Pico de Gallo

Good Wednesday morning! Sorry I wasn't around Monday; between working too hard this weekend, and being sick, I just didn't feel like blogging. :D So!

With that being said, :D, here is Family Favorite Recipes' recipe for pico de gallo.

OK. I have to say this: this recipe is almost EXACTLY what I would use for a bruscetta topping - except the herb is cilantro, not basil, and it's got a jalapeno in it.

But it's GOOD. :) It's just amazing to me how similar Mexican and Italian can be sometimes. :) And it was part of a grander scheme of a recipe, so as an ingredient, it was good. We didn't eat it all, and I think it's because I was trying to squeeze in as much cooking as I could while my parents were gone. :D We ate WELL that week. LOL!

I'd say try it. I'd also say, if you're looking for a bruscetta topping, just change out the herb and don't worry about the jalapeno. :D So, it's going down in the history books as a YES, PLEASE. :D

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED - and try something new!

Gingered Chicken Thighs

It's FRIDAY!!!! Have you had a good week? Got fun plans for this weekend? If you're in the Middle Tennessee area, come see me tomorrow night; I'm working at Lebanon's Cedar Grove Cemetery Walk!

Anyway. :) Today's recipe is another Taste of Home, for Gingered Chicken Thighs.

I have to tell you: it took me a LONG time to decide this one got a NO, THANK YOU from us. It wasn't BAD, but neither of us wanted to eat the leftovers. :)

Now, I will admit that I used lemon juice instead of orange juice, but that's not what did it for us, I don't think. The flavors were super strong, but good - at first. It just didn't sit right, and when smelling the leftovers, it was totally overwhelming. (Of course, I'm not feeling tiptop right now, anyway.... :D)

Do let me know if it intrigues you enough to try it! I'd love to know what you think. :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL weekend! BE BLESSED!!!

Beef Vegetable Soup

Welcome to Wednesday. :D Have you had a good week so far? I've got a doctor's appointment today. booooo, hisssssss. <sigh>

So, anyway. :D Today's recipe is for "steak soup" - aka vegetable beef :D - from Gimme Some Oven! :D I made this soup last Monday, when I opened up the stampin' studio for a free evening. The bread I shared on Monday was a nice accompaniment for this soup.

The soup got a definite YES, PLEASE! from everyone who tasted it. I used 4 cups of beef broth, then about 5 cups of water with a container of Knorr Homestyle Stock (it's condensed) and an envelope of Swanson Flavor Boost. The recipe includes Worchestershire sauce - a touch of brilliance, there. It's got so much "stuff" that I wouldn't think to add to the soup, and a little goes a long way to boosting the flavor and richness of the broth. As a matter of fact, when I made beef stew a couple of days later, I used some Worchestershire sauce in it, too. It was wonderful. :)

This soup was wonderfully hearty, and I have to admit I don't really like soups with tomatoes in them. I cut the amount of tomatoes I added in half from the recipe; I also used fire-roasted tomatoes, which I'd gotten as a freebie to try.  I thought, if you have to have tomatoes in the soup, they were pretty decent. :D And I ate two bowls of this soup. Unheard of for me. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a BLESSED day! And do try this soup! :D

ABM Whole Wheat Bread

Good Monday Morning! Did you have a good weekend? GOODNESS, mine was BUSY. And today's been busy, too! Crazy, man! :D

ANYWAY. Today, I'm bringing you one of those recipes that this time of year just begs for: bread. And my favorite kind: bread that can be made in my bread machine! :D This recipe comes to us from Food.com, for whole wheat bread.

This is a pretty healthy recipe! It doesn't use sugar; it uses honey. So, as far as a healthy bread recipe (as a diabetic, that's a bit of an oxymoron, but still... :D), this is a YES, PLEASE. But I would suggest upping the salt just a tiny bit.

It baked up really nice for being whole wheat; I do add vital wheat gluten to my bread machine recipes, tho, so that always helps. This had a nice crust on it - I did let it bake in the machine, just so I didn't have to mess with the oven. It was substantial enough when you bit into it to have a nice chew to it, too.

So, if you're looking for an easy, healthy bread machine recipe, go for this one. :)

Let me know if you try it, what YOU think!

OK, outta here. So much to do, so little time.... :D Have a WONDERFUL day! Be blessed!

Lemon Curd

Good Friday Morning!

How are you today? Can you believe we're already at the first Friday of October?

Fortunately, we can keep some of the sunshine going. :) This recipe for Lemon Curd comes from Crazy for Crust. (Great name, isn't it! :D)

Today's post is a cross-post; if you'd like to know how I did the fabric topper in less than 30 seconds, or the label with just three different punches, please go to Lori's Stamping Spot and check out today's post. :D

The reason I decided to make this lemon curd was that the marshmallow fluff left me with three egg yolks, and I'd been wanting to try my hand at curd-making for a while. I really love the stuff! (If you've never had Stonewall Kitchen products, I cannot recommend them enough! But that's another blog post! :D)

This is a definite YES, PLEASE! The recipe makes about 1/3 cup or so more than would fit into this jar. (Rats. :D) So you could easily get two jam jar-sized gifts from one batch. It took me TWO lemons. That's all. I have the rest of the bag left! I honestly don't see why you couldn't easily double or triple the recipe at once. I would recommend having SOMEONE to help you stir, though, especially if you have bad wrists. I kinda wish Kenn had been home when I decided to do this one, just for that reason! :D

Now, remember those English muffins I talked about Wednesday? Yup. That's what I wanted them for: to be the perfect excuse - er, um, vehicle! - to get this curd to my mouth in the morning. :D

It's a bright, tangy, wonderful burst of citrus. I might make the cookies sometime, but for now, I'm going to enjoy this lemon curd in a couple of different ways. ;) Keep an eye out!

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! Enjoy your time, and let me know if you try something new. :)

Healthy Life English Muffins

Happy Wednesday! :)  Are you having a good week?

I wanted to review these English muffins because, with some of the jams, jellies, conserves, preserves, and curds I'm making, there's just something about a toasted English muffin with those nooks and crannies filled with melted butter and fruit of some type. :) And THESE are great; I can have a whole muffin for a net carb total of only 15 - and still have carbs for the jelly or whatever. :)

So, these get a YES, PLEASE. They're relatively low in calories, if that matters to you. :) I don't like English muffin pizzas - never really have; there's something about the taste that I just don't like - but these would work well, if that's something your family likes.

OK, I'm outta here! :D So many reviews to write, so little time.... :D
Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED! And try something new!

S'mores Muffins

Good Monday Morning! And HAPPY OCTOBER!

How was your weekend? Did it go quickly? I swear! As photographers, our weekends are booked so often; they're much more full than I usually enjoy. :D And this one was no exception - but what would I give up?!? Nothin'. :D

Today's review is of another recipe from Taste of Home, for "I Want S'more Muffins". (Yes, I still roll my eyes at that name....)

If you saw my Facebook status last week, you already know my reaction to these. It's not just a YES, PLEASE! It's a OH, MY! YES, PLEASE! :D

The recipe only makes six muffins. And in my case, that's probably an EXCELLENT thing. :D My biggest recommendation is to eat them while they're still at least slightly warm - although they're still wonderful cold.

And if you drop one while trying to tip them out of the pan, it WILL explode on the floor. All over the floor.

Ask me how I know. :D

I think the homemade marshmallow fluff did, indeed, make a difference for me. It's not all hard the next day, and it didn't all melt away. As you can see, it's definitely a s'more. Although I didn't have milk chocolate chips, so I used semisweet. :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!!!!