Recipes
Friday, July 3, 2009, by Leigh Anne
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Don’t ask me why this is called Cowboy Caviar because I have no idea. What I do know though is that it is yummy. I got the recipe from my sister in law Jayna who fixed it for Grandma and Grandpa Wilkes’ 80th birthday party a few years ago.
It has become a favorite summer appetizer at our house, especially when tomatoes are in season. Last summer I took it to a potluck and so did two other women. They were all slightly different versions and I have to say - I liked this version the best.
It has a bit of chopping involved - tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and green onions but goes together quick . I like to refrigerate it for a while before serving so all the flavors can meld together. We used tortilla chips to dip.
Be sure and add the avocado in right before serving so it doesn’t turn brown. Do you have a favorite summer appetizer?
Cowboy Caviar
1 can whole corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
5 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and diced
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian salad dressing
fresh lime
1 avocado, chopped
Combine corn, beans, onion and cilantro, Add juice of lime and dressing. Just before serving add avocado. Serve cold with chips.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, July 1, 2009, by Leigh Anne
During the summer our Saturday morning routine, when we are in town, is an early morning visit to the Beaverton Farmer’s Market.
O.k. - so early morning means about 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday! This weekend I was looking for some yummy produce for our Sunday dinner. Logan was coming home on Saturday and he had invited some friends he met in Sweden while he was there in May to dinner on Sunday. They are in the states for three weeks visiting.
When I asked Logan what I should fix for dinner he began listing off all of his favorites - so that’s what we did. A dinner of all of Logan’s favorite foods!
We headed to the farmer’s market for some yummy produce.
We couldn’t resist this beautiful, fresh picked lavender though so we bought a bunch of it.
We also couldn’t resist paying a visit to our friend over at Zest Crepes and trying her special of the day - a Raspberry Delight!! A crepe filled with a combination of whip cream, cream cheese and fresh raspberries, topped with more whip cream, fresh raspberries and a little bit of fresh mint too! Delicious!
Of course we needed some of these beauties…
I ended up with half a flat of raspberries and strawberries mixed.
I used the raspberries to make overnight waffles with cinnamon syrup and whip cream for Sunday breakfast - Logan’s favorite!
I used the strawberries to make a strawberry cream pie for Sunday’s dinner party. - Logan’s favorite!
We also made cowboy caviar as an appetizer, fast fire flank steak, herbed shrimp, Pioneer Women’s Crash Hot Potatoes, a spinach salad, garlic cheese bread, and in addition to the strawberry cream pie I made Pioneer Women’s Delicious Chocolate Pie. All of them Logan’s favorites!
Here is my kitchen counter with everything lined up ready to cook in the oven. Because I only have one oven I had to borrow my neighbor’s oven to cook the potatoes!
One of the other things we found at the Farmer’s Market were these….
We took home a pound of them and Jim very kindly snapped them for me - I hate snapping beans! It reminds him of his Grandma Jane so he gladly does it for me!
I know it can be a bit dangerous but dinner parties are my favorite time to try new recipes. This time it was a recipe for Tropical Green Beans. I’ve had this in my To Try file for a while and I have no idea where it came from. I forgot to write down the blog I got it from so if anyone recognizes it - please let me know!!
The recipe is a yummy combination of garlic, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts. I am not quite sure what is tropical about that combination but that’s what it’s called!
They are quick and easy to prepare - snapping them is the hard part.
Here they are ready to go into the oven - covered in olive oil, garlic and onions!
The recipe says to bake them for 25 minutes but I only baked them for about 10 minutes because I like my beans a little crisp - not too mushy!
The balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts are then added in and they are ready to eat!
Tropical Green Beans
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb. fresh green beans, cleaned, cut and dried
1 small yellow onion
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 C sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, diced
2 tsp toasted pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush a large baking dish with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Put green beans, onion, and garlic in the dish, drizzle with remaining oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring beans at least 3 times. When tender, remove beans from oven and transfer to bowl. Immediately drizzle with vinegar. Add tomatoes, pine nuts and pepper to taste and toss.
Dinner was a success and we enjoyed meeting the Thorn’s from Jonkoping, Sweden. They were a delight! I hope they enjoyed Logan’s favorite foods!
Popularity: 4% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Thursday, June 25, 2009, by Leigh Anne
For our anniversary this year I gave Jim a cookbook. Not a very romantic gift for a 28th wedding anniversary but I had my reasons!
For the last couple of years I have been telling Jim that I would cook for the first 30 years of our marriage and he was in charge of cooking the second thirty years! I don’t think he believes me!
You see Jim doesn’t cook. He would say he cooks but throwing a piece of meat on the grill really isn’t cooking. He does make a mean Puff up Pancake but that’s about it!
I figured he needed a couple of years to practice, so for our anniversary I gave him
How to Cook Everything : 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
by Mark Bittman.
So far he hasn’t actually cooked anything out of it but I have.
For my herb class I used Mark Bittman’s Linguine with Garlic and Oil recipe. One of the things I love about this new cookbook is that Mark will give you a good basic recipe and then he shows you lots of ways to easily change it up.
You can take his basic Linguine with Garlic and Oil recipe and add in fresh herbs and nuts to create a different taste. That’s exactly what I did at the herb class.
I love pine nuts so I chopped up some of those and then put together a combo of fresh herbs - 1/4 C parsley,1 /4 C basil, 1 sprig of thyme and a couple of tablespoons of chives.
Add the nuts and herbs to the olive oil and some garlic and you have a simple, quick and delicious summer meal! A hand full of Parmesan cheese thrown in at the end is yummy too! Add a fresh green salad and some cheesy garlic bread or herb bread and you are good to go!
Herbed Pasta
ala Mark Bittman
Salt
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil or more as needed
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 or 2 small dried red chiles or to taste, or hot red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1/2 C chopped nuts such as pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans.
1/2 C fresh herbs - combination of basil, parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary etc.
1 pound long, thin pasta, like linguine or spaghetti or any other pasta
1/2 C grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add pasta when it comes to a boil.
Heat the oil. When hot, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to toast and become fragrant, just a minute or two. Turn down the heat to medium -low and stir in the chiles, garlic and a large pinch of salt.
Let the garlic sizzle a bit, shaking the pan occasionally, just until it turns golden, about 3 minutes. Toss in the herb mixture (total of 1/2 -1 cup) The herb mixture may absorb all the oil so if it does add a little more oil when you toss it with the pasta or add in some of the pasta water.
Turn off the heat if the pasta isn’t ready.
Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. When it is done, drain it, reserving a bit of the cooking water. Reheat the herb/garlic mixture briefly if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, toss with Parmesan cheese and serve - yum!
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009, by Leigh Anne
One of my favorite ways to use herbs is in bread. Not only does it taste yummy but it smells heavenly as it is baking!
Last week at the herb class I taught at my home I shared a couple of different breads made with herbs.
The first one was the No Knead Bread I have shared here on the blog before. The only thing you need to turn it into Herb No Knead Bread is 1 Tbsp of chopped fresh herbs. I think I used a combination of rosemary, thyme and oregano but I don’t really remember. Experiment with your favorite herbs and see what you come up with!
The second herb bread I shared at the class was Flatbread with Fresh Herbs. I do not remember where this recipe came from but it’s a good one.
(Do you see a trend here …no memory!)
It is simple to prepare. I used pizza dough I purchased at the grocery store. Here in Portland you can get it at Trader Joes or Winco or you can make your own from scratch.
Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each piece into a long rectangle (try to get them as close to the same size as possible). Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
Place basil leaves on dough and then sprinkle with rosemary.
Place second rectangle over the herbs. Flatten a little with a rolling pin or a glass. Edges do not need to be sealed.
Brush egg mixture over the top.
Sprinkle on the cheeses.
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Slice, eat and enjoy!
Flatbread with Fresh Herbs
Pizza dough or crescent dinner rolls (8 oz. refrigerated can) or your own pizza dough or roll dough
1/2 C fresh basil leaves
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 egg, beaten
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 C grated Mozzarella cheese
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into 2 long rectangles. Place one rectangle on ungreased cookie sheet. Place basil leaves on dough. Then sprinkle rosemary on top of basil. Place second rectangle over the herbs. Flatten a little with rollling pin or bottle. Brush egg over top. Sprinkle on the cheeses (you can also add other cheese you like). Bake until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Thursday, June 18, 2009, by Leigh Anne
Note: Be sure and check out the great giveaways this week at iLashGirls! The More Fun, Fun, Fun Giveaway has my favorite things–things to wear!! Two fun pairs of earrings plus a great hand-dyed summer scarf!
Years ago we went to Disney World. We got into town late and we were starving. The first restaurant we found near our hotel that was open was Pizza Hut.
We ordered one of their deep dish pan pizzas. I remember it being the most delicious thing I had ever eaten - it could have been that I was ABSOLUTELY STARVING and anything would have tasted good but ever since then I have had an affection for their pan pizza.
Our family favorite is pepperoni and black olive! 
When I found a recipe for Pizza Hut Pan Pizza over at Real Mom Kitchen I knew we had to try it. It was a huge hit with the family and the three pizzas feed us all with some left over.
What’s your favorite pizza topping? Are you a thin crust or a pan crust fan?
Pizza Hut Pan Pizza
Dough:
1 1/3 C Warm water (105F)
1/4 C Non-fat dry milk
1/2 tsp Salt
4 C Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 pk Dry yeast
2 Tbsp Vegetable oil (for dough)
9 Oz Vegetable oil (3 oz. per pan) - (I just use enough to coat the pan)
Butter flavored Pam ( I didn’t use this)
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl. Add water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for two minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into three balls. In three 9″ cake pans ( or can use 1 - 9 inch pie plate and 1 - 9 x 13 dish) , put 3 Oz. of oil in each making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9″ circle. Place in cake pans. Spray the outer edge of dough with Pam. Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Prepeat oven to 450 degrees. Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on each pizza and spread to within 1 inch of edge. Distribute 1 1/2 oz. of shredded mozzarella cheese on each pizza. Place toppings of your choice in this order - pepperoni or ham, vegetables, meats (cooked ground sausage or beef) Top with 3 oz. mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown - about 15 minutes. I then brush outer edge of crust with garlic butter.
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Thursday, June 11, 2009, by Leigh Anne
As promised I am sharing my baked bean recipe that we served with our early Father’s Day dinner last week.
This recipe came from my husband’s Aunt Dawn and has been a family favorite.
One of the tricks of wonderful baked beans is baking them for a long time. These beans bake for 3 hours so be sure and plan ahead.
Baked beans are a frequent menu item at our house during the summer - a great side dish for all those fun barbecues you have during the summer.
The recipe calls for baking it with the lid off . I like to bake it with the lid on. The beans don’t get quite as thick with the lid on and I prefer them a little runnier.
This is what it looks like before it goes into the oven.
And here it is when it comes out - 3 hours later.
Baked Beans
2 large can pork and beans/baked beans (28 oz. cans)
1/2 lb. chopped bacon (uncooked)
1 onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 bottle ketchup (24 oz.)
1/2 C brown sugar
1 green pepper, cut into rings
Stir and combine first six ingredients and then place green pepper rings on top. Bake 350 degrees for 3 hours uncovered (I cover)
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Tuesday, June 2, 2009, by Leigh Anne
We eat a lot of Mexican food at our house.
We love:
Fabulous Fajitas
Cafe Rio Pork
Costa Vida Chicken
Bajio Chicken Chile Salad
We also eat a lot of rice at our house, especially with Mexican food. One of my favorite rice recipes is for Lime Cilantro Rice.
I also love the red rice you get in most Mexican restaurants. The only problem is I haven’t been able to find a recipe for that type of rice that I really like. I usually end up going to our local neighborhood Mexican restaurant and buying rice to go with what I am fixing for dinner.
Recently, my friend Sherra’s twin girls graduated from high school. They had a taco bar for their graduation party and Sherra told me about her friend Ann’s Mexican rice recipe she was making. Of course I asked for the recipe!
We had fabulous fajitas for dinner last night so I tried out the rice recipe.
I commented at the dinner table that I thought it tasted just as good as the rice we get from our favorite Mexican restaurant - one of the kids said “It’s better!!”
So I think I finally have found a Mexican rice recipe! Enjoy!
Mexican Rice
Ann Bowman
2 Tbsp Olive oil or vegetable oil
1 C long grain white rice
2 C chicken broth
1 small can tomato juice
salt and pepper
Heat oil in a skillet. Add the rice. Stir frequently and slightly brown the rice (more like, make it tan) over a medium high heat. Add the chicken broth. Add the tomato juice. Add some salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly. Reduce heat to simmer and cover tightly with a lid. (I ’stir’ the mixture several times while it’s cooking by just shaking/moving the skillet back and forth so that I don’t take the lid off.) Simmer/cook for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed. Once the liquid has been absorbed, turn off the heat and leave mixture alone with the lid on it for another 10-15 minutes or so.
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Friday, May 29, 2009, by Leigh Anne
One of the things on my summer “To Do” list to to teach my girls to make whole wheat yeast bread. But today when the Cali and two of her friends wanted to do some cooking we needed something a little easier and quicker.
A few weeks ago I had made some yummy cheese bread I found over at My Kitchen Cafe.
I thought it would be the perfect recipe for them to try.
Yes, I know, I already shared a cheese bread recipe this week - Black Angus Garlic Cheese Bread. But as far as I’m concerned you can never have too much cheese bread!
We loved the Quick Cheese Bread that Melanie shared, a recipe she had found over at Cook’s Illustrated. This bread is super yummy and super cheesy. There is not only a layer of cheese on top and on bottom but chunks of cheese throughout the loaf! Cheesy!!
It was fun to watch the girls in the kitchen as they made their cheese bread. They made two loaves - one to give away and one to enjoy themselves.
The first step was to chunk up the cheese…
Then they got to use the kitchen scale to make sure they had enough.
Measuring and mixing.
And of course the cell phone was never far away.
Sprinkling the bottom of the pan with a layer of cheese - yum! Cheese on top, cheese in the middle and cheese on the bottom!
Happy girls waiting for their bread to bake!
It turned out great!
Look at the nice layer of cheese on the top and the bottom. 
And did I mention there was cheese in the middle?!?!?
Another successful recipe to add to Cali’s college cooking repertoire!
Quick Cheese Bread
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on large holes of box grater (about 1 cup)
3 C (15 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
4-5 ounces sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 1/4 C whole milk (2% milk may be substituted but don’t use skim milk)
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 large egg lightly beaten
3/4 C sour cream
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 5 by 9-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then sprinkle 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese evenly in bottom of pan.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper to combine. Using a rubber spatula, mix in cheddar cheese cubes, breaking up clumps, until cheese is coated with flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, egg, and sour cream. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (the batter will be heavy and thick). Do not overmix. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over surface.
Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; invert loaf from pan and continue to cool until warm, about 45 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.
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Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009, by Leigh Anne
I love bread. I adore bread and cheese. I crave bread, cheese and garlic.
They say “Man can not live by bread alone” but I bet if you added some cheese and garlic to it you could!
I am always looking for a new way to combine bread, cheese and garlic. (Remember that Garlic Cheese {Brie} Bread?) Today’s recipe is a copycat recipe from the Black Angus restaurant. I have never actually eaten at a Black Angus or had the real Black Angus Garlic Cheese Bread but when I ran across this recipe I knew I had to try it!
It did not disappoint. We have had it three times in the last week!!
The recipe calls for only one loaf of french bread but I found that it made enough spread for almost 3 loaves! I guess I didn’t put it on as heavy as they do but it was still delicious.
You can use the wider, fatter loaves of french bread that most grocery store bakeries make or use a longer French baguette style. I prefer the French baguette style myself but either will work.
I made it once with monterey jack and asiago cheese as the recipe calls for but another time I used a Colby/Jack blend and it was wonderful too.
The process is easy - mix up your cheese mixture.
Slice your loaf of bread in half and spread desired amount of mixture over the top. (I only used about a 1/3 of the mixture for one loaf)
Bake per directions.
The cheese should be nice and bubbly and golden brown in spots.
Slice and enjoy!!
Black Angus Garlic Cheese
1 loaf French bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup shredded jack cheese
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 bunch green onions — chopped
2 cloves garlic — pureed
Split French bread loaf into halves horizontally. Mix butter, cheeses, mayonnaise, green onions and garlic in a bowl, blending well. Spread the cut side of bread with spread.
Bake at 350degrees for 7 minutes, then place under broiler about 3 minutes longer. Cut into slices and serve.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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Thursday, May 21, 2009, by Leigh Anne
Note: You still have time to enter the giveaway for a great new Emeril cookbook, until midnight PST Friday, May 22nd!
One of my favorite jobs as a mom is making chocolate chip cookies. I feel like a good mom when I make chocolate chip cookies.
Don’t we all need to feel like good moms now and then, especially when we have teenagers?
Maybe it comes from watching too much June Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver as a child but having a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for my kids when they come home for school makes me happy - and it makes them happy too!
Homework is always easier with a warm chocolate chip cookie!
I am a collector of chocolate chip cookie recipes. I have tried dozens!
My favorite is still the Best Big,Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
But then there is also a chocolate chip cookie in the form of a pie - yum!!
Recently I came across another chocolate chip cookie recipe. I can’t resist a new chocolate chip cookie recipe and since the recipe came from Nurse Heidi, I knew it was going to be a good one!
As I looked closer at the recipe I realized it was the exact same recipe as the Best Big Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie except for one ingredient. Instead of two cups of white flour, Nurse Heidi had used a cup of white flour and a cup of whole wheat flour.
The idea of putting whole wheat flour into a cookie almost makes it a health food - doesn’t it? Nurse Heidi used soft white whole wheat and I only had hard red whole wheat so I decided to use some whole wheat pastry flour I had on hand.
The wheat flour works wonderfully! I loved it in the cookie. The best part was my kids had NO IDEA there was wheat flour in it. I love the texture the wheat flour gave the cookie -the cookie had just a bit more body and a little more chewy. It wasn’t heavy by any means and if I hadn’t put the wheat flour in myself I never would have known.
It was an amazing cookie - just like the name says!
If you have never worked with wheat flour before, don’t be afraid. This recipe is the perfect way to introduce whole wheat flour into your families diet. Just imagine - a healthy chocolate chip cookie - well, almost.
Chewy and Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nurse Heidi
3/4 C unsalted butter, melted
1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour
2 C semisweet chocolate chips
Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper (I actually did neither, and they came out fine on a plain old bare shiny metal cookie sheet). In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, then chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets (I did large golf ball size chunks, and could fit 9 at a time - they spread quite a bit, so don’t try to cram them). Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a 325 F preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. For a softer cookie be careful not to overcook- remove cookies from oven when the edges are barely toasted. For a crunchier cookie, bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Makes 14-17 cookies.
Thanks Nurse Heidi!
Popularity: 21% [?]
Categories: Nourish, Recipes
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