Sausage & Asparagus Jambalaya-ish Dish

Story:
I've been meaning to post this one for a long time.  I really like this recipe!

It was introduced to me by my friend Shawn D.  I've talked about her before.  She was my back-door neighbor and friend when we lived in KY.  We were in a dinner group together for a looong time, and this was one of her recipes... although this version is kind of a dumbed-down version.  She's a little more "gourmet" than I am.

I've doubled this recipe and it turns out nicely.  I guess it's kind of like a jambalaya, though I'm not chef enough to know specifics. 

Ingredients:
1 pkg smoked sausage (or kielbasa or whatever)
4 C chicken broth
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
2 T butter
2 C rice (I've used Uncle Ben's converted rice, and it works nicely)
2 C sliced asparagus, cooked crisp-tender
1/2 C shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 C parsley, chopped
(salt and pepper to taste)

Directions:
Cut sausage into half-inch cubes.  Set aside.
Bring 4 C broth to a boil.  Then reduce heat to low.
Heat olive oil in a skillet.  Add the cubed sausage, the onions, and the mushrooms and saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add butter and rice.  Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. (My brother says the point here is to toast the rice before cooking it.)
Add about 1 C of broth at a time until absorbed.  Keep stirring.
Remove from heat and stir in the cooked asparagus.  Stir in 1/4 C of the Parmesan cheese and the parsley.
Top with the remaining cheese and serve.

A little pesto...

We've kind of discovered that Ben's body doesn't like mayonnaise.  But he loves deli sandwiches in the lunches I pack for him.  So we were considering options, and he suggested PESTO to moisten it up a little, and WE LOVE IT.  It's a super easy way to add great flavor to otherwise boring turkey sandwiches.  Give it a try!

Linguine with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Story:

I love it. But I'm the only one in my family that does. Ha!

Found it in Southern Living magazine in 2010.

Ingredients:

1 package linguine (16 oz)

1 jar sun-dried tomatoes in oil (7 oz)

1/4 C pine nuts

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

1 package crumbled feta cheese (4 oz)

2 T fresh basil, cut into thin strips

Directions:

Prepare the linguine according to the package directions.

Drain tomatoes, reserving 2 T oil. Cut tomatoes into thin strips.

Heat the pine nuts in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 5 minutes (or until toasted and fragrant). Remove nuts from skillet

Increase heat to medium and saute garlic in 2 T of the reserved oil and the additional olive oil. Saute for about a minute or until garlic is fragrant.

Stir in the tomatoes and then remove from heat.

Toss together the tomato mixture, the hot cooked pasta, the feta cheese, and the basil in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy! ...even amidst the complaining from the children... It really is good.

Baked Banana Oatmeal

Story:

Admittedly, I can no longer claim to be refined-sugar-free. However, when I was (and I hope to muster up the drive to do so again!), I found this breakfast recipe that I loved. I only made it a couple of times, because, well, it takes a while to cook. And when I come downstairs for breakfast, I'm usually ready to "eat now" not after "bake for 35 minutes" - y'know? I will also add that my kids liked it too. It was kind of like banana bread meets oatmeal...

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

3 C old-fashioned oats (or quick oats)

1 1/2 C milk

1/2 C raisins

1/3 C honey

1/4 C canola oil

2 t baking powder

2 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla

Directions:

In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs then add the remaining ingredients. Stir until well combined. Let the mixture set for at least 10 minutes for the oats to absorb some of the liquid.

Stir the mixture again, and then spread into a (well greased) 8x8 baking pan. (MrBreakfast.com says you can use two small loaf pans too; I haven't tried yet.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

To serve, cut into squares. Tada!

Note:

Happened across this one from mrbreakfast.com too!

Honey-Lime Fruit Salad

Story:

This one is another magazine or advertisement cut-out. They were selling "DOLE" products in the ad. I can tell, because they said to use DOLE products, of course.

