Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Johnsonville Bratwurst BBQ Sandwiches

This was a super quick and easy meal that was put together in less than 20 minutes. We made it, then went to do errands and came back to dinner done!



Ingredients:

5 Johnsonville Bratwursts
1 Onion, sliced
1 cup of BBQ sauce
bread rolls

Directions:

1. Take the Bratwursts out of their casing by slicing them lengthwise.
2. Fry the bratwurst meat on a pan for about 4-5 minutes until done.
3. Transfer the meat into a slow cooker
4. Fry the onions.
5. Transfer onions into the slow cooker.
6. Add BBQ sauce to slow cooker
7. Set slow cooker on low or high (depending on when you plan on eating)
8. Serve with bread rolls

What we liked:

EASY

What we didn't like:

nothing, it was good

What Kaspian thought about it:

he did not notice this meal

Next time:

a side would be nice, such as coleslaw or a salad

Coffee Marinated Shish Kabobs

We saw a recipe for coffee marinated meat and we were intrigued. And then disappointed. Wine or vinegar or citrus recipes definitely make the meat more tender and delicious. While this was still good, it just wasn't as good as the other tried options.



Ingredients:

2 lbs of beef, cubed
about 2 cups of warm cofee
2 onions, sliced into circles or half circles
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a ziplock bag (put the meat and onions in first, then pour the coffee over). When cooled, move to the fridge for at least 4-6 hours.
2. Put meat onto skewers and grill to desired done-ness when ready. Grill the onions either directly on the grill or in a grill basket. 

What we liked:

It was definitely a new way to make meat that we liked trying.

What we didn't like:

The meat was a little chewy and not as soft as it would have been in other marinades. The issue may have been that we used a "light" roast coffee, which may not have been as effective as a darker roast.

What Kaspian thought about it:

This meal did not warrant his attention at all. 

Next time:

We probably wouldn't do this again. 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

We didn't mean to disappear for a while, but life kind of got hectic. Kaspian started school, we had a birthday party for Alona's dad, working on the Ruidoso house. We have been slightly too tired to do our regular updates to the blog. Hopefully, we can get back to keeping up with it.

So, we kind of cheated on the chocolate cake for the cupcakes as we used a mix and added chocolate chips to it. We had some strawberries and really wanted to make a strawberry frosting for the cupcakes. This turned out a little tricky as the strawberry puree changes the texture of the frosting and makes it not quite as "fluffy" and able to stand on its own. So, definitely refrigerate them after making to avoid the frosting getting droopy and liquidy. We also had some mint growing in our yard, so we decorated the cupcakes with some mint leaves. It added a nice touch of green color to the cupcakes.

Since we used a mix for the cupcake batter, we will only give the frosting recipe here.

The original recipe was from this website: http://www.thegourmetgourmand.com/2051-2/





Ingredients:

8 oz strawberries
2 tablespoons water (if needed)
½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature.
3 cups powdered sugar
mint leaves for decor

Directions:

1. Puree strawberries in the blender. If needed, add a few tablespoons of water to assist the puree. Our strawberries were very ripe and didn't need any water. We also use the nutri bullet to puree
2. Pour puree into a small saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture reduces and is about the texture of polenta/grits (takes about 6-7 minutes).
3. Pour puree through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids with a spatula, and into a bowl to cool. Puree will be thick.
4. Next, in a medium bowl, cream the butter with hand-mixer on medium, until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, until mixed.
5. Add 5 tablespoons of puree to the mixture. Mix well.
6. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes.

What we liked:

The frosting tasted delicious with the chocolate cupcakes!

What we didn't like:

The frosting melted at room temperature.

What Kaspian thought about it:

He really wanted some green frosting, but he was okay with strawberry. He mostly wanted to "save" his cupcake. 

Next time:

maybe less strawberry puree? Might want to try some strawberry syrup as well. 

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Poached Rum Cherry Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream

We have two pear trees in our back yard. One produced a really good, sweet, tender pear this year. This one we ate by itself. The other pear tree, produced  4 smaller, harder pears. These did not seem quite edible by themselves as they were very firm. We had to pick them as they were getting red/green and actually starting to fall off the tree. But what to make with them? We originally were looking for a baking recipe, but then opted for this one. This seemed like it was a better choice for the firmer pears as they were cut up. If we were to do it over again, we would actually cut it into smaller pieces so they would cook faster. The cooking time on the recipe says 35 minutes, but we probably cooked it for more than an hour until the firm pears were completely softened. With that being said, this was absolutely delicious over vanilla ice cream. We did not have any raisins, but had some dried cherries and those worked great as a substitute!

