Spicy Franks and Beans

This is the happiest time of the year, unless you are shopping. At the grocery store this weekend I ran into multiple women who must be trying to do too many things on their to-do list. They not only looked frazzled, but they were more than a little snippy. Now if it was one or two people in the store I could understand. However, it was pretty much every woman except one. The one woman was very sweet and reminded me that not everyone is focused on doing too much at the expense of actually enjoying the holidays. I decided a couple of years back after I started snapping at my kids during most of the month of December, that I needed to stop trying to overdo Christmas. A simple Christmas is relaxing, and at the end of the day my kids love curling up and watching a movie with me as much as any over hyped Christmas toy that I spent multiple weekends searching for. So my Christmas gift list is already done, my meal plan is simple, and my Christmas card list is very short. I am also planning a few fun new Christmas adult drink recipes for my husband and I to enjoy on Christmas Eve after the kids go to bed. Being together and happy is the most important part of the season.

In the last month my fridge, oven, and toilet all broke in the same week. Needless to say I haven't had a lot of new recipe posts. Luckily everything is fixed now and Thanksgiving actually got on the table after having my oven prepared at 11:30 at night the day before. In December I try to make my meal plans simple and easy since there are so many other things to do and focus upon. The following recipe is for Spicy Franks and Beans.

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Spicy Franks and Beans

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black-eyed peas
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onions (about 2 small)
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 7 ounces small cooked smoked sausage links
• 7 ounces andouille sausage links, sliced
• 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 1/2 cups water

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Rinse black-eyed peas and spread on bottom of greased 3 quart baking dish.
3. Heat oil over medium heat in a 4 quart dutch oven.
4. Add celery, garlic, green pepper, and onion.
5. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.
6. Add sausage slices and links and cook 2 minutes.
7. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water and bring to a boil.
8. Pour tomato mixture oven beans and cover with foil.
9. Cook for 1 hour.
10. Stir and uncover.
11. Bake 45 minutes more, stirring 2-3 times.

Tips: 

• The total cooking time can vary. Check the beans 20 minutes after uncovering (step 10). They maybe done, or can take up to an additional 20 minutes. 
• My family loves sausage so oftentimes I use the entire package of small sausage links. I just make sure to add additional water so that nothing dries out. 
• If you like a little bit of heat this recipe is great with the addition of cayenne or chili powder. It would also work with a minced jalapeño (seeded or unseeded). 
• As a side or topping cornbread is great! 

Toasty Whole Grain Orange Muffins

I hate to eat at restaurants. A food blogger that hates restaurant foods sounds strange, but it's very true. I can list the number of restaurants I have ever thought wow this is great on one hand. Five fingers, that's it. Half of the list has been in other countries, whether for the company, the food or both, I'll never be a hundred percent sure, but they still make my top five. I have a much, much longer list of restaurants I have really disliked. The same restaurants that people have told me are so great, you must try them. I have and they weren't that great. So much of food has to do with the experience, not just the food on the plate. It's hard for one person to have the same feelings for a restaurant as another. Some of my favorite memories are associated with the Thai restaurant growing-up that was near our house. While the food was decent, the memories of eating with my mother makes me remember the restaurant as great.

My kids are eating me out of house and home recently. I haven't had as much time online, but I have still been cooking and baking up a storm. Last week I tried a new recipe for Toasty Whole Grain Orange Muffins from the April 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 50 minutes of total time, 35 minutes of which is active. I made two versions of the original recipe, one gluten free and one as written. For the gluten free recipe I used a homemade rice flour blend. For the wheat flour muffins I used all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour. I found that both sets of muffins worked better cooked at 350 for 25 minutes instead of the 400 degrees for 15 minutes suggested by the recipe. I hate cleaning muffin pans so I used muffin liners on both batches. The clean up is much easier and that way my kids can just grab an individual muffin off the counter.

Both types of these muffins turned out well. They were best re-heated with butter or marmalade if you ate them after the first day. Fresh out of the oven the gluten free muffins were perfect and had a great light taste. As with most gluten free baked goods if eaten after the first day they needed to be warmed in the microwave for approximately 15 seconds. My kids really liked the regular muffins and thought they were best with jam and butter.

For the recipe go to Toasty Whole Grain Orange Muffins. 

Savory Smoked Salmon and Potato Chip Brunch Muffins

I love breakfast foods. There is something comforting and great about a giant stack of pancakes, whether they are eaten at 6 in the morning or 6 at night. Breakfast also always reminds me of my mother. Growing up weekday mornings where always rushed, but weekend breakfast were perfect. My mother would cook, we would talk and everything seemed right in the world regardless of what was going on outside of our family unit. Now as an adult I try to carry on this tradition with my own family. One of my family's favorite breakfast foods is smoked salmon, they love it with eggs, omelets, you name it. Today I tried a new recipe for Savory Smoked Salmon and Potato Chip Brunch Muffins from the April 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes, 25 minutes of which is active, and makes 12 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. Since I was making this for my family and not myself I used regular all-purpose flour. I chose to use parchment to line the muffins as suggested by the magazine and I found that my muffins took 25 minutes at 350. I turned down the heat to make sure they browned without overcooking.

Since I couldn't eat this recipe I called in my guinea pigs/family for their opinions. My husband really loved these muffins. He said that the taste of the dill and salmon worked well together and they were a nice size to grab out of the fridge for a snack. My oldest son is a huge smoked salmon fan and was very pleased with these muffins as an after school snack. I am a fan of any recipe that uses a muffin pan, I love my muffin pan. Baking and cooking in a muffin pan is a great way to have portion control and makes for easy snacks for kids to be able to grab without help.

For the recipe go to Savory Smoked Salmon and Potato Chip Brunch Muffins.

Pickle Brined Chicken

Pickle Brined Chicken

When most people think of cooking from scratch they think of breads, soups etc. However, there many kitchen ingredients that can be made from scratch, saving not only time, but money. Spice mixes can be expensive at the store, but easy and inexpensive to make at home. Plus the taste of homemade spice mixes is fresher and can be the difference between a good and great dish. Later in the week I will share a recipe for homemade chili powder. The amount of heat can be adjusted for families with kids or increased if you like things with a little kick. I also make homemade Greek seasoning and various Indian spice mixes (since it can be hard to find some of them in my area). Homemade spices can last up to 6 months when stored in an airtight container and make throwing together a great meal that much easier. Plus since there are so many recipes available on the internet now making spices from scratch is beyond simple.

On to the recipe! My family is obsessed with pickles. The males in my house could eat pickles three times a day if they had their way. Last week I tried a new recipe for Pickle Brined Chicken from the January 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. 

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 8 hours and 40 minutes of total time (including brining), 25 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used two jars of 32 ounce pickles. My store does not stock 64 ounce jars of pickles so I bought two smaller jar instead. I found that the thighs took longer than the suggest oven time to fully cook. The thighs that I bought were on the larger side and took closer to 25 minutes to fully cook. Most of the time I make my recipes gluten free (so that I can enjoy them). However, I did not eat this meal so I used regular all-purpose flour to dredge the chicken. I chose to pour the pan sauce over each serving instead of pouring it over the entire dish as suggest by the original recipe. I prefer serving sauces at the table so each person can chose the amount of sauce they want to eat and it helps to keep the meat tender on the plate. 

Everyone in my house loved this recipe. My oldest son said this was the best chicken recipe I had ever made and eat four pieces of chicken in two days. The leftovers didn't last very long at all since my kids kept going back for more servings over and over again. My husband thought the chicken tasted like a popular chicken restaurant's chicken sandwiches (which is a compliment coming from him). All-in-all a great recipe. 

For the recipe go to Pickle Brined Chicken. 

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole

Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole Better Homes and Gardens December 2013

I have a least favorite chore, laundry. Our washer and dryer is in the basement and with two boys I literally do laundry everyday. Before kids I never though that laundry was that bad, we had maybe 3-4 loads a week tops. Then my youngest arrived and the laundry started to pile up, and up, and up. After the arrival of my second son I decided that laundry was my arch enemy. Every time I washed something it just ended up being dirty again. Now part of the reason that we go through so much laundry is that I don't use paper towels. Instead I use cleaning rags and I clean my kitchen and bathroom top to bottom everyday. While that might seem extreme with three males in the house the bathroom would smell less than pleasant within two days, it's a must to have a full cleaning daily. The kitchen gets scrubbed since I cook and bake so frequently. If I don't stay on top of things in the kitchen it would turn into chaos. I also use separate washcloths and dish clothes when I do dishes each time (that's right no dishwasher in our house) so that adds to the mountain of laundry as well. Eventually my kids can start helping with the folding and putting away part of the mess, I am awaiting that day with glee.

There is a theme in my kitchen this week - the slow cooker. Right before holidays I tend to make a lot of crock-pot meals. They save me time and money and I love them. Plus I can eat the leftovers again in a couple of weeks making less work for me after the stress of the holidays. This week I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole from the December 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 40 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, since my kids were going to eat the recipe I used mild salsa. For the chicken broth I used homemade, which I don't salt, I salt at the table or in the recipe instead. I can't eat all-purpose flour so I substituted corn starch, which is a great gluten free alternative in soup and stew recipes calling for regular flour. I allowed the soup to cook or 8 hours on low in the crock-pot since I could start it in the morning and be done until dinner.

