Food Friday - Snack Attack!

from Tracey G.

Yep. I am still in a love affair with almonds. They're a great food item for many reasons, but, my main reason for them being a major player in my diet, is in helping me by providing me something good and good for me to snack on. I'm not happy with the numbers the scale is throwing at me when I get the courage to step on it, so after being annoyed about it for months, I started complaining about it to Kris. I then found out, as things usually go with the two of us, she seemed to be having the same dilemma and issues. We went back and forth enough to figure out, that, our snacking and eating habits were likely the culprits, or more directly the lack of forethought before the snacking and eating etc. It's been a busy past few months and that I know is my issue - too many other things on my brain rather than eating well. It seems when life gets busy, my eating habits get worse. I am honestly one who forgets to eat, but instead of losing weight, it's that opposite reaction my body has - thinking it's in starvation so it hangs onto every calorie I take in as it doesn't know when it's next meal is coming!

So, since I love grab-and-go foods - something to eat that I don' t have to stop what I'm doing to prepare during the day etc., I told Kris I really need to come up with some homemade versions. And versions I can live with - I've done all the so-called diets, I've gone the deprivation route, and all that has ever garnered me was failure. Every. Time. But in the times I've approached it realistically, I've achieved my weight-loss goals. Every. Time.  Even though I desperately want to see it go away immediately, I know I have to be smart about it. That means eating. And eating well, not junk, not live off totally prepackaged foods (but some do have their place, as there are good ones out there!)

First up in the grab-and-go realm for me, are snacks. I love to snack on stuff. Usually when I'm bored, so I've taken the approach of asking myself if I'm really hungry or just bored. And just by doing that alone, I've really cut down on snacking! Second is not jumping into all "diet" foods - that's a trap I get bored with and generally fail with. It's not realistic to think that "diet" treats are going to be always as satisfying as the "real deal" for me personally. This I know. It gets to the point where I've said "heck with it, I want to real stuff!" and that itself becomes a slippery slope right down into the failure pit. I know enough now, to know that I have to find alternatives I can actually live with. Plus, build in enough leeway that I can still enjoy the foods I love. So, I'm tackling snack foods. And when it comes to good-for-you snack foods, almonds fit the bill pretty well. High in protein and taste yummy, plus a whole host of other benefits.

Here's the recipe I chose this week - last week it was sweet, this week it's savory. And they are pretty yummy and so so so easy! Just enough spice and heat to be addictive and of course as usual, totally customizable in that respect. Make it as mild or spicy as you like! The recipe originally called for curry powder, but I'm not a big fan of it, nor have I found a curry blend that I like, so I used smoked paprika instead of it. Of course I'll provide measurements for both! I found this recipe through my SparkPeople "SparkRecipes" app, and it's originally from the California Almond Board, again. But, I couldn't find it at the almond site, so I am linking to the SparkPeople Recipes site. It can be found here:Firecracker Almonds

And now, the recipe!

Firecracker Almonds

Serves 8 (1/4 cup servings)

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp curry powder - this is where I substituted 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp olive or almond oil

2 cups toasted whole natural almonds ( I did use salted)

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce, or to taste

1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne) or to taste

Combine chili powder, curry powder (or smoked paprika), garlic powder and oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Heat until hot and bubbly. Stir in almonds, tossing until almonds are evenly coated and heated through, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Stir in pepper sauce and red pepper. Allow to cool fully before serving.

Nutritional information:

1 Serving: 218 calories; 19 g total fat (2g saturated fat, 3.9 polyunsaturated fat, 12.8 monounsaturated fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 11 mg sodium; 268 mg potassium; 8g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 0g sugars); 7g protein

Oh! And by the way, this week I used my phone for my shot of the almonds on the sheet pan. It was a busy day, so to me the phone can be a real life-saver, it allows me to snap the shot and edit all at once on the same device, and that can be extremely handy! I used the Camera+ app to take the photo, did the filtering in Hipstamatic (I used the Loftus Lens and the DC Film), and then hopped it over to the Rhonna Farrer app "RhonnaDesigns, for the text and graphic (sticker)! Easy peasy! 


from Kris B.

 After only five days of logging everything I eat into Spark People and having it spit back all of my daily nutritional information, I have noticed a trend that needs to be addressed.  I don’t get enough protein in my diet.  Who knew?  Also, because my days start early and often go late, there comes a time during the day when I need a snack.  My husband would say that I need a “happy meal.”  Yep, I am one of those people that gets ridiculously grouchy and irritable when I need to eat.

Because I am also kind of lazy, I decided to try and remedy my protein and snack issues in one move - a protein heavy snack.  The first ingredient to come to mind that fit the bill was peanut butter.  I have mentioned before that I am a huge fan of peanut butter.  However, I wasn’t sure what to DO with the peanut butter.  I remembered a recipe that I had read on a blog awhile back for peanut butter and quinoa patties.  By some miracle, i was able to find it!  The original recipe is from the blogger Blissful Basil.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups puffed quinoa

6 TBS peanut butter

6 TBS coconut butter

2 TBS coconut oil

1 1/2 TBS pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

First, a few notes on the ingredients…

Admittedly, puffed quinoa and coconut butter may not be pantry staples at your house.  They are not at my house either, but quinoa and coconut are.  Though both of these ingredients can be purchased at a grocery store like Whole Foods, with quinoa and coconut they can both be made at home at much less expense.  In her recipe, Blissful Basil tells how to make the puffed quinoa.  Heat a large stock pot over medium heat.  Once the pot is hot, pour a small amount of pre-rinsed and dried quinoa over the bottom of the pan.  Gently move the pan so that quinoa swirls around as it pops.  The process is much like that of making stove top popcorn.  Keep things moving so that they don’t burn.  Once all of the quinoa has popped, a minute or two, Transfer the “puffed” quinoa to a bowl and repeat this process until you have a 1 1/2 cups of puffed quinoa.  During the process you will here small crackles from the quinoa as it in creases only very slightly in size.  There is not the dramatic change that you see with popped corn.  I “puffed” 1 1/2 cups and ended up with roughly 1 3/4 cups.  (The extra 1/4 will perhaps be used to top a loaf of bread.)

On amazon.com, a 16 oz. jar of coconut butter costs $13.99.  That is ridiculous when you realize what coconut butter really is.  Like peanut butter, coconut butter is made by processing the meat extensively in a food processor.  Translation…dump some coconut in your food processor.  Turn it on.  Let it run until the coconut is liquefied.  This took about 8 minutes.  I used 12 oz. of Red Mill shredded unsweetened coconut.  Because it was fairly dry, I also added a tablespoon of coconut oil to the food processor.  Again, the process is much like making homemade peanut butter.  I did use homemade peanut butter in this recipe as well (because I have it on hand), but any unsweetened commercially available peanut butter will work just fine.

Once you have all of your ingredients, these Peanut Butter Quinoa Patties are super easy to make!

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the peanut butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla.  Cook for 4-5 minutes, whisking continuously, until the ingredients are completely melted.  Pour this mixture over the puffed quinoa.  Gently stir to evenly coat.

Place 16 muffin liners on a baking sheet.  Drop heaping tablespoons of the quinoa mixture into the muffin liners.  Tap the mixture down with the spoon if necessary.  Place the tray in the freezer for about an hour to allow the patties to set.  Once set, they can be store in the refrigerator.

These Peanut Butter Quinoa Patties are not particularly sweet, but they are sweet enough that I feel like I have had a treat.  My daughter, who doesn’t really have an over active sweet tooth like I do at times, said that she thinks that these need to be half dipped in chocolate.  There is no doubt in my mind that this would be a really good idea, it is not absolutely necessary, especially if you eat one with a glass of chocolate almond milk.  There’s my secret. :-)

Here are the nutrition facts for these based on having put the recipe into Spark People’s Recipe Calculator.

In addition to agreeing to support one another along this weight loss journey, Tracey and I also agreed to take and process this week’s photo on our phones.  As she said, sometimes this makes the whole process go a little more quickly.  It also adds a little spice to our food and photography life as well as gives us a reason to play with all of those apps on our phones.

I shot my image using the resident camera on my iphone6.  I lightened it a bit using the phone’s basic editing capabilities.  In then used the Rhonna Magic app to apply a filter and the Rhonna Designs app to add the text.  The final touch was the border (frame) which was done using Rookie Cam.  

Rookie Cam is a new app to me.  Tracey suggested it because I was telling her about the fact that I wanted some simple borders for my photos but couldn’t find them in any of the apps I had.  I’m not sure how that could be, but was the truth.  Rookie Cam is a free app, sort of, so I downloaded it and there were borders exactly like a wanted - simple and clean.  If you like the more fancy type of frames, they are there too!

We hope your days are filled lots of pretty pixels, healthy plates and lots of laughs!!  Enjoy the weekend.

Tuesday In Texas: The Journey Toward New Jeans

The conversations that Tracey and I have with one another are definitely true to our blog title.  We spend a great deal of time talking about photography and food and laughing with each other.  Yes, admittedly sometimes the laughing is at our own photo and kitchen mishaps.  One of the best things about having a really good friend is that you can share stories about how an entire photo shoot went bad because you forgot to reset your camera settings from the previous day; or, about a recipe flop that you can’t even begin to explain but makes you wonder why you think that you have any credibility with which to write a food blog.  You can also talk with one another about the tough things, like the bright red number staring up at you from the ruthless bathroom scale.

Lately our food conversations have turned more serious because we have both gotten to a place where we are unhappy with our respective weights.  We have talked about how we got to this place of dissatisfaction, as well as about past weight loss successes, weight loss obstacles, and our shared genuine desire to get serious and remedy the situation.

I have been a member of Weight Watchers for many years and when I am faithful to the program, it has worked for me.  Before Tracey and I shared our similar plight of the pounds with one another, I had decided that I would once again start counting and logging those Weight Watchers points.  As I did this, I realized that the whole program has changed since I last was “serious” about it and I found it less inspiring and more difficult to follow.  Tracey shared that she is using an app called Spark People that has you count calories instead of points, gives you more concrete nutritional information, and is free!  So, I have cancelled my Weight Watchers membership and have switched my food logging to the Spark People app.  It is not, however, a program or an app that will most help me on this journey to shed the pounds.  The key to success is having a supportive and empathetic friend by my side.  A friend who understands when I say my jeans are too tight, but I refuse to buy a bigger size.  A friend with whom I am not embarrassed to share my actual weight or waist measurement.  A friend who will be there to share the small but meaningful milestones along the way and will also be there for encouragement when I encounter those inevitable setbacks.

We are sharing our journey with all of you here because our recipes over the next few months will reflect our efforts to make healthy lower calorie, but still tasty, food choices. 

In some ways it seems kind of strange for us to share such a personal struggle with someone we have never met face to face, yet it feels perfectly natural and comfortable.  We have been talking about setting realistic goals, knowing full well that it is going to take time to achieve our ultimate weight loss goals.  Yet we keep coming back to the fact that neither of us wants to buy new jeans unless we are buying them a size or two smaller!  That was the carrot that we were dangling in front of ourselves.  Then I thought, that perhaps a better carrot might be that once we both achieve our personal goals, we should plan an actual face to face meeting and go shopping for those new jeans together!

Food Friday - Almond Joy

from Tracey G

Kris had informed me that her new favorite snack was cocoa covered peanuts. This intrigued me, so on my next shopping trip, I just had to look for them - and came up lacking. But I did see cocoa covered almonds. I passed on them this trip, because darn it, I wanted cocoa covered peanuts! That then led me to a idea. I wonder if I could make them at home. And I discovered lots of recipes for cocoa covered ALMONDS. None for peanuts, which I took as a sign I was to try cocoa covered almonds this time around.

