It's Not Easy Being Green

 

I want to go green...I really do. I bought six of these lovely bags with the full intention of using them EVERY time I went to the grocery store. No exceptions. It's what responsible people do, right? 

Well, yeah. And then there's reality. Maybe other people are really good at using their reusable grocery bags. They must be - I've seen them with them at the check-out stand. But I am, well, terrible at it. I never remember to grab them until I'm already at the store. I tried putting them in my car to help me remember - but still no luck. Or I'd think of them, but be driving the other car. The one without bags. 

Maybe it counts for something that at least one bag serves as our container to collect stuff to be recycled??? 

Last week I rearranged some things in the kitchen, and decided to hang the bags up. Now they are right beneath the car keys - there should be no problem remembering now! 

Ahem. Well, unless you're me!! ;-) So far I'm 1/1. But we'll see how it goes. Maybe there's still hope for me.

Hosting An Easter Brunch

This year we had my daughter with us for Easter weekend. I'm so happy that we were able to bring her up for this holiday.
We wanted to celebrate with our family that lives in the area, so we hosted an Easter brunch. We served Puffed Oven Pancakes from the Better Homes & Garden New Cookbook (my husband's specialty! Although this time I made it...but it really does taste better when he does it!), Sour Cream Coffee Cake from a set of family recipes from my older childrens' paternal side of the family, sausage, applewood smoked bacon - prepared in the oven, a trick I learned from my brother last summer - muffins from the local grocery store, ham brought by my in-laws, a delicious fruit bowl from our Meme and Pepe, and scrambled eggs. Pepe commented that he'd come back anytime. :-)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

In large bowl combine:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

Cut in:

1/3 cup butter or margarine

Measure out 1/4 cup and set aside. To the rest add and mix well:

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Add and mix well:

1/2 cup dairy sour cream

Spread batter into greased 8x8x2 inch baking pan.

Stir together and sprinkle atop batter in pan:

reserved crumble mixture

1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Bake 30-35 minutes in 350 degree oven.

Makes 9 servings.

Try it out! It has become one of our family favorites, and we make it for late weekend breakfasts, and then enjoy snacking on the leftovers all day!

Well, I think that about catches me up to the present on the meals I wanted to share for now. Here's to happy cooking and happy families.

Cookie Time

I made these cookies for an Easter party. I begged for the recipe from a friend of mine because when they brought some over when we had a game night a while back my husband and I completely fell in love with them! Such a great recipe.

We also took a pan of chicken enchiladas - one of my husband's favorite recipes. No pics of those though...I'll have to capture some of it the next time I make it. ;-) It was enjoyed by everyone though, and I actually had a request for the recipe! Yay!!

Jambalaya - Takes Us Back to Our "Nawlins" Days For Realz

Nothing says New Orleans like jambalaya. Well, ok, maybe red beans and rice would. This was my first attempt at making jambalaya, and it came out really well. Although, it was a little too hot for me! We shared some with my in-laws, and my father-in-law looked absolutely shocked when he took a bite! But once he started to laugh I knew it was out of pleasant surprise, and not disgust, haha. He said, "I didn't know you liked spicy food!" Then, directed towards my husband, "Spicy food makes a real man!" I've hardly ever seen my father-in-law so animated - it made me feel good! Next time I think I'll make it with the regular sausage links and not the cajun seasoned ones. I can't take the heat! ;-)
We enjoyed eating this, sharing it with family, and reminiscing about our time in the South. Despite a lot of drama that we had to deal with while living there, there are wonderful memories too. It is after all, where we met, fell in love, got married (on St. Charles Avenue!!! SO romantic!), and spent so many fun days with our children. All together. I truly miss those days, and still feel like New Orleans is home. I think I will always carry a piece of it in my heart, and the song, "Do You Know What it Means?" means so much more to me now. Yes! I do know what it means to miss New Orleans.

I wish we had a more up close picture of this dish, but unfortunately we only took a bird's eye pic of this. So you'll be left to imagine the details I suppose...

For dessert I tried another new recipe. Can you say DELICIOUS?!?!? OMGosh, it's mouth-watering good. Your taste buds will absolutely explode with pleasure from this one! No joke!
It's called, "Mississippi Mud." Totally. Divine.

Both of these recipes are from the Southern Living comfort food: a delicious trip down memory lane.

A Healthy Snack

Sometimes it turns out to be the little things that are the best tasting, and the most fun! Simplicity. I love it when that happens! In this case, cucumbers. We love them at our house!

Near Disaster

This is what the first couple of pancakes looked like when I tried a new recipe, again from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook.

After a few tense and frustrating minutes and about three failures (which was like, half my batter!!!) I decided to start fresh by switching pans. I typically cook the breakfast meat (sausage or bacon) first, and then use the same pan (after pouring off the grease) to cook the rest of the meal in. But it definitely wasn't working on this day! The new pan and a lower temp seemed to do the trick.

This recipe is simply called, "Pancakes," and contains a sweet potato puree in it. They came out pretty good! Although I will admit that I haven't made them again yet, but we have had the french toast several times since trying it in March! Yum!

Someone loves fruit so much, he kept sneaking it before we sat down to eat together! :-)

French Toast With Banana Puree- A Variation On This Comfort Breakfast Food!

This morning for breakfast I tried the french toast recipe from Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious. The puree I chose to add in was banana - I figured it would be good to start with something safe! (Ok...safe and sweet!) Although I really like white bread, I decided to go ahead and buy some wheat bread for this recipe, as that is what Mrs. Seinfeld suggests in her recipe, and I know it's better for us too!  With fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries on top along with a touch of pure maple syrup, these came out delicious and filling! Great!  We also had some Canadian bacon alongside the french toast, which added a nice salty flavor to balance all of the sweet.
Here's a picture. :-)

I purchased this cookbook a couple of years ago, while we were still living in New Orleans.  I was making purees for my baby to eat (he's three now!) and when I saw this cookbook, I was excited to try it! We tried several of the recipes, and found most of them to be scrumptious.  It made us happy to know we were packing extra nutrients into the food, too! But for some reason, I haven't made a recipe from this book since moving to New England a year and a half ago.  Actually, I attribute it to the huge shock I have been going through since moving.  Due to the move, the custody arrangement I had with my ex-husband changed from an even 50/50 to him having our two children during the school year, with me ending up with only summers and holidays.  It was, and has been completely devastating.
As time has gone on, I've slowly started to find ways that help me to cope.  I've discovered that sending packages is a lot of fun!
So anyway, I'm ready to bust out the purees again.  I'm so glad I did - this breakfast was satisfying to make as well as to eat! Everyone enjoyed it, from my one-year-old to my three-year-old (who wanted seconds on the fruit!) to my husband and myself.  Thank-you, Deceptively Delicious! It feels good to be using this cookbook again.