Happy Monday & What We've Been Cooking

Though I love the business of summer, I still feel like the time is going by way too fast. It frustrates me to go into stores and see ALL the summer/ patio stuff deeply discounted because I know they are preparing the way for "the next thing," which in many cases is fall decor. I am SO not ready for this yet!

So I'm embracing summer! Here's a little recap of what we've been cooking lately: Lots of salads, lots of Southwestern food, lots of things that don't require standing over the stove in the very hot weather with a few treats mixed in here and there!

First, these Blueberry Muffins. They are so good! Made with oatmeal, greek yogurt and blueberries-- they are healthy but still moist and delicious. They have definitely replaced the old Oatmeal Applesauce Blueberry Muffins I used to make. These are WAY BETTER! I actually have to add about 1/4- 1/2 cup of Buttermilk or Milk because the batter is so thick... but that makes it even better-- you get large muffins and mine even yielded 14 or 15 instead of a dozen.

 add a sprinkling of sugar to each one before you bake them-- it gives them a nice crust. 

Yum!

While we are discussing food, I recently made Pioneer Woman's Mocha Brownies. WHOA. 

If you like coffee and chocolate at ALL, you should make these. Soon. I made a half recipe and a half recipe of the frosting for Father's Day. (A half recipe was plenty.)

Mine weren't really all that pretty because my frosting did something funny--
(I think the butter was too soft when I mixed them. ) But still, DELICIOUS!!!

Also by PW, we tried this Watermelon Pico de Gallo. So good. It was part of our 4th of July fare and I've been eating it for days. So fresh!

This Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad was the perfect friday night meal this week. I will definitely make it again. I halved the dressing though. Otherwise, it seemed like way too much. 

Another recipe we've made frequently is this one for Peanut Noodles with Vegetables. We have loaded them up with Red Pepper Strips and Broccoli, Julienned Zucchini and even chicken once. It makes a great main dish with only one pot for the whole meal. 

We've also made it as a side along with these Sticky Balsamic Chicken Legs. (Pictured Below)

(creepy feet photobomb. don't worry, I've gotten a pedicure since then.)

Well, that's pretty much it for now! I'm all about the easy, make ahead and cold and fresh food lately! Please let me know if you try any of these!

Hmm.. Very PINTERESTing.

I found this quote on Pinterest (could not locate a clear source) and it really sums up so much! 

Seriously, though. I have learned so much from Pinterest (or rather, people that 'pin' things) and I keep meaning to do a "Pinterest Post" so I just had to make myself before I forget everything I wanted to share! Nearly every new recipe I have tried in the past year has come from Pinterest. Every SINGLE craft project has. And most of my style advice. Ok, all of my style advice. I haven't yet found a pin on "how to wear yoga pants for 6 days out of the week and appear that you dressed up." I kid, I kid! I only wear them a *few days out of the week. 

Okay so, recipes first! I am going to try my hardest to site the original location. Because, if college taught me nothing else, it taught me to be mortally afraid of being guilty of accidental plagiarism. 

Favorite Healthy Recipes:

pico de gallo from Our Best Bites

(If you make Taco Soup, I HIGHLY recommend trying it with a little of this on top. It's a whole other level of YUM.

 Also, from OBB... Mango Quinoa Salad. I've even tried it with a peach instead of Mango. 

Amazing Spring/Summer lunch idea and it just gets better the next day. 

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Wonderful, colorful side dish or healthy lunch. (SkinnyTaste)

Mozzarella, Tomato and Avocado Salad

This was one of the first things I ever pinned. Yum. 

Crustless Zucchini Pie

Makes a great lunch or even dinner with fruit or salad. And if you're on WW, only 3pointsplus. This entire site is amazing for WW users. And all the recipes are made with judicious amounts of REAL ingredients. I love that. (SkinnyTaste)

Tabouleh. 

I love the ease of this recipe. Delicious, Healthy and Fresh! 

Looking for more Healthy recipes? Here's my board with a few more I

 have either tried or would like to.

Healthy Recipes on Pinterest

Okay, for a a little bit of levity. Here are a few "not so healthy recipes." 

Come on, you new it was coming. 

 Caramelitas. 

Quite possibly the only dessert that I cannot be left alone in the house with. Make them when you are taking half of them somewhere. At least half. (Lulu the Baker)

 Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

This is actually not really unhealthy. But since you leave the skin on the chicken... :) So good, though. We made it with roasted veg.  (Smitten Kitchen)

Easy Cheesy Bacon Pull Apart Biscuits

Great breakfast for overnight guests! (Picky Palate)

Also, try these

30-minute Yeast Rolls from Six Sisters Stuff

They really do take 30 minutes from start to finish and the dough even makes great Cinnamon Rolls. 

And for the Grand Finale of Food... Homemade Chocolate Pudding (which is worlds better than a box and has no artificial anything in it. Really, I recently noticed blue and red dye in instant chocolate pudding. Strange.) Make this for your kids... they'll love ya forever. :)

Chocolate Pudding from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

There have been MANY more recipes I have tried and loved and really only a handful I wouldn't make again. I guess I will have to do another post on Pinterest-y tips and crafts!!

What is your FAVORITE Pinterest FOOD FIND?!?!? 

Colorful Meals = Healthy Meals!

    We love fruits and vegetables in our house but we are consistently trying to eat more and more of them (thus eating less of other things) We have been making an effort to make our meals as colorful as possible, which as long as the colors are natural, makes the meals healthier.

One thing we have been doing for quite some time is roasting vegetables. You can roast just about any veggie and the process completely changes them into something delicious! If you don't care for most vegetables and you have only had them boiled or steamed, try them roasted!

Tips for Roasting Vegetables
1. Higher heat for a shorter time period is the way to go. I roast the veg at a minimum of 415' F for at least    15 min. Stir, and then keep watching about every 7-10 minutes.
2. Try to cut your pieces of similar size to ensure that you don't have some barely done and then others burnt on the same pan.
3. Don't over crowd the pan. Use two if necessary. You want the air to circulate around your vegetables. It's okay to put them very close together as they will shrink, but only have one layer. Pieces that overlap will not brown properly.
4. Don't over season. I always start with Olive Oil, Kosher Salt and Ground Pepper. With something like carrots, I seldom add any other seasoning because they have such a nice sweet taste when roasted!

Here's a photo of one of our recent "Rainbow Meals!"

 Also in the picture, is a recent Pinterest find: Buttermilk Roasted Chicken, we have made this twice and loved it. Since we use chicken legs, they roast in 30 minutes. Fast and delicious!

Okay so this is totally upside down. I've tried fixing it three times and it keeps putting itself upside down. My computer is from my FIRST year of college and it is on it's very last leg. It is about to be thrown out in the back yard, I'm afraid. But, here it is: Buttermilk Roasted Chicken, Roasted Rainbow Carrots and Spinach Salad. See what I mean? Colors! And every bit of it REAL FOOD!

Speaking of Pinterest, I really must do a Pinterest post. 

I have tried so many recipes and loved most of them.

I hardly cook out of my cookbooks anymore. 

Except for last night, we made a Beef and Barley Stew in the Crock Pot and WOW. It was delicious! (recipe to follow) We made it in celebration of the Downton Abbey Finale. After having watched DA, I'm so mad at Julian Fellowes, Dan Stevens and the lot of them that I wish I would have opened a can of beenie weenies instead of making an 8-hour stew. Hmph.

Hazelnut Iced Coffee

     ** Note, after making this iced coffee again, I realized I gave the wrong amount of sugar--- reduce the starting amount to 1/4 of a cup and taste it before you add more!! I hope no one ruined their iced coffee!!


