What's Cookin' - July 2009

It was back to work for me this month, so I did not cook as many meals as I have been. We did have lots of bbq chicken and some Taco Bell. I'm still trying to find my groove. Here are the new recipes we did try:

Deep Dish Taco Pizza - This took me less than 25 minutes from start to finish, and everyone who ate it said it was delicious. Not company-worthy, but an easy fixer-upper.

Penne A La Betsy - Have I mentioned Pioneer Woman? She is amazing, and so is everything she makes! This was no exception. Go make it. Now. (I substituted some stuff to scrape off some fat, and it was still delicious!)

Easy Pesto Pinwheels - I made these for a shindig on the Fourth and they were a hit. I used sun dried tomato instead of the peppers, and that worked out well! Thanks, for the recipe, Jenn, and thank you Pillsbury for making things so simple!

Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream - Emily and I made this, and what fun it was! Tasty too!

Cranberry Orange Cookies - These were just perfect for summer time! Good thing I happened to have a bag of pistachio nuts laying around.

Oven Barbecue Beer-Can Chicken - This was good, but I prefer the 'real' thing (BBQ). It didn't seem to have the intense BBQ flavor, but it was good enough to eat it till it was gone!

What's Cookin' - June 2009

Citrus-Cream Cheese Pull-Apart Rolls - Very good and similiar to Monkey Bread, but less calories and with a citrus kick.

Szechuan Green Beans with Pork - Solid recipe that can be made in 20 minutes, because that's how long the rice takes. It's a little spicy for the babes, so I would set some aside before adding the sauce, or maybe scale back on the crushed red pepper.

Creamy Chicken with Broccoli Shells - Probably not the best for your heart, but yummmm. This recipe made so much...we had dinner, Ryan took leftovers, and I even froze a small dish to bake later.

Filet Mignon from Costco - These tasty slabs of prime red meat were cooked to perfection by Hubby, and we paired them with some rice pilaf and green beans. Fewer things make me happier than a good chuck of beef.

Campbell's Beef Taco Bake - Solid recipe that makes for fantastic leftovers. Perhaps it was all in the salsa from Sal's? This is definately something I'll be able to make on weeknights when I go back to work. Ryan ate this for lunch and dinner the next day.

Cheesy Chicken - This was good. I mean, we ate it, and all the leftovers, but it wasn't anything I would make for company. I might stuff it with some provolone and scale back on something else next time.

Frozen Lemon Mousse with Blackberry-Raspberry Sauce - Upon recommendation from Lindsey, of course, I finally made this one. It was wonderful and perfect for the summer. The sauce is very sweet, and I just used a tad, and will probably use the rest for pancakes or something. I wouldn't change anything next time, except I might have all the ingredients on hand when I make it so I don't have to drop what I'm doing to run to the store.

Iced Coffee - Although I am not a coffe-drinker, sometimes a nice cup sounds so good. I found this recipe while browsing around, and it really worked well! I used decaf, and added some nonfat milk, Splenda, and a tad of sugar-free vanilla Coffeemate. Delicious!

Frozen Grapes - I have been reunited with an old love! Just pop a bowl full into the freezer and a few hours later, they are a perfect summer snack.

Herbed Chicken Parmesan - Okay, who is for a recipe that can be made in under 25 minutes, and only uses 2 dishes? I'm in! It was very tasty served with orzo and caesar salad.

Biscuits and Gravy - Ryan's only request for Father's Day was some homemade biscuits and gravy. Well I am not particularly keen on this type of dish, it was good for a special treat. And, by the way...have you checked out The Pioneer Woman? That lady knows how to cook (and host, and photograph, and be so stinking funny! She just launched a recipe website (Tasy Kitchen) that is just for the average woman. Check them out.

Free Float Night

I had it on our calendar, but I might have forgotten anyhow. Good thing my friend Sarah reminded me all the way from Texas that tomorrow night (June 3), Sonic Drive-In is offering FREE root beer floats from 8 pm till midnight (fine print: while supplies last). See you there!

What's Cookin' - May 2009

Here are a few things we've made this past month. I'll only post the ones I recommend, so eat up!

Grilled Fusion Chicken - A simple chicken dish perfect for the summer...cool flavors cooked on the grill.

