Ricotta Beet Green Ravioli

You never throw away the green tops that adorn beets, do you?? No, never! You should saute them and mix them with cheese and turn them into ravioli which you should top with butter and devour until you have to unbutton your pants. But seriously - don't throw them away, k? It's criminal. Beet greens taste amazing sauteed simply in garlic and olive oil. Add a fried egg and you've got yourself a delicious breakfast or lunch. Other than that cooking method, I'm stumped. So after a quick web search on "beet greens" I'm inspired to make ravioli.

Chicken and Dumplings

Who in their right mind makes a hot chicken stew when its 86 degrees outside? Me, that's who! Why? I know - WHY? Why did I whip this up in the middle of August? Because I had cold chicken that needed to be made into something yummier. Something edible. Something that didn't go into the trash, because I loathe wasting food. Two chicken thighs and 2 legs later you have...Chicken and Dumplings. So much more appealing than nawing on a cold chicken leg.

Kale, Sausage, & Potato Soup {Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copy Cat}

Continuing on the Kale Saga I present to you ever so delicious soup with kale. And sausage. And potatoes. And beans. And fairy dust. And sparkles. Not really. I know - you're thinking potatoes and beans. Why the overkill? Well yes, in fact, I am putting both in the pot. And you must put both in your pot, too because the soup becomes more hearty and manly. Yeah, I'd call this man-food. And who doesn't need another man pleasing food recipe in their back pocket? Or just plain DEE-LISH-ISS food recipe in their back pocket, but it's not really in your back pocket because that would just be ridiculous to keep recipes in your back pocket, not to mention super unorganized so just keep it in your recipe binder or wherever you keep recipes. OK? Thanks. Uh-huh. Rock on! WORK IT. Well... now that I've got that out of my system. You're not still reading this are you? Because I would stop now if I were you.

Gazpacho

It's Monday -- the day I let my 2 year old zone out on the iPad all morning and the 5 year old take on the Star Wars Wii Empire. Umhmm, Mom of the Year Award. Back to the grind. But only for 3 more days because on Friday we're headed to Northern Wisconsin to go salmon fishing! Whoop. I guess the boat is wavy and vomit-inducing because the captain won't allow you on-board without taking Dramamine. OK. Just not the usual booze cruise I'm used to. Next Monday I'll need a vacation from my vacation. Next Monday I'll need a recipe like this Gazpacho recipe. One I can throw all ingredients into a blender, whiz, chill and have ready for supper after a mad session at the gym. A recipe my kids will eat. A recipe that my husband will eat. A recipe that says "go on with your bad self, girl."  Actually, this recipe is none of those things, but it is healthy!

Corn and Kale Fritters

Another confession. My other confession was here. Today's confession: My family eats dinner with a table half-full of legos. We have an 8-person table. One half Star Wars Empire, one half happy family complaining over corn and kale fritters. We just carry on as if the other side of the table isn't full of chaos. Does that bother you? Shock you? No? You must be a parent of small children. Good thing we're only a family of 4. Where else would anyone sit?

Chicken Stock

Have you ever felt you have a hoarding problem when it comes to chicken stock? I have. Weird? Probably. Half of my deep freeze is containers of stock. Homemade stock is...well...its my essence! Wierd, again? Look at the ingredient list of boxed stock. It's about 2 inches long. No thanks.

Blueberry Coconut Baked Oatmeal

Confession: I hate doing dishes. I could cook all day and be happy as a clam. But to do all those dishes is sheer torture. Job hazard, I guess.

Lavash Bread

Baking bread using yeast was something my mother never attempted. She baked frozen bread loaves and in my childhood memory they were a special treat. The bread pan would sit atop the fridge and wait. All afternoon. It would get bigger and bigger. Then we got to bake it. The smell. OH, the smell. And then the butter. OH, the butter. And my life was complete.

Minestrone Summer Soup

I love soup. I love making soup. I love chopping up the carrots, onions and celery that start most soup. I love eating soup. I love reheating soup in a huge coffee mug. I love using a gigantic spoon to eat soup. I want to marry soup.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've discovered the trick to making soft, light and fluffy cookies. Cookies that don't flatten into pancakes. Cookies that aren't crispy, like crackers. Flat and crispy cookies are sooo not my style. Refrigerate the dough! Ta-da! Are you totally blown away? I know. Everyone's been doing it for centuries - OK, maybe not that long, but I'm a late-adopter.

Monkey Muffins

Muffins are on my radar today. Muffins that are mini and incredibly easy and have a fun name. Monkey Muffins. I wonder how someone picked the name of these little morsels of deliciousness? Maybe because the people who eat them look and act like monkey's most of the time? Probably not.

Roasted Garlic and Chickpea Veggie Burgers

After a weekend of naughty eating and drinking my weight in beer (yuk!) I'm going on a veggie burger fast. Veggie burgers will make me feel better about my food choices, right? That little voice in my head will stop berating me for eating 3 bags of Australian licorice last week - RIGHT? Ahem. Yes. You are still here? The title of this recipe has roasted garlic as the first two words - so as to warn people. It's garlicky. Which, for me, I love. Especially when roasted to a sugary, mellowed-out garlic flavor. Others - maybe not so much. You might consider throwing half the head of garlic, instead of the whole head. 

Chocolate Pudding

Are you a mother of small children? Do your children devour pudding packaged in plastic cups with ingredients with the letter 'X' in them? Yeah? Me, too. But I loathe the idea of giving my kiddos hydrogenated oil of who-wha-where and maltodextrin-whaa-ja-say? Solution: Wholesome homemade pudding. Seriously yummy. Seriously simple. Oh, and you could easily put this in a baked pie shell, too!

Ginger Soy Salmon

If you can get my 5-year-old and 2-year-old to eat salmon I would pay you a million dollars. Not really. But, seriously! It's so tasty and healthy, just C'mon, eat it already! My husband and I recently ate at a sushi restaurant and our table was directly across from a mother with her two sons who were digging into none other than, gasp, grilled salmon filets! No whining. No, "EWW, what's that!??" coming from their mouths. Just empty plates. I gaped. I poked Travis in the ribs. I outright stared. Well, I tried to serve it at our home, but with no such luck. Each child ate their obligatory "No Thank You" helping and went hungry that night. Sigh. 

Carrot Almond Cake

I've made a gluten free dessert. And it actually tastes good. Sometimes you waste time, energy and expensive ingredients when you experiment. Not today. Today is a day of cake that kinda tastes like Grandma's Impossible Pie, because it has layers - magical layers that you never created, but just exist in the final product.  The bottom layer is kinda custard-ey and the top layer is spring-ey and cake like. It gets more kick from cardamom (ah, the Swedes) - a lot of it, a whole tablespoon. I wasn't sure about that measurement, but it works so well with carrots. My hubby said it reminded him of Indian food. There is no flour and you can avoid sugar all together if you can get your hands on some vegetable glycerine (what is that, anyway?). If you like your cake less sweet I would recommend taking out a 1/2 cup of sugar - it was a little sweet for me. Not having vegetable glycerine, I used a combo of honey, sugar and coconut oil. It doesn't really need frosting, but I put some on to make it more appealing to the cuties in my house. The original recipe called for cream cheese frosting, but never having cream cheese in the house, I did a powdered sugar and coconut oil frosting.

Vegetable Pancakes

 Do you ever find a recipe online and count the days, minutes and seconds until you can create it?  Do you check your fridge three or four times a day making sure you have the right ingredients, wondering when you'll be able to eat your masterpiece, keeping track of how many kale leaves you have (actually, I'm sure no sane person ever goes through that)? For me, it was this recipe from Smitten Kitchen that un-did me. However, I had to wait several days before the stars would align and I would find some time in the kitchen while my two little monkeys gave me a break from Hot Wheeling down the driveway. Grandma took them to Despicable Me 2 and they came home talking like little yellow men that say "BEE-DO BEE-DO BEE-DO." Back to the pancakes.

Tomato and Burrata Baguette

Spanish Bocadillos are one of Spain's greatest everyday culinary treats. In college I was able to spend a Summer eating my fill of all things Spanish.  A Bocadillo is really just a simple sandwich, not a lot of condiments or sauces.  Just really good ingredients.  Amazing, crusty, FRESH bread that has been rubbed with tomato and layered with salty ham or jamon serrano was my favorite version.  

Thai Basil Iced Tea

One of my childhood memories is gazing at an enormous pitcher of water with tea bags and a ton of cut lemon basking in the Summer's heat on my Aunt's sunny picnic table.  Wondering how odd it was that the sun would cook the tea.

Cheddar-Fennel Scones

 

When this showed up in my weekly CSA box I originally assumed it was the herb dill.  The "dill" stayed in my crisper drawer, delicately wrapped in a damp paper towel, awaiting its rendezvous with cheddar so as to become one of Ina Garten's Cheddar-Dill Scones.  Upon unwrapping and sniffing "Mr. Dill" my direction in the kitchen changed as I sniffed not dill, but licorice and anise and nothing dilly, at all. Total let-down. What could that be??  Fennel?  There was no bulb at the bottom of the fronds.  But, yes, it was fennel. My box contained fennel fronds. What the heck do people do with fennel fronds other than store them in your freezer for one year because you can't imagine throwing something away telling yourself you'll use them one day?  Yeah, right.  Could it go in my scone?  Sure.  The recipe has 3 sticks of butter - what isn't going to taste heavenly with 3 sticks of butter in it?

Preserved Green Beans

 
Ah, Summer.  How I love thee.  I love the car windows down - air on my skin, whipping my hair around. Being hot and sweaty all the time.  Diving into lakes.  Parades.  Festivals.  Garden produce.  GARDEN PRODUCE.  Best part. BEST. PART.  Summer doesn't last long enough in Minnesota.  So, in my futile attempt to drag it out I use a squirrel/hoarding technique of stacking my freezer with so many frozen what-nots that Summer can be had in January.

Caper Tuna Salad

 
I'm a creature of habit.  Every month I forget that I'm female and am reminded of my femaleness by being tormented by the fact that I believe I am the Michelin Man. After the Michelin Man consumes my brain for a day and a half I turn to carb-less creations.  Like this one. It was kinda like a gourmet Subway Sandwich (minus the bread). Their tuna salad is sooo--ooo good! I add capers to mine to add extra flavor and fancy-shmancy-ness. Because of the capers don't add any salt - or proceed with caution, my salad didn't need any extra salt because of the salty, briny caper-yummalishness.  Try it!

 

Chard Pie

 

Are you wondering how Swiss chard is going to taste in pie form?  Absolutely scrumptious!!  The 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and generous serving of parmigiano reggiano might have something to do with that.

This was served as dinner to my mom, dad, brother and sister with a beautiful green salad and cheddar fennel scones (recipe to come on future blog post - think butter, butter, butter!).  Everyone ate every morsel from their plate. They raved.  They ooh'd.  They ahh'd.  They wanted it for breakfast.  My mom beat my dad to the kitchen next morning, which he was very sorry for.

Lemon Balm Shortbread

What is lemon balm you ask? It's an herb with a wonderful minty, lemony aroma. It's great steeped as tea, made into pesto, and the plant itself attracts butterflies to gardens. Lovely. It made an appearance in my CSA box which totally excited me because I've never used lemon balm before. I decided to swap out the basil that was called for in this cookie's original recipe for lemon balm. Why not??

Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce

 My sage plant is running rampant.  What shall I do??  There is not much I eat with sage, other than Thanksgiving Day stuffing.  A hot plate of stuffing is exactly what I don't want in July.  I walk by my sage plant and run my fingers through it to smell it.  Its kinda musty and gross.  I wasn't sure I'd like the sage in this sauce, but I do. Oh, yes, I do. Actually, the sage was the best part!!  I wanted more of those crisp-ity, butter-ery little sage bites.  The flavor competely mellowed out.  Yumma!!

Summer Vedge Pizza

This pizza is simple.  Its fresh and tasty - full of seasonal vegetables.   I love to use Trader Joe's pre-made pizza dough. It comes in a plastic bag and it cost like a dollar!!  Let's be honest, that's what makes this so simple.