What's happening here

Business first. The royal baby's name was announced as George Alexander Louis. I believe the winner of this contest was this comment

 Sarah said...

As moderator of the contest, I'm allowing myself to guess. I guess Anne or George.

December 6, 2012 at 10:03 PM

 

with a nod to Joanna for acknowledging that the baby would at least have three names, and choosing George as one of them (but not the first). Sorry, it's a little shady that the contest administrator won, but I probably won't buy myself a piece of gum, so don't get too upset. I'm not a huge fan of the name George, but then again, I'm not British, and I'm not royalty.

We enjoyed having Mom come for a visit. Mom made friends with Camille and Holly. Camille even learned to say Grandma (Bapa!). We had fun hanging out, doing a little shopping, and seeing the Scera Theatre's production of The Sound of Music, which my cousin's wife was in as Maria. Dad was here for a night, and Camille even warmed up to him after being pushed in the swing and visiting Holly with him.

At the Traverse Outlets in Lehi

Joanna and Ben also stayed here Monday night before their family reunion at Bear Lake. We took no pictures, but we had fun together. Russell really liked the new toys, and Camille even let Joanna and Ben hold her for a little bit. She was pretty grumpy the next morning though and was happy to have the house to herself after they left.

Brian and I spent a night in Park City for our anniversary. We ended up getting "bumped" from our hotel room since the hotel was overbooked, and we got a free night in a not-quite-as-nice-but-still-fine hotel. The next morning we rode the alpine slide, which was awesome. It was fun to get away for a night. Camille did great at Grandma and Grandpa Wood's house.

On the lift up to the alpine slide

We also celebrated Brian's birthday. I even turned the oven on to make his cake. Sorry to all future gift-givers, but I got him just about the best gift ever: a Leap Motion controller. Now he can pretend he's Iron Man.

Happy Birthday!

Other than those exciting things, we just do normal things. I've tried to get out a lot with Camille for a walk, run, or bike ride. I've also been working on cooking without the oven. I made pizza on the grill yesterday, and we both thought it was very good. Brian has been putting a lot of time into the video he's making of the trek the ward did for Youth Conference. He did not enjoy Scout Camp.

I don't know what made her sad this time, but she's really pathetic looking when she's sad.

But when she's happy, she's really happy.

Cookbook Favorites

I've posted a lot of Cupboard Project recipes in the last couple months, but I've made some new dishes that aren't cupboard recipes that I'm going to share.

This one was really good. I haven't made it again since the first time, but I should (except that I have a no-oven rule when it's above 90 degrees). It's definitely comfort food.

Spinach and Artichoke Baked Pasta

(source)

Ingredients
14 oz of Orecchiette Pasta ( or short pasta)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Cup of Chopped Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic ( Minced)
1 Cup of Sour Cream
4 oz of Cream Cheese ( Room Temperature)
¾ Cup of Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice + Zest
10 Oz of Spinach ( Make sure to squeeze excess moisture, after it has been thawed of course)
13.5 Can of Artichoke Hearts rinsed and chopped
1 Cup of Mozzarella
½ Teaspoon of Salt
1 Teaspoon of Pepper
Instructions

Preheat Oven To 425
Cook pasta according to the box. Keep ¼ Cup of the Pasta Water before you drain the cooked pasta.
Heat oil in pan and cook onions for 8 – 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for one minute.
In a large bowl – Mix Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, Parmesan, Lemon (juice and zest), onions, and garlic. Add Pasta and mix.
Stir in spinach, artichokes, ¼ cup of cooking liquid from the pasta, salt, pepper, and ½ Cup of Mozzarella
Place mixture into greased 2.5 – 3 qt casserole dish and place the rest of mozzarella cheese on top
Place in the oven till golden brown on top – about 10 – 15 minutes.

Emily pinned this next one from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, and it looked right up my alley. Instead of using pickled jalapenos, I just put a little bit of cayenne pepper in. I mixed about a tablespoon of sour cream in (on my plate), and it was awesome. Plus, Camille ate about as much of this as she has eaten of dinners combined all week, so it was a winner.

Southwest Rice and Bean Salad with Sweet and Spicy Dressing
YIELD: SERVES 8-10

Note: this salad is so adaptable. I’ve added 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, subbed red onions for the green, doubled the dressing (just because!), and my favorite variation was made with a combination of wild and brown rice.

INGREDIENTS

Salad:
5 cups cooked rice, warm or at room temperature (white, brown, wild rice or a combination!)
2 teaspoons salt
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 (12-oz.) can corn, drained
4 green onions, chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
4 pickled jalepeno pepper rounds (found in the glass jars next to the olives, usually)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
DIRECTIONS

Combine all of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
Combine dressing ingredients in blender until peppers are finely minced. Toss with salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.


A few years ago I got a Bountiful Basket with Swiss chard in it. I had never cooked with chard before, so I looked for a recipe to use it, and I found this one. I stopped buying Bountiful Baskets, but this year we are growing chard in our garden. This is what I made with our first chard harvest. It is a terrific light meal that is healthy, quick, vegetarian, and inexpensive. I always use some diced onion in place of the shallot, and I use a whole cans of garbanzos.

Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans and Fresh Tomatoes

source

 4 servings
 2 tablespoons olive oil
 1 shallot, chopped
 2 green onions, chopped
 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained
 salt and pepper to taste
 1 bunch red Swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
 1 tomato, sliced
 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Stir in shallot and green onions; cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Stir in garbanzo beans, and season with salt and pepper; heat through. Place chard in pan, and cook until wilted. Add tomato slices, squeeze lemon juice over greens, and heat through. Plate, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

And last, I would be remiss if I didn't include some sort of bread recipe. These rolls have been great for when I've planned a meal that includes buns (tuna burgers, snobby joes), but then didn't get the buns started in time. They also make good, hearty rolls. Avert your eyes if you are a flour snob; they use white flour. I'm sure you could add some wheat flour if you wanted, but it might increase the rise time.

40-Minute Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

source

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets.
Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutritional Facts
1 serving (1 each) equals 195 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 18 mg cholesterol, 204 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 5 g protein.