Winter Grain Salad

The word salad usually evokes thoughts of summer with tender leaves of lettuce, vine ripened tomatoes, and if you are lucky, fresh fruit like berries or nectarines.  It's almost December, however and the veggies in my bin are more along the squash and root line.  The berries in my house are either frozen (too mushy for a salad) or dried.  Is it possible to put together a salad with things like this?  You bet, especially if you throw in a couple of grains, too, like barley and wheat.

When I was challenged to create a recipe using an O Olive Oil and Vinegar combination, I wasn't sure where my imagination would lead me.  I also did not know which flavor combination I would be receiving.  O has nine natural box combinations like lime and ginger, lemon and pinot,  and blood orange and port.  I was thrilled to see that I was sent Roasted Garlic Olive Oil and White Balsamic Vinegar.  What a wonderful combination with so many possibilities!

I immediately opened both bottles and tried some.  I could imagine roasted butternut, dried cherries, feta cheese with the gentle tartness of the balsamic and the lovely overtones of the garlic oil.  Then I started determining the main part of the salad.  Lettuce?  No. Potatoes? No. Pasta?  Maybe, maybe not. Grains.  Oh yeah, definitely grains.

This was an amazing salad.  Not only did it taste wonderful, but it was pretty, too, with all of the colors.  The O Roasted Garlic Oil and White Balsamic Vinegar were the perfect combination for the dressing. 

Winter Grain Salad
1 1/2 cups cooked barley (1/2 cup uncooked)
1 1/2 cups cooked wheat berries (1/2 cup uncooked)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
1 tsp dried thyme
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup cashews, divided
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2 Tbsp O White Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp O Roasted Garlic Olive Oil
Place butternut squash in a shallow pan and drizzle with 1 Tbsp oil.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Test for doneness with a fork.  If done, remove from oven and let cool.  Meanwhile, saute onion and celery with thyme in small skillet until soft.  Remove from heat and set aside.  Crush 1/3 cup of the cashews. Toss the cooked barley, wheat, onion, celery, crushed nuts, squash, cherries and white pepper with the vinegar and olive oil.  Sprinkle with feta cheese and remaining cashews.  Serve warm or cold.

Remember I told you that this was an interactive contest?  That means that I need your help.  A whole entire one-third of the votes are determined by how many people put the contending recipes into their erecipecards.com recipe boxes.  Have you joined that site?  Remember you don't have to have a blog to sign up.  Do you have a recipe box that needs filling?  I am totally volunteering to help you out there.  Just go over to my page of recipes and click on the photo of this salad.  It will jump right into your recipe box. Tweet

O Olive Oil: a taste test and review

I am so excited to have been chosen by erecipecards.com as one of the food bloggers in a first-of-its-kind challenge. I will be writing two posts; this one about O Olive Oil and the taste test that I forced upon my unwitting family and another one featuring a recipe that I created using not only an O Olive Oil, but also their White Balsamic Vinegar. In this challenge, I will be judged on my writing and photography skills (Oy!) as well as the quality of the recipe. One third of the judging score will come from a select panel of experts, another third will come from the folks at O Olive Oil and the last third will come from you, the readers (I will tell you how you can help me out at the end of this post).

Do you know about O Olive Oil in the beautiful tall glass bottles? Have you “liked” them on Facebook? They are a California based company of artisans that produce some of the most amazing olive oil. Using a unique process learned in Italy, it involves crushing hand picked Mission olives along with citrus such as Meyer lemons, Blood oranges, limes, clementines or grapefruits. By crushing the entire fruits together, they create olive oil that is fully flavored. I was able to try their newest creation, Roasted Garlic Olive Oil which is made with real slow roasted garlic swirled with olive oil in small batches.

Did I mention that I also was given a bottle of their White Balsamic vinegar? O started making balsamic vinegars because the imported vinegars were in violation of California’s Proposition 65 which protects consumers against lead and other harmful (read toxic) chemicals. O's balsamics test at levels 30 times lower than the safe levels established by the state of California. I love hearing about companies who are actually interested in protecting the health of the consumer. And you should taste it! I could easily pour it into a tiny aperitif glass and drink it straight.

To add a little culinary culture into my teenage sons' lives, I decided to include them in a little taste test adventure. I poured O Olive Oil and two other leading brands of olive oil into three little bowls. Then I cut up some French bread into large cubes. I did not tell my family which oil I thought would win. In fact, I let them have at it with their usual gusto. Across the board, they all chose the O Roasted Garlic oil as their favorite. I caught my oldest son popping the cork of the bottle a few times afterward, simply to inhale the heady garlic aroma.

Both the Roasted Garlic Olive Oil and the White Balsamic Vinegar could each stand alone as dressings on salad, vegetables or grilled meat. The flavors were bold without being overpowering. You can taste the quality in each product. You can trust that you are serving pure ingredients.

Through the end of the year, you can get 20% off any orders at ooliveoil.com by using the promo code e-recipecards when you check out.  Orders over $60 (after discount) qualify for free shipping.

Now for your part.  One-third of this contest is popularity.  Over at erecipecards.com, each member has a personal recipe box.  The contestant that has their recipe in the most boxes is the most popular, ergo, the winner of that portion of the contest.   If you have not signed up yet at erecipecards, here is the link to the tour page.  It is quite user friendly and there is NO NEED FOR YOU TO HAVE A BLOG.  You can get to my recipe HERE (after I post it, that is).  That's where my original recipe featuring O Olive Oil and Vinegar will be. 

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S'mores Bars: Your Recipe, My Kitchen

Some people can put a marshmallow on a stick, roast it over a fire, get it perfectly golden brown and then smoothly get it onto a waiting graham cracker and chocolate bar with no mess whatsoever.  I am not that person.  My marshmallows usually ignite within nanoseconds of hitting the fire.  Then they smear all over the heating stick, leaving at least thirty percent of themselves behind.  Another glob of marshmallow coats my fingers, burning as I attempt to get the dang S'more together.  It is not a pretty sight.

These bars turned out for me just like the real ones do, so they were pretty authentic.  Take a look at the bars over at Cooking With My Kid where I first found the recipe.  Hers are perfect.  Take a look at another version that I found at allyou.com.  I am just keeping it real here, folks.  Not only did I make these late Saturday, after the sun and all of my decent light had set, I had marshmallow expanding all over the place.  I think the idea is to keep the bottom layer thin and the top layer thick.  I did the opposite and therefore did not have enough weighty crust to keep the marshmallow fluff in check.  There is nothing like unchecked marshmallows rampaging in your oven to give you grey hairs. 

Despite an imperfect appearance, these bars were, in the words of my #2 son, "scrumdilliumptious."  In fact, I had a near mutiny when I told everyone that they could only have one piece because I was saving the rest for the next day's dessert.  Oh, the deprivations my children must endure!

S'mores Bars (adapted from cookingwithmykid.com and allyou.com)
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
11/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugars and margarine.  Add the egg and vanilla bean paste.  In a smaller bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the mixing bowl, mixing well.  Spread a scant half of the mixture into a greased 8X8 pan.  Top with the chocolate chips.  Top the chips with the fluff.  Put it in the middle of the pan and slowly spread it toward the edges over the chips.  Put the second half of the crust on top of the fluff and spread it out in the same slow manner so you don't actually mix the marshmallow with the crust.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. 

I am looking forward to seeing what you made in your kitchen this week. 


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Happy Thanksgiving to You!

I know that many readers won't have time to check out blogs today, but I would be remiss if I didn't wish all of you that are celebrating, a Happy Thanksgiving.  And to all of you who don't live in the United States, a happy day to you as well.  I cannot begin to express how much I enjoy interacting with you, feeling your friendships, learning from you.  I don't tell you often enough, but thank you for visiting, for leaving comments, for enriching my life. Tweet

Pumpkin Cake Mix Cupcakes

Have you seen the recipes where people take a can of pumpkin and add it to a chocolate or yellow cake mix and then bake it?  No eggs, no oil, just pumpkin?  Well this is almost that recipe.  I had pumpkin left over from making everything under the sun.  It's really amazing how much pumpkin is in one of those 28 ounce cans.  Anyway, there it was, sitting in my fridge; almost a full 14 ounce can's worth.  Then I saw the date filling left from my mother-in-law's date filled cookies (it's okay, folks, don't freak out that this was old filling, I am just now posting the recipe, but I made the cupcakes about a week after the date cookies) and knew that I had to use both.

So I grabbed a Butter Pecan cake mix (because I live in the south now and I can grab that flavor) (but if I lived where that flavor is not available I would have settled for spice or yellow), and I mixed in the pumpkin.  But then I freaked out that the cupcakes I had in mind wouldn't rise enough, so I added an egg.  Just one. It was enough.  I put a dollop of date filling onto as many as I could before I ran out.  Some ended up plain.

All of them ended up with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting on top.  Perhaps that was overkill.  You will have to imagine what they looked like that way.  They didn't make it to the photo shoot.

Pumpkin Cake Mix Cupcakes:
1 cake mix, preferably butter pecan, spice or yellow
14 ounce can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
Optional date filling from this recipe
Optional cream cheese frosting
Combine all three ingredients in a bowl.  Stir or mixer them all together until smooth.  Scoop into cupcake liners.  Bake 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until they test done.  If using filling, spoon filling on top of uncooked cupcakes and slightly press down.  Frost if desired.


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***CLOSED***Mixed Berry & Apple Cobbler Giveaway (Souplantation or Sweet Tomatoes)

So I have a little unique giveaway for you.  I was contacted recently about reviewing a cobbler from Sweet Tomatoes.  Each year at the holidays, they make a bunch of "take and bake" treats available to the public.  They make quite a variety from cookie dough to cobblers in all sorts of flavors.  I chose a mixed berry and apple cobbler (feeds 8-10).  It reminded me of the kind of desserts we used to enjoy when we lived in the Pacific Northwest.  What a treat filled with so many fond memories.

I am able to give a voucher for a Mixed Berry and Apple Cobbler to one of you.  Now here's the thing.  You have to live close to either a Souplantation in California or a Sweet Tomatoes in other parts of the United States.  It's a pick-up in person kind of thing.  They are located in WA, OR, CA, NV, UT, AZ, NM, WY, TX, KS, MO, IL, FL, GA and NC.  (I did all of those abbreviations without looking them up...I am so proud!).  So you see this giveaway is really limited.  However, you could always send the voucher to a loved one who lives in one of those states...It expires 12/31/2011 and 48 hours needs to be allowed between ordering and pick-up.

Anyone in?

You can enter by leaving a comment each day from today (Monday) until Friday, November 25, 2011 at noon Eastern Time.  Please make sure I can get in touch with you via email or on a blog.  I will contact you Friday afternoon for your snail mail address so you can receive your voucher for a yummy cobbler.

Fine print: I received a voucher for a free cobbler from Sweet Tomatoes.  All opinions are my own. Tweet

Farro e Verdure: Your Recipe, My Kitchen

This week's recipe is not from another blog, but rather from a recipe site.  I was handed this recipe to make and bring to a workshop on how to cook with wheat.   While I have great respect for Mario Batali, I knew I couldn't make the recipe as written.  For one thing, it asked me to make a 4 Cup batch of tomato sauce so that I could use 1 Tablespoon.  Um, no.  Then there was the chicory.  I don't even know what fresh chicory looks like.  I thought it was ground up and used as an added ingredient in some coffee.  I had to look it up.  The roots are used for coffee.  The leaves are used in salad!  Then there was the whole farro versus wheat berries thing.  Farro is a term used more for the grains of certain wheat species, according to Wikipedia.  It doesn't necessarily mean the common hard red wheat that I used in this recipe, but it will do.  There is so much I don't know about food!!!

So have you ever eaten wheat berries?  They are nutty and chewy and filling.  I am thinking that I need to use them more because they are absolutely delicious.  This is not a vegetarian dish, but with a little tweaking, it certainly could be.  Just leave out the bacon.  Use olive oil to saute the vegetables.  With more broth, you could serve this as a soup or stew.  It can stand along as a main dish or can be served on the side.

Farro e Verdure (adapted from Molto Mario on Food Network)

4 slices of bacon, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

about 5 cups water (more if needed)

1 cup uncooked wheat berries (wheat kernels)

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 10 ounce brick frozen chopped spinach, thawed, heated and drained

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp store bought spaghetti sauce (could use tomato paste)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon in a large saute pan or stockpot.  Remove the meat and set aside while you cook the onion and celery until soft.  Add the bacon back to the pan along with the wheat berries and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Turn down heat and cook until water is absorbed.  Add more water until the wheat berries are plump and soft.  (It took me 5 cups of water, it may take you a little more or less) Once the wheat is tender, add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and continue to cook until the carrots are done, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning and serve. (note: this would have been good with grated cheese on top.)

So, what did you make this week?  How many of you pre-make Thanksgiving dishes to post? 


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Saturday Stories: An Attitude of Gratitude

I am thankful, really, really thankful for tender mercies. This year, more than many in the past, my heart is full. Perhaps it is due in large part to the economic battering that my family has taken in the last three years. We seem to be making progress in getting out of the hole we dug. Perhaps it is because we are back on our own two feet after having had to rely on my parents' amazing generosity for two years. Whatever the reason, I am choosing to believe it is because Someone has taken care of us through sunshine and storms.

Here is my incomplete and inadequate list:

1. We are healthy. Sure we have some ongoing medical issues that will never go away, and yes, we catch viruses like anyone else, but for the most part, all seven of us have strong and healthy bodies.
2. We have a house to live in. We don't own a house any more, but I am not sure that I want to. There is a freedom in renting...not just that we don't have a mortgage binding us to one place, but there is no worry about being upside down or inside out. It's a good house and we have a good property manager who has fixed everything that was broken. My husband picked this house without me and he did a fine job.
3. We are accepted. Some of you that have read my blog at least since the beginning of this year may remember that I felt some trepidation before we moved to Florida. I was worried about bringing my white-minded black children to the South. I prejudged and I was wrong. The people here are amazing; full of graciousness, politeness, friendliness. The only weird thing that has happened to my children is that some black kids have asked my sons why they don't talk like they do.
4. We have plenty. My children might disagree with that one. I have learned a new definition for the phrase “sufficient for our needs.” One thing that has helped break “I want” habits is that we got rid of television. We still watch our favorite shows through the internet, but we don't have to suffer through the advertisements. There are only a few ads online and they repeat themselves over and over. My kids don't care what car insurance we have or what kind of printer we use, so they are not influenced to say, “we need that!”
5. We are closer as a family. My husband works in California. Half the time, he is not home. However, the other half of the time, when he is home, we make more of an effort to do things all together than we used to. We go for walks, we go shopping, we watch rented movies. Sometimes we splurge and go to the beach or out to eat. Although my two social butterflies manage to go out often with friends, they are willing to hang out with us, too.
6. We have peace in our hearts. One of my sons was invited to participate in a “Be the Change, Lead the Way” workshop at school. He came home shaking his head. Kids thought that he should be mad that he was adopted. They kept asking him why he was so happy all of the time. Another son has been complimented many times because he can converse with adults. He shakes their hands and looks them in the eye and talks. (I know, it's novel in a teenager!) My children don't have enough experience with the world to know that they have developed a better internal foundation than most. We have taught them from the time that they were small that they are of worth, that they are children of God and that they matter. It has only been recently that I have seen that it is paying off.
7. We are going to be okay. Life has a way of throwing all sorts of debris in our way. There have been plenty of times that I have looked to the heavens and said, “I just cannot take this any more.” Trials don't ever just disappear because I think I can't handle them. However, somehow burdens are eased, the load seems lighter and I can press forward. In the end, I can look back and see how much I grew because I endured.
   
   
   
   
   Happy Thanksgiving!!

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Pumpkin Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup: Improv Challenge

This month's Improv Challenge, formerly hosted by Sheryl of The Lady Behind the Curtain,  was to come up with a recipe using pumpkin and cream cheese. Sheryl suddenly dropped her blog, email, everything, leaving all of us a bit worried about her.   With no means of communicating with her, I decided to continue the Improv Challenger here at Frugal Antics of a Harried  Homemaker.  Anyone can join (just send me an email) and post with us in the future.  The object of the challenge is to take two ingredients and come up with something amazing.  Sheryl already assigned November: pumpkin and cream cheese as well as December: eggnog and cranberries and January: lemons and sour cream. February will be carrots and ginger.

If I were incredibly on the ball, I would have come up with something exotic like a vegetarian Pumpkin Pot Pie in a Cream Cheese based crust or maybe even a Pumpkin Donut filled with Cream Cheese.  However, real life demands that I feed five children.  And my kids love waffles.  I used the same cream cheese "syrup" here that I used on the cake mix pancakes a few weeks back.  That stuff is pretty fabulous.  I think I could serve it straight onto my kids hands and they would be happy just licking it off.  Not a pretty thought, but still, I think they'd all like it.

Pumpkin Waffles (adapted from Southern Living)

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground caramon

3 eggs, separated

1 3/4 cups milk

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the egg yolks, milk, oil and pumpkin and stir until just combined.  Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form stiff peaks.  Fold the egg whites into the pumpkin mixture.  Cook the waffles in a hot, greased waffle iron until done.

Cream Cheese "Syrup"

3 Tbsp cream cheese

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

enough milk to make a thick, syrup consistency

Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Add the vanilla along with about 2 Tbsp milk and beat.  Add extra milk until you get the desired consistency.

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Mashed Potato Pie: Secret Recipe Club

It's Secret Recipe Club time!!  This month, I was assigned Erin's blog, Making Memories with Your Kids.  I have been reading Erin's posts for almost as long as she has been blogging.  She has to be one of the most clever moms I know.  Not only does she have her two sweet children help in the kitchen, but she makes food fun for them.  From her great cinnamon-y breakfasts, to spaghetti inside hotdogs to fabulous teacher appreciation ideas, she has something for every kid at heart.  If you haven't visited her blog yet, go today!

Of all of the recipes that Erin had on her blog, this one spoke to my most basic carb addiction.  Mashed potatoes in a pie crust, with cheese.  Erin's family makes their mashed potatoes with Ranch dressing.  My family prefers them with cream cheese.  I served it with a baked ham, so I skipped the bacon that she added.  This pie could have stood alone as a meal, but it also made a great side dish.  It was almost like a twice baked potato in pie form.

Mashed Potato Pie (adapted from Making Memories with your Kids)
3 pounds of peeled, cooked potatoes mashed with
6 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp dill weed
2 tsp garlic powder
enough milk to reach desired consistency
1 baked pie shell
extra sharp cheddar slices (as desired)
Scoop mashed potatoes into baked pie shell (no need to let it cool).  Insert cheese slices down into the potatoes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through and cheese is nice and melted.  Serve warm.



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Your Recipe, My Kitchen

It's Group B reveal day, so I will have a separate post for that.  Feel free to link up your creations below.  I love seeing what you cook!!




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Candy Cap Mushroom Syrup Cupcakes

Can you believe that there is a mushroom that smells like a maple bar?  When I received my sample from Marx Foods last week, I left the bag of them on the counter.  All week long, my kids kept looking for the donuts.  Really, the aroma was very nice and very maple-y.  The only problem I had was limiting my ideas of what to do with those mushrooms, which also included plotting ways of getting my sweets-loving, mushroom-hating third son to eat them.  Cupcakes seemed like the best route. 

