Jumpin' Right Back

Mid-November, my sweet baby girl had her first bout of strep throat.  The night before, she said that her tummy hurt but we figured it was just full from supper.  She woke up the next day and I rushed to get her ready for school.  After we got dressed she continued to complain about her tummy and was just more whiny than usual.  Poor baby trying to smile for the camera.

Poor thing had a fever of 101.5.  I looked at her throat and it just looked like strep.  I know it sounds awful but I was praying it was strep...that is treatable!  David said she took the shot like a champ and the nurse said she was such a big girl.  About 6 hours later she was asking to go to children's choir.  All the while, my throat was starting to hurt and I was just done with the day.  Thankfully, we are a couple of doctors and David picked up some medicine for me to start that night.  By the next day, K and I were back to our normal selves! 

YAY!  Just in time to do the next installment of Cooking by Letter!  At this point, we were still doing gluten free cooking, so I subbed out rice flour for the all purpose flour. 

The "J" recipe was "Johnny Cakes."  K thought this was great fun.  Basically, it is little cornbread pancakes.  They were really good, especially hot.  David and I had jelly on ours. 

Later that week, David a pork sandwich with the johnny cakes as the bread.  He said it was pretty good.  I'd definitely recommend trying them.  Kids would think they were so much fun.  They'd go great with soup!

Jumpin' for Johnny Cakes
1/2 cup rice (or AP) flour
1 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup hot milk

- Pour all dry ingredients into a medium bowl.
- Stir in the egg and milk.  The batter will be lumpy.
-* Heat the griddle until it is hot.

-Drop spoonfuls of batter onto the pan in half dollar sizes (I let K do this...with close supervision).
-* Flip eat cake with a spatula when edges brown.  Cook until golden.
ENJOY! 

Another Fish in the Sea

One of the things that I've found that D and I both really like for dinner is fish.  I'm liking that!  We typically use salmon, tilapia, or catfish.  I've tried to find trout but the stores here just don't have it.  So, a couple of months ago, I bought (unfortunately) frozen mahimahi.  One of my favorite dishes at Julep is the mahi mahi sandwich.  At work that day I searched for mahimahi recipes.  I guess most people just have the typical fish recipes because not many were very "special." However, I did find a recipe that looked interesting. 

It was coated in hashbrown potatoes and prepared horseradish.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly but I think it was pretty close.  This was one of those recipes that tastes fine but didn't blow my socks off.  I think D and I had the same opinion of it.  To go with it, I pulled out some of the hashbrowns, formed them into patties and topped it with cheddar cheese then baked it in the oven alongside the fish. Next time I might would try the saute method the recipe called for...my problem was that I left the recipe at home!  Baking worked out really well, though.  D enjoyed that but K refused to try it.  Oh, well...one day she'll try!

Horseradish MahiMahi (pretty much halved this but think I way overdid the horseradish!)
1 cup shredded potatoes, precooked and thawed
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (I probably used 2 tablespoons...oops!)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 pieces mahi mahi
4 teaspoons reduced fat mayo

Preheat oven to 400.  Combine the potatoes, horseradish, and mustard.  Spread the mayo on the fish then top with the prepared potatoes.  Place the fish on baking sheets and place in preheated oven.  Bake for 13-15 minutes or until fish flakes.  *The recipe had this cooked in a skilled by sauteing.  You heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Place the fish in the pan potatoes down and cook until browned (4-5 minutes). Turn over gently and reduce to medium heat and cook until fish flakes.*  Enjoy!

One of his Favorites

A couple of weeks ago, I asked D what he thought we should have for dinner.  He mentioned spaghetti.  Now, as long as I can remember, I have not been a fan of spaghetti.  Whenever we had it when I was a little girl I was less than enthused when that was on the menu for dinner...but I ate it.  He also suggested fish.  So, I chose fish but made macaroni and cheese to go with it.  That's one of D's favorites!  I haven't really made mac and cheese except for the kind from the blue box. 

So, I went in search of easy MC recipes.  I found one here at Sunday Baker.  I didn't use her exact recipe but based mine on it.  It was quick, easy, and lightened from a normal MC recipe.  I took some whole wheat egg noodles but when I got to D's house, he had pulled out some elbow macaroni; so, I used that.  Not sure how much it was, but it seemed to be almost the whole bag. 

