Rub a Dub Grub

Eating our way through the "QC"

2010-10-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

OK. So I got a little backlash from all three readers of this blog. "Dont kill off the blog!" I guess Ill leave it around for all to refrence our recipies etc. I might just start posting my recipies if I ever feel like I have time to. In the mean time how about some restaurant reviews? Bec and I try to go out once a week on a date. Every other week we usually go out to dinner or a movie or sometimes just to buy groceries or shopping. Recently we decided we would try out the local restaurants (Non Chain) places. So of course we had to try the worst first. It shouldnt be hard to find good tasting food after the first one. We went to a little know place called "Diamond Dot". When Bec told me the name of the place I thought she was kidding. I had never heard of this place. then she told me where it was. Diamond Dot is located on the North East corner of Power and San Tan Blvd. Let me try and paint a picture in your head right now... Basically its a gas station. There is a big sign above the register with at least 30 menu items on it. Everything from burgers and fries to fish and chips, with plenty of mexican food in between. Can you say scary! So we walked in and it was like walking into the quickie mart on The Simpsons. There was an indian guy working the register who asked what we wanted in a heavy accent. We didnt know so we told him it would take a few minutes. While we read the menu someone else ordered a Navajo Taco. The guy behind the register told them they did not have those today, then he said hold on a second and went around the corner to the fryer and explained to a mexican lady how to make a Navajo Taco. I should have know right then and there that I shouldnt eat there. If an Indian (from India) tells a Mexican how to make native american food, run! We stuck it out an I ordered a chicken enchilada. I figured since the cook was mexican that this should be pretty safe. Bec made the ultimate mistake and ordered shrimp and fries. We then waited for our food to be nuked, fried, cooked - whatever. As we waited we watched record breaking alcohol sales being made. That gas station was hopping! Then we found a trail of ants that we followed through the store. Finally we settled into a booth and read all the local ads tacked to the cork board. It was very entertaining to say the least. The food was nothing to write home about. The enchiladas were edible but not good. The shrimp and fries were... well I didnt taste them so I cant really say. I couldnt bring myself to try one. However based on looks smell, and the looks on Bec's face... they were nasty! Basically frozen, thawed, battered, and fried and rubbery. So if you are ever in the neighborhood and your hungry, I hope you are really hungry! Stop and buy some gas, or maybe a soda. You might try a burger. Ive heard those are actaully good, and its tough to mess up a burger.

Obituary

2010-09-15T11:13:00.004-07:00

Dearly beloved,We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a blog that never really was. Rub a dub Grub was a good friend who never let me down. However in the past year or two or three or rather right from birth he has been in decline. He has lingered and fought bravely but now the time has finally arrived when there just is no fight left in him. There were times when gallant effort was put forth and new experimental treatments were applied to help revive and cure his struggles. Now however the realization has come that his death is eminent. And so we say farewell and good luck as he slips from this existence into the unknown. Which brings me to a question... Where does a blog go to die? The answer is they are deleted. Ouch! That’s Harsh! DELETED! Well there you go folks it was nice knowing rub a dub grub while he lasted but now he must go where many more blogs have gone before... Wait! I think I heard a pulse? It would appear that he is attempting to rise up from his death bed. He says he is going to reinvent himself yet again. Well I guess only time will tell if this previously tried treatment will work... Any thoughts all three readers might have are appreciated.

Masaman Curry

2010-08-02T08:00:00.002-07:00

I got adventurous and made this for Sunday dinner...

It turned out surprisingly very well.

I loved it!

(I found this picture online...the food was so yummy, and I was so hungry, I completely forgot to photograph....but this is very close to what it looked like!)

INGREDIENTS:

1 can Masaman curry paste (this is the one ingrendient I could not find at my local grocery store...they did however have tika masala curry paste, and I substituted it!)
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 can coconut milk
1/2 tsp. ginger (I used fresh ginger root, and grated it with my nutmeg grater - you can sub powdered if you want)
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. brown sugar (packed)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 chicken breast sliced VERY thin (this works best if you partially freeze it first, then slice)
2-3 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed
1-2 Tbsp (heaping) peanut butter (crunchy or creamy.. doesn't matter)
1/2 c. peanuts

Jasmine rice, cooked

Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in curry paste; cook and stir for about 2-3 minutes (make sure your fan is blowing.. or your house is going to smell!). Add 1 can coconut milk and stir until well blended. Add ginger, cilantro, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and Worcestershire, bring to a boil. Add onion and chicken then reduce to a simmer. When chicken is white and cooked through (about 5 min or so) add remaining ingredients (except for the rice) and stir until everything is well mixed. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes--until potatoes aren't crunchy in the middle. Serve hot over Jasmine rice.

Pot Roast

2010-03-13T21:27:00.004-07:00

This is the easiset pot roast recipe. Oh and this is really Julies recipe. I made pot roasts forever and they were always just so so. Then I got this recipe form Julie and I have never looked back. Chop it all up and dump it in the crock pot and let it roast. I think the roast is either a rump roast or top round. I cant remeber, and obviously its been in the freezer for a while, but its still gonna taste awesome. Fisrt drop the frozen hunk of meat in the bottom of the crock, thats right, no thaw. This thing is going to be in the crock poat all night and half the day tomorrow, I think it will be thawed in that time. Then chop up all the goods and load them in. Based on what you like most put more of that in the pot. I like the carrots so there are a lot of carrots. Did I mention that the carrots arent even peeled, niether is the potato. Seriously the easiest recipe ever, in fact Bec started making Mac and cheese at the same time, and I was done before the noodles were cooked. Enjoy!

Tuscan Tomato Soup

2010-01-11T16:18:00.002-07:00

This soup is seriously....so.good.

Recipe from Chef Kent Andersen from The Chef's Table in Orem, UT

- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Onion, Small dice
- 3 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 Cups Chicken Stock
- 1.5 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 Cup Basil Pesto (make your own - basil, EVOO, parmesan cheese, and pinenuts blended in a food processor) or buy some...
- Salt and Pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a medium large soup pot. Add onions and cook over moderately low heat until completely translucent. Add tomatoes and allow to warm to a simmer. Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for 15 minutes to allow for interchange of flavors.

Add whipping cream. Add pesto.

Blend to desired consistency in a food processor or blender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Split Pea Soup

2010-01-11T16:15:00.001-07:00

I'm feeling like soup lately....doesn't this one sound yummy?

Classic Split-Pea Soup
Adapted from Real Simple, best recipes

1 ham hock
2 32-ounce-containers chicken broth
1 pound green split peas
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Rinse the ham hock and place it in a large saucepan or Dutch oven along with the broth, split peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, 3 to 3-1/2 hours. (I think I'll just throw mine in the crockpot and cook on low all day)

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer the ham hock to a plate and let sit until cool enough to handle, at least 10 minutes. Shred the meat (there won't be a lot) and stir it into the soup.

Serve warm with crusty bread.

A call for help?

2009-10-05T11:33:00.002-07:00

I was recently asked to do a cooking demo for a group of Laurels. ( will take place next week) I'm flattered, and slightly nervous. What should I demonstrate for them? any thoughts? My niece has made a few requests, but I feel like I should actually make a few things. So far this is what we have lined up. Keep in mind The time is a little limited slighlty.

1. Salsa
2. Rice - I make a concoction of Spanish\Risotto rice.
3. Firecracker Shrimp - these are spicy little shrimp that get grilled and go nicely on top of the rice

What else? I was thinking of making a cream based soup to go in a bread bowl - its getting to be that time of year

Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-08-04T00:05:00.001-07:00

The real recipe will be coming soon. Until then enjoy this cartoon drawn by my Niece Lexi
Th

Basic Cheese Ball

2009-07-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

1 package cream cheese
1 1/2 cups cheese (shredded)
1 T. Chives
2 tsp ranch dressing mix

Caramel Chex Snack Mix

2009-07-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

3/4 c butter
1 cup light karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

stir until boiling. pour over 12 oz chex cereal. add a can of mixed nuts and pretzels. when cooled, add plain m&m's

Julie's Black Beans

2009-07-08T09:20:00.002-07:00

Take approximately 1 lb of black beans and soak them overnight. In in morning place in the crockpot. Chop one onion and place in the crockpot with the beans. Mince 2 cloves of garlic and add that to the crockpot as well. And 1 tablespoon of this:

It is basically Mexican Chicken bouillon. You can find it in the Mexican section of the grocery store. If you have regular chicken bouillon, that will work as well – just adjust quantities to match what the package says (appropriate amount to match the water you have in the crockpot)

Add about 8 cups or so of water so that water level is about 1 inch or more above the beans. No need to be exact. If they need more water while cooking add more water. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low until beans are tender. Usually about 8 hours or more.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2009-07-08T09:19:00.002-07:00

CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Green Chile Chicken

2009-07-08T09:16:00.003-07:00

This is seriously SO good. Serve with tortillas, salad, black beans and cilantro Lime Ranch dressing...

Green Chile Chicken
5 chicken breasts
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 cup brown sugar (more to taste)
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
6 oz. Sprite (1/2 can)
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and cook 1 more hour. Thicken the juices with a little cornstarch mixed in water.

Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing

2009-07-08T09:16:00.001-07:00

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos or 4 TB salsa verde (green salsa)
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce

Mix all but cilantro together in blender. Add Cilantro last and blend well. Refrigerate.

