Blueberry Whole Grain Pancakes

Looking for a healthy and yummy way to start the new year off right? Try these. You can omit the fruit, or add a little cinnamon if you like to spice them up a bit. The batter is pretty thick, so you will want to spoon it onto your griddle as thin as possible so they cook evenly. If you want to add some ground flax seed, feel free. Just add a splash of milk per 1/4 cup of flaxseed and you should be fine. Also, I only serve them with real maple syrup (except for my husband, who likes to make them into peanut butter and honey sandwiches), which has some antioxidant benefit, particularly compared to something like Log Cabin or everyone's favorite pancake wench, Aunt Jemima.

Blueberry Whole Grain Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. dry oatmeal
1 c. whole wheat flour (everyone has a favorite, and mine is Bob's Red Mill Organic. If it's not on sale, I like the white whole what variety).
2 c. buttermilk
1 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 T. canola oil
about 1 c. frozen blueberries

Combine all ingredients except blueberries, stir until just mixed. If you are using old fashioned oats (instead of quick oats), let the batter sit a couple minutes while you turn your griddle on to 350. Mix the berries until just combined (if you are using fresh berries, be very gentle with the stirring so you don't have purple pancakes. Frozen really work best here). Pam or brush your hot griddle with some canola oil. Plop batter down into pancake-shaped forms (see above as far as getting the chunky batter relatively thin). When it starts to bubble, flip. Cook until they are just done inside. Serve warm.

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Meal ideas?

Anybody else stuffed to the gills and Christmas'd out? I sure am. I am totally not feeling inspired for dinner ideas this week. Any suggestions?

Cookies for Santa

My kid and I made some cookies for Santa last night. They turned out pretty good--nice and soft, not too sweet, fairly spicy. I can't wait to eat them after he goes to bed tonight. Who am I kidding--I can't wait to eat the rest of these after he goes to bed tonight.

Big and Soft Ginger Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. 

Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. 

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. 

This is from allrecipes.com (actually, it's from their iPad app which is pretty nice, especially for the cool price of free).

Buffalo Chicken Salad

This is a salad for when you are really craving Buffalo wings but maybe don't want to down 1,000 calories in a sitting. Is it exactly like eating hot wings? Of course not. But it's still pretty good, pretty easy and pretty cheap.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped into bite size pieces
salad greens
chopped celery*
crumbled blue cheese*

blue cheese dressing
buffalo wing sauce (We like the Frank's brand)

Fill big plates or bowls with the veggies. Top with warm chicken and blue cheese if using. Drizzle with a mixture of the dressing and wing sauce (we mix about half-and-half, which is pretty spicy. Use less wing sauce if you don't like it hot).

Caramels--Arrghh!

Please, somebody tell me what I'm doing wrong with caramel making. If you read last week, you found out my fancy Christmas cookie-making skills are lacking. Well, my candy-making skills are apparently non-existent.

I love caramel. Caramel turtles, caramel cookies, caramel barbecue chicken ... ok, maybe not on chicken, but I wouldn't rule it out. What"s not to love--sugar, butter, and cream. The ultimate trifecta, right? Not if you can't make a caramel (or any other candy) to save your life.

First, I made this recipe: Vanilla Sea-Salted Caramels. Sounds good, right? I used a candy thermometer and pulled the caramel right as directed by the recipe. And the caramel tastes really good, but cooled to room temperature they stayed soft. What did I do wrong? I did end up with a big batch of salted vanilla caramel sauce for ice cream though.

Next I tried this one: Caramel Shortbread. It claimed it was super easy--it was even cooked in the microwave. Turns out, my microwave must be a little more powerful than hers, as my caramel ended up a caramel brick. Boo.

So, please--can somebody share their candy-making tips so that I, too, can enjoy homemade holiday candy? Otherwise I will be forced to murder the next person bragging on facebook about how wonderful their caramels turned out.

Tomato Leek Tart

Full Circle sent us another leek in this week's box. Up to now, I did not know anything to do with a leek besides potato leek soup (which I did with last week's leek). Yikes, what to do with this one? A quick internet search yielded that most people also made potato leek soup out of leeks. But I found a tomato leek tart recipe on allrecipes.com that sounded really good. I tweaked it a bit, but it is VERY good. Also, I thought the tomato-leek combination would be really good in a quiche if you are a quiche fan. Try it, and comment with your results.

Tomato Leek Tart

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 leek (white/light green parts only), sliced thin
2 large roma tomatoes, sliced thin
4 slices provolone cheese
1/2 c. or so shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. or so shredded parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425. Put a pizza stone in the oven to preheat (if you don't have one, you can substitute a cookie sheet sprayed with pam). Thinly slice the leek and tomatoes. Pull the stone from the oven and put the pie crust on it flat. In the middle portion of the crust, evenly spread the slices of provolone. Then evenly distribute the leeks and then the tomatoes (leave the outer 1.5-2 inches uncovered). Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Spread the mozzarella and then the parmesan over the veggies. Fold up the edges of the crust (if you used a preheated stone, the fats in the crust will have made the crust pretty melty; use a thin spatula to help you with this if needed). Bake for 20 minutes, until crust and cheese are lightly browned.

