Insta…Inspiration

Yesterday, via text message, my best friend asked me if I had an Instagram account. To which, I replied “no” and I asked her for her opinion of the social media platform. Today, I am sharing this post with the world through my Instagram account.

As I started exploring Instagram, of course, I started following my best friend and took almost immediate inspiration from her. I may have mentioned earlier in this blog that she and I have a love of cooking in common. She shared a heartwarming breakfast picture of an omelet she had made for her husband yesterday (husbands who enjoy home cooking is another thing we have in common). It was filled with leftover veggies from the night before. I’m over here like, I’m going to go make some leftover veggies! It looked great and what a perfect way to use leftovers!

Now that I had a sudden need for leftover veggies, I started brain storming what I could do to use just

about every veggie I had in the fridge. I had two other caveats in my dinner brainstorm; I didn’t feel like dealing with meat and I wasn’t going to the grocery store. Question raised, what am I going to use for protein? Answer: Chickpeas. There has been a can of chickpeas chillin’ in the back of my cabinet for a couple of weeks because I can’t really see it when I’m not on my tiptoes. I must have bought it and stashed it there just so I would be prepared for such inspiration… No, I just forgot about it until I found it.

I was not confident that my kids were going to eat enough chickpeas to fill their bellies so I went to my tortillas for a little kid security. I decided that whatever I whipped up, I would wrap it up for me and serve it alongside a good ol’ cheese quesadilla for the kids. Tortillas and cheese are probably what lead to the Tex-Mex seasoning I chose for this. However, tortillas also made me wish I had limes, cilantro, and red onion on hand to finish off these wraps!

The wraps were delicious, and filling! My almost 2-year-old ate half of my wrap (while barely touching the same, unwrapped, ingredients on his plate). There is a serious possibility of chickpeas going on the grocery list for next week, along with limes, cilantro and red onion! Ooooo, and avocado! Yummy!!! I’m pretty sure that the other veggies can be interchanged with about a dozen other veggies, whatever is in the crisper next week! And yes, I’m going to find out what a “Southwestern Chickpea Omelet” is like in the morning!

Southwestern Chickpea Veggie Wrap

1 Tbs olive oil

3-4 baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

1 small zucchini, cut in chunks

1 medium carrot, cut in match sticks

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

1/2 cup corn

1 can chickpeas, drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

4 flour tortillas

Shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped tomatoes

Sour cream

Heat large frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil to heat then add veggies (except chickpeas), one at a time, starting with the ones with the longest cooking time. Saute veggies until they are tender-crisp. Add chickpeas and cook until warmed through. Add garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin and onion powder.

To assemble wrap, place about 1/2 cup of chickpea mixture on tortilla and top with all desired fixin's. Wrap and devour!

*Additional fixin' suggestions: Avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, fresh jalapeno slices

Night Owl

That’s me, I’m a night owl. My grandma (more commonly known as Gramma) really likes owls and she always says that she is a night owl. Now, I honestly don’t know if she likes owls because they are nocturnal or if it is for some other reason but she likes them so much that she has a stuffed one on her wall. When I was a kid, she told me that I was a night owl just like “Gramma”, and I was so proud of that! I loved spending the night at Gramma’s because she stayed up late with me. I loved it so much that I wrote a children’s book for a high school assignment about it and I read that story to my kids now.

I am a little less proud of being a night owl now. I am not less proud of being like Gramma, I just wish that I was more of a morning person. There isn’t really any season of my life that I can remember enjoying getting out of bed early. But on days that I have, I have felt so accomplished! Like somehow there was more time in the day. Technically there isn’t more time between 6 am – 10 pm and 8 am -12 am but there is something about getting things done before noon that seems more impressive to me.

In the fall, I love the smell of the crisp morning. In the spring, I love to see the dew. In the summer, I love to garden before the sun gets so hot. In the winter... I can’t think of any reason to get up in the dark and cold… My point is, I love mornings but I typically love my bed more. So, most of the time, I wait until my kids get up to start my day (and my coffee). Then, at the end of the day, I take my “me time” while the kids are asleep. This is why you often see my posts go up so late in the day.

As you may have already guessed, I sometimes cook during my “me time”. Like tonight. Tomorrow holds a day of running errands and then just spending some time playing as a family. Now, my husband is often working at dinner time during the week so I enjoy making him nice meals on the weekends. In order to accomplish such a thing on a day that I don’t want to be in the kitchen, I did my prep work tonight so I can just dump my ingredients in the slow cooker tomorrow. Prepping at night is a fairly regular thing for me. Sometimes I want to have something ready for my husband to take to work, sometimes I have appointments or events the next day, and sometimes I want fresh baked goods for breakfast (but we all know I am not getting up at the crack of dawn to start a yeast bread).

Back in my introduction at the start of this blog, you may remember me talking about the book “Start” by Jon Acuff. The author’s question, “what can you not stop doing?” is part of what inspired me to write this thing. Of course, my answer is still cooking; I can’t stop cooking, even at bed time. Cooking is relaxing and calming to me; not in a way that makes me sleepy, but in a way that makes me feel like it is good for my soul.

All Purpose Flour... Tortillas!

Tortillas. Universal, transforming, save the day, tortillas! They are a staple at my house. I have served them a hundred different ways, for each meal of the day, not to mention snacks. I buy them almost every time I grocery shop but I can’t even remember the last time we actually had tacos…

One reason I always keep them on hand is for plain old cheese quesadillas. My kids love them and I can make them in minutes for lunch or a snack. I also love having them for deli wraps to send my husband for lunch. It’s a great way to change up the regular ham and cheese sandwich while wrapping up some extra veggies at the same time. Probably the biggest life-saving act that tortillas perform though is pizza crust.

Have leftover chicken? Spread a touch of ranch dressing on a tortilla, top with chicken, whatever kind of cheese you have in the fridge, maybe some fresh spinach if you have any, and pop it in the oven at 425°F for 5-10 minutes. Ta-da! Personal pizza! The combinations are endless! For some, like if you use hard salami for example, you don’t even need a “sauce”. Or, you can thinly slice a tomato, pull apart a string cheese, and add a bit of fresh basil for an instant margarita pizza. I have used tons of leftovers this way and my kids love it because they get to have a whole pizza to themselves. Tonight’s selection was leftover pulled pork with a little barbeque sauce and shredded mozzarella.

Another reason I love versatility of tortillas is because I am able to customize the meal for myself. Tonight was the perfect illustration; the kids had pork pizza and I had a wrap. I’m hooked on the combination of pulled pork and coleslaw so I got to enjoy that while the kids enjoyed pizza, without adding any more work for me. Everybody is happy!

I like tacos, but I love tortillas! Breakfast egg wraps, deli wraps, pizzas, quesadillas, taco roll-ups, buttered and baked with cinnamon and sugar… So many options, so simple, so yummy!

Keepin' it Real

kitchenSWard; “A blog about realistic, fun home cooking!”

You’ve read it, I wrote it. But I have been contemplating its accuracy. Not the fun part. Cooking is fun for me. I’ve just been wondering if the recipes I have posted are realistic. When I first put it out there, I was thinking realistic in the sense that everything I post on here, I have actually done at home, without professional training or commercial grade equipment. My goal was to share ideas in a way that make them easily attainable and customizable for anyone who reads my posts to be inspired.

Let’s talk about what is “realistic” though, shall we? Realistically, I probably spend more time thinking about food than the average, healthy person. I seem to have a food obsession. Everything can be related to food. The Super Bowl is less than 2 weeks away, let’s make tailgate food (it does not matter that my team was shut down yesterday, I’m still making food). We have to drop the car off for maintenance, let’s go out for lunch. The grocery store is selling whole New York strips, how many ways can I use New York strip? I can’t wait for strawberry season so my kids can pick them and I can make them into jam. Seriously, I do not go more than an hour without thinking about food! Don’t worry, I can go more than an hour without eating food though.

Realistically, I let my dishes pile up. Whenever we stay at my in-laws, we have dinner and then my mother-in-law always loads the dishwasher and often washes the pots and pans before she sits down. Every time we go there, I think “why don’t I do that”. And then I come home and I spend an hour cooking and I sit for 10 minutes to eat before my kids are done and ready for their baths and stories and bed. Oh, that’s why! However, I have a friend who has two small kids also and she gets her dishes done right away. I’m not sure but I think she must have a genie or something.

Realistically, I have to write stuff down. I cannot go to the grocery store without a list because I will get ingredients for 7 different meals and when I get home, I will be missing one thing from each recipe. I’m blaming this one on the kids. Baby brain is real my friends! Every week I make a meal plan and a grocery list. I also try to limit my grocery shopping to once a week. It helps me to not over spend and sometimes it results in my most creative recipes.