See those little dark pieces in the cupcakes?  Those are candied Candy Caps.  Instead of soaking them in straight water, I heated them in a heavy syrup and let them soak in sugar.  When they were nice and plump, I chopped them up.  I didn't stop there, though.  That syrup was full of flavor, so it went into both the cupcakes and the frosting.   

My kids accuse me of staying up late at night to come up with new ways to torture them.  Normally, that is a ridiculous thought.  However, in this case, slipping mushrooms right past my whole family was worth every effort.  Everyone was oohing and aahing over dessert.  They all went back for seconds and thirds. No one suspected a thing.  I saved out a few mushrooms, ground them up fine and plan to sneak them into something else in the future. Snicker, snicker.

I am submitting this recipe to the Marxfoods.com Candy Cap Mushroom recipe contest.


Candy Cap Mushroom Syrup Cupcakes

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening (or butter)

3/4 cup Candy Cap Mushroom syrup (see below for instructions)

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp finely chopped candied Candy Cap Mushrooms

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 1/4 cups flour

3 egg whites

Cream the sugar and shortening.  Add the syrup, milk, mushrooms and vanilla.  Combine the salt, baking powder and flour in a small bowl and add to the wet ingredients, mixing until smooth.  Beat the egg whites until stiff.  Fold into the cake batter.  Scoop out into 15 regular sized cupcake liners.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes or until done.  Cool on a wire rack.  Frost with brown sugar frosting.

Brown Sugar Frosting: 

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp Candy Cap Mushroom syrup

2 Tbsp milk

1 cup powdered sugar

In a small saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar and syrup on medium low heat.  Add the milk and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil for 2 minutes.  Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.  Cool for 5 minutes in the freezer and then spread on cupcakes.

To make Candy Cap Mushroom Syrup: Heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan.  Add 1/4 cup dried candy cap mushrooms.  Boil rapidly for 5-8 minutes.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and let sit for another 15 minutes.  When mushrooms are nice and plump, but cool enough to handle, remove from syrup and chop as desired.

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Improv Challenge Announcement

I don't know if you remember, but in October, I posted a Caramel Apple Bread Pudding as part of a new and very fun blogging group called the Improv Challenge.  It was the brainchild of Sheryl from The Lady Behind the Curtain.  She had well over 150 bloggers signed up to participate in the November Challenge.  However, on Sunday, she sent out an email in which she said goodbye to the blog world.  Her site is gone, her email is gone.  She is gone.  It has saddened and worried many of us.

We are not going to let the Improv Challenge stop.  I have decided to host it here at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.  With the wonderful help of Nicole from Daily Dish Recipes, I was able to get my hands on a cached copy of Sheryl's rule page which also included the blog names of all of the participants.  Over the next two days, I will attempt to contact those that didn't participate in October.  I have already heard from many from October's challenge who want to keep the Challenge going.

So what am I talking about?  The Improv Challenge was designed to get your creative juices flowing.  Each month we are given two ingredients (like in October it was Apples and Caramel).  We can use any other ingredients in the recipe as long as we include the two assigned.  On a certain day each month, we all post our creations in linky form.  There is no obligation on your part.  You can choose to participate one month and not the next.  You can go every  month, every three, whatever.  Once you are on the email list, I will simply send you that month's code and let you decide whether or not you have time to play that month. You don't have to tell me if you are not with us.

If you are playing in any particular month, I need you to email me your post title and your blog name.  The linky is  set so that I have to approve all the links.  If you have not sent me the title beforehand, you might be a spammer...and we all know how we feel about spammers!  Oh, and please post a new recipe each time, not one that has already appeared on your blog.  It doesn't have to be an original recipe, just a new-to-your-blog one.

November's ingredients are pumpkin and cream cheese.  The reveal date is November 17 at 7am Eastern time.

December's ingredients are eggnog and cranberries.  January's ingredients are lemons and sour cream.

