I Don't Cook, But My Boyfriend Does!

Roasted Grape Crostini with Goat Cheese

2012-01-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

Everything is better roasted. Including grapes. I saw this recipe for Roasted Grape Crostini from Authentic Suburban Gourmet. I love grapes, and whoever first thought of roasting them was brilliant!

They turned out wonderful. Sweet, tangy, warm, salty and kind of smoky.

I made a few changes to the recipe. For starters, I used goat cheese instead of ricotta. Nothing against ricotta, it is nice, but I am very fond of goat cheese and we always have it in the fridge.

I also didn’t have any fresh thyme laying around, but I do have plenty of fresh basil........

Roasted Grape Crostini with Goat Cheese

Ingredients: (amounts depend on how much you want!)
Seedless purple grapes
Sourdough baguette or ciabatta bread
Olive oil
Ricotta cheese or goat cheese
Thyme or basil
Lemon zest
Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Spread grapes onto a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Toss all together gently with your hands. Place pan in the oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until grapes just begin to burst.

While grapes are roasting, heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Brush the bread with olive oil. Grill until lightly toasted. Tip: keep heat at medium and toast longer, to prevent burning.

Assemble the open-faced sandwiches: Spread cheese over bread. Top with roasted grapes. Add the lemon zest and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. Sprinkle with a bit of salt or fleur de sel.

Tip: Have the cheese at room temperature for easier spreading.

Ham, Kale and Bean Soup

2012-01-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know how official it is, but I heard that January is National Soup Month. Why not? It's hard to pick just one to start with..... but we managed.

We co-hosted a fabulous New Year’s Day party this year where we enjoyed the company of some fantastic friends and family and we got to feast on some amazing food. Extra bonus, we received some yummy hostess gifts and somehow we even ended up with a substantial portion of leftover honey baked ham……

If you live in Santa Barbara and you are a foodie, you probably know my cousin Krista. She is the editor of Edible Santa Barbara, one of the most impressive food magazines on the stands today. Krista and her husband Steve have worked hard to create an amazing publication including recipes, articles on gardening, organic farming, wineries and so much more, click here to explore.

Krista and Steve gifted us with a fantastic hostess gift from Shepherd Farms in Carpenteria. I have not been there yet, but I can say that Sheperd Farms makes a fantastic organic dried “Herbs de Provence”. This particular blend includes sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano and bay. I can only imagine the possibilities, soups, sauces, marinades, eggs, salads.........

Inspired by our gifts and the desire to eat something that is NOT stuffed, fried or drenched in butter or alcohol, we threw together the following ingredients to create this delicious and healthy Ham, Kale and Bean Soup. Remarkably quick, mostly healthy and incredibly delicious!

Ham, Kale and Bean Soup

Makes 4-6 servings
printable version

1 ½ cup cooked ham, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 cloves garlic, diced

½ onion, chopped

1 leek, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 can pinto beans

1 can cannelloni beans

2 cups chopped kale

5 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Herbs de Provence (or blend of dried herbs)

In a large pot or Dutch Oven heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onions and garlic and saute until tender about 10 minutes.

Add the ham, beans, vegetable broth and season with salt, pepper and Herbs de Provence. Bring to a light boil and add kale. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until kale is cooked to desired tenderness.

You can't get much easier than that! Enjoy with a nice piece of crusty bread, or better yet, a grilled cheese sandwich!

Eggplant and Chicken Puttanesca Stacks

2012-01-04T11:53:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love January? It's a great time to "reset" and get back on track or change your life's path. I for one don't make resolutions but I do take the time to evaluate my life, where I am and where I want to go. At this point in my life I am pretty happy with things. I like my job, I am healthy and I am madly in love with my best friend and husband. Life is good!

I found the original recipe for Eggplant and Chicken Puttanesca Stacks on The Daily Green while searching for something new and interesting to do with eggplant. When I am searching for a new recipe, I type in the main ingredient in Google then do an image search. From there I flip through hundreds of images until I find something that looks good, I am a visual person!

If you haven't heard of Puttanesca sauce, it is a tomato based sauce that combines olives and capers and it is delicious. Many people don't like anchovies so feel free to omit them and add a few extra olives instead. You could also omit the chicken and call it vegetarian, although I love the chicken and don't recommend it!

We fell in love with this recipe and have made it at least five times in the last few months. At first glance the recipe might look like a lot of effort for a dinner for two, but when you break it down it's only a few steps and it actually goes pretty quick. Expect about an hour for preparation.

Eggplant & Chicken Puttanesca Stacks

click here for printable recipe

Ingredients: for 2-4 Servings

For Eggplant:

1 lg. eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or as needed

1 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

For Chicken:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

All-purpose flour (use remaining flour after breading the eggplant)

1 tablespoon olive oil

For Sauce and Cheese:

1/2 cup white wine

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

3 anchovy fillets packed in oil, chopped (we used 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste)

1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives (about 10 olives), chopped

1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

3/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup fresh ricotta cheese, at room temperature

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Slice the eggplant into 1/4" slices, pat dry and sprinkle with black pepper.In three separate shallow bowls or pie plates, put the flour, eggs, and panko crumbs. Dip the eggplant slice in the flour both sides. Next, coat the floured slice with egg, dredge the eggplant slice in the panko. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, fry the eggplant slices for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer the eggplant to the lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the slices over and continue baking for an additional 10 minutes.