Raspberry-Cream Cheese Muffins - This batter is so sweet, these bad boys tasted like cupcakes to me! This is the perfect time to pick up some berries for very cheap.

Classic Banana Bread - Can't go wrong with this tried and true. I always add something...this time it was Craisins, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Pulled Pork - Pork tri-tip from Costco cooking all day in the crock pot, then doused with BBQ sauce? Simple and tasty, served with toasted whole wheat buns!

Chicken Tamale Casserole - Finally, a mexican chicken recipe the deviates from the traditional enchilada form. The cornbread is perfect!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole - It is what it is. Tasty, easy, and something I will definitely make again.

Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo - The BEST side dish I've found to be served with salmon. I go easy on the shrimp (and use the baby ones).

Glazed Pork - Simple and quick, served with creamed corn (below) and Ryan thought he was in heaven.

Creamed Corn with Bacon and Leeks - We don't eat much corn at our house (starchy vegetables don't pass the "mom" test), but this one I'd make again. Didn't have leeks, so I used some onion instead. And bacon for dinner...ummm...yes please.

Frozen Yogurt Pops from Deceptively Delicious - I've blogged about this book before (Lemon-Blueberry Muffins) because I think it's great for kids and vegetable-intolerant husbands. To make these simple summer treats, use 2 cups plain lowfat yogurt (I used vanilla), 2 cups frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or cherries) thawed in the microwave for 1 minute, and 1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar. Combine the yogurt, fruit, and sugar in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

A Toddler's Work

How to turn a simple lunch of macaroni & cheese, pretzels, peanut butter, and blackberries into this:

Step One: Remove pretzels from tray.
Step Two: Mix Mac & Cheese into peanut butter.
Step Three: Eat Up!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

We bake muffins fairly often at our house, mostly some form of banana nut. But after Lindsey introduced us to these on our trip to Tahoe, we've been craving them. It only took us a few months, but we finally pulled out the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and made them...they are just as delicious and nutritious as I remember! The feature ingredient in these bad boys? Yellow squash. It doesn't make my list of top ten veggies, but it apparently 1/2 cup is easily concealable, and has 4 mg of lutein (good for the eyes), and other good stuff (folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Omega-3's.) Eat up!

Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup firmly packed light/dark brown sugar
4 tbsp transfat-free margarine, chilled
1 cup lemon lowfat yogurt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup yellow squash puree (puree=steam and put in food processor)
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tsp pure lemon extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and the margarine with a wooden spoon. Stir in the yogurt, blueberries, yellow squash puree, egg, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir just to combine, but do not overmix - the batter is supposed to be lumpy. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 13 to 16 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze up to 1 month.

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 149.6
Total Fat: 1.9 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 294.1 mg
Total Carbs: 28.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
Protein: 3.7 g

Lots of Oats

For my Christmas baking this past year, I could not make up my mind what to make, so I ended up buying LOTS of ingredients when they were on sale and at Costco. Well, tubs of Quaker Oats have been haunting me for 4 months and I finally started to do something about it!

Cooking Light's Power Granola

2 cups regular oats
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I added more because I love it)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dried cranberries (used some dried cherries and blueberries also)

Preheat oven to 300°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in oil and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300° for 10 minutes; stir well. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Spoon granola into a bowl; stir in dried cranberries. Cool completely.

Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Calories: 196 (31% from fat); Fat: 6.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.2g,poly 3.3g); Protein: 4.1g; Carbohydrate: 32.5g; Fiber: 3.6g; Cholesterol: 0.0mg; Iron: 1.5mg; Sodium: 5mg; Calcium: 38mg

Mama Mia!

We made pizzas at home last week, and Emily loved it!

Emily and I brushed our pizzas with sauce, then loaded on some cheese, pepperoni, and olives.

She was kind enough to stop and take a picture with Mommy.

Then, she helped Daddy make his pizza. She made sure not to short Daddy on any cheese!
By then, she figured out that all ingredients were edible. Yummmm!

Who Screws up Fantasy Fudge?

Me.

I was reading back through my previous Baking Post, and realized I was probably not in the best frame of mind to write that. I don't do well with messes. That would surprise anyone who has come to our home in the last few months, but it is true. I also don't do well with products that don't turn out. The Fudge didn't work out, but the rest of my scrumptious delights turned out great.

