Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guest post. Show all posts

Monday, February 6, 2012

Hart to Heart Guest Post

It's a lovely Monday morning, and I have lots to share with you in the coming weeks: my new quest to organize, lots of great recipes, and more! In the meantime, head on over to my friend Leigh Anne's blog - Hart to Heart, to see the guest post she was so kind to ask me to pull together for her.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Guest Post: Apple Sausage Pilaf with Pecans from The Saturday Evening Pot

Anne, better known as "The Lucky Wife" from the Saturday Evening Pot, and I first got to know each other earlier this year, when she and her husband were first getting started with their blog. I'm glad to count her as one of my bloggy bffs, and love sharing recipes and emails with her. Please take a look at this tasty treat and enjoy!

Hello, Everyone!  I'm excited to be here today to share a recipe, Apple Sausage Pilaf with Pecans, which I think you will love from talking with Erin about what you've most enjoyed so far from her kitchen.  But first, let me introduce myself... I'm Anne, better known as The Lucky Wife over at The Saturday Evening Pot, another food blog.  My husband, John, or The Chef, and I co-author the blog to share recipes we've enjoyed.
 
When John decided in 2001 to change careers and go to culinary school, we made a deal that has benefited me ever since (hence, The Lucky Wife!): He would do the cooking in our home since I was going to pay our bills while he was in school. When we started our blog in January, I gave him his title, The Chef, for the blog.  We have enjoyed sharing our passion for food through blogging.

It was not long after we started the blog that I came across EKat's Kitchen.  I enjoyed seeing what Erin was cooking and linked up at some of her Friday Potluck parties, eventually emailing her about something and developing a friendship from there.  Erin's kindness during our conversations online would be of no surprise to you.  She's very approachable, friendly and gracious as a person.  Isn't it amazing the things you learn about people through online communication, even though you've never met IRL?

We are currently hosting a 100-Day Christmas Countdown event, for which Erin offered some guest posts and features.  I am so looking forward to sharing those soon and cannot believe it is already less than 70 days until Christmas!  I told Erin I'd love to share a recipe with you all in return.  So when The Chef recently developed an amazing pilaf recipe, I knew this would be the one to share with you:

Apple Sausage Pilaf with Pecans
 


Ingredients:
  • Approximately 1-1/2 cups uncooked white rice/wild rice blend
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 packet spiced apple cider mix
  • 4 gluten free chicken and apple sausage links
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
Cooking Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in large, non-stick skillet.
  3. Slice 4 sausage links into coins. Add to hot oil and saute on both sides until brown.
  4. Add chopped pecans and toss thoroughly.
  5. Add uncooked rice. Stir contents in order to completely coat rice with oil and drippings from pan. Remove rice and sausage mixture from pan and place in 9x13 casserole dish.
  6. In a large bowl, mix cider packet into four cups of chicken broth and gently pour over rice mixture in baking dish. (NOTE: Broth should cover rice completely by at least 1/8 of an inch.)
  7. Cover baking dish with tin foil and bake for 1 hour or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.

The Chef bought the sausage links to eat alone but got to wondering how they would taste in a rice pilaf.  He'd never really had much experience with rice pilaf, which has a unique cooking technique with similarities to risotto, in that you can adapt it according to your current cravings or personal preferences.  (Side note... The Chef loves risotto.  His Italian Cheese, Mushroom and Walnut Risotto is to die for.  I know I'm biased... but it really is.)

After "playing in the kitchen," as we like to call it when he sets out to create something new, this was the result, and actually, the first pilaf he'd ever made.  It would be good served with pork roast, turkey at Thanksgiving or by itself with your favorite vegetable, such as carrots, green bean casserole, or squash.  The Chef was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out.  I thought it was delicious, and it is unlike any pilaf I've ever had.  Both of our children loved it as well.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

We've enjoyed sharing with you today and would love for you to stop by our blog to check out our 100-Day Countdown to Christmas series and our recipes.  A few you might enjoy, especially with the cooler weather on the way, are:

















And of course, dessert!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Inspired by the one served at Cracker Barrel)






If you have school-aged children, you may also be interested in the lunchbox ideas we recently shared that have been popular on our blog. We hope you have a wonderful week with lots of great eating!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles -- Holiday Guests #4

Welcome to my fourth Holiday Guest - Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies. Lisa is a lovely blogger whose recipes are absolutely fantastic and mouthwatering! Lisa started blogging in February 2010 as a way to catalog her recipes and see how they all turned out. She's continued because blogging has given her the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful other bloggers and become friends with them, as well as finding a new talent in photography. Lisa is motivated by good food and the desire to share it with others, as well as by seeing the beautiful and delicious things that other bloggers come up with. Fun fact: Lisa loves Korean dramas. If it's a really good one, she can watch four episodes marathon-style (four hours!!!, as long as she doesn't have anything else to do, that is).With that, check out her Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles! :) I can't wait to try these babies!

