Pardon the dog hair

Taco Salad Pizza

2012-02-01T10:17:00.002-06:00

I have to be honest with you. Today I have a little bit of writer's block... or I guess blogger's block, since I'm not technically a writer.

We're halfway through the week and this is just the second recipe I have ready for my list of Superbowl hits. I've got a few other ideas, like pesto quinoa, that I am really excited to share. But, I just haven't had a chance to make it yet. Don't worry; it's on tonight's menu.

Today's recipe was inspired by a pizza I got almost every time I visited Antonio's on Northgate in College Station. Whether I was eating it at 2 in the morning or at lunchtime in between classes, it was always my favorite. Surprisingly though, I've never tried to recreate it. Until now that is.

I present to you...Taco Salad Pizza!

Oh boy is it ever good. In real life, I don't even like sour cream. You would never catch me putting it on a potato. But, sour cream is 100% right on this pizza. Dollop it on right after the pizza comes out of the oven, along with a variety of other toppings. Pizza heaven.

Taco Salad Pizza

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1 pizza dough

2 tbsp olive oil

1 batch guacamole

1/2 jar roasted red bell peppers (Mezzetta)

1/2 jar jalepeno pepper and onion (Mezzetta)

1 large chicken breast

1 small can black olives

1 cup Mexican Blend Cheese

8 small dollops low fat sour cream

1 cup romaine lettuce, shredded

1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

1/2 cup salsa

Guacamole

3 avocados, ripe

1/2 red onion

1 roma tomato

1 garlic clove

1 jalepeno

Handful of cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lime juiced

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

Chop chicken breast into small strips and marinate in jalepeno pepper and onion mixture. Let sit for about 30 minutes. While this is marinating, prepare the guacamole and pizza dough. I used to make homemade pizza dough, but then discovered a grocery store that sells frozen whole wheat dough (very similar to the Trader Joes stuff), so that is my go-to now.

For my guacamole, I mash the avocados in a medium size bowl. Then, in a food processor, add tomatoes, onion, jalepeno, garlic and cilantro. Pulse until everything is diced. Mix this into the avocados. Add lime juice, spices, salt and pepper. Adjust to taste.

Roll our your pizza dough on a pizza stone (or cookie sheet). Cover pizza dough with guacamole.

Add roasted red bell peppers and black olives. Meanwhile, saute chicken breast over medium heat in a skillet for about 8 minutes. You want it to be pretty much cooked.

Once chicken is cooked, add to the pizza. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until crust is crispy and brown.

Remove pizza from oven.

Add sour cream, lettuce, salsa, and tortilla chips before serving; this really creates that "taco salad" part.

Slice pizza into triangles or small squares. Squares makes it much easier to serve to a large crowd. If you are having a smaller party, go with the triangles. Your guests are going to want a larger piece. I promise. The toppings you can add are endless. It would be dreamy with some jalepeno ranch drizzled on at the end. Homemade pico de gallo would be pretty snazzy also. You can also ditch the chicken and add black beans to make it vegetarian. See... endless possibilities!

We've got quite the menu going for Superbowl parties over here. The roasted red bell pepper mini tarts I wrote about on Monday have been a major hit with all who have tried them. And this pizza went over quite well last night. I've got high hopes for the pesto quinoa dish for tonight. Any dessert ideas? Last year I made heath bar blondies that were absolutely to die for. I've got a lot of work to do to come up with something that can outdo blondies. But don't worry, I'm up for the challenge.

Superbowl party planning

2012-01-30T13:56:00.006-06:00

I've been told the Superbowl is this weekend. As the majority of the people are concerned with who is going to win and what the best commercial will be, I'm more interested in Superbowl party menus.

To be completely honest, I'm not even sure what two teams are in it. Tom Brady and the Patriots vs the Giants? Is that right?

A quick google search confirmed that I am actually correct. Go me.

Don't get me wrong, I love football. But my football interest peaks at the college level and slowly dwindles as we move into the professional field. Of course, I do love attending the Cowboys games; the atmosphere and food at the games are both awesome! I used to be a huge Packers fan, but this was prior to college. Now, I'm all about rivalry week, game day, and traditions. Of course it looks like it might be a very sad year for my Aggies, so perhaps I should refocus my energy on professional football.

In light of the big game this week, I thought it would be fun to share some of my absolute favorites appetizers, entrees, and desserts though the week. These recipes will be sure to make your party a hit and will be appreciated by all those in attendance at your Superbowl party. Or, if you are a guest at a party, ask the hostess if you could bring a little something that might fit into his/her menu. These recipes are a little different then the infamous 7-layer dip, queso, and sliders, but are just as easy to throw together.

And by no means am I hating on 7-layer dip, queso, and sliders. These are all integral parts of any good Superbowl party. This is just an additional appetizer that would be fantastic to serve.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto Mini Tarts
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3 packages Athens mini-fillo tarts
1 1/2 cups Mezzetta roasted red bell peppers
2 cup spinach (or handfuls)
2 cup basil leaves (about 2 packages)
2 clove garlic
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup goat cheese crumbles
Shredded chicken breasts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a food processor, add roasted red bell peppers, spinach, basil, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper. Pulse until combined and a pesto forms. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. Assemble tarts by layering a little bit of shredded chicken, covering in pesto, then sprinkling goat cheese on top. Repeat process until all the tarts are filled. Bake for 5 minutes, broil on high for 2.

These are deliciously easy. No need to spend hours whipping up mini tart dough; use the pre-packaged Athens tarts. They are so yummy and are the perfect size for appetizers. And, if you are wanting to make things even easier, try purchasing a pre-made pesto to combine with the roasted red bell peppers. For more variety, try a steak or meat-free version to appeal to all of the guests at the party. I also offered an even easier version of this recipe here.

They are just so cute. And because they are so small, I think they are relatively guilt free. They really do make a perfect little appetizer!

I'll be featuring several other Superbowl party approved recipes this week including a taco salad pizza, guilt-free pesto quinoa, and some kind of delicious dessert that is yet to be determined. So for those of you interested in all things Superbowl party related that don't actually have to do with football, I recommend stopping by a few times this week. Do you have any must make Superbowl party foods? Anything you would like me to recreate? I'm taking suggestions!

Slow-cooker chili

2012-01-26T09:12:00.002-06:00

Time for more comfort food! We have had a ton of rain here this week, and nothing says comfort like a big bowl of spicy chili and cornbread. I don't really mind the rain that much, but I know a certain 4-legged little lady that absolutely hates it.

Lizzie goes on potty strike for days whenever it is raining, to the point where I begin to worry about her. She would be absolutely mortified if she had an accident in the house, but she will not go outside if it is raining. Luckily, I've managed to be home at lunch when we have had momentarily pauses in the rain, giving Lizzie a few minutes to run outside and take care of things. It's tough being a spoiled dog.

Earlier this week, I decided I wanted to make a batch of slow-cooker chili. I've never actually made chili in my crock pot before, but figured it would be worth a try. On Tuesday I gathered all my ingredients, prepped the meat and veggies, put it all in the crockpot, and then happily left the house. Much to my dismay, when I returned two hours later, my house was not filled with spicy, welcoming aromas. It actually still smelled quite a bit like wet dog. Thanks Wilson.

Turns out to make slow-cooker chili you actually have to turn the crock pot on. Fail. This little mistake led to a huge mistake in Wes, Lindsay, and I ordering massive amounts of greasy Chinese food after we worked out on Tuesday. They are going to kill me for sharing that little secret.

After waking up to extremely swollen fingers and a bloated face yesterday, I was very thankful to have my chili for last night's supper. I made sure to make sure the pot was on this time.

Slow Cooker Chili

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1 pound spicy ground italian sausage
1 whole onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh mushrooms, diced
4 Serrano peppers
1 Chili pepper (I think I used Anaheim)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes (fire roasted)
2 cans tomato juice
1 can tomato paste
1 can ranch style beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pineapple chunks (the larger can)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp chili powder
1 beef bouillon cube
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tbsp mustard
3 tbsp Worcestershire
2 tbsp white vinegar

Spray a large skillet with pam and saute onions, garlic, bell peppers, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add to the bowl of the crock pot. In the same skillet, brown the sausage. Once browned, drain fat and add to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and cook on high for about 3 hours.

Serve with cornbread. I like to crumble my cornbread over top and mix it all in, but it's also great buttered up and enjoyed separately.

I know it looks like there are a ton of ingredients. It's true. This chili has a lot going on. But, for the most part, it is stuff that you probably already have. And if you are missing a few things, I bet it would be just fine without it. If you are not a fan of heat, I recommend leaving out the chili pepper and some of the cayenne. Wes thought this dish was pretty spicy, when usually he is adding heat to things. I didn't have a problem with it though; I thought it was just right.

What are some of your favorite comfort foods? Homemade mac and cheese is another one that tops my list, as well as chicken paprikash and short ribs. Hello high cholesterol. Nice to meet you.

Welcoming back some old favorites

2012-01-25T16:36:00.002-06:00

I will be the first person to admit that I have a terrible sweet tooth. Cupcakes, buttercream icing, cookies, blue bell, all call my name on a daily basis. A terrible sweet tooth and a love for baking is really an unfortunate combination. But, reality has sunk in folks. I have let myself binge on sweets for much too long; I've been enjoying a prolonged holiday season if you will. I think it has something to do with being engaged.

Is it wrong that I have contacted more bakers than I have caterers, florists, and photographers combined? Don't answer that.

In an effort to get myself slightly under control, I have introduced one of my old favorites back into my life. Enter green monster.

Looks gross. Tastes great. Keeps me full. From March through November of last year, I made at least 5 of these a week. I always had them for lunch. But, once I started travelling in December, green monster making completely stopped. And I have really noticed a difference.

My recipe is pretty standard and I rarely deviate from it. Here you go...

Green Monster

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1/2 frozen banana (must be frozen!)

2 ice cubes

3/4 cup vanilla almond milk

2 large handfuls (maybe 3) spinach

1 scoop protein powder (I use Sun warrior chocolate)

1/2 pack Stevia

Throw it all in a blender and blend, blend, blend until it is extremely smooth. I promise you it is good. And you can add almond butter or peanut butter to incorporate a little healthy fat if you would like.

Another slightly less old, not food related favorite that has re-entered my life is.....

Wilson!!

He is back with a vengeance. His adoption didn't quite work out in his favorite; no fault of his own however. He was just a little too much dog for the 4 year old girly-girl who shared his new home. In Wilson's mind, if you are running, and bouncing, and laughing, you are playing and very much resemble a rabbit. He of course wanted to play, rather rambunctiously, and that just didn't work for this family. I am pretty happy to have him back though. I really missed that sweet face.

Lots of people were glad to see Wilson back including Wes, my parents, Lizzie, Lindsay, and the neighbors. If things keep up, Wilson may have already found his forever home. But, for the time being, he is still listed as available on the Paws in the City webpage and would be willing to meet active, fun, happy-go-lucky families.

Potbelly Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies... Take Two

2012-01-24T10:50:00.004-06:00

Over the last year or so, I have noticed that tons of people are finding my blog when they are searching for Potbelly's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. I originally wrote about the cookies here and how I desperately wanted to recreate them. The recipe I have in that post is good, but it wasn't quite right.

On Sunday, I picked up a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for "research purposes" and had my mind set on getting it right this time. Of course, the ingredients were no longer listed on the back of the bag on Sunday. Luckily, a reader sent me a scanned image of the bag a week or so ago, so I had that for reference. The ingredients were all pretty common, except for one type of oil that I did not have. But, I figured I would just try and work with what I had.

And guess what... there is no butter in this cookie. Amazing huh?

Don't get too excited though. There is lots and lots of margarine. Butter's evil cousin.

I also noticed that there isn't any baking powder in the cookie, just baking soda. The texture of the potbelly cookie also doesn't seem to be overly "oat-y." Potbelly might use quick oats as opposed to regular. Since I only had regular oats, food processing them seemed like the best solution.

The result? A really, really good cookie. Honestly, it was slightly better than the one I had on Sunday from Potbelly. The cookie wasn't as gooey as I prefer on Sunday. But, this recipe isn't quite spot on. I think the Potbelly cookie might use a cake flour, or a slightly heavier flour in their recipe. Even though this one wasn't quite perfect, it was pretty close.

Almost Potbelly Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

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1 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups quick oats (or regular, food processed)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugars. Add in egg, one at a time, beating after every addition. Mix in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together then slowly add into the margarine mixture. Add about a cup at a time, mix, then add another cup. Do this until it is all blended together. Mix in chocolate chips.

Form dough into medium size balls, place on cookie sheet covered with a silpat, and bake for about 10 minutes.

I have a bunch of these cookies at my house. Someone needs to come over and take several dozen. This recipe yields about 40 cookies.

Until we meet again Potbelly...

Braised short ribs

2012-01-23T09:55:00.001-06:00

I love braised short ribs. Whenever I see them on a restaurant menu, I am always tempted to order them. However, I usually resist because I know I can make them at home for half the cost. But they really are one of my favorite comfort foods. And, they are surprisingly easy to make... very low fuss.

The secret to great, fork tender short ribs is the cook time. You have to allow at least three hours to really get them to the perfect consistency, which makes them a meal you really have to plan ahead for. They are well worth the three hour wait though. I do recommend leaving your house while they are in the oven, if you are comfortable with that sort of thing. The smell is absolutely intoxicating, making it very hard to resist ripping them out of the oven a few hours early.

That wouldn't be pretty.

Braised Short Ribs

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3 strips bacon

6 short ribs

1 tbsp olive oil

1 whole onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 large shallot, chopped

1 1/2 cup red wine

32 ounces beef stock

6 sprigs fresh rosemary

6 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

3 tsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large dutch oven, saute bacon strips. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside. Next you want to brown the short ribs. Place them in a dutch oven and rotate every 45 seconds or so, until a light brown.

Remove from pan and set aside.

Chop your veggies, garlic, and shallot and add them to the dutch oven. Saute for about 6 minutes, until translucent. Then, pour in the wine. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven, loosening up all the flavor from the bacon and short ribs.

Add short ribs and bacon back to the dutch oven. Pour in beef stock.

Add in fresh rosemary, thyme, dried bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate all the spices.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 2 and a half hours. Then, reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Once done, adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve over a nice absorbent starch, like mashed potatoes, risotto, brown rice, etc. It would probably also be nice served over quinoa, which would definitely help out the nutritional stats.

Delicious. And like I said, pretty easy. Head down to your local butcher and pick up some short ribs today. You will not be sorry.

A Crepey Saturday

2012-01-21T17:50:00.005-06:00

Today was Wilson's last day living at my house. I've loved getting to be his foster mom, but am so happy that he found a home all of his own. His new family already loves him tons and has him set up with a bunch of brand new toys, a new collar, and his favorite food. And they have decided to keep his name, Wilson, which makes me very happy. We left sweet Wilson enjoying a bone in his new backyard.

Before he left though, I wanted to make sure he had one really good snack to ensure he always thinks of us fondly. So, I attempted crepes for my very first time.

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I followed a simple recipe and made both a savory and sweet crepe. The savory was a combination of tomato, squash, red onion, arugula, and cheese. It was quite tasty.

The sweet was definitely my favorite though. And I'm pretty sure Wilson enjoyed the little pieces he had of it as well. I filled the sweet crepe with peanut butter, honey, and bananas. A dogs dream come true.

A little bit of powdered sugar on top for the finishing touch. These were extremely simple to make and could be filled with so many different combinations. I followed the recipe for crepes found here. I can't wait to try a couple stuffed with goat cheese, basil, grilled chicken, and more veggies. Doesn't that sound yummy?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I'm off to drown my Wilson tears in a glass of wine and eat more cake tasting cupcakes.

The Underside of Joy

2012-01-19T10:39:00.005-06:00

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson was the second book I read for Blogher Book Club. To read a brief summary of the overall plot of the book, check out the book club page here.

So far, the books I have been sent to read for book club are 2 for 2 in terms of approval. I cannot praise The Underside of Joy enough. Please read this book. I absolutely recommend it. Honestly, when I sat down to read The Underside of Joy, I was a bit nervous. I had just finished The Hunger Games trilogy in record time and was completely captivated by all things Katniss, Peeta, and District 13. And that is a hard act to follow, but that is another story for another day.

Initially with The Underside of Joy I thought it would be easy to pick a side. Clearly Ella would prevail in any custody battle as she had completely taken over the role of “mom” after their birth mom abandoned them. But, Sere, the author, throws a twist into the story. She lets her readers get to know Paige and all the struggles she has encountered. You can’t help but empathize with Paige, eventually letting you see things through her perspective. And quite quickly, my once clear idea of who should be the legal mother of Annie and Zach became very blurred.

Both women had to overcome serious obstacles in becoming a mother. Ella struggled with infertility in her prior marriage, while Paige not only suffered from severe post-partum depression, but was a victim of it. One of the prevalent themes throughout the novel was the differences in Ella and Paige. All Ella ever wanted was to be a mother, while there was a time when Paige wanted nothing to do with her children. Ella described herself as not necessarily beautiful, more in touch with the natural side of things, while Paige was quite stunning and staged homes for a living, dealing constantly with materiality. However, both of these women shared a similar love for Annie and Zach. Both were deserving of being their mother.

I finished The Underside of Joy in two days, staying up one night until 3am because I could not put it down. It is a quick read, easy to follow, but also captures your emotions. It reminds you that there are always two sides to every story, but doesn't condemn you for perhaps casting premature judgement. It will absolutely tug at your heartstrings, and you will feel a connection with the characters, feeling that you know them personally. And at the end, if you are anything like me, you will be satisfied, but of course, wanting a few more pages because you aren't quite ready to let them go.

*This was a paid review for Blogher Book Club. All opinions expressed in the review are my own.*

An early Valentine's Day treat

2012-01-18T15:19:00.004-06:00

Whoever first came up with the idea for cupcakes was a complete genius. Not only are they adorable and even cuter when you shrink them down to mini-cupcake size, but they really help with portion control.

When there is a cake around my house, I am the queen of cutting off a little bite of it everytime I walk into the kitchen. In my mind I think "oh, it's only a small taste." But in reality, those "small tastes" probably add up to at least two pieces of cake per day. And no matter how you spin it, "everything in moderation," "just this once," etc... two pieces of cake per day is very hard to justify.

The cupcake is perfect for solving this problem. I get everything I love about a cake, and I no longer am able to sneak tiny slices throughout the day. Cutting a cupcake into tiny slices and leaving it would just be sad and wrong. I know better. So, at the end of the day, after a nice, healthy dinner, I get to enjoy a cupcake that hasn't been casually hacked at.

I sense I am not the only one with the "it's just a small slice" issue. If you find yourself in the same boat as me, sailing down a buttercream river, stop. Abandon ship. Converting your cake recipes into cupcake recipes couldn't be easier. In fact, all I change on my recipes is cook time.

I personally think these cupcakes would be ideal for your honey on Valentine's Day... hence the heart sprinkles.

Italian Cream Cupcakes
Modified from this recipe

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1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup crisco
2 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut flakes
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Icing
1-8 ounce package cream cheese
1/3 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp half and half
1/4 cup coconut
1/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter, sugar, and crisco. Add egg yolks one at a time, reserving egg whites in a separate bowl. Mix yolks into sugar mixture after every addition.

In another bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Once sifted, gradually add in 1 cup to the sugar mixture. Blend. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk. Blend. Add remaining flour mixture. Blend. Add remaining buttermilk. Blend. Add vanilla and mix together.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and peaks have formed. Once stiff, fold into the batter. When combined, stir in coconut and pecans. I like to run my coconut through a food processor to help alleviate the coconut texture so many people struggle with.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling liners about 3/4 full. Bake for about 26 minutes, until cupcakes are a light brown.

While cupcakes are baking, prepare the icing. Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add in powdered sugar, half & half, and vanilla. Mix together, adding more powdered sugar if necessary. Stir in coconut and pecans.

Ice cupcakes when cool.

Try not to eat all the sprinkles before they make it on the cupcakes...

Like I mentioned, I think these would be great for Valentines. But I like to leave a few not iced to have as more of a muffin. Either way, they are delicious.

For those following the Wilson story, I got a message earlier today that the family we met would like to adopt him. As always, this is very bittersweet for me. I couldn't be more than thrilled with the family; I think labs and kiddos go hand and hand. But, boy will I miss Wilson. If you remember, Wilson was the dog I rescued literally ten minutes before he was to be put down back in September. He was a little rough around the edges when I got him and definitely in need of a little training, but I knew he would make the perfect dog for somebody. Looking at pictures of Wilson now, it is hard to believe he is the same dog. He came to me dirty, really skinny, and with a bunch of green paint down his nose. Now he has one of the shiniest coats I've ever seen with no signs of green paint. Sure he could stand to gain a few pounds, but I would say he is a pretty handsome guy. Wilson getting adopted will leave quite a space in my heart and I know I will miss laughing at all of his crazy antics. But, I also know there are so many other dogs out there that are in need of rescue, and now I'll get to save one more.

If you've ever thought about fostering a dog, but decided not too because you "wouldn't be able to give him up" or "would be too sad after they left," I ask you to reconsider. If it is something your even remotely interested in, please email me. I would love to talk to you about my experiences and how many dogs I have rescued. Sure, I cry after every dog gets adopted (ok, most dogs, there was one in particular that I was ready to have leave). Yes I feel sad, and yes it is hard. But that feeling goes away so quickly when you realize you get to help another dog. And the feeling that comes when you get to save a dog? Well, it is one of the best.

More on Mr. Wilson

2012-01-17T12:05:00.001-06:00

Remember last week how I mentioned Wilson is still looking for a forever home?

How he dreams of having a family, and a yard, and people of his own to take care of?

Well, he may very soon realize his dream. I need a few of your prayers and positive thoughts sent Wilson's way this morning. He went on his very first home visit last night to a family who seemed very excited to meet him. They lost their very special dog last August and have been looking for someone new to add to their family.

If Wilson is adopted by this family, he will have a 4 year old sister who he will no doubt love taking care of and protecting. I think Wilson was made for the protective role. And, with how cute this little girl was, I think Wilson will be chasing lots of boys away over the years. But for the time being, I think this little girl will occupy Wilson's time by playing dress up and putting on shows.

He also will have a yard, which is my wish for all of my foster dogs. Sure he does fine in my townhome and getting to go on runs on his leash, but there is just something about letting him run free in the safety of a yard that puts a big smile on my face. Wilson was absolutely made for running.

We will hopefully know a decision by the end of today or tomorrow on whether or not Wilson has found his home. And if this ends up not being home for him, I know another one will come along that will be just as great. And, true to every foster/rescue dog, Wilson won't be too devastated if it doesn't work out. He will continue being grateful to have a bed to sleep in and a big bowl of food to wake up too, knowing that he will one day find his home forever. And I'm sure a little part of him will be happy knowing he has a little more time to torment Lizzie.

The weekend...

2012-01-15T13:24:00.002-06:00

My Sunday has been pretty full of cooking.... very odd things.

One of the things I learned from my experience with Aetna is that there are SO many other food contests out there. And the prizes you can win are ridiculous. I am now determined to win a few of them and use the money to go towards my wedding. I know my parent's would appreciate that. Plus these contests are pretty fun. It really forces you to be creative and use ingredients you normally wouldn't use. I will be sharing some of the things I've come up with this week.

The first one though isn't a weird ingredient at all. It is actually one that I love and use all the time. Avocados from Mexico! My guacamole recipe is one I have modified over the last year or so, changing it up every time I make it. The original recipe idea came from my dear friend Ali. It is pure genius! This time I put a little bit of a greek spin on it to make it a tad more creative for the contest.


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You can check out my recipe and other people's creations here, on the Avocados from Mexico facebook page. Mine is called Greek Tomatillo Guacamole. There are a lot of awesome, creative recipes already entered. I am definitely going to have to give a few of them a try... perfect for upcoming Superbowl parties!

Greek Tomatillo Guacamole

3 large Avocados from Mexico
4 medium tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
1/2 green bell pepper, roughly chopped (reserve the other half for serving)
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
1 jalepeno
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 cup fat free greek yogurt
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional

In a large bowl, mash avocados.

In a food processor, pulse tomatillos until almost pureed. Add puree to the avocados. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalepeno, olives, and greek yogurt to the processor. Pulse until combined and nearly smooth. Add this mixture to the avocado bowl. Stir to combine. Add seasonings and adjust to taste.

Enjoy what's left of your three day weekend if you are one of the lucky ones who has one. I, unfortunately, am not and will be back in my office tomorrow. I'm not bitter or anything.

Friday, it's Friday

2012-01-13T13:08:00.002-06:00

Sorry. I hope that song is not stuck in your head like it is in mine.

Painful.

I must say I'm so glad it is almost the weekend though. I plan to spend the majority of my time resting. Time to finally get rid of this sinus infection, once and for all! I'm going to wager I've gone through at least three boxes of kleenex in the last month. Ridiculous.

Today started out pretty interesting though. A reader sent me a message letting me know that someone had submitted my photograph and recipe in a contest in the UK. How crazy is that? I mean I have to say I was a little flattered, but come on... How hard is it to take a picture on your own and modify my recipe just a tad? It probably would have taken about 3 minutes, and would not have resulted in a disqualification. Sorry Jeffrey.

I guess I should mention that you are more than welcome to post my photographs and recipes on facebook, pinterest, and other social media sites. However, please find a way to link back or give credit to me. My pictures are not fantastic, but believe it or not, I do spend a little time working on them everyday.

Speaking of photographs and recipes, I actually have a new one for you today. Feeling crummy all week has left me craving easy soups. And I'm not talking about the kind out of a can. Check out my new favorite tomato soup...

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup w/ Grilled cheese croutons

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6 roma tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion
1 shallot
1 can diced tomatoes
20 ounces chicken stock
1/2 cup fat-free half & half
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup cream
12 fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

For the croutons
2 pieces bread
3 slices cheese (I used pepperjack)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop tomatoes into thirds. Put on a cookie sheet, along with garlic, onion, and shallot. Roast for about 20 minutes.

Remove veggies from the oven. Place in a large sauce pan, add diced tomatoes, basil, parsley, chicken stock, milk, cream, and half & half. PS, you don't have to use the variety of liquids that I did... Definitely go with chicken stock, but you can pick a combo of the other three. I had all three on hand, so went with all of them!

Using an immersion blender, blend mixture until it is nearly smooth. I left mine a little "pulpy" if you will because I wanted some texture, but you can blend it as much as you would like. Once blended, turn heat to about medium, add spices, stir and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, prepare croutons. Cut bread into tiny equal sized chunks. Also cut the cheese... Ha, sorry I'm a five year old... into equal sized chunks as well. Prepare a typical grilled cheese sandwich by putting cheese in between two pieces of the bread chunks. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

Serve soup with grilled cheese croutons piled on top.

I thought this soup was way better than the tomato basil I usually order at restaurants. Plus, it has no where near the amount of heavy cream in it. Your pants will thank you.

Have a fantastic and soup-filled weekend!

Wilson

2012-01-11T10:39:00.005-06:00

Somehow I have gotten sick again. I'm really not sure how, but it happens. I have no recipes or delicious desserts to share today because frankly I'm not cooking.

My energy level is at an all time low, and making dinner for myself just isn't at the top of my list. Thank heavens for all the frozen soup in my freezer.

Anyway, I thought now would be a nice time to talk a little about my foster dog Wilson.

Wilson is still available for adoption. He has been living with me for a long time now... three, four, five months? I can't remember. He is completely potty trained and truly believes that he is a lap dog. Wilson is also the friendliest dog I have ever met. If he sees another dog or human outside that he doesn't get to meet, he quietly whimpers to himself.

It doesn't last long. Thankfully he quickly moves on and forgets about the dog he just saw.

He knows a lot of words like "no" and "bad dog." Kidding! I had to throw in the Look Who's Talking 3 reference. Remember when Rocks thought his name was "no?" So funny....

He knows how to "sit" on command and is working on a few more things like "stay," "drop the toy" etc. Wilson also loves the water. And I think he might make a good hunting dog. Birds and squirrels are always on his radar. He just needs a bit of training.

He can run for miles and would be the perfect running companion for someone training for a half marathon. Wilson has ran up too 7 miles with me before, but something tells me he could go for quite a few more.

Does Wilson sound like the perfect dog for you or for someone you know? If so, please contact me or Paws in the City to adopt him! Wilson is anxious to have a family of his own. He will make the perfect family dog.

And for those of you who came for a recipe, I'm going to repost one of my freezer favorites. This Mexican casserole is delicious and freezes like a little gem. Give it a try.

Layers of tortillas, cheese, and a super easy meat mixture combine for an ooey gooey casserole. I gave one of these to a friend the other night. Hopefully her family is enjoying it!

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Baked Potato Soup

2012-01-09T14:47:00.001-06:00

Cold rainy night? Check.

Cheap ingredients? Check.

Potentially diet friendly? Check.

Easy to make? Double check.

My house has been in absolute turmoil lately with the installation of wood floors. My kitchen is a disaster zone, so creativity has been very, very limited. But, I did come up with this crock pot recipe last week that is so good.

You know how some people like to make "mashed potatoes" with cauliflower? Well this recipe is a copy cat of that idea. Of course, I did not completely omit the mashed potatoes. It is more a combination of the two that turned out to be delicious. And easy. Aren't those the best recipes?

Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup

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2 Russet potatoes
2 red potatoes
1 whole cauliflower
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 white onion, roughly chopped
5 green onions, roughly chopped
1 large shallot, roughly chopped
1 jalepeno, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 cube Knorr Poultry seasoning
2 cans chicken stock
1 can water
3/4 cup Fat Free Half & Half
3 tsp salt (this makes a TON of soup)
2 tsp pepper
Dash of garlic powder
4 strips bacon (for garnish)
1/2 cup chopped green onions (for garnish)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Put everything except for the bacon and 1/2 cup of green onions in your crockpot. Let cook for about 8 hours. When finished, use an immersion blender to blend until completely smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer soup to a regular blender to blend. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with crumbled bacon, green onions, and cheese.

Sweet Sugar cookies with Raspberry Chocolate Ganache

2012-01-05T16:13:00.002-06:00

Don't worry. Just because it is the New Year doesn't mean I'm going to forget about my favorite meal of the day.

No, no. Dessert will always be at the top of my list, the front of my mind, the last thing I think about before I go to bed a night... you get the idea.

I love it. No New Year's resolution could keep me away from baking. Moderation is key for me, and a little bit of something sweet every day keeps me sane.

It has been awhile since I have made my absolute favorite sugar cookie. This recipe has been nagging at me for the last few weeks. Usually I make it at least once over the holiday season, but somehow this year I forgot. Maybe it was because I was too busy slurping up the last of the rice pudding or hoarding poppyseed rolls. But, if you are looking for a fantastic sugar cookie for say, Valentine's Day, or just to have around the house, make this recipe. It's quick, easy, and always turns out great. Even when you leave the cookies in the oven for 5 minutes longer than they were supposed to be. Nothing a little chocolate ganache can't fix.

Sugar cookie with Raspberry Chocolate Ganache

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Modified from this recipe

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp half & half
3 tbsp turbinado sugar

For the Ganache
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar (not the turbinado, just the regular). Once thoroughly creamed, add in egg and vanilla. Beat until well blended and smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Once mixed, gradually add into the wet mixture. Beating until combined. Once mixed, add in half and half. Blend together.

Keep turbinado sugar in a separate bowl; it will be for rolling the dough in.

Line a baking sheet with foil, parchment, or a silpat. Roll dough into balls slightly smaller then a golf ball. Then roll dough balls in the turbinado sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake for about 9 minutes.

While cookies are baking, prepare ganache. Bring whipping cream to a boil over medium heat. In a separate bowl, add chocolate chips and raspberry preserves. Once whipping cream is boiling, slowly pour over top the chocolate chips/raspberry combo. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted, being careful to not incorporate too much air.

Once cookies are done, let cool. Then dollop a bit of ganache on top of each cookie. Serve with milk.

I don't even like milk, but it just seemed appropriate with this recipe.

Now, imagine these with some cute Valentine's candies on top or pink and red sprinkles. How cute would that be?

I can't stop myself from eating these cookies. They will be making their way up to my office soon. Did I mention this was my first time making a ganache? I've never tried it before, but goodness is it delicious. I'm not sure if mine turned out quite right, but it tasted great, so I was pleased.

I just want to say a quick hello to those who spotted my rice pudding recipe over on Tasty Kitchen. I was so excited to see my recipe up there this morning with several other delicious looking items. Welcome to my little blog, feel free to look around, and please, pardon the dog hair.

Back to reality...

2012-01-04T11:03:00.003-06:00

Things have quickly gone from this...

to this...

Ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration. But long are the days of lounging in my pajamas until noon with Lizzie in her pearls and Polly snuggled up next to me. Luckily I have my memories and a few pictures to get me back in that mindset. Such good looking teeth Polly!

Polly is all about filling the frame.

Things are back to normal now.. well except that I am still technically living out of a suitcase because I have no access to my bedroom or closet. The hardwood floor guys didn't quite finish the job on time.

But being back to normal definitely has an upside. I finally am making healthy meals again. Mind you, I am in no way complaining about the massive amounts of botana platters, rice pudding, and macarons I ate while on vacation. However, my pants are complaining. They do not enjoy the additional poundage that is being stuffed into them.

It happens.

Last night, I made dinner for the first time in a few weeks. I went to the grocery store rather uninspired yesterday, so picking out a meal was quite difficult. After strolling through several aisles, I decided on a simple curry. And to make things even easier, I took a quick trip to the frozen vegetable section.

Baby steps friends. Baby steps.

I was still trying to embrace the fact that vacation was over and that I was back to taking care of myself all on my own.

I don't know why I don't utilize the frozen vegetable section more when making stir fry dishes. The chopping is done. The veggies are almost as good as fresh. They taste great. And they save you about 15 minutes of chopping. Which means 15 more minutes of cuddling with Lizzie. She is taking this whole "back to work" thing quite hard.

Easy Chicken Curry

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3 chicken breasts, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 package frozen Asian Vegetable mix
3 squares S&B medium hot curry seasoning mix
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 1/2 to 2 cups water (depending on how saucy you like it)
2 tbsp half & half

For the rice
1 cup jasmine brown rice
2 cups water

In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute chicken breasts in olive oil & vinegar. Cook for about five minutes. Add in vegetables, curry seasoning, water, soy sauce and worcestershire. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about ten minutes. Add in pepper & half and half. Adjust seasonings to taste.

While curry is simmering, prepare rice. Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add in brown rice. Simmer until water is absorbed.

I mixed the rice in with the curry once it was prepared and let it simmer all together for a few minutes. This is completely optional. Wes also likes to add Sriracha sauce to his curry to make it even spicier. It is yummy either way.

This comes together in a little under thirty minutes. It is the perfect meal to ease you back into cooking if you have taken a hiatus for a while.

Hopefully you are starting to settle back into your routine. It is always hard for me to say goodbye to the holidays, but having a normal schedule filled with healthy food, exercise, friends, and my own space is definitely nice too.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T18:33:00.001-06:00

Happy 2012!

I am so excited about this year for a bunch of reasons.

First and foremost, we are back in an even year. Have I mentioned I don't like odd numbers? Weird, I know. But, I just prefer years that end in even numbers.

More importantly, Wes and I get married this year. Filing jointly for 2012! Woo Woo! Can you tell I'm a CPA?

And I know this is the year that Wilson will get adopted by his forever home. He is just too cute to be an orphan! He has been having quite the time this Christmas break with Lucy, Polly, and Lizzie. I'm pretty sure he secretly wishes my parents would adopt him.

