Rhubarb Muffin Marathon

Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins

When I was a kid, my uncle had a small rhubarb patch in his backyard. Every spring, my cousins and I insisted on sampling the tart stalks. It was the greatest thing ever, something growing in the backyard we could pick on our own and eat it. Nevermind that none of us actually liked the rhubarb straight out of the yard, we still had to try it; each kid, every single year. I also remember my dad giving us a bowl of sugar to dip our rhubarb in. As a kid, this was AWESOME! Now, as a parent, NOPE!

I do not remember anyone in my childhood actually baking with rhubarb. I don’t even think I knew such a thing was possible until I was grown. My first cooking experience with rhubarb came 5 or 6 years ago when someone that my husband worked with sent some home with him. The whole bunch we were given went straight into some rhubarb crisp because that seemed to be the most popular suggestion I found on the internet.

Since then, my desire to try new things has grown and so has my rhubarb recipe collection. When I say that my collection has grown, I mean it has expanded from dessert to breakfast recipes. We already discussed the Rhubarb Smoothie so now we’re continuing the breakfast spread with muffins.

Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffins

Last week I made two types of rhubarb muffins – Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins and Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffins. As far as preparation goes, we have two extremes here… The Strawberry Rhubarb ones were quick; only requiring basic muffin ingredients plus the fruit. The Banana Rhubarb, on the other hand… These took more ingredients and more time but it is 100% my fault. I was reading recipes online going “oooo I like that idea, but oh, I like that too… hmm, I bet quinoa would make these more filling... but I have those bananas that I need to use…”

Both muffin varieties turned out delicious. My daughter devoured both types while my son definitely preferred the Strawberry Rhubarb ones. It is hard to say if that was the because of the muffins or because I did the Strawberry ones as mini muffins while the Banana ones were regular size (sometimes, the size of the muffin does matter). A nice little surprise for me was how much I liked the wheat flour in both of these recipes. I am at the beginning of my wheat flour journey so I wasn’t sure going in. In these cases, I feel like the wheat was a perfect complement to the muffins, rather than a “substitution” for white flour.

So, dealer’s choice – nice and simple or sophisticated and complex – either way, both of these muffins are sure to please.

 Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat Muffins

(adapted from http://simpleasthatblog.com/2016/04/whole-wheat-strawberry-muffins.html )

3/4 cup rhubarb, diced small

3/4 cup fresh strawberries, diced small

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a regular muffin tin or mini muffin tin (recipe should make roughly 18 regular muffins and 48 mini muffins).

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until fully incorporated. Mix in milk.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in rhubarb and strawberries.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350°F until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (about 20 min for regular muffins and 12 min for minis). Cool in pan for 5 – 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Banana Rhubarb Quinoa Muffin

(adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/quinoa-banana-bread-regular-or-sugar-free-114492 )

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed

2/3 cup cooked quinoa

2 cups wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 cup rhubarb, diced

Crumble Topping:

3/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease regular muffin tins (recipe makes about 20 muffins).

In a small bowl, mix together crumble topping ingredients; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs and mix until thoroughly combined. Mix in mashed bananas and quinoa.

In separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined. Fold in diced rhubarb.

Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with crumble topping.

Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 – 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Smooth as Rhubarb in Spring

Spring time! I adore spring! Especially by this point, things are green, there’s daffodils, tulips, lilacs and apple blossoms… So much life and new beginnings happening.

You know what else spring brings??? The start of CSA season! Although it is not quite time for full boxes of vegetables, the market at my CSA farm is open and it makes me happy. I’ve already indulged in spinach, spring salad mix, asparagus (oh my goodness!) and now rhubarb.

The only thing I have ever thought to use rhubarb in is Rhubarb Crisp, which is delicious, by the way. But with this fresh stuff so readily available, time to expand my horizons. I have also heard great tales of Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. And since I just started experimenting with homemade poptarts (basically a flat, hearty pie dough stuffed with jam), I anticipate some Strawberry Rhubarb Poptarts will be popping up soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would try out Rhubarb Smoothie. As it turns out, rhubarb is full of good stuff for your health like dietary fiber, protein and a list of vitamins and minerals. I always feel good about adding such things to breakfast and since rhubarb and berries seem to be such great friends… smoothie just seems to fit.

When I made this smoothie, I used plain Greek yogurt (because that’s what I had) but I wrote the recipe using vanilla Greek yogurt… The rhubarb brings enough tartness – the extra “tang” that comes from plain yogurt is just a little much. To overcome that extra “tang” this morning, I simply added more honey and it was great! But I also think the vanilla yogurt will add just the right about of sweetness to make this smoothie almost dessert-like.

