Dip

I made a super tasty dip with some of my favorite things to eat.  

It all started with a scoop of nutella.

A little bit of valencia butter with toasted flaxseed.

Then, microwave these two for 30 seconds.

 Add a scoop of chia seeds.

Some pumpkin seeds.

And a pitch of kosher salt.

Here is deliciousness before mixing.

I chose to dip my favorite kind of apple, a honeycrisp, in this glorious mixture.

So GOOD!!  

A great salty, sweet, crunchy treat.

Hash

Recently I was able to purchase a Le Creuset 7 1/4 quart dutch oven.  I think I am in LOVE,  within the first two weeks of I have used the pot six times.  The latest meal I made was so good and so easy.  I thought about making a hash type dish.  I was talking to my friend Cary about it and she said, "Silver Dollar City has the most amazing hash that they cook in a five foot long skillet and stir it with a paddle."  Then I asked Josh if he would eat hash, and he goes on to say, "Silver Dollar City has the most amazing hash that they cook in a five foot long skillet and stir it with an oar."  From there I googled Silver Dollar City hash, and found a recipe that sounded good.  The recipe I am posting on here is exactly what I used.  This is a great dish because you can take liberties with recipe, add more veggies use a different protein etc.  Taking photos this time of year in my kitchen is terrible, so I don't have many.  

Ingredients:   

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 small white potatoes (I used yukon gold) 
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 white onion
• 1 bunch of scallions
• 2 T olive oil
• smoked sausage (optional)
• spicy Italian sausage (optional)
• pepper to taste
• kosher salt to taste
• season salt to taste

1. Cut sweet potato, white potatoes, bell peppers, onion into cubes.  Try to cut them to as close as the same size as possible because this make everything cook at the same time.
2. Cut up sausage into bite size pieces.  Cook in a separate skillet and then set aside on a paper towel to soak up the grease.  
3. Heat dutch oven or  large skillet with 2 T of olive oil.  When oil is shimmering add veggies.  Stir them continuously and cook for about 20-25 minutes. 
4. If veggies begin to stick pour a little liquid in the pan.  Water, chicken broth, white wine, etc.
5. When veggies taste close to done mix in sausage.  Cook another 5-10 minutes.
6. Then mix in scallions and serve. 

Prepped veggies.

My beautiful dutch oven.

What was left after dinner.

I think I need to head to Silver Dollar City and pay homage to this great dish.

Smells So Good

Now that the weather has finally changed here in the Lou, and fall is here with winter quickly approaching, 

 I had to pick up a can of this,

  and a bottle of this.

This is one of my favorite ways to make my house smell delicious, without adding another five pounds to my backside.  

All you have to do is add four or five tablespoons of the mulling spice to a medium sized pot.

  Today I added the entire bottle of wine (hence the reason for the three buck chuck) because I knew I wanted to simmer the wine all day.  

It is so beautiful all mixed together.

  Then you bring the wine to a simmer, keep the heat really low, and give it a stir every once in a while.  

Basically, it is a homemade potpourri pot.  

This is one of those things I hope my kids remember about our house when they grow up, the smell of mulled red wine.  Scent is one of the greatest memory triggers for humans.  I better start doing some pretty awesome stuff, so that is what pops in their brains when they encounter this smell as adults.

Happy mulling.

My Lunch

I made my self a truly delicious lunch the other day.  
I had picked up a box of these flatbread crackers from Whole Foods the other day.  
I read about them here.

They are very crunchy and have a great nutty flavor.  

I also picked up this mustard.

It is so good!!  A great balance of flavors, and perfect as a pizza sauce.  So the idea hit me to spread the mustard all of the cracker, sprinkle it with mozzarella cheese and chia seeds.  The cracker is already so crunchy you don't have to bake it to long, just until the the cheese is melted.  On the side I made kale chips, my latest food obsession. 

I read about them here.  

To watch on video on how to make them click here.

Basically you wash and dry the kale.  Make sure it is really dry because the it will wilt in the oven instead of getting crispy if there is too much moisture.  Coat the kale with cooking spray or about two tsp of olive oil, and season with kosher salt (or your favorite seasoning).  Place them on a baking sheet, and do not over crowd them because again the kale will wilt instead of getting crispy.  Bake at 350 for about 12-14 minutes.  The kale is so tasty, and satisfying.

My final plate.

What is your favorite lunch?

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had photographed this recipe for I Heart Faces for the recipe week, but it ended up being a dinner theme.  I had already photographed these cookies because I have wanted to share these on here for quite some time.  They are so good, and have some healthier ingredients to you can feel a little bit better about eating them.  It was quite a challenge because my kitchen has terrible light for taking photographs.  So I was basically chasing the light as it moved all afternoon to make this work.  

Here is the recipe:

    Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 cup soft butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• Optional:  1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup craisins, or 1 cup walnuts.  (whatever tastes good to you :) 

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
2.  In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, wheat germ and flaxseed.  
3. In a large bowl cream together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth.  Beat in one egg at a time, then stir in vanilla. 
4. Stir flour mix into the wet ingredients mix until thoroughly blended.  
5. Then mix in oats, and whatever else you want to add.  
6. Drop heaping spoonfuls onto parchment lined or greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Here are the photos

1 1/2 cups whole wheat four

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher salt)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup flaxseed

2 sticks of butter

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs 

(that is bubble bath nail polish, if you were wondering)

I forgot the vanilla.  Whoops.

The wet and dry ingredients mixed together.

3 cups of old fashioned oats

1 cup mini chocolate chips

I had about 1/4 cup craisins left in a bag, so I added those, too.
Here is the batter all mixed together.

Drop heaping spoonfuls onto a parchment lined or greased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 12-14 minutes and place on a cooling rack immediately.
Cooling in the late afternoon sun.

The finished product.
A soft, chewy, nutty, sweet cookie.

TRY THESE!!!
I promise you will love them.

Golden Beer Bread

This is one of the best bread recipes I have ever made.  

It was nutty, sweet, and chewy.  Perfect for a jam and cheese sandwich.  

I got it from a healthy living blog I read, click here to check it out.

Here is the recipe:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp wheat gluten
• 1 12 oz beer at room temperature (I used Budweiser because that is what I had.  Use your favorite beer to get the flavor you want.)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup chia seeds (optional)

1. If your beer is not at room temp, pour it into a microwave safe dish and microwave for 45 seconds.
2. Toast the wheat germ by tossing it in a skillet over medium high heat for about 1.5 minutes
3. Combine all of your dry ingredients and whisk together.
4. Add the honey and beer.  Mix for 3 minutes on level one speed, then another 3 minutes on level two speed.  Then knead the dough for another two minutes.  ( I mixed with my hand held beater with dough hooks for about two minutes, and then I kneaded the dough another two minutes.)  Here is the link to the actual recipe, READ IT.  He shared a great kneading technique for this bread.
5. Shape dough into a ball.  In a warm spot cover and rise for two hours.  Fold over over after the first hour.
6. Then shape into a loaf and placed in a greased loaf pan.  Rise again for another hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 430 degrees at the 30 minute mark during your rise.
8. Slash the top of your dough;
9. Throw 1 oz of water into the oven to make some stream.
10. Bake for about 30 minutes.

I LOVED this bread, and was very simple.  I should have baked it a little longer maybe 35 minutes in my oven.  Use your best judgement.  

Here is a fresh slice covered in butter.

 I couldn't resist...

Enjoy!!

Pesto Chicken Pizza

We eat semi-homemade pizza at our at least once week.  For three reasons it is cheaper than delivery, it is an easy meatless meal because we usually just eat cheese (that is Josh's favorite kind), and I love pizza.  I buy a pizza dough ball from Trader Joes every time I go because they are so cheap, just a little over a dollar, and stick it in the freezer so I always have one on hand.  I also buy their mozzarella, and fresh pizza sauce.  Since the sauce is fresh I freeze that, too.  This week I decided to change things up.  I made homemade pesto and chicken pizza.  Making pesto is so easy, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already.  

Here is the recipe:

• 2 cups fresh basil
• 1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed (optional)    

1. Toast your nuts in a skillet.  Then set aside to let cool.
2. Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a blender or food processor and puree.
3. Stream the olive oil in while you blend.  You may have to scrape down the sides to make sure it all gets blended.

I have actually have some step by step photos this time.

toasted walnuts

fresh basil

grated parmesan

minced garlic

kosher salt

ground flaxseed

chicken stock

When I measured this I thought I only needed 1/4 cup, but I took a second look at the recipe and it said 1/2 cup.  I had already taken the photo and dumped the chicken stock into the blender.  

So remember 1/2 cup chicken stock.

All the ingredients in the blender.  I thought they looked pretty all together.

then comes the olive oil

After I blended it all together, I thought it looked and tasted runny. 

 I looked around and thought about what I could add to thicken it up.  Then I saw the walnuts sitting to the side.  I forgot to add them in the first place.  Whoops, problem solved.

We had roasted chicken the other night for dinner and I had one breast leftover.  I shredded it and scattered on top of the pizza.  I also toasted some more walnuts and scattered those on top of the pizza, too.  Other great items you could add to this pizza are sun dried tomatoes, whole roasted garlic, red pepper flakes, caramelized onions, chile oil, or capers.  You could also dip it in pizza sauce. 
Here it is pre-cheese

post cheese

I like to sprinkle cornmeal on the pan when I make pizza for a little extra texture and flavor.  I also like to sprinkle a little paprika and Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle on top of the cheese.  I like things salty.  I am my mother's daughter.
Here is the finished product

Whenever we eat homemade pizza I put raw veggies on the table and whatever fruit we have.
Here is my plate
Apple slices, yellow bell peppers, carrots, and pizza.  Don't let me deceive you, I definitely had more than one slice of pizza.

Oh, and how much do you love my new plate?  I got new plates for the kids in blue, hot pink, and orange with this confetti pattern.  
Sonya was just OK with this kind of pizza, but Teddy loved it of course.  I will make it again and have Sonya keep trying it.  
Simple and tasty dinner.
Enjoy!!