Pasta and Beans

It's a new year and we're trying a few new things. My goal into make more healthy dinners at home and try to have 2-3 meals a week with no meat. This recipe is one my Mom shared with us a few months ago that we love. It's super easy, we almost always have the ingredients, and it doesn't have meat.

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped carrots
1 (16oz) can kidney beans
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove minced garlic
1 (16oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp. cracked red or black pepper
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1/4 cup dry red wine ( or water)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup ditalini ( small pasta tubes)
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Place all ingredients except pasta and cheese in a large skillet. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in pasta and cook for 15 minutes ( or longer until pasta is tender).

Parsley and cheese are optional. We don't use cheese right now because I can't eat dairy, and I only add fresh parsley if we already have it.

**I often have to add a bit of water once I add the pasta.**

Serve with a yummy salad.

Enjoy!

( Serves 4)

Banana-Oat Smoothie

I've been really into smoothies recently, but I always seem to make the same kind. So today I decided to look for a new recipe. Somewhere recently I'd come across the idea of a banana oat smoothie and so this morning, after a quick google search I came across this recipe. I often find when looking for new recipes that I have to go buy half of the ingredients at the grocery store before making it, hence why I seem to rely on the old standbys. This recipe surprised me, we had everything it called for, it was super easy to make, and delicious. Thanks Martha!
I left out the cinnamon because I'm not a huge fan. I did find another recipe that suggested adding a bit of vanilla and I thought about trying that instead, although, after drinking this one I might just leave it as is.

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 banana, cut into thirds
• 1/2 cup fat-free milk
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

So, if your looking for a healthy mid morning snack, make one of these delicious drinks and then sit down at the computer and search for another easy recipe that you can walk into the kitchen and make in 5 minutes. :-)

The Sea Cow

This post isn't something I made, but instead a long time tradition. I get this meal every year at the beach. There is a local restaurant on the island called The Sea Cow Eatery, and their signature dish is "The Sea Cow". A delicious sandwich . . . an open face toasted bagel with fresh spinach and grilled shrimp, drizzled with homemade ranch dressing. Yum! Here's a picture of this delicious dish for you to enjoy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I saw this recipe on one of my friends food blogs and it's been tempting me for weeks. Earlier this week I had a few minutes before I needed to start cooking dinner so I decided to make a batch. When I say a few minutes, literally, that's all it takes. They are super quick and easy, and a wonderful treat to pull out of the oven 20 minutes later!

The original recipe came from Annie's Eats, but here it is:

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
½ cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
¾ cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth.


Add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between prepared muffin tins, filling each to the top.


4. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.



* I forgot to put in the sugar until the end and didn't have enough so I probably used only about 1/2 of the sugar the recipe calls for. I liked them a lot and didn't think they needed the added sugar (I don't feel as guilty eating them any time of day the way I made them). They would be a good dessert (peanut butter cookie imitation) if you added more sugar and sprinkle some sugar on top before cooking.*

Easter Dinner

This year for Easter Michael and Claire were here helping us get baby's room ready so we invited our friends Casey and Cheryl over and had a yummy dinner. We've made both parts of this meal and I think put together it might be a new Easter tradition. We had Grilled Meats and Vegetables with Saffron Orzo, and Gluten Free Carrot Cake (in our bunny shaped cake pan). The meal provides something for everyone and is great for a Spring/Summer day when it's fun to grill out and feed a crowd.

The boys grilling

Our Easter dinner table

The dinner dish was originally from the Food Network but we make some minor revisions. We usually add steak, and only use boneless skinless chicken breast (just for convenience). I also think adding onions (maybe pearl onions) and tomatoes would be an excellent addition to the vegetables but we never have enough room on the grill. We also made an additional serving of yellow rice to make the meal optionally gluten free. You can find the recipe on the Food Network link above or a previous post about this meal on the blog last June.

Food ready to go on the grill . . .yum yum!

The orzo cooking

The cake was modified from the best carrot cake I've ever had . . . it's in "The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook". This time we made it with All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour and it turned out great but it is also excellent in it's original form. Here's the recipe:

Cream Cheese Icing (make ahead of time and refrigerate as it is very soft).
2, 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth on medium speed with electric mixer (about 3 minutes). Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to thicken.

