Black Bean & Rice Salad

This recipe can be filed under “Quick & Easy” for your weekly menu rotations … Now that the holidays are over, everyone is trying to get back into the groove of jam-packed schedules.  I tore this recipe from Three Many Cooks out of the newspaper last spring and have made it in assorted variations several times since — this version is my favorite. It makes a great meatless main dish, but I make it on a regular basis so I’ll have something substantial to take to work for lunch … other than an occasional lunch out with work buddies, I would much rather save my “going-out” funds for spending time relaxing over good food with friends and family (which is not only good for the budget, but also much better for the “healthy” eating I’m trying to do these days)!!  Even with the “splurge” of feta cheese (actually the “splurge” is probably the cherry tomatoes — good grief — just cut up a tomato!), I don’t think it costs more than $5-6 to make a large bowlful to enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked white rice – cooked per standard directions and cooled (I tried it early in my experimenting with this recipe using brown rice and didn’t like it as well, but I’m going to try it again since I’m still working on that “eating healthier” theme)
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (or thawed frozen corn)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or 2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced)
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 4-6 green onions, chopped
• about ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (more or less, depending on how much you love cilantro!)
• Salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• Lime wedges for garnish and to add an extra little kick

Dressing:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 4 tsps. Lime juice (you can substitute lemon
  juice, but I think lime was better for this recipe)

Directions:

Combine the cooled rice, beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, onions, and cilantro. Make sure you cool the rice before mixing with other ingredients or the feta cheese will melt. The pictures which follow are actually from a double batch I made a while back. This is also one of those recipes that can easily be “stretched” if you are feeding a crowd. You can double the rice and dressing and you still have a good salad; the other flavors will just not be as intense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wisk the olive oil and lime juice and pour over rice mixture. Chill in the refrigerator at least one hour before serving. Serve with lime (or lemon) wedges. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

How to make Sticky Popcorn

Hopefully I am not divulging any super secret family recipe today.  I feel like this is one of those snacks that I grew up on.  When I was little it was my job to shake the popcorn up in the brown paper bag.  As I grew older, it was harder for my mother to keep me away from the massive amounts of popcorn the recipe produces.  As an adult (pregnant no less) I ate this entire batch by myself in four days.  I know, that is pretty gross, but it was also sooooooooo good.  It is probably a good thing I didn’t have a glucose test any time around this week!!!

I also use in this recipe, one of my favorite small kitchen “appliances” – our air popcorn popper.  Truly, I think every household should have one.  It only cost $20 to purchase, and popcorn seeds in bulk are pretty darn cheap.  1/2 a cup of seeds also pops close to triple the amount of popcorn popped in a microwave bag – still in 2 minutes.  Not to mention – the health benefits!  Do you know popcorn is actually GOOD for you?!  It is highly recommended as a healthy carb, if it is all natural with no extra junk.  The kids like to sprinkle garlic powder on theirs, or parmesan.  We stay away from the butter because real, or fake, it just doesn’t taste right.

Of course, this recipe is not healthy for you in any way, shape, or form…

Sticky Popcorn:

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 stick margarine (I use butter)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Fill brown paper bag 1/2 full with popped popcorn.  Boil all ingredients except popcorn in pan until it starts to scorch, stirring constantly (if smalls chunks of brown start appearing remove from heat immediately – you boiled it too long…don’t worry, it will still taste fine).   Pour syrup on top of corn in bag.  Close up bag and shake.  Pour out of bag into bowl.

Stitch-A-Long: FINISHED

Okay, so it turned out to be a 25 month Stitch-A-Long, rather than a 12 month Stitch-A-Long, but it is still FINISHED! And, I do like this method of taking large projects and breaking them up into “doable” chunks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m afraid the budget doesn’t allow for a gorgeous double -matted frame job, so what to do, what to do?  I reached way back into my “toolbox” of sewing skills (WAY back, haven’t made a quilt or wall hanging in years!), and decided to turn it into a little wall hanging. I found some sweet fabric to reflect some of the dominant colors which are also found in my office (I spend much more time there than at home, so decided that is where it will hang — it will also help on some of those challenging days to remember these “Living with Charm” words).

