normalcy

normalcy is so boring...
except when you don't have it!!!

we gypsies found find ourselves in dallas this weekend. thanks to your sweet friends, the haneys, we spent the day in total normalcy & oh, was it so luxurious!! i shall never take for granted the simple pleasures of easy washer, dryer, dishwasher access. a simple day all together, catching up on laundry, grocery shopping, washing all our water bottles... a grocery shop... normal nap times. ahhhhhhhhhhh.

i insisted on making dinner - so tired of take out. our dear children even blessed us with eating it without toooo much fuss. which was nice, considering they basically spent the last 2 weeks eating pizza & scrambled eggs. i wasn't sure they'd remember how to eat proper food :)

the magic recipe? sure, i'll share it with you.

Lasagna Soup (via the fabulous Jen Haney)

1lb ground italian sausage (I like hot, but sweet is good for kiddies)
1.5 lg yellow onion, chopped
1 c carrot, diced
2 c button mushrooms , sliced (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 c chicken broth
1 28 oz can italian style, fire roasted diced tomatoes (stewed works, too)
1.5 c whole wheat pasta (penne, bow tie...)
2 c (+) chopped spinach
1 c parmesan, finely shredded
4 t fresh basil, thinly sliced

brown sausage in large saucepan. add onion & carrot & sauté for 3-5 mins. add mushrooms & garlic & sauté for another few mins until all are soft.
add broth & tomatoes. bring to a boil & add pasta. boil according to pig directions (usually 8-10 mins). add spinach & cook about 1 min longer.

to serve: place a few mozzarella cubes @ bottom of bowl. ladle hot soup over cheese to melt. garnish with parm & basil.

disclaimer: i did bribe hudson with a ratio of 3 bites soup to 1 bite of butter rolled. A mom has to do what a mom has to do.

today's the day

to take the GRE.
after a last minute change, i'm taking the test today @ 12.
& boy, am i ready :)

then i'm off to be with family.  we've had a death in our extended family leaving a cousin barely pregnant & without her mom.
my heart is broken for her & i'm holding onto the truth that life really IS so very short.  just being alive truly is a miraculous gift so easily taken for granted.

so here's to another weekend, another breath, more time to live this glorious gift of life.

in other news: as a quick, study food binge, i made this peach mango salsa.  it'd be a great way to celebrate life this weekend :)

muffies

after puke fest 2010, all that sounded good were blueberry muffins. 
here's the recipe i used.
it's pretty sweet - more like blueberry cake.  good with coffee.
wishing you a sweet, blueberry weekend :)

***giveaway HERE.

saturday adventure



 *it turns out that tortillas are a challenging art - they are edible, but i'm still working on my technique :)
**used this recipe (1 1/2c whole wheat flour + 1/2c white flour)

we eat tortillas like nobody's business.
like 3-4 for lunch (quesadillas), 2 for snacks, & sometimes even for dinner.  so $2.29 isn't bad for 10 freshly made HEB whole wheat tortillas, but when you find yourself buying 4 packs in one week, you start thinking seriously about learning to make your own.  i find it interesting how lack of having a "regular income" actually stimulates my creative juices.  endeavors i normally wouldn't get around to end up becoming priorities with the added bonus of saving $.  hmmm. 
remind me that i said that next time i'm freaking out about this crazy adventure we're on, okay?!

happy week, people.

pop recipe

you can seriously use any fruit &/or juice combination here - it's a great way to use up extras.  i've even used watermelon.  it was yum!  & if your fruit isn't sweet enough for you, try adding a ripe banana.  {whenever our bananas are getting a little too ripe, i stick them in the freezer for popsicle & smoothie use.} 

also, a thought on greek yogurt:  we've recently discovered this goodness.  it's quite $$, but has NO sugar & is a great source of calcium & protein.  hudson {bizarrely} loves it mixed with applesauce for "dessert", & also "dip" for carrots.  we use it for hummus, popsicles & smoothies.  apparently you can use it for muffins & bread, too.  i love that if hudson & holland want a popsicle right before dinner it's no big deal - they're actually getting stuff i'd give them to eat anyway (yogurt, fruit, juice), yet they feel like they're getting away with something :)

*popsicle molds can be purchased on amazon for pretty cheap.  this is the one we have.  (i don't love that it's plastic, but i've yet to come up with a way to make pops with glass!!)

