Ground Turkey Jambalaya

Somehow we always end up with either a surplus or deficit of ground meat in the freezer.  Right now, there's definitely a surplus.  Particularly of ground turkey, although there is also a bit of ground beef.  I was hunting for for recipes to use said ground turkey when I stumbled upon this one, yes, on Pinterest.  I was pretty excited about it because I also had some wonderful red bell peppers that needed to be put to use.  It turned out REALLY tasty.  It was also REALLY easy to make, which is a huge bonus.  Not as exciting in the picture, but the peppers were very pretty in real life.  Trust me!

Ground Turkey Jambalaya

(taken from Playing House)

Ingredients:

1  lb ground turkey breast

1  tbsp EVOO

1  large onion, diced

1  medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1  medium orange bell pepper, seeded and diced

2  cloves garlic, minced

1/2  tsp salt

1/4  tsp ground black pepper

1  tsp paprika

1/2  tsp dried oregano

1/2  tsp dried thyme 

1  bay leaf

1/4  tsp cayenne pepper

2 1/2  c low sodium chicken broth

1  14.5oz can diced tomatoes (no salt added)

1  c long-grain rice, uncooked (I used brown) 

Hot pepper sauce...if you fancy

Directions: 

Brown the turkey in a frying pan, set aside.  Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (or similar) over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.  Add in everything else (including turkey...but not the rice or hot pepper sauce) and bring to a boil.  Stir in the rice, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed.  Serve it up hot!

Fudgey Frosted Brookie Bars

Ever since my roommate made her own fudgey frosted brookies last spring, my brother has been begging me to make them again.  Not that I blame him!  These things are amazingly delicious.  However, I could not make them and have them sitting around in a pan for the three of us to eat.  Because, in all honesty, it would probably take less than 48 hours, maybe even 24, to devour these sweet treats.  To solve this problem, my brother invited like 6 of his friends over to the house one night.  This, I've decided is probably the only benefit of having a bunch of teenage boys over:  I get to bake and try a piece, and they eat the rest.  Brilliant.  Now, I don't have my roommates recipe for the things, so I had to do a little hunting on Pinterest to find one.  Not too difficult.  Except I found about a dozen more terribly unhealthy delicious sweets that I want to make.  I settled on a recipe from Leenee's Sweetest Delights.  Oh my.  Were these a hit!  

    

Strawberry Fields Salad

A while back, a friend let me try some of her Strawberry Fields Salad at TGI Friday's.  And, I knew immediately that I MUST have it again.  Strawberries.  Candied pecans.  Balsamic chicken.  GOAT CHEESE.  OH MY.  I had NO idea how AMAZING goat cheese is.  Wonderful.  Luckily, I was able to find strawberries, salad mixes, and goat cheese all on sale around the same time.  We already had chicken and pecans in the freezer.  The salad turned out fabulously delicious.  My brother even loved it, and he is usually opposed to salads as meals.  Also, he who says he doesn't like nuts, was caught snacking on the extra candied pecans.  But really, who wouldn't?  Here it is--

Strawberry Fields Salad

Ingredients:

50/50 field greens and baby spinach

Balsamic marinade and vinaigrette 

Chicken breasts

Strawberries, sliced 

Goat cheese 

Parmesan, freshly grated

Pecans, chopped

Brown sugar

Butter

Directions:

Marinate the chicken for at least 1 hr before grilling.  Grill until cooked thoroughly.  Slice to put on salad.  After slicing the strawberries, toss them with some balsamic vinaigrette and let them soak for a bit before placing on salad.  Crumble goat cheese and sprinkle on salad with parmesan.  Melt the butter in microwave-safe bowl.  Stir in brown sugar and pecans.  Bake at 400 until slightly golden.  Let cool and sprinkle on the salad.  Enjoy!   

Zucchini Carbonara

I made Zucchini Carbonara for dinner one night last week.  I had some zucchini and yellow squash that needed used up, so this seemed like the thing to make.  I lightened it up a bit, of course.  It was totally delicious!  My mother said that it would need to be made again because it was so good.  The brother liked it too, although he would prefer "real" bacon over turkey.  Go figure.  The only problem I had was, once I poured the mixture of eggs, half & half, and parmesan over the hot pasta and zucchini, the eggs boiled a little.  So, the texture of the sauce wasn't very smooth or very pretty...but it was far from inedible.  Maybe I'll get it figured out next time!  I also might toss in some sauteed mushrooms...yum!  