While the eggplant is in the oven, prepare the chicken. Slice the chicken into 1/2" pieces, lightly pound flat with a meat mallet. Season the pieces with salt and pepper then coat each piece in flour and shake off excess. Place chicken pieces in sauté pan with 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, sauté the chicken pieces for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover to keep warm.

For the sauce, pour the wine into the pan to deglaze, scraping the bits from the bottom. Add the garlic, anchovies, and chile flakes and sauté for 30 seconds. Stir in the stock, olives, tomatoes, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of the parsley, and add the chicken back into the pan. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer while the eggplant finishes baking. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

In a small bowl, mix the Riccota cheese, the remaining 1/4 cup parsley, the lemon zest, salt, and ground black pepper.

When the eggplant is done, start building your stacks! Start with one slice of eggplant, top with a spoonful of the cheese mixture, add a piece of chicken, a little more cheese, then a heaping spoon of the Puttenesco sauce, then another piece of eggplant. If desired, spoon some remaining sauce and cheese on top of each stack and serve.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Dates Cookies

2011-12-07T21:44:00.001-08:00

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Date Cookies

It's that time of year again. Cookies. Cookies, Cookies! I can not make enough of them..... mostly because we can not stop eating the cookies that I have been making to give as gifts! It's hard not to, they are SO GOOD!

I bought a huge quantity of dates to make the delicious Date Walnut Torte that we made for a dessert contest/Holiday party that we went to last weekend.We didn't win. But we still have a bunch of dates left, so I have been searching for recipes that call for dates.

This recipe more than met my needs for a recipe that uses dates, is sweet, but not too sweet, and that includes nuts, raisins and oats, which kind of keeps it healthy, right? Don't be fooled, these cookies are super tasty, regardless of how healthy they are!

This particular recipe originated from Epicurious.

Oatmeal Walnut Raisin Date Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup raisins

1 cup chopped pitted dates

1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil; butter foil.

In a medium bowl, blend the first 5 ingredients in medium bowl.

In another larger bowl beat butter, vegetable shortening, and both sugars with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in honey, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, then stir in oats, raisins, dates, and walnuts.

Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets, spacing mounds 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies slightly with a fork.

Bake cookies until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Cool completely on baking racks.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-12-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

Since ALL of our friends and family are avid readers and followers of "I Don't Cook, But My Boyfriend Does!", we are often sent recipes to try in hopes that they will make it to the blog.Well, here is a good example of that.

It's weird, of all the soups we have posted over the years, Chicken Tortilla Soup has somehow never graced our recipe index before now. I can not explain it, we love SOUP, we love CHICKEN and we love SPICY soups, and this my friends is all that, and more. It's AMAZING!!

Thank you Bill for sending us this delicious and VERY SIMPLE recipe, a definite keeper!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves at least 8)
print version

4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
8 cups chicken broth (= 2 of those cartons)
8 corn tortillas, sliced into pieces
1 med. onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2- 14 1/2 oz. cans diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves

In a large stock pot: (we used a 6 qt. dutch oven)
- 6 Tbsp. oil over high heat
- add tortilla pieces, fry until crispy and set aside on paper towel to absorb oil
- add onion, cilantro, & garlic- saute
- add tomatoes and all juices from the cans- bring to a boil
- add broth, cumin, chili powder, & bay leaves- bring back to a boil
- reduce heat to simmer *see note below
- add chicken breasts (raw, even frozen is fine) & cayenne pepper
- simmer (approx. 15 min. if frozen breasts)
- remove bay leaves
- take out breasts, check for "done-ness", shred, and put back into pot.

Top with:
-avocado
-fresh cilantro
-sour cream
-shredded cheese
-tortilla chip pieces

You will have plenty for left-overs! Great to make in advance and let it sit on the stove, or easy to reheat.

It's a very flexible recipe, i.e., you can use more or less tortillas or chicken etc... Adjust spiciness with more or less cayenne.

* Note: We roasted 2 jalapenos and 1 serrano pepper for about 15 minutes, removed most seeds, chopped and added just before adding the chicken, it added a nice roasted flavor!

If you like this recipe, you might also like this recipe for Shrimp Fra Diavolo that Bill also shared with us!

Sweet Potato Hash... The Other Yams?

2011-11-18T10:52:00.001-08:00

With so much going on these days, we are happy we only need to bring ONE dish to the family Thanksgiving meal. This year we are going out on a limb and trying something different. Instead of the standard mashed yams smothered in gooey, melty marshmallows, (although that does sound really good!) we are going to try a savory but still sweet, Sweet Potato Hash.