There is a funny story too about my acquisition of said almonds to cover in cocoa powder! Instead of heading out just to buy almonds, I sent a text to my husband, Jeremy, to see if he'd pick some up on his way home. Sure, no problem. In the exchange he asked how much I needed and I gave him an approximate amount and so forth. When he gets home with them and I see that he bought about 7-8 smaller snack sized bags because the market he stopped at didn't have the larger bulk sized bag. He thought I had to have them that day so did whatever he could to make sure I had the amount I needed, even if it cost probably twice the amount of a bulk sized bag - I felt bad informing him that I could've waited until the next day when a larger grocery store would have been accessible! You can be sure I said thank you for all his trouble!

Almonds have lots of great benefits besides being yummy. Here's a link to the Almond Board of California's information sheet Almonds.com Health and Nutritional Info which also has a link to a neat PDF with even more information.

And here's an overview of almonds benefits:

Heart Health

•High in monounsaturated fat (good fat)
•No cholesterol or sodium
•Top food source of vitamin E, an important antioxidant

Energy

•6 grams of protein per ounce
•12 vitamins and minerals
•Rich in magnesium

Weight management

•6 grams protein, helps keep you going with less snacking
•3.5 grams fiber, good for helping to keep you fuller feeling longer
•Only 160 calories per ounce

There's also a lot of good benefits to cocoa powder too, so this is a pretty good choice for snacking that feels like an indulgence!

There's really not a "recipe" for it, more of method. This is the method I used:

1 1/2 - 2 cups whole almonds

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 5 minutes, remove tray shake it back and forth to "stir" up the almonds and then continue to bake for about another 5-8 minutes or until they are lightly fragrant and toasty.

While the almonds are baking, mix about 1 1/2 tablespoons each cocoa powder and powdered sugar. I actually sifted the two together in a mesh strainer to get rid of lumps and help facilitate the combining of the two.

When you remove the almonds from the oven, let them cool a minute or two on the baking sheet, then carefully pour them into a medium sized bowl. Add the cocoa powder/powdered sugar mixture to the still-warm almonds and toss gently with a spoon to coat. Spread them back onto the baking sheet in a single layer to cool.

And that's it. It's super simple to create these yummy treats at home. I have to admit that I was skeptical of the coating sticking with nothing added to make it stick, but it did and it did so beautifully! And after trying them with the just the cocoa powder and powdered sugar, I decided to dust them with cinnamon and wow, it knocked an already great tasting treat out of the park!! 

From Kris B.

It has been a crazy week at our house!  My husband has been a sick boy.  When he went back to school, he actually took on additional responsibilities as the school librarian, and then we had a quick out of town trip this weekend.  Needless to say, all of these things contributed to our weekly routine being extremely disrupted.  It seems like such "blips" in our life have the greatest effect on our eating habits.  We found ourselves snacking through the week rather than making intentional and healthy meal choices.

These Brown Sugar and Almond English Muffins are one of my "go-to" snacks or, as was the case this week, go-to lunches lunches.  A little protein, a little sweetness, and a few carbs and I'm ready to go.   If you have a toaster oven, these are even easier to make when life is moving a quick pace.

INGREDIENTS
English muffin
Butter
Brown sugar
Sliced almonds

Split the English muffin and generously spread with butter.  Sprinkle the top with brown sugar and top with the sliced almonds.  If you are using a toaster oven, set the rack open its lowest setting.  In a standard oven, use the middle rack.  Place the muffins on a cookie sheet.  Using the broiler setting, cook until the brown sugar has melted, 5 minutes or so.  WATCH CAREFULLY!  These will go from perfect to burned very quickly!

Enjoy any time of day as a meal with a side of fruit, or as a snack.

Mug Shot 4/22/16

At 4:30 am even airplane coffee is good enough!

Food Friday - Veggies, Please!

from Tracey G.

This week the snow is finally starting to melt and I'm starting to want more fair weather foods - or at least things that remind me that summer and lovely weather isn't too far away! This salad is one of my favorites and it's so super simple it ought to be a crime! Not even sure anymore where I found the original recipe, but I do know that I have added and subtracted here and there to suit my taste. It's like a super quick refrigerator pickle in way, but very lightly pickled so that it's still a salad and not an actual pickle! Whenever I make anything with Buffalo Sauce (like my favorite chicken cutlets), this salad goes on the side, it tempers the spicy heat nicely!

