Culinary Kicks

Scary Halloween Cupcakes

2009-10-31T08:49:00.003-07:00

I know its been months since I updated this blog. I have been cooking in that time, but I seem to have lost to motivation to get to the computer, upload pics and write about what I cook. Hopefully sometime I can jump back on the blogging bandwagon.

I did take the time to upload some pics of the cupcakes I made for a Halloween party we are hosting tonight.

Some scary goblins that made using licorice pieces for the eyes, gummy fangs for mouths and candy corns for spiky heads.

And these are the mini eyeball cupcakes I made with gummy life savers, red and black jelly beans and some red frosting for veins.

Chicken Stir Fry with Double Pan Fried Noodles

2009-06-26T15:49:00.004-07:00

This was a dish I modeled after the Double Pan Fried Noodles at PF Changs. It was pretty good, but my noodles did not stay as crisp as they do at the restaurant. Here is how I made it.

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)
3/4 cup stir fry sauce
Chuka Soba noodles (Japanese style noodles)

Marinade
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
dash of sesame seeds

Marinate the chicken in the marinade for 30 minutes. Cook the chicken on medium high heat in a little oil for a couple minutes, until cooked through. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside, keeping warm. Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3-5 minutes, until al dente. Remove noodles, drain. Heat 2 Tbsp oil the pan you cooked the chicken in and put half of the noodles into the pan and flatten them down. Allow to cook until crispy on the bottom, then flip them over and cook the other side. When both batches of noodles are done, set them aside on paper towels to drain. Now stir fry the veggies until crisp tender. Return the chicken to the pan and add the stir fry sauce. Cook for a minute until heated through. Add the peanuts. Serve over the noodles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Enjoy.

Carrot Soup On The High Seas

2009-06-24T11:22:00.001-07:00

Recently, I bought Sam a cookbook with recipes for kids. Lately, he doesnt seem interested in eating anything. I figured if I let him pick things out of the book, then have him help me make it, he will be more interested. This soup was really easy to make. It was actually very good too. Ive never thought about having carrot soup before. The kids pretty much played with their boats, ate the goldfish out and were done. I guess even fun carrot soup didnt strike their fancy this time around. Oh well, I will keep searching! If your kids arent as picky as mine, Im sure they would love this. Its a great idea for any creamy soup.

Carrot Soup on the High Seas (from The Geronimo Stilton Cookbook)

3 to 4 medium sized carrots, about 1/2 lb
1 medium sized leek, halved lengthwise
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1 small zucchini
2 wooden toothpicks
construction paper
goldfish shaped crackers

1. Clean and peel the carrots. Cut 2 long thing strips from 1 carrot for the sails of the boats. Set aside. Clean the leek in cold running water.

2. Cut the remaining carrots and leek into slices. Place in a saucepan. Add milk, water, olive oil, and a pinch of salt to the veggies. Cook covered, over medium heat for 20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.

3. While the veggies are cooking, make the boats. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides of both halves. Cut one end of each zucchini half into a sharp point to make the prow (front) of the boats. Push toothpicks through the carrot sails and stick them into each zucchini boat. If you wish, make a flag from construction paper. Stick it on top of the toothpick.

4. Let the pan of cooked veggies cool. Pour the mixture into a blender. Work in 2 or 3 batches to prevent the liquid from spilling. Bleand until creamy. Return blended soup to the pan to reheat. Pour the soup into 2 bowls. Garnish each bowl with a zucchini boat. Add goldfish shaped crackers to the soup. Enjoy.

Really Refreshing Iced Tea

2009-06-22T23:26:00.003-07:00

I drink just about a pitcher of this iced tea almost every day during the hot months. Its so cool and refreshing when you swallow it. Steeping fresh mint leaves with the tea bags really makes it have a cooling effect. It feels colder than it really is when its going down. So perfect for this 110+ heat we get here in Phoenix. I grew up drinking my tea unsweetened. But as Ive gotten older, Ive started sweetening it a little more. This is a great tea without any sugar at all though.

Rachel's Everyday Iced Tea

2 family size Luzianne tea bags
1/2 quart water
a sprig of peppermint leaves
1/4 cup or a little less of sugar

In a pan, bring the water just to a boil. Add the tea bags and peppermint leaves and turn off the heat. Let it steep for 5 -10 minutes. Remove from heat, fish out the tea bags and mint leaves. Stir in the sugar until its dissolved. Pour the hot tea over a pitcher filled half way up with ice. Stir and enjoy.

Horshradish Cheddar and Smoked Turkey Quesadillas with Dill Mustard Aoili

2009-06-22T23:24:00.002-07:00

This was a midnight snack the other night that turned out SOOO good! Wow. There is really nothing Mexican about this quesadilla at all. The flavors were so different and yummy. I love to get my sliced meats and cheese at Basha's because they have Boar's Head, and I havent found any other meats or cheeses that taste better. The Boar's Head horshraddish cheddar is really good. Its got a kick to it that will clear out your sinuses!! I made up the mustard aioli based on things I like on sandwiches with turkey and cheddar, mustard, mayo and pickles.

2 12-inch flour tortillas
8 slices of horseraddish cheddar cheese
4 slices of turkey lunch meat
1 Tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp dill pickle relish
chopped fresh dill (just a little)

Place the 2 cheese slices onto each tortilla, on one side. Top with turkey, then remaining cheese slices. Grill on a griddle heated to high heat, until crispy on each side and the cheese is melted inside. While the quesadillas are cooking, make the aioli dip. Mix the mayo, mustard, relish and fresh dill. Split into 2 portions and serve with the quesadillas.

Chicken Chilaquiles

2009-05-21T13:39:00.002-07:00

Ive always wanted to try out a Chilaquiles recipe. I found this one on Martha Stewart's website. I was planning on following it to a tee, but then I accidently licked a bit of the adobo sauce from the chipolte peppers after I had chopped them and my entire mouth was on fire! Since I was expecting my kids to eat this, I decided to replace the chipolte peppers and adobo sauce with a can of diced green chiles. Also, I used Queso Fresco cheese instead of Feta cheese, I cant imagine eating Feta cheese in Mexican food.

This recipe turned out really good. My only complaint is that there wasnt very much. I only used 2 cups of shredded chicken. Even so, I used a larger can of tomatos than the recipe called for and I used a whole can of chicken broth, in place of the 1 cup of water. It was barely enough for 3 people. Next time I will definitely double the recipe. We all liked it.

Chicken Chilaquiles

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes in puree
1 can diced green chilis
1 can chicken broth
Coarse salt
1 small cooked rotisserie chicken (about 1 3/4 pounds), skinned and shredded (about 4 cups), carcass discarded
1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
4 cups (about 3 ounces) tortilla chips
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1.75 ounces Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

Combine oil and garlic in a large (3-to-4-quart) saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and sizzling, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), green chilis, and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in chopped cilantro.
Divide chips among four shallow bowls; top with chicken mixture and sauce. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, sour cream, and cheese. Serve.

Queso Fresco Quesadillas

2009-05-16T22:57:00.004-07:00

Living in AZ, we eat a lot of Mexican food. I bet at least 3 meals a week are Mexican inspired. I bought some yummy tortillas at Ranch Market here in Mesa, so I decided to make some quesadillas. These are different. Usually I make them with cheddar cheese and green chilies and refried beans if I have them. Tonight I decided to try something a bit lighter. With Queso Fresco cheese and fresh chives and cilantro, this is a fresh change to the normal quesadilla.

Queso Fresco Quesadillas

2 flour tortillas
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives
1 roma tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp chopped cilantro
salsa and sour cream for serving

Preheat a cast iron skillet to Medium heat. Place 1 tortilla on skillet. Sprinkle crumbled queso fresco all about tortilla. Then sprinkle with chives and place tomato slices on top. Season with salt and pepper. Dont be shy with the S&P, queso fresco needs a lot of flavor. Place remaining tortilla on top and cook until cheese is melted. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes, or until both sides are crisp and the cheese is all melted. Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream and fresh salsa.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

2009-05-09T15:49:00.006-07:00

I made a Pork roast in the crock pot today, so I decided to grill up some corn on the cob! My favorite way to eat corn. This is the first time Ive left some of the husks attached to make a nice little handle and it gives it a great presentation as well. I will do this in the future now. This is a very easy simple recipe.

Grilled Corn on the Cobb

4 ears of sweet corn, in husks
2 Tbsp butter, melted
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a grill to high heat. Remove the outer husks of the corn, then leave the inner husks attached to make a nice little handle for holding it. Brush the corn with melted butter, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the grill is ready, place on the grill and turn the heat down to medium. Try not to get the husks grilled, because they burn faster than the corn. Turn the corn as it cooks and keep brushing it with more melted butter. Its done when the corn is golden browned, 10-15 minutes.

Quick Yeast Rolls

2009-05-09T15:49:00.004-07:00

These dinner rolls were so yummy and they were a snap to make! I had them done in just a little over an hour, with rising time included. Just a couple ingredients too. They were a little sweet and really soft. a great texture. I know they look like muffins, but they are more the texture and taste of a dinner roll. The original recipe says it makes 8 rolls, but I ended up with 10 large ones, and I could have done 12. I felt like my cups were too full, so I didnt get to let them rise enough the 2nd time. Next time, I will take this same recipe and make 12 rolls, and let them rise 10 minutes longer, to make them just a little lighter in texture.

Quick Yeast Rolls (Allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons shortening
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 cup hot water
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease 8 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix the shortening, sugar, and hot water. Allow to cool until lukewarm, and mix in the yeast until dissolved. Mix in the egg, salt, and flour. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into the prepared muffin cups, and allow to rise again until doubled in size.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Baked Blueberry and Peach Oatmeal

2009-05-03T22:01:00.005-07:00

I saw this recipe in a magazine that my mom gave to me. I cant remember the name of it now. I remember that I really wanted to try it out. I love oatmeal. I only like the old fashioned oats. I hate instant or quick cooking oats. It just gets to mushy. I decided that I wanted to try this recipe out because my mom is hosting a Mother's Day Brunch at her house on Mother's Day this year, and I am supposed to bring a breakfast recipe so I thought Id try this. The verdict? I wont bring this to the brunch. It was good, but just not what I'm looking for in oatmeal. I usually cook my oatmeal in milk because I like it really creamy. My mom cooks hers in water like the directions says, and I always think its too chewy like that. Well, this turned out chewy. I do have to say that the next day leftovers were GREAT! I thought it was so much better the 2nd day. Just pop some into the microwave and then add a bit of cream and you are set. It was creamy and mushy and not too chewy. My kids didn't eat this though, so it probably wont be a keeper.

Baked Blueberry Peach Oatmeal

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 1/4 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 can (15ounce) sliced peaches, drained and chopped
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Additional milk, optional

In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the egg whites, egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until blended. Let stand 5 minutes then stir in the peaches and blueberries.

Transfer to an 11in x 7in baking dish, coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until the top is slightly browned and a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Serve with additional milk if desired.

Spinach Quiche

2009-05-03T21:59:00.002-07:00

I love quiche. I used to make it quite a bit before I met Carl. He just doesn't like quiche for dinner and that is usually when I end up making it. There are times that he isn't too thrilled with my quiche dinner. Then the next morning we have the leftovers for breakfast and he is saying how great it is. I ask, what is the difference between now and last night? And his reply is that its breakfast now. Hmmm.

The other night I had a craving, so I made it for dinner again. And I have to say that it was yummy. I just love quiche.

Spinach Quiche (from Better Homes and Gardens)

1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 slices of bacon, chopped
8 eggs
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1/2 cup half and half, light cream or milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups lightly packed chopped spinach
2/3 cup grated mozzerella cheese
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese

Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of tin foil. Bake in 450 degree oven for 8 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake an additional 4 or 5 minutes, until pastry is set and dry. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 325 degrees.

In a large skillet, cook onion and bacon till onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly with a fork. Stir in sour cream, half and half, salt, pepper. Stir in onion mixture, spinach, mozzerella and swiss cheese.

Pour egg mixture into the hot baked pastry shell. Bake in the 325 oven for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean (it took about 15 minutes extra for me) Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

2009-04-25T14:59:00.003-07:00

My little one turned 2 this week. Today we had a little pool party here at the house and it was a lot of fun. I made this cute cake and cupcakes for the party. My friend Laurel did this last year for her son's bday and I had to steal the idea! It was super easy. I cheated and used boxed yellow cake mix and pre-made icing. I dyed the blue with Wilton royal blue. The "dog food" is Coco Puffs cereal. For the cupcakes, the ears are made of Tootsie Rolls (microwaved for 10 seconds to make pliable). The big eye is a Junior Mint candy, the noses are Recees Pieces. I used brown decorator gel for the rest.

Grilled Steak Rolls

2009-04-21T17:45:00.003-07:00

I recently blogged about my Pan Seared Steak Rolls that I made. They were so good. Carl said that he didn't like the consistency of the meat because it was poached in the sauce pretty much. Tonight we decided to see if we could improve on the recipe a bit. I followed the recipe exactly the same as last time except this time, I grilled the steak rolls on my grill on low heat and prepared the sauce on the side. It was really good and I think it looked better with the yummy grill marks on each one. Definitely a pretty dinner.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bars

2009-04-16T18:17:00.004-07:00

We decided to bake this afternoon, to pass some time. Sam and I are often looking for things to keep us busy when Charlie naps in the afternoons. Today, I let him pick out a cookie to make from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. This is what he picked and Ive made them before, so I knew they would be good. They get a nice crunchy crust.

1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
2-3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (about 10 ounces)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
a dash of ground cloves

Make the crust by mixing flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture for later use. Press into the bottom of a 9x9 brownie pan. To make the filling, put the apples into a sauce pan with the water, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves. Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for 8 minutes, or until the apples are tender. Remove from heat and pour over the prepared crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2009-04-16T15:17:00.004-07:00

The other day I was hanging out with my friend Elisabeth and she had chicken tortilla soup in her crockpot. I got the craving for it right away and made it the very next day. The recipe she had was from our friend Kristen. I didn't have everything that hers called for, so I kind of winged it and it turned out just the way I like it. This is so versatile. You could put beans in it or anything you have on hand really.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 chicken breasts
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1(10 ounce) can enchilada sauce (I used a green sauce and it was so good)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans of chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn

tortilla strips, sliced avocado, green onions, shredded cheese for serving.

Put everything into the crock pot and cook on low for 6 hrs. Remove chicken breasts and let cool. Shred them with a fork and return them to the crock pot and simmer another hour or as long as you need to until dinner. Put the tortilla crisps, avocado, green onions into a bowl and pour the soup over it. Top with cheese.

