Red Pepper Sauce

Roasted red peppers..... mmmm. So yeah make a pasta sauce out of them and you have heaven in your mouth. Adapted from Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients 
3 whole Red Bell Peppers 
2Tbsp Pine Nuts 
2Tbsp Olive Oil 
1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced 
2 cloves Garlic, Minced 
1/2c Heavy Cream 
Flat Leaf Parsley, Finely Minced 
Fresh Parmesan, Shaved Or Grated 
1 package Pasta: Orecchiette, or Penne

Method
Roast red peppers, and then place in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then removed seeds. Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet. Puree peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of garlic salt.
Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, and then stir together.
Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and shaved Parmesan.

Sushi Bowl

Sushi can be hard, So I created a great way for moms to make the dish without the roll. Its really easy and super fun. We call it cartoon Sushi!

Ingredients
Cooked sushi rice
Matchstick carrots
Matchstick cucumbers
Avocado sliced
(Optional) Cooked Crab Meat
Pickled Ginger
Wasabi
Soy Sauce

Method

 Use rice and press in bowl leaving a space in the middle for your veggies

 Add one at a time Cucumber...Avocado...

 Carrot...

 Optional Crab...

Add some pickled ginger and wasabi and you have Easy Sushi for dinner!

Pretzles

I made these because I wanted a stellar after school snack, That they were! I made a nacho cheese and they were just what we needed. I found this recipe from Alton Brown. Good stuff!

 Ingredients
1 1/2c warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1tbsp sugar
2tsp kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2c all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10cwater
2/3c baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Method
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450°. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Filipino Chicken Adobo

So I hate to say I don't like types of food but really I have tried a lot of Filipino food and I really don't like it, I mean who puts beans and corn in their slushy drinks(HALO-HALO)? And Spam, no thanks! but really I'm not slamming it really I'm not, its just not what I'm after. There is one special dish aside from the delicious Lumpia that I will praise and that is Chicken Adobo. The recipe is amazing with under 10 simple ingredients its done and good.

Ingredients 
1  whole chicken in pieces

1c soy sauce 
1/2c white or rice vinegar 
1tbsp. chopped garlic 
2 bay leaves 
1/2tsp. pepper 
1c water 
1 1/2c coconut milk

Cooked white rice

Method
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, water, and half the coconut milk in a covered skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the chicken in one layer. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, turning a few times, until the chicken is almost done, about 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 450°. You can also cook this on a grill or under a broiler as well. Remove the chicken pieces from the liquid, dry them gently with paper towels and place in a dish. Don’t discard the sauce. Roast the chicken until brown and crisp and hot, about 15 minutes While the chicken is cooking, add the rest of the coconut milk to the sauce in the pan and boil over high heat until sauce is thick and reduced to about 1 cup. Discard the bay leaves and keep warm until chicken is ready. Serve with rice and top with  sauce.

Pancakes

 I really have a love for pancakes and quite honestly I will eat them anywhere anyhow. So the only thing I can say about this recipe is its from scratch and its super duper exceptional! I really like simplicity in the morning, as I am not a morning individual. So I created this wonderful pancake mix. A mix will make 6 batches of pancakes.

Ingredients for 1 batch
1c Flour
2tbsp sugar
2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1c milk
2tbsp melted butter
1 egg
1tbsp vegetable oil

Method
Mix dry ingredients. Add the egg, milk butter and oil and mix until well combined. On a hot oiled skillet, or griddle  pour desired size pancakes and cook until the bubbles formed all pop. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden on both sides.

For 6 batch mix
6c flour
3/4c sugar
1/4  c baking powder
3tsp salt

Keep dry mix labeled in a container or zip lock bag.
When you measure mix measure out 1c dry mix, and add 1c milk, 2tbsp melted butter 1 egg 1tsp veg oil for 1 batch.

Enchilada Sauce

Enchilada's mmmmmm. So I always get them, for the last 20 years since tho moment I first tried them, in some restaurant in eastern Colorado sometime when I was young. As I started cooking I dabbled in making my own enchilada sauce and damn its good! So good that I have become disenchanted with enchiladas elsewhere. So here is what I recommend. Make like triple the recipe and freeze the rest so you have it on hand! Brilliant like opening up a can. its so worth it to make extra so easy yummy meals are within a 10 min reach.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup chili powder
2 cups chicken stock
10 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1tsp  chipotle seasoning
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder, and chipotle and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. Serve on your favorite enchiladas.

Tomato Bisque

 For years I have watched people eat tomato soup from a can. It sickened me. They open this familiar red can and pour milk on it. Not my idea of a good meal. I would guess its the easy that they seek, this instant comfort food, tomato soup and grilled cheese. From a can not. I remember when Safeway came out with the Safeway Select Tomato Bisque. It is wonderful. But it is made with chicken stock, so as a vegetarian I had to find this bliss 100% vegetarian. So I made my own. It was better then the store. It is pretty simple and a instant gratification of comfort.

Ingredients
2tbsp butter
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1onion
1 clove of garlic
2c cherry or grape tomatoes
olive oil
32oz vegetable or chicken stock 
2 sprigs fresh basil leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1c cream
Garlic Salt & P

Method
In a medium saute pan saute your celery, carrots, garlic, and onion with the butter until softened and a little browned. 

 In the meantime roast your tomatoes with olive oil in a 350°oven for 15-20 min until well  cooked add the tomatoes and olive oil to the sauteed veggies.

Let the veggies simmer with the tomatoes and then add your spices, bay leaf and  vegetable stock. Cook to simmer. If you like a little bite add a tsp of cayenne pepper flakes, to make it a little spicy.

 

Remove the bay leaf, then use an electric blender or hand held to puree your soup to a smooth blend.

 Add cream and check spices to your taste. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, or grilled cheese croutons!