Cheryl's Corn Dip

Here's another wonderful recipe from my aunt-in-law.
She made this delicious dip for my husband and I as part of our rehearsal dinner.  It's simple and delicious, great for a game day treat!

Corn Dip

Ingredients

• 3 (11 oz) cans Mexican corn -drained
• 4 oz can diced chilies
• 3/4 cup mayo
• 5 green onions chopped
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 jalapeno pepper chopped (or from a jar)
• 10 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1. Combine and chill.
2. Serve with tortilla chips.
3. Enjoy!

Fall is Here! Split Pea Soup!

Fall has always been on of my favorite times of year.  I love the beautiful colors, I loved heading back to school (this is the first fall since I was 2 that I haven't had school!), and I loved the warm filling fall foods!

One of my favorite fall foods is split pea soup.  When I was young I remember asking my mom what was for dinner one night.  Her answer was "split pea soup."  Joyfully I ran towards the kitchen as I screamed "Hooray!  Slit-see-poop!" and promptly slipped and displeasure behind the couch.  My mother, hearing my strange exclamation looked to see me and couldn't find me anywhere.   When I told my husband, he found my clumsiness hilarious, and slit-see-poop has been our family pet name for this warm favorite ever since!

So here is my recipe for one of my fall favorites.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped

3-4 carrots, sliced

3-4 stalks of celery, sliced

2 potatoes, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 pounds dried split peas, washed and sorted

16 cups of water

salt and pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. cumin

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a stock pot.  Add onions, carrots, garlic, and celery and saute until onions are soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, keeping the lid on the pot.  Cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas and vegetables are quite soft.  Remove lid and let some of the water evaporate until it looks creamy like a typical pea soup.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Note: Don't be skimpy on the salt.  Both the peas and the potatoes with absorb the salt.  Add enough that it tastes good.  I probably added about a Tablespoon.
3. Serve with warm bread or cornbread.
4. Enjoy!

Note:  This recipe can be adapted to make curried split pea soup be omitting the bay leaves and other spices and adding 1 Tbsp. of curry powder.  This is also delicious!

Spice Challenge

I am often mocked for my immense spice cabinet.  Besides the cupboard full of my favorite seasonings, I have a counter top spice rack, and a few pots of fresh herbs.  However, this is never enough for me.  My husband laughs and his wallet groans every time I head for the baking and spice section in our local store.  Spices bring flavor and life to food.  Even simple ingredients come together to form an exciting culinary experience when spices are added.

My love affair with spices began as a young child.  I would often sneak into the kitchen and spend my time tasting and smelling my mom's various spices.  She'd laugh when she caught me with a palm full of cumin or a pinch of celery salt, stopping me quickly before I poured the cayenne pepper directly on to my tongue.  Through this experimentation I learned seasonings and I learned to play around with flavor, adding one for more zest and another for a stronger base, finding balance with food.  I am still finding new ways to mix my favorites every day.

My challenge to you is to learn your spice cabinet.  Spend time smelling and tasting the herbs and spices you have.  Research common uses for the ones you have never used, and go buy a new one.  Try to create your own taco seasoning or mix in some fun into that canned spaghetti sauce or soup.

Just maybe you'll discover a new favorite... but please, don't eat a mouthful of cayenne pepper.

Enjoy!

Kalua and Cabbage

I married into a Hawaiian family.  Ok, now those of you who know me will look at my blond haired, blue eyed, pale husband and say "No way, Rachel!"  But it's true!  Though the family may not be Hawaiian by blood, it is deeply ingrained in their family culture.  Along with this culture comes the food.  Kalua pig, poi, lomi lomi salmon, fresh pineapple, and lots of steamed rice grace the table at family gatherings, and I was quickly informed that I would need to learn some Hawaiian dishes.

By far, my husband's favorite is Kalua and Cabbage.  This salty dish is his constant request for special dinners, and I make it whenever I want to surprise him.  It is fairly simple and does not take much skill, just some time.  I will offer two different methods, one from my mother in law, and one from my husband's aunt.

Kalua Cabbage - Oven Method

Ingredients

• Pork Roast (shoulder, butt, or possibly loin, but I'd stick with one of the first two)
• Rock Salt 
• Liquid Smoke Seasoning
• Soy Sauce
• Cabbage, shredded (Chinese or simple green cabbage, I prefer the first)

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
2. Cut shallow slashes in the roast to create a diamond pattern on the top and bottom of the roast and place on a few large pieces of aluminum foil.  Pour on some liquid smoke and rock salt, rubbing to coat.  Wrap the roast in the foil sealing tightly.
3. Place the foil package on a broiling pan in the oven.  Fill the bottom of the broiling pan with water and replace as it cooks.
4. Cook 5 hours or until the meat shreds easily with a fork.  (Will vary based on size.)
5. Shred the meat with two forks and toss with a few tablespoons of soy sauce and your shredded cabbage in a wok until the cabbage wilts.

Kalua Cabbage- Crock Pot Method

Ingredients are the same as those listed above with the addition of chicken broth.

1.  Cut shallow slashed in roast in a diamond pattern and rub with rock salt and smoke seasoning.

2.  Place in a crock pot with about 2 inches of chicken broth.  

3.  Roast overnight or for the day (will probably take about 6 hours on high) until it shreds with a fork.

4.  Shred and follow instruction #5 from above.

5 Enjoy!  Great over rice and with some fresh pineapple and Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

So this is another of the recipes I made over a year ago for a French final.  Poulet avec quarant gous d'ail.  Now I know my grandmother and my French teacher are going to cringe at my attempts at French spelling, alas, c'est la vie!

This is entirely from memory of a dish I made only once over a year ago.  I'm not sure why I haven't repeated it, it was amazing!  I have received a request for it however, and wanted to post it.  Maybe I'll make it sometime this week... hmm.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Ingredients

• Whole Chicken quartered and separated into pieces - many grocery stores sell them this way
• 4 heads of garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bouquet garni - this is a bunch of herbs tied together with cooking twine, don't worry if you don't have twine, just bunch together: parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.  You can also add sage and rosemary if you want to play with the taste
• celery stalks
• salt
• pepper
• pastry crust- either buy a pre-made crust from the store or make a basic one with flour, oil, salt and water.  It does not have to be perfect!  The crust is used as a cooking tool, not as part of the meal.  It can also be forgotten if you are cooking in a Dutch over or some stoneware with a lid to seal in the juices.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a casserole dish or Dutch oven arrange bouquet garni in the center with the celery stalks.
3. Toss chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, arrange around the garni.
4. Remove the loose hulls from the garlic and separate the cloves.  They do NOT need to be peeled as they will roast in their shells and can then be spread on fresh bread as a side for the chicken.
5. Tuck the cloves in around the chicken.
6. Cover the casserole with the crust if using, sealing the edges.  Do NOT vent the crust, it is being used to seal in moisture.  If you chose to forego the crust and use a lid, simply place the lid on your dish and place it in the oven.
7. Bake for an hour and a half.
8. Serve warm and break crust at the table.  It will smell amazing!
9. Enjoy!

Serve this with a vegetable side and fresh French Bread to eat with the roast garlic!

I hope you enjoy this dish, it was very popular with my French class.  I did get an A on that final! 

Meal Planning Challenge!

My husband and I are getting ready to move.

This means battening down the hatches, using up leftovers, and looking to reduce the amount of stuff we own down as little as possible - including our food!

Check out all of our boxes.  

So for these last couple of weeks I have challenged myself to get rid of as much of our food supply as humanly possible and to try to prepare all of our dinners with NO trips to the grocery store.  You heard me, I said NONE!

It came to mind that perhaps this is a good ritual for many people to go through.  It can reduce your food budget for a week, teach thrift skills, encourage you to try new recipes, and teach you to be less wasteful.  And... maybe I'm just a masochist, but I found it rather fun!

The Empty Your Cupboards Challenge!

Steps

• Inventory all of your food right down to the last bottle of ketchup.  Yes this takes time, yes it is a little annoying, but it will help you reduce waste and make it easier for you to plan.  Also, take this time to empty your cupboards, fridge, and freezer of all expired and old food.
• Prepare a Meal Planning Sheet.  This does not have to be pretty, or organized in any specific way. Simply write down the days you want to cover with this meal plan and leave space to write in your menu.  See mine below.

Not pretty, but it works.  See my calculations?  Hint: Do not try to multiply past midnight, it does not go well...

• Find Main Dish Ingredients on your Inventory.  Get creative with this.  Main dishes are not just meat!  Think outside the meat and carbs box.  Think of all of those things you intended to use for something or other and then never did.  Now Circle Them!
• Start with foods with a close expiration.  I had most of a rotisserie chicken left in my fridge.  Wonderful, but it needed to be used quickly!  Therefore the first few meals on my list involved this item.  First, I de-boned and shredded it all.  Half became terriyaki chicken.  They other half was seasoned to make chicken tacos.
• Look to the Freezer.  Freezer items should be used up second as they won't expire as quickly but are very difficult to transport during a move without going bad.  I had a lot of frozen veggies and some chicken nuggets.  
• Examine Your Cans.  These are the last items that need to go.  They can be transported pretty easily but also will not expire and can go to a food bank if not used up.  I had some black beans, tomato sauce, and a few other goodies.
• Check it Off!  As you figure out each meal, go through your inventory and check of every ingredient you will use.  For example I plan to make falafel in a few days.  This uses bulgar wheat, chickpeas, tahini, my remaining lime, leftover hummus, yeast, flour, and oil for the homemade pitas, and oil for frying the patties.  As I grabbed the recipe I checked all of the ingredients off of my list.  
• Make a Scramble.  On the last day of your meal plan, especially if your goal is to use it all, make a scramble.  This takes remaining ingredients such as potatoes, lunch meat, and frozen veggies and turns it into a meal.  To do this:  Toss everything you think will be good with eggs in a pan with a little oil, heat, beat your remaining eggs (I suggest 6-9) and add them to the mix, stir gently till cooked through.  Enjoy!  My scramble will have prosciutto, frozen hash brown potatoes, and leftover frozen veggies.
• Eat your Goodies!  We all have that bag of marshmallows, half a thing of sorbet, a bottle of wine that we have been saving for the right time.  Well this is it!  Use them!  But in moderation.  Share with your family members and friends, and if you overindulge, start packing some boxes to work up a sweat!
• Enjoy!  Even though you are being frugal, make delicious food when you can.  Our meal plan involves Terriyaki chicken, chicken tacos, carrot soup, sausage, kale and potato soup, gyros, pancakes and lots of our favorites.  It doesn't have to be bland just because you are using up leftovers.  Get creative and make it good.  If you have any questions on how to use something please make a comment, I relish a challenge!

Ok so I will go to the store before I leave, but only for a few staples like bread and milk which my husband lives on.  Other than that, I think it will be a successful experiment!  I'll post pictures of whatever is left at the end, and I hope that it isn't much!

Quick Crock Pot Tacos

Some days I am just too busy to cook, that is why I love my crock pot!  I use it for soup, chili, chicken, beef, and lots of random things.  Today I would like to share a quick post about one of the easiest and most delicious crock pot meals I love to throw together.  No prep, no mess, and a delicious dinner waiting when you get home!

Crock Pot Tacos


Ingredients:

• Beef roast of some sort
• 1 package taco seasoning (or see below to make your own)
• 1 jar of salsa

Instructions:

1. Place your roast in the crock pot.
2. Dump other ingredients on top.
3. Cook for 6-8 hours on high until tender (if you'll be gone longer turn it on a lower setting to avoid overcooking).
4. Shred and ...
5. Enjoy!

We eat this in tortillas often with some beans, avocado and other taco toppings.  It is so good!  Great for potlucks too!

Make your own Taco Seasoning:

Mix together:

• 2 T. cumin
• 1 t. Paprika
• 2 t. chili powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1 1/2 t. onion and garlic powder
• 1/2-1 t. cayenne pepper (the more you add the spicier it gets)

You can play around with this.  Sometimes I add cilantro, cinnamon, or coriander.  It is interesting to see what happens when you mix in flavors usually associated with sweets like cinnamon.  Have fun cooking, this is a great one to task your non-cooking family members with.  It is easy, and as long as they remember to plug in the crock pot and turn it on, they can't mess it up!