Chef'N Stem Gem

I will spare you my long, sad saga of strawberry hulling. I've used knives, different tong-style strawberry hullers, my fingers, etc.

When I saw the new Chef'N Stem Gem at Sur La Table, I thought it looked neat. I pressed the little green handle and watched those silver claws open and close.

But really, I thought, I have a perfectly nice paring knife, a drawer full of kitchen gadgets, and a budget. I didn't NEED it. It wasn't on sale, I didn't have a coupon, I moved on.

Then my sister came to visit, and brought me one. We went to a local farmers market, bought a box of strawberries, and got to work.

To operate the Stem Gem, you press the the green thing on top, which causes the metal jaws to open. You drive the metal jaws into the top of the strawberry, release the green thing, and with a little twist and pull up, the green leafy part of the strawberry as well as the white inside stem are trapped in those metal jaws. Push the green button again, and the stem is in your trash and the strawberry is ready to eat.

The finished strawberry looks nice and would be easy to stuff. I went through a pint of strawberries very quickly. There's really no waste, it's painless, and I haven't injured myself with it yet!

The only downside is that sometimes you have to fleck a little of the strawberry leaf away - it gets cut and then just sits on the strawberry. A final rinse after hulling would probably take care of this issue.

If you're a frequent strawberry eater, and want a quick and easy way to get rid of the stem, you may want to ask your sister to get you one too!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Chef'N doesn't know who I am, doesn't pay me to review their stuff, and doesn't even send me free gadgets. A girl can dream...

CSA Boxes

Have I mentioned how much I love my CSA box? Here are five reasons why:

1) I truly hate gardening. I grow a few things in pots but I don't like bugs and worms and the feeling of dirt in my hands has never done anything for me.

2) I make too many decisions (especially menu decisions) already. My mind is on overload and it makes me tired. Weekly someone decides what vegetables (and usually one fruit) I am going to eat that week. I can build the rest from there.

3) I get to try things I never would. Kohlrabi is great with hummus. Beet greens work nicely in soups and stir frys. My kids LIKE sugar snap peas.

4) I'm helping a local farmer grow healthy food within 10 miles of my home.

5) My family is eating organic, vitamin-laden yummy food.

For CSAs in your area, go to Localharvest.org.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

I am growing my own herbs this year and the basil finally reached the point where I could harvest some to use in my cooking. I decided to try my own Bruschetta. I searched around and this recipe seemed simple enough and I had all the ingredients. It turned out delicious and relatively quick and easy to make. Will definitely make again. Apologies I forgot to take pictures of my own food.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ingredients:

* 6 or 7 Ripe Plum Tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)

* 2 Cloves Garlic, minced

* 1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

* 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

* 6-8 (Med-Large) Basil Leaves, chopped

* Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

* 1 Baguette French Bread or similar Italian Bread

* 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the tomatoes first. Parboil the tomatoes for one minute in boiling water that has just been removed from the burner. Drain. Using a sharp small knife, remove the skins of the tomatoes. (If the tomatoes are too hot, you can protect your finger tips by rubbing them with an ice cube or under cold water between tomatoes.) Once the tomatoes are peeled, cut them in halves or quarters and remove the seeds and juice from their centers. Also cut out and discard the steam area. (Why use plum tomatoes instead of regular tomatoes? The skins are much thicker and thus easier to peel and there are fewer seeds and less juice.)

2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450 to preheat.

3. While the oven is heating, chop up the tomatoes finely. Put tomatoes, garlic, 1TBS extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and mix. Add the chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat ONE side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. Place tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, or until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.

(Alternative Method/Traditional Method: You can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute per side. Take a sharp knife and score each slice 3 times. Rub some garlic in the slices and drizzle 1/2 tsp of Olive Oil on each slice.)

5. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve. If you top each slice with the tomato mixture, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

- Makes 24 small slices. Serves 6-10 as an appetizer or 3-4 for lunch.

** Recipe adapted from SmiplyRecipes.com. Picture courtesy of SimplyRecipes.com

Chicken Caesar Lasagna

Hi, I'm Sally and I'm new here.

I love to cook, eat, and shop at Sur La Table. I'm a vegetarian but my husband and 18 month old son are not; healthy food is important but taste is paramount; and I'm kind of cheap but will splurge (see philosophy on taste, previous). Quick food is great, but sometimes a great meal will take time and that's ok too... on special occasions. I'm not a good photographer but I love to see what food looks like.

Alison asked me to join after traveling all the way to California and having dinner at my house. Since she liked it, I think I'll lead off with it here.

Chicken Caesar Lasagna
Better Homes & Gardens: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/chicken-caesar-lasagna/

Prep: 35 minutes
Bake: 50 minutes
Stand: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 9 dried whole wheat or regular lasagna noodles [NB: I love no bake lasagna noodles!]
• 2 10-oz. containers refrigerated light Alfredo sauce [If you're cheap, jars work too!]
  
• 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast*[You can use leftovers, skip this, or use fake chicken, too]
  
• 1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained [I used fresh]
  
• 1 cup bottled roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded Italian blend cheese [You can just shred some mozzarella and Parmesan together - I used about a cup or so]
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water; drain again. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine Alfredo sauce, lemon juice, and black pepper. Stir in chicken, spinach, and red peppers.

2. Lightly coat a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles in bottom of dish. Top with one-third chicken mixture. Repeat layers twice. Cover; bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Makes 9 servings. [I just baked it uncovered for about 35-40 minutes]

3. *Note: For chopped cooked chicken, season 2 pounds raw skinless boneless chicken breast halves with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken. Cook, uncovered, 8 to 12 minutes or until no longer pink, turning halfway through cooking. Cool chicken slightly before chopping.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 268, Total Fat (g) 10, Saturated Fat (g) 6, Cholesterol (mg) 68, Sodium (mg) 557, Carbohydrate (g) 20, Total sugar (g) 3, Fiber (g) 2, Protein (g) 24, Vitamin C (DV%) 83, Calcium (DV%) 21, Iron (DV%) 8.

I also made Pioneer Woman's Rosemary Rolls and Roasted Carrots (with rosemary instead of thyme, since I was already using rosemary) and some Fresh Express Caesar Supreme and Mediterranean Supreme salads (they were on sale!) I'll get into PW's recipes in later posts...

I'll be back!

I'm moving this week. Everything in my kitchen is boxed up for right now. I'm looking forward to having my new kitchen (with a pantry!!) and posting again.

Black Bean and Corn Soup

Sarah introduced me to this recipe from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook. It has been one of my standby crock pot meals ever since. It's fast, cheap and easy. Perfect for those days when I have to work late at the office. I usually assemble it in my crock pot the night before, refrigerate and put in the pot on low all day.

Black Bean and Corn Soup
6-8 servings, it usually serves us plus leftovers for one if we are really hungry

2-15oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed
14 1/2oz. can mexican stewed tomatoes, undrained
14 1/2oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
11oz. can whole kernel corn, drained
4 green onions, sliced
2-3 T. chili powder
1t. ground cumin
1/2t. dried minced garlic
Add water if necessary

1. Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Can be assembled the night before.
2. Cover. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR Low all day.

Spinach, Chickpea and Potato Soup

First of all, I'm happy to be on board with the revived Marthas. I know most of you even if I haven't seen you in years... so hello!

In my mind (and probably in most of yours) there are three important meal elements often in tension with each other: good taste, reasonable cost, and ease/speed of preparation. I find that most meals succeed at two, but it's hard to manage all three. In my case, throw in multiple food allergies (gluten, eggs, dairy) and the third almost always gets sacrificed to the other two. Most of the time I don't mind because I like cooking, but sometimes I still want or need to make something quick.