I considered how wide I wanted the finished product to be, and decided that I wanted the emphasis on the stitching so the borders and binding are fairly narrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It needed a little something to give it some form, but I didn’t want to use iron-on interfacing.  I had some leftover pieces of soft white flannel which worked perfectly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for the binding … It has been a while since I mitered a corner, so Google was my friend!  I found this great free tutorial online at Jaybird Quilts.

Success!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bean Bag Chair — A Storage Solution (stuffed animals, extra pillows & blankets)

There will definitely be a theme of “the dissertation is done, so Debbie is starting to play ‘catch-up’ with projects” with my upcoming posts.  It has been so nice to sew/cook/craft again.  Not that I worked on the dissertation/school work ALL of the time, but I found myself feeling so guilty about doing anything else, that instead, I would just sit and do nothing or web-surf looking for new projects that I didn’t have time to do!

A while ago, Jen came across in a catalog this creative way to store stuffed animals.  Did she order a couple? Oh no, she said, “I bet Mom could make those a lot cheaper!” (I think they were about $75 in this speciality catalog).  I did manage to make one for Little S (who had the stuffed-animals-reaching-the-point-of-room-takeover situation going on!) and she received it for her birthday over a year ago. Both of the girls loved the project and requested I make them for the rest of the “grands” — I bought the fabric, even cut it out, but didn’t get them made until just in time for this Christmas.  And, they were a hit!

This “storage solution” would also work great for a dorm room or small apartment (to store extra linens, winter jackets, etc.).

Supplies:

Start out with any bean bag chair pattern.. I used “D” of Simplicity Pattern #5105 (which I can guarantee was purchased during one of JoAnn’s any-pattern-for-$1.99 sales — I do NOT pay full price for patterns!).

Heavy fabric, such as duck or denim (you do not want it to be stretchy!), according to pattern requirements

22″ long zipper (closed at one end)

1/2 yard mesh fabric (like what is used for laundry bags)

thread

Directions:

Cut out the fabric pieces according to the pattern directions.  Begin sewing pieces together, again, according to the pattern directions; however, instead of just a simple seam between two of the pieces, insert the zipper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the piece which will be opposite where the zipper has been inserted, cut out some of the heavy fabric and insert a “window” of the mesh fabric.  In the “sample” Jen found in the catalog, this window was made of vinyl … so that was how I made the first bean bag — not a good idea!  Little S almost immediately zipped herself (we should have known!) into the bag and couldn’t get out.  Luckily, a little friend was over playing and we were alerted to her predicament!  So, before making anymore, I did a bit of fabric “research” and came up with the mesh idea.  If you’re making one of these for an older child or teen, or even a young adult, the “window” isn’t really necessary — mainly just allows for the furry friends to be remembered!

Continue to follow pattern directions to complete the “bean bag chair”, simply using your “modified” panels.

Since these “chairs” are likely to get heavy use (Little S drags hers all over the house so she can sit wherever the action is happening!), I double stitched all seams and top-stitched through the seam allowances which I pressed to one side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking to:

Homemade Tomato Sauce (or Where I Learn to Peel a Tomato)

My husband is adhering to a strict Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and I have been trying to be the supportive wife.  It hasn’t been that difficult once I realized I have lost 13 pounds since we started the diet!!!

There is a lot of information out there about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (just google the term!) so I am not going to go into lots of detail (and the information is extensive!) but basically it means we have gotten rid of all processed and boxed food (which we had been slowly getting rid of anyway), white sugars and flours (the kids and I use wheat flour and I do use white sugar in some baked goods that my husband doesn’t eat but my husband has to use almond flour), and buy organic when we can.  We make a lot of what we eat from scratch now and the diet is similar to the Paleo diet.

Enter the homemade tomato sauce.  Do you realize how many recipes call for tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes or paste?  I didn’t until my husband told me that canned tomatoes et. al were off the list.  Tomatoes and homemade sauces made following the SCD directions are both fine.  I sort of followed a recipe and made my own homemade tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

10 tomatoes

1/2 cup of basil (1/2 a cup?!?!  seriously?)

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 medium onion

The first thing you have to do is peel and de-seed your tomatoes.  Supposedly, the easiest way to do this is to drop the tomatoes into boiling water for one minute.

Amazingly, this is what happens:

Move the tomatoes into a bowl until they are cool enough to peel.  The skin of the tomato falls right off.  To de-seed them, the directions that I read said to cut them in half and squeeze the seeds out.

