Butternut Goat Cheese Pasta

Do you have ingredients that you buy every time you shop regardless of whether you have some at home?  I had a friend who buys avocados every time she goes to the store.  She always has piles of them in varying levels of ripeness accumulating on her counter. 

For me, it's cheese.  I counted 17 pkgs of shredded cheese (I kid you not), 5 blocks of artisan cheese, 2 wedges of parmesan, 3 full size balls of fresh mozzarella and 2 enormous logs of goat cheese when I cleaned out my fridge yesterday.  We won't count the Costco bag of string cheese--those belong to Brooklyn as she is more diligent about eating her cheese than I am. 

All that to say that I adore cheese.  It frightens me to think of a refrigerator without it.  And with so much cheese, I needed to make cheese with a little pasta today. 

This "recipe" was quite the evolution.  It started with an idea to make a goat cheese mac-n-cheese type dish. While searching for mac in the basement "pantry" I realized that 1) I didn't have macaroni and 2) I still had a butternut squash from last fall.  Seriously.  I store them in the cool basement and while they last months, I was surprised that this one lasted months and then some.  So then I wanted to make something with butternut squash. Butternut squash and creamy goat cheese is definitely good eats. 

The evolution didn't stop there.  True to most of my cooking, it's all often about what' closest or what whim hits me....

....I was going to sautee the onions in coconut oil but then I found bacon in my fridge....bacon it is.
....I was going to make the sauce with white wine...for all of a second.  Then I saw the beer that I'd just opened, sipped, and decided I wasn't in the mood for.  When you are cooking just for yourself, you can use the beer you just sipped.

Beer is definitely not standard or expected but I was thrilled with the result.  Seriously.  Beer has that malty, hoppy flavor that translated into a hearty sauce that was fantastic with the goat cheese.

A full pantry search yielded exactly one pkg of pasta.  The luck continues.

I'm not the world's biggest pasta eater but this was a combo that I loved, loved, loved.  It might even persuade me to eat pasta twice in the same week.  The sweet butternut squash was a perfect contrast to the salty bacon, tangy goat cheese and malty beer.  I love a happy accident.

Butternut Goat Cheese Pasta

Ingredients:
8 oz dried pasta
4 oz bacon diced
1 cup diced onions
2 garlic cloves minced
2 cups cooked cubed butternut squash
4 oz goat cheese
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
1/2-2/3 bottle of lager
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
Fresh basil (optional)

Directions:

1. Place a large pot of water on to boil
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add diced bacon and cook until bacon is crisp.  Remove all but 1 tbsp of the bacon grease
3. Add pasta to boiling water and cook per directions on pkg
4. Lower heat to medium low and add onions and garlic.  Sautee until onions are tender, about 5-6 minutes
5. Return heat to med-high heat, add squash, goat cheese and parmesan and stir well.  Add lager and cook for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens.  
6. When pasta is al dente, spoon pasta directly from pasta water to butternut squash pan (do not rinse pasta as this helps the sauce stick to the pasta) Mix to combine and serve immediately with fresh basil if desired

Quinoa Burrito Bowl

I'm still not over you burrito bowl.  

Burrito bowls are apparently a forever kind of love in my life.  

I'm not going to lie to you.  The below recipe post is a cut and paste recycle of this original burrito bowl post.  The original post also has a few more photos on the different layers that make up the perfect burrito bowl but trust that you'll be able to figure out how to pile all of the different items together in your own bowl even if you don't click over to the other post.  All that's changed in this version is a layer of quinoa instead of the rice.  If I'm being fully honest I'll say it's not too shabby--that's saying a lot coming from a girl with asian blood that could live off of rice.  Yes, quinoa in a burrito bowl is not too shabby at all. 

Little bit lazier sometimes means maybe you use frozen corn instead.  I just let it thaw and then browned it a bit in a hot skillet before adding it to the salsa.

Just because cilantro is so lovely.

Truly easy, peasy. 

Naked Burrito

Cilantro Quinoa

• 2 cups of hot cooked quinoa 
• juice and zest of 1 small lime
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix lime juice with salt to dissolve salt.  Drizzle over rice.  Add zest and cilantro and toss.

Corn and Tomato Salsa

• 1 cup fresh corn cooked and cut from cob, or frozen corn defrosted in warm water and drained
• 3 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeno (optional) seeds removed and finely minced
• 1/4 finely diced red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• salt to taste
• juice of 1 lime

Combine all ingredients and set aside 

Black Beans

• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Add garlic powder to chicken broth and stir.  Add beans, cover loosely and microwave for 2-3 minutes

Blackened Chipotle Chicken

• 2 large chicken breasts, butterflied
• blackening spice
• powdered chipotle chilis

Generously sprinkle chicken with blackening spice and chipotle chili powder.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Heat grill to 450.  Place chicken on grill and cook for 7-9 minutes on each side.  Let cool for 5 minutes and then dice.

Optional Toppings

• hot sauce
• avocados or guacamole
• sour cream or greek yogurt
• shredded jack or cheddar
• tortilla chips

Who Me?

What kind of dog does not rip apart toys, furniture, house?  Finally... our very first casualty in her 3 years of life.  Hooray, she's normal!

Road Trip Goodies and Covered Bridges of Madison County

I love a good road trip.  Really.   There's nothing like zoning out, listening to a good book and watching the country fly right by you.  Having grown up making the drive between Denver and Iowa many, many, many times, I'm a little partial to the rolling cornfields and barns of America's heartland.  The big sky, gentle hills and wind blowing through the fields makes me feel like maybe there is tranquility and peace amidst the craziness of daily life.  And since my 4th of July road trip took me right across I-80 and within 30 miles of the bridges of Madison County, it was a no-brainer to make a bit of a detour.  

First things first.  Driving across I-80 requires some goodies.  Not this many really, but I have a thing about going overboard when it comes to planning and preparedness.  Heaven forbid all the gas stations are closed and there are no snacks to be found.  I don't have a plan for how to get gas in that scenario, but I have food.  Yes I do. 

Road trips are just a huge temptation for me and my love affair with any salty fried foods (read french fries and potato chips).  Being prepared with some healthy alternatives that you really, really love, helps.  The key words there are really, really love.  Pack up a healthy snack that you are just "eh" about and how do you resist the siren song of the french fry?  (I didn't really but with only one order each way, I call it a success)  If I'd packed apples, I'd probably have eaten 3 orders of fries each way...tru nuf.

Instead, we have a caprese salad.  Throw some tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and dressing on a toothpick and you have car friendly salad that can be eaten while driving, shifting, changing lanes and changing songs.  Fantastic.

Next up are some turkey, hummus and cuke stacks.  I seriously love these little guys and am perfectly happy snacking on their yumminess.  Make these the day of or the cukes get all watery and ick. 

Other goodies to throw in the bag or cooler: more turkey, pumpkin seeds and dried fruit.  I went through an obsessive cantaloupe dehydrating and homemade fruit leather phase so was well prepared.  Purchased fruit leather is also pretty fantastic. 

Jerky and trail mix are kind of road trip staples aren't they? You can buy premade trail mix of course but I find that the premade ones fail to understand the most important aspect of trail mix: perfect sweet and salty balance. The key to me is using dry roasted salted peanuts and dark chocolate M&Ms.  Buying a bag of M&Ms, a box of raisins and a jar of dry roasted nuts is as easy as buying the premade mix and you have complete control over ratios.  

After my traumatic experience with no Starbucks and only gas station coffee on one road trip(visible shudder here), I always carry VIA with me just in case(Worst case scenario, you can buy some hot water that is used for tea.  Some gas stations will give it for free).

And what car trip is complete without Lara Bars, food of the heavens?  I actually keep some in the car but a few extra bars never hurt.  My favs are the PB&J and the PB and chocolate chip--YUM.  I didn't get it in the photo, but right before the trip I threw in some of those small Natural JIF To Go PB packs too...just in case there's a PB shortage somewhere. Other ideas for goodies: granola bars, cheese cubes and crackers(Carr's Whole Wheat crackers are crazy yummy even plain), and fruit.  Berries are the most perfectly sized portable fruit IMO.

And Izze.  Don't forget those little guys...only slightly better than a Coke Zero but they do stave off the cravings when all you want is something bubbly, which for me is waaaaay too often.

Don't forget the four-legged piglets in your car.  I give Zukes a good portion of my paycheck each month--I like that they are not total junk like the mainstream brands and that they are made in Colorado.    Brooklyn loves each and every variety of their snacks and supplements so it was a given to pack some in the front with us.  And cheese.  Yes, pups LOVE string cheese and we buy it bulk for spoiled rotten puppies.

With all these snacks packed perfectly into a tote with a couple of books on CD...12 hours pass more quickly than you can imagine and you feel a lot better arriving at your destination than if you'd stopped for fast food, candy bars and chips along the way.  

PS--I love Land's End monogrammable totes.  Yes I do.  That's another post altogether. 

This sweet little bridge is Hogback Bridge in Winterset, IA.  When I read the book The Bridges of Madison County, I envisioned the bridges to be north of I-80, or northern IA country.  The bridges are south of I-80.   Geographical changes like these (to what's in my mind) really throw me.  It took me awhile to get over the fact that the bridges were in southern IA and not northern IA like I'd imagined.  When I visited Mt. Rushmore years ago, I fixated for a week on the fact that the presidents' faces look east when my entire life I'd envisioned them peering due south.  Yes, total dork alert.

This is Roseman Bridge.  It's a lovely little jaunt down gravel farm roads (love those).  I wish we'd been able to visit some other time than high noon but alas, it was bright and super sunny.  Sun flare was inevitable.

The bridges were covered to protect against weather and keep horses from looking over and being spooked.  I eavesdropped on an actual tour. :)

Puppies are more fixated on the cooling rivers under the bridges than the bridges themselves. 

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ever spend time trying to decide between two specific types of muffins?  Last weekend I kept wavering between baking banana bread or blueberry muffins...that's a tough one right?  I wondered what would happen if I didn't choose.  Turns out what happens is happy times and a little party in your mouth. 

This has all the fantastic moist banana flavor of banana bread with big juicy bursting pops of blueberry.  

I had a killer long week at work so I'll leave today's writing at that.  This bread is definitely good stuff!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Ingredients
3 c all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (8oz)
2 c sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
4 very ripe banana, mashed ( 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup plain greek yogurt 

1.5 c blueberries, washed and drained

2 tbsp flour for dusting blueberries

For the Glaze(optional):
2 tbsp butter melted
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp hot water

Directions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 350°F 
2. Generously grease and flour a 9- to 10-inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. 
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. 
5. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. 
6. Add vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after addition of each egg
7. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas--batter will curdle
8. Alternately mix in 1/2 of dry ingredients then  and 1/2 yogurt mixing only well enough to combine.
9. Toss blueberries with 2 tbsp flour,  Gently fold into banana batter. 
10. Pour the batter into the pan, tap the pan on the counter to remove bubbles.
11. Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after about 30 minutes - if it is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 5-10 minutes.
12. Flip cake onto plate and then again onto cooling rack and cool to room temperature. 
13. When cake is completely cool, prepare the glaze: In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
14. Line baking sheet with waxed paper and place under rack. 
15. Drizzle glaze over top of banana bread and let set. 

2 Minute Beer Margaritas

I am not a summer person.  I know I'm in the minority but give me a good snowstorm over 90 degree heat any day.  When the temperature begins to spike (that's anything over 70 degrees in my book), a little margarita is sometimes called for.  My friend Mel made these beer margs, or beergaritas as they are sometimes called in restaurants, for us and I've been hooked since then.  If you are rarely in the mood to freshly squeeze eleventy hundred limes and the neon green mixes at the stores are out of the question, these margs might just be up your alley.  

