at home with ann

If something only has two ingredients can you really call it a recipe?  This was so good that I'm going to go ahead and say yes. As you can probably tell, I have been all about the crock pot lately.  I had it in the back of my mind to do a pulled pork or chicken dish, but every time I ventured near the pork section of the market, I shrunk back in dismay.  Something about the huge, fatty cuts of meat were just not doing it for me.  Then, I remembered that chicken breasts make excellent barbecue as well.  There are many variations on this recipe that range from using a spice rub, homemade barbecue sauce, coke or root beer for cooking and pan searing.  While they all sound good, I did none of these things.  Instead I put the uncooked chicken in the crock pot, topped with my favorite jarred barbecue sauce, and cooked it for 7 hours.  Let me tell you, it smelled amazing around here. Crock Pot Barbecue Pulled Chicken 1 1/2 pounds chicken  ( I ...

We had a very quiet Christmas around here this year.  I was due on December 24th, which meant that it was likely we would be spending Christmas in the hospital.  December 24th came and went, as did the 25th, 26th and 27th (I'm writing this on the 28th and holding out hope!).  In any case, major travel or hosting plans were not in the cards for me this year, so we had Christmas dinner for two.  This also meant I got to spend six hours sitting in front of the fire and wore yoga pants all day.  Given my current mood, this was ideal.  Fish is incredibly easy to cook.  This particular salmon was individually portioned filets separately vacuum packed and frozen.  I would highly recommend checking out the frozen fish section at your market, I find that it's easier to find fish that has been wild caught, and the prices are better.  Most of the fish at the counter has been previously frozen, anyway, and this way you don't have as much pr...

Let's say you have leftover cranberry sauce from some holiday meal.  Or, like me, you randomly decided to make cranberry sauce on a whim and now need to use it up in some way other than eating it straight from the bowl. In any case, you are in luck, because I've been eating cranberry sauce in one form or another all week. Source Cranberry Vinaigrette 1/2 cup cranberry sauce 1 clementine, juiced (1/4-1/2 cup orange juice) 1 teaspoon maple syrup (or sugar, or agave) Balsamic Vinegar Olive Oil Quantities are estimated here, you can just eyeball, and taste along the way to adjust to your preferences. I used a couple tablespoons each of vinegar and olive oil. In a food processor or blender, combine cranberry sauce, orange juice, and maple syrup. Add in balsamic vinegar and mix well. Slowly add olive oil with motor running. This was perfect over greens with pears and goat cheese.  I also have plans to try it as a glaze for baked salmon.  If that isn't a disa...

I made this last Sunday night, meatloaf and mashed potatoes seem like the type of thing you make on Sunday night during football.  I am pleased to report that the outcome of both the meatloaf and the football were positive, so everyone in our house was happy.  This is comfort food at it's best. Turkey Meatloaf recipe from Health Magazine Ingredients: Olive oil 1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced salt pepper 1 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (I think this is the most important meatloaf ingredient) 1/3 cup chicken broth (I subbed veg because I was out, you could also just use water) 3 Tablespoons ketchup 1 - 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (my package was 1.3 pounds, anything around there will work) 3/4 cup breadcrumbs 1 egg Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add in garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, broth or water, ...

Baked brie is one of my favorite cocktail party treats.  It's simple to make, and always makes a big impact.  Puff pastry is fun for all. I had a bag of whole cranberries in the freezer since last year.  I got sucked into the advertising campaign of buy one to use now, buy one for later.  I get sucked into most advertising campaigns, so this is no surprise.  Some combination of very late pregnancy nesting and my usual cleaning neuroses led me to empty out everything in the freezer, so the cranberries needed to be cooked.  I normally top baked brie with jam, so cranberry sauce seemed like a good festive alternative. Simple Cranberry Sauce 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 bag whole cranberries, fresh or frozen In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Add in cranberries, return to boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook for at least 10 minutes, until berries have burst and cooked down to desired consistency. So easy!  No need for can shaped cranberry...

This is another easy vegetarian dish.  I usually have the bulk of the ingredients (chickpeas, rice, canned tomatoes, spinach, onion) on hand, so it's a good option to keep in mind.  My completely sporadic posting schedule might make it hard to see, but I usually try to balance our eating for the week by offsetting any meat based or heavy dishes with lighter vegetarian fare.  Mediterranean Casserole 1 cup uncooked brown rice, steamed according to package directions 1/4-1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream Olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes salt and pepper 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice 1 bag fresh spinach, or one box frozen spinach, thawed 8 oz. feta cheese, cubed or crumbled Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook brown rice according to package directions.  Stir in yogurt or sour cream and set aside. In a saute pan, heat olive oil o...

