Moroccan Mint Roasted Veggies

I really like Moroccan flavors.  

A few weeks ago my mom made Moroccan food for a dinner party and

 I was the lucky recipient of lunch leftovers at the shop.

I just read this post about Moroccan Mint Roasted Veggies 

and they are definitely on the 'to-make' list.

 (Moroccan Mint Roasted Veggies)

 (Mom's Moroccan stew with chickpeas, chicken, olives, potatoes, tomato, lemon and tons of yummy spices)

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

I never did mention the Valentine's Day celebration that happened around here...

Of course I danced on the 14th (so the day was kind of a bust), but we exchanged cards that day.

Then before dance on Saturday morning I made a special breakfast of  

cinnamon roll pancakes following this recipe.  

Yuuuuuum.  

They are sticky sweet and the perfect treat for a special occasion 

(like celebrating Valentine's Day 4 days late!)

Note: If I make these again, I'd 1/2 the icing recipe.  

It's so decadent already that we only used a smidgen drizzled on top!

Wednesday Dinners - Mexican Rice

Wednesday's are usually my day for 'one-pot-wonder' dinners.

It needs to be something I can throw together quickly...

Something that is ready for me to take to dance for my sister...

Something that will still be delicious when Eric gets home and reheats it for dinner...

And something that I will want for lunch the next day.

Sometimes I use the crock pot, sometimes I make salads, 

but at least one Wednesday a month

I make Mexican Rice.

I prepare one package of Spanish Rice from the box (any brand)

It usually calls for 1 can of diced tomatoes before popping the lid on to let it cook.

(I do this even if the directions do not call for it)

When the rice is cooked, I add 1 can of drained black beans, 1 cup of frozen corn 

and 2 chicken breast that have been cooked and sliced.

Stir everything together.

I divvy up the rice into 4 Tupperware containers, sprinkle with a little cheese 

and it's ready for reheating.

Could not be easier!

Chicken and Dumplings

Friday I had the whole day off (what?!)

 Nowhere to be, nothing on the schedule and no one counting on me for anything at all. 

My big plans included attacking the laundry and making something delicious for dinner.

I've made The Pioneer Woman's Chicken and Dumplings before...

It's so homey and warm and it's the kind of dish that makes the house smell amazing.

I follow her basic recipe, changing just a few things:

I only used half and half, not heavy cream.

I totally used a cheater chicken (it's still delicious!), so I just start with the veggies in the pot.

And I really like turmeric, so I add a smidge more.

Lastly, don't skip the apple cider... it's beyond yummy.

 (This pic is from PW, we were too busy gobbling and I forgot to take a picture!)

Hooray for days off and winter comfort food!

Winter Salad

We eat tons of salads.  Most of them are pretty boring, so I don't bother posting them. 

This one, however, knocked my socks off ... 

it has all of the flavors of winter a salad could ask for.  Yum.

Baby spinach, washed/dryed

Navel orange, segmented

Fennel bulb, thinly sliced

Cracked Black Pepper Sugar Almonds (recipe here - I halved the sugar to keep it really spicy!)

Grilled chicken (optional)

Ginger orange vinaigrette (basic recipe to follow)

Add as much of each ingredient to your bed of spinach as you like.

Toss with dressing and serve!

For the dressing I combined extra virgin olive oil and apple cider vinegar.  Splashed in some of the juice from my orange, added lots of salt and pepper, a tiny bit of sugar (Truvia) and then I added a few slices of fresh ginger.  With a wooden spoon, I slightly broke up the ginger pieces while they were in the dressing.  I let the mixture sit while I was at dance (6 hours-ish), removed the slices of ginger and tossed it with my salad.

Crumpet for your Crumpet

I've made crumpets once in my life.  They just seemed too sweet not to try them at home.

They are over the top decadent and would be the perfect Valentine's Day treat... 

especially heart shaped with raspberry butter!

Nook Eatery

M&M Pretzels

Eric's mom is the queen of these M&M Pretzels... 

To make them she uses a big microwave-safe tray lined with a single layer of pretzels, tops each pretzel with a candy melt and nukes them for 30 seconds - 1 minute... just until the chocolate is slightly melted.  She then presses 3 M&M's into the melted chocolate and allows them to cool before packing into cute bags.

Super yummy!

(this batch was made by me)

Homemade Dog Food

Elwood eats when we eat... or at least when I'm standing around in the kitchen.  

He always has dry food in his bowl (so grateful don't have to monitor this!) and he gets a tablespoon of wet dog food when we sit down for dinner.  

I buy a lot of his food, but I love to make it myself when I have the time.

Today I had a surprise afternoon off so it was time to make some dog food!