Here's the finished product. Let 'er sit a couple minutes before you cut it to let the juices reabsorb.

This is what a leek looks like--green onion BEEFCAKE!

The top part went into the tart; the bottom part, the trash (or compost pile).

Tomatoes! Slice them up thin; I like a small serrated knife for this job.

Potato Soup--It's CHUNKY!

OK, this isn't just potato soup. It's not just potato leek soup. It's a mish-mash of potato leek and the yummy Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden. Yes, I will admit that I, too, am pretty excited that we are getting our first Olive Garden here in my town, mostly because of the soup-salad-breadstick lunch with the Zuppa Toscana soup. I came up with the idea when our CSA box from Full Circle this week had a leek and kale in it. So try it, let me know how it goes. I found it very tasty, pretty easy, and VERY filling.

CHUNKY Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:
1 leek, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 stick butter
1 pound ground pork (I use this instead of sausage because it lacks those naughty nitrates/nitrites)
24 oz. chicken stock or broth
5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
8-10 oz half and half
1 packed c. chopped kale (optional)
salt and pepper

In a big soup pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. When it's melted, add the leek and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the veggies are a little brown on the edges. Salt and pepper them.

While they are cooking, brown the ground pork (or ground sausage if you prefer) with salt and pepper (and any other seasonings you like--since I use ground pork, I also add garlic powder, dried sage, and a little cayenne) in a fry pan.

When the veggies are done (see picture below), deglaze the pan with the stock. Add the potatoes and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and cover. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. At this point, if you like a chunkier soup (CHUNKY!), you can mash by hand with a potato masher or whatever floats your boat. If you want something very smooth, run it through your food processor or use a stick/immersion blender. I did it chunky. Add the sausage, stir, then add the half and half. I would add the half-and-half until you reach a consistency that  you like. Add the chopped kale. Heat the mixture through, until the kale begins to wilt, then serve.

We served this with a nice, crusty loaf of sourdough bread. It was pretty darned good. But I'm still going to Olive Garden when they open.

Here are the browned bits from the cooked veggies that you will work off by adding chicken stock. YUM. If you use a non-stick pot, you will not get all of this color.

Here's the final product. The kale this week was a purple variety, hence the dark specks (I promise, I didn't burn it!).

Pizzelle (Christmas Cookies!)

We are headed to a cookie party tomorrow; we were instructed to bring sugar cookies to decorate and other cookies to exchange (this is a family-friendly party if you noticed the lack of dancing ladies). PANIC! My patience level is less-than-optimal when it comes to making Christmas cookies. My talent level is even more pathetic. My husband, baffled by my sweaty palms and pacing, suggested we bring chocolate chip cookies. What?! You can't bring something so plain, so common, to a Christmas Cookie Party! My husband, nonplussed, responded that I need not worry: we had white chocolate chips in the pantry. Oh well, in that case.


Anyway, I have no idea why Christmas cookies have to be different than the cookies you eat the rest of the year, but they are. I used Martha's sugar cookie recipe this time. And for the exchange cookies? Well, after thumbing through cookbooks and surfing the internet, I settled on pizzelle. You need a special little appliance for these, a pizzelle maker (similar to a waffle iron, but thinner), but perhaps you could borrow one? They are pretty darn good, very similar to waffle cones, and really, really good with ice cream. Or coffee. Or Nutella. I mashed this recipe together from a couple different ones, but there are tons out there. And if you buy a pizzelle maker, it will probably come with a recipe.

Pizzelle

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. canola oil
3 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 c. amaretto


Whisk the eggs, sugar, and oil together. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let mixture sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, turn on your pizzelle maker (I like a medium-low setting). Place about 2 T. of batter on the iron and cook. Repeat. And repeat.

Sloppy Joes

We are pretty fancy around here. Like most families, we enjoy gourmet offerings like pizza, spaghetti, tacos ... Try not to be too impressed, especially when my kid uses his sleeve or the tablecloth as a napkin. Winter makes me hungry for rich comfort fare, and my selections on pinterest lately have reflected that. I saw a pin of a veggie-heavy sloppy joe recipe from an Australian blog, and the picture looked so good I decided to make my own. I had some leftover canned spaghetti sauce from a crock pot recipe earlier this week, so I used that instead of tomato paste and water. 

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 c. mushrooms, diced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound extra lean ground beef
1 packed cup raw spinach, chopped
2 c. prepared spaghetti sauce (I used a spicier one, use any brand you like)
black pepper to taste
1/2 packet sloppy joe seasoning (I just used half since the sauce was already seasoned)
1 T. rooster sauce*
Whole wheat hamburger buns

Heat a large pan on medium until hot, add olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and carrot. While it cooks, chop the mushrooms. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pan and stir. While the mixture cooks, chop the spinach, set aside. When the onions are translucent, add the ground beef and brown, stirring fairly often to break up the burger. Add the spaghetti sauce, spinach, 1/2 the seasoning packet, black pepper, and rooster (sriracha) sauce. Stir another few minutes, until sauce is warm and flavors blend a bit. Spoon onto toasted hamburger buns and serve.