I use English cucumbers because I love the little to no seed aspect, and you don't need to peel them, thus saving time. Not to mention, just a quick rinse is all that's needed, since they are usually individually wrapped in the grocery. 

This salad also comes together super quick, another thing I absolutely love about it, plus you could add things if you like - green or any kind of onion sliced thin would be nice, I think. Simple and yummy - what else could you ask for?

Cucumber Salad

(about 4-5 servings)

4 cups thinly sliced, quartered cucumber

2  tsp minced fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley

Dressing:

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depends on your taste, I use 1/2 usually)

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

4 tbsp lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

Combine dressing ingredients in serving bowl, whisk well until sugar is dissolved. Add cucumbers and parsley, toss to coat. Let stand for awhile or serve immediately. Serve with a slotted spoon. 

from Kris B.

Pizza  is often one of those dinner suggestions made at the end of a long day or week and it usually involves a phone call to the local pizza delivery shop, not a trip to the kitchen.  As much as I like someone else to do the cooking on such evenings, homemade pizza is so much better than that which is commercially made.  The problem with wanting homemade pizza at the last minute is the crust.  There is no getting around the fact that making pizza crust takes time.

The truth is that the recipe that I am sharing this week isn't really about the pizza crust, but about the toppings. Though if you are interested, I use the recipe from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois's book Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day.  If, like me, you are a bread lover, their method is a great way to enjoy homemade bread every day without spending a great deal of time every day in its preparation.  If pizza dough making is not your thing, just buy a pre-made crust at the grocery store.  It will work just fine.  Like I said, this is about the toppings.

In addition to bread, I do like vegetables.  I just don't care for the mixture of veggies that are offered on commercially made veggie pizzas, especially olives.  There are lots of foods that I "don't care for," but will eat and there are a very few that I just can't eat under any circumstances.  Olives, black or green, fall into the latter group  By the time you remove the olives and then the mushrooms, which fall into the don't care for category but will eat in a pinch, most veggie pizzas are then left with only peppers and onions.  Those two alone don't really constitute a "veggie" pizza.  It is my quirky pizza veggie preferences that led me to experiment with other vegetables as pizza toppings.

This combination is one of my favorites - traditional white pizza with shaved asparagus.  Because my pizza stone is rectangular, so are my pizzas, more or less.  Lol! They usually end up being about 12'x14'.

INGREDIENTS
Pizza crust of your choice
Olive oil

For the white pizza sauce:
   2 cups ricotta cheese
   2-3 cloves garlic, minced
   1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
   red onion, thinly sliced (about half of a medium onion)
   shaved asparagus (8 stalks give or take)
   mozzarella cheese
   red pepper flakes, optional

Slice the onion.  For the shaved asparagus, wash and then trim the ends.  Using a vegetable peeler, "peel" the asparagus just like you would a carrot.  Peel from all sides of the stalk.

Heat oven to 500 degrees.  If you have a pizza stone, heat it in the oven as well.  If not, you can bake your pizza on a sheet pan.  Once your dough is ready to go, place it on an appropriately sized pan or a pizza peel generously covered with corn meal.  (This helps it to slide from the peel onto the oven stone.)  Brush the dough with a thin layer of olive oil.

Mix together the ricotta cheese, minced garlic, Parmesan cheese, and salt an pepper to create the white sauce.  Spread this evenly over your dough leaving about an inch of dough exposed around the edges.

Top the white sauce with a layer of mozzarella cheese then the asparagus, onions, and ref pepper flakes.  Finish with another layer of the mozzarella cheese.

Bake until the cheese is melted and is a bubbly golden brown.  Baking time will vary with ovens and the type of crust you use.

Make this your own pizza!  Amounts of all ingredients can most certainly be adjusted for personal preferences.  Add the mushrooms and olives if they make you happy!  Yes, we all need food to nourish our bodies, but what we eat and those with whom we eat our meals should also make us happy!  Take time to enjoy your food.

