Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Veronica

Someone asked me about the “mashed potatoes” I served with the Steak au Poivre yesterday, and how I kept them so white. Well, the secret is that it wasn’t mashed potatoes! Since the steak itself seemed pretty rich, I decided to keep the sides healthy and low-calorie, and served it with roasted asparagus and this creamy mashed cauliflower.

I have made mashed cauliflower before that has cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and butter in it, but I wanted to make it a little lighter this time. There is still a bit of butter, but also an equal amount of heart-healthy olive oil, and the cauliflower gets its creaminess and mild tangy-ness from nonfat Greek yogurt, giving it a closer taste to potatoes in that it reminds me of a baked potato with sour cream…minus the potato flavor. This dish definitely won’t fool you into thinking you’re eating potatoes, but it is delicious in its own right. I actually like the taste of it even better than the higher-fat version, not to mention it’s much healthier. To prove it’s not just me and my own weird tastes that finds this dish tasty, my husband heartily approved of the creamy cauliflower, despite being an avid mashed potatoes aficionado, polishing off a generous pile of it just as fast as he did the steak!

*Note: I updated yesterday’s steak recipe because I forgot the first and most important step in cooking them (letting them rest at room temperature prior to cooking to help ensure a tender steak). If you saved the recipe or plan to make it, please revisit it and save the new instructions. Sorry for the inconvenience of my memory lapse!

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1 head cauliflower
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
½ teaspoon salt
Snipped fresh chives or parsley for garnish (optional)

Separate the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Place in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover, and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with blade attachment, add remaining ingredients, and process until smooth and creamy. Serve hot with a sprinkling of fresh chives or parsley, if desired.

*Veronica’s Note: using nonfat yogurt and milk is perfectly fine!

Recipe source: adapted from Eating Well

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Posted in Lighter Fare, Side Dishes and tagged cauliflower, low carb, mashed potatoes, substitute. Bookmark the permalink.

Steak au Poivre

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Veronica

It’s been a while since I participated in the Secret Recipe Club, since I opted out for the busy month of December and the club was closed for renovations during January, so I was so eager to finally participate again! I absolutely love the anticipation of waiting to find out who my blog assignment is, then stealthily stalking their blog and picking the perfect recipe to make and share for reveal day. That’s my favorite part, but it’s also a lot of fun to hunt down who was assigned to me after the big reveal and see what recipe they chose. Fun, fun, fun! :)

This month I was assigned to Cupcake Muffin, which is the most expansive blog I’ve been assigned to so far. There are so many delicious recipes in every category that it took quite a while to mark all the ones I liked and finally decide on “the one.”

I’m sure you are shocked that I didn’t pick a sweet treat, right? So am I! :) I figured since it’s getting close to Valentine’s Day, and I already have plenty of chocolatey recipes for you to choose from for dessert, I’d offer this fancy steak up as a consideration for your main course if you plan to have a romantic meal at home. Also, I have ZERO steak recipes on my blog so I guess it’s about time I bit the bullet and added one. Plus, the husband loves steak and usually if he wants it, I force him to make it himself (I’m sort of anti-steak), but I knew he would appreciate one that wasn’t rubbery and overcooked (his specialty) so I decided to be nice to every one and give you what you want. Aren’t I such a trooper? ;)

The steak is rich and so flavorful–peppery, but not overly so, despite the stunning amount of it in the recipe, and the cream sauce just brings it together so very nicely. Despite my personal distaste for steak, I thought this was delicious and the best steak I’ve ever had in my life.

I usually covertly watch my husband while he eats, trying to see his reaction and judge whether I made a winner or a loser in his estimation. Well, he had no reaction to this steak, except to shovel it into his mouth steadily without pausing to look up. He knows how important it is to me to know if he likes what I’ve made, so I was a little uncertain, despite the proof of his enjoyment staring me in the face, until he was almost finished and finally remembered to look up and give his verdict. He said it was the best steak he’s ever had!! Coming from such a carnivore as he, this is a great compliment and a testament to the wonderful recipe. Thank you, Sara, for sharing it–my husband is eternally grateful! This will be my go-to recipe for when I need to butter him up. :)

*Side note: Steak “au poivre” is French and translates to pepper steak. It is pronounced steak “oh pwav” or steak “oh pwavrah,” depending on which French chef you listen to. (You can hear it pronounced from a French chef the first way on this video if you skip to :16, and the second way on this video if you skip to :42.) I looked this up just so I wouldn’t sound a fool when I told Dennis what I was serving, and I thought I’d share for those who know as little French as I do. I prefer to say steak oh pwav because it’s easier. :)

