Yo Yo YOoooo

Happy Monday peeps!

Hope you had a good weekend and you know, last week was great too. Seeing how I didn't post at all. Things be happenin round these parts.

Over the weekend I took a little road trip to see my college girlfriends and awesome enough, got to spend time with one of their parents too. They are family and I love them dearly. Honestly, her mother could quite possibly be the sweetest woman I know.

Oh, and she can cook.

I ate a lot this weekend.

Have you ever had pizza on the grill?

It's pretty much the best thing ever. As a side note, I may or may not have had pizza for three days in a row last week. So that's something to be proud of.

Here's a recipe thats similar to the Pauley's. You can obviously use any kind of topping your little heart desires. We had a few different kinds. Even better, you can make big pizzas or make it a party and everyone can make their own.

And as I was browsing through my IG this morning, I came across a Panzanella recipe by who else, Pioneer Woman. Here's all she said:

"Dried bread cubes, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, red wine vinaigrette, parmesan, basil, salt and pepper, toss and let sit for an hour" or you could try this more complicated recipe

Either way, this is on my immediate to do list. Possibly this evening.

In other news, the yard has come alive!!! We are busy busy busy freezing and canning lately. I love it. Although, I am starting to feel like there are just not enough hours in the day. I am considering taking a few days off when my tomatoes turn red. I have 22 plants. No joke. Twenty-two tomato plants.

So here's what's growing, in case you're curious.

Squash
Zucchini
Cukes
Carrots
Broccoli
tomatoes
corn
snap peas
purple beans
green beans
watermelon
pumpkins
hot banana peppers
jalapenos
poblanos
green, red and orange bell peppers
blueberries
raspberries
blackberries

and I'm almost positive I'm missing something but yeah, I think might be able to reach my goal of 25%. I think, thats what it was anyway.

I might also be insane for planting so much.

Oh, and no chicks hatched. Boooooooo. I don't think the eggs were fertilized or perhaps it had something to do with Bugsy turning the incubator up to 120 degrees.

So that's that.

Keep on keepin on and if anyone has any yummy recipes to share send em my way!

xxoo
ma

Domestication

Ok, so now that the wedding is over it's game time in the kitchen.

I can FINALLY spend an hour in the kitchen and not feel bad that I'm not outside helping PB.

First, Strawberry Banana Bread from Chew Out Loud

Turns out, Bugsy and I didn't pick enough strawberries for me to make two batches of jam and so I was left with an awkward amount of berries about to go south. I randomly googled this bread and went with the simplest recipe. I can tell you because I've had three portions, it's awesome! I will say that I still favor blueberry banana bread over strawberry but that's just preference. This bread was moist on the insde and crunchy out. We loved it.

Roasted/Grilled Brussel Sprouts

I intended to make skewers but we only have wood sticks (they break) and so that went out the window fast. I whipped this up based on the food network recipe by Alton Brown  and they were pretty good.

I ran out of olive oil right before I made these and had zero paprika so this is what I came up with.

2ish cups of halved brussells depends on how hungry you are.
2 tbsp of melted butter
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt & peppah to taste
dah of cayenne (more if you're brave)

Mix up all of the ingredients in a bowl and then toss in brussels. Place brussels in aluminum foil and fold into a nice little package sealing them in. Toss on the grill for 20-30 minute and with about 5 minutes to go, give it your best shot to grill them a bit to make them crispy. I dumped the package on my grill and it surprisingly went well. Only a few fell through. Just be careful you don't start a fire or something.

How's that for science?

Beer can chicken

Ok. I don't love this. I don't know what went wrong but I will probably never make this again. I think my expectations were a little high. Or maybe it was because I used bud light? I don't know. The only reason I'm sharing is because maybe you can figure it out and fix my life.

Here.

Let me know and good luck to you.

Snickers Dip

This is going to be the first thing I eat after the wedding.

Snickers Dip

Yeah. I can get on board with that.

What the hell just happened?

Y'all. Things are bananas.

With only 19 days left until the big day, we went from being almost done with getting the house/yard together to having a massive mess. 

Yeah. That's our chimney. Being torn down.

Now look closely.

Past the dreamy sun flare.

You see it?

Yeah, that's a pile of rubble.

Or a lawn ornament.

Pretty, isn't it?

I can't even. 

In other news, one of our decks is painted (almost). I just need to get the face done, the little box that covers our propane tank and throw some chairs and hanging baskets up there and call it a day. Here's a before and almost after. 

I don't know if I have ever worked so hard physically before. Shoveling and painting and up and down a ladder and on and on.

The good news is the front of the house is almost done too. That was a big project. We just have to finish painting that deck and I'll post the before and after.

