My lil drummer

TD BEARS! :)



Okay, I am officially back into the swing of my blog! YAY!

I've finally uploaded all my pics and have gotten some developed, so HERE GOES! These are some of my favorites from our trip down South of my niece.


This is my niece Savannah Hayden- a future drummer? Cheerleader? Oh, and my snuggler!

Indian stuffed peppers

This is my favorite go to dinner!

2 green peppers, 1 large eggplant, 2 T olive oil, 1 onion diced, 2T garam masala, 1/2 Boursin cheese round, 1 T cilantro dry or 2 T fresh s & p to taste 1 T garlic.

Sauce
1 T oil, 1/2 c water, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 medium chopped onion, 1 c yogurt, 1 jar Patak's Vindaloo curry paste

Rice cooked and served with peppers.

Preheat oven to 400- cook peppers 35-45 minutes.
1. Slice onion, eggplant (peel first), gut green peppers and place peppers in baking dish with oil drizzled ( helps soften while baking.)
2. Heat oil, add onion, garlic until onions are translucent.
3. Add eggplant, I use a wok. It works best for the eggplant. Fry until it softens then add cilantro, salt, pepper, and gar am masala.
4. Stir about a minute. Add cheese to eggplant mixture and let melt slightly.
5. Add to stuffed peppers and add to oven for 45 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make sauce. Add oil, onion, and fry til translucent, add tomatoes and water. Next add curry paste, stir for a couple minutes, then add yogurt. Leave on low, until served, stirring once in awhile.
7. Make rice.
8. On each plate put a scoop of rice, the pepper and the sauce!

Traveling

Yes, I've been traveling a lot for work and personal reasons but my resolution is to blog more! I got home from California on Friday December 17th. On Saturday am we left for Chicago. Visited my Grandma and celebrated her 97th birthday. Saw my niece Madison and nephew Mason, sister Julie and bil Shannon, Dad and his wife Maria and finally Mom and Snickers! It was wonderful and then we went back to Grand Rapids for a couple of days and dropped off the dogs at Holiday Pet Resort and headed south! We drove 9 hours the first day and spent the night in Goodletsville TN and now we are in Kennesaw GA spening some time with Johns brother Wade and his wife Lori and their puppy Tucker! Later this week onto South Carolina! I love vacation!

Julia Child

Well, John & I saw the movie, Julie & Julia, in December... after watching that movie, I HAD to have the cookbooks.. it was a nice Christmas present! :) Got volume I and volume II! YAY!

So... we needed to use up some cabbage... John and I have been eating a lot more vegetables and I didn't want the cabbage to go to waste.. SO I made my first Julia recipe.. that's right on SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

For a quick appetizer we had a Cheddar Ball, courtesy of our local Kingma's Market..www.kingmas.com. Then I made a Chipotle like guacamole! YUM YUM! I just did a search in google for "Chipotle Guacamole" it was yummy! Go to www.chipotle.com if you want more information.

Anyway, here is what I made and the soup is delicious!
Soupe Aux Choux-Garbure (Main-course Cabbage soup)

3 1/2 quarts water
3-4 cups peeled, quartered "boiling" potatoes
A 1 1/2 pound chunk of lean salt pork, lean bacon, or smoked, unprocessed ham (I USED BACON)

Place the water, potatoes and meat in the kettle and bring to a boil.

2 lbs of roughly sliced cabbage
8 crushed peppercorns or a big pinch of ground chili peppers (I used chili powder)
Salt as necessary, near the end
6 parsley sprig tied with 1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp thyme
4 cloves mashed garlic
2 medium onions studded with 2 cloves
2 peeled, quartered carrots.

Optional additions: 2-4 peeled, quartered turnips
2-3 celery stalks (*I used this!)
1-2 cups fresh white beans, or half-cooked navy beans, or add canned white or red beans to soup 10 to 15 minutes before end of simmering.

After the water, potatoes and soup were to a boil. Add the cabbage and all other ingredients. Simmer partially covered for 1 1/2 hours- 2 hours or until the meat is tender/ Discard parsley bundle. Remove the meat, slive it into serving pieces and return it to the kettle. Correct seasoning. Skim off accumulated fat.

* If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered. Reheat to simmer before serving.

Serve in soup plates with hard-toasted French bread.

DELICIOUS! :)

Tiropitas anyone?

This recipe was delicious! Just make sure you don't overdo the butter on each level and work with the phyllo quickly!

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese 5 eggs, beaten 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 1 cup butter, melted 1 (16 ounce) package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed in refrigerator
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, eggs and feta cheese until well blended. Brush melted butter onto one sheet of phyllo dough at a time, and layer them in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish until you have 7 sheets. Let the sheets rest up against the sides of the dish as well. Spread the cheese mixture over the phyllo layers, then repeat the process with 7 more sheets, tucking in the sides around the edges.
Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown and crisp. Cut into squares and serve warm.

Recipe courtesy of www.allrecipes.com

Love soup?!?!

It's the winter.. so nothing says winter like a good bowl of soup! Last night I made a delicious potato soup.. tonight, I wanted something with a little of meat and a little of spice! SOOOO.. I remembered tasting this soup that my hubby had at Carrabba's (www.carrabbas.com) a sausage soup with lentils.. so my search was on! I found this fabulous recipe on www.recipezaar.com and it is DELICIOUS! ENJOY!

Here is the recipe- I actually ended up using 3 cups more of water *instead of chicken stock* and added an extra 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes!

SERVES 8

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup carrot, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb Italian sausage, spicy hot and in bulk
1/2 cup ham, diced
7 cups water
5 cups chicken broth
1 lb lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 tomato, diced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in large soup pot. Add onion, carrot, garlic, and sausage to the pot, Saute for 8 minutes, stirring often. Break up the sausage into small bits as it cooks.
2. Add ham and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 hour.

New updates!

Dear bloggy,

Sorry again for the neglect! I hope to keep up better now!


Announcing! My newest niece, Savannah Hayden Eva Mathias! She was born September 28 th! 7 lbs, 10 ounces and 21 inches long! I am very blessed to have another niece in my life! I have already flown down to South Carolina and have seen her twice! She is so beautiful and of course, a Hawkeye. Enjoy a few pics of her!