Boone Appetito

Hi Family and Friends!

We have a new blog. If you look on the sidebar it says "Our Other Blog" and underneath it is our new blog! We (ahem, Grace does) blog a lot of recipes we do and thought it'd be nice to have them separated. This blog will be solely on what's new in our lives and the other on the fun recipes we try. Go and check it out! It has the recipes on this blog and will feature any new recipes we do.

Chicken Souvlaki

For Trevor's birthday, I made this really delicious meal! It from the Real Simple Best Recipes: Easy, Delicious Meals cookbook. It's really simple and sooo good!

Hands on time: 25 minutes    Total time: 30 minutes    Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

3/4 cup crumbled Feta (3 ounces)

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup halved kalamata olives

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Black pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 small cucumber, diced

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh dill  If you choose to use dried dill because it came in your spice rack, like me, keep in mind that dried dill is more potent than fresh. Therefore you need less. Our stuff turned out a little too dilly.

4 pieces flat bread or pitas, warmed

1. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, Feta, onion, and olives.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together 4 tablespoons of the oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons or the vinegar, the lemon juice, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Silly me! I misread this when I made the dish, I put the full amount of red wine vinegar. But it still tasted good!

3. Pour 2 1/2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over the tomato mixture, toss, and set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining vinaigrette and toss to coat.

4. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer the chicken (but not the liquid) to the skillet and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, cucumber, dill, and the remaining teaspoon of vinegar. Serve with the bread, chicken, and tomato salad.

Mom Boone's Taco Soup

Mom Boone makes an awesome Taco Soup! For my bridal shower my awesome bridesmaids made me a recipe book and Mom Boone's Recipe is in it. This is Trevor's favorite soup! 

Ingredients:

1lb 93% lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 pkg of ranch dressing mix

1 pkg taco seasoning  I used hot taco seasoning, we like things spicy

1 can chili hot beans

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 cup frozen white corn  I used the same white corn I used in the Southwestern Salad and Vegetarian Tacos

2 cans of Mexican tomatoes (diced tomatoes with peppers or stewed Mexican style tomatoes)

1 can of water

Directions:

Brown meat and onions. Stir in ranch and taco seasoning. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream. I topped it off with some Mexican shredded cheese. We used the Organics white corn tortillas, best tortilla chips I've ever tasted!!!!

Cool Southwestern Salad with Corn and Avocado

This is another delicious vegetarian meal that I made a while ago. Its from the Real Simple Best Recipes: Easy Delicious Meals. We ate this for dinner and the following day I ate it for lunch with a tortilla (a tip that was in the book). So good! And super easy! 

Hands on time: 20 minutes    Total time: 20 minutes    Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 small heads romaine lettuce, cut into bite sized pieces (about 12 cups)  I used Organics romaine lettuce from Safeway

1 cup corn kernels (cut from 1-2 ears, or frozen and thawed)  I used the left over frozen corn from the Vegetarian Tacos

2 avocados, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 15.5 oz can of pinto beans, rinsed  I used fresh pinto beans (we have a huge bag!), soaked them over night, boiled them for 1 hour on low heat

1/2 red onion  I made it raw, but next time I'll caramelize it a little. Trevor and I are not fans of raw onions

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Kosher salt and black pepper  I used regular salt

1/2 9 oz bag tortilla chips  I used Organics corn tortilla chips from Safeway. So good! The best tortilla chips I've ever had and I'm not a big fan of tortilla chips.

1. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, corn, avocados, beans, onion, and cilantro. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, cumin, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Drizzle over the salad and gently toss. Serve with the tortilla chips.

We paired it with some frozen Costco chicken. Mmm! yummy!

Cheese Enchiladas

Going along with our more vegetarian life style (we aren't really vegetarians but we've cut out a lot of meat in our diet) I made cheese enchiladas from a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. It was pretty easy and cheesy. =) I think the next time I make them I'll use less onions and chop them finer. Though it's difficult for me to chop onions, they make me cry so badly that I can barely see what I'm cutting.

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
30 Min

Ready In:
50 Min

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Creole-style seasoning
• 1 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas
• 1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced ripe olives
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl combine tomato sauce, tomato paste and Creole-style seasoning.
3. Warm tortillas in microwave, or in oven; dip them in the tomato sauce mixture and lay them in a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Fill each tortilla with cheese, onion, olives and mushrooms; roll. Repeat until dish is full. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese on top.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Vegetarian with Spinach, Corn, and Goat Cheese

This is a recipe we made about a month or so ago. It's super good and super easy! It's from the Real Simple March 2010 issue. 

Hands on time: 20 minutes    total time: 20 minutes    serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 14oz package extra firm tofu - drained, patted dry, and crumbled

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

Kosher salt and black pepper   I used regular salt

1 10oz package frozen corn (2 cups), thawed

1 5oz package baby spinach (about 6 loosely packed cups)

8 small flour tortillas, warmed 

3/4 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese (3 oz)

3/4 cup store-bought refrigerated salsa

1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tofu, chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

2. Add the corn and cook, tossing, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper and toss until wilted.

Trevor made his taco shells. Yummy! 

3. Fill the tortillas with the tofu mixture, goat cheese, and salsa.

Love this recipe!!!!

Osmosis

This morning when I woke up Trevor and I sat down for a delicious breakfast. My wonderful breakfast consisted of cranberry/banana/nut bread (that I made from scratch...yum!) with peanut butter and a nice cold glass of orange juice. However, when I went to drink my orange juice, it had a slight taste of onion.

Why, you may ask? Well let me tell you. I cut up the vegetables for our Easter stew the night before and one of the vegetables was...you guessed it...onions! Lazy me, didn't cover the bowl with saran wrap. Through the wonderful science of osmosis my orange juice, which was in an open carafe, now tastes like onions. 

You live and learn.

Vegetable Lasagna

Last week I made vegetable lasagna for our vegetarian meal of the week. It turned out really awesome! Definitely something we'll do again. We had tons of leftovers. Great for lunches and dinners later in the week! I found the recipe in our Better Home and Gardens New Cook Book Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition. 

Prep: 40 minutes    Bake: 35 minutes     Oven: 350 F     Stand: 1o minutes   Makes: 12 servings


Ingredients:
9-10 dried lasagna noodles
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cream-style cottage cheese, drained  I couldn't find this so i just used small curd cottage cheese, it worked fine
1 15 oz carton ricotta cheese
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup chopped onions (1 large)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil or cooking oil
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained  I used fresh spinach and just eye balled it
1 10oz pkg frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and well drained  I used fresh broccoli, about 2-3 broccoli w/ stems
1 cup shredded carrots  We had baby carrot already in the fridge. Would not recommend using. Use the big carrots. It hard to shred the baby carrots.
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (3 oz)
1 8oz pkg shredded mozzarella cheese (2 cups)

1. Cook noodles according to pkg directions. Drain; set aside.
2. In a bowl combine eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and Italian seasoning; set aside. 
3. In a large skillet cook mushrooms, onion, and garlic in hot oil until tender. Stir in the flour and 1/2-1 tsp black pepper, add milk all at once. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. remove from heat. Stir in the spinach, broccoli, carrot, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
4. In a greased 3-quart rectangular baking dish layer 1/3 of the noodles, trimming or overlapping as needed to fit. Spread with 1/3 of cottage cheese, then 1/3 of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 of mozzarella. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake, uncovered, in 350 F oven about 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

Do you Know the Muffin Man?

Apparently I do not know the Muffin Man. In fact, the Muffin Man and I do not get along. Here's proof:


I wanted to make muffins this morning for Trevor and I. The batter smelled delicious. It was Krusteaz Cranberry Orange Muffin mix! Mmm... But as I was placing the muffin pan into the oven, the pan slid out of my hand. Sad times.

Squash Spaghetti

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet van Horne

Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 30 minutes Oven: 350 degrees Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 medium spaghetti squash (2 1/2 - 3 lbs)
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut up
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Halve squash lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place squash halves, cut sides down, in a large baking dish. Using a fork, prick the skin all over. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until tender.

2.Remove squash pulp from shell. Toss with the butter. While the squash was baking I cooked some ground beef with chopped onions and mixed it with pre-made white pasta sauce.

Tip:
The hardest thing is cutting the squash. I suggest using a serrated knife like a bread knife.

We were a little skeptical but it was delicious!!! We really enjoyed it. It made terrific leftovers. And pairs well with salad.

Eggplant Parmesan

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity. ~Voltaire

Another recipe from the Better Home and Gardens New Cook Book Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition.

Start to finish: 30 minutes Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 small eggplant (12 oz) Used another large eggplant
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese Used parmesan/mozzarella shredded cheese on sale at Target
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce Used Classico Fire-Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3oz)

1. Wash and peel eggplant; cut crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Combine egg and water; dip eggplant slices into egg mixture, then into flour, turning to coat both sides. In a large skillet cook eggplant, half at a time, in hot oil for 4 to 6 minutes or until golden, turning once. (If necessary, add additional oil.) Drain on paper towels.

2. Wipe skillet. Arrange the cooked eggplant slices in the skillet; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cook, covered, over medium-loe heat for 5-7 minutes or until heater through.

I was surprised at how easy it was! It tasted fantastic!!!

Ratatouille

Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core.

- Anton Ego

Inspired by our resolution to eat healthier, I decided to spice up our vegetable repertoire by breaking away from our usual steamed broccoli with chopped tomatoes and feta cheese or some sort of salad - Caesar and spinach. I found this recipe in Better Home and Gardens New Cook Book Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition.

Start to finish: 40 minutes
Makes: 4 servings (aka 2 meals for us)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
• 1 clove garlic, minced I used 3 cloves; I love garlic!
• 3 cups cubed, peeled eggplant I bought 1 giant eggplant
• 1 medium zucchini or yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch slices (1 1/2 cups) I bought 2 yellow summer squash
• 1 cup chopped, peeled tomato (2 medium) or one 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained I used a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes that I forgot to drain
• 3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 medium)
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine, chicken broth, or vegetable broth Found some white wine laying around
• 1/4 teaspoon salt Salted to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper Peppered to taste
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil or oregano Used dried basil instead

In a large skillet cook onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, tomato, sweet pepper, wine, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Uncover and cook about 5 minutes more or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with additional salt and black pepper. Stir in basil just before serving.

It was a delicious meal! I paired it with chicken topped with Parmesan cheese and green apples and brie cheese. Yummy!!!

Food

Hi Everyone!

So with the pregnancy I've been having a difficult time finding anything that's appetizing to me. And once I've thought of something that sounds appetizing, once I start eating it...it's not as great as I thought it would be and find myself getting nauseated. The other problem is thinking of great tasting, quick, simple, and healthy meals to make. I need the meals to be quick and simple because 1. time and 2. fatigue. heh... but I want them healthy for us and baby and of course yummy is a must!!!

If anyone has any suggestions of some great tasting, quick, simple, and healthy meals please let me know!!! I'm getting pretty discouraged. =(

Lasagna

This recipe is also from Better Home and Gardens New Cook Book Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition.

Prep: 45 mins Bake: 30mins Oven: 375 degrees F Stand: 10 mins Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
12 ounces bulk Italian or pork sausage or ground beef (I actually used ground turkey)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced (If you don't know how to mince garlic, like me, you can see how to here.)
26 ounce jar of tomate pasta sauce
6 dried lasagna noodles (I got whole wheat noodles)
1 egg, beaten
1 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese or 2 cups of cream-style cheese, drained (I used ricotta)
1/4 cup grate Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 ounces)
Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the ver top of the lasagna (optional) (I did this)

1. For sauce, in large sauce pan cook sausage (in my case the ground turkey), onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is brown; drain off fat. Stir in tomato sauce into mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.

3. For filling, combine egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese; set aside.

4. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of ta 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the cooked noodles in the dish, trimming or overlapping as necessary to fit. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top.

What's nice is you can make this up to 24 hours ahead of time. You just do steps 1-4 and then cover the unbaked lasagna and put it in the fridge. The only thing that changes is how long you bake it for. You bake the lasagna covered for 40 minutes followed by about 20 minutes or until it's thoroughly heated.

This was by far Trevor's favorite dish that I've made! =) I really enjoyed it! =) Hehe...it makes me feel like a good cook! =)

Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patrick's Day Feast! =)
I made this in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. =) I got it from All Recipes and the recipe is Corned Beef and Cabbage I

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 2 hours 25 minutes Ready in: 2 hours 35 minutes.

