Happy Thanksgiving

The Ingredients:

Homemade Pie Crust!

PECAN PIE

There are many things in our lives to be thankful for. I am thankful to God to have a wonderful family and great friends. And another thing I am definitely thankful for it a delicious and perfect homemade pie crust! My client, Judith, makes the BEST pie crust and always adds embellishments to put on top. She made about 7 leaf embellishments and I ate 3 before baking.... This is my favorite part of course, unbaked pie crust!

What to do with a pie crust? Once again I followed Pioneer Woman... It is always good to go for the tried and true pioneer woman, after all she did have a Throwdown with Bobby Flay and WIN! This is my first time making Pecan pie so I followed her recipe... but I did add a bit of whiskey for good measure. As for the second pie crust... you will have to wait and see but it is definitely going to have chocolate involved!

Pioneer Woman Pecan Pie (with whiskey)

• 1 whole unbaked pie crust
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup corn syrup
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cups melted butter (salted)
• 3 whole eggs, beaten
• 1-2 TBS bourbon/whiskey (I used Makers' Mark) - optional
• 1 cup (heaping) chopped pecans

Directions:

Get pie crust ready (I ask Judith to make mine! But in the link above to the Pioneer Woman she has a pie crust recipe on there that you can use).

Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, melted butter, beaten eggs, and vanilla in a bowl.

Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.

Then, pour the syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with aluminum foil. Bake pie at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.

Note: Pie should not be too jiggly when you remove it from the oven. If it is shaking a lot, cover with foil and bake for additional 20 minutes or until set. I had to cook mine for the additional 20 minutes because it wasn't even browned and it was super jiggly....

Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Then, tell others what you are thankful for and enjoy your pie!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Safe travels and wonderful food to everyone. Will miss you mom :)

Creamy Pasta with Shrimp

I like thanksgiving but the week prior to thanksgiving I don't want sweet potatoes, beans, mashed potatoes, turkey, etc! I want a totally different cuisine, usually mexican or italian. I guess it is because I know that is what I will eat for one full day and then leftovers for the next couple of days. This meal will definitely provide your palate with a completely different taste than dressing or cranberries...

The Ingredients:

And the Finished Product! SO yummy

This recipe is delicious. I trust the Pioneer Woman and once again she does not fail! We made this last week and devoured it and I was actually thinking of making another batch, but that would be a bit obsessive! You need to serve it with a nice spinach salad to add some green to your life. I have had several friends make this and everyone raves over the ease of preparing this recipe and the yummy taste. And, for the BG's out there... I heard thru the grapevine that this might be your Christmas Dinner :)

Creamy Penne Pasta with Shrimp

From Pioneer Woman - Pasta a la Betsy

• ¾ pounds Penne Pasta
• 1 pound Shrimp
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion (small), finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• ½ cups White Wine (or To Taste)
• 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Parsley, to taste
• Fresh Basil - To Taste
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook the penne pasta until al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp (I bought the shrimp with a 26-31 count). Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do NOT overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine (then pour yourself a glass). Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.

Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil.

Add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir. I also added a little bit of red pepper flakes cause I like things spicy!

This meal is delicious and everyone will love it! Just serve alongside something green!

Tropical Granola Bars

Tropical Granola Bars

Tucher doesn't like the photo shoot, but he patiently waits to try the granola bar!

I was introduced to these delicious granola bars by Sharon at Pilates on Highland. Her friend makes them and she passed along the recipe. I love them! So delicious and healthy. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients - you literally just dump everything in, mix, and then bake. There are a lot of variations you could do with this recipe. I am going to experiment and will pass along other great combinations as I do so. So moms, make these for your kids and you will know what you and your kids are eating!

So in the mix of all things pumpkin and fall for thanksgiving, here is a little taste of the tropics that will give your taste buds a happy surprise!

Rochelle's Tropical Granola Bars

3 c organic quick oats

½ c organic flour

¼ c wheat germ

¼ c ground flaxseed (if you buy it whole, just grind in a coffee grinder or food processor)

½ c pine nuts

½ c toasted walnuts, chopped fine

¾ c flaked organic unsweetened coconut

1 c dried pineapple and mango, chopped fine

1 egg, beaten

½ c vegetable oil

½ c honey

¼ c brown sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp candied ginger, chopped

Set oven at 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spread and pack in greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 325. As granola bars are cooling, press down with flat spatula. (Substitute pecans, sunflower seeds, berries and cherries for tropical nuts and fruits if desired.)

Tucher really wants a big bite! And after this picture he got one cause he is so stinking cute

Stuffed Peppers

The stuffed peppers before baking:

Right before the freezing weather came last week, Ryan picked the rest of the peppers that were still producing in our garden. We didn't want them to freeze. Those pepper plants in our garden really produced a ton of peppers this year.

Stuff peppers are a great way to get a lot of veggies in a meal as well as make something that tastes wonderful. Try out this recipe and feel free to adjust the mixture! Get creative and pass along your ideas

Stuffed Peppers

Recipe adapted from Today I Ate

Will make 4 servings (one half of pepper for each person)

Ingredients:

• 2 bell peppers (use what you have on hand, or mix the colors up) - peppers should be halved and cleaned of seeds
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 - 8 oz package of button mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
• 2 - 3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 - 10 oz package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess water
• 1 1/2 cups fresh kale - stemmed and chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup greek feta, crumbled
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 3/4 lb italian spicy sausage - optional

Instructions:

Pre Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil at medium to medium-high heat and add onions. Once the onions begin to brown, add the garlic until it speaks (makes your house smell good!). Then add the mushrooms and saute for about 7 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, spinach, kale, salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes and cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 of the feta. Place the pepper halves into a baking dish and stuff with the spinach mixture. Try to drain off the liquid before spooning the mixture into the peppers. Once the peppers are stuffed, top with the remaining feta (add more if you like it cheesier). Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. You want the cheese to be browned and the peppers tender.

If you are using sausage: cook the sausage in a separate pan until done. Drain off the excess fat and add to the mixture when you add the spinach, tomatoes, sauce, and all the seasonings. Stir in well. This will become your spinach/sausage mixture with what you stuff your peppers with.

We enjoyed this dinner alongside a spinach salad with a homemade balsamic dressing (see previous post). It was a delicious meal. You could also serve over rice, or to make it more exciting a nice risotto. Possibilities are endless. This meal is easy to make vegetarian (which was what I did for my pepper) or meaty (Ryan's pepper). I just kept the meat separate from the spinach mixture - spooned my mixture into the pepper, then added the sausage to the spinach mixture for Ryan's peppers! Pretty easy....

Hope you enjoy!

Broccoli and Portobello Sandwich Bake

The perfect lunch:

I love being able to have lunch at home. There are only a few creative things you can come up with for taking lunch to work, especially if you are limited and don't have a microwave or oven. Ryan loves taking leftovers, which is great, but I don't care much for leftovers other than once. He will eat the same thing for a week (good for me)!

I made this lunch yesterday in about 20 minutes. I was starving when I got home from teaching Pilates and almost picked something up. But, I talked myself out of it and sooooo glad that I did. This was simple yet so delicious. I am actually having it for dinner tonight!

Broccoli and Portobello Sandwich Bake

Adapted Recipe From Annie's Eats

- 1 head organic broccoli, cut into small, bite-size florets

- 1 TBS olive oil

- Salt and Pepper to taste

- sprinkle of red pepper flakes

- 3-4 organic portobello mushrooms - stems removed, sliced thin

- 1 - 2 red bell peppers (I used green because that is what I picked from our garden) - seeded and sliced thin

- 4 thick slices of country bread (I used whole grain from Whole Foods)

- 2 oz (or more) provolone cheese, thinly sliced (I used deli slice)

for the sauce:

- 1/4 cup mayonnaise

- 1 tsp Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle

- if you don't have Penzey's use a clove of garlic, minced very fine

On the side:

- 2 tbs pasta sauce

Directions:

Preheat broiler on high. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Toss the broccoli with olive oil and salt/pepper/red pepper flakes. Place on baking sheet and broil until the broccoli begins to brown, tossing once or twice, about 4-6 minutes.

Add the sliced mushroom and peppers to the pan with the broccoli and toss to combine. Broil until the veggies are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Make sure to toss once or twice in this time.

Combine the mayo with the penzey's spice or garlic. Take the country thick cut bread and spread the mayo mixture on top. Once the veggies are finished, top the bread with the veggies and add the cheese on top. Get a new piece of foil, lie the assembled sandwiches on, and put on baking sheet . Broil until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, about 2 -3 minutes. DON'T BURN! I liked mine dipped in warmed pasta sauce. DELICIOUS!

On a side note - there are so many variations that I have thought of in my mind. First of all, for all you non-mayo people, pesto would be awesome smeared on the bread. Also, you don't have to have the mayo if using a pasta sauce on the side. I am going to experiment with other veggies and types of cheese. I think mozzarella would be just as yummy as provolone.

Try this out, get creative with other veggies/cheese/sauces and let me know what you like!

Eat your Salad

After weekends where our lives revolve around Football, when Monday comes it is usually time to eat a bit more "green". From dips to nachos to pizza, the weekend usually fills you up with food that doesn't make you feel so good after you consume it! So, when planning the menu for the week I decided to find yummy recipes that were more healthy than what we ate this weekend!

To start off with we enjoyed a nice salad. I made this dressing on Sunday and it refrigerated over night and was so delicious. I highly recommend trying this dressing on your next Green Salad!

Delicious fall salad

All the Ingredients you need to make homemade dressing

The Extra Virgin Olive Oil pictured above was a gift from one of my awesome clients at pilates. She recently went to Italy and knew how much I would LOVE such a high quality olive oil. This one is for sure the best one that I have ever had. I will look up their website and see if we can get it shipped to the US! It is honestly that good.

Balsamic Salad Dressing

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil, good quality

1.5 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

a Pinch of sea salt

1 tsp local honey

2 tsp dijon mustard

Place all ingredients together and wish until well blended.

For the salad:

Organic baby spinach

A healthy sprinkle of Greek Feta Cheese

Roasted Walnuts

Dried Cranberries (Craisins)

Everything went perfect together and the salad was very filling. I would love to add apples to this salad in small chunks, think that would be delicious.... There is nothing like a homemade dressing. It is so easy to just whip up and the flavor is right on target. You can serve the dressing immediately or it will keep in the fridge for a few days. Just wisk it again if it settles in the fridge.

We have been enjoying this nice weather that Alabama has been having. And in our house the heater only goes on when we see our breath in the house (ok, maybe not even then). I love a cold house so we are enjoying having no AC on and waking up to a house that is in the 60's! Ah, the energy bill is going to be soooooo cheap for the cold months!!!!

Quick Breakfast Idea - Muffin Melts

English Muffin Melts

Breakfast is the one meal that is usually a constant for us. We usually eat eggs (either omelets or an egg english muffin) and when it gets colder we like Oatmeal (recipe for good oatmeal to follow soon). I don't change it up too much so when I do, I have a lot of expectation. I made these English Muffin Tops from Pioneer Woman and they were delicious! It made enough for 4 days worth of breakfast for Ryan and I. Can't beat that - a warm breakfast that takes only about 3 minutes to warm. Breakfast is my most favorite meal - I get to relax, watch some news, sip on coffee and just CHILL - have some "me" time.

Muffin Melts

Recipe from Pioneer Woman

• Dozen Hard-boiled eggs - peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cup organic grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise (experimenting with greek yogurt is a good idea also. The mayo is just a binder)
• 6 - 12 slices of all natural bacon, cooked and roughly chopped into bite size pieces (if adding bacon to the whole recipe you will want 12, I only added the bacon to Ryan's portion so he only got 6 slices)
• 1 Heaping TBS Dijon Mustard (good quality)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 dashes worcestershire sauce
• 6 whole wheat English Muffins, split

Combine eggs with all other ingredients. Fold together gently. Cover and store overnight. Bright and early the next morning spread mixture on english muffin halves (one half is pretty filling FYI). Turn on your broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until hot and bubbly. I will say that it was always closer to 3 minutes for me because I was only doing one english muffin at a time. I kept the mixture in the refrigerator for 4 days and it was still just as yummy on day 4!

Eat immediately and then enjoy your day knowing that you started off with a yummy breakfast. We enjoy eating them outside on our patio!

Pecan Pumpkin Squares

Our First Halloween Pumpkin as the "Pearces"

The big pumpkin is the one we carved

And now for the Pumpkin Pecan Squares:

YOU NEED THIS! Order from Williams & Sonoma or from Muirhead

Take a look at all the recipes that use this fabulous product JUST on the Muirhead website! I use this pumpkin butter in my oatmeal and it really takes an ordinary oatmeal breakfast to something much greater! Next up - pumpkin butter pancakes.... I'll let you know how it goes of course!

Ingredients: Click on pic to make larger if needed

And the Final PRODUCT! YUMMY

This recipe has been one of my favorites since 2005 when I was shopping at Williams and Sonoma and came across Muirhead Pumpkin Butter. I have made these squares numerous times and they always get the highest compliments. I love them for Halloween and for Thanksgiving celebrations, and they make a great guilty snack!

Pecan Pumpkin Squares

from Williams and Sonoma

1 Box yellow cake mix, divided

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 to 1/2 cup softened butter (I started with 1/4 c. then had to add another 1/4 c.)

3 large eggs

1 jar Muirhead Pumpkin Pecan Butter

1/8 cup milk

1 TBS flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Reserve 1 cup of the cake mix. Mix remaining mix with 1/2 cup melted butter and then add 1 large egg. Stir completely and then press lightly into a 9 x 13 pan.

Mix pumpkin butter with 2 eggs and 1/8 cup of milk. Pour over cake mixture.

Mix 1 cup of reserved cake mix with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup softened butter. It should resemble crumbs. Spread evenly over the top of the pumpkin layer and bake at 350 degree for 40 minutes or until golden (I baked for about 45 minutes because after just 40 it was still very gooey in the middle - oven cooking times will vary) Do the toothpick method to check for doneness and remember when the squares cool it will continue to cook in the pan!

When squares are completely cooled, cut into the size square you desire and ENJOY!

I hope that you love pumpkin butter as much as I do!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Our Halloween weekend normally consists of FL/GA AKA the Largest Cocktail Party in Jax, Fl. However this year we are in Birmingham just watching the football games and still recovering from stomach bugs (now ryan has it). I thought that I would put a pic up of us from last year.... Recipe to come later if I find time between watching the game and taking care of my "patient"

Hope everyone enjoys their TRICK OR TREATING!

Back in Business, Chicken Picasso, and VITAMIX!

Well, last weekend was a whirlwind. Ryan has been studying for his PE exam and there was lots of football to watch. Our house was very happy at the end of the night because Auburn won and Florida couldn't lose because we were on a bi-week! However, this week started with me getting a stomach bug and I am just now recovering. I had lots of ideas for food to cook this week but clearly that got put on the back burner. I will share a recipe from last week though that Ryan loved.

Chicken Picasso

(Recipe from Kayotic Kitchen)

4 chicken breasts

1 onion - diced

3 bell peppers (choose red, yellow, green) - sliced thinly into rings

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 - 14 oz can organic diced tomatoes

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 TBS Italian Herbs (we used Tuscan Sunset from Penzeys)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cream

1 TBS EVOO

1 TBS butter

pinch of nutmeg

pepper and salt to taste

couple of shakes of red pepper flakes

1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese (Mozzarella, cheddar, any cheese that melts well!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine oil and butter in a pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Just lightly brown on each side. Then transfer the chicken to an oven safe dish. Add onion to skillet (no need to use more oil - use the juice from the chicken). Cook the onions until they are transparent then add to the oven dish - be sure to put some onions on the bottom and top of the chicken breasts. Now add the bell peppers to the dish - cook until becoming tender and then add to the chicken/onion mixture once again on the top and bottom of chicken breasts. Now add the garlic to the skillet and cook for about 30 seconds, until the "garlic speaks". Add the water and diced tomatoes. Stir. Now add the herbs, bouillon, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg. Now pour in the cream and stir stir stir! Simmer the sauce on low heat for 5 minutes, then pour it on top of the chicken mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil and place in heated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, sprinkle cheese on top and place back in oven for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly!

This is good by itself, served with a nice salad. If you want to it would be good on top of rice or pasta! ENJOY

On another note.... I GOT A VITAMIX for my BIRTHDAY (THANKS MOM)! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this machine. It does everything from puree fruits and veggies into juice to making peanut butter, cooking soups, making ice cream, grinding coffee....etc. The list goes on and on. So far, I have experimented with Smoothies mostly. This week was going to be my juicing vegetables week but that turned inside out when the stomach bug came about. Here is a pic of a strawberry, orange, banana, grape, and pear smoothie. Such a delicious and wholesome snack and perfectly blended....

So far I love the VITAMIX. I cannot wait to continue to try new things in it. It is really a dream machine... I will continue to share recipes for the vitamix as I try them out. Ryan can't wait for his kale and apple drink....

Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup - Hail to Kale!

Hail to Kale!

Kale has many nutritional health benefits, here are a few of them:

• High in fiber
• Excellent source of Vitamin A and calcium
• One of the best sources of beta carotene (an antioxidant believed to be a major player in battle against cancer & heart disease)
• Good source of Caroteniods - specifically lutein and zeaxanthin which protect the eyes against cataracts and macular degeneration

We love soup at our house and since the weather is nice in the evenings and early mornings it does kind of feel like fall. The leaves are beginning to change around our "neck of the woods". I made this for Ryan's Lunch this week. Planning ahead for lunch helps to save money that would otherwise be spent on a less-healthy restaurant lunch. I whipped up this soup last night while we were watching "Boardwalk Empire". Then sent it with Ryan this am with a nice green salad with fresh peppers and Italian Dressing to go along with it.

Italian Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup

(recipe from For the Love of Cooking )

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 4 all natural italian chicken sausages (spicy), meat removed from casings
• 1/2 organic onion, diced
• 3 to 4 organic carrots, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 3/4 tsp basil
• 1 tsp tuscan sunset (Penzeys)
• 1 14.5 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup of pasta, any pasta is ok, but the smaller the size the better OR if you prefer beans then use 1 can canelloni beans
• 2 1/2 cups organic Kale - cut the ribs from the leaves and then chop into small pieces
• Parmesan cheese - topping right before serving

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage, onion, and carrots. Season with all the spices and salt/pepper to taste. Saute for 4 -5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked and the veggies are becoming tender. Add the garlic, stir constantly for 30 seconds (make sure that your garlic doesn't burn). Then add the tomatoes and chicken broth - cook for 30 minutes (i.e. watch television or clean up the mess you made in kitchen!).

After 30 minutes, add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped kale and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Scoop the soup into a big bowl and top with parmesan cheese.

This is super yummy and healthy. And remember that Kale offers MANY health benefits.

I will be back later this week for a vegetarian soup with Kale as the star ingredient!

Zucchini Parmesan Bake

It has been a while since we blogged from the Pearce's Kitchen... sorry! Mom was in town so most of the week was spent shopping and eating at all of the yummy places Birmingham has to offer! Over the past weekend we headed down to Auburn for the AU vs Arkansas game... War Eagle - Ryan is very happy!

Now it is time to catch up and give you a delicious recipe that we had for dinner tonight and I am already craving to have again soon!

