Pink Sauced Beets

not my photo.  I got it here.

I always hated beets as a kid.  Basically because the only time I ever had beets was at Thanksgiving, and they were always pickled.  Blech.  I am very much not a fan of pickled beets.  The only thing that needs to be pickled are pickles.  End of story.

And then a month or two ago, my mother introduced me to non pickled beets.  I was surprised by the taste.  Yummy!  And so I went in search of some recipes for beets.  There really aren't many out there.  I was surprised.  And then my mother (the angel that she is) found this recipe for me.

What you need:

¼ cup sour cream

1 T vinegar

1 tsp finely chopped green onions

¾ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

dash of cayenne

What you do:

combine above. Add to 2 ½ cups halved cooked beets drained. Heat slowly, stirring occasionally to coat beets evently. Do not boil. Serves 4-5.

Oh so good.  Try it!

Halloween Dinner

Graveyard Dip

Last night we had some friends come over for dinner and games.  Since it was so close to Halloween, I decided to spookify the meal.  So, I whipped up some of Jeffrey's bean dip.  I then made some of these crackers, but free handed the tree shape and tombstones.  I also used some Halloween cookie cutters for witches, bats, cats and pumpkin shapes to dip into the dip.  I chopped up some olives and salad to be dirt and fallen leaves.  The tomb stones didn't turn out very well in the photo but they looked pretty cool.

Mummy Pizza

I also used my pizza recipe but cut circles out of the dough with a cup, then used string cheese for the mummy wrap and olives for the eyes (obviously).

Pumpkin Fudge

Lastly, I used this recipe for the pumpkin fudge.  I am going to play with it the next time I make it.  It doesn't taste pumpkiny enough for my palate, though.  Still good but different.

What do you make for Halloween night?

Pumpkin Fudge

Last night I made some Pumpkin Fudge.  Delicious.  Absolutely delicious.  I got the recipe from one of my favorite blogs.  It is Be Different Act Normal.  She finds great ideas all across the web and compiles them onto her blog for my reading enjoyment.  I don't know if this is her own recipe or if she got it from another site, but either way, it is a definite must try.

What you need:

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 (12-ounce) package white chocolate morsels
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


What you do:

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer registers 234° (soft-ball stage) or for about 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; stir in remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour into a greased aluminum foil-lined 9-inch square pan. Let stand 2 hours or until completely cool; cut fudge into squares.

The next time I make it, I will absolutely be adding more pumpkin, though.  

Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pudding Cake

My mother has an abundance of rhubarb in her garden.  She keeps giving me a whole bunch of rhubarb, which makes me so happy.  I decided I need to find other things to do with it other than sticking it in a pie.
And then I found a recipe for Rhubarb Pudding Cake.  I am so excited to try it!  I love rhubarb and am sure this is going to scintillate the taste buds.

What you need:
4 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

What to do:
In a large saucepan, combine rhubarb and 1 cup sugar.  Cook over medium heat for 12-15 minutes or until rhubarb is tender.
Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, cream shortening, and the remaining sugar; beat in egg and vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.  Beat just until combined.
Pour into a greased 9" square  baking dish.  Pour the rhubarb mixture over the batter.  Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Garlic Spiked Broccoli

I cannot believe I don't have this recipe posted!  Seriously, one of my favorite ways to eat broccoli, and I didn't even list it.  *sigh*  What am I comming to?

At any rate, if you like broccoli, well, even if you don't give this a try and it will probably put a smile on your lips.

What you need:

2 Tbsp olive oil

6 cloves garlic

1-2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 tsp rosemary

A bunch of broccoli florets (can use frozen or fresh)

(I never measure the broccoli.  Just a bag of frozen florets, or a 2 bunches of fresh broccoli. Sometimes 3 bunches.  Depends on my mood and how big the bunches are)

What to do:

Heat oil in a large sauce pan.  Add crushed garlic.  Once it begins to brown, add mushrooms and rosemary.  Cook until mushrooms are soft.  Add broccoli.  Make sure to coat the broccoli with the garlic, mushrooms and rosemary that have already been in the pan, mingling flavors.  Cook for about 10 minutes on medium low, or until broccoli is soft with a slight crunch.  Remove from heat and serve.

Tastes so good!  I can never go back to just regular broccoli now that I know how it tastes with the garlic and rosemary. 

National Macaroni Day or Pasta with Aurora Sauce

Today was National Macaroni Dayor something like that.  So I had to make something pasta-ish. 

Cruising through some cookbooks, I found a recipe I thought I might add... if I changed it up a lot.  We liked it, but I think the next time I make it, I will be going a little easier on the garlic.  Loved it though.

Pasta with Aurora Sauce

What you need:

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 green onions, minced

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup cream cheese

1 lb pasta of choice (I used the veggie bow tie pasta)

cheese (I had longhorn on hand, so we used that)

What to do:

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan.  Add the garlic and green onions, cooking until fragrant (1 minute).  Stir in tomatoes and spices.  Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce is simmering, cream the cream cheese until smooth.  Add 1 cup of the garlic tomato sauce from your saucepan and blend with cream cheese until smooth.  Return to saucepan, stirring to blend.  Be sure you taste and fix with any seasonings if needed.  Keep warm over low heat while your pasta is cooking until al dente.  Transfer drained pasta to serving bowl.  Add the sauce and toss gently to combine and cover noodles.  Grate cheese over top, and toss again distributing cheese evenly.  Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

To be completely honest, this recipe isn't anything to phone home about, but for a good home cooked meal, it hits the spot.  The next time I make it, I will be adding some zucchini and spinach (staples in every meal) and any other veggie that sounds good.  Love loading my pasta with veggies!

Again, sorry for the lack of photos.  By the time dinner is ready, I am busy getting my family fed and so forget to take a picture.  However, here is a photo of a vegan version, same recipe.  Only she didn't use cheese, and used tofu instead of cream cheese. 

Mine looked better.  :)

Creamy Summertime Vegetables

Back into my groove again.  Can't wait to start the experimentation of new recipes again.  This week is chalk full of new experiences for the taste buds.  I decided to do a weekly menu again as that helps me with my budget.  This week we are going to enjoy the bounty of my cherry tree, and other summery foods.

I thought I would start off with a recipe I received in an email.  It looks delicious!

Creamy Summertime Vegetables This recipe works well with any mixture of veggies you find at your local farmer's market.  Get creative! 1.  Chop 6-8 cups of vegetables.  Good ones are carrots, asparagus, broccoli, green beans, snap peas, summer squash, zucchini, kale, cauliflower.  (you don't need them all, choose 2-4 different kinds for this dish). 2.  Sautee fresh minced garlic in 2 Tbls of olive oil on medium heat. 3.  Add 1 tsp of Indian Curry powder or ginger and mix thoroughly. 4.  Add 1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth and 1 cup ofcoconut milk to pot. 5.  Add chopped vegetables (reserve quick cooking ones like kale, spinach, or asparagus for later), bring to boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. 6.  Add rest of vegetables for 3-5 minutes. 7.  Add 1 Tbls of dry basil (or a 1/4 cup fresh) to vegetables. 8.  Add sea salt to taste. 9.  Pour over bed of cooked brown rice.  Enjoy! I will take some pictures of it when I make it this week, and if they (the pictures) turn out, I will tack them onto the recipe.