For a dump recipe (most ingredients are canned) this recipe turned out very well. It was delicious and the flavors worked really well together. My husband and two boys really liked this soup. It was mild due to using mild salsa, which made the recipe very kid friendly. If you like your posole on the spicy side I would recommend using spicier salsa.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Zesty Bean Posole.

Slow Cooker Zesty Posole

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A easy slow cooker recipe for posole, only 9 ingredients. Can be modified to be vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 3h, 30m

Total Time: 3h, 40m

Yield: Serves 6

Soft Baked Pretzels

Homemade Soft Baked Pretzels

I'm debating sending out Christmas cards this year. When I was younger I hand printed over 50 cards every year and loved doing it. However, as the years have gone by I receive fewer and fewer cards in return and some of the joy of the whole process has depleted. I think when my mother was alive and before I had kids I enjoyed spending the time personalizing every card and receiving personalized cards in return. However, with the rise of social media and email more and more people are interacting online and less are sending out cards. In some ways it's a little sad, books have become ebooks and cards have become Facebook posts. It takes a lot of the personalization out of keeping in contact, but I may follow suit this year and not send out cards. Then again, maybe I will hold out one more year.

My two boys are currently eating me out of house and home. I don't even want to imagine how much they will eat as teenagers, I might as well starting raising my own cows and pigs, it would be cheaper. A couple of weeks back I tried a new recipe for Soft Baked Pretzels from the October 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

Huntington Museum of Art

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 2 hours and 5 minutes of total time, 55 minutes of which is active. I only made minimal changes to the original recipe. For the milk I used 2 percent, it's what I normally have on hand for my coffee. The major modification I made was to simmer the water and baking soda and then add the pretzels for 15 seconds on each side. This allows for a better flavor after baking, it's what gives the pretzels that great salty taste. The recipe uses an electric mixer, but I almost always prepare my bread and baked goods from scratch. I find that I prefer the texture when hand kneaded.

Fall Leaves

My husband and two boys loved this recipe. The pretzels come out perfectly and by boiling the pretzels in the baking soda before baking they come out perfectly on the outside. I turned my pans halfway through the baking time in order to ensure even baking and browning. This is a recipe I plan to continue using in the future, it's great!

For the recipe go to Soft Baked Pretzels.

Soft Baked Pretzels

Recipe Type: Snacks

Summary:

A delicious homemade soft baked pretzels recipe. Perfect with mustard or made sweet with cinnamon/sugar.

Preparation Time: 0h, 55m

Total Time: 2h, 5m

Yield: Serves 8

Gluten Free White Rice Flour Pumpkin Waffles

Gluten Free Pumpkin Waffles

My house is always loud. Not just a little bit, but deafening oftentimes. Almost all of the noise can be attributed to my two boys. They seem not to have two noise levels, just loud. This is the opposite of me. I love a quiet house. When I was in my early 20's I would go on trips by myself just to hear the quiet. I love sitting in the middle of a large field with only the sound of nature (and sometimes a great book).

My two boys hate to be quiet. They love to play with their toys with tons of action noises and fight scenes. If they go more than a couple of minutes without talking they get bored. I love my two boys, but sometimes I miss being able to watch a movie or TV show and hear all the words. Most of the time I understand a fraction of the dialogue and piece the rest of it together while my kids talk in my ear. I do know that I need to enjoy it while they still talk to me since when they are teenagers they will never want to tell me anything.

I have been experimenting with new gluten free breakfast recipes. My youngest is pretty easy going food wise and likes gluten free pancakes and waffles as much as wheat based ones. Yesterday morning I tried a new recipe for Pumpkin Waffles from the Better Homes and Gardens website.

Lake Vesuvius Ohio Rock Formations 

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 12 to 14 servings. I made a number of changes to the original recipe. First I halved the recipe. I only had a half can of pumpkin, so I reduced the number of servings. Since I eat gluten free I replaced the wheat flour with white rice flour. Instead of the spices I used 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. I followed the rest of the recipe as written.

Lake Vesuvius Ohio Rock Formations 

These waffles rose beautifully. Sometimes switching flours can cause recipes to be too dense or have too much liquid, but these waffles were perfect. I preferred them topped with just butter, but they were also delicious re-heated the next day with maple syrup. This recipe would work well to make in big batches and then freeze for quick weekday meals.

