And now, for something completely different...

Earlier in the week I downloaded a new App for my iPod Touch (it's not an iTouch people... that just sounds creepy!!) from Martha Stewarts Everyday Food. Everyday (ha!) it sends a new recipe to your iPod or iPhone and if you have push notifications on, it puts it on the screen - like a text message. Typically, I am bad about using my Apps on a  regular basis so I find this VERY helpful. Every single day, it will send me a recipe idea. Love it! today it came up with Salmon Pasta. Now, I am originally from Florida and unlike my co blogger, Hx, I am not a huge fan of seafood (unless it's shrimp, then I am ready to roll, especially if it's scampi). However, I am making an effort to eat a little more fish - specifically salmon - because I know it has all those good Omega3s and such in it. So, this sounded like a great idea. Even better because I could make the pasta and separate out a little for the children who - even if one wasn't a vegetarian - wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole. (the kids got the same pasta, but with my mix of basil & garlic cubes from Trader Joe's -- my quick & cheap version of pesto). Should I tell you the story about how my daughter initally refused to come out for dinner because of the fishy smell in the house? No... ok, well, then yes, no fish for them.

So, I made this dish and I did forget a few things. I have a TON of spinach in the fridge. What did I forget??? The freakin' spinach! I also forgot the parsley, which personally, isn't a huge loss. I am still disappointed that I forgot the spinach. It's been a long few days and today involved taking my daughter to a party at Chuck E Cheese's which well, is among my least favorite places in the world - so that's my excuse.

Anyway, the thumbs were way up on this one - even without the spinach. I have no pictures either! Sorry about that. It was that good. So good you should make it. The only thing I would do different is to spice it up. The rub was REALLY good, but it needed a kick. Some cayenne or some sort of spicy pepper. David used some Tabasco, which, if you have read this blog at all, will know is a commonly used condiment in this house. We put out salt, pepper & Tabasco.

The Absolute Best Lasagna

Once, a few years ago, I made a meaty lasagna for some friends. One of them, Uncle Ben, as I call him, asked whether everyone else was finished. We all said Yes. He then proceeded to hoist the remaining 1/3 of the pan of lasagna onto his plate. I am sure that my mouth dropped. I always have leftovers... until that moment. I guess he liked it. A lot.

So last night we had another guest over for dinner and I made the same recipe. And let me tell you this, dear readers, it really is *that good*. Oh Yeah. Cooks Illustated Simple Lasagna is to die for. The 'meat mixture' calls for veal, which I don't buy, so they suggest substituting ground beef and sweet Italian sausage. It's freakin' delicious. With guests, I say 'forget healthy - we're going all out on fatty goodness'. So it's the whole milk ricotta cheese. Uh Huh.

The really momentous part of this entire meal is my attitude. So. There are people reading this that might be shocked to discover that I went home, after a full 8 hours of work, and made this lasagna, from scratch, Without FREAKING OUT. Yeah, I see you nodding your heads in disbelief. There are some that knew me before I was a semi-experienced cook, that needed to plan WAY in advance for such a complex meal. No way was Heather going to make something as complicated as lasagna (or anything else) after work for someone she didn't know. No way, no how. I'm looking at the ex-boyfriends (and I'm sure that maybe one of them actually reads this blog), and they're the ones who know the best. Anyway, it was fun. =)

AND DELICIOUS! Oh how I love it when a plan works out.

I need cupcakes - STAT!

Tonight, my son had a strings performance at his school. He played 2 songs - the Can Can and a Folk song. He did great - of course I am a bit biased. At about 3:30 this afternoon, he informed me he needed something to take to school to eat after the performance. Seeing as I am cooking at home more, I did happen to have things available. He said I could just go and buy something. Oh no, not me. I do not buy pre-made food. So, I looked around gathered my ingredients and made made ... cupcakes. I will confess, I did use a box of mix for the cake part. I was low on time and I keep mixes around for the cake decorating class I teach. However, I did make my buttercream frosting from scratch.  I was inspired to make the cupcakes because of my new job -- which I will go and observe and learn tomorrow -- at the super awesome Bloom Bake Shop. Local, sustainable and tasty! Anyway... back to the point, cupcakes & homemade buttercream.

