Cammy This week was my week and for whatever reason, I chose cabbage. I had two options in mind, but only one got thrown together. This simple salad has chopped red cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, red pepper, an orange and some chick peas. For a dressing I made just a simple vinaigrette. Jen Mandy Nikita Amy Georgia Okay.. True story. We are in full move mode. Tuesday the hubs and I leave NM for the beautiful state of GA. So yes I will be Georgia in Georgia once again. We're heading home. With that. Our house including the kitchen is pretty packed up. It wasn't until we sat down to sandwiches and salad that I remembered this weeks food challenge of cabbage. Lo and behold our salad was an asian inspired salad. So here ya go. My cabbage recipe. Asian chopped salad with ham There are really so many ways to have cabbage. Cooked or raw.
Until next week, Cammy, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy and Georgia
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Georgia My favorite time of meal is breakfast. I could eat breakfast at any time during the day. But this week I didn't make it. The hubs and I are spending the 4th of July weekend exploring The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. So food has been on the go. Breakfast was a simple breakfast sandwich that we got from our hotel this morning in ID. Fun fact. I know people who love tacos or even pizza (both are pretty tasty) But I'm pretty sure I would never turn away a yummy sandwich. Fancy or plain. I like a good sammy. Cammy My favorite meal has always been and always will be breakfast. Just about any kind of breakfast food will do. Just don't give me too many options because I really can't choose. Breakfast buffets are the absolute best because then I really don't have to choose! I don't much care for cleaning up after the cooking of breakfast food though. It tends to be too messy. I was starting to wonder what I was going to do for this week, when across my facebook feed came a recipe for this delicious breakfast casserole. I made it for dinner tonight, because, let's face it, dinner is probably one of the best times to have breakfast! Jen Mandy Nikita Amy Biscuit and gravy casserole? I feel like I haven't been living my best life and need to kick it up a couple of notches.
And Jen's red, white and blueberry pancakes look like the perfect 4th of July breakfast. I'm noticing a theme here. We all LOVE breakfast Happy Independence Day! What a great gift it is to live in the United Statess! Until next week, Georgia, Cammy, Jen, Mandy Nikita and Amy Mandy My family loves breadsticks. For Copycat week we made Better Than Pizza Hut Breadsticks. These were the best breadsticks I’ve had in a while. They are so soft and fluffy. The topping is delicious. The recipe makes 2 batches so everyone can have as many breadsticks as they can eat. We will definitely add these to our weekly menu. Hope everyone had a great week! Nikita Nikita and fam are living the life they dreamed of when they moved to Bulgaria. This week was spent in Paris and although we are not there with them she has shared photos of all their fun adventures. On our weekly Saturday morning call with the ladies she was live and in person from Barcelona. Fingers crossed she has a fun filled post about this newest adventure. (check out my homepage for a link to Nikita's Adventures) Amy Georgia This week when Mandy challenged everyone to a copycat recipe I knew exactly what I was turning to. The bottle copycat Chick fil A sauce in our fridge that the husband made. If you've ever had Chick fil A's sauce and you like it.. You are going to LOVE this copycat. I actually like it better than the OG. I'll use it as a dipping sauce for homemade chicken strips and even for fries. Cammy I really had a difficult time trying to think of a copycat recipe and then I thought of the rolls as butter at Texas Roadhouse. My pops took us all there the first time I went there so I will always associate those delicious rolls and sweet honey cinnamon butter with fond memories of my pops. To have made these on Father's Day made them even more special. Jen Fun times making our favorite copycats. Interesting that we had two copycat recipes for bread.
Until next week, Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Cammy and Jen Jen In our house, bananas are usually used in smoothies or banana bread. I wanted to try something different so we found a recipe for “Healthy Banana Oatmeal Pancakes”. They were pretty easy to make, and tasted good. My older daughter didn’t love the texture – they aren’t smooth like normal pancakes (because of the oats), but otherwise thought they were fine. My husband loved them 😊Jen Mandy For the banana challenge we made Sweet and Savory Banana Splits. I mean, what’s not to love about a banana split. It was a little weird at first. I think that is probably because our brain is wired to how it tastes with ice cream. It will grow on you though and it is really delicious. Great way to use up that one banana that is always left behind. ;) Hope everyone has a great week and Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads. Mandy Nikita Ok, so Banana Bread is my default reaction when I see browning bananas in the fruit basket. This week, I decided to try a new recipe on Pinterest - Chocolate Banana Bread. But Matt quickly corrected the title of this recipe. It's not bread; it's cake. LOLOL! This loaf is rich with dark chocolate and moist with mashed bananas. Absolutely delicious. Amy Georgia I will be the first person to tell you. I do not like bananas in things. I don't like banana flavored anything. Naked bananas are fine. I'm the gal who orders a banana split without the banana. Blech So finding something that I would even be willing to try was a challenge... Until I found this yummy recipe Cammy
So here's a funny as I'm looking through these recipes. I am not a fan of bananas in things and my oh my how we all have founds ways to take ripe bananas and make them yummy.
From healthy, to decadent. Until next week, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia and Cammy Cammy Blueberry Camerita - I knew I was going to bake something with blueberries (Sunday Bakery tomorrow) but I also wanted to do something different. I ran across a recipe for a blueberry daiquiri but I'm not all that fond of rum unless it involves pineapple and coconut) and I didn't have any regular lime juice on hand. I did, however, have key lime juice and tequila on hand. Thus, the birth of the Blueberry Camerita Jen We made a simple yogurt blueberry parfait for breakfast today: vanilla yogurt, blueberries, and granola layered in a bowl. And some eggs, just because. 😊 Amanda Smoothies and yogurt are my kids go to breakfast foods right now. So for this weeks blueberry challenge we decided to try Blueberry-Chai Seed Jam. It goes great with just about any yogurt. Easy to add to smoothies. I don’t know how to can, but this recipe will fit in a small jar you can keep in the fridge and use up within a week or so. A quick and easy recipe that I’m sure could be used is many different recipes. Nikita So we've been eating Blueberries all week long. It's June which means they're in season, cheap at the farmer's market, and soooo flavorful! Pictured above is my morning breakfast of Greek Yogurt, Granola, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, & Honey. I started eating this several months ago after receiving a tempting recommendation from Georgia. The Greek Yogurt is full of protein and keeps me full through the morning and early afternoon. This weekend, Matt and I are heading to a Spa Retreat in Velingrad where we intend on soaking in thermal hot springs and pools and saunas etc. Because of the amount of time we'll be spending in our swimwear, we decided to host a Salad-For-Dinner Week leading up to the weekend just to shed a pound or two. Not pictured (because we ate it before I realized what happened) is a Chicken & Berry Mixed Greens Salad. I had intended on serving the salad with a sliced Flank Steak on it, but the store had ZERO steak. Like nothing. I've said it before but the stores here in Sofia are a hit-or-miss operation. So we settled for chicken - meh. But the salad was still yummy. Btw, we made it four days with salad every night for dinner. Sushi won us over on Friday. LOL! Amy I have no idea of what this food challenge is. While I am not officially back ( I don't recommend moving during a pandemic, shit doesn't get done) I thought I'd drop by to say Hello. I am still getting my house in order. Let me put it this way, my new home is literally within eyesight of my old home and it took the waste management workers 5 weeks to realize this l. Yes, they had been properly notified. You see what I'm dealing with? Anyway, I made stuffed bell peppers in my slow cooker and a berry and spinach salad for tonight's dinner. And I now have pretty pink dinnerware because I'm a girl. Make something delicious y'all! Georgia So many healthy benefits to blueberries and I choose to make them into a coffee cake. So worth it. We can think that because blueberries are included that it's a "healthy" coffee cake. It works for me. So truthfully though. If you are a fan of blueberries and a fan of coffee cake you won't be disappointed in this one. Even the hubs, who I just found out really likes coffee cake, like this. Enjoy! What a banner week. Everyone is here and those are my favorite kinds of weeks
Until next week, Cammy, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy and Georgia Georgia So I honestly had every intention of making something. Then we got notice that we would be able to go to my step daughters graduation. Which is in Maryland. Tickets were bought, bags were packed and we were blessed to be there with her and also to spend a few days with her. Once there I thought maybe we would be able to find a restaurant where I could order something on the menu with chickpeas. But noooooo. Very little was open. So here's my great add for this week. What I hope is a super cool pic from the pier in Ocean City, MD Cammy Hmmmm, chickpeas. The only thing I've done with chickpeas is to throw them on my salad at the local salad bar. Well, I found this pasta salad recipe and figured, why not? Never mind that I didn't even know what tahini was. I marinated some chicken tenders in some lite Italian dressing, dumped it all into a baking dish and put it in the oven to bake. Then I got the brand new jar of tahini out of the cupboard. Interesting. Gooey gunk at the bottom and liquid at the top. No directions on the bottle except for a dressing recipe. I assumed the gunk and liquid needed to be mixed up so I attempted to do so. I was only somewhat successful after losing some down the side of the jar and causing a mess on my hand and counter. I will admit, it was not nearly entirely mixed before I dunked the tablespoon in and withdrew a combination of paste, mixed paste and liquid. Ugh! I made the dressing and must have dirtied nearly every spoon in the drawer taste testing, adding more fresh squeezed lemon, more pepper, more salt, more garlic, back to more lemon juice..... I eventually decided enough was enough. I'm guessing that tahini is an acquired taste. In the end, when mixed in with the pasta, chickpeas and spinach, it came out pretty good. Seconds were even had. I guess I know what I will be having for lunch tomorrow as well. Bon Appetit! Jen Mandy Nikita Amy Thank the good Lord Cammy made a dish.
Here's hoping next week offers more for all of us. Georgia, Cammy, Jen, Amanda, Nikita and Amy Nikita This week's challenge was Phyllo (Filo) which is incredibly versatile. I couldn't decide if I wanted to make dinner or a dessert. When that happens, just do both. Dinner = Egyptian Goulash. To be honest, I probably won't make this again because the leftovers were chewy from the soaked and reheated phyllo dough. I've made Spanokopita in the past (Greek Spinach Pie) and the flavor far outweighed the Egyptian Goulash not to mention the phyllo was crispier on the greek pie. BUT....I'm happy we tried it. Wait for tomorrow's Sunday Bakery to see how phyllo was used in our dessert! Amy Georgia So I found out the challenge this week was phyllo. I'm like. Cool. I'll find a sweet recipe, buy my phyllo (because who has time to make it?), put it together and call it yum. Found this recipe and just knew I wanted to make it. It looked so amazing and the flavorings for the halvah sounded interesting. The husband goes to the store. Zero phyllo. So I ask how about puff pastry? No puff pastry. What on earth is going on? Did a real quick run to a different grocery store this morning and all they had was phyllo shells. Not quite what I was needing, but phyllo none the less. Here's the final result. Not as visually appealing, but the flavor was just as interesting as I suspected. I mean the combo of tahini, honey and whipped topping. Interesting? Right? I ate two and probably could've eaten more. But the hubs is at work and wanted him to try them too. Try it and let me know what you think. Cammy Phyllo! Since I couldn't decide on sweet or savory, I made both! First, I went with Key Lime Mousse Cups. These were yummy just following the recipe though I didn't have raspberries or lime for garnish so I used blueberries. They complimented the lime well. Then Georgia started talking about the chocolate dipped key lime pie she had in Florida. Yes, I melted some dark chocolate chips and just spooned a little bit over some that I had frozen. Key lime and chocolate -- can't go wrong! Then there was the savory. I couldn't leave well enough along when I made the phyllo wrapped asparagus. I added a layer of prosciutto on the phyllo before adding the asparagus and rolling them all up. The prosciutto was a tad bit too salty, but overall, it still tasted pretty good. Jen Amanda Several different ways to use phyllo. Dinner and dessert. All oh so yummy.
Until next week Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Cammy, Jen and Mandy Oh.. Make sure you swing back by tomorrow. Nikita and Cammy both baked up something yummy. Fun fact. On our call this morning we got to watch Nikita finish up hers. Amanda Happy Saturday! This week we made Shrimp Scampi. I haven’t had seafood, besides tuna, in what seems like forever. This recipe did not disappoint. Fast simple, and delicious. The recipe tells you to marinate the shrimp for 20 minutes. I don’t know why I have never tried to marinate seafood before but it’s a great tip and I plan to try it with other fish in the future. Nikita Ok so first - Hot damn! This is friggin’ delicious! I was going to skip the salsa bc Matt was on the couch eating all the pineapple!!!! But then I stole it back. Glad I did bc it needed that sweet pop. See recipe below (Georgia made it as well) Amy Georgia This week was full of fun recipes I've never tried. I don't even know if this was our favorite but it was for sure up there. This one was so good I shared the recipe with several others and Nikita ended up making it too. (see hers above) The original recipe calls for a mango salsa but me and mango is no bueno (major allergic) So I made a pineapple salsa too. Which Nikita ended up doing as well. If you are looking for a lot of flavor look no further. Oh my word! Cammy This week I wanted to try something different from my normal using zucchini. The search was on for a recipe and lead to this one. I did substitute sweet Italian sausage for the turkey sausage, combined cheddar/asadero cheeses and doubled the recipe. I will use the half of the mixture I didn't use for lunches next week. I did sprinkle smoked paprika on them and what better, but to top them off than a dollop of sour cream. :) Jen It looks like we've covered everything you can think of. Okay maybe not, but what a fun week. A great opportunity to try something new. Which it looks like we all did just that.
Until next week, Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Cammy & Jenn Jen Amanda For Ground Turkey/ Beef week we made Burger Hobo Dinners. We followed the recipe from Chrissy Tiegen’s Cravings: Hungry for More cookbook. I couldn’t find the recipe online but it’s really just a burger foil packet recipe and you can find so many. You can make them anyway you want with whatever you have at the moment. We had ground beef, carrots, onions and mushrooms. The book says to precook the potatoes and onion in a skillet for 5 minutes on each side then add on top of the burger patty in the packets. This is because she tells you to cut each into fourths, which is pretty large. Once everything is in the packet, top with 4 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with ketchup. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes. They needed to cook a little longer in our opinion so we put back in the oven for 10 more minutes. Everything turned out delicious. Any meal made with the least amount of dishes and easy clean up is a winner in my book. Have a great week, Mandy Nikita I found a little meat shop in my neighborhood that sold ground beef. You can buy it in the supermarkets, but there is something strange about the texture of the meat. So I've been looking for alternatives. A proud achievement of mine was unlocked today when I order my beef using 100% Bulgarian. The key is being comfortable at failing because Lord knows I mess up the Bulgarian language A LOT. Back to my contribution! After a week of sweets and fried cauliflower, we opted for a healthier dish tonight. Eggroll in a Bowl! Or also known as Beef & Cabbage Stirfry. This skillet dish cooks up in 15 mins, and I used the prepackaged coleslaw mix rather than chopping up my own carrots and cabbage. Do it. Know one will know the difference. A little asian, a little spicy, and very filling. Enjoy! Amy Georgia I was a little excited about this weeks challenge. Typically we try to substitute ground beef with ground turkey. But.. For this bulgogi bowl only ground beef will do. Cammy This has become one of my favorite things to eat. That it is easy to put together is a bonu I LOVE one dish wonders.. And all made with either ground beef or ground turkey. Realistically speaking all of these dishes could be made with either.
Welcome to the club Cammy! Until next week, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia and Cammy Georgia Cucumbers have been my favorite since I was very young. Thankfully it's one of those things I never grew out of. So for this week I challenged everyone to make a dish using my fave. Found this tasty little cucumber side dish. Better than the dish it was served with Amy Jen Amanda Good afternoon, I just wanted to check in and wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. I haven’t been to the grocery store in a few weeks so I haven’t been able to contribute. I do have ground beef so I will be able to cook up something next week. Hope everyone enjoys their Mother’s Day. Sincerely, Mandy Nikita I know this challenge was cucumbers (and they were used) but honestly, it pushed me out of my comfort zone to try Bulgarian cheeses. In this case, we used Sheep's Cheese. Notice in the picture how it crumbles like feta? This kind of cheese is very popular in a traditional Bulgarian dish called Shopska Salad (шопска салата). I know I've eaten similar recipes in the US, but they lean more on Greek flavors. This salad is served at every restaurant and eaten as a big bowl shared by the table. Well, maybe not anymore these days, eh? My Bulgarian friends eat it everyday either for lunch or appetizer. The tomatoes become sweet in the summer, and the English cucumbers are crisp and cool. For added crunch, chop up white onion and green pepper. The dressing is simple - olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt. Let it sit for 20 mins and serve. We ate this with seared chicken breast. Simple but healthy and delish! Like most our world has been turned upside down. We are praying that your lives began to return to normal.
Until next week, Georgia, Jen. Mandy, Nikita and Amy, Nikita Did you know Hot Cross Buns are an actual thing? If I was being honest, I thought it was just a kids song you play on the recorder. Hot 🎵 Cross 🎶 Buns.....you know the tune. The remind me of a sweetened dinner roll with spices and raisins. The recipe I used from Sally's Baking Addiction tops the buns with a simple orange glaze. A perfect complement to the nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon in the bread. The white cross is made of white flour and water and bakes right into the bun. As it turns out, these sweet puppies are traditionally made for Good Friday. We are enjoying them to wrap up our loooooong month of April, and I needed to use up the bag of raisins in my pantry. Let's hope May brings us new beginnings! Enjoy. Amy Georgia Ya'll. I spent a good deal of time trying to decide what to make for this challenge. I didn't want to make the standard oatmeal raisin cookies (which are pretty delish). A friend even helped me hunt down a fun recipe. And then... I found this recipe for morning glory muffins. And oh my word are they delish. Holy moly.. I ate two.. Right out of the oven.. I've convinced myself that they are also very healthy for you since they are chock full of all kinds of goodness. The shredded carrots and apples make them super moist and if you have a decent egg substitute you could easily make a vegan version. The only substitute I made was ground chia for the flax. If you've never made these before now is a great time to try them.. No regrets. A little bit of effort for a whole lot of flavor Jen Amanda It's been a strange couple of months. Thankfully baking and cooking for yourself and/or your family is coming back in style.
Until next week, Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Jen and Amanda Amanda The ingredient of the week was rice and Spanish ( or Mexican) rice was on the menu. This recipe is simple and it tastes almost as good as the rice served at our favorite restaurant. I used tomato soup instead of tomato sauce, also added oregano. It’s a keeper. Nikita We've been eating a lot of rice lately - for better or for worse. It keeps in the pantry so well, and I've been trying to limit my daily runs to the grocery stores lately. I found this recipe perusing Pinterest for new ideas and have been making it now at least once a month since the beginning of the new year. Coconut Chicken Curry on a bed of Coconut Rice. The recipe calls for potatoes, but I used turnips the first time. Wonderful and healthy sub, if I say so myself. I've also subbed the potatoes for white & orange chopped carrots. And then, we've tried it with just the potatoes. This meal has become a favorite. The coconut rice pairs perfectly with the curry but be sure you have your range fan on. The whole apartment will smell like curry for 24 hours. LOL! Amy Amy's moved and settling in.. Looking forward to seeing what she creates in her new place.. Georgia Thanks to Mandy, rice was on the menu. Thanks to our already planned menu. Rice was also on the menu. I actually made this out of leftovers. Rice, italian sausage and steamed broccoli.. Voila! Lunch in a jif. Jen Join us next week when Nikita has us singing the California Raisin song!
Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia & Jen Jen Bacon is a special treat here in my house – I make probably only a handful of times per year. We love it on burgers, sandwiches, by itself, etc. Our favorite bacon treat is a bacon egg and cheese biscuit. When I was in labor with my younger daughter, I literally waited for McDonalds to open before I would go to the hospital because I wanted one!!! I learned from the first go-around that they don’t let you eat at the hospital when you’re in labor. 😂 When cooking these, I’ve learned that the best order so that everything is ready at the same time is 1) start cooking the bacon on the stove, then 2) open the biscuit package (Pillsbury flaky layers or similar) and get it on a pan in the oven, then 3) crack the eggs and cook (I scramble mine then top with cheese while in the pan). Takes around 15 minutes from start to finish. Yum!!! Amanda Bacon was hard to find in our city this week. All we could find was turkey bacon. So I played it safe and made breakfast tacos. I knew the family would like them and it was easier to get them to eat the turkey bacon without confrontation. We already had the flour tortillas, the eggs to scramble, and we topped them with cabbage and sriracha I am all about keeping meals simple and quick these days. I hope everyone had better luck than us this week. Can’t wait to see how everyone used bacon. Have a great week! Mandy Nikita Although Nikita does not have a contribution to Saturday Bites today she promises to share a tasty bake tomorrow. Amy Amy's in the middle of unpacking. It's been a busy couple of weeks for her and we are looking forward to having her jump back in. Georgia Like both Jen and Mandy we are all about keeping it simple right now. Chef salad with hard boiled eggs and crispy thick bacon. We've even been making our salad dressing. Olive oil, balsamic, red wine or apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper It's pretty obvious that bacon fits into any meal. Simple or elaborate.
Until next week, Jen, Mandy, Nikita, Amy & Georgia Georgia Oops. I did it again. For some reason I keep making these yummy dishes and neglect to note the recipes. Here's what I remember Sun dried tomatoes (the star of the show) garlic and shallots Pasta (recipe called for linguine, but oddly pasta is on the hoarders list of things to hoard right now) Spinach - wilted (I used steamed broccoli instead) I think the creaminess came from tomato paste and ricotta FYI. I love sun dried tomatoes. I usually have a jar in the fridge at any given time Jen Amanda Nikita Mmmm....mmmm! I'm not sure why I don't use sun-dried tomatoes more often, but this is also why I love our weekly challenge. It pushes me to get out of the weekly dinner routine and try new flavors of the culinary world. I combined two recipes together to create this creamy linguine. A Phoenician friend of ours created his own sun-dried tomato cream pasta dish and shared his recipe with me. I made some minor changes such as replacing the cream with a sour cream/greek yogurt mixture to make this my own. It was just perfect with a light salad. The funny part of this picture is how I realized that I forgot the chicken breasts in the oven on warm while we all sat down to eat. LOL! The family was understanding and allowed me to throw the chicken right on top. Here's what I did: Pan-sear your chicken breasts coated with your favorite seasoning in 1 TBS of olive oil. I used just salt and pepper. Simple can be delicious. Set your chicken aside in a warm oven (200F). Boil your preferred pasta until al dente. Reserve a cup of hot pasta water and set aside. Saute (1) diced onion, (1) green bell pepper (or any color you want), (4) minced garlic cloves, and (1/2) cup diced sun-dried tomatoes in another TBS of olive oil in the same pan until veggies soften and become translucent. I would recommend finely dicing or slicing the sun-dried tomatoes. Mine were a bit chunky this time and punched my mouth with salt and flavor. It was a bit too much at times. Reduce heat to low and add (1) can of diced tomatoes, (1) TBS of tomato paste, & (1) TBS of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Stir until combined. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine (1/2) cup of greek yogurt and (1/4) cup of sour cream then add slowly to the pan while whisking to incorporate. Return heat to medium until pasta cream sauce is hot, stirring occasionally. Throw in a handful of chopped fresh basil and parsley. Then add to your cooked pasta. If the cream sauce is too thick, add some hot pasta water to thin it out. A little goes a long way. Toss in your chopped chicken breasts! Don't forget about the chicken! Serve with salad. We took a bagged salad and added lime juice and salt. No dressing, and it balanced the pasta magnificently. Shout out to Jay Burks for the inspiration! Amy If you've never used sun dried tomatoes in a dish you really must try them. YUM!
Until next week Georgia, Jen. Amanda, Nikita and Amy Nikita At this point, it's safe to assume that we have all been ordered to stay in our homes. What's odd about this is we are all in different parts of the world. To make light of the worldwide pandemic lockdown, I chose our Saturday Bites theme to be Quarantini's. I've been baking A LOT but also walking quite a bit because walking a dogs seems to be my only pass to legally get out of the house. Matt and I have been drinking this concoction each night and it has little to zero calories. Nikita's Lose Weight Quarantini 2 ounces of preferred Vodka 2 lime wedges Sparkling Water That's it! Crisp and refreshing. Perfect for a hot day in the backyard or to sip on while cooking dinner! Enjoy and stay safe out there in these weird and trying times. Georgia I went for a mocktail. With a family riddled with some type of addiction I learned a long time ago to avoid alcohol during stressful times. I found this green appletini. Pretty tasty. If I were to change one thing I'd leave out the lemon juice. Which I ended up doing later on. I really like the crispness of the apple juice. Jen Mandy Dirty Vodka Martinis (shaken) are my drink of choice this week and non-quarantine weeks too. I used water instead of vermouth since we didn’t have any on hand. Didn’t even miss it. Cheers! 🍸 Stay healthy, Mandy Stay safe and healthy!
Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Jen and Mandy Amanda Before I get started on the pantry recipe I just wanted to share with you that Random House Books has a free pantry cookbook you can download to preview their cookbooks coming out this spring. It has many wonderful recipes and they all looked pretty easy to make. I have included the link if you want to check it out. (Not trying to advertise, just trying to provide another resource to get through the quarantine.) I made the Slow Cooker Quinoa Burrito Bowls by Rachel Mansfield from the book. Instead of making bowls we made them into actual burritos. We added in a drained can of corn and a drained can of black beans the last hour of cooking. Simple to make and the recipe comes with a stovetop method if you don’t have a slow cooker. Family enjoyed it. There were leftovers for lunch the next day. I will admit, I have no idea how to take an appetizing photo of a burrito. I just really wanted to eat it. Sorry for the lengthy entry this week. Quarantined in Michigan, Amanda :) http://www.randomhousebooks.com/lists/pantry-recipes/?ref=PRHDC41888E7884&linkid=PRHDC41888E7884&cdi=7EE4EEA26DDF6F15E0534FD66B0A4CCD&template_id=16174&aid=randohouseinc3792-20&utm_campaign=taste&utm_source=Crown&utm_medium=Email&cid=112816&mid=1852169545 Nikita Pantry Recipes is a perfect challenge given the state of the world at the moment. We've been living in "quarantine for the last three weeks. The two trips I'm allowed to make is to the grocery store and to walk the dogs. Because we weren't sure what the future looked like, we stocked up on roots vegetables and dried goods. But today, I snuck out to a "magazin," aka small locally-owned market, and stumbled onto some kale. My first kale sighting since moving to Bulgaria. My contribution is Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Black-Eyed Peas and Wilted Kale. This recipe comes from my Thug Kitchen cookbook which I rediscovered as I have been trying to find more ways to eat veggies. We need it to balance out all the baking I've been doing. 😏 This meal was smoky, spicy, and just slightly sweet. Amy Georgia This week for Mandy's food challenge we cooked the fridge. Well. We used up what we had. Salad of course, leftover ham and hard boiled eggs. Made a quick dressing using olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Not gonna lie. This might be one of my favorite salads. Jen
There's a couple of ways you can approach this week's challenge.
Stuck in the house? Bank account low? Cook the Pantry or clean the fridge. A great opportunity for frugal creativity. Until next week, Mandy, Nikita, Amy, Georgia and Jen Jen This week I challenged everyone to use strawberries! Originally I was planning on making strawberry pie, but with the whole coronavirus – social distancing – grocery store wiped out thing, I didn’t have all the resources I needed. I did have 1 pint of strawberries to work with, and a pre-made shortbread pie crust that was a bit crumbly. I decided to make a strawberry gelatin using Knox unflavored gelatine, hot water, sugar, crushed strawberries, red food coloring, and sliced strawberries. After it set, I broke up the pie crust as a topping. I don’t really know what to call it – maybe “strawberry disaster”, except that it was good. My husband said it was oddly satisfying. 😊 Amanda Nikita I shipped my donut pan from the US to Bulgaria and have been looking for a reason to make donuts. Strawberries make a beautifully sweet morning breakfast, and these come together in 30 mins. My only struggle is the powdered sugar here is not as fine as the powdered sugar in the US. I keep running into the problem that my icing or frosting is a bit grainy. I'm looking for suggestions to correct this because different brands of powdered sugar hasn't seemed to help. If you're stateside though, you shouldn't have any issues making this simple glaze. The donuts were soft, sweet, and a bit warm when I began to nom nom on my share. If you don't have a donut pan, do yourself a favor and buy one. They're like $7-ish. Well worth the money, then give this recipe a try. Amy Georgia Um.. I don' know. My salad looks healthy. Nikita and Jen know where it's at. But. This salad was super yummy and very healthy for you. Spinach / arugula mix/ avocado, sliced almonds, fresh strawberries and a homemade dressing I used the rest of the strawberries on some scones. But you'll have to come back tomorrow for that Strawberry disaster looks like a win to me. Strawberry donuts!! And strawberry salad. Sounds like a well balanced meal.
Until next week! Jen, Amanda, Nikita, Amy and Georgia Georgia Years ago I remember commercials for eggs. The incredible edible egg. It's so versatile and just after mashed potatoes it's my go to comfort food This past week I made this pasta frittata. Fun fact. I made this pasta frittata with a puttanesca and can't find the recipe Have fun! Jen
Amanda Picked a simple frittata this week since grocery are scarce in our area. Not as pretty as the one on the recipe but close enough. Have a great week! Nikita Amy
The incredible edible egg
Until next week, Georgia, Jen, Amanda, Nikita and Amy Amy Warren Zevon has been on my mind. You know, Werewolves of London Warren Zevon. I wasn't thinking about his music ( Though he was so much more than a one hit wonder). What I was thinking about was his final appearance on Letterman. Warren was dying and David asked him if he had any words of wisdom to impart. Warren said, "Enjoy every sandwich.". And that's all I have to say! Spicy Chicken Katsu Sandwich From: Bon Appetite March 2020 Georgia The hubs and I were in So. Florida for the week for fun in the sun and the main event, my niece Ashley's wedding. It was an amazing time with friends and family, an opportunity to meet her now husband Sawyer and of course food. Ran and I hit local eatin joint we could. Pic on the left - We found this delish Cuban sandwich at a Cuban Bakery / Cafe in Homestead, FL Pic on the right is something no one the name of . Also found in a Cuban Bakery / Cafe called Tulipan in North Palm Beach, FL. Here's my best description for it. The cake / cookie is very much like a thick moon pie, center is dulce de leche and of course covered in chocolate. Ran had his with a cup of Cuban cafe de leche. he said the combo was top notch Jen We did a build-your-own “sammich” dinner at our house! I set out an assortment of breads, deli meats, cheeses, and fresh toppings, then let each person create their own sandwich! I didn’t even have to fetch anyone for dinner…the smell of bacon brought them all in. Jetta – marbled rye (toasted), ham, cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo Jade – sourdough, turkey, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mayo Anthony – honey sliders – one with hot roast beef and cheddar, another with ham and bacon, and went back again and made a BLT. Me – I copycatted Jade and Anthony. Theirs looked and smelled so good I didn’t want to create anything else!! Amanda Nothing makes me happier than a good hearty sandwich! I made Fried Egg Banh Mi this week. Very easy to make and delicious. I was not really a fan of the fish sauce and mayo combination. It was all I could taste. I used mild pepper rings instead of jalapeños. Great dish to make during the week. When we make this again it will have less fish sauce. https://www.dallasnews.com/food/recipes/2019/12/16/recipe-fried-egg-banh-mi/ Amanda Nikita Sammiches you say? I got this! About a month ago, Christopher began talking a BIG game about how he could make a better sammich than me. He's 14, and I've been waiting for these years where he "challenges my authority." *Cartman voice* Of course, I accepted his challenge, and the Hays' Household hosted its first ever Sammich Showdown. Long story short, I retain my crown. 👸🏻 Today, I rekindled that amazing sandwich. What really makes this one special is putting the Heinz Ketchup Ruffles directly onto the sammich to get that crunch in every bite. I've been putting chips *secret ingredient* on my sandwiches for as long as I can remember. Notice the two fur babies looking upon my meal with great food envy. What an amazingly fun week everyone had. We all had very different sandwiches and added a pretty heavy dose of fun.
