Chorizo Pie (quiche)

We made this yummy egg dish on Christmas morning...It just seemed fitting to use a leftover pie crust, and lots of red and green veggies. It was easy to bake and then just set on the counter for people to help themselves as they arrived.

The recipe actually made two pies, so if you only have one crust, just divide the ingredients in half for one pie.

2 unbaked pie crusts
1 pound chorizo
1/2 pound hamburger
1 can diced green chiles
3 green onions, sliced thin
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup water
2 cups grated cheese, monterey jack, or a mexican cheese
12 eggs
salt and pepper

Pre heat the oven to 325 degress.

Brown the chorizo and ground beef in a pan on the stove. Onced browned, add in the sliced green onion and diced red pepper, saving some for the garnish. Let cook a few minutes and turn off the heat.

While that is cooking, roll out your pie dough and place in a pie pans.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and add cream, water, salt and pepper, and green chili's.

If you made the whole recipe, divide and put half of the meat mixture into each pie crust.

Top each pie with 1/2 cup grated cheese, then pour on half of the egg mixture.

Place in oven for about 30 minutes or until set.

Put on the remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese on the top of the pies and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so just until the cheese melts. Garnish with saved green onion and red pepper. Serve with hot sauce.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies

I am not sure what these little goodies are called, but we've been making them for several years now.

Round Buttery Crackers
Peanut Butter
Chocolate Almond Bark

Put the chocolate almond bark in a heavy pan on the stove. While the chocolate is melting, make little sandwiches by putting peanut butter between two crackers.

When the chocolate is melted, then dip the crackers in the chocolate. Let set up on waxed paper until hard.

So easy and so good!

Peppermint Bark

1 and 1/2 bag dark chocolate chips

1 and 1/2 bag white chocolate chips

1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (depending on how strong you want it) I like 3/4 tsp

10 crushed candy canes

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 pan with foil.

Spread out the dark chocolate chips over the foil and put in oven until melted.

Spread out the melted chips into an even layer.

Cool in the fridge while making the next layer.

Crush the candy canes so they are ready.

Using a double boiler, melt the white chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Add in the peppermint extract.

Quickly pour the melted white chocolate mixture onto the dark chocolate layer that was in the fridge.

Top with the crushed candy canes.

Put back into the fridge until set.

Break into pieces.

Once set, I like to put it into a large ziploc type bag and bang it against the counter to break it.



Date Nut Balls

This is one of our favorite Christmas Cookies and they are super easy to make!

1 pound box of chopped dates
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups rice krispie cereal
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 1/2 cup coconut, divided

Combine the dates, sugar and eggs in a heavy sauce pan on the stove. Mix well, and bring to a boil over med to medium high heat. Boil for about 8 minutes stirring to prevent scorching.

When done, remove from heat and add in the cereal, nuts and about half of the coconut. Stir well, then let cool for a few minutes until you can handle the mixture.

Once cool enough to handle, roll the mixture into balls firmly pressing the dough together. Roll balls into the remaining coconut, and set on wax paper to cool.

Chili

This recipe is a delicious blend of sweet and hot, and the corn gives it a little extra color and texture.

1 Pound Ground Beef
1 small oniond, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 jalepeno, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato juice
1 can chili beans
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Cumin
Salt and Pepper
pinch Cayenne Pepper

Brown the ground beef in a large pot on the stove and chop up finely (by the way, the pampered chef meat chopper works great).  Season with salt and pepper. While the meat is cooking, dice all of your veggies pretty small. When the meat is done, add in the diced veggies. Let this cook for 10 minutes or so. Then add in the rest of the ingredients (except the corn) and let simmer for 2 to 3 hours for best results.

I like to add the corn in just the last 30 minutes or so for a fresher taste.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and green onion.

Enchiladas

We Love Mexican food and find that it is an easy meal that can be made at home anytime.

Meat:

1 pound ground beef

2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

Sauce:

1 16 ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon minced dried onion flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

salt and pepper

Extras:

Flour Tortillas

Spanish Rice

Refried Beans

Quacamole

Sour Cream

Salsa

Garnish:

Lettuce

Onion

Tomato

Shredded Cheese

Method:

Brown the ground beef in a hot pan on the stove crumbling meat up so it is fine.  Add in the spices and add water as needed if it gets dry.  Cover and let simmer on low heat while making the rest of the dish.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan on the stove and heat to a boiling, then reduce heat and simmer while making the rest of the dish.

Make your spanish rice and refired beans so they are also ready for the dinner.

Dice the onion and tomato, shred the cheddar cheese, slice thinly the lettuce for garnish.

Heat up the flour tortillas in the microwave for 15 seconds to loosen them up a bit.

You are now ready to assemble each plate!

For each plate, take a flour tortilla, put the meat mixture in the center of it and roll it up. Put a scoop of spanish rice and a scoop of refried beans next to the rolled up tortilla. Cover liberally with the sauce. Garnish with onions and cheese. Put the plate in the microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Garnish with tomato, lettuce, guacomole and salsa, and serve.

If you don't have a can of refried beans, use a can of pinto beans and mash them up with some finely diced onion and garlic. 



Frog Eyed Salad

This is an old northern recipe that I have made often for parties and potlucks and everyone loves it!  The picture does not do it justice here.  It is not too sweet and goes with everything.

1/2 package of Acini Di Pepe Pasta
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 15 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained, SAVE the JUICE
1 15 ounce can fruit cocktail, drained, DRINK the JUICE
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 container coolwhip or whipped cream
Maraschino Cherries

Cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, beat the egg until foamy, and add in the sugar, flour, salt and reserved pineapple juice. Cook this over low heat, stirring until thick and bubbly.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta with the egg mixture. Mix well, and then chill thoroughly, about an hour will do.  Stir in pineapple, fruit cocktail and mini marshmallows, then fold in the whipped cream. Cover and chill thoroughly.

You can add extra maraschino cherries if you like, and even use some of the cherry juice for added color.

