grandma's dish

this dish is nothing elaborate. it's just root vegetables sauteed in olive oil. in a big ol' skillet (or two) for about an hour. i threw together squash, tomatoes, potatoes, green peppers and onion for ours. but this dish is special. it reminds me of my grandma. of sitting outside smack dab in the middle of a sunbeam. and this year, it reminded me of my neighbors. who gladly gave us the bounty from their gardens. there's something special about eating from the land.

i thought this dish wouldn't take long. i was wrong. i thought, oh it's just sauteing vegetables. no big deal. but i sat in the kitchen last night with pablo while robert napped on the couch. and the time crawled. but that's okay. it gave me time to water the plants on the windowsill. to go outside and check on our little strawberry plant. slowing down is good sometimes. and it felt right, being in that kitchen. on those yellow and green paisley linoleum floors. feeling the sweet juxtaposition of being young and in my twenties. in an old house where another couple lived out an entire life.

and later that night, eating grandma's dish. the one she taught my mama to make. and recharging the cycle of life that spins so furiously on.

a casserole with canned goods and cheez-its

in order to make most vegetables fit to eat, you must cover up the basic taste of vitamins with calories.

-peg bracken, the i hate to cook book

let it be known that the above quote does not entirely sum up my philosophy on healthy eating. i like to eat healthy, i really do. i like the snap of a good apple, the delightful grittiness of almond butter and the colorful display of a pretty salad. and i do like vegetables, and to cook. i'm leaning in the kitchen, and i love it.

but truth be told, i also really like cheez-its. and butter. melted butter, to be exact. and i love a good bargain. thus, this casserole is perfect. made almost entirely of canned vegetables, with fanciful toppings like sliced almonds and four-blend cheeses, it's a perfect go-to weeknight meal on a budget. and hey, it's chock-full of veggies, so the guilt is minimal.

a shout-out and thank you to my sweet neighbor suzanne, for pointing this recipe out to me from, what else, a church cookbook.

suzanne's favorite veggie casserole

you will need:

one 15 oz. can of mixed vegetables

one can of pinto beans

one can french-style green beans

one can of veg-all mixed vegetables

one can of gold and white corn (i could only find gold)

one 15 oz. can chicken broth (i only needed about 9 oz.)

one package dry onion soup mix

one 10.75 oz. can of cream of celery soup

two cups of four-cheese (mexican) blend

1/2 a box of cheez-its

1/2 cup melted margarine (jackpot)

one cup sliced almonds

what to do:

drain the pinto beans, green beans, mixed vegetables and corn. pour drained veggies in a 9x13-inch dish.

mix the chicken broth, onion soup mix and cream of celery soup over the vegetables.

pour cheese over casserole mixture.

lightly crush crackers and mix with melted margarine. pour over casserole mixture. cover cracker crumbs with sliced almonds.

 bake 20 to 30 minutes or until topping is browned.

serve with crusty bread, salad or just a glass of ice water, because this bad boy is a meal in and of itself.

robert and i ate this last night, the carolina sun beaming through the windows. and like most decadently perfect things in life, this kind of meal has to be had in moderation. but when the time calls for it, this type of meal is sublime. it's comfort food at its core, and everybody, even the most dedicated health nut, needs to be comforted every once in a while.

church cookbooks and chicken enchiladas

i love old church cookbooks. i love the font, the recipe names, the notes at the bottom like "serves four, but you might want to plan on just two." from their spiral binding to their simple, sweet covers, these are some of my favorite sources to find tried and true comfort food. there are tons of recipes i am storing away to make this weekend, next week and all summer long.

last night, i made chicken enchiladas from a 1980s church cookbook. i would like to thank a woman named karen abbott, who i never met, for the fabulous recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas

*You'll need 12 small tortillas (I used nine regular sized ones)

Filling:

4 cups cooked chicken (about three cans, or you can use cut up breasts, rotisserie, etc. whatever you have on hand)

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili powder

sprinkle pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. butter

1 medium onion, sliced

sprinkle garlic powser

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

1 (1 lb) can tomatoes

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

sprinkle salt

sprinkle pepper

grated cheddar cheese

Shred chicken and combine all filling ingredients, mixing well.

