Where'd we go?

I know I know, it appears I have "pulled a Katie." If you don't know me well, or if you haven't known me long...you might not know what I mean. Let me fill you in...my dad is a dreamer and he passed that trait down to me. I am a dreamer. I get big ideas that I get excited about...and then lose interest. Call it ADHD, call it a busy life, call it lack of followthrough, call it what you like. I have been accused of it.

But let me tell you...this is not the case here, ADHD maybe, but not "pulling a Katie." I know we haven't posted all week, but people get busy. Teachers also can get obsessed with Teachers Pay Teachers check out my store! Did I mention that I am now a seller? Well I am...and let me tell you...it takes up a lot of time for a perfectionist!

Well...what this ramble is all about is...we're still here...I haven't flaked out on my blogging adventure. I love it too much!

A few things that are coming soon...
-Hiking review of Raven Rock State Park
-Homemade Auntie Anne's Pretzel Recipe
-Homemade shower spray
-Curry Chicken Alfredo (yes, it sounds strangely delicious...because it is!)

See y'all soon!

Roasted Butternut Squash Hummus

As I told you all yesterday, I got a new food processor! I just could not wait to use it! The first night I got it, I tried to use it to mix my naan dough, but it was a fail - too much dough! So last night I tried again and it was an amazing success!

If you like hummus, I can promise you that you will LOVE this.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash
5 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp of ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of lemon juice
3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oli
2 tbsp of tahini
2 cans of garbanzo beans, rinsed

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350º

2. Cut your butternut squash in half. This will take a sharp knife and a lot of muscle. Good thing I have been working out. Scoop out all the seeds and set aside.

3. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet in the oven and roast for 1 hour.

4. While roasting (breath in an enjoy the smell) gather the rest of your ingredients. In your food processor add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and tahini. Give it a few pulses to mix it up. Then add one can of garbanzo beans and wait! Don't mix yet, even if you're excited, wait.

5. Once the squash is done roasting let cool for about 15 minutes if you're antsy or 30-60 minutes if you have time and don't want to get burned. I waited about 5 minutes and suffered the hot potato game.

6. Scoop out the squash avoiding the skin and add to the processor. Add the second can of garbanzo beans and pulse until smooth.

7. Be the first to taste so you don't poison your friends and family!

8. Enjoy with veggies, pita, leftover naan, and pretzels.

I'm sure you are asking why you set the seeds aside? To make roasted squash seeds of course!  Rinse, let soak in salt water for 30 minutes. Drain and place on cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes stirring half way through. Let cook and enjoy!

Kiley approves! 

My New Food Processor

Yesterday, weather affected my school day again. We had an early dismissal and I decided to get everything on my to do list done. Do you believe me? If you don't, you know me well. I spent my afternoon researching food processors and then went out (I know, the storm, I should have kept my northern butt safe at home!) and bought one.

My dad and his fiancée had given Hari and me a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond. Hari, like the amazing fiancé he is, told me I could pick out whatever I wanted (he may have had the ulterior motive of the amazing food to come.) I have many kitchen things on my wish list: a KitchenAid mixer (I'll have to wait until I make my bridal registry,) a bread maker (mostly for the kneading mode,) an emersion blender, a food processor, a juicer (hello, expensive!) and a blender (wine smoothies, anyone?) - just to name a "few" things. Based on all of the things it can do, I decided a food processor would be the best choice for now. I can do so much with it; chop, slice, grate, knead, mix, and more! Can you tell I watched a lot of infomercials as a child?

Can't wait to get cookin' y'all!

After extensive research on ConsumerSearch, Amazon, and Good Housekeeping I found that the Cuisinart Prep 11 Plus was the best machine out there. It had the most features, the best warranty and a lot of great reviews! I was in the market for the 9 cup, but since I wanted to get cooking right away, and my local Bed Bath and Beyond only had the 11 cup, I was willing to compromise. I'm sure I won't regret it. Hummus recipe to come soon!

Crock Pot Coconut Chicken Curry with Homemade Garlic Naan

I love cooking with the Crock Pot. It's like having a personal chef for one easy payment of $24.99! So last night I gathered my ingredients did some chopping and cutting and within 30 minutes my Crock Pot was in the refrigerator ready to be slow cooked to an amazing dinner!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2lbs of skinless boneless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into cubes

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium onion, diced 

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

1 cup chicken broth

3-4 tbsp curry powder (based on taste)

1 tsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of kosher salt

1/2 tsp of coarse ground black pepper

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp of cornstarch

Directions:

1. Place chicken, potatoes and onion in the Crock Pot. Add garlic, curry powder, cumin, salt and black pepper. Stir until mean and potatoes are coated.
2. If you are preparing the night before, it is now time to put this in the refrigerator overnight. If you are ready get cooking now, let's get going to the next step now...
3. Add coconut milk and chicken broth and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
4. Shred chicken with a fork, but be careful not to mash the potatoes! (You can skip this step if you want your chicken to remain cubed or you are nervous about mashed potato curry!)
5. Add red bell pepper to the Crock Pot and cook for thirty minutes. 
6. Stir in cornstarch to thicken. Let cook for about 15 more minutes.
7. Serve over basmati rice with naan (Want to know how to make homemade naan? I know you do...read on.)

Sure you could go to your local grocery store and buy a package that contains two pieces of naan for $2.99...or you could follow this recipe and have 12 pieces that you made! I think the decision is clear...

Ingredients:

1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup of hot water (about 120º)
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsp of milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups of flour (can use all purpose or bread flour)
1/2 tsp of baking soda
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of butter

Directions:

1. Combine 1tbsp of sugar with hot water (about 120º) sprinkle the packet of yeast on top of the hot water and let sit for about 5-8 minutes until it is frothy. 
2. Add sugar, salt, milk, baking soda and egg to the yeast and water.
3. Slowly add the flour until a soft dough forms. Knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes.
4. Place in a greased bowl in a warm place and cover with a towel. Let rise for 1-2 hours.
5. After the dough has doubled in size, pull apart and make 12-14 evenly sized balls (about the size of a golfball.) Knead garlic into each ball. Place these on a baking sheet and allow to rest for about 30 minutes. 
6. Place your oven rack at the top or one row down from the top of the oven. If you are using a pizza stone (what I use and recommend, however you can use a cookie sheet but do not preheat the oven with this) place it on the rack and preheat the oven using the broil setting on High.
7. While the oven is preheating...combine the butter and 1 minced clove of garlic. Melt in the microwave or over the stove. 
8. Roll each ball flat using a rolling pin on a floured surface. I suggest rolling all of the dough out before cooking, because things get fast from here. 
9. Once the oven is hot, pour some oil on the stone and place 1-2 (I do not do more because like I said, things go fast!) pieces of dough on stone brushing them with the butter mixture. Push the rack under the grill, but do not close the oven! Closely watch the dough. It will bubble up and when it is slightly browned, flip and brush the other side with garlic butter. Once this side begins to brown take out of the oven. This step only takes about 1-2 minutes per side.
10. Repeat until you have cooked all the dough.
11. Enjoy with your favorite Indian dish, make into naan pizza, with hummus, or enjoy as is. 

Do not close the oven,or you'll end up with this!

And someone will have to eat it, burnt edges and all!

For some reason when I made this tonight, the dough did not rise. It could be the lack of heat in our 55º home. This created a very dense, pita like bread. Still good, but not naan-like. I have used this recipe before and did not have this problem and it tasted very much like naan. Can't win 'em all, I suppose! Enjoy!

Wednesday Night Tostadas

One of our favorite quick and easy recipes is what we dubbed, "Wednesday Night Tostadas." We named them this because they are a great "middle of the week, don't feel like cooking" recipe. These can be made start to finish with 8 ingredients in under 20 minutes.

Recipe is for 2, but simple to double for a family!

Ingredients:
4 Corn and Whole Wheat Blend Tortillas
1 cup of black beans (half a can, drained)
1 cup of frozen corn
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of lime juice (can use 1/2 lime squeezed)
1 tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro (or 1tsp of dried)
1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper
1/2 cup of Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350º and arrange the tortillas on a cookie sheet. Once preheated, place in the oven for about 6 minutes flipping part way through.
2. While the tortillas bake, combine beans, corn, olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, and red pepper.
3. Once tortillas are baked (should be lightly browned and slightly stiff) dish the mix evenly on each of the tortillas. 
4. Bake for 5 minutes until hot. Remove and sprinkle cheese over each tostada. Return to the oven until cheese is melted.
5. Serve immediately with fresh salsa. 
6. Take your first bite and enjoy! Be careful, they will be hot! 

We hope you fall in love with our simple Wednesday Night Tostadas!

Meditation Monday

Today is the first day of Meditation Monday.  I started meditating a couple of years ago.  It was a way to relive stress and calm myself down.  I also used mediation to get my mind thinking in different ways.

Meditation is very easy and does not take a lot of time.  I do a ten minute meditation everyday.  You do not have to sit up right with your legs in a pretzel.  Meditation is all about being confortable and aware.  To start you need to find a comfortable position. I tend to sit in my chair, feet on the ground.  You then have to slowly close your eyes and start breathing deeply in and out.  To start clearing your mind of thoughts, you need to concentrate on your deep breathes.  I then use a guided meditation   I find these on YouTube.  There are some short ones and some really long ones.  Lately I have been using a chakra guided meditation.  Chakras are energy centers in your body.  This meditation is ten minutes and aims to relieve stress and energize you for the day.

Today I was lucky enough to share my meditation with Katie, because she was home from work in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.  I suggest you try it, it really helps relax you before a stressful day.

Have a great monday!

-Hari

In case the link above does not work for any reason, you can find this week's meditation that Katie and I did this morning here.

Lice is gross.

It is a fact. The person who gets lice is not gross, but the actual lice themselves are. Using a word I once said in college and will never live down, it's growdy!

As a teacher, lice is one of the hazards of the job. But I do not plan on getting it. It makes my skin crawl and my head begin to itch just thinking about it! Despite popular belief (mostly among children,) lice like clean hair. Many people try to deter lice with hair products such as hair spray and hair gel. Since I do not use any product in hair and do not plan on it anytime soon, I needed something else. Turns out, lice also despise the smell of tea tree oil.

What you need:
Your favorite shampoo
Tea tree oil
An empty bottle

Pour your favorite shampoo into an empty bottle. I do this because I do not want to use this shampoo every day (it is very strong smelling!) I only wash my hair with this shampoo on school days and use my normal shampoo on weekends. If you don't mind using it every day you can skip this. Now add 15-20 drops of tea tree oil to the bottle and shake. Voila! You now have very inexpensive homemade lice shampoo!

This shampoo can be as expensive or cheap as you make it, you use whatever shampoo you prefer. The tea tree oil cost about $7.50 at the local drug store. This will last for a very long time if this is all you are using it for - however it has many other household uses! Amazon has lice prevention shampoo starting at $9.89 for 12oz. As with most homemade things, this is much cheaper!

*Note this is not a lice treatment, this is a preventative shampoo.*

Enjoy your lice free head!

-Katie