Eggnog Pancakes

Breaking culinary news: It's the last day of the kids' winter break, and I decided to whip up pancakes — using up leftover eggnog — for daughter Penny. I've put cinnamon in pancakes and French toast but never nutmeg. Why? Such wasted opportunity. It's soooo good. Thumbs up endorsement by Penny, too.

Don't waste your eggnog! Make pancakes instead!

XOXO,
Amy

Eggnog Pancakes
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup eggnog

Mix together dry ingredients. Add egg and eggnog and blend thoroughly. Cook on lightly greased griddle, flipping pancakes just once.

Quick Cucumber Salad

Once again we have a bumper crop of cucumbers. They seem to be the only thing we can grow in our tower garden. Time to make cucumber salad, a nice, light side dish to a dinner in which the husband grilled burgers, sausages and chicken (for the week, not just one dinner!)

Even the kids LOVE this cucumber salad. I prefer it to the creamy Hungarian version, but that's good too. Put this on your culinary radar for when you have an abundance of cucumbers.

XOXO,
Amy

Quick Cucumber Salad
2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced (I used the 1/16" setting on my mandoline.)
1/3 cup vinegar — apple cider or white
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh or jarred dill weed or parsley, if desired (I much prefer dill.)

Place sliced cucumbers in small glass or plastic bowl, preferably one that has a lid that fits.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the cukes. Cover and refrigerate at least three hours to blend the flavors. Drain cucumbers. Sprinkle with dill weed (or parsley). Serve.

Confession: I have made this when I've only had time to let the cukes sit and marinate for one hour, and nobody could tell as they were too busy stuffing their faces.

Oven-Grilled Tuna Steaks

This summer I did something I don't usually do, because of an utter lack of self control. I indulged in beer. Omigoodness I love beer. And not crap light beer but really good craft beer. By the beginning of August, I was ready to be done and start living cleaner. So the husband, who also loves the craft beers, and I have been eating healthier.

It's boring in a way — OK, in a lot of ways. But we have learned to appreciate some simple dishes that we never made at home. Like oven-grilled tuna steaks. Even our kids love these (who knew?), so this dinner has become a new go-to Chez George.

XOXO,
Amy

Oven-Grilled Tuna Steaks
3-4 half-pound tuna steaks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Fresh herbs of your choosing

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet or inside of grill pan with non-stick spray.

Mix together lemon juice and olive oil with a fork. Brush the lemon juice and olive oil mixture over each side of each tuna steak. Salt and pepper each side. Sprinkle herbs (I used rosemary) to each side. Bake for four to six minutes per half inch of thickness, or until fish begins to flake when test with a fork but is still pink in the center. I have found sticking closer to the four-minute mark is best.

Serve with a steamed vegetable or salad for a really healthy dinner.

Poppyseed Egg Salad

A few weeks ago, with my nieces in town to hang out with my girls for what is known as Cousin Camp, we had a tea party with some other friends. I made PB&J and cream cheese and jam sandwiches in the shapes of hearts and flowers. But what about for the adults? I hadn't thought that far ahead. Fortunately, egg salad popped to mind, because all of the ingredients — including poppyseeds, which give this version a subtle nutty flavor and crunch — are always on hand.

My friend Ashley, who brought her girls to the tea party, and I were like "Omigosh, egg salad is sooooo good." There wasn't a whole lot of talking during the eating, actually.

Why don't I make egg salad more often? Well, the hubby is watching his cholesterol, and the kids won't eat it. But I'm here to tell you, my friends, that it's good to make dishes for just yourself (and a like-minded friend) sometimes. Besides, taste buds change, too. I now have one kid, Lucy, who absolutely loves this egg salad. I found out about Lucy's new love of egg salad when the leftovers that had my name (figuratively) all over them for a late post-cycle class lunch were half eaten when I got to them.

I hope you enjoy this simple, classic dish with a twist. I hope that sometimes you make something that only you like ... for now.

XOXO,
Amy



Poppyseed Egg Salad
12 hardboiled eggs
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon poppyseeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel and cut up eggs; transfer to bowl. Add rest of ingredients and stir gently (so as not to make the eggs a mushy mess) until combined.

Question: Do you know how to boil eggs? That is, do you know how to boil eggs so that the yolks are perfectly cooked without any greenish hint of being overdone? And do you know how to boil eggs so that the shells come off easily, without taking out hunks of egg white?

No? Well, here is what to do. Place eggs in a pot and add water so that it there's at least an inch of water over the tops of the eggs. Add some salt to the water and set pot over high heat. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, allow water to continue its full-paced boil and the eggs to cook for another two minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice cubes and cold water. Peel eggs immediately after they are cooled, within about 10-15 minutes.

Oh, and here's Lucy enjoying an open-faced egg salad sandwich.

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Hello from this long lost blogger! Guys, I'm sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a while there. Life got away from me. The husband and I run a small business, and we recently moved to a new office. It was way more work than I anticipated. Like WAY more. Needless to say, blogging to a back seat to...survival.

Although my house was a giant disaster area (please don't open my closet door), I did manage to feed my family. Admittedly some nights we ate crackers and cheese for dinner, but when I was feeling slightly more ambitious, I relied on HDHH classics.

Now that it's Spring, and asparagus is on sale practically every week, I figured it was time to make Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese.

This is totally a 20 minute meal. And it's easy clean up. Cook the pasta and asparagus in the same pot, then stir in tangy goat cheese, grainy mustard, and fresh dill for a creamy, Spring-y sauce. So easy and delicious, even I could manage it!

Dinner? You've got this!

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese
Originally posted in April 2013
Serves: 6

1/3 cup pine nuts
1 pound fettuccine
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
5 ounces goat cheese
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pine nuts on a rimmed baking dish and bake for about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown and smell toasty. (Alternatively, you can toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, but I always burn nuts when I toast them on the stove. Feel free to live dangerously, though.)

Cook the fettuccine to al dente according to package directions in a large pot of salted boiling water. Add the asparagus during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining.

Drain the pasta and return pasta and asparagus to the pot. Stir in goat cheese, mustard, dill, and toasted pine nuts. Add pasta cooking water and stir until the cheese is melted and the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

White Wine Mussels

Have you ever put off making a dish that you love, because you think it will be a big pain, and then you finally do, and it was super easy? For me that dish: mussels.

We love mussels. We being hubby Jeff, daughter #2 Penny and me. In fact, Penny, 8, ordered mussels for her Groundhog Day birthday dinner last month. Come Valentine's Day I decided to finally cook mussels.

People, mussels are like the quickest, easiest thing ever. I'm no wondering how often I can get away with make them. I'm going to change it up, using other ingredients like beer, curry and coconut milk.

The moral of the story is, don't put off cooking your favorite dishes. Get in the kitchen, and make it happen!

XOXO,

Amy

PS: How many mussels do you need to feed your crew? From my online research, I found that three pounds — along with some crusty bread — will generally serve as the main course for four people. You can stretch that further if serving mussels as an appetizer. Two pounds was plenty for dinner for me, Jeff and Penny. 

White Wine Mussels

2 tablespoons butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 lemon, zested

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 cups white wine

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 pounds mussels, cleaned and debearded (You have to pull away beard-like hairs from where the shell is closed.)

Large handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and let sizzle until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add red pepper flakes, lemon zest and shallots, stirring for about 45 seconds.

Pour in the wine and season with black pepper. Bring broth to a boil, stir in mussels, and cover immediately. Shake pot and let boil for 1 minute.

Stir mussels, replace cover, and let boil for 2 more minutes. The shells will begin to open. Stir in parsley, cover pot and cook until all the shells are open, about 1 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook!

Serve with crusty bread, which is perfect for dipping in the yummy broth. BTW, don't try to eat any mussels that didn't open.

Slow Cooker 15-Bean Soup with Sausage and Spinach

For dinner in the winter, I'm satisfied with a warm bowl of beans. Growing up we'd often have beans and cornbread. Not fancy beans — just thrown in the crockpot with water or broth, a diced up onion,  that "ham" flavoring packet and maybe a leftover ham bone. And it was good. This is better, healthier even thanks to the spinach. In fact, I've made these beans twice in recent weeks and am officially declaring it my official, go-to, wintertime bean recipe.

The recipe is adapted from a favorite line of cookbooks: America's Test Kitchen's Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution. I made a few tweaks. For starters, I omitted the mushrooms (just sounds unappealing to me to cook mushrooms and beans together for 9 or so hours). I increased the amount of sausage from 8 ounces to 9-12 ounces (for easier math) as sausage typically comes in 12-ounce, 4-link packs. Likewise, I upped the spinach by an ounce, because the baby spinach I buy comes in a 5-ounce clamshell container. Lastly, the second time I made it, I used a 4-ounce container of chicken broth and the 2 cups of vegetable broth leftover in my fridge. Why open another container of chicken broth?

Anyhow, if you are craving an easy dinner that takes the edge off the winter chill, try this out. Tweak it; make it your own.

XOXO,
Amy

PS: A great thing to serve with this: my Family Cornbread.

Slow Cooker 15-Bean Soup with Sausage and Spinach
Adapted from Healthy Slow Cooker Revolution

9-12 ounces (3-4 links) hot or sweet Italian chicken sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 onion, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
8 ounce bag of 15-bean soup mix, flavoring packet(s) discarded
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
Black pepper to taste
5 ounces (5 cups) baby spinach

Microwave sausage, onion, garlic, thyme and pepper flakes in bowl until onion is softened (about 5 minutes), stirring halfway through. Transfer to slow cooker. Stir in broth, water, beans, bay leaves and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add black pepper — to taste — now or later, if desired. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender — 9 to 11 hours on low or 6 to 8 hours on high.

Discard bay leaves. Stir in spinach and let sit until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Indian-Spiced Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Onions

I'm making up for lost time using my one and only Indian cookbook. See last week's post on Chicken Tikka Skewers.

With those Chicken Tikka Skewers, I made the roasted Brussels sprouts also in Indian-Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking but with some tweaks. I added onions, because we love to roast onions with our Brussels sprouts, and upped the spices.

XOXO,
Amy

Indian-Spiced Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Onions
Adapted from Indian-Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaping teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1 large sweet onion, cut into large pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon olive oil and all of the spices and salt. Add Brussels sprouts and onion chunks and toss until coated with spice mix. Place vegetables on a baking dish (lightly sprayed with vegetable oil). Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over vegetables and roast until nicely browned, about 15-20 minutes.

Chicken Tikka Skewers

You know you have too many cookbooks when you realize you've forgotten about some really good ones you haven't even tried yet. This happened to me recently when I saw my copy of Indian Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking staring back at me as if I'd never laid eyes on it before. Sssh, don't tell my BFF and fellow bringer of hot dinner Andrea; it was a gift from here MORE THAN A YEAR AGO.

OK, so new year, new goals, and one of mine is to use all of my cookbooks more.

With my one and only Indian cookbook, I decided to start with the Chicken Tikka Skewers, because my children recently discovered they love chicken tikka masala at one of our favorite Indian restaurants in Charlotte.

I also appreciated this dish because it goes with another goal: eating lighter. No sauce, no rice required. Next week, I'll tell you all about the side dish I made: Indian-spiced Brussels Sprouts.

XOXO,
Amy

Chicken Tikka Skewers
Adapted from Indian Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking

PROTEIN
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks

MARINATE
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
3-4 garlic cloves, minced

EQUIPMENT
8 (6-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes.

Whisk marinade ingredients together in bowl and add cubed chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat broiler to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with olive or vegetable oil.

Thread chicken pieces onto skewers, leaving about 1/4-inch space between piece to allow for even cooking. Place skewers on lined baking sheets. Spray chicken lightly with oil.

Broil for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway through.

Slow Cooker Vegan Indian Lentil Stew

For Sunday dinner, I often make a crockpot meal. I love walking into our house after Sunday evening Mass to the smell of a warm dinner that's ready to go. This is one of my favorite stews. It hit the spot last night and will again today when I eat some of the leftovers. Plus, few things smell better simmering away than a stew with garam masala.

