Recipe Party Round 2!!

The last party was such a hit (and so yummy) I decided to do it again!  Here are the recipes:


Salsa Verde

• 1 thick piece of white onion
• 10 tomatillos out of their husks, rinsed and cut in quarters
• 2 jalapeños stems removed
• ½ clove garlic
• Heavy pinch of salt
• ½ bunch cilantro

Put everything in a blender (except the cilantro). Blend until mildly chunky. Add the cilantro stems down, blend. Ready to eat once the cilantro is incorporated.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Cabbage Salad

Dressing:

• 1 part rice vinegar (4 oz)
• 2 part vegetable oil (8 oz)
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp worchestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
  
• shredded cabbage
• chopped green onions
• toasted slivered almonds
• crushed Top Ramen

In a 20 oz container, combine all the ingredients for the dressing, and shake. Let sit for a few hours (overnight is best), shaking occasionally.

When ready to serve, toss/shake all the ingredients together (including the dressing). I like to put everything in a 

container with a lid and shake.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Easy Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 package (18.25 oz) Yellow cake mix
• 1/3 cup Butter or margarine, softened
• ½ cup Pecan halves, chopped
• 1 package (3 oz.) Lemon cook and serve pudding and pie filling (not instant)
• 1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
• 3 each Lemons
• 1 cup Powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine cake mix and butter in bowl; mix until

crumbly. Stir in pecans; mix well. Reserve 1 cup of the crust mixture for crumb

topping. Press remaining crust mixture evenly over bottom of pan.

2. Whisk pudding mix and sweetened condensed milk in bowl until smooth.

Zest one lemon using lemon zester. Juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp. juice. Add

lemon zest and juice to pudding mixture; mix well. Pour filling over crust, spreading

evenly. Sprinkle with reserved crust mixture.

3. Bake 25-28 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven; cook

10 minutes. Juice remaining lemon to measure 3-5 tsp. juice. Combine powdered

sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze; drizzle over crumb topping.

Cool completely; cut into bars.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ½ tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers.  Mix well to blend.  Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place ¼ cup of the filling in the center.  Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center.  Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free.  Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner.  Finish rolling and press to seal closed.  Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking.  Serve warm with salsa.  

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Balsamic Jicama Salad

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large Jicama
• 2 cucumbers
• 1/2 yellow onion
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (store bought)

Chop the jicama and cucumbers into 1/2 inch pieces. Dice onions and mix with cucumbers and jicama. Dress 

with vinaigrette. Chill for 1 hour before serving. 

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Limoncello- Careful! This has been known to cause nudity!!

Ingredients:

• 15 fresh lemons plus a few leaves
• 1 4 quart jar
• 1/2 gallon 100 proof good vodka
• 2 cups bottled water
• 1-5 cups sugar

Scrub lemons and leave in warm water. Pat dry and zest. Be careful to not get any pith. 

Place in 4 quart jar. Add vodka and seal. Allow to rest for 20 days in a cool dark place. Shake every 2 days. After 20 days open the jar. Make a simple syrup by mixing equal parts sugar and water. Add sugar and water to a pan and heat over medium and stir until sugar dissolves. Allow the mixture to cool and then pour into the jar. Allow to rest for another 20 days in a cool dark place. Shake it every 2 days. It may appear cloudy (that's OK).

After 20 days pour into a very large bowl, strain out zest and peel by pouring over cheesecloth. Transfer 

Limoncello into a bottle. 

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1/2 sticks butter
• 6Tbs flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1qt 1/2 n 1/2
• 1 Cup water
• 1 lb Velveeta cheese
• 1 lb macaroni
• Shredded cheddar cheese.

Cook macaroni. Drain and run under cool water. Melt butter. Add flour, slat, pepper and whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 n 1/2 and water. Cook over medium heat until thick. Stir constantly for about 20 mins. Add cubed Velveeta until melted. Add macaroni to cheese sauce. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbling. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. 

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Chile Verde

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds pork shoulder (or chicken breasts)
• 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 10 tomatillos (peel of outer wrapper)
• 1 (4 oz) can diced chiles
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 TBS oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Trim any visible fat from the meat. Put it in a 6 quart slowcooker. Add bell pepper and onion. Dice the tomatillos or put them in a food processor. Add over meat. Add chiles, tomatoes, garlic and seasonings. stir to get everything down the sides of th emeat. Ad chopped cilantro to the top. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Serve with rice, corn tortillas, shredded cheese and sour cream. 

We had it on tortilla chips. Very tastey.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

• 5 bananas mashed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 Cup flour
• 1/4 c cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 water
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Scoop into a muffin tin lined with muffin flutes. Bake for 20 mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

The Error of My Ways

I've been doing it wrong. It's official. I can cook just about anything, but I have been making pasta wrong since...well...forever. I know! Pasta! Of all things. Sigh. 


How have I been doing it wrong you ask? Well the hubster found this website and we figured we'd try out the pan and starchy pasta water bit. We already did the cheese, salty water and tongs.

HOLY COW! It made all the difference! I mean I thought our pasta was good before. No. It was mediocre. The pasta we had tonight- SO good. I'm never going back to the plain old pot method. I'm all about the pan.

The synopsis is:
1. Use a pan and ditch the pot.
           Undercook the pasta just a bit and then put it into the pan with the sauce. Then cook it just a bit in the
           sauce. It gives the sauce an amazing flavor and coats each strand beautifully.

2. Simple sauces are great, but add some pasta water.
           When you do, the water and the sauce emulsify. It creates an even better deep flavored sauce. It a          
           typical sauce you heat the oil add some garlic, then your aromatics. Just after the aromatics, add the
           water.

3. Add salt to your pasta cooking water
          Does this need explanation?

4. Use tongs.
          It really makes the tossing of pasta and serving so much easier.

5. Use your cheese for more than a garnish-
         Grate it finely and add it to sauce. Don't use preshredded it's more expensive and tastes like...nothing.

Read the full article. I've changed my pasta ways. Yummy.

Stand Back Smore's! The toasted Marshmallow has a new best friend~

A while back I was cruising my favorite social network site and I saw that a friend of mine was having a toasted marshmallow milkshake. I'm sorry, what was that? Did I really just read that 2 of my favorite things: toasted marshmallows and their gooey charred goodness can be blended with thick creamy vanilla ice cream?? Sign me up just on principle. 

So I tried it. I took my marshmallows and put them under my broiler (careful they get big when they cook), scooped my ice cream, and blended away. And let me tell you, O. M. G. It was amazingly good. Like freakishly good. Like there-is-not-enough-hot-yoga-on-the-planet-that-will-help-my-waistline-if-I-have-these-as-often-as-I-want-to good.

Try it- you'll love it. I promise.

8 marshmallows
2 cups milk
4 cups of vanilla ice cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Wrap a sheet pan in foil. Put the marshmallows on the foil covered pan and then place under the broiler. I would recommend that you put it on the second or third rack from the top. The marshmallows expand when they toast. Marshmallow burned on your heating element = less than fabulous.  Roast the marshmallows and rotate them to get at least 2 sides done.

This is not about the golden and beautifully toasted marshmallow. This is about the charred burnt black marshmallow. I mean don't char them to the point that they aren't marshmallows anymore, but good and black is a beautiful thing here.

Toss half the marshmallows in the blender with the other ingredients. Blend (duh!). Garnish with the remaining marshmallows.

So. Stinking. Good.

Eggs! Glorious Eggs!!

Okay, so I guess I'm the last chick on the Hungry Girl bandwagon. But That's just how life is 'round these parts. I get so busy with babies and work that one day I have a REAL non work conversation with someone I'm not related to and BAM! I find something new and fabulous. This time I wasn't actually talking with any one I was reading my friend Kelly's blog (Hi Kelly!!) and she posted about egg mugs. I thought to myself what the heck is that?! So I looked it up, and then HAD to try it! The verdict. Best thing ever. This allows each of my family members to have their own cup of eggs that has only what they want in it. And I don't have to stand at the stove through three batches of eggs. Wahoo!!

 Now I put 2 eggs in the hubster's and my cup and one in Peanut's cup. She got eggs, cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper (What can I say Peanut loves garlic just like her Mama).  Hubster got mushrooms, onions and cheese with some seasoning that I don't recall. Me? I put cheese, mushrooms, green onions, bell peppers, garlic powder, and Costco's no salt seasoning.

I just mixed everything up, tossed it in the mug (after I sprayed them with cooking spray. Trust me, you need to spray the mug. If you don;t you will have bit-o-egg in your coffee from now until eternity) and then put them in the microwave until the eggs were done. I refuse to give a time for microwaving stuff because our microwave is a pathetic waste of counter space some days and like turbo charged SUPERWAVE others. It's a crap-shoot so I'm not really recommending a time.

Trust me, you gotta try these.  :)

For the Love of Quinoa

I am currently obsessed with quinoa. No really this mighty little grain is amazing to me. I have tried a few different quinoa recipes lately and I have decided that these three are may favorites.

1) Susan's Incredible Farmer's Market Salad. 

This was featured in my recipe party post. You can find the recipe HERE

2)Adobo Quinoa with Black Beans and Corn

Adapted from Happyhealthymama.com

Makes 4 servings

·        2 tablespoons olive oil

·        1 small onion, chopped

·        1 tablespoon minced garlic

·        1-3 canned chipotle peppers, minced, with some of their adobo sauce
(I used 1 pepper. I also removed the seeds from it- a messy process. But it was PLENTY spicy. Especially since I have a 2.5 year old eating this.)

·        1 teaspoon dried oregano

·        3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained

·        salt and black pepper

·        1 12 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

·        3/4 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)

·        1 1/2 cup vegetable stock

·        Lime wedges

Rinse the quinoa under running water or in a large bowl. You should rinse it until the water is no longer cloudy. This really is important; don’t skip this step. Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin that repels insects and birds and can create a bitter taste. Rinsing with warm water removes the saponin.

Okay once your quinoa is rinsed, heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  When it’s hot, but not smoking, add the onion and cook about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add the chipotles and adobo (the more sauce you use the spicier it will be) and oregano. Cook while stirring for about a minute.

