An Amazing Breakfast

Start your Monday with this amazing breakfast.  This came to me in an email from Martha Stewart.  I miss ol' Martha on TV.  You can sign up for her newsletter though and get some yummy healthy recipes in your in box. I gave this a try and really liked it.  Here's the basics.  One grapefruit, one banana and 1/2 of an avocado.  Cut this all up.  Enjoy.  Yesterday, I wanted to add just a bit of protein, some crunch and some dried cherries(just because I love them) and the result was divine.

Here's the quick recipe.

1 grapefruit cut up

1 banana sliced

1/2 avocado diced - for good fat

sprinkle with slivered almonds, pepitas(pumpkin seeds) and dried cherries

Try it and let me know what you think.

Beanie Quinoa Salad

I am making a concentrated effort to phase out some meat in our diet.  I eat too much caveman food, if you ask me.  But then there's the Paleo diet that touts meat as a main staple with grains being on the naughty list.  Sheesh, I don't know how to eat anymore, to tell you the truth.  I worry about all of the hormones in regular store bought meat.  I'd like to buy local grass fed meat but we just don't have the freezer space to store a lot of meat.  So I'm on  a campaign to use more beans and tofu as protein.  I found a good bean salad recipe on Pinterest but added and deleted ingredients to suit our taste.  Here's the finished dish which rated a thumbs up from the cavemen.  Give it a try.  Let me know what you think.

                                             

Beanie Quinoa Salad

2 cans beans of your choice, drained and rinsed

2 Roma tomatoes chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

1 small zucchini diced

1 small red, yellow, or orange pepper diced

1/2 jalapeño diced - optional, if you want a little kick

1/2  to 1 cup cooked quinoa, to your taste

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tbl. canola oil

1/2 tsp. sugar

feta cheese to top it off

Combine the beans, all vegetables and quinoa in a bowl.  Set aside.  Combine vinegar, oil and sugar.  Pour over the salad. Mix and  allow ingredients to combine for a couple of hours.  Top with Feta cheese when ready to serve.  Printable Recipe

A Grown up Kind of Birthday Meal

A few months ago Caveson#1 turned 16.  There's something about that 16 year milestone that makes you say to yourself - and out loud for the whole family to hear , "Where did those 16 years go, how did they pass so quickly?  Did I do and teach all of the things the heavens entrusted me to accomplish with this little, now bigger being?"  Take heed my mommy sisters.  Time is fleeting.  Your child will be 16 in a blink.  That's a conversation for another post, though.
     I always give the Cavesons an opportunity to choose a special family birthday meal.  Caveson #1 said he didn't really have a preference so I set out to find the perfect meal to please all the family palates and stomach ailments.  Martha provided me with just the fix.  Yes, Martha of the Stewart variety.  This Nicoise style salad was not only beautiful but plentiful and delicious.

And now for the meat plate.

This meal would be fabulous for vegetarians also, sans the meat of course.  We chose grilled chicken, steak and Mahi Mahi on the meat platter.  

     

The salad platter includes several hard cheeses plus fresh mozzarella, gold and red beats(in a separate bowl to discourage beet juice from contaminating everything), olives, heirloom tomatoes, colorful peppers, boiled eggs, lettuce, watercress, cukes, avocados, and water chestnuts.  If I remember correctly, Martha put one of these together the day after a dinner party to use up her leftover meat and veggies.  I often make my own dressings but quite frankly, this took a while to put together so I opted for store-bought dressings this time. 

     Really, the possibilities are endless for additions to this salad.  Try carrot sticks, boiled red skins, jicama, celery, shredded cabbage or thinly sliced red onion.  MMMmmm!

Our local grocery stores now have these great olive bars with a collection of different types of olives.  There's garlic stuffed, almond stuffed, pimiento stuffed and lots of different types of kalamata olives.  I have never been a big olive fan but, wow, these are delectable!

When it came to birthday cake, Caveboy#3 opted for a birthday pie instead.  This just happens to be a Martha Stewart recipe, as well.  I tweaked it a bit and added cherries so it became an apple cherry slab pie.  I have made this slab pie with only apples and only cherries and it's just plain old good no matter what you put into it.  Feeds a crowd, too.

 Notice the candles.  I didn't have a 1 and a 6 candle but I had three candles that added up to 16.  

Hey, sometimes we have to improvise, don't we?

And there you have it.  I hope you're inspired to create your own whole meal salad.  It's a delicious meal, birthday or not.

     

Fabulous Tomato Eggplant Bake

     Here it is mid August and the tomatoes are starting to pile up.  I never have enough at one time to can but I end up popping them in the freezer and using them in chili and spaghetti sauce over the winter.  I also had an eggplant that I wanted to use as it was on the verge of turning brown.  So I searched the internet and found some other tomato eggplant bakes but they were just plain boring!  I was looking for a bit more pizazz so I came up with this recipe.  My 15 year old son ate 75% of it!  That's when I knew it was a winner!

Fabulous Tomato Eggplant Bake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 large tomatoes sliced in 1/4 - 1/2" slices
1 medium eggplant in 1/4 - 1/2" slices
1 large onion sliced paper thin
1 Tbl. salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Tbl. fresh basil
1 Tbl. fresh parsley
1 Tbl. parmesan cheese-the powdery kind in a jar
dash of pepper

Drizzle after baking

1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbl. fresh basil
1Tbl. fresh parsley
1 clove crushed garlic
1/2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
6-10 kalamata olives(to your taste)

feta cheese
shaved parmesan cheese



Slice the eggplant, layer it in a colander and sprinkle it with the salt.  Set this in your sink to sweat and drain.  This will eliminate some of the water in the eggplant.   Let sit for about a half hour.  In the meantime, slice your tomatoes and onions.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, herbs, garlic, parmesan cheese and pepper.

Time to layer the vegetables.  Start with a tomato.  Next to it add an onion slice.  Now add an eggplant slice.  Now another onion slice.  So your rhythm will go like this...tomato, onion, eggplant, onion, tomato, onion, eggplant, onion, tomato...Layer all of your slices until you use them up.  I ended up with three rows of slices.
      Drizzle your olive oil mixture over the veggies.  Bake in the over at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until they just start to brown on the top.

While this is baking, let's make the drizzle that tops it off.  In a bowl, combine all of the drizzle ingredients.  Add a bit more olive oil, if you would like.  Let this set and ferment while the veggies bake.
      Once your vegetables are lightly browned, remove them from the oven and drizzle the Drizzle mixture over all of the slices.  Use a brush to spread this around.

Now top the whole thing with feta cheese AND shaved parmesan cheese to taste.  Oh WOW!  This is so yummy.  I could eat only this for dinner!

Variations.  I'll probably make this a few more times this summer.  These are the variations I'll try out.
I'll cut some thin fresh mozzarella cheese and/or zucchini to layer between the slices.  The next time, I'll chop some marinated mozzarella balls and top with this instead of the feta.  I'll still include the parmesan.

So give it a try and let me know what you think.  I tend to alter recipes to our taste so add more garlic, take out the basil, top with different cheeses,  whatever gets the job done for you.  Either way let's use up those tomatoes and enjoy.

Last Step, Using Your Binder

OK,  so you have made dividers for your food groups and you have a binder full of torn out recipes.  Or maybe more than one binder.  I won't tell how many I have.  Now you can start using these to your heart's content.  Leaf through the pages, put a few recipes aside each week to try out and give 'em a whirl.  If you like them, write some notes on the recipe if you want, and file in the correct divider section.  Ah, but what to do with recipes that have several food groups mixed up on the page?  I put it in a special section marked "Mixed" or if I don't want to use the rest of the recipes on the page I either cut that one out and glue it to a blank sheet and file appropriately.  Or I simply write my notations on it, knowing there are other recipes on the page that I might want to try and I file it under "Mixed".
     So there you have it.  It's a simple way to tame all those recipe tear outs.  And honestly, it doesn't take that much time once you get on a roll.  Happy filing.

