Mandy and Jace

In my quest to have a healthier lifestyle I have been trying to add more veggies to my diet. That is really hard when you don’t like veggies. Give me a huge steak with lots of cholesterol and I’ll be a happy girl. My doctor on the other hand isn’t so happy. So I’ve been trying to find new ways of cooking various veggies to make them better.

This is more of a template rather than a recipe. There is so much more you can use besides what I have here but this is just to give you an idea.

Grilled veggies
Pick your veggies, extra flavor and liquid. Cut them up however you want them cut and season them to your liking. Place the veggie mixture into several pieces of foil made into a pouch. Be sure you double up your foil so it doesn’t drip though and get everywhere. Put the veggie pack on the grill while you are grilling you meat and other stuff. Leave it on for about 15-20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. Pour them into a bowl when they are done and enjoy.

Veggies:
squash
zucchini
carrots
celery
eggplant
mushrooms
bell peppers
edemame
broccoli
onions
tomatoes

Extra Flavor:
feta cheese
fajita seasonings
Greek seasoning
basil
thyme
creole seasoning
Parmesan cheese

Liquid:
butter
chicken broth
soy sauce
oil

This is one of my go to meals that I usually make on nights that I don’t have a lot of time to cook and eat. For instance our Wednesday nights. We are usually running 90 mph, but I don’t want to buy take out. So we usually run in, shower and change clothes, throw together something to eat, eat it quickly and get to church hopefully before 7:30 when it starts.

With this recipe I can turn it on before I leave for work after lunch and it is ready by the time I get home for dinner. Perfect for a family on the run.

Slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches
adapted from Allrecipes

1 (2 pound) pork loin
1 can or bottle of root beer
1 bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce
6 hamburger buns

Get your slow cooker out and line with a slow cooker liner if you want to. I absolutely recommend buying the slow cooker liners. They make dinner a breeze to clean up. Place the pork loin into the slow cooker and pour the bottle of root beer over it. Turn it onto low and cook for about 5-6 hours or 3-4 hours on high.
When the meat is ready, remove the pork loin and shred the meat with two forks. Place the shredded meat into a bowl and pour your barbecue sauce over the meat. Stir until all the meat is coated.
Put the meat on the buns and serve.

For my high school senior trip we went to Disney World. I remember lots of things about this trip, but the one thing that really sticks out to me is our quick stop to the Ghirardelli factory. We walked in and they handed me a sample of their amazing chocolate and I fell in love. Since I’ve been home I’ve been kind of a chocolate snob. If I have a choice I usually go straight to the Ghirardelli chocolate. This muffin recipe was on the inside of the wrapper around a white chocolate bar. I am normally in a hurry and just trow all the wrappers out, but this particular time I happened to glance at the recipe on the back and decided these were worth a try. They came out so good! They work well with any size you make them- mini, regular or extra large.

Raspberry white chocolate muffins
adapted from the Ghirardelli wrapper
makes 12 regular sized muffins

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup and 1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp baking powder
2 cups and 1 tbsp flour
1 bar of white chocolate, chopped or 1 bag of white chocolate chips
1/2 cup raspberries

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Grease or line your muffin cups
In your mixer cream the butter and 1/2 cup of sugar together until they are smooth.
Add the egg, milk, vanilla and continue to mix together.
In a different bowl whisk the baking powder, 2 cups flour and the white chocolate together.
Slowly pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture mixing slowly so you don’t shoot flower all over the room. Mix until just combined.
Fold in the raspberries until they are just combined. It’s ok if the batter is lumpy.
Spoon into the muffin cups until each are 3/4 full.
In a small bowl add the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar and flour and whisk together. Dust the sugar and flour over each muffin.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool and serve or store in an airtight container.

This sweet and colorful sauce is good on almost anything. You can make it with any berry you have on hand. We’ve made it with raspberries before and it was amazing. You can pour it over cheesecake, ice cream, brownies or do like I do and just eat it with a spoon.



Strawberry Coulis
1 carton of fresh strawberries (or any other berries), cut into small pieces
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons lemon zest
small pinch of salt

Put all ingredients into a pan. Stir together. Let it cook at a low simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep a close watch on it because it can boil over very quickly. I have to turn the heat up and down through the process. When it has cooked down to a thick syrup pour the mixture into a strainer over a bowl. With a spoon press the strawberry mixture through the strainer making sure you get all of the liquid heaven into the bowl. Discard the fruit and let the coulis cool. When cool move to a Tupperware or squeeze bottle. Serve on top of anything and everything.

I will never forget when Jace made these for me for the first time. It was my birthday and I woke up to the smell of biscuits and gravy. They were so stinkin good! I think he might regret making them though because from now on he will be known as the biscuit maker of the house and I like them pretty regularly.

This is the recipe for the biscuits, if you want to know how to make the gravy to go with it (I don’t know why you wouldn’t) you can find it here. We used veal stock in that recipe, but since our local grocery store no longer sells veal stock we use chicken stock and works just as well.

I know making biscuits can be a little intimidating but I promise it is easy and they are a million times better than the canned biscuits.

Home-style Biscuits
adapted from Homesick Texan

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees
Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.
Add the cubed, cold butter and work the dough with your finger tips (to prevent the butter from getting too warm) until it comes to a crumb like consistency. You’ll want to basically stretch the butter until it looks like a flake covered in flour.
Add the buttermilk. It will be sticky but work the liquid into the dough. Sticky enough that Jace has been known to use gloves when he’s not too sleepy to forget.
Pour the dough out onto a floured counter top and knead for a minute or so. If it’s too sticky to work with coat your hands and the dough with a little more flour and continue. It should no longer be wet after kneading.
This is the fun part. Form the dough into a ball and hit it with the end of your rolling pin. (I’ve always wanted to hit something with that thing) Every few whacks turn the dough and fold it over, this will create layers. Do this for 3-5 minutes.
Roll the dough out until it is 1/4 inch thick and fold it in half. Using a biscuit cutter or something round like a glass or can cut the biscuits by pressing down into the dough and then turning the cutter. Then you should be able to pop the biscuits out. Cut as many as the dough will allow and then roll out the scraps and make as many as you can out of that. Croud the biscuits in a greased baking sheet or glass pan close together and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Pour gravy over them or eat them plain. They are delicious.