I wanted to start the year off with a very not resolution friendly recipe. One of my mom's favorites, homemade almond toffee.

If you are gung-ho on sticking to your New Year's resolution, you should stop reading now. This recipe has a pound of butter in it. What does a pound translate too? Four sticks.

Yes, you read correctly. Four sticks.

Of course you don't eat it all at once, and it is something that freezes well. So, that makes it sort of ok right?

Mom's Homemade Toffee
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1 pound butter (2 cups)
1 tbsp butter for cookie sheet
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
Dash of salt
1 cup toasted slivered almonds (blanched)

Prepare a cookie sheet by greasing with 1 tbsp butter.

In a heavy 3 quart saucepan, melt butter. Add sugar, corn syrup, and salt. You want it to cook very slowly, not boiling quickly because you do not want sugar crystal to form. Medium heat is best. You can stir it occasionally, but do not scrape around the sides of the pan. This also could cause crystals to form, says my mom. The slower the boil, the smoother the candy. Continue to cook until candy thermometer reads 295 degrees.

Meanwhile, pour slivered almonds onto the cookie sheet. Once spread out, pour cooked candy over top. Let sit until it reaches room temperature, about one hour. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

You can also add melted chocolate to the layer of candy if you would like. This tends to be a little overkill though. I can't believe I said that.

Consider this recipe the diet version.

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for this little blog. I had a great time in 2011 experimenting with recipes, trying to take better pictures, entering a few contests, and sharing bits and pieces of my life with Wes and all the dogs. Hopefully you have enjoyed it as well.

Last Christmas recipe

2011-12-31T14:46:00.002-06:00

My whirlwind Christmas vacation is almost over. Wes and I ventured back down to McAllen yesterday for a New Year's Eve wedding. Mom has been up to her usual activities, baking and more baking. I've taken some time off from cooking and baking over the last week. Not necessarily out of choice, more so because of lack of time. We have been running around like crazy. Thing should start to slow down over the next few days though.

My mom's most recent creation was gingerbread muffins. I think they turned out adorable and very similar to the Jason's Deli gingerbread muffins.

She says they are best served with whipped cream. But, what isn't better served with cream?

Gingerbread Muffins
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From WeGottaEat

1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
1 1/2 cup molasses
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffins tins.

Mix sugar, flour, baking soda, spices, and salt to a bowl. Combine well. In a separate bowl add egg, molasses, buttermilk, and butter. Stir to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry, stirring to combine again.

Pour batter into muffin tins about 2/3 the way full. Bake for 15 minutes

Currently our house has gingerbread muffins, iced brownies, homemade candy, more rice pudding, and a plethora of ice cream in it. In fact, Mom was able to score one of the last half gallons of Blue Bell Christmas Cookie ice cream for me.

Have I told you my sad Blue Bell story yet? I doubt I have because I have just recently come to terms with my loss.

Right before Thanksgiving, I found a Blue Bell sale back in Dallas. $3.59 per half gallon. A serious steal, if you ask me. Wes said we should stock up since I have my deep freeze now. I'm not one to argue about stocking up on ice cream, so naturally I agreed. We bought six containers of Blue Bell. All the new Christmas flavors, one buttercrunch, and a pecan one for Wes. We happily unloaded them into the brand new deep freeze and went on our merry way.

Mind you, the deep freeze was definitely working when we did this.

Not too long after, Wes and I left on our cooking show/engagement/marathon/Las Vegas trip. My mind was at ease knowing my Blue Bell was safe at home in the arms of my new deep freeze. When we got back from our vacation, Wes suggested we try the Christmas flavors since it was officially Christmas at that point.

Hastily descending the stairs, Wes went to retrieve our ice cream stash. Instead of sounds of glee, I heard Wes yell a certain profanity that rarely, and I mean rarely, comes out of his mouth. I immediately thought the worse and assumed he had hurt himself racing to the ice cream.

If only that was the case...

When Wes opened the lid to the deep freeze, he found six completely melted half gallons of Blue Bell. Apparently there was some kind of electrical issue, a flipped breaker or something of that nature, while we were gone on vacation.

The Blue Bell was ruined. Naturally, I tried to replace it right away; unfortunately, Christmas Cookies was no where to be found in Dallas. Like I mentioned, the grieving process was long, but I had accepted the fact that I would have to wait until Christmas 2012 to taste the Christmas Cookies flavor.

Somehow, my mom was able to find a container, on sale no less, at the Target in McAllen. A very special New Year's treat. I plan on eating at least half the container. My vacation ends in two days, so I've got my work cut out for me.

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! We are working on a black eyed pea salsa today, so if it is good, I will be sharing the recipe. Good luck is essential in 2012!

Rice pudding

2011-12-27T22:52:00.001-06:00

Did anyone else ever feel cheated when you found out your Mom was making rice pudding for dessert as a child?

Surely that wasn't only me. I have distinct memories of watching my mom prepare rice pudding, secretly hoping it was tapioca pudding. More often than not, it was rice pudding. At the time, it seemed absolutely crazy to me that my mom could ever fathom using rice in a dessert...crazy, and well disgusting.

To top things off, she used to also put raisins in with the rice pudding. If the rice wasn't enough to turn me away from dessert, the raisins were.

Somehow, over the last fifteen or so years, I have actually grown to like rice pudding. Really like it actually. I actually am really confused as to why I didn't gobble this up as a child. To be completely honest, I'm not sure I ever tried it when I was little. I was really missing out.

Rice pudding is delicious. Creamy, with a hint of cinnamon, it is a perfect dessert. It actually makes a really good breakfast also. I've been enjoying leftover rice pudding for breakfast, after lunch, and before dinner. My wedding diet obviously has not started.

Something tells me my wedding diet is actually never going to start.

Rice Pudding
From Mary Jane Diaz

1 cup rice (short grain)
5 cups wataer
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks cinnamon
3-4 strips fresh lemon rind
2 tbsp butter
1 13 ounce can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
2 tbsp vanilla

In a dutch oven with lid, place water, salt, butter, cinnamon sticks and lemon rind. Bring to a boil. Add rice and stir well. Bring the heat to a simmer, and cover the pans, first with foil, then the lid. Cook 45 minutes with lid on. After the time has elapsed, remove the lid and foil. Add both condensed and evaporated milk. Stir together well. If you prefer a thicker pudding, let simmer for a few more minutes. Once it has reached desired thickness, stir in vanilla and remove lemon rind and cinnamon sticks.

Cool and top with cinnamon and nutmeg.

This recipe came courtesy of a dear family friend. My mom and dad have enjoyed her rice pudding for as long as I can remember. I have enjoyed it for the last ten years or so.

Christmas cake

2011-12-26T19:15:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas day at the Cook residence, filled with food, dogs, and lots of laughs. And of course, what family gathering would be complete without someone completely overeating?

I'm happy to say that this person wasn't me this year. In fact, it wasn't even a person.

Wilson's Christmas cookie

Over the course of the day, Wilson consumed two rawhide cookies, which is what he is eating in the picture above. He also had one peanut butter flavored rawhide, one regular flavored rawhide, and various other tidbits. I think everyone here was of the "it's his first Christmas out of the shelter" mentality, and we completely allowed him to eat whatever he wanted. Boy did we pay for it.

And I'll leave it at that.

Lizzie modeled her pearls for us all day. She is so proud of them.

As I mentioned the other day, my mom made a beautiful fondant cake for our Christmas Eve supper. It was Italian Cream Cake and tasted just as good as it looked. Honestly it was a little sad to cut into it because it was so pretty. But, we couldn't resist!

Mom used the recipe from another blog, Zoe Bakes, to make the fondant. She said it was fairly easy to work with once the color was worked entirely through. And the result was beautiful.

You can use any flavor of cake that you prefer... chocolate, vanilla, carrot, strawberry, red velvet. I could go on and on.

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Italian Cream happens to be one of my absolute favorites, so I was very pleased my mom went with that flavor. I love the recipe I have on my blog for Italian Cream, found here, but feel free to use one you already have.

If you do choose to use this recipe, leave out the cream cheese frosting and make a buttercream crumb coat. Use the buttercream to go in between the layers of the cake. I make mine in 9 x 9 inch rounds.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas day with family and friends. My night ended with a valley tradition of Bunko at a high school friend's house. Bunko will definitely be a part of Wes and my wedding weekend festivities. I can't wait :)

Mom and I will have a few days to come up with some recipes this week while I'm on vacation. Let me know if you have any requests!

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-23T11:19:00.000-06:00

This home must rival the decorations at Santa's workshop. Wes and I try to visit this neighborhood every year because they have the best Christmas decorations around.

Every tree on every corner surrounding their home is draped in Christmas lights. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have grown up at this house.

You can see the house from several blocks away, but not in the "Deck the Halls" kind of way. My mind absolutely does not go to tacky when I see this house. It's just a huge celebration of Christmas, and I love it!

From the candy cane striped columns to the jack in the boxes, this house has decorating down to an art.

The Jack in the Box moves slowly up and down, just like the real toy.

A slightly blurry picture of Wes and me next to my favorite candy cane columns.

Merry Christmas!!

Pardon my absence

2011-12-22T15:07:00.003-06:00

Wes and I have finally decided on a date and venue for the wedding, so my life should be getting back to normal here. Which means regular posting, more food, and more Lizzie talk.

Yay!

My mom has been practicing her cake making skills in hopes of having a "cake room" at the reception. She actually made fondant from scratch this week because the pre-made stuff tastes so terrible. Her first creation is this beautiful blue Italian Cream Cake. It will be part of our Christmas eve dinner. I can't wait!!

You can bet we are going to have a "how to make homemade fondant" and a photo session as soon as I get home next week. My mom claims the fondant is easy to make. I'll believe it when I see it. Or make it that is.

Mom might have found herself a full-time job in her fondant making skills. She'll be making roses out of sugar paste next, I'm sure.

My freezer has been the main source of dinners this week, so you will have to excuse the lack of posting. However, I did make a taco soup last night to help replenish my freezer stash. It is an incredibly easy soup with lots of flavor. And I think it is healthy, minus the sodium levels. Oops.

Taco Soup

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1 pound lean ground turkey meat
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can Diced tomatoes
1 packet Ranch seasoning mix
1/2 packet taco seasoning mix
1 can chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
Juice of one lime
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Dash of S&P

In a large sauce pan, brown turkey meat. While meat is browning, process onion, jalepeno, garlic, bell pepper, carrots, and tomatoes in a food processor. I had to do several batches in the FP to get all of this chopped up, but it was still so much quicker than hand chopping. Since it was all going into a soup, I didn't mind the chopping being a little rough.

In a separate skilled, add olive oil. Add all of your chopped veggies. Saute for about 6 minutes. Once done, add vegetables to meat in the large sauce pan. Add in Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, and both seasoning packets. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add in lime juice and cayenne. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This soup freezes beautifully. I make a bunch of it, eat it for one day, then freeze the rest. You will be thanking yourself come February when you are iced in and unable/unwilling to leave the house.

Wait, is that just me? Well, regardless, you will at some point be glad you have this soup in the freezer.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. Wes and I leave Dallas tomorrow for a whirlwind week of travelling. I'll be posting sporadically throughout my vacation.

Happy Holidays!!

One of my favorites

2011-12-19T15:26:00.002-06:00

It is amazing how quickly wedding planning can take over one's life. I of course am very hands on, and may or may not have a minor issue with being in control, so I am yet to hire a wedding coordinator/planner. Although, the more and more I do, the better and better that route is looking.

Luckily, my mom came in town this weekend to help me look at more venues, dresses, caterers, etc. There are so many little details. If she wasn't here, I honestly think I would have forgotten to eat. The plethora of information available is incredibly overwhelming. I have a hard time just sitting on something and thinking about it. I like to act. Does that make sense? For example, it is killing me that we have not decided 100% on a wedding venue and date.

I do feel like once that little piece of information is decided upon everything will become tremendously easier.

Hopefully I am right in thinking this. If not, don't tell me.

Anyway, like I said, my mom was here to help/take care of me all weekend. She did the majority of the cooking and even found time to make one of my all time favorites, poppy seed rolls. This is another one of those family recipes that I love.

They actually appear pretty easy to make. I've never made them before, as my mom always does such a fantastic job of it. They are perfect for breakfast, but I actually like to eat them as a dessert.

The recipe is kind of a little bit of this a little bit of that, but here is what I gathered from my mom

Poppy Seed Rolls

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For the dough
2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 package yeast
5 cups flour, one reserved for after rising
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp salt

For the Filling

1 can poppy seed filling
1 orange, juiced
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water

In a saucepan, add all ingredients for the filling. Bring to a boil, then let simmer. You will want to let this cook down until it is very thick. This was the part of the recipe my mom said is done to taste.

For the dough, mix milk, oil, and sugar in a pan. Scald, but do not bring to a boil. Let milk cool for about 30 minutes.

Add yeast to milk mixture. Let proof for about 10 minutes. Add in 4 cups of flour. Stir together. Once combined, let mixture rise for an hour in a warm, draft-free environment.

After rising, add in the last cup of flour. Also add baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together. Once dough is to proper consistency, break off a tiny ball of dough. Roll the piece out, keep in mind you will want these to be in a crescent shape, so roll more into a triangle then a rectangle. Spoon in some filling then using your fingers, roll into a crescent shape.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While oven is preheating, let rolls rise for about thirty minutes. Once done rising, bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes, until rolls are a golden brown. Brush with melted butter when they are out of the oven.

These are one of my absolute favorite treats. I look forward to them each and every holiday season.

Chicken pot pie

2011-12-16T11:18:00.004-06:00

Dallas has had the worst weather the last few days. Yes, I know we need the rain, but three days of it seems a little excessive. And it isn't like down pours of rain every now and then. It is just light, misty constant rain, that is now being accompanied by cold temperatures. Not fun. It looks like it has finally come to an end this morning though. Just in time too...

Lizzie doesn't like to use the restroom when it is raining. At all. I think she would prefer to hold it for several days instead of risk getting slightly wet from the slow drizzle. Thank goodness it finally stopped. A dog can only hold it for so long.

However, the rain has provided the perfect atmosphere for comfort food. I made a chicken pot pie Marie Calendar would be proud of last night. Ok, it was probably quite a bit better than a Marie Callender chicken pot pie. I've never actually had one, but I imagine them to be full of sodium and mystery ingredients. This recipe was full of vegetables, chicken, and maybe a little bit of butter. But not too much butter, don't worry!

Chicken Pot Pie

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1 Rotisserie chicken, cut into chunks (I took the easy way out)
1 sweet potato, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 cups water
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 jalepeno, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 cup chicken stock
5 tbsp half & half
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 batch pie dough (I used my tart recipe, found here)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Chop sweet potato and carrots and add to four cups of water. Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes and carrots are almost finished. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet or large pot, melt butter and combine with oil. Add garlic, onion, celery, mushrooms and jalepeno. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add in chicken pieces, peas, cooked carrots, and potatoes. Pour in chicken stock, half & half, and spices. Stir together and let cook for about ten minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

While chicken mix is simmering, roll out the pie dough. I made my chicken pot pies in six mini casserole dishes. You could also do it in a regular casserole dish.

Pour chicken mix into casserole dishes. Cover with a large piece of pie dough. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until dough is a golden brown. Make sure to put a piece of foil underneath the casseroles in the oven to catch any spillage.

You could easily make this dish with 4 chicken breasts. I opted for the easy way out and went with a premade Rotisserie chicken because I was short on time. The flavor was great and it worked perfectly in the pot pies.

This recipe was easy and short of the longer bake time, it came together in about 20 minutes. It freezes beautifully, and is way better than any pot pie you are going to find in the freezer section at the grocery store.

I must say, for my first attempt at a chicken pot pie, I was quite pleased with the outcome. Sadly, chicken pot pies do not photograph well. Before breaking into them, all you see is pie dough.

Then when you do break through the crust, it just looks like a vegetable/chicken mash. Not that appealing to the eye.

Fortunately the smell and taste make up for what the pot pie lacks in looks. Not everything can be as cute as red velvet whoopie pies.

Funny things about a blog...

2011-12-14T11:05:00.001-06:00

Having a blog is a funny thing. It is a great creative outlet for me, as I love to write. But, in a way, it also holds me accountable. For example, recently I've been really getting into taking pictures. Prior to getting my DSLR, I used a point and shoot, quite terribly I might add.

I would take a picture any time of day, any where in the house, with little to no thought about composition, props, angles, etc. If you go back to some of my earlier pictures, you will definitely see what I mean. Now, because I have a camera that I love using and because I want to present pretty pictures to you, I spend extra time every morning taking pictures. The light is sometimes a little too cool, but for the most part, the pictures turn out decent. And they are far better from some of my old shots that are now circulating the web.

Obviously I still have oodles to learn, but for the purposes of this blog, the pictures I am taking now are suitable.

Here is one of my current non-food pictures from our New York City trip that I absolutely love. Sure there is probably all sorts of things wrong with it, but it is appealing to my eye. That's what matters.

It is interesting to see the pictures people choose to put on Pinterest though. I recently discovered I can look up items by my blog name on Pinterest and see what people are pinning. Some of the older pictures are really terrible. I mean straight up scary. It makes me want to go back and remake everything from my recipe list just so I can take better, more thought out pictures. But who has the time for that?

Another fun thing about having a blog is it keeps me from eating cream of wheat and cereal for dinner all the time. Honestly, there are some days when I just don't feel like making anything. After working all day, working out, and trying to find time to relax, making a meal isn't always the most appealing option. However, nine times out of ten, I know I will want to have something to write about. If I don't have a funny dog story, a random tale about the thieves in my neighborhood, or something else worthy of your time, then I will come up with a recipe. In the end, I'm almost always glad I made something as opposed to eating cereal.