Pan Seared Steak Rolls

2009-04-14T21:03:00.003-07:00

When I saw this recipe at Steamy Kitchen, I knew I had to try it and bookmarked it right away. Well, today was the day. This recipe was so easy and quick, perfect for a week night. The flavor was amazing! So much flavor. The meat was tender and tasted wonderful with the veggie mix. The original recipe called for Enoki mushrooms, and I couldn't find them, so I ended up using bean sprouts instead and it really worked well. Also, I didn't have chicken broth, so I subbed white wine. I served it over steamed rice and topped with crispy chow mein noodles. It was phenomenal!!! I cant wait to make this again. I told Carl it is definitely company worthy, and a snap to throw together...cant beat that!

Pan Seared Steak Rolls (from www.steamykitchen.com)

8 ounces flank steak (4 inch x 6 inch piece) or 8 thin sliced sirloin (found at Publix)

Marinade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
freshly ground pepper

Sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ cup canned chicken broth (I subbed white wine)

Filling
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 carrot, cut into 2 inch matchsticks
½ red bell pepper, cut into 2 inch matchsticks ( I used a green one)
2 ribs celery, sliced thin on diagonal
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
12 chives, cut into 3 inches long
4 ounces enoki mushrooms
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons butter
¼ teaspoon sesame seeds

Freeze steak for 30 minutes until partially frozen. Slice steak against the grain, on the diagonal, into 8 equally thin pieces. Use a meat mallet to pound each piece of meat to 1/8 inch thick. If using thin sliced sirloin, skip this step.

Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and add meat slices. Let stand 15 minutes to 2 hours.

In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients.

To prepare filling, heat a wok or skillet over high heat. When hot, add vegetable oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 20 seconds. Add carrot, bell pepper, celery and stir fry for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and stir. Transfer to bowl and let cool.

To make the beef rolls, lay beef slices out with short side facing you. Equally divide chives, enoki mushrooms and vegetable mixture among the pieces of meat. Roll the beef up, over the filling and secure with toothpick.

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and butter, swirling to coat bottom. When hot, add beef rolls, seam side down, not touching and pan fry for 1 minute, turn roll. Add sauce to the pan. Cover and simmer over medium heat until beef is just cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Remove toothpick, sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.

Yields 4 servings

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

2009-03-31T17:28:00.003-07:00

Wow its been over a month since I made an entry. I have just been so busy since we moved. My cooking has taken a back seat to other things in life. I am starting to do the books for my husbands business, so that has been taking up a lot of time I used to have. I also still havent got another digi camera, so that is a bummer and Ive not been taking many photos. My mom lent me hers though, so tonight I actually made something we'd never tried before and I could take a picture.

My mom came over last night and dropped off 2 big bags of food from her fridge since she left today to go out of town for a couple weeks. She gave me a whole head of cauliflower and I really dont ever eat it unless its in some frozen veggie mix. Well, that may change because this recipe was so easy, and turned out sooo good. Carl even said that he liked it. The kids were not fans, but that can be expected with cauliflower.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

1 medium head of cauliflower
1/4 cup olive oil
course salt
fresh ground pepper
2 cloves of pureed garlic, or pressed

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash and cut the cauliflower into small florets. Put them into a large ziplock bag. Add the oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Toss around in the bag until all the cauliflower is covered nicely. Pour onto a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for 10-25 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked and blackened in places.

2009-02-23T22:27:00.002-07:00

I got an interesting email today, from someone that saw my blog post on the Dixie Pie that I made, trying to imitate the pie from Tippins restaurant where I worked in high school. I was so thrilled that this person took the time to email me and tell me some history about the Dixie Pie. I will be changing my recipe in the fall to include Walnut halves, instead of pecans. Here is the email:

I had some spare time on my hand today and thought I would see what Tippins was up to. (funny what we do when we have the time!!)

I saw your blog about Dixie pie and wanted to let you know what I know ... I started working at Tippins as a waitress in 1982 and left when they couldn't get out of their bankruptcy situation. By then I was running our production facility with over 150 employees and 6 supervisors under me.

Long story short ... Dixie pie was made with walnut halves. (Not that I would not eat one made with pecans). It was called Derby Pie when we first opened but because of the copyright laws, someone else already had that name ... thus Dixie Pie came about. We also used to use bourbon in the formula but our 3rd restaurant was in Independence, MO and our 4th in Tulsa, OK so religious concerns and a "family environment" forced us to take out the bourbon.
The only pie we continued to produce with a liquor content was the mincement and the chocolate cherry rum cake over the holidays.

I spent many years working for Tippins and it's nice to come across someone else who enjoys and remembers the product we used to put out. I have all of those formulas etched in my memory forever!

Have a good day

Getting that email just made me smile a big smile, and remember some great times at my first waitressing job ever, in Kansas City...a city that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Ina's Shrimp Scampi

2009-02-20T07:15:00.004-07:00

I had some shrimp I wanted to use, so I went onto my favorite cooking board on The Nest and asked for recipes. I got a few responses that I had to try Ina Garten's recipe. Well, I found a couple different ones, but this one I happened to have most of the ingredients on hand, so I went for it. Let me tell you, looking at the pic, it doesn't look like there is much sauce or flavor on those noodles, but there is. It was really yummy and flavorful. It had a very lemony taste. I changed a couple things with the recipe so it would be saucier, I added white wine and a bit more butter. I also forgot all about the lemon slices, so that was omitted. I had this meal prepped, and when I went to go make it it took me less than 15 minutes total. So easy and quick! I will definitely have to make this one more often.

Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti (adapted from Ina Garten)

Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/2 cup of your favorite white wine
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the white wine and let it cook a couple more minutes. Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

Chalupa and taco seasoning

2009-01-29T16:56:00.005-07:00

Before I got married, my sisters gave me a really nice bridal shower. In the invitation was a card to bring a recipe for the bride. So, this is the recipe that my Mother in Law, Pat wrote out for me. It was Carl's favorite meal that his mom made when he was growing up. Ive had it a couple times when Pat made it, but I had no idea how EASY this is. And its so tasty! Pretty much anything served over Fritos chips would be yummy, but this is a really great, hearty, satisfying meal. You could probably sub beef or chicken in this and it would turn out really good. Pat's recipe calls for taco seasoning and since I didnt have any in the pantry that day, I got a recipe for it off of allrecipes.com and made my own! It was tasty and could easily be used in place of the taco seasoning envelopes you buy in the spice aisle in your store. Also, this recipe says to cook in a pan on the stove, but I threw everything into the crockpot and it came out wonderfully.

Chalupa (Pat Cunningham)

2-3lb boneless pork loin roast
1 lb pinto beans (soak overnight or bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat and let set 1 hr, drain and rinse beans)
2 packets of taco seasoning (or your could easily make your own)
1 can diced green chiles
salt to taste
1 bag of Fritos chips
grated cheddar cheese
sliced green onions
sour cream

In a large pot, add roast and beans. Cover with water and add taco seasoning mix and green chiles. Cook all day, take the meat out and let it cool, then shred it and return it to the pot. Simmer with top off to thicken it a bit. Serve over Fritos chips and garnish with cheese, green onions and sour cream.

Taco Seasoning (from allrecipes.com)

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

Twice Baked Potatoes

2009-01-21T17:25:00.004-07:00

This is such an easy versatile side dish. Its a great way to dress up the boring old baked potato. This is the first time I have cut the potatoes in half and made 2 servings out of each one. I used to just have each potato be whole and it was always such a huge side that would fill you right up. I filled these will fresh rosemary, bacon, sour cream and cheese. You could put anything you have into them and they would be yummy. Be sure to be generous with your salt and pepper, potatoes need a lot of seasoning.

Twice Baked Potatoes

3 baking potatoes cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup grated cheese
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
dash of paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub each potato with with little bit of olive oil. Bake for 1 hr. Take out of the oven and cool 10-15 minutes, then scoop out the insides, leaving nice little potato skin shells. Now mash up the scooped out potato with the rest of the ingredients. Mash until smooth and well blended. Stuff back into potato shells and sprinkle with a dash of paprika. Bake another 15 minutes until browned nicely on top. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

Waffle Style French Toast

2009-01-20T13:41:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was Sam's Birthday and I wanted to make him something special for breakfast. This is a recipe I saw on The Nest. Its from a book called French Toast, by Donna Kelly. This was really yummy. Cutting the bread extra thick, then cooking it in a waffle iron instead of on a griddle was a cool twist! It gave the crusty sides, more surface area and lots of places for butter and syrup to stay hidden. Everyone loved theirs, so I will probably be making this again soon.

Waffle Style French Toast

4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 (1-inch-thick) slices day-old Challah or French bread

Preheat a waffle iron and spray generously with nonstick cooking spray. In a pie pan or other shallow pan, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar and salt. Dip bread slices in egg mixture until well soaked. Cook slices in the waffle iron one at a time until lightly brown. Serve with warm syrup, powdered sugar and/or fresh fruit as a garnish.

Green Rice

2009-01-13T16:27:00.006-07:00

Here is a yummy side dish, and a great way to sneak some spinach into the meal! I threw this together after reading a bunch of recipes on allrecipes.com. I served this with some swordfish steaks and it was so yummy with lemon juice squeezed over the top. Be sure not to be shy with the salt, rice and spinach needs lots of salt.

3 cups cooked rice (I used 1/2 brown rice and 1/2 white)
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, smashed then chopped
1 package of baby spinach, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup french fried onions
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the chopped spinach and cook a minute, until wilted. Add the rice and stir until well combined. Add plenty of salt and pepper. Continue to cook and stir the rice for a few minutes. Then turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and basil. Pour into a greased baking dish and top with french fried onions. bake 375 degrees for 2o minutes

Ina's Coconut Cake

2009-01-06T15:58:00.005-07:00

Today is my Grandma's Birthday. My mom had us over for dinner and to celebrate and she asked me to make the cake. Now I know that my Grandma loves cakes made from scratch so I set out to find a yummy one that she would love. I also know that she loves Hawaii and the flavors of the Islands, so I decided to go with coconut. When I found Ina Garten's recipe, I had to try it out since every recipe Ive ever tried of hers has been awesome. Well, I was not disappointed. This makes a great, buttery, moist cake with a pretty light texture.

I did make some changes to the recipe based off other's reviews. Instead of using 3 sticks of butter, I used 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce in place of one of the sticks. I cut the sugar from 2 cups to 1 1/2. I also used buttermilk instead of regular milk and coconut extract instead of almond (in the cake and the frosting). Also, mine was done after 35 minutes, I think the original 45-50 minutes would have been way too long. This turned out perfect with just enough coconut flavor. I will be making this many more times.

Coconut Cake (inspired by Ina Garten)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure coconut extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup butter milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

For the Frosting

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure coconut extract
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Beat in the applesauce until well mixed. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and coconut extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don't be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the butter milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 ounces of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth (don't whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Mexican Pizza

2009-01-05T17:57:00.004-07:00

Here is another great recipe from Allrecipes.com. I always find good ones on that site. This Mexican Pizza is a nice change from the same old tacos and tostadas we usually have for Mexican night. It is a lot like the Mexican Pizza at Taco Bell. The only thing I changed was that I used green chili enchilada sauce for the red sauce, since it was all I had on hand. I also didnt think that pizza sauce sounded very good on this. Also, I added taco seasoning to the ground beef, instead of just seasoning it with salt and pepper.

Mexican Pizza (from Allrecipes.)

8 (6 inch) Mission® Fajita Flour Tortillas, cooked into crispy tortillas
1 cup refried beans, prepared
1 pound ground beef, chuck, raw (with taco seasoning)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
4 tablespoons pizza sauce, prepared (I used green chile sauce)
1 cup Mexican Cheese Blend, grated, prepared
1/2 cup Roma tomato, fresh, small chop
4 teaspoons cilantro, fresh, rough chopped

To make the Mission® Crispy Tortillas: Place all 8 tortillas directly on the oven rack of a 350 degrees F oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve on your work surface.
Heat the 1 cup of refried beans for 1 minute in the microwave to get hot and reserve for the recipe build.
Season the ground beef with salt and pepper and saute for 8 minutes in a non-stick pan, drain and reserve hot for the recipe build.
To build 1 Mexican Pizza: Place 1 crisp Mission® tortilla on work surface.
Evenly spread tortilla with 1/4 cup hot refried beans.
Evenly top refried beans with 1/4 (approximately 4 ounces) of the cooked ground beef.
Top ground beef with second crisp tortilla and evenly spread 1 heaping tablespoon of pizza sauce over the tortilla.
Evenly top the pizza sauce with 1/4 cup grated Mexican cheese blend and 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes.
Repeat steps 1 through 5 for remaining 3 servings.
Place all 4 pizzas, at one time, in 350 degrees F oven on a cookie pan/flat pan, and bake for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro evenly over the top of each pizza. Serve each pizza whole.

Rich Hot Cocoa

2009-01-04T19:21:00.003-07:00

I had such a sweet tooth tonight. After going through the pantry a million times and finding nothing that suited my fancy, I finally decided to make hot cocoa from scratch. So, I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com and boy oh boy is it GOOD. Sooo rich and creamy. I served this to my parents and Carl and Sam and everyone loved it. We only had big marshmallows to put in it, but it was so yummy. I will definitely be making this in the future. Its so quick and easy.

Rich Hot Cocoa (from Allrecipes.com)

1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 1/2 cups hot water
Mini marshmallows (optional)

In large saucepan over medium heat, combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, vanilla and salt; mix well. Slowly stir in water. Heat through, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. Top with marshmallows, (optional). Store covered in refrigerator.

Beans and Ham

2009-01-02T08:23:00.002-07:00

I had a big ham bone left over from a Honey Baked Ham that we had on Christmas Eve. I decided that I was going to make some beans. This is such a simple, easy, filling recipe. Pinto beans are so good for us, I want to get my family to eat more and more of them, and not just in the re fried fattening way we love. Serve it up with some corn muffins.

Beans and Ham

2 cups dried pinto beans
1 ham bone or other leftover meaty piece
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste.

Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with 1 inch of water. Soak overnight. Or instead of soaking overnight, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cover and let set for 1 hr. Discard soaking liquid. Now add 7-10 cups water and bring to another boil. Add onions and garlic and let simmer for 1 hr 30 minutes. Season with lots of salt and pepper.

Roasted Vegetables with Linguini

2008-12-29T12:11:00.007-07:00

This is another recipe that I used to make all the time, years ago. I kind of forgot all about it until I was skimming through an online cookbook Id entered a bunch of recipes into. This one used to be my meal to impress. I always made it for company and everyone always loved it.

Speaking of company, I was just reminded of a funny thing that happened one night when I made this recipe. My sister and I were living together in my condo in Mesa and we decided to have our grandparents on our Dad's side over for dinner. So we planned ahead and decided to make them this roasted veggies with pasta. Well the evening comes and Ive got dinner all ready and they never showed up. I tried to keep it hot on the stove for awhile, but everything got really overcooked. Finally when they were 45 minutes late I called them and they were at home and had just ate. They completely forgot about dinner with us. They felt terrible and came right over. They sat down and had another entire dinner with us. I was watching my grandfather when he was talking, and he was pouring salad dressing all over his pasta. I didn't know what to think. Tiffany and I were eyeing him with curiosity. He ate his pasta first and thought it was wonderful. Then started in on the salad and realized there was no dressing on it. We all started laughing as he realized he poured the dressing all over the pasta dish, then ate it all up. It was so funny. I will never forget that. He said the pasta was still really good. hehehe. That was a fun night.

I clipped this out of a little Lipton recipe book that I bought in the aisle of a grocery store one time. I usually add some grilled chicken breast seasoned with poultry rub to this right at the end, to make it a more hearty meal. Also, the original recipe called for the Savory Herb with Garlic soup mix and I can no longer find that in stores. Now they are all some variation of onion flavor. I just use the Onion Mushroom flavor now and it tastes pretty much the same. Sometimes I add a few drops of hot sauce and a pinch of garlic powder to give it a little more spice. Ive also had good luck adding extra cheese and cream, to make it more saucy. I like saucy stuff.

Roasted Veggies with Linguine

2-3 lbs of veggies chopped (I like to use zucchini, squash, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, asparagus)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 packet of Lipton Recipe Secrets
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4-1/2 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Chop veggies into large pieces and put into a big plastic bag, pour in olive oil and soup mix packet. Shake until the veggies are coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35 minutes, stirring once halfway through. After veggies are baked, pour cream and cheese into casserole and stir to make a creamy sauce. Toss with 1 lb cooked linguine or your favorite cooked pasta.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2008-12-24T09:01:00.004-07:00

This is a really great dip that I started making back when I got my first crock pot when I was in college. This recipe is from a crock pot cook book that I had at the time. It was a great book with a ton of great recipes. I somehow lost that book over the years, but this recipe has survived. The picture really does not do this justice at all.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

16 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
1 large bag of frozen chopped spinach
1 10 ounce can of artichoke hearts
1/4 cup half and half or whipping cream
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
seasonings to taste (salt, pepper, garlic powder)

Let the spinach thaw. Squeeze out as much of the water in the spinach as you can. Roughly chop it up even more. Chop the artichoke hearts. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl till well combined. Transfer to a crock pot and heat on low heat until hot and all the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve with melba toast, crackers, corn chips or sliced baguette.

Dixie Pie

2008-12-24T09:00:00.003-07:00

When I was in high school, I worked at a restaurant called Tippins and they sold really yummy pies. One of my favorites, was their Dixie Pie, which is just a pecan pie with mini chocolate chips. Its really rich and so yummy. I usually make this every Christmas and Thanksgiving, as my family and Carl's family loves me to bring this for dessert. I usually use more pecans and chocolate chips than the recipe calls for, so use a heaping cup of pecan halves, and a heaping 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.

Dixie Pie

3 beaten eggs
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 heaping cup of pecans (halves)
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips
1 unbaked pie crust

Combine the first 5 ingredients and mix well, pour into the pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Ham and Cheese Rice Balls

2008-12-18T22:16:00.005-07:00

I know this sounds like a funny thing, rice balls...especially ham and cheese rice balls. Well, this turned out so well! Definitely a keeper in my book. I was looking for another way to use up leftover rice and this came to me. I had made some cheesy scallion white rice the other night and had a ton leftover. So I decided to add some goodies to it and form it into balls and bread it and fry it up! Oh my, they were so yummy! I first just ate them plain and they were yummy. When I reheated the leftovers, I dipped them in ranch dressing and it was YUMMY! I think they would go so well with chive basil cream. These are filling and satisfying. My kids both loved them and I cant normally get them to eat rice and ham, so that was nice. They reminded me of the Croquettas you can find in Spain. You could add anything to these. I was thinking chopped spinach would be great with ham and cheese, or you can use any leftover meats and veggies you have in the fridge. Kind of like fried rice, these are so versatile! The rice I started out with already had a lot of Cheddar cheese and scallions in it, so season it accordingly. If you are using plain white rice, it will need more salt and pepper to pep it up, if the rice isn't already seasoned.

Ham and cheese Rice Balls

2 cups leftover cooked rice, refrigerated (my rice already had 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup parm cheese and 1/2 cup chopped scallions added to it)
1/2 cup minced ham (I just used lunch meat)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Louisiana hot sauce, or any hot sauce would do
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp water
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

In a large bowl, mix the rice with the ham and soy sauce. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and any other spices you like. Form the rice into little balls. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the hot sauce and water. Pour enough oil into a skillet to be 1/2 inch deep. Heat on medium heat until hot. Season the bread crumbs with some salt and pepper. Dip the rice balls into the egg mixture, then roll into bread crumbs. Fry in oil until golden brown, a couple minutes on each side. Serve hot either plain, or with a favorite dipping sauce...ranch dressing, chive basil cream, marinara.

Bacon Roasted Chicken

2008-12-14T15:35:00.003-07:00

I just had to try out this recipe. I really do believe that bacon makes everything taste better. I wish it wasnt so bad for us! I cant resist sometimes. I love BLT's and bacon with my eggs, and even bacon roasted chicken! The bacon in this smelled so good when it was roasting in the oven. It was overcast out today and slightly cool, so it was perfect for dinner. I served this with herb roasted potatos and a green salad.

I got this recipe from Allrecipes. I pretty much followed it but I used olive oil instead of butter, and I only seasoned with salt and pepper as I forgot the dry herbs completely! I also added a stalk of celery and a small quartered onion in with the carrots in the cavity. I have to say, that this is not nearly as flavorful as my other roasted chicken I did recently. While it smelled wonderfully, the flavor wasnt as strong as I was hoping. I think that rubbing an herb butter under the skin just flavors it so much better than the bacon drippings did. Im sorry that I did not get a picture of this one. I dont know how that happened...and I was bummed. I will say that it looked absolutly amazing!

Bacon Roasted Chicken (from Allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons butter
1 (4 pound) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 carrots, cut in chunks
paprika to taste
8 slices bacon
2 cups beef broth

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Rub butter over the entire chicken. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Place the carrots inside the cavity, and tie the legs together. Place the chicken breast side up in a roasting pan. Lay bacon strips across the top of the chicken, and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle with paprika. Pour the beef broth into the roasting pan - do not pour over the bacon.
Roast for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, the reduce the heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Baste with some of the broth. Continue to roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (82 degrees C) when taken in the thickest part of the thigh. Baste every 15 minutes with the broth.
Remove the bacon and discard toothpicks. Roast the chicken for 15 more minutes to brown the skin. Transfer to a serving platter, and remove the ties. You may eat the bacon, but it is best to discard the carrots.

Holiday Treat Boxes

2008-12-04T13:56:00.005-07:00

This year for Christmas, Im giving out these cute little boxes of home made holiday goodies. I found these little boxes at Walmart in a pack of 6 for $9. They each come with 4 compartments, plus matching tissue paper and a to/from sticker. They are made by Martha Stewart and I just love them! In these ones, I did Cinnamon Roasted Almonds, Saltine Toffees, White Chocolate Holiday Bark and Spiced Chili Pecans. These cinnamon roasted almonds taste like the ones you can get at the fair. Sooo yummy and sugary. And the spiced pecans are great too, really savory with a kick.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds (original recipe from allrecipes.com)

1 egg white
1 teaspoon cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white, water and vanilla until very foamy and frothy. Pour in the almonds and mix until well coated. In a smaller bowl, mix the sugars, cinnamon and salt together, pour over the almonds and mix until all coated well. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 1 hr, stirring every 15 minutes.

Spiced Chili Pecans (from allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon chili powder

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix butter, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper, salt and garlic powder. Mix in the pecans and mix until well coated. Then mix in the chili powder and toss until coated. Spread onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, watching closely so the spices dont burn.

Blueberry Pie

2008-12-03T20:02:00.006-07:00

We went up to my Dad's in Prescott for Thanksgiving this year. It was a nice time. I brought blueberry pie! I found these cute little leaf cutters from Williams and Sonoma. They make it so easy to dress up the pie crusts. This recipe is from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

Blueberry Pie (Better Homes and Gardens)

Refrigerated pie crust for double crust pie
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice
5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Roll out dough for double crust pie. Line a 9 inch pie plate with half of the dough.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the 3/4 cup sugar, flour, lemon peel, and lemon juice. Add blueberries. Gently toss until coated. If using frozen blueberries, let mixture stand 15 to 30 minutes or till fruit is partially thawed, but still icy.

Transfer berry mixture into pastry lined pie plate. Trim pastry to edge of pie plate. Cut slits (or use cut outs or cookie cutters) in remaining pastry, place on filling and seal. Crimp edge as desired.

To prevent over browning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes for fresh fruit, or 50 minutes for frozen. Remove foil. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes more, or until top is golden. Cool on a wire rack. Serves 8-10.

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

2008-12-03T14:52:00.004-07:00

Here is another holiday treat that is super quick and easy to throw together. Seriously, it took all of 5 minutes to make from start to finish. I got this recipe from Good Things Catered Her recipe has golden raisins but I didn't have any so I used semi sweet chocolate chips instead. It was so yummy. These are so pretty when they are cut up. A perfect addition to your treat gift giving.

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

16 ounces good white chocolate, chopped
chopped walnuts
dried cranberries
chocolate chips

In a microwave safe dish, add the white chocolate and microwave for 30 seconds. Take out and stir until the dish no longer feels warm. Then microwave and stir in 15 second intervals, until smooth and creamy. Pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread out. Top with nuts, cranberries and chocolate chips, pushing everything down into the white chocolate to adhere it. Let cool for 2 hrs at room temp, or 30 minutes in the fridge. Break or cut into the sizes you want.

Saltine Toffees

2008-12-03T14:36:00.008-07:00

Wow I cant believe I haven't posted since Nov 19! Ive just been so busy. I have several pics taken, and I just need to write out the blog entry and get them posted! Here is a quick one that is so good! These are called Saltine Toffees. I actually got this recipe off a message board I frequent, called The Nest. This recipe was going around a few months back and I bookmarked it. I have no idea who posted the original recipe, so if its yours, let me know and I will edit my entry!

Saltine Toffees

1 package of saltine crackers
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds) about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or pieces

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place crackers onto baking sheet. On Medium low heat, melt butter and brown sugar. Dont stir it until its all melted. Then stir to combine and keep stirring until its bubbly and carmelized, about 3 minutes. Spoon the buttery sugar goo all over the crackers, then top with chopped nuts. Bake in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, then take out and immediatly sprinkle chocolate chips over all the crackers. Let cool, then store in air tight containers.

Honey Lime Tuna Steaks

2008-11-19T08:52:00.003-07:00

This is a recipe off the Old Bay Seasoning website. It was pretty good. Definitely liked the flavor, but I over cooked the fish so it was too dried out. I will make it again though, and not overcook the fish.

Honey Lime Tuna

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons McCormick® Basil Leaves
1 pound tuna steaks

Directions

In a small bowl, mix oil, OLD BAY, lime juice, honey and basil. Place tuna steaks in large resealable plastic bag and add marinade. Turn to coat well.

Marinate in fridge 20 minutes (longer for extra flavor).

Transfer fish to grill and discard any leftover marinade. Broil or grill fish over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes per side or until desired doneness. (Tuna is more moist when its center is still rosy-pink after cooking.)

Steak Soup in the crock pot

2008-11-17T16:16:00.006-07:00

The first time I had steak soup was when I was living in Kansas City. Steak soup is popular there with all the bbq restaurants everywhere. Its so savory and filling! Perfect for a cold day. Perfect for a warm day too, as it was 80 degrees here! I still crave winter foods, even though we don't have much of a winter. All of the measurements on my recipe are not exact. I eyeball everything. Try to base the ingredients on what you have in your fridge or pantry.

Steak Soup

1 1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh green beans
2-3 potatoes, 1 inch dice
3-4 cups left over steak, finely chopped
3 cans beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp pepper
1 tsp dried Thyme
salt to taste
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine

Add all ingredients except 1 can of beef broth, flour and margarine to a crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs, or as long as you need to. About 1 hr before serving, melt butter in a small sauce pan, add flour. Make a roux and cook for a minute. Add 1/2 can beef broth and whisk until smooth and no lumps. Add the rest of the broth and stir to combine. Heat until boiling again, then pour it into the crock pot and stir. Let it simmer on high another hour, to thicken up. Season with salt to taste. Enjoy.

Antipasti skewers

2008-11-16T12:40:00.004-07:00

Here is another easy and quick appetizer to whip up. For these, its just a cherry tomato, a slice of salami cut in half and a chunk of Mozzerella cheese. I served them with a store bought pesto for dipping. They would also be great with an olive on them too!

Good times and finger foods

2008-11-15T21:41:00.005-07:00

I have to apologize to my readers and fellow bloggers about my lack of blogging lately. I really did think that as Fall arrived, Id be on a fall baking and blogging spree. Its just not the case. I have been so busy with other things that arent nearly as fun as cooking. I promise that soon I will be back on the bandwagon.

Last week, we had dinner at a good friends house and they introduced us to these yummy gems. I think these are one of the best appetizers Ive ever had. I made them tonight for my family and we ate them up in about 5 minutes. I was wishing Id made more. But in all actuality, Im glad I didnt, as these are fattening and full of everything we dont want to be eating too much of. I got this recipe from my good friend, Beth. She got it from recipezaar.com and the original recipe is here. Beth served it to us with a yummy honey mustard sauce that is so easy to whip up and just perfect with this dish.

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts with Honey Mustard dipping sauce (adapted from recipezaar.com)

For the chestnuts:

3 cans sliced water chestnuts
1 lb bacon
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Mix the soy sauce with the brown sugar and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Marinate the water chestnuts in the soy sauce mixture for at least an hour. Cut the bacon in half crosswise. Take 3 slices of marinated chestnuts and wrap a half slice of bacon around each stack of 3. Secure with a toothpick. Place in a large baking dish that is sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

For the dipping sauce:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup mustard

Whisk the honey with the mustard until well combined. Serve immediately.

Baked Potato Soup

2008-11-05T21:41:00.005-07:00

I had a bag of potatoes in my pantry and I decided to make some soup. I love baked potato soup with all the fixins...sliced green onions, crisp bacon, cheese and sour cream. This recipe was pretty good. I was really excited about this soup when I made it. When we sat down and ate it, I thought it was missing something. I realized that I had forgot to put in the 1 cup of sour cream! That is huge! I was bummed about that, but easily remedied the problem by adding a nice big dollop of daisy to each of our bowls. Once stirred in, it was nice and creamy, just like I had imagined. I didnt have any sharp chedder, so I used a colby jack blend and I really think that a sharp cheese would have really made the flavors pop. Next time I make this, I will definitely use an extra sharp chedder...no pre-grated cheeses will work as well. I used turkey bacon. I love turkey bacon when its cooked really crisp. I almost cant tell that its not pig!! What I really loved about this soup that is different from other creamy soups Ive made is that it doesnt use any fat at all for the base. No butter or oil. Just whisk the milk into the flour and heat until creamy and thick. I will try to use that method in the future when Im throwing a soup together from scratch or even a sauce. I served this one up with some chewy sourdough with butter. It was so good!