• Snickerdoodles (not the classic Christmas cookie, but this was Ryan's only request, so I obliged)
  
• Aunt Connie's Sugar Cookies
  
• Lee Ann's Sugar Cookie Cutouts
  
• Seven-Layer Magic Bars (also termed "Dammit Kim Bars")
  
• White Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

And Emily and I did have a good, messy time.

Baking with Toddlers 101

My vision for baking this weekend (please don't mock my naive wishes):

Notice the completely clean kitchen counter, and how mother and daughter are working together to create some culinary masterpieces.

This is more the reality of it. (Thanks to www.belly-timber.com for the use of photo):

My tiny kitchen was a disaster for about 36 hours and our little Emily was some sort of pseudo-monster. She hardly got any sleep on Saturday (at night or nap) and clearly was not getting my vision for our glorious baking weekend. I am not yet done because I had to call it quits early for both of our sanity. Will finish later. Maybe.

Thankful

Mom and Dad were so gracious to invite us to spend Thanksgiving with them at a cabin near Bass Lake. We were there for 4 days of relaxation and fun. Highlights of the trip:

• Beating the guys at Battle of the Sexes. What what? F-14 Tomcat? Being a tomgirl (and being on Mom's team) pays off.


• Long walk to Ducey's. So what if I had to call for a ride back? I'm pregnant and my leg hurt!


• Turkey Day. I have to be honest. I could do without the food. It's good and all...I mean, I'll eat. But I really love the snacks we have all day long while we play games and watch movies. And what I love more is being with people I love and adore.


• Taking a nap in a comfy chair with my favorite blanket. I know...simple pleasures.

Other random stuff:

• Dad and Mom did dishes all weekend. Don't you miss us living at home? Thanks for being good sports!
• Emily slept in a closet. Cruel and unusual, you think? Psh...she loved it. It was a walk-in closet off the room we stayed in and she thought it was her own santuary. Don't be jealous you didn't think of it.
• The Rock Band infatuation just might be a precursor to the Mindt Family Travelling Band. Ryan on vocals, Jenn on bass, Evan on lead guitar, and Anthony on drums. Dad, Mom, and me are the groupies, I guess. I wish I could share the video...but I've been threatened.
• 'Remember the Titans' never gets old. We watched it...again, and loved it...again.
• Anthony does not fit into a Size Small letterman's jacket. Carrie picked up his jacket and put it on. Anthony took that as an invitation to put her's on. Just for future reference, Anthony: women can put on a men's t-shirt, but that does NOT mean you can wear her's. Double standard? Okay, but it's true.

All this is to say that I am so very thankful for a family that has fun, eats well, and loves to be around eachother. We toasted to the families that we could not be with: North for our Oregon family, South for Ryan's family, and East for the Kansas Mindts. Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Fun!

This weekend we had the complete pleasure of visiting our dear friends Lindsey and Nate in their lovely town of Sacramento. A short 2-hour drive provided us lots of entertainment (thanks, Emily), healthy conversation with adults (we lack this sometimes), and just plain ol' good times.

Some of our highlights:

• Ryan and Nate's first golf date (bonus...Glen joined them and brought cookies!)

• Broken Bowl (thanks for trying to help, Emily, but next time please don't slam Mommy with a pillow while I am carrying your cereal)

• Visiting Bishop's Pumpkin Farm and letting Emily pick a pumpkin and get filthy dirty.



• Sleeping in until 7:30 and waking up both mornings to Emily saying, "Mommy...poop. Mom...poop," and then letting Ryan get up and change her.



• Sampling another tasty dish to add to our "We-Stole-This-Recipe-From-Lindsey...Again" collection (Chili-Cheese Black Bean Enchiladas, in case you were wondering). I swear, if it weren't for your recommendations, Linds, we wouldn't eat!



• Enjoying Peppermint Hot Chocolate while walking to McKinley park to let Emily play on the really cool old-school playground.

This simple weekend getaway was just what we needed: good times with good friends. Thanks Linds and Nate! We'll see you in January for some snow action, and we'll have a Crate & Barrel Bowl in hand.

The child likes to eat

In scrolling through our gazillions of pictures for the past year or so, one theme emerged: one hungry child! Don't judge!

So, there she is...our sunshine and food guru!

And, welcome to our blog.