Friday gatherings

Me and my peeps enjoyed a potluck dinner last night.  Kind of a Wednesday Spaghetti on a Friday and without the spaghetti.  We also made a list of restaurants we will be going to each month for the next six months!  Then we get to enjoy our gatherings with someone else cooking and cleaning up.

I made the following salad for the potluck.  It was delicious and I came home with an empty bowl.  It would be a great salad any time of the year, but it really seems appropriate for fall.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH BLACK BEANS AND CHILI DRESSING

Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large onion, preferably red, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided use
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons minced fresh hot chili, such as jalapeno
1 clove garlic, peeled
Juice of 2 limes
2 cups cooked black beans, drained (canned are fine)
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put sweet potatoes and onions on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, toss to coat and spread out in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast, turning occasionally, until potatoes begin to brown on the corners and are just tender inside, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven; keep on pan until ready to mix with dressing.

Put chilies in a blender or mini food processor along with garlic, lime juice, the remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Process until blended.

Put warm vegetables in a large bowl with beans and bell pepper; toss with dressing and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to a day.

Serves 4

It's getting colder...

Cold weather means one thing in my house - time to get out the crockpot!  Here is a very easy and delicious recipe that seems to please the palates of all age groups!

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES
2 to 21/2 pounds pork loin or tenderloin, trimmed of all visable fat
1 large carrot, shredded (about 1 cup)
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into thin wedges
1 jar (12 oz) all natural barbecue sauce (I use Gates)
8 whole wheat hamburger buns

Add all the ingredients, except buns (that would be just gross!) to crock pot. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. When the meat is tender, remove from sauce and shred using 2 forks. Place
the meat back in the crock pot, and mix with the sauce.

This recipe is good with:

CRANBERRY COLESLAW
1/3 cup light canola mayo
3T cider Vinegar
3T maple syrup
1/2 t. salt
1 bag (16oz) coleslaw mix
3/4 c. dried cranberries

Whisk mayo, vinegar, maple syrup and salt into large bowl until smooth. Add the coleslaw mix and cranberries and gently blend. Serve right away or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Wednesday Spaghetti-like

I am having a Wednesday Spaghetti-like event on Wednesday.  I belong to a national moms group called Mothers & More and we are having a gathering to meet some our newer members.  I will not be serving an entire meal, but mostly appetizers, desserts and drinks.  Here's one recipe I will be serving.  My neighbor has a gzillion fresh tomatoes.  So many she doesn't know what to do with them all so I kindly offered to take some off of her hands. YUM - fresh, off the vine tomatoes, free of chemicals.  Now if I could just make my own cheese... 

My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

MOZZARELLA, TOMATO AND BASIL SALAD
4 large tomatoes
2 cups mozzarella cheese
8-10 leaves fresh basil
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar (optional)

1. Slice tomatoes and mozzarella cheese same thickness.
2. Arrange the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, alternating in a circle around a decorative serving dish.
3. Drizzle with olive oil (and balsamic vinegar if desired).
4. Serve with salt and pepper to individual taste.

 Since I am serving it as an appetizer, I will be surrounding the salad with bread to look like this.

Bon Appetite!

Jo

Under the Influence

Wednesday Spaghetti on the weekend

A friend of mine is lucky enough to have her house to herself this weekend.  Her husband is on a guy's trip and her son is visiting the grandparents.  She decided to have a girls sleepover to celebrate!  And as it turns out, my husband is gone for the weekend and my kids are going to the grandparents for a visit.  This works out perfectly.  So five or so of us are getting together for dinner, drinks, desserts and then movies at her house along with late night giggling and no sleep.  Ok, some of the five will sleep, but I am a night owl and will probably be the last one standing.

We probably won't have spaghetti, but the spirit of Wednesday Spaghetti will be alive and well!

A Yummy Dish!

This is a great salad to bring to a potluck. With the chicken, it could actually be a main dish. I often leave out the chicken and use fresh mushrooms in it's place.

Pecan, Chicken and Wild Rice Salad

INGREDIENTS for Dressing:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar

INGREDIENTS for Salad:
1 cup wild rice
4 cups chicken stock
Juice of 1 lemon
2 whole chicken breasts, cooked
1 bunch green onions, minced
6 to 8 ounces snow peas, trimmed
2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 cup pecan pieces, toasted

TO PREPARE:
For the dressing, combine the vinegar, oil, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and sugar in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to mix.

For the salad, combine the wild rice, stock and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour or until tender; drain. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces, discarding the skin and bones. Combine the dressing, rice, chicken, green onions and snow peas in a bowl 2 hours prior to serving and mix well. Chill, covered, in the refrigerator. Add the avocados and pecans just before serving and mix gently.

SERVES: 6 - 8

Enjoy!
Jo
Under the Influence

Wednesday Spaghetti with a twist

I'm thinking as much as I LOVE spaghetti, your guests might get a little tired of the same ol' spaghetti dinner each week. So here is a delicious recipe that is "spaghetti like" but not officially spaghetti. This is an easy recipe and the sauce can be made ahead of time. Wait to add the cream and parmesan until you are getting ready to cook the pasta and reheat the sauce.

Linguine with Vodka Tomato Sauce
2 tblsp. Olive oil
3 tblsp. Butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 can 28oz. Plum tomatoes (I usually used crushed tomatoes)
1 tsp. Dried basil
1/8 tsp. Red pepper flakes
½ cup vodka
½ cup whipping cream
¼ cup parmesan
12 oz. Linguine, cooked

Combine olive oil and butter in large pan. Sauté onion and garlic. Add tomatoes, basil, red pepper and vodka. Simmer about 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced. Add cream and simmer about 5 minutes. Add parmesan and combine with pasta.

And if you are looking for a family friendly dessert, try this one. I posted it not too long ago at Moms without Blogs. You can mix things up by changing the flavors of the ice cream and/or the flavors of the oreos. Yum!

OREO ICE CREAM DESSERT
· 1/2 gal vanilla ice cream, softened
· 12 oz Cool Whip
· 2 pkgs of Oreos, you will have some left over

For the crust, crush 45 Oreos and mix with 1/2 cup melted butter. Press into bottom and sides of 9x13 pan. For the filling, mix together the softened ice cream, the Cool Whip, and 30 Oreos broken into small pieces. Pour the filling over the crust and freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight. You will probably have some filling left over, which I pour into cups and freeze and it is like a DQ Blizzard.

Enjoy!
Jo
Under the Influence

Gathering with friends

I belong to a moms group (Mothers & More). We get together once a week for a different activity each week - book club, game night, dinner out, etc. Some of us also get together on a Sunday for drinks and a movie. We do that every month or two. This group was a lifesaver for me when, in 2004, I moved 600 miles from a city I had lived in since college. I made some of the best friends ever through that group!

In 2007, we were transferred back to the city where my husband and I graduated college. I transferred my Mothers & More membership to the chapter here and have made a lot of new friends.

But I still keep in constant contact with those women I met in 2004. For the third year in a row, we are going on a moms and kids trip. There will be about five moms and 12 or so kids touring St. Louis and doing fun family oriented stuff during the day and resting and having cocktails by the pool in the evening. We made this trip to St. Louis last year, too. It's about a 1/2 way point between where I live now and where they still live. The year before that, we crashed a different city.

I also try to make it to at least one lake trip with these women each year. Unfortunately, I can't go this year and my attendance record at these "every four months" getaways is starting to get tarnished. I hope to do better next year!

Keeping in touch with "old" friends is so important. Obviously, due to distance, we can't do Wednesday Spaghetti, but we can do Occasional Spaghetti! So that's what we do and I am thankful for every moment of time we are together.