Our Heirloom Life

Chocolate Chip-Prune Cookies

2013-02-17T22:42:00.000-08:00

Please don't automatically give this the stinky-face look because of the prunes. Forget about all those years ago when your grandparents were trying to force prunes or prune juice on you when you were a little "backed up". Since my 2.5 year old has had constipation issues, I have been searching out healthy alternatives to the pharmaceutical-manufactured fiber that the doctors like to push. Which, ironically, lead me to prunes. I guess my grandparents were right...

Prunes have a delicious deeply sweet flavor, and pare amazingly well with chocolate. I also threw in some cooked quinoa for added protein, and the quinoa just melts into the cookie with no hint of it being there.

Chocolate Chip-Prune Cookies
1/2 c. quinoa, uncooked
2 1/4c. flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1/4 c. white sugar
4 tbsp butter, softened
2 eggs, room temp.
1 c. apple sauce
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 bag chocolate chips
1/2 c. diced prunes (about 5) (kitchen scissors work great for this job)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

To cook quinoa: Bring 1 cup of water to boil in small saucepan. Add quinoa. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

In a small bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Place diced prunes in another small bowl. Sprinkle a little of the flour mixture into the prunes, and mix to coat. Make sure each piece of diced prune is coated in flour. (The prunes are sticky, and this ensures the prunes won't clump together in the batter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugars, molasses and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add applesauce and vanilla. Slowly add in flour mixture, a little at a time. Once the flour is fully incorporated, pour in bag of chocolate chips, prunes, and quinoa. Mix on slow speed in mixer to incorporate, or remove from mixer and use large spoon to fold items into batter.

Cover baking sheets with parchment paper. (There is not much fat in this recipe, so the parchment will ensure the cookies dont stick to your pan.) Place scoops of cookie batter on sheets. Bake 20 minutes, or until cookies are golden brown and cooked through.

Kalamata Hummus

2013-02-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

As I was researching recipes to satisfy my cravings for homemade hummus, I was struck by the fact that hummus is a comfort food for many from Middle Eastern nations. Through the Internet wires I could feel the passion in the blog posts about the use of garlic, cumin, or none at all in traditional hummus. It reminds me of heated arguments I've had with my husband over the merits of good southern BBQ (my favorite comfort food). He judges a BBQ place by the meat (think 3-meat plate with ribs, brisket, and sausage) and I love a BBQ joint with great sides (homemade Mac and Cheese!).

Here is my version of homemade kalamata olive hummus and pita chips. I highly recommend using roasted red peppers instead of the olives if you have a jar handy. Just throw in a few pepper slices in place of the olives in this recipe. This makes a rather large batch of hummus, so if you are like me and never eat much at one sitting, it freezes really well. I divy the batch up into 3 portions. One to eat over the next few days, and two smaller portions in bags to freeze for later.

This time I really tried to find pita chips in the grocery store instead of making them at home because I figured the price was a wash. A bag of pita bread was $2.50 and I assume a bag of pita chips would be about the same. But, alas, I couldn't find them in the store, so I've also included a recipe for how to make them at home.

Kalamata Olive Hummus and Homemade Pita Chips

Hummus
1 cup dry chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup tahini
Juice from 3 lemons
1/4 cup kalamata olives
1/4 cup cooking water from beans
Olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt to taste (1/4 tsp - 1/2 tsp)
Crushed black pepper

Pita Chips
3 pita rounds
Olive oil
Salt to taste

Garnish for making Mediterranean Pita Chip Nachos (as pictured)
Sliced cucumbers
Slices of grana padano or parmesian reggiano - a nutty salty hard cheese really complements the flavor of the
hummus!
Small spinach leaves or large leaves, torn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hummus
In a large stockpot cover chickpeas with 2" water. Soak overnight. Drain beans in colander and rinse with fresh water. Return beans to pot. Cover with at least 4" water. Add bay leaves and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are tender, 2-3 hours. Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup liquid and garlic.

In the bowl of a food processor, add beans, cooked garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olives, cumin, salt and reserved cooking water. Process mixture, and slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency. The cooked chickpeas make for a beautifully creamy textured hummus. Make sure the olives do not have pits. I didn't check my olives and one pit made it into the mix. It almost broke my food processor! The texture of the hummus in the picture is a little coarser than I like, but after I scooped out the hummus into a bowl to search for the seed that was causing so much mayhem to my equipment, I wasn't interested in scooping the dip back into the processor to finish. I like to add fresh cracked pepper to my hummus before I eat it, and I leave this part to your discretion.

Pita chips
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Using scissors or a sharp knife, cut pita rounds into large squares. Place squares on rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Using hands or a spatula, turn pita squares so they are evenly coated with olive oil. Place in oven. Turn pita chips over every 5 minutes with spatula for even cooking. Chips are ready when they are deep golden brown and crispy, about 20 minutes. Once out of the oven, sprinkle with salt to your taste.

