Minestrone

Johnny loves minestrone soup. If it's on the menu, chances are he'll order it.

Funny thing is - I've never made it at home. Until now, that is.

Johnny has been feeling under the weather for about a week. He says he feels "stuffy" so has been loading up on immune boosters and Vitamin C, keeping it at bay.

He asked me if I had a "magical Italian soup" that would make him feel better. Later, he said he was in the mood for something "full of fruits and veggies."

Put those two requests together and what do you get!? Minestrone! A magical Italian soup full of fruits and veggies - guaranteed to make him feel better.

Working with what I had on hand, this soup was ready in under an hour. It was delicious and hit the spot! Plus, it makes tons! Great for a crowd or to have leftovers on hand.

29 oz. can of tomato puree
2 cans of water
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
~1/2 lb. meatballs (mine were frozen)
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 small onions, chopped fine
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 stalks celery, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
15 oz. can of white beans
15 oz. can of red beans

First, combine the tomato puree and two cans of water with the bouillon in a large pot. If the meatballs are frozen, add them at this point to slowly come up to temperature over medium heat. Add the seasonings so they have a chance to flavor the broth as it cooks, too.

Chop the vegetables, adding them to the pot. Once they are all included, turn the heat up to low boil. Let cook until the vegetables are al dente. Add the macaroni, letting cook 6-7 minutes until tender.

In the meantime, drain and rinse the beans in a colander. Add during the last 2 minutes of cooking to heat them. If your meatballs are not frozen, also add them during the last few minutes.

I have no idea what took me so long, but now I can make minestrone at home! It was really flavorful and tasted like it took all day to make!

You could omit the meatballs for a completely vegan meal. If pressed for time, you could load everything into a slow cooker with dried beans and let it cook all day while you're at school/work, too.

Blogger Meet Up - Big Bowl

Sunday morning Di (Johnny's sister) and I set off to pick up Jenn. Then we met Mara, Beth, Mel, and Kelly (Johnny and Di's sister-in-law).

We were all at Big Bowl to gab it up and chow down - which is exactly what we did! We definitely need to do this more than once a year! Can you believe September 2009 was the last time I saw Beth and Mara!?

I'd never been to Big Bowl before and to be honest, I was so busy conversing that I really didn't study the menu like I normally would. I opted for a ginger seafood dish, with scallops and shrimp.

It was good, but because I requested no mushrooms, there really wasn't much in terms of veggies - just the green onion bits.

Before we said our goodbyes we got a group shot. Last time we totally forgot to get pictures together!

I left with some goodies too, of course!

Jenn made everybody mini banana muffins with chocolate chips. Forgive the notebook paper background, but I had to get a really quick pic because this was the last one! They were so good, I had all I could do to save one for a shot!

Mel made an awesome white chocolate "bark" with pecans and dried cranberries. This is so creamy and delicious - just my type of dessert! I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, but dark and white chocolate are an exception!!

And Beth was such a sweetheart to get up early and make us all pumpkin scones! I've already gobbled up three four of these!

Thanks girls! Di, Kelly, and I had a blast with you! :)

Hickory Farms

Right now I'm at a blogger meet up with Beth, Mara, Jenn, and others! I'll have tons to recap later, but in the meantime here's a short video for your viewing pleasure! I filmed my recent Foodbuzz Tastemaker package, a box from Hickory Farms.



The package seen in the video was provided by Hickory Farms as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.

Friday Firsts - Pork Shoulder Steak

Happy Friday everybody!! (Click the image above for more information on Friday Firsts.) Is anybody else really excited that Thanksgiving is next week? It's not my favorite holiday, but I'm looking forward to it this year because I'm hosting!

My first for this week is cooking with pork shoulder steaks. While perusing the meat aisle, I came across 4 large pork steaks, for a little over $6. It looked like a great deal, with the dark marbelized meat that was sure to be tender and flavorful. I called my dad to see how to cook it, and took his advice with vegetables in a kind of braise situation.

4 pork shoulder steaks
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
~2 cups red wine (I used a Pinot Noir)
glug of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

In a heavy bottomed pot with a lid, add a glug of olive oil over medium high heat. Throw in the vegetables and let cook until fragrant. Remove to a bowl and turn the heat to high. Sear both sides of the meat in the bottom of the pot. Add the wine, stirring and scraping the bottom to deglaze. Add the vegetables back, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a slight simmer, place the lid on, and let it cook for about 20 minutes.

