on the right foot!

Here are some recent ideas for deliciousness:

My genius sister-in-law told me she likes to use quinoa or couscous to make a cold salad – she cooks the grains in broth, cools them and then adds whatever a person might like in a pasta salad. I know! Genius!

Also, I’ve been using baked sweet potatoes in anything I think my daughter might eat. I steam carrots, cauliflower or other gently-colored veggies and puree them with the sweet potato. Little Cowgirl has never eaten so many vegetables disguised as sloppy joe and meatloaf. I’ve always hidden veggies in her food, but the sweet potato is so packed with nutrients and so SWEET it makes us both happy. (oh, and don’t tell her. She is very partial to a completely beige diet, and anything that crunches and isn’t from a chip bag might make her vomit.) I am on a mission to use this new idea for replacing anything calling for brown sugar – my original sloppy joe recipe (from my sweet mother-in-law) calls for it but the sweet potato was an easy swap.

Remember last year’s Lenten Miracle Soup? (Thank you for reminding me about it, Darlene.) This year I had another soup success – but more for ease than flavor. On Thursday I made chicken in a crock pot for lunch. I sliced potatoes, onions and carrots into the bottom of the crock, cranked a few turns of “zesty seasoning mix” into it and covered everything with a whole chicken and water. After we ate I boned the chicken and saved the small scraps. Then I chunked the veggies into smaller pieces and put then in the fridge with the little chicken scraps and the broth. On Friday, I took the dish out, skimmed the solidified fat off the top, heated it up and stirred in a bit of potato starch to thicken it up. We ate the soup with biscuits and shredded cheddar.

What’s been happening in your kitchens?