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Stock

This year we brined a turkey for Thanksgiving. The brine recipe we used called for Vegetable Stock, so I thought this would be a perfect time to experiment and make our own stock. It turned out great. The vegetables smelled so good as they were roasting. You could use this as a base for soup too!

Heat oven to 400.

Wash and peel your vegetables thoroughly, unless they are organic.

Cut into chunks and put in a big bowl:

2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 large green onions
2 onions
8 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
6 cloves garlic

Once all of the veggies are cut up in the big bowl, than drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread out in a large baking pan and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

When done, remove from oven and pour the pan of veggies into a big soup pot on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the pan you used to roast with and scrape up the yummy brown bits and put that into the soup pot too.

Add 14 to 16 cups of water to the soup pot. Add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 4 fresh parsley sprigs, and 3 fresh thyme sprigs.

Bring to a boil, then simmer about 1 hour.  Strain when done.

Kale Frittata

This was one of thee best egg dishes I have had, and even surpasses my all time fav, my mexican omelet!

5 extra large eggs
2 kale leaves, steam lightly
1 red pepper, roasted, then diced
1 large green onion, roasted, then sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesian cheese
salt and pepper

Heat the grill so it is hot to roast the red pepper and green onion.

Preheat the oven to 350 while preparing the dish.

Once the grill is ready, char the red pepper and green onion.  When the pepper is done put it in a medium size bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about 10 minutes. Then wipe away the char and dice the red pepper up. Dice up the charred green onion too.

Meanwhile, cut the kale into bite size pieces, and lighly steam it for about 5 to 7 minutes.

When the veggies are ready, start on the eggs:

Heat a 10 inch skillet on the stove top, and melt a dab of butter in it. Wisk up the eggs with a little bit of water and a dab of milk or cream if desired. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the beaten eggs into the hot pan and cook for a few minutes to set up, then add in the steamed kale, minced garlic, charred and diced green onion and red pepper, and top with the grated cheese.

Put the pan in the preheated oven and cook until eggs are set, about 10 to 15 minutes. We slice into wedges and serve country style right from the pan.

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Leftover Taco Salad

We love mexican food and eat it once a week and we always have leftover taco meat and refried beans.

While we usually will use the leftover meat in my Mexican Omelet, I also love putting the leftover taco fixings on a salad.

So here I had leftover spinach and lettuce from last week that makes a nice bed. Then I did reheat the taco meat and refried beans and put them on top of the bed of greens.  I topped with chopped onion, tomato, and avacado.  For a salad  dressing I use homemade salsa. Most of the boughten ones have either sugar or corn syrup in them.

As a side note, the night you have tacos, if you want to avoid glutten, then switch to the corn tortillas instead of the flour ones. They also have less calories....Of course when you fry them in oil you put some back in!

Glazed Ham with Pineapple

Start with a 10 pound ham with the bone in. Remove the ham from the package and rinse it. Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Line a shallow baking dish with foil. Place the ham on the foil lined pan and bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.

While the ham is baking, make the glaze (adapted from Bobby Flay)

Glaze:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup honey
1/3 cup dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 Tablespoon orange zest
juice of 1/2 orange

Mix all ingredients well.

After the ham has baked for the first 1 1/2 hours, remove the ham from the oven and brush with glaze. Return the ham to the oven, and then baste every 30 minutes for the next 1 1/2 hours. During the last hour, put the pineapple rings on the ham and secure with tooth picks.

Total baking time is about 3 hours for a 10 pound ham.

When the ham is done, remove from the oven, cover loosely with foil and let rest for a bit before slicing.

After slicing the ham, Save the bone for bean soup...this is the reason we make the ham in the first place, just for the bone and bean soup later in the week. You can freeze the bone in a large zipper bag if you don't want to make the soup this week.

Organizing your Greens

Since I have been juicing I have noticed it takes up a lot of space and have come up with a system that seems to work pretty well.

This morning again I was at the store to get Kale and Cukes. Depending in the selection I will buy enough for one or two days worth of juicing and eating. Any more than a couple of days worth and you run the risk of not getting it used up before it starts to go soft.

I have re-arranged my kitchen so I have a little assembly line going and it works out great.

First off I like to wash/scrub the veggies in the sink, then they go to the strainer to drip dry, and from there on to the kitchen towel to air dry.

I use a big bowl for the parsley and kale, and let them each soak in the water for awhile. You will be amazed at the dirt that is in the bottom of the bowl!

Once the Parsley and Kale are dried, I wrap them in paper towels and then put them into a large zipper bag and put them in the fridge. The Kale doesn't fit entirely in the bag, but that is okay, it still seems to remain crisp. If I have lots of Kale, then after washing and drying it, I just roll it up in a clean kitchen towel and put it in the bottom drawer of the fridge, and it will stay crisp for several days.

The Cukes just go in the drawer in the fridge, along with the green apples, celery and lemons.

Here is to your Health.  Stay Organized, Stay Clean, and Stay Green!

Chicken Penne

This was THE BEST Chicken Penne that I have ever had.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast cubed

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 box penne pasta, cooked

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

1 cup pasta water reserved from cooking pasta

1 roasted red pepper

2 T capers

1 1/2 cup grated parmisian cheese

2 T chopped fresh parley

1/2 lemon, juice and zest

You do have to multi task for this recipe, but it does go pretty quickly once you have everything underway.

Start the pasta water to get the pasta cooking.

Fire up the grill, and put the red bell pepper on it to get it roasted.

Heat a big cast iron pan on the stove, add a drizzle of olive oil. Cut the chicken into bite size cubes, and add to the oil, and season with salt and pepper. (We use a splatter screen to control the splatter.)

Meanwhile mince the garlic, chop the sun dried tomatoes and parsley, grate the cheese, zest and juice the lemon so you have everything ready for when the chicken is done.

So now, everything is underway, and while you monitor the pepper, pasta, and chicken you can start on the sauce too. 

For the Sauce: Heat a medium size pan on the stove top and melt the butter, add in the flour, and season with salt and pepper. Let this cook while stirring, being careful not to burn it, just let it cook for a few minutes, then add in the milk and continue to cook, until think and creamy.  Add in 3/4 cup of the grated parmisian cheese, and as much of the reserved pasta water as needed so the sauce isn't too think.

