Food in my Kitchen!

I feel like I just about took 2010 off of “from-scratch” cooking.  My pregnancy with James hit me hard and I thought I’d never have energy again, not to mention the desire to cook, do laundry, clean, etc.  Wonderfully though I’ve found myself longing to be back in the kitchen lately… longing for fresh ingredients…craving recipes I’d forgotten about.

The “fourth trimester” of the pregnancy is over, and I feel like I’m on the other side of something.  I may have to up the grocery budget a tad since I’m feeling the desire for lots of produce, organic when I can.  Not that I’m not buying a little junk here and there, but I’m really trying to get back on track with some whole foods cooking.

I made some tomato sauce (from my dad’s home-canned tomatoes – thank you Dad!!) to freeze for pizzas mostly, but also on spaghetti or whatever.

Not seconds after I took the above gorgeous picture, the bottom of my blender fell out and there was sauce everywhere!  It looked a little like a murder scene.

Fortunately I was in my PJ bottoms that were about to bite the dust, so I didn’t even have to spray them.  :)  And it was only a couple tablespoons of sauce – phew!

That same day I did beans and rice in the crockpot.  Oh, it smelled so good!  We topped it with a  little shredded cheese, and it was a very simply, yummy meal.  The cornbread is a new recipe (the sweet variety) and it was a hit.  It’s not my favorite (I think I might be a little too southern for sweet cornbread), but it’s a nice change.  Sadly I discovered James doesn’t jive too well with my eating beans (TMI), so we’ll put that on hold for a while!  Or maybe I’ll eat cereal the next time the family eats this dish.  :)

I thought these veggies looked so pretty on the cutting board.

I chopped ‘em up and stuck them in the crockpot with a chicken carcass and some water.

The next day, I had some broth to freeze for later meals!

I feel a little like I could write a whole post on the wonders of eggs.  I put them in everything, and there are so many ways to cook and eat them!

I hardboiled some the other day to make egg salad. 

Sometimes they just peel so perfectly (not that it matters for egg salad!), and are smooth and beautiful…

Other times it looks a little like they’ve been beat up.  Poor little egg.  :(

I had to give half of one to Joanna (she LOVES hardboiled eggs) but the rest went on our sandwiches – yum!

Want my “recipe” for hardboiled eggs and egg salad?  Here you go!

Put some raw eggs in a pot (big enough for all your eggs).  Cover with cold water.  Put on the stove.  Heat to boiling.  Cover.  Turn off heat.  Set timer for 10 minutes.  Voila!  Perfectly hardboiled eggs!  Run them under cold water to crack and peel them.  This will save your hands from burning eggs as well as make it easier to peel them.

I mash ‘em up and just add mayo.  I’m not a pickle relish kind of girl.  Such a yummy sandwich and it’s something both girls like eating.  Yay!!