Next time you make a cake, make your own buttercream. Let me tell you my recipe. And I will be honest, I don't measure. Like at all. Ever. It just works. It's hard for me too. My students in my classes really struggle with their frosting consistencies, and they follow the directions to the "t". But I have found, like so much cooking, it's not about following the recipe to a "t", but to get it taste good - and in the case of butter cream, make it easy to use.

My basic recipe for a single batch of butter cream. For a 8" cake you will need a double batch. With a Kitchen Aid you can double it at one time - even quadruple it if need be. Don't do a double batch or quadruple with a hand mixer. You'll see smoke, then the mixer will die.

1 cup of butter. Good quality. Not the generic stuff. Local, if possible. Room temp, ideally.
vanilla - as much as you feel you need
1lb powdered sugar
milk, water or cream (keep in mind the need to refrigerate things like milk & cream) - about 2 tbsp

Cream butter and vanilla together until they are nice and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix. It will look dry and nothing like frosting. Add the liquid and mix. Now it should look nice and creamy. Add small amounts of liquid (milk, water or cream) until you have the consistency you need. If you are frosting a cake you need nice, thin frosting. Flowers & such need  stiffer consistency. Add less liquid if you are piping flowers.

Try different things. Experiment. Almond extract make people say "Wow". You can also make chocolate butter cream by using less vanilla and adding some dutch processed chocolate. I like Penzey's Stuff.

I did learn one important lesson tonight. Children like colors and sprinkles. Almost no one ate my last minute cupcakes. Someone else brought blue cupcakes with sprinkles. My children chose those cupcakes. FAIL.

This blog should be called "Recipes By Rachael Ray that Heather and Barbara Made"

But that might be too long.

So, surprise surprise, I made a soup by... RACHAEL RAY! Is this getting old yet?

I decided on a non vegetarian soup for what was supposed to be a snowy day. I was hoping for 6-9" of snow and ended up with 6-9 tenths of an inch. It wasn't much. But I still made soup. I decided on this lovely selection  - a Mini Meatball Soup.

It got some pretty high reviews on the web site, so I had some high hopes. I even decided to try and get the girl to eat some. She does like meatballs, so I held out some hope. It seemed to work for the most part.

I was pretty pleased with this recipe and I will probably make it again. It was fairly easy & quick. The meatballs seemed to need a little more flavor - perhaps a touch of some additional seasonings when I made them.

So yes, give this a try. It's a tasty dish.

The Soup That Greens Are Made Of

I laughed out loud earlier this week when I discovered that I'd picked yet another Rachel Ray recipe by accident. The accident is due to the Food Network Magazine, which I have been receiving in the mail for the past year or so (since it began). Therefore I'm picking the recipes that look good, completely unaware that many of these are Rachel's. Like I've said before, I don't usually like her recipes. And yet, here I am enjoying the 3rd dish of hers since the beginning of the year. Guess I'm ready to take that original statement back.

Tonight I made Potato, Spinach and Artichoke Soup. It's good, not great. I like it for all the spinach and artichokes (love them both). Oh, and there's cheese (parmesan). I'm fairly sure that no kid would touch this unless they're big fans of green veggies.

Everyone Loves Eggplant

Or everyone should love eggplant. I certainly have an odd fondness for it, much to the dislike of my family and friends (some of them). I love the texture and how it feels between my teeth (like I said, an odd fondness).



At some point I taught myself how to cook stir-fries. This type of dish is a whole lot of fun to make, as long as you're prepared before the first items hit the pan. Once a stir-fry begins its course, it's cooking in fast-forward high-speed until it's all over. I learned this the hard way -- burning a few in the process. The reason it's so quick is that you cook over high heat. Using peanut oil (THE stir-fry oil of choice, as it has a higher smoking point - meaning that you cook at high heat without it smoking/burning as quickly) makes it uber flavorful.

Tonight I tried a Cooks Illustrated recipe: Stir-fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce - very Thai-inspired. It, like many stir-fries, calls for Fish Sauce. Now, in my house I have to hide the fish sauce when I use it. Rob nearly has a gag-reflex every time he thinks that 'vile nastiness' is in the vicinity. So I tend to use it quickly and slyly put it away without his knowledge. Ironically, he usually hasn't a clue that it's in my dishes. He senses something when I start frying with it (it's very odorific), but I just tell him it's vinegar. He believes me. We agreed that this recipe was pretty good - I added some jasmine rice as well.