For the recipe go to Pumpkin Waffles. 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Waffles

Summary:

A pumpkin waffle recipe using white rice flour. Great for making in big batches and freezing for quick weekday meals.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Cooking Time: 0h, 5m

Total Time: 0h, 30m

Yield: Serves 12-14

Monkey Bites

Monkey Bites

Today was school picture day for my oldest. Luckily he is over the cold we have all been fighting this week. He was insistent on wearing a Minecraft shirt. Everything in my house seems to revolve around Minecraft, my two boys are obsessed. I shot down his shirt idea, my mother never really let me live down the New Kids on the Block shirt I wore for picture day. I think I might have also worn a Jem shirt, so that definitely shows my age (looking back it was a pretty horrible cartoon). He ended up wearing a nice button down shirt and I'm hoping he actually remembers to smile. Last year he had a grimace on both of his school photos. Since I am still fighting a cold I have been trying to make easy recipes that don't take a lot of effort or time. Yesterday I tried a new snack recipe for Monkey Bites from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

Old Main Marshall University Huntington, WV

Now normally I don't reprint recipes, but since this only has three ingredients and no actual recipe I will share the information. So monkey bites are just a fancy name for chocolate covered bananas with peanut butter. Here is how to make them. Slice a few bananas into medium sized slices. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze for about an hour. take out the slices and spread your favorite peanut butter on half of the slices. Place the other banana slice halves on top. Refreeze for an hour or until frozen. Using your favorite chocolate, I used dark chocolate, melt and place into a bowl. Dip banana peanut butter slices into the chocolate. Refreeze. I kept my monkey bites in the freezer, they are delicious frozen. You could also keep them in the fridge, but I'm not sure what the consistency would be.

Marshall University Huntington, WV

These are a really nice snack. My two boys liked them without the chocolate for an after school snack. Frozen bananas with peanut butter are a nice protein snack. With the chocolate they are a great dessert, especially with dark chocolate.

Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars

Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars

I was looking over my son's paperwork for school and noticed the new policies for school behavior. After reading it I realized that according to the new policy I am a bully. See they are now defining bullying as giving another student a 'look'. All the women in my family have a 'look'. It's the look that says that you better stop talking and go into the other room or your going to dig yourself into a hole. I also have a tendency to glare when I think someone is acting a little dense. This evening I discovered that apparently that makes me a bully. Hopefully they are being more serious with what is defined by a look being a form of bullying. I'm pretty sure I gave and received a lot of looks in high-school. I do understand that it can be far more serious such as a bunch of girls continuously giving another girl the evil eye. It just sounds funny when it isn't further defined. Sometimes it takes behavior that I need to modify in my kids to remind me that I need to change some of my own behaviors. The world would be a better place if we all stopped to re-access how we treat each other, even the small things such as eye gestures. On to lighter subjects, the recipe! Yesterday I tried a new recipe for Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars from Better Homes and Gardens.

Garden Roses

This recipe has 8 ingredients. It takes 55 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 36 bars. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. My pantry cupboards have been less than organized lately and my cinnamon seemed to have disappeared into it's shelves. So I left it out of the recipe. It was probably for the best since my two boys aren't big fans of the taste of cinnamon. My schedule has been a little crazy so I cheated and used pre-chopped pecans. With sales it turned out that they were actually cheaper than buying the pecans whole. The total cooking time was slightly longer than the recipe suggested. It took approximately 35 minutes to fully brown.

Garden Roses

These bar cookies are pretty rich. My husband and kids are normally huge sweets eaters, but they were only able to eat one of these cookies at a time since they were so sweet. Since I can't eat gluten I wasn't able to try this recipe, but all the males in my house loved it. They would be great to take to a bake sale or a party since they make 36 bars and taste good enough that you can just eat one.

For the recipe go to Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars.

Milk Chocolate Toffee Bars

Recipe Type: Dessert

Summary:

A rich and delicious bar cookie recipe. Great for a party or bake sale.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Cooking Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 50m

Yield: 36 Bars

Gluten Free Artichoke and Tomato Pasta Recipe

Gluten Free Artichoke and Tomato Pasta

Today was flea market day. I have been looking for a new dresser for our bedroom and I refuse to buy anything new unless I have to. Growing up my mother loved garage sales, but there were few (if any) flea markets. When I moved to West Virginia I discovered quickly there is a whole culture of flea marketing. I felt like a fish our of water at the first few that I went, but now that I have lived here almost 11 years I have grown to love them. The same people often go every weekend; there is food, great treasures and they are the best place to find anything you need for your house. After some bargaining I was able to find two great dressers which I am going to restore and they will look great in our house. I love projects and they help to keep my sanity while staying home with my two boys. Since I have been busy with various house projects I made sure that the meals that I prepared last week were quick and easy. One of the recipes that I tried was for Artichoke and Tomato Pasta from the May 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used gluten free ziti. Second it is finally vidalia onion season so I used one for my sweet onion. I purchased a 14 ounce can of artichokes so I used the whole can instead of the 6 ounces suggested by the recipe. Finally after I added the tomato mixture to the pasta I allowed it to cook for an additional 5 minutes.

My family normally is not big fans of gluten free pasta. However, they all loved this recipe. It worked very well to being made gluten free and the use of additional artichokes worked deliciously. I found that I didn't have to add much salt to the tomato mixture since there was already salt in the artichokes.

For the recipe go to Artichoke and Tomato Pasta Recipe.

Peanut Butter, Dried Cranberry and Chocolate Chip Cookies

When dark chocolate first started becoming popular I hated it. There was something about the taste that I thought was bitter and I just could never eat more than one bite. I did love milk chocolate and I had a sweet spot for 5th Avenue candy bars. To this day there is something about that candy bar that makes me happy. After getting married and having kids I decided that I should give dark chocolate another try. I fell in love. Now I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate and the darker the chocolate the better. I have even been known to eat parts of the bittersweet baking bars that I buy to make cakes and cookies. I think a large part of it has to do with getting older. The older I get the more I notice that my tastes for certain foods has changed as well. Foods that I used to cringe at in my 20's I now love in my 30's and the foods that I thought I would never stop loving I barely touch. What hasn't changed is my sweet tooth. I still love to bake and do so at least once a week. This weekend I tried a new recipe for Peanutty Fruit and Chocolate Chip Cookies from the February 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour 41 minutes, 35 minutes of which is active and makes 45 cookies. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First instead of all-purpose flour I used brown rice flour. Second I substituted honey for the granulated sugar and sorghum syrup for the light brown sugar. Finally, I had just bought powdered peanut butter at the store so I used it instead of the 1/2 cup of regular peanut butter. The first time I made these cookies they came out of the oven and would not set. This can happen with gluten free baking, it is a lot of trail and error. So I crumbled the cookies, added an egg and rolled them into cookies again. I put them back into the oven for approximately 10 minutes per batch.

Even after all the changes these cookies turned out very well. The combination of the chopped chocolate and the dried cranberries was delicious and the cookies only lasted a matter of hours. These cookies could also be modified to use other dried fruit such as cherries or a darker chocolate such as bittersweet. I think an even darker chocolate and dried cherries would make this recipe even better.

For the recipe go to Peanutty Fruit and Chocolate Chip Cookies. (registration required)

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto

As I talked about earlier in the week I have been making an effort to eat everything out of my fridge and cupboard. I really want to reduce the amount of garbage and food waste that my family accumulates. We have never been really bad, I have always cooked from scratch and I even grind my own meat, but we still had some habits that could be better. One of them was my bad habit of buying vegetables and then forgetting to use them. I know that you are probably wondering how I can forgot a vegetable that I bought, but they go into the vegetable drawer in the fridge and it sometimes takes them weeks to make another appearance. Since fresh vegetables are expensive and they are only good for you if you actually eat them I have been cutting down both the number of things that I buy at the grocery store and using every last thing that I purchase. So far it has worked well. Today I made quinoa oatmeal cookies since my cupboards are packed with oatmeal and quinoa that I bought last month for a recipe. The cookies were delicious and a great way to use items that I already own. So today I decided to make dinner with the last of the veggies I had before going grocery shopping tomorrow. I tried a new recipe for Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto from the January 2013 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no ingredient substitutions. Instead of snipping my oregano I loosely chopped it since I was making it for my two boys. Make sure to rub in the spices and oregano. The more the mixture is rubbed in the better the flavor of the tenderloin will be. I pulled out my pork at exactly 25 minutes. I normally pull out my pork at 145 degrees and let it rest to reach 150. The worst thing you can do with pork is overcook it, it becomes tough and not nearly as delicious. The recipe photo in the magazine shows the pesto on the side. I chose to serve my pesto as a sauce over the tenderloin. I thought this would lend better to the flavor and add extra tenderness to the pork. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written. 

The red pepper pesto was the star of this dish. Make sure to add adequate salt, it will need it and I added an extra clove of garlic for flavor. I preferred the pesto as a sauce rather than on the side. Additionally, I think it could be even better with roasted pine nuts on top. The pork was very tender and the roasted peppers made a nice side to the dish. Best of all it only takes slightly over a half an hour start to finish, so great for a week night meal.

For the recipe go to Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Red Pepper Pesto. (registration required)

Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola

My normally good eating habits haven't been so great since Thanksgiving. The holidays seem to have gotten to me this year and my food choices have gone down hill. Don't get me wrong I still have cooked from scratch and enjoyed healthy dinners, but I have snacked more than usual and eaten more sugar. Luckily I haven't gained any weight, but I feel less than my normal self so I know that it's time to get back on track. One of the major things that I haven't been doing well with the last couple of months is breakfast. I have been good about eating breakfast since I had low potassium last winter. However, since Thanksgiving I have been skipping breakfast or not eating enough protein in the morning. This weekend I decided to get back on track and made some healthy snacks for the week. One of the new recipes I tried was for Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola from the January issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 13 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use dried cherries for the dried fruit called for in the recipe. The recipe states to stir the mixture twice, but I forgot one of the stirs, so I only did a total of one stir half-way through the baking time. I kept my granola in larger pieces since I was going to eat it as a snack instead of with milk. I think I prefer the large chunks like I made. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I really enjoyed this granola. The quinoa was great, I loved how it was crunchy and the whole almonds were delicious. The cranberries provided a nice sweet contrast to the crunchiness of the nuts. My husband thought that it would be even better for adults with a small amount of cayenne pepper to have a sweet/spicy combination.

