Black-Eyed Pea Dip

So I am a big fan of The Pioneer Woman and I have tried many of her dishes. Many of them appeal to my tastes and my style of cooking. I saw the Black-Eyed Pea Dip recipe one day as I was cruising her site and as soon as my husband and I tried it we feel in love. It has just the right amount of heat for me but you can defiantly make it spicier if you want to. Super simple to make and very yummy to eat.

Black-Eyed Pea Dip

~ 1 can black-eyed peas

~ 1/4 whole onion, chopped fine

~ 1/4 cup sour cream

~ 8 slices jarred jalapenos

~ 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

~ 3 Tbsp. salsa

~ hot sauce, to taste

~ salt and black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350^o F. Drain black-eyed peas and partially mash, leaving some whole. Add all other ingredients, stirring to combine.

2. Spread into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Click Below to Print Recipe

Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Mason Jar Lanterns

I don’t know what has gotten into me lately but I have been feeling a bit crafty. I saw the cutest Mason Jar Lanterns over at Our Best Bites and immediately wanted to give them a try. So one afternoon while the kids were down for their naps I started working on them. I had never used Mod Podge before but it was super simple to use and and had a lot of fun!

Mason Jar Lanterns

~ Mason Jars, any size

~ Tissue paper, any color

~ Mod Podge

~ paint brush

~ glue

~ ribbon or paint for the tops

1. Cut your tissue paper into strips about 1 to 2 inches thick and long enough to cover the side of the mason jar. Brush a thin layer of mod podge onto the glass jar and stick a strip of tissue to it. Then brush with more mod podge sealing it onto the jar. Work one strip at a time until the whole jar is covered. Place your jars upside down to dry.

2. While your jars are drying cut out faces from black paper and once the jars are dry glue onto the jar with a glue stick. Here are some templates for the faces. Faces 1, Faces 2, Faces 3 Be creative!

3. Once your faces are on you can either paint the rims green or black or you can glue ribbon around the rim. Once they are done you can use lights or candles inside them to illuminate. Caution, if you use candles the jars will get very hot.

Guacamole

Avocados are one of my favorite things to eat. I love the sliced on sandwich’s, salads, burgers, and especially made into guacamole. I was so excited this weekend when we got a few avocados in our bountiful basket. I like this Guacamole recipe because it makes just the right amount for my husband and I. Enjoy!

Guacamole

~ 3 avocados, peeled, pitted, and mashed

~ 1 lime, juiced

~ 1 tsp. salt

~ 1/2 cup diced onion

~ 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

~ 2 roma tomatoes, diced

~ 1 tsp. minced garlic

~ 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

Click Below to Print Recipe

Guacamole

Corn Chowder

Could winter really be this close? Not where I am at! I can’t believe it is the middle of October and we are still seeing days in the 90’s. While I know that colder weather is just around the corner I am still happy with these warmer days! I do miss soup weather and so I decided we were going to have a  Corn Chowder recipe from two peas & their pod not matter how warm it was outside.

This recipe was super simple and I loved that it used so many different veggies. Most of which my refrigerator has been accumulating over the last few weeks from bountiful baskets. This was a hit with the family even though my husband said it would be even better with bacon. Well of course it would, everything is better with bacon! I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did.

Corn Chowder

~ 2 Tbs. butter

~ 1 large onion, chopped

~ 2 garlic cloves, minced

~ 1 large carrot, chopped

~ 1 red pepper, seeds removed and diced

~ 3 Tbsp. minced poblano pepper

~ 2 potatoes, washed and diced

~ 2 cups chicken broth

~ 3 ears sweet corn, kernels removed or 3 cups frozen or canned corn

~ 1/3 cup flour

~ 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

~ salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

~ shredded cheddar cheese-optional, for serving

1. In a large soup pot, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrot, red pepper, poblano pepper, and potatoes. Add the chicken broth and empty ears of corn, if using, and cook until vegetables are tender. This will take about 10 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and milk. Pour mixture into the soup pot. Stir. Add in the corn kernels, thyme, salt, and pepper. Let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes.

3. Remove empty ears of corn, if using, and ladle into bowls. Garnish with cheddar cheese, if desired.

Click Below to Print Recipe

Corn Chowder

What was in those baskets on October 15th

Another great Saturday spent distributing and getting wonderful produce. I hope everyone had a great day!

This weeks basket had cucumbers, carrots, apples, avocados, pears, plums, lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, grapes, and bananas.

In my family cucumbers don’t last long because my kids love to eat them sliced up. If your family isn’t like mine and you are able to keep your cucumbers a few of my favorite things to do with them are to use in a Greek Salad or make Greek Chicken Wraps with homemade Tzatziki sauce (cucumber and yogurt sauce). Another great salad is the Taco salad, this would use up a lot of your veggies from your basket.

I have been on a Tomato and Basil Bruschetta thing lately and I have been making it quite often. A great way to use your tomatoes and garlic!

For your cauliflower give Cauliflower with White Sauce, cauliflower fritters, or oven roasted cauliflower a try. Cracker Barrel Baby Carrots are easy and delicious and well as Broccoli with Cashews. For a delicious snack try baked apple crisps or this amazing fruit dip.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys their wonderful produce from bountiful baskets.

Halloween Wreath

Since I left my job as a teacher to stay at home with my two small children I have missed some of the fun holiday things that happened around school. For each holiday or month I would decorate my room for the occasion. Sometimes it would be just a few things and depending on the holiday it would be a bit more. I also miss the fun activities and crafts that went along with it.

Once I saw this lovely tutorial on how to make a Tulle Wreath over at Our Best Bites I just knew I would give it a try. Since I don’t have a lot of time with swim season going on it looked simple enough to pull together.

I cut the tulle and tied it around a 8 inch foam wreath while watching TV one night. Today while catching up on some DVR during nap time I decorated the rest of the wreath. I think it turned out super cute and very festive for the upcoming Halloween Holiday!

The other fun thing about this is you can make a wreath for any season, holiday, or occasion by switching up your color scheme. The possibilities are endless. Have fun crafting!

Supplies

~ 8” wreath forms

~ 2 spools of Tulle (50 yards each)

~ ribbon, flowers, or anything else you wish to decorate with

1. Figure out how long you want your strips of tulle to be and then cut multiple strips at that length.

2. Tie the pieces of tulle around your wreath using whatever knot you wish. As you finish the knots push them together to the desired coverage.

3. Decorate your wreath with bows, flowers, ribbon, etc.

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

I know I haven’t been posting many recipes lately and that is due to the fact that most of what I am cooking is super simple standbys because I am so busy with swim season. Three more weeks to go and High School swim season is over here in Arizona and I am free until next season.

About a week ago I decided that I wanted to give something new a try and I found this recipe on Favorite Family Recipes. The picture looked amazing and so I gave it a try. It was a great chicken recipe that I enjoyed, I am sure it will become a standby in my recipe collection.

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

~ 1 cup milk

~ 1 cup Italian Bread Crumbs (I like Panko)

~ 4 chicken breasts cut into halves (8 pieces)

~ 1/4 cup butter

~ 1 cup chicken broth

~ 2 cups whipping cream

~ 1 tsp. dried basil

~ 1/8 tsp. pepper

~ 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Pound and flatten the chicken out to about 1/2 to 1/4 inch in thickness so that it cooks evenly throughout.

2. Place milk and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in milk, then coat with bread crumbs. In a skillet over medium heat cook chicken in butter until browned on both sides.

3. Add chicken broth to the skillet and stir to loosen up browned bits from pan. Stir in cream, basil, and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and whisk in Parmesan cheese.

4. Pour sauce over the chicken and serve.

Click Below to Print Recipe

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

What was in those baskets on October 8th

A late truck didn’t slow our group of volunteers down today. We had the truck unloaded and began sorting produce quickly. The baskets were really full so we had a lot to sort today but we did it and had fun! We defiantly couldn’t do it with out all our amazing volunteers.

This weeks basket had corn, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, apples, red bell peppers, limes, red pears, plums, Asian pears bananas, and pomegranates. The Mexican pack had avocados, cilantro, grey squash, limes, jalapenos, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and poblano peppers.

Apples are something that my family doesn’t eat quite as fast as we get them in our basket. I have found a few recipes that help us eat them up before our next basket. I love to dip them in this Fruit Dip recipe as a snack. Baked Apples Crisps are also great. If you are looking for a main dish check out Pan-Fried Pork Chops with Glazed Apples.

This week I am planning on using my broccoli to make Broccoli with Cashews as a side dish. It is amazing! However any of these other recipes are great dishes to use up your broccoli: Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce, Broccoli and Tortellini Salad, Oven Roasted Broccoli, or Broccoli Casserole.

We are in love with Cracker Barrel Baby Carrots and the recipe is so simple to make. If you are still wanting to hold on to summer make a Carrot and Raisin Salad. Carrots are also great to throw into lettuce wraps.

If you got the Mexican pack this week in addition to your basket and need some ideas try Chipotle Shredded Pork Enchiladas, Enchiladas Verdes, Black Bean Corn and Avocado Dip, or Chile Relleno Pie.

I hope you all enjoy your baskets this week and have fun cooking with all the great produce. Let me know what you plan on doing with your basket!

What was in those baskets on October 1st

I know I have been gone for a few weeks and have missed helping out with bountiful baskets. Coaching the local swim team has taken up a lot of my time. I was glad to be back this week and see all the wonderful volunteers that we have at our Kingman site. Of course they didn’t disappoint either, sorting all the baskets in record time! What a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday!

We got a lot of wonderful produce like usual. Lettuce, cantaloupe, grapes, bananas, pears, lemons, kiwi, tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, and corn.

I found a recipe that looks great for corn chowder, I am going to give that a try this week so be on the look out in coming days for it. Most of the fruit my children eat, I am starting to think that my youngest might be turning into a fruit since he eats so much of it. For the iceberg lettuce I like to make lettuce wraps since the iceberg holds up better than the romaine. I loved this tomato and basil bruschetta recipe and it might be in our future. For the bell peppers I like to saute them up with any other veggies in my fridge along with some sweet Italian sausage and some red wine. Mix in a bit of heavy cream and you have a great pasta sauce filled with veggies. Let me know what fun plans you have with your basket and I will see you all next Saturday!