Steak au Poivre

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

2 boneless beef strip steaks (about 1 pound total)
Kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small shallot, minced
1/4 cup brandy (or cognac if you’re feeling extra-fancy)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Remove the steaks from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. (A cold steak will contract when it hits the heat, causing the meat to become tough during cooking.) Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel and season both sides lightly with salt. Coat both sides with the peppercorns, pressing so they adhere. Heat the oil in a 12-inch heavy-duty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the steaks and cook to your desired doneness (2 to 3 minutes per side for medium rare), turning the heat down to medium after both sides are seared if you wish to cook it beyond medium rare. Transfer the steaks to a plate and tent them with foil. Pour off and discard any fat left in the pan, but not the brown bits.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet. When the butter is melted, add the shallots and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully add the brandy*. Return the skillet to medium heat and cook, whisking, until the brandy reduces to a glaze, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the cream and simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt. Transfer the steaks to dinner plates and top with the sauce.

Serves 2

*Note: Sara cautions to be careful when adding the alcohol if you have a gas stove because the alcohol will most likely ignite, as it did on hers (mine is electric and did not). Be sure to stand back and keep your hair out of the way just in case!

Recipe source: Cupcake Muffin

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Posted in Meats, Secret Recipe Club and tagged at home, dinner, man-pleasing, romantic, Steak au poivre, Valentine's Day. Bookmark the permalink.

Thankful Thursdays #62: friends part 1

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Veronica

Continuing in my venture to flesh out my top ten thanksgivings, I’ve now worked my way down to #5, my friends, the thanksgiving I’m sure most everyone will agree is not only one of life’s greatest treasures, but what helps make life a treasure itself.

This is a difficult post for me to write, and I was unable to finish it in time, so until I can bring my thoughts together in a more coherent way, I thought I would just share some uplifting friendship quotes and a few pictures to give you the happies. Give thanks for your friends, they are precious!

Hugs to my online friends!!

Love, Veronica

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Cheddar Bacon Dip

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Veronica

I can’t believe it has been a month since I last shared a recipe! After my blogging hiatus, I’m feeling refreshed and ready to return to my online cornucopia of recipes, life adventures, and Thankful Thursdays. Thank you for bearing with me through January, and thank you to the wonderful guest posters that kept my blog alive in my stead. I now have a clean, OK, cleaner house, have worked my way up to Judges in my quest to read the Bible from cover to cover, have gotten enough sleep almost every night for a month, have spent valuable time with my nephew, and have taken up a new hobby of funky manicures (you can see some of them here), which will probably die hard now that I’m back to blogging. But as one of my co-workers said, “Who cares about your nails? We need to EAT!” Enough said–here we go! :)

I have so many recipes to share with you guys, and most of them savory if you can believe it. Since the Super Bowl* is next Sunday, I figured I’d start with something football party-appropriate: a fattening dip! This was my least favorite recipe I made while I was away (though you wouldn’t know it by the ungodly amount I ate), but it’s tasty, it’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s a man-pleaser so I’m sharing it for those of you who need a quick man-pleasing dip to add to your Super Bowl party spread.

For other party food ideas, check out my index of snacks and appetizers here.

Cheddar Bacon Dip

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

16 oz sour cream
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
3 oz bacon bits (in the bag not jar)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and refrigerate 24 hours. Serve with chips and/or veggies.

Recipe source: Plain Chicken

*True fact: at the age of 12, when a convenience store clerk asked if I was looking forward to the Super Bowl, I replied, “No, I don’t really like bowling that much.” My younger sister gave me a cringing look and after we left the store, she explained that the Super Bowl is the NFL’s championship football game. Shows you how much I know about sports! The only difference is now I love bowling. I still am clueless about football.

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Posted in Snacks & Appetizers and tagged bacon, Cheddar cheese, Dips, easy, fast, party, ranch dressing, recipe, Sour cream, Super Bowl. Bookmark the permalink.

Thankful Thursdays #61: my wonderfully dysfunctional family

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Veronica

The last Davis family portrait (1999): Danielle, Lacey, me, and Mom and Dad in front

It’s been several weeks since I’ve written a Thankful Thursday post, but it’s about time I came back to my top ten list and gushed about #4. Admittedly, I ranked my friends as #4 and family as #5 on the official list, and I’m not going to edit it, but I feel that I’m actually more thankful for my family. We have no say as to what kind of family we are born into, and when we end up with a good one, I think that’s something worth giving thanks for. (Perhaps it’s not a bad idea to find something to be thankful for even if we end up in a bad family, because I’ve noticed that out of something bad often comes something good.)

