Vegetable Carbonara

Today's to-do list included about 7x what I was actually able to get done. So -- when Mr. Chef called to say he was on his way home, I was elated as usual but also realized what time it was and that I hadn't even THOUGHT about dinner. I usually try and time it so that I'm putting it on the table as he walks in. Was it going to happen? Mmm, maybe not today. 

Sometimes you just need a quick throw together meal that is healthy, in budget and fast. This, my friends, is it! This saved me tonight, was delicious and fit the bill for fast.

Vegetable Carbonara

{Ingredients}
2-3 strips of bacon, diced and cooked (add less or more here, to your liking)
1 1/2 C fresh Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 C chopped carrots
1 C mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 C dry pasta, any shape
3/4 C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
2 eggs
salt
freshly ground pepper

Cook pasta according to package. DO NOT LET THIS COOL!!! Carbonara is a pasta that needs to be finished immediately following draining the pasta. So, if you would prefer to prep everything else before the pasta so you are ready, great! Do what works for you but just be prepared that the pasta can not sit and wait for any amount of time. The egg won't cook if it does. 

Cook bacon, on low heat to enrich the flavor. Set aside -- LEAVE THE GREASE WITH THE BACON! (Which goes against every natural thing in me!)

Chop and saute peppers and mushrooms, add to bacon. Steam broccoli and carrots until tender, add to other ingredients. Grate Parmesan and add to these ingredients as well.
beat eggs lightly in small bowl. Drain pasta and quickly combine everything, including the egg. Stir constantly until egg is cooked (you can't really see that it's cooked, you can just see that it's not runny anymore), cheese is melted and pasta is thoroughly mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, Bon Apetite !

*This was a huge success with everyone around this house including the 3 year old and 10 month old! Hopefully it will be with yours too :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Veggie Stir Fry

I am a carnivore. I love meat and would eat it for every meal every day. Lately however, meat hasn't really sounded good, like at all. Maybe it's because i'm trying to be healthier, maybe it's because healthy foods sound so refreshing in the summertime, maybe it's because I love veggies...whatever the reason - All i've wanted lately is veggies and barbequed food. So, the other night I was needing dinner in a hurry and had no idea what I was going to make. I had loads of veggies in my fridge so I threw them all together with some spices and had the most delicious stir fry ever. The best part, besides cooking the rice, dinner took like ten minutes! Keep reading for a fast yummy throw-together kindof dinner!

{Ingredients}
2 C cooked rice, I prefer brown but choose your favorite.
1 White onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 C mushrooms, chopped
2 C fresh broccolli, chopped
1 red Bell Pepper, diced
1/2 C Soy sauce
1/8 C Worstershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste



Cook rice according to package directions. 
Roughly chop onion. Sautee onion and garlic in a dash of olive oil for a few minutes until pungent. Add mushrooms, broccoli, peppers, soy sauce, worstershire sauce and spices. Sautee 3-5 minutes until veggies and spices are mixed well. Cover for 3 minutes to steam veggies. Uncover and mix well.
Add rice to veggies, mix well and enjoy!

3 ingredient PB cookie

So, we must eat cookies. It's basically one of the 10 Commandments. Life without cookies is dull and boring. That's not doctrine, so don't quote me, but it's still true.

 

My cute neighbor called this afternoon to see if I wanted to pack the girls and head to the park for a picnic, HELLO SUMMERTIME! I of course said yes and started packing up. I had about 30 minutes before we were meeting and decided that any real picnic needed warm cookies. So, I had remembered seeing these online somewhere before and thought I would give it a try.
Peanut butter cookies will never be my first choice. They are usually hard and crunchy and I don't love them. These babies, however, will be repeated again, and again.
so - 15 minutes flat -- I give you, soft, delicious Peanut Butter Cookies, that are worth it!

{Ingredients}
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup brown Sugar
1 Egg

{Directions}
Combine all ingredients and form into small balls. Flatten each cookie with a fork to get that must-have peanut butter cookie look. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.

I feel like i'm cheating because they are so easy. Added bonus -- no flour, no white sugar and no butter! Hello diet food! ok, I won't go that far but it is nice having something sweet without all the butter, flour and sugar.

No Knead Artisan Bread

You know those meals where a delicious warm loaf of bread would just finish it off. Dang those stores for making bread in the morning (or night before) and not RIGHT at dinner time! We don't have time to slave over the stove making bread like our great grandmas! Right?! We've got soccer and dance and homework and dinner and work and facebook and instagram and twitter and kids and dogs and shopping and....seriously though -- not everyday is a "let's make artisan bread" kindof day, right? Well good news! This artisan bread can be made the day before (about 5 minutes to throw it together) and then baked 30 minutes before dinner and you will look like supermom, or dad.

