Grace in the Small Things:

1. Trader Joes. . . and their ability to have everything I need for my shopping list.

2. Understanding husbands.

3. Green smoothies.

4. Saving Dinner Podcasts.

5. Catching up on Beverly Hills 90210. The real one.

6. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.

7. Snoring pugs.

Grace in the Small Things:

1. The French Chef series.

2. Neil Foley's Gastrocast.

3. Almost finished essays.

4. Sad Pugs.

5. Neck rubs for Joshua.

Grace in the Small Things:

1. Husband's pep-talks make me feel so much better.

2. Unkempt beds are wonderful places for naps.

3. Homemade mashed potatoes are perfectly made with a potato ricer.

4. Almost finished essays. . .

5. Growly bunnies!

A nice sort of cookbook.

When I first spotted Eating Well's Comfort Food Made Healthy, by Jessie Price, I wasn't even sure if I was going to order it. However, I can never pass up a good deal, so the cookbook ended up on one of my many bookshelves. This cookbook is the nice sort of cookbook. It's nice to have. I wouldn't say it is spectacular. However, it does a really good job of meal-make- overs.

Are you craving New England clam chowder? Comfort Food Made Healthy swaps most of the cream for low-fat milk and VOILA! Healthy Chowda. Ready for Fried Chicken? With non-fat buttermilk, this cookbook will show you how to whip up a batch of the oven-fried variety.

If you have been following my blog, I have made three recipes from Eating Well's Comfort Food Made Healthy. The fresh corn chowder was deliciously made with frozen (not fresh) corn. The too-peanut-buttery ginger noodles turned out gross. Twice. The stuffed shells were very comforting and left me with a full belly.

TWO out of THREE isn't so bad. I would say.

On the plus-side:

*This book boasts at least 175 Healthy recipes

*There are over 70 color photos of glossy recipes.

*Recipes are divided up into chapters: Breakfast, Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Meat, Chicken and Turkey, Fish and Seafood, Vegetarian, Sides and Sauces, and Desserts.

*The layout of the recipes is pretty standard and easy to follow.

*Most recipes are comfort food-done-right: Creamy Mushrooms soup, Meatloaf, Mac and Cheese, Peach Raspberry pie etc. Only, with less fat and calories.

On the contrary:

*Some of the recipes are questionably healthy. The Cream of Mushrooms & Barley Soup is 343 calories and 10 grams of fat for one bowl. That still seems a bit high for ONE bowl of soup!

*You can get most of these recipes at EatingWell's website. For FREE.


I've been hesitant to even write a review of this cookbook because I don't really have a lot to say about it. It's decent. It seems to have good, solid recipes. It doesn't have the WOW! factor, but if you are a fan of Eating Well or just like to collect cookbooks (ME!) this cookbook may be a nice addition to your cookbook collection. Otherwise, just stick to Eating Well's Website.

Look what Santa brought me:

The lease on my other car was up, so Joshua bought me a new blue Nissan while I was at work one day. I must say, I love it! Who knew that buying me a blue car could have such an affect on me?

Goals Moles. . .

I have been pretty hesitant to post my annual goals post, but I suppose that I must. It's tradition, after all.

1. First and foremost, I am going to practice being a praying wife. I have a wonderful husband who supports me and all of my idiosyncrasies. I shall do the same to him.

2. I want to eat as many veggies as possible this year. I LOVE VEGGIES!

3. I have started a new chapter in my schooling. I am going to Columbia College to complete a bachelor's degree in America Studies. I pray that I do well! I know I will. It feels so great to have a direction for once.

4. I am going to keep my car clean. I SWEAR!

5. I am going to curve my cookbook buying. Umm, Maybe. At least, I am going to try not to be so materialistic about books. **Bites nails** Maybe.

6. I would really like to develop a yoga practice for once.

7. And a walking routine. I love to walk and listen to my favorite podcasts.

8. I want to do devotionals most nights with my Joshua. I think that can be accomplished.

9. Farmers markets! Yes, I need to take the initiative to go to farmer's markets on the weekends.

10. Accomplish some head way on the cookbook challenge.

11. Post blogs often and comment feverishly on other blogs. (Comments are awesome, don't you think?)

12. Reach out to my family this year.

13. Our home simply needs to reach some level of organization this year.

14. I want to try a new restaurant with Joshua every month.

15. Hug my Puggies! and rodents.

Yummy Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells.