Kale Chips

2012-06-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

Looking for the perfect snack for summer? Try some kale chips. These little guys are easy to make and my kiddos love them.

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Wash and dry kale well. Rip into bite sized pieces and toss with oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes or so and flip over. Continue baking until crispy. Enjoy.

Granola

2012-06-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

Do you make your own granola? There are a ton of variations out there and is fun to play with to make your very own favorite. This recipe is my current favorite and it uses my new found friend - coconut oil. Yum. I double the recipe because it goes fast!

Granola
(recipe modified from Chosen Foods)

5 cups oats
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Mix all ingredients together except dried fruit and chocolate chips. Spread out on cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Take out of the oven and let completely cool. Add in the dried fruit and chocolate chips. Store in an air tight container.

Linked to: Pennywise Platter Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday

Pinterest Party

2012-06-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

HOW TO JOIN THE LINKY below- (do any of the following)

1) Pin this Party Post to Pinterest- Please! Why? To let others know about the party. It advertises the party so more people see it which in turn more people will see what you pin and give you traffic.

2) Add your Pinterest name to the linky. If you aren't on Pinterest and want an invite, leave a comment and email addy.

3) Link up anything you want to be pinned! No limit. We just ask that you make sure your post has a decent picture.

4) In turn pin a few things on the linky.

5) If you want to host the party on your blog, scroll down and take the code. Make your own Pinterest Saturday page. That way you will get more attention to your blog.

Fiesta

2012-06-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

I am all for a fiesta. There is always something to celebrate around here, especially with summer around the corner for us.

Sometimes a fiesta means something familiar. Something that gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside. Homemade tortillas are just the ticket. These flower tortillas are easy and delicious. They taste good by themselves or as a breakfast burrito for the morning after a fiesta.

Flour Tortillas
(recipe from Taste of Home)

2 cups flour (plus more for rolling out tortillas)
1/2 tsp of salt
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp oil ( I have used veggie and olive oil. Both turnout well.)

Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Gather dough onto a cutting board. Cut into 8 sections and roll into little balls. Use your rolling pin to roll each little ball out and set aside for cooking. Make sure there is some flower or wax paper in between rolled out tortillas, so that they don't stick.

Waiting to be rolled out

Ready to cook

Cook each tortilla in a pan. You can add some oil or do it dry for a healthier option. Keep cooked tortillas in a warm oven.

In the pan

Patient little tortillas. Ready for burritos.

Breakfast of champs.

MMMmmm. Good.

This post is linked to: Pennywise Platter Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday

A Little Slice of Heaven

2012-05-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Now that we are officially past the fear of a big freeze, my terra cotta pots are brimming with herbs. This makes me absolutely giddy. All summer long I use herbs any way I can, from salad dressings to chimichurri to tabbouleh. It is so incredibly easy to eat healthy when such big flavors are sitting in abundance right outside my front door.

Last Sunday for the family Mother's Day dinner, I volunteered to bring a few loaves of homemade bread. Knowing the bread would be an appetizer, I wanted to snazz it up a bit. I had just planted a large pot of basil, and had a bunch of extra basil leaves. This simple garlic basil butter recipe was created, and promptly devoured by the family (and by myself, if I'm being perfectly honest with you). Since then, I made a second batch and have used it instead of olive oil when roasting fresh asparagus, along with the required bread and butter snack each day. It is oh so good!!

Salted Garlic Basil Butter

1 stick butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup basil, sliced in ribbons

On cutting board, sprinkle salt over garlic. Using a fork, rock the tines back and forth over the salt and garlic using pressure until a paste forms.

Put the softened butter into a bowl. Mix in garlic paste and basil.

Put in fridge and allow flavors to meld, about 1 hour. Remove from fridge and allow butter to return to room temperature before enjoying.

Part 4: Save Money, Eat Better

2012-05-15T20:30:00.002-07:00

This is the final installment of my four part series on how to eat "real food" while saving some money along the way. Really, looking back it has been hard. My goal was to completely cut out high fructose corn syrup (check.) while staying under $100 each week (harder but: check.). Our budget has been streamlined for quite some time and I have been making mostly everything for just about as long. We did it, though. Spending $100 or less each week at the store for a family of four is difficult - it really makes you think about the big ticket items. Do I really need this? or that? For us, a little reflection is always good. Will I keep it up? You bet your bottom dollar - I will try, anyway. We have been in the process of moving and unpacking for, what seems like forever, and menu planning and grocery shopping is a low priority (unfortunately). So, finally, here is our last menu. This week has a theme: Salads.

