Challenge Results - January 13th

I'm a bit late posting these results, but we were very busy this weekend.

We made Inkling's Autumn Vegetable Patties (scroll down a few posts for the recipe). HOLY COW!!!



I may start cutting meat out of my diet more than once a week...I made these as a side dish to go along with some roasted chicken, and salad. I should have tripled the recipe. I opted not to eat the chicken, because I'd had copious amounts of meat at lunch that day, and my stomach was a bit wonky due to some overindulging in baked goods earlier in the week...

I ate 3 of them, BB ate 4, the kids devoured the remainder...

Heavenly! Captain already asked for the "great cakes" twice over the weekend, and Princess wanted some for breakfast today with syrup...

The texture was sublime - not too mushy, not too "lumpy" if you get my meaning...the flavor was a treat for certain. The combination of sweet potato and spinach was not one I'd have ever made on my own, but with the other herbs and spices in there...wow!

We did top ours with the spiced sour cream (only I used Plain Greek Yogurt...shhhh...don't tell BB!), and it was just enough decadence to make you feel like you were indulging in some uber-unhealthy fare like cheese-covered potato cakes or something like that...

YUUUUMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!!!

Needless to say, these are now in my rotation, and I might even find a way to make them a bit sweeter for breakfast fare...we'll see how that goes...

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

I found this recipe for cheesy vegetable chowder on Pinterest... made it tonight.  My 3 year old ate a bowl and a half.  My 6 year old was not as impressed, but almost an hour ago we figured out that she caught a stomach bug at school (not that she would have liked it anyway, it's hard to tell with her these days.)  I will eat it for lunch again tomorrow.

I took pics, but I am going to just link to the original poster's, I need sleep and left my camera downstairs.

Inkling's Autumn Vegetable Patties

Last week, I posted a challenge for myself of trying one new recipe each week, posting it, and then posting a review. Even though it's no longer autumn, I will be enjoying these with my family tomorrow night! They look delicious, just based on the ingredients, and I CANNOT wait to get cooking on these! I bought my sweet potatoes and spinach this morning (I'm doubling the recipe, because even if no one else in my family likes them, I will!) To make these, I had all but those veggies on hand, and so my "grocery period" expenses was a whopping $5.29 because the spinach wasn't on sale (next time, I'll buy the spinach on sale and keep it in the deep freeze until I'm ready to make these again!).

Autumn Vegetable Patties

Ingredients:
8 T. unsalted butter (I use less)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated (about 1.5 cups)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 T. minced fresh sage (I used 1 tsp. ground and dried)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (or you can use fresh and cook it down)
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, navy beans, any white bean, drained, rinsed, and mashed
1 egg white, lightly beaten (I used the whole egg)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup sour cream

Instructions:

Heat 6 T. butter in skillet over medium heat and add grated sweet potato, cooking until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup bread crumbs, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne. Cook, stirring for one minute. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in spinach, mashed beans, and egg white. Season with Salt and Pepper.

Using your hands (I use a cookie dough scoop to help me), shape veggie mixture into 8 - 4" long oblong patties about 1/2" thick and coat in remaining bread crumbs.

Heat 2 T. oil and 1 T. butter in skillet over medium high heat, add four patties and cook turning once until browned on both sides. About six minutes per batch. Transfer to a serving platter and repeat with remaining oil and butter and patties.

To serve, season sour cream with salt and pepper and top each patty with a dollop of it.

Inkling did state that they didn't top them with the sour cream. I will top mine with sour cream, and will let you know on Saturday what the reception was!

Farmwife - I bet that if you didn't read the part about beans, you'd never know they were in there!!! I'll let you for sure.

Weeknight Shepherd's Pie

This is a big hit in our house right now! I like it because it's fast and easy, the kids like it because it's all the "good things" mixed up. BB likes it because it has gravy.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (can use 2 C cooked stew meat if you like, the ground beef makes it fast!)
• 1 C frozen mixed veggies, thawed
• 1 tsp dried thyme (I used fresh last summer, and it was too strong, even cut way back!)
• 1/4 C half-and-half (I use whatever milk is on hand)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 C mashed potatoes (great way to use up leftovers, or a reason to keep instant around)
• 1/4 C chopped parsley (I use dried, because I'm too impatient to chop fresh)
• 2 TBSP butter, melted
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 C hot prepared beef gravy

Directions:

• Preheat over to 400 degrees F
• Grease a medium casserole or deep quiche dish
• Brown and drain ground beef, or cut stew beef into bite-sized pieces and place in casserole
• Top with veggies and thyme
• Mix half-and-half with salt, pepper, egg, and mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and mix.
• Spread potato mixture over beef, drizzle butter over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
• Bake until filling is hot and top is browned, about 20 minutes.
• Top each serving with gravy.

It is, in fact, what's for dinner tonight!

Not too spicy black bean dip

Finding a new recipe is easy, it's the follow through that is hard.  (That's the story of my life.)  Well, I was craving beans, and don't come in between a pregnant woman and her craving.  That craving led me to this:

I perused some recipes online and then made this warm dip, based on a recipe for black bean hummus.

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp cilantro (fresh would be even better, but had dried on hand)
3/4 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove
juice from 2 lemon wedges
Colby jack cheese (mozzarella works great, too)

Blend all ingredients together, pour into oven proof bowl.
Shred cheese (if it didn't come from the store that way) and sprinkle over top.
Sprinkle with black pepper.
Bake for 15-20 min at 350, until cheese is melted and dip is warm.
Serve with whatever you choose... tortilla chips, crackers, etc... and enjoy!

2012 Challenge

Hello anyone out there still checking this blog!

I have decided that with the onset of 2012, we need something new to help inspire us in our kitchens! I don't know about you, but I get awfully tired of feeling like I keep falling back to the same old same old routine recipes. Which may be good, and nutritious, but somehow, I just don't like a rut!

I am challenging myself to do a few different things this year. And I'm sharing them with you, as an invitation, as an inspiration (I hope) to change things up, shake it up a bit...

Without further ado:

• Try one new recipe each week
• Go meatless one entree each week
• Buy organic whenever possible
• Stop using products with added sugars.

I don't know what things you have in store for your own family and kitchen, but I hope that you'll join me each week...

I'll be posting my new recipe before I try it, and then posting a comment with a review after we've eaten it.

I hope that some of you will join me on this journey!

Chicken Stew

Wow. It's been quite a while since I've posted on here, but I just made the best stew and had to share the recipe.

I actually got the recipe off the Target website when looking for a good dutch oven to buy. I didn't get the dutch oven, but I got a great meal instead!

Giada's Chicken Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 (14 1/2–oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14–oz.) can low–salt chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 lb.)
1 (15–oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add carrot and onion; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juices, broth, basil, tomato paste and bay leaf. Add chicken and submerge. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning chicken and stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. Discard bay leaf. Add beans to stew and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Discard skin and bones from chicken. Cut chicken into pieces; return to stew. Bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Makes 4 to 6 servings Total Cooking Time: 50 minutes

For what it's worth, I added an extra carrot, two stalks of celery, and more chicken broth to the recipe. I also used boneless, skinless chicken breasts because I do not have the time to debone chicken. It was a complete hit at our house and this recipe is going into my regular rotation for fall and winter.