Baked Potato Soup from Cooking Light

4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)

6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1 teaspoon salt (I used over a Tbsp)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (again I used more)

1 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I forgot this. Doh!)

3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided

6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I used turkey bacon)

Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

2008-10-29T15:28:00.003-07:00

I love carving pumpkins and toasting the seeds. Here is my simple recipe.

1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds, cleaned and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
course salt to taste
paprika
pepper

In a small bowl combine the pumpkin seeds and oil, toss to coat. Add lots of salt and a dash of pepper and paprika. Spread onto a foil lined cookie sheet and bake in 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. Watch them carefully so they dont burn. I usually stir them once or twice while cooking.

Dump Cake

2008-10-20T19:59:00.003-07:00

I had a sweet tooth the other night so I threw together this easy pantry dessert. I got this recipe for Dump Cake from a blog I recently found, Fancy Toast.

Dump Cake

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple
1 16 oz. can cherry pie filling
1 package yellow white cake mix
1 stick of butter, cut into thin slices (or just melt it if you’re really pressed for time)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Dump crushed pineapple and juices into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Dump cherries.
Dump cake mix.
Dump butter slices (or drizzle the melted butter over top of the cake mix).
Bake for 30-50 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden-brown.
Serve as is, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Other variations include:
Omit the pineapple juice, use 2 cans of cherry pie filling, and use chocolate cake mix instead of yellow. Mmmmmm....that sounds delicious!
Or, sprinkle some sweetened, shredded coconut before you add the butter. You can also sprinkle chopped pecans before you add the butter.
Or, use apple pie filling and a mix for spice cake.
The options are endless!

Crash Hot Potatoes

2008-10-20T19:58:00.005-07:00

Ive been seeing this recipe all over a message board I frequent on The Nest. Its originally from a great blog, Pioneer Woman Cooks. Finally, after reading so many great reviews, I had to give them a go. I'm so glad I did. This is my newest favorite way to serve a side of potatoes.

These little babies were sooo good. We had them as a side to meat, but they would be wonderful as breakfast potatoes as well. They were so creamy and crunchy. So simple with just salt, pepper and a fresh herb. I topped ours with sour cream. Carl loved these. I did too. They were even great right out of the fridge and reheated well in the microwave. So so yummy. Definitely adding these to our normal rotation.

Crash Hot Potatoes

New Potatoes (or other small, round potato)
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Whatever herb you like (I used rosemary and thyme)

Directions (Written by Pioneer Woman, excluding her original commentary)

Begin by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make, and cook them until they’re fork-tender. Next, generously drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan. When the potatoes are tender, place them on the cookie sheet giving them plenty of room to spread out. Next, grab your potato masher and gently press down on the potato until it slightly mashes. Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and finish flattening it. Of course, you don’t want to absolutely smash it into the pan—you want it almost to resemble a cookie. Repeat until all are flattened. And really, I don’t know why you couldn’t use the bottom of a glass for this step if you don’t have a potato masher. The surface might not be as textured and interesting, but I think it still might work. Next, brush the tops rather generously with olive oil. Next, grab some Kosher salt. You can use regular salt, but I’d really recommend using kosher. It adheres to the potatoes more easily and really flavors them nicely without getting too salty. Remember: potatoes need salt. Don’t skimp! Be ye ever as generous with fresh ground black pepper. Now, you can grab some chives…or thyme…or whatever herbs you have available. Whatever herb you use, just chop it pretty finely and sprinkle over the top. Now throw them onto the top rack of a very hot (450-degree) oven, and cook them for 20-25 minutes. Or until they’re golden and crispy and sizzling.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-10-16T21:14:00.004-07:00

Id been promising Sam that we'd make some cookies for a few days. Finally I bought some chocolate chips and we were set. We made old fashioned chocolate chip cookies. I used the recipe that Ive always used since I was a kid...the original chocolate chip recipe, first made by Ruth Wakefield at her Toll House Inn, starting in 1930 back in Massachusetts. Its amazing to me that this popular cookie, which Id say is the most all-American cookie, was just invented in the last 100 years. If you'd like to know more about the history of Toll House chocolate chip cookies, you can click here. These are the best and easiest cookies to make from scratch. They really are better when you make them yourself. I think its the love that goes into them that makes them taste so good, along with fresh flour, butter and other ingredients. I know that now days, there are all the refrigerated cookie doughs you can buy, that make cookie making a snap. Sure they make your home smell good when baking and they serve the purpose of providing home baked cookies, but they just aren't quite as good as cookies made fresh from scratch.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto un-greased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Mummy Dogs

2008-10-15T22:13:00.007-07:00

I thought these were really cute when I saw them on Picky Palate. I searched online and found that people made these with either refrigerated crescent dough, or bread stick dough. Just cut the dough to make long thin strips that are easy to wrap around the hot dogs. I used crescent dough, and they were really yummy. Sam loved these because he could help me cut the dough and wrap it on the hot dogs. Definitely a fun thing for kids.

1 package of Pillsbury crescent rolls
8 hot dogs

Roll out the dough and press the seams to create 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle into 8 strips. Use 4 strips per hot dog and wrap the dough around in both directions. Make sure there is a spot that can be the "face". Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or a nice golden brown. Use mustard and ketchup to make little eyes on the mummy faces.

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-10-01T22:13:00.001-07:00

I went to a Farmer's Market today and picked up tons of locally grown organic veggies and fruits. I had some chicken thawing in the fridge so when I got home I decided to make a chicken pot pie. I adapted my recipe from my mom's America's Test Kitchen cook book. Basically I subbed fresh green beans for the frozen peas. (I also added a handful or 1/2 cup of frozen mixed veggies, to make up for the peas). I didn't have any sherry on hand or heavy cream, so I improvised and increased the chicken broth and used some half and half. The filling was so yummy, but not thick enough. Next time I will increase the flour to 1/3 cup and let it cook and simmer a minute longer before I start whisking in the liquids. I used the recipe for a single crust pie dough, but refrigerated pie crust could be an easy substitute. I didn't have any on hand, so I made one. Its really easy to make a great crust in a snap. This was yummy. Carl is not a fan of comfort food, but I am. He just has to suck it up and eat it sometimes, since I do all the cooking. Tonight, he had seconds...so I know it passed his test.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 Tbsp butter
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves (I used frozen pureed garlic)
1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh minced
1/4 cup flour (Id increase it to 1/3 cup)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup half & half or heavy cream
pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp dried parsley, or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped
1 Single Crust Pie Dough (recipe below)

If making the pie crust, make it first and let it chill for at least an hour while you make the pie filling.

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
4 Tbsp butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and chilled
4-5 Tbsp ice water

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter. Once it is like course crumbs, cut in the butter. Using a wooden spoon, add 1 Tbsp water at a time and mix vigorously until the dough begins to come together...about 4 Tbsp of water or more. When the dough just comes together in a ball, press it together tightly and wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. When ready to use, let sit out for 15 minutes to soften before rolling out.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large dutch oven, melt and butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, deglazing the pan. Stir in the rest of the broth, the half & half. Simmer until the mixture is thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the green beans and parsley. Cook for another minute. Pour the mixture into a pie dish or a small casserole dish.

Roll out the pie dough into a 10 inch circle and place on top of the filling. Trim the edges. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly..about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

2008-10-01T18:03:00.006-07:00

I was in the mood for something easy tonight. We don't eat a lot of casseroles around here since they just dont usually have that healthy of ingredients. I grew up on them and happen to like many different "cream of crap" casseroles. I feel like the soups are pretty much interchangeable in most casserole recipes. I usually use Cream of Chicken, Mushroom or Celery. What I love about casseroles is you can make it in the morning and stick it in the oven at dinner time. Perfect for during the week.

This turned out yummy. I used a cup of leftover chopped broccoli from last night. I also subbed 1 cup shredded chicken, since it was the last of the roasted chicken from a few days ago. I was worried about mixing chicken and tuna, but really it was quite nice. It toned down the tuna taste some, which is good for me.

Tuna Noodle Casserole (my usual recipe, minus the changes)

2 cans tuna
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2-3/4 cup milk (play with the consistency till you find what you like)
1 cup frozen mixed veggies, thawed
1 cup chopped left over veggies
2 cups cooked pasta
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
lots of salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 1 tbsp melted butter

Mix the tuna, soup, milk, veggies, pasta and cheese. If the sauce is too thick, add more milk until its pretty saucy. The pasta will absorb a lot of the liquid when it cooks. Season with plenty of salt and pepper. Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs. Bake 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with a fresh green salad for a nice midweek meal.

Chicken and Veggie Soup

2008-09-29T15:56:00.006-07:00

Today I decided to make chicken soup, even though its 100 degrees outside. I have lots of fresh veggies from the farmer's market, and chicken leftover from the whole roasted chicken I made yesterday. That just screams great soup to me. I LOVE soup and its one of the most healthy things we can eat.

Usually when I make soups, they are a bit of experimentation. I pretty much throw in whatever I have instead of following a recipe. Same with the spices. If I don't have fresh herbs, then I mostly use salt and pepper to season soups, I don't like lots of dried spices.

Chicken and Veggie Soup

make the broth:

1 chicken carcass
a few sprigs of fresh herbs (I used Thyme and Rosemary), don't bother chopping
several bay leaves

Put the carcass into a large stock pot and fill with water. Add the herbs and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Remove the carcass and herbs, strain if you like. ( I usually don't strain it). I also pour off several cups, usually 4 or more into a bowl to cool and bag up and freeze for later uses. Then what is left, is more than enough for a lot of soup.

make the soup:

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 potato diced
2 small zucchini sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
6 ounces egg noodles

In a small skillet, heat oil and saute onions until softened. Add the garlic and cook about 15 more seconds, then add it to the broth that is remaining in the stock pot.

To the remaining chicken broth in the pot, add carrots, celery. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let it cook for awhile, as little as 30 minutes, but longer if you like. Then add the chicken and continue to simmer. 30 minutes before serving, add potatoes and zucchini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 15 minutes before serving, add egg noodles. Serve hot when the pasta is al dente.

Whole Roasted Chicken

2008-09-28T14:26:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, my mom gave me a 5 lb whole chicken. Ive never roasted a whole chicken before. I decided that today would be our roasted chicken day. I set out to find a yummy recipe and after looking at several places, America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, and Allrecipes.com..I figured out how I was gonna roast this bird up.

I decided to make an herb butter and pack that between the skin and the breasts, and I rubbed it all over the outside and inside too. Then I rubbed lots of salt and pepper on it. I stuffed it with fruits and veggies then roasted it up. It turned out sooo good. Way better than I ever expected. It was so flavorful, we didnt even need salt and pepper to season it up on the table. Very moist and juicy. I cant believe how easy this was, and Im so excited about making chicken salad sandwiches, chicken soup, and lots of fresh chicken and veggie stock to freeze for later use, out of this one chicken.

This was just so easy and wonderful. I cant wait to roast chickens up with all different stuffings and seasonings. My dog Dude loved it, just by the smell. He didnt get much, but he was sure staring at it...intensely. I gave him and Scotty a few pieces of skin after dinner. I love the pic how Dude is just staring at the chicken. I didnt even notice him there at first. LOL

Here is my wonderful recipe that turned out so good:

1 5 lb whole chicken
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped fresh Thyme
salt and pepper
veggies and fruit for stuffing (this adds a lot of flavor to the chicken and stock. I used 1 carrot, 1 celery, 1 apple halved, 2 long sprigs of fresh rosemary)
1-2 cups water or chicken broth (I used water)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Mix butter and thyme in a bowl until well blended.

Cut up veggies for the stuffing. Quarter a carrot stick and a celery rib. Halve and apple, add a couple sprigs of fresh herbs. I used rosemary. Stuff it all into the cavity. You can use any fruits and veggies you like, just fill it up.

Near the cavity, put your fingers between the skin over the breast and meat and seperate the skin from the bird, but being careful not to tear the skin. Make 2 large pockets over the breasts. Using a spoon or your hands, stuff the herb butter into the pocket between the skin and meat. Pat the skin down, rubbing the butter all over. Then rub herb butter over entire chicken. Season chicken with plenty of salt and pepper, inside and out.

Roast breast side up in a roasting pan, with a v shaped rack to hold the bird. Make sure the rack is greased with cooking spray. Roast the chicken for 2-3 hrs, basting every 30 minutes with drippings.

Its done when it registers 185 degrees on a meat thermometer stuck into the biggest part of the thigh.

Beef and Fresh Veggies over Polenta

2008-09-26T22:15:00.003-07:00

I know this isn't the most beautiful picture of food, but it really was good! Its loaded with fresh green beans and zucchini. The veggie filled meat sauce tops a yummy creamy Parmesan polenta. I have tried polenta with my family several ways and they did not like it, but this time around...everyone ate it. Carl even said it was OK. I love polenta, so I'm happy to have found a way to get it into the rotation. I got this from this month's Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.

The next day, I took the meat and veggie mixture and minced it all up with a food chopper, into a pulp pretty much. Then I froze it into 1/2 cup servings in freezer bags. Its so easy to grab a bag and thaw it in warm water. Its thawed by the time you have pasta or rice cooked and makes for an easy, healthy, veggie packed meal for kids.

Beefy Polenta and Veggie Pie (adapted from Rachael Ray)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

One small zucchini, thinly sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 1/4 pounds ground beef

Salt and pepper

One 14.5-ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

1 cup instant polenta

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

One 10-ounce package frozen green beans, thawed and drained

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and zucchini and cook, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lower the heat and simmer.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups water and 3/4 teaspoon salt to a boil. Whisk in the polenta until thickened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the half and half, Parmesan and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth; pour into a large casserole dish.
3. Stir the green beans into the beef mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture over the polenta and top with more Parmesan.

Bacon and Egg Mini Muffins

2008-09-26T21:29:00.004-07:00

These are a great breakfast that can be made ahead and then frozen in individual baggies for rushed mornings. I love these muffins because they aren't so eggy, and more like the texture of muffins, instead of an omlette. Charlie hates eggs, but he will eat these cause they have more of a bread texture. I adapted this recipe from a recipe in a little Bisquick handout I grabbed from the grocery store years ago. The original recipe is called Shrimp Tarts, but I used bacon instead of shrimp, and cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan. I also added another egg and bit more Bisquick and I'm glad I did because it was the perfect amount for 24 mini muffins. Next time I make these, and it will be soon, I will add another egg or 2 and probably make them in regular sized muffin tins.

Bacon and Egg Mini Muffins

2/3 cup original Bisquick Mix
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 eggs
2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2-2/3 cup cooked chopped bacon
4 medium green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oven to 400 degrees and spray 24 small muffin cups.

Whisk together Bisquick, half and half, yogurt, Worcestershire sauce and eggs in a small bowl until blended.

Divide the bacon, green onions and cheese in the bottom of each muffin cup. Spoon a Tbsp of the egg mixture into each muffin cup.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove from pan and either eat right away, or cool completely and put into bags and refrigerate for several days, or freeze for 3 months.

Spicy Pumpkin Muffins

2008-09-24T15:56:00.004-07:00

These are so yummy. Sam and Charlie are eating them as I type this out. Sam helped me make these babies and now my house smells delicious! I really like these muffins because they have whole wheat flour, and all the spices. I love the ginger and cloves in this! Gives it a little zing!

adapted from a recipe by Joe at Culinary in the Country

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup low fat sour cream (I subbed plain yogurt)
1/4 cup milk (I used Soy)
1 & 1/2 to 2/3 cup mashed pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours and the next 6 ingredients (through cloves) and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars. Add the yogurt, milk, pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Mix well.

Add the dry flour mixture into the wet and stir just until combined. The batter will be thick.

Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Spoon muffin batter into each cup and place in the oven for 25-35 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.

(I also sprinkled on a crumb mix I made of brown sugar, white sugar, flour and butter.)

12 Big muffins

E for Excellence Award!

2008-09-23T12:55:00.004-07:00

What a nice suprise yesterday when I found out Id received an E for Excellence blog award. Thank you Shawna! If you havent checked out her blog yet, she has a lot of delicious stuff at Daily Deliciousness! Her blog was just started this year (like mine) so go check it out.

Now to nominate a few blogs that have caught my attention recently:

Milk & Honey: Great recipes and stories to go with them.
Sunshine in my Soul: not a cooking blog, but a really inspirational mom of 4 kids just writing about their lives and lots of GREAT photography and decorating ideas.
The Expatriate's Kitchen: A great blog about all things food related! Some great recipes, some great stories, information and articles.
Mrs Sac's Purple Kitchen: well she has some adorable cats. Lots and lots of great recipes and photos of those recipes. Lots of fresh produce, which I like a lot.

Now it is your turn:

Please find at least 10 more blogs, of any kind that you love to read. Write a post about the blogs you picked, linking back to me and to them. Once you’ve posted, return here to let me know your post done and be sure to let them know too!!! (If you don't come up with 10, that's fine too!)

Ringing in the Fall: Autumn Cheesecake

2008-09-21T14:39:00.010-07:00

This was the recipe of the day on Allrecipes.com a couple days ago and I kept checking back to it all day looking at the picture. I could almost smell it from the computer screen!

I have been itching to get into some fall cooking, even though its not really fall weather here yet. Its hard when I go to the grocery store and see pumpkins and all the other fall stuff. I caved on this one though and I am so glad I did. We took a trip to Walmart yesterday so I could pick up a spring form pan. I ended up with a set of 3 for $11.00! I think that's a steal! But I'm not sure what kind of quality these pans are, but they are Wilton and the cake did turn out FAB! This made my house smell like spicy and sweet fall. We all loved it! Carl is not a huge cheesecake fan, but he went back for seconds on this one. So did I. Charlie wanted seconds, he was standing at the counter screaming and trying to climb up the side of the cabinet to get more. We decided that I have to make this for Thanksgiving this year. This was definitely a 10!

The only modifications I made was that I sliced up my apples really thin and I tossed them in the sugar and cinnamon, then microwaved them for 2 minutes, to soften them a bit. I was worried that the cheesecake would cook up but the apples would be too firm. This worked great and the apples were the perfect soft consistency for this cheesecake.

Autumn Cheesecake (from allrecipes.com)

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and melted butter; press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Mix at medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in vanilla; pour filling into the baked crust.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Toss the cinnamon-sugar with the apples to coat. Spoon apple mixture over cream cheese layer and sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped pecans.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes. With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Chill cake before serving.

Caprese Salad

2008-09-19T16:03:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite salads. I love to sprinkle a little balsamic vinaigrette over the top right before digging in.

3-4 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices
enough fresh basil to cover the tops of each tomato
sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, as many slices as tomatoes
olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper

Set the tomatoes on a plate, top with a basil leave, then a slice of cheese. When they are all finished, arrange them how you prefer, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving to get the tomatoes cold.

Crispy Polenta with Cinnamon and Syrup

2008-09-17T22:03:00.003-07:00

I love polenta. I just discovered it recently and I was so bummed that Carl didnt like it at all. I tried it several ways and he wasnt keen on any of it! Bummer! It looks like I have to add Polenta to the growing list of things that I only make when he is gone, or when I am up late at night alone, craving a midnight snack.

I love polenta sliced up and fried in olive oil until its crispy on the outside, but creamy on the inside. Then sprinkled with some cinnamon a pat of butter and some maple syrup....YUMMY!

Crispy Polenta with Cinnamon and Syrup

Sliced cold polenta about 1/2 inch thick
1 Tbsp olive oil
a dash of cinnamon
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a cast iron skillet until hot and almost smoking. Fry polenta slices for several minutes on both sides until golden and crispy. Drizzle syrup onto a plate, top with crispy polenta slices. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top and dab with a pat of butter. Enjoy.

Crispy Chicken Parmesan

2008-09-17T20:51:00.002-07:00

I used to work at The Olive Garden and one of my favorite dishes they served was Chicken Parmesan. I loved how crispy it was, but the chicken inside that crispy crust was dry and bland.

This Chicken Parmesan that I made turned out way better than The Olive Garden. The key to a good Chicken Parmesan or other similar dishes like Eggplant Parmesan, or Schnitzel, is a CRISPY crust. Not a soggy greasy crust that falls off before you take the first bite. I think the secret to a crispy crust lies in the temp of the oil when you fry it, and also the way you bread it. I like to dip mine in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. And the oil needs to be almost smoking hot before you put the chicken into the pan. And don't overcrowd the pan. Just a few pieces at a time, or the oil temp goes down and they don't fry and crisp up properly. Keep the finished ones in a warm oven while the rest are frying.

My mother in law came over, unexpectedly tonight and had dinner with us. She said this was Sooo good. I was thinking I kinda slacked since I used a jarred marinara sauce, but I do have to admit, the sauce was yummy and the chicken came out perfectly...it was good!!

Chicken Parmesan

1 lb chicken breast cutlets
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
3 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
enough oil to fill a pan up 1/4 inch
1 jar prepared marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Pound out the chicken breasts so that they are 1/2 inch thick. Salt and pepper both sides.

In a shallow dish, mix flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. In another shallow dish whisk the eggs with the water.

Heat oil in a pan until hot and almost smoking. Dip the chicken cutlets into the flour, then the egg mixture, then into the bread crumbs...pressing to make the crumbs stick to the chicken. Fry for several minutes on each side. When golden brown and crisp, remove from pan onto a paper towel lined baking dish. Keep hot in a 200 degree oven until all chicken in fried. Increase oven temp to 435. When chicken is cooked, put into a greased baking dish and spoon marinara sauce over the cutlets. Top with cheese. Put back into oven and bake 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and browned. Serve with spaghetti and marinara sauce on the side.

Mahi Mahi with Almond and fresh Thyme crust

2008-09-16T17:58:00.004-07:00

What a great dinner this turned out to be. I didnt follow a recipe, just made it up as I went. I loved the almond and thyme in this. Gave it such a great flavor! We like our fish seasoned simply with a little salt and pepper and maybe some lemon or fresh herbs. This was so simple and fresh. For the bread crumbs, I used a slice of Hawaiian Delight bread, by Alpine Valley Bread Co...some of my favorite bread ever. It is white bread with little shreds of coconut and dried pineapple. Perfect for Mahi Mahi. I served this with grilled veggie skewers and Jasmine Rice with Tom Yum sauce, from Trader Joes, and a lemon wedge. It all came together nicely and was a great combo!

Mahi Mahi steaks with Almond and fresh Thyme crust.

2 Mahi Mahi steaks
salt, pepper and olive oil

Almond topping:
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp chopped lemon zest
dash of salt and pepper
1-2 tsp butter cut into small pieces

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Put both Mahi Mahi steaks onto baking sheet and season both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Brush the tops with olive oil, or spray with cooking spray.

To make the topping for the crust, take a slice of fresh white bread and toast it, then process it in the food processor to make crumbs. Use 1/4 cup of the crumbs and mix with almonds, cheese, thyme, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste. Press 1/2 of the topping onto the tops of each Mahi Mahi steak. Top the crust with little pats of butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork and the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Peach Crisp

2008-09-14T18:58:00.004-07:00

A couple days ago, my neighbor gave me a bunch of peaches that she had shipped in from Utah. I was so excited to have something to inspire me to try a new recipe. Ive been so busy lately, I just havent had time to try out new stuff that is blog worthy. We've been eating the usual standby's, and as good as they are, I get antsy to try new recipes when its been awhile. I found this recipe for Peach Crisp in my mom's America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I like the ingredients of a crisp more than a cobbler. Im not for such a huge floury crust. So I added some granola to the topping to crunch it up even more. This was so sweet and yummy. I thought it would be hard to core and peel the peaches, but it was a cinch. This definitely would mark my first "Fall" recipe. My house smelled beautiful today...all spicy and fruity, like Fall should smell! I am so happy the weather is cooling down and my kitchen wont be so hot...I cant wait to cook more fall stuff!

From The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

Peach Crisp

Topping:
6 Tbsp Flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
(I added 1/2 cup granola to this)

Filling:
3 lbs peaches (7-9)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (or to taste based on sweetness of peaches)
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest (I omitted)
2 tsp corn starch

1. For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and granola together. Add the butter and toss to coat. Pinch the butter chunks and dry mixture between your fingertips until the mixture looks like crumbly wet sand. Add the nuts and toss to incorporate, Refrigerate the topping for at least 15 minutes before baking.

2. For the filling: Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the peaches, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and corn starch together and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Distribute the chilled topping evenly over the fruit.

3. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham

2008-09-02T21:02:00.007-07:00

My mom came over the other day and left one of her cookbooks here for me to look at. The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. Its a compilation of 1200 recipes that have been tested with different and sometimes mediocre kitchen equipment, and even wrong ingredients, to come up with tried and true recipes that work the first time.

I was flipping through it with Sam and every single page, he would point to pictures and ask, "whats that?" And I would lovingly answer his questions. Well, you can imagine that after a few chapters of that, it was time to be done with looking through cook books. I did make it through the pasta section and I came across this recipe that I had almost everything on hand, so I tried it for dinner tonight.

This recipe took less than the 25 minutes it says it takes. It was easy and actually pretty light compared to other creamy pasta dishes Ive made. Carl even went back for 2nds, and he normally hated creamy pasta dishes. The pic just doesnt do this justice. It looked and tasted great!

Creamy Ziti with Peas and Ham
(adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 ounces thick sliced ham, diced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb small pasta (I used mini ziti, the recipe called for mini shells)
2 cups frozen peas
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (half of one lemon squeezed)

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil for the pasta.

2. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan, butter, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, in a serving bowl large enough to hold the pasta.

3. Cook the ham in the oil in a 12 inch skillet until the ham is cooked through and browned. Drain onto a plate lined with paper towels, reserving the oil.

4. Cook the onions in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Remove from heat and add to the ricotta mixture, stir to mix well.

5. When the water is boiling, stir in 1 tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook stirring often, until the pasta is almost tender, but still a little firm to the bite. Add the peas during the final 30 seconds of the pasta cooking.

6. Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the shells and peas. Whisk the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water into the ricotta mixture until smooth. Add the shells and peas and toss to coat. Add the reserved ham, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Save the remaining 1/4 cup pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce before serving.

Yummy Grilled Veggie Skewers

2008-09-01T15:55:00.008-07:00

This is a really easy, healthy way to eat veggies with grilled meats. In a little while, our neighbors are coming over to swim and grill and I'm making the Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon that I recently posted about. I want to tell you how I make these wonderful veggie skewers. Its so easy and so yummy! A delicious way of getting more fresh veggies into our diets.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves of garlic
veggies chopped into 1 inch pieces such as onions, bell peppers, whole cherry tomatoes, zucchini, whole mushrooms.
bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Just wash the rosemary and set aside, you don't need to chop it up or anything. Smash the garlic cloves and peel off the outside layer and discard. Don't chop the cloves, just leave them smashed. Heat the olive oil on low heat and add the rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves. When it gets hot enough for the herbs to start sizzling, remove from heat and stir a bit to cool it down then just let it sit and cool for several hrs, letting all that fragrant rosemary and garlic infuse into the oil

When you're ready to make your veggie skewers, assemble the skewers with all the veggies, then brush them with the rosemary garlic infused oil on all sides. Season with plenty of salt and fresh ground pepper. They are ready to go on the grill. You can also cover them and let them sit and marinate for up to 2 hrs before grilling.

Ortega Taco Casserole

2008-08-30T08:42:00.005-07:00

Another recipe I spotted in a blog I read, Milk & Honey. Anyways, this is a pretty classic taco casserole. It came off the back of the Ortega Taco Shell box. Its been awhile since I tried a recipe off the box like this. It was actually very good. We ended up having company when I served this and I was happy when everyone kept telling me it was really good. I added green bell peppers to the onions when I was browning the meat and instead of green chilies, I added sliced black olives. Then I served it with fresh tomatoes and green onions and sour cream. We had a nice big green salad with this too. It was good and there were no leftovers. A nice change from regular tacos.

Ortega Taco Casserole (original recipe)

1 pound ground beef
1 cup (1 small) chopped onion (I also added 1 cup diced bell pepper)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup water

1 cup Taco Sauce

1 4 oz can sliced black olives
1 package Taco Seasoning Mix

1 package (12) Ortega® Taco Shells or (12) Ortega® White Corn Taco Shells, broken, divided
2 cups Mild Cheddar Cheese, divided

Chopped tomatoes (optional)

Sliced green onions (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375º F.

Cook beef, onion (and bellpeppers) and garlic in a large saucepan until beef is browned.

Stir in water, taco sauce, chilies, 1/4 cup olives and seasoning mix.

Let this simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Lay out half of the broken shells on the bottom of a greased 12 x 8-inch baking dish.

Cover with half of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese, then repeat with remaining taco shells, meat sauce and cheese to create layers of the different ingredients.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Top the casserole with tomatoes and green onions and sour cream.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2008-08-30T08:36:00.004-07:00

Someone posted this recipe on the Nest and I just had to try it out. First I researched it a bit and found that it was posted in tons of discussion boards and lots of bloggers had tried it out already, but all the reviews I read were pretty mixed. So, I spent the 5 minutes it took to whip this baby up. Was it worth the 5 minutes? I have to say no it was not. It was very dense, not light like cake usually is. And it was pretty wet and rubbery, like a sponge that my fork had a hard time cutting. It was very bland and had almost no chocolate flavor at all. It was probably one of the most disgusting cakes Ive ever taken a bite of. And that is all I had, 1 bite and the rest of it went straight into the trash. So I would not recommend trying this one at home. LOL

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons cake flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips(optional)

a small splash of vanilla essence
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla essence, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon and Skewered Veggies

2008-08-26T18:14:00.006-07:00

This was SOOOOOO Good! One of the best meals we've had at home in a long time! The salmon had a wonderful spicy flavor with the rub and a smoky flavor from the cedar. It was nice and tender, but well done. Carl even said its in his top 3 favorites! If you know Carl, you know that he is a terribly picky eater and that is a huge compliment coming from him. I just love when a recipe turns out perfect! Even better than expected! I honestly didnt have high hopes for this, but since I had these Cedar Planks that Carl's uncle bought him a couple years ago, I figured it was finally time to try them out. WOW. What a great way to grill fish. I served this with veggie skewers that I brushed with rosemary infused olive oil and lots of salt and pepper. I also served it with a 50/50 mixture of brown and white jasmine rice, seasoned with soy sauce and pepper.

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon

1 cedar grilling plank, soaked in water for 2-24 hrs

1 1/2 lbs salmon fillets, with skin on one side

salt and pepper to taste
2-4 tsp. Potlatch Seasoning Salmon and Seafood Spice Rub

Soak the grill plank for as long as you can up to 24 hrs. Preheat a grill on Med Low heat to about 350 degrees. Put the plank on the grill and let sit there until it starts smoking, about 15 minutes.

While the plank is heating up, prepare the salmon. Salt and pepper each side, then rub 1-2 tsp seafood spice rub onto each piece of salmon. Lay the salmon on the grilling plank skin side down and close the grill. Cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until done to your liking. We like our salmon pretty well done, so it took about 15 minutes. Salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork.

Summer Veggie Pancakes with Basil Chive Cream

2008-08-24T16:34:00.005-07:00

Here is another great recipe I got from Eggs On Sunday. I love that blog. I swear, every single thing that woman makes, looks mouth watering! I followed her recipe exactly since I had squash, zucchini and carrots. Im sure you could sub any veggies based on what you have. I bet some green onion would be good in this, but I didnt have any. The Basil Chive Cream is really really good. It was my favorite part of this recipe. Just about anything would be good dipped in this sauce and its very easy to make. I will have to keep it in mind for my next veggie tray. I served these as a side with a salad.

For basil chive cream
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For pancakes
3 cups coarsely grated summer squash - mixture of yellow summer squash and zucchini
1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour [I've used white whole wheat flour successfully]
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites
olive oil or canola oil
sea salt

Directions

Make basil chive cream: In the bowl of a food processor or a blender, blend together the sour cream, basil, chives, and salt until smooth and pale green. Chill under you’re ready to serve.

Make pancakes: Place a large colander in your sink. Put the zucchini and yellow squash shreds in the colander and toss with the 1 1/4 teaspoons salt. Let the squash stand at room temperature 20 minutes in the colander, then take handfuls at a time and squeeze them firmly to wring out as much liquid as possible. (If you’d rather, you can put handfuls of it on a kitchen towel or paper towel and firmly blot it dry, but I find the hand method is most effective.) You really want to be sure you get as much water out as you can, otherwise they won’t cook properly. Transfer the drained squash to a large bowl and stir in the 1 cup of shredded carrots, flour, sugar, and pepper.

Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks. Gently fold them into the vegetable mixture.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Work in batches of 3, and scoop about 1/4 cup batter per pancake into the skillet, flattening and smoothing each slightly with the back of a spoon. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides, flipping halfway through. Transfer the cooked pancakes to paper towels while you cook the next batch. When you’re done, sprinkle all the warm pancakes with a little sea salt.

Serve drizzled with some basil chive cream.

Makes 6 medium pancakes, enough for a light dinner for 2 with a salad or other sides.

Banana Cake with Cinnamon Honey Frosting

2008-08-17T14:51:00.005-07:00

My mom bought me the neatest little cake pan yesterday. Its really deep and small, 7 inches across. I was excited to try it out. I think I can make dainty little cakes and desserts with that pan. Anyways, I was searching through blogs today and I found a recipe for banana cupcakes over at Milk & Honey. I decided to try to adapt this one to my cake pan and make us a dessert for tonight.

I wish I would have got a better photo. I actually frosted this cake before it was completely cool and then stuck it in the fridge so it didnt end up looking so great. This cake was really really good. Not as dense as banana bread, more light and fluffy. The frosting was amazing!! Ive never had a banana cake with anything but a caramel glaze on it, so this was a really great change.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting
(original recipe from Martha Stewart)

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

For the Frosting:

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

n a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

Potato Sausage and Red Onion Scramble

2008-08-17T08:18:00.004-07:00

Ive been doing good with using up these fruits and veggies I got through the co-op. This morning I did not disappoint. This turned out so yummy! A lot of times when I'm making scrambled eggs, I tend to stir them too much and it becomes a scrambled mess! This time I was careful not to stir too much. I only stirred enough to get the raw eggs underneath so they could cook up too. I then flipped it over in 3 pieces.

Potato Sausage and Red Onion Scramble

2 T olive oil
1 small baking potato, diced
1/2 of a small red onion
1/2 cup breakfast sausage, cooked and drained and set aside
4 eggs
4 tsp milk or half & half

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the potato in one layer and cook covered for 4-5 minutes or until they are brown on one side. Then stir them, trying to flip them over so they all get browned on the other side. Once they are flipped, sprinkle the red onions on top. Cover again and cook 3 minutes, or until onions are softened. Sprinkle the sausage over the potatoes and onions. Whisk the eggs with the milk or half & half. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently pour over the potatoes and sausage in the pan, being careful not to disturb all the veggies. Cook on medium-low until most of the eggs are set and nicely browned on one side. Flip over and cook an additional minute or so. Enjoy.

Bountiful Baskets Co-op

2008-08-16T10:21:00.004-07:00

Today Carl went and picked up our first basket of organic foods from the co-op. I was very excited about getting involved in this. Well, this is a picture of all of the food we got, except 1 plum which I had to feed to Charlie. We paid $27 for all of these fruits and veggies, all organic. Does this seem like a good deal or not? Carl and I were both expecting to get a lot more than this. But I dont know if this is good for organic produce since we dont usually buy it.

I will say that all of the food is in very good shape and very ripe and smelling wonderful! The plums are really sweet and the strawberries are YUMMY. Im excited about using the lettuce and tomatos for salads. Im not quite sure what I will do with all the red onions or sweet potatos, or the kale. Time to set out on my internet recipe finding adventures! If anyone has any ideas on great ways to use up this stuff, let me know!

Hummus

2008-08-15T15:41:00.004-07:00

Today my sister and her husband came over with his parents and my grandma. We had a nice meal. They are on their way back to Spain now and we will miss them. We ate some good stuff though. I made Chili Lime Grilled Chicken, which I didn't get a picture of. Black Bean Confetti Salad, from a previous entry. My grandma brought a pasta salad. For appetizers, I had shrimp cocktail and Hummus. I decided that I needed to make the hummus.

This was my first time making hummus. I knew I wanted to use dried beans because Ive read that the taste is so much better. I set out to find a yummy, creamy recipe and found this one originally from Cooks Illustrated. I pretty much followed it to a tee, but I forgot to put the whole garbanzo beans on top for garnish. Oh well, it still looked and tasted great! And I made mine in a blender since my food processor is really tiny. Id say for a first attempt is was really good. And nice and healthy too! You cant beat that. I ate the leftovers late last night with celery! YUMMY!

Restaurant Style Hummus

(Cook's Illustrated)

1/4 cup water
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
6 Tablespoons well stirred tahini
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 15 ounce can drained and rinsed chickpeas (I used dried beans, soaked overnight then cooked for 90 minutes)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cayenne
about 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Combine the water and lemon juice in one bowl, and the tahini and oil in another. Set aside about 12 of the whole chickpeas for a garnish.

Put the chickpeas, salt, garlic, cumin, and cayenne in a food processor and process for about 15 seconds. Scrap down the sides of the processor. Then add the lemon water mix through the feed tube with the processor running for about 1 minute. Scrap down the sides several times. Then add the oil and tahini, with the processor running, until the hummus is fluffy.

Put the hummus in a bowl, garnish with the cilantro and whole chickpeas, and drizzle with some olive oil if you want.

Lox and Cucumber Bagel Sandwiches

2008-08-12T14:46:00.003-07:00

When we were on our honeymoon in Maui, we stayed at the Outrigger Resort and they had an awesome breakfast buffet that was included with our room each morning. They had all kinds of food! This is what I got almost every single day. Its also great with thinly sliced red onions, or tomato. This is a breakfast dish that Carl and I really like. I also like it for lunch or a snack...anytime really.

2 Bagels, toasted
4 Tbsp cream cheese
2 tsp capers
4 ounces lox, or smoked salmon
1/4-1/2 of a cucumber sliced (I like about 6 slices per sandwich)

Toast the bagels. Spread 1 Tbsp cream cheese on each half. Sprinkle capers on each half and press into the cream cheese so they stay. Chop up the salmon and divide it among the halves. Top each half with 3 slices of cucumber. Enjoy.

Ciabatta Breakfast Pizzas

2008-08-12T07:52:00.006-07:00

I saw this recipe posted last week to The Way The Cookie Crumbles and I knew I had to try it right away. Especially when I listed off the ingredients to Carl and he said that it really sounds good. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love all types of breakfast foods! Im always looking for something new to throw into my rotation. Well, this is a good one. Definitely rich and a heavier breakfast. Its probably best saved for the weekends. I did brown the sausage last night so it would be easy to throw these babies in the oven today, so it made for a quick weekday breakfast.

Adapted from this recipe.

Ciabatta Breakfast Pizzas

2 pieces of ciabatta bread, longways in half
1 cup browned breakfast sausage
1/2 cup or more of grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs fried over medium

Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and crisp in the oven under the broiler. Once crisp, take out and top with sausage then cheese. Return to the oven until the cheese is melted. While the bread is in the oven, fry the eggs. Serve each pizza with an egg on top. YUM.

Fish baked in Foil Packets and Asparagus with Balsamic Butter

2008-08-11T17:37:00.005-07:00

This is a nice healthy flavorful dinner. Ive been making fish like this for years, it was something my mom always made and one of the first recipes I asked for after moving out on my own. You can use whatever veggies you like, just make sure they are julienned or chopped up small because the fish doesn't cook for long and you don't want the veggies to be too crispy.

The Asparagus is sooo good. The original recipe is from Allrecipes.com and I tweak it just a little bit by switching the amounts of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. I think this dish is already salty enough, I cant imagine having an entire Tablespoon for soy sauce.

Fish Baked in Foil Packets

3-4 white fish fillets (I like mahi mahi or halibut)

2 celery stalks, cut in 3 or 4 pieces, then julienned

2 carrot sticks, cut up and julienned

1/2 of a red bell pepper, julienned

1 lemon

a couple pats of butter

salt, pepper and dill to taste

For each piece of fish, use a large piece of tin foil. Place the fish in the middle of the foil. Season it really good with salt, pepper and dill. Then squeeze lemon juice over it (I used 1/2 lemon for 3 pieces of fish) Slice up the other half of the lemon and set aside. Now arrange equal amounts of veggies onto each piece of fish. Season with more salt and pepper. Throw on a pat of butter and a slice of lemon. Wrap the fish up really good, sealing the top and sides. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter

1 bunch of asparagus

salt and pepper

a drizzle of olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Lay asparagus into a shallow baking dish. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake 375 for 15 minutes. While asparagus is baking, microwave butter in a small dish to melt, then add balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, mix well, pour over asparagus and toss right before serving.

Grilled Polenta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

2008-08-10T12:35:00.005-07:00

This was such a great snack. Actually it was my lunch. Carl went out with Sam and Charlie is taking a nap so I decided to whip something up for myself that was really yummy and enjoy my lunch alone.

I sliced polenta 1/2 inch thick and brushed olive oil on both sides and grilled it for 5-7 minutes per side. Then I topped it with salt and pepper and cheese and fresh tomato sauce. The fresh tomato sauce is common in Spain. You just take a couple whole tomatoes and grate them on a cheese grater. All of the pulp and seeds and juices come out and you are left with the entire peel in your hands, which you toss. Season with salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil and you are ready to eat!

Grilled Polenta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

6 big slices of polenta, 1/2 inch thick.

olive oil

2 small tomatoes, grated to make a fresh sauce

Parmesan or feta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Snickerdoodles

2008-08-09T13:51:00.006-07:00

When cooking with small children, its always best to have all the ingredients ready ahead of time. When Sam knows that we are going to bake together, he gets excited and hounds me to help the entire time Im trying to get stuff set up for him! Today we were bored, so I let him pick out some cookies in a cookbook for us to bake together. After about 3 picks, we finally found one that I happened to have all the ingredients on hand.

So we are going through this process, getting everything mixed up and I get the dough chilled down and the oven heated up. Then I realized I only had maybe 1/2 tsp of cinnamon at the bottom of the jar. I couldnt just pick up and leave to go to the store because Charlie was still napping, so I decided to use pumpkin pie spice instead. They turned out great! Didnt miss the cinnamon at all! I think the pumpkin pie spice has a great combo of spices.

From Baking by Carol Clements

Snickerdoodles

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
5 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)

With an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and continue until fluffy. Beat in eggs, then the milk.

Sift the flour and baking soda over the butter mixture and stir to blend. Stir in the nuts. Refridgerate for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease 2 baking sheets (I used parchment paper).

For the coating, mix the cinnamon with the sugar. Roll tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls, then roll into the cinnamon sugar, coating all sides.

Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets and flatten slightly. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Makes 30 cookies.

Hoisin Mahi Mahi with polenta fries and green beans

2008-08-08T18:50:00.004-07:00

Tonight's meal was really good. I made up a sauce with hoisin and soy sauce and I was planning on grilling these babies, but then I didnt feel like standing outside in the 110 degree heat, so I heated up my kitchen with the oven instead! Anyways, the mahi mahi turned out so good. Just the right amout of sweet and salty and spicy! The sauce was yummy, but could probably be scaled way down. I wrote out the measurements I used, but I had least half of the sauce left over.

I made the polenta fries from some polenta that I made earlier today from scratch that I let set up, then sliced into 1/2 inch slices. I plan on doing a whole entry just on polenta, so I will have the entire recipe there. These polenta fries were just fried in olive oil until crisp, then seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper and topped with parmesan cheese. Yummy! And the green beans were just steamed and tossed in butter, salt and pepper. What a great meal. Even Sam at every single bite, so that means it was a good one.

