My favorite Corn!

Citi Field in NYC, home of the Mets, has the BEST corn on the cob! If you get a chance to go there, head out to the food court area in center field and try the street tacos and corn! You won't be regretting it, as it's one of the best ballpark foods I have tried, and believe me, I have tried a lot!

So, anyways now that I am a world away from NYC what's a girl to do when that "corn craving" comes calling? Re-create it, that's what!! Using canned corn I satisfied my craving and can't wait to make it with fresh corn once we get back!

Saute- {over med heat}

1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic-minced

1/4 onion minced

Just cook a few minutes until fragrant. 

Add-

2 cans {drained} corn

sprinkle with a generous amount of fresh cracked salt and pepper

After corn is heated and turning a little brown stir in a few tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese!

Sprinkle a dash of cayenne pepper and squeeze a little lime juice on top before eating! devouring :)

the parmesan cheese totally makes this dish!!

Best Salsa Ever.

Wonderful Salsa!

I got this recipe from my mama!

Throw all ingrediants in the blender or food processor and pulse til desired consistancy-

• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1/2 onion -chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1/2 green pepper- chopped
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic

Mexican Inspired Corn

Tonight I made Mexican Inspired Corn and it was so delectable I want to make it again tomorrow.....for breakfast! lol. I first had this at a Mets game last year and I have been wanting to make it ever since...I just guessed as to what the ingredients were..Not brain surgery...haha
It's so easy, just follow this simple recipe!

Mexican Corn on the Cob

Boil corn for 3 to 4 minutes

remove from the water and shake dry with tongs

spread a thin layer of low fat mayo on entire cob

sprinkle on a generous amt of Parmesan cheese-the grated kind (Kraft)

sprinkle on a LIGHT dusting of cayenne pepper

Squeeze some fresh lime juice over entire thing before eating!

Spaghetti + Meatballs!

We decided to make homemade meatballs and spaghetti for dinner and Averie was such a big help- she practically made the meatballs all by herself!!!

Meatballs-
1 lb extra lean ground beef or turkey breast
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 zucchini grated
1/2 onion grated
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 small onion grated
2 cloves of garlic grated
salt, pepper, oregano, basil- to taste

Combine all ingredients and shape into 1.5 inch balls
Sauce-
Meanwhile, heat up 1 tsp olive oil and add 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 can diced tomatoes, 2 small cans tomato sauce,  1 can tomato paste, 1 tsp dried basil & dried oregano, salt, pepper, 1/2 c parm cheese and a sprinkle of brown sugar- Bring to a boil and add meatballs- lower heat, put lid on and simmer 20-25 minutes until meatballs are cooked thru!

**(If using store bought sauce, I always buy the Ragu Light, no sugar added and I doctor it up- Start by sautéing onions and garlic and then add the whole jar of sauce along with a couple tbsp of brown sugar and about a half cup of red wine...bring to a simmer and add meatballs)

While that is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add some salt and cook some "thin spaghetti" (we always use whole wheat) according to package.

Sprinkle finished product with lots of fresh parm and enjoy!

*meatball recipe adapted from slimfast recipe and sauce is totally made up by me!

The way to a man's heart....

Hello!!! Tonite I made this wonderful meatloaf , (I omitted the parsley, used dried thyme and also used lean ground beef in place of the turkey) courtesy of Food Network Magazine and Bobby Flay and on the side I made this-

Sweet Potato Wedges with a Cool and Spicy dip

Pre heat oven to 425

Wash 3 large, white sweet potatoes and cut into wedges. (yams are the orange ones)

Spray sheet pan with Pam

Place wedges on pan skin side down and spray again with Pam

Sprinkle with Garlic Salt and Cayenne Pepper to taste

Roast about 20-25 min-Flip and Roast another 20 or so minutes.

Wedges will be brown and slightly crisp.

While they are cooking, make this
Cool, spicy dip that is YUM!

Combine low fat sour cream, sriracha chili sauce and honey in bowl

you can make this as sweet or spicy as you like!

