Tag: BUTTER!

New Menu Monday: Garlic, Garlic, GARLIC! New Side Dish for Navy Bean Soup

The Husband is sick as a dog, poor sweetie. He’s the complete opposite of me when ill- leave him alone, bring the occasional tea or hot toddy and he is fine. Me? I want sympathetic noises several times an hour, offers to fetch the remote, tissues, phone, iPad, etc… And soup. I want nice, preferably home-made soup.

Navy Bean Soup is on the menu tonight for two reasons: it is The Husband’s favorite (poor sick sweetie!), and I want to do a “New Menu Monday” post. So, instead of our favorite bean soup side, The Most Fantastic Corn Bread On The Face Of The Earth, I found an interesting and good looking garlic bread.

Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread from YourHomeBasedMom.com
Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread photo from YourHomeBasedMom.com

I was late today, digging this recipe out of my Pinterest board “Breads, Muffins, Pastries and Quick Breads.” well after 4:00 this afternoon with errands still to run. On the way home, I ran into the grocery store and picked up a bag of frozen dough for rolls, as suggested by the author. The recipe I’m trying tonight comes from a March 2015 entry from the blog “YourHomeBasedMom.com.” There are tons of great recipes there, go check her out.

Thawing Dough
Thawing Dough

The changes I made to this recipe were to use nine, not 14 rolls; Italian seasonings instead of oregano; fresh garlic, not garlic salt; and real parmesan cheese, not “the kind from the green can.” Her recipe suggests using home made dough, frozen ready-made if you are short on time… which I was.

Ready to Roll and Dip
Ready to Roll and Dip
All Coiled Up
All Coiled Up
Risen Dough
Risen Dough

Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread

  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 2 big cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 7 frozen rolls, thawed

Microwave butter on a plate then mix in the cheese, garlic, and Italian seasonings. Roll thawed dough balls into ropes, then roll in seasoned butter and place coiled up in your buttered cast iron pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

This. Was. DELICIOUS! I really think that the fresh garlic really made this recipe. Fast, easy and yummy. I’m already thinking about how the next time I will make a dough with half whole wheat and add even more garlic and parmesan.

Beautiful!
Beautiful!

Purple Artichokes? Interesting, but How Do They Taste?

While buying apples for tomorrow’s taste testing with the techies (teen techies, technically… I’ll stop the alliteration now), I found Purple Artichokes. I would have just walked past, but I’m on the lookout for the novel, new or unknown so, into the cart they went! With tech week going on and no kids to cook for, I’m much more willing to try something new with no teens saying “Ew, what’s that?!?”

Purple Artichokes, ready to prep.
Purple Artichokes, ready to prep.
Trimmed, top and bottom.
Trimmed, top and bottom.

I grew up eating artichokes and wondered if these tasted different. After a wash and trim, they were ready for a 30-40 minute steam. I didn’t trim the thorny top from each leaf… ain’t nobody got time for that. I highly recommend sticking around the kitchen to ensure your pot doesn’t boil dry (read: don’t go start writing your blog post for the night) . We can testify that your home and the outermost leaves will smell something reminiscent of an ashtray… yep. Once past the first three or four leaves, though, it was all a happy, butter-drenched extravaganza. Let’s admit it, artichokes taste great but are really just an excuse to eat more butter.

Purple Artichoke, Butter, Shrimp, Butter, and Butter
Purple Artichoke, Butter, Shrimp, Butter, and Butter

The Purple Artichokes were just as delicious as a regular Globe Artichoke. No notable difference in flavor or texture.

I remember EONS ago when I was in college but still living at home. This was when I started to cook- really cook, not just bake cookies. A produce company Frieda’s provided new, exotic fruits and vegetables to our local grocery stores that I had never noticed before. Frieda’s reminds me how I couldn’t wait to start shopping and cooking for myself. I still love finding bargains and cooking for our family. Frieda’s Inc. is still around and will you look at one of their feature photos from their site? It is the same purple artichoke that is on our menu tonight: 

SnickerWhat’s-its and Thank Yous

You know how you always get super-busy during the holidays? Do you wish you could spread out the giving and the thanking seasons to show appreciation for the many important people you see nearly every day? The school front office staff, the high school teachers, the postal workers, the folks who work for you or your sweetie… these people are all on my list this year. I’d like to get a thank you note out to these and many more people.

Today I’m going to try to catch up with the security guards at The Girl’s school. Amazing, isn’t it? Schools with security guards and metal detectors. That’s a whole different nut to crack another day, but not this day. We have about 10 guys at the high school working in different shifts, and they honestly ought to put their stories and experiences down on paper. I’d buy that book! Between looking out for our pubescing teens and directing visitors, they are watching over all the goings on of our fabulous high school.

So here’s to you guys- Pete, Bob, Anthony, Leighton, Jason, John, Suka, Ron and Steve! May you know we appreciate all that you do for our children, our families, and our entire school community. ESPECIALLY with the complete NUT JOBS you occasionally come across… make that daily, probably- I’ve been witness to some of the most bizarre behavior, from other adults- you men have handled it with calm authority and tact.

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New Menu Monday- Herbed Salmon with Artichokes

In trying to stick with the goal of serving up our favorite meals in different ways, today I made the family switch from this:

Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce, Buttered Spinach, Brown Basmati Rice
Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce, Buttered Spinach, Brown Basmati Rice

and try this instead:

Salmon Baked with Olive Oil and French Herbs, Steamed Artichokes, Green Salad, and Whole Wheat Rolls
Salmon Baked with Olive Oil and French Herbs, Steamed Artichokes, Green Salad, and Whole Wheat Rolls

The family LOVES brown basmati rice, and somewhat willingly chokes down the spinach, but we always serve these same sides with our salmon. So, I decided to up the torture for my son- I made the kid eat an artichoke. He complained so little that I suspect he secretly liked it. My daughter and I not only really like artichokes, but think that they make a great excuse to get more butter into our faces, yeah!

Three out of five of us think that we need to eat artichokes more often- the spare 5th person was the boyfriend… he redeemed himself because even though he can’t stand the artichokes, at least he’s a salmon lover… so he can stay.