When the pasta is done, drain the water reserving 1 cup.

When the pepper is charred, remove from the grill and put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

By this time the chicken should be done, add in the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, capers, parlsey, and lemon juice...Good time to deglaze the pan with some good white wine.

Peel the char from the roasted red pepper, then chop the pepper, and add it to the chicken mixture. Add in the pan of sauce, and the pasta and mix everything together. Top with the remaining 3/4 cup grated parmisian cheese and garnish with parsley.

Enjoy with white wine....The wine that we forgot to add to the dish...Next time it will go in to deglaze the pan!

Serve with garlic toast...This dish was just as good reheated the next day.  To Reheat: put leftovers in a pan with a few tablespoons of water, cover, and re-heat in the oven until hot all the way through.

So Good.

Mocha Frappe

My new toy, the Ninja Blender, is awesome. I highly recommend it for crushing ice to make these great coffee drinks!

about 3 big handfulls of ice cubes
1 heaping teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 cup water
1 cup milk
1 packet stevia or sugar
1 Tablespoon chocolate syrup
Whipped cream

Measure about 1/2 cup of water into a cup and dissolve the instant coffee into it. Add in the sugar or stevia and mix well.

Put the ice in the blender, add in the dissolved coffee, and the milk and the chocolate syrup. Blend well, then check it for sweetness and consistency and adjust if necessary.

Pour into glasses, top with whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. And indulge!

Eggs with Kale and Red Pepper

My beautiful and health concsious niece Stacy gave me the suggestion to wilt some kale and red pepper with eggs. I gave it a try and it was really, really good! I think this may become one of my favorite meals.

For a single serving I used:

2 eggs
2 handfulls of kale, cut into bites size peices
1/4 of a fresh red pepper diced
salt, pepper, and tumeric

Saute the rep pepper and kale in a tiny bit of oil or non stick spray just so they are warmed up a bit.

Add in the 2 eggs and scramble in with the kale and red pepper. Add salt, pepper, and tumeric.

Turmeric is believed to be a powerful anti-inflammatory in both the Chinese and Indian systems of medicine.

I only used a good sprinkle of tumeric the first time, but will add more next time.

Enjoy!

Not So Boring Salad

If you are like me and eating salads everyday, you can get bored with them really quickly unless you change it up a bit. So here is what I do to keep them exciting. I usually just go through the fridge and anything leftover is fair game. Sometimes it's a leftover taco meat salad, and sometimes it is just a mix of tons of different veggies, like this one with shredded beets and fennel, then topped with toasted almonds!

Start with a bed of lettuce, spinach, and/or kale and then start adding:
Cucumber, diced
tomato, diced
avacado, diced
green onion, sliced
beets, grated
fennel, very finely sliced
brocoli, cut into bite size pieces
topped with nuts, today is sliced almonds, toast for a more nuttier flavor

Top it all with a home made vinagrette and voila! You have a bright and slightly different salad.

Cindy's Kitchen Essentials

Here is my list of Must Haves in the kitchen for to get the best out of your veggies:

Cutting Board, vegetable peeler, knife, brush for scrubbing veggies and juicer
Salad Spinner
Steamer
Juicer
Canning Jars with lids

The salad spinner is one of my favorites kitchen essentials...You can was all sorts of greens in it and then also use it to store them. They will easily stay crisp and yummy for a week in the fridge.

If you make extra green juice you will want to make sure you save it in a canning jar with a tight fitting lid on it. Also fill the jar up to the top with juice so there is no room for air. And drink it the same day if possible.

When you need a break from all of the raw veggies and to mix it up a bit, try steaming them. It is best to just lightly steam them, try for maybe 5 or 10 minutes depending on the vegetable. You don't want to cook them to death.

And remember if the produce is not organic, then peel it so you are not ingesting the pesticides.

Enjoy your Greens, and Purples, and Oranges, and anything brightly colored!

What to do with a bag of Kale?

Almost every day I go out to get fresh Kale to make my daily Green Juice. One day I could not find the fresh stalks of Kale, the store only had these bags of kale cut into bit size pieces. It seemed like a great option, so I did purchase it.

I learned a great lesson on that day:  Do not put small pieces of greens into a centrifical force juicer unless you want to use it as wallpaper!

I really should have taken a picture of the kitchen after that as it was really funny...Good thing I love my other new toy which is a floor steamer!

A really good use of the bagged Kale is to Steam it in the Vegetable Steamer.  I love mine and you can see it peeking out form behind the bag of kale on the counter. 

Put a couple of big handfulls of kale in the steamer as it really cooks down.  Steam the kale for about 10 minutes.  When it is done, I like to sprinkle the kale with Red Wine Vinegar and Salt and Pepper. My hubby likes to eat his steamed kale with Butter, Salt and Pepper.

So there you have it, a yummy, good for you, no mess way to eat that big bag of Kale!

Juicing Kale vs Collard Greens

This is the huge pile of collard greens I bought today for less than $3.00.  I usually only get between 4 and 5 leaves of kale for $1.69 so this seemed like great deal...then I thought I better do some research on it.

Everyday I go to the grocery store to get my fix of Kale, and each day I could see the same few bunches dwindle down after I took my bunch from the bin. Yesterday I took the best of the last two bunches as the other bunch was only a couple of tiny little leaves, very puny.  And today, that was the only choice so I thought I would go to another store to check out their supply.

When I got there they didn't even carry the leafy green goodness, they only had the bags of kale that are prewashed and cut into bite size pieces which is great for eating, but horrible for the juicer.

They did have a ton of collard greens and they seem to be so cheap, I could get a huge bunch of the green stuff for less than $3.00 so I thought, well it is green and leafy I will give it a try.

I purchased it and took it home and washed it up and juiced it and it turned out great. The taste was good and it worked great in the juicer so I thought WOW I am really on to something here. Then I wondered why I don't hear any thing about collard greens so I decided to do a bit of research before I got too excited and here is what I found out about the two greens.

