Gougere

Sounds fancy but there're just cheese puffs. I'm not a baker but these are so easy & so good. Great with soup or beans.

1 cup water

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup flour

4 eggs

1 cup gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese

Heat water & butter in pan until boiling, add flour & stir quickly with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Beat in the eggs. Don't get discouraged, it looks like it won't work but just keep mixing , it will look like mashed potatoes. Stir in the cheese. Arrange in small mounds on a baking sheet & bake for 30 45 minutes at 425.

You can add other ingredients like herbs, roasted garlic or olives in the center.  Great party treats!

This weeks menu

Saturday: Bean Burritos We ate these Saturday and I froze the rest. They are almost gone! They are so great to send for lunches or to grab when you need a healthy, fast lunch.

Sunday: Mini-Turkey burgers (as featured in Amie's little green cookbook)

Monday: Pasta and roast vegetables (pictured) I also made a cheese sauce for the kids to add to their noodles. The veg are so flavorful when roasted it hardly needs anything else.

Tuesday: Chipotle Sloppy Joe's from Cooking Light. Must have pickles. I didn't make cole slaw with it but I think it would benefit from having some on the side (or on the sandwich)

Wednesday: Slow-Cooker Lasagna

Thursday: left-overs

Friday: whatever the babysitter cooks (chicken nuggets?)

Most of these were ideas from Amie! from this blog. Don't you feel like it is paying off, now?

Creamy Chicken Stroganoff

1 large can Reduced-Fat Cream of Mushroom soup

1/4 cup sour cream

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 medium red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

8 strips cooked bacon

1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

garnish: parsley and Parmesan cheese

Saute onion in 1 tbsp olive oil until caramelized; pour 1/2 onions into bottom of crock pot. Top with chicken.

Mix soup, sour cream, thyme and bay leaf together and pour over chicken. Top with remaining onions.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Add bacon the last 30-45 minutes.

Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles or brown rice.

Saucy Stir-Fried Pork

This stir-fried pork recipe is from Kraft foods. I don't usually use much from their magazine, but this one actually tasted good. You can use variations on the vegetables included, and I usually double the amount of the soy sauce mixture. I also add in some fresh grated ginger root.

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake lovers beware! This is a really moist cake (maybe not so healthy either...) and can be served up with your choice of icing (I prefer without), ice cream, whipped cream, and even your choice of chocolate sauce (Good ol' Betty Crocker's is good).

The Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake Recipe
2 C flour
2 C sugar
3/4 C Hershey's Cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1 C buttermilk
1 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 300 F
2. Lightly grease and flour 9 X 13 pan
3. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl
4. Mix at medium or medium high speed until all ingredients are blended and smooth.
5. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hour.

Open-faced Veggie Melt

Homemade bread+layer of mayo+baby spinach+layer of sliced jack cheese+sliced mushrooms+orange bell pepper+parmesan+garlic salt; broiled=heaven!

Spring Break Menu

Last night: Sausage and Grits Casserole

Tonight: Breaded Pork chops and Spinach-Green bean Casserole

Tomorrow: Smoked sausage and Roasted Veggies- Hobo style!
Wednesday: Noodle Stir-fry

Thursday: leftovers!!!

Friday: Tandoori Kebabs, Roasted Veggies and Naan

Roasted corn soup with jalapeno chicken sausage

When I grill, which is often, I like to make extra corn for soup or salsa. 

2 or 3 links of sausage

Corn removed from cob

1 roasted poblano pepper, skin removed

Onion, chopped

Garlic, minced

Chicken stock

Olive oil

Cream (optional but really good)

Brown the sausage in a heavy pot (preferably cast iron) & remove, then the onion & garlic in the same pot with a little oil. Add the chicken stock, corn, peppers & the sausage. Let that cook for about 20 or 30 minutes on low then cut up the sausage into smaller pieces. Add about a tablespoon of cream to individual bowls to make it really rich. Freeze whatever is left in the pot for future use.

Southwest Tuna and Black beans

Good ole Betty Crocker quick, pantry meal. Serve with rice and your favorite corn bread recipe.
Also can be used as a burrito filling.
Southwest Tuna and Black Beans
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped (1/4 C.)
1 chili, chopped or 1/4 C. canned green chilis
1 Tbsp. grated lime peel
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 medium tomato, chopped (or more)
2 cans (15 ounce) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (6 ounce) white tuna in water, rinsed and drained
1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, chili and garlic in oil about 2 minutes, stirring constantly until onion is softened.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot.

Meals for the Week

Monday: Pasta with leeks, peas and bacon

Tuesday: Cheesy Hash brown Bake

Wednesday: Pizza and salad

Thursday: leftovers!

Friday: Rice and Bean Tacos (I make the "filling" for the tacos from this burrito recipe, then heat a single taco-sized flour tortilla on a skillet, top with cheese and a pile of the filling)

Pumpkin Enchiladas and Tomato, Corn, Avacado Salsa

I had a menu ready to post for the week then we all took turns getting sick and I didn't end up cooking any of them, except this because we had some friends over. I know the pumpkin sounds really scary but it works. One of our all time favorite main dishes.

PUMPKIN ENCHILADAS

3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
6 scallions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 can pumpkin puree
1 can drained, rinsed, black beans
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno chili, quartered (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
1 tsp. Chili powder
8 corn tortillas
11/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 425°. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 21/2 C. water, 2 tsp. Salt, and ¼ tsp. Pepper until smooth. Pour 1 C of sauce in the bottom of an 8 in. square baking dish.
Put down a layer of tortillas, chicken, cheese, then sauce. Repeat, finishing with tortillas then, pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25-30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with tortilla chips if you think it needs a little crunch. Also, sour cream and salsa.

The Tomato, Corn and Avocado Salsa I found on Allrecipes.com I could actually bathe in it, it is so good. It is a great compliment to any Mexican dish.

Irish Meat Pies

I made a batch of these on Sunday afternoon and stashed them in the freezer. We baked them last night, right out of the freezer, and they were SO good!

I tweaked the original recipe by replacing the beef with ground turkey and using homemade pie crusts. There was a lot of filling, so next time I will make a little extra pie dough (or only use 1/2 lb of turkey). Enjoy some of these on St. Patty's!

Ratatouille! Not sure I spelled it right but it is my new fav. Eggplant is a natural detoxifier & I can use leftover veges as well, fresh of course & also with herbs from my garden. I'm putting my summer garden in now so I will make it with whatever is available in the future. I read recipes but I am always ready to deviate for whatever is available ( or left over ). Tonight, it was frozen, I do that a lot for future use & I added some penne pasta because thats what I had in the pantry. I thought it was delicious after a hard day in the yard.

Slow Cooker Lasagna

I made this last night out of my ever-trusty "Everyday Food" magazine and LOVED it! I was honestly surprised at how tasty it was and that the noodles didn't crust up. Mike suggested that we add zucchini next time. Here's the link to the recipe.

Muffin Man

My little boy is a true muffin man... what kid isn't? I found this recipe when I was trying to find ways to incorporate more fruit and veggies in his diet, without him exactly realizing they were there. (If anyone else has great recipes for picky eaters- please share!) And don't be fooled by the "sugar-free" in the title- my husband is all about flavor in his food and even he loves them. They are very moist and yummy.

(Sorry- no pictures!)

Healthy (Sugar-Free) Pumpkin Muffins

1&3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 C canned pumpkin
1/4 C canola oil
1/4 C applesauce
1/2 C honey
1/3 C water
3/4 C raisins or coconut or choc chips (or all if you want!)

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, then mix together until combined. Bake in muffin cups at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Startin' Off Right!

We had this delicious meal for dinner tonight: pan-seared {chicken} in wine sauce, roasted cauliflower, salad greens and quinoa*

recipe for the chicken:
1 small boneless, skinless turkey {or chicken} breast half (about 2 pounds)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Cut turkey, skinned side down, into 8 cutlets (see note). Cover with plastic wrap, and lightly pound cutlets with a meat mallet or bottom of a heavy skillet until inch thick. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Working in batches, cook cutlets until browned and opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side (add 1 tablespoon oil when needed). Transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with foil.
Add wine to skillet, and bring to a boil. Cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced to 1/2 cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Whisk in Dijon; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Top turkey with sauce.

*Here's an article on quinoa http://www.wholeliving.com/article/power-foods-quinoa?autonomy_kw=quinoa

Bean Week in Indiana

Maybe it's that we're still experiencing sub-zero wind chills this week that beans are still a big part of our meals. Winter just keeps coming back, so perhaps we need a week of frijoles to get sick of them to truly get ready for all things spring. Our culinary week begins on Monday and tonight, we had Huevos Rancheros (as pictured). Later this week we'll have the following (I'll hyperlink some of the meals to what I can find online):

• Tom Ka Gai
• Pasta with Lentils and Arugula
• White Bean and Kale Soup
• Tortilla and Black Bean Pie
• Sweet & Sour Mixed Bean Hot Pot

I think we're set for the week. You can see that Mothering Magazine and Martha Stewart really represented this week. Also in the menu is a reuben festival of sorts this week with some friends, so if any of you have made rye bread or know of any kind of reuben additions, please let us know.

Here we go!

Okay, so I'm just trying out this blog and we'll see if it takes!
Here's the premise:
* we'll share food ideas (recipes, meal plans, culinary tricks, etc)
* we'll post our weekly meal list (so we can check out what's on the table in every one's kitchen)
* we'll yada yada over food and cooking!
Enjoy!