Butterscotch Breakfast Rolls

2009-07-08T09:15:00.001-07:00

Place 18 Rhodes frozen dinner rolls in an ungreased, non-stick bundt pan.

sprinkle 1/2 package uncooked butterscotch (not instant) pudding mix over the rolls

sprinkle generously with cinnamon

add chopped nuts if you want

melt 1 cube butter in the microwave and combine with 1/2 c. packed brown sugar. pour evenly over the rolls.

set on the counter overnight to rise

bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes.

Invert and enjoy!

Blondies

2009-07-08T09:11:00.001-07:00

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup toffee chips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line a 9 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang. Butter the lining too.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan; add both sugars and whisk until combined and sugar is melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Add the flour and whisk until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips, toffee chips and almonds and transfer the mixture to the prepared pan.

Bake for 24 to 27 minutes or until the top cracks slightly and is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out with moist pieces clinging to it. Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment handles, transfer to a cutting board and cut into 2-inch squares.

Baked Potato Soup

2009-07-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

2/3 c butter
2/3 c flour
7 cups milk
4 large potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, sliced
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream (8 oz)
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

In large stockpot, melt the butter. Stir in flour; heat and stir until smooth. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, sitrring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; sitr until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Poppy Seed Chicken Bake

2009-07-08T09:08:00.001-07:00

* 8-10 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
* 1 can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of chicken soup
* 2 cups sour cream
* 1 ½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
* ¼ cup chopped green onion
* 2 cups butter flavored crackers, crushed (like Ritz brand)
* 5 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Method:

1. Mix together cream of chicken soup and sour cream. Pour over chicken and mix well.

2. Stir in shredded Swiss cheese and chopped onion.

3. Pour chicken mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the crushed crackers, melted butter, and the poppy seeds.

5. Spread the cracker mixture over the chicken mixture.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Makes approximately 8 servings

Robin's easy microwavable summer zuchinni casserole

2009-07-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Zucchini Casserole
2- Zucchinis peeled, quartered, and sliced
2 -Tomatoes, quartered and sliced
1- small onion, chopped
Cheddar or American cheese, sliced
Layer zucchini, tomatoes, and onions and cheese.
Repeat the above.
Microwave for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fruit Dip (Variations)

2009-07-08T09:06:00.001-07:00

Tropical Fruit Dip
Ingredients:

* 1 /2 cup sour cream
* 1 cup milk
* 1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding and pie filling mix
* 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
* 1/3 cup shredded coconut

Method:

Mix together sour cream, milk, and pudding mix. Stir in pineapple and coconut. Chill in refrigerator 45 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh fruit.

Strawberry Fruit Dip
Ingredients:

* 1 container (8 oz.) whipped topping
* 1 container (6 oz.) strawberry flavored yogurt
* 1/4 cup strawberries, crushed (opt.)

Method:

Mix together all ingredients and chill. Serve with fresh fruit. Note: Whipped cream can be used instead of the whipped topping. Also, try using different flavored yogurts instead of strawberry depending of the type of fruit you are serving it with.

Lime Fruit Dip
Ingredients:

* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 4 tablespoons cornstarch
* 6 oz. frozen limeade concentrate, undiluted
* 2 -3 drops green food coloring 1
* cup heavy cream, whipped

Method:

Beat eggs and combine in top of double boiler with sugar, cornstarch and limeade. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in food coloring. Let cool. Whip cream and fold into cooled limeade mixture. Serve with fresh fruit. Keep in refrigerator.

Supercalifragilistic

2009-07-08T09:05:00.001-07:00

I got this recipe from my cousin Collette...it's really yummy!

1 lb ground beef
1 16 oz can tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 t salt
2 t sugar
1 c grated cheese
2 cloves garlic
1-8oz pkg noodles
1 c sour cream
1-3 oz cream cheese
6 green onion tops

Cook meat. Drain off fat. Add tomato sauce, sugar, salt, garlic and simmer 5 to 10 min. Cook noodles and drain. While still hot add sour cream, cream cheese and green onions. Blend with fork into greased casserole dish. Layer meat sauce, noodles sprinkle cheese and repeat.

350°/35 min.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

2009-07-08T09:04:00.001-07:00

1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
2. Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.
3. Bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Licorice Caramels

2009-07-08T09:03:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

* 1 can ( 14 oz. ) sweetened condensed milk
* 2 cups granulated sugar
* 1 cup butter ( no substitutes)
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
* 1 tsp. anise (licorice) extract
* Black paste food coloring

Method:

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a heavy saucepan.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture reaches 234 degrees on a candy thermometer. (This will take approximately 15 - 20 min.) Mixture will turn from a pale yellow color to a golden brown. 3. Stir in anise extract and enough black food coloring to make the caramel a dark black.

4. Pour mixture into a buttered 9" x 13" pan and let cool.

5. Cut into small squares and wrap each piece in waxed paper.

Yield: 75-100 pieces

Layered Jars - Oatmeal Cookies & Brownies

2009-07-08T09:01:00.003-07:00

Assembly Line Packaging

Use quart-size canning jars or other available clear, sealable containers. Set out all ingredients, in the order they are to be added, with corresponding measuring cups and spoons. Select decorative paper or fabric to adorn the top when you have finished. Glue on or attach a label with assembly and baking instructions.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Layer in jar (tap jar on counter between layer additions to settle):
1 1/2 cups ground oatmeal
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon each of baking soda, baking powder, and salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Attached instructions:
Empty cookie ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir. Add 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 beaten egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; mix until completely combined.

Spoon heaping tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing 2-3 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling racks.

Fudgy Pecan Brownies

Layer in jar (tap on counter between layer additions to settle):
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder (wipe inside of jar after this layer)
3/4 cup flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup finely ground pecans
1/2 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate chips

Attached instructions:
Empty brownie ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir. Add 3/4 cup melted butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 4 well-beaten eggs; mix until well combined. Spread batter in a greased 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 27-30 minutes.

Hot Fudge Sauce

2009-07-08T09:01:00.001-07:00

1 cup whipping cream
2 cup sugar
4 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla - add this after you remove from stovetop

Cook all ingredients on stovetop. Boil about 1-2 minutes

Fruit Dip (Basic)

2009-07-08T09:00:00.001-07:00

1-2 cups of coolwhip
13 oz of marshmellow cream
8 oz of cream cheese

Frozen Berry Dessert "Salad"

2009-07-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

* 2 cans (21 once each) of raspberry or strawberry pie filling
* 1 can (14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
* 1 can (8 ounce) crushed pineapple not drained
* 1 carton (12 ounce) frozen whipped topping, thawed and Frozen or fresh berries and mint (optional)

Method:

1. In a bowl combine pie filling, milk and pineapple.

2. Fold in whipped topping.

3. Spread into ungreased 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight.

4. Remove from freezer 10 - 15 minutes before serving. Cut into squares.

Kate's Fresh Peach Pie

2009-07-08T08:58:00.001-07:00

2 c. boiling water
2 1/2 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. cold water
3/4 c. cornstarch
1 (3 oz) pkg orange jello (I used peach)
4 c. fully ripe sliced peaches
Bring 2 cups water to boil in medium size pan. Make a paste with 1/2 c. cold water, sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour paste into pan of boiling water and mix well. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick (about 3 minutes) Add gelatin and continue cooking for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Chill thoroughly. Carefully combine sliced peaches and glaze mixture. Spoon into baked pie shells. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cover with whipped cream if desired. Makes 3 small or 2 large pies.
Glaze can be stored in fridge for several days and then added to sliced peaches before serving. Be sure to make enough glaze to coat each peach slice.

Cucumber Salad

2009-07-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

Makes about 4 cups

2 large seedless cucumbers (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, forced through a garlic press
1 teaspoon dill seed

Score cucumbers lengthwise with a fork (I used a zester tool) and slice thin, preferably with slicing disk of a food processor. In a large bowl toss cucumbers with salt and let stand 1 hour.

In a small saucepan bring vinegar and water to a boil with sugar, garlic, and dill seed, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and let dressing cool. In a colander drain cucumbers and rinse under cold water.

Drain cucumbers well, squeezing out excess liquid. In a bowl combine cucumbers with dressing and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. (After about 2 hours cucumber skin will discolor, but there will be no effect on flavor.)

Vegetarian Chile (Adapted from Rachel Ray)

2009-07-08T08:53:00.001-07:00

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup vegetable (chicken) broth
1 can (32 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp cumin
1 to 1 ½ Tbsp chili powder
6 dashes Tabasco sauce
Salt
1 cup spicy refried beans
Cheddar cheese
Chips (I like Fritos for this)

Saute onion and peppers til translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add broth, reduce by half (2-3 minutes). Add tomatoes, beans, cumin, chili powder, Tabasco, and salt. Thicken with refried beans. Serve with cheese and chips.

Chicken Salad Wraps

2009-07-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

20 cooked chicken tenders
1/2 green pepper
1 can olives
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 stalk celery
10 tortillas
2 tsp celery salt
1 pkg cream cheese
1 cup miracle whip
Salt & pepper to taste

Dice veggies & chicken. In a separate bowl mix celery salt, cream cheese, miracle whip, s&p. Stir all ingredients together.

Caramel Popcorn (Chicago Style)

2009-07-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

6 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup karo syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp vanilla

preheat oven to 250 degress. place popcorn in a large roasting pan that has been coated with non-stick spray. in a heavy pan, melt butter on med. heat. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Let boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and stir in soda & vanilla. Gradually pour over popcorn mixing as you go. bake for 1 hour stiring every 15 minutes.

