Days of Food :: 20

Just a reminder about a simple recipe that you've probably made before. Don't you just love tried and true and great stand-by foods? Well, veggie pizza is one of ours :: actually, I think we have several, pepperoni bread being another pizza-type comfort food. An appetizer or main meal, veggie pizza goes well with our family's palate. I enjoy serving it with other items when having guests over as it's an easy crowd-pleaser. Another favorite (and hot!) pizza we like is the turkey club pizza.

Any great tried and true foods or dishes your family enjoys?

Days of Food :: 20

Days of Food :: 19

I enjoy the ease of this recipe and the convenience. Make a bunch, stick it in the fridge, eat for lunch, snack, as a side dish, as a topping over fish, with tortilla chips....it's delicious! And each time it's been our dish to be shared at a potluck, I end up giving out the recipe. This creation is not originally mine though, so can't take the credit.

Black Bean Salsa
3 cans (15 oz ea) black beans, rinsed & drained
3 cans (14-15 oz ea) corn (I use a large bag of frozen)
1 can (14.5 oz) Italian diced tomatoes, drained, but not rinsed
1/2 cup salsa or picante sauce
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup (about 3) green onions, sliced thin

dressing:
in a small container that has a lid add:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (more or less to taste if you wish)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1 TBsp garlic, minced
close lid and shake vigorously. pour over salsa and mix well.

alterations:
using a fork, you can mash some of the beans for a smoother texture.

add salt & pepper if wanted (I don't usually)

if you give it 2-3 hours to marinate, it will taste even better (stir a few times)

this recipes makes a fairly good amount! reduce as wanted.

Days of Food :: 19

Days of Food :: 18

Just a note found while cleaning through my cookbooks. I'm unable to give credit to any source since it's just a cutout from a magazine; and I couldn't begin to tell you which one.

Eat Right, Sleep Tight :: for evening meals and when possible, opt for foods that promote sleep, such as....

• milk
• tuna
• halibut
• pumpkin
• artichokes
• avocados
• almonds
• eggs
• peaches
• walnuts
• apricots
• oats
• asparagus
• potatoes
• bananas

It's a rainy day here in our neck of the woods, so sleep is on my mind.

Hope that you can slow down this weekend and savor the moments.

Days of Food :: 18

Days of Food :: 17

Ummm....these blueberry muffins are very, very good. The recipe claims it to be the best, and they come fairly close in my book. The children and I had them for dinner tonight.

Yes, you read that correctly. Dinner. With milk.

And yes, hubby is out of town. Old habits die hard.

Substitute the brown sugar if wanted.

Days of Food :: 17

Days of Food :: 16

Oh, wow. I think this may be the best caesar salad dressing we've tried so far {um, we do not use anchovies!}.

soak up the last few days of summer & relax this weekend.

Days of Food :: 16

Days of Food :: 15

Herbal Iced Tea

4 Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea bags
4 Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea bags
4 cups pure apple juice

Steep the 8 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags; I used tongs to pick them up & to squeeze a bit more flavor into the tea.

Combine the tea with the apple juice and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice. No caffeine, no added sugar and no complaints from this household. I doubled the recipe so we'd have plenty. Recipe from a cookbook I bought earlier this year.

Days of Food :: 15

Days of Food :: 14

I finally went grocery shopping :: even I will confess that it was a bit overdue. A collective sigh could probably be heard from my dear family as they opened pantry & refrigerator doors yesterday. It's been a desperate situation, well, at least according to a few members in our home.
But before an excursion to the produce market and grocery store, and when things have gotten a little scarce...I play this game in my head.

"We have plenty of food in this house!"

"Why, I probably don't need to shop for another few days, maybe even a few weeks!!"

Um yeah, it's pretty silly. But it's just something I do; got it from my mother I think.

