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...