1. Start with the crust from America's test kitchen lemon bars. But don't use their foil sling, that is useless. They come out easily if you use an ungreased glass dish, but the crust is a little thick. It's a better thickness in our slightly larger metal pan, but I don't know if they will come out. Bake it
2. Move on to the filling in Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and Betty Crocker. Basically, 2 eggs, 2T flour. And lemon. Both of them are too light on the lemon. Use 4 lemons worth of zest and juice, which is approx 1/2 cup lemon juice. Follow instructions on beating the eggs and such, and pour over the warm crust once it's baked.
3. Bake for about 25 minutes at whatever the cookbook says.
Sorry if you are a real person reading this. We've made it twice and I didn't want to forget the specific combo that worked!
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dessert. Show all posts
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Saturday, February 14, 2015
The Oatmeal Death March
So today, I got a glimpse of what my life was like in 2009, when I embarked on the grocery budget challenge. Back then, I was aiming for $160 or $320 a month (alternating months), not including the pre-paid CSA.
The problem with a tight budget is the inability (or difficulty) in stocking up. In 2009, the $320 a month months were stock up months. And of course, I rolled over unspent money to the next month.
This year, I started my $80 a week challenge 3 weeks in, and was already over budget by about $100 when I started. So there is no "overflow" and won't be until probably April. I periodically check to see when I break even. I am lucky that I have bulk chicken breasts and pastured pork in the freezer right now, but when that runs out, it's going to be even more of a challenge than it is now.
Case in point: Oats.
I've been making granola a lot lately. For V-day today, I decided to make oatmeal cookies. When I checked the pantry, I realized I was short on both oats and brown sugar. I knew a grocery shop was in the cards today, but I have only $22 left for the week.
My memory tells me that oats are generally $0.80 on sale, and I can usually find them for $1 - $1.25 a pound not on sale.
Well, my memory sucks. Here's what happened today:
1. I wasn't going to check out Costco, because it's out by work (11 miles away).
2. I remembered that oats are cheap at Whole Foods, and sometimes Lazy Acres.
3. Since I was heading to Trader Joe's, I opted for Whole Foods because it is nearby.
4. I needed milk at Ralphs.
Step 1:
- Ralphs: 42 oz oats on sale for $3.49. $1.32 a pound. A little expensive. Also needed brown sugar. $1.69/lb. Opted to skip Ralphs.
- Trader Joe's: 2 lb oats for $4. $2 a pound. Nope. Brown sugar: $3.49 a pound. Nope.
- Whole Foods: Bulk oats at $1.79 a pound, and packaged was even more. Nope.
- Albertson's (my regular store): I was sure it would be cheaper here. $3.99 for 42 ounces, or $1.52 a pound. And brown sugar $1.79 a pound.
At this point I couldn't stomach another stop, not even going back to Ralph's, which is on the way home. So I spent $0.60 extra and learned a lesson (again).
When you are on a budget and out of something, it's a problem. You end up spending more for non-sale items or smaller items. (I also spent too much on hand soap yesterday.) In order to get great deals, you have to keep your eye out for prices AND for the amount that you have. If you are out of something, then you can just decide to make something else instead - this is a seriously good way to save money, and I've gotten better at it over the last few weeks.
So for today, I could have skipped the oats until I got a better price, and made chocolate chip cookies instead of oatmeal cookies. But my husband doesn't like chocolate, so what's the point of making a Valentine's day "treat" if it's not a treat for your honey?
In the end, I split the dough, and half are oatmeal raisin, half oatmeal chocolate chip, because my big boy doesn't like raisins.
The problem with a tight budget is the inability (or difficulty) in stocking up. In 2009, the $320 a month months were stock up months. And of course, I rolled over unspent money to the next month.
This year, I started my $80 a week challenge 3 weeks in, and was already over budget by about $100 when I started. So there is no "overflow" and won't be until probably April. I periodically check to see when I break even. I am lucky that I have bulk chicken breasts and pastured pork in the freezer right now, but when that runs out, it's going to be even more of a challenge than it is now.
Case in point: Oats.
I've been making granola a lot lately. For V-day today, I decided to make oatmeal cookies. When I checked the pantry, I realized I was short on both oats and brown sugar. I knew a grocery shop was in the cards today, but I have only $22 left for the week.
My memory tells me that oats are generally $0.80 on sale, and I can usually find them for $1 - $1.25 a pound not on sale.
Well, my memory sucks. Here's what happened today:
1. I wasn't going to check out Costco, because it's out by work (11 miles away).
2. I remembered that oats are cheap at Whole Foods, and sometimes Lazy Acres.
3. Since I was heading to Trader Joe's, I opted for Whole Foods because it is nearby.
4. I needed milk at Ralphs.
Step 1:
- Ralphs: 42 oz oats on sale for $3.49. $1.32 a pound. A little expensive. Also needed brown sugar. $1.69/lb. Opted to skip Ralphs.
- Trader Joe's: 2 lb oats for $4. $2 a pound. Nope. Brown sugar: $3.49 a pound. Nope.
- Whole Foods: Bulk oats at $1.79 a pound, and packaged was even more. Nope.
