Kickin’ Collard Greens

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Okay, this recipe is from allrecipes.com.  I thought it would be a good idea to find a healthier alternative to typical southern-prepared collards, since they really are good for you.  It’s a pretty good recipe, but next time I will add more red pepper and give it a little more zing, like they suggest.  If you are used to the usual fatback-laden, way-cooked collard, be prepared for a different experience!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil (I used extra virgin)
3 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped ( I used yellow)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt (I used Kosher)
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces (as you can see below, I opted for the bagged fresh collards.  These definitely need to be cut smaller and I would also remove any large ribs.)

1.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat (I used a dutch oven).  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Remove bacon from pot, crumble it and return to the pot.  Add onion, and cook until tender, approx. 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until just fragrant.

2.   Add collards and fry until they start to wilt.

3.  Pour in chicken broth and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (next time I will use a little more seasoning).  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes–I would go a little longer–until greens are tender.

Source:  Ken Adams, allrecipes.com

Chicken-n-Veggies

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Mormon Mavens Blog Spot

This is one of those recipes that came to “be” out of desperation — when I was out of other things for a recipe.  It has become a go-to recipe for us – Even our “I don’t really like chicken people” love this.  It is on the table from start to finish in less than 30 minutes.  Use the leftovers in a wrap – Yummy!
Note:  Some of the ingredients are “to taste”

Ingredients:
1 Tbls Coconut Oil
7-10 Chicken Tenderloins chunked
2-3 cloves garlic or equivalent in Garlic Powder
1/2 – 1 medium onion chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
2 zucchinis cut in half lengthwise and sliced
Lemon Pepper

1.  Melt Coconut Oil in large frying pan, add chicken
2.  Fry chicken for 4-5 minutes – add a little water if necessary to keep from burning
3.  Add garlic, peppers and onions – saute/fry for 5 minutes or until chicken is almost done
4.  Add Broccoli and Zucchini with a little water for steaming and to keep from burning.
5.  Sprinkle entire pan with Lemon pepper
5.  Cook for additional 4-5 minutes or until broccoli is tender.

Enjoy!

Source:  A Jennie original

Happy Independence Day!

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Other than the sweltering heat, I always love the Fourth of July.  I love fireworks and parades (which always make me cry for some reason) and sparklers and flags.

And I love my country.

I have a great love for the Founding Fathers of America.  They were not perfect men but I believe that they were divinely inspired to do the great work that they did for my country.  They took a stand that required complete and total commitment.  One that was also, quite literally, do or die.

I have to ask myself if I have that kind of courage.  I think I do in some situations.  I think we all do in very drastic situations, perhaps involving the safety of a loved one.

But what about the less obvious opportunities to take a stand?  What about our personal independence from whatever tyrants we have allowed to rule our lives?

While we are totally dependent upon, and grateful to, a loving Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ, we must not allow ourselves to be enslaved by the ruthless despots that rob us of our precious “natural” resources of time, energy, and talents.  Are there any ways that we, in our very personal lives, have allowed a “foreign” ruler to reign supreme?  An addiction, a habit, a weakness, a character flaw….something that we know we need to break free from but somehow feel unable or unwilling to declare our independence from?


President James E. Faust once said:

Each new day that dawns can be a new day for us to begin to change. We can change our environment. We can change our lives by substituting new habits for old. We can mold our character and future by purer thoughts and nobler actions. As someone once put it, “The possibility of change is always there, with its hidden promise of peace, happiness, and a better way of life.”

Peace, happiness, and a better way of life?  Sounds good to me.  Sounds like something the Founding Fathers wanted.


And so, I challenge myself (and you, if you are up for it) to declare independence from one thing today.  One vice or habit that steals away a part of you, that somehow holds you captive.  It doesn’t have to be huge.  In fact, it probably should be something small that you can tackle with confidence.  


Really think about it.  Has something been gnawing at you, making you squirm, filling you with regret?  Analyze it and pick it apart if it’s too big to handle in one chunk.  Pick a baby step that at least puts you one foot into the journey towards independence from whatever maniacal monarch has you in chains.


Declare it, and then fight for independence from it!  Look it straight in the eye and say:



Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!  May it mean more to you on this day than ever before.

Peach Ice Cream

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 The texture of this is like frozen custard.  I think I would add even more peaches though.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup whole milk (I used half-and-half)
4 large egg yolks
salt
2 cups fresh peaches (about 4 of them), peeled, pitted, and pureed
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
1 t. vanilla extract
Directions:
1.  In medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, milk, egg yolks, and a pinch of salt.  Place pan on medium-high heat, and whisk until mixture comes to a simmer.  Lower heat to medium and whisk mixture 5 minutes, or until it begins to thicken.  Strain into large bowl, then whisk in peaches, half-and-half, cream, and vanilla.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours, or until chilled.
2.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker; process according to manufacturer’s instructions. 
Source: Country Living

Zucchini Bake

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I know we JUST had a zucchini bake posted here but, sometimes options are good, no?  I tried this recipe for the first time today and thought it was delicious and comforting.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
4-5 small zucchinis (up to 15 oz) unpeeled and coarsely grated*
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 packet Canadian bacon (6 oz or to taste) finely chopped**
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, packed
1 heaping cup self rising flour***
1/3-1/2 cup oil
5 eggs lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a small or medium size baking dish (size will determine baking time).
2.  Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into greased baking dish.
3.  Bake 30-40 minutes for a medium or shallow dish.  Today we used a small deep dish and it took 1 hour.  Zucchini bake is done when brown on top and skewer inserted comes out clean.  Can be served hot or cold.

Entertaining?  Garnish with tomato slices or fresh chopped parsley!

*The smaller zucchinis will make the dish greener due to more skin.
**You can use ham or bacon as well.  If you use bacon you may need to adjust the oil.
*** If you don’t have self rising flour use 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt

Source:  My Australian friend

“What Matters Most”

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Thinking back on my life, the happiest times have been spent with family. Those people whom I love the most!  The people that matter the most. Letting them know how much I love them is important to me.  And really, its never been hard for me to share those feelings.  But, I know from experience that when I do tell them I love them or appreciate them, it makes a difference in their lives.  That is why we are family, to love and support each other.  To help each other find the way to Heavenly Father.  Love them, and tell them so.

Summer Zucchini Bake

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It’s nearly July and gardens across the country are producing massive amounts of Zucchini. I sadly don’t have a garden (once I have a yard, you better believe I’ll have one!), but I am the grateful recipient of those who have them.

This is a great recipe to have on hand. Zucchini are so easy to cook with, they take on nearly any flavor you pair them with. I LOVE this recipe, and know you will too.


Summer Zucchini Bake

Ingredients
4 (regular sized) zucchini, sliced thin
2 carrots, grated
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (mine came from a jar of minced garlic)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Ritz Crackers, French Fried Onions, or another crunchy topping of your choosing

Directions
– Coat frying pan with olive oil. Add onion, saute. Once the onion is starting to saute, add zucchini and garlic. Cook until tender. (Make sure to not over cook the zucchini, you don’t want mush!) Remove from heat.
– In a bowl (or the casserole dish that you’ll bake it in) combine zucchini mixture, carrots, and soup. Mix well.
– Cook at 375 for 15 minutes in a shallow 2 quart dish. Add your topping and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until heated through.

This recipe is easy to mix up too. If you have squash, throw those in. No cream of mushroom soup? I’m sure Cream of Celery would be great too. It’s such a nice way to use all that fresh produce straight from the garden.

Chicken and Spinach Stromboli

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My kids love Stromboli, but only the kind with ham and cheese. Mr. Blue Eyes and I like ham and cheese, too, but sometimes it’s nice to zest it up a bit, don’t you think?

One day I had some fresh spinach in the fridge, some chicken in the freezer, and I thought, “I wonder…”  Well, my friends, IT WORKED! And here I am to share this concoction with the world. Lucky you. 🙂

Ingredients:
1 Batch of Pizza Dough (or a frozen loaf of Rhoades, thawed)
2-3 Chicken Breasts, thawed
Crushed Peppercorn and Garlic Rub (or some variation thereof–use your favorite and what’s on hand)
2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves

1. Rub the chicken with the seasoning and bake, fry, etc. until done. I use my panini maker to grill it. A George Foreman or out door grill would work great, too. Just cook the chicken. 🙂
2. Using a fork, shred the cooked chicken and set it aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4.On a lightly floured board, roll out the dough into a rectangle.
5. Spread the mozzarella cheese over the dough until evenly covered. Spread the chicken over the cheese. Spread the spinach over the chicken. It should look like this:

6. Beginning at the upper long edge, roll the dough in toward you (like cinnamon rolls), carefully tucking spinach leaves as you go. Don’t worry too much if they bunch a little. You’ll win in the end.
7. Pinch the seam and ends shut and place in a jelly roll pan (or on a cookie sheet of some kind) seam side down.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.

Cut into slices and enjoy!

Source: An original

~Kara

Banana Cake with Vanilla Icing

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Oh. My. Gosh!  This is delicious!  The icing is what makes it taste sooo good.  The cake itself tastes almost like a banana bread, but much sweeter and smoother. It would be yummy by itself, but with the icing…yum!  The icing is just addicting! I found this recipe on pinterest and changed a few things that worked better for me.  You’ve gotta try this!

Cake:
2/3 c. white granulated sugar
1/2 c. sour cream (use the good stuff!)
1 egg
2 TBSP. butter, softened (use the good stuff)
2 mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. a/p flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Icing:
2 TBSP butter, softened
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/4 c. confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (glass pans heat to 350)
Cream together the first 4 ingredients. Add the mashed bananas and the vanilla. Add in the last 3 cake ingredients and mix slowly. No lumps from flour…banana lump is okay, but you really should mash those well before you incorporate them into the mix. Pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean! Cool completely before icing this. 
To make the icing: Cream together the butter and the confectioner sugar until smooth. Slowly add the cream in…(this is what makes it so good!)  Add in the vanilla extract and mix until smooth.  Put in the fridge if your waiting for the cake to cool because this has cream in it.  But if your cake is cooled, then ice away!
No joke…this is soo good!

*I doubled this the very first time I made it! Cooked it in a 9×13 pan and it worked well.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins (No Flour)

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I’ve been looking for more recipes that don’t include flour and/or dairy.  By way of Pinterest, I found this one!  *If you want a totally gluten-free version, simply use the gluten-free oats. =)

Ingredients:
3 Very ripe bananas, mashed 
1 C Vanilla Almond Milk (I used original flavor almond milk and it was still yummy) or cow’s milk
1 T Coconut Oil (optional: helps to moisten the oats a little more and make the outer layer crisp) 
2 Eggs
1 T Baking Powder (Yes, Tablespoon)
3 C Old Fashioned, Quick,  or Gluten-Free Oats (I know, that’s a lot of options 😉
1 tsp Vanilla
As many MINI chocolate chips as you like (I used about 1/2 C)
PREHEAT OVEN TO 375* (I put that in bold type because I seem to always forget this step)
First, mash your bananas

Mix together all of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips and 
let the batter sit while you’re preparing the muffin tins. 
*This is really important in this recipe because it gives the oats a chance to release their natural thickening agent.* I was AMAZED at how these turned out looking like I had added flour.  

Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray or use muffin liners. 
Give your batter another quick stir as you add the chocolate chips.
Evenly divide the batter into approximately 15-18 muffins.  (Or 6 mini bundt ca)
Bake 20-30 minutes. My first time making this recipe I used regular muffin tins with liners. You can attempt to eat them while they’re hot, but the muffin liners may not come off very easily.  You’ll definitely have a better time getting them off when they’re cool.  
Have I mentioned what a great texture these guys have?  Great texture. 
*Adapted from Green Lite Bites Banana Oatmeal Cups with Chocolate Chips
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