NEXT STEP RECIPE ORGANIZATION

I have no doubt that you have flipped through your new binder full of recipes since you visited last.  Hopefully, you have weeded out a few in the process.
     Now, it's time to make some dividers.  For this, you can simply buy some dividers with those little tabs on the side or you can make your own with some tag board and those nifty  sticky tabs.  These are great because they stick like a post it but they are movable so you can move the tabs on your dividers as you add additional dividing sheets.
     Now, let's decide how to tag your dividers.  I separate the "proteins" into the following:  beef, chicken, pork, fish, tofu, meatless.  When it comes to salads I also separate into several catagories: green, pasta, grain, vegetable, etc.  I do the same with veggies.  There are so many potato dishes I have a separate divider for just potatoes.  You can use tags such as greens, root veggies, corn, etc.  It really depends on what you make a lot for your family.
      So the assignment for this week is to make dividers for your recipe stash and try out a few more recipes, deciding whether to keep them or recycle them.  If you like them just put them into the front of your binder for now.  Don't be afraid to write on your recipes.  I note whether to add more or less of something, any changes in heat or timing, etc.  Making these dividers isn't something that you have to sit down and take 20 minutes to do.  While waiting for the water to boil, taking a phone call, or sitting in the dentist's office, jot down a few dividers.  Before you know it they will be done and it didn't cost you a block of time.  In the meantime, your binder is useable!

Those Three Hole Punched Recipes

     Now, what to do with that stack of recipes that you hole punched last week???  Remember, I said I needed a system that was  simple and streamlined to deal with this pile of tear outs that I had been collecting. And I didn't want to spend a big block of time dealing with it.   If you are anything like me, the number of tasks on your DAILY TO DO LIST  far exceeds the number of minutes in the day.  I needed to break it down into quickie  steps.  Your next step is to simply put the whole pile into a binder.  Yes, unorganized and all types of dishes together in one place.  Don't worry, further organization is coming!
     So, now that they are all in a binder you can AT LEAST flip through them and zero in on some recipes to try.
     OK, that took you maybe 10 minutes, tops.  You can be done for now-OR- you can choose 2,3,7 recipes to try this week.  I put my choices in a little folder and tucked them into the binder.  You can simply put them at the top of the pile if you want.  When you make them this week, keep those that you like,make notations on them and put them on the top of the pile in the binder.  Guess what you are going to do with them if you don't like them.  You are simply going to recycle them.  Put them in your recycle bag and take them to your local school or library.  Or make some plant starter pots.  More on that this week.
 

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie With Biscuit Topping

I have had ZERO time for crafting these days so I am going to share a Skillet Pot Pie Recipe that I found on the internet.  I had to tweak it a bit so I'm going to give you MY version.  You can find the original on www.mealsmatter.org.

There is a yummy biscuit recipe that goes with this but I did not have the heavy cream that it calls for so I skipped it.  Normally, I would have made a healthier biscuit, but this time I grabbed a box of Bisquick(which I know is not healthy) and added some goodies to dress them up a bit.  You can even use biscuits in a tube.
Find the biscuit recipe on the box, whip that up but add 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese.  Once they are out of the oven, mix 2 Tblsp. melted butter and 1/8 tsp garlic powder together.    Brush this mixture on the hot biscuits.  Set these babies aside while you make the pot pie mixture.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts(I used thighs)
4 tbl. unsalted butter
1 medium onion, minced (1 cup)
2 ribs celery, sliced thin
4 small potatoes, peeled, diced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
1/4 c dry vermouth or dry white wine
2 c. chicken broth(I boiled my chicken and used the broth from that)
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
2 c. frozen peas and carrots, thawed
Dash of pepper


In a pot, add your chicken and 2 1/2 c. water.  Bring to a boil and cook until chicken is done.  Remove the chicken and add the potatoes to cook in this broth.  When the chicken is cool, cut into bite sized pieces.  When potatoes are soft, put aside.
     In your skillet, add 2 tbl. butter, garlic, onion, celery and  cook 5 minutes or so, until onion is softened.  Stir in the flour and cook stirring constantly, until incorporated, about 1 minute.
     Stir in wine and cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.  Slowly whisk in the broth from the chicken, evaporated milk, and thyme.  Bring to a simmer.  Add chicken, potatoes, and mixed vegetables.  Simmer 5 or 10 minutes to combine.

To serve, ladle up a bowl of the pot pie mixture and top with a biscuit.  Mmmm, comfort food!

  And it doesn't take long to whip up.  It's much faster than making a crust and baking.  If you could plan ahead and have the chicken cooked that will save you time during the regular preparation.  The original recipe  has you pan browning the chicken but since my chicken thighs were half frozen I chose to boil and use that broth!

Let's Tame Your Recipe Tear Outs and Simplify Your Dinner Recipe Search

     If you are a recipe and cook book hoarder like I am you have torn out recipes in piles, folders, boxes or strewn about on counter tops, in files, and tucked into the magazines they were extracted from.  Actually, I'm not that bad. I do have all of my tear outs and newspaper clipped recipes in a pile in my cook book cupboard.  Do I EVER make any of them.  Ah, no.  And why not?  Because I won't ever go through the pile to find that recipe that I ripped out months ago.  Who has time for that? But, I tear out some really yummy looking dishes and hope to make them "Someday".  That's the 8th day of the week - "Someday" - the one that never comes.  Long ago, when I had time,(BHAK(before husband and kids)) I would actually cut out the recipe and glue them on paper and tuck them in a binder.  I have three of those binders and I use them often.  Well, I just don't have time for that anymore  so I tried to come up with a way to streamline that idea so that I could use those recipes without investing a lot of time finding them.  It's not perfect and it's not really pretty, but for me, at this point in my life, it is functional.  That's as far as we can go sometimes, isn't it?
     Here is your first step to using all of those recipes.  This week, I  want you to  accomplish three tasks.  The first step is to collect the clippings and  put them all in one place.
 
     The second step is going to involve a hole punch - preferably a three hole punch.  It will make your life much easier.  Now, three hole punch your stash of recipes.  Actually, you would be surprised at how quickly this will be accomplished with a three hole punch.  If need be, take five minutes, here and five minutes there to get this done. Do it when you are waiting for the onions and peppers to fry or the toast to pop.

     Step three will help you with dinner this week.  During hole punching sessions, pull out a few recipes that you can make for dinner this week.  Now, put all of the recipes back in your pile, file or bag and sit tight 'till next week.  Enjoy those that you pulled out for dinner.  If you liked them, note that on the recipe and put that on the top of your pile.   If you didn't, pitch it.
    That's it for now.  If you don't have time to punch, just collect and stack this week.  Next week we'll put them somewhere.

For next week: You will need a binder or two, depending on the height of your recipe stack.

                           No Bakes and Mix Ins

     There's something about after dinner in the dead of winter in Michigan.  Well not exactly the dead of winter this year.  It's 48 degrees today!  But after dinner in the winter often has me carousing around the cupboards in search of just a tid bit of chocolate.  I hadn't made No Bakes in a while and the kiddos like them so I decided to whip  up a batch, but decided to experiment and added some "Mix Ins".  Hey, why not!  There are Mix Ins for ice cream and cupcakes, so No Bakes full of wonderment sounded...um "wonderment-ful."   I scrounged around the pantry and dug up some marshmallows, tiny baking M & M's, toffee bits, white chocolate chips and coconut.  Imagine the possibilities!  Raisins, dried cherries(double yum), cranberries, nuts, granola, fruit...drool.

 I decided not to actually mix the goodies exactly "in", but I piled them on the top so that there wouldn't be any surprises for my sometimes picky boys.  We think they turned out really yummy so I plan to try another batch with new "Mix Ins".
Here's the recipe I used.  Give it a try and let me know about your favorite Mix Ins.

                                Basic No Bakes

2c. sugar
4 Tbl. cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 c. milk
1c. peanut butter
1 Tbl. vanilla
3c. oatmeal ( added about 1/3 cup more)

Combine sugar, cocoa, butter, milk in a saucepan.  Heat to boiling.  Boil for 1 minute.  Stir in peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal.  Drop by tablespoon onto wax paper, top with or stir in Mix Ins.  These can set up rather quickly so drop a few then add your goodies, then drop a few more.