Week of April 26, 2015

Well, Mr. Rutledge has been after me for quite some time to get back to writing. This blog is a lot of fun and a good stress relief for me. However, life has been pretty hectic. The Rutledges have been really busy lately… since I last blogged we have had my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary (heck of a party with lots of great food!), my college drop-out sister moved in with us (you love me, Sister) on top of generally keeping busy growing a human. 

To be honest, that’s really all I think about--growing this child. After 4 sonograms they’ve finally determined it is a boy, but I really have my doubts. It’s “their” fault I have doubts at all. I always thought couples went to the doctor and were told “It’s a BOY!” or “Yay, it’s a GIRL!” That doesn’t happen. Not here at least. We get told, “It’s a boy…wait, No! I can’t tell for sure.” Or, “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a girl, but don’t buy anything just yet.” So on our fourth go-round when the lady said, “Yep, it’s a boy” I have to admit I still have my doubts. It really doesn’t matter. All I want is a little precious one to grow and love… in 4 more months! 

So I guess we are officially preparing for Baby Boy Rutledge. I’m thinking we will just call him “B” till Kindergarten and let him pick his own name because The Lord knows we can’t agree on one! Mr. Rutledge and I are great life partners. We really do life pretty well together (and by “life” I mean less than two years, but hey- we are happy and it’s working!). The exception is naming a child. That’s a big responsibility. Rutledge is a great name, but it lends itself to a certain nickname which neither of us is fond of. 

This whole being made fun of for your name thing is rather foreign to me (Cami Trout. And I never once was made fun of for my name!) Why? Because my coolness was just too much for anyone to brave poking fun at me. I mean I wasn’t super scrawny with the nick-name “cue sticks.” I didn’t have a lazy eye. Or a patch. Or bifocals. I didn’t get cut from the 3rd string volleyball team in 7th grade. I didn’t lose 13 golf balls in my first 18 holes as a high school “athlete.” I certainly didn’t have legs 16 inches longer than my waist measured (which meant my pants always fit just right). I have fantastic posture and, I have two very supportive brothers who would never mock their adorable sister. So really, people just didn’t make fun of me. I was sort of in that untouchables category where all of you wish you’d lived in junior high. Sorry. Population: 1. 

Let’s be real. If my kid’s biggest issues is being called “Dick Butledge” he is totally winning junior high. He is at least being ridiculed for something he can 100% blame on his parents and legally change at 18. 

Ok. Ok. Enough of how I’m going to mess up my kid. This kid has made me want to eat an ungodly amount of seafood (mostly tuna salad which I’ve always found super disgusting) and pickled foods. However, Mr. Rutledge doesn’t think a giant jar of pickles, pepperocinis, 15 packets of tuna in water, cucumbers, onions, mayo, crackers and ice cream is a suitable grocery list. So I’ll share a few things we have been eating:

Gorgonzola Salad- I’m back to the world of vegetables. It’s too late for my waistline, but maybe not yours! This salad was pretty delicious. I made the dressing as written in the recipe. However, you can easily save time and calories and just give your salad a nice balsamic drizzle just before eating. You can definitely leave out the bacon (my husband would NEVER) or use grilled chicken. 

Crawfish Etienne – Mr. Rutledge finally put those beer burners and steel pots to use (He may have been brewing beer all along in them, but what do I care about that?). We had a little crawfish boil a few weeks ago and he did a fantastic job. One of us screwed up and ordered about 15 extra pounds of crawfish and the other one of us had to cook them. Then we all worked as a big happy family and peeled the crawfish abundance and saved them for this recipe. And man, o live it was yummy! This meal is NOT light, but it is a fun splurge meal. If you don’t have a ridiculous amount of crawfish, use shrimp or even chicken. 

This recipe is from Lone Star Eats cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 lb crawfish tails

1/4c unsalted butter

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2c minced parsley

1/2c unsalted butter

3T flour

2c half and half

3T sherry

Salt, cayenne, black pepper, Tabasco to taste

16 ounces fettuccine, cooked al dente and drained

Directions: Saute the unrinsed crawfish tails in 1/4 cup butter in a skillet until cooked through. In another skillet, sauté the green onions, garlic, and parsley in 1/4 cup butter until tender. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the half and half gradually, stirring constantly. Stir in the sherry and crawfish tails. Season to taste with salt, cayenne, black pepper and Tabasco. Cook just until thickened. Serve immediately.

Honey Lime Chicken with Roasted Green Beans and Cilantro Rice – This chicken recipe is new for us and we love it. As for the green beans, my good friend Terrie Jo swears by these. And if there is one thing I know about Terrie- she always knows what she’s talking about. Ask her husband Mike. ;) We followed this recipe for the chicken and it paired awesomely with Terrie's green beans.

To make green beans, trim the ends of your fresh green beans. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast at 450 for about 10-15 minutes. Once the green beans are roasted, transfer them to a serving bowl and too with a little crushed red pepper, cilantro, green onions and fresh lemon juice. Toss, serve and fall in love! 

Salted Caramel Ice Cream- I’ve always had a passion for ice cream. It might have flourished last Fall when the Schwann’sman first came by our house. Mr. Rutledge claims I slightly over-purchased on their frozen novelties. There may even be a few tasteless pomegranate-blueberry bars still buried in our garage freezer. BUT that does not mean I’m not devastated by the Blue Bell recall. I will be making weekly ice cream until Mr. Rutledge lifts the Braums/Schwann ban of 2015. Last week we made Key Lime Pie ice cream. I ate it, but didn’t love it. So we will try this recipe this week! 

Week of March 8, 2015

Well hello! This week we did in fact get sleet/snow again and Mr. Rutledge was not coerced into grilling the chicken. That salad will just have to wait. We are headed to Ruidoso, New Mexico for spring break, so it’ll be nice to have everything we need for a quick supper when we get back from skiing (sleeping, hiking, reading). Baby Rutledge and I will obviously not be skiing, but my little sister is going to make sure Mr. Rutledge does not check out how beneficial his medical insurance is.

I’m thinking we will want some warm, cozy cabin foods this week. I know it’ll be 60 degrees or so, but that mountain air always makes things seem cooler. I don’t know if we will really follow this menu since I’ll be outnumbered with votes between husband and sister!

My lunch buddies (Ahem, Kathy!) think it is fun to discuss my growing waistline while I’m trying to eat. So, I’ll push for some lighter meals when we aren’t on the road.

 

Slow cooker butternut squash and roasted chickpeas – Mr. Rutledge loves a butternut squash soup we have shared before, but I’m not in love with it. So we are trying a new one this week! Doesn’t it sound delicious? Plus, this recipe goes in the crock-pot and we all know I have a special place in my heart for it! It’s vegetarian, SHHHH! Don’t tell Mr. Rutledge!

Polenta with green chili and corn – I have to be honest, I’ve never cooked with polenta before. However, when I think of New Mexico, I always think green chilies. And like a stilly country song, when I think of green chilies I think about corn. So here’s this recipe. I’m praying I can talk my family into trying this with me! This is a side so I’d consider grilling some pork chops or chicken while this bakes.

Spicy shrimp sandwich with chipotle avocado mayo – Carbs are still my favorite food group. Sorry. Just can’t help it. This baby already wants to eat like his/her daddy! This sandwich will not be light (thanks to the carbs and mayo), but shrimp is super low calorie so that makes up for it. Plus, I don’t have to eat lunch this week with the ladies who have decided my waistline is their favorite topic.

Spicy cornmeal chicken with peach barbecue – Again, my attempt to stay away from Chick-fil-a. This sounds so delicious to me. It might be a great food to have in my memory bank come this summer. The recipe also says it doesn’t have to be spicy, so Brooks family you can STILL try it!

Breakfast quinoa with blueberry and almonds- Mr. Rutledge and I had a long talk about whether this would be a good breakfast option. I think it’ll be delicious. My mom used to make rice with milk, sugar and butter for breakfast and I loved it. I think this will be a healthier more filling option. Mr. Rutledge says quinoa is made to be savory. He is wrong a lot. Promise. Give this a try!

 

Week of March 1, 2015

Well, Mr. Rutledge and I ended up snowed in for a few days around our house. Luckily, the Mister had already been to the grocery store and stocked our fridge. Let’s be clear about what it means to be “snowed in” in my neck of the woods. There was a half inch of ice and the world dang near came to an end. Through our brilliance and resilience, we survived like champs. We cleaned out old files which led me to take a walk down memory lane and discard Mr. Rutledge’s W-2. That form isn’t necessary for anything is it?

On another note, grilling out those flank steaks worked wonderfully. My darling husband was thrilled to be grilling in the freezing rain. I was not quick enough to snap a picture. Though perhaps photographing the event would have been detrimental to my dinner. I don’t think we will be grilling again until he is certain the temperatures will remain above 65 degrees!

*Please note “grilled” salmon recipe below. Oops! We can always bake the salmon if it does in fact remain too cold for Mr. Rutledge to be coaxed into grilling.

We had a small victory at our house this week: we skipped mac’n’cheese! Also, every vegetable I purchased was consumed (I helped with 0% of zucchini consumption as it is still banned from my mouth). However, I may or may not have had to ask the local Brookshire’s stocker where in heck they keep the corn dogs. One step forward and one step backward, I guess. Should I be proud of the fact I didn’t know the location of the corn dogs beforehand, or should I be depressed that my desire to eat a stinkin’ corn dog outweighed the embarrassment of asking? My best friend says I need to see a dietitian. She was kindly reminded that I frown on unsolicited recommendations.  Just kidding. Except she did tell me I should see a dietitian. Those of you who are dietitians and health nuts and are judging me, take note that I chose 100% beef with no by-products. No, that doesn’t make it a healthy choice.

   Seth's gumbo 

   Brussels sprouts/bacon pasta

Buffalo chicken baked taquitos/lettuce wraps – Buffalo/wing sauce is one of my favorite flavors ever. I really would like to go to chick-fil-a and get one of those platters of chicken nugget goodness and a tub of buffalo sauce. Instead, I’ll try this. Mr. Rutledge generally doesn’t like much in the crockpot, so I can’t make any promises this will go well. Also, I don’t like bleu cheese, so this house will be having some ranch. Try mixing that ranch packet in plain low fat Greek yogurt instead of mayo/buttermilk. Shred some carrots and celery and put them in a lettuce wrap!

Grilled salmon with avocado salsa (Pinterest)- Mr. Rutledge’s Aunt Daria made a grilled salmon at Christmas and it was fantastic. I think we will try our hand at a grilled salmon this week. This recipe looks easy and super-fast. Plus, Mr. Rutledge loves guacamole! Round out this meal with some steamed vegetables.

Cranberry avocado salad with chicken and orange poppy seed dressing – I love a good salad and fresh vegetables are my best chance right now at actually consuming a vegetable. I’ve never tried this recipe, but it sounds delicious. Also, I’m trying to be better about not going through a drive-through window when I’m out seeing patients. These leftovers will double as a great on-the-go lunch for me!

Salt Lick Peach Cobbler – several weeks ago my mom brought us some frozen peaches she’d put away. I offered to make some peach cobbler for Mr. Rutledge then promptly realized I didn’t know my Nanny Harvey’s peach cobbler recipes. Memaw didn’t answer her phone. For a woman who talks to more people than anyone I know, she sure is hard to get to answer the phone when you want her to! (Mr. Rutledge says that this is true of all Trouts, but he’s wrong a lot.) Anyway… I tried this recipe. It’s super easy and delicious. It doesn’t hold up that well in the fridge, so I suggest even if there are just two of you to eat the whole thing in one sitting while it’s still warm.  

Party of three.

Well, the day we published our last blog Mr. Rutledge and I found out there was a baby Rutledge on the way! In August, we will be pulling up another chair to our beloved dining room table- yes, I realize our little one probably won’t sit at a table until it is 3 to 15 years old. We are so incredibly excited, scared, nervous, proud, overjoyed, ecstatic and afraid to become parents. We have had so many emotions about this little baby coming our way that one of us has sworn off vegetables in an effort to calm our (my) emotions (nausea).

Mr. Rutledge has been harassing me to get back to blogging, but I’ve really only wanted to talk about the baby, the nursery, cheese and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. However, we are successfully through the first trimester and it’s time to start writing and eating more than chips and queso. I cannot and will not pretend that a cheese and simple carb meal will not make its way to our table because it will and it might be the only night I eat.

Another thing I’d like to be incredibly honest about: I’m going to be playing with the format of this blog. Mr. Rutledge feels consistency in writing is most important so we’ve agreed to continue with a goal of weekly posts. However, I think I’ll be playing around with the number of recipes and the overall focus. So what am I really saying? This blog will pretty accurately reflect the realities of our situation: one, I want to eat healthy, two due to forces entirely out of my control the things I can stand to eat are becoming fewer in number and much more random! (I blame Mr. Rutledge for our baby being such a finicky eater!), nausea is a terrible thing for a food/nutrition blogger to have (imagine riding the Texas Giant backwards during a hurricane). So bear with me. We will be sharing some yummy goodness I really, really, REALLY want to eat and also some healthy foods I’m going to try my best to eat in the week. Sound fair enough? Good. Glad we agree.

White Cheddar & Chive Potato Soup  – If Mr. Rutledge gets his way, we will be having Chicken and Dumplings one more time before we start warming up for Spring. However, I’ve already shared that recipe with you guys so I think if you want a bowl to warm up with this week, you should give this recipe a try.

Pasta with Bacon, Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Lemon Zest – We have had macaroni and cheese with bacon every week since I found out we were expecting. Don’t judge me! Mr. Rutledge claimed that our dependence on Velveeta Shells and Cheese reminds him of college. I told him I’m just glad that he can remember any of that decade! This week, I’m going to try hard to eat a healthier version. This is another Cooking Light recipe (Thank you, Memaw, for renewing our subscription)!
***UPDATE: We tried this and really liked it, but it did finish a little dry. Consider adding a little vegetable broth and/or white wine and deglazing the pan. Also, we topped our's with a smidge of parmesan cheese!***

Gumbo – one of Mr. Rutledge’s co-workers gave him a boxed Gumbo she swears by. Since she is from Louisiana, we will give it a try, but I don’t know how to tell you to make it. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. We will probably add either shrimp or some lean venison sausage we already have on hand.

Grilled Flank Steak and Fiesta Salad – The only non-starchy vegetables I plan to attempt to eat this week are in this salad. I’ve shared it before, but it really cannot be beat! Mr. Rutledge is anxious to get out to the backyard and do some grilling, so this is our compromise. For the flank steak, we will use a quick McCormick’s marinade (I think they have a lime mojito one). You can always throw this grilled steak on some corn tortillas and top with a little queso fresco, as well.

Ingredients:
1 each: orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2-3 jalapenos, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 package of frozen corn
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar.

Directions: Mix all but three ingredients in a large bowl. Combine last three ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved, cool and pour over vegetables. Stir well. Then, marinate in the fridge until ready to be served.

Monster Cookies – several weeks ago, my Memaw, sister, best friend, her little boy and I went to visit my great-great-Aunt Nell. Being the smart alec that I am, I assured Aunt Nell I wasn’t coming to visit unless she had something sweet for this preggo to snack on. She just laughed and told Carli (my little sister) to bake me these cookies. She swears they are the best cookies she has ever made. She is right. They’re fantastic. Really the only whole grain (please note the oatmeal) I want to eat! Ha! This recipe makes 6 dozen. If you need our mailing address for your surplus, just let me know!

Carli & Anson making cookies!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon corn syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

4 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups plain M&Ms

Directions: Preheat oven to 350*. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing between each addition, and the vanilla, corn syrup, baking soda and peanut butter. Mix well until smooth. Add the oats and mix well, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Then add the M&Ms and mix well. Drop the dough by the tablespoon (I like them a little bigger so please remember this for my dozen ;) ) 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on baking sheet about 3 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

The week of Christmas

I took one picture this week! Oops. The thai quinoa salad was excellent! I hope you will try it soon!

Merry Christmas! Mr. Rutledge and I are incredibly thankful for families that raised us to appreciate  the true meaning of Christmas- a debt we owe our parents. Our families both come with some great Christmas traditions, but Mr. Rutledge’s family takes the cake! While I am clearly the more decorated writer in this household, I figured I'd give Mr. Rutledge a chance to explain just what makes his family's Christmas so incredible.

Hello everyone, before I begin I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions that you may have about me from Mrs. Rutledge's blog.

1. I'm actually not a very picky eater. The only things I really detest are pumpkin and sweet potatoes, and let's face it, if you have to throw cinnamon, marshmallows, and brown sugar on something, or hide it in something else, it can't be that good!

2. I don't hate leftovers. I just make exceptionally delicious sandwiches and would much rather eat one of those than something I just had last night!

Also, to sort of set the stage for my explanation of the Hoelscher family Christmas, I feel like there are a few things y'all need to know about my mother's side of the family.

1. My grandparents are German Catholic and live in a small community called Violet down by  Corpus Christi. It's a bit cliché to say that if you blink, you'll miss it as you drive down the road, but in this case it's really true. Violet is essentially just a small Catholic Church that serves as the centerpiece for a small farming community.

2. My saintly grandmother raised 10 kids. I did mention that my grandparents were Catholic right? Strict Catholics. Mrs. Rutledge says that we can't have that many children because there is no possible way that we could ever agree on that many names.

3. While not all of the clan lives in  the surrounding area, almost everyone makes it a point to make it Grandma's for Christmas. On Christmas Eve there will be anywhere from 30-40 people in my grandmother's house.

4. Hoelschers are LOUD. And fun, and sociable, but mostly just LOUD.

5. I really like lists. (a tidbit from Cami: he likes lists despite rolling his eyes at every single list I've ever made!)

So as I have already mentioned, the Hoelschers celebrate Christmas at Grandma's house on Christmas Eve and begin to arrive as early as 9am. While there is no official deadline, everyone knows that they must be there before Bingo begins around 1.  Every year pretty much everyone is in place and ready to go except my Aunt Colleen who always seems to call about 1:30 and ask why we haven't waited on her! My Aunt Sandy (one of the kindest and most enthusiastic souls you'll ever hope to meet) used to be the all time caller, but recently my Uncle Timmy, who is a genius with carpentry, has taken over. The first few games are for small prizes such as gift cards or girly smelling candles. I don't often win at Bingo, but rest assured when I do, the prize up for grabs is a girly smelling candle.

After all the small gifts are gone, we get serious. The last game of the day is always a cash game that requires a complete blackout to win. I did mention that there are 30+ people in my grandmother's house by this point, right? Each person has to pay $2 per card they are playing, so there's usually well over $100 up for grabs. Now I'm not saying this game is rigged or anything, but every year a Ferri or a Soza takes home the grand prize. Don't worry, Mrs. Rutledge and I are confident that we are breaking that streak this year.

