Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Best Brownies
The Best Brownie Recipe Ever
Really--the best brownie recipe ever? Could that be. There are many types of brownies, chewy, cakey, with nuts, without nut, with add ins, frosted or without frosting. How could one brownie be the best ever. Well I had to try it because I only have 27 brownie recipes on my blog and I certainly could use another.
This recipe called for browned butter--already moving up the scale fast. It uses cocoa--another plus as I always have some in the house. The recipe is made in one pan, sounding better all the time. The recipe did call for almonds but I had some roasted peanuts which I thought would go well with the nutty flavor of the browned butter. Well--are they the best ever? I served them at girls weekend and had many harsh brownie critics. They all gave this recipe a thumbs up! So yes go ahead and try it. See if it is your Best Brownie Recipe Ever!
The Best Brownie Recipe Ever
10 tablespoons butter, cut in 1 inch pieces
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, chilled
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts or walnuts
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until foaming stops and brown bits form on the bottom of the pan--watch closely and stir often. Brown butter turns to black butter in seconds! Remove from heat, immediately add sugar, cocoa, water, salt and vanilla. Stir to blend. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs to the hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition.
When the mixture looks thick and shiny add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Fold in nuts.
Line a 8 inch square pan with foil leaving a 2 inch overhang. Spray foil with Pam. Spread thick batter in pan. Bake at 325 for 25 to 30 minutes.
Check brownies by inserting toothpick, a few moist crumbs might stick to the toothpick. Cool in pan on rack. Using foil overhang lift brownies from pan. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Is it your Best Brownie?? I found recipe on The Tasty Fork who found it on Bon Appetit
Printable Recipe
1 year ago--------Thai Chicken Pizza
2 years ago-------Party Chicken Salad Sandwiches
3 years ago----- -Peanut butter Bars--Scott's favorite treat of all time!!
4 years ago-------Broccoli Salad
Loaded Rice Krispie Treats for the Girls and it's Gluten Free!
A Rice Krispy Treat is a pretty lowly affair--but not for girls weekend! We added peanut butter because we can. We then went crazy with our drizzle. If one kind of chocolate is good--3 kinds will be amazing. So we used milk chocolate, dark chocolate and white chocolate. Yes, they made a delicious combination.
Loaded Rice Krispy Treats
40 or 4 cups marshmallows
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup peanut butter butter
Mix together in Microwave till creamy and smooth. Add 5 cups of Rice Krispy and 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips. Pat into a buttered or sprayed 8 inch square pan. This will make a thick treat. Putting in a 9x13 inch pan will make a thinner treat. When cool remove from pan and cut into desired shapes. Drizzle with chocolate! I use chocolate melting wafers purchased in bulk from WinCo. These have a great flavor and dry quickly. I melt about 1/4 cup melts in a small zip lock baggie. Heat in 30 second intervals, knead chocolate in package. When completely melted snip a very small corner off the baggie and use this to drizzle--yes it really does work!
Printable Recipe
Labels:
30 minute meal,
bars,
chocolate,
dessert.,
gluten free,
peanut butter,
quick treats
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Pork Baby Back Ribs--by Jeff
Please welcome my brother-in-law Jeff as a guest cook. We were at a family party last week and Jeff raved about this awesome recipe he had for ribs. Now I don't often cook ribs so I was more than happy to turn some time to Jeff. Thanks Jeff for sharing a family secret!
Jeff's Baby Back Ribs
We love pork baby back ribs. This super-simple recipe
allows us to make BBQ succulent baby-back ribs all year-around.
Make sure you start with quality pork baby-back ribs. These ribs came sealed and frozen from Macey's of Orem and were a frugal $2.99 / lb. Thaw and remove the ribs from the plastic. Rinse the ribs under tap water and place on the cutting board. Using paper towels, thoroughly dry both sides of the baby-back ribs. Now using a sharp knife, cut the rack of ribs into portion sizes of 3-5 ribs each.
I've modified this dry rub recipe to our family's taste. Sometimes I will double the recipe and keep half the batch in a zip-lock bag for future use.
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
3 T black pepper
3 T kosher salt
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t celery seed
1 t cayenne pepper
If you'd like the rub less spicy, reduce black pepper to 3/4 T and use only half of the cayenne pepper.
Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl to make the dry rub. Sprinkle the rub on one rib portion at a time, rubbing the rub into the meat. Cover all sides of the rib portion and place in the crock pot. Do not add any liquid to the crock pot. Some recipes call for 1/2 can of soda, beer or 1/2 cup of apple juice/cider. I've found that enough of the pork juices will render in the cooking process to keep the ribs moist. Cook the ribs on High in the crock pot for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
When the ribs are done, I move the rib portions to a cookie sheet covered with tin foil, shiny-side out. Set the oven to broil. Now using a clean brush, paint all of the top side of the ribs with BBQ sauce. Place the ribs under the broiler for 2-4 minutes. You have to watch the ribs and just allow the BBQ sauce to glaze onto the ribs. Now move the ribs onto the stove top or onto pot holders. With tongs, turn the ribs over to the other side. Paint this side with BBQ sauce and back into the over for 2-4 minutes to glaze the other side. Now the ribs are ready to serve. They go great with my wife's terrific potato salad or our signature baked beans.
Make sure you start with quality pork baby-back ribs. These ribs came sealed and frozen from Macey's of Orem and were a frugal $2.99 / lb. Thaw and remove the ribs from the plastic. Rinse the ribs under tap water and place on the cutting board. Using paper towels, thoroughly dry both sides of the baby-back ribs. Now using a sharp knife, cut the rack of ribs into portion sizes of 3-5 ribs each.
I've modified this dry rub recipe to our family's taste. Sometimes I will double the recipe and keep half the batch in a zip-lock bag for future use.
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
3 T black pepper
3 T kosher salt
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t celery seed
1 t cayenne pepper
If you'd like the rub less spicy, reduce black pepper to 3/4 T and use only half of the cayenne pepper.
Thoroughly mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl to make the dry rub. Sprinkle the rub on one rib portion at a time, rubbing the rub into the meat. Cover all sides of the rib portion and place in the crock pot. Do not add any liquid to the crock pot. Some recipes call for 1/2 can of soda, beer or 1/2 cup of apple juice/cider. I've found that enough of the pork juices will render in the cooking process to keep the ribs moist. Cook the ribs on High in the crock pot for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
When the ribs are done, I move the rib portions to a cookie sheet covered with tin foil, shiny-side out. Set the oven to broil. Now using a clean brush, paint all of the top side of the ribs with BBQ sauce. Place the ribs under the broiler for 2-4 minutes. You have to watch the ribs and just allow the BBQ sauce to glaze onto the ribs. Now move the ribs onto the stove top or onto pot holders. With tongs, turn the ribs over to the other side. Paint this side with BBQ sauce and back into the over for 2-4 minutes to glaze the other side. Now the ribs are ready to serve. They go great with my wife's terrific potato salad or our signature baked beans.
Thanks again Jeff for this delicious recipe. I appreciate the step by step photos--they will be on my menu soon!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Coconut Lime Scones
I made them for Mother's Day and I will probably make them again this weekend for my girls. They are delicious. Thanks Krista for this great recipe--I made a few small changes because that's what bloggers do!
Coconut Lime Scones
1/4 cup sugar
zest from 1 lime
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons cream
1 egg
coarse sugar
Put sugar in a bowl and add lime zest--rub the sugar and zest between your fingers. It will smell wonderful. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine, add coconut oil and cut in with 2 knives or a pastry blender. You will have coarse crumbs. Add the coconut and stir. Mix together the lime juice, cream and egg. Add to dry ingredients, stir gently. Dump shaggy mixture on a Roll'Pat and knead gently just till mixture comes together. Do not over mix. The less you handle scones the more tender they will be. Pat in a circle about 6 to 8 inches. Cut into 8 wedges. Brush top of scones with cream and then sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Place scones on a stone or sheet pan, wedges should be about 2 inches apart. Bake at 425 for 11-13 minutes. Do not over cook. Edges may start to turn light brown but you don't want brown bottoms!
Remove from pan and place on cooling rack. When scones are just cool drizzle with glaze. Serve soon.
You can also freeze the scones before they are baked, flash freeze and then place in a freezer baggie. Cook frozen scones at 425 for 11-13 minutes, use within a month.
Glaze
zest from 1 lime
1 cup powdered sugar
lime juice to desired consistency
Printable Recipe
Friday, May 10, 2013
Taco Chopped Salad
I wish I could say that my weekly menu plans were chosen from all the fun foods on my Pinterest boards. But really it is something like this: I look in the pantry, fridge and freezer and see what needs to be used. This week I had a half a bag of my favorite tortilla chips that somehow got crushed, a few olives, and 2 heads of romaine that were screaming 'use me'! I also had some shredded cheese and some freshly made Cracked Pepper Dressing. This looked like the perfect week to have Taco Salads!
Chopped Salads make a stunning presentation. And as I tell my girls--presentation is everything. Chopped Salads are great for picky eaters; they don't have to eat the tomatoes or beans or whatever they don't like.
So here is my version of:
Taco Chopped Salad:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion
1/2 cup Catalina Dressing
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Brown ground beef and onion, season with salt and pepper. Add dressing, water, chili powder and beans, simmer for a few minutes, adding more dressing or water to taste.
On a large platter make rows of:
shredded romaine
spinach
chopped tomatoes
shredded cheese
diced avocado
matchstick carrots
cucumber
chopped red pepper
any other veggies that sound good
tortilla chips or Frito's
ground beef and bean mixture
Serve with Ranch or Cracked Pepper Dressing
Printable Recipe
Labels:
30 minute meal,
beans,
cheese,
main dish,
mexican,
salad dressing,
salads,
tomatoes
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
TWD/BWJ Rhubarb Baby Cakes
While Rhubarb Baby Cakes may not win a beauty pageant they do taste delicious! This sweet cake starts out with a brown sugar caramel sauce and chopped pecans. Thin slices of rhubarb are layered over the pecan/caramel sauce. Top all of this goodness with yummy cake batter. This bakes into a delicious little cake with tart rhubarb and sweet pecan caramel sauce on top.
You can make this recipe with any kind of fruit--think apple, peach or how about blueberries? This is a baby cake but you can also make the cake in a larger cake or spring form pan. The possibilities are endless.
Check Erin's blog for the complete recipe. Then check the TWB/BWJ LYL and see what other bakers did with this recipe.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Vietnamese Summer Roll Salad
Thai Chicken Salad is a family favorite--but I think we may have a replacement! This salad has all the element of delicious Spring Rolls only in a salad form--what could be better. It is gluten free, has little fat but is very high on flavor. Vietnamese Summer Roll Salad will make it on my menu often this summer. Please do try it. The prep took a few minutes but the shrimp cooks up in a minute and it is ready to eat. There are complete detailed recipe instructions on Tasty Kitchen. But here are the basics and our adaptations.
Vietnamese Summer Roll Salad
8 ounces Mai Fun glass noodles, thin
2 whole shallots, sliced thin
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 pound shrimp, deveined and shelled
1/2 cup fish sauce
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 tablespoons honey
1 whole cucumber, partially peeled and cut in match stick pieces
2 peeled carrots, julienne
1/2 of a large red pepper, cut in match stick pieces
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup finely shredded cabbage or Napa
1/2 cup chopped basil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
fresh lime wedges
Make the dressing by combining the fish sauce, vinegar, ginger, chili flakes and honey in a small bowl, whisk together.
Put dry noodles in a bowl, pour boiling water over noodles and let sit in the water until noodles are tender, about 6-8 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water, drain again.
Heat coconut oil over medium high heat and add shallots. Cook shallots until golden brown, remove from pan. Add shrimp to the hot pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes--don't overcook. Remove shrimp from the pan.
Assemble the salad in a large bowl by combining the cucumber, carrot, bean sprouts, red pepper, noodles and cabbage. Toss to combine. Add the basil and cilantro, shallots and peanuts. Top with shrimp. If you are going to consume the entire salad add the dressing and toss. Serve with lime wedges. This salad will feed about 6 main dish servings. You can also serve the dressing on the side--this way the salad will keep in the fridge for a day or two.
Printable Recipe
1 year ago-----Potatoes Au Gratin in a Crock Pot
2 years ago----Baked Creamy Pork Taquitos
3 years ago----Salsa--Quick
4 years ago----Amazing Chocolate Toffee Sugar Cookies
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Fire Station Fun!
