Pasta with Goat Cheese and Mixed Mushrooms

Here is another wonderful dish from the blog: Lisa's Kitchen. She adapted it from a book called Lucy's Kitchen (link below). I've cut and pasted her post on my page, as I followed the recipe exactly and figured it would be just as easy to do it this way. After all, why mess with perfection :D .....OK - ok, and my camera's battery totally died on me so I couldn't get any Pict's.

I will tell you that has a wonderful flavor. Its very rich, creamy and hearty - much like the dishes we ate when in Italy. I served ours with a nice chewy piece of Italian bread and a salad of mixed deep greens w/ a light oil and wine vinegar dressing. ENJOY!

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Mixed Mushrooms

1 ounce (30 grams) of dried porcini mushrooms (or a mixture of shiitake, portabello, porcini and oyster)
1 pound (500 grams) of tube shaped pasta (I used rigatoni)

1/4 cup of butter
1/4 cup of unbleached white flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups of soft goat cheese
salt and freshly cracked black pepper

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of chopped onion
1 pound 9500 grams) of fresh mixed mushrooms, sliced
2 - 3 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried)
1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic
1/4 - 1/2 cup of olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley
juice from one lemon
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of hot water for 20 minutes. Strain, reserving the soaking liquid. Squeeze excess liquid from soaked mushrooms and roughly chop.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain well and return to the pot.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute. Pour in the milk and bring to a boil, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for to thicken - approximately 5 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and stir and fry for 3 - 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the fresh mushrooms, jalapeno peppers and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release their liquid.

Next, add the garlic, dried mushrooms and the soaking liquid used for the dried mushrooms to the wok. Bring to a boil and cook for about one minute. Stir in the olives, parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the cheese sauce, and mushroom mixture into the cooked noodles along with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Transfer to a large oiled baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until heated throughout and lightly browned.

Serves 6 - 8.

Homemade Eggnog

I went looking for a homemade eggnog after I found a yummy looking recipe for eggnog and rum french toast, that I wanted to try. Being that its July I find no pre-made eggnog at the store so I started looking on line for one. I found many variations but the one I settled on was posted by a Denise on allrecipes.com. It had over 60 positive ratings and it sounded really good. I've never made eggnog before so I was a bit skeptical but wow was I impressed with this one. (I added rum for the french toast recipe, and it was really tasty this way too. It was also the way my husband preferred it - lol).

For Homemade Eggnog

(posted by Denise on allrecipes.com)

NOTE: I cut this recipe in half as I only needed about a cup of it for the french toast and wanted a lil to enjoy without having a lot left over....come the

holidays this year I think

we'll end up double for get-to-gethers)

• 6 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 quart milk
• 1/3 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch salt

1. Beat eggs; mix in condensed milk, vanilla, quart of milk and salt.
2. Beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold in to egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with nutmeg. Serve chilled. ***Note: depending on your preference, you can also add rum to taste...or whatever alcohol you like in your nog. Its all a matter of taste preference. Enjoy!!

Eggnog French Toast

So I've been away for awhile and I wish I had my camera handy on many new dishes that we've had and enjoyed, but I'm sad to say this has not been the case. However, I got it out today and I'd like to share a definate noteworthy

recipe..infact there are two (homemade

eggnog and eggnog and rum french toast). And all I gotta say is Oh YUMMMMM were they good!!!!!

Eggnog & Rum French Toast

The other day I came across a

blog called Lisa's Kitchen (foodandspice.blogspot.com). She has some really yummy looking recipes on this, site so do go visit. I've only tried a couple of her dishes so far and they were really good...and this one for Eggnog and Rum French Toast is wonderful!

Being that its July I find no pre-made eggnog at the store so this took me to look for recipes for homemade eggnog on line.I found many variations but the one I settled on was posted by a Denise on allrecipes.com. It had over 60 positive ratings and it

sounded really good. I've never made eggnog before so I was a bit skeptical but wow was I impressed. I'm posting a combination of Lisa's recipe

with my additions and will provide a link to Denise's recipe for her homemade eggnog as it worked really well with this dish.Click here for the

eggnog link.

Both recipes were really quick and easy to make and well worth any effort to make

them! Hope you enjoy them as much my family did. We will defiantly make these again!!!

Eggnog & Rum French Toast

(for the original recipe click here)

1 cup eggnog (store bought or homemade eggnog)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons dark rum (or extract if you rather)

ground cinnamon to taste

ground nutmeg to taste

6 thick slices of bread (French, Italian bread, Texas toast etc...) butter

for grasing the pan (or vegetable oil)

Heat a large cast iron frying pan (I used a non-stick skillet) on medium-low heat. Meanwhile, beat the eggnog together with the eggs, rum and spices to taste (I also added 1 to 2 Tab of sweet condensed milk and mix well).

When the pan or skillet is hot, lightly grease the surface with butter or vegetable oil.

Dip each slice of bread through the eggnog mixture and let it soak in slightly. Sprinkly both sides with cinnamon and place in the hot pan. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden.

Dust the french toast with a light sprinkle of powder sugar and drizzle with maple syrup.

ENJOY!!!

Claudia's Sweet -n- Zesty Italian Totrellini Salad (P3)

I have a very dear friend named Claudia. She was my first German friend when we moved to Europe years back. I have so much respect for her awesome artistic talents, eye for detail, cooking abilities and over all sweet nature. She is also extremely hard working and is an inspiration to me in many ways. She and her family currently reside in the USA and I do miss her, but we still visit now and again via emails, messengers and myspace.

Years back when Claudia and her husband played table top DND with my husband and I, we'd enjoy going to each others homes for game nights. We'd all bring food, get the wine flowing, set back, visit and enjoy playing the game. During one visit to their home Claudia made this WONDERFUL side dish that I just LOVED! Its so every simple but its flavor packed and so hearty that one might think its more complicated.

Claudia was sweet enough to share this recipe with me years ago and I've made and enjoyed it many times since. When I make it I ALWAYS think of her and thus why I have lovingly named the dish after her.

I recently asked Claudia where she got this recipe from. She said the recipe comes from her brother's mother-in-law. She is not sure if she created this dish or got the recipe elsewhere but agrees that its very simple and it has many variations to its possibilities.

Claudia's Sweet N Zesty Italian Tortellini Salad (p3)
This is really a very simple dish and you can add or delete what ever you like. Below is the way I like to make it.

• 1 large pkg Meat stuffed tortellini pasta. ( other kinds of stuffing may be used instead but I find this to be the best).
• fresh, soft mozzarella (the kind packed in water), drained and torn into bite size pieces.
• 1 can of black olives, drained
• 1 bunch of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half.
• 1 small purple or other sweet onion, sliced
  
• 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, torn or chopped
• about 1/2 c. of good tasting quality Olive oil
• about 1/4c. of good tasting quality balsamic vinegar
• Splenda or sugar to taste (its to have a sweet/tangy flavor)
• a dash of salt

Bring water to rolling boil, add tortellini and cook pasta. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.

Meanwhile toss sliced tomatoes in a large mixing bowl, along with black olives, sliced onion, torn mozzarella, and fresh chopped basil.

When pasta is cooked and cooled add it to this bowl as well.

In a small bowl mix olive oil, vinegar, splenda/sugar and a dash of salt and pepper. When mixed pour over salad and mix well.
Serve or chill up to 30 mins and serve.

ENJOY!!!!!

Macadamia Nut Piña Colada Bars (Not SB friendly)

I came across this recipe at the Betty Crocker Recipe Site (bettycrocker.com). I was going to make and take this desert to a BBQ but was too pressed for time that day. I had family visiting from the states this past week and decided to make them this weekend to give them a try. Everyone loved them and they went really fast. ENJOY!!

(** Note: let the bars cool completely before adding the glaze. We couldn't wait to give them a try so we rushed the cooling time and they didn't come out as pretty as I'm sure they would have. We ate them while warm and gooey and they were still wonderful).

Prep Time:15 min

Start to Finish:1 hr 55 min

Makes:2 dozen bars

Bars
1	can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
1	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup butter or margarine, softened
3	tablespoons powdered sugar
2	eggs
1	cup granulated sugar
3/4	cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2	cup flaked coconut
1/4	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1/4	teaspoon salt
1/2	teaspoon rum extract
Pineapple Glaze
1/2	cup powdered sugar
2	to 3 teaspoons reserved pineapple juice

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 inches, with shortening. Drain pineapple well, reserving 3 teaspoons juice for Pineapple Glaze. In medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour, the butter and 3 tablespoons powdered sugar with spoon until flour is moistened. Press in pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2.	In medium bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk until blended. Stir in pineapple and all remaining Bar ingredients. Spread over partially baked crust.
3.	Bake bars 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
4.	In small bowl, mix all Pineapple Glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over bars. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving: Calories 160 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat ncg); Cholesterol 30mg; Sodium 70mg; Total Carbohydrate 20g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars ncg); Protein 2g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 2%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbo

Chinese Cole Slaw (p2 )

I got this recipe years and years ago in Kansas, from a woman named Debbie. She and I had Glass forming classes together and she brought it to an open house that the ESU glass guild has annually. Everyone loved this dish and I must say every time I take it to a party, BBQ or get-to-gather I always recipe requests. This dish is makes a lot, is easy to make and is VERY good. Hope you enjoy it too!!


(I will be making this again soon and will try to get a better pict of this dish once its been mixed.)

Salad Ingredients:
(mix an hour before serving)
1 large pkg pre-cut raw coleslaw
1c slivered almonds
1 c sunflower seeds
2 small bunches of green onions, chopped
2 pkg Beef flavored Ramen noodles (uncooked and broken into small bits)


Dressing Ingredients:
(Mix a day ahead so it can age)
1 c mayo
1/2 c granular sugar (or splenda)
1/3 c white vinegar
the 2 beef seasonings (from noodles)

• The day before: Mix dressing ingredients and chill in the refrigerator.


• The next day:In a large mixing bowl toss salad ingredients.


• An hour before serving:Shake or stir the dressing and pour over salad; mix well. Serve and ENJOY!!!!
  

**Note: I've never tried to make this dish Sb friendly, as it calls for Ramon Noodles and Sugar. You could exchange the sugar with splenda and possibly the Ramon Noodles with something else, but the noodle season packets are also required and give it so much of its flavor that I don't know how it would be substitute. If you are extremely strict with the rules of SB than perhaps this dish isn't for you...or you could change it up a bit and get it to work. If you do, I'd love to hear the suggestions...but for special occasions this would still be good and not be too much of a cheat, in my opinion.

Independent USANA Associates

For anyone that checks in on my page now and again (like my wonderful Mindi!) I apologize for not posting lately. We have started our own business and it has opened up my world to so many new people and things. We have totally been enjoying it and are thrilled we made the decision to do this....in fact we are wondering what took us so long :D For anyone interested you are welcome to view a short clip about what we do and you are welcome to provide feedback and what you think about the presentation at the "contact me" section at our website: SeymourDreams.usana.com / Presentation link

We have also just started a SeymourDreams blog that highlights the USANA company as well as our business experiences and opportunities within it.

For the rest of you we have been eating the low glycemic shakes and bars to give them a try and live our business. So far its been great! My husband and daughter both started out with the "Reset" (its not a "diet" but it restarts your metabolism and thus weight loss is common). My Husband has lost 7 lbs and my Daughter lost 5lbs that first week. They continue to drop lbs as they enjoy the shakes and bars, which blend nicely with our South beach. I'm waiting on my restart to get in and I'll do the same.





USANA is about to celebrate its 15th year and we are looking into going to it and Convention and experience all that we are a part. I'll defiantly post Pict's of our adventure on our Seymourdreams blog spot when we come back and get settled back in. So more to come!





USANA received an official patent on May 8 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that guarantees proprietary rights to the self-preserving technology used in Sensé skin- and personal-care products.The patent covers USANA’s formulation for manufacturing Sensé products so that they are capable of maintaining their shelf life without the need for added chemical preservatives. The products are “self-preserving” in that they don't require traditional chemical preservatives to maintain their shelf life.This is revolutionary technology that USANA’s respected team of scientists spent nearly 10 years perfecting.

Be sure to check out our sites:
SeymourDreams website And SeymourDreams blog

Day trip to Metz, France (2005)

Back in 2005 my family went on a short day trip to Metz, France with some wonderful friends of ours, the Kirks. We went to see the weekend flea market out in front of the old Saint Etienne Cathedral - which features stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall. The St. Etienne cathedral in Metz, was made in the 14th century by joining together two perpendicular churches: the nave of Saint-Etienne, built in the 13th century, was attached to the north side of an older Roman church. In the 15th century, a transept and a choir were added. This nave is the third highest in France.

On our day visit, we visited the Cathedral, ate some wonderful sweets at a coffee shop located just across the street, and drove around the city a bit before heading back. It was a nice morning and we would have loved to stayed longer but were not able to. Here are some Pict's of our little adventure that day. Hope you enjoy.