Come join the fun!! Email frugalantics(at)yahoo(dot)com to sign up or ask any questions. Tweet

Crockpot Chicken Caccatore: Your Recipe, My Kitchen

This recipe was highlighted last week by Amy of A Little Nosh.  It came from Renee over at My Kitchen Adventures.  The day I read it, I popped a bunch of ingredients in my crock-pot and had it for dinner.  That is a huge deal because I usually stick pretty closely to my weekly menu.  However, it looked so good and I was reading recipes at 5:30 in the morning and I was hungry.   How could I resist against such obviously good reasons?

The original recipe called for 9 chicken thighs.  I used 1 whole chicken breast.  Because most chickens seem to be the Dolly Partons of the bird world these days, I was able to feed 8.  I also threw in a mongo sweet potato, skipped the mushrooms, used freeze dried celery and red peppers, omitted the spinach and wine and added whole baby carrots and more tomatoes.  Oh and I served it with pasta instead of polenta.

Crockpot Chicken Caccatore (adapted from My Kitchen Adventures)
1 large, whole chicken breast, cut into 8 pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
1 large handful whole baby carrots
1 rib celery, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 bay leaf
2-3 Tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp chicken base
2 cups water
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Throw all of the ingredients into a slow cooker.  Give it a stir and cook 8 hours on low.  Serve over cooked pasta or rice.

Your turn!  Come join the fun and show us what you have made in your kitchen this week!


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Candy Bar Cookies: Week 6 Christmas Cookies

Am I the only parent who feels like there is too much candy in her house?   After attending a huge Halloween party, sending the kids out into the neighborhood to trick-or-treat and not having many children ring our own doorbell because the other 3 houses on our cul-de-sac left their porch lights off, I have pounds of candy.  POUNDS!!!  I may or may not have also bought an 80 piece bag of candy the day after Halloween so that I could bake with it.

My sons are making short work of their stashes.  I believe that all of the kids' candy will be gone according to their ages.  The oldest is already out.  My little girl is only allowed a certain number of pieces a day.  She may have candy until New Year's Day.  My husband is working through the candy we didn't pass out, but I helped him a bit with this recipe.

 (some are a little mangled because Princess Pat was very exuberant in helping me put the candy in)

I am going to come completely clean with this recipe.  I used refrigerated dough.  But seriously folks, how many of us have received plates of cookies that we KNOW were made from these?!  I thought so.  And did our families eat them?  So did mine.  It happens.  During the holidays  parties and other obligations are numerous, while time and energy are in short supply.    These cookies came about because a store had a BOGO free sale and I had a coupon.  Two packages for two bucks is too cheap for me to pass up.  (Notice how many times I used the word to/two/too in that sentence!!)  So, I give you Candy Bar Cookies: store bought cookie dough baked in mini muffin tins with store bought Halloween candy dropped into the middles after baking.  Our candies of choice this time were Milk Duds, Baby Ruth, Crunch and Tootsie Rolls.

 Candy Bar Cookies

1 package refrigerated cookie dough (pb or choc chip)

1/2 as many small candy bars as you have cookies, cut in half

Place each cookie in a mini muffin tin.  Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and immediately put a candy half in each cookie.  Take them out of the muffin tin so they don't get soggy.

 

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Pumpkin Banana Bread

 There are so many possibilities when it comes to pumpkin.  It mixes with other fruits pretty well, too.  I have made pumpkin apple muffins.  I have made orange pumpkin pie.  This time, I combined it with bananas in a bread.  What other fruits have you seen pumpkin paired with?

 My bread pan was too big for this recipe.  Actually, I think it would have been better made into two mini loaves.  Not that the bread was dry or anything.  It was just short.  I find short quick breads annoying.  It's like they are trying to be cute and mini, but they just can't pull it off.  I guess I am a bit of a quick bread snob.

Pumpkin Banana Bread (from the Greenbriar Bed and Breakfast Inn, Coeur D'Alene, ID)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Combine the banana, pumpkin, egg, sugar and oil in a bowl.  In a smaller bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the banana mix.  Stir until just blended.  Bake in a regular size greased loaf pan or two small loaf pans.  Bake larger loaf 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  Bake the smaller loaves 35-45 minutes, or until tooth pick comes out clean. Tweet