Here little fishy fish...

Every now and then (i.e., at least 4 times a week) I have a hankerin' for some tasty seafood. I'm certain that I would be OK with eating crab legs or shrimp nearly everyday if I could afford it. Mmmm yummy crustaceans... AND it turns out that shellfish is not actually high in cholesterol as the docs once warned us. Anyone that has picked up the newspaper or watched TV in the past decade knows how salmon provides those healthy Omega-3s and good cholesterol. Well, that's a real good thing since the recipe that follows has enough butter to counteract any thoughts of a super-healthy meal. Whew.

Last night I made Slow-Roasted Salmon with Potatoes from Food Network magazine. Holy smokes - it was so tasty that Rob snagged the rest of the leftovers for lunch today (he's not that into food). And do you know why it might be so delicious? BUTTER. 4 tablespoons of it goes into a very tasty 'herb-butter-sauce' (see green topping in above photo) that really makes this dish rate high. The rest of the fat comes from healthy olive oil (to roast the leeks and salmon). The filet cut of salmon was not particularly thick (1/4 inch), so I was a little concerned about it drying out too quickly. Therefore I only cooked it for the minimum time -- 30 minutes. I don't know if it was the low temperature, the olive oil, or the steam from the leeks, but the salmon was very juicy.

Besides the salmon, there were fingerling potatoes. I'm sure that the little red potatoes would be a fine substitute, but I love the cuteness of fingerlings (and some are blue - very cool). Some of the buttery goodness is mixed with the boiled potatoes... oh yeah. The other star of this meal are the roasted leeks. You roast them for ~30 minutes and then add the salmon to the top at a lower temp. Roasted *anything* is pretty amazing if you add olive oil and salt... even brussels sprouts... but that's for another entry.

Snacks

This weekend is a pretty busy one for me. My son has a regional swim meet - which means it's his last chance to qualify for the state meet. To qualify, he has to make a certain time. It was his one goal for the season.

So, both Saturday and Sunday mornings I have spend about 4 hours at the pool. His team is one of the largest in the area which means we host all the big meets. Hosting a meet means working it. Since he's swimming 2 days, I have to work 2 days. Whee! 'Forced' volunteering. But I digress...

My point is that I spent this evening working, will "volunteer" at the pool tomorrow, work tomorrow evening and then work at the pool again on Sunday morning. Phew! Yeah, that's a weekend alright. What I need this weekend is quick, good, healthy food. Here's a few ideas I have already made for the weekend.

Black Bean & Corn Salsa 

I used the basic idea from Rachael Ray. The only changes I made was instead of a red pepper, I used a hot pepper ( I don't remember which one, I got it a little while ago.... I think it was an Anahiem) and left out the hot sauce as a result. I also used about 16oz of frozen organic corn from Trader Joes. I had intended to get the roasted corn, but grabbed the wrong bag. I also upped the black beans and went with 2 cans of organic black beans from Trader Joes.

It turned out GREAT! Love love love it. And for about $5 I get a ton of salsa. People pay $5 for an 8 oz jar -- this made like 5 times that amount.

Fresh Dill Dip

This didn't come from any specific recipe -- just using a basic creamy dip foundation.  As I mentioned, I got the Aerogarden for Christmas and I am quickly being overwhelmed with herbs. I didn't like dill much because I always thought of dill pickles, which I HATE. Fresh dill however is pretty good.  So here's my recipe.

1/2 cup light mayo
1/2 cup light sour cream
~ 1/4 cup chopped dill
1 tsp garlic powder

Stir it all together and enjoy! Great with veggies or crackers - or both.

Chicken Salad

Last, but not least. Something else I have mentioned before is good old Costco. I went there today to pick up some Izze juice/soda. While there, I decided to grab one of their rotisserie chickens. They are very very good and cost just $5 (actually... $4.99). I take it home, chop it up, throw in in a bowl, add about 3 stalks of celery, about 1/2 cup mayo some salt & pepper and I have chicken salad! Costco makes and sells salad from their chicken, but charge about $10 for a lb. Yikes! In their defense, I suppose, Costco does pay a living wage unlike some other warehouse club, so I guess it's worth it if you can't make it yourself.

