As I promised, I'm sharing more recipes and general cooking info today.
I've made this recipe twice so far. It's really becoming a favorite.
The first time I made it exactly as the recipe goes, with the mashed potatoes & broccolini. Well, I did change one thing. I didn't use chicken sausage. I actually used this awesome Jennie-O ground turkey. Overall I loved this whole meal. The potatoes were really just "Ok" for me, but that's easy enough to omit from the meal. If you make this let me just warn you - it is not the prettiest meal you'll ever make, but it is soooo yummy & the leftovers are awesome.
The second time I made this recipe I just did regular ol' mashed potatoes, and for the veggie I did roasted Brussels sprouts - YUM. I love Brussels sprouts. I am aware this makes me weird, I'm ok with that. They're delicious. Ted definitely gave me the "side eye" when he saw them, but he even liked them. (or so he said?).
A few weeks ago we made our own canned jalapeno relish. Preface: We went to dinner at Slaters 50/50 and Ted got their jalapeno relish on his burger, and it was love at first bite. After that he went on & on for days about how good it was and then dropped the bomb on me saying "I want to make our own jalapeno relish and can it." My reaction was "wtf?! are you crazy?! who knows how to can?!" Of course I'm an awesome wife so I really just said those things in my head, and then smiled and said "Ok!" or something to that effect. Well we did it. It was stressful & fun at the same time. I admit I was worried and right before we started I was thinking of any excuse to get out of it. I'm really glad we did it, though. It made Ted really happy & he's already gotten a few requests for it from other people. We're thinking about giving it out at Christmas. Luckily our batch will be ready to eat just in time for Thanksgiving, so you know it's on our table this year.
Speaking of canning... I'm not completely determined/obsessed with making & canning my own apple butter to give out with our jalapeno relish. A whole sweet & spicy thing.
Tomorrow I'm going to let you know what pies I'll be making for Thanksgiving... since ya know, I demanded that I make them all... that's going to come back to bite me in the ass. When my in-laws were calling people to invite them to Thanksgiving and find out what they were bringing, they also let them know about the "no store bought pie" rule this year, and apparently a few people replied with "Well her pies better be good then." Ouch.
Showing posts with label yum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yum. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
lately
There's been lots of cooking going on at our house. There have been several times I've thought "I need to blog about this!" But then the time comes and I have zero inspiration or gumption to follow through. Today, I'm following through despite the fact that it feels like my brain is lugging around cement blocks today.
What have I been reading lately? Nada. It's sad, I know! I'm the kind of person who has to know everything about everything before I can make a decision. It's really a hindrance more than a help. Well I got into this kick where I had to know everything about everything about having babies. So I become completely engulfed in reading baby/labor books. Yes, I had a problem. No, I'm not pregnant. So basically I've read 316545321 baby books and 0 fun books the last few months. I'm actually starting to miss reading just for fun, so hopefully I will start back up soon.
So now back to cooking... there's been lots of it happening at Casa Us.
First things first - dessert. Paula's Loaded Oatmeal Cookies. They are divine. They smell warm, just like an oatmeal cookie should. I didn't use walnuts because lets all be honest - walnuts are the worst nuts. Blech. If you like them then I'm sorry, & you'rewrong allowed your own opinion :) In all honesty, I know I'm weird because I don't like them. I mean - who doesn't like walnuts?! This girl. Back to the cookies - they're amazing & wonderful and probably the best oatmeal cookie you will ever eat. I promise.
I made those cookies after two utter & complete failures at other cookies. I mean, failures that would make Betty Crocker beat me senseless. And I would deserve it. We won't talk anymore about those, though.
Last week I was without any & all inspiration for dinner. I wanted to make this corn & Anaheim pepper thing that my father in law made years ago. I mean, this dish he made was amazing. Everyone loved it, but he hated it so he's never made it since. Unfortunately the store I went to didn't have Anaheim peppers. A few hop, skips, and jumps (in my head) later I walked out of the store with bell peppers. We had left over cooked rice that I knew I wanted to use up. I ended up heating the rice, sauteing the corn with the bell pepper (chopped), also included were garlic & onion. I then combined the sauteed mixture with the heated rice, making it a sort of pilaf-but-not-really thing. I don't even know what you would call it but it was really good, if I do say so myself.
For Thanksgiving this year we are bringing a smoked turkey. Talk about Yum. We had never smoked a turkey before, so obviously a practice turkey was in order. We pick up our bird, thawed it, fought over who was removing the gizzards & neck (I lost), and then brined that sucker. We used the brine recipe from Good Eats Roast Turkey. I mean really... at this point... doesn't everyone brine? If not then you should. If you dread the curse of dry turkey every Thanksgiving, then definitely brine your bird! You'll thank me. I promise.
