I remember September 11, 2001.
We were all sleeping. Mattie was almost 10 months old and he slept with us too, so he was snuggled between us. We lived in California, with David's mom during that time. Somewhere between 7:05 - 7:15am, shortly after the first tower fell, David's mom came into our room and woke us up. She was freaked out and said that planes had flown into the Twin Towers in New York City and that one had fallen. David and I turned on our TV and immediately started watching
Recipes
Spicy Black Bean Burgers
I've mentioned before that my mom used to make lentil burgers. A lot. Well, maybe it wasn't as much as I am remember...you know how everything always seems so much bigger when you are a kid? My memories are probably a bit distorted, but it did seem like she made them all the time. She was the (almost always) vegetarian in our home, so she would make them just for herself and us even though she hardly ever tried to get us kids to eat them, we were always sure that they were gross.
Ice Cream Sundae Party (with Tequila Caramel Sauce & Chocolate Bowls)
This summer has been very low-key for us. We will be taking a family trip to Comic-Con in a couple weeks so we've been saving our dollars and hanging out at home...A LOT. Our family fun has this summer has been having a BBQ and watching the latest movie that we pick up at the Redbox. Not real exciting stuff, but it suits us fine.
That was until we did the unexpected: we hosted an ice cream sundae party.
Baking with Olive Oil
Sometime in 2009, I bought my first bottle of olive oil for cooking with. I had cooked recipes that called for olive oil, but I always substituted vegetable or canola oil. Every single time. The main reason was cost - I always tried my best to keep our grocery budget as low as possible and I didn't feel that olive oil was necessary expense.
Root Beer “Baked” Beans
I cook with beans A LOT. My family loves them and they are cheap, plus so good for you. In the summertime, it's very common for us to have them as a side dish - either as baked beans or as barbecue beans. I don't make them homemade every time, sometimes we just buy a can and heat them up, but I would say that the majority of the time, I try various recipes and make them from scratch (sometimes even cooking dry beans).
Another favorite in our home is root beer. Beans + root beer? When I first
Chocolate Marquise on Torched Meringue
It's been a long while since I've talked about The Daring Kitchen. The last time was when I shared about canning apple butter for the first time. It's kinda sad because it truly is one of my most favorite things to participate in. I learn so much when I complete the challenges, including that I really am capable of making some pretty great stuff!
Egg & Soyrizo Breakfast Burritos
In our home, breakfast burritos are a common meal in the morning. One of my husband's favorite ingredients for them is Mexican chorizo (it's a spicy sausage). The last time we had chorizo and egg breakfast burritos was Summer 2010 when we stayed with my brother and his wife. My brother loves chorizo and eggs too, so we had it a couple times while we stayed there. I remember eating my burrito and grease started running down my hands and wrists. Yes, there is that much grease in it that it would
Ina Garten’s Lentil Vegetable Soup
While making up my menu plan, and in an attempt to use up some of what I have in my pantry, I noticed that I had two bags of lentils. I've had them for a while now, so I figured: use 'em or lose 'em. I knew I wanted to do a soup with them, so I start my search for a new soup recipe to try. I wanted something low in fat and meatless -- not that we don't eat meat, but we are eating less meat lately.
I ended up deciding to make Ina Garten's Lentil Vegetable Soup. It made a HUGE batch. Of
Cheesy Potato Casserole Recipe
Several years back, family friends of our invited us to dinner and they served this potluck-type side dish, which I called Cheesy Potato Casserole, but they called it Funeral Potatoes. I thought it was an odd name, but they were good and over the years, Cheesy Potato Casserole (or Funeral Potatoes) became a family favorite.
Quinoa with Latin Flavors – First Time Cooking Quinoa
In September, David, Mattie, and I went to the "Not Back to School Party", hosted by our local homeschool group. It was a potluck and everyone was encouraged to bring something to share with the group.
While there was an assortment wonderful things - pasta salad, fruit, chips, and more - there was one item that particularly interested me. It was a cold dish made primarily with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). The mom who brought it said she found it on the back of a box of Trader Joe's guinoa?