Is it still Cobb Salad without the avocado?

Lettuce - check
Cubed Turkey - check
Bacon - check
Hard boiled eggs - check
Tomatoes - check
Bleu Cheese - check
Avocados - OOPS!

Forgot to pick up the avocado this weekend.  I also forgot chives, but in my defense my recipe didn't call for chives.  In my research to determine how essential the avocado is to Cobb Salad I discovered that a traditional one would also include the chives.


Dressing for Cobb Salad

3 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard

Whisk together in a large bowl. Add lettuce for salad to bowl and toss with dressing.

This is an incredibly yummy salad. I can't believe I've lived 45 years without trying this! Both Flower Child and I agree that this could be a dinner main dish, although the rest of the family probably would like some kind of pasta alongside it. Tonight I served it with mac and cheese.

Oatmeal Pies

One of my children (who shall remain nameless) has an obsession with Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies.

For the most part, I've just looked the other way when the box ends up in our grocery cart and in her lunches pretty much every single day she brings a lunch to work. I rationalize this by reminding myself that "it's only for the summer" and "she's burning WAY more calories than she's consuming". With the older two working full time and the youngest old enough to have a life of her own, I have a lot of time on my hands these days. Time to sit and rationalize all of the above, BUT time to think further and COMPLETELY FREAK OUT ABOUT ALL THE CHEMICAL CRAP THAT'S IN THOSE THINGS!

And then I started plotting. To build a better Oatmeal Creme Pie. Because it finally struck me that they are almost exactly the same thing as Whoopie Pies and I know how to make Whoopie Pies! All I need to do is switch the chocolate for an oatmeal cookie. EUREKA!

You'll notice a new link under my Inspiration... Smitten Kitchen. I stumbled across that blog in my search for a big, soft oatmeal cookie. Not only did I get the basic oatmeal cookie recipe, I found a plethora of new cooking inspiration. True to my nature, I did change up the recipe just a BIT because I use fresh-ground whole wheat flour.

No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.  Amazing!

OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, softened
2 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
6 small eggs OR 4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups rolled oats

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
• In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together.
• Stir flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture.
• Allow dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I think an hour would have been even better), then scoop out onto cookie sheet. I used the Pampered Chef medium scoop and they ended up about the same size as the Little Debbie's.
• Bake 10 - 12 minutes, taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. Let them sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

WHOOPIE PIE FILLING
from Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams

Ingredients
1/3 cup plus 3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

• Place the flour in a medium sauce pan, add the milk gradually, whisking smooth. Cook over moderate heat, cooking and whisking until the mixture becomes thick and bubbles up in the center. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. (Note: this will be very thick.)
• Place the butter in a large mixer bowl and beat it until it is slightly softened. Ad the salt, vanilla, and sugar gradually and beat for 2 minutes. Gradually, one large spoonful at a time, add the cooled milk mixture to the butter mixture. Then beat on high speed for 1 minute until filling is smooth, light, and fluffy.

Spread whoopie pie filling between two oatmeal cookies. My plan is to freeze them in individual plastic sandwich baggies, then store these inside a freezer bag.

This recipe makes about 24 Oatmeal Creme Pies.

ENJOY!

Penne Franco

I could eat at this place every day! UNFORTUNATELY, there isn't one within an hour of my house.

This weekend the craving hit with a vengeance. I had to have Carrabba's Penne Franco!

Picture from Between Blue & Yellow blog, link below

Okay, maybe it was just the kalamata olives and pasta I was craving, but why stop there, right? Thankfully, a quick google search of 'Carrabba's Penne Franco' gives me 9,690 sites to peruse. Complete with recipes and pictures.

I started with the recipe for Penne Franco at Between Blue & Yellow, but as usual I didn't have all the ingredients on hand (a sad reality of living in the boonies) and I had to improvise.

PENNE FRANCO (Veggie Version)

Ingredients~
1 box penne pasta
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
3 tbsp olive oil
1 pack of mushrooms, sliced
kalamata olives (as many or as little as you want)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste


Preparation~

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Pour olive oil into large pan, and saute garlic for 1-2 minutes over med-high heat. Add in mushrooms, tomatoes, artichokes, and olives. Saute for several minutes, stirring frequently.
• Toss with the cooked pasta. Stir until heated through, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with grated parmesan.

I'll be completely honest. I would have much preferred sun-dried tomatoes (packed in oil) and GRATED, fresh parmesan, but those would be the two ingredients I didn't have on hand. To make up for the lack of sun-dried tomatoes, I doubled the amount of mushrooms. Actually, I'd double the mushrooms anyway... we're a mushroom lovin' family. :) I also added more garlic and a tad bit less olive oil than the original recipe.

Also, you can add cooked chicken or shrimp into the pasta to make this a main dish. I love, love, love to order it at Carrabba's with SHRIMP! Alas, I'd already promised the hubby beer can chicken, so we had the pasta as a side/vegetable dish.

ENJOY!

Noodle Kugel

I was in my teens the first time I ate this dish and I've been in love since the first bite.  Noodle kugel says COMFORT FOOD in a big way.  I've been in a somewhat melancholy mood lately and find myself craving comfort foods.  Today at the computer noodle kugel came to mind, so I googled a recipe.  (LOL!  Google 'kugel'!)

While some recipes include cinnamon and other toppings, I chose to try this simple sweet kugel from Smitten Kitchen because I had all the ingredients on hand.  I did cut it in half since I only had one pound of cottage cheese.

Noodle Kugel

1/2 pound wide egg noodles
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pound full-fat cottage cheese, creamed or large curd
1 stick melted butter margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Parboil the noodles (five to seven minutes).

In a very large bowl beat eggs until fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, then the cottage cheese, margarine or butter and vanilla. Stir in the drained noodles.

Pour into a 9×13-inch pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until kugel is set.


It's still in the oven. Verdict later. Right now I'm praying for extra compassion so I will not stress over sharing with the family. :)