This was a fun, adventurous meal for me. Everyone really seemed to enjoy, which is the best part!!

Chicken Stir Fry

2014-06-19T21:13:00.000-05:00

Dinner tonight was chicken stir fry served over quinoa and brown rice. This isn't a hard dish to make and you don't need to use stir fry sauces filled with all sorts of things you can't pronounce!

Stir Fry:
3 organic free range chicken breasts
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1 head broccoli
2 heads baby bok choy, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 cup baby bella mushrooms
1 zucchini
1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons avocado or sesame oil
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon honey

Most of your work is cutting. Don't worry about everything being perfect, just try to get consistent sizes so things cook evenly.

Put about a tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan and heat to medium high. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes or until translucent. This may take more or less time depending on how thin you slice them.

Add the broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes. Add chicken, peppers and carrots, sprinkle some pink salt in and cook for around 8 minutes. I ended up having to use two pans at this point, but it works.

Now add mushrooms, zucchini and bok choy for 4 minutes. Stir periodically during all of these steps.

Combine both pans if they are separate, pour in 1 cup of water and cover. Cook for about 8 minutes.

While this is cooking whisk together 1/2 cup of water and 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder. If you are not familiar with it, it works a lot like corn starch as a thickener. Get out some vinegar, avocado or sesame oil and honey.

Once the liquid in the pan is thicker, add about 2 tablespoons of the oil and vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon of honey.

Serve over just quinoa or as I did quinoa and brown rice. A little organic soy sauce and you are good to go!

Enjoy!

Grilled steak and veggies

2014-06-18T21:09:00.000-05:00

Pretty simple meal tonight, but still delicious! I bought my new favorite cut of steak, flat iron. It is a really nice steak with good flavor, I guess that is why it is sometimes called the butchers cut. :-)

First thing I did was put the steak in a 1 gallon ziplock. Poured in some worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. I didn't measure, sorry. Leave it on the counter and promptly ignore.

Cut up some organic red & yellow peppers and baby bella mushrooms...toss with grape seed oil & kosher salt. Place on a medium hot grill:

Put the steak on the grill and cook for about 6 minutes per side (depending on how hot your grill is - mine was cooler than I thought). I don't think it looks that appetizing raw, but I thought you may still want to see it.

Let the steak rest...lets talk about that for a bit. Resting meat before cutting it is really important. You would be surprised how much difference this will make in your final product. Much more juicy. Keep in mind, the bigger the meat the longer the rest. Chicken breast or steak, rest around 4 minutes is good. A whole turkey, rest like 15.

When you cut the steak, turn your knife at a 45 degree angle and cut against the grain. This is not just for making a nice presentation, although it does do that! It makes the it less tough. You can do this on most cuts, even chicken. I think the texture is better.

Veggies can cook anywhere from the 12 or so minutes you have the meat on to close to 20. This variance depends on if you like any crunch left in them and how much char you like.

Like I said, very simple meal but really good.

How about you...what did you make for dinner?

Grilled Chicken Salad

2014-06-17T22:18:00.000-05:00

This is a nice summer recipe for a grilled chicken salad.

First, pound the chicken breasts flat. I don't know if pound flat is the right term, I just try and get the meat to be an even thickness. It helps to cook it evenly. Season with a chipotle pepper and garlic salt.

Heat your grill to medium. I threw some peppers, onions, grape seed oil & kosher salt in a basket and put that on at right away. Just shake the basket a bit each time you add or flip the meat.

When it is up to temp, place chicken on grill. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side. After you take the chicken off the grill, let them rest for a couple minutes before you slice them.

While you wait, put some spinach greens & chopped tomato in a bowl. Place your grilled chicken, roasted peppers & freshly made guac on your salad!

Mmmm good!

Holy Guacamole!

2014-06-17T21:17:00.000-05:00

I love guac. It is great with some Beanito chips, with a meal or as a snack all by itself. You can get much fancier with different recipes, but I have a really simple one that is very delicious! Anyone can make this!

You only need a few ingredients:

This is an organic lemon, a non organic avocado (clean 15/dirty dozen recommendations) and some organic salsa found at Costco.

Here is a little video of how to make this...really you can't mess this up:

Let me know if you try it and what you think!!

