New Blog Location!

Alright, it's official. I'm no longer posting here...
Because I'm starting to post on my new blog!

My first post went up there today. However, I'm waiting to throw a full-blown launch party until Monday next week so that I can work out all the kinks and problems. It still does have some little quirks, so please forgive me while I work those out.

Please, please follow me there! I'll be posting in Facebook and on Twitter as new posts go up, and once I get the RSS feed working and get links to other social media hubs up and running, you ought to be able to follow me as you please.

So go and see my latest post! There's a free printable template for some really cute Valentine candy boxes. I think you'll like them!

Food on Friday: Pumpkin Stew

One thing I love about fall is the seasonal produce that comes in, namely pumpkins!

Pumpkins are a really diverse food. You carve them for Halloween decorations, you put pureed pumpkin pulp into pies and decadent desserts, you bake and eat their seeds, and--one of my favorite things to do with them--make pumpkin stew.

This is so much fun to cook and eat, because the pumpkin is the pot and you get to eat it too.

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Pumpkin Stew
4-6 servings, depending on size of pumpkin.

1 small pumpkin
1 lb stewing beef (or ground beef)
2-3 large potatoes, chopped into small cubes
1 cup chopped carrots
2-3 gloves of garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1-2 bullion cubes
2-4 cups water
2-3 tsp salt (use more or less to taste)
1 tbsp ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cut the top off of your pumpkin so that you can replace it for cooking. Remove seeds and guts from inside the pumpkin.

In a pan, cook onion, garlic, and beef until meat is brown and cooked all the way through. In a small pot, bring water to a boil, and dissolve bullion cube into it; remove from heat once dissolved.

Combine all ingredients inside the pumpkin. Place lid on the pumpkin, place the pumpkin on a cookie sheet, and bake in the oven for 2 - 2.5 hours.

When serving, scoop out both the stew as well as the flesh of the pumpkin.

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Some tips and suggestions:

• When you're getting a pumpkin to cook this in, make sure it's not too tall. It'll need to fit in your oven, so please think about that ahead of time.

• When cutting the top and making a lid for your pumpkin, I like to leave a little notch or something so that it's easy to see how to replace the lid so that it seals and cooks well.

• When chopping and slicing your vegetables, make sure the potatoes and carrots are cut quite small, otherwise they won't cook through. I should have cut mine smaller--my potatoes were cooked, but still firm and the carrots were the same. If you prefer them softer for the soup, be sure they're in small pieces.

• The amounts may vary a little, depending on the size of your pumpkin. Don't over-fill it!

• You can also throw pretty much anything you want into this stew. Instead of potatoes, try chickpeas or kidney beans. Try adding in corn or peas. If you don't have bell peppers, leave them out and add more onion. Feel free to clean out your fridge a little with this meal! If you want it to be soupier, add more water and bullion cubes, or less potatoes, meat, and carrots.

• The pumpkin will be heavy with the stew inside of it, so be careful when putting it in and removing it from the oven! Use a sturdy baking sheet and hold it from the bottom, where all the weight is at.

• You may need to re-cut the lid after the pumpkin is cooked, because the lid may seal while baking and the stem may rip out if it's pulled too hard since the pumpkin will be soft..

• When scooping the stew out and scraping the pumpkin out too, be careful not to puncture the outside of the pumpkin while it's still full of stew, otherwise the broth will leak out and get everywhere... Believe me.

Enjoy this delicious meal on a chilly autumn evening or for lunch on a crisp day. It's sure to keep you in the festive mood as well as keep you warm as the weather gets colder.

Food on Friday: Homemade Granola Bars

I like quick and easy snacks. Having an active baby and being a busy woman keeps me from being able to spend lots of time in the kitchen creating decadent treats and elaborate meals. But I can manage to spend time preparing a bulk amount of snacks or meals every so often to make the coming weeks and days easier. I did a little of that yesterday.

I love granola bars. I'm not a fan of the tiny sugary ones that are filled with high fructose corn syrup and you have to eat about a dozen just to feel like your appetite has been slightly curbed. But they can be kind of expensive--especially when you want hearty, quality ones with some sort of nutrition factor that may make it worth eating.

I've been wanting to make my own for a while, so I finally did! There are some major benefits to doing that.

• I know exactly what's going into them, and therefore exactly what I'm putting into my body when I eat them. 
• I can make them as healthy (or for that matter, as unhealthy) as I'd like. I can leave out or put in whatever nuts or dried fruits I want (or don't want).
• I get to decide the portions. I can make them bite-sized or I can make them an entire meal.
• They always taste better than store-bought granola bars.

I made a double batch of three different "flavors" of granola bars. The base is the same, but the add-ins are different. 

Cranberry raisin, chocolate chip pecan, and coconut white chocolate chip.

Here's my recipe.