There are few things better on a hot summer day than something cold and refreshing--- what better way to celebrate summer than with a tall (and by tall, I do not mean the smallest size at the local coffee chain) glass of Iced Coffee?

Iced Coffee jogs several good memories for me:

1. My first interaction with the wonderful stuff was at age 12. Wanting desperately to be older than I was, I begged my mom to let me drink coffee. She, knowing me better than myself, made me a small glass of sweet, creamy, vanilla-colored iced coffee. We sat with our glasses at our sunny kitchen table and talked about something very grown-up... I was very sophisticated. I think I probably took three small sips and decided I like pink lemonade better-- but it still made for a great memory!

2. Fast forward about 10 years to college in North Carolina... I lived with two amazing roommates who also happened to be friends. One of them (you know who you are, C.L.!!!) began making this a-MAZ-ing iced coffee for us all throughout the warmer months and E and I were officially hooked. There weren't many days that these girls couldn't be found sitting in their 8 o'clock class trying to stave off lethargy with iced coffee and brown sugar pop tarts!

To this day, a good iced coffee brings back very fond memories of friendship and laughter...

Though I've never really had a good recipe for it, the amazing Courtney recently helped me get re-acquainted with the yummy beverage and I would like to pass on the recipe to you!

Good Iced Coffee should be sweet, creamy and very cold! I cannot stand to go somewhere that claims to have "Iced Coffee" and they pour hot or lukewarm java over ice and then expect me to add my own sugar to the tepid mixture and make it the right consistency. (Note: I'm not really that High Maintenance... it's just sounds that way.) Haha!

Iced Hazelnut Coffee

• One large 8-cup pot of strong brewed Hazelnut coffee (or any flavor you like-- check out the Fresh Market for some excellent flavors!-- My current favorite is Decaf Hazelnut-- )

• Sugar (to taste... start with about a quarter of a cup for 8-cup pot)

• Milk (I like to use a bit of half and half to make it slightly rich and then the rest 2% Milk)

Pour the coffee in a large pitcher, add sugar and stir. Add Milk until it's the desired color you like. Taste for sweetness, add more sugar if needed. Stir again until sugar is disolved and then place in the fridge for several hours or overnight. Serve over lots of ice in a pretty glass! 

Keep in mind, whenever you have a partial pot of coffee left over in the morning, don't throw it out!!! You can do this and have a delicious treat the next morning instead of having to talk yourself out of swinging by Starbucks!!! This is WAY more cost effective and you can drink it in your P.J.'s!!!

Recession Proof Meals Part I

Lance and I have recently had a great time trying to cut our grocery bill without cutting taste or nutrition from our meals. We have made somewhat of a game out of re-creating dishes (which we might normally order as take-out) on a shoestring at home. Here is the first installment in our own version of "Recession Proof Meals" Hopefully this will inspire you, as we have been inspired, to cook smarter, tastier meals without breaking the bank!


Here's how we took one package of chicken on the bone and made it last for more than 2 yummy meals with minimal added ingredients.





It started with Chicken which we grilled and basted with barbecue sauce

My Grill-Master Husband cooked it to perfection!

$ 4.50 for the Chicken (Four Large Leg/ Thigh Pieces)
$ 1.00 for the ears of fresh corn
$ Seasonings and Sauce: (we already had.)

Meal #1: $5.50 (Dinner)

*********************************************************************************


A few days later, we made a homemade pizza crust, added a cup of the chopped chicken, additional sauce, caramelized onions and Skim Milk Mozzarella for a delicious Friday Night alternative to spending 15-20 bucks for a pizza out!


We both ate leftovers of this for lunch the next day...

Pizza Crust Ingredients:
*Flour
*Yeast
*Salt
*Sugar
*Olive Oil

Cost of Crust Ingredients (which we had): $2.00
4 oz. Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese: $1.50
Half an Onion: $ .60
Seasonings: Less than $1.00

Total Cost of Pizza Meal #2: $5.10 (We ate dinner and then both had lunch from the leftovers.)

