Cheddar Pepper Drop Biscuits Made with Homemade Baking Mix

Today was a day off from school for my kids. My kids were hyper from the time they got up and got worse as the day wore on. I would love to say that my nerves aren't fried this evening, but they are. I never realized when I was young just how loud and destructive two boys could be. Honestly, I never really though I would have two boys. Don't get me wrong I love my two boys, but I was totally unprepared for being the mom of only boys. In my mind I always thought I would have a boy and a girl. When my second son got old enough to move around I quickly realized being the mom of multiple boys and only boys is a feat. They are loud and very physical. Boys don't sit down and read, or daydream. They do fight, and throw rocks to see if they can break, try to kill bugs, get dirty, really, really, dirty, and generally don't sit still. It's even funner when one of your kids has ADHD and so does your husband. There are days where my house might actually resembles a madhouse. Tonight I'm just glad that tomorrow is a school day. I love my kids, but one day off was enough for my sanity. I'm also thinking that my kids will be spending a lot of time at camp this summer, as much for me as for them.

The last month I have posted a couple of times about the Homemade Baking Mix that I have been using. It's really great and tonight I'm going to share a third recipe that utilizes the mix. This recipe is for Cheddar Pepper Drop Biscuits and is great recipe as a side with meals.

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

Cheddar Pepper Drop Biscuits Made with Homemade Baking Mix

Ingredients

• 3 cups Homemade Baking Mix
• 4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, grated
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Cooking Directions

1. Combine baking mix, cheese, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Add milk and cream to mixture until a wet dough forms.
3. On a parchment lined baking sheet drop dough into 8 biscuits.
4. Add grated cheddar cheese to the tops of each biscuit.
5. Bake biscuits in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. Serve warm or reheat when ready to eat.

Tips: 

• Since everyone has slightly different measuring cups the amount of heavy cream can vary. The original recipe used 1/3 cup. I found that that wasn't nearly enough. I have made this recipe a number of times and the total amount of cream needed has ranged from 1/3 cup to over 1/2 cup. Basically add cream until the dough forms and is moist. Additionally, if you want to save on fat you can add 1/3 cup cream and then slowly add additional whole milk until the dough is the right consistency. 
• I have used low fat cheese with this recipe and it worked fine. I accidentally bought low fat cheese and was worried that it wouldn't melt etc, but it was a fine substitute. 
• Make sure to store your homemade baking mix in the fridge, it will go bad since it has butter in it. 

Lemon Raisin Scones Using Homemade Baking Mix

So I have a weird fear. It's a fear that I've had as far back as I was 18 and hasn't gotten much better. I hate voting in person. I know it's sounds weird, but as soon as I was old enough to vote I voted by absentee. Since I grew up in Washington I never had to have a reason to want an absentee ballot. Now that I live in the state of WV it's another story. You can't vote by absentee unless you have a reason. I would love to say that I have voted in every election and am a great citizen even though I have a panic attack every time I try to vote in person. I don't. I vote in presidential elections, but in-between I am not a great voter. My kids are growing up already going with my husband to vote, and love going to the court house to early vote like they did today. I'm hoping that they will grow up without my anxiety associated with voting. I inherited it from my father and having the behavior stop with me would be a  good thing. It's a weird fear, but I hope by sharing it that other people that share my anxiety will feel a little less alone.

So I shared a homemade baking mix last week that can be used for a variety of baked goods. My kids are in love with the baking mix since it can be used for pancakes, scones, biscuits, you name it. Pretty much anything you could use Bisquick for, except that this mix has fresh butter in it. Here is a recipe for Lemon Raisin Scones using Homemade Baking Mix.

Lemon Raisin Scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups homemade baking mix
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup chopped raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Cooking Directions

1. Combine baking mix, granulated sugar, raisins, and zest.
2. In a separate bowl combine cream and egg.
3. Stir into dry mixture until it comes together.
4. Add more cream if neccessary.
5. Hand pat into a 6 inch round.
6. Cut into 8 wedges.
7. Brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
9. Let cool on a wire rack.

Tips: 

• If the mixture doesn't come together well, add more cream. Keep adding cream until a usable dough comes together. 
• Try not to overwork the dough. The less the dough is worked the fluffier your scones will be. 
• If you don't like raisins, Craisins would also work. 

Banana Muffins Made with Homemade Baking Mix

The men in my family can't seem to find the clothes basket or the trash can. When I wake up in the morning most of my first hour of the day is spent picking up dirty clothes from the living room and bedroom floors. I have tried training them and it lasts for about a week. Then they are back to leaving things throughout the house. It's almost like they are Hansel and Gretel and need a trail to find their way between the bathroom and their bedrooms. My husband isn't much better than my kids. He normally keeps his clothes in one pile, but he has pairs and pairs of shoes all over the house. Seriously the man changes his shoes 3-4 times a day. I tried charts to modify their behavior and honestly the charts became more of a chore than picking up the mess. Maybe I need to train myself to not pick up after them so they start doing it themselves. Realistically though I can only go a couple of hours before it would start to drive me nuts.

My kids run in the house every afternoon and ask what I made for their after school snack. They are always starving after school and will literally eat everything in the cupboard if I gave them the chance. I try to make foods that are easy to hold such as muffins, crackers, etc so they can do their homework while eating. Having a baking mix made up ahead of time is a nice way to save time, making it so I only have to spend less than a half an hour in the kitchen. This recipe for Banana Muffins is made using a Homemade Baking Mix that can also be used to make scones and biscuits (recipes to come).

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart Living. 

Homemade Baking Mix

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 sticks frozen unsalted butter, grated
• 6 cups all-purpose or bread flour

Cooking Directions

1. Combine sugar, baking powder, salt, and flour.
2. Stir in butter, making sure there aren't any large clumps.
3. Store in fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Banana Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups homemade baking mix, room temp
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large egg, beaten

Cooking Directions

1. Combine baking mix, sugar and cinnamon.
2. Break up any large butter clumps with your fingers.
3. In another bowl combine milk, eggs, and bananas.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
5. Stir well until completely combined.
6. Divide batter into a greased (or paper lined) 12 muffin cup muffin pan.
7. Fill each cup about 3/4 of the way full.
8. Sprinkle each cup with granulated sugar.
9. Bake muffins in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 22-25 minutes.
10. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.

Tips: 

• This is a very versatile baking mix. You can also use it to make scones, biscuits, and pancakes. 
• If you want to add a little chocolate to your banana muffins this recipe would work well with dark chocolate chunks or with a few tablespoons of peanut butter. 

Polenta with White-Bean and Roasted Pepper Ragout

I hate going to the doctor. Not just a little bit, I dread the whole experience. During my twenties I was horrible about going, I pretty much didn't go other than when I was pregnant. Then I had pneumonia and I go at least twice a year now. However, I still hate it. Growing up my mother had diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure in addition to being over weight and having horrible anxiety. I have been lucky to have only inherited the horrible anxiety, especially when it comes to doctors. A large part of it stems from having kidney problems growing up and spending a lot of time in the hospital. It made me avoid going to the doctor unless I was sick. Since my mother had so many problems I always have to have a lot of blood tests, which come out normal every time, but I still hate the whole process. Yuck.

One way I try to stay healthy is by cooking meals that are either vegetarian or use meat as an ingredient rather than the main part of a meal. My kids have grown to love beans as much as meat, which is a win in my book. Last week I tried a new recipe for Polenta with White-Bean and Roasted-Pepper Ragout from Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time. 30 minutes of which is active, and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used homemade chicken broth, the taste is better and you can control the amount of sodium. Second, I used quick-cooking polenta, I prefer it since it's quick and easy. I doubled the amount of polenta since my family loves polenta.

I liked that this recipe was simple and easy to prepare. My husband and I enjoyed the combination of the beans and polenta, it was a nice change from having pasta or rice. I wasn't sure what my two boys would think, but they loved the beans and ate their whole servings. This would be a nice summer meal since it's light and doesn't take much time to cook.

For the recipe go to Polenta with White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Ragout.

Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta

Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta

Growing up I never wanted kids. I wasn't one of those girls that loved baby dolls and wanted to be a mommy. I wasn't even planning on getting married. I told anyone that would listen that I was going to  get a degree and live by myself in a great apartment. Everyone always laughed at how planned out I had everything. A lot of it had to do with my mother being the oldest of 12 kids. My grandmother had passed away before I was born and my mother had taken over the role of a second mother for my aunts and uncles. Growing up I was surrounded by cousins and since I was an older than most of them I had to watch a lot of my younger cousins. I loved my cousins, but they could get into a lot of trouble and me along with them. Plus my mother was always on the phone, visiting or generally interacting with family members. It was hard not to be a little jealous that I wasn't the center of attention, especially since I was an only child.

I met my husband in grad school. I had moved 2500 miles away from home and knew no one. He was one of the first people to be nice to me in my very first evening class. Gradually we became friends, he drove me home from work study, we ate dinner together in the school cafeteria in-between classes. We moved in with each other a month after officially dating and were married 5 months later. The girl that was never going to get married walked down the aisle before most of her friends. On our second anniversary I found out I was pregnant with our first child. I had my second 2 1/2 years later. I still went to graduate school, worked a great job in bio-tech for 7 years, I just achieved everything much younger than I thought I would. I have two smart, beautiful and talented boys. I never thought that I wanted to be a mother, but now that I am I can't imagine my life anything other way. They complete the love that my husband and I formed so quickly more than 10 years ago.

While my family will eat gluten free pasta, they prefer the real thing if given the choice. Every couple of weeks I make a pasta meal for them to enjoy using regular wheat pasta. A while back I tried a new recipe for Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, my family doesn't like whole wheat pasta. I have tried every brand, half whole wheat etc. and they hate them all. So instead I used regular pasta, it wasn't worth the battle. Make sure to salt the pasta water, if you don't the pasta will need a lot more salt after cooking. The only other change that I made was to add more pasta cooking water than the recipe suggested. I found it necessary to make sure that the pasta was well coated and the flavors combined.

Lake Vesuvius 

My husband really enjoyed this recipe. He is a huge fennel fan and this was a nice way to use it in a  pasta recipe. My two kids were skeptical when they say the sardines, they were hesitant to eat the bones. After trying the dish though they loved the fennel and sardines. The recipe is definitely geared towards adults, but if you have adventurous kids like mine it would also make a nice family meal. Plus since it takes less than 30 minutes it would be great for a busy weeknight.

For the recipe go to Caramelized Fennel, Celery, and Sardine Pasta.

Hearty Blueberry Muffins

Hearty Blueberry Muffins

I think I may be a bad blogger. When I first started my blog over 2 1/2 years ago everything seemed exciting and new. There were things to learn, new blogs to read and the Internet wasn't completely saturated by 5,000 different social media possibilities to waste endless amounts of time. I blogged everyday, sometimes more than once. If I missed a day I would write twice as hard the next. Fast forward almost 3 years and I feel a little blah. I miss more blog posts a week than I would like to admit. My blog almost feels like a chore some nights. After chasing after two very active boys my blog seems a little less important than it was when my youngest had just turned two. Next month my youngest will be 5 and my oldest will turn 8 this spring. They were babies when my blog started, my oldest hadn't even started school yet. Part of my blog taking a back seat is coming naturally with age, as my kids and I get older I feel less compelled to sit behind a computer and not interact face to face. My mother started having serious health issues in her 40's and I try my hardest to avoid this fate. Part of that plan means spending less time on the computer and more time with friends and family. It also means instead of computer time, I am remembering the joy of a good book or a movie snuggled up with my husband. I don't know where my blog will be in another 2 1/2 years. It has evolved endlessly since I started it. So if you don't see me posting everyday it isn't that I have forgotten about my blog, readers and food. It's just that life has a way of becoming more important during certain periods of our life. I do promise that the posts that I end up having the time to write will be truthful and hopefully an enjoyable read.

I have been trying to make sure that my two boys eat at least a small breakfast every morning. They both have a bad habit of skipping breakfast or choosing cereal and then becoming cranky a couple of hours later. In order to combat this problem I have been trying a number of new breakfast recipes. Last week I tried a new recipe for Hearty Blueberry Muffins from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes an hour of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I used coconut oil for the fat. Coconut oil is nice since it keeps for a very long time and turns into a solid when cool and a liquid when heated. Plus it doesn't have a strong flavor so it's great for baking. My two boys had eaten a bunch of my blueberries by the time I made this recipe so my muffins were not as full of blueberries as the original recipe. Finally, I used foil baking cups, I love them they are so much easier to get the muffins out of than regular paper liners.

I like that these muffins have both wheat germ and whole wheat flour. My boys liked that they had blueberries and were sweet and didn't notice that they also had added nutrition. They kept well on my counter and with a couple of seconds in the microwave tasted like they were fresh baked (according to my boys). Overall a nice breakfast option that is kid friendly.

For the recipe go to Hearty Blueberry Muffins.

Hearty Blueberry Muffins

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Summary:

A blueberry muffin recipe using coconut oil, wheat germ and whole wheat flour. A nice way to start the day!

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 1h, 0m

Yield: Serves 12

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves from Martha Stewart

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves

Today reminded me that I'm not in my 20's anymore. Since my oldest had the day off school I thought it would be a good day to paint the ceiling in our dining room. The last time I had painted a ceiling was 7 years ago when I was in my late 20's. This evening I am sore, very sore. What was relatively painless in my 20's is an entirely different story in my middle 30's. I'm positive tomorrow is going to be a day for painkillers and my neck and back are not going to be happy. It's days like today that remind me that I have gotten older. On a daily basis I tend to forget my age, but when a task that was easy 10 years ago takes twice as long and makes me feel twice as bad I remember that I'm not the same early 20 year old I was before kids. I also remind myself that that's okay. I might take a little longer and feel a little more sore, but I'm also smart enough to know how to do something right the first time due to the wisdom I have gained with age. I would much rather be where I am now, being in my 20's was confusing and tiring. In my 30's I am older, wiser, and happier. I know who I am and can stand up for myself with no qualms. My younger self was quick to judge, talked first, thought later and could be more than a little selfish. My 30 year old self is pretty great, I listen first, talk later, look at most situations from all angles and have the wisdom to know how to deal with most situations. So tomorrow as I take a few aspirin with my morning coffee I will smile knowing that even though I am older, I am also only getting better with age. Now on to the recipe! Tonight I tried a new recipe for Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves from the Martha Stewart website.

Cabell Huntington Hospital Huntington, WV

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 1 hour 50 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 1 large loaf or 3 mini loaves. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I was out of curry powder. So instead I used a mixture of the spices I already had on hand to make homemade curry powder. I love making my own spice blends and they are oftentimes cheaper than the pre-made varieties. For the rice I used arborio and homemade black beans instead of canned. Make sure to let the loaf sit after cooking in order that the loaf doesn't fall apart when sliced.

Harris Riverfront Park Huntington, WV

My husband isn't a big fan of meatless meals. He did however, like this recipe. It had the right amount of salt and I added cayenne to my curry powder so the loaf had a nice amount of heat. Finding vegetarian recipes that my family will actually eat can be really hard. This recipe was nice since everyone in my family ate it without complaints.

For the recipe go to Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves.

Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A vegetarian recipe for Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves. Full of lentils, black beans and curry powder.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Cooking Time: 1h, 0m

Total Time: 1h, 50m

Yield: Serves 8

Thai Coconut Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Thai Coconut Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

We live in a college football town. Once the college football season starts, during every home game the city gets a little crazy. Everyone literally bleeds green and white. This past Saturday I had forgotten it was a game day until we pulled into the drive thru and the person in front of us had painted themselves green. Yeah, it's that kind of city. Everywhere I went - the bank, grocery store you name it everyone was wearing green. Our state is divided. There are two big schools, Marshall and WVU (West Virginia University). Since there are no professional teams in our state, college teams reign king. While both schools have a large alumni base, most of the fans of both teams never went to school at either university. Somehow though they feel a connection to their football teams and get very adamant that their team is the best during games. According to my husband twitter gets a little crazy with back and forths between fans. So for Saturdays during the season we are a Marshall town through and through. Football season means lots of chili and game day foods, but with 95 degree days we are still enjoying food that sticks to the ribs a little less. I am a little behind on posts, so the recipe I am sharing tonight I actually made a few weeks back. I tried a new recipe for Thai Coconut Chicken with Pineapple Salsa from the April 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

B'nai Shalom Synagogue Huntington, WV

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First, since I have never actually seen a fresh Thai chili at any store in my area, I substituted a jalapeno. I left the seeds in since my kids weren't going to be eating the dish. For the oil I used peanut oil, I love cooking at high temps with peanut oil, it's great. The recipe states that the dish turns out brothy, but I found that it didn't make as much broth as the photo in the magazine showed. It was still enough for three servings, but not like the soup shown in the photo.

B'nai Shalom Synagogue Front Steps Huntington, WV

My husband and I were big fans of this recipe. The flavors from the fish sauce and ginger were delicious and the spicy kick from the jalapeno was perfect. I liked that the broth was slightly sweet and savory, while the salsa was a little on the spicy side. They worked perfectly together and the flavors played off of each other nicely.

For the recipe go to Thai Coconut Chicken with Pineapple Salsa.

Cream Scones with Strawberries

Cream Scone with Strawberries and Whipped Cream

I miss having tea with my mother. From the time I was 10 we would go to tea at one of the fancy hotels in downtown Seattle. They had a full high tea and it was fabulous. We would dress up, eat cucumber sandwiches and talk. After I had a job I paid for my mother and I to stay at the Empress hotel in Victoria (BC) and we had high tea. If you have never been it is a great and beautiful experience and one of the favorite memories I have of my mother. After my mother passed away my aunt sent me the teacups that had been my grandmothers. I keep them in a special cupboard and a couple of times a year I take them out and have tea. Last year my boys joined me and it felt complete, my mother would be smiling. There are certain foods that I always associate with having tea. Tea and scones go hand in hand to me, I love them. I am constantly experimenting with new scone recipes and this week I tried a new recipe for Cream Scones from Martha Stewart Living.

Downtown Huntington, WV From Marshall University Campus

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 8 scones. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First, I always freeze my butter when making scones. It helps to keep the butter from melting while it is being handled and makes for richer scones. Make sure to minimally blend the dough. Just mix until it comes together and hand pat the dough before cutting out the scones. The less you touch the dough, the better the texture and it keeps the butter from melting. I chose to serve half of these scones with cut up strawberries which I tossed with a bit of sugar and real whipped cream.

Downtown Huntington, WV

My two boys loved this recipe. I think they ate 4 of the scones as soon as they came out of the oven. Obviously I did not eat any of them, gluten free scones are just not as delicious. Before anyone disagrees I promise I have tried a ton of recipes, bakeries etc and they just aren't as good as regular flour. These scones were great though and made nice strawberry shortcake. They were also delicious with jam for breakfast.

For the recipe go to Cream Scones.

Cream Scones with Strawberries

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Summary:

A simple cream scones recipe that also make great strawberry shortcake. Only 30 minutes start to finish.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 0h, 20m

Total Time: 0h, 30m

Yield: Serves 8

Leftover Herb Pesto

Leftover Herb Pesto

It seems to be bug season in my back yard. I made the mistake of going out to trim my tomatoes this evening. Very bad idea. I literally came in and had to take a benadryl since I had so many bites. Cicadas are the other fun visitor my yard now has. They arrived a couple of weeks back. In previous years they have arrived earlier, but this year they didn't arrive until August. Growing up in Seattle I had no idea what a cicada was when I moved here. The first night I tried to fall asleep in my new apartment I was driven crazy by a deafening noise. I had a giant tree outside my window and between the train that went through at 2 am and the cicadas I decided I would never sleep again. Over the years I have gotten used to their deafening noise, but they still aren't my favorite summer sound. Apparently we aren't even supposed to have cicadas this year, wrong. They are in my front yard and they are huge. Plus I don't trust any insect that is part of a horde. It just sounds wrong. So I am avoiding my yard for a couple of days until the bugs leave me alone. Yesterday I had to venture into my yard to cut back my herb garden. It has gone crazy in the last week and I am swimming in basil, so time to make pesto. I tried a new recipe for Leftover-Herb Pesto from Martha Stewart Living.

Virginia Point Park, Kenova, WV

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 5 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 3/4 cup of pesto. For the pesto I used basil and tarragon from my garden, pine nuts for the nuts and an extra clove of garlic. I prefer my pesto to have a pretty strong garlic taste. I also added part of the cheese to the food processor and then added the other half to the finished pesto. I prefer the texture with this method. Plus the flavor of the cheese come through better.

View From Virginia Point Park, Kenova, WV

I love making quick and easy recipes. Pesto is a great way to use herbs that you have leftover in your fridge or garden and the taste can be easily adapted based on what ingredients you have on hand. In addition to serving with pasta, this recipe would be great with chicken or fish. I love using pesto with grilled salmon, it's wonderful.

For the recipe go to (video form) Leftover Herb Pesto.

Leftover Herb Pesto

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A very simple 7 ingredient pesto recipe. Can be made with any leftover green vegetable in your fridge and a variety of nuts.

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Total Time: 0h, 5m

Yield: 3/4 cup

Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango

Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango

Growing up I told everyone that would listen that I was never having kids. If I did I had already decided that I would adopt and then it would just be one. I grew up an only child, but my mother was the oldest of 12 so at all times one of my aunts, uncles or cousins was either living with us or at our house. It could be a little crazy. Then I met my husband and everything changed. I was overcome with this strange new emotion of wanting kids. Not just any kids, but our kids. It's funny how life can hit you without much warning. What I didn't expect at that time was that I would have two boys. I love my boys tremendously, but having two boys is more work than I ever expected. Right now they are at each others throats everyday, all day. This morning they had a big fight over magnets. While this might sound harmless I have boys so they aren't just verbal fights, they wrestle, shove etc. My oldest starts school next week and I am more than ready to going back to only having one child during the day. I think that I needed a better manual before having all boys, my house can be complete chaos. One of the few things that my two boys can agree on is seafood, they both love it. Today I tried a new recipe for Tuna, Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango from the May 2013 issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

Cabell County Courthouse Huntington, WV

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 25 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 12 tacos. I did make a few significant changes to the original recipe. First, the original recipe is vegetarian. With three males in my house they just wouldn't have gotten full with just corn and cheese. Therefore I used frozen tuna steaks, which I grilled and then sliced. Then I added the tuna to the tacos along with the rest of the recipe ingredients. I cooked my tortillas in a pan on my gas stove until they had grill marks. My cilantro went bad before I was able to make the recipe so I left it out.

Ritter Park Huntington, WV

The fresh corn in this recipe was delicious. Without the tuna this dish would not have much protein. The addition of the tuna made the recipe for my family. Tuna steaks really are a great source of protein and they have great flavor in tacos. My boys were huge fans of the fresh mango, they ate a whole mango by themselves. If you aren't a fan of tuna, Mahi Mahi would work as well.

The two photos (not of food) in this post are of the town that I live in Huntington, WV. There are a number of large parks which my kids love spending time walking and playing in. 

For the recipe go to Cotija and Corn Tacos with Lime and Mango.

Cotija and Corn Tacos

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A simple recipe for tacos using fresh corn and cotija cheese.

Preparation Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 25m

Yield: 12 Tacos

A Delicious Combination: Apple Sage Cake

Gluten Free Apple Sage Cake

There are few household chores that I really hate. The one exception is ironing. My husband has to wear dress shirts to work everyday which means that every Sunday I spend my evening ironing. I don't mind washing dishes, laundry or any other household duties. However, there is something mind numbingly boring about ironing. I just can't enjoy it, even after 10 years of marriage. Many Sundays I put off the ironing forcing myself to have to wake up at 5:30 Monday morning to iron shirts for the week. It's a little better if I do the ironing while watching TV, but only slightly. I try to treat myself to a food I like after finishing my ironing for the week. It makes the whole experience seem better. Tonight I tried a new recipe for Apple Sage Cake from Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 45 minutes of total time, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe.  First since I eat gluten free I replaced the all purpose flour with gluten free. I mixed the dry and wet ingredients separately and then combined them. The recipes does it all in one bowl, but I prefer doing them one at a time. The edges and the top of the cake brown quickly so if they start to over-brown put a piece of foil over the top.

The granny smith apples in this recipe work really well. The sage is mild and blends nicely with the apples. This cake would be perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. My youngest didn't even notice that the cake had fresh herbs, so don't be intimated by using them.

For the recipe go to Apple Sage Cake.

Need a Change to Your Breakfast Routine? Try a Recipe For Toasted Muesli

Toasted Muesli Over Greek Yogurt and  Fresh Berries

This has been a day of free in my household. I am cheap. Not in the bad I don't spend any money on things that are important, but in the if I can find free entertainment I jump at it way. My oldest is at my in-laws house for the week so my youngest is by himself and needing entertainment. I am a firm believer in taking full advantage of local events so our day was filled with free or budget friendly activities. We spent time at the play center at the mall (love that place), went shopping for cheap locally produced strawberries, played on a retired train and spent time at the library. Everything except the strawberries was free and my youngest loved it. We also took a nice leisurely drive and talked about the various landmarks in our area. Best of all I discovered that the movie theater is having free movie Tuesdays again this summer, making one more cheap kid activity. My cheapness also extends to food. I love finding recipes that can be stretched to last throughout the week. Last week I tried a new recipe for Toasted Muesli from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, 5 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. My husband ate all of the pumpkin seeds before I was able to make the recipe, so I substituted unsalted sunflower seeds. I have never been able to find large coconut flakes, so I used the shredded unsweetened coconut I already had in my pantry. My youngest and I enjoyed the muesli over Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries.

If you liked your muesli sweet you will need to increase the maple syrup. I like to be able to add a small amount of sweetener to my yogurt, so this muesli was plenty sweet when added to my yogurt along with sweetener and fresh berries. It also made a nice snack right out of the bag without being used as a topping or stir-in.

For the recipe go to Toasted Muesli.

Easy 10 Minute Recipe for Spicy Shrimp Marinara

Spicy Shrimp Marinara Over Spaghetti

Tomorrow will mark the first day of summer for me. My oldest son will have his last day of school and I will no longer have to do the daily running out the door before we are late for school routine (at least for a couple of months). Plus there will be trips to my in-laws house and peace and quiet for me for at least a few days. I might actually be able to catch up on some reading and get ahead on blog posts. However, my oldest claims that I am a mean mommy since I insist on work books throughout the summer months. I have high expectations for my children and I hate the idea of them losing knowledge through the summer. Another sign of summer in my house is the arrival of lots of seafood dishes. My kids are big fans of shrimp and I try to make it at least once every couple of weeks, especially during the warmer months. Last week I tried a new recipe for Spicy Shrimp Marinara from the Everyday Food insert of Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has three ingredients in the marinara and five in the main recipe. It takes 10 minutes of total time (not including the time to make the marinara), all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First since I was serving 6 people (my in-laws were in town) I doubled the recipe. I also chose to leave out the red pepper flakes and add them at the table for individual servings. My father-in-law doesn't enjoy spicy foods, so doing the red pepper flakes in this manner allowed everyone to eat the recipe. I served my portion over gluten free ziti and the rest of the servings over spaghetti for the remainder of my family.

Everyone that tried this recipe loved it. The flavors were delicious and the recipe is beyond easy. I allowed my garlic to caramelize, which created a nice undertone to the dish. For anyone trying this recipe I would suggest doing this modification as well. This is a nice simple recipe that would work well year round.

For the recipe go to Spicy Shrimp Marinara.