This soup is one of my favorites, and counts as quick in my kitchen. It is also cheap, especially if you get your spinach in giant bags at Costco (and incorporate it into every dinner for a week. I didn't call myself the Spinach Monster as a child for nothing!) I clipped it out of the Washington Post 5 or 6 years ago and neglected to keep the original publication information, which pains my academic citation-obsessed soul. I did replace the original chicken broth with vegetable, so can I call it mine now?

Spinach, Chickpea and Potato Soup

1 T olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (about 3 T)
1/2 tsp ground allspice, or more to taste
6 cups vegetable broth (I like the Rapunzel bouillon cubes)
1 pound red or white new potatoes (or any kind except baking), cut into 3/4" cubes
1 15.5 oz. can chickpeas, drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
6 oz fresh baby spinach
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste (The Rapunzel broth is quite salty.)

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir just until it releases its aroma, about one minute. Add the allspice and cook for one minute; then add the broth. Heat until bubbles start to appear around the edges. Add potatoes and chickpeas. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Cook at a gentle boil until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the cubes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off the heat and add the spinach, which will wilt in the heat of the broth. Add the lemon juice and stir. Serve immediately.

We're Back!!

Thanks to all of you ladies for being willing to get this blog back up and running. :-) Please post when you feel like it. Here are a few posting reminders:

• Please use the tags when you post. Make sure to tag your name.
• Post about anything food, cooking, kitchen, etc. related.
• Use pictures if you have them

Amazing Alfredo Asparagus Chicken

• Four to Six chicken breasts (I used frozen boneless/skinless); whichever fit well in a covered saucepan without overlapping.

• One bunch asparagus, I cut the woody part off and then cut the tops in half so they were about 1.5" long.

• One 15 oz. can alfredo sauce (I've also made my own, which is yummier, but this was super easy/quick)

• Enough pasta for six servings. I used a "summer" pasta that was a macaroni weight, so it was nice and light.

• 1 small red-onion, diced to a nice size, not too small or it will just mush

• Salt, Pepper, granulated garlic, oregano (dried)

• Butter
Saute the onions in butter over medium-heat until semi-translucent, scrape to the side, add more butter and turn up the heat to high. Sear the chicken in the butter (both sides), forming a nice, brown crust.

Spinkle the chicken with salt, pepper, galic and oregano. Redistribute the onions around and on the chicekn, lower the heat to low-medium and cover.

Cook the pasta until ALMOST cooked, it should still be somewhat stiff. Drain, then put back in the pot with the alfredo sauce, warm the sauce over low-heat while the pasta finishes. Do not boil.

Remove the chicken from the sauce-pan (cover and keep in a warmed oven, or use a separate skillet for the next part).

Add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the chicken fat and onions in the sauce-pan, turn the heat up to medium, and then add the bottom, woodier parts of the asparagus. Add the tops of the asparagus to the pan once the bottom halves are almost halfway cooked, and then scrape the entire pan into the pasta and alfredo pot.

The asparagus will be soft but not slimy when it's cooked. If there is a large diameter difference between the bottoms and the tops, cook the bottoms until they're mostly done before adding the tops in, the tops (esp. the crown) will cook much faster than the woodier parts.
Serve.

Product Weigh-In:

If you have a Costco, and can get some of this pasta, it comes with two other macaroni weight

shapes and is AWESOME with light sauces. It's called something like their "Summer Collection" and was fairly inexpensive (esp. considering it's organic).

When pairing it with an alfredo sauce, I found that the twists were just heavy enough to stand up to the thicker sauce, but they didn't grab too much of it in a bite, so you were getting a balance of asparagus, alfredo and

pasta, vs. some thicker pastas (like fettuccine) that would outweigh the sauce+veggie duo.

Yogurt-marinated Chicken Kebabs with Israeli couscous

I'm a vegetarian craving protein and so I've been adding a little more chicken to my diet. But since I don't actually like meat, I'm very particular. When I found Israeli couscous at Trader Joe's I had to try this recipe I found online (originally from Sunset magazine). The one correction I would make is to add 1 teaspoon of salt to the couscous instead of 1 tablespoon. It was way too salty.

Yogurt-marinated Chicken Kebabs with Israeli Couscous

* 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, divided
* 2 teaspoons garam masala (see Notes)
* 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon plus 1 tsp. salt, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-in. pieces
* 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
* 3 tablespoons minced red onion
* 1 teaspoon finely shredded fresh lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, divided
* 1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous (see Notes)
* 2 teaspoons olive oil
* 2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1 1/2-in. pieces
* Four 8-in. skewers

1. Combine 1 cup yogurt, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, seal bag, and shake to coat. Let marinate 20 minutes at room temperature.

2. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 cup yogurt, the feta, onion, lemon zest, and 1 tbsp. mint; set aside.

3. Bring 2 qts. water to a boil and add 1 tbsp. salt. Add couscous and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain, return to pot, and add olive oil. Cover to keep warm.

4. Thread chicken and bell pepper onto metal skewers and discard marinade. Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 in. above cooking grate only 3 to 4 seconds). Grill kebabs, turning once, until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Pile couscous on a platter, sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. mint, and arrange kebabs around it. Serve with yogurt-feta sauce.

Cooking with Orzo

Orzo is one of my favorite things to keep on hand. It comes in handy for so many things. I make myself a quick lunch of orzo, a little cheese (feta or goat is my favorite), tomatoes, parsley (fresh or dried), a dab of olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice (if I have a lemon).

This month I made these two quick and easy recipes and used a small amount of orzo. They both serve our family of four with enough leftovers for a lunch the next day.

Red Pepper Frittata

Cook a small amount or orzo following package directions. You want about 1 Cup cooked orzo. Preheat oven to 350.
Then combine in a medium bowl:
* 1 tablespoon water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 4 large egg whites
* 3 large eggs
Stir with a whisk. Prepare a baking dish (8 X 8 works well) by coating with cooking spray.

Heat a larger skillet (on medium) coated with cooking spray and add in:
* 1-1/2 cups diced red bell pepper
* 1 cup sliced onion
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
Saute for 5 minutes. Stir in orzo and egg mixture and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer everything to the baking dish and sprinkle about 1/3 cup cheese (I like cheddar or jack or a combination) and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. The dish will look set to you. It is best if you let it stand for 3-4 minutes before serving.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

My kids love this soup and it has a really unique flavor.

* 6 cups broth (chicken is best but I have substituted vegetable and even used part water before)
* 1/4 teaspoon dill
* 1/2 cup uncooked orzo
* 4 large eggs
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (1 good sized juicy lemon squeezed is about the right amount)
* 1 cup shredded carrot
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

Bring broth and dill to a boil in a large saucepan. Add orzo. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until orzo is slightly tender. Remove from heat.

Place eggs and juice in a blender; process until smooth. Remove 1 cup broth from pan with a ladle, making sure to leave out orzo. With blender on, slowly add broth; process until smooth.

Add carrot, salt, pepper, and chicken to pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook 5 minutes or until chicken and orzo are done. Reduce heat to low. Slowly stir in egg mixture; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly (do not boil).

Easy Fast Yummy Lasagna

I stole this from here but made some alterations to suit little tummies.


1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
Cooking spray
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 - 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Parmesan cheese


Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Spread 1/2 cup pasta sauce in bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine ricotta, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and salt. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; top with 1 cup ricotta mixture and 3/4 cup sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining sauce over noodles. Cover and bake at 450° for 25 minutes or until noodles are tender and sauce is bubbly. Uncover lasagna, and top with Parmesan. Bake lasagna an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. It feeds 4-6.

Ethiopian Meal

Here are some links to Ethiopian recipes. I love the injera bread. It looks like a pancake but is spongier for picking up food.

Injera:
2 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 C club soda
3/4 C plain yogurt
1 C water
Cooking spray

To prepare injera, weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine club soda and yogurt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add water.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Pour about 1/3 cup batter per flatbread onto pan in a spiral, starting at the center; cook 20 seconds. Cover the pan; cook an additional 40 seconds or just until set. Transfer to a plate, and cover with a cloth to keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining cooking spray and batter, wiping the pan dry with a paper towel between flatbreads.

Here is the original version and a recipe for carrot-ginger chutney which I did not make.

I made this stew but substituted peas for edamame and dried mint for fresh.

And these corn mashed potatoes are amazing! These are a great introduction to Ethiopian food for kids. They love the injera because it is like pancakes and these are mild but uniquely African.

I was going to make the Fresh Cheese with Herbs but didn't have cheesecloth. Next time.

Breakfast Hash Brown Casserole

This tastes a lot better than it deserves to for how quick it is to make. I usually mix it up the night before, then put it in the oven in the morning, set the timer, and then can go exercise/feed the babies/crawl back in bed depending on how the morning is going.

Layer in ungreased 9x13 baking pan:
8 hash brown patties
1 can mushrooms, drained (or peppers would be good if you're not a fungi person)

Mix and pour over the top
2 T dried onion flakes
1 t. garlic powder
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
extra mushroom liquid if you want

Top with cheese, if you want.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are set in the middle.

Cuban Black-Bean Stew with Rice

Serves 4, prep time: 20 min, total time: 30 min

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
1 TBS olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
2 cans (19 oz each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth
1 TBS cider vinegar
1/2 tsp dried oregano
coarse salt and ground pepper
garnishes (optional) lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add beans, broth, vinegar, and oregano. Cook, mashing some beans with the back of a spoon, until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve beans over rice, with garnishes if desired.

** If you like, serve this protein-rich vegetarian dish with brown rice to boost the health factor even more. It's also delicious with chips or tortillas alongside.

*Note: I used green bell pepper, it worked just as well, though maybe not as colorful. Also, you may want to cut back on broth. I used the whole can as told, but the beans seemed a tad watery. The name of this recipe may make you think it's spicy or hot, but it's not. It's a mild, but tasty flavor and even my 14 month old daughter enjoyed it.

(Recipe found in September 2008 issue of Everyday Food: A Martha Stewart Magazine)

Flounder Spinach Roll-Ups

Last night I made the second of two recipes I came upon in the Easy Solutions magazine/coupon book that our local grocery store hands out. Both were for Flounder and both were excellent. You could substitute chicken for the fish and I think it would taste just as good, but if you're willing to try the fish I highly recommend it.

"Fresh flounder is mild, delicate and sweet. It taste faintly like the ocean, with a light and breezy flavor. For people who prefer meat, flounder is usually acceptable. And for young children who've never tried fresh fish before, flounder is the perfect introduction to seafood."

I buy my fresh flounder at Costco in the bulk fillet packs. It's cheaper than the pre-packaged frozen and allows me to decide what I want fresh and what I want to freeze and store for later.

Flounder Spinach Roll-Ups

Preparation: 15 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

8 large mushrooms, sliced (I used portabella)

8 oz fresh spinach chopped (I used frozen, I didn't like it as well as fresh, but it works in a pinch)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 TBS vegetable oil

3 TBS crumbled feta cheese

4 flounder fillets

4 wedges of lemon

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On stove, heat a pan to medium heat and add vegetable oil, then garlic to soften. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, stirring, and until the liquid released has evaporated. Add spinach and cook another 2 minutes until wilted. Take pan off heat and drain excess liquid. Sprinkle feta over mixture and toss thoroughly. Assemble the Roll-Ups by dividing the vegetables in four portions, placing one portion at each flounder fillet end then carefully rolling up. Secure with toothpicks and place fish rolls, seam side down, in an oiled baking dish. Add 2 TBS of water and loosely cover baking dish with foil Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until fish flakes easily and is entirely opaque. Serve with lemon wedges, salt and pepper to taste.

I wanted my fish to be a little more golden, so after baking I turned on the broiler and let them sit under it for a couple minutes.

New Food Finds

Because I had some random frequent flyer miles with Northwest Airlines I decided to cash them in for magazine subscriptions. One magazine I chose was Everyday Food, which is a Martha Stewart magazine.

It comes printed in the size of a Readers Digest every month. The magazine includes easy, healthy recipes and interesting articles. I've tried a few recipes and have been very pleased with how simple they were and how little I had to shop -- there weren't really any exotic food items needed. I hope to try a few that I've found in the October issue and will post them here if I think they're worth sharing.

So... just for your information. :)

Vegetables in Dessert

I read Jessica Seinfield's book and I really tried to like the concept of vegetables in my dessert but I just couldn't do it. This recipe, however, is something I'll make an exception for. So, if you have any leftover summer squash / zucchini, it just might come in handy!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Cherry Crisp

This is a quick and easy dessert (other than pitting the cherries) that is a big hit.

6 cups pitted cherries
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup regular oats
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 375°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl; spoon into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Combine 2/3 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon, and cut in the butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. (Or do it in the food processor.) Sprinkle over the blueberry mixture. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Home Made Mayonaise

My friend Ranee posted how to make home made mayonaise on her blog. Check out her blog for the photo edition.

I was interested because so far the only mayonaise Ben can eat is Trader Joe's. All the rest are made with soybean oil.

Below are her written instructions:

It is quick and easy, and you'll never want to go back to store mayo again. Yours won't have gums, cheap oils, extra sugars, or any of that junk in it, and it will taste far better. Even with store eggs. Use fresh, if you can get them, though. It does require a stick blender, so if you don't have that, you'll have to invest $15-25 in one of those (unless you can find one at a garage sale or thrift store or have a family member or friend who doesn't want hers). Things that matter: Use a glass jar. I've always been successful with a glass jar, I've had failures with plastic ones. The egg needs to be room temperature. We use a recently gathered egg. You can put your egg on the counter in the morning and make this in the afternoon, or put the egg in a hot cup of water while you get everything else ready. Then switch the water out with fresh hot water and wait a little more. It needs to be room temperature. The lemon juice (or lime juice) must be fresh. Use a light oil, preferably cold pressed, so the flavor isn't too strong. You may like olive oil mayo, but if you don't, a light oil will provide a more "American" flavor.

In a glass jar (I use a peanut butter jar) that is wide enough for the blender to fit through put, in this order:

1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. Fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup light oil

Put stick blender down to the bottom of the jar without turning it on. Then start it and, rocking side to side, slowly pull it up to the top. This will take you about 7-10 seconds. Literally. You will not want to go back to store mayonaisse again. Your family will no longer be tied to supermarket prices for mayo, you won't get all sorts of additives and cheap ingredients and now you can teach your children something about emulsion, also.

Apple Bread

The zucchini bread recipe below is excellent, and rather quick to put together. A variation that my family loves is Apple Bread. Follow the recipe, but substitute:

- the same amount of apple for the zucchini
- 1 1/2 tsp of clove instead of the cinnamon

(In the interests of full disclosure, I haven't turned this specific recipe into apple bread. I use the one in my BH&G cookbook. They're similar, although this one makes more batter.)

The best part is the crunchy sugary crust on top. Mmm. Off to check if we have any apples now...

-- SJ

Zucchini Bread

A friend recently brought me two zucchinis the size of police nightsticks. We've used some for dinner in our favorite saute recipe. But I still had a lot leftover so I decided to take some of them and make some zucchini bread. I used a recipe I found on another blog (here). It turned out wonderful! It actually reminds me of pumpkin bread, yum... It was especially good with an iced chai.

Mom's Zucchini recipe
From Kelly Sauer

Combine:
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Add:1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 cups grated zucchini

Bake in two greased and floured loaf pans or in one bundt pan for 50 minutes at 350°.

