Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #64

Hello friends, Happy Sunday to you!

Scrumptious Sunday is back!  YAY!  I've been on a bit of a hiatus, it's May Madness round here...but June is upon us and that means SUMMER and all the good times that go with it!

I missed not hosting the party last week...so I am very much looking towards the inspiration that you will provide this week!

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #64 is up and running, I sure hope you will come by and share your recipes!

Recipe Recap #18

Hello friends! Happy Tuesday!  Phewf, we made it through Monday!  Last week was uber-busy for me - our charity golf tournament was last week...a few long days with long hours, but all for a very good cause!  This week's Recipe Recap is a short one - just one recipe to share this week from the week of May 26 - June 1:

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers

See you next week!

Blueberry Banana Bread

It was my turn for "Pit Stop" at work recently.  Pit Stop is a little bit of team building that we do each week.  Our team is so busy and always on the go here, there and everywhere else that we bond over food once a week.  On payday Fridays our Culinary Arts students provide a campus wide "Pit Stop" for any staff to attend (and our team always goes together) and on non-payday weeks, we take turns providing "Pit Stop" for our team.  The "rules" for "Pit Stop" are simple - there are none!  We can buy our treats, make our treats - and there are no rules on what the treats are to be (sometimes it is ice cream, we used to get amazing cupcake...KSL...) - anyways, it was recently my turn, and I had been craving banana bread, but of course, wanted to add a little twist.  I dud use my standard banana bread recipe, and amended it slightly.  Here is the recipe:

Blueberry Banana Bread (Adapted from Company's Coming, Muffins and More)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup bananas, mashed (approx 3)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare loaf pan for baking.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar, beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in the bananas and vanilla.

In a second bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients, stir just to combine.  Add in the blueberries, stirring slightly.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool.

VERDICT:
Everyone at the office seemed to enjoy the bread :-)  That's good!  My family sure did too...just like most banana breads, it didn't last long in our house!

Recipe Recap #17

Hello again! Happy Tuesday to you! Welcome back to this week's Recipe Recap.  This week I am looking back at the recipes posted May 19 - 25.  I was in a strawberry mood that week!  Yum!!  Here are the recipes:

Strawberry Cream Crepes

Strawberry Fun da-middles "Shortcake"

See you next Tuesday!

Health on Your Plate - Shop & Cook with Yara (Book Review)

I was very lucky to receive a copy of Yara Shoemaker's book "Health on Your Plate - Shop & Cook with Yara" - what a great read the book has been.  Y'all know that I love to read cookbooks, and while there are some great looking recipes in Yara's book (like Good Girl Cocoa, Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, and Crusted Snapper) it's all the other information that has me so intrigued.  This book truly is a journey to a better you, chock full of tips and tricks and things that encourage you to consider  - from how your kitchen is stocked to how you clean to how you select the foods you've been purchasing for yourself and your family.

Most of my circle knows that I'm not big on processed foods.  I don't "do" aspartame or any of those chemicals (or I do my best to avoid them), I do my best to try to prepare foods from scratch for my family as often as possible.  I don't follow any of the fad diets (and I pretty much do consider most of the diets, or "ways of eating" to be fads...I've been around long enough to know that in a few years it'll be something new that's "in").  I believe in making the best choices that you can, and I believe in providing the best variety of food that I can for my family.  I feel like Yara and I have a lot of the same beliefs. 

That's why I can easily say that I have been totally hooked on this book.  You know how I say that I always have cookbooks sitting on my nightstand?  Health on Your Plate has been a staple on my nightstand for the last while.  I love flipping through and finding a new chapter to read.  Do you know what I have come to accept after reading this book?  You really are what you eat...I know, we've heard it all before, but it really is true!  (was that an "a-ha moment"?!)

An added bonus with this book, is a supplemental book "Superfoods from Earth and Ocean" - it is a handy purse-sized booklet that I've been carrying around for a while now.  It's a great reference guide - the charts are awesome in helping to pick the best produce at the right time of year, and the detailed breakdown of the vitamins and minerals has been really helpful for me. 

You can purchase this great book now - you can find online at Amazon.  You should check it out, I bet you'll learn a few things that will enhance your life!


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Ham is a rare meal in our house,  and when we have ham, we always end up with tonnes of leftovers.  We all know that I love making soup and have been on a real soup kick this year, but I didn't want to make Ham and Split Pea Soup (not that I don't like it, I just wasn't in the mood.  I wanted a creamy soup...and there is the recipe that I found:

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup (Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything)

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups chicken broth

3 1/2 cups potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
1 stalk of celery, washed and diced
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk

Pour the chicken broth into a stockpot.

Add in the potatoes, celery, onion, carrot and ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook over medium until potatoes are tender.  This will take about 15 minutes (depending on how big your potato pieces are). Add in the salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Slowly stir in milk. Continue to constantly stir over medium-low heat until thick, approximately 5 minutes.

Slowly add the milk mixture into the ham mixture in the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through.  Serve immediately.

We topped our soup with cheddar and chives.

VERDICT:
Yum.  Just plain yum.  I loved this soup, and ate a lot of it.  This makes a big pot of soup so you will have leftovers.  I am almost looking forward to fall, when on a cool fall day, this soup will be just perfect!

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #63

Hello friends, Happy Sunday to you!

It's a long weekend here...Happy May long to all my Canadian friends!  We are enjoying lots of family time - yesterday we went to a parade, we've got BBQ's planned, visiting with family and friends, and so on.  Love long weekends!

I've had a super-busy month which is why I have been a bit M-I-A. It's my busy time at work...(my hubby is referring to himself as "Mr. Mom" these days as I'm at the office more than I am home it seems)...but once I get through the month of May, life will get back to normal...and blogging will too!  Thanks for hanging in with me :-)

Anyways, Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #63 is up and running, sure hope you will come by and share your recipes!