I haven’t posted a major disaster in a long time, so I was definitely due. I found this recipe for Iowa Brownies in the Penzey’s spice catalog. They sounded good – made with sour cream — something really different. Teen Martha (who is interning part-time at a lab at the med school this summer but has whole days with nothing to do other than download music for me and watch My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding) decided to give it a whirl since I am in the middle of madness trying to write a book in a month (details to come).  Total disaster. The recipe says to bake in a 9×13 jellyroll pan. It just barely fit and then it overflowed all over the oven. In mid-bake we (and by we I mean Mr. MarthaAndMe who gets called in for the really big disasters) transferred to a 9 inch square baking pan. Huge mess. It’s all over my oven which smells like burning cake whenever I turn it on now.

The frosting didn’t work either. It was dry and clumpy and she had to add more liquid. The end result was a brownie that tasted like cake (did not have brownie texture at all) and frosting no one liked. Total fail. I don’t think this recipe was tested by Penzey’s.

I haven’t posted a major disaster in a long time, so I was definitely due. I found this recipe for Iowa Brownies in the Penzey’s spice catalog. They sounded good – made with sour cream — something really different. Teen Martha (who is interning part-time at a lab at the med school this summer but … Read more →

My family loves Greek food so I came up with this to whet their appetites! It’s creamy and packed with veggies. A terrific change from traditional lasagna.

9 lasagna noodles, cooked until very al dente

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped

1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped

1/2zucchini sliced then quartered

1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, roughly chopped and mostly defrosted

6 baby bella  mushrooms, sliced

1  four oz package feta cheese

2 cups spaghetti sauce

For the white sauce:

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1/2 package light cream cheese

1 tbsp parmesan cheese

1 tsp Greek seasoning

salt and pepper

Cook the garlic in the oil about 30 seconds, then whisk in the flour, cook another 30 seconds, then whisk in the milk. Add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir until all the cheese melts and sauce is thick. Add the seasoning and the salt and pepper.

Cover the bottom of a 6 by 12 pan with a few tablespoons of red sauce. Lay 3 noodles down. Top the noodles with 1/3 of the white sauce. Top with 1/2 chicken, and half the veggies and 1/3 of the feta and 1/3 red sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining 3 noodles. On the top place the remaining red sauce, white sauce and feta. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Take the foil off and let it cook another 5-10 minutes until slightly browned on top.

My family loves Greek food so I came up with this to whet their appetites! It’s creamy and packed with veggies. A terrific change from traditional lasagna. 9 lasagna noodles, cooked until very al dente 1 cooked chicken breast, chopped 1 cup broccoli, roughly chopped 1/2zucchini sliced then quartered 1 cup frozen artichoke hearts, roughly … Read more →

Tiny Skillet has chosen granitas. She will be making ginger plum, but feel free to choose your own here.  I’ve never made a granita so this should be fun.

Tiny Skillet has chosen granitas. She will be making ginger plum, but feel free to choose your own here.  I’ve never made a granita so this should be fun.

Perfecting Pru chose this. Loved this! I halved the recipe and mine baked in far less the time indicated, but it was very good. And that’s saying a lot because I like my mom’s shortcake, which is more like a shortbread. I served this with some whipped cream. Very yummy! The shortcake was crunchy on top and soft in the middle. Delicious! Local strawberries are coming this week. I may have to make this again!

Perfecting Pru chose this. Loved this! I halved the recipe and mine baked in far less the time indicated, but it was very good. And that’s saying a lot because I like my mom’s shortcake, which is more like a shortbread. I served this with some whipped cream. Very yummy! The shortcake was crunchy on … Read more →

I recently found a source for pea shoots and now I’m finding lots of ways to use them. They are fantastic just on sandwiches. I wanted to find a way to have them for dinner though, so I can up with this fantastic (and easy!) chicken salad

1 poached chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced thin

1 small shallot, chopped

1 tbsp chopped parsley

10 thin slices of zucchini, chopped

1 tsp stone ground mustard

3 tbsp light mayo

salt and pepper

2 tsp good olive oil

1/2 tsp white vinegar

2 cups pea shoots

Mix the chicken and vegetables in a bowl. Add everything else except pea shoots and stir. Refrigerate. Cut the pea shoots into quarters, and toss. Place pea shoots on plate and top with 1/3 of the salad. (Serves 3)

I recently found a source for pea shoots and now I’m finding lots of ways to use them. They are fantastic just on sandwiches. I wanted to find a way to have them for dinner though, so I can up with this fantastic (and easy!) chicken salad 1 poached chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch … Read more →

Perfecting Pru has chosen Strawberry Shortcake for next week’s Martha Mondays. I can’t wait to try it!

