No Pictures, Please

 Recipe: Whatever-You've-Got-Quesadillas

If for nothing else, this post is dedicated to the fact that I truly do take pictures of (almost) everything that comes out of our kitchen... and that I know it's annoying (sorry?). Though most meals (thrown together using whatever is in the fridge) are immediately deemed too insignificant for the blog, with our strictly formal atmosphere and all. Thus, the sometimes fluorescent-lit - tsk, tsk, I realize, but folks, we eat dinner at night and as such, when there is little to no daylight - photos become just more - and more - practice shots (which I suppose, I'm the better for, though my work might indicate otherwise).

It must be noted, while we're here, that spouses of those of us who do play paparazzi with their dinners should be awarded medals. What else can you say for someone who sits patiently as I photograph each (mundane) step of (any-ole) dinner and then snap even more pictures as the meal sits (getting cold), all the while, certainly anticipating that first bite.

As if that weren't yawn-inducing-enough, what I've got for you today is one of those previously mentioned, thrown-together, weeknight meals. Quesadillas are certainly not a Kara-original. But they are a delicious meal that might just be perfect for a multitude of reasons. None of the least of which because it's Mexican - and as long as I'm eating Mexican, the world is right. And it's ideal for weeknight meals to boot - just grab any protein, vegetables and cheese you've got, along with some tortillas and heat, and dinner's on the table (or at least ready to be photographed).

Whatever-You've-Got Quesadillas
serves 1-2 for dinner, 3-4 for snack/appetizer (can be scaled for your group)

1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c diced bell peppers
1/2 c frozen corn
1/2 c black beans (we cook dried black beans in large quantities using this method and then freeze them in small portions)
1 c chopped, grilled chicken (ours had previously been frozen)
2 TBSP cilantro, roughly torn
1 c shredded cheese of our choice (we used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
2 whole-wheat tortillas

Spray a 10-inch frying pan with cooking spray and cook onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add peppers, corn and beans (drained) and cook until heated throughout. Add in chopped chicken, just to warm. Remove all ingredients from pan, leaving the pan heated.

Place one tortilla in your re-sprayed pan and pile half of your chicken and bean ingredients on one side of the tortilla. Cover with 1/2 of your cheese and fold the tortilla in half. Heat the tortilla through, until the cheese has melted and then remove from heat and (take pictures and then) serve!

But if I've bored you... worry not, on the other side of this (i.e. as soon as I'm ready to write another recipe post) is some to-die-for (and absolutely worth every photograph) homemade Key Lime Pie Ice Cream, complete with pieces of homemade graham cracker crust throughout (and perhaps a teaser of some Key Lime Pie Sorbet).

Send Help

Recipe: Homemade Waffles

While I'm on a breakfast kick (or at least I was... until I met the Pioneer Woman and went into hiding for a week+), I figure that I might as well roll with it. Although I do fear that my guise under which I've been writing this ah-hem (food) blog is about to be blown wide open.

The facts of the case are this: the person who pens these riveting (sometimes) food-related posts feeds her "family" breakfast for dinner at least once a week. But, you can rest easy knowing that on the nights when we aren't eating some form of eggs, waffles or pancakes, I really crank it up and serve an extremely gourmet tuna salad sandwich... see, we're not all breakfast here.

I've actually just learned that the "breakfast for dinner" thing is a somewhat polarizing issue in the land of "what's for dinner." And honestly, I was shocked!

But I'm hoping that no matter which side of the aisle you find yourself on, you can at least agree with me that waffles, no matter what time of day you choose to consume them, are pretty tasty little things... especially if made well.

Here's where you come in... (do you like how I eased you in like that?) I need help. Bad. I made these here waffles a few weeks ago on a bright weekend morning and we enjoyed them immensely... so much so that I vowed to never stray from the recipe and make them again and again... and again.

The thing is, when I went to make them again (this time for dinner)... the recipe that I had once pledged my allegiance to was no where to be found. After spending far much time searching to no avail, my thoughts turned to you all! Might you lend me a hand?

