stuff i love: kitchen edition

I've been feeling very happy in my kitchen lately. Well, unless I am washing dishes, then I feel grumpy. But besides that, here are some kitchen-related stuff I love.

1) My immersion blender. Dave gave it to me fro Christmas and I knew I would love it for making pureed soups, but I had no idea how much happiness it would bring me. Not only have I made some delicious soups, I have also used it for making mint oreo milkshakes, blending the eggs for french toast, and, my personal favorite, frothy chocolate milk. (Whole milk is the key. So yummy!)

2.) Coarse "Kosher" salt.  I used it for the first time while roasting some butternut squash and it added such delicious savory-ness that I keep using it for other stuff too. I don't know how, but it tastes different than table salt to me.

3.) THIS butternut squash soup recipe. Holy Moly. It is good. Seriously. The best I have ever had. I couldn't stop eating it. I want some more.

4.) Cookies.

What is your favorite kitchen item or recipe?

let them eat pie

We've had a busy weekend spent with good friends, good food and a lot of family time. Happy times. I've been thinking and reflecting a lot this weekend. Between the turkey and the stuffing and the gravy one thing kept coming back to me.

Pies.

I've heard this absurdity that some people don't like pie. This I do not understand. It is a dessert with endless possibilities. Pie is never boring. Whatever dessert you like, there is a pie for you.

You don't like traditional pie crust? Fine - (but I bet you have never had good pie crust...) you can have graham cracker, chocolate, sugar cookie, or cinnamon roll.

Are you a fruit person? You can put it in a pie. You also have cream pies in many varieties: chocolate, coconut (my favorite, but only my mother's recipe), lemon, banana.

There are thick and creamy pies and light and fluffy pies. Pies topped with whipped cream or meringue or a nice brown sugar crumb topping. You can have a pie with pecan or key limes. (Yum!)

Then there are cheesecakes, with all of their endless possibilities including pumpkin and nutella, both of which I have made and devoured, or regular topped with cherries.

I made 3 pies on Wednesday. Pumpkin cheescake (this recipe). Chocolate Cream. And my mother's Coconut Cream. It tasted just like hers. In that moment, I missed my mom. Its amazing what a pie can do.

Go make a pie. Or better yet, I'll make one for you. But first I'm going to go finish one off.

in which i pretend to be a food blog

I like to think I am a good cook. And though I'm not very original, I rarely follow a recipe exactly. Mostly I just use one as an inspiration and adjust it however I want.

I just wanted to share some yummy things we've enjoyed around these parts.

Cajun Chicken Pasta: Ana calls this "my favorite noodles that have the little bit of spice." I actually made my own cajun seasoning without the cayenne pepper so I can add however much of the spiciness I want. I also leave out the tomatoes and usually I use penne or bowtie pasta. This is a favorite here!

Corn Chowder: I also threw in a cut up potato and left out the chiles. It was enjoyed by all.

Grilled Cheese sandwiches on homemade bread with homemade tomato soup: Wow. Ultimate comfort food. I don't know if I can ever make grilled cheese on store bought bread again. It just isn't the same.

Penne Rustica: I felt like I had eaten out after this. Except I had to clean up the mess...

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes: I just follow the Better Homes and Gardens Buttermilk Pancake recipe except I sub 1/3 cup fresh, cooked pumpkin (though you could use canned, I suppose) for the egg and add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Served with Pure Vermont Maple syrup and whipped cream. There is nothing better.

Mushroom Burgers: saute mushrooms and onions in butter and a little apple juice (or wine) until soft. Cook burgers and top with sharp cheddar cheese, mushrooms, lettuce and mayo on a toasted bun. Delish!

Anyone else made anything yummy lately? I'm always looking for dinner inspiration...

soup's on

Up until two years ago my soup making repertoire was limited to taco soup. And occasionally chicken noodle soup.

I suppose I had more soups than that, but its was a very planned thing if I made soup. (And most of the time they would involve cream of chicken soup in one step and I've all but sworn off the stuff.)

Then one day my sister-in-law made potato soup, and I thought "that sounds yummy." And I made it. It was yummy.

A little while after that, one of my favorite food blogs rookie-cookie came up with her "make a soup from anything" guide. So I started experimenting. Bean soup, lentil soup, beef soup, chicken and wild rice, etc. My love grew and grew and continues to grow to this day.