Realistically, cooking is in my job description. My husband and I are fans of Dave Ramsey and I like his title of “Home Economist”. When I was pregnant with our daughter, my husband and I made the decision that I would leave my paying job to raise our babies. As we were giving up my income, part of my responsibility became to help reduce what we spend. This is a part of why I meal plan, make grocery lists, get creative with leftovers and pack my husband a lunch each day. Also, I do it because I believe I was built for it. I am capable of being out in the work force but I feel called to care of my family. This does not mean my house is perfectly clean, it’s not. This does not mean that I cook from scratch every day, I don’t. This does not mean I take care of all the household chores or parenting on my own, my husband helps. All it means is that we decided earning an income is my husband’s responsibility while taming the home front is mine. And I would not ask to have it any other way.

Realistically, I worry about my family’s health. A huge concern for every parent, I think. The root of my belief about health is that the more nature, the better. Our bodies are incredible! They just need the right tools. I prefer to feed my family ingredients that are as fresh as possible and have endured the least amount of processing possible. I have not cast out all processed foods and I still buy potato chips on occasion but I try hard to keep more good than bad in our diets. Sometimes, this causes me to put a lot of pressure on myself but I’m going to keep at it in hopes that my kids learn decent eating habits that they can take with them through their lives.

Realistically, I run out of energy. This is the primary reason why you don’t see blog posts from me every other day (or on any consistent basis, really). I believe that my husband and children are greater blessings than I deserve. And some days, they take everything I’ve got. I probably have 30 – 40 food pictures on my phone that I intended to share with you on here but I just never got to write about them. Sometimes, I spend all my creativity on making the food that I just don’t have enough left to write about it. Then again, some of those pictures just look better than they tasted…

I think everyone’s reality is different. Some of you will be right with me on some of my realities and others will be like my friend who never has dirty dishes on the counter. My hope is that all of you who follow this blog get a little something from it; a smile, a recipe or inspiration to try something new. I am a real person. I have good days, bad days, busy days, boring days… I’ll do my best to keep it realistic on here. Now I have to go do some dishes.

Bratwurst and Quinoa Salad

Have you ever had an idea that made you go “how the heck did I come up with that?”. Today’s lunch

was a little like that. I was trying to find a way to send cold, leftover bratwurst in my husband’s lunch. See, cold bratwurst does not really sound that appetizing to me. My husband is often less picky than I am but I still don’t like sending him things that I wouldn’t want to eat.

Bratwursts are a summer-time favorite at our house. My three-year-old can easily eat a whole one on her own and her little brother is not far behind. Back in August, our local grocery store had a “Legendary Meat Sale” (can you imagine my excitement?!?). At said sale, I bought 10 pounds of their house-made brats. I stored them in freezer in packages of 8 brats each. The grill is the best way to heat brats, in my opinion. But yesterday was the first day in a week that the temperature outside was in the double digits… Not exactly grilling weather. The next best method I have found is to boil them in beer, onions and water first (which I would do before grilling too) and then pop them in the oven at 400°F to brown. Brats, canned baked beans, and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers – dinner time hit! But I still had 5 cooked brats leftover.

My first solution was Beer Brat Soup. Still sounds delicious but I would have made it with a creamy, cheesy base and I’m just not convinced that would have held up in a thermos. Not to mention that I really don’t want to clean melted cheese out of a thermos the next day. Scratch that idea.

The next solution was a lettuce salad topped with bratwurst. When I started thinking about what kind of veggies I wanted to mix with bratwurst, I was really struggling. I could not think of anything to go with the brat but a bun, mustard, onions and sauerkraut. Oh, and beer, which would probably make my husband’s day until he was fired…

Time to head to the cupboards for inspiration. And here’s is where I lose track of how I came up with Bratwurst and Quinoa Salad. I know the quinoa was in the cupboard but how in the world I decided to mix it with bratwurst is a mystery. But, never-the-less, I cooked it up and went back to what I know I like with brats.

I like my brats best on a bun and loaded up with toppings like onions, mustard, ketchup, pickle relish, and, most of all, sauerkraut! Sauerkraut is how I came up with cabbage, after all, it is where sauerkraut comes from! Then I threw in red cabbage too, just for color! Mustard was a pretty obvious dressing base for me. For the added flavor and dimension, I chose spicy brown mustard and then I tried to look at it like a vinaigrette. Instead of chunks of onion that could be overpowering, I went with grated onion right in the vinaigrette. I replaced ketchup with good ol’ cherry tomatoes and decided pickle relish just wasn’t going to make the cut on this one.

Surprisingly enough, the train of thought did not end in a train wreck. I have never had anything that I can think to compare this to. It doesn’t taste anything like a brat on a bun but it does taste good! It is unique and interesting. I am a little addicted to quinoa but it gives a nice, filling base in this salad. There is good crunch in the cabbage, saltiness in the brats, freshness in the cherry tomatoes and complimenting flavor through the whole thing from the dressing. I’m calling it a success as it but I’m betting that grilled brats with good char on them will be even better!

Bratwurst and Quinoa Salad

Brown Mustard Vinaigrette

1/3 cup spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbs grated onion

1 tsp honey

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Whisk all ingredients together.

For the salad

2 brats, cooked through and browned

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/3 cup shredded red cabbage

1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 cup dry quinoa, cooked per package instructions*

Prepare brown mustard vinaigrette in large bowl. To bowl, add cabbages and tomatoes; stir to coat.

Slice bratwurst length wise and then slice into bite-size pieces. Add to cabbage mixture stir.

Finally, add cooked and cooled quinoa to bowl and toss together. Serve at room temperature or cold.

*I used chicken broth as my cooking liquid for the quinoa.

Hoity Toity Hunter’s Breakfast

My dad is a deer hunter. Every year he heads out to the woods with his buddies, his brothers, my brother, etc. Very rarely does the hunting season end with my dad empty handed. As far back as I can remember, he has always had venison sausage squirrelled away in the freezer. I have always loved the stuff too! My very favorite is the venison hot sticks. They are literally a hot commodity when dad has them!

When my family was in town for Christmas a couple weeks ago, my dad sent us home with a stick of venison sausage. Up until I opened said stick of sausage, I had been very pleased with the summer sausage varieties that our (now) local grocery store makes in house. But now, my tastes have been reawakened to the salty, garlicy, yumminess that comes only from venison sausage.

The first use for the sausage was to straight up slice and eat it! My husband took it for lunch with cheese and crackers and my kids and I snacked our way through a bunch of it as well. Then it inspired me to make Bloody Mary’s for the first time in years. Bloody Mary’s were a pretty common Sunday pass time for my husband and I before our first born came along but it's been so long, I nearly forgot how to make a good one! The add-ins are my favorite part and none of them are quiet as satisfying as good sausage.

Finally, there was not a lot of the venison left but once you open it, you kind of have to use it up. So, I decided to try to use in a way that was a little out of the box. Initially I was just going to use it in place of breakfast sausage and toss it into some scrambled eggs. But I have also had a serious craving for Eggs Benedict… *Lightbulb*

My affection for Eggs Benedict also stems back to my childhood. My mom would make it fairly often on weekends and one of her sisters would come over almost every time because she liked it so much. I can remember my mom calling us into the kitchen to eat in shifts because a person can only poach so many eggs at one time! She would lay out ham in Eggs Benedict portions and bake it in the oven to free up the stove top for the hollandaise sauce and 2 pans for poaching eggs. I also remember her telling me that you always make your hollandaise first and then take it off the heat because it needs your full attention while it slowly cooks. That is still how I do it today. Although, I have learned that if your hollandaise curdles, you can simply add another egg yolk to bring it back together.

Now, I’m going to let you in on a secret, I don’t poach eggs. I love Eggs Benedict and I make it on a semi-regular basis but I have not even attempted to poach eggs for years now. It’s a pain! And I don’t enjoy poached eggs (especially when they are smothered in decadent hollandaise sauce) any more than a fried egg. I save myself the frustration and time and I go right for fried eggs, every time.

Just like regular Eggs Benedict, I sliced and toasted an English muffin and then stacked it up. English muffin, sliced and warmed venison sausage, fried eggs, hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with pepper. Delicious. I could probably eat hollandaise with a spoon but it’s rich, smoothness really compliments the unique flavor of the venison. Of course, the over-easy egg yolk added move velvety goodness and that English muffin was the perfect tool for soaking it all up!

I’m not positive, but I would guess that if you asked my dad to try this, it would be a little too far-fetched for his tastes. Me on the other hand, I can’t think of a better way to end a perfectly delicious stick of venison sausage!

Venison Eggs Benedict

(4 servings)

4 English muffins

16 slices venison sausage

8 eggs

Hollandaise sauce (recipe follows)

Black pepper (optional)

Slice and toast English muffins, lightly. Place, open-faced, on plate.

Warm venison in single layer in a frying pan over medium low heat or on baking sheet in 275° oven.

Fry eggs to over easy.

Place 2 warmed slices of sausage on each side of each English muffin. Top with 1 fried egg per muffin side and top with a spoonful of hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.

Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup firm butter

1 Tbs lemon juice

In small sauce pan, whisk together lemon juice and egg yolks. Add 1/4 cup of butter and place over medium low heat. Whisk almost constantly until butter has melted then add remaining 1/4 cup.

When all butter has melted, remove from heat. Sauce should be thick, indicating egg has cooked through. Heating to fast or over cooking will result in the egg yolk curdling.