busy week and another super busy one ahead!

Wow! Seriously....I went non-stop this last week. I worked a full week (which hasn't happened in a while with my weird schedule). 
Wednesday we babysat Emma. 

play dough!

Thursday I had recipe club. Recipe of note: Zucchini Fries from the kitchen of Megan Trower! I haven't made them yet. But they were so delicious!
Zucchini Fries
Ingredients: 
zucchini (cut into "fries")
Italian bread crumbs
garlic salt (smidgen) 
milk 
parmesan cheese


Directions:
Combine bread crumbs and garlic salt. Cover zucchini in milk, then roll in bread crumb mixture. Place on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle cheese over the fries and bake at 350 about 20 min.


Friday I tried to play catch-up, ran errands, got some more art supplies, got my hair cut, helped Kevin with his grad school application personal statement. Geez...I ran around like a crazy person all day, then I went out with my girls dancing until late (way past my bedtime). I'm glad I went though.  It was so much fun!


Saturday I really needed to work on my print, buuuuuut the weather was incredible! I'm talkin 77, sunny skies, barely any wind! Kevin and I spent a lot of time outside and ran some errands (with the windows down). We went to the Asian Market, got pho and then went to dinner at Musashi's for Sky's 30th bday. Emma was feeling under the weather, so she wasn't her usual self, but we still had a lot of fun watching her watch the fire. AND I did work on my print when we got home. 

eating a nana at Musashi's...poor girl!

Today I have been working away on my print and it s coming along. Here's what I have so far plus a little experiment.

can you tell what it is yet?
only about 15 more layers to go

on wood! loving it!

And last but not least this is what I made for dinner tonight. Holy cow! 
Scallops with Caramelized Onion and Artichoke Pasta
Ingredients:
6 sea scallops or about half lb. bay scallops
dash garlic powder
S&P
2 T. melted butter
2 T. lemon juice
spaghetti, linguini or angel hair pasta
1/4 cup pasta water
1 garlic clove
1/4 yellow onion
1 can artichoke hearts
grated parmesan
fresh parsley


Directions:
Rinse scallops and pat dry. Combine butter, lemon juice and garlic powder. Place scallops in a shallow baking dish and pour butter mixture over. Sprinkle with S&P. Preheat oven to broil with rack on very top position.  Meanwhile boil pasta, drain and set aside 1/4 cup pasta water. Broil scallops 8-10 min or until slightly golden on top. Caramelize the onions and garlic in butter over medium heat. Add artichoke hearts near the end.  Toss scallops and onion mixture together with pasta. Pour scallop cooking liquid over the top and slowly pour in the pasta water until sauce is thin enough to coat pasta. Top with grated cheese and a sprinkle of parsley.


Notes:
Forgive me. I didn't measure much of anything with this. I was kind of making it up as I went along, so just use as much pasta as you need and season to your liking. These are the best scallops EVER! Don't leave out the cheese, whatever you do!

weekend pancakes x2

I made breakfast yesterday and today... I am definitely putting something important off. But my distractions make for good breakfasts :)  I'm assuming everyone knows how to cook pancakes on a griddle or in a skillet. So I didn't type that step out. Hope you don't mind. If it is something that you have trouble with, let  me know and I'll be happy to explain. Both recipes make about 6-8 cakes depending on how big you make them. Enjoy!


Verry Blueberry Pancakes


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 T. plus 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 T. melted butter
1 cup blueberries


Directions:
Stir together flours, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in egg, milk and butter. Mix until smooth. Stir in half the blueberries. Cook over medium heat. Top with remaining blueberries and maple syrup.


Banana Oat Pancakes


Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas (1 mashed, 1 sliced)
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
3 T. vegetable oil
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. baking soda
dash salt
3 T. brown sugar
1/2 cup oat bran (if you don't have oat bran, just process some oats in a blender or food processor into a powder)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour


Directions:
Combine mashed banana, egg, vanilla, milk and vegetable oil. In another bowl combine baking powder and soda, salt, sugar, oat bran and flours. Slowly incorporate dry mixture into wet. Cook over medium heat. Top with banana slices and maple syrup or honey. 

family time, focaccia and more soup

Tonight we had a long overdue family dinner. Emma Kate is growing up, and she is so funny! She still loves to eat... a lot! We had spaghetti!

Priscilla and miss Georgia are in town this weekend. We thought they would be stopping by, but after driving all day they couldn't make it. :( Our dinner a couple of nights ago was inspired by them. Priscilla's blog always has a ton of great looking recipes. I finally made a couple. The focaccia, a success! I was so proud of myself for not messing it up. Here they are...

