Peanut Butter Noodles

5 Stars

Run out to your nearest grocery store and get yourself some UDON noodles!!! This was my first time cooking with them. They were chewy and soft and soaked up the thick peanut butter sauce very well.

This dish is delicious. It has a rich peanut butter sesame (we added a little sesame oil) sauce. A nice crunch from the red bell pepper (add more than the recipe calls for--they are way good for you raw)... And the cilantro was the perfect addition. This also would have been a great vegetarian dish. Oh yeah, the kids liked it too :)

UDON PEANUT BUTTER NOODLES  thanks www.allrecipes.com

Soup, Salad, Pizza

First things first. I really want a better camera/lighting in order to take better pictures.

 Above is our new favorite salad. I call it "The Green and White" because it consists of: lettuce, sugar snap peas, pears, cucumber, shredded chicken, poppy seed dressing, with the option of goat cheese. I'ts crave-worthy!

Tonight we had this easy/yummy 3 bean chili. It's a total make again for a Meatless Monday. We, with the exception of #2, had seconds.

I was really looking forward to this pizza... Apples, goat cheese, toasted pecans, and arugula. I never did figure out what could have made it better. Blue cheese perhaps?

The best thing we ate this week was lamb burgers, tzatziki, and greek salad. We told the girls the lamb was chicken and they had no problem with it....

Tomorrow we are having Udon Peanut Butter Noodles. I can't wait to try them... new recipe...

Now... what to have the rest of the week? Suggestions, please?!

Too Much of a Good Thing

I think my website is done.... waiting on my lovely mother to proof read it. I loved this project. I really have to figure out how to incorporate a website or managing website into my career someday.

Check it out and don't be shy. Tell me what you think. 

http://www.public.asu.edu/~eacorn/

Lazy Sunday

More like lazy weekend.  It's officially Autumn and we are still in the triple digits. Today we kind of tricked ourselves into getting in the fall spirit by staying inside all day. One look outside at the brown grass (waiting for winter seeding), reading seasonal recipes (which always apply to everyone in the country except us- who wants to grill in the Summer?), and talking hallowen costumes with the kids it was easy to forget about the 102 degree weather that was happening outside.

We spent our day crafting, cleaning, watching football, and constructing a pillow pile. This was the third weekend in a row that we didn't have any solid plans, it's been fun. But I'm looking forward to the weekends when the temps are cooler so we can enjoy our bikes and parks again.

Weather.com tells me that the high will be 72 on Thursday. Please let this be true!!

Cooking with Acorns

Here we are... Cooking with Acorns!

The girls enjoyed snaping beans for me. They enjoyed eating them raw too.



Broccoli Salad



Green Beans with Bacon and Onion



Curried Couscous with Broccoli

Is it sad that you want your kids to grow up so you can make recipes that call for gorgonzola?


I shouldn't complain. Tonight they ate Curried Couscous with broccoli

The recipe calls for feta, but goat cheese tasted pretty good!

new summer dishes

Italian Portobello Sandwiches from Cooking Light

HERE for the link.

Basil mayo, roasted bell peppers, cheese... YUM!

I had to duplicate this "famous" chopped salad that you pay way too much for at fancy restaurants. I think I did pretty darn good!

Here is the line-up:
Tomato
Flaked salmon
Dry roasted corn
Arugula (or whatever)
Isreali couscous
Sunflower seeds (or whatever)
Craisins
Buttermilk pesto vinegrette

Someday I will have a better camera or better lighting or both to take pictures of the other foods I make. I truly am happiest when I'm cooking something :)

Red, White and Blue Galette

This year my 4th of July dessert was this "red, white and blue galette." In case you were wondering a galett is just like a freeform pie. A galett is also something that the kids can help with so that is always a plus.

I combined a few recipes to come up with this one.

4 ounces cream cheese

3 tablespoons extra fine sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 pint fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 400º F. Mix cream cheese, sugar and cream. Roll out each piece of dough into a 10″ circle on a piece of parchment. In the center of the circle, Drop in teaspoon-sized dollops of the cream cheese mixture leaving about 2 inches of room on the sides. Sprinkle berries over the top. Fold the sides of the galette over.

Beat together egg and water. Brush with a pastry brush over the top of the galette. Sprinkle the edge with sugar. Bake at 400º F for 30-35 minutes until dough is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to sit 5 minutes before serving.

Makes two 8″ galettes.

Since there was so much heavy cream left over, I used it to make a whipped cream topping. It was delish. I think each "pie" serves 4.

File this one under, "It's easy! All you have to do is..."

Healthy Mexican

Oh boy howdy do I love these tostadas.
Get your self a bowl and mix up some fresh corn, avocado, red onion, cilantro, and black beans (drained and rinsed). Spray some corn tortillas with cooking spray and briol for a min or so. Top with the deliciousness from the bowl, add cheese and broil for another min or two. Serve with your favorite salsa.

GET IN MY BELLY!

Cheap, Easy, Vegetarian, and Ohh so Good!

It's been awhile since I have been this excited about dinner, pizza, or an at-home-vegi-meal. Man, this Carmelized Balsamic Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza is simply amazing. Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say AMAZING! The hint of fresh thyme in the onions really gave it that extra something. We paired this with a strawberry, red onion, goat cheese salad with a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. The salad was equally as tastey.

Ingredients Goat Cheese Pre-made or home-made pizza dough Garlic 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 sweet onions (1 1/2 lb. total), lengthwise About 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves Directions To make carmelized onions: Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are limp, about 8 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with sugar. Increase heat to medium-high and stir often until onions begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves; stir often until liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes longer. For crust and Pizza: Either make your own or use the store-bought kind. Spread garlic on dough and bake at 475 for 5 minutes. Take out of oven and add onions and dot with goat cheese. Bake for 5-8 more minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve. We added a bit of mozzarela as well. DELISH!!!

Chocolate Chunk Bread Puddings

Valentine's Day wouldn't be complete without a little chocolate. These chocolate bread puddings were a whole lotta good. I followed the recipe to a tee and it was good, but next time I will add more Kahlua. The recipe also says to top with "fat-free frozen whipped topping." Eww. Not only does it taste bad, it's so bad for you! I topped ours with some vanilla fro yo.

Ziti with Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes, and Gorgonzola Sauce

Mmmmmm. This pasta was pretty tastey and a snap to make. Some grilled chicken would make this a great main dish. Thanks Cooking Light for the recipe.

Making cookies with Zoe

This is the way we make a cookie, make a cookie, make a cookie.
This is the way we make a cookie with princess dreams and magic.

Wow! You can tell so much by a person by the songs that get stuck in their head.

Zoe and I had fun making cookies today.

And eating them for lunch!

Holiday Treats

I'm not one to make cookies, so this holiday season I went for my favorites: chocolate and liquour! Homemade Limoncello


Chocolate and Nutella Truffles with Toffee Butter Peanuts


Cookies and Cream Cake Pops (for my sister's holiday party)

I also made Brown Sugar Apple Syrup and an apple coffee cake, but have no pictures.

Lemon tree

when life gives you lemons... you make limoncello! My zest is steeping as we speak :)

Baked Eggplant

WOW! This was delicious and didn't call for any fancy ingredients. Eggplant, mushrooms, onion, garlic, tomato sauce and cheese. An all around winner for our no meat night. Oh, and the most awsome thing about this meal? At 168 calories per serving there is room for dessert!! It's easy all you have to do is follow THIS link to the recipe.

Potato Gratin with Goat Cheese and Garlic

Okay, Okay I didn't take the picture. The smell of the cheesy oven roasted potatoes hypnotized me and all I could do is devour the starchy goodness.
Ingredients
1 cup half-and-half, divided
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups thinly sliced peeled potato

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine 2 tablespoons half-and-half with flour in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add the remaining half-and-half, cheese, and next 5 ingredients (cheese through garlic), stirring with a whisk. Arrange half of the potato slices in a single layer in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour half of the milk mixture over potato slices, stirring the milk mixture immediately before adding. Repeat procedure with remaining potato slices and milk mixture. Bake at 400° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

Although tastey and "light," I have to say it was a waste of goat cheese. We love goat cheese and decided you couldn't really tell it was made with the goat. :(

recipe and pic from Cooking Light

egg in a nest

I've never made an egg in a nest before. the girls ate it up ;o)

Corn-Stuffed Poblano Chiles

WOW is just all I can say about this little dish. I haven't made something this complex in a while. I'm also happy to say that I used two new ingredients- poblanos and tomatillos. The mixture was chicken, goat cheese and fresh corn. Next time I will serve with some sort of creamy rice or polenta.

Above is Martha Stewart's picture. Below is mine.
THE LINK

kitchen help

Miss Z has been really into helping me in the kitchen lately. Usually she's just excited to set the table, but yesterday she was super excited to help me make zucchini cookies.
you can't get a more genuine smile :)
love it.