Sweet Potato Fries

We're leaving town tomorrow and the house is pretty much stripped of all food that would constitute as a meal. But mom and I scrounged together a pretty delish meal:

a. Cooked spinach sauteed with fresh garlic and tomatoes.

b. Sauteed boneless chicken breast with red pepper and onion.

c. Sweet Potato Fries (#52) inspired by THIS BLOG.

On my way to find delicious eats in DC. Happy eating.

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

- Cook beans in salted water until beans are bright green and just tender but not softened (about 3 minutes.) Drain and rinse the beans immediately under cold running water. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and gently pat dry.
- Just before serving, combine fresh herbs (your choice), red wine vinegar, and olive oil in a large bowl. Whisk well to blend ingredients. Add beans and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and toss gently. Serve.

Here's the link. Although we changed it up a bit.

Mom's frozen pudding concoction

Frozen Pudding Treats (#50!)

Mom and I whipped this up randomly. Does it count as a new recipe if we didn't use a recipe? Don't know. But I'm counting it. 50! woohoo. It was tasty, probably won't make it again, though.

We just made some chocolate pudding, whipped up some cream... folded them together and added a little cherry juice. Popped them into the freezer and added a cherry on top. :D

Books!

I've been reading a lot this summer, and a majority of the books I have been getting off of THIS LIST. My goal is to read them all by the time I graduate. Wish me luck.

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup

Stoup is thicker than soup and thinner than stew.

-Rachel Ray

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe Stoup (#49)

Salt and Pepper

1 large head broccoli rabe, cut into 2-inch pieces (or regular broccoli) 

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 pound bulk hot or sweet italian sausage 

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, choppped

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

one 32 ounce container (4 cups) chicken stock 

one 28 ounce stewed or diced tomatoes, with juices

one 15 ounce can white beans, rinsed

1 1/2 cups small, short cut pasta or orecchiette pasta

grated pecorino-romano cheese, for topping 

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the broccoli rabe and boil for 3 minutes. Drain and let cool. 

2. In a soup pot, heat the EVOO, over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling with a spoon until browned, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes and their juices, and 2 cups water; cover and bring to a boil. Stir in the white beans and cooked broccoli rab and return to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Top with cheese.

aha! Thanks rachel ---> Found it!

Yum Yum Yum!

Spaghetti with Spicy Turkey Meat Sauce

#48

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pound ground turkey
salt and pepper
28 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 Tbs grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to medium-high, crumble in the turkey, season with salt and black pepper and cook until the turkey is just no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley and cheese.
3. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Serve immediately with more cheese.

The past few days...

Morning Muffins 

(with carrots, coconut, raisins, and walnuts)

Oven Roasted Onions 

(Jumbo onions, thickly sliced, roasted with brown sugar to melt-in-your-mouth tenderness)


Red Velvet Cupcakes with Butter-cream frosting

...these were melt-in-your mouth delish.


More coming up about my new cupcake idea. It involves cupcakes, college, and you!

"Quick-and-Easy Beans"

For dinner tonight we made another new recipe...kind of. Mom clipped out a recipe for "pasta with white beans and arugula" from Southern Living who-knows how long ago. As I was making it, I hardly followed the recipe, adding and omitting things as I pleased. It was rather tasty, but made quite a lot.... even though I halved it. The recipe with my changes:

Pasta with White Beans and Spinach 

makes 6ish? main dish servings Prep 15 minutes cook 15 minutes

quick! 

 

8 oz. of farfalle (bow-tie) pasta

1 (19 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 (8.5 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes with herbs in oil, drained and chopped

5 oz (ish) fresh spinach, broken into pieces

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled 

1/8 cup fresh basil

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.  Stir together all other ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in hot cooked pasta until blended. & voila!!

So I made cookies...

I figured that if I made cookies, I could take some into work and not feel guilty about scrounging them all down myself. Good plan, right? Well the recipe couldn't be halved, and it ended up making 1 dozen more than it called for... so I guess I hope they really like them tomorrow!

They are classic oatmeal-raisin cookies with walnuts. The consistency was great, and seems like it will be tomorrow as well.

(#44) Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup butter flavor crisco all-vegetable shortening 

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups quick oats, uncooked 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 cup raisins 

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts 

1. Heat oven to 375*F. Grease baking sheets. 

2. Combine Crisco, light brown sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. 

3. combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until blended. Stir in raisins and nuts. 

4. Drop rounded tablespoons on dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. 

5. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375 for 7-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Place on wire rack and cool. 

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.  

Quick Tip: 

 HOW TO SUBSTITUTE CRISCO FOR BUTTER OR MARGARINE IN OTHER RECIPES:

1 cup Crisco + 6 teaspoons water = 1 cup butter or margarine 

 

Some things are more important...

....than keeping up with a blog, I've found. I have been quite delinquent because of my New York trip and my job. Not only have I been falling behind on this, but I haven't had the kitchen or the time to cook anything new. I've also been eating at some of the best restaurants in New York, and eating crap so bad for me that the new 10 pounds that have found their home on my butt are begging me not to cook anything for a while.

Nevertheless, here are some of the things we made before I left:

(#39) Refrigerator Pickles: 

(#40) Sausage and Spinach Soup: 

 

(#41) Big Oatmeal Chocolate Cookie 

this was huge... like a pizza 

(#42) Cabbage Rolls

(#43) Chicken with Peppers 

The only "keeper" here was the Sausage Spinach soup... which I really loved. Not only was it super tasty, it was really fast to make, healthy, and cheap. Maybe when I have more time I can find that recipe to share :)