Red Beans over Rice

This meal is one I was introduced to on our trip to Dominican Republic. I never was one to just make a big pot of beans, but it was so delicious I had to try it at home! This was my 2nd time making it and it brought back wonderful memories. It's very filling too. I like it best with fresh fruit to offset the beans and rice.

Red Beans over Rice

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
3 garlic cloves
1 t. dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 t. Accent seasoning
1/2 sm. bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 c. (1 lb.) dried red beans, soaked & cooked
2 t. seasoned salt
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in pot large enough for all ingredients. Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add oregano, bay leaves, tomato sauce, and seasonings.

Bring to simmer and add cilantro and beans. Add enough water to cover (3-4 cups). Bring to boil, then reduce to low. Simmer and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until beans are tender.

Serve over rice.

Porcupines

Sunday dinner -porcupine meatballs! Here is everyone at the table. I realized on Saturday that I had all this hamburger in the fridge that I needed to use so it wouldn't go bad. I also had my head of broccoflower left over from my bountiful basket. I put them together and made a meal. :) Very tasty.

Porcupines

1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 c. uncooked rice

1/4 c. milk or water

2 T. chopped onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. celery salt

1/8 t. garlic salt

Dash of pepper

2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce

1 c. water

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Mix beef, rice, milk, onion, and seasonings. Form into medium sized balls (1 1/2 to 2 inches). Fry in skillet, turning frequently, until light brown (but not crusty) on all sides. In large saucepan, mix together tomato sauce, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Add browned meatballs to sauce. Cover; simmer 45 minutes over low heat. Add a small amount of additional water if liquid cooks down too much. Makes 2 servings.

This is how it turned out. I really didn't deviate from the recipe much, but I did triple the amounts so it was enough to feed my family.

This was also my first time using broccoflower. I cooked it up the same way I do broccoli or cauliflower. I just steamed it. Too bad it was such a small head because the kids loved it and were asking for more. I didn't have any more, so I'll have to remember for next time to cook up more of it.

Oatmeal and Toast

Today we had oatmeal. Believe it or not, this is a breakfast we love. :)  I first introduced it to the kids about 1 1/2 years ago. I hadn't really made it for them before that. They whined and whined and whined about how GROSS it was! After about 3 or 4 times of making it, they finally developed a taste for it. Now they look forward to me making it. I dress it up with sugar, milk. Athena and Samantha like a bit of cinnamon in their oatmeal and I put nutmeg in mine, Nathan's and Alex's. Then I make toast and have a glass of milk. YUM!

To make it, I use 2 parts water to 1 part oatmeal and add some salt. Today Dad wasn't home for breakfast, so I boiled 4 cups of water with 1/2 tsp of salt. Then I added 2 cups of quick oats to the boiling water and let it cook for 1 minute. Perfect!

Coffee Cake

This is a struesel cake that we have sometimes for breakfast. I completely forgot to take a picture of this one until we had already started eating it! I guess that means I'll just have to make it again for a better picture.

 

I made it early, then jumped in the shower while it cooked. By the time I got out of the shower, breakfast was ready. :) I really like this recipe better than others I've had because it always turns out so moist and it uses brown sugar instead of white. Of course, I used 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white flour, but I'll post the recipe with all white flour.

Coffee Cake
2 c. flour
4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. milk
6 T. vegetable oil

Topping
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. margarine
1 T. cinnamon
1 c. quick cooking oats

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in the mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk and oil and mix well. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. For topping, melt butter and mix all ingredients together in medium bowl. Sprinkle topping on top of cake batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

What I did differently:
I like to melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove. While it's melting I start mixing the cake. Then I add the other topping ingredients into the saucepan and by the time I'm done mixing the cake, the topping is all ready to go. It is much easier to drop onto the cake when I melt it all together like that first.

Eggplant Parmesan

I tried making eggplant parmesan for the first time because I received an eggplant in my bountiful basket and I didn't quite know what to do with it. What a nice surprise! This was so good! It did take me about an hour and a half to make the whole dinner because I made everything from scratch - even the bread crumbs. It would have gone a lot quicker with bottled marinara sauce and store bought breadcrumbs, but I'm glad I did it from scratch. So worth it. :) The salad is simply carrots, mushrooms, green leaf lettuce, and spinach leaves.

