The Most Amazing Pot Roast of All Time

 I have made a lot of pot roasts in my day. Sometimes they turn out good, sometimes not so much. I made this one last night and I will never make it another way again. It was SO. GOOD. We gobbled it all up and had no leftovers! Which was actually kind of sad because we do love our leftovers. Mmmboy. 

This recipe and photos are from Joyously Domestic. I will definitely be trying more of her recipes, because…Dang. 

Slow Cooker Pot Roast 

Ingredients:

1 chuck roast (mine was 3 pounds)
Olive oil
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks (optional)
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoons corn starch

SEASONING MIX -

2 tablespoons steak seasoning (mine is store-bought and has a blend of peppercorns, garlic, paprika, parsley and salt)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried rosemary

Directions:

Combine together seasoning mix in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Coat both sides of meat with olive oil.  Sprinkle on a third of the seasoning mix onto each side.

Sear both sides of the meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Transfer roast to slow cooker.

Place the vegetables in a large bowl.  Drizzle on a little olive oil to coat vegetables.  Sprinkle on the remaining seasoning mix.  Add the vegetables to the same skillet that was used to sear the meat. Sauté for about five minutes - stirring occasionally.

Transfer the vegetables to the top of the roast in the slow cooker.  Pour in the beef broth. Cover with lid.

Cook on low for 9 hours or on high for 6 hours.

Using a turkey baster, retrieve most of the cooking juices from the slow cooker.  Transfer juices to a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat on the stovetop.  Whisk together the cornstarch with a little water.  Blend into the pan juices while whisking.  Bring back to a simmer until thickened.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Transfer the roast and vegetables to a large platter.  Ladle the gravy over.  Serve immediately.

The Best Salsa Ever - for real this time

Okay so... I pride myself on making a good salsa, but our friend Easton came over the other day and had a salsa that knocked all of our socks off! So for fear of losing her recipe I want to post it here. I have already made it since she brought it a week ago and mine didn't turn out quite as good as hers but it was still the best I've ever made :)

Perfect Salsa

1 large can of diced tomatoes - drained
5-7 tomatillos depending on the size (5 large, 6-7 small)- peeled and quartered
1-2 bunches of cilantro, depending on how much you like the taste - rinsed and with the stems cut off
1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on how garlicky you want it
1/4 onion
1 jalapeño - I always rinse mine off first so that I can actually touch it without getting the oil on my hands, then I cut it in half lengthwise and cut out the veins and seeds and just add the fruit... then if I want it spicier I just add seeds
1 lime - juiced, and I usually cut off some of the fruit and add that in too
Cumin - to taste, I usually just shake the bottle until my arm hurts (how is that for precise?!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Just throw everything in and blend! Enjoy!

Raspberry Salad Dressing (aka The Best Salad Dressing in the World)

I was scrambling to assemble dinner for Blaine's family on Sunday and my heart about stopped when I couldn't find my most treasured recipe card - the one for Katie's Salad Dressing.

See, I used to make salad with this dressing all the time, but there is something about pregnancy that makes lettuce and spinach seem very, very vile. So it has been a while and I no longer had the recipe memorized. I was terrified about not having the card and I couldn't  believe the recipe could not be found on either of my recipe blogs. Sad indeed. Luckily I found the card and am now posting to prevent a future culinary crisis!


Katie's Raspberry Salad Dressing

2 T red wine vinegar
2 T honey or agave
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 t dry mustard
1/2 t salt
1 C strawberry or raspberry jam (do yourself a favor and use raspberry)

Mix it all together....like in a blender or with a whisk.



So this salad dressing is great on baby greens or a spinach salad. I like to top the greens with any combination of the following: avocado, feta, pecans (candied or toasted), red onion, apples, raspberries, strawberries, you get the idea.  . . (apple/avocado/feta/pecans is a personal favorite combo).


Enjoy!

Sourdough Croutons

If you haven't had the pleasure of making your own croutons you are missing out on one of the easiest and most satisfying baking experiences you can have. Everyone will be duly impressed and they are completely simple to make!

Homemade Sourdough Croutons
Recipe from: Rachel Ray

2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 cups cubed sourdough bread
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon italian seasoning (or just oregano)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 t. dried)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Heat garlic and oil over low heat and melt butter into the oil.
Place the bread in a large bowl and toss with garlic oil and butter.
Season with pepper, Parmesan and thyme.
Spread croutons evenly on baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden. (15 - 25 minutes).

Try to not eat them all before your salad is served. 

Coconut Ice Cream

It was B's birthday yesterday and in honor of the occasion I made my absolute favorite thing: homemade ice cream. One day I sidebusted a facebook conversation between Ralphie and Kinsey and procured this recipe, and my life will never be the same.

Coconut Ice Cream

By: Allrecipes.com via Kinsey, a cute YW from my Texas ward

1 c milk
1 14oz can cream of coconut (I'll save you an hour of your life by telling you to look by the Margarita Mix, and note that it is a different product than coconut milk - which is by the Asian foods. Both products will change your life for the better though).
1 1/2 c heavy cream

Now here's the tricky part: Mix all ingredients together. Put them in the fridge for a spell (10 minutes to a couple of hours, whatever), then put them in your ice cream maker. Ground breaking right?

Thank me later.

Do you like how I gracefully ignored the fact that I've been all MIA for the last six months. Me too. 

Heavenly Halibut

Today was my first experience with halibut, but it most certainly won't be my last. It was brought to my attention that halibut costs upwards of $17/lb. That, my friends, is insanity. The good news for me though is that my dad has a gig where every summer he goes to Alaska, scrubs pots and pans for a week in the day and fishes by night. Then he comes home with a truckload of salmon and halibut and is kind enough to share the spoils!

So I understand if you are a little hesitant to go drop serious cash for halibut. But the thing is...it was divine! And, I am guessing that you could use any white fish in this recipe and have similar results (tilapia is super cheap). So give it a shot and thank me later!

Heavenly Halibut

from: www.allrecipes.com

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash hot pepper sauce ( I used chaloula - or however you spell it, and I used two and a half dashes)
2 pounds skinless halibut fillets

Directions

1. Preheat the oven broiler. Grease a baking dish.
2. In a bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise, lemon juice, green onions, salt, and hot pepper sauce.
3. Arrange the halibut fillets in the prepared baking dish.
4. Broil halibut fillets 8 minutes in the prepared oven, or until easily flaked with a fork. Spread with the Parmesan cheese mixture, and continue broiling 2 minutes, or until topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

Miracle Muffins

Blaine has struggled with high cholestrol for a couple of years now, probably more but we didn't bother even having it checked until about 2007. His doctor saw his numbers and immediately prescribed him statin drugs. After doing some research on statins I was scared out of my ever loving mind (memory loss? Nerve damage?) and decided that we would try to get his levels under control ourselves for a few months before giving in to a lifetime of medication.

Part of our cholesterol lowering regime is to have 2-3 of these muffins every day for 8 weeks. Well, more realisticly probably for life. Though I don't struggle with high cholesterol, I still enjoy the muffins each day and so do my kids. It's like eating a nice bowl of oatmeal, but that actually tastes good and that you don't have to douse with sugar to swallow.

So if you are looking for a simple breakfast that is filling, nutritious and could potentially lower your cholesterol, this is it! There are lots of varitations to the muffins, but we just like them plain and simple!

Miracle Muffins

by: The 8- Week Cholesterol Cure

2 1/4 cups oat bran cereal (found in the bulk section of Whole Foods or Good Earth)
1/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice (choose pecans people)
1/4 cup raisins or dried fruit (we leave this out since raisins are vile)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar, honey or molasses (brown sugar)
1 1/4 cup skim milk (now, here's a big tip! Use vanilla almond milk-- the muffins taste so much better and I think it even has fewer calories!!)
2 egg whites
3 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat the oven to 425dgs. In a large bowl combine the oat bran, nuts, raisins (ew), and baking powder. Stir in the sugar or other sweetening. Mix the milk, eggs, and oil together in a seperate bowl. Once you mix the dry and wet ingredients seperately combine and mix together. Line muffin pan with paper baking cups, and fill with batter. Bake 15-17 miutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick; it shoudl come out moist but not wet.

These store well in the freezer! Enjoy!