This smoothie just sums up spring! It has great color, a touch of sweetness like the smell of apple blossoms, and just enough tartness to make your tongue feel alive. Not to mention how it takes advantage of the fresh spring spinach and rhubarb!

Mixed Berry & Rhubarb Smoothie

(serves 4)

1 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used regular)

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt

2-3 handfuls fresh spinach

1 cup rhubarb, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed berries

3 Tbs chia seeds

1 Tbs honey

Add ingredients to blender in order listed above. Process until completely smooth. Enjoy!

Wrap Replica

Last weekend, our little family took a trip to the “waterpark capital of the world”. I think it is safe to say that we are creatures of habit. We stayed at the same resort, with the same great friends and even went to dinner at the same restaurant that we went to the last time we made the trip. And just like the last time, I found something at the restaurant that I wanted to recreate at home!

I’m starting to think that it might just be easier if they open one of these restaurants closer to where I live. I mean, there were four adults in our little group and I would happily order each of the meals we had for myself; Philly Cheesesteak on Monday, Buffalo Chicken Wrap on Tuesday, Grilled Chicken Bruschetta Salad on Wednesday, and Santa Fe Wrap on Thursday. And yes, I could still go on Friday and have a hard time choosing between the Rueben and El Cubano… It’s not fancy food but sure is delicious!

The meal I wanted to recreate at home was the Santa Fe Wrap. This is what I had ordered for myself and I was still thinking about on our drive home the next day. I’m not even sure which element to start with! This baby had grilled chicken, bean and corn salsa, lettuce, tomato, avocado, dressed with spicy ranch and wrapped in a perfectly warmed tomato-basil tortilla. It was awesome! The awesome-sauce was most definitely the spicy ranch. I searched for a copycat recipe on this stuff because I absolutely love it. No dice on that search but the quest is now on!

So, making this at home, it’s not the same… But it is still delicious, I have zero complaints. I started off with a simple marinade for the chicken. I love marinating before grilling, especially boneless, skinless chicken because it is so easy to dry them out on a grill. Next up, I mixed up a bean and corn salsa. One thing I love about this part is the leftovers! Tomorrow, I can chop a tomato and maybe half an avocado. Toss those in there and grab my tortilla chips; yummy! The last component (other than the “fixin’s”) is the spicy ranch. I went nice and simple by taking my favorite ranch dressing that lives in my fridge and added a finely chopped chipotle pepper with some adobo sauce. It makes some tasty ranch with a nice,

smoky heat to it but it’s not the spicy ranch that I had at the restaurant.

The other thing I missed was the tortilla from the restaurant. I bought tomato-basil tortillas and they have great flavor but they just didn’t hold up. How do restaurants do it? Wrap these babies up so tight without having a blow out? It must be some Jedi skill (I seem to have a little residual May the Fourth nerdiness going on… like maybe a light saber is the best way to slice a wrap too).

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so other than the need for extra napkins, these wraps turned into a lovely spring meal on the deck. Paired with a cold beer and lime, life is good today!

 Southwest Chicken Wrap with Chipotle Ranch

Chicken:

1 lb chicken breast, fileted

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Salsa:

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn

2 Tbs chopped red onion

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 Tbs chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Chipotle Ranch:

1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/2 cup prepared ranch dressing

Additional adobo sauce, to taste

The Wrap:

4 tomato basil wraps

Lettuce, chopped

Tomatoes, diced

Avocado, diced

Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Place all chicken ingredients in resealable bag. Marinade 4 – 6 hours.

Prepare salsa by combining all ingredients. Allow flavors to blend for at least an hour before serving.

To make chipotle ranch, finely mince (or smash) the peppers. Mix into ranch dressing and add adobo sauce until desired level of heat is reached. Set aside.

When it is time to eat, grill chicken breast over medium heat until internal temperature reaches 160°F. Allow to rest 5 – 10 minutes before slicing.

Assemble wraps and serve.

Sweet Beans a Bakin'

Hello All! Oh, I’ve missed you! I’ve been focusing all the time I can find on my brand-new recipe scrapbooking business – Family Table Scraps – but that is a story for another day.

Today I wanted to talk about sweet beans. I have heard of many recipes for baked goods that call for beans. The most popular is probably brownies but I have also tasted some really delicious salted caramel cookies that were made with navy beans! Honestly, I have never tried making any of these types of recipes until now. Not sure that I really have a good reason for that… I have just never messed much with traditional baked goods.

