RECIPES Archives • Page 52 of 68 • New Nostalgia

RECIPES/ Sides

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread

I posted this Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread recipe about a year ago. It is still a favorite and I’m making it tonight, so I thought I would repost. I needed some easy, hearty bread to go along with our easy, hearty roast & vegetable meal.

I threw Trader Joes Tri Tip Roast in the oven, dumped a bag of Trader Joes Fresh Roasting Vegetables on top (it is a bag of red potatoes, carrots, garlic cloves, onion, sprig of fresh thyme, sprig of fresh rosemary). Way too convenient!! I added a bit of red wine and Worcestershire sauce to the roast.

Of Course, salt and pepper to taste.

I am trying to get back into the swing of making dinner again! I have been so spoiled with my church providing meals for us the last 4 months!! I do enjoy cooking– very much– but I have found I need to stick with meals that are EASY until my energy level is back to normal.

Got any easy recipes for me?

Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread

1 cup rolled oats
11/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
11/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Grind oatmeal in a food processor or blender. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, dissolve honey in oil, then stir in the milk. (I mixed the milk, coconut oil and honey in a one-cup glass measure and microwaved it until the coconut oil melted (the cold milk made it into a solid-state, so I needed to liquefy it). Combine both mixtures and stir until a soft dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball (I had to add a bit more flour) and place it on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped

Books/ Healthy Eating/ How-Tos/ RECIPES

My Favorite Food Rules

FOOD RULES -an eater’s manual

by Micheal Pollan

I am a big fan of Micheal Pollan.

He was the first one that I have read who was able to take the incredibly complicated question of

“What Should I Eat?”

and answer it in just seven words:

“Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

I read his first book, In Defense Of Food, a year ago and just really jived with it. I was so happy to see that he came out with a short, easy to read, manual that expands on the answer.

Each page gives a simple tip on what to eat. I read the book in 30 minutes and loved it.

Here are some of my most favorite tips from the book:

#2 Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

(for example–neon colored tubes of flavored gel called Go-GURT!)

#3 Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry

(ethoxylated diglycerides??)

#4 Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup

(it is a reliable marker for a food product that has been highly processed)

#5 Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top three ingredients.

(exception to this rule, are “special occasion” foods–see Rule 60)

#6 Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.

(another sign that it is a highly processed food)

#7 Avoid food products with the word “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “non-fat” in their names.

( Refined carbs can make you fat. Sugar makes you fat. Many low-fat or no-fat products boost the sugar and salt to make up for the flavor lost when removing fat)

#10 Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.

(imitation butter-aka-margarine-is the classic example. Artificial sweeteners..)

#11 Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

(real food is alive food…therefore it should eventually die)

#12 Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.

(read ingredients on a package of Twinkies or Pringles and imagine what those look like raw or where they grow…ya can’t!)

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#22 Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

(antioxidants, fiber, omega- 3 fatty acids, energy dense!)

#23 Treat meat as flavoring or special occasion food.

(become a “flexitarian”–someone who eats meat only a couple times a week)

#25 Eat your colors!

(colors from nature are full of polyphenols, flavonioids, carotenoid, which all fight disease!)

#34 Sweeten and salt your food yourself.

(you will find you are consuming a fraction as much sugar and salt as you otherwise would–example oatmeal–buy plain not flavored, sweetened or colored!)

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

(ha..like that one. It’s kind of a “duh”)

#37 “The whiter the bread, the sooner you will be dead”

(I expand on that here)

#39 Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself.

(if you made all the french fries you ate, you would eat them much less often! Too much work!)

#57 Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does

(Gas stations have become processed corn station. Ethanol outside and high-fructose corn syrup inside!)

#60 Treat treats as treats.

(special occasion food is great as long as every day is not a special occasion. Save them for weekends or for true special occasions!)

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual

In Defense Of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

by Micheal Pollan

RECIPES/ Sides

My Favorite Salad

I had a friend bring this salad over to my house and both Todd and I just loved it! We agreed it is a favorite, we both took a bite and just looked at each other with wide eyes and a smile–yes, it is that good!

The dressing is tangy, the apples are tart and crisp, the grapes are sweet and the candied pecans are like a crunchy dessert topping!

I had to have the recipe so I could make it myself and share it with all of you.

Ingredients:

~Salad-greens ( I love to use Butter/boston lettuce and red leaf in the mix)

~Red grapes

~Granny smith apples

~Candied pecans (recipe below)

~Dressing (recipe below)

Toss and Serve.

Candied pecans-

3/4 c brown sugar (If you are looking for low sugar, I think this could be reduced)

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 c margarine

1 c chopped pecans

In small pan melt margarine, stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. After that mix in the pecans, coating them with the mixtutre. Pour into pan in single layer and bake at 200 for about 10 minutes. Pour onto wax paper. Cool and separate.

Dressing-

1 c oil

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c vinegar

3 T Dijon

1 T Worcestershire

1/2 t salt

Blend together.

Drinks/ HOME/ Natural Products/ Simplifying

Paper Towel Alternative

We have had a few spring like days here in Nebraska. I love it! It is making me think about spring cleaning! I will be having radiation the next 6 weeks, so I will have to do mine in baby steps. I am planning on working in a different “zone” of my home each week, 15 minutes a day. Hopefully by the time I’m done with radiation my house will be de-cluttered and sparkling clean!!

I was inspired by this post at Clean Momma. She is someone who knows sparkly clean! I loved the idea of getting rid of paper products. It kills me to spend money on paper towels, and we were going through them like crazy! I do still keep one roll around for those nasty type spills, you know, like when you accidentally drop an egg? Or when the raw chicken leaks onto the counter? Yuck!

Both the jar and the cloths are from Target. If I did it over again, I would get a more quality cloth, like these. If you are an Amazon shopper, and want to buy the jar, here is a link.

Clean Momma also got rid of paper napkins and cloths to wash her children’s faces. She said she is saving at least $20.00 a month by not having to buy paper products!

Even though I am not a fan of bleach, I do occasionally bleach these white cloths. I also started keeping the jar under my sink, as I wanted a bit more counter space. If I had more room, I would for sure keep it on the counter, it is handy and I think the jar actually looks pretty!

Are you getting the itch to spring clean?

De-clutter?

**I’m happy to be linking to these parties.

RECIPES/ Sides

Bean & Corn Salsa With Rice, Cheese & Chips To Dip

My friend, Traci, came to visit a few weeks ago. She didn’t want me to have to make lunch, so she brought along an awesome lunch of brown rice, homemade bean and corn salsa, some cheese and tortilla dipping chips. It was the most delicious, filling and simple lunch! I loved it. I knew after my first bite that I would want to share it with you all, so I grabbed my camera and took the picture above.

The salsa has amazing flavor. I am not a cilantro fan, so I was excited to see that this recipe used parsley instead. The lime juice and sweet onion were key ingredients for me.

We have been trying to eat less red meat around here, adding at least one non-meat meal a week. This recipe is the perfect way to get some fiber, veggies, and protein from the cheese and beans. If you wanted more protein, a side of grilled chicken would be perfect, you could serve it on a bed of rice with the salsa on top–pretty! I’ve been thinking about this recipe ever since I tried it and can’t wait to make it for my family!

Bean & Corn Salsa

3c. chopped seeded tomato (4-5 Roma)
1/2c. chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion
1/2c. chopped tomatillos (about 2 med.)
1/4c. canned black beans, rinsed and drained (I like 1/2c.)
1/4c. fresh corn kernels (I just throw frozen kernels straight in – I like 1/2c.)
2T. finely chopped fresh parsley
2T. fresh lime juice (1 med. lime)
1/2t. salt
1/2t. pepper
1/2t. hot sauce

Combine; cover and chill for at least 2 hours. I usually make the night before. Of course, I like mine put over Rice with a little cheese heated up in the microwave and then served with tortilla chips!

If you have never cooked with a tomatillo, what you need to look for at the store are tomatillos with green (not brown) papery skin, and firm flesh–no soft spots. The paper skin peels right off,(lil’ cutie shows you how in the first video below) and you can eat them raw or you can roast them, then blend them up into a green salsa (second video below). When eaten raw, they are firm and have a bit of a tart taste, which is perfect for the Bean & Corn Salsa recipe above. Roasting makes them smokey and soft.

HOME/ How-Tos/ RECIPES/ Simplifying

Menu Planning For The Whole Family

**This is a guest post from Lisa @ The Pennington Point

Not being a natural cook, I have to stay organized or most of our meals would consist of frozen corn dogs and ‘Nilla Wafers. By teaching myself to make a plan, make a list and write it all down I do much better in the dinner department.

Having several kids that are old enough to cook, you can bet I get them in on the work. I assigned them each a morning to make breakfast and night to cook dinner and they decide what they want to prepare. On Sunday they each give me a list of what they need for their meals. I have veto power, of course. Sometimes I change their plan, especially when their meal includes ingredients that cost more than our monthly budget.

Once I have their list, I figure out what we need for the rest of the week and head to the store. I do NOT let myself buy anything that is not on my list. Just making that rule for myself has saved me a lot of money, especially considering my weakness for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. If they are not on the list then I can’t buy them (Sometimes I put them on the list; I’m not a martyr).

Once I get home with the groceries, I write out the menu while the kids put everything away. I found a magnetic calendar that I keep on the fridge with the menu for the week. The one I use is not available anymore, but there are several on Amazon that would work just the same, or you can simply use paper. I write the whole week of meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, on the board.

With the menu on the fridge and the ingredients in the pantry, we all know what to expect. Anyone can look at the list to see what we are having any given meal. Another benefit, if Mommy sleeps late or is busy reading blogs the kids can just look at the menu and make their own breakfast….not that I would ever do that, but you know….other people might have that problem.

This simple system has saved me time, money and the headache of stopping at 5:00 and trying to figure out what to make for dinner. Each morning I look at the list and do the dinner prep in advance. If there’s soup for dinner, I can chop the onions during the day. I can toss bread in the bread machine or mix up the dry ingredients for cornbread any time.

I have a few helpers (besides my children) that keep the work load light. My rice steamer is a lifesaver. I can toss brown rice in the steamer in the morning and it stays hot until we eat it that night. My bread machine makes whole wheat bread, which is helpful when I haven’t had time to bake. I love my blender wand for making soups. If you could only start with one of these…I’d say get a steamer. You can get one at Target for less than $30 and it will change your life.

To sum up: meal plan (let the kids plan one meal), list, shopping, menu on the fridge. So, so, so easy. If I can make it work, believe me….anyone can!

Thank You, Lisa!

I love how you get your kids involved. I was just thinking this week about how old my girls are getting and how important it is that I teach them how to cook! I think the best way is to have them do it themselves on a regular basis, your post confirmed my thoughts.

For More of Lisa please visit her blog, The Pennington Point. You won’t regret it. I especially love her home decor, she is bold but tasteful, and so homey. Isn’t that piano to die for? Yes, she is bold enough to paint her piano blue, and I LOVE IT!

THE PENNINGTON POINT–The experiences of mothering a large family on a budget, keeping a lovely home and training children Biblically

Lisa’s Etsy Shop— Personalized with a fresh perspective

Brunch/ RECIPES

“Toad In A Hole” Breakfast

I had never made these before, but when I had my mastectomy, my friend, Sharon, came from Chicago to stay with me for a week. She was a nurse to me, and loved all over my girls. While she was here she made this “Toad In A Hole” breakfast a few times. It has become a favorite of ours. It is so fast and easy, and quite filling for each person, if I add fruit to the plate. It makes me miss my friend every time I make it. Everyone should have a friend like her– I love you, Sharon!!

It is my middle child’s birthday weekend. I did not have the energy to throw a party, so we took the money we usually would spend for a party and had a “double-date dinner, manicures, and spending- spree- at- the- mall” birthday night out. We were with my daughter’s friend and her mom, Carma, who is a great friend of mine. It was a super fun night out, ending with Caramelicious Frappucinos (decaf of course)– my girl thought she was old enough to drink coffee–she isn’t! Hers sat untouched, despite the fact that she tasted mine and was convinced she liked it and was old enough to have one of her own!

We had my daughter’s friend spend the night. We have a breakfast tradition of pancakes and eggs anytime we have a sleepover. Again, my energy was not great, so instead of pancakes I decided to make “Toads In A Hole” The kids loved them, and it only took minutes!