Super simple salad and an Asian inspired dish of my own

I call this salad my tv salad cause it is T.B.S - tomato, broccoli and spinach. I had promised a salad at dinner the other night and had no lettuce in the fridge even after I gone to the grocery that very day (I guess it slipped my mind while I was there). I just tossed some spinach into a bowl, quickly chopped some broccoli, and threw in the last of my cherry tomatoes. I coated the salad with ranch and grated Parmesan cheese and it was a huge hit with my husband.

Yesterday I wanted to have some Asian cuisine without having to get take out. Here's my outcome!

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, dicd
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 c sugar snap peas
1/2 c thin sliced cabbage (like for a cabbage salad)
1/2 c bean sprouts
1/2 c chopped broccoli
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp ground ginger
2 or 3 dashes of sesame seed oil

Melt your butter and start cooking your veggies on medium heat. Once the onions and peppers are soft, add the ginger and the other liquids and mix thoroughly. After all the flavor has been mixed in, dish up or serve mixed into noodles or on top of noodles. Carrot and baby corn would also be good in the dish.

Enjoy everyone! Don't forget to send some feed back!

Spinach Alfredo and a creamy warm spinach dip

Fall is almost in full swing here, and the comfort of creamy food is big. Last night our creamy dish was a spinach alfredo and I added some black bean "meatless" balls and it was a big hit!

Mix and bake your meatballs while you boil your pasta in a pot. In a large sauce pan, melt 4 Tbsp of butter. Chop half an onion and add to the pan. Once the onions are starting to become translucent, add 2 cups of fresh spinach. Stir until all the spinach has wilted and then add a half cup of heavy cream and a half cup of milk. When the mixture is scalding hot, add parmaesan cheese and a hand full of shredded mozzarella and mix constantly. Turn your heat down some, the sauce will start to thicken as the cheese combines with the cream. Add pepper and oregano to your liking. Turn your heat source off, drain your finished pasta and add to the sauce. Add your meatballs when they have finished baking, mix to coat. Dish up and enjoy! I'm sure this would be fantastic with some bell pepper and mushrooms in it too.

Chips and dip is a football watching must for some people and they won't believe that you didn't get this from a jar! I got this recipe from my favorite blog - Noble Pig - but I changed it up some mainly cause I didn't really want anchovies in the dip.

Adapted from Gourmet and then adapted from Noble Pig

1/2 onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
10 oz thawed frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
8 oz cream cheese, cut int cubes
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Cook onions in butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until softened, about three minutes.  Add spinach and cook, stirring, until heated through.

Add cream cheese and cook, stirring, until melted and warm, then stir in sour cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Serve warm with crackers, tortilla chips or pita chips and enjoy the game!

Pumpkin Juice and Cheese Shell Stuffed Shells

People everywhere are getting into the swing of autumn. Pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks are back, Halloween costumes are out for buying in stores, the state fair is in full swing here and fall and winter weather clothes are coming out from storage boxes. The pumpkin is such a celebrated food in the fall, I thought I would share my favorite pumpkin recipe and it's actually a drink. This pumpkin juice is from a recipe that was on MuggleNet and I looked at the recipe just the other day and saw that it was changed from how I originally made it so here it is how I remember it.

Half a can of pumpkin puree
1/2 c pineapple juice
1 1/2 c apple juice
1 tbsp honey
water to thin *optional

Add contents to blender, blend till smooth. Taste, add more honey if you want it sweeter or a pinch of cinnamon to spice it a little. If you want to make a treat of it, add a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I'm not going to make any promises on this but when I was younger and I drank this I lost weight with it. I am going to make a pitcher of this and try and drink two glasses of it a day all through October. I hope to be able to lose some weight with it again.

Cheese Shell Stuffed Shells
I was scanning the main page of one of my favorite blogs and I found this recipe and I'm going to make it later today. Any pasta recipe from The Noble Pig has always been a winner in my book which is why I'm so excited to try this recipe!

From Better Homes and Gardens

24 dried jumbo shell macaroni
8 oz. dried tiny shell macaroni (2 cups)
2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded (8 oz.)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (8 oz)
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or pepper
1 24 oz. jar vodka sauce (Emeril is my favorite brand)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 350^o F. Cook jumbo shells according to package directions. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer shells to a colander. Rinse with cold water; drain well and set aside. In same pan cook tiny shells according to package directions. Drain; set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan combine Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, half-and-half and pepper. Heat over medium-low heat until cheese is melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Stir in tiny shells.

Spread 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Spoon cheese-shell mixture into drained jumbo shells; place stuffed shells in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining pasta sauce.

Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes more or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh basil and serve.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Squash Casserole and Tofu Nachos

Ok, it's been pretty busy here, traveling on the weekends and such. I'm back and here are the recipes that I promised in the last post!

Squash casserole is a recipe I got from a lady that is in the local quilters club. I had attended a club meeting last month and the lady passed out papers to everyone with this recipe. The next week I tried the recipe cause i was wanting to try something new and I have never been a big squash person. I probably should have cooked the squash softer the first time. The squash is chunky in it, if you want to you can try and get smaller pieces in it or just smash it. Here it is!

2 lbs yellow squash
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb velveeta cheese, cubed
3 grated carrots
1 c sour cream
1 can of chicken soup*
1 stick butter, melted
1 package herb stuffing mix**

Bake your squash however you prefer to, I cut mine in half,oil the inside with olive oil and then bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. While it is baking, grease your baking dish. Melt your butter and pour over the stuffing mix and them mix to coat. Set aside 2/3 of the stuffing as it will go on top. Put your carrots, onion, cheese, sour cream, and soup in the dish with the stuffing. After the squash is cooked, let it cool a little before you start to handle the extraction of the flesh- don't need any burns! Scoop the squash out and then mix everything together and spread evenly in the dish. Top with the remaining stuffing. Bake in the oven at 350F until bubbly and browned.
*you can substitute with cream of mushroom soup
**you can substitute with cornbread stuffing

My husband really enjoyed it, we ate half of it as our dinner that night!

Tofu Nachos
Since we have been trying to eat less meat, tofu has become somewhat of a regular in the fridge. My husband wants nachos frequently and not tortilla chips with cheese and salsa on them - he wants it with meat or rather meat substitute. So my search began on how to make tofu nachos! I don't follow a recipe to the t for these nachos, I just go with whatever feels good and whatever I have. I use firm tofu, drain the water from the container and also squeeze the water out of it otherwise it won't turn out as good. Crumble the tofu into a pan or a skillet with some olive oil, start to cook over medium low heat, stir occasionally while you chop some onion and bell pepper. Add to the pot, make sure the tofu doesn't burn/ stick to the pan. If you have cilantro, chop and add to the pan. If you are cooking in a skillet, leave out chopped tomatoes and salsa for now. Add your spices now, some chili powder and cumin and cayenne pepper to your liking. I add a little paprika for a little smokiness but my husband doesn't notice any flavors like that, he just knows it tastes good. Keep mixing everything in. Add a couple tablespoons of water as it will help the tofu absorb the flavors. Once you have everything mixed in and cooked up, top your chips with the "meat" and whichever toppings you want. I will used shredded cheese and it melts on top some. It's also great with sour cream and guacamole on top. Give me some feed back if you want the recipe!

Beans and Greens

Green beans. I absolutely hated eating them when I was growing up. I'm still not that big of a fan, but I willingly eat them now. My all time favorite way is green been casserole! Campbell's Soup provides this recipe:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Dash ground black pepper

4 cups cooked cut green beans

1 1/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.

Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with the remaining onions.

Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.

I myself make it really simple by just cooking the pre-cooked beans and the mushroom soup and don't add the milk or soy sauce or even the frech fried onions. It's how I ate it growing up and it's how I will make it for whenever I have kids.

Another way my mom got me to eat my beans was in a 3 bean casserole. Another very easy recipe.

• one can of Bushes baked beans
• one can of kidney beans
• 2 c pre-cooked green beans

Mix all in a casserole dish and bake at 350 F  till bubbling. Another thing you can add is some pre-cooked bacon, yum!

We started eating kale a few months ago and since we started eating it I had been hearing how good kale chips were. Here is the site that has led me to make 4 different kinds of kale chips. The basics to making them is to spread the leaves out on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and rub it in to coat. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, you just want the edges to be a tiny bit browned but it still maintain its lovely green color.

That's all for now! Next time- tofu nachos and squash casserole!

Tomato blog

I am so overdue on writing here! It's been a little crazy here, I've been delving into knitting and have decided I am going to make matching jackets for my mom and her two sisters for their Christmas gift, it's a free pattern and I've always wanted to knit something like this. Another part of why I haven't written is because I got behind on washing dishes (yes I have to hand wash EVERYTHING because a dish washer was never installed) and ALSO we hit a deer and we have been working on getting stuff sorted out with the insurance company and making decisions on which shop to take it to so it can be fixed... a bunch of stuff you're not here to read about. On to the food!