Walking down the very narrow "sidewalk"


Along the store fronts there was this little tunnel of stairs leading to private apartments

Some beautifully ornate windows and doors along the way


A neat looking stop light

My daughter and dog walking along the way to the cathedral. My dog Euro felt it was his duty to run and chase the birds away that were walking around the plaza (the people that saw this all laughed and enjoyed watching him at work. It was pretty cute and funny to say the least)


We stopped off at little coffee shop across the way from the cathedral and enjoyed some treats!



The flea market was really big and we were rather busy shopping, but we did manage to get a few Pict's of a few merchants.

Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz

The inside...



The Saint Etienne Cathedral is world famous for its stained glass windows by Chagall (below are some of them). Chagall is among the celebrated painters of the 20th century, he is associated with the modern movements after impressionism.

There were some more Pict's I took this day but I've been working on sorting them still. Hope you enjoyed these at least. :D

REESE’S Peanut Butter Cookie Bites (not SB friendly)

These cookies are SOOOO easy to make and are SOOOO Good!!! It's one of the first cookie recipes I learned to make as a child and its one that I've enjoyed over the years as well. I really don't recall where we got the recipe from so I can't really give any credit, but I can pass the recipe on to you all..... Enjoy!

FUN FACT: REESE’S Peanut Butter Cups turn 80 years old in 2008!!!! (for more interesting things about Hershey Products click here)

REESE’S Peanut Butter Cookie Bites (not SB friendly)

To make the cookies:
Take 1 Pillsbury refrigerated Peanut butter cookie log
1 pkg. Reeses Peanut butter cups miniatures, unwrapped

1. Slice the raw cookie log in 1/2 inch slices. Each slice cut in half, and then in half again to make 4 little triangles.
2. Take an ungreased mini muffin tin and place one cookie triangle in each muffin hole.
3. Bake as directed on cookie package.
4. Take out of the oven and place one Reeses Peanut Butter cup on top of each cookie and let melt (I press the candy lightly down into the cookie).
5. Let cool and the pop out and onto a serving plate.
   

Hint:If the cookie seems to stick, run a butter knife around the edge of each cookie to release it. Make sure the cookies cool completely (the chocolate in the candy needs to set up) before serving.

NOTE: I have also made these cookies with a Peanut butter cookie mix. I mixed the cookie dough as directed in the recipe or on the pkg.
Take a little less than 1 Tab of cookie dough and roll into a little ball, placed in the miniature muffin tin as stated above and cook to the time suggested on the cookie recipe or package. After they came out of the oven, and while still hot, I placed a Recesses Peanut butter cup in each cookie center.

ENJOY!!!




YUMMMMMMMY!!!!!!

Lipton's Spinach Dip (p1-2)

I went to a friends pot luck - BBQ a few weeks back and enjoyed some really great food. One of the guests, a friend of mine named Sunny, always comes with many wonderful yummy dishes to share. One of the items she brought to this BBQ - I almost made myself sick from as it was SO good, I couldn't stop eating it. It was a spinach dip with some fresh French bread for dipping. This dip not only looked really pretty and impressive in the pretty serving dish, but it tasted so good!!

I loved the texture as its creamy yet has a bit of a crunch (chopped water chestnuts). I had to inquire about this wonderful dip and was shocked to find out it was as simple as it was. Sunny said she got the recipe from the back of a Lipton's vegetable soup box. How great is that....its good and easy to make! Recently I went to the store and I picked up some Vegetable Soup mix as well as the rest of the ingredients and whipped up some for the family to enjoy. Its a great dip and one that I will defiantly make again!!!! Thanks Sunny for another wonderful recipe!!!!
For other Lipton recipes click here

"Perfect Party Spinach Dip"

1 envelope Lipton Recipe Secrets Vegetable Soup Mix
1 (8oz) sour cream
1 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can (8oz) water chestnuts, drained and chopped

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients; chill 2 hours. Serve in a pretty dish with your favorite dippers.... like fresh French or Italian bread, crackers, cheese & or assorted veggies. ENJOY!!!

( A note for strict South Beachers: Some people do not recommend Liptons Soup mix due to the high sodium and such in the packets. Others feel that if its not indulged in often than its not a problem. Personally I don't think it would really be that bad if you had this once in a great while and balance it out with loads of veggie dippers. Another suggestion I'd offer is to share this dip with friends and family and not eat it all, like I almost did...ha ha.)