Fig and Goatcheese Pinwheels

Found HERE 

Ingredients

• 1 thawed sheet puff pastry (13.2 oz) - I use Jus-Rol brand and love it!
• ½ cup fig preserves 
• 4 oz log goat cheese, crumbed 
• 4-5 sprigs Fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar 
• 1 large egg, for egg wash

Instructions

1. Unroll the thawed puff pastry and place on parchment paper. Spread the fig preserves on top - making sure it’s evenly spread with about 1 inch or less of puff pastry still left untouched on the sides. 

2. Crumble the goat cheese evenly on top of the fig preserves. Add the brown sugar and fresh thyme, making sure it’s evenly spread.

3. Gently roll it up into a log, making sure the roll stays tight and nothing is spilling out as you go. Once rolled, I rolled up my parchment paper around it. 

4. Pop the roll in the freezer to chill for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

5. Once they have chilled, remove and spread out the parchment paper. Use a SHARP knife to slice them in ½ inch pinwheels. I found that wiping my knife after each cut was beneficial. 

6. Once sliced, spread them evenly out on the parchment paper on a large sheet pan. 

7. In a small bowl, beat one large egg to make an egg wash. Lightly brush the tops of the pastries with the egg wash.

8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastries are golden and flaky!

9. Garnish with sprinkles of additional brown sugar and thyme. Enjoy while warm!

Brussel Sprout Salad

 Bacon and Brussel Sprout Salad

salad

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

juice of one lemon

juice of one orange

2-3 tablespoons apple cider (not vinegar, just regular apple cider! for sweetness!)

1 shallot, minced

½ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

4 dozen brussels sprouts

1 cup almonds

6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Asiago or Gruyere are also good)

Directions:

Combine the lemon juice, orange juice, apple cider, and shallots in a small bowl. Add the olive oil in a steady stream and whisk for a minute or two, until it becomes creamy-looking.

Slice the brussels sprouts with a mandoline, taking care of your fingers! and slicing them as thin as possible. This works best when you hold the stem, slice from the top, and stop with a little bit left at the bottom, discarding the remaining bottom stem part since it's not very leafy anyway. The thinner the shreds, the better the salad!

Toss the shreds and loosen them with your fingers to they separate and fluff a little bit.

Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped.

Toss the brussels sprouts, almonds, bacon, cheese, and dressing together. Serve immediately or within a few hours of tossing.

Source: jamie kelving

Hasselbeck Sweet Potatoes

Yum, to the yum, to the yum yum yum. These are so fatty, and greasy, and yummy. Surprisingly sooo much flavor. A pretty simple and pretty dish if you have a mandolin. Just plan on a decent amount of cooking time (90 min!)

I would plan on 3-4 sweet potatoes. I bought 5 or 6, sliced them all up, and only used like half. I froze the other half for mashed potatoes sometime ???? I don't know if they will even freeze well. Anyway...

I love how pretty they are. Don't be afraid to get your hands messy (cause they will). I filled the cream mix up to half way up the pan, so mine had more liquid than her picture shows...


http://www.thebakerchick.com/2014/11/hasselbeck-sweet-potato/

ingredients

• 3 oz. finely grated cheddar or Gruyere cheese
• 3 oz. finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 5- 6 medium sweet potatoes*
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• butter for greasing the pan

Instruction

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Using a microplane or whatever else works for you, slice the potatoes to ⅛ inch thick. Soak in water until ready to use.
3. Combine the cheeses. Take about ⅓ out and set aside. To the rest of the cheese add the cream, garlic, rosemary, salt & pepper. Whisk together.
4. Drain & dry the potatoes and add them to the cheese/cream mixture. Make sure that each slice gets coated, using your hands to separate them.
5. Use the butter to grease a 9-inch skillet or other 2-3 quart sized pan. Grab a stack of the potato slices and arrange them vertically around the perimeter of the pan.
6. Continue, arranging the potatoes in the pan and then continuing onto the inside as well. Pour the remaining cream mixture over the potatoes, filling it about halfway up the side of the pan.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes uncovered. Finally, add the remaining cheese all over the top and bake for a final 30 minutes, or until super golden brown with the cheese crisp.

Green beans

This is my go to veggie.  We all eat these up.  Don't be shy with the butter ;).  Costco green beans are the best.  Thin and pre-trimmed for me.

Simple Skillet Green Beans

YIELD: SERVES 4-6

After trimming the ends of the green beans, you can cut them into 1- or 2-inch lengths, but I usually leave them long so I can maybe, hopefully teach my kids the importance of cutting up food on their plate before shoveling it into their mouths.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon oil or butter
• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
• 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

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1. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat the oil or butter over medium heat. Add the green beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, to crisp up the edges of the beans just slightly.
2. Pour in the broth and bring the beans/broth to a simmer. Cover the skillet and cook anywhere from 6-10 minutes, depending on how tender you like your green beans. Keep an eye on the skillet - if it is simmering too vigorously and the liquid evaporates out, add a bit more as needed.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Potato Salad

In my opinion, celery does not belong in potato salad. I also prefer sweet pickles to dill. (although I do love Kim's P salad too)

I use this recipe from Pioneer woman. I'm wishing the weather was warmer so I made this tonight and grilled burgers. Yum. Sometimes I even like to eat it a bit warm, I know that's weird. Maybe I just can't wait for it to chill.

This recipe makes a lot in my opinion, so I usually half it for our little family.

• 5 pounds Russet Potatoes (about 8 Medium Russets)
• 1-1/2 cup Real Mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)
• 4 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard (regular, Dijon Or A Mixture Of Both) I do half coarse ground, half regular yellow
• 5 whole Green Onions, Sliced Up To The Darkest Green Part I sub a bit of minced yellow if I don't have these in the fridge.
• 8 whole Small Sweet Pickles (may Use Dill If That's More Up Your Alley)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt (more To Taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika (or less)
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper (or less)
• 4 whole Hard Boiled Eggs (I like more. sometimes I almost double this)

Cut potatoes, then boil until fork tender. (make sure you salt the water) Drain. Mash potatoes or run them through a ricer or food mill to make them extra fluffy. (I cut them to the regular small size and boil them instead) Fold potatoes together with mayonnaise, mustard, green onions, salt, pepper, and other seasonings you like. Fold in pickles and eggs, then taste for seasonings, adding more salt, mustard, or mayo as needed. You may also splash in juice from the pickle jar if salad needs a little moisture.


Ps-I used this method to boil my eggs and they all peeled perfectly.

Bacon and Brussels Sprout Salad

Andy's sister has made this for me a couple times and I finally got the recipe. Whenever I make it, I eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

You will need a mandolin. Don't even try thinly slicing the sprouts yourself. They have to be shaved. I found this one for $10 on Amazon. The next day I saw it at Target for $20.

Recipe from HERE.

Bacon and Brussels Sprout Salad

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 8-10

 

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• juice of one lemon
• juice of one orange
  
  
• 2-3 tablespoons apple cider (not vinegar, just regular apple cider! for sweetness!)
• 1 shallot, minced
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

• 4 dozen brussels sprouts
• 1 cup almonds
• 6 slices cooked bacon, crumbled or chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (Asiago or Gruyere are also good)

Instructions

1. Combine the lemon juice, orange juice, apple cider, and shallots in a small bowl. Add the olive oil in a steady stream and whisk for a minute or two, until it becomes creamy-looking.
2. Slice the brussels sprouts with a mandoline, taking care of your fingers! and slicing them as thin as possible. This works best when you hold the stem, slice from the top, and stop with a little bit left at the bottom, discarding the remaining bottom stem part since it's not very leafy anyway. The thinner the shreds, the better the salad! Toss the shreds and loosen them with your fingers to they separate and fluff a little bit.
3. Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped.
4. Toss the brussels sprouts, almonds, bacon, cheese, and dressing together. Serve immediately or within a few hours of tossing.

crostini

I had this at an Italian restaurant here the other weekend and made it at home for dinner.

1. Slice baguette or french bread, spread butter on each slice, and broil in oven til golden brown.
2. Take a fresh garlic clove (nettie, you could skip this. and the restaurant had roasted garlic on it, but i ain't got time for that) and rub or scrape on crusty/toasty bread. This will give a light garlic flavor ... not too overpowering.
3. Spread a layer of goat cheese on bread.
4. Top with roasted red peppers and fresh basil.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Ta da! It's delicious.

Just wash the asparagus, wrap it up, grill it up. I'd say about ten minutes on the grill, low-medium heat. 

Ignore that charred sweet potato. 

Potato Salad

This is "Kim's" recipe we have floating around, but it looks like it's really "Catheryn's". Haha. Either way, it's yummy. 

Kim says she sometimes makes extra dressing to ensure the salad is creamy - not sticky. 

I  like to add chopped celery. 

Frozen peas are also an option. 

Cilantro Lime Dressing

I got this recipe from Andy's sister. I've tried her's, but haven't actually made it myself. I think it's yummy. It's pretty thick. She served it to put on a green salad and over black beans/corn mixture. I LOVED it on the black beans and corn. Very simple and easy peasy side dish. I'm not sure if she follows the recipe exactly or how much evoo she actually puts in it. I think she mentioned she puts a little bit of mayo in it too ?? Also, I really, really like Costco's canned corn (Kirkland brand). It's not frozen, Cottonwood Diary corn, but for being canned corn, it's really good. And better than any other store bought frozen corn too.

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup chobani 0% plain yogurt
• 1 avocado
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp sea salt

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
2. Continue to add olive oil 1 tbsp at a time as necessary to create a smooth finish.

sauteed sugar snap peas--easy side dish

thought I'd share a super easy side dish we like.  I love sugar snap peas raw, but sometimes with dinner you just feel like a warm veggie.  There's a restaurant Jeff and I used to eat at (cannot remember where), that always served sugar snap peas sautéed in butter and topped with salt and pepper.  They are really yummy, and take about 5 minutes.

Melt butter in pan (you really don't need much.  Last night I did a tsp, but it could've used less and still been good).  add peas (I'm lazy and don't wash them.  I know lots of people don't trust the pre washed veggies, but I don't ever feel like washing).  Toss them in and season with salt and pepper.  stir 3-5 minutes until they are bright green.  Should still be crunchy.

They are great.

Black Beans

Black Beans and Rice

Cook Time: 1 hr | Makes: *Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4-5 cups hot, cooked white or brown rice

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.

Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Source:http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/06/classic-and-simple-black-beans-

Kim made these while I was in Fallon. A good way to spice up your black beans. 

Guacamole Salad

I can never think of a vegetable to go with Mexican dishes, like when we have tacos or something. but I discovered this and really like it. I leave the beans out.


GUACAMOLE SALAD
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/05/guacamole-salad.html

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped (about 1/2-inch pieces)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup small diced red onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and diced (about 1/2-inch pieces)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well. This mixture can be refrigerated for 3-4 hours before serving.
2. Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste if needed, and serve at room temperature.

Mom's Red Potatoes and Peas

Boil and drain about 4-5 small/medium red potatoes

In a saucepan, make a rue -
3 T butter
add 2 T flour - let it cook in the butter for a minute or so
1 C milk
stir until thickened
salt and pepper to taste

Combine sauce and potatoes and add frozen peas

Remember this recipe? A favorite around red potato harvest season.

Mexican-style corn on the cob

This is a great recipe for having corn on the cob as a meal.


Step by step instructions:

1. Spread a thin layer of mayo on cooked corn.

2. Roll mayo covered corn in cotija cheese (or Kelli, you could use queso fresco but cotija is saltier, or Mary - parm). I used to just spoon it on the corn, but rolling it in it covers it better. I just crumble the cheese onto a plate for rolling.

3. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on the corn.

4. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper (or hot sauce).

 And devour.


Andy ate this every day on his mission. Took me a few years to believe that it was good. And it's delicious! On our honeymoon, the corn street vendor guy just rubbed a sliced of lime on the corn as the first step. I used to do this, but the lime juice would make it hard for the mayo to stick, so I just squeeze it on later.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

This is no original/earth shattering recipe, but since they were so good, I thought that by posting it here, you will be inspired and encouraged to try it :). We had these for Reese's birthday dinner.

I bought sweet potatoes thinking we would have them mashed with dinner, but just the thought of my stove/oven being on made me sweat. Since we were grilling everything else, I decided to try grilling these. It's my new favorite way to have sweet taters.

I just searched for a recipe and found one to help me out here. But here's mine because I didn't have all the spices it called for. I baked them instead of boil them to "parboil" them. I'm sure they would be good with just s&p too.

Here's what I did:

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

3 medium sweet potatoes (or however many you want)

1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp brown sugar
2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 c evoo

Start by slightly cooking sweet potatoes in the oven (ya, ya ... I defeated the purpose of grilling them to avoid using the stove, but it wasn't on for long so it was ok). I cut a "slit" in the middle of each potato to help with even cooking/softening. Place sweet potatoes in 400* oven. Cook until potato is softened, but not cooked the whole way through ... I honestly have no idea how long this took b/c I was busy doing other things. Maybe 15 min??

While potatoes are in the oven, mix the salt, spices, sugar, vinegar, and oil together in a small bowl.

Once the potatoes are softened, remove from oven. Peel potatoes and cut in 1/4 in slices. Brush both sides with spice mixture.

Grill until cooked through and have pretty grill marks.

Devour.

Some yummy recipes I've tried lately...

(sorry, I'm not giving each its own post)

Roasted Chickpeas  (here from Our Best Bites)
These remind me of corn nuts ... except way healthier and cheaper. Sammy and I gobbled them all down. Yummy snack.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse chickpeas and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the spices and the olive oil. Toss the chickpeas in the spice mixture and spread the seasoned chickpeas over a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven. Use a spatula to toss the chickpeas, then replace the pan and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until browned (but not burned) and crispy. Allow to cool. Snack away.

Bruschetta  (here from Pioneer Woman)
Entirely, completely delicious. Made it for Valentine's day as an appetizer (I know, so fancy) while I cooked the rest of the meal. The tomato mixture is good by itself, but once it's on the buttery baguette, HOLY MOLY! I loved it. I cooked the bread on a my grill pan. I so felt like Giada ... and was saying bruschetta with her Italian accent. I don't totally love fresh basil, so I went a little easy on it.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 pint Yellow Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 16 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)
• Salt And Pepper To Taste (don't Oversalt!)
• 1 whole Baguette
• 8 Tablespoons Butter

Preparation Instructions

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir, lightly frying for about a minute, removing before the garlic gets too brown (it can be golden.) Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
Add tomatoes, balsamic, basil, and salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine, then taste and add more basil if needed, and more salt if needed (don't oversalt, though!) Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have the time.
Cut the baguette into diagonal slices to allow for the most surface area possible. Melt half the butter in a large skillet and grill half the bread on both sides, making sure they're nice and buttery. Cook till golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the other half of the butter and the other half of the bread.
To serve, give the tomato mixture a final stir, the spoon generously over the slices of bread. Serve on a big platter as a first course or appetizer.

Chicken Salad (here on Cheeky Kitchen)
I gotta say, this is hands down my new favorite chicken salad. I saw a few people had this posted on Pinterest (no I don't have an account, but I like to snoop around once a month) and it looked so pretty, so I had to try it. I was skeptical since there isn't much to the salad, but no, no. It's delicious. I love that it's not super mayo-y/creamy. And eating it in an avocado --- little difficult and awkward, but the av is soooo good with it. Yum. I made this in like 2 seconds. Really easy. Oh my gosh, I'm still drooling over this. AND I added some sliced almonds instead of corn chips.

But hold on before you go make it --- it makes hardly any, so either make it for 2 people or double the recipe (or triple). 

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded
¼ cup corn
¼ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup tomatoes, diced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup corn chips, crushed
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt to taste
2-4 avocados, sliced in half with pits discarded

Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken breast, corn, black beans, green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and corn chips together. Add the vinegar and mayonnaise to mixture and toss to coat. Salt to taste. Spoon salad into halved avocados. Serve immediately with a spoon and fork. Enjoy!

 

Roasted Broccoli

2 bunches broccoli
olive oil
salt n pepper
4 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon
parmesan cheese

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.)

Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 425* for 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”
I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

recipe found here.

Sharley made this as a side for dinner, and I can't really remember what the main dish was...

The Best Cornbread

I found the recipe here. I tweaked it a little, but it's so good. The honey butter is delish too, but it makes tons! I would 1/2 or even 1/4 the recipe. I've undercooked this recipe so so many times, so make sure you bake it long enough. Just check it with a toothpick.

My Go-To Cornbread

Cornbread:
½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour
2/3 cup sugar (You could definitely do less if you want to)
1 tablespoon baking powder (I accidentally used soda once. bad news...)
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup milk

Honey Butter: (makes tons)
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

DIRECTIONS:
For the cornbread, add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (don't over mix!) (batter will be runny – don’t be alarmed!). Bake in an 8” square pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (I usually bake it for at least 40 minutes. Check it until a toothpick comes out clean). This doubles perfectly for a 9X13-inch pan.

For the honey butter, whip all together with an electric mixer and serve at room temperature (can be refrigerated and softened).