Ingredients:
3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
10 small red potatoes (I used 8, 10 was a lot!)
5 carrots, peeled and julienned (I didn't do the carrots julienned. I used bought baby carrots and I put more than 5)
1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Directions:
1. Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender. This was a longer process than two hours. Make sure you allow plenty of time.

2. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.

3. Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

It was delicious! I'd say though it took closer to 3-4 hours than 2 and a half.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

From Better Home and Gardens: New Cook Book Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition.

Prep: 10 minutes Bake: 20 minutes Oven: 425 degrees F Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 pork loin chops, cut 3/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, finely crushed (you can also use bread crumbs. I used stuffing mix that I finely crushed.)

1. Trim fat from pork. Pour butter into a 13x9x2-inch baking pan, tilting pan to coat the bottom. In a shallow dish combine egg, milk, and pepper. Place stuffing mix in a second shallow dish. Dip chops into egg mixture Coat both sides with stuffing mix. Places in prepared pan.

2. Bake, uncovered, in a 425 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. Turn chops. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until 160 degrees F and juices run clear.

Nutrition facts:
per chop: 289 cal., 13g total fat (6g sat. fat), 141mg chol., 342mg sodium, 12 g carb, 1g fiber, 29g protein.


This would be a good Thanksgiving substitute for turkey. It was delicious! =)

Baked Sweet Potatoes

This is a recipe from Trevor's mom, Cherie. It's really good. It's a nice side dish for steak.

Servings: Made enough for us and then some.

Prep Time: 10 minutes. Depends how good you are at cutting yams =)

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
oil
cinnamon
garlic
salt
yams - 2 small-medium sized

1. Cut yams. I cut them like I do onions - making cuts first so they make circles and then cutting those in half. You can cut them how you like. You can cut them like french fries like chips, whatever. You can either leave the skins on or peal them. Just an FYI - yams are hard to cut and peal.

2. Once you've done that put the chopped yams in a bowl. Pour some oil over the yams. Just enough to coat them. This will help make them crispy and so they don't stick to the pan. . Then add the spices to taste. I sprinkled just a little bit of salt for flavor. I put a little more garlic than salt. And I generously sprinkle the cinnamon. I would use nutmeg if I had that but I don't. Experiment with the spices. Let me know if you come up with another good combination. I really like the one that I used.

3. Then take a pan/cookie sheet and spray that with oil so the yams don't stick. Though if you're like me and forget, it'll probably be okay because you did coat them with oil earlier. Then put the yams on the pan and cook in the oven at about 375 degrees. It doesn't take very long to cook. Once the yam looks as crispy to your liking take them out and let them cool.

These are absolutely delicious and so easy to cook!

Steak au Poivre

So I've been learning how to cook...since my wonderful mom took care of that before...which I am in greater awe of her skills now than I was before. It's hard thinking of something to cook every day. Trevor and I thought it'd be fun to pick a different recipe from our recipe book Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book, Celebrating the Promise Limited Edition every week.

Time start to finish: 30minutes Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
4 beef tenderloin steaks or 2 beek top loin steaks, cut 1" thick (1 lb)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup brany/beef broth
1/4 cup beef broth
1/2 whipping cream (no substitutes)
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard (we used French's spicy brown mustard)

1. Use your fingers to press the pepper onto both sides of the steaks. If using top lion steaks, cut each steak in half crosswise. In a large skillet cook steaks in hot butter over medium heat to desired doneness, turning over once. For tenderloin steaks, allow 10-13 minutes for medium rare (145 degrees F) to medium (160 degrees F). FOr top loin steaks allow 12-15 minutes for medium rare to medium. Transfer steaks to a serving platter, reserve drippings in skillet; keep warm.

2. Remove skillet from burner and allow to stand for 1 minute. For sauce, combine brandy and beef brother (or all beef broth); carefully stir into drippings in skillet, scraping up crusty browned bits. Stir in whipping cream and mustard. Bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring occasionally. Spoon sauce over steaks to serve.

Nutrition facts:
Per steak + 2 tablespoons sauce: 370 cal., 25g total fat (13g sat. fat), 114mg chol, 192mg sodium, 2g carb, 0g fiber, 25g protein.

I forgot to take pictures of this dinner. =( I took pictures of some of the other meals I made. This one tasted really good! =)