Now Things are Cookin'

Cottage Cheese Stuffed Avocado with Two Options

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 11:38:00 +0000

Perfect for eating on the deck with some pretty flowers nearby.

It's getting hot around here, and I don't mean in the good way. I mean in the frizzy hair, damp underarms, I'm cranky and have lost my appetite kind of way.

Generally I don't eat a heavy lunch anyway because I get home from work late. So I eat a light lunch around 1:30 and then eat supper around 5:30. Most of my lunches are some form of leftover from the previous night. However sometimes there aren't leftovers, or now that it's hot, I don't feel like messing with heating anything up. On those days I make myself a salad, a pimento cheese sandwich, or my latest obsession - an avocado stuffed with cottage cheese.

Strawberry Balsamic Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 30 May 2014 11:30:00 +0000

My parents and a couple of their friends had a huge garden back when I was a kid. They all canned, froze, or pickled what they could from the garden, and even though then I didn't enjoy some of my jobs related to preserving the food, I miss them now.

One thing my mother didn't make was jam or jelly, though. She did try a small batch of grape jelly once. It took her all day, and she was displeased with how it came out in the end. I think the term "wallpaper paste" was used more than once.
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No Bake Mini Key Lime Cheesecakes

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 20 May 2014 19:43:00 +0000

We go through a lot of cream cheese in our house. Seriously, a lot. If I can't get the 9 year old to eat anything else, he will at least eat a whole wheat tortilla with cream cheese or refried beans on it. Plus I also cook with cream cheese. So every week I pick up a brick of it. If cream cheese is on sale, I pick up two or three.

Gluten Free Butterscotch Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 07 May 2014 11:57:00 +0000

Another recipe I found on the Tea Time website in my search for gluten free scones was one for chive and goat cheese scones. I made them with feta and ate the whole batch by myself in a week. Oh my goodness, they were so good! Feta is one of my favorite cheeses. It added such a nice saltiness to the scone. One night for supper we even had Nana's Sausage Gravy. While the boys had their gravy over store bought biscuits, I poured my gravy over one of those scones. Divine!
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Roasted Root Vegetables with Brussels Sprouts

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 06 May 2014 12:00:00 +0000

My husband declared in late October that he felt he needed to lose a little weight and try to eat healthier. According to the USDA, he was, in fact considered obese. And I have to say that in 6 months, he's lost 30 pounds just by changing his diet alone.
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Baked Brown Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 22:46:00 +0000

In addition to both me and the 9 year old ending up with 6 weeks of bronchitis the end of October through November, one of the reasons why I took a blogging break was because my husband decided he needed to lose some weight and eat healthier. Even though I try to cook healthy for supper, and we don't eat that much by way of processed foods, he wasn't eating healthy through the day.
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Easy Pizza Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Before I went gluten free, we used to have homemade pizza a couple times a month. To help us eat as healthy as we can and to save money, I decided I should start making my own pizza sauce. After all, I'm making my own marinara, pizza sauce couldn't be difficult either. And it isn't.

I found a good sauce we liked from Kitchen Treaty. This recipe had everything we wanted in a pizza sauce. Full of tomato flavor? Check. Just a hint of heat? Check. Super simple? Check. Easy to adapt? Check. Freezes well? Check. I adapted this sauce slightly to accommodate our tastes and my cooking style.
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Gluten Free Orange and Cream Cheese Scones

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Two of my closest girlfriends from college are both big tea drinkers. One of them even throws beautiful tea parties for her friends. I was honored enough to be invited to one back in November for our other friend's birthday. The table was set with heirloom china, crystal, and silver. She had a savory course and a sweet course, four different blends of tea, and was even kind enough to make sure I had some apple cinnamon gluten free scones perfect for fall so I could enjoy my tea to the fullest.
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Difference Between Pork Loin and Pork Tenderloin

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 12:20:00 +0000

Have you ever read a recipe that called for a pork tenderloin and you bought a pork loin instead thinking they were the same thing? Frustrating isn't it, when your glaze burns and your meat isn't cooked through at the time the recipe said? Or, worse, done it in reverse and cooked a pork tenderloin to death in a roasting pan.
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Gluten Free Flour Blend and Book Review

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 12:00:00 +0000

I was not compensated for this post other than given permission to share America's Test Kitchen's copyrighted recipe. All opinions are my own.

Several weeks ago a package showed up on my doorstep unannounced. My dad saw a cookbook online he thought I'd like and had it sent to me. My dad is cool like that.

The book is America's Test Kitchen's latest The How Can it Be Gluten Free Cookbook. Let me tell you, I wish this book had come out a year ago. The first chapter in the book is all about the chemistry of gluten and baking. America's Test Kitchen talks about what needs to be replaced in a recipe if wheat gluten is removed - elasticity, fat, starch. Another thing they talked about was weighing flour and other dry ingredients instead of measuring them by the cup. That technique has made a great difference in my baking.

Monday Meal Plan - October 27 - November 2

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Another busy week looms before us here in the NTAC household. I was hoping that this week would be a little slower, but I don't think that will be the case. At least we will have our first free weekend in 5. The 9 year old is encouraged to dress like his favorite Roman or Greek god or goddess on Thursday at school. We found out about this on Friday. So after telling him that I did not have time or energy to make his Halloween costume this year (he's going to be a ninja), I now have to make a Halloween costume for school between now and Thursday morning.
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Gluten Free Roux and White Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 01:02:00 +0000

One of my very first posts on this blog was how to make a roux and a white sauce. It's such a basic thing to know in cooking if you want to really cook rather than just open cans of cream soup and dump it in a casserole dish with a few other basic ingredients. I make a roux or a white sauce at least once a week. In my original post I wrote that a basic white sauce is only 3 ingredients - butter or oil. flour, and milk (or cream). It's super simple and extraordinarily inexpensive. Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you ever bothered with processed ingredients.
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Meal Plan Monday - Semi Boy-free Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 12:23:00 +0000

The 9 year old has his first overnight school field trip this week. Then two days later he has a sleep-over at a friend's house to celebrate the friend's birthday. So we have two nights without him this week, and I think he's looking forward to two nights on his own.
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Beef Stew with Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Last winter I found stew beef on managers special several times, so we ended up eating a lot of beef stew, vegetable beef soup, and beef tips with gravy over mashed potatoes. Not that anyone really complained. Even the 9 year old will eat the beef and the potatoes from beef stew.
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Meal Plan Monday - October 13 - 19

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 12:22:00 +0000

The 9 year old spent the weekend entertaining both sets of grandparents, which meant, of course lots of showing off. He was pretty excited, though, that his Nana and Papaw stayed the night because they frequently don't.
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Creamy Beef and Penne with Vegetables

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Eons ago when I thought I was a good cook, and my husband did too, but in reality what I did was fake it with processed foods and shortcuts that may or may not have worked, I made a pasta dish I'd found in a magazine. It had stew beef, mostaccioli pasta, and lots of vegetables. I remember it being good, but for some reason I never made it again.
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Meal Plan Monday - Birthday Boy Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 11:00:00 +0000

So the birthday party was a smashing success, as was the after party sleep-over. I'm glad I planned on some food for the after party and I'm glad I prepped as much as I could earlier in the day. As soon as the four boys hit our front door, they made a bee-line to the fridge, exclaiming "I'm hungry!" Fortunately I had fruit and cheese skewers and apples with caramel dip ready to go. The quesadilas had been assembled and just needed to go into the oven for a few minutes. The only thing they boys truly had to wait for was the mini tacos. And even then, because the taco mixture was ready, all I had to do was put the mixture in the Tostitos Scoops and pop them in the oven as well.
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Foil Pack Fish Filets

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 12:09:00 +0000

My husband and I love fish (the 8 year old, not so much). We especially love to put fish on the grill. Usually we buy salmon, but occasionally I'll find a good sale or managers special on something else that we'll try instead.
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Birthday Sleep-over Snack Food

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 11:00:00 +0000

On Saturday the 8 year old will be having his 9th birthday party at the local skating rink and afterward his 3 closest friends will spend the night with us for an "after party." The party package includes pizza and sodas, but we'll be eating around 4:30. So I thought our overnight guests will probably want more to eat later in the evening. I can't see corralling them to sit down for a meal, though. That's where heavy "finger food" snacks come in. I'll be setting things out buffet style and letting the boys eat what and when they want.
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Meal Plan Monday - September 28 - October 5

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Miss me last week? I've been sick with an ear infection and migraines since last Sunday night. And unfortunately I didn't have any posts ready to publish, nor did I have the energy to get anything written. As I write this, I'm still feeling drained and weak.
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Yellow Rice

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 12:33:00 +0000

I realized the other night when I made this fantastic dish by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom that I had never shared my yellow rice recipe with you. It's such a simple recipe, it's easy to overlook, but it's such a versatile side dish and good starter for more substantial recipes. The best part about this is, it's cheaper and healthier than those boxes or bags of yellow rice mix in the grocery store. I know exactly what I'm eating when I make it myself and it takes only an extra minute to or two.
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Meal Plan Monday - Make it Work Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Due to expenses for my husband's birthday last week and the 8 year old's upcoming birthday in a few weeks in addition to both my husband and me expecting expense checks from our jobs that didn't come through, we got a little behind the 8 ball this week. Rather than dip into savings or our emergency fund, we decided we'd try to make meal planning work from what I had in my meager stockpile in the pantry and the freezer.
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Corn Tortilla Dogs

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 11:00:00 +0000

One day this summer I was standing in the middle of a 7-11 waiting for the 8 year old to finish up his "pit stop." The hot dog roller caught my eye and as I watched hot dogs, taquitos, corn dogs, and batter covered round foods slowly turning on the heated rollers, I thought to myself "I bet I could make something like that at home." Thus the corn tortilla dog was born.
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Meal Plan Monday - Birthday Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 14:10:00 +0000

My husband's birthday is this week, and we'll be celebrating on Friday. Originally he had asked for fettuccine Alfredo, but then I found crawfish on managers markdown at the grocery store. So he might decide on crawfish etouffee instead.
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Kettle Corn

noreply@blogger.com (Laura) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 12:29:00 +0000

You know that sweet popcorn that smells so good when you go to a fair or street carnival? Here our city holds a street festival in conjunction with our Christmas tree lighting, and there is always a kettle corn vendor.