Cellular Healing Diet

2014-06-17T20:57:00.000-05:00

I started following the Cellular Healing Diet a week and a half ago. I thought a blog would be a good place to keep track of and share recipes that I try, as well as note my progress along the way.

My primary goal in choosing to follow this eating plan is to lose weight and feel healthier. I can say after the first week I did notice a difference. I felt lighter and less bloated. Finally after three days I had to know, did I weigh any less? I stepped on the scale and yes, I was down 4 pounds! The following Saturday I attended two graduation parties, which meant I did eat sugar....still one week on the plan I was down a total of 3 pounds. I was happy.

I am in week two now. My attitude is good, meaning I don't feel deprived. This is a good thing!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2014-03-29T12:21:00.000-05:00

Kind of a staple of comforting, warm, deliciousness in the winter months. Even though it is technically supposed to be spring....it does not look or feel like spring here. Oh well, I digress. Back to nummy cookies!

Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1 Cup raisins
1 1/4 Cup Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 Cup Butter
1/4 Cup coconut oil
1/4 Cup Sugar
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 Cup Oats

If your raisin are not totally fresh, beat your eggs in a small bowl and then put the raisins in it and let soak.
Beat your sugars and butter/coconut oil. You could just use butter but I thought the coconut oil would give it a nice flavor, which it did! I buy mine at Costco. It will look like the beginnings of any good cookie dough:

Add the vanilla into the mixture of butter and sugar. Add the dry mixture (Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon and Salt.) in with the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the raisins and egg mixture. Last, stir in the oats.

Use Pampered Chef medium scoop to put on pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

If you would like a printable copy, click HERE.

Mmm good!

Caramel Frappuccino Cupcakes

2014-02-01T18:02:00.001-06:00

This morning I had the pleasure of making some delicious CCC (caramel, coffee, chocolate) cupcakes with my daughter!

We started by being inspired with multiple pins on pinterest and did some pulling from a bunch of them to come up with this amazing concoction! Trust me, this is worth your time to make!!!

First, you need to bake some chocolate, coffee cupcakes.

Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup brewed coffee, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Hersheys Special Dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa in a large bowl, set aside

Combine coffee and vanilla, set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter (approx 2 – 3 minutes).

Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Gradually add dry ingredient mixture alternating with the coffee mixture to the batter.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners (18 liners total).

Fill each liner with 3/4 cup of mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While they are cooling, make your filling.

Filling
Whip up 1C of whipping cream and add about 4 TBSP powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Add 1 TBSP coffee and whip into cream. The filling doesn't need to be very sweet at all, it is a nice contrast to the frosting.

I took a strawberry huller to carve out a cavity to put the filling in. Make it deep enough so you can fill in that nummy goodness! Put your filling in a baggie, snip the end and fill 'em up!

What to do with the extra cake you pulled out and filling? Mix them up and eat them!

Now you can make the frosting. We choose a cinnamon cream cheese frosting to give a complimentary flavor. I think this contrast gave the overall cupcake it's wow factor.

Frosting
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
7 1/2 to 8 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Blend softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add in vanilla and cinnamon, blending everything well. Gradually add powdered sugar a cup at a time, blending mixture after each addition. Put in a large baggie with a big star tip for a pretty design. Frost the cupcakes in a circular pattern to give height to the cupcake.

We used caramel ice cream topping, which was pretty runny so we put it in a baggie and snipped a ridiculously small hole in the corner to dispense. This worked fine, but you could also use a thicker caramel to top for more control. Cover the tops with a zig zag and place a little straw on the side for the full frappuccino effect.

Dig in, you won't be sorry!!

Good book announcement!

2013-09-24T18:54:00.000-05:00

I am happy to announce that a blogger I have been following has written a book! Her blog is titled Women Living Well and her book shares the title.

I was really lucky and got an advance copy of the book and it is fabulous!

I really like her book and website. She speaks from the heart. Not from the perspective that she has it all together, but much like all of us, she has great advice and sometimes forgets to follow it. :-)

Regardless, she has so many wonderful tips on improving your marriage, parenting and your walk with God. I must confess that I have been reading this book slower than other books but I feel like it is because I am absorbing so much information. I can only take in so much in one sitting!

I really want to read the book again, specifically in a book study with other women as it would be so wonderful to hear what others are thinking throughout it!