For the recipe go to Quinoa-Pumpkin Seed Granola. (registration required)

Gluten Free Eggnog Pancakes

Breakfast is the one meal that I always struggle with. I am horrible about grabbing a cup of coffee in the morning and then nothing else until the middle of the afternoon. After getting sick with pneumonia last winter I have changed my breakfast routine and attempt to eat breakfast every morning. Granted it's still a struggle. Some days I do great and others I glance up and it's 2 pm and all I've eaten is a brownie. Not so great. My two boys on the other are great breakfast eaters. They love pancakes, waffles and anything breakfast related. The only problem I have with them is that they get bored easily. If given the choice they would eat only sugar in the morning, pop-tarts, cookies you name it. I on the other hand want them to eat at least a little bit healthy, so I try to find a compromise. This week I tried a new recipe for Eggnog Pancakes from the December issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which looked perfect for my family's breakfast needs.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep, 4 minutes of cooking per patch and makes 16 pancakes. I did make a few changes to the recipe since I eat gluten free. Instead of all-purpose flour I used gluten free all-purpose flour. The gluten free all-purpose flour that I use has coconut flour as the main flour and is great for cooking and baking. I love eggnog, but I hate all the fat, so I used low-fat eggnog which only has 3 grams of fat per cup. For the cooking I used a griddle, which I love for making pancakes. A griddle makes all the difference for getting golden beautiful pancakes. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys really loved this recipe. The pancakes baked up beautiful and neither of my kids noticed that I made them gluten free. I served their servings with butter and my serving with pure maple syrup. They were great either way and would be just as great with wheat flour. A great breakfast option for the holiday season.

For the recipe go to Gluten Free Eggnog Pancakes.

Gluten Free Berry-Orange Coffee Cakes

I have a soft spot in my heart for coffee cake. When I was first learning to bake my mom gave me one of her old cookbooks and I discovered coffee cake. I think I must have made at least one coffee cake a month for about six months. I was in love. As I became more confident in my baking skills I tried harder coffee cake recipes and once I was in college I discovered the great flavor that rum can add. There is something so great about sitting down with a great cup of coffee and homemade coffee cake. Regardless of the time of the day it just feels right. Now when I first went gluten free I thought I would have to give up my beloved coffee cake. Then I decided I would just learn to bake differently. I tried approximately 4 coffee cake recipes that were horrible. I almost gave up. Then I decided to try one more recipe and it came out perfect. So now I am back to regularly baking coffee cake again. On Thanksgiving morning I tried a new recipe for Berry-Orange Coffee Cakes from the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which looked delicious and perfect for converting to gluten free.

This recipe has 15 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of baking time, 10 minutes of prep and makes 15 cakes. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. When baking gluten free I always use muffin tin liners. Gluten free muffins tend to stick to the pan easier than their gluten counterparts. My favorite gluten free all-purpose flour uses coconut flour as a base and that it what I used in this recipe. I decided to use slightly less ginger than the recipe suggested, probably approximately one tablespoon instead of two. My two kids aren't big fans of walnuts so I left them off of the top of the cakes as well as the orange peel. Finally, since I made these cakes gluten free I found the baking time to be 5 minutes longer than the recipe suggest. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These cakes were very popular on Thanksgiving morning. I left off the glaze on my servings, but put them on my boys cakes. They were flakier than regular wheat muffins, but had a great soft taste. My two in-laws were in town for the week and both thought that these cakes were delicious. If you like ginger you could use the full amount suggested by the recipe or you can reduce the amount like I did. Overall, a great gluten free baking recipe.

For the recipe go to Berry-Orange Coffee Cakes. (registration required)

Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup

My freezer is currently full of soup. In the last couple of months I have made numerous soup recipes and frozen a great deal of them. I freeze in single serving containers in order that all I have to do for a great lunch is pull one out and reheat. It's a great time saver and so much better than canned. I'm also lucky that both of my kids are huge fans of soup and stew. They actually get excited when they discover soup on the stove for dinner. It might be genetic since I seem to always reach for soup when I need some good old fashioned comfort food. There are few things better than a great bowl of soup, a warm blanket and a great book on a cold fall/winter afternoon. Since I also love my slow cooker this time of year I am always looking for new soup recipes that utilize the crock-pot. Recently, I tried a new recipe for Slow Cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup from the holiday recipes magazine from Better Homes and Gardens, which looked easy and perfect for a cold winter afternoon.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 5 1/2 hours of cooking, 40 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I chose to use navy beans instead of Lima beans for this recipe. I would love to say that I love Lima beans, but I don't. They are the one bean that I just can't learn to love. My husband loves kale, so that is what I used in this recipe. As I've stated numerous times before I make my own chicken broth and this recipe was no exception. Instead of quick soaking my beans I chose to let the beans soak overnight. I find overnight soaking much easier and less time consuming. Make sure to adequately salt this soup once it's done. I found that I had to add a substantial amount of salt. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If your looking for an easy slow cooker soup recipe, this dish fits the bill. It is very easy to put together and the flavor was perfect. My whole family really liked the flavor and I love that it uses kale which is very healthy. This recipe would also work well with a variety of dried beans, so don't be afraid to experiment.

For the recipe go to Slow Cooker Ham and Lima Soup.

Mexican White Bean Soup

I grew-up in a working class family. Both of my parents worked very hard to provide the small amount of things that we had. We were lucky that my parents had lived in the same very small two bedroom cottage in Seattle since the early 1970's and the rent had never been raised. When they finally moved out in 1998 they were still only paying 300 dollars a month rent (which is unheard of in Seattle). Both of my parents barely graduated high-school and they worked jobs that most people would turn down. There were many months when my poor mother took me to the food bank line at the local church holding back tears. I was oblivious to most of the problems. I thought the fact that my mom was a great Tupperware dealer and got us a brand new television was neat. I didn't know that that the only way that my parents could afford anything when my dad was working at less than great nursing home was for my mother to sell Tupperware at night. I also didn't realize that the bean soups that my mother made so frequently were because beans were the stable that came from the food bank. I do know that my mother was a great cook. She could take three common ingredients and make food that I would pay money for at a great restaurant. I wish that I had half the cooking skills that she had in one hand. She is also the reason that I love to cook. I never learned to cook from my mother, I learned to love food. Cooking was an experience, there were no cookbooks just tasting, pinching and perfecting. She owned her kitchen. So when I go through my magazine recipes the ones that always catch my attention tend to be simple and make something great out of minimal ingredients. Last month I tried a new recipe for Mexican White Bean Soup from the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which looked like a recipe that would have fit perfectly in my mother's kitchen.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 10 minutes of cooking time, 30 minutes of prep and makes 6 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. As I normally do I made my own vegetable stock. I decided to make vegetable stock instead of chicken since I make at least one vegetarian dinner a week and this was a perfect fit. I used the whole 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, my family likes food with a little kick. Instead of doing a quick soak on the navy beans, I let mine soak overnight. I find the overnight soaking method less time consuming and is the method I almost always follow. Finally, I let my beans cook for slightly longer than the 1 1/2 hours suggested. I cooked the beans for 1 1/2 hours then blended with an immersion blender (a blender would also work just as well) and then cooked for an additional 1/2 hour. I like my bean soup to be very tender and the additional time helped to accomplish the right consistency. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My husband and I really liked this soup. If I wasn't making this for my kids I probably would have increased the cayenne pepper even more, maybe up to a full teaspoon. I did top the soup with sour cream and cilantro and added additional cayenne to my husband and mine's servings. This recipe is great for the colder months to come and would be perfect served alongside a crunchy and crusty bread.

For the recipe go to Mexican White Bean Soup. (registration required)

Blueberry Cream Biscuits

I love berries. Strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, yum! My two kids love berries even more than I do and can eat a pint of blueberries in one sitting. It would be great if the price of berries was low all year, but they aren't so during the summer when the prices are low I bake and cook with them as much as I can. Baking has been one of my greatest stress relievers as far back as I can remember and during stressful times in my life I bake a lot. The beginning of the school year is always stressful and I try to calm my sons down as much as possible by baking things that they love. One of their favorite things to eat are biscuits and I bake them frequently. Last week I tried a new recipe for Blueberry Cream Biscuits from the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which looked full of berries and delicious.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep and 17 minutes of baking time and makes 12 biscuits. All the ingredients are basic and I either already had them in my pantry or I was easily able to find them at my local grocery store. Make sure not to overwork the dough. I did have to add slightly more whipping cream than the recipe suggested in order for the mixture to come together without over touching the dough. I ended up with 12 biscuits total. My biscuits took slightly longer than the suggested time in the recipe. It's always hard to tell with my oven how long recipes will take. The oven was built in the disco-era and it doesn't always heat evenly. I did rotate my pan halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These biscuits turned out delicious. I originally was going to make the blueberry sauce that was included with these biscuits, but my boys ate all the blueberries before I had time to make it. So instead I made the recipe without the sauce. They were delicious hot with butter and I didn't feel that I was missing anything by not including the blueberry sauce. My two boys ate most of these biscuits all by themselves. They are a nice combination of sweet from the blueberries while still having a nice biscuit flavor. I would definitely make these again and they could easily be modified to use other berries or leave out the blueberries completely for a savory side.