In addition, we still have at least one cup of cooked barbecue chicken in the freezer for future use!

**********************************************************************************

Because the pizza crust recipe makes so much, we were able to save half of the dough for use a few days later. It may seem labor intensive to make your own pizza crust, but it really is not. It helps if you have a strong mixer (Kitchenaid, etc.) but the main thing is that it takes very few common ingredients which you probably have on hand and is much tastier than a ready-made or canned crust. Although, if you are especially short on time, they make a nice substitute.

A few days later, we made a veggie pizza using olive oil and a few different vegetables we had on hand. It was pretty good as well! And it lasted for two meals for the Stuckeys. :)


All in all, Lance and I have really enjoyed the challenge of making fresh and tasty meals on a budget. It is quite satisfying to enjoy a meal and to know that we used mostly all things we either already had or were able to use more than once!

What ideas do you have for dealing with the current financial situation while in the kitchen?

Maybe you're trying to get started with this little avenue of cutting your grocery bill but are unsure where to begin...

**Remember that different things work for different people-- but don't be afraid to think outside the box. When you purchase meat, try to think of how you can cook once and eat twice. Try getting two meals from the meat. When you have the leftovers that you plan to use in the next few days or weeks then....
**Utilize your freezer! If you aren't certain you will use something before it has even a chance of going bad, put it in the freezer until you decide. Bringing me to my next point---
**Make the investment in good freezer bags. There is nothing worse than using cheap freezer bags only to discover your meat, veggies, fruits, have been burned. I.M.H.O, Good quality freezer storage bags are worth the expense and you can usually get a coupon!
**Many times, we have found that fresh produce is an excellent use of money, but only if you plan your meals ahead of time and know exactly what you need. If something is pricey and not in season, frozen veggies are an excellent alternative and often they have a very high nutritional value!
These may seem like simple ideas, but hopefully they will be helpful to some!

Sometimes Flour, Butter, Sugar and Salt bring together more than just a Piecrust.

Every now and then I become quite disillusioned with my cooking abilities. It may be the single failed attempt at a recipe I know and trust or just several days of lackluster results that might bring this feeling of culinary mediocrity. Whatever the cause, sometimes it bothers me much more than it should-- not because I am as silly as this would seem, equating my self-worth with the ability to make a really good chocolate chip cookie, but because cooking is often the therapy I crave at the end of a long and tiring day or week. There is nothing so cleansing and invigorating than creating something lovely from simple, fresh ingredients.

Never the less, I have recently had a chip on my shoulder in the domain which we call the kitchen. This 'chip' is about the size of my thumbnail and is made of pure chocolate. That is correct, I speak of the chocolate chip. Be it milk, dark or semi-sweet-- this little morsel of decadence has, of late caused me a great deal of grief. Why, you ask? For some strange reason, I have had a serious problem with making chocolate chip cookies. I have tried many recipes and I always get the same results-- in short, not the results I want. This past weekend I recovered from the "depths of despair" only to hold my head high as I marched out to Target with a vengeance to buy a brand new Family-Size bag of Tollhouse Chocolate Chips in order to conquer my recent fear not once, but many times if necessary. But upon returning home, I found myself not quite ready for the trenches. Instead of facing my bright red Kitchen-Aid with gusto, I sought to lick my wounds at the proverbial workbench of one of the greatest cooks I have ever known,
Marie Josephine Templeton.

"Nannie" as she was always known to me, taught my mother, her daughter, countless things about cooking and baking and in turn passed on her gifts to me. She was a diligent woman. She cooked for many years in a kitchen that most would deem inferior in size and yet she served our family many things that tasted far better than any thing served from the 10 Foot Maple island of a Southern Living Idea Home. A treasure trove of warmth and wisdom accompanied these dishes as she brought them to the table with a sweet smile and gentle hands. It is these hands that inspire me most in the kitchen. When I think back over my childhood and my years being her grandaughter, it is her hands that stand out to me. Standing on a chair next to her, as she made my favorite Oatmeal Cookies and carefully set them in the cookie jar, I learned that you don't rush perfection and that cooking and baking should relax you, not stress you out. I try to remember these things in my kitchen today as I cook for my own dear husband. Although from time to time, my ability to control the outcome takes over and Cindy McNasty is suddenly wearing the apron.. and not that little girl in a pink corduroy dress who knows that "cooking is fun."

This weekend I did something I have never done before. I made a very special Apple Pie. Not just any apple pie, but a pie that has only been made my two other women that I know of, my mother and my grandmother. I was, I admit a little stressed out at various parts of the process... and for those of you who want me to cut to the chase, the pie was not what I would call perfect.. but it was good. The filling was warm and fragrant and sweet and the crust was delicate and flaky-- which moved me to nostalgia over the pies of the two women who have bolstered my cooking abilities so.

I must admit, I constantly compare everything that comes out of my poorly calibrated Seminary apartment oven (which has a mind of its' own and jumps 50 degrees in either direction during any cooking process.) to that of my mother's and Nannie's. But it was in the rolling out, baking and tasting of this pie that I found some culinary justice in the world. It really was not bad for a first attempt! Regardless of the outcome though, I was vividly reminded of why I love cooking and baking. Because sometimes, everything comes together the way you plan. Sometimes when you don't even know what the plan is, you end up with a delicious surprise. And some times, you are gently reminded by the feel of fresh, cool pie crust underneath your fingertips that when you cook for the ones you love, the outcome does not matter as much as the joy you receive from serving them from your heart and hands. I will be trying the chocolate chip cookies again. Very soon. Not because of my Hubris alone, but because I just cannot imagine that it will be easy for little Lucy Stuckey to sign up for a dozen Apple Pies instead of a dozen Chocolate Chip cookies for the elementary school bake sale.

My Recent Culinary Adventures...

For those of you who know me, it is no surprise that I LOVE to cook. I love to make trusty old recipes that are predictable in taste and appearance... I love to take magazine recipes and try my hardest to make the finished product look like the photo... I love to try my hand at brand new things that seem difficult... I love to make things that most people would just purchase or buy frozen. Not because I think it's always better, but because it is truly and inexplicably therapeutic. There is no substitute to coming home from work, getting comfy and heading to the kitchen for my almost nightly routine of washing, chopping, sauteeing and seasoning fresh vegetables while listening to some supremely mellow music. I Love taking fresh ingredients, adding the right amount of seasoning and patience and winding up with a dinner! The only two things better than preparing the meal itself--- Eating it with my wonderful husband and.... having leftovers the next night so I can use the time on something else I enjoy. All in all, I genuinely look forward to the time I spend in the kitchen. It helps that I cook for someone who is so grateful and so willing to help with the cleanup!!!

Some of my Favorite Sites for Cooking Inspiration: My Favorite is Cooking Light Magazine!!!
www.foodnetwork.com
www.myrecipes.com
and
The Barefoot Contessa!!!!

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
(inspired by Paula Deen!)

My first attempt at Macaroons
(these were actually pretty good!)

I had to put this photo in here because I thought it looked pretty! I love to cook! In case you're wondering: Butternut Squash Soup; Balsamic Glazed Asparagus; Wild Rice and Turkey Cutlets.

These are my nephews, Nate and Benny.. obviously not a food item.. but they are so cute I could gobble em up-- so they made the cut.

I always keep a bag of Frozen Peas around.. not because they are good to eat but because I often burn myself in the kitchen and frozen veggies make great ice packs!! These injuries happen way too often. Tonight I was chopping an onion and just thinking to myself how dull my knives were getting and I took a healthy chunk out of my finger! Oh well, it's worth the injury to have a hobby that results in a necessary provision! :)