We’re starting off our week with chili, and I have 2 favorites: Huckdoll’s chili and … crap.  I don’t have a good name for the other one…  it’s Steven’s mom’s recipe.  He calls it “damn good chili,” maybe we’ll just go with that.  (We’ll be having DGC tomorrow night.  Tuesday night will be chili dogs using leftovers of the DGC.)

Damn (or Darn) Good Chili

4 cans Busch’s chili beans
2 lbs ground beef
Approximately 34.5 oz of tomato juice (or to taste)
8 oz of sliced jalapenos (in a jar)
salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste

Brown the hamburger meat, then throw everything in a pot and heat it up.  Ta-Da.

Huckdoll’s Chili 

1 small onion, diced and a few sprinkles of flaked red chili pepper, sauteed in a bit of olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan

Add 2 cans Mexican or chili style stewed tomatoes
Add 2 small cans of whole kernel corn
Add 1 can of black beans

Stir all ingredients and let simmer for however long.

Top with sour cream (no- or low- fat is good, too) and shredded cheddar

Personally… Onions and I don’t get along too well, so I skip that first step and it still turns out yummy.  Except Steven doesn’t like it because it’s “girly” and has no meat…which is exactly why I like it…no beef. 

Welcome back!

I’ve gone back to menu planning (now that I’m feeling better) and am once again on the lookout for really inexpensive yet healthy dinners. And, most of what WASN’T healthy, can be made that way by using whole wheat flour/noodles, brown rice, organic or fresh produce, lean meats, etc.

This week, we spent 124.75, and here’s the menu for the next TWO weeks (we had some ingredients…like a bag of beans and a couple of other random things):

1. Pepperoni and cheese Calzones
2. Pasta and beef soup and Giant Pretzels
3. Pasta and tater tot casserole (using previous night leftovers)
4. Chicken and Rice
5. Broccoli and Cheese Soup and Giant Pretzels
6. Chicken Pot Pie
7. Chicken Nuggets and Baked Potatoes
8. Sloppy Joes
9. 5 Bean Soup
10. Jambalaya
11. Tacos and tater tots (if there are leftover tots)
12. Chili
13. Chili dogs

Just In Case Meals (Meals we can make from the pantry):

-Another Bean Soup
-Chicken Nuggets and Macaroni and cheese
-Chicken Spaghetti or Spaghetti without meat
-Pasta with vegetables and a light tomato sauce

Lunches will be leftovers from the nights before or pizza rolls/turkey sandwiches (for L, if she won’t eat what we had the night before).  Plus veggies and fruits for snacks.  Or…peanut butter sandwiches

I’m not really sure what the serving sizes are on some of these meals, so some will last longer than others.

So, what are you guys cooking up this week?  Have any good recipes that are pretty inexpensive to make?  I’m wondering if next time I can shave some off of that total…  (Suggestions welcome)

Actually, I’m pregnant – but, when you feel like you are becoming a whale, you feel like a whale.  Mostly, I know that in a few months I will be huge and it’s going to take you longer to get there (unless you have with-holding news from me), so I am giving you a head start, k?  Here are a few desserts I’ve been dying to try lately (but will resist making them because I don’t want the whole thing).

Thank you Rachel Ray, butts across the globe will be bigger because of you and this recipe. 

(And, if you find yourself lazy (like me), here it is)

Apple Pecan Sticky Buns

1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) butter, softened

2 cups flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons honey

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. Place the apples, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter on a parchmentpaper- lined baking sheet; toss to coat. Cover loosely with foil and roast until tender, 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°.
2. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, blend the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt at low speed. Add 5 tablespoons butter and mix until crumbly. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with 1/2 cup cream, then mix into the dry ingredients.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 9-inch rectangle. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup brown sugar, the pecans and cinnamon. Cut up 2 tablespoons butter and dot the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture on top and cover evenly with the roasted apples. Roll up the dough, jelly roll-style, and cut crosswise into 9 slices; place the slices cut side down in the prepared baking pan. Bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.
4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the honey to a boil, stirring. Whisk until reduced, about 2 minutes. Let cool slightly. Drizzle the sauce over the warm buns.

Oh, what’s that?  You need more?  Try this one…

You should be writing thank-you cards to Rachel Ray by now, don’t you think? 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon plus 2 pinches salt

1 2/3 cups flour

4 ounces cream cheese, chilled

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, the baking powder, the baking soda and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop 12 generous mounds of batter, spaced evenly, onto each baking sheet. Bake until springy to the touch, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
4. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter with the cream cheese. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining 2 pinches salt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; mix on low speed until blended, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
5. Spread the flat side of 12 cakes with the cream cheese frosting. Top each with another cake.

 Still not impressed?  Fine.  Check this one out.  (And if you don’t fall in love with this ooey goodness, why are you even my friend?)

Candy Apple Pie

From MiMi Hodge, winner of Good Morning America’s “Pie of Emeril’s Eye” Contest, 2000

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Apple Filling:

• 5 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced very thin)
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream Cheese Topping:

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 10-inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely. Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 cup of chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.

3. In a large (12-inch) skilet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are softened and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell. Reduce oven to 350 degrees F.

4. In a medium bowl, using a hand-held mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 1 minute or until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

5. Top with whipped cream, caramel and pecans, and swirl with a knife. Slice and serve.

PS – I found this recipe and these sinful photographs over here.  She’s the owner of one of my new favorite blogs.  I might have to try to see how to get invited over for her next dinner party, too.

I’ll admit, this whole “Eat locally for a year” wasn’t an original idea of mine.  I adopted it actually.  I found this little book:

It’s basically a memoir-journal-ish book about a family who left Arizona to go live in the country.  Where they had lived previously, was of course the desert, and the officials had told them that although the water was safe for you and your kids, don’t put your fish in it.  Because they would die.  Mmhmm.  I’d trust that.  So, they moved.  They moved to a place where people wouldn’t curse the rain because it meant they wouldn’t get to wash their car, but instead to a place where although it might interrupt their plans, people knew rain was important.

Their move was the beginning, but they chose then to grow a farm and what they didn’t grow, they would get from other farmers that were local.

So, what’s that have to do with me?

Well, I don’t plan to move – at least, not across the country nor do I plan to become a farmer.  Quite frankly the thought of plucking a chicken and all that just makes me want to become a vegetarian.  I don’t want to own a ton of land that I have to plow and harvest.  It’s not my passion.  However, I do realize that most of our food today is made with CORN, one of the lease nutritious, overly abundant crops ever.  Our nation has become fat and yet malnourished all at once.  And, we wonder why.  We wonder why we get random headaches, why we feel so tired and run-down, why we can’t stop gaining weight, and the other random symptoms we have no explanations for.  We go to our doctors and they write us a prescription, which oftentimes just covers up the issue rather than fix what caused it in the first place.  And, so we go on…we keep doing what we’re doing and the pill works for a bit…until next time.  Then, that symptom or another pops up again.  We are a nation that accepts illness of many sorts as “healthy”.

In the past year, I’ve been more careful about the things I put in my body.  I eat more vegetables and fruits, less processed items, and try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup (except on occasion).  I’m not a poster child for healthy eating, but I’ve definitely traded in a few bad habits like Stouffers lasagna and hamburger helpers for more healthy conscious (but good) meals.  And, I’ve noticed some differences in my health.  Real differences.  Huge differences.

Next year, I want to buy our produce and meats and other food items as much locally as I can.  I may grow some things in the garden or trade my brother for his game during season or it may just mean changing where I buy from.  Farmers, as it is are hurt more than protected by the farm bill.  Most smaller farmers make almost nothing for doing everything a machine does, only by hand.  They use their bodies and hands to do the work, reducing the chemicals and gas needed.  Big time farming companies don’t worry about the tastiest tomatoes, they go by those that are most uniform in color and shape and easiest to package…and those that tend to preserve easier.  Many times, we eat genetically modified produce and don’t even know it.  We thought we were helping our body and eating healthy, when in reality we were stuffing our guts with more pesticides and other things than you’d ever want to imagine.

By staying as local as I can, I’m hoping to gain more appreciation for the local farmers, for their work.  I admire them as is, but I want to know their names and faces.  I want to learn, as well.  I want to bring better tasting and more healthy food to our table.  I want our health to continue to improve.

So, as I prepare for what will be a huge change, I’m researching local farms within driving distance.  So far, I’ve found 3 listed (using www.localharvest.org).  But, I know there are more.  Next spring, I’ll just have to frequent the farmers markets and ask for cards!

Well, here’s your challenge:  Reply in my comments with a great tasty meal that’s inexpensive (as in the ingredients won’t set me back a small fortune).  You can tell me the whole recipe right here, link to it, or give me the name and promise to email me later.  It all works.  And, I’ll be eternally grateful.

Truth is, I’m tired of spaghetti.  I bought 10 HUGE cans of spaghetti sauce at Krogers a while back (their 10 for $10 deal)…and each can will last for maybe 6 meals?  Split between 2 people – that’s a lot of meals.  A lot of spaghetti.  I’m down for most foods.  Unless it’s centered around onions.  I can deal with minimal onions (or just take them out), but not if it’s say – onion rings (that’s not a meal anyways).  So, give me your best shot.  Heck, I might even get a prize involved.

Contest ends…tonight.  I have to go grocery shopping, yo.  Either that, or I’ll be eating L’s applesauce for supper.

PS – I want recipes.  Don’t tell me about Sonic’s new burger or the Lean Cuisine dinner in the frozen food aisle.  Does. not. count.

Try this great and healthy dish for young and old alike…

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2/3 cup zucchini, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
4 eggs
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

How to:

Heat the oil in a 9-in nonstick frying pan. Add the onion and zucchini, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes.

Beat the eggs with the milk and pepper, and pour over the vegetables. Cook over med. heat for about 5 minutes, or until the eggs are set.

*You can mix in other veggies, and add cheese, too if you want!

Note:  Unfortunately, she’s going through a picky eating stage and this didn’t fall under the “bananas/fruit bar/bread” group, it ended up on the floor – and, her screaming “Nana! nana! (banana)”  Guess what I’m having for lunch…and supper..

Friday, Baby L got some mail (just in time for her birthday) from her great-grandparents.  My Ma (we call them Ma and Pa) had had surgery (kidney removed, actually) not too long ago and wasn’t quite feeling up to the party.  So, she sent a card and money…and here’s L with it on her Birthday Eve (and yes, I totally just made that word up).

Lorelei loves money, but as you can see…not as much as she does her cards. 

Happy First Birthday, Baby Girl!!  Look what mommy and daddy got you!

A Crayola Colorfall Sudsworks!  –I’ll review this one later…but let’s just say I am NOT happy with it.  Crayola is about to get a nice and lovely letter.

THE PARTY!

When: 12 Noon
Where: Mimi’s (my mom’s) house
What: Lorelei’s Bday Party (ONE YEAR)

Decorations: giant pom-poms hung from the ceiling in different shades of pink and lime green (handmade), lime green tablecloths, and a pink bouquet (stargazer lillies and pink roses).

Food:  Pink Lemonade and bottled water.  Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and toasted buns (which were awesome – Steven has mad skills on the grill).  Chips.  Baked Beans.  Strawberry Cupcakes with a Strawberry Glaze, some Cool Whip, and chocolate dipped strawberries on top.

Who (the people who showed):
Me, Steven, and Lorelei (duh)
Mimi and Gramps (my parents)
Grams (my grandmother) and the original Gramps (in spirit)
Josh and Katelynn (My bro and his lovely gf)
Aunt Sheila and Uncle Ben
Aunt Phyllis
Grandpa (Steven’s dad…aka Bill)
MaryKate and Kamryn
Aunt Teresa, Kandi, and Hope
Carrie and Bella
and Uncle Wally even took a break from hunting to swing in and wish the birthday girl lots of fun…

Her Outfit:  the dress I made for her (and pants and a LS shirt for warmth)

This look.  Yep, that’s pretty much the look we got while singing her Happy Birthday.  She wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

Blow out the candle!!  Or not.

Let’s play in the cake…

And in it goes…

Mmm…Cool Whip.

Oh ho!!!!!

Why hello…are you looking at me???

Cake Destroyer

From Lime.com 

Well, spring is finally in the air, and that means dandelions — a menace to some, but to an urban forager, they’re a delight. These yellow-haloed herbaceous plants can be used virtually in their entirety, are packed with essential vitamins and minerals (including calcium, potassium, iron, and vitamins A, B-6, C, and E) and best of all, are absolutely free. Heck, some gardeners would probably even pay you to take them away. And as long as you make sure you’re not harvesting from an area where pesticides are used (in many cities, this information is required to be posted nearby), for absolutely no money down, you can be gorging away like a frugal gourmet until summer’s end. Here’s what you need to know.

Leaves:

For salads and garnishes, the first young leaves are best (the ones before the plant flowers). Try them in place of arugula or endive. Mid-to-late season leaves are better as a cooking green — steaming, sautéing, or briefly boiling with a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice will cut the bitterness, and don’t forget the garlic!

Roots:

While it’s hard for your average urban espresso junkie to take anything billed as a “coffee substitute” very seriously, it is true that a concoction of roasted dandelion root does taste vaguely like the real deal (ok, let’s be honest, really vaguely), but its healthful properties are reason enough to want to try it, regardless of the taste. For best results, harvest your roots in late summer/early fall, scrub clean, then place in a 200-degree oven for 1-2 hours, until dry. Turn heat to 375 and roast until dark brown (about 20 more minutes), then grind coarsely in a coffee grinder or blender. Brew with a Melitta-style filter, or in a teaball.

Flowers:

Dandelion flowers are so sunshine-y you almost feel bad for chopping them up, but there’s definitely something fun about creating edibles from this ubiquitous weed. While most people know about dandelion wine, they don’t realize that the blossoms can also be mixed in with pancake batter, fried in cornmeal, pickled in vinegar, or boiled with sugar, lemon, and pectin to make a sweet jelly. Fresh-picked dandelions are best of course, but if you need to store them, freezing them works too.

Now go forth and graze!