happy birthday vittles!

the 23rd marked the one year anniversary of {vittles!} i missed it!

happy birthday vittles!

and now a recipe for my loyal readers having nothing to do with cupcakes.

fall roasted veggies part deux
::ingredients::
1 zucchini
1 squash
1/2 red bell pepper, large dice
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 cup / can of chickpeas, drained
1 carrot, peeled
seasoning salt
garlic salt
pepper
olive oil
3T finely grated parmesan cheese
1 T dried parsley or other similar seasonings such as italian
::directions::
oven to 425, cover rimmed baking pan with foil. cut squash and zucchini in to large yet bite-sized pieces. cut carrots into pieces half the size of zucchini and squash pieces. if you are adding any potatoes or sweet potatoes {which would be good} cut them the same size as well.{see note} add veggies with peppers, onions and chickpeas to mixing bowl

drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle with a few shakes of each of the seasonings, mix well and spread onto baking pan. bake 30 min.

the toasted chickpeas with the bell peppers is such a treat!!

note {the carrots and potatoes take about 20 min longer to cook than the squash and zucchini if they're all about the same size. i tried making the soft veggies larger than the root veggies and it worked fine, but be aware.}

{image belongs to pinkbow}

vegetable pasta toss

wondering what to do with all those great vegetables from the stuffed peppers?? here's a yummy, fresh, flexible pasta sauce and you don't even have to turn on the oven. next time i try this, i might put a little white wine in there with the tomatoes.

{vegetable pasta toss}
serves 4
a few drizzles of olive oil

2 small, diced

1 T minced garlic

1 slender zucchini, small dice
1 slender yellow summer squash, small dice

1 sweet bell pepper, small dice
1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed {or 1 c cooked ground beef}

1 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved {or 1 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes}
1 T ground cumin

1 T ground coriander

1 t cinnamon

1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta or pasta of choice
juice of one lemon, divided

salt and pepper to taste

chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
::directions::


Bring a large pot of water to boil.

 Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat up a large skillet with a lid on medium high heat. Depending on whether it is nonstick or stainless steel, drizzle a very little oil or a tablespoon or 2 into the pan, and heat it up. When it is shimmering, add the garlic and let it toast briefly, 15-30 seconds. Do not let it burn. Add the onions and cook until caramelized, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with salt.



Add veggies {and chickpeas if you're using them}. When the onion has totally caramelized and the zucchini is a little tender, add the spices and stir. Do not allow the spices to stick and burn. Add the juice of half of the lemon to the pan to deglaze it. Then add the tomatoes. Stir the mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper.

Uncover and stir to allow tomatoes to break up and liquids to evaporate. Add breadcrumbs if you want it thicker. Remove from heat and add meat if you're using it, 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley and cheese. Toss the cooked noodles with the juice from the remaining half of the lemon. Serve combined or separately.

{image belongs to themarmot}

stuffed red bell peppers

Turns out I was inspired after my sad farewell for a bit and decided to cook dinner. I'm on a bell pepper kick now that I've decided I like them after 23 years of marked repulsion to even the smell of them sharing space in a salad with similarly colored tomatoes.

This came from smitten kitchen who had it as a vegetarian dish. I added meat based upon some other recipes. You're just going to have to guestimate the vegetable quantities based upon the size of the veggies you end up with and what you like more. Don't skip on the spices though and save yourself some time by just throwing all your parsley leaves in a food processor. I've decided I hate washing, drying, pulling leaves off and cutting herbs like parsley and cilantro. So I just lightly washed them, barely dried them and threw them in the food processor. Now have a parsley pesto foundation for later and am not picking herb leaves out of my nails.

These were good and very flexible.

roasted vegetable stuffed peppers
inspired by smittenkitchen.com

5 bell peppers halved and seeded {see note}
2 bell peppers - small dice {see note}
1 zucchini - small dice
1 summer squash - small dice
1 onion - small dice
6 cloves garlic - minced
1 c frozen corn
1 c grape tomatoes halved or quartered
4 tbs chopped fresh parsley
3/4 c panko breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
1 tbs essence {i used a dash of paprika and cayenne pepper}
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
1/4 c parmesean plus more for sprinkling {or whatever cheese you have... but i strongly recommend using GOOD freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and this will change your life.}
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey

cumin

coriander

oven to 375. cook meat in a skillet with a few dashes of coriander and cumin and a bit of salt and pepper. set aside. saute onion in butter and olive oil over med high heat until translucent. add garlic and cook til fragrant. add vegetables and saute until just softened. add salt, pepper and essence. {don't be shy with your spices! taste it!} add parsley and breadcrumbs. you may need to add more breadcrumbs if the liquid is not absorbed. add parm and meat and take off heat. combine.

