Ratatouille

I had to share this summer meal with you guys because we eat this at least once a week if not more. And you need to try it before all of these delicious summer veggies are out of season! I for one never thought I would like this dish. The name alone just doesn't sound appealing to me {pronounced rat-a-two-ee}. I definitely didn't think my husband would like it. But to my surprise he loved it and so did I! The following is a more traditional ratatouille recipe but read the notes below to find out how I tweak it...

Ratatouille

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups eggplant, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
1/8 tsp ground thyme
1 cup zucchini, diced
1 cup yellow squash, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
2 tbs fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parmesan cheese, grated

In a large sauté pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, stir occasionally. Sauté until the onion starts to become translucent. Add eggplant and ground thyme and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper to the pan. Sauté another 5 minutes. Add zucchini and yellow squash to the pan and sauté another 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper and cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve over rice, pasta, crusty garlic bread or by itself! Then sprinkle {more like drown} the Ratatouille with parmesan cheese. Yum!

FYI: Our favorite way is over crusty garlic bread and eating it bruschetta style. But we've tried all 3 ways and each are delicious in their own right.

*Special Notes: The hubs and I don't like eggplant. So instead of eggplant I add an extra cup each of zucchini and yellow squash. I just didn't want to leave it out of the recipe for those of you who like eggplant or are feeling adventurous and might want to try it. If you plan on skipping the eggplant like we do, then just add the ground thyme with the bell pepper and then continue with recipe as follows.

Garlic Vinaigrette

I use this dressing mainly on pasta salad. It still has that same tried and true italian-ness to it that I normally associate with pasta salad but with a little something extra. And it's incredibly easy. It does have one weird ingredient but I promise totally worth it!

Garlic Vinaigrette

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup rice vinegar
4 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Direction:
Add all ingredients in to a container that can be tightly sealed. Shake until well blended. Pour over salad.

Now that was totally painless right??

In case you wondered what we typically put in our pasta salad...

pasta
tomatoes
broccoli (fresh never frozen! The frozen stuff goes limp and nasty)
peas
cucumber
bell pepper
carrots
olives
Feta cheese (it is very important that you put the feta in very last right before serving. This way the feta retains its own flavor and doesn't absorb the dressing)

Black Bean Soup

This soup is souper simple! Ha get it? Ok. I know. That was lame. As a family we are trying to eat less meat. It's just a health thing my husband and I have decided on. We try to make sure that about 90% of our meals lately are meatless. It's been hard! But this soup is tasty and comes with a kick!

Black Bean Soup
adapted from Betty Crocker


1- medium onion, finely diced
1- large clove garlic, finely diced
1- tbs olive oil
1- large celery stalk, chopped
1- large carrot, peeled and chopped
2- 14.5 oz cans vegetable broth
1- tsp dried oregano
1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on preference)
2- 15 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
Lemon wedges








In a large saucepan, add olive oil, onion and garlic over medium high heat. Cook until onion is tender and translucent. Once onion is tender and translucent pour in vegetable broth and add the celery, carrots, oregano and red pepper flakes. Heat until boiling and then reduce heat so that the soup is simmering. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until carrots and celery are tender and easily pierced with a fork. While the soup is simmering drain and rinse the black beans. Reserve some beans to be mashed with a fork about 3/4 of a cup. Once celery and carrots are tender stir in the black beans and the mashed black beans in to the soup. Let the soup simmer for another 5-ish minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Yum!

Serves 4-6

Macaroni and Cheese

I have made {more like ruined} my fair share of homemade macaroni and cheese. You wouldn't think it would be that hard but boy oh boy! You really have to follow directions when making this stuff! This recipe is by far the easiest and not to mention the yummiest homemade mac and cheese I have made thus far. My one year old honest to goodness ate more than me! Delicious!

Macaroni and Cheese
recipe from 100 Days of Real Food

1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni noodles
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sharp or extra sharp grated cheddar cheese (the sharper the better!)
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional topping: grated parmesan or breadcrumbs

Directions:
Cook macaroni according to package directions. Melt butter in a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add flour to butter and stir until the mixture starts to darken but doesn't burn. Turn the heat down low and quickly whisk in milk. Turn the heat back to medium and continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken and all the lumps are gone. Stir in the grated cheese until it is melted. Turn off the heat and add the macaroni noodles. Serve and eat up!

