Easter Cookies

I thought I'd post this before Saturday (when you're supposed to make them) incase any one else is interested in making them. If you do try the recipe, I'd love to hear how it turns out. I've never yet made these, but definitely plan on it this year since Eleanor is old enough to listen and be interested now.

EASTER COOKIES

1- cup whole pecans
1-teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1-cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible

Preheat the oven to 300 (this is important-don't wait
until you're half-done with the recipe)
1. Place the pecans in the baggie and let the kids
beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into
pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was
beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3
2. Put the vinegar into a mixing bowl. Let each child
smell the vinegar. Explain that when Jesus was on the
cross and he became thirsty, He was offered vinegar to
drink.
Read John 19:28-30
3. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. The eggs
represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life so
that we could have life.
Read John 10:10-11
4. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand and
let them taste it. Put the rest into the bowl. Explain
that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus'
followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27
5. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add
1 cup of sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the
story ids that Jesus died because He loves us. He
wants us to know and belong to Him.
Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16
6. Beat the egg whites with a mixer on high speed for
12 to 15 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Explain that
the color white represents the purity in god's eyes of
those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isa. 1:18 and John 3:1-3
7. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto a
wax paper cookie sheet. Explain that each mound
represents the rocky tomb where Jesus body was laid to
rest.
Read Matt. 27:57-60
8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door
and turn the oven off.
9. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the door.
Explain that Jesus tomb was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:65-66
10. Go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave
the cookies in the oven overnight and that Jesus
followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20-22
11. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone
a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.
the cookies are hollow! ON THE FIRST EASTER Jesus
followers were amazed to find His tomb empty.
Read Matt. 28: 1-9

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Right after Eleanor was born my sweet neighbor brought us dinner, it was this recipe. She had no idea it was one of my favorites when I was little. I even requested it for a birthday dinner once. Tastes just like mom's.

(For some reason no store around here carries pineapple tidbits -shocking I know! So I have to stock up whenever I go to Utah.)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

1 Tablespoon oil

1 chicken breast cut in small pieces

1 onion, large diced

1 green bell pepper, large diced

4 carrots, sliced

1 can pineapple tidbits, drained (juice reserved for sauce)

Sauce

Pineapple juice plus enough water to equal 1 1/2 cups liquid (usually about 1/2 cup water)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used half brown sugar, half agave)

2 Tablespoons corn starch

Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken and fry until mostly cooked. Wisk together all sauce ingredients. Add sauce and veggies to chicken and cook covered until veggies are tender (I never set a timer, I just poke the carrots). Serve over rice.

panini style grilled cheese and pesto

I would often make grilled ham and cheese sandwhiches on our George Forman. It reminded me of the panini grill at the Marketplace Cafe in the atrium of the Tanner Building at BYU. Delicious. A friend of mine told me about a pesto sandwich she makes with Trader Joes bread and now it's a favorite at our house as well.
Sourdough bread (I like the 4 cheese kind at Trader Joes)

Pesto Sauce (also buy this at TJs- near the hummus)

Cheese (usually mozzarella, but whatever)

Sliced tomatoes, left over rotisserie chicken, or whatever sounds good

Spread butter on outside of bread, pesto on inside. Layer one piece of bread with cheese, then tomatoes, and some more cheese (mostly to make sure it sticks to the other piece of bread). Place other slice of bread on top and throw it on 'the george' (as we call it).

birthday cake/cupcakes

I was just going to make cupcakes for Eleanor's birthday, but when I told her this she got very distressed and said "What about my birthday CAKE?!" So I did both, but tried to keep it simple (at least more simple than last year- even if Kurt doesn't believe that it was).

The Strawberry Cake was from the box, but the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting was homemade:

1 cup butter

2 packages cream cheese (8 oz each)

2 lbs powdered sugar

1 1/2 t vanilla (about?)

2 t imitation strawberry flavoring (I inherited this from a neighbor that moved and decided to try using it)

Pink food gel

Cream together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add p. sugar about a cup at a time. Add vanilla and strawberry flavoring and mix well. Then add coloring.

pizza

Tonight we had pizza, from Costco.

homemade brownies

Yuck. I know, not what you usually think of when you hear the words homemade brownies, but that's what they were. It was the first time I've ever tried to make brownies from scratch and they were terrible. For one thing they just didn't cook all the way through. I even tried putting them back in the oven. After eating the very edges I threw them in the trash. :P Maybe I should just stick to the box mix. It was very disappointing, especially when I had my heart set on them.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

This year I decided to buy a flat cut ($2.50/lb) instead of the point cut ($1/lb) since it has a lot less fat, I bought a smaller piece to make up for it. I figure if I only make it once a year, I'll pay a little more and go with the 'healthier' cut.

St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef
Corned Beef (buy the package at the store that comes with a spice packet)
Carrots
Potatoes
Green Cabbage
Onions

Rinse meat in cold water. Put in a large stock pot with water. Cover and let boil until water foams. Scoop away foam until it doesn’t foam anymore. Add spices from packet (I really wish I had some cheese cloth or a reusable 'tea bag' to put them in so they didn't get stuck in the cabbage later).

Continue to cook according to package directions (or about 50 min for every pound of meat). While cooking, peel and cut veggies (as you would for any other pot-roast). Add carrots, potatoes, and onions to pot for the remaining 20 min. Add cabbage (coarsely chopped- quarters) last 5-10 min. Drain and let stand 10 min before serving. (We always eat it with mustard).

I don't have amounts for the veggies, just kind of think about how much your family would eat or base it on the size of your corned beef. I always end up with too many potatoes and not enough carrots- we love carrots in my family. This year I used about 4 small red potatos and 8 large carrots and it turned out pretty good.

