2016: By The Numbers

Summer 2016; Wine in the garden

Well, well, well. Here it is the first day of 2017 and I'm going to wrap-up the year of 2016 before I even wrap up the month of December 2016. Why? Because I want to. Because I'm a rebel. But mostly because, as per usual this year, I'm running behind. The story of my life 😄

Now that the holidays are almost over and the hubby and I are tucked back into our own house again, it's time to make it a better year. I mean, there's no election this year so we already know it's got to be a superior year, right? 😉 Right. I'm going to save my New Year's goals (and 2016's learning experiences) for another day, and simply talk numbers. Here's 2016 by the numbers-

Buttermilk Brined Turkey Tenderloin Dinner

Are you having a small(ish) Thanksgiving this year? Or people over who claim "I just don't like turkey!"? What about guests that will only eat white meat? Or picky children who refuse their plate if a piece of dark meat touched something on it? If you answered "yes" to any of the preceding questions, turkey tenderloins might be for you! Turkey tenderloin is soooooo moist and flavorful, and you won't have near the leftovers you would cooking a whole turkey. Plus, everybody loves that breast meat, right? You might even win over that person who doesn't like turkey! 😁

Since I've Been Gone: July

Hi friends! It's been soooooooooo long. I didn't even mean to take such a long break, it just kind of... happened. I've had a pretty full house since I've been gone, but sadly, it's now empty. My family came to visit for almost a month, and it was AWESOME. Awesome to see and have all my family here, but I did suffer a touch of writer's block. I meant to post the week before everyone got here, but each day was crammed with chores to get the house ready for family. It seemed like every night I went to bed before their visit with a to-do list for the next day pounding in my head. This left little thought for writing.

Recipe Redux: Chile Garlic Shrimp

Ah, the shrimp. That tasty little crustacean that usually lives at the bottom of the ocean. 

Shrimp has always been, and will probably always be one of my favorite foods. It was tradition in our family home growing up to have a shrimp ring on special occasions. I can still remember sneaking into the kitchen, gazing into the fridge, grabbing a few of those suckers, and devouring them on the spot. Of course, growing up in Oregon and 60 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, there was way more access to fresh shrimp than here in landlocked Kentucky. I depend on frozen shrimp here, which isn't technically my favorite but I take what I can get. Not to mention that shrimp is expensive, so it's a once-in-a-while treat too.

I take it when I can get it, and I love it.

Lasagna with Spicy Sausage & Spinach

Let's just continue our journey of around-the-world cuisine, shall we?

I was all set to blog about muffins this morning, and then did an abrupt 360º at the last minute. I mean, I already posted cupcakes this week, and what are muffins but slightly less sweet cupcakes? Plus, I jibber-jabbered all day yesterday about my world-traveling recipes so why not expound on that?

My thoughts exactly :-)

Greek Pizza

Happy Friday all!

I really did try to blog yesterday, to ensure I got my normal 3-a-week in. However, yesterday was a morning (or rather afternoon) that I got one of those steroid shots in my back. And I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight before the procedure. That includes coffee. 

So I sat down to write yesterday and was heartily displeased to see all the existential, angsty sentences that my caffeine challenged-creativity managed to cough up. Whiny, here. Gloom and doom, there. All because Jessica's brain was without it's normal amount of coffee. Eventually, I erased everything I wrote and said, "Tomorrow then!"

Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles

I'm joining the zoodle craze.

Sure, February doesn't seem like the right time of year to start, um, zoodling, but it cannot be helped. I was catching up on reading the blogs I follow last month, in the evening and after a couple of glasses of wine. One of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay from Pinch of Yum, featured a recipe using spiralized veggies and that was all she wrote. I've had a spiralizer on my Amazon wishlist for months, but something clicked.  I had to have it. I wanted spiralized bell peppers, and cabbage, and most importantly, zoodles. The wine clearly muddled my thinking, and before I knew it, I'd already clicked "purchase" on Amazon.

Does this happen to anyone else late in the evening when they have a nice wine haze going on? I swear. Luckily, the contraption was only $30. It could have been worse :-)

Plus, the zoodles! Ohhhhhh, the zoodles...

January in Review: 2016

Did January fly by... or did January fly by?

I cannot believe the first month of 2016 is already gone. It's going to be another one of those years, I can feel it. It'll be gone before we know it. Now, I know I was a very bad blogger and I started my monthly wrap-up's again in November. Then I skipped December. Me oh my. 

I'm just going to pick right up where I left off. Let's talk about January!

We started off the year with Oregon vs TCU in the Alamo Bowl. The hubby and I were on point with our spread-

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Smoked Salmon

You might be asking yourself, "What is up with all the smoked salmon??" Well,  the answer to that is I can get very good smoked salmon around here. I can get fairly decent frozen salmon around here. I say fairly decent, because it's not fresh and to me, frozen salmon always has a different texture. A drier texture. I grew up on fresh salmon, and therefore am used to succulent, moist, delicious salmon. In Oregon, all it takes is a trip to Costco. Even though we lived about an hour from the coast, the grocery stores around us always had fresh fare.  Fresh fish is one of the things I miss most about Oregon. We tried a fresh salmon from our local big box store one time, and it was gross.  So, I stick to frozen fish and smoked salmon. Such is life.

Farfalle with Portobellos and Kale

We've all made it to the week of Thanksgiving! You know, that week where we're all constantly daydreaming about turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie... or maybe you're even prepping already. Whatever the case, this is the one week above all others where you probably don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Or maybe you don't want to eat heavy this week. Either way, this incredibly simple pasta dish is super fast and also fairly light. It's chock-full of yummy portobello mushrooms and kale. A light dusting of parmesan is all you need to top this dish off. Serve alongside a side salad, and you have a tasty, light dinner. Or serve it alongside your favorite protein for a heartier meal.

You all might already know I'm obsessed with pasta salad. I call it pasta salad, but you might as well call it what it is- cold pasta. This dish is no different. I've been eating the leftovers cold, straight from the fridge. And I'm partial to it! There's something about the texture of cold pasta that draws me in. Like Walkers to the sound of gunfire... 

Sorry, the hubby and I've been binging on "The Walking Dead". What can I say? :) 

If you do have leftovers after making this dish, my advice is to try it cold. You might like it. You might even love it.

As for serving it the first time, it is a hot dish. The kale and mushrooms are braised in a yummy butter-garlic-white wine sauce before combining everything with fresh cooked pasta. I used farfalle, but as I was making this, it occurred to me that this dish would also probably be a hit with orecchiette.  I think you could even sub in a curly pasta like rotini if you were so inclined. I just so happen to love those little bowties.

Without taking too much from a future "pie" post, I did manage to complete my pumpkin pie yesterday. My second batch of dough rolled out with only a few minor problems. Problems I have since researched and I think I can correct before I make my Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving. As I mentioned yesterday, I have plenty of "don't!"s to share with everyone. Soon!

Yesterday, the hubby and I attended our niece's very first cheerleading competition. Her team ended up getting 1st place in their division which means they get to move on to the state competition! She's only 6, which I think is pretty darn cool. If she keeps up with this, she's going to be very, very good by the time she reaches high school. The whole experience took me back to high school dance team. I only wish I'd started dancing when I was 6. I didn't start dancing until I made the dance team my sophomore year of high school. I can't imagine how much better I would have been if I'd started early. So I'm proud of her! I really hope she sticks with it, I realized yesterday I kind of miss going to these competitions. 

Well, I have a busy day on tap, sooooo.... Adios!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Ingredients (makes 4 generous portions):

8 ounces dried farfalle pasta

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups portobello mushrooms, chopped (you could sub another type of mushroom!)

4 cups kale, chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

garnish: shredded parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare pasta- cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta, and set aside. 

2. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. When warm, add garlic. Sauté 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until garlic has begun to toast. Add wine to the pan. Allow wine to reduce to about half (2-3 minutes). 

3. Add mushrooms and spinach to the pan. Sauté until vegetables have begun to soften, about 5-6 minutes. Add pasta, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pan. Toss to combine. If pasta is too thick or seems too dry, add as much of reserved pasta water as desired. 

4. Divide pasta into bowls, and top with parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Recipe.com.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these pasta dishes-

Whole Wheat Tortellini with Corn and Tomato Relish

Garlicky Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Udon with Thai Pickled Cabbage and Grilled Chicken

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesdays, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Spicy Turkey Spaghetti

Ugh, I feel yucky. I've still in the throes of a nasty, winter head cold. It's not my normal cold, as I'm not coughing and my nose is not congested. However, my throat is hoarse, my lymph nodes are swollen, and my head feels as if it might explode. Bleh. I'm not sure what to do with my day now. The original plan was to go to the gym but between my illness and a solid two new inches of snow on the ground, I don't think that's going to happen. While the Net' does say you can workout if you are sick (as long as you don't have a fever---->no fever here!), I am not feeling it. Staying home and baking cookies is sounding better every second.

I made this spicy, comforting spaghetti sauce over the weekend. This is one of those recipes that's pretty hands off, it just simmers away on the stove for the afternoon. The hubby's usually not home for these all day simmering events, and this one got him all worked up. I caught him in the kitchen taste testing the sauce more than a couple of times. And by early evening, he was clamoring for dinner. Pretty amazing considering the man is constantly telling me how much he dislikes spaghetti. Apparently that dislike took a backseat as he devoured a huge plate of pasta.

In my opinion, what really makes this dish is the parmesan cheese rind I simmered in the sauce. I'm not sure what it is about these cheese rinds, but man do they ever impart some delicious flavor! This is my 3rd batch of tomato sauce with a cheese rind simmered in it. I totally advise not skipping this step. Where do I get my rinds? I frequently purchase parmesan cheese wedges at the store for grating over my dishes- pastas, salads, soups, etc. When I finish the cheese, I wrap the rind in aluminum foil, label it, and throw it in the freezer for occasions such as this. Voila- flavor town! Another key point- you could make this sauce with any meat you wanted. Ground hamburger, ground pork, lots of sausage, ground chicken, really whatever you can think of. I just happened to have turkey on hand, although I do like the health benefits of turkey vs. hamburger.

Uh oh. Gizmo is sitting by the door. This means I have to drag my sorry sick butt off the couch, dress in my winter's finest, go forth into the snow, and shovel a spot in the yard for him to do his business. Sigh. Chihuahuas.

Happy Tuesday!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 link spicy Italian sausage
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can garlic diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional depending on heat preference)
1 rind from a wedge of fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
1 (8 oz) package fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. When warm, add onions and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add turkey and sausage to pot, stir to crumble. Cook until browned, another 5 minutes or so.
2. Add tomatoes through cheese rind to the pot. Bring sauce to a boil, lower to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours. If your sauce is too thick for your preference at this point, you can add up to 2 cups of water. I chose not to.
3. Using tongs or a spatula, remove cheese rind from the pot and discard. Add mushrooms to the pot. Prepare desired pasta. When mushrooms are tender (about 20 minutes), spoon sauce over desired pasta. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Beef Soup

For the first time in my life, I hosted Christmas dinner at my house this year. Er, last year? Whatever, Christmas 2013 is what I'm talking about. I chose to do roast beef. I've never made roast beef in my life, and I've heard a million times that you never make something for the first time for a crowd. I knew that advice was based on sound experience. I chose to ignore it, thus ensuring it would be a chaotic and perhaps, unsavory day.

Don't ask me what I was thinking, just try to remember that I am still learning about cooking. I thought my 6-lb roast was going to take 6 hours, so I got up extra early to prep my roast and make sure it was in the oven by 6 am (dinner was being served at 1). Sure enough, my roast was the perfect temperature in 4 hours. My roast, needless to say, had a lengthy nap prior to dinner. Luckily, the meat was perfectly pink and still warm when the hubby carved it up.

It turns out a 6-lb roast will feed 5 adults and 3 kids, all while leaving the cook with substantial leftovers. Whether or not the extensive appetizer noshing pre-dinner had anything to do with the amount of leftovers remains to be seen. The point is, I had a lot of leftover roast beef and not the foggiest idea what to do with it. Thank goodness for Pinterest. One of the first ideas I had was Vegetable Beef Soup. We are soup lovers here, so this idea was a keeper! This recipe is pretty versatile, you could pretty much use whatever vegetable you wanted and/or had on hand. I also happen to be a veggie lover, so I like to pack my soup with my cruciferous friends. Serve on a cold day (no problem here in NE Kentucky!) with lots of crusty French bread.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 cup dry red wine (I used Yellowtail Cabernet)
8 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) green beans
1 small potato, peeled and diced
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
2 cups cooked roast beef, diced

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. When heated, add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add red wine to the pot. Bring liquid to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Simmer until the wine has been reduced by half, or a little more.
3. Add the beef broth through the ground red pepper to the pot. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.
4. Add cooked roast beef to the pot. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the beef has been warmed. Salt to taste. Remove from heat, and serve immediately.

Oregon 2013- so far!

Happy Monday friends!

So, I've recently come to terms with the fact that #1- I'm having too much fun to be at my computer and #2- November is going to be a less than proliferous month when it comes to the blog. I constantly have that constant, nagging self-reminder that I should take to the computer and blog. I just don't have the time (or desire) right now. And that's ok. It's going to be an all-out blogging blitz when I get home though- holiday cooking! I'm super-excited. In the meantime, some pictures from the first half of our trip to entertain you and get you through this inconsistent blogging month-

The hubby and I in our Halloween finest. Hubby won Scariest Costume at the party we went to!

The hubby's friends' highly creative, homemade, paper-mache mask. I'm still not sure what he was supposed to be, but it was pretty cool :)

My parent's house has a daylight basement which is where our guest bedroom is at. I love looking at the squirrels and birds at eye level.

The parent's took us out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings in Corvallis. My mom's favorite radio guys (Steve Tannen and Justin Myers from Crunch Time with Steve and Justin) were doing a show from that location, and my mom was beside herself to get to meet them.

I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for the fam.

A "Kentucky Jenny" from Bar 101 in Corvallis. I wish I remembered exactly what was in it, but I think it was bourbon, ginger beer, and bitters over shaved ice. Like a snow cone. I just had to try it :) It was pretty good!

It's a rough life for Mr. Gizmo.

Loved this double rainbow over Corvallis.

Cheering on the Ducks for the ill-fated Stanford game. Boo.

The hubby and I went down to Southern Oregon (about 3 hours from my parents) where my brother lives. The little bro and his wife took us to an amazing Italian restaurant in Ashland, OR, Pasta Piatta. We all split a bottle of Chianti Classico. So lip-smackin' good!

Their calamari was amazing, with fresh marinara.

After lunch in Ashland, we walked through the town to see Lithia Park and The Oregon Shakespeare Theater.

My brother's wife and the hubby goofing off at the theater.

Bro's wife, Bro, and me in Lithia Park.

I just seem to find duckies where ever I go!

My dad taught me how to make his homemade noodles. A priority when I get home is replicating his German potato and homemade noodle soup. First, I'll have to figure out a name for the soup though, because he calls it "Leichtyswitch". This ends up sounding like "lick-it-ee-switch". I've been unsuccessful finding a German soup of this name, but my dad swears that's what his Grandma used to call this soup. I will continue to search for a name for the soup, or at the very least, a correct German spelling :)

Gizmo's favorite resting spot at my parent's house.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Red Winesicles

Calling all red wine lovers!

I saw winesicles on Pinterest the other day, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about  them. What an interesting idea. I think these would be just perfect for an adults-only summer evening.

Ok, here's a couple of things I learned while making these popsicles. Now, as any college grad worth his/her weight in gold would know, alcohol does not freeze. So for all of you college freshman out there thinking the only thing better than ice in your vodka is ice made out of vodka, throw in the towel now. It ain't gonna happen. Wine and beer on the other hand? We all sure as heck know that if you leave a Pabst in the freezer for too long, it will explode. But that's a can, not a popsicle. These popsicles don't get as frozen as other popsicles, I believe due to the alcohol involved.  So when you are removing them from the mold, you don't have to run under warm water for a terribly long time. Another thing- because they aren't as solid as other pops, be careful when you are wiggling the pop out of the mold. It is possible to pull the stick out of the pop. And let me tell you, once you pull the stick out, you can't get it back in. Refreezing will not make the stick stay. You'll also need to lick fast, as they melt pretty fast.

I decided to just make a wine pop, but you can go ahead and toss diced fruit into these pops to make it a sangria pop. You'll note from this recipe that there isn't a ton of wine in these, so I'd say you aren't shknockered from these. But they do taste just like wine, which makes them good, ol-fashioned fun. If you are a wine-o and you want to make a fun, novelty item for your wine-guzzling buddies, I'd say go ahead and try these.

And, because you are going to be licking these down, use a good quality wine that you actually like to drink! I used one of my favorite red wines.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup red wine

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat orange juice, lemon juice, and sugar over medium-high heat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Set aside, let cool to room temperature.
2. In a pourable container, thoroughly stir together the juice mixture and wine. Pour mixture into popsicle molds, place handles on popsicles. Freeze at least 8 hours before serving, or overnight.