After the turkey was done brining we rinsed it off & dried it, stuffed it with the aromatics, applied the coating of oil and then applied a light sprinkling of our own dry rub that Ted uses on almost everything he smokes. 6.5 hours later we had the most gorgeous turkey. A couple hours after that, when we finally had time to try it, we discovered we also had the most delicious & moist turkey. We could taste the brine, but not in an overwhelming way, just in a... "that was the perfect compliment to the turkey" way. We were thinking we would inject the turkey while it was cooking, but I'm actually glad we didn't. It absolutely didn't need it! Ted took most of the turkey to his work, where they brought sides & had an impromptu Thanksgiving of their own. He said people were inviting themselves to our Thanksgiving because they loved the turkey so much. So seriously... give it a try.
Ok, well this post has seriously gone on long enough. Yes I have more recipes to share with you - you're going to have to wait until tomorrow.
What have I been reading lately? Nada. It's sad, I know! I'm the kind of person who has to know everything about everything before I can make a decision. It's really a hindrance more than a help. Well I got into this kick where I had to know everything about everything about having babies. So I become completely engulfed in reading baby/labor books. Yes, I had a problem. No, I'm not pregnant. So basically I've read 316545321 baby books and 0 fun books the last few months. I'm actually starting to miss reading just for fun, so hopefully I will start back up soon.
So now back to cooking... there's been lots of it happening at Casa Us.
First things first - dessert. Paula's Loaded Oatmeal Cookies. They are divine. They smell warm, just like an oatmeal cookie should. I didn't use walnuts because lets all be honest - walnuts are the worst nuts. Blech. If you like them then I'm sorry, & you're
I made those cookies after two utter & complete failures at other cookies. I mean, failures that would make Betty Crocker beat me senseless. And I would deserve it. We won't talk anymore about those, though.
Last week I was without any & all inspiration for dinner. I wanted to make this corn & Anaheim pepper thing that my father in law made years ago. I mean, this dish he made was amazing. Everyone loved it, but he hated it so he's never made it since. Unfortunately the store I went to didn't have Anaheim peppers. A few hop, skips, and jumps (in my head) later I walked out of the store with bell peppers. We had left over cooked rice that I knew I wanted to use up. I ended up heating the rice, sauteing the corn with the bell pepper (chopped), also included were garlic & onion. I then combined the sauteed mixture with the heated rice, making it a sort of pilaf-but-not-really thing. I don't even know what you would call it but it was really good, if I do say so myself.
For Thanksgiving this year we are bringing a smoked turkey. Talk about Yum. We had never smoked a turkey before, so obviously a practice turkey was in order. We pick up our bird, thawed it, fought over who was removing the gizzards & neck (I lost), and then brined that sucker. We used the brine recipe from Good Eats Roast Turkey. I mean really... at this point... doesn't everyone brine? If not then you should. If you dread the curse of dry turkey every Thanksgiving, then definitely brine your bird! You'll thank me. I promise.
After the turkey was done brining we rinsed it off & dried it, stuffed it with the aromatics, applied the coating of oil and then applied a light sprinkling of our own dry rub that Ted uses on almost everything he smokes. 6.5 hours later we had the most gorgeous turkey. A couple hours after that, when we finally had time to try it, we discovered we also had the most delicious & moist turkey. We could taste the brine, but not in an overwhelming way, just in a... "that was the perfect compliment to the turkey" way. We were thinking we would inject the turkey while it was cooking, but I'm actually glad we didn't. It absolutely didn't need it! Ted took most of the turkey to his work, where they brought sides & had an impromptu Thanksgiving of their own. He said people were inviting themselves to our Thanksgiving because they loved the turkey so much. So seriously... give it a try.
Ok, well this post has seriously gone on long enough. Yes I have more recipes to share with you - you're going to have to wait until tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
triple chocolate chip cookies
This recipe is inspired/spawned off of the recipe mentioned in this post.
1 stick of butter, melted
3/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. brewed coffee
1/3 C cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt (fine)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C white chocolate chips
1/2 C chocolate chips (can use milk, dark, whatever you like)
2 C flour
This recipe basically follows the same method as the above referenced recipe also:
Melt butter (I melt mine right in the bowl I mix everything in). For my microwave it takes a stick of right-out-of-the-fridge butter 2 minutes on 50% power to melt fully. Mix in sugars & coffee. Beat in the eggs. Mix in vanilla. I now add the salt & baking soda. Mix in the cocoa powder. Now mix in the flour adding it in these additions - 1 C, 1/2 C, 1/2 C. I add it in these steps because sometimes the dough doesn't need 2 full cups, and sometimes it seems to need a touch more. Add and mix to your own discretion. To scoop out the dough I use a generous tablespoon scoop and bake at 375 for about 9 minutes. Again, baking time may vary oven to oven. I like my cookies soft & chewy.
I also mix all of this by hand with a wooden or large plastic spoon. I'm also a lazy measurer, and these always come out Yum-O. (I'm kind of a "that's close enough" measurer except when it comes to the leavening agent). I also always taste my batter before baking. If it doesn't taste good pre-bake, it's probably not going to taste good baked. E-coli & raw eggs be damned... you won't take my raw cookie dough from me. If you're super concerned or have a compromised immune system then you may want to switch over to pasteurized eggs (or just don't give it the pre-bake taste test - but that would be sad). Better safe then sorry, that's what I say! Except for eating raw cookie dough, safety be damned!