- Albertson's (my regular store): I was sure it would be cheaper here. $3.99 for 42 ounces, or $1.52 a pound. And brown sugar $1.79 a pound.
At this point I couldn't stomach another stop, not even going back to Ralph's, which is on the way home. So I spent $0.60 extra and learned a lesson (again).
When you are on a budget and out of something, it's a problem. You end up spending more for non-sale items or smaller items. (I also spent too much on hand soap yesterday.) In order to get great deals, you have to keep your eye out for prices AND for the amount that you have. If you are out of something, then you can just decide to make something else instead - this is a seriously good way to save money, and I've gotten better at it over the last few weeks.
So for today, I could have skipped the oats until I got a better price, and made chocolate chip cookies instead of oatmeal cookies. But my husband doesn't like chocolate, so what's the point of making a Valentine's day "treat" if it's not a treat for your honey?
In the end, I split the dough, and half are oatmeal raisin, half oatmeal chocolate chip, because my big boy doesn't like raisins.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Healthy Soft Serve
Well, if you've been reading around the food blog-o-sphere over the last several years, you've read about banana soft serve. If you haven't heard of it...have you been living under a rock? Or have you been busy having a life and not reading food blogs?
Anyway, today, there was banana soft serve on the menu. We were thinking about taking the 1st grader out for frozen yogurt after picking him up at his kids' care. He wasn't particularly interested and when we got home, we got busy with other things. I had, however, been thinking about banana soft serve also, mostly because I saw a post on it in The Kitchn today (they have variations!). I liked reading the comments from their initial post 3 years ago. Including some nay-sayers that say "it tastes like frozen banana." Well, duh. It IS frozen banana! But it's very creamy and a great vehicle for chocolate syrup.
Anyway, I always have frozen bananas in the freezer. Sometimes peeled, sometimes not. Here are the advantages to banana soft serve compared to fro yo:
1. Way cheaper. Total cost of the banana soft serve for two (with some peanut butter mixed in and chocolate syrup on top): probably about 50 cents. Maybe 60 cents.
2. Healthier. It's banana. One ingredient. Unless you are me and add peanut butter and chocolate.
3. Faster and simpler. No getting into the car and driving downtown to the yogurt place. No keeping a pint of the sugary or fatty stuff in your freezer, that you swear you will eat 1/2 cup at a time and make it last two weeks, when really you'll eat the pint in three sittings, three days in a row.
All you gotta do is wash the food processor when you are done.
For instructions: here
Anyway, today, there was banana soft serve on the menu. We were thinking about taking the 1st grader out for frozen yogurt after picking him up at his kids' care. He wasn't particularly interested and when we got home, we got busy with other things. I had, however, been thinking about banana soft serve also, mostly because I saw a post on it in The Kitchn today (they have variations!). I liked reading the comments from their initial post 3 years ago. Including some nay-sayers that say "it tastes like frozen banana." Well, duh. It IS frozen banana! But it's very creamy and a great vehicle for chocolate syrup.
Anyway, I always have frozen bananas in the freezer. Sometimes peeled, sometimes not. Here are the advantages to banana soft serve compared to fro yo:
1. Way cheaper. Total cost of the banana soft serve for two (with some peanut butter mixed in and chocolate syrup on top): probably about 50 cents. Maybe 60 cents.
2. Healthier. It's banana. One ingredient. Unless you are me and add peanut butter and chocolate.
3. Faster and simpler. No getting into the car and driving downtown to the yogurt place. No keeping a pint of the sugary or fatty stuff in your freezer, that you swear you will eat 1/2 cup at a time and make it last two weeks, when really you'll eat the pint in three sittings, three days in a row.
All you gotta do is wash the food processor when you are done.
For instructions: here
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Sickness and Recovery - Soup! Pie!
So last week was the week that it all hit the fan. It was my first week back to work 80%. Well, it should have been. I ended up with a stomach bug and both kids
were sick with a fever/cough. So
Tuesday, I left early due to lack of sleep and stomach issues. Thursday I was home with a sick baby. Friday I was home half day with a sick
baby. Husband was out of town Tuesday
and Wednesday. Fun times. It can only get better from here, right?
So I didn’t eat all of the food that I’d planned for the
week. I laid off the vegetables. I really only ate enough to keep going. We did finish off the cream of celery soup by
Friday:
I ended up eating a lot of homemade applesauce and
toast. I used some of my time home with
the sick baby to make pomegranate juice.
We had 6 pomegranates. We have
four more again. Ugh. They are too much work.
Now it’s Sunday and the hubby and I feel like we are coming
down with the same cold that the boys have.
It’s expected when babies sneeze and cough on you. I’m loading up on Emergen-C and Zicam.
