[Scrubs] Party!

I am an avid [Scrubs] fan.  It was a TV show that started in 2001 and ran through 2009.  There were technically 9 seasons.  But the last season was a complete bomb, so I just pretend there were only 8.  Because they ended Season 8 perfectly, and I've never understood why they brought the show back -- with some major change-ups -- for a 9th season.  Ergo, I ignore Season 9 and say it ended with Season 8.

Anyway, for years (and I do mean years), my friend April and I have been making plans to have a [Scrubs] party.  After all, we'd had so much fun with our "The Office" party several years ago; so why not?  And so, over the course of those years, I started taking notes as I watched the show...  Foods featured in some hilarious or significant way.  Rockin' songs that played in various episodes.  Cool trivia questions for a trivia game.  We didn't know when we'd manage to have this party, but we knew it would happen one day.  So we were going to be prepared!

Well, then my husband surprised me with the idea of taking a long vacation to Alabama this year.  And I knew -- I just knew -- it was time for the [Scrubs] party to take place!  

And did it ever!  

Yes, I totally went to a thrift store and bought scrubs for this.  And yes, I totally took up luggage space for said scrubs and hubby's chemistry lab coat from his college days (so he could dress up like a doctor...).  He questioned my sanity in this usage of space.  I told him it's all about the fun and the memories.  

So the following pictures were the foods we had.  The season in which the food was featured (where applicable) is noted on the card.

Apple juice in specimen cups.  Hahahaha.  Because The Todd would get free apple juice that way :). 

The good doctor examining the specimen...  (He thought we were totally gross for doing this!)

You do have it admit it looks pretty authentic!  And yes, some of us did drink from these as cups.  Cheers!

 

April actually had Mello Yello in hers...  It looked like a healthier specimen, quite honestly :).

Then there were chocolate bears, because that is J.D.'s nickname for Turk.

And Bit O Honey, because after he's diagnosed with diabetes, Turk is only allowed one candy bar every 6 months.  He finally settles on a Bit O Honey, because it gets stuck in his teeth and he can enjoy it longer!

And bugles from the time J.D. imagines himself sitting with Turk and they both have bugles on like fingernails and are cackling like witches.

"Mmmm... mulattos!"  "They're milanos, idiot."  "Oh, that makes sense.  I always thought that was a racist name for a cookie."

I can't remember why the root beer.  But it was there :).  Guess I need to watch Season 5 yet again to remember!

Pizza rolls, because Carla could check the results of the pregnancy test once they were done cooking in the microwave!  (This was Turk's explanation.)

And, finally, fruit cups...  Because these poor new doctors had so many student loans, they would steal in bulk from the hospital to make ends meet...  And the fruit cups were what they ended up with a lot of.  (Not saying I agree with stealing... But they were a good addition to the food selection ;).)

The awesome [Scrubs] playlist!  So much fun to listen to all these songs!  There really is some great music on the episodes.  I discovered many new favorites from watching the show :).

And here we all are -- and the little kids each got a toy doctor gadget -- so they were included in the dress-up ;).

Notice we are almost all in some sort of medical attire :).  I'm not the only crazy person :)!

And here are me, Julie, and April.  So. much. fun!

Seriously, this was a great night.  I have the awesomest friends.  And... I can't do this all on my own... I'm no super[woman]! ;).

Brownie Batter Milkshake

I found this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago.  As in 2 years ago ;).  But until now, I never had brownie mix that I was willing to open and only use a portion of.  But because I now keep THRIVE Fudge Brownie mix in my cupboard for my single-serve brownie snack-attacks...  Well, I actually now have opened brownie mix in the cupboard.

So, obviously I used THRIVE product in mine.  So that's the recipe I'm posting.  However, you can use any dry brownie mix -- as is shown by the original recipe in the link up there...

THRIVE Brownie Batter Milkshake
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cups THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix

Place all ingredients in blender and blend well until smooth.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup and garnish with brownie bits (both optional).  Enjoy!!


It was creamy and delicious.  The only thing with mine was I didn't blend it sufficiently.  I still had some big bits of vanilla ice cream.  But that's because my toddler had just gone to bed, and I was trying not to make a ton of noise with the blender ;).  Hahaha.


Anyway, it's good stuff if you just feel a hankerin' for something that is totally a calorie splurge :).

Chicken Divan

This is one of our "tried and true" recipes...  It was one my mother-in-law included in the cookbook she made me when my husband and I got married.  It's very yummy.  My toddler loves it.  But if you don't like curry, you may not like it :). 

This is the recipe as we make it every time now.  It's slightly different than the original recipe, but we've found we end up with way too much "sauce" if we don't half the recipe (and use only one can of either cream of mushroom or cream of chicken).

2 cups cooked rice
2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen broccoli (2 cups fresh), slightly undercooked
2 cups cooked chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 to 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a prepared 9x13 dish, place the cooked rice.  Top the rice with the broccoli.  Then sprinkle chicken pieces on top of broccoli. 

Mix cream of mushroom soup, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sour cream, and curry powder in a small bowl until well blended.  Spread over the other ingredients in the pan.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese. 

Bake 25 minutes, or until it starts bubbling.

There's a reason this is frequently on our menu :)...  Especially when it's not summer! 

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

Never in a million years would I have thought I would like something called Jalapeno Pepper Jelly.  Fortunately for me, I once worked with an awesome woman named Donna.  And she is like Martha Stewart.  She is also more adventurous than I.  And she introduced me to this amazing stuff -- which she had made.  And then she gave me the recipe.

I've been making it most years since 2009.  And I give it away for Christmas gifts.  I have several friends who request it.  It is awesome stuff.

Because I like to make it every year (though it's another one of those things I have a love/hate relationship with...), I usually try to plant my own peppers to put in it.  This year that was the case.  And this year...  My peppers got hot hot hot!  And plentiful!  I had more than enough peppers just from my garden, so I didn't have to supplement with store-bought peppers :).

So this stuff is awesome.  But I said that already.  It's sweet heat.  And delicious.  Especially with cream cheese on Ritz crackers!

And here's the recipe (don't worry, I asked Donna first if I could share it :)).

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
3 large green bell peppers, cored and seeded
20 jalapeno peppers, not seeded
1/3 cup water
2 cups Cider Vinegar
5 lb bag sugar
4 packets liquid Certo (2 boxes)

Wash the peppers.  Remove stem from the jalapenos. Core and seed the bell peppers.

Place all peppers, water and vinegar in food processor or blender and blend.  Strain liquid into a big dutch oven.  Add sugar and cook over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil for 5 minutes over low heat.

Add Certo. bring to boil and cook one minute. Skim top with metal spoon to remove foam. Add a couple drops of green food coloring to achieve a nice color (optional).

Ladle into sterilized jelly jars and seal with paraffin or water-bath according to jelly instructions.  Cool.

Yield: 12  jelly jars

Tips: I use a blender and all the peppers do not fit at one time-- so I have always worked in batches: some peppers and liquid; more peppers more liquid. etc.

Anyway, this stuff is awesome.  I happen to have a large quantity (some from 2012), so if anyone wants to try it out, let me know.  I'm willing to share my extra.  However, the stuff from 2012 is a little less set, because I was trying to skimp on the Certo.   Lesson learned:  don't skimp on that. ;).

Artichoke Mushroom Lasagna

I found this recipe several years ago in a Taste of Home magazine.  I tore it out, knowing it was Monday Meals worthy and that it was right up my alley.  This past week, since the weather cooled off, I fired up my oven and made it for Monday Meals! 

We liked it.  A lot.  Even though my husband says it's "fake" lasagna, since it's not a red sauce.  Whatever.  Red sauce is over-rated.  :).  So if you like mushrooms, cheese, and artichokes, this is totally for you.  If you're weird and don't like any of those things...  Steer clear :).

1 pound sliced baby portobello mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (14 ounce each) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
1 cup white wine (I would have used chicken broth, but I omitted because I pre-cooked my lasagna noodles -- see below)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauce:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups 2% milk
2 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup white wine (I subbed chicken broth)

Assembly:
9 no-cook lasagna noodles (I used regular and pre-cooked them)
4 cups mozzarella cheese, divided

Saute mushrooms in butter until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add the artichokes, wine (broth), salt and pepper; cook over medium heat until liquid is evaporated.

For the sauce, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened.  Stir in Parmesan cheese and wine (broth).

Spread 1 cup sauce into a greased 13x9-inch baking dish.  Layer with three noodles, 1 2/3 cups sauce, 1 cup mozzarella and 1 1/3 cups artichoke mixture.  Repeat layers twice.  Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.  Bake, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Recipe from Taste of Home April/May 2011.

"Home-Made" Chicken Broth

I am posting this because it's so super easy and yet I never knew I could even do it before my Aunt Sue mentioned it as a possibility and my sister-in-law Gwen told me how she does it.

So this year, after Thanksgiving, you can get a whole bunch of delicious turkey broth.  Or, if you find yourself in a rush for dinner and decide to pick up a Rotisserie Chicken at the grocery store on the way home...  Well, you can have some delicious chicken broth, even when it's not right after Thanksgiving :)!

So here's what you do:

1.  Eat all the meat you want to eat off the bird.

2.  Have your husband pick off all the meat that is still edible (or you can do it, if you don't mind doing that sort of thing ;)).  Keep that meat and either eat it for leftovers or freeze it and use it in a meal later on.

3.  Take your bird carcass (plus any other additives, like the skin) and put it in your crock pot. 

4.  Pour water over carcass, at least until it is covering the carcass.  The more water you add, the more diluted your broth will be.  I usually add enough water so there's at least an inch of water covering the whole carcass.

5.  Turn slow cooker on low.  Let it cook 12 hours.  I typically do this in the evening so it sits there and brothifies all night while I sleep.

6.  After 12 hours, turn off the crock pot.  Using a slotted spoon, pull out all the big pieces of bone, skin, etc and discard.  (If you taste them, you will find there is little to no flavor left -- as my husband). 

7.  Using a strainer (a canning funnel with a strainer attachment works best, but use what you have!), ladle the broth into a container.  I use plastic yogurt containers which I wash and keep -- but if you want to can your broth, you could use mason jars and then pressure can the broth.  I freeze my containers after labeling them with contents and date.

8.  Voila!  You have your own "home-made" chicken broth.

And you just got more bang for your buck out of your bird.  And it's really good broth.

Roasted Buttercup Squash

This year we planted a lot of squash.  Of a lot of different varieties:  crookneck, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, acorn, and buttercup.  Not to be confused with butternut...  I'd never heard of buttercup squash before, but we figured we'd plant it and see what happened.  It's a winter squash. 

Well, we got 2 buttercup squash from our plant.  And the easiest way to eat it is by slicing it in half, roasting it, and adding butter and brown sugar.  So that's just what we did :).

In case you're like me and don't trust yourself to cook without some sort of recipe...  Here's how it goes:

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut squash in half and scoop out and discard pulp and seeds.  Place cut-side down on a baking dish (I covered mine with foil because I have a lazy streak).  Bake for 30 minutes.  Flip over.  Place 1/2 tablespoon butter in each half.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar over meat.  Bake an additional 25 minutes.  Enjoy!

My husband eats the skin...  I don't.  I just eat the flesh stuff inside. 

This is what a buttercup squash looks like.  They aren't particularly large -- this was the larger of the two we got.  I thought it tasted good, but we probably won't plant these again...  We just didn't get as much as we'd hoped we would from the plant.

We served this as a side dish to buffalo chicken pasta salad and garden zucchini cakes.  Because I love those two items :).

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

In keeping with my no-bake summer tradition (except on the days that don't get out of the 70s :)), I decided to make a potato salad.  When I told my husband what we would be having for dinner that night, he did a double-take when I said potato salad. 

See, I'm not a huge fan of potato salad.  Mostly because I don't like mayonnaise much.  So I never made potato salad.  But, while perusing Pinterest one day, I came across this recipe.  And it looked interesting.  So I decided to try it.

Just so you know, I liked it.  I wish I'd had all the ingredients (I was lacking the chives and the cilantro) just so I could taste it as it was written.  But I was too lazy to walk to the garden and clip chives.  And my THRIVE Cilantro hadn't arrived yet (it came later that evening), and I don't like wasting fresh cilantro, so I don't buy the fresh stuff anymore.  Thus, I made the potato salad without those two things.  In the future, I will be sure to add them.  Because I'm pretty sure they would only make it more awesome.

To be fair, I'll also include my husband's opinion.  When he got home that night, he said, "So this is potato salad?"  Hahaha.  Well, he is used to his mom's potato salad, which has egg and black olives and pickles in it.  Her potato salad is good.  I like that she doesn't use much mayonnaise.  But I tried something new.  And my sweetie wasn't expecting that.  He said, "It's not bad, it's just not what I was expecting."

I think my favorite part was the ranch dip dry mix sprinkled on the potatoes after boiling.  Just gave them an awesome flavor!  And I only used 1/2 a packet, rather than the full packet called for in the original recipe.  So, without further ado, here's the recipe as I made it:

6 medium baking potatoes (4 peeled, 2 with skin on), cut into 1" chunks
1/2 package ranch dip mix
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons cilantro (I omitted)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup to 1/3 cup bacon bits
2 tablespoons chopped chives (I omitted)
garlic powder to taste
pepper to taste

Cover potatoes in a pot with about 1" water.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook about 10 minutes or until fork tender. 

Spread out on a baking sheet and sprinkle immediately with ranch.  With a spoon, turn potatoes over and try to stir them together to evenly coat with ranch mix.  Allow them to cool (either on the counter or in the refrigerator).

In a large bowl, mix together sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, cilantro, garlic powder, pepper.  When potatoes are cool, add them to the sour cream mixture and mix well to coat potatoes.  Stir in cheddar cheese and bacon bits.  Sprinkle with chives.  Enjoy!

Tomato Biscuit & Cheese

As I mentioned here, I got this recipe from my mother-in-law.  It is a great way to enjoy fresh garden tomatoes when the tomato harvest is on!  And ours definitely is!!!  In fact, last night's dinner featured tomatoes and zucchini from our garden.  I made these plus the zucchini garden cakes.  It was delicious! 

This recipe is relatively simple -- and it's one of those I like to call "accordion" recipes.  You can make more or less depending on how many people you are feeding.  There is something about the blend of flavors that really makes this a refreshing and delicious meal, in my opinion.  I'd never had it before I tried it last summer when all our tomatoes were ripening.  But now that our tomatoes are ripening again, I made sure to put it on our list (particularly since the temperatures have been in the 70s the last several days -- you know my rule about heating up the house with the oven in summer!).  So I'm hoping the temperatures drop while we still have fresh tomatoes.  Because I want to make this again :).  (Especially since my sweetie came home from work last night and gobbled up 6 of them ;) -- leaving none for leftovers!  I can't say I blame him, though...  He works 10 hours and doesn't eat lunch.  Poor guy.)

You could probably enjoy this as a side dish as well, but we usually use it as a main dish -- meatless style!  I always use cottage cheese, which has a decent amount of protein, so I feel like we get what we need.

I made the biscuits from scratch, though you can use English Muffins or other pre-prepared biscuits.  The biscuit recipe I used can be found here on my THRIVEing Nilla blog, since I used THRIVE butter powder to make the biscuits.

And here is the recipe for Tomato Biscuit & Cheese:


8 English Muffins or biscuits or home-made recipe of biscuits already baked
8 slices of tomato (thickness of your choice, but probably not super-thick as you want them to get hot and cooked somewhat in the cooking stage)
salt, pepper, oregano, and basil to taste
1/2 cup cottage cheese (or sour cream or plain yogurt -- I always use cottage cheese)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 to 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place biscuits (or English Muffins) on a baking sheet.  Place a slice of tomato on each biscuit.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.

Mix cottage cheese and mayonnaise.  Distribute evenly over tomato slices.  Sprinkle all with cheese.  (If you push the biscuits together, you can keep the cheese sprinkling more contained :)).

Bake at 450 degrees until the tomato is hot and cheese is melted (I did about 5 to 7 minutes).  *You can also microwave these individually until the tomato is hot and cheese is melted.

French Bread

I think there are few things finer than freshly baked yeast breads.  Seriously, I could live off of bread (well, my taste-buds could, at least).

Some time ago, I found this recipe through pinterest.  The original recipe is found here.  I follow the recipe exactly -- and it is seriously the best bread ever.

I have actually used some whole wheat flower in a batch (I think I subbed 2 cups whole wheat flour for 2 white).  It's still good, but not nearly as divine.

I love this recipe so much, I actually made several batches of it before it got hot here and froze the loaves so we could enjoy it all summer without heating up the house :).  It is that good.

So, without further ado, here's the recipe (but don't say I didn't warn you if you get addicted):

2 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbls. yeast
3 Tbls. sugar
2 Tbls. white vinegar
1 Tbls. salt
1/3 c. oil (I use Canola)
6-7 c. flour

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl and let sit 3 to 5 minutes until a little bubbly and frothy.

Add salt and oil, stir. Add flour one cup at a time until dough is soft, but firm enough to mold into loaves. Put in greased bowl in the oven with a pot of boiling water (boiling water will help keep dough moist). Allow to rise to top of bowl (about 45 minutes) and punch down. Allow to rise again. Do this 2 to 5 times (as you have time available).

Empty dough out onto a greased surface and separate into two equal parts. Form into rectangular/french bread loaves and slash each loaf on top 3 to 5 times. Allow to rise 30 minutes or until they reach the size you want. Brush with beaten egg. Bake 25 to 30 minutes at 375.

Recipe makes 2 large loaves or 3 medium sized loaves.  The loaves freeze really well.

Tonight I served this with a hearty vegetable soup.  I used a lot of my THRIVE for the soup, making it a fast and easy meal.  You can find that recipe (the way I made it) here.

Linda's Pasta Salad

So, if there is an official name for this pasta salad, I don't know what it is.  Thus, when I got the recipe years ago, I named it after the awesome lady who shared it with me.  And now I just call it Linda's Pasta Salad.

And it's way yummy.  You could probably add chicken to it, if you want to make it a main dish.  I pretty much always make it as a side dish, though.

3 cups cooked and cooled pasta (colorful rotini is especially eye-pleasing, but I always just have plain elbow)
1/2 of a large red onion, diced small
1 cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 to 2 tomatoes (depending on size), diced
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Seasoning salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and marinate 2 hours overnight.  Serve cold.  Serves 6 to 8.

Added bonus is that I get to use a cucumber from my garden!

Chicken, Broccoli, and Cheese Skillet Meal

This is just one of those tried and true recipes for my family.  I found it through Pinterest.  Here is the original recipe.

I've made this recipe 4 or 5 times now in the last year.  And I just really like it.  What's not to love about the combination of cheese, chicken, pasta, and broccoli?  For me, nothing :).

I also love that it's stove-top (therefore perfect for summer, in my opinion).  And it's a one-dish meal, so fewer dishes to wash!  And it's not terribly time-consuming to make.  The most tedious part is probably dealing with the raw chicken.  Which I didn't have to do this time, since I used my THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips :).

So here's the recipe the way I made it tonight:

1 to 1 1/2 cups THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Strips*
2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1 can cream of chicken soup + 2 cans full of water
black pepper to taste
1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Pour cream of chicken soup and water into a large skillet.  Warm over medium-high heat.  Throw in the chicken strips.  Add all other ingredients, except cheese.  Stir together.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until pasta is tender.  (Checking to make sure there is enough water at about 15 minutes.)  Stir in cheese until melted and combine.  Allow to heat 2 more minutes.  Serve.

*1 chicken breast can be substituted.  Just cut it into bit size pieces and cook it in the pan in olive oil before adding the soup and water.  The THRIVE just saves me time :).

It's yummy.  My toddler loves it.

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

(I need to get new bowls -- so my food "pops" more...)

I'm telling ya... I have a serious Pinterest addiction...  And mostly in the food area. 

Every pay period, when I make my menu list for the following two weeks, I generally like to choose a recipe or two from my "to try" pins...  I'm supposed to be working my way through a binder of collected print recipes too...  But that binder got put out of sight...  And now it's mostly out of mind.

So this was a recipe I found a while back and decided to try, since I had a large majority of the ingredients :) (that's always a good reason!).  I happen to love spinach artichoke dip, so I thought this might be a fun and delicious recipe to try. In fact, this recipe appealed to my tastes so much (visually and taste-ily) that I actually pinned it twice.  This is a Pioneer Woman recipe.  I've seen her stuff a lot, so I'm assuming she may just be a house-hold name ;).

I followed the recipe, with the exception of the crushed red pepper flakes.  I try not to give my munchkin too much heat in her young age.  I did still include the cayenne, though.  I halved the recipe, so here is what I did:

3 Tablespoons Butter
2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 bags Baby Spinach
1 cans Artichoke Hearts, Drained And Halved
1 1/2 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
1/2 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth (less Or More)
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, Cooked Until Al Dente
1/4 cup Seasoned Panko Breadcrumbs
Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste (optional -- I opted out)

Melt 1 tablespoons butter in a large pot or skillet. Add garlic and throw in the spinach. Stir it around until it's wilted, about 1 minute. Remove spinach from heat and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoons butter to the same pot and raise the heat to high. Throw in the halved artichokes and stir it around until they get a little color, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the artichokes from the pot and set them aside.
Reduce the heat to low. Add 1 tablespoons butter to the pot. When melted, sprinkle in flour and whisk until it's combined. Pour in milk and whisk to combine. Let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until starting to thicken. Add Parmesan, Monterey Jack, salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir to melt, and if it's overly thick, splash in chicken broth.

Add artichokes and pasta, tossing gently to combine. Gently fold in spinach, then pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Sprinkle the top with crushed red pepper flakes and plenty of Panko breadcrumbs for crunch.
Serve immediately!

Personal Notes:  I used unseasoned Panko, because that's what I had.  I also didn't feel the need to use chicken broth, so I didn't.  I am now realizing I wilted my spinach down too much and probably didn't cook my artichokes long enough...  Her finished product looks way better than mine.

Verdict:  It was good.  Not as stellar as I'd hoped, but still good.  The munchkin loved it -- except the artichokes.  I think some bacon could actually really add some extra depth to this dish (not that I usually have any bacon to include).  I might make it again one day, but it wasn't so awesome that I'd consider it a favorite.  Also, with the ingredients being what they are, it's not exactly the most budget-friendly meal, even though it's meatless. 

Garden Zucchini Cakes

If you've ever grown zucchini in a garden...  You know it's a plentiful crop!  Very plentiful!  I have definitely found a variety of ways to cook and enjoy zucchini.  But, even so, I still end up shredding and freezing a lot to use throughout the year for zucchini bread and zucchini brownies.  And I'm okay with that!  Yumm-o!

But during the summer, we try to enjoy our zucchini fresh and in a variety of ways.  Which led me to finding this recipe on Pinterest.

The recipe is delicious.  Even my toddler likes the zucchini cakes!  So here it is (with my changes):

2 cups shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs (I used unseasoned, because that's what I had)
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning (Tony Cachere's brand)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons flour

Heat skillet over medium heat.  Spray with cooking spray (or use a small amount of olive oil).  Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together until well blended.  Form the mixture into patties.  When the pan is to temperature, place the patties in and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  Serve as soon as possible so they are warm.  I got 9 zucchini cakes from this recipe.

*Original recipe claims they can be frozen and heated up later.  Wrap individually in plastic wrap and then place all of them in a freezer storage bag and freeze.  That and re-heat in a skillet or microwave.  I'm currently trying this, so hopefully it works well!

Yum!

I served these along-side a buffalo chicken pasta salad using THRIVE seasoned chicken strips.  Delicious!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

(Sometimes Blogger annoys me when it doesn't load my pictures right...)

I love chocolate.

With peanut butter.

I love bananas.

With peanut butter.

And chocolate.

So this was pretty much the perfect recipe.  Especially for summer time.

I found this recipe a long time ago on Pinterest.  I've used it often.  Especially when I have frozen bananas.  Because I only like them so ripe...  Once they get really ripe and brown-spotty...  Yuck.  I just have to slice them up and freeze them before they get to that point.

Anyway, this is a link to a recipe similar to the original one I found.  The original one I found disappeared one day.  And this one helped me to remember it after I hadn't made it in a while.  And now I'll record how I have it memorized, just in case I forget it again :).  (My version is a little different... but it works for me, so I keep doing it this way :)).

1 large ripe banana, sliced and frozen
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until bananas are well blended.  The frozen bananas will make it sort of slushy/Frosty consistency -- at least for a little while.

I make mine in a pint-sized mason jar.  Narrow-mouth ones generally fit the blender's bottom stuff.  So I just turn it upside down and blend -- then drink from the jar.  Saves me from having to use the big blender when this is perfect for one:  me.  Well, and my munchkin.  I happen to like her enough to share ;).

This is bomb.  And made with plain basic ingredients.  Many reasons to like it :).  And, in case you were wondering, I'm keeping it.  And plan to make it again and again and again...

Copy-Cat Panera Mac and Cheese

Two things I want to say right away:

1.  I wish I had a different colored bowl to help the mac and cheese really pop.  Because I'm not a fancy food photographer (though I wouldn't mind being ;)...).
2.  I've never actually been to Panera and had their mac and cheese.  So I cannot say if this is a good copy-cat or not.  It's times like these when I need to have my dear friend Stacy living nearby so she can be my taste-tester.  Not only has she eaten the real thing, she also has exquisite taste in things like cheese.

That said...  I have been doing a lot of searching Pinterest for stove-top recipes for summer-time.  And, because I'm a huge macaroni and cheese enthusiast, I am always drawn to pins for macaroni and cheese -- of pretty much any sort.  But when I saw this was a copycat of Panera's...  Well, I've heard the scuttlebutt from Stacy about that stuff.  So I knew I needed to try it.  And we did.

I definitely like that the recipe doesn't call for hard-to-find ingredients.  True, they aren't all ingredients I have on hand all the time, so I did have to do some shopping (mostly for the cheese), but they weren't difficult to find.

Also, the recipe was easy.  And I followed it almost exactly, except for the type of pasta I used (I used shell pasta) and I used salted butter, so omitted the salt.

Here's the recipe:

16 oz pipette pasta or other small pasta shape
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half
4 oz white American cheese, chopped or torn into pieces
8 oz extra sharp white Vermont cheddar, shredded
2 tsp - 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (adjust according to your tastes)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp hot sauce (like Frank's)

In a large stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

While the pasta cooks, melt the butter in a 4-quart sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and has started to bubble, whisk in the flour; cook for 1 1/2 minutes whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in the milk until no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook milk mixture, whisking frequently, until it thickens and bubbles, about 8 minutes.

Remove sauce pan from the heat and by the handful, stir in the cheeses allowing all of the cheese to melt into the sauce before adding more. Stir in the mustard, salt, and hot sauce. Return the sauce pan to the heat and stir in the pasta. Be sure to stir up the sauce from the bottom of the sauce pan and thoroughly coat all of the pasta with sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat until heated through. Serve hot in bowls with spoons.

(Again, recipe is from http://www.smells-like-home.com)

My thoughts:  This is definitely rich and creamy.  And very, very filling.  The recipe claims to serve 4.  Often, in our house, that just isn't the case.  I love macaroni and cheese.  And my husband can eat a lot (though I have no idea where he puts it).  But this is definitely a macaroni and cheese that literally serves 4, in my opinion.  I was beyond full after 1 bowl (the one pictured).  My husband had seconds, but not a huge helping.  And I put plenty away for leftovers.  My toddler loved this too, but didn't eat a lot of it -- again, I think because it's so filling.  She ate everything I gave her happily and excitedly, but didn't want more food when she was done. 

I honestly don't know if I'll make this recipe again.  It was good.  But it may have been a little too rich for me (I'm glad I used whole milk and not heavy cream!).  I will be trying to try the Panera, though...  Just so I know how close this recipe is :). 

Apple Pie Jelly

A few months ago, I was asked to make apple jelly for an upcoming wedding -- to be given away as wedding favors.  I immediately jumped onto Pinterest to find a good recipe.  And this is the one I decided on.

Let me say, this is a great recipe.  It is easy and quick -- and it tastes delicious.  In fact, since I changed the recipe up (just a tad), I decided to give it a slightly different name and call it Apple Pie Jelly, since my husband commented that it tastes like apple pie.  It is very sweet, though.  So if that's not your thing, you may not enjoy this jelly like we do.

So I mostly stuck with the recipe as found.  But I changed the red-hots (cinnamon candies) to cinnamon.  Also, I always double the original recipe.  So the recipe below is the way I make it every time.


5 1/3 cups apple juice (can use cider)
2 boxes pectin
6 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pour apple juice into a large pot and whisk in both boxes of pectin while heating over medium-high heat.  Bring to a hard boil.  Add sugar and cinnamon.  Return to a hard boil and boil a full two minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour into jelly jars and seal according to your preference.  (I usually water bath my jellies, but these jars are small and the lids cannot be water-bathed, so we are doing a wax seal).

Makes about 63 ounces of jelly (or about 4 pints).

I'm thinking I may be sending some apple pie jelly out in Christmas packages this year...

Burrito Bowls

I've mentioned before that I do not feel the need to use the oven when it is hot outside.  And I also wanted to find some meatless meals in an effort to cut back on our grocery costs (beef becoming more expensive and all...). 

So this was a recipe I found on Pinterest.  The original recipe can be found here.  I mostly followed the recipe, but added a few things and deleted a few.  Prior to our additions, this is a vegan meal, I think.  We added plain yogurt (or sour cream if you prefer) and cheese, though.  Also, I didn't feel like buying a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, so I didn't make the creamy topping.  Which was probably a mistake...

1 cup raw white rice
2 (or more) cups water
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn (I used a mix of thawed frozen corn and THRIVE corn which I rehydrated)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
green onions, optional
cheddar cheese, optional
sour cream or plain yogurt, optional
cilantro, optional

Cook the rice (using the water ;)) as you normally would.  When rice is done cooking, mix in the salsa. 

Layer rice, then beans, lettuce, tomato and any other options you choose to add.

Verdict:  Discard.  I wasn't impressed.  Even with our addition of cheese and plain yogurt, this just needed something more.  It was too bland to me.  Maybe I would have enjoyed it more with the adobo sauce.  What I'm learning is that I am not cut out to be vegan.  The food always turns out bland, in my opinion.  Or maybe I just need to experiment more with seasonings.  But... it was a meatless meal, so it did help save on cost...

Party Like It's 19[80-Something]

Anyone who knows me knows I love the 80s.  Everything 80s.  I really don't know why.  But I do. 

The movies:  Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, The Goonies, Dirty Dancing, Back to the Future, Batman... (the list goes on, but I won't)

The music:  Safety Dance (I hope this gets stuck in your head), You Give Love a Bad Name (if the first song isn't, then this one surely is...), Manic Monday, Walk Like an Egyptian, Mad About You... (the list goes on, but I won't...)

The TV shows:  Growing Pains, Just the 10 of Us, Who's the Boss, Major Dad, Quantum Leap, Charles in Charge...  (the list goes on, but I won't ;))

The Cartoons:  Smufs, Snorks, Shirt Tails, Garfield and Friends, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, She-Ra, and He-Man...

The Toys:  Popples, Cabbage Patch Kids (I preferred the Premies), the awesome Barbies (like Evening Glow and Peaches and Cream and Barbie and the Rockers), Rainbow Brite, She-Ra, and He-Man...

The Fads and Styles:  side pony tails, crimped hair, leg warmers, jelly shoes, leggings with lace...

It was just an awesome decade. 

So why not celebrate it with an 80s-themed party?  I mean, what can be better than combining all of that awesomeness with food?  Granted, it's been a few years since I've done this...  But even so.  Definitely some of the best times I've had.  These are from two different parties.

The first party was in Florida in 2009.  We wanted to come up with items that came out in the 80s.  It was harder than we thought, so we added a few extras like a Stromboli and chips and dip.  But our authentic 80s fare was pizza rolls (painted green for Ninja Turtles), fig newtons, pop rocks, oreo truffles (in awesomely bright 80s colors) and TAB soda (nasty stuff, but pure 80s) with Charleston Chews and Reese's Pieces candy.

Crimped hair, long dangly big earrings and pop rocks...  I'd already sloughed the jean jacket... It was hot in Florida.

The second party was in 2009 in Washington.  At the funeral home where I used to work.  A staff party, after hours, of course. 

Rather than go with foods that came out in the 80s (since we learned that was a challenge), we mostly went with naming various foods after something 80s-related.  Personally, I think it was bomb.

 We kept the candies, because apparently they were 80s.

 But we made Oreo Truffles [Shuffle] a la Chunk in The Goonies

 Lots of 80s candy:  ring pops, Now & Later, and Pop Rocks

A "Where's the Beef?" and Onion Cheeseball with Puttin' on the Ritz crackers (inspired by my sister's most favorite song by Taco). 

Someone who hadn't originally planned to come decided at the last minute to join us, so he provided grapes.  And I came up with the foodie tag:  The [Grapest] American Hero.
 

Some Bananarama Bread to help us get through that Cruel Summer. 

 And some Raspberry Beret Jam to top the Bananarama Bread.

Some He-Manwich.  I think it speaks for itself.  I also thought this was purely ingenious.

Some nice cold refreshing Pretty in Pink lemonade.

Along with some Breakfast Club Sandwiches.  (I feel like I'm playing the Now and Later category in Jeopardy.)

And, finally, some Cowabunga! Pizza Rolls.  To pay homage to those heroes in a half-shell who are green.  And love pizza.

Yep, call me a total food and 80s dweeb.  I'll wear the title proudly.  These were some of the best times.  And though I may not be able to yell, "Man I love being a turtle!"  I can yell, "Man I love being a foodie!"  And I love the 80s too.