Restaurant Worthy Salad

Salads are generally pretty non-descript to me, I either like them or I don't. It is, after all, just plain old lettuce with some garnishments. Don't get me wrong, I love salads but I'm rarely wowed by them (I should say that because this salad was pretty darn tasty). That is until I tried this recipe from Cooking Light. The components fit together so nicely and it just worked. I loved the pop of the pomegranate seeds, the sweet crunch of the candied pecans, and the burst of citrus goodness. Add it all up and you've got a winner of a salad! This one has made it to the repeat list. I'm posting the recipe below with my alterations and notes.

Clementine Salad with Spiced Walnuts and Pickled Onions

Ingredients
Onions:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 T. sugar
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion

Dressing:

1 tablespoon orange juice (or any citrus juice you have on hand)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Remaining ingredients:
8 cups gourmet salad greens
Clementine sections (about 4 clementines)
1/2 to 3/4 cup spiced walnuts (see below)
8 tablespoons pomegranate seeds

Preparation
To prepare onions, combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Reserve 2 tablespoons vinegar mixture. Combine remaining vinegar mixture and onion in a small bowl; cool to room temperature.
To prepare dressing, combine reserved 2 tablespoons vinegar mixture, orange juice, oil, and mustard; stir well with a whisk.
Combine dressing and salad greens in a large bowl; toss well. Divide salad greens mixture evenly among 8 salad plates. Top each with about 5-6 clementines, a few onions, 2 tablespoons Spiced Walnuts, and 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds.

Spiced Walnuts

1/2 cup walnut halves
1/4 cup sugar
2 T. water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
Dash of ground red pepper

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
Arrange walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Combine sugar and the next 4 ingredients (sugar through red pepper) in a small saucepan. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 238° (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in walnuts. Pour walnut mixture onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cool completely; break into small pieces.

Note: Store remaining walnuts in an airtight container.

Post Christmas Wrap-Up

Another Christmas come and gone. I love the Christmas season, the buildup, the anticipation, the lights, the smells, the hustle and bustle, but I hate how quickly it's gone! I hate when that last gift is taken from under the tree, when the last bite of Christmas breakfast and/or dinner is eaten, or the bareness that comes after taking down the decorations. We spend weeks getting ready for one day and then it's gone quicker than you can say ho, ho, ho!

I can't dwell on the negative with the new year quickly approaching. It's time to focus on a clean slate. I'm not one to make resolutions - you know, the ones that people make and break within the first month of the year?! I choose to make the most out of each day and hopefully become a better person along the way.

I do try to set goals for myself, not necessarily on January 1st but all throughout the year. One goal I'd like to attain is to give more to others. Wes and I took a goody bag to a needy new mother at the hospital on Christmas Day. Although I was nervous for some unknown reason, I was overcome with emotion when the nurse told me that there was a new mother who could use it. Wes and I both agreed we need to do things like that more often. It was a very humbling experience and there are people in need everyday, not just Christmas day.

I'd be remiss if I didn't post a few pictures of the Christmas festivities at our house. Colin isn't quite old enough to fully understand, although he does know Santa goes, "Ho, ho, ho"! He was confused that he was actually allowed to rip the paper. He kept looking up at us as if to say, "Are you sure it's OK?" We tried not to overload him with toys and presents. Wes' family more than made up for our slack!

He did great at Wes' parents house this time and slept better than we could have ever imagined. We've discovered the key is to wear him out and then he'll basically collapse when it's bedtime. Wes joked that we needed to adopt some kids to wear him out! It was refreshing to see him interact more with the other kids and not just cling to my leg. He's coming out of his shell a little and I think "school" has been the driving force behind that. He also loved the cat and dog but he can just keep loving them from afar because I don't need something else to keep up with right now! I failed to take my camera with me to Wes' house so the pictures below are just from our house on Christmas morning.

Colin with his new ball that sings and moves on it's own.

Colin giving his gift to Granny. He was really good at delivering the gifts.

Colin helping Grams by standing on her present!

Colin enjoying Daddy's gifts of hot chocolate and chocolate covered pretzels - might have know he'd find the food!

My Dad and Wes

My Mom and Granny

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I just wanted to wish all of my blogging friends a wonderful holiday season! I hope you each have a wonderful time sharing the holidays with your friends and family. If your Christmas involves travelling, please be safe.

We've all been blessed, so please take this opportunity to give back and share your blessings with the less fortunate. With the economy in such disarray, there are many who are struggling this year and many who could use our help.

I'll be back next week to update you on some good recipes for a change, as well as some new ones to try. And of course our Christmas festivities! Cheers!

Peanut Butter Truffles

These are so easy, even a child could make them! Let's face it, as long as it tastes good and you didn't have to make it, you don't really care what's in it or how long it took to make. I'm so much more appreciative when someone cooks me a home-cooked meal now that I'm in the kitchen every night. Something as simple as a turkey sandwich tastes so much better when someone else makes it!

So surprise your family or your coworkers with some of these delightful truffles. They taste like so slaved for hours in the kitchen and if no one asks, that's what everyone will assume!

NUTTER BUTTER COOKIE TRUFFLES
from Picky Palate

1 Bag Nutter Butter Cookies (or you can use a bag of Oreo's)
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 package Chocolate Bark (dipping chocolate in blocks)
1 square of the Almond Bark for drizzling (white chocolate blocks for dipping)

1. Mix ground cookies and cream cheese until well combined. Roll into 1 inch balls and place onto baking sheet or tray. Refrigerate overnight or until very firm.
2. Melt white chocolate according to package directions. Using 2 little spoons, dip balls into chocolate and place onto parchment paper to harden. Once dry, melt square of almond bark and spoon into the corner of a Ziploc baggie. Snip the corner of the baggie and drizzle chocolate back and forth over the truffles. Let dry.
3. I enjoyed mine chilled in the refrigerator, but may be room temperature as well.

I couldn't find bark of any flavor at my grocery, so I just used baking chocolate. Baker's makes a milk chocolate dipping sauce in a microwave-ready cup - I highly recommend this! I used about 3/4 of that cup for the chocolate and then melted about 6 squares of white chocolate to dip the other half in (since I'm the odd bird who doesn't really like chocolate).

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I haven't posted many reviews of my menu items from the last couple of weeks. I wanted to save you some time and effort and tell you which ones were worth repeating and which ones were not. Unfortunately, my recipe picking skills haven't been up to par the last couple of weeks. I'm not sure if I'm trying to be too fancy or if I've just had a bad luck streak, but there haven't been many keepers. I'll start with the losers.

Castle Burger Bites - Definitely had the White Castle thing down in that they were quite oniony. The cut up bread sticks were very small and therefore challenging to cut. These just didn't have a ton of flavor as compared to my own hamburger recipe.

Turkey & Stuffing Pie - While this was acceptable in the taste department, it just wasn't anything spectacular. I realize not every recipe has to be restaurant-grade but I do strive for that. The cornbread topping was quite good and if I were to make this again, I'd at least double the amount of turkey the recipe calls for. I added some shredded chicken I had on hand. The consistency is a little on the soupy side but since it's a Rachael Ray recipe, I used her trick for "stoup" and put the cornbread on the bottom and topped it with the turkey mixture.
Creamed Corn (crock pot)- This was the best part of the meal. My only comment would be to salt and pepper the final product to suit your taste. It was a little too sweet for me straight out of the crock pot. This shouldn't be in the loser category but I wanted to keep the meal components together. This one falls somewhere in the middle.

Butter beans - Not a keeper. I had to substitute lima beans because I couldn't find frozen butter beans. I'm convinced there's a misprint in the original recipe, as there's no way 12 cups of water would cook down in just 2 hours time! The end result was too sweet for my taste buds and so not worth the effort. I'd rather have the lima beans straight out of the bag!

Crock pot Salmon - This was edible, just way overcooked. The recipe gives an hour range for cooking on high and one for low. We chose the low setting and went in the middle of her range, 4 hours. I think the salmon probably would have been cooked in 2 hours at the most. The flavor of the rub (I omitted the oregano) was good though. I wouldn't be opposed to giving this another try with some tweaking.

Broccoli Rabe (aka rapini) - NOT A FAN! This was an expensive experiment. The recipe called for 2 bunches and at $4 a bunch, I might as well have flushed $8 down the toilet! I've seen the name broccoli rabe many times before but I don't think I'd ever actually seen the stuff. I was picturing broccolini and was quite taken aback when I took the rabe out of the bag. It's like regular broccoli with leaves. The taste is quite strong and bitter. I just looked it up on Wikipedia and it said, "The flavor of rapini has been described as nutty, bitter, pungent, and "an acquired taste". I won't be "acquiring" a taste for it, thank you very much! Thankfully, this dish had tomatoes and white beans so it wasn't a total loss. Lesson learned, avoid recipes that call for broccoli rabe or be willing to make substitutions!

The Winners:
Crab Manicotti - Giada knows Italian food! This is the third recipe of hers that I've used and had great success with. The filling mixture is only enough to fill about 8-10 manicotti shells. My box had 14, so I had to end up whipping up a little extra, minus the crab, to fill the remaining shells. I didn't splurge for real crab, I just used the imitation crab but it was still quite tasty! I also halved the bechamel sauce and that was plenty. This is a keeper because I can make it the night before and then just pop it in the oven the next day. I need to find more recipes like this.

Rainy Season Chicken Soup - I generally steer clear of chicken soups because I fear they'll be watery and bland. This recipe delivers a thick soup with a great flavor. The sour cream really richens it up, while the subtle chicken, veggies, and noodles provide a healthy base. A few notes and tweaks: I would let the chopped veggies sweat and cook down a bit longer than 5 minutes. I'm not a fan of crunchy, al dente veggies, so I'd make sure they were really cooked down before adding the flour and stock. As The Review Lady suggested, I just used fresh mushrooms instead of the dried porcini. I didn't saute them in butter, I just added them in with the chopped veggies. I cooked one chicken breast with the veggies and then added a cup of shredded chicken I had on hand. I omitted the white wine because I didn't have it and you didn't miss it (well I guess I can't really say that since I've never tasted it with white wine). I couldn't find the fideo noodles either but I looked them up online and they're just short cut egg noodles. So I found a wide noodle at Meijer (not the No Yolk brand) and we loved them!

Breakfast Enchiladas - These were good but nothing outside of the box. I had to modify the recipe slightly because I realized I had failed to write several of the ingredients on my grocery list. The cheese sauce was supposed to have chiles in it, yep, forgot those. The enchiladas were supposed to have cilantro and green onions, yep, forgot those too. I just omitted the chiles, switched out the cilantro and green onions for red peppers and mushrooms, and proceeded. I used turkey sausage instead of pork and I would probably cut that almost in half next time (but then again, I'm not a huge sausage fan). I would also recommend cutting the 14 eggs down to about 10 and adding a little water to the mixture. I had way too much filling for the 8 burrito shells the recipe calls for. I had enough for 4 additional shells. I enjoyed the addition of the red pepper and mushroom more than I think I would have liked the cilantro and green onions. This is another good make-ahead recipe.
Breakfast Baklava - Yum. I usually am not a fan of processed or prepared foods. However, Pillsbury has tried to make our lives easier if we'll just let him! I still prefer to make my own biscuits, pie crusts, cinnamon rolls, etc, but in a pinch, that fat little doughboy delivers! I can still taste the difference between canned and homemade but sometimes time just doesn't allow. This one was loved by everyone and again, I assembled everything the night before!

Wow, sorry that was a long post. I was just trying to save you from repeating some of my flops. Hopefully you will enjoy some of the winners though! Here's hoping the Tangy Pot Roast is a winner!

Happy Monday!

Since there aren't too many things actually happy about a Monday morning, I thought I'd share a couple Colin-isms to hopefully make you smile. While Colin's vocabulary is slowing expanding, his ability to imitate noises and sounds has sky-rocketed! He may not be able to speak a full sentence, or even 2 words together, but he can bark like a dog, cluck like a chicken, and mock just about any other animal. As parents, Wes and I couldn't be more proud! Some children advance in different ways. Perhaps this means Colin will be a farmer or a veterinarian some day!

We enjoy treating him like a dog and make him repeat his tricks on command. Even without our instruction, when he sees an animal he recognizes, he responds without even thinking. So last night when Wes took him out of the bathtub and wrapped him in his towel, he told him he looked like a sheik. Colin immediately responded by "baaing" like a sheep! Sheep - sheik - get it? Wes and I just laughed and Wes told him that was a pretty good joke.

Another of our favorites is when you ask Colin, "How does Daddy go?" or "What sound does Daddy make?" To which Colin responds, "Grrr" in his deepest voice. Yes, apparently Daddy is a bear. When you ask him the same question about Mommy, he gets a high-pitched "Heee". I'm not sure what the association is there, I'm just glad I'm not a bear!

It's the simple things that make us smile! So don't let your Monday be a bad one, smile at a total stranger and brighten his/her day, practice some random act of kindness, or just tell someone how special they are to you. Happy Monday!

Weekly Menu for December 14-19

I've decided to make an early New Year's resolution - to use the crock pot at least once a week. Seems like a simple enough plan but somehow I always seem to deviate. This may end up being a seasonal resolution though because I'm not a fan of the crock pot as much in the hot summer months. In keeping with this, I've utilized the appliance twice for my meal plan next week. (I was careful to not plan them back to back since Wes usually lets them soak overnight.) I feel like we had a couple of disappointments last week so I'm looking forward to redeeming myself this week!

Sunday: Rainy Season Chicken Soup (from the Review Lady's blog) and grilled cheese
Monday: Breakfast Enchiladas,Breakfast Baklava, and fruit
Tuesday/Wednesday: Sweet & Tangy Pot Roast, mashed potatoes, green beans
Thursday: Crock pot Salmon, Broccoli Rabe (see below), wild rice
Friday: Turkey wraps and tomato soup

Broccoli Rabe with Garlic, White Beans, Tomatoes, and Parmesan

3 T. olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 12oz bunches broccoli rabe, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 14oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 T. olive oil in wok over medium-high heat. Saute garlic until it sizzles, then add broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes. Season with salt, and saute 5-7 minutes, or until broccoli raab is wilted. Transfer to serving plate.
Add remaining 1 T. oil to wok. Add tomatoes, and cook 5-7 minutes, or until skins brown and tomatoes begin to split, stirring occasionally. Stir in white beans, and cook 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. Spoon tomato-bean mixture on top of broccoli rabe, and garnish with Parmesan.

It's "Saul" Good

Thankfully the corny joke is not on me. That's actually the name of a realtively new local restaurant, Saul Good. For those of you Fayette Mall haters, you might not know about it since it's tucked in behind the mall in the new Fayette Place shopping center - where Old Navy, Gordman's, and a few other chain stores are located. I was hesitant to try this restaurant for a while because I heard one bad review and quite honestly, I thought the name was too ridiculous for the food to actually taste good. I believe this is an independent, locally owned restaurant. I have heard rumors the owner is considering another location out in Hamburg but I've seen no indication that it's anything but a rumor.

Another friend organized a work-related dinner there about 2 months ago. After hearing her rave on multiple entrees, I decided to give it a try. Wes and I took Colin on a Saturday and were relatively surprised at the decent crowd at 5:30. I have a habit of judging a restaurant on it's popularity and I base that on how crowded it is. It helps validate my decision if there's a good crowd. Now don't get me wrong, I don't love a crowd so much that I like to wait - but that's why we go at 5:30!

The dining area is small, yet cozy. There's an open-air kitchen with a plexi-glass shield separating the kitchen from the patrons. The staff seem to congregate along this wall, presumably waiting for their orders to be processed. Among other things, they have what looks like a brick oven for pizzas, a dessert station, and a general prep area. There's a small bar with a few high top tables, all separated by a 6 foot mahogany wall. Since the space is small, the kitchen open, and the bar only being separated by a partial wall, the dining room isn't exactly quiet. With a somewhat loud child who enjoys distractions, I'm starting to seek out restaurants like this! A little tangent, I remember when Colin was a wee baby we went to the now non-existant Don Pablos for dinner with Wes' dad. It was quite loud and the music was all but blaring. Apparently this was soothing to Colin because he proceeded to fall asleep and stay asleep during our entire dinner - no complaining here, don't get me wrong! Back to the review. The wait staff was nice enough and seem to be in abundance, as one person took our order, another brought my salad, yet another brought our food, and multiple people cleared our plates at various times. We were also personally thanked by the owner and his usual phrase, "Thanks for thinking of us." Interesting, but appreciated nonetheless.

On to the good stuff, the food. The menu is quite diverse - another feature that typically scares me since this doesn't allow the chef to focus on any one type or style of cooking. I was proven wrong because Wes ordered a restaurant favorite, Chicken and Waffles (a LA concoction), I ordered the Vegetable Sandwich, and we ordered Colin a Cheese Pizza. My sandwich came with fries but I opted for a side salad instead. The salad was pretty good and a decent size for just being a side. My sandwich, pita rather, was stuffed with seasonal fire-roasted and cubed veggies, drizzled with tzatziki (whatever that is) sauce, spring mix lettuce, cucumber, and feta cheese. My only suggestion would be to cube the cucumber to make it uniform with the other veggies. The half-moon slices were a bit cumbersome and came out totally with the first bite. Even though I had asked to substitute the fries, my sandwich still came out with the fries and I was glad they messed up. The fries were shoestring cut and tasted as if they had been drizzled with a flavored olive oil perhaps. Whatever it was, it was tasty!

Wes enjoyed his Chicken and Waffles, however I'm not sure he'd order it again. The chicken was a little greasy and not what we consider typical fried chicken. The waffle was served with syrup for topping. This entree is not for the health, calorie, or weight sensitive person!

Colin's pizza was a hit. Their pizzas are very thin crust and the toppings are unobtrusive. His was cut into small triangles and I had to ask for a to-go box halfway through our meal to hide the remaining pizza. Yes, he would have eaten the whole thing! He's a glutton!

We recently ordered takeout since our first visit was a success. Our order was pretty much the same, except Wes opted for the grown-up cheese pizza. I was sad that this time they got my substitution correct and I just got the salad. I guess I can only be lucky so many times! I did miss the fries but I just reminded myself that I didn't need them. I also sampled their Turkey Chili, as a friend had tried and recommened it to me. It was small but the perfect size so as to not overwhelm the rest of the meal. Their dessert menu is extensive but looks a bit over powering to me (that's saying something coming from this sweet tooth!). Since this meal was just as tasty as our first, I feel confident in recommending this restaurant.

The Baby-sitter's Club

Do you remember that series of books? Even me, who hates to read, has read a few of those in my time. In an attempt to not be prisoners of our own home, Wes and I decided to hire a babysitter for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. She was referred to me by a friend who highly recommended her and said she'd be good with babies. Through email conversations, I warned her that Colin had never been with a sitter and perhaps we should ease into this. We agreed to give it a trial run for 2 hours on Sunday. She arrived at 3pm and wouldn't you know it, Colin was still asleep. We purposefully picked that time so that he would have had his nap and be ready to play. As Wes and I have learned, Colin has his own agenda and our best laid plans...well you know the rest of that story.

After giving the sitter a quick run down of do's and don'ts, I went ahead and left to take full advantage of my 2 hours. Wes stayed behind so that Colin would have a familiar face when he woke up. Colin ended up waking up soon after I left. Wes brought him downstairs and the 2 of them sat on the couch across from Mandy, the sitter. Colin turned to look at her a couple times, each time staring a little harder and a little longer. Finally, he just flat out turned and looked at her. I had prepared a snack for him and she began to feed him. Well food is the key to his heart because he quickly told Daddy bye and went right back to Mandy and eating!

Wes went to the mall to do some Christmas shopping - you know, his list that includes a whopping ONE person?! He was probably able to get all his shopping done at one location in less than 2 hours. Meanwhile, I wasted part of my time because I forgot Hobby Lobby was closed on Sundays. The aggravating part is that I didn't really even need anything there. I was just going to look around because it's one of those places I never get to go. I did get some errands run, so all was not lost.

Wes got home before me and was chatting with Mandy. She said he had been the perfect angel and didn't cry or whine one time. They just played and of course, ate. It was such a relief to come home to dry eyes and happy faces! I told her she was hired and I'd be calling her again. Of course part of the success of this story is due in large parts to her looks. As I've posted before, Colin loves the ladies. He loves cute girls and can pick them out quicker than a 16-year old boy going through puberty. Ahhh, what lies ahead for me?!

It's just nice to know that we have another option now. I feel like I ask way too much of my mother. While she says she doesn't mind, I just can't abuse her. I appreciate every moment she spends with him but she needs time to herself as well!

My Friend the Crockpot

Is there anything better than coming home from work to a wonderful aroma permeating from the crockpot all the way in the garage? Opening the car door and immediately being hit with the wafting smell of dinner? Knowing that it's all ready and you don't have to prepare anything? The only drawback is the unknown, whether or not this recipe was a winner or whether dinner will be a flop. If you're a planner like me, this is a travesty! I literally only buy the ingredients needed for my menu that week. I have NO extras. I can't just whip something up from the ingredients in my pantry. Some say this is unheard of, how could I possibly live and function like this? Waste not, want not is my motto and that's what I always try to stick to. I feel like I'm wasting if I have extra cans that I'm not using. Plus, these days I'm so forgetful that I wouldn't remember that I already had 2 cans of corn and that I didn't need to buy any for "x" recipe. Whoa, I got off on a tangent. Luckily, this recipe tasted almost as good as it smelled. With a few minor tweaks and another dash of salt and pepper, this could make it to my go-to list. Every time I use my crockpot it leaves me wondering, "Why don't I use this more often?"

I would post a picture but nothing in the crockpot ever looks picture-quality to me. You'll just have to trust me on this one.

Chicken and Dumplings
(from Better Homes and Gardens)

2 cups chopped carrots (I only used about 1/2 cup)
2 cups chopped potatoes (I used 2 medium potatoes)
1-1/2 cups chopped parsnips (I used 2 and they do add a good flavor)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried sage, crushed (I omitted and replaced with oregano - personal preference)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. For stew, in a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker combine the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, garlic, bay leaves, sage, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables. In a medium bowl gradually whisk broth into soup. Pour broth mixture over the chicken.
2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.
3. If using low-heat setting, turn slow cooker to high-heat setting. With a wooden spoon, stir stew. Remove bay leaves; discard. In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch; stir into stew until combined.
4. For dumplings, in a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cheese, cornmeal, baking powder, and the 1/4 teaspoon salt. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, and melted butter. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir with a fork until moistened. Use 2 spoons to drop dough directly on top of stew.
5. Cover; cook for 25 to 30 minutes more or until a toothpick inserted into a dumpling comes out clean. (Do not lift cover during cooking.)
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

RISE ABOVE

Yeast that is. A little history behind my family and the troubles with yeast-related food items. There are those that have a green thumb when it comes to plants and there are those that don't. My mom has always said the same thing about yeast and trying to get it to rise. She claims she has something in her body that kills yeast upon contact. Maybe she's right. I'm no scientist so I don't know if that's even possible. What I do know is that I was deprived as a child of homemade yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls, and any other food containing yeast becasue of it. OK, deprived is taking it a bit too far but you get my gist. Up until now, I assumed I had inherited this yeast-killing enzyme in my body. Well my love of pumpkin made me put my theory to the test. I found this recipe for pumpkin cinnamon rolls and I just HAD to give it a try. This is where you should see the clouds part and the sun rays shine down because my Christmas miracle came early - my cinnamon rolls ROSE, and rose a lot! In fact, they rose so much I realized later I should have used a bigger pan than this recipe called for. I have always skipped over cinnamon roll recipes in the past because of (a) the yeast factor and (b) because I assumed the process was too long and complicated. Wrong on both. You already know I conquered the yeast issue and this recipe was certainly not hard. The hardest part was the waiting - isn't that a song? And haven't I said that before on here?! So some Saturday afternoon, when you have nothing to do, and your child is napping, go in the kitchen and whip these up! You'll be so glad you did!

Note: The recipe calls for sugar and molasses in the filling. That's because she didn't have brown sugar and that's a substitute. I just used 1/2 cup brown sugar.


My little helper "cleaning" the icing off the beaters!

Weekly Menu - Double Time!

I know so many of you have been anxiously awaiting my weekly menu. How have you survived? How have you known what to cook your family for dinner?! Shame on me for making you wait. To reward you, I'm posting 2 weeks worth of menu ideas. With the holidays in full swing, planning ahead is crucial and this will give me a few extra minutes to wrap gifts, decorate, or better yet, shop!

Sunday: Black-eyed Pea Cornbread Cakes w/Jalapeno Sour Cream & Orzo with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese
Notes: I was not a fan of the black-eyed pea cakes, although Colin loved them. I used the Glory seasoned peas, as the recipe suggested, and I just wasn't a fan of their seasoning. I didn't do the sour cream, I made up a little aioli of my own with mayo and enchilada sauce (it's all I had on hand). The orzo was good but it made a TON. I would definitely half the recipe next time. Don't skimp on the cheese though because that's what really makes the dish!

Monday: Tortilla Pie (recipe below because I can't remember which blog I got it from) & Mexican Slaw
Notes: The tortilla pie was good but I'd omit the cinnamon next time. The slaw was not very Mexicany and I would not repeat.

Tues/Wed: Chicken & Dumplings in the Crockpot (I know this is a Better Home & Gardens recipe but I can't find it on their site. If it's worth posting, I'll do so later.)

Thursday: Castle Burger Bites, sweet potato fries (my recipe below), Tangy Mustard Coleslaw(This has become my favorite slaw recipe. I cut some of the mayo and replace with more mustard. I just use one bag of broccoli slaw instead of the shredded cabbage, onion, and carrot. I rarely have white wine vinegar, so I just used 1/2 apple cider and 1/2 white vinegar.)

Friday: Spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, French bread

Sunday: Turkey & Stuffing Pie, Creamed Corn (crockpot), and Home-Styled Butterbeans

Monday: Crab & Ricotta Manicotti, salad

Tues/Wed: Chicken Scaloppini w/Spinach and Linguine, French bread

Thursday: Veggie quesadillas, Corn and Black Bean Salad (This has also become a favorite and my go-to corn/bean salad. I went thru plenty trying to find the right one and this is it.)

TORTILLA PIE

1 T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 T chili powder
1/8 t ground cloves (I omitted)
1/2 t cinnamon (I'd omit next time)
1 t chipotle powder (I used cumin instead)
1 t dried red chilies (I omitted)
1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
1 small can of corn, drained
2 c fresh salsa (I only used about a cup because that's all I had.)
1 c cooked rice (I used 1 lb of cooked ground beef instead.)
12 corn tortillas
1 c cheddar cheese, shredded (or more!)

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil and add in onion. When onion wilts, add in red pepper and garlic and saute until soft. Stir in spices, black beans, corn, salsa, and ground beef, if using, and heat through.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13 casserole dish and overlap 6 of the corn tortillas at the bottom of the dish. Spoon half of the bean mixture overtop and then cover with the cooked rice, if using. Top rice layer with half of the cheese, layering the remaining 6 tortillas overtop. Add the remaining bean mixture and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake until casserole is heated through and cheese is bubbling, about 20 minutes or so.

Notes: This can be prepared ahead of time by completing step 1 entirely and then refrigerating. I warmed the mixture up slightly before continuing with step 2.

SWEET POTATO FRIES
I went many years hating sweet potatoes, until one day I tried sweet potato fries at Mojito in Louisville. Love at first bite! In an effort to duplicate their smokey, yet sweet flavor, I came up with this recipe (I've never actually measured any of the spices so these are total guesstimations!).

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced and cut into french fry shape
2-3 T. olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Toss the fries in a bowl with olive oil. Top with the spices and coat well (I've found your hands are the best tool!). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread fries in 1 layer on the sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes and then flip the fries. Bake again for 15 minutes. (Times might vary depending on the size of your fries.)