I now make soup at least once a week. A lot of times if I don't know what to make, I throw together a soup with whatever I have in the fridge. My recent favorite is homemade tomato soup. Served with a crusty grilled cheese sandwich and you, my friend, have ultimate comfort food.

The other day for lunch I made some corn chowder. I think the last time I had corn chowder was at my Grandma's house at least 10 years ago. It was so divine, I think I might have it again later this week.

And then tonight I made pumpkin-apple-cranberry-beef soup. The flavor was totally delicious. (The texture was a little mushy, so I need to work on that, but I totally nailed the seasonings. Delish!)

I usually like to make biscuits or french bread or have some yummy crackers on hand. Soups are like, my new favorite food.

Go make some!

this one goes out to all you love birds out there...

Happy V-day.

Dave and I have never made a big deal of V-day. We go out to get a blizzard some years, write cheesy love notes some years, have an "in house" date some years. I like it that way.

I did a party for Ana with some of her friends on Thursday. It was a good time. We made these sugar cookies. Candace - your mom's recipe is the best.

mmmm...

I wish they weren't all gone. ..sigh..

on food

I really like onions. They make almost anything taste a million times better. For the first 4 1/2 years of my marriage I only ever used dried minced onions because Dave doesn't really love "onion chunks." But real onions make things so much better I either leave the pieces big enough he can eat around them, or small enough he can't tell. Because man I love onions.

I owe it to Rookie Cookie, who's Soup Guide has opened up a wonderful world of yummy easy dinners that we don't get tired of because there are so many possibilities. Not soup related, we had this for dinner tonight. (minus the broccoli because i didn't have any on hand.) Dave was skeptical, but afterward he said, "I almost don't want to eat a treat because that had such good flavor." (He ate a treat anyway, but still)

I like yummy food.

Dave is currently sleeping soundly in Burlington, Vermont. His med school interview is tomorrow, then he heads to Rochester, New York for an interview on Friday. I don't like sleeping by myself, so I am putting off going to bed to bring to you a bulleted list of randomness:

* I really like "The Office."

* My children are really cool. Today, while eating a sucker on our way to Wal-Mart, Ana said to me. "The only things I love are suckers and juice. And mush [cream of wheat]." She also said, "Mommy, can I call you Daddy for short?"

* Dave did really well in last week's interview in Des Moines. My husband is cool.

* My dryer broke. I've been drying most of my clothes on our line outside, but I didn't want to hang my underwear out there for all my neighbors to see, so I took them over to my MIL's house today. We ate dinner, did FHE, and played outside. My in-laws are wonderful. I hit the jackpot with Dave's family.

*I really like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Especially for a bedtime snack. I'm going to go have one right now.

*Good night.

whats for dinner?

The other day we ventured into a thrift store here in town looking for a specific book. We not only came away with that book, but a quick and easy betty crocker cookbook in really good shape, 5 books for the kids and a skirt for Ana - for under $5.

Tonight I tried a recipe out of the cookbook and it was a hit. I rarely follow recipes exactly, and I was pleased with my adjustments. In case anyone is interested, here's the recipe, with my subs in parentheses.

2 cups uncooked corkscrew pasta (bowties)

while pasta is cooking, cook:
1 package sliced mushrooms (i used frozen whole green beans instead and it was yummy!)
6 medium green onions, chopped (i just sprinkled in some dried onion flakes)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (1/8 t. garlic powder)
in 1 T oil until veggies are tender (2-3 minutes)

stir in:
3 oz. sliced proscuitto ham or fully cooked (deli) ham, cut into fine strips
1 T fresh chopped fresh basil or 1/2 t. dried basil
2 t chopped fresh or 1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese. (I used italian blend shredded cheese and I used more because I really like cheese.)

stir in pasta and 1 more T oil and toss.

Yum!

christmas cookies

Having a family of your own means starting your own traditions. Its interesting trying to incorporate traditions from two people's childhoods as well as starting some new ones of your own. Last Sunday we made Christmas cookies as a family and I thought it was great. Its something I want to continue doing in future years. Ana really wanted purple frosting, so we included that too.