Kicking off Monday morning with cookies.  And not just any cookies, these old school cookies that have been gracing bake sales and parties forever.  There are times when I want to make fancy, multi-step, gourmet cookies, and there are times when 20 minutes and 1/2 a cup of peanut butter are all I can muster.  Perhaps since it's Christmas week you are attempting to keep things healthy in anticipation for the weekend.  If so, I apologize and promise that we'll be eating lentils later in the week.  Or, if you are like me and are 39 weeks pregnant (or just like cookies), you have declared this your final hurrah and are enjoying every last bite.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cookies recipe from Hershey's Ingredients: 1 package mini peanut butter cups 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon...

I make a lot of soups in the winter, in case you haven't noticed.  Warm, healthy, and easy, all the things I look for in a recipe.  When I can throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker and be done, that's just an added bonus.  I had intended to save some of this soup and stick it in the freezer for post-baby time, as I've been doing a lot lately, but we managed to eat it all. This was likely due to me eating it directly out of the crock pot for pre-dinner snack the night Jon came home late. Slow Cooker Peanut Stew recipe from Peas and Thank You 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 sweet potato, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons curry poweder 1/2 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon cumin 1 Tablespoon minced ginger (I used fresh and grated it) 2 teaspoons minced garlic dash of cinnamon 1 14 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes with juice 1 can light coconut milk 2 cups vegetable broth 2 Tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed Add all ingredients to t...

This is another pantry recipe.  At any given time, you probably have most, if not all, of these ingredients on hand.  As such, it's a great idea to have in the back of your mind for an easy lunch or supper.  While I was watching Rachael Ray the other day I took note of her garbage bowl.  If you haven't seen it, the garbage bowl is just the bin she uses to dispose of scraps, containers, etc. while she's cooking.  You can go online and purchase your very own garbage bowl for the reasonable price of $19.99.  Or, you can just use one of the many bowls you already have.  I take it one step further and use produce bags.  For any given recipe, I am usually emptying some produce bag, so I leave on the counter, put all my cooking scraps and trash in it, and toss it when I'm done.  This isn't any genius idea, but it does save me a lot of time because I'm not turning to throw things out all the time.  Back to the soup.  Potato Soup with ...

I love my Crock Pot.  Not only does it make a delicious dinner ready when you get home at night, but you get to say "set it and forget it" as many times as you want while it's cooking.  Or maybe that's just me.  This is one of those especially easy Crock Pot recipes that requires hardly any work in advance.  You do need to plan ahead to soak your beans, but that's just putting beans in water overnight, so as long as you remember, it's not tough. Crock Pot Spicy Black Bean Soup 1 pound dried black beans, soaked overnight 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1-2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can diced tomatoes in juice 1 Tablespoon chili powder 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sea salt and ground black pepper ~4 cups vegetable broth or water To soak beans - rinse dried beans in cold water.  Put in a pan or bowl with a lid and cover with s...

Normally, if I want to dip apples, you will find me with my hand in the peanut butter jar.  Literally.  The jars of peanut butter I get at BJ's are about the size of my head.  I saw the idea for this recipe in an ancient magazine in the waiting room at the mechanic's this week, and thought it sounded easy enough to try.  It was delicious, and would be a great dip to offer with not just fruit, but graham crackers, cookies, and maybe even carrots and celery.  The measurements don't matter much here.  I pretty much just used equal parts yogurt and peanut butter, with a little honey and cinnamon. Peanut Butter Yogurt Fruit Dip 2 Tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt 2 Tablespoons peanut butter 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Combine all ingredients and stir well.  Serve immediately or keep refrigerated.

Chicken Paprika is such a vintage 50s recipe.  Chicken with a cream based sauce.  But there's a reason it's stood the test of time, for me at least, and that reason is that it's deliciously good comfort food.  Inspired to make this by Jenna of Eat Live Run , a fan of 50s vintage comfort food, herself.  Jenna served hers with homemade dumplings, but I went with egg noodles and broccoli. Chicken Paprika recipe from Eat Live Run 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, sliced thinly 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 yellow onion, diced 1 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp paprika sea salt pepper 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 3/4 cup sour cream 1 tbsp flour In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chicken, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne and cook until chicken is browned. Add in garlic for the last minute of cooking. Pour one cup of chicken broth into the pan, increase the heat to high to bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for ab...