So imagine my family's delight when I pulled off this meal. Something from nothing {again, according to them}! Tostadas topped with refried beans, shredded chicken, onions, cheese, lettuce & sour cream. There was just a little bit of each item to make this work; then I added a side of the last two boxes of Spanish rice found deep in the pantry.

For those who may not know, tostadas are basically flat tacos. Take a tortilla (corn works best) & spray with oil and bake until crispy or simply fry them in an inch or two of oil. Since I was talking to my sister while trying to cook ours, mine came out a wee bit darker than the norm. So much for multi-tasking. Oh well, they were delicious. And my mother would be proud!

This week I hope to try out new recipes & review some of our favorites. One claims to be the best blueberry muffins ever, there's the black bean salsa that I swoon over, and an herbal iced tea that uses no sugar and calls for only 3 ingredients. It's gonna be a yummy few days!

Days of Food :: 14

Days of Food :: 13

Some favorite cookbooks today!

I really like books...all kinds, especially those with pictures of the finished product of a great recipe. I've been known to whittle away time at Barnes n Nobles or Borders just browsing and reading through cookbooks while sipping a spiced tazo chai latte!

Even though I enjoy them, there are not many cookbooks on my shelf {sigh}. A few of my favorites through the years and that don't get tossed into a give-away box:

Simply in Season is part of a World Community Cookbook series. I also own a few others in the series.

More with Less

Extending the Table--I love this one! Recipes from Botswana, Poland, Mexico, the Phillipines and many other countries. The intriguing part are also the stories & quotes from around the world. I simply like reading this cookbook {and guess what, it has very few pictures & none of the actual recipes--and I still think it's great.}

For children:

We found this book at a yard sale and what fun it is! Pretend Soup is a great early cookbook for preschoolers and is tailor-made for this age group. Easy to follow pictures (illustrated, not photos) of each step.

Now it's counterpart Honest Pretzels, for ages 8 & up, is on our wish list.

And, if you need a reference on when to feed what foods to an infant/toddler and making baby food, let me recommend the Super Baby Food book. I still use info out of this one.

And there are the faithfuls like Betty Crocker, Southern Living annuals, Martha Stewarts, etc. I just keep checking those out of the library. I'd love to hear any cookbook favorites of yours!

Days of Food :: 13

Days of Food :: 12

Pecan Salad

about 1 cup pecans, chopped if you prefer

1 pkg. ramen noodles, broken up into small pieces (throw out the spice package!)

2 TBsp butter

saute, stirring often, all three until noodles have browned a little. cool on paper towels

romaine lettuce & other spring lettuces

broccoli, coarsely chopped (my pic above has no broccoli as we didn't have any that day)

dried cranberries

Layer salad--lettuce, broccoli, noodles & pecans mix

dressing:

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar or use sugar substitute

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1-1/2 tsp soy sauce

mix well; pour over salad right before serving as the dressing will wilt the salad fairly quickly.

Days of Food :: 12

Days of Food :: 11

As a family, our favorite fish is probably tilapia {though Mama is partial to red snapper} :: not too fishy tasting, light and wonderful with just about any spice thrown on it. Usually, I just use lemon-pepper and some olive oil. We enjoyed it with herbed rice and a veggie mix.

Days of Food :: 11

Days of Food :: 10

No picture today, but the link has one!

This weekend I tried a clam chowder recipe for the first time & that went over very well, even with the kids {except one, but I knew she wouldn't like it anyway}. We lived in New England for several years and my husband grew up there, so this is a classic northern dish. I didn't eat clam chowder until I met my husband.

I also didn't eat mushrooms or crabs. Or much of Italian food. But, when in Rome do as the Romans...and so New England rubbed off on this Texan girl :: who by the way, still loves authentic, I mean really authentic Mexican food and also seafood right out of the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing compares.

So when I recently found cans of minced clams and clam juice at a grocery outlet, I grabbed them all and whipped up the recipe. It's good--not as wonderful as the one we enjoyed in Boston once, but good enough to repeat {that was the family vote!}.

Days of Food :: 10

Days of Food :: 9

It seems fairly customary for a person to prepare a feast, a banquet, a display of special foods for the one he or she loves. Even a look at a slice of biblical history will tell this story :: Sarah readied a delectable meal for her husband & the three honorable guests, Queen Esther made great accommodations and preparations to present her king & love with several banquets that were surely the talk of the town.

The priority of the father who was welcoming home his prodigal son was to pull out all the stops :: he summoned for a banquet and the choicest of meats to be prepared.

Jesus celebrated around the table often with his disciples :: on one occasion he set up a welcoming campfire and made ready a breakfast meal especially for those he loved.

One evening this past weekend, my husband and I fed the children a wee bit on the earlier side. Read stories and then tucked them into bed or just firmly asked them to stay in their rooms! And then we headed back downstairs for what we've labeled an 'in house date'. We began these early in our marriage simply because we didn't have the finances to go out for a meal; but we continue now--every once in a while--simply because we enjoy it. We both expressed that this should take place more often, it's such a special time.

The fondue set came up from the basement and pieces of steak were set to cook & when finished, we enjoyed this with a Caesar salad and baked potato {with an array of toppings to choose from!}. While we don't eat red meat often, it's a favorite of my love's, so I oblige.

Good food :: great conversation :: an evening to remember....

Days of Food :: 9

Days of Food :: 8

The only person in our family who really enjoys french toast is my husband :: and then one of my daughters will eat almost anything. So, I'm not too sure why the need to try honey french toast kept bugging me!? The recipe is not difficult & the toast rather tasty in my opinion, though it's not my favorite breakfast food. But the vote around here is to leave this one alone. {sigh}

Maybe your family will enjoy it more...

Days of Food :: 8

Days of Food :: 7

A bagel shoppe close by has on their menu one the most yummy grilled veggie sandwiches. After trying one a few years ago, I was a bit determined to duplicate it to eat at home. While I'm not sure the ingredients are exact, the results are delicious! And this weekend in the grocery store, I passed the bagel section and the gotta-have-one-of-those RIGHT NOW feeling took over.

Okay, it wasn't really that bad, but I did come home with the fixings to make one of my favorite sandwiches.

Veggie Bagel Sandwich

tomatoes, mushrooms

minced garlic and/or garlic powder

olive oil

broccoli sprouts (or another kind)

Kraft's chive & onion cream cheese

favorite kind of bagel :: we enjoy the 'everything' bagels

Saute some tomato and mushroom slices in olive oil and garlic choice {not too long or the tomatoes become really mushy}. Toast your bagel, spread some of the cream cheese, top with the sprouts and veggies. Simple and tasty!

Days of Food :: 7

Days of Food :: 6

Ummm, smoothies. An easy summer breakfast and a great way to use up overly ripe fruit quickly. You know, the ones that sit in the fruit basket and kinda get forgotten :: or are in the waaay back of the fridge. Whatever the cause of super ripeness, today we used up bananas & kiwi along with some orange juice to make a delicious morning drink.

The theme of adding {okay, sneaking} power foods into my kiddos continues. Primadophilus is my way of replenishing the healthy bacteria needed in our digestives systems; especially if any of us have been on antibiotics. More information on the benefits of L.acidophilus. Primadophilus is easily found in the refrigerated section of your local health food store and comes in a powder form for children birth to age 5, chewables in an orange flavor and also capsules. As needed, I also add it in applesauce for the kids; it doesn't change the taste. Much more potent & helpful to our bodies than simply eating some yogurt with live bacteria.

So grab that fruit, add some milk or OJ and enjoy!

Enjoy a peaceful weekend....

