Thumbprint Holiday Cookies

Made from a box, but super cute, festive and yummy!!

Happy Holidays!

These owl cupcakes will make you swoon!

We had a Halloween bake contest at work and I got plenty of inspiration from Pinterest, and landed on making these precious little owl cupcakes. I think they turned out great, and they were a huge hit at the party!! They were super easy to make. I used Double Stufd Oreos for the eyes and Reeses Pieces for the iris and beak. And I used a butter knife to create the owl-like tufts with the frosting!

The best rice dish ever

If there is one recipe you MUST try from this blog, this is it!! I adapted my recipe from  Martha Stewart's, One-pot Curried Cauliflower Rice. Cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies, but I hardly eat it because the hubs despises it. One of his favorite foods is rice. Any type of rice, and he'll be happy. The beauty of this recipe is that I get cauliflower and he gets a yummy rice side - all in the same dish! It's easy, fun, and goes with any dinner.

via MarthaStewart.com

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

As much cauliflower as you want

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced small

1 cup basmati rice (uncooked)

2 teaspoons cumin powder*

1 tsp garlic pepper

1/2 can of chickpeas (or more if you want), rinsed and drained

About 1 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a pot** heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add cauliflower and cook, stirring frequently, until browned in spots. Transfer to a plate and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tsp oil and onion back to  pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 5 min. Add uncooked rice, cumin, garlic pepper, and chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 2 min. Add broth and cream and bring to a boil. Scatter cauliflower over top (do not stir to combine). Cover and bake until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. 

*The original recipe calls for curry powder, but I didn't have any. If you'd rather use curry seasonings, use instead of the cumin and garlic pepper.

**I used a large oven-safe saute pan, but in the future, I will probably try this recipe in my new Le Creuset dutch oven.

Makes 3-4 servings depending on the amount of cauliflower and chickpeas you use.

Shucking Corn with Ken

A local AG man teaches us how to shuck corn with ease (and quaintness!) And nearly 4 million hits on You Tube - he's famous! How cute is he?! I am definitely going to use this trick next time I buy corn on the cob!

Alien Onion

Look at the size of this onion we picked from our garden! I think we left it in the ground too long because it was oober slimy..ew.

A Growing Garden

When we moved into our house two years ago, the existing garden area was overgrown with weeds, the fence was falling down, and goat heads ruled the dirt. Last year, Steve cleared out the weeds, built a raised bed, and fixed the fencing to keep safe from the deer. This year, we (Steve) expanded the garden to three raised beds with room to grow. Steve has tweaked the garden with better drip systems, beer holders, climbing wires for the cucumbers and canteloupe, and a cute flower bed to add a touch of color. I wanted to share with you Steve's labor of love and how he got our garden to flourish so wonderfully. 

For the record, I do help! I assisted in attaching the climbing racks for the cucumbers (which is very important for space). I shoveled my share of donkey doo for the compost and I save all of the kitchen scraps to add to the compost bin. All of this, combined with store-bought soil makes for the perfect growing dirt. I also weeded the beds a few times in the early stages, and helped tie off rope to the tomato bed to hold up the growing branches (also very important...you want your tomato plants supported as much as possible!) But, best of all, I cook and prepare the veggies! Nom nom nom..

2010 - One lonely bed:

2011:

One bed for tomatos, one for various veggies, and one for cucumber and cantaloupe

BEST. LETTUCE. EVER.

Bell peppers

Proud papa and his tomatos (and beer shelf!)

 

Not your average banana bread

Like I mentioned before, I am always left with a few overripe bananas and looking for new ways to use them. This time, I wanted to do a simple banana bread again and recently came across a new recipe while following various Bachelorettes on Twitter. (See, I knew there was a good reason for my new twitter obsession. I seriously cannot stop reading about what former Bachelors and Bachelorettes are up to...it's sick really.)

Anyway, I am not even going to write out this recipe, because you can find it here: Ashley's World Famous Ball-Bustin' Banana Bread. I followed it exactly and this bread turned out SOO good. Best banana bread so far. It is moist but not oily. The most brilliant part of this recipe is how you separate the banana mash into one lumpy banana mix and one banana cream mix. That way, the banana is infused into the bread but you also get yummy lumps of bananas inside the bread. LOVE this!

