bugs bunny would be proud

Have you ever bought a giant bag of carrots at Sam's Club (or Costco, etc.) and gotten home and realized, holy wow. That's a lot of carrots.
Well, I have. And unless you have horses, or a lot of children (clarification: animals do not ever count as children), or you're intimate friends with a frenzied carrot-eating rabbit named Bugs, you've gotta be creative and fast!
I'm here to bring you a tried, tested and approved recipe for that mound of carrots that is threatening to go bad in your refrigerator.

Fact: fresh veggies are great for you.
Don't give up on buying them just because frozen veggies are easier/cheaper/etc. Buying in bulk is a GREAT and cost-effective idea, and stores like Sam's Club give you that option. All you really need is to research how best to store your items for longetivy and how to use them up in your daily lunch and dinner recipes!

(Disclaimer: we do not own a Sam's Club membership. We piggy-backed on the membership of some friends or ours, so I'm really just a lot of talk, because this is the first time I've done this....)

Dinner Pancakes

Guest-Starring Carrots in the Lead Role

Don't be scared of this idea, like my husband was.
I saw a recipe on Pinterest from 5dollardinners.com, which you can find here.
The recipe is for a batch of whole wheat carrot pancakes, with a maple cream cheese glaze.
(My mouth just watered).
But I decided to throw caution to the wind, and go for a whole new idea -- a savory dinner twist!
Instead of going in the sweet breakfast/dessert direction, I decided to go for a filling, spicy main course.

Although, I'll admit, I couldn't shake the IHOP feel, so I added some scrambled eggs on the side. :)

Ingredients: 

-1 cup flour (whole wheat, if you've got it!)

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-3/4 cup milk (add more/less to vary the thickness of your pancakes)

-1 egg

-1 tablespoon butter, melted

-1/2-3/4 cup grated carrots

-1/4 onion, finely chopped

-1 fresh avocado, cut into thin slices

-fresh ground pepper

-chili powder

(as much as you'd like, for the pepper and chili powder! i usually go big, or go home)

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder.

2. Whisk in the milk, egg, and butter. Fold in the grated carrots.

3. Cook pancakes on a hot, greased skillet. Repeat until all the batter is used.

Try not to be too upset by this oddly shaped first attempt!

4. Take your avocado and dice it up into thin slices to add as a yummy topping to your fresh pancakes!

5. Serve and enjoy! Sides are endless -- go breakfasty with some eggs and sausage, and/or slices of apples or oranges.

In my opinion, the thinner/crispier the better for these guys.
These have a wonderful sweet flavor from the carrots, and a fantastic texture. Adding the chili powder and onion and topping it with avocado savorizes it up a bit (new chef word?).

In any case, this meal left me feeling happy, healthy, and I think even a little wise.
Spice things up a bit, and try this recipe with your own dinnery additions!
Good luck!

In love,
Cait

bowls of super

Let me start off by saying, that I'm....not exactly the most avid of football fans.
Let's also say, that I walked into the Super Bowl party completely unaware of who was even playing.
(Although upon arrival I was swindeled into rooting for the Giants!)
This is my one flaw (from my husband's perspective, I'm sure) and I've always been okay with it.
Because despite my lack of football know-how, Super Bowl parties are always a blast!!

Great food, great people, great energy.
We've surrounded ourselves with pretty awesome people out here, and opportunities like the Super Bowl provide a casual atmosphere to get really fat and really happy. (We even sang a little!)
The party was hosted by the beautiful and talented couple, Chris and Heather :)
It's been really fun getting to know them, and we love their apartment! (wink!)

My contributions for the evening spread (It was so weird watching the Super Bowl so late! It started at 6:30pm!) (am I using too many parentheses in this post?) were mini pizza puffs and mini corn dog muffins! Although I must say, the dessert was the highlight of the evening. Oh, and the cheese with the jelly. I'll get to that.

Our spread:



Wings are a MUST HAVE at a Super Bowl Party



Pizza Puffs - totally yummy, with Marinara to dip them in!