Poached Rum Cherry Pears with Vanilla Ice Cream

Cooked!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rum
4 firm pears, peeled, cored, and each cut into small, uniform pieces
1 cup water
1/3 cup dried cherries
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the pears are softened and a thick syrup is formed from the liquid.
2. Serve warm over vanilla ice cream.

What we liked:

This was a great use of our pears! It was delicious, though took longer to cook than anticipated. 

What we didn't like:

It took a long time - most likely due to the firmness of our pears though. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

It did not catch his fancy.... after all, there is no chocolate!

Next time:

A more ripe pear selection would create a faster dessert. 

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Italian Chicken, Green Beans and Potatoes

We saw this recipe a couple of weeks ago when hunting for a quick recipe to throw together. We ended up googling Chicken, Green Beans and Potatoes, as those were the ingredients we had and this recipe came up. However, we did not have the italian seasoning it called for at the time, so we couldn't make it right away. Now though, italian seasoning might be something we would just want to have on hand :) Or, we usually have the liquid version - maybe we could just use that to recreate. This was really really good. And sooo EASY. It took all of ten minutes to throw everything together, and that's with cutting the potatoes in half. Throw everything together, and bake for an hour! And, it looks great! We cut our chicken breasts in half to make the pieces all same sized. We also did not add any salt and pepper as we did not think the recipe needed it.

Here's the original recipe: http://www.graceandgoodeats.com/italian-chicken-green-beans-and-potatoes/

Served!

Out of the oven! 
Ready to bake!

Just the spices and butter needed!

Ingredients:

1 package frozen green beans
1.5 lbs of baby potatoes, cut in half
2-3 large chicken breasts, thawed or fresh
2 pkgs Italian dressing mix
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash the potatoes. Cut in half.
3. Line one side of a 9x13 baking dish with green beans and line the other with the potatoes.
4. Place the chicken breasts between the green beans and potatoes.
5. Cut the butter into approx. 1 tbsp squares and place evenly over the green beans, chicken, and potatoes.
6. Sprinkle entire dish with Italian seasoning.
7. Cover with foil and bake for one hour.

What we liked:

SOO EASY and good. 

What we didn't like:

Nothing it was really great. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked the potatoes. 

Next time:

No change needed

Shrimp and Snow Peas Stir Fry

This is a great, quick and easy stir fry. It is great with rice and while the rice cooked, the stir fry can be put together. You can vary this by adding whatever vegetables you have - we think most vegetables will work for this. Another thing that may have been fun to add is some water chestnuts - this would have added a satisfying crunch to the plate.
Here is the inspiration recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/shrimp-asparagus-stir-fry

Served

Stir Fry 

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked white rice
3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup vertically sliced onion
1 cup thinly sliced bell pepper
1 cup snow peas
1 cup unsalted chicken stock

Directions:

1. Cook rice in a rice cooker

2. Combine soy sauce and crushed red pepper in a bowl. Stir in cornstarch with a whisk until smooth.

3. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; swirl to coat. Add ginger, shrimp, and garlic; stir-fry 3 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from pan. Return pan to high heat; add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add onion, bell pepper, and snow peas; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture, stock, and 1/2 cup water to pan; bring to a boil. Stir in shrimp mixture and basil; cook 1 minute. Serve with farro.

What we liked:

Easy, quick and delicious!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it was great

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was more into his chicken nuggets. 

Next time:

No Change :) 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This soup is perfect for the colder weather. The best potatoes for this are golden yukon potatoes, but this particular time we just made it with russets and it still came out super delicious. The recipe is a little bit time consuming, but oh so worth it for the yummy bowl at the end. We also acquired some home made bacon from our local farmers market to use in this recipe, so we had less than what it called for but the flavor was unbeatable. Chives, sour cream, and bacon are a must to top off the bowl for the very tasty combination.

Baked Potato Soup


Almost done!

Ingredients:

8 oz bacon (more or less, depending on how you like it)
1 onion, finely chopped
5 large potatoes, cubed
4 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
half a bunch of sliced green onions, divided
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
sour cream for garnish

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and set on paper towels. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon grease form the pot.
2. Cook the onions in the remaining bacon grease until tender, about 5 minutes
3. Add potatoes and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
4. With a slotted spoon, remove about a bowlful of potatoes. Mash with a fork and set aside.
5. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for two minutes. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Slowly stir into the stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer. Stir in the mashed potatoes.
6. Add 3/4 cup of cheese,3/4 of the bacon, and half the sliced green onions into the pot. Add pepper and stir to combine. Cook for an additional five minutes.
7. To serve, put soup into bowls and top with sour cream, cheese, bacon, and green onions. 

What we liked:

The flavor of this soup!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, it's delicious. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was more into alternate food options at the time. 

Next time:

No changes necessary