 (Betcha can't eat just one)

Christmastime is always a time for delicious goodies, both to have around the house and to give to others.  This Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffle recipe is one you'll definitely want to keep in your recipe box for both purposes.

These little chocolates look good enough to be store-bought and they taste every bit as good.  The peanut butter center is  creamy and the pretzels add a delicious crunch.  Blend that with the sweet chocolate on the outside and you've got the perfect bite.  Just one taste, and I promise you'll receive rave reviews.

Of course, if you're planning to give these away, you might want to double the recipe (you know, just so you can make sure you have a few or twenty of these truffles for yourself).  


Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles (adapted from The Pursuit of Happiness)

1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 c. finely crushed pretzels
1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter and crushed pretzels in a bowl.  Add powdered sugar if desired (I wanted my filling to be a little sweeter and it helped to stiffen the dough a bit more).  Cool in the freezer for about 15 minutes until firm.

Roll the peanut butter mixture into small balls.  Place balls on a cookie sheet covered in wax or parchment paper.  Freeze balls for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Pour chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl with a little vegetable oil (I found that I didn't need the extra oil).  Microwave for about 30 seconds and then stir.  If chips aren't melted enough, microwave again for another 15 seconds.

Roll frozen peanut butter balls in melted chocolate.  Refrigerate truffles until ready to serve.

Makes 28 truffles

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Spaghetti w/ Spicy Turkey -- Holiday Guests #3

Welcome to the third guest post in my Holiday Guests series! I first "met" Tina through Friday Potluck and early on we discussed guest posts. I'm really excited to present Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING as my guest poster this December 29th!  

Tina once owned a meal-prep business where people came in and made food and took home to freeze. More recently she had been cooking every day for a year and and was sharing recipes to friends and family via Facebook. When the year was finished this past September, she wanted to continue as she looks forward to being in her kitchen each day, so started her blog. She loves cooking, and that she can send friends and family to her blog to grab the recipe, as well as meeting and talking with all the food lovers out there.
Hello to everyone at EKat’s Kitchen. I am so happy to be guest posting today for Erin. I am just starting to grow my blog and Erin and I have been emailing back and forth for a few months now. It’s so wonderful this “Blogging World”, I am enjoying it immensely. My name is Tina and my blog is MOMS CRAZY COOKING. I love to cook and bake and my all time passion is digital scrapbooking. I try and share a new recipe every single day on my blog and my family loves trying all my new recipes. I rarely make something more than once, because there are so many new recipes to try. I live in Southern California with my husband and 4 kids (19 yr old, twins 17 yrs old and my baby he is 11 yrs old). Like most moms, I live a busy and crazy life.

My love for cooking has always been there, but more a less on the back burner. A year ago I began a journey of “Cooking Everyday for a Year and Sharing my Recipes” (on facebook); when I completed the year I was so sad and wanted to continue. I didn’t know much about blogs, but began reading and following and just fell in love, thus began my MOMS CRAZY COOKING BLOG. I bake and cook and my family LOVES to taste. Then we all vote and decide if they are “keepers” or not.

Today I have a delicious Rachel Ray recipe for you. I tear out pages and pages of recipes from magazines and I try and make every single one, some are to-die for delicious and some are just so-so. This was one of those knock you of your seat every so yummy spaghetti recipes and I am so glad I finally got around to making it. I know that if you find the time to make this recipe you will not be disappointed. ENJOY!
Spaghetti with Spicy Turkey Sauce

from Rachel Ray Magazine
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pound ground turkey
Salt and black pepper
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Increase the heat to medium-high, crumble in the turkey, season with salt and black pepper and cook until the turkey is just no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the parsley and cheese.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water, adding more water to thin the consistency, if desired. Serve immediately with more cheese.

Here are a few of my other favorite Dinner Recipe posts, I hope you stop on over to MOMS
CRAZY COOKING and take a look! Thank you again, Erin, for allowing me to be your guest
today on EKat’s Kitchen.

Club Burger Sliders with Avocado Ranch Dressing & Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
BBQ Pizza
Flat Bread Tacos with Ranch Sour Cream
Sloppy Joes
G’ma Goulash
Shaved Parmesan Chicken and Lemon Crème


Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Spanish Meatballs -- Holiday Guests #1

I met Michele this fall and she has become one of my closest blogging pals. I am so pleased that she agreed to be the first of my Holiday Guests in my guest post series. Her blog - Fit Foodista - is a great source for wonderful recipes and fitness tips - she also hosts a monthly blog carnival of great health, fitness and food recipes published on the 17th (you can enter up until the 15th of each month). I love this recipe and can't wait to try!




OK – so why the heck is FIT Foodista offering rich, decadent Spanish Meatballs with White Wine, Garlic and Saffron? This is most definitely not a typical recipe for me; but since it’s a special occasion – a guest post for one of my favorite blogger pals, and the holidays are nearly upon us – I decided to splurge. This recipe is a traditional Spanish Tapas recipe adapted from a Penelope Casas book, The Foods and Wines of Spain.
One of the advantages of being the sole cook in the house is control over the family diet….for at least one meal each day anyway! My family has been patiently enduring a slow reduction in the quantity of meat we eat. We never ate a lot; but I’m still making cuts where I can. The way I see it, if we can get the majority of our nutrients from vegetables and small quantities of lean protein, we’ll be less of a drain on the environment and maintain better health while doing so. It’s a win-win! So, as a thanks to my Peeps and a reward for their lack of grumbling, I made these the other day. The minute my Step Son (aka The Boy With Great Sadness That We’re Cutting Back on Meat) walked in the door after school, he sniffed the air like a puppy on his first car ride and was overcome with a goofy grin. My husband, who never complains about the lack of meaty-things, scarfed down two servings with a glazed look in his eyes; and even my daughter, who could be 100% vegetarian before I could, managed to put aside her food politics and indulge lustily.

Whether you decide to offer these as an appetizer at your holiday party or as a treat for your well deserving family, people will love ya!

Notes:
The recipe made almost 50 one inch meatballs – far more than I needed for dinner.
These can be made with ground turkey too!
Appetizer size would be smaller; but I made them as a main dish size meatball (about 1 inch) and served them with a very simple saffron-almond rice pilaf studded with green peas.



Spanish Meatballs with White Wine, Garlic and Saffron


Meatballs
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1 cup finely diced onion
  • ½ cup finely diced parsley
  • 3 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 cup dried bread crumbs
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl beat eggs lightly.
  2. Add salt, pepper, almonds, onion, parsley and garlic.
  3. Stir well.
  4. In a separate bowl mix together turkey, pork and breadcrumbs.
  5. Pour egg mixture over meat mixture and combine well.
  6. Form into meatballs (smaller for appetizers, larger for main dish)
  7. Sauté meatballs in batches over medium-high heat or bake in a 375 degree oven for ten minutes or until done. Length of time will depend upon size.


Wine, Garlic and Saffron Sauce

Ingredients
3/4 cup minced onion
6 cloves minced garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil or 4 tablespoons of drippings from cooked meatballs
4 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken or beef stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon saffron
½ cup chopped parsley

Instructions
  1. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
  2. Add flour, stir well and cook for two minutes.
  3. Whisk in wine and broth.
  4. Simmer and reduce for 15 minutes.
  5. Stir in smoked paprika and saffron, continue cooking for 5 minutes.
  6. Stir in parsley.
  7. Add meatballs and gently fold into sauce.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Holiday Guests!!!

Hello, my lovelies! I hope that you are all well into a very festive holiday season! As you know, K and I are moving back to Alaska. 

In December. Which is a bit gulp-worthy, since I've gotten quite accustomed to the un-winters of Colorado Springs. Where it snows perhaps an inch or two and then melts promptly within a few hours/days at most. 

That said, I can't wait to introduce Lucy the Wonder Dog to real snow. 
That's taller than she is.
Believe me, I'll be posting pictures. Maybe video.

I also can't wait to see family and friends, and to buy a home again!

No more waxing poetic -- you'll soon hear about our trip north, reunions with family and friends, and about things I'd forgotten about Anchorage that I love a little less than the pedestal on which I've kept my hometown. These things happen.

I do want to introduce you to my holiday guests at EKat's Kitchen. Because we'll be in mid-move, movers, and traveling by road and air, I invited some holiday guests into my kitchen. Please stay tuned for posts from the lovely Michele, Katie, Tina, and Lisa.

Wednesday, December 15 -- Michele @ Fit Foodista
Wednesday, December 22 -- Katie @ Wonderland Kitchen
Wednesday, December 29 -- Tina @ MOMS CRAZY COOKING
Wednesday, January 5 -- Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies

I hope that you'll enjoy hearing from my Holiday Guests as much as I'll enjoy reading their posts. I also want to thank these ladies for helping me keep up regular posts while my life (and household) is in chaos. Though we won't be settled for a while, we should at least have a plan in place by this point! 

Thanks for tuning in! Hope your holiday guests are as wonderful as mine!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Guest Post @ Wonderland Kitchen (Crockpot Stuffing)

Hello to all of you! I'm excited to be sharing today's post via Wonderland Kitchen!!



Wonderland Kitchen kettle


I first met Katie through Friday Potluck and am very excited to be sharing my Crock Pot Stuffing with her readers.  Katie regularly cooks for 6-9 people on any given day, and is therefore my hero!!! We've become pals, and I find her to be very inspiring! While you're at Katie's place, check out her homeschooling blog too!

Thanks pals!

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