One pan meals. We all talk about how much we LOVE an easy meal that uses one pan, but when it comes down to it… we forget how much we love them until its time to clean up dinner. Insert the sheet pan meal (ta-dah)!
I don’t know about you, but I hate unloading the dishwasher. So, as much as I’d like to say one pan meals are for easy after dinner clean up, it really means the less dishes that go in the dishwasher, the less that have to come back out and be put up. Mr. McKinney recently had surgery so I’m spending my summer taking care of 2 babies – a little one and a big one!
In the summer, we like to spend time on the grill, and vegetables are usually the side to anything we are doing. But, our grill went “kaput” over the winter months and we have yet to replace it. (that doesn’t mean we have not made multiple trips to look at grills…but that’s a different story. I guess if he can walk the aisles of Target with me, I can walk the aisles at Home Depot to look at grills.) With Mr. McKinney down and this not being the summer I learn how to operate the grill, we are back to old faithful….the oven. READ MORE
Keisha (Pittman) McKinney lives in South Arkansas with her husband and sweet Boxer, Bailey and….a new baby boy! Keisha is remembering what it’s like to plan ahead for shopping trips to “the city,” getting resourceful at her small town Walmart and creating online shopping personas everywhere. She blogs @bigpittstop about daily adventures, cooking escapades, #bigsisterchats, the social justice cases on her heart, and all that she is learning as a #boymom!
From the abundance of tomatoes and okra in our yard to the neighbors who knock on our door with a bag full of squash to the localfarmer’smarkets brimming with gorgeous homegrown edibles, we stay stocked. Summer is my favorite season for many reasons, but the meals that come with it rank high. The recipes from my own garden usually include two steps: slice and eat. Sometimes this recipe is reduced to pick and eat (a little dirt won’t hurt).
Our bunch has grown a backyard garden for six summers and we have learned so much with our hands in the dirt. The best thing about our veggie patch, however, is that we work it together. The boys love planting and three-year-old Nora is the best cucumber picker I know. It’s a great family project to teach your kids where food comes from and encourage them to eat fresh!
On this Foodie Friday, however, I think I’ll go beyond a plate of sliced heirloom tomatoes (although we both know that’s a meal in itself). I’m sharing one of my husband’s specialties that’s served regularly around here. It’s a one-pan wonder that only requires a little chopping as prep work. It’s Jonathan’s Famous Stir-Fry and it incorporates veggies from all over town.
He whipped this up recently and included a garden pepper, the neighbor’s yellow squash, and sugar snap peas frozen fresh. Read on for an easy recipe that the whole family will love. Use whatever crispy, crunchy veggies are growing in your area and change it up regularly for new flavors every time. We like to sub shrimp for the chicken sometimes. Make it your own and enjoy!
Cut the chicken into small pieces and put into wok or skillet with 3 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium high heat. Sauté until done, add half of the soy sauce stir and remove from wok.
Add another tablespoon of oil and the carrots and stir-fry for 4 minutes.
Repeat for peppers onions and garlic together.
Repeat for squash.
Repeat for peas.
Repeat for broccoli.
Add chicken and remaining soy sauce and bring up to temp.
Add two cups rice and just shy of 4 cups water to medium sauce pan. Bring to rapid boil and reduce heat to simmer cover and cook for time listed on the bag.
Plate the rice and then top with stir fry. Salt and pepper to taste. Yum!
Jessica Bauer is a small-town girl raising her bunch in southwest Arkansas. Her cast of characters includes a husband of 10 years, three mostly sweet kids, and 11 chickens. She blogs about them all at Life With the Bauer Bunch. Stop by to check out the good, the bad, and the funny in motherhood.
As soon as Fayetteville passed the ordinance to allow chickens within city limits, we were down to the local farmers co-op, choosing four adorable chicks, and eagerly carrying them to their new home in our backyard.
Initially they had the run of the place, but there is no toilet training a chicken, and cleaning off the pool deck became tedious every time we wanted to swim. So they now enjoy scratching, pecking and perching in their custom made coop, and we enjoy collecting their eggs from one place, as opposed to having to search for them throughout the yard.
