Fried Ravioli

Need a quick appetizer for the holidays?  I attempted this one tonight so that I can make it later this week for a dinner party (I get nervous trying new recipes the day of).  It turned out great, was simple and fast!

Ingredients:
1 bag of frozen ravioli (I used cheese)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs 
1/2 cup milk
olive oil for frying
your favorite marinara sauce 

Cook frozen ravioli in boiling water for about 5 min
Remove and allow to cool
Meanwhile mix together in a bowl breadcrumbs, oregano, salt, and parmesan cheese
In another bowl mix together eggs and milk
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan for frying
Drop cooled ravioli (they don't have to be completely cool just not really hot or your eggs/milk may cook) in the egg/milk mixture then coat with the breadcrumb mixture
Drop into the oil and fry until golden (make sure to only fry a few at once so the temperature of your oil doesn't drop)
Remove from oil and drain on paper towels
Serve with warmed marinara sauce

That's it!  So simple!  I wish I had a picture but unfortunately they were all gone before I even had a chance.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Beer Mushroom Roast

Food for thought:
One of my favorite books of the Bible to read is Ephesians because it constantly reminds me of why I believe the Bible, believe Jesus is Lord and follow Him.  This morning I was reading from Chapter 2 and was overwhelmed by these verses as usual.  I know I don't often post much scripture or information about my faith on here but I had to share these verses.  Today I am making a point to take some time to pray for anyone who reads this blog.  If you have a specific prayer request feel free to leave it in the comments below and I will pray for that also.  As for the verse, here it is.  A better testimony of God's love for me (and you) than I could ever write myself.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:1-8

Now on to the recipe.  Last summer my husband and I went to Savannah, Ga and ate at a British pub.  It was a fun little place and had some great food.  My husband ordered bangers and mash, which basically is the British way of saying sausage and potatoes.  I am not a fan of sausage (the idea of how it is made honestly grosses me out sometimes) but I decided to try a bite.  The gravy on the meal was AMAZING!!!!  I asked the waiter about it and he said it was made with Guinness beer.  Since then I've been wanting to try to recreate the taste of that gravy and last night I did!  This was a great recipe that was extremely easy (needed now as I don't have much time with the new baby).  I hope you enjoy it!!!




Beer Mushroom RoastBeer Mushroom Roast
Ingredients:
1 bottom round roast of beef
1 container of sliced mushrooms (I just used sliced white but baby bella mushrooms would give a meatier taste to your gravy)
1 sweet onion (I used vidalia because we have a lot in Florida right now)
2 cups vegetable broth (I always use kitchen basics because it does't have added sugar and preservatives)
1 bottle of beer (any kind I used a pale brew beer but I think the Guinness would have been a dark brew - clearly I don't know about beer)
salt
pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground sage
5 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cut 10 slits in roast and insert 1/2 a clove of garlic in each slit

Salt and pepper bottom round roast liberally
Mix together thyme, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and sage and press onto sides of roast
Slice onions place a layer of onions on the bottom of a roasting pan and place roast on top
Sprinkle mushrooms on top
Pour bottle of beer and 2 cups of vegetable broth on top (*you could use beef broth but my grocery store only had vegetable or chicken)
Cook in oven for 2 hours
Remove from oven
In a small pan on stove melt 2 tbs of butter
Add 2 tbsp of flour and make a roux (like making the starting point for gravy)
Cook until golden whisking constantly
Add roux to the pan juices and stir to combine
Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes more.  I allowed mine to sit for 30 minutes just to cool down (it was still very hot when we ate it) and to allow the gravy to thicken.
Slice and serve with gravy on top!It is so good!!!  The beer adds a tangy wheaty taste to the gravy that is just to die for and just so you know all the alcohol does cook off so this is a safe recipe for kids.  

Enjoy your weekend!  I know I will be enjoying mine with my two favorite boys!

Easy Turkey Pot Pie - Cora's first cooking lesson

Babies are such a nice way to start people

As I mentioned yesterday I am currently at my friend Amanda's house who just had a cute little girl about 3 months ago.  Today we spent the better part of the day putting together some dishes that she could freeze and then cook for a quick meal.  She had leftover Thanksgiving turkey that she had frozen that we really wanted to use and fortunately we were able to come up with some really creative recipes including white turkey and spinach lasagna, turkey pot pie and turkey and stuffing bake.  We also had the best sous chef ever her new little girl Cora.  I just had to post some pictures...

I'm ready to cook!

Life Changes = Cooking Changes

When you are through changing, you are through. ~Bruce Barton

For those of you who don't know me personally I've had a huge job change recently.  So I apologize that I have not posted on here in a while. Almost a month ago I took a job teaching high school science.  So far it has been a wonderful experience in which I've been able to use my college degree.  However, for those of you who are not teachers I had no clue how much work a teacher puts in to their job.  I now appreciate every teacher I had and the 12 - 15 hours a day they would sometimes put in to teach me.  With this job change I've also lost a lot of my free time in the evenings.  The times I would use to cook before are now spent grading papers and making lesson plans.  So along with this job change I've also had a change in my cooking.  I have gone from spending two hours cooking each night to learning to throw together quick meals.  So my posts will also reflect this from here on out. Some of you are cheering because you also need quick easy meals and others of you may be a bit disappointed because you love the challenge that an involved meal brings with it.  I agree with both of these sides, I love the challenge of an involved meal but I definitely need the convenience.  So while most of my weekday posts will be quick convenient meals I am still making meals that involve a little bit more of a challenge on the weekend.  I hope you'll follow along with me in this adventure of cooking and teaching.  I can't wait!  Here's my first super simple crockpot recipe below.

Slow Cooker Black Beans and Rice

“Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook”

For those of you who know my husband (Shale) and I, you probably know that both of us have a passion for those who are non-Christians and/or struggling with extreme poverty.  We both have friends in India that are missionaries and we get updates weekly on some of the extreme situations there.  In fact one of my friends recently told me there are more orphaned and abandoned children on the streets of Bombai, India than there are people in the city of Tampa.  That means approximately more than 340,000 children on the streets of one city.  I can only imagine what that is like.  I tell you all this to share with you an idea that we recently came up with.  He was talking about how the people of India mainly eat rice and beans every day (cheap) and how we could also do that one night a week so that we might be able to have a little more money in our budget to share with those in need. It was a great idea and to be honest you can easily make a pot of rice and beans to feed 6 people that doesn't cost you any more than $5 total.  Plus if you use brown rice it is a healthy, protein and whole grain meal.  So my goal is to try out different rice and bean recipes each week which I will also share with you along with a quick update from some friends in India on their different needs.  I know there is such extreme poverty over there they could definitely use our prayers and thoughts, since we have all been so blessed in the US.  So here's the first recipe it is a super simple black bean and rice recipe that is delicious!

Salsa Grilled Chicken

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.

Russel Baker

Cute Beach Tote

This recipe is the perfect summer recipe and I have to admit it was one of those that I just completely stumbled upon.   I was cleaning out my freezer the other night (I make and freeze a lot of stuff) and came across a huge pack of boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I needed to cook.  I looked in the pantry and new I wanted to make something that had a bit of lime in it so I threw this concoction together and it turned out wonderfully!  I made it along with a big crock pot full of black beans and rice (recipe coming tomorrow) and it made an amazing dinner!  The color of the chicken is gorgeous and the flavor just perfect for a summer cookout!  Most of the ingredients you probably have in your pantry except maybe the Sazon.  However, if you haven't ever used Sazon I highly encourage it.  A few years back when I was in college I became best friends with Erika.  Erika is Cuban and began to teach me how to make some amazing food.  In one of her grandmothers Picadillo recipes it called for Sazon.  That was my first experience with this fabulous Spanish spice.   Not only does it deliver great flavor but it turns everything a beautiful orange color.  It is great in everything from rice and beans to chicken or beef.  If you're anything like me you're probably intimidated by new spices (one reason I still haven't posted an Indian recipe on here... curry completely intimidates me).  However, with this spice I encourage you to throw all caution to the wind and try it.  It's mild enough that it won't ruin your meal but the color is so beautiful it will definitely pump up the appeal factor. 