We accidentally created this dish a couple months ago and we both fell in love with its sweet and savory flavors with just a tiny bit of heat from the jalapenos. It is certainly a dish to enjoy all year round.

Let's just hope Aunt Marilyn will forgive us.....she loves those sweet marshmallows!

Sweet Potato Hash

Printable Recipe

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, diced into small cubes

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 1/2 cups sweet onion, coarsely chopped

2 green peppers, coarsely chopped

2 jalapeño peppers, finely diced (remove seeds for less heat)

4 cloves of roasted garlic, finely chopped

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground allspice

2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Bring large pot of water to a boil and add diced sweet potato. Boil for 5-8 minutes, until potato cubes are cooked through. Drain the water and set the sweet potato cubes aside to dry while you cook the pepper and onions.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of oil and add the onion, garlic, green peppers and jalapeno. Stir often and sauté until the onion becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.

Drizzle another tbsp. of oil to the skillet then add the cubed sweet potatoes, salt, pepper, cinnamon, allspice and fresh herbs, combine well. Keeping the skillet at medium heat, arrange the hash in a single layer and continue cooking until potatoes, onions and peppers have slightly browned.

Wishing you and yours a very fulfilling and grateful holiday season!

Favorite Soups and Stews to Warm You Up!

2011-11-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

As you can see from my lack of posts lately, I have been in a blogging funk.

It's certainly not because we have not been cooking some great stuff, we have made some fabulous meals lately, I just haven't felt like writing.

Since we write this blog as a team, my partner in crime is stepping up and giving me that extra "shove" that I need. By that, I mean Mark has come up with a 'blog menu' of dishes that he will prepare with the specific intention of posting. The list includes some exciting and exotic dishes featuring some unusual spices and ingredients, I am sure you will be intrigued too!

In the meantime, here are a few of our most popular soups and stews to help inspire and keep you warm during these cool and rainy days.

Butternut Squash & Red Pepper Soup

White Bean Chicken Chili

Mushroom Barley Soup

Egyptian Split Pea Soup

Albondigas

Check back soon, new and exciting dishes are on the way! I'm getting inspired just thinking about it!

Godiva Coffee

2011-10-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

There sure are some sweet perks to being a member of Foodbuzz's Tastemaker Program. Most recently, we received two packages of limited edition fall coffees from Godiva: Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark.

This prompted a few experiments........

First, we tried both coffee flavors alone as regular coffee. All I can say is ........ awesome. Nothing says Fall like the aroma of pumpkin and spice, am I right? As soon as I opened the bag of Pumpkin Spice coffee I was ready for Thanksgiving and a slice of pumpkin pie!

The Caramel Pecan Bark is nothing less than soothing Autumn comfort. Since October is actually one of the warmer months of the year in San Diego, we are still enjoying iced coffee.

This recipe found on The Pioneer Woman is worth the time effort to make. The result is a perfect, rich and creamy, smooth iced coffee, by far the best I have ever had.You can make this with any coffee you like, but the Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark was exceptionally delicious!

Autumn Spiced Iced Coffee

makes 2 tall glasses

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Pumpkin Spice or Caramel Pecan Bark coffee grounds
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk, cream, or half & half
Sweetener (optional, I used vanilla syrup)

Note: You will need a cheesecloth for this recipe.

Directions:
Add the coffee grounds to a container that has a lid.
Pour in the cold water and mix to combine.

Allow to "brew" for at least 8 hours. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Place a few layers of cheese cloth over the strainer and pour the coffee mixture into the strainer. Give it a while to strain through. Use a spoon to press through the remaining liquid.

Add ice to a glass, and fill half way with your iced coffee.

Add milk/cream/half & half and sweetener, if desired. Stir or shake to combine.

Since last weekend was my birthday, we had to indulge a little. We were invited to share a cabin with some friends up in Big Bear and to partake in the 41st annual Oktoberfest celebration....... we had a blast! The cabin was fantastic, the company was wonderful and the celebration was better than anticipated.

One of our favorite ways to enjoy the Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee was to start with this.......Pumpkin Spice Latte found on the GodivaCoffee.com website, but we added a shot of Disaronno at the end, it was the perfect end to the perfect birthday! Thank you everyone for making my birthday weekend so much fun!

What to Cook During a Blackout.......

2011-09-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Things got interesting in Southern California last night. About 3:30 in the afternoon the entire region lost all electricity. I was on the road trying to meet up with my boss, but even the cell phone towers were down so we could not make phone calls. Traffic became a nightmare with all the traffic signals down, it amazes me how many people don’t know what to do at an intersection when the lights are flashing!

Did I mention today is my husband’s birthday?

By the time I got home, it was clear that the power was not coming back on soon, and it was going to be a long night. Fortunately, I had time to gather an assortment of candles, flashlights, BATTERIES, water, and matches, before the sun went down.

The one thing I was not prepared for was what to eat. Mark was scheduled to work late, I had a simple grilled cheese sandwich in mind before all the chaos, when he got sent home early, we had to reevaluate the dinner situation.