Don't get me wrong, there are still a few nights every now and then when a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch finds its way onto my dinner table. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

My favorite part of having a blog though is that it is really just a journal. It is so fun to look back and see what I was doing a year ago. In the last few months, I have been much better about following a regular posting schedule, but posts are kind of hit and miss from a year or two ago. Looking back, it is neat to see what I was doing, where Wes was living, how many pairs of panties Lizzie destroyed, what recipes turned out awesome, what recipes turned out completely terrible, and where I was in my life. My writing style has changed a bit, but it's all still me.

I'm sure I'm missing other fun things about having a blog, but those are the ones that stand out to me.

Christmas prep

2011-12-13T11:01:00.003-06:00

We've really been getting in the Christmas spirit around the house this week. Lizzie has been practicing her Christmas carols...

Wilson has learned all about Christmas trees, how ornaments are not toys, and that drinking tree water isn't the best idea...

Wes happily helped me decorate our tree, while listening to me quote every line from Love Actually while we watched it. Yes, I do realize how annoying that is.

But I can't help but be amazed with myself when I remember every line after only allowing myself to watch it two or three times a year. Although it is one of my favorite movies, I can only watch it after Halloween.

And I have been doing what I do best during the Christmas season... baking. All that healthy food fight stuff really sent me on a downward spiral on the health wagon. But, the majority of these items leave the house immediately after I bake them.

Like these red velvet whoopie pies, for example.

After getting over how adorable they are, I realized that they actually are good.

Red Velvet cake is one of those cakes I hardly ever make. It is just a light chocolate cake in disguise, so it has never been one of my favorite.

But, I have to say I am really loving red velvet cake in whoopie pie form. However, chances are I will love any dessert that has been pressed together with cinnamon buttercream.

Gosh they are cute.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Heavily modified from Paula Dean's whoopie pie recipe

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3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

5 - 6 drops red food coloring.

For the icing

Use my buttercream icing recipe that I used for the snickerdoodles, found here

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, and salt together.

In a mixing bowl, add eggs and sugar. Beat until well combined, batter should be a pale yellow, about three minutes. Add in oil and vanilla. Beat until combined.

Gradually add in flour and buttermilk mixture. Add about one cup flour mix, then half a cup buttermilk. Blend. Repeat this process until everything is added.

Drop tbsp size dollops on a cookie sheet and bake for 11 minutes.

Let cookies cool, then smear icing on one side of a cookie and press together with another cookie to form whoopie pies.

Snickerdoodle cupcakes

2011-12-11T17:39:00.002-06:00

Surprisingly, I have had this recipe bookmarked for two years to make. Snickerdoodles are something I typically reserve for the holiday season, so a lot of the recipes I find for them are easily forgotten. Luckily, I stumbled upon this recipe in my black dessert binder earlier last week and thought it would be perfect for a friend's birthday party.

Honestly, I'm a little sad that it took me two years to try these.

They are so good. And easy. And perfect for the holidays... or birthdays.

I think I need to get over my whole snickerdoodle thing being only for the holidays. They are too good to not enjoy them throughout the entire year.

I used a simple buttercream frosting with cinnamon and red sprinkles. and a little turbinado sugar mixed in for crunch. Perfect combo.

Turbinado sugar is another one of those things I all too often forget about. I've never swirled it into icing before, but I must say I loved it.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

From Martha Stewart
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup milk

Buttercream Icing
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup crisco
5 tbsp half & half
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with liners.

Sift together, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In your mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Once combined, add vanilla. Alternating with the milk, add in flour mixture. Mix until combined.

Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.

Prepare icing by creaming crisco and butter. Add in powdered sugar and half & half. Once combined, add vanilla, cinnamon, and turbinado sugar. Pipe onto cupcakes.

I know the piping is not perfect, but I blame that on the buttercream. Luckily, my friend Lindsay and I stumbled upon two chef size containers of grocery store icing. You can only imagine my excitement. There will be a whole lot of green and white grocery store icing in my future.

Just in case you thought I was kidding. There's the proof.

Comfort food

2011-12-09T18:48:00.002-06:00

After twelve days of being sick, I finally took myself to the doctor. He loaded me up with antibiotics and told me to do nothing. So far, I have done a pretty good job following his orders.

Except I made baked macaroni and cheese. My parents left town today, so I was left to fend for myself in the food department. Not wanting to leave the house, I opted to make something with ingredients I already have.

Homemade macaroni and cheese was the first thing that came to mind. It is the ultimate comfort food, but is one I rarely make. Don't get me wrong. I love it. I just don't skimp when I make macaroni and cheese. Sure you could try and make a healthy version of it, but that really isn't all that much fun.

This is an easy recipe with lots of extra spice.

Macaroni and Cheese

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2 cups dry elbow macaroni

4 cups water

4 tbsp butter

5 tbsp flour

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup half & half

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup Italian cheese, shredded

2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup panko crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large pot, add water. Bring to a boil and add noodles. Cook for about 8 minutes, until noodles are done.

In another sauce pan, melt 4 tbsp butter. Once melted, stir in flour. Add in milk and half & half. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes, still stirring.

Keep heat on low and add in cheeses. Whisk together until combined. Then add all spices. Taste test, and adjust seasonings as needed.

Pour cooked noodles into the cheese sauce. Stir together, then transfer into a large baking dish. Sprinkle any leftover cheese and panko bread crumbs over top of the macaroni. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes

Perfect on a cold night. Perfect when you have been sick for twelve days. And perfect if you just want to sit at home and relax.

Have a wonderful weekend!

My hiatus

2011-12-08T13:33:00.000-06:00

Last week I took a brief hiatus from the blog. Things were crazy. I was in New York, Las Vegas, cooking for Aetna Healthy Food Fight, running 26.2 miles, hanging with my parents, getting engaged, losing money on penny slots, and eating everything in sight.

Notice anything I snuck in there? Read it again, just in case.

See it now?

Yes, after three and a half years of dating, and nearly six years of friendship, Wes and I are engaged! The story belongs to my family and friends, but I will say that it was a perfect proposal. I was not expecting it and we had lots of dear friends to celebrate with that evening.

My pinterest addiction is now going to be taken to a whole new level.

As most of you probably already know, I did not win the Healthy Food Fight. Although the trip alone and getting to stay at the beautiful Andaz hotel on 5th avenue sure made it seem like I won! I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity.

Las Vegas was great. Even though I was still sick, I decided to run my marathon. From the neck down, I felt great, so I didn't want to waste all of my training. I'm glad I did because I ran the marathon in under four hours. 3:58:28 to be exact. I was thrilled! I'm taking a week or so off, and then am going to start getting ready for New Orleans. It will be the first marathon for my friend, Anita. I can't wait to share the happiness/pain with her.

The week was an exciting, emotional whirlwind. I had a wonderful time, but am so glad to be home. Lizzie sure missed Wes and me. She stayed home with my parent's two dogs, Lucy and Polly. Sure the pet-sitter was great, but I know Lizzie was so happy to have me home. When I got back on Tuesday, I walked into a house with three of the happiest dogs in the world. Obviously they thought we had forgotten them. Luckily, these dogs don't seem to get upset. They were so overcome with happiness, that they completely forgot how they had been left to a stranger's care for six days.

Things will be getting back to normal around here, so expect more food, more dog stories, and now, the occasional bit of wedding planning ordeals. Get ready for the Cook Crabbe wedding!

Cook style Lefse

2011-12-07T12:23:00.002-06:00

Most families have recipes that are passed down to them. You know the type where it isn't really clear where they originated, there aren't any exact measurements, and you aren't really sure if anyone outside your family will like the outcome.

Lefse is another one of those recipes in my family. It took me a while to warm up to lefse. As a child, I pretty much ignored it and let my dad enjoy the entire batch every time my mom made it. Batches of lefse always seemed to show up around the holidays. I recently realized this is because the holidays are one of the few times my mom has large quantities of leftover mashed potatoes.

Leftover mashed potatoes are always the base for our lefse. From there, my mom adds Robin Hood flour. She says it is the absolute best flour and always brings home a huge supply of it from Canada each year.

The mashed potatoes are mixed with the flour, maybe a cup or so. It is hard to know, like I said earlier, no exact measurements.

From there, my mom forms tiny balls with the lefse dough, slightly smaller then a golf ball. She rolls the dough out very thing, then adds the rolled out dough to a hot skillet.

From there, she lets the dough cook, similar to how a pancake would cook, flipping once one side is done. After about 3 to 4 minutes per side on the skillet, the lefse is placed in the oven to further dry out. I believe the approximate temperature of the oven is about 250 degrees, but I need to verify this with my mother. It stays in the oven until the lefse is crispy.

After the appropriate amount of time in the oven, your lefse will resemble a thin flatbread. Wikipedia tells me this is a Norweigan delicacy, mainly enjoyed around the holidays. Clearly the Norwegians have a lot of leftover mashed potatoes as well.

I like to smear butter all over the top of mine, but it is also good with jelly or honey. The texture is fantastically crispy. Of course there are variety of different ways and methods to make lefse. Other recipes do not result in the same texture, as it is actually used as a sandwich bun.

This recipe clearly wouldn't work as a sandwich, but it is delicious nonetheless. My dad has been known to eat all the lefse before I get home for the holidays, thus forcing my mom to make multiple batches. Although it is easy to make, the process can be time consuming.

Has anyone else ever had lefse? Or this flatbread, crispy style of lefse? It is one of my favorite treats. For me, it is all about the texture.

The last week has been an absolute whirlwind, but I can't wait to share the details and some pictures soon.

sorry for being m.i.a... will be back to normal Wednesday

2011-12-05T11:24:00.000-06:00

Another angel food

2011-12-02T06:45:00.001-06:00

After a fun and very full day in New York yesterday, I am ready for the contest.

My mood is much better today. Wes made it to the Rockettes only twenty minutes late yesterday. The show was fantastic, and so full of the Christmas spirit. The Andaz hotel and Liz from Aetna did a fantastic job coordinating pick up for him. They are the reason her was able to make it to the show. I am so thankful for all of their help.

I also got to have a wonderful dinner with some of Wes' college friends. Prior to last night, I had never met them. However, I feel like I had met them all because he has told me so much about them for so long.

I'll be at the contest for the majority of the morning and afternoon today. I'm sure I will have some stories about that tomorrow.

For now, I'm putting up a few pictures from my dad's birthday cake. Please make this angel food. It is easy and oh so good. I promise. I used to be intimidated by homemade angel foods as well, but this recipe (so far) has not failed me.

The chocolate buttercream was delicious. Add a little cocoa to your regular buttercream recipe, or use mine.

Buttercream has the key to my heart.

Sorry Wes.

I kid. But, a good buttercream will take you far in life.

If you happen to be in New York between 10am and 1pm today, and are in the Times Square area, check out the ABC Studio area. You may or may not see my face plastered across one of the light up billboards.

I am both excited and nervous about this. I'll let you know how the competition goes.

NYC so far...

2011-12-01T08:45:00.000-06:00

Things didn’t go quite as planned last night. Wes and I were supposed to fly to New York, together, and arrive around 11:30. We had plans to see The Rockettes at 11am today.

Because we are going straight to Las Vegas from New York, the luggage situation was a little intense. Instead of having a bunch of carry ons, we decided to use my large bag and just check it. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about trying to stuff coats and winter shoes into the tiny overhead compartments. Checking bags is a foreign concept to me. Wes is usually pretty adamant that we don’t do it. However, he agreed that this trip would have to be an exception.

Note to self, never let Wes make exceptions to his rules to accommodate my packing issues.

Not being familiar with the checked baggage policy, Wes and I arrived at the airport with our boarding passes 43 minutes before the plane was to take off. We left my house an hour and fifty minutes early, but traffic was a bit of a nightmare. What usually is a 25 minute drive turned into a 50 minute drive.

Apparently you have to be at the ticketing booth 45 minutes prior to your flight departure to check a bag. “No exceptions,” said the bankrupt American Airlines agent, not even if you are two minutes late. She rattled off something about the FAA having guidelines, yada, yada. But, the 200,000 miles per year passenger in line next to me told me most airlines have a waiver you can sign, and your bags will be sent on their merry way. The agent scoffed at his remarks saying “that must be Delta.”

Delta isn’t going bankrupt now are they?

After a few tears (by me), a couple ugly statements intended for the rude agent (by me), Wes told me to get my butt through security and get on the plane. He was going to catch the first flight out in the morning. Sadly, I left Wes at the American Airlines desk at DFW.

Have I mentioned how flying makes me anxious? And how I was already anxious about my marathon, getting snot on Bobby Flay, and being in a cooking contest at ABC Times Square?

Oh, I haven’t?

Well let me remind you. I suck at flying. I have a nasty cold. I’m in a cooking contest against a clan of cooking contest veterans. And I’m supposed to run 26.2 miles on Sunday.

The flight was a little rough, to say the least. I had a man repeatedly get up from five rows in front of me, walk back to my row, stand and move his body in a wave like motion, while moaning, then casually return to his seat like nothing had happened. Absolutely not acceptable. Sure flying makes us all a little sore, but try and contain your stretches to your seat, or at least your row.

Anyway, enough complaining. Wes is supposed to land at La Guardia at 10:30. He hopefully will not have a checked bag, as I’ve instructed him to dump about half the items I wanted to bring. Can he make it to the Christmas Spectacular by 11am? Honestly, I have no idea. I am hoping so very, very much that he can. But, I know nothing about New York traffic at 10:30am on a Thursday or how far La Guardia is from where the Rockettes are.

I’m going to choose to have hope. Worst-case scenario? We are a bit late to the Rockettes. At least I think that is the worst-case scenario.

Since I haven’t had time to really explore the city or take any photos, I’m going to post some overdue pictures from the lovely angel food cake we made for my dad’s birthday. We used my angel food cake recipe and used a chocolate buttercream. Best angel food ever. And easy. You will never make one from a box again after trying this recipe.

If you are still reading and are not too upset with me for all my complaining, please remember to vote. We have until Friday at 11am to catch up.

I promise I am not an ungrateful girl. I am still incredibly thankful for this trip and getting to see New York at Christmas time, one of my dreams. I’m just a little peeved with American Airlines.

This picture of Lizzie is also helping to calm me down. I miss her. And Wilson too.

I’ll have updates on today and whether we make it to the Christmas spectacular or not. Wish us luck!

As an added bonus, I woke up today to a phone that would not turn on. Verizon, I'm coming for you.

The Lake of Dreams

2011-12-01T01:24:00.001-06:00

Earlier this month I mentioned that I was sent The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards to review as part of blogher bookclub. Initially, I was slightly apprehensive about agreeing to review The Lake of Dreams because unlike hundreds of thousands of other people, I did not like The Memory Keeper's Daughter.

Is it wrong to not like a book that is so heavily acclaimed? Hopefully not.

Regardless of my opinion of her last book, I loved The Lake of Dreams. With the story line being centered on family, ancestral secrets, and the one thing so many people struggle with, change, I couldn't help but be captivated. The story revolves around Lucy Jarrett returning home after spending many years abroad. While at home, Lucy slowly began unlocking secrets to her ancestry, discovering relatives hidden from the family tree.

It was hard for me not to rush through The Lake of Dreams. The book gains momentum very quickly, and uses different facets to peak your interest. Change, lost love, family struggles... all such relatable topics.

I don’t want to divulge too many details about the book, but I will say I was very surprised at how Yoshi, Lucy's boyfriend, handled certain situations with Lucy. Their relationship was clearly stronger than what I had originally inferred. I also loved how Kim Edwards used natural occurrences, like earthquakes or the calmness of the lake, to symbolize particular times or events in Lucy's life.

The Lake of Dreams was a quick read for me. I was sad when I finished it because I was not ready to let go of Lucy, Rose, and Iris. For me, I thought the novel wrapped up close to perfect. I felt certain areas, especially those involving Keegan, ended too abruptly, but the bulk of the story line, and the most important part, Rose’s story, ended perfectly.

Pick up a copy of The Lake of Dreams to read over the holidays. It is enjoyable book, full of beautiful imagery and an engaging story line.

To read more review about The Lake of Dreams or to get involved in discussions, check out the Blogher Book Club Page.

My review of The Lake of Dreams was a paid review, but the opinions expressed are my own.

A huge, heartfelt thank you

2011-11-30T10:47:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me over the last few weeks. The events of this week and the contest still amaze me, and I cannot believe I get to go on this trip. I owe a huge thank you to Aetna for such an amazing opportunity.

Your support means the world to me. I can't express how thankful I am for all the kind words, thoughts, and extra votes. Deep Ellum is so deserving of this donation from Aetna. Obviously I would love to be able to bring home $10,000 to the Dallas community. How great would that be? But, if that does not happen, I am still so proud and thankful to get to represent such a great organization in Dallas.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I have one final request. I need your prayers. It is not prayers for me winning the contest or being the fan favorite. It is prayers that my cold goes away, my voice comes back, and that I do not get snot on Bobby Flay. TMI? I'm sorry.

I am chugging emergen-c like it is champagne. Code red.

Here is the link to vote, in case you missed it: LINDSEY MAKES THE BEST STUFFED PEPPERS IN THE WORLD!!!

Perhaps I've had too much cold medicine. Nonetheless, thank you... from the very bottom of my heart.

A spicy casserole

2011-11-29T15:19:00.001-06:00

One of my first experiences with the Junior League was through their cookbook. My mom brought home a copy of "Some Like it Hot" many, many years ago when I still lived in McAllen. "Some Like it Hot" was one of my first and favorite ( still is) cookbooks. It came with me after I graduated college and is one of my most referenced cookbooks to date.

It is filled with all sorts of delicious Mexican inspired dishes, including an award winning fajita marinade, the absolute best chocolate cake, and a killer mexican casserole.

The mexican casserole is one of my favorite dishes. And it used to be one of my most requested. But with all of the new recipes I've come across and ideas from other bloggers, I've somehow forgotten about my old favorite. Until last night, that is.

