Shrimp & Black Beans with Basmati Rice!

THIS is so good. I like the frozen Trader Joe's cooked shrimp. Thaw it in the fridge the night before. Then, get a frying pan, turn heat to high and put a little extra virgin olive oil in the pan. The shrimp cooks fast so make sure all your ingredients are ready to go. Add the shrimp, then quickly add a dab of butter, salt & pepper, a little minced garlic (I just get the ready-minced garlic that you store in the fridge), and a little squirt of lemon juice. Keep everything moving...
Cooks in about 5 minutes. Then, serve over your favorite rice and pipping hot black beans that you've salted & peppered (I use canned) with a little shredded mozzarella to garnish. If you don't like shrimp, just replace it with some awesome mushrooms (don't crowd them though) or some late summer fresh vegetables.

Pioneer Woman Cookbook

Rees Drummond, the author of the Pioneer Women blog, has a new cookbook. I can't wait to get my copy. I love all the recipes that she shows you on her blog. I love her photography of the ranch she lives on and her gardens. The book will be ready for publication around October and it will be availabe at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. I can't wait to get a copy.

Great Cookbook

This cookbook was written by two ladies in Salt Lake City. The recipe's are easy and the table settings are beautiful. One of the authors is an interior designer and she has helped with the interior of Glen Becks home. If you go to the website www. thegathering of friends.com you will see her helping Glen Beck and his wife with a dinner party. The book also shows you how to build simple flower arrangements for your table. I know most of the recipes in this book. They are really good and for the most part simple to make.

Great Eats!

One last post before my family comes...so you take whole wheat bread, spread a thin layer of real mayonnaise on the outside of each piece. On the inside, layer avocado, turkey, ham, tomato, and a good thick slice of provolone. Throw it on the George Foreman (or in a frying pan) with a little non-stick spray and you've got yourself a nummy sandwich and very filling ("no kidding, that thing is loaded with calories," you say).

Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix

I love this soup! And, it's lactose free & vegetarian (make sure you get just the Matzo Ball & Soup Mix, not the Matzo Ball & Chicken Soup Mix). A while back I read on Quel's blog: "why would you want to eat chicken stock anyway?" That got me thinking about chicken stock vs. vegetable stock. So I watch Ina Garten on FoodNetwork all the time and she asserts that nothing beats a good, homemade chicken stock. So I followed her recipe and made chicken stock homemade; I even put some aside in the freezer for later. When I pulled it out of the freezer, I noticed that the fat in the stock had separated from the stock into one thick layer on top of the stock that I could pull off (it was the size of a hockey puck of just straight fat-yuck!). I made some soup with the homemade chicken stock and a leek mix and I just kept thinking, "why would you want to eat chicken stock anyway?" and imagining all the fat dripping off the chicken into the stock as I made it. I couldn't even choke down one spoonful I was so disgusted. That brought me to this lactose free/vegetarian soup mix, or Matzo Ball & Soup Mix. I love it. I didn't think the Matzo balls would be good, but they are delicious and so comforting to eat. And the good news, is like "Grammie" on Bell Ladies, I have an aversion to some foods. I haven't figured it out yet but I do get an upset stomach whenever I eat any kind of soup, but this lactose free/vegetarian one was delicious and there was no digestive aftermath. I felt great! (Especially since we're coming up on cold/flu season, I think it would be good to stock up on this great soup mix in your pantry). The best news is that this soup only has 40 calories per cup! Slurp it up all day long, it's great! I wish I would have replaced my Ramen, which has approx. 188 calories per cup with it long ago. However, the only bad thing is that this soup has a lot of sodium, but you can control that by adding less soup mix and more water. I actually thought it tasted a little too salty when I made it last so I think I could use the same amount of water but cut the soup mix in half or something. I think it would taste even better if you added sliced carrots, leeks, or green onions. Maybe even some fresh dill. But now that I'm a non-chicken stock person, I need Raquel to tell me about this vegetable stock thing and where to get vegetable stock.

The Results!

Here is the result of the gluten free pizza! On the left is the half with regular mozzarella cheese (for hubby), and on the right is the half with soy cheese. Yes, I found soy cheese for my lactose intolerance!

The pizza, as you can see, turned out quite well. It was delicious, especially in my case where it has been months and even years even since I've enjoyed a nice piece of pizza with cheese. Emphasis on WITH CHEESE!

Lamb with Tomato Salad

I don't know what this is, but I saw Ina Garten on "Barefoot Contessa" on the FoodNetwork make something a whole lot better than this. But here is my watered down, try-it-at-home version. First, the salad is amazing by itself. My mom used to tell me about the virtues of red onion and I was like, "whatev." But now I totally get it! Anyways, if you don't like lamb, try this salad on its own:

grape tomatoes (lots)
cubed cheese (I used Havarti cheese, but Ina used Feta)
diced red onion
lots of fresh basil, julienned
salt & pepper
olive oil (just enough to barely cover it all)

You'll love it. Now here's the lamb. Put some lamb shoulder chops into a large bowl. When I did this myself, I should have trimmed some of the extra fat off the lamb shoulder first, just a thought. Add this (I don't know the quantities just add enough of all of it to cover the meat):

red onion chopped
lots of fresh thyme
red cooking wine
red wine vinegar
olive oil

Let the lamb marinade for a while (for me it was like 30 seconds and then I got bored). Cook in a pan on the stove top. Delicious.

KRAFT Indoor BBQ Chicken

We basically eat chicken all the time. So we have to mix things up a bit with different marinades & sides. I really like the Kraft, Honey BBQ Sauce. I just toss some in with the chicken as I'm cooking in on the stove top. Then I take the squash that the neighbors give us and saute it with salt & pepper, fresh thyme (can you tell I like thyme?), and garlic. Get the squash nice and toasty in the pan and then cool it off with some lemon juice. It's pretty good. I also love these Near East packages of couscous. Near East has a pretty fancy website (who knew?), you out to check it out here.

Cathie's Broiled Salmon

Cathie told me to make salmon this way and it really turns out delicious. Turn on the broiler. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place the salmon in the dish and then fill the dish with barely enough milk to cover the bottom of the dish in a thin layer. This will help to keep the salmon moist. Then I like to cover the salmon with some salt, pepper, fresh thyme, lemon juice, and garlic. I keep ready-to-use minced garlic in the refridgerator, but fresh would probably taste even better. Put in the broiler oven with the door left slightly open for only 10-12 minutes. Watch it closely because the milk can burn and ruin your pan if you leave it in there too long. You'll know the salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Amazing.

Impressions de KALE

Raquel says Kale is the bomb. She told me to try it first by steaming it and then serving it with a little olive oil and balsamic (I used the Paul Newman Balsamic Salad Spritzer). As I was eating it, I could feel myself get healthier, but I think I was too cautious with the Kale because I think it would have tasted better if I would have let it steam longer (I was too afraid I'd oversteam it). Any thoughts? I still have 2/3 of my Kale stock to eat left. What should I do with it next?

Ringing all Belles

Today I went in to purchase a cookbook from one of my favorite stores. It was written by a Michelle Huxtable and Alyse Christensen. It is a beautiful book, you can see it on www.the gathering of friends.com. They say, "In an age when most people meet at a restaurant and parties are catered, we suggest an alternative. Our hope is that this book will inspire the reader with ideas of how to enhance relationships, establish traditions and celebrate life. I don't think there is anything more loving to friends than having them over for dinner. I have been in the homes of my friends and they mine for years, and I have wonderful memories of those get togethers and I have been inspired by all their great stories and their exceptional talents.

You Should Never Eat These

These are my favorite cookies. I was given Julie Jensen's recipe by her son about 3 1/2 years ago, and since then I have made them many times. I have written the recipe below to my specifications. There is a lot of butter in this recipe (3 cubes) and it is very important that you set the butter to thaw on the counter in advance because adding hot, melted butter from the microwave will compromise the eggs. Also, measure the ingredients exactly so that you get the perfect mixture.You will need

a large mixing bowl and wire whisk

4 and ½ cups flour

1 and 1/8 cups granulated sugar

1 and 1/8 cups brown sugar, dark if preferred

1 tsp real sea salt

1 and ½ tsp baking soda

Spread dry ingredients away from center of mixing bowl to create a crater for wet ingredients

Add 3 eggs that you have already beaten with a whisk

1 and ½ tsp real vanilla

3 cubes of salted butter, brought to room temperature but not melted

Fold dry ingredients into wet and use hands to mix well

Add 1 package of milk chocolate chips

Continue to mix until all ingredients are incorporated and dough peels cleanly from fingers

Bake 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes