Long Time Gone...

I'm so, so, so sorry for neglecting you...

yes you...my ONE loyal

follower!  

Where have I been?  Loitering around here in my humble abode...

just not here, as in "at my desk".

Why not?  3 Reasons:  

#1:  We rearranged furniture here in my living room area

and I had this brilliant idea to move

my desk along with my desktop

over to this side of my living room...ya know, 

between my sofa and kitchen table (which I rarely eat at...yes, I

know...but that's a story for a different day ok), up against the wall, 

by the window...side window, that is.

My home isn't very big, so

space is a little tight!

Don't get me wrong, I liked this layout...just out of the way which

I must say, did seem to flow very nicely, but......

didn't work out well for my blogging.

So, I plan to rearrange my 

furniture...in the near future!!

(Shhhhh....my husband doesn't know that yet ;)

#2:  Things here in the Casa de Pullin (as we like to call it) have been 

"Cray-Cray" this past year.  My husband, who is a retired

firefighter, had some serious mobility issues

that resulted from an injury he 

sustained while on the job...

well they got worse!  Around the same 

time, there were some other

family health issues that also came to 

light...You know that saying:

"When it rains......."

Well, to put it simply...

that's a little thing we call Life!  Needless

to say, we are still here...for now ;)

#3:  Despite having a smartphone & tablet, I have

been unable to get in here and send 

you a little note.  Not because I can't access

my blog on either device...it's just that 

the keyboard is too tiny & that, my friend, frustrates me...

more than I care to admit.  I will inform you, 

though, that about 2 months

ago, I came in here and posted, but...

my internet glitched...BIG TIME

and everything...and I mean

EVERYTHING I had typed was lost!

You know how that goes...I 

gave up and figured I'd 

re-apologize at some later point in time....

(today ;)

Now, on to what I intended to share with you today...

I have a recipe to share with you today!

Yes...I'm sharing!!! 

Woo-hoo ;)

Well, hold on to your excitement...I know

deep down inside, you're at the edge of 

your seat! I'm just that interesting ;) 

I'm really excited to share this recipe with you

and I hope it's one you 

try out....and I encourage you to give me 

some feedback as to how it turned

out and what you thought 

of it. 

Quinoa Salad

(pronounced keen-wa)

What is it?  It is a tiny type of grain that is a great source

of iron and protein.  It is also a gluten-free seed.

(A word of caution:  If you're not too familiar with Quinoa,

then I suggest that you buy the one that has been pre-rinsed!  

It should say on the package if it is.  I bought some that wasn't and 

I guess I didn't rinse it long enough or something because

it had a bitter taste...not good!  Personally, I like to use

Bob's Red Mill brand.  One 26 oz bag

is good for a few recipes)

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa, uncooked seeds 

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 can Sweet Corn, drained

1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed

1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper, diced (I use the jarred kind)

1/4 cup Red Onion, diced

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

1/2 Olive Oil, extra virgin

Juice of 1-2 Lemons

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the Quinoa:

In a medium sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.  

Add the quinoa and return to stove.  Once it begins boiling 

again, cover with a tight fitting lid and reduce heat

to medium.  Simmer for about 12 minutes, or until all

liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and let it sit 

covered & undisturbed for about
10-15 minutes.  

In the meantime, while quinoa is resting, you

can begin working on the rest of the ingredients.

You will need a nice sized bowl for this ;)  Drain corn and place 

inside bowl.  Drain and rinse the black beans and place 

them in the bowl as well.  If you bought the roasted 

red bell peppers that come in a jar, just remove 

one, (making sure no seeds are present)
dice it up and place in the bowl.  Do the same 

with the red onion and cilantro.   By this time, your

quinoa should be ready.  Uncover and fluff it up with a 

fork and put it in the bowl as well.  Juice one lemon, being

careful to remove seeds....(don't want to break a tooth biting 

into one of those little suckers!) and pour it,
You guessed it, the bowl too!  Sprinkle salt and pepper 

according to what your taste buds prefer ;)

Then, pour in olive oil and give it all a nice stir, making

sure it's all combined nicely.

Taste & make adjustments if needed...adding more

oil, salt, pepper and/or lemon accordingly!

Then, enjoy immediately while it's still warm...

or cover and place in fridge to get cold!

I like it fresh and warm...my kids like it cold, so it's really up to 

what you prefer.  I will add that an excellent suggestion 

is to get yourself a heat proof plate, layer a handful
of tortilla chips (as pictured above),

 serve a nice amount of this mixture over them,

then top with shredded chicken,

and some shredded cheese (Mexican blend works nicely, but 

up to your personal buds ;) 

Put this plate in a toaster oven (or your regular oven) and 

broil for a couple of minutes or until your cheese is 

nice and melted...not burned, unless you like

it that way.....

and enjoy!

Easy peasy!! On a side note, this recipe is
so forgiving that you can adjust the amounts of the
ingredients according to what pleases you....
If you like more cilantro,  then add some
more...not a fan of it, swap it out
for parsley! I'm sure there's
a beautiful way to enjoy this tasty...
and healthy grain ;) 

Well, that's it!  It's a healthy and delicious salad that 

goes well all by it's lonesome self...

or as a side dish...

or as I suggested...under all that 

gooey cheese and chicken...

I tell you, those chips give it a nice crunch!

It's a win-win with this recipe,

well, in this home it is anyway!

I hope to get some feed back...

comments, questions, suggestions.........

they're all welcomed ;)

Thanks for using some of your precious time to let me bore you 

for a few minutes...

Let me do it again some time ;)

Love Ya,

Cori ;)

Macarons!

First off...I gotta be honest & say~I had never heard of Macaron's...much

less, tasted one!  That is until I heard the word on

a TV show.  That got me thinking...which led to my being curious...

which led to me googling the term...which, in turn,

confused me a little bit! 

Apparently, there's Macaroon's and then there's Macaron's!

Who woulda thunk it, right? 

 

Well, when I saw a picture of a coconut macaroon...I quickly

flashed to a childhood memory of grocery

shopping with my grandma~

putting a package (or a couple) of some coconut cookies into

the cart.  They were super

chewy & my grandma would buy them...

all.  the.  time.  No joke!  I remember she had a thing for coconut!

(so that's what they're called, hmm)

Even those sweet Neapolitan coconut candies...

you know, the ones that were

pink, white, & brown striped...

Yea, those~she LOVED them!

 

Then there was a picture of the Macaron...the fancier one...

and oh, my!  So pretty! Colorful, too!

There are a lot of articles out there that differentiate what

each one is...and, I'm sorry, but in my opinion

(& don't hate me for this)...but I.  don't.  care.

 

Really, one has coconut and dipped in chocolate (preferably)...

the other is so pretty & colorful...& has a filling!

So they're two different cookies...I'm not

prejudiced!  I'll bake & eat them both...willingly!  

 

 I've read various articles/recipes/posts about them

& all I kept reading was about how

difficult they are to make!  What~a~turn~off!!

And, I don't know about you, but I HATE failure!

It really bothers me when

something I bake doesn't turn out right~just ask one of my kids...

or my hubster~~they'll tell you how I snappy I get..concur!

 

Now, I like to read baking/cooking blogs...

& needless to say, I ran across one that specifically discussed

Macaron's. I went over all the info

on them. I debated for....ever... as to whether I should try

making them or not.  Till finally, I figured

"Por que no?"  I followed the advice & tips that Stella

over @ Brave Tart (http://bravetart.com/recipes/Macarons) so

kindly offered & got to it! 

 

This is how they looked when I piped them out. 

I managed to get 3 cookie sheets out of this batch of batter.

 

This is the first pan, out of the oven.

They're broken & collapsing...AND....they have no feet :(

 

2nd pan out of the oven had some of the same, but

about half of the pan, actually had some feet and

nice round domes.  But I didn't get a picture

of that one...yes, I know, I know...I'm bad

about taking pictures..bad about posting regularly...

how about a random act of kindness &

forgive me?  ..(is that considered random...hmm,

good question..but for consideration another day;)

 

Onward...this is my 3rd pan...if you look closely,

you'll see the little feet underneath

the round tops...Aren't they cute!!



 

This is the end result...after being filled with some

Chili-Chocolate Caramel SMBC....

Yea, although they didn't ALL turn out like these pretty ones,

they were fan~tas~mic!!  All-in-all, I was pretty stoked

on how they turned out...esp. the way they

tasted!  Beauty of these, is that they truly are like a blank

canvas...ready to be flavored and colored to anything

that ...basically...floats your boat!

Cheesy, I know!  But you catch my drift...

know what I mean! (Yes, I'm from that generation)

 

Must've been a fluke tho...and

next batch will probably not turn

out as pretty...but at least they'll be deliciously

satisfying!!  So my ending suggestion is:

Try them~You might like love them!!

 

Thanks for the read ;)

Cori



 

 

 

 

 

Oh the Weather Outside...

Everytime~literally~E.V.E.R.Y.T.I.M.E!!...a cold/cool front

comes thru my little corner of the world,

I get the need ~NO not for speed (movie reference;))~

but the need to BAKE. 

And not just bake some sort of extra-fat goodies, but

the need to bake--every.  single.  recipe.  that I have in

my arsenal!  Literally!!

 

Is that a bad thing?  I  think not! And I think 9 out of 10 test subjects

would agree with me on that fact.  By test subjects,

I mean those that sleep under my roof...and maybe a

 few select that don't.   

 

The way I see it, it's best to take advantage of

this nice weather because I can turn the a/c off--open up my windows--

that way, when I crank the oven on, it won't get

hot in here.  Come on, who doesn't

like a lower electric bill, huh?

 

Plus, I get to tease my neighbors

with the fan-tab-u-lous smells that

exude from my house--(don't be jealous ;))--

 as the breeze blows throughout!

 

Well, due to time (& energy) restrictions,

(Dr appt's, toddler that now--not just walks, but is running & getting

into literally...EVERYTHING,--hence, the lack of energy, etc)

I have had to reign myself in when it comes to baking time

....what a shame, I know!

 

I did manage to get SOME baking done...I baked cookies!

Yummy ones, too.  Both Sugar & Gingerbread

cookies~~and I must say, I've got a nice snack to go along with

my coffee now ;)

 

I snapped a few shots...take a look:

 

 

I am so bad when it comes to taking pictures of what I make...

that's why some of these are bagged...some of them

*ahem* were consumed, lol.

 

I will do my best to take pictures BEFOREHAND, next time

around...I promise...to try to remember ;)

 

Now, it being a nice cool day....

it's time to get myself a cup of coffee...some cookies...

a blanket...kick someone off my couch spot...

& finally, watch tv/movie!

 

Later--a gingerbread house! ;)

 

Thanx for stopping by,

 

Cori