Chuck has been working on these season-by-season cross-stitched bunnies for Jamie for a couple years now... I've tried to chronicle her work, but I missed a few here and there. Today, though, I've got them all together in one place since Jamie recently turned them into a super-cute baby quilt... adorable!Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bunny Quilt!
Chuck has been working on these season-by-season cross-stitched bunnies for Jamie for a couple years now... I've tried to chronicle her work, but I missed a few here and there. Today, though, I've got them all together in one place since Jamie recently turned them into a super-cute baby quilt... adorable!
Maple/Apple Pork Chops
These maple and apple pork chops were super easy and really tasty. A little sweet from the apple and maple, but the sweetness is tempered by the mustard and lemon juice. The sauce bubbles up and makes a delicious glaze for the pork.
Served with roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon, cumin and chipotle, plus a green salad.
Served with roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon, cumin and chipotle, plus a green salad.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Indonesian Corn Fitters
The TV in the house is perpetually on The Food Network...and I tend not to watch. However, The Best Thing I Ever Ate was on and since the topic was "crunchy" it caught my attention. This was Brian Boitano's pick: Indonesian Corn Fritters from The E & O Trading Company Restaurant. I googled it...and this is what I came up with.
I made a 1/2 recipe...but could have eaten a full one. I used frozen corn...so they probably weren't as crunchy as they could have been...but they were still So. Damn. Good.
I made a 1/2 recipe...but could have eaten a full one. I used frozen corn...so they probably weren't as crunchy as they could have been...but they were still So. Damn. Good.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Spicy Lentil Walnut Burgers
Last year, in an attempt to eat healthier, I bought several different types of dried lentils (brown, red, yellow). A short time later, I inherited even more lentils from Amy when she moved across the world to Australia. Since I came into this wealth of lentils, I think I have cooked lentils ZERO times. This needed to change...
Enter the Other Martha's Spicy Lentil-Walnut Burgers... perfect! Spicy, earthy, easy... plus the burgers help me get over one of my main consistency hang-ups with lentils- they get super crispy on the outside if you cook them slow-and-low.
The burgers are pretty big, so be sure to get the larger sized pitas. They also fall apart a little bit, which isn't the end of the world, but not very picturesque (sorry!). The leftovers were great the next day heated up in the toaster oven and served over a green salad with feta, olives, and a vinaigrette.
Enter the Other Martha's Spicy Lentil-Walnut Burgers... perfect! Spicy, earthy, easy... plus the burgers help me get over one of my main consistency hang-ups with lentils- they get super crispy on the outside if you cook them slow-and-low.
The burgers are pretty big, so be sure to get the larger sized pitas. They also fall apart a little bit, which isn't the end of the world, but not very picturesque (sorry!). The leftovers were great the next day heated up in the toaster oven and served over a green salad with feta, olives, and a vinaigrette.
World's Easiest Turkey Chili
This chili recipe might just be added to my weeknight quick-and-easy dinner rotation... and maybe it should make its way into yours, too. No chopping for those knife-averse, cooks in 20 minutes for those short on time, uses exclusively pantry staple ingredients for those too lazy to hit up the grocery store, makes enough leftovers for those, like me, who have been dropping too much cash at crappy sandwich joints by the office, and, finally, it tastes pretty good!
I made a couple small changes that worked pretty well: used 1 lb of ground turkey rather than chicken, black beans instead of pinto, and substituted a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce where the recipe calls for soy sauce. Switch it up to your taste!
Served with some baked tortilla chips, cheddar, avocado, cilantro and sour cream.
I made a couple small changes that worked pretty well: used 1 lb of ground turkey rather than chicken, black beans instead of pinto, and substituted a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce where the recipe calls for soy sauce. Switch it up to your taste!Served with some baked tortilla chips, cheddar, avocado, cilantro and sour cream.
Spinach "Lag" Roll-ups!
Inspired by an entry on my new favorite website, Tim and I made "lag" rolls for dinner last week, and they were really good. Inspired by recipes from Giada "Boobs" De Laurentis and Rachael Ray, we tried this somewhat unorthodox way of making spinach "lag" by rolling up the ricotta and spinach mixture in the cooked lasagna noodles... loved 'em! The rolls hold together really well and are easier to serve than traditional lasagna. 
I made the bechamel sauce from Giada's recipe and followed her spinach/ricotta directions, too, but I also added more veggies to the mix by sauteeing some grated carrots, mushrooms and onions in garlic and olive oil, then adding it to the marinara sauce. Pretty good!
PS: You can't abbreviate lasagna.
PPS: ok.
I made the bechamel sauce from Giada's recipe and followed her spinach/ricotta directions, too, but I also added more veggies to the mix by sauteeing some grated carrots, mushrooms and onions in garlic and olive oil, then adding it to the marinara sauce. Pretty good!PS: You can't abbreviate lasagna.
PPS: ok.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year's Nibbles
We had an awesome New Year's Eve: lots of delicious food, champagne and playing board games and Wii (Just Dance 2 = super fun!).
At Tim's request and to Meghan's delight, I made old-school cheese balls, one just cheddar, one blue cheese and cheddar, both rolled in walnuts, both pretty tasty. I used a recipe from my ancient Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Better Homes and Gardens is not responsible for the suggestive knife placement, however.
I also made 2 types of cute puff pastry swirly things: one with prosciutto, Dijon and Romano, a riff off of Joy the Baker's recipe, and one with feta and spinach. Both tasted great (although the Romano may have been a tad salty, but it's what I had in the house), can be served hot or at room temperature, and the leftovers also reheated well in the oven the next day. Plus, as I said, they were pretty cute.
Liz made these awesome mini-roast beef sandwiches with melty Havarti, peach preserves, and chopped walnuts- so good! Plus, they sounded fairly easy to put together, which is always a bonus.
Chuck successfully remade a couple of the deviled egg recipes we tried a few months ago... the Sriracha eggs still kick ass, and the herbed deviled eggs are a step up from the usual eggs (although the recipe makes waaaay too much filling). We also had some cute mini-quiches, corn and bead salad, excellent pumpkin bread and other tasty delights...
At Tim's request and to Meghan's delight, I made old-school cheese balls, one just cheddar, one blue cheese and cheddar, both rolled in walnuts, both pretty tasty. I used a recipe from my ancient Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. Better Homes and Gardens is not responsible for the suggestive knife placement, however.
I also made 2 types of cute puff pastry swirly things: one with prosciutto, Dijon and Romano, a riff off of Joy the Baker's recipe, and one with feta and spinach. Both tasted great (although the Romano may have been a tad salty, but it's what I had in the house), can be served hot or at room temperature, and the leftovers also reheated well in the oven the next day. Plus, as I said, they were pretty cute.
Liz made these awesome mini-roast beef sandwiches with melty Havarti, peach preserves, and chopped walnuts- so good! Plus, they sounded fairly easy to put together, which is always a bonus.
Chuck successfully remade a couple of the deviled egg recipes we tried a few months ago... the Sriracha eggs still kick ass, and the herbed deviled eggs are a step up from the usual eggs (although the recipe makes waaaay too much filling). We also had some cute mini-quiches, corn and bead salad, excellent pumpkin bread and other tasty delights...
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