The Quest for the Perfect Omlette

I love omelettes. Like really love them. The sad thing is that I've never been able to make them. I've been stuck spending $7-$9 for someone else to bring me that folded yummy goodness. Today I decided NO MORE! I was bound and determined to perfect a homemade omelette.

Here's my issue: The eggs of my omelette are always over done on the bottom and runny on the top. It's really very frustrating. And when I try to flip the eggs over to cook both sides, well that ends up even worse. So today I discovered a new and fabulous omelette cooking method. And all I have to say is "DUH! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!"

Here's the trick (thanks youtube!!):

Pre-scramble the eggs in a bowl with some milk. Make sure you have your middle stuff ready. I think onions and peppers need to be precooked, but you do you.

 Spray your pan or use butter (I use organic canola oil spray. I love my arteries, do you love yours?) and heat it over medium.  Once the pan is hot pour in the eggs and let them cook until they are almost all the way done.

 The best way to test this is to tilt the pan just a bit and see how much of it is runny. It should be MOSTLY solid. Then dump your middle stuff on top of the eggs. Order doesn't matter because once you fold it they will be smushed together any way.

Now here's the new trick I learned (I admit it. I feel dumb for not thinking of this myself): Put it under the broiler for a few minutes!! Really, now why couldn't I think of that like years ago!?!?  Just let it cook away for like 2 minutes. Make sure your pan is oven safe though (no plastic handles). Yikes!

Then once the top of the egg is cooked wiggle the pan over a plate and fold it over!! It really is that easy!

Now I know this method will not get you a passing grade at Le Cordon Bleu, but it does make for a very fine omelette. Mmmm so good.  


Goodbye $9.00 omelette!

Mmmm Soft Pretzels

I am a sucker for a soft pretzel. But like so many things, I don't like to pay 20 times more for an item I can make myself for super cheap. Pretzels are one of those things. I make a bunch of them. Bake some and freeze some. That way I can have one whenever the mood strikes, which is pretty often. The best part? They are very easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one package)
1 tsp sugar
3 (sometimes 4) cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt (table is better. Do NOT use kosher)
1 Tbs Baking Soda
Kosher salt or sea salt for sprinkling (I don't use this)

1. In a stand mixer with the bread hook attachment, combine 1 1/2 cups water with yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add 2 cups flour and the table salt. Mix well. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups flour (1/4 cup at a time) until a soft dough forms.

**The dough is ready when you touch and pull your finger away. It should pull with your finger, but not stick to it.

2. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl. Spray the bowl with cooking spray. Shape the dough into a ball and then return it to the bowl. Cover with a moist towel (I like flour sack towels) and put somewhere warm (80-85 degrees) until it doubles in size (~ 45 mins).

3. Preheat oven to 400. punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal portions. I find that rolling the dough into little balls helps me to determine if they are equal in size.

See the second from the top on the right side? Yeah he's a little small, and the one above him is a little big. Never knew that 'till I made them into balls. :)

4. Roll the balls out into a 24" rope

And twist into a pretzel shape. If you want pretzels sticks, don't twist them. Instead, cut them into 8" sections and move to step 5.

The bottom right one is  a double twist. The rest are single twists. Both work well, I just like the double for some reason. If you want to freeze the pretzels, this is where you do it. Place on a cookie sheet, cover them with foil, and once they are frozen move them to a zip top bag. Then when you want one pull it out, thaw and continue from step 5!

5. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup water and the baking soda together in a small bowl. Stir until the Baking soda is dissolved. Dip the pretzels in the mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet 1.5" apart. Sprinkle with the big salt (if you want).

6. Bake for 14-16 mins rotating in the oven half way through bake time. Let cool on wire rack and serve with your favorite dipping sauce or mustard!


Sorry I don't have an end result picture. They were all gobbled up way too fast for me to get a picture! LOL! I guess we're a pretzel family!

Is it bad to be addicted to a machine?

Wait... That sounded sorta bad. O_o

Of course I'm talking about my Cricut machine and Gypsy. I'm more than a little obsessed. If my husband wouldn't mind, and my job could do with out me for a week, I'd do nothing but scrapbook for the next 10 days. Unfortunately my family needs to eat and my job has this silly rule that you have to show up and WORK to get paid. Really...the nerve. ;)

I got it for Christmas and so far have done a few small (but fabulous) tasks. I decorated our menu box (Oh you missed that post? Find it HERE) and today I finally finished a baby project I wanted to get done before my youngest was born. Yeah...she's now almost 5 months old. Better late than never, right?

