Hurry! Run to Publix Before Thursday!

How is it that "gallo" is pronounced "guy-o"? (every time I see the word, all that comes into my head is "Gallo" wine, but that's not unusual for me!) Anyway, Publix has an awesome special on avocados this week (10/$10), so I loaded up on them and made this yesterday, as part of a belated Cinco de Mayo dinner. Verdict: fabulous! Jack even liked it, and he doesn't care too much for avocados!

The bowl color is weird with the color of the avocados (as is the background of the blog), but I love it; it's an old school Pfaltzgraff bowl that I bought at an estate sale last month : )

Avocado Pico de Gallo

2 medium ripe avocados, cut into chunks

1 ripe tomato, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded & finely chopped

1 small red or sweet onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice of 1/2 to 1 fresh lime

kosher salt

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, tossing gently with a spatula. Cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours* (modified slightly from the original recipe on delish.com)

*In reality, I ate some today as well, tossed with a little chopped chicken from last night's dinner, stuffed into a half pita for lunch, and it was still just as good!

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Popper...Sandwiches!

Jack and I watched a show last season, America's Next Great Restaurant, where contestants tried to win a three restaurant chain with their innovative idea; I loved the guy who wanted to run a gourmet grilled cheese place (I think it's been done, though), because I absolutely ♥ grilled cheese! I'm always looking for new ideas to change up this classic, and I found a winner...a Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese! Anyway, I know it's last minute, but here's an idea for Good Friday's dinner.

Here's the link:

http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/04/jalapeno-popper-grilled-cheese-sandwich.html

I followed almost every direction; instead of using large slices of pepper, I chopped the sliced, broiled peppers into the sandwich sparingly, because they were, ummm...HOT! But, the heat got lost when it blended with the cheeses, so Alex and I decided to add more (which would have equaled what the recipe actually called for), and the sammies were fabulous! The sourdough bread is a must, and I would say the broiled (rather than just crispy fresh ones) peppers really add the "zip" (like Dad used to say) to the overall yumminess!

These are the complimentary Parmesan Oven Fries:

http://playwithsugar.blogspot.com/2009/07/oven-baked-parmesan-seasoned-fries.html?m=1

I don't think I'll make any other kind of "fry" ever! I doubled the seasoning recipe (you can never go wrong with Old Bay!) and made 5-6 potatoes instead of 3. Foozer got me hooked on rosemary potatoes years ago, and it's definitely a winning combination! They would be perfect with any sandwich or meat.

Ok, I'm going to bed. I didn't want you to worry about what you were going to make for dinner on the last Friday of Lent : )

Did my grilled cheese guy win the competition, you ask? Nawww...it was "Soul Daddy". But that food all looked good, too!

Pizza & Bees (Nope, not Beer...)

I should be doing a lot of other things right now. Like paying bills. Or making a grocery list. Or watching the race with Jack. But I feel like doing this.
Jack was away at school this week, and I didn't have to cook. At all. I love those kind of weeks. So Al & I met late Thursday afternoon at the tiki bar on the river to have dinner; blackened fish sandwiches, a coupla cold drafts...a balmy breeze, with just a hint of cool, lots of late afternoon sun, and a touch of bees.

These buzzy dudes gathered right near the stairs by the bar, on the split rail fence that separates the parking lot from the river bank. I know, right?!

They were just chillin', not bothering anyone (except for the few at the bar). A little old fellow (that reminded me sooo much of Tim Conway's little old man characters!) was just getting ready to scrape them into his bee-keeping box as we were leaving. I asked him why he thought they decided to gather here...he said they just get tired of flying and need to rest. I swear, that's what he said!

Since they had just stopped to rest, they hadn't started to work on a hive yet, or they would have been aggressive in trying to protect it. Then we would have been in trouble standing this close!

Now that Jack is home, an actual cooked meal was in order for tonight. I wanted homemade pizza, but I really stink at making it. Al said he would help, so he busied himself getting the kitchen ready, and I took off for the store.

Pie #1. Check this out, my boy is a professional! Look at that beauuutiful dough! I couldn't do that on a bet.

He wanted his sans sauce, with just some olive oil and toppings. He taught me how to shmush, stretch, roll, and poke holes, so that the dough doesn't puff up. Cool! 

 Al's creation was topped with tomatoes, Kalamata olives, green onion, mozzarella, feta, parm blend and chicken. Mmmmmmm!

Ohmygosh, it was to die for!

Then we got to work on the next one, which was "mine". I immediately screwed it up, so Al plied and pulled it into place to cover my mistake.

Pie #2, topped with a natural pizza sauce, mozzarella, tomato, fresh basil, parm blend, and a dash of onion.

A Valentino's-worthy pie!

(note to self: 400° oven for 20-25 minutes, until it looks like this!)

Ahhhh! Perfection!

This is the best sauce I've ever used, and now I'll continue to keep it in stock. I found it at Publix in the spaghetti sauce aisle, tucked away on the top shelf. Delicious!

Our secret weapon. This stuff is honestly magical; it's the perfect blend of spices with a little heat. We sprinkled it in between the layers of goodness : )

Ok, I admit it, I had a beer.

Are you hungry yet? I'm heading back to fridge! Nothin' better than cold pizza, right Connie?! 

Colcannon & Beer Cake!

Just a quick post if you're interested in doing a little Irish cooking...these dishes were for a work potluck on Thursday. Only thing missing was a cold pint to go with them!

The beautiful, nearly-black beginning of the batter for Guinness Cake. All ingredients were wisked together in a large saucepan. Easy peasy!

The cake is baked in a parchment lined springform pan, I guess since it's a bit thin. It sure thickens up though; the cake is very dense, but moist. When I told a baker friend at work that it had dark beer in it, she knew right away that it would be heavy, so I'm learning!

Yummm! I topped it with Bailey's buttercream frosting (instead of cream cheese, which the recipe called for), and it seemed to be a hit. Any cake made with Guinness, butter, sugar & flour, and topped with Irish cream is bound to be a favorite of mine!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Guinness-Cake

The Colcannon potatoes were my favorite. The recipe says to make the potatoes and cabbage separate, but I boiled the cabbage right with the potatoes when they seemed to be about halfway done. I added a bit more butter, but that was the only thing I did different.

 http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Colcannon-Potatoes

So, today you can celebrate by either hoisting a "jar" (I learned that in Ireland) or a piece of cake!

Either way, Bain taithneamh as an deireadh seachtaine!

(enjoy the weekend!)

Who Needs Takeout?!

Yummo! The following recipe is eatingwell.com's healthy version of PF Chang's lettuce wrap, along with my slight modifications. I've made a few versions of this, as it's one of my favorite dishes at Chang's, but this one was by far the best. It got a huge thumbs up from Jack & Alex! I made it Friday evening for dinner, and Linds asked me to save some for her since she was coming home the next day; she loved it, too! Did I mention that this is fantastic?!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 8-ounce can chopped water chestnuts
• 2 tablespoons prepared hoisin sauce
• Dash of low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, mint and/or chives
• 1 carrot, shredded 
• 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves washed & separated
• 1 tsp five-spice powder (I didn't have any, so I used 2 tsp fried rice spice, which was perfect)

Heat sesame  oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey, garlic and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey starts to cook through. Then add red pepper, water chestnuts & carrot (I put these 3 things in the food processor on pulse until they were coarsely chopped) and cook on low for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add hoisin, soy sauce, herbs & rice, and warm (add a splash of chicken or vegetable broth if needed to moisten). Serve in prepared lettuce cups.

Enjoy~ (if you like spicy, red pepper flakes would be a fabulous addition)

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Happy New Year!

"2012" has a really nice ring to it...like, "2012 is going to be such a great year!" and "So and so's getting married in 2012!" Or my personal favorite, "2012 is the year I lose 20 pounds!" So even though I've committed once again to eating healthier and losing weight, here's one last yummy chicken and pasta recipe! (I'll make it again for a special dinner) On a side note: one of the most-used casserole dishes in my kitchen is a Princess House "Miracle Chicken" dish (pricey, but well worth the money). I make a whole chicken every one to two weeks (only takes 30 minutes!), pull the meat off & freeze it in small bags to add to meals like this. No muss, no fuss!

Mmmmm! (in this photo, the pasta should be speckled with spices; add more to yours!)

Cajun Chicken Pasta

1 large (each) red & green pepper, cleaned and sliced

1 medium onion, halved and sliced

4-5 cloves freshly pressed garlic

4 plum tomatoes, wedged and seeded (I forgot to add these!) 

1-3 tsp Cajun spice (I only use 1 tsf because of Mr. Sensitive Lips)

1/2 cup dry white wine

14-oz low sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup regular cream

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

1 lb hot, cooked linguine

fresh chopped parsley

coarsely grated parmesan cheese

Shake seasoning over peppers, onion & garlic, and cook over medium-high heat in 2 tbls olive oil for 4-5 minutes, until veggies are tender to your liking (we like ours crisp-tender; I also would have added the tomatoes for the last 2 minutes with the pepper and onion...ooops). Remove to plate; add wine & chicken broth to pan, scraping up bits in pan as liquids heat. Reduce heat to low and add cream, slowly bringing to a boil and until slightly thickened (here's where my sauce never thickens, so I add a tbls of flour to 1/4 cup cold water, shake well, and add a little at a time to thicken). Add veggies and chicken to sauce to coat. Add all to warm pasta, cover, and let sit for a few minutes, allowing pasta to absorb some of the cream sauce. Top with parsley and cheese. Wow!