Carrot Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
1- 8 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans (plus extra to sprinkle on top of cake)
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut


- Preheat oven to 325.
- Toast pecans and set aside to cool.
- Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans, then line bottoms with wax paper. (This time we used a bunny shaped pan but I've also made it the traditional way).
- In a small bowl sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the oil and sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until light and thick (about 2 minutes).
- Add vanilla and beat well.
- Gradually add dry ingredients, beating until well incorporated.
- Stir in carrots, pineapple and juice, pecans and coconut.
- Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes (until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean)
- Cool in pans on wire rack for one hour.
- Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
- When cake is cooled ice and sprinkle with toasted pecans as desired.
Enjoy!

Here's our cute bunny, decorated by Claire.

Competition for McCalisters

picture courtesy of google images

Have you ever been to McAlister's Deli? It's a chain restaurant that has many different types of sandwiches but is known best for it's baked potatoes and tea. They have HUGE baked potatoes with many different toppings. Mark and I decided a few months ago that we'd have baked potatoes at home and make them like we'd order them from McAlisters.

To bake the potatoes I simply wash them, poke a few holes with a fork, rub a bit of oil and salt on them and individually wrap them in aluminum foil. Then they go in the oven for about an hour on 350.

We usually grill some chicken and cut it up into bite sized pieces. Then, each add our own choice of toppings which obviously are endless. I like a bit of butter, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and sour cream. Mark likes butter, cheese and chicken.

Here's a picture of my potato from the other night. They are easy, hearty, and healthy (depending on your toppings). Yum yum!



So, what toppings do you like on your baked potato?

Danish Delicacies

Fresh bread, cheeses galore, amazing fish and meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, oh, and the desserts . . . the list goes on. I don't think I ever posted a blog about the wonderful food we had on our Scandinavia adventure this past summer. Now that just returned from Denmark I must tell you about the wonderful food I had there! If only I'd taken pictures of every bit of food I ate while I was there. . . I would have been taking pictures the whole time but I wish I had them to share!

Instead of having the pictures you have to use your imagination. It's still cold outside, there's ice on the the beach just across the road, but when you walk into breakfast at the hotel there are fresh tulips on every table, the room is filled with very modern Scandinavian decor, and there is more food than the eyes can take in.

Coffee and tea of course, 4 types of juice and a freshly made blackberry smoothie, sliced meats, hot meats, fresh bread to slice yourself (still slightly warm to the touch), eggs of all kinds, freshly sliced fruits and vegetables. Yogurts with granola, dried fruit, cereal flakes, honey and brown sugar as toppings. Oh yum!

After getting your first plate or two you sit down and enjoy this amazing feast overlooking the water with views of Sweden on the opposite shore. And this is just breakfast?

Every day I was there started this way, followed by wonderful "snacks" throughout our conference including the BEST macaroons I've ever had, crossiants, berry coffee cake . . . is your mouth watering yet?

Lunch was usually another buffet style spread with many choices, salads, fresh salmon (caught that morning), more breads, fruits and cheeses of course, the options seemed endless.

Dinner was a sit down meal and never included the ridiculously large portions we're so used to being served in the US, but we were NEVER hungry. It was always a perfectly plated, well balanced meal beginning with a small salad and then a meat and vegetable course. There were always options for vegetarians, or those of us who were pregnant and couldn't eat the fish.

The picture below is how my food experience started in Denmark. In a very delirious state after traveling for over 24 hours I went to the hotel cafe as I waited for my room to be available and was served this with a side of fresh bread slices of course.



Freshly made Tomato Gazpacho from the hotel cafe. Delicious! I would love to try to recreate it this summer, it would be a great meal on a hot summer evening.

Birthday Cake

I'm quite behind in the food blog arena, but that doesn't mean we haven't been cooking and eating :-). I'll try to add a couple of updates from the last month or two and to start off here is the cake we made this year for Mom's birthday. The last two years we have been at Henry's race in Alabama around her birthday and we've taken a cake to celebrate.