Thursday night my hubby brought home a roasted chicken from
Costco. We ate it with the Mexican rice, guacamole, cheese, sour cream. And carrot sticks. Friday night I threw some
carrot, onion, and celery bits in with the chicken carcass into the crockpot
and made stock. Saturday night I made
chicken and rice soup (trying to head this cold off at the pass). I started with the recipe from The PrudentHomemaker. I had celery in the freezer
(I can never finish off a bunch of celery, so I blanch and freeze the rest),
carrots (3 bunches from the CSA, but I didn't use that many!), and green onions. I bought a 5 pound bag of rice for $2.69 from
Smart and Final so needed to use some of that up. I basically made a double batch, which means I used 1 cup of raw rice. I added dried thyme and
parsley. The stock was very yummy and
gelatinous. I probably should have diluted it and saved some of the yumminess
for later. But I didn’t.
I also made olive and rosemary bread. I like no-knead bread but never plan enough
in advance. So I used a rustic white
bread recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Family cookbook, except I used the
bread machine to make the dough. And I
added some olives and rosemary. The
bread machine just doesn’t beep loud enough when it’s time to add the mix-ins,
so I guesstimated.
Then I realized it wouldn’t be done in time for dinner. It’s 2.5 hours on the dough cycle. Then you shape it and let it rise for an hour. Then it needs to bake for 45 minutes. Then it needs to cool for two hours. Dinner at 8 pm anyone? So I cut the dough in half and baked two loaves for faster baking and cooling. I used the method in Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, which involves baking on the pizza stone. That cut rising to 45 minutes, baking to 30 minutes, and cooling to about an hour. It was ready for dinner at 6:30 pm.
Both the soup and the bread were fabulous, along with a
romaine salad with pears, walnuts, blue cheese, and avocado, with balsamic
vinaigrette.
Sunday morning I got started right away (after feeding the
baby…he’s waking in the night again due to the illness) on mini-pumpkin
pies. This is a recipe from my
grain-free and dairy-free neighbor. They
are delish! She uses honey, I use maple
syrup. I made up the crust and put them
in the muffin tin and put them into the freezer. Then I took a nap. Then I finished them off. I’m not gluten, dairy, or grain free, but
hey, if it’s good, it’s good. She
actually combined two different recipes to make them.
Mini Pumpkin pies:
The crust:
Scant 2 cups nut flour (I used almond flour)
1 Tbsp coconut flour
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tsp coconut oil
Mix in a food processor until it forms a ball. Mine never really did, but it did get sticky
enough. Coat the muffin tins with
coconut oil and then put a heaping Tbsp of crust in each. Flatten along the bottom and partway up the
side. I had enough for 12 muffins. Cool
in the fridge 1 hour. Bake at 350F for 8
minutes.Scant 2 cups nut flour (I used almond flour)
1 Tbsp coconut flour
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp salt
2 tsp coconut oil
The filling:
2 cups/1 can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 eggs
1 cup coconut milk (I used the full fat version)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp nutmeg
Bake at 325F for about 45 minutes, or until brown on
top.
This made extra filling, so I threw 3 silicone
baking cups in with just the filling, to finish it off.I almost never say this, but...I used 1/3 cup of maple syrup in the filling. Next time I'll use 1/2 cup. I rarely think things need to be sweeter. I'm almost always cutting back on the sugar.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
My birthday cake
I celebrated a birthday this week, and my spouse made me this cake. The recipe was in this month's Sunset magazine, and it is delicious! Yummy yummy, but with 2 sticks of butter, how can it be bad? Buttery Lemon Raspberry cake. I am not a baker, but I will enjoy the fruits of my husband's labor.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Menu Plan and The Week in Pictures
My menu plans have been a bit free-form lately, based on my own energy level and what we happen to have in the fridge. The CSA pickings have been heavier on the fruit, thus lighter on vegetables. So I have to shop more on the weekends to round out the vegetables. I haven't been sleeping much at all - it's now pretty uncomfortable to even FALL asleep, much less STAY asleep. That affects my ability to cook and plan.
On the other hand, my son is in summer kids' care. Our neighbor's daughter is not, so I have the option to stop at the store on the way home. His summer program is at a different school, and Lazy Acres, Albertson's, and Mesa Produce are on the short 2 mile trip home.
This week's meals were:
Sunday: burgers at a friend's birthday party. I made potato salad. Man, half the potatoes were perfect, half were hard as a rock. I can't figure that out. Must be mommy brain. I'm usually the potato salad master. I also made vegan paleo chocolate chip cookies (using maple syrup instead of the honey and upping the vanilla). These were great and went really fast.
Monday: carrot and turnip ginger soup, and TJ's frozen breaded chicken
Tuesday: skillet pasta with zucchini, broccoli on the side
Wednesday: stopped at the store, so we had chicken, bean, and vegetable burritos and roasted cauliflower (this stuff is the bomb). We used to make burritos all the time. I'm not sure why they have fallen out of favor. Not enough time to cook beans? I bought a can.
Thursday: leftover pasta and the last of the soup
Friday: leftover burritos and salad
Tonight I'll be making pizza, and tomorrow is dinner at a friend's. She wants to have me over before the baby comes. We were going to do next Saturday. But I think time-wise, that's pushing it. I have 3 weeks to go, but my son was 2 weeks early.
Next week's meal plan: I haven't made it yet, but we've got kohlrabi, zucchini, lettuce, chard, onions, lemons. I'm thinking some sort of chard egg dish for sure. I definitely will have to hit the grocery or farmer's market for more produce.