Zucchini Parmesan Bake

Zucchini after baking in oven

Before melting the cheese

Finished product and ready to be devoured!

Zucchini Parmesan

adapted and inspired from Handle the Heat

3 organic medium size zucchini, sliced in about 1/3 inch thickness (think coins!)

1 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs (or Italian if that is what is in your pantry)

salt and pepper to taste

Tuscan Sunset (penzey's spice) or italian seasoning if you don't have tuscan sunset

Couple of shakes of red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicy!)

1 cup organic marinara sauce (365 Brand if you have Whole Foods)

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray non stick cooking spray on a large cookie sheet. Make sure that your zucchini is dry, then toss the zucchini in the olive oil in a bowl. Make sure that the zucchini is well tossed so each piece is covered in olive oil.

In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and tuscan sunset (or italian seasoning if that is all that you have).

Begin dipping each piece of zucchini in the bread crumb mixture. Be patient, it may not stick all that well, but just try to get a good amount on each piece. Then place on baking sheet in one layer. Continue to "bread" the zucchini until all the zucchini is used. Place in over and bake uncovered for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Then remove from oven.

Coat a small baking dish (we used single serve dishes) with the marinara sauce (thin layer). Put a single layer of zucchini on top of marinara, SPRINKLE with mozzarella cheese, then add marinara on top, then another layer of zucchini, and top with mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan (if you have some left over). I put a dollop of marinara on the very top because I like sauce! Only do two layers of zucchini because if you do more than that it will get soggy.

Turn the oven down to 400 and back the small dishes for another 10-15 minutes, want the cheese to be melted!

ENJOY! This made 2 small baking dishes. Ryan and I each had one. This was our meal, so if you want it to be a side, then it would make 4 servings. It is delicious!

When I was home a couple of weekends ago I practiced using my camera some more. I still haven't really been trying too hard with food, but I am enjoying action shots! Here is Coby doing what he is the master at... catching frisbees! Look at the air he catches! He barely misses a frisbee and is incredibly FAST!

And this is Jaxon making a beautiful catch! Jaxon has a lot of grace in the air when he catches a frisbee, it is like he glides in thin air.

It was fun playing with the camera again over the weekend. I still need to work on photographing food, which I think is super hard (maybe it is the lighting in our house that makes everything look so blah)

Photography - nothing to do with food today!

My friend Anna and I have been taking a photography class at Samford After Sundown here in the bham. The class is covering how to use a Nikon SLR camera and it is INTENSE. After our 4th class I now understand why people go to photography school! It is a lot of fun because I think that if you have a nice camera you better learn how to use it or why even have it? After a year of owning our camera, I am sick of shooting in "auto" mode. So, now that I know what the buttons on my camera mean, I went out today and did some "exploring"

Tucher, frisbee, and hummingbird feeder, were my "subjects". Take a look... Hopefully I keep getting better... some of these were even shot in full manual! WOW!

Tucher in Action...

Love getting action shots... the frisbee has no chance (maybe the Gator receivers should take tips from Tucher...)

He is such a handsome subject!

The hummingbird feeder... although I think that our hummingbirds are migrating south... I will miss them while they are gone :(

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

I found this awesome eleven year old speak about the problems with our food and how we can work toward a better food system in our nation.... He is 11 years old and is making an impact and I couldn't agree with him more! Please watch this video and give me your opinions... He inspires me to organically grow... maybe I need to start looking into this as my next career!

Mom's Vegetable Soup with a twist

VEGETABLES!

When it comes to "easy" things to make in the kitchen I am lost... For instance, my mom's green beans are so yummy and she says all she does is boil them with salt/pepper. I tried this but they never taste as good. She makes the world's best pound cake... mine isn't "light" enough. She can whip up fried cornbread in about 5 minutes... in those 5 minutes I am still googling how to make it! You get the point.

My mom is a very basic cook, not much seasoning, not much flair, just basic southern food. To get to the point, I love her vegetable soup. Nothing fancy, just so delicious. I made a big batch of it this week and have eaten all of it. This fall weather made me crave soup! It is also great to freeze so you can always have a healthy and delicious meal at your fingertips...

