Ah, produce!

14 Jan

After being out of town for 2 1/2 weeks for the holidays and not participating in Bountiful Baskets or Sunizona’s FarmBox, my house had no produce!  Well, I take that back, I think my husband had gotten some bananas just before the kids and I got back.  So, I was very excited to get my FarmBox last Wednesday and then Bountiful Baskets this past weekend.

The FarmBox program has a few new items, citrus from Arizona Organic Family Farms, a raisin walnut bread, and hoagie buns.  First, I tried the raisin walnut bread, it’s really great!  I’m going to try some oranges this week and I’m looking forward to it.  Here is how my box looked last week:

Sunizona FarmBox 1/9/2013I picked a cucumber, micro cilantro, red potatoes #2 (non-perfect potatoes), raisin walnut bread, special spelt bread, radishes, green beans, and pink lady apples.  All delicious!  We really, really love the bread.

It was a good haul at Bountiful Baskets this week.  I got the conventional basket and the new juicing pack.  I have a juicer, but honestly, I got the pack more for the extra produce offered in it, it’s all things we love to eat.

Here is the conventional basket:

Conventional basket 1/12/2013Red potatoes, cucumbers, rainbow carrots, avocados, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers, strawberries, oranges, lemons, red delicious apples, golden delicious apples, and Asian apple pears.  I’ve already used the lemons to marinate chicken and potatoes for mashed potatoes.  We’ve been snacking on the peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and apples.  I also made guacamole with the avocados.

Juicing Pack 1/12/2013This is the new juicing pack.  Great mix of fruits and vegetables, celery, kale, baby spinach, carrots, beets, cucumber, limes, ginger, fuji apples, and a lemon.  I may juice some of this, but more likely we’ll just eat it.

Finally, I didn’t contribute for these, but snapped a picture of the 12 lb jar of honey and the 1/2 gallon of coconut oil, just to show what they look like.

Bountiful Baskets honey and coconut oil

Note: The type and amount of food may vary from another basket because of geographic location and because of variances in how case ends are distributed once everything is distributed evenly. I also volunteered and got an extra item for volunteering.

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Sloppy Joe Turnovers

9 Jan

Sloppy Joe Turnovers

 

Yum, yum, yum!  My husband had been talking about having sloppy joes for dinner, so I started looking up recipes for them.  I remembered that Lori at My Kinda Rain had a recipe for Sloppy Joe Turnovers, and since I had a can of Grands biscuits in the refrigerator, I decided to give them a try!  I did use a different filling than she did, but then made them turnovers.  Eventually, I would like to come up with  my own biscuit recipe to use instead of biscuits from a can, but I have some work on my bread and biscuit skills to do first.   I like the turnovers because they aren’t as messy….which I know pretty much defeats the purpose of them being “sloppy” joes, but it’s nice when you have small kids.  I paired this with Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup, and it was a great, filling meal!

 

Sloppy Joe Turnovers

What you need:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can biscuits (I used Grand biscuits, but regular biscuits can be used as well)

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.  Drain any fat.  Add chopped onion and cook until onions are soft.  Stir in ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, yellow mustard, salt, and pepper.  Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes to let it thicken.

Roll out each biscuit to about 1/4″ thickness.  Scoop about 1/4 cup of meat mixture onto each biscuit.  Fold in half and press edges together well.  Place all on a baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown.

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Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

7 Jan

Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

One of my favorite dishes I make at Thanksgiving is Wild Rice & Sausage Casserole.  And, while it’s great, it’s a little time-consuming considering it has to go in the oven.  So, I decided to try a little variation, use Italian sausage in place of breakfast sausage, add spinach, and do it in the skillet.  Turns out, this makes a nice, quick standalone meal!  The Italian sausage has enough spices that you don’t really need to add any more seasoning.  My kids both gobbled it down!

Sausage, Spinach, and Rice

What you need:

1 pound Italian sausage, hot or mild, casings removed
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 pound fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, wild, brown, or white, your choice
Grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Break up and brown sausage in a large skillet.  Add onions, and continue to cook until onions are soft and translucent.  Add spinach, and cook until wilted.  Stir in rice and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.  Serve into bowls and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese onto each serving.

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Three Cheese Mostaccioli

31 Dec

Three Cheese Mostaccioli

My mom and sister discovered this recipe on the back of a box of Creamette mostaccioli noodles.  It’s a little time consuming to prep, but turns out really tasty!

 

Three Cheese Mostaccioli

What you need:

1 pound mostaccioli noodles
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
4 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded swiss or mozzarella cheese

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in flour, basil, garlic salt, and pepper.  Slowly pour in milk, stirring constantly to avoid getting lumps.  Continue to stir and cook until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar and the Parmesan cheese.  Mix in with cooked noodles.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Spread half of the pasta in the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle with the swiss or mozzarella cheese.  Add remaining pasta noodles.

Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until bubbling.   Remove foil and immediately sprinkle with remaining shredded cheddar cheese.  Let stand for 10 minutes to cool, and serve.

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Monkey Bread

25 Dec

Monkey Bread

 

For the last few years, my sister has made monkey bread as part of our Christmas morning breakfast.  She started with a regular bundt pan, but then found a holiday tree bundt pan to make it a little more festive.  It’s a big hit with everyone in the family!

 

Monkey Bread

What you need:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cans Grands biscuits
1/2 cup butter, melted, divided
1 can vanilla creamy frosting, if desired for a glaze

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease a bundt pan.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

Open 1 can of biscuits, and cut into sixths.  Roll into balls, and coat in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Place coated balls into the prepared pan.  Pour 1/4 cup melted butter evenly over the balls in the pan.  Repeat for the second can of biscuits, pouring the remaining butter over the top when done.

Bake in the preheated oven 30-35 minutes, or until biscuits are no longer doughy and are golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.  Turn pan over onto a serving plate.

Heat frosting in a small saucepan over low heat until it becomes runny.  Add food coloring if you have a desired color.  Pour over the top of the monkey bread.  May also add sprinkles for more decoration.

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Gingerbread Cookies for Santa

24 Dec

Gingerbread Cookies for Santa

Every year, this is the cookie we would make and decorate for Santa.  They are a nice, soft cookie, not too spicy, but still a nice gingerbread taste.  The cookies above were decorated with sprinkles before baking, and the other half were baked, then decorated with frosting and sprinkles.  Either way, they are cute and good to eat!  I believe this recipe came from an ad for Mrs. Butterworth syrup in the 1980s, and my mom has the cut out from the magazine with the recipe!

Gingerbread cookies for Santa

What you need:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup
2 cups unsifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In medium bowl cream butter, sugar and syrup. Sift dry ingredients together; blend into creamed mixture. Chill 30 minutes. Roll dough on floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness, cut with cookie cutter. (See photo below).  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Yield: 2 dozen (5 1/2-inch)

Rolling out the dough and cutting out cookies

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Christmas Traditions: Gingerbread House

24 Dec

The Gingerbread House tradition in our family dates back to 1995.  It was a craft project that my Aunt Paula brought for my cousin, siblings, and I to work on at my grandparents house.  Making a gingerbread house continued throughout the years off and on, sometimes a kit where you had to put the house together with frosting, sometimes a pre-made house that just needed to be decorated.  There have been 2 story houses, houses with an animal barn in back, neighboring houses, and a whole variety of candies and treats used to decorate.  My sister also has quite a gingerbread house and gingerbread man collection of Christmas decorations.

So, this year, we again made a gingerbread house.  My part was to keep my nephew occupied while they worked on the house this year. It turned out really cute, and it’s something my girls look forward to doing each year with their Aunt Kimmy.

S & K working on 2012 Gingerbread House

K & K with the 2012 Gingerbread House

 

 

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Candy Cane Reindeer

22 Dec

Candy Cane Reindeer

 

Every year at Christmastime, my Aunt Paula, cousin, brother, sister, and I would do crafts together.  We continued that tradition today with my kids!  She brought over all the supplies, and my girls both enjoyed putting these together.

What you need:

Candy canes
Googly eyes
Pom poms
Chenille sticks (sometimes known as pipe cleaners)
Glue (we started with glue sticks, which wouldn’t work on the pom poms, so then used tacky glue)

How to make them:

On the shorter, top portion of the candy cane, glue eyes in about the middle and a pom pom for the nose at the end of it.

Take a chenille stick and center it around the curved portion of the candy cane.  Bring it up and tightly twist twice on top of the candy cane.  Bend the ends to form antlers.

Once glue dries, add to Christmas tree or wherever you choose to decorate.  Would also make a cute favor for child’s classmates at school.

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Hot Cocoa Cone Gifts

20 Dec

Hot Cocoa Cone Gifts

 

Last year, I had found and  bought some cute hot cocoa gifts for the staff at my older daughter’s school.  After buying them, I figured I could make them the next year….as if I’m not busy enough with everything I do!  But, I did find time to make them, and they turned out pretty well!  Not professional by any means, but still made with love!

What you need:

12-inch cake decorating bags (I bought Wilton disposable bags, which do have their label on the bag, but I turned it towards the back)
Cocoa mix (I bought 2 large cans of Swiss Miss)
Marshmallows
Plastic wrap
Candy Canes
Large Dining Spoons
Twist ties
Curling ribbon
Heat sealer (optional)
Stickers for decorating
Labels

How to make it:

Open bag and add cocoa.  For the Swiss Miss I bought, it is 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 8 ounces water for 1 serving of hot cocoa.  I put in enough for 4 servings, so 12 tablespoons, which is 3/4 cup.

Put a handful of marshmallows in a piece of plastic wrap and wrap into a ball.  Add at top of cocoa in the bag.

If desired, use a heat sealer to seal the top of the bag.  I used my FoodSaver for this.  If you don’t have a heat sealer, use a twist tie to gather the top and put it on tight.  After heat sealing, I did still use a twist tie to gather the top and keep it together.

Next, use curling ribbon to tie a spoon and candy cane to the top.  This also adds some decoration.

Use stickers to decorate and add a label with the instructions for the servings.  Mine said “Mix 3 Tbsp cocoa mix with 8 oz hot water.  Makes approx 4 servings hot cocoa.”

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Roasted Vegetable Medley

16 Dec

Roasted Vegetable Medley

 

I have made a vegetable medley in the past, but it was a different mix, sweet potatoes, carrots, red peppers, parsnips, Mexican grey squash, and asparagus.  This time, I used what I had just gotten from Bountiful Baskets and some things I had in my fridge, red potatoes, rainbow carrots, radishes, red onion, Mexican grey squash and yellow squash.  It ended up really good this time too, the veggies got a very sweet taste to them.

 

Roasted Vegetable Medley

What you need:

2-3 red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (I left on the peels)
2-3 carrots, sliced into thin rounds
1 bunch radishes, cut in halves or fourths, depending on size
1/2 of a red onion, cut in larger wedges
1 zucchini, or Mexican grey squash, sliced into thin rounds
1 yellow squash, sliced into thin rounds
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Olive oil

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray or brush with olive oil.  Place potatoes, carrots, and radishes on the baking sheet.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil and season with half of basil, oregano, garlic salt, and pepper.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Then, add the zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion to the baking sheet.  Drizzle or spray with olive oil, and season with the remaining spices. Bake again for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables have all softened.  If desired, splash vegetables with balsamic vinegar before serving.

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