Tuesday's Tip...Eating Seasonally

 Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.  ~Henry James

I love eating vegetables and fruits in season.  Not only are they more affordable but they always seem to taste sweeter, fresher and look better.  It is probably because I live in Florida where seasonal vegetables grow in abundance but I just honestly don't feel like a strawberry shipped from out of state tastes the same as a strawberry grown in season in Florida.  Sorry I think I'm a little biased because while I would trade you the Florida heat any day I definitely wouldn't trade the Florida produce farms!  Recently I was browsing RealSimple.com (one of my favorite magazines/websites) and found this amazing article on produce that I just had to share.  Due to the fact that I do not want to steal anyone's information you can find the article by clicking here.  They also have some amazing recipes for each ingredient!!

Tuesday's Tip plus baked Zucchini Fries and Marsala Turkey Burger

Cookies are made of butter and love.  ~Norwegian Proverb

Today's tip is very simple and concerns cookies.  Now I'm not sure if you're like me but when I make cookies I cannot keep them at home after I make them.  If I do I will eat them all so most of the time I'll take them to work, or the husband will take them to work, or we'll take them to our Bible study groups on Sunday morning.  However, a few months back I learned a great tip for storing and shipping cookies... bread!  Now if you've heard of it you know what I'm talking about and if you haven't heard of it then you probably think I'm crazy.  Either way next time you make a batch of cookies when you put it in your Tupperware to store until later pop in a piece of bread.  It will keep the cookies moist and tasting like they just came out of the oven.  This is a great use of the heel of the bread!  If it doesn't work for you feel free to message back but I promise it is one of the best tips I think I've ever learned.  Now on to some recipes!!!  Last night I found lean ground turkey breast on sale and decided to cook up some quick turkey burgers.  I also had some zucchini in the fridge but I was craving something a little crunchy so I mixed a few things together and found 2 winning recipes.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Chicken Teriyaki and Southern Style Green Beans

"Southerners can't stand to eat alone. If we're going to cook a mess of greens we want to eat them with a mess of people." 

Julia Reed

I love the quote above.  While some people may not think there is a distinctive difference in Southern cooking and other cooking those who have grown up here will disagree.  Having a mother from South Carolina, a father from Virginia, and a grandmother from Mississippi I grew up learning that not only are there typical foods distinctive to the south (greens, hoppin' johns, fried chicken, etc...) it is almost more of a cultural thing than it is a type of food.  I was raised learning that you invite friends over as often as possible, you give your extra cookies or baked goods to neighbors, and you always make a pound cake for a friend who has lost a loved one.  So when I came across this quote I thought it fit perfectly.  For this post I am sharing with you the simple love of cooking in the South, particularly in using a cast iron skillet and making fabulous green beans.  I hope you enjoy the simplicity as much as I do.

10 Recipes Every Newlywed Needs to Know

Love seems the swiftest but it is the slowest of all growths.  No man or woman really knows what perfect love is until they have been married a quarter of a century. 

Mark Twain

I love this turquoise/yellow wedding

I'm celebrating my first anniversary today!  It is so crazy to think how fast a year flew by.  Before getting married I had this thought (actually we should probably call it an illusion) that I would cook a new dish for dinner every night, keep an immaculate house, decorate, spend time with the husband and still have time for things like running, working, friends, etc...  Sadly in about month 6 of our marriage I realized this was definitely not going to happen.  At that point I had a basket of laundry to do, the floor needed to be vacuumed, I didn't feel like cooking and couldn't remember the last time I had ran.  It was then that I realized married life wasn't the clean houses I saw when I went over to visit someone (because they shoved everything in the closet before hand), it wasn't the elaborate dinners (because really they had picked it up at the local restaurant before hand), it wasn't a perfectly designed house (because they had hired an interior decorator for that) or the relaxed feeling I felt when around the couple.  Actually it may have been the relaxed feeling but that was mainly because the wife (or husband) had taken the advice in the parenthesis above so really they were just chilling.