I did 2 different combinations:

Peas, carrots, brown rice & chicken with pureed peas

and

Green beans, sweet potatoes, star pasta and chicken with pureed pumpkin

It costs so much less to make it myself and I know it's better for him :)

One container lasts him 4 dinners... I was able to make 8 containers today for $10.

We freeze the containers and pull them out as needed.

Pumpkin Shells and Cheese

Yesterday Eric and I both spilled giant cups of coffee before 8am ... him at work, me in my car, totally unrelated incidents, but events that kick off semi-crappy days all around.  

By the time we dragged ourselves in the door around 7pm, 

we were ready for sweats, couch and comfort food.  

I remembered reading this recipe on the elefantitas alegres blog 

(she does Menu Sundays and I get a ton of dinner ideas there)

Recipe only slightly altered.

1 lb box whole wheat  medium pasta shells

3 T butter + 1 T for topping

4 T flour

3 c milk (I used fat free)

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

6 oz shredded cheddar cheese

6 oz Velveta cheese, cubed

1 c pumpkin puree

1 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1/2 c panko bread crumbs

Cook pasta in heavily salted water, removing from heat and draining 3 minutes prior to the specified cook time on the package.  

Melt 3 T butter in a large skillet over Medium-High heat. Add flour, whisking for about 30 seconds. Add 2 cups of milk and the rosemary, whisking continuously until smooth.  Add the third cup of milk and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  

Turn down heat to Medium, add cheese blend and whisk until combined.  Add Velveeta and stir until fully melted and combined.  Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and pumpkin.

Toss cheese sauce with cooked pasta and pour into a greased casserole dish {9x13}.  Top with breadcrumbs and dot with remaining tablespoon of butter.  

Bake for 30 mins at 400 degrees. 

I served this with quick sauteed spinach with garlic.

*note: I added spicy chicken sausage (browned/crumbled) to the mac for Eric, but I'd leave it out for me!)

Sauerkraut, Rubens & Rachels

**I found this in my draft folder - I wrote it right after the New Year and never posted it!

This is a 'non-recipe' for the best sauerkraut I've ever had (on New Years Day in Pittsburgh).

It was so good I had to recreate it immediately.

When I asked my friend how she made it, it was 'a little of this & some of that'... which is pretty much how I cook, so that was enough for me!

I made a walloping 4 pounds.  It's that good.

I used:

2 - 2 pound bags of barrel cured sauerkraut

1 envelope of Liptons Onion Soup Mix (I never cook with stuff like this!)

10-12 oz (ish) of naturally unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup (ish) of brown sugar

lots of freshly ground black pepper and some salt

Toss it all together, cover with aluminum foil and into the oven it went for 4 hours at 300 and another 2 hours at 275/250 (ish)... and I might have let it cook even longer, 

but we were starving!

Normally, I would cook it with a roast or something, but we had our eye on Rubens and Rachels.

A Rachel (sandwich) is the cousin of the Ruben, substituting turkey for corned beef.

To assemble the Rachel, butter 2 slices of marbled rye and place one piece butter side down in a skillet over medium/low heat.  On top of the bread in the pan, add a dollop of Russian dressing, a pile of sauerkraut, a few slices of turkey or corned beef, a slice of swiss cheese  and top with the remaining slice of bread with a smidgen more Russian dressing.

Periodically pressing down with a spatula, cook the sandwich until golden brown on both sides.

Blueberry Orange Muffins

I needed to take something breakfasty to dance this weekend and I had a box of blueberry muffin mix in the cupboard.  I jazzed up the mix with orange and pantry items...

they turned out great!

Normally I'd make muffins from scratch (or buy them from the bakery!), but this was quick and easy.

Duncan Hines Blueberry Streusel Mix

Directions call for:

1/2 C milk

1/4 C oil

2 eggs

I added the zest of a whole navel orange

It came with a powdery 'strussel' topping, and to that I added:

2 T brown sugar

1/3 C oatmeal

1 T melted butter

From there I just followed the directions.

Not bad for a quick throw-together muffin! 

Brussel Sprout Slaw

I so have not been cooking real dinners.  I have been teaching dance and sparking costumes.

Poor Eric... while I might scarf some humus, a pickle, a piece of string cheese and call it dinner, he would actually prefer something more substantial (imagine that!).

I read about this particular brussel sprout slaw here, which linked it to the recipe here.

I love love love brussel sprouts and this is a super delicious way to serve 'em up!

The recipe below is only slightly modified from the original.

1 bunch/lb. brussels sprouts, bottoms trimmed and outter leaves removed
1 c. red grapes, sliced lengthwise
1 avocado, diced
1 T. dijon mustard
3 T. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1 t. honey
salt & pepper

Slice the Brussels sprouts into thin shards, 

throw them into a bowl and separate the leaves with your fingers.

Toss in the grapes, followed by the avocados.
In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and honey.  

Season with salt and pepper.
Using all the dressing, toss the salad thoroughly and let sit for at least

15-30 minutes before serving.

I served up a manly bacon wrapped pork tenderloin and oven sweet potato wedges with this.

Quick Miso Lunch

When I work at the shop, I usually gobble something quick for lunch when I have 2 seconds...

Lately I've been on a Miso Soup/whatever is in the fridge kick.

Miso with bok choy, mushrooms and scallions.

My favorite brand is by Sushi Chef

(I make the soup piping-hot, add veggies and let them sit in the broth for about 5 minutes)

Happy Birthday Lemon Squares

We celebrated my little brother's 23rd birthday on Sunday at my Mom's house.

She made an Italian feast requested by the birthday boy, 

and for dessert she made these lemon squares.

They were the most lemony-lemon delicious lemon squares I've ever had 

(but I think I've only had the boxed variety up until now). 

Just had to share!

Quick Dinners: Stir Fry

This the my busiest time of year, hands down.  

Eric and I barely see each other during the week, 

and if we happen to have an hour to spare to have dinner together it's on the fly.  

Stir Fry is one of those things I can whip together at the speed of light, 

plus it cleans out the fridge* (always a bonus!)

No recipe, I just toss chicken, shrimp or tofu in a screaming-hot wok with a drizzle of sesame oil and cook through.  Remove and set aside.  Slice veggies into strips and cook quickly in the wok, add protein back in, drizzle with a stir fry sauce, toss to combine and serve over bean threads, brown rice or whole wheat thin spaghetti or chow mein.

Tonight we had a stir fry of chicken, bok choy, green peppers, 

crinkle cut carrots, mushrooms and scallion over bean threads.

*I have 3 ways I clean out the fridge:

1.  Dump it all in a stir fry

2. Toss it all on top of a pizza shell

3.  Put everything on top of a bed of greens for a mega salad

In my experience, these 3 different vehicles can handle just about any combination of ingredients.

Sometimes the best dinners come from just cleaning out the fridge at our house!

Brussels, Stuffing and the 2011 Christmas Menu

My other assigned Christmas dinner dishes.  Both were fantastic!

These roasted brussel sprouts are my go-to favorites and new this year I made this balsamic glaze and offered it on the side for drizzling.

And I made this sourdough mushroom stuffing for the first time ever.  Everyone loved it!

The rest of our Christmas menu included:

beef tenderloin stuffed with roasted red peppers, sauteed spinach and goat cheese

(I eat red meat like twice a year, this is one of those times!)

crab stuffed shrimp

mashed sweet potatoes

fresh cranberry relish

 

Christmas Dessert

I was assigned 3 things for Christmas dinner.  

Roasted brussel sprouts with balsamic glaze, sourdough mushroom stuffing 

and any dessert I wanted to make.  

Well, I kind of dropped the dessert ball and found myself Christmas Eve eve at Sam's Club talking myself into whatever the bakery could sell me.  

Best decision ever.

I bought the Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake and decided to make a 

fancy bitter-orange whipped cream.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar 

1 orange, zested

1/8 teaspoon Agnostura bitters

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

Beat cream until soft peaks form.  Add sugar and beat to firm whipped cream peaks.  

Add remaining flavors.  Beat to combine.  Chill until served.

Pretend you made the cake by putting it on a cute cake plate.  Slice the bundt and serve each slice with a huge dollop of whipped cream.

Next time I'm going to garnish the slices with candied orange peel.

Ginger Ale

This looks aaaaaamazing.

directions & an awesome blog (here)

Christmas Sugar Cookies

I only made a dozen, but it doesn't feel like Christmas till some cookies are decorated.

We actually don't really like rolled sugar cookies as much as 

other drop cookies with more 'goodies' in the mix.

But decorating them is the fun part, so sugar cookies were made!

I follow Bake at 350's recipes for roll out sugar cookies and royal icing to the letter. 

(Now this lady knows how to decorate some serious cookies!)

They turned out pretty darn cute.

Polar Bear Party Mix

I told Eric to come up with a name for this that implied it was Christmas-y & peppermint-y....

Other names considered:

Elf Munchies (are they stoned?)

Penguin Crunch (ooook)

Peppermint Pretzels (well, that's to the point)

Polar Bear Party Mix it is!!

Mini pretzels drizzled with dark chocolate, sprinkled with crushed candy canes & crushed mint Oreos, drizzled with milk chocolate and sprinkled with mint M&Ms.

Sound gross? Ha, actually it kind of is ... but in that really good holiday way.

It's totally over the top, but that salty/sweet goodness is addicting.

Also, after I snapped this picture I added Christmas jimmies.

Over. The. Top.