i'm back....

well, I took a looooooong break and am back and ready to cook! luckily, just in time for the annual 4th of july picnic. my new obsession is Pinterest so this recipe is courtesy of one of my pins and this fantastic website...

 

it was really easy. you need:

 

 

2 bags light blue candy melts (found in the baking aisle of craft stores/wal-mart)

1 – 10.5 ounce bag large marshmallows

1 box graham cracker crumbs (I used Teddy Grahams)

1 – 6.6 ounce bag cheddar goldfish

Large white pearl nonpareils

20 lollipop sticks

 

- Melt blue candy melts according to package. I recommend placing chocolate candy in a microwavable bowl and melting in 30 second increments, mixing in between. Do not over-melt or the chocolate will be difficult to work with. Start with one package and see if you need more.

- Place lollipop sticks in marshmallows. Dip marshmallows into the chocolate candy. Use a knife to get excess chocolate off the marshmallow bottom.

- Dip the bottom in graham cracker crumbs. Add a goldfish and 2 white pearl non pareils.

- Allow to cool and then enjoy! If you are making this a day in advance, make sure to place your pops in an air tight container or cover with saran wrap so they don’t go stale.

 

 

Feedback was pretty good. The candy melts are sweet but everyone

really liked them. They went really fast too!

day 45 = chipotle-wine mussels

sarah:
ok, i am now into meals for less. my friend introduced me to emeals which i love. they send you a meal plan each week for the grocery store of your choice (mine is Whole Foods) and typically your bill is around $100/wk for 2 people. not bad considering my average costco bill...

the thing is, i really don't have a routine with emeals yet. i did, however, make it to Whole Foods last night and decided instead to make mussels ($3.99/lb). i checked out this recipe on epicurious and bought all the ingredients. my whole bill was around $20 and it essentially serves 2. not quite cost cutting, but oh well!**

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 medium diced)
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled carrot (2 carrots diced)
• 1/2 cup chopped celery (2 stalks diced)
• salt & pepper
• 1 14-ounce can light unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 cup dry white wine (pinot grigio)
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped canned chipotle chilies (2 med)
• 2 1/4 pounds mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• shrimp (optional)

---

1. Wash mussels and let soak in cold or ice water (about 20 minutes).
2. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat.
3. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté until onion is tender, about 10 minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper.
5. Stir in coconut milk, stock, wine and garlic; boil over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes.
6. Debeard mussels.
7. Stir in mint, cilantro and chilies.
8. Add mussels; cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes (discard any mussels that do not open).
9. Add shrimp if using.
10. Transfer mussels and broth to large bowl and serve.

---

 **1 lb mussels serves 1 person (barely)

enjoy!

day 44 = check it out!

you can now get my book on for the ipad/iphone on ibooks! check it out!!!!

a little of this, a pinch of that

day 43 = tomato and basil

sarah:
i wanted something fresh and light to have with dinner. this was just perfect!

- 1 roma tomato, sliced and sprinkled with salt
- bunch of basil leaves
- drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- sprinkle with pepper

that's it!

enjoy!

day 42 = lazy day pasta

sarah:
we have been busy lately so ended up having a lazy day. at trader joe's last week we picked up some cans of tomatoes and mini-ravioli. i thought it was just ok, by charley liked it. here's what i did:

combine in a large soup pot & simmer for 3 hrs:
- 2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1/2 jar fire roasted yellow and red peppers
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 7 cloves garlic, diced
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 1 1/2 jalapeno, chopped
- 2 chicken sausages, cases removed and crumbled
- 3 tbsp dried basil
- 3 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika

when sauce is ready, boil water and add mini-raviolis. cook for 16 mins.

plate pasta with sauce and sprinkle with feta cheese and fresh basil.

charley:
it had wonderful balance of tastes and i felt it had a good flavor.  a little spicy with good texture.  since pasta can be prepared in so many different ways it always comes down to personal preference.  for me this was a good meal!

enjoy!

day 41 = gotta have guacamole

sarah:
i hate to admit, but after 3 years of knowing each other, charley and i had our first sit down dinner together at our dining room table. we always eat in front of the tv and hopefully this marks a new chapter in our lives.

anyway, i cooked a chicken we picked up at trader joe's and made a side of guacamole. charley has recently started eating guacamole which is terrific for me. i thought i picked up a lime and jalapeno peppers, but apparently did not so i had to improvise. here's what i did:

mix/smash together in a bowl
- 1/4 medium onion, diced
- 1 roma tomato, diced (sprinkle with salt before dicing)
- 3 medium sized avocados
- a few sprigs basil, cut into small strips
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large pinches ghost pepper sea salt
- additional salt, as needed

best if refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before eating!

charley:
awesome, awesome, awesome. best i ever had and i am not a guacamole fan.

(sorry, this picture is terrible because it was taken on my blackberry. we haven't unpacked the camera battery charger).

enjoy!

day 40 = mom's brisket recommendation

sarah:
my mom made this brisket for the holidays and highly recommended it. i had bought a kosher brisket at costco and needed to cook it before it went bad. luckily this is a really easy recipe, but the problem is it calls for a 4lb brisket and mine was only 1.2lbs. i didn't realize you needed to adjust the time as much as you did so i overcooked it a little. overall though, it was very tasty!

1. preheat oven to 350

2. mix together in a bowl:

• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp salt (if using a kosher brisket, reduce this amount)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 1 bay leaf, crushed

3. in a roasting pan:

• put a 4lb brisket
• rub all over with spice rub
• add hot peppers, optional
• roast for 1 hour, uncovered

4. reduce oven heat to 275:

• add 1 1/2 cups beef stock and water until there is 1/2 in the pan
• cover tightly with foil
• cook for 3 hours, until fork tender

*for my 1.2lb brisket i cut down the rub ingredients to 1/3 and you only need about 1hr cooking time per each lb (this is where i went wrong). i would cover with foil after about 1/2 hour and check about 30-45 mins later. make sure to cook at 300 instead of 350 for the first 1/2 hour.

the other key here is not to look under the foil once you cover it. make sure it's tight so the heat does not escape.

charley:

well i am sure sarah mentioned that the meat was a little over cooked which made it a bit chewy, but it was full of flavor.  i have said it before and i will say it again, i like things with a little heat and this worked out wonderfully.  i could have eaten the whole thing, but sarah kept me from doing so!

enjoy!

day 39 = hotter than hot fresh salmon

my apologies! we haven't posted in a while and that's really because i have spent the last 3 weeks as a juror and it was a very trying experience. instead of cooking, we just ate out to make life simpler. we're back though!

sarah:
lately, charley has been doing most of the fish cooking (see day 3 and day 25 for how we typically make salmon). this is soooo easy and we discovered how to make it after realizing it's a go-to favorite of ours at costco. here's how i made it today:

- preheat oven to 450 degrees

- line a baking sheet with foil

- lay salmon in center of baking sheet

- surround salmon with mini-peppers* and red jalapeno peppers

- sprinkle salmon with spices:

      - alaea salt (i bought it at Hepps Salt Barrel)

      - chipotle pepper (i bought it at Penzeys)

      - smoked paprika

      - turmeric
      - oriental mustard powder

      - parsley flakes

- drizzle hot pepper olive oil over top*

- throw a few mini-hot peppers on top of fish*

- bake for 14 mins

*while at this trial, i visited a farmers market during lunch and picked up a branch of mini-hot peppers (i've never seen anything like it). the farmer that sold it to me said he smashes them, chops them up, and mixes with cilantro and tomatoes. he then uses the paste to marinate chicken with or as a spread on meats. charley took them off the vines and put them in a drinking glass with olive oil. this way they release more heat and we have hot pepper olive oil! i highly recommend. here's what it looked like:

charley:
i have to say i enjoy spicy things, but these peppers hit you with a lot of heat! The salmon was very good and actually complimented the hit of the peppers because it cooled this off.  i typically can handle the heat of peppers, but these i could only finish a few.  I am looking forward to these over the next few days!


enjoy!

day 38 = "sponge" drops

sarah:

i was so excited to make these. i pulled out one of the cookbooks my mom let me have of hers. it's from the 70's and picked two recipes: little sponge drops and cookies. charley chose these so i got to cooking. the best part, was i was going to be able to use my grandma's (mom's) blueberry jam.

unfortunately, they were horrible. so bad even we threw them out and i am not going to include the recipe because i don't want someone to accidentally stumble upon it and think they look good. here are a few pictures of the progress though.... these don't look bad, go figure!

charley:

not sure on how best to say this, but i didn't like these at all.  in fact the only thing that was enjoyable about them was the jam she used which is family made.  i had to just throw these away!  I would not recommend them.

enjoy (or not in this case)!

day 37 = maple brown sugar scones

let's just face it, we were itching for dessert. the problem was, i had nothing in the house and couldn't convince charley to make me cookies. so i googled "desserts with brown sugar" and found this recipe from howsweeteats.com. the only problem was, i didn't have some of the ingredients (mainly bacon!) so i adjusted the recipe to what i had on-hand. i think i'll try again sometime when i do have the bacon because it sounds really interesting. here's what i did:

step 1: if you don't have buttermilk, make it yourself!

put 1 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice) in a 1 cup measuring cup and fill to the top with milk.

let sit for 5 mins and you have your very own buttermilk.

step 2: gather your base ingredients and preheat oven to 425 degrees

• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (use more!!)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

 

step 3: put all the base ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together

step 4: cut 3/4 cups cold butter into small squares. cut the butter into the base mixture until it resembles course crumbs (like how you make pie crust -- i used 2 knives to cut the butter).

step 5: stir in buttermilk and 1/4 tsp vanilla. fold in a handful of raisins.

step 6: roll out on floured surface and kneed gently. divide in half and pat into 7in circles.

brush with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar.

step 7: put in 425 degree oven for 12 mins.