I chose to serve mine with the braising vegetables and roasted cabbage with cheese sauce (a favorite in our household).

Johnny and I both really liked the pork shoulder steaks. And $6 for two huge dinners is not a bad deal in my book. Just as I hoped, the meat was really juicy, tender, and full of flavor. The wine and vegetables complimented it beautifully!

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.dinneratchristinas.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://glc.dinneratchristinas.com/i/fridayfirsts.png" alt="Friday Firsts / DinnerAtChristinas.com" style="width: 220px; height: 220px; border: none"/></a>

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Don't you groan at me!

I know a lot of you are sick to death of hearing about pumpkin, but tough.

I'm not one of those bloggers that manages to add pumpkin to every drink, breakfast, baked good, and treat they eat. In fact, I searched and I've only shared a tart, a cheesecake, and ice cream. So I'm allowed to share this recipe, ok!?

Glad we got that out of the way.

This is yet another recipe from the Cooking Club magazine. What can I say- they had a really good October/November issue. I switched it up some, though.

15 oz. can pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk (I used skim)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked rice (I used brown)
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together the pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Next, stir in the milk and eggs. Last, fold in the rice, raisins, and pecans.

Scoop into a sprayed 11" x 17" glass baking dish. Place inside a larger dish or roasting pan. Add enough water to come 1" up the sides of the baking dish.

Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for about 20 minutes before serving.

Friday Firsts - Muffin Tin Frittatas

Happy Friday everybody! (If you're new to Friday Firsts, click the image above for more information!) Is it fall where you're at yet? We're still enjoying some beautiful weather here, something I'm thrilled about!!

A few things I want to bring attention to before I post my first!

• Our Chicagoland Blogger Meet-up is approaching quickly! We're going to be meeting in Schaumburg on Sunday, November, 21st. Any bloggers or readers in the area who would like to join in, please send an e-mail!
• I'm an entrepreneur! The all natural dog bones I bake for my dog have gotten a cutesy name and logo. I've sold out of three batches of Corky Crisps at two local craft shows. They're now available on Etsy, too!

Now, onto my first! Ever since Biz started South Beach, her crustless quiches have been making my tummy growl when I read her blog. I thought it'd be a cute idea to make them in muffin tins, like a mini frittata.


15 oz. can new potatoes
4 eggs
1/2 cup cheese (I used skim mozzarella)
11 oz. can of Southwestern style corn (*see note)
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix the last 4 ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. The Southwestern style corn is from Green Giant and contains corn, black beans, tomatoes, and I think chiles.

Spray 12 muffin tins with non-stick spray. Crumble enough potatoes in each well to fill the bottom. Spoon the egg mixture over top each, until the muffin cups are about halfway full. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

These will keep in the refrigerator for a few days, so they're perfect for weekday lunches. Just re-heat in the microwave for a minute or two and you've got a hot breakfast!

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

<a href="http://www.dinneratchristinas.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://glc.dinneratchristinas.com/i/fridayfirsts.png" alt="Friday Firsts / DinnerAtChristinas.com" style="width: 220px; height: 220px; border: none"/></a>

Corky Crisps debut!

Puppysitting a few weeks ago had me in the kitchen thinking about what dogs like. On top of getting creative with frozen yogurt, I also developed a peanut butter treat recipe from a collaboration of other recipes and online reading.

The dogs went ga-ga for them. Especially my dog, Corky (up in front). His trademark trick is to spin around in a complete 360° circle, landing in a sitting position, ready to receive a treat. He loved these home made peanut butter treats so much he would spin in four or five complete circles, desperate for me to pass them out!

I thought it'd be a cute business venture. What with my love for cooking, and Corky's love for eating.

After coming up with a cutesy name and Johnny whipping up a logo, I tagged along with Johnny's sister, Di, to a few craft shows. I wanted to see how they'd sell to others. I'm happy to report that I sold out! That gave me the go ahead I needed to move to online sales!

I would absolutely love your support in "liking" Corky Crisps on Facebook.


Also, if you have a dog, or know somebody with dogs, please consider visiting my Etsy store!

Right now I'm offering four sizes of traditional bone shaped treats, as well as two sizes of holiday shaped treats!


Thank you so much guys! Your support of my human food sharing already means so much to me, so I hope it's not a stretch for you to also love my canine cooking ventures!