New Cookbooks!

Over the past few months I have been adding slowly to my cookbook collection. I recently purchased Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook after borrowing it from our church library and falling in love with it. I used to always use the "Fix It And Forget It" books quite a bit when I was seeking a great slow cooker recipe but this is now my "go-to" book for all things crock pot. This book is great because it uses a lot of really nutritious ingredients and there are not a lot of processed foods used. I also bought the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook. This one is awesome if you are trying to incorporate more whole grains into your diet. There are plenty of recipes for things you would normally make like pancakes, oatmeal, breads and pizza crust. The only difference is these recipes use whole grains and they taste great! You can check all the new additions to my collection over on the right sidebar ... just scroll down a bit to see them all.

Chicken With Tomato Rice Pilaf

I recently got a few new cookbooks that contain some really amazing recipes. I'm hoping to try several over the next few weeks and will post the recipes here.

Tonight I made a dish called Chicken With Tomato Rice Pilaf from Claudia Roden's Arabesque. This cookbook contains recipes from Morocco, Lebanon and Turkey. There are many beautiful photographs throughout the book as well. It would make a beautiful coffee table book because the cover is so pretty. I really enjoyed reading this book because not only is it a cook book, it also contains a wealth of information about the countries from which the recipes hail. This is the first recipe I have tried from this book and it is wonderful! We had it with buttered peas, homemade pitas and hummus.



Chicken With Tomato Rice Pilaf
(Adapted from Arabesque by Cladia Roden)

(for the rice)
1 1/2 c. long grain rice
1 (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. chicken bullion powder
2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper
1/2 stick butter, diced

(for the chicken)
4 boneless, skinless chicken pieces
1 Tbsp. light olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper
dried parsley


Start by making the rice. Blend tomatoes in blender then add enough water to make 2 2/3 cups. Pour the tomato puree into a pot along with the bullion, sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy. Add more water if needed towards the end of cooking and simmer a few more minutes. Stir in butter and set aside. For the chicken, cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat oil and butter in a skillet then add chicken and cook 6 - 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn pieces over once during cooking. Serve chicken over the rice sprinkled with parsley.

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We were quite busy with out of town guests and then my huband and all three kids got sick so I haven't been on-line much lately. We were truly blessed this Christmas and as always enjoyed celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.

I got a new cook book yesterday and wanted to share a review with you.

Years ago I had picked up an old copy of The Joy of Cooking at a second hand bookstore. It was (and still is) my very favorite cookbook. Dispite the lack of color photographs that all the new cookbooks seem to have in abundance, the wealth of knowledge contained in this book is beyond measure. If I could choose only one cookbook to own it would be this one. In it you will find recipes for everything from simple things like boiled eggs to very elaborate dishes, menues, cooking techniques and ingredient and nutrition information.

My original copy was ruined when a storage closet in our old apartment was flooded by the hot water heater. So I was very excited to see this new 75th Anniversary Edition available. It is just as good as my old copy... in fact better! It contains over 4500 recipes and is an invaluable tool for anyone who enjoys cooking.

Celebrity Chef Cookbook Reviews

I am one of those people who could spend an entire day watching celebrity chefs at work on tv. A lot of the meals they prepare are a little too complex or not practical for my tastes, but I have learned so much from just watching and of course all the great ideas for new meals I receive from watching them can't be beat! So when I received two celebrity chef cookbooks in the mail the other day I was pretty excited to see what new ideas lay in store.

The first book is Dave's Dinners from David Lieberman.

Although I have never seen Dave's television program, I have heard lots of good things about him before and was excited to take a look at his newest cookbook. One thing I really enjoy about this book is the photographs. They are so colorful and almost every recipe has a photo. I also like that the recipes are geared towards home cooks. They are all fairly simple and include ingredients that are easy to find and not too pricey. A definite plus! I also really enjoy the intros to each recipe that either give added information or a history of the recipe. I have not tried any of the recipes yet but do have one down on my list for the next couple weeks (check back for a review!) . A couple of the recipes that really caught my eye are Roasted Red Peppers and Ricotta Crostini (only 6 ingredients and they look so good!) and Pan Grilled Skirt Steak with Smoky Cowboy Beans and Minted Chimichuri Sauce (all the flavors my family loves and it sounds very simple too).

The second book is jamie's italy by Jamie Oliver.

I have only seen Jamie a couple of times on TV and really love his easy-going approach to cooking. That along with Italian food... this HAS to be a great book was my very first thought :) This book is like a story and cookbook combines. It tells the tale of Jamie's trek around Italy... all the people he met, food he ate and sights he saw. It was a very interesting read. The recipes are amazing. They are all totally authentic Italian recipes gathered on his trip around the country. One drawback to this book, for me at least, is that a lot of the ingredients are not available to me where I live. Also, some of the things served are not things my family would eat (like squid and wild boar... as if I could buy that here anyhow...). The photography is gorgeous as well. A word of caution though... if you are squeamish, skip the meat chapter. In his efforts to show the "real Italy" there are a few pretty gruesome photos of butchered animals. However, all in all it is a great book. If you want to prepare REAL Italian food I would highly recommend it. A couple of recipes that caught my eye were pizza fritta (fried pizza) and pasta al forno con pomodori e mozzarella (baked pasta with tomatoes and mozzarella).

If you're looking for a new addition to your cookbook shelf or a great Christmas gift, I'd suggest you try either of these books. They would be a great addition to any cookbook collection.

The Six O'Clock Scramble

I receive a lot of emails about new food related websites and resources on-line. There are many out there but it is not often that you find one that is not only new and fresh but also totally useful and makes your life easier! That was my first impression when I visited The Six O'Clock Scramble. This website is dedicated to helping families get dinner on the table on weeknights in a quick, hassle free manner. The originator of this website, Aviva Goldfarb, is a busy mom of two that obviously realizes the importance of healthy meals that don't take all day to prepare. Here's how the website works...

You purchase a subscription to The Six O'clock Scramble newsletter and once a week you receive 5 quick and easy dinner menus (main dishes with suggestions for simple side dishes) as well as a grocery list. Once you shop for all the items on your list, you have everything you need to prepare a week's worth of healthy and tasty dishes for your family. Most recipes take about 30 minutes or less to prepare. I love this concept! The subscription to the newsletter is $4.95/month, $26.50 for months or $47.50 for one year. You can view a sample newsletter on the site or purchase back issues for $1.50 each.

There is also a Six O'Clock Scramble cookbook available for purchase. I received my copy a couple of days ago and it's already made it to my stack of favorite cookbooks. The first recipe I tried from the book is called Three Cheese, Spinach Orzo Bake. It was simple to put together and delicious. I really like this cookbook because it includes lots of option for meals. There are meat dishes, seafood dishes and meatless meals. Most of the meat dishes offer vegetarian options as well. This is a great book for out family because the recipes include plenty of vegetables and grains and things that are healthy while still maintaining a kid friendly approach too preparing them. There are also lots of great tips throughout the book such as how to choose safer produce for our children and ideas for feeding babies and toddlers.

If you want to save money eating out when you are in a hurry, give this site and cookbook a try! I think you'll be glad you did. :)