Chicken with Blueberry-Ginger Chutney

Yesterday a friend gave us 4 pints of fresh blueberries. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then I went looking for a blueberry recipe. I found this one in Cooking Light. My family loved it! I tasted the chutney and it was yummy. There are multiple ways to print this off the web if you go directly to the site.

The chutney can be served warm, chilled, or at room temperature. Make it first, and chill while the chicken marinates, or prepare the chutney when the chicken is almost done marinating. Compared to fresh, frozen blueberries take about five minutes longer to cook and thicken because they release additional water.

Ingredients
Chutney:
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Dash of ground cloves
1 garlic clove, minced

Chicken:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preparation
To prepare chutney, combine first 11 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 25 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
To prepare chicken, combine oil, basil, oregano, chicken, and 3 minced garlic cloves in a large heavy-duty zip-top bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from bag. Sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper evenly over chicken.

Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken 5 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with chutney.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 1/4 cup chutney)

Homemade Sweet Ice Tea

This recipe comes courtesy of my mother-in-law, Jane M. For some time I've been trying to find the perfect ratio of tea to water to sugar, this is exactly what I was looking for.

Sweet Ice Tea

4 Tea bags (The key is to buy a box of your store brand generic tea. Lipton I find too bitter. The tea I bought was America's Choice brand and just a generic black tea.)

1/2 gallon of hot water

Steep the tea bags in the hot water, the longer the stronger.

1/4 cup of sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 gallon of cold water

Refrigerate until chilled to taste - or for quicker refreshment serve over ice cubes.

It's simple, it's sweet, it's delicious!

Kids Cooking

• Thanks so much for keeping this site alive (if barely). I love y'all's ideas!
  
  First off, let me say that I think the whole idea of making warm memories by letting your kids cook with you is highly overrated. I'm a fairly low-key person, but Addie and Stuart can have me chewing on my Pampered Chef rubber spatula within five minutes.
  
  BUT, they enjoy it. As long as I view it as Good Training instead of a Good Time, we do fine.
  
  Here are two things they enjoy making:
  
  Parfaits
  
  
  
  This is an old kid-friendly standby: fruit and yogurt. I have a safety knife that they can use to cut up the fruit, which makes it even more fun for them. But the real deal with these parfaits is that we add chocolate graham crackers or, on occasion, crumbled cookies. Forget the granola. Put in a little bit of junk, and they'll love the whole thing!
  
  We layer:
  
  * Vanilla yogurt
  
  * Strawberries, blueberries, or bananas
  
  * Chocolate graham crackers or some other yummy crunchy sweet
  
  

It makes a good breakfast or a side dish at supper. If Stuart will eat it, you know it's kid-friendly.


Chicken Smorgasbord

Take two chicken breasts and cut them into four pieces. Make a "bowl" of aluminum foil for each piece. Season each one differently: barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, basil and oregano, cinnamon and ginger, dill, etc. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep it moist. Put the "bowls" into a casserole dish and bake at 350 or 375 for, oh, half an hour (until the chicken is at 180). When it's done, you have four different flavors of chicken to choose from, plus really yummy broth.

Addie and Stuart love choosing their seasonings. My job is mostly to say things like, "Um, that's enough dill!" or "No, no, don't put basil with cinnamon. Probably won't taste good." This dish is especially good with couscous.

-- SJ

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Ben is allergic to soy and I've discovered that most premaid enchilada sauces have soybean oil. Recently I found this recipe in Cooking Lightmade some adjustments and discovered an easy recipe. It is yummy!

1 t olive oil
1/2 C diced red onion
1 t minced garlic
1/2 C vegetable broth
1 T chili powder
1 T honey
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Heat in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in everything else. Reduce heat; simmer 30 minutes. Yields 3 cups. (We used it to feed 6 people.)

I made some yummy black bean, corn, and zucchini enchiladas but the sauce would go well with chicken or onion/sour cream enchiladas.

Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry

Recipe coming soon. This is what happens when I have the picture and recipe in two different locations!

Here you go. My comments/adjustments are in parenthesis.

1 c. uncooked rice (optional, I ate the stir fry alone. Nathan had noodles with his.)

2 T. vegetable oil

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

(I used boneless skinless chicken tenderloins since they were cheaper and saved me cutting time.)

2 medium red bell peppers, cut into thin strips (I used just one pepper.)

1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, cut diagonally into 1 inch pieces (I used one bundle.)

1/2 c. stir fry sauce

(I tried to pick out the most authentic looking bottle of sauce in the Asian foods section of the grocery store, rather than going with a common brand. I was skeptical about 1/2 c. of sauce being enough, but it goes a long way.)

1. Cook rice according to package directions. Keep hot.

2. Heat oil in wok or large skilled over medium-high heat until hot. Stir fry chicken 3 to 4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

3. Stir in bell peppers and asparagus; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring once or twice.

4. Stir in sauce. Serve immediately with rice.

Makes 4 servings, or enough for 2 people if hungry/eating without rice.

Prep and cook time, approx. 20 minutes.

Pear Clafouti

This is our new favorite dessert. It is quick, easy, relatively low-fat, with minimal sugar. And it is fabulous comfort food.

Pear Clafouti
originally from Cooking Light (but I've made some changes)

The keys to a successful clafouti (cla-foo-TEE) are minimal use of flour and a hot oven in which to cook it quickly. As one of the national desserts of France, it's quite versatile.

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 cubed peeled pears
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
2 cups milk, divided (use 1% or 2% over non-fat)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.
Coat a 9 to 10-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray, and dust plate with 1 teaspoon flour. Arrange the pear cubes in the bottom of prepared dish, and set aside.
Combine 3/4 cup flour, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Gradually add 1 cup milk, stirring with a whisk until well-blended. Add 1 cup milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Pour batter over pear cubes. Bake mixture at 375° for 35 minutes or until set. I always have to bake it longer than 35 minutes; usually 45. You could also try baking hotter. My next attempt I'm going to try 390 or so.

6 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Best Salad

This is the best salad I've ever had--I ate it at a restaurant earlier this week. I was so excited to find it on the internet and can't wait to try it at home. I love chopped salads, in general. But this is the BEST.

Morton's Chopped Salad

Dijon Vinaigrette recipe (goes with it)

Meatless tacos

This one is very simple, very nutritious, and very cheap. We've served it in taco shells or tortilla rounds, and topped with cheese, salsa, and sour cream (which, okay, will bring the cost of the meal up a bit - but still less than if you were using ground beef to start with!)

Taco Style Lentils & Rice
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
4 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes*
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
*(I just used a few teaspoons of bouillon powder because it's always going on sale at Walgreens. In fact, I bet you could use the seasoning packet from a bag of ramen noodles, too.)

In a 2-quart saucepan bring the water to a boil. As the water is heating, add the lentils, rice, bouillon, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring the whole thing to a nice fat boil. Reduce the heat to low. Place a lid on the lentils and allow the mixture to simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed.

This recipe also came from Miss Maggie's Hillbilly Housewife.

Homemade chocolate cake mix

This makes one of the moistest, most delicious chocolate cakes I've tasted, doesn't use ingredients too expensive or fancy, and is pretty simple to whip up. Best of all, the dry ingredients can be mixed up apart from the wet and stored (I suppose indefinitely), thus enabling you to stockpile your own convenience cake mix. The recipe makes about 4 cups of dry ingredients, so what I've done is store it in a quart jar in the cupboard. You could also store in ziploc bags or tupperware. You can make up the whole recipe at once (in a 9x13 pan or two layer cakes) or use half the mix (about 2 cups), half the wet ingredients, and bake a small cake in an 8x8 or 9x9.

Dark, Rich Chocolate Cake Mix
1-2/3 cup flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup dry buttermilk powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals

To Prepare
1 package of Dark Rich Chocolate Cake Mix
2 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 medium eggs
Empty the cake mix into a big bowl. Add the water, oil and eggs. Beat with a whisk or electric beaters for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and any lumps are gone. Turn the batter into a well oiled 9" x 13" rectangular pan. Bake at 350° for about 35 to 40 minutes. The sides should be pulled away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Be careful not to overbake. Cool and frost as desired. Makes about 24 pieces.

This recipe I found on Miss Maggie's wonderful site The Hillbilly Housewife. There are SO many recipes and resources there - if you haven't discovered it yet, you must pay it a visit!

The Two-Supper Disaster

It was evening. Darren walked through the door, said hello, and was informed that after the kids finished their supper and we dropped them off at AWANA, he and I (and Daphne) were going out to eat. He didn't argue: I'd earned it.

That morning, I'd got a frozen meal started in the crockpot. It was "teriyaki porkchops," one of ten freezer-bag meals I'd put together at a Homemade Gourmet party back in the summer. These meals were handy, but overall I wasn't very impressed, especially considering what Homemade Gourmet seasonings and spices cost. It was about 5:00 when I checked the meat to see how it was coming along. It was cooked through, and the sauce was, as usual, adequate. Something about the taste bothered me, however, and for the next half-hour I kept going back to taste the chops again. I finally admitted that the meat tasted a little off, and I couldn't serve it.

Saving my family from the dire affects of bad pork may have given me a glow of virtue, but a family can't live on virtue alone. I still had to scrounge up something for supper. I called Darren and explained the problem, and asked if he would mind having leftover salmon steak instead. To some people, salmon steak is a perfectly reasonable leftover. But Darren and I don't like fish very much, and the fact that I'd cooked salmon at all was an adventure. We liked it, but I didn't want to press our luck by serving it too much. However, he said it sounded fine to him.

I took out the salmon and began heating it in a pan. Somewhere it lurked in my mind that you shouldn't serve leftovers in the same form as their debut, so I pondered how to spruce it up a bit. Inspiration came in the form of cream of chicken soup: I flaked up the fish and added the soup, then heated it through.

It is now a new rule in my kitchen: Thou shalt not mix the fish with the chicken soup, for it is an abomination.

We took Addie and Stuart to AWANA, then enjoyed a restaurant-cooked meal of gyro and stromboli. Darren agreed that I had enough credit to my account to afford two supper disasters. "But it's a shame they both cashed in on the same day."

-- SJ

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Looking for a new dessert for the Thanksgiving buffet? I made this for my MIL's birthday and it got rave reviews! Plus, it's easy!

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup whipped topping, thawed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Freezer Cooking

Review: Freezer Cooking, Taste of Home Style

Earlier this summer, my friend, Jen, and I started freezer cooking. (Yes, that is how tardy I am in writing this post.) Since then, we’ve done it several times using different methods. I’ll try to post a little review of each, plus some pictures.

Since we are new to this freezer cooking thing, we started small. We still have yet to do more than two weeks of meals at a time. If you are scared of freezer cooking or think you have too small of a freezer, be brave and give it a try! You can do it! The afternoon of work is well worth the time and money saved later.

Another method worth trying is to prepare two of a casserole every time you cook. Eat one and freeze the other for another day. After a while, you will have a decent stash of meals in your freezer.

For our first session we used recipes from Taste of Home’s online freezer recipes and created our own “plan”. You can find TOH freezer recipes here.

Our menu

Pizza Pasta Casserole (2-9x13 pans each)
Colorful Chicken Casserole (1-2 qt casserole each)
Mexican Casserole (1-2 qt casserole each)
Hamburger Stew (5- 2 generous serving containers each)

I'll post recipes if anyone is interested.

Time spent

5 hours, including a run to my house to get more pots and cleaning up the kitchen/dishes

Pros, Cons and Tips

*Taste of Home recipes typically have a very low chance of being duds. All of the above recipes we would make again and are husband approved. (You’ll see why I say this in my next review.)

*Using meals with a variety of meats as main ingredients takes more time than doing all of one kind of meat. This saves time because you can cook all of your meat at once. I think if we had to do this session over again we would have skipped the chicken casserole and done all hamburger dishes to save time.

*When creating your own menu, sit down and make a plan. Think about cook times. Does something need to boil or simmer for a while? Do that first. Cook main ingredients together and assemble like dishes together.

*We used a George Foreman grill to cook all of our boneless, skinless chicken breast.. Most once a month cooking methods recommend cooking and processing whole chickens the day before to get your chicken meat. While I’m sure this is probably cheaper, saving time was more important to us, and, in the end, we may have even ended up even cost wise since we bought in bulk.

*Don’t worry about having leftover ingredients. Just freeze them for later use or make a soup.

*Have lots of pots, bowls and measuring cups!

*Cooking with a friend helps you persevere, gets you out of cooking tasks you dislike, and saves prep time. I hate handling meat and Jen hates chopping veggies, so she did meat and I did veggies. We were both happy!

*Freezing your meals insures that you use all your food and that it won’t spoil waiting for you to eat it.

In Honor of Fall Weather

Crockpot Potato Soup

from my friend Jen, who's husband loves this recipe

8 c. coarsely chopped peeled potatoes
1 small onion, chopped (1/3 c.)
1/2 lb. bacon, crisped, drained and crumbled
1-8oz. pkg. cream cheese softened
3 cans reduced sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz. cans) (or subsitute any chicken broth)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10.75 oz. can)
1/4 t. pepper

In a 4 qt. crockpot, stir together thee potatoes and onion. Stir in the bacon.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and pepper. Add the mixture to the crockpot.

Cover and cook the soup on low heat for 8-10 hours or on high heat for 4-5 hours. If you like, mash the potatoes for a slightly thicken consistency before serving.

Summer Salads

Here are some recent salads I've tried:

Citrus Fennel Salad

4 C thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 2 bulbs)
2 C orange sections (about 3 peeled oranges)
1 C lemon sections (about 2 peeled lemons)
1/2 C thinly sliced red onion
2 T chopped mint (fresh is best)
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T chopped fennel fronds
1 T virgin olive oil
1 T lemon juice
1/2 t salt
1/3 t fresh ground pepper (opt.)

Combine ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Chill 1 hour. Makes 6-8 servings.

Strawberry, Cucumber, & Basil Salad

4 C hulled strawberries, quartered (about 2 pints)
2 T thinly sliced fresh basil
2 t balsamic vinegar
1 t sugar
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t salt
1/4 fresh ground black pepper (opt.)

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to coat. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Combine cucumbers and juice and toss to coat. Add this and salt and pepper to strawberry mixture and stir to combine. Serve immediately. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Hot old recipes

So what do you do when it's too hot to turn on the oven, you don't have a microwave, it costs too much to go out to eat, and you don't have a grill, either?

What you do is snag a couple of broken chairs left by the former owner and set the crockpot on the patio. Make sure you're on good terms with your neighbors.

This week we've had:

Garlic chicken thighs. (Which turned out amazingly tasty for how plain they were. Maybe it was the thunderstorm that hit them.)

Huevos rancheros. (This worked really well, too. Put some canned tomatoes and green chiles out to get hot for an hour or so, then add as many eggs as you need and cook for another hour. Top with grated cheese.)

French fries with hamburgers on top. (This didn't work. Save the hamburgers for when you actually have a grill.)

Lentil-rice casserole, which then got chilled with a bunch of vegetables added for a salad for supper.

It's a little odd looking, but it's working well and my kitchen is staying cool.

Summer Squash Soup

It's kind of warm for soup, but since this is the season to grow/buy summer squash I thought it'd be worth a try. And if you don't want to eat it now, just freeze it for a cold winter night.