Adapted from Pioneer Woman. Apparently her family loves spicy foods, but one member of our tribe requires very mildly spiced foods ; ) 

From now on, in 2012, you won't see any more of these rich, creamy dishes. Nope. Just healthy vegetable and salad meals. Hahahaha, just kiddin'. I give myself and my willpower at least two weeks. Again.

Here's hoping you stick to YOUR resolutions!

 

Christmas Sangria

♪Oh Sangria, you are a friend of mine ♫...I know, I know...the song says "Jose Cuervo", but this stuff is way better. Here's the recipe for the Sangria I made for Mitch and Laura's party on Saturday, originally from Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, but skewed a bit here and there to make it mine. I thought it was pretty "boozy" (I KNOW! IMAGINE THAT!), but my taster was a bit off this weekend with a head cold. I wanted to add lemon-lime soda, but Becky said, "Uh uh. No way. This stuff is perfect like it is." Sooooo, it was left alone, and was actually darn good.

 

These may not look like sangria ingredients to you, but to me, they were perfect! Why use only wine?!

Lots and lots and lots of fruit: oranges, pears, Granny Smith apples, lemon and lime.

Ahhhhh! Liquid gold! Just like the Beverly Hillbillies ; ) All that fruit soaked for hours, and made the concoction very merry!

Terry's Christmas Sangria

1~ 1.5 liter bottle of Pinot Noir, chilled

2~ 1.5 bottles of Pinot Grigio, chilled

1~ cup orange vodka

1~ cup lemon rum

1/2~ cup of triple sec (even tho the lady at Walgreen's liquor called it "triple sex")

1/2~ 1 cup sugar

1~ cup water

1~ quart sparkling mineral water

2~ navel oranges, sliced thin 

2~ lemons, sliced thin

2~ limes, sliced thin

2~ Granny Smith apples, sliced thin

2~ Bartlett pears, sliced thin

In a small pan, bring the water to a boil and add sugar (you've just made "simple syrup"!). Stir till melted. Let cool. In a LARGE glass jar (I bought this one at Walmart in the kitchen aisle; it's called a glass canister, is the largest one, and cost $9.97), add the fruit to the chilled wines and liquor. Add cooled sugar water. Let it get friendly in the fridge for a few hours, and serve ice cold. Ohmygosh! This should serve approximately...I dunno. We just drank it until it was almost gone. Could be 10 people, could be 30, I'm not really sure. There was a little left, and I'm finishing it now. I'll be taking the fruit in to work for our Christmas breakfast. That's ok, right?! ; )

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Randomness

What a great Thanksgiving break this has been! I'm super blessed to have a job that allows me time off to do stuff. I always have big plans: like, this long weekend, I'm going to...1. Clean a closet. 2. Organize the office. 3. Burn pictures onto CD's and label them. 4. Spend extra time at the gym. 5. Read. 6. Make phone calls that I've been meaning to make. Etc, etc, etc. But somehow, those things never seem to happen. Oh, I may get one thing knocked off the list, but honestly, that's just by luck/chance.This particular long weekend, I got a little of this and a little of that done, but nothing much to speak of, at least nothing that was on a list. BUT! I cooked (which you know I love), got a little shopping done, had a thoroughly enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, met old PA friends in Sanford for breakfast before their trek home, and just relaxed.  Tonight, Jack is working the tree lot for the Knights at church, and I'm facebooking, Pinteresting, and generally wasting time. So, as I devour other people's blog posts, I figured I'd better tend to mine as well. Here are a few tidbits from my scattered brain: things I snapped pics of to post, and never got "a round tuit". 

This is my all-time-favorite-nighttime-snack-ever. Sure, it may look like "just" popcorn, but I've even got Jack hooked on it, and he's not much of a popcorn eater. My sis Sara taught me about this years ago, and last year when I found out how bad-for-you packaged microwave popcorn is, I switched to micro air popped, and never looked back. I pop a nice portion in my Presto Power Pop, and lightly spray it with GREAT VALUE brand (it's honestly the best tasting) butter spray, then sprinkle with popcorn salt, garlic powder and a smidge of parmesan cheese (the "soap powder" kind). Yummo! 

