Marinated Mushrooms

Psst, I'm Italian.  Garlic runs in my veins.  True story.  And on Christmas, we skip the turkey/ham reprise and opt for Italian sausages and homemade raviolis.  Talk about comfort food!  But no Borgia feast would be complete without marinated artichoke hearts, or marinated mushrooms.  Shoot, I could eat both every day of the year!  Now, I don't marinate my own artichoke hearts... that's intense!  But, marinated mushrooms is beyond simple.  And super delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of fresh mushrooms
• bottle of Italian dressing

Directions:

1. Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp cloth.  Place inside a large ziploc bag, or tupperware.
2. Cover mushrooms with dressing, refrigerate and let sit overnight.  The longer they marinade, the better!

Two ingredients and two steps.  The end  :)  Told you it was easy.  *B

still here

Thank you, dearest Candra, for making a lone blogger feel good about herself  :)  Sorry for the unintended hiatus.  I'll be back!  Soon(ish).  *B

holy tryptophan

I made the tough call to hold off on sharing my plethora of pumpkin recipes.  November isn't over yet!  But Thanksgiving almost is... So I've shared three of our family's favorite side dishes.  It's probably a little too late, but better now than never ;)  Besides, there's always Christmas?  Or fancy Sunday dinners?  Whatever, these recipes are amazing regardless the occasion!  And I swear, there will be pumpkin posts before the month is (officially) through.  I pumpkin promise.  *B

The GREAT Green Bean Casserole

Last year my dear hub wanted to be fancy and forgo the infamous canned beans and soup combo and make a fresh batch from scratch.  I tell you my dear friends, it was a revelation!  It has changed our lives.  For reals.  We learned a few things since then, and what we have here is a real winner.  It takes a little extra work, but man alive is it worth it!  It really does take your feast to the next level of dietary awesomeness.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 t. Dijon mustard
• 2 containers of french fried onions

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add 2 T. salt and beans and boil until cooked but firm (al dente?).  Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In large pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes before adding remaining salt and garlic.
3. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and cook for a minute, creating a roux.  Add chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken.
4. Add half-and-half, Dijon, pepper and nutmeg.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until it thickens.
5. Remove from heat and add 1 container of french fried onions.  Add to green beans and stir until well combined.  Place in baking dish and top with the other container of onions.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Tip: when preparing mushrooms, do NOT rinse.  Get a damp paper towel and wipe clean.  Mushrooms are like sponges.  So save their soaking powers for the good stuff.  A waterlogged mushroom is a rubbery one... As for the half-and-half, I'm pretty sure you could get away with regular milk.  But my husband is picky when it comes to "creaminess" and so I leave this dish to him.  Otherwise I'd be trying to healthify it.  But in all honesty, I'll eat just about anything if I'm not the one cooking it!  *B

Sweet Cranberry Raspberry Sauce

The other day I was watching a cartoon about Thanksgiving.  And on the table were the traditional trimmings, including cranberry "sauce" in the form of a can.  I laughed at how traditional that shape, and taste, has become.  And I don't know very many people who actually like it... So, a couple of years ago I started making it from scratch.  Because everything tastes better homemade than can-made, right?  Plus cranberries are just so darn  fun to cook ;)  This sweet and tart sauce not only tastes great, it's literally a beautiful addition to your plate! 

Ingredients:

• 1 c. water
• 2/3 - 1 c. unbleached sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
• 1 bag cranberries, sorted, rinsed and drained
• 1 small bag of frozen raspberries (12 oz)
• zest of one orange
• juice of 1 small lemon
• dash or two of nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt

Directions:

1. Combine water and sugar in saucepan, bring to a boil.
2. Add cranberries and bring back to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add raspberries, orange zest, lemon juice and spices.  Stir well and remove from heat.

When using a full cup of sugar, it tends to be a bit too sweet for my taste.  Which means it's probably about perfect for the majority of America ;)  This makes a relatively huge batch, so I love to freeze what's left and use it as jam.  Leftover turkey sandwiches will never be the same!  *B

Yummy Yammy Casserole

I'm not going to even bother tweaking this recipe...  If it ain't broke, don't fix it ;)  Although, I am making this with rice milk and a butter substitute for the casein sensitive feasters.  Either way, this is THE best yam/sweet potato casserole you will EVER have.  I guarantee it!


Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked and mashed red sweet potatoes or yams
• 2.5 cup brown sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick of butter, divided (softened)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• spices to taste (opt)
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix together the sweet potatoes, 1 c. of brown sugar, salt, eggs, 1/3 stick of butter, milk, vanilla and spices and place in greased baking dish.
2. Mix remaining brown sugar and butter with flour and nuts.  Sprinkle on top of casserole.
3. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.

Seriously, even the pickiest will find it hard to resist.  Behold, and beware, sugar and its power of persuasion!  Get ready to get your yum on.  *B

this week's plan: nothing!

I don't feel like planning.  Try not to be too disappointed...  I have a lot of food on my plate this week, and I'm looking forward to the literal plates of food come Thursday!  I'll try and get some pumpkin recipes up tomorrow, just in case you still need 'em ;)  Actually, I'd LOVE to have a pumpkin linky party.  Anyone know how?  Let me know if you do, please!  Thanks in advance :)

And while we're at it, tell me what your favorite Thanksgiving food is.  Because I really want to know!  Mine is everything.  Ok, fine.  I'll try and narrow it down.  Hmmm, this is difficult...  I really do like everything but the turkey.  But I always have a bite, to be fair to the bird.  Maybe my favorite is gravy, because I drown everything in it!  I love sweet potato casserole.  And I have an awesome recipe for it.  Go figure.  So maybe I will try to get my act together and post a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes this week!  Like Brad's favorite creamy green beans (or maybe my dairy free green beans for those sensitive tummies out there).  Oh!  Homemade cranberry sauce.  It's the real deal folks.  And maybe my mom will share her amazing dinner roll recipe.  And her turkey brine.  Mmm, I'm starting to get hungry.  This feast can't come soon enough!  And the best part: leftovers.  *B

PS- New recipe(s) up on NPN!   Check it out: Fertile Friendly Foods.  I love my "job" :)