Knock Your Socks Off Salsa

Blaine and I have been making our own salsa since the early days of our marriage (where we would make it at 11PM, plop the bowl between us and watch six episodes of the X-Files before crawling in to bed at 4AM, those were the days....). It was always different, we had no written recipe. Sometimes it would be amazing and we wished we could recreate it, and sometimes it was really weird (usually when Blaine would get the grand idea to add things like pickle juice or tuna juice...weird). It has been a fun past time. Yesterday I had the audacity to make salsa from a recipe. Mostly because the dinner I was making (baked southwestern egg rolls) had a salsa recipe linked to it and it looked pretty good. It was good folks...oh it was good. Make a batch and enjoy!

Salsa

by: Annie's Eats

2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and very coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, halved

2 large vine-ripened tomatoes

1 (28 0z.) can diced tomatoes (drained or not, depending on how much liquid you want in your salsa - I used two 14 oz cans and drained the juice from one can but not the other)

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 sweet yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

juice of one lime

Directions:

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the jalapenos and garlic. Process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add all other ingredients to the food processor. Pulse in very brief pulses until the vegetables have reached the size you desire (it does not take many pulses so don’t overdo it). Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

It's been a while! I had a little side job blogging recipes for another blogger for the last several months and that kind of sucked up my will to blog. I stopped blogging for her at the end of last year, and now (three months later), I am ready get my toe back in the blogging world. Though I am not entirely sure why as pinterest has completely obliterated any reason at all to have a recipe blog. Well, except I kind of take comfort that if I die or something my kids and husband will have a log of all the recipes I loved. So...there's that I suppose.

Anyway, I made this soup for dinner last night and it knocked my socks off. I will definitely be serving this the next time we have people over for dinner. I can't believe I went the first 28 years of my life thinking I didn't like Thai food. Idiot.

Thai Coconut Curry Soup
by www.sweetspot.ca
The sweet, sour, spicy, salty and savoury flavours of Thailand are one of my favourite ways to fill a bowl. They’re seductively addictive, always well balanced and one of the world’s great cuisines. They’re also easy! This is a very simple dish to make.

Ingredients
Two 14 oz cans of premium coconut milk ( I translate premium to mean FULL fat)
1 heaping tablespoon of Thai curry paste (I used red)
Roots of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2 cups of chicken broth
1 carrot, shredded
4 or 5 lime leaves (what the...?)
2 stalks of lemon grass, halved lengthwise, woody leaves removed ( used 2 TBS lemongrass from a little tube I found near the fresh Basil at Smiths)
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
Zest and juice of 2 limes
A small knob of frozen ginger
A handful of bean sprouts
One 8 oz (225 g) package of rice noodles ( could easily use cooked rice instead)
Leaves of 1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed well
2 or 3 green onions, thinly sliced
A sprinkle or two of salt or soy sauce

Directions
1. Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.

2. Add the cilantro roots and chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

4. Stir in the bean sprouts. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.

5. Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

-----

This recipe sat on my menu rotation for weeks because I didn't know where to buy things like lime leaves and lemongrass. But let me assure you, you can modify it to make it less intimidating. For example I found lemongrass in a little squirt tube at smiths (on clearance!), and I used additional lime zest and juice instead of lime leaves.

Also, if I were to do this recipe again I would skip the expensive rice pasta (like three dollars and something a box!) and just simply add rice to the soup. I did spend the big bucks and bought red curry paste and fish sauce but really they were pretty cheap and I will be able to use them in several more recipes. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Seven Layer Tostadas

It's been a month since I posted, wow! Turns out having a first grader and a 1L law student is harder than I thought! I wake up at the crack of dawn and collapse in bed at like 8:30PM most days. Dinner is a chaotic mess, rushed and tensions flare high at the end of the day when we are all a bit grumpy. Needless to say I haven't really taken the time to take photos of dinner to post recipes on here. With the advent of pinterest the whole idea of this meager little recipe blog is kind of outdated. Oh well :) I'll still post when I can. Especially when I make something awesome.

And maybe I was just like really hungry or something but these. were. awesome. I love tostadas but I never even thought it was possible I could make my own. And I love olives, but Blaine doesn't so any time I actually have the audacity to use them I enjoy my meal ten times more.

This is simple to make and so tasty, enjoy!

Seven Layer Tostadas

from: Kalyn's Kitchen
1 can refried beans
1 1/2 cups guacamole (I hope you are making your own guacamole, so easy)
1 cup sour cream (can use light)
1/2 tsp taco seasoning
1 cup cheddar cheese (or mexican blend)
1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used the cherry tomatoes from Costco, so good)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup sliced black olives
6-8 whole wheat flour tortillas (I won't tell if you use white tortillas like me)
olive oil, about 1tsp

Place a baking sheet inside the oven and let it get hot while the oven preheats to 450dgs. Carefully remove baking sheet and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on it and spread the oil around with a paper towel. Put the tortillas on the baking sheet (I could only fit two at a time, which was slightly annoying). Toast tortillas in the oven until they are crisp and barely starting to brown, turning several times ( I flipped once a minute). This will take 5 minutes or less so...be vigilant.

While tortillas are crisping, put the refried beans in a bowl, stir to break them apart and microwave 2-3 minutes or until they are hot. Stir the taco seasoning in to the sour cream (genius!). Slice the green onions, olives and tomatoes. Make the guacamole. Well, you probably should do that before the whole toasting thing begins.

Put a crisped tortilla shell on a plate and top with the beans, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and olives. Serve immediately. Thank me later. So good.

Seriously, Gwen was literally singing my praises.

Lettuce Wraps

I had to make a new tag for this recipe...it's not vegetarian, it's not super easy, it's not Mexican... but it is DELICIOUS. I was beaming with pride the first time I made these and continue to love making them because they are so yummy, pretty darn healthy, and I don't know, there's something to be said for not having to go to PF Changs to satisfy your craving for delicious lettuce wraps :)

Lettuce Wraps

by: April Orgill

3 Tbs Canola Oil
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger root
1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces
1 can water chestnuts, diced
3/4 cup chopped mushrooms
4 Tbs rice vinegar
4 Tbs teriyaki sauce
1/2 t garlic powder
red pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 C shredded carrots
1/2 C chopped green onion
1/3 C toasted and sliced almonds
12 leaves of iceberg lettuce.

Heat 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ginger, water chestnuts, mushrooms and chicken and saute until cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 Tbs oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes.. Add chicken mixture, carrot, green onion and almonds to the sauce, toss together.

To serve spoon 1/12 of the mixture on to the center of each lettuce leaf, roll up leaf around filling and serve.

* In the interest of full disclosure - I used leftover chicken from a rotisserie chicken so I still sauteed it all in the oil, but only for like...three minutes
** also, I loved using my Bosch/food processor and used it to process the mushrooms and carrots on the smallest slicing option.

Mango Quinoa Salad

I saw this recipe pop up on my google reader a few weeks ago. It seemed eerily similar to my world famous quinoa salad (exaggerate much?), so I figured having two world famous quinoa salads couldn't be a bad thing and gave it a whirl! I really liked it! The ingredient list is much the same as the other salad, but the addition of the mango (and subtraction of tomatoes and avocados) totally changes the taste of the salad. Admittedly, I am battling the cold-that-wouldn't-die and that has rendered my tastebuds not as sensitive (and my ability to smell). My husband claims this salad is a wild ride for your tastebuds, I wouldn't necessarily say that...but that could be the cold talking. Either way I hope you enjoy the quinoa salad, it makes a much smaller amount than the other quinoa salad :) Oh and mangoes have been a steal lately about about fifty cents a pop!

Mango Quinoa Salad

by: Our Best Bites


2 cups cooked quinoa at room temperature, or chilled (or in my case...steaming hot, I have no patience) - also I used 1 cup of uncooked quinoa and didn't really measure how much that was once cooked.
1 14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium mango, peeled and diced (confession, I used three and I don't regret it)
1 red bell pepper, diced (I used half, again...no regrets)
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 handful chopped cilantro (about 1/2 cup)
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
kosher salt
pepper

Place cooked quinoa in large bowl. Add everything else. Chill an hour before serving (dang, that'st just not how I roll and it tasted fine!).
fresh

Grilled Salmon Marinade

Our grill is still broken (it's only been three years...) but today I broke down and hauled my raw fish over to the home of a dear friend and pleaded with her to use her grill. I am so glad that she did. See we've had this salmon sitting in our freezer for a couple of weeks now, it's salmon that my dad caught in Alaska. It's good salmon. Oh and it was so very good all grilled up. I need a grill in my life, of the non George Foreman variety.

Grilled Salmon Marinade

by: allrecipes.com

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets lemon pepper to taste garlic powder to taste salt to taste 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup water 1/4 cup vegetable oil Directions Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Grilled Garlic Shrimp with Qunioa

It's been a long while since I made something new, sorry about that. In the whirlwind of prepping for law school, quitting a job, family reunions, etc. etc. yeah...lame excuses but still. We love this recipe for quinoa, it comes together quickly with a medley of delicious flavors. Mmmboy. Enjoy.