I made it for the first time a few years ago, and I remembered it being tasty. So tonight when Ben's co-worker and his family came over for a little Memorial Day cookout, I made it again. It was good, so I thought I'd add it here. (Thanks for coming over, Mike and Megan! Eli is a darling little thing and Gretchen was crying to see Sophie leave!)

Ingredients:

1 can pineapple chunks (drained, reserve 1/4 C of juice)

1 can mandarin oranges (drained)

Bananas, sliced

Strawberries, sliced

Kiwi fruit, sliced

Dressing:

Pineapple juice (1/4 reserved from can)

1/4 t grated lime peel

2 T lime juice

1 T honey

Directions:

Combine all fruit in a bowl.

Prepare dressing and pour over fruit... then just toss gently!

Notes:

I just zested the peel of one lime and squeezed the juice out. One lime is all it took!

Apricot Honey Oatmeal

Story:

I am afflicted. Literally. I currently have a rare skin condition thing going on. It's really a bummer, actually, but it'll be fine... eventually. I hope.

Anyway, I am to stay off of refined sugar. Strictly. I'm allowed honey and fruit, so that's nice. But now I've been left to find more sugar free foods to feed my family and myself. I discovered this oatmeal online at a website called MrBreakfast.com. I LOVE it. Super, super good.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 C water

1/2 C chopped dried apricots*

1/3 C honey

2 C rolled oats

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring water, apricots, honey, cinnamon, and salt to a boil.

Stir in oats; return to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 5 minutes (quick oats=1 minute), or until most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.

Le stand until desired consistency.

Notes:

*You can use any fruit instead of the apricots.

When I made this the first time, as Ben was scooping it into his bowl, he casually stated: "Apricots are probably my very least favorite fruit." Thanks, Ben. But he liked it. I made it a couple days later with raisins, and he liked that better. Next up, I want to try chopped apples. Yum.

Oh, and even Gretchen liked this. She and I were eating it out of a bowl, cold, for an afternoon snack yesterday, and she loved it.

Banana Sour Cream Bread

Story:

When I went to my friend Jamie T's house to get my hair done a few months ago, she said that she and her family had made some bread to share with my family. (Wasn't that such a sweet Jamie-like thing to do?) Well, I loved the bread. It was super good. So, you guessed it, I asked her for the recipe. She complied. She got it off of allrecipes.com - click here for the recipe off their site.

I never got around to making it until this week. You see, we've had a zillion snow days this winter here in Kentucky. Well, nine to be exact. But it's just funny, because if it snows at all, they call it a snow day and no school. Just like that. I'm not complaining. I get to sleep in and I get to spend a few more hours with my most loved ones... but it's just funny. Anyway, I had a LOAD of bananas, so I made a double batch of this yummy bread. **Note: unless you have a REALLY big bowl, do not attempt a double batch!** But I did, and I ended up with 6 (8"x4") loaves. One of the loaves made its way to our wonderful neighbors Greg and Judy. Greg and Judy's son, daughter-in-law, and new granddaughter are currently visiting them... The reason I tell you that, is because I got this email from Judy today:

Dear Colleen - there was nearly an all-out, old fashioned rumble at my house this morning over your banana bread. It's the best anyone of us has ever eaten. I had it hidden from Greg for a day, but he managed to smell it out and devour most of the rest and blame it on the dogs!!!!! Imagine that.

Anyway, at your leisure please share that recipe with me.

Thanks again, j

I laughed and laughed... and then decided to post the recipe here for the neighbors, as well as for my future reference.

Ingredients:

1/4 C white sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

3/4 C butter

3 C white sugar

3 eggs

6 very ripe bananas

1 (16 oz) container of sour cream

2 t vanilla

2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t salt

3 t baking soda

4 1/2 C flour

(1C chopped walnuts - optional - I don't use)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl, stir together the 1/4 C white sugar and 1 t cinnamon.

Dust the pans lightly with the cinnamon & sugar mixture.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and 3 C sugar. Mix in the eggs, the mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Mix in the salt, baking soda, and flour.

(Then stir in the nuts if you're using them.)

Divide into the prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Note: I used 3 8x4 inch pans and it had to bake longer...

Enjoy!

Skillet Lasagna

Story:

I'm in a "dinner group" with a few of my neighbors. There are 6 families all together. Each week 3 of the women prepare a meal (sometimes cooked, sometimes just all the ingredients for a specific recipe) for the other 5 families. The next week, the other 3 women prepare for all the families. We meet at a specified time every Tuesday to swap out. So every other week, I prepare a dinner for a total of 6 families (mine + the other 5), and I get 5 additional meals from my friends during those two weeks. Get it? It's really not as confusing as it sounds...

Anyway, this Skillet Lasagna recipe was the recipe that my friend Amy gave the ingredients for this week. It was super easy and really good. Megan loved it! I thought I'd post the recipe here, so I could refer to it again...

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (or Italian sausage)

1 jar spaghetti sauce (26 oz)

3 C (uncooked) pasta - Amy used a macaroni type

2 C mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions.

Cook ground beef in a big skillet until crumbled and cooked through. Drain off fat.

Pour the spaghetti sauce in with the meat in the skillet. Simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked noodles and 1 C of the cheese.

Then top with the remaining cheese. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes, or until it is heated through and the cheese on top is melted.

Remove from heat and let stand for a minute or so before serving.

Easy as that! Enjoy!

Good Morning Oatmeal

Story:

No real story. I found this one somewhere when I was looking for crock pot breakfast recipes. Yes, I said crock pot breakfasts. You see, I grew up with healthy and substantial breakfasts. And while I love the idea of making a hearty breakfast for my kids, I am simply too tired and too muddle-headed in the mornings to do a very good job at it. So I went looking online for things I could do the night before...

I made this last night and Ben liked it so much that he found himself bragging about it to one of his patients at work today. He told her it was on the blog, which it wasn't, but, well, now it is. So here you go, Miss Patient-Whose-Name-I-Know-Not-Because-of-Confidentiality-Laws! Hope you like it too!!

Ingredients:

4 C milk

1/2 C brown sugar (maybe a little less, it was pretty sweet)

2 T butter, melted

1/2 t salt

1 t cinnamon

2 C regular oats

2 apples, diced

1 C raisins

Directions:

Spray nonstick cooking spray in the bottom of your slow cooker.

Then combine all ingredients and mix well.

Cook on low overnight (8-9 hours).

Stir before serving.

(Makes quite a bit... but Ben likes a big breakfast...)

EDIT:
I still like this... but it seems to burn in my crock pot every time and then I have to spend time scrubbing it out... Hmmm...

Rochelle's Pumpkin Cookies

Story:

Last week I sent out another one of those recipe exchange e-mails. I don't always do those... really. But I guess I was just in the mood that day. (Besides, I take the really easy way out and just send a link to this blog as "my recipe." ha!) Anyway, this is what my sister Rochelle writes back to me:

Hey Cokes,

I sent a recipe to [your friend], but I’m not forwarding to 20 of my friends. I just don’t do chain emails. ;-) Here’s the recipe… it’s yummy! Put it on your blog so I never lose it. ;-) I had to send it to Dale’s sister Sina recently, as she said she’s tried other Pumpkin Cookie recipes, but they’re never as good.

Love you!

-Ro

So... I haven't officially tried this recipe yet. And this is not showing any disrespect to the Pumpkin Cookies I have already posted on this blog. (I still love your pumpkin cookies, Kate!) But just because my sister asked me to, this recipe for "THE BEST PUMPKIN COOKIES EVER" is going here... just so Rochelle never loses it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar, then add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix well.
Mix in flour, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, and salt.
Bake 8-10 min at 350 degrees.