Sufferin' Succotash - Fresh and Delicious

When our youngest son was about 5 years old, I made lima beans for dinner.  He sort of came unglued and asked why we were having June bugs for dinner.  He was NOT interested in eating them for any reason.  I had to explain they were not June bugs, but lima beans and he was fine with that.  Quite relieved, actually.

We are from Indiana, and what we call June bugs are green beetle type bugs that appear in the summer.  We tied thread to them and you could fly them around for entertainment.  They were shaped like a lima bean and sort of the same color.  Hence, Tyler's consternation with what we were having for dinner.

You may or may not like lima beans.  I have always liked them.  Growing up, we ate what my mother put on the table, or we went hungry.   There were a few things I didn't like, so I didn't eat them.  After becoming an adult, I discovered that is was more the way the item was prepared than the item itself.  Squash was in that category.  My mom boiled it and it looked like scrambled eggs in the bowl.  I love it now, because I fix it a different way than my mother did.

We were at the farmer's market on Saturday, and one of the vendors had fresh lima beans - already shelled!  Yes!  I had already purchased lots of other fresh vegetables - corn, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes - and I wanted a new and interesting way to fix the lima beans.  I found this recipe on Epicurious for succotash made in a slightly different way than what we had growing up.  Our succotash was corn and lima beans, nothing outstanding.  This recipe is REALLY good.  Here is what you need:

2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 1/4 cups corn kernels cut from 4-5 ears of fresh corn
2 cups fresh lima beans or 10-12 ounce box frozen lima beans
3 TBSP thinly sliced fresh basil

I added some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  YUM!

First, heat the oil in a large skilled over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and sprinkle with salt.  Saute' until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the minced garlic, stir until fragrant - about 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, corn, and lima beans.  *This recipe called for no liquid, but I added enough to cover the bottom of the pan about 1/2 way up the vegetables.  The other vegetables didn't produce enough liquid to cook the beans.*  Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, simmer until the lima beans are tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the sliced basil.

I added some freshly grated parmesan cheese to each serving.  This is DELICIOUS!  There are so many layers of flavor rather than just boiled corn and lima beans.  Food is so much more interesting than when we were growing up.  Gotta love it!

You might want to give this a try for different and wonderful summer fare.  I think you could add some browned sausage or ground beef and you would have a fabulous one dish meal!  We all loved this recipe.  Hope you give it a try.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Succotash is a very southern staple, but originated with Native Americans.  Just a little FYI.  donna

Cold Weather Means Soup!

Happy New Year everyone.  I have finally rested and recouped from the holidays.  How about you?  Hope yours was as much fun as ours.  There were good friends, gifts, grandsons, and lots of fabulous food.  What more could you ask for?

We received a marvelous gift from our children that brought us into the present century - a flat screen television!   Yes, we still had a big old dinosaur television.  The funny thing is, we had bought one for ourselves as a Christmas gift to us the morning of Christmas Eve.  We decided it was time.  (Ya think?)  As our two daughters and I were preparing to put food on the table for Christmas Eve I casually said, "Hey, guess what we got today."  They both turned and looked at me and asked, "What?"  They had that look on their face.  You know the one - like something's up?  Anyway, I said a flat screen television.  They looked at each other and then looked at me and one of them said, "Well, now you have two I guess."  We laughed hysterically.  It was a truly funny moment.  Our second daughter said, "We waited until yesterday to get it for you because we were afraid this would happen.  When you hadn't gotten one by yesterday, we went ahead and got it."  Oops.  How did I know?  The good thing is, we took the one back that we had bought and now we can get something else with the money.  That, my friends, is a good thing.  We have a new television and a choice to get something else.  We're still thinking.

The other spectacular gift we received was a Keurig coffee maker.  We have really come into the present century, let me tell you!  Coffee on demand, one cup at a time and a flat screen television.  Could life get any better?

I suppose you all are experiencing the polar vortex (a new weather term for me) just like the rest of us?  Cold?  No thanks.  Not a fan at all.  It can leave and not return for the rest of the winter and it will not hurt my feelings in the least.  It  was 2 degrees this morning.  Ugh.  Hasn't been this cold in Nashville for 20 years.  It's supposed to be 60 on Saturday.  Now that's what I'm talking about!!  I'll take  all of that I can get.  Maybe a sweater in the evening, no heavy coats, hats, gloves, scarves, boots and whatever else you have to put on to stay warm.  I.  Am.  Over.  It.

In case it's not going to warm up that much where you are, I have a great soup for you that I made for dinner tonight.  To us, cold weather means soup - really hot soup.  Do you like your soup really hot?   Please, don't serve me luke warm soup.  Ew.  Hot.  Hot.  Hot.  The only way to eat soup.  Sorry, I digressed.  Actually, I could eat soup every day - even in hot weather.  I know.  I'm weird that way.

We had chili on Sunday and Monday, because I make lots of soup when I make it.  It gets better each day AND you don't have to cook again.  That is a super benefit for making a big pot of delicious soup. Tonight, I was going to make potato soup.  Yum.  One of our favorites.  I peeled the potatoes, and chopped an onion.  When I got the onion out of the fridge (yes, I keep my onions there), I noticed there was a pound of breakfast sausage that needed to be used.  Okay, I'll throw it in the soup.  So, I browned it up in a saute pan.  Oh, and there was a 10 ounce box of spinach I had thawed for another recipe that I didn't make.  It needed to be used.  Okay, I'll throw it in the soup.  Why not?

I didn't want the soup to be bland, so I added a can of Ro-Tel for a little zip.  Well, why not add some cannellini beans too?  Sure, drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans and throw them in.  Yes, there was a parmesan cheese rind in the fridge too.  Toss it in.  Add a box of chicken stock and enough water to cover everything.  Add a couple pinches of red pepper flakes, and let it all cook until the potatoes were done.   Dynamite!

When I was ready to serve the soup, I poured a drizzle of olive oil over the soup and added some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  For the coup de gras, we had big pieces of crusty garlic bread drizzled with olive oil to mop up that delicious broth.  If I do say so myself, it was one fantastic meal!  Yum.  Yum.

If you wanted to make this soup vegetarian, just leave out the sausage and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  It is also gluten free for all of you who have to watch your gluten intake.  Don't you love one pot meals?  I sure do.  Here is what you need to make this soup.  I really don't know what to call it.  If you have an idea, let me know.

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBSP butter
1 pound breakfast sausage, hot or mild, or 1 pound Italian sausage, browned
1 10 ounce box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry*
1 14 ounce can cannellini beans (or you could use kidney beans)
as many potatoes as you would like, peeled and cut in chunks - I used about 2 pounds
1 32 ounce box low sodium chicken stock
1 can Ro-Tel
parmesan cheese rind optional

salt and pepper to taste
a couple pinches crushed red pepper flakes
olive oil for drizzling
freshly grated parmesan cheese

*If you don't want to use spinach, you could use chopped kale or swiss chard.  Either one would be delicious.  I used the spinach because I had it.