Quinoa with Garlic, Nuts, & Raisins
From Perrys Plate adapted from Food Network Magazine Apr 2010 (Ellie Krieger)

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
1/4 cup nuts (pinenuts or chopped walnuts/pecans recommended)
2 T preferred cooking oil (grapeseed or coconut)
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 T fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

Place the quinoa in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth (or water) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add the oil and garlic to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic to the plate, reserving the oil.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Add the pine nuts, garlic, reserved oil, parsley, raisins and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss.

Serves 3-4.


Grilled Garlic Shrimp
from Perrys' Plate

1 lb large, uncooked shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 T butter, melted
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch Kosher salt
metal or wooden skewers

Combine melted butter and garlic in a small bowl. Let it sit while you prepare the shrimp.

Preheat BBQ grill or stove-top grill pan to medium-high heat.

Rinse shrimp, pat dry, and place on skewers, piercing each shrimp in two places to keep them from moving around too much. Sprinkle shrimp with a pinch or so of salt, then brush the garlic-butter on one side. Place skewers on the grill, butter-side-down. Brush the other sides with remaining garlic-butter. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are mostly pink. Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes until fully cooked and pink. Don't overcook them or they'll turn rubbery

* I just sauteed my shrimp in a pan with butter and garlic, and I often omit the raisins because ewwww! Bleck, craisins maybe would be good- but this was plenty good without adding toddler fodder into the mix. And I used olive oil. Enjoy! Also tonight I added goat cheese and it wasn't a bad thing : )

Carmelitas

A long time ago in a state far far away from here Janssen made these delicious little caramel things. And then I ate the whole pan of them. And then I licked said pan clean. And then I made the caramel things time and time again until I blew up like a balloon. Then I moved to Utah and made them for my family, anxious for them to try such a delicacy. And that is when my mom said, "oh, you made caramelitas!" I was a little dumbfounded, caramelitas were a dessert my sister would always make but I never had because I thought they were just a lesser version of chocolate chip cookies. It turns out that indeed, these "chocolate caramel bars" are the exact same recipe as caramelitas and it's a good thing I didn't think I liked them as a kid or else I would probably be twice the woman I am today, literally.

Anyway, these are easy to make and major crowd pleasers! Because they are so rich they seem to go a lot further than regular cookies, regular people can have a small little cube and feel satisfied (I, however, still have a pan size portion). Enjoy

Caramelitas

By: Janssen and Jennifer

48 caramels
½ cup evaporated milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 ½ cup flour
1/3 t. salt
1 1/8 cup brown sugar
1 ½ cup quick oats
2/3 t. soda
1 cup butter softened

• Melt caramels and milk in a glass dish in microwave.
• Stir every few minutes until smooth.
• Mix the dry ingredients and butter until crumbly.
• Press 2/3 crumb mixture into a greased 9X13 pan, and set aside the rest of crust.
• Bake crust at 350 for 5 min.
• Take out of oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips while crust is hot. Pour caramel over top. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top. Bake again for 15 minutes, top with barely start to brown.
• Bring some to Kristi.
  

Kettle Corn

I was tempted to just microwave a bag of popcorn and take a picture for the blog, but that felt a little deceitful. Truth be told, I made this delicious kettle corn and then went to take a picture and then my battery was dead. While I did beg my parents and husband to hold off on eating the popcorn for two minutes so I could photograph the popcorn that request proved impossible and the entire batch was gobbled up before I could do it. What makes matters worse is I used my very last 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels to make one meager batch of the popcorn and now I crave it almost hourly and have no way to make more until I go back to the store. Life is so hard sometimes ; )

Do yourself a favor and make this today! PS. the website I borrowed this image from is chaosinthekitchen.com, I'd never visited before but man, all of their recipes look absolutely delish!