Thank goodness we still had propane in the BBQ.

Since you shouldn't open the refrigerator unless totally necessary, we quickly grabbed the half frozen Italian sausage and the yellow mustard, oh, and the bottle of white wine that was luckily still a little cool!

We found just enough sliced wheat bread for each of us. Then Mark mixed up some of his famous mustard sauce, simply yellow mustard, honey and a little cayenne pepper. Yes, by candlelight.

The sausages were perfectly grilled, and of course nice and spicy!

It was not a fancy meal, and it was certainly NOT a photo op evening, but it was kind of fun. Our "first Crisis" as a married couple! I think we both agree, we need to get better prepared for this type of thing, our fathers would both be disappointed....

The rest of the evening was super fun. With no phones, TV’s or computers to distract us, we sat outside, looked at the stars, visited with the neighbors, and of course we sort of felt compelled to eat as much perishable cheese as humanly possible, it was going to go bad, right?

We are all back to normal today, our power came back around 10PM last night. Now, I need to go through the fridge and figure out what can be salvaged and what has to be tossed out. According to this, I should throw out most everything in the fridge, but the freezer stuff should be OK.

I better get to work....batteries, I NEED to put batteries on my shopping list.....

Stay tuned to find out what we make for Marks REAL birthday celebration meal!

PS. Please notice I highlighted a bunch of words in my post today.....these are all IMPORTANT things to think about in case of an emergency!

Anaheim Peppers Stuffed with Nuts and Berries

2011-08-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

If there is one trend in our cooking, it would have to be our tendency to add something sweet to our spicy. We have also started adding nuts to many of our dishes. Walnuts, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts.....and yes, we are a bit nutty ourselves!

This stuffing recipe was put together by using up what we had lying around.We found these beautiful Anaheim peppers (among other things) at our local Hillcrest Farmers Market, and we wanted to make an appetizer that would be delicious and satisfying without a whole lot of effort.

Nutty, fruity, cheesy, savory, I'm still not sure what to call these stuffed peppers, but I can tell you that they turned out amazing!

Anaheim Peppers Stuffed with Nuts and Berries

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: (Makes 6 appetizers)

3 Anaheim peppers
1/2 cup mixed nuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes

1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles

4 oz canned corn1 handful of fresh basil, sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. sweet paprika to garnish

1 tbsp. honey

Directions:

Clean the Anaheim peppers and carefully and cut in half lengthwise. Gently remove the seeds from the inside of the pepper. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil then place the pepper on top.

Broil peppers until they start to get charred and blackened, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a small brown paper bag, (some people like to use a plastic bag) and let cool for about 10 minutes. (Here is a great tutorial from The Pioneer Woman!)

Reduce the oven setting to 400 degrees.

While peppers are cooling, prepare the stuffing mixture in a medium bowl. Combine the nuts, cranberries, dried tomatoes, goat cheese, corn and basil. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and gently combine.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the blackened skin VERY CAREFULLY.

Coat a glass dish with olive oil cooking spray. Place the roasted peppers in the dish, then carefully stuff each pepper with the stuffing mixture. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until hot and lightly browned on top.

Sprinkle peppers with sweet paprika, drizzle with honey and serve hot.

We found that these tasty appetizers to go exceptionally well with Margaritas......Salute!

Affogato Al Cafe

2011-08-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Affrogato Al Cafe

My husband and I just celebrated the three year anniversary of the day we first met! It's kind of a long story, but we met on a street corner in Little Italy in San Diego..... it's been nothing but "happily ever after" since!

Even though Mark does the majority of the cooking around here, I wanted to make something special to commemorate our first meeting, so I thought an Italian treat would be perfect.

I may have discovered my new most favorite thing!

I found the following recipe from Sommer over at Spicy Perspective, one of my favorite go-to blogs when I am looking for something new and creative or just for inspiration. This is a wonderful and simple way to make a shot of Espresso and a scoop of vanilla gelato an extra special experience!

Affogato al Cafe

Adapted from: A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:

2 scoops vanilla gelato (or GOOD vanilla ice cream)

1 oz. Espresso

1/2 oz. Kahlua

1 tsp. dark chocolate shavings

Instructions:

Place two large scoops of vanilla gelato in a glass.
Pour one shot of hot espresso over your gelato or ice cream then, add Kahlua.
A quick shot of whipped cream is a nice touch, but optional.
Use a veggie peeler to shave chocolate curls over the top.

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2011-08-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Yup. Another sweet potato recipe. We just can't get enough.

It really is all about simplicity. There is nothing fancy or complicated about the recipe. Just look at the list of ingredients, nothing but goodness.... you can't go wrong.

We served this as a side dish with some fabulous rib eye steaks and grilled corn on the cob, it was one of the best meals we have EVER made.

Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes
print version

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes, roasted

2-3 cloves soft roasted garlic

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. softened butter

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary stalks (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven at 425. Cut potatoes cut into quarters (or at least equal sizes) and place on a roasting pan covered with foil. Optional: we like to roast a whole bulb of garlic wrapped in foil, though you will only need about 3-4 cloves for this recipe. Roast for about 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Another option: include 2-3 whole sprigs of rosemary in the roasting pan, it infuses a subtle rosemary flavor to the potatoes.

Place potatoes in a medium sized bowl, add the garlic and butter and mash by hand, until well combined and slightly lumpy. Mix in green onions and parsley and serve warm.

Roasted Garlic

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos

2011-07-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

These guys don't need a big write up. You have probably had them at a party or a BBQ and thought that they are too complicated or too much trouble to make, right? Well, guess what? They are super EASY to make!

So, go ahead and make a batch of the stuffing and fill up your favorite peppers. You can stuff just about anything, not just jalapenos, try mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini......there is no end to the possibilities!

Grilled Stuffed Jalapenos (print version)

serves 6 as appetizer

Ingredients:

6 oz. whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup cooked and chopped bacon

1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

few dashes of hot sauce (we use Tapatio)

salt and black pepper

12 large jalapeno chili’s, halved lengthwise, stemmed and seeded

1 tbsp. sweet paprika

Instructions:

Heat grill to medium.

Mix together the cream cheese and the bacon in a medium bowl until blended. Fold in the cheddar, green onions, garlic and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill each jalapeno half with about 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture; sprinkle the top with sweet paprika.

Place peppers on the grill (or use a grill basket, if preferred), filling-side up, and cook until slightly charred and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Optional: To get a nice charred look on top, pop the poppers into a preheated oven set on broil for 2-3 minutes.

Optional: We made this simple sauce to top off our poppers. It would be great on fish tacos too!

Whisk together (or use a small food processor)1/4 cup of sour cream, about 1 clove chopped garlic, a spoonful of adobo sauce from chipotle chilis, and a handful of chopped cilantro..... delish for your dish!

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms.... Again

2011-07-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

This is a repeat recipe. We made these Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms last year and it is still one of our more popular posts. Easy to see why, these mushrooms are AMAZING! This is a great appetizer to bring to a party, but if you do, make a double batch, because they go fast!

Click here for the recipe.

I am still learning how to play with the settings on our new camera, but it is so much fun experimenting......

Thanks for reading, more great posts coming soon!

Cherry Garcia Sangria

2011-07-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Cherry Garcia Sangria!

Here is something you probably don't about me, I was a Deadhead. I don't want to incriminate myself too much, but there was a time in my life when I often took a week off work to go see the Grateful Dead play a 3 night show in Vegas, or San Fransisco or where ever they were going. I lived for the next adventure and it became a way of life. A wonderful time in my life.

After lead singer Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995, life changed. One way I dealt with the changes was by collecting anything and all things Jerry Garcia, as he was always my favorite musician and character in the band.

Among the many treasures I acquired, was this special artisan collection of tea tins featuring the art work of Jerry himself. The Republic of Tea paid tribute to Jerry with the collectible tea tins featuring original art work by Jerry. I don't think you can buy them any more, but you can get Jerry Cherry Black tea, and a whole mess of other delicious blends of organic teas.

Yes, these collectors item tea tins expired long ago, (2008 to be exact), but I still love the art work!

Anyway, let's get to the Sangria. It's Summer time, it's hot, and there is nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold frosty glass of fruit filled red wine. We were looking for something to serve guests for a Saturday afternoon get together utilizing red wine.....here is the recipe we ended up with.........

Cherry Garcia Sangria (printable)

Makes 2 large pitchers (depending on how much fruit you use)

2 cups chilled Cherry flavored tea1 bottle of red wine (we used inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon)
8 oz ginger ale

1/4 cup triple sec
1/4 cup blackberry brandy
1 cinnamon stick
1 small pear, sliced
1 small apple, sliced
1 orange
1 lemon
1 peach and or nectarine (optional)
1 handful of frozen cherries, blackberries, strawberries or grapes

Directions:

Make ahead: Prepare 2 cups of cherry flavored tea and chill until cold.

Pour wine into a large pitcher, or split into 2 pitchers. Add the triple sec and brandy, then squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon and orange into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (remove the seeds), add the whole cinnamon stick, sliced apples, pears, and whatever other fruit you want to use.

Chill for several hours or overnight. The longer you can leave the sangria to chill and marinate in the frig, the better it will taste.

Tip: We poured the Sangria mixture (minus the fruit) into ice cube trays to make sangria ice cubes! A wonderful way to keep the drinks cold without diluting with water when they melt. They also make delicious adult Popsicles!

Just before serving, add the ginger ale and chilled tea and stir. Garnish with fresh mint and frozen berries. Regular ice can be added, but a few of the Sangria ice cubes are even better than plain ice!

Press Here > to Lock Roll

2011-07-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Do you know about the tabs?

I'm talking about those little tabs on the side of most of the aluminum foil, plastic wrap, waxed paper, pretty much everything on a roll. They actually serve a purpose.