When Ann & Dave came to FL earlier this month, I made pumpkin (I KNOW! I'll stop, I promise) chocolate chip cookies with cream cheese icing, recipe courtesy of my friend (and new mom!), Kristyn, from her mom. I've gotta ask if I can share the recipe...

Ok. This was just funny... A sweet friend at work "donated" a number of bottles of wine to me a few months back, and Jack & I have enjoyed a few of them already. So while Jack was in ND, Deb and I decided to pop one of these babies open...a half bottle of Chateau Suduiraut, French Sauternes, 1990; a white, sweet, dessert wine. Oh, yeah...this little fella goes for $45, can't wait!...Uhhh, see the cork floating in the bottle? I couldn't seem to get it out with my fancy-shmansy corkscrew, so I pounded it into the bottle, creating a spray of wine that hit me directly in the eye. We laughed for five minutes! (and this wasn't the first time I'd gotten hit in the eye by a bottle of bubbly; I went to the ER 20+ years ago after being attacked by a champagne cork!) Bottom line: the wine was truly horrid (wasn't stored on its side), and we laughed the whole time I took these pictures. (we laugh all the time anyway)

Sooooo, tomorrow we're all back at it. Happy Monday, everyone! It's almost Christmas!

Pumpkin. Again.

Obsession seems so creepy. Let's just call my enthusiasm for pumpkin an affinity. That just means "a natural liking or close attraction". There. That's better. So, my affinity for pumpkin has me scouring food blogs for even more recipes (the "Pumpkin Files" are currently the largest folder in my foodgawker account, beating even the "Dessert Instead of Dinner" folder). Jack is still hunting, and time is running out to make myself foods that I know he doesn't care for. Like pumpkin. I haven't cooked a great deal in the last 9 days, so I figured I'd see if the stove still worked. It does. Darn.

Yep, pumpkin black bean soup! I know...I get it....doesn't sound great to non-squash-lovers (or maybe even to actual-squash-lovers). But it's fantastic! Really. It just takes like a rich, creamy black bean soup...oh....you'll have to like black bean soup! Try it on a cool night like tonight, and it feels like fall heaven ♥

http://www.dishingthedivine.com/2011/10/13/pumpkin-black-bean-soup/

The Pumpkin Addiction Continues...

This was my first ever cheesecake. I've been wanting to make one for a long time, but have never been a fantastic baker. They sound like a lot of trouble, and I fear failure. But since this is my year, I figured, "Let's do this!" So, my first try (naturally) would be a pumpkin cheesecake. I found this recipe on a blog called "sprinkle bakes" through food gawker. It sounded pretty darn easy, and I had almost all the ingredients already. Cream cheeses a-blazing, here I go!

The springform pan needs to be wrapped in heavy duty foil, I'm guessing so the hot water bath doesn't seep in.

The crust is made up of pecans, sugar, flour and butter, salt, ginger & water. I can do that! Process everything but the water & butter...

Add the butter then the water till crumbly.

The consistency may have been a little more pasty than crumbly....

so it was kinda sticky to spread in the pan. I ended up using a spatula.

Pumpkin mix ingredients.

Meanwhile, the crust bakes and needs to cool completely. Turned out great!

Mmmm, pumpkin, heavy cream and spices.

Mix that into the beaten cream cheese and sugar, add cornstarch then add eggs one at a time.

It looks good already! (to me, anyways) The springform sits in a baking pan and gets a good 1" hot water bath, then into a 325° oven. The recipe called for 70-80 minutes, so I baked it for 75 to be safe. 

YaY! It's beautiful (if I do say so myself :)

This will be my new Thanksgiving "signature" dish! (along with my corn souffle) I wouldn't change one thing about it, it's absolutely BRILLIANT! (thanks Becky) I ate it last night and for breakfast today. And for a snack this evening. And probably breakfast tomorrow.

http://www.sprinklebakes.com/2011/10/pumpkin-cheesecake-with-sugared-pumpkin.html

I skipped the whipped cream topping and sugared pumpkin seeds in the above recipe. Honestly, it was perfect just like this! (with a dollop of whipped cream)

This salad is made up of mixed greens, feta, pears & pecans. It's my new signature salad (I like saying "signature"). I made my signature (hahahaha) Italian dressing with fresh herbs from Annie and Pete, brought in fresh from Merritt Island on Thursday!

Ok. That's enough cooking. I'll hit the kitchen again when the hunters come home!

Starbucks?! We Don't Need No Stinkin' Starbucks!

You know by now how much I loveeee pumpkin. I found this recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Latte on...wait for it....FOODGAWKER!!! The blogger touted, "Save $$ and calories by making your own Starbucks Pumpkin-Spice Lattes. It's really simple!" Really? YES, really! I think these are fabulous. I  came home today and made one for lunch, even though it was about 85° and as humid as a rainforest! Hey, it's October, I can pretend it's fall, can't I?!

Pumpkin Spice Latte
(Serves One)

• 2 T canned pumpkin
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup milk of choice, or (my favorite) a combination of fat-free half & half and skim milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3-4 T strong coffee (I used my iced coffee concentrate)
• sugar (or stevia) to taste

Mix everything with a fork or whisk. Heat in microwave to your liking and enjoy! Top with whipped cream if desired.

No kidding, this is super! Cozy up with a blanket for me!

Wine (but mostly a FOOD) Tasting!

In the last few years I've realized that cooking good food makes me really happy. My cooking style now is unlike the "food preparation" style of my child-rearing years: hamburger helper, rice-a-roni, spaghetti and scalloped potatoes (not that there's anything wrong with that!). That food was easy, quick and inexpensive, and met the need to fill our bellies (on a shoestring budget!). But with kiddos gone for the most part, it's such fun to prepare different (translation: fresher and more expensive) foods. Jack has developed a palate that I never thought was possible; he was strictly a meat and potatoes guy, who now likes my versions of moo-shoo vegetables, baked sweet potato fries with rosemary, and mushroom-dill perogies (still doesn't care for artichokes, though, I'm working up to them). So a few weeks ago, when we decided to have another wine tasting, I immediately started searching for new recipes, while he looked forward to the wine. Who knew?!

This concoction is the fig portion of fig and kalamata olive tapenade, absolutely my favorite dish of the night!

I doubled the recipe and threw in some green olives for good measure.

Then I topped a block of feta and a block of cream cheese each with this fabulous blend of salty and sweet. Yummo!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fig-and-olive-tapenade/detail.aspx

I've had that hankerin' for pumpkin, so I found these on my food gawker obession. Errr, website. Pumpkin cheesecake brownies. I've only made brownies from scratch a few times, and that part was easy. Adding the pumpkin cheesecake mixture was a different story, however. I got to the part where you mix the two, and was kinda like "huh?" Maybe I baked them too long; they were a tad drier that I hoped.

But PRETTY (and actually pretty tasty), so who cares?! ; )

http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/8426

This idea for a centerpiece came from Laura N., who sent it to me the night before in a text, via Pinterest. I love my friends!

I also made a pumpkin cream cheese spread with walnuts, a goat cheese log rolled in fresh herbs (that would have been for YOU, Laurie C!), and caprese skewers! The links are below:

http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/16953

(for the spread)

and

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/caprese-skewers-recipe/index.html

for the skewers.

Sorry kids! I'll be a good-cooking-Grandma instead!

Whoopie! It's Fall!

 Hurray! Today has been gorgeous so far...cool, with no humidity. I'm so in the mood for fall, especially since I've been scouting other people's blogs for recipes (thanks again to my new addiction, Food Gawker), and they're all stoked, too, posting fabulous pumpkin soup, butter, cake & latte recipes. Sara and Aunt Rose are coming for dinner tomorrow, and I wanted to bake something fall-ish and easy, but special. These Spicy Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are almost perfect (just a tad too much cloves). Jack and Alex said the house smelled like Thanksgiving! It helped that I had a chicken cooking on the stove, too : ) And if you don't know what whoopie pies are, boy, are YOU missing out! Stop by and I'll give ya one!

Spices galore!

Dark brown sugar, mixed with a cup of oil. I'm pulling out all the stops, no "applesauce substitute" here!

Publix was out of Libby's pumpkin, so organic was just fine! It's super pureed.

Mixing the pumpkin into the whisked together dry ingredients. Don't do this. I said, "Hon, why do you think this is turning out like bread dough?!" After I re-read the directions, I figured out why. Oops, mix the pumpkin into the sugar and oil, then add the flour! Ooohhhh.

Whew, it seemed to turn out ok after all. It all gets mixed together eventually anyway, right?!

Jack and I thought it was a good idea to make mini-cupcakes so that the cookie shapes were uniform. Don't do this either. It makes doughy, mini-cupcakes, not uniform whoopie cakes. Trial and error...

Aaahhhh, NOW I've got it! Don't forget the parchment!

Slap some homemade cream cheese icing in there, and it's just like bein' in PA Dutch country in the fall!

Happy fall, y'all!

http://www.marthastewart.com/344826/pumpkin-whoopie-pies-with-cream-cheese-f