 

Zucchini Carbonara 

(adapted from Farm+House+Table)

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, cut on an angle at 1/2" thick

2 medium yellow squash, cut on an angle at 1/2" thick

1 lb whole grain penne pasta

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup fat-free half and half 

1/2 cup parmesan, freshly grated 

EVOO

6-8 slices of turkey bacon, cut in 1" pieces

1 small bunch of parsley or thyme

Directions:

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Whisk egg yolks, half & half, and parmesan together.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Heat a very large frying pan and fry bacon until crisp (or cook in microwave until crisp).  Remove bacon from pan.  Add the zucchini and yellow squash slices with a little EVOO to pan and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle in the parsley or thyme leaves.  Stir and fry until zucchini and squash are slightly golden and soft.  

When the pasta is cooked, drain it, reserving a little bit of the cooking water.  Immediately, toss the pasta and bacon in with the zucchini/squash.  Remove from heat and ladle in reserved cooking water and half-and-half mixture.  Stir together quickly and serve!

The Messiest French Chocolate Cake

We flew back from Seattle last Saturday, which happened to also be my brother's 17th birthday, and then that very Sunday was Father's Day.  Obviously a cake was necessary.  My first problem might have been that I was baking this cake around midnight to 1.  I mean, it turned out totally delicious, but I would hate to have to guess the number of toothpicks that held this thing together.  And, with regard to the Oklahoma heat, I probably should have waited until I was ready to serve the cake before I put the Cool Whip on.  So, this was by far the messiest chocolate cake I've ever made.  Not at all pretty, but SO good.  I found the recipe in a "Taste of Home" magazine from summer '07.  It looks much prettier in there too.  I picked this one out to try because it has buttermilk and coffee in the cake.  That fact automatically makes it good.  Then, when it comes out of the oven, you pour a rum glaze over the top.  Between the two layers of cake, is chocolate goodness.  Are you following me?  While you will probably laugh at my picture, just know that it tasted amazing.  

The Messiest French Chocolate Cake

(aka French Chocolate Cake on pg. 53 of June/July 2007 "Taste of Home" magazine)

For the cake:

1/2 c butter, softened

2    c packed brown sugar

2    egg yolks

2   tsp vanilla extract

6   squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, melted & cooled

1   c cold strong brewed coffee

3   c all-purpose flour

1 1/2  tsp salt

1 1/2  tsp baking soda

1  c buttermilk

For the glaze:

2/3  c sugar

1/2  c milk

1/4  c butter, cubed

1     tsp rum extract

For the filling:

1     c (6 oz) semisweet or dark chocolate chips (I like dark, personally)

1/4  c milk

For the topping:

1  carton frozen whipped topping (i.e. Cool Whip), thawed 

Throw on some chocolate curls, sliced strawberries, or rainbow sprinkles!

Directions:

Line 2 greased 9" round baking pans with waxed paper (also grease the paper); set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly.  Beat in egg yolks & vanilla.  Stir in chocolate and coffee (or else it goes EVERYWHERE).  Combine flour, salt & baking soda; add to chocolate mixture alternately with the buttermilk (batter should be thick).  Pour into prepared pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, milk and butter to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat & stir in rum extract.

Invert cakes onto wire racks; drizzle with glaze (or just dump it on!).  Cool completely.  In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth.  Let cool until the mixture is spreadable, stirring occasionally.  

Place one cake on a serving plate; spread with filling.  Top with remaining cake, using toothpicks to secure.  Spread whipped topping over the whole thing.  Store in the fridge & garnish with the topping of your choice.  Eat up!

Seattle Vacation

Last week, I was hiking around downtown Seattle.  It has been a dream of mine for several years to go see Seattle.  The pictures I'd seen where stunning.  So beautiful.  And, I can't deny, I'm an avid "Grey's Anatomy" fan.  We flew out last Tuesday and then just chilled that evening in the hotel and watched the Thunder game...which is kind of ironic.  