Hoisin Mahi Mahi

4 mahi mahi fillets, 1/2 inch thick
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 T sugar

Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper.

Whisk together the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, sesame oil and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Lightly brush the sauce onto both sides of the fish. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Milk Pops

2008-07-29T14:17:00.001-07:00

I make these for my kids all the time because they are sooo easy to throw together and because they love them. All they are is chocolate milk, frozen. I got these cute little Popsicle molds as a gift years ago. I think they came from Williams Sonoma. Anyways, these are a great easy snack for kids. They are like chocolate flavored ice pops, because they aren't that creamy like ice cream pops would be. Make sure you make the milk sweeter than you would want to drink it, because for some reason, it seems to lose that sweetness when it freezes.

2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1/2 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup

Mix together and pour into Popsicle molds. Let freeze overnight.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

2008-07-27T12:00:00.003-07:00

I decided to try out this recipe from Allrecipes.com This is one of the best chicken salad recipes Ive ever made! I left out the water chestnuts, just because I didn't have them and also the Swiss cheese, because I forgot all about it. Still so good, with lots of yummy crunch from all the celery, grapes and onion. The spices were perfect, I didn't tweak it at all. We all loved this.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups diced, cooked chicken breast meat
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups diced Swiss cheese
1 1/2 cups halved green grapes

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, salt, poultry seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and lemon juice.

In a large bowl, toss together the chicken, celery, green onions, water chestnuts, Swiss cheese, and grapes. Add the mayonnaise mixture, and stir to coat. Chill until serving.

Phyllo wrapped Salmon

2008-07-23T20:49:00.004-07:00

I was really excited when I saw this recipe posted on the Nest. It just looked awesome and the ingredients are all things I love. I tried to scale this down a bit and subbed 2 Tbsp olive oil for some of the butter. I just couldnt wrap my mind around 2 Tbsp of butter per serving. Well, even with using some of the oil, it still was a bit much for us. It looked beautiful, I will give it that, but it was just way too rich for us. We both thought that this is probably how they eat Salmon in Paris. I guess when I fix fish, I want it to be healthy. I felt like this meal probably cancelled out the benefits of the salmon with all the damn butter and cheese. Oh well you love some you hate some.

The recipe I followed is here.

St. Petersburg Potato Skins

2008-07-20T10:34:00.007-07:00

A few months ago, Carl and I went to AZ88 in Scottsdale and were introduced to my favorite appetizer ever. St. Petersburg Potatoes is home made potato chips, with sour cream, julienned cucumbers and radishes and smoked salmon. It is sooo yummy. Since that first taste, Ive been thinking of ways I can re create a version for us here at home. Loaded potato skins was always a favorite appetizer when I was younger. Its usually pretty fattening and greasy with all the cheddar cheese and bacon, then ranch dressing for dipping. I decided to try out a different kind of potato skin recipe, and merge 2 favorites.

These were pretty good, and its much more heart friendly. Oh, I also added crumbled feta cheese to a few of these and they were the best ones! Feta is definitely a great addition to this. Carl was disappointed since the potato skins weren't crispy enough. Next time I will broil them on both sides to crisp them up really nicely. Carl made a suggestion that I am going to try, use frozen waffle fries, and crisp them up in the oven, then top with all the goodies. I cant wait to try it that way, I think it may taste more like the resturant version.

4 or 5 baking potatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup julienned cucumbers
1 cup julienned radishes
1 3 ounce package smoked salmon, chopped up

Bake the potatoes in a 400 degree until fork tender, about 45-55 minutes depending on size. Once cooled, quarter the potatoes and scoop out most of the flesh leaving about 1/4 inch on skin. Brush skins with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes, until crisp. Watch them carefully so they don't burn (well, the edges may be burned, but that adds yummy flavor) then flip them over and broil them on the other side too. When they are finished, arrange them on a serving platter and sprinkle with feta cheese if you like, then let them set and rest a bit, letting them cool down some.

Put the sour cream into a zip lock baggie and cut a 1/4 inch off the corner and pipe sour cream onto each potato skin. Then sprinkle generously with smoked salmon, radishes, and cucumbers. Pipe on more sour cream on top and they are ready to serve.

Watermelon Salad with Feta, Mint and Lime

2008-07-20T07:23:00.003-07:00

This is a great, refreshing summer recipe. So cool for a hot day, which we have been having a lot of. I got this recipe from a blog I like to read, Whipped. If you aren't afraid of trying out new flavors, then this salad is for you. Its awesome. Something about this combo of flavors just works so well.

Watermelon Salad with Feta, Mint and Lime

Watermelon, cut in chunks or cubed
Feta Cheese
Fresh Mint Leaves
Lime
Finishing Salt, I used an Australian pink salt that was light and delicate.

Place your watermelon on a plate or bowl. Sprinkle it with feta cheese. Wash mint leaves and cut them into threads. Sprinkle it over the top. Squeeze a lime wedge onto the fruit. Sprinkle with a heavy pinch of salt. Do not use a heavy pinch of table salt. I suggest a courser salt. If you don’t have it, just use a touch of table salt or none at all.

Shrimp Scampi

2008-07-15T17:48:00.004-07:00

Tonight I made shrimp scampi. It was yummy. Its not hard to screw it up. How can you go wrong with butter, lemon, garlic white wine? I don't have much to say about this dish. Took about 15 minutes to make dinner. Usually I serve it with pasta, but we are trying not to eat so much pasta, so we had it with bread and steamed broccoli.

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat butter and oil in a pan. Add garlic cook until soft and fragrant. Remove garlic from oil with a slotted spoon. Add shrimp, wine and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-7 minutes, being careful not to overcook the shrimp. When shrimp is done, top with cheese and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pasta, bread or its even great by itself.

Desayuno Del Jaen

2008-07-12T22:52:00.005-07:00

My sister Tiffany lives in Spain with her husband, Luis. They live in Sevilla, but Luis grew up in a small town in the South of Spain called Jaen. In every cafe in Jaen, you will find people eating the same thing for breakfast every single day. Toasted bread rubbed with fresh garlic, drizzled with olive oil and topped with a yummy grated fresh tomato sauce. If you have time you can add cured meats or fish. Its so easy to make the fresh tomato sauce. All you do is grate the tomato in a cheese grater. All of the good stuff goes into the grater and you are left with just the peel in your hand, which you can toss out.

This last Christmas, when Tiffany and Luis came to visit, they gave me a wonderful present that I will cherish for the rest of my life. A hand written cook book, with photos of them and their friends preparing and eating all of the food that they eat in Spain all the time. Any time I am missing my sister and her wonderful Spanish husband, Luis...I can get out my cookbook they made me and find a recipe that reminds me of them and reminds me of my past visits to Spain when Ive visited them. Tiffany and Luis love to cook and have a huge appreciation for fresh food. Luckily living in Spain, they pretty much only eat fresh food.

I love this recipe because its so simple and easy and so satisfying. It might be strange to eat this for breakfast here in the US, but it is so common to eat this in the South of Spain. Ive made it a couple times before but this time, I am using the No Knead Bread that I baked yesterday. Its absolutely delicious and such a nice change from our everyday breakfasts we usually have. Plus, it takes Carl and I back to a time when we were dating and in Spain for Tiffany and Luis' wedding. What a great time that was for everyone that went.

Desayuno del Jaen

Toast: Baguettes or other rustic bread, toasted
2 large tomatoes, grated to make a fresh tomato sauce
extra virgin olive oil
salt, or salted cod, or jamon serrano, or prosciutto
garlic clove, peeled (only on weekends!)

While bread is toasting, grate tomato and serve in a small bowl.

On toasted hot bread, first rub it with garlic clove, then drizzle with plenty of olive oil. Next spoon on fresh tomato sauce and top with little bits of salted cod or slices or prosciutto or jamon. If you don't have meat, just add a bit of salt and pepper.

Usually served with cafe con leche and fresh squeezed orange juice.

A HUGE Success: No Knead Bread #2

2008-07-12T17:33:00.009-07:00

Well, I was so excited about the previous loaf of bread I made yesterday, that I got another one going for today. Its been rising since last night. This time, I followed the recipe more closely. I used all white flour. I activated the yeast before adding it to the dry ingredients, since I didn't have instant yeast. Yesterday, I just added 1/4 tsp active dry yeast to the dry ingredients. I couldn't find instant yeast at the store, so I just made do. It worked fine with the last loaf, even though I just added it with the dry stuff. Also, I used a bit less water this time. The original recipe calls for 1 5/8 cups water, but a lot of blogs on that recipe said to only use 1 1/2 cups. I have to say that the tiny amount of water made a big difference. My dough was easier to handle this time. It did stick to the dish cloth though, because I used flour on the bottom. Next time I will stick to corn meal cause it worked beautifully yesterday with the other loaf.

When I uncovered the Dutch oven and saw my beauty of a loaf, I got really excited. Once it cooked and browned for the last 15 minutes, I finally got to remove it from the oven. I was so surprised by how well it turned out! Even better than my loaf from yesterday. This one rose over an inch higher, and the crust browned so nicely this time around. Waiting for it to cool down so I could finally cut into it was torture! I kept walking by and taking close looks at it and thinking to myself that I cant believe that I made that!!! Who would have ever thought that I could bake Artisan quality bread that looks like it came from a bakery in Paris? Just add it to my resume hahaha.

After finally cutting it up and tasting it a bunch of different ways, with butter, with jam, toasted....it was heavenly! My mom was here and we ate half the loaf, just testing it out. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is the best loaf of bread Ive ever made. Its easy enough to make on any day. I cant wait to serve this up for company some night. Im going to make a No Knead Bread tag because I plan to experiment a lot with this recipe and make plenty more loaves in the future.

Here is my exact recipe I used this time around. Adapted from Jim Lahey's recipe.

No Knead Bread (why is it called this??? I prefer Dutch Oven bread)

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (115-120 degrees F)
cornmeal or flour for dusting

1. In a small bowl stir yeast into warmed water. Let it rest for 15 minutes to activate.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add water and yeast to flour and salt. Stir until dough forms. Dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

3. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

4. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

5. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Jessie's Baby Shower

2008-07-12T15:27:00.004-07:00

Today my mom and I gave a baby shower for my beautiful cousin Jessica. She is having a baby girl in September. They are naming her Hanalei Lee. We are all so excited a for Jessie and Mike. I know they will be such great parents.

The menu for the shower was extensive...as are all menus for parties we usually throw. Its so hard to decided on what to serve and what not to serve. We had fruit salad, pasta salad, goat cheese and watercress tea sandwiches, roast beef and horsey sauce tea sandwiches, ham and pickle roll ups, Caprese salad, and of course chocolate ganache cake and ice cream. I was in charge of making the goat cheese and watercress sandwiches, and the cake.

I first made these goat cheese and watercress sandwiches for another shower I did for my niece, Kristi. Its a crazy combo, goat cheese on cinnamon raisin bread, but it works so well! I love these! The recipe comes from epicurious. The chocolate ganache cake recipe comes from Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade Desserts cook book and is so easy and extremely elegant and rich.

Goat Cheese and Watercress Tea Sandwiches

2 5 1/2-ounce logs soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature
1/2 cup chopped watercress leaves
16 thin slices cinnamon-raisin, date or whole wheat sandwich bread, crusts trimmed
5 tablespoons (about) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans Watercress sprigs (for garnish)

Mix cheese and chopped watercress in medium bowl. Season with salt. Spread mixture evenly over 8 bread slices. Top with remaining bread. Butter edges of sandwiches. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half. Place pecans on plate. Dip buttered edges of sandwiches into pecans. Arrange sandwiches on platter. Garnish with watercress sprigs. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover sandwiches tightly; chill.)

Chocolate Ganache Cake

Cake
1 box Swiss chocolate cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup water
4 eggs
1/3 veggie oil
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
1 package semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs, and oil in large bowl. Beat for 2 minutes or until well blended. Stir in the 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Transfer batter to bundt pan. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted neat the center of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool cake completely.

2. Heat cream in a small sauce pan over low heat until small bubbles appear. Remove from heat. Add the 12 ounces of chocolate chips to the cream and stir until smooth. Cool ganache just until slightly warm. Pour ganache over cooled cake. Transfer to a serving platter. Garnish with additional chocolate chips if you like.

My first attempt at No Knead Bread

2008-07-11T15:50:00.005-07:00

I just celebrated my Birthday this week and my mom got me 2 cast iron skillets, and a cast iron Dutch oven. I was super excited about this because Ive really been wanting to try out a No Knead bread recipe, but you need the Dutch oven. Well, now I'm in business!

I was skeptical when I mixed up this dough because it was so wet! More like a batter than a dough, I was barely able to shape it into a ball. Ive since read a ton of blogs about this bread that say to use 1 1/2 cups water, not 1 5/8 cups like the original recipe calls for. Even though the dough was so wet, it still turned out great. Next time I will do it with a bit less water though.

I just have to say that this is the best loaf of bread that I have EVER baked! Sure Ive done plenty of quick breads, but I'm always so afraid to try out yeast breads. My last batch wasn't like what Id hoped for, so I went into this as a skeptic. Well, I am forever changed. This is the kind of bread that Id be proud to serve at any dinner party. Its the crusty, holey texture of the Artisan breads I always see in bakeries, but have never figured out how to duplicate at home. This loaf of bread took me about 5 minutes of prep time then it just rested for 18 hrs! Easy!

I added a bit of whole wheat flour as well as some flax meal, since I'm always trying to sneak something good into recipes. It is still so yummy! Usually I am bummed I tried to make it more healthy. Not this time. I am definitely going to try it out again with just white flour, just to see if its really so much better, but I doubt it.

I cant wait to make this bread again and again! Definitely my favorite bread recipe Ive ever come across.

This recipe is adapted from Jim Lahey, of the Sullivan Street Bakery, in NY.

No-Knead Bread
Yields one 1 1/2 pound loaf

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches

2008-07-10T16:11:00.005-07:00

Well, I am on a Sweet Baby Ray's kick this week, I guess. I decided to make some pulled pork today and I am so glad I did. It is really easy and quick and tastes SOoooooo good! I had this in the crock pot this morning, and the kitchen cleaned up and then dinner was a breeze!

2 lbs boneless pork loin chops (any thickness works)
1 bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper both sides of the chops. Brown in a little oil on both sides. Put chops into crock pot and pour 1/2 bottle of BBQ sauce over it. Turn the chops over to coat both sides. Cover and cook on low about 5 hrs. Take the chops out of the crock pot and let them sit for a bit until they are cool enough to handle, then shred them with a fork. They should fall apart really easily. Return the shredded meat back to the crock pot and stir with the sauce and juices that are there. Then add the rest of the bottle of sauce and stir. Cook on low or warm setting another couple hrs, or until ready to eat. Serve on soft buns.