$2.50 treat

last week i craved some-kind-of-yummy-food like crazy. i've fought off going to panera for lunch about 17x {feels like}. their food isn't even that outstanding, but the frontega chicken sandwich is the best thing i can get for not too much $ & relatively quick.
& it has basil & mozzarella, & i love basil & mozzarella.
& hudson will eat it if i pick off the onion (red!) & basil & that means i don't have to make lunch for him.
(oh & the bread is crusty & i love crusty bread.)
but i haven't gone (yet).

i wasn't thrilled about going back into penny-watching mode with this new life. i'm a generally frugal-ish type of person anyway, but it's one thing to choose to be frugal & another to not have much income coming in (yet)! so there i was, h u n g r y for something yummy & knowing i didn't need to spend the $ {bum} when i saw soulemama's post about feta dip.
i'm sorry. did you say, FETA + DIP?
because i am IN.

so for a $2.50 feta splurge, i made this yumminess that totally hit the spot...

 

you can find the feta dip recipe here.
i wrote about making pita chips here.
& here's info on making carrots. (haha. just kidding!)

pizza

we have quite the love affair of pizza in our house.

clint is the resident dough artist.

we make super, duper thin crust because it's healthy enough to eat often.

usually we do simple mozzarella + pancetta.

& sometimes pineapple

because i LOVE pineapple.

but the other day we tried shaved asparagus pizza.

holy goodness.

dear, sweet, goodness.

we highly recommend.

add some herbs to the ricotta, for sure.

maybe even a little pancetta.

next time, i think we'll add pancetta.

there will definitely be a next time.

sweet potato quesadillas

*this recipe was inspired by a yum lunch i had @ mere's house a few years ago

***post edit (9.04.11):  to make this recipe EVEN better, add fresh pico de gallo before the last layer of cheese.  serious goodness.  pico recipe here.

dinner is served

1.  cut pita bread in half (making 2 circles), then each circle into 8ths. 

 toss with olive oil & good s&p.  toast in oven @ 400 for about 8 mins.

2.  cut rough skin off of broccoli stems.  slice into 1/2 inch rounds.

3.  i won't insult your intelligence with how to make carrot sticks :)

4.  make THIS rosemary hummus + juice of whole lemon, 2 garlic cloves, more s&p, & 2 more rosemary sprigs

5.  make teeny rose vase clusters (cheap @ the groc)

& remember all the october roadside rose stands growing up in tyler.

& dinner is served.

weekend food

+ 

(blender is broken)

=

lately weekends around here have been "clean out the fridge" fests.  it's a challenge to see what we can come up with.  smoothies are a great option.  dump it in & push blend, that's my motto :)

i'm not sure making ricotta totally qualifies as cleaning out the fridge (cleaning out the herb garden?!), but sunday when we got back from the nursery (more gardening this week!!), i declared it time for clint to make his amazing herbed ricotta. 

& he did. 

& then i ate it like the famished, child-wielding gardener that i was.

this is my favorite way to eat it...

you'll probably not be surprised that i grill this on my good old george forman, but of course you can use your fancy-shmancy grill pan if you must.  just use something heavy, like a pot on top to press.

mmmm.  it was a good food weekend.

& here's to another monday, folks.

confessions

last night i cut myself a big butterscotch brownie, ate it while clint was warming his in the microwave, & was back for another one before he even sat down.

thank you for hearing my confession.

key to these brownies...

chocolate (duh)

butterscotch

salt

yes, salt.  salt is vital to anything chocolate.  sounds strange, but is oh-so-true, my friends.

butterscotch "get up & get another" brownies 

the above is in no way indicative of the size of pieces we eat around here. 
the truth is this is all that was left by the time i remembered to get a pic.

2 sticks butter, softened
2c sugar
4 eggs
2t vanilla
1 1/2 c flour

8T cocoa
good pinch of salt
bag o' butterscotch chips

325.
cream butter & sugar.
add eggs one @ a time, incorporating each before adding another.
add vanilla.
whisk flour & cocoa together in separate bowl;  add 1/2c @ a time, fully incorporating before adding more.
add chips, mixing minimally.

buttered 8x8 or 9x9.
30-45 mins (vague, i know, but it depends on the type of pan used & how ya dig ya brownie.  we like 'em a tidge soft in the middle, so i watch them uber-closely @ the end & pull them out when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out just a little underdone.)

you should be able to taste the salt subtly, after the chocolate & butterscotch invade your mouth. 

this post is dedicated to my bud, jen, who totally gets my love of all things gooey & chocolately...
& cheesy & bread-y & sometimes salty.  & also my tendency to over indulge in such goodness.  oh dear.