Here is some good news for you....if you order a pre-order copy of the book before September 30, you get a 10 e-Book bundle! Talk about getting your bookshelf or iPad ready for the winter months!

Do me a favor and go to her website and look at the list of wonderful books you will get by pre-ordering PLUS you will get this great book. You won't be disappointed.

Home made protein bars

2013-09-20T17:52:00.000-05:00

I have been rather MIA for a long time. I guess I just needed a break. Regardless, I am back and boy do I have a treat for you.

Lately I have been ~~obsessing~~ researching natural protein bars. I figured there has to be a better, cheaper, more delicious alternative. Guess what? There is!!

While researching, I happened on a blog called The Nourishing Home. She has a great recipe to use and build from. I decided to give it a go myself. Her recipe calls for coconut flour and I was leery about using it only because I have never tried it and it was spendy. So, I popped up to Whole Foods and was able to buy some buy weight, which is a much more cost effective way to try things.

First you are to mix honey, coconut flour & almond butter. I cheated and used peanut butter. :-)

Next, you add nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes and chocolate if you like.

Line a 8x8 pan with parchment paper, leaving some hang over the edge so you can pull it out easier later.

Put the mix in the pan and squish it down. I used an extra piece of parchment to flatten it out.

Let them cool for about 45 minutes, then pop in the fridge for about an hour. Cut into 8 servings.

INCREDIBLY

DELICIOUS!

These are all pictures of the cherry chocolate bars. Here is a pic of the apricot bars...still cooling in my kitchen.

My advice? Go make this right away. You will not be disappointed. I can't wait to start being creative with the ingredients. Next, I think I will add pumpkin seeds to them...and white chocolate...or butterscotch...or...

Experimenting in the kitchen

2013-05-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

I have been looking into a bunch of new, interesting things to make. So, stay tuned to see what is going on.

First, I ordered some water kefir. Go ahead and google it, I didn't really know anything about it until a week or so ago.

Here is the plan, take these little fellas and make flavored water kefir soda.

Why you ask?

Um, why not.

Making soda with yeast like creatures...oooo sciency!

Pick your own flavors and bottle them in old school flip top bottles!

This type of soda also helps with digestion and tummy aches.

And finally, why not?

Here is step one of the experiment....Assemble the necessities.

Quart jar
Coffee filter
Rubber band
Water kefir
4 cups water
4-6 Tbsp sugar (duh I opted for 6)
Wooden spoon

Warm up some of the water and disolve the sugar in it. Add the rest of the water and make sure it is room temp.

Add water kefir and stir with a wooden spoon (no metal allowed).

Cover with coffee filter and rubber band so it can breathe but nothing can get in.

Wait 3-4 days. Sigh...that part is not fun.

Oh well, check in later and see what happens next!

I got MY peanut butter in MY chocolate

2013-03-16T08:55:00.004-05:00

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Hello there, I have been off the radar lately! No excuses. Moving on, today I would like to share a nummy recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies.

It was the hubby's birthday recently and the ingredients he wanted me to work with were PB & chocolate. Well that was last years secret items too! I didn't want to make another layered cake with peanut butter frosting.

One of his favorite cookies as a child were Nutter Butters. I wondered if I could incorporate them in a dessert.

I was also itching to use my new Pampered Chef square muffin tin. I bought it forever ago and have not used it. Shame on me. I don't know if they even sell it anymore.

First I made some brownie batter using two Ghiradelli Triple Chocolate Brownie Mixes. It's really a wonder there are other brownie mixes out there with a name like that one. I filled the squares a little less than halfway with batter, topped with a cookie and then put more batter on top.

Ignore all the Pam over spray :-)

I took the rest and made a giant version with my 8x8 pan, which I promptly took a picture of. Oh wait, no completely spaced that last part.

Here is where it got tricky. How long do you bake them? I set the oven to 325, if you use an 8x8 pan it is about 40-50 minutes. I started at 20 minutes and then checked every 5. I ended up baking them for 35 minutes but I think that was about 5 minutes too long because they do continue to bake while in the hot pan.

When they are cooled, mix up some ganache. I have never made this before so I opted for the microwave version which turned out ok. I think next time I will make the stove method. It would be nice to see if cooking over the stove would allow it to be thicker without waiting so long to cool. That aside, it tastes amazing!

Mix chocolate and heavy cream 1:1 ratio. You need to use a scale for this.