The faithful mexican casserole delivered again. I made it last night for Wes and Lindsay (not me, note the 'a'), and it was a success. Back in a healthier, no mysterious cream of chicken soup form, my love affair with the casserole has been rekindled. Sure I added in a few more vegetables, cut back on the cream, and omited a certain type of bean, but all the things I used to love about it are still there. The cheesy, layers of corn tortillas piled high with black beans and more cheese is just as delicious as I remember.

Oooh my, I'm so glad to have my old friend back. Try this one as soon as possible!

Mexican Casserole

Inspired by the Mexican Casserole from McAllen Junior League

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 jalepeno chopped
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can Pinto beans
1 can Black beans
1 packet ranch seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
S&P to taste
1 can Rotel tomatoes with diced chili's
10 corn tortillas, cut into strips
10 ounces mexican cheese blend
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, saute onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and jalepeno is olive oil. Cook for a few minutes (3 or 4), then add in ground turkey. Brown turkey.

Once turkey is browned, add in beans, ranch seasoning, spices, and salt and pepper. Let simmer.

While meat mixture is simmering, line a glass pyrex with half of the tortilla strips. I use a 9x13 dish. Once meat is done simmering, pour half of the mixture on top. Sprinkle and cover with half of the cheese. Arrange the remaining tortilla strips on top of cheese. Pour additional meat mixture on top, then sprinkle with cheese to cover. Pour rotel tomatoes on over top.

Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, uncovered.

Junior League cookbooks are awesome. I cherish all of mine and love reading the recipes that are in them. They make great gifts as well. Let me know if you are interested in purchasing one. I know there are probably lots of Dallas JL Provisionals that need to make a few sales!

The week of craziness

2011-11-28T14:47:00.001-06:00

I can't believe this week is finally here.

I've been looking forward to this week for months.

Originally, this was the week that I was to run my second marathon in LAS VEGAS with a bunch of my girlfriends. But now, it is also the week that I will compete for $10,000 in the Aetna Healthy Food Fight.

I'll also get to meet Bobby Flay.

Wednesday starts a whirlwind of travelling. I head to NYC that evening. The Aetna competition is on Friday. Then, I will hop on a plane Saturday afternoon and head to Las Vegas. The marathon is Sunday afternoon. After the marathon, I will have a few days to hang out in Vegas, then I come home.... where I will stay put for quite some time.

Well actually, I'll only stay put for a few weeks. Christmas is right around the corner!

So far, I've done a great job keeping my nerves in check. I haven't really thought about the competition or who I will be cooking for. But, I've started getting a little nervous today. Mainly because I've developed a really nasty cold, and I don't want Bobby to have to ask Aetna why a snot filled girl is cooking.

That would be really embarrassing.

I have a feeling I will be better by Friday though, so I'm probably worrying over nothing. In case you have somehow missed my twitter, facebook, and various other pleas, you can still vote for the Aetna Fan Favorite. I realize I am in second place and that two of the other contestants have teamed up to try and beat me, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel quite yet. I care too much about the organization I'm supporting to give up. Please take thirty seconds to vote. Or, if you don't want too, send me your info and I'll do it for you!

Cooking will be a little hit or miss over the next week or so with me travelling, but everything will be back to normal a week from Wednesday. Thanks for understanding.

The Zoo, in photos

2011-11-27T10:05:00.001-06:00

So what can someone expect when spending their Thanksgiving break with four dogs and a cat?

Lots of treats/begging...

Lots of swimming pool breaks...

Lots of drool...

The occasional dirty look...

Lots of naps... and lots of noise to wake you up from one.

Always someone to relax with...

It was a great Thanksgiving break. As always, I'm sad to leave, but Christmas is just around the corner! Wes and I are on our voyage back to Dallas today. Fingers crossed that it doesn't take 11 hours to get home.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful vacation. Lizzie had a great time, and I'm pretty sure Wilson had the time of his life.

Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

2011-11-26T16:35:00.002-06:00

Earlier today I found another fun contest to enter. Things are not going so great with the Aetna Healthy Food Fight, so I had to direct my energy somewhere else. I'm now comfortably in second place with the online voting. The Deep Ellum Garden Initiative would benefit so much from the Aetna donation. I would love to be able to bring that back to Dallas.

I've been working with my mom in the kitchen today trying to find the best way to use a Martha White muffin mix in a recipe. We've tossed around several ideas, but both really seemed to like using a muffin mix in a bread pudding. I've never used muffins in a bread pudding mix before, so I was definitely venturing into unchartered waters.

Muffins in bread pudding. What a wild and risky life I lead...

Hold on tight.

The verdict? Muffins can definitely be used in a bread pudding. I'm quite pleased with the way this recipe turned out. Looks good doesn't it?

The rules clearly stipulated alcohol was not to be used in the recipe. But, since this is my blog, I'm adding a little rum to the caramel sauce. See the risks I'm taking?

Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding

6 Martha White Banana Nut Muffins (prepared according to package directions)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup Half & Half
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chocolate chips

For the caramel sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 8x8 baking dish with pam. Break banana nut muffins into small chunks. Add broken muffin chunks to baking dish. Pour milk and half & half over muffin chunks. Let sit until milk is absorbed.

While milk is absorbing, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Once combined, add in chocolate chips. Gently combine egg mixture with muffin chunks in pan.

Place bread pudding mixture in a water bath. Bake for 60 minutes.

While bread pudding is baking, prepare caramel sauce. Over medium heat, combine honey, butter, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly for two minutes. Adjust heat to low and add sweetened condensed milk. Stir until combined.

Serve bread pudding with caramel sauce.

Please remember to vote!!

Book worm

2011-11-25T11:10:00.001-06:00

Besides doing a lot of cooking these last few days, I've also spent a bunch of time reading. In fact I actually stayed up till 3am on Wednesday night because I could not put "The Hunger Games" down.

I'm pretty sure this is another series of books designed for teenagers and young adults. Am I embarrassed by this? Nope.

I proudly read the Twilight series in public.

The other two books I have read this week are "The Christmas Sweater" and "The Lake of Dreams." Both were great.

I will be doing a full review on "The Lake of Dreams" in the next week or so, but I have to say I liked this book SO much more than Kim Edward's previous book.

The book got into my head, and on multiple occasions I found myself dreaming about the outcome, a telling sign of a good book.

I was a little concerned I would also dream about "The Hunger Games." Having dreams about that book would definitely be unpleasant. To keep this from happening, I did something I never do with books. I did the unthinkable.

I read the last page.

I had to! It was 3 in the morning, the night before Thanksgiving and I absolutely had to get some sleep. Knowing my mind would not be able to rest until I knew the outcome, I read the end. It was definitely the right decision at the time. I finished the book last night, and knowing the ending really helped keep my mind at ease.

If you are like me and take no shame in reading books designed for young adults, I highly, HIGHLY recommend "The Hunger Games." I'm actually about to venture out, on Black Friday nonetheless, to buy the next book in the series.

I promised Wes I wouldn't spend all day reading "Catching Fire," the next in the series. It will be a challenge, but I'm going to give it my best effort.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:33:00.006-06:00

Today has been wonderful so far, getting to spend my morning with some of the people I am most thankful for. Of course I find myself missing quite a few people, whether they be somewhere else in Texas, Bangkok, Canada, or wherever else my friends and family are scattered.

More so today than usual, I realize how incredibly blessed I am. There are far too many things to list, but the main ones on my mind are of course my friends and family, our soldiers, and all of my fur-children.

We are getting the house ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few pictures from the house/zoo today.

I hope you have a fantastic Thanksgiving! If you're in the neighborhood, come on over. We have plenty of food, and if you're lucky, you might even get to take home a dog!

And, for hopefully not the last time, BTHO Texas!!

Homemade Dinner Rolls

Modified from the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 package yeast
5 cups flour, one reserved for after rising
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix milk, oil, and sugar in a pan. Scald, but do not bring to a boil. Let milk cool for about 30 minutes.

Add yeast to milk mixture. Let proof for about 10 minutes. Add in 4 cups of flour. Stir together. Once combined, let mixture rise for an hour in a warm, draft-free environment.

After rising, add in the last cup of flour. Also add baking soda and baking powder. Stir together. Tear off pieces of the dough, form a small ball, and place in a muffin tin. Repeat for the remaining dough. Let rise again for about 30 minutes.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 375. When the buns are brown on the top and sound hollow when you tap them, you know they are done.

Thanksgiving countdown: Day 7!

2011-11-23T11:36:00.004-06:00

One day away folks! Thanksgiving is almost here. I've been thinking long and hard about all the things I am thankful for. The list seems to go on and on, and I sure feel blessed.

Thank you for reading along these last few days. Hopefully you have enjoyed some of the recipes. Things will go back to normal later this week, so expect to see a plethora of dog pictures, random stories, and of course, more food!

I have a few more recipes I want to share with you before the big day tomorrow. If your list isn't complete, maybe think about adding one or two of these. Of course the recipes are all tried and tested. Some of the flavors may not be for everyone, but that's ok. It is fun to experiment with new tastes, but also really great to have the old faithful recipes that everyone enjoys. We will be having a little bit of both at our Thanksgiving table.

This morning I have another sweet potato recipe. I know I shared the sweet potato risotto, but this recipe is entirely different. It is a man's dish, full of whiskey, red pepper sauce and molasses. My dad spotted the recipe in the USA Today and showed it to my mom and me. We both thought it sounded different, but delicious. Per usual we modified the recipe to add in a few more tastes and textures, but I think it turned out great. Creamy, spicy, and full of flavor, this is an unusual, yet delicious spin on mashed sweet potatoes. Unfortunately it takes away all healthy aspects from serving sweet potatoes.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry.

Manly Man Sweet Potatoes

Modified from the USA Weekend recipe
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5 large sweet potatoes, pricked with a fork
3/4 cup half & half
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup Jack Daniels whiskey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup molasses
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 dashes red pepper sauce
1/4 tsp nutmeg
15 pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet for about an hour, until the potatoes are soft and able to be cut through with ease.

Once cool, peel the potatoes. In a large sauce pot over medium heat, add peeled potatoes, cream, half & half, butter, sour cream, whiskey, sugar, molasses, salt, and pepper. Mash ingredients together and cook for about ten minutes. Add in red pepper sauce, chopped pecans and nutmeg. Stir together and adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve potatoes with a shot of whiskey.

I kid. I kid.

You can really taste the whiskey in these, so they may not be kid friendly. However I'm not a parent; I really have no qualifications to say what you should and shouldn't serve your child.

Check back later for another wonderful dessert option, and maybe even a cocktail or two!

And, if you have time, please vote for the Aetna Healthy Food Fight

Thanksgiving countdown: Day 6!

2011-11-22T12:41:00.005-06:00

Growing up, we always had homemade cranberry sauce. Cranberries are one of my mom's favorite side at the Thanksgiving table. And although they sometimes are overshadowed by the turkey, and casserole, and desserts, a good cranberry dish is critical to a Thanksgiving meal.

Pile them on top of the turkey, swirl them in with the mashed potatoes, or use them as jelly on your roll, it's all delicious! And what plate of Thanksgiving leftovers is complete without the cranberries?

I have a small confession to make. I really don't mind the jellied cranberries right out of the can. Something about that cylinder of cranberries, lined with can marks, sparks a little excitement inside. I get the same feeling when I start seeing canned pumpkin puree displays around every corner at the grocery store.

But what kind of food blog would this be if I told you to buy a can of cranberries, put them on a pretty serving tray, and call it a day? Especially when making your own is so easy and the flavor is so much better.

It definitely would be a little out of character.

This year we will be having two types of cranberries at Thanksgiving. The first is the traditional water, sugar, berry mixture. And the second is a spiced up version. The jury is still out on which one is the favorite. I'll let you be the judge.

Jalepeno and Orange cranberry sauce
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1 bag, 12 ounce cranberries
1 cup water
1 large orange, juiced and zested
1/2 large jalepeno, chopped
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 1/4 cup sugar

In a sauce pan, combine water, sugar, ginger, orange zest and orange juice.

Bring to a boil. Add in cranberries. Let sauce continue to boil for about 8 minutes, until all the cranberries have popped. Remove from heat and let sit. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve cool.

Traditional cranberry sauce
1 bag, 12 ounces cranberry
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

On the stovetop, bring water and sugar to a boil. Add in cranberries and cook until all berries have popped, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let thicken. Serve cool.

The jalepenos cranberries really do have a nice kick to them. It is unexpected, but pairs so nicely with the ginger and orange. I think they will be a fun addition to the table. And while they may not be at the top of your must make list, think about making some homemade cranberries this year. They take about 15 minutes to make and have no odd lines indicative of a canned beginning.

Please remember to vote today! Two of the women have teamed up to go against me. I need your support!

Thanksgiving countdown: Day 5!

2011-11-21T12:52:00.002-06:00

In my opinion, it is very important to start your day off right on Thanksgiving. In order to properly prep your stomach for a day full of eating, breakfast is key.

You will want something that is not incredibly filling, but also sends a message to your stomach saying, "brace yourself, it is going to be a big day." Enter cranberry and pecan breakfast bread.

Besides it having a bunch of my favorite holiday flavors, this bread is quick. There is no addition of yeast, meaning no rising, no kneading, no waiting. You can whip the batter up for this bread in about ten minutes, and after an hour of cook time, it is ready to eat.

And it's good. Really good. When the aromas of the cranberry and orange start wafting from the oven thirty minutes into cook time, I have to find a way to distract myself from my hunger. I guess I lied about the "no waiting" remark. But for homemade bread, an hour isn't bad!

Cranberry Pecan Bread
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Modified ever so slightly from this recipe

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
12 ounces cranberries
Juice and Zest from one orange
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pecans, cranberries, orange zest and orange juice.

In a separate bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, and egg. Once combined, pour wet batter into the dry. Stir to combine.

The texture of the dough will be slightly crumbly.

Press batter into a greased loaf pan and cook for about 60 to 65 minutes.

Serve with butter or honey.

Honestly, I find myself picking at this bread throughout the day. I most enjoy it smeared with a bit of honey and butter as my dessert after a meal. Of course on Thanksgiving day, there will be so many other desserts that you will definitely want to eat this one for breakfast.

I also think this bread makes a lovely gift. Make a few extra loaves when you bake this, wrap it in a cute red bow, and deliver it to your neighbors the night before turkey day. Not only will they greatly appreciate your generousity, they will forgive you when three large dogs go running through their yard barking at midnight.

Surely that happens to everyone else.

Did I mention that we currently have a small zoo at my parent's house? Their two dogs, my two dogs, and a cat. I couldn't stand the thought of Wilson having to spend Thanksgiving in a boarding facility, so he came along. Luckily my parents are just as supportive of my dog fostering as Wes, so they didn't mind one more. Lucy and Wilson seemed to have developed a serious crush on one another. More on that another day...

Please remember to vote for the Healthy Food Fight! Deep Ellum needs our support!

Not included in the countdown...

2011-11-20T22:55:00.002-06:00

Today has worn me out.

And all I did was cook.

There was no running. There was no 10 hour car ride. There was only one trip outside of the house.

However, there was an angel food cake, a crock pot chicken, mango avocado salsa, and an interesting garbanzo and butternut squash pilaf.

I was not so crazy about the pilaf. It looked pretty though.

See?

Something about this dish wasn't quite right. Maybe too much curry? I wouldn't necessarily say it was bad, just interesting. I found it here, so you will have to let me know if you try it out. Or if you read through it and see something that blatantly stands out as an odd combination. Maybe my taste buds were just acting up today.

It's so funny to me when you read through recipes and think "oh, that sounds good." And then you make it, and something is just a bit off. Separately, I'm a fan of all the ingredients in this pilaf, but for whatever reason, when combined the way this recipe suggested, it just didn't work.

I'm glad we tried out this recipe today instead of on Thanksgiving. Originally, I had wanted to feature this as day four of the countdown to Thanksgiving. Like I mentioned, in my head the ingredients sounded all right together. But after making it I realize I'm going to need a last minute substitute. Thankfully I have a head full of recipe ideas and know just the right thing for tomorrow.

No need to worry. You can sleep soundly. I will have a recipe for you tomorrow. One that you will want to share with others no less.

Lucky you!

Countdown to Thanksgiving: Day 3

2011-11-20T10:03:00.001-06:00

Moving on to day three of the countdown to Thanksgiving. I recently made a spicy sweet potato risotto that would be a nice option for your Thanksgiving table. The sweet potato casserole was never a big hit in my house; in fact, most years I avoided it all together.

In the last few years, I've been able to tolerate the casserole, but it hasn't quite made it to my favorites list yet. As my second contribution to our Friendsgiving the other night, I opted to contribute my alternative for the sweet potato casserole.

It has a hint of spiciness to knock down the sweetness of the potatos, which is exactly what it needed. I think the downfall of most sweet potato casseroles for me is the addition of brown sugar and marshmallows. Although they are very worthwhile ingredients, I don't appreciate them nearly as much when mixed with sweet potatos.

I realize that statement is probably appalling to most people. Sweet potato casserole is viewed as a staple, just like the green bean/onion soup casserole. Another Thanksgiving dish that desperately needs to be recreated in my opinion... more on that another day.

Spicy Sweet Potato Risotto
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1 cup Risotto rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 jalepeno, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large sauce pan, saute chopped onion, garlic, and shallot in olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes, then add in risotto rice. Stir rice into other ingredients and cook for 2 minutes. Add sweet potato and jalepeno. Pour in 3/4 cup of chicken stock and stir until absorbed. Repeat with remaining chicken stock and water. The risotto is done when it no longer has a bite to it.

Add in salt, pepper, and bouillon. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Creamy with a hint of spiciness, this risotto is wonderful right off the stove or cold the next day straight out of the fridge.

I completely understand if the sweet potato casserole is an absolute must at your Thanksgiving table. Some people happen to really enjoy it; i'm just not one of those people. But, I encourage you to try this simple side dish sometime during the holiday season.

Yesterday my mom and I made the voyage down to McAllen. After a LONG ten hour drive, we made it home. There were some road bumps along the way, both figuratively and literally including a dog fight, slight car issues, and projectile vomit from Wilson. Apparently he gets car sick on road trips. Who knew?