In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the minced garlic.  While you are cooking the onions, brown the sausage in a saute skillet and drain.  Add the sausage, cannellini beans, spinach, Ro-Tel, and chicken stock to the onions and garlic.  Use enough water to completely cover all the vegetables.  Add a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook until the potatoes are fork tender.  Taste and season with salt if needed.  I used freshly ground black pepper in each bowl when served or you can add it to the soup pot.

When you serve the soup, drizzle a little olive oil over each bowl and grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top.    Serve with some crusty bread and ENJOY!

This soup was so hearty and delicious and really good for a "throw together" soup.  I really wish you could have shared a bowl with us because it sure hit the spot on this frigid arctic night.  And then, you should have seen what we had for dessert.  Oh my.  Come back tomorrow and I will show you and give you the recipe.  It's fantabulous.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home.  Edith Sitwell

Barbecued Beans and Greens (I Added Sausage- Yum)

 Oooh, it has suddenly gotten cold here in Nashville.  It was below 30 this morning and that meant time to put the flannel sheets on the bed.  One thing led to another, and I ended up cleaning the whole house.  I don't know about you, but that leaves me with a great sense of accomplishment.  I even got my closet all organized (which had needed to be done since we moved in here at the end of July).  That sound you hear?  That's me exhaling a giant sigh.  I just love finally getting things done.

Now that cold weather is really upon us - and it is cold in most of the midwest - don't you wish you had some new recipes for tasty comfort foods that are easy to make?  Well, I've got one for you today.  This recipe is SO good and really easy to make.  Our daughter Holly gave me this recipe after she had it at a party for parents of students at her sons' school.  She told me it was one of the best things she had eaten in a long time, and I have to agree with her!  Even her boys like it and they are most suspicious of new things if you know what I mean.

This recipe is made with  cannellini beans, and kale.  As you may know, kale is the new darling of the health food world and with good reason.  It is full of flavonoids and antioxidants.  Kale is good for reducing cholesterol and helps detoxify our systems.  You can read all about the great health benefits of kale here http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=38.

I added a pound of browned breakfast sausage just to have a one dish meal.  This recipe would be just as good without the sausage, believe me.  The flavors are amazing.  I can see the skeptical look on your face from here.  Beans and greens?  Barbecue sauce?  Seriously?  You are going to have to trust me on this one and give it a try, just so you will know how good this really is.  Yummmmmmo is all I can say.  Here is what you need:

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans are the same thing)
8 cups chopped kale  (1 large or 2 small bunches, stems removed, chopped and blanched)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (they recommend Stubbs, I used Sweet Baby Rays - what I had and it's great)
2 tsps hot sauce  (I used Tapatio)
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. breakfast sausage browned, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

To blanch the kale, remove the stems, chop in small 1-2" pieces,  and place in a steamer basket over boiling water in a pan big enough to hold all the greens.  Cook for just a few minutes.  Kale can be rather chewy, so make sure you cut it in small bite sized pieces.  Mine was cut a little big and next time I will cut it smaller.  It will just make it easier to eat.  That is my only tip.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onion and saute for about 6 minutes until soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and saute another minute or so.  Add the blanched, chopped kale and cook for a few minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  

If you are using sausage, brown in a separate pan and add to the above mixture.

If not adding sausage, place everything in a 9" casserole and bake covered for 45 minutes.  If adding sausage, place in a 9 x 13 baking dish, cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

This is SOOOO good.  You get protein, greens, fiber, and deliciousness from the sauce.  Serve with some hot bread and you are good to go.  The sauce is so good that I will use this for my baked beans from now on.  Amazingly good.

If you want to serve this as a side dish, leave the sausage out and make as recommended.  Just.  Plain.  Awesome.

I really like recipes that are recommended by others who have actually made or eaten them.  Sometimes choosing recipes can be a toss of the dice.  They sound good, but don't always turn out the way you hoped.  Give this one a try.  It is approved by 3 picky small boys and their Pawpaw.  Thanks, Holly!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

There are two types of people;  those who eat kale and those who should.  Bo Muller-Moore

Baked Pear Spinach Salad With Mascarpone, Cashews, And Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Here it is Tuesday, October 22nd already.  How did this happen?  Where is it going?  Why am I not ready for cold weather or the fact that I had to put on closed shoes on Sunday because it suddenly got cool?  Bye bye sandals until next spring.  Sigh.  It makes me so very sad when sandals have to go.  My feet are not very happy.  I'll be waiting until the first warm day to drag them back out.  Believe me.

One of the really nice things about fall though is the abundance of tree fruit like apples and pears.  YUM!  I like apples, but I LOVE pears.  Dan is not a fan.  He doesn't like the texture which to me is unfortunate, but to each his own.

My daughter and I were talking about pears last week and she mentioned she had baked some.  Baked pears?  Why had I never thought of that.  When I got home, I headed straight to the world wide web and researched some baked pear recipes.  This is one I created by combining several things together for this fabulously delicious salad for dinner.  (The dressing recipe is my own.)  Are they good?  Let me count the ways.  My, oh my.  Here is what you will need:

Pears - as many as you want to bake (I used Bartlett)

1/2 to 1 stick butter

1 container Mascarpone cheese

Cashews, rough chopped (I used about a cup)

Home made Champagne Vinegar Dressing - recipe below

To check if pears are ripe, push around the stem to see if it's soft.  If so, they are good to go.  You want ripe pears for baking.

First, if you have never baked pears, this is how I did mine.  I used Bartlett pears and cut the pears in half, scooping out the core in each half.  I used a teaspoon to core the pears.  You can bake 2 halves, or as many as you want.  I did 3 pears the first time which was 6 halves.  Sunday, I did 5 pears for 10 halves.  I melted a half stick of butter in a baking dish for the 6 halves and a whole stick for the 10 halves.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put the butter in an appropriate sized baking dish and melt the butter in the oven.  As soon as the butter is melted, remove the baking pan from the oven and coat the pears in the melted butter.  I rolled them on the skin side, then placed them cut side down in the butter.  Bake for about 45 minutes until they are fork tender.  Sunday, I baked these and this is how they look when they come out of the oven.  Heavenly.

Now, turn the pears over to expose the cut and cored side.  Place large dollops of mascarpone cheese in each pear half and stick them back in the oven for about a minute or two until the cheese melts.  Don't let it all run out of the pears.  It's the really good part.

If you are not familiar with Mascarpone cheese, it is an Italian cheese that sort of has the consistency of cream cheese but tastes like whipped cream.  Double yum.

I decided I wanted salty and sweet to go with the fresh spinach, and I had a can of cashew halves on hand.  I rough chopped them and sprinkled them over the melted mascarpone cheese.  I put several hands full of fresh baby spinach on salad plates and put a pear in the middle of the spinach.  I sprinkled more chopped cashews on the spinach.  Now to make the dressing.  I don't always measure when making dressing, but this is pretty close and you may want to adjust it to fit your taste.  It is sooooooo good, especially the tanginess with the sweet and salty.  Yummo.

Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Finely mince about 1/4 of a small shallot, super fine.

Using a large clove of garlic, make a paste out of it by putting about 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt on a cutting board and mashing the garlic with the flat side of the knife.  Work the knife back and forth, pressing and mashing until you have a paste made from the garlic clove.

In a bowl, pour about 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil in and add the shallot and garlic paste.  Add about a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. (two big squeezes) Add the juice of one lemon and two big splashes of champagne vinegar (probably about 2 TBSP).  Add one small pinch of salt if needed and fresh cracked black pepper.  Whisk until combined and drizzle over the spinach and the pear.  Serve.  Consume.  Just try to savor each bite.  Delicious.  (The dressing is so good I could probably drink it with a straw.)

This is such a pretty salad to present with whatever entree you are serving.  Perhaps you will just want to eat the salad with some good crusty bread.  Or, maybe you would prefer the baked pear without the spinach and dressing and consider it dessert.  It all works and it is wonderful any way to choose to eat it.  Truly.  They also keep nicely in the refrigerator (covered) and can be eaten the next day.  I ate mine cold and it was delish!

Sometimes things just come together in an oh so right way.  If you like pears, this is a great way to enjoy them.  Yes indeedy.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Pears have been cultivated and enjoyed for thousands of years.  Homer referred to them as a "gift from the gods" in the Odyssey.  healthdiaries.com

  

Loaded Chicken and Potato Casserole Is Superb!

Ever have those days when you are tired of making the same old recipes and  you want something different - something delicious?  You look in the refrigerator to see what's there to use.  Looking back at you are three boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  We all know how it goes with chicken.  It can be fabulous or it can be totally blah.  I wanted fabulous.

I had pinned this recipe on my Pinterest board some time ago because it sounded amazing.  Tonight was the night to give it a try.  I actually had all the ingredients for once.  No trip to the grocery was necessary.  Yay!

This recipe is like a big loaded baked potato with some slightly spicy chicken.  When I say spicy, I mean just a hint.  You could make it much more spicy if you preferred, but our grandsons were coming over so I went with the recipe as written.  It was perfect.  Here is what you need.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in approximately 1 inch cubes
6-8 medium russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup live oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSPS hot sauce (I used Tapatio)

Topping

2 cups grated cheese - cheddar, jack,  or pepper jack (I used Monterrey Jack)
1 cup crumbled bacon  - about 1/2 pound (fry crisp and crumble)
1 cup diced green onions - whites and greens

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and hot sauce together.  Add the cubed chicken and potatoes, stir to coat.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly.  Cook for 55-60 minutes, stirring EVERY 20 minutes.  Fry the bacon while the casserole cooks.  Set aside until cool.  Crumble.

Once the chicken and potatoes are fully cooked (potatoes fork tender), remove the casserole from the oven.  Top with cheese, bacon, and onions.  Return to the oven and bake until the cheese melts.  Took about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve.

I put some sour cream on the table to add to the dish if wanted and extra hot sauce.  This is a dynamite recipe, is so easy to make and could easily be halved and baked in a 9" casserole if you wanted.

Thanks to Singing Through the Rain for this recipe.  Everyone LOVED it.  We will be having it again and it reheats very nicely in the microwave.  Great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Give this recipe a try the next time you want something truly superb and easy to make.  Add a green salad and you are good to go.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Try one new recipe a week just for some variety in your dinner routine.  They are not all keepers, but when they are it is great to have something new to add to the rotation.  donna

Olive Oil, White Vinegar, And Walnuts = Fabulous Wood Repair

 If you Pinterest, or follow all the things that are posted on Facebook like recipes and handy repair tips,  and  you wonder if they really work, I am here to testify that this concoction really, really, really works.  What concoction is that?  A combination of olive oil, white vinegar and the "meat" of walnuts.

I saw a before and after picture of a piece of furniture that this combo had been used on and it looked completely restored.  Well, the skeptic in me was all "yeah, right."  Our friends had rented a condominium that was in need of some good old TLC.  There were some scratches on the wood floors and the pantry door was just abominable.  You know, like no one had EVER wiped it off and it was totally black around the door handle with that gooey residue that happens when the finish starts to break down.  Ever have a piece of furniture that did that?  I have and the biggest dilemma is what will you do to fix it?

 First, Tonya scraped all the black, icky stuff off the door with a putty knife which took it almost down to the bare wood.  Uh oh.  The rest of the door was stained a dark brown color.  One of these things is not like the other.  Hmmmmm.  Now, what were we going to do?  Aha, here was my chance to try the magic concoction I had seen on Pinterest.  All I needed was some walnuts, olive oil, and white vinegar.  First, I rubbed the almost bare wood with the "meat" part of some English walnuts.  It is amazingly magical.  As the walnut began to disintegrate, it began to color the wood a darker color.  No way!  Yes, way!  It was so exciting.  I had made a jar of the magical concoction which is simply 3/4s of a  cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar.  Put a lid on the jar and shake, shake, shake.  After I got the wood as dark as it would go, I used a soft cloth and rubbed it with the olive oil/vinegar mix.  Magic!  You could barely tell the difference between the original stain and the place that I had repaired.  Wow! This was more than exciting.

On to the wood floors.  I rubbed all the scratched places with walnuts and then rubbed them with the magic solution.  You could not see the scratches.  Amazing!  Then, I knew I had found the solution to a dilemma I had with a fabulous wood salad bowl that we had gotten for a wedding gift 44 years ago. Yes, it's an antique and more than well used.  It looked very sad.

Now this is not an ordinary salad bowl.  When we opened the gift,  Dan and I laughed hysterically because it was maybe the biggest salad bowl we had ever seen and we could not imagine ever using such a monstrosity.  It was really beautiful and had 4 small salad bowls and a fork and spoon that matched.  Needless to say, those are long gone, but I still use the giant salad bowl for many occasions. Shows you what we knew in those early days.  This bowl is 15.5 inches in diameter and 6 inches high.  I mean you can make enough salad in it to feed an army.  Well, guess what?  We have a small army since we have 4 children, in loves, and grandchildren, plus extended family and friends.  This is what this poor bowl looked like.  It has been well used.

All the beautiful finish was long gone from the center of the bowl.  The sides were more of the same.
After so many repeated washings, the poor beautiful bowl was quite the sad sack.  I did not want to use any chemicals to refinish it since we put food in it.  I knew I had finally found a solution that just might do the trick.  First, I put some walnuts in the bowl and rubbed away.