Try it. Now. Go on! You won't be disappointed!

I even tweeted Ashley about trying her recipe and got this:

Whoo!

Cucumber Queen

Our cucumbers have gone mad this year. They took over the poor canteloupe, they outgrew the raised bed, and they are multiplying so quickly we can't keep up! There are bent ones, short and fat ones, long skinny ones, and giant ones...basically cucumbers growing on top of cucumbers on top of cucumbers! It's madness.

We've eaten so many cucumbers I am starting to get sick of them! I had to get real creative coming up with ways to serve up these babies and I thought I would share some ideas with you, in case you have a massive cucumber garden too!

Cucumber-Tomato Salad

This has been one of our faves lately. All you do is combine peeled and sliced cucumbers, slices of tomatoes (any kind, but the sweeter the better), a pinch of ground pepper and kosher salt, and your dressing of choice. I've used olive oil with balsamic vinegar, but my favorite is a local dressing/marinade called Carmen's Gorgonzola Thyme. I also crumble feta cheese on top. Steve prefers blue cheese but I say blech to that!

Tuna Salad with Cucumbers

This super simple recipe I found in my trusty cooking magazing, Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. Technically the recipe calls for celery, but I left that out and added carrots and radishes.

• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 3 tbls rice vinegar
• 1 tbls sugar
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch half moons (6 cups)
• 3 celery stalks (if you want them)
• 2 cans of solid white tune in water, drained and flaked
• coarse salt and ground pepper

In a medium bowl, stir together poppy seeds, vinegar, sugar, and oil. Add cucumbers, celery, and tuna. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate covered up to 1 day.

Cucumber and Radish Crostini

The perfect snack or appetizer. Also from Everyday Food.

In a medium bowl, toss together 1 cucumber, peeled and very thinly sliced (I used a the horizontal blade on my cheese grater), 5 radishes, also very thinly sliced, 1 tbls fresh lemon juice, and 2 tbls of olive oil. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Spoon onto 18 toasted baguette slices and top with shaved parmesan cheese. 

***

For more cucumber recipes, try Martha Stewart's Seasonal Produce Guide.

We also tried pickling cucumbers. We tried three different methods - only one of which worked. Let's just say we have 8 jars of pickles that are not edible. Long story, and deserves a whole separate post on pickling.

Stay tuned!

Bibimbap

When we flew to Japan for our honeymoon on Korean Air, we were served a wonderful Korean dish called Bibimbap. Bibimbap means "mixed meal" which is my favorite kind because it means I can avoid using every pan in the kitchen making cleanup a breeze.

So when I came across a recipe for bibimbap in my favorite Everyday Food mag, I squealed with delight! Not only is this recipe simple, it uses common ingredients and is super quick to make! I hate when I find a new recipe where I have to go to the store and buy a million new spices or sauces, don't you?

If you like Asian cuisine, you will love this dish. It's similar to stir-fry, with a twist!  Don't be scared and just try it!

Serves 4

total time: 45 minutes

• 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 5 oz baby spinach (5 cups)
• 2 1/4 tsp vegetable oil
• 3 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 garlic glove, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions (same as green onions if you aren't sure..I wasn't!), white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 3/4 pound of shiitake mushrooms, trimmed, thinly sliced (I guessed that "trimmed" means trimming off the stems??)
• 1 english cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks (I used 1 dwight ranch cucumber because we have a gajillion of them in our garden)
• 2 tbls soy sauce
• 4 large eggs (1 egg per person)
• 4 tsp toasted sesame oil 
• Sriracha sauce, for serving (I skipped this part because I didn't have any, but it's probably good!)

In a medium pot, cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, bring 2 cups water to a boil over high. Add spinach and cook, stirring constantly until wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain. When cool enough to handle, squeeze spinach dry with a paper towel. 

Wipe out skillet and heat 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil over medium-high. Add carrots and cook until crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Add garlic and scallion whites and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add mushrooms and cook 4 minutes. Add cucumber and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Add spinach and soy sauce and stir to combine. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and wipe out skillet.  (See, so quick!!)

Heat 3/4 teaspoon vegetable oil in skillet over medium-high. Add eggs, reduce heat to medium and cook until whites are set and yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes. (I cooked my eggs a bit longer because I don't really like runny eggs..)

Divide rice among four bowls and top with vegetable mix. Top with fried egg. Drizzle each with sesame oil and sprinkle with scallion greens. Serve with Sriracha.

Iowa Sweet Corn

Most of you who know me, know that I LOVE my veggies! But, my very favorite is corn on the cob. Remember that time my lovey bought me corn on the cob for our anniversary, and I was in high heaven?? Well that's how much I love corn!!!

I don't know about you, but when I think of Iowa, I think of CORN! I've never been to Iowa but I can imagine miles and miles of corn fields, playing hide-and-seek in between the rows, and enjoying crisp sweet corn on a warm summer day sitting on a screened-in porch with some sweet tea! Well, back in May, Steve's Aunt Margo and Uncle Pat took a road trip across the country from Iowa, touring National Parks, and we were lucky enough to have them spend a couple of nights with us! Pat raved about their sweet corn and described it as so tender and sweet that you can pull a cob right off of the stalk and eat it right then and there! Steve doesn't like corn (I know, crazy huh!) but he said the only corn he will eat is Iowa sweet corn. It MUST be good.

Well folks, today on our front porch was a package from Aunt Margo and Uncle Pat...and inside that box was a very special treat. You guessed it! A dozen sweet corn cobs, freshly picked on August 15th, yes TWO DAYS AGO, from Iowa!!! I can hardly contain myself!!!

I immediately de-husked them and oh my, they are gorgeous! I wrapped them in foil and put them on the BBQ for 20 minutes and OH MY GOSH, you wouldn't believe the delightfulness of this corn!!! Best. Corn. Ever. 

Banana Chocolate Cupcakes

I wanted to do something different with my over-ripe bananas besides make boring old banana bread, so I decided to go for banana chocolate cupcakes! I used a recipe from The Cupcake Project which also includes a home-made Macadamia nut butter frosting. I just used store bought cream-cheese frosting because I think its the yummiest frosting EVER. I also used semi-sweet baking chocolate instead of dark chocolate just because I already had it on hand. Next time, I think I will try the dark chocolate.

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 8 oz dark chocolate, melted

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream, flour, and baking soda. Add vanilla and mashed bananas. Stir in melted chocolate. (To melt chocolate, I used a pot of boiling water with a metal bowl sitting on top and let the chocolate slowly melt in the bowl).

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Cool completely before frosting.

Makes 18 regular or 36 mini cupcakes.

I also tried a new frosting method. Instead of just smoothing the frosting on with a knife or a spatula, I spooned the frosting inside a baggy and smooshed it all down to the bottom. I cut off the tip of one of the corners of the baggy and ta da! home-made icing bag! So I just slowly squeezed out the icing from the tip of the baggy and made a spiral pattern on the top of the cupcake. Pretty!

Black Bean and Rice Stuffed Peppers

Some of you have asked for my other stuffed pepper recipe and here it is! I prefer this recipe over the last one, but they are both delightful!

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup white rice, cooked
• 4 medium green onions sliced (1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbls vegetable oil
• 2 Tbls lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 large bell peppers cut lengthwise, seeds removed
• 1 roma tomato diced

Heat grill. Mix beans, rice, onions, cilantro, oil, lime juice, garlic and salt together. Fill peppers with mixture. Wrap each half in a piece of foil (stuffed side up, duh), making sealed packets. Allow a little space in the packet for circulation and expansion. 

Grill for 15-20 minutes or until peppers are tender. 

Grilled Salmon and Stuffed Bell Peppers

This dinner is mostly prepared on the BBQ which is a nice treat for a warm summer evening. It's also a little bit more time consuming than most of my dinners and also involved many ingredients which can be a bit overwhelming. But, don't worry - its totally worth it!

These recipes are from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine.

Grilled Salmon with Feta topping:

• feta crumbled
• fresh squeezed lemon juice
• fresh dill
• olive oil
• salmon fillets
• coarse salt and ground pepper

In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, dill, olive oil and feta. Gently mix and put in refrigerator.

Heat grill over medium high. Clean and lightly brush salmon with oil (I use PAM grilling spray). Brush salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap salmon in foil and place on grill about 6 minutes and flip for 6 more minutes. Check salmon - should be opaque.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers:

First of all, did you know Quinoa is pronounced, keen-wah? Yeah, me neither! Also, I halved the recipe below because I was only making this for S and I and didn't need 4 bell peps.

• 1 cup traditional Quinoa  (I used Trader Joes)
• 2 cups water
• 4 large green bell peppers
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1-28oz can tomatoes, coarsely diced, reserve juice
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1-12 oz jar Mexican salsa
• 2 Tbsp dry sherry
• 10 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cut bell peppers in half, lengthwise. Place in a BBQ safe baking dish. I used a small foil pan.

In a saute pan, saute onion and mushrooms in the butter. YUM! Add the diced tomatoes (reserve the juice). Add the crushed garlic and salsa. Cook over medium for 10 minutes. Add sherry and simmer for 10 more minutes. Fold in quinoa.

Fill peppers with quinoa mixture. This will use about half of the mix. Thin remainder with reserved tomato juice and pour around peppers. Sprinkle mozzarella over peppers. Bake (or grill) at 325 F for 30-35 minutes.

Plate the meal and put the feta over the top of the salmon! 

Summertime Dessert

This is my idea of a summertime dessert:

Rosemary On Demand

I planted a big rosemary bush on our back patio because I use rosemary often in all types of chicken and fish dishes and roasted  red potatoes are just not the same without rosemary! It's pretty easy to go out back and cut off a few sprigs when I need it, but what's even easier is having them on hand in the kitchen. So I clipped some pieces and put them into small bottles in my kitchen window. They are cute decorations and make it easier for me to remember to use my rosemary! 

Fish Tacos

The fish man at the grocery store convinced me to get a couple of Mahi fillets and said they were GREAT for fish tacos! I'd never cooked Mahi before but because it was Fish Friday (buy one get one free) I decided to go for it!!! And boy o boy I am glad I did. These are probably the best fish tacos I've ever had. The type of fish really makes a difference and Mahi is an excellent choice! I used a marinade recipe from a brochure at the seafood counter and made my own "slaw" topping and special sauce. You've gotta try this one!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• Mahi fillets
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Roasted red peppers - about 1 tablespoon chopped (from a jar)
• lime zest
• Iceberg lettuce
• Alfalfa sprouts
• Carrots
• Raddishes
• Avocado
• Raw red bell pepper
• corn tortillas

FISH: In a small bowl, combine oil, lime juice, cilantro, 1 tsp cumin, and chili powder. Place fish in shallow dish and pour marinade over fish. Let stand 30 minutes.

Remove fish from marinade and place fish on broiler pan sprayed iwth non-stick cooking spray. Broil 4 inches from heat until fish flakes easily. (Tip! While broiling, open oven to first notch (so it stays open by itself. This helps prevent fish from burning and smoking up the entire house but does not effect cooking.)

SAUCE:

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, more lime juice, more cilantro, remaining cumin, roasted red peppers, and lime zest and salt and pepper to taste.

SLAW:

I chopped up iceberg lettuce very finely and added alfafa sprouts, finely chopped carrots, radish, avocado, red bell pepper. Squeeze some lime over the top and add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Mix up gently as to not squash the avo and ta da!

Break up fish and divide among tortillas. Top with sauce and slaw and DEVOUR!

A Cookie Inside a Cookie!

Once again, I found a delightful recipe from my favorite food blog, Buns in my Oven, and put it to the test! The original recipe calls for regular chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Double Stuf Oreos, but I thought that might be a bit much, so I used the chocolate chip recipe sans chocolate chips and Single Stufd Oreos :) Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. These cookies were sooo freaking good. Especially warmed up. The next time you're in the mood for a whopper of a cookie, try these because they're easy to make and sure to satisfy your craving!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from Picky Palate

• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 package Oreo cookies – I used Double Stuf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes to make it easier to work with and to keep the dough from spreading when baking.

