Instant Pot Bacon Cauliflower Soup

It's been a long time since I've touched this blog. Approximately three years ago, I became very burnt out with blogging. It started out as fun, and then it wasn't. It took hours to take photos, edit photos, learn SEO, coding......it all became about being noticed and getting paid. I was spending too much time on something, that honestly, didn't really matter at the end of the day. And so I walked away. I loved blogging when I started, it felt like a community. Until it wasn't. When I left it had become more about making money and less about sharing. I found myself being critical of food photos and always comparing myself to everyone else. It became something that wasn't the release from everyday stress that was the reason I started blogging in the first place.

So I'm back, but this time I'm older and wiser. I don't intend to make money off this blog, I have found that over the last two years the Internet is full of horrible food recipes. If I have to throw away one more inedible meal, I might scream. So this is my recipe book. Using my iPhone 6 (gasp, that's right my Canon Rebel hasn't been out of the closet in 2 years), I will be documenting the food I make so I can have a place to go back and try recipes that I liked in the past (or avoid recipes that were horrible).

Honestly, I don't care if anyone reads or cares about any of my posts. This is about my food journey so I can remember that I can be a pretty decent home cook, even if my photos didn't take 3 hours to stage, capture, and edit. If you're looking for glossy food magazine photos, they won't be here. I don't have the time or patience for that rat race any longer. So here goes.

Instant Pot Bacon Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

• 6 slices chopped bacon
• 1 chopped onion
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 chopped green onions
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 chopped red potatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream

Cooking Directions

1. Saute the chopped bacon on the saute option on the instant pot. Once crispy remove from pot.
2. Add the onions to the Instant Pot and saute for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and one of the chopped green onions.
3. Add the chicken stock.
4. Add the potatoes, bay leaves, and cauliflower.
5. Close the lid and set on the high pressure cooker option for 5 minutes. Do a quick release once it beeps as done.
6. Remove bay leaves and then add the heavy cream. Cook on the saute setting until the soup thickens.
7. Top with bacon and chopped green onions.

This recipe need a lot of additional salt at the end of cooking. It turned out really well though, it might benefit from a little spice (maybe crushed red pepper. 

Adapted from Instant Cookbook by Monet Chapin.

Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

In my house bacon is it's own food group. I live with three males and they can be sound asleep, but when I start frying bacon they suddenly appear out of thin air. The same goes for their enthusiasm for menu ideas. If I mention most recipes I get complete disregard or an occasional quick comment. However, if I casually mention that I'm making a recipe that involves bacon for dinner, suddenly they become very interested in everything I'm doing. Occasionally my oldest goes so far as to run around the house with a crazy voice shouting the word bacon over and over again. It's a little odd, but the boy knows what he likes and bacon is at the top of the list.

There is something very appealing about a delicious and juicy burger. My whole family loves them and I make some burger variation at least once or twice a month. Last week I made a new recipe for Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce. The recipe is as follows.

Adapted from the July 2014 issue of the Food and Wine Magazine. 

Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A tender burger recipe using ground beef and minced bacon and served with a delicious yogurt sauce.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 0h, 8m

Total Time: 0h, 18m

Yield: Serves 8

Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 minced red onion
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
• 1/2 pound bacon, minced *see note
• 6 scallions white and light green parts minced
• 1/3 cup chopped mint
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Instructions

1. Puree the yogurt, jalapeños, cilantro, ginger, onion, sugar and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a food processor. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the ground beef, scallions, mint, Parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper, cayenne, and remaining salt. 
3. Form into 8 burger patties. 
4. Either using a grill or a griddle, cook the burgers for 6-8 minutes or until 180 degrees. 
5. Serve the burgers on hamburger buns topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, ketchup, and/or Sriracha and the yogurt sauce spread on the bottom of the bun. 

*Note: In order for the bacon to be fully minced either use a food processor or cook the bacon until crisp, crumble, and then add to the recipe. Alternatively you can used real bacon bits. 

Be very careful that you fully mince the bacon. If the bites are too large the burgers will end up with large grease pockets. When properly minced the bacon keeps the burgers moist and is a great addition to the ground beef. 

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bourbon Maple Bacon Topping

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bourbon Maple Bacon Topping

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that customer service has gone downhill since the economy started having problems. My husband had bought a shirt from a national bookstore chain and found a very noticeable defect. There was a string that when pulled took off part of the screening on the t-shirt. It was obviously not wearable with the defect so he figured it would be easy to return. He came out of the store after attempting to return the shirt very upset. Apparently the female manager was very abrasive and kept repeating that the corporate policy stated that they weren't allowed to do returns without a receipt. Now I am a very nice person until you upset my husband or kids, then I fix the situation. I quickly called the store location where the shirt was bought (the state capital) and talked to a very nice manager. He informed me that it wasn't corporate policy and that the store manager in our city was wrong. Long story short I went back to the store where my husband had a problem and fixed the problem. They tried being rude to me until I informed them that I had already contacted corporate and the other store location. Then they attempted to apologize profusely. At the end of the day I got the situation remedied, but I was still unhappy with the whole experience. It just reminded me of how far down customer service seems to have gone. This week I was in a baking mood so I decided to make a cake. My husband and two boys are huge bacon fans so I decided to try incorporating it into my recipe. After combining a few recipes I ended up with a recipe for Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bourbon Maple Icing and Chocolate Bacon Crumbles.

Stormy Day in Huntington, WV

I combined three different recipes for my final cake. The first recipe was for Double Chocolate Bundt Cake from Food and Wine Magazine. I left off the glaze and used dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet. For the glaze I followed a recipe for Vanilla Bean Bourbon Glaze. Instead of using a vanilla bean I used vanilla extract. Additionally I increased the amount of bourbon to two tablespoons. For the bacon topping I baked my bacon in the oven following a recipe from the Food Network. Then I dipped the chopped bacon in a small amount of dark chocolate. I allowed the cake to cook and then dripped the glaze over the top and added the chocolate covered bacon.

Roof of B'nai Shalom Synagogue (it was rainy and through a window so sorry for the blur :)

Since I did not make this cake gluten free I was not able to try it myself. I did eat a little bit of the bacon and the glaze. They were both really good. The rest of my family ate the cake. According to my kids the glaze and the bacon were the best parts. They aren't big fans of cake, so it's not surprising that they loved the glaze and not the cake as much. Eventually they tried the cake and liked it as well.

For the recipes go to Double Chocolate Bundt Cake, Vanilla Bean Bourbon Glaze and Roast Bacon.

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Bourbon Maple Bacon Topping

Recipe Type: Dessert

Summary:

A recipe for chocolate bundt cake with vanilla bourbon glaze and chocolate covered bacon. A great combination of flavors!

Preparation Time: 0h, 30m

Total Time: 2h, 0m

Yield: Serves 12

Mushroom Stuffed Cheeseburgers

Mushroom Stuffed Cheeseburgers

I am a bad mommy. My oldest son is 7 and doesn't know how to tie his shoes. It isn't for a lack of trying, I have tried many, many times. I blame my husband mostly and his genetics. According to my mother-in-law he was the last kid in his class to tie his shoes. I also blame how kids are taught in school these days. Apparently learning simple skills like tying your shoes is no longer something that public schools teach. Okay. In 1st grade we spent a great deal of time learning to tie our shoes until every kid could do it by the end of the year. The school district that my son is in does not see this as an important skill. They even went so far as to state in a take home note that if my child does not know how to tie his own shoes that the teachers don't have the time to take to tie his shoes for him. I completely understand that teachers are over worked, both of my in-laws were teachers for almost 40 years each. I just wish that some of the skills that used to be emphasized at school such as tying your shoes and cursive would still be viewed as valuable. So I continue to fail miserably at home. I know that a big part of it is that he is left handed. It took working with him for almost a year for him to understand how to hold a pencil and begin to write. I never knew how much harder being left handed makes everything. Hopefully I am not the only bad mommy in the world and that my son turns out to be a normally functioning adult. If not there are always slip on shoes that require no tying what-so-ever. Today's recipe is something that my whole family loves, cheeseburgers. This week I tried a new recipe for Mushroom Stuffed Cheeseburgers from the June/July issue of Taste of Home magazine.

Sugar Grove Christian Church Near Owingville, Kentucky

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I make my buns from scratch. It saves money and they taste so much better than store bought. Secondly, I thought that I had steak sauce in the fridge, I was wrong. When I got ready to make the recipe I discovered my fault and decided rather than running to the store in the middle of dinner to leave out the steak sauce all together. My husband is still refusing to clean the rust off of our outdoor grill so I used my indoor electric grill to grill the burgers. The cheeseburgers had a problem with slitting open during grilling. Don't feel bad if this also happens to you, they still tasted fine after they were finished cooking.

Mt Sterling, Kentucky

These burgers turned into a mess on the grill. The amount of filling was just too much for the burgers to stay together. The burgers still tasted delicious, they just oozed out their insides a lot on the grill. If you would rather that your burgers stayed intact I would suggest adding only a small amount of the filling to each burger and make sure to form the patties very flat with a good inch or more of space between the filling and the burger edge. The problem was only aesthetic though so if you aren't worried about the way the burger looks, the recipe was fine.

For the recipe go to Mushroom Stuffed Cheeseburgers.

Mushroom Stuffed Cheeseburger

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A stuffed cheeseburger recipe with mushrooms, provolone, and red and green peppers. Uses lean beef to cut down on the total fat.

Preparation Time: 0h, 30m

Cooking Time: 0h, 10m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 8

Recipe for Hawaiian Burgers

Hawaiian Burger with Gluten Free Bun

My kids love burgers. It doesn't matter what type, they will eat them. My husband and I are also burger fans and I make them at least once every couple of weeks. I try to change up the type of meat I use since I make them so frequently. Some weeks I use pork, some chicken and occasionally beef. I try to make sure that the beef burgers that I make have something special since beef burgers can be a little boring and often dry. Pineapple is an add-in that my family loves in burgers and it is great with beef. This week I tried a new recipe for Hawaiian Burgers from the August 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 8 servings. I did make a few changes. First I made my own buns. I ate gluten free buns and the rest of my family regular hamburger buns. Lettuce isn't a popular burger topping in my household, so I left it off. I used leftover ham that I had from a recipe a few weeks back and had then frozen.. Finally I grilled the burgers on my indoor electric grill. They took slightly longer than the recipe suggested, but that is normal when using an indoor grill.

My kids really loved these burgers. They can be hit or miss on what they will eat, but they really liked this recipe. The burgers turned out very juicy from the pineapple and blue cheese, without being overpowering. I was worried that since the recipe had so many ingredients in the burger that it would taste too busy, but the flavors ended up working perfectly together.

For the recipe go to Hawaiian Burgers.

Recipe for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

Sweet and Hot Baked Beans

My family loves beans. Three times a day my husband eats some type of beans as part of his meals. He is great about eating an array of beans every week and has lost over 30 pounds due to his good eating habits. My son and I try to eat beans at lunch every day, he loves black beans with feta and could eat them every day if given the chance. Since we live in West Virginia we also eat a ton of pinto beans, we love them. Given that beans are such a large part of our weekly diet I try to come up with new recipes and bean dishes so we don't get bored. Last week I tried a new recipe from the April/May 2013 issue of Taste of Home magazine for Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 hours and 20 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I didn't make too many changes to the original recipe. For the beans I used cannellini beans since they were the type available. I allowed the beans to cook for 6 hours on low and used sweet onions for the onions called for in the recipe.

These beans turned out really well. They were a nice combination of sweet and spicy and made enough for three separate meals for my family of 4. My husband and I enjoyed the recipe the most since the spice from the jalapenos was a little more geared towards adults. However, my youngest decided to eat the beans over rice the next day and loved them. The only complaint I heard in my house was that my husband would have preferred if the onions were sauteed and caramelized before being added to the crock-pot.

For the recipe go to Sweet and Hot Baked Beans.

Recipe for Roast Bacon Wrapped Pork

Pancetta Wrapped Pork Roast

I have fallen off the healthy breakfast eating band wagon the last month or so. Normally I am great about eating breakfast, but due to a variety of reasons the last couple of months I have grabbed for sweets more often than not first thing in the morning. It has finally started to catch up with me and I have been feeling not so fabulous the last couple of weeks. Therefore I woke up this morning and started my day the right way food wise. I have felt much better the rest of the day and am going to continue the healthy eating especially in the morning. One breakfast food that my family loves is bacon. The males in my family could eat bacon three times a day and be incredibly happy. This weekend I tried a new recipe for Roast Bacon Wrapped Pork from Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 30 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active. I used pancetta instead of bacon since it goes great with pork roast. Make sure to tie off the roast or the meat will dry out during cooking. The resting time is also essential. It helps to keep all the moisture in the roast and is vital to any pork recipe.

The flavor from the fresh herbs was great. I really love using fresh herbs since they create a lot of flavor with little effort. Plus they are very easy to grow in your garden. The roast that I bought wasn't the best. I would suggest using a high quality roast, the better quality really does make for a better tasting slice of meat. Overall, the flavor on this roast was delicious and the same herbs would work well with a tenderloin.

For the recipe go to Roast Bacon Wrapped Pork.

