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Archive for ‘food’

May 11th, 2012

cranberry oatmeal cinnamon cookies

Back in December I posted about my white chocolate cranberry oatmeal cookies that I made for the Food Blogger Cookie Swap, these are similar to those but with a different spin on them!  In lieu of the white chocolate chips I opted to keep it simple, and spice them up with a bit of cinnamon.

cinnamon cranberry oatmeal cookies

Yield: 24-48 cookies, depending on the size of your scoop

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened (not melted)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Cooking Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter w/an electric mixer on medium to high speed for about 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
  3. Beat until combined and then add in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add in flour until completely mixed.
  4. Stir in oats and cranberries.
  5. Drop rounded scoops onto an ungreased cookie sheet, keeping them about 2 inches apart.
  6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let sit on cookie sheets for about 1 minute and then transfer to cooling racks until cool.

This is a basic oatmeal cookie recipe (courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens) and you can feel free to add any dried fruit or nuts or spice to make this version your own! Next time I might try dried cherries and walnuts!

Categorycookies, recipe | Comment5 Comments »

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May 8th, 2012

quick tortilla soup with avocado and lime

With Cinco de Mayo this past weekend and my inability to have a margarita or some ceviche, I had to find a way to celebrate somehow…. Luckily for me I didn’t have to search to far to find this recipe from Katie Brown for homemade tortilla soup! I had to make a few modifications to her recipe, but it didn’t matter because it turned out wonderful!

tortilla avocado soup

Ingredients

  • 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cloves habanero garlic, minced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded
  • 48 - 52 oz can chicken broth
  • 2 avocados
  • 1 bag tortilla chips, I used the mini rounds
  • 1 bag shredded cheese, I used a taco Mexican blend

Cooking Directions

  1. In a blender, puree tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers.
  2. Add the mixture to a large pot (I used a 6 qt pot) and also add in chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer; season with S&P accordingly.
  3. Prepare bowls by layering the bottom with tortilla chips and a sprinkle of cheese.
  4. Ladle hot soup over chips & cheese, add avocado chunks and a lime wedge (optional).

The habanero garlic cloves were something we picked up on our way through New Orleans – you know the hubs loves his spicy foods! Combined with the jalapeno’s they added the perfect amount of heat for anyone to enjoy.

Later, when we reheated the left overs, we added rotisserie chicken to the soup and it was a great way to make it hearty for a full meal! This soup is so easy (I’m thankful I saw Katie tweet about it) – I love that you could even make it on a weeknight since it comes together so fast! It will definitely be made around here again.

Categoryentrees, recipe | Comment4 Comments »

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May 3rd, 2012

slow cooker Carolina pulled pork and slaw sandwiches

I’m finally getting back in the kitchen now that my nausea has subsided for the most part, but I’m still avoiding red meat. This week hubs invited over 2 friends from work for dinner and game night so I put my newly-found vegetarianism on hold and opted to make these scrumptious sandwiches for dinner. The recipe is in the latest issue of Family Circle magazine.

slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches

Yield: 8 sandwiches

Serving Size: 1 sandwich

Ingredients

  • 1 boneless, skinless pork shoulder roast (about 3.5 lb)
  • 1 tsp seasoned salt (I used Accent)
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • For the sauce
  • 1 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup packed, light brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
  • 8 buns (we used Ciabatta buns)

Cooking Directions

  1. Rub pork all over with seasoned salt and paprika. Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Brown pork on all sides, 12 minutes.
  2. Sauce. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar and mustard. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
  3. Transfer pork to slow cooker; add sauce. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare coleslaw (see recipe below).
  5. Remove pork from slow cooker and allow to cool slightly. With 2 forks, shred meat, discarding fat. Stir pulled pork into sauce in cooker. Divide evenly among buns, topping with coleslaw.

homemade coleslaw

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup light mayo
  • 3 Tbsp cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp celery seed
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 bag (1 lb) shredded coleslaw mix

Cooking Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the coleslaw mix.
  2. Once blended well, add in coleslaw mix and toss until well coated. Refrigerate until serving.

I loved this easy coleslaw recipe and it wasn’t overly vinegary or creamy – both pluses in my book!

The guys loved it too! I think each guy had 2 sandwiches! I served them with maple baked beans, fresh corn on the cob and we had rootbeer floats for dessert. It was a great summertime meal and perfect for a game night!

By the way – I won our first game of Yahtzee by an landslide, beginners luck I guess!

Categoryentrees, recipe | Comment6 Comments »

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April 24th, 2012

take-a-long tuna pasta salad

Now that the hubs and I are back in the Lone Star State, we have been making road trips fairly regularly. As a result I’ve pretty much killed any future appetite I might have for road-trip food. This includes Subway (most of them in gas stations – blech!), McDonald’s (never was a fan anyway), Sonic (I can still buy drinks there) and of course, the Texas Stop Sign: Dairy Queen. On our most recent road trip I had an idea: how about I make dinner, picnic style, for us to eat on the road?!!?

This not only saves money, but it gives us a choice!

Tah-dah!

I whipped up a very simply recipe for tuna pasta salad. It travels well in the cooler, eats easily out of the container and it’s pretty much fat-free and adaptable to any palate!

tuna pasta salad

Ingredients

  • 2 cans chunk light tuna in water
  • 1 can sweet golden corn
  • 2 cups cooked spiral pasta
  • 2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
  • to taste bread & butter pickle chips

Cooking Directions

  1. Cook pasta until al dente, set aside.
  2. To a large mixing bowl add tuna and corn and toss.
  3. Add in pasta plus Miracle Whip.
  4. Toss until pasta is moist enough to hold on to corn and tuna. Add more Miracle Whip if necessary.
  5. Add diced pickles and toss.
  6. Refrigerate until cold, then serve.

It was a huge hit with hubs, and with me not having to subject myself to fast food on the road!

While I know he might have liked a little more salt on it (I tend to always go low on the salt), he ate every last bite over the weekend! Some variations I might try in the future include using banana peppers, green and red bell peppers or even replacing the pickles with some fresh dill. I love that this is so easy to make (and take) and it inspired me to try new take-a-long pastas for our future road trips!

What do you think? How could I make this even better?

Categoryrecipe | Comment9 Comments »

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