I usually like to have Christmas decorations up by now, but we're going a little slow this year. Our fake tree broke last year so we've been debating what to do. I think we'll probably do a real one this year, but we haven't gone out to get it yet. Our Christmas decoration box will probably be brought up from the garage today, and hopefully we'll get a tree up tomorrow. Yesterday we put up Ana's Christmas candy countdown, and we talked for a while about Christmas. She is really excited and I think its gonna be a fun year.

Also, Jack is sitting up. He still falls over and it makes him really mad when he does, but he can sit playing with toys for quite a few minutes if Ana leaves him alone. Also yesterday I got him to move forward about 2 feet. Hopefully he'll be crawling soon...

Because I missed my Kitchenaid

Since we've moved back into our own place, I've been a baking fool. I've never really loved baking, but I guess going 6 months not doing much has made me in the mood. In the 2 weeks we've lived here I've made:

Banana Bread
Sweet Potato Biscuits (which are so yummy and I'm making them again tonight)
Pumpkin Pie
These Peanut Butter Cookies. (In my opinion they are the best PB cookies I've made.)
And Chocolate Chip Cookies twice.

My sister varied the Toll House recipe for Choc. Chip cookies and they are so good. Here is the recipe, mostly for Jonie's benefit.

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
2/3 c. white sugar
2/3 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 egg

cream together. add:

2 1/3 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

stir until blended. stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 375* oven for 8-10 minutes.

I love...

This cereal: Quaker 100% Natural Granola. It is so yummy! If you have never tried it, you should. Its a little expensive, so I only get it when we go to WinCo (which we did yesterday).

Warm, sunny days. A couple weeks ago when Spring was first tempting me, it felt so warm. The sun was shining, I didn't wear a coat, etc. Then I saw that the temperature was only 34 degrees. You know you live in Rexburg when that feels warm!!! Yesterday was also a nice day, and today looks promising. Perhaps the pile of snow in our front yard with continue to melt. I can't wait until summer!!!

French dip sandwiches. Teri told me how she makes them the "cheater" way. Hoagie buns, Roast beef deli meat (I use Hillshire Farms brand), and the Au Jus gravy packets. I also added Swiss cheese and that was yummy as well. So yummy and fast!

Working in the Primary. I've been in the Primary Presidency for almost 2 years now, and I still love every minute of it. The kids say such funny things. Even though they can be a handful, I just love it! The last 2 weeks I've been teaching the 5 year olds because the teacher moved and I've really enjoyed that too. One little girl asked me, "Are you gonna be our teacher every week now?" She looked disappointed when I told her no. I love it when I see the kids outside of Primary and they smile and say hi and tell me about their day. I'm really gonna miss it. And now I'll have to go back to Relief Society.

End of the tunnel +

Just a week and a half until graduation.

A couple things have been decided:

We plan on being all packed up and moved out by the 15th. Rick, my brother, is building an apartment on his property in Rupert for us to live in; we will be in the ward with him, my sister Leanne, my nephew Josh, and a few other people that I knew growing up. It will be different to be in a ward with so many people I already know.

Also, I would really like to buy this camera when we get our money from the economic stimulus package:

I spent a long time looking at different cameras and considering the budget and desired uses to reach this decision. Just ask Erin, she was/is sick of me looking camera stuff up. With this camera the mystery photos can be much better. By the way, another mystery photo should be on its way soon.

On another note, I LOVE Nutella. I used to buy it all the time when I was in Chile because it was cheaper than peanut butter, and of course because it tastes good.



Just the other day I thought that I wanted some. Then I really NEEDED some and we finally went and bought it. I was very happy. I am also going to send in two proofs of purchase to get a free Nutella t-shirt, I won't even have to pay shipping and handling.

Gaggies

Dave made the best no bake-cookies the other day. We call them "Gaggies." They were perfectly smooth and oh so yummy! He's getting "gaggie cookie" duty from now on. When I make them the cocoa and peanut butter is always a little grainy. Of course, I have official "chocolate chip cookie" duty. We'll follow the exact same recipe and mine will turn out beautiful and his are flat and crispy. I never feel as guilty eating gaggies since they have oatmeal and peanut butter. I mean, they are practically good for you, right?

Mmmm...

I love this ice cream. I never even knew it existed until just yesterday. While at the store with Erin I realized that some of the ice cream that usually costs about 50 dollars was on sale for the same price as the cheap stuff. Anyway, I chose this stuff and it is way good. It tastes just like the fried ice cream we had for dessert at Garcia's in IF.

MMmmm.... Chicken

I hope this looks good to you.

This is one of the chicken wraps Erin made for dinner last night. I don't think the picture really does it justice. It is a thin piece of chicken wraped up with cream cheese and a little spinach, then baked. It looked like something from a really nice Italian restaurant. It tasted even better. Usually, if I hear about something like that with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes I don't think it sounds that great, but this was. Isn't Erin cool?

mmmm...lemony

So, last night at about 8:30 I got this unnatural craving for lemon bars. I debated making them, since they are not Dave's favorite and I wasn't quite sure if I had enough lemon juice. But, I decided to half the recipe and got started about 9:00.

When I got to the lemon juice part, I realized I was about 2 Tablespoons short, so I ran next door to borrow some. (Coincidently, she had just made some recently and offered them to me, but I had already started, so I declined.) I finished measuring the lemon juice, and put in the eggs - twice too many. Dang it. All I wanted was some lemon bars. The crust was already made, and I had already returned the lemon juice to my neighbor. I begged and pleaded and whined until I convinced Dave to go to the store for his pregnant wife who just wanted some lemon squares. I even said I'd help him scrape the windows, which turned out to be quite a feat.

See, we got this weird combo of icy snowy misty stuff that had put a layer of ice a couple millimeters thick on everything. We scraped for probably 10 minutes and didn't make much progress until we chipped a chunk off. Working from that point it went much quicker, but dang, I have lived in Rexburg for almost 5 years and have never seen the like.

Anyway, he made it to the store and successfully, and I finally got to eat a lemon square at 11:00.

It was worth it.

(picture is not an actual representation of my lemon squares, but I'm sure mine were just as satisfying...)

Dear Erin (or "I am a sweater")

So Erin and I took this random quiz somewhere about what crappy Christmas gift you would be. With a title like that you are just setting yourself up for disappointment. Who wants to be a crappy gift of any kind? Well, I actually didn't end up being disappointed. I can't believe I am actually posting these. Sometimes we take these quizzes for a good time but I can't really explain why I have such an aversion to posting results. Here it is:

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy. You're not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

I am a sweater. It mostly had nice things to say about me. Pretty good for a crappy gift right?*

Anyway, Erin was mortified when her results came back. She is a fruitcake. Although I am sure some of her family has been trying to tell her for a while, she took it differently this time. I felt bad for her when I saw her reaction so Erin, this part of my post is dedicated to you:

• -Fruitcakes have been around since ancient Rome. Not only does each individual fruitcake last an incredibly long time, the entire race of fruitcakes has proven it has what it takes to stick around. Fruitcake has been around longer than Ceaser Salad and was probably in existence even before Ceaser himself. That counts for something right?
• -In Egypt fruitcake was considered to be a necessary food for the afterlife. Whatever that means.
• -In 18th century England fruitcake was restricted to certain holidays and weddings because it was too sweet. Sweet, see that's a good one.

There you go Erin. I hope that helps you feel a little better about yourself. I got all these unquestionable facts from die hard fruitcake fan's websites and wikipedia. So, you know you can't question their validity.

*I am only calling a sweater a crappy gift because of the name of the quiz. Honestly, who doesn't have at least one sweater that they like? I have more than one. I guess the crappy part of this gift is that it is specifically a "Christmas Sweater" and you are getting it ON CHRISTMAS. I can't say that I actually own a Christmas sweater...

*i love*

My Crock Pot. I've used it 3 times in the last week and I love it!!! We have 1:30 church, so it is especially nice on Sunday. I just throw whatever in and we have dinner ready when we get home. Yesterday I did this rice and chicken bake - really yummy and easy! I wasn't sure how rice would do in the Crock Pot - especially because I used Brown Rice, which is by far my favorite kind. But it turned out really well. I just added some extra water and some butter so it didn't stick to the sides, and it was quite tasty! Here's the recipe

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I cut them into strips)

1-1/2 cups brown rice

4 cups water

3-4 tbl butter

1 package Onion Soup Mix

1 can Cream of Mushroom soup

Combine ingredients. Cook in Crockpot on high for 3 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

I am always looking for easy Crock pot recipes. Please share your recipes or websites that have good ones.