Thursday, September 27, 2007
EDGE loves Butternut soup

NOT Real. Just a clarification there. Don't try to get me anywhere near squash.

Thank you.

That will be all.


link | posted by Real at 8:19 AM
1 comments



Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Nachos!

About this time last year, a friend invited me over for lunch. It was so yummy. She just threw some velveeta cheese into a pot with a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles and served with tortilla chips. Voila! We pigged out on that and soda while the kids played somewhere else.



Today, I just felt like eating that. So I whipped up a batch in about 5 minutes. It's not all that healthy but it sure is warm and filling. And fast. If I wasn't so lazy I would make myself a nice drink instead of sitting here with a cup of water--which really just doesn't go with nachos. But alas...


link | posted by Real at 10:43 AM
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Butternut Soup

In actuality, my family won't eat this. But -I- love it. Did you know you can roast squash seeds just like pumpkin seeds? YOU CAN! They're yummy! Clean them and salt them, then throw them on a cookie sheet and roast at 250 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Butternut Soup

1 small butternut squash

2 T. honey

1 t. salt

½ t. ground nutmeg

¼ t. ground ginger

3 cups chicken stock or bouillon

Roast the squash. First poke it with a fork or knife to vent, then pop it in the oven at 400º for 45 minutes. When you take it out, it should be soft and a little puffy (like a big baked potato). Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds, peel the skin off. It should come off easily. Cut what’s left into chunks and throw it in a pot or microwave-safe bowl.

Over the squash chunks, pour the honey, salt, nutmeg and ginger. Some dried onions can be good, too. Then pour your chicken stock over the whole thing. It should be enough to cover the squash chunks plus an inch or so. If not, add water until it does. Nobody likes dry squash.

On the stove, bring it to a low simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. In the microwave, 10 minutes on high seems to do it. Then let it cool. Now you’re going to puree it. Do it a little at a time, and vent the steam as you go, or you will have squash splatters! That little rubbery thing in the top of the lid? It comes out—ya, like that, it’s for pureeing hot stuff, just like this. You don’t think it’s hot, but when those soft chunks of cooked squash burst open—it is. Awesome.

Now, if you’re going to eat it right away, warm it back up and throw a dollop of cream on there. Yummy. If you’re saving it for later, it freezes great! What a yummy autumn treat!

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link | posted by Sarah Jean at 11:40 AM
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Chicken Wraps

Dinner last night was really wonderful! My husband just raved about it every other bite. Made me feel great. The ingredient list is small, the recipe is simple. Nevertheless, assembly took quite a while. At least to make enough to feed 9 of us.

We have a bag of precooked breaded sesame chicken that I buy periodically on sale at Macy's. But I suppose you could use any cooked chicken that you have handy. Here's what I did.

1. Take a tortilla, warmed up in the microwave so it's pliable.
2. Place two leaves of Romaine lettuce in the center.
3. In the fold of the leaves, place as much chicken as you like. We did about 4 or 5 little "nuggets."
4. Add sliced, garden fresh tomatoes
5. Add sliced onions
6. Add thinly sliced bell peppers
7. Add thinly sliced cucumbers (we actually didn't do that last night, but it would have been heavenly!)
8. Squirt the thing with a generous amount of ranch dressing.
9. Wrap the sides of tortilla around chicken mixture.
10. Wrap bottom of rolled tortilla in aluminum foil to hold it all together and prevent leaking.

YUM!


link | posted by Real at 3:38 PM
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007
After School Snacks

When my kids were younger, I used to make and serve them after school snacks. Now that they are older I pretty much let them fend for themselves. Sometimes I hate that, though. It seems like the snacking goes on forever and everyone is always asking for something.

Anyway, today, I decided to make and serve a snack again. Apple slices with peanutbutter. You can't imagine how much my kids love this snack. It's like a treat for them! And they are always asking if there is more. And since it's just apples and peanutbutter, I'm usually okay with them having a heaping helping.

My favorite is to take a really tart apple--like Granny Smith--and just smother it in peanutbutter. So yum! We've already been through 10 apples this afternoon!


link | posted by Real at 2:50 PM
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Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Taquitos

Last night for dinner, when I was NOT using a freezer meal, I made taquitos. My family loves taquitos and so do I. I don't really follow a real recipe, but here's approximately how I do it.

Get a bunch of shredded beef. You could probably used ground beef (like if you have a stock of precooked meat in your freezer like me), but I used canned beef chunks. Then I just threw it all in a skillet with some water and some taco seasoning. Not much seasoning. My husband doesn't like it much. Just enough to give it another flavor besides just plain beef. When the water had simmered off and I was just left with the seasoned meat, I chopped up some cilantro and stirred that in, too.

You can never go wrong with cilantro.

Then I got another skillet and heated some olive oil on medium heat. I dipped corn tortillas in the oil until they were soft and pliable without breaking. Then I took them out (they are pretty greasy at that point) and filled them with the meat. I roll them up and tuck the loose tortilla end underneath the roll and place them in a baking dish. When the dish is full, I stick it in a 375 degree oven until the tortillas are crisp which takes about 20-30 minutes.

They were served with rice and pico de gallo, of course! YUM!


link | posted by Real at 6:33 PM
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Psychology

You're probably wondering what on earth psychology has to do with food or meals. I don't really know. But I know there is something wrong inside my brain when it comes to food. Do they have food psychoanalysts?

I have a freezer stocked full of freezer meals. Yay, for me, right?

Yeah.

So tell me....Why is it that with all these meals in my freezer, and a dinner to prepare every night, that I can't seem to use them? Every night I start thinking about what I will make for dinner and rather than pull a ready made meal out of the freezer (even on nights when we are crazy busy!), I stand in front of the fridge or pantry looking to try and make something from scratch?


link | posted by Real at 6:31 PM
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Ever wish someone would wave a magic wand, and easy, nutritious dinners would appear on your kitchen table?

...So do we.




Out of the kitchen:
Real Beautopotamus Mothering on the Edge