Thanksgiving for the Herbivorous Part 2

                                                                This is a multi-part series- Click HERE for part one

We are talking about vegetarians and Thanksgiving. Since we don't eat a lot of meat we tend to like some turkey, but have sides that are meat free. here are two more of my favorites. :)

Winey Cranberry Sauce

·            2 cups red Zinfandel

·            1 cup sugar

·            1 cup (packed) light brown sugar

·            6 whole cloves

·            6 whole allspice

·            2 cinnamon sticks

·            1 3x1-inch strip lemon peel

·            1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

1.  Put all the ingredients, except the cranberries, in a medium saucepan. Stir to partially dissolve the sugars. 
2.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced to 1 3/4 cups, about 10-12 minutes. Strain syrup into large saucepan.
3.  Add the cranberries to the syrup and cook over medium heat until berries burst, about 6 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and transfer sauce to medium bowl when cool. Cover and refrigerate until cold. 

This can be made up to 1 week ahead, but it needs to be kept refrigerated.

Roasted Wine Mushrooms

I made these last year and have made them several times since then. I am merely reposting the recipe, because Gina at So...Let's Hang Out pretty much hit it out of the ball park with this one. And considering that I rarely ever follow a recipe, this is really saying something. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 package of crimini mushrooms
• 3-4 tbs butter, cut into small cubes (I used grassfed)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of red wine
• 2 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs fresh thyme, minced
• salt, pepper
• Extra thyme to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2. Clean your mushrooms and pat them dry.
3. Put the mushrooms into a baking dish. Add in your wine, balsamic vinegar, garlic and thyme. Toss using a spoon so that the mushrooms are evenly coated.
4. Salt and pepper your mushrooms to your liking and then add in the chunks of butter. Place the chunks evenly throughout the dish.
5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Mushrooms are done when they are tender and golden-brown in color. A wine and butter sauce should be bubbly and forming below.
7. Remove the mushrooms from the oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Serve over pasta, or as a side dish. These would go awesome with a steak!
8. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving for the Herbivorous Part 1

This is a multi-part series. For Part 2 click HERE 

My husband and I are mostly vegetarian. Some of our friends do the "Meatless Mondays", but for us it's "Meaty Mondays". Well it used to be. Now I have learned that setting meals on certain days, just leads to disappointment. Did you miss that post? See it here. 

Wait... I got of topic... Oh right, Thanksgiving and vegetarians. 

Now since my family does eat meat occasionally, we are not opposed to eating the turkey. But since we don't eat a lot of meat, eating a meal where almost everything is meaty is.... let's go with overwhelming for our digestive tracks. 

So I have created an assortment of vegetarian dishes that I serve alongside those mighty meaty dishes. There have also been times that people have joined us for dinner that are true vegetarians, and they have always been delighted to have something other than cranberry sauce and a roll. :)

Here is the first two that are always a huge hit:

Stuffing (adapted from Martha Stewart):

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, diced small
• 3 celery stalks, diced medium 
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 10 ounces mushrooms, diced small (I like to mix up the kinds I use, but any mushroom that is available is fine)
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 loaf crusty white bread, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (8 cups) and left uncovered overnight or toasted.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups low-sodium or homemade veggie broth
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (If your guests don’t eat eggs you can use 2 tbsp of ground Flax seeds and 6 tbsp Water. Let sit for about 10 minutes before adding it in.)

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add onions and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, 5 to 7 minutes; transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil, mushrooms, and sage to skillet; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are browned, 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, until wine is almost evaporated. Transfer to bowl with vegetables; add almonds, bread, and enough broth to moisten (stuffing should feel moist but not soggy). Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
2. Add eggs (or flax) to bread mixture and toss well to combine. Spoon remaining stuffing into a lightly oiled 3-quart baking dish. (To store, cover and refrigerate, up to 1 day.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in upper third. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown on top. About 30 minutes.

Green Beans with Shallots:

• 2 lbs fresh green beans (French Green beans are delightful, but standard are also fine)
• 6 medium shallots 
• 1 Tbs Olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• Salt and pepper

1. Peel the shallots and thinly slice them. Separate the rings. Heat the butter and oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and stir to coat in the oil. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.
2. While the shallots are browning heat a pot of water to boiling. Salt the water when it begins to boil and blanch the green beans by putting them in the water for 2 minutes or until bright green. They should still be very crunchy when you remove them. Place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
3. Toss the green beans with the shallots in the skillet. Gently heat the green beans over Low heat until warm. Do not over cook or they will become mushy. 

Bruschetta and Garlic OIl

We love garlic around here. I am pretty sure that I have said that before. In fact I know I have. I am pretty sure that I called it an "irrational fear of vampires."

Along those lines comes my families love of all things garlic. But our most favorite thing is garlic oil. We put it on...everything. Except ice cream, brownies, and such. That would just be gnarly. 

Any way I know you can buy garlic oil, but it's expensive when you can just make it at home so easily and for a fraction of the price. And the best part is how you house smells. So yummy! 

The first step is to take about 1.5 cups of olive oil and place it in a small saucepan. Then peel 10 garlic cloves and place them in the oil whole. Then turn the heat to medium-low and walk away. (But not too far. You do have the stove on after all) 

After a bit the garlic will begin to smell heavenly and begin to brown ever so slightly (about 10 mins) Grab a fork and flip those little beauties over and get them sizzling on the other side.
About another 7 minutes they will be nice and golden all over. Like this:

Now once they look like this take the pan off the heat and fish the garlic cloves out of the oil. Let the oil cool because it will be very hot! Then transfer it into a jar or even better a condiment squeeze bottle. All the better to put it on everything with ease!!!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups olive oil
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled left whole

1. Put the oil and garlic cloves in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the garlic begins to brown just a bit. Flip the cloves over and let the other side brown about another 7 minutes. 
2. Remove the pan from heat and remove the garlic cloves. Once the oil is cool pour the oil into a jar or condiment squeeze bottle. 

A New Way to Meal Plan

My family meal plans. It is seriously the most time (and money) saving thing we do around here. On the weeks that we don;t meal plan we all just mill about the kitchen and have long drawn out conversations about what to have for dinner. We rummage through the fridge with a general sense of apathy and concurrent feelings of being overwhelmed. And really all I can think is "How do people do this without planning?"

So, we plan!

I used to plan each day on this cute little calendar that had 2 weeks on it. I would think about what was happening each day and try to pick something that would work with the days schedule. It was all very well intentioned. 

But here's how it really played out. On Tuesday we would not want what was planned. We would want what was planned for Wednesday. Then on Wednesday we would want what was planned for Sunday. And then I would feel like a failure because I hadn't adhered to this fictional schedule that I had created with good intentions. And really, who want so to feel guilty when you are just trying to plan something? 

So I changed it up. I still plan for 2 weeks of meals and I account for things I know are coming in those weeks: date nights, dinner with my sister, birthdays, etc. 

I try to balance the selections with things that I can make and with things that my husband can make. We also try to work in things that the girls request with out having 4 nights of nuggets and mac n' cheese.

It works super well and I can even use my meal box that I posted about HERE.

What I did was take an old picture frame and I simply put some old fabric where the picture would go. Then I used some left over letter stickers and wrote "What's for dinner?" at the top.  I hung it on the side of my fridge and I use dry erase markers to write the selections on it. After we make it, I just wipe the item right off! Super easy and incredibly efficient. :)

To Dip or To Drink? That is the Real Question

My kids love to dip things in ranch dressing. I am well aware that this makes them neither special, nor unique, in the realm of toddler/preschool land. Of course to me they are both divinely special and gloriously unique. But not because of their desire to coat their small bodies in ranch and wield carrots as swords... not that they would ever do that. :Þ 

Alrighty then...due to my children's predilection for dipping, I cringe every time I have to buy a bottle of ranch. Why you ask? Many reasons. Allow me to list them for you:

1. It can be loaded with gross things (MSG anyone? How about disodium phosphate? No? How about the crazy train my brain takes when I see "artificial flavoring". I go straight to the fact that Dr. Pepper used to contain ethylene glycol. Yes that is right. Dr. Pepper used to have ANTIFREEZE in it. I honestly cannot even think about what that "Artificial Flavoring" might be.)
2. It can be expensive even with the gross stuff in it. But to get the stuff that doesn't make me want to wrap my girls' digestive systems in protective wrap, yeah that just blows my budget. 
3. It's fattening. And the low-fat stuff has even more gross stuff that I cannot pronounce (Did you miss #1?). Not to mention that the low-fat stuff tastes...well...horrid. 
4. Use the powder you say? Even the powder has crazy gross stuff in it. 
5. I really think you should be convinced by now, but somehow having a list of 5 reasons seems more complete to me. (OCD Woman, Away!!)

Anyway I have been on  a mission for a while now to find a recipe that tastes really good, is easy to make, is free from chemicals that are not food, doesn't have 35000 calories per teaspoon, won't spoil in a day, and that my children (and husband) will actually like. Tall order, I know. 

BUT!!!! I found it. It is So. AMAZINGLY. GOOD. I could drink it. I won't, but I could. And just for you, Dear Reader, here it is. 

(OK. OK. It isn't totally low-fat. But I think it strikes a wonderful balance between full-fat tasty and low-fat healthy.)

Makes 1.5 QUARTS. That is a lot of dressing. 

Ingredients:

For the Mix:

1/4 Cup Black Pepper 

1 1/2 Cups Parsley Flakes 

1/2 Cup Garlic Salt 

2 Tbs Kosher Salt 

1/2 Cups Granulated Garlic 

3/4 Cups Granulated Onion 

2 1/2 Tbs Dried Dill weed

For the Dressing:

Juice from half a lemon

2 Cups Buttermilk

1 Cup Mayonnaise

2 Cups Non-fat Greek Yogurt

1/2 cups Sour Cream

What To Do:

1. Combine all mix ingredients and store in an airtight container. Pictured is a large peanut butter container. It filled it about 2/3 full. 
2. To make the mix into dressing, whisk together 3 T of mix with the remaining wet ingredients. 
3. Let sit for at least 2 hours. This gives the flavors a chance to develop. Before the 2 hour mark. It really just tastes like yogurt-mayo with green bits. Not tasty. But after the 2 hour mark:bust out the chicken wings and the carrot sticks. You are in for a treat. 

When Someone is New...

I love giving gifts. I love the thrill of finding just the right item that the person loves. Watching them open it and exclaim in surprise. I just love it all. Except when the person is new to me. Then... what should I get them? I probably over think it way too much. And I will admit that there are times when I don't really know what to get someone that I've known forever. They said they needed a new cheese grater... but a cheese grater?? For Christmas?? Yawn.

Truthfully I often rely on the handy Amazon Wishlist. I have one for each of the girls in my account. I keep it updated for out of town friends/relatives that want to send them gifts. But what if a person doesn't have an Amazon list? Or what if they give you a list that is...let's go with lack luster. See cheese grater above. (To be 100% honest my family informed me this year that my list was lame. But for the record I thought reusable produce bags and an extra bowl for my Kitchenaid was lovely.)

Anyway in response to a few lackluster lists I got this year, I developed this handy questionnaire.  I think it will solve many a gifting dilemma.

Don't you think it would be super cute to give the kids a page each year and then keep them in their scrapbooks so we can see how it changes every year?

I think I will start sending out this form each October to my family. I've included the downloadable version below if you want to use it. :)

To Say I Love You

We are all about doing cute things to keep our girls believing in the magic of youth and feeling special. So this is our latest idea. I saw THIS post on Pinterest about Valentine's envelopes and thought, "Why do that just in February?"

 So we installed mailboxes for the girls right outside their bedroom doors.

I found the mailboxes in the dollar section of Target last year around Valentine's day. (On a side note: does anyone love Target's dollar section as much as I do? I always find something fabulous there.) So I bought letter stickers and put the girls' names on the boxes and then mounted them with "L" brackets. We didn't want the pointy ends of screws to be anywhere near the girls so we screwed the brackets into the wall and then hot glued the boxes onto the brackets. Worked wonderfully.

So Sweet and Charming and I now write notes, or do something special for them at least 5 times a week. We shoot for every day, but sometimes life just gets in the way and it just doesn't happen. :/

Any way, the girls just love them. They wake up in the morning and run to their boxes first thing. D even leaves little gifts for K during the day. :)

It also is really helpful on days where the girls....let's go with try our patience. This allows us to sit and really think about them and what they would like. It is really a great way focus on the amazing people they are and forget the silly things that really shouldn't matter.

:)

Christmas Treats (Part 2)

If you missed Part 1 of this post, you really need to check it out. That toffee is way too good. 

But this peppermint bark? It is pretty amazing itself. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 8 peppermint candy canes
• Peppermint essential oil or extract (the EO is way better, but the extract is OK. It can make the chocolate grainy, though)

What To Do:

1. Unwrap the candy canes and place them in a large Ziploc bag and seal tightly. Use a rolling pin to roll/smash the candy canes until they are very small pieces.
2. Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with smooth aluminum foil and either spraying it with cooking spray or brushing it with canola oil.
3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on HIGH in 30 second intervals. Stir between heatings to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn.  Pour the chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it to the edges and an even thickness. Once it is smeared around, tap it on the counter to get is even and to get the air bubbles out. Place the tray in the refrigerator, or outside to firm. 
4. While the dark chocolate firms, melt the white chocolate as you did the dark. Once it is done add 5 drops of the peppermint EO or 1 1/2 tsp of the peppermint extract. 
5. Remove the tray from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate in an even layer over the dark chocolate.
6. While the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the candy cane pieces over the entire surface evenly. Press down very slightly to ensure they stick. Place the tray back in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes.
7. Once the peppermint bark bark is completely set, break into small, uneven pieces by hand or cut into squares. Make sure that the chocolate is set before you begin cutting. If it is not firm the chocolates with separate. No bueno.

Christmas Treats (Part 1)

I am like probably every other person on Christmas Planet as I make food gifts for my neighbor's and friends during the holidays. 

I usually make a few staple things. Molasses cookies, assorted nuts, and sugar cookies. For my sugar cookies I make the ones from Bee In Our Bonnet. I would talk about them here, but really there's no point.  Ashleigh from Bee In Our Bonnet does such a great job with her pictures and details, that I just couldn't do it justice. Also Her cookie and frosting recipe is divine and probably one of the only recipes I don't mess with. 

Anyway.... This year for treats I decided to do something different. My sister and I teamed up and she made the pecans (because I am allergic) and I did the others. I still did the sugar cookies. Mostly because Christmas isn't Christmas without sugar cookies. I also did biscotti, peppermint bark, and chocolate almond toffee. This post is about the toffee. The peppermint bark will be in Part 2. 

Ingredients

•  2 cup2 (4 sticks) butter, cut up
•  3 cups granulated sugar
•  2 tablespoon light corn syrup
•  1 cup chopped almonds plus 1/4 finely chopped almonds
•  24 ounces (4 cups) dark chocolate chips

What To Do:

1. Line a half-sheet jelly-roll pan or 2 15 x 10 x 1) with foil and either spray it with cooking oil or brush it with canola oil. In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Heat over medium heat to melt butter. Increase heat to medium-high and insert candy thermometer.

2. Cook mixture about 12 minutes until golden brown and temperature reaches 300 degrees F. Do not stir. Remove from heat and remove thermometer. 

(I used a pot that was *almost* too small. Be careful not to make this mistake!)

3. Quickly pour toffee onto prepared pan(s) and spread to edges with an off set spatula. The toffee sets pretty quickly so you will need to work fast. Let stand in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. The wire rack part is pretty important as the bottom of the pan needs to cool as well as the top. 

4. Melt half of the chocolate in microwave on HIGH in 30 second intervals. Stir to smooth after each heating. Spread over top of cooled toffee with the offset spatula.  Refrigerate (or put it outside in winter) for 20 minutes until firm.

5. Once firm, flip entire bar over onto waxed paper and remove the foil. Microwave remaining chocolate just as before. Spread over the toffee and sprinkle with almonds. Press the almonds gently on the the chocolate. Refrigerate 20 minutes more. 

6. The chocolate needs to be very firm before breaking. If it is not firm, the chocolate will separate from the toffee. Break into 2-1/2-inch pieces. Store airtight at room temperature. It stays good for about a month. But it never lasts that long. :) 

Vegetable Shepard's Pie

This is a favorite dish of mine. It calls my name as soon as the temperature dips below 60. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
• 1 Tbs + 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 parsnips peeled and sliced into 1/4" thick pieces
• 2 medium fennel bulbs cut into 1/4" dice
• 2 cups brussel sprouts quartered
• 2 garlic cloves grated of pressed
• 2 Tbs chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 16 oz veggie broth (chicken is fine too)
• 3 cups spinach, kale or chard
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 stalks celery sliced 1/4" thick

Put sweet potatoes in just enough water to cover them with 1 Tbs salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender (approx 20 mins). 

Meanwhile in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 mins. Add parsnips, celery, fennel, brussel sprouts, garlic, parsley, pepper, and remaining salt. Toss. 

Add broth and increase heat. Simmer 15- 20 minutes until veggies are tender. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat.

With a slotted spoon transfer veggies to a 9" pie plate/casserole dish. Drain the potatoes , add butter, and mash until smooth. Spread potatoes over the veggies. Broil on high until lightly browned (2-3 minutes). Sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve hot. 

I tried to get a picture of this when I made it for some friends, but by the time I got the camera here's what was left. :-/

Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls

I think every family has a "sick plan". You know, the things that parents do to make their kids feel better. Well growing up my family's sick plan was matzo ball soup. My grandmother would have my grandfather make the soup for us. It was funny actually, because he was never allowed to make any food other than chicken livers and matzo ball soup. And boy how he made them. Now I don't make chicken livers. I leave that up to my Aunt Marcia. And I don't make my matzo ball soup from scratch (boiling the whole chicken and all). I know. I know. Alert the presses! There is something I take a shortcut with!! 

But I just don;t have all day to make up soup especially if I have small people or Sweet and Charming asking to have it for dinner at 3:00 pm. 

So here's my recipe. I call it chicken soup with matzo balls because I since I take a shortcut I can;t bring myself to call it matzo ball soup. 

NOTE: There are 2 types of people in the land matzo balls. There are those that like "sinkers" and those that like "floaters". The difference is just like it sounds. Sinkers are matzo balls that are dense and sink straight to the bottom of the bowl. And floaters are light pillowy balls that...well...float. I am a floater.

The problem is that I always made sinker matzo balls. No matter how hard I tried. Sinkers they were. So last Spring Sweet and Charming and I went to a Passover Seder at the house of a long standing family friend. She has floaters. I picked her brain during dinner and behold!! Floaters. (Yay!!)

At long last, the recipe:

Matzo balls:Ingredients:

• 4-6 eggs 
• Matzo meal
• Few pinches of salt
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 Tbs dried dill

Beat the eggs lightly with a fork in a bowl. Add spices and salt. Then you add matzo meal stirring lightly (think dragging your fork through the mixture, not really "mixing"). Keep adding matzo until it looks like slightly runny oatmeal. I know there is no measurement for the matzo meal. Sorry. But it depends on so much. The size of your eggs, the moisture in the air... So no measurement. Just keep adding in little bits until you get the slightly runny oatmeal. Then toss the bowl in the fridge and let it sit for about 30 mins. During that time it will firm up enough so you can handle it.   

Wet your hands with cold water and form the matzo balls into small walnut size balls. These things plump a LOT when cooked, so be mindful of that when you decide how to big to make them. Then put them in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for at least 40 minutes. 

While the matzo balls are doing the firming and boiling thing make the soup!

Soup:
Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• 8 chicken thighs (or 4 breasts- thighs taste better) skinned and boned
• 3 carrots, sliced 
• 2 cups (or 1 large) onion
• 4 ribs celery, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano (optional)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 lb dried egg noodles

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Slat and pepper the thighs. Brown the chicken on all sides, working in batches if necessary. You do not have to cook the chicken all the way thorough, just brown it. It really gives the soup SO much more flavor. (I guess you don't have to brown the meat, but you're missing out.) 

Remove the thighs from the pot and put it on a plate. 

Add the veggies and sweat them for a few minutes. Add the garlic and oregano. Bloom for 30 seconds. Add the white wine and deglaze the pot. Reduce by half. 

Add the stock and chicken pieces. Let simmer for 30-40 mins. 

You can add the noodles and the matzo balls to the soup pot about 10 minutes before serving. I recommend cooking the noodles in a separate pot until they are just shy of al dente. Then add them to the soup pot just before serving.  

The Amazingness of Kale

I love kale. Actually my whole family does. When I go grocery shopping D asks for kale as we go by the produce section. If for some reason we don't need it that visit (which is rare), K will cry and scream. It's a charmed life I live. :) My favorite time of year is at the end of the summer when the bunches of kale are enormous. It makes me happy. 

There are also a lot of times I will be in line at the grocery store and people will ask me "What do you do with all that kale?" Here are my answers:

Side note- You can do all of these with collard greens, turnip greens, or chard. The turnip greens are a little spicier. :)

Kale Salad:

I love salads. Like really really love them. I was at a restaurant in Phoenix and had a baby kale salad with lemon vinaigrette. The following is my recreation of that. It is now one of my favorites. 

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 4 cups chopped fresh baby mixed kale
• 1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan
• Homemade croutons (optional)

Whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil. This will make more than you need for your salad. I make mine in glass bottles and keep it in my fridge. 

Mix the kale, Parmesan, and lemon zest. drizzle dressing over and top with croutons. Yum-O!

Kale chips:

• 1 bunch kale, washed, stems removed and leaves cut into 1.5 inch pieces
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper

Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil over the kale and turn to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 325 for 20 minutes. They should be crispy but not brown. The single layer part is pretty important. If they are not in a single layer they won't crisp, and no one likes a soggy chip. 

Also- The temperature really depends on your oven. The oven we had at our last house we baked the chips at 300. Here 325. So I would play around with it. Maybe start low and work your way up. 

Kale Pasta:

This is my go to meal for busy nights when I don;t have time to cook. It is done in the amount of time it takes to cook the pasta. Dinner in under 15 minutes? Yes please. 

1 pound penne pasta
2 tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil
1 a bunch of kale, finely chopped
2 handfuls of baby spinach
3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3/4 teaspoon, crushed red pepper flakes

2-4 Tbs white wine

1/4 cup Chicken stock

handful of toasted pine nuts
salt, to taste

Parmesan for sprinkling

Start the water boiling for the penne. While the water heats heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and pepper flakes cook gently for about 30 seconds to let the spices bloom. Add the kale, spinach and salt. Cook until greens are wilted. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce by half. Then add chicken stock and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover and let simmer until pasta is done.

Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta. If the veggie mixture needs more liquid add the pasta water. Add kale mixture to pasta. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan.

Sour Milk Pancakes

I hear you out there. With your nose wrinkled and a look of "gross". But would I lie to you? Have I EVER lied to you about food? Have I?? No. And I am not lying to you about these. So there. 

These pancakes are amazing. They are light, fluffy, and soft. They are a little labor intensive, but so worth the effort. A little butter. Divine. A little maple syrup. Heaven. 

The bast part is that one batch makes more than my family of 4 can eat. So I use the extra to make half dollar pancakes for the girls to eat on weekday mornings. It's pretty much a win-win. They get tiny pancakes and I can make sure they aren't eating food from a box that has ingredients I can't pronounce. I should thank my sister, who can thank her friend for the recipe. :)

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated

2 cups (scant) milk

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 cups all purpose- flour

1 Tbps sugar

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 stick butter melted

What To Do

Put the 2 tbs of vinegar into a measuring cup. Add milk so it equals 2 cups. Let sit for ten minutes. Beat the egg yolks and add to milk mixture. Mix all dry ingredient together in a bowl. Add milk mixture and mix until dry is just absorbed. Try not to over mix. Add melted butter and mix again. Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold into batter. 

Now this part is a matter of preference  I put my batter in a old ketchup bottle. It makes it easier to make Mickey Mouse shapes, letters, numbers or half dollar size pancakes. It is all up to you. 

A Twist:

If you are feeling fancy you can add chocolate chips, raspberries, or blueberries (or any combination) to these. Just pour the batter on the griddle and then add pieces of the desired item(s). Then flip them and viola!! A super yummy pancake! My favorite is raspberry chocolate. 

What I do with the extra:

 I put them on a cookie sheet and then stick them in the freezer.

Once they are frozen, I stick them in a bag and pop them back in the freezer. Then on a crazy Tuesday morning all I have to do is microwave them for 30 seconds add butter and maple syrup, and I'm done!!