Here’s the thing though, when you use garbanzo beans and minimal amounts of sugar, it turns into something I find healthy enough for breakfast! I love things like muffins and fresh cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast. But when I started paying attention to how often I make things like that for breakfast and that they are kind of lacking from a nutrient standpoint… Well, it was time for a new and improved option. We are also working on eating less refined and processed sugars and grains at my house. This is where the quinoa found its way in. Not to mention all the dietary fiber and protein in quinoa; perfect for starting out the day!

Still at the top of my priority list is food that tastes good! After reading a handful of bean-based baking recipes, I have so many ideas… I will be busy! But I wanted to start out with something that would have a familiar flavor to my family. I picked carrot cake for this first round. Or maybe I picked that so I could have a little cream cheese frosting... hmm…

Either way, I’m happy to report success! I am totally satisfied with this more sustaining option for a sweet breakfast treat. There’s a touch of fruit, plenty of veggies and just enough sugar to make it feel like dessert. These bars even made a journey out of town with us over the weekend. They were a great make-ahead item – just make sure to store them in the fridge or cooler once you frost them!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Bars

1 large egg

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

2 medium bananas

3/4 cup quinoa flour (I ground ¾ cup regular raw quinoa in my Vitamix)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup raisins

For the Frosting:

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Splash of milk

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with tin foil; grease foil.

Drain the chickpeas and add to a food processor along with mashed bananas and egg. Process until completely smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, except carrots and raisins. Mix well. Fold in grated carrots and raisins.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack for 24-26 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

While bars are baking, combine all frosting ingredients; mix well with whisk. Apply icing when completely cooled and then slice into 16 bars.

Store on the counter for a few hours if they seem too moist. Then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.superhealthykids.com/chocolate-chip-zucchini-protein-bars/

The Great Garlic Saga

Have you ever bought groceries that were on “manager’s special”? In my experience, manager’s special is either an awesome deal or a disgusting waste of money. As a somewhat spoiled food snob, I tend to prefer my food to be as fresh as possible but most manager’s specials are things that are close to being thrown out. But I have found a couple of items that seem to be a good deal. Not too long ago, I bought a bag of roma tomatoes for only a dollar. I blended them up and used them in chili and they were great but I probably would not have wanted to just slice them up and eat them. Also, my grocery store often has “reduced” bananas for only $.29 per pound. I know, I know, bananas are inexpensive as it is but my family eats a TON of them! The “reduced” ones are often very ripe or bruised but they are perfect for freezing to use in smoothies.

My most recent manager’s special snag was an entire bag of garlic for one dollar. So, I pick up my bag of garlic and the rest of my grocery list items and head to the check out. The cashier asks me “how long will it take you to use all of this garlic?” In my head I was thinking “you call that a lot of garlic?” but she did spark a valid thought – how long do I have to use this garlic before it goes bad?

When I got home, I turned to the trusty internet for ways to preserve my $1 garlic investment. The best solution that I found to match my mound of

garlic that was probably already at the edge of it’s useful life was to freeze it in olive oil. The particular site I was reading claimed that the olive oil will prevent the garlic from freezing solid so you can just scoop out what you need and be on your way. Perfect!

And so began my never ending date with garlic. I’m pretty sure it took like six days straight to break apart each head of garlic, then peal each individual clove, and finally slice off the dry end that was attached to the stem. For some reason, I was feeling less and less like this was a dollar well spent. At each stage, I was thinning out my herd of garlic; any clove that was really bruised or had already sprouted got the boot. I was probably more particular about only keeping the best than I would normally be because I had a little paranoia going on about how long garlic has to sit at the grocery store before they put it on manager’s special…

Finally, I was ready to grind it up in my food processor. The site that gave me such great inspiration said to use a 2 to 1 ratio of oil to garlic. I did more like a 1 to 1; I had so much garlic and not so much olive oil! It was enough oil to help the garlic move smoothly in the food processor. Then off to a quart size mason jar and to the freezer. Added bonus to this adventure – Garlic Potpourri (and yes, I had to look up how to spell that)! My husband could still smell the aroma when he came home from work almost 7 hours later…

The next day, I wanted to take advantage of my fully prepped garlic! I thought this was going to be awesome, right! All I had to do was pull this jar out of the freezer, scoop out half of a tablespoon or so and straight into my pan. Wrong! Frozen solid! One dollar and about 2 hours of work and I can’t even get it out of the jar! I was finally able to get enough of it out using an ice cream scoop but I think it would have been faster to chop it fresh. Maybe next time I will used the 2 to 1 ratio of oil to garlic… Who am I kidding, there won’t be a next time! 