Just like most families, mine has no shortage of issues. There have been and still are substance abuse problems, mental illness, verbal and physical fights, bad habits, cruelties administered and/or said in anger. But overall, I come from a loving family and one of the best things about us is that we do not hold grudges. We give each other plenty of reasons to hold grudges, but we always forgive each other and have just as much fun at our next family gathering as we did during the last one. We hurt each other, we drive one another crazy, but we don’t even have to say we’re sorry in order to move on. We just do.

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The Miller family 2007 (back): Al (FIL), Lance (nephew), Richard (BIL), Joan (SIL), (front) Phyllis (MIL), Carson (nephew), Dennis and me.

While Dennis got the raw end of the deal with his crazy in-laws, I got an unexpected blessing. I married into the “plastic family.” That’s what I used to call his family (behind their backs, of course-lol) because they were so perfect (like Barbie and Ken with their children in my childhood dream world), I couldn’t see how they could be real. A real family had deep and major issues, they yelled at each other at the top of their lungs, threw glasses across the room and pulled hair, the Moms threw their daughters through walls and had nervous breakdowns every summer, the daughters got arrested for marijuana possession and suffered from anorexia and binge-eating, the Dads were alcoholics, and every so often a 300-lb steel desk in the home of a real family would get thrown down the stairs. Only a “plastic family” could be so gentle, so understanding, so soft-spoken and happy all the time.

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Me holding my baby sister, Lacey...with a knife. Do you question the dysfunction?

I thank God for my new plastic family. :) Without them, I might have never known that a better sort of “real” could exist. It was in my mother-in-law’s kitchen that I first got the idea to start my Thankful Thursdays feature, while I was overwhelmed with joy to be preparing scalloped potatoes with her (something that will never happen in my mother’s kitchen). She isn’t as goofy as Dennis, but I think I can safely say that he got his wonderful sense of humor from her, and I’m thankful for that too. I love spending time with them all because they are not only kind and loving, but fun-loving and the laughter is always plentiful.

Now, that’s another thing my blood family has going for them. The laughter. It has seen us through every battle, and is perhaps our strongest bond. My Dad can find the humor in any situation, and in fact just recently was cracking up, and cracking me up, while telling me about a fight he and Mom had in which she locked him out of the house. He lifted his foot to kick down the door, but lost his balance and fell backwards, then couldn’t get up. Mom unlocked the door in response to his yelling, only to laugh uproariously at him before helping him up and letting him back in. My family isn’t the most functional one on the block, but hey, at least we can laugh about it, forgive each other, and love each other despite ourselves.

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Danielle, Lacey, and me

So what about you? Are you from a real family or a plastic one? And what about yours are you thankful for?

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Dennis’ Blog Take-Over #3: Using Time Travel to Accomplish New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Veronica

I have been posting my husband’s blogs without any introductions from me, but I’m going to butt in here just to say hi because I miss you guys! And to apologize that this one doesn’t flow very well because I’m too tired to edit it further (yes, I have been editing Dennis’ blogs, and you would thank me if you could see the messes he hands me! But I AM appreciative of his help and don’t complain…at least not much-haha!), plus he is sleeping, and I feel like I can’t make too many changes without his input or it will be my blog and not his. Thank you for putting up with Dennis in my absence. Despite the title, he has a serious one for you today, if you can believe it, so you’ll get to see another aspect of him before I kick him off my blog and return next week. I can’t wait! :D

XOXO,

P.S. If anyone is interested in a monthly feature from Dennis, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

*******

As I write this, 20 days have passed since the New Year. When you read this, 23 or 24 days will have passed. In a way, that makes you a time traveler. You are able to view a past event as though it is happening right now.

Time is an interesting subject. For this blog, we are going to consider that for most of us, time is really arbitrary.

Quick! What is your age?

Did you know you have at least three different answers to that question? They are: chronological, mental and physical. What I always find interesting is people mainly focus on chronological age, but that is the only one you can’t do anything about. You were born when you were born, and each second takes you closer and closer to the other extreme. You can change your physical age by exercise, or the lack of it, and by what you eat. Mental age can be decreased by too much television, or just a general lack of mental stimulation (like reading something I write).

I find birthdays interesting, because as far as I can tell, I really get just one day older. People have asked me, “What does it feel like to be 44?” And honestly, I feel one day older.

