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 With the advent of pinterest the whole idea of this meager little recipe blog is kind of outdated.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!