Power Balls

There are so many versions of these great little snacks.  Here's what we've been making lately.  They are great for the kid's lunches (apparently they have made Daniel popular at lunch), after school or on the go.  If I try to make them too often everyone revolts so I gotta keep that in mind.  :)

Combine:
1 cup whole oats
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chopped oats (just put them in a blender or coffee grinder)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I actually combine mine with the oats and then they don't get too sticky)
2 Tablespoons Hemp Seeds
1/4- 1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Blend with the back of a wooden spoon until combined.  If they are too dry you can add a little more peanut butter or even some milk.  If they are too wet, add more oats.  Rolls them into balls and they keep nicely in the fridge or the freezer.  Mine never last more than a few days so I'm not sure how long they are good in the fridge but I bet a week at least.

Some of the other ingredients we have added are protein powder, coconut and chopped craisins.  A simple search on pinterest will give a lot of other ideas.

My new favorite Salsa

We were having fajitas the other night and had no salsa so I thought I would make some.  I've been using Pioneer Woman's recipe for awhile and like it pretty well.  I had some red pepper and onions cooking on the stove for the fajitas and didn't feel like chopping up more onion so I just added some of the sauteed onion/pepper to the salsa.  Okay. Yum. 

Here's the recipe:  You may want to just drink it with a straw

1 can rotel (tomoatoes & green chilis- I had never heard of this before moving to TX)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1/2 jalapano (wait till it's a bit red b/c I'm wimpy)
Juice from 1 lime

1/2 large onion
1/2 red pepper
saute in 2 tsp oil for 20 minutes

1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

I just throw all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  So yummy on fajitas, or as dip for corn tacos with beans & cheese or with eggs and chopped tortillas.  I could live on Mexican. Oh.... and... we have lemons!! 

Stay Green

I found something useful on pinterest!  Mostly it just makes me want to diet while eating brownies and dying my hair.  But this green smoothie recipe rocks.  It has peanut butter in it which sounded awful to me but even Curtis likes it (and he is not a PB guy).  The boys hate it.  Isaac said it tastes "...like bread."  whatever.  I've tweaked it a bit and it's an awesome way to start the day and get your greens!

My buddy here kept talking about green smoothies and I thought they just sounded wrong.  She finally had to come over and make me drink one.  I really do like them.  The kids are on and off.  If I make them yummy with lots of pineapple/orange and banana then they'll drink it.  Anyway, here's the PB recipe if you're feeling brave. 

1 banana

1 scoop yogurt (I like greek plain)

1 Tbsp peanut butter (more or less as you like it)

1 tsp honey or agave (you need to sweeten the plain yogurt taste)

2 tsp flax, maybe more- I just sprinkle it in

1 scoop protein powder

4-5 cups greens (spinach, kale and chard)

2 cups ice

1/2 cup water

I don't like it too thick so sometimes I add a little more water.  Curtis likes it thick.  The end.

So Thankful!

We've spent our fair share of Thanksgivings without family around. Many years we've invited friends over and have even enjoyed a few by ourselves. Curt and I are HUGE fans of the meal so we always have to make the whole dang thing. Being without family usually meant days of cooking and then days of eating but the good news is that I totally know how to make a turkey!

This year, my brother and his family came to visit us. We had such a fun time! The weather was absolutely perfect-mid 70's all week. They were here for 5 days and we packed a lot in:

1) A trip to the Beach Club. This is a couple of lakes and parks just a few minutes from my house. We walked/ran 3 miles and let the kids play on the playground and exercise equipment.

2) We drove to the hood for some top ranked Mexican food. We got lost several times and the kids were hysterical with hungar but the quesadillas and queso were fantastic! Here is a review I just saw of this place online: "really good basic Mexican food - very inexpensive - lousy, dangerous neighborhood." Information that would've been helpful yesterday (in an Adam Sandler voice!)