One of my family's most unique traditions is that Christmas dinner is always a seafood feast. Each of the daughters and female cousins is in charge of a seafood dish or side of their choosing. There's oysters, and Redfish, and shrimp of all kinds. It's way more exciting and fun than the traditional Christmas ham. Plus with 10+ women all sharing one kitchen, there's bound to be some excitement.

So, after Bingo, preparations for dinner start kicking into gear. While I enjoy cooking, I will say that Christmas Eve at Grandma's house is a great time to be a man. All of the ladies head into the kitchen and begin making their dishes while the guys all find a TV and start watching football (aka: take a nap).

After dinner comes one of my least favorite Hoelscher Christmas traditions: dishes. Now I'm not entirely certain how this tradition started, but someone decided a long time ago that the grandkids were responsible for doing the dishes, and that presents could not be opened until after they were all done. Do you have any idea how long it takes to do the dishes that 30+ create by hand? As a 10 year old who wanted nothing more than to tear into the piles of G.I. Joes I was certain were waiting for me under my Grandmother's massive tree, I can tell you that this part of the evening seemed to take FOR-EV-VER. But what I really can't understand is how I am still stuck doing dishes as a 31 year old man.

Once the final pan is spotless, we all gather in the living room for the next phase of the evening: Christmas Carols. I'm here to tell you that Hoelschers can't carry a tune to save their life, but what we lack in melody, we more than make up for in enthusiasm and exuberance. The songs we sing change from year to year, but we always end with "Silent Night", my grandmother's favorite carol, and  my grandfather's favorite song "That's What I Learned in the School". Now I have spent the better part of thirty years trying to figure out just what in the world this song has to do with Christmas and all I can say is this: Everyone's family has their own eccentricities and sometimes its better to just laugh and stumble through a nonsense song about brain busters, sweat boxers, and milk mushers than to ask why.

After the group carols are done, comes every 10 year olds most dreaded moment--the solo. Some cruel individual decided long ago that every child needed to sing a Christmas carol on their own in front of the entire family. As kids we all had our different approaches for dealing with these moments of torment. My cousin Justin decided early on that the safest bet was to belt through a short and  beloved tune such as "Jingle Bells" as fast as he could. Other people would join in, and it was short-- its best to minimize the damage he thought. I wasn't quite as practical as a child. I tried every carol known to man including a terrible stretch of two years where I decided that my best bet was to imitate "The Christmas Song" by Alvin and the Chipmunks. As if these moments of utter humiliation weren't bad enough on their own, my Uncle Chris videotaped the performances, I guess so he could sit back and laugh at us throughout the year. Should these tapes ever surface, I promise I will burn them.

Finally, comes the time for presents. The way we have handled this has evolved over the years, but we are in a pretty consistent pattern at the moment. Everyone buys the young children a gift and then the adults each buy a gift for a "White Elephant" style exchange. We all usually have some sort of strategy at the beginning that gets thrown out the window as people decide to attempt to keep my Aunt Colleen, a veritable "White Elephant" mastermind, from getting what she wants. Inevitably, we fail and she triumphs, and then someone steals a gift from Grandma and then the whole thing devolves into a storm of wadded up wrapping paper begin chunked across the room.

The evening ends with Midnight Mass at the local Catholic Church. All that to say, Christmas at the Holeschers is truly my favorite time of the year. As a kid I would wait impatiently for months for Christmas to come so that we could go to Grandma's. The whole day seemed to be this magical moment full of food and family. Though I've grown up, and some of the magic has faded, it has been replaced by a deeper love and admiration for my family. Nothing beats Christmas at Grandma's.

Now back to Mrs. Rutledge... This week, I’m going to share some Christmas favorites for the Trouts and other crowd pleasers! After this week, we are going to take some time away from blogging to celebrate our first anniversary and spend time with our families. Don’t worry, I won’t forget about you (or food!) and I’ll be back to blogging in the New Year!

Christmas Sangria- My mom and I made this for a Stella and Dot Trunk Show a couple of weeks ago. It did not disappoint. A part of me wants to start calling it Winter Sangria so I can drink it till Spring Break ;) When I made this, I used only 2 cinnamon sticks because that’s what I had on hand. Also, I used a Tempranillo (again- I had it on hand). I can’t wait to make this for Mr. Rutledge’s mom next week! I think she will love it.

Ingredients:

2 bottles of Merlot

1 liter ginger ale

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground clove

4 oranges cut in wedges

6 cinnamon sticks (yeah right!)

½ bag fresh cranberries

Directions: Place fruit in the pitcher. Pour sugar over and muddle some. Then add spices. Next, pour over all liquids. Chill until served. You’re welcome.

Caldillo – Close to 20 years ago, my mom started making this for all of us Trouts. No matter how spread out we are, we all end up with a bowl of this sometime over the holidays. My mom started the tradition as a Christmas Eve treat. One of my dad’s friends had taken us flying around Snyder, TX looking for Santa Claus. When we got home, my mom poured us all a big bowl of this and served it with warmed tortillas and sliced cheddar cheese. This bowl of soup always reminds me of being a kid and all the excitement of Christmas Eve.