  

step 8: while it's cooking, make the maple glaze.

• 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• drop of water (i used over 1 tsp)

mix all the maple syrup, vanilla and powdered sugar together. add water 1/4 tsp at a time until gets to desired consistency (should be able to drizzle overtop).

step 9: when the scones are out of the oven, drizzle overtop and let cool.

sarah:

i tried them straight from the oven and did not think they were all that great. the scones didn't have a lot of flavor and the maple glaze was really sweet. i really didn't think much of them until i called charley today and he said he'd eaten a bunch and really like them. so when i got home today i tried one and he was right! they must need to cool and settle in before you eat them. in fact, i think i am going to go grab another while charley writes his comments...

charley:

i am writing this after eating about 5 of these!  the only critique i could recommend from personal preference would be add more raisins and more cinnamon otherwise they are perfect the way they are.  they don't leave your mouth feeling dry and you keep wanting to go back!

enjoy!

day 36 = banana bread (#2)

i still had two bananas left from day 30 (banana cream pie) and this time charley let them rot on my counter (unlike day 10 when he tossed them in the trash). i was so excited to make a new banana bread recipe, but i realized i only had one egg and did not feel like leaving the house to go to the store. so i searched my cookbook collection and every recipe had 3 eggs in it. ok, now what. i went online and entered in the words "banana bread with one egg" and came up with this recipe. the problem is, i didn't have 1 full cup of sugar or 3 bananas. oy, i am going to need to improvise. here's what i did:

step 1: gather your ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 extremely ripe bananas, mashed*

8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained

5 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

cinnamon

*if you don't have ripe bananas, don't fret, read the comment in day 8 from nancy (my inspiration)

step 2: grease and flour a loaf pan

step 3: sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt

step 4: lightly beat egg

step 5: cream the butter and sugar

step 6: add the flour mixture, then egg, then vanilla

step 7: mix in bananas, pineapple, and milk by hand

step 8: pour into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with cinnamon

sarah:

i made this for us, but we didn't get a chance to eat it the first night. so i left for work and told charley to have some of it. when i called him in the evening to let him know we were going over to friends for dinner. here's our conversation:

me: "we need to be there in about an hour"

charley: "what are we going to bring?"

me: "we'll take the banana bread"

charley: "what's left of it..."

what's left of it?! it's only been a few hours how much could he have eaten! when i go home, there was only 1/2 the loaf left!! luckily, it's pretty dense so after a terrific meal we had with friends you only needed a little bit. i hope they enjoyed!

the bread is extremely moist and doughy. if you like a less doughy (more cake like) banana bread, see day 8. i highly recommend either this one or the recipe in my cookbook.

charley:

second time around on the banana bread and i didn't throw out the aged ingredient which did in fact make this dish that much better! i didn't realize that banana's become more flavorful as they brown and these must have been perfect because i couldn't help but eat half of it in two sittings.  Great stuff!

enjoy!

day 35 = gizzards and hearts

sarah:
ok, don't get too disgusted yet. i went to the grocery store this weekend and all the chicken was 1/2 off. needless to say, i bought a bunch of chicken. included was 1lb of gizzards and hearts for $1.01.

i love them with just a little salt and pepper heated under the broiler. that's not all that exciting for a meal -- works well for the few pieces you get in a whole chicken though. so what should i do? i went to google and entered "chicken gizzard recipe" and i found this... looks interesting, but i didn't have all the ingredients. so i changed it up quite a bit. here's what i did:

1) put chicken gizzard and hearts in a dutch oven on low heat
2) chopped 6 cloves of garlic and tossed it in
3) added:
      - 12oz italian dressing
      - 1 bottle beer
      - 2 tbsp white vinegar
      - 1 tbsp soy sauce
      - 1 tbsp A1 sauce
      - 1 tbsp worcestershire
      - 1 tbsp tabasco
      - red pepper flakes
      - celery seed
      - thyme
      - smoked paprika
      - lawry's seasoned salt
      - pepper
4) bring heat just before it starts to boil, reduce to simmer with lid on for 3 hours
5) take gizzards and hearts out of the liquid and place on foil lined baking sheet
6) sprinkle salt and pepper over top and broil for 2 mins

it was fairly simple, but i didn't eat until pretty late. it was extremely tender, not like typical gizzards and hearts. the sauce had a good amount of heat so i boiled down the leftovers a little to concentrate the flavor and put the chicken breast tenders i picked up from the sale in it to marinade overnight. should be interesting to see what charley thinks of the flavor! he's back eating with me tomorrow...

enjoy!

day 34 (part II) = biscuit like cookies



sarah:

i got hungry and needed something sweet. i have Jamie Oliver's "Jamie's Food Revolution" cookbook and so i grabbed that and attempted his cookies. i think i did something slightly incorrect because mine didn't brown around the edges even though i put it in the oven for more time then required. oh well, i tweaked the recipe a bit so maybe that was it. i still liked them. they are not buttery sweet cookies (even though there is a TON of butter in them), they are more like biscuit cookies.

here's what i did:

step 1: gather your ingredients

• 9 tbsp butter, softened (let sit out about 15 mins)
• 1/2 cup superfine sugar (bakers sugar)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 quick cook oatmeal (not instant)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2oz semi-sweet chocolate

step 2: whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and salt

step 3: beat egg with a fork

step 4: mix butter and sugar together. add egg. stir in oatmeal by hand

step 5: chop chocolate and hand stir into batter

step 6: preheat oven to 375 degrees and freeze batter for 15 mins to harden

step 7: roll into balls and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. cook for 10 mins. transfer to wire rack to cool completely and crisp up!

enjoy!

day 34 (part I) = jazz up your leftover papa john's pizza

sarah:
on sunday, charley and i woke-up and both hit our computers to watch intensely as our fantasy football players racked-up "points." if you are unfamiliar with fantasy football, you probably have 3 more years left on your life. check it out here if you are interested, but it's probably best if you don't get too attached...

anyway, we were lazy, and ordered Papa John's pizza. we got "the works", but it wasn't as good as i remembered. i made sure charley ordered the side of garlic sauce (yummy) and hot peppers. so tonight i wanted to finish up the leftovers, but really wasn't looking forward to it. then it came to me, jazz it up! here's what i did:

- put the pizza slices on a plate
- drizzle remaining garlic sauce overtop
- add cauliflower from day 33
- put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds on 50% power
- add the remaining hot peppers
- chow down!

(you'll notice the picture has a bite out of it and that's because i really wasn't intending to blog on this, but it tasted so good i couldn't resist).

jazz up your leftover pizza with any fridge leftovers and let me know how it goes. can't hurt!

enjoy!

day 33 = dinner for sarah

sarah:
i had to make dinner for myself tonight. so i went to the store totally unsure of what to buy, and decided i'd make something out of what i could find on sale. ribs and cauliflower it is! the beef ribs were $1.99/lb and the cauliflower was $1.00/lb. done. then i felt i needed some heat so i bought serrano peppers. here's what i did:

make the ribs:
1) turn the oven to 350
2) trim the beef ribs to get rid of the excess fat
3) sprinkle any combo of spices all over the ribs. i did 3 kinds:
        i. montreal steak seasoning, alaea salt & pepper
        ii. spanish paprika, alaea salt & pepper
        iii. curry powder, red pepper flakes, alaea salt & pepper
4) put in oven and cook for 1 hr
5) pull ribs out and baste with bbq sauce (i use jack daniels original)
6) return to oven and cook for another 1/2 hr

make the cauliflower:
1) heat a good amount of extra-virgin olive oil in a 4qt dutch oven on med heat
2) add chopped garlic and let infuse -- make sure it does not burn
3) add a chopped serrano pepper, stir
4) when the garlic is starting to turn color, add 1/4 large onion
5) add turmeric, oriental mustard, ground ginger, cumin, alaea salt & pepper
6) stir real good and let cook for about 7 mins
7) add cauliflower florets and 1/2 cup water, bring to boil
8) once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and let sit until ribs are ready!

make the peppers:
1) heat a good amount of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan on med heat
2) add chopped garlic and let infuse -- make sure it does not burn
3) add whole serrano peppers
4) add garlic powder and sea salt
5) let sit (do not stir) on low heat until on side begins to char
6) flip over and repeat on other side until ribs are ready!


well, i love peppers cooked in this way, but these were really hot! so hot in fact i am leaving them aside to chop up into smaller pieces for a later meal. the cauliflower also took on some of the intense heat, but it was fantastic! i couldn't believe how much i liked it. ribs are always a favorite of mine* -- and so easy!!

*my favorite way of making ribs is using chinese-five-spice, but these were descent also. i think i liked the curry powder ones the best.

in case you are wondering, i picked up the alaea (clay) salt at a local farmers market. it is supposed to keep the juices in your food. it's red so it also adds a little unique touch. have a look:

enjoy!