Apple Cider Punch (warm)

2009-07-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

1 quart apple cider
2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup orange juice
12 oz can apricot nectar
1 cup sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
Warm in crockpot

Pina Colada Cake

2009-02-09T10:32:00.001-07:00

This is SO GOOD. You must make it!

Bake a yellow cake mix- poke holes with a wooden spoon (end) and let cool. Drizzle mixture (see below) over cake and Spread on one can crushed pineapple, drained. Top with whipped cream.

Mixture:
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup pina colada mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk

FUNERAL POTATOES

2009-02-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is Claudia's recipe for funeral potatoes. So yummy!

frozen hash browns
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In 9x13 pan layer potatoes, sauce,potatoes, sauce

Crush cornflakes (about 2 cups crushed) and stir in about 1-2 tbsp. Of butter. Top the potatoes with corn flakes and bake at 350 for 45 minutes

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

2009-02-09T09:57:00.000-07:00

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:
32 oz bag Southern Style hash browns (these are the little square kind - not the shredded ones)
1 lb bacon, fried, drained and torn or cut into pieces (or you could use sausage)
1/2 C diced onion
3/4 lb cheddar cheese, diced
1 dozen eggs
1 C milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Layer frozen potatoes, bacon, onion and cheese in 2-3 layers. Finish with cheese.
Beat eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour on top.
Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

(depending upon your crockpot you can adjust the cooking time accordingly. My crockpot is large and it over-cooked this the first time I made it at this time...so adjust if needed!)

Carrot Soup

2009-02-09T09:51:00.001-07:00

Ok. There's a story here. We were babysitting a girl in my ward once on a cool fall day. She was helping me pick the last of the carrots from my garden and she asked me if I could make her some carrot soup. I thought, "carrot SOUP?!?". But, I hopped online and looked up some recipes. This is what I found, and modified. It was yummy!

Carrot Soup with Orange and Ginger

3 Tbs. olive oil
2 leeks, including tender green portions, thinly sliced (I used an onion, as I didn't have leeks handy, but I think leeks would be awesome!)
6 carrots, about 1 lb. total, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red potato, about 1/2 lb., peeled and coarsely diced
1 1/2 tsp. peeled and minced or grated fresh ginger (I omitted the ginger, because I didn't have any, but you can throw it in if you like)
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tsp. grated orange zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the leeks and sauté until just slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, potato and ginger and sauté until the vegetables are just softened, about 5 minutes more.

Add the stock, cover partially and simmer until the vegetables are completely softened, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a blender or food processor, puree the soup in batches, leaving some texture, and return the soup to the pan. Alternatively, process with a stick blender in the pan until the desired consistency is reached. Set the pan over medium heat and stir in the orange juice and zest. Season with salt and white pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Serves 4 to 6.

Hot Artichoke Dip

2009-02-09T09:48:00.001-07:00

This is my friend, Robin's recipe. It rocks! Always a big hit at parties!

1-2 cups marinated artichokes (rinsed and chopped) (I get mine from Costco)
1 can crabmeat (also rinsed)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

bake at 325 for 20 minutes

serve with Fritos.

Apple Crisp

2009-02-09T09:43:00.001-07:00

I got this recipe from my friend, Jeannette, It's awesomely good! Give it a try...

6 c. apples - sliced
1 T Lemon Juice
1 T Water
Mix well and place in an 8" square pan

Mix together:
1/3 C. butter
1/2 C. Oats
1/2 C. Flour
3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Mix well, pat on top of apples

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Welcome to the NEW Food\Recipe Blog

2009-02-03T20:15:00.002-07:00

So after a few discussions with Julie (The other contributor to this Food Blog) We have decided to make some changes. We want to open the Blog up to other contributors. We would like to document all the Family Recipes. Old, New, Tried, and even Fried. So First we are going to change the URL and the Title of the Blog. Now taking all suggestions... And allowing contributors. P.S. don't feel intimidated, by the Entries with 800 photos. A simple Photo of the End result will suffice, and maybe a few of the tornadoes that take over the kitchen during the process. Or not. So who is in?

Oops!

2009-02-01T10:14:00.003-07:00

Have you ever set out to make something and halfway through realized you were missing a key ingredient? How about 3/4 of the way through? What if you were adding the final and main ingredient and realized it wasnt what you thought it was? I currently have a big double batch of Split Pea soup on the stove. I put all the ingredients into the pot for Lentil Soup. Went to grab the Lentils and realized they were split peas!!! So I guess we will see how it turns out in a couple of hours.

Surprise surprise, it turned out alright.

Cream of Celery Soup

2008-11-18T20:55:00.004-07:00

Dice an Onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic, two carrots, a handful of parsley and an entire clump of celery. trim of the bottom of course and any brown tips. But dice up the leaves as small as you can, the heart of the celery and the leaves are where all the flavor is. put that all in a pot with some Olive Oil (Extra Virgin) of course and saute for a few minutes. Add some salt to help draw out the moisture. after the carrots have softened and everything else is basically translucent, add a tablespoon or two or three of Butter, add equal amounts of flour and stir like mad the flour will burn if you let it sit still or have too much heat, but you do want the butter and flour to brown a little. Then add a box of chicken stock. Or a couple of cans, or 3-4 cubes of chicken, or vegetable bullion. or whatever you have on hand. If you added cubes, then you will want to add some water to make the broth. At this point I pull out the immersion blender and have a little party in the pan. You could however pour the contents into a blender or a food processor. when you have a thick non chunky consistency, pour back into the pan (if you poured out), and over med-high heat add a cup of cream or two. this combined with the flour under heat will cause the soup to thicken. I then salt and pepper to taste.

Done Deal.

Oh yeah, I also like to set aside a few diced celery pieces, and a few diced carrots, and add them back into the soup after you have blended it. They will soften up before you serve it, but they add a little more texture. I garnished mine with diced spring onions, and the awesome recipe for bread bowls I got here
I used the recipe for Italian bread bowls. It made six perfect sized and very tasty bread bowls. I actually only cooked four of them and after letting the bowls rise the first time, punching them down and then shaping, I froze two, so it will be interesting to see how they cook after being frozen.

Mini Caramel Apple Bites

2008-10-31T22:16:00.004-07:00

For our Halloween Party tonight, we made mini caramel apples. They were absolutely darling. And yummy.

Here's how we did it.

Fine a large glass, microwavable bowl. Add 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup corn syrup, 1 cup butter and 1 can of Sweet and Condensed Milk. Microwave for 2 minutes, or until the butter is melted. Stir. Microwave for 3 minutes and stir again. (stopping to stir is IMPORTANT to evenly distribute the heat). Repeat the 3 minute microwave and stir. Repeat again. Repeat again. Voila! Homemade Caramel.

Next get the assembly line ready. You will need some apples...preferably tart ones. You will also need a melon baller, some bamboo skewers, and some fun sprinkles and nuts and other decorations. Oh...it's also very helpful if you have little candy paper things. (see picture above)

Use the melon baller to scoop out balls of apple. Skewer the apple on the part that shows the skin. dip in the caramel. roll in the sprinkles. Put on your beautiful platter in the papers. Serve at your party. Watch the guests admire and enjoy!

"Ghost" Chili (AKA White Chili)

2008-10-30T22:08:00.007-07:00

Today I made Alan and Becca's "Ghost Chili". Isn't it pretty? It was yummy too! And, yes, I will admit, I did NOT win the chili cook-off. It was a bit of a disappointment, but let's be honest here....Who were the judges anyway? They picked a chili that had bacon in it. Bacon? in chili? I'm sure it was tasty in a traditional chili type of way?? But my chili had character and STYLE. It's halloween...it was Ghost Chili! I mean, that's FESTIVE! I'm not bitter.

Anyway, on to the recipe! :)

Start by chopping up one onion and three jalepeno chili peppers. Remove the seeds and ribs of the jalepenos, unless you want a lot of kick! Then go ahead and toss the seeds and ribs in! Throw caution to the wind! Put the onions and jalepenos into the pan with some olive oil and sautee til the onions are translucent. Oh...and do not take any deep wiffs over the pan during this process unless you have a death wish for your eyes. The jalepenos can be kind-of potent! Oh...I almost forgot...I also diced up 3 large garlic cloves and added them to the sautee half-way through the process. (they sautee faster than the onions and you don't want the garlic to burn!)

I should mention...if you prefer, you can add 1/2 tsp of garlic powder instead of the fresh garlic, and you could add canned chili peppers instead of fresh.

**(I did not get any photos of the next step as I was solo in this cooking operation and was touching raw chicken, and well, raw chicken does NOT mix with my camera!)**

Next add 1 pound of diced chicken to the pan and brown it on all sides. Once the chicken is browned, add chicken stock to the pan. It will look like this:
Truthfully, it doesn't look like much at this point...but it does smell good!

Next, open your 2 cans of Cannelli (or Great Northern) white beans, drain them and add them to the pot.

Now bring it to a simmer and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes or so....

Lastly add 1/2 cup of cream & 1 cup of sour cream to the mix. (no photos...sorry!)

And then add some seasonings. I added 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to the mix. Oh, and as a last minute effort at winning the cook-off (futile!) I also threw in 4 oz of cream cheese. . . .

It was yummy!

Peach Crisp

2008-09-21T22:54:00.005-07:00

This is my peach crisp, adapted from the pioneer woman
I didn't get a picture of all the ingredients together, mostly because I was tired, and doing this kind-of on the fly...
But you start by pre-heating your oven to 350 degrees. Then measure into a medium bowl 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar (I only had 1/4 cup, so I ran with it - it was fine), 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg.
I was so excited...for this gave me an excuse to use the fancy schmancy nutmeg grinder that Wendy gave me for Christmas! Although, I will note, and ask those of you who regularly use these types of nutmeg grinders...how exactly is one supposed to MEASURE 1/2 tsp of nutmeg coming out of one of these things? I just guessed...I'm more into the "Less precise" when it comes to the science of cooking anyway! Oh....and I added about 1/2 cup of oats as well (this differs from the Pioneer Woman...but I love oats on a "Crisp" so I ran with it!)
Next add 1/2 cup of butter, and cut that in with your handy pastry cutter.

Next take those delicious tree-ripened peaches that you got at the farmer's market on Friday and de-skin and cut them up. toss them with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice...and if you have a fresh lemon the Pioneer woman says you should add lemon zest too. (it was Sunday, I didn't have a lemon, and didn't think I could borrow one from a neighbor either) Then add about 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup (the real stuff.....not aunt Jemimah)
Add your topping to the peach mixture...and bake for approx. 45 minutes.

Serve with the Pioneer Woman's maple cream sauce - or if you are me, and it's Sunday and you don't have any cream....settle for some vanilla ice cream from your freezer. Yummy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2008-08-05T15:34:00.004-07:00

I made the yummiest Sweet and Sour Chicken on Sunday! I thought I would share the recipe. I have a picture of the final result, but none of the process until I make it again...I was by myself and the whole breading process made it not reasonable to use a camera at the same time.

Anyway, to begin, here is what you need: 3-4 chicken breasts, 1 cup of corn starch, 2 eggs (beaten) salt and pepper. First you chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then salt and pepper for seasoning. Next you coat them in corn starch, then dredge in the eggs. Then into the frying pan with a little bit of oil. If you aren't careful (which I wasn't) you will end up with a LOT of batter stuck to your fingers. If you have a non-stick pan you can get away with a smaller amount of oil here. All you are going to do is let them brown up a tiny bit, but not cook all the way through. Then, pull them out of the pan and put them in a baking dish.

Next we mix up the sauce. In a small bowl combine 3/4 Cup of sugar, 4 Tablespoons of Ketchup, 1/2 Cup of vinegar ( I use rice vinegar) , 1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce, and 1 tsp of Garlic Salt. Then pour the sauce over the chicken bites and bake the whole thing at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

The result? Yummy!

Papas con chili verde burritos

2008-07-19T18:21:00.001-07:00

At our house we periodically have what we call "Mexican Saturday". We love Mexican food so we will have a Saturday filled with our favorite Mexican foods. We usually start off with Mexican shrimp cocktails and lots of tortilla chips with fresh Salsa and Guacamole. We then move on to other dishes like fish or shrimp tacos, and more often then not burritos filled with potato and green chili.

These things are awesome! It might sound like a weird combination of flavors but they really are amazing. We used go to Puerto Penasco several times a year and we would buy these from food vendors on the beach.

You will need several potatoes, Anaheim peppers, bacon, one onion, 2-3 cloves of Garlic, some flour tortillas, and some cheese.

So find a pan and fry up some bacon. Use as much or as little as you like, this is not the main ingredient we are just rying to add some flavor and provide some fat to cook later ingredients. You could even skip this part and just use some olive oil.

While the bacon is getting happy in the pan you need to burn/roast

the Anaheim peppers. These are my favorite peppers. They are very versatile,with good flavor and they are still cheap. I substitute these for Bell peppers all the time. I love buying them down in the South where I live too. Every time I'm at the check out stand the cashier will pick up the peppers and ask me what they are. I tell them and they quickly grab their little cheat sheet to look up the code. Surely there are other people that buy them too. I can't be the only one. However They always ask me every single time.

Anyways, I roast mine on the grill to intensify the heat and give it a smoky flavor. You could use green chilies from a can, but they are not as good, more expensive, and there just isn't any fun in it. I fire up my barbecue grill and toss them on the rack. Pay close attention and turn them when the skin begins to blacken. It should only take a couple of minutes. You could just use a blow torch or hold them over you gas burner on your stove if you have gas. (I could make a joke here, BUTT Ill refrain) let them cool off for a while as you continue with the other goods.

Oh yeah you should have your potatoes in salted boiling water. This should probably be the first step.

Your bacon should be nice and crispy by now so pull it out of the pan and crumble it. And uhh depending on how much bacon grease is in the pan you might want to drain some off, or not, that depends on your diet plan, not mine.

The above picture is one onion diced and three cloves of garlic diced soaking up the hot bacon grease and all the bacon bits left behind. Doesn't that look yummy, well it would if I had any photo skills but I don't, (I do have some numb chuck skills but we wont go into that) so you will just have to imagine the smell and taste of it. Cook it until it is nice and translucent. I would say cook it until its browned, but there were enough bacon remains in the pan that it looked brown when I put it all in.

If you read this whole post and realized that boiling potatoes is the first step then you will be in good shape and your potatoes will be nice and soft. Cut them into cubes and add them to the pan full of grease, onion, and garlic. Now brown those potatoes. oh yeah and add some salt and pepper. Don't be afraid of the salt, potatoes can suck up more salt than the dead sea! This is how potatoes were meant to be cooked. Sure you can cook them millions of other ways but they really were meant to be put in hot bacon grease! So while the potatoes attain the state of nirvana, you have a few minutes to peel off the blackened skin from your peppers. the skin peels off really easily. then gently cut them open and lay them out flat. You can now use a knife to scrape all the seeds out. then dice and you have green chilies, they will look just like they came out of a can, except greener, fresher, smokier, and obviously more flavorful. These babies are what makes this dish so make sure you get them right.

Now add these babies and the bacon into the mix and you will truly have some awesome flavors and smells in your kitchen.

Next for assembly. I'm no expert in making burritos, but I have watched other experts. (at Taco Bell) Its simple really just place all the goods in the center of the tortilla and roll it up and fold the sides over. Right? Lets see how I did...

We must not forget the cheese, whats a burrito without cheese! Oh yeah the cheese melts faster and it all tastes better if the tortillas are warmed. If your gonna go all out make your own tortillas, and cook them enough to have some of those brown and black spots on them. Mmmm. Or if you live in Phoenix AZ then head on over to Carolina's. I have eaten a lot of tortillas in my day but I have never, ever, ever, ever had any that taste as good as theirs do. prepare yourself for a bit of a scary neighborhood, and a total hole in the wall restaurant, however it is well worth it. While buying your tortillas I recommend getting a potato and bean burrito and a Machaca double wrapped.

Not bad if I don't say so myself, I think I might be qualified to roll burritos for Taco Bell.

Now go eat that thing and enjoy, or add some salsa, and then eat it.

Beef Stew

2008-07-06T17:47:00.004-07:00

Ok so this is so easy...
So Yummy...
Super versatile...
and it freezes really well.
What could be better than coming home from church (on a Fast Sunday)
and Dinner is done, and smelling up the whole house.
I made this on Saturday night, along with some Country Whole Wheat bread with Herbs. I have been craving some homemade bread for a while and I always like to try out new bread recipes.

We have to take a pause in the recipe here for a funny story...
First I submit to you a question. Is it thievery to take some fresh herbs growing in front of a vacant house? I say no, but Bec says yes! As I was saying earlier I have been craving homemade bread for a while and I like to make bread that I can use our Wheat from our food storage in. We have tons of wheat in our food storage. I wanted to make some country whole wheat bread with rosemary. Doesn't that sound good and kind fancy too. Perfect for Sunday dinner. I could always go to the store and buy some fresh rosemary, or I can go down the street to a condo where our friends the Joners used to live and they had a huge rosemary bush in their front yard. So I told Bec that I would be back in a few minutes because I was headed to get some rosemary. She told me that I was stealing and that God was going to punish me. I told her I was only going to snip some if the house was still vacant. If somebody was there I would not do it. So just as I headed out the door this massive thunder storm busts the sky wide open. This is the best thunderstorm that I think I have ever seen. The lightning was striking within a mile for sure. I actually was scared and came back inside to ride out the storm. Amazingly the girls slept through it. And we did not lose power. We did however have the overloaded surge protector that all my computer equipment is hooked up to get reset (twice). My computers are all good, except one of my monitors no longer works. I m sure I can fix it though. So I did go cut some rosemary after the storm was over. Obviously nobody lives in that condo yet. The rosemary Bush is so overgrown its practically covering the front walkway. The way I see it I was doing the landlord a favor in trimming it back a little. I didn't take any pictures of the bread, however it turned out fabulously and was the perfect compliment to dip into our beef stew juices. So now back to the Beef Stew!

This is everything I used apart from some salt and pepper.
2 cans of stewed tomatoes
1 can of corn
2 Humongous (IDAHO) Potatoes - not Wada, Sorry Steve
4 carrots - that was all I had left
1 onion
3 cloves of Garlic

I would have put more carrots in if I had more, I also would have added 4 or 5 stalks of Celery (leaves included), But I didn't have any. I chopped everything up minus the stew meat, it was already chopped, and tossed it all into the crock pot. added a little salt and pepper, put it on low, and went to bed. I don't always use stew meat when I make this. Sometimes when I'm cleaning out the freezer and I find a mystery steak that is looking a little freezer burned, I think... Hmm. Im not going to be grilling this frozen piece of Tundra up. Thats when you have to think of beef stew, cause something like that will work nicely in beef stew. Oh yeah, don't add any water to this, you get plenty of juices from those cans.

After eating two giant bowls I loaded a zip lock and off to the freezer it went. This stuff tastes as good if not better after being thawed. Enjoy! Oh and if you see some guy snipping a few sprigs of herb from your front walkway, don't worry about him, I'm sure he's harmless. Besides who plants herbs next to their front door anyways?

Strawberry Banana Concrete

2008-07-04T15:16:00.008-07:00

WOW! I can't get enough of this stuff. We will be homesick for AZ now for the next couple of days because we used to go to Nielson's Frozen Custard and eat this. However several years ago I started making my own and now I'm going to share the recipe with you all. It takes some time and effort, but it is so worth it. We make it every year on the 4th of July and then again at thanksgiving as a part of Banoffie pie. I'm not sure if I can let that secret recipe out yet. Anyways here we go!

Custard
2 Cups of Milk (any kind I use Skim)
3/4 Cup of Sugar
6 whole eggs
1 Tablespoon Honey
1/4 teaspoon Salt

First Make Custard. This is the hard part. Making Custard is an art that I learned while serving a mission in Ireland. For a while I lived with a guy from England and he taught me how to make perfect custard. You can make it from powder, or you can make it from scratch with eggs. For this recipe I highly recommend making it with eggs. Now there are some people who will tell you to that you need to scald your milk and then mix with your eggs to avoid scrambling your eggs, but I prefer to build up my Popeye muscles by whisking forever! I put all the above listed ingredients into a pot and whisk quickly and constantly on medium heat for about 10 minutes. You will get lots of foam from all the whisking but thats ok. The main thing is not to burn the mixture and especially not to scramble the eggs. When the mixture coates the bottom of a spoon it is done!
Mmmm. thats some good lookin custard. So its important to transfer the pot to a cold or ice water bath and continue whisking as it cools so as not to burn it. Or you could serve it hot like this on top of a slice of Apple Pie. After it cools a bit you can put it in the fridge and it will thicken to a pudding like consistency. Pour the Custard into your Ice Cream machine, maker, hand crank thingy or whatever you use to make Ice cream.

Frozen Custard
2 Cups Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 pot of cooled Custard
Now let it churn for a while. You of course will have to add ice and rock salt if you use a machine like mine...

At this point it is very important to Adhere to my other 4th of July traditions.
Barbeque some ribs and other goods, make some other good eats, and most importantly...
Drink a root beer in a frosty mug.
After 30 - 60 minutes you will have some awesome Frozen custard. It should be very thick and yet still smooth like soft serve ice cream. Its very important to eat it right away before it melts : )
And its always better fresh, then frozen later.
I highly recommend adding fresh strawberries and bananas. Nothing could be better! Enjoy!

In Honor of Independence Day

2008-07-02T18:06:00.004-07:00

The food blog has gone through a dry spell lately so here is a quickie. Bec and I made this cake for the 4th of July. Thats in two days from now, we are eating it early, because its too good to wait. Plus our regular 4th of July traditions include frozen Custard with fresh Strawberries and Bananas. So check back soon to see that Recipe! This was Bec's idea so I have to give credit to her, plus she did most of the work. She got the recipe from my mom in an email, in response to some kind of recipe spam mail that Bec apparently spammed out to everybody in her address book. Thanks for the recipe mom, its delish!

I'm not sure what its called so I'm calling it Super Yummy Flag cake

1. Bake a white cake from scratch, or from a box, thats what I did.

2. After it cools, poke holes all over with a wooden spoon. I used a tooth pick and poked as many as possible.
3. Make Jello - per instructions on box. We used Raspberry. Pour Hot Jello all over cake.
4. Let cake cool in refrigerator overnight or for as long as you think you can wait. ( its hard to wait for some things)
5. Cover with Whipped cream, and have your wife decorate with Blueberries and Strawberries, or whatever sounds good to you.

Curried Chicken Cashew Salad W/ Pictures

2008-06-02T08:07:00.007-07:00

Ok....so, I didn't have to wait long to have the opportunity to assembly this yummy salad! First of all, let's review the ingredients: Chicken (not pictured, as it was in the steamer, working on getting cooked), rice (also not pictured...also getting cooked), celery, green onion, frozen peas, mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper. Don't they all look happy...so much potential!
So...I like to steam my chicken in this Black and Decker "handy steamer". It's one of my favorite appliances and it gets a lot of use in my kitchen. Chicken, when cooked this way is very flavorful and moist.
So, while the chicken and rice are cooking, let's work on the rest of the salad. First I chopped up the celery. I also chopped up the celery tops (the leafy part). I like the added flavor those leaves give to the salad. Kind-of slightly spicy. Also, I will just note, that if you are lucky enough to own a knife that is celery green like mine...you should definitely choose to use it whenever you have the opportunity to chop celery! I mean, how fun is that? :) In case you are wondering...I got my knife from the Pampered Chef. I really really really wanted a santoku knife, but didn't want to pay as much as they cost. This was kind-of a mini version, and the color is what sold me completely.
Ok...enough about my knife. Once you've chopped the celery, add it to the bowl. (And don't pay attention to my cell phone sitting under the bowl!)
Next add the frozen peas to the bowl. Don't worry about thawing them out. They will thaw pretty quickly all on their own.
Then chop up some green onions....(there's that green knife again!)

Oh! I just realized I also left the cashews out of the ingredient picture. I'm not doing so well today, am I? You are going to need 2 cups of cashews, and that's a lot. I bought this big container at Costco. I like that they are whole cashews and "fancy" at that. But you can use any variety.
Ok....now let's work on the dressing. It's hard to see, but there is mayonnaise in that bowl.
Next we will be adding some curry powder. Those of you who don't love curry...(Alan)...don't worry because there is only a 1/2 teaspoon. Really, that's not much. If you love curry (like me) you can always add a little bit more.
And now a little salt. (note: I use kosher salt)
And add some pepper too. I was busy grinding my pepper, and it takes two hands, so you don't get a photo of that, but you can see that I've put the pepper in...
Did I mention, I LOVE this pepper. :) I didn't used to like pepper at all, and then I discovered this. It's a whole new world of pepper for me!
Hopefully your chicken is done steaming. If you are me, and you are bad at timing your salad making, you probably had to go surf the internet for a half hour or so while your chicken finished. So, now, being careful not to burn your fingers, dice that chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Again, I was not really good at my salad-making-timing this day, and I really needed to leave in about 20 minutes. The chicken was still hot, and the rice wasn't cooling down very well either. Well...I thought you might enjoy my solution...the freezer! We did a quick chill.
Then put it all together and stir. (I was in a hurry and forgot to photograph the stirring) But here is the final result. Yummy!

And here we are at the party....everyone LOVED the salad. And the party was fun too!

Curried Chicken Cashew Salad

2008-05-30T12:36:00.005-07:00

Man-O-Man, it's summertime and I am feeling ready to participate in some summer BBQ/Picnic/get-together fun. I feel like I have been a slacker lately and haven't really posted much. But I wanted to share one of my favorite "take to a pot-luck Summer picnic/BBQ" dishes. So here we go. It's called Curried Chicken Cashew Salad, and I have to credit my good friend Robin Olsen (not the Robin I knew in High School..Rebecca's sister..whom I would still count as a good friend, but my OTHER friend Robin!) She brought this salad to a party once, and when I tasted it, I thought I had died and gone to chicken salad heaven! I will post pictures of this sometime later, when I have made it (which I will soon!)

First you need the Ingredients: 3 Chicken Breasts, cooked and diced, 1 Cup of chopped celery, 1 Cup frozen peas, 3 Cups cooked white rice (or feel free to substitute in wild rice, or whatever you like...Robin uses a Costco rice blend of wheat, red, and wild rice), 1/3 Cup of chopped green onions, 2 Cups of dry roasted cashews, 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp. curry powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, AND 1 1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice.

Basically, you mix the chicken, celery, peas, rice, green onions, and cashews together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, curry powder, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add the dressing to the chicken mix and Voila! You have super yummy chicken salad!

Pizza

2008-05-25T17:12:00.004-07:00

Oh man this one was fun, plus its pizza, who doesn't like pizza? So next time I make it I'm going to use my own wheat flour ground fresh by me. I chickened out this time and used all white store bought stuff. So Seen below is most of the ingredients. I try so hard to get all the attending parties out and lined up for a nice shot and I imagine its a little like trying to take a picture at the family reunion. the guy taking the photo is obviously not going to make it into the shot right. So lets see what I forgot. I don't see any cheese, thats kinda important for pizza. There was some water, thats ok to forget. What the heck is that weed looking thing in the corner? Thats actually fresh oregano from the garden. I have some awesome herbs growing in the garden this year, although the basil is not quite ready, bummer thats my favorite one. And actually when I went to make the sauce, it was also baby feeding time at our house an I opted to just sprinkle in the dry stuff instead of chopping fresh herbs. Sometimes its all about quick and easy.

Ok so I also stole my recipe off of the web for the crust. I have made pizza twice in the past month and used two kinds of crust recipes, and this one is the better one. So here it is.

Ingredients

* 2 1/2-3 cups flour
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 1/4 teaspoons fast rising yeast (or fast rise, 1 envelope)
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
* 2 tablespoons oil

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt; blend well.

2. Gradually add water and oil to mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. By hand, add 1 1/2 to 2 cupa flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.

3. On floured surface, knead in 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover loosely with plastic and let rest in a warm place for about 15 minutes.

4. Press out dough onto (2) 12-inch pizza pans. Prick randomly with a fork. Let rest again in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.

5. Brush crusts lightly with oil then pre-bake them in a 450 degree oven for 5 minutes.

6. Top as desired, then bake again in 450 degree oven for 4-5 minutes, or until desired doneness.

So I followed the above recipe almost exactly and the crust was awesome! I suppose I could have made the crust more round, and if I still had a pizza stone, wouldn't that be something. Our pizza stone died a horrible fiery death about a year ago. I would tell you the whole story but its long. Basically it all happened out doors on the grill and it involved an entire tank of propane. That was one black pizza stone man! So now I use cookie sheets. I sprinkled one with corn meal and the other I put on parchment paper. The parchment paper was WAY better. no mess at all, and no sticking at all!

So I made up the recipe for the sauce and Im open to suggestions here. It was good but im sure it could be better. It was going to bee good with fresh herbs I suppose but oh well.

1 can of tomato sauce, heavily sprinkled with Oregano, Basil, Onion powder, and Garlic Powder.
spread it on the pizza dough thick after the 5 minute pre-bake, and then top with your favorite toppings
I topped with Tons of Mozzarella of course and then Mushrooms and spicy sausage (left over breakfast sausage) The second pizza had Ham and Pineapple. Guess what? the pizza was pretty dang good! the whole thing took a little longer than 1 hour! I cant wait till the girls are older and we can do this one together!

Shrimp Scampi

2008-05-18T19:14:00.004-07:00

Do you love shrimp like I do? Then you will love this of course!
This one is a classic and of course its really quick and easy... for me anyways.
The ingredients - Shrimp (peeled and de-veined and raw), Garlic, Parmesan Cheese, Lemon Zest, Pasta, Olive Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Chicken Broth, and Salt and Pepper
The amount of the ingredients used as always depends on you, how many shrimp would you like in your pasta? How Garlicky do you like it? How Lemony? etc.
I cover the bottom of the pan with some Olive Oil and add 2-3 cloves fresh chopped Garlic. Let it cook for a good 30 seconds and add the shrimp.

The shrimp will be ready to flip over in about 15 -30 seconds depending on how hot your pan is. when they are turning pink, that is when its time. If you cook them too long they will be all rubbery, and thats just nasty!add about 1/4 cup of chicken stock, and a tablespoon or two of White wine vinegar, and let the shrimp get all happy for a minute or two in that. By the way you should have some pasta cooking on the side and it should be done by now and ready to go. If you don't have any chicken stock or white wine vinegar you can substitute some of the pasta water form your pasta and some apple juice or another kind of vinegar.

Add the pasta, I used Whole Wheat Spaghetti (Yum) and then add as much Parmesan cheese as you want, lemon zest, and salt and pepper.

Toss together and enjoy!

Salsa

2008-05-01T16:16:00.006-07:00

So I was craving some Mexican food the other day...
Of course down here in the South Mexican food doesn't really exist. There are some Mexican restaurants, however they leave quite a bit to be desired. So if you are from out West where the Mexican food is authentic, and you have been transplanted to where its not, then you just have to make your own. This is quick and easy, and cheap. Plus you can totally grow all this in your garden.

I used canned tomatoes because I don't have any from the garden yet, and when I do get some from the garden they taste so good, I choose other things to put them in.
So cut open a Jalapeño and remove the seeds,or leave them in if your inclined to make the Salsa hotter. If you really want it hot use a Habanero pepper instead. Grab an onion, some garlic, some cilantro, and put it all into the food processor, or the blender, or use a knife to chop it up all small as you please. Open the tomato cans and drain all the juice. Add them to the processor, cut at least one lime in half preferably two or three and squeeze as much juice form them as you can into the mess, salt and pepper to taste and you have Salsa. What a crappy picture this is, I need to learn how to use the camera or something.

So what to do with all this salsa? Well you could just eat it on chips. Or you could make something else. I like to make guacamole. Cut open 3 or 4 avocados and squish them all up, minus the pits. Add a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa and whalla you have guacamole. Or make some fish tacos... Mmmm. thats what I did. Grilled up some Cod with a little honey and chili powder, added some cheese and salsa and wrapped the whole thing in a corn tortilla. cant forget the lime juice. Does it get any better than that. Well maybe it does, if your sitting on the beach in Mexico eating it!

Spicy Broccoli Beef

2008-04-19T18:44:00.007-07:00

As always I try to keep it really simple and tasty. This one is so easy and quick and of course very versatile. Here are the ingredients. Broccoli, Beef Broth, Soy Sauce, thin steak, or stew meat, Onion, corn starch, Water, Crushed Red Pepper, and your choice of Oil. I used Sesame, but its also good with Peanut Oil.
First pour your broth into a bowl and add 2 Tablespoons of Corn Starch, about 1 Tablespoon of Crushed red pepper, 1 Tablespoon of Soy Sauce and a cup of water. The Corn starch is going to sink to the bottom and thats ok you can stir it all up later.
Meanwhile Cook up all that broccoli and onion in a little bit of Oil. I put about 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in the pan and then added just a touch of Sesame Oil. That stuff is powerful so be careful. If your using Peanut oil then you can fore go the Oilve Oil and just use a couple of Tablespoons of that. Also I used a Vidalia Onion, but Its also really good with Spring Onions. Since I'm in the south I have to take advantage of the Vidalias...
When your done with the broccoli, which should be pretty quick, you want to just cook it until its tender crisp dump it into that bowl of broth and put your steak which you cut into bite sized strips into the pan. The pan should be scorching hot and I put the meat in just a few pieces at a time, because it cooks so quick. you are literally turning it over as fast as it goes in. The pan needs to be hot enough to brown the beef but not cook it all the way through. That way it will be melt in your mouth tender when you eat it instead of tough strips of leather!
Doesn't all that meat look tasty! Your pan should look like a huge mess to clean and of course thats a good thing because you are ready to dump the meat, and the broccoli and all the broth back in to deglaze and finish it all off.

Be sure to give the broth a good stir to get the cornstarch incorporated back in.

Bring the whole thing to to a quick boil and then remove from the heat. It will be all bubbly and begin to thicken. Its now ready to eat, so actually we should have discussed what to eat it with. I put it on top of some whole wheat noodles here and it was delicious.
This is the day after when I took the leftovers and put it on Rice. Very good as well! Enjoy!

In Honor of BBQ Season...which is quickly approaching

2008-04-15T15:48:00.006-07:00

Are you planning on cooking chicken on the BBQ for say, 30 people? Well, I have no pictures, but I thought it would be fun to post one of my favorite recipes, even if I haven't made and photographed it yet. This one, in particular, because I might not have an opportunity to make it anytime soon. (due to the large quantities!) Anyhow, I got this recipe from my good friend Keith, whom I work with. He uses it for scout campouts/bbq's etc. He taught it to me and we made it the year we were in charge of the office Summer Party together. (Good times!)

Anyway, here you go. (Oh, and this is my small disclaimer, the name is Keith's, not mine!)

Keith's "Damn Good" Chicken Marinade
(recipe good for up to 10 lbs. of meat -- approx. 30 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
(1) Pint Soy Sauce
(1) quart 7-up
(1) T. Horseradish
(1) T Garlic Powder
(1) Pint cooking oil

1) Place defrosted chicken in large tupperware bowl (Doesn't everyone own one of those "That's a Bowl"?)
2) In separate bowl, mix marinade ingredients until fully assimilated)
3) Pour marinade into chicken-laden bowl, place lid on tightly & refridgrate for entire marination process
4) Marinate chicken for 12 hours - carefully shake bowl every hour (make sure lid is on and on good!)

Leeky Chicken and Lemon Rice Pilaf

2008-04-09T17:01:00.009-07:00

First let me give credit where it is due. This is a modified version of a Rachel Ray recipe. Hers is probably way better than mine, but we use a few different ingredients.
So this is one of Bec's Fav meals and we always make it together. Also not all the ingredients are shown here. I had not picked the fresh thyme from the Garden when we took this shot and we only use about a Table spoon of Butter so don't be frightened by that big ol cube down there. I know we live in the south and all but we don't eat like some of the folks here do. I also used some apple cider vinegar and some apple juice. Bec Also thought it was important to show a cup of water as part of this pic too.

What you will need;
3-4 Leeks that actually look good. sometimes the Leeks look pretty scary
at least 4 Chicken Breasts, thighs wings legs whatever
4 cups of Chicken Broth, or two cans of chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
2-3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1/4 cup Apple Juice
1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Cup of Water!
Salt and Pepper
1 Lemon Zested
as Much thyme as your taste buds can handle - or a few sprigs :) I love thyme.

Make the rice first because it takes longer to cook. the Rice should be done around the same time as everything else.
First Dice up your Shallot and Sauté it in about 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and 1 Tablespoon of Butter until softened and translucent.
Next add your rice and brown for about 2-3 minutes stir frequently, or shake the pan violently around and back and forth, thats what I do.
Add 1/4 cup of Chicken Stock and a splash of apple juice and a splash of apple cider vinegar and allow all that to evaporate, but don't burn the Rice, it will evaporate pretty quick.
Next add 2 cups of Chicken Stock, 1 cup of Water and another splash of the juice and vinegar, bring to a simmer, cover and cook till tender and liquid is gone, about 25 minutes. When it is finished stir in your Lemon zest.
This Rice is awesome, your gonna love it.

put about a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the pan, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper your chicken and then put it in the hot pan. Hey the chicken is going to stick to that pan and its gonna be a pain to clean later! yup its gonna stick and the pan will be a mess but you will deglaze it later and get to eat all that sticky goodness later so just relax.

Flip the chicken when its good and browned, by the way did I say you want to cook on pretty high heat? And you might want to use a splatter screen because uhh... well you'll see.

See all those golden sticky chicken bits in the pan? Those are going to add some nice flavors to your Leeks. Your chicken should be browned on both sides and don't be concerned if you think it might not be cooked all the way through. just take it out and let it sit on a plate for a while. Now add your leeks to the pan. Oops! Your supposed to clean and cut those bad boys up first. We could discuss this one for a while, and unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures of this meal. even though Bec requested an action shot of her chopping away on the leeks. Cut the ends off the leeks and split lengthwise then cut into chunks discarding the darkest greenest tips. You can figure it out. Oh yeah these grow in Sandy soil so rinse the cut up pieces really well. I put them all in a colander and then dump them into the pan, right about now!

Let em Sauté for about 5-7 minutes stirring around occasionally, and then take that chicken and nestle it all down in the leeks. Now add about 3/4 cup of Chicken stock and a splash of apple Juice and a splash of Apple Cider vinegar. Just a word here about vinegar. that stuff id pretty powerful, and tasty. You don't have to use Apple Cider vinegar, you could use White wine Vinegar, or Rice wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar or whatever. Let the whole thing simmer for another 5-7 minutes

Now is when you get all fancy and stuff and slice your chicken on an angle and fan it out on top of a bed of leeks. Unfortunately for us the rice was not done in time for this picture. We were hungry and ready to eat. However notice those 2 tupperwares back there? Can you say awesome lunch tomorrow

So here is a shot with the rice. I'm pretty excited about lunch tomorrow. If your job sucks, and your boss is a jerk, and your co-workers are mean, and your commute is long, and you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and your underwear is too tight... At least you can eat a good lunch and that will make most of those things bearable.

Steak and Potatoes

2008-04-08T18:18:00.008-07:00

OK I know you are all saying... "Steak and Potatoes?!" But seriously this one gets messed up all the time. Just ask yourself how many times have you chewed a piece of leather steak forever, or crunched on a burnt piece, or ate a steak with no flavor at all? I'm sure you can think of an instance. If not consider yourself lucky. I married someone who did not like steak before we met. Frankly I don't blame her. Her old man used to fry, (thats right I said fry) up a chuck, (thats right I said chuck) steak in a frying pan in vegetable oil until it was black and then crunch away on it. Can you say NASTY! Also I just have to say this before we get started. If you put ketchup on your steak... Well I don't even want to go there. Now lets grill up some awesome steak!

Who's coming to this party?

Lets discuss the ingredients a little. When buying steak you need to buy something worth eating. If the steak is really cheap then there is probably something wrong with it, or it was never meant to be eaten as a steak. Lots of steak lookin meat was meant to be stew meat or something else. The best steak I ever had cost at least $35. It was worth every penny. Lets just pause and savor the experience again... Mmm... that was good. Next time you are feeling spendy head out to Ruth's Chris It will cost you a pretty penny but oh it is so good. I promise you will never look at a steak the same way again. By the way this is my wife's 2nd favorite restaurant. Where were we? Oh yeah the ingredients...
A good cut of meat. This one is a sirloin. We try to go lean. My favorite is a Rib eye, lots of fat and lots of flavor. If you are going to buy a really expensive steak shouldnt need anythig but salt an pepper to please your palate. However this cut of meat was on the budget side so it needed a little something to help it out. I use Canadian Steak Seasoning This stuff rocks! I buy it at Sams Club. I use it to marinade steak, Pork, and Chicken. I know it says Steak Seasoning but Im telling you it is awesome on the other meats as well. The only thing I change is the Vinegar. For Steak I use Balsamic vinegar. So bust out a zip lock pour in some balsamic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Water, and Steak seasoning and a good cut of meat and your set. You will want to marinade for at least an hour. I recommend 24 hours.

What better to go with a steak than a baked potato. I like to crust my with salt. rub a tad of butter on your potato and I mean a small tad. the potato should look wet when you are done. Then put it on your foil and cover it with a nice layer of salt. If you use too much butter you will be using the self cleaning option on the oven after dinner. Wrap that spud up and let it bake for 45 minutes at 450 -500 depending on your oven. A fork prick or two will help speed the time up.

Hopefully you have marinated for at least a hour. If so put that steak on the grill. you might want to light it first and let it heat up. You want your grill to be just about as hot as possible. This way you can sear your steak and keep the flavor in. Now it comes without saying here, that you should know thy grill. There are hot spots and not so hot spots... Also how do you like your steak? Are you like my wife and you want it to have nice grill marks on the outside and absolutely NO pink in the center. Or are you like me and you want it to be hot and pink in the center. adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Finally serve it all up. put whatever you want on the potato to make it taste good, and add a veggie to the side. or for the ladies add a nice dinner salad. actually since I'm sure there are no men out there reading this blog... Ladies, if you can pull this meal off for your man, he will sing your praises forever!

One final word. have you ever eaten a steak that was cold before you finished it. Yuck thats no fun. Put your plates in the oven with the potatoes and heat them up to 500 degrees or so and put the steaks on them just make sure you warn whoever is eating that their plate is hot and be aware that the steak will continue to cook while you eat so... a little pinker is good.

Julie's Cream of Mushroom Soup Experiment

2008-04-06T20:02:00.013-07:00

So tonight I thought I would experiment. Nancy and Ariel were gone...and since they don't like mushrooms, I though it would be a perfect opportunity to try making cream of mushroom soup. I know Alan makes this often, and he probably has a perfect recipe, but it was getting late, and I didn't want to bug him, besides, sometimes I just like to experiment and see how it turns out. So, that is what I did. Just to explain a little about my cooking....I don't really do recipes. I like to approximate. So, see if you can keep up! Here we go. These are the ingredients I pulled out of my refridgerator:
Mushrooms (of course!) an onion, garlic, milk, chicken stock, butter and half and half. Okay, first of all I have to confess that I was in a big hurry when I picked up the half and half at the store. I thought I was only picking up like 3 items, I could do this on my own and just walk with my cane. It turned out to be challenging. We'll just leave it at that. But suffice to say that pushing a cart AND walking with a cane is not easy on the healing broken ankle. That said, I was in a hurry and accidently picked up "Fat Free" half and half. Fat Free? yes. I did not know there could be such a thing. It turns out, it worked decently well...but I'm not sure it is really better for you. Anyway, in the spirit of total disclosure, yes, that IS "fat free" half and half, and yes, I bought it. If you decide to follow my cooking experiment, feel free to try fat free half and half, or the real deal, or even cream. I'm sure they would all work just fine. For what it is worth, you can even stick with just milk...it just won't be as creamy. So, first things first, I chopped up an onion. Here is my method. First remove the skin (I didn't take a photo of that, but I'm sure you can manage! Next cut the onion in half from root to top and place the onion half (cut side down) on your cutting board. Next you are going to make a series of radial cuts, taking care not to cut all the way through the root, this will hold the onion together for now....see the picture?
Ok, next turn the onion 90 degrees and slice through, producing a very nice dice, if I do say so myself

Ok, now for the garlic. Take one clove of garlic, and you are going to smash it with the knife blade. Use the heel of your hand on one side of the blade to help give it some force.

If you have smashed it well, the outside papery "skin" will come right off leaving a perfect clove.

Give the clove a bit of a rough chop. Now, I was thinking I definitely did not want any chunks of garlic, but I did want the flavor, so I decided to make a garlic paste. Basically, once you've rough chopped the garlic, you are going to smash it into the paste. Again, using the heel of your hand, press the side of your knife blade onto the chopped up garlic. Throw a little bit of kosher salt on it to help grind the garlic up. Just rub the salt into the garlic with the knife blade...It works pretty well...

Ok...next put both the onions and garlic into your pan with a few tablespoons of butter.

Then add in your chopped up mushrooms:

And saute them for a bit.

Once they are nice and sauteed, add them to your blender along with a cup or so of chicken stock. Normally I would totally have left them in the pan, and added the chicken stock, and then blended using my new Cuisinart Hand Blender that I got for Christmas...but, sadly, the hand blender was downstairs, and I was upstairs, and with my ankle...it was too much of a problem to go get it...but next time...and there will be a next time, that is what I will use. If you are lucky enough to own your very own hand blender...you can skip this step.

Meanwhile, back in our pan, I left a few peices of mushrooms hanging out with some butter. I thought it would be nice to have a few chunks of mushrooms in the soup. So, I added a few tablespoons of flour to the pan. Basically we are making what the French call a "Roux" - equal parts fat (in our case butter) to flour. Then you stir it around and "cook" the flour. The purpose here being that the proteins in the flour get cooked, and they thicken your soup without adding a "flour" taste. Long story short add about as much flour as you did butter earlier. If you find that it isn't quite coming together, add a little more butter or flour.

Here is what it should look like, consistency wise. Stir it around for a minute or two until it browns ever so slightly.

Then add your blended up mushrooms and chicken stock back to the pan

and again...I'll just mention...if you are lucky enough to own one of these, well, you are lucky!

Next add your cream, or half and half, or milk, or (in my case) fat free half and half

Bring the whole thing to a simmer so that flour can go to work and thicken it all

And YUM! You have something delicious to eat!

I served mine up with some oven roasted asparagus. (something else I love) They don't necessarily go together, but they were both delicious!

What did I learn? Well, next time I might leave out the garlic and add some fresh thyme. I didn't have any thyme or I might have tried it. I think I had too many onions compared to the other ingredients...or maybe they just weren't blended well enough. And, of course, that whole fat free half and half fiasco...well, I would try something different next time. All in all though, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. Not bad.

Post Script: After doing some internet research, I believe I now know where I went astray. I found this recipe And suddenly it all makes sense....use the food processor to finely (very finely) chop up the mushrooms and onions BEFORE you cook them. Yes, that is the ticket. I will try it! :)

Lentil Soup

2008-03-31T13:10:00.008-07:00

This is one of the easiest soups I have ever made. Seriously you cant mess this up. Besides that its pretty healthy and it tastes good, what more can you ask for?

O.K. here are the ingredients... Oh yeah these, photos are a doubled recipe, so you can use half if you like.

In a big pot pour 4 quarts of water. Add two packages of Lentils (16 oz each) you could use more you would just need more water. Dice two onions, as many carrots as you like, I used 5. As Much Celery as you like, I used an entire stock, leaves and all (chop the leaves up fairly fine). somewhere between 3/4 and a full cup of finely chopped parsley. As much Garlic as you like, I used 4 cloves, You could just add some powdered garlic, at least a Tablespoon. Fresh basil finely chopped if you have it or about half a Tablespoon of dried Basil, Salt and pepper to taste. You can leave ingredients out too if you don't like something. Ok so bring all those ingredients to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Ok your probably wondering about that italin sausage and the tomatoes and the red wine vinegar, in the picture above. Thats the important ingredients. I like this soup better with Ham than with Italian Sausage, but I used sausage when I took these photos. Normally I mkae this soup a week or so after Easter or Christmas, or anytime that you eat a big ham. I freze all my leftover ham that does not get consumed within a couple of days (also freeze the ham hock) Thsn I chop up the Frozen ahm pieces and chuck them, as well as the hock into the boiling soup. If you dont have Ham get some Sausage. I removed the casings and cut up into bite sized chunks and cooked up the sausage nice and browned and crispy on the outside in the pot before adding all those previous ingredients.

After the soup has simmered for 1 and 1/2 hours, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of Red wine Vinegar and two cans of tomatoes (15 oz each), and simmer for 30 more minutes. Then eat... Yum

This recipe made enough for about 6 bowls of soup and then we froze two gallon sized bags like this one. To thaw I just plunk the the entire bag into a big pot and fill with luke warm water. it takes 20 minutes or so and then you either scoop out just a bowl full to microwave, or dump the bag out into a pot and reheat. This soup freezes really well, it tastes just as good reheated.

Silk Tie Easter Eggs

2008-03-21T12:44:00.008-07:00

See these ugly ties? Definitely not good for wearing around your neck...they are just not very good looking. But, I have a great use for them. I learned this trick a few years ago from Martha Stewart (who I adore), she learned it from one of her TV staff members. At any rate...it's a really great thing to do with all your really ugly ties. Here is the equipment you will need:
1) Ties (they MUST be 100% silk) 2)plain white cotton fabric squares (I cut up an old sheet) 3)a pot that is either ceramic or glass (metal will react with the vinegar, speaking of which) 4) white vinegar and 5)a twisty tie.

first step: cut a piece of the silk tie big enough to wrap around an egg...then wrap it around an egg (did I mention that these are uncooked eggs?)

Next you are going to wrap a square of plain white cotton fabric (in my case, an old sheet) around the silk that is around the egg. This fabric is going to help hold the silk in place, and hold it tight to the egg's shell.

Use the twisty tie to secure the white fabric tightly on. This is what they will look like when you are done wrapping:

Okay...now take your pot, fill it about 3/4 with water and put it on your stove top and bring the water to a boil. And don't go judging me on this pot. I picked it up specifically for this egg project at my local thrift store. Which, I should point out, is also where you can pick up some ties for 99 cents a piece. Not bad, hmmm? This pot is actually pretty nifty. In addition to being super heavy (cast iron, I believe underneath all that ceramic, it also has a very nifty "stay cool" wooden handle. And besides..what is not to love, I ask you, about that avocado color?

Ok....back to the task at hand. Is your water boiling yet? Go add at least 1/4 cup of vinegar. This is not an exact science. Some people will say you can get away with less, but I am always afraid I will unwrap those eggs and find a plain white egg, so I err on the side of excess.

Next set your eggs into the water

Now set your timer for 20 minutes. and let those eggs boil away. and leave the kitchen if at all possible, because the smell of boiling vinegar is just plain not a good smell. Very yucky, in fact.
As soon as your timer goes off, remove those eggs from the stove, and rinse with cool water. You want to be able to touch the eggs, so rinse as long as necessary (a few minutes will probably do.) Then begin unwrapping!

Don't they look amazing?

nothing like the ugly ties your started with.

And there you have it people. This is my kind of playing with food! ;) Now I better get busy...because I went a little overboard and now I have to figure out what to do with 3 dozen hard boiled eggs....

Two Meals - Roasted Chicken & Chicken Pot Pie

2008-03-20T15:36:00.015-07:00

So your going to need some extra hardware for this one... I bought this landscaping brick at Home Depot for $1 and it lives in my cupboard with several layers of tinfoil wrapped around it. Anybody out there fans of AB? So anyways I picked out this brick based on the size of my dutch oven. I wanted something that was bigger than your typical brick but not so big as to not fit in my pot. So start this recipe by setting your oven to 500 and putting your brick in it to get hot. Oh make sure you have wrapped your brick up in several layers of foil.

Here are all the ingredients....
One whole Chicken, two potatoes, one onion, 3-5 cloves of garlic, several carrots, and a few strips of bacon. With these ingredients and My brick there will not be room for hardly anything in my Dutch oven. I use a a 3 quart dutch oven purchased at Ikea You can buy these same pots at some upscale cooking stores but they cost a fortune there.

Chop everything up. I hate the chicken part but its so cheap to buy a whole chicken, this one cost me $4. You have to remove the rib cage and all those bones except legs and wings. It takes me about 15 minutes to do this and I cant keep the chicken together, it ends up quartered, but hey I don't care its gonna get ripped apart before I eat it anyways.

Then chop up the bacon into little pieces and fry it crisp in your pot, and then remove it. At this point you can pour out most of the bacon grease as well, you only need about 1 tablespoon of fat on the bottom of the pan. You can leave it in too if you like, its up to you how healthy your grub is.

Season your chicken with Salt and Pepper on both sides.
Put your chicken in the bottom of hot pot and listen to it sizzle.

Add your hot brick on top of your chicken, your brick should have been in the oven for at least 20 minutes. The goal here is to Brown your chicken on both sides, the pan side and the brick side. Load all your veggies and bacon bits back into the pot around the brick and put the lid on. the whole thing should cook on top of the stove for about 5-7 minutes. Then pop it into that hot oven (500 degrees), and let it cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, remove brick from pot and your have some good grub for dinner. This is pretty simple and you can substitute all kinds of items. Whatever veggies you want, Cornish game hens instead of chicken. Whatever.

So after your family has devoured this meal its time to take stock of the left overs. My family is quite small so there is always a ton left over. This is always good reheated the next day but even better than that is to make the left overs into a pot pie. So I de-bone whatever Chicken is leftover and load into a casserole dish.

There is always some awesome looking juices in the bottom of the Dutch oven and they are singing out to me to be made into some country gravy.

If you have never made gravy before, its really simple. add a couple of spoonfuls of flour to the pan and whisk it in, Turn on the heat and cook the four mixture until hot and bubbly. I add a little chicken stock to thin it out just a tad, but mainly I add milk at this point and a little fresh ground pepper. You can use heavy cream too for a richer gravy.

Pour the gravy over the top of the chicken and veggies and load that thing into the refrigerator until tomorrow, or you could cook it up now if your still hungry.

Man that was an easy meal. To keep it easy whip out one of those pre made frozen pie crusts and slap it on top. Oh if this has been in you refrigerator overnight, you will want to reheat it before putting the crust on. I nuke it until it is hot all the way through, then put on the crust and bake for about 15 minuts at 400 degrees or until the crust is golden brown. Yum Yum.

Vegetable Quesadillas

2008-03-20T05:49:00.010-07:00

Use whatever veggies you like. This is just what I had available. Anaheim pepper, Broccoli, Carrots, tomato, Green Bell Pepper, Jalapeño, and Onion. I would prefer yellow or orange bell peppers, and the jalapeño gives it a little kick. Dice and slice and add them all to your pan with a tablespoon or two of butter. You could use olive Oil too, but I think the butter gives it better flavor. I have made this a few times and Sometimes I saute the onions and carrot first, and then all everything else, but you really only need to cook it all for a few minutes. You want the veggies to be tender, but not soggy. Oh and don't put the tomato in yet that comes later.

I like to heat my tortillas up on the griddle for a minute or two then flip them over and add the cheese so it can start melting right away on a hot tortilla

Next add your veggies. THe veggies above made enough for two, so only add half. I slice the tomato up thin and add it to the top like a pizza. then start heating the top half of my quesadilla and add the cheese to melt to it.

Once the cheese is melted on th e second tortilla, flip it over on top of the veggies and allow a minute or two for the cheese to stick to the veggies. Mashing it down a little helps. Then carefully flip it over to brown and crisp up the tortilla a little.Slice and serve. I use a regular knife for slicing, the pizza cutter tends to make a mess of it. Now If only had some homemade salsa, or pico de gallo. some guacamole, and some sour cream...