Put in the microwave for a minute, whisk and repeat until completely integrated. If it is too runny when you are done, wait for it to cool - it will thicken.

Then you top those bad boys with chocolate deliciousness....mmm

After this I didn't feel like they were quite done. So I whipped up some peanut butter frosting and piped it over the top. Just peanut butter, butter, milk and powdered sugar. How pretty are they?

Just for an added touch of I dunno what, I popped little mini Reese's Peanut butter cups on the top.

The jury definitely liked these bad boys. The Nutter Butter in the center was a great surprise when you bit in.

Womens History Month

2013-03-02T08:32:00.000-06:00

I have been dabbling in my family history for a few months. It is a pretty fun and interesting hobby. If you haven't tried you should really give it a whirl. There are loads of resources out there to help you.

Recently, Olive Tree Genealogy had a challenge out for Women's History Month. Write a blog about your favorite female ancestor. Oooo, I am in!

My favorite female ancestor would have to be my Grandma Fries. First, look at how beautiful she was:

1906-1989

I wish I could see her dress more in this picture. I was told and I think you can see in this picture, she was super stylish. I mean the pearls and the super dreamy fabric here is enough to confirm that!!!

I grew up living right next door to my grandparents. First, there is nothing better than that. I could walk over to their house any time of day or night and I was always welcome. Grandma was a cook by profession and let me tell you, she was really good. She could make anything and it would be wonderful. Her cooking ability seemed like magic to me because nothing was written down and she certainly didn't own measuring cups. I would love going over and smelling whatever she had going in the kitchen. She cooked, baked, canned, you name it. I think the most crazy memory I had was when she would make Crab Apple Jelly. She would cook the apples and then put them in the cheese cloth to drip. Imagine white cones of the fine fabric propped all over the kitchen and dining room with red goo dripping out of the bottom of them. It was almost circus looking.

She was also a crafter. Although I think most people of her generation were, but that made her no less special or inspiring to me. Her and I would sew, make Christmas ornaments or whatever popped in our heads that day.

I spent loads of time with her. She was basically my daycare. She would chat with me about anything and always had time to listen to my banter. I also liked that she was protective of me. If there were a threat, she would tell me to come over and sit real close to her. The comfort and warmth of being near her was priceless.

Like most grandmas she had pockets of advice that I thought was random....always keep a quarter with you in case you need to make a call....watch out for strangers, you're a pretty girl and someone might grab you (yep, she would say that!), or simply ah just ignore it, that will pass.

She gave me some of her costume jewelry and hankies which I now love to think about ... where did she wear such things? I guess when she was a cook she would fold one of the delicate, embroidered hankies and fix it to her uniform with a lovely pin.

She was a beautiful lady inside and out. I loved spending time with her no matter what she was doing. It is good to have someone in your life you can simply just BE with and love it. For me, that was her.

I love you Grandma, miss you. XOXOXO

Learning about making pasta

2013-01-01T10:23:00.001-06:00

As you have figured out I am kind of a one note wonder lately. I keep experimenting with my new pasta making attachments. This will be a quick post of lessons learned.

1. If you can find it, get some semolina flour. Mix up some pasta flour to store in your pantry. Basically it is 50/50 unbleached white flour and semolina flour.

You may be wondering why bother? Well, first the pasta tastes better -duh. Second, it is much easier to work with. Semolina flour has more gluten in it and therefore is more stretchy, like... well... pasta.

2. If you live in a humid area or if your kitchen is humid, get a drying rack even if you are not planning on drying the pasta. This will make transferring your cut pasta to the boiling water better. No accidental clumping by squeezing too hard.

3. Experiment! There are so many recipes out there. Try some!!! I made lemon pepper fettuccine last night and it was a big hit. The lemon and pepper flavors came through the pasta that did not disappoint.

Easy recipe....

3/4 lb pasta flour

juice of one lemon

zest of three lemons

3 eggs

I just tossed with some butter and sea salt. I should have taken a picture of it before we dug in. It was pretty, really it was. But it was nummy and the only picture I had a chance to grab was this one:

Happy New Years!

Chocolate love....

2012-12-27T13:28:00.001-06:00

For Christmas I got a really neat book:

With my new pasta attachments I have been curious about making different types of pasta. This book is a really neat read because she gives you a lot of information. For instance, did you know chickens with white ear lobes lay white eggs and chickens with brown ear lobes lay brown eggs? I didn't even know chickens had ear lobes. I will wait a moment while you google chicken ear lobes... ... ... weird right?