This whole pregnancy I have been craving SPICY foods and this one was so delicious! The meatloaf is filled with veggies and has a great Italian flavor from the addition of Parmesan cheese!

Aunthentic Red Beans + Rice

My friend Jamie Cormier gave me this recipce back in August when we were in New Orleans. So, I went to the store, bought the beans (you can't get these in Tucson) and brought them home with me! After eating last nite, I asked myself why I waited this long to make them! They were crazy good!

Recipe (straight from Jamie)

Get 4 regular cans or 2 large cans of either red or white Blue Runner beans, a package of Andouille sausage, (fully cooked), half an onion, half a green bell pepper and 2 stalks of celery.

Saute Chopped sausage and veggies until browned in a large saucepan. Don't drain - use the fat :) Add cans of beans and 1/3 of each can filled with water, (maybe a little less). Stir, add a good pinch of cayenne pepper and sprinkle with Tony's Seasoning. Bring to a boil then simmer for an hour.
Pour over steamed rice!

I used kielbasa sausage and an Anaheim pepper in place of the green pepper

the "special" beans you need to make it happen!

they have a refried bean texture

the seasoning!

YUM!

with the leftovers..

fry up two eggs- top with black forest ham (mine was boars head) and a slice of fontina cheese!

Toast the sourdough and lightly butter- top with cooked egg, ham and cheese! 

With the leftover Sourdough bread from the night we had white wine chicken I made these for breakfast- Fontina cheese is so melty and yummy you will fall in love instantly!

White Wine Chicken

I have been in a recipe rut, mainly because with just Averie and I home, i hate cooking a big meal for the two of us...brian is home now so it's no longer an issue!! But, in the meantime I went searching for some new recipes to try! I got a few from my friend Paige, who went to Le Cordon Bleu, so anything she gives me has to be wonderful!!!
I decided to try this one first-

White Wine Chicken (or shrimp)

minced shallot, garlic and chunked chicken

anchovy paste, tomato paste, olive oil

saute the garlic and shallot in olive oil

add the tomato and anchovy paste

i used "3 buck chuck"

add wine and chicken and simmer til slightly reduced and chicken cooked

the breakfast cookies averie and I made- from Inspired RD's blog

the finished product!

2 lb shrimp, or chicken breast cut in chunks
olive oil
salt and pepper
crushed red pepper flake
2 tbsp anchovy paste
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups white wine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
fresh grated parm cheese
handful parsley, chopped
french baguette, toasted

So I heat up some olive oil with the red pepper flake and saute the shallot and garlic really fast so you don't burn the garlic.  Then add the anchovy (I did less of this and more of the) tomato paste. Saute the shrimp, chicken or fish. Add the white wine and simmer until the liquid cooks down slightly, usually like 5-7 minutes.  You can always add more if there's not enough broth at the end.  I didn't enjoy the flavor of the parsley, so I wouldn't add it again- but I did like the fresh parm cheese, so def don't leave that out! The second time I made this, I did about 2/3 wine and 1/3 chicken broth and it was so good!

I serve it over linguine and then soak up the sauce with the bread.  so good.
(sorry for the quality of pics, taken with my lil point n shoot in a dark kitchen)

Cranberry Salsa| Great Holiday Appetizer

This has become one of our faves! I got this from whatscookingamerica.net and it's delish!!

Cranberry Salsa Dip with Cream Cheese 
1 (12-ounce bag) or 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 small (approximately 2 tablespoons) jalapeno chile peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tablespoons finely-grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
 
Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised). Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped but not mushy.
Place crushed cranberries in a bowl; mix together with green onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger, and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors develop (salsa will be too sharp and tart to begin with).
On a serving plate, place cream cheese; cover with the dip. Serve with Triscuits!

a chocolate cake that is "to die for"

I got this recipe from my mom who also LOVES to bake, cook, and eat just as much as I do! I believe she got it from a friend of hers and it is in old family recipe!

BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 cups  Flour
2 cups Sugar
1/2 cup cocoa (Hershey's - natural unsweetened)
1 cup Wesson Oil
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup  Boiling Water
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
2 tsp Baking Soda - dissolved in Buttermilk
2 eggs

Blend dry ingredients. Add oil, vanilla and eggs. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and add. Blend. Add boiling water last and mix well. Pour cake batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.
Watch it after about 30 minutes, my oven bakes it faster.

FROSTING

1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Buttermilk
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Add first four ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil until creamy. Add vanilla. Pour over warm cake

I would have taken a picture of the finished product, but it was gone before I could make it back with my camera!!!

Pumpkin Granola :)

Today we {Averie, my lil helper & I} made a recipe that i have been wanting to make for a couple days! It's from the blog-Two Peas and Their Pod and it turned out scrumptious!!

the line-up

what i ate while making it (did you know that I love sandwiches?)

the final product! Yummy!

Favorite Fall Side Dish-

I first made this last year and it was love at first bite!! The recipe for "Skillet Vegetables on Cheese Toast" is from Better Homes and Gardens magazine (which I love, but tend to read and put aside rather than try many of the recipes)- Except this one caught my eye!  We had it as a side dish to some natural t-bones and it was Fab!! It would also be a great vegetarian main dish!

 The only thing I changed was the cheese- I used the "chevre with honey" rather than plain and it was delectable :)

 Click here for Recipe!

A perfect Chili recipe

I decided to make chili today and of course I always use the same, fail proof, recipe! I got it from my mother in law; Chris Barden! She actually made this chili for Brian to enter in a "Chili Contest" when he was younger....and they took 1st prize!! It's simple and delish!

Simple Chili

Saute in a large pot -

1/2 white onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp olive oil

Once it's softened and a little browned add-

1 lb extra lean ground beef

After the meat has browned add the following and bring to a boil-

2 cans chili beans (i used Bush's)

2 cans stewed tomatoes (undrained)

1 can ranch beans(undrained)

1 can pinto beans (undrained)

Reduce to low and Let simmer for 1-2 hours
Season to taste with Salt, Pepper or Tony's!

 I serve mine with cornbread, sour cream, chopped red onion and shredded cheese! 

Enjoy :)

Halloween Cookies :)

Ava and I decided to make some Halloween cookies to give away before we head out of town this week! We are going to give some to my sweet neighbor who has agreed to water all my flowers/plants/vines and also to some of Ava's friends! We made this Sugar Cookie Dough (I halved the recipe and I used organic sugar and eggs and also 1/2 tsp almond extract along with the vanilla extract..oh yeah and I left out the baking powder by complete accident!)
We let it sit in the fridge overnight and today we rolled, cut, baked, frosted and sprinkled! I know that i have the best little helper around! She even colored the frosting for me! Because we are girls, we had to add some star and cupcake shapes in there too....and couldn't leave out the pink and purple icing!
If we weren't in the fall/Halloween spirit before, we definitely are now!!!

Turkey Meatloaf.

Tonight we had a fabulous "Sunday Dinner"! I made turkey meatloaf, corn on the cob, harvest grains with fresh parmesan, cilantro and green onion, wheat french bread & canary melon.
I found a great recipe for the meatloaf @epicurious and i altered it to my taste!

Turkey Meatloaf

3/4 -1 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup milk

1 egg- beaten

1/2 yellow onion-chopped

3 cloves garlic-minced

4-5 large baby bella mushrooms-chopped

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp pepper-or a few twists of the mill

4-5 dashes worcestershire

a few fresh basil leaves-chopped

small handful flat leaf parsley-chopped

few (5-6) sprinkles of Tony's seasoning or whatever seasoning salt you have

1 lb ground turkey- I used lean since that is what Costco sells

glaze- just kinda eye it-

about 1/2 c organic ketchup

1-2 tbsp yellow mustard

1-2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400

Beat the egg in a large bowl

 add milk, oatmeal and rest of ingredients ending with the meat so you don't over mix

(over mixing meat will make it tough)

form a loaf and bake in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with Pam

mix the glaze ingredients and spread over the top

bake for about an hour and enjoy!

Banana Bread|lower fat & fabulous.

Happy Hump Day! Since starting Bountiful Baskets, I have had an abundence of bananas to eat for the past 2 weeks! We ate as many as we could before they started to turn brown, froze a bunch for smoothies and decided to make banana bread with the rest! I got this recipe from my sister, Alyssa and it is FABULOUS! It's a healthier recipe then most...until you get to the chocolate chip part, yes i said chocolate- but it calls for semi sweet and to me, that's halfway to dark chocolate which actually does have health benefits! 

Lower Fat{but not lower flavor} Banana Bread

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup applesauce

1 tbsp. canola oil

2 eggs

3 ripe, mashed bananas

1/4 cup water

1 cup white-whole wheat flour

2/3 cup oatmeal

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

-preheat oven to 350 degrees

-spray 9x5x3 loaf pan with nonstick spray

-in a medium bowl, beat first 3 ingredients until smooth and creamy

-beat in the eggs, water and bananas until it is well blended

-mix in the dry ingredients until just moistened

{be sure to scrape sides of bowl}

-stir in chocolate chips :)

-bake at 350 for about 60 minutes

-bread is done when top is firm and golden brown in color

-remove from oven and cool on its side for 10 minutes

Enjoy and try not to eat entire loaf before dinner
xo- ash

Stone Fruit.

We got some peaches and plums in our BB and I had wanted to make grilled plums, but since my BBQ is on the fritz, I got a recipe idea from Alysa (InspiredRD).....of course when I went to get the recipe she sent, it was MIA, so I improvised and the dessert turned out pretty FAB!!

(Side Note- color a little wierd since I made this at 9 pm and kitchen was sort of dark)!

cut up a few plums and a few peaches

Place on large pc foil and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon

Grill (or bake like I did at 400 for 20 min)

buy some of this at the store!

Heaven.

just because i love her!

BLT. Bountiful Baskets.

What do you do when you get romaine & tomatoes in your Bountiful Basket? 

I used Nitrate Free bacon from Trader Joe's and added red onion (heaven)...

And a few dash's of hot Louisiana Hot sauce!

This week was my first week trying the  Co-Op Bountiful Basket and I am really pleased.

for $20.00 I got A LOT of produce that is fresh, juicy and ripe!
This BLT was wonderful- and you don't need a lot of bacon (added fat) to get the flavor!
BLT
2 slices Ezekiel bread-toasted
thin smear regular Best Foods Mayo
3 slices pre-cooked, nitrate free bacon
2 slices tomato
2 leaves romaine lettuce
1 slice red onion
salt n pepper
few dash's hot sauce
(we Love Louisiana and Crystal brand)

Enjoy.
xo

White girl Chilaquiles.

Yesterday we went to visit some friends and while talking about food (this seems to be the subject of my conversations quite often) I mentioned i was making eggs for dinner- (mine are safe...so far), Kandice suggested making this-- So I adapted the recipe to my liking and it was delish!

Heat about 1 tablespoon canola oil in skillet- Add 4 small corn tortillas that have been cut, ripped or torn into about 2 inch pieces- (I added a little cilantro, grape tomato and green onion with the tortillas)
Cook on med-high for a few minutes until the tortillas start to get brown and a little crispy (not as crunchy as chips)
Crack 4 eggs (or 2 eggs + 2 egg whites) into a dish and beat with a fork- Pour eggs over tortillas and sprinkle some 2% shredded cheese on top- Stir and continue cooking for a few minutes til eggs are set-
 Remove from pan and sprinkle with Salt and Pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce (we love Crystal)
Ava added honey to hers and ate them all up! She insisted it was fabulous!!
xo

One Fabulous Dinner-

Fajitas-

I made mine with-

yellow and green bell pepper

sweet onion

mushrooms

chicken breast

lime juice

cumin

oregano

salt

garlic 

pepper

Topped with homemade guacamole and a sprinkling of cheese! YUMMY!

The side dish was made by Ashlei and it was delish! Very easy too- We shucked 4 ears of corn and then cut the kernals off of the cob and sauteed it with some chopped onion in a little bit of olive oil. Seasoned with garlic salt and fresh cracked pepper, it was the perfect side dish!!