stuff the peppers with the vegetable stuffing mix. place in baking dish with a little olive oil in bottom. put in oven and bake until peppers are softened (about 20-25 minutes). just before they are done (5 minutes early) take out and sprinkle top with parm.
{note} I cut the top off of my peppers, then diced the de-stemmed, de-cored top as the “diced” pepper. I then stuffed into the topless peppers.
{post note} BUT I think this recipe was designed so that each pepper would equate two halves for stuffing if you cut each lengthwise. Since I made them stuffable by cut the tops off, one pepper only equaled one pepper, rather than one turning into two, if that makes any sense. I halved all the quantities shown here, didn't add corn and added only a few cherry tomatoes and it filled three peppers perfectly. We each ate one as a meal.


Taylor said these were good because the "bell pepper tasted fresh" I think the yummy, gooey innards were a good contrast with the cooked but still crisp bell pepper on the outside.

{image belongs to tdfl}

recently...

fall! and well, recently i've been finding it much easier to muse over at my other blog {tied up with string}. but do not be dismayed, coaching season is nearly over and that {hopefully} means a bit more culinary adventures for {vittles} to dutifully document!

until then,
i'll be over there!
so come visit!

{image belongs to marthastewartliving}

cheater pancakes

A similar sentiment to crumblies I feel for these, being, at heart, fundamentally opposed to baked good mixes. Baked good mixes truly epitomize the "what is it worth to you?" question because real, homemade, from scratch baked goods are so cheap and so yummy to make yourself. However, said homemade baked goods require energy for me to not only actually bake but clean up after as well.

I mean, besides when the clean up fairies sweep in.

So this mix is really useful for when I let the clean up fairies go on vacation.

It's also really useful for when I'm interested purchasing a boxed Make-Your-Husband's-Week mix for about $6 at Central Market. But I imagine if I put Bisquick in this tub when we're done with it he may never know...

When we stayed at a friend's parent's house in Houston, Taylor was introduced to this Stonewall Kitchen Pancake & Waffle Mix. My understanding of Mr. Reeve's love affair with this brand is that he orders essentially their entire line of fruit preserves spreads and this pancake mix by the case load. The secret that he passed on to Taylor is to add a bit of sugar to the mix. When I made this for Taylor he reminded me about seventeen times, from the time we stood in line at Central Market and saw the light from heaven shining on this mix in the fourth isle to the minute I poured the batter on the griddle, that the secret was to add a bit of sugar.

make-tay's-week pancakes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Stonewall Kitchen Pancake & Waffle Mix
1 tablespoon sugar
DIRECTIONS
Follow directions on package. Add sugar. Don't forget the sugar. Continue to follow directions on package. Read clean up fairies' postcard sent from their vacation.

baked bbq chicken

My dad makes his dad's excellent bbq sauce from scratch. The first time I made this dish it was because my dad gave me nearly a gallon of leftover sauce. If you don't have a stellar family recipe sauce to use, pick out your favorite, quality bbq sauce.


baked bbq chicken
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6)
4 chicken drum sticks, bone in
4 chicken thighs, bone in
2 - 3 cups good barbecue sauce

{spice rub slash marinade}
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
2 teaspoons cracked pepper
1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or red wine

DIRECTIONS
{spice rub option} combine all seasonings without liquids (vinegar, butter or oil) and rub into meat and under skin immediately prior to cooking
{spice marinade option} combine seasonings with oils and rub into meat, allow meat to marinate in seasonings 2 - 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 and in large baking dish arrange chicken pieces in a single layer and cover completely and generously with sauce. It may be necessary to flip pieces to ensure the tops are coated in sauce. Bake uncovered 30 to 45 minutes.

Serve with rosemary roasted potatoes, twice baked potatoes, or baked macaroni and cheese

{image belongs to judithsweet}

buckeyes

Happy Labor Day! Taylor and I enjoyed ourselves a late breakfast at Magnolia Cafe this morning with our friends, M & C. I got the "Economical" --scrambled eggs, homefries, black beans with a large side of salsa. Tay go the "T-Rex Omelet" with pico de gallo, avocado, cheese and smoked turkey. He also got a short stack of gingerbread pancakes, which I hadn't had in years. They smell like fall and like my highschool breakfast dates with my dad.

On another note, on to dessert. My mom got these as a teacher gift years and years ago. I was rereminded of their greatness a few weekends ago. Homemade Reese's essentially.

buckeyes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 cups confectioners' sugar

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips


DIRECTIONS 

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners' sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth. Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. Put back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.