This year we decided to try a new recipe from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook I got for Christmas. We made Caramel Pecan Layer Cake. It was very simple to make, and the final product turned out better than I expected after I was quite overwhelmed with the sweetness of the icing which I made first. The caked ended up being lighter than I expected and a nice deviation from our "go to" German Chocolate and Carrot Cakes.

Here is the recipe.

Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup softened, unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients:
2 sticks softened, unsalted butter
5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Garnish:
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans

Make icing first, the day before the cake to give the brown sugar time to sit and improve the texture.

Icing Directions:
Cream butter until smooth in large bowl on medium speed. Add milk, syrup, and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy (3-5 minutes). Store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Cake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.
- Toast pecans on a baking sheet for 15 minutes (or until lightly browned). Set aside
- Combine flours in small bowl and set aside.
- Cream butter in large bowl on medium speed. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy (~ 3 minutes)
- Add eggs (one at a time), beating well after each addition.
- Add dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated with each addition being careful to not over beat.
- Divide the batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes (until cake tester comes out clean).
- Let layers cool in pans for 1 hour.
- Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
- When layers are cool ice cake, filling between layers with caramel frosting and springiling with 1/3 of pecans on each later.
-Ice top and sides and sprinkle with remaining pecans. ( I chose not to ice the sides to reduce the sweetness a bit).

Chicken Nuggets

Tonight we name homemade chicken nuggets. I can't take credit for this recipe either, it's from my friend and co-worker Brittany. She gave us this recipe a couple of years ago I don't make them enough, they are so simple and very tasty.

You can make any number you'd like at a time. Tonight I used two boneless, skinless chicken breasts and so the breading recipe is for that amount. Here's the recipe:

1. Make breading mixture by combining 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and seasoning (salt, pepper, creole seasoning, Old Bay . . . whatever you have and prefer).

2. Cube chicken into bite size pieces.

3. Melt butter in a small bowl.

4. Pre-heat oven to 375.

5. Dip chicken pieces in butter, then in breading mixture.

6. Place on baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through.

7. Enjoy with a side salad or some cooked vegetables.

Turkey Meatball Subs

All credit for this meal has to be given to Henry. He called yesterday and was talking about how (even though he'd never had one) he was craving a turkey meatball sub. I thought they sounded pretty good and since I had today off and we needed a good meal before the Orange Bowl tonight I thought I'd make some.

I found the recipe on TasteSpotting from the blog Pure and Yummy. Here it is:

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoons mild
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cups tomato/marinara sauce


- Mix the bread crumbs and milk in a large bowl.
- Mix in eggs and parmesean cheese.
- Add turkey and gently combine (do not overwork).
- Season with salt and pepper
- Shape into golf- size balls

- In a large skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat . When the oil is hot add meatballs, allow to brown for 3 minutes before moving or turning.
- Continue to turn meatballs every 2-3 minutes browning each side.
- Once all meatballs are cooked take them out and place on a paper towel covered plate to drain.
- Pour out remaining oil and any scraps from cooking.
- Add tomato sauce and meatballs back into pan and bring sauce to boil.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes. Be careful when stirring sauce as meatballs will break easily.
- Spoon sauce and meatballs onto a toasted bun, cover with sliced provolone cheese and put in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes to toast bread and melt cheese.

ENJOY!


Our critiques/suggestions:

- Next time we'll try cooking the meatballs in the oven instead of on the stove top. It will create less mess and be healthier.

- Toast the bread for an extra crunch and so it doesn't get soggy.

- We used homemade sourdough rolls that Mark made this weekend but any hogie roll or even garlic toast would be good.

- Yum Yum Yum! Mark's first meatball sub and he gave it a thumbs up!

Turkey Day Leftovers

Now that the festivities have commenced and the family and friends have gone home . . . what do you do with the fridge that's still full of food? Here's an idea: Turkey Pot Pie.

As the weather cools, this is a delicious, hearty, warm meal that provides a new taste for the holiday leftovers. We have a batch cooking in the over right now!