Stove-Top Kettle Corn
by: Our Best Bites

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
kosher salt

Place a large stock pot (or your whirly pop) on the stove top. Set heat to medium-high. Add oil. While oil is heating measure your popcorn into a small bowl. Add sugar to the kernels. Wait until you see your oil smoke. It's very faint, so get down parallel to your pot and look for little billows of smoke coming. Then pour your kernel/sugar mixture into the pot. Immediately stir using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, scraping sugar from the bottom of the pan. Only do this for about ten seconds (no one wants a popcorn kernel to peg you in the eyeball), then place the lid over the pan. Now if you are using a whirly pop, just give it a good spin every twenty seconds or so, if not then drape a dishtowel over your pot so you can hold the handles without burning your hands off. Hold the pot by the handles in a way that you're securing the lid on as well and shake pan side to side and in all directions and up and down a few times. Do this every twenty seconds (or for pete's sake just buy a whirly pop).

When you can tell that everything is popped remove the lid and stir immediately. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste, then eat warm right out of the pan, or if it lasts long enough I suppose you could put it in a bowl. Take it a little easy on the salt though, I very nearly ruined my batch by getting a little shaker happy with my salt. Enjoy!

Quinoa Salad

If I ever become known for a recipe, it will probably be this one. I took it to Blaine's family Christmas party last year and was practically hoisted up on the shoulders of a dozen women who quickly proclaimed it was the best thing they had ever eaten. I don't know that it would classify as that, but it is a beautiful salad with lots of tasty ingredients, a light and zingy dressing and it definitely stands out on a table at a potluck. Now, contrast that to my family, I took a big bowl of this to a party with my family and it sat, untouched, all night long. And the next time I was invited to a party I was politely asked to "maybe bring something besides a salad" because "your salads are just a little . . . different". But the last time someone besides me in my family consumed a vegetable was probably back in the early 70s or so.

Anywho, this is a delicious salad, easy to make and pleases most crowds, you can't ask for more than that!

PS After many lengthy discussions and much soul searching I've decided that the accurate way to pronounce quinoa is "KEEN-wah" not "keen-OH-ah".

Quinoa Salad

by: Kamiko's mom (Kamiko was a little kid in my primary class in our last ward, how sad that I can't remember her mom's name)

2 cups uncooked quinoa
1/2 green/red/or yellow pepper, diced
1 can black beans
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
1 1/2 cup frozen corn (I've used canned corn before and it was fine)
cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 or 2 avocados, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing
5 tablespoons lime juice (fresh is best, but no one will tell if you use bottled)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup olive oil

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. While it is cooking soak the beans (rinse them first) in the vinegar with salt and pepper (to taste). When the quinoa is all cooked add the other stuff, mix the dressing ingredients together separately and then in with the salad. Serve with lime wedges if you have some left over.

I can't figure out if this is supposed to be served hot or cold. Blaine likes it hot, I like it cold. It's fine either way. Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Yeah yeah the picture is from ourbestbites, I know. Sorry. Saturdays are complete chaos around these parts, zipping from one activity to the next and I somehow managed to prepare three crazy meals yesterday in an attempt to use all of the produce in our fridge that was um...getting a little old (since I took a quick little jaunt to St. George a day after a Costco run, bad idea!). Anyway I made this salad last night for a family party and everyone LOVED it! I think the secret to making people love something is to put crispy tortilla strips on top ;)

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
by: Ourbestbites.com

Salad:
4 cups chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 cups chopped grilled chicken (I didn't do the chicken, still good!)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, washed (and I cut them in half)
1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion
1 avocado, cubed
1 15-oz can bacl beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 cup light sour cream
1 1/2 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle in adobo sauce (one can will last your entire life, you can freeze the chiles and remaining sauce in an ice cube tray for easy use!)
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional : Crispy Tortilla Strips
To make the tortilla strips fill a frying pan with 1/4 inch canola oil. Slice corn tortillas with a pizza cutter to be pretty thin, when oil is hot (it should sizzle when you flick water on it, not spatter, if it spatters it's too hot), throw in the tortillas and stir frequently till they are golden brown. Remove with slotted spatula and place on a plate with a paper towel on it, sprinkle with salt. Try to not eat them all before you serve your salad.

I watched a documentary the other day about doing a juice cleanse. I'm trying to gear up for that. I could post a lot of awesome juice recipes ; )

Play-Doh

You know what is hard? Keeping this person entertained.


That's what. Seriously, it starts as early as 6:59AM. "What can I do now?". I can feel my heart beat getting faster as my anxiety grows. She is completely incapable of coming up with something to do on her own. The problem with that is that she gets it from me. So the combination of neither of us being capable to come up with something to entertain her for more than three minutes and her incessant "WHAT CAN I DO NOW?" leads to excessive yelling by about 7:04AM. It's infuriating.

