I Can Show You the World...

Friday night a friend and I went out to eat and to the ballet! The company that did the performance is a local Christian ballet company. They are fairly well known (worldwide) and have dancers from all over the world in their company. It is called Ballet Magnificat. The professional troupe is WONDERFUL and is headed up by Kathy Thibodeaux the only American to have won the International Ballet Competition silver medal. She's amazing...50 years old and still dancing beautifully! She is married to Keith Thibodeaux, who most of you will know as little Ricky on I Love Lucy! Anyway, the ballet was called A Christmas Dream and was set to the music of The Nutcracker. It was a beautiful presentation of our struggles with sin and how Jesus rescues us and welcomes us into His eternal kingdom. Beautiful! This picture is from a dance called Kingdom Kids. The girl in the green on the left is a little girl I used to take to ballet class...Go, Katie!!! NOW, on to the food.

Before the ballet we ate at a little Mediterranean restaurant called Aladdins. It was really good and gave me leftovers. If you're ever in the Jackson, MS area and want a local, "hold in the wall" restaurant, I recommend this place. They offer chicken, beef, lamb, and vegitarian fare. Vickie got the gyro plate. I haven't had lamb in forever and this was wonderful. Well flavored and tender.

I got the chicken lula. The waitress told me that it was ground chicken, with the spices ground into the meat, shaped into kabobs. Well, it wasn't exactly in a kabob shape. To me they looked like a fish filet. But the flavor was really good...nice spices. Both plates came with fresh hummus, salad, and rice. I'll definitely go back...I can even walk to it from my apartment!

Now, here's a meme that I picked up from Stacy at Hambones. It's not really food related but it's Christmas themed and is fun!

Holiday: Christmas or New Years? Christmas for sure! I've never really done anything on New Years. Usually I babysit; most of my friends now are either married or dating, so hanging out with them wouldn't be much fun. Hopefully I can cook something up!

Cookies: Sugar or Gingerbread? Sugar - I love the simplicity of it!

Decorations: Santa or Snowmen? Snowmen, in fact I just bought some $1 snowmen glasses at Kroger today!

Decorations: Reindeer or Elves? I guess I'd pick reindeer, but really neither.

Colors: Red or Green? Hmmm...I like both, but I guess green.

Colors: Gold or Silver? I really don't know, probably silver but I'm starting to like gold a little more now.

Tree Topper: Star or Angel? An angel. It's on my parents' tree. Mine has a gaudy looking something we got in Kyrgyzstan.

Stocking Stuffer: Fruit or Candy? Well, I've never gotten fruit in my stocking and I don't know if I'd want to because I eat that ALL the time. So, I guess I'd go with candy.

Tree: Real or Artificial? Artificial.

Cartoons: Charlie Brown or Rudolph? I don't know if I've actually seen either all the way through.
Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol? I don't watch either of these but the preference would be It's a Wonderful Life.

Stocking Stuffer: Jewelry or Gift Card? If I was dating someone...jewelry. Alas, I am not, so I'll go with gift card.

Christmas List: Naughty or Nice? Niiiiice! Unless you start talking about microbiology.
Drink: Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Honestly, NEITHER

Holiday Ghost: Past, Present, or Future? I don't understand the question!

Vacation Spot: North Pole or Winter Wonderland? Winter Wonderland. I DREAM of a white Christmas.

Holiday Song: Jingle Bells or Silver Bells? Jingle Bells
Holiday Song: Silent Night or O’ Holy Night? O Holy Night!

More Fun: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Both are so different. Christmas Eve we usually go to Christmas Eve service, which I love. And it is fully of cookies...um, hello! Christmas Day is fun, too! We spend it together just relaxing and celebrating the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ, who came to be the sacrifice for us!

Lights: Clear or Multi-Colored? I like both! My tree has white but colored is more homey to me.
Ornaments: Bulbs or Bows? Bulbs
Tree Decor: Ribbon, Popcorn, or Garland? None of these.

Gifts: Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? I prefer wrapping paper.

Better To: Give or Receive? Okay, honestly they are both mucho fun, but I like giving and seeing people love the gift!

Okay, if you'd like to do this, go ahead. I'm not tagging anyone specific because I know how busy it is. But if you do this, let me know so I can check your answers out!

Kissed by a Goat

I went to a Christmas party tonight with the girls in my prayer group from medical school. We had a lot of fun! It started at 7 and I didn't leave until 10:30. We played dirty Santa, which was TONS of fun! The girl who got the gift I brought loved it and tried to hide it from people so that they couldn't steal it! I got a really cute necklace from my FAVORITE store (Ann Taylor LOFT) and it went perfectly with the outfit I had on! YAY!

We had chicken and deer sausage gumbo. It was really good. For dessert there was a pecan pie cake. Decadent! There were also appetizers of stuffed mushrooms (Super yum), cheese dip, topped crackers, Martha Washington candies, and more.

I decided to take a new appetizer called Goat Cheese Kisses. It was on the back of a real estate postcard my mom had. The recipe is from Eating Well. In the middle of goat cheese you put apricots. This took me back to my time in Kyrgyzstan. We used to get dried apricots all the time...I must say that those apricots we better than these store bought ones, but you can't beat fresh!

Anyway, I thought these "kisses" were different and tasted pretty good. The combination of goat cheese and apricots was pleasing and the nuts added a nice texture. The only drawback was that they were a bit hard to put together. When I tried to spread the cheese around the apricot, it stuck to my fingers rather than moving around the apricot. I don't know if maybe I would have had more success if I wet my fingers (like you would if making biscotti) or not. All in all these were good but I don't know if I'd make them again...my crown doesn't really have such "elegant" palates!

Goat Cheese Kisses

6 oz. goat cheese (I had 5 oz and this was plenty)

6 dried apricots, quartered (I used more than this)

3 Tablespoonts chopped pistachios or macadamia nuts

Scoop our a heaping 1/2 teaspoon* cheese. Form around a quarter of apricot. Roll in nuts.

*I stopped measuring and just used what I needed to cover the apricot. I'm sure it was MORE than 1/2 teaspoon!

I'm Done...It's Christmas Break

I finished my last exam at 2:30 today! Yay, I'm done! Now I only have 5 more months until I get to start actual hospital stuff...clinicals are coming! This means that the lack of cooking around here will stop. I am going to start my Christmas baking tomorrow and try a new appetizer for a get together a group of girls from my class is having. I'm not for sure about all my baking but I'm going to try Peanut Butter Balls, a new Molasses cookie recipe, a new Biscotti (cranberry and pistachio) recipe, and my mom's toffe. I'll probably do some chex mix or cheese sticks, too. The appetizer is a goat cheese bite with apricots in the middle. I'll let you know how it goes.

As for a recipe, I'm traveling back in time all the way to Thanksgiving! My grandmother is the pecan pie expert in the family and, as usual, made wonderful pies. By the end of the weekend, there were only two pieces from the two pies she made remaining. I'd say that's pretty good! I have made this pie once, and it turned out just great. So, I'd have to say it's pretty simple and can be done by anyone!

On a side note: the nut used in this pie is a pe-c-ah-n, not a pea can! :-) Now go enjoy!

Pecan Pie

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup karo

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons melted butter

pinch salt

1 cup pecans*

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat eggs. Add sugar and remaining ingredients. Pour all into unbaked pie shell. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes. Decrease temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes. Cover crust to prevent burning. Serve warm with ice cream.

*I like to coarsely chop the pecans.

Pie Crust

1 cup sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 T water

1/3 cup shortening

Sift flour and salt into bowl. Remove 1/4 cup flour and blend to a paste. Cut shortening into remaining flour until pieces are size of small peas. Add paste to flour mixture. Mix with fork until dough comes together and can be shaped into a ball (this is best done by putting a piece of saran wrap over the bowl, dumping it, and pressing the dough together.) Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Roll out crust to 1/8 inch thick to cover 9-inch pie pan

School Cafeteria Food

I saw a post by Cookiecrumb at I'm Mad, I Eat about her memories from her school cafeteria and LOVED the thought of talking about that. So, I'm borrowing her idea and am talking about my memories from the school cafeteria. In high school I was definitely a brown bagger. I think I bought lunch ONCE my entire time in high school. That lunch...vegetable soup and grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly! To me, that is the BEST public school lunch there is!

However, if we take a trip back to elementary school, the story changes. There is just something about an elementary school cafeteria that is comforting and nostalgic. The little tables with the round seats attached. The lines through the kitchen to get food. The smell...I don't exactly know what it is, but it brings back memories. In kindergarten and first grade the only specific memory I have is wanting to get the taco salad that had been put out first so that my chips would be soggy! Why? I DON'T KNOW!

I think most of my cafeteria memories come from 2-3 grades. There was just something about sitting at a table with my friends, dipping steak fingers in the mashed potatoes, and getting scared out of my mind by someone telling me about Bloody Mary (I slept on my back for YEARS because I thought I felt someone touch my shoulder one night after I had been told about "her."). Ice cream was best eaten by scraping the top with the plastic fork, pouring milk over it, drinking the milk (which was not much sweeter), and then eating the ice cream, which I guess was more like ice milk at that point. There is also something about cafeteria pizza. The pepperoni kind is GROSS! Those fake little red bits were always tough and too spicy for me. The sausage pizza was the kind I liked (NOW I would rather have a veggie pizza but would still choose sausage over pepperoni).

After sixth grade I started brown bagging it, but as mentioned earlier would give up my bag for a little tray with a bowl of veggie soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made like my grandmother made it, by mixing the PB and jelly together before spreading it on the bread! What fun memories from my public school years...now the college cafeteria, that's another story! ICK!

Mexican Style Chicken Soup

Last week we had some really cold weather for MS. The highs were in the mid-40's and the lows were near record teens! I know...we really suffer down here. I'd like to have some snow at some point. The last time we had snow was January 1st 2001. TOO LONG! Anyway, I decided it was perfect soup weather and whipped up a little something of my own. I think I might change it a TAD next time, but overall it was really good.

At first I was going for a tortilla soup, but I didn't like any of the recipes I found. However, they did give me good ideas for ingredients. The chicken for this turned out perfectly. Unfortunately, because I was stuyding when I made this, I don't know how long I cooked it. I just boiled it but somehow it was just right. When I cut it, I cut along the grain so that it kind of shred on its own. This was perfect for the soup. Black beans add to the nutrition of the soup by giving some fiber and antioxidants. SO, this is my submission for Sweetnicks ARF-Five-A-Day Tuesday. Stop by and check out the other entries. I just finished the leftovers tonight and they are so good!

Mexican Stype Chicken Soup

2 chicken breast (boneless, skinless), cooked and chopped/shredded

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup (or more) mushrooms

Tony's

2 cans chicken broth (I might add one more next time to make the "soup" feel last longer)

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 tomato, chopped

Cook chicken, shred, and set aside. In a dutch oven, saute onion, pepper, and mushrooms until tender. Season with Tony's seasoning. Dump in all remaining ingredients, including chicken. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or cornbread. (I used hint of lime tortilla chips...oh YUM!) ENJOY!

Corn Muffins...perfect to go with Soup

This is the perfect soup weather. In fact, I think that I could eat soup everyday. BUT, you've got to have something to go WITH the soup, right? I usually make either toast or my garndmother's cornbread. HOwever, over Thanksgiving I decided to try a new recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking From my home to Yours. I knew that one recipe of cornbread wouldn't be enough. The recipe I picked is called Corniest Corn Muffins. They turned out GREAT. This is a sweet corn muffin, which my cousin and brother loved. Natalie had two and wanted more but they were all gone! It's pretty easy to put together and Dorie even gives substitube information if you don't have buttermilk. I had used all of ours in the first cornbread recipe, so I used 2/3 cup yogurt and 1/3 cup milk, as she suggested. What a great sub! Worked great! So, try these out with your soup, gumbo, or just alone for breakfast or a snack. If you've never tried honey or jam on cornbread, it is great!

Corniest Corn Muffins

1 cup AP flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

6 Tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk (or the substitution mentioned)

3 T unsalted butter, melted

3 T corn oil (I used canola)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk (I didn't use this)

1 cup corn kernels - fresh, frozen, or canned (drained and dried)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray muffin pan (regular size). IN a large bown, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, b powder, bsoda, salt, and pinch of nutmeg if using. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Batter may be lumpy. Stir in corn kernels. Divide the better evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden adn a thin knife inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins and enjoy!

In honor of National Cookie Day

I didn't plan to do this post today but Anna at Cookie Madness alerted me (us) to the fact that today is National Cookie day. SO, in honor of the celebration here is a good, slightly healthier cookie recipe. It is from a summer edition of Cooking LIght. When I finally found dried blueberries I pulled it out and tried it. Let me say YUMMY! This was nice and light with the perfect tartness added by the blueberries but lacking the overwhelming (if you ask me) taste of chocolate. Once again, because blueberries are full of anioxidants (go ahead, eat them everyday!!!), this is my submission for Sweetnicks ARF Tuesday. Stop by and check out the other recipes.

Triple Fruit Cookies

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened (I probably used margarine, don't remember)

1/4 cup light-colored corn syrup

2 T fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups AP flour (6 3/4 oz)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice (I omitted)

1/4 cup dried blueberries *

1/4 cup dried cranberries*

1/4 cup dried cherries* (did not use, yuk!)

1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream sugar and butter (about 3 minutes). Add corn syrup, orange juice, vanilla, and egg. Beat until well combined. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Add fruit and coconut, stir gently. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pan for 1 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen (serving size - 2 cookies)

Calories: 108, Fat 3.1 g, protein 1.2 g, carb 19g, fiber 0.7g, chol 16 mg, sodium 90 mg, calc 17 mg, iron 0.6 mg.