Ingredients
4 cups turkey
1 3/4 -2 cups chicken stock
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 and 1/2 or light cream
lemon juice
salt and pepper
ground nutmeg
1 medium onion (chopped)
3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick)
2 small celery sticks (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup frozen peas (thawed)
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp beaten egg

For the biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2-5 tbsp cold unsalted butter but into pieces
3/8 cup milk

Directions:

~ Cut or shred turkey into bit size pieces.

~ Melt 4 tbsp butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 cup all purpose flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add 2 cups chicken stock and whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups milk(cream or 1/2 and 1/2). Increase heat to medium and bring mixture to simmer, whisking constantly. Remove from pan, scrape sides, whisk to break up all lumps. Bring back to simmer and cook one minute. Stir in cooked poultry and cook one minute. Remove from heat and add several drops lemon juice, salt and pepper and 2-3 pinches of nutmeg (all to taste).

Make biscuit dough:

~Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles course breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix with rubber spatula until most dry ingredients are moistened. With lightly floured hands kneed into a ball and against sides of bowl 5-10 times. Refrigerate until later.

~Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

~ Butter a 13x9 baking pan

~ Heat in large skillet over medium high heat 2 tbsp butter. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until barely tender (about 5 minutes). Stir vegetables into creamed turkey and add peas and parsley.

~Pour the chicken mixture into prepared pan. Roll out biscuit dough 1/2 inch thick and cut into 2 inch rounds. Arrange on top of chicken, overlapping if necessary.

~Brush top of biscuits with beaten egg.

~ Bake until chic is bubbly and topping is nicely browned (25-35 minutes).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

I have two recipes for "pumpkin bread", one that I typically use to make bread loaves and one that I typically use to make cupcakes. I think both are equally good (so the better one is probably the one with less sugar) but for some reason I keep alternating between then. So here they are:


Pumpkin Bread
Prep: 20 min
Bake: 55 minutes
Oven: 350º
Makes: 2 or 3 loaves (or you can make into cupcakes/muffins)

3 cups sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1. Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch, three 8x4x2-inch, or four 7 ½ x3 ½ x2-inch loaf pans; set aside (you can also use muffin cups). In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until it combines. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake in a 350º oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. 4. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Spicy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(Makes 26-28 cupcakes)

4 eggs

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin

1 cup sugar

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup oil

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

Beat eggs in large mixing bowl. Add pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil; beat well. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended.

Scoop better into paper-lines muffin tins and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(you can use this recipe or choose your favorite cream cheese frosting to top these cupcakes)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese softened
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients except sugar in large bowl with a mixer on medium speed. Reduce speed to medium low and add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before using.

Pumpkin Cheesecake ala Cheryl

We enjoyed this delicious recipe a few weeks ago during a dinner get-together with the Gaters, and we've already had it a second time. I haven't been the one to make it, but from what I understand it's easy to make. I do know that it is delicious!

**We made it gluten free by using gluten free gingersnaps. An easy change to meet everyone's needs :-)**

Crust:

2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Cheesecake:

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease or spray 9-inch springform pan. Wrap outside of pan in heavy-duty foil. In bowl, mix crust ingredients. Press in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low speed, gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the mixture into pan; spread evenly. Add pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg to remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.

Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved. Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cooling rack. Without releasing side of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cheesecake.

Prep time: 40 minutes

Start to finish: 9 hours 10 minutes

1 service: Calories 400 (Calories from fat 230); Total Fat 26g (Saturated fat 15g; Trans fat 1g); Cholesterol 125 mg; Sodium 300mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary fiber 1g; Sugar 25g); Protein 7g

(from: Betty Crocker's Fall Baking Oct/Nov 2009 No.251)

BBQ, Coleslaw & Corn Bread

I'm behind . . . but blogging is on the back burner until the end of the semester. Here are a few recipes to hold you over. A few weekends ago we made the Siburt family BBQ recipe which I don't think I've shared here yet. It's a really easy recipe, can be made with either pork or beef, and seems to always please the guests :-). I also made coleslaw (my Mom's delicious and very simple recipe) and we attempted gluten-free corn bread which surprised us all. Here are the recipes for the whole meal. Great for a fall weekend with friends and football.


