Summer Salad

Good morning, Kitschies!  I hope you had a good weekend and didn't melt in the heat.  It's been super hot and there's no rain in sight.  I'm really hoping we get some good monsoons this summer, but it's not looking like that so far.

ANYway...I've been trying to eat healthier (yes, I know you've heard that from me before), but this time I'm serious.  I kinda have to eat better because junk in = junk out.  You're probably tired of hearing me talk about it, but derby kicks my ass...in a good way.  I can practice day in and day out, but until I get my eating under control, I'm not going to see the changes I want/need to see.  So, as a way to keep on top of it, I went on a "healthy" recipe hunt.  You usually think healthy = tasteless (at least I do), but I did my best to make sure what I found was good for you AND tastes good, too.  This is the first recipe I tried.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup feta
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
Red bell pepper, diced
Spinach, handful, chopped small
Red onion, a few rings, diced small

Dressing
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp Cayenne powder (more or less, depending on preference)
1 Tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Cook quinoa. To cook quinoa bring 1 1/4 cup water or chicken broth to a boil (basically the ratio is 1 part quinoa to 1.25 part liquid). Add 1 Cup rinsed quinoa, give it a good stir, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 30-35 minutes**

While your quinoa is simmering, make up your dressing by whisking together all dressing ingredients. In a separate bowl add black beans (rinsed, drained), corn (rinsed, drained), diced pepper, spinach and red onion.

Once quinoa is done cooking and has cooled, add it to the other ingredients. Pour dressing over everything. Mix up. Enjoy!

NOTES:  I didn't use fresh limes - I just use the prepared juice.  Next time I think I'll use a bit less cumin - it was a bit strong for my taste.  And...it didn't take anywhere near 30 minutes to cook the quinoa...maybe 15-20 minutes.  I didn't use all the dressing but kept the remaining dressing for a marinade - I think it'll be great on chicken.

So colorful!  I really, really like this, which is good because the hubs...notsomuch.  And the kids?  I didn't even ask them to try it because my previous quinoa recipe didn't go over so well with them.

 

I have been eating on this over the weekend and it's definitely better the second day - all the flavors have had a chance to marry together.  I described this to my sister and she said it sounded like Greek salad, which I think is a good description.  Kind of a southwest Greek salad!

It's shaping up to be a busy week, so take it easy and enjoy some great summer food!  Oh...and I promise to get my blog background changed soon - though it's nice to think of winter when it's so flippin' hot out!

Two Good Eats for Tuesday

Good morning, Kitschies!  It's only Tuesday and it's been a crazy week, partly because it seems like the weekend took forever to get through and then it's bled on over to this week.  I'll spare you the deets, but it was not a good weekend.  And come to think of it, that *not good* started on Friday.  *sigh*  Anyway...I'm not going to let this be a Debbie Downer post, so let's get on with it, shall we?

I went to a derby practice on Saturday and then again last night.  Saturday's practice was brutal - my legs were sore after that practice and then add in a couple falls last night (thanks stoopid berries from the damned trees and sand on the track) and I'm one sore mama today!  I am so thankful to work with some great physicians - chiropractic/osteopathic manipulations are saving my derby-lovin' life!  I may be sore and I may be bruised, but I'm lovin' every second of it.

I haven't share a good recipe with you lately, so I dug a good one out of my pending folder for today.  These recipes came from my go-to recipe site: allrecipes.com.

BBQ Chicken
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp poultry seasoning
2 pounds cut up chicken pieces

Heat grill to medium heat. 

In a small skillet combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and put over low heat. Add the poultry seasoning while stirring constantly; when sauce mixes well and starts to bubble, it is done. 

Place chicken on hot grill and brush with sauce. Grill for 45 to 60 minutes, turning every 5 to 10 minutes, and brush chicken with sauce after each turning. Grill until chicken is done and juices run clear. (Note: Be sure to keep an eye on the chicken as it cooks, as it tends to have flair ups due to the oil and chicken drippings!) 

NOTES:  I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts, not pieces.  And instead of brushing the chicken while it was grilling, I marinated it for a few hours.  I think the flavor is better that way.  

And a bonus, side dish recipe:


Roasted Garlic Cauliflower
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large head cauliflower, separated in to florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease a large casserole dish. 

Place the olive oil and garlic in a large resealable bag. Add cauliflower, and shake to mix. Pour into the prepared casserole dish, and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Top with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. 

NOTE:  I did not use parsley - I didn't think it would add anything and it doesn't matter to me if my side dish lacks color.

I think the cider vinegar in the marinade really made the chicken moist.  I really liked this recipe, and so did the others (boys big and small alike).

I liked the cauliflower but I don't remember if the boys did or not.  I have a feeling they probably turned their noses up at it until they finally gave in and took a taste.  And wouldn't you know it...they ended up liking it.

Mmm...and now I'm hungry.  Great.  Good thing I'll be going to lunch soon!


I'll be back tomorrow with a WWtKW (I haven't played for a few weeks) and hopefully an On Wednesday We Wear Pink post, too!  Thanks for bearing with my slower than usual posting.  It's been a crazy couple of weeks!

Perfect for a Picnic

Good morning, Kitschies!  I'm at home with Thing 2 today - again.  We got a call from daycare yesterday that he had a fever (over 102*).  He slept away the afternoon yesterday and his fever came down.  He got up this morning and the fever was back (between 102 and 103*), so we're home.  He's not excessively bothered by the fever - not lethargic, not overly whiny or clingy, just has a fever.  And I hope it stays that way (the not being bothered part, not the fever).  So, while he's snacking on a granola bar and (sorta) watching Sesame Street, I thought I'd put together a post for you.

This is a family recipe that I've loved *forever*.  My aunts put together a family cookbook for Christmas one year (as I've mentioned before) and I was so happy to see this recipe in there!  The only drawback?  It's a family recipe, so the measurements aren't exact, but I know how it's supposed to taste, so that's good enough for me.

Momma's Macaroni Salad

Cook 1 pound package of salad macaroni (I use Ditalini) according to instructions on package.  Drain and rinse.

To cooled macaroni, add:
About 1 cup chopped celery
About 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickle
1 large jar diced pimento (4 oz)
1 large can sliced green olives, drained

Mix together then add to the macaroni:
1-2 to 1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1-2 Tbsp sweet pickle juice
salt to taste

Adjust salt and vinegar to taste.  Refrigerate to marry flavors.

NOTES:  I don't usually make the full recipe, it's halves easily.  This salad is best if it sits overnight. 

Gather all your ingredients.  Be sure to not get minced green olives - doesn't give the same flavor.  I don't know why, it just doesn't.

YUM!  My hubs doesn't care for this recipe much, neither does my mom, but I love it and so does my dad.  I try to make this every time my parents come to visit.  And it makes a lot (if you use the full recipe), so it's great for parties.

Gah!  Now I'm wanting some of this.  This is one of my favorite family recipes.  And one of my favorite Summer recipes.  Good thing I'm going grocery shopping later this morning!!

As always, please let me know if you use any of my recipes and whether or not you liked it.  I love hearing when people use a recipe I've posted. 

Have a good Thursday!  Hope you're not melting in the heat.  It's been warmer than usual here - upper 90s AND it's been more humid, too.  We finally got some rain last night (that shut us out of the baseball game) so while it's a bit cooler this morning, it's more humid.  Yuck!

Pork 'n Taters

G'day, Kitschies!  We've almost made it through another work week.  Can you believe how fast time just flies by?  Wasn't it just Christmas/New Years?  Now it's almost Easter.  *sigh*  I'm ready to get off this ride for a little while...how 'bout you?

Anyway...we love having friends over but it doesn't happen as often as we'd like (with 5 kids between us, the besties and us...we get tired just thinking about it!).

This is my bestie's little guy, Cooper, and my little guy, Mason.  Two of the 5.  OF THE FIVE!

But, when we DO get together, we have a lot of fun.  And of course there's great food involved.  When the besties were over a few weekends ago, I tried a new recipe that was soooooo good.  I "found" this recipe when Jessie M from Lacquered, Painted, Polished gave me the head's up.  It's from Kevin & Amanda - they have a *bunch* of great recipes.  This is the first I've tried and I promise I'll be trying more (and sharing them with you, of course).  Don't be intimidated by the amount of ingredients or the number of steps - they are ALL worth it.

Perfect Pulled Pork

1 whole Boston butt

Dry Rub
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp ground pepper
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix well and store in an air-tight container.

Brine Solution
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 quarts cold water
2 bay leaves
3 Tbsp dry rub mix


Add salt to cold water and stir until all the salt is completely dissolved.  Then add the brown sugar, dry rub and bay leaves.  Stir well to combine.

Pork shoulder prep:
Rinse the pork shoulder and place in a large container.  Pour in the brine solution until the shoulder is completely covered.  Cover the container and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.  Remove pork shoulder from brine solution; pat dry with paper towels.  Place pork shoulder in baking pan that is bigger than the shoulder by at least an inch in length and width and at least 3-inches deep.  Sprinkle dry rub on to the surface of the shoulder and massage in so that it adheres to the surface.  Coat all sides and be sure to get in to all the nooks and crannies.  Make sure the fat layer on the hsoulder is facing up before cooking!  Place baking pan, uncovered, in a 225* oven on the middle rack.  Insert a probe thermometer into the center or the thickest part of the shoulder, but not touching the bone.  Monitor the temperature throughout cooking (a digital thermometer with an alarm function is the easiest way to do this).  Do not remove from the oven until the center of the shoulder reaches 200*; shut off the oven and let the roast cool for a couple of hours before removing from the oven.  If the bottom of the pan is dry (or crusted with dried spices), cover the pan with foil to retain internal moisture of the meat during the cooling period.  When the temperature drops to 170*, remove from the oven.  Place on a large clean work surface, such as a cutting board, and remove the large sheet of crusted fat off the top.  Pull apart with two forks; it will pull apart very easily.

NOTES:  This is a VERY looooong process.  I cheated and didn't let the pork get all the way up to 200 and then cool back down because we ended up being short on time.  I put the pork in the oven at 11 and it wasn't finished even at 7.  I had no idea it would take THAT long!  Either way, we loved this!

BONUS RECIPE!

Scalloped Potatoes
6-8 large baking potatoes
shredded Cheddar cheese - 1 small bag
Heavy Cream- 1 1/2 to 2 cups
Seasoned salt - as desired
Salt- as desired
Dried thyme- as desired

Preheat oven to 400*
Use 9x10 baking dish - grease lightly

Slice all potatoes thinly, add a layer in baking pan
Add a layer of cheese and spices
2 layers of Potatoes
Layer of cheese and spiced
Do this until all the cheese and potatoes have been used. Make sure you have enough cheese for the top of the potatoes.
Once you have layers complete, pour heavy cream over entire thing and sprinkle left over cheese on the top.

Bake for 60 minutes. 

NOTES:  This is my bestie's recipe and it's from memory, so it's not the most precise, but you get the picture.

I realize, now, that I added more pepper than the recipe called for.  It says cayenne pepper, but I added crushed red pepper, too.  So, I'm from NM...we like things extra spicy here (though the end result wasn't spicy at all).

Rubbed and ready to go!  That was the hardest part - rubbing in the spices.  Good thing the hubs pushes food service gloves.  Yes, Mom.  The hubs needs to send you a box.

I take it back.  The hardest part of this whole process was smelling the thing in the oven all day long.  It smelled so good!  My dad is becoming a smoking KING...could you imagine this smoked?! *hint hint*

The ingredients for scalloped potatoes...instead of adding salt on top of seasoned salt, I added ground pepper.  I don't know that it matters *what* you put in this dish - it comes out awesome!  Thanks to my bestie (aka: Makeup Zombie) for sharing your recipe with me/us.

The finished products.  SOOOO good!  We served the pork on fresh deli rolls and offered up a couple different BBQ sauces.  Not that the pork was dry, but because they were nice complements to the dish.

Have a good rest of your day.  I've got *lots* of pics to prep for the blog tonight.  Lots of good food to share with you!

Good Food. Bad Morning.

Good evening, Kitschies!  We've survived the first half of the first whole work week of work.  *whew*  It was one of *those* days for me.  It started that way soon after I got in the shower (thanks for sharing the hot water with me, dear hubs), followed me out the door (I forgot my scrub jacket and had to drive back home - an extra 20 minutes added on to my already long commute), down the road (the intersection near the clinic was closed due to ice) and in to the freakin office (the phone lines were dead and it affected the alarm).  This all happened before 9 in the morning!  I was ready to just go back home and go to bed.  The day did get better, but I was sure I was done for. 

I'm apologizing in advance because I only have one picture for each of these recipes.  I made these things for my bestie's birthday back in October (yes, I'm just getting to it now) and I was a little more preoccupied with the festivities than taking pictures of the food.  So shoot me.  LOL 

The first recipe came from my hubs.  I have no idea where he got it, but he made this for us on our first Valentines' Day in our first apartment together.  That was a LONG time ago now.  We make this from time to time and it's great!  It has to sit overnight, so be sure to allow enough time.

Border Fajitas
12 oz beef skirt steak
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
3 tsp liquid smoke
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 oz tomato sauce
8 oz beer
1/2 cup sliced onions (in rings)
9 warm flour tortillas

Wrap steak in plastic wrap and pound to tenderize.  Rub with lemon pepper and garlic powder.  Sprinkle liberally with soy sauce.  Combine pineapple juice, crushed pineapple, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce and beer.  Pour over steak.  Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.  Remove steak from marinade.  Cute into thin strips.  Place in to a stainless steel skillet.  Cover with sliced onions.  Cook until meat is no longer pink.  Serve hot, with warm tortillas on the side.

NOTES:  I don't know what beer we use - it's whatever we have at the time.  I usually cut the steak in to strips *before* I put it in the marinade.  It's a lot less messy that way.  We always throw in some red and green bell pepper while it's cooking.

And you can't have fajitas without guacamole, right?  I've tried a few guac recipes here and there and I like this one the best.

Guacamole
3 avocados - peeled, pitted and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately. 

NOTES:  I don't put quite 3 Tbsp cilantro in because I don't care too much for cilantro.  The first time I made this, we didn't have any fresh tomatoes, but we did have canned diced tomatoes.  Worked like a charm (and it was easier to do!).  

I read somewhere that if you keep the pit of the avocado in the dip, it keeps it from turning brown.  No foolin'!  This picture was taken the next day - no brown to be found!  Ah...I crack myself up.


Anyway, I apologize for the craptastic pictures.  It's all about priorities, right?  So...I'm off to watch the season premier of Parenthood (gotta get my Peter Krause fix).

Chile Corn Que?

TGIF!  It's early here still.  Only one kid is up.  Time to squeeze a post in just in case I don't have time to do it again at work today.  Yesterday was a little *off* at work.  We were short a medical assistant, so my co-worker went down to the "other side" to help out.  It wasn't overly busy on my end, but it was steady enough that I didn't have time to do my post.  And then when I got home last night, and after cooking dinner and giving the boys a bath...by the time I was finished with my chores, I was done.  I watched a couple episodes of Grey's Anatomy and then went to bed.  Fell asleep watching Conan and his jeggings.  Wow, Conan.  Just wow.

I was going to share this recipe with you the same day as the Sour Cream Fruit Salad, but the computers at work were having sharing problems.  We have Macs and sometimes Macs don't play well with others.  So, here I am today.  Better late than never, right?  This is one of my favorite family recipes out of The Aunties' Catering Company Cookbook (compiled by my Aunts).

Chili Corn Casserole
Prepare white sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt

Melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour.  Add the milk and salt.  Stir together.  Then whisk in 2 eggs slightly beaten.  (Those instructions might not be exact, but it's better than what the recipe says which is: Prepare as white sauce)

To the white sauce, add:
2 drained cans of corn
1 can (4 oz) Ortega chilies, drained

1/2 lb grated Cheddar cheese
bread crumbs

Layer in ovenproof dish:
corn mixture
bread crumbs
cheese

Top with buttered bread crumbs and bake 45 minutes to an hour at 350.

NOTES:  See.  This is why I love and hate family recipes.  I've wanted this recipe for as long as I could remember, but nobody had it written down and nobody took the time to do so.  The recipe calls for Ortega chilies, which, if you don't have access to fresh green chili like I do, it works fine.  But...if you buy a can of Ortega chili in New Mexico, you will be stoned at the register.  True story.  We use nothing other than Bueno green chile.  It's law in my house.

I know the recipe says to top with buttered bread crumbs, but I like it better just topped with Cheddar cheese.  I don't know how much I used as I just kept piling it on until it looked "right".

I used to only get the Gilli Chili Corn (what I call it) when I'm home, which really means every other Christmas.  I am so happy to have this recipe.  I made this for Thanksgiving this year and FIL liked it (the boys wouldn't touch it).  I used mild chile...next time I'll use hot.

An 8 x 11 pan was the perfect size for this recipe.  I do have an addition to the recipe that increases the size to "family size" and then you need a big foil lasagna pan.  You could just double it and use a 9 x 13 pan - I did that for the hubs' office Christmas party last year and I came home with an empty dish!  Seeing this (even before 7 in the morning) makes me want to get all the ingredients and make it again this weekend.  HURRY UP CHRISTMAS!

So...any good things going on this weekend?  The holiday parties begin on Saturday for us.  Next weekend is my office Christmas party (and then I have to work both weekend days - suck!).  The following weekend is the hubs' office Christmas party on Friday night and then we're having family over on Sunday.  Then the next weekend is Christmas.  How is that even possible? *sigh*

We'll, it's time to go get Mason up.  Let's hope that he's bouncing on the side of his crib, happy to see me, rather than curled up in a ball because he's fast asleep.  He's much happier when he wakes up on his own (just like his mama).

Just a Bowl of Fruit (Salad)

Good day my dear readers!!  It's SUPER cold here this morning.  The radio announced that it was 16* when I woke up and according to my computer dashboard, it's still only 18*!  Brrrrrr!!!  Sounds like a perfect day to stay home.  Under the covers.  With a good book and a warm cup of coffee.  Without the kids.  LOL  But, I'm at work.  I'm thankful for my job (and the heat in the building), but a quiet day at home to do whatever, whenever I want, sounds good, too.

Turkey Day was quiet for us this year.  Meaning?  Just the boys, the hubs and me.  Then the hubs invited his Dad.  No biggie - he's pretty quiet.  And it's just one more person, so it didn't mean I had to make any more/extra food.  It just meant that we had to clean up the house a little bit more than usual, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I'm just sayin'.  Anyway, we had more than enough food - as is true with all of our family gatherings.  Of course I'm going to share some of those recipes with you, my bloggy buddies.  This delicious, easy recipe comes from my family cookbook.

Sour Cream Fruit Salad
1 can chunk pineapple, drained
1 large can pears, drained, cut in 1" pieces
1 small package flaked coconut
1 small jar maraschino cherries, drained and halved
1 cup sour cream
16 whole large marshmallows, cut in half*
*Do not use miniature marshmallows - they will just disintegrate.  The cut marshmallows put gelatin in the salad and help to thicken it up.

Mix all ingredients together.  Cover and refrigerate overnight to set.

NOTES:  I don't know the size of the pineapple can, but I can tell you it's not the big one.  You don't have to get chunked pineapple; you can cut up the rings or you can get tidbits.  Either way, pineapple is pineapple.  LOL  I don't use a whole "small package" of coconut.  I throw in whatever tastes right.  I don't like sour cream, but I love this salad.  This recipe works well doubled, which is how we usually do it, but for 3 adults, this is a good size.

Remember to use large marshmallows!  If the scissors get gummed up while cutting the marshmallows in half, just run the scissors under warm water to clean them off.

Chunk the pears.  I can usually get 6 pieces out of one pear.  If you like more pears, you can always add another smaller can.

Chill and serve.  How easy is that?!  And it tastes good, too.  A pregnant woman I worked with begged me to bring this to her baby shower.  It felt weird not making it for a holiday meal.

I was going to share another side dish recipe with you today, but I can't get the cookbook disc to read on my Mac here at work.  So, I'm going to do another post today with a dessert instead (it deserves its own post).

I was thinking.  Once my blog hits its 1 year birthday (in April), I was considering putting together a cookbook.  Nothing big and nothing fancy.  Just a collection of the recipes I've shared on my blog so far.  Would anybody be interested in something like that?

*sigh*  I've got so much to do in the coming weeks.  Please cross your fingers that I find the time to do it all and still have enough time to sit back and relax a little.  Have a terrific Tuesday!

Cooler Than A Cucumber

Can you believe it?!  This is my first post during the afternoon in over a week.  Work has slowed down just a bit today and it's nice.  I actually got more than 20 minutes for lunch today.  *sigh*  I didn't even know what to do with all the time.  You mean I actually get to *sit* and *chew* my food today?  Nice.  I'm sure it'll back to the norm tomorrow, but I'm not going to think about that right now.  And, of course, I don't have all the pics I need on my flash drive, so I guess this post will be postponed until after I get home this evening. 

I'm a little behind on prepping pics and such, so today you get a recipe that I've tucked back in the back and almost forgot about.  I don't know why because it was really good.  I came upon this recipe after the MIL gave us two HUGE cucumbers out of her garden.  I don't mind cucumbers, but I had no idea what to do with two biggens, so away to Allrecipes I went. 

Zippy Cucumber Salad
2 large seedless cucumbers, sliced thin
1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 cup minced carrot
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp ground ginger
5 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper

Use a vegetable peeler to peel stripes in the cucumbers leaving half the skin. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. Use spoon to remove the seeds from the cucumber halves. Slice the halves thinly. 

Place the cucumber, onion, and 2 teaspoons salt in a bowl with enough water to cover; allow to marinate in refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly in a colander and transfer to a large bowl; add the jalapeno pepper and carrot to the mixture. 

Stir the rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and pepper together in a small bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved; pour over the cucumber mixture and stir to evenly coat. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 30 minutes. 

NOTES:  The cucumbers we had were not seedless, nor did I remove the seeds.  I don't really get the point of this, but whatev.  I was afraid that seeding a jalapeno would be hard, but it wasn't.  Just be sure to wear disposable gloves so you don't accidentally rub your eyes after you finish seeding it.

I think I've had that bottle of rice vinegar for years!  And I think I finally used all of it.  Instead of one large jalapeno, I used 2 medium.  I didn't think this was spicy at all (and no, Mom, it's not because I live in NM). 

I know there's probably some fancy cucumber peeler thingamajig, but I just used a regular old shucker (that's what Nate calls it <3 ).

Did you know that the seeds and the inner fleshy part of the jalapeno is actually where it gets its heat?  If you want to kick it up a notch, leave some of the seeds in.  I wasn't sure how spicy it would be with two peppers, so I didn't include any seeds.

All set to marinade in the fridge.  As you can probably tell, I gave up thinly slicing the onions.  Instead I did small chunks (bigger than mincing, smaller than cubes).  It didn't make any difference as far as I could tell.

I almost forgot until I saw this picture!  I added some pre-cooked bacon pieces to the finished salad.  I'm not 100% sold on cucumbers, but I liked this salad.  A little sweet, a little tangy - it reminded me of bread & butter pickles.


Time to go make dinner!  And wouldn't you know it?  I left my offending flash drive at work tonight.  Good thing I have another one (now I just have to find it).  Have a good evening.  I'll catch up with everybody tomorrow.


Listening: The Electric Company
Mood: done

Go Fish!

"Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, then it is disgusting."

Dave Barry

Totally awesome Tuesday, dear Kitschies.  Monday has come and gone (thankfully) and now we can move on to the rest of the week.  Nothing exciting or new to report in my neck of the 'hood.  Oh!  We finally had a thunderstorm last night.  Not a whole lot of thunder, but we did get a bit of rain.  It made the morning cool, which is nice.

I love trying new recipes.  I do not love fish.  Anybody who knows me will tell you this.  But, the hubs and the two boys like fish, so being a good wifey/mommy, I make it from time to time.  I make an awesome salmon on the grill!  We had some frozen Tilapia fillets in the freezer so I went on a hunt for a good recipe.  Usually when I make fish, I make chicken with the same ingredients for myself.  I don't mind the smell of most fish, but I'm just not down with the taste.  Kinda strange coming from a California girl.  LOL

Easy Tilapia with Wine & Tomatoes

4 (4 oz) Talapia fillets

salt & pepper to taste

4 Tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, pressed

4 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 large tomato, chopped

1 cup white wine

Pre-heat grill for medium-high heat.

Place the Tilapia fillets side by side on a large piece of aluminum foil. Season each one with salt and pepper. Place one tablespoon of butter on top of each piece of fish, and sprinkle garlic, basil and tomato. Pour the wine over everything. Fold foil up around fish, and seal into a packet. Place packet on a cookie sheet for ease in transportation to and from the grill. 

Place foil packet on the preheated grill, and cook for 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Open the packet carefully so as not to get burned from the steam, and serve. 

NOTES:  I had a hard time keeping the wine in the little packets, so I double wrapped each fillet.  I used minced garlic instead of pressed - if you use pressed, it would probably give a more garlic-y flavor.  I didn't have fresh basil or a whole tomato so I used dried basil (however much looked like enough) and a can of diced tomatoes, divided evenly among the 4 packets.  I really liked this on my chicken.

BONUS RECIPE

Buttery Lemon Spinach

2 (10 oz) bags pre-washed fresh spinach

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

5 Tbsp butter 

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Rinse the spinach and place the leaves into a microwavable serving dish. Add the butter, garlic and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap. Steam in the microwave until the butter is melted and spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and toss to distribute seasoning before serving. 

NOTES:  Again, I didn't have the fresh ingredients so I used frozen chopped spinach.  I liked the flavor of this, but the consistency was a little off.  I think it could've cooked for a bit longer.  I halved this recipe because I knew it wouldn't be that big a hit with the hubs and the boys (I was right).  

The usual suspects

Ready for the BBQ  (Funny story: My coworker came up behind me when I was loading this picture and she said it looked like a person climbing on to an iceberg.  LOL  I guess it kinda does.)

I can't remember if this is chicken or fish.  Either way, it was good!

 Our healthy, (mostly) low fat dinner

The hubs said if I ever want to leave him, I won't have to tell him, I'd just have to make a dinner out of nothing but the things he hates.  LOL  Good to know.  So...here's my question to you:  Is there a food that you just will NOT eat?  Has there been something you didn't like but somebody made it different and now you're a convert? 

Listening to: Loving You is Easy by Sarah McLachlan

Mood: rumbly in my tumbly