Trying Hard To Get Back On Track

Chickpea Salad

We have been working like crazy at the lake cabin trying to wind up a project before family comes to stay. It's one of those projects that has taken way too long. (Is there any other kind?) What started as a plumbing repair grew to become a bathroom redo. And as long as we were putting down a new floor there, I decided we ought to replace the kitchen floor also.

But it's done. At least THEIR work is done. The clean up job, however, belongs to us. You know how sawdust goes everywhere when the sawing is inside. What a mess. And this is a summer cabin, too, so it's unoccupied for the winter. That meant we needed a massive cleaning. While we were deep into to washing and wiping every single thing there, I kept finding things that needed to be replaced. I made more than one trip to into town to buy kitchen and bathroom things.

When I'm on that kind of schedule, I tend to grab whatever is easy for lunch. PB&J. Crackers and pimento cheese. Or, I'll make an even worse choice and head to a drive thru. And since at that point, I'm tired and starving, it's easy to talk myself into chicken strips and fries. Or a milkshake. I always tell myself when I'm that tired that I deserve a treat. 

Starting today I hope to have a better plan. My first choice for meals would be the fresh, healthy foods that we all should be eating. I really do like those foods. But it takes time to make them. I have to remind myself that it actually takes longer for me to drive to Bojangles and back home. But my mind can play tricks!

I saw a recipe for a chickpea salad this week and I wanted to stir it up to have in the fridge. I took great liberties with the recipe. I added celery because I love celery. I swapped out the olive oil and used canola because olive oil gets solid when refrigerated. I used red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice because I wanted a little more zip. And after Daddy-O tasted it and was less than enthused, I added a teaspoon of sugar. He also tasted it the minute I mixed it up. It does needs to chill and let the flavors blend. Even then, I doubt he will like this as much as I do.

So here is my completely rewritten recipe. It took me about 10 minutes to mix it up. And it's ready and waiting for a quick lunch. And it might also be a side dish tonight. 

CHICKPEA SALAD

1 (15-oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I may have used more)

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients together and chill before serving.  

Makes a little more than 5 cups. 

My friend Linda and I are always on the lookout for WW friendly recipes, so I sent this to her a few minutes ago. It calculated to 1 WW point (on my plan) for a 1 cup serving. She texted back in minutes that chickpeas are one of the few foods she doesn't care for. I think that any canned bean would work—cannellini or black beans would be good choices. And if you decided to double or triple the recipe, you could surely use a mix of beans. 

So for the next few days at least, I have no excuse for making bad food choices. At least if I DO decide I need a treat it will only be one treat!

NOTE TO SELF: Keep the "good" foods on hand and ready to eat. Then I'm less likely to give in to temptation.

It's "Berry, Berry" Good

 

Did you think I was never coming back? I'm still here, but I've spent more time away from the computer lately. Life is better when I turn off the news alerts and limit social media. I keep up, but I'm learning to step away after a quick check.

Then we have more time to do things like picking strawberries at a neighbor's farm. We've been a couple of times already. The granddaughters happened to be here when the berries were first ready and they were some of the very first pickers of the season.

It's hard to beat simply eating fresh berries when they are really sweet and juicy. Unless you make strawberry ice cream. There are many good recipes, but this is delicious and is surely one of the easiest of them all. And it's ridiculously quick.

For those who ask, I have this Cuisinart ice cream maker. There are other models that cost less. There are other brands. They all work pretty much the same, I bought this one to replace an older, simpler Cuisinart model that we thought no longer worked. We had used it for years with no problems. 

Then last summer it wouldn't freeze the ice cream. It turned out the ice cream maker was fine. It was my 20-year-old freezer that wasn't working properly. The freezer temperature was not as low it should have been. (Freezers should be 0 degrees.) So the container part of the ice cream maker was not getting cold enough to make ice cream. 

So now we have a new freezer. And I have two ice cream makers. Strawberry ice cream AND vanilla ice cream at the same time is not a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all.

The recipe makes enough to enjoy, but not enough to get into too much trouble over-indulging! I took this to book club last night. I brought home an empty container. 

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM (no eggs) 

      for 1-1/2 qt ice cream maker

1 (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk, such as Eagle Brand

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

1-1/4 cups fresh milk

about 1 cup cut up strawberries 

2 tablespoons sugar

a good squeeze fresh lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon)

pinch of salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Sprinkle sugar over cut up berries. Stir and add in lemon juice and salt. Let stand while mixing milks. Mash slightly. 

Using a whisk, blend the 3 milks together thoroughly and chill for 30 minutes. (I like to chill the canned milks first.)

Mix strawberries and milk mixture. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to appliance directions. Freeze until done, about 20-25 minutes. 

The ice cream will be soft. Transfer to a container with a lid and store in freezer if you want harder "scoop-able" ice cream

★ To make VANILLA ICE CREAM, use this same recipe but leave out the strawberries—including the sugar and lemon juice— and double the vanilla.

While it might change the texture a little, you can use low-fat or fat-free milk for any or all of the milks called for. Just remember, lower fat content means it won't be as creamy. 

Cool As A Cucumber

Open Face Cucumber Sandwiches

I thought I was the only one. The only one who had never made these. When Joanne asked me to make open face cucumber sandwiches for a funeral reception, I told her I would be happy to...if she would tell me how. I had never made any. Or even eaten any. What!?! She was astounded that I had never had a cucumber sandwich. She told me what she mixed together, but like many excellent cooks, she didn't have any measurements to share.

I googled and found as many variations as there are cucumber sandwich makers. But it did give me a starting place. Of course, I called had to call Joanne back and ask what kind of bread she used. I was pretty sure it wasn't the pumpernickel that many recipes called for. She told me to buy the cheapest white bread I saw at the store. The bread is just a base—this sandwich is all about the good stuff on top.

So I bought a gosh awful amount of cream cheese and loads of fresh dill, too many cucumbers and four loaves of bread and then did what Joanne told me to do in the beginning—mix the spread until it tasted right. I did start with one of the google recipes that used 8-oz cream cheese and 1/3 cup of mayonnaise. (I had mixed 3 blocks of cream cheese and 1 cup mayo.) Too much mayo for me. So I added another block of cream cheese to my big bowl. That changed the proportion to 1/4 cup mayo per block of cream cheese. Much better. Daddy-O tasted it after I finished and said a little more garlic would help. In went another pinch. I thought it needed a little more dill and chives. Just a little. And then I stopped. 

I had not planned on posting this recipe because I figured everyone else had been making them for years. (How had I missed these?) But so many people helping in the kitchen that day said, "You are going to post this recipe, aren't you?" "Please put this recipe on your blog." And several asked the same questions I had asked. "What kind of bread did you use?" "How much cream cheese do I need for one loaf of bread?" "Can you make these ahead?"

I'm writing down how I made these for all of us who need guidance. Tweak away.

OPEN FACED CUCUMBER SANDWICHES

1 large loaf sliced white sandwich bread

8-oz block cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives

Pinch of garlic powder

Pinch of salt

1 long English cucumber (also called seedless—these are usually shrink wrapped in plastic)

With a hand mixer, thoroughly blend cream cheese and mayo. Stir in herbs and seasonings. Taste and adjust the herbs and garlic to suit you. This can be done the day before.

Slice the cucumber very thin. (I used a mandolin...very carefully!) Spread the slices on paper towels and let the towels absorb excess moisture while you cut the bread.

With a 2-inch cookie or biscuit cutter, cut circles (2 per slice) from the bread. Spread each round with the cream cheese mixture. Top each round with a cucumber slice. Garnish with a sprig of dill.  

Yield: about 40 rounds

Helpful hints:

*Reminder:  3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon. So basically you use one tablespoon of fresh herbs per 8-oz cream cheese. You might rather use all dill. And maybe add a little grated onion.

*Yes, you do need to taste and adjust after mixing. I added a little more dill and chives and another pinch of garlic powder to my giant bowl of cream cheese mix.

*One flat plastic pack of fresh dill from the produce section is enough to mix in and to garnish with. I bought too much.

*The plastic top from a can of Bakers Joy or PAM is about the right size and can be used as a cutter if you don't have a 2-inch one.

*I picked out the largest cucumbers so that the slices were about the same size as the bread rounds.

*The skin on these cucumbers is very thin so peeling isn't necessary. If you used other cucumbers with waxed skin, you might want to peel them.

*This could also be made on round water crackers. We did that with the leftover cream cheese spread. Delicious.

*Store these appetizers covered in the refrigerator until serving time.

*Two 8-oz blocks of cream cheese mixed should be enough spread for 3 loaves of bread, maybe 4. We used rounds from 4 loaves. I mixed one block per loaf and have lots of spread left over. Which we have enjoyed snacking on.