Cedar Hills gets a new big fire truck, this calls for a small town celebration. Complete with displays, speeches, hot dogs and many photo ops. EJ had a great day!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Olive Oil Granola
I have tried many granola recipes--you will find several on my blog--all delicious. But I had not tried granola that contained olive oil so of course I had to. Now I have another granola recipe that I love. This granola has plenty of sweetness: honey, pure maple syrup and brown sugar. It is flavored with cinnamon and cardamom, nuts and dried fruit round out the list of ingredients.
This granola stayed in chunks (maybe because of the egg white?) which I like--it is much easier to snack on. You also add the dried fruit before you cook it so the fruit is stuck to the yummy chunks of goodness. I liked it and will certainly make it again. I found it while looking at quilt blogs. It was a fun surprise in the middle of beautiful quilts!
Olive Oil Granola
4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
2 cups nuts/seeds (I used raw cashews and slivered almonds)
3/4 cup dried fruit (I used King Arthur Flour's Fruit Cake Blend--best dried fruit on the planet)
1 egg white
Mix all ingredients except egg white in a large bowl stir until all the sweetness is incorporated. Whisk egg white and add to mixture, stir. Pour mixture on a sheet pan that is covered with parchment paper.
Bake at 325 for about 45-50 minutes, stir every 15 minutes. It will firm as it cools.
Serve on plain Greek Yogurt with fresh berries. It also makes a yummy snack.
Thank you Crazy Mom Quilts for this fun recipe. She also has some amazing quilts to drool over.
Labels:
almonds,
breakfasts,
brunch,
dessert. pecans,
dried fruit,
granola,
macadamias,
oatmeal
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
It has been a long cold winter in Utah. We had our first 70+ degree day yesterday, looks like spring just might make it. I looked out my kitchen window to our barren garden space and I think overnight our rhubarb plant shot up. I did a close up and realized the rhubarb was perfectly tender and ready to turn into a yummy dessert. My sweet Mother-in-Law Geneel was coming to dinner and I know she loves rhubarb. This was the perfect dessert to top off our meal of Teryaki Salmon and Orzo Pasta. We are one happy family!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
2 cups fresh rhubarb, 1/2 inch slices
2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
3/8 cup sugar
zest from 1 orange
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Mix together strawberries, rhubarb, orange zest and sugar. Combine cornstarch with orange juice and stir. Pour over fruit and stir to combine. Put mixture in 8 inch round baking dish--I'm sure an 8 inch square pan would work too.
Topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup quick oatmeal
6 tablespoons cold butter, sliced
Mix together dry ingredients and cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture is in crumbles. You could use your food processor or mixer but I didn't want to dirty them. It was easy to mix by hand. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit mixture completely covering. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Print Recipe
I did a Google search for Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. A recipe by Ina Garten was the winner. It had 42 reviews and almost all were 5 stars. I read the comments and made a few adjustments. I also cut the recipe in half as I wasn't feeding a small army! This recipe would easily feed 4 to 5 adults. I would certainly make this again, we all gave it 5 stars. Next time I will add some chopped walnuts to the topping. The tasty dish will be made often this summer.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Corn Bread
I do love a nice slice of corn bread, layered with honey butter or butter and fresh strawberry jam. Corn Bread is the perfect accompaniment with chili and stew. So why has it taken me 5 years to post a Corn Bread recipe? Simple--I couldn't find one that I loved. They were either too sweet (not a bad thing but I don't really want corn bread to count for dessert), too crumbly and dry, wrong texture etc.
I was determined to find a corn bread recipe that I could call my favorite. I often go to The Joy of Baking when I want yummy recipes--she does not disappoint. This site has great recipes and many video tutorials if you want to actually see someone making the recipe. Great for beginners.
Well The Joy of Baking came through again. She has many variations to this recipe and a great video. Here is the recipe I made.
Corn Bread
Turn oven on to 400 degrees and put a cast iron skillet or a 9 inch cake pan in the oven with 4 tablespoons butter. When the butter melts remove from oven--don't burn the butter, although browned butter just might tasted good??
In large bowl whisk together:
1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a smaller bowl whisk:
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Gently stir just until combined--don't over mix. Swirl the remaining butter around in the pan making sure the sides get buttered. Pour the mixture in the buttery pan and bake at 400 for 18 minutes. A pick should come out almost clean. Don't over bake--no one likes dry corn bread. I made this in a 9 inch cake pan. It was delicious. I will bake it in a cast iron pan next time and see if there is any difference.
