Monday, November 16, 2009

Sweet Potatoes, Soup, and S'mores


For some reason, I've really slacked off in the food photography lately! That doesn't mean, however that I haven't been trying new recipes. There are quite a few I'd really like to share! The photo above is of sweet potato fries!! I have tried multiple recipes only to be disappointed with too-sweet fries. I'm trying really hard to like them because I've heard and read of the many nutritional benefits. So I googled 'savory' along with sweet potato fries and came across this recipe. YUM! James gobbles them up as quickly as I can put them in front of him and Mark likes them, too! Yay! A keeper! Here's the link to the recipe. I omitted the red pepper flakes and fennel but did use the coriander. It adds so much I'd recommend buying some if you want to try them out. I also used olive oil and spaced each fry so that none were touching, turning them all over half way through baking on a jelly roll pan. Enjoy!
And this is my version of a homemade chipotle burrito bowl. I make chicken fajita meat and sliced bell peppers using this recipe, a batch of cilantro lime rice using this recipe, and set out warmed up black beans (which I quickly season with garlic and cumin), shredded cheese, sour cream, and salsa. An assembly line works best for this type of meal with so man options. It worked great for a crowd a few weeks ago (7 adults) and James loves it, too!

And here are a few honorable mentions. So sorry not to have photos, but most of them are pictured if you follow the links:

White Chicken Chili----HERE. I use more like a cup of green salsa and at least two cups of chicken broth, though. really yummy and quick. I've decided to make more soups to have around for my lunches during the day...I'm just not much of a cold sandwich person...this has a little kick, but I love it!

Taco Soup---HERE. I made this tonight and am seriously contemplating using it to replace my chili recipe. (GASP!?) I'll have to consult Mark about that first, though. This has fire roasted diced tomatoes in it. Where have these been all my life? I made a half recipe and then, as suggested by my friend Heather, I added extra tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce.

S'More Bars---HERE. Enough said, right? I made these for the annual pumpkin carving party. I ate one tiny square, because that's all that was left. I couldn't have taken a picture if I had wanted to. They vanished. They are SO SO good.

No-Rise Orange Rolls---HERE. I was so intrigued by roll dough that didn't have to rise. It has cottage cheese (of all things) in it. Don't worry, you puree it with other ingredients--there are no chunks of cottage cheese. The dough is not tangy, either. Just really great! The dough was really easy to work with, too! I'll be making them again...

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Fall Fun Outside


These are a couple of pictures I took last week...before Mark raked up all the leaves. James had fun playing in them!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Pumpkin Carving I & II

PJames dressed as a panda bear because the costume was a hand-me-down from his cousins! I'm not sure what he thought of the whole get-up. And he actually wore it a week before Halloween, at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party. The expression on his face in the picture above pretty much sums up how that night went for our family of three. He was in a pretty wild mood. He didn't want to sleep (no way! not during a party!) and we spent most of the evening chasing him around. Needless to say, Mark and I did not get a chance to carve our pumpkin that night. However, it was great to see friends, most of whom are college friends that have attended his event over the past five years....








Then this past Friday, the night before Halloween, we finally got around to carving our pumpkin. James got to observe the initial cutting-the-top-off and gutting of the pumpkin.



He thought he was sooooo cool getting to touch the slimy pumpkin guts. (yes, of course he tasted them)

But he felt even more cool when he got to help Daddy scrape out the stringy stuff with our ice cream scoop.


Voila! Nothing too special....three teeth and two eyes. The pumpkin was so thick that Mark and I actually decided our little guy didn't need a nose.