My final test recipe from Eating Well's Comfort Food Made Healthy, by Jessie Price, was a success. Delicious, really. (I really need to come up with some new adjectives to describe food.) It was like eating lasagna in a shell with fresh spinach and creamy ricotta. The shells were very satisfying and savory, the ultimate comfort food. They even warmed well for a tasty lunch the next day.

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

24 jumbo pasta shells (8 ounces)
1 ½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed and washed, or two 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
⅔ cup plain dry breadcrumbs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
3 cups prepared marinara sauce, preferably low-sodium

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook shells in a large pot of boiling water, stirring often, until just tender, about 15 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. If using fresh spinach, add it in batches and toss with tongs until wilted. Drain in a colander, pressing out excess moisture with the back of a spoon. Let cool. If using thawed frozen, add it to the onions and toss to mix well. Set aside.
3. Combine ricotta, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan and nutmeg in a bowl; mix well. Add the reserved spinach and season with salt and pepper. Stir in egg white.
4. Stuff each of the reserved shells with a generous 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture. Spread 1 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the stuffed shells in a single layer. Top with the remaining 2 cups of the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden and the shells are heated through, about 30 minutes. (If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.) Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit.

Too-Peanut-Buttery Ginger Noodles

My second recipe from Eating Well's Comfort Food Made Healthy, by Jessie Price didn't come out well at all. I usually try to use what I have on hand. Since I had rice vermicelli noodles, I decided to make use of them for the Peanut-Ginger noodles. This sounds good, in theory. As I stirred the creamy peanut putter into the rice noodles, the dish became a big pile of mush.

I knew this was my mistake so I decided to try the recipe again. Second times a charm, right?

Well, I used a fettuccine this time, not the whole wheat variety. This time the consistency was on par, but the flavors didn't quite meld together. It tasted like a big sticky ball of peanut butter. Blak! That's all I can say.

So, this recipe wasn't successful, but I'm not willing to give up on Comfort Food Made Healthy just yet. I'm not even willing to post the recipe. I don't think that I shall subject you to that. However, if you would like to prove me wrong, Eatingwell.com posts most of their recipes online. I would love to hear how it turned out.

Merry Christmas!

I captured our very small tree. Most of the ornaments are homemade, and all of them represent the things we are thankful for.

May you have a Merry Christmas. I have to work today, but yesterday I had a very nice evening with my family and Joshua. We are blessed.

There is nothing like a breakfast of buckeyes on Christmas eve. My personal baker-man, Joshua, made his infamous buckeyes last night and I couldn't help indulging this morning as I captured his masterpiece with my camera.

Buckeyes at Christmas are a mainstay in this household. Christmas and buckeyes go hand-in-hand. Especially since my better half is from the Buckeye state and a loving fan of a football team by the same name. In fact, I think he wore an Ohio state sweatshirt everyday during the playoffs.

This year, however, he deviated from the original parafin wax recipe in favor of using Crisco instead. It lends for a less waxy taste. I can honestly say that I am pleased with the results. These buckeyes are to fantastic! They are melt in your mouth delicious.

Some notes before the recipe:
*Use JIF peanut butter. Only JIF. Otherwise, the balls will be very soft.
*Also, Take your time. Go slow. This recipe cannot be rushed.

Buckeyes
1 3/4 cups of JIF peanut butter
1 Stick of Softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb Confectioner's sugar
1 tbs of vegetable shortening
1 12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Mix peanut butter, butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl. Then add confectioners' sugar until combined. Do not over mix. Do not cream the dough. The buckeye dough should be firm, not too fluffy.

2. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment or waxed paper lined dinner plate.
Place each dinner plate with balls in refrigerator as you are finished rolling them.