I usually eat it on a bread, a bagel or alone.

So, now you know what I am eating this weekend.

Noodle Night!!!

So, since Hx is finding so many yummy ideas from Rachael Ray, I thought I would give it a try. I decided to search for some vegetarian options and came up with a few ideas. Now, if you read any of her recipes on a regular basis, you'll notice they are not normally vegetarian. Her preferences seem to be a lot like my husbands - and I attribute this to the fact that they are both from Upstate NY -- although she's from about 100 miles east of him -- her recipes are always full of stuff I know he'll like. (ie bacon, sausage, burgers, cheese etc...).

While perusing her site I found this option - Vegetable Noodle Stir Fry. This seemed to have it all. The only "offensive" ingredient was the egg. Have I mentioned lately how darn picky my kids are?? No, neither of them like eggs.  But at least this was something that didn't have to be combined in the whole meal. Everyone seemed to enjoy this option. Phew! The only issue I ran into was I couldn't find any baby bok choy. I don't know if it's because it's the middle of February (which, actually... yes, I am pretty sure that's the reason) or something. I did just use regular old bok choy.

This recipe could definitely be modified to use more veggies, or less or certain ones that are preferred. I think some broccoli, perhaps even green peppers or other less common veggies could definitely be added.

This one is definitely a thumbs up!

Not a lot of news

But that doesn't mean I have fallen off the wagon!

The highlight of the week so far was trying Hx's Spicy Tortilla Soup. Total win.

The boy slowly looked at it very skeptically, then gobbled it down. My daughter wasn't so thrilled, but was ok with it, so it's a win in my book.

Tonight I have a vegetable noodle stir fry up my sleeve. I will update later.

Thinking Different

So yesterday I watched the TED Talk with Jamie Oliver. It made me think. Lots. I talked to the kids about which milk they get at school. They usually get chocolate. Blake is in 4th grade so he will make his own choice, but I talked to both of them and encouraged them to possibly make different choices. The main problem with "changing" is that the man who brings the milk break milk to the kids room basically finds out what they want at the beginning and then bring the same thing. Every day. For 180 days. It doesn't seem to me that they can change. Perhaps that's where I can put some of the talk to into play and find out if they really have trouble changing, or if this is a myth. If they truly cannot change their choice, they should be able to.

Yesterday was the kids "Valentine Carnival". Typically, they would serve pizza at the carnival, but this year - no pizza. So, I decided to go ahead and "treat" the kids to pizza. After watching the TED talk, I realized it wasn't a treat and I just couldn't do it. I went to the fridge, pulled out some left over veggies and cooked them up. This is what I ended up with.  It was good. The kids ate a smaller portion, paired with some string cheese. Not bad.



Tonight, I cooked completely from scratch.  I made The Pioneer Woman's Chicken & Noodles. (I know, enough about The Pioneer Woman, right?!). She had it on her blog earlier in the week (or last week, I am not sure when) and I just HAD to make it. I even made my noodles from scratch! Seriously. I made pasta from scratch long ago, and hadn't done it recently. I am so glad I did. This is not something my vegetarian would eat of course, so I didn't cook some of the noodles in the chicken broth, and simply boiled them and coated them with some of my simple pesto sauce (3 cubes of frozen garlic, 3 cubes of frozen basil + a little olive oil. The cubes come from Trader Joe's and they are GREAT!). He also got some carrots - the same ones that I put in my soup - roasted up. Similar food, but vegetarian friendly. It came out great. I love love loved it!

Pizza - Argentine style

When we went to Argentina a few years ago, I was overcome by their amazingly delicious cuisine (and, of course, the cheap and fantastic wine). Argentina, to me, is the European hot-spot of South America. Minus the political corruption of late, the country is historically rich (both in culture and monetarily), and more similar to Italian customs than those of Spanish.

Local Italian food was especially tasty, the pizza in particular. I was utterly shocked. Argentine pizza is the absolute best I have ever tasted (I have not yet visited Italy - Naples - to try their version). Their pizza is very cheesy with a crust typically made from chickpea flour called Fainá.

The Argentinians have a unique spin on pizza - they add one egg to the center that cooks along with the rest (this could also be the case in Italy). At first glance it seemed a little unsavory. I didn't want an egg on my pizza, but I figured that I could eat around it. Then I decided to dive in and try a bite with the egg.

Oh My.

The white was cooked, of course, and the yolk wasn't hard -- maybe a medium-doneness. It was outstanding. No kidding! The buttery consistency of the yolk mixed with the cheesy sauce and crisp crust was perfect. It was heavenly. Who knew?

So tonight we decided on homemade pizza. My friend Kathryn made and froze pizza dough while she was house-sitting for us back in December. I used that crust along with leftover toppings we had in the fridge. I specifically bought buffalo mozzarella. It was good, although I slightly overcooked the egg. My only regret is that it could have used more cheese (naturally).

Jamie Oliver is my hero

"I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity." - Jamie Oliver


We started this "no more dining out" thing about a month ago. It start as a way to save money and eat better. After watch Jamie Olivers' award winning speech at TED I am more convinced of this endeavor that we have undertaken. You much watch this.

"I wish it was summer" salad!

Here's one of my most favorite recipes to make in the summer. I make this as a side dish, to take to picnics or just to snack on. It's very very yummy.  I happened to have all the ingredients so I decided why not. Just because it's February, I can have a summer salad!  For Christmas I got an Aerogarden and I have a TON of fresh basil. I really like the garden it so far and I love having fresh, clean herbs to use whenever I need them.

I got this recipe from some magazine a few years ago. I don't remember which one though!

Corn Basil & Orzo Salad

1/2 med. red onion
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I usually use rice vinegar - I think it tastes better)
2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
6-8 ears of fresh corn
8 oz of Orzo (small, rice like pasta)
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper diced
1 1/2 cups fresh basil

Combine the onion, vinegar, salt & pepper. Let stand for about 15 mins.

Prepare the corn. Cut the kernels off, but not too deep. You should have about 5 cups

Cook the orzo for about 8 minutes and add the corn. Cook until the water return to a boil for about 1-3 minutes. Drain & rinse with cold water

Whisk oil into vinegar & onion mixture. Add orzo, corn bell pepper and basil. Toss until combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Apple Pickin'

As I've already mentioned, I'm more likely to eat fruit if it's sliced or chopped. It's easier on the chompers, the doofers. Unlike someone else who contributes to this blog, I happen to love cooked fruit. Pie, cobbler, crisp, you name it, I'll eat it.

I once used to live in the land of apples. Ok, maybe it was actually the 2nd or 3rd tier of apple-land in the U.S., but Wisconsin had varieties that I'd never heard of growing up in Florida: Empire, Northern Spy, Haralson, and my very favorite of all-time: Cortland. I picked my first apple on a date at Eplegarden, near Madison (Babs is also a fan of this place). 10 pounds of apples later (it's rather addictive), I had a fridge full of tasty fruit. The next question is "What the *#@$& do I do with all these *&@#^ apples?!".



Here's a quick and easy way to use up your apple stash: Baked Apples from Cooking Light (CL) Magazine.

It's so easy and tasty that I wonder why more people don't prepare apples this way, so try it. 5 minutes of prep, 20 minutes in the microwave - one bowl. The house smells amazing as it's cooking, and people from different rooms and floors will show up quickly, with sparkling eyes, looking for the source of the aroma. It happened to me.

Plus, this dish is an excellent source of fiber and vitamins. I usually dish up single servings (I'm talking LARGE single servings) and take into work as snacks. Or for breakfast, or for dessert. Consider using it atop cereal, oatmeal or yogurt, or adding whipped cream. The recipe calls for walnuts, but I love using pecans or whatever leftover nuts I have in the freezer. I haven't tried toasting the nuts before adding them, but that might be yummy. Also, I use whatever apples look good, not just Galas - and it's better to use a variety.

I still dream of picking apples in Wisconsin. It's nearly impossible to find a cortland in Colorado (unless I'm not looking hard enough). Sigh...

Spicy Tortilla Soup

Like Babs, I had a hankerin' for hot peppers this week (or is it every week?). Tortilla soup is a favorite in our house. I usually make it with chicken, but this time I decided to try something different. It always amazes me how freakin' delicious vegetarian cooking can be. This tortilla soup is technically vegan since there's no cheese and I rarely use sour cream. It's a Rachel Ray recipe (30 minutes) and she really scored big with us using this Corn and Salsa Tortilla Soup recipe. I'm giving it my highest rating, which is something I do maybe once every couple of months. It's that good. What I'm saying is that I'm currently trying to type while soup dribbles are running down my chin.

First you start roasting the poblano peppers in the oven until black and crispy on all sides. While that's doing its thing, brown the corn and onion in oil in a soup pot. Add garlic, brown. Add tomatoes (fire roasted is the only way to go), veg broth, S&P, and let it simmer. Peel off the skin of the cooled peppers, dice and throw into the pot.


One of the best features of this dish is that you bake the tortillas with cumin. You don't even put seasoning (except for S & P) in the soup until it's done. Put the crispy tortilla strips in the soup, add cilantro and lime juice, and top with avocado (we tend to go overboard with the last 3 ingredients). This is really really really tasty. YAM!

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Pasta

I sat down today to try and find a recipe that perhaps, maybe, possibly by some remote chance EVERYONE would like. I thought this would be the one.

Nope.

But, I tried something new & different and also tried a new skill that I hadn't used before. I did this. On purpose.

I roasted a red pepper. I had never done this before. Basically, I put the peppers under the broiler for about 10-15 mins and turned them every so often until the skin was black. Took them out, let them sit for a min or 2, then placed them in a ziploc bag for about 10 mins and peeled the charred skin right off. Then I threw them in my mini food processor and ended up with this good looking sauce :

 

I was following yet another recipe by Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman. She has some of the best recipes - not the healthiest recipes - but the tastiest. And of course her photography rocks. The recipe can be found here. Now, I have to admit that I didn't use cream. Perhaps I should have, but I didn't. It was very light and I think the cream would have made it heavier - you can decide for yourself if this would be a good thing or a bad thing. 

Oh, back to my success/failure rate. My son liked it at first. After eating it for a bit, he said he didn't. I think it's because it got cold. I am frugal and have the house set at low temps during the day (it was set at 65 this afternoon) so it did get a bit cool. I think for him, cream and a warm bowl would have held his interest. He can use the cream though. He's skin and bones. Me, not so much. My daughter.... shot down completely. She got a nice bowl of pasta with olive oil and parm. No extra meals here.

I probably won't make this again until I can get good fresh red peppers. This was good, but not incredible. It lacked that something special I think fresh produce could bring. 

French Onion Goodness

This past fall I was watching the Rachael Ray Show (something I don't do often) and she featured a soup that looks great. It was a French Onion Soup With Cheesy Croutons. Unlike "normal" french onion soup, the bread & cheese part is done separately - which makes it much easier, in my opinion.  The "cheesy croutons" are slices of baguette topped with gruyere and then baked until they are melty and delicious.

It's a fairly easy recipe - lots and lots of onions, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, butter & salt and pepper. You also deglaze the carmelized onions with a dry white whine. This is my favorite part. The wine evaporating smells absolutely heavenly. I have made this recipe several times since I first saw it. It's actually very very simple, made even simpler with a mandolin slicer for the onions. This particular time I made it I used a "discount" beef stock and it wasn't nearly as rich as in times past. The 1st time I made it, since I was making a Rachael Ray recipe, I went with her brand boxed stock and it turns out, apparently it's really, really good.

Also, on this particular time I used a local sourdough from Clasen's and it turns out that it was incredible. I have been less impressed with some of Clasen's other items, but apparently they know how to do sourdough.

Hippie Food

I'm persistently on the hunt for quick, healthy snacks. For those who don't know me, I eat fairly constantly throughout the day. I have low blood sugar, which is always sneaking up, making me very very cranky. I didn't realize this until I was way into adulthood, which is too bad since I could have avoided many unpleasant situations. Therefore eating every couple of hours helps my head not to spin and quiets my inner bitch... for most things anyway. =)

A granola bar is a yummy and healthy way to elevate my blood sugar dips. There are endless recipes and variations, including: the marshmellow rice crispy type, the smooth peanut butter type, and my all-time favorite, the oatmeal dried fruit type. I don't need to spike my blood sugar, so less sugar is better.