What did I do, you ask? I framed her name. I know, I know. I won't be winning any craft creativity awards, but I'm quite satisfied with these little accomplishments. And besides, isn't it cute?!?!

For those of you that are not familiar with a Cricut machine it is just about the coolest thing EVER!! I first saw it on an infomercial in the middle of the night several years ago. It was one of those pregnancy hormone induced nights of insomnia (Why is it when you need sleep the most, you can never get it?). I was hanging out on the couch while my husband blissfully slept upstairs (jerk...just kidding), when on came this infomercial about the Cricut machine. I am not one to watch an infomercial. In fact,  the mere mention of doing so makes my stomach turn. But I was sucked in by the incredible display that they so cleverly put in the intro part of this brainwashing 60 minutes. Then in this crazy "the universe knows" moment, I got to use one!!

I was at an all day scrap event (Yes I have gone to those. Yes I enjoy them and yes I really do mean all day...like 8 hours. In fact I need to go to another so I can get some of these pictures off my computer and into baby books!!!), and this woman at my table had one. She was so nice to let me use it and I got my older daughter's album all done!! Okay well not totally done. The page spreads were devoid of pictures as I was 8.5 months pregnant at the time, and therefore had no pictures of her other than ultra sounds. But all the layouts were done. All I had to do was get the pictures taken and put them in the book. Which I did...notice how I did not make mention of sticking the pictures to the pages... That's because it has not happened yet. She's 2...  Like I said, I need an all day scrapbooking event.

From then on I really wanted a Cricut, but never remembered I wanted it when people asked me what to get me for a gift. But this last Christmas, I remembered. And my dad and stepmother totally delivered. Oooh Yeah.

So here's my mission. To get Kaylin's scrapbook started. Not done, but started. One day I will get Denna's done. I figure that if I at least have them not done to the same degree, neither of them can get mad at me about it when they are 13 and still don't have baby books. Right??  Ha!!

I'll keep you updated on the progress...

Okay Enough with the Food

I feel like all I do is post about food. Don't get me wrong, I love food. Clearly. But I feel like I need to post about some of the crafty things I do. So here's a brief post about our Christmas stockings. I know, Christmas was months ago. Before I even started this blog, but I still wanted to share. :)

I made these stockings for us so we would each have an identifiable one on Christmas morning. Each of the girls got a Mary-Jane.

 I got the high heeled red boot with the fur (Every woman needs a little sauciness).  Scott (the sweet hubby)... yeah he decided he wanted a vintage Air Jordan sneaker.

No pattern exists for this vintage Air Jordan, so I free handed it. I looked at pictures of the shoe and I think I came up with a pretty good likeness. Maybe I'll add laces next year...

Here's what the real one looks like:

The best part was when we got to Idaho, my niece and nephews requested stockings of their own. So cute!

The Irony of Recipes

My friends are pretty funny. Mostly because they give me a hard time about... just about everything really. So when I started doing this blog quite a few of them just had to point out that while I post recipes I never really use them. Well that's not true. I use them, but I view recipes as guidelines. Very loose guidelines.

My husband both loves and hates this about me. I will make a dish using my "guideline" and he thinks its really good. Then the next time I make it (in his words) "Its still really good, but it's just never the same). I always tell him that if he wants to know what I do in the kitchen he should install a video camera and record me while I cook... He just laughs.

Why I felt the need to post this...the world may never know...

Valentine's Day

So this was the first holiday since I started this blog so I decided to flex my creative muscles in the form of treats. I must admit I was pretty excited with how it all turned out.

First I made sugar cookies with royal icing..

I also made mini chocolate cupcakes with butter-cream frosting. 

But the one I am most proud of are my Rice Krispie Treats. 

I decided to make them look like giant Hershey kisses!! (Okay. I admit it. This was not an original idea by me. I got it form another blog I follow: http://beeinourbonnet.blogspot.com/)

I made the treats just like I always do. Then I sprayed my hands and inside of a funnel with cooking spray. Then I took a medium sized ball and pushed it into the funnel.

 Voilà! A Hershey shaped treat!!

I then wrapped them in foil with a strip of paper that had Happy Valentine's Day printed on it in blue.

 I was pretty impressed with myself.

If you want a good tutorial on cupcakes and cookies check out crazydomestic.com and search "workshop". They have some of the neatest ideas.

Popcorn- for more than just movies

There's a joke among my friends at work. "Sarah: if she isn't eating a bag of popcorn, she has the bag the popcorn used to be in."


The funny part about it is, that it is 100% true. I eat popcorn every day. And why not?! It's a whole grain, good for your cholesterol (as long as there is no butter on it), portable, diverse. In short, it's just yummy.


Personally I use a Cuisinart popcorn maker. It uses oil instead of air, but it makes a mean kernel. I make a huge batch on Sundays and Wednesdays. Then I bring a RuMe bag of popcorn every day (What is that? You don't know about RuMe bags?! Check it out HERE)! 


If you want to make popcorn on your stovetop, it's really easy. 


You will need:
A large sauce pan with a lid
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
2 Tbs canola oil


Put oil in the pan with five kernels (yes 5 and only 5) and heat over medium high heat. Shake the pan while holding the lid every few minutes. When you hear the kernels starting to pop, add the remaining kernels. Shake every few minutes. This is really important. If you don;t, your popcorn will burn and it will stink.  When you hear the popcorn start to slow take it off the heat. Add your favorite seasoning. 


Sometimes I even bring and extra bag for my carpool partner (in fact, it was she that suggested I blog about popcorn).  I use olive oil instead of butter (I love my arteries. Do you love yours??).


You can also make your own microwave popcorn. I hate HATE HATE store bought microwave popcorn. It tastes really fake and it's WAY too salty. So, If I want some to microwave I use the following recipe:


Microwave Brown Bag Popcorn

1/4 cup popcorn kernels
2 teaspoons canola oil
Kosher salt, to taste

Toss the kernels with the oil in a small bowl. Pour into a plain brown paper bag, close, and place on a paper towel on the microwave turntable. The paper towel is pretty important as it will keep the oil from getting on the turntable.  Cook on high for 1 1/2 minutes. It's important to note that every microwave is different. The deal is that you have to listen to your popcorn. Listen carefully and stop the microwave as soon as the popping slows. It should not be more than 2 minutes total.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, I believe in flavored popcorn. I mean don't get me wrong. I love the classic butter ans salt as much as the next person, but I love my arteries more and since I eat popcorn almost every day. That much butter is just asking for a trip to the nearest cardiologist. So here are some of my ideas:


My favorite toppings are:


Olive oil
Garlic powder
Kosher Salt


It's so simple and yet so. darn. good.

Kettle Corn!!!!

(No more paying $5.00 a bag!)

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1/3  cup popcorn kernels

2 Tbs sugar

Coarse salt to taste

Put oil in the pan with five kernels (yes 5 and only 5) and heat over medium high heat. Shake the pan while holding the lid every few minutes. When you hear the kernels starting to pop, add the remaining kernels and the sugar. Shake. Shake every few minutes. This is really important. If you don't, your popcorn will burn and it will stink.  When you hear the popcorn start to slow take it off the heat. Add the salt! 

I've also enjoyed:

Olive oil

Cinnamon

Sugar

Olive oil
Lemon Zest
Fresh Dill/Rosemary
Kosher Salt


Olive oil
Fresh Rosemary
Parmesan Cheese


Olive oil
Cinnamon 2 parts
Nutmeg 1 part
Ginger 1 part


Kosher salt
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Paprika
Thyme
Crushed red pepper
White pepper
Chili powder




Butter
Honey
Kosher salt
Cayenne pepper 

You may now bow to my wing genius...

It's Super Bowl Sunday. My husband is a wind lover. So, good wife that I am, I made him wings. I've been known to make a pretty mean wing. People have requested my wings for parties or my recipe, or whatever. But today, these wings, even I am impressed.


The wings were tender but a little crunchy. The sauce was spicy, but not eyes watering and coughingly so. Here's  what I did. It's a little Alton Brown and little of my own genius.


Ingredients:


40 wing parts (or 20 whole wings divided)
1 Cup Frank's red hot Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbs Cornstarch

Fit a large (at least 6-quart) saucepan with a steamer basket. Put in 1-inch of water and place over high heat. Bring to a boil.

Separate the wings at the joint so you have wings and drummetts. Place the wings into the steamer basket and cover. Reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes.

 I made a double batch so I had to do 2 rounds. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

DO NOT PLACE DIRECTLY ON THE PAPER TOWEL! If you do, the wings will stick and you will spend 1/2 and hour pulling small bits of paper towel off the wings. Terrible.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line the cooking sheets with parchment paper or foil (for easy clean-up). Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown. 

  While the wings are cooking, mix the sauce and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and sauce is slightly thickened.  Add cornstarch and whisk until thickened. It should coat the back of a spoon.

Place wings in a bowl and pour sauce over them. Toss to coat evenly. Serve with ranch, blue cheese dressing and celery!!

So. good. 

Long Live the Milk!!!

I'm a nursing mother of two which means that my whole life (and wardrobe) revolves around milk and access to milk. Frankly, I'm a cow. At least most of the time. With my first I could easily feed her as well as most of the newborns in the maternity wing of CRMC. With my second, there have been stages of touch and go. The most significant was when she was 3 weeks old and put in the hospital the first time. She had RSV and couldn't really breathe through her nose. Thusly, she couldn't nurse. My milk supply took a serious hit. Thankfully I had a secret (okay not so secret, but still) weapon. Lactation cookies. 

These little beauties are amazingly tasty. I got the recipe from my friend Jenny D. They are packed with tons of things that increase milk or makes the milk more nutrient rich. If you have enough milk, don't eat too many.  Engorgement, blocked ducts, and mastitis are terrible. I've suffered all of them, and it is horrid. And hey, any time you "have to eat a cookie" is a good time in my book. 

To keep my milk rich and abundant I eat 2 a day. If I need to have more, I eat 3-4. 

My husband, yeah he eats like 4-5 a day. But of course he doesn't have to worry about his boobs exploding...  And the answer is No if you are not lactating you will not start if you eat these cookies. Why do people always ask that? {shakes head}

RECIPE

Ingredients:

4 T water

2 T milled flax seed

1 c. butter, softened 

2 eggs   

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar (firmly packed)

1 tsp vanilla

2 c whole wheat pastry flour (you can use regular whole wheat flour, but I think it makes them too dense. Not such a happy cookie, but still good.)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 T brewer's yeast (NOT nutritional yeast flakes. BREWER's yeast. You can get it at Whole Foods, and sometimes Sprouts.)

3 1/4 c. whole oats

1 c. chocolate chips

3/4 c. craisins (or raisins)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In a small bowl: mix flax and water, and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl: combine the flour, baking soda, salt and brewer's yeast. Set aside. In a stand mixer: creme butter, brown sugar and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add flax and vanilla. Mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture in batches. Stir in oats. Fold in chocolate chips and craisins.

Scoop rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets.Bake for 12-15 minutes.Let sit on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to cool completely.

So What if I'm Nuts??

My husband loves roasted nuts. He's been on the hunt for a well roasted, lightly salted or spiced almond for a pretty long time now. Yesterday was another unsuccesful trip to the store ("The salted were the same as the UNsalted", "The spices were gross", "Those ones were stale", etc.) I just realized that my husband sounds really picky...he's not. I swear.

So I decided to make my own spiced almonds, and here's what I came up with:

Lightly Salted Almonds-

3 Cups almonds

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 Tsp salt. 

Put almonds in a big bowl. Add the olive oil. Toss to coat the almonds. Sprinkle the salt in and toss again. Roast at 325 degrees for about 25 mins. Stirring them about every 5 mins. You need to watch them carefully because nuts can go from delightfully roasted to NASTY in about a minute.

Spiced Salted Almonds

2Tbs Olive oil1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika 
2 cups whole almonds
1 tsp salt. 

For this one I mixed the olive oil and spices before adding it all to the raw almonds. same rules apply as above: 325 degrees 30 mins, stirring every 5. 

Remarkably tasty! 

Recipe Party!

I was bored with my recipes. Like really, really bored. I felt like even though I had my nifty recipe box (find more about that HERE), I needed new stuff. I needed a reason to branch out and try something new. So, I held a recipe party! And it was so. much. fun. (Except the part where my 2 year old puked on my couch and one of the guests... Sorry Elizabeth!!)

Here's what happened:

Each guest brought a ready to eat dish and the recipe. The qualifications were that it needed to be (relatively) easy and have commonly found ingredients. I don't think any of us have time to hunt down black truffle oil or the like, at least I know I don't.


I supplied drinks, plates, utensils, and recipe cards.

Let me tell you it was FABULOUS!

We ended up with 11 people and 13 dishes. Every one of them was so good! I'm gonna have to do this again.

I did learn a few things from this though. 

1) My friends are amazing cooks. 

2) Everyone needs to bring multiple recipe copies. I figured everyone would write them down, but everyone was so busy chatting!! Can't be mad about that!  But does anyone want some recipe cards?? I have about 140...!  0_o

3) People need to bring take away dishes, or I need to get take out boxes (environmentally friendly ones of course). Baked ziti packed in sandwich bags, not my favorite.

Now on to the real reason you're reading this. The recipes:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the Tapenade recipe click HERE

For the Irish Cream cake click HERE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cranberry Pot Roast (or Pork, or Beef Stew….)

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds beef or pork roast or stew chunks
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes, or 1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce (La Choy and Tamari wheat-free are gluten free)
1 (16-ounce) whole berry cranberry sauce 


Directions:

1. Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop in the meat (frozen is fine), and add the onion and soy sauce. Pour in the entire can of cranberry sauce over the top. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 5-6. If you are cooking on high, you may need to "help" the meat break apart by taking it out an hour or so before serving by cutting it into chunks, then returning to the sauce. I like it when the meat is tender and the juice has fully soaked in.
2. Serve over mashed potatoes, and with a green salad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked Oatmeal

 

Ingredients:

1 pound steel cut oats (=3cups)  

1 Cup walnuts, or other nuts

2 tablespoons yogurt, kefir, whey or buttermilk for soaking         

Dash unrefined sea salt

6 pastured eggs

2 cups whole, fresh milk              

Up to ¼ cup maple syrup (optional)

½ cup raisins or dried cranberries

 ½ cup dried unsulfured apricots, diced

2 tablespoons cinnamon                

¼ cup coconut oil, plus greasing

(I also add 1-2T Vanilla)

Directions:

1. Pour the steel cut oats and nuts into a large ceramic container or mixing bowl.  Add enough filtered water to completely submerge your oats and nuts. Add a dash of salt and a two tablespoons of fresh yogurt, whey, kefir or buttermilk.  Allow the oats and nuts to soak, covered, overnight in a warm place in your kitchen – about eight to twelve hours.
2. After the mixture of oats and nuts has soaked overnight, dump them into a colander to drain and place the mixture back into the ceramic container or mixing bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 13 x 9-inch rectangular baking pan with coconut oil or another wholesome fat of your choosing.  (I just put in the 1/4 C coconut oil into the baking pan +2 more T and let it melt in the oven as it is warming up)
4. Meanwhile beat together eggs, milk, maple syrup (if you’re using it), until well-combined and frothy.
5. Pour the mixture of eggs, milk and maple syrup over the soaked oats and nuts, stirring well to combine into a porridge-like mixture.
6. Gently fold dried fruit, cinnamon and coconut oil into the porridge-like mixture.
7.  Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula to ensure even baking and a good appearance.
8. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for forty to forty-five minutes or until the oatmeal achieves a pleasing golden-brown color on top, a knife inserted into its center comes out clean and free from liquid and the fragrance of baked oats, dried fruit and cinnamon perfumes your kitchen.
9. If you can bear the wait, allow the baked oatmeal to cool for five to ten minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

YIELD: 12 to 16 servings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue

 

Ingredients

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
2. Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susan's Incredible Farmer's Market Salad
(Incredible is not a lie. I could eat this for days... I ♥ Beets.)

Ingredients: 

Salad:

1Cup red Quinoa (she got hers at Trader Joe's). You can also use regular Quinoa, but the red is SO good!!

3 medium beets peeled and steamed

4-5 oz pomegranate seeds

1-2 handfuls of arugula

Pine nuts (as many as you like)

Goat cheese (optional)

Dressing:

2 Tbs Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch of sea salt

Directions

Prepare Quinoa as directed on the box. Mix all of the above together and enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus

(Pita Jungle -watch out! Becky has your number!)

Ingredients: 

1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans (drained but with liquid reserved)

1/3-1/2 bunch of cilantro- stems and leaves

1 jalapeño

3 Tbs Tahini

2 Tbs Olive Oil

Juice of 1 lemon

3-4 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Roughly chop the Jalapeño. If you want a milder spice, remove the seeds and interior ribs from it first.
2. Tear cilantro up a bit, so you don't have whole stems.
3. Place everything in a blender along with 1-2 Tbs of reserved Liquid. Bland until smooth adding more liquid as needed. 

What I learned: Use a blender. NO FOOD PROCCESSORS! The processor doesn’t get the hummus to that super creamy texture. Hm! Never knew that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Corn and Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

16oz yellow corn

4 Roma tomatoes chopped

1/2 red onion diced

1 jalapeño diced

Handful cilantro leaves

2 slightly firm avocados

1-2 limes juiced

Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Toss corn, tomatoes, onion, jalapeño and cilantro in a large bowl.
2. Juice 1 lime over it and add 1 tsp salt. Mix again.
3. Adjust salt and juice if needed. 
4. Roughly chop avocados and drizzle with lime juice. Add to the bowl and mix gently.

Variation: Use balsamic vinegar instead of lime juice!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vegetable Lasagna Roll-Ups with Vegan Alternative

2 Tbs Olive Oil

1 large bunch of Spinach- stems removed, finely chopped

1-16 oz bag baby carrots, chopped

1- 16 oz lasagna noodles

Tofu Ricotta Mix:

1-16 oz tub of firm tofu (not silken), pressed and drained

2 Tbs Olive oil

1 ½ Tbs lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

¼ Cup onion

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp basil

½ -1 tsp salt, to taste

¼ Cup rice vinegar

1 tsp Oregano

1tsp basil

 Salt to taste

¼ Cups Parmesan cheese (for vegan use ground sesame seeds)

2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese (for vegan use sliced mozzarella-style rice cheese

2-24oz jars tomato sauce (reserve ½ for final topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté chopped onion and garlic and carrots until tender. (about 7 minutes).
3. Place in a large bowl and refrigerate until cool.
4. Cook noodles and drain. Lay flat until cool.
5. Mix Ricotta with ricotta with garlic powder, oregano, basil, and salt to taste.
6. Add ricotta mixture, parmesan, & mozzarella to bowl of spinach and carrots; mix well with spoon.
7. Using a spatula, spread ½ cup filling onto length of each lasagna noodle, leaving 1/2” at each end so roll-ups don’t overflow; roll each one tightly.
8. Spread half of tomato sauce on bottom of deep baking pan; place roll-ups seam side down.
9. Cook in oven for 45 minutes
10. Remove and top with remaining tomato sauce; cooking for 15 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1 15oz can black beans drain and reserve liquid

2 Tbs lemon juice

1 ½ tsp tahini

¾ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp paprika

Directions:

1. Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Add black beans, 2 Tbs reserved liquid, 2 Tbs lemon juice, tahini, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1/8 tsp paprika.
3. Process until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
4. Add additional seasoning and liquid to taste.
5. Garnish with paprika and Greek olives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:

Olive oil- for coating and drizzling.

1 Cup ricotta cheese

1 Egg yolk

1 Cup parmesan

Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Handful of flat leaf Italian parsley coarsely chopped

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound dry ziti

½ pound mozzarella cheese cubed small

1 recipe marinara sauce, heated (click HERE) (In a pinch I recommend the marinara you can get at Costco. Totally cheap <$5. White label green lettering. If I remember the name I'll let you know...) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Lightly coat a 10X12 baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
2. Combine the ricotta, egg yolk, ½ cup parmesan, nutmeg, and parsley in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain well. Put the pasta into the mixing bowl with the ricotta mixture. Toss well. Add the heated sauce and mozzarella. Toss again.
4. Transfer to prepared baking dish and smooth the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
5. Bake uncovered, until bubbling hot and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let rest for 3-4 minutes before serving.