Fall Recipes

My little pumpkin



Fall is here, and I'm loving this chilly weather! It's time for stews, chilies, and warm apple crisps.

For starters, I made this easy crock-pot chili yesterday, and it's really tasty!

Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili
(from Southern Living)

1 to 1 1/4 lb lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (1.25-oz) envelope chili seasoning mix
1 (12 oz) can beer (I used Bud Lite. It's what we had on hand)
1 1/2 c frozen corn kernels (I used fresh corn cut from the cob that I had frozen at the end of summer...very tasty...I now dislike canned corn)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
Toppings: shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, whatever you like

1) Cook first 4 ingredients in a large skillet over med-hi heat, stirring often, 8 minutes or until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in beer, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2) Spoon mixture into a 5 1/2 qt slow cooker; stir in corn and next 6 ingredients until well blended. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours. Serve with desired toppings.

(Do I take pictures of my food? No, it rarely crosses my mind to do so, and I know I need to work on that. Instead, I take pictures of my baby, so here you go!)



Creole Red Beans and Rice
(from Southern Living's "Homestyle Cookbook")

1 (16 oz) pkg dried red kidney beans
1 lb smoke sausage, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 1/2 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (32 oz) container chicken broth
3 1/2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I added a little more)
Hot cooked rice
Garnish: thinly sliced green onions

1) Rinse and sort beans according to package directions. Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water 2 inches above beans, and let soak 8 hours. Drain beans, rinse thoroughly; drain again, and set aside. {SL's note for quick-soak kidney beans: Place beans in Dutch oven; cover with water 2 inches above beans, bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute; cover, remove from heat, and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans and rinse thoroughly.)

2) Saute sausage in hot oil in Dutch oven over medium heat 5-7 minutes or until sausage is golden brown. Drain sausage on paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven. Refrigerate sausage until ready to stir into bean mixture. Add celery and next 4 ingredients to hot drippings; saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, and simmer; stirring occasionally, 7 minutes.

3) Stir in beans, broth, and next 7 ingredients; increase heat to med-hi, and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered stirring occasionally, 1.5 to 2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir in sausage, and simmer 30 more minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve beans over hot cooked rice. Garnish, if desired.

This serves 8 people, and since it was just me and Andy eating it, I froze half of it. Also, I have "issues" with beans in the bag. I know they are so much healthier, better for you, and less expensive than canned beans. Mine beans are usually way undercooked. So I was delighted when my friend Sarah Barry posted this tutorial on her blog on cooking beans in a slow cooker. I intend to follow this next time.


Jackson, playing with his new toy from Gigi and Pops

You can find a refresher on scones here, and especially look at the Pumpkin scones (taste even better than the ones at Starbucks).

From Rushton's blog, these are some oh-so-good (but not-so-good-for-you??)
CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN MUFFINS

1 2/3 c flour
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
(Mix all above ingredients together.)

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c canned pumpkin
1 stick butter, melted
(Add above 3 ingredients to dry mix.)

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Place in greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Makes 12-16 regular muffins.


Emily Gross makes this fabulous Cranberry Apple Crisp. Perfect for a chilly night, and I justify it as being somewhat healthy :)

CRANBERRY APPLE CRISP

3 c unpeeled apples sprinkled with lemon juice, chpd into bite-size pieces
2 c whole raw cranberries
1 c granulated sugar
~Mix above and put in shallow 2 qt casserole dish

1 1/2 c oats
1 1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/2 c melted butter
1/3 c chpd pecans (optional)
~Mix and spread on top of apple mixture

~Bake uncovered at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
-From Emily Gross' blog

And last but not least, I've been in a big cupcake baking mood, as I bought all these adorable Halloween cupcake liners. It makes baking even more fun. Here are some Black Bottom Cupcakes from Southern Living:

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 c sugar, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350.

2) Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating well. Add 1/8 tsp salt and egg; beat well. Stir in chocolate morsels; set aside.

3) Combine remaining 1 c sugar, flour, and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine water and remaining 3 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon batter evenly into paper-lined muffin pans, filling half-full. Spoon a heaping Tbsp of cream cheese mixture over batter in each muffin cup.

4) Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 16 cupcakes.


See you later!
(Jackson, searching for Tucker, who is hidden behind the couch on the right)

Note, while I've been fine with Jackson napping in his swing during the day, as he takes really really long naps, with upcoming trips in the near future, I realize I need to get him used to sleeping in his crib during the day. So while I've been typing this blog, I let him cry it out a little in his crib, and success: He's asleep (and he only cried for about 15 minutes). Just thought you'd be proud of me :)

8 Months Old

My little boy is 8 months old!


Jackson loves Tucker


Almost.there.



Jackson is still such a sweet baby, with 2 bottom teeth and more on the way. He eats every 3 hours, and he's enjoying "real" food more and more. His staples are still squash, zucchini, plums, and now he's discovered Puffs. He starts bouncing up and down in his high chair, eyes wide open, whenever I bring out the Puffs. It's so funny to watch. I usually try to save the Puffs for meltdowns (which he has very few of, for which I'm grateful). He still is a good napper, and while his stretches of sleep at night have shortened (aka, he's up every 3-4 hours to eat), I know this is a short, sweet season of life, and what better time to sit and pray at 2 a.m. for my child while I'm feeding him?!

More posts to come later...I just got a new Southern Living cookbook and have been making a bunch of yummy, easy recipes. I'll post later.

Encouraging Words

Thank you all for my birthday wishes yesterday. I did have a special and fun day, and Andy and I had a much-needed dinner date last night. I still am tickled at myself and the lessons I learn after college: College birthdays were so much fun, with celebrations all week long. Life-after-college-birthdays consist of real-life: going to the grocery store, doing laundry, cleaning the house, and for me now, being a Mom. That doesn't stop on your birthday. So while it's easy for me to throw a pity party at times, wishing for a "lazy day" for one day out of the year, I know that's not reality, and I have to tell myself to get over it. I wouldn't trade being a wife, mom, homemaker for anything in the world. There's my two cents on life after college. (If you're new to reading this, no, I didn't just graduate, although I feel like I did. It's been 5 years since I left sweet Auburn, the loveliest village on the Plains. I guess I'm 28 years young.)

In college, I read "Keep A Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot. My friend, Jenny Camp, recently encouraged me to pick it up again, as she told me there is wisdom for mothers at the end of the book. So, I heeded her advice and re-started it this morning. O my, can I tell you I've underlined virtually every paragraph in the introduction and the first chapter.

For those of you who don't know who Elisabeth Elliot is, I consider her my "spiritual mother." She is such an amazing, godly woman. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was a missionary to the Aucan Indians in South America. He was killed by the Indians, and his wife, Elisabeth, went back to that tribe with her toddler-aged daughter and brought the entire tribe to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. You can see the amazing movie, "End of the Spear," for further details into this amazing story (here's the synopsis of the movie: "End of the Spear" is the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. When five young missionaries, among them Jim Elliot and Nate Saint, are speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, a series of events unfold to change the lives of not only the slain missionaries' families, but also Mincayani and his people. Written by Anonymous

The true story of a group of Christian missionaries in Ecuador who set out to reach the Wadani tribe (a violent Ecuadorian tribe defined by revenge killing). When the 5 men from this group are speared to death by Mincayani and others in the tribe (who believe all foreigners are cannibals), the wives and children of those men move into the Wadani tribe to teach them about God. End of the Spear is an amazing story of Truth, Love, and Forgiveness.)

Back to my previous train of thought. Elisabeth Elliot wrote this prayer when she attended Wheaton College in 1947. This was and still is her heart's desire, and I found such great encouragement and strength in her words this morning:

Lord, give me a quiet heart
That does not ask to understand,
But confident steps forward in
The darkness guided by Thy hand.


I know, random baby picture, but blogs are always more fun with pictures :)

Have a blessed day!

Fun in Auburn

We had a great time in Auburn this past weekend, staying with some good friends, and reminiscing of the good ole' days when we were students at Auburn. Enjoy the pictures!