I hope you all try this recipe out. They come out so yummy. The only thing I would change, since I've only made them this way once, is next time I'll add more cocoa powder to really amp up the chocolate flavor. If you aren't a chocolate freak like me then the 1/3 cup will probably be fine, I just enjoy a really rich chocolate flavor.
Happy Eating!
1 stick of butter, melted
3/4 C packed brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. brewed coffee
1/3 C cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt (fine)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C white chocolate chips
1/2 C chocolate chips (can use milk, dark, whatever you like)
2 C flour
This recipe basically follows the same method as the above referenced recipe also:
Melt butter (I melt mine right in the bowl I mix everything in). For my microwave it takes a stick of right-out-of-the-fridge butter 2 minutes on 50% power to melt fully. Mix in sugars & coffee. Beat in the eggs. Mix in vanilla. I now add the salt & baking soda. Mix in the cocoa powder. Now mix in the flour adding it in these additions - 1 C, 1/2 C, 1/2 C. I add it in these steps because sometimes the dough doesn't need 2 full cups, and sometimes it seems to need a touch more. Add and mix to your own discretion. To scoop out the dough I use a generous tablespoon scoop and bake at 375 for about 9 minutes. Again, baking time may vary oven to oven. I like my cookies soft & chewy.
I also mix all of this by hand with a wooden or large plastic spoon. I'm also a lazy measurer, and these always come out Yum-O. (I'm kind of a "that's close enough" measurer except when it comes to the leavening agent). I also always taste my batter before baking. If it doesn't taste good pre-bake, it's probably not going to taste good baked. E-coli & raw eggs be damned... you won't take my raw cookie dough from me. If you're super concerned or have a compromised immune system then you may want to switch over to pasteurized eggs (or just don't give it the pre-bake taste test - but that would be sad). Better safe then sorry, that's what I say! Except for eating raw cookie dough, safety be damned!
I hope you all try this recipe out. They come out so yummy. The only thing I would change, since I've only made them this way once, is next time I'll add more cocoa powder to really amp up the chocolate flavor. If you aren't a chocolate freak like me then the 1/3 cup will probably be fine, I just enjoy a really rich chocolate flavor.
Happy Eating!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
tasty Tuesday
Roasting cauliflower in the oven with just a little olive oil, salt & pepper... The cauliflower comes out super tender and so flavorful - a little nutty tasting if you give them enough time to caramelize, which for my oven at 450 degrees F took about 30 minutes. YUM. I've found roasting veggies really concentrates and boosts their flavors, and even picky eaters will like them.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
this one is a keeper!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/06/summer-stir-fry/
I briefly mentioned this one in last weeks Tasty Tuesday post. Well I made it last night for dinner & it was so delicious. SO DELICIOUS. Did I mention it was delicious? No. Oh ok, it was so freaking yummy. I could eat it every. single. day.
I will definitely be making this one again. It's fresh, it's light, it's healthy (yeah there's a little butter, it won't kill you or your diet), and it's so quick to make! It's literally chop & cook. I buy my shrimp ready to go, already deveined. I do not devein shrimp... just like I don't take care of the Avenue de Poo in any other animal I eat. :)
Ted even really liked it. I did feel weird about serving a no-carb meal to my burly husband, but he didn't seem to mind. I'm sure tonight's dinner with scalloped potatoes will make up for it. One of the other things I liked about this recipe is that I don't see why you couldn't make it with scallops, mild white fish, or even chicken... if you wanted to get all fancy you could serve it with some yummy lobstah. Mmmm.... lobster. (note to self: must plan a trip to New England soon) I love recipes where once learned they are more of a method with room to play.
Enjoy!
I briefly mentioned this one in last weeks Tasty Tuesday post. Well I made it last night for dinner & it was so delicious. SO DELICIOUS. Did I mention it was delicious? No. Oh ok, it was so freaking yummy. I could eat it every. single. day.
I will definitely be making this one again. It's fresh, it's light, it's healthy (yeah there's a little butter, it won't kill you or your diet), and it's so quick to make! It's literally chop & cook. I buy my shrimp ready to go, already deveined. I do not devein shrimp... just like I don't take care of the Avenue de Poo in any other animal I eat. :)
Ted even really liked it. I did feel weird about serving a no-carb meal to my burly husband, but he didn't seem to mind. I'm sure tonight's dinner with scalloped potatoes will make up for it. One of the other things I liked about this recipe is that I don't see why you couldn't make it with scallops, mild white fish, or even chicken... if you wanted to get all fancy you could serve it with some yummy lobstah. Mmmm.... lobster. (note to self: must plan a trip to New England soon) I love recipes where once learned they are more of a method with room to play.
Enjoy!
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