Every 365 days the Earth goes around the sun. On day 1 most people decide NOW is the time to take charge of my life. This is THE year I’m going to lose that extra weight! I shall master squid juggling by this time next year!

At the dawn of a new year, it seems like it can be done this time. You are more determined, and with a stronger will. You tell your friends, you write it down, even post it on the internet. You make your goals, but to accomplish them, you have to realize that it’s a step by step, moment to moment decision and action.

Think of it this way.

You are sitting on your couch. You want to turn the TV on. Your hand travels from where it is, to the remote, hand picks up remote, finger or thumb presses the “on” button. That was four basic actions to get a simple result, and we could have thrown in hand-eye coördination, tactile sense, and a host of other things needed to perform the above task.

But the most important thing is this. There had to be a steady stream of consciousness to make it happen. If you were distracted at any time during the event, like if a giant purple sock suddenly appeared in front of you and launched in an explanation of the importance of the human knee cap, then the cycle of action would be broken and the TV would not have been turned on.

What I’m saying is this. You have got to make moment to moment decisions to get to your goals. You have to think beyond the “here and now.” You’ve got be a time traveler. If you are in your car, feeling like, “Hey, I really need ice cream,” the “needing ice cream” is a here and now thing. What you have got to do is think ahead of that. Will the ice cream make you feel better or worse one half hour from now? Or will you be able to say a week from now, “I have not had any fattening foods in a week, and I feel great.”

You can practice keeping a stream of consciousness during the day. When doing dishes, try just doing them for a while, don’t think of anything else but the dishes maybe for just one plate. What you will find is your mind will wander off.

Making resolutions is easy. But the mind does tend to wander. The best thing you can do is know that you have to make those resolutions again, again and again in order to make them happen.

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Thankful Thursdays #60: finding joy in an empty nest

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Veronica

Today I’m so pleased to introduce Gina of At Home My Way, who is guest posting for me today. I almost titled this post, “Ding Dong The Kids Are Gone,” but that’s just my warped sense of humor and isn’t in keeping with the beautiful post Gina wrote about how she has been able to overcome the heartbreak of an empty nest and find joy in it, along with everything else that is happening in this chapter of her life. This is something that I might never know, which is another reason I was so glad to have her fill in for me, because most of the population will go or has gone through this at some point, and I can’t address it from my own experience. Thank you Gina for helping a sister out! :)

********

To say I was shocked when Veronica asked me to guest post on her blog is a huge UNDERSTATEMENT! Wow! I was so honored…. ALMOST rendered me speechless (note I said “almost”)… Those who know me know that I am rarely speechless. LOL. I tried to think of something very specific that I am thankful for at this very moment. Of course, I am always thankful for God and my family. But, specifically something that I am particularly thankful for at this very moment is … that I am where I am! Sounds like the beginning of a Dr. Seuss book, huh? But, I AM thankful that I have made it to this point in my life; that I AM WHERE I AM. Let me explain…

At this season of my life (I’m 45), my children are almost grown (well… one is, technically). My husband and I both have good jobs with normal hours. With that comes regular paychecks (need I say more?). In this season of my life, I have all of my immediate family in the same state. I have been blessed with wonderful in-laws. There are just so many things that make me thankful for being who I am at this very moment, living with a mostly empty nest.

That’s not to say I was super happy about seeing these days arrive. Oh no! Upon dropping our younger daughter off at the University two hours from home, I cried like a baby all the way home. Not just weepy – oh no! I mean sobbing, hiccuping, crying like a big baby! I sat in the dark for two days until my husband came in, opened the blinds, and coaxed me out.

The kicker is that I never saw it coming. I have always worked full-time (plus commute time) so my daughters are fairly independent. What I mean is that I had lots of life outside being a mom (or so I THOUGHT! LOL!). But, when THEY LEFT? Both of them? Ickk – it was like a punch to the stomach. In one of my crying jags when I went to start supper one night I told my husband, “bbbb-but, I don’t have anyone to cook for anymore.” He chuckled (trying to calm me down) and said “Hey! Don’t think this means the kitchen is closed. The kitchen is NOT CLOSED!”

After only about five months, I am really warming to this idea of having grown children. My days start out pretty quiet. Days of rushing little ones out of bed, trying to get loads of laundry started or folded (before leaving the house at 7:15AM), finding uniforms, checking backpacks, delivering kids to school or babysitters, checking sports schedules, are gone. My husband and I have only ourselves to get ready. Wow! Yes, I do miss those little ones. I miss making bowls of Fruit Loops and packing Lisa Frank lunch boxes. But man, it was quite chaotic at times and I’ll have to say I enjoy a reprieve from all that it took to be a working Mom.