Jackson (7 1/2 months) with Maddie Camp (4 years old) and Emalyn Camp (20 months)


The Camp girls were so sweet with baby Jackson

Below is Jackson with Aunt Myra. The last time she saw him was at A-Day, when he was 11 weeks old.




Tailgating with Ashley and Andrew McCay

Then we came home to find that this little guy made his entrance into the world. Meet Ford Russell!


Lacey, Emily, and myself have all been best friends since the 7th grade, and now we all have little boys together. :)


Jackson was enthralled with his new friend Ford.

I made a random menu tonight for dinner (only because I had all the ingredients on hand), with all the recipes being new to me (thank you Pinterest!). Here they are below:

1) Spicy "Fried" Chicken Tenders
2) Quinoa with Green Onions and Pine Nuts
3) Balsamic Glazed Butternut Squash Fries

Odd menu combination, but all were really delicious. For the chicken tenders, I used 2 tsp of cayenne seasoning, and I thought they were way too spicy. This is coming from a person who cannot tolerate spice. However, Andy thought they were awesome.

I've never cooked with quinoa, but it's a really healthy grain, and so it was fun to experiment with new foods. I had no cilantro, so I used dried parsley (I know, I know, fresh cilantro would have made it THAT much better).

And the butternut squash fries were delicious. I actually grilled them on my ridged cast iron on the stove top, since Andy was not home from work yet (he's the grill master, not me).

Happy Cooking!

Delicious Dinner Ideas

I know he's cute, but he's not edible. See delicious dinners below :)


Good morning! Although the weather is fluctuating, the bursts of cool air put me in the mood to whip up a nice Fall meal, whether it be a soup, some delicious apple butter, or experimenting with some more squash!

Last night I made this delicious Hearty Bean and Barley Soup. Scroll down the page on this link to access the recipe. And the recipe does not say, but make sure to drain the cans of beans and tomatoes before adding them to the soup. So easy, so healthy, and I used some leftover barley that I had from the following recipe, starring Acorn Squash.

Remember in the previous post how I had no clue what to cook with the acorn squash I bought? Well, that night I was flipping through The Saturday Evening Post magazine that my grandparents sent us, and I found this amazing recipe. So delicious! A little time-consuming, only in the sense that I've never made it before, and I had doubts running through my head the whole time I was cooking it, but it turned out amazing, and a yummy vegetarian meal it was for two!

All you need is one small acorn squash for a dinner for two.



Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Be careful, as these suckers are mighty tough to cut when they haven't been cooked.



Then you roast the squash until tender and gently scoop out the squash from the peel.



Add all the fixings, and bake!




Stuffed Acorn Squash with Barley

1 small acorn squash (about 1.5 pounds), halved and seeded
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 c pearl barley (I got mine at Whole Foods)
1/2 fennel bulb (~6 oz.), trimmed of stalks, cored, and chopped fine
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1 pinch dried thyme
1 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)
2 Tbps minced fresh parsley
2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
Balsamic vinegar, for serving (I forgot this last step and it still tasted great)

1) Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray.

2) Brush cut sides of squash with 1 Tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and lay cut-side down on prepared baking sheet. Roast on lower-middle rack until tender (tip of paring knife can be slipped into flesh with no resistance), 45-55 minutes. Remove squash from oven and increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.

3) Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water to boil in small saucepan. Stir in barley and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until barley is tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain and set aside.

4) Wipe saucepan dry, add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, and heat over medium heat until shimmering (whatever that is??). Stir in fennel and shallot and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Stir in garlic, coriander, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

5) Off heat, stir in cooked barley, 1/2 cup Parmesan, parsley, pine nuts, and butter. Season w/salt and pepper to taste.

6) Flip roasted squash over and scoop out flesh, leaving 1/8-inch thickness of flesh in each shell. Gently fold cooked squash into barley mixture, then mound mixture evenly in squash shells. (Stuffed squash can be covered loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 4 hours. Finish and bake as directed, increasing baking time to 25-30 minutes.)

7) Sprinkle squash with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake on upper-middle rack until cheese is melted, 5-10 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to taste and serve.

*Note, I committed the worst faux pas in all of cooking: I used dried herbs! And it still tasted great. I didn't have any of the fresh (although I did cut up some green onions for the shallots...aren't those the same things, or similar to the same thing?). So I kind of estimated and took into account that dried herbs are stronger than fresh, so I used way less than the recipe called for. Sorry to not have exact measurements. I bet it would have tasted even better if I had all fresh, but I thought it turned out just fine.



And last but not least, this is James Farmer's Mimi's Apple Butter

I've posted this before, but I thought it was worth it to re-post, since it's such an easy and delicious recipe, perfect for a nice Fall morning. Slather up some toast with a hearty helping of the apple butter, grab a hot cup of coffee (spiked with Pumpkin Spice creamer), and head out to your front porch for a nice quiet (can it be quiet with kids around?) morning.

You'll find the recipe here

That's all for now!

Fall is in the air!

Jackson is wearing "old school" Auburn overalls in this picture. My cousin, Alan Thomas, wore these when he was Jackson's age, and Alan is now 16! (Fun fact, Jackson's middle name, Thomas, is for the Thomas side of our family, who are ALL major Auburn fans, by the way.)

Hooray for 60 degree weather! Our leaves are falling from our trees, the air is clear, cool, and crisp, and Fall produce are peeking their lovely heads from behind the lingering peaches and summer squash in our grocery stores. Seeing pumpkins on display at the Piggly Wiggly this morning made me smile.

So with the introduction of acorn and butternut squash in the grocery store (and on sale, even better), I decided to enter the realms of cooking squash. Hard to believe I've only ever touched summer squash. I suppose I didn't grow up eating butternut squash, so it's never really interested me before to buy it. However, having a baby, and seeing all the easy recipes for homemade baby butternut squash, I decided it's time to branch out even more than I already have since being pregnant (last Fall, I tried cooking with Swiss Chard and Kale for the first time).

I first followed this recipe to roast and then puree the butternut squash.

Jackson is checking it out:






I saved some Butternut Squash puree to make these delicious looking Whole Wheat Butternut Squash pancakes on Saturday.

I did buy one (huge!) acorn squash. Anyone have any good recipes for that? I'm still searching...

Last week, I made this yummy Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. So easy and so good.


(Note, I probably should have taken this picture BEFORE we ate it all up with our dinner guests.)

Here's the recipe:

CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE

1 Box yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1/2 C. oil
1.5 C. milk or water
1 pkg. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients but the chocolate chips with a mixer. Stir the chocolate chips in by hand. Put in greased & floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or until done (test for moist crumbs with a toothpick. You don't want to overbake it and dry it out.)~See Rushton's note on her blog about the chocolate chips. I should have done that but was too impatient. Hence, the chocolate chips all sitting at the top of my bundt cake instead of throughout it.








I feel like Jackson is making a "James Bond" type face in the above picture. Maybe that's his pick-up face for girls when he's 30. (just kidding, but not really)








Andy and I just got back from a FUN wedding weekend in Washington, DC this past weekend. My camera battery, that I thought I had charged, died right when we got there, so just trust me that the bride (Meg Simone) looked stunning, and we had the best time celebrating with our friends for Matt (Kemph) and Meg's wedding! This was my first time to leave Jackson, and it was harder than I had thought it would be (imagine, all smiles and laughter at the Birmingham airport, and then when we start boarding, a Flood of Tears. I think poor Andy was too scared to walk near me as we boarded, fearful of the comments from other passengers. "Why else would this woman be crying, other than her husband following right behind her? Maybe he had something to do with it." Ha, quite comical. Glad I didn't see anyone I knew.)

Andy's sweet mom, Ya Ya, drove down from Memphis and had the best time watching Jackson. I am so glad they got that sweet time together, and I know he was in good hands (after all, she's raised 4 amazing, godly children, one of whom I'm married to!). And since I've been home, baby boy has been sleeping 12 hours straight at night. Let's hope this good streak continues.

 

Since my last post, we've spruced up the house a tad bit more.



I bought these Martha Stewart drapery rods from Home Decorator's Collection. We also ordered a rug from there for our living room, and thus far, I've been really pleased with my purchases. I plan on using them more in the future. The curtains used to be in our bedroom, and are from Restoration Hardware. My parents came over one Saturday night, and they and Andy madly hung them right before we had dinner guests over.


Excuse the darkness of this picture, as I'm having trouble with camera lighting on this overcast day. I just wanted to show what my mom does at my house while babysitting Jackson (and I've so appreciative for all her decorating!). She hung my fine china plates on the wall, and every time I come home from work, some other little decorative touch has been completed, a lamp moved around, or a living room entirely re-arranged.

One more recipe, and then I'll end this long post. I'm making this for dinner tonight, and it's really easy and delicious. (And can I get an "Amen" for whomever invented crock pot liners?! Does anyone know if they are BPA-friendly? I guess I don't really care, since they save me loads of washing and cleaning.)



CROCK POT CHICKEN (can anyone think of a better name?)

Ingredients:
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
1 envelope (0.7-ounce) Italian salad dressing mix
1 can (10 3/4-ounce size) condensed golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry white wine or sherry
1 tub (8-ounce size) cream cheese with chives and onion (or plain cream cheese)
hot cooked angel-hair pasta
snipped fresh chives, optional

Directions:

Place chicken in a 3 1/2- or 4-quart crockpot.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the dry Italian salad dressing mix. Stir in mushroom soup, white wine, and cream cheese until combined.

Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Serve chicken and sauce over hot cooked pasta. Sprinkle with chives, if desired.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 198 Calories; 9g Fat (42.9% calories from fat); 27g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 155mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fat.
serves 6

(Above recipe came from my mom's best friend, Jan Dickerson, who is an amazing cook).


(No, he's not really drinking from it, but he's just playing with it for now. It occupies him long enough for me to unload the dishwasher or cook dinner. It's the little things...)

7 Months

Eating pureed pears for the first time

Well, our sweet Jackson is 7 months old. I've been negligent in uploading our blog, primarily because I've been working a good bit of hours at the hospital, trying to clean up our house and get organized, unpacking more boxes, and taking care of my sweet baby. I've also taken a hiatus from Pinterest, as I was becoming a little addicted. Amazing how much time you can waste on the Internet!



I love these faces he makes while eating. We're still working on getting him used to the textures of food. Jackson is still nursing every 3 hours during the day, sleeps anywhere from 4-12 hours at night (4 hours, feeds, goes back to sleep...growth spurts?!).



We borrowed a doorway jumper from a friend, and to say Jackson loves it is an understatement. He's obsessed! I'll put him in the jumper while I'm cooking dinner, and I can hear the gentle tap-tap-tap of his bare baby feet on the hardwood floors, combined with much ooh-ing, aah-ing, and coo-ing.



Jackson's 2 bottom teeth are in, and I'm waiting on him to get more teeth in, evidenced by the continual drool.





Still no coordinated crawling yet, but he can definitely go after what he wants. He's such a happy baby and such a joy to us! We feel truly blessed.





Need a good end-of-summer read? I highly recommend Ann Patchett's "State of Wonder." Ann is an absolutely brilliant writer (and she lives in Nashville, fun fact). Another of her books I love is "Bel Canto." I promise you won't be disappointed in either book.





I just started Laura Hillenbrand's book "Unbroken," a true story about World War II. She's the author of "Seabiscuit," which I hope to read after this. "Unbroken" is a really intriguing read. It makes me appreciate our service men and women THAT much more than I already appreciate them! And it makes me sad that we don't have many WWII veterans left. Hillenbrand echoes my sentiments exactly in her dedication on the last page of her book: "I wish to remember the millions of Allied servicemen and prisoners of war who lived the story of the Second World War. Many of these men never came home; many others returned bearing emotional and physical scars that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. I come away from this book with the deepest appreciation for what these men endured, and what they sacrificed, for the good of humanity."





Next week, we get to visit with some of our best friends, one of whom who recently came back from Iraq, and is now reunited with his infant and adorable wife. Thanks for your amazing service to our country Matt!

Oh wow, just finished watching the Auburn game. Close game, but at least we pulled it off! War Eagle!!!!