Special notes: The original recipe uses whole wheat noodles and whole wheat flour. I have tried it and it is yummy! Except I prefer all purpose flour because the whole wheat flour makes the sauce a little gritty.

Honey Roasted Carrots

We make homemade potato wedges all.the.time as a side for dinner {recipe to come soon! sorry we've been slacking} I was getting a little tired of potato wedges all of the time. Luckily, I remembered this recipe for honey roasted carrots. Soo delicious!

8 medium sized carrots, peeled and cut into pieces {or what I estimated to be about 3-4 big handfuls of baby carrots}

1 tbs honey

1 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil {very important for easy clean up!}. Toss carrots with honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out carrots even on the baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes or until browned and tender all way through. Enjoy!

Six Week Bran Muffins

No don't worry... these muffins don't take six weeks to make. The batter is good for six weeks in the fridge in a covered container. My mom made these all the time when I was younger and I had been craving them for weeks! I know you might think, a bran muffin? ew. Just try them. They are delicious for breakfast especially heated up in the microwave for a few seconds with little butter or margarine on top... mmm... Not to mention my toddler and husband love them!



Here is the recipe directly from my mama!

Six Week Muffins

2 cups Bran Flakes Cereal

2 cups All Bran Cereal

2 cups boiling water

1 cup dates chopped

3 cups flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

5 tsp baking soda

4 eggs beaten

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

1 quart buttermilk

1 cup chopped nuts (your choice)

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran

Directions:
In a large bowl, add 4 cups of the two bran cereals and the dates. Pour the boiling water over and set aside. Sift dry ingredients together. Blend the oil and sugar, then add the beaten eggs. Fold into the hot bran mixture, the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Fold in the last 2 cups of the bran flakes and the nuts.

Grease and flour the muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes. The un-used batter may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.

NOTE: Sometimes I use raisins, but I do prefer the dates as they mix in better. You can also find prechopped dates at the store, which are really easy. Smiths Marketplace

used to have them in the healthfood area where you can measure them out yourself and they were a lot less expensive buying them that way.

These are the 3 types of bran you need in the recipe just to help you out. I found the Bob's Red Mill brand in the health food section. Also, I omit the nuts when I make them only because I worry about my daughter choking on them.

And sorry about the lack of posts as of lately. I've been trying new recipes but nothing share worthy. I keep finding duds for some reason.

Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes

I have been on a mission lately. What is that mission you ask? To find foods my now one year old {eek!} baby will eat. Now that we're moving out of the baby food stage I've been terrified! Don't ask me why but it's been really stressing me out. I'm a working mom so it's important to me to find a healthy quick breakfast to fix my daughter in the mornings. Especially one she can feed herself while I'm getting ready without too much worry from me that she will choke on it. That's where Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes step in! I know you're thinking making pancakes in the morning is not quick! Well I am here to tell you that you are correct! That's why I make them ahead of time and freeze them. Pop them in the microwave and voila! Quick and easy breakfast!



Oatmeal Applesauce Pancakes
from Allrecipes

1 cup flour
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk

Directions:
Combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together. Set aside. In another bowl combine applesauce, sour cream, egg, vanilla extract and milk. Once the wet ingredients are well mixed together pour in to the dry ingredients and mix it all together.

Scoop about 1/4 cup of pancake mixture on to a griddle heated to medium-low heat. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Turning once. Serve with maple syrup and butter, peanut butter or mashed up bananas smeared on top.

*Special notes: this batter is pretty thick. I used the bottom of my measuring cup to help spread the pancakes out on the griddle. Also the recipe called for milk but I used soy milk with great results since that's what we drink in these parts!

Chicken Parmigiana

Hello there! I'm back. I have a whole load of recipes that I need to get posted, but I've had a serious lack of motivation. I spent over a week of not cooking, so now I need to get back in the groove of cooking and start posting.

Chicken parmigiana is one of my favorite Italian dishes. I'm not a fan of spaghetti but add some breaded, cheesy chicken then it is one of the best meals! This was one of those recipes that I sat down to the computer at 5:30 trying to come up with a meal and I had all the ingredients in the house. The original recipe calls for making your own sauce which I'm sure is delicious, but I had a jar of marinara sauce in the cupboard so I adapted.

This was by far the best chicken parmigiana I've ever made. We won't even consider the frozen, breaded chicken patties I used when my husband and I were both in school and working full-time. Ah I shudder to think I ever considered that dinner!

