BEST Garlic Bread Ever.

I love garlic.
Really love garlic.
Really REEEEEALLY love garlic.
If any recipe calls for it, I'll probably double (at least!) the amount it asks for......just because it's delicious.

I know not everyone loves garlic itself...but I'm pretty sure the whole world loves garlic bread.

This recipe for garlic bread is my go-to, my staple, when it comes to making the stuff. These days, I'm pretty lazy about the amounts, and just kind of add whatever ingredients I know should be in there in whatever quantities I want...and it still comes out yummy. It's just that good of a recipe.

The credit goes to an Angie Asplund, who, along with her sister wrote a great little cookbook that is one of my favourites. The best part is that I won it. I never win anything! That may also be why it's one of my favourite cookbooks...to it, I owe a major boost of self-esteem. Ha.

Anyways. Here it is.

Photo Source

"Garlic Bread"...Also referred to as the best garlic bread ever. By me.
from the book eat something pretty...because you are what you eat by Kyla Hornberger and Angie Asplund

1 loaf French Bread
1 cup butter, softened
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 grated parmesan cheese

"1. Preheat oven on the broiler setting
2. Mix all ingredients except Parmesan cheese together until smooth. Cut French bread loaf in half lengthwise and generously spread butter mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Broil in oven until nicely toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Cut into wedges or angled slices and serve."

There ya have it. And I think it goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyways, ha.) that it doesn't have to be French Bread...anything bread-y will do...and I usually use the powdery parmesan in the can (because I'm cheap and that's usually all I have on hand) and it tastes just fine. Also, I just mix it all together now...including the cheese...and spread it all on. It works. Not the nicest looking...but still tasty. The end.


P.S. Don't you love how I talk about the pictures I'll take of food...and then never do? HA! 

White Chicken Chili...and a Handy Trick.

When I married Darren, his mom supplied me with a handful of recipes that he enjoyed.
Such a great idea!
It has helped him (and continues to help him...) through my endless cooking experiments. At least, every few days, he would get something that was familiar, he for-sure enjoyed, and didn't have too many vegetables. Ha.

This is one of them.

It's delicious on its own...but even better with a little cheese sprinkled on top. Darren also adds sour cream. It's a family staple; it freezes well, tastes great as leftovers, and is every-one friendly (Renae will even eat "cheekin-and-beans"). We chop up the onions super-fine, so they're indistinguishable...or super-big so they can be picked out by those who don't like 'em.

Most recently, I made it for camping, and threw in some zucchini, chopped in chunks. Totally worked, extra-delicious. Also, it doesn't just have to be made with white beans, if all you've got are... coloured?... beans. And I usually half it for our small family...and make the full when I'm stocking up on freezer meals.

Sorry. Another random internet photo. I forgot to take a picture before we scarfed it the last time. 

White Chicken Chili from Sharon Roberts

-2 med onions, chopped
-1 Tablespoon cooking oil
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-2 (4oz.) cans green chilies (these are found in the "Mexican" section of grocery store)
-2 tsp. ground cumin
-1 tsp. dried oregano
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-1/4 tsp ground cloves (I actually have never put this in...just because I don't have it around.)
-2 (14oz) cans chicken broth (I always have the cartons of chicken broth on hand, so I just add around 4.5 cups broth)
-4 cups cubes or shredded cooked chicken (see the handy trick below!)
-3 (15oz) cans Great White Northern beans, or Small White Beans, or White Kidney beans...

Saute onions in oil until translucent, add everything else, and simmer in crockpot (on high) or on stovetop (med-low) for an hour or two .

Mama Roberts also added that she also saute's chopped green pepper with the onions and adds them to the mix. Also sounds delicious!

Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, some garlic toast on the side...or just by its scrumptious self.


Okay....Now the Best Trick Ever.
My mom shared this tip with me recently and it has changed my life.
Boil some chicken up til it's not pink inside...then toss it into your power mixer (Kitchenaid, Bosch, whatever!...I'm pretty sure it might even work with an electric egg beater...but don't quote me on that) , turn it on....and it will shred the chicken for you!