I kinda want to paint my garage door and the shed doors.

Such craziness. 

Also, I should probably start working out again. My ass is all sorts a jiggly. 

You know, stop sleeping and just work out all night.

Speaking of ass jiggle, I made the most amazing lunch and cake for the fam yesterday. It was my mom's birthday and an "I'm sorry you have to help us with the house again" meal.

Pioneer Woman - Pulled BBQ chicken. 

That woman does not disappoint. Two things. Make the slaw. I used chicken breast, not on the bone and cooked for 60 minutes at 350. Ain't nobody got time for 300 for 90 minutes.

Amazing.

Potato Salad with eggs and bacon

This was my own concoction of boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs (4), chopped up crispy bacon (1/2 package), sour cream (most of a jar), relish (to taste) and salt/peppah (to taste). No proportions, really, just taste it as you go. You could probably add celery and sweet onions too. I just didn't have that much ambition, or any celery. It was gooooood.

Double Chocolate Raspberry Cake

I can't find the recipe online for the one I made but this is pretty darn close (minus espresso). I also added raspberries between layers and on top (obviously).

It was so, SO good.

Also, I need a cake stand.

The end.


Happy Monday'ing friends!
ma

Grillin

The calendar says that it's grill season.

My thermometer, not so much.

Regardless, we're starting to get our grill on, on the regular.

Are you?

We brought back those ridiculously awesome burgers from last summer and the corn/avocado salad.

Big Daddy Burgers

Corn and Avocado Salad


Lawd.

We pretty much make this stuff every other week. The only change this year, I've been adding bread and butter pickles I canned last summer and jalapenos to the burgers.

Mmmm

In my mission to figure out how to consume more vegetables, I've been on the hunt for good grilling recipes.

I found a solid one for carrots which says they are oven roasted but I threw them on the grill for a while. I can't recall how long they took to cook but it wasn't difficult to figure out when they were done. Make sure you keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots

This yummy marinade can go on just about anything. I mean it, anything. Super easy, too.

Lemon Garlic marinade/dressing

Zero dessert happening round these parts lately. Because, thighs.

And I'm still very seriously considering that Whole 30 thing.

If I am thinking about it this much, I probably just try, right?

xxoo
ma

Healthy-ish Grub

We've been stuck inside the past few days due to the frigid weather. (See previous post about how mother effing cold it is)

So we've been baking, a lot.

And dancing. But I'm not going to share that here.

I had some random stuff in my fridge so we made a healthy-ish tortellini dish. It's pasta, so it's not the best of course, but it doesn't involve additional cheese so that's a plus.

Grilled stuff and tortellini 

Why am I not on the Food Network?

1 package tortellini
1 jar tomatoes - stewed or diced, whichever you prefer. You could also roast a bunch of grape tomatoes to add. I had a jar of tomatoes from the garden so that's what we used
1 pepper - red or orange
1/2 onion
3 chicken breast
lemon juice
1/2 cup of red wine
1 tsp minced garlic
salt/peppah to taste
oregano
basil
pinch of sugar

Cook tortellini to your liking. I like mine a little hard. You know, al dente!

In a nutshell, grill or saute your chicken and veggies. I popped mine in the oven with olive oil, garlic, basil salt and peppah and a squirt or three of lemon juice. While that's cooking, throw some onions in a pan with buttah and saute. Once they start to soften, add minced garlic. Next, add your tomatoes. As I mentioned, I had a jar from the summer which are essentially stewed. Add your spices and cook on low until nice and bubbly. Then add wine and sugar. You'll want to cook that down for a bit, you'll know it's finished when you can't taste the wine. I usually start tasting my sauce at this point to see if I like it and then add whatever I think is lacking. It's really whatever you like.

Once your chicken and veggies are cooked, you'll want to dice them up and add to sauce. Cook for a bit and then add tortellini. I threw some shredded parmesan cheese on top and it was pretty darn good. It was sorta that middle ground between comfort food and light enough so you didn't want to kick yourself in the ass for that second portion.

 Boom donezo.

In addition to bread and smoothies yesterday. Kingy and I made banana chocolate chip muffins. He loves to cook and we need things to do so it's a win win.

I looked for a healthy version but didn't have much luck. The King ain't got time for mom to surf the net for a good recipe. So this is what we used.

Assemble Shop - A healthier banana chocolate chip muffin

The stick of butter doesn't exactly scream healthy to me. Next time we make them I'm going to swap in some applesauce and greek yogurt for the butter. I didn't have either one this time. I have no clue in what proportions but if you try it, let me know what you come up with. Also, I split the wheat flour and all purpose flour proportions in half - 3/4 cup of each and added a 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

Baby, it's freakin freezing outside

It is so mother freaking cold outside right now.