Serve warm with honey butter. This is one delicious comfort food!
Printable Recipe
Labels:
30 minute meal,
breads,
breakfasts,
brunch,
buttermilk,
muffins
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Great American Brownie Pie
Brownies are one of my favorite food groups. I like cakey, chewy, with nuts, without nuts, frosted and unfrosted. So what makes this brownie recipe stand out? It has to be the addition of almond extract, almonds, maraschino cherries and white chocolate chips. Its fun pie shape was unusual and made a fun presentation. This made a delicious Sunday Dessert--everyone loved it. I'm happy to add it to my list of yummy brownie recipes!
Great American Brownie Pie
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup chopped maraschino cherries
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup white chocolate chips (I used mini white chips)
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, corn syrup and almond extract. Mix well. Combine flour, cocoa and baking powder, whisk to combine. Add to creamed mixture and stir gently. Drain chopped cherries on paper towels. Fold the cherries, almonds and chips into batter.
Spread mixture in a deep dish 9 inch pie plate that has been sprayed with Pam for Baking. Bake at 325 until a toothpick comes out clean--about 35-40 minutes. Cool. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, garnish with cherries and almond slices.
Recipe from Taste of Home Cookies--credited to Edie Despain from Logan, Utah.
Printable recipe
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Yucatan-Style Chicken, Lime and Orzo Soup
I'm excited to share my new favorite soup with you. It's still on the cold/freezing side in Utah so soup is on the menu. I love my 30 Minute Chicken Soup but I was looking for a chicken soup with rice. I was searching one of my favorite blogs One Perfect Bite and found this delicious recipe. Now it doesn't have rice but a rice shaped pasta called Orzo. I cook with Orzo often, Teryaki Salmon with Orzo pasta is a family favorite.
Yucatan-Style Chicken, Lime and Orzo Soup
3/4 cup Orzo (rice shaped pasta)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, pressed
2 jalapeno chilies, sliced (the size of jalapenos can vary greatly as can the heat in each chili, I used one large jalapeno and it was too hot. Next time I will use less.)
3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in matchstick size strips
6 cups low salt chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Cook Orzo in boiling salted water until just tender, drain.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and chilies. Saute until onion just begins to brown about 4 minutes. Add chicken and saute 1 minute. Add broth, lime juice and tomato. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Mix in Orzo and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle additional cilantro on top.
Print Recipe
This soup was light and refreshing. The lime juice added a wonderful flavor and the jalapenos heated things up a bit. Thank you Mary for sharing a great recipe. One Perfect Bite is a blog you want to check daily--her photography is beautiful and her food ranges from homey to gourmet! You will always find something you can't wait to make. And Mary always leaves the sweetest comments on my little blog--what an awesome lady!
One Year Ago------Lemon Loaf Cake
Two Years Ago----Quiche Supreme --I know this is delicious, we had it tonight for dinner!
Three Years Ago---Little Citrus Muffins
Four Years Ago---Fresh Salsa
Sunday, April 14, 2013
BBQ Chicken Salad
Hello Again!
Jill here, Cindy's daughter. Every once in a while I like to hack into my momma's blog and post a thing or two.
Recently, my handsome man Scotty started working nights, so I get to make tasty salads every night for dinner...he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so salads rarely (and by rarely, I mean never) make an appearance as the main dish on my menus.
A few nights ago, I started throwing things together for a salad and by the end I had created something delicious. I'm going to take you step by step through the process, there is no real recipe here. And, although all the components might not seem to work, they really do...trust me on this one!!
First, let's make the dressing. a few weeks ago my mom posted this Honey Mustard Sauce. As is turns out, it makes a fabulous salad dressing. seriously folks, do yourself a favor and go make this dressing right now. It's very simple but the flavor will amaze you. It will keep in your fridge for atleast a week, probably longer but it's never lasted that long in my fridge. It may seem a little *Ahem* fattening, but come on...we are eating salad for pete's sake. We can afford a few extra calories, right?? :) I'm sure you can slim it down easily with low-fat mayo if you feel the need.
Next, cook up some chicken. I love the chicken tenders from Costco...you can cook two or twenty, it just depends on how many people you are feeding. Put them in the pan frozen, and squeeze a little bit of BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's) on the frozen chicken. Put a lid on the pan and cook it on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. when it's done, slice it up, and throw it in a bowl with some more BBQ sauce.
Thanks for letting me stop by, I'm sure you'll be seeing me again!!
Jill here, Cindy's daughter. Every once in a while I like to hack into my momma's blog and post a thing or two.
Recently, my handsome man Scotty started working nights, so I get to make tasty salads every night for dinner...he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so salads rarely (and by rarely, I mean never) make an appearance as the main dish on my menus.
A few nights ago, I started throwing things together for a salad and by the end I had created something delicious. I'm going to take you step by step through the process, there is no real recipe here. And, although all the components might not seem to work, they really do...trust me on this one!!
First, let's make the dressing. a few weeks ago my mom posted this Honey Mustard Sauce. As is turns out, it makes a fabulous salad dressing. seriously folks, do yourself a favor and go make this dressing right now. It's very simple but the flavor will amaze you. It will keep in your fridge for atleast a week, probably longer but it's never lasted that long in my fridge. It may seem a little *Ahem* fattening, but come on...we are eating salad for pete's sake. We can afford a few extra calories, right?? :) I'm sure you can slim it down easily with low-fat mayo if you feel the need.
Next, cook up some chicken. I love the chicken tenders from Costco...you can cook two or twenty, it just depends on how many people you are feeding. Put them in the pan frozen, and squeeze a little bit of BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's) on the frozen chicken. Put a lid on the pan and cook it on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. when it's done, slice it up, and throw it in a bowl with some more BBQ sauce.
This chicken can be made and refrigerated for a few days, so I usually make enough for a few salads. This will cut down your prep and clean up time on an already quick meal!
Next, let's make the salad. Slice up some Romaine. I love slicing lettuce...there is something about the sound of a blade slicing through crispy lettuce that is almost therapeutic. Is that weird? Probably. I'm weird.
I also like to julienne carrots in there. Have you ever used a Julienne peeler? It's quite possibly the best $10.99 you will ever spend...not kidding. I use this thing nearly every day...salads, stirfry, pasta dishes, soups, you name it!
Mine is from Pampered Chef. If you ever use carrots, this needs to be in your kitchen.
After you julienne your carrots, thinly slice some green onions to throw in there too. Oh, and grate a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese in there to, just to add a little more depth.
The last thing for the salad is your "crunch". Normally, I would use croutons, but these crispy wonton strips are the perfect amount of texture and crunch needed to complete your salad.
You can find them in the produce section with the salad toppings (or you can make you own, but who has time for that these days? right??)
Throw it all in a bowl (and decorate it with your beautifully julienned carrots...appearance is everything, afterall) and serve it up!! It's fresh and hearty, without being too heavy. There is a great range of flavors and textures that all work perfectly together.
So, quick recap...
- Honey Mustard Dressing (I usually double this recipe to use several times)
- Chicken sliced and tossed with BBQ sauce
- Romaine Lettuce
- Julienned carrots
- Green onions
- Grated cheese
- Crispy wonton strips
* And any other goodies that suit your fancy...this is America afterall, you can put what ever you want in your salad :)
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Craft Day and Hot Dog Cookies
I am the lucky Aunt to several cute little gals. We enjoy getting together for a craft day. It was Spring Break so the timing was perfect, we had a whole afternoon to enjoy. Luckily Candise was in town so I had help--help is always good when it is 6 to 1!
We started the day by making collages. We scoured the craft section at Walmart and found plenty of choices. Half sheets of white core board provided the canvas, tacky glue was thick enough to hold things in place. After a few minutes of inspiration the girls were ready to create, and creat they did! I was impressed with their creativity and thier ablilty to stick to a task.
While the collages dried and the little girls played Rachel and Mandy--both budding bakers were game for making 'Hot Dog' cookies. I had the dough made and the girls created. I saw the cookies on Erin's Blog, Making Memories...One Fun Thing After Another. It is part of her blog header and every time I open her blog I had to smile--hot dog cookies!
The girls had fun and the 'hot dogs' were really just yummy butter cookies with 'ketchup' and 'mustard' frosting! Check Erin's Blog for the complete recipe.
We had a great afternoon and left with the promise together again soon.
.
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