Um…okay…

Squeeze, squish, splat…

So, when I cut the tomato it didn’t exactly cut in half perfectly so there was tomato flesh instead of seed.  I ended up just ripping the tomatoes apart and taking the seeds out.  My kitchen was a disaster.  My hands were covered in tomato juice so I couldn’t take a picture of it for you.

Cook the onions, 2 tablespoons of oil, and three pressed garlic cloves in a large pot until soft.  Crush up the tomatoes and add them to the pot.  Instead of crushing them, I put them in my food processor.  I also added about 3-4 cups of tomato juice (which is SCD legal).

Add the basil.  The recipe I (kind of) used said to use 1/2 cup.  Measuring out half a cup worried me but I dumped it all in the pot.

Simmer on the stove until the liquid has evaporated.

The recipe makes about 2.5 cups without the juice.  With the tomato juice added, I got about 4.5 cups of sauce.  I bagged the sauce up in 1/2 cup bags to freeze for use in the future.

And the verdict?

The tomato sauce was a hit.  My husband is planning homemade pizza (with almond flour crust) for dinner tonight and I think he is happy that I don’t have to keep asking if he is sure that he can’t have canned stewed tomatoes!  I thought that I added a ridiculous amount of basil but it wasn’t overpowering.  I didn’t add any salt or any other seasonings so it might need a little bit of salt if it is used as a pizza sauce rather than a mix-in.

Now if I find a recipe that calls for tomato sauce, canned tomatoes or tomato past, I have a substitute ready to go!

Marshmallow Shooters and Pillow Shields

Marshmallow Shooters & Shields

My dissertation was submitted and I had nothing better to do than sit and wait (right, and if you believe that I have an entire “to-do” list you can complete for me!).  So, over Thanksgiving I decided to start working on some Christmas gifts – many of which I had purchased supplies for LAST year!  This year’s “fun” gift was family sets of marshmallow shooters with shields!

 

SHOOTERS

 Supplies (for one shooter):

12-inch length of 1/2 inch PVC pipe (sprinkler/plumping pipe)

One – 1/2 inch end cap

Two – 1/2 inch elbows

One – 1/2 inch T joint

Craft glue (I like Tacky Glue)

Sandpaper

 

Directions:

Cut the PVC pipe into three pieces 2” long, and two pieces 3” long.  My original intent was to cut these by hand with a small saw…luckily, I ran into my neighbor at Lowe’s and when she found out what I was up to, she volunteered her husband and his nice, FAST table saw (we bartered 3 shooters in the deal!).  What was I thinking??? I did cut one piece by hand, and it took me as long to make one cut as it did for T.H. to do about 20!

It is also important to get two smooth edges (one for each end, since invariably big and little people pick them up and “shoot” out of either end).  Even though the table saw made pretty smooth cuts, I still used the sand paper to “finish” off the edges a bit.

Lay out as shown in the picture below.

 
Starting with the mouthpiece end (top right in picture), use a paint brush, Q-tip, or foam applicator, to brush a SMALL amount of craft glue around the edge of the connecting end (of course, if you put the glue on the wrong end, just flip it around – if it is smooth enough!).  You may need to add a few drops of water to the glue to get it to be “brushing” consistency.  Insert the PVC piece into the elbow and wipe away any excess glue. Repeat process for each PVC piece and connector.  I let the shooters dry overnight before putting them away to start on the next project – the body armor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hints/Notes:

*The PVC pipe comes in 5’ lengths – with careful measuring/cutting, I was able to get enough “little” pieces to make 5 shooters out of each length – if your pieces aren’t exactly 2” or 3” it is no big deal!

*You do not want to do the pipe cutting inside – we made a real mess on my neighbors’ patio!

*I made 18 of these shooters for less than $20, including a new bottle of Tacky Glue

*Play rules include “No aiming at heads” – Marshmallows travel at high speeds when shot!

*After the initial gift giving/opening, these shooters have been consigned to outside play only (see picture below – marshmallow stuck on INSIDE of living room window, found FIVE days after Christmas!)

*I think these would be fabulous fun for a sleepover, couples wedding shower, family reunion, etc. You would certainly “break the ice” quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHIELDS

 

Supplies for One Shield:

½ yard fabric (all one color, or assorted scraps – I used flannel, mainly because that was the only pink camouflage I could find)

½ yard of 3/8” wide grosgrain ribbon

12” of 7/8” wide grosgrain ribbon

1/2 yard of Heavy-duty interfacing

Polyester fiberfill

Embellishments – optional (e.g., buttons, silk flowers)

Pattern:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Since I made enough of these to outfit an army (or at least a large squad!), I started by cutting out a number of solid color pieces for the backing.  Then after cutting out an assortment of full pieces from the coordinating fabrics, I cut them into smaller pieces and did some mixing-matching – this means your finished front piece will be a bit smaller than the backing (because of the seams) – just trim to match (I’m all about making these projects fun and easy – not precise and perfect!).

All seams were about ¼” (give or take!).  Sew the two small pieces together – iron the seam and sew on a piece of the 3/8” ribbon (I used a zigzag stitch for this).  Sew the top piece to the bottom and repeat ironing and ribbon.  If you’re going to add buttons, an initial, or any other embellishment, now is the time!

Baste the interfacing to the inside of the solid back piece (or, if you were smart and actually bought iron-on interfacing, iron that stuff on!).  Flip it over and on the outside, place 7/8”
ribbon for “grips”.  See picture below for placement (I forgot to take the picture of the back as I was making these, so just used an extra piece of the interfacing … do NOT sew your grips onto the interfacing – because then they would be INSIDE the finished shield!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stitch ribbon in place on each end (where the pins are in place).

Now, placing right sides together (after trimming the back piece to match the front piece), stitch the two pieces together, leaving a small opening so that you can stuff the pillow “shield”.  Trim the seam, and then turn inside out.  Stuff the shield and then top stitch to finish (and close the opening).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the “battle” got heated, we were laughing so hard I had tears running down my face!  Too bad I forgot to make myself one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you and yours a healthy, safe, and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

Grilled Chicken & Zucchini Wraps

A few weeks ago, I shared a great seafood salad recipe from Gooseberry Patch’s 101 Soups, Salads and Sandwiches.  Since I shared that recipe, I have made the salad at least three times.  It is the perfect meal for me because I am watching what I eat.  I am able to make a big enough salad to last a couple of meals and it makes for a healthy lunch.

We recently tried another recipe from the book that was just as healthy and delicious.

Grilled Chicken & Zucchini Wraps

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 to 6 zucchini, sliced lengthwise

olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2c ranch salad dressing, divided

8 10inch whole-grain flour tortillas

8 leaves of lettuce

Brush chicken and zucchini with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill until cooked thoroughly.  Doesn’t that look awesome?!  Chicken, zucchini and steak (for my husband, not related to this recip!)…yum!

For the record, we have never grilled zucchini and have never grilled chicken with just olive oil, salt and pepper.  I am amazed at how tasty it was with no added calories from sauces or marinades!

Slice cooked chicken into strips.  For each wrap, spead one tablespoon of salad dressing on a tortilla (we used a carb control wheat tortilla).  Top with a lettuce leaf (we used romaine), chicken strips, and zucchini.

Sprinkle with cheese of your choice (we used cheddar), roll up, and enjoy.

Aunt Christine’s Cheese Ball

Yep, just checked the calendar and it is December 23.  How did that happen?  Are you ready?  Do you need a quick appetizer? You just might have all of the ingredients on hand for this one, and it is quick and easy!  If you have a food processor, it will be even quicker and easier!!  This cheese ball is always a crowd favorite — as in, they-practically-lick-the-plate-clean favorite!  We call it “Aunt Christine’s Cheese Ball” because I got the recipe from my sister about 20 years ago.

Ingredients:

1 – 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

½ tsp. season salt

1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 green onions

1 package luncheon meat, thinly sliced (the cheap stuff!)

Directions:

Finely chop the green onions.  Chop the luncheon meat (I like to use Buddig beef), reserve half.  Combine the remaining beef, onions and all other ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Refrigerate for a while so that it isn’t “sticky”; form into a ball and roll the ball in the remaining chopped beef.  Serve with crackers.

 

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a health, safe, and Happy New Year with friends and family.

 

 

Gooseberry Patch 101 Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway.  It was so fun to read about everyone’s favorite soups, salads, and sandwiches…so many tasty choices!

The winner, selected randomly by a random number generator, was Sandra W. who said that her favorite was “Potato soup and my own recipe for Curried Chicken Salad. MMMMM!!!”

Congratulations Sandra!  Please email me at jennifer at twokidsandamap dot com or use the contact form as soon as possible (within three days) with your contact information to confirm the prize!  I wonder if we could talk you into sharing your curried chicken salad on our site!?!

Stay tuned!  I will be sharing some more recipes from the cookbook and we will have another early review for you soon!

Gooseberry Patch Early Review: 101 Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches (Plus a GIVEAWAY!)

The four of us here at Thread Together LOVE Gooseberry Patch books.  Debbie has even had a recipe featured in one of the books.  We could barely contain our excitement when we were offered the chance to become an Early Bird Reviewer for their upcoming cookbooks.  Over the next few months, we get a sneak peek at the books that will be hitting the bookstores soon and we will even have a copy to give away!  It is a match made in heaven!  Read through this post to find out how to enter to win a Gooseberry Patch cookbook before it hits the stores.

The first book that we reviewed is 101 Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches.  I was excited when I pulled the first review because my favorite thing to eat is soup and salad.  To me, it is comfort food.  If I can’t think of anything to make for dinner, I throw a pot of soup on the stove and make some grilled cheese sandwiches.  It always hits the spot.

This book, 101 Soups, Salads, & Sandwiches, is pages and pages of savory soups, tasty sandwiches, salads and toppings that compliment all of the above.  When the book arrived, I immediately started going through it and marking recipes I wanted to try.  The recipes are easy to prepare and each one that I tried turned out perfectly.  I am watching what I eat right now, so I paid attention to the ingredients as I flipped through the book.  I think that the recipes that call for not so healthy ingredients could easily be substituted.

The first recipe that I chose to try was Seafood Salad for a Crowd.  We have this little local restaurant that serves the most delicious seafood salad.  I have tried to duplicate it but haven’t had much luck.  This recipe comes pretty close!  The recipe is for a crowd and they aren’t kidding.  This would be perfect to take to a potluck or a big family dinner.  Since I was just making the salad for myself, I cut the recipe to almost one third of what each ingredient called for.  I still have enough salad leftover for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.  My changes to the recipe are italicized in the parenthesis.

Seafood Salad for a Crowd  (Seafood Salad NOT for a Crowd!)

3 8oz pkgs cooked frozen shrimp, thawed (1/2 8oz pkgs of cooked frozen shrimp, thawed)

2 lbs imitation crabmeat, cut into bite-sized pieces (1/2 lb imitation crabmeat, cut into pieces)

4 cucumbers, peeled and diced (1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced)

6 tomatoes, diced (1 tomato, diced)

1 bunch green onions, chopped (2 green onion pieces, chopped)

1 head lettuce (one heart of romaine, chopped)

4 avocados, halved, pitted and diced (1/2 avocado, diced)

Seasoned salt with onion and garlic to taste (season salt to taste)

2 16oz pkgs shredded Colby Jack cheese (sprinkle of cheese on finished salad)

Ranch dressing

Toss together all chopped, diced and cut vegetables.  Add shrimp and crabmeat.  Divide salad into individual bowls.  Top with Colby Jack cheese and dressing.

This salad was full of bright colors that put me in a much better mood than the cloudy gray skies outside.  The seasoned salt (I used my Tastefully Simple seasoned salt) gave the salad a little kick.

Stay tuned this week for a few other recipe reviews from the book!  Tonight we are having grilled chicken and zucchini wraps for dinner!

Do you want a copy of 101 Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches before it hits the bookstores?

How to Enter

We will be giving away ONE copy of the cookbook.  If you would like a chance to win, leave us a comment in this post and tell us what your favorite soup, salad or sandwich is.  Leave your comment before December 20 at 9:59 CST.  Don’t worry about being creative in your comment, the winner will be chosen by a random number generator.  Please make sure that you fill out the required fields by putting your first name in the name field and your email address in the email address field.  We do not share email addresses and you will not receive emails from Threaded Together unless you win.

Winners

We will choose ONE winner randomly and announce the results here on Threaded Together on December 20, 2011.

Rules

One comment per person per giveaway post.  Duplicate comments and anonymous comments will be discarded.  Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid so that we can contact you (email addresses are never made public).  Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize.  We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology.  No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that Threaded Together reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize.  Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state, and local taxes on the value of their prize.  Relatives of Threaded Together are not eligible to win.

Because this is a family site and we get a lot of spam comments, all comments on this site are moderated.  If you comment doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry!