Another reason to celebrate

Today we're celebrating the birthday of someone very important - our dog Oliver. He turned 2 today. Now we're not going crazy and baking him a cake and throwing a doggy birthday party for him...that was last year.
This year we celebrated Oliver's big day with a new toy, some gourmet puppy treats, and a brand new storm door for our house. We didn't say all of the gifts were for him. Besides, he loves watching for squirrels from a new vantage point.

Next up - inexpensive fall decor.

Great Fall Food

We've got the comfort food, now all we need are the cooler temps. As another tribute to Nick's love of beans, we've cooked up white bean and roasted garlic soup with a side of beer bread (the beer bread is not a tribute to a love for beer). It takes a little while to put together, but the end result is worth it. Plus, it makes a motherload of soup, so you'll have leftovers to freeze.

The soup:
2 cups Great Northern beans, picked over, soaked 8 hours (or overnight), drained & rinsed
8 cups (64 ounces) water
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
10 to 15 garlic cloves, separated but unpeeled
8 ounces potatoes (about one medium), peeled & coarsely chopped
1 pound onions (about 3 medium), peeled & coarsley chopped
1 pound carrots (about 6 medium), scrubbed & coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

- Place first five ingredients in a 6-quart (or larger) pot or dutch oven. Bring to a boil and simmer, with the lid cracked, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Meanwhile, place garlic cloves in a small oven-proof dish, sprinkle with water, cover with foil, and roast at 350F for 30 minutes. Let cool; peel.
- Add potatoes, onions, and carrots to bean mixture, return to a boil, and simmer, with the lid cracked, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. (NOTE: You may think the soup is going to be too thick and that it needs more water. Don't worry about it. Lots of liquid will cook out of the vegetables. After simmering, remove bay leaf.
- Carefully puree the roasted garlic and 2/3 of soup mixture in blender (in batches) on low speed until still slightly chunky. Return to pot of remaining soup.
- Stir in parsley and simmer, with the lid cracked, stirring occasionally, for another 30 minutes, or until beans are completely tender. We found that a little Old Bay Seasoning added a nice kick to the final product.
The bread:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder (make sure it's fresh!)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces beer

- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, dill, and cheddar in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
- Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Even though I would have been satisfied eating only the bread for dinner, combining it with the soup was a perfect match.
More fall food and fun to come!

It's official - I'm an auntie!

Nobody panic - the kid isn't mine. Today my little niece Joslyn was born. I'm not a huge fan of babies in general, but as the proud auntie, I must say she is a beautiful baby. Plus, she didn't even cry when I held her! That never happens!!!!
So a new era has started in our family, filled with pacifiers, diapers, and basically everything in miniature. As for me & Nick, we're very excited to be the doting aunt & uncle while little Joslyn does her first everything this year.

Beans, beans, they're good for the heart...

Nick is absolutely crazy about black beans...well, beans in general, so he's always encouraging me to find recipes that include as many beans as possible. I did a little search on the internet and found a few recipes to try out. This particular one is very tasty and has tons of protein, not to mention it has the right stuff to help ward off colon cancer. So if you're looking for ways to add protein to your diet, try this seven layer tortilla pie. All you need to get started:
2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup salsa, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
7 (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mash pinto beans and stir in 3/4 cup of salsa and the garlic.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, black beans and tomatoes.
- Place one tortilla in a pie plate. Spread 3/4 cup pinto bean mixture over tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with 1/4 cup cheese, and cover with another tortilla.
- Spread with 2/3 cup black bean mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat layering twice.
- Cover with remaining tortilla and spread with remaining pinto bean mixture & cheese.
- Cover with foil, and bake in preheated oven for about 40 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with salsa & sour cream.

Even though this dish has a lot going for it, beans aren't called the musical fruit for nothing. Before digging in, be sure to down some Beano to prevent the post-dinner symphony.

Sad day in Steeler history...

I've always viewed NFL teams who have mascots or cheerleaders as somewhat less of a football team. Take the Dallas Cowboys, for example. It's always been my opinion that they need cheerleaders on the sidelines to keep their fans from realizing that their glory days are long gone.
Or the Patriots. I mean, who hasn't cringed at the sight of that guy with a regular sized body & enormous head prancing along the sidelines? I'm embarrassed for them.

For so long I've taken pride in the fact that my hometown team never needed stupid gimmicks like that...they were a solid team with a rich history and that's all that mattered.
Today I was rocked to the core when I discovered that the Steelers organization had stooped to an all-time low. Pittsburgh now has a mascot - and he's not even cool!!! He somewhat resembles former coach Bill Cowher, is dressed like a member of the Village People, and has eyebrows the size of caterpillars. As if all that wasn't bad enough, they let the fans submit possible names for him. Out of 70,000 entries, THIS is what they chose (I can hardly bring myself to type it): Steely McBeam. Here's a look at the whole package:

I feel betrayed as a fan. Nobody asked the fans if we wanted some ridiculous mascot. In fact, in a recent survey conducted by thepittsburghchannel.com, over 80% of people polled said that they hate the idea of a mascot and hate the name even more!!!!!

Here's my wish list for what I hope will happen to Steely McBeam, in order of mildest option to most severe:
1. He will be booed out of the stadium before halftime of the first regular season home game.
2. Disgruntled fans will pummel him into a heap of disfigured foam as he tries to get the crowd to cheer.
3. He'll 'accidentally' be standing in front of the Steelers tunnel and be trampled as they run out onto the field.
I've never considered myself a gambler, but I'd put money on option #2 being the way it all goes down.

I hereby declare this week a tragedy in Steelers history. Until further notice, Terrible Towels are to be waved at shoulder height rather than up in the air.
I'm going to go drown my sorrows in pierogies & Italian sausage...

Pistachio Coffee Cake

The day before I left for Indianapolis, Nick and I spent the day together. One of the things he really wanted to do was bake something. He really likes cakes made in our bundt pan, so I grabbed my trusty recipe for pistachio coffee cake. It's easy to make and is so yummy. Here's what you do:
18 ounce box of Duncan Hines golden butter cake mix
3 ounces of instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
8 ounces of sour cream (Nick substituted plain yogurt and it worked out great)
1/2 cup veggie oil
1 cup pecans, chopped
6 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
Mix the first five ingredients in a large bowl - beat well.
Mix last three ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
In a greased & floured bundt pan, pour 1/3 of the nut mixture followed by 1/3 of the batter.
Repeat twice.
Bake for one hour at 350 degrees, but check it with a toothpick at 50 minutes.
Cool completely before removing from pan.
Dust with powdered sugar.
This is one of our favorite desserts now. I love cinnamon, so the swirls in the middle of the cake provide an awesome burst of flavor. Enjoy!

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

One of the great loves in Nick's life is black beans, so when he found this recipe, he knew we had to try it. This dish is super easy, very tasty, and best of all, cheap.
1 pound dried black beans, sorted & rinsed
1 large onion, choppped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, undrained
5 cups of water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno chilies
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups hot cooked rice
Mix all ingredients (except for rice) in 3.5-6 quart slow cooker.
Cover & cook on high heat setting for 6-8 hours or until beans ae tender & most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove bay leaves.
Serve beans over rice.
I'm not the biggest fan of black beans, but this was so yummy. It kinda tasted like meatless chili. I sprinkled some cheese on top and that made it even better.
By the way, it makes a ton, so you'll have plenty of leftovers to take for lunch the next day!