Goodbye summer! - strawberry rhubarb pie

Here we have ham and cheese rolls with crackers so the kids can make their own sandwiches.  I figure my two little monkeys eat with their hands anyhow.... when in Rome, right?!  Also some orange slices and a slice of their mom's kick butt homemade Strawberry Rhubarb pie. 

Our last house on the east coast had rhubarb growing rampant in a corner of the backyard. For the two years we lived in that house, I learned to make all sorts of rhubarb dishes in the summertime, but by far, our favorite was/is this pie!  We ate it all summer long - and yes, those were not our skinniest summers on record.  Some wiggle and jiggle was added to my life around that time!

Being in Texas, good rhubarb is harder to find.  But, occasionally I do -and an occasional pie isn't gonna hurt, right?!

Farewell summer strawberry/rhubarb pie - till we meet again my love!

Oh, how I love thee....

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 ready store bought or homemade pie crust pastry for a 9 inch pie

1 teaspoon orange zest
3 cups diced rhubarb
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon white sugar for decoration

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line a pie pan with bottom crust.


2.Mix together rhubarb, strawberries, orange zest, sugar, and tapioca. Spoon into crust. Roll out second crust, and place over the filling (make lattice top or cut slits in top crust) Seal the edges. Brush with milk, and sprinkle extra sugar on top.

3.Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake for an additional 35 minutes.   Let cool and enjoy!

"Inside out" burger

Vegetarians, look away.  This is not a post for you.

We have quite a bit of organic, grass fed beef in the freezer (went in with friends to purchase a cow a while back).  My husband is the grill master around here.  It's not that I can't grill, but I just choose to let him take over in that area.  He makes an awesome 'inside out' burger.  We call it that because it has toppings IN the burger as well as on top.  We've done several variations of the burger based on what we have in the house at the time, but the typical burger mix looks like this...

one pound ground beef (makes about 4 big burger)
half of an onion, chopped fine
half of a pepper, finely chopped (we've used various peppers, but typically use bell)
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon (give or take for desired heat) crushed red pepper flakes
heavy sprinkle of hamburger seasoning OR chili powder, black pepper, salt
cheese crumbles

Form into patties and slap those bad boys on the grill.


To top, we love tomato slices, avocado, cheese, and a must is a mix of sliced pepper and onion (we use other halves of each leftover from above) sauteed in brown sugar.  The sweet of the brown sugar, the mellowness of the avocado, the coolness of the tomato, and the heat from the burger is an AWESOME combination!

Oh look how the brown sugar gives the onions and peppers a squeezey hug of sweetness.

The secrets of life

I had no idea. 

When I found out, I felt so stupid, ashamed, clueless,  in the dark.

How did I not know? 

THIS...

is made by mixing only THESE...

Just TWO things!

That is it!  There are no other ingredients.  Why did I not know this?  How did I not know this?  Why would anyone ever buy brown sugar in a bag already mixed?

And get this... if a recipe calls for DARK brown sugar?  You just add more molasses.  Seriously, how did I get through 21 years of life (ok, 31... whatever) without know this?

I vow today to never buy brown sugar again.   EVER.

Please tell me I am not the only one who thought brown sugar was some complex, complicated, multi-ingredient concoction.  please?!? 

cinnamon roll kind of morning

These were made with all organic ingredients.... so they are healthy, right?!

This was the second pan.  The first pan got all the ooey gooey icing (also organic).  They would have made for a better picture but they were demolished before the camera came out from hiding.
see the tin foil?!  These are being wrapped and frozen RIGHT AWAY.  Last time we made these we decided to let the second pan sit out to be picked at sit out to cool.  This time they went right in the freezer for us to enjoy another splurgo fatty fat fat sugar rush of a lazy weekend morning.

recipe here

Homemade granola

We made our first batch of homemade granola this week.  It was super easy and makes a pretty large batch.
The kids have eaten this as a cereal, on yogurt and just munched on it plain!  Side note - the serving sizes on most granola is less than regular cereals, so use a little less than you would for boxed cereal. 

The original recipe came from  my Earthbound Farms Organic cookbook - Food to live by.  by Myra Goodman.  (LOVE this cookbook btw!)  I tweaked it just a little...

Maple Cranberry Raisin Granola
makes about 8 cups.


4 1/2 cups (18 ounces) old fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shelled, raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered raw almonds (or coarsely chopped)
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnimon
1 1/4 cups pure maple syrup
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup dried cranberries.

Preheat oven to 325F
Place oats, seeds, almonds and cinnamon on a large (12x17) baking sheet with sides.  Stir gently to combine.
Add maple syrup and oil.  Mix with hands till dry ingredients become moist.

Smooth out mixture on baking sheet to an even layer.  Bake on center oven rack 40 minutes, stiring with a flat spatula a few times while baking.  Watch closely during the last 5-10 minutes to prevent any burning.

Place cookie sheet on a cooling rack and stir in raisins and cranberry.  Let cool completely.  Transfer to an airtight container and store up to 1 month or frozen for up to 6 months.

green and not so green smoothies

Not long ago, it was warm in Texas.  We were walking around in T-shirts and flip flops and craved a nice cold drink.  This was... oh, say LAST week.  Today we have the heat cranked, wood set out for the fireplace, and winter coats by the door.

So, I feel a little silly posting this warm weather drink on a cold day like today.... but, oh well.

Green smoothies.  This may be a new term for you, it may not.  I've seen several variations of the Green Smoothie recipe on the web, but the heart of the recipe comes down to using green vegetables mixed with fruit in a smoothie.  The green veggie most commonly used is Spinach, because it will blend nicely in the drink and not be at all gritty if blended enough.   Fresh spinach is better..... MUCH better... on MANY levels.

Here are some of the variations we have tried depending on your audience...

If you want to keep it GREEN and use cool smoothie names like 'Incredible Hulk' 'Green Goblin' "Super Slime' 'Green Monster' 'Oscar the Grouch', etc.....
Use fresh spinach, yogurt, ice, and.... key ingredient (drum roll please.....) BANANA.  For us, the banana is a must.  It will overpower the spinach, add sweetness but keep the color of the drink GREEN.

Now, if green is not the final result you are wanting... you can do a PURPLE smoothie and call it 'Grape-alicious' 'purple princess' 'purple monster', etc, etc...
Same ingredients as above, but add BLUEBERRIES and STRAWBERRIES.  If using frozen berries, you can omit the ice!

For a PINK version, start with the same basic ingredients as above, but just add STRAWBERRIES, and POM juice. Adding more yogurt/banana to the smoothie and less spinach will create a 'prettier' pink.  Come up with some great 'pink-alicious, princess y' name, and viola!

Really, the sky is the limit - I usually do kitchen sink version with whatever we have on hand. 
Pictured are the smoothies we made last week with some of the POM juice we received to try.
On this particular day, I used spinach, kefir and yogurt (both were almost gone and needed to be used), a small handful of fresh blueberries, banana, frozen strawberries, pom juice.  After tasting, I decided the strawberries were a little tart and added a squirt of honey to the blender!

The kids INHALED it - as did I!

Apple pie/crisp

I found this Apple Honey Pie recipe at Finding Joy In My Kitchen .  It is a healthier version of an apple pie, and more of a cross between a pie and a crisp.  Either way, it hit the spot tonight!

Here is a picture of my results, following the recipe link above.

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Chives

I have to admit, I am terrible at following recipes.
I bring the laptop into the kitchen and place it on the island countertop, rendering the island useless for cooking because I don't want to spill food on the computer.  I then cook/bake on a small section of countertop located across from the computer. I spend my cooking time constantly going back and forth between reading the recipe and cooking.  I just about always forget the measurements or ingredients that I need during the two step walk, turn and shuffle it takes to go back and forth.  I must look like a 90 year old man when I try to follow recipes;  Straining to read the recipe, forgetting over and over what and how much... it's a mess.

So, lately I have been winging it... a lot!

I found this recipe online somewhere, but I can't remember where.  I'd love to give credit... but being as I changed it so much, it is probably such a far cry from the original anyhow.


I started by roasting a head of garlic in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Typically, I would wrap in foil... but I was out.  A quick call to mom saved the day.  She said, "Ina roasts it in a pan all the time, just put some olive oil on it and watch it really well."  Mom is a food network junkie - says Ina's name like they go way back or something...  That's ok, buddy-buddy Ina's advice helped a lot!

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Chives

1 roasted head of garlic

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. flour

1 cup chicken broth

8-10 chicken strips/tenders or 4 thin chicken breasts

1 lemon

3 tbsp. butter

fresh chives

Lightly coat chicken strips with flour and place in a hot pan with a little olive oil. Cook thoroughly.  

Meanwhile, add one cup of chicken broth to a bowl.  Add the zest and juice of one lemon to the bowl.   Add the bits of roasted garlic to the bowl.

When chicken is finished cooking, add contents of bowl to the pan of chicken and bring to a slight boil.  Reduce heat and stir in butter and 1/4 cup of fresh cut chives to the mixture.

I served with a side of Quinoa (bottom picture) and Green beans.  The kids loved this chicken dish! 

dippity do da lunch - pumpkin style

Our house rule is no eating anywhere there is carpet unless you, personally, can afford replacement carpet.  This pretty much takes care of the under 18 crowd.  I think maybe a few of our grown up friends too...

We made pumpkin dip this weekend and let the kids break the house rule by taking it, and a bag of gingersnaps upstairs to munch on while watching a family movie.  Sometimes ya just got to!

My original 'martha' plans were to make a pumpkin cheesecake on a homemade gingersnap crust.
But in the midst of my friday night sweet tooth, hunger, and rule breaking rampage, there was no time for
'Martha-ing'.   I wanted it, and I wanted it NOW (well, then... you know what I mean...)

The sugar pumpkins I intended to bake and puree are still on the counter.  I shamelessly grabbed the 'emergency' can of pumpkin puree from the pantry and had the concoction whipped up in about 5 minutes.
 
Someway, somehow, some dip and gingersnaps made it through the weekend unscathed.  The gingersnaps join a cut up apple for dipping.  A spinach salad with feta, and some cheddar bunnies finish out this lunch.

This recipe is on the Nestle/Libbey website, but with double the cream cheese and more than triple the sugar!

we find this version to be sweet enough!

Easy Cream Cheese Pumpkin dip

1 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree

1/4-1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1/4 - 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves)

In a mixing bowl, blend cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.  microwave cream cheese for better blending if needed.    Add spices and confectioners sugar to taste.

great for dipping graham cracker, gingersnaps, breads, apples...

butternut squash, goat cheese, hazelnut, chicken pasta

I had butternut squash hanging out in my fridge, cubed and waiting to be cooked.  My foodie friend Michelle, was over one day and started rattling off meal ideas using the butternut squash. 

I had told her of the hazelnuts I had just purchased because of their good price.  She knew I had goat cheese on hand because we had already talked about it (yes, we talk about food... ). She also knew I had basil in my garden, and leftover chicken noodle soup in the fridge.

So, viola.  'Butternut squash, goat cheese, hazelnut, chicken pasta'.  This dish may already exist, and have a fancier name.  But, oh well!
HOLY cow, it was soooo good. 
The goat cheese mixed with the hazlenuts and slight sweetness of the squash was awesome!

I can't give you 'exact' amounts, because I really have no clue as to how much I used..... so here is the ingredient rundown and guessed amount for our family of 4 -  you can experiment amounts for yourself.

Butternut squash, goat cheese, hazelnut, chicken pasta

4 cups cooked pasta of your choice

(1 cup - ?)chicken stock

(1/4 cup- ?) goat cheese

(1/4 cup-?) of hazelnuts, crushed to small chunks

1 chicken breast,

1 medium butternut squash, cut and cubed.

2tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

Cook desired amount of noodles in a large stockpot according to package directions.  Drain water and add or make about a cup of chicken stock.  (I used about 2 cups of leftover noodles already in about one cup of chicken stock, then cooked about another 2 cups of noodles, drained and added to the existing noodles in a large stockpot.)

 Pan cook butternut squash slightly, add to stockpot of noodles/liquid.  reduced to med. heat.

In same pan used for squash, cook the chicken breast.  Add cooked chicken to pot.

Crush hazelnuts gently in a food processor.  You want these slightly chunky.  Add to pot.

Add chopped basil..... enjoy!

cinnamon vanilla pumpkin pie

 We tried this twist to the basic pumpkin pie recipe and it was a winner!  Thought it was worth sharing!!

Cinnamon Vanilla Pumpkin Pie
1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree (or 1 small (approx.)15 oz. can)
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. real vanilla extract (add less if you want just a hint of vanilla)
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp. each of ground nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, cloves
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (I up all the spices a little - add to your taste)
1 prepared 9" pie crust

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2. In large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugars, flour, salt, vanilla, spices. Pour into pie shell.
3. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 uncovered, cover with aluminum foil for an additional 10.   After the 20 minutes total at 450, turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 40 minutes.  Uncover for the last 15 minutes or so, keeping an eye on your crust so not to burn (may need to recover).
Total bake time - 1 hour.
Cool completely before serving- tastes great served cold!


Pie Crust - my mom makes a killer pie crust using shortening.  It is the same one her mother made.  I thought I would branch off the family tree and try this one made with butter.

Since I did not make any changes to the butter pie crust recipe, here is the link of the one I tried.  I used my kitchen aid stand mixer (love that thing!) with the dough hook.  I was shocked at how easy this dough was to work with!

pumpkin guts!

The kids and I cut open and roasted a small sugar pumpkin the other day, pureed the inside 'guts' to make pumpkin bread and roasted the seeds Maryland style.
In this lunch are the last of the Maryland style pumpkin seeds, a mini pumpkin bread loaf with a little confectioners sugar sprinkled on top, cut pear with fruit strip pumpkin cutouts, bananas topped with almond butter and cranberries.  A bit of a sweet lunch, but I see a veggie dinner in our future tomorrow night to make up for it!
Can I just say that I LOVE Old Bay.  It may be because I was born and raised in Maryland... but the stuff is just yum. No, not organic, but nothing goofy in the ingredient list.

Maryland Style Pumpkin Seeds

Soak pumpkin seeds in lightly salted water for about 2 hours.

drain and pat dry with paper towels

lightly coat in olive oil and arrange in a single layer on a foil lined pan

sprinkle on desired amount of Old Bay seasoning, coating both sides.

Bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on how crispy you like them) at 300 degrees, turning seeds every so often.

The flop and the heartache...

If you read back through my lunchbox posts, there were two times I let myself get really excited over something my son decided he really liked.

total side track here - It seems like I am always talking about my son and not my daughter - if so, it is because he gets lunch 5 days a week and she only gets 2 a week -well, I feed her everyday, but only pack her a lunch 2 days a week!  just felt like I needed a disclaimer there, lol.

Ok, back to my excited posts....
The first time I was super excited it was the stuffed mushrooms.    My excitement was evident just in the post title - I put three exclamation points at the end.

The second was yesterday when I went on and on about the Okra.

Well, everyday when they come home from school, I ask the kids about their lunch - If they had time to eat it all, what they liked the most, the least, etc.  

Well, the stuffed mushroom was not good cold.  Common sense says 'duh'.  I was just so excited that he liked it that it went into the lunch without any thought. It was a flop.

Now for the okra.  He was being polite to the 'Okra lady' at the farmer's market.  He told me he didn't really like the okra cold, but would like to try it cooked.

I appreciate his honesty, and I told him that.  I am disappointed in myself for not recognizing that he was not really into the raw okra.  How could I read my kid the wrong way?  I'm his mom!   I can tell when he is sick.  I can tell when he is tired.  I can sense that he has to go to the bathroom at the first little twitch of the 'pee pee' dance.  And, I can usually tell when he is lying.  So, how could I not pick up on his 'polite mis-shaping of the truth'??  There my friends in the heartache in this post.

The silver lining in this?  We tried Grilled Okra for dinner and he scarfed it up!

Grilled Okra

About a pound of fresh Okra

3 tbsp. of melted butter

3 tbsp. cajun seasoning or garlic salt (something with a kick)

Roll okra in melted butter and sprinkle with seasoning, place on a HOT outdoor grill.  Place on a pre-sprayed vegetable grill rack.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side.  Should be slightly char-grilled.

YUM!

A hot guy and some double dippin'!

Since I am still unsure if I will be making a lunch for a kid tomorrow, I figured I would post a yummy, quick and healthy dinner recipe - with a darn good lookin' model/cook (ladies, he's mine)!

Baked Almond Parmesan Encrusted Chicken

Take about 1 1/2 cups almonds and crush up in a food processor until fine.  Add about 3/4 cup grated parmasean cheese - we do a 2:1 ratio of almonds to parm - so adjust depending on your family size.

You can add some italian seasoned breadcrumbs to the mix OR omit breadcrumbs and add just some italian seasoning.

Beat a few eggs in a shallow dish with a little bit of milk.

Pour  1/4 of almond mixture onto a plate.

Dip chicken in egg and then almond mix and place in oil sprayed oven safe dish.
Bake at 375 till chicken is cooked through.

Only pour small amounts of almond mixture onto the plate at a time - anything that touches the plate will have to be discarded, but any unused portion (never having touched the plate) can be refrigerated for later use.

We always try to make more of the almond mix than needed so we can use later in the week to make chicken nuggets for a quick dinner, use as a salad topper OR for nuggets to go in a lunchbox!!