I can't seem to find anything negative about the kale other than it is high in vitamin K.  For the collard greens though there were a couple of negatives. It too is high in Vitamin K, but in addition, it is high in oxalic acid which could be an issue for people suffering from oxalate kidney stones. As it turns out, spinich is also high in oxalic acid. The other issue is that the collard greens may contain goitrogens which may cause swelling of the thyroid gland insome people. 

So the bottom line for me is since I don't know enough about this oxalic acid and kidney stones and the possible issue with the thyroid, I am going to stick to the kale for now with no negative issues to report.

I hope you find this helpful and are juicing to your health!

Healthier Chicken Chili

For the past month or so I have been eating mostly raw foods, but today I had the itch to cook something and  since it is a fall day it seemed fitting to make chili. I got an idea to make this chili with a chicken stock base rather than with a tomato base. And I loved it. Hope you do too.

1 whole chicken
2 ears corn on the cob
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
2 stalks celery
1/2 large onion
1 clove garlic
1 jalepeno
1/2 can diced green chili's
1 green onion - for garnish
6 cups homemade chicken stock  or low sodium if you buy it
3 ounces tomato paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

Heat a large pot on the stove, and swirl in a little olive oil. Dice up the red and green pepper, celery, onion, garlic, and jalepeno and add them to the pot. Let these cook down a bit for 10 minutes or so, then add in the spices, brown sugar, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, green chilis, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, then partially cover and let simmer for a couple of hours so the flavors can cook down and concentrate.

Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry the chicken and place it in a shallow baking pan. Put a little oil and lots of salt and pepper on the chicken and roast in the oven on 350 for 1 1/2 hours.  When the chicken is done, let cool a bit, then remove the meat.  I actually saved part of the breast meat for lunch tomorrow.

Husk the corn and roast it on the grill until nicely charred. Let cool so that you can handle it. Then cut the corn from the cob.

Add in the pinto beans, chicken and corn and simmer another 30 minutes or so until flavors are well blended.

Serve with green onion, sour cream, and cheese (if you are still eating dairy).

Enjoy, and let me know if you like this recipe!

To Peel or Not to Peel?

That is the question.

I am talking about juicing of course and whether or not you should peel your veggies. Well here's the scoop, if your veggies are not organic then you do want to peel them because of the levels of pesticides that they contain.

Since most of the veggies that you would use to make a Green Juice are on the EWG's Dirty Dozen meaning they are the worst offenders for having the most residue from pesticides found on them, it is really a good idea to spend the extra money and go organic if at all possible.
Some of the The Clean 15 also defined by the EWG as having the lowest amounts of pesticides found in them are onions, sweet corn, pineapples, avacado, and cabbage. To see their complete list visit their website at: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/
Even though it seems scary that we are eating these foods with some pesticide residue on them, the benefits of comsuming them far out way the benefits of avoiding them because of the pesticides.

When you cannot find the Organic ones, then make sure to wash your fruits and veggies really, really good, and then peel them too.

Always opt for Organic when you can find them, they are worth the extra money.

WE ARE ALL WORTH IT!

Go pH Green!

This is a great way to start your day and a good pick-me-up for the mid afternoon too.  When I first started making Green Juice I just assumed it got it's name from the color of the veggies since they are all green.

As it turns out there is acually a pH scale for all of the foods we eat and how they rank in terms of acidic and alkaline. I had no idea, this is new to me...and some of the foods that I thought would be acidic, like say a lemon on more on the alkaline end, and a ripe banana is more acidic.

What I do know and am learning is the more alkaline foods we eat the better we will feel. And once you start to introduce them into your diet, you will crave more of them.

Cancers and other diseases thrive on living in bodies with a high acidic level. Most fast food and processed foods will fall into the more acidic range on the scale, where as most vegetables fall in the more alkaline range.

The highly acidic foods are Coffee, Sweetened Fruit Juice, Black Tea, Liquor, Beer, and Artificial Sweetners. These are foods that should be avoided if possible.

Since I have been eating the more alkaline foods I have lost a little weight, and have no pain from arthritus any more. And I have just begun, so I can't wait to see where this leads my body after a longer period of time.

My Juicer!

Not a recipe today, but wanted to show you the juicer I am using and loving, incase you are inspired by the green juice I posted yesterday.

This is a centrifical force juicer and so they say you should drink the juice within 15 to 20 miutes of making it before it starts to lose some of the nutrients. I usually make a pitcher full and then put the remainder in a canning jar with a tight fitting lid and drink it later in the day, and that works well for me.

This juicer works well and it super easy to clean when done. And it sure beats the blender which is what I used the first time I attempted to 'Juice'...it ended up more like a thick and chunky green goo of goodness...but it was not easy to drink and I actually kind of had to eat it with a spoon....After I had already made my green drink in the blender, then I did the research on how to use a blender, and it turns out that you need to put the cucumbers in first and add some water to make it liquidy enough so that when you add your kale and other ingredients it will blend easily.  So I offer that tip to those of you who want to try the green juice with your blender.

I hope you will juice today!

Green Juice

I have been experimenting with my juicer and love this green drink!

1 handful kale, maybe 4 leaves
2 cucumbers (peeled if not organic)
1 green apple
1/2 lemon peeled
1 stalk celery
1 handful parsley

Put everything into the juicer and enjoy. This makes enough for one glass in the morning, then I save the rest in a canning jar with tight fitting lid.

The green apple makes it sweet and the celery gives it the salty taste.

Modified from the green and pink cleanse guide @ owning pink.com

Bean Soup with Egg Dumplings

Bean soup was something that I had never considered until just a few years ago, it just never sounded like something good. My husband talked about it occasionally and I just blew it off. Then one day I thought I'm getting tired of making split pea soup with the ham bone, so I decided to give it a try.  And that was it, I became a lover of bean soup. As an added benefit, it is pretty healthy too. You don't have to do the dumplings, but I gotta say, I do love em!
Soup:
2 pounds of smoked ham hocks or a ham bone
3 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 bay leaf
1 pound dry northern beans, rinsed
1 32 ounce carton of chicken stock
water
salt and pepper

Dumplings:
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons chives
3/4 cup flour

For the soup, heat a large pot on the stove top, and drizzle with oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add your chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add in the ham hocks or the ham bone, pour in the stock, and then add enough water to cover the bone. Add the bay leaf, beans, salt and pepper. The amount of salt will depend on how salty the ham bone is and how salty the chicken stock is. So start with less and add more if needed.

Bring the soup to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for about 3 to 4 hours until the beans are tender.  Remove the ham hocks or soup bone to make room for the dumplings.

To make the dumplings;
beat the eggs in a small bowl, add in the salt and pepper and the chives, then add in flour a scoup at a time and mix with a fork. The batter will be thick. Drop by spoon fulls over the soup and cook for about 15 minutes.  These dumplings are kind of hard (which we like for bean soup), they are not soft and fluffy like some dumplings are, but they are soo good!

What kind of dumplings do you prefer?

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This makes a nice big pan of yummy stuff!  I love the combination of sweet and sour of the sauce and usually make a piece of toast to sop up all of the juice. We serve this dish over brown rice, or you could use white rice too.

2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
1 16 ounce can pineapple chunks, drain and save the juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chunked
1 red bell pepper, chunked
1 onion, chunked
3 ribs celery, sliced
3 to 4 carrots, sliced
1/4 cups white vinegar
1/4 cups brown sugar
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Heat your heavy Orange cast iron pan on the stove top and add a drizzle of oil to coat the pan. Put in your bite size pieces of chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until done, then remove and set aside, cover with foil so it stays warm.

Add more oil to your pan, and add in all of the chopped vegetables and garlic at once.  I use a medium heat and only cook them for a bout 5 to 10 minutes so they are not mush, i like a bite to them.

While your vegies are cooking, make the sauce:
Drain the pineapple juice into a medium bowl, and add in the cornstarch stiring until smooth. Then add in the vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, and ginger to the bowl. Let sit until the veggies are done.

When the veggies are done to your liking (about ten minutes of cooking for me)  add in the pinapple chunks so they can get warmed up, and add the chicken back in to the same big pan.

Pour the liquid mixture into the pan on top of everything and cook until the sauce thickens, which just takes a couple of minutes.

Serve over rice with a side of toast.

Grilled Salmon and Seared Salad

This was a fabulous meal....It will make you want to eat at home every night!  The salad recipe I actually got from Chef Michael Chiarello...I thought it would go great with our salmon and it did.

For the Salmon:
1 cedar plank
1 large piece of salmon
glaze
salt and pepper

Glaze:
4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup bourbon

Seared Salad:
2 hearts of romaine halved (leave on the bottom stem to hold lettuce in place)
1 avacado cut in halve, pit removed
2 roma tomatoes, cut in half
grated parmesian cheese
Olive oil
sald and pepper

Let the cedar plank soak in water so it doesn't burn on the grill.

Heat the grill.

Make the glaze by combining ingredients and let simmer until thick.

Put the salmon on the cedar plank and put on the grill to cook the salmon. 

When the salmon is almost done start the lettuce and veggies as they will only take a bout 2 minutes to cook.

To prepare the veggies, but everything in half and put on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with lots of sea salt and pepper.  Put on the grill and turn when needed to sear both sides. Remove and put on a big platter, grate some parmesian cheese over the veggies while warm, and serve family style.  Serve the warm salad with an avacado dressing.

Margarita Pizza

Okay, this was thee best margarita pizza I have ever had, no kidding, you have got to try this!

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and just let it heat while you are prepping everything, it needs to heat for about 30 minutes or so. Also place your pizza stone in the oven to heat as well.  I have the pampered chef pizza stone and it works great, I do love it!

1 ball of pizza dough (I used dough from the grocery store) you can make your own too
2 roma tomatoes, sliced
Olive Oil
salt and Pepper
10 leaves fresh basil
1 package fresh motzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Put the pizza dough on waxed paper on the counter and allow it to come to room tempurature.  Slice the roma tomatoes, and the cheese into thin slices. Chop garlic very finely. Roll up the basil leaves 3 or 4 at a time and slice thinly.  Set all ingredients aside.

When the dough is room temp, toss it between your hands, or somehow get it patted, pulled, or rolled out to fit your pizza stone. I like to toss it between my hands to loosed it up. Then grabbing the edge of the dough, keep turning it quickly and it will stretch out.  Once it gets to the desired size then you are ready to go.

Remove the hot pizza stone from the oven carefully. Put the dough that is now the same size as your pizza stone on it.  Prick the dough with a fork and put back in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes.

Remove the stone and pizza and start to build the pizza.  Drizzle Olive oil and spread with a brush so the dough is covered with a light coating of oil. Sprinkle heavily with sea salt and pepper. Next arrange the motzarella slices on the dough, then the tomatoes, and garlic, then top with the basil.

Put back into the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until done.

I do believe the heated stone is the secret for success on this one, enjoy!

What is your favorite kind of pizza?

Brown Rice and Vegetables

It was the end of the week and I wanted to clean out the fridge, so I used all of the leftover vegetables and came up with this dish. It was soo good and healthy I will make it again soon.

For the Rice:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
salt
oil

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a pan and add in the rice. Let cook just for a minute, then add in the water and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes till done.

For the Vegetables:
1 zuchini
2 cups mushrooms
3 green onions
3 carrots
2 garlic cloves
1 roma tomato, chopped

Heat 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil in a large pan on the stove top. Chop all vegetables, and add to pan and cook. Sprinkly generously with Celery Salt, and Pepper. I do like my vegetables al dente, but cook them how you like.  When the rice and the vegetables are both done, mix them together, and add in the chopped roma tomato.

This is a Good Gluten Free Dish, and it is also good served room temperature. I made extra and had it for lunch a few days and it was a nice break from my usual soups and salads.

How do you love your brown rice?

Grilled Potato Wedges

We made these flavorful potatoes on the grill and served them with cheeseburgers and salad and it was a great combination. It was satisfying goodness.

Potatoes:
5 to 6 red potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic Powder

Wash the potatoes, but do not peel them. Put the whole potatoes in a pot of cold water and boil for about 10 minutes. We are only par-boiling these as they will finish cooking on the grill.  When done, Drain the potatoes, and let cool slightly. Cut each potato in half, then slice each half into thirds to get 6 wedges out of each potato.  Put the wedges on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and liberally season with Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Powder. Put the potatoes on the grill turning as they cook so each side is browned. They will take about 15 minutes total.  These would be great with a dipping sauce too!

What color of potato do you like the best, Red or Gold?

Salad with Roasted Walnuts and Warm Balsamic Dressing

I love the idea of a warmed salad dressing and this one came out great!  I did not want to use the standard warm dressing with bacon, although that would be fabulous, bacon is an ingredient I try to avoid.

Dressing:
1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely diced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 to 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Heat pan on stove top and add in the 1/2 Tablesppon Olive oil, Saute the garlic and shallot until soft, maybe 5 minutes or so.  Add in the balsamic vinegar and let cook down about 5 minutes. Add in the honey and dijon, and continue to cook another few minutes on low heat.  Remove from heat and pour dressing into a small bowl, then wisk in remaining Olive Oil....I like less oil so only used about 2 Tablespoons at the end instead of 1/4 cup.

For the Salad:
Tear Romain or Green Leaf Lettuce into bite size pieces into a big bowl, add in the chopped roma tomatoes, 1 sliced hard boiled egg, crumbed cheddar cheese, dried cranberries, and roasted walnuts.

To roast the walnuts, heat a small pan on the stove top and add the walnuts. Cook on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes watching them so they don't burn. You can tell they are done when they start to smell really good. You can also taste one to see if they have gotten that roasted flavor yet.  When done, throw the nuts into the salad. If you do the nuts first, then let them cool in a bowl, and not the pan they were heated in.

These roasted nuts combined with the warm balsamic dressing was a great combination!

Do you have a favorite warm salad dressing?

Shrimp, Brown Rice and Black Bean Tacos

Initially I was looking for a new recipe for Shrimp, so I found one that used Tequilla and Beer, and then started to modify it...Well this is what happened, we ended up making soft shell tacos out of all of the components and it was pretty good...the only thing it was missing some crunch so we got out the tortilla chips to solve that problem.  Eating it this way, I'm not sure that I could taste the beer and/or tequilla in the shrimp, but it was very tastey!  The beer and the flour tortilla have gluten and so will exclude both of those elements next time.  Love, Love the Brown Rice and will make more of that!

Since the Brown Rice takes the longest time to cook, start that first, then get the shrimp marinating. Then go on to getting the rest of the meal made.

Rice:
1/2 cup brown rice (or more if you want to serve more people)
1/2 Tablespoon Olive oil
1 jalepeno
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil in a pan, add 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 chopped jalepeno, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, just give it a couple of minutes to start browning, then add in your chicken stock or water about 1 cup should do it. Turn down the heat, cover and let simmer about 30 minutes till done. When done, add in the juice of 1/2 lime and some chopped cilantro.

Shrimp:
1 pound extra large shrimp, cleaned
1/4 cup beer
1/4 cup tequilla
juice from 1 lime
cilantro
4 clove garlic
1 jalepeno

Put the shrimp and 1/8 cup beer. 1/8 cup tequila, juice from 1/2 lime, 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro, 1 jalepeno chopped finely, and 1 minced garlic clove in a zipper bag and marinate the shrimp for no more than 20 minutes.

Heat your pan to medium to medium high heat, adding a drizzle of olive oil, cook the shrimp a couple of minutes, then turn. Add in the remaining 1/8 cup beer and 1/8 cup tequilla, juice form 1/2 lime, 3 cloves of garlic minced, salt and pepper, and more cilantro to the pan. Remove the shrimp when they are done, and let the sauce cook a couple of minutes more.  To serve, put the shrimp in a bowl and pour the sauce over it.

Condiments:
Can of Black Beans
Sliced Avacado
Grated Pepper Jack Cheese
Diced Roma Tomato

Heat up a can of black beans on the stove so they can be heated through when the shrimp are done.

Warm the flour shells for a minute so they are easier to wrap. Then add in a spoon of brown rice, a spoon of black beans, avacado, tomato, cheese, and top with about 3 shrimp.  These are very creamy with the avacado and the black beans, simply delish!

I am a now a fan of Brown Rice, are you?

Grilled Chicken and Zuchini

Hmm, the yellow plate was a bad idea...beyond that the chicken and zuchini were great!  We love to grill and to eat chicken and find that we are always looking for new ways to fix the chicken on the grill.
I am finding that marinating the chicken is a great place to infuse different flavors into the chicken.

Since we had some Salsa Verde leftover from another meal, we marinated the chicken in the salsa verde all afternoon, and then grilled it. We served some of the salsa verde on the side for a dipping sauce too.

You can find the Salsa Verde recipe on the blog from an erlier recipe!

This is what we did for the zuchini:

3 medium zuchini
olive oil
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

Wash the zuchini and slice them lengthwise. spread them out on a baking pan so you can drizzle with a little oil and season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders.  Put these on the grill right before the chicken is done, or when the chicken is resting, as it doesn't take very long. Flip over when they start to brown on one side.  My daughters like to add butter and parmesian cheese to the zuchini when done which tastes great!

We also had some leftover Mango Salsa, and I thought it was fabulous with that too!  It added more of a sweetness that went really well with the spicy from the salsa verde.

Do you have a favorite marinade or salsa?

Spinach and Strawberry Salad

This is the salad that was featured with the blackened fish we had the other day, and I just realized I didn't post the recipe for the salad.

Since we usually have strawberries and right now blueberries in the fridge, I thought it would be good to find a use for them other than just eating them as a snack.

Salad:
1 bag spinach
handfull of strawberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
1 green onion

Dressing:
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey

Put the spinach in a big bowl. Clean the strawberries, slice and add to the spinach. Slice the green onion and also add it to the bowl. 

Heat the sliced almonds in a pan on the stove top until slightly browned, careful not to burn them. When done add them into the salad and top with sesame seeds. Mix everything together.

In a small bowl, mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and honey together and drizzle over the salad just before you are going to eat it.  I probably used about 1 to 2 Tablespoon of each for a small salad. Taste as you go and add more of what you like. I just make the dressing as needed so it is fresh each time.

I love fruit in my salad, and will make more of this type of salads. Do you like fruit in your salad, or just veggies?

Blackened Fish with Mango Salsa

Wow, it seems to make such a difference of how I feel based on what I eat!  Tonight we ate completely healthy and delicious food. Blackened Fish with Mango Salsa and a Spinach and Strawberry Salad. The food was really good, and I feel really good about what I just put into my body!

Fish
Talapia
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Paprika
Dash - Cayenne

Make sure the fish is thawed out. If you buy it frozen and individually wrapped, you can put the packets in cold water and it will thraw out in no time at all.

Heat a little oil in a large pan, preferrable cast iron. While the oil is heating season both sides of the fish liberally with salt, pepper, garlic, onion and paprika, then just a dash of cayenne. Put the fish in the pan and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes depending on size. Flip the fish once and finish cooking.  Don't play with it, just let it cook. You can also grill it.

Mango Salsa
1 Mango - chopped finely
2 green onions sliced thin
1/2 to 1 jalepeno - diced
1/2 to 3/4 red bell pepper
juice from 1 lime
splash of red wine vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cilantro

Mix all ingredients and let set for the flavors to combine. This is really good on almost anything, and we did actually eat it on hot dogs one day! Some times I will use salsa instead of a salad dressing on my salads.

What do you eat salsa on?

Potatoes and Green Beans on the grill

We love these easy potatoes and green beans that are made on the grill. 

4 to 5 red potatoes
2 cups fresh green beans
1 to2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
salt and pepper to taste
oil and butter
foil

Wash the red potatoes, then cut in half, and slice them. Wash and trim the grean beans, and cut into pieces. Chop the onion finely, and mince the garlic. Put the potatoes, beans, onion, and garlic in a big bowl and drizzle with a little bit of oil and season with salt and pepper. Tear off a big sheet of foil (the heavy duty works best), you may need two sheets if it is the light weight foil. Put the foil on an old baking pan, turn up the edges of the foil about an inch all the way around so it looks like you have a baking pan made of foil.

Pour out the potatoe mixture on top of the foil, and pour in a little bit of water, about 1/4 cup, and dot with chunks of butter. Cover the potatoes with another piece of foil and put on the grill on low heat for 1/2 hour, checking for moisture after 15 minutes. You may or may not need to add more water during the process as it is important to keep moisture in the foil packet.

BBQ Sauce

I didn't take a picture of the actual sauce, but this is the sauce that we used for the BBQ ribs we made over the weekend and posted yesterday.  Although we make lots of different bbq sauces, this is our go-to sauce as you don't need anything special and we usually have all of these ingredients on hand in the pantry.

1 small onion
2 to 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teasopoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 Tablespoons Worstershire
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 small can tomato sauce (8 ounce)
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup water

Heat a pan on the stove top, and swirl in a little bit of oil. Chop the onion pretty finely and then add it to the pan. Saute the onion until soft, then add the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for 30 minutes or so.

For us, it provides just the right blend of heat and sweet....Hope you enjoy this too!

BBQ Ribs

After a week long vacation we returned home and were hungry for some good ole BBQ so my husband made these ribs that were perfect....we like them a little sweet and a little hot, and done so they fall off the bone. These were just that!

Chuck's BBQ Rub:
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoon Paprika
2 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayanne
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon celery salt

Mix the rub together in a small bowl until all spices are blended well.  Depending on how many racks of ribs, you may have leftover rub, so just save the rest for next time.  We had 4 small racks, and it was a great plenty.

Trim the ribs slightly, we like to keep the membrane on to hold them together...Rub the ribs with the dry rub on both sides and then put back in the fridge for an hour or two, or even overnight....When you are ready to cook the ribs, preheat the grill to 250 to 275 degrees.

Place the ribs on the grill so they are cooking with indirect heat for about 4 hours, checking the heat to make sure it stays consistant.  After 4 hours, Remove the ribs from the grill and wrap them in aluminum foil with a little bit of pineapple or apple juice for moisture.  Put the foil wrapped ribs back on the grill for another hour.

After the hour has passed, remove the ribs from the foil and slather them with bbq sauce letting them cook on the grill until the sauce has heated up and they are lusciously sticky, maybe about 30 nminutes or so.

Then Enjoy!

We also make our own BBQ Sauce and will post that recipe as well as the potatoe side dish we love to eat with our ribs.

Tacos

1 pound ground beef
salt and pepper
1 to 2 Tablespoons Chili powder
1 teaspoon minced onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
flour shells
oil for frying
chopped onion
grated cheese
chopped lettuce
fresh salsa
fresh salsa verde
can of refried beans

Fry the hamburger in a pan on the stove, when it is brown add in your salt, pepper, and chili powder, onion flakes, and garlic powder (or you can purchase taco seasoning).  Meanwhile heat the can of refried beans in another small pan on the stove.

Chop your tomatoes, onions and lettuce. Grate the cheese.
This is a good time to make the salsa verde and the fresh salsa and you can find both of these recipes earlier on the blog!

Once the meat is ready, let it simmer while you fry the shells.  To make the shells, heat some oil in a shallow pan over med to med high heat. Fold the shell in half and fry each side in the oil until crispy. I use a spatula to hold one end down in the oil and the other end up to hold it's shape. Drain the shells on paper towels.

When all the shells are fried, spread the shell with the refried beans, put a heap of the taco meat on it, top with little onion, cheese, and lettuce. Add on your salsa verde and fresh salsa (I love to use both). This is over the top good!

I will be on vacation for the next week so there won't be any new posts till I get back next week!