The view from Kerry Park

  Wednesday, we made our way to Mt. Rainier National Park.  It was kind of misty with light rain on the way there and at the base of the mountain.  Not to mention, it was pretty stinking chilly.  I had originally thought we mike do some hiking, but with the weather and lack of warm clothes, it was decided that we would just drive up.  It was a beautiful drive.  So many wonderfully created things to look at.  I braved the cold at the look-out points/points of interest (POI) to snap some pictures.  We made it to "Paradise", which was still covered in snow, and had lunch.  The road that continued up from there was still closed, so we headed back down.  It was quite a day.

It still looked like winter on Mt. Rainier!

 Thursday, we headed out early to drive around to Port Angeles and make the 1245 Coho Ferry to Victoria, BC.  We got in with a little time to spare, so we walked around town, and I snapped pictures of all the "Twilight" POIs.  I'm not a die-hard "Twilight" fan, but I figured I might as well get the pictures since I was already there.  We had lunch at a little place, the Oven Spoonful, which was tasty.  I had soup with a chai tea latte.  So good.  Then, it was time to board the ferry, and we were off to Canada.  The ride was 1.5 hours.  I would have like to stayed outside and enjoyed the scenery the whole time, but it was way to cold and windy for that business.  I opted to stay cozy in a window seat and read a "Harry Potter" book.  Fortunately, once we got to Victoria, it was a little warmer.  We walked around downtown for a few hours and ate dinner at a gourmet sandwich bistro of sorts.  A couple hours later, it was time to head back for Port Angeles.  We made it in around 2100, then had to drive back to our hotel in Tukwila...let's just say it was a really late night!

On the ferry to Victoria

Friday was set aside for downtown Seattle.  A better day couldn't have been picked!  It was sunny and warm with a nice gentle breeze.  We road the light rail from Tukwila into downtown, which was a great chance to see some pretty scenery.  After arriving downtown, we headed straight for the Space Needle and Fisher Plaza (they use the outside of this building for the hospital on Grey's).  I got pictures of the Space Needle, but did not make the ride up.  I was all for it, but after seeing the line, I decided there were more important things to do.  (Note: buy tickets in advance so you don't have to stand in line twice.)  Then, I made my family hike up Queen Anne Hill with me to see the house they use for Meredith Grey's house.  That was quite a hike.  Like major.  But totally worth it.  Not only did we see the great architecture of the historic houses, including the one on Grey's, but right down the street was Kerry Park.  I did not know about this park.  This park rocks.  I got a stunning view of the downtown skyline with Mt. Rainier in the background and Elliot bay and the ferry boats.  Fantastic.  Then, we made our way back down to the Olympic Sculpture Park and on to Pike Place Market.  The market is crazy.  There are SO many people.  And SO many things to see.  We grabbed lunch at Mee Sum Pastry, which I had seen on "Bizarre Foods" (get the BBQ hombow...it's like a Hawaiian sweet roll with pulled BBQ pork on the inside).  Best part, the hombows come to only $2.75/ea with tax.  I also had to visit the Gum Wall and the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market.  Good times.  We finally made our way back to the light rail station to go back to the hotel.  By the time all was done, we'd walked about 7 miles.  Craziness.  

Saturday, it was time to leave.  Very sad.  I already miss the weather there!  I'm definitely up for another trip up there in the future. 

Grilled Summer Vegetables

I love summer.  And I really love all the fresh fruits and vegetables that come with summer.  Oh, and I love the Sunflower Market, which has all these fresh summer fruits & veggies at great prices.  (For example, I got 3 gigantic red bell peppers for $1, 2 pounds of onions for $1, and so much more.  The trick is to stick with what's on sale that week...but if you go on Wednesday you can shop the sale for the previous & current week!  Also, bring your reusable bags and get $0.10 off/bag at checkout.)  So, with my new-found resource for fresh veggies, and summer air, I felt we needed some grilled veggies.  I went with mix of onion, red bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash, seasoned to taste.  The grill got fired up, and the veggies went into a grilling bowl.  The result was SO delicious.  Seriously.  It's so simple and healthy.  Throw some grilled chicken on the side, and you have yourself the perfect summer dinner!