I only had chopped walnuts at the time.  It would probably be much easier with walnut halves.  I rubbed them into the damaged areas of the bowl until the color got much dark and more even with the original finish. Then, I broke out the magic solution.  Using a soft cloth, I applied it to the center of the bowl and the outside damaged areas.  This is how the sides look now.  Nice.

They are not perfect, but so much better.  At least they are no longer big white shining patches glaring at you like a big sore thumb.  You might even want to eat out of this bowl.   The interior of the bowl looks like this.  Just look at the improvement!

Again, not perfect, but if it had not been left unattended for so long, you might not even be able to see the damaged areas at all.  The best part?  No chemicals - only natural ingredients and it will be super easy to repair again when the finish begins to show wear again.  Now, I won't be embarrassed to break out the giant salad bowl when needed.

I don't have any dark furniture in my house, but if I did, I would be using this on everything.  It really is magic.  So next time you see this on Pinterest or Facebook and wonder if or how it could work, remember my little testimonial and know that it does!  Give it a try if you have dark wood furniture or floors that are in need of some TLC.  It really, really works.

Everyday Donna

Things To Remember:

If  you have a complete set of salad bowls and they all say Cool Whip on the side, you might be a redneck.  Jeff Foxworthy

Lebanese Potato Salad - Salatat Al Bataata

Hope your weekend was as fantastic as ours.  The weather was amazing!  It was raining Saturday morning, but the clouds dissipated and the sun came out in all it's glory.  The temperature was perfect.  I will take all of that weather we can get.

Sunday, our grandson had a make up fall little league game.  Everyone was invited here to dinner afterwards and it needed to be something kind of simple that could mostly be made ahead.  So, I went with a tailgating kind of theme.  You can tailgate for baseball right?  If it's not really de rigueur for baseball like it is for football, perhaps we will start a new trend.

All the grandsons think hot dogs are something magical as my daughter says.  They don't get them often and we don't either, so I thought we would grill some hot dogs, Irish bangers, and some good old Polska Kielbasa.  I mean, who doesn't love a good Polish sausage?  I made chili early in the day so everyone could have a big old chili dog, or a bowl of chili, whichever they preferred.  There were all the "fixins" for the hot dogs and sausages, and I made chocolate rice krispie treats for dessert.  Now, that is a meal fit for a kid if there ever was one.  The adults seem to enjoy it quite a bit too now that I think of it.

For the adults in the group (I do try to consider them too), if they didn't want chili, I made some lebanese potato salad with a recipe my daughter got from her mother in love who came to America from Lebanon when she was 18.  This is some good potato salad, let me tell you!  There is NO mayonnaise so it won't spoil.  Something  you might consider next time you need a pot luck dish!

This potato salad has a really bright lemony flavor that I love.  (Remember, I never met a potato I didn't like.)  The parsley adds a wonderful flavor.  Other countries use lots of parsley in their recipes, but we don't.  I think it's time to start another treat.  It's

This recipe is  easy to make (even better) and is super delicious!  Here is what you need:

 7/8 good sized potatoes, scrubbed (I'd say about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 big lemons)
1/4 cup good olive oil
salt
fresh parsley

Boil the potatoes until fork tender.  Remove from stove and pour off the hot water.  Cover with cold water and let sit until you can handle the potatoes without burning your hands.

Remove the skins by simply pulling them off.  (It's kind of fun)  Cut the potatoes into cubes and salt to taste.

Mix the dressing of olive oil, and lemon juice.  Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss.

Remove the leaves from the parsley until you have about 1/2 to 3/4 cup.  Rough chop and sprinkle over the potato salad.  Toss.

That's it!  How easy is that?

I love potato salad of all varieties and this one has become one of my favorites!  If you feel it may need a little more dressing, just make sure you use the olive oil and lemon juice in the same quantity.

This is an excellent side dish when you want something different and it's GREAT for tailgaiting since you don't have to worry about spoilage.  The only thing I might add next time are some chopped scallions, green and white parts.  Some recipes also call for a little chopped mint.  I'm not a big mint fan, but you may love it.  Remember, mint is a strong flavor, so add about 1/4 cup of chopped mint if you want.

Give this recipe a try!  Dan loved it and he is VERY picky about potato salad. And, thanks Alma for sharing another of your fabulous native dishes!  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Parsley - the jewel of herbs, both in the pot and on the plate.  Albert Stockli

Quinoa Salad With Home Made Cilantro Dressing

Happy Monday one and all.  Hope your weekend was spectacular.  Ours was super busy with fall ball games and keeping grandsons overnight so our daughter and son in love could celebrate their anniversary with a stay at the Opryland Hotel.  With two little guys aged 3 and 18 months, they deserved a little respite and Grandma and Pawpaw were more than happy to help out.

Out other daughter and her family are in the throws of fall ball (no pun intended).  Practices, school, games, jobs - you know how busy life can be.  To show a little mercy, I invited them for dinner last night because Holly spends most of her Sunday on writing assignments to meet deadlines for her editors.  It helps if she doesn't have to worry about feeding her three boys and husband after a day of brain drain.

There is always that dilemma of what to fix that the boys will eat.  The 10 year old is super finicky, the 6 year old is not quite so finicky and the 3 year old is a roll of the dice.  Our son in love has celiac so there is that whole gluten issue to deal with.  Meals can present a challenge.  Last night I fixed enchilada casserole which is made with corn tortillas and contains no gluten.  I made the red sauce with corn starch instead of flour.  For sides, we grilled corn on the cob and I made this beautiful quinoa salad.

Do you know about quinoa (keen-wa) or have you tried it?  It is delicious and gluten free.  My research tells me it is not a true grain in the sense of wheat or oats, but has been cultivated in the Andes mountains for over 3,000 years.  Quinoa is full of protein and calcium, anti oxidants, and is easy to digest.  It is great for vegan diets.  The boys love it and will actually eat it.  It has a lovely mild, nutty flavor and can be served plain or added to other dishes.  There are many ways to "jazz" up quinoa.  The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2013 the year of Quinoa because they believe it could go a long way in eradicating food insecurity worldwide due to its nutritional value.

I had found a recipe for a southwest quinoa salad on Pinterest and it looked good.  It was made with quinoa, black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes.  We were having corn on the cob so I didn't want to use corn in the salad.  For this salad I used, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, green onions, red bell pepper, black olives, and a really tasty cilantro lime salad dressing.  Oh, and I threw in some crumbled bacon that I had left from BLT sandwiches.  Yum.  Crunchy vegetables work well with the soft, mild quinoa.

To make the salad, here is what you need:

Quinoa prepared according to package directions.

(You use 1 cup dry quinoa to 2 cups liquid.  I made 2 cups and that's a lot of quinoa.  If you are feeding 2-4 people, use 1 cup quinoa although I am loving the left over salad.)

1 medium red bell pepper diced
3 green onions, whites and greens cut on a diagonal
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 avocado, diced
sliced black olives, optional  (add as many as you like)
5 slices cooked crisp bacon, crumbled (optional)

Cook the quinoa according to package directions and let cool.  Put the cooled quinoa in a serving bowl and cover with the ingredients you choose to use.  The possibilities are endless really.  I like leaving all the "yummies" on the top so that when you serve the salad, they don't all fall to the bottom.  You can mix it up if you so desire.

Cilantro Lime Salad Dressing

I didn't measure what I threw in the blender, but this is pretty close.

about 1/2 cup plain fat free greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
juice of one lime or lemon
1/2 to 3/4 of a bunch of cilantro
small pinch of salt

Place ingredients in a blender and whir until blended and cilantro is all chopped.  This dressing is fantastic on any salad.

Serve dressing on the side.  You may like to eat the salad without the dressing like Dan does, but the bright, flavorful dressing adds a nice zip to the salad in my opinion.  If you don't like cilantro, use basil or avocado in it's place.

I had a nice big helping of this salad this evening and it is deeeeeeeeelicious.  Think of all the possibilities for things to add to quinoa to make a healthy salad or it could be eaten as an entree.  It would be especially good for a meatless meal (minus the bacon).

If you haven't tried quinoa, this salad a good way to introduce it into your diet, or you could serve it plain as a side dish in the place of rice or potatoes.  We will definitely be eating it more often since it has been called a super food.  We are always looking for things that taste good and are good for you.  Give it a try.  I think you will like it.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Quinoa is great for lazy day cooking because it's packed with complete proteins, but it cooks in only 20 minutes. And, you can flavor it any way you wish! I make mine with onions, lots of ground ginger, turmeric and coriander, and then whatever dried fruit and nuts I have around.

Aarti Sequeira, Food Network

Herb Roasted Chicken

Hello all.  Hope you had a great weekend and you are settling into the "back to school" routine that is already here in most places.  Because we were looking for a place to live, packing, and moving in June and July, I feel as if the summer flew by and we missed it.  Now, the sun is lower in the sky and there is a feeling of fall in the air.  That's okay though as it is my favorite season and I totally look forward to it.

The condominium we are living in has a lovely pool, and two of our grandsons and their mom and dad came over for a late afternoon swim a couple of Friday's ago.  I had told them I would make dinner so they didn't have to rush home and try to feed their two little ones.  It's so nice to be able to prepare meals again, now that everything is out of boxes.  Eating out loses it's enchantment quickly.  Home cooked meals are tastier, cheaper to fix, and so much healthier.  And, I just happen to like cooking.

I had two whole chickens that I had planned on frying, but somehow that seemed like too much effort for a Friday evening.  Perhaps something baked?  I went to my "go to" web site, Allrecipes.com, to look for something different.  This herbed chicken was one of the first recipes that popped up and it sounded easy and delicious.

I would compare this to the roasted chickens you can buy at the grocery or Sam's Club only better.  It was soooooo good and easy to make.  Here is what you do.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit.

Spice Mix:

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp drie basil
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I baked 2 chickens so I doubled this recipe.)

Mix spices together in a bowl and put aside.

Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towels.

Put the whole chicken in a baking pan, breast side up.  Rub the entire chicken with some good olive oil.  Sprinkle the spice mix over the chicken and rub it all over.

Put the baking pan with chicken in the 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees and roast for an additional 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.  Let cool 10-15 minutes before serving.  (The leg/thigh section should fall away from the chicken and juices should run clear)

Cut the legs, thighs, and wings away from the chicken.  Carve the breast meat.  Serve.

I have to say, this is one of the best roasted chickens I have ever made or eaten.  It was simply delicious.  Actually, I roasted two at the same time.  We ate one and I had the second one to use the next day.  The meat was so tender and flavorful, the skin was brown and crispy -  mm, mm, delicious.

There are so many uses for the left over roasted chicken.  You can make chicken salad, use it in a casserole, make sandwiches, or put it on a green salad.  Makes dinner preparation so easy for another meal.

This recipe is one you should put in your "go to" file for those days when you want something comforting, delicious, but not too much trouble.  You can make this one hands down.  Everyone will think you spent hours slaving in the kitchen.  Just don't tell them otherwise.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.  Harriet Van Horne






 

Grilled Chicken With Lemon, Thyme And Some Other Good Stuff

Wow, it was a lovely day today.  Sunny, 80 degrees, balmy breeze - perfect weather.  We ran errands all afternoon and got home later than usual.  This is what we have been waiting for all winter.  These are the nights I don't mind cooking a late dinner because we can grill.  Oh yeah.  It was so lovely out of doors.   We ate on the deck and I really didn't want to come inside.

For dinner I made these delicious grilled chicken breasts that are marinated with fresh lemon juice and thyme with some red pepper flakes for a little heat and garlic for depth of flavor.  All of this is added to some good extra virgin olive oil.  Yum.  The recipe is from foodandwine.com.  The lemon and thyme give the chicken such a nice, bright citrus flavor which is perfect for warm weather.  It would be fabulous sliced and served on a beautiful green salad if you are watching your calories.  It would also be wonderful sliced and served as a sandwich.

Here is what you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I zested one lemon and added the zest to the marinade)
1/4 tsp dried thyme (I used 5 sprigs fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you like more heat)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Put the chicken breasts in a gallon sized zip lock bag and add all the marinade.  Squish it around until all the chicken is coated in the marinade.  Put the bag in a bowl in case it leaks and put in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour.  I moved it around a few times to make sure everything was good and coated with the marinade.  After 1/2 hour, remove the chicken from the marinade and grill until the juices run clear and there is no pink in the middle of the chicken.  Remove from the grill.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving.  Delicious.  If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can use a stove top grill also.

I added a twist of fresh lemon slice to the top of each breast when serving so that we could add a little more lemon flavor by squeezing some fresh juice over the cooked breast.  It's not necessary, but it also looks pretty.

Now is the time to start building up some new recipes for summer grilling season.  Give this one a try.  It's quick, easy, no unusual ingredients and it is SOOOOOOOO good.  It is also pretty low calorie.

Don't know about you, but I am beyond happy for this weather to finally make its appearance.  It was a long winter.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

“Never throw away squeezed lemon, but keep them for the day by the sink. Then you can use them to remove fish, onion or garlic smells from your fingers. Or you can stick them on your elbows while you are reading a book, to soften and whiten your skin.”   Jennifer Paterson, Two Fat Ladies Obsessions

Savory Cheese, Olive, and Buttermilk Herb Bread

Bread - the staff of life.  My research shows that some form of bread is found in every society on earth.  Who doesn't love a good, delicious bread?  I'm not talking about white bread from the grocery store.  Not at all.  Actually, I don't like sliced white bread from a package, I don't care if it's the greatest thing ever.  Thanks, but no thanks.  Not a fan.