Sister Situation

Today, kitchenSWard has it's first guest blogger! Here is a fun story from my little sister:

Blender Blunder

My life seems to be full of humor. I'm not sure if it's something I happen to be blessed with or if it's that I look for it. Whether it be stories of my "love" interests (or lack there of) or unfortunate mishaps (such as walking into vehicle mirrors)... "funny" seems to find me.

However, as I try to search my memory bank for humor in the kitchen, I come up short. I'm not sure why. When I cook or bake it's usually a very fun and relaxing time. If I'm at my comfiest, I will be in pjs or shorts and knees-highs with some Big Sean bumping.

The only story I can think of that really tickles my funny bone is when my sister came to visit. At the time, she lived a couple hours away so visits were usually over-night. She was a new mom and was concerned about feeding her daughter only the healthiest of foods. I was intrigued when she asked to use my blender so she could make her daughter "ice cream". Of course I didn't mind, so she piled in her ingredients of fruits and other things. It seemed like a lot of solids to me, but I didn't dare question; I had never made blender ice cream before.

At this point, it's important to note that I have a very close relationship with my blender. I love love love to make smoothies. I try to do it at least 3 times per week. I had purposely selected this beautiful red blender because it has small sparkles in the paint. I believe there had been a sale on it and I also saved a coupon to justify allowing myself to purchase it.

Okay, now that you have the back-story, let's move on.

My sister started her blending. Things seemed fine at first. However, the job went on for quite awhile. I'm not sure what the average "blending" time is, but it felt abnormally long to me. "Wrawww wraawww wrawww wraww," my blender started to moan. This was alarming to me because it wasn't the normal "Rrrrrr rrrr rrrrr" I was use to. I calmly mentioned that I wasn't sure my blender could handle all the solids and suggested adding liquids. My sister didn't agree. She just kept on... a... mixin'... My nerves were acting up, as I listened to my precious machine's gurgle for help. If this audio wasn't enough signal of distress, the new burning motor smell was. Alright... that was enough! I couldn't take this injustice. I value few material things, but I splurged on this device that I had come to cherish. "Have you never used a household blender? This is not industrial grade!" is all I could think. Just as my panic began to heighten, finally...She shut it off and the bewailing ceased.

I really hope my niece enjoyed her ice cream.

I wanted so badly to "let it go" but as I expressed above, I had feelings for this blender. I decided to talk to my sister about the damage I believed was done to my blender. I explained how it was no longer the same.

Like a good sister does, she made it right. For Christmas, she got me a fancy blender, engineered for the toughest chopping (even ice cream-making capable!). Oh and I have to add- it's red ;) (Just in case you're wondering - I didn't retire Ol' Red. He's still a reliable back-up.)

Spring Ahead

I shoveled snow today. I think this is about the fourth time this year that the snow here has been completely melted and then whala, time to shovel again. The calendar says that spring doesn’t start until next week and I know that even after the first day of spring it is highly likely that it will still snow but I still wish is wasn’t so. I am very impatiently awaiting the warm weather that lasts; the green grass, buds on trees and gardening!

What’s a girl to do during these last few weeks of cold that never seems to end? I’m sketching my brand-new vegetable garden! And I am so excited about it (I love graph paper, does that make me a nerd?)! Although there is a raised bed garden here, at our new home, it happens to be in the way of the fence we intend to put up for the kiddos. This is good news for me! It is really fun to dream up new garden layouts and plan which of our favorite veggies will live in each spot. Not to mention, the anticipation of harvesting all of the goodness, right out of the back yard.

Part of what makes garden planning so fun for me is that I get to draw it up, bring it to my husband for his suggestions, and then he builds it for me. He’s such a sweetheart! This is the same process we went through at our previous home and it resulted in three raised bed gardens that yielded insane amounts of zucchini, buckets of tomatoes, too many cucumbers to count and crazy amounts of green beans. And it was awesome! Now, I should probably tell you that my garden maintenance history has been less than stellar. I was not particularly great at weeding on a regular basis and there was an occasion or two that I found zucchini that looked more like clubs because they had been left too long… Here’s to trying to be better this year!

I recently read an article about square foot gardening and I can’t wait it implement it in our new garden. I read that it can really help to keep weeds down and it takes up considerably less space while still producing high yields of produce (I should start writing down zucchini recipes now). Our main garden will have three tiers; the base will be 4 feet by 4 feet, middle will be 3 feet by 3 feet, and the top tier will be 2 feet by 2 feet. Total height should be about 3 feet. It will be located in the southwest corner of our yard but it will be about 2 feet away from our fence on either side for easy access (and to make sure the fence does not shade it all day). I have also planned two single-tier gardens that will be 2 feet by 2 feet to accommodate all the different types of veggies I am so eagerly looking forward to. My plan also includes a few cinder blocks for strawberries, as well as round flower planters and shepherd’s hooks for hanging baskets of flowers to add color and attract some pollinators.

When I was a kid, my uncle kept a pretty decent-sized vegetable garden out at the family farm. I can remember picking things, “cleaning” them with my shirt and eating them right in the garden. Making memories like this with my kids is what I look forward to the most! Between the strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, peas, beans, cucumbers, dill, parsley, cilantro and basil… There is bound to be something for each of them to love!

Where's the Love, Salad

Salad (according to Google): a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.

Boring. That’s what I have always thought about salad as a health food. I have always liked salad as a side or as a starter when I’m out for dinner. I mean, who can pass up that huge bowl of iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion and olives, tossed in that creamy, zesty dressing? But salad as a meal on a regular basis… boring.

Part of my problem was that I was stuck inside my salad box. For whatever reason, I used to only envision a healthy salad as being lettuce based. Even when I top lettuce 1,000 different ways, it’s still lettuce and I still tire of it. I also went a long time where I only topped salads with ingredients you would find on a salad bar like cold ham, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc. I like all of those things and we actually set up our own salad bar like this at home every now and then but it’s still the same old ingredients over and over again.

So how did I go from being bored with salad to eating salad multiple times a week? I stopped thinking about it like salad. My recent salad formula has been to take a common meal that my family eats, remove the empty carb (bread, pasta or rice) and add more veggies that complement the main ingredients. I found that a lot of our meals already had sauces that were easily converted to salad dressing. Those of you who happen to follow me on Facebook or Instagram have seen some examples of this already. Let me explain a few of our favorites so far:

Asian Slaw with Pork and Ginger Soy Dressing

Original Meal: Pork Stir-Fry

Omitted Carb: Rice

Added Veggies: Cabbage, cucumber

Dressing: Ginger-Soy

I chose to marinade my pork chops overnight in soy sauce, lime, olive oil, garlic and ginger to boost its awesomeness in this salad, then I just pan fried them before slicing and serving on this bed of green and red cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, red onion and cucumber. The nice thing about cabbage-based salads is that you can put the dressing on and it only gets better the longer it sits! When I stir-fry, I mix up my own stir-fry sauce (because the stuff in the store is too expensive and salty for my taste). So I picked a lot of the same ingredients I use for that like soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. I also added some olive oil and squeezed a half of a lime in here to keep my pork marinade flavors alive. Because I served this to my kids, I didn’t add any red pepper flake to it, but they would be a great addition. Topped with a few sprinkles of sesame seeds and some scallions and it looks good enough to eat!

Cheese Burger Salad

Original Meal: Cheese Burgers

Omitted Carb: Buns

Added Veggies: Mixed greens, cherry tomato, red onion.

Dressing: Burger “Sauce”

Cheese Burger Salad doesn’t actually sound that appealing to me as I am typing it but I was absolutely amazed at how satisfying this meal was for me, a bread-fiend. I already enjoy my burgers piled high with lettuce, tomato and onion so this one came together pretty quick for me. I seasoned and cooked hamburger patties just like normal, melted some cheese on them and plopped them in the middle of a bed of mixed greens. For the “dressing”, I just thought about what types of things I like spread on my burger bun. The result was a combination of mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (I never spell that right the first time). Honestly, the only thing I missed was pickles! My husband even requested this one as a lunch iteam with left over cheese burger!

Chili-Lime Shrimp Salad

Original Meal: Shrimp Tacos

Omitted Carb: Flour Tortillas

Added Veggies: Avocado, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes

Dressing: Chili-Lime Juice

Actually, this isn’t a very typical meal for us… Beef tacos kind of are but shrimp tacos came about simply because shrimp was on sale and I love it! Coleslaw is already a great topper for shrimp tacos for me so I just turned that upside down and made a quick red cabbage slaw as my base. Shrimp and citrus are pretty much best friends so I chose lime juice as my dressing base. To keep with the taco theme, I seasoned my “dressing” with chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Also along the taco line, avocado and tomatoes came to mind. And I had just seen something in my news feed about sheet pan shrimp fajitas with bell peppers… so let’s throw some of those in! Pile it all up; the lime “dressing” mixes with the coleslaw and the whole salad is creamy, smoky, zesty and perfectly satisfying!

Pulled Pork Salad

Original Meal: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Omitted Carb: Buns

Added Veggies: Bell peppers, sugar snap peas

Dressing: Barbeque Sauce

Here is another one that I already love topped with coleslaw. No need to re-invent the wheel! Coleslaw base it is! To add more veggies to this one, I was really just driven by what I had in the fridge. Bell peppers and snap peas both have a nice sweetness to contrast the salty pork and they take nicely to the flavors of a coleslaw dressing as well. I literally just used barbeque sauce as dressing but I didn’t need much! The coleslaw is already dressed and the pork comes with its own lovely juices so a touch of barbeque for that smoky richness is all I needed. Also, the contrast of cold, crunchy salad and hot, tender pork is bliss!

In conclusion, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship for salad and I. With warm weather right around the corner (hopefully!), salads will have a honored place in our meal plan for hot summer days!

I’d love to hear about any of your favorite salad creations! Where does your salad inspiration come from?

Takeout to Eating In

When I was in college, I probably ate Chinese takeout twice a week. I went the night school route so at 8:30 pm, takeout was hot, fast and just plain tasty. Even though there are a number of common takeout dishes that I enjoy, I almost always ordered two pork eggrolls, pork fried rice and hot and sour soup. This was like my late-night trifecta.

After college, I moved away and I found that not all takeout hot and sour soup was the same. The soup I was used to was packed with carrots, cabbage and mushrooms and you could actually taste why they called it HOT and SOUR soup. Then, to add insult to injury, my (now) husband and I bought a house in a small town that didn’t even have a Chinese takeout place! By the time one opened in our town, I had already created my own recipe for hot and sour soup.

My recipe started with winning a gift certificate to a health food store. While I was shopping around, I picked up some kelp (seaweed). I had read a crazy long list of health benefits that come along with various seaweeds but I had no idea how I was going to prepare it. The best “beginner” idea I read was to use it in soup. I read that because it is grown in salt water, it makes a nice salty broth. My train of thought was also stuck on an Asian flavor track because I only think of seaweed being used in sushi at my favorite Hibachi place. So began the reading of about a dozen hot and sour soup recipes.

When I finally made mine, I also wanted it to be inexpensive and have ingredients that were easy to find in my small town (for the exception of the kelp that I already had). In the couple of years since the first time I made this, I have added things like bamboo shoots, peeled and julienned broccoli stems, and this time I tried shiitake mushrooms. Shiitakes add their own list of health benefits; bamboo shoots add a nice texture and julienned broccoli stems are a great way to use something that I often throw out. All of these additions or none of them, this is probably my favorite homemade soup! I should point out though, this soup is REALLY good, but it isn’t really like takeout. The main thing is that I choose not to thicken this soup like most takeout places. I just don’t find it necessary and I like it better reheated when it’s not thickened.

My only complaint, it isn’t really a meal. Adding tofu would possibly help to make this more filling but I’m not a particularly big fan of tofu, nor is it easy to find when you live in a small town. Going back to my late-night trifecta, a batch of fried rice alongside this soup rounds it out nicely! Now if I could only master eggrolls at home… Anyone have a tried and true recipe for eggrolls they want to share?

KitchenSward Hot and Sour Soup

1 large piece dried kelp

6 cups water

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

2 large clove garlic, grated

4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

5 Tbsp white wine or rice vinegar (or a combination of both)

1/4 – 1/2 tsp red pepper flake (depending on heat preference)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 beef bouillon cube

8 oz baby portabellas, sliced

1 carrot, shredded

1 cup shredded cabbage

In large soup pot, simmer kelp in 6 cups water for 20 min. Remove kelp to cutting board add slice into bite-size pieces. Reserve kelp broth for soup base.

To kelp broth add ginger, garlic, soy, red pepper, black pepper, bouillon cube, and mushrooms. Simmer 10 min or so.

Add vinegar, sliced kelp, cabbage and carrots. Simmer another 10 min until cabbage is tender. Top with sliced scallions is desired.

Sometimes, You Burn the Hash Browns

Multi-tasking. Double edge sword. On the positive side, more tasks get down simultaneously. On the down side, the hash browns burn.

Yesterday’s variety of hash browns happened to be rutabaga. They are not hard to make. Shred, dry, season, bake and devour. “Easy” often gets me in trouble. I think that because it is easy, I can do 6 other things at the same time. In this case, hollandaise sauce, scrambled eggs, grind coffee, get meatballs in the oven and empty the dishwasher. Yeah, just because I can think all those thoughts at once, does not mean I can execute them.

Luckily, breakfast was not lost. I was able to salvage enough hash browns for everyone to have a (small) portion and all of the other elements turned out right on point. The kids amazed me! Not only did they like the rutabaga hash more than they seem to like potato hash browns, they each ate more meatballs than I did. This was the first time I have made breakfast meatballs. Basically, they are a delicious excuse to make hollandaise (as if I need any more excuses) and a ton of fun for the kids!

