Mexican Rice

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My son orders rice and beans whenever we go to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. He eats the entire plate of it. I've been working on making a version at home for some time. It's taken a while to get it just right, you see, it can't be to spicy or too red, it needed to look and taste just like the ones at the restaurant minus the celery....he always picks that and whole piece of tomato out. Well after much trial and error I believe I've done it. It's delicious and goes amazingly well with this Carnitas recipe.

Mexican Rice

Inspired by: Ginger & Tricia

2 T. Canola oil

1/2 small onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

5 mini carrots finely diced

1 cup long grain white rice

3 T. tomato sauce +

Enough chicken stock to make 2 cups

Place 2 T. canola oil in sauce pan over medium heat, add onions and saute until translucent, add garlic and carrots. Stir until garlic is fragrant then add rice, stir and let rice become slightly toasted and fragrant. Put tomato sauce into the bottom of 2 cup measure then add enough chicken stock to make two cups. Pour liquid over rice and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat to low allow to cook through.

 

Click here for the printable.

 

Enjoy!

Ginger

Balsamic Vinaigrette

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Ladies, I  do have some opinions on some things, like Luna Bars are not lunch....a yogurt and some grapes, not lunch, fishy crackers and apple juice in a box, not lunch, the crusts of bread your children may leave behind at the table does NOT make lunch for you. Look at this beautiful salad, don't you just want to dive into it? It took me maybe 5 minutes to make OK maybe 8....and it was amazingly healthy and satisfying AND of course delicious. Food is fuel for our bodies and sometimes I think we don't consider that. We put ourselves last on the list; especially when there are little ones around. Maybe try this:  Decide today you are going to have a good lunch for a week and see how you feel about 4 pm....that good old witching hour.....you're counting the minutes until the hubby gets home so you can say "Tag, you're it! I'm out!" or your thinking, how much longer 'til bedtime??

I like to have a box of nicer greens in the frig.. They are prepped and ready to go, you can get them for $3.00 at the store and they will last close to a week for lunch. I also buy the cans of chicken from Costco open one and shred the chicken and put it in a plastic container, I use a little each day and it will last about a week. I also finally bought some good feta, like real Greek feta in a block. It is amazing, I am a total cheese girl, I really look forward to eating it each day. You can dice up a little at a time or dice the whole thing and put it in a plastic container to use as needed. I highly recommend trying real Greek feta sometime, it could change your world....I also love the little mini peppers. They are everywhere these days and super easy to handle. Not too many seeds. You can dice them up or slice them in rings like I did above. I also grated some zucchini on this salad, makes quick work of the zucchini and adds pretty colors and another texture. Buying shredded carrots also makes them easy to add to your salad. I also love snap peas, I was out today but they are usually on my salad. They key is to figure out what you love, prep it and have it ready and available.

The Balsamic dressing is super easy to make and will be a go to dressing for me from now on. Making your own dressing is always better than buying one. This one is a snap to make. The ingredients are definitely things I always have on hand, Dijon mustard, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and olive oil....that's it! A side note here, I think letting the garlic sit in the vinegar for a little while before adding the olive oil takes a little bit of the bite out of the garlic, I like that so I will do that when I can.

Think about the things you enjoy in your salad. Make it pretty, remember we eat with our eyes first. Go for lots of colors and some protein. I promise you'll be glad you did.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Inspired by: Epicurious

3 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar mustard, and garlic. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Click here for the printable.

Treat yourself this week and Enjoy!

Ginger

Ree's Chili

I made Ree's chili for the family last week....like I've said before the Pioneer Woman's show is a hit at our house. It was delicious, hearty, healthy, totally satisfying, and simple to make, what more can I ask for? I used Aleppo pepper instead of chili powder in mine and left out the cayenne. It had a nice heat to it, but was a little spicy for the kids. I think I will go with chili pepper next time. The shining star in this recipe is the masa harina however, wow, it just adds the corn flavor that sends the chili to the next level. I didn't think to check the bin food section at the store for the masa and bought the whole bag....I'm sure it will get used eventually. I may try and make homemade tortillas!  This chili will become a staple around here I'm sure.