*optional

Pizza!

Pizza and movie night! Here's my crust recipe. I have a one-pound loaf Zojirushi bread machine (this recipe will work in larger machines too, of course). If you don't have a bread machine or don't have an hour forty-five to wait for dough to be made, your local pizza joint would probably sell you some. Ours sells dough for $2-$3, depending on size.

This dough is pretty dense, so you will want to stretch it as thin as you can. After it's stretched, I put it on a pre-warmed pizza stone that I sprinkled cornmeal on. Drizzle with olive oil and dried basil, then add sauce and toppings. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Pizza Dough
In bread machine, add the following in this order:
3/4 c. Water
1 T. Olive oil
2 1/4 c. Whole wheat flour
1 t. Dried rosemary
2 T. Sugar
1 T. Dried milk powder
1/2 T. Sea salt (place the salt in the corner of the pan so it doesn't come in contact with the yeast.
1 heaping t. Yeast.

Set machine to dough setting.

Pinterest Week!

I have decided that this week shall be Pinterest Week at our house. I have been a pinning fool the past few weeks, so I figured I might as well actually try to make some of the pins. There's a bit of a twist though to this week's meal planning; I have a Full Circle CSA box to pick up on Thursday, with as-yet-unknown veggies in it. Here's the game plan for the week, or at least a starting point. I'll post the results as they come through, and how I actually made the recipes.

Monday: Crockpot Chicken Taco Chili

Wednesday: Beef and Veggie Sloppy Joes, green salad

Thursday: Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas, green salad, mystery veggie from CSA box

Friday: BBQ Salmon, Roasted Parmesan Green Beans, another mystery veggie from CSA box

And for dessert, these Rolo Chocolate Cookies.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These were pretty tasty and very filling. In the future my husband and I agreed we would use less honey and the whole big can of green enchilada sauce.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

Marinade -

6 tablespoons honey

5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)

1 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas (I used whole wheat tortillas)

1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded

16 ounces green enchilada sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

1. Whisk the first four ingredients and toss with shredded chicken in a Zip-loc bag.

2. Let it marinate for at least a 1/2 hour, but preferably a half day or so.

3. Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan.

4. Fill the tortillas with chicken, saving marinade, and shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

5. Put tortillas in 9x13 pan as you go.

6. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade (if there is any).

7. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas.

8. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.

Thanks to this blog and Pinterest!

Caramel Bite Cookies

This recipe turned out pretty good. It's obviously pretty easy. I did not get too much help from my preschooler with these as he was too mesmerized by the bag of Rolo candies.

Caramel Bite Cookies 

Ingredients
1 pkg. Rolo candies
1 box Devils Food Cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix cake mix, oil, and eggs. Take a small ball of dough and form a ball around the Rolo. (Only use enough dough to cover the Rolo so it can spread through the cookie.)

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 Yields about 3 dozen.

Thank you to Pinterest and the Six Sisters blog for this recipe.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans and Dry Rub Salmon

We are nearing the end of pinterest week. The last recipe I wanted to try was these roasted parmesan green beans. I made them, and I've included the recipe, but to be honest they were pretty chewy. The flavor was excellent, but I don't think green beans are the best veggie for roasting. In the future, I think I would either boil or steam the beans until they are tender, then rub them with the oil, season and 'cheese' them, and broil for a couple minutes. What do you think, have you oven-roasted green beans with success before?

I did a very basic spice rub on the salmon I served it with, and it turned out very tasty. The recipe is also included here. 

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Ingredients:

12 oz dry green beans, trimmed
olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
garlic powder
shredded parmesan


Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.

Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat. Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 7-10 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Dry-Rub Seasoned Salmon

Ingredients:
wild salmon filet
paprika
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
garlic powder
cayenne pepper*
olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray pam on it. Place salmon pieces, skin side down, on the foil. Sprinkle the seasonings on the salmon, going easy on the cayenne (if you don't like spicy foods, simply omit this). Drizze the salmon with the oil, then rub the oil into the fish. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the fish is flaky and opaque in the center.

*optional

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

This is another Pinterest recipe, tweaked to my family's taste buds. It was pretty good and very filling, lots of protein and fiber and very little fat. The first couple bites I found to be a bit mild to my taste and I was wishing I had added some Rooster sauce, but the heat got stronger as I motored through the bowl and by the end, I would describe it as gringo medium. Pretty tasty, I would make this again. Also, note in the picture the ginormous chunks of onion. I would normally NOT do onions this chunky, but they were crazy-strong and I felt like I was watching Steel Magnolias before I was even halfway through a rough chop.


Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili
 

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
1/4 c. taco seasoning (we buy in bulk at Costco; you can also use 1 packet)
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder 

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1T. vinegar
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
   
Combine everything but the chicken in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.

Thank you to Pinterest and this blog for the inspiration.

Veggie & Goat Cheese Fettucine

So, we were going to do individual pizzas tonight. I set up the bread maker in the afternoon to make the dough. Turns out, 1 2/3 c. flour is not the same as 2/3 c. Oops. I needed to come up with something on the fly, and this is what I did. At risk of tooting my own horn, it was pretty yummy.  So yummy, I kind of want to go make another bowl of it.

Veggie and Goat Cheese Fettucine

Ingredients:
1/2 package fettucine
3 smallish zucchini, chopped
1/2 can black olives, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
4 T. olive oil, divided
garlic salt
pepper
1/2 log goat cheese

Cook the fettucine per package instructions. While it cooks, saute the zucchini in 1 T. olive oil in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. When the zucchini begins to brown (but isn't tender yet), add the garlic salt and pepper to taste, plus the olives and remaining oil.

When the zucchini is tender, drain most of the liquid from the tomatoes and add to the pan. Give the pan a stir and heat to a simmer. Turn the heat to low. When the pasta has about a minute left to cook, add the goat cheese (break it into chunks by hand so it melts evenly). Stir until the cheese is melted and distributed in the sauce.

When the noodles are done, strain and toss with the sauce. Serve immediately.

Makes about 4 good-size portions.

Chicken Cordon Blue

Here's how we do it:

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
About 1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/2 pound sliced deli ham
4 slices Swiss or provolone cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Slather the mustard on both sides of each peice, then place in a glass baking dish (probably should Pam the pan here). Divide the ham into four even portions and place on the chickens. Bake for 20 minutes, then add the cheese slices and continue to bake, probably about another 10 minutes or so.

Spicy French Dip

I have another swing shift tonight, and our fridge is (finally) empty of leftovers, so I needed something quick and easy to prepare for separate dinners (my husband and son will be eating at home, while I will be eating at work). All of the Arby's commercials for 2 for $5 French Dip sandwiches got me hungry for, well, French Dip. So I made some up. It probably cost just as much to make it at home, but by fixing them at home I was able to buy natural roast beef and add a salad to make it a bit healthier.

Here's how I made our sammies:

Spicy French Dip

4 bakery rolls
1 pound roast beef
4 slices pepper jack cheese
Spicy prepared horseradish
Butter, if desired

1 packet of au jus mix 

1 bag of mixed greens/pre-washed salad mix

Set the oven to broil.

Prepare the au jus mix per package instructions. While it's cooking, start the rolls.

Split the rolls in half, spread with butter if you like (I skipped this) and then the horseradish. Put 1/4 of the meat on the bottom side of each roll. Add a slice of cheese to each. Pop into the oven (open faced for now) and broil for 1-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges of the rolls begin to brown. Watch them like a hawk, unless you like charcoal sandwiches.

Serve with a cup of au jus and a side salad.

If you are watching calories and/or carbs, you can make these open faced, therefore approximately halving the carbs and dropping the calorie count by a bit.

Gratin Recipe to Try

Several years ago, my husband and I were invited to his then-boss' house for a holiday dinner. His wife made this freaking amazing cauliflower dish. Seriously, nobody hates cauliflower more than me. But this was so cheesy and downright naughty, it more than made up for the sin of cauliflower inclusion. I have been lusting over a recipe for this ever since. Thankfully, I turned the TV on a bit early on Thanksgiving for the parade and happened to catch Bobby Flay making this. I haven't tried it yet (we are still trying to eat our way through the pile of leftovers in the fridge) but I am hopeful. Here it is, in case the link stops working:

Recipe: Cauliflower and goat cheese gratin

Bobby Flay

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole milk, plus more milk if needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• 6 ounces soft goat cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large head cauliflower florets, each floret sliced into 2-3 pieces

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a large baking dish. Place the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Melt butter over medium heat in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in the flour and let cook for 1 minute (do not let the mixture get brown). Slowly whisk in the milk, increase the heat to high, and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Monterey Jack and half of the goat cheese and half of the parmesan cheese until melted, season with salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too thick, thin with a little extra milk. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl, add the cauliflower and stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining goat cheese and parmesan and bake on a baking sheet (in case the mixture bubbles over in the oven).

Serving Size

Serves 6 to 8

Striped Delight

This dessert is super yummy. The Double Musky in Girdwood, Alaska does a similar-tasting dessert, with nuts instead of graham crackers. This is very easy, plus it looks really pretty in the trifle container. Enjoy!

Striped Delight Trifle

Ingredients:

1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/3 c. sugar

2 small boxes instant pudding (your choice of flavors), plus 4 c. milk to prepare
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 16 oz container heavy whipping cream
2 T. milk
1/3 c. sugar

Mix one box of pudding and 2 c. of milk together per package instructions. Pour into trifle dish, put in refrigerator.

Put whipping cream into stand mixer bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.

Meanwhile, put the graham crackers in a ziploc bag, crush with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs together with 1/3 c. butter and 1/3 c. sugar.

Remove the trifle dish from refrigerator, add half the graham crumb mixture, and lightly press into an even layer.

When the whipped cream is finished, remove half into a small bowl. Into the remaining whipped cream, add the package of cream cheese, 1/3 c. sugar, and 2 T. milk. Mix on medium high until smooth. Add this as another layer to the trifle dish.

Next, add the remaining graham crumb mixture and press into another even layer.

Mix the remaining box of pudding and remaining 2 c. of milk together, again per package instructions. Pour on the trifle, and put the dish back in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes.

When the pudding layer is set, spread the remaining whipped cream on top. If desired, garnish with some chocolate shavings or a sprinkle of cocoa powder. Return to the fridge and cool for several hours.

The whipping cream, all finished

Layer one: pudding (chocolate)

Layer two: graham/butter/sugar mix, lightly pressed

Layer three: cream cheese/whipped cream/sugar mix

Layer four: graham/butter/sugar mix, lightly pressed

Layer five: pudding (white chocolate)

Layer six: whipped cream

Turkey and Ramen Soup

This is quick, easy, and cheap. Great use for leftover turkey.

Turkey and Ramen Soup

4 packages Top Ramen
1 c. chopped leftover turkey
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
2 eggs
3 green onions, chopped*

Cook the ramen according to package directions. While it's cooking, chop the leftover turkey and warm it in the microwave. Once the ramen is cooked, add the remaining ingredients. Stir (the hot soup will cook the egg; if you are not cool with this just omit the egg). Serve.

*optional

Turkey and Butternut Squash Bake

This recipe is gooooood. Even if you have never had squash, or if you think you don't like squash, this is really tasty. I altered a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens to make more of a casserole (and use up leftover turkey).

Turkey and Butternut Squash Bake

2 c. chopped turkey (cooked)
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
2 T. olive oil
8 oz. dried extra-wide noodles
4 T. butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T. lemon juice
1 package light cream cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 c. panko or bread crumbs (maybe a good use for leftover rolls?)

Preheat oven to 425. In a bowl, toss the squash cubes in the oil. Place in a rectangular baking dish and cook for 30 minutes, stirring twice.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, set aside. In the same pot, melt 2 T. of the butter. Add the onions and stir. Cook the onions over medium heat until translucent. Stir in lemon juice. Add noodles to the onion mixture, then stir in the cream cheese, 1/2 of the Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the cooked squash cubes and chopped turkey.

Put mixture in a baking dish, and top with the panko/bread crumbs and remaining butter and Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Green Turkey Enchiladas

This is a green enchilada recipe, adapted for use with Thanksgiving leftovers, from a recipe my in-laws were kind enough to give to us. It's really good with some roasted Hatch green chiles (my in-laws are from southern New Mexico) but canned green chiles will work just fine.

Green Enchiladas

2 c. chopped turkey
4 small cans green chiles (or about 1 c. chopped frozen or fresh roasted)
4 c. chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T. flour
24 corn tortillas
canola oil (for frying the tortillas)
about 1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Put broth and chopped turkey into a large pot, put on medium heat. Meanwhile, saute onions and garlic in butter over medium heat in a medium pan until onions are translucent. Add onions and garlic mixture to the broth pot.

Add a bit more butter to the pan and melt, then whisk in the flour and cook to a golden brown color. Whisk in enough of the broth to make a thin gravy, then add the contents of the pan to the broth pot.

Set the pot to simmer and fry up the tortillas, one at a time, in a thin layer of oil in a fry pan (if you have a helper, they can fry the tortillas while you are working on the previous steps).

Start layers, in either a large crock pot or a large baking dish. The broth pot goes first, then a single layer of tortilla, then a thin layer of cheese. Repeat until done.

If using a crock pot, cook on low for about 3 hours. If using a baking dish, cook at 350 for 1 hour.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Continuing on the Thanksgiving theme ... my pumpkin pancake recipe. This is easy, yummy, and is easily adaptable. So if you need to swap the flour for a gluten-free variety, or want to add some ground flaxseed or wheat germ, the pancakes will still turn out awesome. Try pouring some of the batter into a greased pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter for a fun fall breakfast for your kiddos.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground ginger
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk (nonfat will work fine)
3 T. melted butter
1/2 c. canned pumpkin

Mix the first 8 ingredients together. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the milk, butter, and pumpkin. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mix just until incorporated (don't over mix). Grease your griddle with some Pam and cook up some pancake goodness. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

This week, instead of publishing a weekly menu, I'm going to publish some Thanksgiving-related posts. I'm going to start with a dessert recipe and work my way towards leftover recipes.

I did this Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle last Thanksgiving, and it was a hit. It's a Paula Deen recipe, and surprisingly doesn't require seven pounds of butter. The awesome thing about a trifle is the presentation; trifles look really cool (and this one, like most trifles, is really easy).

Bloody Mary mix+spaghetti sauce=yum!