Spicy Maple Baked Beans

Today was my annual after Christmas cleaning day. After the gifts are all unwrapped comes the fun part, finding room for everything. So I spent the day cleaning, organizing and moving new toys etc. into their proper places. Luckily I had already spent the Sunday before Christmas taking an entire carload of items to donate, so I had made lots of room for new toys. I have always been adamant with my kids that in order for them to receive new gifts they have to donate some of the toys that they don't play with anymore. That way my house stays organized and they understand that donating toys to those in need is a good thing. The one task that I don't enjoy is all the laundry and dishes from guests and cooking. I don't have a dishwasher so everything has to be washed by hand. On a normal day it isn't a big deal, but on the holidays it can be a little overwhelming. Luckily I am on the last load of laundry and then I plan on allowing myself to relax and read a book this evening. I have definitely earned it. Last week I made a number of dishes to freeze for meals this week so I could cut down on my after Christmas cooking. One of the new recipes that I tried was for Spicy Maple Baked Beans from the January issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 19 ingredients. According to the recipe is takes 3 hours and 30 minutes, 45 minutes of which is active and makes 8 to 10 servings. First things first I do not understand how this recipe states that it takes 3 and a half hours. If you follow the directions it should take no more than approximately an hour and 45 minutes. Maybe they are taking an additional almost two hours to slice the hot dogs, or I am completely missing something. I did have to make a few modifications. I have never been able to find canned navy beans in my area. So instead I used plain white beans, which while slightly different worked just fine. Since I eat gluten free I made sure that the Worcestershire sauce that I bought didn't include wheat. Additionally I used gluten free beer, since regular beer has gluten.  I used a dutch oven to cook the beans which worked very well, especially keeping the lid half open. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These beans were very popular in my household. My husband thought that they were the best baked beans that he had eaten in a long time and ate multiple bowls. Since the dish had hot dogs, my two boys were quite excited and ate a number of leftovers the next day. The best part was that since it made 10 servings I had enough for a meal last week plus leftovers for an entire other meal after Christmas.

For the recipe go to Spicy Maple Baked Beans.

Caramelized Garlic and Dry Sherry Chicken

I can't believe that Christmas is so close. I thought that I was doing well with holiday prep until I realized that I haven't even started to think about sending out my Christmas cards. It seems other people are more on top of their game since I have already received a number of cards from people that got their cards out early. I am determined that I will have mine sent out by the end of the week. My kids are in full on Santa mode. Everything is about Santa, they live and breath everything to do with Christmas. Today we talked about what I was going to make for Christmas, which to me seemed important, but to my two kids it just distracted from the presents. Food is an after thought. Regardless of what my children think I will make a great meal and we will enjoy it thoroughly. Until Christmas rolls around I am trying to keep our meals simple and light. Last week I tried a new recipe for Dolore's Brokenhearted Chicken from Saveur magazine, which looked perfect for a weeknight meal.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes an hour and 10 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Instead of buying a whole chicken, I bought chicken thighs. Honestly, I hate cutting-up chickens and I prefer thighs to most other cuts. As I always do I used a stainless steel skillet. They work much better at browning chicken than non-stick pans. Since I don't eat gluten I used gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of regular wheat flour. Make sure to baste the chicken during the time in the oven. This really does help keep the chicken moist and flavorful. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys were big fans of this recipe. The chicken came out tender and the caramelized garlic was delicious. The recipe was simple, but the sherry and garlic made for a flavorful dish. This chicken would work well with a simple side such as green beans or rice pilaf. Overall, an easy roasted chicken recipe that is very child friendly.

For the recipe go to Caramelized Garlic and Dry Sherry Chicken.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Shallots and Parmesan

Growing-up the holidays were always a big deal. My mother was the oldest of 12 kids and family members were always in and out of our house. The holidays put everything into over-drive. My mother would cook and clean for weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her lists actually had sub-lists; I'm not kidding, the big lists had baby lists. The holidays were also the time that I really learned to cook. With so many dishes coming in and out of the kitchen I quickly learned to tell if something needed more spice by tasting not following a recipe exactly. There were also certain recipes that were always made every year. When I moved to West Virginia I followed on these traditions with my kids. I change up my menu every year, but there are a few dishes which are staples. One of my husband favorite holiday recipe is for Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, here is the recipe:

1 1/2 lb Brussels Sprouts, trimmed
4 bacon slices
1 braeburn apple, peeled and diced
2 tb minced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Cut Brussels sprouts in half, and cut into shreds. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon and drain. Reserve 3 tablespoons of bacon fat in skillet. Crumble bacon. Saute apples, shallots, and garlic in hot drippings over medium-high 3 minutes. Stir in wine and next 3 ingredients, stirring to loosen from bottom of skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add Brussels sprouts, saute 8-10 minutes or until sprouts are crisp tender. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. 

I make this recipe every Thanksgiving and even my father-in-law who hates Brussels sprouts loves it. Since I love Brussels sprouts so much I could eat them any way imaginable, but this is my favorite recipe, it really is delicious. Enjoy!

Triple Bean Bake with Bacon

My mother cooked a lot of great meals growing-up. We never had a lot of money, but she was always able to make something delicious. The one food that she never really made was beans. She would occasionally use beans in chili or soup, but it wasn't a huge stable in our diet. I think a lot of it had to do with my dad being a huge meat eater and the local church by our house giving out meat every week to families. It was also the 80's when everyone ate more meat than they do now. Even when I moved out on my own and was a vegetarian I ate a lot of tofu and nuts, but beans were always an after thought. None of my friends seemed to eat a lot of beans either, so maybe Seattle in the 90's had a bean aversion. When I moved to West Virginia, beans were everywhere. Restaurants, grocery stores you name it beans were there. It took me a long time to adjust to eating beans on a regular basis, but eventually they became a stable in my diet. My two kids have always eaten beans and absolutely love them. They become very excited when I make a recipe with their favorite type of bean. Last week I tried a new recipe from the June/July issue of Taste of Home magazine for Triple Bean Bake with Bacon, which looked sweet and full of one of my family's favorite foods, bacon.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of baking, 15 minutes of prep and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. My husband is very particular about the type of bacon that we buy and insists on thick-cut. I do admit that thick-cut bacon is delicious and works very well in recipes. I prefer to keep my bacon whole when frying and then cut it into pieces when finished. The texture is better and the bacon is crispier when fried in this manner. I let my beans bake for an additional 15 minutes after the suggested baking time in the recipe. This additional time allowed the beans to fully thicken. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These beans turned out very sweet with a bit of a kick from the horseradish. My two boys really loved these beans and ate their whole servings. The level of sweetness could be adjusted based on the strength of the horseradish that you use. Milder horseradish will make for sweeter beans. I do suggest the additional baking time in order for the beans to thicken completely. This dish would be a great side dish for roasted or fried chicken.

For the recipe go to Triple Bean Bake with Bacon. (registration required)

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks

My oldest son is in a food stage. He has decided that he no longer will eat cheese and his favorite food is chicken. If I serve any type of chicken he will gladly eat his food. Anything else can be hit or miss. Some days he loves pork, other days he can't stand it. Luckily his younger brother will pretty much eat anything that is given to him. He eats a ton as well. I made a loaf of banana bread last night and he has already eaten the whole loaf. Since one of my kids eat everything in sight and the other one only eats chicken I have been making a ton of chicken recipes. My husband and I also love chicken, so it has been working out relatively well. Recently, I tried a recipe for Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks from the September issue of the Food Network Magazine, which looked perfect for my two boys.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. Instead of making flour I used cornstarch since it is gluten-free. I found that it took longer than the recipe suggested for the sauce to reduce. I would estimate an additional 2-3 minutes. Make sure to squeeze the lemon over the finished dish, it really does make a difference to the finished flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Of course my oldest son loved this recipe since it had chicken. He ate his whole serving and then raided the fridge for leftovers. My youngest son loved that he could hold the chicken while eating it, which he thought was hilarious. The flavor was light and complimented the roasted chicken well. The chicken itself was plain, but the sauce was delicious.

For the recipe go to Pan-Roasted Chicken with Leeks.

Spicy Turkey Thighs and Bacon Stir-Fry

This was a nice weekend. My family and I spent the Saturday morning at Chili Fest and then went over to our local small farmer's market and I bought a half gallon of grass-fed organic milk that my kids absolutely love. I love relaxing weekends in the last summer/early fall. If I was to pick my favorite time of the year it would without a doubt be fall. The temps are cooler and there are tons of local events that my family and I love going to. This is also the season when I begin to change my menu plans around. Out go the salads and burgers from the summer and in come the soups, stews and chili. One of my favorite dishes that I make frequently in the warmer months is stir-fry. My two boys love stir-fry and enjoy helping me prep all the vegetables. Last week I tried a new recipe for Spicy Turkey Thighs and Bacon Stir-Fry from Everyday Food, which promised 30 minutes of total time and to be inexpensive on my food budget.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did end up having to go to two separate stores to find all the ingredients. Luckily the grocery store in the suburbs has a large ethnic foods section and they had the sambal pelek so I didn't have to make any ingredient substitution. I did chose to serve the dish over brown rice. I have stopped using white rice and my boys actually have learned to love brown rice, so as I always do I substituted. Additionally, I used honey instead of light-brown sugar. Most importantly I am never able to find turkey thighs in my area, so I substituted turkey breast cutlets. My turkey took longer than the recipe suggested to fully cook, in total I would approximate it took 15 minutes. This might have been due to the fact that I cut my turkey a little thicker than the recipe probably would suggest. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was worried that this dish might be a little too spicy for my two boys, but they loved it. I really liked the chili sauce. Previously I had never tried that particular type of chili sauce and both my husband and I really enjoyed it. Of course my family loves any dish with bacon and it was interesting making a stir-fry in which it was a main ingredient. I love that this recipe goes together quickly and the prep work is very easy. Overall a quick and inexpensive weekday dinner option.

For the recipe go to Spicy Turkey Thighs with Bacon Stir-Fry.

Peach-Bacon Baked Beans

I love fresh fruit, my husband on other hand has to be basically forced to eat fruit. My two kids are more like me, they will eat whole pints of blueberries within hours of them being purchased and always go for the fruit first on their lunch plates. Over the almost nine years that my husband and I have been married I have tried numerous times to encourage my husband to realize that fruit can indeed be delicious and is an important part of a healthy diet. All my attempts have been met with vehement and stubborn refusal. So I have learned to hide fruit in my husband's food. I know that sounds like what one would do with children, but my husband is as picky as my three-year-old and way more stubborn. Recently the July issue of Family Circle Magazine had a recipe for Peach-Bacon Baked Beans, which looked delicious and a perfect way to sneak fruit into my husband's meat based diet. 

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 3 hours in the crockpot and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. Originally I had bought fresh peaches, but the peaches available at the super market so far this year haven't been great and they molded in less than a day. So instead I used frozen peaches in this recipe. I didn't actually have time to thaw the peaches, so I threw them in frozen and they worked just fine. Don't be alarmed if your frozen peaches turn a little brown when cooking, this is perfectly normal. The photo in the magazine is deceptive, I'm assuming they used fresh recently sliced peaches instead of fully cooked ones. I always use kosher salt when cooking. I prefer the flavor in everything, with the exception of baked goods. It really does work better than table salt. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I used ancho chili powder in this recipe so my beans had a little bit of a kick. I liked that the beans where on the spicy side and even my father-in-law who is sensitive to spicy foods really enjoyed his serving. My husband the non-fruit eating person that he is loved these beans. He liked that they were spicy and still sweet from the molasses and peaches. I wasn't sure if my two boys would eat this recipe, but they ate their whole servings plus leftovers the next day. Definitely a baked beans recipe that I will make again!

For the recipe go to Peach-Bacon Baked Beans.

Spaghetti with Clams

Growing up we went to the beach in Washington state every year for vacation. If you've never been to the coast in the NW it isn't like the beaches in other parts of the United States. The water is cold, rocky and you are likely to get hit by logs if you go too deep. Add in the jelly fish that I had the pleasure to step on more than once and the 60 degree temps in the middle of the summer and it's an adventure. Best of all my mother had a knack for finding in need of a little love motels to stay in. Granted this was the late 80's and early 90's so most of places to stay were a little on the funky side. However, I loved the whole thing! There was something very fun about 'roughing' it on the coast for weeks during the summer. My kids have never stayed in anything other than nice hotels with swimming pools and in a lot of ways it makes me sad. When there aren't televisions and modern day room service you learn all the fun things that make your family great. I remember my dad and I taking day long walks along the beach and my mom teaching me to play rummy. I never appreciated the experiences as much as I should have growing up, but since my mom passed away these are some of my favorite memories. One of my favorite parts of our vacations would be the days we would go into Ocean Shores and stop at the roadside stand that had the best fried clam strips. I adore clams and the beach always meant lots and lots of clams. One year my dad and I had the brilliant idea to go clamming. It went great until we found out we had unknowingly broke the law. There are firm laws on the amount of clams that you can catch, thanks dad! Luckily we weren't found out, but we had to have a large clam bake that year and ever since I have been the number one advocate for not over clamming. My two boys have acquired my love of seafood, especially clams. Since we live inland I am not a fan of preparing what is considered "fresh" (I use the term loosely) clams so I was intrigued when the May issue of Family Circle had a recipe for Spaghetti with Clams using canned clams.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 21 minutes of total time and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. For the bacon I used thick cut, my family loves thick cut bacon. Instead of 9 ounces of baby spinach, I used the full 11 ounce container that I bought. I always find that recipes need more than the amount of spinach called for so I thought this was a warranted change. The grocery store which I shopped out was out of minced clams so I substituted chopped clams instead. Finally, I let the pasta cook longer than the three minutes suggested by the recipe. I let the dish cook until all the liquid had reduced almost completely. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My kids loved this recipe. They ate their entire servings and then all the leftovers the next day. I loved the taste of the clams and bacon, it was a great combination. My only complaint was that there wasn't enough spinach for the amount of pasta. This seems to be the norm for many magazine recipes. I would have preferred if this recipe had about twice the amount of spinach. Also if I was serving this just for adults I would definitely increase the amount of crushed red pepper. As the recipe is written it has the right amount for kids, but needs more for adult tastes. Overall, a very easy pasta recipe that was very kid friendly.

For the recipe go to Spaghetti with Clams.

Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon

I am sad to say that about ten years ago I gave into the whole steamed vegetable craze and went all in. I literally steamed every vegetable I could for almost a year. My husband was great about it for the most part, he only complained a few times. However, even I became burnt out with steamed vegetables, they can get really boring when not accompanied by any sauce etc. That's when I discovered roasted vegetables and fell in love. Roasting vegetables can make even the most mundane veggie delicious. My youngest child had his first table food as roasted carrots and absolutely loved it. It is the one way of preparing vegetables that I can guarantee that my two kids will eat. Given my family's love of roasted veggies I was intrigued when Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon, combining multiple family favorites.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. I did double the recipe since it only made 4 servings and I like having leftovers. The recipe chops the bacon and then fries it, I prefer to make my bacon crisp and then chop it. I feel that the bacon has a better crispiness and flavor when done that way. For the bacon I used thick-cut, it really is great in recipes and makes really crispy bacon. I followed the remainder of the recipe as followed.

The bacon in this recipe is delicious. Along with the roasted vegetables it creates a great flavor that everyone in my family enjoyed. I liked how easy this dish was to prepare and the sweet potatoes give the pasta a nice sweet taste. The leftovers heated up very well for lunches the next day. I hadn't used orecchiette pasta many times before and I was very impressed, I will definitely try it again soon! Overall, another easy and flavorful pasta recipe.

For the recipe go to Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Bacon.

Pork and Beans

Has anyone else noticed how high the price of beef has become? I definitely have and it has changed the way that my family eats. Before beef prices started to rise I had already started to cut down on the amount of beef my family consumes and switch to more beans and vegetarian dishes. When the prices increased it further drove me to limit beef to once a week at most and add more chicken and fish. As anyone that reads this blog regularly knows my family still loves pork, but we have even started to limit our consumption of this favorite meat. Now I make sure that the pork recipes that I prepare make more than one meal and that the pork is an ingredient rather than the main component. I was pleased when the December issue of All You magazine had a recipe for pork and beans which only cost 2.84 per serving and made enough for two meals for my family of four.

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep and 5 hours and 15 minutes of cooking and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. For the onions I used sweet onions since they are in season and thick cut bacon, a family favorite. For the bbq sauce I chose to use a slightly more flavorful sauce which made the pork and beans have a less sweet taste. I like that you could change the bbq sauce in the recipe to increase or decrease the sweetness and change the overall flavor. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As everyone knows I love slow-cooker recipes. This recipe was very easy to prep, with the crockpot doing most of the work. I would suggest browning the pork before placing it in the crockpot. I always make sure that any meat that I am putting into the crockpot is fully braised before going in. It helps to keep the meat moist and flavorful while cooking. Overall, another easy crockpot recipe with 40 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving.

For the recipe go to Pork and Beans.

Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce

There is something about homemade pasta sauce that brings a smile to my face. It's not hard to make, but it can take a bad day and make it into something warm and memorable. I remember growing-up that my mom kept an herb garden and I would wait impatiently every year for the basil to be ready to eat indicating that pasta sauce was in my future. I loved watching the sauce boil on the stove and the smell of the garlic and herbs simmering, yum! I'll admit that when I moved out on my own in college I became lazy. I am going to share something that I am embarrassed to confess. The last two years of college I would buy a jar of Alfredo sauce and a box of spaghetti, cook them and eat that for diner for the entire week. Now granted I was a marathon runner and could easily burn off the carbs, but as I look back on the memory and cringe. I don't think I have eaten jarred Alfredo sauce since I was 23 and it is probably largely due to this habit. After getting married I decided that I was going to start making pasta sauce from scratch again. It took me some fails, but eventually I learned to make delicious sauce and I rarely if ever buy the jarred variety anymore. However, my husband has fallen in love with the Rao's pasta sauce that he bought at the store last year. I will agree that for a jarred sauce it is pretty delicious, so I was very excited when Saveur Magazine had a recipe for Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce in a recent issue.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes approximately an hour and 20 minutes of prep and cooking time and makes 4-6 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding them at my local grocery store. For the bacon I chose to use thick-cut bacon. I started using this variety about a year ago and I love it, I cook with it now pretty much exclusively. For the onion I used sweet onions, when they are in season (such as now) I use them frequently. After starting this recipe I discovered that I had ran out of oregano, so I substituted a teaspoon of Italian seasoning instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as stated.

My family was very impressed with this recipe. This is more than likely the best magazine recipe for pasta sauce that I have tried. The flavor from the bacon was delicious and the taste of the tomatoes wasn't over powered by too much meat or spice. Best of all it doesn't take all day on the stove to create a great pasta sauce that I would be more than willing to serve to company. The recipe made more than enough for my family of four for dinner plus leftovers for everyone the next day. This will definitely be a recipe that I will be making again (soon).

For the recipe go to Rao's Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce.

Martha Stewart Living Fusilli with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms

I have always loved mushrooms. Growing up I was never one of those kids that turned their noses up at mushrooms, I would eat all of my serving and then go around picking off more from my parents plates. I quickly learned that not everyone shared my love of mushrooms. We went to my aunts house for the holidays every year and my cousin hated mushrooms. The stuffing never had any since he had a definite distaste for them. I must say I missed the mushrooms in the stuffing. My cousin and I were the same age and I could never understand why he could hate something that I loved so much. When I had my two boys I was unsure what their reaction would be to one of my favorite foods. I followed the same strategy I have with all foods, I make one meal for everyone and if they eat it great, if they don't no big deal. After about five tries of any food they normally learn to at least tolerate and in some cases like mushrooms, it turns into a food they love. Recently as I was flipping through an issue of Martha Stewart Living I came across a recipe for Fusilli with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms, which looked perfect for my mushroom loving family.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, all of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store and made no ingredient modifications. Normally I cut all my mushrooms by myself, but I noticed that at the grocery store the pre-sliced mushrooms were only five cents more and given the hectic couple of months that I've had, I gave in and bought the mushrooms pre-sliced. I chose to use mint instead of parsley leaves, I prefer the fresh taste of mint, especially in the spring and summer. The recipe calls for 3/4 of a pound of pasta, I chose to increase the amount to a full pound. Finally, I used a sweet yellow onion, when they are available I prefer them in most cooking. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I found that this recipe made more than the four servings suggested by the recipe. There was enough for my family of four for dinner and two servings for lunch the next day. This probably had a lot to do with using a full pound of pasta, which I would do again. Of course my kids went and picked out all the mushrooms off their plates and then commenced to eat the mushrooms off my plate as well. I love how this recipe takes only a half an hour and the flavor from the mushrooms and bacon is delicious. Overall, an easy and quick pasta recipe.

For the recipe go to Fusilli with Bacon, Onions, and Mushrooms.

Ramps, Bacon, and Fried Potatoes

Early in the month of March means one thing in our house, ramps! With family that live in the mountain counties we are able to get ramps early in the season (when I think they taste the best) and by the end of the month I have normally used them in a variety of recipes. Before I met my husband I had no idea what ramps looked like, much less tasted or used them in recipes. That all changed when I married someone who grow up in the heart of West Virginia ramp country. The first year his mother brought down young ramps to clean I had no idea what to do with the bag of very muddy and ugly looking roots and shoots of what looked like a odd looking green onion.

I quickly learned that each ramp has to be cleaned and cut to be prepared to cook with. To do this I cut off the root and take off the dirt and outside husk of each of the ramps. Before each ramp is cleaned they look like this:

Not very appetizing, but after being cleaned and washed up they look like this:

So your probably asking yourself great, now what do I do with them? The answer is so much! Ramps are a great way to add flavor to a variety of recipes from biscuits to stews, pizza, you name it they work! While a lot of people prefer the later ramps which have a leafier green top, I am partial to the early shoots, I feel that the flavor is better and I prefer them when baking or cooking. So what do I do with the pounds of ramps I receive each year? I love substituting them for green onions in savory biscuits, with eggs, stews, soups and most importantly with fried bacon and potatoes. So here is my recipe for Ramps, Bacon, and Fried Potatoes.

After cleaning and trimming up your ramps, fry enough thick cut bacon (I love the maple cured variety) for the number of servings you are making. I normally make an entire package, if you've read my blog before you know that my family absolutely loves bacon and my husband would use bacon in absolutely everything if I let him.

Next I add the ramps and cook until they are softened and slightly caramelized. If you have an abundance of bacon grease pour off the excess before frying the ramps.

When the ramps are finished cooking, add the potatoes and fry until they are browned and crisp. Since the potatoes takes a lot longer than the ramps or bacon, I will often start them first and add chopped ramps in with the bacon grease while they are frying to ensure that the bacon and ramps don't get cold while the potatoes are frying.

Once everything is done, I plate the bacon, ramps and potatoes and enjoy! If you want an even stronger ramp flavor you can add minced ramps to the potatoes while they are frying. My two boys love their potatoes this way and they taste great! The most important thing to remember when using ramps is that the flavor is much stronger than leeks or green onions so a small amount goes a long way. Additionally, similar to garlic your pours will sweat out the ramps the next day after eating them, so warn everyone around you that's its ramp season. Or better yet make sure that they eat as many as you do!