Photo Source

Seriously. It works, and it saves so much annoying time spent shredding chicken with a fork and knife. I usually buy boneless chicken breasts and boneless thighs in bulk, so right when I get home from shopping, I shred about half of it: toss it in salted water, bring to boil and let boil for a while...shred, toss in a few smaller freezer bags...and voila! Chicken ready to be thrown in salads, chillis, soups, on pizza, for chicken-salad sandwiches, whatever.

Speaking of chicken salad sandwiches...and earlier...garlic toast....I have got THE BEST RECIPES in the WORLD for both those.

I'm sharing. ASAP.

"Harvest Loaf"...or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

My mom asked if I'd like some frozen pumpkin, a recent victorious discovery from a freezer clean-out.
That smart, smart lady also offered-- in the same breath-- a recipe to use the pumpkin in. Otherwise, it probably would have just sat in my freezer for-ev-er.
I like that mom of mine. Lots. And now, even more-so... because the recipe she gave me, along with the freezer-pumpkin, has been the best thing to happen to this house in the last two days.

2 batches in 2 days. And it's all gooooooone.

It's a recipe for a loaf. But I made muffins, because they just go over better around here. I also used milk chocolate chips, which makes any recipe better. I'd bet they would even help the most forlorn recipe...Milk Chocolate Chip Clam Chowder. Just you wait, next posted recipe.

There's even a fer-real photo or three with this one...not another stolen internet one. Woot woot.

Harvest Loaf...Or Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1/2 c. shortening
1c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 and 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
3/4 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional...we opt out every time...)

Directions:
Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs, beat well. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. Alternately add dry ingredients and pumpkin to the shortening mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and 1/2 c. walnuts. Pour into pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 c. walnuts on top.
Large Loaf: Bake at 350 for 65-75 min
12 Muffins: Bake at 350 for 20-25 min

I also decided that I need to take a baking course/class of some kind; I'm really curious to know if adding the ingredients in a certain order actually makes a difference and why. Because I'm not convinced that it does.
Teach me! Fill me in! Seriously. The tastiness of my muffins might depend on it.

Quinoa and Black Bean Chili

I love my vegetables.
And tasty veggie dishes.
My hubby does not love his vegetables. And so, when I find a recipe that gets him to put vegetables in his mouth...and enjoy it...I consider the recipe to be a success. And when I love the recipe, too, and want to make it again within the same week, I consider it to be awesome.

This recipe is an awesome success.
And I wish I had taken a picture. But it was gone too fast.
It's not only delicious, it's really preeeeetty.
I'll steal someone else's picture to show you...

K, so it's teensy.  
Oh well. You get the idea...

Quinoa and Black Bean Chili from Taste of Home, found on Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 2 cups water
•  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (19 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin; cook and stir 1 minute to release the flavors. Stir in the tomatoes, black beans, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeno pepper, chipotle pepper, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. After 20 minutes, stir in the reserved quinoa and corn. Cook to reheat the corn for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the cilantro to serve. 

Here's my confession: I didn't add the key ingredient (the chipotle peppers) and it still was really yummy. I just added extra chili powder to make up the flavour and added a little cayenne for heat. I just couldn't find chipotle peppers...but I am desperate to! I love the flavour of chipotle peppers...and if this is good even without them? Daaaaaang.
If anyone finds chipotle peppers, I'm begging you to let me know where they showed up. Pleeeeeeeeeease...?

Four Corners Lentil Soup

I use a lot of recipes from a blog called My New Roots.

This is one of them.

She calls it "Four Corner Lentil Soup" because she says she knows for a fact that it's been eaten on every continent of the earth. Count me in!

It's really yummy, AND---like everything on her blog---it's uber good for you. The overall taste is very Indian? Middle Eastern? so if you're not really a huge fan of that genre of food, this might not be your thing. If you do, make this soup STAT. Have I mentioned it's yummy? Oh, good.

I'll make a batch of this and eat it for lunch for several days. And I use green lentils...because that's just what I have on hand...and it tastes great. It calls for stock...and she means veggie stock...but I've used both chicken and beef stock, also with great success.

Four Corners Lentil Soup from My New Roots

Ingredients
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed very well
1 large onion, or a couple leeks, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced ginger root
1 Tbsp. Ground cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 15 oz. can of tomatoes; or 4 large, fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 cups stock
salt to taste
1 un-waxed, organic lemon

Directions
1. Rinse the lentils very well until the water runs clear.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot and sauté onions, garlic and ginger for 5 minutes until soft. Add a pinch of salt.
3. Add spices and stir for another minute or so, until fragrant.
4. Add tomatoes, 3 slices of lemon and rinsed lentils, then add vegetable stock. Stir well.
5. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Squeeze in the rest of the lemon juice.
6. Serve hot with some cilantro, green onions or parsley on top with a slice of lemon. Delicious!

Serves 4.

Parmesan Tomatoes

This is totally not my picture:


 But it's pretty much what this recipe comes out looking like.

It's a tasty, tasty side dish. Or lazy lunch, as my babies will attest to.

We grilled them last night, but usually I just make them under the broiler in my oven. Either way, yum. But really, what else could you expect from warm tomatoes and parmesan cheese?

And again, this is a recipe that came out of my head, after eating something like this at Jubilations Dinner Theatre.

Parmesan Tomatoes
3-4 tomatoes, cut in half, with the stem cut out.
3-4 Tablespoons mayo
1/3 c. or more parmesan cheese
sprinkle of basil (used Mom's fresh basil leaves last night...and chopped up 3 really fine...yumm!)
sprinkle of oregano (orrrr.....just use any "Italian Seasoning" spice mix)
salt and pepper to taste

Smear the stuff on tops of tomato halves, seed side. (You can take a slice off the bottom of the tomato, too, so they sit flat for you). Grill them under the broiler until the tomatoes are heated through and the cheese is either browned, or just melted-ish... (Exact science, here).

Serve warm, with a fork.

Last night, I also topped with a little feta cheese. It totally worked, baby.

Taco Pizza

I really felt like making homemade pizza today.
But I'm bread-stupid. I just assumed that you can use one bread recipe for everything 'bread-y"...and I used this super-fast bread recipe for the pizza crust. It tasted great...but turned out too thick and puffy, even though I poked it with a fork. Does anyone know what the difference is between a regular bread recipe and a pizza dough recipe? Yeast amounts? Kneading amounts? Told you: Bread-stupid.

But at least it all turned out tasting good. Well...I think it tasted good. Ha. I have a seriously stuffed nose. I'll have to get Darren's opinion once he gets home later this evening. It's possible that it could actually taste completely repulsive. Baha.

In the meantime, I've got to get down the things I tossed into the sour cream sauce before I forget. I never measure when I'm making something up. Oops? I probably should. I'd probably be more likely to replicate good results. I'll estimate this time.

Sour Cream sauce for Taco Pizza....or tacos, or dip, or drinking. HA.
-approx 1/2 c. sour cream (use more next time if doing a whole cookie-sheet-size pizza)
-1-2 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
-1/2 t. cumin
-1/2 t. garlic powder (try minced garlic next time)
-1/4 t. onion powder (try finely chopped onion next time)
-hefty sprinkle of cayenne pepper
-couple big pinches of chili powder...(I think it would be hard to add too much of this yummy stuff.)
-pinch of salt
-teensy squeeze of honey

Taco Pizza
-Pizza Dough...note to self: find good recipe for pizza dough
-Sour Cream sauce
-grated cheese
-chopped tomatoes
-black beans
-chopped lettuce
-cooked, seasoned ground beef
-roughly crushed taco chips
-olives
-chopped green onions
-chunks of avocado
-okay, I'm actually just spouting stuff off here. Ours only had up to the black beans...I didn't even get to the lettuce because I was just hungry and lazy. But oh the possibilities! Yumm...

Bake the pizza crust for 10-15 min, or until lightly browned. Then top with the sour cream sauce and whatever else your heart desires that is vaguely related to tacos. I didn't put the pizza back in the oven to melt the cheese or anything, but I suppose you could if you wanted.

Enjoy the eats!

The Sugar-Free List

A couple months ago, my SIL asked if I wanted to do a three-month sugar fast. We made our own rules for ourselves, but the basic idea was that we would steer clear of refined sugars. Natural sweeteners like fruit sugars, maple syrup, honey, etc. were a-okay...and I also wanted to steer clear of artificial sweeteners as much as possible. What IS that stuff, anyways? My primary goal wasn't weight loss...though it was a nice by-product...it was simply to reduce my dependence on the white sweet stuff...and learn to incorporate more nutritiously-dense sweeteners into my food.

And while a little crazy, I've been uber-grateful for it. Not only has leftover baby-weight dropped off somehow (fiiinally), and made me incredibly aware of how much sugar I potentially consume in a day (thanks, you dang granola bars...), it's also given me countless opportunities for getting a fix for my sweet-tooth in a more natural and healthy way. And seriously tested my powers of creativity for doing so. It has taught me that deprivation is the mother of invention. Ha.

And so, my list. My "things to eat instead" list. You'll notice there's a lot of bananas. And maple syrup. And honey. And other delicious things.

(Disclaimer: it's not about calorie-reduction, just refined sugar reduction. So...no gawking at the cream; it gets self-concious.)

-Lemon Water. Sometimes a little tangy water is all it takes to get through it.

-Straight up fruit. Bananas, berries, cherries, oranges, apples...a wealth to choose from.

-Honey-Lemon Tea. (Lemon juice, water, honey)

-Toast with Honey Butter. Good for the pastry cravings. Mmm...

-Banana Pancakes. (Pancakes from scratch sweetened with a mashed banana...the effect tastes like banana-bread pancakes). Top with fruit, maple syrup, whatever!

-Banana Ice Cream. Frozen bananas, blended straight up, make ice cream. Whoever discovered this has hero-status in my books. I loooove ice cream. I liked mixing mine with natural peanut butter, but really, the possibilities are endless. And I promise, the bananas ACTUALLY get creamy like ice cream, all by themselves. Tip: peel the bananas and put them in freezer bags before tossing them in the freezer. Your fingers will thank you when you don't have to peel frozen bananas with them.

-Plain yogurt sweetened with Maple Syrup...With cut-up bananas, and/or strawberries, and a sprinkle of almonds. Best. Breakfast. Ever.

-Smoothies. Ice, fruit, honey (if needed), and a squirt of lemon juice for zip.

-Strawberries with cream, a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of salt.

-Raw Chocolate Milkshake Miracle. I kid you not, this or some variation of this have made this sugar-fast do-able for me. It calls for avocados and almonds, which makes it reeeally creamy and yummy, and reeeeally filling...a good breakfast shake, actually (chocolate shake for breakfast? YEEAH!) But for afternoon snacks, or random chocolate cravings, I simply blend bananas (don't even have to be frozen, though it does make it extra tasty), cocoa, maple syrup or honey, water or milk, and a touch of salt. Delicious. And good for you. Awesome.

-Naturally Sweetened Brownies. The recipe linked here is the Jillian Michael's version...but I would definitely suggest replacing the applesauce with bananas. And then cooking them a bit longer. I think it tastes better that way, but the applesauce tastes okay, too. Also, I add a 1/4 tsp salt. Again, just tastes better. And then drown drizzle a warm one with cream. SOooo good.

-The Raw Brownie. This one blew me away. I didn't actually expect a bunch of nuts and dates to taste like a brownie! But it did! And it was AWESOME! I actually used pecans instead of walnuts, and regular dates instead of the Medjool ones she recommends...and it still turned out delicious. This blogger actually doesn't use refined sugars in any of her recipes, so any dessert by her is fair game. Like this one, and this one, and this one...all of which I plan to test out. I use a lot of recipes from her site...a LOT. And I've liked every single one I've tried. The brownie recipe above this one is more like cake...this one is more like a dense, chewy brownie. Take your pick.


I think that's it. I'll add to it if I think of any more. These replacements make it easy to avoid sugar...AND make it easy to make permanent changes. Well, I think so anyways.
Give me a freezer full of frozen bananas, my maple syrup, honey, cocoa, and fresh fruit... and I'm good to go.

The Food Nanny

http://www.byutv.org/foodnanny/

I have no idea how I stumbled across this show. Somewhere between The Mormon Channel and exploring other links, it just happened. But seriously? I love it. The lady cracks me up, but in an endearing kind of way...she's so...........cheerful.

The premise of the show is getting families back to the dinner table together, whether it be learning new skills or just making the time. Good message, nice and short, and you can watch it online here.

Plus, she has a free online two-week meal planner. Her "Nanny Plan."
How sweet is that?