Turn heat to medium-high and add the quinoa.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3-5 minutes.

Add the beans, corn, stock, and a little more salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.

Stir, cover, and reduce the heat to low.  Cook, without opening the lid, for 15 minutes. If the quinoa is still a bit crunchy, add more liquid and cover and cook for another 5 minutes.  When the quinoa is tender and the middle spirals out, adjust the seasoning if needed.  Serve with lime wedges.

 3) Broccoli Quinoa- I tried this on eon the recommendation of my childhood friend, Katie. Tried it. Loved it. Had to share it. This is my adapted version, it is from 101cookbooks.com/

·         1 cups quinoa 

·         2 cups broth or water

·         5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems

·         3 medium garlic cloves

·         2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted 

·         1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

·         2 big pinches salt

·         2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

·         1/4 cup olive oil

·         1/4 cup half and half

Rinse the quinoa (are you seeing the theme here?). Bring the broth and quinoa to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer covered for 15 mins.

Blanch broccoli in hot water.

Puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, garlic, 1/2 cup almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  

Birthdays and Appetizers

I have some very dear friends that all have birthdays around each other. These people happen to also be colleagues of mine. Each year to celebrate we go to dinner, hold our monthly meetings over lunch, or something equally fabulous. This year we all met at another friend's house. We each brought part of dinner and a steak and chatted the late afternoon and evening away. 

It was fabulous to say the least. I was in charge of 2 appetizers and croutons for the salad. Here are some food pics and the recipes I used. Oh and according to my friends other people just throw out their day old French bread.... I'm telling you people, MAKE CROUTONS! They are so easy and just way too good not to. I promise. 

Anyway what I made: 

Roasted garlic and Brie and Tapenade. Now we've all read about my tapenade (oh you missed that post? Find it HERE), but the roasted garlic and brie was a new one for me. Let me tell you, it is my new staple appetizer! So easy- Here's whatca do:

Ingredients:

4 Heads for Garlic

Olive oil for drizzling. 

Directions: 

1 Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2 Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves on. It should be an scantily-clad garlic bulb, not a naked one. :) Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

3 Place the garlic heads in a baking pan. I enjoy muffin pans when doing this, but I have also used just a regular old baking dish. Just make sure that the bulbs are cut side up and they can stay that way. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes. If the garlic tips over in the pan, all the great natural sugar will run out of the cut tops and burn on the bottom of the dish. Burned garlic is gag-alicious... spare yourself.  

Once the garlic has cooled you can serve it with French bread and Brie. Or you can pop the cloves out and mix them with butter and slap it on some Crusty Rustic Italian bread for the BEST garlic bread around. You can also just eat the garlic. No really... It is just that good. :)

CROUTONS: Sorry no pictures....

Ingredients:

8-10 ounce loaf of French bread (or any day old artisan bread. Note: the denser the bread the harder the croutons will be)

1 Tbs butter, melted

3 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp Italian herbs

Preheat oven 450.

In a large bowl mix the butter and olive oil together. add the bread cubes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt, peppers and herbs. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. 

Bake until golden (about 10 mins). Once cooled try not to eat them all at once. Really they should just go on salad or something. :)

Annnnnd We're back

Whew! That was a Kah-Razy few months. I'm still trying to catch my breath. Sadly though the craziness is not over. In the next 36 days life will only get wilder and even more crazy. Which makes me kinda want to cry and kinda want to run and hide somewhere. But it is all for a good cause. My family is homeward bound. And by homeward I mean Idaho. I spent a week there at the end of April trying to find us a house and now I am trying to finish up at work and decide what needs to be packed when. Thus the hiding and crying....

That is just a small reason why I have been absent from blogger space. But just because I haven't been posting, doesn't mean I haven't been busy being domestic. Oh no! In fact I have done quite a few fabulous things over the last few months. Read on and you'll find yourself in the midst of my world for a while. Just make sure you hold on tight...and maybe get a helmet. My life can get rather bumpy...

Ravioli Veggie Stack

I love this recipe. It's ridiculously easy and tastes amazing. Gotta love something that takes 30 mins start to finish. It is so freaking good. 

• 1  lb.  ravioli (I use 4 cheese, but if you are carnivorous, meat varieties are good too)
• 2  small  zucchini
• 4    plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 3  Tbsp.  olive oil
• 1/2  cup  small fresh basil leaves- or 2 Tbs dried Italian seasoning
• 1  8-oz. pkg.  shredded Italian-blend cheese (2 cups)
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
•      Fresh basil (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cook ravioli according to package directions. Trim and lengthwise slice zucchini. Add zucchini to ravioli during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain, but do not rinse.

2. In 2-quart square baking dish layer half the tomato slices. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle half the basil or the Ittalian herbs. Using tongs, layer half the ravioli and sprinkle half the cheese. Layer zucchini slices; drizzle 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with herbs and garlic. Layer remaining ravioli, basil, cheese, and tomato; drizzle remaining oil. Season with salt and ground black pepper.

3. Bake, uncovered, 9 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and begins to brown. To serve, cut in squares; sprinkle with fresh basil.