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For those of you who asked...Here is the recipe for Ravioli Ratatouille.
First go gather your ingredients.

Ingredients

    1 package frozen cheese ravioli
    a variety of chopped veggies
        we used:
            1 each yellow, red & green bell peppers,
            2 zucchini,
            2 yellow squash,
            1 red onion
            (we couldn't find any eggplant but that would have been tasty too)
    2 jars of medium sized artichoke hearts cut into 1/4 pieces
    1 can of olives
    2 cans of diced tomatoes (Italian)
    Olive Oil

This fed a family of 9 - with leftovers.  If you have a smaller family you may want to 1/2 this recipe.  And really, you can't go wrong with Ratatouille....it's an Italian golash of sorts.  I would think that anything "Italian" goes!  So don't hold back.

Oh, and before I forget....we added two pinches each of:
    dried oregano
    dried basil
     &
    dried parsley
Just so you know...if we can't find fresh we will get our spices/herbs from the Mexican Food aisle at the super market.

Utensils

Casserole Dish      \
Since our batch was rather large we cooked this recipe in a large dish that we have dubbed our "lasagna dish".  But, if you are cutting this recipe, a 9x12 should do fine.  Remember, just have fun with it.  It's slop for goodness sake...a VERY yummy form of slop.  But, slop none the less.

Skillet
This recipe is mainly cooked in a skillet.  So, go grab that too.  We do recommend using cast iron....once you get the hang of seasoning (which is rather quite easy despite the myths) it makes a GREAT non-stick skillet!  Plus it is much more healthier than Teflon (don't EVEN get me started on that). 

Ok, without further ado...let's get started!

 

Cowboy Night!
Dinner, A Movie & a Recipe

What Cowboy Dinner would be complete without some Cowboy Beans, Cowboy Salad, some good ol' Cowboy Cornbread and a Cowboy Flick?
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Tonight we thought we'd rustle up some good ol' grub.  So Cookie (Chris) made up sum of his Cowboy Beans and his pretty lil' missy put together this here Cowboy Salad, finished off by some six-shooter Cornbread.
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Cowboy Salad Recipe:

Ingredients:
(The original recipe called for much smaller amounts of the ingredients.  But, with our rather large Cowboy Posse, I ended up beefing things up a bit.  I also added cilantro.  I suppose you could opt not to put in the cilantro...but, I think that's what made this recipe taste so good.)

1 Head of Chopped Cabbage
5 Seeded & Chopped Green Chilies (I used canned whole chilies)
1/2 of a Large Sweet Onion, Chopped
1 can Diced Tomatoes, Drained
Chopped Cilantro (I used a handful)
Vinegar to Taste (I used Rice Wine Vinegar but I suppose any would do)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large salad bowl.  Add vinegar, salt & pepper.  Refrigerate.  Will keep for several days.

And there you have it cowpokes...easy peasy.  Serve with some Cowboy Beans and some Cowboy (six-shooter) Cornbread and you have a meal fit for any Rowdy Rustler or Gun Slinger.

Enjoy Cowboys!  It's time for some John Wayne on the movie picture show. G'night Y'all!
 
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What was once a place for harboring the monstrosity we so often used for re-heating our food and popping those never-ending bags of popcorn, is now a barren space.  Yes, if you haven't guessed already, we rid ourselves of...
dun, dun, dun...
(couldn't help myself...the picture above just reminds me of a nightmarish Alfred Hitchock movie)
The Microwave.
muah-ha-ha!

UPDATE:  after I started this post, we did end up filling the void with our toaster (temporarily of course).... I think we shall get a toaster oven.

"Why?", you may be asking yourself right now.  How could anyone NOT have a microwave.  Everyone has a microwave!  Well, atleast everyone in the 20th Century...Right?  Wrong!

Well, hopefully you will see things from our perspective after you read this (or at the very least understand where we are coming from):

 
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for those of you who were patiently awaiting this post...
sorry for the delay!

This is a must for Mexican Food and Soup Lovers alike!
Pozole Verde!

I originally came across this recipe over at: At Home in Mexico
Angie, over there does this recipe much more justice than I can.  That is why I give you her link to the original recipe.

I warn you:
She cooks like me w/o exact measurements so don't be alarmed...you can manage well with this one...it is pretty "no-fail".

The only adaptations we made were:
 substituting the whole chicken with a few chicken breasts
(which we DO NOT recommend doing ~ it skimps on flavor)
as well a few toppings
(which in our opinion is just extra any way).

Here is our end result:  PASS!
Even our daughter, our Resident Soup Connoisseur
(as we like to put it nicely),
LOVED it!
She even had a 2nd helping!
Yeah, that says A LOT for this recipe!!!

It's got a hearty, tangy, spicy flavor to it....Yummy!
You're going to love it!

So...what are you waiting for?  Don't take my word for it...
Head on over to Angie's blog and whip some up tonight for yourself!
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Perhaps...You decide.

I know I said I would blog about Pozole Verde and share the recipe too.  But, I came across this very interesting entry on Corn Syrup on Learning Every Day while surfing late last night. 

I know if you are health conscious like we are, you will definately want to go check this out.  At any rate...it'll make you think.

I could ramble on and on & put in my 2 cents worth to share my opinion on the subject....  But, Cherie (my new found cyber friend) talks about this subject quite well.  And, she includes a video you'll want to be sure to watch.  Be sure to watch Part 2 as well.