Menu:
Grilled Caesar Salad
Corn and Black Bean Salad
Greek Salad with Kebabs
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Soft Tacos
Turkey Clubs
Pizza on the Grill with salad

Lunches:
PB & J, apple and PB
carrots, granola, and fruit

Snacks:
fruit, popcorn

Corn and Black Bean Salad
slightly revised from Rachel Ray Magazine

4 ears of fresh corn (or 4 cups of frozen - we used both on separate occasions. Fresh is better. Frozen is still good, though)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. lemon or lime
2 tsp chili powder (I omitted this because of the kiddos)
2 cans black beans
1 bunch radishes thinly sliced
3 scallions, sliced

4 oz. queso fresco
1 avocado, sliced

If using fresh corn, preheat grill (medium). Cook corn on grill for about 10 minutes. Let cool. Whisk together the olive oil, chili powder and lemon or lime juice in a large bowl. Cut the corn off the cob into the same large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Toss with the dressing. It is really yummy. We made it twice. Once with grilled corn and one with frozen. The kids liked both:).

We served with salsa on top.

Pizza Perfection

2012-05-12T22:52:00.001-07:00

Living in a small town has many advantages. No traffic, a tight community, and good neighborhoods, just to name a few. One thing our small town does not have, however, is a good pizza restaurant. We have plenty of Papa Murphy's and Domino's stores, but what I'm talking about is the fresh-from-the-wood-stove-with-a-bubbly-sweet-crust type of pizza. I crave this pizza. Over the years I have tried countless pizza recipes and cooking methods, and have been very disappointed each time. For such a simple concept, there's a lot to a good pizza. The crust must be crunchy on the outside, chewy and slightly sweet on the inside. The tomato sauce must be light and simple...no tomato sauce from a jar here. The toppings must also be simple and sparse. If you have too many toppings, the pizza will never slide easily off the pizza peel and into the oven. You end up with something I like to call an accidental calzone (of which I have made many).

Below is the final resting place for my pizza search. I have found the pizza mecca. And its good, oh so good.

The beauty of this recipe is that the dough freezes very well and makes approximately six 12-inch pizzas at a time. Since I rarely plan meals in advance, it is so nice to have frozen pizza dough ready to pull out of the freeze in the afternoon for the evening meal.

Professional Pizza at Home
adapted from Bon Appetit's March 2012 "No Knead Pizza Dough" recipe

makes 6 -12" pizzas

7 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups water
1 tbsp sugar
cornmeal, for pizza peel

Pizza Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Toppings
Prosciutto
Ham (sandwich meat)
Mozzarella
fresh basil, sliced in ribbons
1 clove garlic, minced, per pizza

The Night Before
Whisk flour, salt, sugar and yeast together in a medium bowl. While stirring with a wooden spoon, slowly add 3 cups water; stir until well incorporated. If there are dry spots on the dough (patches of flour that won't incorporate into the dough), sprinkle with the last 1/4 cup water over dry spots. Mix dough gently with your hands to bring it together and form a rough ball. Dough will be a bit shaggy. Transfer to a large clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature (about 72 deg.) in a draft-free area until surface is covered with tiny bubbles and dough has more than doubled in size, about 18 hours.

Dough Slowly Rising

2 Hours Before
Transfer dough to a floured work surface. Gently shape dough into a rough rectangle. Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, form a rough ball and quickly pull from one spot out 4 corners to make a ball. (This creates a sheath around the dough and helps create the crunchy exterior and chewy interior). Set aside on work surface or floured baking sheet and cover with a tea towel. Repeat with remaining portions. If you plan to freeze some of the dough balls, spray a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and lay one ball in center of sheet. Wrap it tightly to remove all contact with air. Repeat with other balls. They will keep well for 3-4 months.

Let dough rest, covered with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, until soft and pliable 1-2 hours. The longer it sits, the more pliable the dough will be. If using frozen dough, place in fridge the night before you plan on cooking so it can thaw.

To Make Pizza Sauce
Strain can of diced tomatoes. Place contents of can in small saucepan. Turn burner to medium heat. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Once tomatoes are heated through, use immersion blender or regular blender to mix sauce to desired consistency. If the sauce appears watery, return sauce to saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook to desired consistency.

To Make the Pizzas
During the last hour of dough's resting, prepare oven: If using a pizza stone, arrange a rack in upper third of oven and place stone on rack. Preheat oven to its hottest setting, 500-550 degrees. If using a baking sheet, arrange a rack in middle of oven and preheat to its hottest setting, 500-550 degrees. You do not need to preheat the baking sheet.

Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough generously with flour and place on a floured work surface. Gently shape dough into a 10" - 12" disk.

If Using a Pizza Stone
Sprinkle a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet lightly with flour or cornmeal. Place dough on peel. Using small, quick back-and-forth movements, check to see if the entire pizza slides around. If not, add additional flour or cornmeal under pizza to the spot where it sticks. (It's helpful to use a spatula or dough scraper here if you have one to lift up the pizza corners.) Again using small, quick back-and-forth movements, slide pizza from peel onto hot pizza stone. Par-bake the dough 3 minutes. Remove from oven, and add tomato sauce, minced garlic, ham (optional) and cheese. Turn oven to broil and bake pizza until bottom of crust is crisp, top is blistered and cheese has brown spots, 7-9 minutes. Place on baking rack to cool. Top with prosciutto and basil, if desired.