Eggplant Parmesan

3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced

2 eggs, beaten
4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

This is what my finished product looked like. I did only use 1 eggplant and about 2 cups of breadcrumbs. I got 19 slices out of it which was plenty for our family for this meal and one meal of leftovers. I then served it over angel hair pasta. It actually looks a little burnt because it WAS. I fell asleep on the couch for a little bit while it was cooking and then I woke up and looked at the clock and "Oh NO!!!" It cooked about 5-6 minutes past the desired time. It still was really good and to be honest, I liked the toasted cheese.

This was my first experience with eggplant and I thought it was really weird that it can be mistaken as meat. My kids kept thinking they were eating meat and I reminded them of that big purple vegetable I showed them. They did ask if we could have this meal again sometime, so that means it really WAS a hit. I'll include a recipe for the homemade breadcrumbs, which I doubled to make sure I'd have enough. I made them for super cheap!

Italian Breadcrumbs
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (I dried out wheat bread in the oven)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil

Happy Birthday Alexandra!

Hooray! We got to celebrate a birthday over the weekend! Alexandra turned 3. In our house, the birthday person gets to pick the dinner and the dessert. :) She had her cake picked out a couple of weeks ago. She definitely wanted a barbie cake. So, being the kind mom that I am, I granted her wish and decorated this cake for her.

I have to admit, I take the easy way out with birthday cakes. I use the Wilton cake pans that come with a pattern and everything. The cake took me about 1 1/2 hours to decorate and she LOVED it.

For her birthday dinner, she relieved me by picking pizza. That makes my job a whole lot easier! I ran down to our local Papa Murphy's, picked up dinner, and absolutely THRILLED my 3-year-old. I love it when kids are so easy to please.

My only suggestion when using Papa Murphy's pizza, is to first of all - USE COUPONS - and second of all, dress it up at home and it will taste a lot better.

I went online and found coupons on their site (http://www.papamurphys.com/). Then when I ordered my pizzas, I paid for a couple of toppings that I didn't have on hand at home. Then I came home and added green peppers, onions, and sprinkled on italian seasoning. They turned out really good! 

Here is the birthday girl all ready to enjoy her pizza.

Tomato Vegetable Soup

This is a great crockpot soup. I threw everything into the crockpot in the morning and it was ready in the evening. :)  My crockpot is a 6 qt, so this recipe fits in quite nicely. If you have a smaller crockpot you will need to scale down the amounts of everything.

Tomato Vegetable Soup

1 qt. tomatoes

6 potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves garlic, pressed

3-4 carrots

corn

1/4 tsp. celery salt

3 tsp. beef boullion

1 tsp. salt (taste at end)

1 Tbsp. Seasonall

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. black pepper

meat, precooked (hamburger or stew meat)

1/4 c. pearled barley

parsley flakes (at end)

spaghetti noodles (at end)

canned tomato soup (at end)

I use 1 qt of home bottled tomatoes and I blend them until they are smooth. Then I dump them in the crockpot. Chop up the potatoes, carrots, and onion and add to the tomatoes. Press 3 garlic cloves and add to soup. Then add the pearled barley and all the seasonings. Cook your meat and add. Once you have all of this in your crockpot, fill the rest of the crockpot with water until it is about 2 inches from the top. Let it cook on high for 4-6 hours. About 20 minutes before you eat the soup, add 1-2 cans of canned tomato soup, parsley flakes, and whatever noodles you like. If you use spaghetti noodles, break them into 1 inch pieces.

What I did differently:
This time I added fresh thyme, oregano, and chopped spinach. It was really good! I also didn't use meat in my soup. I prefer it without. I just add a little extra boullion. :) Also, sometimes I use lentils instead of the pearled barley. I just add the lentils in at the beginning and they have plenty of time to cook if you leave it cooking all day.

My kids used to not like this soup. Once I started grinding up the tomatoes so there were no tomato chunks they started eating it really well. I made enough soup so we could have it for 2 meals and the 2nd day we had it with cheese bread. The bread was a nice addition and made it like a new meal all over again. To make the bread, I simply sliced medium cheddar cheese, placed it on slices of bread, and put it in the oven under the broiler until it was melted.