Anyway, I was going through the book looking at different pasta options and I stumbled on chocolate pasta. Um, hold up, wait a minute, are you saying you can combine CHOCOLATE and PASTA? I'm in!!!

Assemble your ingredients:

350g of flour

1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa

1 tsp cinnamon

4 large eggs

I added a couple of teaspoons of water because it is so dry here right now. It looks absolutely beautiful after it is made...

Boil for 3-4 minutes, drain and top with either butter and powdered sugar or a little ice cream topping or maybe even some ice cream!!!

Here is an added bonus, you know how you have a dessert, say a brownie and you could have another and maybe even another. Chocolate pasta is filling, how great is that?!?! Try it out, you won't be disappointed.

Mi piace la pasta!

2012-12-04T21:39:00.001-06:00

It was my birthday yesterday and I must have been a super good girl. All of my presents were absolutely FABULOUS.

This post however is about one particular present.

One I have had my eye on for years.

One I wondered if I could do awesome things with.

Pasta attachments for my favorite kitchen toy....my Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!!

I was so excited I decided I had to try it tonight! It didn't disappoint.

I went with a super basic recipe (that didn't require my waiting 20 minutes - patience was at an all time low)

4 large eggs

2 tbs water

1 tbs oil

3 1/3 C semolina flour (oops half way through I realized this but used all purpose - worked fine)

1/2 tsp salt

Started like this...

Then you put in the flat beater at speed 2 for 30 seconds...followed by the dough hook at speed 2 for 2 minutes...

Hand knead for 1-2 minutes...roll out a bit...and the fun begins!

After you just boil water, add a pinch of kosher salt and boil for 3 minutes. It was so good! And so fun! Yes, I am easily entertained.

I served my fettuccine pasta with Roasted chicken with Pears.

MMMMM!!!!

1 pound chicken breasts cut in half

4t olive oil

1/4 salt

1/4 pepper

1 T honey or real maple syrup

1 T white wine vinegar

3 pears cored and thinly sliced (I used a mandoline)

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

2 oz crumbled feta cheese

1 bag spinach

Place chicken on sprayed cookie sheet, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Toss pears with syrup or honey, 2t olive oil and 1/8 tsp pepper. Add pears to the other side of cookie sheet. Roast 15 minutes. Combine celery, feta, vinegar and 1/8 tsp pepper.

Place handful of spinach on plate top with pears and celery....add awesome pasta. :-)

Sweet Potato Souffle

2012-11-29T07:51:00.000-06:00

I have been rather MIA lately, sorry about that! Regardless you are in for a special treat today. I have a guest blogger, my beautiful daughter. She made an amazing dish for Thanksgiving this year. I mean it, I think I had 3 helpings! And I certainly wasn't the only one. You need to make this!!!

Please give a warm welcome to Kyleigh.

T-Day Challenge 2012: Sweet Potato Souffle!

It’s a holiday classic, yet every year I have kept my distance from this odd dish. Now keep in mind, I’m not one of those picky eater types - and I’ve even joked about living off of mashed potatoes (the normal kind). But something about the so-called “sweet” aspect of the sweet potato just seemed, well, troubling. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one who finds the toasted marshmallow topping as the only enjoyable part of the dish.

But this year, things were going to be different. I don’t know what got into me, but I was determined to make a sweet potato dish that I would actually enjoy this Thanksgiving. It was, as odd as it sounds, my own personal challenge.

So I took to surfing the web for the recipe, relying on reviews & five-star ratings to sift out the good & the bad. Luckily, I stumbled upon this one fairly quickly thanks to the FoodNetwork- and was officially sold on it after watching the fun video tutorial :)

And guess what...it was a hit!

Thanksgiving day had come, and I had my fair share of fun whipping up a double batch of the stuff - but when it came time to serve up our plates & eat, I found myself eating around the orange & marshmallow mush, much like my usual self.

But I was shocked to hear my friends & family around me begin asking about the dish - “Who made this? It’s great! ... My wife makes a pretty good one, but you’ve GOT to get her this recipe!”

All this flattery & I was motivated enough to try the stuff myself - and it WAS good! Despite my reservations, I was pleasantly surprised with the dish. We’ve even cooked it up a second time for a family gathering since then - and a similar round of compliments were received.

What’s so special about this recipe, you ask? It beats me.

But maybe its the loads of sweets you put in it, making it more like a pumpkin pie than anything (how can you go wrong with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar...). Or maybe my accidental yam mix-up (see ingredient list below) is actually my own secret ingredient. Who knows? I’m just happy to say that I can officially add sweet potatoes to my taste pallet now with this recipe, though they may not have replaced my beloved mashed potatoes :)

Enjoy!!

♥ Kyleigh

“Old School Sweet Potato Souffle”

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/old-school-sweet-potato-souffle-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• Butter (for casserole dish)

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed - or YAMS (long story, but I accidentally bought yams instead and they tasted great, if not better! But “Yam Souffle” sounds even less appealing than sweet potato...)

• 1 (4.5-ounce) can evaporated milk

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 2 eggs

• Salt & black pepper (to taste)

• 1 cup coarsely chopped salted cashews (fewer seems to taste better - too much crunch)

• 1-2 cups mini marshmallows (your choice - but more marshmallows never hurt!)

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.

2) Add the potatoes to a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Drain in a colander in the sink.

3) Mash the potatoes in a large bowl or mixer. Add the evaporated milk, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, eggs, salt and pepper, to taste. Mix together until smooth. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and bake for 25 minutes.

4) Remove the casserole dish from the oven and top with stripes of crushed cashews along the top (or completely covered if you really like it). Then cover completely with mini marshmallows. Bake until the marshmallows are lightly toasted, about 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Gift Idea

2012-10-24T19:23:00.000-05:00

My daughter recently had a darling baby girl. :-)

I wanted to get her something that would be practical and nice. Flowers in the hospital just wouldn't do.

When I give a gift I try and think of what a person would really like, or enjoy or need. I focused on the latter.

What would she need help with? What be overwhelming for her?

Cooking dinners for her family when she got home.

Unfortunately I couldn't take time off work to stay home with her and help. However, I could make some tasty meals that would be super simple for her.

My plan was formed..

Get crock pot recipes.
Assemble ingredients and put them in 1 gallon bags.
Give to your favorite person with some crockpot liners.

The bags can be stored in the fridge and then just pop in the crockpot for easy meals.

This was super simple for me because I just used the sample menu plan from My family meal planner. She has an entire cookbook of just crockpot recipes! I am definitely going to buy it....I am just waiting a bit to see if she puts it in iPhone app form like one of her other cookbooks.

Fruity Cupcakes

2012-09-27T09:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I have been kind of out of the blogger loop lately. Well out of the writing loop, I still read a zillion blogs because I am so inspired by peoples creativity!

Not to long ago I went to a friends wedding. It was beautiful. I had a blast. I also was not disappointed in their "cake". They served cupcakes. However, these were so delicious. They had a hint of real fruit flavor and I was caught like a fish on a line. How could I acheive that taste? It wasn't bottled, I can tell you that.

Not to long after I was asked to bring cupcakes to a party. Oooo a chance opportunity? I think not.

I started sketching options and came up with this:

I am not sure if it is a good idea to sketch out your idea. Only reason is finding exactly what is in your brain can be difficult! I couldn't find plain dark brown liners but oh well.

I first melted my tempered chocolate and put in a piping bag. Lesson learned here was keep warming the chocolate and snip a very small hole. Some were cute, some not so good. I started with a template and then gave up on that. Another weird thing is my hearts kept getting bigger and bigger as I went. Wait, a bigger heart is what you want right? ;-) I made tons of extra so no big.

Just pipe the chocolate on waxed paper taped to your counter. If you are going to use a template place that beneath the wax paper. I let them dry over night, but a few hours would work too.

Here is the fruity secret.....Grab a bag of frozen strawberries - thaw them - drain the juice and use the juice as a substitute for the water required in your white cake mix. I couldn't resist putting the strawberries in the batter either but hey. Also, set aside 3 Tbsp of that juice to substitute the milk in your icing recipe (I made a basic cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar recipe).

Both the cakes and frosting will have a legitimate strawberry flavor that is WONDERFUL!!

To put the heart on top, just peel off the wax paper and place in the frosting. So nummy....really you must make these - soon.

