Guacamole

I love guacamole.  Love.  I eat it for lunch a lot at work because it makes me happy and because I consider it healthy. (Yes, avocados have a good amount of fat.  But they grow on trees and are not purchased at McDonald's.  So.)

My go-to recipe is Martha Stewart's.  Here it is:

2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and lightly mashed

1/2 cup minced onion

1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)

1 plum tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Coarse salt

If I'm in a hurry or don't have an ingredient on hand, guacamole is very adaptable and eater friendly.  I sometimes just use salt and lime juice and I'm still okay, but I'm an avocado fan, so that is easy. 

Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary

Since sweet potatoes are a power-house, by all means, let's eat them more.  Jason made this dish and it was so simple and so, so good!  They're a bit like sweet potato fries, but the insides seem softer, more substantial, and definitely less fried.  The outside is crispy enough for a great taste - rosemary making these really shine.  Does anyone else use garlic salt with as much frequency as us?

Slice your sweet potatoes and toss in oil (we to use Canola this time).  Lay out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic salt and rosemary.  Bake  @ 350 for 30 minutes, turning at the half-way mark and sprinkling the other side with a pinch of garlic salt and rosemary.

Garden Pasta

After an afternoon of swimming, we came home after our regular dinner time (hungry and mama getting edgy!) only to find in our crockpot dinner the beans were not quite done.  Hmmm. Out to eat? Popcorn?  Thankfully, Jason is truly gifted in the kitchen, a trait he earned with lots of sweat and little sleep while owning his own restaurant.  In the face of dinner desperation, I can be less than helpful.  Case in point: I went to take a shower.  Not one second more than 20 minutes later, this lovely pasta was on our table, complete with the first of garden zucchini and squash.

Thankful.

Popcorn Cups

These little cuties are perfect for company.  They're the perfect thing to have sitting out and ready so that kids can go ahead and get started while parents either chat or get things organized for the official start of dinner.  Dinner with kids is funny, isn't it?  Like a mad dash? A scramble to the table just so you can get up 100 more times?  Well, these help, at least a pinch.  Put the popcorn in first and just a small handful of M&Ms on top.  They'll drop down on their own, and be like "treasure."

Ham & Cheese Scones

This recipe ran in my local paper, and I tell ya, I was pleased.  First, I love scones.  Second, savory scones?  Even better.  Third, the recipe specifically lists plans for freezing and baking on the spot, as needed.  Yes!

So definitely try these.  They are so easy to pull together and busy-mom-who-likes-special-breakfast-treats approved.

Ham & Cheese Scones

2 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour, unbleached
2 T sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 T unsalted butter, emlted
1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar 10 oz deli ham OR some leftover dinner ham chunks in whatever quantity you have
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Drizzle in melted butter and stir well.  Stir in 1.5 cups of cheddar, ham and chives.

In a small bowl, whisk the heavy cream and sour cream and then add to the dough - just stirring until dough is moistened and it just comes together.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface (I like to use wax paper on the counter to save a mess).  Shape with your hands into a round shape, approximately 1 inch thick.  Cut into wedges or squares - about 8 to 10, depending on size.  Transfer to a baking sheet and freeze until ready to bake (at least 10 minutes).  After they are frozen, transfer into a freezer safe bag.  These little goodies will be ready for you on a Saturday morning, just pop in oven and bake!  Yum!

Bake 375
20 to 25 minutes

Homemade pizza

I think there are more serious pizza dough recipes out there, but I like this one for its simplicity and for its ease of use.   Last Saturday I made this for dinner that night and we had a last minute change of plans.  I stuck the dough in the fridge.  On Sunday, I set it out about 1 hour before  making pizzas, and it was just a-okay.  I appreciate that in a dough.  I'm experimenting a bit with adding some seasoning to the dough, to make it a little more tasty, but really, I'm just fine with its simplicity.

My basic pizza dough (Martha Stewart)

2 packets Active Dry Yeast

2 T sugar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 t course salt

4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)

Pour 1/2 cup warm water in large bowl.  Sprinkle with yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Whisk sugar, oil, and salt into yeast mix.  Add flour and stir until sticky dough forms.  Shape into a ball and lightly coat with oil (kind of coating the bowl as you go).  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a  warm, draft free place, until dough has doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn out on lightly floured surface and gently knead 1 or 2 times.

Did you spy the spinach on my piece of the pizza?  Yep, delicious.  We used some sausage, peppers, onion, and - the key - mozzerella from the cheese section of the store (not the grated cheese section of the store.)  I have future plans to try to make my own mozzerella, but that is a future project and one I can't pull out of my hat without some planning.

And someone, who happens to be a teensy picky, has asked for "that pizza you made that one time not too long ago that was white on top and that you made all yourself and not from a restaurant" no less than three times.  Enough said.

 

Italian Stuffed Peppers

Such a simple, delicious dinner.  I take credit for none of it; we have the chef in the house to thank for its ingenuity.

We love stuffed peppers and make them frequently with combinations of rice (maybe beans), with chicken, beef, or sausage.  Every time we make them we have the same comment - stuffed peppers are so filling without being overwhelming.  The pepper itself provides the bulk of the meal - such a nice, fresh crunch and counterpart to the heavier rice, meat and cheese.

We had some ground beef cooked up and my husband simply added some pasta sauce to it.  He spooned it into the peppers, topped with a little mozzerella, and baked.  And in a clever twist that indicates what was in our fridge - he served it with a sweet potato. {If your only experience with sweet potatoes is the Thanksgiving version with marshmallows, please, oh please, bake one and eat it with a little butter, pepper, and a touch of garlic salt.  Delicious.}  The Italian version of stuffed peppers - seriously great.