This is a photo from the Kohl's site of the exact slow cooker I bought. It is a Hamilton Beach "Stay or Go" 6 quart. I highly recommend.

Last week I made a chicken bake thingy with cream of mushroom soup, peas, and stove-top stuffing.  It was eh.  The husband doesn’t like the mushier dishes, and it was only so-so.  BUT on Sunday, I tried my hand at a butternut squash dessert.  And Oh. My. Goodness.

Anywho, here’s the gist of what I did:

• roast a halved butternut squash (sans seeds and whatnot, 450 for an hour)
• remove from peel and place in mixing bowl
• add chopped apples (I used the only 3 Gala apples we had left, and large chunks worked well)
• stir with a couple tbsp honey and a squirt of fresh lemon juice to freshen up the taste
• I added some golden raisins because they are sweet and they seemed like a good idea.
• add a handful of walnuts, or however many of whatever nut you like
• add a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg and mix gently

Mix this dish together and then place in the bottom of your lightly buttered/oiled/greased crockpot.  Set the crockpot for 4 hours on low.  This was the perfect time because the apples were soft, and the squash was reminiscent of pumpkin pie consistency.  MMMMMMM.

I got my inspiration for the topping from Skinnytaste because hers looked oh-so-yummy.   I’ve been really into this blog lately after a friend of mine told me she had found some good recipes there.  We can all stand to cut some calories, right?  So I’ve been perusing the site every so often, and she has such great little tricks that don’t over-do the whole “low-fat” product thing, which I try to mostly stay away from since those products have more sugar.  Not to mention, they are NOT satisfying.  I got some 100 calorie packs a couple weeks ago, and I ended up eating 3 of the dadgum packs.  And I still wanted something sweet an hour later.  I say have the 3 stinking oreos, ya know?  And let me tell you, whole wheat flour is changing my world.  I am very pleased with all the recipes I’ve tried from Gina over at Skinnytaste, so I hope you give her a try as well.

So here’s what she used for her topping on her Cinnamon Apple Crisp:

• 1 cup Quaker quick rolled oats*
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (half stick) butter, melted

* I used rolled oats that I got out of a bulk bin at Whole Foods instead of quick oats because that’s just what I had on hand.  I’m sure either would be fine.

Mix the above ingredients and sprinkle over the squash and apple mixture in the crockpot.  Put the lid on, and get your errands done.  When you get ready for dinner, this little beauty will be waiting for your dessert.  Be forewarned: If you want something uber-sweet, this is not the recipe for you.  I really can’t eat super sweet desserts too often anymore; the effect is like that of Coke or carbonated sodas insofar as I get a stomach ache like you wouldn’t believe.

I knew I could enjoy butternut squash as a dessert, and I was right.  Add some frozen vanilla yogurt and wow!  It might not be fully fall just yet outside, but my kitchen is ready to go.

**Forgive me for not including a picture of the deliciousness!  It was too good!

Portobello mushrooms stuffed with spinach, cheese, marinara, red bell peppers, and onions makes for a healthier "mini pizza"

Have you ever gone to the grocery store, and they have these portobello mushrooms all wrapped up and prettily stuffed with mozzarella and spinach?  I see them all the time, and I always think to myself, “I could do that.”  But I never do.

This past week, though, I did.  I could not think of anything for dinner.  I didn’t really have any instant cravings for anything, so I grabbed my own portobellos, and I brought them home because I had the cheese and baby spinach at home.  As usual, something else struck me as I was making these, and I added in the marinara sauce from Trader Joe’s, the red bell peppers, and the onions.

And you know what?  They tasted JUST LIKE a supreme pizza.

• portobello mushrooms
• marinara sauce (any kind will do, prego, bertoulli, ragu, trader joe’s, you name it)
• baby spinach
• sliced onions
• chopped red bell pepper
• minced garlic
• mozzarella cheese, shredded
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

First, I scooped out the gills of the portobello mushrooms (the black part on the underside of the mushroom) with a spoon.

Then I layered the ingredients in the hollowed out mushroom “bowl” that was made, starting with the marinara sauce and ending with the mozz cheese  and salt and pepper.