I posted this salad on my other page, recipes I found online. It is so simple and delicious, you would wonder how come you hadn't thought of it yourself!

Creamy Corn Salad

1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 

1-1 1/2 medium tomato, seeded and diced 

2 tablespoons green onions, chopped 

1/3 cup mayonnaise 

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh basil 

salt and pepper (optional)

Its sweet and a little crunchy and refreshing. 

I promised that ketchup recipe for you all, so here it is!

English Tomato Ketchup

2 lbs ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters        1 teaspoon salt

1 medium onion, cut into chunks              1 cup water

2 cloves garlic, cut into small chunks       1 stick of cinnamon

1/4 c packed brown sugar                          5 whole cloves

1/2 c white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar

5 whole allspice       5 peppercorns

1. Place all the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the tomatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes.

2. Remove the pot from the heat. Pour the contents into a large sieve set over a large bowl and push it through with a rubber spatula untill all the juice is extracted. Discard the remaining pulp, skin, seeds and spices.

3. Return the cooked tomato mixture to the pot and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally until it is reduced and very thick, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

And the last one for you is easy and tasty AND it's from the recipe book that we got with our bowflex: Fried Tomatoes

Slice your tomato up, usually 3 slices is enough. Heat your skillet - DO NOT USE CAST IRON FOR THIS as the acid in tomatoes react with the iron and causes bad stuff to happen to your food! Drizzle a little olive oil in your pan and put the tomato in right afterward. If you wait for it to get hot and then put the slices in, the oil will pop up at you and you won't like that. Sprinkle dried basil and oregano over the tomatoes. These will cook up soft really fast so flip once one minute after sticking the tomatoes in the pan. The recipe next calls for the removal of the tomatoes, let it cool and then eat. The way we would eat them is to take a tortilla, lay it flat and put cheese down and then toast the cheese-less  side, then put tomatoes over the cheese and have a cheese and tomato quesadilla. Its yummy and its easy to make.

Enjoy

I'm back and a couple recipes

Thursday we went to see my parents and some friends so I didn't do any cooking while we were gone and then yesterday was our two year anniversary and the only cooking I did was breakfast.

Now I promised that I would look for a black bean meatball recipe and I found one and tried it. It was GREAT! Didn't even miss the beefiness of regular meatballs. So, here it is AND I took pictures! I got this recipe from Sweeter Salt, you can check out her blog!

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 egg
1/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. sea salt
cooking spray

1.) Preheat the oven 350*F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2.) Pour your beans into a mixing bowl and mash until almost totally smooth with a potato masher.
3.) Mix in all the other ingredients with a fork.
4.) Use a tablespoon measure or spoon to scoop out meatball sized pieces of the mixture. Use your hands to roll them into ball shapes.
5.) Arrange on the cooking sheet and spray with some more cooking spray (this helps them get a little crisp).
6.) Bake for 20 minutes, until slightly golden and crisp on the outside (the inside will be soft).

The breakfast I made for our anniversary was quite simple: fried eggs, bacon and toast and hash browns. Now most people will take the hash browns from the freezer section and warm them up and eat them. Not here. Here's how to make them and make them better than the freezer kind.

Wash your potato and then grate over paper towels or if you're going to do some laundry the same day, grate them into a dish towel. You will want to get as much moisture away from your potato shavings. Pour a couple tablespoons of oil in your skillet and heat it up. Back to the potatoes - once you have squeezed as much moisture away that you can, put the shredded potato into a bowl. Add one egg, fresh ground pepper, onion salt or dried minced onion (or mince a fresh onion if your eyes can stand it) and add a couple dashes of oregano. Mix it all in, add some salt if you wish but it would be better to add salt after cooking cause you don't want to add too much in. Now to cook it! Make a couple cakes in the pan with the shredded potatoes so it is easier to flip and faster to cook as there is less area to cook at a time. After a couple minutes take a peek under the patty and see how browned it is. If it is a nice golden brown color it's time to flip. If you like it real dark let it sit a bit longer. Move the finished hash brown to a paper towel and pat off the excess oil. I made ketchup but I will save that for another post as well as leek tomato soup so get ready for a tomato focused post soon!

Enjoy!