*I am thankful for calm mornings.

The next thing I am thankful for is my husband’s new job. My husband was always a self-employed contractor/carpenter. He now is a building inspector in the city where I work, which means I no longer have to trek icy roads alone. We ride together each morning (I tell him, he’s “driving Miss Daisy”). There was a time when we hardly had five minutes alone with each other. Now we not only get the commute to and from work, but we get to come home together.

* I am thankful for time alone with the man I still love to hang out with.

My parents always lived 1200 miles from me. I prayed but knew there would never be a solution to how they would come home to me. But, they did! They retired in Missouri. Not long after that, my brother and his wife made the journey back home.

*I am thankful for the time to spend with ALL of my family.

The final thing that I am most grateful for in this season of my life is that I have two bright, beautiful, and GOOD daughters! So many kids are lost these days. They have addictions and motivation problems. There are families I know whose children are just so lost – and I am so very grateful that my girls are motivated, hard working, healthy, and happy!

* I am thankful that my daughters are terrific young women.

When the day comes that you find your own nest empty. Try not to focus on the unwanted change that is thrown upon you, but look around at all that you have accomplished and remember what it is like to be YOU. And if you’re like me, its not long before the texts are chiming and the phones ringing and its one of your children saying, “Mom????? I know its 9PM and you are in your PJ’s, but I don’t want to go grocery shopping alone. Will you go with me?” (Sigh)… a mother’s work is never done.

Blessed is what I am – I have much to be thankful for!

Gina

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Tracy’s Top Choices of Cookbooks to ROCK Your Socks OFF!!!

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Veronica

So, are you sick of my husband’s craziness yet? I’m sure he has more in store for us, but this week I wanted to feature my girl, Tracy, from Tracy’s Treasury. I don’t get to see her often since she lives in OKC, but we keep up with each other online and I adore her site, which features tutorials and instructions for sewing projects, crafting, revamping, repurposing, home brews, and photography. Some of my favorite posts are how to turn rain gutters into bookshelves, how to make fleece hats with ear flaps, how to etch glass, and her recipe for snow ice cream, which reminds me of my childhood when Dad would make a big batch on the second snowfall of every winter (he said the first snowfall carried down all the pollutants in the atmosphere, so the second snowfall was a better choice). Tracy has a great food philosophy and great taste, so please welcome her with open arms as she supplies the very first cookbook recommendation/review on my site!

Tasty AND Healthy Foods For the Family…

Being the first of the year, I imagine a lot of us have resolved to make healthier decisions. To do that, I have FOUR FABULOUS cookbook recommendations for you. But first, let me just tell you a little about how I roll. I have a nutrition page on my site, which includes both HOW and WHY to change the way you cook & eat… so as you’d probably guess, I do care about making food that’s reasonably healthy and not complete junk. I’m not into all the packaged, processed, hydrogenated junk that turns us into chunky monkeys. But, my family likes regular food like pizza and enchiladas and I will forever be a mac & cheese lover. So where does that leave me as the main meal preparer?

Well, I can tell you one thing… if I’m going to the trouble of MAKING food for my family to eat instead of getting take-out, it better TASTE GOOD or else it’s not worth my effort! I’m not the kind of gal who eats rice cakes. I like real food with fresh ingredients. I don’t want to diet or weigh out serving sizes. I just want a collection of do-able recipes that are yummy and nourishing too.

If you’re interested in changing the way you cook and eat, you’re ready to wean yourself from excessive processed junk that makes you gain weight and feel sluggish, but you don’t really know where to go from here… then perhaps my cookbook recommendations will help. I’ve kind of bumbled around a bit in this area for a while, trying to find that happy balance between “healthy” food and “yummy” food… finding a recipe here and there that was fabulous, simple, and healthy. Now I finally feel like I have a couple of good GO-TO sources for recipes that fit my nutrition approach AND taste great.

So… Without further adieu…

Here are my top three choices. I can’t really rank them as #1 #2 #3 because they all tie for first place, for different reasons. You’ll also notice that these cookbooks have EXCELLENT reviews on Amazon so I am evidently not alone in thinking they’re great. In no particular order here they are….. (cue drum roll….)

My first #1 choice: “America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook:
A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything From America’s Most Trusted Test Kitchen“

I’m so excited about this cookbook! This is my most recent cookbook purchase, and I think it’ll be a looong time before I buy another one. It’s got over 800 All-American homestyle recipes that they made over to be healthier without sacrificing taste. The recipes are great, reasonably healthy choices the whole family will love.