Cover and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, then uncover and let cheese get nice and toasty.

Just like-a da pizza!

Flourless pb cookies are good with either milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or semisweet chocolate chips.

On most Sundays, I get this urge to bake.  We’re making brunch, and I just keep cooking.  Today, I was in the mood for cookies.  I saw a recipe in Southern Inspired magazine that I picked up for free at the gym a couple months ago.  The recipe was for Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies, but it involved creaming butter and sugar, and I really wasn’t in the mood for all that cleaning.  My favorite vegan blogger, SusanV over at FatFree Vegan Kitchen: Sinlessly Delicious, rarely mixes anything in a mixer when baking (mainly because she doesn’t use eggs!) or at least that’s the case with everything I’ve ever made from her recipes.  I can eat eggs, and I love them, but the healthiness and ease of her baked goods always calls to me.  So that’s where I looked for my first batch of cookies this morning.  And I could just add the blueberries to the top like the Southern Inspired recipe called for, right?  Well, it wasn’t that easy.  I didn’t have egg replacer powder, so I just thought I could put in an egg.  Makes sense?  Sure, but mine didn’t turn out as good as I’m sure SusanV’s did.  Here’s a link to her recipe.  I’m not going to bother with giving you the recipe for the ones I did, because they were just so-so.  I mean, they would be better as a breakfast cookie.  But that’s what happens when one experiments; sometimes things are good, and sometimes they are not so good.

After I started those, I thought about my friend Ashley’s peanut butter cookies.  I noticed her eating these last spring at lunch, and I had to have the recipe.  They are super easy, they don’t need a mixer, and they don’t have flour in them!!  I did add some oats (not the quick oats,but the rolled oats that keep their texture) that were still in the previous mixing bowl, and I thought about some flax seeds I needed to use.  I just took them out of the oven, so we’ll see how my additions went.

Here’s Ashley’s Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in the meantime:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (she uses reduced fat)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips (she likes the milk chocolate, but I only had semisweet)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Bake for 5 minutes.  When they are just the slightest bit brown, they are done.  Ashley means it, now.  I left one of my batches in there for longer thinking they needed to spread out more, and they were crumbly as hell.  Still good, but not easy to eat or transport.
4. Let them cool on the pan until you can spatula them up without them breaking.

**I added about 2 tbsp. of flax seeds, 2 tbsp. of the rolled oats,and about a 1/4 cup more peanut butter, and the flavor was slightly different but still extremely good.  Mine were a little crumbly this time, too, because J was in the kitchen and got me distracted (“Where’s this go?”  “What do you want me to do with this?”  I swear he does that every time I get involved in a recipe.).  So I don’t know if the crumbliness is due to the added ingredients or the extra time…

I’m gonna go ahead and tell you that it is a 5 out of 5, a 10 out of 10, and 100%!  I was going to take off points for the high calorie content, but these little nuggets of deliciousness are just too good.  And I just can’t make myself care because they are that good.  AND they were good 2 days later.  I made it again tonight, experimenting with the amount of butter.

Paula’s recipe calls for one whole stick of butter.  I used a half stick of butter, melted it in the pan with the brown sugar like the recipe calls for, and added some water.  You pour this delicious goodness on the bottom of the bundt pan and between every layer of biscuits, so it worked out well with the water instead of the extra butter.  It made more of a candy coating on the gorilla bread instead of a more…buttery/greasy coating.

Here’s Paula’s recipe for Gorilla Bread posted on Food Network’s site:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
• 2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated biscuits (10 count)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 20 equal cubes. Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.

Anyway, these things are super easy to make and handle.  You just follow the instructions for hydrating the wrappers.  They are easier to deal with if you just make sure all of the surface area has been covered by water and then quickly transfer to your work area while they are still hard and papery.

Then you just pile in whatever filling you like and then wrap up like you would a burrito.  Just make sure you include fresh basil and mint.  These are a must, trust me.

Our filling included:

• plain chinese noodles, cooked
• marinated and baked tofu–  I just marinate in soy, bake until slightly crispy, and let cool before I start the spring rolls.  This is also a great way to use any leftover tofu or protein you have from a previous meal.  Shrimp, tempeh, pork, anything you like.
• bean sprouts
• matchstick carrots
• fresh basil
• fresh mint
• sliced cucumber
• chopped fresh green onions

Now for the Thai-inspired Peanut Sauce.

J looked up several recipes while I was baking the tofu, and none of them really appealed to me.  So I just kinda threw together bits and pieces of things I saw.  I don’t have exact measurements because I was adding and tasting as I went.  I just knew I wanted it to be like a peanut sauce we buy in the jar, but better and less spicy.  This recipe makes a lot of sauce, but it’s great on everyday leftovers, and we ate it up in a week.

Here’s what I came up with:

• jar of natural peanut butter, creamy (the unsweetened kind)
• half can of coconut milk (you may have to use more or less depending on the consistency of your peanut butter–just get it to the creamy consistency you like, and it will be good)
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• a few tablespoons of water (again, just have a cup of water near you, and add until you get the desired consistency of creamy)
• juice of 1 fresh lime
• lime zest of that lime
• approximately 1 tablespoon of fish sauce (sounds weird, but it just adds that little something)
• a couple shakes of dried ground ginger
• several dashes of Mongolian fire oil or chili oil or whatever spicy sauce you usually use to add the heat
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• approximately 1/4 cup sugar or sweetening agent like agave syrup –be careful with this, especially if you used a sweetened peanut butter.  Add a little at a time until you get your desired sweetness.  I like a perfect blend of sweet, salty, and spicy, but that may not be your forte.

I kept adding the fire oil until I got some heat.  The sugar balances it nicely.

The spring rolls will keep for a few days, so if you have leftovers, they are EXCELLENT for the next day’s lunch.

What’s been happenin’:

• had a great 4th of July with great friends
• made a White Sangria for a 4th of July party that was totally yum
• made my Aunt Judy’s potato salad for a different 4th of July party that was delicious (but not vegetarian)
• finished the yearbook
• got all the wallpaper steamed off the kitchen walls
• decided to paint the cabinets a nice dark brown, but couldn’t figure out when that will ever happen
• went to a family reunion in South Carolina
• teacher meetings
• back to school craziness complete with being at school for 13 hours straight one day (back to school night)
• went kayaking and loved it after I got a single kayak
• teach, teach, teach
• busy, busy, busy
• grade, grade, grade
• answering approximately 30 emails per day
• went mountain biking for like 10 minutes and will never do it again
• teaching British Literature and loving it!
• went to Austin, Texas to visit J’s brother and grandma and sight-see
• ate some awesome Korean and Vietnamese food in Austin
• visited an Asian grocery store
• tried Boba or Bubble tea
• ate way too much meat in Austin which made me realize why I became a vegetarian to begin with (albeit a bad one from time to time)
• had an avocado margarita–wowza yum!
• went to a Jewish/Presbyterian wedding in St. Louis, MO

Future blog topics:

• Aunt Judy’s potato salad
• White Sangria with a green apple twist
• Vietnamese spring rolls
• avocado margaritas
• almost fat-free blueberry chocolate carob cake
• marinated tofu and Outback-style sauteed mushrooms (veg style, of course)
• galub jamun–those delicious fried dough balls in the rose and cardamom syrup.
• my favorite restaurant in Hendersonville: Chef Rakka on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (“Sauced and Spiced” rerun on Food Network this Friday 10/15 at 8 p.m and 11 p.m.)
• You should definitely DVR this show because Chef Rakka is the bad-assest dude ever.
• my favorite Indian Vegetarian restaurant and their Chai tea that I have dreams about

After being sick, dealing with ants in the kitchen, having our German friends in town, dealing with mice in the kitchen and in our walls, finishing out the school year, taking the kitchen wallpaper down, and generally being attached to the computer screen all summer to finish the yearbook, I really lost my gusto with the cooking.  I got into the frozen vegetarian protein, and I really only had cravings for pizza, tacos, and veggie burgers.  That’s how I’ve always determined the meals at our house: what are we craving at the moment?