*Save the crusts left from cutting and let them dry out. Whirl them in a food processor to make bread crumbs for later.

*I bought home 4 little rounds that were left when it was all over. We ate them the next night and they were still pretty good. I wouldn't make them too far ahead, but they hold up better than I thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This funeral service for a dear friend was truly a celebration of a long life well-lived. So many friends came to honor his memory. The church was full. After the service, the church hall was crowded with people coming together to remember this fine man. 

Here in the South we tend to show our love for the family with food, whether it is delivered to the house or served at church. So on a Saturday afternoon we kept the food trays filled as we listened to shared stories and laughter. We saw lots of hugs and smiles mingled with tears. And I thought how good it is to be in a community that knows how to care for each other. 

Finally...A New Recipe

Italian Turkey & Veggie Skillet 

When your body starts craving vegetables, it probably means you should have upped your veg intake a couple of weeks ago. We usually eat a lot of vegetables here but lately things have gone a little sideways. Life happens.  

And there were vegetables in the fridge left over from Little Sister's pasta salad making last weekend that needed to be used pronto. I still had a half a large zucchini, half a large yellow squash and some diced onion, washed and bagged.

Mommy and J-Daddy did most of the cooking last weekend and they left me a package of ground turkey that didn't get used. I found one can of fire-roasted tomatoes in my pantry...pretty sure I bought that can by accident. My normal diced tomatoes are plain or seasoned with garlic/basil/oregano. I needed a quick trip to the grocery store this morning and picked up a box of baby spinach to finish the recipe.

When this recipe popped up on my Instagram feed a couple of days ago,  there was no question about making it. It basically used up everything here that I needed to cook before it wound up in the trash. Fresh things don't last forever. This was one of those recipes that you know won't be bad, but the big surprise was that it went far beyond "not bad" category  to the "really, really good" category. 

This is how I made it. So easy. So quick. So delicious. 

ITALIAN  TURKEY ANDJ VEGGIE SKILLET

1 medium zucchini (I used 1/2 of a large one)

1 medium yellow squash (again, I had 1/2 a large one)

1-lb. ground turkey (we like dark ground turkey)

1/2 onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons minced jarred garlic (or 4 cloves fresh, minced)

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

14.5-oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice

3 cups fresh baby spinach

Quarter the zucchini and squash lengthwise and cut into thick slices. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over med-high heat. Once hot, add the squashes and let cook on one side for 2-3 minutes without stirring, until it browns. Flip it over and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add turkey, onion and minced garlic to skillet. Cook, breaking it up, until turkey shows no pink. Drain off any liquid. 

Sprinkle with dry spices and stir to coat. Add the can of tomatoes (not drained) and bring to simmer. Stir in the zucchini, squash and fresh spinach. Cook until spinach wilts, about 3-5 minutes.

You can served this over rice, pasta, spaghetti squash or do what we did and serve it up in a bowl and top it with a little parmesan. I am so happy that we have enough left for another meal.

If you are on Instagram, you can find the original recipe from @easyfamilyrecipes. Her measurements are a little different than mine because she used more turkey. Around here ground turkey is sold in 1-pound packages, so I adjusted my seasonings accordingly. I think I have bookmarked about half of her recipes there. They are quick, easy and family friendly. When I dug a little deeper I found her blog with the original recipe, plus some awesome tips.

• Yes. I did drain off the liquid from the turkey after browning. Sometimes I don't but this recipe needed that. 
• Yes. I think the fire roasted tomatoes made a (good) difference in the flavors, although you could certainly use another kind.
• No. I didn't measure 3/4 teaspoon precisely. Just don't fill up the 1 teaspoon measure all the way.
• Yes. We will make this again for sure!

Kids In The Kitchen

Kids with sharp knives??? 

This might bring terror to their moms.

But with instruction and supervision they can be good to go.

Little Sister is 11 and is plenty old enough to use one.

Rest easy...I was supervising the entire time.

Everyone needs good knife skills unless they plan to eat out forever. 

 Little Sister and I worked on slicing and chopping techniques over the weekend.

Our favorite pasta salad was a great place to start.

With so many vegetables to slice and dice, she got plenty of practice.

Then it was quick and simple to stir the vegetables, pasta and dressing together.

Cooking is also a good way to teach about caring.

To teach about being helpful. About being a kind, thoughtful human.

Taking food to someone is one of our favorite ways to say "I care."

Over the weekend my kitchen was also a science lab.

Little Sister is studying plant and animal cells.

