Watch the video to learn how to get your name in the hat.

I'll pick a winner Saturday, February 18, 2012.

So last Mardi Gras, our friends threw a BIG Mardi Gras bash.  About an hour and half before the party began, I found out our hostess wasn't going to have a King cake.  I couldn't believe it.  How could there be Mardi Gras without some form of King Cake?

I didn't have enough time to bake any of the traditional King Cake recipes.  You know if I had had the time, I would have most certainly done so.  I knew that whatever I could come up with had to involve cinnamon and the colors of Mardi Gras.  Then it hit me.  Ready-bake cinnamon rolls and food coloring.  I ran to the store to pick up 4 cans of large cinnamon rolls with 8-rolls per can.  Got out my food coloring gels and went to work.

HERE'S WHAT I DID

Heated the oven according to the instructions on the cinnamon roll package.

Lightly buttered one half-sheet pan.

Opened 4 (8-count) containers of large cinnamon rolls and arranged them to fit snugly on the sheet pan.  I hid the plastic baby in one of the rolls.

Popped them into the hot oven and baked them according to the instructions on the package.

While the rolls baked, I mixed one color of Mardi Gras to one icing container that came with the can of cinnamon rolls. I left one icing container alone.  The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green and gold.

After I pulled the hot rolls out of the oven, I let them cool a few minutes.  Then, I went to work drizzling the colored icing over the rolls.  I didn't want the icing to melt into the hot rolls.  I wanted the icing to sit on top of the rolls.  I had some colored sugar crystals on hand and used them to add a little sparkle.

Everyone at the party loved this quick idea and the kids had fun gobbling down the rolls in order to find the plastic baby.

If you ever find yourself in need of a quick King Cake idea, I hope this one helps you out.

For this cookbook giveaway, I'm asking everyone that wishes to be counted for a chance to win to use the share bar on the left side of the post.

• Use the +1 for sharing in your Google circles and helping Google to list SDR higher in the search results for others.
• Thumbs Up with the Facebook LIKE button to share with your facebook friends and family.
• Tweet this giveaway out to your Twitter friends.
• Stumble any recipe here on SDR to Stumble Upon for maximum exposure.
• Email this giveaway or a recipe to your cooking friends.

ONE LAST THING

OUR WINNERS ARE CINDY B. and TIM MEAD!

Congratulations to our winners. I want to thank EVERYONE for participating in this giveaway.  Stay tuned, there's another giveaway around the corner.

Last night, I felt like eating something down-home and simple.  I searched through the freezer and found a couple of bags of Purple Hull Peas.  These were not just any old peas from the store.  They were special.  These peas came from my neighbor's garden last summer.  My sweet neighbor-friend, Randy, LOVED sharing his garden goodies with others. Many times, I have opened my front door to go get the mail and there on the front step lay a basket of vegetables. Below is a photo of last summer's bounty from Randy.

Randy went to be with the Lord on December 29, 2011.  He passed away from a heart attack.  He was only 64 years young. That sucks, plain and simple. I miss waving to him every time I go outside and talking with him over the back fence.  He owned an automotive shop that was on the way to the grocery store.  Every time I drove past, I would slow down, check for him, then we would wave to each other.  I'm REALLY going to miss swapping jelly jars with him next season. *sigh*

Do you have a great neighbor-friend like Randy? Share what you like about them in the comments below.  I would love to read about them.

Last night's dinner was a fine meal indeed.  I ended up cooking those peas with onion, roasted red bell pepper and mess of collard greens in the pressure cooker.  It took 15 minutes to cook everything tender.  That was plenty of time for me to flip a batch of cornbread pancakes on the griddle and reheat some leftover brown rice.  We ate the leftovers for lunch today and already, I wish I had more to eat again for dinner tonight.  They were THAT GOOD.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

makes about 8 servings

• 6 cups frozen fresh purple hull peas
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet Paprika
• 4 to 5 cups slivered collard greens (1 bundlesworth)
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 cups cooked brown rice

Your favorite pepper sauce for topping (Tabasco, Cholula, Louisiana Hot Sauce, etc.)

In a 6-quart pressure cooker, add the purple hull peas, water, onion, bay leaf, salt, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, Thyme and paprika.  Give them a good toss.

Wash the collard greens very well in a cold water bath, making sure to remove any dirt. Remove the center stems from the leaves and discard. Roll the leaves up together, cigar style, and cut into 1/2-inch slivers.  Lay the slivered greens on top of the peas in the pan.  Top the greens with the chopped red bell pepper.

Cover and lock the lid on the pressure cooker and heat over medium-high heat.  When the pressure valve pops up and the pressure regulator begins to chatter or rock around, turn the heat down to just below medium.  Start counting cooking time for 15 minutes.

When the cooking timer goes off, remove pressure cooker from heat and allow to cool on it's own.  Or you can carefully transfer the pressure cooker to the kitchen sink and run cool water over the lid until the pressure lock/valve drops down.

Remove the lid and give those victuals a good toss.  Serves over a bed of rice with a side of cornbread pancakes. Let everyone spice up their plate with as much hot pepper sauce as they like.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!

I made this again using frozen black eye peas from the grocer's freezer section.  It only took 5 MINUTES in the pressure cooker to get them tender.  Any longer and I would have had a pot of mushy peas.  Be sure to read the cooking time on the back of the freezer bag.  The bag I used called for 6-12 minutes on the stove top, so I went 5 minutes in the pressure cooker, just to be safe.

Watch the video below to see how easy it is to cook peas in the pressure cooker.

QUICK STOVE TOP INSTRUCTIONS

Using a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat, cook onion in a thin layer of water until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add frozen black eye peas, water, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, salt, Thyme,  Paprika.  Give everyone a good toss.  Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer.  Add slivered collards and bell pepper, cover and continuing cooking for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, making sure not to over cook the peas, but long enough to get them and the collards tender.

Veri Veri Teriyaki Chickpeas and rice is one of those dishes that makes you say, "MMM!"  I said it. My husband said it several times, as if he was surprised that a meatless dish could taste so good.  We enjoyed this easy vegetarian recipe so much we went back for THIRDS.  I kid you not.  I barely had enough leftover to photograph for this post.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

Feeds 4

• 4 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1/2 cup Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Szechuan sauce or hot sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• pineapple salsa for topping

In a large frying pan, marinate the chickpeas in the teriyaki sauce, hot sauce, and sugar for 5 to 15 minutes.  Turn heat on to medium.  Stir regularly until most of the marinade has been absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Spoon over cooked rice and top with salsa. CHOW DOWN.

The pineapple salsa could be something as simple as chunk pineapple, finely chopped red onion, chopped cilantro and lime juice to taste.

This recipe was an inspiration from The Happy Herbivore cookbook.

Lately, I've been introducing new healthy dips and snacks to my family.  Hummus is my personal no-brainer-go-to snack.  I love to eat it loaded with enough garlic to ward off the whole cast of Twilight.  Since my kids aren't old enough to appreciate the spicy stink of garlic, I went looking for a hummus recipe just for them.  And I found one that's oil-free (great for cholesterol watchers), comes with more fiber and iron, and takes just 5 minutes to whip up.

Spinach hummus can be eaten with baked tortillas chips, carrot sticks (my favorite), celery (another favorite), or used as a spread in a toasted sandwich (my new favorite).  My kids prefer a toasted flour tortilla filled warmed hummus.  I don't blame them.  The simple combination is highly addictive and induces urges of going back for seconds.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 (14.5 ounce can) or 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
• 1 small garlic clove
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (best), from a bottle is good, too
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach
• pinch of salt

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend into a thick paste.  If the dip seems too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until thinned to your liking. I usually add 1 to 2 tablespoons and stop.  I like the hummus thick enough to be a meaty spread.

Try this hummus recipe out and let me know what you think.

Did you catch my cookbook video review of The Happy Herbivore? Click on the book cover and go watch it.  I go on and on about this great book and why you don't have to be a vegetarian to enjoy it.  It's for all vegetable lovers.

For this cookbook giveaway, I'm asking everyone that wishes to be counted for a chance to win to use the share bar on the left side of the post.

• Use the +1 for sharing in your Google circles and helping Google to list SDR higher in the search results for others.
• Thumbs Up with the Facebook LIKE button to share with your facebook friends and family.
• Tweet this giveaway out to your Twitter friends.
• Stumble any recipe here on SDR to Stumble Upon for maximum exposure.
• Email this giveaway or a recipe to your cooking friends.

ONE LAST THING

I'll tell you right now.  I have NEVER liked oatmeal. In all my forty-something years of eating breakfast, oatmeal cooked from scratch or out of an instant packet was never on my yummy list.  I don't like the texture of cooked rolled oats AT ALL.  I've tried several times to force them down for the sack of health.  Yet, I have never been able to muster a hankering for them, until about a month ago.

I came across a bag of steel cut oats at our local thrift bakery shop.  The package advertised that steel cut oats had a creamier texture over regular oatmeal. "Oh sure it does." I thought.  I was feeling adventurous and figured I would give oatmeal one more try.  In truth, I was desperate to find a breakfast alternative to boxed cereal.

There's nothing instant about cooking steel cut oats. The directions on the Bob's Red Mill bag says to cook them 10 minutes, or go 20 minutes, if you like them al dente.  Folks, 20 minutes marks the "chewy rice texture" moment in the cooking process.  That's fine, if that's what you like.  But for me, I want "creamy" and nothing less.  And after making a quart of oatmeal each week for the past month, I have FINALLY got it down.  I can make creamy oatmeal that's really pleasurable to eat!

All these years, I've been eating the wrong type of oatmeal that suits my taste.  Go figure.

Now like I said, steel cut oats don't cook up instantly. From the beginning, I've cooked 1 cup of dried oats to make 1 quart of cooked oats.  I make the batch on Sunday night, so it's ready to heat and eat all week long.  I eat about 1/2 cup of cooked oats every morning with steamed apple or a ripe banana, topped with slivered almonds or chopped pecans.  Before my husband caught wind of my new healthy breakfast routine, a quart of cooked steel cut oats lasted 6 days in the icebox.

HERE'S WHAT I FIGURED OUT

• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice or cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup steel cut oats

Bring the water, brown sugar, spice and salt to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the steel cut oats and stir.  When the water comes back to a simmer, reduce heat to LOW, and cover with a lid.  Set your timer for 30 minutes.  At the 30 minute mark, give the oats a good stir.  Make sure to unstick any oats on the bottom of the pan.  Cover again, cook for another 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow to set for another 15 minutes or so.

Transfer cooked oats to a quart size container with a good fitting lid.  Store in the icebox.

_____

I know what you're thinking. "An hour for oatmeal, no way!"  But I'm telling you it's really good oatmeal and the health benefits to eating it are worth the time.  I've learned to start cooking a batch, set the timer, then go watch a sitcom.  It's painless that way.

EVERY MORNING...

I peel and core an apple and cut it into chunks. I put the chunks into a microwaveable bowl and nuke them for 2-minutes on high.

I fill my breakfast bowl with 1/2 cup cooked oats. Add about half of the nuked apple to the oats and stir.  Pop my breakfast bowl in the microwave for 30- to 50-seconds.  That's just long enough to warm the oats just right.  Next, I measure out 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds and 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed, then stir them into the oats and apples.

I can now say, "I love oatmeal."  I actually crave it for breakfast.  It's a miracle!

What do you like on your oatmeal?

Despite my efforts to photograph this healthy broccoli recipe in an appetizing light, it is truly a great tasting dish.  My 11-year old son, who happens to like broccoli, practically inhaled his first bowl then went back for seconds.  We were surprised by the creaminess of the broccoli ricotta sauce.  It doesn't look smooth, but it is.  I grooved on the zesty flavors of the garlic, lemon and Parmesan coming through the broccoli and ricotta.  I couldn't shovel it in my pie hole fast enough.  Seriously, I made a pig of myself.  Thank goodness it was SO HEALTHY.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

to make 4 to 6 servings

• 2 large broccoli crowns with stems
• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• Salt & pepper
• 16 ounces uncooked whole wheat penne pasta

Chop the broccoli florets into the 2-inch pieces.  Chop the stems into 1-inch cuts. Fill a 5-quart pot half full with water, bring to a boil.  Add broccoli stems to boiling water, cook for 5 minutes.  Add in florets and boil for 4 to 5 minutes, until fork tender. Be careful not to overcook.  Use a slotted spoon to remove broccoli and drain in colander.

Add enough water back to the 5-quart pot to fill it 2/3 full.  Bring water back to a boil.  Use this water to cook the whole wheat pasta according to the maker's directions.  Drain pasta and transfer to large serving bowl.

While the pasta is cooking...

Get out the food processor, put in the broccoli, basil, garlic, half the lemon juice, half the Parmesan, and all the ricotta.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Scrape down the sides to ensure an even texture.  Taste check for the lemon and Parmesan, add the remaining amounts if it suits your taste.  Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the creamy broccoli sauce over the pasta in the serving bowl.  Give it a good toss. Add a little more Parmesan on top for garnish and serve it up.

Broccoli Ricotta Sauce over Whole Wheat Pasta tastes even better with garlic bread and pepperoncini peppers served on the side.  Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

This recipe was adapted from the Broccoli Pesto Pasta recipe found in The Happy Herbivore cookbook.

Imagine a toasty warm tortilla, smeared with garlicky hummus, filled with thinly sliced crispy, fresh cabbage, green bell pepper, carrot, cucumber, mushrooms, green onion, and a few black beans.  OH SO GOOD!

Charlie and I have had these crunchy veggie wraps for lunch three times this week.  They seriously ROCK!  You should have seen us.  Charlie was making grunting sounds as he ate his wraps.  I was doing a wiggle dance in my chair.  I haven't been this excited about lunch in a long time. And these wraps are very filling.  We had a late lunch today at 1:00 and I'm still full.  I didn't even get my usual 3 o'clock snack attack.  As I type this out, it's 5:30 p.m. I should be making dinner now but I'm not hungry enough to figure something out.  Yikes.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES FOR THESE GREAT WRAPS

• large flour tortillas
• Creamy good hummus
• carrot
• green bell pepper
• cucumber
• green onion
• mushrooms
• green cabbage leaves
• cooked black beans, rinsed

Heat a griddle over medium heat.  Julienne the carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, and green onion. Thinly slice the mushrooms. Roll up the cabbage leaves and thinly slice.

Toast one side of the flour tortilla(s) for 30 seconds or so.  Flip.  Smear the middle of the tortillas with a couple of tablespoons of hummus.  Lay the cut julienned vegetables parallel to each other in the center. Top with cabbage.  Add a tablespoon or two of black beans.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Carefully transfer the filled tortillas to a warm plate.  Roll up the tortilla tight and serve it up with extra hummus on the side for dipping.

After eating them the first time, I went back in the kitchen and cut more veggies for the next lunch rush.  It was a great help to have all the veggies prepared and ready to go the next day.  Give this lunch a run past your family and see what happens.  Then, come back and tell us all about it.