Tonight we had spaghetti (which if you recall from this week's meal plan was originally planned for Wednesday ... anyway). My husband made it, which was terrific since I was operating on about 2.5 hours of interrupted sleep. He decided to add, beyond the usual tomato, garlic, onion, and red wine ... Bloody Mary mix. He had some leftover in the fridge and splashed some in the sauce. I have to admit, this was genius. It was really good, one of the best red pasta sauces I've had in a long time. I had some ground pork to go in too, and together, with the aforementioned ingredients, it was A-MAZING. Watch the amount of salt you add; between a salty commercial Bloody mix and pasta sauce you could potentially oversalt your sauce and not realize. But try it, and let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

This recipe was pretty good. I adapted it from one from Saving Dinner, one of my favorite meal planners/cookbooks. It's quick, it's easy, and it's pretty sweet (which is pretty nice if you are following a low-carb plan where refined sweets are off-limits). If you like spice, add some cayenne or Rooster sauce (sriracha). We served this over rice for a super-filling dinner, but if you are minding the carbs, obviously you would omit this part.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew

Place the following in the crockpot:

1 small bag baby carrots
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cubed
salt and pepper
1/2 t. rosemary
2 c. apple cider
1 c. chicken broth

Cook on low for 8 hours. Add a can of green beans.

When carrots are tender, strain liquid from crockpot. Mix part of the liquid with 1 T. corn starch, stir, then add the corn starch mix to the rest of the liquid. Cook this liquid over medium heat until the sauce is as thick as you like. Place some cooked rice on the plate, then the chicken/veggie mix, then top with the cornstarch/liquid mix.

Crocked Picante Venison and Carrots Recipe

Crocked Picante Venison and Carrots

This picture is the "before" shot. Like most crockpot recipes, this one is so easy my two-year-old can easily help, too.

Dump these ingredients into a crockpot:

1 small bag baby carrots
1 pound venison stew meat (chopped into big bite-sized pieces)
salt and pepper
1 c. chicken broth
3 T. lime juice
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 T. olive oil
2 T. Sriracha or "rooster" sauce
1 T. sugar
1/4 c . dried minced onion (fresh would be better)
1/2 t. dried oregano

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Weekly menu

OK, here's this week's menu. I'm feeling a little winter sluggishness so I planned for two crock pot dinners. No new recipes to try, either. Just plain old, quick and easy comfort food.

Monday: Crocked Picante Venison with carrots, green side salad

Wednesday: Spaghetti, salad

Thursday: Crocked chicken and sweet potato stew

Friday: BBQ salmon, steamed broccoli, quinoa.

Beans and Greens (and Ham) Recipe

Here's my adapted version of the Beans and Greens recipe. I will say it was pretty good, and I think it would be good without the ham (but I would definitely use a nice, sharp cheese as a garnish in that case). The good thing about this recipe is it uses a whole head of green leafies, but it doesn't taste like you just ate 1/4 of a head of green leafies. I personally find just plain braised greens to have a tendency to taste a bit swampy. Of course, that could just be me cooking them incorrectly. The downside to this recipe is it's fairly hands-on and time consuming, so while it's super easy and cheap to make, you have to be around the house for over an hour before dinner time.

Beans and Greens and Ham (oh my!)
2 c. soaked white beans
1 onion
1 bay leaf
1 clove
salt and pepper (lots of it!)
1 c. chopped cooked ham
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
2 T. olive oil
grated sharp cheddar cheese, for garnish

Cover the beans with fresh water and bring to a boil. Throw in the onion and clove and bay leaf. Gently boil (partly covered) the beans about 30 minutes, until they are semi-soft. Stir occasionally.

Salt and pepper the beans, add the ham, and stir. Add water as necessary. Stir occasionally as you cook until the beans are cooked (another 20-30 minutes).

Add the greens and cook until they are tender, about 10 minutes more. Again, add water if necessary. (I ended up over cooking the greens waiting for my husband and one of my sons to get home, and it still tasted good and not swampy or slimy at all).

Remove the onion, add more salt and pepper as needed. I added an additional sprinkle of ground cloves. Stir in the olive oil. Serve it in bowls and garnish with the cheese.

Fried Rice Recipe

Tonight's menu calls for fried rice. This is a family favorite around here. We've been using this recipe for years, and it is goooooooood. There's a bit of chopping involved (try to do this before starting the cooking), and it's definitely a hands-on recipe, but it's fast and good for a weeknight. I am using some leftover ham from a holiday past that was stuffed in my freezer, but you can use anything ham-like; usually I buy a little Jennie-O turkey ham. Another note, I think it tastes good with brown rice, but my husband vehemently disagrees.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1/3 c. oil, like canola or corn
1/3 pound cubed ham
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 green onions
1 1/3 c. (6 oz) frozen peas and carrots (don't use more--you'll have a soggy mess!)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 c. cooked rice

Heat a large non-stick pan over high heat. When it's hot add 1 T. of the oil. Add ham and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the onions to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook 2 minutes, until onion is fragrant. Add the garlic, ginger, and whites of the green onions and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add the frozen veggies and cook until just defrosted, but not mushy. Transfer to a bowl.

Add two more tablespoons of the oil to the pan. Add eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir the eggs constantly until almost set, then add the eggs to the bowl and break them up with a spoon.