Once the tabs are pushed in, it makes pulling and tearing a LOT easier by holding the roll in the box. If you have ever fought a roll of out-of-control foil or plastic wrap, you know that there must be an easier way.....

I can not remember the first time I heard of this little trick, but when I did, it was like, duh! When I recently pointed it out to my husband, who constantly struggles with and harbors a deep resentment for plastic wrap, he was blown away.

I thought it might be a good time to mention this tip since I have recently made a lot of fabulous new foodie friends on Foodbuzz, and other sources, and it is a topic that I haven't seen so far.

So, if you didn't know about this, go to your kitchen right now and pull out all of your aluminum and plastic wrap rolls, push in all those tabs!

Recipes for the Holiday Weekend

2011-06-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's been 3 weeks since I have had a real camera. You probably noticed the drab and dull photo in my Fathers Day post, that was taken with my husbands cell phone, which actually came out better than the one with my iphone camera...... but that is another story.

Since I just can't take a good picture right now, we thought this would be a great time to recap some of our favorite Summer recipes that you might consider making for the upcoming holiday weekend.........

Brisk Tea Cocktail

Orange Pasta Asparagus Salad

Potato Salad

Colorful Tomato Salad

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Pinto Beans That Rock!

Turkey Burgers

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

A new camera is being carefully researched and I can't wait to start photographing again. Until then, wishing you and yours a wonderful Fourth of July weekend brimming with good eats and lots of fun!

Cheerios - A Fathers Day Memory

2011-06-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite memories of my Dad is when we had breakfast together early in the morning before my Mom and little brother woke up.

As I climbed up to the counter and found my spot on the bar stool next to his, he would set me up with a place setting which included a bowl, napkin, spoon, and a glass of milk.

It was always (and still is) a simple bowl of Cheerios. Just the plain old fashion, yellow box kind.

To make it special, my Dad would carefully slice half of a banana for my bowl, and the other half for his.

Then there was the sugar. We are talking about the early 70's folks, before it was "bad" to give your kids sugar. There was probably a little more sugar in my bowl then there should have been, but I lived.

The best part of this morning ritual was that it was MY time with my Dad. Not a man of many words, I can't recall any profound conversations, but we talked about stuff going on in the world and in our lives.

And after our breakfast we went our separate ways and on with our days. I went to school or climbed trees or whatever I was into at the time, and he went to work to build a house or something.

We lost my Dad 15 years ago to heart disease, and not a day goes by without missing him. So, all I have are these special memories, of simple times and simple pleasures, but these memories still warm my heart and make me smile.

My brother and his wife are having their first child in a couple of weeks. I have a feeling that a couple of years from now, he and his son will be sitting at the counter eating their Cheerios and starting their day together.....

Happy Fathers Day!

Back Up, Back Up, Back Up!

2011-06-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

One of my biggest fears in life just happened and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I have long feared this day, the day my hard drive died and I have NOTHING backed up or saved.

All my photos, all my files. All my great ideas, half written posts and saved recipes to try. Not to mention important business documents, resumes, favorite bookmarks, family information, addresses, site passwords, journal entries, the Excel spreadsheet of ALL of my 500+ concerts, our wine notes (extensive research)......... POOF, and GONE.

The "Blue Screen of Death" something nobody wants to see, EVER

I have heard this story before from others who did (and didn't do) the same thing. I shook my head and felt sorry for them, and went on my way after making a mental note to myself to back up my stuff later.....I even bought an external hard drive about a month ago. It's sitting right here in a box next to the dead computer.

If you have not done so, PLEASE go back up your files right now! Put your photos and files on a disc or an external hard drive, something, do it NOW! Don't be lame like me!

And now, I am going to go make a sheet of fudge brownies, eat the whole thing and cry some more.....

UPDATE: My amazing and wonderful brother was able to retrieve all my files and photos!!! I still need to buy a new computer and believe me, I WILL be using that external hard drive to back everything up from now on.

Another lesson learned the hard way, but better than not learning at all, right?

Avocados - The Best From California

2011-06-01T22:49:00.000-07:00

"Wow."

"Are you serious?"

"That is soooo creamy!"

"Now THAT is what an avocado is supposed to taste like!"

Those were the first words out of our mouths after tasting a plain avocado straight out of the sample box that California Avocados and Foodbuzz sent us last week.

My husband and I both grew up in San Diego and we are privileged to know what the BEST avocados on earth taste like. You can imagine what a treat it was to find a box full of our favorite fruit on our door step!

There really is a BIG difference between California Avocados and those from anywhere else.There must be something about our near perfect climate that produces the tastiest and creamiest avocados!

Not only was it Memorial Day weekend, but it was also our one year wedding anniversary! We had parties to go to and people to see, so we didn't have a lot of time to play with new recipes.

There are so many interesting recipes out there.... I am tempted to try the Authentic Suburban Gourmets Beer Battered Fried Avocado Wedges, doesn't that sound crazy good?