Days of Food :: 6

30 Days of Food :: 5

Today I leave you with some fun food links that I've enjoyed ~

Happy Foody :: into primarily eating raw food? wondering about the benefits? great recipes here

Simply Breakfast :: a daily picture of what this lady has for breakfast

Smitten Kitchen :: the name says it all; wonderful pictures {I really enjoy food pics}

Nutritious Lunch Ideas for Kids :: scroll down for the quick-reference table, worth a look

World's Healthiest Foods list :: 129 of what this site says are the best in vegetables, legumes, seafood, spices & herbs, fruit, nuts & seeds, etc. each link then takes you to a storehouse of information on that particular food. great reference!

30 Days of Food :: 5

30 Days of Food :: 4

Don't you just love the convenience of eggs? Scrambled, poached, boiled, fried, over-easy, sunny-side up, ummm...what else?

In our home, having an omelet or a plate of fully-loaded {all the fixings} scrambled eggs means one of two things :: we're having a special breakfast or Mom forgot to plan ahead for dinner! Yes, I've been known to whip up eggs and pancakes as a quick meal in the evenings. And yes, that is what took place today except that it was actually planned {and we had mini bagels as our carb}.

My husband is out of town and for reasons really unknown to me, this is my excuse to kick back and take the easy road on providing meals. Oh well, the girls and I love eggs!

30 Days of Food :: 4

30 Days of Food :: 3

We enjoy making muffins around here. They're a great snack, quick breakfast food along with a cup of yogurt, and mini ones are wonderful for small hands. Plus...shhh, don't tell my children, but some good-for-you super ingredients can be put in without changing the taste too much. Such as wheat germ :: which is exactly what I did with these orange-cranberry muffins.

The youngest taste tester seemed to think they were just fine.

30 Days of Food :: 3

30 Days of Food :: 2

Yes! Back on track with the food theme I intended to start almost two weeks ago. Thank you for the prayers for health; my hand is much, much better and so I've been in the kitchen trying

out a few recipes.

Sunday we enjoyed this scrumptious pasta salad for lunch. Light, yet filling. I'm always on the lookout for ideas that will have us eating nutrient-packed ingredients in a way the children will also enjoy. One of my biggies is spinach, since it's just so good for our bodies! I try and add it several dishes :: scrambled eggs, green salads, etc. So when I caught sight of this dish, it was worth a try. Delicious!

Spinach Chicken Salad

5 cups cubed, cook chicken (about 3 breasts)

2 c. graped, halved (red makes it pretty)

1 c. snow peas

2 c. torn spinach

2-1/2 sliced celery

7 oz. corkscrew pasta, cooked and drained

1/2 lg. cucumber, sliced

3 green onions, sliced

Dressing:

1/2 cup of your favorite oil (veg, olive, canola, etc)

1/4 c. sugar or use a sugar substitute

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 TBsp. fresh parsley

Mix everything for the salad. Add the dressing to the salad a few minutes before eating it so the sugar has time to dissolve. Enjoy!

On the menu was also Grilled Corn with hoisin butter :: sounds fancy, but was actually simple and we had the ingredients handy. I have many ingredients handy {sheepish grin here}. The corn was tasty and yes, had an Asian flare; just not sure that we'll repeat this one. We'll see.

30 Days of Food :: 2

30 Days of Food :: day 1

Many of my posts are about food, I noticed. I do do enjoy cooking, but perhaps it's because food and the making and serving of it is such an integral part of home life. Of societies and cultures throughout history really. I find great joy in pouring through new recipes {when I have the time} :: and pictures of food being prepared or the final products are inspiring.

So this month, as part of a way to wind down from two months of busyness, I plan to pull out my cookbooks and attempt the recipes I've been tucking away for a time like this. And, I'll share what I'm up to here. Either the process or the product; or perhaps just the recipe, but I will try for lots of delicious pictures!

And, if you would like to see some larger-than-life and step-by-step photos of cooking in progress, check out a site I've listed in my sidebar. Yum!

Photo of the strawberry-rhubarb jam we made last week

30 Days of Food :: day 1