Kolacky

This is an old family recipe from my Mother-in-Law.  Fortunately it is not a secret family recipe, so I am free to share it.  I was not originally planning on posting it, or else I would have taken a picture or two of the rolling process so you can envision it a little better.  But hopefully with looking at a picture of the finished product you'll be able to figure it out.  If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll try to explain it better.

Ingredients:
1 serving yeast (1 envelope, 1 cake, etc.)
¼ cup warm water
6 cubes butter
5 cups flour
4 eggs
Boysenberry jam or other preserve of your choice
Sugar

Dissolve yeast in water. In the meantime, cut butter into flour until it’s the size of peas. Add yeast mixture and eggs. Mix together; frankly it’s easiest done with your hands. Take off your rings first, though ‘cuz it’s pretty gooey! Put dough in the fridge for at least one hour.

Roll dough out between two sheets of wax paper until thin; it’s kinda like rolling out pie crust. Cut dough into 3 or 4 inch squares with a cookie cutter. (I did 4 inch squares this time and I think they’re too big. Next time I’ll probably stick to 3 inch.) Put a scoop of jam in one corner. Fold the square in half so it’s slightly off-center, turning the corner with the jam.  Seal the edge and then roll it up and bend the corners like a croissant. Roll each kolaky in sugar to coat thoroughly. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Shepard's Pie Soup

One of my favorite websites is Supercook.  You can list the ingredients you have and don't have and it will spit out recipes that you can make with those ingredients.  Supercook was my friend tonight and inspired a recipe tonight that will probably become a regular in our house.

I was planning on making my Mom's shephard's pie for dinner, which I thought Julie had blogged about and I was going to add a link to, but she hasn't so next time I make it I'll share it with you.  Anyways, I had made my Mom's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese for lunch and it ended up taking all of my cheese.  So I didn't have any to top the casserole with.  I went to supercook, put in the ingredients that I had been planning on using, and out came a recipe to make soup.  I strayed a little from the original recipe, so I'm going to give you what I made instead of what the original recipe was.  If you want to see the original, go here.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
3 large potatoes
1 jar marinara pasta sauce
1 can corn
salt and pepper

Dice potatoes into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes and put in large pot to begin cooking.  Cook ground beef and onion in a skillet until beef is browned.  Drain all but 1 cup of the potato cooking water; the potatoes will not be cooked thoroughly yet.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and cook 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

I served it with biscuits on the side.  I don't have a biscuit cutter, so I use a heart shaped cookie cutter.  Adds a little something special, I think.

Roast Chicken with Fiery Lemon Glaze

I got this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens January 2010 issue.  I've only made it once but I love it.  I'll give you the recipe as is and then tell you the changes I'll make next time.

Ingredients:

1 4-5 lb whole roasting chicken

4 to 6 small lemons

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 cup honey

2 to 3 small lemons, halved or quartered (optional)

Remove giblets from chicken, if present.  Place chicken in plastic bag set in shallow dish.  Slice 2 of the lemons; add to bag.  Finely shred 2 tsp peel from the remaining lemons; set aside.  Squeeze lemons to yield 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons juice for glaze.

For marinade, in bowl combine the 1/2 cup lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, garlic, 1/2 tsp of the cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper.  Pour over chicken; turn to coat.  Seal bag.  Refrigerate 8 to 12 hours; turn occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375.  Let chicken stand at room temperature 15 minutes.  Drain chicken and set aside lemon slices; discard marinade.  Pull neck skin to back and fasten with skewers.  Tie drumsticks to tail.  Twist wing tips under back.

Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.  Cover with lemon slices.  Arrange lemon halves or quarters on rack around chicken.  Roast on lowest rack, uncovered, for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine honey, shredded lemon peel, the 2 tsp lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper.  Bring to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, set aside.

Cut string between drumstick and reposition any lemon slices that have slid off of chicken.  continue roasting 30 to 60 minutes more, or until drumsticks move easily in their socket and chicken is no longer pink, (180 degrees), occasionally brushing with some of the honey mixture during the last 20 minutes of roasting.  If lemons begin to darken, tent loosely with foil.  Remove chicken from oven.  Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.  Pass remaining honey glaze.





 I forgot to put the quarted lemons around the chicken while cooking, so I added them at the table for eye candy.

The glaze.

Now, when they say "Fiery" Lemon Glaze, they mean it.  Next time I will probably take the cayenne in the glaze down from 1/2 tsp to 1/4, maybe even 1/8 if I'm not in a spicy mood.  Other than that, this was a delicious chicken.

Alfredo Add-in

Here's a small variation on our alfredo we love so much. This ended up being so darn tasty, I had to share how easy it is to spice up your meals.

The original Alfredo recipe is here.

All we did was steam some broccoli on the side and add it in. It was so yummy and such a great addition. It's so easy to spice up simple dishes.

Roasted Asparagus

This is one I found on Food Network's website a long time ago. It was super simple and went something like this.

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus, trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Snap or cut the dry stem ends off each asparagus and place on a heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss. Roast until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.