3) There was lots of swimming. Turns out that 65F water isn't a deterrent for my neices! :) It helped that we warmed up the hot tub.

4) On wednesday night we made 6 pies, brined the turkey and started the rolls. I still use my friend Melissa's recipe for "Icebox Butterhorns" and they are the best. But couldn't you tell by the name? We usually make our own pie crust but decided to just buy some this year. If I could do it again I would have made the crusts. They hardly take any time and taste SO much better. Note for next year...

5) I wanted to do the local turkey trot but it was super expensive and crowded so we just decided to meet a bunch of our friends at a local elementary on Thanksgiving morning. This turned out to be one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories ever. We played a huge game of kickball (such a perfect game b/c it's fun for 3 year olds and 40 year olds). Curtis was happy because he had the opportunity to peg me in the back with the ball when I made a run for home. There was a really great playground and the kiddos got to play on the swings, play basketball and throw footballs/frisbees. Seriously such a great way to start off the day.

6) We finished prepping the meal and had an amazing Thanksgiving feast that night. Everything tasted so good. I love this meal. I mean I love this meal. Oh and I forgot the cranberries! For reals. (Wow! I found the clip here.) Luckily Kroger was still open and Riche and I made a run for it. We also stocked up on lots of whole nuts for cracking, some subpar chocolates (dang- we should've planned and had Sees!) and a bag of Brock's candy mix that made all of us think of our grandmas. :)

7) We hit Dewberry Farms on Friday. It was meh. Actually Daniel got a huge goose egg on his head within the first 5 minutes. (I think he ran into a post) Then Maya's flip flop broke so she had no shoes (a little gross at a farm- even to me and I'm so not a germ-a-phobe) and then Lauren got huge blisters on her hands from the zip line. So we headed home and rested up until the adults went out for a special date. We took Rich and Steph to "Taste of Texas" which is hands down our favorite restaurant in the world. It has never disappointed. Everything was fantastic: stuffed mushrooms, onion soup, the salad bar and of course the steak. Oh and the wait was pretty long so we headed over the Cavenders to look at cowboy gear. Steph and I got boots. Red boots. Seriously a perfect date! :)

8) We saw several movies. Curtis kept wanting to see "Holes" again, so we rented it. What a great flick. The kids loved it. One night Rich and Steph and Curtis and I stayed up watching "Crazy Stupid Love." It made us laugh. We only hit the theaters once and "Puss 'n Boots" rocked. I'm a huge fan of that kitty. Even stole a little happy meal toy from Lucy recently because it's just SO cute!

9) Just hours before my brother's fam needed to be at the airport we decided to jump out for dinner one more time, just the adults. We went to Pappadeux and enjoyed amazing cajun seafood. Unfortunately I had eated my 4th or 5th plate of Thanksgiving only a few hours before so I couldn't eat much. But I did try alligator and yeah, it tastes just like chicken.

We have so much to be thankful for I hardly know where to start. Freedom, Food, Safety, Comfortable homes, loving families, Friends, Peace through faith.... too many more. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend too!

Marinara Miracle

Emily gave me Giada's marinara recipe a few months ago and I am seriously in love. So simple and so delicious. Most pasta sauce from a jar tastes blah to me and the good stuff is way too expensive. So here is the solution: About once every 6 weeks make Giada's recipe (doubled). Freeze a bunch and you will have it on hand. We have pasta, bread and salad every Monday. The kiddos all love this meal and it is easy to prepare. If you buy a #10can of diced or crushed tomatoes you save even more money (these cost $2.79 at Costco).

Ingredients:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 small onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 #10 can crushed or diced tomatoes plus 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
4 dried bay leaves

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. I don't chop everything super small and so at the end I use my immersion hand blender to blend it up right in the pan.