{Book Review} The Hunger Games

On my trip to Honduras, I started (and finished) reading "The Hunger Games" (all three books).  Wow.  Everyone had told me how good, how addicting they were, but I really had no idea.  People would tell me the storyline, and I'd be like, "Why do I want to read about kids killing each other?"  I wasn't going to get in to it.  But I got talked into seeing the first movie back in March, so then I thought I might as well read the books too.  Great decision.  The first two books are pretty quick reads.  They totally capture your attention (especially the second, "Catching Fire"...that's my favorite).  I was in my own little world reading these books.  A few of my friends on Honduraserve laughed at me for always having my head in a book when there was down time.... Then, they started borrowing the books from me as I finished, and they were captured too.  It's kind of sad, really.  I found myself countless times relating everything to the books.  I started saying phrases from the book.  Everything became "The Hunger Games."  They were really fun to read.  Except the last book, "Mockingjay".  I guess, technically, there's closure at the end of this one.  However, I found it to be a lot more dark and depressing than the first two.  It wasn't quite as fun to read.  I almost wished I'd ended after the second book.  If you're on of the few who have been ignoring the series, like I was, I would recommend reading them.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this series.  

 

Honduraserve 2012

Well, I'm clearly still way behind on my blogging.  Really, I have many things I've been meaning to post.  There just seems to be a lack of time in my days.  I need that little deal in Harry Potter, like Hermione had so she could go to two classes at once.  So, here is my post on my trip to Honduras, which happened back in the beginning of May.  

The Oklahoma Christian University nursing students with Honduran nursing students at the San Fransisco Hospital.

This summer, I was blessed to have the opportunity to go on Oklahoma Christianʼs Honduraserve program with other students in my nursing class. While this trip was a part of my required clinical experience, it meant much more than just a grade. The first week of my trip was spent in the city of Catacamas, working in a hospital and a couple of different clinics. It was heartbreaking to see how crowded, hot, and dirty these places are. I couldn’t imagine having to be a patient in those conditions. The worst was knowing that the ailments these people had could be easily cured in the United States, but not in Honduras. You just have to do what you can with what you have, no matter how insignificant it seems.

In the NICU feeding an infant with a syringe.

The second week, I was in a remote mountain village, and I would go to a different school or clinic every day. At the schools, I did physical assessments on the kids. My heart ached for them because most of them had lice, rotting teeth, and parasites in their stomach, but those things usually didn’t bother them. They were just glad to see us.  I also taught the older students about fun things.  You know, like sex and STIs.  Good times. 

Teaching in a classroom. 

 Another significant aspect of the trip was health teaching. I saw that there is a huge need for health promotion in Honduras for everything—from how to burp a baby to disease control.  Seriously, the knowledge deficit, especially in health care, is huge.  They don't have all the resources that we do, and most of the health care professionals don't explain things.  I would really encourage the groups that go in future years to emphasize health teaching in the community. 

I taught the parents of this infant different techniques for burping him.

 My favorite part of the trip was the two afternoons I got to go play with the kids at an orphanage. They were so friendly and excited to have us there. Those kids stole my heart! Seriously, I wanted to bring them home. 

Especially this little girl!  For some reason, she reminds me of "Rue" from the "Hunger Games."

Aside from the "work" part of this trip, there was also "play" time.  I got to go through a zip line course, which is so much fun.  I got to wander around inside a cave, which is cool but I prefer not being inside of dark places with only one way out.  Went swimming.  I climbed behind a waterfall.  That was pretty crazy.  Note to anyone who might do this: wear goggles.  Hiked through a tropical forest and saw lots of big spiders (not cool) and a couple of monkeys (cool).  Spent a day on the beach.  Went on the wettest most exciting boat ride ever.  

The waterfall I went behind.  It looks so pretty, doesn't it?

Going to Honduras was truly an incredible experience, and I would encourage you to go if you ever have the chance!

Saying "Goodbye" to Jewell

I was in first grade.  I wanted a cat more than anything.  A grey cat.  On my birthday, my aunt showed up at ice-skating lessons and told me to look in her car.  There she was--my new grey cat.  Obviously, I was thrilled.  I had a grey cat with pretty blue eyes, and I named her Jewell.  With two L's.  She would let me hold her, she slept with me, she liked dogs (NOT other cats), she was a good cat.  I learned quickly that she liked to be scratched under her chin and at the base of her tail, but, after you pet her, she would give herself a bath.  Jewell found her "hiding" spots--under the rocking horse at the top of the stairs, on a chair in the dining room, and, at Christmas, under the tree.  I could always count on her being in one of those spots.  She was very reliable.  