I was using garden asparagus, and it wasn't as thick and they weren't all the same size. So some of ours got crispy, like in the picture. But honestly, I kinda liked it. Made them kinda taste like french fries. I'm sure if you used a bunch from the store they'd all cook up real uniform though.

Guacamole

This is my mom's guacamole. I absolutely love it. Eat it with her homemade chips and you might not be able to stop before the whole bowl is gone.

Ingredients

2 avocadoes peeled and pitted
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
½ tsp ascorbic acid mixture (optional)
1 medium tomato peeled and sliced

Beat avocadoes, onion, lemon juice, salt, pepper and ascorbic acid mixture until creamy. Fold in tomato. Cover and refrigerate. Stir before serving. For a chunkier guacamole, mix avocadoes with a fork.

I make mine chunky and mash it all up with my fork. We LOVE it.

Breadsticks

This recipe is from my cooking class in college.  Basically everything in her cooking book is magic and I love it. (My fave alfredo sauce is from there.)

Ingredients

2 cups flour

2 T. sugar

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

2 T. olive oil (I just use vegetable)

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. dried parsley

1 t. sesame seeds

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Add oil and milk and mix with a fork until dough clings together. Knead 10-12 times on floured surface. Roll into an 8" square. (I'm awful at this stuff, but just try and aim for this size, since that'll be the pan you bake them in.) Cut into strips. Place on greased baking sheet (Can use an 8x8 dish) and brush with melted butter. Combine parmesan cheese, garlic powder, parsley and sesame seeds in a bowl. Sprinkle breadsticks with cheese mixture and bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Yes, they're nummy.

Egg Flippin' Fun

Thought I'd try this out. If I can do it, anyone can!

Ramen lunch

This is pretty similar to the Ramen Fried Rice I posted a while back, just a bit more simple.

Ingredients

Ramen Noodles

Broccoli, steamed or pan fry

Eggs, scrambled

Again, like last time, very simple. Cook the noodles like you would for Top Ramen. Strain them if needed.  In the meantime, scramble your eggs and cook your broccoli however you prefer. Throw it all in together and add sauces of your choosing. We like to have a wide variety of asian sauces. Soy sauce, of course, but more exciting ones. Black Bean and Garlic, Hoison, General Tsao, and many others. They're not too expensive and they last a while. We think they're worth it because they can really spice up the meals and make them taste great!

 

You can easily spice this up with other ingredients that you like. I remember, this kind of reminded me of Chow Mein because it was noodle heavy, which I love. You could get very creative with any other ingredients to suit the tastes of your eaters. :)

French Fries

We made these a while ago. I'm always interested in finding different and yummy ways to eat those potatoes. I know I posted another french fry recipe a while back. Last time I didn't have a real specific recipe, but this time I do. The flavor was really yummy, and depending on how you cut them, the cook time will differ, so just be aware.

Ingredients

1 large baking potato

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  Cut potato into wedges. Mix olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder and onion powder together. Coat potatoes with oil/spice mixture and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes in preheated oven.

I put mine on foil to ease the mess clean-up, althought that might also change exactly how they bake. Like I said, you'll just have to be aware. The thinner the fry, the faster they bake and vice versa. But the flavor is really yummy and easy to alter depending on your tastes.

Homegrown Green Beans

These are just some green beans from the garden we have at my in-laws. I'm not a big green bean eater, and certainly don't know exactly what to do with fresh garden vegetables. I'm still learning. The only ones I really remember eating from childhood are corn on the cob. And that is pretty obvious as to preparation. Anyhow, For those like me who don't really know what to do with fresh stuff like this, this is what I did.

 After washing my freshly picked beans, I prepped a pan by melting butter, and then popped my green beans in the pan. Stir fried vegetables always taste good to me. Maybe top with a little bit of salt. Nothing fancy. You can also steam fresh veggies for a fresh, crisp taste. I'm super new to this, but wanted to open the arena for fresh grown foods.

What is your favorite way to prep garden veggies?

That Spaghetti Tomato Thingy

I kinda made this up, so I don't have a name for it.  I'm sure there is one; I just don't know what it is.  So when hubby asks what's for dinner, it's "That Spaghetti Tomato Thingy."  It's met with rave reviews every time I make it.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti

Tomatoes (I use whatever's available in the garden.  When tomato season is done, I'll probably buy Romas.)

Basil leaves (Also from the garden; I assume you could use dried stuff, but never have for this dish.)

Butter (or margarine; I use the light stuff to save calories)

evoo (extra virgin olive oil for you non-Rachel Ray fans)

Salt & Pepper

Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

Cook spaghetti.  I do about 4 servings for my family.

While pasta is boiling, dice your tomatoes and slice your basil leaves.  For my family I use about 2-3 roma tomato's and 2 or 3 basil leaves, depending on the size.

Put a little evoo in a small frying pan.  After it heats up, add the tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Sautee until soft but not mushy.  Add the basil for the last minute.

Drain the spaghetti and put it back in the pot.  Add the tomatoes and basil.  Add some butter and evoo for flavor.  I do about 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons evoo to mine. 

Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

Chicken and Broccoli

This is one I did a while ago, so I don't remember what I seasoned this with. So sorry! But the basics are still there, and you can easily season it in a way that you prefer. So heres' the basics.

Ingredients

1 bunch of broccoli

Probably 2 chicken breasts

Cut the chicken into small bites, and prep your broccoli. Put the chicken in a pan and start cooking. You can marinate it beforehand or just add some seasoning as you cook. We probably just used a combination of sauces, like we always do. I'm pretty sure we did the broccoli in a separate pan, just pan frying it/steaming a little. It was still pretty al dente, which I liked. Then when both were done cooking, we combined them and stirred well. I think we ate this with rice, maybe.

This was quite a while ago, I've been really slacking. But hopefully you'll appreciate the idea behind the meal. It really tasted awesome. It was just like beef and broccoli from a chinese place, but it was chicken instead. I imagine you could substitute the chicken with some type of beef strips and it would taste equally awesome.

Fried Potatoes

So this one is pretty self-explanatory and not very complex, but it was a first for me so I had to share.

Ingredients

Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

oil

salt (You could also try other salts, like Lawry's or other multi-purpose seasonings)

At first I thought I would try using my cheese slicer to slice my potatoes, hoping it would make them more uniform in thickness. It didn't work. And they would've been too thick anyhow. So I ended up using a knife, which was far more effective and I was able to make them quite thin.

I heated some oil in my pan (a nice layer) and added a layer of potato slices.  I just had to guess as to when they were done, and eventually you'll figure out what they look like when they're about finished.  After taking them out, I put them on a plate with paper towels on it and sprinkled them with salt.

I was pretty darn amazed that the really nicely sliced ones that were thin tasted exactly like Lays potato chips. No kidding. It took a while. I'm sure it would go much faster with a deep fryer, or something like that. I was just trying to figure out more ways to eat potatoes, since we're not big potato people. It was fun, and we all really enjoyed them.

Bell Pepper Tip

Now that I've been using bell peppers more and more, I've slowly been learning the easiest ways to chop them. They're far easier to chop from the inside out. The skin on the outside is slippery and makes it hard to slice all the way through. I'm usually chopping them so I'll share what I've learned about the easiest ways for chopping and whatnot.

After chopping the pepper in half, and cleaning out the seeds, I cut it into strips, cutting from the inside of the pepper, dragging my knife to slice. Then, if I'm chopping it, I lay the strips down, with the insides facing away from me, the slices on their side (I'll explain this.) and begin chopping. I've found that if I try and slice from the side of the skins, it's not very effective, like I mentioned. If I lay them skins down and chop them from the inside of the pepper, it won't always cut all the way through, not slicing all the way through the skin. So I've learned that if I lay them this way, when I chop I still cut through the inside of the pepper, but by laying the slices on their side, I'm able to slice all the way through the skins too. Many times I've slices through the pepper and when I've gone to move them, they've all still been attached by the skins, and I've had to manually separate them or re-chop them.

So this is my proven method for chopping your peppers without any problems. I hope all that makes sense!

Pico de Gallo

I posted a pico de gallo recipe with the Applebee's Santa Fe Chicken Salad but I have another one that I ate growing up. It's not quite as flavorful, having less ingredients, but I could see some people liking it's simplicity still. It's still delicious.

Ingredients

1 bunch cilantro

6 medium tomatoes

1 onion

Salt

Garlic Salt (You could easily substitute with real garlic. Maybe 3 cloves.)

Chop cilantro, tomatoes, and onion. Combine in a bowl. Add salt and garlic salt.

This recipe is to a pretty big scale. You could easily cut it in half.

Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

These are a recipe that I was super excited to realize I had. I went to Red Lobster for the first time and had their biscuits. They really are amazing. I was jazzed to see that I had their "recipe" in my Top Secret Restaurant Recipe book. We had them a few times the next week, and they are delicious!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Bisquisk baking mix (I didn't have this, so I substituted this and the following dry ingredients with my baking powder biscuit recipe)

4 tbsp cold butter (I also used the shortening from the baking powder biscuit recipe)

1 heaping cup grated cheese

3/4 cup cold whole milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Brush On Top

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

pinch salt

Preheat your overn to 400 degrees. Combine bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. (Or combine dry ingredients from baking powder biscuits with the shortening listed in that recipe.) You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunk of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and 1/4 tsp garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop approximately 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tbsp butter in a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in 1/2 tsp garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over hte tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. (Really, use it all.)

I could see the flavor might be different using butter instead of shortening. I think I'll try it that way next time. (Still using my dry ingredients from my biscuits recipe. I don't keep bisquick on hand.) I've scooped them, and I've rolled them out and cut them like I would my biscuits. I don't know that it makes a difference. Whatever's easier.  I think it's really the garlic mix that you brush on top that makes the recipe. Absolutely delicious. A must try!

Ramen Fried Rice

So this is one that we kinda made up when we were first married.  You can really add whatever floats your boat and change it however you want to. Here's the bare bones.

Ingredients

Top Ramen (no seasoning packet)

Chicken breasts

Eggs, scrambled

Carrots, grated

Any other vegetables you want

Cook the ramen by the directions. Scramble your eggs. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, cook on the stove. You marinate the chicken beforehand if you want to. Combine all the ingredients in your large saucepan and heat through. I don't remember how we seasoned this one. It might've been a marinade. But in the past we've just used some soy sauce or something simple. Or if you use a marinade, you can use the leftovers to season the dish, just heating it all thoroughly.

Hawaiian Haystacks

I first had Hawaiian Haystacks at a luncheon at church put on by a lady who lived in Hawaii most of her life.  I have come across a few recipes since then for the sauce, and this, by far, is most like Sister Watanabe's.  It's really easy to make and is just scrumptious.

If you've never had them before, here's how they work.  You start with a pile of rice, topped with the sauce.  You then add a variety of toppings that suits your taste.  I've also heard them referred to as chinese sundaes.

Ingredients:

2 c. chopped green pepper (or one can Ortega green chilis)
1/2 c. margarine or butter
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 c. flour
2 cups milk or evaporated milk (I've never used evaporated)
2 cans chicken chunks or 2 boiled chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Instructions:

Saute green peppers in butter in the bottom of a pot.  Add chicken broth, salt, and pepper.  Whisk flour in slowly.  Add milk.  Bring to a boil.  Add chicken. 

Now, a lesson to be learned here is that whenever you use flour or cornstarch to thicken a sauce, you MUST let it come to a full boil.  It will never reach it's full thickening potential without it. 


As far as toppings, go, there are a few things that are kinda considered essentials for every haystack.

• Grated cheese
• Pinapple
• Something onion-y; chives, green onions, or diced purple onion are good choices
• Something ham-y; bacon bits, diced ham, or crumbled bacon

Let your imagination go from there.  I like raisins.  My husband likes coconut and crispy chinese chow mein noodles.  I've seen corn, water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, slivered almonds, and peanuts.  Just use your imagination and whatever you have lying around the house.

The best thing about this dish is that everyone can personalize it to their own tastes.  It is easy to please even the pickiest eaters with this dish.

Here was my evening's creation with the sauce, cheese, raisins, pineapple, bacon bits, and some chives from my garden that you can't see but are really there.  I usually put corn on mine too but we were out.

Cabbage and Straw

This is an adaptation by Rachel Ray of an old Italian comfort food called pizzocheri.  It's more a winter food; kind of makes you want to unbuckle your belt and put your feet up a la thanksgiving dinner.  It's not winter, though.  It's summer in Southern California.  But at the last second I was feeding two missionaries from our church (two 19-year old boys who ride their bikes all day and have huge appetites) and I needed something that was easy and made a lot.  Plus, this uses the rest of the cabbage from the teriyaki chicken recipe. 

p.s. I sliced my finger today while peeling the potatoes. Please forgive any typing errors.

Ingredients:

Salt

2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 pound fettuccine or papardelle pasta (I usually use spaghetti)
1 small head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced  (I use 1/2 a head; or whatever's leftover after teriyaki night)
1 stick butter
3 to 4 cloves garlic, cracked from skin and halved
16 sage leaves; 6 left whole, 10 thinly sliced (I only use about 4 whole; I'm not a huge sage fan)
1 tsp black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 cups grated Romano (I have used plain Kraft Parmesan in the green shaker and have liked it just fine.)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.  (Now, when I first made this recipe, I tried to use the large pot on the right.  It wasn't big enough.  Try something closer to the large pot on the left.  And please excuse the state of my stove.)

Add the potatoes and cook 7 minutes.  Add the pasta and cook 2 minutes, then stir in the cabbage and cook 5 minutes longer.

While the potatoes and pasta cook, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add garlic and 6 whole sage leaves.  (Four for me, then no sliced ones.)  Cook 3 to 4 minutes; remove the garlic and whole leaves (reserve the leaves for garnish), then add the sliced leaves and the black pepper.  Just before draining the pasta and cabbage, add 2 ladles of starchy cooking water to the skillet.

Drain the potatoes, pasta, and cabbage and add to butter and sage.  (While I have a large skillet, it's not big enough for all the pasta.  I throw everything back in the big pot.)  Toss to combine with sage butter, adding in lots of cheese as you work.  Toss 1 to 2 minutes to form a cheesy butter coating on the pasta and cabbage.  Then adjust salt and serve.  Use reserved whole leaves to garnish the pasta.

And there you have it.  One huge pot of carbalicious yumminess.  This is usually enough to feed my family for 2 nights.  Tonight, with 2 extra mouths, it was just the right amount.

Teriyaki Chicken with Cabbage

Hi again.  My wonderful sister Julie has invited me to be a regular contributor to her blog.  Well; she didn't invite as much as I asked.  As I've expanded my repertoire in the kitchen I've realized how much fun it is to cook and now have a desire to share that with everyone else.  And so here I am. 

I'm going to start with one of my favorite easy recipes.  I know what you're thinking after reading the title.  "Are you serious lady?  Uh-uh.  No way.  Chicken and cabbage do not belong in the same dish."  Well, that was what I thought, too, the first time my sister-in-law served this.  And now I love it.  It's one of those dishes that's not really an exact science.  You take the ingredients and cook however much your family needs.  So I'm not giving quantities, just ingredients.

Ingredients:

Chicken pieces.  I prefer thighs; tonight was breasts
Teriyaki Sauce
Cabbage
Vegetable Oil
White Rice

Instructions:

Marinate the chicken in teriyaki sauce.  The original recipe says to marinate for 2 days, but let's be serious here...  I rarely think about my meals that far in advance.  I've marinated it for as little as 2 hours.  The flavor isn't as rich, but it's still good.  Cook the chicken in an oven-safe casserole at 375 for 35-40 minutes.

Put some white rice onto boil.  I like to rinse it first when doing this recipe because I like the sticky texture it gets.  Everyone has a method for making perfect rice, and here's mine:  Add 1 part rice and 2 parts water to the pan.  Cover it, and start the flame on high until boiling, then turn it down to as low as it will go.  When pocks form in the rice, turn it off and let it sit until you're ready to eat.  I like using my glass-lid pot for making rice.  That way I don't have to keep lifting the lid to tell if I have pocks yet.

Next, cut your cabbage into strips.  (I do about 1/4 -1/3 an average cabbage for my husband and I; the kids refuse to eat it.)  Put a little oil in the bottom of a frying pan.  Add the cabbage.  Add salt and pepper.  (I tend to be liberal with the pepper.)  Cook it down until the cabbage is wilted but still has a little bite.  It will continue to soften after you take it off of the heat, so don't let it cook too much. 

When your chicken is done, shred it with two forks. 

Serve with the rice on bottom, then the cabbage, and then the chicken. 

I forgot to take a picture until the end of dinner; hence the haphazard look to the pile of food.  I had been trying to convince my son that it really is chicken, which he loves, and that he can eat the chicken without eating the green.  But no such luck tonight.

Since I only used about 1/3 of the cabbage tonight, I'll be sharing another cabbage recipe soon.

Applebee's Santa Fe Chicken Salad

The credit for this amazing dish goes completely to my husband. He made it while I was in Spokane, but there was enough to make it the next day, so he made me a whopping plate full. I ate the whole thing. This is amazing!  It comes from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2.

Ingredients for Marinade
2 cups water
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp ground chipotle pepper (or 1 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper) - I used cayenne pepper
2 tsp hickory smoke flavoring
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 skinless chicken breast fillets

Ingredients for Mexi-ranch Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp diced tomato
1 tbsp buttermilk (feel free to substitute with milk)
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp canned chopped milk green chiles
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
pinch dried dill weed
pinch ground cumin
pinch cayenne pepper

Ingredients for Pico de Gallo
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup diced red onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Remaining Ingredients for Salad
8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
8 cups chopped romaince lettuce
1 cup chopped red cabbage (We only had iceberg and romaine)
1 cup fancy shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup fancy shredded Monterey Jack cheese (We only had cheddar)
4 handfuls tortilla strips or chips
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup guacamole (We didn't have sour cream or guacamole, but I know they would've been amazing additions)

You want to marinate the chicken for 2 hours in advance, so make the marinade first by combing all the ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Drop the chicken breasts into the marinade, then cover and chill for 2 hours. You don't want to marinate for much more than 2 hours or the chicken could get tough.

While the chicken marinates, make the Mexi-ranch dressing by combining the ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill so the flavors will develop as the chicken marinates.

You'll also make the pico de gallo in advance so that it can rest a bit in the fridge. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl, then cover and chill this as well. When the chicken has marinated for 2 hours, fire up the grill to medium/high heat. (We just used a skillet) Grill the chicken breasts for 4 to 7 minutes per side or until the chicken is done. Take the chicken off the grill then let it rest for a bit while you prepare the salads.

Build each salad in a large bowl by first tossing 2 cups chopped iceberg lettuce and 2 cups chopped romaince lettuce with 1/4 cup chopped red cabbage and about 1/4 cup of the dressing. Combine the shredded cheeses and then add, about 1/2 cup to each salad on the lettuce. Sprinkle a handful of tortilla strips or crumbled chips on next.

Slice each chicken breast into strips and arrange each one on each of the salads. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of pico de gallo over the top. Finish off each salad by adding a 2 tbsp scoop of sour cream on one side of each salad, then a 2 tbsp scoop of guacamole on the other side.

We didn't construct our salads nearly so mechanically, but I wanted to give you the original recipe. You can easily loosen up the construction, etc. to suit your needs. But let me just add again that this salad was absolutely delicious! There's a lot involved, but it's worth the work. We've already had it like 3 times since he made it in May. Soo good!

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2

This is a great cookbook my mom got me for Christmas. At first, I wasn't reallyinspired to cook from it. But my husband found some recipes he thought sounded good and started using it, and I must say we've been hooked since!  We've only scratched the surface of what's in this great book, but I'm sure whatever else we try will not disappoint! So I hope you enjoy these new recipes as much as we do!