Cupcakes

1 white cake mix

1 pkg frozen strawberries (thawed reserve liquid).

Make cake mix as directed but use liquid for 1 cup water called for - if there is not enough, just top with water until you get accurate measurement. Add strawberries last to batter - stir in.

Frosting

1 pkg softened cream cheese

1/2 stick softened butter

3 Tbsp strawberry liquid

4 c. +/- powdered sugar (add until correct consistency)

Enjoy!!!

Liebster Award!

2012-08-04T21:17:00.001-05:00

I was nominated by Libby at It's Never too Late...although I'm always Late for the Liebster Award. This totally made my day, thank you Libby!!

What is a Liebster Award? Well, the word liebster is German literally meaning dearest or favorite. The award recognizes new and upcoming bloggers with less than 200 followers who deserve some kind of recognition and support for their contribution. I understand followers is a standard term here in blog word but, I'd just like to take the opportunity to express that I personally prefer the terms readers or friends, supporters or even homies. Something about followers cultivates an image of a cult in my head. Nonetheless, I respect those who use it and think no less of them for it. This is just my personal opinion. Having said that, this is how it works.

In order to accept this prestigious award, one must abide by a list of rules.

Here they are:

1) Each person must list 11 things about themselves.
2) Answer the 11 questions that the tagger has set for you PLUS you MUST create 11 questions of your own for the 11 people you will nominate with this award.
3) Choose up to 11 bloggers linking them to your post.
4) Go to their page and inform them of the nomination.
5) Absolutely NO tag backs.
6) Remember to ONLY tag bloggers with less than 200 followers

11 Random Facts about Me:

I have always dreamed of traveling the world but I haven't gone to many places outside the US. The first place I go has to be England!!
I love watching (the new) Dr. Who. I am pretty much a nerd and dream of having the Tardis land in my backyard!
Creme Brule is my weakness and I refuse to learn how to make it. Simply because I would weigh 400 pounds!
I love trying new crafts. I call myself a crafter otherwise it sounds like I have a billion hobbies.
I love gadgets...new technologies...anything with buttons, real or virtual.
I am ridiculously ticklish.
I love reading.
Bridges are super scary. I hate driving over them. All of them.
I dreamt of having at least 6 kids. Hubby wanted 0. We have 3. :-)
I love baking. I can think of nothing better than being a Nana in a kitchen filled with sweet smells for sweet kids!
I love gardening...ok maybe not gardening. I love the taste of fresh veggies from the garden but hate getting my hands dirty.

Here are Libby's questions:

1) Where are you right now? Outside on the patio enjoying some cooler weather!
2) If you won the lottery today, who is the first person you'd call and why? My hubby because he is the smartest guy I know. He would have a great plan for what to do!
3) What's on your key ring? Funny you should ask, it just broke so I was just thinking that I need to do something crafty to fix that!
4) If you could meet one person in your lifetime, past or present, who would it be? I'm thinking, David Tennant. He played my favorite Dr. Who character.
5) How and where did you meet your bestfriend? I met her at a scrapbooking party. We connected immediately and even though we don't see each other often we are both supportive of each other. I know I can count on her and she knows the same.
6) What was the last place you went on vacation to? Kind of boring, but up to a cabin...LAST year. Did I mention I need a vacation???!
7) What is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up? Turn off my alarm. :-)
8) Look to your right, what do you see? My cute little grandbaby!
9) What is your favorite child hood memory? One that comes to mind is when my dad took me to a carnival and won a elephant candle for me. I kept it for at least 15 years. I would look at it and remember how much my dad loved me to get that silly thing for me.
10) What is something you can never leave your house without? My iPhone. Yep, addicted...love it.
11) You're stuck in an elevator for 24 hrs, who would you choose to be stuck with? My daughters. We could chat about silly stuff for an eternity. :-)

Here are my 11 questions:

What is your job?
What is your favorite smell?
If you had a personal chef for one night, what would you have for dinner?
Who would you invite to that dinner party?
Dog or cat person?
What is something you have always wanted to do but were afraid to try?
Which Disney princess would you want to be?
If everything were allowed in the Olympics, what would you gold medal in?
What chore do you try and avoid? Why?
What is your favorite part of your body?
If you got a $5,000 gift card, what store would it be for?

My nominees are:

Nail Polish Swap Reveal!