And these cakes that she baked by herself represent the cells.

And all the candy and frosting made up the call components.

When the "cells" were done, she labeled all the parts

–nucleus, ribosome, mitochondria, etc.—

and made a video presentation for her class about the project.

Baby Girl had her turn in the kitchen, too, and baked banana muffins. Sadly there are no photos because I was her baking coach. She did all the measuring and even used a hand mixer all by herself and filled the muffin tin. She is still small enough that she has to stand on a stool to cook. When the muffins were done, they were packed and delivered, too. 

You've probably seen these recipes here before. They are both tried and true. But I'm sharing them again. Who knows when your house will be the one full of grandchildren who want to cook? 

GARDEN PASTA SALAD

1 (16-oz) box of pasta -- rotini, bowtie, or penne 

5 cups of chopped fresh vegetables*

fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1 (15-oz) bottle Italian salad dressing (my fav is the Wishbone brand)

3-4 tablespoons McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water. Drain well. Put pasta and vegetables and parsley into a large bowl. Add salad dressing and Salad Supreme Seasoning. Toss gently until mixed well. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until ready to serve. I like to make it a day ahead.

*We used carrot, red pepper, yellow pepper, corn, broccoli, red onion, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. It doesn't take much of each veggie. 

This recipe fills a 5-quart plastic container.

BANANA MUFFS

2 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 egg

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)

Preheat oven to 400º.

Combine baking mix, sugar, butter and egg. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Fold in bananas.

Evenly divide between 12 greased (or line with cupcake papers) muffin cups. Bake 15-18 minutes. until lightly browned.

While warm, you can drizzle with Thin Icing and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired. (The girls like them better without the nuts.)

Thin Icing: Blend 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 tablespoons water until smooth.

Sometimes I make 36 mini muffins instead. Bake those for 12-15 minutes. 

Marinated Turkey Tenderloins

Marinated Turkey Tenderloin

I hate to say it, but my kitchen has been ignored for quite some time now. What a crazy couple of months we've had. Not bad crazy, but not-my-normal-schedule crazy. Last night I figured I had better cook something for Daddy-O before he trades me in for a new model. I had been gone for a good part of the day so I made one of the easiest meals I know how to cook. 

This turkey tenderloin is such a quick main dish. And to my total surprise, when I looked for the recipe here on the blog...it wasn't here. I've been making this for years. I think maybe the recipe was on a package of turkey tenderloins ages ago. 

Before I get to the recipe, let me share a couple of photos from our weekend. We drove back to visit the youngest grandchildren and to let Daddy-O meet his first grandson. 

They had several good man to man conversations.

And we were well entertained by his big sister. Her hospitality skills are strong.

So before I climb back in my car this morning to head back there (these early days require a little more help) let me get this recipe safely posted on the blog. I know some of you use the recipe index here as much as I do. For me it's like an online version of the old plastic recipe box I used for years. But this one I can reference when I'm  standing in the grocery store!

MARINATED TURKEY TENDERLOINS

1 pkg (about 1 lb) fresh turkey breast tenderloin

marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

1 lemon, sliced (seeds removed)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Put oil and herbs into a heavy zip top plastic bag and mix. Add the turkey tenderloins and lemon slices. (I make sure there are lemon slices on both sides of the turkey.) Seal bag and turn to coat the tenderloins. Refrigerate 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

Place turkey on a broiler pan. Move oven rack to top of turkey is 5 inches from heat. Broil small tenderloins (4 per 1-lb pkg) about 10 minutes, turning once. Broil large tenderloins (2 per 1-lb pkg) about 20 minutes, turn once or until juices are clear.  

Serves 2-4

Last night Daddy-O cooked these on the grill for the first time. No messy broiler pan to clean up! They were delicious. But every other time I've made this, I've used the broiler. So it works either way.

 

Meet The New Little Man

Baby brother modeling the cap and blanket I knitted for him.

I'm back home but my brain is too tired 

to actually write something that makes sense. 

(How do young moms do it?)

So I'll share a very few photos from the past four weeks.

Instead of taking any knitting with me 

as I usually do when I'm away for a while, 

I packed yarn and a hook instead and started a blanket. 

And I had lots of help from Little Lady.

Little Lady was always ready to help.

She knows when a paci is needed 

and she knows how to poke it in his mouth.

This new baby brother has been thoroughly studied and adored 

and has survived being loved on hard.

We are thrilled to welcome a boy into our gaggle of grandchildren.