#BookClubCookbookCC: Crockpot Baked Beans

So.
It's time for another installment of the Book Club Cookbook Cooking Crew!  Once a month, for 1 year, a group of bloggers led by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla are cooking from Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp's Book Club Cookbook.  This month, Emily of Life on Food invited us to Make a Charlotte Russe and read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

I should start by admitting that I didn't read the book.  I planned to, and time got away from me.  I read the notes in the cookbook and Wikipedia's synopsis (as my teacher's soul withered and died), and planned to make a hearty bread to go with the turn of the century story of a family struggling to survive in the slums of Brooklyn.
But then there seemed to be a lot of bread recipes coming from the other club members.
Then I considered the copy of the Boston Cooking School Cookbook that had belonged to my great aunt Anna to make something that was of the right era.  But then I started reading about cooking in medium ovens in buttered baking soda tins with clarified chicken fat, and I was scared off.
Finally, I decided to make something that is economical, makes a ton and can be eaten for days.  I'm always on the lookout for things that I can take in my lunch.  I'm not above eating the same thing for 3 or 4 days in a row.  This fit the bill on cold, damp days to help chase away the chill.
I present to you now from Budget Bytes Crockpot Baked Beans:

#SixteenCheesecakes: Carrot Cake Cheesecake

So.
In families, there are many traditions.  I've talked in the past about traditions surrounding my family, food and Christmas.  Today, we talk wedding traditions.
Why weddings?  Well, because it's Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla's  wedding anniversary!  And like last year, we're celebrating with a virtual blog party of cheesecake.  Cam had cheesecake at her wedding, so here we are.
I asked on Facebook what kind of wedding traditions my friends families had.  I got a few responses: from honouring departed loved ones to making sure that there are pictures with all of the family, weddings are a time to celebrate with family and friends.
Which brings us back to what I made.  I haven't really mentioned it around here, but my mom remarried last weekend.  We didn't have cheesecake at the dinner afterwards, but I made this for the night before the wedding to share with my mother's family.  J and I also made sure that the tradition of my mother's family lived on.
When I was growing up, we had a blue suitcase.  Every time you used it, a few stray pieces of confetti would come out with your clothes because my grandmother had stuffed my mother's honeymoon bag with confetti.  Confetti and clothing.  Sigh.
Knowing of this, I guarded my own bag when I got married - and almost made it away before giving my car keys to my maid of honour when I went to get changed to leave.  I pulled my nightgown out that night at the hotel and a stream of metallic hearts spewed across the bed at the Best Western.  We still find heart confetti courtesy of my mother from that suitcase.
Not to let her get away this time, J and I got our hands on my mother's bag and...well...let's just say there's now a partial bag of green and gold shamrock confetti sealed up in the back of our car.  Traditions - they're important to keep, even if they're somewhat nefarious.
Now, a cheesecake.  If you can't decide between cake and cheesecake, this is the compromise for you!  Make a small cake and a small cheesecake, and then marble the two to form one delicious dessert with a sour cream and cream cheese topping.  Delicious as the centrepiece dessert for a celebration.
I present to you now Cooking Classy's Carrot Cake Cheesecake:

Secret Recipe Club: Impossible Spinach Pie

So.
Yeah, it's been a while.  But that's okay, because I'm back, and with a scary good recipe.
Welcome to the first Monday of the month, also known as Secret Recipe Club Group A Reveal Day!  Remember the Secret Recipe Club?  It's a group of bloggers who get together, exchange blogs, make something in secret, and all reveal what we made from each other's blogs at the same time.  Very fun!  This month, I was thrilled with my assigned blog, Shockingly Delicious.
On the Facebook page for the Club, Dorothy and her nemesis Sally choose and brag about their assignments every month.  I'm awed by their speed and dedication to the feud.  It was so much fun to go through Dorothy's blog and see the kinds of things she makes and shares.
I considered lots of options - there are so many!  I looked through "Cheap and Easy" for inspiration, and considered more carbs with her breakfast options before finally settling on a retro favourite.
Impossible Pies were a revolution with Bisquick baking mix in the 1970s.  Both savoury and sweet, you put the filling in the pie plate, pour a batter of eggs and Bisquick over and bake; and amazingly, they turn into a quiche-like pie.
Dorothy had a ton of options.  I want to make them all:  Enchilada, Lasagna, and finally what I made for dinner: Spinach.  She even had a recipe to make a small batch of Bisquick-type mix so I wouldn't have to buy a box!  I was sold.
I present to you now from Shockingly Delicious, Impossible Spinach Pie:

#FreshTastyValentines: Individual Tarte Tatin

So.

It's the last day of #FreshTastyValentines. I'm shocked at how much I've posted for this event.  Really, I think it's more a case that I've actually sat down and written up my posts.  There's lots on the camera to come in the coming months.
First things first, we need to recognize all the amazing sponsors who have helped to make the event such a success!