5 small yellow summer squash, diced (seeded optional)
2 green onions, cut into 3" pieces (or onion powder if you don't like onions)
2 TB butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp white pepper (black works just as well)
1-1/2 cups whipping cream

In large saucepan, saute squash and onions in butter until tender. Stir in broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Cool slightly. Process in batches in a blender or food processor; return all to the pan. Stir in cream and heat through.

Yield 6 servings.

Works for Me Wednesdays

I just discovered "Works for Me Wednesdays" on several blogs and now I'm addicted. Check it out and get some great tips on all sorts of household stuff!

Picture and a tip

I made the Pad Thai again last night so I thought I'd pass along a picture to go with the recipe. My own variation this time was chicken only and no bean sprouts.

Along the lines of Sara's post earlier asking about frozen meal ideas, I have this tip. I hate touching/cutting up raw meat so when we fixed Thai last time I had Nathan chop up enough chicken pieces for two meals and froze the second half of the meat. All I had to do last night was dump my ziploc bag of thawed chicken pieces into the pan, add the other ingredients and I was done. I loved how easy it made my cooking which means Nathan will probably be chopping lots of meat next time I go shopping. :-)

You could also do this for Chicken Fajitas. Freeze your chicken pieces with a dash of lime juice and some spices, with a second bag of frozen green peppers and onions. Dump it all in a skillet and saute until done. Serve in soft shells with taco toppings.

Stuffed French Toast

This is not a low-fat recipe but it is a yummy treat.

Stuffed French Toast

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup chopped pecans (you could use other nuts)

At least 14 slices of bread
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cans of fruit, any kind, I used apricot, about 15 oz each, home
canned is fine, just no melon or grapes

8 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I thought it would have been good with
almond or half vanilla and half almond, especially with the apricot, or
if you used cherries)

1/2 cup butter, melted

Open cans of fruit and drain in a strainer.

Heat butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a microwave bowl for about
2 1/2 minutes, stir to completely melt butter and mix everything up.

Spray or butter a large pan (I should have used an 11 X 15, rather
than the 9 X 13 I did, but you can squish them tightly once they are
wet with the egg mixture). Pour the syrup in the bottom of the pan and
sprinkle with the chopped pecans.

Lay out the bread slices. Spread softened butter on one slice of
bread, top with well drained fruit (berries or pineapple can be
crushed). Spread butter on a second slice of bread and use it to cover
the bread with the fruit. Cut this sandwich in half and place it in
the pan on top of the syrup mixture. Make the rest of the bread into
sandwiches like this, cut them in half and put them in the pan. You
can crowd them, but don't overlap the bread.

Beat the eggs with the sugar, cream and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
Pour this over the bread in the pan. Press down firmly on the bread
with a metal spatula. You want to soak all the bread.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or foil and let it stand on the
counter for about 20 minutes (or you can put it in the fridge overnight
and bake in the morning). Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Take off any plastic or foil. Melt the third stick of butter, drizzle
it over the top of the sandwiches. Bake the french toast at 375
degrees, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, or until the top has browned.
Let pan cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.

Pad Thai

Nathan randomly picked out this recipe for dinner on Saturday. Low and behold it was easy to make and very yummy! We made it with chicken and shrimp, but I want to try it chicken only and stir fry veggies only. I think any combination of meat and/or veggies would be tasty with the pasta and sauce.

PAD THAI

Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people!)

INGREDIENTS:
• 1/2 pound uncooked linguine
• 3/4 cup tomato juice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into thin strips/bite size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound bean sprouts, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions and tops
• 1/2 pound cooked baby shrimp, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges (optional) (I added a dash of lime juice to the sauce instead)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook linguine according to package directions, omitting salt; drain.
2. Combine tomato juice, lite soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in hot wok or large skillet over high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry 1 minute; remove.
4. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in same pan. Add garlic, bean sprouts and green onions; stir-fry 1 minute.
5. Stir in linguine and cook 2 minutes, or until heated through. Return chicken with shrimp, cilantro and tomato juice mixture. Cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens.
6. Serve with lime wedges.

Freezable Recipes

In anticipation of The Bigness of Pregnancy In Summer, not to mention a third child, I'm realizing I'd do well to have meals already on hand. I don't know many freezer-recipes, though. You can eat only so much lasagna, after all.

I'd love some meal recipes, or even just freezable components ("Pasta freezes. Rice doesn't. Jello is a total loss.")

As a completely irrelevent side note, I tried Sarah's Irish Stew recipe. It was marvelous.

-- SJ

Help needed! Birthday menu ideas

OK, so it's DOB's birthday on Sunday, and I'm trying to come up with a birthday menu. He said for me just to come up with a new menu and a new dessert--or at least a new combination.

So I'm looking for something:
1) A little different
2) EASY--the ducklings don't know what a birthday means yet. ;-)
3) Must involve meat. We have gotten in touch with our inner carnivores and decided our metabolisms need meat.
4) Goes well with blueberry muffins, because that's the one thing I've thought of thus far.

Oh, and I have to decide by Wednesday morning, before I go grocery shopping. (Although if an emergency arises, we do live across the street from the grocery store right now.)

My New Favorite Sandwich

A month or so ago Nathan and I had to eat at the food court in the mall while out shopping. We ended up having these grilled sandwiches that were tasty enough that Nathan decided to recreate them the other night. They were very easy to make and yummy, too, so I thought I'd share.

The original sandwiches were thinly sliced raw meat grilled with cheese and kind of "mashed" by the spatula into pieces. We "cheated" and used the deli meat we had on hand. We also made ours with pita bread instead of french bread.

Slice any deli meat (turkey breast, chicken, ham, roast beef....) into small squares/pieces. Then "grill" the meat in a skillet until the edges are a little brown. Top with cheese and let it melt. Scoop into a pita pocket.

Nathan fixed me a turkey and cheddar cheese pita with dill pickle, but I'm sure you could use any combination of meat, cheese and veggies to make a very tasty sandwich.

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

This dish has quickly risen to prominence in our home since its discovery two months ago, inspired by some marked-down apples that had to be used up immediately. It's quick to whip up, keeps for several days, uses fairly basic and cheap ingredients (at least in my stripped-down version), is pretty nutritious, and makes a simple, easy, yet filling breakfast food.

Apple Crumb Coffee Cake

1 Tbl. dry bread crumbs
2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat and half white until I realised that the cinnamon and apples are going to turn it brown anyway)
1 cup plus 2 Tbl. sugar (I just use one cup)
1 tsp. salt
10 Tbl. (1 1/4 sticks) butter, softened (I use half of this, or maybe 1 stick, depending on how much I have out on the butter dish. I use less butter not only because it's healthier but also cheaper, since I always use real butter in baking. Maybe the texture or taste would be better with more butter, but since I've never tried it, I don't know what I'm missing!)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup buttermilk or low-fat (not nonfat) plain yogurt, room temperature (I make my own buttermilk using the following formula: 1 Tbl. vinegar plus enough milk to make one cup = one cup of buttermilk)
1 large egg, room temperature (but I usually use a medium egg because that's what I have on hand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium-large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (I've used one sometimes)
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (I never use this much)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar

-Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 pan and shake breadcrumbs over to coat. Tap out extra crumbs.
-Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in large mixing bowl. Add butter and cut in with pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; remove 1 cup to separate bowl and reserve.
-Whisk baking powder, soda, and cinnamon into flour mixture in bowl. Add buttermilk or yogurt, egg, and vanilla; whisk until smooth and frostinglike, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
-Stir in apples.
-Pour into pan and smooth top.
-Add nuts and brown sugar to reserved cup of flour mixture. Stir until blended and spread over cake batter, pressing lightly so it adheres.
-Bake cake until center is firm and cake tester comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
-Enjoy!

Some Breadish Things

Argentine Cornbread

"Hey Dad, get a picture of me next to this cornbread in authentic Argentinian garb!"

This was tried for a missions potluck, but it was good enough to warrant repeating under more ordinary circumstances.

3 T. olive oil
3 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
3/4 c. beef or chicken broth
1 t. salt
1/2 t. crushed dried chili pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the onions and saute 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes and saute 10 minutes more while stirring. Add the broth, salt and chili pepper. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Sift together:
2 cups cornmeal
1 t. baking powder
Add:
1/2 lb. cottage cheese
3 T. butter
Mix well. Add 1 1/2 c. milk, and beat thoroughly. Combine with tomato mixture. Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Herb-Cheese Biscuits
I have finally perfected my reasonably-healthy biscuit technique. (The secret is to use a liquid fat and stir everything together at once.) This variation was particularly nummy.

Mix together 1/3 c. vinegar and 1 c. milk. Allow to stand for a minute, then stir in 2 c. whole wheat flour. Let stand for several hours.

Blend 2 c. white flour, 2 t. salt, and 1 1/2 t. baking soda. Add the flour-milk mixture, 2/3 c. olive oil, 1 t. basil, and 1/2 c. or so of finely shredded cheese. (I used monterey jack/cheddar mix, as that was what needed to be used up.) Mix together, then dump it out and knead it just until the flour is well mixed in. Pat out and cut into desired shapes.

Bake at 350 for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. (I'm not too sure on the temperature and time. Keep an eye on them.)

This will make you GLAD for a rainy day ...

Alright, people, if you like hot chocolate you have to try this one! It's been rainy and cold here in Sacramento lately and I've actually been glad because it's given me a good excuse to make this recipe. Sometimes I like to add more espresso to make a truly amazing mocha. You can also play with it by adding peppermit or other extracts in lieu of the vanilla.

Barefoot Contessa’s Hot Chocolate

2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder

Heat the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan on medium heat to just below the simmering point. Remove the pan from the heat and add both chocolates. When the chocolates are melted, add the sugar, vanilla extract, and espresso and whisk vigorously. Reheat gently and serve immediately. Use a vanilla bean or cinnamon stick to garnish each serving.

Stuffed Pasta Tip

Tonight I made cheese manicotti. (recipe later) It was a breeze thanks to putting the filling in a large zip loc bag, cutting off one corner and viola! An easy way to squeeze filling into the tubes. I think this idea would probably work well for just about any recipe that calls for stuffing/filling pasta.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake


.....And with cherries on top

For as long as I can remember this has been my mom's company dessert. (She got the recipe from her mom, Carol) She always made it with blueberries on top. Mmmm! I can still remember crushing graham crackers when I was little and graduating to baking the whole thing. Now I'm married to someone who loves cherries so we do cherries. Which by the way, the particular cheesecake pictured was for his birthday. Enjoy!

Filling Ingredients:

8oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs beaten

Crust Ingredients:

1/4 lb. butter, melted

1/4 lb. graham crackers, crushed

1/4 c. sugar

Topping:

Any canned or fresh fruit topping.

Blend filling ingredients until smooth.

Mix crust ingredients in separate bowl. Press mixture evenly into pie plate.

Pour filling into crust.

Bake at 325 for 25 min. Or until slightly browned on top and filling is set.

Cool and top with your choice of fruit or other topping. Best when served chilled through.

Tagged by the Queen

1. How many meals does most of your family eat at home each week? How many are in your family?
19 meals. Two of us eat 19 meals at home; one of us eats leftover lunches at work about 4 days a week and either out or at home for one other day. Sundays we usually only have two official meals and lunch is fellowship snacks at church. Saturday is usually the same with the option to grab leftovers from the fridge if you're hungry. Breakfast is hit or miss for M & me, but Ben's favorite meal. Often I just eat his leftovers.

2. How many cookbooks do you own?
I have about three cookbooks, a couple of gift collections of recipes from friends and bunch of Cooking Light magazines.

3. How often do you refer to a cookbook each week?
Rarely. But I look at magazine recipes (or online) pretty frequently.

4. Do you collect recipes from other sources? If so, what are some of your favorite sources (relaties, friends, magazines, advertisements, packages, the internet, etc)
See above.

5. How do you store those recipes?
I have a box and a photo album and an index card binder and I keep the magazine if it is has a lot I'm going to want to refer to.

6. When you cook, do you follow the recipe pretty closely, or do you use recipes primarily to give you ideas?
I substitute a lot of ingredients and occasionally do improvisation.

7. Is there a particular ethnic style or flavor that predominates in your cooking? If so, what is it?
Just one! Italian, Thai, Indian and Mexican.

8. What's your favorite kitchen task related to meal planning and preparation? (eating the finished product does not count)
I actually like the planning best. It makes me feel very worthy of the title "homemaker" when I'm putting together meal ideas.

9. What's your least favorite part?
Chopping onions.

10. Do you plan menus before you shop?
Yes, except about once a month when I get behind on planning and we fall apart for a few days.

11. What are your three favorite kitchen tools or appliances?
Rice cooker/vegetable steamer, coffee/seed grinder, coffee maker? (I would see blender but mine is no good.)

12. If you could buy one new thing for your kitchen, money was no object, and space not an issue, what would you most like to have? There are too many to choose; a complete set of Caphalon would be nice, or a complete set of Cutco knives. But a new kitchen would be best of all.

13. Since money and space probably are objects, what are you most likely to buy next?
A dutch oven, probably 4 or 5 qt

14. Do you have a separate freezer for storage?
Hah! Wouldn't that be nice?

15. Grocery shop alone or with others?
I like to do my big shopping alone, but if I just have a few items, we make it a family outing.

16. How many meatless main dish meals do you fix in a week??
Probably 5. Though I make a lot of things that can be made with or without meat, so I can eat too.

17. If you have a decorating theme in your kitchen, what is it? Favorite kitchen colors?
Decorating theme? Hmmm....

18. What's the first thing you ever learned to cook, and how old were you?
I made a pie when I was probably 7 or 8, but no one would eat it because my mom thought it had weird ingredients. I ate it all. It was very good.

19. How did you learn to cook?
My mom taught me a little but I'm mainly self-taught with a good dose of Dana R for teaching me creativity, smaller portions, healthy yummy gourmet stuff.

A handy little method I periodically rediscover: instead of adding more salt, use a little lemon juice to brighten up the flavor. Works especially well on chicken, pasta, or potatoes.

-- SJ

What Do You Keep On Hand?

I have the challenge of a small kitchen but recently realized that I had to keep a larger stash of certain staples on hand for convenience and economy's sake. A few of mine are:

Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil
Whole wheat flour
Bananas
Rice
Pasta
Organic black beans (Ben's favorite)

What are yours?

Chicken Paprikash

Once again, the vegetarian is posting something she won't eat. But it is a favorite of my husband and quick and easy.

8-oz pkg medium egg noodles
2 t vegetable (or olive) oil
1 C sour cream (reduced fat works really well)
2 T paprika, divided
1/2 t salt, divided
1/4 t black pepper
1 C vertically sliced onion
1 lb chicken tenders cut into 1/4 inch wide strips (turkey works too)
1/2 C chicken broth (go for the low-sodium fat-free)

Cook the noodles according to the pkg directions omitting salt and fat.

Combine sour cream, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a bowl; set aside.

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Combine 1 Tablespoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, onion, and chicken, tossing to coat. Add mixture to the pan; saute 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Add broth; cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Add sour cream mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly until thoroughly heated. Serve over noodles. Makes 3-4 servings.

Irish Beef Stew

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

2lbs. stewing beef, cubed
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 10 3/4-oz. cans tomato soup
1 soup can water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
1-lb package frozen peas
1/4 cup water

1. Place beef, onion soup, tomato soup, soup can of water, salt, pepper, carrots, and potatoes in slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.

3. Add peas and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Cook on Low 1 more hour.

**I found a bag of frozen peas and carrots in my freezer so I used this instead of the carrots AND the bag of peas.

*** I cut this recipe in half so I wouldn't have too much. It fed the two of us for dinner with one set of leftovers, so for those of you who want more keep it as it is or double it.

This is a FAST prep recipe and is soooo delicious!

Easy breakfast casserole

I found this recipe recently and have already made it four times. I halved it for our breakfasts, doubled it to serve my family, and even brought it to a baby shower (so it makes the transition from elegant to hearty!) It's easy to make, tastes great, and consists of fairly cheap ingredients. There, that's my pep talk.

Easy Breakfast Casserole

Six bread slices (I use leftover heels from the freezer)
1 lb. sausage (I use a lot less, especially if it's spicy; I also use just a smidgen of sausage, which is expensive, and mostly ground turkey)
1 cup cheese (I use less)
Six eggs
2 cups milk
Salt
Pepper

Rip up the bread slices and place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fry the sausage and sprinkle over the bread; sprinkle the cheese over this. (Note: at this point you could cover the dish and store it in the fridge overnight, if you wanted to save time the next morning.) Beat the eggs and milk; add salt and pepper and pour over the sausage mixture. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Best when hot and fresh!

Easy Stuffed Shells

The other night we had company for dinner and I wanted a tasty, but not ordinary meal. I settled upon Stuffed Shells. There are dozens of recipes out there varying from meatless stuffed shells, veggie stuffed shells or meat/sausage stuffed shells. I found one that sounded good on AllRecipes.com and it turned out very delicious!

-------------
Stuffed Shells III

Jumbo pasta shells stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan, smothered in a mushroom tomato sauce and baked.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Yields: 10 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 (12 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
2 eggs, beaten
1 (32 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. In a large bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, half the mozzarella, half the Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper until well combined.
4. Stuff cooked shells with ricotta mixture and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. In a medium bowl, stir together pasta sauce, mushrooms and reserved mozzarella and Parmesan. Pour over stuffed shells.
6. Bake in preheated oven 45 to 60 minutes, until edges are bubbly and shells are slightly set.

*You could also add spinach if you were looking for something more than cheese, or for the meat eaters try Italian sausage or ground beef in with the tomato sauce. Mushrooms add great taste, but can be omitted for those with allergies.

**I read in a magazine that you can cut prep time by pre-stuffing uncooked noodles and letting them sit over night. This was recommended for Manicotti. I tried this with my stuffed shells, it worked for the most part, however some of the shells weren't open at all, unless cooked, so I couldn't stuff about 4 from the box. It was ok, there was still plenty to go around for dinner and leftovers.

I started by putting a little tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan then laying the stuffed uncooked shells on top and topping with the tomato-mushroom mixture. Next, I added a little bit of water before cooking and baked with a foil cover for 45-50 minutes. The last 10-15 minutes I cooked without the foil cover. They turned out PERFECT!

***You can click on the above link to go to the AllRecipes.com site where this recipe is located. There you can email it or print it as a full page or partial page recipe card.

DOB offers a recipe

DOB: Sometime you should make French Onion Soup.

QOC: I don't know how. But I will try to learn sometime.

DOB: It's easy. You just take some soup, and put in onions. And then you add the French seasoning.

QOC: Aah, I see.

Cranberries Anyone?

For our client Christmas party the centerpieces were large glass bowls with floating cranberries and roses. By now you probably get where this post is going. ;-) I ended up with two large boxes of fresh cranberries. And no ideas for what to do with them. For the time being they are frozen....in hopes that I will find something to use them in. Suggestions?

Chicken That's Special

Alison S. asked me about a chicken and rice dish and I immediately thought of this family favorite, so I thought it might be a good idea to post it here in case the rest of you are interested. I'm not sure where the recipe came from, but my mom's been making it for years. It's delicious!

Chicken That's Special

Ingredients:
1) 3-4 chicken breasts
2) 1 can of cream of chicken soup
3) 1/2 cup mayonnaise
4) 1 tsp lemon juice
5) 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
6) 1 Tbs Margarine or butter
7) 1/2 grated cheese

Mix ingredients 2-4 and pour over ingredient chicken. Combine margarine/butter with crumbs and brown. Sprinkle top of chicken dish with cheese and top with browned crumbs.

Bake 30 min at 350ºF.

Serve over cooked rice.

SPICED PUMPKIN LOAVES WITH WHIPPED CREAM

From my friend Amy

4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
Lightly sweetened whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil two 9 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pans. Dust pans with flour. Sift first 6 ingredients into large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat pumpkin and next 4 ingredients in another large bowl to blend. Beat in dry ingredients just until blended. Stir in raisins and pecans. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pans.
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, covering breads loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Transfer pans to rack. Cool 15 minutes. Remove breads from pans. Cool slightly. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil. Store at room temperature. Before continuing, rewarm in 350°F oven 15 minutes.)
Serve breads warm with cream. Makes 2 loaves.

Cheesy Broccoli Potatoes

It's been awhile, and anything I cook these days is in the easy-to-fix-in-a-few-minutes-with-the-assistance-of-a-toddler line. But this got such rave reviews I thought it was worth posting.

Scrub and bake 4-8 potatoes, depending on how big they are. (This is the toddler part. Dirt and water!)

When they're almost done, make a white sauce with:
2 T. butter
2 t. chopped garlic (Saute for a few minutes, then add):
2 T flour
2 c. of milk

Rinse the ice off a 1-lb package of frozen broccoli, and chop it a little smaller if needed. Toss into the skillet with the white sauce and 2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese. Cook just until the cheese melts. (The broccoli should still be bright green and crunchy.)

Serve sauce over the potatoes. Serves 4-6 or thereabouts.

Tuscan Chicken and Beans

This is a great fast, simple recipe. I found it in a cookbook and it is a favorite of Ben's.

1 lb chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 t dried rosemary or 2 t fresh, chopped rosemary
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 C chicken broth
1 16-oz white beans (cannellini or other), rinsed
2 T sun-dried tomatoes (optional but they add a lot of flavor)

Coat non-stick skillet; place over medium heat until hot. Add chicken, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add broth, beans, and tomato sprinkles; bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer 8 minutes.

Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup

This is mostly from Cooking Light (Oct 2005) but I made a few substitutions when I made it and it turned out wonderful. It has a rich creamy almost-smoky flavor.

1 C vegetable or beef broth, divided
1 T brown sugar
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 C coarsely chopped onion
5 garlic cloves
2 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, drained
Cooking spray
3/4 C half-and-half
Freshly ground pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Combine 1/2 C broth, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Coat a 13 X 9-inch baking with cooking spray and place onion, garlic, and tomatoes in it. Pour broth mixture over the top. Bake at 500 for 45 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Cool for about 10 minutes.
Place tomato mixture in blender and add remaining broth and half-and-half. Process until smooth. Garnish with pepper. Serves: about 4.

Ideas Please!

I realize this isn't really a cooking post, but it is along the lines of home organization so I thought I'd ask all you "Marthas" out there for your help.

I've been working on cleaning out the second bedroom of our house where all our "stuff" seems to get stuffed. I've been going through boxes of stuff that I packed up while I still lived with my parents. Yeah, I'm that bad. :-P Anyway, I've run across a lot of my papers, etc. from high school, college, HSLDA, and so on. Does anyone have any ideas for the best way to store this kind of stuff? I don't really want to shove it all in a box and have it fall apart or get smashed any further than it already is, but I also don't want to take the time and effort to put it all in scrapbooks for now. Help!