Don't worry. He recovered quickly and is now enjoying every moment of being on vacation. My parent's house is everything Wilson dreams about. No hard wood floors, tons of food, tons of water, lots of room to run, and a dog just his age to play with. He is in dog heaven.

If you haven't already, please remember to vote for your fan favorite at the Healthy Food Fight!

Check back tomorrow for day four of our countdown!

Thanksgiving week countdown: Appetizer

2011-11-19T10:35:00.001-06:00

We are into day two of our countdown until Thanksgiving. I featured a dessert yesterday, so I am working in somewhat reverse order. This dish is actually extremely versatile and would work as either an appetizer or a side. Some would call it a salad, others would call it a dip. I call it is delicious.

It's my Veggie and Quinoa combo. I've talked about this dish a lot. In fact, you may be a little bit tired of hearing about it. But, my mom experienced it for the first time this week and can't stop raving about it. She has requested that it definitely be a part of our Thanksgiving menu this year. Of course we are still trying to decide if it will make it to the dinner table, or if it will be relegated to the appetizer table.

Not to dismiss the appetizer table...a lot of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes come from there. And I know this dish would be the shining star of any appetizer table.

You can put so many different spins on this dish. The one I do most frequently uses more Mexican spices and is probably the one we will serve at Thanksgiving. I mean we will be in McAllen, so it seems quite fitting.

I like to dress it up and serve it in cute dessert bowls. But, it can definitely hold its own. No cute bowls needed for something with this much flavor!

A dollop of the avocado dip I made recently really accents all the great flavors. Again, completely not necessary, but just a nice additional touch.

Quinoa and Veggie Salad
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1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cup water
2 zucchinis, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cobs of corn, kernels removed
3 Roma tomatos, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
15 sprigs cilantro
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
Juice of one lime
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Prepare quinoa according to package directions. I always bring my water to a boil, add quinoa, then let it simmer for about 10 minutes, until all water is absorbed.

While quinoa is cooking, go in to a chopping frenzy. Chop all your veggies and add them to a large bowl. Once quinoa is finished, add cooked quinoa to the veggie bowl. Stir together. Add in lime and lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and all spices. Adjust spices to taste.

Like I mentioned, this dish can be used in a number of ways. I'm not sure how we are going to serve it for Thanksgiving, but I know it will be enjoyed by all our guests. And it is a recipe you can feel 100% good about serving your family and friends. It is so healthy, but absolutely does not lack on flavor. If you don't add this to your Thanksgiving table, try it at least once during the holiday season.

Here is today's reminder to vote for your fan favorite for the Healthy Food Fight. I just ran 22 miles; I deserve a vote!!!

Thanksgiving Countdown: Day One

2011-11-18T14:13:00.002-06:00

We are within a week to Thanksgiving, one of my absolute favorite holidays. I love the days leading up to Thanksgiving because they are the official start to the holiday season. My favorite time of year that always seems to last for just a second. These are the days I wish I could freeze. The excitement of all my family and friends gathering together, the anticipation of the delicious food, the additional desire to help those in need, and just the overall sense of joy surrounding the holidays; I love everything about this time of year.

I do always miss getting to share this time with my friends and family in Canada. Although I probably would never leave the house during the winter in Saskatchewan, a part of me is always a bit sad about not getting to see everyone. Can someone please invent a teleportation device already?

As part of my countdown to Thanksgiving, I am going to feature a recipe a day that I think you should absolutely include on your holiday menu. They are in no particular order, as I'm starting today off with one of my favorite dessert recipes.

Every year I say I don't really like cheesecake. And I don't. It just isn't my thing. Something about the texture and the tangy taste just throws me off a bit. But then every year I make this pumpkin cheesecake, and my mind is instantly changed. So, for one week out of the year, I love cheesecake. In fact, I can't get enough of it. Yesterday started my annual week of cheesecake loving. We had our second "friendsgiving" last night and I brought this as one of the desserts.

Creamy, gingerbready, perfection. Not too tart, not too much pumpkin, just the right amount of cream cheese. This recipe will be one I make every year.

Sure pumpkin and pecan pie are a must for every Thanksgiving celebration, but see if you can't find a way to sneak in this recipe as well. Your guests will be extra thankful for you if you do.

Trust me.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

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SlightlyModified from this recipe

Crust
30 Gingersnap Cookies, pulsed
4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons Salt
5 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted

Filling
3 packages Cream Cheese, softened, 24 ounces total
1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
4 whole Large Eggs
1/3 cups Sour Cream
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons Ground Cloves
1/2 teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a food processor, add in cookies, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pulse until the mixture is in crumbs. Add in butter and pulse until it is combined.

Grease a 9 in Springform pan. Press gingerbread crumbs into springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes.

While gingerbread crust is baking, combine cream cheese and pumpkin in a bowl. Mix together. Once combined, add eggs one at a time. When eggs are completely mixed in, add in remaining ingredients and beat until just combined.

When crust is done, remove from oven and place on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Carefully wrap foil up around the sides of the springform, making sure to carefully seal all edges. Pour cheesecake batter into the springform.

Prepare a water bath with luke warm water. If you don't know what a water bath is, check this out. It will help keep your cheesecake from cracking. Although, mine still cracked slightly. No one will care once they bite into it though, so don't stress too much!

Bake for 90 minutes. Once done, carefully remove from springform and let cool. Serve with homemade whipped cream. Or, if you are in a rush like I was last night, use the canned stuff.

Try not to eat it all yourself. I realize this could be difficult.

Lizzie is such a good sport with all the picture taking. Since I already had such a tiny bite ready to go, I thought she deserved a little taste of the cheesecake.

Yes, she is spoiled.

Our Friendsgiving was delicious. I feel very lucky to have such a great group of friends to celebrate holidays with, and am extra thankful that they are all great cooks.

A few people couldn't make it last night, and they were missed dearly. Hopefully we will be repeating our dinner for the Christmas holiday and everyone will be able to make it.

Stay tuned for 5 more countdown to Thanksgiving recipes throughout the next few days!

And of course, here is your daily reminder to vote for the Healthy Food Fight fan favorite. Tomorrow I am coming at you with a healthy and delicious appetizer/salad that would make the perfect addition to the holiday table.

November birthday's

2011-11-17T11:11:00.007-06:00

Here's to all the November birthdays! I hope you have an absolutely fabulous month of celebrating. Today is my dad's birthday, so we will be celebrating with an angel food cake when I get home on Saturday.

I think I've mentioned before that I make the monthly birthday cakes in my office. Honestly, it is one of the most fun parts of my job. I self-designated myself as the official office cake maker, and have been doing it for the last few years. It's a great excuse to try out new recipes that have caught my eye, plus I don't get stuck with eating an entire cake by myself.

Not that getting stuck with an entire cake is necessarily a bad thing.

The office seems to enjoy all of my creations. And I think my baking provides a little bit of job security. At least I like to think it does. There would be some serious cake making slack at the office if I was gone.

I found the recipe for this cake over a year ago on Tasty Kitchen. Reading through it, I made a few modifications to the original. Here is what I ended up with.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Buttercream

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Modified from this recipe

1 ¾ cups White Sugar

¾ cups Butter, softened

2 teaspoons Vanilla
3 whole Eggs
1 can Pumpkin Puree (15 ounces)
3 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Ginger
½ teaspoon Cloves
1 cup Buttermilk

Maple Buttercream

1 stick butter
1/4 cup Crisco
5 tbsp Half & Half
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3, 8-inch circle pans.

For the cake, beat sugar and butter until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Mix until combined and fluffy. Once combined, add in pumpkin puree. The batter will look very weird after this, but don't worry!

In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, and all spices together.

Alternating with the flour mixture, pour buttermilk into the pumpkin mixture. Mix until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for about 24 minutes.

While cakes are baking, prepare the buttercream. When cakes are finished, remove cakes from pans to a wire rack to cool. Once cool, assemble cake with a little buttercream between each layer.

I like to refrigerate my cake over night then ice in the morning. It makes it so much easier and results in less crumbs in the frosting when you ice after the cakes are thoroughly cooled.

Moist layer upon layer, subdued pumpkin flavor, and a delicate hint of sweetness makes this an ideal cake for a midnight snack.

Or, If you made it sans frosting, it would be fantastic in the morning. If you happen to have an overactive sweet tooth, add the buttercream and still eat it for breakfast, served with a cup of tea.

Sprinkle almonds and brown sugar on top for a little added crunch and sweetness.

Looks like I am finally out of my pie rut. For those interested, Wilson has made a full recovery from his run in with the pie. He now has his eyes on a pumpkin cheesecake I made last night. However, I learned my lesson and promptly hid the cheesecake in my fridge, preserving it for my second round of friend's Thanksgiving tonight.

Here is your daily reminder to vote for your fan favorite (hopefully me) on the Aetna Healthy Food Fight. We are hanging in there, but the competition is close!

Another pie for you

2011-11-16T10:57:00.004-06:00

Sorry to all the pie haters out there. I have yet another pie recipe. This is a variation of the Sweet Potato Pie I made last week.

I wanted to have my pumpkin spice cake with maple buttercream recipe ready for today. But, Wilson the foster dog had other plans for my morning photo shoot.

Way into the wee hours of the morning, Wilson went on a "counter surfing" mission while I was deep in REM sleep. I've been letting Wilson stay out of his crate at night since he did so well when I had Duke as a house guest. Last night, Wilson was rather restless, so around 4am I relocated him from my room to a room downstairs. I immediately fell back asleep. Sometime between the hours of 4 and 7am, Wilson let himself out of the room I had put him in. He then made his way into the kitchen, where he discovered the leftovers of both a pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie. The pies were quickly annihilated, and the pie plate was somehow stuffed under the rug to hide any evidence. Unfortunately for Wilson and my carpet, his stomach wasn't going to let him get away with any tricks.

I woke up to a very messy house this morning. And a very guilty dog. We will leave it at that.

Lets talk about the pie that Wilson so thoroughly enjoyed! So, I made the sweet potato pie last week and declared it the best pie I have had in a long time. And it was. Until I made the pumpkin pie version of it on Sunday. They are very similar; in fact, some people may not even notice a difference. But I did and must say I think I like the pumpkin version just a little bit more. It's a tough call.

Pumpkin pie with ginger streusel

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1 batch of pie dough
2 large eggs
1 can Libby's Pumpkin puree
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 can evaporated milk
Zest of one orange

For the topping
15 gingersnap cookies
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a floured surface, roll out pie dough and fit to your pie dish.

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in pumpkin puree, sugar, spices, vanilla, and salt. Gradually pour in can of evaporated milk. Mix together. Stir in orange zest.

Pour filling into pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes.

While pie is baking, prepare the ginger streusel. In a food processor, combine cookies, butter, sugar and flour. Pulse until mixture is combined and very crumbly.

Remove pie after baking for 30 minutes and sprinkle streusel on top. Return pie to oven and bake for an additional 13 minutes.

Let cool. Serve with homemade maple whipped cream.

The majority of this pumpkin pie was enjoyed by my friends at our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Wilson polished off the rest of it and found his own special way to thank me.

Here is your daily reminder to vote for the Healthy Food Fight. Just imagine all the fresh and healthy things I could make you if Deep Ellum got its garden!

Waiter, there is too much pepper on my paprikash...

2011-11-15T11:03:00.004-06:00

But I would be proud to partake of your pecan pie.

Name that quote.

Ok, it's an easy one. Most females, and probably even some men, remember that line from When Harry Met Sally.

I had that quote on repeat in my head last night while I was making supper. Chicken paprikash was on the menu, and all I could think was "Pepper. Repeat after me. Pepper..." I should have just put on the movie while I was cooking instead of saying the entire dialogue to myself. Fortunately, I was in the privacy of my own kitchen where it is perfectly acceptable to sing, dance, and quote lines from your favorite 80's movies while cooking.

I better get this kind of behaviour under lockdown before I go and cook for Mr. Iron Chef Bobby Flay.

Also, I've decided to only refer to Bobby Flay as Iron Chef Bobby Flay when I meet him. Too much? I find it hilarious.

Last night's meal was one of my absolute favorites growing up, Chicken Paprikash. My dad's side of the family is primarily Hungarian, so my mom came up with a simple, yet delicious version of chicken paprikash. Egg noodles, creamy chicken broth spiced up with a hefty dose of paprika. You can't go wrong.

I wanted to healthify this recipe a bit, so I will share both my recipe and the slightly less healthy options if you would like to try it the original way.

Chicken Paprikash

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, chopped into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil, plus pam spray (2 tbsp butter is the substitute)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup water (you can use chicken stock, and omit the bouillon)
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp paprika
1 serving (6 ounces) non-fat greek yogurt
2 tbsp low fat sour cream (you can use 8 ounces sour cream, and omit the greek yogurt)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups egg noodles

In a large skillet, brown chicken chunks in olive oil. Once, browned remove chicken from skillet. Add onions and garlic to the same skillet and saute for about 5 minutes. Add in water, bouillon, paprika, and chicken. Cook on low until chicken is done.

While chicken is simmering, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add in egg noodles, and cook for 6 minutes.

Once chicken is cooked through, remove skillet from heat and pour in yogurt and sour cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add in drained, cooked egg noodles and let simmer for two minutes.

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Really, this dish is easy, tasty, and has comfort food written all over it. Serve it with a small side salad and your meal is complete. Even with the healthier modifications, the flavor was almost spot on to how I remember my mom's tasting. Don't you love it when the healthy version tastes just as good as the original?

I sure do.

I also want to say thank you so very much to everyone who is supporting me in the fan favorite competition for Aetna. Voting has been a little wonky today and is not letting some people vote who voted yesterday, but it should be getting fixed soon. Your support and kind comments absolutely mean the world to me. Keep voting and sharing! The Deep Ellum Garden Initiative needs our support!

Cleaning up my act

2011-11-14T15:56:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I had friends Thanksgiving at my house... Friendsgiving as some call it. Our food spread was absolutely amazing. Although, I do think Wes won for best dish out of the group. His idea to make a mashed potato pie quickly evolved into a "every Thanksgiving leftover except turkey and cranberry pie." Delicious hardly explains the potato pie. It was a decadent, comfort food masterpiece.

I want to pack it up and take it with me to eat after I run 26.2 miles in 3 weeks.

Alas, I don't think potatoes travel well. And I'm sure my fellow passengers would not appreciate me smuggling a garlicky, onion, potato pie in the depths of my carry on luggage.

All of the dishes from last night were noteworthy, with some of my other favorites being cheesy potatoes, bacon dip, crock pot turkey breast, and green beans. We also had three different desserts, pumpkin lust pie, chocolate pie, and a pumpkinized spin on my ginger sweet potato pie. My friends sure know how to cook. Talk about a food coma.

After last night's smorgasbord, I was feeling a little lethargic this morning. In an attempt to get my act together, I've been pumping myself full of healthy food with today's lunch featuring a tangy salad. I'm running low on the ingredients for my normal spinach smoothie so made this salad instead. Easy and full of flavor, this salad came together in a hurry.

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Lemon Salmon Salad

2 cups Arugula/Spinach mix
4 ounces salmon
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 small orange, sectioned
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1 dash salt
1 dash pepper

Prepare salmon on stovetop. I just seasoned mine with a little salt and pepper.

On a plate, add lettuce, orange, and almonds. In a small bowl, stir together lemon juice olive oil, salt, and pepper. Once salmon is cooked, chop and add to salad. Drizzle lemon juice mixture over top of salad and toss.

In case this salad isn't doing it for you, don't worry. I will have Wes' potato pie recipe with pictures up soon. You'll probably want to serve it at your next Thanksgiving party. Everyone will love you and will completely forget about the awesome pie your girlfriend worked so hard making.

Aetna Fan Favorite!

2011-11-14T10:22:00.003-06:00

It's time to vote again!

This time it is for the fan favorite portion of the Healthy Food Fight. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Aetna decided to add another layer to the contest. Whoever is voted "fan favorite" will get to donate $10,000 to a charity of their choice.

I struggled with who to pick as my charity of choice. Initially, I had hoped to give my potential donation to Paws in the City and The One Society, the two organizations I am most active in. However, Aetna said the selected charity must be one that promotes a healthy lifestyle and is related to food. When I heard the stipulations, my mind immediately went to Deep Ellum Urban Gardens.

From their website, Deep Ellum Urban Garden's vision is to provide opportunities for people to grow food for themselves, increase their healthy activity, get to know their neighbors, learn from each other, and create a productive and beautiful commons.

Perfect. Gardening is something I've always been interested in. Unfortunately my townhome does not provide any space to have a garden besides my patio, which faces direct sun for the majority of the day. This summer, when I was visiting my relatives who all have beautiful gardens, I had a little visit from the green-eyed monster . Jealousy was running rampant as I walked through their vast and healthy gardens. Deep Ellum Urban Gardens will give Dallas residents a chance to have their very own garden space, enabling them to grow their own food. Whether I win the contest or not, I can't wait to be a part of this initiative.

If you have a chance, please visit the Aetna - Healthy Food Fight and place your vote. You can vote once a day through December 2nd.

Lizzie's new diet

2011-11-13T10:44:00.002-06:00

Over the last year or so, Lizzie has gradually put on several pounds. I believe this is mainly due to her somewhat apathetic view towards exercise. Her diet has not changed. She eats the recommended amount of food for her ideal weight. So, the clear culprit is lack of exercise.

It's not that I don't take her on walks or jogs. I do. She just hates them. She prefers to spend her time lounging from bed to couch back to bed all day. Occasionally she will chase her tail or get up and play with her toys, but that usually only lasts for about ten minutes. It hardly counts as physical activity.

In an effort to keep Lizzie healthy and also increase her longevity, I've done a bit of research on homemade dog food. There are a lot of proponents for the "raw" diet for dogs, but I certainly do not believe Lizzie would eat that way if she lived in the wild. Honestly, she probably would not make it very long living outside of my home. She has a charmed life. Anyway, I'm not nearly as educated on the subject matter, but of course have an opinion that stems from my gut reaction to the concept. Yes, I agree at one point a dog's diet definitely fit the guidelines for eating raw. However, I believe that after years and years of domestication, that diet is no longer acceptable for the majority of dogs.

After reading through recipes and book excerpts, I've decided to gradually switch Lizzie over to homemade stews. She will still receive her regular food several times a week, but the majority of her meals will be ones that I prepare.

Earlier today I made my first batch of stew for Lizzie. It was extremely easy, covers all the basic foods a dog needs, and I think will be beneficial in the long run. Lizzie is a part of my family. I pride myself on cooking quality, healthy ingredients, with very few artificial anythings for my friends and family. Why would I want anything less for Lizzie? We only have a few years with our pets, so if I can do something that will hopefully extend her life span, I'm all for it.

I'll keep you updated on whether the new diet helps get her weight under control and any other benefits I see from serving her the stew. Here is this weeks recipe.

Beef Stew for Lizzie

1 lb beef stew meat
1 cup brown brice
4 cups water
1/2 lb green beans (fresh)
1/2 lb carrots (fresh)
1 1/2 whole sweet potatos
1/2 tsp turmeric
Dash of salt and pepper
5 capsules fish oil

In a stew pot, add rice, beef, and water. Bring to a boil then simmer until rice is cooked. In a separate pot, bring green beans, carrots, and sweet potatos to a boil. Cook until veggies are soft.

Once veggies are cooked, puree them in a food processor until smooth. Add pureed veggies to beef mixture. Stir in spices. Let cook for about 20 minutes.

Before serving beak the capsule of fish oil over the stew. Lizzie gets about 1 3/4 cups of stew per day. This recipe makes approximately 5 servings.

Lizzie got her first sampling of the meal today. Lick lipping went on for about ten minutes after she finished her meal. I think she likes it.

I'll also be incorporating more bones into her diet to help keep her teeth healthy.

Pretty to look at...

2011-11-12T16:21:00.001-06:00

Bad to eat.

And sadly I don't mean bad for you. I mean bad to eat in the sense that this recipe just didn't work. I wish people would write that on the top of their recipes when they post them. "Very pretty, looks great, taste is lacking." This one had all the makings to be a star... peanut butter, chocolate, brown sugar, raspberry jam. Unfortunately it just didn't work out.

Don't ask me how. Even reading those ingredients after I wrote them leaves me absolutely mystified as to why these were just so-so.

Perhaps it was baker error. Perhaps it was just not my day. Or, maybe it was just a lackluster recipe.

Regardless, they photographed well. At least they had that going for them.

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They went straight from being pictured to the trash. Poor Lizzie watched sadly, hoping that she would reap the benefits of my failed kitchen experience.

I'm not going to share the recipe or the source for this flop. Like I said, it could have been my fault they didn't turn out. It has been a while since my last true baking mishap, so I'll chalk this one up to baker error. It happens.

Tomorrow I shall redeem myself.

Italian Noodle Soup

2011-11-11T11:53:00.006-06:00

Earlier this week, I was having one of those nights where I didn't really feel like making what I had planned. I was tired and the thought of spending more than ten minutes prepping dinner sounded less than appealing. Going through my fridge, I started grabbing anything that needed to be used or might sound good together and piling it on the counter. Then, I went over to the pantry and grabbed a few cans of tomatos.

Looking through all of my items, I appeared to have everything I needed to make a quick and healthy italian style soup. After a few minutes chopping and opening up cans, I had everything assembled and ready to simmer. This meal came together fast and had lots of flavor. It also made about 12 servings, so is one you can freeze or serve to friends.

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Italian Noodle Soup

8 Lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
1 pound lean ground turkey
2 cans diced tomatos
10 ounces tomato sauce (you can use homemade or from a can)
2 cans chicken stock
1 whole onion, chopped,
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 cup red wine (I used a blend)
1 tbsp olive oil
Pam
3 tsp Italian seasoning (or blend of oregano, basil, thyme, etc)
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp red chile flakes
1 tsp pepper
½ cup parsley, chopped
8 basil leaves, chopped
Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh spinach

In a large pot, boil noodle until al-dente.

In a separate pan, add olive oil, onion, bell peppers, and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent. Add in turkey meat. Cook until meat is brown. Drain fat.

Drain noodles and return to large sauce pan. Add in meat mixture and chicken stock. Add diced tomatos, tomato sauce, wine, zucchini, and mushrooms. Let cook for about 10 mintues. Add in all spices, basil, and parsley. Simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.

To serve, add about ¼ cup ricotta cheese, a handful of mozzarella, a handful of fresh spinach into a bowl. Pour soup mixture over top and stir.

It almost reminded me of lasagna in a cup, primarily because of the ricotta cheese. Easy and yummy... can't beat that!

Divine Intervention

2011-11-11T11:06:00.007-06:00

Prepare yourself for a very long story... Yesterday, as I was getting home from work, I stopped to pick up my mail. As I was getting back into my car, a short, squatty pitbull came barrelling down the driveway towards me. He ran up to my feet and immediately rolled over, tail wagging, implying that he was in desperate need of a belly rub. Not being one to turn down a friendly dog looking for some attention, I gave him a good scratch.

I then started to look around my townhome area for his owner. I know all of the dogs that live in my neighborhood, and this guy just wasn't one of them. He had one of those faces you couldn't forget. Nice and pudgy, with a mouth as big as a shark. I guess that is one of the characteristics of a pitbull, maybe the reason why some people are so frightened by them. Luckily, my fear level with dogs is fairly nonexistent, and it was pretty obvious to me that this dog was extremely socialized. Unfortunately, there was no possible owner in sight. I talked to a few of my neighbors and they all agreed that they also had never seen that dog before.

Since it was almost 6pm, it was practically dark. There was no way I could in good conscience let this guy keep wandering around in the dark. His fancy leather Oklahoma Sooners collar implied that he clearly had an owner; however, there were no tags on his collar. After calling around to a few vets, I finally found an e-clinic that would scan him for a microchip. I loaded the big guy up into my very tiny car and headed to the veterinary clinic, saying lots of prayers for a microchip on the way. As luck would have it, he wasn't chipped. But, the vet tech did agree that he looked like a very healthy dog and most definitely had someone out there looking for him. I loaded "Norman" back into my car and we headed back to my house.

Remember how I mentioned my rule with how many dogs I can foster at a time? That their combined weight can't be more than me. Well, with Norman weighing in at a hefty 62 pounds, I was in clear violation of my rule last night. Wes has a soft spot for pitbulls though, so he was ok with me breaking my rule temporarily.

Since Wilson is currently occupying the one large crate I have, I had to ask my neighbors to borrow a crate. They kindly agreed and sent us home with their extra. Thinking the situation was under control, I let Norman get a feel for his crate while Wes and I took out Wilson and Lizzie. Wilson is also a boy, and although he is fixed, you never know how he might react to an un-neutered studmuffin like Norman.

I'm sexy and I know it...

When Wes and I got back from taking out the dogs, we realized the crate system was not going to work. Norman, an obvious genius, had found out he was able to unlock the crate using the power in his shark-like jaw. Fantastic. By the grace of God, all the dogs seemed to get along well. Wilson was excited to have a friend and Lizzie took her usual "pretend they don't exist" approach to the situation. At that point, we decided that Norman would have to spend the night in Wilson's extra large crate, and that Wilson was going to get his first shot at overnight freedom. He was going to sleep on the pallet on the floor next to my bed.

I promise I am not cruel. Wilson just has a few chewing issues that I am working through with him. Once he gets those straightened out, he will of course not be spending time in his crate.

Prepared for a sleepless night, I got all the dogs situated and had the lights out by 11pm. Surprisingly, everyone was really well-behaved. Lizzie stayed in her normal spot, above my head on the pillows. Wilson got up to wander once at 4am, and Norman only cried for a few minutes around 5am. Not too bad for three wild animals.

This morning, Wilson and I went on our morning jog, while the other two dined. I expected it to be a pretty uneventful morning considering how well Norman did in the crate through the night. Was I ever wrong. As I was about to walk out the door to go to work, I heard loud, powerful noises, that sounded strikingly similar to a freight train running into a brick wall. On repeat.

Ok, so I've never actually heard a freight train hit a brick wall. My experience with the sound is strictly from movies.

Next thing I know, I hear a rapid thundering down the stairs. Norman had ever so delicately found his way out of a second crate. I went upstairs to assess the damage. He had apparently used his body weight to knock down the front portion of the foldable crate. Impressive. Realizing the situation I had on my hands, and my imagination playing out what could happen to my house if I had two large dogs running wild while I was at work, I had to come up with another plan. I managed to get Wilson's crate back into working order, and had to sadly ask Wilson to return to his crate for the day. Norman was lured into my garage with a nice soup bone. With things seemingly under control, I set off for work.

On my way, I decided I should start calling vets to see if anyone had reported a lost pitbull. Vickery was the first and only vet I had to call. When I asked the receptionist if anyone had came in about a missing dog, she excitedly said "Yes, just a minute ago, let me run outside and catch him." Within seconds she had me on the phone with Chris, who identified Norman's collar, and said he had escaped yesterday morning. What a little Houdini. I rushed over to Vickery to meet Chris and give him directions to my townhome. When I opened up the garage door, Norman immediately ran up to Chris, and proceeded to cover him in doggie kisses. They both were very happy.

After a short, as non-accusatory lecture as possible, about the importance of tags, microchipping and neutering dogs, Chris told me a very interesting story.

The dog actually didn't belong to him. Chris was dog-sitting for his brother who is deployed and has had the dog since August. Obviously this is a tiny, tiny act, but I couldn't help but feel good that I had helped reunite a dog with his owner on Veteran's Day. Divine intervention at its finest. Of all the places the dog could have wandered, he found his way over to the home of a self-professed crazy dog lady. I try to look for ways to give back to those that serve, but sometimes ways find you.

The dog's real name was Duke. Hearing that made my day. Those of you who know Wes know why.

Homemade chips

2011-11-10T09:55:00.004-06:00

Corn tortillas always seem to come packaged in huge quantities. The smallest I have ever found is a pack of thirty. And if you happen to enjoy sitting around your house sipping your tea first thing in the morning, instead of hightailing it to the grocery store to ensure the pack of thirty is available, you're more than likely going to end up with a package of fifty.

Obviously this happens to me a lot.

And when I'm feeding just Wes and me, fifty tortillas is a bit much. They do have a long shelf life; however, I just feel weird keeping tortillas around for more than a month. Although, I imagine you could freeze them. I'm yet to do that. Instead, I make homemade tortilla chips with them.

Simple and delicious. And you can flavor them however you want.

Homemade Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

10 corn tortillas, cut into triangles.
1 ziplock bag
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Cayenne
Juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a ziplock bag, add all spices, oil, and tortillas. Shake until the tortilla triangles are well coated. Empty contents of bag onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes, flipping the tortilla chips halfway through. Broil on high for a minute at the end.

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If you are really wanting to make them extra good, you could also fry them. But, considering these taste great out of the oven, I decided to save my extra calories for sweet potato pie.

The dip I made last night was also very easy and had lots of flavor. It was the perfect topping fo tilapia fish tacos.

Avocado Cream Dip

1 container non-fat plain greek yogurt
2 small avocados
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
juice of one lime
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne

In a food processor, add all ingredients. Blend until combined. Adjust seasonings to taste.

And since this meal fits nicely into the tailgating theme, check out NibbleMeThis for a Bush's bean tailgate giveaway!

Let there be pie

2011-11-09T15:39:00.011-06:00

Lizzie was all set to tell everyone about her birthday party today. She turned three earlier in the week and was so excited to share some pictures of herself. She may be slightly narcissistic.

But can you blame her? She is completely adorable.

However, I told Lizzie she would just have to wait because I absolutely have to share this pie recipe with you. It may be the best pie I have ever had.

And I fully attribute that to the ginger streusel topping. Is it wrong that I want to cover everything in ginger streusel now? If it is, then I don't want to be right. I think you will be feeling the same way after you try it.

Since Saturday, I've had the urge to do some baking. Last week was a little bit baking heavy, with the tarts, shortbread, and jam-jams, so I thought it would be in my best interest to lay off the butter for a while. That feeling lasted all of 5 days. I finally gave in yesterday at lunch when I whipped up two of my pie crusts . There is just something a bit therapeutic about kneading dough. Agreed?

After I made the dough, I started reading through cookbooks looking for a filling recipe I haven't had before. Between my Junior League Dallas cookbook and the Southern Living Christmas edition from my sweet friend Paige, I found the perfect pie combination. A sweet potato pie with a ginger streusel topping. Somehow, even after spending my whole life in Texas, I've never had a sweet potato pie before. I know. It baffles me too. Luckily, that issue was put to rest last night.

Sweet potato pie will now grace my holiday table every year. Extremely reminiscent of pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie has all the right holiday flavors. And, it's completely healthy. I mean it's made with sweet potatos! You are practically doing your diet a favor by eating this.

Ok, probably not. But, you're definitely doing your taste buds a favor.

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Sweet potato pie with ginger streusel topping

1 batch of pie dough
1 1/2 large peeled sweet potatos, boiled and pureed
1 can evaporated milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
Zest of one orange

For the topping

15 gingersnap cookies
6 tbsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a floured surface, roll out pie dough and fit to your pie dish.

If you haven't already, boil your peeled sweet potatos until they are completely cooked. Once soft, puree sweet potatos until smooth. Add some half and half if they are not pureeing easily.

Add pureed sweet potatos, evaporated milk, sugars, and eggs to a large bowl. Mix together. Add in spices, salt, vanilla, and butter. Mix until completely combined. Stir in orange zest.

Pour filling into pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes.

While pie is baking, prepare the ginger streusel. In a food processor, combine cookies, butter, sugar and flour. Pulse until mixture is combined and very crumbly.

Remove pie after baking for 30 minutes and sprinkle streusel on top. Return pie to oven and bake for an additional 13 minutes.

Let cool. Serve with homemade maple whipped cream.

Pie heaven. That is all I have to say.

Wes and Lindsay (not me, my friend, note the "a") can vouch for me.

To preface the next series of pictures, I take my pictures on the floor in my office or on the patio outside of my office. The dogs can hardly stand it. Lizzie loves to watch, but can barely control herself after a few minutes. I was curious to see what she would do if I pretended I wasn't watching. Apparently she thinks I can't see whenever I am looking into my camera. Ridiculous.

Who wants to help us finish the rest of the pie?? I promise Lizzie hasn't touched it.

Banana & Coconut Panko Chicken

2011-11-08T11:01:00.003-06:00

If you've been reading along for a while, you know that I have caught a little bit of the recipe contest bug. It all started with the Central Market Hatch contest, then I moved on to the Healthy Food Fight, had a brief stint with Jam-Jams in the Dallas Morning News cookie competition finals, and now I've found a Chiquita contest.

Do you know how many recipe contests there are? Its crazy. So many major brands hold some kind of contest. Pillsbury does some kind of bake-off that awards the winner with one million dollars? You bet I'll be entering that contest when it opens up again in 2014.

Anyway, I came across an ad for this Chiquita banana recipe contest. There are three different categories: dessert, appetizer, and entree. Of course I have a ton of banana dessert recipes, and I have my banana smoothie recipe, but I really wanted to do something different for this contest.

After some tinkering in the kitchen this weekend, I decided I was going to compete in the entree division. With that in mind, I started brainstorming about flavors that might be good with bananas. Instantly, I thought bananas would be great with spice. The mild creaminess of a banana would pair perfectly with the heat from peppers. With bananas being such a tropical fruit, I also knew I wanted to incorporate other tropical flavors.

This recipe was my first attempt at using bananas in a savory dish and I was pleasantly surprised with how it came out. It also has been man tested and approved. Both Wes and Will (his brother) tried it and thought it was yummy. Honestly, this is something that is going to find its way into my dinner rotation. It is slightly sweet, delivers on flavor, and keeps people guessing about what is in it.

Of course, everything fried pretty much turns out awesome. But, to ensure the flavors were really good, I also baked half of the chicken. I actually liked the way the oven chicken turned out better; however, I think the boys preferred the fried.

I know it sounds a little weird, but I promise it is delicious. And very original. Serve it with my mango avocado salsa and a nice boat drink, and you'll feel like you are on a tropical vacation in the middle of November.

Well maybe not quite, but it will be a nice change from the chili's and soups I've been pushing.

Banana & Coconut Panko Chicken

For the marinade:
1 clove garlic
3/4 can light coconut milk
3 small Chiquita bananas, broken into thirds
1 large Serrano pepper
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp curry powder
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup cilantro
Dash of pepper

For the chicken:
2 chicken breasts, chopped into pieces
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (more if needed)
1 1/2 cups prepared Basmati rice
Dash of salt and pepper
Canola Oil for pan frying (amount varies)

For the sauce:
1/3 cup reserved marinade
1/4 can Light Coconut milk
1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp butter
Dash of Cayenne
Dash of Salt
Dash of Pepper

In a food processor, pulse all of the ingredients for the marinade until smooth. Chop chicken breasts into small chunks. Marinate chicken chunks for about an hour.

Remove chicken pieces from marinade and coat in panko crumbs.

If you choose to oven bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake chicken for about 25 minutes, flipping chicken half way through.

If pan frying, warm canola oil in a large skillet. Add in chicken pieces and fry until cooked through, flipping when golden brown. Remove chicken pieces from skillet to a separate plate.

Once all the chicken is cooked, add butter to the skillet. Let melt, then add remaining marinade, additional coconut milk, chicken stock, cayenne, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve chicken over basmati rice with sauce on top.

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Crock pot black beans

2011-11-07T10:35:00.006-06:00

Who doesn't love coming home to delicious smelling food that requires minimal effort? I know I do. These black beans deliver, being both nutritious and really yummy. And, this is probably one of the cheapest meals ever. I think the bag of black beans was $1. The rest of the ingredients are ones that I already had in the house, so I'm going to guestimate this meal came in at under $5. A steal!

A bag of black beans will obviously make a ton, so I was able to freeze quite a few containers of beans. I recommend dividing them up into several portions so you can pull out just the amount you need. De-thawing a big block of beans for just one cup isn't really practical. But, I think this recipe will make you stop buying canned beans all together. It is incredibly simple, makes a ton of beans, and is impossible to mess up.

I'll share the recipe I used, but of course you can adjust it to your likings. I wanted the beans to be a bit spicy, so I added lots of peppers and cayenne.

Crock pot black beans

1 bag of dry black beans

Enough chicken stock to cover beans in crock pot

1 whole onion, chopped

1 jalepeno pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic

3 pieces raw bacon

1/2 jar chopped banana peppers, with juice

1/2 jar Salsa

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne

Dash of garlic salt

Cheese & Cilantro for garnish

The day before you want to make your beans, soak them in water overnight. In a large bowl, remove beans from bag and cover with water.

In a crock pot, add soaked beans and cover with chicken stock. I used almost a full carton of chicken stock (32 ounces). Add in all your ingredients.

Stir spices into the broth.

Set crock pot for desired cook time and let it work its magic. I set my crock pot for 8 hours because I made them early in the day. Garnish with cheese and cilantro.

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Come home to the delicious aroma of Mexican spices that have been simmering all day. Honestly, I could smell them from outside my house when I got home. My neighbors even asked me what I had cooking. When I told them it was just a pot of black beans, I think they were shocked.

Now if only I could get the "beans, beans good for your heart..." rhyme out of my head. Yes I'm a five year old.

With fall in full swing, I think it is definitely time you bust our your crock pots and give this meal a try. Or, here are a few of my other absolute favorite crock pot meals.

Crock pot Barbecue pork

Crock pot Baked Potato Soup (broth version, not too creamy)

Crock pot Santa Fe Chicken

Crock pot orange chicken

If you have time, check out my article over on Glass Heel today. It is a rendition of my suggested pantry essentials.

My clock's set back. Is yours?

2011-11-06T19:45:00.001-06:00

It being completely dark at 6:30 is weirding me out a little bit. But other than that, I am quite happy about the time change. I was especially happy today when I had to wake up considerably early for a Sunday (6:30) to get in 20 miles before the Cowboy's game.

If it wasn't for the extra hour, I can guarantee I would have pressed the snooze button and just forgotten about running. Per usual, I'm very glad that didn't happen and that I actually stuck to my training plan. 20 miles was finished in exactly 3 hours, so I am on track for my marathon goal. Yippee!

My recovery was spent at the Cowboy's stadium where this beckoned my name all four quarters...

The candy table! I seriously felt like a child. I'm still unsure of the exact number of Reese's I consumed, but I do know there are still a few lingering in my purse. This is quite possibly my favorite thing about Cowboy's stadium, which is saying a lot because it is an incredible place.

The rest of my Sunday involved a lot of time with my legs propped up on the couch.

I did receive some very exciting news though. An Aetna rep called tonight to let me know there was another aspect to the finals for the contest. Aetna has decided to add a "Voter's Choice" contest. The winner will be decided by online votes, and will get to donate $10K to the charity of their choice. How amazing, huh? Two groups very close to my heart in Dallas are Paws and the City and The One Society. If allowed, and I somehow win, I will split the money between those two groups. Be ready for me hounding you to vote again. But, just think of all the dogs that money could help!

Hope everyone had an amazing weekend! I'm looking forward to starting my week with one of these

Seeing those red cups instantly puts me in a great mood. I love the holidays!

Saturday Book Club

2011-11-05T10:17:00.001-05:00

Reading has always been something I've really enjoyed. However, between work, running, volunteering, and just finding a few moments for myself, it is something that often gets pushed to the back burner. This is a sad realization as a wanna-be writer/blogger. Reading not only expands my vocabulary and encourages my imagination, but also helps me appreciate different writing styles.

Vocabulary expansion did not stop in English AP high school. No matter how educated you are and how much of a literary genius you may be, I believe there is always more to learn, especially in the writing department.

I am making it a point to get books back into my life. I've missed the outlet that books creates, the one that lets your mind be whisked away to another place. Whether it be looking at life through the eyes of a beautiful, wise dog (The Art of Racing in the Rain, read it please) or laughing along with Jenn in "Such a Pretty Fat," books are a complete mental release.

Recently, I joined the Blogher Publishing program for their new group BlogPaws. All the ads for Petfinder and other animal related items on the right side of the blog relate to Blogher. One really great perk of the Blogher group is the Blogher Book Club. When I became a part of the Blogher group, I signed up to join their book club.

What that means is that every so often I will receive a book in the mail from the Publisher to read prior to its release date. I'll give my honest opinion on the book in my blog and will be moderately compensated for my review.

Imagine my excitement when I received my first book yesterday evening. I felt like I was back in school, with an assignment that I couldn't wait to dive in to. I'm sure some of you know the feeling, right? I can't be the only one that used to get excited about book related homework assignments. True to course, I immediately started to read "The Lake of Dreams" by Kim Edwards last night.

In all honesty, when I received the invitation to review this book, I was slightly hesitant. I'm sure many of you are familiar with her previous book, "The Memory Keeper's Daughter." It was a New York Times Best Seller; a highly touted novel. Unfortunately, I had a terrible time getting through the book. Some books just aren't for everyone. But after reading the synopsis of "The Lake of Dreams," I was in.

Although I've just started, my interest has been captured. The first 50 pages did not disappoint. I hope the momentum continues; I can't wait to share my opinion with you.

Memoirs of a red headed spaniel

2011-11-04T11:28:00.005-05:00

Hi there! Lizzie here. Lindsey has clearly cluttered my blog up with all sorts of butter laden recipes. Since this blog is obviously supposed to be about me (hello, have you seen the header?) I thought it would be nice for me to divulge a little about what my day consists of. It is, of course, extremely interesting.

Around 7:30 every morning, I like to move from my comfortable spot underneath the covers to the top of Lindsey's head. Naturally she prefers this style of wake up, as opposed to listening for an alarm. I've also found that she moves much quicker when woken up this way, which is absolutely vital because immediately after she wakes up, she moves on to her most important job of the day.... serving my breakfast. I have my breakfast, served in clean porcelain bowls, every morning between 7:35 and 7:45. If I am not served breakfast by 7:50, I demand an excuse. However, this rarely happens as Lindsey understands the importance of a healthy breakfast to start each day.

Lindsey has some sort of schedule where five days out of the week she disappears dressed in fancy clothes shortly after feeding me. I still haven't quite figured out where she goes, but she returns every day with a rather unbecoming fluorescent glow. She needs a spray tan, stat. Regardless of whether she is home or not, I like to take my morning nap shortly after our morning excursion. We go out every day after breakfast so I can see the sights around our neighborhood, make sure no wild dogs stopped by during the middle of the night, and to take care of a little bit of business. I try to avoid the grass at all costs on our walk, you never know what wild animal might have relieved themselves there. Gross.

After my nap, I like to watch a little television. Lindsey used to leave Animal Planet on for me, but that Cesar guy was a little much for me. You can only listen to how to be a pack leader so many times. And besides, every dog knows the best way to be a leader is to ignore every other dog in the house. You'll always be the pack leader if you pretend they don't exist. Duh. Now, I enjoy the Food Network, especially Bobby Flay. We redheads have to stick together.

After a few episodes, Lindsey comes home for lunch. We spend the solid part of an hour cuddling, eating lunch, and dreaming up what to have for supper. I like to toss a few ideas out from time to time, but she usually already has an idea ready to go. The girl can cook, so I try not to interfere. Unless she's planning on making chicken. She sucks at chicken.

When lunch time is over, I'm usually pretty worn out from all the thinking and snuggling, so I head back upstairs for a quick dog nap. Sometimes I taunt Wilson, the foster, who stays in the bathroom. He likes to chew, so I have to keep him regulated.

Wilson leave the monkey alone!

By the time I'm done with all that, Lindsey is home.

We spend the rest of the evening walking outside, talking about girl things, cooking supper for Wes, and eating ice cream. It's all very exciting. Sometimes we all watch movies on the couch or other times we head over to my vacation home just down the street when Wes is preparing supper. Wes and Ray stay at my vacation home the majority of the time. Ray is ok. He's a little too tall for my liking, so I try to stay away from him. You have to watch out for tall people; they could sit on you and not even know it.

I really do live an ideal life. Other daily activities may include chasing after a ball, guarding the house from the mail man, taking car rides in the convertible, avoiding going for a run, resting on pillow mountains, and sampling desserts. Short of Lindsey disappearing almost every day for several hours, I would say my life is pretty perfect.
Jealous? I thought so.

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Leftovers

2011-11-03T10:33:00.002-05:00

Remember yesterday when I mentioned that the recipe for the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan tarts makes enough for Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Shortbread? You could have easily halved the recipe and made just enough filling for tarts, but why would you want to do that?

The tarts are delicious and cutesie, but this shortbread is just to die for. It is incredibly easy, always a crowd pleaser, and practically melts in your mouth. It must have something to do with all the butter in the crust. Worth every calorie friends. Every calorie.

Serve it at a bridesmaid brunch, a wedding shower, or just your next tea party with girlfriends. Just because we're all grown up doesn't mean we have to give up tea parties. And now I have real guests to invite instead of my stuffed bear Willy, Suzie the baby, and Babydoll to occupy the empty seats. I was an only child. People to invite to my childhood tea parties were limited.

Not to say the toys didn't make perfect guests. They never overate and always let me do all the talking. Just how I like it.

Ok, enough rambling, here's the recipe.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Shortbread

Use filling from Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts

Crust

1 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp ice cold butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, add in flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse until crumbs form. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 greased pyrex. Bake crust for about 20 minutes until it is a light golden brown. Remove crust from oven.

While crust is baking, prepare the chocolate bourbon pecan filling. Pour filling over top of crust and bake for about 25 minutes.

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Easy as pie

2011-11-02T10:21:00.005-05:00

Most people are a bit intimidated by a homemade pie dough. I've got a secret... I used to be one of them. My mom has always made wonderful homemade pie dough, but it's something I never thought I could do. Everytime I made a pie using pre-made dough, something just didn't feel right. I knew my mom wouldn't do it that way, nor would my aunt, nana or grandma. Something had to change.

So about two years ago, I started practicing. Yes, I had a few flops and really horrible tasting doughs, but then I started getting better at it. And you know what, homemade pie dough really isn't that hard.

You can even use a food processor to mix in the butter. Oh the horror!

I prefer to make an all butter dough, but you can of course use crisco, lard, or a combination of all three. I just like the flavor of butter, and the flakiness it brings to a crust. Nothing beats cold butter when making a flaky pie dough, in my opinion. So, here is a super simple recipe for a butter pie crust. I will give two sets of instructions, one for mixing by hand and one for a food processor. I won't judge if you choose the latter.

Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1 tbsp cold sprite or ginger ale
3 tbsp ice cold water

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Blend together with a fork. Next, chop your very, very cold butter into tiny chunks. I usually cut my stick of butter into 1/4 inch strips, then cut those strips down the middle. Try not to handle the butter too much. You want to make sure it remains cold.

Using a pastry blender, mix butter pieces into flour mixture until small crumbs form.

Add in vinegar, sprite, and one tablespoon of water. Work that into the dough. Continue to add water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough starts to form. You do not want it to be too sticky, so you may not end up adding all the water.

Once a dough forms, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

You can refrigerate for up to two days, or choose to freeze the dough. When you are ready to use the dough to make a pie crust, or tarts, or whatever treat your heart desires, remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit until it reaches room temperature. This will make rolling the dough so much easier.

If you opt to use a food processor, start by pulsing the flour, sugar, and salt two times. Add in butter pieces and pulse until mixture becomes very crumby. Slowly add in water and continue to pulse until dough comes together, but isn't sticky. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

I opted to make mini tarts instead of making a pie. They are now being enjoyed by my coworkers because the little bite sized mini tarts proved to be too tempting sitting at my house.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tarts

**Note, this recipe provides enough filling for 24 tarts and one 8x8 shortbread. So adjust accordingly**

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp bourbon (optional)
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Remove pie dough from fridge. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Add in sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add in syrup, cream, and vanilla. Once combined, remove from heat and stir in bourbon and pecans.

Once pie dough is close to room temperature, prepare a floured surface. Place dough in center and begin to roll out dough. Have additional flour close by in case you need to add more. Once rolled out, use a cookie cutter to make the shape for the tart shells. The only cookie cutter I could locate that closely resembled a circle was my Christmas wreath cookie cutter. It did the trick.

Spray muffin pan with pam, then push dough into each muffin hole to form the shape for the tarts. Make sure the press the dough up against the sides.

When dough is ready, pour filling into the tarts. This is where I made a big mistake and overfilled my tarts. I would say fill tart shell about 3/4 the way full. I overfilled and made a slight mess in my oven. Luckily, I realized this a few minutes in to baking and was able to throw in a foil sheet below them to catch the overage. Once tarts are full, sprinkle on chocolate chips into each tart.

Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove tarts from muffin tin once cool. Store in an air tight container.

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Aren't they cute? I can't wait to make them again and actually put in the correct amount of filling. Regardless of them not being perfectly shaped, they tasted great. And that's what really matters isn't it?

So now you can stop purchasing pre-made dough. Once you make a few batches of homemade dough, you will never go back. It just takes a little practice. I make all of my pie dough during my lunch break in the afternoon. That way when I get home at night, my dough is ready for whatever I have planned to make.

I'll have the shortbread recipe for you tomorrow... and boy is it good. I decided to keep that one at home since Wes hasn't gotten to enjoy it yet. Luckily he is feeling much better and will get his fair share of shortbread tonight.

A meal for a crazy week

2011-11-01T18:01:00.001-05:00

So far this week has really flown by. Between doing month end stuff at work, Wes having food poisoning, and trying to get in a few runs for marathon training, I've basically felt really stretched. I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving. I'm taking off a full week of work and heading home to the valley.

The valley is little place all its own. I tend to turn in to a "hermit" when I go home and rarely make it out to do much besides suntan, eat, and exercise.

Coming up with creative meals has sort of been pushed to the back burner this week. However, I did come up with this butternut squash & goat cheese polenta last night. This meal was prior to Wes' poisoning and was definitely not the culprit. Some questionable sausage from his office's Halloween party seems to be the main suspect. Regardless, we both really enjoyed this simple, carbtastic meal. I think Wes referred to it as fancy grits, or something like that. It takes about 20 minutes to make if you already have your butternut squash pureed. If not, add on another 10 minutes to your prep time. Not too shabby.

Butternut Goat Cheese Polenta

3/4 cup polenta
1 3/4 cup water
Puree from 1/2 butternut squash, probably about 2 cups
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 strips bacon
1/2 red bell pepper
3 - 4 ounces goat cheese crumbles
Pinch of garlic salt
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

In a sauce pan, bring water to a rolling boil. Slowly add in polenta. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. The polenta will thicken up.

In a separate pan, add olive oil, onions, bacon, and bell pepper. Saute until bacon is cooked.

Drain the bacon fat from the mixture. Add into polenta pan. Stir in goat cheese, salt, and pepper. Adjust spices to desired flavor. Add in some red chile flakes for a little kick!

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I ate this as my entree because I just wasn't feeling terribly hungry. It would be a delicious bed for some short ribs or a steak. Maybe once Wes is healed and my appetite is back we will give it a try.

I've also been doing a little baking this week. I'll have my 10 minute pie crust recipe and Chocolate Bourbon Pecan shortbread and tarts recipe up soon. The shortbread is so delicious. It is the easiest recipe to make and is always a crowd pleaser. Can't wait to share it!

Tomorrow I'll be on a crazy baking Jam-Jam spree for a little project.... more details to come on that.

5 weeks left

2011-10-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

My marathon is 5 weeks away. I can't believe it is that close already. I had a pretty serious long run today, 19 miles. It actually felt really good. My left knee was giving me a few issues towards the end, but nothing serious, just a light ache. And if a slight knee ache is all that is bothering me after 19 miles, then I have a lot to be thankful for.

I took the new Santa Fe Trail to White Rock Lake today. This was my second time on it, and this experience was much better than the first. I started at the beginning of the trail at Hill Street in East Dallas, ran to the lake, did a lap around, then ran all the way home. It worked out to a perfect 19 miles. The weather couldn't have been better. The first time I ran the trail, it was in the low 90's... definitely not ideal. Today's temperatures felt great, making running on concrete for several hours not too bad.

A lot of people ask me what I think about when running for that long. I always have trouble answering because it is hard to remember thinking about anything. I think running is sort of like meditating for me. It is a very personal time, which is why I rarely have a running partner. For part of my run, my mind goes to another place and I just focus on moving. The other half of my run is a time that I find myself praying, thinking of others, or just searching for motivation. An instant motivation booster for me is thinking of all the people who are sick or simply unable to run. I take my next few steps thinking of them and also being thankful for my ability to run.

Today I came up with a fun little "game" that took up a few minutes. Going through the alphabet, I thought of a friend or family member whose name started with that letter. I either said a quick prayer for them or thought about reasons I was thankful for them. If your ears were ringing or itching this afternoon, it was probably me thinking of you!

White Rock Lake is one of favorite places in Dallas. Someday soon I need to take my real camera out there and get some pictures. The way the sun sets on the lake with the city in the background is beautiful. There were lots of people out there today on blankets just enjoying the weather and company of others. I think Wes, Lizzie, Wilson, and I will be heading out there next weekend to do the same.

If you have been thinking about signing up for your first 5k, 10k, half, or marathon, Glass Heel is starting a running team. You can read about it here. The team will be your go to place for support, encouragement, or venting. Whether you had an amazing 5k, hit your PR, or simply just had an off day, we would love to hear about it and have you on are team!

Happy running!