Turquoise/Orange Inspiration

Joking aside though I did come to realize that marriage is more than living up to these standards I had set in my head.  Marriage was loving someone, serving together, standing side by side, and (for those who are a Christian like me) bringing God glory in all you do.  I quickly learned that in reality the laundry could wait until tomorrow, the house would always need something else dusted, decorating is a lifetime project, and some nights it's ok to order in.  I do have to say though in regards to cooking there were a few amazing dishes that really helped me get through this first year of marriage.  If you know me you know I love experimenting with different dishes but every now and then even I have to have those standby recipes to fall back on when everything else fails.  So for those of you who are newlyweds, write these down! For the rest of you who already have your recipe "repertoire" why not consider adding some of these.  I promise they are delicious, filling and always seem to please both the husband, guests, and myself.

Tuesday's Tip, Saving Money and Eating Good... (at the same time)

“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can't buy”

anonymous

Perfect shopping purses - Vera Java Blue

For those of you who don't know me this week I will be celebrating my 1 year anniversary.  I honestly can't believe it.  For so long in life everything seems to be so predictable, you go to elementary school, middle school, high school, then you graduate, go to college, graduate college, start a job... you know the drill.  I however, had no clue how fast things would change when you get married.  Gone are the days of predictability now you can't predict how your life (and the lives around you) will change within a short year.  I've watched friends move away, get new jobs, get married, start having children, all within a year.  I can say that this first year was so much better than I expected.  Maybe it is just because so many people freaked me out with the "the next five years will be the worst years of your life" line, but hey if this is the worse I can't wait until the best!  I've been very blessed to have an amazing husband who has made this the best year yet!  Anyway, on to today's tip.  During this first year of marriage I had to learn to live with a budget, which was not a fun thing to do.  Since I love cooking so much it was really hard for me to figure out how to fit the dishes I wanted to cook into my budget.  Thankfully

A semi-healthy Italian dinner

La scoperta di un piatto nuovo è più preziosa per il genere umano che la scoperta di una nuova stella.
Brillat- Savarin

(The discovery of a new dish is more precious to human beings than the discovery of a new star)

Kate Spade Gwinnett Lane Line

I absolutely adore this fine china line by Kate Spade and Lennox. Perfect for serving up beautiful dishes like the one I'm about to share. I love Italian food but unfortunately I've found that many Italian dishes can be very heavy or fattening so I try to stick to the ones that contain a vegetable based sauce such as marinara or pomodoro sauce. However, I was recently searching for new recipes and came across one in which the sauce was made of spinach. Now before you go and close out this post read the rest because the recipe really turned out beautifully. It is a great way to sneak in some extra veggies while being absolutely delicious, and we could all stand to add a little more spinach to our diet. One of my close friends, Bethany, who knows her health stuff recently posted that we wouldn't need to take any extra vitamins if we would just eat spinach everyday. Spinach is a great nutritional addition just check out the amazing quantity of vitamins at the bottom of this post (courtesy of http://www.nal.usda.gov/ nutritional index). Along with the healthy part of the dinner I also decided to make something a little unhealthy. Lately I've been trying my hand at baking breads and I am currently in the process of making a sourdough starter. I was hoping to make sourdough bread tonight but unfortunately my starter wasn't quite ready so instead I tried out a simple baguette recipe I had found. The bread and pasta turned out perfect and the bread was surprisingly much larger than I expected. Both of the recipes are very cheap which goes to show that you really can save money by making simple things like bread at home. So here's to a night of both healthy and unhealthy dishes. I know these will be in my permanent rotation of fall-back-meals and I hope they become part of yours also.

A recipe I can't wait to try - Light Chicken Potpie

"Food is the most primitive form of comfort" - Sheila Graham

cute Etsy travel mug!

I love chicken potpie.  There is just something so comforting about such a warm filling dish.  However, after I eat a chicken potpie I usually do not feel so comforted anymore.  The calorie content seems to flash before my eyes right before the guilt settles in.  So when this light chicken pot pie recipe came up in my twitter feed I knew I couldn't wait to try it.  I haven't gotten a chance to attempt it yet but I knew I had to share this.  While the nutritional information may not make it the newest recipe recommendation on Biggest Looser it definitely allows me to feel better about a "once in a while" indulgence of something I love.  Many thanks to Food Network for coming up with this recipe! I hope you enjoy cooking up a great dish of this for an easy evening at home filled with great comfort food.

A simple dinner..

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” - Leonardo da Vinci

this kitchen just screams light, airy and relaxing

I'm sure you know the days.  The ones where you wake up late, rush to get to work on time,  finish work, drive home in traffic, come home to find that your dogs have torn up your house, clean it up, go walk them only to find it raining, then go back inside and realize what you were going to make for dinner is frozen.  Although I love to post recipes pleas do not imagine that every night I come home and make an elaborate dinner!  There are days when I have completely lived out the story above.  A few days ago I had one of these days and ended up throwing together a dinner that was so simple and easy I had to share.  Don't get me wrong I love coming home and putting together an involved dinner, as weird as it may seem I often find it relaxing.  I love the repetitiveness of cooking, it gives me time to think.  But on weeks when I'm extremely busy, or sick, the last thing I want to do is stand in the kitchen and cook.  So I come up with meals like this fast, simple and doesn't require a lot of thinking.  I do have to say I am not an Alfredo sauce fan.  I would much rather have plain old marinara but the husband loves his cheese - so Alfredo is something he really enjoys.  So despite the artery clogging properties of the sauce every now and then I try to make it for him.  So here's to making something your husband loves - despite the slightly unhealthy aspect!!!  Oh and I made it super simple and served it with bread and a side of dipping oil... just to enhance the unhealthiness!  Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tip - Slow Cookers

“The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.”

I couldn't find a picture of a turquoise slow cooker but this recipe is so easy you can sit back and sip your coffee while it cooks.  So, I thought the coffee maker would be appropriate.  Plus it was just too darn cute to pass up!  On a side note make sure you take time weekly to relax.  Cooking shouldn't be a chore or a stress maker, think of it as a stress reliever.  Turn on your favorite music or your favorite TV show and enjoy them while you cook.  Pay attention to the repetitiveness while you chop and don't let the small "mistakes" stress you out.  A mistake for you might just turn into a wonderful new recipe.  Today's tip is for slow cookers. If you are married you probably have one somewhere as I know I was given 3 at my wedding showers.  So the first tip is to find the slow cooker if you never use it and clean it up.

Oatmeal Challenge Days 16 - 28

"Your heart understood mine" - Little Women

Thursday, Day 16: Boring Oatmeal
Today I was NOT feeling ambitious, I literally put oatmeal on the stove and tossed in a box of raisins and brown sugar.  It was still good but SO not creative!


Friday, Day 17: Bob Evan's Oatmeal
A few mornings a week I go to breakfast with one of the girls I mentor. This was one of those mornings and she suggested Bob Evans.  I had never tried Bob Evans and decided we'd try it out.  How have I never been there before????  The oatmeal was fabulous and came with brown sugar, raisins, dried cranberries, and pecans! What a creation!!!

A Mediterranean Dinner

 "The multiple factors at work in the Mediterranean diet provide health benefits that cannot be replaced by a supplement."