for sauce, melt butter in saucepan. saute onion and green pepper until tender. add remaining ingredients, except cheese and simmer, uncovered, about five minutes.

fill each tortilla with chicken mixture. fold in half and placed in greased 13x9 inch dish, overlapping tortillas slightly. cover with sauce. bake in preheated oven (350 degrees) for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly. sprinkle with grated cheese and serve.

i suggest enjoying this dish with  some good friends. or a sweet husband. or a begging, precious puppy. whichever you prefer. either way, you're sure to have leftovers, and nothing, i repeat nothing, tastes better reheated than mexican food.

wednesday night fiesta

robert and i really like mexican food. as proof, check out this picture of us at our engagement shower:

so last night, watching the sky turn from cerulean blue to amber gold outside my kitchen window, i wanted to pay homage to our shared love of this cuisine. and to be honest, i really just wanted to cheer my husband up. my stuck-inside-the-house-all-day sick puppy. he's feeling much better and is back to work today, but last night just called for a little something special.

so i did what every blogger does when she needs a fabulous recipe stat--i visited the pioneer woman.

and there i found it. cheesy, beefy burritos. guaranteed to be 100% beef, which is more than i can say about taco bell. it required a trip to the grocery store for tomato sauce, tortillas and beef. but as i was roaming the cold aisles during lunch, robert called me to see how my day was. and i was reconfirmed in my decision to spoil him a little.

i modified ree's recipe just a little, adding a little punch of flavor with the burrito fillings. inside the warm tortillas, i stuffed:

ground beef, seasoned with garlic powder, oregano, cumin and chopped onion, mixed with one can of mexican tomato sauce

refried beans heated with melted cheddar cheese

mexican rice

chopped green chiles

mexican salsa

sour cream

if you are vegetarian, these pictures might be a bit unsettling. however, this recipe would be equally fabulous without the meat. in fact, i dare say you wouldn't even miss it. but for me and my carnivorous husband, these truly hit the spot.

eat these tonight in front of the american idol results show, the office, or any other program of interest. these would be especially good on a monday night bachelor viewing.

because food like this--saucy, spicy, put-me-to-sleep-right-after-supper food, is meant to be shared. and holding hands with robert across our old wooden table, with pablo yapping at my heels for a bite and the microwave kitchen timer ringing behind me, i lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving to share this special time with my little family of boys. 

recipe found here.

a busy day off

i fell into bed at ten last night. exhausted to the core even though i'd had the day off. it was one of those nights when you feel sleepy even in the tips of your toes. where flannel pajamas and a freshly laundered pillowcase feel like heaven and your mind drifts to dreaming in the middle of praying.


i had yesterday off, and woke with a mission. robert had to go into work, and as i stretched there in bed that morning, the sun just creeping up and the house still dark with sleep, i felt for him, leaving in the freezing dawn, scraping off his car, going out like it was any other monday. meanwhile, i slept in with pablo. waking every 45 minutes or so, only to look at the clock, adjust my heating pad, and  turn over on my other side, tucking my legs beneath me. 


it was one of those slumbers where even though i woke up a few times, i continued the same odd, whimsical dream sequence. 


so to make it up to robert, i vowed to do something for him, just for him, on my day off.


and in my family, one of the chief ways we show love is through food.


so i did it. i went to two different grocery stores to get all the items i needed. i scanned the internet for recipes and coupons. i started cooking at four and we ate at six.


here's what our night looked like:

thai chicken wraps with spicy peanut sauce, recipe here . 

**note: for the salad, i skipped the sprouts, scallions, basil, mint, etc. because it was getting to be a bit expensive, plus i couldn't find sprouts or mint. so, i opted for one bag of broccoli slaw. it was perfect. 

asian green beans with water chestnuts and mushrooms, recipe here.

thai sticky rice with mango and coconut milk  for dessert, recipe here

we devoured it, then collapsed on the couch to watch the bachelor. {emily has stolen my heart.}

i cooked, cleaned and did laundry on my day off.

but as i turned off the lights, dragging my sleepy body under a heavy blanket, i snuggled next to the man who made it all

totally, completely.

worth it.