Baking bread can be quite involved, so many of us stick to banana bread, pumpkin bread, and zucchini bread because it doesn't involve yeast and waiting for the dough to rise and punching it down and waiting some more.  That's what bakeries are for, right?  But, have you ever thought about savory breads that don't require yeast and all the many steps listed above?

Pinterest addict that I am, I scour the recipes looking for things that sound amazing and delicious.  I found this recipe for cheese, olive and buttermilk herb bread that is from a blog site called sugarandeverythingnice.blogspot.com.  She adapted this recipe from "Mix and Bake" by Belinda Jeffrey.  I haven't seen the original recipe, so I don't know what changes the writer made to the original, but it is good and really easy.  Really good.  Really easy.

If you don't like olives, I don't know what to tell you other than the fact that they are not the most prominent flavor of this bread.  The most prominent flavors would be cheese and herbs.  If I make it again (and I will) I would actually add more olives because I love them.  You can leave them out if you want, that is up to you.  I will also add more cheese next time.  Cheesy bread is delicious bread.  Yum.

Here is what you need to make this awesome bread:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 dry mustard powder (I used 2 tsps of dijon instead because I love it)
1/4 cup (60 gms) grated cheddar cheese - I would use 1/2 cup next time
1/4 cup (60 gms) grated parmesan cheese - again, I would use 1/2 cup
1/2 cup green olives, sliced (I would use 1 cup)
8 pieces sun dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup mixture of spring onion (scallions) and Italian parsley
2 tsp thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
2 eggs
2 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or use 1 1/4 cup less 1 Tbsp milk + 1 TBSP white vinegar or lemon juice.  Set aside for 10 minutes before using)
Egg wash made from 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 tsp water
Extra thyme sprigs and sea salt for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously butter a large loaf pan and dust with flour.  Set aside.

Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt, pepper and mustard powder (if using) into a large bowl.  Whisk to incorporate the dry ingredients.  Add both cheeses, olives, sun dried tomatoes, spring onions, parsley and thyme and mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the oil and buttermilk and dijon mustard (if using) until well combined.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients.  Stir together to form a thick, sticky batter.  Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and spread it out evenly.

Brush the top of the batter with the egg wash and then sprinkle some thyme leaves and sea salt on the loaf.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.  If the top starts to burn, place a piece of foil over top of the loaf and continue baking.  Leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

This loaf is best served on the same day.  Wrap left overs in foil and store in fridge.  Can be gently reheated if serving again.

We enjoyed this delicious savory bread with the cheese, sausage, and grits casserole I posted on Monday.  We did spread some garlic herbed goat cheese on it and it was fantastic!  This bread is sort of dense, almost cake like in texture.  I would have liked more cheese and olives, but that is just me.  If you don't like strong flavors, stick to the recipe.

If you get tired of sweet breads and would like something savory, this recipe fits the bill.  It would be awesome to serve for brunch or for an afternoon treat.  Children would certainly enjoy it!  The grandsons gobbled it up.  You could spread their favorite cheese on it while it's still warm.  Delicious!

Baking bread doesn't have to be hard or have a million steps to be delicious.  Give this recipe a try.  It's a keeper.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

If you have extraordinary bread and extraordinary butter, it's hard to beat bread and butter.  
Jaques Pepin

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas - Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

This my friends is a whole 9 x 13 baking dish of goodness.  Yes it is.  Oven baked chicken fajitas that are so good, they knocked my other recipes from the weekend right off the docket.  How is that for a Monday?  You know what the song says, Monday, Monday, can't trust that day.  That is not always true.  This Monday worked out quite well.  By the way, hope you had a wonderful, restful weekend.

There were 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the fridge that needed to be turned into something.  On my recipe pin board on Pinterest was a recipe for oven baked chicken fajitas that I had been meaning to try for quite some time.  It is from a blog called Life As a Lofthouse@blogspot.com.  I made a few tweaks, but let me tell you this is a super hit!  A winner!  A keeper!  A we will be making these again recipe.  Some recipes I try from Pinterest are winners, others not so much.  Guess you can tell how I feel about this one.  They are as good as restaurant fajitas.

Tex-Mex is my favorite food.  I like Vietnamese, Thai, and Mediterranean a lot, but Tex-Mex is my first choice every time if I get a choice.  You know when you are sitting in a Mexican restaurant and they come out of the kitchen with a sizzling hot pan of fajitas and the smell of the onions and peppers waft through the air and you wish you had ordered that instead of enchiladas?  That's how your house will smell when you make this recipe.  Yeppers.  A winner.

This took only about 45 minutes to prepare which is awesome.  It's quick, easy and deeeeee-licious.
Here is what you need:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used two cloves garlic minced)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
1 large onion sliced (I cut mine in half, then sliced in half moons)
1/2 red bell pepper sliced in thin strips
1/2 green bell pepper sliced in thin strips (my peppers were huge, if yours are small use the whole pepper)
12 small flour tortillas

Toppings (your choice, use what you like)

grated cheese
shredded lettuce
chopped cilantro
salsa/diced fresh tomatoes
sour cream
diced avocados/guacamole
I added hot sauce to mine

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

Put chicken strips into dish along with onions, peppers and tomatoes with chilies.  Mix the olive oil and spices in a bowl  Pour the mixture evenly over the chicken/peppers mix in the baking dish.  Toss to coat everything in the dish.

Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  I took ours out at 30 minutes while the peppers were still crunchy. (That's the way I like them) Bake 5 minutes more if you want yours softer.

Heat your tortillas and start filling them up!  Here is a picture of one of our filled tortillas.

Doesn't that look delicious?  So colorful.  Yumalicious!  Makes my mouth water looking at it.  We enjoyed ours with black beans and tortilla chips with queso dip.  Just like a restaurant only better!

This recipe makes a huge pan of fajitas.  It really was way too much for the two of us.  We will be eating left overs tomorrow and maybe Wednesday which is quite okay.  It would be simple to cut this recipe in half and still have plenty to feed 2/3 people.  My calculations say you could easily get 12 or more fajitas from this recipe.

Remember this recipe when the Superbowl comes around.  It's easy and so good.  Everyone will love it.  Remember this recipe when you want something for a crowd, or your family, or just because you want fajitas.  Yeah, Monday definitely won this round.  I love when that happens.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Once I saw a duck walking down the street so I went into Subway and ordered two pieces of bread, and they informed me that they could not do that, like there was some special rule at Subway that two pieces of bread weren't allowed to touch. So the woman asked me what I wanted on the sandwich and I said I do not care it is for a duck, and she was like oh then it's free. I was not aware that ducks eat for free at Subway. It's like give me a chicken fajita sub, but don't worry about ringing it up, it is for a duck.  Mitch Hedberg (Sorry, I couldn't resist this one.  I am still laughing.  donna)

 

Roasted Squash, Tomatoes, Onions, Peppers, and Parmesan Cheese

Recently, I have been volunteering in the kitchen of a homeless shelter planning and cooking healthy and nutritious meals.  The shelter is in a food desert and they have a community teaching garden where interested people can come and learn how to grow fresh organic food in their own yard.  There are dedicated volunteers who give of their time and energy to help friends and neighbors learn how to better their health through the food they grow and eat.  Our director said as many as 50% of the people who cross our threshold are diabetic and do not have access to healthy food.  We are working to change that statistic.