This recipe could also be known as: things in my fridge that really needed to be used up.  Such things included: homemade pumpkin puree that had been in the freezer since last winter, a really sad, wrinkly apple, and a few cups of recently defrosted chicken broth.  That's one of things I love about soup, though.  You can throw anything in the pot, and if you add the right spices and cook it long enough, it's delicious.  Pumpkin Apple Curry Soup 1- 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (butternut would work here, as well) 1 apple, peeled and chopped 1/2 medium onion, chopped 1-2 stalks celery, chopped olive oil 1 Tablespoon curry 1 teaspoon cumin salt and pepper 2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add in apple and spices (curry, cumin, salt and pepper).  Stir and cook for one minute. Pour in pumpkin puree and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, redu...

You remember the Butternut Squash and Barley Risotto from earlier this week?  If you make it, you will remember it for a long time because it makes a ton.  I love leftovers, but this quantity was a little daunting, even for me.  These risotto cakes mix the leftovers up a bit, so it feels like a whole new meal.  Risotto Cakes yield- about 15 cakes about a third of the Butternut Squash and Barley Risotto leftover 1 egg canola oil Mix beaten egg into leftover risotto.  Heat canola oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of risotto onto hot pan and cook for about 5-8 minutes a side, until crispy.  I had some trouble keeping my cakes together, my risotto was a little wet, so I transferred the completed cakes onto a baking sheet and stuck them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  This firmed them up.  Serve garnished with Parmesan or goat cheese.

Risotto is one of my favorite foods.  I love everything about it.  It can, however, be a bit rich, and not exactly health food.  You all know that doesn't stop me, though, I adhere to the "everything in moderation" school of thought.  It can also be a bit time consuming, so unless you want to spend 40 minutes standing in the kitchen stirring (this is only ok when you have a kitchen buddy and a glass of wine in hand), it's not the best for a weeknight meal.  This is my long-winded way of saying that while Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto is one of my favorite meals of all time, I was intrigued when I saw this recipe for a healthier, easier alternative.  Butternut Squash Barley Risotto recipe from Good Housekeeping 2 Tablespoons butter 2 shallots, sliced (I used half an onion) 2 springs fresh thyme (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried) 2 cups pearl barley 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth 2 cups water 1 butternut squash (2 1/2 pounds, or so), peeled, seeded...

I have no idea why I've never made baked apples before.  It's essentially apple pie filling without the hassle.  And while I love crust, when you skip the butter and flour-laden layer, you get to eat more ice cream.  You can even eat this for breakfast. One of the things I like about this recipe is that the measurements are very loose guidelines.  Pretty much just sprinkle however much you like of each ingredient over the apples and toss it all together. Baked Apples inspired by Joy the Baker 4 large or 8 small (or however many you have) apples, peeled and sliced Lemon juice (I used half a lemon) Brown sugar Cinnamon 1 Teaspoon cornstarch Pinch Allspice Pinch Nutmeg Pinch Salt 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into pieces In a baking dish, combine apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, allspice and salt.  Mix well. Dot with butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil. (I found my apples looked ...

Way back at the end of October, I got a kohlrabi in my final CSA pickup.  It intimidated me a bit, and sat in the back of my refrigerator for a solid month before I worked up the courage to tackle it.  What the heck is kohlrabi, you ask?  Well, per Wikipedia , it is a German turnip, part of the cabbage family.  I admit that cabbage is not my favorite thing in the world, so I was still a little wary.  I was assured by the internet that the flavor was very mild when cooked.  I came across a recipe for ham and kohlrabi gratin, which seemed manageable.  Ham, kohlbrabi, creamy white sauce; I can handle this.  This morphed in my mind to macaroni and cheese with ham and kohlrabi, and that's how we got here.  This falls into the category of "throw whatever vegetable you have around into mac and cheese so you feel better about eating it."  Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Kohlbrabi 2 cups pasta (I used whole wheat rotini) 2 cups grated ch...

You know what's hard to photograph?  Indian food.  It is ugly.  Tastes great, though. Red Lentil Dal is one of those recipes that comes together in less than 20 minutes, and is healthy and delicious.  You do need a pretty robust spice cabinet, but that can be built over time.  And I use pretty much all the spices in my cabinet, so it's worth the investment.  Except Herbs de Provence.  I have no idea what to do with that, but I digress. Red Lentil Dal recipe from Happy Herbivore 1/2 cup red lentils 2 cups vegetable broth 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon cumin 1 whole tomato, chopped 3 ounces tomato paste (half a can) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 small onion, diced 1 teaspoon paprika 1 Tablespoon ginger dash cayenne pepper 1 Tablespoon coriander 2 teaspoons garam masala  In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic in 1/4 cup water until translucent.  You can also use a light flavored oil, such as canola. Add spices,...

I'm guessing you don't need anyone to tell you how to make a burger.  Whether you like beef, turkey, chicken, bison, tuna or veggie, I'm willing to bet you have a recipe that works for you.  I like them all.  One of the reasons I like burgers is because they are all about the toppings, and if you saw my refrigerator door, you would know that I am no stranger to condiments.  That being said, I will not bore you with directions to make burgers, only say that these are turkey burgers and I went with the oven baked cooking approach.  And half the reason I used that cooking method was because I already had the oven on to bake the sweet potatoes.  We're all about multi-tasking around these parts.  What I will share are the toppings, because they were good.  Melted cheddar cheese (on top of and under the burger), barbecue sauce , sliced apples and romaine lettuce .  My taste tester commented that they would have gone to a whole new level if we...

I had half a can-worth of pumpkin puree in my refrigerator after making last week's muffins.  There were so many possibilities, I didn't know where to start.  In my Google reader alone, I have 47 recipes starred that feature pumpkin.  While they all sound delicious, I knew I wanted to take a little break from traditional baked goods (this weekend will mark the third baby shower in as many weeks, I have not been deprived of cookies).  The Pumpkin Granola from Baked Bree was especially appealing because I had all the ingredients on hand, and I've been craving cereal lately. I ended up having still a little leftover, so I made a pumpkin pie smoothie, which you've already seen if you Like my Facebook page.  If you haven't already seen it, you should Like my page.  In addition to linking to all the recipe posts, I also share random comments, mini recipes, and awkward kitchen moments.  Pumpkin Granola recipe from Baked Bree I halved the original rec...

I have made a lot of different lasagna and lasagna-type dishes.  Vegetarian, with squash instead of noodles, with goat cheese instead of mozzarella, with white sauce instead of marinara; there are endless options.  This time, however, I wanted to go classic.  Tomato meat sauce, noodles, and gooey cheese.  I intended to add a layer of spinach leaves to get a little more nutrients in the mix, but I can barely remember my name these days thanks to pregnancy brain, much less things that aren't on my shopping list.  A quick Google search brought me to the always wonderful Pioneer Woman.  Not one to shy away from baked meaty, cheesy goodness, I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong. When the power went out on Sunday, and we were deciding what to do with all the food in the refrigerator, the fate of the leftover lasagna was top priority.  I'm happy to say our porch made an excellent alternative refrigerator, even colder than the real thing, and it reheated won...

Day two of muffin recipes.  I love pumpkin baked goods, and this is the time of year when every market has a huge canned pumpkin display.  Of course if you are ambitious, you can use fresh pumpkin for this, but I wait until later in the fall to hack up and cook my pumpkins.  Yesterday morning when we left the house, I noticed that some animal had made quite a meal out of half of one of my pumpkins.  This might explain the mysterious noises I heard outside on Halloween night.  Due to the snow storm, power outages and downed trees, our town changed Trick or Treating from Monday to Friday.  I left the lights off Monday night and did my best to exercise control with the giant bowl of candy.  I worried the mysterious noises were disgruntled children egging the house. Creepy animals on the front steps are so much more comforting.  This recipe took hardly any time to come together, and I didn't even need my mixer.  I've mentioned before how much...

It's no secret I love muffins.  And that's why it should come as no surprise to you that I will be sharing two more muffin recipes this week.  My sister and friend Megan threw a baby shower for me this past weekend, and I couldn't resist making mini muffins for the event.  Plus, the leftovers made great snacks when the freak October snow storm left us without power on Sunday, thwarting my grand plans to make apple cinnamon pancakes and bacon for my guests. Whole Wheat Apple Muffins recipe from Smitten Kitchen yield: 36 mini muffins plus one mega ramekin muffin 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon cinnamon 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt) 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used 4 small apples) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare muffin tins wit...

Homemade mac and cheese is one of the best comfort foods of all time.  However, you need to be in a particular mood to consume huge amounts of pasta and creamy cheese sauce.  That mood being one which involves yoga pants.  These days my mood always involves yoga pants, but I wanted to add a few healthy features to this mac and cheese so I could get away with serving it for dinner without a side of running on the treadmill.  In addition to your usual pasta and cheese, this recipe includes roasted butternut squash puree, as well as steamed broccoli and kale.  The butternut squash thickens the sauce and brings that lovely orange color reminiscent of the blue box we all grew up with.  Butternut Mac & Cheese 1 cup cooked butternut squash (I roasted a 4 pound squash, and reserved the rest.  You can also substitute frozen butternut squash puree.) 3/4 -1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) 1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 2 tsp dijon mustard ...

I'm going to do something kind of mean today, so I apologize in advance.  I'm going to tell you about a dinner I made, but I can't share the recipe.  Due to pesky things like copyright laws, it would be stealing to publish the recipe online.  However, I will tell you that the Peas and Thank You cookbook is worth every penny.  I've already bookmarked nearly every page, which sort of negates the need for bookmarking, and am so excited to try all the recipes.  Plus, it's full of funny stories and anecdotes, so I actually sat down and read it cover to cover like a book.   In any case, the Thai Veggie Burgers caught my eye.  They are bean based, like all the veggie burgers I've made, and have some really interesting flavors.  While I can't share the ingredient list, I will tell you that the toppings include pineapple slices and teriyaki sauce.  Good stuff.  We ate them with roasted sweet potato fries and kale chips.  It's easy to coo...

I had a couple of bananas on the counter just begging to be baked this weekend.  I made banana muffins last week and we had no trouble polishing them off in a few days, but I wanted to try something a little different, and marginally healthier.  A little internet searching and I came across a couple of good ideas.  These snack bars are a great alternative to store-bought cereal bars, and you can even get away with eating one for a sweet breakfast. Banana Oat Bars Ingredients: 1 1/3 cups old fashioned oats 1/4 cup white sugar (Mushy bananas are pretty sweet to start with, so I would try cutting this out next time) 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 medium mashed bananas (about one cup) 1/4 cup milk 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Whisk together oats, sugars, bakin...

This week got away from me!  Between birthday celebrations, a wedding and family stuff, it's suddenly Friday and I have no blog posts to show for myself.  I will tell you that some of the highlight foods of the week were Red Beans and Rice and Carrot Apple Ginger Soup .  The lowlight was the night I was so tired I couldn't muster the energy to make anything more interesting than pasta.  In my 30+ week pregnancy fog, I thought to myself that I would jazz up the pasta with some goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil.  I had the brilliant idea of softening the sun dried tomatoes in the microwave, so I put them in a bowl with a little olive oil, turned it on, and promptly wandered away and got distracted by Facebook.  I was jolted back to reality by the smell of burning sun dried tomatoes.  They went in the trash, I substituted fresh tomatoes, and opened all the windows to air out the kitchen. Last Saturday we attended the wedding of our wonderfu...

Jon will frequently request food by lamenting out loud that I never make him __________ (fill in the blank with tacos, swedish meatballs, muffins, banana bread, cookies, pie, etc.).  In the case of peanut butter cookies, he was right.  I'm not sure I've ever made them, and given that peanut butter has been a major food group for me during the last 6 months, I can't imagine why.  There is no shortage of recipes out there and between my own cookbooks and the internet, I pieced together what I consider to be a pretty good one. Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural, it worked well) 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2 1/2-3 cups flour (I used three and had a little extra flour in the bottom of my mixer) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda In a mixer, or a bowl using a hand mixer, cream together butter, peanut but...

I got these adorable mini eggplant at the CSA last week.  They are so mini and tender that you don't need to peel them, the skin is easy to eat.  Not like eating regular eggplant skin where you have to tear through it dinosaur-style with your teeth.  Anyway, while brainstorming ideas for how to use these mini eggplant, I happened on a recipe for crispy baked zucchini fries.  Using the classic breadcrumb technique, I came up with crispy baked eggplant.  I served these along caprese salad with pesto and drizzled with balsamic.  I'm thinking the leftovers will make a great hot wrap for lunch if I ever finish eating the corn soup.  Crispy Baked Eggplant 4-5 mini eggplant, or one full size 1/2 cup flour 2 eggs 1/2-1 cup breadcrumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 teaspoon dried oregano Cooking spray Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Chop eggplant into bite size pieces (about half an inch).  If you have time, put eggplant pieces on a colander...

This is just a variation on the quinoa recipes I've shared before, but it's so good.  Plus, the addition of the roasted butternut squash is great and fall-ish.  I'll give rough estimates for the quanities of the ingredients, but really I just added until the ratios looked good.  I have a whole bunch of leftover butternut squash, which I've been eating on salads with apples all week.  Of course, you could always make the best risotto with it, too.  Fall Quinoa Olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 cup quinoa, rinsed 2 cups vegetable broth or water 2 cups (or one can) chickpeas 2 cups roasted butternut squash 1 apple, chopped 1/2 cup dried cranberries goat cheese In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion for about 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic, cook for one minute more. Stir in quinoa, cook for one minute, stirring. Pour in broth or water, reduce to simmer and cover for 20-25 minutes, or until liquid is ab...

This is a super fast, super healthy recipe.  Aside from the time to cook rice, it takes about 10 minutes total.  And, it's made from ingredients you can keep stocked in your pantry, so you can throw it together on nights when you have absolutely no idea what to make. I had absolutely zero ideas on what to make for dinner at the beginning of this week.  I knew I was going to cook a batch of dried chickpeas because Jon kept asking when I was going to make more hummus.  As a side note, said hummus contained the hottest jalapenos I have ever come in contact with, and we can barely eat it without chugging milk.  I'm currently brainstorming ideas for what to serve it with to cool it down a bit.  I'm thinking something along the lines of a yogurt feta spread.  More to come on that.  Anyway, a whole batch of chickpeas is a lot of chickpeas, so I used some in this meal, and the rest in a quinoa dish I'll share tomorrow.  Chickpea and Spinach Curry...

So, you have some leftover salmon.  Perhaps from Maple Glazed Salmon , perhaps not.  Maybe you just think this sounds good and bought salmon for this recipe in particular.  Good for you.  Salmon is great.  I was a big fan of this dish.  Since I did use leftovers from Maple Glazed Salmon, my fish was already spiced.  I thought that added a nice flavor dimension, but of course, it's not necessary. Creamy Salmon Pasta with Peas slightly modified from Self Cooking spray 1 lb salmon fillet, skin removed salt pepper 6 ounces pasta (I used whole wheat rotini) 1 1/2 cups peas (fresh or frozen) 1 1/2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk) 3 Tablespoons flour 3 ounces Neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese) 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I used 1/2-1 teaspoon dried) 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest If you are using precooked salmon, heat it slightly in a 350 degree oven just so you aren't mixing cold fish into hot pa...

There are a lot of reasons I love salmon.  It's all kinds of good for you, full of omega-3s and all that.  Plus, it's delicious and high in protein, so you feel great after eating it.  Cooked either on the grill or under the broiler, it takes less than 20 minutes total, so a great quick dinner.  Additionally, this spice rub can be used on anything from fish to meat, poultry or vegetables, so make extra if you like, it will keep in a sealed container.  Maple-Glazed Salmon recipe from Cooking Light 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets (I used one 1 1/4 pound fillet) Cooking spray 2 Tablespoons maple syrup Preheat broiler.  I put mine on low, but if you only have high, that's ok. Spray broiler pan with cooking spray and put salmon on, skin side down. Combine spice mixture (paprika through salt) and sprinkle onto fillets. Broil 6-10 minute...

This is a repeat post from back in March, but it's good enough to see again.  It really is my favorite soup.  And I eat a lot of soup, so that's saying something.  Plus, it gets better as the days go on, making it perfect to whip up on Sunday afternoon and eat all week.   The original post includes the recipe, but it's so good I don't want you to have to click through to get it.   Spicy Mulligatawny adapted from Cooking Light Ingredients 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil, divided  1 can chickpeas 1  cup  chopped peeled Gala or Braeburn apple  3/4  cup  chopped onion  3/4  cup  chopped carrot  1/2  cup  chopped celery  3/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper  2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour  1  tablespoon  curry powder  1  teaspoon  ground ginger  1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper  1/4 ...