Using a cookie scoop place one scoop of dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place another single scoop on the bottom of the Oreo to create a cookie sandwich. Seal the edges together to completely close in the Oreo.

Place the balls of cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Pork Lettuce Wraps

I was going through my freezer trying to plan the week's dinners and found a butt-load of porkchops that I needed to use. I wanted to cook them all and then eat various pork dinners over the course of the week. So, I cooked the chops in a crock pot with an asian marinade and the first night we had pork chops, rice and applesauce. The next night I decided to get creative and use the asian marinade as inspiration to make pork lettuce wraps. I used P.F. Chang's chicken lettuce wraps as a guide (I mostly ignored the procedure but used the ingredients).

Crockpot Pork Chops (from Food.com recipe)

• 6 pork chops (1/2 inch-3/4 inch thick)
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 Tbls minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger (I didn't use this)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (I don't really like soy sauce so I only used 1/4 cup)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• black pepper
• I also added a couple of Tablespoons of honey and a splash of sesame oil

Mix all ingredients, put chops in slow cooker and pour mixture over chops. Put on the low setting and cook for 7 hours.

Lettuce Wraps:

• water chestnuts
• mushrooms (i used brown baby bellas)
• yellow onion
• minced garlic
• iceberg lettuce
• leftover pork  (After the pork was cooked in the crock pot, I shredded the leftover pork and let it sit in the leftover sauce in the fridge overnight

Lettuce Wrap Sauce:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbls soy sauce
• 2 Tbls rice wine vinegar
• 2 Tbls ketchup
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp sesame oil 
• 1 Tbls hot mustard (I just used a cheap dijon)

In a saute pan, heat up 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and then add minced water chestnuts, mushrooms, garlic and onions and saute. Add rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil (I used less soy sauce and more sesame oil), sugar, water, lemon juice, ketchup, and hot mustard to the pan and saute into the vegetables. 

Add the pork into the mixture and let absorb the flavors. 

I washed and set out the iceberg lettuce and shredded some carrots as a topping. Put the pork on a dish and serve family style!

Homemade gifts

Steve and I went to visit our friends in Santa Ynez a few weeks ago and I wanted to bring something that we could all share. Rather than the usual wine or beer, I decided to bake some breads! I wrapped them in some twine and made some cute tags with some craft stuff I had around the house. This idea really got me thinking how easy and fun it is to make home-made gifts! Not to mention it makes our house smell SO good!! So instead of the usual Christmas gifts this year, ya'll might be getting some baked goods!!

Valentines Day Cheesecake Bites

I found this lovely recipe at one of my favorite baking blogs, Buns In My Oven. They seemed like the perfect Valentine's Day treat for our work fundraiser to support the American Heart Association.

I followed the recipe exactly and these yummy morsels came out perfect! I used all three toppings; raspberry sauce, caramel, and Nutella.

Click here for recipe (and even prettier pictures!) or see below:

For the crust:
•2 cups Oreo crumbs (just crush the cookies, filling and all, in a food processor or blender
•4 tbsp butter, melted

For the topping:

•6 oz fresh raspberries
•2 tbsp sugar
•Nutella, chocolate, caramel topping (only if you want a variety of toppings, optional)

For the filling:

•2 lbs cream cheese (4 8oz packages), at room temperature

•1 1/2 cups sugar

•Pinch of salt

•1 tsp vanilla extract

•4 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Enlist your children to line the muffin pans with paper liners. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Stir together with a fork until the Oreo crumbs are moist. Spoon 1 tbsp of the crust into each paper liner. Press flat with the back of a spoon. Bake for 5 minutes to set the crust. Transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the topping, add the raspberries and sugar to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Press through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Set aside.

To make the filling, add the cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy on medium speed. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time beating until each is fully incorporated.

To assemble, add 3 tablespoons of filling to each cupcake liner/crust. Dot a 1/2 teaspoon of whichever filling you are using on to the batter 3 times. You should have 3 separate dots of filling, 1/2 teaspoon each. Use a toothpick to lightly swirl the filling in to the batter creating a pretty swirl. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans half way through. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill at least 4 hours before serving.

Yield: between 24 and 30 cupcakes