2012-08-01T07:24:00.001-05:00

I had the pleasure of participating in a nail polish swap put on by Perfectly Imperfect & I wore yoga pants to work.

I was so much fun! I have never done a swap before and I LOVED it. I will definitely do this again!

I got to meet the lovely Libby from It's never too late...although I'm always late. She was my swap partner and she really did an amazing job with this swap. She sent me so many polishes and goodies I was overwhelmed with ideas of what kind of manicure I should do. I certainly didn't want to disappoint her! She picked out the most beautiful colors, I loved them all and it was SUPER hard to settle on what I should do!

Look at these pretties:

I finally settled (after much internal debate) on the turquoise and black polish. Then I played with the cool stickers she sent me.

Here are some things I did learn.

1. Um, how do you all take such great pix of your nails. That sounds so easy, but goodness did I struggle trying to get a decent pic of my nails! lol

2. I am not patient enough for tape manicures. You know - paint a color, wait for it to dry, put painters tape on and paint the other color. I had all the steps down pretty well, except wait for it to dry...all the way dry (details, details).

Anyway, I had a ton of fun! Make sure you visit the other pages to see what they got in their swap packages!

Beet this!

2012-07-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

I love me some pickled beets. I like them a bit on the sweeter side and not too many spices in them. Since beets are in season right now I thought I would give it a try making them. When I was little either my mom or grandmother made pickled beets. Unfortunately my mom doesn't remember, so I didn't have a recipe to go on. I read a bunch of different ones and used the one from the Ball Blue Book of preserving as my base.

First things first. Go to the farmers market and shop. I don't know about you, but I love the farmers market. The atmosphere, being outdoors, talking with local farmers, it is just fun.

I looked around and decided on 10 of these regular beets. They had beautiful candy cane and golden beets but one thing at a time, right?

When you get them home, wash them like you would potatoes. Then place them in water and bring the water to a boil. Keep them boiling for 15 minutes.

Now you get to peel them. I have some really awesome gloves that came with one of those Ronco rotesseries no one wants to admit they own. The gloves are amazing though. lol Basically I just scraped the peels off of them with the edge of my knife and rinsed with water.

Mix the following together in a pot:

2 cups sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tablespoon whole allspice berries
1 1/2 kosher salt
3 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups of the water that you boiled the beets in

Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

While this is cooking, slice your beets into discs. When your mixture is done cooking, remove the cinnamon sticks. Pack beets into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Pour or ladle the hot liquid into the jars measuring the 1/4 inch headspace.

Remove the air bubbles. Clean the rims of your jars and adjust the 2 piece caps. Place in hot canning water and process for 30 minutes.

Let them cool thoroughly. If they all seal properly, they can be stored for one year. I went ahead and enjoyed some the next day. I was really tickled with the way they turned out. Quite like I remembered!!

How cool is that?

2012-07-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

Who is my favorite superhero? Batman of course. Why? Have you seen his endless gadgets? Totally my dream. I love all things sleek, shiny, with buttons that do magical things. It is probably because I am still secretly hoping that I am really gifted and not a muggle.

This brings me to some cool little gadgets I have seen recently. Do you need them? No. Are they still cool and you may want them? Heck yea!!

iGrill

This baby is a grilling/cooking thermometer app for your iPhone/iPod. 200 feet range using Bluetooth to tell your iPhone the chicken is done baby!

Wifi enabled smart thermostats. There are a bunch of these, but I love how they integrate your home thermostat with iPhone/iPad apps. They not only allow you to control and change the temp from anywhere, they give you data on your consumption. Well done.

Speaking of saving energy/money, how about an energy use monitor? We used a similar, not as cool, gadget to do this around our home and you would not believe how many things around your house are complete energy hogs. You can save some serious dough using one of these!

How about a baby monitor that you don't have to carry something else around with you? It uses your iPhone to display the video feed!

Ok, I could go on forever so I will just stop here. What are some of your favorite or dream gadgets? I'd love to hear about them!

New look

2012-07-22T09:11:00.003-05:00

Thanks to my amazing daughter, my blog has a new look. It was fun updating everything. Kind of like redecorating a room. What do you think? Likes/dislikes?

If you stop by from time to time and enjoy spending a little time here, would you please consider signing up through Google Friend Connect? I sure would appreciate it!