Perfecting Pru has chosen Strawberry Shortcake for next week’s Martha Mondays. I can’t wait to try it!

Sassy Suppers chose this week’s project, which was timely due to the heat wave we’ve had! The project was Honeydew Cream Pistachio Popsicles.  I had popsicle forms years ago when my kiddos were little, but no longer have one, so I just made these in little bowls – kind of a popsicle without the stick. They were easy to make. I just dumped everything in the food processor (except the pistachios). I made the mistake of using salted pistachios which was not good in this! I thought they were interesting, but I didn’t care for them much. Somehow the melon and cream tasted weird to me. Mr. MarthaAndMe liked this, which is weird since he has recently declared he does not like any melon other than watermelon. The kids would not taste it!

Sassy Suppers chose this week’s project, which was timely due to the heat wave we’ve had! The project was Honeydew Cream Pistachio Popsicles.  I had popsicle forms years ago when my kiddos were little, but no longer have one, so I just made these in little bowls – kind of a popsicle without the stick. … Read more →

Megan’s Cookin’ chose this week’s project and after several of you suggested having a general category where you pick your own, we went with the ability to choose your own project from the list of quick breads. I made Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Very simple to put together. I enjoyed this, but I think I expected it to be a bit more carrot-y and moist like carrot cake. It was good for a tea cake, but honestly the frosting was what made it so good. Without it, it would be sort of blah. What did everyone else make?

Megan’s Cookin’ chose this week’s project and after several of you suggested having a general category where you pick your own, we went with the ability to choose your own project from the list of quick breads. I made Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Very simple to put together. I enjoyed this, but … Read more →

In my continuing quest to make dinner without a pot, I’ve been turning to the grill. Last night we enjoyed pork chops, asparagus and a baguette, all on the grill.

Place 4 pork chops in a ziploc bag (double bagged) and add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, salt and pepper, 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp sage. Mix it up and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours (up to one day). Remove the chops and drain off the buttermilk and grill over medium high heat until just slightly pink inside. Marinating the chops in buttermilk makes them super moist and adds flavor. This is my favorite way to make pork chops.

For the asparagus, spray it with cooking spray or rub with a little olive oil and grill on a grill tray over medium heat until slightly charred. Then sprinkle with sea salt. Grilling the asparagus gives it a slightly smoky flavor and the ends get nice and crunchy!

I placed the baguette on the top rack of the grill until it was warm. You can do this with any kind of bread – it’s especially good with cheese bread, which I slice and brush with olive oil and then grill.

We also had a bowl of fresh cherries. Dinner with no clean up!

In my continuing quest to make dinner without a pot, I’ve been turning to the grill. Last night we enjoyed pork chops, asparagus and a baguette, all on the grill. Place 4 pork chops in a ziploc bag (double bagged) and add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, salt and pepper, 1 tsp thyme and 1 tsp … Read more →

Since this week’s Martha Mondays was a corn recipe, I bought enough to also make this recipe from June Living. You grill 4 ears of corn for 15 minutes. Cut the corn off the cobs and toss with 1 sliced avocado, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp lime juice, and 1/2 tsp coarse salt. This was really fantastic. I love grilled corn and the other flavors in this dish are among my favorites too. I grilled some meat along with this and put the corn on as soon as I turned the grill on, so it was done first and I had time to assemble the salad. I’ll be making this one again.

Since this week’s Martha Mondays was a corn recipe, I bought enough to also make this recipe from June Living. You grill 4 ears of corn for 15 minutes. Cut the corn off the cobs and toss with 1 sliced avocado, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp lime juice, and 1/2 tsp coarse salt. This … Read more →