Since that time, I've used the same recipe with half a bag of whole wheat egg noodles.  This takes all off 10 minutes to make.  Just boil the noodles.  While they cook, you make a sort of beschemel sauce, add cheese, and then stir the drained noodles into the sauce.  I thought it turned out well.  D said it was really good...and gave him lots of leftovers!  :-)  Try it soon...goes great with fish.

Quick homemade Mac and Cheese
your favorite noodle (elbow macaroni, egg noodles, rigatoni, etc)
2 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons white
1 cup milk
4 oz. cheese (I used 1/2 block of sharp cheddar), shredded

Boil water, put noodles in water and cook until done.  Meanwhile, put margarine and flour in a saute pan over medium heat.  Stir together until "paste" forms.  Then add milk and whisk together.  Cook until a thick sauce forms.  Add the cheese and stir until melted.  When noodles are done, drain and then stir into the cheese sauce.  Enjoy!

Five months

Over the past five months, I have been posting faithfully every Monday (except for last week!).  This has been in conjunction with other bloggers to try and do something different this year. 

With Eat. Live. Be. we set goals for ourselves.  Some people wanted to lose weight.  Others wanted to work out more.  Others wanted to give up certain foods/drinks.  What did I want to do?  Well, I wanted to cook a real meal at least twice a month.  How did I do?   I'd say I succeeded.  I didn't necessarily pull out all the stops, but I made meals other than simply roasted veggies thrown into some eggs.  Could I do better?  Sure!  What do I need to change for the upcoming month?  Well, maybe I should try and have friends over more?  I don't do it that often.  Maybe make some little cold salads (not my typical green salad) for lunches?  We'll see!  Still going to try and cook twice a month.  I've still got lots of recipes to try!

One yummy meal I made a couple of months ago was this simple sauteed flounder topped with sauteed mushrooms and onions. 

Along side I had cous cous (yes, from the box!) with roasted broccoli.  Simple but definitely required cooking!  After I ate the fish, I used the leftover broccoli, mushrooms, and onions to make a veggie couscous for lunches that week. 

Great two for one cooking session!

Sarah Caron - http://www.sarahscucinabella.com/
•Cate O’Malley - http://www.sweetnicks.com/
•Chris Arpante - http://www.melecotte.com/
•Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
Joanne - http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/
Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
•Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
•Leslie - http://www.thehungryhousewife.com/
•Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
•Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
•Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com/
Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com/

Taste the Rainbow

No, I'm not talking about skittles!  I'm talking about your vegetables...but it sounds so much more pleasant to eat a rainbow than "eat your veggies."  :-) 

This week in Eat. Live. Be. we are talking about how to get all of our vegetables in.  To me, one of the easiest ways is to make one of your meals a nice BIG salad.  You can easily get 2-3 servings of veggies and maybe even a fruit in depending on what you put on there.  Another simple way to eat more veggies is to decide to eat a meatless meal once or twice (or more) a week.  Yes, you can have good filling meals with no meat...in fact, sometimes it can be more filling because lots of vegetables have so much fiber that they fill you.  If all that is hard, a simple way is to think about what colors you have eaten!  If you really do "taste the rainbow" then you have gotten 5-6 different veggies in you and lots of different vitamins.  So, this week (or tomorrow!) try to "taste the rainbow." 

I did this recently in name a deed!  I had seen a recipe for Moo Shu Vegetables that I wanted to try.  The only problem was that I didn't want to use sprouts.  Well, I saw a recipe on a friend's (new) blog and they used bamboo shoots...aha, perfect!  So, I got a bag of rainbow! slaw, some bamboo shoots and added a few things of my own choosing and whipped up a batch of my own Moo Shu Vegetables.  Let me just say YUM!  If you like Chinese veggies...no, not sweet and sour, sorry!...you'll like this. 