(Have you entered the Giveaway yet?  You totally should.)

Today, the recipe includes a sponsor item, Envy Apples.

You know how those little cooking hack videos keep showing up on Facebook, demonstrating in 90 seconds how to make something totally drool-worthy and gorgeous?

J has taken to sending them to me.  I watch them and think, "I could do that."  and then I don't.  

But when I saw this video, and I knew that I was going to have some Envy Apples to play with, I thought that it would be worth a shot:

When I lived in France, I learned from my host mother to make a tarte tatin in a 9" cake pan.  This is just on a smaller scale.  My recipe also makes 2 - 1 for you, and one for your loved one.  Or 2 for you.
I present to you now Individual Tartes Tatin:

#FreshTastyValentines: Balsamic Roasted Vegetable and Chicken Stew

So.

Welcome back to another issue of #FreshTastyValentine!  Food to tempt your loved ones that is healthy and delicious.  Here's something delicious.  I believe my exact words to J were that we were having a "bowlful of yum" for dinner.
The beauty of Looneyspoons recipes is that they're delicious, made from staples in your pantry, and they work.  When I saw this stew, it sounded wonderful.  With Robert Mondavi as a sponsor of the blogging event, it just made sense to make something with wine.  Bowlful of yum indeed.
I present to you now from the Looneyspoons Collection, Balsamic Roasted Vegetable and Chicken Stew:

#FreshTastyValentines: Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal

So.

#FreshTastyValentines has been way fun, and I have recipes all weekend to get everything in!  Here's a delicious idea for a quick breakfast that uses a heart-healthy product that I'd never tried before.
Hulled Hemp Seeds are packed with protein and omega -3 and -6 fatty acids.  When I opened my bag from Bob's Red Mill I thought they looked a lot like ground nuts.  The little bit I tried tasted a lot like nuts.  Yum.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do with a bag of hemp seeds until I got my Janet and Greta newsletter for January.  The recipe included either chia seeds, ground flax seed or hemp seeds.  Decision made.  Then I doubled the recipe so J could have a bowl.
On a cold damp Sunday morning, this was welcome and delicious.
I present to you now from Janet and Greta Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal:

#FreshTastyValentines: Pistachio-Crusted Tilapia

So.

I know I've expressed before my love of the Podleski sisters and their cookbook series, Looneyspoons.  J's and my commitment to healthier eating means that I've spent more time leafing through the pages of my copies, looking for new things to try.
With my promise, I spend lots of time looking for ways to cook fish.  I can't make blackened tilapia every week!  This crust for fish was great on tilapia, but I'd like to try it on salmon too.  Versatility.  That's what we're all about around here.
I present to you now from the Looneyspoons Collection, Pistachio-Crusted Tilapia:

#FreshTastyValentines: UnCommon Goods

So.

While I don't have a recipe today, I've had so much fun going through this sponsor's website.  Today, we talk about barware.  Specifically, my life and relationships through glasses.  You'd think the people I know and I were lushes or something:

#FreshTastyValentines: Tex-Mex Stuffed Butternut Squash

So.

One of the promises that I made to J with his new healthy eating outlook was that I would cook 1 meatless dinner a week.  This was probably one of my less popular promises, seeing as my husband is big on meat.  Big.  As in if I cooked it 3 times a day he'd be all good.
But I went looking for some dishes that contained more beans and less animal protein on my favourite source for such things - Pinterest.  I even created a new board so that I could find things more easily.  This is one of the first things I pinned, knowing full well how much my husband wouldn't be in favour.
While J likes way more vegetables than I do, he's not a fan of squash - except as pumpkin in baked good form.  I like it, but never cook it as a result.  However, I had high hopes for this as really the squash was a vehicle for the Tex-Mex flavours that J is a fan of.  I was wrong.  It's too bad, really; seeing as this is delicious.  I made the stuffing for 4 (I didn't want to use half a can of black beans and have half a can leftover) and took it to work for lunch for a few days afterwards.  It's filling, and so, so good.
I scraped my squash half clean.  J?  Well, he ate the filling and said it was good.  I personally would recommend both.  I present to you now from Life Tastes Good, Tex-Mex Stuffed Butternut Squash:

#FreshTastyValentines: Tomato Tart

So.

Welcome to #FreshTastyValentines, a week's worth of recipes that are healthier for tempting those you love!  I'm thrilled to have joined with the other bloggers and our sponsors for a fun event!

My first recipe is from Rachael's blog, Pizza Rossa, who happens to be my Secret Recipe Club partner this month.  I couldn't just feature one of the recipes from her lovely blog - I featured a second that was a perfect entree for in which we didn't miss the meat.
I have made a similar tart to this in my preblogging days, but it used sliced tomatoes and minced garlic.  I was intrigued by the idea of roasting the tomatoes and garlic first.  Plus with basil and lots of cheese, how could this possibly be bad?
I present to you now from Pizza Rossa, Roasted Tomato Tart: