Greek Omlettes

Poor David has had a tough week. He's had hay down for a week, and because of working, rain, sick calves, and machine malfunction, he's had a heck of a time getting it baled. Bless his heart! I decided that, even though I can't really help with putting up the hay, at least I could make him a hearty breakfast before he went out to finish it up. I decided last night that omlettes would be good...especially because I had plenty of fresh veggies to use. Here's my omlette-making station:

After I got all my ingredients/fillings together, I realized they were all "Greek"...so we had Greek omlettes this morning! I also made bacon, grits, and toast (with my first-ever homemade blackberry freezer jam). It was a delicious meal!The morning light in my sunroom made the pictures so pretty!

Thrifty Thursday: Spice Mixes

One night last week, I decided that David and I would have tacos for supper. Tacos are pretty regular in our dinner rotation, because they're quick and easy. They're a filling, no-frills dinner for those nights when you've worked until 7 and you're hungry. I always have a couple of packages of McCormick's taco seasoning mix on hand. I opened the cabinet last week to get out the seasoning mix and...it wasn't there! I was out! I had already browned the ground beef, chopped the onion, fixed up the olives, chopped the lettuce...I was committed to tacos. So what to do?! I made my own taco seasoning! I logged onto Recipezaar, because I knew I could find something there. There were tons of taco seasoning blend recipes there, so I just picked one that had a high rating. In a matter of a minute or two, I had mixed up enough homemade taco seasoning for three or four taco dinners! I must admit, I didn't like it as much as McCormick's, but it was good. I've got it stashed in the cabinet for future emergencies! I've also made my own Greek seasoning blend (it's on the left; the taco seasoning is on the right). Again, it's not as good as the Cavender's blend that I buy (the homemade version is a little heavy on the cinnamon), but it's still good. And I'm always amazed at the quantity of these mixes that I can make with what I have on hand in my spice cabinet. If there's a spice blend that you're tired of paying for, check out Recipezaar, because they've got tons of recipes for any spice blend you can think of!

Caramel Crunch Bars

I'm still playing catch up with the other Tuesdays with Dorie group members. I joined a couple of months ago, and every chance I get, I try a new recipe from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook. I have had the ingredients on hand to make these bar cookies since I got the cookbook, but I haven't had an occasion to make them. And I can't just bake things for no good reason, you see, because Hogatha will come out. You've met Hogatha. She's my always-hungry, never-satisfied alter ego. She loves baked goods. She can't practice self-control. She doesn't even know what it is. And she loves Caramel Crunch Bars, I've discovered! Before these, my top recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours was the Mango Bread. Before that, it was the Banana Cream Pie. But these quickly zoomed to the top of my "Oh my goodness, that is so good!" list. And one of the very best things about them is how darn easy they are to put together! You can find the recipe on page 112 of the cookbook (I didn't even have to look it up, because I've drooled over the picture so many times), or you can get the recipe here.
Look at the layers, would ya? YUM! A chocolatey shortbread crust (I have a very soft spot in my heart for shortbread), a silky smooth chocolate layer, and some Heath Toffee Bits sprinkled heavily on top. Caramel is noticeably absent from the ingredient list. I don't know why Dorie calls 'em Caramel Crunch Bars. I didn't really taste anything caramely. I did get the coffee taste that comes from the shortbread, for sure...and I loved it. And I got the chocolate...who couldn't?! And I got the toffee pieces, but they aren't really caramelly. They're tofee-ey! Who cares, though? This stuff is good! The recipe makes a 9x13-inch pan full. See?
Now, listen to this! Dorie says to cut these into 54 BARS! WHAT?! Please, Dorie. We Americans are gluttons! We don't want to be teased, especially with something like this. We want something substantial! If you got 15 or so pieces out of this, I'd say you'd have a portion I'd be happy with. And get this...Dorie said that these are great if you use them to make ice cream sandwiches! That's an idea I can get behind! However, I did refrigerate these bars overnight, and when I took them out the next day, you would have broken your teeth trying to eat them. I'm thinking her idea is perfect in theory, but maybe hazardous in practice. But I'd definitely give it a try, because these will be in my regular dessert rotation!

TWD: Chipster Topped Brownies

It's Tuesday, so that means it's time for another decadant creation from Dorie Greenspan's cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours. This week, we have Beth, from Supplicious to thank for the extra caloric intake!

So...what is a Chipster-Topped Brownie, you ask? It's a very chocolatey brownie that has chocolate chip cookie dough spread on top. Yep...a little over the top, huh?

I decided to make these for our church women's group meeting last Thursday, and they were a hit. I made them on Wednesday night, so as usual, there aren't any process pictures. But let me tell you...they were actually more work than I thought they were. And they didn't come together as easily as Ms. Dorie might lead you to believe. I could not get my cookie dough to spread over the brownie batter to save my life. That lead to the brownie abomination you see below:

I got a big ol' gap between my two layers! And, the layers weren't as distinct as I had hoped. The cookie dough just kind of sunk down into the brownie. It wasn't as impressive for pictures as I had hoped. But they were gooooooood. The brownie was fudgy, which is just the way I like 'em. And the cookie dough layer tasted like chocolate chip cookie...which is always great!

Overall, these brownies were delicious. However, I'm not sure that I'll make them again...they were awfully labor-intensive, and there are other (easier) things that I like just as well. Like the Caramel Crunch Bars (which you'll see tomorrow).

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Caps

This morning, I went to Kroger as part of my weekly grocery shopping excursion, and I always spend some time browsing through the produce after I've gathered what's on my list. I always stop by the mushrooms to see if there are any "manager's specials" in the refrigerator case. The regular white button mushrooms are always pretty reasonable, but I like the portobello mushrooms (full-grown, and babies)...they just seem to have more flavor. But of course, they're always more expensive. Today, I was in luck! There were a couple of packages of HUGE portobello mushroom caps on sale for $1.99, so I snapped up a package. You see, in the summer, Kroger sells pre-made stuffed portobello mushroom caps for something like $5.99 a pound. I like to make my own for cheap!

Here's what I used:

the portobello mushroom caps, of course...

fresh spinach, straight outta Shirley's garden...

Italian diced tomatoes, drained really well...

and some crumbled feta cheese.

Doesn't that look good?!

From the grill...

to the plate! YUM!

These were a great side dish for our dinner tonight. The whole process was really simple, and the finished product was...YUM!

Blueberry Torte for Aunt Betty

A couple of months ago, our church's women's group (The Agape Ladies' Group) went to the Crestview Nursing Center in Shelbyville to take desserts to the residents there. Two of the residents just so happened to be my great-great aunts (my great-grandmother's sisters), Aunt Ted and Aunt Mitch. Yes, you read that correctly...they were my aunts and we always called them Mitch and Ted. Both ladies have since passed away (a day apart), and they will be missed! Anyway, my contribution to the dessert menu for our visit was a Blueberry Torte, which was a recipe given to me by my mother-in-law, Shirley.

The first step in the torte is to create the beautiful and delicious nutty crust:

Look at those nuts! This is so easy!

The next step is to make the cream-cheese layer:

again, super easy!

Then, you add the fruit filling of your choice. I chose blueberry:

this is ridiculously simple!

Finally, you add the Cool-Whip layer:

and that's it!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the slices of the torte, but believe me, it was delicious! My Aunt Betty (my grandmother's sister) loved the torte and asked me for the recipe several times. But I never had the recipe with me, and while I could remember all the components, I couldn't remember the quantities. But finally, I emailed the recipe to her. But I know my Aunt Betty, and something tells me that it's possible that she could lose the recipe I sent her. So here it is! (And now I don't have to dig the recipe out for myself anymore!)

Blueberry Torte

Suzanne Lubera

Crust:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 stick melted butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix all the ingredients and press into a 12x9-inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling:

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioner's sugar

Fruit topping of your choice (I used 1 can of blueberry pie filling)

16 oz. Cool-Whip

Mix cream cheese and sugar together and spread on the crust. Spread fruit topping on top of the cream cheese filling and then spread Cool-Whip over the fruit filling.

This dessert is best made a day ahead.

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Veggies

I've been reading food blogs for some time now, and I've been so impressed and inspired by what I see on them. There are tons of super-talented people out there doing awesome things with food. I see all these fabulous dishes and desserts that people just put together with what they have on hand, and I wonder, "Could I do that? I'm not sure I can." For most things I make, I sort of follow a recipe. I usually don't pay a lot of attention to quantities of ingredients, but I'm pretty reliant on recipes to help me put something together. This weekend, I decided that I was going to go out on a limb and create my very own dish from my own imagination! NO RECIPES ALLOWED! I've got to admit, it took me all weekend to mull it over in my head to decide exactly how I would approach it. I found that it came to me in little pieces at a time. First, I decided that I wanted some pasta, mostly because it seems like I haven't had pasta in awhile. Of course, I knew grilled chicken would be involved, because I always have chicken. I also realized that I still had a package of Chet's homemade pesto in my freezer, so I started craving that. But what could I do to make it special? Well...we've still got asparagus from Mama's garden, so I thought I should include it. From there, I just started thinking about things that might taste good together. Here's what I came up with:

we've got the whole-wheat pasta, the super-yummy pesto, a jar of roasted red peppers, Paula Deen's house seasoning, some sliced baby portobello mushrooms, some freshly cut asparagus, and garlic. I also added some chopped red onion, but I forgot to get it in the picture. Sorry!
I also apologize that there are no process pictures, because I can't get any decent light in my kitchen. I don't even try to get pictures in the kitchen anymore. It's useless. They turn out all yellow and muddy-looking. But here are some pictures of the finished product:
I warned David before we sat down to eat. He was fully aware that this was created from my imagination and no recipe was followed, so I couldn't make any guarantees that it would be edible! I was very pleasantly surprised! I thought it tasted great! It was just very fresh and spring-like. I think pesto smells like spring, anyway. I think David liked it, but I'm not sure. He ate several bites before he said anything. He's kind of hard to read. He said he liked it, so I'll have to trust him on it. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely make it again. I'm so proud of myself!

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken and Veggies

Erin Orr's first original recipe!

9 oz. whole wheat penne pasta

20 oz. chicken breasts

Paula Deen's House Seasoning

8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, sliced

fresh asparagus, cut into 2" pieces

1 jar roasted red peppers in olive oil

red onion, chopped

fresh garlic, minced

8 0z (or more) pesto

Cook whole wheat pasta to al dente. Keep warm.

Season the chicken breasts with Paula Deen's House Seasoning. Grill and keep warm.

Heat a tablespoon or so of the olive oil (from the red peppers) in a non-stick skillet. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms begin to brown. You may need to add some more olive oil. Add the asparagus and continue to saute. Once they are crisp-tender, add the roasted red peppers and heat through. Once everything is warm, drain any accumulated liquids.

In a large bowl, combine the warm pasta and grilled chicken. Add the sauteed vegetables. Pour the pest over the pasta, chicken and veggies. You don't need to warm the pesto, because the heat from your other ingredients will take care of it. Toss to combine and coat all the ingredients with the pesto.

Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!