Author: Anna

Roasted Baby Red Potatoes with Garlic & Thyme

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So how many great recipes have you gotten off of a food package?  Yeah, me too!  This one came in really handy.  I had to come up with a meal on the fly while in the meat section of Walmart.  I decided to get small red potatoes because they would cook fast and I did not have a lot of time after work to put this meal together.  As I was preparing to boil the potatoes–and I hate waiting for the water to boil–I saw this recipe on the bag and thought that roasting would be so much quicker.  And there you go–a tasty side dish that was not a lot of work.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. baby red potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, chopped (I just used whatever minced garlic I had in the fridge.  I need to buy some more)
6 sprigs fresh thyme, or you can use dried thyme.

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  
  2. Combine all ingredients in baking dish and mix well.
  3. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and browned.
  4. Stir gently a couple of times during cooking time.
  5. Remove from oven and serve warm.
NOTE:  I am going to add some chopped onion next time.  I think that would be really yummy.


SOURCE:  Melissa’s Baby Red Potatoes, package recipe. Check out their site HERE.

Succotash Soup

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This is a tasty, healthy soup but it does require some planning ahead.  If you are using fresh veggies, then I would prep them earlier in the day or the day before.  I used freeze-dried foods and just had to re-hydrate them during some of the cooking time.  I found this in a really cool cookbook called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely.  You should check it out.  Lot’s of good stuff, besides recipes.  I like the way the book is organized by season, so that you are eating foods that are available and better for you during certain times of the year.

Ingredients:
1 10-oz. bag frozen lima beans
1 cup water
2 14.5-oz. cans of chicken broth*
1 T. vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup chopped onion*
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper*
1/2 cup chopped celery*
3/4 cup chopped green onions*
2 1/2 t. dried whole thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
1 14.5-oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or already diced)
1 11-oz. can whole kernel corn*

1. Place lima beans in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above the beans.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.

2.  Drain beans; add 1 cup water and broth.  Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 40 minutes or until beans are tender.

3.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion; saute 2 minutes.  Add bell pepper and celery; saute 2 minutes.  Add green onions; saute 1 minute.

4.  Add onion mixture, thyme, and remaining ingredients to bean mixture and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

*This is where I substituted freeze-dried veggies or other items from my Home Store.

Serves 10.  Freezes well.  Leanne suggests serving with a big green salad and whole grain rolls. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Source:  Saving Dinner, Leanne Ely, p. 133.  

Tres Leches Cake

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Has anyone out there noticed that I post a lot of recipes for Hispanic foods?  We lived in El Paso, Texas for 6 1/2 years–right there on the US/Mexico border. Oh my yum!  Last night we had the sister missionaries over for dinner.  One of them had completed her mission and was heading back home to Arizona this week. She wanted her last dinner appointment in her mission to be at our house and she wanted a fiesta!  So cool that both missionaries are Hispanic.  They know how much we love Mexican food so I was happy to oblige. Chile Rellenos, Spanish Rice, Frijoles Charros and Tres Leches Cake.  The rellenos were homemade, but I bought my favorite rice and someday I will learn to make the beans, but for now canned is great.
For those who have never had Tres Leches (3 milks), this cake is meant to be soggy.  If yours turns out dry, you didn’t make it right.  Just sayin’.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided (or not.  I forgot to divide, so my cake was a little sweeter.  Who cares?)
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract, divided
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. cream of tartar
1 cup whole milk (I had 2% and it was fine)
1 12-oz can evaporated  milk
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 T. rum (we don’t drink so I used 2 T. rum flavoring–I Googled this)
Fresh fruit for garnish–I recommend mango, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi combined.
I cut them up a little bigger than a dice.  Leave the blueberries whole.



1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking dish.  I like using glass for this, so I adjusted the oven temp to 325.
2.  Combine butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy.  Add 1 t. vanilla.  Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well.
3.  Combine four, baking powder and cream of tartar.  Add to slowly to butter mixture and beat well. Spread batter in pan.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.
4.  Stir together milk, evaporated milk and condensed milk.  Pour 3 cups over cake*.  Reserve remaining milk mixture to serve with cake.  Refrigerate cake.
5.  Combine heavy cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining 1/2 t. of vanilla and rum or rum flavoring. Beat until thick and spread over cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6.  Pour leftover milk mixture onto dessert plates.  Slice chilled cake into squares and place on plates. Garnish with fresh fruit, if desired.  Serves 16.
Source:  I clipped this from a magazine, so I am guessing Better Homes & Gardens.

*no need to poke holes in the cake before you pour your milk mixture over it.  The cake does absorb the liquid very easily.

Almond Butter Quinoa Brownies

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I am not saying that I have jumped on the quinoa bandwagon, but I got a free “Eating Well” magazine in the mail this past week and was just flipping through it and left it open on the kitchen island.  Next thing you know I have a request to make these lovelies.  Okay, I was game.  These are actually pretty good.  And I had all of the ingredients on-hand, including a hand-crank grinder that I haven’t used in forever*.  Pretty handy little tool, really.  Mental note to use this more often.  
 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (I used salted because that is what I had.  Paula Deen says that’s okay.)
3/4 cup smooth or crunchy natural almond butter
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 cup quinoa flour (I used my hand-crank grinder to make this)
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

 
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil allowing it to slightly overhang on opposite ends so you have “handles” to lift the blondies out of the pan.  Coat the foil with cooking spray. Seriously. These things are a little sticky when you cut them and pull them off of the foil.

 

2.  Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy.  Beat in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.  Whisk quinoa flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
 
3.  Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.
 
4.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake about 25 minutes–until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.
 
5.  Remove from oven and let cool about 45 minutes in the pan.  Lift the blondies out of the pan with the foil  and transfer to a cutting board.  Let cool completely and cut into bars.
 
6.  Makes 24 blondies.
 
7.  These should keep up to 5 days in the fridge, in an air-tight container.
 
*Check out this cool grinder…
 
 
 

SOURCE:  Eating Well Magazine.

To Bridle

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I was reading an article the other day entitled “Bridle All Your Passions.”  It was interesting to me to read about what that really means.  My first thought would be that I have to give up something, but that is not the case and that is not the purpose of a bridle.  I don’t ride horses, but I have friends who do.  I am sure they understand the importance and usefulness of the bridle they put on their horse.  Are you starting to get a feel for where this is going?
 
 
Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints quoted in this article: 
 
“We are told to bridle all our passions, not to suppress or kill all our passions.  Controlling our emotions and desires does not mean to stamp all of them out because they are all bad.  Just as we bridle animals because they are useful and helpful, we bridle our passions so that we control them and allow them to serve a higher purpose.”
 
I really like that.  We all have things that we are passionate about that are good things or better things or best things.  I am passionate about de-cluttering and organizing.  That can go two ways.  I can either go bonkers and organize every “jot and tittle” of my home or I can take some of that energy and help a friend who might be drowning in clutter or laundry or paper or whatever.  
 
What we must learn to do is harness the passions and energy in our life and make them work 
 for our good, as well as for the good of others.
 
Source:  David A. Bednar
 
 

 

Long Grain & Wild Rice with Cranberries & Pecans

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Have you tried any items off of Applebee’s new Pub Diet?  Seriously, you should at least try the Cedar Grilled Lemon Chicken, Granny Smith Apple Relish, Lemon Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Quinoa Cranberry Pecan Rice Blend.  Yes that was a mouthful–a mouthful of deliciousness! That rice was to die for.  I could not even concentrate on the dinner conversation.  I am attempting to replicate that recipe right here.  My recipe is good, but it is not the real deal.  Plus, I didn’t use quinoa.  Not sure what kind Applebee’s had in their rice. I will try this recipe again, after I have done some more field studies, i.e., gone back to Applebee’s for more. Also, while putting this recipe together I found a quick way to toast pecans.  Yummy.  Future post. Stay-tuned.
Ingredients:
1 pkg. Long Grain & Wild Rice Blend (I thought the wild rice was a nice addition)
Dried cranberries
Pecans, toasted (you can leave them halved or chop coarsely)
Olive oil
Cranberry Juice Cocktail (little tip from the waiter)

1.  Cook the rice according to package directions and taste preferences.  I used my rice cooker for this because at the end of steaming, I added about 1/4 cup of cranberry juice cocktail and let it steam a bit more.  The waiter told me about that little step when I was raving about the rice.
2.  Add in desired amount of dried cranberries, and the toasted pecans.  Fluff the rice and evenly distribute the other ingredients.


Toasting Pecans in the Microwave

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Yes, I toasted my pecans in the dang microwave.  Does that sound like cheating?  Perhaps, but if time is an issue, this is a great alternative to the standard oven procedure.  Here it is, in a nutshell.  
Ingredients:
4 cups pecans, shelled
1/4 cup butter
sea salt

1.  Place the pecans in a microwave-proof pie plate.  Add the butter, then salt to taste.
2.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes, then stir to distribute the butter.
3.  Microwave on high for another 3 minutes.  You can certainly check on the pecans and make sure they are not getting too done.
4.  Taste immediately, or wait until they have cooled a little.  These suckers are yum!
5.  Coarsely chop or not.  Add to whatever recipe needs them.
Source:  Food.com

Chile Rellenos Chicken

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This is a really quick and tasty dish that you will love.  I just made it for the first time tonight and I wish I had not eaten something already for supper.  I had to take 3 test bites of this one.  So good.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4-6 oz. each)
1 lime, cut in half crosswise
1 egg white
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 cup finely crushed nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 can (4 oz.) whole green chilies
2 T. shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 t. snipped fresh cilantro
Prepared Salsa (opt.)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a shallow pan with foil.

2.  Place one chicken breast in a resealable food storage bag. Seal. Lightly flatten to even thickness with a meat mallet.  Repeat with other breast (I actually put them both in a gallon-size bag so that I could adjust the size more easily.  And it was quicker).  Discard bag.

3.  Juice the lime halves into a small bowl.  Add egg white and garlic.  Whisk until frothy.

4.  Place crushed tortilla chips in a shallow dish.  Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into chips, coating completely.  Discard any remaining chips. Place chicken on pan.

5.  Bake 20-22 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.  Arrange chile strips over chicken, sprinkle with cheese and bake 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts.  Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve with salsa if desired.  YIELD: 2 servings.

Source:  Stoneware Inspirations.

Sloppy Joes

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And who doesn’t have a recipe for this one?  But I needed a blog post and I am taking a meal to a couple of teen-aged boys and I think this will fill them up quite nicely.  Their Mom is at Duke Medical Center with another brother and several of the women at church are providing some meals for the boys in her absence.  This goes together very quickly, but does need to simmer for an hour.  I chose to throw it in the slow cooker because I don’t have time to cook when I get home from work. You can probably substitute ground turkey to make this recipe a little healthier.  I won’t do that to the boys–their palates would probably freak out.

Ingredients:
1 lb. hamburger*
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 t. salt
dash of pepper
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup Catsup (or ketchup, whichever you prefer)
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. chili powder
hamburger buns (potato rolls are da bomb!)

1.  Brown meat and drain off fat.
2.  Mix meat and other ingredients together in a skillet and bring to a boil.  Simmer one hour.
3.  Serve on buns and add some celery/carrot sticks and maybe some chips of some kind.

NOTE:  I stretched the meat a little with Taco TVP that I had on hand so that I could keep some of this for our supper.  Also, if  you are using a slow cooker, just do everything according to the recipe and then cook on low for about 5 hours.

Hot Mustard

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Here is a tangy, tasty, tongue-pleaser!  Anytime you need a nice, bold mustard, this will do the trick.  We are getting ready to dip some Reuben Pigs in a Blanket into it.  

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry mustard 
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup malt vinegar
3 beaten eggs

1.  Combine the first 3 ingredients in a 1 quart microwavable mixing bowl and let stand 24 hours in
     the refrigerator.

2.  Next day, mix the eggs in with a whisk and then microwave on high for 2 minutes, whisk again.  Repeat
     5 times for a total cook time of 10 minutes.

3.  Keep refrigerated.

Source:  Marie Roth