3. Melt shortening and chocolate chips in a double boiler over low heat.

4. Once the chocolate mixture is melted, take the first plate that you rolled out of the fridge. Using a toothpick, dip each ball into chocolate mixture. Only cover 3/4 of the ball with chocolate to create the signature buckeye look. Place each finished buckeye back on plate. Once a plate is full of buckeyes, place back in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

5. Continue step 4 until all of the balls are covered in chocolate.

6. Enjoy!

Cookie Night

I've been busy baking cookies.



There will be some full bellies in the Burn's household this week.



And, I baked three cookbook recipes for my challenge. Stay tuned.

My Hero. . .

Did you know that Joshua walks me to my car almost every night at work? It's pretty sickening, right? Even after almost six years of marriage, I never tire of Joshua doing this.

He will even brave the sleet and snow, to walk me up four flights of stairs to the top of a snowy, icy parking lot. Tonight was not exception. As we slid our way to my car, I sat inside as he scraped ice off of my windshield.

As I turned the wheel of my car towards the exit of the parking lot, Josh cried out. Wait! Next to a nearby SUV, a woman was lying on the ground. I stopped the car, and Joshua made his way to the woman. She had slipped on the ice, and hit her head on the curb. Joshua helped the woman to her feet while I called security. He stayed there with her until security came to take the woman to the emergency room.

I'll never know what happened to the woman that Joshua saved. I'll never know if she is okay. However, I do know that Josh is my hero, because he saved a woman who had fallen on ice. . . and he saved me.

I've caught a cold. Rather, a cold has caught me.

Chowda

Corn chowder is an easy alternative to the famous Boston Clam Chowder. It is an especially handy chowder to make when you are not fortunate enough to live near a coast where you have access to fresh seafood. According to recipelink.com, Corn chowder has is origins in the farmhouse where corn and salt pork were often available. The first documented recipe came from Mary Lincoln of the Boston Cooking school in 1884. Luckily, many recipes have survived through the years and are still available today.

My corn chowder recipe is from Eating Well's Comfort Foods Made Healthy, by Jessie Price. I have been trying to lose a few pounds, so it was really nice to have this healthy alternative. It was actually very tasty. You couldn't even tell that I used turkey bacon. (It tasted like ham.) Since this is the only corn chowder I have ever made, I have nothing to compare it to. However, I would definitely give it two thumbs up.

Fresh Corn Chowder

1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
2 slices turkey bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 28 ounces of chicken broth
2 cups of frozen corn
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 table spoon bouquet garni

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and beginning to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add broth and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
2. Add corn kernels, potatoes, milk and salt to the pan. Return to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Season with pepper. Serve garnished with bouquet garni.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 188 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 14 mg cholesterol; 29 g carbohydrate; 9 g protein; 3 g fiber; 605 mg sodium; 455 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (69% daily value), Vitamin A (19% dv). 2 Carbohydrate Servings Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 fat

(This marks the start of my cookbook challenge. No more buying cookbooks; More time cooking great recipes! Wish me luck.)

Cookbooks Galore

As many of you know, I collect cookbooks.

I suppose collect isn't exactly the word. I HOARD cookbooks. They sit haphazardly on the bookshelf, in no particular order, waiting to be used.

I am in the process of organizing them alphabetically. That has not come to a head quite yet, as you can see.

There are so many cookbooks that I haven't even cooked out of yet. It's really sad. It's not that I don't want to cook out of them. It's that I have so many books and so little time.

That's all about to change.

For the next year, I challenge myself to cook recipes out of each of my cookbooks.

The rules:
1. Cook three recipes out of a particular cookbook within a month.
2. Blog about the experience. The good. The bad, and Yes, even the ugly.
3. Once all three experiences from a particular cookbook are posted, write a final review on the cookbook.
4. For every 10 cookbook reviews, I will buy myself a cookbook. No reviews = no cookbooks.
5. If I cannot find three recipes that I like in a particular cookbook, I need to free-cycle the cookbook. No exceptions.
6. This challenge will end December 08, 2009.

I also plan to host a give away after each 10 cookbook reviews. However, I am a little hesitant because I don't want to gain readership just because I am giving away free stuff. We'll see.