Until next week, Amy, Georgia, Jen, Amanda & Nikita Nikita SAMOAS! Ok....not real Samoas, but these lookalikes are your healthy edition of Girl Scout Cookie Week. I almost challenged myself right out of the competition this week. What the heck was I thinking?! Girl Scout Cookies? In Bulgaria? But, you know what they say, "Shoot for the stars, and you'll reach the moon!" By golly, I sure did. These cookies are insanely delicious and taste so much like the real deal; however, the recipe only gave me 6 cookies. 6. Six. What the heck am I going to do with six cookies? I typically eat six cookies as I'm taste-testing the baked cookies that came out of the oven and are now being moved to the cooling rack. 🤦🏻♀️ Here's the good news: If you happen to eat ALL six cookies in one sitting, it's ok. You only ate a cup of unsweetened toasted coconut, a cup of pitted dates, and a drizzle of dark chocolate. So, eat the cookies if your heart desires. This recipe is a no-bake concoction and took me about 30-40 mins to whip up. You definitely need a food processor, and I had to add two teaspoons of coconut oil to my coconut/date mixture because it just wasn't sticking together to roll into balls. So heads up. On a different note, I saw the dates below in my local grocery store. It's not everyday you get to buy dates from Iran. 🤷🏻♀️ Try the recipe. You won't be disappointed. Amy
Georgia What a fun week this was. Girl Scout cookies, lemon, cookies with Savannah in the name. What's not to love? Truthfully though.. Other than thin mints these are (were) my favorite Girl Scout Cookies. The flavor was spot on (but fresh lemon juice and zest), but the cookies themselves were a little dense. Which means.. The hunt continues. However, Nikita's healthy samoa's and Amy's Thin Mint Popcorn.. Oh my.. Adding them to my list of things I NEED to make Jen Amanda What a fun challenge this was. Trying to make something that is so recognizable.
Until next week, Nikita, Amy, Georgia, Jen and Amanda Amanda I didn’t add the kickin to these greens but they were delicious. I have an Instant Pot that I have used maybe twice so I decided to cook the greens in there instead of on the stove. I sautéed the bacon, onions and garlic. Once done added the rest of the ingredients. Cooked 15 minutes and then slow released for 5 minutes. Definitely a time saver. Amanda Nikita Ok, this may not be the greens that was intended for this challenge, but I could not find "greens," i.e. collards, turnips, mustard, ANYWHERE! On the contrary, I found a bag labeled "Mixed Greens" in my local grocery store, AND they were pre-washed! Americans take for granted the assembled bags of salad that are pre-chopped and washed. I had been craving a Cobb Salad for days and finally whipped up a batch of homemade ranch dressing to drizzle on top. This dinner was 🔥! Pan-seared Chicken, chopped romaine and bagged mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, avocado, bacon crumbles, & bleu cheese. Just delicious! I'm sharing the recipe for the Homemade Ranch Dressing because this will be a new staple in my fridge going forward. A couple of changes: I used Greek Yogurt in place of the sour cream; I made my own Buttermilk versus store-bought; and I left out the dried chives because they just don't exist where I live. So good! Amy Much like my black eyed peas my collard greens aren't made the same way twice. It's mostly done with what I have on hand. Though this go round I did specifically choose the meat that went into the pot. So I tossed collards, onion, garlic, smoked turkey, and ( of all things) Lawry Seasoning into the pot and allowed the greens to simmer on low for about an hour. I liked them even more the next day when I had them with Hungarian chicken and noodles. I didn't measure anything so wing it. It's fun that way! Georgia So. This is the closest I got to greens this week. Avocado. They are green. Oh wait. I added fresh cilantro to it to and lime. All three are green. :) But seriously. Greens right now are not that easy to find in the desert. So I made the most with what I could fine. Vegetarian tacos with mashed avocado salsa Jen Mandy and Amy have your greens taken care of while Nikita and I took a different route. Still green, but not greens
Until next week, Mandy, Amy, Nikita, Georgia and Jen Jen For Valentine’s Day I surprised my husband with adorable cookies made by a local baker! https://www.facebook.com/somethingsweetbakeshop/ And an awesome shirt too. He’s a happy guy! My favorite part of today was not cooking. Originally we planned to go out to eat, but we’re both under the weather so my hubby threw together a spaghetti and garlic bread dinner. I loved it. I ate my entire plate of food before thinking I should have taken a picture. Oh well. 😊 Amanda Hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day. We had a chocolate cherry martini to celebrate and it was fantastic! Amanda Nikita
Amy work on Valentine's Day and I'm single. So here's a photo of the chocolate coconut waffles I made for Galentine's Day. Leslie would say it's the second most important day to Anne's birthday. I noshed on these as I watched Rectify on Netflix. Great show, if a bit esoteric. Georgia Valentines for us is usually low key. Typically he will get me a card and we might go out to dinner. This year. He got me a card and we ate in. I made this healthy chicken, spinach, strawberry salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Happy Valentine's Day!
Jen, Amanda, Nikita, Amy & Georgia Georgia This week I chose Salsa. Why? Tacos.. That's why.. Tacos Plus of love the flavors when making fresh homemade salsa (or pico de gallo) I made this fresh avocado salsa. Nothing over the top special. Just tomatoes, fresh cilantro, red onions, avocado, lime, cumin and something else that I can't remember. Either way. I served it over black bean and chicken tacos. Jen My husband's favorite salsa is this recipe for corn salsa!! Tip: if onion flavor is too strong, add a bit more corn. Delicious!! Amanda What’s not to love about salsa! I looked at many different recipes and decided to take what I’ve read and wing it. Nikita
Amy I used this food challenge as an excuse to pig out on pineapple. Because my favorite salsa is pineapple salsa. Though this is more like pico de gallo which is just chunky salsa. We have food snobs out there somewhere. Anyway, I tend to use my pineapple salsa as more of a side dish. I love it with pork chops but this go round I paired it with smokies. I love to have it with cottage cheese for a light lunch as well. And I don't have an exact recipe so this is a bit improvised. What a fantastic Salsa week!
Georgia, Jen, Mandy, Amy & Nikita Amy I can remember the first time I tried miso. I'm normally not a big fan of salty but that first spoonful of miso soup I was hooked. That was over 20 years ago and I could only find it at a local health food store. Miso is finally having its moment and it's about time! I've made different recipes involving miso but I always go back to soup. The latest issue of Saveur magazine has a perfect soup. I had to improvise a little bit but it still turned out great! So here's to the 17th week of January! Tofu and Lettuce Miso Soup From Saveur Winter 2019-2020 issue Georgia I am sooooo disappointed in this photo. Not the dish. The pic. Seriously. The dish on the other hand was pretty tasty. If you are a miso or ramen person. Which we are both. Super simple. They actually make miso ramen. We bought the ramen, made it per the instructions, added some hard boiled eggs, veggies and green onions. Very easy, quick and delicious dinner or even lunch. Jen Amanda Nikita Looks like it's just Amy and myself this week.
Cheers to February! Amy, Georgia, Jen, Amanda and Nikita Nikita Living in Bulgaria has left me with an insatiable appetite for all things American. I want a beefy GRILLED Cheeseburger with crisp lettuce, sweet tomato, spicy red onion, and all the normal condiments - mayo, must, ketchup! To complete the plate, a huge Kosher Dill Pickle would need to be cold and crunchy awaiting that first mammoth bite. It would be a dream-come-true if I could wash it all down with an ice-cold 20oz Coke. *le sigh* These are my big dreams lately. Instead, I have to settle for "Black Angus" beef that has been patty-pressed and pan seared. I'm not sure it's really Black Angus beef because it never tastes like the beef we have at home. Notice my lack of big kosher dill pickles too. We only have what tastes like bread & butter pickles which are not popular with me. The real stars in our 'Murica dinner was the perfectly sweet and tart lemonade and the "best dutch apple pie ever," said Matt & Christopher. I've shared the lemonade recipe above, but you'll have to come back to Sunday Bakery for the apple pie recipe. You won't want to miss it! Amy Little did you all know but I undertook this food challenge about four years ago. And dear readers it was one of the most difficult food challenges of my adult life. As some of you know, I work in a casino. About four years ago a coworker and I campaigned to have tater tots added to the menu in the casino's cafe. You'd think it would have a no-brainer. Ohhhh contraire. What should have taken a couple of weeks took months and months and months. My fellow tater tot enthusiast created a dance and I a song to harass the person in charge of ordering the food stuff. You'd think we were requesting kobe beef and lobster tail. I have no idea why they finally caved in but victory is ours. To this day the tots are still on the menu. Today I felt dangerous and ordered my tots with cheese lovingly melted on top. It's better than a sharp stick in the eye! Georgia The hubs and I had a cheat night with this meal. Dogs & tots Nothing fancy, no recipe. Just dogs and tots Murica! Jen Amanda Our all time comfort food, will always remind me of home food, is meatloaf. Most Sunday dinners growing up my Mom or Grandma would make it and we would all help with the sides. Mainly peeling potatoes for the mashed potatoes. I just love getting together, sharing about our week and catching up on all the gossip. I was gifted a Cookbook called 365 All-American Classics when I got married and have been making the meatloaf recipe from there for about 19 years now. This recipe is basically the same as the book. The only differences are 2 pounds of ground beef instead of 1 1/2, cut the ketchup down to 2 tablespoons and use a stand mixer to mix the meat together just until combined. The book also instructs to put a glaze on top made with 1/2 cup ketchup, 1 tablespoon mustard, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. Bake 15 minutes with the glaze and let cool 10 minutes before eating. Amazing! Happy Saturday! Amanda How can you not love a food week dedicated to the fun foods of America?
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