Christmas Treats!!

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and had to make it because it looked really good and it's called Christmas Crack. Because it's made with crackers or because it's addictive - yes to both! (I used graham crackers instead of saltines.)

Pumpkin Pie Spice Love

I made mini pumpkin pies and very uncharacteristically did not take a picture of them! They were very cute and very good! (Link to the recipe/someone else's pictures)

Let me tell you a little bit about the spice I used. Pumpkin Pie Spice. I used to think buying pumpkin pie spice was a waste because I could just combine the spices I had to make it. I mean, it's really just a mix of other spices. Pumpkin Pie Spice does not grow anywhere (alas.). But it's my most favorite spice (right now). It's all the best spices combined.

Nutmeg

I thought I would be doing a bit more cooking on my day off but I worked so late the night before that, well, I didn't do much of anything. So this is as festive as it gets. A pumpkin spiced latte with a dash of nutmeg. I used the pumpkin spiced syrup I got from Williams-Sonoma with Kim. It tastes like actual pumpkin so it's not really sweet. And therefore it needed whipped cream, as most pumpkin pie does...

Spices!!

Pumpkin, Apple & Pear, Check!

  

The Cookie Brownie Bars were extra credit! 

Pumpkin and Apple!

Pumpkin Apple Muffins- Very healthy, very good, moist (but not in that wet/sticky way)

Pumpkin Ricotta French Toast- like a pumpkin pie sandwich...except that nobody wants their pumpkin pie in a sandwich. We dipped ours in vanilla yogurt and that made it better. Ok, but won't make again.

October!

I wanted to name this pumpkin month but since we already did that ingredient (October 2009!) and I'm not sure if everyone loves it as much as I do I'm just going to name this repeat month! Pick any ingredient we did in October of the previous years...that means-Pumpkin, Apple, or Pears!

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

I know these Lemon Ricotta Muffins look really boring but they were very tasty! Nobody can stop at one! Personally I think they need more lemon zest but they are so nice and moist and fluffy, the ricotta gave it a really good texture. I didn't put as much sugar in as the recipe called for (like usual) nor did I sprinkle sugar on top but I imagine if you did it would be even better! I have plans for one more ricotta recipe before the month is over!

Bam.

The box is more attractive than what was inside. Seriously.

September Ingredient!

Mom and Dad have chosen Ricotta!

Ravioli!

More specfically, this is Crunchy Oven-Fried Cheese Ravioli! I did not make the ravioli from scratch but I did make the panko breadcrumbs I needed for the breading! I was going to just substitute regular breadcrumbs for the panko but realized that would probably take away the crunchy factor so I had to be un-lazy and it ended up being pretty easy. I made a half batch so I only needed two pieces of bread to cover the panko amount. Anyway, everyone loved these. Owen even asked if we could eat them every day and when I asked him if he meant every year for our back to school dinner, he said, "No. Every day." 

Balsamic Vinegar (June)

So, I'm going to use this for my balsamic entry - vegan Boca burger with caprese salad. A nice change sometimes from the regular ol' everything burger. The asparagus on the side is actually from the West Side Market trip with Mom and Dad awhile back. Not as creative or adventurous as the strawberry balsamic pizza (which I would love to try.) Hudson's is one of the places we order lunch for work occasionally, and they have an awesome Tuscan Flatbread with fig jam, balsamic glaze, etc., on the lunch menu that I would recommend if anyone is ever in town for lunchtime!

Finger Food - Hummus and Pita

Every month or so they have a potluck at Lexicomp and usually come up with a theme of some sort - for August they chose finger food. Since I'm trying to catch up, I brought the suggestion to the blog too. I made pitas (from the bread book I believe was a gift from Kim) and a batch of hummus and got to use a bunch of the basil I have growing like crazy in the kitchen. I cut the pitas into wedges for work, and voila! finger food :)

Middle Eastern (March)

I made Tabbouleh - "A delicious bulgur salad that is filled with tomatoes, green onions, and cucumber. It is seasoned in the traditional way, with fresh mint and lemon juice." (Couldn't have said it better myself.) Nice and fresh and Summer-y. Bulgur is a whole grain, just in case you didn't already think it was healthy and good for you! Really good with the Home made pitas too - which are also Middle Eastern actually...

Mexican (April)

The leftover TVP was inspiring - taco salad! Same stuff as tacos the other day, but with a bit of ranch dressing as well - looks like too much dressing...but it's not : )

Tomorrow, leftover toppings with black bean salsa chips for a snack.

Tacos! (February)

I'm trying to catch up...
The other day I made tacos. (I'm tempted to use this for Mexican also, but that would be cheating I think, and wouldn't really be 'finger food' by the definition I posted so...)
Home made taco seasoning spiced TVP (it was made here), shredded cheese, spring greens, tomato, black olive, green onion and taco sauce an excellent lunch - even the plate looks festive!

August - Finger Foods

Hello everyone! This month's "theme" is finger foods - have fun! (I mean to try and catch up on months I've missed in time!)  Finger food is food meant to be eaten directly using the hands, in contrast to food eaten with a knife and fork, chopsticks, or other utensils. 

Nutty Banana Bread!

I made this last night, but aren't photos of my half eaten balanced breakfast so much more exciting? This is a banana bread recipe I found in an issue or Runner's World awhile ago. It calls for walnuts and when I started to measure them out I realized I only had half of what I needed so I made up the rest with pecans. (why do i have pecans in my kitchen? I don't know...) And then i added a handful of mini-chocolate chips because that was obviously a careless omission from the original recipe.

Breakfast and Lunch

Sadly, I eat most of my meals at work. I was actually eating this breakfast when I saw Kim's post and immediately took a picture. and that's why it looks like a bowl of white paint instead of fruit, yogurt and granola! The other pic is lunch or dinner depending on the day. I make a large bowl of it and eat it during the week. Couscous, grapes, walnuts and feta cheese. (I add a scoop of hummus and eat it with pita chips). Yay me :)

Some Nuts

I made the granola recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, you know, the red gingham one? I can't find the recipe online to link to but if you don't have this cookbook you should get it! I don't think I've ever made a bad recipe from it. Anyway, the granola was super good (you saw that coming, right?). I didn't have wheat germ so I subbed wheat bran and left out sunflower seeds because I just didn't want to buy them. I did put in the optional coconut and used cranberries instead of raisins.  

This is a horrible picture of the pesto I made. It tasted pretty good but I didn't subject anyone else to it. My neighbor gave me some basil from her garden the other day and this was the first thing I thought of to make. It's a little untraditional because it's made with walnuts instead of pine nuts but I like it. I have lots of pesto leftover so I may try to make some paninis. What else can you do with pesto?

Go Nuts!

 Peanuts, pistachios, walnuts, peanut butter, nutter butter...if you think it's nuts, go for it!!

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza

I used to be totally against fruit in anything but a dessert but I've since changed my ways so I guess that's why this pizza looked so good to me. And it was good too, except I made my crust too thick so the crust/toppings ratio was a bit off...but still...good stuff. It's actually Strawberry Balsamic Bacon Pizza but I left out the bacon and also the sriracha sauce. If I make it again I'm adding the sauce in to the mix!

Balsamic 'salsa'

Probably not the best pic since I took it with my cell phone, but at least I remembered to take the pic! This is Tuna steak that was cooked on the grill, but first it was 'marinated' in a 'salsa' that was made up of balsamic vinegar, olives and tomatoes. Crumbled feta cheese on top.

Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredient for June!

Pecan Apple Cake

I did make a fruit dessert and I already posted it on my other blog so I'm just going to reference that post. Click here :)

Strawberries and Cream

I should have taken a picture but I didn't think of it! We had strawberries and cream for dessert twice while I was visiting WI. It's very simple and good and something I wouldn't think of since A) I don't really go for milk and B) i think dessert must mean something with chocolate. But it is a very refreshing summer dessert: fresh strawberries, sugar and cream (like the kind you pour from the carton). Done!

Wait, wait! I cooked in April!

I have posted this before, but it's a good go-to dinner! Two versions, vegetarian and not.

Fruit Desserts!

Mom and Dad have chosen desserts made with fruit for the month of May!

Cheesy Tex-Mex Rice

I know this isn't exactly Mexican per se...but it does have "mex" in the title so...it counts? This Cheesy Tex-Mex Rice was delicious!
Changes to the recipe-no olives, red and  yellow pepper instead of green, added the optional extras of chicken and a can of black beans, did not use as much cheese as called for,

Mexican!

Falafel!

Yes, finally! I used to have falafel night with my friends in Savannah but obviously I haven't done that lately. Making it from the box is still pretty tasty, but really it just makes me miss the place I used to go to near Case! (right on the corner, across from where the Triangle was.) Good times!

The prep...


The Cooking...
Nigel helped but was not really a fan of the falafel. (I think it was a texture issue.)


Ta-Da!! Yummy!!

New and Improved!

I made some changes to the tabouli in my second batch and I liked it so much more that I thought it was important enough to post. I added tomatoes, eliminated the red onion and used more green onion. This one is the keeper! 

Quinoa Tabouli

I had to use up some fresh parsley before it went bad so I got right to the task by browsing the Aladdin's menu and picking a couple things I wanted to try. I have no idea what Tabouli (or Tabouleh?) is supposed to taste like but I did like the one I made. I sort of combined a couple recipes based on what I had (no tomatoes!) and used quinoa instead of the traditional bulgur. I'm putting my recipe at the bottom. It was a little heavy on the onions but I liked it that way!  

1/2 cup quinoa
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 Tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cucmber, chopped
1/8 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 oz cheese
1 cup fresh parsley
2 Tbsp dried mint

Cook quinoa, let cool. Whisk lemon juice, lime juice, olive oil and garlic together. Pour over quinoa, then mix in the rest of ingredients and refrigerate for as long as you want.

And the March theme is...

Middle Eastern foods!
(dibs on falafel!)

3 Cheers for Tacos!

Perhaps this month should have been changed to Mexican...or things to make with a tortilla :)
I don't think we've ever had a taco night...but we do go out for Mexican quite a bit!


My dinner, yum-o!


Army approved!!

More Taco Variations

I posted these Mexican Stuffed Shells on my other blog too because I really really liked them. They would be pretty easy to make vegetarian too.

This is another "taco wrap" that I'm including because it was soooo good and the picture is pretty :)

Taco

I know my "tacos" don't fall under the actual definition of a taco because really I consider most things in a tortilla to be a taco even though it's probably considered more of a "wrap." Taco wrap perhaps? This was a wheat tortilla, sundried tomato hummus, spinach, provolone, red pepper and onion taco wrap. Owen wants to put a question mark here?

Tacos!

Let's see everyone's version of tacos!

Black Bean Soup

My lunch from Panera. Probably the closest I'll get to Kidney Beans this month!

Pasta and White Beans with Broccoli Pesto

I may have cheated as I'm not sure what I used was actually white kidney beans but I thought I would post this anyway. I actually have something in the slow cooker right now that will qualify with red kidney beans but I'll put that up another time. This pasta was a little bland but I was missing the lemon zest so maybe that would have helped. Three out of four of us liked it though...the other one spit it out...

Pasta with Tomatoes and White Kidney Beans

Easy receipe to make. We think it tasted better than we expected. Pasta, spinach, white kidney beans, canned diced tomatoes, feta cheese.

Kidney Beans!

Mom and Dad chose kidney beans for January and asked me to post for them!