Month: August 2012

Recipes, Rice, Sides

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad

Sarah

I can’t believe it’s almost September! Yikes! Not just because the clock is continually ticking down to when I absolutely have to, have to, HAVE TO have my thesis done (December 15th, no exceptions) but because the end of my favorite produce season is almost near. Oh summer and your juicy peaches, sweet corn reminiscent of candy, fantastic watermelon, sweet tomatoes, crunchy peppers, how I love thee! Not that I don’t like the apples and pumpkins of fall [I mean, hello, I’m a pumpkin-obsessed girl here] or anything like that… but summer means relaxing strolls through the farmer’s market while dripping in sweat because we went running beforehand getting the absolute best fruits and veggies imaginable. And I’ll be sad to see that end. However, there’s still plenty of time to gather yummy summer foods so I’m going to do my best to share all my new favorite summer dishes now, before it’s too late.

This simple rice salad is one of those fabulous summer dishes that I wanted to be sure to share.

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad is filled with pantry staples like brown rice and chickpeas, but is spiced up with three of my favorite things on the planet: cherry tomatoes, feta, and mint. Oh goodness, that combination gets me every time!

It is so so so good. You should have seen me trying to maneuver my bites as I ate this salad for lunch on campus last week. I was sitting in the shade of a huge maple tree, balancing my Kindle on my lap while trying to carefully construct each bite to contain a piece of tomato, a chickpea, some feta, and some mint, all while avoiding the rice clusters that I ate last because they weren’t as exciting. I’m sure I looked perfectly ridiculous… and for the record, this is all 100% true, even if that might sound a bit fabricated for the sake of a blog post. Eating outside while reading is pretty much what I do everyday it’s nice outside. I’m trying to break myself of the habit of eating at the computer/while I’m working, to give myself a break in the day. So far, it’s working pretty well. I’ll be terribly sad when late fall comes and it’s too cold to do that… but maybe soon after that I’ll land a great job in a warm climate and I can eat outside year round! That would be nice!

But until then… there’s this fabulous salad, with a wonderful mix of sweet and fresh flavors, paired with hearty grains and legumes [I just looked it up, chickepeas are legumes, fyi] and a little feta for some salty flavor. I think it’s best that I make it it again before tomatoes return to their dreary out-of-seasonness… and it would be remiss of me to not encourage you to do the same!

Brown Rice, Feta, and Tomato Salad [adapted from PBS Food]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
  • 1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Prepare brown rice according to package directions. After brown rice is ready, set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, combine chickpeas, feta, tomatoes, and mint in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar.

Add about 2/3-3/4 of prepared rice to chickpea mixture and stir to combine. Don’t worry about being precise, just eyeball the amount. I was probably closer to the 2/3 mark. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve warm or refrigerate for a cold lunch or side salad.

Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active]

Yield: 4-5 servings.

Breakfast, Pancakes, Recipes

Peaches and Cream Pancakes

Sarah

There’s nothing I love more than a perfectly cooked pancake. Except maybe a perfectly ripe piece of fruit. And right now, the fruit that is absolutely perfect from my farmer’s market is peaches! Are peaches? I’m sure my grammar expert of a husband will correct me in the comments, and if he doesn’t then I’ll know that he didn’t read this post today. Which might happen since he has training at work this week. Anyways, onto the yummies!

As I said, peaches are perfectly ripe and juicy right now, so what better way to enjoy them for breakfast than in these scrumptious and easy Peaches and Cream Pancakes? The secret to these light and fluffy p’cakes, as they’re sometimes referred to in our house [yes, we’re 4] is room temperature milk and eggs, lots of baking powder, and butter, not oil for the fat. Yes, I said fat. They’re panCAKES so it’s to be expected. 🙂 And it’s only 3 tablespoons, not too bad at all.

Flavoring these lovely pancakes is a generous amount of sweet chopped peaches and tangy, spicy crystallized ginger–not too much, just enough to make an impact. If you love ginger, feel free to increase the amount, but we felt that 1 teaspoon was just right. These pancakes are definitely a welcome alternative to traditional summer blueberry, strawberry, insert any other berry here pancakes.

Don’t forget about the cream! My cream of choice was velvety, luscious vanilla yogurt [Dannon All Natural Vanilla is my favorite]. I eat yogurt as my “syrup” on pancakes pretty regularlly, and love how the creaminess adds some natural sweetness to the pancakes without all the added sugar of syrup [though real maple syrup has it’s place too!].

Ben preferred whipped cream on his pancakes. Though as he pointed out to me, leftovers were consumed with yogurt… and next time, he wants a double [triple?] dose of peaches by trying peach yogurt instead of vanilla. Craaaaazy!

These pancakes are the perfect summertime breakfast. I know I’ve used the word “perfect” about seven times in this post, but I hardly think that’s excessive. Peaches and Cream Pancakes are just so perfect and amazing and I wish I had some right about now! Enjoy!

Peaches and Cream Pancakes [adapted from my Go-To Pancakes]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • sprinkle of salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup skim milk, at room temperature
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled [can sub oil too]
  • oil for cooking
  • 2 peaches, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon crystallized ginger, chopped
  • vanilla yogurt or whipped cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat skillet over medium heat.

In a medium size bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center. Measure out milk in a measuring cup and then add egg. Beat gently with a fork. Add [cooled] butter and stir again. Pour liquid ingredients into well of dry ingredients, then stir gently to combine. Add half of the chopped peaches and all the ginger, then stir again. Don’t worry if batter is lumpy.

Pour batter onto hot skillet in 1/4 cup increments. Cook for a couple minutes on the first side until bubbles form, then flip and cook on other side until golden brown. Keep warm on a dinner plate covered with an aluminum foil tent until all are prepared, then serve with vanilla yogurt or whipped cream and additional chopped peaches.

Note: It is not 100% necessary to let milk and egg come to room temperature, but it yields better results. Recipe can be easily doubled with good results!

Time: 30 minutes [plus additional time to let milk and egg come to room temperature].

Yield: 12-14 pancakes.

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

Sarah

Week of August 27

Monday: frittata… cause it’s been awhile
Tuesday: Applebee’s… thanks for the free dessert, Mom! 🙂
Wednesday: steak stir fry by Ben [he’s the new Wednesday night chef]
Thursday: pasta of some sort…
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: knock off Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup… maybe I’ll attempt some breadsticks too!
Sunday: appetizers and desserts at church

Cookies, Desserts, Recipes

Tropical Cake Mix Cookies

Sarah

UPDATE: recipe now on my blog. check it out 🙂

Cookies! Cake Mix Cookies! Easy and delicious, right?

But not just any cake mix cookies… TROPICAL Cake Mix Cookies. Sorry to shout, they are just awesome. Check out the recipe I’m sharing over at Today’s Housewife right now! 🙂

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Brown Sugar Squash Muffins

Sarah

So, I kind of have a thing for muffins. They’re just so simple to make… leaving plenty of time to watch yet another episode of Make It Or Break It on Netflix. Muffins make such a convenient and [semi-healthy] snack. In a little over two years blogging, I have 11 other recipes posted here and a zillion others that are in the queue. Seriously! But enough about other recipes and muffins’ benefits. That’s boring. But these Brown Sugar Squash Muffins? They aren’t so boring.

These muffins are absolutely delicious! They’re stuffed with good things like grated yellow squash, applesauce, and mashed banana. The flavor of the yellow squash, for good or for ill, is drowned out by the applesauce and banana, so what’s left is a pillowy soft and light treat to make your day just a little bit better. The sweet fruity flavor is accentuated by the molasses-y, spicy flavor created by the welcoming combination of brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice [cannot WAIT for fall!]. Yum. Plus, if things weren’t good enough already… I topped them with a crumbly streusel to fancy them up a bit. Eeeeek! So. Good!

In the future, I can definitely see tossing in some dried cranberries, chopped apples, or nuts to add a little more texture, but they were amazing as-is and don’t really need that to succeed. Nope, we loved them and I hope you do too! I can’t wait til lunch–I have one waiting in my lunchbox! 🙂

Brown Sugar Squash Muffins [adapted from Parenting Miracles]
click to print

Ingredients:

for muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup summer squash, shredded
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed

for streusel

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease well with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, milk, yogurt, eggs, squash, and banana. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then spoon into prepared pan.

Next, make streusel. Mix together oats, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Add melted butter and toss until mixture makes coarse crumbs. Spoon on top of muffin batter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Time: 45 minutes.

Yield: 24 muffins.