*I don't like cherries unless fresh, so I added more cranberries and blueberries. It could probably handle a little more coconut as well.

Coming up: Chicken Mexican Soup, oh so good on a cold night like tonight!

Louisiana Gumbo

My week has been full of studying. This means that my cooking has consisted of warming up leftover gumbo, making oatmeal, microwave spinach and grilled catfish, and spinach omlette. Nothing exciting. However, making the gumbo WAS exciting. This is SUCH a good recipe. It comes straight from a Louisiana kitchen but is low fat. Don't worry, taste doesn't suffer ANY. I've had a native Louisianan tell me that it is great and my family raved over Thanksgiving.

It takes lots of chopping but really doesn't take that much time. You can even prep the night before and cook the next day. The recipe says that okra is optional; I don't understand this because, to me, gumbo isn't gumbo without okra! Also, this was the first time we've used liquid crab boil. If you don't have this and already have dry crab boil, you can use it. I think I used 2 Tablespoons of dry but just put some in and taste. I think the liquid form was spicier. This can be served with rice. We usually put the gumbo is a bowl and put a scoop of rice on top. That way you can get as much rice in your bite as you want. I think that cornbread is required for this, as well. The recipe for the corn muffin in the picture is up coming...it's from Baking from My Home to Yours!

We made this gumbo at the beginning of November but stopped after adding the chicken and sausage. Then we cooled it and put it in large ziplock bags and froze it. When we pulled it out to serve, we thawed it, added the shrimp, okra, and green onions and cooked for the remaining 20 minutes. This is great served right away or after freezing. SO, even thought it makes a LOT, it does freeze VERY WELL! FYI, we use one of those REALLY BIG (I don't know what size but it's probably 1.5 feet tall!) stock pots to make this. That's how much it makes. Now for the gumbo...

I've entered this in the Soup Challenge over at Running with Tweezers. Check out all the other recipes after December 8th.

Louisiana low fat Gumbo

1 1/2 cups flour

4 cups chopped onion

3 cups chopped bell pepper (about 1 is a cup if not too big)

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped green onions (really kind of optional)

3 T minced garlic (we used pre-minced and it was great but I usually use fresh)

2 cans rotel tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 gallon well seasoned chicken stock (Cook your chicken in 1 gallon of water and you have FRESH chicken stock; don't go buy it unless you just want to)

~6 chicken breasts

2 lb sausage, chopped (we use turkey kielbasa)

2 lb raw shrimp (we use frozen)

8 bay leaves

1 teapoon thyme

1 T. liquid crab boil

Tony's Chachere's

1 T parsley flakes

1 cup (that's all???) okra (I use a whole bag of frozen, I think about 12 oz)

Place flour in baking pan and put in 400 degree oven. Stir occasionally with wooden spoon until pecan brown color is obtained ( probably could have gone further here). Season chicken well with Tony's and boil in gallon of water until done. Chop. Boil sausage (if uncooked) in water until done, drain.

Saute veggies except green onions in 1 cup chicken stock. Add roux (cooked flour) to beggies followed by hot stock. Add tomates, tomato sauce, W. sauce, bay leaves, and thyme. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add chicken, sausage, and crab boil. Cook for 30 minutes. Add shrimp, green onion, parsley, okra, and Tony's to taste. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot with rice an cornbread and a green salad!

Apple Pie...no wait! Blueberry Cobbler

This summer we had a peach pie at my grandmother's house. My brother asked if it was apple. I told him it was peach but would he eat apple. He said, "Yeah, I like that." Sister remembers these things! Fast forward to November. I asked Philip if he still liked apple pie because I wanted to make it for Thanksgiving dessert. Surprise, surprise! He said what he really wanted was that "blueberry pineapple stuff with the cake on top...Yum!" If you knew my brother, you would know that this is rare. SO, being the doting sister that I am, I informed my mom that blueberry cobbler would be one of the desserts on the table.

During the summer we use those delicious fresh blueberries that are available. However, as it is November, we used frozen. This still works perfectly. This is a pretty sweet dessert. In fact, I had several people comment on its sweetness and I had already cut down on the sugar that it called for! You could probably get away with using only 1/4 cup of the 3/4 it calls for! Philip doesn't like nuts, so I always put nuts on half and leave the other side plain. This dessert is pretty simple. I didn't even realize it until I was typing, but it is fairly dump-and-bake. Only one dish to wash! Even though this is a sweet dessert, it contains LOTS of antioxidant rich blueberries, so it is my submission for Sweetnicks ARF Tuesday. Stop by her place for other delicious recipes.

Blueberry Cobbler

1 12-14 oz. (whatever the large size is) crushed pineapple

3 cups (I use more than this, about 1.5 bags frozen) fresh or frozen blueberries

3/4 cup sugar (probably use less unless you REALLY like it sweet or are afraid your berries are sour)

1 box yellow or butter cake mix

1 stick margarine, melted

1/4 cup sugar (This gives the top a little crunch, but you don't have to use it)

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour undrained pineapple into 13 X 9 pan. Put berries on top of the pineapple. Sprinkle with sugar. Open cake mix and sprinkle over the berries. Pour melted margarine over the cake mix. Top with chopped nuts and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes. Open oven and use a spoon to poke holes in the top of the cake mix so that the juices from the fruit come through. Return to oven for 10-15 more minutes (a TOTAL time of 35-40 minutes) or until browned and bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream.

Green Beans Take 2 - Mushrooms

This is one of my favorite ways to have mushrooms. I decided to do these last Thanksgiving becuase I don't like having ONLY casseroles as the vegetable choices...this is how my family works! After the meal, my cousin said that they were the best green beans he had ever had...WOW, what a complement for such a simple dish! Since then I've taken them to prayer group and been asked multiple times how to make them. I have come to the conclusion that the simpler a dish is, the more impressive! I cook these a little longer than some people might. In the South we like our veggies tender. If you like more crunch to your beans, you could probably cook them according to package directions! :-)

If you use Kroger, use their normal sized bag of beans for these instruction (2) and the mushrooms in the bag. Also, this can easily be halved for a smaller family.

Green Beans with Mushrooms

2 packages frozen green beans (or one LARGE bag)

one bag/carton mushrooms

seasonings

Put a large pot of water to boil. When boiling, put beans in and cook until tender (or the texture you desire). Drain green beans. Saute mushrooms using PAM/cooking spray for oil. When tender, add green beans and season with garlic powder, Nature's Seasoning, etc. Eat up!

Christmas Meme

This isn't really a food post but it's a fun meme and includes food questions! I got this meme from Stacy at Hambones. Back early next week with recipes!!!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Neither really...spiced tea

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He puts them on the couch in piles for the right person. Sometimes little presents are wrapped. Every once in a while Rudolph gives presents, too!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Well, we have two trees. The one with the colored ornaments has colored lights. It is in our den. The other tree is a pencil tree with a gold, white, and silver theme. It has white lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Maybe that's my problem, ;-), we have no mistletoe!

5. When do you put your decorations up? We put them up today at home and I"ll put them up tomorrow at my apartment. So, the weekend after Thanksgiving is when we do it traditionally.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmmm...I think cornbread dressing or squash casserole.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: I think one of my favorites is trying to stay awake with my cousin one night to see Santa. We were on the fold out couch in the den, next to the living room where Santa would come. She said she alread "knew" about Santa, but played along. I fell asleep VERY quickly! However, I think one of the best Christmases was when we livied in Kyrgyzstan. That was the first year that I bought my mom a present on my own; I was in fifth grade. It was just a little crystal swan, but I guess I realized how much joy GIVING can bring!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly have NO IDEA!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Nope! We wait until Chrstmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? The tree in the den has more "homey" ornaments. They are ornaments that my mom's preschool students gave her, our childhood ornaments (although, I have now claimed mine for my own apartment tree), "tacky" ornaments, anything with color. The tree in the front foyer is a pencil tree with crystal, white, and gold ornaments. It's a little fancier. A lot of the ornaments are balls and angels.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! However, we haven't had snow since New Year's Eve 2000! I think it's time for some more! Anyone want to send me one good snow for the year?!

12. Can you ice skate? Yep! In fact, that sounds like a good idea. Maybe I'll round up someone to do that with me the week before I go home for Christmas.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't really know what my favorite gift was from Christmas but last year the whole time was good because just about everything was a surprise. My mom has me figured out! Last year, I wanted a Nativity Scene to put out. Mama said that after Thanksgiving she had a surprise for me. We went shopping that Saturday and I saw a nativity scene that I really like and couldn't decide if I should buy it. Mama told me to hold out until we checked another store. That night she gave the the surprise...it was the EXACT SAME nativity scene that I had picked out at that store. She had bought it 2 weeks earlier at Mistletoe Marketplace! That was SO MUCH FUN!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family, friends, and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, a precious gift from God sent to redeem us for Himself...the only way to eternal salvation.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Hmm...this one really is hard. I guess I just like traditional Chrstmas cookies and candies. I don't really have a favorite Christmas cake or pie.

16. What tops your tree? The den tree has a crocheted angel and the living room tree has a white pointy thing with gold sparkly on it.

17. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving...especially when I know it's a surprise for the person receiving.

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I just LOVE all Christmas music...I don't think I have a favorite.

19. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? Yum.

20. What do you serve for Christmas dinner? We usually have (edit, I have been corrected) rib roast and Thanksgiving type sides. However, this year, I think it's just going to be the four of us, so I don't know what we'll do.

Once again, I'll tag some of y'all but if you don't get to do it, don't worry about it!

1. Alicat of Something So Clever

2. VeuveClicquot of Sugar Delirium

3. Linda of Day to Day Rambling

4. Paula of Cookbook Junkie

5. Jennifer of Weekly Dish

6. Erika of Tummy Treasure

Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving is over and it was a GREAT holiday! We have 23 adults, 3 children, and one baby in our house for the past 2 days. LOVED IT! Here's a round-up of what we had:


Smoked turkey














Cornbread dressing














Green beans and mushrooms














Sweet potato casserole and broccoli casserole














Squash casserole














Salad, cranberry salad, and rolls. Desserts included pecan pie, chocolate chip pound cake, and blueberry cobbler. Recipes for some of these will come later, but for now just enjoy the eye candy!

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

It's been about three months since I had stuffed peppers and I decided it was time to have them again. However, I tried something different this time and REALLY liked it. I make a Mediterranean style pepper. I splurged and got a red bell pepper (I think those are my favorite!). Then I cooked some eggplant, mushrooms, and shrimp. This was combind with brown rice and feta for a delicious and healthy dish! Because of all the veggies, this is my entry for Sweetnicks ARF-Five-A-Day Tuesday! Check there tomorrow for other healthy dishes, just perfect for detoxing after Thanksgiving or just enjoying as a healthy meal or snack.

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

3 bell peppers of your choice

1 globe eggplant

handful of mushrooms

1 small can of salad shrimp*

feta cheese

Nature's Seasoning

garlic powder

1 cup brown rice, or more if you like a lot of rice

fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the tops off the peppers and cut them in half lengthwise. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, put the peppers in, and par-boil for 10 minutes. Remove and put the peppers in a baking dish. Cube the eggplant. Put eggplant and mushrooms in a saute pan. Season with Nature's Seasoning and garlic powder. Cook until tender. Add shrimp and cook until heated through. Add hot rice and a handful of feta cheese (Sorry! I didn't measure, just used my eyes!). Stir until blended well. Scoop the filling into the peppers. If there is extra you can either freeze it for later use or let it overflow into the baking dish; some people, like my brother, only like the filling and will eat it for you! Grate fresh Parmesan cheese over the peppers. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.

I served this with salsa. You could also add canned tomatoes to the dish prior to putting the peppers in the dish. Enjoy!

*This can be made vegetarian easily by leaving out the shrimp.

Do Monkies Live Here?

I know, I know! Somehow I keep posting banana bread recipes. This one is also very good. It comes from a Guiltless Desserts Class that I attended a couple of years ago and The Everyday Gourmet. The recipe is acually for a Banana Cake but I put it in a loaf pan and omitted the frosting...viola...banana bread!! Because the recipe is actually for a cake, this is extremely moist. This time I decied to try it with a bit of Splenda instead of all sugar. I think it turned out find; you couldn't really tell the difference. Roomie liked it, too. I'll include the topping directions in case you want to use this in its original cake form. I've never actually made the topping but it looked good at the class.

Banana Bread (or Cake with Macadamia Nuts and Coconut)

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup granulated sugar)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

sprinkle cinnamon (I KNOW I use more than a sprinkle!)

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Spray 9X4 loaf pan. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl. Combine the banana and the next 6 ingredients (through egg) and beat for 1 minute or until well blended. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until blended. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool and serve.

FOR CAKE:

Spray 9 inch round cake pan and line with wax paper. Spray the paper as well. Follow mixing instructions above. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, remove from pan, and peel off wax paper.

Topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon water

2 teaspoons butter

2 Tablespoons chopped macadamia nuts (toasted)

2 Tablespoons sweetened flaked coconut

Combine brown sugar, water, and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, sitr constantly. Remove from heat and stir in nuts and coconut. Spread over cake and serve warm.

"Bran"d new Recipe...So Good

I'm not sure where this recipe is from except that it is in my mom's recipe box. I have been using wheat bran on my yogurt at breakfast and have been meaning to use some to make bran muffins. I finally decided to use it when I realized that I had this recipe. These muffins were VERY good. They are not the typical sweet muffin that you would get in a bakery, but these muffins have a lovely "scent" of maple syrup that makes it just right. These are good to start your day with some fiber or to go along with soup. Just try and enjoy!

Top-Notch Bran Muffins

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup toasted wheat bran (I didn't see the part about toasting it, so I didn't do it)

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

Raisins (optional, I didn't use)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Add wet to dry until moistened. Stir in raisins, is using. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes or until brown. Makes 24 mini-muffins or 12 regular.

VARIATION:

Add 1/4 cup banana and 1/4 cup nuts

A Bushel of Fun...and Apples

WOW, last post was my 100th post! I didn't realize it until I switched to Beta! Thanks for all of you who have joined in and have commented! It's really an encouragement to me and makes me want to keep trying new things. Now on to the recipe!
Okay, so I didn't really have a bushel of apples, but I did have a Sunday School fellowship last night and the girls were responsible for desserts. Normally I would just make a cookie or cake, but this time I decided to make an apple crisp. This recipe is from the Quaker Oats site. When I pulled it out of the oven, I was in LOVE with the smell. It was so cinnamony and just like a fall dessert should smell! It taste just as good, although I think it was just a tad too sweet. The recipe below is with the changes that I made. I think next time, I might decrease the sugar in both the topping and the filling. If you want a good smell in your house and a dessert that's not so bad for you, it's made from fruit isn't it, try this one out! With the apples in this recipe, it is my entry for Sweetnick's ARF-Five-A-Day Tuesday. Check out all the other recipes and pick one out to try for yourself.

Autumn Apple Crisp
4 cups peeled, cored and thinly sliced baking apples (I used 2 small gala apples and 2 large Granny Smith. As you can tell, I didn't peel them. To core, but in quarters then cut out the core on a slant. This is super easy to do)
2 T lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine
1/2 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 2-quart baking dish.
In large bowl, combine apples and lemon juice. Stir in granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; toss to coat. Spoon mixture into baking dish.
In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour and remaining cinnamon; mix well. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; stir in oats. Sprinkle over apple mixture.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Melt in Your Mouth

For some reason these cookies make me think of Christmas. I don't know why because there is nothing "Christmas-y" about them. Maybe it's because they are a sugar cookies. They just have more of a crisp but melty texture. I decided to make them last night and take them to the press box for the last football game. I've been calling the tackles all season for the home games of my Alma Mater, Mississippi College. When the game was over, one the, this is said with all respect, "pressbox rats" (a college administrator who probably shouldn't be in there officially but we traditionally let just about anyone in there, we're only D-2) asked why I hadn't been bringing cookies all season! There were no cookies left and this makes a LOT of cookies. I think they were a success!

Melt Aways
1 cup butter I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup margarine
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
4 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla (!)

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugars. Add oil gradually. Beat until light yellow and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and vanilla. Chill 1 hour. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place on sheet and flatten with fork. Bake at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

Easy as Pie...but not!

As I mentioned last night, we had friends over for dinner and I made tilapia. Although I don't have pictures of them, I'm going to give the recipe for the potatoes we had as well. The recipe is from In Good Company, a cookbook from the junior league of Lynchburg. Tilapia is one of my favorite fish and it is so easy that ANYONE can do it! So, here goes!

Mustard Roasted Potatoes
6 medium sized red potatoes, cut into chunks
1/3 cup spicy mustard (I used yellow because that's all I had)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T olive oil (I used less)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used parsley and oregano b/c I didn't have Italian seasoning)
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine mustard, olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning in a bowl and mix well. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the mustard mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and shake the bowl gently to evenly coat the potatoes with the mustard mixture (I just stirred it!). Arrange the potatoes in an even layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes (mine took about 40) or until the potatoes are tender. Put in a serving dish and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Tilapia
Fresh tilapia filets (you could probably do with frozen as well, just thaw)
desired seasonings: I use garlic powder, Tony's or Natures seasoning, and Parsley

Preheat the oven to 425. Season both sides of the fish with the seasonings. Spray a broiling pan or glass dish and place the fish on the pan. Bake for 12 minutes (this is the perfect time!). Remove and sprinkle with fresh parmesan if desired. Enjoy!

*This last time I tried to do a breaded form with fresh bread crumbs, parsley, and Parmesan. I don't think I really liked it that much. I'll probably stick to the original form from now on! If tomatoes are in season, they are really good spread over the fish before baking but canned tomatoes don't work.

Dinner with Friends

Just a quick update tonight...recipes in later posts. We had friends over tonight for dinner. It was M's birthday a couple of weeks ago, but I was visiting my parents. So, J and M came over tonight. I made baked tilapia, probably my favorite, with a new roasted potato recipe, fresh baked bread, and squash. It was a really nice meal. Then roomie made a chocolate oreo pudding dessert. We had a nice visit and break from studying. If you had been a fly on the wall you would probably wonder how some of our conversations started! Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe and pictures. For now, I'm going to bed! Tomorrow I have class and a meeting with my preceptor so that I can start learning how to be a doctor! :-)

Mexican Baked Fritatta

One of my favorite summer meals is a garden fritatta. It has summer squash, zucchini, onions, and tomato baked in eggs with some mozzarella cheese and feta. It is YUMMY! However, right now, squashed as quite expensive, but I was in the mood for fritatta. Since my diet has consisted of soup and grits over the weekend due to a lovely, appetite suppressing cold, I figues I should come up with something that would fit the bill! I did have single TINY zucchini to use but needed more veggies to add. Open the freezer door and, tada, I see a bag of Mexican veggies. I wouldn't use this particular mix just to eat, so it was the perfect thing to use for the fritatta.

I wanted to use the right seasonings to make it Mexican. My original recipe uses more Italian type seasonings. So, I decided to use some cumin and red pepper. However, I wasn't sure of amounts and think that I could use more of both next time. Needless to say, it was still good. I would also use more salsa than I did. Because of all the wonderful veggies in this dish, it is my addition to Sweetnicks ARF Five-A-Day Tuesday. Check out her blog Tuesday for the other wonderful entries!

Baked Mexican Fritatta
1 small zucchini
1 bag Mexican style veggie Mine contained corn, red pepper, broccoli, and cauliflower. I still have some corn left over but used all of the broccoli and cauliflower.
4 eggs I actually used 3 eggs and 3 T egg substitute (trying to use it up)
1 cup milk
1 clove garlic, minced
onion flakes, sprinkle
red pepper, oregano, cumin, Nature's Seasoning "to taste" Sorry I don't have measurements, I just put some in until it "looked right!" Trust your cooking instinct!
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese or marbled cheese I didn't use this much cheese, probably more like 1/2 - 2/3 cup
salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook veggies in a microwave safe container, covered but not sealed, for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Drain veggies. Whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, onion flakes, and seasonings. In a pie pan sprayed with cooking spray, put cooked veggies. Sprinkle with cheese (reserve a little for the top). Top with salsa. Pour egg mixture over this. Sprinkle with reserved cheese for a little color. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

"Cup"cake Walk

My church has a Harvest Carnival every year on halloween. This year, they asked people to make cookies, brownies, or cupcakes for the cake walk. Well, I have been really wanting to make cupcakes but didn't know what to do with them, so this was the perfect opportunity to satisfy my craving. I don't know that I've ever made homemade cupcakes and wanted to do that, not that any kid would really care! So, I went in search of a non-chocolate cupcake. I decided that I probably shouldn't do anything with peanuts in it because of allergies. Pretty soon I found the perfect simple recipe from Sara Moulton on the Food Network site. I decided not to do the homemade icing, opting for a simple vanilla from the store topped with a couple of caramel-chocolate swirl chips. This cupcake has a nice vanilla taste (I made mini cupcake to taste) but I'm not sure of the true texture. They looked good to me! If you want to use the icing originally with the cupcakes, click on the link to Sara Moulton. It's buttercream type icing.

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing: Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows (I used store bought)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Yield: enough for 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 (9-inch) layer cake

If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between 2 (9-inch) round cake pans and bake the layers for 30 to 40 minutes.

9 Weird Things meme

I have been tagged for a meme by Gail at Hambones. I'm doing this during class...so a recipe post will come later today! Okay, the meme is 9 weird things about me. Here goes...

1. The middle toe on my right food is smaller than all the others...it looks like it only has one joint. Okay, looks weirder than it sounds!

2. I (like Gail) like soggy cereal.
3. I'm from the south but HATE sweet tea!
4. I DESPISE stink bugs but they seem to like me...I've been ATTACKED while picking blueberries!
5. I'm a Cubs fan...if you know baseball, you know that's wierd...especially since I don't live in Chicago!
6. When I was little, I liked to mush up cake and mix it together with the ice cream. Mama told me it was gross and tried to stop me...I usually figured out a way to do it anyway.
7. I think that almond extract is gross but love almonds.
8. I can't snap my fingers or whistle. Well, I can whistle one note but that's all!
9. Raw pork (especially loin cut) grosses me out, yet I'm going to be a doctor! Beleive it or not, doctors do get grossed out, they just learn to hide it well.

I tag Erika, VeuveClicquot, and Peabody. If anyone else wants to participate, feel free! If I tagged you and you can't or don't want to do this, no pressure! Also, feel free to make it as "foodie" or not as you want.