So I took one for the team and came up with something for us to do this morning. I made play-doh. It was freaking awesome. Not only does it not stink like regular play-doh, but it is more pliable and fun. Fun because we made it. And it kept her entertained for a full 40 minutes, which is really saying something around these parts. Especially since in a fit of rage several months ago I gave away most of our play-doh accessories....so they played with play-doh with a can of black beans as their rolling pin and three cookie cutters. Nice.

Homemade Play-Doh
by: Laurie Willis, one of the finest people I have ever met. Seriously, she's great.

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup salt, of the plain old variety
1 tablespoon Alum (in the spice aisle)
2 tablespoons mineral oil (in the laxative aisle, walk it with pride baby)
1 tablespoon glycerin (near the bandaids/rubbing alcohol)
food coloring
1 1/2 cups flour

Mix first five ingredients together in a pot, warm the pot but don't bring it to a boil. Just let it get nice and hot (like you can stick your finger in it without going to the ER but you wouldn't want to take a bath in it kind of hot) and the salt almost dissolves but not quite. You can stir a little, but not too much. After you have reached this obscure temperature put it in your mixer and add the flour, start mixing, then drop in a few drops of your color of choice. I only had yellow, and I am pretty sure I stole it from said Laurie Willis. Mix it for...oh say...like a minute or two minutes, till it looks like dough. Then you can let it sit till it cools off a bit (it gets less sticky as it cools). Oh also you can add a nice little drop of something to make it smell nice, like peppermint. But you don't have to. Heaven knows I didn't. It makes enough play-doh for about three kids. Perfect.

Okay, recipes like this stress me out, but it worked out just fine! I whisked it a couple times, once at the beginning and a little at the end, but I was scared to death it wouldn't turn out. It was great! It's kind of an investment at the get go (alum was like $2.50 and so was the glycerin) but you get big bottles and now I have enough stuff (except food coloring) to make play-doh for life. Woot.

Please don't eat it.

Chicken and Roasted Broccoli

I used to have a good laugh when watching old movies and the housewife would suffer from "sheer exhaustion" after a trip to the grocery store, or something ridiculous. She'd sweep her wrist up to her head and collapse on the couch and be rendered useless for days. But now... I kind of get it. Not to that extreme, but there is something about going to Costco that sucks up my will to live and while it may not render me useless for days one thing is for sure - I NEVER feel like making dinner after a Costco run. I think part of the problem is that after you go to Costco and spend a small fortune you still have to go to another store to get all of the knick knacks and paddywhacks you need to complete your grocery list. Exhaustion.

So as a general rule I pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco and find a way to make that work for dinner. Which was great until we got kind of sick of plain old rotisserie chicken. This recipe is the perfect solution for your Costco shopping trip dilemma, all of the items can be purchased at Costco, it's easy to whip up and tastes delicious. Enjoy!

Chicken and Roasted Broccoli Salad with Goat Cheese
By Perry's Plate , Natalie calls this a salad but if I called it a salad Blaine wouldn't eat it for dinner : )
For the roasted broccoli and pepper:
1 large head of broccoli (about 1 3/4 lbs), cut into 1-2 inch florets
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste

For the rest of the salad:
4 T olive oil
6 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes
pinch of dried oregano
juice from 1/2 a lemon (about 2 T), plus additional lemon wedges for garnish
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken!)
3-4 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

To prepare the broccoli:
Heat oven to 500 degrees and place a sturdy baking sheet on the lowest rack. Place broccoli florets and peppers slices in a large bowl and toss with olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

Working quickly, remove baking sheet from the oven and spread broccoli and peppers into an even layer, placing the florets cut-side down when possible. Return to bottom rack of the oven and roast 10-12 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through and there are caramelized spots scattered throughout. Be sure not to cook until the tips of the florets turn black.

To prepare the rest of the salad:
Heat 2 T olive oil, sliced garlic, and pepper flakes in a small skillet over med-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and begins to turn golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add chicken to the skillet and cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken-garlic mixture from heat; stir in oregano and lemon juice.

Toss roasted vegetables with the chicken-garlic mixture and an additional 2 T of olive oil in a large salad bowl. Gently fold in the goat cheese crumbles and serve immediately with lemon wedges.