This is what I remember about the can't-get-out-of-my-head waffle recipe we once relished:

• I could've sworn the original recipe came from Fine Cooking;
  
• I also thought that I ended up using a combination of two very similar recipes (from the same source) though I can't pinpoint exactly what the differences were (a bit more baking soda or powder??), and;
• I am almost certain that I didn't whip the egg whites apart from the rest of the batter (which seems to be included in all of the delicious-looking recipes I can find now - my only problem with that being the whole quick and easy weeknight meal, in my opinion, goes out the window when I have to either whip the egg whites by hand for 10 minutes or break out the mixer)
  

Does that ring a bell... at all? Does anyone even make homemade waffles anymore?

Please, oh please, share your favorite waffle recipe. Even if you tell me the only way to achieve the texture and balance that these waffles once (upon a time) provided is to separate and whip the egg whites... then by golly, I'll do it.

In the end, I realize that I may never uncover the exact recipe that produced these waffles, with their delicately crispy outside and light and fluffy interior. But it'd be a heck of a lot easier to venture back out into the world with your recommended recipe in hand.

A (Not-So) Chance Meeting

Recipe: Strawberry-Citrus Salad

Well, now, that wasn't half bad! *sure it took me almost a week to write about it but don't be fooled into thinking that it was a result of being scarred by the experience No wonder so many look to the internet to meet people these days!

We were so thrilled to host Abby and her husband, Brad, on the tail-end of their road-trip up here to our neck of the woods. I'll admit to being a bit nervous as the time of our meeting approached... though we thankfully avoided the awkward "I'll be the one wearing the red rose" by agreeing to brunch together at our house. A bit of a selfish move, of course... as I'm more uneasy picking a restaurant to dine at with a group than feeding people from our own kitchen (quality of food, notwithstanding).

I was so intrigued, and a little humbled - if I'm honest - to realize how much Abby and I actually didn't know about each other (or moreso, each other's spouses (after all, even here, Chris rarely gets a mention, let alone the spotlight)) after kinda, sorta, almost "knowing" each other for well over two years. But what better situation for great conversation; earlier in the week, in anticipation for the big meeting, Abby and I admitted to each other that we loved meeting new people and making new friends... even, in our case, friends who will likely never live within a few hundred miles of each other.

And friends we did make. (Abby, we hope you agree) With or without the delicious Moravian sugar cake and spice cookies that our gracious guests brought us, the afternoon went off without a hitch.

In large part, I believe I owe the event-less-ness of the morning to this beyond beautiful (I can say that - it's not my recipe) fruit salad that rounded out our meal (more on the rest of what we ate later). The fact that it has four ingredients, including brown sugar, had me sold from the start, but when I (effortlessly, I must add) tossed it together Sunday morning in about 3.5 seconds and looked at the brightly colored creation before me... it blew my mind (and even looked halfway decent in an iPhone picture!).

Suffice it to say, we thoroughly enjoyed the morning with our new friends. As someone once said (you might know her), " ... the internet is filled with great people… and you don’t have to look very far to find them". (you can read all my disclaimers to that statement here... or not, but you know... proceed at your own risk)

No Can of Beans

I really wrestled over this one. (and yes, this is a post about those good ole' beans you see there) But that's just the thing... this is anything but your traditional pot o' beans - even though all signs seem to point to a... uh... pot full of beans.

It was really my fault, though. I proudly announced to Chris that I was going to be testing out a new slow-cooker baked bean recipe. And as it happens, in this house, once you make such a pronouncement as "baked beans", you are expected to deliver.

So along I went gathering the incredibly inexpensive ingredients (including my continued obsession, dried beans, this time of the pinto variety) and suddenly I realized that what I had so confidently claimed were going to be baked beans... were surely going to be beans that were baked, but not of the type a certain person in our house was expecting.