As Ginger would say, it's booger, nose hair freezing cold.

The eggs are breaking before we can get them out of the coop cold.

You can't breathe because your lungs freeze cold.

Cold.

So it's comfort food time.

Tonight, Pioneer Woman's Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

Prep Time:

 10 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 2 Hours30 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 6

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 pounds Stew Meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• 2 cups Water (additional, If Needed)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• 4 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, And Roughly Sliced
• 4 whole New Potatoes, Quartered
• Minced Parsley (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut pieces in half. Set aside.

Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

*UPDATE: The liquid should cook down to a thicker state. If it gets too thick/reduces too much, add additional water as needed.

Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve in bowls next to crusty French bread. Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired.

Shoes and Food

Nothing like rushing out the door only to find you have one shoe instead of two because, SURPRISE, your dogs are evil, can find anything you stash away and enjoy dragging your stuff outside in the snow to polish it up for you.

I mean, if you're going to steal my stuff, you might as well ruin it. It's more annoying to find something dirty and wet with the off chance that it might just be salvageable than to find it completely demolished. Just be quick with it, eat it, don't mess with my head. Jerks.

In other news, I made shredded chicken tacos last night. I thought they were good enough to share but I'd probably change a few things next time or maybe just go with Pioneer Woman on this one. She's always so dependable.

Shredded Chicken Tacos - I made these and used some chili powder and only two cups of broth. Sort of mixed this recipe with PW's below.

Pioneer Woman - Chicken tacos

Also, Pioneer Woman is giving away all sorts of awesome stuff if you're into that kind of thing. And you should be, because it's free and takes very little effort.

Happy almost Friday!

Duck. Duck. Chicken!

Before I share my roasted chicken recipe, I just want to ask if anyone has recently watched the Grinch movie and do you also find it to be completely creepy and maybe a bit terrifying?

I love ABC family for showing these movies every year but I think this is one I could live without.

On to the chicken!

I looked up about 8 million recipes before I settled on just winging it. None of them were terribly difficult but for whatever reason, I was always missing one ingredient.

So here goes nothing and don't be alarmed by the length of the instructions. I'm no professional and am again, winging it. It's totally easy. Promise.

You'll need:
1 whole chicken - 3ish pounds
2 cups chicken broth
Salt & pepper
Bucks or other poultry type seasoning
Rosemary
Thyme
1 lemon
2 tbsp minced garlic
Tbsp butter

1. Buy a whole chicken.
2. Get it home.
3. Pull out all of those gross innards and then rinse well with water.
4. Pat it down with paper towel to soak up as much water as possible. I read you don't want to start with a soggy chicken.
5. Season liberally with salt and pepper. I never season things enough so I went to town on this puppy. Make sure you season the inside too. I also used Bucks seasoning but if you're not from Upstate NY, you have no idea what that is and you're pretty much missing out on the best spice of life. I'd suggest adding some poultry seasoning or something if you have it.
6. I let my chicken sit out for about an hour, all seasoned up.
7. Preheat your oven to 375
8. Season again with rosemary, thyme and minced garlic - inside and out. Use as much as you like. I probably used about a teaspoon of each of the spices and 2ish tablespoons of garlic.
9. Place the chicken in a dutch oven or roasting pan with a lid and pour in about two cups of chicken broth. I didn't have a rack or anything to set it on and it was just fine.
10. Throw a few pieces of butter on top of the chicken - I tried to smush it in, didn't work out. You could also do this before you season but I didn't think that far ahead because I was winging it. You probably didn't either if you're just reading this for the first time. I didn't use a lot of butter so I'm leaving this step here.
11. Cut one lemon in half. Use one half to squirt juice on chicken. Cut the second half into pieces and place inside bird and in broth.
12. Cover and cook for about 2 hours. You'll want to check the temperature, I don't know how PB determined it was done because I was hunting out back (that still is hilarious to me).

The chicken literally fell off the bone and we ate the entire thing. The King even ate a bit which is saying something for a kid who only eats venison. I'm not usually a skin gal but it was crispy and awesome and if you can sneak some broth out of the pan, I definitely suggest scooping some onto your plate. We had roasted potatoes and squash to go along and it was perfect.

Good luck!

Cooked

I think I may have mentioned we had a wicked busy weekend. We, and I mean mostly PB, have been trying to finish the drywall in the house, the roof and get everything ready for winter. I also need to seriously clean out cupboards and get organized but only because I have OCD.

Well we managed to tackle a bit of it but mostly we just ate a lot of food with family and played with The King. We're pretty good at that. Per usual I made way too much but I did get some pretty good reviews for my meatballs so I thought I'd share. I also made a couple of chocolate pies but the recipe belongs to The Family Flavor and it's still not online. Sorry folks.

However, I did find a recipe on Smitten Kitchen and it's pretty darn close. Do yourself a favor, use graham cracker crust and put bananas in the pie, every other layer. You won't regret it.

Smitten Kitchen - Chocolate Pudding Pie

Pudding filling:
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao), finely chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chilled heavy cream

Bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish (optional)

Prepare pie dough: Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round, then fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang, then fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Prick bottom and side of shell all over with a fork, then chill shell 30 minutes. While shell chills, preheat oven to 375°F with a baking sheet on middle rack. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights*.

Bake on baking sheet until pastry is set and edge is pale golden, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove weights and foil, then bake shell on baking sheet until pale golden all over, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool shell.

Make pudding filling: Whisk together cornstarch, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then gradually whisk [tips alert!] in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, then boil, whisking, two minutes (mixture will thicken). Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and vanilla until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled shell and chill, its surface covered with wax paper (if you want to prevent a skin from forming), until cold, at least two hours.

Just before serving, beat cream with remaining two tablespoons sugar until it just holds soft peaks. Spoon onto pie and garnish with bittersweet chocolate shavings, if you’re feeling fancy.

Do ahead: Pie dough can be made and chilled up to two days. Pie, without whipped cream, can be chilled up to one day before serving. Whipped cream is best added at the last minute, however, I did find that ours held up surprisingly well for a day (so far), if you feel like winging it.

Meatballs

Ok this is totally winging it because I never measure anything when I make these but they tend to be pretty darn tasty. I picked this one up from my mom a long time ago.

1lb- 2lbs ground beef
teaspoon-ish oregano
teaspoon-ish Italian seasoning
minced garlic - maybe two cloves or two teaspoons if you buy it in the jar like me? depends on how much garlic you like
1 1/2 slices of bread - 2 if you go with more than a pound of meat
2 eggs - scramble em up
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
parmesan cheese - dash or thereabouts. I told you, winging it.

Preheat your oven to 350. Soak bread in eggs, I usually remove the crust and I never use the same bread so use whatever you have. Chop up one green pepper and one onion. You'll want them chopped pretty small because they'll be in the balls. Then I throw all of that in with the meat and mix it all up with my hands and try not to be grossed out. (This is so professional.) Then I make small-ish balls that usually fit in the palm of my hand. I'd say one pound usually makes about 12. I'm opposed to big meatballs because you have to cook them longer and sometimes they get dried out. Then I bake for probably 15-20 minutes? That's definitely a guess. I tend to check them quite a bit and about half-way through the bake time I flip them all over. Once the outside has browned just a bit I check the middle. I always, always pull them out when they are still a little pink in the middle. This is important. This ensures you don't have meatballs you could throw through a window.

You're welcome.

Pioneer Woman is my hero

Yo

Pioneer Woman has done it again.

First, she's releasing a holiday recipe book which I will be purchasing asap. We are hosting Christmas at our house again this year and I'm helping with Thanksgiving so I'm hoping I can find some new and yummy recipes in here.

I think it went on sale today but if not, it should be out soon. I picked up my last PW cookbook in Target but I'm sure you can order this on Amazon.

I also made a ridiculously awesome chicken tortilla soup on Sunday night. I randomly had all of the fixings in my kitchen so it was a logical choice. I googled chicken tortilla soup and up popped PW. So I pulled out my cookbook and whipped this puppy up.

A few things I did differently.

I used four chicken breasts. I didn't use the hot water or the cornmeal mixture thing. I didn't want it to be real brothy so I skipped that entirely. Mine came out more like a chili which was what I wanted. I also didn't have Rotel so I used diced tomatoes and a can of green chiles. It was fine. I only used one can of black beans because my stomach and beans do not do well together. I added a 1/2 bag of frozen corn. It may have needed a bit more heat so I might add jalapenos and more chile powder in the future. I also used flour tortillas because that's what I had and fried em up for a few minutes. Perfectly fine.

And you absolutely, positively must have all of the garnishes...lots of avocado, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. Wicked yummy and good leftover.

Here's the recipe:

Recipe

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Prep Time:

 10 Minutes

 

Cook Time:

 1 Hour30 Minutes

 

Difficulty:

 Easy

 

Servings:

 8

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 cup Diced Onion
• 1/4 cup Diced Green Bell Pepper
• 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
• 32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 4 cups Hot Water
• 2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
• 3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
• 5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
• _____
• FOR THE GARNISHES:
• Sour Cream
• Diced Avocado
• Diced Red Onion
• Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
• Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
• Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.

Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed---add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)