Day 31 | Todiefor Gingersnaps and Halloween {cue the finale music}

Happy Halloween friends!

It's the Great Pumpkin!

We made it to Day 31!  Can you believe it?!

In honor of the wonderful Fall festivities which are upon us, I give you Todiefor Gingersnap Cookies.  This recipe was given to me by Dr. Julie Sweet, my Colonial American History professor my last semester at Baylor.  Dr. Sweet was passionate about the subject she taught and worked hard to make Colonial America come alive - including baking for these fabulous cookies for her students.  I have never forgotten her or her class, and I take a small trip down memory lane every year when I bake her gingersnaps.  Enjoy!

Dr. Sweet's Todiefor Gingersnap Cookies {I added the "todiefor" ;) }

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine, softened {I use unsalted butter}
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

In mixing bowl, combine half the flour and all other ingredients.  Beat until combined.  Add in remaining flour and beat well.  Shape dough into one inch balls.  Roll in sugar.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool cookies on wire rack.

And because everyone loves babies...I give you our official candy distributor. ;)  He loved Halloween and cried huge crocodile tears when we took him out of his pumpkin costume for bath time. 

I was Lucy and Hubster was Charlie Brown. :)

Hope y'all are having a wonderful evening!

Check out all the other 31 Dayers here.

Day 30 | For When Inspiration Fails You

I hate it when the Hubster asks the inevitable "so, what's for dinner?" and I have nothing.  Nada.  Zlich.  Can't seem to make my brain function and I couldn't even start to think of what I'd like to eat.

Sometimes I get my inspiration from a meal we both loved at a restaurant.  Sometimes it's just the usual comfort foods {pizza, burgers, or spaghetti for us}.  But when I feel like I'm in a rut and I just want something new and different I search the web for inspiration.  Here are some goodies:

Epicurious

Southern Living

Food & Wine

The Girls' Guide to Guns and Butter {the name makes me smile every time}

The Everyday Kitchen {one of my new favorite blogs}

Simple Bites {not just for moms!}

Petit Appetit {for when you're cooking for little ones}

Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Life in Grace {I love Edie's blog and her fearless use of butter and bacon fat.}

The Happy Home {my sister-in-law-to-be bakes some todiefor goodies}

So what about you?  Any good sites for inspiration when your mind draws a blank?

Check out the other 31 Dayers here.

Day 29 | Pasta with Lentils, Kale, and Spinach {YUM!}

I must have been hiding under a rock all my life, because until this fall I had never {ever} had kale.  Or lentils.  And now I love both.  I just about died when I came across this recipe on Epicurious.

I only made a couple of changes to the recipe - adding spinach and parmesean.  This recipe is definitely going into rotation at my house.  This serves 4 and it didn't even last 5 hours in my house.  Hubster had 2 servings at dinner and I couldn't resist making a midnight snack of the remaining serving.  ;)

Pasta with Lentils, Kale, and Spinach {based off of this recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup lentils, cooked and ready to go
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 lb kale
1/4 lb baby spinach
1/4 cup shredded parmesean
3/4 lb short dried pasta
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, then add onions, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Saute for about a minute over medium high, then reduce heat and continue to cook for about 20 minutes or until golden.

While your onions are cooking, remove the center stems from the kale and cut kale into bite sized pieces.  Boil kale in a 6-8 quart pot of salted water for 5-8 minutes, or until cooked through. 

 Remove the kale with tongs and strain in a colander.  Add your dried pasta to the already boiling pot of water and cook until al dente.  Add lentils, kale, and baby spinach to the skillet with the onions and simmer for about a minute.  Check for seasoning and add salt/pepper as needed.

Once pasta is al dente, add pasta to skillet, plus about 1/3 cup of pasta water.  Toss to coat and simmer for another minute or so. 

Transfer to serving dish and add parmesean and a drizzle of olive oil.  Toss one last time and serve immediately.

Seriously, this is my new fav.  :)

 
Check out the other 31 Dayers here.

Day 28 | Grits Are Good!

I hope you all will forgive my lazy blogging these last couple of days.  The Hubster is on vacation and I have been enjoying time spent with my little family.  :)

Texas is an interesting state.  My old History of Texas professor used to say that Texas was really like two states in one; the Eastern half {east of Austin onward} was part of the American South, and the Western half {Austin and westward} was part of the American Southwest.

As a child I never understood the term "The South".  I didn't understand how those "Northern" states like North Carolina could be considered the South.  I mean, you can't get further South than Texas without going to Mexico.  As far as I was concerned, Texas was the end-all-be-all Southern state.

So imagine my surprise when I learned of a "traditionally Southern" food that I'd never had: grits.

 
I guess I grew up in the part of the state that's a little more Southwestern than Southern.  My only experience with grits was limited to a very paste-like version which was dumped on our cafeteria trays at summer church camp.  They looked like paste and tasted like paste.  I couldn't believe people actually liked them.

Enter the April 2011 edition of Southern Living and it's drool-enducing Spring Brunch...including cheese grits made with Gouda.  They looked todiefor.  I had to try them.  And once I did, I was hooked.

 My very battered and splattered copy of April 2011 Southern Living.

I don't keep Gouda on hand, so I have tried these grits with every kind of broth/cheese combination I can think of {including American cheese} and I LOVE them nomatterwhat.  If you have never tried grits, or think you hate grits, you must, must, MUST try these.

Here is the variation I made a couple of nights ago {there were absolutely no leftovers even though this was supposed to serve 4}.

Cheese Grits {based on Southern Living's Gouda Grits}

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken broth {or whatever you have on hand...even boullion works}
1/2 cup of half and half
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup of stone ground yellow cornmeal {or quick cooking grits, whatever you have}
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup skim milk
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp Frank's Hot Sauce {plus an extra shake or two}

Bring the first 3 ingredients plus 2 cups of water to a boil in a dutch oven or large pot.  Once boiling add grits/cornmeal slowly while wisking to prevent lumps. 

 Thank you Alton Brown for your idea of using cornmeal instead of hominy for grits.

Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer until cooked, stirring occasionally.  When grits are cooked through {should be thick like cream of wheat or mashed potatoes} remove from heat and stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.  Serve immediately and don't blame me if you become a grits addict.  ;)

Cheesy, creamy goodness.

Have you checked out all the other 31 Dayers?