Baked Polenta and Parmesan Zucchini

Polenta is an Italian food made from corn meal which serves as a good alternative to meat because it has ZERO FAT and is a serving of grains!  It is very bland alone but is a versatile base to a meal.  I had not cooked with polenta before trying this recipe so I think I hit some beginners luck.  
I knew I wanted to stick with traditional Italian for the recipe so I started by making some homemade marinara as the polenta topping.

Homemade Chunky Marinara:

• 1- 15 oz can of diced tomatos
• 1- 8oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 white onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
• salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in medium sauce pan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Baked Polenta:

• 1 package pre-cooked polenta 
• Homemade marinara sauce (or a jar of your favorite pre-made marinara if desired)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Cut polenta into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Drop a dime size of olive oil in bakeware and coat bottom with a baking brush.  Place polenta slices in bakeware, salt and pepper, and cover with marinara sauce, piling each with plenty of tomatoes.  

*Serves 4*

Parmesan Zucchini

• 2 zucchinis
• parmesan cheese 
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Slice each zucchini long way.  Drop a dime size of olive oil in bakeware and coat bottom with a baking brush.  Place zucchini strips in bakeware, sprinkle with parmesan cheese until evenly coated, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake both polenta and zucchini on middle rack of 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Then remove and change oven setting to broil. Sprinkle polenta with parmesan cheese.  Broil on top rack for 2-3 minutes, until parmesan cheese is browning.

DELIZIOSO!

Easy Sesame Ginger Salmon

This is one of the easiest Salmon recipes because of the few ingredients and little time it takes to make.  All you need is:

• 2 Salmon Fillets
• Newman's  Own Sesame Ginger Marinade
• Toasted sesame seeds
• 2 Garlic cloves minced (I like a lot of garlic)
• salt

Line bakeware with foil which makes the skin stick to it and be easily removed form the fish.  Pat the salmon fillets dry with a paper towel and place in bakeware.  Spread garlic over the fillets, dash some salt, drizzle with the marinade until fully coated, and sprinkle sesame seeds.  Now either cover with foil and allow to marinate in the fridge while the over heats or place directly onto middle rack of 350 degree oven.  Cook for 20-25 minutes.

ENJOY!

( Disclaimer:  I forgot to take an after picture :( but it didn't look much different! )

I served this with brocoli and lemon brown rice.  Asparagus is always a good pairing with salmon too.

Squirrel Supper

I cook for myself on Monday nights because Collin has a night class until 9:30.  This is when I can really experiment because I don’t care if I mess up a recipe that’s just for me!  So this is a recipe for one (but of course you can double, triple, quadruple, or whatever you want to it!)

You’re probably wondering where the name of this dish came from.  Its supper for a SQUIRREL because of two reasons: 1) My husbands brother and friends nicknamed girls “squirrels” because they thought it was fitting, and 2) because of the acorn squash.  So with that explanation, here is my recipe for the squirrels out there!

Ingredients:

• One acorn squash
• 75mL (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
• wild rice mix (I used a lemon herb)
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 celery stick chopped
• 2 slivers of yellow onion chopped
• tablespoon of slivered almonds
• 1 lemon to zest
• Old Bay’s Seasoning

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Cook Time:  65 minutes

Put onion, celery, and almonds in a medium saucepan on medium heat to sauté for a few minutes. Add tablespoons of water as needed to keep them from sticking to the bottom.

Put onion, celery, and almonds in a medium saucepan on medium heat to sauté for a few minutes. Add tablespoons of water as needed to keep them from sticking to the bottom.  Then add garlic and vegetable broth and many dashes of Old Bay's.  Bring to a boil then add rice and zest a quarter size area of the lemon into the pot.  Stir, then cover and simmer for 45 minutes while you prepare and cook the squash

CAREFULLY cut the acorn long-way, scoop seeds out, then place in a baking dish (I find a bread pan is the perfect size to help keep them upright) with ½ inch of water on the bottom to facilitate cooking.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the squash from the oven.  Dash a little salt and pepper on the squash.  Spoon the cooked rice into the holes. Dash a little more S&P.

 Place back in the over for 20 minutes.

And Voila!  You have you squirrel supper!

It is filling!

It is healthy!

It is tasty!

ENJOY!

I Saw the Sign

As promised...Drilled holes and looped hemp string (Michael's beading/jewelry section- get 40% off coupon from their weekly ad!) then hung above our bed. 

Collin walked in our room shortly after I hung and said, "Our room looks nice!"  *Brought me warm fuzzies* I decorate for myself but in the hopes that the hubs notices and even better, appreciate! :D

Black Bean Baja Bake

I could not wait to share this recipe because it happened purely in the moment and it was a very pleasant surprise!  My mouth is watering just remembering how good it tasted!  This recipe made about 4 servings in a 8X8 Pyrex.  To serve more people with this easy meal just double and use a 3QT Pyrex!  
Here it it:



2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 white onion diced
1/2 red bell pepper diced
1/4 yellow bell pepper diced
1/4 green bell pepper diced
1 can of black beans drained
1 tsp cumin
1 sliver of butter
1 5 oz can of green chilis
1 cup of sour cream (I use fat- free and it still tasted great!)
9 mini corn tortillas
1 cup of Mexican blend shredded cheese

Optional toppings:

1/2 avocado
4 cherry tomatos
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
3 green onions chopped

Preheat oven to 375

Start with onions in a large skillet on medium heat. Allow onions to simmer for about 2 minutes then add all the bell peppers, black beans, and cumin.  We'll call this the bean/veggie mix.  Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Doesn't take long for this mix to warm up because the beans are already cooked so you are just infusing the flavors.  

