What to Do With Basil?

This summer I discovered something extraordinary:

{Did you know basil even had a lemon variety??}

It smelled so incredible that I had to refrain from taste testing it right then and there.  And then… my mind was completely blown by what I saw next:

{Purple Basil AND Lime Basil!}

Holy schnikes!  My brain swirled with ideas of how I could use these different varieties of basil. 

In truth, my first thought of lime or lemon basil was that it must taste good in some sort of drink involving tequila.  And how cool would purple pesto be?  It took awhile for the kids to get used to eating creamy green pesto on their spaghetti noodles (they all love it now); I’m thinking it would completely freak them out to see purple spaghetti.*

*note to self: tell MC to find purple basil to make creamy pesto spaghetti. ; )

We don’t have a food processor to make our pesto so I use this thing:

{source}

 

That’s my Kitchen Aid hand mixer dealie that a friend gave me years ago.  And it can smack out some delicious pesto.  But now I’m intrigued… What else can be made from basil? 

So now I’m sending it out to you all on the Internets… Do you have a favorite basil recipe?  And secondary to that: would basil taste good in a drink? 

Let me know!!

Quick And Easy Lunch Idea…

Let me just tell you up front, I am not the normal lunch maker in our house. 

During the school year, MC gets up and makes the kid’s lunches before heading to work (he’s just awesome like that). 

But since it’s summer, lunch making falls to me.  And let me tell you people, I do not like making lunches.  I’m not sure why, but slapping baloney and cheese on a slice of bread makes me want to throw up my hands and run screaming from the kitchen.

So, when I have to make lunch for the kids, I try and come up with something fun and a little different.  When  Bitty brought me a can of refried beans one day and said she wanted those for lunch, some quick thinking led me to:

Bean and Cheese Bites

{Spread refried beans as thick or thin as you want onto a flour tortilla}

 

{Sprinkle grated cheese on top of beans}

 

{Roll tortilla up}

 

{Slice into bite-sized pieces}

With a side of apples, this is far and away Bitty and Lovely L’s favorite lunch. 

Whatcha making for lunch this week?

5 Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas…

Ah, sweet Day of Independence!  Known for barbecues and blowing things up. Just in time for the Fourth I have found Five Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas.  Try saying that five times fast.

Fun Fact:  Did you know Canada’s Independence day is on the first of July?  Although they didn’t gain full independence from the United Kingdom until 1982…. So, I’m just saying… maybe they weren’t trying too hard or something…

And with that, I lost my Canadian readers.  All two of them. 

(Side note:  I actually love Canadians.  Really!  Since Minnesota borders Canada and the Northwest Angle is in Canada, I'm required to, eh. ; )

Now, onto the goodies!  First up is this amazingness:

Are you serious?  This pure awesomeness from Amanda of I Am Baker was a take-off of Elissa’s cake from 17 And Baking.  Fair warning:  If you head over to either of their sites, you will be there for awhile.  Because those two are A. Maze. Ing. 

Next up is Kami from No Biggie.  She showcased these fun *free* printables over at Tatertots and Jello:

Have I ever told you of my love of printables?  It’s seriously a problem.  I’m on an ink restriction right now because of it.  It’s full disclosure around here, so I just thought you should know. ; )

I couldn’t resist these from Kami either.  Because I like food that doesn’t require too much thinking.  And people, shoving a star shaped cookie cutter through a slice of watermelon is something I can handle. 

Oh. Man.  I love when decorating is this easy.  Print page.  Insert in frame.  Done.  Jamie over at The Crafting Chicks made my day with this.  Too bad I can’t print it out.  Ink restriction and all…

Although these patriotic strawberries have made their way around the Internets, I first found them at Baking Bites.  Nicole gives great instructions and dang, are these easy.  I may actually attempt these for the Fourth. 

And finally, we end with these awesome Fourth of July decorations from Madigan Made.  Not only are these incredibly cute, but she made them from Dollar Store candy dishes!!!  Madigan gives a great tutorial on how she turned those star shaped candy dishes into cute Fourth of July décor and I am definitely going to try it out.

And now I just realized I have six Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas. 

Since I like the alliteration of Five Fabulous Fourth of July Ideas, I’m keeping that the title of this post.  You can consider that sixth one a bonus.  You’re welcome. ; )

What plans do you have for Independence Day? 

