Fiesta Pinwheels

This was a great make ahead appetizer! The only change I made from the original recipe was to use whole wheat tortillas. They were super easy, and very tasty! Recommend!

Fiesta Pinwheels

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup picante sauce
2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1 dash garlic powder
1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped ripe olives, drained
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 cup finely shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
Salsa

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, picante sauce, taco seasoning and garlic powder until smooth. Stir in olives, chilies, cheese and onions. Spread about 1/2 cup on each tortilla. Roll up jelly-roll style; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Slice into 1-in. pieces. Serve with salsa.

Strawberry Bread

I made this bread for our Valentine's Day party with our playgroup. It was submitted to a cookbook for a fundraiser we did for my husband's last ship. It was pretty good and was eaten up, but it was not my favorite. I WAS hoping for a more reddish/pinkish color, which I could have achieved with red food coloring, but...I didn't :) The "strawberry" comes from strawberry jam, which makes this easy to make in a...wait for it...JAM, but I think I would stick with other quick breads before I made this one again. I might make this again specifically for a Valentine's treat, but that's about it! In full disclosure, while I do LOVE strawberries, I am not really a fan of strawberry jam. If you are, this could be perfect for you!

Strawberry Bread

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2-3 drops red food coloring (optional)

Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time. Add sour cream and jam. Add small amounts of dry ingredients and mix well after each addition. Pour into greased loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Makes 3 2lb or 6 1lb loaves.

my notes:
the "makes 3 2lb or 6 1lb loaves" part completely confused me. i even googled the terms to find out what that meant, but didn't get any helpful information. so, i halved the recipe and wound up with one "regular" (haha, whatever that means!) loaf pan, which is exactly what i wanted.

Split Pea Soup with Rosemary

as a kid, i did not like peas.  i hated them.  i was not a picky eater, but peas were definitely on the "do not eat" list.  and split pea soup?  seriously?  no thank you.

and then something happened: i realized that really i just didn't like CANNED peas.  frozen peas are fabulous!  i love them!  and then something else happened: during a hormone-induced weird pregnancy craving...all i wanted was split pea soup.  i found this recipe.  i love it.  i've made it for my mom before and she liked it.  kaia used to like it before she was FOUR and was not so opinionated about FOODS BEING MIXED TOGETHER.  layla scarfed it down.

more water/chicken broth can be added to thin the soup to desired consistency.

Split Pea Soup with Rosemary
6 servings

6 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 (10.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cups green split peas
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1. Place bacon in a large pot, and cook over medium heat until crisp. Stir in onion, leek, carrot, and garlic; cook until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Pour in chicken broth. Stir in split peas, bay leaves, and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover, and simmer until peas are cooked, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

my notes:
i usually only use 4 slices bacon because it's really rich with 6 and it seems unnecessary.
i don't buy fresh rosemary just for this and it's good with dried if i don't have fresh on hand.
leek can be replaced with celery if desired.


unfortunately, there is no way to make split pea soup look appetizing!

Turkey Spaghetti Pie

ahh, well here is one you DON'T want to make :)  we had hiked this day and i was starving.  good thing i had a big salad!  it's not that it was terrible.  it was edible.  it didn't look very appetizing.  and it was just ok.  i didn't even save the leftovers, so that tells you something!  so i'll share the recipe just in case anyone is curious, but really...don't waste your time!  turkey spaghetti pie

 

Banana Pancakes & Banana Cream Pie

last night we had a pajama party at my friend jojo's house.  we had breakfast for dinner!  i didn't take any pictures, but stole these pictures off of allrecipes which is where i got the recipes for the pancakes and the pie.  the pancakes were AWESOME.  so was the pie!

Banana Pancakes 
6 servings 

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed

1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
2. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; batter will be slightly lumpy.
3. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides; serve hot.

 

 we served the pancakes with a fruit salad and maple sausage links.  YUM!

for some reason, i felt the need to also make a pie to enjoy after this already sweet and already banana-y dinner.  and in looking for something to whip up really quickly, i found this banana cream pie recipe.  i had everything i needed on hand and it was super easy.  i did NOT have a refrigerated pie crust on hand, and since i refuse to make pie crust, i just made a delicious graham cracker crust.

Banana Cream Pie 

8 servings

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

4 bananas, sliced

1. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner. 

2. Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture. Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring. Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency. 

3. Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell. Top with pudding mixture. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes. Chill for an hour. 

it was fabulous!

fyi

tonight we had some friends stay over for dinner and i threw together a big salad for us mommas.  i used the leftover flank steak from the other night and thinly sliced it.  tossed it together with some carrots, avocado, tomatoes, walnuts and a sesame ginger salad dressing and it was pretty good!  so were the weirdo wine spritzers we made to go with it!

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

tonight was supposed to be leftover night. then i saw the mahi mahi that i had defrosted and not used on sunday. so, i knew i needed to use that tonight. i went to allrecipes and i think this was one of the first results of my search for mahi mahi. and i had everything i needed on hand, so it was perfect.

so SIMPLE. and the girls loved it. i served it with oven roasted butternut squash and a salad.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi
serves 4

3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1. In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
3. Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

*i'm actually out of balsamic vinegar, but used cider vinegar instead