XOXO,
Amy

Slow Cooker Vegan Indian Lentil Stew
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 shallots, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 cup dried French green lentils
6 carrots, diced
2 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (I used no salt added variety.)
2 14-ounce  cans of garbanzo beans, drained
2 cups vegetable broth (Add more for thinner stew.)
2 teaspoons garam masala
Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and peppers. Sauté for 5 minutes and then add to slow cooker. Add all of the the other ingredients. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve with bread or crackers, if you like.

French Onion Soup

On New Year's Eve, I like a food theme. I think that's because after our traditional Thanksgiving (turkey and all the fixings) and Christmas (rib roast) dinners I need a little culinary whimsy — a little je ne sais quoi.

We've done Chinese with homemade crab rangoon. We've done fondue with homemade cheese fondue. We've had make-your-own pizzas. This year's NYE theme was French with French Onion Soup, Chicken and Mushrooms in a White Wine Sauce and for entertainment, An American in Paris on DVD. The soup tasted just as decadent — though not quite as salty (I always use low-sodium broth) as the kind ordered up in restaurants. Everything was magnifique!

Happy 2017, mes amis!

XOXO,
Amy

French Onion Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups sliced onions (about 4 medium-sized onions)
48 ounces beef broth
2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Nutmeg — hefty pinch or two
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices French bread (with extra for leftovers)
4 slices provolone cheese (with extra for leftovers)
2 slices Swiss cheese (with extra for leftovers)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (with extra for leftovers)

Melt butter with olive oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender and translucent. Do NOT brown onions.

Add beef broth, sherry, nutmeg and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Heat oven broiler.

Place oven-safe bowls on a cookie sheet and ladle soup into each. Place one slice of bread on top of each bowl of soup. (Bread may be broken into pieces if preferred.) Now add the cheeses. Layer each slice of bread with a slice of provolone, half a slice of Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan. Place cookie sheet with bowls into preheated oven and broil until cheese bubbles and browns slightly. Serve and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage and Kale

My friend Kristi is a fellow busy, hard-working mama who strives to always get a hot dinner on the table. And — like me — when there's no time or energy to cook, take-out, short-cuts and leftovers work, too. But we always try and we love to share recipes and compare cooking notes. Kristi recently texted me a recipe for a butternut squash soup from a blog called The Lemon Bowl.

I made Kristi's new fave soup with a few tweaks. She suggested a dash of sage and I decided to use a little more squash. I also couldn't find Italian turkey sausage, so I used regular. Anyhow, it tasted souper (see what I did there?!) good, especially on a cold winter day.

XOXO,
Amy

Butternut Squash Soup with Sausage and Kale
3 links of uncooked Italian sausage — spicy or sweet, turkey or regular — removed from casings
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
4 cups butternut squash peeled and cut into half-inch cubes
4 cups kale, roughly chopped
14 ounce can of cannelini beans, drained and rised
Dash of ground or fresh sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese to garnish — optional

Spray inside of large pot with non-stick spray and heat pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pot. Brown sausage for 7-8 minutes, using spoon to break meat into bite-sized pieces. Don't be afraid of the sausage getting brown, because the more it carmelizes the tastier your soup.

Add garlic, onion and red pepper to pot and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until onions and peppers are tender, about 5-6 minutes.

When sausage is nicely browned and veggies are tender, add broth to the pot and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Raise heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Add in the squash and cook until softened, about 20 minutes.

Five minutes before serving, add kale and beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan if you like, which I did.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

My husband loves my Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna and even counts it among my top five dinners. What I like most about it is that it's so easy to make. Recently, I was craving another easy dinner and decided to experiment. Enter Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

The verdict Chez George: Jeff liked this dish as much as Mexican lasagna and the kids liked it more because it wasn't as "spicy" — due to green enchilada sauce vs. red — and didn't contain any cilantro, which they don't like at all. We all decided I couldn't call it Chicken-Mex Lasagna as I'd intended, because the chicken is too chunky and not at all like ground meat and so not very lasagna-y.

Bottom line: An easy family dinner that was a hit with all.

Sometimes you just need dinner to be easy, so I hope you enjoy my Easy Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole.

XOXO,

Amy

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Ground pepper
1 small onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1-2 cups salsa
20 ounces of green enchilada sauce (I have seen this in 10 and 20 ounce cans)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cilantro for garnishing, optional
Sour cream for serving, optional
Sliced black olives for serving, optional

Place chicken in glass dish, sprinkle with ground pepper. Place onions and peppers around chicken and top everything with salsa. Bake at 350 until chicken is cooked through.