Red Potato Soup

Ingredients:

3 shallots (minced)

2 celery ribs (minced)

2 garlic cloves (minced)

1 T. olive oil

S&P

2 lbs red potatoes (cubed with skin left on)

1 box vegetable broth

2 cups milk

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

Saute shallots, celery and garlic in olive oil with S&P over medium heat in a large soup pot until soft. Add potatoes, broth and enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. Ladle half the soup into a blender or food processor. Process until almost smooth. Return to pot. Add milk and cheese. 

Notes:

The original recipe called for onions instead of shallots. The only reason I used shallots instead is because I was out of onions. It turned out great. I also added the celery and more cheese :) I wanted to use the whole box of broth, so I added another cup of milk. I will be using this recipe again for sure. Remember to use what you have on hand. Soup making is not an exact science. Here's the link to my inspiration. It's near the end of the page.

Potato Soup and Olive Focaccia, genius! 

Priscilla's Olive Focaccia

It looks like a landscape

I really don't feel like typing this whole recipe out. It's a long one. So click on the title link if you would like, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. Don't be scared. It was easy! And I know this is not really Priscilla's recipe, but that's what I'm calling it. It will always be Priscilla's Olive Focaccia to me. I'm so glad I finally made bread. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. This one was perfect to start with. Next up will be asiago focaccia and potato bread!

wednesday printing, soup, salmon and cookies

Well I'm finally feeling back to normal. My nose is still a bit stuffy, but I'm better for the most part. I have the day off today, and I'm actually using it to make some art! Can you believe it? Finally! It feels so good. I cleaned my screens last night, and I'm going to Kinkos later to make some copies and enlargements to start some prints for Momentum OKC! I'm trying some new methods too including printing on wood. They better let me in this year. I'll post some in progress picks as soon as I have something to show. 


Kevin and I have been cooking together lately which is nice, but it makes for a lot of leftovers. My fridge is full of them, if anyone wants to stop by for a snack. Kevin made Black Bean Soup on Sunday night. The recipe makes a giant batch, so if you're not into leftovers feel free to cut it in half. Monday we had...you guessed it, leftovers. Last night I wanted to make this salmon recipe that I had seen on RealSimple.com but I didn't have some of the ingredients. So I improvised and came up with something totally different and so good. One of my best, I think. I call it Roasted Curry Salmon and Potatoes with Coconut Lime Sauce! Then we made our new favorite cookie recipe (Chocolate Drop Cookies from Meeg). We gave it a twist this time and changed it up with vanilla cake mix and chocolate chips. They're good, but the chocolate lover in me still loves the original recipe more! Here are all the recipes from the first half of my week. More to come this weekend. I am attempting to make focaccia. I've never made bread and I'm a little scared. Wish me luck! 


Black Bean Soup


Ingredients: 
corn tortilla strips
olive oil
1 small yellow onion
1 garlic clove
2 large cans black beans (not drained)
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1 can vegetable broth
1/2 T. cornstarch
juice and zest of 1 lime
S&P
1 diced avocado
sour cream
fresh cilantro


Directions:
To make tortilla strips cut corn tortillas into long thin strips. Arrange on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 for 15-20 min. Stir halfway through. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Stir in beans, chili powder, cumin and broth. Simmer 10-15 min. Transfer 1/2 the soup to a blender or food processor. Puree with cornstarch until smooth. Return to pot and add lime juice and zest, S&P. Simmer 5 more min. Serve topped with avocado, cilantro, sour cream and tortilla strips.


Roasted Curry Salmon and Potatoes with Coconut Lime Sauce


Ingredients:
1 cup coconut milk
juice and zest of 1/2 a lime
1 t. cornstarch
4-6 medium size red potatoes (quartered)
olive oil
coarse salt
1 T. curry powder
2 salmon fillets
1/4 cup fresh cilantro


Directions:
Combine coconut milk and lime juice and zest in a small sauce pan over medium/low heat. Slowly bring to a simmer and whisk in cornstarch. Let simmer while you prepare the potatoes. Preheat oven to 400. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and half the curry powder. Roast for 10 min. Meanwhile drizzle salmon with olive oil lightly and rub with remaining curry. Place on baking sheet with potatoes and return to oven for 12-15 min. Place the salmon and potatoes on plates and drizzle coconut lime sauce over everything (I went back for more sauce, it's so good!). Top with cilantro and enjoy!


Vanilla Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies


Ingredients: 
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 egg
1 box french vanilla cake mix
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 T. cocoa powder


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cream room temperature butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add egg. Mix until fully incorporated. Add cake mix and chocolate chips. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Coat your hands in the powdered sugar mixture (batter is extremely sticky). Roll batter into balls and arrange on greased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 min. Let cool then sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar mixture. 

getting back to normal with pho and granola

The hubby and I ventured out to the Asian District in OKC to get some pho last night. I was feeling pretty awful, but I was convinced if I had a bowl of steaming rice noodles and the unknown concoction of Vietnamese ingredients that make up the miracle soup, I would feel better.

Heaven in a bowl 

I made mine extra spicy to clear my sinuses. I woke up this morning feeling about 50% (better than I've felt since Tuesday!). So we decided to go again for brunch today. :) I'm still not completely better, but I feel sooooo much better than I did. I went grocery shopping... and I can breathe through my nose! It IS a miracle. 


So now I just got done baking some granola bars. They aren't exactly healthy, but I'm working on making them that way. Here's my original not so healthy recipe...


Chocolate Chip Nut Granola Bars


Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups oats
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 t. baking soda
dash cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 t. vanilla
1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup honey


Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Combine oats, flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nuts and chips. In a larger bowl with a hand mixer or with a stand mixer :) mix butter, honey and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in oat mixture. If you don't have a stand mixer, mix in the oat mixture by hand. Press into a lightly greased square baking pan. Bake 18-20 min. Let cool at least 10 min before cutting into bars.


Notes:
Now here's the healthy version I came up with. I have not tried this yet. Let me know if you try it before I do. Substitute 1/2 cup vegetable oil for the butter and 1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit for the chocolate chips. 

sick day

I haven't felt this bad in a long time. Another sinus infection, but this time some puke to go along with it. I'm so lucky to have a doctor for a sister-in-law. She saves me so much money. I love her. I'm braving the cold in a few minutes to go get my prescription. Meanwhile this is what is getting me through it.

Ode to Ramen

lazy snowy sunday

It's snowing! It's all melting when it hits the ground, but it's supposed to keep snowing all day and tomorrow too. Sooo maybe a snow day tomorrow?! I hope so! Today has been lazy and great.


I was craving hash browns, but didn't want to go through the frying process. So I came up with this. When I come up with my own recipes, I usually don't measure anything. This is pretty fool proof, so I just estimated on the amounts. Feel free to change things and make your version.


Hash Brown Scramble
Ingredients: 
1 potato
about 3 T. diced onion
1 grated garlic clove
dash paprika and coarse salt
1 T. vegetable oil
handful grated cheddar and parmesan cheese
4 eggs
splash half and half
dash dried dill and parsley


Directions: 
Peel and grate potato on large grater. Put into a tea towel or paper towels and squeeze out excess liquid. Toss to combine potato, garlic, onion, paprika and salt in a bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add potato mixture and cook about 5 min. Stirring occasionally. Meanwhile beat eggs, half and half, cheese, dill, parsley and another dash of salt. Add to skillet cooking until egg is cooked through. Stir and flip occasionally. Top with more grated cheese.


Notes: 
You can also add veggies or meat into the egg mixture. Use what you have on hand. I was thinking tex-mex style would be good: black beans, red and green peppers, diced tomato or salsa. I didn't have any of these, but I did have avocado. So I diced those up and added them on top. It's really versatile, so add whatever you like. Enjoy! 

Not the prettiest thing, but it sure is tasty!

2010 holiday recipes

I know it's a little late, but I've had a few requests to post the holiday jar mixes I made for Christmas. Most of them are from this book that my mom in law gave me with a few of my own additions and changes. I also deconstructed a few recipes and made them into mixes. http://www.gooseberrypatch.com/ So here they are. Enjoy!

Turkey Noodle Soup Mix 
Ingredients: 
1/2 cup dried red lentils 
2 T. dried minced onion 
2 T. dried celery flakes
1 T. dried chives
2 chicken bullion cubes (crushed) or 2 T. granules
1 t. dill weed
1 t. celery salt
dash  garlic powder
1 cup uncooked whole grain egg noodles
1 bay leaf


Directions: 
Layer ingredients in a jar in the order listed. Slide bay leaf in the side. Attach instructions: Bring 8 cups of water to a boil; stir in jar contents along with 1 cup chopped veggies and 2 cups chopped cooked turkey. Simmer 20-25 min until veggies are tender.


Mushroom Wild Rice Soup Mix
Ingredients:
1 package country gravy mix
2 vegetable bullion cubes (crushed) or 2 T. granules
2 t. dried minced onion
2 t. dried celery flakes 
1 t. dried parsley
3/4 cup quick cooking brown rice
1/2 cup quick cooking wild rice
3 T. chopped dried shitake mushrooms


Directions:
Layer in a small jar. First pour in gravy mix. Then combine bullion, onion, celery and parsley and layer on top of gravy mix. Add layers of rice and top with mushrooms. Attach instructions: Empty jar into large soup pot. Add 8 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25-30 min. Stir occasionally until rice is tender. 


Notes: 
This was a favorite. We made it 3 or 4 times before giving it away as gifts. So we got the amounts pretty good, but if Kevin wasn't eating it I would have added twice as many mushrooms (maybe more). He doesn't like mushrooms, but he did like this. For leftovers just add a little water to thin.


Cranberry Orange Bread Mix
Ingredients: 
1 cup flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 cups dried chopped cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts


Directions:
Layer in a large jar flour mixed with baking powder and salt, then graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar, then cranberries, then walnuts. Attach instructions: Preheat oven to 350. Empty jar contents into a large bowl. Add 1 slightly beaten egg, 1 cup orange juice, 1 T. orange zest and 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Spread in greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 


Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
Ingredients:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt


Directions:
Mix flour and last four ingredients together. Layer first five ingredients in a large jar in the order listed. Top with flour mixture. Attach instructions: Empty mix into a large bowl. Stir. Add 3/4 cup softened butter, 2 slightly beaten eggs and 1 t. vanilla extract. Blend well. Shape into balls and place on well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min.


Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix
Ingredients: 
1 cup flour
3/4 t. baking powder
dash salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped nuts(optional)


Directions: 
Combine first 3 ingredients in the bottom of a medium sized jar. Layer other ingredients on top in order listed. Attach instructions: Empty mix into large bowl and stir. Add 1 slightly beaten egg, 1 t. vanilla and 6 T. softened butter. Mix until completely blended. Pour into greased square baking pan. Bake at 375 for 20-25 min. 


Doggie Treats
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bulgar cracked wheat
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 T. dry yeast
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 T. milk


Directions: 
Combine ll dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the beef broth to form a stiff dough. Gradually stir in the remaining broth (dough will be very thick). Roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness (use your muscles). Cut out dog bone shapes and place on a greased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk. Bake at 300 for 45 min. Turn oven off and leave treats in overnight (not sure why, but I did it because I was afraid of messing them up). Store airtight.


Notes: 
All the dogs loved these. I was so glad because I attempted cat treats and only 2 out of 6 cats liked them. I'm not sure what the yeast is for, because they never really rose. They stayed flat and crunchy like a cracker. But get ready for your entire house and your hands to smell like dog food. They stink. Use some good soap and light some incense because it's nasty. 


I hope I remembered all of the mixes I made. If I left anything out let me know. 

IMPORTANT: recipe experiment

This is only important to those of you who look at my recipes often or would like to look for a recipe here in the future. I am in the process of totally rearranging my blog layout. I know I asked for input on how to organize recipes just a few short hours ago, but I am impatient and decided to go for it. 


I have made two new pages (which are now on the left side of the page instead of above): dinners 2010 and sweets 2010. Now this is a little over-generalized because we all know that my recipes cannot be split up into only two categories. So just a heads up dinners 2010 include the best entrees, soups, salads, appetizers and snacks of 2010. Sweets 2010 has cakes, cookies, pies and all other sorts of sweets including muffins and breads and also breakfasts.


As for the other page tabs that were there before, they have all been integrated into past posts. So of the earth, tunes and memories can now be found with their corresponding posts. For example: Halloween memories can now be found in the post made for Halloween. This is how I will do this from now on.


I hope this recipe system works. My plan is to put new recipes in posts, not on a separate page. I will now use the labels feature too, so it's easier to find recipes if you're looking for something specific. Let me know what you think!!! Please! And here are the first recipes of 2011!


Coconut Curry Ingredients: 2 grated garlic cloves, 1 small diced yellow onion, 1 T. fresh grated ginger, olive oil, S&P, 2 T. curry powder, 2 T. warm water, 1/2 can sweetened coconut milk, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup water, 1 medium cubed potato, 1/2 lb. chicken and/or shrimp (optional). Directions: Saute garlic, onion and ginger in olive oil with S&P over medium/high heat for about 5 min. Stir curry powder and water together to form a paste. Add to saute until smell is fragrant. Add coconut milk, milk, yogurt and water. Bring to a boil, then add chopped chicken. Reduce, cover and simmer about 20 min until sauce is thick and chicken is cooked through. If using shrimp cook 15 min then add shrimp and cook another 5 min. Serve over rice.

Chocolate Drop Cookies Ingredients: 1 8oz. block cream cheese, 1 stick unsalted butter, 1 tspn vanilla, 1 egg, 1 box chocolate cake mix, 1/3 cup powdered sugar. Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Mix room temperature butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in vanilla and egg. Then mix in cake batter. Roll into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake for 8-10 min. Let cool 5 min, then sprinkle with more powdered sugar. I usually don't use boxed cake mixes, but lately they have been coming in handy with recipes like this that use them in different ways. These are so good and versatile. You can use any kind of cake mix.

thoughts on recipes and inspirations

Last night the hubby and I cooked dinner together. We made Coconut Curry with chicken AND shrimp. It was so so good, and really surprisingly easy. I posted the recipe. Don't get scared by the amount of ingredients, it's really not that hard. And as I was adding the recipe to the recipes page I noticed how extremely long that page has become. So I am thinking that I need to do something about that to make it easier to find recipes if you are looking for something in particular. Any suggestions? I thought maybe separate pages for different categories (but that could get a little excessive). Or maybe I could just start putting recipes in my posts and change the recipe page to favorite recipes? Or perhaps have an archive of 2010 recipes somewhere else (anyone know how to do that?). I'm just not sure what would work better. Also, I have started using T. in place of Tbspn and t. in place of tspn. A little less to type. 


Also updated are thoughts. Thoughts from Dr.Seuss and Jack Sparrow (you know that cute pirate guy?). And inspirations from a wonderful artist that I have never heard of. Kareena Zerefos' series Mood Swings on wood. Thanks Priscilla for posting her work. I'm pretty sure I'm going to start working on wood again soon. :) http://www.kareenazerefos.com/art/mood-swings/

Well I'll be back Sunday or Mondayish to post about the weekend. Hopefully we will have a snow day soon...fingers crossed!

the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011

It has been a while since I've had any time to post. So get ready for a long one. Well our holiday started out with the wonderful night of the Winter Solstice and Lunar Eclipse. We got up at 3am to watch the full moon turn red. It was quite an experience. The next day my dad got here and stayed with us for a couple of days. I got an early Christmas gift...a yellow mixer!

Edited with my new version of Photoshop!

I finally used it last night to make some Chocolate Drop Cookies from recipe club. The recipe is up, and you must try them!


On Christmas Eve morning we got up early and went over to Kevin's mom's house. We had breakfast and opened presents. Emma Kate grabbed a present from under the tree, and decided it was time to tear into them. It was a tea set with a talking teapot from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sarah! She loves it! We babysat her a few nights ago, and all she wanted to do was pour tea for us. 

Kevin got to open his beloved ipad! I have been holding that secret in for so long...gah! He loves it of course. Hopefully it will come in handy when he goes back to school next year. I am loving the allrecipes app he put on it for me! 

After that we went over to my mom's house just to hang out. We watched The Grinch and snuggled with the dogs.

Kevin and Roxy

Sleepy Jack

The next day we woke up and had our own little Christmas morning together. Kev got me a GPS (which was much needed because I am directionally challenged) some cute dishes, mugs and a pretty sweet cutting board with pie crust measurements. 

Then we went to Tulsa to be with my dad's side of the family at Granny's house. That is always a crazy fun time. I got a cute red scarf and some much needed $$$. We stuffed our bellies and drove back home that night. 

Glorious black olives!

My dad came back the next day and stayed with us until the 30th. I'm glad I got to spend so much time with him this year. I don't get to see him much. For New Years Eve we went to the Flaming Lips Freakout. It was our 4th year in a row to go! I was kind of bummed about doing the same old thing, but it ended up being so worth it! The show was better than ever, and after midnight they played one of our favorite albums "The Soft Bulletin" all the way through. I was really glad we ended up going.

my favorite...opening and closing flowers

We got really close for the soft bulletin

Wayne's laser hands!

So all in all it was a pretty good holiday season (you know I left out the bumps in the road). But really, it was great. And I have a  new year's resolution....drumroll.....it's to have a new job within my field by the end of 2011! Big surprise, I need a new job. I have been stuck there waaaay too long. This month marks 3 years. That is not okay. I have a college degree, I should not be slinging lattes. So here's to 2011! May it bring new beginnings.