Alas, I was convinced these beans were going to be good... different from that ubiquitous can of Bush's baked beans but possibly even more flavorful, just not in the same syrupy sweet way that our dear friend Bush's sometimes is. (and I mean absolutely no harm by that, I love a doctored up can of beans as much as the next)

And thus... after an overnight soak and a day's worth of slow cooking (all the while I barely lifted a finger)... the diced chilies adding their subtle heat, the gently sauteed onions and garlic imparting their savory flavors, and the beer adding just a bit of tang and earthiness... the verdict?

These were no can of sticky-sweet beans that you'd find on any grocery-store shelf. In fact, in both consistency and flavor, they most closely resemble the bean soup that many of our favorite Mexican restaurants serve. But as long as your expectation isn't the beans of "franks and beans", you'll be pleasantly surprised with these, the savory cousin to your favorite baked beans.

Drunken Beans (from The $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook)
serves 8

1 lb dried pinto beans
3 strips bacon
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. bottle of beer
6 c water
4 oz. can diced green chiles
2 c chunky salsa
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c chopped cilantro (optional)

Sort through beans and rinse thoroughly. Cover with water and let soak overnight.

When ready to cook, fry bacon in a skillet until crisp; drain on paper towel, crumble, and refrigerate. Cook onions and garlic in bacon drippings until crisp-tender. Drain beans and add to your slow cooker along with the onion mixture, beer, and water. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours until beans are tender.

Stir beans and add crumbled bacon, chiles, salsa, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 1-2 hours longer until beans are very tender.

What? You haven't tried cooking dried beans in your slow cooker? What are you waiting for? Just don't add any ingredients high in salt or acid until your beans have softened.

Cliff-hanger

You just can't take it, can you? Admit it - ever since I said I was taking up some not-so-regimented healthy-eating habits, you've been dumbstruck (no, I'm not calling you dumb) sitting there waiting, wondering... would she make it, or would those goals be a distant memory mere minutes from setting them?

And then you see this... an innocent-looking piece of cake and the answer becomes quite clear. Or so you think (it's all mysteries around here, people).

And lest I interrupt you as you furiously scroll down in a panic (my writing is just that riveting, I know... and since there's nothing better going on in the world these days) - let me say this: oh ye of little faith! C'mon now people - give me a chance.

There, that's better.

Now, since you've so generously given me the benefit of the doubt, I will indulge your curiosity without taking up much more of your time (or rather, just a few quick seconds to say that I really like living in this fantasy world where folks actually care about and/or follow along with my ramblings).

About the cake, though... it's Cooking Light's Cranberry Upside Down Cake and never has healthy baking and eating been so good (heck, if I hadn't baked it myself, I never would have believed it was a light recipe!).

So there you have it... how to eat well while eating... well. If I'd known healthy eating tasted this good - my goodness, I'd have started long ago. And just for you, a few fewer of my very own words (win-win for you guys, right?)! *momentary pause so I can get this repeating words thing out of my system Let's be honest, though, the lack of words here is really because today is a designated dessert day so the longer I sit here, the less time I have to stuff my face with sweets! (this healthy eating thing is really working!)

On the Right Foot

As scary and inconceivable what I'm about to proclaim is, you must believe it because the fact of the matter is that it is indeed possible to be more of a 'black-and-white' person than I am today (which is a feat in and of itself)... just ask the Kara of years-past.

And well... with that proclamation under my belt, and here we are in the midst of the season of resolutions, you'd naturally think I was either going full-steam ahead with a very solid and thought-out itemized and bulletized list or heading in the direction of what seems to be a bit of a trend these days and blowing off the idea of resolutions altogether.

If you're even remotely still with me (yawn - hey, at least scroll to the bottom of my rambling for the recipe so you don't miss the good stuff), I'm about to blow your mind (this is big stuff, folks, really... important, mind-boggling stuff) because I'm here for one purpose today and that's to tell you about my Anti-all-or-nothing, just-the-basics plan, for 2010 for this here, Kara.

It goes something like this... one of my fun blog friends came up with the wonderful idea to gather interested people in her online community and rally together to just get healthy in 2010. There were no prescriptive instructions (which of course freaked this by the rules... there are rules, right? girl out!) except that we'd all commit to trying it for the first 10 weeks (and I suspect a lot of it will be habit by the end of that time period) - so off we went about setting our own goals and figuring out how to hold ourselves and each other accountable.

And wouldn't you know? I think I kinda like this. I started with an initial (albeit draft) list of goals and tweaked them even in these first two weeks already - and it didn't bother me one bit! But in the name of being held accountable (or at least being shamed into trying really hard) - I wanted to let you in on what I'm attempting to follow and changes I'm trying to make, both little and big (okay, mostly little). Your job here is to let me know other ways you go about your daily life making healthy decisions and share them here with the rest of us!

• get to sleep at 10pm (or earlier) one night a week (status: ah-hem, as they say... first is the worst)
• cut out alcohol consumption completely Sunday through Thursday evenings (status: so far so good!)
• only conscious eating, i.e. no snacking while reading the mail, etc. (status: pretty good)
• drink more water (status: this isn't really that fair because I already drink a fair amount but I'd like to drink more)
• go dessert-less 1-2 nights a week (status: good, but I need to be careful not to eat the dessert I know I won't have that night during the middle of the day)
• expand my repertoire of healthy recipes by cooking at least 3 new healthful recipes a month (status: great, thanks to Cooking Light!)
  

And less specifically food-related but still healthy (in my mind at least):

• write two cards to friends and family a month, for any (or no!) reason at all (status: Christmas cards and subsequent thank you notes have consumed my life for the past month but I'm ready to get started!)
  
• stress myself out (especially over little things) less (status: as you might think, if you know me at all, figuring out how to stress myself out less is kind of stressing me out more... so still much work on this to be done)
  

A week and a half in and this challenge has proved to be just that, a challenge. Some of my goals, as miniscule as they seem, are quite lofty for me - but I've decided that they are all worth pursuing, even if I fall short in the end.

One of the easiest and most fun parts of this has been finding new healthy recipes for us to try out. This Turkish Carrots and Lentils caught my eye since I am full on obsessed with cooking with dried beans these days. Between this and the Black Bean Salsa Chili (that we made with slow-cooked dried black beans), we've been happy eating healthy and hearty meals (with left-overs to boot... the best of both worlds - good-for-you and easy on the wallet!).

A Little Premature (and a Giveaway!)

I have few excuses (and even fewer good ones) for why I do many things... but the facts of the matter are undeniable, and as such, I've come to accept them... and well, you might as well too. How this little quirk of mine came to be is unknown, but it is without a doubt the reason for which I just now finished reading (every single page of) my October Cooking Light magazine. That it might also contribute to why I have only posted one single, solitary Christmas cookie recipe on this the 21st day of December is another matter all together... and sadly, this below is not number two.

But before you shed a tear (assuming you kept reading after hearing this post isn't about a delicious sweet treat), know that my quirk of obsessively reading each and every single page of every magazine I subscribe to finally worked to our advantage. Lurking on one of the very last pages of my Cooking Light was this unobtrusive little warm-your-tummy but won't add-to-your-waistline Black Bean and Salsa Chili.

And while at first I was in disbelief with the realization that it wasn't delicious, buttery cookies (or even chocolate!) on the brain, rather this pot of hearty turkey and black bean chili, after simmering the blend of fragrant herbed and spiced ground turkey and mixing it with black bean puree (studded some more of its own kind), all of my cares (and along with those, my sweet tooth) were long forgotten.

With the amount of crud that I continue to give myself for only just a few days ago posting my very first Christmas cookie recipe, you'd think I wouldn't be turning to the healthy stuff so irrationally... but with two (out of three) cookie exchanges under my belt, let's just say that my belt is no longer fitting quite the way it used to.

But wait... don't go! I want to know how you're planning on detoxing from the Season. And I'm willing to give one of you a free subscription to one of my favorite magazines, Cooking Light, in exchange for your healthy ideas and recipes suggestions. Here's how:

• Enter once by leaving a comment on this post telling me what your favorite way go go healthy after the holidays (or anytime) and a way that I can contact you if you don't have a blog.
• Enter a second time by Tweeting (hate that word) about this giveaway using @karaskitchen & leaving another comment on this post letting me know that you did so.
• Enter another time by posting about this giveaway on your blog & leaving (yet) another comment on this post with those details.
  

Contest ends 10 pm EST on Sunday, December 27. Using random.org, I’ll select one winner on Monday morning.

Update!! Abby from Confabulation in the Kitchen (who tweeted about the giveaway) is the big winner! Thanks to all who participated!

And On the Weeknights...

Recently our nights have felt packed... with nothing extra special - just a few unexpectedly long days at work, a couple of evening meetings and the usual running around trying to accomplish a thing (or 47, if you know me). And I know I'm not the only one... no complaining here - these types of weeks somehow push me to be more productive - seems that the fuller the days (and nights) are, the more I try (being the operative word) and pack in.

On those harried nights, it's become much my norm to walk straight through the front door into the kitchen. More than once I've even found my work bag still attached while I'm already rummaging through the fridge to uncover the ingredients to my (hopefully) previously thought-out quick, easy, delicious and healthy meal (don't give me too much credit, though - my attempts at menu-planning often leave much to be desired).

Assuming that I've remembered to defrost two fillets ahead of time or that we actually have fresh salmon on hand (the former is the more likely scenario), this seasoning has played an key role on more than one of the aforementioned evenings. It simply doesn't get much easier than applying a liberal dose of this mixture of paprika, crushed red pepper, and a blend of herbs, to your fish. And best of all, in the amount of time it takes for the fillets to grill (or sear) to perfection, you can throw together a green salad or veggie to complete the meal.

I generally can't be trusted anywhere near the temptation of a Williams-Sonoma store but their Potlatch Seasoning is one of the only things that I will break policy for. And at just $9 a pop, even without a gift card, I will confidently march myself right into the store when we are in need of our next tin of "key-to-our-weeknight-meal-happiness".

*while I won't reveal exactly how long (ah-hem), I feel compelled to mention that our current stock has lasted us quite a while so I sadly haven't 'needed' to go to Williams-Sonoma recently

How Far We've Come

It's been been very interesting watching my food tastes change, maybe even mature, as I've done some growing-up, myself. I wasn't necessarily a picky-eater as a child - not that I had much of a choice in the matter... if I didn't eat my dinner, it showed up as my breakfast - and just in case you were wondering, food you didn't like once isn't much better 8 hours later), but I certainly had a whole food group that I called "gross".

What's most intriguing to me is that save for one specialty, I now love all of the things that I once loathed. Orange roughy (think tilapia in the 90s), egg salad, spinach, and the infamous squash casserole. I'll spare you the details on the squash casserole - it'd take quite a bit of coaxing to get me to consume another bite of that stuff - but as for the rest of the group formerly known as "gross", I'd happily make, serve or eat some any day.

I suppose since I missed it during my formative years, spinach has made its way back with a vengeance... and with dishes like this Spinach and Orzo Salad around, I couldn't be happier.

This side dish was a huge hit... I fear, now, that it risks being made so many times it's liable to send spinach right back to the "gross" food group. But I'll take my chances...

A few notes:

• This recipe makes a LOT; halve it and you'll still have plenty for hearty helpings for at least 4 plus some left-overs
• I used white balsamic which as it turns out is a bit lighter (in our opinion) in flavor and worked perfectly - plus, our salad didn't have the slight tinge that regular balsamic would leave
• Do NOT leave out the pine nuts or the feta

It's recipes like this that make me oh-so-thrilled that I've learned the error of my ways in my early food likes and dislikes... and even happier that our crop of fall lettuces (spinach included) has pushed her way through and promises (knock on wood) an abundant harvest!

Home-Grown

We're swimming in a sea of red (tomatoes) these days... and honestly, I can't think of a more welcome sight.

Last year was our first attempt at our vegetable garden and while it was successful and we immensely enjoyed the fruits of our labor, we also realized how much we had to learn. Who knew that tomato plants generally grew so massive that they would topple over in even the slightest breeze? Thankfully tomatoes are just as easy to clean (and eat!) after being picked up off the compost-fed ground as they are picking from the tree.

This year with sturdier cages and some home-'grown' contraptions to ensure our plants remained upright and healthy, our crop has been even more plentiful. And thus, almost daily I am searching for another use for our beautiful, vine-ripened fruit.

Pasta dishes are few and far between in my repertoire so this tangy pasta salad was a welcome change of pace. It seemed endlessly adaptable - so I did just that.

What's been your favorite way to use up your garden-fresh harvest this (ever-fading) summer?

(Kinda) Greek Pasta Salad
adapted from AllRecipes

1/2 c olive oil
just shy of 1/2 c red wine vinegar
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp basil, torn or chopped into small pieces
2 tsp oregano, chopped into small pieces
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp sugar
1 1/3 c rotini pasta (uncooked)
15-20 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c diced red bell peppers
3/4 c crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c chopped green onions
1/2 c turkey pepperoni, cut into thin strips

In a saucepan, cook pasta according to directions, leaving out oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegars, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. Add cooked pasta, tomatoes, red peppers, feta cheese, green onions, and pepperoni. Toss until evenly coated. Cover, and chill 2 hours or overnight.

On Second Thought

I've already done the unthinkable and mentioned the impending season (f...a...l...l) and even the other f-word (no, not that one!!!)... football, so you might be expecting some great crockpot recipes coming from our kitchen but alas, as quickly as I mentioned fall, DC has turned the tide on our weather and make no mistake, it is absolutely still summer here. I, for one, am heartily embracing the 100+ degree weather and heat advisories - not that I've had much of a choice.

Thus when the mercury levels started their ascent and suddenly all the comments of "is this really a DC-August" went the way of "oh my gosh, it's hot here... and the humidity!!!" - I knew it was time for this recipe's appearance. Gazpacho and summer are synonymous, after all, right... but, almost too predictable - what with three over-grown tomato plants begging each and every morning to be relieved of some more of their weight, tomatoes have actually become my afternoon "fruit" snack at work (no complaining here - doesn't get much better than some chunks of deep red tomato scooped up with a few tears of garden-fresh basil).

Luckily (except for those of you here for a way to use up your own tomatoes - sorry!), this is anything but another predictable gazpacho recipe. Make this simple perfect-for-summer (and perfectly customizable) soup - I promise you won't miss the tomatoes; but don't say I didn't warn you when you can never look at a tomato-filled gazpacho recipe the same way again.

White Gazpacho Soup

3 medium cucumbers, peeled
1 clove garlic
3 c chicken broth
3 c sour cream
3 TBSP white wine vinegar
2 tsp salt

Toppings:
green onions, sliced on the bias
toasted almonds
tomatoes, small diced
fresh shrimp, finely chopped
crumbled bacon pieces

Cut cucumbers into chunks and blend a short while in your blender with a small amount of the chicken broth. Combine remaining ingredients in the blender and blend just enough to mix. Chill until ready to serve.

*blending in batches is recommended as the mixture will easily overflow

Better Late Than Never

I dare to even whisper this for fear it's true... but summer is on it's final legs (and there's not a darn thing I can do about it - I've tried, trust me).

With that in mind, and even though every ounce of me is screaming (and subsequently fighting off, at the same time) "football season" and thinking of game-watching foods such as dips or anything out of a crockpot, I'm resolutely staying on the path to delightfully bright-colored salads. Somehow I didn't get around to some of these earlier this summer so I'm doing my very best to make up for lost time.

For that procrastination, this Mediterranean Pepper Salad literally smacked me when I finally made it and said "as punishment, you will make me every week for the rest of your life" (and call me a rule-follower... I just had to oblige!). The only issue being the other 47+ summer salads I recently bookmarked; a challenge I'm happy to tackle - and the solution absolutely not including making this salad any less often.

*By the way, fear not ye who dislike anything olive - you must still make this and make it with olives. Now is not the time to turn a deaf ear - pick out the olives if you must after the salad has been mixed together but put those olives in, darn it!