Does it seem like everyone is sick? My husband is down and out. Luckily he just a nasty head cold and not the flu. I decided soup would be a great remedy and an easy dinner. Just a little TLC.
This spicy bowl of soup did wonders. Hearty – with a bit of kick to clear the nasal passages.
Stay well. Make soup.
[PS. In my humble opinion, sick men are probably the most pathetic creatures on earth.]
It has been cold around these parts! When I saw this recipe for a winter salad with warm, roasted butternut squash I knew it would be perfect on a chilly evening. It was hearty, filling and delicious. My husband thought so too! [There were actually quite a few recipes in the January issue of Real Simple worth checking out.]
Need other ideas for using a butternut squash? Look no more! My love for the other squash is not a secret.
The weather yesterday here in Seattle, pushed me to hunt down the essentials for one of my husband’s favorite drinks, a Dark and Stormy. Fitting, right?
The key is finding good ginger beer. Ice, Bundaberg ginger beer, and Gosling’s Black Seal Rum. The perfect Dark and Stormy.
I do love my iPhone. It is just so darn handy. I often take pictures of magazine images with my camera in waiting rooms. It is easy to snap pictures of recipes, exercise routines and restaurant tips that I want to remember. This recipe is a perfect example. Not sure exactly which magazine it was from last fall, but I have made this many times over. My obsession with butternut squash has not faded and this curry dish is the perfect mix of the “other” squash and pumpkin.
I present an alternative afternoon snack or brunch idea. Grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.
You have the ingredients on hand. They are all staples.
I started with this recipe, but made a few changes to my sandwich [I added butter and cinnamon sugar].
It far surpassed my expectations. The addition of butter and cinnamon sugar created a crispy, sweet outer shell on the bread. The insides were warm and gooey. It is certainly more sweet than savory. Kids of all ages will devour it! And the variations are endless.
I am always on the look out for quick and simple desserts. Recipes that are semi-homemade, like these pumpkin cake cookies, are my absolute favorite. I have linked the recipe, but you don’t really need it. It is 3 simple ingredients. Dump, mix, and bake!
Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
12 oz Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin [ a little less than one can]
1 Tbs. of All spice or Pumpkin Pie spice
Dump cake mix into bowl, mix in pumpkin and spice, drop spoonfuls of mixture onto baking sheet and bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes [or until toothpick comes out clean].
PS. When I made these, I doubted the recipe and thought I must be missing a step or key ingredient. Trust the simplicity. That is what makes it perfect.
Nachos could be the best food on earth. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but these chicken-chipotle nachos are really that good!
Make the chicken-chipotle mixture, using a deli rotisserie chicken, before hand and then quickly assemble. The chicken mixture can be made up to 2 days ahead.
falling into fall with some easy, yet incredibly cute, treats.
While pinning away on Pinterest, I came across these acorn cookies.
Round 1. Warm a plate in the microwave. Place and melt hershey kiss bottoms on warm plate. Place on cookies. Let rest.
Round 2. Warm plate again. Melt chocolate chips and place on opposite side. Let rest.
[be careful. the plate was a little too warm for the chocolate chips. I had to take another swipe at round 2. let the plate cool a bit before placing the smaller chocolate pieces.]
This week I offered to bring a dish for a dinner [that I was not attending]. I was happy to help, but it just so happened to fall on Tuesday, which is the day I coach my oldest son’s soccer practice @ 5 and my youngest has basketball practice @ 6. The dish was supposed to arrive warm @ 6pm. Ha. [Tuesday also included 1 child’s doctor’s appointment, my own dental appointment, and 1 hour of volunteer time. I know you have all had one of those days!] I needed something quick and easy-but still delicious. This is what I came up with: semi homemade!
2 boxes of “gourmet’ frozen mac and cheese
I have pears, freshly picked from an Eastern Washington orchard, and desperately want to use them before they go bad. I came across this recipe for Quick Pear Ginger Crisps. It took less than 15 minutes to prepare and most of that time was spent peeling the pears. It calls for ginger snap cookies, walnuts, brown sugar and pears. Other than the cookies and the walnuts, everything else is in your pantry.
The recipe uses canned pears in heavy syrup, so I substituted 4 fresh pears, 1 Tb. all-purpose flour, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon.
Divide pears into ramekins and top with chopped ginger snaps, walnuts and brown sugar-with a dollop of butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream when it is still warm perfects it! I think the crunch of the cookies on top was my favorite part.
**My version is actually gluten and dairy free [sans the ice cream, of course} It is naturally dairy free and I used Pamela’s Ginger Mini Snapz and gluten free flour. Believe me when I tell you, you can’t tell the difference.