I’ll be honest: I knew these frozen delights were not the best for us.  Last week, though, I was newly inspired to get back into the unprocessed way of life after seeing that processed soy products have isoflavones or some sort of fake hormone that can possibly lead to cancer.  Plus, we had just gotten back from Austin, TX where we ate at the best restaurants ever.  I had my fill of meat because it WAS Texas after all, and I felt miserable the entire time.

So I’m back!  And I’ve got some great new ideas, food interests, and exciting things to try.

We had these honey lime shrimp kebabs for dinner last night.

You know when you have a big project and you tell yourself you will not do anything else until it is finished?  That is what I feel like these days.  A 264 page publication is set to come out in August, and I need to get it done.  But I do have to cook.  And last night I had a creative moment in the form of this marinade.  We bought some great shrimp at Publix, and the evening had cooled off enough to use the grill.  Unfortunately, our propane tank lost its juice.  But that’s okay because these kabobs can be done in the oven, and they are still amazingly delicious.

I only marinated these for an hour, but in the future, I will definitely give them longer.  The flavors are so fresh that they need time to fully get in there.

The vegetables I used for the kabobs included large chunks of green bell pepper, yellow squash, and red onion.  I marinated all of it with a pound of peeled shrimp.  I just threw these ingredients in as I went, so I am estimating these measurements.  It should be slightly sweet, and not overpoweringly tart.

These honey lime shrimp kebabs are good in the oven or on the grill.

Honey Lime Marinade

whisk together with a fork in the bowl you plan to marinate in:

• juice of 2 limes
• zest of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1.5-2 tbsp honey
• 2-3 tbsp of orange juice
• 1-2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
• 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• salt to taste

Since I have most of my cooking adventures in the kitchen, I thought I’d put a before picture of the awful wallpaper I just took down.  I plan to do a major overhaul–painting cabinets a dark brown, new countertops, tile backsplash, undercounter lighting.  I’ll keep you guys posted as I work on it.  I’m really excited because I love being in the kitchen.  I know I’ll love it even more when it’s all done.  Here’s what the wallpaper looked like before I steamed it all off the walls:

The awful wallpaper in our kitchen. Who thought this pattern would be a good thing?

While visiting, Pam made this broccoli salad.  When m0m told me about it, I was not enthused.  Mayo and bacon and broccoli do not sound like the best things to me.  Maybe on a  BLT, but I digress.  Last weekend, mom made this broccoli salad for us, and I’m telling you that is like nothing I have ever tasted.  She put the bacon on the side since I’m a veg now, so I really appreciated that.  I imagine that it is super good with the bacon, but I really enjoyed it even without it.  I went back for seconds!

If you’re looking for something different, try this.  I promise it is awesome.  Don’t let the sound of the ingredients frighten you away like it did me at first.

Pam’s Broccoli Salad

• 2 heads of raw broccoli
• red onion, finely chopped
• sunflower seeds (sans hulls, of course)
• raisins or dried cranberries
• optional: freshly cooked, crunchy bacon
• another optional that I haven’t tried yet: shredded cheese
• 1 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup white vinegar

1. Mix the mayo and sugar together.  (Pam uses more sugar, so you could go with more if you wanted it later)
2. Add the vinegar a little at the time so it doesn’t clump up.
3. Cut the broccoli into tiny, bitesize florets, and add to the mayo mix.
4. I wish I could give you the measurements on the rest of the ingredients, but mom doesn’t do it that way.  Handfull of this, handfull of that.  Stir in the red onion.  You know how potent it can be, so just use your best judgment.
5. Stir in a handfull of sunflower seeds and a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.
6. Mom had the bacon on the side, and Joe said he preferred it that way because it stays crunchy until you get ready to eat it.

You can easily half this recipe like we did last night.   I would post a pic, but I used vegan mayo, and the color isn’t creamy like mom’s.  It is still good, but I suggest using Kraft regular mayo or Duke’s.

This summer peach pie is my mom's recipe. I have called her so many times to repeat it because it is sooooo sweet and delicious for the summer.

