May 21, 2015
by Ashley
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Rice Pudding

Tonight I made extra rice with dinner, with rice pudding in mind. I told the kids that I would make a delicious breakfast rice pudding, and they told me they won’t be eating it. Too bad for them! This time my rice pudding turned out really well. Very thick, and custardy. Not too runny or sugary. Give it a try and let me know what you think. We are going to serve it in the morning with some brandied Door County cherries we have been slowly eating this winter.

Rice Pudding

4 cups Arborio rice
4 cups 2% milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla

Combine rice, milk, sugar, dry milk and salt in a large sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer until thick, about 30 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk eggs and vanilla together. Gradually add a couple of heaping spoonfuls of rice into eggs while whisking constantly. You don’t want the eggs to cook. Once you have about 6 spoonfuls of hot rice mixture added to the eggs, pour the egg mixture in with the rest of the rice, stirring constantly. Keep stiring for two minutes. Remove from heat. It is ready to eat or reserve in the refrigerator for the next morning.

May 19, 2015
by Ashley
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Airy Knit Cowl

I love making presents for friends and family. I usually have really good intentions and attempt to make more than humanly possible. But once in a while, I will get my knit projects done in time. I made a cowl for my sister-in-law with this an easy stitch and a lightweight yarn. My intention was for it to be worn in the summer, but after I was finished it was a little heavier. She was excited to be able to wear it to work where she is cold all of the time.

I started it out thinking I would leave it long like a scarf, but then decided to connect the ends into a cowl shape.

Here is the scarf pattern I based this cowl off of called The Open Air Wrap. I cut down the size of the scarf by half since I wasn’t using the silk that was recommended. Turned out really well and was really easy to knit. Only thing that seemed difficult was if you dropped a stitch, you would have to back track and it is hard to figure out how to pick it back up.

May 16, 2015
by Ashley
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Multigrain Waffles

Weekends have been getting busier lately since spring has finally sprung. We seem to have a lot of plans and not as much down time. We have a lot of camping weekends, lake weekends and a small vacation coming up. Lots of fun places for us to try new recipes. I will try to keep up and share, but most nights I sit down with my family and forget completely about taking a picture of what we made and writing about it.

Since today is a nice, lazy Sunday morning for us. I decided to try these waffles out again. I made these a couple weeks ago, and forgot taking a picture before the kids devoured them. Having these in the freezer makes for a very easy morning and a fast breakfast for us and the kids. I just pop the frozen waffles into the toaster, and breakfast is ready in moments. This recipe can easily be used for pancakes as well and make about 10 waffles.

Multigrain Waffles

1 cup oats
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup

Blend oats in blender until flour like. Pour into a stand mixer along with the rest of the dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while mixer is on a low speed. Mix thoroughly. Heat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray. Cook 1/4 cup batter per waffle.

May 12, 2015
by Ashley
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Pad Thai

Paul found a Thai place in college that he went to at least once a week. I wasn’t introduced to Thai food until we started dating. This spicy yet somehow sweet dish is wonderful. If we make it without spice, the kids like it as well. We stay true to the dish we liked so much from college, only using tofu

Pad Thai

8 oz Rice noodles, medium sized
1/2 cup tamarind paste
1/2 cup boiling water

1 container extra firm tofu
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup sambal oelek (optional)
2 tbsp lime juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 -4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 eggs
1 – 2 cups bean sprouts (or small package)
2 green onions
6 tbsp lightly salted peanuts, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime cut into wedges

Soak the noodles in cold water for at least 1 hour. Make sure they are covered completely.

Pour boiling water over the tamarind paste in a small bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to loosen up paste.

Drain and dry tofu. Cut into thin slices. About an inch by a fourth inch. Set aside.

Combine fish sauce, sugar and lime juice. Add sambal oelek (amount optional depending how spicy you want this). Drain tamarind paste through a sieve into this fish sauce mixture. Press tamarind paste to seperate solids from paste. Scrap paste from the bottom of the sieve and discard solids.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok. Add 2 scrambled eggs into the oil and let sit without touching for 2 minutes. Let cook through. Add in garlic and cook 30 seconds. Then add in tofu and cook 2 minutes. Add in softened and drained noodles and stir. Pour fish sauce mixture over noodles and saute about 1 minute. Add in sprouts, chopped peanuts and green onions and carefully stir. Try not to break the noodles.

Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. If you want more heat, add more sambal oelek at this time.

May 9, 2015
by Ashley
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Portabella Mushroom Risotto

Risotto has become an easy, go to meal for us in recent years. We usually start off with our usual base, and then add in ingredients such as the mushrooms in this dish. It always comes out perfect.

Portabella Mushroom Risotto

(Usual Base)
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup arborio rice (short grain rice)
1/2 cup white wine (anything open is fine)
4 cups chicken stock, warmed
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
salt & pepper to taste

6 portabella mushroom caps
2 cups fresh spinach
2 tbsp chives

In a large sauce pan, bring chicken stock to a simmer. Heat a large, high-sided saute pan and add olive oil and onions. Saute about 5 minutes or until softened, don’t brown. Add in garlic and saute another minute. Add in cup of rice and stir. Add in mushrooms and saute another 3 – 5 minutes, until moisture is cooked out of them a little. Deglaze with white wine, stirring constantly. Slowly add in a half cup of stock, stirring slowly but constantly to make sure all rice has been incorporated. Let the stock cook into the rice a little while still stirring. This process will take a bit. Slowly stir in a half cup to cup of stock and stir until well combined before adding anymore stock. This will help the rice become creamy without adding cream.

When you have about a 1/2 cup left of stock, add in spinach, chives and parmesan before you add the last bit of stock. The stock will help wilt the spinach. Slowly stir everything and let cook down to creamy rice. Don’t forget to stir! This process usually takes 20 – 30 minutes. It seems like a lot of time, but it is worth it. Garnish with a little more shredded parmesan.

May 8, 2015
by Ashley
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Camp Breakfast Biscuits

Summer is approaching and we are starting to get excited! We are going to start taking the kids camping! We have most of our gear organized now, from tents and sleeping bags, to glow pets and cookware. Needless to say, Paul & I are most excited about the camp food we can make. Finnegan is excited about “nature tracking” meaning walking paths, and Isla…she is excited for smores. My little sweet lover.

So after a trip to Chicago to gather some of Paul’s old camping equipment, we finally feel ready. We are now collecting recipes that sound fun. Pinterest has been a big help, but a recent trip to the library also was fairly fruitful.

As the baker in our family, I felt a good breakfast biscuit recipe would be fun. I didn’t make this in a camp stove, but wanted to make sure the recipe worked before we try it outside.

These biscuits turned out really well. Created into a breakfast sandwich on this morning, but will be served with butter and homemade jams the next.

Camp Breakfast Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup instant dry nonfat milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cups water (plus a little extra)

*This recipe was originally doubled. I have revised it to be half as many biscuits.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add in olive oil and mix well. Can be reserved in a plastic bag at this point and water added as needed. Mix well until dough comes together. Add small amounts of water if the dough is too dry. Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter or empty clean tin can. This will yield about 15 smaller biscuits.

This is where my recipe differs from the original. Place biscuits on a silpat and place in a preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes or until browned.

If making these while out in the woods, you will need to use a dutch oven to bake. Arrage the biscuits on the bottom of the dutch oven, close together. Place lid on dutch oven. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes using 13 coals on the lid and 6 underneath. Bake until the biscuits are the same golden color on the top as the oven version. Rotate oven in fire often to prevent biscuit bottoms from burning.

From the book Lip Smackin’ Car Campin’.

May 5, 2015
by Ashley
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Barley & Lentil Veggie Burgers

I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes I can go for a good veggie burger. I have tried to make different veggie burgers in the past, but these are the ones I usually go back to. They are worth the time and effort and they freeze well. I usually eat them plain or with a topping, but recently tried melting mozzarella on top and spreading tomato sauce on a wrap for lunch and they were great!

Barley & Lentil Veggie Burgers

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lentils

1/2 cups pearl barley
1 1/2 cups water

Olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup carrot, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided

1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2 large eggs
3 tbsp canola oil, divided

Bring 1 1/2 cups water and lentils in a saucepan to a boil. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain. Split cooked lentils in half in a large bowl and half in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add processed lentils to whole lentils in large mixing bowl.

Bring 1 1/2 cups water and barley in a separate saucepan to boil. Cover and simmer for 35 – 50 minutes until tender. You may need to check to see if cooked through.

Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and carrot; sauté 6 minutes or until tender, stir frequently. Add garlic and cook another minute. Add tomato paste, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 1 minute, stir constantly. Add onion mixture to lentils. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, barley, bread crumbs, parsley, pepper and eggs. Stir well. This can be refrigerated at this time or cooked immediately.

I like to make the patties smaller, so about 1/4 cup of mixture per patty. Heat half of the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat.

Based off of Cooking Lights recipe.

In Cooking Light they serve these veggie burgers with a fruit salsa, but I served mine with a yogurt & cucumber sauce.

May 3, 2015
by Ashley
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Sweet Pea Soup

Yes…another pureed soup! It is wonderful and worth a try. Oh, and super easy.

Sweet Pea Soup

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 10oz bag frozen sweet peas
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups chicken stock

Garnish
Fresh cracked pepper, olive oil and a teaspoon of yogurt.

In a large sauce pan, heat up olive oil and saute onion for about 2 minutes. Add in frozen peas and seasoning. Saute another 2 minutes. Add in chicken stock and let come to a boil. Carefully transfer soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour back into sauce pan and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and cracked pepper. We also added a teaspoon or so of yogurt swirled throughout.

April 30, 2015
by Ashley
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Homemade Croutons

There are many things you can make with my Everyday Bread recipe. Sandwiches, french toast…really it is just like any loaf of bread. But there is something about fresh baked bread that I love.

I had a 3 inch loaf leftover and needed some croutons to go with a salad. So I made these!

Homemade Croutons

leftover/remaining loaf of bread (could be either store bought or homemade)
granulated garlic
olive oil
kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400°F. It is hard to say exactly what the measurements of this should be. It really depends on how many croutons you would like to make.

Cut loaf of bread into even bite sized cubes. Put the cubes on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle a little granulated garlic and kosher salt over the cubes and pop them in the oven for about 5 – 7 minutes. Check to see if they are starting to get a little crispy, turn them and bake another minute or so. Keep an eye on these so they don’t burn.

April 29, 2015
by Ashley
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Quick & Easy Potato Salad

Leftovers can work so well for this recipe. I made my Garlic Red Potatoes the other night, and used the leftovers to make this great potato salad. It came together in minutes!

Quick & Easy Potato Salad

2 cups chopped Garlic Red Potatoes leftovers (or cooked red potatoes)
4 tbsp mayo
2 tsp grainy mustard
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 stalk celery
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 slice bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced and broken in

Mix all together and enjoy. Taste to see if needs any salt or pepper. Super easy!