Ree's Chili

Inspired by: Ree Drummond

1 lb. ground turkey (she uses beef)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce (she uses 8 oz.)

1 T. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

(1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper) didn't use

1/4  cup masa harina (corn flour)

1 15 oz. can kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can pinto beans drained and rinsed

Toppings:

shredded cheddar

sour cream

chopped onions, green, white, red, your choice

jalapenos

tortilla chips

lime wedges

Put the ground turkey in a large pot. Cook over medium heat until browned, add minced garlic. Continue to cook until garlic is fragrant. Add half the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, & (cayenne.) Stir together well, cover, and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about an hour stirring occasionally. Add more tomato sauce as needed to keep mixture moist.

After an hour, place the masa harina in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork. Add it to the chili, stir together well, taste and adjust seasonings. Depending on how thick/thin you like your chili add water or more masa/water combo to get the desired consistency. Add beans and simmer another 10 minutes.

Serve with your choice of toppings.

Click here for the printable.

Enjoy!

Ginger

Bran Muffins

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This recipe has been around for a LONG time. I remember eating a version of this when I was high school. What I love about this recipe is that you can personalize it to your families likes and that the batter keeps in the frig. for weeks. You can then just scoop out how many you need for the day and have a fresh hot muffin each morning! They are yummy and filling. This time I didn't put any "extras" in so the kids would eat them but you do what your family loves...

Bran Muffins:

Inspired by: Andrea Roelen

1 cup boiling water

1 cup Bran Buds

Pour water over bran and let cool

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

Combine and add to cooled bran and water

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups dry Bran Buds

Combine and add to above mixture. Then add dried fruits of choice, raisins, cherries, craisins, dates. apricots. Then add nuts of choice, pecans, walnuts, almonds.

Store in frig for 24 hours before baking.

Bake 25 min. at 350.

Click here for the printable.

Enjoy!

Steak & Lobster

My hairdresser calls me her steak and lobster client....I never really knew what she meant....until we went to the coast at Christmas to visit the in-laws. My mother in law, Sue, said she'd planned for a steak and lobster dinner. I was SO excited because I'd never eaten lobster much less cooked it. Sue said it would be all hands on deck because she had never made it before either. Sue, being Sue, had done her research though....love that woman! I said I wanted to see the lobster tails and she took me out to the freezer, pulled out the bag and I was aghast at the cost of 6 lobster tails! Things became clear with my hairdresser....Ha! I am here to report the lobster was amazing! And really not that difficult to prepare, once I got the hang of it.

Here are the tails all lined up ready to be prepped. We only made 4 because I knew the kids wouldn't touch it so why waste it on them.

The first step was to cut down the back. You then separate the shell from the meat, that was the most difficult part. But again, I got the hang of it on the third one...

Once you've separated the meat from the shell you pull it all out and press the shell back together underneath it. Then you make three cuts in the meat which makes it butterfly...

They are now ready for the oven. We brushed on a mixture of melted butter, a dash of garlic powder, paprika, & white pepper, and a squirt of lemon juice.

They go into a 450 degree oven, the time varies depending on the size of your lobster tail. Watch carefully so they don't burn. The flesh should become white and lovely looking. The tails were brushed again once in the oven. Yum, Yum, Yum!

All done! Don't they look gorgeous? Such a metaphor for life....we show our true colors when a little heat is applied.....or only after we go through the fire does our true beauty shine....shall I go on?

We had these Asian Snap Peas along side.....totally one of my favorite things to eat!

We also had flank steak along with our lobster. Dean cooked it up in the panini press which I thought was genius! Nice grill marks right? I'm not sure how he seasoned it but it was delicious.

If you get the chance to make lobster tails sometime go for it! They really are wonderful! Here is the website we used to walk us through our first lobster adventure:

http://www.lobsterhelp.com/butterflying-lobster-tails.html

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Enjoy!
Ginger

Sugar Cookies

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These cookies have been my signature Valentine treat for at least the last 4 years. I LOVE how they look and of course how they taste! Who doesn't like chocolate with their sugar cookie? My brother has wanted me to figure out a way to cover the whole cookie in chocolate, this year I finally did!

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Yesterday afternoon we spent knee deep in all kinds of cookie fun! These are all the sugar cookies lined up after being dunked in chocolate.

My faithful helper.

Seriously stuff was everywhere...

Not necessarily neat work this cookie decorating stuff! But we had a great time.....

LOTS of powdered sugar was used.....

These are all the Linzar heart cookies lined up...Aren't they so cute? I just had one after lunch today...Seriously delicious, you must try them!

This is the plate I took to the "office." Sugar cookies covered in ganache what's not to love. The ganache makes the cookies soft and wonderful...

These are the sugar cookies all lined up and ready to go in the oven. The little ones are great "one bites." The sugar cookie recipe comes from my cousin Julie's, friend's mom.... that was a mouthful. I think this recipe is easy and the cookies turn out great every time. The recipe taught me that when your cookie dough is too dry add a little milk and when your dough is too sticky, add more flour.

Several years back I gave the recipe to my friend Tammy over the phone. I believe she was driving somewhere and her mother was writing it down for her as she repeated what I told her. I apparently omitted the brown sugar by accident, she prefers the cookies that way now. They taste a little more short bread like that way.  Top them with  powdered sugar frosting and you sugar them right back up; they are delicious. Give these cookies a try, and play with the recipe a little. I'm sure you'll find a favorite way to make them.

This year they went up to the school like this. Kind of a sweet suprise!

Last year I sent them like this. No matter how you package them they are sure to be enjoyed!

Carol Brown's Sugar Cookies

Inspired by: Carol Brown & Julie Perez

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbs. milk

4 cups flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. Salt

Optional:

2 cups chocolate chips melted or chocolate of your choice...
whipping cream for ganache
2 1/2 cups chocolate chips for ganache

Cream butter & sugar. Add egg and mix. Add vanilla & milk, mix 'til cream. Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt.

Roll out on flour surface. Use cookie cutter to cut out dough. Place on baking sheet. Bake @ 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

Melting Chocolate:

Use a steam bath to melt chocolate chips or chocolate of your choice. A steam bath is a pan of simmering water, topped with a glass bowl. Then put chocolate in. Allow chocolate to melt slowly. Stir as needed until all chocolate is melted and smooth. Dip cookies and place on parchment paper to cool and set.

Chocolate Ganache:
Heat 1 cup whipping cream over medium high heat. Measure 2 1/2 cups chocolate chips into a separate bowl. When cream begins to boil pour over chocolate chips. Allow to stand for 10 minutes, do not stir it. After 10 minutes, stir with a whisk.

To top cookies: place parchment paper on a baking sheet, set cooling rack on top. Place cookies on cooling rack. Using a large spoon scoop out ganache and smooth it over cookies. Place in frig to set. The frosting will remain kinda sticky, but consider it finger licking good!

Click here for the printable.

Decorate them, dip them, cover them with love and share with your friends!

Enjoy!

Ginger

Linzar Heart Cookies

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These are the cutest cookies! I've wanted to try making these for  few years now and I'm in love! Sometimes I wonder about my mental stability when I've cleaned someones house all day, picked up the kids from school, taught a class at the YMCA, then home to feed the family get the homework done, why of course the next logical thing to do is roll out some cookies right??? And if rolling them out and baking them isn't enough I have to at least put a few together to see how the finished product will look and taste. It was about 9 pm when I took this photo which really doesn't do the cuteness of the cookie justice. I took these 3 to my friend Tammy the next day and she gave a GREAT reaction! That makes me happy. I am so happy to see other people enjoy what I've created, it's the best! Her girls gave the cookies two thumb's up as well.

Here they are all done. So cute!

My faithful helper......

She was in charge of the powdered sugar....

These cookies will be for teachers and staff up at the kid's school. I still have one more to make, I call it my signature cookie..I think this year I'm making more cookies for Valentines Day than I did for Christmas! Here you can see the cookies are a sandwich cookie with a jam filling. It's more like a tea cookie, not super sweet. I got the recipe from a Christmas edition of Martha Stewart Living. You could of course make these cookies for any occasion. I will say there are a few steps involved in making them but I do think they are worth it. Also, when I was getting the dough out of the mixing bowl I was doubtful as to whether it would roll out or not, it seemed a little too sticky. I actually added about 1/2 cup more flour...Once the dough was refrigerated it was very easy to work with. I made the dough the day before I needed it, I like to break up the work that way....Here is the recipe.

Linzer Hearts

Inspired by: Martha Stewart

1/2 cup hazelnut flour, (G- I could not find this so I used Almond meal flour, it was expensive, I might try to just replace with cake flour if you don't want to spend the money...BUT the flour does add a nice nuttiness. Bob's Red Mill is what I used.

2 1/2 cups cake flour, not self rising, divided (G- I used a little more flour 'cuz I thought the dough was too sticky. Like another 1/2 cup at the end.)

1 T. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

salt

1 cup pecans (4 oz.)

2 1/4 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 egg

flour for dusting the surface before you roll

Powdered sugar

Raspberry jam

1. Whisk together hazelnut flour, 2 cups cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl.

2. Pulse pecans and remaining 1/2 cup cake flour in a food processor until finely ground; add to bowl with the flour mixture.

3. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until combined. Divide dough in half, shape each half into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours. (G- I did overnight.)

4. Preheat oven to 325. Roll out each disk of dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out heart shapes. Use a smaller heart to make the "window frame."  Example: 3 inch heart cookie cutter, and a 1 1/2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter. (G- mine was not that precise, I just found a smaller heart cookie cutter that would work. Place cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment and refrigerate 20 minutes before baking.

5. Bake until pale gold, 13 to 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets set on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and let cool completely.

6. Dust cookie "frames" with powdered sugar. Spread 1/2 tsp. jam onto the center of each whole heart, the jam is the glue to keep the cookies together. Top with powdered sugar heart.

Click here for the printable.

Enjoy!

Ginger

Huevos!

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When we visited my mother-in-law after Christmas she made these for us one morning. This recipe is kind of a play on Huevos Rancheros and comes from a cookbook we both have called Specialties of the House. Hers of course, were much prettier than mine because she topped them with green onions, sour cream, and olives. I didn't happen to have any of that on hand.... I wish I would have taken a picture of them. BUT I couldn't stop thinking about what a great breakfast that was. I couldn't wait to make them at home and share it with you! With Valentine's Day around the corner they could be a fun little breakfast item for that special someone......

The trick to the tortilla's fitting nicely in the muffin tin is to make 4 cuts in the tortilla. Thanks Dean, for figuring that out!  The other trick is to NOT cut them too much so filling can ooze out and make them stick to the muffin tin....I cannot confirm nor deny whether that happened to me...

This is how they look once they've all been cut and place in the muffin tin. The muffin tin is one of the big ones, not the standard size...

Once the tortillas are in the muffin tin you put in some refried beans that have been mixed with taco sauce. I then put in some chorizo that I had cooked up, I LOVE chorizo! It's a Mexican flavored sausage that is slightly spicy, it brings me right back to my days growing up in California. Yum! Then you crack an egg on top of that. They bake in the oven for about 30 minutes...

When you pull them out you can put some cheese on top and salsa. Or anything else you think would be good. They make a nice hearty breakfast! You could serve fresh fruit or hash browns along side. They are great for company!

Huevos

Inspired by: Sue & Specialties of the House

6 small flour tortillas, fajita size (G- I used Ancient Grain ones)

2 T. melted butter

3 -6 T. Taco sauce

1 can refried beans

6 eggs

1/2 lb. Chorizo, cooked, optional

Toppings:

shredded cheddar

tomatoes

black olives

sour cream

green onions

salsa

Spray muffin tin with Pam. Cut 4 slits in tortilla as shown above. Fit tortilla into large muffin tin, brush with butter, inside and edges.

In a medium bowl combine the refried beans and taco sauce. Using enough taco sauce to make the beans easier to work with. Place a scoop of beans in the bottom of each muffin tin, like 1/4 cup. You will have some left over. Top beans with chorizo if you choose. Crack one egg on top of each.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until eggs are poached well. You may need to place a piece of foil over eggs if tortillas are getting too done and eggs are still runny. You want the white part of the egg to be set but the centers still runny.

Garnish with toppings of your choice!

 

Click here for the printable.

Enjoy!

Ginger

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Hearts

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I saw these floating around out there in the blog world and thought they might be fun to try this Valentine season. The recipe I saw said to use a Betty Crocker peanut butter cookie mix but I knew I had my cousin Jenny's peanut butter blossom cookie recipe and opted for that. We tried both Hershey chocolate hearts and Dove chocolate hearts, we agree Dove is better.

You put the chocolate on the cookie right when they come out of the oven. As I was moving mine off the cookie sheet I thought one heart looked like it need to be "pressed in" a little more; when I pushed it again all the melty chocolate came around the outside and I kinda liked that look so I did a double press on all my cookies...My thought in that was sometimes when you make these with the chocolate kiss, the kiss likes to come off the cookie, doing the double press secures the chocolate to the cookie a little better. However, if you like the look of the heart without the double press you can leave it.

This is also a great recipe to get the kids involved in! Unwrapping the chocolate hearts is a great job for them. We needed a few more than one bag had to offer, but just like 5....Another fun kid job is after the cookies are scooped they need to be rolled in sugar before being placed on the cookie sheet. Fun for the whole family!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Hearts

Inspired by: Jenny Steane

1/2 cup shortening (Crisco or 1/2 butter 1/2 Crisco)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling cookies in

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 bag Dove chocolate hearts, or two bags, but you will have left over, unwrapped and ready, do this before you put cookies in the oven.

Cream shortening and peanut butter. Add the sugars, egg and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, baking soda & salt. If dough seems a little dry add a little milk to bring the dough together.

Use a cookie scoop to shape cookies into balls. Roll balls in white sugar and place on baking sheet. Bake @ 375 for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and promptly place a chocolate heart in the center pressing firmly. The edges of the cookie will crack.

Transfer cookies to rack to cool.

Send them to school for your kids teacher, office staff,  & specialists, or bring them to the lunch room at the office. Or leave them on the door step of your neighbor with a nice note. Share them with your friends and family....anybody would be glad to get them!

 

Click here for the printable.

Enjoy!

Ginger

Superbowl

This is the kind of huddle I am familiar with. My son played flag football for the first time last spring. It was a hoot!

The coaches were a father & son team, Daryl and Austin. Daryl coaches for a local high school team and was absolutely amazing with the boys. Austin, had lots of energy and ran the boys like crazy every practice. I LOVED that they were laid back and wanted to make football fun for the boys.

My son had a fantastic season; we were on a team with a really neat group of parents!  The thing I love about this series of photos is the mouth guard..He's got the ball,  he's dodging the line man, he out runs him but out comes his mouth guard....no problem, I'll just stick it back in and.... TOUCHDOWN! He often ran up the sideline, that was kind of his signature move; my heart would soar each time I'd catch his eye as he ran with the ball and he'd smile like, I got this mom, no problem....to see your child's confidence grow, is there anything better? These years with the kids are so fun. And yes his mother could be heard on the side lines yelling, "Run like the wind!" ,

These are the cheerleaders we are used to...the girls had a great time cheering on their brothers. And even had some fun with the pyramids!

We are acutally more the college football type around here. Really the only team we watch regularly is my husband's alma mater Oregon State University. But I do love a good party and the commercials during the superbowl are usually quite entertaining. We will be gathering at my brother's house because he has the biggest TV!  Today, I thought I'd share some links to dips I've tried and thought were good and a couple I plan to use this weekend. Here you go:

Dips and things I've made and liked:
Zannies Black - Eyed Pea Dip, I have made this one for several gatherings, it is simple and delicious. It has been well received each time.

Jalapeno Popper dip, I brought this to a party last weekend and we loved it. All the flavors of a Jalapeno popper without the stomach ache of deep frying...

Roasted Red Pepper & Basil Dip, I also love this one especially with Pita chips.

Taco Stuffed Shells would also be amazing for Sunday's game.

Marlboro Man Sandwich, if you will have lots of men in the living room this is a touchdown everytime! I use about 1/2 the butter she does....


This dip I plan to make for the superbowl this weekend:
Cheese and Bean Dip, I love a good bean and cheese dip for the big game!

Thought this also looked good:
Hot Corn Dip I thought this looke delicious too....

Cheesy Roasted Red Pepper Dip, this too...

Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Ginger