Ingredients for vegetable soup

fresh peppers picked from our garden at pearce's kitchen

finished product

Mom's Vegetable Soup

From our kitchen

• 1 pound of grass fed stew beef (optional - I didn't use last time since I am eating mostly veggies these days)
• 2 can organic tomato sauce
• 2 cans organic stewed tomatoes (drain juice into dutch oven and chop tomatoes in food processor)
• 2 -4 cans water (if you like it soupy, add the 4 cans if not add 2 cans)
• 1/2 onion - chopped
• 1 cup carrots - chopped
• 4-5 red potatoes - chopped
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• 1 cup green beans
• 2-3 zucchini or yellow squash
• 1 package of baby bella or white mushrooms *
• 1 can corn
• 1 can canelloni beans *
• 1 green pepper *
• 3 stalks of celery *
• 2 - 3 garlic cloves - minced *
• salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes *
• tuscan sunset (penzey's spice) *

To cook:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees

If using the beef, boil in water with salt and pepper until good and tender and falling apart. Get this cooking first while you are chopping all of the veggies. It needs to be almost done before adding to the veggies. Take the squash/zucchini, pepper, and mushrooms and toss in a little olive oil. Place into heated oven and roast for about 10 minutes. Then add all the other ingredients to a LARGE dutch oven. Now your roasted veggies should be done, so add this as well to the dutch oven. If you are using the stew beef, add now to the veggie mixture as long as the meat is tender and almost done. Bring the veggies to a boil, then turn down to low, put a lid on and let it cook away. Clearly the longer you cook it the more tender everything becomes. I cooked mine for about 45 minutes and it was so delicious. Long enough for all the flavors to mend together.

The twist on this recipe is the roasted squash, mushroom, pepper mixture. My mom doesn't roast any veggies before putting in the soup and she also doesn't use mushrooms or peppers. I like this added, it offered a little more flavor. You can also add some salsa if you want it to be more spicy - she often does this. I also added the canneloni beans and loved it! I also thought of switching the red potatoes out for sweet potatoes... going to try that next time because I am in love with sweet potatoes....

* foods that my mom does not add to her soup

ENJOY this healthy soup!

It's Game Day - Game day roll-ups

Fall means Pumpkins..... GATOR PUMPKINS!

A great Florida Vodka.... Made using Florida Oranges. Thanks Chuck for introducing me

Our Maker's Mark Orange and Blue dipped bottle

It's Fall which means it's FOOTBALL! October is my favorite month because this is the Gators best games of the season (Alabama, LSU, Georgia), Halloween, and my BIRTHDAY! The weather here has been perfect which is why I love fall.

The house is decorated with pumpkins and Gator stuff (with a little Auburn here and there). Lots of my fellow Gator Fans have arrived in birmingham for the game today. Tailgating will be lots of fun and of course the Pearce's Kitchen has made a new delicious game day recipe. This is my new favorite - have made it the last 2 weekends.

Gator Game Day Roll Ups:

2 packages Cream Cheese (ok to use low fat)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can Rotel tomatoes - drained

1 garlic clove - minced (very fine)

1 can organic black beans - drained

cayenne pepper to taste - we like it spicy so I use a good amount, just add a bit and taste then add more if you want it more spicy

1 1/2 Tbs chili powder

1 tsp cumin

pinch of salt

canned jalepeno - about 5-6 pieces of jalepeno chopped very fine

4 pieces of Lavash wrap or can use tortillas (would need about 5 tortillas since they are smaller)

Combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. When well combined add the rest of the ingredients and stir, stir, stir! Spread a thin mixture on the lavash wrap, going all the way to the edge. Then roll up and slice into bite size pieces! Easy as that. Enjoy! You could always get more creative with this recipe, if you do let me know your idea.

Here is a pic of the Lavash Bread that I used and it was delicious....

GOOOOOO GATORS and WAR EAGLE!