The kids had all of their breakfast parts in separate piles; eggs, meatballs and hash browns. For the adults, I piled it up; hash browns, meatballs, fried egg and smothered with hollandaise sauce. A bite with all the pieces in one was excellent! A touch of smoky spice from the hash, slight sweetness from the meatballs and just perfect richness from the egg and hollandaise… I’m going to drool. I’m not going to lie, this breakfast had a lot of pieces. However, if I had just done the dishes and coffee before making breakfast… well maybe we could have enjoyed a few more hash browns! Even if you don’t make them all in the same breakfast, I recommend rutabaga hash and breakfast meatballs. Fun ways to liven up your weekend breakfast!

Breakfast Meatballs

1 lb ground pork

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried sage (or 2 tsp fresh, minced)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Dash ground red pepper

Dash ground nutmeg

1 egg

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix with hands until very well combine.

Take roughly 1 Tbsp per meatball and roll into balls. Place on greased sheet pan and bake 25 – 30 minutes.

Rutabaga Hash Browns

2 cups shredded rutabaga

3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Use a kitchen towel to dry shredded rutabaga as much as possible and place in mixing bowl. Whisk together oil, salt, pepper and chili powder and pour over rutabaga. Toss to fully coat rutabaga.

Spread rutabaga as evenly as possible in a single layer on sheet pan. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

Cheesy Fancy Pants

Does anyone else feel like a rockstar when they make something at home that seems fancy? I feel that way almost every time I use gorgonzola. I don’t know if it is because it is a fairly expensive ingredient or what but I feel all import when a gorgonzola recipe comes together!

A few years ago, I stumbled upon a recipe that paired gorgonzola with caramelized onions. I cannot even remember what the original recipe was for but I know that I first made the combo as a flat bread and I added Canadian bacon to make it a bit more of a main course. At that point, it didn’t really know if I liked gorgonzola, I thought the flavor was a bit much for me, but I did know that I loved caramelized onions! Onions cooked until they are nothing but sweat, velvety goodness! I love the flavor in French Onion Soup, on burgers, out of the pan… and, as it turns out, combined with salty, funky gorgonzola!

As I mentioned the last time we talked, my husband and I are working on eating a little better. The perspective that we are trying to take is that food is fuel so let’s start using the premium stuff that will extend the life of the engine. With that thought in mind, I’ve been doing some experimenting with chia seeds. From what I read, they pack a lot of nutritional punch for such tiny little things. My most exciting chia discovery so far is chia crackers! I found a really simple recipe and they turned out light and crunchy, I was amazed!

So, chia crackers, gorgonzola and caramelized onions… where in the blue blazes am I going with this? Cheese and crackers. Don’t feel bad, my husband has a hard time following my train of thought sometimes too. My main purpose here was to use up the gorgonzola I had in the fridge. It is really hard to tell if cheese that is already green has gone bad so I just assume use it up as quickly as possible. I knew I wanted to combine the gorgonzola with caramelized onions because I really enjoy the flavor combination and I had new knowledge of chia crackers so dip was the first thing that came to mind.

Rather than dip, this idea morphed into more of a spread. Also in my fridge was a brick of cream cheese that ended up creating a lovely base for my onions and gorgonzola. This was a really yummy (but filling) snack! The cheese spread had this sophisticated flavor and the chia crackers held up so well to it, I was pleasantly surprised. You maybe be thinking “sounds great but I’m not up for making chia crackers”. No worries, this spread would still be awesome on any grainy cracker and even vegetables. If you try it and end up with leftovers, it also makes a pretty rich bowl of pasta when you warm it up with a splash or two of milk!

Gorgonzola and Caramelized Onion Spread

2 cups yellow onions, sliced

1 Tbs olive oil

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large skillet over medium low heat. Add the onions and cook until brown and sweet, stirring occasionally. This will take some time, 30 to 45 minutes or so.

When onions are caramelized, allow to cool slightly. Add the cheeses and salt and pepper to onions while they are still a bit warm to melt the gorgonzola and make mixing easier.

You may serve this immediately or refrigerate to let it set.

Sick Mom, Guilty Mom

I read once that children temporarily stop growing when they are sick. I can’t remember where I read this and I have not researched it but it makes perfect sense to me from watching my own kids. First of all, their poor little bodies put everything they have into getting well. There is nothing leftover to put into growing. Second, they just aren’t hungry. This comes in extremely handy when mama is sick too…

When I got up yesterday, I was pretty sure my head was going to explode. My kids have had colds for a few days and I was starting to have my own symptoms on Sunday. But oh man, yesterday was rough. I made the kids toast with honey on it for breakfast because it was about all I could do, and even that was a challenge.

