need more girls around

boys just don't understand the need for pink heart shaped cookies.

Confetti Corn recipe

This isn't my recipe.  It is the Barefoot Contessa's.  It is super easy and delicious.

Confetti Corn recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 small orange bell pepper, 1/2-inch diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Kernels cut from 5 ears yellow or white corn (4 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil, minced fresh chives, and/or minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the bell pepper and saute for 2 more minutes.

Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt. Over medium heat, add the corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn just loses its starchiness. Season to taste, gently stir in the basil or other green herbs, and serve hot.

Jeff in the kitchen

I get really excited when Jeff wants to make anything in the kitchen.  Mostly my reasons are selfish (I want him to make me yummy things.  So far he mostly is just the king of breakfast.  Pancakes, crepes, eggs...)
Anyway, Jeff totally loves cheese and experiments, so when he got a cheese making kit for Christmas I was intrigued.  Last night he decided to make cheddar.  Now, I have no idea how it's going to turn out because it takes a day to make, and then at least a week or so to sit around and do its thing.  Also, I think he added a wrong ingredient, and he cut the recipe in half (I don't know if that will make a difference), but it smells like cheese, or at least some sort of dairy in the kitchen, so maybe he just made a different kind of cheese.  One thing I have learned so far about cheese making kits is that they don't quite come with everything you will need.  For instance, you are supposed to put weight on the cheese ball when it's in solid form, but you have to get your own weight.  Jeff used my bright orange 7 pound dumbbells, which are awkwardly shaped to use in the kitchen.  This has resulted in the breakage of 4 plates (so far), including one of our good plates.  This also means that I have found several puddles of whey on the floor from where everything fell.  Awesome...
So basically I'm happy that Jeff is doing stuff in the kitchen, but now our kitchen is a mess and this cheese had better taste amazing.  Yes, I know, I won't be eating it.  But everyone who does had better say it's amazing.  I just realized that being lactose intolerant is awesome, because if the cheese is nasty I have a great excuse not to est it.  Yay!

afraid of the stove

I'm getting to be afraid of the stove, kind of.  Never before this week have I worried (or had to worry) about setting my stomach on fire, but lately my stomach has grown immensely and the bottom of it sits perfectly on the stove level.  I was using one of the front burners today and wondering why my stomach felt so warm.  Yeah, that's because my stomach was like a half inch away from the burner.  Yikes!  But seriously, how ridiculous is my situation?

lesson of the day

When making taffy, never let your scatterbrained pregnant wife pour the hot liquid taffy into a pan that she quickly lined with wax paper instead of parchment paper.  Yeah, not thinking on that one.  I just grabbed the first thing I saw (unfortunately wax paper) because my first thought was "Oh no, this is going to harden very quickly and I have to scrape it all into the lined pan as soon as possible!"  Oops.  Guess we have to try that one again.  hehe... At least it smelled good.  And Jeff said it tasted good when he licked the hardened candy (not the wax paper side).

yum

So tonight Jeff got bored and we ended up making carmels (awesome!) and indoor smores.  We are now both on sugar overload, and I'm totally going to end up giving birth to a sugar happy baby, but my mom did the same thing with me and I turned out ok, I think.

so nervous

So I'm almost done canning blackberry jam for the first time ever.  I really hope it turns out okay.  I've never canned anything, and if this fails I don't think I want to try it again any time soon.  We shall soon see how it turns out...

breakfast of champions

All hail Jeff!  King of the (cinnamon) waffles!  But seriously, yum!

only me...

So I found out firsthand that if you accidentally spill some soup that is currently cooking on the stove onto your wrist, you can get second degree burns.  Yeah, I'm just that awesome.  Who knew?  But it's ok, because my soup rocked.  Eh, might as well share...

Corn Chowder:
chicken broth
lots of corn kernals (I scraped mine from the cob)
yukon gold potato chunks
pepper
red pepper
salt
thyme
diced onion (or powder, which I used, cause I ran out of onions)
milk

Add whatever amounts you want of each ingredient (except leave the milk), stir on medium for 45 minutes or so.  I like my soup smoother, so I used an immersion blender on it near the end.  Take it off the heat and pour in a cup or so of milk and stir it in.  Enjoy!

pasta salad

This is the best pasta salad ever!  Basically just add whatever ingredients you want, add some Italian dressing, and you're set!  I add:

whole wheat pasta shells
red bell pepper
broccoli
black olives
edamame
shredded carrot
corn
peas
tomatos

plus whatever I happen to have around the house.
I swear, this pasta salad makes my mouth water!

for the lazy, impatient, or those in need of groceries

One serving microwave chocolate cake

Ok, I know what you're thinking, "Ew, it can't be good if its made in the microwave."  But really, if you want chocolate cake NOW or don't have the ingredients for a whole cake, this isn't so bad.  It is chocolate, after all.  Plus, less dishes to clean.  You literally dump all the ingredients into you mug (I use a big one because I'm always afraid it will overflow a small mug, and then I'll have to clean out the microwave, which I hate doing), mix well, and microwave for 3 minutes.  Eat it warm straight out of the mug.  Awesome, right?

All you need is:
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp oil

That's it.  If you want to make it awesom-er, you can also add chocolate chips, vanilla, cinnamon, etc.

parsnip muffins

Ingredients:
1-ounce sliced almonds
Nonstick spray
8 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 whole eggs
3/4 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces sugar
10 ounces grated parsnips


Directions:
Place the almonds in a single layer in a pie pan and place in oven. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the nuts until lightly toasted, approximately 20 minutes while the oven heats. Meanwhile, spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with the nonstick spray and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, and process for 5 seconds.
Whisk the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, and sugar in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add the flour mixture and parsnips, and fold with a spatula until all of the flour is moistened, there will be some lumps. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups using a level 2 1/2-ounce disher or 1/3 cup measure. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with the toasted almonds. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins reach an internal temperature of 210 degrees F and are golden brown, rotating halfway through baking. If needed, use a small knife or offset spatula to loosen the muffins and immediately remove them from the tin to a cooling rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Note: I make these without the nuts, and they are just as good.  They might not make it until tomorrow...

Also, much as I would like to take credit for making this recipe up, I pasted it from food network, off the Good Eats page.  I totally heart Alton Brown (only regarding cooking though.  Come on people!)

Stolen Recipe (mhah ha ha -evil laugh)

So I went to Cheesecake Factory awhile ago, and I think I have basically figured out the recipe for my favorite pasta dish there.  so good!!!  It's super easy.  Take penne pasta and toss with olive oil and a little pesto.  Then top with sauteed yumminess including: kalamata olives, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli, artichoke hearts, and red bell pepper.  I kid you not, I am drooling as I write this.  Um yeah, gotta go so I can go make some more of this and eat it right now.   :)

Yay soup!

Ok, so I totally am in love with soup. I know it's the wrong season for it and everything, but I want this particular soup, like right now. So much so that I climbed a ladder into the attic to get the recipe that had been accidentally placed up there. That's saying something...

Harvest Pumpkin Soup (serves 6-8)

15 oz. pumpkin
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chicken stock
1 sprig thyme
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 yukon gold potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 turnip, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 small shallots, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk, whatever)
1 teaspoon packed light-brown sugar

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the stock and thyme; bring to a gentle simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the reamining 5 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the pumpkin, parsnip, potato, and turnip; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add shallots, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add wine, and cook until liquid has reduced by half. Add broth to the mix and simmer for about 20 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in cream, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste just before serving. Yum!