It is NOT a diet cookbook. Their bottom line factor is taste, so you won’t find them plugging in bland cardboard-like ingredients just to reach a certain calorie count. They don’t play games with the serving sizes or nix all the tasty foods that contain fat (nuts, eggs, avocados, cheese, salmon); they “just use them judiciously.”

Here’s their recipe for Baked Chicken Fingers…

And Creamy Chicken and Spinach Casserole…

We’ve loved the recipes we’ve tried and are mainly eating from this cookbook right now as I continue to try more of them. I also love all the helpful hints and preparation tips sprinkled through with the recipes. It comes in a nice binder with tab dividers for all the sections- including dessert! We all need some brownies now and then, don’t we? Their desserts reduce fat and still taste deliciously dessert-y. If you don’t believe me, check out their fudgy-brownies, which are nice and fudgy WITHOUT using a cup of butter and a pound of chocolate. What are you waiting for????

My second and third #1 choices:
“Whole Foods for the Whole Family“
& “Whole Foods From the Whole World“

These two cookbooks are fab-u-loso! They have loads of healthy, tasty meals as well as really helpful kitchen tips. I’ve found lots of great dinner recipes, and “Whole Foods for the Whole Family” is my go-to source for baked goods (pancakes, waffles, breads, muffins, etc.) made with mixed flour (I use half whole-wheat, half white/all-purpose). Their cooking philosophy is right in line with mine, and they give recipes for flavorful, nutritious meals made from non-processed foods.

They don’t have impressive covers. OK, one of them REALLY looks like it belongs in the 80’s. Aaaaaand they don’t have dazzling photos inside. Let’s face it- we ARE a little spoiled, aren’t we? We expect glamorous, color photos with each recipe (especially those of us following Veronica’s blog!)… but getting these two cookbooks is quite like gaining your great grandma’s collection of favorite recipes that have been tried and tweaked to perfection over many years. You don’t think your grandma was snapping pictures of her famous world-famous dish before she put it on the table, do you? No. She was probably snapping a rooster’s neck so she could throw him in the oven. You don’t see a great photo before you start cooking… so what? Just trust your grandma on this one- it’ll be yumm-O! And healthy to boot!

Here’s their recipe for yummy Carrot Spice Muffins, which are made with no butter, oil, OR processed sugar…

I’d recommend “Whole Foods for the Whole Family” to anyone with a mouth. And I’d recommend “Whole Foods from the Whole World to those who are curious to taste family favorites from around the globe. I got a great recipe for Do Yuk Sahn Juhk from it. I may not pronounce it properly, but it tastes GREAT! :)

And my #2 choice…
Pampered Chef’s “Make it Fresh Make it Healthy“

I am a Pampered Chef consultant (only in the most technical sense, I’ve never done a “home party” I just keep up my consultant status to reap the benefits since I LOVE their products) and I have SEVERAL Pampered Chef cookbooks. I will tell you this about PC cookbooks… their recipes are good. Really good. But a decent amount of them rely on packaged foods, which is what I’m trying to scale back on. This one doesn’t. The title says it all.

Coming from Pampered Chef, you KNOW the recipes will be rockin’. The only reason this book is slightly ranked below the first three, instead of having a FOURTH tie for first place is not because the recipes are less fabulous, it’s just because the cookbook isn’t extensive by any means, whereas the first three are.

It’s an assortment of deliciously fresh, healthy recipes you’ll be glad to add to your collection. One of our favorites from this book is Creamy Saffron & Asparagus Risotto. It is seriously SO good that if I had to pick only 5 meals to be served the remainder of my life over and over again, this would make the cut.

(Disclaimer: I don’t use wine, I substituted in slightly watered-down grape juice.)

The same gal posting the Risotto recipe also featured their Cracker-Crusted Chicken, which takes 15 minutes from start to finish. That’s a winner in my book.

Well… That concludes my top choices of cookbooks to rock your socks off. Buy them, love them, and thank me later ;)

But, while I have your attention, I wanted to mention three more “honorable mentions….” which are each geared to more specific cooking needs…

For Babies & Toddlers…

“Mommy Made and Daddy Too! Home Cooking for a Healthy Baby & Toddler,” by Martha & David Kimmel. This is a FABULOUS cookbook for making your own fresh baby food!!! It also has some nice transitional recipes for toddlers (& the rest of the family). I Love it. I bought it for my sister-in-law, who wanted to make her own baby food. She received a couple different baby food books as gifts, and this was her favorite as well. If you’re considering making your own baby food, be sure to check out my Mommy-Made Baby Food page!

For Sneaky Moms of Picky Kiddos…

“Deceptively Delicious,” by Jessica Seinfeld. She has yummy, easy to make recipes that sneak in pureed veggies and improve store-bought foods. Here‘s her website for it. I have tried a couple of these recipes, and they were tasty. Luckily we don’t have picky kids (yet) so I don’t have to sneak stuff in. I do find this handy though when we’re making baby food purees and have them on hand anyway. If you like this sort of thing, she also has a sequel called Double Delicious!: Good, Simple Food for Busy, Complicated Lives.

For Those More Aggressively Trying to Lose Weight…

“Cook Yourself Thin: Skinny Meals You Can Make in Minutes” cookbook by Lifetime Television. This is a must if you’re wanting to hit it hard going healthy… Although it’s not considered a diet cookbook, I’d say it’s the closest thing to it that I’d use happily. They revamp your favorite recipes, keeping or improving flavor while increasing nutrients and cutting calories. Their introduction is really good too, giving lots of helpful hints. Click here for the show’s website, and here to read and print recipes they used on the show.

Well, that’s it! I hope my cookbook recommendations are helpful, and here’s wishing you a happy, healthy new year!

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Thankful Thursdays #59: Looking back with thankfulness, and forward with hope

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Veronica

I’m so thrilled to introduce my guest blogger today, Jenna from Jenna’s Everything Blog. I really have no clue how I first found her, but I do remember the first post I read, an endearing & hilarious poem to her then-pregnant sister, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

As you may have guessed from the title of her blog, Jenna writes about pretty much anything and everything, including food and recipes, her family, her music gigs, photography, books, and her faith. Jenna is a rare and precious soul that is kind, carefree, positive, and loving. We share a love for food and family, and also a bond as sisters in Christ. Needless to say, this gal is pretty special to me. I hope you love her as much as I do.

***

Hi everyone!

I’m excited to be here, and I love you all already. Why? Because you read Veronica’s blog, so you must therefore a) have good taste, b) share her great sense of humor, and c) love food.

I have been a faithful reader of Veronica’s blog for quite a while now, and I’m glad she’s getting her beauty rest from blogging this month so that she can recover and continue her mission of entertaining us, encouraging us, and giving us delicious recipes in the months to come! Blogging burnout is NOT something I wish on her, so even though I miss her daily posts, I’m thankful that she’s taking care of herself.

Which brings me to the topic of today—thankfulness.

I don’t know about you, but I love Veronica’s Thankful Thursdays posts. They remind me to keep my perspective on everything that happens in life—not just because I’m an optimist, or a generally happy-go-lucky gal (which I am, with a streak of melancholy to balance me out)—but because I believe the truth that everything works together for good for those who love God. He will use my circumstances, my skills, even my sins, for my benefit. Just like a loving parent, who will use their child’s mistakes and sins as a learning experience to help shape them into a better person and teach them something valuable for the future, God isn’t going to let anything—good or bad—go to waste. And that is surely something to be thankful for!

At the end of every year and the beginning of a new one, I like to look back and think about all the things that have happened, good and bad alike, try to see the big picture, evaluate lessons learned, and allow myself to imagine what God may have in store for me in the coming year. This exercise for many of us, with its writing down of resolutions and cataloguing of the previous year’s events, can sometimes be discouraging. For me, it involved reviewing last year’s resolutions, many of which I didn’t accomplish—or even attempt! For example, I was supposed to make this Sugar Cream Pie recipe. My husband’s Aunt Laura gave me her mom’s original recipe card, and I thought it would be meaningful to make it, since my husband had such a special relationship with his grandma. The pie is simple enough—but I never got around to it, dangit. (Please tell me I’m not alone in totally dropping the ball on something so simple!)

I also made a lengthy list of things to do this year, which includes some big projects and goals I have no idea if I will complete to my satisfaction. Honestly, when I look at my list I feel a little inkling of dread, like maybe I’m doomed before I even start.

The things that have been keeping me in check while processing all this are two: thankfulness for the past, and hope for the future. I look at last year, and while I’m disappointed that I didn’t get as much done as I could have, that’s not what I want to dwell on. There’s nothing wrong with going back and evaluating, but dwelling in disappointment isn’t going to get me anywhere. Colossians says we’re supposed to be “overflowing with thankfulness.” And the big-picture perspective that I engage in during my end-of-the-year musings is a perfect place for that to happen. I may not have made that sugar cream pie, but I am so thankful that I’ve had the money to make so many other meals for my husband, myself, our families and friends. I may not have blogged every single business day all year long—but that pales in my thankfulness for the wonderful connections I’ve made through blogging, the lovely Veronica being one of them, and the encouragement that each thoughtful comment has given my heart. God doesn’t remove his blessing when we fail—instead, he weaves it through our entire lives, through failure and success alike.

And with regards to the future and the newly minted 2012? Hebrews encourages us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” And what motivates the runner into that perseverance but hope? Hope of finishing well. Runners don’t run looking back—they run looking ahead, towards the prize. For me, this year, the ‘prizes’ I seek are many, and I’ll be blogging about that in my own space at some point. But I want to get rid of my dread and look ahead with hope.

So anyway, I’d just like to encourage you all to look at the past year with thankfulness—and look at the coming year with hope. Go back to your list of New Year’s resolutions with those lenses, and see how it changes things for you.

Love you guys!

Jenna

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Dennis’ Blog Take-over #2: Boiled Salted Water

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Veronica

It was a cold and rainy day at the cemetery.
Gray black clouds blocked the sunlight and seemed to cast a shadow over our hearts.
As the coffin lowered the remains of my great-grandmother into the ground, my eyes locked with my sister’s across the grave.
It was just a moment, but that moment spoke volumes.
Now that great-grandmother was dead, the pact had ended.
Now could the family secret be told at last.
Now could the world know the recipe that is…
Boiled Salted Water!

***

The tale of Boiled Salted Water is one of great adventure and love. It began centuries ago, in the deserts of Arabia. There lived a beautiful woman named Greta who served boiled water. Even though the others in her clan said it was the best thing they had ever tasted, she knew it could be better.

A few sand dunes away lived a man named Ali who had discovered a lump of salt in his youth while digging in the ground. One day, his pet squid went missing, and as he was searching for the beloved pet, he smelled something delicious wafting from a nearby tent.

He entered Greta’s tent and inquired about what she was cooking. She gladly showed the young handsome man her pot of boiling water, confiding that it still lacked something. He quickly showed her his lump of salt, and when they added it to the water, Greta knew that she had found the missing ingredient to her recipe and her heart.

Greta and Ali married and had many children. The recipe was passed down from son to son and daughter to daughter, staying in Arabia until one daughter married a squid juggler from Russia. His name was Ivan Onger Valisky the VII, sixth in the line of the house of Earlstoke but his friends called him “Biddy.”

Biddy and his wife lived in a small city in Siberia. They lived happily there many years, but tragedy struck when a small group of over-zealous Cossacks became convinced that with the salted water, they could build an invincible army. They stormed the young couple’s house but Ivan was able to fight them off using his deadly squid juggling skills.

After that, they knew that this recipe must be kept secret, and made the pact that only family members may know the recipe, and decided to move to America.

The family grew and lived in harmony until approximately 12 June 1857 at 1:03 AM. It was then that my great, great-uncle Henry suggested that sea salt might be a good type of salt to use. This caused a massive argument, at the apex of which my great, great aunt Melva hurled a curse at Henry, “May all your squids develop dandruff!”

The resulting schism lasted seven years. Finally, it was decided many types of salts could be used in the recipe.

But the secrecy pact was still in force. Even when Ip Man Sao, the famous pork rind merchant of Hunan, China, offered my great-grandmother an ancient squid once owned by Emperor Wu, she refused to share the recipe.

The offer from Ip Man did make her consider that maybe it was time for the recipe to be released to the rest of the world. She asked that it be done after she had left this earth.

And this is why I can now post these most ancient and secret instructions for:

BOILED SALTED WATER

Ancient traditional recipe:

Take pot
Put in water
Set pot on strong fire.
Watch carefully with mighty eye.
When first three bubbles appear add salt.
Let boil for five chirps of the cricket.
Let cool for five to seven chirps of the cricket.
Eat.

Modern recipe with variations:

Water
Saucepan
Salt (sea salt, iodized or Earth)

Fill saucepan to desired level and set on high heat.
Salt can be added before or during the boiling cycle. (Uncle Fizbot likes to add it after it’s done boiling, but no one else in family likes it that way.)
Let boil for two and a half to three minutes.
Serve hot, warm, cool or even chilled (a favorite in the South).

I leave you with an old family blessing,
“May your squids never know the sorrow of a cold, hard bed, with only a rock for a pillow.”