On the other hand, my son is in summer kids' care. Our neighbor's daughter is not, so I have the option to stop at the store on the way home. His summer program is at a different school, and Lazy Acres, Albertson's, and Mesa Produce are on the short 2 mile trip home.
This week's meals were:
Sunday: burgers at a friend's birthday party. I made potato salad. Man, half the potatoes were perfect, half were hard as a rock. I can't figure that out. Must be mommy brain. I'm usually the potato salad master. I also made vegan paleo chocolate chip cookies (using maple syrup instead of the honey and upping the vanilla). These were great and went really fast.
Monday: carrot and turnip ginger soup, and TJ's frozen breaded chicken
Tuesday: skillet pasta with zucchini, broccoli on the side
Wednesday: stopped at the store, so we had chicken, bean, and vegetable burritos and roasted cauliflower (this stuff is the bomb). We used to make burritos all the time. I'm not sure why they have fallen out of favor. Not enough time to cook beans? I bought a can.
Thursday: leftover pasta and the last of the soup
Friday: leftover burritos and salad
Tonight I'll be making pizza, and tomorrow is dinner at a friend's. She wants to have me over before the baby comes. We were going to do next Saturday. But I think time-wise, that's pushing it. I have 3 weeks to go, but my son was 2 weeks early.
Next week's meal plan: I haven't made it yet, but we've got kohlrabi, zucchini, lettuce, chard, onions, lemons. I'm thinking some sort of chard egg dish for sure. I definitely will have to hit the grocery or farmer's market for more produce.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Grillin' and Patio Eatin' and organizing
Today was another banner cooking day...1/2 hour of cooking, 15 mins of sitting and folding laundry. Repeat. The day started out weirdly. We went out for bagels for breakfast. I thought it would be a great idea to take my car, then we could get groceries on the way home and put gas in my car. Except it wouldn't start. Dead battery. Either there is something wrong with my interior light or I accidentally bump it when I get all of my stuff out of the passenger seat. So, we took spouse's car.
The weekend was pretty busy with us nesting. We headed to Ventura for a birthday party, and stopped by Target while we were there. We are short on storage space for upcoming baby. In general, we prefer to have my husband actually MAKE our furniture - it's much nicer and more functional, (and cheaper) than buying it. We had a little argument about it this time when I said "but how long will it take you to FINISH it?" Which was not meant to be an insult on his ability to "finish" things...it was meant as a "I know you can get it done in a weekend, but when am I going to be willing to give you a whole weekend to do it in the next 8 weeks?"
So we compromised and bought some cubbies for hallway storage and decided that he's still going to have to redo the hall closet with shelves, hooks, framing, and a real door. Which will take several weekends.
That all meant that mother's day weekend wasn't very relaxing, what with putting together cubbies and attaching them to the wall so they are secure, plus doing some purging (the sheer amount of cheap plastic shit that my son comes home with is astounding). Next weekend will have to be more organizing/ closet purging. I tend to have a policy that when something new comes into the house, something has to leave. A necessity with a small house. Well, a family member recently made a comment about that when I said I needed to purge to make some room for the baby with "don't you already have a policy that you get rid of something when something new comes in? Shouldn't you already have space?" Well, yeah, but I'm getting a new person, so I'm not getting rid of the old kid to make room for the new kid.
In between all this work I made a black bean/corn/barley salad for a potluck at the school tomorrow (kindergarten teacher appreciation day). I also made black bean soup. I decided we should grill today, and my son thought it would be a great idea to eat outside (which we never do), so we did.
I enjoyed a little swim today but still my dogs are BARKING. Time to enjoy a cookie and some milk, then read my kindle a bit before bed. If you have a kindle, you have to go to this site. Lots of free books!
Also, do you Pinterest? I have to admit, I love this site. I have been using it to bookmark crafts and recipes that I want to try or have tried...it's awesome! I still print them out though, when I actually go to make them.
The weekend was pretty busy with us nesting. We headed to Ventura for a birthday party, and stopped by Target while we were there. We are short on storage space for upcoming baby. In general, we prefer to have my husband actually MAKE our furniture - it's much nicer and more functional, (and cheaper) than buying it. We had a little argument about it this time when I said "but how long will it take you to FINISH it?" Which was not meant to be an insult on his ability to "finish" things...it was meant as a "I know you can get it done in a weekend, but when am I going to be willing to give you a whole weekend to do it in the next 8 weeks?"
So we compromised and bought some cubbies for hallway storage and decided that he's still going to have to redo the hall closet with shelves, hooks, framing, and a real door. Which will take several weekends.
That all meant that mother's day weekend wasn't very relaxing, what with putting together cubbies and attaching them to the wall so they are secure, plus doing some purging (the sheer amount of cheap plastic shit that my son comes home with is astounding). Next weekend will have to be more organizing/ closet purging. I tend to have a policy that when something new comes into the house, something has to leave. A necessity with a small house. Well, a family member recently made a comment about that when I said I needed to purge to make some room for the baby with "don't you already have a policy that you get rid of something when something new comes in? Shouldn't you already have space?" Well, yeah, but I'm getting a new person, so I'm not getting rid of the old kid to make room for the new kid.
In between all this work I made a black bean/corn/barley salad for a potluck at the school tomorrow (kindergarten teacher appreciation day). I also made black bean soup. I decided we should grill today, and my son thought it would be a great idea to eat outside (which we never do), so we did.
Grilled shrimp, salad, corn
Black bean soup
Banana chocolate chip cookies- GF and vegan, no added sugar (except the chips)
I enjoyed a little swim today but still my dogs are BARKING. Time to enjoy a cookie and some milk, then read my kindle a bit before bed. If you have a kindle, you have to go to this site. Lots of free books!
Also, do you Pinterest? I have to admit, I love this site. I have been using it to bookmark crafts and recipes that I want to try or have tried...it's awesome! I still print them out though, when I actually go to make them.
Monday, February 27, 2012
I finally cooked ... and banana chocolate chip bars
Well, after returning from a camping trip - which is stressful enough, with needing to put away camping gear - and worse in this case because we borrowed a bunch of camping gear - we were hit with head lice. And by "we", I mean the kindergartener. So that meant the week became LESS about putting away the camping gear and MORE about de-lousing the house.
This meant 2 trips to the laundromat to do four triple loads of laundry each (couch covers, every pillow and duvet we own, clothing, hats). Needless to say, Domino's was on the menu.
But by Thursday, I had finally the energy to cook. And what did I make? The house staple, of course, skillet spaghetti.
This version had a variety of bits and pieces. Spaghetti, marinara, chickpeas (that I'd previously cooked and put in the freezer), leeks, bell pepper, parsley, and spices. It was yummy. Sorry for the fuzzy photo.
From there, we had visitors over the weekend (um...close family...and we put them up in a hotel, just in case), so there was WAY too much eating out. Bad me. But I have a few more weeks to get back on track so I can avoid last month's "wow I've gained 10 lbs in the last 4 weeks, yikes". In fact, last week I lost 0.2 lbs, but then again, the ENTIRE family got a haircut.
I also made banana chocolate chip bars. These are a recipe from my mother-in-law. I've never made them, but they seem to be a staple for birthdays when I'm back east. Knowing that spouse's family loves them, and that I have frozen bananas (in the peel) on hand all the time, it seemed like a good thing to try. I think mine were a little thick because of the organic butter. Still tasty! And as you can see by the pan, well-received.
Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
3/4 c. softened butter
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c packed brown sugar. Whoops. I forgot this entirely. Didn't even see it there on the recipe. They were still good.
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 mashed bananas
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir in bananas.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and mix well into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread in greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Cool and cut into bars.
This meant 2 trips to the laundromat to do four triple loads of laundry each (couch covers, every pillow and duvet we own, clothing, hats). Needless to say, Domino's was on the menu.
But by Thursday, I had finally the energy to cook. And what did I make? The house staple, of course, skillet spaghetti.
This version had a variety of bits and pieces. Spaghetti, marinara, chickpeas (that I'd previously cooked and put in the freezer), leeks, bell pepper, parsley, and spices. It was yummy. Sorry for the fuzzy photo.
From there, we had visitors over the weekend (um...close family...and we put them up in a hotel, just in case), so there was WAY too much eating out. Bad me. But I have a few more weeks to get back on track so I can avoid last month's "wow I've gained 10 lbs in the last 4 weeks, yikes". In fact, last week I lost 0.2 lbs, but then again, the ENTIRE family got a haircut.
I also made banana chocolate chip bars. These are a recipe from my mother-in-law. I've never made them, but they seem to be a staple for birthdays when I'm back east. Knowing that spouse's family loves them, and that I have frozen bananas (in the peel) on hand all the time, it seemed like a good thing to try. I think mine were a little thick because of the organic butter. Still tasty! And as you can see by the pan, well-received.
Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
3/4 c. softened butter
2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c packed brown sugar. Whoops. I forgot this entirely. Didn't even see it there on the recipe. They were still good.
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 mashed bananas
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Stir in bananas.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl and mix well into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread in greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 min. Cool and cut into bars.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Key Lime Bars and Homemade Rolls
So, the problem with me blogging a day or two after making something is that I'm too tired to actually type up the recipes. I'm sorry.
On Saturday, I made an early V-day gift for my spouse (who hates chocolate) - key lime bars from last month's Taste of Home cookbook. It's got a crust of vanilla wafers and nuts and butter, a first layer of cream cheese and sugar (and I added the zest of the limes), and then an egg/lime juice layer. Very tasty, but could be a bit tarter. I can't imagine what it would have been without the lime zest (which wasn't called for in the recipe).
Last night we had soup and rolls. I was going to make Split Pea Soup, but had a bit of food poisoning or something from a bad burrito on Friday night. Or maybe I just have a sensitive stomach. But really, I generally have an iron stomach. Instead I opted to make the rolls using the bread machine recipe and open up a carton of Imagine garden tomato soup (low sodium). With kale chips.
Tonight I roasted a bunch of veggies...fennel, beets, brussels sprouts, and onions (can you guess what we got from the CSA?) Turns out, my kid doesn't like fennel either. Hub and I don't care for it either. Served with rice pilaf from a box and frozen breaded chicken. A working mom's best friend.
On Saturday, I made an early V-day gift for my spouse (who hates chocolate) - key lime bars from last month's Taste of Home cookbook. It's got a crust of vanilla wafers and nuts and butter, a first layer of cream cheese and sugar (and I added the zest of the limes), and then an egg/lime juice layer. Very tasty, but could be a bit tarter. I can't imagine what it would have been without the lime zest (which wasn't called for in the recipe).
Last night we had soup and rolls. I was going to make Split Pea Soup, but had a bit of food poisoning or something from a bad burrito on Friday night. Or maybe I just have a sensitive stomach. But really, I generally have an iron stomach. Instead I opted to make the rolls using the bread machine recipe and open up a carton of Imagine garden tomato soup (low sodium). With kale chips.
Tonight I roasted a bunch of veggies...fennel, beets, brussels sprouts, and onions (can you guess what we got from the CSA?) Turns out, my kid doesn't like fennel either. Hub and I don't care for it either. Served with rice pilaf from a box and frozen breaded chicken. A working mom's best friend.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Roast Vegetables and Stir-Fry Asian Greens and COOKIES!!
I love vegetables. I bet you didn't know that. :)
This week from the CSA we got some baby beets, baby scarlet turnips, and cauliflower. I decided it would be tasty to roast them all in olive oil with some onions and garlic. But the baby beets were so...baby...I mean, they were all beet greens, that I was perplexed. So. I composted them. The remaining veggies were great! I roasted for about 40 minutes at 400F.
We also got some great Asian greens. Kale, baby bok choy, tatsoi. I love baby bok choi and tatsoi. I stir-fried them quickly and put some of Trader Joe's Island Soyaki sauce on them delish! And in the same Trader Joe's vein, we had breaded chicken cutlets.
I was also craving something sweet yesterday. Bad me. I thought about cookies, and where better to look than Love Veggies and Yoga. I mean, all the desserts Averie makes - she's a pro. I found her recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies, and the rest was history! I cooked mine a little longer than she did, but they were still tasty. My only regret is that I made bagels on Saturday and needed only egg white for that, but I needed an extra yolk on Sunday for the cookies. Next time, I'll make them on the same day.
This week from the CSA we got some baby beets, baby scarlet turnips, and cauliflower. I decided it would be tasty to roast them all in olive oil with some onions and garlic. But the baby beets were so...baby...I mean, they were all beet greens, that I was perplexed. So. I composted them. The remaining veggies were great! I roasted for about 40 minutes at 400F.
We also got some great Asian greens. Kale, baby bok choy, tatsoi. I love baby bok choi and tatsoi. I stir-fried them quickly and put some of Trader Joe's Island Soyaki sauce on them delish! And in the same Trader Joe's vein, we had breaded chicken cutlets.
I was also craving something sweet yesterday. Bad me. I thought about cookies, and where better to look than Love Veggies and Yoga. I mean, all the desserts Averie makes - she's a pro. I found her recipe for Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies, and the rest was history! I cooked mine a little longer than she did, but they were still tasty. My only regret is that I made bagels on Saturday and needed only egg white for that, but I needed an extra yolk on Sunday for the cookies. Next time, I'll make them on the same day.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
A brief week in pictures
The blog has been winding down lately, as I'm sure you've noticed. There are a few reasons for this: work craziness (I now have four people working for me, and it's crunch time), husband traveling, and bronchitis. Yay for me. I find myself passing out between 8 and 8:30 in the evening (many times before my child), waking up at 1 am with insomnia for a couple of hours, and then awaking again at 4 or 5 in the morning. Lovely.
So my energy level isn't that great, and the whole family is ready for the bronchitis to be over. Here's a bit of what's been going on:
Last weekend a really great friend of ours came by for a visit. He was in our wedding, and my hubby was his best man. He's from Santa Fe, and he was on a business trip in San Francisco, so he swung by for a weekend. His wife wasn't able to make it. We had such a great time. You know how you've got old friends (we've known him for...19 and 21 years I think) who, no matter how long you've been apart, you go back seamlessly into a great fun relationship? Yeah, it's one of those. He's a vegetarian, so we did a combo of cooking and eating out while he was here.
Friday night (I had the day off): homemade pizza
Saturday morning: eggs and toast
Saturday lunch: farmer's market, went wine tasting, ate sandwiches at a great deli
Sunday dinner: made black bean burritos and kale chips
Sunday breakfast: out (we love breakfast out). Tried a new place. It was "meh".
Sunday lunch: veggie burgers
Sunday dinner: skillet spaghetti and salad
Monday breakfast: scones. See below...
So my energy level isn't that great, and the whole family is ready for the bronchitis to be over. Here's a bit of what's been going on:
Last weekend a really great friend of ours came by for a visit. He was in our wedding, and my hubby was his best man. He's from Santa Fe, and he was on a business trip in San Francisco, so he swung by for a weekend. His wife wasn't able to make it. We had such a great time. You know how you've got old friends (we've known him for...19 and 21 years I think) who, no matter how long you've been apart, you go back seamlessly into a great fun relationship? Yeah, it's one of those. He's a vegetarian, so we did a combo of cooking and eating out while he was here.
Friday night (I had the day off): homemade pizza
Saturday morning: eggs and toast
Saturday lunch: farmer's market, went wine tasting, ate sandwiches at a great deli
Sunday dinner: made black bean burritos and kale chips
Sunday breakfast: out (we love breakfast out). Tried a new place. It was "meh".
Sunday lunch: veggie burgers
Sunday dinner: skillet spaghetti and salad
Monday breakfast: scones. See below...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Banana Soft Serve - I finally tried it! And more bootcamp food.
My husband was doubtful. After about a minute, he suggested the Blendtec instead of the food processor. I said "no, the blog I read said that the Vitamix didn't work well". Then, a minute into it, he said "this is not going to work." I said "it takes 5 minutes!" I followed the directions from Gena, but also checked out Averie for advice too. It worked. Here's what it looks like before the toppings.
Well, darned if it didn't work, and it was delicious. I topped mine with a crumbled cookie and some chocolate syrup. Spouse liked it, kid ate half and THEN said he didn't like it.
More bikini bootcamp recipes: Roasted tomato and white bean soup:
Baked tilapia with vegetable hash. (This is heavily adapted. Original recipe called for grilled tilapia with vegetables on skewers. This was easier.)
Scrambled egg with spinach, mushroom, onion, tomato (and I snuck in goat cheese)
Spinach salad with nuts, chickpeas, some other yummy stuff, with an orange dressing.
Note to self: if you are going to take a day off of the "diet" and eat a slice of sodium-filled pizza, do not do it the night before your weekly "weigh-in", because then all it does is depress you and make you feel like a failure for only losing 0.2 lbs. When in reality, you probably lost 2 lbs and are carrying around extra water.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sick again, budget update - and cookies!
Wow, third time in 3 months. I must have a lot of work stress. I haven't gotten sick this often in years. This time at least it's pretty mild. Yesterday was the worst day. I think I'm already recovering. Good thing, it's a holiday and I'm home alone with my child! We'll probably go out to see the butterflies today and have lunch with daddy. Hopefully the butterflies are still there. I've never successfully seen them in all my years here.
Well, here's the budget update. As of 2/25/11 (I know, we're not there yet, but that's when this week ends), I've spent $351.80. That's with my budget of $50 a week, at the end of 7 weeks. How did I end up going over? Simple. I have a couple of change purses full of coins. The advantage to spending cash is that I can actually USE my coins. That $1.80 is from coins. How does my pantry look? I've got a couple of pounds of pasta (whole wheat and regular), plus rice and quinoa. A pound of chickpeas, 10 lb of pinto beans, and plenty of flour for baking. I still have some frozen fruits and veggies, and lots of canned veggies (mostly because I don't like canned veggies. They are for emergencies. I get plenty of fresh at the CSA.) I still have 2.5 lbs of ground beef (local, grass fed free range!), and one large steak. Plus some salmon. We're doing just fine.
Feeling sick, and feeling sorry for myself, I wanted cookies. And my spouse, who hates chocolate, loves me enough to help me make chocolate chip cookies. These are basically off the back of the Ghirardelli bag. And are they delicious. Unfortunately, I ate 6. And then, the Girl Scouts showed up. I had exactly $9 in my wallet, and my family wasn't home. That was enough for two boxes. One of course, lemon for my spouse. The other, samoas, which are so atrociously expensive because I think you only get 10 in a box. In any event, there will be cookies going to work, and some are already in the freezer.
I also made soup for dinner. We bought these two buckets of "emergency rations" a couple of years ago (we get fires, mudslides, and earthquakes, though in 14 years, I have yet to feel an earthquake). They come in these little foil packets where you just add water. I periodically pull one out. They last 10-15 years, but I figure we should try them out once in awhile, and I bet they'd work for camping. They tend to be a bit grainy. So I took this soup one, added homemade turkey stock, a can of chicken (yes, a can, from TJ's), celery that I had blanched and frozen (I can NEVER finish a celery bunch), a couple of carrots, a package of ramen (no flavor packet), half an onion, a handful of fresh spinach, and some sage. It was pretty decent, and I served mine with some hot chili paste. My boss's trick when you have a cold - chicken soup with hot sauce.
Well, here's the budget update. As of 2/25/11 (I know, we're not there yet, but that's when this week ends), I've spent $351.80. That's with my budget of $50 a week, at the end of 7 weeks. How did I end up going over? Simple. I have a couple of change purses full of coins. The advantage to spending cash is that I can actually USE my coins. That $1.80 is from coins. How does my pantry look? I've got a couple of pounds of pasta (whole wheat and regular), plus rice and quinoa. A pound of chickpeas, 10 lb of pinto beans, and plenty of flour for baking. I still have some frozen fruits and veggies, and lots of canned veggies (mostly because I don't like canned veggies. They are for emergencies. I get plenty of fresh at the CSA.) I still have 2.5 lbs of ground beef (local, grass fed free range!), and one large steak. Plus some salmon. We're doing just fine.
Feeling sick, and feeling sorry for myself, I wanted cookies. And my spouse, who hates chocolate, loves me enough to help me make chocolate chip cookies. These are basically off the back of the Ghirardelli bag. And are they delicious. Unfortunately, I ate 6. And then, the Girl Scouts showed up. I had exactly $9 in my wallet, and my family wasn't home. That was enough for two boxes. One of course, lemon for my spouse. The other, samoas, which are so atrociously expensive because I think you only get 10 in a box. In any event, there will be cookies going to work, and some are already in the freezer.
I also made soup for dinner. We bought these two buckets of "emergency rations" a couple of years ago (we get fires, mudslides, and earthquakes, though in 14 years, I have yet to feel an earthquake). They come in these little foil packets where you just add water. I periodically pull one out. They last 10-15 years, but I figure we should try them out once in awhile, and I bet they'd work for camping. They tend to be a bit grainy. So I took this soup one, added homemade turkey stock, a can of chicken (yes, a can, from TJ's), celery that I had blanched and frozen (I can NEVER finish a celery bunch), a couple of carrots, a package of ramen (no flavor packet), half an onion, a handful of fresh spinach, and some sage. It was pretty decent, and I served mine with some hot chili paste. My boss's trick when you have a cold - chicken soup with hot sauce.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thanksgiving
For the first time ever, we had a small Thanksgiving. Just the three of us. And it was nice. We pulled out the fine china and crystal. Cooked a small meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, and homemade rolls. Hung around the house, went to the park, and cleaned out the master bedroom closet. Here comes freecycle!
First, a gorgeous salad with beets, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and a delicious raspberry balsamic vinegar I got from the winery.
First, a gorgeous salad with beets, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and a delicious raspberry balsamic vinegar I got from the winery.
Next, the turkey and homemade rolls.
The table:
We also made coconut lime snowballs, from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I won't post the recipe here (you'll have to buy the book, or if you are an online member, the recipe is here). The recipe is also here (without a reference to the original, but who knows how she got it, maybe it was written on a 3x5 passed down by a relative):
I could have saved some money by buying butter in bulk and flour on sale, but I try to stick to unbleached flour, and couldn't find that on sale.
Coconut lime snowballs:
2.5 c. flour: $0.51
3/4 c. sugar: 0.20
2 sticks butter: 1.75 (yeah, I know, not exactly "healthy", but better than storebought anyway)
salt
2 tsp vanilla: 0.30
1 c. shredded coconut
juice of 2 limes: 0.38
3 Tbsp cream cheese: 0.23
1 c. powdered sugar: 0.50
Total: $4.37
This makes about 38 cookies. Or $0.12 per cookie.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Pizza, Lemon Cupcakes, Salad
Pesto Pizza
Lemon Cupcakes (hubby's birthday is this week...first time I've ever made cupcakes or any kind of cake from scratch. These were yummy. I am lucky to have friends with lemon trees.)
Lemon Cupcakes (hubby's birthday is this week...first time I've ever made cupcakes or any kind of cake from scratch. These were yummy. I am lucky to have friends with lemon trees.)
Greek-ish salad (the Greek fest this weekend was out!!)...cukes, tomatoes, radishes, olives, feta, and some Goddess Dressing.
And tonight, one of my amazing pasta dishes...pasta, a *very* large (free) zucchini from Lori, more leftover tri-tip from my birthday party, lots of homemade pesto, onion, and a little diced fresh tomato.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
My buddy Kelly and I took a field trip this weekend to our coworker Mark's house. He lives up a canyon and has a little farm...chickens, goats, and quite an impressive array of raised garden beds. And fruit trees.
Kelly's got chickens and she was picking his brain. I've got some raised beds and was getting some tips. We came home with plantable garlic and some Rhubarb. Which I've eaten (growing up in PA), but never cooked.
On Monday I did a little web surfing and found this recipe. It looked pretty good, despite the large amount of sugar, so I gave it a shot.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp
3 cups diced rhubarb: free (about three stalks)
1 pint strawberries, halved and hulled: $3.33 (from our local CSA farm, but I bought them)
1/2 cup sugar: 0.10 (no wonder people are addicted to sugar. Stuff's cheap)
2 tsp flour: 0.01
1 tsp lemon zest: ? (do I count the lemon cost in the juice or the zest?)
topping:
2/3 c. chopped walnuts: 0.83
1/4 c. melted butter or margarine: 0.31
1/2 c. flour: 0.08
1/3 c. brown sugar: 0.40
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon: 0.20
pinch salt
We used a 7x9 glass dish, baked it for 30 mins. About 8 servings.
Total: $5.26 for 8 servings, $0.66 each.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
I'm not going to post this recipe here...you can google it and get many options. I grew up eating this at family potlucks...it's NOT a salad, it's a dessert. But it is yummy, and I had it at a neighbor's house recently. It made me miss it so...
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