I am NOT a morning person....and, MUSIC MONDAY! (on Tuesday)

Yesterday marked the beginning of the youngest kiddo's third week back to school. Being a notorious night owl I find myself, quite predictably, dragging, lagging, and almost forcibly having to drag myself out of bed in the mornings. Since Kiddo's bus picks up prior to 7AM this had made getting a healthy breakfast crammed down his throat a difficult, and sometimes dangerous (Seriously, me operating a stovetop BEFORE coffee? That is the definition of dangerous!), activity.

In typical Super!Jenn fashion I turned to my ever trusty companions, Google and Pinterest, to save myself from possible dismemberment and death. The result? CROCKPOT BREAKFASTS!! I am LOVING some of these ideas that I've found lately. This morning's treat du jour? Apple Pie Breakfast...which was actually HEALTHY! Steel cut oats, apples, 100% apple juice, and water. A sprinkle of brown sugar in each bowl and MMMMMMMMMM!

A little side note, though: I read a lot of comments left by people whose oatmeal burned and/or hardened. To circumvent this I used my crockpot as a double boiler. Prepare the ingredients in a bowl that will sit easily inside your crockpot. Place either a couple of balls of foil or a canning jar ring in the bottom of the crock pot, sit the bowl inside, fill the crock pot with water until a little over half of the bowl is submerged. Then just cook overnight, and VOILA!

Oh, and if you want to follow me over on Pinterest feel free...just click here and I'll whisk you to my boards straight away!

Now for my Music Monday Tuesday. (See? I told you I was dragging and lagging!) Did you know that ZZ Top released a new album in June? *nods* Yep! I love these guys! Sure, their music is predictable, but you know what else? It's predictably GOOD. Here's one of the songs from Texicali (the new album)..."I Gotsta Get Paid". Oh, and the album is less than $5 over on iTunes, so go BUY it already!!

Cucumber Madness!

My garden is exceptionally prolific this year. We're sharing with neighbors, eating fresh veg daily, and I still find myself having to find creative ways to use up the supply we've been gifted with.

This post is revolving around cucumbers. We've already harvested well over a dozen of these beauties, and they aren't tiny either. The average cucumber harvested has been at least 10 inches in length. Now I love cucumbers, but just slicing them and eating them can get old. I turned to the ever-dependable Google and found this great recipe for Refrigerator Pickles!

Tuesday afternoon found me in the kitchen, slicing cucumbers and onions. Now I tend to be a little persnickety about my pickles. I like them to be uniform in thickness. Because of this I highly recommend using the Hold N Slice from Pampered Chef. Your slices will be the same thickness and you have a little help holding the veg steady while you slice! Plus it's under $5, and you just can't beat that.

After slicing and layering in a large glass bowl I mixed the rest of the ingredients in a sauce pan and brought it to a boil. I was out of celery seeds, and didn't relish the thought of an over 20 mile round trip to the store, so I just substituted with a double amount of celery salt, while reducing the salt amount by half. Then I poured the brine over the bowl ingredients, covered it tightly in plastic wrap, and nestled it safely in the back of the fridge.


The pickling process takes four days, so on Saturday afternoon I pulled out my pint canning jars and filled them with homemade pickle goodness! According to the recipe these will last for a month, refrigerated, making them a perfect choice for all of our upcoming cookouts. 

The finished product: 3 pints of scrumptious, sweet & spicy goodness!

Recipe: Potato Cabbage Soup!

I mentioned on Facebook tonight that I had made this soup, and it garnered some interest...so I figured I might want to jot my recipe down here for everyone to enjoy! I serve this soup with hot, fresh from the oven cornbread.

Potato Cabbage SoupServes 6-8

Ingredients
8 Idaho potatoes, peeled & diced
4 cups green cabbage, shredded
Water, enough to cover the potatoes & cabbage
1 medium onion, chopped
4 oz. ham, diced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 chicken bullion cube
6 cups 2% milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Scallions or chives

Instructions

Put potatoes and cabbage in a large soup pot, put enough water in the pot to cover the potatoes, and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, and boil until potatoes are fork tender; about 10 minutes.

Strain liquid out of potatoes and cabbage, reserving 1 cup. Place potatoes in cabbage in a large bowl and set aside.

Place the large soup pot back over the heat, and add the onions and ham to the pan. Cook over medium heat until the onions are tender; about 3 minutes.

Add reserved 1 cup of water and chicken bullion cube to the pot and stir.

Add in the flour, quickly stirring to mix into the water.

Add the six cups of milk all at once, whisking until smooth. Once smooth add the salt and pepper, and add the potatoes and cabbage back into the pot.

Bring back to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the soup begins to thicken.

Allow to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and scallions or chives and serve.

Copycat Recipe

One of my favorite "fast food" things to eat is Penn Station's Artichoke Sub. It's made of ooey-gooey goodness. I was really craving one yesterday, but wasn't about to head out into the torrential downpour that was occurring all day long to drive and get one.

To the cupboard I went, and after some scrounging I came up with an aritchoke sub of my own, and a healthier version of it, at that!

I figured I couldn't be the ONLY one who appreciated this sandwich, so I'm offering my recipe to you all. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

4 extra-large artichoke hearts, chopped roughly

1/4 cup natural mozzarella cheese

1/4 of a red onion, sliced thin

1/4 cup mushrooms, slided thin

1 Tbsp. light mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1 whole wheat sub bun

Parmesan cheese to taste

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat

Add the artichoke hearts, red onion, mushrooms, and garlic and cook until onions are tender, stirring often.

When tender add in the balsamic vinegar and stir to mix well.

Preheat your broiler or toaster oven.

Spread the mayonnaise evenly over both halves of the sub bun.

Top the bottom portion of the sub bun with the artichoke mixture.

Put half of the mozzarella cheese over the artichoke mixture, and the other half over the top portion of the sub bun.

Season to taste with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

Place about 4 inches below the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

Makes 1 sub. Calories - 480, Total fat - 14 grams, Fiber - 8 grams.