Salsa Verde

We went to Epcot last weekend and ate in Mexico, and I was inspried by the salsa verde sauce and so I gave it a try. This is my first attempt at the Salsa Verde and I do think it turned out pretty well!  I may make a few minor adjustments next time, but for now, here goes: 

1 pound tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 jalepeno pepper chopped
1 Teaspoon Cilantro
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Salt
Black Pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
juice from 1 and 1/2 limes

Peel, wash and chop tomatillos. Place in a medium pot to cook on the stove.  Add in the onion, garlic and jalepeno and spices. Pour in the chicken stock.  Mine was a tiny bit runny so would decrease the liquid next time.  Pring to a boil and then turn down and simmer for about 15 minutes. Take off the heat and use a boat motor to blend everything up. The real name is some kind of immersable blender type thing, we call it a boat motor.  Or you could use a blender. Just find something to blend everything up. Add in the lime juice, and cool. It tastes better once it has cooled down.  This too seemed to be addictive. We ate it with chips and served it with out tacos the other night.

Pork Patties and Eggs

This is not really a recipe, but it is a great breakfast idea!  I personally don't like the spices that are in pork sausage when you buy it, and have found a fabulous work around.  We buy ground pork and make it into patties and grill it. It is really good and goes great with eggs or in a breakfast sandwich. It also is scrumptious with waffles and pancakes, and then you can dip the meat into the syrup!

Just get a 1 pound package of ground pork at the grocery store. Form it into 4 thin patties, sprinkle with lots of Season Salt and pepper. The Season Salt is what really make this. It is not the same with just regular salt.  Grill it outside and since it is pork, make sure it is done.  I like it kind of crispy. 

It is pictured here with poached eggs, which are my favorite!

Waffles

We love these waffles, they are so easy to make, and go great with breakfast meats like pork patties.

Heat your waffle iron while making the batter.

2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Melt the butter and let cool slightly.  Beat the eggs vigorously in a large bowl, add in the buttermilk and the melted butter and wisk together.  Sift the dry ingredients and add to the egg mixture and which until well mixed.

Spray the waffle maker with cooking spray so the waffles don't stick, using a ladel, fill the waffle maker with batter, and close the lid. Cook until they are done.

Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar, and fruit with whipped topping. Or serve with butter and syrup.

Chicken Salad

As a queen of leftovers, I made this chicken salad out of the leftover beer can chicken.

2 to 3 cups leftover cooked chicken
2 ribs celery
1 cup grapes
1/4 cup toasted pecans
1 cup helmans mayo
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp tarragon

You can use any cooked chicken, but it is really good with leftover grilled or beer can chicken.  Cut up your chicken into bite size cubes and toss into a big bowl.  Chop celery and cut the grapes in half and add to chicken. Toast the pecans in a pan on the stove top until you can smell them, being careful not to burn them, and add to the chicken mixture.

I always use Helmans Mayo for my salads. Start by adding a big spoonful into the chicken mixture and add salt, pepper, and the tarragon.  Keep adding mayo until you get to the consistency you like.

I like to eat this with lettuce or crackers, like wheat thins, but it is great in a sandwich with bread too.

Baked Ziti

This recipe comes from my son.  He was over last night and cooked dinner for us as a trade off for babysitting.

3/4 to 1 lb ziti noodles
1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced fine
2 - 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground basil
1 teaspoon ground parsley
1 to 2 Tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups grated motzarella cheese

Heat 1 T of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the onion and cook until soft. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes and herbs and the sugar to your taste. Cover and simmer on low heat.

Meanwhile, heat the other 1 T of oil in another pan and cook the ground beef. Once cooked, add it to the tomato mixture.

At the same time, you can get the ziti noodles cooked according to the package. Once they are cooked add them to the tomato mixture too. Add in the ricotta cheese and mix well.

Spread the mixture in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan, top with grated motzarella and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

Serve with garlic bread and salad.  This was a very creamy and moist and juice ziti recipe.  Definitely two thumbs up!

Pear and Gorgonzola Bruschetta

1 Baguette
Pear Preserves
Gorgonzola Cheese
Chopped Pecans
Honey
Balsamic Vinegar

Slice the baguette into 3/4 inch slices at an angle. Place bread slices on a foil lined baking pan.  Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil. Bake until lightly toasted (I use the toaster oven and it only takes a few minutes).  Spread each slice of bread with the pear jam, add a little bit of gorgonzola cheese, and a few chopped pecans, drizzle with honey, and finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar.  These go really, really good with a glass of wine as an appetizer when making dinner.

Fresh Salsa

We love mexican food and salsa is one of my favorite things. I use it as a salad dressing, eat it with chips, and of course the traditional uses over other foods as well.

1/2 large onion, or 1 small onion
1 green bell pepper
1 to 2 jalepeno peppers depending on how much heat you like
5 to 6 roma tomatoes
cilantro
salt and pepper
juice from 1/2 lime
1/2 to 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Chop the onion, tomatoes, and peppers finely and add to a big bowl. Add the juice from 1/2 of a lime and the red wine vinegar. Add in the salt and pepper to taste and cilantro. I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, but you've got to have some for the salsa flavor.  We use this on our weekend mexican omelets too!

Warning, this stuff is addicting.

Mexican Omelet

This is a mexican omelet that my mom invented years ago. I grew up in Arizona and we ate mexican food alot. This dish was born out of what to do with the leftover taco meat from the night before.  And if you have a heavy cast iron pan, that works great as you need to put this in the oven.

1/2 pound leftover seasoned taco meat
                    OR
1/2 pound hamburger and season it up with 3 T chili powder, salt and pepper
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 roma tomato
1 cup greated cheddar cheese
8 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat your big cast iron pan on the stove top and either brown your hamburger with chili powder and salt and pepper, or if you do have left over taco meat, just use that and heat it up in the pan.

Once the meat is hot and cooked, add in your chopped onion and green peppers and cook a few minutes.  Meanwhile, beat 8 eggs in a large bowl and add a little milk and a little water (2 Tablespoons each). Pour the eggs over the meat mixture in the pan.

Put the pan in the preheated oven for about 20 mintutes. When it looks like the eggs are cooked through, pull the pan out and sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. We only had white cheddar in the house today and that is fine too.

Put the pan back in the oven for another few minutes until the cheese has melted. Top with tomatoes or fresh made salsa.

Slice into pieces like you would for a pizza and serve. This is sooo good!