Chicken Parmigiana
adapted from The Pioneer Woman

4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Trimmed And Pounded Flat
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 pound Thin Linguine

Preparation Instructions

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate.
Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside.

At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in jar of spaghetti sauce let simmer for 10 minutes.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste.

Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

My mom first originally made this for Troy and I awhile back. Now believe you me... I was skeptical. I'm not really a squash fan. My husband definitely not a squash fan. But believe it or not we both ended up going back for seconds! I love this because it's a whole meal in itself! Not to mention it's pretty darn healthy for you too!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash

very slightly adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients:

3 acorn squash, (3/4-1 pound each)

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbs chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes

1 15oz can black beans rinsed

1/2 tsp salt

Several dashes hot sauce, to taste

1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop and discard seeds. Place the squash cut side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 min.

In the mean time, brown the ground beef in a skillet. Add onion and bell pepper until tender. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the tomatoes are broken down. About 10-12 minutes.

When the squash are tender reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Fill the squash halves with the ground beef mixture and top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted. About 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Jello Pie

I had to make a pie for Thanksgiving this year. I have never made a pie in my entire life. I'm not really a baking person. I prefer cooking. I figured a Jello pie would be fool proof enough for my inexperience. It was fool proof and might I add delicious?


Strawberry Jello Pie
from Baked with Love and Butter

Ingredients:
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbs corn starch
4 tbs strawberry Jello mix
3-4 drops red food coloring

1 graham cracker pie crust (buy it or make it yourself)


Directions:
Add water, sugar, corn starch and food coloring together in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir until well mixed. {The mixture will be a milky pink color}. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture becomes thick and clear. Mine didn't thicken and clear up until it started to boil. Once the mixture is thick and clear remove from heat and add Jello. Let it cool a bit. {This is a great time to start slicing your strawberries!}
Add sliced strawberries to pie crust. Once the jello mixture has cooled a bit, pour over strawberries in the pie crust. Put the pie in the refrigerator for a few hours to set up.

Serve and top with homemade whipped cream. Mmmm....

Cranberry Baked Brie

We started a new tradition on Thanksgiving and it involves brie cheese. If I had to pick brie would be my favorite cheese. Just thinking about it makes me want to run out and get more. While in NYC a few weeks ago and I an open faced turkey sandwich with brie and apples. So good. The melted brie. Yum!

Thanksgiving dinner didn't happen until 3:30 due to naps so I planned a few appetizers. This cranberry baked brie was the star. The burst of orange zest with cranberry and melted cheese on a ritz cracker. Oh so good! I would have eaten the whole thing if I could have.

This is what it looked like after about 10 minutes. We couldn't stop eating it. Good thing we had a few hours between this and our dinner.

Baked Brie

8 ounces brie cheese round
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, or dried
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place brie on a baking sheet.
2. Pour maple syrup over top, and add cranberries. Sprinkle with thyme and orange zest.
3. Place in oven, and bake 25-30 minutes, until brie is soft when cut.
4. Remove from oven, and carefully transfer to a serving plate.
5. Serve immediately with crackers.

Pumpkin Chili

I've been pinning lots of yummy looking food on my pinterest account, but my goal is to actually make an item off my board. This pumpkin chili is one of them. I was a little apprehensive to make it. Pumpkin? In chili? It seems that pumpkin is usually paired with something sweet. But you couldn't even taste the pumpkin flavor. It was sweeter than typical chili.

The recipe calls to make it on the stove, but I browned the onions and beef and then tossed everything in the crock pot and put it on low all day. You can do either depending on the time you have.

Pumpkin Chili
adapted from Whole Foods

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Wow it's really been a long time. Longer than I happy with! Here is a winning recipe to make up for it though :) Honey and lime have got to be my new favorite flavor combination! And I'm sure a lot of you have tried some variation of these delicious enchiladas. If you haven't... they are divine and you should! I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite go to recipe sites Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I left out the heavy cream to keep these enchiladas on the lighter side of the calorie spectrum. Enjoy!


Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

6 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons lime juice (1 large lime)
1 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded
8-10 flour tortillas
8-10 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
24 0z jarred salsa verde (I used La Victoria)


Directions:
Mix together the honey, lime juice, chili and garlic powder. Pour over the shredded chicken and marinate for at least 1-2 hours longer if you can. When the chicken has marinated add chicken and cheese to the tortillas {save some cheese to sprinkle on top}and place in a greased 9 x 13in pan. Pour salsa verde over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degree for 25 minutes.

Delicious!

Margherita Pizza

After a suggestion from Mallory, my husband and I sat down to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. After watching the documentary Troy and I decided that we should go on a 7 day vegetarian diet. The documentary suggests to cut out all animal products, but I have a relationship with cheese. I love dairy, especially cheese. I don't think I could live a happy fulfilling life without it.

For our week long vegetarian diet we decided to make a Margherita Pizza. My personal opinion is that tomatoes, basil, and garlic is the most wonderful tasting flavor combination. Tomato + basil + garlic + pizza = ah-may-zing! The best part of this pizza would have to be the homemade sauce. I will never buy pizza sauce again. It's sooo easy and extra tasty!

Pizza Margherita
Slightly adapted from A Sweet Pea Chef

Ingredients:
1 pizza crust/dough

1 14oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, not including juices
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 ground black pepper

2-3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 oz fresh basil torn in to pieces

Directions:
Preheat over to 450 degrees.

To make sauce. Drain tomatoes and puree in a food processor (or blender). Add olive oil, oregano, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse to combine.

Spread sauce evenly over pizza dough leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge for the crust. Evenly sprinkle shredded mozzarella over pizza sauce. Add sliced tomatoes, creating a layer of tomatoes on top.

Bake pizza for 12-15 minutes or until crust turns a golden brown and cheese has melted. For an extra yummy crust mix a little olive oil, garlic powder and kosher salt together. Brush on the crust the last few minutes of baking.

Toss fresh basil over cooked pizza and let stand about 3 minutes. Slice and serve.

Makes 1 large pizza.


Notes: I'm sort of a cheater and I like to buy already made dough from my local bakery. Making dough intimidates me for some reason. One of the bakers let me in on a little pizza dough secret. When you're making pizza, if the middle of the crust keeps coming out doughy bake the dough for 5 minutes in the oven before adding toppings.

Butternut Squash Soup

I'm alive, I promise. And I have been cooking meals, but honestly nothing that's blog worth. We've been busy. The husband is interviewing like crazy. And so far has four more interviews that he has to fly to. So when he's gone I don't really make dinner.

A couple weeks ago we had a few days of cooler weather, like in the 60s. It was time for soup. Squash are my favorite vegetables. They are cheap, last a long time and you can dress them up so many different ways. This time I used a butternut squash. They are tricky to cut, so unless you are strong I recommend letting the husband/boyfriend cut it for you. This soup had a nice kick to it because of the jalapeno, but it's not too bad.

2 T butter
1/2 onion, diced
2 t ginger
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 butternut squash-peeled, seeded and cubed
2 c chicken broth
1 evaporated milk
1 t sugar
salt and pepper
1 c sour cream

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onion, ginger and jalapeno pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 7 minutes. Add the butternut squash and chicken broth, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until squash is tender. Stir in evaporated milk, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes. CAREFULLY, pour soup into a blender. Hold the lid of blender with towel and start to blend. Puree in batches (I was able to do it all at once in my blender), or if you have a hand blender you can blend it in the pot. Serve with sour cream.

Chicken Taco Soup

We love this soup. We made this awhile ago and I literally ate taco soup every meal for about 4 days. I got this recipe from my neighbor Ruth Boulton. She brought us this as a meal after I had my baby this past January. I had to have the recipe. The best part is you probably already have most of the ingredients in your pantry right now!



Chicken Taco Soup
From Ruth Boulton

1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can corn with juice
1 can kidney beans with juice
1 can black beans with juice
2 cans cream of potato soup
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2-3 cups water
1/2 - 1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
4 chicken breasts cooked and shredded

Directions:
Cook and shred chicken breasts. Add all ingredients in to a crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours. Serve. If desired top with cheese, Fritos, and sour cream.

Serves 4-6

Notes: This can taste pretty salty with all of the ingredients especially if you add cheese and chips. Go for the reduced sodium items. Check labels and make sure your canned items don't have any unnecessary sodium added.

Black Bean Burgers w/ Guacamole

No one will ever be more shocked than I that I actually get to post this recipe as "Husband Approved". My husband really did say, "Wow, these are actually good!" He also really did go back for seconds. AND he really did ask, "when are you going to make those veggies burgers again? Those are good." So I did. Both times he gobbled them up. Shock and awe people. Shock and awe.


Black Bean Burgers

2 cans black beans, drained but not rinsed
1 to 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 of a bell pepper, chopped up small (the color is up to you I've used red and green with great results)
1/2 cup onion, chopped up small
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 eggs
guacamole


Directions:
Drain black beans and place in a medium sized bowl. Using a potato masher, mash up beans well. Add in onions, bell pepper, chili powder, garlic and cayenne pepper and mash with the beans. The onions and pepper won't exactly mash up but it helps get the flavors incorporated in to the beans. Mix in panko. Add eggs and mash those in to the bean mixture as well. {In case you are wondering why eggs? The eggs help hold the burgers together during cooking} Once all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Make into burger sized patties. I like mine thick, about one inch.

You can either:
grill them like regular burgers over medium heat
bake them at 375 degrees for 10-12 min {flip them over half way through}
or cook them in a pan with a little oil over medium high heat for 10-12 min

I prefer baking.

Serve on whole wheat buns. Top with guacamole and any other desired toppings {cheese, lettuce, tomato, etc...}

Serves 4-6

Pumpkin Smoothie

We've been drinking a lot of smoothies lately. I recently got the book, The Food Bible. It's all about how the book can cure different ailments by the food you eat. Under the section I'm following I need to be consuming eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Which isn't too bad. Fruits and vegetables should be a big part if any diet. Everything I read always comes down to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less animal product.

Well I opened up a huge can of pumpkin purée and so we started having pumpkin smoothies. So good. I don't know why I waited so long to have one. It's really like eating pumpkin pie.

3/4 c pumpkin purée
1 frozen banana
1/2 c milk
Handful baby spinach {I always throw spinach into my smoothies, you can't even taste it. I've even done carrots and red pepper}
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t ground cloves

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. If you like it more liquid add more milk and if you like it thicker add ice cubes or add less milk.
Drink with a straw. Yum!

Ham Fried Rice

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Chinese food. Unfortunately, most of the Chinese restaurants around here {while very much delicious} probably aren't the greatest choices for you. I absolutely love this version of ham fried rice that I've sort of adapted from several different recipes. It's full of veggies, super easy and delicious!



Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1 tbs canola oil
one half of a small onion, minced
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
2 cups carrots julienne style
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 cup ham, diced
4 cups brown rice, cooked
2 tbs soy sauce
2 eggs


Directions:
In a large non stick skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Add onions, garlic and ginger and saute for about one minute. Add carrots, broccoli, peas. Saute for another 4-5 minutes. Next add the ham and rice. Cook until heated through. Once the rice is heated through make an empty space in the middle of the pan. Add eggs and scramble until fluffy. Stir them in to the rest of the ingredients. Add soy sauce and stir until well mixed. Serve.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

I've been considering what I actually eat over the course of the week and I realized I've been consuming way too much sugar. After a little researching, it astonishing to find so many things contain sugar and Americans eat way too much of it. Not all sugars are bad, though they aren't necessarily great for you. White table sugar is so refined, there is nothing in it that is nutritional, which hopefully you all knew. So I set off to find a bread recipe that didn't contain sugar.

If you are going to sweeten your food, honey is a much better option. And if you can buy orange blossom honey from a farmers market even better. It hasn't be refined as much and your body can handle it so much better. Usually when I bake 100% whole wheat my food does not come out how I imagine. But this recipe was by far the best 100% whole wheat bread I've come across and it has so few ingredients. I wish I could afford to buy Great Harvest bread on a regular bases, but at $6 a loaf that is steep, even if we weren't on a student budget. Now I don't plan on always making my own bread because, a) we usually end up eating the loaf within 24 hours and b) it's too much work. But this was perfect to go along with our homemade chicken noodle soup.

100% whole wheat bread
adapted from food.com

2 3/4 c hot water {run water and hold your finger under, once it starts getting too hot to keep your finger in the water it's ready}
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 C + 2 T honey
1 T salt
7 1/2 c 100% whole grain wheat flour
2 T dry yeast {I used rapid rise}

Mix water, oil, honey and yeast together and let bubble, about 10 minutes. Add salt. Slowly add flour, you don't want it to be too dry. It should be sticky to the touch. Once mixed, leave in the bowl and cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes. It doesn't have to double in size. Grease two medium bread pans. On a flour surface kneaded the bread and separate into two loaf and place in pans. Cover and let rise again, about 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Bake for about 34 minutes. With about 10 minutes left I had to cover the bread with tin foil to prevent the top from burning.