1 bag (12oz) rainbow or broccoli slaw
1/2 bag mushrooms
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut in half
1 small can bamboo shoots (1.5 cups)
2-3 eggs
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons (or a little more!) reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoon Catalina dressing (this was my addition)
3 green onions, sliced

Heat up a large skillet.  Slightly beat eggs, then cook until just scrambled.  Remove from pan.  Place asparagus, mushrooms, garlic, and broccoli slaw in the pan.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add soy sauce and bamboo shoots and cover with a lid, cooking for 3 minutes at a time then stirring.  Cook until veggies are tender.  Return eggs to pan and add green onions.  Cook until eggs are warm again.  Add a tad more soy sauce (if desired) and stir in dressing.  Serve over rice, noodles, or salad.  Enjoy!

Sarah Caron - http://www.sarahscucinabella.com/
•Cate O’Malley - http://www.sweetnicks.com/
•Chris Arpante - http://www.melecotte.com/
•Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
Joanne - http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/
Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
•Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
•Leslie - http://www.thehungryhousewife.com/
•Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
•Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
•Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com/
Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com/

Broccoli Casserole

Anyone remember that yummy broccoli casserole from childhood?  You know, the one that was oh so cheesy because it was full of velveeta?  The one with crushed Ritz crackers on top, soaked in butter?  That one, yeah, that one!!!  Oh...I love that recipe.  But it is, despite being a broccoli dish, not that great for you! 

So, in my quest to cook more, I made this yummy dish from Cooking Light.  It is a broccoli casserole that has cheddar cheese in it with a thickened sauce.  The recipe calls for Melba crackers as the topping, but I used crushed pita chips and they were great!  Definitely a comfort food redone!

Broccoli and Parmesan Casserole from Cooking Light August 2006 (!)
8 cups coarsely chopped broccoli (I used 2 of the "bunches" sold at my grocery store)
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1 cup water + 1 chicken boullion cube (or 1 cup chicken stock)
1 cup reduced fat shredded SHARP (very improtant for flavor!) cheddar cheese (swiss might work as well)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided (this really added to the flavor)
1 cup pita chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cook broccoli until crisp-tender, drain.  In a small sauce pan, place flour and dry mustard over medium heat.  Gradually whisk in the milk and stock.  Cook for 8 minutes or until thickened.  Stir constantly.  Remove from the heat and add the cheddar cheese and 6 T of parmesan.  Stir until melted.  Stir in broccoli and coat with sauce.  Pour mixture into a 13X 9 dish.

Put the pita chips in a food processor and pulse until crumbs.  Combine with remaining parmesan and sprinkle over broccoli.  Spray with cooking spray.  Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  Enoy!

Fresh is BEST!

Over Thanksgiving, my brother really wanted to go to the Russian restaurant we found.  However, his wife and I both didn't feel like driving the hour and 20 minutes to get there...cars are not our friends!  Anyway, Philip decided that he wanted ribs.  So, after shopping, we went and got some ribs at a local restaurant.  When we got home, he said he wanted fries to go with them.....ooops, no fries!  So, he and Kenna made some.

  After he made them and I tasted them, I had memories of Daddy making them when I was little.  Let me just tell you...homemade fries are SO much better than the frozen variety...and they are really simple.  You just cut your potatoes into the size and shape that you want, season them, and fry them.  Not sure what oil we used, but I know that peanut oil is a good frying oil because of the high smoke point. 

You can flick some water or flour into the oil to check it for being ready to fry.  If it sizzles they it's ready.  Check out these beauties! 

Homemade Fries
potatoes, cut into size and shape you want
seasonings
oil, for frying

Heat oil in a large, thick pot or frying pan.  Meanwhile, cut potatoes into wedges.  Season with whatever seasonings you like.  You can even use some flour.  To test oil, flick some flour into it.  If it sizzles and bubbles you're ready to fry.  Place the potatoes into the hot oil.  Allow to cook until golden brown.  Pull out with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.  You might want to add extra seasoning when you do this.  Enjoy!

Welcome Baby Dinner Part 2

When I was trying to decide what to make along side the pork loin for my friends, I knew that I was going to do roasted squash and zucchini.  I made that one time for them before and they really enjoyed it.  But I wasn't sure what else to make.  I didn't really want to do potatoes au gratin, though that is what I think of because it's what my mom usually makes.  I thought about dirty rice but I wasn't sure about my skills vs. the dad's taste for rice...he's Asian and has a keen tongue when it comes to rice.  So, I started a search which ended on cheese grits.  The recipe is from Ina Garten's book The Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics.  I have had this book for a while and haven't made anything from it...but I really should.  It is a beautiful cookbook with yummy recipes. 

Anyway, the grits were super easy to make (after I found the grits in the store...I was convinced that it was NOT the "cook in 5 minutes grits"...but it was!) and turned out delicious.  They even reheated well.  So, grab some 5-minute grits and make this quick dish for your family.  Come back for so easy, flaky (though not puffy) biscuits)!

Creamy Cheddar Grits adapted from The Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics
1 cup quick-cooking grits (the 5 minute kind)
1 1/4 cups milk (she called for half and half but I didn't get that)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I just used a spoon of Brummel and Brown)
1 1/2 cups strong flavored cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Boil 4 cups of water in a large saucepan.  Add 1-2 teaspoons salt then add the grits in a slow stream, constantly stirring.  Reduce heat to low and simmer (stir occasionally) until the grits thicken.  This takes around 5 minutes.  At this point, add the half and half (or milk...it works just fine!) and butter/margarine to the grits and stir.  It will thicken as it cooks.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.  Cover, reduce heat to low again, and cook (stir occasionally) for 45 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese, green onions, and pepper.  Season to your taste and enjoy!!!

Quick and Easy Side

First of all, PLEASE forgive me for the lack of photography skill lately.  I've gotten a bit lazy recently but will improve soon...I promise! 

As summer comes to an end, you've gotta take advantage of those yummy garden vegetables.  A really quick and easy was to do that is to saute.  One evening, I was looking for something easy to go along with my delicious salmon (which I baked with Cavender's seasoning...a new favorite!) and had 2-3 small squash and some spinach that was about to be bad.  Well, I've found that the best way to use almost bad spinach is to cook it.  Cooking it wilts the spinach, which is kind of how it gets on it's own when it's going bad...perfect!  So, I just cut the squash in half moons and sauteed them until they were soft.  Then I added the spinach along with a little chopped garlic and cooked until wilted.

Served alongside the salmon it was fantastic!

Cammy's Potatoes

My dad loves baked potatoes, and for years my mom had made them in the microwave.  Now, this does provide a very quick and easy way to make baked potatoes.  However, several years ago we were introduced to a method of baking (yes, really baking!) potatoes that is excellent.  I made these potatoes this weekend at the Lake (which was beautiful!)

with my Sunday School class and everyone really liked them.  Basically, you just season the outside of the potatoes...after thoroughly washing, of course!  Then wrap in foil and bake in the oven until "sqeezable!"  SO good!  You don't even need any toppings...somehow, the seasoning sort of seeps into the inside and flavors the entire potato.  Yummy AND healthy (a great source of potassium!).   

Cammy's Potatoes
baking potatoes
cooking spray
seasoning of your choice (I've used Cavender's and Tony's before)
aluminum foil

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Scrub potatoes well to remove all dirt. 

Spray each potato with cooking spray. 

Sprinkle seasoning all over the potato. 

Wrap in aluminum foil. 

Bake for 1 hour or until potato gives slightly when squeezed (please, us a potholder so you don't burn you hand!).  Enjoy!

Broccoli Pudding?????

Maybe this is a new way to get kids to eat their veggies!  They all like pudding, right?  So make broccoli pudding!  Sounds disgusting?  Weeeeellllllll, I have to admit...this is not an American style pudding...it's a traditional British steamed pudding.

Why did I make a British Pudding?  It's Daring Baker time!!!! The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.  Suet is basically animal fat, the kind found around organs...the kind that if found in humans is VERY unhealthy!  I must admit, I didn't use suet.  I used a vegetable shortening...which was allowed!  There are multiple types of puddings.  You can boil or steam a pudding. 