Ingredients:

1 pork chop, cubed

3 pounds of cubed beef

1.5 cups onions, diced

3 cups of tomatoes, diced

1 can of beef stock

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons cumin

2 pounds potatoes, cubed

In a large kettle saute pork, beef and onions until meat is browned and onions are clear. Add the rest of the ingredients. Add water until the mixture is soupy. Cook on medium heat for 3 hours.

Brownie Trifle – When I was living in Tampa, a dietitian named Rhonda made this dessert for a few parties. I fell in love with it! Before I moved, I begged her for the recipe. Luckily, she obliges. This week, I shared this recipe with my fake boss, but I made her promise to bring me a bowl. I’m telling you, this recipe is fantastic!

Ingredients:

1 (19.8 ounce) Fudge brownie mix + needed ingredients to prepare

½ cup Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur (optional)

3 (3.9 ounce) packages of chocolate instant pudding mix =

4 cups milk

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

6 (1.4 ounce) English toffee-flavored candy bars, crushed

Prepare and bake brownie mix according to package directions in a 13x9 inch pan. Prick top of warm brownies at 1-inch intervals with a wooden pick and brush with Kahlua. Cool brownies then crumble into small pieces. Prepare 3 packages of pudding mix according to package, but use 4 cups instead of 6 and omit chilling. Place one-third of crumbled brownies in a 3-quart trifle bowl, top with one-third each of pudding, whipped topping and crushed candy bars. Repeat layers twice using remaining ingredients (ending with crushed candy bars). Cover and chill trifle for at least 8 hours. Share with Cami.

Breakfast Pizza – I like the kind of breakfasts you can make before everyone goes to bed. I imagine pulling it out of the fridge and throwing in the oven while everyone starts to open presents. Then, breakfast is ready! I think this recipe would hold up just fine in the fridge. You can also add any extra veggies you have around (peppers, onions, mushrooms). What could be better? Serving it with orange juilius!

Orange Julius – My friend Miss Mary used to make this any time the Trout kids were with her family for breakfast. Mary is one of those people God just keeps weaving through my life. I have spent over half my life within 50 miles of her, but I haven’t lived in the same town in over 20 years. She remains the kindest, most Christ-like person I’ve ever had the joy of knowing.

Ingredients:

6 ounce frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

8-10 ice cubes

Directions: In a blender, combine everything but the ice cubes and blend 1-2 minutes. Then, begin adding ice cubes a few at a time until you reach desired consistency.

Week of December 14, 2014

This week I’ve been thinking about how much I love my dining room. I’ve loved it since before we even bought this house. Mr. Rutledge proposed to me in there. He had some crazy story about needing to take measurements of the room because his uncle was going to make us a table. So I met him here after work… I thought it was strange he was dressed up. Then, he pulled out a yard stick... to measure a room. I may have pleasantly questioned how well (read ‘well” as ‘in the hell”) we could measure a room with a yardstick. Fortunately for Mr. Rutledge, I’m very laid back and took on the attitude of “meh- it’ll be fine.” So I started downloading a room-decorating app so I could determine the appropriate size table for the room, questioning whether the tile was 12 inches and if we could just could the tile with a rough estimate of extra space for the grout, recalling what I’d recently pinned on Pinterest and imagining how many friends or family I could squish around this imaginary table.

Then, Mr. Rutledge started getting a bit sappy about how this was the house we would start our lives in some day. Me? I was still trying to get that darn app to download so we could finish up here. After all, I was hungry! Then, I realized he was shaking and thought, ‘That’s weird. Is his blood sugar low? Has he eaten today?” But then there was a ring and a very important question!

His interpretation of the above story may be slightly differently. However, he is the editor of this blog. Not the writer ;)

I, also, love this room because it’s where we share meals with friends and family. For us, food is a love language. We love to cook and eat together and we love to have people over to entertain. Whether it’s for a holiday, a celebration or a Saturday, we love to gather round our table.

Recently, I got to share our table with our friend Nicole. She is a stylist for Stella and Dot (www.stellaanddot.com/nicoletroup). You can also check out the Trunk Show she had at my house (www.stellaanddot.com/qof36) for ideas for Christmas presents! Once you order, you receive your jewelry within 3-5 days! I didn’t take any pictures of anything, but Nicole did get some of our yummy food!

Here are some pictures of the meals we shared on our table this week. Sadly, we did not get to make the flatbread because my bread molded before I used it. Cami fail. We did cook all week so score for us!

Also, how super cute is my snowman towel holder?? Thanks, Sherry!

So what’s headed to our table this week?  Psst. If you’re making the dumplings and chicken Mexicana, consider cooking all of your chicken on one night so save yourself time on another night. Also, the grocery list is a bit long this week. Sorry! Double check your pantry because you probably have a good chunk of it already!

Chicken Dumplings (1) – Mr. Rutledge has requested these…again. I think he is afraid he won’t get them in enough times this winter. Since it was his only request, I guess I’ll honor it.

Recipe: If chicken is uncooked, boil in a large pot of broth with a little thyme (I mean little), salt, pepper and rosemary. In a separate pan, chop and sauté ½ white onion, 3 celery stalks and 3 carrots until soft. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from broth and shred. Next, add vegetables to the big pot with chicken broth. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Then, double your liquid with milk and bring to a soft boil. Mix 3 cups of Bisquik and 1 cup of milk and plop in your dumplings. Once they float, you’re ready to eat.

Asian Marinated Flank Steak & Thai Quinoa Salad (2) – I love Asian food, but when you eat it out there ends up being a ton of sodium and fat. You can cook at home and cut back on oils, sodium and frying to make it a healthier option. Both of these recipes (flank steak and quinoa salad) are new to us, but Mr. Rutledge loves flank steak so how can it be bad?

Pulled Pork Gyros with Sliced Cucumbers (3) – I have some leftover pulled pork in the freezer. It has some beans in it, so I’m not convinced it will work with the recipe. I’ll definitely make the tzatziki and give it a taste. If it doesn’t work with the pork, I’ll just dip cucumbers in there. The red cabbage, onions and tomatoes will go fine with my leftover pork.

Her Greek seasoning mix (it took me a bit to find on the site so here it is!):

1½ tablespoons dried oregano

1½ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1½ tablespoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (note: freshly ground black pepper is less volume than non-freshly ground, if using non-freshly ground use half the amount)

2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder

2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1½ tablespoons sweet paprika powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Honey Glazed Salmon with Roasted Veggie (4) – Get started by roasting your vegetables. I’m not going to tell you what to buy, but I like green veggies with salmon. I’ll be buying whatever is on sale at our grocery store. I feel like salmon has enough fat in it; so, if you don’t overcook it, consider leaving out the butter in the sauce and making more of a lime drizzle for it. This will cut back on some calories. I've been trying to get my sister-in-law to try some salmon, but everything we have loved lately.  This week's recipe does not so I hope she tries it!

Chicken Mexicana (5) – My Memaw makes this for any of her Trout grandkids when we come to visit. It is terribly unhealthy, but the definition of comfort food for me. The original recipe calls for butter, but I suggest using a non-stick skillet and only using a bit of olive or canola oil to help (however futile) with the health.

Ingredients:

2.5 cups cooked chicken, chopped

Large onion, chopped

½ bell pepper, chopped

¾ cup butter OR lightly coat your skillet with oil

Cream of mushroom soup

Cream of chicken soup

Rotel

4 oz. green chilies

1 cup cheddar

Cool Ranch Doritos

Directions: Preheat oven at 350. Sauté onion and pepper in butter or oil. Add soups, Rotel, chilies and ½ cup of cheese. Simmer until the cheese melts, then add chicken. Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the chicken mixture in dish. Layer with handful of crushed Doritos. Follow with other half of the chicken. Top with crushed Dortitos and cheddar cheese. Bake covered with foil for 20-30 minutes (removed foil for last 5 minutes.

Produce

Celery (1)

2 White onions (1, 5)

Carrots (1)

Ginger (2)

Cabbage (2, 3)

Red bell pepper (2)

Shredded carrots (2)

2 Red onions (2, 3)

Green onion (2)

Cilantro (2)

Cucumbers (3)

Yellow onion (3)

Garlic (3, 4)

Tomatoes (3)

Mint (3)

Veggie to roast (4)

2 limes (4)

Green bell pepper (5)

Meat counter/deli

Chicken breast – get enough for 2 meals (1, 5)

Flank steak (2)

2 lb pork roast (3)

Salmon (4)

  

Dry goods

Bisquick (1)

Apple cider vinegar (1)

2 Chicken broth cartons (1)

Dry white wine (2)

Soy sauce (2)

Hoisin sauce (2)

Sesame oil (2)

Sriracha sauce (2)

Olive oil (2, 3, 4)

Quinoa (2)

Cashews or peanuts (2)

Peanut butter (2)

Honey (2, 4)

Gyros (3)

Flour (4)

Cream of mushroom soup (5)

Cream of chicken soup (5)

Rotel (5)

4 oz Green chilies (5)

Cool Ranch Doritos (5)

Seasonings/spices

Salt, pepper

Thyme (1)

Rosemary (1)

Dill (2)

Oregano (3)

Onion powder (3)

Garlic powder (3)

Beef bouillon powder (3)

Parsley (3)

Thyme (3)

Paprika (3)

Cinnamon (3)

Nutmeg (3)

Fridge/Freezer

Skim milk (1)

Edamame not in the shell! (2)

1 cup Greek yogurt (3)

Butter (4, 5) or not?

Shredded cheddar (5)

Week of December 7, 2014

This week was a fantastic week! I have exactly zero pictures of home-cooked meals to share with you. Why? Because I cooked exactly once and it was chowder. Turns out my stellar photog skills do NOT make chowder look appetizing regardless of how delicious it is, and I wasn’t about to provide picture evidence of the greasy but delicious hamburgers and Thai take-out that Mr. Rutledge and I enjoyed this week.

What did I do this week? Well for starters, I celebrated my birthday. I’m 21…again! Woohoo! Mr. Rutledge took me to eat at a lovely vineyard in Melissa, TX. It was a great experience and we will definitely go back! We also hung Christmas lights on our house and decorated a Christmas tree (sort of). I haven’t finished the tree yet. It’s been one of those super accomplishing weeks. I even had a dirty kitchen half the week! How does that even happen? Seriously. How? 

Thankgiving with Rutledges, Trouts and Strausses 

A little football:

Massive family breakfast:

Birthday fun:

So let’s be honest, I’m still pooped from Thanksgiving hosting, but Christmas shopping and that lovely tree still need to be finished up. I know these are trivial things and they are not the reason for the season, but they still stress me out. So this week we are eating simple and focusing on enjoying this season. I will get back in the kitchen and actually cook, but this week isn’t too healthy. I’m just being honest. It’s not. Everything is fast and easy enough to get on the table and it just plain has to happen.

 

Potato Soup (1) – New to us, but I feel like this is pretty hard to mess up. I guess we will find out this week. A friend of mine tells me you can buy “simply potatoes” and they are already peeled and shredded (maybe blanched, too?), but they aren’t fried so that’s a start, eh?

Ingredients:

30 oz bag of frozen hash-brown potatoes 

2- 14 oz chicken broth

10.75 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 chopped onion

1/3 teaspoon black pepper

8 oz cream cheese

Minced green onion

Shredded cheddar cheese

Bacon crumbled 

Directions: In a crock pot, combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion and pepper and cook covered on low for 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese and cook 30 minutes. Garnish as desired.

 

Chihuahuas (2) – One summer I was a youth intern at my hometown church and my high school golf coach’s family let me stay the summer with them. It was a fantastic summer full of great memories. One of my favorite things Wendy made was these Chihuahuas. Basically, cook up taco meat and layer onto tostados topped. The kicker is to throw in some pimento cheese and shredded cabbage. No. This meal isn’t healthy, but it reminds me of some people who truly shaped me as an adult. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Egg, prosciutto, and spinach flat bread (3) –  From cooking light, this is new to us but prosciutto is practically bacon so Mr. Rutledge will be content!

Spaghetti (4) – Two reasons. I already have the ingredients (so now you’re asking yourself what my excuse was for not making it last week- don’t.). And, it takes less than 30 minutes.  Cut back on your hamburger meat and add in some chopped bell pepper, mushrooms and onion. You can deglaze your pan with a little red wine and pretend you aren’t about to pour a bottle of store-bought tomato sauce on top. We will! If you aren't mixing veggies into your spaghetti, steam a bag or frozen broccoli or add a side salad to relieve my guilt!

 

Ham and Beans (5) – Any of you save your ham bone? I’m 99% my Memaw shoved one in our freezer when she was here. That baby is going on the crockpot with some pinto beans. Carb loading at its tastiest. I prefer to soak beans over night. In the morning drain and add to crockpot. Add 4 cups water, ham bone, bell pepper, salt, pepper, granulated garlic to taste. Cook on low at least 8 hours. You can spice it up with some chipotle in adobo or jalapeños, too! 

 

Produce

Onion (1)

Green onion (1)

Shredded cabbage (2)

Sweet onion (3)

Spinach (3)

Bell peppers (4, 5)

Mushrooms (4)

Deli/meat counter

Bacon (1)

2 lbs Ground hamburger or turkey breast (2, 4)

2 oz prosciutto (3)

Ham bone or salt pork (5)

Dry goods

2- 24 oz cans chicken broth (1)

10.75 can cream of chicken soup (1)

Can of black beans (2)

Salsa (2)

Tostados (2)

4- 2 oz flat breads (3)

Cooking spray (3)

Olive oil (3)

Whole wheat pasta (4)

Spaghetti sauce (4)

1 lb pinto beans (5)

Seasoning/spices

Black pepper

Salt

Taco seasoning (2)

Crushed red pepper (3)

Granulated garlic (5)

Fridge/freezer

Hash-browns (1)

8 oz block cream cheese (1)

Shredded cheddar cheese (1, 2)

Pimento cheese (2)

Sour cream (2)

Eggs (3)

Skim mozzarella (3)