7 Layer Cookies

These cookies are my absolute favorite. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas we make them. I remember the tattered scrap of paper that had the recipe written on it. My grandmother gave the recipe to my mom. After a while, no recipe was needed. Every member of our household knew it by heart. I have seen a similar recipe now, on the back of the can of sweetened condensed milk. They are super easy to make, kids can help and you can tweak and modify them to your preference. The 7 layers are butter, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans and sweetened condensed milk. I would say the only ingredients that you must have are the butter, graham cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk. The other stuff you can leave out or add more of or add less of. You just melt 1 stick of butter. Add in about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs, mix together. Mash this down into a 9x13 pan to form a crust. Then layer in your stuff, and top with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. I use about 2 cups of coconut, 2 cups of chocolate chips, 1 cup of butterscotch and about 1 cup of pecans. Some people like to put the condensed milk on the crust first, but I prefer it last. After the condensed milk layer you could sprinkle a bit of coconut on the top. The layers don't have to be even and with measurements this vague my kiddo can make these (mostly) on his own. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Cooking time might be longer depending on how thick you make your cookies.

Vegetarian Chili

So, I realized that I haven't posted in nearly a month. WOW that went fast! But, I am back, with something wonderful. Vegetarian chili. It is perfecto. Super simple and in a crockpot. Full of veggies and delicious. What more can you ask for? Well, I found the recipe and procured the necessary items. I did ASK my boy to do the actual cooking. I came home to the house smelling lovely and I had a wonderful meal. I used tortilla chips for dipping and added some shredded cheese.

There are several variations around, but this is the one we went with.

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, not drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian baked beans
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chopped tomato puree
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced chilies
• 1 -2 jalapeno, chopped  
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, saute the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and celery for about 5 minutes.
2. In a slow cooker, combine black bean soup, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, baked beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeno, chilies, and celery.
3. Season with garlic, chili powder, cumin, parsley, oregano, basil (and cilantro if using).
4. Cook for about 6 hours on low.

ENJOY!!!

Egg Salad (Yummy Yummy)

Tonight's dinner was super easy and everyone loved it. Egg salad, yummy yummy. No real recipe, just boil eggs, cool and peel. Smash in a bowl, add mayo and mustard. Some people like to do salt and pepper. We like paprika, a little in the mix and the grown ups add more later. I also like to add fresh onions to mine, while my kiddo likes using baby carrots to dip and scoop with.

I also found that there are a lot of ways to boil eggs. Who knew? I have always just boiled them my way, which turns out is wrong. I used to just put in the eggs and then bring to a boil and then boil for 10 minutes. Not how it is done! Not even ONE of the ways it is done. Not even CLOSE! Well, close as in you put eggs in water, but beyond that, NO. Some methods want the eggs left out to come to room temperature (approx 15 minutes). All methods bring the water to a boil, with a division between those that salt the water and those that don't. Some use the lid on, others off. After the water boils, the options are endless. Boil for 1 minute or 3. Remove from heat, leave on heat, or reduce heat and simmer for 7, 10 or even 15 minutes. After spending too much time on this, considering my current method does what I needs it to, I decided on a mixture of several different methods.

I placed eggs from the fridge into water. The water level was about an inch over the eggs. I did not salt the water, but I did use a lid. I brought it to a boil, and let it boil for 3 minutes. I then reduced it to a simmer for 10 minutes. I immediately drained the water and filled the pan with cold water. I do this because I am impatient and want the eggs to cool quickly. And guess what? I got hard boiled eggs! *cheer*

And did I mention that all of this was for hard boiled eggs? There is of course research to do for soft boiled...

Menu Plan

With the holidays approaching (so quickly!) we are trying to empty the freezer and pantry. As always the meal plan is Veg Friendly, meaning if it's not already vegetarian then there is another option available. I'm linking up to Meal Plan Monday.

Monday- Egg Salad sandwiches with carrots
Tuesday- Ravioli, Garlic bread and salad
Wednesday- Baked Tilapia or Pasta Soup
Thursday- Lentil Sloppy Joes (recipe to come)
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Dine out
Sunday- Appetizer Smorgasbord (Jalapeno Poppers, Crab Rangoon, Spinach and Artichoke Wantons)

Vegetarian Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Soup! We love soup around here! The other day we made a vegetarian version of Pasta E Fagioli Soup. It is really easy and done in a slow cooker. So, you might be asking yourself, why does the soup in the picture not look, well, soupy? Because I got home late and let it cook for too long. It looks a bit different, but it tastes the same. And I just told the family it was Italian Chili!

Chop up 3 carrots, 4 celery stalks, and 1 onion. We used whole petite baby carrots. Put the chopped veggies into the slow cooker along with 2 (28 ounce) cans of diced tomatoes, 2 (16 ounce) cans 1 of red kidney beans and 1 can of white kidney beans, 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and 30 ounces of vegetable stock. Add in 3 tsp oregano, 2 tsp pepper, 5 tsp of parsley and 1 tsp of Tabasco sauce. Allow to cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. About 30 minutes before time to eat add in 8 ounces of pasta, I like the multi color rotini, but you can use what you like. Also, the recipe states that the Tabasco sauce is optional, but I think it is necessary. Actually I add extra to mine.

Now, if you don't want to go the veg route, you can always use beef stock instead of vegetable and add in 2 pounds of browned ground beef.


And that's it! Time to eat. I made it one morning before I left for work and we came home to the house smelling lovely and dinner being only moments away. I like to serve it with nice crusty bread for dipping, you know for all the brothy goodness...

Super close up because I love this soup chili soup chili soup!

Thai Iced Tea

I find that I go through phases with beverages. I will become slightly obsessed with some tasty concoction and try to consume it daily. The current obsession is Thai Iced Tea. Now, I have to admit that it's not what comes to mind for November, but the heart stomach wants what the heart stomach wants. Besides! It's orange, very autumny? autumnal? fallish? autumnmonopoly? Yeah...moving on! Sadly, I have not yet found the ultimate recipe and I have been relying on the "within walking distance of work Thai place" to get my fix tea. I have tried to have sweetened black tea with condensed milk at home, but it's not the same. I think that the tea actually make a big difference. Look for something like this tea. Also, you might consider this, which is a Thai tea filter. My next recipe to try is the Emeril recipe over on Foodnetwork. It says it serves 6, but I like having 2 glasses for myself, just saying. I also might double the milk/cream part, since it seems like not quite enough. But I guess we shall see.


Ingredients
6 cups water
1 cup Thai tea
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons cream
6 tablespoons condensed milk

Directions
In a kettle, bring the water to a boil. Place the tea in a teapot or glass container. Pour the water over the tea and let steep until bright orange in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Strain into a clean container, such as a pitcher (or, if in tea bags, remove the bags). Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fill 6 tall glasses with crushed ice and add tea to 3/4 full. Add 1 tablespoon cream and 1 tablespoon condensed milk to each glass.

Serve with iced-tea spoon so guests can swirl the mixture themselves. And don't worry, it's part of having the drink is mixing it yourself, sorta like a Caramel Macchiato.

Menu Plan

 It is fall! The weather around here is finally getting cold and that does mean SOUP right? One of my favorite recipes is a super easy crock pot recipe for Pasta E Fajioli. However, the recipe is not vegetarian. And while I don't mind making some things that aren't veg, I think this recipe might be easy to adapt. The link to the recipe for the soup is not veg, but I'm going to change a few things and if it comes out okay, then I will be posting about it later in the week. I'm linking up at Menu Plan Monday.

Monday- Burritos with Guacamole and raw veggies (leftover from Halloween get together)
Tuesday- Ravioli Bake or Tilapia with Salad
Wednesday- Pasta E Fajioli Soup and Garlic Bread
Thursday- Paneer and Tomato Curry and Basmati Rice
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Dine Out
Sunday- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Pumpkin Seeds Part 2

I went ahead and made some pumpkin seeds this afternoon. I made this recipe with a few modifications. I don't have any chipotle and my grinder broke so I didn't add any pepper. Also, I added in about 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder. I cooked them for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for, but that's because I am easily distracted. They turned out wonderfully. I had made them with butter last year and as tasty as they were, they were too rich. I like the salty, sweet and savory combination that these have. I am actually tempted to buy a pumpkin just for the seeds!

Pumpkin Seeds

There a lots and lots of recipes out there for pumpkin seeds. I have yet to find one that I am in love with, but we are carving up pumpkins tomorrow so I will have lots of seeds to experiment with! I'm linking up recipes that I think look promising. If you have a recipe that you love link it up, or if you try one of the following recipes let me know what you think.



Roasted Seeds (plain)

Spiced Seeds

Gourmet Seeds

Two types, spicy or sweet

Sweet Seeds


*image via fabulousfoods*

Blueberry-Banana Pancakes 2

I finally got around to making these. Let me just say, SO YUMMY! I skipped putting the blueberries in because we didn't have any on hand. I did find that putting the banana in the freezer for 10 minutes made slicing the banana super easy. Everyone liked them. I took some of the random pieces of banana that I had left over and threw them in the pan with some butter after I had cooked all the pancakes. I stirred them in the pan until the bananas were slightly browned and used it to top some pancakes that I didn't put a banana in. I think that next time I will just do that instead of placing the bananas into the pancakes. I think the bananas tasted better that way. I have to admit that these were by far the best tasting pancakes I have ever made.

Hot Chocolate Part 2

I got to thinking about all the ways you can modify hot chocolate and personalize it. I decided to list all the different add in ideas that I have come across.


Grown Up Versions: Add in Kahlua, Vanilla Vodka, or Irish Cream


Top it: Roasted marshmallow, flavored whip cream, any type of sprinkles

Add extracts: ½ teaspoon of maple, orange, or almond after you remove the cocoa from the heat

Spice it up: with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, chili powder or pumpkin pie spice to the cocoa powder

Add in some coffee to make a lovely mocha!
 
Mix ins:

Marshmallows

Butterscotch Chips

Caramel

Chocolate shavings

Creamy Peanut Butter or Nutella

Mix in crushed candy: peanut butter cups, Butterfinger, toffee, Red hots, peppermints

Marshmallow Creme

Ice cream

Flavored syrups

Fun Stir Sticks:

Candy Cane

Cinnamon Stick

Chocolate coated spoons

How do you do your hot chocolate? I'm a sucker for all things chocolate and peppermint. You could make this for a holiday party and have a hot chocolate bar.
 

Hot Chocolate

It was rainy today. I thought it might inspire me to make soup, but instead I was sidetracked by Hot Chocolate! I keep the packet, instant stuff on hand, but the best is making it from scratch. Every year, around the holidays, I end up making the following recipe several times. I like to top it with whip cream and festive sprinkles. Or add in a shot of Irish Cream and make it a grown up hot chocolate.

Hot Chocolate
½  cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
dash salt
1/3 cup hot water
4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, cocoa and salt in 6-quart saucepan; gradually add water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Add milk. Heat to serving temperature, stirring frequently. Do not boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Serve hot.

Smoky Paprika

I have smoky paprika amongst my spices. We bought it after searching several stores, and used it to make Smoky Split Pea Soup and it really shined in that soup. Now I see it, and yes, sometimes I open it and smell it because I am weird. And I think to myself, there HAS to be another use for this. Today I was reading about making deviled eggs and substituting Greek yogurt for mayonnaise. We always have Greek yogurt on hand. Hmmm... And then it hit me! I always have paprika on my deviled eggs! I put directions, just in case someone doesn't already know how to make deviled eggs. I found another recipe that added in sun dried tomatoes and had fried shallots on top, but I know I won't be doing that any time soon, so here is what I think would work.
 
Smoky Deviled Eggs


6 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

Slice the eggs in half and scoop out the yolks into a bowl. Set the whites aside. Smash the yolks with the back of a fork. Add the Greek yogurt and stir until well combined. Add smoked paprika and salt. Put the filling into the eggs and EAT!

Pumpkin Dip

Pumpkin Dip. Served with ginger snaps and tart green apples. So yummy. And seriously easy. The recipe is forgiving. As in, I didn't put in the pie spice and added in vanilla. I sorta just mixed it all together. Well, actually kiddo did the mixing. It was fun. I used whipped cream cheese instead a regular block that needed to be softened. I also sifted the powdered sugar, but it might have been overkill. It was such a hit with my boy and the kiddo that I plan on making it for the next family get together. And I plan on putting the finished dip into a sugar pumpkin for a festive presentation.

Pumpkin Dip

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (15 ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving. 

Pea Soup Andersen's Knock Off

So I have spent my day so far searching for a knock off of Pea Soup Andersen's soup. I have found many, many recipes. Some have chicken broth listed in the ingredients list, or even a ham bone, which I found funny since the original is vegetarian. The one below is the one that I think would come the closest to the original. I found several sites referencing the same recipe. And don't forget to serve with bread for dipping or you can really try to recreate the Andersen's experience and have toppings. If I remember correctly, they offer croutons, scallions, shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon.