Cute Etsy Recipe Cards

For those of you who don't know me personally I just got married this past May, and I have to tell you I'm so blessed by it.  I had heard stories and watched movies about outrageous in-laws (think Monster-in-law) and was honestly pretty worried about it.  I've been so blessed that my husbands family is nothing like these horrible movie portrayals.  His sisters are much like mine and his parents remind me in many ways of my own parents.  I enjoy that I can hang out with them and feel comfortable being myself.  However, I do not care how nice your in-laws are, it is absolutely STRESSFUL the first time one of them comes over for dinner!  I didn't think it would be because we always have college students and friends over for dinner but it was not the case with the in-laws.  I was picturing in my head that the house wouldn't be clean enough, the food would end up horrible, and the dogs would be more than annoying.  To my relief everything turned out wonderful!  We had Shale's mom over on Saturday night and cooked up some great food on our new grill.  The dogs behaved themselves and the food turned out great.

After having my mother-in-law over that night she was so in love with the biscuits that she posted it on Facebook.  Once others heard about it they wanted the recipe.  I must admit, it is with much hesitancy that I give up these recipes.  Lately I've come to love Mediterranean style cooking.  I love the taste of lemon, olive oil, herbs and sea salt all mix together to provide a wonderfully light tasting dish.  I've tried to incorporate these into my cooking by using the flavors as marinades, sauces, and as you will see, toppings for my food.  I'm hesitant to release the recipes because I'm considering using the biscuit recipe for a recipe contest.   So with reluctance, and excitement because they are excellent I will share.  I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!!!

Days 11-15 of the Oatmeal Challenge

All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.
John Gunther




Turquoise Polka-Dot Pitcher

 

I've gotta admit I love polka dots so I'm in love with this pitcher!  How cute is this!  I could imagine it filled with fresh lemonade, perfect for summer.  I've kept up the oatmeal challenge and wanted to update you with more creative oatmeal recipes.  I'm half way through and actually starting to enjoy oatmeal.  I hope you enjoy the new combinations!

Sara's Pot Roast

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
Harriet Van Horne

Super Cute Etsy Towel

Oh how I love the quote above.  It really does capture how I feel about cooking!  On another note as I promised I was going to share a recipe that didn't have to do with oatmeal and boy do I have a great recipe to share.For those who don't know I teach a college age girls Bible study on Sunday mornings.  I have about 18 girls and they are all amazing. They are so passionate about the word of God and really challenge me probably more than I challenge them.  There is a girl in my class named Sarah, she's one of those fun outgoing girls who never seems to have a negative care in the world and she is so much fun to be around.  This past Sunday the two of us got to talking about her cooking adventures lately.  Apparently her family subscribed to the new cooking channel (sponsored by food network) and she loved it.  I admit I'm quite jealous as I don't think I can convince the husband to pay extra for a cooking channel.  She started to tell me about some of the recipes she had tried out but then mentioned that even though these were great they still weren't her favorite.  When I asked what her favorite was she began to tell me a pot roast recipe involving A1 steak sauce, onion soup mix and cream of celery soup.  I have to tell you, I don't like pot roast, never have and definitely never thought I would.  To me pot roast always seemed to be fatty and swimming in some kind of brownish floury gravy.  However, I knew my husband loved pot roast.  He is definitely a meat kind of guy. While I'd prefer for something else to be the main course, he would get offended if meat was not the main course.  So I asked her to send me the recipe and Monday evening I made this and it was delicious! I do have to tell you that I got center cut chuck roast instead of the typical rump roast and I really think that cut down on the "fatty" taste.  So I knew I had to share.  This one is made in the crockpot and really is a "visual" measuring technique in the beginning so this will be a step-by-step picture recipe.  Sarah - thanks so much for making our day better with a great recipe!!!

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Rice

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."

I love the quote above.  It's so true and I have to say lemons are one of my favorite additions to a dish.  They just make everything taste so much fresher that I can't help adding it to everything possible.  Today for lunch I wanted to throw together something fast and healthy and I came up with this and just had to share.  Hope it helps you love lemons as much as me!

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Rice