Recipe Exchange

Here are pictures of  my last five pins:

The Ultimate Egg Sandwich

 

Butter Boiled Potatoes

 

 

Brown Butter Triple Chocolate Cookies

Chocoflan

 

 

Oreo Cinnamon Rolls



As you can tell, I love collecting (and trying!) new recipes.

I'm putting together an email recipe exchange. Each month, I will send out an email announcing the month's theme and sharing my recipe for the month. By the end of the month, all you have to do is hit "Reply All" and share your recipe that fits within the theme. This way we will all have new recipes to try.

Interested? Leave a comment with your email address or send an email to rrwrites@hotmail.com containing your name and email address. Please put "Recipe Exchange" in the subject line so that if you end up in my spam I can fish you out.


*This post inspired by a Mama Kat prompt.

01 02 12

Ewww....Persimmons

Okay, I don't think persimmons are eww.


I just think they taste like nothing.

If you know me, then you know I'm a flavor gal. If I'm going to eat something I want it to have lots of flavor. My favorite cake is lemon with chocolate frosting and blueberry filling. Lots of flavor going on in that one. Are you catching a ride on the flavor train?

So, when my sweet neighbor presented me with a bag of 10 persimmons I freaked. And by freaked, I mean I went on a pinterest and googling safari.

And I found many good looking recipes for jams and fruit butter but all of them required the persimmons be pureed, and I don't know if you've seen my kitchen, but that's not happening in here.

Anyway, I finally stumbled upon this delicious sounding recipe from Cook Play Explore.

So, I adapted it to fit my current living situation. Here we go:

8 persimmons, peeled and chopped
8 tablespoons water, divided
4 tablespoons honey
2 capfulls of orange juice
about 2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons flour

Combine  persimmons, 4 tablespoons water, honey, and orange juice in a saucepan and  bring to a boil over medium heat (for 5 minutes). Reduce heat to medium-low, add cinnamon, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining four tablespoons of water. Add to fruit in pan and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and cool before storing.

I let mine sit in the fridge overnight. Then, I mixed it with my plain yogurt. It was scrumdiddlyumptious! 

What do you do with your persimmons?

01 02 12

Tuna Taco Rice

I first made this dish for myself, without the tuna. My husband thought it looked and smelled delicious even though he isn't a rice fan.

I knew he would like it, but as a side not, a meal in itself so I started to think of ways I could beef it up for him while keeping it a relatively cheap meal. I immediately thought of adding some tuna. I'm not a tuna fan. He's not a rice fan. Maybe they would transform each other into something, not only palatable but delicious.

And it worked!

Here's the recipe I cobbled together. It's extremely flexible and can easily be adjusted to suit your tastes. Note, I made just around 3 servings.


Sautee diced onions, spicy peppers, minced garlic and about half a can of corn. Sprinkle with cumin. Add 2 servings cooked rice and half a packet of taco seasoning. Add a large can of drained tuna and stir to combine. Mix in salsa, just enough to cover but not enough that the meal is watery.

Cook until heated through and top with shredded cheese. I used Monterrey Jack.

I think that all of the flavors help to mask the tuna. I could barely taste it and it was really mild.

I'm linking up today at Oh Simple Thoughts. The discussion question today is how do you make your table a safe place for guests.

I think its really important to make people feel comfortable. I remember the first time I invited someone over for dinner on a whim. I invited them a day in advance because we had been scheduled to go out for dinner but I told her I felt like doing something more low key.

I am still amazed to this day that I didn't panic. I'm a planner by nature and I love to plan out dinner menus and decorations. If we're having company over for dinner I like to adjust my work schedule so that I can home earlier and get prepared.

I didn't do any of that that day but we still had an amazing dinner together. I made hot potato salad. I didn't even start cooking until my guest arrived! But we talked and shared wine as I cooked.

I think its really important to connect with your guests and not seclude yourself in the kitchen. They want to interact with you!

Also, I usually like to plan a variety and abundance of food. I would rather have to much and eat leftovers for the rest of the week than not have enough food for everyone to walk away feeling satisfied.

To read more, you can check out my southern hospitality post.





01 02 12

Ingredients for a Perfect Summer Sunday

What do you think makes for the prefect summer Sunday?

Here are my ingredients for a delightful day:

1. A good night's sleep.
         My husband and I like to stay up late on Saturday nights. We play board games and watch movies, but sometimes we stay up too late and I don't sleep well.


2. Going to church
     I love going to church and being with other believers. I love learning to look at Scripture in a new way. And boy, do I have the "noise" part  of making a joyful noise down pat.

3. A nice cold drink
    I'm thinking a sweet iced tea, a very sour homemade lemonade or a chocolate pineapple shake from the Sonic. This Sunday, I chose a chocolate chip blended cream from Starbucks.

4. Writing time
    Whether working on my book idea, blogging or journaling this time really relaxes me. I love the feeling of "being in the zone".

5. Down time
    I love to spend time just hanging out with my hubby. We've started watching Copper on Sunday nights. Have you seen it? It took me forever to realize where the show got its name.

6. Comfort food
     I like to make a big batch of something delicious on Fridays so we can eat it all weekend long. This weekend I made chicken and dumplins. The only downside was that I had to eat it in front of the floor fan to keep from having a heat stroke.

Mix together in appropriate proportions and enjoy!

 

If you want the recipe for chicken and dumplins, keep reading!

 

Rachel's Chicken and Dumplins

7-8 pieces of bone in chicken (I used 5 legs and 3 thighs)
Water
Bay leaves
S&P
Garlic
Carrot
Small Can of Corn
1.5 Onions
3-4 Spicy peppers
2 Cups flour


Put the chicken in a big pot. Cover with water. Add in 2 bay leaves, S&P, and one chopped onion. Add a handful of garlic cloves, if you'd like.
Bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover and let simmer for two hours.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Turn the heat down to low. Pull the chicken off the bone. Discard the bone and skin.

Use a colander to separate the chicken stock from the cooked onion and garlic. Discard the onion and garlic. Return the stock to the pot.

Return chicken to the pot with half a chopped onion and one  chopped carrot, chopped peppers and the corn. Let simmer for half an hour, until heated through and the carrot is soft.

Make the dumplings by combining flour with 2 tablespoons cold water. Mix to form a sticky dough, adding more water as needed. Form one inch balls.

Place the balls in the stock and cover. Do not stir. Swirl the pot gently, if need be. Cook for 5 minutes.


Enjoy!

01 02 12