Pics for memory sake

I want to just post pics of some food, for memory sake I guess, and not write a recipe down. Haha. Sorry for the teaser pics, but if you really want a recipe, I'm sure I can remember what I did if you comment or message me :)

Soup: Beef broth with kidney beans (not canned, but made by cooking with the beef broth) collard greens, carrots, onions, garlic, tomato paste, pasta and spices. 

Soup: Ham bone with pinto beans (not canned, but cooked with the ham bone and spices), carrots, onions, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. 

Soup: Currier Butternut Squash 

Cuban Style Black Beans with Veggie Tortillas

Mmmm, roasted garlic goodness. 

Sweet and Savory Pasta Salad with roasted garlic, dates, quince, olive oil, hemp seed and spinach. 

Grilled peanut butter, honey, and toasted coconut sandwich with a cup o' cold whole milk. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Beans, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, and Carrots

Servings: 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main dish served over rice or another whole grain. 

It was a super yummy dish that we had with tamales and Spanish rice. My seven year old nephew was over for dinner and kept going back for more helpings. 

Co-Op

1 can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can Garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 tbs Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

Farmers Market

3 small Carrots (about 1/2 cup), 1/4" dice

2 small Sweet Potatoes, 1/4" dice

1 small Onion, 1/4" dice

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs Orange Zest (zest of a medium orange)

Trader Joes

3/4 package cooked frozen Spinach

(I had this in the freezer for like 6 months. He. He. It wasn't frost bitten or anything. I had eaten the fresh spinach I bought last week already, but wanted some kind of green in the dish, so the frozen kind had to do)

Hatch, New Mexico 

2 tbs Green Chili Powder (optional)

Tucson

1/2 cup Water

Directions:

Place the oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat, add the onion, garlic, carrot, and sweet potatoes. Cook until the onions start to turn translucent then add the green chili powder (you can sub in another chilie or cumin if ya want or use roasted green chilies), salt and pepper. Once the spices are spread out on the veggies, put in the spinach, orange zest, and water and let simmer Covered, on medium heat for 8-10 minutes; then its done and ready to eat. 

Veggie Fried Rice

1-2 servings 

Co-Op-

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat (short grain, but any length will work;) Rice, cooked

1/3 large Carrot, 1/4" dice

1/4 medium Onion, 1/4" dice

1 medium Celery Stock, 1/4" dice

1tbs Olive Oil

1 Egg

Soy Sauce to taste (about 2 tsp)

Farmers Market-

1 Swiss Chard Leaf, 1/2" strips with stem removed 

1 Garlic clove, minced

Grocery store

1tbs Sesame Oil 

In a medium sauté pan, heat up (on medium high) both oils then put everything except the egg and chard in. Once the carrots start to brighten and soften, about 3 minutes, make an opening in the center of the pan and crack the egg into that spot. Add the chard and mix everything together until the chard starts to wilt; and egg cooks about 2 minutes. Now you're done, eat and enjoy :)

Organic Strawberry Shortbread Whole Grain Cookies

Super tastiness makes 30 quarter size individual whole grain shortbread cookies. You can put a dollup of any fruit on them or or eat 'em plain. 

Shortbread recipe adapted from Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour

Co-Op

1 1/4 cup Rolled Oats turned into flour (throw the oats in a blender or food processor for 30 seconds and viola you have oat flour) 

1/4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

4 tbs Salted Butter, almost at room temperature 

2 tbs Sour Cream (I highly recommend the "Nancy's" brand)

1/3 cup Unrefined Cane Sugar

2 tbs Strawberry Jam or preferred fruit jam (homemade would be preferred, but I'm not that cool, so I buy "Crofters" brand which I love.)

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350F. 

In a medium bowl cream together butter and sugar. I use an electric mixer on medium speed for a minute until the mixture starts to look a little fluffy then I mix in the sour cream until it's all incorporated. Add in the flours and hand mix everything together. 

The dough is a stiff dough and does better with a wooden spoon at first, since the dough is still sticky, until you can get your hand in there to mix. I use my right hand in the bowl to push the dough ball into the bowl and work it onto itself for a minute. When all the flour is absorbed the dough is ready to roll into large marble size balls. 

I get 26-30 cookies out of this dough, they're small little guys, but you can make them bigger if you want and get less cookies. 

Place the dough balls on a prepared cookie sheet (parchment, silpat, etc) leaving enough room for ya to smoosh them down and have them still not touch each other. I get six rows of five cookies each. Now smoosh down the ball, leaving a small indent from your finger to fill with jam (if not going to use jam, use a fork to flatten and mark like you would do for peanut butter cookies;). You really don't need more than 1/8tsp of jam per cookie, a tiny bit goes a long way. Once you've jammed them up put them in the oven for 10-12minutes. Softness to your preference. They're good soft (10min) or crunchy (12-15min). 

I was thinking this base recipe would be good for spiced cookies too. A little cinnamon and nutmeg. Mmmm. Maybe the next batch :)

*** alternate recipes with same base and directions***

PB&J Cookies 

Substitute half of the butter for peanut butter and add 2tbs milk to get the dough moist enough :) 

Roasted and Stuffed Sweet Peppers

I made these appetizers for a pre Thanksgiving party. I wanted a more traditional thanksgiving flavor so I went with thyme and sage as the herbs and oh man, they totally worked. These were super yummy! 

Co-Op

1/4 cup Rolled Oats

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 tsp Dried Sage

1 tbs Parmesan Cheese, shredded

1/2tsp Salt or to taste 

Pepper to taste

Farmers Market 

2 tiny Acorn Squash, or 1 small, cooked and skins removed (refer to my previous weeks produce pics to gauge my definition of tiny size ;)

1/3 Red Onion, 1/4" dice 

1 tsp Dried Thyme

Safeway (grocery store close by)

10 Sweet Peppers, cut lengthwise in half and de-veined and de-seeded. 

I mixed the cooked, kinda mashed and chopped up, acorn squash with everything then put about 1tsp worth of mixture into each pepper half. Put a pinch of Parmesan cheese on each one, cook at 350 for 15 minutes and you have stuffed peppers that taste amazing and are good for the soul ;)

Turkey (dark meat), Sweet Pepper, and Sweet Potato Tastiness

2 servings

Co-Op

1/3 box Whole Wheat Rotini, or pasta if choice, cooked. 

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Kosher Red Sea Salt 

2tbs Parmesan Cheese, shredded (optional)

Farmers Market

1 Sweet Potato, baked then 1/2" dice

2 medium Garlic cloves, thinly sliced 

1tsp dried Thyme

Local Grocery Store

6 Sweet Peppers, de seeded, cut in half then sliced

Thanksgiving leftovers from my sister

Dark Meat from 1-2 cooked Turkey Legs, 1/2" dice

Once the pasta and sweet potato are cooked, I put a sauté pan on medium high with the olive oil, garlic, peppers, salt, and turkey. Once the turkey warmed up, about 1minute, I put all the spices in and let the turkey crisp up in the olive oil, another minute or two. Then I combined everything in a bowl and let the flavors meld together for a little bit, then I ate. Mmmm. I wish I made more than two servings, that's for sure!