As of late, my husband and I have been trying to make an effort to eat more healthy foods. One thing that makes that really easy is to only keep healthy foods in the house. The only problem… slicing cucumbers to snack on is just too much work when your head is going to explode. I believe that your body can do amazing things as far as making you well if you give it proper nutrition but proper nutrition translates to “too much work” when you’re sick.

I did put the effort into one thing that I’m pretty sure made a difference in me feeling WAY better today. I made ginger tea. Do you know the cold medicine commercial that says that we always blame mucus but sometimes inflammation is the real culprit? I learned a while ago that fresh ginger is used as a natural anti-inflammatory and I just so happen to keep that around. Now, I can’t really taste a whole lot when my nose is all stuffed up but I am pretty sure that this stuff would be lovely on any winter’s day, cold symptoms or not, but it really seemed to help me recover. My kids even drank some when it cooled and I noticed their coughing fits were less frequent as well.

My best friend wrote this yesterday, “In real relationships, we are constantly plagued by our humanness… by our desire to put ourselves first.” She was talking about her relationship with her husband but I think this spans many types of relationships. I was feeling a little guilty yesterday because I didn’t feel like I was doing much for my kids. I was more worried about how I was feeling than I was about them. I was plagued by my humanness, both physically and mentally yesterday. The most amazing thing though, my kids still love me today. Even mom can be human.

Ginger Tea

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 Tbs raw honey

2-3 lemon slices

3 cups boiling water

Place ginger, honey and lemons in glass container, like a measuring cup or quart-size canning jar. Add boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes.

Strain through fine mesh strainer into mug and enjoy.

Chicken Meatball Mania

I don’t know about you, but I cannot think of anyone in my life who does not like meatballs. It is hard to go wrong with meatballs. Well, I’m sure there is a way to make meatballs wrong, but decent meatballs never seem to go uneaten.

Meatballs are one of those things that I like to make a ton of and then freeze for later. The problem is

that I have to make like 128 meatballs in order to have enough to freeze! That’s only a small exaggeration. It never fails, meatballs mysteriously disappear before I get them all into the sauce or soup that I have prepared for them. They are just so easy grab and just plain tasty!

From appetizers to main courses, from simply sauced to stuffed, from beef to pork to poultry, I think the only thing I haven’t tried to do with meatballs is breakfast (challenge accepted). I think meatballs are pretty simple to make. I know it takes a little bit of time to roll them all but it really is a labor of love!

There was a little extra labor involved when I made these meatballs this weekend. Back when our grocery store had its’ “legendary meat sale” and I purchased 40 pounds of chicken breast, I had to trim them myself before I froze them. The “scraps” that I trimmed off to make my chicken breasts pretty and presentable, added up to quite a bit of chicken, so I threw those in the freezer too. Another one of my favorite things about meatballs; you can make them out of “scraps”. I happen to have a meat grinding attachment for my stand mixer but I feel like I have seen a whole slew of appliances or attachments so the home cook can get gritty and grind up any kind of beef, pork or poultry they get their hands on. I’m not going to lie, it is fun to see your specially seasoned chicken come out of the meat grinder looking all professional and stuff!

Now, I don’t grind my own chicken every time I make chicken meatballs! But I think it is a fun project and I love having this as an option when all kinds of meat are on a huge sale. Whether I grind my own chicken or buy it that way at the store, I do like to add ground pork the meatball mix. I really enjoy the flavor that comes from the fatty pork and the texture comes out perfectly!

Being inspired by Super Bowl Sunday, last weekend’s chicken meatballs were served with buffalo sauce and crumbled gorgonzola. DELICIOUS! And that’s all I have to say about that. I was able to stash a couple dozen of these bad boys in the freezer. Now I’m having two struggles; 1) I kind of want to just pull them out and snack on them… like now… and 2) I can’t decide how to dress them up when I do take them out. Chicken meatballs are awesome in the slow cooker with teriyaki sauce! They can be an appetizer or served over a bed of rice with some steamed veggies for dinner. Then again, chicken meatballs floating in Italian Wedding Soup is like pure bliss. But let’s not forget about chicken parmesan meatball sandwiches… See, this is why I have to make 128 meatballs at a time!

Chicken Meatballs

1 lb ground chicken (or turkey)

1 lb ground pork

2 eggs

3/4 - 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 Tbs dried parsley (4 Tbs fresh, minced)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350° and spray 2 large cookie sheets with non-stick spray.

Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Start with 3/4 cup bread crumbs - if the mixture is still too wet to hold meatball shape, add more of the bread crumbs until it's rollable.

Gather roughly 1 Tbs of mixture for each meatball and roll. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.