Place mix in a bowl and set aside.

Rinse skillet and wipe with paper towel.

Place back on low-medium heat (my stove range is on a 1-10 scale so I set it to 3) with a thin slice of butter and garlic- begin to simmer then add the green chilis- stir.  Allow to simmer another minute then stir in sour cream until you have a smooth sauce.  It starts to smell so gooood!

Now that you have your bean/veggie mix and the sauce, you can begin layering!  Layering is always the fun part! In an 8X8 pyrex dish place a few of  the tortillas in the bottom then cover with beans/veggie mix a little cheese and sauce, and then repeat with a second layer and finally cover with tortillas sauce and cheese.

Done and in the oven!

SO GOOD!

And as they say in Texas, "The Fixin's"

 My husband and I loved this dish and I cannot wait to make it again! 

Hope you enjoy it!

Kitchen Tip:

Green onions should be kept in water up to where the white begins to turn green and either in the fridge or on a cold window sill.  Storing green onions this way will cause them to grow!  When you haven't used them for a little while cut down the limpy parts and replace the water and they will crisp back up. I've had these for almost 2 months now!

Coconut Curry Veggies and Chick Peas

   ·      1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

·      1 small onion chopped

·      3 garlic cloves minced

·      ½ tablespoon fresh ginger zested

·      1 tsp curry

·      1 tsp turmeric

·      ½ tsp cumin

·      1 zucchini diced

·      1 small red bell pepper diced

·      ½ green bell pepper diced

·      ½ yellow bell pepper diced

·      10 baby carrots sliced long-way

·      1 can chick peas- drained

·      1 cup of coconut milk

·      salt to taste

The more COLORS in a meal the HEALTHIER!

 Heat oil, onion, garlic, the ginger, and the spices in a large skillet for two minutes stirring frequently.

Add the vegetables- carrots first with ½ of the coconut milk and heat for about 1 minute.

 Then add the rest of the veggies, coconut milk, and chick peas. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.  

The zucchini will look like this before they are overdone and mushy.

Can serve alone or with rice.  Coconut rice would a delicious completion and Budget Bytes blog has the perfect recipe!

YuUuUuMmY!

Show Me A Sign!

Recently having moved for the third time together, my husband and I have most of our household needs met.  But I couldn't get past thinking our room was not complete.  Bed? Check. Pretty bedding and pillows? Check. Nightstands? Check.  Closets organized? Check.  Curtains? Check.  Shelves? Check.  Wedding picture? Check....But still something missing....What was it?
I NEEDED A SIGN!  No, literally.  I wanted a sign to hang above our bed.  One with a cute or sentimental quote on it.  But I did not want to just hop in my car and drive to Marshall's (which I love!) no, that would be too easy.  This time I wanted to make my own sign.  So I did.  And now I'm sharing the process with you so you can repeat if so desired.


Step 1: Decide what you want your sign to say.
I chose a line from my favorite song (always thankful to my sis for sharing) by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home"


Step 2:  Go to Lowe's scrap wood pile where they sell any piece of wood for $1! And if you find a nice helper he will even cut it to the dimensions you want.  I chose 36" long and 12" wide.
















Step 3:  Gather supplies.

• Sand paper
• Measuring Tape
• Pencil
• Acrylic paints- colors of your choice of course
• Paint brush and sponge brush
• Blue painters tape
• Stencils- letters and maybe an accent design or two- whatever you want
• Scrapbook paper and Mod Podge- optional

Step 4:  Sand down the edges of the wood 

Step 5: Paint! I thought one coat was sufficient.  Let it dry completely.

Step 6: Measure down both sides of the wood and mark your spacing depending on how many lines your quote needs.  I did every 4 inches.  Now line the measuring tape up with the marks on the side of your plank to ensure a straight line.  It should stay secured if your tape has a lip on the end.  Now very lightly mark out your spacing for the letters you will stencil.  This takes some planning and I had to write it out on paper before so I could visualize and calculate.  

Step 7: Now line your first stencil letter up underneath the tape measure and use blue painters tape to secure the stencil in place.  

Get some paint on the tip of your paintbrush and dab extra off on a paper towel- this is an important step- if skipped your stencil will bleed.  Begin your brush strokes from the outside edges of the stencil and always work your way in- from every edge possible.  This ensures the smoothest stencil.  Then very carefully removed the tape and stencil without sliding over fresh paint. *When wet acrylic paint wipes right off- so keep that wet rag close by for mistakes and just wipe away!* Continue your letters from each end and moving towards the center.  

Step 8: Decide where to place your accent stencil to liven things up a bit.  I did 3 of mine around the quote in different directions for some movement.  A happy accident happened when I attempted to wipe off the first accent stencil because it wasn't perfect- it didn't completely wipe off!  But it looked kinda cool faded the way it was so I did all of them that way.  

Step 9: Optional but I like it :)

Tear some pieces of scrapbook paper that coordinates with your colors and theme.  I happened to have the perfect piece for this part which is why I added this step at the end.  Carefully burn the edges of the pieces to even out the edges.  Decide how many pieces to do and where to place them on your sign.

Step 10:  Spread some mod podge on the board where you will place pieces then secure them on those spots.  Then, finally, with generous amounts of mod podge stroke it all over the board using a sponge brush. Let the mod podge dry (preferably in a non-popular location of the house because WOO does it stink!) and then gaze at the sweet sign you created!

I spent several hours on this project...not gonna lie to ya. But when I finished I was so proud and Collin loves it!  Can't wait for him to drill the holes in it so I can hang it with a thick hemp string.  I'll put up a pic of it on the wall once we get that done.