Monday, October 10, 2011

Exciting News From Little Bit of Everything!



Thursday, Tim and I are moving! I'll be back next week with recipes and more about the new house! Now off to pack another box!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Caramelized Onion, Cabbage and Sweet Potato Chowder

Are you a follower of Eats Well With Others? If not, you should check it out, I think you'll want to follow. Not only does Joanne have some delicious recipes that are good for you too, she also tells the best stories. Besides a terrific blog, Joanne's a med student and runs marathons. Can you say amazing?

A few weeks ago Joanne posted this soup, I thought it sounded delicious and I just happened to have a head of cabbage in the fridge. My husband is always telling me how much he dislikes cooked cabbage, so to humor him, I added some Italian sausage to Joanne's recipe. A soup is always better, where Tim's concerned, if it has meat in it. We so enjoyed this soup and Tim didn't even mind the cabbage.



Caramelized Onion, Cabbage, and Sweet Potato Chowder with Rosemary

Serves 4-5, adapted from Vegetarian Times September 2011 (Courtesy of Eats Well With Others)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
12 oz cabbage, cut into large dice (6 to 7 cups)
3 large onions, cut into large dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb sweet potato, diced
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

Method:

1. Combine pomegranate juice, soy sauce, and vinegar in small bowl.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and season with salt, if desired. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to shallow bowl.

3. Heat remaining 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and season with salt. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, or until onions are softened, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook 16 to 18 minutes, or until onions are golden brown. Add garlic, rosemary and pomegranate mixture, stirring to scrape up browned bits on pan bottom. Bring to a simmer and cook 1 minute. Add cabbage, sweet potato cubes, and 5 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: I added 3 links of Sweet Italian Sausage to this recipe.

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday,. Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins - Club Baked

When I saw this week's Baked recipe was for Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins I was curious. Would these be delicious or not so good? I first experienced savory muffins when baking along with Sweet Melissa Sunday's. After baking these Carmelized Onion, Sage and Cheddar Muffins, I decided I loved savory muffins almost as much as sweet ones.

The batter for these Pumpkin Cheddar Muffins is quite thick and at least for me, these didn't rise very much. I filled the muffin tins almost to the top and they rose just over the top. I made these for Sunday dinner a couple of weeks ago. My step son, Mike joined us for dinner. I wondered if he'd like the muffins or think they were gross, as only a teenager could express. Guess what, he loved them and so did we! These would be delicious with any fall or winter soup.



Thanks to Billie of Chocolate and Chakra for choosing this recipe. This one is a keeper!! You can find the recipe on her site. Check out what the other Club Baked bakers thought here!

Next up for Club Baked, Sawdust Pie!

Friday, September 30, 2011

Chocolate Rice Krispie Bars - Chocolate WIth Francois

Things have been a little crazy around here lately, I will share more once we know how it all shakes out. Needless to say, I was thrilled with this month's Chocolate With Francois recipe. Rice Krispie Treats, seriously? Way too easy for Francois. Of course, he just had to add an element to differentiate his from those Rice Krispie Treats we all know and love. His recipe calls for the Rice Krispie treats to be shaped into round spheres.

I made a half recipe, took the easy way out and used a 9 x 9 glass pan. Sometimes regular Rice Krispie Treats seem too sweet. You know when it's so sweet your teeth hurt? The cocoa in these seems to cut the sweetness making these delicious.



Thanks to Linda of Diva Weigh for choosing this month's recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog!

I am linking this to Foodie Friday, Full Plate Thursday and Sweet Tooth Friday!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies - Cookie Carnival

Since things have been a bit crazy around my house lately, I was thrilled when I saw one of the recipes for this month's Cookie Carnival was to make cookies using a cake mix. I am not sure why I've never made cookies using a cake mix. Do you love cake mix? I do, I am one of those people who loves to lick the bowl, raw eggs and all! I did some searching on the Duncan Hines website and found this recipe.

If you like cake mix, give these cookies a try! They're delicious and too easy to make!


Cake Mix Cookies
1 box any flavor Duncan Hines cake mix (I used Devils Food)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
(I added 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips)

Add 1/2 cup oil and two eggs to one box of cake mix. Add chips, nuts, and flavorings if desired.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This is my entry for this month's Cookie Carnival and I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Rhubarb BBQ Sauce

Being from Kansas City, I always have one of Kansas City's many famous barbeque sauces in my fridge. Until this summer, I'd never made barbeque sauce from scratch. How about a non traditional barbeque sauce for my first try? This rhubarb barbeque sauce is delicious. It's a little on the sweet side, so it's not made for burgers or hot dogs but is perfect with pulled pork or chicken.





Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
2/3 cup water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup (I used molasses)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring rhubarb and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat; cool slightly.
Place rhubarb in a blender or food processor; cover and process until smooth. Set aside.
In the same saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Add the remaining ingredients.
Whisk in rhubarb puree until blended. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 2-1/3 cups.

I am linking this to Foodie Friday and Full Plate Thursday!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Rosemary Butternut Squash Soup - Secret Recipe Club

I don't know about you but I can't believe it's Secret Recipe Club time again. Another month has flown by. Fall is in the air here in Nebraska and the pumpkin farms are open for business.

When I received my Secret Recipe Club assigned blogger for the month, I clicked over on her site and read she'd just attended a Minnesota Twins game. Was she from Minnesota like my husband? I clicked around and found out she's not from Minnesota, she lives right here in Omaha.

Sarah of Biking and Baking is a med student and follows a plant based diet. Browsing through Sarah's recipes was a real learning experience for me. I ran across ingredients I wasn't familiar with like hemp seeds and lucuma powder. Lucuma powder is a raw, organic low glycemic sweetner.

I wanted to try and make one of Sarah's recipes without making too many substitutions. Sarah's Rosemary Butternut Squash soup was the perfect recipe. I had a Butternut Squash in the pantry from my CSA bag and Agave Nectar on the shelf. I used vegetable broth and no milk in my version. I'd intended to top mine with roasted pecans but forgot them in the oven and I didn't think burnt pecans were a good topping.

We love butternut squash soup at our house. Sarah's recipe is more savory than the recipes I normally follow. I love the addition of the smoky paprika, it adds a nice smoky touch to the soup. Thanks Sarah for a wonderful recipe for a fall soup!



Rosemary Butternut Soup
1 butternut squash
3 sprigs rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper
2-3 cloves garlic
onion
1.5 cup coconut milk (Sarah used the So Delicious drinkable kind, if you didn't have this she suggests soy or almond milk). I omitted the milk.
1.5 cup veggie broth
1 bay leaf
cinnamon
smoked paprika
cumin
oregano
basil
drizzle agave
1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Slice squash in half, scoop out seeds. Peel garlic, rough chop onion. Place squash, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake until squash is soft, about 1 hour. You will need to remove the onion and garlic about half way through cooking time.
Place veggie broth, milk, an bay leaf in a stock pot. Bring to a simmer. Place onion and garlic in pot. Scoop squash flesh out of shell and place in pot. Whiz up with an immersion blender. Add a drizzle of agave and about a teaspoon of paprika, cinnamon, and cumin. Add about 2 teaspoons of dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano. Simmer together for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning/sweetness.
Toast pecans. Serve soup with a sprinkle of pecans:).

I am linking this to Tasty Tuesday!