Pappa al Pomodoro

We are still dealing with a sick doggie around our house.  Our beloved lab, Otis, has been taking an antibiotic for a foot infection that developed over a week ago.  I ended up calling the vet and requesting that his medication be changed.  Today Otis started a new antibiotic that will hopefully, not make him feel quite so bad.  He has eaten like a bird since Saturday evening, which is very unusual for our food loving, slightly pudgy, boy.  The one thing he has not turned his nose up at is peanut butter.  I have also been able to get him to eat wet dog food, something he has never eaten before.  Being the overprotective mother that I am, I purchased organic beef dog food.  He loves it most of the time and devoured a whole can this morning (that is the most he has eaten since breakfast on Saturday morning).  Keep Otis in your prayers.  This is the first time he has ever been truly sick and I have come to realize just how attached I am to that dog!  I fixed the soup recipe below for a quick dinner last night.  I keep chopped celery and carrots in my freezer, so throwing all this together, including making a batch of cornbread, only took about an hour or so.  Keep in mind that 45 minutes of that time was simply the soup simmering.  This is the second time I have made this Italian bread soup and both times J.T. and I have loved it.  It makes for plenty of leftovers and is yummy to eat on a cold winter night. 

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients

·         4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         2 cups chopped onion

·         1 ½ cups chopped carrots

·         1 cup chopped celery

·         6 garlic cloves, minced

·         2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

·         4 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock, preferably homemade

·         3 cups cornbread, cubed

·         2 teaspoons kosher salt

·         1 ½ teaspoons  coarse ground black pepper

·         2 tablespoons dried basil

Directions

1.      Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.   Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Sauté until tender, about 15 minutes. 

2.      Meanwhile, puree the whole peeled tomatoes with an immersion blender (or using a food processor).   Add the pureed tomatoes, vegetable stock, cornbread, salt, pepper, and basil.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid ajar.  Serves 6 large portions.  

Whole Grain Popovers

    Another week has almost passed since my last blog post.  The holidays are always a busy time and J.T. and I have been on the go this whole Thanksgiving week.  We left early Monday morning to go see his parents, who live in Dalton, GA.  After a few fun-filled few days of eating and shopping, we returned home.  I spent the rest of Wednesday evening cooking for Thanksgiving.  My parents and I split up Thanksgiving lunch.  I made the Sweet Potato Casserole, Gravy, Dressing, and Pumpkin Pie.  My Mom and Dad were in charge of the Turkey, Ham, Green Beans, and Cranberry Sauce.  It was such a delicious lunch!  We will be reliving Thanksgiving lunch again on Sunday, because there was at least half of everything leftover.  Yesterday, Mama and I braved  venturing into the stores.  We didn’t go anywhere that would be too terribly crowded.  Some of our stops included Talbots, Pier 1, Michaels, TJ Maxx and Belk.  The Belk shoe department was a sight to behold.  Shoe boxes, paper, and shoes were thrown everywhere.  I cannot comprehend why women go crazy over cheap, uncomfortable boots.  We shopped from 8:30 to 4:30 and I had such a fun time shopping with my funny mother.  Sometimes we get the giggles when shopping and I know the store associates think we are crazy.  Today we are going to the Alabama game with my parents.  I am not looking forward to the cold weather, but it should be a good game to attend.  This will be the first one we have gone to all year.  J.T. and I have had a great week spending time with our family and are so thankful for each one of them. 

Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

Ingredients

·         2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, at room temperature

·         2 eggs, at room temperature

·         2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing the muffin tin

·         ½ teaspoon molasses (or honey)

·         ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

·         2/3 cup gluten-free whole grain flour blend

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and very thoroughly grease a 12-cup mini muffin tin. 

2.      In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, olive oil, and molasses.  Slowly whisk in the salt and whole grain flour blend.

3.      Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin (the batter should fill each muffin cup completely).  Bake for 16 minutes or until each popover is puffed and golden brown.  Do not open the oven door to peak!  

4.      After removing the popovers from the oven, pierce each one. This will allow any excess steam to escape.  You should expect the popovers to deflate.  Remove the popovers to a wire rack as soon as they are cool enough to handle.  Yields 12 mini popovers. 

Note:  These popovers can be stored at room temperature, but they should be consumed within a few days.  

Publix – November 16, 2012

     I am a day late getting my weekly grocery blog post up.  We have been dealing with a sick doggie the past few days.  Otis has an infection on his foot.  We noticed a few days ago that he was excessively licking his paw, an unusual behavior even for him.  Saturday morning resulted in a visit to the vet and I am so thankful we went.   The vet gave him a steroid shot, fluid medicine for his ears, and a two week round of antibiotics.  I found it hilarious that we had to pick his medicine up at Publix Pharmacy.  The medicine bottle even read “OTIS SPANN (CANINE).”  With this little medical scare, I have come to realize that I treat our dog more like a child, than a pet.  I even stayed home with him this morning during the early service at church.  My sweet doggie slept with his head in my lap and he was finally able to get a little rest.  The antibiotics have made Otis feel lousy, but he did perk up for a little fetch later in the day.   We are hoping our boy will get better soon!  I am going to try to keep up with my biweekly blog posts during the holidays, so hopefully I will do better next week! 

·         Dairy

o   1 gallon Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99

o   Eggland’s Best Organic Eggs @ $4.69

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $3.69

o   1 lb. Organic Valley unsalted butter @ $5.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $4.99

·         Grocery

o   Publix Greenwise Organic Coffee @ $5.99

o   Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99

o   Publix Greenwise Organic toasted oats cereal @ $3.79

o   2 lbs. King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat flour @ $2.42

·         Meat

o   2 lbs. Springer Mountain Farms (antibiotic free) boneless, skinless chicken breast @ $4.99/lb. – $10.88

·         Frozen

o   (2) Bird’s Eye frozen peas @ 50% off - $2.00

o   Pictsweet Frozen Brussels @ $2.50

·         Produce

o   Crushed Red Pepper Flakes @ $1.00

o   5 ¾  lbs. Sweet potatoes @ $0.49/lb. - $2.81

o   Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.14

o   Del-Monte Pineapple @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

·         Other

o    Reynolds foil @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

Total before coupons              $63.26

Less: coupons used                    (4.00)

Total with Tax                        $59.26

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies

     I know I have said this before, but my husband loves peanut butter…and so do I.  When I went to Earth Fare about a month ago, they were having a $5 food revolution.  For those of you who do not know, a $5 food revolution is when Earth Fare has five items in their store that are a dollar each.  Two of those items were organic peanut butter and organic grape jelly.  I couldn’t resist myself, so I bought both.  I contemplated making Ina Garten’s Peanut Butter & Jelly bars, but decided that they contained too much butter, too much sugar, and too much flour.  I also wanted to make something that I could sample.  This made me think of the peanut butter cookies I made for the pie crust of J.T.’s Peanut Butter Birthday Pie.  Those cookies were good, but oh so sweet.  For my Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich cookies, I cut the amount of sugar in half.  I completely omitted the granulated white sugar, and instead used honey.  What a good decision this happened to be.  The cookies came out moist and creamy and the sweetness of the jelly makes the cookies sweet enough.  Taking a bite of these sandwich cookies takes me back to the elementary school lunch room, when my mom would pack me a PB&J.  These cookies happen to be the dessert version of my favorite childhood lunch. 

Ingredients

·         1 cup creamy peanut butter

·         ½ cup pure clover honey

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 egg

·         grape jelly

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.      With a handheld mixer, beat together the peanut butter and honey until smooth.  Add the baking powder and beat until just combined.  Lastly, beat in the egg until the batter is smooth and creamy.  Using a cookie scoop, drop dough on to prepared baking sheet (about 20 cookies).  Use a spoon to gently flatten each cookie dough ball.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.   Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for at least 10 minutes (this gives them time to harden). 

3.      Once the cookies are completely cool, spread about a teaspoon of grape jelly on one cookie and top with another cookie.  Repeat the process until you run out of cookies.  I somehow ended up with an odd number of cookies.  Of course, I had to eat that one lonesome cookie in order to have an even number of sandwich cookies J

Publix & Farmer’s Market – November 10, 2012

     J.T. and I haven’t been to the farmer’s market in quite a few weeks.  Different things have gotten in the way each Saturday morning.  I am making Swedish meatballs for lunch this Sunday, and I knew I needed ground beef and ground pork.  The prices on ground beef at the market are half of what you would pay for the Publix Greenwise brand.  I bought a chuck roast and served pot roast a few weeks ago for Sunday lunch.  With a mouth full of roast, my father looked at me in fear as I told him where the roast was purchased.  I reassured him that the meat from the farmer's market is USDA inspected, antibiotic free, and grass feed.  I have purchased it twice before and been very pleased with the quality and taste.  Up until a few weeks ago, we were going to the Home Grown Alabama Farmer’s market, which takes place on Thursday.  They have closed for the winter, so the Saturday market is now our only option. Luckily, J.T. and I are both morning people.  We were down at the market shortly after 7:30 this morning buying pork and beef.  The things I do for food!  (The beef and pork didn't make it into my picture from Publix).

·         Dairy

o   1 gallon Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99

o   (2) ½ gallon Silk almond milk @ $5.00

§  (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $3.00

o   Publix Greenwise Organic Eggs @ $4.29

·         Grocery

o   (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $1.99

o   (2) Publix Greenwise Organic toasted oats cereal @ $7.58

o   (1) 14 oz. pkg. Gourmet House Organic Brown rice @ $1.35

o   (1) 16 oz. Pompeian Olive Oil @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

o   (1) 8 oz. can Blue Diamond Almonds @ $3.00

o   (1) 8 oz. can Muir Glen organic tomato sauce @ $0.89

§  $0.60/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.19

·         Meat

o   1 ¾ lbs. ground beef @ $6.00 (farmer’s market) not pictured

o   1¾ lb. ground pork @ $6.46 (farmer’s market) not pictured

·         Frozen

o   (2) Green giant Steamer Sugar Snap peas @ 50% off - $2.68

§  $1.00/2 manufacturer coupon - $1.68 or $0.84 each

o   (3) Green giant boxed frozen peas @ 50% off - $3.00

§  $1.00/3 manufacturer coupon - $2.00 or $0.67 each

·         Produce

o   Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.25

o   1 head green cabbage @ $1.50

o   1 lbs. Publix Greenwise Organic carrots @ $1.29

o   1 Del-Monte Pineapple @ $2.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.99

o   1 garlic bulb @ $0.30

o   2 lbs. onions @$1.99

·         Other

o   Publix Coffee filters @ $1.00

Total before coupons              $66.22

Less: coupons used                 (11.60)

Total with Tax                        $54.62

Pumpkin Ice Cream

     I am obsessed with pumpkin.  From the moment I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it.  I decided that Pumpkin ice cream would be our dessert at Sunday lunch.  My mom and I went nuts over this ice cream, but my Dad and J.T. would have probably preferred a slice of apple pie.  I have noticed that men (at least the ones in my family) seem to have some kind of aversion to pumpkin, butternut squash, and other “sweet” vegetables.  Oh well.  I borrowed my mom’s ice cream maker and prayed that it still worked (it hadn’t been used in over ten years).  Luckily, the ice cream maker powered up just fine and I successfully made ice cream for the first time in my life.  I don’t plan on making anymore ice cream this winter, but the warm weather last weekend turned out to be perfect for Pumpkin Ice Cream.    

Recipe adapted from Deliciously Organic

Ingredients

·         1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

·         1 cup coconut milk (not light)

·         2/3 cup honey

·         ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

·         1 ½  teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1.      With an immersion blender (or in a regular blender), mix together the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.  Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator. 

2.      Pour the chilled pumpkin mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer instructions.  Serves 6.  

Publix – November 2, 2012

     You may notice that I did not buy any meat this week at the store.  No, we have not gone vegetarian!  A few weeks ago, I mentioned that my mom and I would be visiting Earth Fare in Hoover.  I received a coupon from Earth Fare that gave me 1 free chicken (any size!) with the purchase of $10 or more.  You better believe that I was all over this deal.  My mom and I both received coupons via email and proudly found the biggest birds we could in the store.  Mine weighed over 5 pounds.  We brought a big cooler filled with ice from home, to keep our chickens cool on the drive back to Tuscaloosa.  Some of you may be thinking that we are crazy.  We are.  As soon as I got home, I immediately cut up my chicken and froze it.  The point of my story is that this week I have over 5 pounds of chicken to turn into delicious meals.  Hence, my meat free trip to the grocery store.  I noticed that prices are going up at Publix.  Food prices are increasing globally and are expected to increase through 2013.  My organic celery was $0.50 more and my organic eggs were $0.30 more.  Now, $0.80 is not huge increase, but the kosher salt I bought used to be $0.99.  Now it retails for $1.19.  I first took notice of the small price increases over the summer.  It seems like nothing will be left unaffected.  On a happier note, I purchased organic coconut milk for the first time in my life.  Why?  I am making Pumpkin ice cream.  It should be my next food blog post J

·         Dairy

o   1 gallon Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99

o   ½ gallon Silk almond milk @ $3.49

§  $0.55/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.94

o   1 dozen Publix Greenwise Organic eggs @ $4.29

·         Grocery

o   Publix Greenwise Organic Coffee @ $5.99

o   (2) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $3.98

o   1 lb. Tinkyada gluten-free pasta - $3.99

o   (2) 15 oz. cans Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes @ $2.67

§  (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.67

o   (1) Muir Glen Tomato Sauce @ $0.89

§  $0.60/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.19

o   Publix Greenwise Flaxseed @ $1.99

o   2 lbs. Publix Pinto beans @ $2.99

o   1 lb. Garbanzo beans @ $2.19

o   Diamond Crystal kosher salt @ $1.19

§  $0.80/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.39

o   Publix Plain Salt @ $0.57

o   (1) can Thai Organic Coconut Milk @ $3.25

·         Frozen

o   (2) Cascadian Farm Organic Broccoli & Peas @ $4.98

§  (2) $2.00/2 Publix coupon - $2.98

o   (2) Cascadian Farm Organic Spinach @ $5.38

§  $2.00/2 Publix coupon - $3.38

·         Produce

o   Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.30

o   Publix Greenwise Organic celery @ $3.49

o   Organic Girl Salad @ $3.99

§  $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.99

o   1 garlic bulb @ $0.30

o   2 lbs. onions @$2.00

Total before coupons              $71.30

Less: coupons used                  (13.45)

Total with Tax                        $57.85