super simple dinner (or lunch)

i should show you what our basil plants look like now (pics yesterday were from a few weeks ago).
they're almost picked to the bone because i keep making tomato basil quesadillas.
when i planted all the herbs, i hoped i would think of enough ways to use them.  so far it hasn't been a problem, especially with the basil.

i made this up for lunch one day & kept making them everyday until i worried the basil plants would die because i picked too many leaves!  so far they're okay, but i went back for more basil plants yesterday :)

i love how pioneer woman does recipes with step-by-step pics, so i decided to try that with these quesadillas.
so here's what you do...

thinly slice mozzarella

pretty thin. see?

layer mozzarella on the tortilla. you don't need a ton. this may even be a bit too much, but then again too much mozzarella???

sprinkle tomato slices on top.  my fav are cherry or grape tomatoes.

layer a few basil leaves on top.  the leaves of my plant were HUGE!  i hope they grow back fast.

add a few more thin slices of mozzarella.

add a sprinkle or two of salt & pep.

drizzle balsamic vinegar on top.  a Tablespoon or so.  the more vinegar you use, the more you'll need to grill it, to keep it from getting too soggy.

it should look like this.

fold in half.

pull your george foreman grill out of the back of the closet & put the tortilla on it.  oh, you threw your george foreman out in the late 90s??  weird!  you can do this in a hot grill pan, or regular pan.  just press down with your spatula, to get that smooshed togetherness.

grill for a few minutes, until mozzarella is melted & everything is warm.  it should look like this...

here's where it would have been nice to have a nice pic of the quesadilla on my plate.  oops! 
just imagine, mkay?

these make a light (well, depending on your mozzarella usage) lunch, or make more for dinner.  they'd be great with a salad, too.

let me know if you try this.  i'd love to hear if it inspires you to pick your basil plant clean :)

recipe rundown

my little rundown of the new recipes tried this week...

tortilla soup -

first off, i highly recommend following the directions.  weird, huh?  as i said on another post, i added too much chili powder & it was killer hot.  oops.  also, do add lime & as always with soup, it's better the second day.  oh, & it makes a crazy ton, which is awesome because you can put some in the freezer.  and lastly, i used drumsticks instead of the chicken breast, which saved at least $5 (which i will now put in my "saving for a facial" jar).  i gave it 4 mitts on the tasty kitchen site.

turkey sausage baked ziti -

YUM. 
go get turkey sausage. 
go get pasta. 
make your tummy happy.
this will definitely be on our frequently-made circuit for the winter.  it's tasty & gives you that hearty kind of winter food feel, but is pretty darn healthy to boot.  hello 8 cups of spinach! 
i made a few suggestions/modifications in my review.
oh, & i used wheat pasta & it worked great.

chai tea concentrate -

fabulocity.
this one was so random & i just did it @ the last minute & i'm SO glad i did.  i love chai tea lattes over ice - sort of like a pumpkin pie over ice.  without the pumpkin.  know what i mean?
i'm trying to say it's spice-y!
& hudson looooved it. 
that child.
weirdest taste buds ever.  glad he likes it, though because it's a great way to get him to drink milk.  & i made it with decaf tea.
anyway, as i was saying - yum.

alright, happy thursday bloggyville.

ps:  i wrote more detailed reviews of each of these recipes on the tastykitchen site, so if you're going to make them, you can check out more of my thoughts there.  because that's what you need, right?  more of my thoughts :)

pps:  @ tastykitchen, i'm "cookingwithkelly" & yes that nerdy, but it was late & i had to come up with something for a username, so quit making fun of me, okay?

me & HEB

i like to start my grocery list on wednesdays.  that seems to help me get it finished by friday & friday is grocery shopping day. 
i keep my list in order of the store.  that means if i suddenly remember we're out of dishwashing liquid, i write it near the bottom of the paper because we go by that aisle @ the end of our grocery tip. 
neurotic?  yes.  it's one of the only things i'm super organized about, but it saves me SO MUCH stress as i'm always @ the groc with a child or two.

anyway, that's just tip #243 for organizing your life by kelly harp.

ha.

so it's thursday morning & that means i'm finishing up my list today, getting it ready for the big trip tomorrow (big event around here!).  i'm trying 2 new recipes this week.  both from the pioneer woman, though i refuse to go near her cinnamon rolls.  CAN. NOT. DO. THAT. TO. MYSELF.
i feel like i hear about them everywhere these days.  supposedly, they're a piece of heaven wrapped up in a breakfast pastry.
& i'm sure they are, but does this mama need more bread & sugar?  i think not.

i'm trying this...

her chicken tortilla soup.  i'm a woman on mission to find a reaaaalllly good tortilla soup recipe.  let's hope this is it.

& this...

a turkey sausage baked ziti from p-dub's tasty kitchen site.

& while getting all the links & pics for this post, i came across this...

chai tea concentrate.  yip, yip!  i think i'll try this one.  looks like i'll be spending a lot of time in the bulk spice section of the ol heb.

alright thursday, here we go...

for some reason i picked this morning to make applesauce.

it seemed so perfect, so old school.  mother & older boy making homemade goodness while tiny sister sleeps.  but @ some point it all started falling apart in the form of sister refusing to sleep & crying like a banshee while brother kept eating all the apple pieces & needing to get up & down, up & down WITH sticky hands.

and that's when i remembered alot of housewives in the 50s ended up with mental problems or in betty ford.

i know, it seems a little on the dramatic side (what, me??), but seriously, this whole mom-business might put me in the looney bin yet.  who thought it was a good idea for one woman to stay home & take care of multiple children alone??  maybe i'll move to a compound or a kibbutz or something...

anyway, the applesauce is going to turn out well, i think.  i hope.  & i just convinced hudson to go play his "cool, cool drums" for a sec & sis is happy to simply be out of that horrible, awful place we call a crib, so i think i'm going to make it for the next few minutes anyway.

applesauce recipe here, if you're crazy enough to try it, too.

how many calories do you burn cleaning the stove?

it's january again, isn't it?
the month of greyness & dieting.  blah.
i've often thought if my birthday weren't in january, i'd be depressed all month. 

not that i'm being dramatic or anything.

i did do some sit-ups to ring in the new year.  i've been meaning to start a sit-up routine for approximately 17 years.  no joke.

i have 2 "here's to a happier january" tips for you.

1.  light some candles...

(& a glass of wine doesn't hurt)

2.  make this chinese chicken salad for dinner (it's light, but yummo)...

chinese chicken salad...

4 md garlic cloves, minced
1/3 c. olive oil
1 c bread crumbs
1 c grated parmesan
1 lb bnlss/sknlss chicken breasts, cut into smaller lengths**

salad mix (i like the heb herb blend)
green onions, chopped (optional)
small can of mandarin oranges, drained
head of broccoli, chopped into bitesized pieces

1 pkg Ramen noodles, broken into small pieces
sliced almonds
sesame seeds (optional)
2T butter

1/3 c sugar
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
3T soy sauce

preheat oven to 425.
combine olive oil & garlic in small sauce pan.  warm to blend flavors well.
combine parmesan & breadcrumbs in shallow bowl.
dip chicken in garlic/oil mixture, then bread crumb/parmesan & place in shallow baking pan.  leave at least an inch between chicken pieces.
bake about 30 mins.  you want the chicken to be crunchy.  allow to cool a bit.

combine lettuce, green onions, broccoli, & mandarin oranges in a bowl.  set aside (okay, actually i just arrange each individual plate, but this is if you want to be all fancy.)

melt butter in saute pan over md high heat.  add ramen, almonds, & sesame seeds.  you'll want to watch these because you want them to brown/toast, but not burn.  stir occasionally.  once browned, allow to cool, then add to salad mixture.

combine sugar, vinegar, oil, & soy sauce.  the best way to do this is in a mason jar, or something like it - just put the lid on & shake.  you can also wisk it in a bowl.

top salad with chicken pieces & add dressing to taste (recipe probably makes more than you'll need).

**think chicken tenders.  also, the smaller you cut the chicken, the more crunchy topping you'll be able to use.  i like them on the smaller side because i like the most topping.

if you make this, let me know.  i'd love to hear what you think.  also, if you have any light recipes you think i should try, post & send me a link.  light-ish recipes work, too :)

i awoke @ 5 am to get started on our christmas eve dinner...




















just kidding!! these are pictures from yesterday. I love cooking, but I love my sleep even more. there are few things i'd be willing to arise @ 5 for. like nothing I can think of right now :)

we made christmas cookies yesterday, too.















the words "sugar overload" come to mind for some reason...
also, i think i found the best sugar cookie recipe ever. you don't have to chill it before rolling it out!! miracle!
recipe here (found via the pioneer woman).
icing (egg & meringue powder free) here (found via "crap!  the store's out of meringue powder!").

hope you all have a wonderful holiday! i'll be taking a bloggy break until the new year. see you then!