Grilled BBQ Pork Chops

2008-07-07T18:01:00.004-07:00

I don't usually like pork chops very much because they always turn out dry for me. Well, today I used a little different method of cooking them on the grill and these turned out so good. They are the juiciest chops Ive ever made on the grill. Its also the first time I tried out Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and it is fabulous! I think its the best BBQ sauce Ive ever had! Honest. I saw that Albertson's had the sauce on sale for $1 a bottle, so I grabbed one and I think I will go back tomorrow and grab a couple more! This was so quick and easy. I am definitely going to try out some other grilled pork chop recipes, now that I know how to cook them so they don't lose all their juice. I also cant wait to try out a BBQ pulled pork recipe with this sauce. YUMMY!

1-2 lbs of boneless pork loin chops, trimmed and 1 1/2 inches thick
salt and pepper
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce

Let your chops sit out at room temp for 30 minutes or so, to warm up a bit. This helps them to cook faster and more evenly. Heat up a gas grill on medium high heat. Salt and pepper both sides of the chops, then brush with some BBQ sauce...all over. Just slather it on. When the grill is hot, put the chops onto the hottest part of the grill and let some great grilling marks sear onto both sides, about 2 minutes per side, with the grill open. Move the chops to the coolest part of the grill and slather with some more sauce then cover, turning once. 3-4 minutes per side, or till done.

Test with a meat thermometer and when the chops are at 145 degrees internally, they are perfectly cooked. Once done grilling, immediately put them on a plate and cover them with tin foil and let them rest for 10 minutes. This gets all those yummy pork chop juices to redistribute....making a delicious tender chop! Enjoy.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

2008-07-07T16:02:00.003-07:00

I had a cucumber sitting in my fridge and I didnt really know what I wanted to do with it. After looking at a lot of blogs and websites, I decided that what I was craving was more like tzatziki than an actual cucumber salad. So I decided to kind of make a tzatziki cucumber salad, if you will. The only difference really is that the cucumbers are chopped up pretty big. I definitely wanted it to be a cucumber side dish, not a dip. It was crisp and cold and healthy. Very refreshing. Its been really hot and humid here and this was exactly what I needed. This made just enough for 2 servings. If you want more double it.

1 English cucumber, sliced in half length wise, then chopped into 1/2 inch thickness
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp dried dill, or to taste (fresh would have been so much better)
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Cut up the cucumber and set aside in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the yogurt, dill, and lemon juice until combined. Pour over cucumbers. Mix to coat all the cucumbers, then salt and pepper to taste. Refridgerate for awhile before serving. I only had about an hour and they turned out fine.

Pasta Alla Vodka

2008-07-03T17:12:00.006-07:00

This is a yummy recipe that my awesome sister in law, Audrey, gave to me. Its supposed to be Penne alla Vodka, but I wanted to use the mini bow ties because my kids love them. And I also added some fresh basil to sweeten it up a bit. This is a super easy meal for week nights. I almost followed the recipe exactly, so I will put the original recipe here. Oh and you could probably leave out the vodka if you are opposed to cooking with it, and it would just be a tomato cream sauce, but why would you want to leave out the very best part??

3 Tbsp butter
2 Cloves garlic, chopped (I used 2 cubes frozen garlic)
1/4 cup chopped prosciutto
1 large can diced tomatoes (I used 1 can then 1 cup tomato sauce)
1/4 cup vodka
1 cup cream (I used Half&Half)
1 lb penne pasta

In a large skillet, melt butter, saute garlic and prosciutto for a minute, then add tomatoes and vodka. Let simmer a few minutes until it starts to reduce. Add cream and cook a few minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and some basil if desired. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Meaty Lasagna

2008-06-29T16:29:00.004-07:00

1/2 box lasagna pasta, cooked and drained
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup red wine
1 container ricotta cheese
2 tsp dried basil
1 egg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3 cups prepared marinara sauce (or any leftover red pasta sauce)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Start by browning the meat. When it is cooked through ,drain off the fat and add the wine. Cook a few minutes to cook off the alcohol. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to season it up, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese, basil. Add salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

In the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish, spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on bottom then lay 3-4 lasagna noodles on bottom, slightly overlapping them. Spread with 1/2 the ricotta mixture, then top with half the meat mixture then 1 cup marinara sauce. Repeat layers. Cover 2nd layer with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles and marinara sauce, then top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake covered in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10 more minutes. Let set for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Yummy Lentils

2008-06-26T20:06:00.004-07:00

I decided today that Id make lentils for dinner and when I went to search for it on allrecipes, or anywhere online, mostly what I found was lentil soups. I wanted something more like what my stepmom, Fran used to make us. Thick lentils over rice. I apologize for the picture, but its really hard to get a nice picture of lentils. Its just not that pretty!

Since I never did find a recipe that satisfied what I was craving, I decided to wing it and see what I could come up with. I must say that it was very good and exactly what I was wanting it to taste like, texture was spot on as well. I used a mixture of veggie and chicken broths and some water. For the garlic, I used 3 cubes of frozen garlic from Trader Joe's since I was in a hurry. Also, I didnt have time to peel tomatoes, so I just cut them in half and grated them like my sister always does in Spain. She never buys canned tomatoes there. She always grates fresh ones, and as you grate it, the skin naturally comes off. Its actually a neat little trick.

We served this over jasmine brown rice. It was rich and tasty and very healthy. I loved it and so did Charlie. He ate a huge serving.

2 large carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 sm onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups veggie broth (I use the savory veggie broth liquid concentrate from TJ's)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Splash a tbsp or more of olive oil in a hot pan let heat for a few seconds, then add onions, carrots and celery and saute for several minutes until crisp tender. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add Tomatoe and liquids and bring to a boil. Add lentils and cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover, simmering for 1 hr. Check it every 10 minutes to stir it. In the last 30 minutes, add water by 1/2 cups if you need more liquids. Its done when the lentils are soft, but still holding their shape. It should be the thickness of a stew. Serve it over rice or noodles.

Delicious Taco Salad

2008-06-24T18:27:00.004-07:00

This is one of my favorite summer time recipes. Ive loved this salad since I first learned to make it over 10 yrs ago. Any French or Catalina dressing will work, but Dorothy Lynch is the best. If you don't like French or Catalina dressing, then you can omit it and use salsa instead.

Original recipe from Beth Werner.

1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
2 tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 can sliced olives, drained
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 of a large bag of tortilla chips, crushed
3/4 cup Dorothy Lynch Home Style Dressing
sour cream and salsa for serving

Cook the ground beef until browned, then drain off fat. Add taco seasoning and 3/4 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. While the meat is cooling, combine lettuce, beans, cheese, tomatoes, avocado and olives in a large bowl. Crush 1/2 bag of tortilla chips and add to the salad mixture. Add dressing, meat and cheese and toss until everything is well combined. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some salsa on the side.

Dill Pickle Chips

2008-06-23T14:45:00.004-07:00

I really love pickles. Dill pickles, sweet pickles..pretty much any kind. When I was pregnant with Charlie I ate Claussen pickles quite a bit. I saw this recipe for pickles in a blog I read often called Good Things Catered. I knew that I wanted to try them out and I am so glad I did. They are so easy and yummy! They taste alot like the Claussen pickles and are very crisp. The original recipe says to cut the pickles into 1/2 inch slices, but I used my mandolin and my slices were very thin, less than 1/4 inch. Since my slices were much thinner, they only took 1 day to be ready to eat. These are so good!!

Dill Pickle Chips
Martha Stewart

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Kirby pickles
3 Tbsp coarse salt (I use Kosher)
2 c. distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp dill seed
4 cloves garlic
2 bunches fresh dill, coarsely chopped

Directions:
-Cut the cucumbers into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, and transfer to a colander set in a bowl.
-Toss well with salt.
-Refrigerate cucumber rounds 1 hour.
-Rinse cucumber rounds well; drain.
-Pat dry between paper towels. Transfer cucumber slices to a large bowl.
-Bring 3 cups water, vinegar, dill seed, and garlic to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring.
-Reduce heat; simmer 4 minutes.
-Let mixture cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
-Add chopped dill to cucumber slices, and toss to combine.
-Pour in the brine.
-Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
-Transfer mixture to airtight container(s), and refrigerate at least 1 week (pickles will keep 3 weeks more).

(makes 2 quarts)

Quick Pasta Salad

2008-06-17T15:48:00.005-07:00

I threw this recipe together in the time it took for the pasta to cook. Its so versatile. Add whatever veggies you have. I would have added tomatoes to this, but we aren't eating them right now with the salmonella outbreak. I served this up with some grilled BBQ shrimp and baked beans.

1/2 box mini penne pasta
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 cheese sticks, cut into chunks
1/2 cup imitation crab meat, shredded
1/3 cup mayo
1/3 cup Italian dressing (I used balsamic)
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

While pasta is cooking, prepare veggies and cheese sticks and crab. The last 30 seconds of pasta cooking, add broccoli. Drain and run under cool water to chill. Add carrot, cheese, and crab to pasta and broccoli. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo and dressing. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over pasta, then pour dressing over and toss to coat evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill for at least an hour before serving.

Pineapple Wontons

2008-06-16T22:41:00.004-07:00

One of my favorite places to have sushi is Ra. I always love to get their pineapple wontons. I decided to try to recreate them myself. I used whipped cream cheese because that was all I had. The cream cheese part just didnt hold together like it would have with regular block cream cheese. The flavors were there though. I served it with a hoisin dipping sauce, but I wish Id have had a sweet and sour sauce or a plum sauce instead. It needed something more sweet and less salty. Hoisin is just such a strong taste.

24 refridgerated wonton wrappers
1 sm can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, drained
1/4 cup cream cheese

Mix the pineapple with the cream cheese until well combined. Put 1/2 teaspoon filling into center of each wonton wrapper. Wet the edges with water and fold over and seal with your fingers. Just press them together really really good, squeezing out as much air as you can from the filling. Fry the wontons in hot oil till browned on both sides, drain on papertowels.

I made a bunch of these and I froze some for quick snacks or appetizers. They reheat pretty good in the oven. I just heat up a pizza stone to 350 degrees and then throw the wontons on. Bake 5 minutes, or until sizzling and heated through. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Healthy Country Bread

2008-06-10T11:03:00.005-07:00

I was reading Blake Bakes yesterday and it was about making home made bread. He wrote about how over the years bread somehow went from a weekly chore, to an "art" that takes tons of skill and knowledge. And how really that is just bogus. Ive always been intimidated when it came to baking anything with yeast. Im not sure why. Maybe I was always wondering if I was kneading the dough properly or if Id used enough flour. Well, now that I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, I have no excuse because it will knead the dough for me! So today I set out to make some of my own, home made sandwich bread. I followed Blake's recipe for white country bread, but I used a mixture of whole wheat flour and oat flour in place of half of the white flour, since we normally eat whole wheat bread around here and Im always trying to sneak whole grains into our diet. The best part of making bread is taking out a little agression on the dough after it rises. Every recipe says to punch down the dough. I never really knew what that meant until I saw a pic on Blakes blog of him punching the dough down. So I did it the same way.

This bread turned out pretty good. Im glad I checked it after only 25 minutes because if it had been in there any longer, it would have began to burn. The bread was more dense than what I was expecting. Im sure that is because I subbed whole grain flour for half of it. I do think that I could have let it rise longer. Maybe it wasnt quite double the size. I froze half of the dough, so I can easily make more when this loaf is gone and next time I will let it rise a bit higher. Over all, it was easy and turned out good.

Adapted from Country White Bread from Taste Of Home

2 packages of active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
6 cups flour (I used a combo of whole wheat, oat and white)

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water and let sit for 10 minutes to rest. When yeast is ready, add sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 3 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

Buttermilk Biscuits

2008-06-04T16:30:00.004-07:00

This is Homesick Texan's recipe and when I saw it today when I was looking at her strawberry shortcake recipe, I just had to try them. I have never pounded and folded my dough like that before and I really wanted to try it. Sam had a lot of fun helping me beat the dough. We used our hands because its more fun that way. Also, he got some of his own dough to make his own biscuits which turned out quite well! I am amazed at what all the pounding and folding the dough does...it makes flaky layers! Kind of like the texture of the Pillsbury Grands biscuits! I know that Homesick Texan would cringe that I said that since she doesn't think biscuits from a can are real biscuits at all, but for me...home made biscuits have never turned out good. They have always been dense and dry! So I rarely tried to make them. Until now. These biscuits are the best Ive ever made. They were so moist and rose almost 2 inches high! I served these with some grilled chicken breast and a nice salad. But I ate 5 of them, so that made this meal very fattening for me. Doh!

Homesick Texan's Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 Tbps baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, cold (8 tbsp)
3/4 cup buttermilk, cream or half-and-half (I used half-and-half)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs.
Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky.
Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a minute. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking.
Take dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes.
Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.
Using a round cutter (can use a glass or a cup if don’t have a biscuit cutter) cut out your biscuits from folded dough.
Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 biscuits.

If you don’t want to roll and cut them out, after kneading and beating the dough you can drop the dough onto the baking sheet with a spoon. They’re not as symmetrical (dropped biscuits are also known as cat head biscuits) but they’re no less delicious.

House Fried Rice

2008-05-30T22:06:00.007-07:00

Fried Rice. Its so easy. You can use pretty much use any leftovers you have in the fridge all at once. I used leftover carne asada meat from a Mexican dish we had. I also threw in a left over grilled mahi mahi fillet. I also used Saffron rice, hence the yellowness.

House Fried Rice

1 1/2 Tbsp oil

1 carrot, sliced thin

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup shredded red cabbage

1 egg

1 tsp soy sauce

2 cups cold leftover rice

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp hot sauce

soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste

1 cup leftover meat ( I used beef and mahi mahi)

Heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add carrots and fry until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Add peas, corn and cabbage and cook until cabbage gets soft, another 2-4 minutes. Whisk egg and soy sauce. Push veggies to one side of pan and pour egg on the other side. Let cook until set, then scramble. Add rice and meat and fry until heated through, another 2 minutes. Season and serve!!!

Chicken Pasta Salad with Fried Shallots

2008-05-25T13:46:00.004-07:00

I took this salad to a family reunion last night and I got a lot of compliments on it. The fried shallots are soooo good on this.

Chicken Pasta Salad with Fried Shallots

1/2 pound penne pasta
2 cups thinly sliced shallots
2 cups vegetable oil
salt
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
1/2 of an English cucumber, thinly sliced
10 radishes, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped (I skipped this since I didnt have any)
grated peel and juice of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp honey
Pepper

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a medium sauce pan, bring the shallots and oil to a simmer over medium heat and fry, stirring until golden, 18-20 min (this took about 10 minutes for me) Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Reserve 1/4 cup shallot oil for the dressing.

In a large serving bowl, combine the chicken, cucumber, radishes, carrots, cilantro and pasta.

Whisk the lime peel and juice and honey into the shallot oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over the salad and season with more salt and toss to coat evenly. Top with the fried shallots.