Recipes and cleaning tip

 

Good morning!  I got this recipe for this chickpea and spinach side dish in my mail from the Spark People web site.  I happen to like spinach so this sounds pretty good to me.  If your not into that you might find the recipe for Raspberry Brulee more appealing, it comes from Better Homes and Gardens.

Greek Chickpeas & Spinach
Serves: 4
Try this as a side dish tonight!

INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups precooked chickpeas or 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons fresh dill weed, finely chopped
1/2 lb. fresh spinach, cleaned and chopped or torn into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Using a large frying pan, sauté onion and garlic in oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
2. Add chickpeas and dill. Stir-fry for 5 minutes.
3. Add the spinach, a little at a time. Drizzle lemon juice over all ingredients and cover with lid.
4. Cook 5 minutes or until the spinach shrinks. Stir to combine. Serve hot.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 190
Fat: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 33g
Protein: 8 g

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Raspberry Custard Brulee
Prep: 30 min.
Chill: 2 hours

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup fat-free milk
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons light dairy sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or halved strawberries Directions
For custard, in a small saucepan thoroughly combine 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the cornstarch; add the milk and egg. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon over medium heat just until the mixture begins to bubble. (Do not overcook.) Immediately pour the custard into a small bowl; let mixture cool about 5 minutes.

Whisk sour cream into custard; add vanilla. Cover and chill custard for up to 24 hours.

To serve, divide berries evenly among four goblets or dessert dishes. Spoon chilled custard over berries. (If necessary, thin custard with a little milk before spooning over berries.) Set aside.

For topping, in a heavy small skillet or saucepan heat remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over medium-high heat until sugar begins to melt shaking skillet occasionally to heat evenly (do not stir). Reduce heat to low; cook sugar until melted and golden, stirring as necessary with a wooden spoon. Quickly drizzle caramelized sugar over each custard. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

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A cleaning tip, or two, that you may find useful.  As I say on my Web page, these aretips that have been emailed to me, or that I have found on the Internet.  I have not tried all of them and do NOT guarantee their effectiveness.  If you do try one and it works, or if you have another one that works for you, please let me know.

Rust and Mineral Stains:  Add 1 cup of bottled lemon juice in the wash to remove discoloration from cotton laundry.

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My favorite sister (in-law), Cathy, came over this morning.  Rylie Jo was still asleep so we just sat talking and drinking coffee.  Okay, okay...I hate coffee.  It takes like muddy water to me, only worse.  So she drank coffee and I drank some of that cappucino mix that I bought at the grocery store. 

When I was a kid I always thought that ALL grown-ups drank coffee.  That it was like a cop wore a uniform or doctors wore white coats and that all grown-up drank coffee.  That as soon as you were an adult with responsibilites, spouse, kids, etc. that you just automatically liked the stuff.  Me?  If drinking coffee is a requirement, I'll never grow up, lol. 

So after she left I came in to do this entry.  I had it just about ready to go and my phone started ringing like crazy.  So I saved the entry and decided to try and post it later.  Of course, in between phone calls I got some laundry done, ran the sweeper and cleaned the living room.  Now it's time to go and figure out what I am going to do for dinner tonight.  Have a great day!

Hugs!