Food Friday - Rolling in the Dough

from Tracey G.

The minute I looked at the cookbook Kris got me, The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila, I was in love!! First thing that hit me was the cover - I love the photograph on the front, because of course the photography is one of the main things I love about cookbooks! Like Ina Garten's cookbook photos, this book does NOT disappoint! I love all of them, they're the kind I'd love to take! So, as I looked at the photos, I then went through and fell in love with the inspiring recipes, and her lovely narratives. All in all it's a wonderful book, there's not one thing I don't like about it! I highly recommend it for many reasons!

There's a lot of recipes I want to try out of it, so I am sure you'll be hearing about them as I give them a shot, lol. The recipe that just grabbed me for the bread week was the one for homemade hamburger buns. I've made loaves of bread, cinnamon rolls, regular rolls - but I've NEVER made hamburger buns. I'd never even thought about making them, it was just something I've always bought. I read through her narrative and it inspired me to have a look-see at the recipe. Seemed easy enough, so I thought why not? I'm so glad I did - was easy as could be and tasted wonderful. Jeremy was sad that we were using them for Sloppy Joes, and not yummy grilled burgers...next time. Because yes, there will be many more next times for this recipe. I even think I'm going to make a few batches and to freeze and keep on hand!

So here's her recipe, I didn't change a thing, and it turned out perfect. I did use a rapid rise yeast, so the combining of the ingredients for me was a little different as my yeast gets combined with the flour etc., and I let my KitchenAid mixer do the kneading. I didn't have whole milk on hand, so I used the 2% I had and it still worked perfectly.  

Hamburger Buns

Makes 8 buns

1 cup warm water (about 110°F)

3 tbsp whole milk

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp sugar

3 large eggs

3 3/4 cups (1 lb, 2.75 ounces), all-purpose flour, plus additional for the counter

11/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

Optional: poppy, sesame, or caraway seeds, coarse salt

1) In a liquid measuring cup, combine the warm water, milk, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 2 eggs in a small bowl.

2) In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the salt. Add the butter to the flour and gently rub it in with your fingers. Stir in the yeast mixture and beaten eggs until the dough starts to come together.

3) Dump the dough onto a well-floured counter and knead vigorously, folding the dough onto itself and throwing it down onto the counter. Work with it for about 10 minutes, adding additional flour when the dough gets sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and return it to its bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

4) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a knife, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each part into a ball and arrange 2-3 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with clean dish towel and let the buns rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.

5) Preheat the oven to 400°F with the rack in the center. Fill a metal pan with water and set it on the oven floor or bottom rack - no exceptions, DO NOT USE GLASS! As the author warns, if you had to refill the pan by chance, and, used cold water - your glass pan would likely shatter and it would just be a bad thing all the way around!

6) In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with 1 tbsp of water and brush some of the mixture on top of the buns with a pastry brush. If you are using seeds and/or coarse salt, sprinkle them over egg wash. Place the buns in the oven and bake, turning the sheet halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

Storage:

Room temperature: covered or sealed bag, 2 days

Freezer:  cut in half lengthwise, freezer bag, 6 months

from Kris B.

Why is it that homemade bread has the reputation of being difficult or extravagant?  Bread is probably one of the easiest things to make.  Basic bread requires few ingredients and no "specialty" kitchen equipment.  It does, however, demand your time and a bit of patience.  Bread needs a little TLC during its "growing" process.  Maybe that is the part pf the recipe with which people find to be the stumbling block.  IMHO, there is nothing that feels and tastes better than a warm loaf of homemade bread.

This is a fairly basic bread recipe with an additional step or two to add the cinnamon swirl.  For many, any step that causes the addition of cinnamon to a baked item is well worth the effort!  I like this recipe in particular because not only does it have the swirl of cinnamon and brown sugar goodness, the bread dough itself also has a touch a cinnamon.  Toasted with some peanut butter, and of course accompanied by a cup of coffee, this bread makes my early mornings not so bad!

INGREDIENTS
1 TBS butter
1/2 Cup butter
2 TBS white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 warm water
2 1/2 + 1/2 all purpose flour

Filling
4 TBS soft butter
4 TBS white sugar
2 TBS brown sugar
1 1/2 TBS ground cinnamon

In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar. salt, and cinnamon.  Add the warmed butter mixture to these dry ingredients.

In a small glass bowl, mix the yeast into the warm water until the yeast is dissolved.  Pour the yeast mixture into the ingredients in the large mixing bowl.  Add 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour.  Mix until incorporated.  Dump the dough into a floured board and knead for five to eight minutes.

Place the dough into a greased bowl.  Turn the dough so that all sides are covered.  Cover with a clean towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.  This usually takes about an hour.

Punch down the dough and knead for one minute.  Roll out into a rectangle whose small side is the size of your baking pan. For the filling, spread the rectangle with the soft butter.  In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the rectangle of dough.

Roll the dough from the short end and place, with the seam side down, in a buttered 9x5 loaf pan.  Allow the loaf to rise again until doubled in size, 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Before placing the bread in the oven, score with three slashes in the top of the loaf.  Bake for 35 minutes or until tapping on the loaf results in a hollow sound.  Remove from pan and allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack.

Serve plain or toasted with butter, apple butter, pumpkin butter, peanut butter, or just eat it plain.  However you slice it, it is good!  And FYI, my daughter has her eyes on what is left of our loaf for bread pudding.

04.03.16 Mug Shot

It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Texas!  I am sitting in the garden in jeans and a t-shirt drinking iced coffee!

04.03.16 Mug Shot!

Huh. Another snow storm. Thank you Michigan! 😆 ❄️❄️❄️ I bet Kris is nice and warm! 😉

FOOD FRIDAY - Simple Pasta Salads

from Kris B.

I trust that I am not alone in having those nights where you wander through the kitchen looking in the fridge, rummaging through the pantry, and checking the spice cabinet hoping that there are some ingredients that will work together and magically become dinner.  If I am alone in this, please keep that fact to yourself!  Often these meals that I have scrounged together in desperation become some of my favorites.  This Tortellini Salad is one such creation.

As I recall, I had the three cheese tortellini and that sounded good for dinner, but didn't have the necessary ingredients to make a traditional pasta sauce.  I had broccoli that needed to be eaten.  Actually, I always have broccoli that needs to be eaten because it is my favorite green vegetable.  I am happy to eat it in, on, or with just about anything.  Because I was trying to come up with a meal rather than just a side of pasta, I wanted some meat to add to the tortellini and broccoli.  I had a few pieces of bacon that also were on the "need to eat soon" list.  I always have some kind of cheese on hand.  This particular night, Parmesan was the cheese of choice.  Throw a little red onion and some grape tomatoes into the mix and the dinner potential was becoming real.  Still, however, I had no sauce.

The easy solution would have been to pour some bottled salad dressing over the whole shebang and call it done.  All I had was Asian Sesame.  As much as I like that on certain salads, it didn't sound good with this.  I decided that I would start with a more or less traditional macaroni salad dressing and go from there.  

When all was said and done, this turned out to be really good.  This is probably because this salad contains most of my favorite food things.  It's filling but not too heavy, flexible, and better for you than some things!

INGREDIENTS
1 19 oz bag frozen three cheese tortellini
1/2 lb bacon
1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

For the Dressing
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 mayonnaise
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the broccoli and dice the onion.  Grate the Parmesan cheese.

Cut the bacon into pieces and cook it.  Remove the cooked back to a paper towel to drain and cool.  While the bacon cooks, cook the pasta according to the package directions.  In its last minute of cooking, drop the chopped broccoli into the pasta water.  This will cook it just slightly.  Drain the pasta and broccoli and let cool in a large bowl.

While the pasta cools, in a medium bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.  I prefer the dressing to lightly coat rather than drench the other ingredients.  If you prefer a "wet" salad, you may want to double the dressing proportions. 

Once the pasta has cooled, add the bacon, onion, and Parmesan cheese to the pasta and broccoli.  Add the dressing and toss the salad until all of the ingredients are evenly coated.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  As is the case with almost anything that has a dressing or sauce, allowing the ingredients to mingle for several hours makes for better flavor.

This recipe is simple and quite forgiving.  Don't have broccoli and tomatoes?  Add another vegetable.  Squash is nice.  Prefer different spices?  By all means, go for it.  Don't like cheese tortellini?  Substitute your favorite pasta.  Have some leftover ham fro Easter?  Use that instead of bacon.  Make it your own.  Create Your Favorites Tortellini Salad!

Some days my cooking and my photography are guided by the same principles - both need to be quick and easy.  I quickly made this salad for our lunches today and needed to get the photo done quickly as I was leaving the house at noon and wouldn't be home again until almost 10 pm.  During my time away from the house, and more importantly my computer, I did have a little down time.  I decided that I would take today's photo with my phone and do any necessary editing on my iPad.

I shot the photo of the pasta on our outdoor kitchen cement counter with the resident camera on my iPhone.  The concrete added just a little bit of texture to the frame.  I then added the text and a frame using the Rhonna Designs app and I was done.  

Sometimes I feel like relying solely on my phone and its editing apps are cheating somehow.  Then there are the days where I know that it is the responsible way to use what little time I have.  When I got to the end of the day, I had a decent meal and an acceptable photo so I consider my day a success. Lol!


from Tracey G

I love using Food Fridays as a reason to experiment and try new recipes. Probably not the best thing, because if it doesn't turn out I'm stuck with it and can only report that it was awful, lol. But I've, for the most part, yet to have that happen. I've ran into some difficulties in the execution of the recipe, but it's always something I know that another run-through would iron out. This one was rather humorous as I was trying to get it together. I mean, come on, how hard can a macaroni salad be - really!? Well, it helps if on the day you're making it you have all the ingredients in the proper amounts that you need. I miscalculated my mayo supply, thinking I had much more than I actually did, and ended up having to make a half a batch of it. Then, trying to get the pickle juice into the bowl, I tipped the jar a bit too far and spilled some all over my recipe and island, lol. I was not having a good day! But I must say, all the trials and tribulations were totally worth it, I absolutely loved this recipe! And it's another one of those you can customize to your tastes, very easily I might add too.

I discovered it in my newest Taste Of Home magazine as I was flipping through. I've been on the hunt for a new macaroni salad. I love the version with tuna and peas etc, but I was getting really bored with it, and just wanted something different. This is the first one that caught my eye, maybe because it reminded me of deviled egg ingredients to a certain extent or something. Not sure, but I am glad I gave it a try, it's wonderful in my opinion, and as I told Kris, I likely could have eaten the whole batch myself, lol.

Now, I have to be honest here, the original name is NOT "Grandma's Macaroni Salad", it's "Judy's Macaroni Salad". But, I don't know a Judy or even the Judy. And to be even more honest, I never knew any of my grandparents, my maternal grandmother passed away when I was 6 months and my other grandparents passed away well before I was born. So, I can't even say I knew WHAT my grandma's macaroni salad was like - but this is what I IMAGINE a grandma's macaroni salad would taste like. It seems like a nice vintage mac salad recipe that a grandma WOULD make, so that's my reasoning and I hope everyone and Judy will forgive me! I will include the link to the original recipe of course!  

It involves simple ingredients that I think are a great combination: Elbow macaroni, hardboiled eggs, cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper - extremely uncomplicated. That's probably why it works as well as it does.

So, here's the recipe:

Grandma's Macaroni Salad

courtesy of Taste Of Home as Judy's Macaroni Salad
Serves 12, 3/4 cup each

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

6 hard-cooked large eggs, chopped

6 sweet pickles, chopped

1) Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain macaroni; rinse with cold water and drain well.

2) In a small** bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, eggs and pickles. Add macaroni; toss gently to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or until chilled.

** The original recipe as I've put here, calls for  a "small" bowl - but I used a medium sized bowl as due to the fact after you mix the ingredients in it, you then toss in the macaroni and I don't see how a small bowl would work very well for that and mixing the ingredients all together! :-)