Corn Dog Muffins - a pretty great, ridiculously easy idea :)





THE CHEESE. (and crackers). Advice: take cracker, take cheese, take jelly, and consume.
This spicy jelly was SUCH a delicious component to this platter of goodness.



Wings, round 2 -- reheated and refreshed with the mouth-watering sauce.



Chocolate chip cookie dough dip.
Chocolate...chip cooke DOUGH, DIP.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH DIP!

One of our friends is pretty much a culinary genius. The last time we were all together for a game night, she whipped up a delicious, moist chocolate cake (that included a cup of coffee in the recipe, which was an added bonus), and this time, she just bamboozled us with this delightful treat. Animal crackers? And chocolate chip cookie dough DIP? I still can't get over it. I'm pretty upset that I haven't been eating this my whole life. What a concept!



Goofs :)





Our friends are the greatest part of being out here. As shy and awkward as I am, Dusty has always been the more outgoing of the two of us. And my usually slow and steady process of making friends has been revolutionized by the law wife group out here, as well as just simply being married to Dusty!

We had a great time with these peeps. And we look forward to other fun events!

Happy Super Bowl!

In love,

Cait

february is for girls

I have had some interesting encounters in the last few weeks.

Valentine's Day does some strange things to people.

I overheard an amusing conversation between two girls, saying that Valentine's Day made them sick. That they avoid it at all costs, because it's just a stupid day for spoiled rich girls to demand more of the men in their lives.

Did I mention that they said "hate" like "haaaaaaaaate", and that they were single?

We've also had an ongoing office conversation on this fiery topic. One opinion is that Valentine's Day is a completely ridiculous, corporation-driven holiday where people spends billions of dollars when they could be using that same money to better the world. I do agree with that -- if every single person in America that was going to buy a Valentine's Day card, or a bouquet of flowers, or a piece of jewelry, dedicated that amount of money to a good cause... it would be pretty monumental.

BUT -- what about birthdays? Christmas? Easter? Why are we buying chocolate eggs, when we can use that money to feed the children?

And, let's be honest -- any stastistic at its largest effect, combining every person in the US, is obviously ridiculous. I mean, I don't hear him complaining about the 28 million pounds of potato chips or the 325.5 million gallons of beer that are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday! And that's just disgusting!

The point is, if we're going to spend money on silly useless gifts like flowers and chocolate (and let's face it America, we ARE going to spend ridiculous amounts of money on useless gifts), then what better cause is there than love?

L-O-V-E.

(I also ought to mention that the owner of that opinion also stated that they buy their spouse flowers on an almost monthly basis -- so doesn't that mean they're spending even more money that could be better spent elsewhere??)

I motion that Valentine's Day doesn't have to be a corporation-driven holiday. It could be a time to dress up nice, and have a night in. Take time aside to write loves notes. And yes, we should be loving to one another on more than just one day a year -- but I think of all the money-wasting holidays out there, this is the least offensive! It encourages date nights and pretty flowers, bright cards and extra kisses.

Even before I had a husband or even a boyfriend, and even when I was little, I gave out cards to my bestest friends and was happy to see little paper hearts and red and pink decor everywhere.

I'm quite confused by the truly offended, hateful naysayers of St. Valentine.

On that note, here are some of my favorite choices for inexpensive, handmade, small business type gifts for this lovely month of February. :)

RED

 

 

SWEETS

FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIRL

(Amethyst is February's lovely stone!)





There are so many lovely things in the world.

And I, for one, am going to list Valentine's Day as one of them :)

In love,

Cait

Top Recipes of January

Due to the continued onslaught of great recipes that can be found for FREE online, (not to mention the fabulous online resource, Pinterest), I have hardly touched my cookbooks. Which is probably a bad thing -- I need to go old school, and get familiar with some real paper recipes!
But, today is not that day. Today is a recap of all of the online recipe experimentations that took place in our home throughout January!

This first one is a recipe I gathered on Pinterest! If you'd like, you can hop on over to my Pinterest boards by clicking here.
I have recently taken to "surprising" my husband with dinner, because oftentimes, his response to my experimental suggestions is "uhhhh...are you sure about that?" or maybe just a very hesitant, disapproving look. When I offered to make a quiche dish for dinner, I can tell you, he did everything in his power to dissuade me!
But as always, I simply respond, "Have I ever failed you yet?"

Quich a la Parm

(Parmesan Quiche)

Find the original recipe here, at the naptimechef.com!
My version will include a couple of my own ingredients.

For the Crust:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened.
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 cup ice water
A-lotta salt (as much as you desire!)

For the Filling

3 eggs
1 c. milk
1 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 medium-sized potato, chopped.
1 c. (as much as you want) of corn (I used frozen)
1 carrot, chopped
1 handful of freshly chopped basil

A-lotta salt & pepper!
 
DIRECTIONS:

1. For the crust, add all the ingredients to a food processor
(I don't have a food processor, so naturally, I just mixed it all up until it became a crumbly mess and squashed it together into the pie pan, forcing it to do my bidding) until a dough forms. Roll it out to 9" in diameter and press (smash/squash/force) into a pie plate.

1. For the Quiche: Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Whisk together the eggs, milk and cheese in a bowl, then set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium heat, add the onion, potatoes, corn, carrots, and basil. Cook until the onion is soft. Add to egg mixture.

3. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste, then pour the egg mixture into the prepared crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and the quiche is totally set.

YUM!

Another successful parmesan cheese-centered recipe.

The great thing about this, is that you can pretty much make it whatever you'd like to. Adding different veggies and seasonings based on what you already have lying around makes for a unique experience every meal! (And not having to have a pre-made, store-bought crust is a bonus! Cause who has those lying around??)

The next recipe was mainly created because I had a pre-made, store-bought crust lying around. :)

Mozarella Pie

(Yummy Pizza Pockets)

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust

Marinara/Pasta Sauce

Leftover Meatbals and/or Sausage

Mozarella Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Roll out your pie crust (it's best to leave it out on the counter for a little while, so it will be easy to handle and not cold enough to break).

Cut your crust into four pieces, then smother with red sauce and add your fixin's (sausage and/or veggies, etc.), and sprinkle with copious amounts of shredded cheese.

 

Then, take your little pockets of sunshine and fold them together, using a fork (if you'd like) to press the sides together so they look nice and cute.

Bake them at about 375ºF, keeping an eye on them until they get a nice and toasty golden brown.

This was a perfect little meal, served with veggies and/or salad on the side. We were both a little shocked how delicious a pie crust could be, in this context. While it's not dessert, it still worked like a charm!

Pear and Ricotta on da Grill

Grilled Cheese gone Fruity

I'm going to preface this recipe with the fact that it wasn't my favorite meal ever.

BUT -- what I liked a lot about it was the mind-blowing realization that grilled cheese doesn't have to be wheat/white bread with cheddar/Kraft singles.

I saw this pin on Pinterest, and it was like a mental bomb went off. Must. Try. New. Grilled. CHEESES!

Luckily for me, I happened to have Ricotta cheese, honey, and pears in my refrigerator. While some of the other options sound much more tasty to me (namely the Jalapeno), I opted to use what I already had. 

Here was my step-by-step experience:



Thinly sliced



Asian Pear





Put on da bread



Spread with Ricotta



Doused with honey



Grilled and Eaten

I made Dusty a regular, old-fashioned grilled cheese, and we both had a bowl of tomato soup on the side.

Needless to say, my little sandwich was much healthier than his! It was light and pretty good, although I'm convinced I could come up with something else to add that might zing it up a little.

And last but NOT least, I made the most incredibly stellar chicken last night.

Of course, I didn't take any pictures and don't remember anything about how I made it.

No but really -- here's the gyst of it, and I'm begging you all to try it.

Brosugamozarellarlic Chicken

Chicken made with Brown Sugar, Garlic, and Mozarella

Ingredients:

1 Frozen Chicken Breast, thawed

1 half yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, or a copious amount of garlic powder/salt

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. brown sugar

Mozarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (I know, that's a lot!)

2. Take thawed chicken breast and chop into thick chunks, big enough to stuff with mozarella cheese!

3. Slice small openings into your chicken slices, and cut up pieces of mozarella cheese to stuff them with.

4. For the sauce: in a small skillet, heat up the olive oil and add your garlic (whether cloves or powder/salt), and your onion, letting it heat up for a while until the onions begin to sizzle and soften. Then add your brown sugar, to create your glaze!

5. Line up your mozarella-stuffed chicken pieces in a casserole dish (since I only did one chicken breast for the two of us, I used my glass pie pan...), then cover with the glaze!

6. Bake the concoction for 15-30 minutes, keeping an eye on it until it gets nice and bubbly, and the glazed chicken begins to brown.

This truly is my absolute favorite Chicken that I've ever made. I couldn't believe how good it was. It may even top the jalapeno cream cheese stuffed chicken. It's a toss up!

The flavors were incredible, and it was so easy to make.

I hope you've enjoyed looking through some of our kitchen experiences from January.

I'm getting better at the whole cooking thing, and I'm finding that it's way more fun than I ever thought possible. The eating out has really diminished, and we've both gotten good at really disciplining ourselves to utilize our leftovers and not go grocery shopping every other day!

Happy February, all :)

In love,

Cait

italiano! (bring on the meatballs!)

Mmm, mmm, good. Vegetarians, look away!

Since getting back from Christmas break, we've been slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things. We didn't have very long to do that, though!
I had to bounce right back into work upon arrival, and Dusty started his one-week intensive session the following Monday.


One of the best parts of being back has been recipe searching, and meal planning. And the first week we were back, it was time for meatballs!

I found a great recipe. Given that I had just seen that my sister-in-law had made some homemade meatballs, this recipe came along just at the right time! I was craving a pasta night. :)
HEALTH ALERT:
These meatballs contain flaxseed, which has high levels of dietary fiber and is great for all-around health!
While some flaxseed recipes are no good, we both really enjoyed these little guys!

I found the original recipe online, at momlogic.com :)

Beefaball a la Parm
(parmesan meatballs!)

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground turkey (we used BEEF!)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

2 egg whites

1/2 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried parsley (we used fresh)

½ tsp. dried basil

A pinch of salt

1 tbsp. olive or canola oil

Directions:
(easy peasy!)

1. Mix all ingredients together with your hands.

2. Roll into 1 1/2inch balls.

3. Heat 1T oil in large skillet. Add meatballs and brown on all sides.

 

 

4. Add desired sauce to pan, homemade or otherwise!



5. Cook about 20 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink on the inside.

6. Serve over cooked pasta! (we used bowtie, which is my favorite!)



Little known fact: I used to eat uncooked pasta all the time! Yum.

 7. Enjoy!

The flavors of this really come together nicely, especially the parmesan within the meatballs. We cut the meatballs in half, and melty parmesan was there to greet us. It was delish!

EFFICIENCY ALERT:

Realizing we had many leftover meatballs, we decided to make some pita pizzas!

Pita Pita Pumpkin Eata

(Pita Meatball Pizzas!)

Ingredients:

-Pita Bread
-Desired sauce (marinara, yum!)
-Parmesan cheese
-Mozarella cheese (shredded)
-Leftover meatballs (chopped up!)
-Fresh parsley
-Fresh ground pepper

-Whatever-you-want, and lots of it!

Directions:

Take pita bread, (ours came pre-sliced in halves), and smother with sauce, cheese, veggies, meatballs, cheese, pepper, cheese, and so on and so forth.
Have a pizza-topping-riot.

Put mini pizzas on a baking sheet, and stick in the oven for as long as you want. :)
We threw 'em in there at around 375 or so.

Since none of our ingredients were raw, we just kept an eye on them until they were bubbly and delicious!

I have SUCH a great helper! :)



YUM!

Be creative with your leftovers.

And now that we have all this cheese, be looking forward to many more parmesan/mozarella themed dinners :)



In love,

Cait