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Granola Bars

Makes 20-30, depending on how you cut them.

Granola base:

6 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)

1/2 cup olive or canola oil

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup apple or white grape juice

3 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal

1 cup cracked oats 

Add-ins:

1 cup chopped pecans or other nuts

1 cup raisins

1 - 2 cups Craisins or other dried fruit

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 - 1 cup sesame or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss oats, oil, and salt. Spread mixture out on large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) and toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let oats cool.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, and juice. Heat the mixture on low to medium heat, stirring constantly until brown sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat. 

Return toasted oats to large bowl. Add rice cereal, cracked oats, and whatever add-ins you'd like and toss until evenly mixed. Pour sugary syrup over the granola. Stir until everything is thoroughly coated with the syrup. 

Press into a greased, large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) and bake until golden, usually 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. 

Cut into desired portion sizes. Wrap individually for ready-to-go snacks or serve in bite-sized pieces for easy finger-food treats. 

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Toasting the oats.

Making the brown sugar and honey syrup.

Tossing all of the granola ingredients.

Sliced into bars.

Mmm. Perfection.

Crunchy, hearty, and bursting sweet and savor.

I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap for easy grab-and-go snacks.

A double batch made about 60 bars!

Some tips and suggestions:

• If you don't have any cracked oats, it's okay. I just like using them for different textures and sizes of oats. 

• If you want to try a variety of add-ins or "flavors" but don't want to make the entire batch like that, try separating the mixture evenly into two different mixing bowls and putting different add-ins in each. Press into two smaller baking sheets and bake as directed.

• Make sure to stir the sugary syrup stuff into the granola thoroughly. If you don't, there will be a giant pool of it at the bottom of your bowl. So make sure you scoop from the bottom to the top to get everything mixed together.

• The longer it cools once removed from the oven, the crunchier it'll be. That also means they'll be more difficult to cut the longer you wait. But if you try to cut them too soon, they'll be too soft and will fall apart easily. I just let them cool completely and then used a sharp knife to cut them (thank you, Cutco!).

• Get creative and try using different kinds of add-ins! Pretty much any oats, nuts, seeds, or dried fruit will work. Some that I plan on trying in the future are: poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seed, and dried apricots (sliced up, of course). Also, I didn't have any puffed rice cereal. But I had some Special K. I used it, and I actually prefer to use it now because it adds a really nice texture to the bars. You could try other cereals too--bran flakes, grape nuts, etc. 

Look at those cute little sesame seeds.



• In my second batch, I tried using chocolate chips and white chocolate chips instead of the raisins and dried fruit. Add them in last, after everything is pretty well coated with the syrup. Otherwise they'll start to melt while you're stirring it all together and you'll have chocolate swirled granola bars, which is fine if you want that, but it will make them stick to the baking sheet a lot more too.

Chocolate chip and pecan granola bar.

One of these + an apple = a healthy, balanced snack I'm happy to eat!

We'll see how long they last in this household. I may be making these again next week...

Food on Friday: Baklava

I attended a baby shower recently. I also brought a few treats to share. The theme was a tea party, and since I honestly don't drink much tea (only herbal when I do; don't hate the non-tea-drinking southern girl!) I wasn't sure what kinds of treats or pastries go with tea.

After some research, I found a lot of suggestions. But I saw one that stood out to me because it's something I'd been wanting to try making for quite a while.

Baklava.

I love baklava. I remember trying it as a kid and wondering if it was what God serves in heaven.

So I tried making it myself. Here's the recipe I used, with the adjustments I made to it.

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Baklava
Makes 24+ servings, depending on how they're cut.

3 cups coarsely ground walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
24 sheets thawed phyllo dough (half a 1 lb box)
2 cups melted butter (1 lb)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup honey
1/2 of a lemon with peel on, sliced
1/2 of an orange peel

1-2 cinnamon sticks
8-10 whole cloves

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the nuts, ground cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. 

Using a basting brush, butter the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with melted butter, place a single sheet of phyllo dough in bottom of buttered pan. Brush butter over the top of the sheet of dough. Place another sheet over that, butter it, and repeat until 8 sheets have been layered and buttered.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup of nut and spice mixture over the 8th sheet. Layer and butter 2 sheets of dough, then sprinkle another 3/4 cup of the nut and spice mixture. Repeat 4 times (or more as desired).

Layer and butter 6 more phyllo sheets (or however many sheets are left). 

Using a sharp knife, cut through all the layers creating a triangle or diamond pattern.

Bake at 300° until golden brown, about 1 hour.

While the baklava is baking, combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan, making sure sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat a little to keep from boiling over. Boil for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

Once baklava is removed from oven, pour syrup evenly over the top. Let cool.

Serve in muffin cups for easy finger-food.

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Some tips and suggestions:

The phyllo dough will usually come frozen. Thaw it out for 2 hours before using it.

Phyllo dough is really ridiculously thin and fragile. Prepare everything prior to baking and then open the dough last.

The dough needs to stay perfectly damp. If it gets too dry, it breaks, but if it gets too wet, it sticks to itself and rips. To achieve this, put a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap over the open and unrolled phyllo dough, and then a damp cloth over that. If you put just the damp cloth on the dough, it makes it way too wet. Uncover, remove a sheet of dough, then re-cover the rest while you butter or sprinkle nutty stuff.

Also, work quickly, but not sloppily. The longer the dough sits out, the more of a chance it has to dry out, even with a damp cloth over it.

It's okay if it does rip. It's a flaky dessert anyway, so if you have 3 or 4 pieces of one sheet for some of the layers, don't worry about it. You're just going to cut it up into little pieces to serve it.

When you pour the syrup over the baked dough + filling, it sizzles and steams because the pan came right out of the oven. Be prepared for that.

If you find that you have way more filling than you think belongs in the middle, try sprinkling the last of it on top after you've poured the syrup over it. Personally, I don't think you can ever have too much nutty-spiced deliciousness.

Make this a day or two ahead of time. It's better if it sits and absorbs all the flavors for a day or so before eating it.

Doesn't that just make you drool a little? 

Oh. 

My.

I must make more.

Now.

Food on Friday: Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup

The other day I posted this on Instagram.

And then I had multiple requests for the recipe.

Wow. (I'm flattered!)

Well, okay then--I can't argue with my friends and followers when they ask for it. I always thought potato soup recipes were a dime a dozen, but if you want mine, here. I'll add it to the online collection.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures. I wasn't planning on posting this because I didn't use a recipe (real big surprise there, huh...) and these measurements are estimates of what I actually used. But it is really good and the simple flavor goes perfectly with that strong savor of sourdough bread. It's a perfect comfort food meal and it was exactly what I wanted last Sunday evening. It took all of 10 minutes to throw in the crock pot, put on the lid, and turn it on to high. Prepare it in the morning and enjoy it later.

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Easy, Cheesy, Basic Potato Soup
Makes 6-8 servings. (Hooray for leftovers!)

1 can cream of mushroom soup
milk (use 2 cans-worth after soup can is empty)
water (use 1 1/2 cans-worth after soup can is empty)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 large potatoes, diced (1/2 inch thick)
carrots sliced (1/4 inch thick)
1-2 cups chopped broccoli (frozen or fresh)
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt (+/- as you want it flavored)
2 tsp ground black pepper
shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese

Pour cream of mushroom soup, milk, water, and flour into crock pot. Stir, dissolving flour and mixing liquids. Add potatoes, carrots, broccoli, green onions, garlic, butter, salt, and pepper. Stir and evenly mix seasonings and vegetables. Cook on high for 6-7 hours (depending on how well you like your potatoes and carrots cooked; I like mine cooked but not mushy, so I went with 6 hours).

Top with shredded cheese after scooping into bowls. Serve with hot, buttery sourdough bread (slice, butter, wrap in foil and bake at 300 F for an hour--do this during the last hour of cooking soup).

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I just made this one up depending on what I had in my pantry and fridge. It's a pretty easy and basic potato soup base, so feel free to modify it to your own needs/wants.

Try adding bacon or ham, different kinds of cheese (Parmesan sounds good to me), yellow instead of green onions, a couple teaspoons of garlic salt or powder instead of fresh garlic, add fresh mushrooms, use cream of chicken soup if you don't like mushroom, etc. The possibilities are pretty endless.

Enjoy!

Food on Friday: See Tomorrow...

I'm guest posting tomorrow at Margot's blog, Newfoundlander at Heart. It's one of the easiest recipes you'll ever see. And it's tasty, hearty, and pretty versatile too.

Have a sneak peak.

Now go here to take a look. Enjoy!

Food on Friday: Good-ol' French Toast

I love French Toast.
It's super simple, but boy can it get messed up if you're not careful.
I've made it numerous times.
And I always tried to perfect it.

(Now, when I say "perfect" I mean make it perfectly delicious, not perfectly healthy... Yet...)

Anyway, I think I'm getting pretty close. Here's my latest attempt, with rough measurements (because I don't measure very often).

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Janae's Good-ol' French Toast

4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp powdered sugar
6-8 slices of bread

Beat the eggs, milk, and yogurt together. Stir in cinnamon and powdered sugar. Dip slices of bread into egg mixture and place on medium-heated griddle. Pour extra spoonful of egg mixture over the top of each bread slice while the bottom is cooking. Cook until bottom is golden and still moist, 5-7 minutes depending on griddle temperature. Flip and cook the other side. Flip and cook each side longer if necessary. Top with fresh berries, syrup, and/or your favorite jam.

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Something I've learned: lower temperature + longer cook time = better French toast

You may be starving, and you may not care if your French toast is dry and overcooked. But I do. I care if it's crispy, fluffy, and flavorful. 

And this recipe is exactly that.

The yogurt and milk keep the eggs moist and fluffy. I like to add yogurt into recipes sometimes just for that purpose.

This is my mother-in-law's cast iron griddle. Isn't it fantastic?

Fresh raspberries and strawberries are my favorite topping to many breakfast recipes.

What are your tips and tricks for making perfect french toast?

Food on Friday: Amber's Wedding Cake

Remember Amber's bracelet that I made for her wedding last weekend? Well there's something else I have to tell you about. I had nothing to do with it, but it was just too amazing to not post about.

Her wedding cake.

There's something you should know about Amber. She loves Nutella. She has eaten it by the jar on her bad days (who am I kidding--I have too).

With that in mind, our friend Autumn offered to make her wedding cake. By the way, Autumn works at a local chocolate shop called Eclipse Chocolat as one of the chocolatiers/bakers/chefs. Eclipse is my all-time favorite place to buy dessert, or chocolate, or candy, or pure happiness. There are no words to adequately express what an Eclipse experience is like. It's mind blowing. Everything they concoct is unexpected, and yet, the flavors are so rich and always compliment each other perfectly.

photo from eclipsechocolat.com

So for Autumn to make this cake, you can imagine that it wasn't just any ol' cake. Not only was it delicious beyond compare, but it was absolutely stunning too.

The cake was made with dark chocolate, white chocolate sea shells, Nutella, and ground hazelnuts.

(Holy Hannah. Yes, yes I did just say all of that in one sentence.) 

It was richer than Bill Gates and tasted better than Thanksgiving dinner. Autumn is a food genius and dessert perfectionist.

I'm not sure if there is a recipe for this or not. She kind of made it up as she went, I think.

But what I wouldn't give to have another divine piece!

Also, look at how adorable Graham was at the wedding. 

He's seriously such a cute baby. I'm one lucky momma.

Food on Friday: Summer Squash Pasta

If you saw my recipe for the best zucchini bread ever, you'll know that we had a lot of zucchini grow in our garden this year. And with all the house-sitting and out-of-town trips we've taken (and still have yet to take), our poor garden has been slightly neglected this summer.

That meant we ended up with some baseball bat sized zucchini.

A while ago I came across an amazing looking recipe for zucchini and squash. I finally bought some pine nuts so I could make it.

And oh my goodness. It is as amazing as it looks and sounds. Plus, it's completely raw! Extra healthy, plus it's a refreshingly cool meal for a hot summer day.

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Summer Squash Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Pesto
Makes 4 servings.

4 medium summer squash
2 cups basil leaves
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Using a julienne peeler, julienne each squash from top to bottom. Place julienned squash in a large bowl and set aside. Prepare the pesto: combine the basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse until a coarse pesto forms. Toss the zucchini and yellow squash with the pesto. Divide zucchini "pasta" into four equal servings. Top with feta cheese and cherry tomatoes.

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I had two medium squash and a ginormous one too (the latter isn't pictured). I used both medium and half of the huge one. It made about the right amount. The flavor and texture was still great with the huge ones too.

I don't have a julienne peeler. But I do have a cheese grater (or whatever you want to call it--I don't know the fancy names for most of my cooking utensils).

I don't have a food processor either (Seriously, who doesn't have a food processor these days? I really should get one with all the cooking I love to do...) but I do have a Blendtec.

Ahhh, my Blendtec... My husband can have a love affair with his car as long as he lets me keep up mine with the Blendtec he bought me for our anniversary last year. It can do amazing things--far more amazing than a regular ol' food processor can (Okay, maybe I don't need a food processor after all.).

My only change to the original recipe was instead of using 1/4 cup of olive oil, I used closer to 1/3 of a cup. It made the pesto blend better for me without being too oily.

Bob walked through to kitchen as I was pulsing the basil, pine nuts, parmesan, olive oil, and garlic mixture in the Blendtec. He took one look and in a dreamy tone said, "Ohhhh. I know what that is..." and immediately got excited about dinner. I forget how classy he can be. Sure, he'll eat hot dogs and mac & cheese every day if I let him, but when he sees quality ingredients and gourmet cooking, he turns into quite the dapper fellow.

So if you find that you have too much zucchini, or too large zucchini, and you've had about enough bread and cookies made with zucchini, give this a go. It's bursting with fresh and zesty deliciousness. You won't regret it.

I'm also 100% sure you could hold off on the cheeses to make it a completely vegan dish.

But I'm a fool for feta. 

I cannot do without it's savory zing in my life.

 

I also can't do without this cutie pie.