Oh So Yummy Monkey Bread…

The first time I ever mentioned monkey bread to my husband was for a Thanksgiving Day breakfast.  He looked at me suspiciously before asking if that was a real thing or something I made up.  I asked if he had maybe ever heard of pull-a-parts. 

Nope.

So just in case someone else out there has never heard of monkey bread, I thought I would share my recipe.  Because this stuff has a serious yum factor.  It also has a pretty big sugar and butter factor but we’re going to ignore that.

{Please note that the bottom of the monkey bread in this picture is not even.  That is because I ate the whole bottom part.  It was good.}

On to the recipe:

 

It was really hard not to let the kids see that I was tasting the bottom of the monkey bread while it was cooling.  They know from experience that the gooey sweetness is super hot when the bread is fresh out of the oven and that it needs time to cool. 

That is when I stage my super stealth attack on the bottom of the bread.  By the time it cools and I flip it onto the platter, they can’t even tell I ate half of it. 

YUM! 

Do you have a favorite breakfast recipe?  This is fast becoming my favorite, but I have to work off what I already ate before I can make it again. ; )

The Most Awesome Pancakes Ever...

On any given day there is something tasty being cooked up at my house. The thing to note here is that it is not usually me doing the cooking; MC didn't come by the title Master Chef for nothing, people.

So when I headed downstairs on Saturday morning, I didn't think to make breakfast. With no one else awake yet, I sat by the front room window and read with my coffee. (Yes, it was awesome. And quiet. And highly unusual.)

Around 8:45 I had a brilliant thought: I should make our big Saturday morning breakfast! I scoured the fridge and pantry and realized: No grocery shopping for two weeks = no food in the house. No eggs, no bacon, no bread... all I had was half a box of pancake mix and some Quaker quick oats.


I stared blankly at the pantry for a few minutes. I envy MC and his ability to walk into the kitchen, find five unrelated ingredients, and throw them together to make something amazing. He's like McGyver, but with food instead of paper clips. Plus, nothing he's made has ever blown up. Always a bonus, I think...

This morning was different. In a burst of wild kitchen creativity, I came up with this:





Because of the applesauce and oats, these were not light and fluffy, but rather thick and hearty. This is perfect for a 12 year old that eats like a horse growing boy. Although I used unsweetened applesauce, the girls loved them too and ate them with and without syrup.

About halfway through, I had to add a little more water to the batter as it had started to thicken up.





It was the BLT that called these 'the most awesome pancakes ever'. Who am I to debate that?!?




Since I am not usually the recipient of such praise when it comes to cooking, I figured they must taste good enough to share with you all. At the very least, they shouldn't kill you. Again, always a bonus when working in the kitchen.


Did I mention that we were also out of syrup? An easy fix for someone who has a bottle of Mapleine in their pantry:





What the...???

I know, I know! Nobody knows what that stuff is except for my grandfather. He makes his syrup from scratch using Mapleine flavoring and I happened to have a bottle. I have no idea how long I've had it, but it's been sitting unused in the back of the pantry, waiting for just this opportunity to shine in all it's maple flavor-like glory.

Well... what do you think of my recipe? Worth trying?

Oh, and I promise - you won't blow up ; )

Dyed Deviled Eggs...

The Master Chef came home today with an awesome idea. Although he has many awesome ideas of his own, this one came from a co-worker of his. See, that work thing really has its benefits. ; )

Here’s what we made:

Check it! That’s dyed deviled eggs, people! Is that awesome, or what?!? Perfect for Easter, right? And you seriously won’t believe how we did it. So. Simple.

The Master Chef hard boiled the eggs.

Then, he peeled them.

I dyed them the same way you do regular Easter Eggs. (Paas. I know you were dying to know which brand we use. I like it because I don’t have to shell out a lot of cash… HA! I crack me up… Okay. I’ll stop now)

So there you have it. Dyed Deviled Eggs. If anyone makes these for Easter, let me know how they turned out!

Deviled Eggs:

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

3 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out yolks and mash with a fork.

Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper.

Fill whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Courtesy of (who else?) Betty Crocker

I hope you and your family enjoy a blessed Easter weekend!

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