Sometimes I could just hit myself.  I made a peach pie yesterday, ate a slice before it set in the refrigerator, and only THEN realized that my blogger friends might like this!  I am smack dab in the middle of finishing the yearbook, and I think I am delirious.  If you’ve ever worked on a yearbook, you understand the nightmares involved in publishing 268 pages of (mostly) student work.  I say “mostly” because I simply have to do some of it because folks disappear in the summer. But it’s cool.  I don’t mind it…too much.

Which is why this pie is so good.  It is easy, cool, refreshing, and delicious.  You do have to turn on your oven to crisp up the pie crust, but you could do that at night after everyone is out of the kitchen.  Let it cool overnight.  Wake up the next day and fix this while you’re making your lunch.  It’ll be ready before dinner!

This recipe is straight from my mama.  It makes 2 pies, which coincidentally is how many pies crusts come in a package in the freezer section.  You can easily half the recipe to make one, though.  Which is what I did last night.  And only because I didn’t have room in the fridge for 2.

• 2 frozen pie crusts (I recommend deep dish)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp clear corn syrup
• 1 box dry peach jello (3 oz)
• at least 4 fresh peaches per pie

1. Cook the pie crusts according to package instructions.
2. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Add water and mix.
4. Add corn syrup and mix.  Make sure it is all mixed together.
5. Microwave to boiling–Go 2 minutes and stir.  Go 2 more minutes and stir.  Watch it closely so that it doesn’t boil over and make a big ole mess in your microwave.
6. The mixture should be thicker and clear.  At this point, slowly stir in the box of jello until mixed well.
7. Let it cool.  Let the pie crust cool.
8. Put your peeled fresh peaches in the cooled pie crust.
9. Pour the jello mixture over the peaches.
10. Refrigerate until set.  I can never remember how long I refrigerate it because I always eat some before it is completely set.  =)

I have long been a fan of the mojito, and I am super excited that I now know how to make one the right way.

I have loved mojitos for as long as I can remember.  I have always tried to make them by some recipe I found online or in a cocktail book, but it just was not good.  We have SOOO much mint that grew back this year, so I really felt the pressure more than ever to make a good mojito.  It didn’t help my cravings when we were at the beach one day, and my sister-in-law mentioned how a cabana boy would make our little (almost) private beach perfect.  Because it so nearly is perfect already.  No high rise condos, no insane amount of people muddling up the water, and no tar balls.  Yet.

When Linda mentioned that cabana boy, I thought about that cabana boy bringing me a sweet, cool, minty Mojito.  When we got home, H found this mojito recipe from Jeffrey Morgenthaler. He also includes some do’s and don’ts which are also really helpful.   He has a pretty sweet blog about bartending and mixology in Portland, Oregon.  And y’all know I love Portland. We went on our honeymoon to Seattle and Portland last October, and I swear I would move there if it weren’t so dadgum far away from everyone I love.

So Jeffrey says that the secret to a mojito is the simple syrup.  Believe me when I say that he is totally right.  This recipe is so easy, it’s like 1,2,3.  Oh wait, it is!

Check it out:

• In a 16 oz. mixing glass, gently muddle together 1 large sprig of spearmint and .75 ounce of simple syrup.
• I use about 6 medium to large leaves and since  I don’t have that small of a measurer of ounces,  I just put in 3 tablespoons of the simple syrup (I like it sweet).  What is simple syrup you ask?  Boil a cup of water and add a cup of sugar until it dissolves.  Then let it cool.  He says it keeps for about a week in the frig.  We’ve had it for a week and a half.  I need to get a sweet little squeeze bottle to keep it in the frig so I won’t make a mess like I did yesterday.

Here comes the 1, 2, 3:

• Add 1 ounce lime juice and its spent hull.
• Add 2 ounces white rum. (He says Bacardi is as close to Cuban rum as he can find here.  I like that.)
• Add 3 ounces sparkling mineral water.

Top all that with crushed ice and mix. I give it a 10 out of 10 because it tastes just like the professional mojitos I’ve had here.

The sweetness of this is really up to you.  I like mine pretty sweet, so I use 3 tbsp.  Maybe you could put 2 tbsp and then add from there.  Make sure you mix it well.  Oh man, we’ve been sipping these on the porch in the late evenings, and they really hit the spot.  What’s your favorite summer cocktail?