On the Menu: Fourth of July

Reagan and I spent our holiday hosting friends for a barbeque.  Reagan manned the protein portion of the meal with our new grill, and I of course handled all the (mostly gluten-free) sides.

Our Fourth of July menu included: slow cooked ribs, BBQ chicken, pepperslaw, baked beans, rolls, and skinny margaritas.

I tried out a new coleslaw recipe from Cooking with Paula Deen, and it received rave reviews! To be exact, it was described as "fresh and not swimming in mayonnaise." Can I get an amen?

Pepper Slaw (from Cooking with Paula Deen)
makes 6 servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced bell peppers (about 4)
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cups matchstick carrots
1/4 thinly sliced sweet onion
**I used one pre-packaged bag of coleslaw instead of the cabbage and carrots.
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salts.

Stir in bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, and onion. Toss to coat.  Cover and chill at least one hour, or until ready to serve.


Like any good barbeque, we had to have baked beans. These came straight from D'Ann Wiley's recipe book.  Although, I think most southern moms have their version of this recipe!


Mom's BBQ Baked Beans
makes 8 servings

1/2 onion, chopped
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 can kidney beans, drainded and rinsed
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red pinto beans OR pork 'n' beans, undrained
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Saute the onion (in the bacon drippings if you're brave!) Stir in the other ingredients. Spoon into a baking dish and bake for one hour.

Since Reagan was using the oven to cook his ribs, I put the beans in the crockpot on low for about three hours, and they still turned out great. 

Happy 4th of July! Pin It

Try Something New

Reagan was in Chicago this past week and weekend, so that means I tried out some new recipes.  Kind of like the soup I made last time he went out of town, these weren't exactly man-friendly recipes.

First up, we have Black Bean Quinoa Burgers from Clean Eating Chelsey.  The burgers were actually a lot more involved than I anticipated, but I have to say they turned out great. 

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers (makes 6-7 large burgers)
from Clean Eating Chelsey

• 3 cups (or 2-15 oz cans) of prepared black beans
• 2/3 cup quinoa, dry
• 2/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 white onion
• 3 baby carrots (I think about the equivalent of 1/2 of a regular carrot?)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
• sprinkle of sea salt

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, bring 2/3 cup quinoa, 2/3 cup water, and 2/3 cup vegetable broth to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover for 15-20 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and let the quinoa cool 5-10 minutes
2. Place quinoa and remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are combined, but not smooth or pureed. The burger should hold together nicely in your hands if you want to check to see if your consistency is okay.
3. Using your hands, shape 6-7 equal sized burgers. Heat a greased skillet to medium high heat and cook for 6-8 minutes on each side, flipping once.

**At this point, I put my burgers on the grill to “bake” the insides a little more so they would stay together a bit better. If you aren’t grilling, I would say to cook them in a 375 degree oven for 5-10 minutes to cook the centers of the burgers a bit more. It’s not 100% necessary, but my burgers did stay together a bit better!
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze leftovers. Enjoy!

My parents came to visit this weekend! (Number one reason why Lubbock is great!) Since I had houseguests, I cooked our favorite Maple Ginger Pork Chops. 

Maple Ginger Pork Chops

The recipe was not new to me, but it was new to my parents and grandma.

Last, but not least, my mom and I decided to try out a Glowing Green Smoothie.  I've read a lot about Kimberly Snyder and her eating philosophy.  Since I have so many eating restrictions now, I'm interested in what people eat that have similar restrictions or lifestyles. 

Glowing Green Smoothie

I sent Reagan the above picture and he asked if it was chimichurri sauce. I wish.

The verdict on the smoothie: not for me. It has celery in it, and I hate celery. I thought the other ingredients may camouflage the celery (umm.... 8 CUPS of spinach?!) but no such luck.

I immediately made brownies. Much better! Pin It

Recipe Roundup

When Reagan and I first started dating, we were both in Waco for the summer. The summer was pretty low-key, and we cooked dinner together almost every night. Before that summer I had baked the occasional cupcakes and helped my mom in the kitchen every now and then. However, I credit those couple of months with me learning how to actually cook a meal that someone else wants to eat.

Here's a recipe roundup of our favorite meals:

Cajun Chicken and Rice
Crockpot Taco Chicken Chili
Buffalo Chicken Soup
BBQ Chicken Enchiladas
Homemade Pizza
Filet Mignon with Balsamic Glaze
Sausage Pinwheels

And anything from this Taste of Home cookbook...

I got this as a wedding gift, and it is hands down the best cookbook ever. No recipe is too complicated or time consuming. Nothing calls for obscure ingredients that no one owns. A few of our favorites include BBQ Meatballs and Maple Ginger Pork Chops. Yuuummmm.

Now get to cookin'! Pin It

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Sounds interesting, right? Ninety-nine percent of the time Reagan loves what I cook. The other one percent stems from a time I cooked a butternut squash. Reagan tried to force himself to eat dinner before saying he "wasn't hungry." Um, yeah right.

Reagan was out of town last week competing in a national moot court competition, so I decided to try out this butternut squash recipe from Clean Eating Chelsey.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Apple Soup
Makes: 8 cups
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours and 15 minutes

• 3 pound butternut squash
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• nutmeg and cinnamon to taste

Directions: Begin by peeling your butternut squash with a vegetable peeler. Once peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks and place in a slow cooker. Next, peel and dice your apples – toss them in the slow cooker along with the diced onion and minced garlic cloves. Add your vegetable broth and water. Cover and heat on low for 6 hours. When 6 hours have passed, transfer your soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste.

If you can get over the fact that the soup has the consistency of baby food, it's pretty tasty.

Oh, and Reagan's team won the competition and is headed to Chicago for nationals in a month. You could say I'm proud of my favorite (future) lawyer! Pin It