Sunday, September 11, 2011
It's about time!
Yup, it has been a several months since I last posted....AGAIN. Seriously, where has the time gone? Well after the Thanksgiving post things went a bit, well let's just say things got a bit crazy. Let's break it down.
My boss gave her notice (at the end of October), HR did not post the job until mid-November, I applied, waited, waited and waited some more. I finally got an interview mid-December, all while we were crazy busy at work. I was offered the job and accepted. YEAH! Well to keep my long drawn out story shorter, lets just say I started my new job on January 3rd and had a crash course. My days since the last week of December have been insane to say the least.
It is now September....where has the time gone? We made it through wrestling, baseball (2 teams), wrestling camp, football camp, 2 week vacation, school starting, football & Labor Day weekend horseshoe tournament camping extravaganza. We are now back in the swing of all things routine. Well except we now travel twice a week for football and our son is starting drivers education next week. May all of you stay safe on the roads!
I have been doing little cooking since my schedule became so incredibly crazy at work, but still have managed to make a few recipes. Today is also the day that my son and I spend in the kitchen for him to get his clock hours for his culinary class. So far he has made zucchini bread with only a few words of wisdom from Mom.
Here is the recipe we used: Zucchini Bread
Just a couple of things. For breads such as zucchini or banana, I like to butter and sugar the pans instead of flour. Makes a nice crust and tastes really good. Also, my son made one batch as written and I made a second batch substituting 1 c. unsweetened apple sauce for the 1 c. oil. They both turned out great!
In addition I have a few of other favorites from the summer. Try them out!
Watermelon salad with Balsamic Reduction
Cut up fresh watermelon
Chiffonade (thinly slice) fresh mint leaves
1/2 - 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
In a small pan over medium heat mix balsamic, sugar and water. Reduce until syrup consistency.
Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the watermelon salad. YUM!
Rhubarb Compote
4 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar
1-2 T. lemon juice
1 T. corn starch
1-2 T. water
In a medium pan add rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice. Cook until tender but not mushy. Mix in a separate bowl the cornstarch and water. Add to the rhubarb mixture. Cook a few more minutes until thickened slightly.
This compote is great for topping French toast, ice cream or toast.
Last but not least here is MY recipe for stuffed pablano peppers....they may sound and look a little, well, interesting but they taste AMAZING!
Stuffed Pablano Peppers
4-5 Large Pablano peppers
1 package reduced fat pork sausage
2-3 ears of corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-4 oz. Cotija cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cut tops off of peppers and set them aside. You will use them later. Seed the peppers. In a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat. Pour off any remaining fat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add chopped garlic. Shuck and cut corn off of the cobs, add corn to the skillet. Add black beans, smashing them slightly with the back of a spoon. Chop up about 1/3 cup cilantro, add to pan along with 1 tsp. cumin (more if desired). Stir until well combined. Crumble in 2-4 oz. of Cotija cheese. Stir to combine and warm through. Remove from heat. Stuff peppers with mixture until almost to the top of pepper. Replace the pepper top and stick with toothpicks to hold into place. Grill peppers on the bbq, over medium-low heat until outside of peppers are soft and cooked through. Serve with sliced avocado & Mexican crema or sour cream.
This dish goes extremely well with homemade corn cakes, flat bread or tortillas.
This recipe is a great free-form recipe. Change things up, add whatever sounds good to you. Don't have Cotija cheese but have cheddar, then use the cheddar. Don't have fresh corn, use canned or frozen. Do what sounds good to you! Enjoy!
My boss gave her notice (at the end of October), HR did not post the job until mid-November, I applied, waited, waited and waited some more. I finally got an interview mid-December, all while we were crazy busy at work. I was offered the job and accepted. YEAH! Well to keep my long drawn out story shorter, lets just say I started my new job on January 3rd and had a crash course. My days since the last week of December have been insane to say the least.
It is now September....where has the time gone? We made it through wrestling, baseball (2 teams), wrestling camp, football camp, 2 week vacation, school starting, football & Labor Day weekend horseshoe tournament camping extravaganza. We are now back in the swing of all things routine. Well except we now travel twice a week for football and our son is starting drivers education next week. May all of you stay safe on the roads!
I have been doing little cooking since my schedule became so incredibly crazy at work, but still have managed to make a few recipes. Today is also the day that my son and I spend in the kitchen for him to get his clock hours for his culinary class. So far he has made zucchini bread with only a few words of wisdom from Mom.
Just a couple of things. For breads such as zucchini or banana, I like to butter and sugar the pans instead of flour. Makes a nice crust and tastes really good. Also, my son made one batch as written and I made a second batch substituting 1 c. unsweetened apple sauce for the 1 c. oil. They both turned out great!
In addition I have a few of other favorites from the summer. Try them out!
Cut up fresh watermelon
Chiffonade (thinly slice) fresh mint leaves
1/2 - 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
In a small pan over medium heat mix balsamic, sugar and water. Reduce until syrup consistency.
Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the watermelon salad. YUM!
Rhubarb Compote4 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar
1-2 T. lemon juice
1 T. corn starch
1-2 T. water
In a medium pan add rhubarb, sugar and lemon juice. Cook until tender but not mushy. Mix in a separate bowl the cornstarch and water. Add to the rhubarb mixture. Cook a few more minutes until thickened slightly.
This compote is great for topping French toast, ice cream or toast.
Last but not least here is MY recipe for stuffed pablano peppers....they may sound and look a little, well, interesting but they taste AMAZING!
Stuffed Pablano Peppers
4-5 Large Pablano peppers
1 package reduced fat pork sausage
2-3 ears of corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch cilantro
1 tsp. cumin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2-4 oz. Cotija cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cut tops off of peppers and set them aside. You will use them later. Seed the peppers. In a large skillet, brown sausage over medium heat. Pour off any remaining fat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add chopped garlic. Shuck and cut corn off of the cobs, add corn to the skillet. Add black beans, smashing them slightly with the back of a spoon. Chop up about 1/3 cup cilantro, add to pan along with 1 tsp. cumin (more if desired). Stir until well combined. Crumble in 2-4 oz. of Cotija cheese. Stir to combine and warm through. Remove from heat. Stuff peppers with mixture until almost to the top of pepper. Replace the pepper top and stick with toothpicks to hold into place. Grill peppers on the bbq, over medium-low heat until outside of peppers are soft and cooked through. Serve with sliced avocado & Mexican crema or sour cream.
This dish goes extremely well with homemade corn cakes, flat bread or tortillas.
This recipe is a great free-form recipe. Change things up, add whatever sounds good to you. Don't have Cotija cheese but have cheddar, then use the cheddar. Don't have fresh corn, use canned or frozen. Do what sounds good to you! Enjoy!
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