February 1, 1998

Jewell became ill this past April.  She didn't want to eat or drink (even ice cream).  She started hiding in a new spot and didn't want to be bothered.  She stopped bathing after being pet.  There was nothing for the vet to treat.  Considering her age, I knew what this meant.  But we tried.  She got subQ fluids twice.  She kind of bounced back for a couple days after the 1st round, but there was no improvement after round 2.  A couple of times when I went to my father's house to check on her, she wasn't in her spot...and I realized that I could not handle finding a dead cat.  I knew things were getting worse, and I knew what needed to happen.  It's very logical.  An old pet is sick and dying, so you euthanize them and put them out of their misery.  Right?  Makes lots of sense.  Very humane.  

April 12, 2012

On April 14th, my father was out of town, and he told me to do whatever I thought needed to happen.  So, my mother came over to the house with me.  We found Jewell in her hiding spot.  We assessed her.  Her vitals weren't normal, she was having a obviously hard time breathing, her gums were ashen, and she was making a moaning sound of sorts.  It was clear she was in pain.  It was time.  We took her to be "put down."  It was absolutely, completely horrible.  I had no idea that it would be that hard.  It was probably the hardest thing I've done in my 21 years of life.  And I'm not a crier, but I cried a lot that day.  It was ugly.  And my mom says, "Did you notice the vet?  He was cute."

So she's gone.  Except her ashes are in a pretty box in the back of my closet, which is kind of weird.  Jewell was the perfect cat for me!

Crouton Crusted Chicken

This evening we enjoyed crouton crusted chicken with a nice salad on the side.  The brother said it was very "satisfying."  (That's very impressive coming from a teenage 6'4" boy.)  I found the chicken to be particularly tender and juicy.  This was a very simple and quick meal, although you do have to plan ahead! 

Crouton Crusted Chicken

Ingredients:

Buttermilk (low fat)

Chicken breasts or tenders

Fat-free seasoned croutons

Directions:

Take your thawed chicken breasts and flatten them out (to about 1/2" thick) with a meat tenderizer.    Then, put them in a zip-loc bag with buttermilk (enough to cover the chicken).  Let this sit in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.  When you're ready to cook dinner, set the oven to 450.  Get your baking sheet out and line it with foil (I sprayed too).  Grab your bag of croutons and smash them!  (Or use a good food processor.)  Place the crushed croutons in a pie plate or something similar.  Take your chicken out and thoroughly coat it with the crumbs; place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked thoroughly. Make sure to turn them about halfway through. 

The salad is simply a couple of Roma tomatoes and a cucumber cut up with feta cheese crumbs and Greek vinaigrette.  I would have liked some black olives too, but there were none to be found in the pantry. 

One Roast = Three Meals

Considering the craziness of my summer...or my life in general...I'm a fan of "cooking" once and having food to eat for a while.  It really makes things much easier, though not as exciting.  This past Sunday, we had roast that was cooked in the crock-pot with potatoes, celery, onion and seasoning (I usually put in carrots, but there was not room for them this time).  I really like this meal because it is super easy and there are always leftovers.  So on Monday, we had pot pie, and Wednesday there was soup.  Things were weird on Tuesday and Thursday night...I think it was "every man for himself" food night.  

Leftover Roast Pot Pie

~Shred the roast beef and cut up the potatoes (and possibly carrots) into smaller pieces.

~Add more veggies! (I used frozen green beans and corn.)

~I used a little V8 versus gravy as liquid.

~Top it off with pie crust and sprinkle on some celery seed.  (I used the Pioneer Woman's pie crust recipe because I already had some dough from that frozen in the freezer.  Another quick way to do it would be to use the pre-made pie crust by Pillsbury.)

~Pot pies should be baked at a fairly high temperature! I set my oven at 400, and it turned out perfectly.

Leftover Roast Soup

~After making the pot pie, I simply threw everything I had left (roast, potatoes, green beans, corn) into a bowl.  On Wednesday, I pulled it out, dumped it in a soup pot and heated it up!

~To make it more soupy, I added more V8 and low-sodium stock (any kind works).

~Season it to your taste!