Fettuccine Bolognese p. 163

Sorry no picture for this - I did take one but it got erased to make room for more football pictures! My husband didn't question why there were weird food pictures on the camera, he just erased them!

This recipe was easy and tasty although I would definitely make some changes for next time. Definitely liked all the vegetables in it!

First, not nearly enough tomatoes. I would double the amount of tomatoes used and also throw in a can of tomato sauce or paste or both!
Second, I don't think you can have a really good full flavored sauce without simmering it for at least an hour - Ellie calls for 5 minutes - so I simmered for an hour or so - I think it made it better but she's the expert, not me!

I used half and half instead of the evaporated milk just because I happened to have some - don't really think it matters what kind of milk because there is such a small amount.

Served with regular fettuccine because I didn't have the whole wheat on hand and my kids don't like the whole wheat.

Will make again but with more tomatoes!

New York Breakfast ~ page 25

Adam and I LOVE smoked salmon...apparently our 5 year old does too! She kept snatching bites off the counter! This open faced sandwich tasted terrific. My only complaint was that it was messy to eat, everything would fall off as I bit into it. Adam liked it better without the tomatoes since that is what kept falling off. I opted for just making it a yummy full sandwich as you can see in the picture below. I would definitely make this again! --Carissa

Darn you, multiple blogs!!!

That last post was meant for Carissa's blog over here... http://whatwecookcookbook.blogspot.com/

They let me post when I cook the recipes out of their cookbook and I got mixed up! Sorry!!

Pumpkin Spice Bread ~ page 325

Well, Carissa's bread inspired me I guess, along with the 15 pound pumpkin I roasted and pureed! I made a giant batch of pumpkin soup as I was making this Pumpkin Spice Bread. I made a slew of modifications though, since I was wanting a healthier bread for the family and freezer. I used 2c regular flour plus 1c whole wheat plus 1/3c flaxmeal. Also subbed half the oil for applesauce, and added 1tsp baking powder to help with the whole wheat flour I used.

My pumpkin was much more runny than canned would have been, so I measured out 2 cups and let it drain a while.

Then I realized I'd be adding 1c of water back to the recipe, so I added to my pumpkin liquid to get to the 1 cup. And these are the random but delicious cakes I got... They were light and fluffy and moist - highly recommended!!

This last one is a vintage tin that bakes little loves about double the size of a muffin, maybe a little less. They were really cute and a nice portion size. It was handed down to me by Janice when she found it wouldn't fit in her new house's little oven!

Arugula, Carmelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza ~ page 173

These were delicious little pizzas. I didn't have arugula so I used spinach. I loved the caramelized onions. They add great flavor. This recipe calls for 2 oz of goat cheese for 4 pizzas...I used double that! Above I cut off a little piece of the goat cheese so you could see how much she wants to use in this recipe...it just wasn't enough. I basically used one oz per pizza. Below is a pic of the pita bread that I use for little pizzas all the time. They are nice and thick. Kroger sells them. I will definitely make these again!! --Carissa

Energy Bars

I'm trying to stock my freezer for when baby comes sometime in the next week, and this recipe was so simple I had to try it. I didn't have dried apricots or sunflower seeds, so I used craisins and walnuts. I also had to use half honey after running out of maple syrup, but I think I got the general idea of the bar.

Don't expect anything fancy, this is just a dense energy bar. But this was just as good as a Cliff bar and the kids loved them. They're mostly for them anyway so I know I'll make them again, especially since it was such an easy food processor recipe.