Using two forks, shred cooked chicken and cut up the onions and peppers into smaller pieces. Stir in one cup enchilada sauce and 1 cup of cheese.

Line your slow cooker with an aluminum foil collar and spray with vegetable oil spray. (The purpose of the foil collar is to put a layer between your food and the heating element of the slow cooker. Without a foil collar or sling – the latter involves lining the bottom of your slow cooker – some dishes, like this one, and fish, will overcook and dry out. To make a foil collar, simply fold two pieces of aluminum foil to fit around the inside of your slow cooker.)

Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce at bottom of crockpot.

Arrange 3 tortillas at the bottom, breaking the third tortilla in pieces so that it will fit to fully cover the bottom. Top with a third of the chicken mixture and 3 more tortillas; repeat layering two more times until all 12 tortillas have been used. Cover the top layer of tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese. (For more photos on the process, refer to Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna.)

Cook for 3 hours on low, until casserole is heated through.

Remove foil collar. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired. Top each serving with sour cream and black olives, if desired. Enjoy.

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

I recently made a Slow Cooker Low Country Boil and had leftover andouille sausage. Here's what I did with it — make Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni.

Disclosure: I Googled "andouille sausage recipes" and this one — One Pot Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta — is the first that came up. (Congrats, Damn Delicious, your SEO worked!)You will see this recipe calls for 12.8 ounces of sausage. I had just 8 ounces of leftover sausage, but I had a little more ground beef than needed to make Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna, so I improvised and used some of that.

Verdict: The hubs liked it a lot. Penny and I liked it and Penny even took it in her Thermos for two day camp lunches. Lucy didn't like it; there's always one.

XOXO,
Amy

Andouille Sausage Skillet Macaroni

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 (12.8-ounce) package of smoked andouille sausage — or if you are short on sausage, supplement with some ground beef
2 cups chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces elbow pasta, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese — or cheddar/pepper jack, or whatever cheese you choose

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion, meat(s) and cook, stirring frequently until sausage is lightly brown and ground beef is cooked through — about 3-5 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through — about 14 minutes.

Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover until cheese has melted — about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Skip and Go Naked on Independence Day

As I write this post, I'm about to head to my home state -- Ohio -- to spend the Fourth of July with my family. There's a chance we will celebrate with our favorite summer drink, the Skip and Go Naked -- talk about Independence (Day)! The Skippy is the perfect way to beat the heat. No fancy ingredients required. Check it out.

XOXO, Amy

Watermelon Pizza

We had friends over for dinner last week. The moms and four girls went to the pool first. Between pool time and it being nearly 100 degrees out, my goal was to keep it easy and to turn up the heat as little possible in the kitchen. So, Jeff smoked a beautiful salmon. I threw together a salad and pulled out the pasta salad I'd made the night before. For dessert, I thought it would be fun for Lucy and Penny and their friends Hannah and Sophie to make the watermelon pizza I'd seen in my latest Good Housekeeping magazine.

Aren't they all adorbs?

From left to right: Penny, Hannah, Lucy and Sophie hard at work making watermelon pizzas.

The girls loved making their "pizzas," but didn't love eating them so much. The "sauce" — made of cream cheese, ricotta and honey — was weird and I tended to agree. But they liked the berries and the watermelon itself, of course. In the future, I'd turn this into a fruit salad, cutting the watermelon into bite-sized chunks and mixing in the berries and a little mint. I bet they'd gobble it up.

Still, it was fun to watch and a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

XOXO,
Amy

Watermelon Pizza
Adapted from Good Housekeeping

1 seedless watermelon, cut into four rounds
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons honey
Couple handfuls of coconut, toasted
Variety of berries of your choosing -- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries
Kiwi, optional but could serve as your "pepperoni"
1 bunch of mint, roughly chopped

Mix cream cheese, ricotta and honey together. Spread this "sauce" on your watermelon rounds. Next, sprinkle toasted coconut and top with berries and fruit. Sprinkle chopped mint.

Cut each round into quarters. Enjoy!

Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

Confession: I'm off my cooking game. I've never been so off my cooking game. But I have good reason.

Reason: I started my own business in April, bidding adieu to corporate America and hustling all for myself. It's called By George Communications and I love it. But the thing is all of my creative energy is going into my business and writing and strategizing for my clients. I'm working from home, so I don't need to come home and unwind by cooking. I don't want to turn off my work brain the way I used to want and need to do.

These days when I do cook, it tends to be from recipes rather than something I create on my own. That has to be OK for right now. I mean we are eating here Chez George. Nobody is going hungry. And my Hot Dinner Happy Home cohorts Andrea and Erin keep telling me to give myself some grace. That's what we're about here. We recognize that we all want to put dinner on the table. But it's not always easy and so we take it one dinner at a time.

Here is an easy go-to dinner that I recently made for the third or fourth time and that everyone always loves. So, seriously, why am I complaining? This Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna is adapted slightly from America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution; Volume 2: The Easy-Prep Edition.

Instead of microwaving the meat, I fry it up on the stove. It's impossible to get the meat to cook up into a super fine consistency – that you want for easy layering – via the microwave. I also omit the jarred jalapenos, because the kids and hubby don't like them. Finally, I use 90 percent lean ground beef, not 85 percent lean; 90 percent lean is easier to find at the grocery.

I hope you enjoy this easy dinner!

XOXO,

Amy

Easy Crockpot Mexican Lasagna

2 pounds 90 percent lean ground beef
20 ounces of red enchilada sauce (I have seen this in 10 and 20 ounce cans)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese (I typically use the latter, which is easier to find)
1/4 cup jarred jalapenos, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced (optional, but I use it)
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Cook meat on stove top, breaking into super fine pieces, drain and return meat to skillet. Stir in one cup enchilada sauce, 1 cup of cheese, jalapenos (if using), and 1/4 cup cilantro.

Line your slow cooker with an aluminum foil collar and spray with vegetable oil spray. (The purpose of the foil collar is to put a layer between your food and the heating element of the slow cooker. Without a foil collar or sling – the latter involves lining the bottom of your slow cooker – some dishes, like this one, and fish, will overcook and dry out. To make a foil collar, simply fold two pieces of aluminum foil to fit around the inside of your slow cooker.)

Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce at bottom of crockpot.

Arrange 3 tortillas at the bottom, breaking the third tortilla in pieces so that it will fit to fully cover the bottom. Top with a third of the beef mixture and 3 more tortillas; repeat layering two more times until all 12 tortillas have been used. Cover the top layer of tortillas with enchilada sauce and cheese. (See pictures of all these steps below.)

Cook for 2 to 3 hours on low, until casserole is heated through.

Remove foil collar. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve.

Repeat layers above two more times and you end up with this...

Banana Breakfast Cookies

Danny and I made No-Bake Granola Bars last week. We sat at the kitchen table, shoveling them down like there was no tomorrow (Danny ate four in one sitting. FOUR.), and Elaine looked on glumly as she pushed her Cheerios around her tray. Poor little Elaine wanted a granola bar, too. Lame-o Cheerios ain't gonna cut it when everyone else is eating something as wonderful as a No-Bake Granola Bar. But the bars have honey in them. And since Elaine isn't one year old yet, honey is off limits.

So I set out on a mission to find a tasty and healthy treat that both my kids could enjoy. I've pinned a million recipes for breakfast cookies, and I had a pile of overripe bananas to use up. Inspiration struck.

Elaine went bananas (no pun intended) over these Breakfast Cookies. She ate two for snack and two more for breakfast the next day! Mission accomplished.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Banana Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from With Salt and Wit
Makes 12 cookies

3 small, very ripe bananas
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups oats*
3 tablespoons ground flax
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (optional, but encouraged!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mash bananas as thoroughly as possible. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until everything is evenly incorporated. Stir in oats, flax, chia seeds, and chocolate chips.

Form dough into 12 balls (they'll be slightly bigger than golf balls) and place on prepared baking sheet. Use the bottom of a greased glass to gently press each ball into a cookie shape. Bake for about 13 minutes, until cookies are set, but soft to the touch in the center. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in the fridge.

*I used old fashioned oats because my son is a fan of the hearty oat texture. If your family doesn't like the texture of old fashioned oats, try quick cooking oats.

Simple Spoonbread

I was really pleased with myself because I had made a plan for dinner. The husband was going to grill pork chops, so I prepped them with a spice rub during the kids' nap time. I'd even sliced zucchini spears to throw on the grill with the meat. I just had to chop the potatoes to pop in the oven at the last minute.

Well, pride cometh before the fall, my friends.

I opened the bag of spuds and...Ewww. My potatoes had eyes on them. And not just one or two that I could dig out with my pairing knife. Lots and lots and lots of eyes. Shudder. Back to the drawing board.

Earlier in the day, I was perusing an edition of Eating Well magazine and stumbled across a recipe for spoonbread. Since I happened to have all the ingredients on hand, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Man, you guys. This stuff was awesome. Simple Spoonbread reminds me of light, airy cornbread. It has a lovely corn flavor with just a hint of sweetness. The cheese brings richness and ground chipotle adds just a hint of smokey heat. And it's super kid-friendly. Our daughter devoured it.

Now read the recipe and check your pantry for the ingredients. Have them all? Good. Now you know what you're making for dinner tonight.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Simple Spoonbread
Adapted from Eating Well

2 1/2 cups milk (I used 1%), divided
1 teaspoon agave
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon (or more!) ground chipotle powder, depending on your spice tolerance
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack. Cheddar would also be lovely.)
3 eggs, preferably at room temperature, separated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 2 quart baking dish and set aside. (An 8" or 9" square dish works well.)

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 2 cups milk, agave, salt and chipotle powder. Heat until the milk starts to bubble around the edges, then whisk in cornmeal. Cook, stirring, until the cornmeal thickens and starts to pull away from the pan, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in butter and cheese.

Meanwhile beat egg whites with an electric mixer on high speed until they are white and form soft peaks, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup milk. Stir a third of the cornmeal mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Then stir in the remaining cornmeal mixture.

Using a spatula, gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cornmeal mixture. Fold in the remaining egg whites in two additions. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake until spoonbread is puffed and golden brown in spots, about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

P.S. Want more spoonbread in your life? Check out Andrea's Buttermilk Spoonbread, too! 

Oven-Roasted Kohlrabi Medley

I recently came into some kohlrabi -- when the Friday cycle instructor brought in some grown by her budding farmer son, owner of Old Sol Produce. I'd heard of kohlrabi, but wasn't sure what to with it. First, let me explain that  kohlrabi is in the cabbage family and is a popular vegetable in German fare in and today's farm-to-table restaurants. The taste is like a cross between cabbage and the sweeter broccoli stems. I think it's delicious.

So, anyhow, I found a bunch of cool recipes online for things like kohlrabi fritters and even a kind of salad with radishes (kohlrabi can be eaten cooked or raw), but in the end I didn't have time to do anything fancy, so I just roasted it with a bunch of other vegetables -- carrot, parsnip, eggplant and red onion.

BTW, here is a great guide from the kitchn on How To Roast Any Vegetable. I love the roasting times by vegetable type.

I recommend giving kohlrabi a try -- at home or when you're at a farm-to-table restaurant.

XOXO,
Amy

Oven-Roasted Kohlrabi Medley

2 kohlrabi, trimmed, outer later peeled/removed and cut into 1/4" to 1/2" slices

A variety of vegetables cut and trimmed. Use whatever you like or have on hand.

Cooking spray

Salt, pepper and seasoning to taste

1-2 table spoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare vegetables. Spray pan, baking dish or sheet with cooking spray. Place vegetable in a single layer and top with salt and pepper and seasoning of your choice. (I used Penzeys Sunny Paris seasoning.)

Place in oven and check  every 15 minutes until veggies are roasted sufficiently -- to your taste. If you are roasting softer vegetables (i.e. tomatoes, yellow squash) with root veggies (i.e. carrots, parsnips, kohrabi), you might want to add those later in the roasting process as they won't take as long. Again, consult the kitchn's guide above.

The fork is piercing a piece of kohlrabi.