Help [ME] Ronda

Roasted Red Pepper/Tomato Bisque Soup

One of Andy's request when he got home was some home cooked meals, specifically Roasted Red pepper/tomato bisque soup.  You can make either one of these separately but we enjoy the flavors together.  I thought you might like the recipe as well.

• 4 - 5 red peppers (roasted...see below)
• 2 29 oz Cans of Diced Tomatoes
• 1 carrot diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 1 tsp basil
• 3/4 - 1 C cream
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Olive Oil

lightly coat whole Red peppers with olive oil. Place in oven at 450, rotating them until they become brown on all sides (mostly brown works too). Pop them into a bowl & cover with plastic wrap. This makes taking the skins off easier. Once they have cooled enough to touch, take off the skin & pull off the top and seeds. I usually just quickly rinse the inside of the seeds.

Next drain the dice tomatoes reserving the juice.  Place the diced tomatoes on a cooking sheet and roast for 10 - 20 minutes at 450 until caramelized.  In a large pot on the stove over medium heat cook the onions, minced garlic, carrots, and celery with a little bit of olive oil until clear and tender. Add reserve tomato juice, caramelized tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chicken stock, herbs, and slat & pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, simmering about 20 - 30 minutes.  Either blend with an immersion blender or pour into a regular blender and return to the pot.  Add in cream about 10 minutes before serving.

I serve mine with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top & a piece of good crusty bread or Focaccia (this is a great recipe for Focaccia.)  You can also serve it with a nice grilled cheese or panini!

Taco Night

Cooking for two sometimes three isn't the easiest.  I like to have my meals planned out so that i am not always thinking "what should i cook tonight?"  There are a few family favorites that seem to make the weekly or every two weeks rotation like Pot Roast or Chicken Noodle Soup.  But i also like to try something new every now and then.  It also about finding the balance between work, activities, and grocery shopping.  Because of an active lifestyle, i do like to have easy recipes i can cook at the last minute, like the above taco night.  I usually have some ground beef (actually it's usually buffalo meat) in the freezer.  I make my own taco seasoning.  It's so easy without any MSG which gives me terrible migraines.  I thought you would like the recipe as well. 

• 1 lb Ground beef (or Buffalo)
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced (i like red onions)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of Cumin, Salt, Oregano, Chili Powder
• 1/8 - 1/4 of Cayenne Pepper (depending on the kick you like)
• 3 TBS of Tomato Sauce

It's a simple but tasty recipe.  Using approximately two tablespoons of olive oil, cook the onions and garlic until soft.  Add in the ground beef and cook until mostly cooked.  Next all the spices plus tomato sauce until the meat is completely browned.  It's that simple.  What i also love about this recipe is you can either serve it with tortillas, hard tacos, nachos, or on a salad like i did above.  Another tip is to use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  It's less fatty and has a ton of protein plus that tang like sour cream. 

Homemade Love

Time for some Peppermint Bark

Last year was my first year making Peppermint Bark.  It was so easy & so delicious.  So today i plan to make a couple batches as gifts.  I love giving out small tokens of baked goods love to my neighbors & friends.  I might even try to make the snowflake peppermint bark pieces i have seen floating on pinterest. 

Here is my post from last year including the recipe:

If you want to get the kids involved, have them crush the candy canes, spread the chocolate, & sprinkle the crushed candy canes.  This is a combination of two recipes, one i found & one was shared with me by my friend Tina.  I like the cool peppermint taste so i also used some extract but that can be adjusted to your liking. Also important to note that the better the chocolate, the better the taste.  The chocolate should have Cocoa Butter and not so much vegetable fats.  Read the label on the back to check it out.  ;)

• 4 oz Bitter/Dark Chocolate (60% Cocoa or higher)
• 4 oz semisweet Chocolate
• 8 oz White Chocolate
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 - 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

other tools....

• cookie sheet
• parchment paper
• heat proof spatula (optional)
• baking/cake spreader
• parchment paper
• sauce pan & heat proof bowl or double boiler
• whisk

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Melt both bitter & semi sweet chocolate with 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil & 1 tsp of peppermint.  I used a sauce pan filled with water & my stainless steel mixing bowl to melt the chocolates. whisk chocolate as melting.  Pour on cookie sheet & spread evenly.  Scrap bowl with a heat proof spatula to get all that chocolate from the bowl.  Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes.

Next crush candy canes.  Place in bowl & set aside.  Melt White chocolate using same method above again using 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil & 1 tsp of peppermint extract.  Pour melted white chocolate on top of the dark chocolate & spread until even.  Sprinkle with crushed candy cane chunks.   Refridgerate for 30 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet & parchment paper and break into pieces.  Store in containers in the fridge.  So very yummy. 

Peppermint Love

Back Pocket

I love to cook & bake.  I love trying new recipes but i also love making some of my family favorites.  These back pocket recipes are ones i pull out when life gets busy.  Simple.  Easy.  Good Recipes the family loves.  This recipe is one our family makes often. We love changing it a bit up with different ingredients.  Here is the original recipe.  I don't use pimentos but add in celery.  I keep thinking of maybe making it with some curried spices.  Yum. 

it needs tweaking

I had never tried Indian food until i was 35.  I always thought it was too spicy even though i never tasted it.  Andy's finally convinced me to try some while we were in England a few years ago.  We went to dinner early and had the restuarant in Stratford pretty much to ourselves.  We told the wait staff that i have never tried Indian food and asked them for recommendations.  It was the best thing we could have done...so delicious.  Since then, i have been hooked.  

So last night i decided to attempt making it at home.  It was a good first attempted at crock pot korma.  It smelled really good but I think some of the spices were too overpowering.  I will keep trying to get it just right.  Below is my tweaked recipe that i will make next time. 

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast cubed
• 1 1/2 Cup Yogurt
• 2 gloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped into thin slices
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp cardamon
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (per your taste)
• 1/2 C tomato sauce
• 1/2 C heavy cream

i coated the chicken with 1/2 Cup yogurt, all the spices, & tomato sauce and placed it in the crock pot.   I let it cook for 6 - 7 hours on slow.  In the last 30 minutes i added the rest of the yogurt & heavy cream.  

Peppermint Bark

I made some peppermint bark this past weekend.  It was so easy to make!  IF you want to get the kids involved, have them crush the candy canes, spread the chocolate, & sprinkle the crushed candy canes.  This is a combination of two recipes, one i found & one was shared with me by my friend Tina.  I like the cool peppermint taste so i also used some extract but that can be adjusted to your liking. Also important to note that the better the chocolate, the better the taste.  The chocolate should have Cocoa Butter and not so much vegetable fats.  Read the label on the back to check it out.  ;)

• 4 oz Bitter/Dark Chocolate (60% Cocoa or higher)
• 4 oz semisweet Chocolate
• 8 oz White Chocolate
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 - 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

other tools....

• cookie sheet
• parchment paper
• heat proof spatula (optional)
• baking/cake spreader
• parchment paper
• sauce pan & heat proof bowl or double boiler
• whisk

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Melt both bitter & semi sweet chocolate with 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil & 1 tsp of peppermint.  I used a sauce pan filled with water & my stainless steel mixing bowl to melt the chocolates. whisk chocolate as melting.  Pour on cookie sheet & spread evenly.  Scrap bowl with a heat proof spatula to get all that chocolate from the bowl.  Place in refrigerator to set, about 30 minutes. 

 

Next crush candy canes.  Place in bowl & set aside.  Melt White chocolate using same method above again using 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil & 1 tsp of peppermint extract.  Pour melted white chocolate on top of the dark chocolate & spread until even.  Sprinkle with crushed candy cane chunks.   Refridgerate for 30 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet & parchment paper and break into pieces.  Store in containers in the fridge.  So very yummy. 

Peppermint Love

yesterday i...

I made two pies.   One french silk pie using this recipe from Martha Stewart.  Just the filling part.  I have my own pie crust recipe.  The other one is a pumpkin pie using Paula Deen's recipe with some tweeks.  I cut down on the cream cheese & added more pumpkin.  I also added & uped the spices, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves.  I also made a pumpkin cheese cake roll.  it is so so good & my favorite.  I love baking & being in the kitchen.  Andrew so generously took the photographs of me working, while i took the pie shots.  So happy to have my story documented.

Scrumptious Love

Today

i woke up with the pups snuggled up against me

i have been weighed down by work stress, eager to get things off my desk

i realized i need a better schedule for what i do, better time management

Andy worked on his honey do list with a little over a week left here

the kids came home from school excited to not go back until monday

i chatted with a dear friend who gave me some great feedback & let me share my worries

i booked tickets for CHA winter

i made some lists to unclog my brain & to get things checked off, it's amazing what a little check mark can do for my mood

i know a bath is in order for tonight

i made roasted red pepper soup & some homemade chicken salad with apple chunks

i remembered to breathe

Andy's pizza

love it. it is my favorite pizza.  he has really turned pizza making into an art.  captured a bit of the process. 

the other day

 

she asked to me to show her how to cook.  You must understand how big of a day this was for her.  and for me.  You see she is a very picky eater.  And fairly stubborn.  The picky eater I am sure is God's sense of humor shining through because as you know, i love to cook.  As for the stubborn part....i have no idea who she gets that from ;)

I kept asking her to learn.  She would say "no, i don't like that food, i am not making it."  I would say that learning to cook was a great life skill.  She said she knew how to make Mac-N-Cheese so she would survive.  hmmm Cheeky girl.

So the day she walked into the kitchen and said it's time, i was thrilled and replied with a giddy... "Really?"  I was so happy to tie that apron around her and teach her to pour love into all she bakes. 

The logo stamp from Purple Onion was a perfect fit for this layout.  I stamped with Walnut Ink over the background.  On some scrap Kraft paper, i stamped some of the colored logos and cut them out.  I popped up the blue one and added the heart & baker's twine.  Sweet. 

PS. that apron i am wearing was made by my friend Heather and it is awesome.  I must show you it in full sometime soon because the bottom is my favorite part... it's so flouncy!