Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf

March 29, 2009 at 7:39 pm · Filed under Crafts

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One of the reasons why I wanted to learn to knit was so that I could make this scarf. I’m a sucker for anything lace, and I loved the ridges the pattern made. So in January I got to knitting … and just as Spring has sprung I’ve completed it. Oh well, it will be just as lovely next winter too, right?

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I got the pattern from one of favorite craft sites, The Purl Bee. Here’s the pattern: Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf.

This is actually a fairly easy project. With the help of some You Tube tutorials, this novice knitter caught onto the techniques very quickly. However, between knitting up this baby blanket and moving, the scarf fell to the bottom of my to do list for a couple of months.

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It certainly isn’t perfect, but if you can’t see the imperfections I won’t point them out :)

My only regret? I used cheap yarn. I just didn’t think my skill level demanded nice, expensive yarn yet. While there is something very satisfying about knowing that this scarf only cost me $8 in materials, the low yarn quality shows. Live and learn. 

Regardless, I’m super pleased with the end result. 

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Mac and Cheese

March 3, 2009 at 8:32 pm · Filed under Dinner, Lunch, Vegetarian

Over the last couple of months I’ve seen recipes all over the place for a healthier macaroni and cheese.  I decided to try this recipe on the Mushroom Channel because it had ingredients I’ve never cooked with before (if you’re looking for something different, Martha and Real Simple had some promising options too!). 

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Ingredients:

8 oz of elbow macaroni

Olive oil

8 oz of cremini mushrooms, sliced

4 cups of mustard greens,  finely chopped

1.5 cups of milk

3 tablespoons of flour

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon of red pepper 

1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

 

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. 

In olive oil, saute the mushrooms for 3-5 minutes. Add the mustard greens and cook for an additional few minutes until the greens are wilted.

In a small saucepan, heat 1 1/4 cups of milk so it heats through but doesn’t boil. Combine the other 1/4 cup of milk with the flour, garlic powder, red pepper, dried mustard and salt. Once mixed well, add to the milk that’s cooking. Add the shredded cheese and mix until the milk forms a cheese sauce and thickens. 

Add the cooked pasta to the mushrooms and mustard greens. Pour the cheese sauce on top and stir to combine and serve. 

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I LOVED this meal! It had some kick to it, but it definitely wasn’t overly hot or spicy. Since this recipe makes 4 servings, I saved the other 2 servings for lunch. It makes awesome leftovers!

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Homemade Biscuits

March 1, 2009 at 8:50 pm · Filed under Baked Goods, Side item ·Tagged

Steve’s favorite food is homemade biscuits. We don’t make them often so they’re always a treat. 

Since it looked like this outside our front door today …

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… we decided that breakfast for dinner was in order – and homemade biscuits were the first thing on the menu!

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Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

4 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of milk

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix into the bowl using your fingers until it forms pea-sized clumps. 

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Slowly mix in the milk until you reach your desired consistency. I add just a touch under 1 cup. 

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Separate into 6 balls and place on a prepared baking sheet.

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Bake for 15 minutes.

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I like to add about 1/4 cup of chopped, fresh chives in the mix before baking, but Steve, ever the purist, prefers them plain. I bet rosemary would be a nice addition too!

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Black Bean Burgers

February 24, 2009 at 8:20 pm · Filed under Dinner, Vegetarian ·Tagged

I’ve been wanting to try Black Bean Burgers for a long time, but for some reason I was afraid they would be really dry. After some encouragement from The Dietitian, I decided to give it a try (a rhyme!) 

 

Ingredients:

16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 onion, cut into wedges

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 egg

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 cup bread crumbs

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375

Mash the black beans in a large bowl

img_1529(Looks appetizing, doesn’t it?)

In a food processor mix the bell pepper, onion, and garlic.

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Stir the veggie mixture in with the beans.

In a separate bowl mix the egg, chili powder, cumin, and hot sauce. Add to the bean mixture and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.

Add the bread crumbs until the mixture holds together but is still sticky. I had to add almost a cup to get the consistency  I wanted.

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Separate the mixture into 4 patties. Since we only needed 2, I put 2 patties on a an oiled baking sheet…

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… and put them in the oven and cooked each side for 10 minutes.

While the burgers cooked, I wrapped the other 2 patties in plastic wrap and put them in a freezer bag.

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These 2 made great leftovers!

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The burgers were surprisingly good – and definitely not dry! They’ve been added to our list of regular recipes we rotate though.

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The Roasted Toasted

February 11, 2009 at 8:41 pm · Filed under Dinner, Vegetarian ·Tagged

My freshman year in college I lived in a dorm and was at the mercy of the dining hall. Somehow, almost nothing in the dining hall really appealed to me, and I quickly fell into a routine of eating a simple turkey sandwich and a small salad every. single. day. for both lunch and dinner. And I was surprisingly happy with the complete lack of variety in my diet. 

That is until I was introduced to the Roasted Toasted at the beginning of Spring semester. The Roasted Toasted was a pretty simple sub sandwich topped with roasted veggies and toasted with cheese on top. For the rest of the year I switched out my dinner turkey sandwich with the Roasted Toasted. Heaven. 

Last week I had a craving for the veggie filled sammie and decided to replicate it (sans cheese). I was going to use this Everyday Italian recipe before I found this recipe on Good Things Catered. I ended up making a combination of the two. 

Ingredients (for 2 sandwiches): 

1 french baguette, sliced down the middle and cut into 6 inch lengths

1 zucchini, sliced length wise

1 eggplant, sliced length wise

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

1 red onion, sliced 

Olive oil 

For the Sauce:

1 tablespoon of tahini paste

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lemon

1/2 tablespoon of honey

1/2 teaspoon of mustard

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a baking sheet, toss the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes, turing the vegetables every 10 minutes or so.

While the vegetables are cooking, combine the ingredients for the sauce. Adjust any amounts to suit your tastes. 

When the vegetables are done cooking, cook the baguette under the broiler until just toasted.

Stack the vegetables on one side of the bread and spread the sauce on the other. 

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Before I even took a bite out of the sandwich, I was already thinking of what I would do differently next time. I was sure I wasn’t going to like the tahini sauce, and I had convinced myself that I should have grilled the veggies on my George Foreman instead of cooking them in the oven. I was prepared to really dislike this sandwich, so I was totally surprised when I took my first bite and LOVED it! The grilled veggies were soft and had so much flavor, and the tahini was really subtle and was a really nice component.

So needless to say the Roasted Toasted version 2.0 was a hit in our household! I hope you try it in yours!

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Mushroom Burgers

February 11, 2009 at 12:32 am · Filed under Dinner, Vegetarian ·Tagged ,

Another quick and yummy dinner! 

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Ingredients: 

2 portobello mushroom caps

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon on white balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Buns

Fixins of your choice (I added tomato and lettuce to my burgers)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Gently clean the mushroom caps. With the gill side up, pour 1/2 tablespoon each of olive oil and vinegar into the gills. Season with salt and pepper. 

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place mushrooms on the pan and cook in the oven for 10-15 minutes. 

Top with your favorite fixins! I bet that swiss cheese would go great with this too. 

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A Baby Blanket for Baby Emmett

February 10, 2009 at 12:31 am · Filed under Crafts ·Tagged ,

Sorry for the lack of updates recently – I’ve been having some blog troubles. Fortunately, my underpaid blog administrator (erm, my brother-in-law) got things up and running again!  

During my blog absence, I was busy knitting up this blanket: 

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Our friends Anna and Nathan are expecting their first baby, a boy named Emmett, next month. As soon as I received the invite to Anna’s baby shower, I knew I wanted to make something and a baby blanket seemed like a good idea. The papa-to-be tipped me off to a jungle themed nursery with lots of green.

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Pattern based on this Purl Bee pattern. 

Materials:

Size 4.5 knitting needles

7 skeins of yarn 

Tapestry needle to weave in the ends

Pattern:

I started by casting on 140 stitches.

Row 1: Knit

Row 2: Knit

Repeat until you’ve knit 40 rows (there will be 20 ridges). That will complete your first stripe. Repeat the pattern for the next 6 stripes.

When complete, weave in the ends. It doesn’t get much easier than a simple repetitive knit stitch!  

I washed and dried the blanket before packaging up it. 

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I’m thrilled to say that the blanket was a hit! I’m so glad Anna and Nathan approve. I hope Emmett enjoys it!!

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Fish Tacos

January 16, 2009 at 8:04 pm · Filed under Dinner ·Tagged ,

I’m not a huge fan of cooking meat. I have no problem eating meat,  but I’ve bitten into one too many pieces of self-prepared under cooked or over cooked chicken to not be a little weary of my meat cooking skills. So I typically stick with vegetarian or seafood dishes. That’s why I was really excited when I came across this Martha recipe for Fish Tacos last year. Tilapia is easy to cook, and this dinner comes together pretty quickly.

 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons lime juice

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/4 small red cabbage, thinly shredded

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Olive oil for sauteeing

2 tilapia fillets cut into equal strips

8 flour tortillas

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

 

Directions:

In a small bowl combine half of the sour cream and half of the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. In another small bowl combine the remaining sour cream and lime juice with the cabbage and scallions and season with salt and pepper.

Season both sides of the tilapia with salt and pepper and cook in the olive oil over medium/high heat until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.

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While the tilapia is cooking, dampen 2 paper towels with water. Sandwich 1 tortilla at time between the paper towels and put in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or until the tortillas are warm and slightly steamed.   

To make the tacos, fill the tortillas with the fish, cabbage mixture, cilantro, and sour cream mixture.

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Enjoy!!

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Note: If you’re looking for a little more heat, the original recipe calls for diced jalapeno in the cabbage mixture and half of a jalapeno to flavor the olive oil while it heats in the saute pan.

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Spinach and Red Potato Frittata

January 12, 2009 at 10:01 pm · Filed under Dinner, Vegetarian ·Tagged

I’m always looking for easy and healthy dinners. Frittatas are a great option – and the flavor/ingredient combinations are endless. Last week I found this recipe on All Recipes, and it’s probably my favorite frittata recipe I’ve tried so far.

I halved the recipe for 2 people and changed some of the cooking methods. 

 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 small red potatoes, sliced

1 cup of fresh spinach (though next time I’ll probably use 2 cups)

1 tablespoon sliced green onions

2 minced garlic cloves

Salt and pepper

4 eggs

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the sliced potatoes in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring the water to a boil and cover and reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are mostly cooked through. Drain. 

Saute the potatoes, spinach, green onions, and garlic over medium heat until the spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

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While the veggies are cooking, mix the eggs and milk together. Prepare a 9 inch pie pan or a 9 inch cake pan with non stick spray. Add the veggies to the pan and pour the egg mixture on top making sure it covers bottom of the pan. Add the cheddar cheese on top. Put the frittata in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll know it’s done and cooked through when you shake the pan and the center doesn’t move.

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Let the frittata stand for about 5 minutes before cutting. It will be much easier to get out of the pan once it’s sat for a few minutes.

Slice and serve.

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Enjoy!!

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Zucchini and Mushroom Tacos

January 6, 2009 at 9:12 pm · Filed under Dinner, Vegetarian ·Tagged

This meal is the perfect dinner combination: healthy, filling, and tasty. With so much flavor, it quickly became a favorite in our household! 

I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart and tweaked some of the flavors and the cooking method to suit our tastes. The original recipe can be found here. 

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 zucchini

1 small red onion

1 package of baby portabello mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups)

Salt and pepper

Chili powder

5 (8 inch) flour tortillas

Monterey jack cheese

Salsa

 

Directions:

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then slice into half moons. 

Slice the onion into rings and then cut the rings in half. 

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Heat the oil over medium heat and add the vegetables. Season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Cook the veggies until the zucchini and onion are translucent.

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While the veggies are cooking, damp 2 paper towels with water. Sandwich 1 tortilla at time between the paper towels and put in the microwave for 15-20 seconds or until the tortillas are warm and slightly steamed.  

Top the tortillas with the veggie mixture, salsa, and cheese. 

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This will make enough for about 5 tacos.

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