I’m not sure my palate is sophisticated enough to notice a difference in taste between store-bought eggs and our yard eggs. However, the difference in nutritional value, and color is significant, and an unexpected perk – chicken psychology and behavior is fascinating!
SAVORY VEGETABLE AND GOAT CHEESE TART
1 store bought pie crust
1 to 2 bunches of asparagus
3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided use
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
5 green onions, thinly sliced
8 ounces soft goat cheese
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/4 cup cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
3 eggs
Bake crust according to package instructions. Let cool on a wire rack.
Heat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut off the top 1 to 1 1/2 inch of the asparagus tips. Toss in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, season with salt and pepper. Place in a single layer on prepared sheet, roast, turning once, until asparagus is bright green and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. (I roasted this at the same time as I baked the crust).
Reduce oven temperature to 375F.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add sliced asparagus stalks and green onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and asparagus is bright green and tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool slightly, spread evenly over bottom of tart crust.
Whisk goat cheese, creme fraiche, cream, parsley, chives and tarragon, in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in eggs. Pour over vegetables. Scatter asparagus tips over the top. Bake tart until the edges of the crust are golden brown and filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes.
In an effort to eat more veggies, today I shall have carrot cake!
I love a good carrot cake. Honestly, I love cake PERIOD! There is just something about a carrot cake that makes me feel like a kid again.
In a single bite it takes me right back to the “pie” auctions the Cattlemens Association used to have.
I loved going to the auction with my Godfather. What little kid wouldn’t want to go bid on cakes and pies?!? Plus, everyone always said things like “Oh, I see you brought the boss with you.” Me? The boss? Alright I could handle that.
My Godmother, in what I chose to believe was an effort to make me smile throughout the year, but was more likely an effort to keep her husband’s wallet a little thicker, started making me carrot cake any time I asked.
Yes, I was that spoiled by them.
You’re going to need:
A couple large mixing bowls
A mixer (unless you’re crazy and want to do this by hand)
A large spoon
An oven heated at 350 degrees
Either a 13X9 cake pan
OR two 8 or 9 inch round pans
A little bit of shortening
A tiny bit of flour
As well as:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
and to frost it you’ll need
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Now that you have everything needed, I’ll tell you just want to do with it.
If you read this from the start, your oven should already be preheating to 350 degrees. If not, do that now.
Grease the bottom and sides of the pan(s) with shortening and lightly flour them.
Get one of those large bowls and your mixer and beat the granulated sugar, oil and eggs on low for about 30 seconds or until its well blended.
To that, add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low 1 minute.
Stir in the carrots and the nuts. STIR, with the large spoon I mentioned earlier.
Pour your batter into the pan(s).
If you used a 13×9-inch pan you’ll want to bake it 40 to 45 minutes.
If you used the round pans, bake them 30 to 35 minutes
Either way, you want to bake them till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Once baked, let them cool completely. You can cool the 13X9 in the pan or on a cooling rack. Cool the rounds about 10 minutes in the pan then remove them and let them finish cooling on a rack. It should take about an hour.
While that’s cooling you should probably make the icing so get the other mixing bowl and your mixer back out, or cleaned off.
You’ll want to beat the cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla on low until its smooth. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Gradually… like 1 cup at a time. Your mixer should still be on low so just keep it going till its smooth and spreadable.
Since that didn’t take an hour let your cake(s) finish cooling.
Now you can frost the 13X9 or fill and frost the rounds.
If by chance you have leftovers, store them in your fridge or invite me over.
Shannon is a 30-something Mom to 5 beautiful children. Yes, 5! You could call it a modern day version of yours, mine, and ours. Her blended family of 7 keeps her on her toes and on the go. Add in working from home as a legal secretary and quickly you’ll see her life is crazy and often chaotic, but she wouldn’t trade one sarcastic moment of it. Her blog, Still Seeking Martha is just a place she goes to share the ups & downs of blended mommyhood, like mowing what feels like 127 acres with a push mower, favorite foods and recipes, mostly cake, and sometimes some DIY projects like great teaching tools. You can stalk Shannon at http://stillseekingmartha.blogspot.com, on Facebook, Twitter, or just email her at seekingmartha@gmail.com.