We also have a pantry that is stocked by Second Harvest every Monday.  Shoppers are allowed to come 3 times in a 6 month period to get food for their families.  The need is great and supplies do not always meet demand.  It is very heartbreaking indeed.   The shelter has been in operation since 1965, but is expanding their community outreach with their main emphasis being food - healthy food.

Our next goal is to teach families how to prepare the food that we have in the pantry.  It is amazing how many people have no idea how to cook fresh vegetables because they have never had access to them.  Last year, the garden volunteers went to a neighborhood school and taught them how to grow vegetables in raised beds.  The children were amazed that food came from the ground.  They thought it only came from the grocery store.  It's time to change these concepts.

I love to cook and spending my mornings preparing a meal for people who sometimes may not have eaten for several days, is the most gratifying thing I have done in my life - hands down, bar none.  The smiles on their faces after a warm, delicious, nutritious meal means more than to me than any job or accomplishment in my life.  Watching strangers and neighbors talking, enjoying good food is a beautiful sight.  Everyone is warm, sharing and caring.  There is no one hoarding or piling their plate up like you sometimes see at a buffet.  The concern for their neighbor, wanting to make sure everyone gets something to eat is so soul satisfyingly wonderful, that I have to keep myself from breaking into tears many times.  Selfish is a word that does not even cross the threshold.  Seeing the little children eating good nutritious food is all I need to make my day.  A smile, kind words, a pat or hug and good food could change the world's attitude one meal at a time.

We make every effort to make the food taste good, look good,  and serve things that many have never eaten.  If you make food look and taste good, it's amazing what people will eat and really, really like it.  Last week, we made this roasted squash dish (in the picture above) that was so delicious.  Several people said they had never eaten squash, or they didn't like it.  Squash can be one of the most bland foods on the planet, so we encouraged them to try it prepared this way and every one, to a person, said they loved it and would eat it again.  That's why bland food will turn anyone away from even trying it.  We eat with our eyes first, so preparation and presentation is very important.

This is the way we made the roasted squash.  We are serving about 100 people a day, so I will give you the recipe for home preparation like in the picture above.  Actually, I made this for our family on Sunday.  It's easy and sooooo good.  I forgot to take a picture after it was done.  Oops.

Use a 9x13 pan and  6-8 medium sized yellow crook neck squash.  Wash and dry the squash.  Cut the tips off each end and cut into circles about 1/2 inch thick.  Add several cups of grape tomatoes, cut a shallot (or onion) into rings and scatter over the squash.    Dice a red bell pepper and scatter over the squash.  I also used a green banana pepper that is a little spicy for a little extra color and flavor.  Drizzle all the vegetables with some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix together with your hands and place in a 350 degree oven and cook uncovered until all the vegetables are just getting soft.  Add 1 1/2 cups of fresh grated parmesan cheese to the vegetables, return to the oven and cook until the cheese melts.  Remove from the oven and serve.  The flavor of the parmesan just kicks this dish up one more notch.  We also drizzled it with some balsamic vinegar.  I didn't do that at home, because Dan would not eat it otherwise.  The balsamic is your choice.  Personally, I think it's fantastic.

This is a really easy dish to prepare, it is beautiful to look at with all the bright colors and is super nutritious and healthy.  It's an excellent side dish to just about any entree, or you could serve it over rice or pasta.

Cooking doesn't have to be hard or take all day.  This dish can be prepared in less than an hour and there are so many benefits to having fresh vegetables roasted in olive oil.  The more colorful the fruits and vegetables, the more vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants they contain.  The more vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants they contain, the better you will feel and your health will improve.  That is a worthwhile goal.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Food made with love and shared could change the world.  There is so much abundance and waste in our country, it is heartbreaking.  Time for a new direction.  donna

Dutch Oven Pot Roast With Onions, Potatoes and Carrots

Well, that weekend certainly flew by now didn't it?  Wow.  Here it is Monday once again and there were errands to run and projects to work on and of course, dinner to be made.  Do you have favorite meals from childhood that you consider comfort food or "go to" meals?  Today was one of those days when I wanted something fabulously delicious (at least in my book), so I decided to make pot roast in my dutch oven with carrots, onions and potatoes.  This was one of my all time childhood favorite meals.  It was usually served for Sunday dinner in our house, but who said it's only for Sunday?  I decided to make it Monday dinner because I had the time, a roast in the freezer and it was what I wanted.  I cook, I make the menu.  Dan has to go along for the ride.  He didn't seem to mind at all! And, it's doctored up a bit from the ones we had at home.

I have a slow cooker and I use it often, but today I wanted a roast cooked in the dutch oven the "old fashioned" way.  Cooking in the dutch oven gives food so much flavor and makes a roast super tender.  I buy my meat from a local farmer at the farmers' market.  All his meat is grass fed, all natural, no hormones or antibiotics added and it is processed locally.  It is fabulous, lean beyond belief and so flavorful that it is reminiscent of childhood days.  It seems that so much of the meat sold in grocery stores today is somewhat flavorless, but not his.  

Here is what you need:

2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
1 3-4 pound chuck or shoulder roast
salt and pepper
2 large onions
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 cups low sodium beef broth
6-7 large carrots
3 pounds potatoes

The roast was a 4 pound shoulder roast that I had purchased a while back and put in the freezer.  I knew it was there waiting for just the right day and time to make its appearance.  Today was that day.  First, I defrosted it in the microwave.  Now to begin.  It's important to sear meat to help it retain its flavor and keep all the important juices in.  I put about two teaspoons of olive oil in the bottom of the dutch oven and let it get screaming hot.  Salt and pepper both sides of the roast and place it in the bottom of the plan.  Listen to that sizzle.  Boy oh boy, does it smell good.  Let is sear for a couple of minutes until it is brown and flip it over.  Sear on the second side until brown and remove the roast from the pan to a plate.

Slice two large onions in half top to bottom and cut each half into eights.  Throw the onions in the pan and saute until translucent.  Put the meat back in the pan and add about 2 cups of low sodium beef broth and 3 cloves of chopped garlic.  Toss in 4 or 5 sprigs of fresh time, put the lid on and place the dutch oven in a 350 degree oven for one and one half hours.  (don't peek)

While the roast is in the oven, peel 6 or 7 carrots and cut into chunks.  Peel about 3 pounds of potatoes and cut into chunks also.  I like to use what my grandmother called "irish" potatoes.  Back in those days we had red potatoes and irish potatoes.  (We didn't have Yukon golds, fingerlings or any of the fancy varieties we have to choose from now).  These will go in the pan at the end of the 1.5 hours cooking time.  Put the lid back on the pan and continue to cook for at least one more hour until the vegetables and meat are tender.  Remove the pan from the oven (it's heavy and hot, use pot holders), slice the roast and serve with the carrots and potatoes.  The onions have pretty much disintigrated at this point, but add soooooo much flavor to the pan juices, meat and other vegetables.

You can see the roast peaking through all the vegetables.  I wish you could enjoy how incredible this smells.   Oh so wonderful.  Garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots, thyme and beef filling the air, making your mouth water.  The beef was so tender you didn't even need a knife to cut it.  Yum!

We had a green salad with radishes right out of our garden and cornbread.  Talk about childhood memories.  Dan just kept saying over and over how good it all was.  Made it all worthwhile and there are leftovers!!

Next time you are in the mood for some delicious comfort food, give this recipe a try.  There are alternatives to a slow cooker.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

A favorite childhood memory:  Mashing up the potatoes cooked with the roast and putting some of the pot liquor over them and the carrots.  One of my all time favorites.  It's the little things.  donna

Green Pea And Chickpea Salad With Mint

On Monday, we talked about being tired of eating the same old salads over and over.  Recently we ate at a local restaurant that uses local produce as much as possible.  I had catfish and for my side I chose a cold dish that was made from sweet green peas, chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and mint.  It was delicious - cold and crunchy.  Mm Mm Mm.  I do love green peas!

You know me, I decided I would try to replicate this dish and I must say, I think I hit it right on the nose so to speak.  It's super easy and involves NO cooking at all which is great for hot summer days.  I threw in some grape tomatoes because I happened to have some, but the original dish did not have tomatoes.

Here is all you need to make this dish.

1 16 ounce bag frozen green peas (or fresh peas if you have them, 16 oz. would be 2 cups)
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed
a handfull of fresh mint leaves
1 lemon
some good extra virgin olive oil

First, let the frozen peas thaw.  I just let them sit on the counter until they were no longer frozen.   Place the green peas in a bowl along with 1 can of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (chickpeas).  With the extra virgin olive oil, make about 2 rounds over the bowl of peas.  I would guesstimate that at 1 tablespoon or so.  Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon and pour it over the peas.  Roll the mint leaves all together and chiffonade them by starting at one end and making very thin slices of the mint with a sharp knife.  Sprinkle the mint over the peas.  Mix all the ingredients together and you are done.  Easy right?  If you want to add salt, add it very sparingly.  Personally, I don't think salt is needed.  The sweet green peas and the crunchy chickpeas are so good with just a subtle hint of mint and the tang of the lemon juice.  (I am not a fan of eating a big mint leaf, it's just not my thing, but I do love the subtle flavor of this dish).  If you want to add some grape tomatoes, just slice them in half and throw them in.  Mix with the rest of the ingredients.

This is a quick and easy salad that will work for all the hot summer days to come.  I served it with a beautiful pork butt that I cooked low and slow.  I will share that recipe with you soon.  It makes fabulous pulled pork!

Give this easy recipe a try and I hope you will enjoy it.  It's a different salad you can serve and ever so tasty.  Mm Mm Mm.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Peas are a good low calorie source of protein. A 100-calorie serving of peas (about ¾ cup) contains more protein than a whole egg or a tablespoon of peanut butter and has less than one gram of fat and no cholesterol.  FoodReference.com

Grilled Romaine Salad - My New Fave

Happy Monday to you all.  Do you ever get tired of the same old salads over and over?   I sure do, so this weekend I tried something new and I have to tell you it is now my new favorite salad.  I had seen Bobby Flay grill romaine on his show on the Food Network and I wondered how it tasted.  Let me tell you, it's easy, super tasty and it will be made again and again in this house.   I put my own little spin on it and our dinner company LOVED it which made me glad I tried it.

Now, I never really thought about grilling lettuce did you?  Somehow it did not sound like there was any way it would be good.  The picture in my mind was super soggy lettuce.  Ugh.  Plain grilled lettuce maybe not, but if you doctor it up this way it is fantastic!  It still has crunch and a bit of a smokey flavor from the grill, the parmesan cheese adds some nuttiness and saltiness, the tomatoes add a wonderful sweet flavor and the tangy balsamic drizzle is over the top!

Here is what I did to make this salad.  I had three heads of Romaine (you know how it comes in a package of 3), so I used them all since there were a lot of us here for dinner.  Cut the romaine down the middle  from top to bottom keeping the root end in tact so it doesn't fall apart on the grill.  Lightly coat the inside and outside of each half of the romaine with good extra virgin olive oil using a brush.  Put it on the grill for about 2 minutes on each side, just to get a little char and some grill marks on each side.  Remove from the grill and place on a plate or in a 9x13 pan.  I alternated the top and bottom of the lettuce slices for interest on the plate.

I had grated about a cup of fresh parmesan cheese and sprinkled it over the cut sides of the romaine as soon as it came off the grill.  The lettuce is just warm enough that it will melt slightly.  I had about a cup of grape tomatoes and I sliced them into small rounds and scattered them over the romaine.  You know, lettuce and tomatoes go together like peas and carrots.

Now, to make the balsamic dressing to drizzle over the lettuce.  Place about 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil in a bowl.  Add 1 tablespoon of good balsamic vinegar to the olive oil.  Make a paste from 1 large clove of garlic.  To do this, mince the garlic and place some salt on a cutting board.  Using the broad side of the knife blade, mash the garlic into the salt over and over until it forms a paste.  Add the garlic paste to the olive oil/vinegar mix.  Add a pinch if salt, lots of black pepper, and a tsp of sugar.  Mix vigorously with a whisk or fork until the balsamic vinegar combines with the olive oil.  Simply drizzle the dressing over the cut heads of romaine using a spoon.  That's it.  Your salad is ready and is it ever good!

I cut the long pieces of romaine in half because it makes a BIG salad for one person unless that is all you are having (which would not be a bad thing believe me).  There were a couple of pieces left after dinner and I put them in a corning ware dish and saved them for today.  It was just as good today as it was yesterday.  Yummo!

Next time you are wanting a different kind of salad, this is the one for you.  The  combination of flavors is outstanding.  There is the salty parmesan with the tangy vinaigrette combined with the sweet tomatoes and crunchy, smoky lettuce.  (I do recommend fresh parmesan over the grated kind in a jar.  It has a different texture and I don't know if the pre grated kind will melt).  Words will just not describe this salad to satisfaction, you are just going to have to give it a try.  Let me know what you think.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Don't be afraid to try new things when it comes to food, you may discover a new favorite.