BBQ
Cook a roast in the crock pot until it easily flakes apart. (Beef and Pork both work, your choice) Take out and let cool on a plate until it's ok to handle. The size of the roast doesn't matter and depends on the number of people you're serving. You can change the amount of sauce you make accordingly. Once the meat has cooled shred it and put it in a 13x9 baking dish.



While you are waiting for the meat to cook make the sauce:
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 cup melted butter
1 medium chopped onion
1/2 tbsp pepper
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce



Mix all ingredients except ketchup and Worcestershire sauce together in saucepan. Bring to a bail and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.



Once the meat is shredded and in a baking dish pour sauce over cooked meat. Stir together so sauce covers all the meat and bake at 325 for 1 hour uncovered.



Coleslaw
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
salt and pepper

1 head cabbage
1/2 carrot ( more or less according to preference)
1/8 onion (according to taste preference)

OR

A bag of cole slaw from the salad section :-) It's a lot easier!

Gluten Free Corn Bread
3/4 cup corn meal
1 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk you can make it: combine 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg, well beaten
2 tbsp shortening

Mix and sift together dry ingredients. Add milk, egg, and shortening. Bake in shallow pan for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

** If you don't want to make the cornbread gluten free use:
- 1 cup self rising flour (instead of the gluten free flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda (instead of the larger amount of baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt (instead of the larger amount of salt)
- don't use the baking powder

Paula Deen’s Braised Short Ribs

Mark cooking them at our house again a few weeks later for a football game

I can't take any credit for this recipe. When our floor was being replaced we stayed with our friends the Gaters and one weekend this is what we decided to have for dinner. The recipe is from Paula Deen, and it really has to be made as a weekend meal. It's a very easy and delicious recipe though! You can make it gluten-free by not dusting the meat with flour when you brown.

. . .it kinda looks like we made enough for the whole team!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds short ribs
• House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, plus 2 more cloves chopped
• Water
• Beef Broth, plus more for roasting
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, sliced
• Cooked white rice, for serving
• Sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Season ribs liberally, or to taste, with House Seasoning. Lightly dust with 2 tablespoons flour.

In a Dutch oven, place a small amount of oil. Add the 2 garlic cloves and cook until lightly browned. Add the ribs and brown on each side. Add half water and half beef broth to cover ribs. Bring to a boil. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place in a casserole dish. Add the remaining garlic, salt and pepper, onions, and about 1 cup broth to the ribs. Roast ribs for 2 hours. Serve over buttered white rice. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Jumbo Pear Muffins

My Mom is an EXCELLENT cook (and baker). I grew up on nothing but amazing homemade and homegrown food. This recipe is from Mom and is easy and always delicious. The original recipe calls for jumbo muffins but you can make it into a coffee cake or regular muffins, whatever suits your needs.

Ingredients

1 16 ounce can pears OR 3 or 4 fresh ripe pears (diced) *I always use the fresh pears and you really can't put too many in!*

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ cup shortening or butter flavor shortening (oil)

1 8 ounce container light sour cream ( or non-fat plain yogurt)

2 large eggs

1/3 cup slices almonds

Streusel Topping

You can use any recipe for this you like, here's the one I usually use:

3 tbsp flour

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp nuts

Combine flours, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter to make course meal. Mix in nuts. Sprinkle over muffins.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease 6 10 ounce custard cups or 9 in round cake pan. Place cups in jelly-roll pan for easy handling
2. Prepare Streusel topping; set aside
3. Drain pears and pat dry with paper towels; coarsely chop. In large bowl, stir flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and cardamom until well mixed. With a pastry blender cut in shortening until mixture resembles course crumbs.
4. In a medium bowl, with wire whish or fork, mix sour cream and eggs until well blended; stir in chopped pears. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture just until moistened. (do not over-mix!)
5. Spoon batter into custard cups; sprinkle with Streusel Topping; top with slices almonds. Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cert of muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in cups on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from cups; cool completely on rack. Makes ~6 jumbo muffins.
   

ENJOY!

Tomatoes

Tomato sandwiches, tomato soup, stewed tomatoes, sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper, grilled tomatoes, tomato sauce . . . I feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump (except I love tomatoes as much as he loved shrimp). As we are in the heart of tomato season and I have gotten a few tomatoes off of my pitiful little plants I couldn't resist this post. Since we've been gone so much this summer my tomato plants have not recieved much tender love and care, but I planted one grape tomato and one yellow pear tomato plant which was a childhood favorite. What things do you like to make with tomatoes?

National Ice Cream Day

Today is National Ice Cream Day, and July is National Ice Cream Month. If you know me, you know that I love ice cream! It is the one food that I can make room for no matter how full I am, and can eat at any time of the day! Favorite flavors are hard to pick but Mint Chocolate Chip is typically the "old stand by".

As I was doing some research about National Ice Cream Day I couldn't resist posting this info I encountered while searching Icecream.com. They have a section called "Ice Cream Flavorology" where they list 8 flavors and then describe what the flavor you pick explains about you. So, I asked Mark to pick a flavor, he chose Butter Pecan, and this is what it said:

Funny in many ways: the uniform is the same colors Mark wears to work, personality description is pretty accurate, and the compatibility is Mint Chocolate Chip! Then I looked at my choice, and although the description is not completely accurate the only way the picture could be more perfect is if the girl had a little curl in her hair.

Bailey even likes ice cream. Publix sells Frosty Paws Ice Cream for dogs and her favorite flavor is definitely peanut butter! I found this recipe online to make doggie ice cream; haven't tried it yet but thought I'd share. It's on my list and I'll be sure to post Bailey's comments once I make it.

Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream Recipe

32 oz. plain yogurt
1 mashed banana
2 T p'nut butter
2 T honey

It’s true dairy products aren’t good for dogs, but yogurt contains much less lactase than regular milk and the live cultures are great for your dog’s digestive system. This dog ice cream recipe is delicious and good for your pet!

1. Mix all these ingredients in your blender, then dump into ice cube trays, paper cups, or even a kong toy to freeze and serve.

2. If you want to go all out for your mutt you can freeze these homemade frosty paws just like you would homemade ice cream. A salt-less automatic ice cream maker makes this as easy as using any other appliance in your home and the frosty paws will be ready to serve in 10 minutes.

For the ultimate treat, appropriate for desert at a doggy birthday party, follow steps one and two, then take the mostly frozen dog ice cream product of number two and spread it 1” to 1½” thick on wax paper. Freeze for five minutes and thenremove dog ice cream from freezer. Next, use a paw shaped cookie cutter to cut a paw shaped “frosty paws”, remove ice cream around edges, and return paw shapes to the freezer to freeze solid.

Leftover Tortillas

Since we had tacos on Tuesday, tonight we had the left overs, but there are still a few tortillas left . . . when I was a kid we did one of two things with the leftover tortillas:

1. Spread one with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, roll it up, and microwave for a few seconds to heat up. Yummy!

2. Sprinkle some of the left over shredded cheese on one, roll it up and microwave it to melt the cheese.

Those both still sound good to me, any other suggestions?

Homemade Tortillas

You might be thinking, why make the effort . . . but that's why I'm posting. My Mom's recipe for homemade tortillas is one of our favorites, so much that we never buy them at the store anymore! They are easy to make and much better than the store bought ones. Here's the recipe for taco night at our house:

Tortillas

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup warm water

Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the oil (I use olive oil), mixing with your fingers or a fork. Then slowly add the warm water until mixture forms a round ball of dough. Let sit for 20 minutes.

Split dough into small balls, we usually make 12 small tortillas with this recipe. Place a dry frying pan on the stove over medium to medium/high heat. Flour a cutting board and roll out the tortillas until very thin. Cooking them one a time in the frying pan. Tortillas only cook a few minutes on each side so watch them closely. They will bubble up in the pan and as soon as they the bottom side starts to brown flip them. Once cooked place in a tortilla warmer, or between two plates to keep them warm. Cook all tortillas and enjoy with your preferred taco fillings.

We use:

ground beef (for Mark)

black beans(for Hannah)

cheese

lettuce

tomato

corn

sour cream

Once you make them you'll never buy tortilla shells at the grocery store again!