For the recipe go to Blueberry Cream Biscuits.

Overnight Pull Apart Cinnamon Loaf

Cinnamon is one of my favorite tastes and scents. There is something so relaxing to me about the smell of cinnamon and when I use it in baking it makes me feel warm and comforted. I am so happy that it's almost fall, I love all the colors, scents and tastes associated with it and cinnamon is one spice I think of in relation to the season. Cinnamon is great in cookies, chili, roasted squash, roasted nuts, there are so many delicious options. One of my favorite ways to use cinnamon year round is in bread. Growing up I was in love with cinnamon and sugar on my toast. My favorite breakfast was wheat toast with peanut butter and then topped with cinnamon sugar, yum! Honestly, to this day if I am having a bad day, cinnamon toast can be an instant pick-me-up. It reminds me of being a kid and being happy with simple things like cinnamon toast. Last week I decided that I was in a baking mood and tried a new recipe for Overnight Pull-Apart Cinnamon Loaf from the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes a total of one hour (plus rise time), 30 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I ended up making this recipe two times. The first time I tried the overnight fridge rise and it did not work. My ball was still pretty much the same size in the morning and it didn't heat up to rise on the counter the next day. So I threw away my first attempt and started over. Instead of doing an overnight rise on the second batch I let the dough rise for an hour on the counter. It worked perfectly and the dough rose beautifully. I think one of the key things that went wrong with the first batch is that I overworked the dough. The dough will not go into a nice neat ball. I mixed my dough until it formed together and then let it rise. The first time I followed the directions to make it into a ball and then put it in the fridge. That method did not work at all for me. I chose not to top the bread with pistachios, my boys can be hit or miss with nuts and since they are so expensive I chose to leave them off. Finally, I think that my layering technique might be slightly different. My bread turned out great, but it came off as slices from the top that peeled like monkey bread, not like the picture in the magazine. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I think in total this bread lasted less than four hours in my house. It was so good that I ate a piece and then went back for three more. My two boys were hesitant at first, but after they tried it they absolutely loved it. The powdered sugar glaze was definitely a selling point with my children and it made for a very pretty presentation on the table. I did add slightly more vanilla to the glaze than recommended. I like my powdered sugar glazes to have a strong vanilla flavor. A great bread for breakfast or for a treat any time of the day.

For the recipe go to Overnight Pull Apart Cinnamon Loaf.

Lemon Raspberry Coffeecake

Don't you love how school starts and then everyone in the house gets sick? Well, that has been my week so far. My oldest started school last Monday and this morning we all woke-up sick. Love how that works. In order to make myself feel better I baked blueberry biscuits for dinner. They did make me feel better, so I say my cooking medicine must work. Growing up whenever I got sick my mom would cook and bake whatever I wanted. This was especially great when I started to feel better and I was allowed to eat brownies for breakfast to get me to eat. Granted most of the time I hadn't eaten for days and my mom was just trying to get me to eat something regardless of if it was healthy. I just remember lots of ice cream breakfasts, which were pretty great. Today my son ate nothing all day until I baked blueberry biscuits. I sat there watching him eat and thought of my mom and ice cream for breakfast. I love how food can evoke such powerful memories. Before I got sick last week I made another recipe which I think of in relation to my mom, coffeecake. She loved baking and eating pretty much any variety of coffeecake, so I was interested when Better Homes and Gardens had a recipe for Lemon-Raspberry Coffeecake in the April issue.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 60 minutes of total time (plus cooling), 15 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients, most of them I already had in my pantry cupboard. For the raspberries I used fresh since they were easy to find and I prefer them to frozen when they are in season. I am horrible about remembering to set out my cream cheese to soften so I take the easy way out and zap it in the microwave for a couple of seconds. I did not put parchment on the bottom of my pan like the recipe suggested. I know every baker but me swears by this method. I prefer to just use baking spray and I have never had a problem with any baked goods not coming out of the pan. My total baking time was slightly longer than the 30 minutes suggested by the recipe. I also turned my pan halfway through the baking time. Finally, I chose not to top the cake with powdered sugar, I thought it was great the way that it was. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I was very pleased by how great this coffeecake came out looking. It was beautiful and it tasted just as great. Even my husband who doesn't like cake had a slice, which is saying a lot. I really like that the coffeecake has a nice taste from the cream cheese without being too rich or sweet. The raspberries are sweet and provide a nice taste and texture to the recipe. Overall, a recipe that I would definitely make again.

For the recipe go to Lemon-Raspberry Coffeecake.