Like I mentioned, we went to some parties over the weekend. It was a pleasure to share our good fortune in the way of some fun and avocado based appetizers. Fellow party goers raved about how delicious the avocados were......

Mini Bacon Tomato Avocado and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

Guacamole and home made chips

I just realized we have never posted a recipe for our guacamole recipe. Well, it really isn't much of a recipe. I have always sworn that the more basic, the better.

2 medium Avocados

1/8 cup red onion, finely chopped

1 serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime juiced

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a medium bowl and mix well with a fork. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with smoked paprika and fresh cilantro.

Chicken Tacos with Bobby Flay Green Onion Slaw

That last photo, with the chicken tacos, was our dinner last night. It turned out to be the perfect meal to finish off the last of the avocados. The chicken was grilled with an awesome and simple marinade Mark made, then he grilled it to perfection, like he always does....and that cole slaw from Bobby Flay was perfect with everything!

Thank you California Avocado and Foodbuzz for sponsoring all these generous and delicious giveaways!

Smashed Potato Leek Soup

2011-05-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have been craving potatoes all the time lately. Sweet potatoes, red, yellow, russet, fries, mashed, blended, you name it, I want it.

Honestly, I don't think I have ever eaten Potato Leek Soup before, but for some reason I wanted "us" to make it. I'm glad I did, because it turns out I love it!

We combined several different recipes and made up some other parts. We like our soup a little chunky and not pureed like most recipes called for. With a little extra cooking time on the stove, and a little "smashing", it turned out perfect.

Smashed Potato Leek Soup Recipe (Printable recipe)

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 yellow or sweet onion

4 garlic cloves minced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large leek

2 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed thyme

1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced

8 medium-sized potatoes

1 cup white wine

4 cups of Vegetable broth, or just enough to cover the potatoes

1 tsp salt

8 oz half and half

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Wash and peel the potatoes, and set aside.

Roughly chop the onion, then dice by hand or quickly chop in a food processor. Add onions and garlic to Dutch oven or large soup pot with the olive oil over medium heat. Stir frequently

Meanwhile, wash the leeks and chop them up in 1/4 inch slices, using the white and light green parts. Finely mince the rosemary and thyme.

When the onions have become translucent, add the leeks, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary, cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.

Dice the potatoes and add them to the pot when the leeks are soft. Add the white wine and then the broth until the liquid level just covers the potatoes. Add a teaspoon of salt and then bring it all to a boil.

Turn down the heat until the soup is at a steady simmer, cover it and let it cook for about an hour and a half.

Once the potatoes are falling apart and the base looks creamy, slowly add the half and half, and mash the potatoes against the side of the pot till you have a nice creamy consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and increase heat for the last 15 minutes.

Garnish with chopped fresh rosemary and/or parsley and serve with some good crusty bread. Enjoy!

Ginger Shrimp Stir Fry..... and Awards

2011-05-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick and easy stir fry dish that we made healthy by serving on a bed of chopped cabbage instead of rice, delicious!

Keep reading to see the special award that Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny sent to me and to see who I am giving the award to!

Shrimp Ginger Stir Fry

Makes 2 servings

Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup orange juice

3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp walnut oil

1/2 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup julienned carrots

½ cup julienned yellow pepper

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup fresh pea pods

¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

1 ½ cups thinly chopped cabbage (or rice if you prefer)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and orange juice until smooth. Stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, honey and set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add the shrimp and stir fry for about 30 seconds. Add ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes, cook 1-2 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp from pan and keep warm.

In the same pan, add the sliced carrots, mushrooms and yellow bell pepper and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the broth mixture and bring to a boil, stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Add the pea pods, onions and shrimp mixture; heat through. Serve immediately over a bed of thinly chopped cabbage, enjoy!

The Award

Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny was very kind to bestow an award to me! You must check out her blog, she features healthy and delicious recipes without all the guilt and calories, and she is a fabulous and entertaining writer!

And the rules are that I get to share 7 things about me that you probably didn't already know, and then I am supposed to send this to 15 other bloggers who have versatile, creative and awesome blogs....... here you go!

Nine times out of ten I will choose a piece of cheese over a piece of chocolate.
I hate shopping of any kind and will avoid it until the last possible minute.
I am excited to become an Aunt to my brothers first child this year!
One of my goals is to visit every National Park in the US, with 388 parks, I have a lot of parks to visit, 384 to be exact.
I haven't seen a movie in the theater since 2004.
My hair has been every color of the rainbow at some point in my life, sometimes at once.
It's the cat that decides where WE sleep on the bed at night.

These are just some of the bloggers that I would like to pass the Versatile Blogger Award to, they have all earned it with their creative blogs and well written content!

Letiza @ Cooking For Friends
The Souper @ Prep 2 Eat
Sarah @ Pearl and Pine
Jeanne @ Simple Math Bakery
Amanda @ Two Girls On The Go
Jessica @ Cajunlicious
Steph @ Steph's Bite by Bite
Lisa @ The Suburban Gourmet
The Saturday Evening Pot
Joy @ Joy's Misadventures
Mikaela @ Baguette Taste, Wonder Bread Budget
Little Corner of Mine
Daksha @ Vegetarian Recipes World
Jess @ Hungry Harps
Nuts About Food

Now, I just want to say that I know these award posts are time consuming to respond to and when they start going around some people get multiple awards and it can get a little ridiculous, so if you want to respond and pass it around, go for it, but please don't feel obligated, we understand!

Magnum Ice Cream Bars

2011-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar

We were thrilled to receive the voucher for a free box of Magnum Ice Cream bars that Foodbuzz sent us!

There are six delicious varieties available; Classic, Almond, Double Chocolate, Double Caramel, White and Dark. We chose the Double Caramel.

Indulgent creamy vanilla ice cream encased in a double layer of caramel and chocolate shell, we are talking nothing but luxury here. I think it is the chocolate that lingers on your tongue.... or maybe it is the caramel..........I don't know for sure.

What I do know is that at 360 calories and 16 grams of fat EACH, this is not an every day treat, but rather an extra special luxury that should be savored, and maybe even shared!

Definitely recommended, I just can't quite figure out why they only give you three bars in the box??

Look for Magnum Ice Cream Bars in the frozen section!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

2011-05-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

We have been experimenting a lot with sweet potatoes lately, mostly trying to perfect baked sweet potato fries. We have gotten pretty good at them, learning that a higher heated oven and thinner cut potato gives us the best results.

This was the first time we grilled them.

It turns out you pretty much have to boil them on the stove for a few minutes before you grill them. Even though they taste really good just plain, the flavor of the grill adds a whole different layer, and this hot and sweet spice mixture will leave you wanting more.

These sweet potatoes turned out fantastic! We served them with steak and some skewered mushrooms, onions and bell peppers. We will definitely be including more sweet potatoes on the grill this Summer!

Spiced Sweet Potatoes on the Grill

Serves 2-3 - Printable recipe here

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1 tsp fresh thyme

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Cover potatoes with cold salted water in a large pot, and then bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly resistant when pierced with a sharp small knife, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool, slice potatoes lengthwise.

In a small bowl mix together salt, herbs and spices, then add honey, apple cider vinegar and oil, stir well. Brush this mixture on both sides of the sliced sweet potatoes.

Grill potatoes on a lightly oiled grill rack over medium heat, until they have nice grill marks and potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Serve potatoes warm with other veggies, steak, pork, chicken….. or just eat them plain, they have a wonderful natural sweet flavor and nice texture. And it’s true, everything tastes better when it's grilled!

Tostitos Seasoning Mixes

2011-04-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to receive a package of new Dip Creations from Lays/Tostitos the other day. It’s always fun to try new products and get creative trying to come up with new recipes. After a few trials and errors, we discovered a few new favorite combinations.

Our package contained 2 packets each of the Garden Onion, Country Ranch and Freshly Made Guacamole season mixes. Dip Creations seasoning mixes are made from all-natural ingredients, like real onions, garlic and a combination of other herbs and spices.

The first thing we did was to make each dip as directed on the package. The Country Ranch mixed with sour cream has really nice flavor and tasted great served with raw carrots and celery. Of course I had to play around a little and added some fresh chopped parsley and chives, which worked very well.

We also really liked the Guacamole seasoning mix. The package directions say to mash ripe avocados and add the mix. We were skeptical, but it was really good just the way it was, a nice texture and great flavor. We had all kinds of back up ingredients in case it needed to be doctored up, but all we added was a little chopped cilantro and about half of a seeded serrano pepper.

We only used half of the guacamole seasoning mix, and since we liked it so much, we decided to add the other half to our chicken marinade. Wow, this may be our new favorite chicken recipe. All we did was mix half of the seasoning mix with about 6 ounces of plain yogurt, the juice of half a lime and a handful of chopped cilantro, mixed it up and poured it over 2 boneless chicken breast and marinated in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.

The Garden Onion package has been more of a challenge for us. We tried sprinkling the dry mix on potatoes before roasting them but the seasoning was a little overwhelming.What we did like was mixing it with sour cream and adding it to our potato salad, it was awesome! Maybe one of the best potato salads I have ever made.

Potato Salad with Lay's Garden Onion seasoning mix

8-10 servings
Printable Version

Ingredients:

10-12 red potatoes

6 eggs, hard boiled

1 1/2 cups sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

½ package Lays Garden Onion Seasoning

3 tbsp Djon mustard

1/8 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp celery salt

¼ cup black olives, sliced

¼ cup green onions (and/or red onions)

½ cup celery chopped

¼ cup parsley chopped

1/8 cup chives to garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes. Pour out the hot water; cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and chop the cooled eggs.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and refrigerate until cold. Once cooled, chop potatoes into bite sized cubes.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Garden Onion Seasoning, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, and celery salt. Add the eggs, potatoes, celery, onions and olives; mix until everything is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.