I recently participated in BYU Women's Conference with a sharing station on Recipes. THIS bread graced my table. It was so much fun and I met so many incredible women. For those of you who may not be familiar with Women's Conference it is a two day event at Brigham Young University where women from all over the world gather and listen to speakers, on all subjects, do service, listen to inspiring music (Friday nights concert was a blast!) and just take a few days to let go of reality and allow themselves to be uplifted. It is associated with my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and it is spiritual but anyone and everyone are invited. I participated in the sharing station portion. There are booths on loads of different subjects where those who are in charge of the booth do all the work for you and you get to come, get ideas, and go implement them into your lives. All the handouts will be available to anyone and everyone in a few weeks here. Go check it out. It's amazing! This event is so much fun and if you have never been, schedule it now for next year. It is held at BYU in Provo UT and is just for women. Let me know if you want to learn more.

Here I am with my cute Mom in our booth

And here is the booth in all it's glory! If you look closely you can see the bread on the right. MMM!!!

So, onto the recipe. This is the fastest bread you will ever make BUT IT HAS TO RISE FOR 8-24 HOURS (the longer the better is my guess but mine was a ten-hour loaf and it was delicious!) so plan for the rising. Otherwise, 10 minutes hands on - if that!

{Ingredients}
3 C all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. instant or rapid rise yeast
3 C cool tap water

{Instructions}
Before anything else, remember that this recipe is extremely forgiving! If it rises an hour short, it'll be delicious, an hour too long, it'll be delicious. Don't stress and have fun with this recipe.
Combine all ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon(or anything else that you love, I prefer the wooden spoon) until smooth. Don't over-stir but make sure it's all blended. Let rise in a large mixing bowl for 10-24 hours (easiest if you make the night before, just before bed, and it'll be ready for dinner the next day).
Preheat your oven to 450F. Once the oven is preheated, put an empty dutch-oven (min. 3 quarts, preferably 5-6 quarts) with the lid inside the oven for 30 minutes. The pan you cook the bread in needs to be hot to make the crust. Also, the lid needs to fit tightly to create a steam oven inside the pan.
*note: If you don't have a dutch oven or other heavy pan -- here is a list of pans from "Simply So Good" that will also work:
Old camping dutch oven
A crockpot insert.  If the knob on the lid is plastic, it must be removed or it will melt)

Glass Pyrex dish with a lid

A heat proof bowl with aluminum foil to cover

Stainless steel pot with lid

Clay bakers with lids or foil

Pampered Chef clay bakers

Pizza stone with a stainless steel bowl to cover the dough

While your pan is pre-heating flour a work surface with a TON of flour. This dough is sticky and we want to make it pretty and smooth without sticking to everything within a 5 foot radius. So, flour your counter, a bread board, whatever - and flour your hands. Dump the dough onto the floured surface (scrape the bowl) and form into a ball. Don't knead it, air bubbles are good. Form the dough until it is smooth then transfer, CAREFULLY, into the hot pan - DO NOT OIL THE PAN! The oven is way too hot for that and there will be smoke alarms going off everywhere if you do! Place the lid on tightly and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake an additional 7-15 minutes until perfectly browned.

Cool if you must, I usually must not because i'm obsessed with warm bread but either way, enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Whole Wheat Bread

Today was one of those wonderful yet insane days. When it was over I sat down and almost couldn't get back up. Everything I did was wonderful and fun and I wanted to do it everyday (like the park with a friend and the kids...twice) but physically I kind of collapsed. One of my many activities was teaching one of my oldest and favorite friends how to make bread.

When people find out that I make all of our bread they get this look in their eye that could be admiration but is probably more scepticism about my sanity. I'm here to assure you that I am completely sane. When we were finishing the bread today my friend actually said, "that's it?" see -- Making bread is NOT as intimidating as it sounds and it's actually cheaper. Also, your house will smell A.MA.ZING. I'm just sayin' ;)

So onto the goods -- Plan for a good few hours to let this rise but other than that the hands on time is 20 minutes.

If you can grind your own wheat, that is the best, it's fresher and healthier but I know not everyone has that option. If you are in the market for a wheat grinder here is the one I have and love.


If you aren't sure if your yeast is good then make sure you let it foam, otherwise throw everything in your bosch (or other mixer) with your dough hook on, turn it on high and knead for 10 minutes.

While that is mixing oil 6 loaf pans.

when the dough is done kneading it's ready to be formed into loaves. Your dough should be easy to handle, not sticky. To divide my dough I make one big rectangle and slice it with my bread knife into even pieces and then form each of those pieces into a loaf by kneading a few times with your hands. If there is an obvious crease in the bottom pinch it together to seal it. Place each loaf into a pan, turn once so that both sides are greased and let rise for 2-3 hours.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. You will know they are done when they are brown and sound hollow when you tap the top.

Immediately after taking them out of the oven rub a stick of butter over the top and cool, on a wire rack. If you prefer your bread SUPER moist immediately place in non-seal bags, otherwise leave to cool for awhile and then bag and freeze.

{Recipe} From my amazing sister-in-law, Julene Weaver

Ingredients:
5 cups warm water
1 rounded Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons yeast
9.5 cups whole wheat kernals (13.5 cups flour if you are not grinding your own)
1000-2000 mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid) -- I use 1500mg
2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey

Directions:
Mix water, sugar, and yeast together in your mixing bowl to activate
yeast.  Be sure the water is very warm, but not HOT.  You know the
yeast mixture is ready when the top is totally covered in foam.

Measure wheat before it is ground (it will yield quite a bit more
flour than 9.5 cups, approximately 15 1/2 cups).  Grind whole wheat and
vitamin C pills together.

Once the yeast mixture is ready, add all the other ingredients (flour,
oil, honey, and salt) to it.  Knead 10 minutes with mixer or 20
minutes by hand.

Immediately form dough into 6 loaves and put into loaf pans.  Let
rise until they reach the desired loaf size (this recipe only needs
to rise once) and then bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes.  You can tell
the bread is done by its color and also by tapping the bread with a
fingernail--if it sounds hollow it is done.

Remove bread from pans immediately and put in bread sacks while still
warm to retain moisture.  Freeze extra loaves immediately. (Ilet mine cool a while before putting them in sacks, just my preference. Experiment and see what you like better)

Tips:
The drier and older the wheat the more you need Vitamin C you need.
If your bread is turning out dry, try using a bit more Vitamin C.  You
can grind up Vitamin C pills (break them in half before putting them
in your grinder) or you can just add ascorbic acid crystals to your
flour.  You can also try adding dough enhancer or wheat gluten if your
bread is too dry, but you shouldn't need to.

Use the same graduated one-cup measurer to measure your oil and honey.
Measure the oil first and then the honey will slide right out.

You can use whatever type cooking oil you want.

If you don't have enough honey you can use apple juice concentrate or
molasses as substitutes.

Don't put bread into bags with a perfect seal (like a ziplock) or the
bag will shrink up and crush the bread as it cools -unless it's cool when you put it in.

You can use white or red wheat in this recipe.  I prefer the white
wheat because it has a lighter color and lighter wheat taste.  You can
also use spelt wheat in place of half the wheat.  It gives the bread a
richer, slightly nutty, flavor.

Tortellini Salad

My sisters and I went to lunch with my cute Mom for her birthday earlier this week and they all ordered the smoked turkey tortellini salad. It looked absolutely AMAZING!!! So -- this recipe began as a copycat from Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City but ended very differently and now I can only claim their lunch as my inspiration rather than my base.

This is one recipe that throws together impressively fast and still looks like you spent time cooking. Prove it you say? Challenge accepted.

Mr. Chef always calls when he leaves work. It is a phone call I look forward to every day. 5:00 came and went, 5:15 came and went, 5:30 came and went and still no call. I was busy so I wasn't worried but I hadn't started dinner because I knew it would be fast. I was poking around- prepping veggies etc. when suddenly I heard the garage door going up. He was home. Apparently my phone had gone straight to voicemail. Odd. I threw all my veggies in a bowl, boiled the tortellini, tossed with a tiny bit of mayo, sprinkled with some cheese and ten minutes later we were sitting around the table eating dinner and chatting about the day.

Voila! Fast, easy, healthy and delicious.

Behold...

{Ingredients}

• 1 package cheese Tortellini. (I use the 2 pack from Costco and freeze one. Total this pack could make 3-4 meals, they are big. I cook the whole pack and then take about 1/4 out for my 9 month old before I toss it and we still had leftovers)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 Cup ham, turkey or meat of choice, diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 C mushrooms, chopped
• handful of baby spinach
• 1 Roma Tomato, diced 
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
• 1/2 C peas
• 1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/8 C mayo or dressing of choice
• salt
• Black pepper

{Directions}
Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain well
Combine all ingredients and toss lightly.
Serve

*One of my favorite parts of this new recipe is that you can make this once a week and never repeat. Switch the meat, experiment with different veggies, dressings, etc. Make this your own.

Substitute ideas --
Dressing: Creamy basil, Poppy seed, balsamic vinaigrette
Meats: grilled chicken, smoked turkey, bacon, leave it off and have a vegetarian dinner
Vegetables/Fruit: Avocado, strawberries, apples, oranges, celery, broccoli, shittake mushroom, green beans...

Strawberry Limeade

Mr. Chef and I love to curl up and watch our shows after the kiddos hit the sack. We love Psyche, Castle, White Collar and The Voice. Get a life? Is that what just went through your head? You must just be jealous of our Super giant love sac :)

Well, most of the time when the munchies hit but we don't want a FULL treat, just something sweet we pair this with some fresh air popped popcorn and bask in our "Mom and Dad time" with all of our TV friends!

Enjoy this, it takes just a minute to prepare and it really is yummy!

source

6-8 Large Frozen Strawberries

1/2 Cup Lime Juice (fresh squeezed is best of course but any works just fine)

1/3 Cup Sugar

Place strawberries, lime juice, and sugar in a blender.  Fill with water to the 4 cup line.

Blend about one minute.  Chill and serve.