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes & Scrambled Eggs with Green Herbs

I tried these pancakes at a friends house and fell in love with them. I've added mashed bananas to french toast and pancakes before (to secretly make them healthier for the kids), but I think the diced bananas are so much better (even if Eleanor doesn't).

I was afraid to try these scrambled eggs because I've never been a real fan of dill. Growing up I would protest whenever my poor mom added it to anything. She loves it. Maybe my taste buds have grown up. Maybe I just grew up. But I thought these tasted great.

I dyed the pancakes green for St. Patrick's Day. hehe

We all scream for ice cream!

Yesterday at Costco I saw an ice cream maker and I've become obsessed. I just keep thinking about a summer filled with homemade ice cream and sorbet. Mmmm

I've been looking online to check out different kinds. The one at Costco seems to be a good deal, but I also noticed you can get an ice cream maker attachment for the Kitchen Aid mixer (a little more expensive but you don't have to buy a whole new appliance to store somewhere). Anyone have an ice cream maker they like? Or have any suggestions?

Oops

I noticed there were was only half an onion in the fridge today so when I went shopping I picked up a bag of onions. While putting away the groceries at home I decided to put the onions in the cupboard instead of the fridge because there wasn't much. When I opened the cupboard I found a bag of onions already sitting there. I guess I had the same idea the last time I went shopping. :P

So, tonight I made my mom's "Poor Man's Soup." a.k.a. Onion Potato Soup a.k.a. Potato Soup (for my sister growing up- she didn't like onions so we would tell her it was just potatoes). We ate this a lot when I was little and often we would have Swedish Pancakes afterwards. Mmmm Both are definitely on my list of comfort foods.

1 1/2 Tbsp butter

3 onions, cut in half and sliced

5 potatoes, peeled, cut in half and sliced

4 cups water

chicken bullion to equal water (or use broth)

parsley (dried, or fresh finely chopped)

salt

pepper

Melt butter in pot and add onions. Cook until soft. Add potatoes, water and bullion. Bring to a boil and then lower temperature and simmer until potatoes are soft. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

guacamole

I love avocados. Whenever they go on sale I buy a bunch and make some guacamole. This time I used the recipe in the Barefoot Contessa cookbook as a guide. Very basic ingredients- avocados, red onions, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper and tabasco sauce. I didn't have any tabasco or lemon, but it was still so yummy. Don't let the small portion on a plate fool you, that's just for the picture. I always eat it straight out the bowl, and I usually eat the whole thing myself (sometimes Kurt gets some). Do I feel guilt for eating a whole bowl by myself? Of course not! All there is in this recipe is fresh veggies! What could be healthier.

Zucchini Muffins

I've never been good at improvising or just whipping a bunch of random ingredients together. I really need a recipe to follow. I think the more you cook the more you learn what works well together though. I also think that the more times I cook the same recipe the more comfortable I am with changing it- just a little. Like this one. I've changed it from the one someone gave me, and substituted part of the ingredients, like whole wheat flour, agave, and flax seeds, to make it healthier.

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (I use half olive oil)

1 cup sugar

3/4 c agave nectar

2 c grated zucchini

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 scoops (3 or 4 Tbsp) ground flaxseed OR 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (Gregory didn't have teeth to chew the nuts so I decided to sub flaxseed)

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil, sugar, and agave. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flours, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and faxseed; stir into the egg mixture. Pour into paper lined muffin pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Of course you can always add some chocolate chips if you like. ;)

Curried Couscous

I found this recipe in my Barefoot Contessa cookbook and was excited to try something different. Kurt wasn't that fond of couscous (I think he'd only had it plain), but he loved it. Now he insists I make enough to be sure there's leftovers. It's really simple (why I love so many of her recipes; simple ingredients, easy to make, yet so delicious). It's really fast, the most time consuming thing is chopping the veggies.

You can’t go wrong simply following one of Ina Garten’s recipes, but below is the recipe with my changes.  You could easily make it ahead of time and keep refrigerated until it’s time to eat. Just mix in the almonds right before serving or they will not be as crisp -that doesn’t really bother us though, we like it as left overs too!

We often just buy a Costco rotisserie chicken to eat with it or just eat it plain! I tried a recipe for Moroccan chicken once, but I'm not very good at cooking poultry, always turns out tough and dry. A meat thermometer would probably help, any other tips?

Curried Couscous

1 1/2 cups whole wheat couscous 

1 tablespoon butter, cut in small pieces 

1 1/2 cups boiling water 

1/2 cup grated carrots 

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley 

1/2 cup dried Crasins

2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts) 

1/4 cup small-diced red onion

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

For the dressing:

1/4 cup plain yogurt 

1/4 cup olive oil 

1 teaspoon vinegar 

1 teaspoon curry powder 

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (if you don't have this that's fine)

3/4 teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon black pepper 

Place the couscous and butter in a large bowl and pour boiling water over the couscous, stirring just to make sure the butter melts. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let soak for a few minutes while you chop the veggies. Toss in the carrots, parsley, Crasins, scallions, red onions and almonds, if using. Whisk together dressing, pour over salad and mix well. 

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa's Curried Couscous. I use whole wheat couscous, Craisins in place of currants, grate the carrots instead of dice them, use salted butter and rice vinegar, and make the almonds optional.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/curried-couscous-recipe.html

My Food Journal

When I told Kurt I was thinking of starting a food blog his comment was "How will that be different from what you're doing now?" I guess I already talked about what I cook a lot. I'll try to limit that more to this blog now. Mostly I want to write down all the recipes I try and keep track of what I'm making and how I (and my family) liked them. Maybe have an easy way to share recipes I like with other people when they ask. So, here goes nothing.