If Using a Baking Sheet
Arrange dough disk on baking sheet. Par-bake pizza 3 minutes. Remove from oven and top with desired toppings. Turn the oven to broil and bake pizza until bottom of crust is crisp, top is blistered and cheese has brown spots, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a work surface to slice. Repeat with remaining pizzas.

Sweet Success

This recipe is posted on the Melt in Your Mouth Mondays Blog Party, Susie QT Pies.

We are here

2012-05-07T10:10:00.001-07:00

We made it. Into the new house, I mean. After a weekend of heavy lifting, we are here. We probably have one more load to bring over from the old to the new. Then we will be done. This move seems like it has been a long time in the making. And I should be the first to tell you that, well, it's pretty great. It is probably more than great, it's perfect.

Our backyard view of the hops fields

Note: Yes, that is a reflection of my feet and PJ's

Sonny is happy. What else could possibly be more important?


There are even more colors on the wall then one person could even imagine.

I woke up this morning to a very upset little girl. Her throat hurt. Sick little girl in a new house. Boo. We need some soup. Have you ever made your own broth? I have, several different ways. Recently I came across a recipe for chicken stock in a crock pot. Yes please. Because we don't have chicken bones, I used what we had on hand: beef. We split a cow with some friends this year and you actually get bones for stock, if you want them. I would think you could use either.

Beef Broth
(modified to beef from The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking)

1 soup bone (or left over chicken bones, if you are doing chicken broth)
1 crock pot
enough water to cover bones
splash of apple cider vinegar

Cook all day on low. Strain out all of the chunkies and the end of the day you have some beautiful beef broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Linked to:

Part 3: Save Money, Eat Better

2012-04-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is the third installment of my four part series on saving money and eating healthier. I have challenged myself to stay under 100 dollars each week and to completely eliminate high fructose corn syrup from our diet. I am three weeks in and I have to say, it is getting easier. This week is going to be the best yet. Mostly because we are having enchiladas, the red ones. Yum. It has been so long since I have had these little guys. My mouth is watering just thinking about these little guys (that is for another post). Tracy and Kaya have been out of town for the past couple of days visiting family in NYC.

Kale and I have stayed busy but we are excited to have our family in tact. It calls for a celebration - enchiladas. Well, I have to say, we are not just celebrating their return. We are also making the move to Casa Grande (our new house). We get the keys on Tuesday.(!) Then the moving happens. (That is the part that I do not want to think or talk about.) Hopefully next time, I will be writing (and cooking enchiladas) from my new kitchen.

Because of the move, this week we are eating a lot of frozen stuff that I have stashed away and anything that does not require a ton of work...

This Week's Menu:
Dinners -
Frozen Pot Pies
Quesidillas
Red enchiladas, rice, beans
Breakfast for Dinner
Pizza ((moving day))
sandwiches

Lunches -
sandwiches

Snacks -
trail mix
chocolate chip cookies
popcorn

fruit

Bisquick
(from budget101.com)
8 cups all purpose flour
4 tbs baking powder
1 tbs salt
2 cups shortening

Mix all ingredients together and use a mixer to incorporate. Use as a substitute for Bisquick.
Wasn't that easy?

That's what it looks like when you are done.

This post is linked to :
Simple Lives Thursday

Weekend In Pictures

2012-04-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yakima Raceway


Yakima Raceway

Dinosaur Kale

Some Chicken Love

Naches

Pickled Asparagus (from a generous friend)

Pizza

See Spot Run, Run

Friends

After the race

Well deserved hot dog

A Cleansing Meal

2012-04-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Alabama for a friend's wedding. As a southern girl, I love me some good home-cooking and barbecue. Unfortunately, we were only in Tuscaloosa for two days and I had one day to eat the local cuisine. SO, on Friday I had ribs and sausage for lunch with banana pudding for dessert, then at the rehearsal dinner had fried pickles and artichoke dip for an appetizer, then fried catfish, hushpuppies and squash casserole for dinner with bread pudding for dessert. Oh man... When you read that, please dont judge me as a glutton. Well, ok, maybe I am just a little gluttonous when it comes to food I rarely get to eat. Typically I eat extremely healthy, and here in Washington good barbecue is hard to come by. So, when I got home on Sunday I was craving veggies and something tasty, but also quite healthy. I decided to make a quinoa salad I created last summer when my garden was in full bloom. The beauty of this dish is it's quite versatile. Use any veggies you have, cooked or raw, any meat you like or none at all, and any herbs you have on hand.

Summer Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
3 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, or 1 lb fresh tomatoes, diced
1 medium zucchini or yellow squash, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salad greens
sliced steak, chicken, or fish optional

Salad Dressing
2 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1 cup unpacked basil (or any fresh herb you have)
1 tbsp fresh mint, washed
1 tbsp fresh oregano, washed
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar

1. Put chicken broth and quinoa in stock pot. Bring to boil. Cover, reduce to simmer, and cook 15 minutes. Remove lid, and continue simmering until liquid is gone, about 5 more minutes.

2. Put all salad dressing ingredients in blender or food processor, and puree until smooth.

3. In large bowl, place cooked quinoa, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and meat, if using. Add dressing, and mix well. Place over salad greens.

Enjoy with a slice of homemade bread.

This post is linked to: Whole Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, RemodelAholic Fridays

What would you do?

2012-04-24T12:35:00.003-07:00

Today I had off. It was a lucky surprise and a gorgeous day. Naturally, Kale and I headed straight to our local park.

We saw some geese and when we walked up to them noticed one poor little guy had a plastic piece of trash wrapped around his neck. (Wish I could have gotten a picture but he was a grumpy little sucker and chased us away and HISSED at us.)

After that, when we were walking around I noticed a TON of trash. It was everywhere. We picked some up, but there was so much more.

It was so sad. An otherwise beautiful day at a beautiful park was completely trashed. What can we do to stop this? What would you do?

There are so many things that we take for granted. It's the small things that really count. It is worth it to take a good look at what we use and think about what we really need. I have been thinking about this more and more lately. We can start in the simplest ways. Today I have a recipe for the easiest facial cleanser you will ever make. (It is pretty darn cheap, too. Did I mention that it is all natural and Eco friendly?) I have recently switched to this and it has worked like a charm.

Facial Cleanser
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp water

Mix baking soda with warm water. Dampen face. Rub the paste on face in a circular motion (steer clear of eyes). Rinse well. Pat dry with clean towel.

Give it a try and see what you think. It is an easy step in the "green" direction.

This post is linked to:

Part 2: Save Money, Eat Better

2012-04-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the second week of my four part series: Save Money, Eat Better. I have challenged myself to rid our family completely of High Fructose Corn Syrup and maintain a monthly budget of 100 dollars each week. Last week, I posted my menu and had high hopes that I would stay on budget. Ahem... I did not. I went over by 20 dollars. Well, in all honesty, I did not count the dollar amounts. I pretty much shopped the same as usual and paid the same amount. So, I guess that is no surprise. This week, I am starting new. I have resolved to be a better shopper and yes, make more food myself. I know that I can do it.

Menu:
(some are a repeat from last week because we did not end up eating them..)
Dinners -
(all dinners have a side of salad or veggies)
Moe's Burritos
Pizza (we always have a pizza day)
Pesto Pasta Bake
Hamburgers and Potato Salad
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
Mac and Cheese and Broccoli (Frozen from last week)
Lunches -
Hot Dogs
Left overs
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Snacks/Breakfast -
granola
peanut butter cookies
popcorn
scones
chocolate chip cookies
frozen banana + grape bites

And you know, the more I read about what we eat... the more I make. It keeps me busy, that's for sure! Today I wanted to share a recipe for queso. This recipe goes on top of our "Moe's Burritos". I happened upon this one by accident. I normally bought queso from the store. One faithful day, I forgot it. This recipe was born from laziness (not wanting to go to the store) and creativity. Here you go...

Queso:
1 1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp of corn starch
3 handfuls of cup shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar)
a spoon full (or two) of salsa (to taste)

Bring milk to boil in a medium sauce pan. Add in your corn starch. Blend with spoon until thickened. Reduce heat and stir in cheese. Simmer. until ready to use.

Stop right there and it is good as gold for macaroni. Yum.

But we are heading toward a favorite one of my favorite Mexican treats: Queso.
Add a spoon full of your favorite salsa. Done.

This post is linked to: Delicious Dishes
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, What's Cooking Wednesday
Real Food Wednesday .

Just Another Day...

2012-04-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days? The type of days that are just swell? I've had plenty of the other kind of days... Most of my school days are marked by me running around like nuts, never quite getting everything done - but today was great. I had the rare opportunity to get out and about on a school day for a field trip with my teaching team.

Played a little Candy Land.

Made some Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches.

And that is not too shabby for a Tuesday! Hope yours was great!

-Erika

Part 1: Save Money, Eat Better

2012-04-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Frozen Yogurt Grape Bite

This week brings a new outlook for me: SIMPLIFY. I really need to simplify things around here. I recently read an article from a lovely blog: The Peaceful Mom. This article detailed how this busy mom dealt with money and life with a family of six (!). It is very inspirational. This really made me think about my own budgeting. Her budget for groceries is $100 a week. Well, we have a family of four and it is hard to make it under $100. Actually, we always go over $100 by $40 (or more) each week. So, this month I am inspired. I am going to chop that bill. Goal: $100 budget for groceries. Here we go!