Crock Pot Roast

I know for most people roast is pretty darn basic and not exciting. For me, however, it's most intriguing. We did not eat roast growing up, and my first exposure to it I had mono (but didn't know it til the day after) and so needless to say, at the time it didn't taste great. I still don't think I would've liked it because it was a dry roast, which I've learned that I don't really prefer. However, after Emery was born, my neighbor and friend brought us dinner. It was a crock pot roast. I really, really liked it. We recently got a roast from my hub's family ranch and I had to do it right. So I emailed my old neighbor and got her recipe from her. This is what she sent me.

Ingredients
Roast
Onion Soup Mix
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Beef Bouillon
garlic, celery salt, onion powder, onion salt
Potatoes
Carrots

I use 1-2 (depending on the size of the roast, with my family size I usually use a 3-4lb. roast that I would use 2 for, but anything less I would use just one) envelopes of Lipton onion mix. 1-2 (matching how many envelopes you use) cans of cream of mushroom soup. I also like to add 2 beef boulion cube to the water. Add about 1-2 cups of water, I don't really measure it. Just enough to make it 1-2 inches deep in the crock pot. Then I like to set the crock pot on low for at least 6 hours preferrably 8. But if you want to just put a frozen roast in there you can do it for 12. I wouldn't recommend cooking them any faster unless you are doing it in the oven. Then you can do it for 3-4 hours at 250. If you do it in the oven seering the meat first is a good idea too. I just like putting a bunch of herbs on my roast like, garlic, celery salt (plenty of it, it's kind of the secret ingredient), onion powder, onion salt, pepper, Monteral Seasoning, beef bouillon (the other secrect ingedient :) Sometimes I add the cream of mushroom soup sometimes not. The the cooking instructions are the same.
I also add carrots and potatoes toward the end with at least 3 hours left.

So yes, the ingredients and instructions are a big broad. I'll give you a better break down of what I did. I don't know how much roast we had. It was big, so I assumed it was in the 3-4 pound category. (Although it had a bunch of bones, which wasn't fun to deal with. It was apparently a neck. Or was a neck.) So I did 2 cans of the cream of mushroom, 2 packets of onion soup mix, and added enough water to feel like it was sufficiently filled. Our crock pot is really big, so just use your gut on that. Then I peeled and cut up some potatoes. Just as many as you think would suit your size roast. Then I took my carrot sticks from my handy dandy peanut butter snack container and cut them all in half with my kitchen scissors.  As for the seasonings, I just sprinkled liberally. I did add the 2 bouillon. I didn't use any salts. I used garlic and onion powders. I try to reduce salts wherever possible. Just a personal thing. Our potatoes and carrots didn't end up fully cooked. The next time I did this, I put them in from the beginning. That worked well, although they probably didn't have to be in there that long. But I would put them in half way. It came out really tasty. I was very pleased. We've already cooked it again with the rest of our ranch roast. I rather enjoyed cooking a tasty roast.

Rice Balls

This is a new idea for me, but I love it. This post is done by a guest author, my talented sister Heidi. She wanted to make this recipe and I hadn't yet. So we figured it would be a great opportunity for her to guest-blog! Enjoy her wonderful recipe!

~ Julie

Like many moms of young children (mine are 18 months and *almost* 3) I often struggle with what to make for lunch. I find myself in the same rut: mac & cheese, pb&j, grilled cheese, and quesadillas. I like chicken nuggets (as do my kids) but after watching an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution where he shows how chicken nuggets are made (ewwww) I can't ever do that to my children again. So I set out on a mission, to find easy but healthy food to feed my kids. Of course, the first thing I turn to is Mrs. Jerry Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. I thought the Rice Balls looked easy and wondered if I made a double batch, would they freeze well. I called my baby sister Julie and discussed the possibilities. She invited me to try it and then do a guest post on her blog. And here I am.

The recipe is as follows:

1/2 cup short grain brown rice (or 1 cup leftover cooked rice) - I have come a long way in eating whole grains and whatnot, but when it comes to rice, I will never cross over to the dark side. It was long-grain, nutrient-lacking white rice for me, which was leftover from dinner a couple of nights before.
Nonstick cooking spray
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 pound chicken cutlets, rinsed and dried - I made boneless skinless chicken breasts for dinner the night before and just cooked up a couple of extra then.
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese - Frankly, I think reduced fat cheese is almost as much of an insult to all that is yummy as american cheese is. Yuck.
1/4 low fat buttermilk - I didn't have buttermilk so I used plain whole milk.
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup spinach or broccoli or butternut squash puree - I used butternut squash
1 1/2 cup whole wheat cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs
*Her recipe didn't call for flax seed meal, but most of her breaded recipes do so I threw in a couple of tablespoons just for good measure

Instructions:

1 - Place the rice in a small saucepan with 1 cup of water; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook until the rice is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. You can also use your rice steamer.

2 - Meanwhile, coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp oil. Sprinkle the chicken with 1/4 tsp salt and the pepper, and cook until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

3 - Cut the chicken into chunks and place them in a food processor or blender. Add the sweet potato puree, cheese, 1 tsp salt, and the buttermilk, and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the cooked rice.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and place them on a sheet of waxed paper or aluminum foil.

4 - In a shallow bowl, beat the egg and vegetable puree with a fork. Put the crumbs (and flax seed) in the bowl. One at a time, dip the rice balls in the egg mixture, then roll them in the crumbs to make sure it has an even coating.

**This is where I deviated from the recipe. I stuck them in the freezer on cookie sheets until they were frozen. then I put them in freezer safe bags and waited for a few days to see how they would work as a frozen food.

5 - Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add the rice balls and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, turning occasionally and spraying with cooking spray until browned and crisp all over. Serve warm.

I found that they did very well going straight from freezer to pan. You just need to make sure that when you cook them, the pan isn't so hot that you burn the outside before the inside is warm.

Now, for the purposes of full disclosure, when I put this in front of the kids, my younger one dug right in. She even picked them over the strawberries. My older one, on the other hand, ate a few strawberries then took a bite of the rice balls and immediately declared them "icky". Of course, at that point, the little one heard that big brother had called them icky, so the little monkey-do had to call them icky too and now neither kid will eat them now. But I would comfortably say that your standard kid is really going to like them.

Italian Baking Powder Biscuits

This was a variation on baking powder biscuits, and wow! So amazing! You have to try these! They are seriously my new favorite.

Ingredients
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour - I'm all out of cake flour, so I used all regular flour

1/3 cup cake flour
½ tsp garlic salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 425. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk all at once and stir just until dough forms a ball. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 12 times. Pat or roll ½ inch thick. Cut into rounds with 2 inch cutter. Bake on greased baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and flaky.

So good! Really. Delicious! I was extremely pleased with this change to the recipe. Definitely a keeper!

Stress Tip

So, this may be kinda silly, and mostly funny, but it really worked for me and ultimately made a veggie packed dinner!

The other day I was having a rough day with the kids and had started snacking. I didn't do bad, but got frustrated since I've been working real hard lately to lose a few pounds. So I wanted to find something to do that wasn't snacking. So I decided we were having stir fry and started chopping vegetables.

First it was carrots, then celery, bell peppers, and garlic. By that point I was so into the veggies, that I started to add canned veggies and other things we had around the house. Needless to say, the stir fry was a little heavy on the vegetable side. But it was really good for us and better that than cookies or candy, right?

Snack Tip

I love this new snack/storage tip. It works awesome! We started saving plastic and glass containers for reusing in an effort to use less plastic bags. These empty peanut butter containers are awesome. They've got a really wide mouth and are clear so you can see what's inside. This not only reminds you what you have in there, but you know when you're getting low. They're super handy. I often grab the cheese or carrot sticks when running out on a playdate so we'll have a nice snack while we're gone.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Also known as "leftover Easter Ham".

Ingredients
6 medium potatoes - I think we only had 3, so ours might not have been as full as it calls for, and I'm pretty sure we didn't half the recipe. Although my husband started this and I finished it, so it's possible I'm just totally off base.
3 tbsp butter, separate, melted
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup potato water (saved)
1 cup milk or light cream - We used whole milk, thank you Emery!
2 cups ham cooked and cubed - Thank you Easter!
4 ounces cheddar cheese

Cook potatoes, pared and sliced in boiling, salted water for 10-15 minutes or til tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Place potatoes in 9x13 baking dish. Melt 1 tbsp butter, toss with bread crumbs, paprika and thyme. Set aside. Melt 2 tbsp butter in sauce pan, then blend in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Add reserved potato liquid and milk. Cook and stir til thickened and bubbly. Stir in ham and cheese, one cup at a time. Cook til cheese is melted. Pour sauce over potatoes. Sprinkle with crumbs. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

We did the potatoes the night before, then I pre-chopped everything that afternoon. It was really easy to put together an hour before dinner.

Flaxseed Tip

I know I've mentioned a bit before how flaxseed is an easy addition to punch up the health of your meal. In last month's Reader's Digest, there was an article all about the great benefits of flaxseed and they had some suggestions for using it. I used one, and it was so easy. I thought I'd share it with you as well some reminders of nice and simple ways to add flaxseed in your meals and snacks.

Sprinkle it on your peanut butter when making a pb&j. I put mine together and then remembered to take a picture, so it's on both sides. But I originally just covered my peanut butter in it and then closed it to eat. I couldn't taste any difference.

Other great and easy ways to use flaxseed:

breadings (for fish or chicken)

any red sauce (chili, spaghetti)

sprinkle it in yogurt

blend in a smoothie

add to muffins

I'm sure there are a million other ways to use it? Are there any that you've used that I didn't list?

Sheila Salad

This salad is named for our good friend Sheila who used to make this for us all the time in Missoula. After living in Kalispell for a while, she came up here to visit her sister and we all had lunch together and she made her classic salad. We realized how much we missed it and started making it for our family too!

Ingredients
Lettuce - I like using spinach and a spring mix. But you can use Romaine, or even Iceberg if that's your thing.
Tomatoes, chopped - If I could, I'd always use cherry tomatoes, quartered.
Cucumbers, chopped
Bell peppers, chopped
Colby Jack Cheese, cubed
Carrots, chopped
Optional: bacon bits, green onions, croutons, cubed ham, hard boiled eggs, etc.

This is a real, make it how you like it salad. What we love most about it is the variety of things to put in it, and we make it quite chunky. This way the flavors are a lot stronger. We're also fans of the colby cubes. We just had this for a birthday dinner with a medium-sized group of family and had everything in separate containers so everyone could literally create their own salad with the fixings they like best. This salad's a big hit with our family, and we just love it.

Italian Chicken

This is another "spice up this recipe so dinner's not so boring" recipe. 

Ingredients
Chicken - I cut mine up into tenders
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp Alpine Touch (all-purpose seasoning with salt, pepper, onion, garlic)
2 tsp italian seasoning
sprinkle of paprika

Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what I put in this. I wanted something light, and it was. I recall being pleased so I took a picture. But this is the general idea.

Make your flour and seasoning mixture. Coat chicken in the mixture. Spray a pan with cooking spray and put over medium heat. When hot, add a tbsp of oil and toss in the chicken. Cook until done.

We just had a simple light dinner with some butter noodles, chicken and veggies. It's not really overly flavorful. (Although that would be easy enough to change.) But it was something I just put together, and I'm always pleased when something I make up actually tastes good. This breading was my inspiration.

Toasted Spiced Ham Drizzled in Honey

This Easter, I got excited about making some traditional foods. Mostly because I don't know much about the "traditional" foods. I'm not a real holiday food person, outside of candy canes, candy corn and jelly beans. So I found a recipe on foodnetwork.com for a traditional Easter ham, and this is what I found.

Ingredients

1 boneless country ham
2 cups honey, for glazing ham
2 tablespoons Toasted Spice Rub recipe below- The recipe makes 1 cup. DO NOT use the entire 1 cup. 
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped fine
6 celery stalks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  Place ham on an open brown paper bag for easy clean up. With the tip of a paring knife carefully score a 1-inch grid pattern around the outside of the ham. Brush the entire surface of the meat on all sides with some of the honey. Season the entire surface of the meat on all sides with the toasted spice rub and thyme. Add about a half cup of water to the base of the roaster. Place ham on several celery sticks in the roasting pan. Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes, baste ham with juices that collect in the base of the roaster and the honey. Let rest for 15 minutes before carving as desired.

Toasted Spice Rub:
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/4 cup (1-ounce) pure California sweet chili powder*
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Toast the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a small, heavy pan over medium heat. (Toasting freshens spices, releases their oils, and makes them more fragrant, as well as adding a new dimension of flavor.) When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan; add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the sweet chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground.
If you have a small spice mill blender or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Keep the spice mix in a glass jar in a cool, dry place, or freeze.

*Chef's Tip: Taste your chili powder and, if spicy and hot, cut back the amount. California chiles are almost sweet, not hot.

So I forgot to take my camera to the dinner, and didn't take a picture until after we got home and my hubs rinsed it off. I realized, just now, that I used the entire 1 cup of seasoning mix instead of 2 tbsp. Our ham still tasted good, but there was a lot of seasoning on it. You can see a little bit on the stump there what the seasoning rub looks like. I know my ham is in a shape not really natural to the nature of ham, but it was the cheapest I could find, and that's what we could afford. Looking back, I think if I had read the recipe properly, this would've been an even greater success than it was. Because it was a success. Unless everyone was lying so as not to hurt my feelings. Anyway, it was good, and the ham was used in recipes to follow. So keep an eye out.

Chili Upgrade

So we were making our normal chili but really wanted to make it a bit tastier, give it a little upgrade. So we combined it with the recipe for our white chicken chili and came up with something pretty yummy. It was kind of an on the fly recipe change, so bear with me. But I can still remember the gist of how we changed it. I know we started out with the original recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb. lean ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green sweet pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced (Can't go wrong with more garlic either)
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (may use dried beans)
1 14 ½ oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried basil, crushed
1/2 cup flax seed

Then we added some bits from the white chicken chili.
1 can of kernel corn

1 (4oz) cans diced green chiles
1 tbs ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

I want to say that was most of the additions.

Brown meat, chop veggies, toss it all in a crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. You can saute your veggies before hand if you want to, as well.

Bam chicken

This is another thing we make on the fly. It's so simple, but I couldn't help but share it because it really does turn out great.

Ingredients
Chicken - However much you have on hand that's thawed and ready to be cooked for dinner
Bam - Use as liberally as you'd like

You can leave the chicken as breasts, or whatever cut you have, or you can cut them up into tenders or smaller, chicken nugget-type bites. Sprinkle Bam on your chicken, coating both sides, then cook in a frying pan with a little oil. Voila.

Excuse the lovely photo. I think we were already done with dinner, when I thought to myself, "I should post our Bam chicken." and took a lovely photo of the chicken serving plate, completely with bam-colored oil and juices. It's so simple and is packed with flavor. A great chicken addition on the fly.