52 for 52 Week 8

Hello! Well I'm still keeping up with something new each week.  For me that's hard to believe.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that new doesn't have to be a new dinner, but something small. However for this week the new was doughnuts.  Many years ago I made fried doughnuts for my family, and they were delicious.  However the only problem was they went stale very quickly, like by the next day.  In a recent issue of Fine Cooking I found a recipe for baked donuts and wanted to give it a try.  Fortunately it was my birthday and I thought a doughnut pan was a perfect gift for one of my children to give me.   I also got a new red Kitchen Aid Mixer since my other one finally died. 

Red is my favorite color

The recipe for vanilla cake doughnuts came together super simply.  I only have one pan, which is just fine since they also slipped right out of the pan and I could cook the second batch a little later.  To keep things simple I glazed them with the chocolate glaze and decorated with a few sprinkles.  The recipe made 12; which I made Sunday.  They were gone by the time I came home from work on Monday.  It does help to have a 16 year old boy around and his friends.  I think next time I want to try the spiced variation with cinnamon sugar.  Hopefully a little reminiscent of an apple cider doughnut or make a lemon poppy seed.  

Just waiting to go into the oven

If you've ever thought about making doughnuts but didn't want to deal with the frying I highly recommend  this option.  As always I hope you are inspired to try something new this week.

With love from the Midwest,

Beth 

List of Loves

As February come to an end I thought I'd take some time to  think about the people and things I love about life and doing.  I decided to cap my list at 20 items.  They are really not in any specific order yet I would say number 1 is number 1.   

1. My husband 

2. My children

3. A good meal and the ability to cook it

4. A good glass of wine

5. Yoga

6. Running

7. Taking a walk - alone or with someone

8. Sunrises & Sunsets

9. Being near the water

10. Talking with friends

11. Reading

12. Art -creating or looking at

13. Spring flowers

14. Farmers' Markets

15. Sitting by a fire

16. My extended family

17. Traveling to a new or familiar place

18. Coffee in the morning

19. Eating outside

20. Music 

What are your loves in life?  

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Week 7 52 for 52

Hello!  Well this last week, February 9th, I decided I needed a new dessert.  So creme caramel it was.  I have many French cookbooks, and I really do love flipping through the pages of a book.  Finally I found the perfect recipe for the pot de creme -The Bonne Femme Cookbook.  I've mentioned this book before; I've had very good luck with almost everything I've tried.  This recipe did not disappoint either.  The recipe was super quick to put together for the custards.  On the other had I did have a bit of a problem with the caramel sauce.  Mine clumped together, yuck!  So I made it again. Thankfully I had enough sugar, butter and cream.  After the creme carmel was gone we enjoyed the sauce on ice cream.  Please try making some of your own. 

I hope you are inspired to try something new this week! 

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Recent Eats & More

Hello! Well I've decided that I'm not going to do a weekly "what I ate Wednesday" post this year.  The 52 for 52 will be enough.  However I wanted to share some good eats this past week. 

Breakfast: Papaya, Veggie Scrambled Eggs and Cracked Wheat Toast with Peanut Butter. 

I found a reasonably priced papaya when I was down in Madison at Whole Foods (we don't have one here) so I made it last three days.  I also had some odds and ends of spinach and canned tomatoes so I just put them with my eggs.  The cracked wheat is mine - one of my favorite recipes from The Bread Bible.  I've been making it for years. 

Lunch: Red Lentil Veggie Soup with Lemon.  I made  this in the Instant Pot and it took no time at all.  I added some leftover arugula for some green. This made enough for 3 days of lunch so I parceled it out into my containers right away.  Who doesn't love a quick grab and go lunch. 

Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, Roasted Squash, Applesauce and 7 Layer Bars for dessert.

I found leftover cooked chicken in my freezer and that means Chicken Pot Pie.  I bake this in a cast iron skillet and to make my life a little easier I use Pillsbury Pie Crusts.  The inside is packed with chicken and veggies. The applesauce is from the fall when I made several cans worth and the squash was also local.  I love my local food in February.  7 layer bars are a family favorite -there so quick and easy.  

  

What I've been reading: The Silent Patient .  This book is great.  It is a thriller based in London. I must say there are very few books I can spend the whole day reading, but this is one of them.  Honestly this isn't a genre I read to much of, but I am definitely a fan of this book.  It's a must read. 

What I've been Watching: Downtown Abby.  Well since it's back on Netflix I can't think of a better way to spend an evening watching an episode or two.  

I hope your week is going well and I've inspired you to whip up some yummy food.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

52 for 52 Week 6

Hello again! I hope you are all doing well. It's been just a normal winter week here.  However I'm super happy that I've been able to run outside in the mornings this past week and take the dog for walks after school.  It makes winter all that more bearable.  

This week's new recipe was Chia Seed Peanut Butter Balls from Hummusapien. I whipped these up Wednesday afternoon since I had a little extra time.  They were quick and easy to make and they do keep you full.  I ate one and was full for hours.  I would say the only problem is the chia seeds.  Please make sure you check your teeth before going out or seeing people if you've eaten one of these. In general I'm not much of a snack eater; I prefer my 3 meals.  But these are nice since they are in my fridge for those days when I might need something and I don't have any delicious cheese in my cheese drawer.  Always fun to try something new.   

I hope your week is going well and you are inspired to try something new this week.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Cleaning out the Freezer - A Week's Worth of Dinners

Hello!  Well last week before I went grocery shopping I decided to really take stock of what I have in my freezer, fridge and pantry and to buy as little as possible.  I do have a teenage son at home so my as little as possible might look different than others.  However I was able to clean out my veggie drawer and make a good dent in the freezer and still have delicious meals.  I thought I'd share with you.  I grocery shop on Sundays so for me the week starts then.  I also need to state that I went to the final farmers' market on Saturday morning so I did have all of the weeks veggies ahead of time. 

Sunday: Stromboli.  I had extra prosciutto and various cheese in my deli/cheese drawer.  I had picked up the lettuce and mushrooms at the final week of our indoor farmers' market.  The tomato dipping sauce was made with canned tomatoes, spices and red wine vinegar -all pantry friendly.  

Monday: Chorizo mac and cheese with pimentos and peas.  I add package of chorizo in my freezer and my son loves this version of mac and cheese.  All I had to buy was pimentos.  I had everything else.  At this point in time I cleaned out the cheese drawer.  The brussel sprouts I picked up at the farmers' market and I have a bag of cranberries in the freezer.  I throw a few cranberries in with the roasted veggies towards then end to give just a little pucker to the sweet veggies.

Tuesday: Weeknight Tandoori chicken, brown rice and roasted veggies.  I love roasted veggies if you haven't guessed.  The chicken is super simple.  I dredge the thighs in an Indian spice mixture, saute them for a bit and then make a quick pan sauce with coconut milk and tomato puree.  For this dinner I just had to buy the coconut milk.

Wednesday: Sausage Veggie Tomato Sauce over Pasta with Salad. I made a big batch of the sausage sauce in the fall and saved half of it.  What a surprise to find it!  I just had to heat it up, boil the pasta and make a quick salad with homemade vinaigrette.

Thursday: Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes, Spinach and Mushrooms.  My version of Salisbury Steak does use a can of French Onion Soup and I actually did have some in the pantry.  So why not use it up, and my family likes this meal.  Honestly I try not to use too many processed foods, but no one is perfect. I didn't have to buy anything extra for this meal.  

Friday: Out to eat. My husband and I were alone so we thought we might as well enjoy a date night out.

How can you clean out your fridge/freezer/pantry?  

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth