Celebrating Ellen's Little Pumpkin

My dear friend Ellen is expecting a baby and I got to travel to Dallas a couple weeks ago to celebrate  her "little pumpkin."  Here are a few pictures from the shower (which was organized by 13 hostesses!).

My contributions were "little pumpkin" muffins and the flowers, which were truly a Dow-Waldrep effort : )

It was such a fun day and such a joy to be able to celebrate this happy occasion with Ellen.  Can't wait for the arrival of Baby Peeps in February!

Little Pumpkin Muffins
*My friend Chaiss posted this recipe on her blog a while back.  It's been my go to pumpkin bread ever since*

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.  In a standing mixer, combine pumpkin, oil, water and sugar.  Mix well.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.  Slowly add the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Fold in pecans.  Pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Make 3 loaves.

This time, I poured the bread into mini-muffin tins and baked for 12-15 minutes.  In addition to adding pecans to the batter, I also chopped up some smaller pieces for sprinkling on top.

Our Favorite Summer Meal

Despite the Texas heat, summer is truly one of my favorite times of year.  I love the way afternoons turn into long evenings that slowly fade into night, being outside, trips to the farmer's market, and, of course, summer food.  This summer we have been enjoying lots of fresh zucchini, heirloom tomatoes, and delicious Texas peaches. Our favorite recipe so far?  This Halibut with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Summer Squash baked in parchment packets.  It's as simple as it is delicious.

Image via Bon Appetite.

Fish Fillets with Tomatoes, Squash and Basil

from Bon Appetite

2 cups very thinly sliced assorted summer squash (we use zucchini + yellow crookneck)

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil, plus 1/4 cup basil leaves

20 cherry tomatoes, halved (we love buying small heirloom tomatoes)

4 T dry white wine

4 T EVOO

s+p

4 6 oz filets Halibut (or other flaky white fish)

For the packets, cut four big squares of parchment paper, fold each square in half and cut to form half heart shape (so that when you unfold you have a large heart shaped piece of parchment).    

Divid squash among parchment sheets, arranging on one side of sheet in thin layers.  Sprinkle shallots and sliced basil over squash.  Scatter tomato halves around squash (almost creating a frame where the fish will go).  Drizzle each packet with 1 T wine and 1/2 T EVOO.  Season with s+p and place fish atop each portion.  Season fish with s+p and drizzle 1/2 T EVOO over each.

Fold parchment over crimping edges tightly to seal the packet.  Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes.  Serve straight out of the packets and garnish with basil leaves.

*The packets can be assembled up to four hours in advance and then refrigerated, which makes this such an easy meal to serve for company.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!

Lemon Butter Salmon

I saw a picture of this recipe while scanning through Pinterest a while back and decided to add it to my list of recipes to try.  It's as simple and summery as it sounds.  Delicious salmon infused with subtle hints of lemon and butter.  And thanks to the foil packets, clean up was a breeze.

2, 4-6 oz salmon fillets (Personally, I like to remove the skin prior to cooking, but K loves the skin so we leave it)
1-2 tbsp butter
1 lemon, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
s+p
foil 

Place lemon slices on top of salmon fillets and top with small slice of butter.  Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Fold your foil packet and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Here's a shot of the salmon before I folded up the foil into a packet for baking.

I think I like this preparation for salmon because it lets salmon be salmon with just an ever so slight touch of seasoning provided by the lemon and the butter.  A light and refreshing meal perfect for our hot San Antonio summer.  Enjoy!

Comfort Food

Have you ever noticed how celebrations and gatherings inevitably involve food? Food is an integral part of every significant life event from birthdays to holidays, even death. Food is of course necessary to sustain life, but it is also an important way in which we sustain family relationships and friendships.  Food can be used to show our care or concern for those in need, to celebrate joy, or to commiserate in sorrow.

Jesus even used food in his ministry on earth. Scripture abounds with references to Jesus sharing meals with his disciples, miraculously providing meals for crowds, and even sharing meals with tax collectors and prostitutes. These examples show us how food can be used to meet people where they are and love them for who they are, all while sharing something essential.

The Women's Ministry at my church has a wonderful meal ministry for new moms. It allows women in our church to volunteer to provide meals for families in the weeks after a baby arrives. It is such a wonderful and useful way to love these families and it is such a meaningful way to care for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I love volunteering to help with these meals. I love being able to provide comfort food during the joyful and sometimes exhausting season of welcoming a new baby home. Depending on the amount of time I have to prepare a meal, I have a couple go-to menus for comfort food. If I have all afternoon to cook, I make a roast chicken with mashed potatoes, a veggie and a salad. If I have all day to cook, I typically add cookies and bake something for breakfast the next morning. If I am delivering something on a weeknight or under a time crunch, my go to recipe is Pasta Rustica with Three Cheeses and Chicken Sausage.

Pasta Rustica with Three Cheeses and Chicken Sausage

*recipe from Williams-Sonoma

2 tbsp EVOO
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb of chicken or turkey sausage, casings removed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1 can (28 oz) tomatoes in puree, tomatoes coarsely chopped and puree reserved
salt, to taste
1 lb penne pasta
1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded fontina or mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute.  Add sausage and cook, breaking it up into bite-size pieces.  Cook until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.  Stir in the basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Add the tomatoes and puree and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 10-12 minutes.  Taste to adjust seasonings with salt.  Remove from heat.

In the mean time, preheat the oven to 350 and lightly oil your baking dish.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your penne.  Cook the pasta until just barely al dente (about 10-12 minutes).  Drain and  combine pasta sauce and ricotta and mozzarella cheese and pour into baking dish.  Top with Parmigiano-Reggianno cheese and bake for about 30 minutes (until cheese is melted and tips of pasta are crusty).

Ready for the oven.  This also freezes really well before baking. 

I love this recipe. It's so easy to prepare I can practically do it with my eyes closed, but it packs a big punch of flavor (courtesy of the sausage and the red pepper) and I love the delicious combination of cheeses. Hope you'll give it a try and take it to a friend in need this week!

My Favorite Banana Bread

Banana bread is high on my list of favorite foods. Something about it is just so perfectly delicious. I love a slice with fruit for breakfast or topped with ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce for dessert. I am constantly searching for new banana bread recipes. The gold standard? Something equal parts delicious and nutricious. I think this recipe for Banana's Foster Banana Bread is pretty darn close to perfect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Bananas Foster Banana Bread

*adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)

1 cup packed brown sugar, divided

6 tbsp butter, melted and divided

1/3 cup plain fat free yogurt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
powered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine banana, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 5 tbsp butter in a nonstick skillet.  Cook over medium heat until mixture in a large bowl.  Add yogurt, remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, and eggs.  Beat with a mixer at medium speed.  Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl.  Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended.  Pour batter into a 9x5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 for about 1 hour.

*Optional: Combine remaining 1 tbsp melted butter, 1 tbsp milk, and powdered sugar; stir until well blended.  Drizzle over the warm bread.
**I also like making this into muffins.  Just half the baking time.

Anyone have any good banana bread recipes they want to share?  I'm always looking for a new ways to make my favorite bread!

Ham and Cheese Sliders

I have been involved in a wonderful women's Bible Study since I moved to San Antonio last fall. It has been a place for me to make new friends and more importantly a place for me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. I cannot express how much this group of women has meant to me. It has truly come to feel like an extended family and one that I have been very thankful to be adopted into.

This week we celebrated the end of our study on Genesis with a potluck dinner and a question and answer time with our pastor, Tom Gibbs. It was such a joy to share a meal with these wonderful women and such a blessing to hear our pastor's insights into our study.

For my contribution to the potluck, I made Ham and Cheese Sliders and this Cranberry Avocado Salad with Candied Almonds. Naturally, both recipes were Pinterest finds. Here are the details on the Ham and Cheese Sliders.

Via The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

*from The Girl Who Ate Everything

24 King's Hawaiian rolls (or other good white dinner rolls)

24 pieces of Honey Baked Ham (I used our Easter leftovers)

24 slices of Swiss cheese (I bought regular deli style and sliced it into quarters)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy Seed Sauce

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 1/2 tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 tbsp minced onion

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea and Perkins)

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip and spread mixture onto top and bottom of each roll. Assemble sandwiches and place close together on a large baking sheet. In a medium bowl, combine poppy seeds, mustard, butter, onion and Worcestershire and pour over rolls. Allow the rolls to rest about 10 minutes until poppy seed sauce is set. Cover with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted, uncover and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes until the tops of the rolls are brown and crispy.

Note: These can be assembled the night before, covered and refrigerated. Just be sure to bring the sandwiches to room temperature before baking.

I think these scrumptious little sandwiches would also make a great main course option at a cocktail buffet or luncheon. I hope you enjoy!

Cashew Chicken

This is another delicious Pinterest find. Y'all this is sooo delicious. Cashew Chicken from The Art of Doing Stuff. I followed the recipe almost to the letter . . .

2 chicken breasts (diced into 1 inch pieces)

1 tbsp corn starch

6 small or 3 large cloves of garlic minced (we were out of garlic! I subbed garlic powder)

8 green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces, white and green parts divided

1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup cashews (toasted)

1 can mandarin oranges (or 1-2 "cuties"), chopped into pieces

s+p

EVOO

Combine cornstarch and a little s+p in a plastic bag (I reused the produce bag from my green onions). Add chicken, blow a little air into the bag, twist it shut and shake it up until the chicken pieces are coated. Heat EVOO in a medium-large sauté pan. Add chicken, garlic and white parts of green onions and sauté until chicken is cooked (3-5 minutes). Once chicken pieces are browned and chicken is fully cooked, add rice vinegar and sauté until it evaporates. Add hoisin sauce and water and stir until combined. Once combined, remove from heat and add remaining green onions, orange pieces, and cashews. Stir until sauce coats everything and serve over brown rice.

Yum! I liked this so much better than restaurant chinese food - so much fresher tasting. Hope y'all like it as much as we did!

S'mores Cookies

Or as we call them, the sinful cookies. Eat one. You'll understand what we mean. These cookies aren't just good, they're sinfully good - mostly because we can never seem to eat just one. I found the recipe via Pinterest here and we've been enjoying them ever since.

11 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows

3 regular sized Hershey's bars, divided into pieces
1-2 packages of graham crackers, divided into squares

Combine flour, baking soda, sea salt and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time. After eggs are fully incorporated add the vanilla. Turn your mixer to low speed and slowly incorporate flour mixture. Once incorporated remove bowl from mixer and fold in the chocolate chips and marshmallows by hand. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour (or overnight).

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 and arrange graham cracker squares on your cookie sheet. When you are ready to bake your cookies, scoop dough onto graham cracker squares. I use an ice cream scoop with a 1-1.5 inch diameter and this seems to be the right amount of dough. Bake for five minutes. Remove from oven and press Hershey's squares onto each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely (this will be difficult because they look so delicious, but is necessary because of all of the gooey ingredients) before cutting into squares and serving.

If you're a visual person, there are some great step-by-step pictures here. Hope you enjoy these yummy cookies as much as we do!

Image via The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Date Night In

K and I really enjoy good food. Finding new restaurants and eating out is probably one of our favorite things to do together. And we tend to do it well - a nice bottle of wine, appetizers to split, entrees and dessert with champagne. But, as much as we love going out, I also really enjoy cooking. Not whipping up dinner after work, but slowly putting together a meal.

This weekend K and I didn't have any plans on Saturday. This doesn't happen often, so when it does we like to take advantage by really enjoying the free time. For me this meant making dinner. That may not sound so relaxing, but it was wonderful. On the menu? Herb roasted pork tenderloin, cheesey quinoa, and basalmic and goat cheese asparagus. It was simple, easy to prepare, and delicious. And to take the mood from dinner in to date night, I decided to set the table with linens, crystal and china. It was such a relaxing evening and one that I hope we can repeat often.

Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin

pork tenderloin

herbes de Provence

s+p

balsamic

Preheat the oven to 375. Sprinkle tenderloin with s+p, then with herbes de Provence. I like to rub the herbes de Provence in to treat it a bit more like a rub. Place the tenderloin in your roasting pan and drizzle with a few tablespoons of balsamic. Roast at 375 for 30-45 minutes until your meat reaches the desired degree of doneness. (Note: we usually take ours out a little closer to medium rare, cover it with foil and let it rest. The time on the counter allows it to finish cooking and keeps the meat from drying out.)

Cheesey Quinoa (recipe inspiration here)

1 small shallot, minced
1.5 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
.5 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup water
shredded cheddar (a big healthy handful)
s+p, to taste

Heat a little EVOO in saute pan. Saute shallot and tomatoes over medium high heat for around 5 minutes. Add quinoa and garlic and cook until quinoa appears "toasted." Add water, bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork and stir in the cheese. Season with s+p to taste.

Asparagus (recipe here)

Yum. Typing these recipes makes me hungry for the meal all over again. I hope you have a chance to enjoy a relaxing Saturday and date night in.

Tortilla Soup

Soup is becoming a little bit of a Sunday night tradition around here. It's a low-maintenance meal that we can throw together pretty quickly and I love having leftovers to eat for lunch the rest of the week. This week it was tortilla soup. K loves it. The recipe is something that his mom has been making for years and it is definitely delicious. The best part is that K enjoys making it. He's made it without my help on a few occasions, but typically this involves me playing sous chef (read: doing all the hard work) while K stirs the pot. All joking aside, I love that K has such a helpful nature and if it means that K and I actually get to cook together, I am perfectly happy to do the "hard" part. The good news is, this recipe really isn't that "hard" and the result is better than the many restaurant varieties I've tried. I hope you'll give it a try.

Yum! Better than Mi Cocina!

For the record: we do eat non-soup meals around here,

they just haven't found their way onto this blog yet.

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 red onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth (I buy low sodium)

2 lb. cooked chicken (4-6 breasts or one grocery store roast chicken)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

2 cans tomato sauce (I buy no salt added)

tabasco and salt - to taste
jack cheese, tortilla chips and sour cream - for topping

Directions

Saute onions, peppers, jalapeño, tomatoes, and garlic in butter. Add chicken broth to sauted vegetables. Add diced chicken, spices, and red wine vinegar. Simmer and add tomato sauce until soup is rosy in color.

Serve with crumbled chips, cheese and sour cream.

Hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Soup - Mama's Way

If you are lucky enough to have grown up near your grandparents, your childhood is probably peppered with countless memories about them. Things that they said. Their mannerisms. Memories of the time you spent with them. The way their house smells. Certain recipes that belong, uniquely, to them.

I have been fortunate in that my grandparents have not only lived nearby, but that they have also been an active part of my life. My earliest memories include Mama and Joe. And some of my happiest childhood memories are moments spent at Mama's kitchen table. Watching her cook, talking to Joe and eventually enjoying whatever delicious meal she was preparing.

This week I attempted to duplicate Mama's vegetable soup. I didn't ask Mama for her recipe. Instead, I tried to make it from memory. From years of watching her make it and from years of eating it. It isn't fancy and the recipe is simple, but it is comfort food. Eating it reminds me of being in Mama's kitchen and that is a wonderful place to be.

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 head cauliflower, broken up into small pieces
2-3 handfuls of green beans, trimmed and cut in half
herbes de Provence

2 cans Garbanzo beans
1, 32 oz container V8 vegetable juice (plus more depending on how brothy you like your soup)

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the carrots and onion and saute until softened, about 5-10 minutes. Once softened season with one heaping tablespoon of herbes de Provence. Add V8, and the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Garnish with parmesan and serve with a roll.

Simple and delicious. Hope you enjoy!

Green Smoothie

Recipes for green smoothies seem to be all over Pinterest and food blogs right now. In anticipation of St. Patty's Day, I decided to try my hand. After a few false starts, I think I have finally come up with a truly delicious green smoothie. I know, that sounds like an oxymoron, right? But, it really is good. I promise! K doesn't believe me - he won't even taste a little.

Ingredients

2 big handfuls of spinach (I buy the pre-washed bags of baby spinach)

1 banana

1-1.5 cups of frozen mango pieces

1-2 cups of almond milk (I buy the unsweetened vanilla flavor)

1 tsp(ish) agave nectar (this really helps to cut the spinach flavor, you could also use honey)

Directions

Put it all in the blender and blend it up!

Yum! Ready to enjoy!

There seem to be endless variations to this recipe for green goodness. I make mine this way because it tastes good and I like knowing I'm getting a few more green things in my diet. I hope this yummy green concoction brings you the luck of the Irish!

*I got my inspiration for the "green monster" here.

Turkey, Kale, and Brown Rice Soup

We had this soup tonight for dinner and it was deeeelish! Healthy, hearty, full of fresh ingredients and flavor AND there are plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinner later this week. The recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis here.

Ingredients

2 tbsp EVOO
5-6 large shallots, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped (I used about equal parts of the shallots, carrots, and pepper)
8 oz ground white turkey meat (I used the entire package)
1 tbsp herbes de Provence
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
1, 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 small bunch kale, coarsely chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrots and bell pepper and saute, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ground turkey and stir until the meat turns white and begins to color very slightly around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the herbes de Provence and stir, 1 minute. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and rice. Bring to a boil. Stir in the kale and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and the freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve with parsley and parmesan.


I've been holding onto this recipe for a while and am so glad I finally made it. Hope you enjoy!