Andersen's Split Pea Soup

8 cups water
2 cups green split peas
1 rib celery, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 tsp thyme
Dash red pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper

Combine water, peas, celery, carrot, onion, thyme, red pepper, and bay leaf in large pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Boil vigorously 20 minutes, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until split peas are tender. Press soup through fine sieve. Or you can remove the bay leaf and puree. Then reheat just to boiling point.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Popcorn + Peanut Butter + Chocolate = YUM! An easy snack that kiddo will love.

Pop 1/2 cup of popcorn however you like to pop your popcorn. I use the microwave method. Melt 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in the microwave and mix together. Pour the peanut butter mixture over the popped popcorn and mix. Then spread on wax paper to cool. Add in the some plain M&M's, the amount is up to you. Then eat until your mouth hurts enjoy! Delicious and easy!

*image via foodgawker*

Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Here is another idea for pancakes. Cottage Cheese! Now, some people have an aversion for cottage cheese, but I don't. As I scoured the internet for a recipe, I found a lot of variations and had a hard time choosing one. I ended up with the one that follows, and only mostly because the ingredients list wasn't that long AND it calls for sugar and I like my pancakes sweet.

1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese (use whatever % you like,)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp canola or veg oil
Cooking spray or Butter or whatever you use to grease a pan

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and sugar together. In a different bowl, whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, milk and oil.  Add in the flour mix and whisk until completely blended.
Grease up your pan over medium heat.  Add around 1/4 cup of batter to the skillet. Flip pancakes once. You want golden brown on both sides. It takes about 5 minutes total.

*image via foster farms*

Blueberry-Banana Pancakes

So, I have been on a french toast kick for awhile now. I don't think I have found the absolute best way to create it, but I know that I have greatly increased my ability to make it. And despite the fact that My Boy wouldn't mind french toast every week, I have to admit to a wandering eye. And after seeing the lovely pancakes pictured above on Food & Wine, I can't resist. I think my favorite part is the banana cut lengthwise and placed into the pancake. We have a rather busy and mixed up schedule coming up next week, so I might dish these up for dinner at some point. We usually have everything needed on hand except for the buttermilk. I think I might even sprinkle some chopped pecans over it. And a little tip, freeze your bananas for about 10 minutes prior to slicing.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup blueberries
2 bananas, sliced lengthwise 2/3 inch thick and cut to fit the pancakes
Confectioners' sugar and pure maple syrup, for serving

Directions
   1. In a small bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk. Quickly stir in the flour mixture, then stir in the melted butter and blueberries.
   2. Heat a griddle or a large nonstick skillet over moderately low heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter per pancake onto the griddle, leaving room for the pancakes to spread. Gently lay one banana slice in the center of each pancake and cook until bubbles appear on the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Generously dust the blueberry-banana pancakes with confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup.

*image and recipe via Food&Wine*

Frosting!

This frosting is one that you cook!! I was a little worried about it, but I had to try it. Also, you get to use a hand mixer, which I happen to LOVE to use. It's very zen for me. AND I think it's yummy.

Frosting
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk

2 sticks of butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together the flour and milk in a small saucepan, over medium heat. Keep whisking until it thickens. Allow this to cool to room temperature. It has to cool first! If you need to, put the pan over ice in the sink to speed things along. While waiting for the mixture to cool, cream the butter and sugar together. Add in the vanilla. Then add in the COOLED milk/flour mixture. Using a mixer beat until the consistency of whipped cream.

Everyone loves this frosting. I wonder if it's all the butter?

Meal Plan

Last week’s menu worked out quite well! The tilapia was a hit and was requested again this week. The menu is vegetarian friendly, meaning, if there is meat, there is another option. I will post the recipe for the quesadillas tomorrow. I'm linking this up to Menu Plan Monday over at Orgjunkie.com.

Monday- Tilapia, Pasta, Salad
Tuesday- Lentil Sloppy Joes on Thin Buns
Wednesday- Chicken or Black Bean Quesadillas, Broccoli
Thursday- Smoky Split Pea Soup with Crusty Bread
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Eat Out
Sunday- Bean and Cheese Burritos, Salad


And here is the grocery list for this week.
 Grocery List October 3, 2010