One Saturday a few weeks ago, I had to jump in the car to go to Publix immediately to grab those three items in the title of this post. I knew none of those things went together, but I had to have them. Most of the time, I haven’t been able to decide what I wanted to eat so this was a change for sure!

Don’t worry, I’m not eating raw fish sushi…only cooked or veggie only. I’ve had a hard time sticking to my two servings of fish a week. I just love it so much. It’s healthy and easy on my tummy, and I’m fairly sure I’ve exceeded the “recommendations” a few times…oops. There are worse things, right? I always vary the type of fish and never eat anything high in mercury.

For posterity’s sake, here are a few things I’ve been eating cantaloupe, plain rice and noodles, saltines, dill Triscuits, apples, pineapple, shredded wheat (Kashi – Island Vanilla), everything bagels with veggie cream cheese, asparagus, dumplings (no chicken), not a lot of meat in general but chicken and fish over beef, Mexican food (beans and rice!), grapes, tomatoes, peanut butter sandwiches, cottage cheese. For drinks, it’s mostly been water with the occasional lemon/lime soda, ginger ale, sweet tea, and very seldom coffee or Dr. Pepper when I need a small boost of caffeine.

So what’s the scoop?

Due: September 23rd

Sex: It’s a BOY!

Nursery decor: Adorable cartoon dinosaurs are on the bedding. The rest of the room will follow the colors. We’ll be shopping soon!

Parents and grandparents: ECSTATIC!

Doggies: Clueless

Favorite activity: Daddy reading good night stories to Mommy and babe (Curious George, Disney favorites, If you give a mouse a cookie, etc.)

Other prep: Lots of reading, studying, planning; checking Pinterest and searching in general for decor ideas, writing baby a weekly letter, keeping up with pictures of my growing bump

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I hope you’re celebrating today…unless you’re celebrating the Kentucky Derby or Talladega or something else. This is quite the day for eating, drinking, and being merry!

If you’re having a fiesta and you’re still not sure what to do for dessert. I have something SUPER easy for you. Make No-Fry Fried Ice Cream! We had a Quatro de Mayo potluck at work yesterday, and we were light on the desserts section of the sign up sheet. I waffled on this until about 10 minutes til 5 on Thursday night, but it ended up being a winner. I had a reception to attend the night before so I was low on prep time. This recipe from Tablespoon saved the day.

Ingredients

• 6 cups honey coated corn flakes cereal, crushed
• 2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 5 Tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened
• (optional) Toppings: caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream

I’ve become quite used to bringing food for events so let me share a few tips on how I transported and made this dessert. First of all for a crowd, I didn’t  bother with the pre-scooping. I just made a little sign with instructions for each person to scoop out their own ice cream and let them top it with as many of the “fried” bits (and then toppings) as they wanted. Since we had TONS of food, many people didn’t get into desserts until later in the afternoon so this let me keep the ice cream and whipped topping in the freezer until somebody wanted it.

I made the full batch of fried bits and got all of the toppings (chocolate and caramel sauce and whipped cream) and had another person bring the ice cream to share the cost. He only got a half gallon of vanilla ice cream  (from Blue Bell…it was delish!), but I’m glad I made the full amount of fried bits because those definitely went faster since I didn’t roll the scoops of ice cream in the mixture.

If you’re bringing a dish to an event, you want to make sure you’ve got all of the prep utensils, ingredients, and special serving tools you’ll need. Don’t count on the venue having them because either they won’t have a can opener or strainer or ice cream scoop or whatever OR 10 other people will be counting on using it. It also helps to keep this in mind for freezer and refrigerator space (we were asked to clear out the fridge the day before the event so we’d have enough room…smart!) or oven / microwave / toaster oven space. We had a lot of frantic heaters at the last minute, which makes for some dishes being a little cold in the end. Bring your own cooler for cold things or crockpots and heated casserole dish covers for warm things, and take control of your own temperature destiny!

My last bit of advice has to do with once the whole thing is over. Plan for a mess…my toppings bottles were sticky, my ice cream scoops were dirty, and I had leftovers to deal with. Bring your own plastic zipper bags or leftover containers. Bring a plastic bag (zippered or recycled grocery) to plop all of the used utensil in (then throw them straight in the dish water or washer when you get home). Bring a roll of your own paper towels or handy wipes for messes, especially if you’re partying in a field (a la Derby or Steeplechase) sans kitchen. If  you had a warm dish, say in a crockpot, you need to think about the safety of your leftovers after they’ve been sitting out on the serving table. After 2 hours, they’re probably not good any more. You’ll want to get those packed up and refrigerated ASAP or they’ll be going in the trash (or making someone sick!).

So how did all of this advice play out with my dish yesterday?

When I was prepping for this dessert, I packed a 1-cup measure, a small plastic container with the butter pre-measured (so I could just pop it into the microwave to melt), another container with the cinnamon and sugar measured out, a tablespoon measure, a bottle of corn syrup, and 2 ice cream scoops. I also brought my own container with a lid to mix the fried bits up in so that I could take home any leftovers. I stopped on the way into work to get the cereal and toppings. When I was setting out the dessert to serve, I measured out the cereal with the 1-cup scoop, crushing them with the bottom of the cup as I went. I popped the butter in the microwave and dumped in the other ingredients. I forgot to bring a mixing / serving spoon, but thankfully there were enough of them on site. I also borrowed small spoons to serve the whipped topping.

One last thing…be prepared to share your recipe. Have it typed up in an email ready to forward or bring your recipe card to throw on the copier at work. If you’ve found a good recipe, people will want it!

Whether you’re enjoying margaritas, mint juleps, or 40s (or something non-alcoholic like me)…have fun today!

I just posted an “alternative” pesto round-up on FarmFlavor.com. Go check it out to see some interesting new twists on the classic basil and pine nuts combination.

• I keep the 1 cup measure in the laundry room to measure bleach.
• I keep the ½ cup measure in the dog food. Two scoops, twice a day for two dogs.
• I keep the ¼ cup measure under the sink to measure the dishwasher cleaner. We have hard water that causes problems sometimes, but the cleaner should never come in contact with the food preparation process.

Why do I have so many measuring spoons? When you’re cooking 398374 dishes at the same time, like I do over the weekend prepping meals for the week quite often, you just need this many. You can’t measure honey and then turn around and measure flour. I try my best to measure less messy dry ingredients first then on to wet ingredients to keep from having to wash so many, but sometimes you just need several. I also don’t want to contaminate some containers of an ingredient. I use salt in sweet and savory dishes so I usually measure out salt first. For my marinara sauce, I use 1 T of Italian seasoning and 1 T of brown sugar, but I don’t want herbs in my sugar so I measure the sugar first. (Note: You’ll notice I use t for teaspoon and T for tablespoon around here. I just like the abbreviation.) If you measure oil first (or spray the measuring cup/spoon with cooking spray) before sticky ingredients like honey and peanut butter, it slides out easier. Planning out your measuring order is important!

My favorite is my ⅛ teaspoon. I didn’t even realize I had such a jewel for the longest time, and now, I cherish it. I halve recipes a lot, and it bugs me to estimate. I use this one quite often, and as far as I know, it isn’t common for this one to come in a set.

Do you have a favorite measuring spoon? Is that weird? How many sets of measuring cups and spoons do you have?

Tucka and Oscar at Christmas.

Brussels sprouts are one of those foods with a bad rap. Broccoli, too. Personally, I love them. A while back I picked up a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts from Publix, and they’ve been hanging out in the freezer waiting for some inspiration. I decided tonight that I wanted to bust them out with a balsamic glaze. The results were amazing.

I cooked the sprouts according to the package directions to get them thawed and softened. The end results from this method might be a little mushy for some tastes, but I liked it just fine. Once they were done cooking, I spread them out on a baking sheet to cool just a bit. From there, I cut them in half lengthwise with a dinner knife. In a cast iron skillet, I added 1 T of olive oil and set the stove to medium-high. I added the cut up Brussels, and let them hang out. This is the hard part…leaving them alone. Getting the beautiful brown…almost caramelization…is key. You don’t want them to burn, of course. Once the Brussels start to brown, mix them once or twice to let another side brown.

At this point, it was time to get going on the glaze. It’s really complicated…wait for it…I measured out 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and added it to a small saucepan on medium-high. Then I let it do it’s thing, bubbling away, until the liquid was reduced by half. That’s it!

To the Brussels, I added 2 T of unsalted butter, 1 t salt, and 1/2 t black pepper for seasoning. When the vinegar is reduced, add it to the Brussels, and stir to combine.

Enjoy! They’re so good!!!

It would also be good to cook a little bacon in the pan before throwing in the Brussels sprouts, and a few chopped walnuts or pecans would really take it over the edge. I’ll just have to experiment and report back!

Oh, and I was surprised to find out what Brussels sprouts look like when they’re grown. I saw them on the “vine” at the Farmers’ Market one day, and it totally freaked me out. I couldn’t believe it.

Image source

Greens are another New Year’s food. Here’s a little background from Epicurious.com:

Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year’s in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune. The Danish eat stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, the Germans consume sauerkraut (cabbage) while in the southern United States, collards are the green of choice. It’s widely believed that the more greens one eats the larger one’s fortune next year.

I received a Paula Deen calendar from my in-laws, D & T. Each month features a yummy recipe. For March, she makes Collard Green Wontons (similar to these). I thought they sounded delicious, but I didn’t want to fry them. So…I’m remixing them in puff pastry. I also wanted to make them vegetarian so I omitted the bacon.

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
2 – 16 ounce bags of collard greens, leaves cut into small pieces
1  T hot sauce/Tabasco
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T unsalted butter
1 – 8 ounce package onion and chive cream cheese + 2 ounces regular cream cheese, softened
2 packages puff pastry, cut into square pieces (about 15 pieces per sheet, roll out if necessary on a floured surface)

Directions
In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and chopped greens. Add hot sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic, and salt to the pan. Saute collards just until beginning to wilt (about 20 minutes). Stir in butter and cream cheese. Remove from heat and check seasonings.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a small bowl with water. With the tip of your finger dipped in water, moisten the edge of the square of puff pastry, and place a scant teaspoonful of the collard mixture into the center. Fold over to form a triangle and seal the edges with a fork. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops of pastry are golden brown.

I’ll be bringing these guys to a party later on tonight. I love a New Year’s Day party…so much different (and more my speed) than NYE. Happy 2012, folks!

This time of year, I love to cook the traditional New Year’s foods, which are usually dishes said to bring good luck. Black eyed peas are one of those things that I just have to eat this time of year. According to Wikipedia, eating these black-eyed beauties is said to bring prosperity. I was going to go for frozen, but I found fresh black eyed peas at Publix today for a great price. See? Prosperity!

Last year, my preparation was to roast them until the peas were crunchy (like this recipe). They were well-seasoned and fun to eat…almost like a peanut. The previous year I made Hoppin’ John (Check out this recipe from Emeril). It wasn’t my favorite, but it was fun to make.

Since I found them fresh, I wanted to go with a simple preparation that still packed a good flavor, and I really liked how this came out. The first bite I put in my mouth made me long for Rosy Relish, a sweet church bazaar favorite my grandmother and mom always served with black eyed peas. I’ve made a note to make it for the past couple of summers, but this year will be the year I will follow through. Do you want to make it too? See the recipe at the bottom. Now for the main attraction…the pea recipe:

2 T olive oil (divided)
2 pieces bacon
4 cups water
24 ounces fresh black eyed peas
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t Tabasco/hot sauce
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 T red wine vinegar
1 small onion, finely diced to garnish

Add 1 T oil and bacon to saucepan over medium heat, and cook until bacon is crispy. Add water (carefully) and bring to a boil on high. Add black eyed peas and reduce temp to medium. Cook until tender approximately 15-20 minutes. Drain most of the cooking liquid. Return to low heat and add seasonings and 1 T of olive oil. Stir well to incorporate. Serve with onion on top. Great served over cornbread, too!

Happy New Year to you and yours! I hope you’re enjoying some time off work and doing some reflection on the past year and planning for the one to come!

I promise regular posting will resume soon! I’ve got some great things planned, and I’m so excited to be on the new domain.

Love to all,
Becca

Family, Friends, Loved Ones, and Strangers,

Happy Holidays!!!

If you’ve landed on the blog for the first time from our card, welcome! This is meant to be a spin on the traditional “annual family update” that finds its way into Christmas greetings across the land. I hope you’ll like getting a glimpse into our world. I know I’ll be glad to have this to look back on next year!

I started Betty Becca back in January, and I feel like I can call myself a blogger now that I’ve done it rather consistently all year. I attended a Food Blog Forum in October, and it was an honor to experience presentations by some pretty big names in the food blog world. I also met lots of my peers who passed along insight and inspiration. It was an amazing weekend, and I got to know some great people who love to do the same thing that I do…experiment in the kitchen, take a few photos, and record it all for others to enjoy. Over the past month, Mr. J helped me pack up the site over at BettyBecca.Wordpress.com and move them over to BettyBecca.com, another step that makes me feel “grown up” in the blogging world.

Now, on to the year in review!

The year started off in 2011 with some wonderful classes I received as Christmas gifts from Mr. J. At Sweetwise near Opryland, I attended a cake decorating class and left with a 6” decorated cake and lots of new skills. I loved this one! At the Viking Cooking School in Franklin, I attended a knife skills class and also learned pasta making. I had a great instructor and team, and the meal we prepared was beyond delicious. Experience gifts are the best!

Mr. J is a professional hobbyist. I like to kid him about his hobby du jour because he likes to mix it up. A few of his current hobbies are
+ Fishing
+ Woodworking
+ Gaming
+ Auctions

Mr. J and I celebrated our 10 year dating anniversary in June. It was also our 3rd wedding anniversary. Since we’re both in new jobs, we really didn’t take a big vacation this year, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t squeeze in a few adventures. In June, we took a day trip on the motorcycle to Fall Creek Falls with another couple. It was a fun drive with a beautiful hike through nature. In the fall, we had an awesome weekend away in Atlanta. We each planned portions of the trip to be a surprise for the other, which made for a great little get away. You can read all about it here.

Firsts

+ Steeplechase

+ Friend from the Internet (Hi, Marie)

+ Guest post and feature by a major brand

+ Acting debut

+ Epic layer cake

I turned 26 in November. I had two great family dinners and lots of birthday “happies” that made the occasion very special. Looking back on this year, a few things I’m proud of include decorating for a friend’s wedding reception, coordinating weddings at church, creating a digital update system for my sorority’s alumnae association, putting together fresh flower arrangements, and starting a monthly meet up with a group of remarkable women.

New favorites
Wine: Cab sav
Shoes: Riding boots
Books: The Hunger Games
Grain: Quinoa

Mr. J and I both have new work homes, so we’re getting settled in. I’m working for a custom content / publishing company in a digital media and technology ambassador role. I love the company, my co-workers, and the job I do day-to-day and I look forward to growing there. Mr. J recently took a position as a senior software developer for an emergency notification company. He’s helping develop a new platform which will cover a variety of situations internationally ranging from natural disaster broadcasting to amber alerts to fire brigade and nuclear disaster responder notification. Working to improve systems that already save lives has been a nice breath of fresh air coming out of the finance world. He’s enjoying working with new technologies and having a say in the design from the ground up.  Work isn’t everything for us, but it is nice to enjoy what you do for a living!

Becca’s New Year’s Resolutions
+ Send cards to mark special occasions and give thoughtful gifts
+ Live on purpose – eat good food, be present, cherish each moment, give, spend time with interesting people, etc.
+ Plan meals by the month and try freezer cooking
+ Experiment with new cheeses by purchasing a new kind each time I grocery shop

We marked the second year in our house in July. We painted the third room of the house this weekend…well, fourth if you count the garage as a room. Both the office and the garage have been made gray which is quite the stark contrast to our vibrant green living room and golden amber kitchen. We’re thinking about tackling the bathrooms next after we get a desk, couch, and curtain update in the office.

Favorite Recipes
+ Entree - Lasagna rolls
+ Side - Dilled Carrots
+ Dessert - Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Waiting for Santa

Tucker and Oscar are doing great! The boys switched over to grain-free food over the past few months, and we’ve noticed some subtle improvements in their skin, coat and eating habits. They’ve been good boys this year, as long as there isn’t a “chewie” (aka rawhide) to fight over! Santa has lots of great goodies to bring to them. They’re going to love it!

Well, there you have it, hope you’ve enjoyed our reflection on all of the happenings! 2011 has been a great year at Chez Ary! Wishing you and yours a healthy and prosperous 2012!

Love,
Betty Becca and Mr. J