There's really no recipe here, you just take one bottle of beer (Corona's kind of implied for a margarita, si?) one can of limeade concentrate, one can of Sprite/7up and some tequila.  Pour the Sprite, limeade concentrate (don't add water and make it into limeade) and beer into a pitcher.  Use the limeade can to measure out some tequila.  I like about 2/3 of the can worth of Jose's goodness, but that's a preference thing.  I think Mel used a full can.  I like to add a tsp of salt directly to the marg pitcher as well because I do love the salt but don't always love the licking the rim of cup thing.   Mix, pour over ice, garnish with a lime and marvel that you just made a pretty fantastic marg in 2 minutes and without using the neon green stuff.   This one has a great fresh (as fresh as concentrate can be) lime flavor, the beer cuts the sweetness quite a bit and the carbonation is subtle but my favorite part.  Love these suckas, especially when it's.....um...77 degrees out. (????)  I swear it feels hotter than that.  

In puppy news, we have a guest over for the weekend, and I have to admit, I've never realized what a little stinker Brooklyn really is.  It takes a lot of chutzpah to obstinately stake a claim on a crate belonging to a guy that outweighs you by 100 lbs.  It takes even more chutzpah to dart in and steal his treats from right under his nose.  I didn't get that shot because I was immobilized by the sheer shock that such things could happen.  I may have to admit she's a little bratty.

Who'd have thunk they could be such buds?  

Funfetti waffles

Who doesn't like sprinkles?  Even if you don't think the world of their fun sprinkle flavor (valid flavor descriptor I'm sure), the burst of colorful happiness they bring is bound to make even a grinch smile. 

Or at least it should. 

These waffles are made using a bit of funfetti cake mix.  I made the first waffle and thought the sprinkles were a little sad so I suggest bumping it up a notch.  Just sprinkle them right over the top of the waffle batter....

Now you can really see 'em.

You could of course be really ambitious and make a glaze type syrup for these, but I thought they were just fantastic with maple syrup.  Yes indeedy.  

Easy, fun to look at and quick to throw together--the best kind of lunch in my opinion. 

Boston baby shot of the day. 

Funfetti Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. Funfetti cake mix

2 c all purpose flour

1/4 c  Sugar

2 1/2  c milk

2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1/4 c canola oil

Lots of delightful sprinkles

Directions:

1. To make the waffles, whisk together the flour, cake mix,  sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 
2. Add eggs, milk, oil and extracts and whisk together until smooth. 
3. Lightly grease the waffle maker and heat the waffle maker per manufacturers instructions. 
4. Carefully ladle batter into the middle of the waffle maker and close to the edges.  Top with sprinkles and close and bake until the edges are brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes depending on your waffle maker. 
5. Repeat with the remaining batter.

July 4th Celebrations

Independence Day falls right behind Christmas in the race for my favorite holiday.  Now, nothing can ever compare with Christmas so it's not even a real race, but that's not the 4th of July's fault.   If Christmas wasn't so warm and festive and jolly and snowy and cozy, well, the 4th would easily slide into first place. 

What's not to love?  Flags, americana, sparklers, fireworks, barbecues, parades and watermelon--yes, this is a happy day of the year indeed.  When I lived in NY, my friends and I always had a little 4th of July road trip each year...DC, Boston Pops, Virginia Beach, Philly, NYC...all cities that know how to celebrate the 4th in style. 

This year I was craving a little 4th of July road trip and headed back to America's heartland to visit family in Iowa.  Different kind of feeling than DC, but there's a lot to be said for small town charm. 

This was the first place I have full memories of as a child.  We lived exactly where I am standing to take this photo.  I remember the lake being more massive and well, lake like. Needless to say, I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand--a Snoopy one to be precise.  While the charms of fishing have eluded me since then, there's nothing like visiting old haunts to stir up a little nostalgia. 

And this is just a ways up the road....

I love a great worn barn.

And of course the food part of the post.  This is another Pinterest special--who of us didn't pin the bacon wrapped corn onto one of our boards?  This is one of the few Pinterest pins I've actually executed and it was yummy as bacon always is.  

It did however make a ginormous mess and grease fire in the barbecue.  Just  a little warning for you. 

Hope all who celebrated had a wonderful and safe 4th!