Making your own granola, whether in cereal or bar form, is fun, makes the house smell incredible, cheap (usually), and very easy. Alton Brown makes a fine oat granola bar, but there are many ways to alter it. Here are the basics. Toast a combination of some or all of the following ingredients on a sheet pan in a 350' oven for 10-15 min, stirring often so it doesn't burn (do *NOT* let this stuff burn, so watch it carefully. Burn=Bitter=Bad):

• 2-3 cups of oats (old fashioned works well)
• wheat germ
• seeds: sunflower, flax (very good for you, lots of omega-3's)
• nuts: almond, pecan, walnut, whatever
• dried coconut

On the stove, melt a combination of the following:

• Sweetener/Sticky Stuff: Honey, maple syrup, brown sugar
• oil or butter
• flavoring such as: vanilla extract, orange oil, etc

Once toasted, mix with melted gooey-ness, and add:

• dried fruit
• more of whatever seems like a good idea

Mix and press into a large pan using parchment paper (or butter the pan to prevent sticking), and press down hard to meld together. Bake at 300' for 25 min or so - until golden brown. Cool for a couple of hours and cut into bars. Easy!

Pam came over today and we made this together in about 20 min (not including bake time. obviously.).

Heaven in a Bowl

This whole experiment has been fun. I am trying new things I haven't ever done before. Today was one one of those days! Today I made Red Beans & Rice. From scratch. Seriously. Like soaking the beans and everything. This was new to me.

I began this morning soaking 2 cups of red beans. I decided on a recipe I found on Food TV. It was one of Emril's. Now... I have never been a real fan of Emril, but I figured the man made his name in cooking in New Orleans, so I figured he might know a thing about Red Beans & Rice - and he did.

Before I go further, let me explain WHY I made this particular dish. See, we live near Costco. Like, too close to Costco. We run in for juice for the kids, and leave with things we didn't plan on getting. I really love Costco. They have good food. I was getting clementines from there which were absolutely to die for. The kids and I were going through a 5lb bag a week. I'll admit it too... I like to go to Costco for the samples too. There, I admitted it. I am frugal and I like to graze there sometimes. It can be a decent lunch if it's a good day.  So, why all the fuss about Costco? Last weekend they had sausages as samples (surprise!). The were from Bobek's out of Chicago.  Now, my son is a vegetarian, but my daughter is not. If given a chance she'd have bacon in one hand and sausage in the other. We did exactly what Costco wanted us to do and bought the sausage after sampling it. It was good!! So, I had 2lbs of Hot & Spicy sausage (that was only $6.49, BTW) and I didn't have a clue what to do with. That's when it it me! Red Beans & Rice!

So, that's where the idea came from. Back to the recipe. As I mentioned, I used Emril's Receipe on Food TV. The beans weren't vegetarian, but I made it them that way. I left out the bacon grease, didn't include the ham hocks and used vegetable broth and finally... brown the sausage separate from the beans. I am DETERMINED to get my vegetarian to eat beans!

Anyway, it came out incredible. It was delicious. I even added a little dash of Tobasco to "kick it up a notch" (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

Time Management

This month, I finally started working relatively "normal" hours (this means during the day). Up until now, I was working evenings and weekends and it really wasn't working for me. While this is great to have a real life - it's really messed my time management up.  I was used to getting my errands done during the day and spending the weekends having fun. Now that my days are occupied (which is a GREAT thing!), I am having trouble getting used to 'normal' family life. This means getting laundry done in a timely manner and the biggie - planning ahead for my meals. Don't worry. We didn't escape to dine out, but I have been struggling to make good decent food all while getting everyone from point A to point B and of course work. I realize to some of you this sounds silly, but after 10 years of being an "at home parent" and only working evenings and weekends, it's hard. Especially when doing it for 3 other people.

This week, I reverted to an old stand by. Something my mom used to make me when I was little. It's simple, it's easy and it's so so good.

Chicken & Yellow Rice.

Knowing that I needed enough for some leftovers and some to feed my vegetarian, I made 2 batches - one with chicken and one with yellow rice only. I use a package (one day I will make it from scratch with saffron!) from Vigo which is the very same thing my mom used. I make it a little different from the package - basically about 50% more water plus LOTS of garlic and a little olive oil. Cook for about 45 mins. For the chicken, I usually use skinless chicken thighs. Breasts will dry out too much in the oven for 45 min. I also like to finish with some peas, preferably LeSueur.

I had enough leftovers for lunch the next day, which was perfect.

Next week, I am hoping to plan things out a little bit better.

Goin' Green

I really love making soups and stews. I enjoy the one pot / one meal technique: it's less to worry about (sync multiple dishes so they're all ready at the same time), and less to clean up (Rob is especially thankful for that). Warm hearty soup, a glass of wine and some good tunes are all I need after a chilly ride home and long day at work.

This is one of Rachel Ray's 30-min recipes: Kal-iflower Stoup. It's healthy and vegetarian (except for the chicken broth, which could, of course, be substituted for veg broth). I really want to like Rachel Ray. I like her TV show (I'm referring to the 30-min meal show, not her daytime one), and I appreciate the short-on-time approach. However, her recipes are hit and miss with me. Some are delicious and some just suck. This dish gets more like a 4-star rating. I love that it's healthy - and let's be honest -- we're talking about KALE. How good can kale really be? So, she did well considering it includes 2 bunches of bitter chewy kale.

Kale. I only love kale for one reason: it's a superfood. It's so healthy that it makes me a better person just putting it in the shopping cart. It's in that awesome-good-for-you Brassica family (e.g., brussels spouts, broccoli), and that group has claimed to ward off cancer. Let's face it - that family needs to bring something to the table other than turned up noses. Warding off cancer and providing a plethora of vitimins (it's an excellent source of iron and calcium), and antioxidants, are pretty good reasons. Plus, it's very pretty in the garden. So I'm slowly learning to enjoy kale.

My Favorite Way to Eat Fresh Fruit (sans pie)

Winter can be tough on a healthy cook. Tasty fresh fruit and vegetables are not widely available (nor affordable), especially for those of us that don't live in warm, temperate climates (I found this out while living in Wisconsin: "where are the freakin' good tomatoes in January?!"). Alas, I have learned to deal with it pretty well by disguising the lack-luster not-at-peak flavor.

The best way to enjoy fruit off-season, hands down, is in pie^H^H^H fruit salad. I don't know what it is about cut-up fruit, but I am 10,000% more likely to eat it if someone slices it beforehand. Is it laziness? Maybe I don't like gooey syrup fingers. Whatever the reason, this fruit salad idea is genius. Plus, there are so many variations, so I don't become bored.

Instructions for Fantastic Fruit Salad: Take whatever fruit looks halfway decent (fresh ONLY please), take it home, wash, slice and mix. Dressing is optional, but more fun. And please, for heaven's sake, go easy on the dressing. Don't kill the fruit by drowning it. The key to a great salad is to include a favorite fruit every time, even if it's a little more expensive or maybe not lookin' so hot in the store. This one star fruit will get you to eat it. For me, the fruits that finally draw me to the salad are berries. Blueberries and raspberries excite my taste buds enough to eat something healthy. Steer clear of too much pineapple or citrus, and you're good to go.

My favorite salad fruit are: cantaloupe or other firm melon, grapes, small seedless oranges, tiny amounts of grapefruit, and lots of berries (be gentle with raspberries and blackberries so they don't mush). Watermelon is good but can become watery (shocking), and some fruit like mango, banana and pineapple can be a bit strong if used too heavily.

Today I went with this recipe: Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing from Bon Appétit. It's a great choice for dressing up the salad and disguising its winter flaws. I used cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries and a little mango. Lime or lemon juice, yogurt (or sour cream) and sweetener (honey is best). I also sometimes chop up some fresh mint and throw it in there.

Mmmmm honey. This brings me to my recent discovery - Tupelo Honey. If being unmonitored, I might eat this honey straight from the jar, or at least half a dozen spoonfuls. This stuff is G-O-O-D. Go get some.