Oven Roasted Florets

Head of Broccoli

Head of Cauliflower (I used the orange variety, which boasts 25x the vitamin A than the white kind and tastes just the same)

handful (or more) of grape tomatoes

1/2 vidalia onion, chopped in large pieces

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

wash and carefully dry your vegetables. Place in dish, sprinkle with olive oil. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until it begins to brown. I served mine with lemon saffron rice and chicken. Leftover vegetables were great thrown into some pasta or rice.

Amy's Mint Brownies

Tasted these and had to go home and make them the next day - they were THAT good. You can double the recipe and put them in a jelly roll pan to feed the masses. They also freeze well. If you don't like mint, you can also substitute that for a layer of peanut butter frosting (I don't care for PB, so I like the mint, or just plain chocolate).

Brownies
2 t Vanilla
1 t Salt
1 ½ c Flour
2 c Sugar
1 c Butter, melted
½ c Cocoa
4 Eggs
Melt butter and cocoa in microwave safe bowl. Let cool. Beat eggs, sugar and salt on high speed until foaming. Stir in cooled cocoa mixture. Add vanilla and stir in. Fold in flour with wooden spoon until there is no white showing. Do not over stir. Bake in greased 9x13” pan at 375 for 20-25 min.

Mint Layer:
2 cups powdered sugar1/4 cup butter, melted2 tablespoons milk1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract(2 drops green food coloring, optional)

Combine above ingredients, beat until smooth

Chocolate Frosting:*
1/3 c butter
4 c powdered sugar
1/2 c cocoal
1/4 c milk
1 1/2 t vanilla

Beat butter till fluffy, add 2 c powdered sugar and cocoa; beat well. Slowly add milk and vanilla. Beat in remaining powdered sugar. Add additional milk, if needed, to reach spreading consistancy.

*This is the recipe for the peanut butter frosting I use for these brownies. If you like peanut butter - its a great recipe. Here are the variations: use peanut butter instead of butter, omit cocoa, and add an additional 1/2 c. powdered sugar.

Fluffy Whole Wheat Pancakes

Stand back, Alton Brown. I used Alton Brown's Whole Wheat pancake recipe, and modified it based on what I had at my house. All I can say is that I have really outdone myself. They were fabulous. So again I say - watch out, Alton Brown, 'cause these are some GOOD EATS!
These are hands down the best wheat pancakes I've ever had. I used red wheat flour, freshly ground, but you could use whatever you have on hand for a similar result.

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 TBS. sugar
Mix above ingredients together and add:
2 eggs
1 c. plain yogurt
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 TBS. lemon juice and enough milk to make 1 cup - I let mine sit overnight)
3 TBS. salted butter
Now, whisk until incorporated (do not mix until smooth). Let batter rest for 5 minutes.
Spray griddle (350 degrees, or on medium heat) with butter flavored spray. Cook pancakes until some bubbles form on the top, then flip and cook other side for about 1 minute. Serve hot with fresh maple syrup and berries.
*These also freeze well (cool, then place in plastic bag for up to 3 months) . I make an entire batch (about 12 large pancakes), eat my 2, and freeze the rest to toast and serve later.*

Sorta Healthy Wheat Bread for BREAD MACHINE

This is the best bread machine wheat bread I have ever had and perfect for an easy, fresh bread to go with your fall soups and salads. In case you are wondering, yes - that is THE miracle blade. My husband happens to love infomercials.

(combine in this order)
3/4 C warm water
3/4 C evaporated (canned) milk
1/3 C oil
1/3 C plus another squeeze of honey
2 TB sugar
1 tsp salt
1 C white flour
2 C wheat flour
1 pkg active dry yeast

Bake on basic setting - 2 lb. loaf.

Peachy Crumb Cake

(YES - I realize I am not a professional food photographer, but I am a professional taster)

I was looking for a way to use up some of my Special K cereal (I'm sure you could use an equivalent cereal - corn flakes, bran flakes, etc.) and found this recipe on the Kellogg site. It's pretty tasty and very easy - and I think you could vary it with different fruit, or by adding some cinnamon or nutmeg.

Topping
1 1/2 cups Special K® (crushed to 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Cake
1 cup Special K®
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2/3 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 can (16 oz.) peach slices in light syrup, drained and chopped

1. In small mixing bowl, combine the first three ingredients; stirring until crumbly. Set aside for topping.
2. Crush the 1 cup cereal to fine crumbs. In mixing bowl combine cereal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in milk and egg until well combined. Fold in peaches. Spread batter evenly in greased 9 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Sprinkle with topping.
4. Bake at 400°F about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cool.

BBQ Ribs - Freezer Worthy, Delicious and EASY!

2 lbs. country style boneless pork ribs
bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce

Place ribs in pan and tightly cover with tin foil. Bake for 3-4 hours at 350 degrees. Take out, drain excess juice, and smother in your favorite BBQ sauce (We like Sweet Baby Ray's). Serve warm, or let cool, place in freezer bag, and keep in freezer for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight, heat in microwave, and serve.

Freezer Meals

My friend and I just did a Freezer Full day...We made 30 meals all in a day - split the cost, split the winnings, and voila! A freezer full of meals, ready to thaw-heat-serve. Perfect for the winter months - we did soups, casseroles, marinades and even one breakfast! We did it all from 9am-3:30pm (with a bunch of shopping and prep work not included). It's easy, and you should try it.

I will post the recipes as I taste them, as to avoid sharing any recipes that are not, ahem...tasty sensations, if you will.

Arguably the Best Ribs Ever

Here's a great recipe for BBQ ribs. Try them, and while you're at it, read the story below!

2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. liquid smoke
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 c. chunky salsa
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. minced garlic
Country Style Spare Ribs

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Put ribs in pan and pour HALF of the sauce over ribs. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 for 3-4 hours, or until tender. About 30 minutes before serving, drain juices and put a fresh coat of sauce (reserving some for serving) on them. Do not cover, and bake for 15 more minutes until sauce has glazed. Serve with more of the sauce.

Now for the story....


At the risk of putting myself virtually out there for all to see, I just had to shout out that I've officially met Ronnie. Who is Ronnie, you ask? Only one of the best BBQ'ers around. We heard about Ronnie from a The Best Thing I Ever Ate episode on the Food Network (which happens to be my favorite channel). Both me and my man love us some ribs, so we went and tried it, and Ronnie was there, so we got a picture with the happiest BBQ man around. Great ribs. We were not disappointed. Really, quite delicious. And it didn't bother us one bit that the restaurant is literally a trailer parked in an abandoned gas station parking lot in Shockhoe Bottom (downtown Richmond, VA). The side dishes? Well, not my favorite, tasted sort of like the same thing you could get at any grocery deli, but the ribs - WOW.

BUT...

Mine (ok, recipe is from my sister's mother-in-law) are better. Try them.

Aubergine My Submarine

My sister, Emily, recently returned from some years living abroad, gave me this recipe - in American English, we can call this dish - Eggplant Pasta. It was new to us, and we will make it again.

1 firm ripe egg plant (aubergine in London)
EVOO
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
2 cans plum tomatoes (whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes also work fine)
1 T balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic salt
Sea salt and pepper to taste (sea salt makes a difference- it’s worth it to me)
Bunch of fresh basil (I used cilantro)
4 T double cream
1 lb rigatoni or penne
7 oz mozzarella (I used a fresh chunk and cut it into pieces, much better than regular mozzarella)
Block of parm to grate

Remove both ends of egg plant- slice into ½ in circles, then dice. Season generously with sea salt and let sit to draw out bitterness

Heat EVOO in saucepan, then add e.plant- as soon as they hit the pan stir them around so they are just barely coated with oil and not soaked. Cook 7 minutes on med heat. Add garlic and onion. When they have some color add the tomatoes and vinegar. Stir and season with chili powder, garlic salt, and your desired amount of s + p. Add basil stalks (leave leaves until the last minute) and simmer for 15 min. Then add cream.

When sauce is simmering, cook pasta and reserve a little of the water. Add sauce to pasta. Grate in fresh parm, tear up the mozzarella and basil leaves and add just before serving.

**We thought this was even better as a leftover, after the pasta and eggplant had time to really mix together.**

Cheater Toffee Pieces

Line Baking Sheet with foil. Place saltine crackers completely across pan. May have to cut with knife to make fit exactly.

Melt 2 sticks of butter.
Add 1 cup sugar and stir. Cook over medium heat, boiling for three minutes. Pour mixture over crackers and smooth evenly with back of spoon. Be careful not to move crackers. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with 12 oz. milk chocolate chips. Let stand for a couple minutes, then smooth over to spread like frosting. Sprinkle top with graham cracker crumbs while still wet. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Remove from pan and break into pieces. Store in air tight container. Keep in refrigerator.

Super easy - and tastes just like toffee! Next time I might try adding nuts!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Found this on Hint of Honey - it was delightful! I modified it to our family's liking.Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. honey (or less, if you don't want it too sweet)

5 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder

10 whole wheat flour tortillas (my husband thinks he'd like these better with corn tortillas, so we'll try that next time.

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

12 oz. Marble Cheddar cheese, shredded

16 oz. salsa verde or green enchilada sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the honey, lime juice, garlic powder, and chili powder in a small bowl. Add the shredded chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour.

2. Pour 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Fill tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese (saving enough cheese to sprinkle on top) and roll tightly. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.

3. Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 20-30 minutes, until brown and crispy on top.

Serve with brown rice, black beans, and sour cream. Serves 6 + leftovers.