I always make a grocery list. I am a list-maker at heart and the grocery list seems a natural place for me to indulge. The grocery list has a twin - the Menu list. While I make a grocery list, I simultaneously make my menu for the week. When I am done, I plop the menu on the fridge. There is no order to the menu, just a list of things that we can make (and I know that I will have the ingredients for them) after a long day of work.

Here is the kicker - we are also cutting out High Fructose Corn Syrup. Completely. That's right - I said it. It is in everything. Well, everything that is cheap. So my challenge is to stay under $100 and be healthy, starting now. I think I can do it.

Menu for the week:

Breakfast:
Biscuits and jam or Nutella
oatmeal
Breakfast in a cup

Lunches:
leftovers
peanut butter and jelly sammys
chicken nuggets

Dinners:
Taco Salad
Moe's Burritos with carrots and dip
Sloppy Joe's and salad
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Pizza and salad
Baked Mac and Cheese with broccoli and French Bread

Snacks:
Oatmeal Cookies
Frozen Nutella Banana bites
Cookie Balls
Crackers
Pop Corn
Frozen Yogurt Fruit bites

It seems like staying on a staying on a budget, like this, is all in the snacks. You can either buy them or make them. This week I am going to try to make them...

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Bites
(This fast and easy snack is something that I found somewhere, I did not think of it on my own. For the life of me, I can not remember where I found it...)

Fruit (I chose grapes and bananas)
Yogurt (any flavor will do - I chose vanilla)
Cookie sheet
Freezer

Dip fruit pieces into yogurt and place on cookie sheet. Freeze. Store in a Ziploc baggie. Eat all day long as a snack!

Frozen Nutella Banana Bites

Nutella
Sliced bananas
cookie sheet
Freezer

Cut bananas and put a small amount of Nutella on top of each slice and place on cookie sheet. Freeze. Store in Ziploc bag for easy access.

This is the first of a four part series.

This post is linked to: My Meatless Monday, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Creative Monday's, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday's, Whole Foods Wednesday's, Simple Lives Thursday, Simply Delish,

Perfection

2012-04-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

What is perfection? To me, around here, it can be any number of things. A smile. A nap. Stacking blocks on the floor. The hour before everyone wakes. That moment everyone wakes. So many things. Every day. Today, right now, it's this:

Natalie taught me the wonderful, life changing skill of frothing milk without any fancy equipment. I don't pull this bad boy out every day but every once and a while (weekends), I go ahead and bring out the big guns. Yum. This is easy as pie. And to think - all you need is your handy dandy coffee press, milk, and coffee.

Heat milk up (I just pop the glass canister in the microwave). Pump coffee press,pour into strong coffee, and - BINGO! You have a faux cappuccino.

Ahhh... the taste of perfection.

What is perfection, to you?

Happy Easter!

Linking to: For the Fun of it Linky Party,
Tempt My Tummy,
Time Out Tuesday.
Simple Lives Thursday
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Feed Your Soul Friday

My Momma's Cobbler

2012-04-05T22:08:00.002-07:00

Today was 51 degrees and rainy - and its April 5. I know I should accept that fact that the Pacific Northwest has cold and rainy springs, but I did it anyway. I checked the weather at my parent's house in San Angelo, TX - 80 degrees and sunny. Sigh.

Its this time of year, every year, I really start wishing spring would hurry up and turn into summer, so I can once again eat fresh fruit and vegetables and bask in the warm rays of the sun. Its also the time of year I dig in to my fruit preserves from the previous year and start making pies and cobblers to satisfy my fresh fruit craving.

My favorite quick and easy dessert is my mom's fruit cobbler recipe. The topping has a rich, buttery taste and cake-like texture; it is nothing like the traditional cobbler recipes that call for a biscuit top. It's a comforting taste of home when my I can't be there.

For this dish, I used one quart-jar of peaches, 1 pint-jar of cherries and approximately 2 cups of frozen berries, thawed. The beauty of this recipe is you can mix and match any fruit you want. If you don't have fresh fruit, frozen is a wonderful substitute. Use canned fruit from the store only as a last resort. The syrup in those cans is loaded with sugar and all sorts of other additives.

My Momma's Cobbler

Ingredients
1/4 c. butter
1 quart peaches (~ 4 cups), roughly cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 cups mixed berries
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 c. milk
2 eggs

Instructions
Heat oven to 375. Melt butter in 8x8 pan in the oven. Put peaches and berries in pan.

Mix sugar and the rest of the ingredients.

Pour over fruit.

Bake for 1 hour. If the crust begins to brown about half way through the cook time, cover with foil.

This post is linked to: A Pinteresting Party, Makin' You Crave Monday,
A Southern Fairy Tale, Secret Recipe Club, Tasty Tuesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, and Sugar Me Up Weekends

Spring Break Painting

2012-04-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

I have been thanking my lucky stars this week because it is SPRING BREAK. This means that we are all off! We have been playing at the park, riding our bikes, and running around like crazy. I can't believe that it is already Wednesday. These free days go way too fast. And today, unfortunately, Kale is sick. So today we stayed home. Poor little guy slept all day.

But that didn't stop Kaya and me from doing a little Spring Break Painting.

This was a really fun project. All you need is crayons, a canvas, a hot glue gun. Slide the crayons through the hot glue gun onto the canvas. Easy. Fun.

By the time we were done with our art, it was dinner time and Kale was up. My pantry is looking pretty scarce around here...one thing I did have was cabbage. Have you ever roasted cabbage? A while back, I saw a recipe by Martha Stewart for roasted cabbage. In a last ditch effort not to go to the store tonight - we gave it a try. So - we ate some oven roasted cabbage and some left over meatballs. It was really yummy. All-in-all - it was a good day.

Oven Roasted Cabbage
(slightly modified from Martha Stewart)

1 head of cabbage
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
dill (if you would like)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice cabbage in 1 inch slices. Lay flat on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and dill. Roast for 40 min or so.

They get this delicious roasted edge. Yum.

This post is linked to Simple Life Thursdays, A Pinteresting Party., Melt in Your Mouth Monday Blog Hop, RemodelAholic Fridays

Time Out Tuesday

2012-04-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm co-hosting the Tuesday Time Out Party with Reasons To Skip The Housework! Feel free to link up here or there, the party will show up on both of our blogs!
Have fun!

It's Officially Here

2012-04-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Spring, I mean. The beginning of new possibilities, new adventures, and for us: a new HOUSE. Yes, we are moving out of our tiny little house and gaining space (and bathrooms). I know, I wanted to tell you, but now that it is official - there you go. May 1st is the date. Yes, more to come on that. For now, it is Spring Break. We have loads of things planned but mostly they have to do with organizing, packing, and preparing for our new house. Kaya and Kale have been busy making posters for their new (and separate) rooms.

We have lots and lots of crafts and park trips planned... but what is to eat this morning?

I found the best thing on Pintrest. It looked so easy and delicious that I had to give it a try.

Breakfast in a Cup

1/4 oats
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg
hand full of strawberries
cinnamon to taste
dash of milk

(I made this for 4 people, so I mixed it all up in a bowl and transferred it over to the mugs.) Mix ingredients together and pour it into the mug. Microwave for 2 minutes. After you cook it, it will separate from the mug. Just dump it onto a plate. We topped with some strawberry syrup that I had made last summer.

Erika
We are linked to: Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesdays,

Meat Pies

2012-03-31T16:49:00.002-07:00

I thought that you might just be wondering about meat pies... I know I was. About a year ago we went up to Bellingham to pick some strawberries. When we got there we found something: Man Pies (a new restaurant). We did not eat there, but we did take a picture outside. Still it resonated with me: Man Pies.

I know it was a little while a go, but recently I was thinking about that little cute restaurant with that mural outside. Man Pies? Man Pies. Really, what is a Man Pie? That got me thinking. Could I make a man pie? Well, I would think that it would involve meat and potatoes...and ketchup. Could that be delicious? In my family- it could truly be a hit. So, I gave it a try. Since I am not a man, I called them meat pies, and were pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Sloppy Joe Mini Meat Pies

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 potato, peeled and grated
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp of tomato paste (I threw in a little catchup, too)
1-2 Tbsp brown sugar (to taste)
2-3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Muffin pan

Crust:
3 cups Bisquick (I make my own, but store bought is fine)
1cup milk
1 egg (for brushing the top)

Cook beef until brown and cooked through. Remove, drain any grease, and reserve. Cook onion until soft and add beef. Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper. (You might want to add more tomato paste or crushed tomatoes depending on how you like it.) Put the grated potato on a kitchen towel, squeeze out any excess water and dump in the pan. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer, put the lid on and let it cook for 10-15 min until reduced. Taste it to make sure it suits you.

Crust:
Prepare biscuits according to packet directions, make them from scratch, or you can use your own, home made Bisquick, like me. Roll your dough out and cut 2 circles. One should be big (and be used for the bottom of the pan. The other should be the little topper. Place the large circle in the bottom of the muffin pan. Bake little crusts for 5 minutes or so.

Put the beef mixture on top and the smaller circle on top of that. I used a fork to make little indentations around the edges, cut some slits and brushed egg on top. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10-15 min.

-Erika
This post is linked to: Friday's on Remodel-a-Holic , Just Something I Whipped Up!,

Open-Faced Chicken Meatball Subs on Naan

2012-03-25T22:14:00.003-07:00

Is chicken a frequent player in your dinner meals? It is in my household. My husband does not eat fish, and red meat is only healthy in small quantities, so chicken is the protein of choice more often than not. It goes without saying that this can get tiresome quickly. Since it was Friday and I was feeling adventurous, I created this concoction for dinner. The recipe takes at least an hour to prepare, but you can make the naan a day or two ahead of time and cut down on the prep time substantially.

This recipe calls for ground chicken meat. If you are like me, that ingredient is never a staple in the freezer. However, chicken breasts are. The next words you read may change your life: You can make your own ground meat in a food processor. This works just as well for pork or beef. It is very nice because you can control the fat content in the meat.

The naan recipe came from the blog BudgetBytes, which I found on Pinterest. The chicken meatball recipe is a riff off of Sunny Anderson's "Zesty Chicken Meatballs" from the Food Network. For the whole-wheat bread crumbs, I always save the ends of my wheat sandwich loaves in a bag in the freezer. When a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, I pull one or two ends out and process them in the food processor for a few seconds. Hello breadcrumbs.

Open-Faced Chicken Meatball Subs on Naan
Serves 3. To serve 4, add 1 chicken breast and increase all Meatball Ingredients marginally
Naan Ingredients

2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2.5 - 3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
1 large egg

Chicken Meatball Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, whisked
3 tablespoons unseasoned whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Hungarian or hot paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 cup unpacked fresh parsely, minced (approximately 3 Tbsp chopped)
1 tsp brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Additional Ingredients
1 jar your favorite tomato sauce
1-2 cups baby spinach, sliced into ribbons
3 slices provolone cheese

For the Naan:
In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes or until it is frothy on top. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mix and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).

At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured surface. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.

Naan Dough Waiting for the Frying Pan

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and rub a piece of butter once over the hot surface. Working one ball at a time, roll out ball until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Repeat for remaining dough balls.

Cooking Naan

For the Chicken Meatballs:
While the dough is rising, cut chicken into cubes and place in food processor. Pulse for approximately 10 seconds until the meat looks ground, but not pasty.

Mix the ground chicken with the next nine ingredients (garlic through salt and pepper) in a medium bowl. Form mixture into meatballs (makes about 20 small meatballs).


Meatball Mixture

Raw Chicken Meatballs

Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and add the butter and oil. Place meatballs in the skillet and do not disturb for 3 minutes to brown well. Turn, cooking another 3 minutes without disturbing. Keep cooking until browned and cooked on all sides. At this point, I use a meat thermometer to test the internal temp of the meatballs. A meatball is done when the thermometer registers 160 degrees. You can't be too safe when it comes to cooking chicken. Transfer meatballs to a plate, and repeat with remaining meatballs, adding more oil and butter as necessary.

When all meatballs are cooked, return them to the skillet and add jar of tomato sauce. Turn heat to medium-low and cook until the tomato sauce is warmed through.

Assembly:
Turn on the broiler. Place naan on a rimmed baking sheet. Add meatballs and sauce to each naan. Place spinach over meatballs, and top with pieces of torn provolone cheese. Broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is brown in places and bubbly.

Waiting on Cheese, then Ready for the Broiler!

Perfection.

This post is linked to Hunk of Meat Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Creative Mondays., , Real Food Wednesdays., and Simple Lives Thursdays

Taco Salad in a Jar

2012-03-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

I try very hard to be organized around here. We have a lot going on between school, home, more school, laundry... (you get the picture). Lunches are always something to improve on. On Sunday I make an assortment of lunch food, individually package them, and freeze them (something that my friend told me she did - and honestly she is a GENIUS for doing). Each morning (or the night before) the kids can choose their lunches and it is defrosted before noon. Nice. It really works. We have frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ham and cheese. Other things can be prepackaged and refrigerated (like grapes and carrots) and even put in the pantry (trail mix). I already feel like I run around like a chicken with its head cut off in the morning - this really helps.

With all of this pre-planning bliss, I am usually lost in the shuffle. Why plan for me? It is just something extra. I usually end up with something like an apple, a jar of peanut butter, and a spoon for lunch. Or sometimes, just a jar of peanut butter (no spoon). Glamorous, I know. Today, I think I am ready to plan for me. Yes, ME!

Lately, I have had a new obsession: pinterest. It is so much fun. Now I am so organized with cute little pin boards and ideas from blogs and websites. How could I have possibly lived without this tool? I have found something fun: salads in a jar. There are so many awesome recipes but I thought that I would make up my own: Taco Salad. I still have a lot of salsa that I have canned from last summer and I just made some pinto beans... a perfect match.

I decided to start this project while the girls made a pizza..

and Kale played Transformers.

Here we go...

Taco Salad in a Jar

Jars, I used 5 pint size jars
1 head of lettuce, cleaned, dried and torn to share equally among your jars
1 can of pinto beans (or one container of homemade) to put in each of your jars
salsa, 3 spoonfuls per jar
cheese, sharp cheddar (to taste) some for each jar

This is the easy part. Layer ingredients: salsa, beans, cheese, lettuce. You're done! Man that was easy. I could probably do this every week. I'm thinking that I will just bring a bag of crushed tortilla chips to add when it is time to eat.

Erika

This post is linked to: The Sweet Details,
Not "Baaad" Sundays,
Meatless Monday's
Making Monday Marvelous
Simple Lives Thursday