We were supposed to steam ours, which I thought sounded better anyway.  There is a traditional steaming bowl used in Britain; however, I didn't have this, so I just used a bowl with a rim and placed this in my steamer/pasta drainer thingie.  It worked perfectly!  Other options are to make a sweet pudding (sticky toffee pudding anyone?) or savory.  I did not make a sweet version but many of these end up looking like a cake.  The savory versions, however, look like a pot pie!  In fact, after seeing someone use chicken, carrots, peas, and a white sauce as a filling I realized that this really reminded me of those frozen chicken pot pies...I LOVED those as a child!  Anyway, I decided to go with a broccoli filling.  I simply put frozen (yet, not defrosted at all) chopped broccoli inside the suet (shortening) dough along with a couple of eggs for binding and some goat cheese and topped it with the remaining dough.  The outcome?  Well, at first I thought it wasn't done after 3 hours of steaming. 

However, I realized that the exposed part of the dough was just moist from the steam and the dish was really cooked.  The crust was perfectly flaky and the inside perfectly cooked!  It reminded me of a delicious broccoli quiche but with crust surrounding it.  Would I make this again?  Probably not...though it was pretty hands off it just cooked for too long.  However, I am glad to know about the steaming method of cooking entire dishes.  Quite an interesting concept that produces a very tender and (if appropriate for the dish) flaky result.  Thanks, Esther, for the great challenge!

Type 1 Puddings — suet crusts.
Pudding Crust for both Savoury Pudding or Sweet Pudding (using suet or a suet substitute):

Ingredients
(250 grams/12 ounces) Self-raising flour (Note* If you cannot find self-raising flour, use a combination of all-purpose flour and baking powder.)
(175 grams/6 ounces) Shredded suet or suet substitute (i.e., Vegetable Suet, Crisco, Lard)
(a pinch) Salt and pepper (Note* If making a savory dish, can be replaced with spices for sweet if wished.)
(210 millilitres/a little less than a cup) Water (Note* You can use a milk or a water and milk mix for a richer pastry.)
1. Mix the flour and suet together.
2. Season the flour and suet mixture with salt and pepper if savory and just a bit of salt and/or spices if sweet.
3. Add the water, a tablespoonful at a time, as you mix the ingredients together. Make up the pastry to firm an elastic dough that leaves the bowl clean. The liquid amounts are only an estimate and most recipes just say water to mix.
4. Don’t over handle the pastry or it will be too hard.
5. Reserve a quarter for the lid and roll out the rest and line a well-greased bowl.
6. At this point add your filling.. a couple of options are give below but have fun and go wild!
7. Roll the final piece of pastry out into a circle big enough to cover the top of the basin, dampen the edges and put in position on the pudding, pinching the edges together to seal.
8. Seal well and cover with a double sheet of foil – pleated in the centre to allow room for expansion while cooking. Secure with string, and place it in a steamer over boiling water.
9. Steam for up to 5 hours, you may need to add more boiling water halfway through or possibly more often. There is a lot of leeway in this steaming time and different recipes give different steaming times. I steamed mine for about 3 hours.

New Stuffed Potatoes

This year for Easter, I went to my friend's house for a late lunch.  She had to work that day and my family stayed in TN, so we thought we'd make lunch together.  Two days before her mom texted her saying that they were coming.  So, we ended up having a larger crowd than expected for lunch. 

Sarah made ham (which her little boy LOVED), rolls, and asparagus.  Her mom brought chicken and grilled it.  I brought pineapple, a blueberry pie (with adapted recipe to come), and stuffed red potatoes.  I had tasted a stuffed new potato dish at a Sunday School party and thought it would be a good dish for Easter lunch.  Your typical stuffed potato uses LOTS of creamy stuff like mayonaise and/or sour cream along with cheese.  OH YUM!  But, this is not so good for you...but you can still have delicious potatoes without all this. 

Instead of sour cream, I used Greek yogurt.  And instead of mixing a lot of cheese into the filling AND putting it on top, I just put a little bit on top when I baked the potatoes.  As to seasoning, you can do whatever you like.  I used salt, pepper, and thyme but green onion/chives would be great.  Additionally, if you wanted to make these more "hearty" you could mix some veggies (broccoli, tomatoes, etc) into the filling.  When I made these, the filling was just a bit too crumbly, so I added a squirt or two of Ranch dressing (fat free or lite).  They ended up being pretty tasty.   

Stuffed Red/New Potatoes
1 bag (about 12-15 potatoes) red potatoes
1 single serving size (6-8oz) container fat free Greek yogurt
salt
pepper
seasoning of choice (rosemary, thyme, chives, parsley, etc)
sharp cheddar cheese (using stronger cheeses enables you to use less and get great taste)
Ranch dressing, buttermilk, or milk (something to help thin the filling a tad)

In a large pot of water, boil the potatoes until fork tender but with enough firmness to hold shape.  Drain the water and cut potatoes in half so that they will sit stably on a place.  Using a spoon or melon baller (I used a tablespoon) to scoop out the center of the potato halves.  Take care when doing this so that the skins will hold their shape and not break apart.  In a large bowl, place the potato centers.  Mix with yogurt, salt, pepper, herbs, and liquid of choice for making a smooth filling.  Place the empties potato halves on a baking sheet.  Fill with filling.  Top each potato with a small amount (fingertip-full) of cheese.  Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges slightly browned.  Enjoy!

April Fools!

Oh wait...it's not April, it's June! Oh, well! Before we start....WARNING: This is NOT a cookie post!! I seem to find that my comments (not that there are that many to start with) drop off when I post a "real food" recipe. Well, I still must do it. In fact, I have some yummy "real food" things coming up, so just get ready! Now, I'm not a big fan of mashed potatoes. Just not what I would choose. I think they taste a little dry to me. I don't know! Anyway...sometimes, though, you just need that little mound of white, soft goodness. So, what to do? Make mashed cauliflower! Yep! It really works. I have seen this in several different places and was a little skeptical about it but decided to try it anyway. SO good! The key to this is pureeing ("mashing") the cauliflower for long enough and seasoning it well. I've made this three times and this last time was the best! I used sea salt and vegetable broth this time. I don't know which made the difference but it was delicious! It even tastes like mashed potatoes...though there is a bit of a different flavor, it's not overwhelmingly cauliflower. Try it sometime! Mashed Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, steamed until soft
seasonings: I used sea salt
broth (I used vegetable...you could use cream if you wanted to)

When the cauliflower is steamed, place it in a food processor. Turn the processor on. When the cauliflower "gets stuck," open the food processor and move the pieces around so that the blades can reach the big pieces. Once it starts to appear "mashed" add the seasonings and start adding the broth (or liquid of your choice). Keep adding until it reaches the desired consistency. You may have to open and reposition the cauliflower several times. Serve alongside anything you'd serve with mashed potatoes. You can even top with cheese. Mmmm!

In Remembrance

Do you remember when there was an event hosted by Cate called ARF-Tuesdays? That post was SO good for me as it forced me to make something each week that was healthy and had antioxidants or lots of veggies/fruit. Now, I do this weekly but tend to do the same thing over and over! So, Cate's even made me try something NEW. Why in remembrance? Because this yummy salad is FULL of great antioxidants! Well, when my Sunday School had an Easter lunch, I decided to take a yummy salad as I knew that most things there would be casseroles. Now, I love broccoli salads, both the yummy mayo-based one and the great marinated one. However, both of these have their own down-sides. The mayo-based one is obvious...LOTS of mayonaisse! The marinated one uses about 1 cup of oil and TWO cups of sugar! I'm just not willing to do that, though I know it is SO good. So, I found one that was better and modified it a bit...turned out GREAT! One of the other teachers, before she knew it was my salad, commented that it was her favorite part of the meal. I've since made it again for my brother's graduation (with dessert recipe to come!)...of course none of the men at it but the ladies enjoyed it! And me, I'm enjoying the leftovers!!! Broccoli Salad
2 hearts of romaine (you could probably use three), chopped
2-3 small heads (one of the packs offered at Kroger) of broccoli, cut into florettes
5 green onions, sliced
2 handfuls of craisins (or more...put what you want!)
3/4 cup walnuts, would be best toasted and cut into quarters
Ramen noodles, crumbled (optional...I didn't use)

Dressing
1/4 cup sugar
2-4 T oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or cider vinegar)

Directions: Put all salad ingredients in a large bowl with a lid. In a small bowl put the dressing ingredients and whisk together. Pour the dressing over the salad, cap the bowl with the lid, and have some fun shaking it!

Spinach and Beer

Though my rotation this month is not incredibly demanding, I did not find a chance to make the Daring Baker's challenge this month. It was spinach lasagna...I must admit, I wasn't too excited about it. Too bad the challenge wasn't some delectable sweet treat...I have been baking up a storm for our bake sale for the children's hospital! So, in substitute for my spinach lasagna I bring you sauteed spinach and beer bread!

My mom got the recipe for these from one of the girls in her church when I went home last month. The spinach is really good...but be prepared to use LOTS of spinach. Hannah said that the first time she made the spinach (with company coming!) she used one bag...and ended up with a tiny bowl to serve. They joked and said that each guest had a teaspoon of spinach! She was not joking...once the whole bag wilted down, it really is enough to serve about two people...maybe even one if you're hungry! (Sorry for the poor picture quality!) The beer bread...OH SO GOOD! If you like the taste of a yeast bread but don't have time...this is your bread. It's not quite as tender as a sourdough but is delicious. The way we made it, I thought that it tasted like Maccaroni Grill bread. Mmmm...I need to make this again! Even if you don't like beer (I don't), you'll like this bread!

Spinach:

spinach (for a "small" amount use one bag, for a larger group you need two)

1 T olive oil (or butter)

salt

pepper

(I think lemon would be good as well)

In a large skillet or pan (you need a lid) place the olive oil. Open your bag of spinach and just dump it in! Smoosh it down and put your lid on. This was it's sauteeing and steaming. After a couple of minutes, stir it. The spinach on the bottom will be wilty. Stir every few minutes to get the spinach equally wilted. Once it is all dark, place into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. This is best served right after making it, so make right before you eat/serve.

Beer Bread:

3 cups flour (it calls for sifted, but I can't be bothered!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
12 oz can beer
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients, then pour beer over all. I don't think the type of beer matters - I always get the cheapest and even light beer and it's fine. It will foam up. Stir it well. The dough will be super sticky - more sticky than regular bread. This is fine. Pour into a loaf pan. Melt the butter and pour it over the top. We used 1/2 a stick and as you can see it was still a good bit! You might even be able to decrease it a little more. You could probably even half the butter to be healthier and I bet it would still turn out. Bake for one hour at 375 degrees. Cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.From Hannah: This bread is so easily adaptable. The original recipe calls for Italian seasoning instead of garlic powder. Just measure by eye...you can do it! You can also add up to a cup of grated cheese - cheddar, parmesan, swiss, whatever. I've had success adding a can of drained diced green chiles for Mexican! Lots of room for creativity here.

Eggplant Chips

Well, the postdated post worked! Yay! I've gotten some suggestions for places to eat in NYC but would love to hear more from y'all. This week, my entry for Cate's ARF Tuesday is a quick side dish perfect to go along with a sandwich or wrap. When I was growing up, one of my favorite meals was a vegetable meal fresh from my grandfather's garden. We would usually have green beans, tomatoes, squash, corn bread, and fried eggplant and okra. Now, there is just something comforting about fried eggplant. It kind of gets mushy on the inside and stays crisp on the outside, all combined with the eggplant flavor and saltiness of the coating spices. Now, I don't eat fried things often anymore, but love this. Guess what! You can get most of the same taste and texture baking the eggplant. I did this one day with a tiny eggplant from the Farmer's Market and it was just perfect. I couldn't stop eating them! So grab and eggplant and try this out. Oh, also stop by Cate's and see the other wonderful entries. Faux Fried Eggplant
1 eggplant, Japanese (the thin kind) or a tiny version of another variety, sliced thinly
cornmeal
salt
Tony's Chachare's
olive oil
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Drizzle the eggplant with olive oil (a small amount) and then spray with cooking spray. Season all slices with your choice of seasoning. Sprinkle cornmeal over both sides of the eggplant slices (or you can combine the seasonings and cornmeal and toss the eggplant in the mixture - this will result in a more thoroughly coated piece of eggplant and probably MORE crispiness!). Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Check at 10 minutes to be sure they aren't burned and to flip if needed.