Add the rest of the oil to the pan (you can get by with a little less here than the recipe calls for if your non-stick pan is of good quality). Add the rice to the pan and break up any clumps with a spoon. Salt and pepper and stir to coat the rice evenly with oil. Let the rice sit undisturbed until it gets slightly crispy, about 2 minutes. Stir the rice again, breaking up any new clumps. Add the greens from the green onions. Turn off heat, add contents of bowl to the pan, and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Cabbage Stir-Fry

Don't go running just by the title. This dish, from the How to Cook Everything iPad app, was mega yum. It didn't even make the house reek too badly from cooking cabbage smell, probably thanks to the quick cooking time. I served it over plain rice, and it was very filling. I am posting an edited version of the recipe, as I cooked it.

Chicken and Cabbage Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

3 T. canola oil (or other high smoke point oil, like corn or grapeseed)
2 T. minced garlic
1 T. minced fresh ginger (about a two inch piece)
5 green onions, chopped
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 head cabbage, cored and shredded
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
1 t. sugar
2 T. soy sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth or stock

plain cooked rice

Put 2 T. of the oil in a big medium-hot pan. Add half the garlic and ginger, stir for 15 seconds, then add the green onion, yellow pepper, and cabbage. Raise heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage scorches a bit and becomes soft (this took about 7-8 minutes for me). Transfer to a plate.

Turn heat to medium, put remaining oil in the pan, and add the remaining garlic and ginger. Add the chicken, turn heat to high, and let chicken cook for 1 minute to brown. Stir occasionally for another 3-5 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink.

Turn heat back down to medium, add the cabbage mix back to the pan. Add the sugar, soy sauce, and broth, plus salt and pepper to taste. Stir, move heat back to high and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan. Continue until liquid is mostly absorbed, then serve over a bed of steamed rice.

Review of 'How to Cook Everything' App

Mark Bittman, whose How to Cook Everything cookbook (and its vegetarian counterpart) have been on my shortlist of coveted cookbooks for forever, released an iPad app of the same title early this year. Here's the short version: I love it!

I thought the iPad would be a nice kitchen companion, and bought a frame and stand for it with this in mind. I was right (go me). I have a few cooking-type apps that carried over from my iPhone and they are pretty handy. But this app, designed especially for the iPad (he has ones for the iPhone as well), is awesome. It's super interactive, and it gets down to basics with each of its 2,000 recipes, which if you are familiar with his work tend to be on the healthier side. You can search or browse based on ingredient, ease of recipe, or type of recipe. If the recipe calls for a certain technique to be used, the app breaks it down with diagrams and instructions. These instructions can be as basic as using a knife, so this could be a great app to send a kid off to college with if he has yet to take any interest in the kitchen. There's also a section in each recipe where you can add notes, which is super handy.

Downsides? Well, obviously frying and iPads don't mix too well, so there's that. Keep it clear from the stove or fry daddy though and you should be fine. Also, the app is cooking oriented, so don't expect too many baking or sweet recipes.

At $10, this is certainly the priciest app I have ever bought. But at less than half the price of the cookbook, it's a real bargain. In my opinion, it was money well spent. If he does the vegetarian edition for iPad, I will be buying that as well. Now, if only Alton Brown would follow suit.

Pumpkin and Spiced Rum Cocktail Recipe

A friend of mine had a similar recipe, made with white tequila, on her facebook page today. It sounded amazing so I decided to make my own.

Pumpkin Pie Cocktail

Batter:
1 c. canned pumpkin

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw is a commonly-found brand)
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 dash ground ginger
1 dash ground cloves

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add 1/4 c. batter and one shot (1 1/2 oz) spiced rum, like Sailor Jerry or (my favorite) Captain Morgan Private Reserve. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. If you have jumbo tanker glasses like we do, double the amounts.

This drink was super good by itself. I think it could only be improved by adding some crushed gingersnaps on the edge of the glass and a dollop of whipped cream to the top. Enjoy!

This week's menu

This week I am going to try a couple new recipes from my iPad app, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I plan to review the app later this week, but for now, if you haven't heard of Mark Bittman then you probably have been out of country a while, or at least removed from popular media. Anyway, here's this week's menu:

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Stir-fried chicken with cabbage (from the app), rice, side salad. Because colored bell peppers are on sale this week and the recipe suggested them as a potential substitute item, I will be adding a chopped one to this.

Wednesday: Fried Rice. I'll post the recipe later, but we had some ham in the freezer that was needing to be eaten, so this recipe should be just the ticket. It's filling, but if you need a little extra food you could do a side salad with some Japanese sesame dressing, some frozen egg rolls or potstickers, or a bowl of miso soup (super quick with a mix) to fill it out.

Thursday: Taco Salad. Salad mix is on sale this week so we will be eating lots of the green leafies.

Friday: Beans and Greens (also from the iPad app). I plan to add the remainder of the ham from the freezer to this. If you are into the Meatless Monday thing, this would be a likely candidate (minus the ham, of course). Organic greens are on sale as well this week, which is unusual for my local supermarkets.

Weekend pumpkin muffin recipe

For the weekend, I am offering up one of our family's favorite recipes: pumpkin muffins. These are not sinful, bakery-type muffins; in fact, I would put them closer to the hockey puck side of the muffin spectrum. Don't get me wrong, they are very tasty. But they also won't make you want to shoot yourself for eating a handful of them. Of course, if your weekend plans call for something a little more decadent, I highly suggest these blueberry muffins (they are almost pure butter, and they taste like it. Yum!).

Pretty Healthy Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat oven to 400. Pam a muffin pan (these are low-fat, and I've found that paper liners don't work that great. If you insist, I'd either Pam them or add a little more oil in place of a little less applesauce). Remember the asterisked items are optional.

Combine:
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. unbleached flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 c. ground flaxseed*
1/4 c. wheat germ*

In a smaller bowl, combine:
1 egg, beaten (poor egg)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. milk

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix just to a barely combined status. Don't overmix! Put the batter in your muffin cups and bake for 15-17 minutes.

If you are so inclined, you can add some chopped walnuts to the batter. I am personally not-so-inclined. I have used Splenda in place of the brown sugar with success, so if you are on the fake sugar wagon, feel free to substitute.

Enjoy!

A Sample Meal Plan

Here's a sample meal plan:

After looking through the ad circular (most stores also put these online so you don't have to run and get the paper), I saw that broccoli and yummy Yukon Gold potatoes were on sale this week. Squash is in season and I like it, so I thought it would be fun to do a dish or two with that. I try to keep easy dishes to weeknights and save new or time consuming recipes for Friday or the weekend. Here's what I came up with for the week:

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: BBQ salmon, steamed broccoli, sweet potato oven fries

Wednesday: Pot roast with carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes

Thursday: Balsamic braised chicken, green beans, quinoa

Friday: Butternut squash lasagna, green salad

Weekend: Butternut squash and kielbasa foil packets (we tend to cook just once on the weekend, and munch on leftovers or go out to eat the rest of the time).

On the grocery list, I just write the ingredients that I need to purchase for these meals, plus any other items I may need, like for breakfasts, snacks, beverages etc. We like to have fresh fruit around for snacks, especially for the kids, so we choose these seasonally (i.e. what's on sale). This week, I bought apples, kiwis and bananas. I buy meat in bulk and freeze it (thank you, Costco) or I use wild caught salmon or game meat so I don't usually have to add those items to my grocery list, and the starchy items I just buy as needed in larger sizes. I try to keep a couple kinds of veggies in the freezer too so we don't have an excuse not to eat them. The same day I shop I also try and pull the meat I need for the week out of the freezer and put it in the fridge.

Tuesday night is BBQ salmon, and my favorite way to fix salmon for the grill is to brush it with BBQ sauce before and during cooking. The big winner in our house, sauce-wise, is a raspberry-chipotle sauce we buy at Costco (if you see this stuff, stock up! It's not always there. It's also good with chicken and REALLY good with baked brie). The more you like the taste of salmon, the less flavorful sauce you will want to use. If you are not really a salmon fan, you might try a stronger tasting sauce, like one you would like to use on ribs. I steam the broccoli in the rice maker. The sweet potato fries are super easy, you just slice the sweet potato into fry shapes, rub with a bit of olive oil, add some salt and pepper (they are good with some heat too, like cayenne, if you like spice), and cook in the oven at about 375 for maybe 30 minutes.

Wednesday is a convenient day to do a crock pot dinner at our house. I load the crock the night before and put it in the fridge, then in the morning pull it out and put it on low. Pot roast is easy because it's not prep-intensive. If you buy baby carrots, you don't even have to wash and chop anything but the potatoes. And it's a really good way to do game, since game meat tends to be so lean.

Thursday's braised chicken is super fast. If you haven't braised before, it's a really easy way to make really moist, flavorful chicken. And it's quick, which is nice for weeknights. For a balsamic version, I just do half balsamic vinegar and half broth for the braising liquid. I buy green beans frozen, and the quinoa can be cooked on the stove top or in the rice cooker. I like to make it with broth instead of water; it makes it much more flavorful that way.

I have two days, both weekend days, with squash. Squash is kind of a pain in the butt to prepare, so buy a big one and use it multiple days. Or buy it frozen and already cubed and save yourself some time. If you have a couple screaming kids latched onto your leg or a good game on, sometimes it's nice to not be fighting a squash peel.

The weekend foil packets are ridiculously easy, you can do them on the grill or in the oven. You are putting cubed and peeled butternut squash, sliced kielbasa (I usually buy the turkey variety, but the real stuff is obviously a much tastier option), and maybe some sliced onions if you like them in a foil square, salt and peppering them, and adding maybe a 1/4 c. of orange juice to each packet. Each packet should be a serving size, so however much your family members eat (at my house, that's about 5 pounds per person). Seal up the packet and grill or bake until the squash is tender, so start checking at about 30 minutes or so.