Key Lime Pie

Oh. My. Goodness. This stuff is amazing. I found this recipe and decided to try it because Scot's Uncle is a huge fan of Key Lime pies...he's even eaten slices of the stuff in the Keys themselves! The greatest thing about this recipe? There are only 4 ingredients minus the crust. Yeah. You read right. 4 ingredients. Or 5. Depending. And chances are, you have 3 of them in your refrigerator right now. I made whipped cream to go with this and it was to die for.

Key Lime Pie

• A single 9 inch graham cracker crust - you could be really Martha Stewart-ish and make this yourself. I chose to do the easy thing and buy one. (Making one, I'm sure, is easy, too...but I have a 21 month old and I'm 39 weeks pregnant...)
  
• 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk. (Don't buy the light or fat-free kind!)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup Key Lime juice - I did a lot of research on this whole Key Lime juice thing since I knew that it was different than normal lime juice, but I didn't know how. Wanna know a trick? The 'flavor index', as they say, of Key Lime juice, is the same as the juice you get when you mix 1/2 lemon juice with 1/2 lime juice. Pretty neat, huh? So that's what I did. If you want to do the real thing - it takes about 20 key limes.
  
• 1 T lime zest

--Mix all ingredients together until creamy.
--Pour into whatever crust you decide to go with.
--Pop it the oven (350) for about 8 minutes until the little pin hole bubbles pop. If that doesn't happen, just don't leave it in so long it browns.
--Chill it a couple hours and then enjoy with some home made whipped cream.

Pizza Pasta

So this is not a gourmet meal at all -- but it's a great meal to throw together to freeze if you need that, or for a big group of college kids, or even just a Sunday afternoon easy lunch with friends. Get a big salad together and throw some garlic bread in the over and you have yourself a very tasty and filling meal!

Pizza Pasta

• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 48 oz spaghetti sauce (I used a combo of "traditional" and "garlic and herb")
• Pepperoni slices
• 8-12 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese

--Cook pasta according to directions...meanwhile...
--Brown beef
--Once pasta is cooked and drained, put it in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish
--Beat the egg and milk together and pour over pasta
--Combine the beef and pasta sauce together and pour that over the pasta
--Layer as many or as few pepperoni slices as your heart desires on top
--And now...sprinkle away with the cheese until it looks good to you
--Bake for 45 minutes at 350
--Let sit about 5 minutes before cutting and then...enjoy!

Better than "Anything" Cake

This is Scot's favorite cake and I made it for his birthday last week. It's not too time intensive, just a little more than a normal run of the mill box cake would be, but the extra little effort so worth it! Enjoy!

Better than "Anything" Cake

• 1 pkg Devil's Food cake mix
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 6 oz caramel ice cream topping (and a little more for the top!)
• Heath Bars. Crushed. For me - the more the merrier, so I just bought the bag of mini-Heaths and crushed them. I think it would have been about 3 or 4 regular bars.
• 8 oz whipped topping

--Bake the cake according to the directions in a 9x13 pan.
--Cool 5 minutes
--Meanwhile - heat sweetened condensed milk and caramel together.
--Make slits in the cake being careful not to go all the way through and then pour the milk/caramel mixture onto the cake, letting all the goodness seep in....mmmm....
--Sprinkle most of the crushed candy bars over the top (leaving some of the finer remnants aside for the top)
--Cool cake completely.
--Top entire cake with whipped topping and decorate with heath dust/crumbs and swirls or extra caramel.

Sloppy Joes

Being 38 weeks pregnant has put a damper on my kitchen creativity. I've been recycling through old recipes and haven't tried a whole lot of new stuff. This recipe, however, came from a friend and I just had to try it. It was easy - a plus when this pregnant and being up and around cooking is just not all that desirable - and oh so yummy! We had it on toasted whole wheat buns with sweet potatoes on the side! Scot added cheese to his 'Joe' and really enjoyed it. Get out those paper napkins, though...

Sloppy Joes

• 2 lbs hamburger
• 1 large onion - chopped
• 1.5 cups ketchup
• 4 T mustard
• 3 T sugar
• 4 T vinegar - apple cider works well
• 1/4 cup oatmeal

--Brown meat and onion and drain.
--Add the rest, mix well, heat through.

I threw it all into the crockpot and put it on low for the afternoon and voila, by dinner time it was all ready and yummy to the max!

Also: this is easy to double (or triple) and then freeze!

Maple Syrup

I make my own Maple Syrup and figured I would share the recipe with you all. Sorry for no picture - just imagine the thick brown liquid streaming over some hot pancakes...mmm....YUM!! (I think we may have pancakes for lunch, now that I'm thinking about it!) I got this recipe from my roommate in college - I think it was her mom's recipe. It's been good for us, hope you enjoy!!

Homemade Maple Syrup

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Butter
• Vanilla
  

--Heat until boiling.
--Let boil 4 minutes. DO NOT STIR!!
--Take off heat and add butter and vanilla to taste. (I do about a T of butter and 1-2 t of vanilla)

I usually double or triple this. If you triple it, it fits into a normal syrup container quite well.

Easiest Indian Stew

This is a new favorite at our house. I ventured out and made something "Indian-ish". I'm not overly crazy about Indian food in general, so I was curious about this dish and if I would even like it. I loved it. And what's best, besides the fact that it's healthy - it's so stinkin' easy! It keeps well, and while most things are best the first go-around - this is one of those dishes that is even better on day 2 because the flavors have really had a chance to mingle!


Easiest Indian Stew

Serves 6

Active time: 10

Cook Time: 25 (if your grain is already made) to 40 min (if you have to cook the brown rice)

Total time: 35 to 40 min

Serving Suggestions:  Steamed broccoli or a salad with some naan or whole wheat tortillas.

What you'll need:

• 1 1/2 cup dry brown rice OR enough quinoa or millet to yield 3-4 cups
• 3 cups water
• 1 TBLS olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 5 cups cubed eggplant (optional but HIGHLY recommended! It takes the dish to "amazing")
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 TBLS your favorite curry powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 14oz can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2, 8oz cans tomato sauce OR 1 14oz can
• 2 14oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 TBLS lime juice
• Plain yogurt OR sour cream for garnish (optional)

What you'll do:

• Cook your rice or grain.
• Meanwhile, chop and mince.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or medium saucepan.
• Saute onion and eggplant in skillet or saucepan until eggplant is tender and onion is translucent, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic and saute another 3 minutes.
• Add the curry and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chickpeas.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 10 minutes.
• Stir in the lime juice.
• Serve over a good spoonful of the grain and top with yogurt if desired.

A little twist

So I made this for dinner last night, but with a slight change just to see what it was like. The change? A packet of Alfredo instead of the Creamy Pesto. Still very tasty, just not as pesto-y. So if you're like us and love the taste of Pesto, stick with the original. But, if on the other hand, you like a subtle Pesto flavor, then try this!