Freeze remaing sauce in tupperware for future fantastic meals. We love this dinner with Artisan bread and a basic salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. (I just started making this because I'm sick of throwing away salad dressing from the store). Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup olive oil
3 T Balsamic vinegar
few shakes of salt and pepper

Blueberries

When I was growing up our family often went strawberry, raspberry and apple picking. I have happy memories of me sitting on the kitchen table dipping strawberries in sugar and eating them. Curt's family has a similar tradition except it involves wild blueberries and sometimes bears. But the result is always the most amazing blueberry pie you have ever eaten! Usually when we visit Ontario we aren't there during blueberry season but this time the stars aligned and I finally got to go. Twice! It was dreamy. The perfect combination of spongy, piney scented groundcover that crackles when you walk; soft, beautiful and sweet berries; and a little bit of industry (which always makes me happy).

Curt's Gran (who turned 86 this summer btw) has been picking since she was a small girl. She and her siblings would go out in the bush all day get paid just a few pennies for their work. She said she's seen bears on occasion but only been chased out once. Yikes.

And I'm so excited. My boys finally like blueberries. The tart, tough skinned ones we get here have never interested them. But at least now they know what a real blueberry tastes like. We managed to take 2 quarts home with us and are so happy to have a little slice of Canada back here in Texas with us.

Lamb and Lemons

Happy Belated Easter! This week is a blur. We attempted our Easter Week activities again this year and it went pretty well. We weren't able to visit a Cathedral but did most of the other activities. Sometimes we just did them at dinner. It really helped to make the week more meaningful. I tried making Matzo Ball soup this year for Passover. Curtis and I both loved it. Jonah, Isaac and Lucy tolerated it and Daniel would not touch the Matzo. We really enjoyed watching "The Prince of Egypt." I had forgotten how great that soundtrack is.

I went running somewhere in there and my knee was SUPER sore but after a lot of icing and a soak in the hot tub it felt much better. I'll try running agin tomorrow and hopefully everything will be fine. Curtis and I also spent the better part of two days digging in our yard. We replaced two drain pipes, put in some plants and unloaded a yard of mulch. Oh and it was in the upper 80's. Arghh. The good news? I thought to wear my swim suit for a lot of it and my awkward tan lines are fading.

We were supposed to go camping Thursday thru Saturday but decided against it due to the fire ban. What's camping without a fire? Instead of bunch of our friends decided to do a progressive camping party and we had fun activities planned for 2 days. Including foil dinners over a fire, lots of guitar and singing, egg hunts for the kiddos, watching "Tangled," kayaking (which the Turners opted out of because dude we needed naps),swimming and eating Crawfish.



Sunday we were sort of toast right from the start. But it turned out to be a great day. I had planned to sing in the ward choir and singing always puts me in a good mood. I was also asked to speak in church yesterday. Usually I get pretty nervous but I think this week was so crazy I just didn't have time. I also actually wrote my talk on Monday so I wasn't freaking out on Saturday night. Score 1 for not procrastinating. :) I'm actually really glad I was asked to speak because it gave me the chance to ponder the atonement and resurrection of Christ. I was also sitting up on the stand during church so I was really able to listen to the meeting while Curtis wrestled with the kids. :O

As for Easter Dinner, we have been making lamb for several years now and it has become a tradition that I love! I personally don't love the gamey taste of lamb but found a recipe that we all really like. I didn't get a picture but I'll post the recipe. I also made a lemon curd cake this year. It turned out okay but I will try making a few changes next year. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter. LY

Easter Lamb Chops

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp dried tarragon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
4 lamb chops

In a medium bowl mix sugar and spices. Rub lamb chops and refrigerate at least one hour. Mine were in for about 5 hours and the flavor was so good. Grill on med high heat for about 5 minutes on each side. Brush grill lightly with oil (I forgot to do this and some of them were sticking quite a bit).

We quadrupled this recipe since we had invited two families over. One of my friends brought over a beautiful ham with pineapple and it was a perfect amount of food. Oooh and I also made Pear and Blue Cheese Salad from my sister's awesome cooking site. It was a pretty big salad and every bit was gone. Yumma.

Here's the link to the Lemon Curd cake. When I make it next time I think I will just use a white cake mix for the cake part and top it with fresh raspberries instead of frozen blueberries. :)

PS: I am making these next year for sure. Cool huh?

Rainbows and friends

When Jonah was three we went to a little playgroup with some moms from church. This is one of my favorite new mom memories. In Minnesota it was pretty rare for any of my friends to put their kids in preschool before the age of 4. So we decided to do our own version. We got together weekly. The person who hosted had a simple lesson and then we all had lunch together. Oh and everyone stayed the whole time, which was great because we all got to talk and get to know eachother. I learned so much from these great moms. Sometimes I think that preschool is a bum rap because it replaces this kind of get together.

Anyway I have found something similar here in TX for Lucy and it has been so fun. One great thing about this playgroup is that there is no expectation of a fantastic lesson (really we just do a small craft) and everyone helps prep the lunch and clean up. I hosted last week and after it was over I realized that I wasn't stressed out and my house wasn't a mess. So nice! Which left me with a little energy to make these happy rainbow pudding pops.

They took about 10 minutes of prep and then needed a couple of hours in the freezer to harden. I used one large pack on instant vanilla pudding, divided it into 6 bowls, added some food coloring and spooned it into small cups with sticks. Easy and pretty!

WOW

My friend Sarah told me about Kale Chips several weeks ago and I've been meaning to try them. They don't sound super yummy but Sarah has never steered me wrong. So I just made some and WOW!! They're awesome! I could seriously eat a whole bunch of kale by myself this way. Definitely a great alternative to chips. Here's the recipe:

1 bunch kale
olive oil
1 tsp salt
sprinkling of Lowry's seasoning salt or Old Bay for a little extra flavor

Clean, dry and tear kale into pieces. Spread parchment or tin foil on a cookie sheet (the recipe says to use a non insulated one so I just used my super old thin sheet that burns cookies- now I know why I've kept it around!)

Place kale onto parchment and drizzle olive oil over top. I then used my hands to help the oil cover the kale. Or... if you have one of those awesome oil spritzers you can spray some on and it works beautifully.

Sprinkle on salt and seasoning and bake at 350 F for 8-12 minutes. It realy depends on your oven. I was worried about burning these but I actually ended up taking some off and putting the rest in a little longer so they would be nice and crispy.

Leafy green requirement? Check!

Okay, a little deflated. The boys just walked in from school. Isaac was the only one who would even try them and he said they were "disgusting." Dang! When did they get so picky?? They used to fight over my steamed spinach- (I guess that was because they really believed it would give them popeye muscles.) Anyway, I still think the kale chips are amazing and like most of the healthy foods I want my kids to love I will keep making/eating them and hope it rubs off on the kiddos. :O

**Update** After making these several times Isaac said they were awesome and the other two ate them as well. So don't give up!!

If you still have a can of pumpkin lying around...

Does Pumpkin Lasagna sound wrong? Actually the first time I read through the recipe my mouth was totally watering. I love pumpkin. My family doesn't adore this recipe but everyone ate it... and I adore it! I made it last year for a church activity and everyone seemed to like it. I mean really, can you go wrong with mushrooms, cheese, bacon, pasta and pumpkin?!!

Pumpkin Lasagna
From: Better Homes and Gardens
Servings: Makes 12 servings.
Total: 1 hr 55 mins
Prep: 1 hr

Ingredients
12 dried lasagna noodles
8 ounces shiitake or porcini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced (I just do all button mushrooms)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 slices bacon, cut crossways into 1/4 inch strips
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
3 tablespoons snipped fresh sage or 2 tsp. dried leaf sage, crushed
2 15-ounces cans pumpkin
3/4 cup whole milk or half-and-half
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 tsp. salt
1 15-ounce carton ricotta cheese
1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices (or you could just buy the grated kind)
6 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese, finely shredded (1-1/2 cups)


Directions
1. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; set aside. In skillet cook mushrooms and 3/4 teaspoon salt in hot olive oil over medium heat until tender and no liquid remains. Remove; set aside. Add bacon to skillet; cook until crisp. Remove; set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Add onion; cook in drippings until tender. Add sage; cook 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin, milk, pepper, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Heat through.
2. In a greased 3-quart oval baking dish spread 1/2 cup pumpkin sauce. Cover bottom of dish with 4 noodles, trimming to fit. Spread one-third of sauce over noodles. Layer with one-third each of mushrooms, bacon, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat layers twice. Bake, uncovered, in 400 degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Makes 12 servings. Perfect with artisan bread and a salad. This one is probably too heavy for this meal but I made it yesterday and it was yumma!

Lunch Dilemma

School lunches are here again. (Okay, so I started this post 2 months ago but I think it's still relevent). I'm trying to figure out my master plan for making it all work this year. I bought a ton of reusable gladware to pack their food in. Using 12 plastic baggies every day just feels wrong! But then I'm dealing with this every night!

Here are some alternatives I found online.

This one is called "Go Green Lunch Box." They run about $30 plus shipping.

I think this is my favorite one so far and of course it's the most expensive. It's called "Planet Box" and if you get the whole set it's -gasp- $60!

These are called "EasyLunchBoxes" and are definitely the most affordable at $14 for 4. It's definitely a better solution than my current ridiculous tupperware disaster but doesn't feel like a long term solution. Also, I'm not sure 3 bins is enough and I might end up needing more containers anyway.

Anyone tried any of these or found a better solution?

Jam in sunlight

The other day I got up early and was working in the kitchen when I noticed the way the sunlight was hitting a couple of jars of jam that I had sitting out on the counter. Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be another reason to love homemade jam.

I have a memory of sitting on the kitchen table, dipping strawberries in sugar and eating them. I was probably about 5 and my whole family had been strawberry picking that morning. My mom was making jam in the kitchen and I was "helping." I LOVED my mom's jam.

And then when I got a little older, she started buying Smuckers instead of making it homemade. I went on a jam boycott for years. (Which means I was bringing tuna fish to school instead of a PBJ-that's how much I hate Smuckers!) I finally gave in and started to accept store bought jam... until a few years after being married. I wanted to try making my own and see how hard it was. Turns out it is SO easy. For about $4-$10 and an hour of my time I can have 4 pints of the best jam on the planet. SO worth it!

P.S. I'm not a freezer jam person b/c I usually don't have the space for it and I actually really like the cooked jam taste. The End

Tomatoes!

So on a whim I bought 50 lbs of fresh tomatoes. I've always wanted to try canning them. I use them in so many recipes (spaghetti sauce, curry, soups, salsa, chili...) and figured I should learn how to do my own. So on the day after watching the midnight showing of "Eclipse" I decided to give it a whirl. Not my best idea. It turns out that canning tomatoes is a HUGE amount of messy work. I've canned peaches before so I was familiar with the process of quick boiling to slip the skins off. Then they were quartered, boiled, poured into jars and processed for 45 minutes. It doesn't sound terrible and it wasn't that bad. But at the end of 6 hours of steamy, sticky work I only had 10 quarts to show for it. Just not enough. I paid $26 for the tomatoes and used a little more than half for my canning efforts. I can buy a #10 can of diced tomatoes from Costco for $3...
Buuuut, I am glad to know how to do it. And if I grow my own tomatoes (someday) and get a bumper crop, then I would probably do it again.
For now I'll stick with jam, which I am completely addicted to and have to make b/c it tastes SO much better than anything at the store. Anyone else canning much these days?

Back to my roots

Growing up we ate a lot of beans and rice. My mom loves to tell a story about me when I was around 3 years old. I came into the kitchen and said, "Mom? You cookin' da beans?"


I haven't cooked pinto beans in years. We really don't need more gas in this house. But my kids were begging for Taco Bell bean burritos the other day and I figured I should make my own. (Especially considering that I can get the yummiest, fresh flour tortillas at any grocery store here!) I have a ton of pintos in my food storage and they're so easy to make. During college my roommates and I made these all the time. No wonder the girls upstairs hated us. Refried beans and LLCoolJ wafting up the stairs...


The other day I made the Pioneer Woman's Restaurant style salsa. I love it. And she's hilarious- it you haven't checked out her site, you should. And yes, I read the whole love story.


Then, just because I've been thinking about my g-mates this week I took some corn and flour tortillas and fried them in canola, salted them... and yum!

Easy Pinto Beans

4 cups of dry pinto beans
¼ to ½ cup taco seasoning mix
2 tsp salt

Soak beans overnight in a big pot with enough water to cover beans by 2-3 inches. Rinse beans well the next day and discard any floating beans. Fill pot again with enough water to go 2-3 inches above beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours, periodically stirring. Add seasoning & salt. When beans become quite soft, use a bean masher or blender to mash them. Adjust seasonings to your taste and enjoy!

Apricot Kolaches and Willa Cather

We read "My Antonia" for book club last month and I decided to make some kolaches for the discussion, as they were mentioned a few times in the book. My sister, Jenny, discovered these when I was a kid in Michigan. We made them several times and they were SO yummy. Last month when I went back to Michigan for a visit, my sister Lisa and I went into a bakery. ahhhh! Since leaving MI I have yet to find any bakeries half as good. (This is probably a blessing in disguise as I'm pretty sure I would LIVE there if there were any close to me.) The smells brought me back to my childhood. It helped that they had made fresh Pączkis (pronounced poonchkies) for fat Tuesday. YUM!

Anyway, here's the recipe for anyone interested. They're simple to make and not too sweet. I just used apricot jam instead of cooking up dried apricots.




Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup dried apricots

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup white sugar


Directions
To make Filling: Combine apricots and water in heavy saucepan and cook covered over medium heat for 10 minutes or until apricots are soft. Cook UNCOVERED 5 to 10 minutes or until most of the water has been absorbed.

Mash apricots, stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and let filling cool. Set aside.


To make Dough: Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy; add 3/4 cup sugar and beat well. Add flour and mix well. Shape dough into ball and chill 1 hour.
Turn dough onto well-floured surface, working with only half the dough. Roll into 1/8 inch thickness and cut into 2 inch squares. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of apricot filling into the center of the square. Bring four corners to center, pinching to seal.


Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Optional - you may baste with butter halfway thru baking period.


Optional - drizzle LIGHTLY with powdered sugar/milk frosting if you desire sweeter kolaches.



FYI, I thoroughly enjoyed "My Antonia." I read it a few years ago and liked it even better the second time. I love Cather's descriptions of the Nebraska landscape. She can make grass sound beautiful! Her female characters were strong and she showed how critical their work was in farm life. There's more but I gotta sew.

THE best bread ever

I love Heather Cosby because she brought me some bread a few weeks ago and it was amazing. (wait, I love her for lots of reasons! :) But I was blown away when she said she made it using the recipe in "Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day."

We love yummy crusty bread with soups, pasta or just served with cheese and meat. My Better Homes and Gardens recipe is okaaay hot out of the oven but very so-so beyond that. Lately I've been buying ciabatta or specialty bread at $3-4/loaf.

Anyway, I finally got the book ("Artisan Bread...") and read the first 5 chapters. I learned a lot and finally tried making the bread yesterday. It turned out SO good and is honestly the easiest bread I've ever made! Easy and fabulous?!? How often does that happen?? I was sort of freaking out at dinner b/c it tasted just like yummy French bakery bread, so crusty and chewy! (In college we called this "Bobbing Out" - see "What About Bob" for more info.) The kids were a little bit afraid. And... I just had some for lunch and it's still fabulous. I highly recommend getting your hands on that book if you love good bread!

Check out that crust!

Pumpkin Muffins on a cold day

I know I know... I live in Houston- it's not cold here. But really- this winter has been cold and more importantly I don't have a good coat and my house is drafty. Aaaannnd... we're trapped inside all summer so this is our only time of year to be outside. waaahhh! Anyway, these muffins make it all better. Got the recipe from my buddy Sarah and the whole family LOVES them. The recipe makes 2 dozen regular and 2 dozen mini muffins. I used to freeze some but that's happening less as my boys get older. :)

Pumpkin Muffins

1 ½ c. sugar

2/3 c. butter or oil
1 can pumpkin puree
2/3 c. water
4 eggs

2 c whole wheat flour
1 ½ c. oat bran or oat flour
2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 c. cranberries chopped

2/3 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

Heat oven to 350 F and grease 2 muffin pans. Mix sugar and butter, add pumpkin, eggs and water. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined. Bake 18-20 minutes (about 12 minutes for mini muffins)

Note: You can use chocolate chips instead of cranberries and nuts. These freeze very well.

Home Cookin

I love the show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Everything looks so yummy on that show. I need to road trip across the country and visit every place that has been highlighted. They always interview patrons of each restaurant and I couldn't help but notice that many of them said the same things: "This is just like home cookin," "Feels like family here," "This food tastes like my Grandma's,", etc... It dawned on me that people are really craving "real food." By real I mean something that's not straight out of a box!
Last year there was a hurricaine here in Texas and some of the first foods to sell out (after milk and cheese) were things like frozen chicken nuggets and corn dogs. I think I sort of surrounded myself with likes minds in Minnesota so I didn't realize how much processed food most people usually eat. When I heard the comments on DDD about the food being "Just like grandmas" I couldn't help but wonder what their grandchildren would be saying someday.
I find that many women are hyper defensive about their cooking. Hy.Per. I'm definitely a so-so cook but it doesn't matter. As soon they find out I make spaghetti sauce or homemade soup their claws are out faster than you can say Hamburger Helper! Usually there is some sort of comment like "I don't cook." But then later it gets a little uglier with implications (you must have nothing better to do, must be nice to have so much free time- the rest of us are just too busy!, poor you, your husband must demand that you cook...)
So far I find myself shrugging or trying to deny it. It's silly because I only make dinner 4-5 times per week and one of those is always pasta and another is usually a cold meal like hummus and edamame. I'm certainly no Martha Stewart (been called it though!) and I keep things pretty simple. It's not like I'm slaving away in a hot kitchen all day. Seriously I just like good food, and it saves money, and it's healthier, and cooking is a skill, AND I want my kids and grandkids to talk about their favorite meals from my kitchen someday. Is that a crime?
And with that I will post one of my all time favorite recipes. My buddy Sarah got this from Family Fun magazine- I've added garbanzo beans b/c my kids love them. Start to finish this recipe takes 30 minutes and my kids SLURP it up!

Creamy Chicken Curry in a Hurry

1 1/2 T veg oil
1 med onion, diced
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 (12-14 oz can) coconut milk
1 c canned diced tomatoes (I always just use a whole can)
2 T Tomato paste (I often skip this if I don't have any)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes (or you can use a can of chicken)
3 packed cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 or 2 cans garbanzo beans
1/2 c. toasted coconut

Heat oil over med heat. Add onion and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook until soft, about 7 min. Add curry and stir one more minute

Stir in cocnut milk, tomatoes and paste and cook another 5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.

Add chicken and cook 5-6 minutes until meat is cooked (sometimes I cook the meat beforehand- that's okay too). Add spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice.

To toast coconut, place on a cookie sheet in 350 oven and watch closely. Cook until golden, just a few minutes. This adds so much flavor to the dish and is my favorite part.