Lettuce Wraps January 28, 2012

Have you ever been to PF Changs?  I have been there a handful of times and was introduced to lettuce wraps oone of the first couples times I went.  They are so delicious and haven’t had them for soooo long until just last week, when I went to make them for myself after finding a recipe for them.  They turned out really good.  I made a few changes to my liking and I think they are even better.  This is a great appetizer to bring to a party or it even works as an entree for a lighter dinner/lunch.  It does call for a few ingredients that you may not have in your kitchen, but after making the Asian Slaw, I realized I had all those ingredients on hand now!  Can’t wait to see what else I can make with the Rice Vinegar and Seaseme Oil.  It’s been great to add a little Asian flare into my kitchen!

This recipe is a bit invovled.  You could definitly make the sauces and even cut up the meat/veggies a head of time to make it easier.

Lettuce Wraps

Dipping/Pouring Sauce

4 T sugar

1/2 cup hot water

3 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten free tamari

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup or canned tomato sauce

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Stir-Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar (not packed tightly)

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

(cornstarch and water to thicken – optional)

Stir-Fried Chicken

1 or less tablespoon nice dijon mustard

2 or less garlic cloves, minced (see instructions)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes

1 – 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained and minced

1/2 cup minced mushrooms (minced to the same size as the water chestnuts)

1/2 yellow onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 large leaves of iceberg lettuce (or romaine)

For the Pouring Sauce:

In a small saucepan, dissolve sugar in 1/2 cup hot water. Blend in soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and dark sesame oil. Mix well.  Optional:  Combine a bit of cornstarch with water and whisk with fork till smooth.  Add a little to the saucepan, whisking continuasly, until it thickens.  Set aside.

For the Stir-Fry Sauce:

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar. Mix well and set aside.

For the Stir-Fried Chicken:

In a wok or large frying pan over high heat, combine olive oil and sesame oil. Heat until it shimmers, about one minute. Add chicken chunks and stir fry until entirely cooked through, about five minutes. Remove from the chicken pan and allow to cool.  Pour the remaining juice out, no need to reserve.

Heat that same pan to med-high.  Add tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, wait one minute, and then add the garlic, onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, cooked chicken, and the stir-fry sauce.  Cook everything, stirring constantly, until the mushrooms have cooked through and are tender, about four minutes. Remove from pan and place in a serving dish.

Add a bit of dijon mustard and minced garlic to the pouring sauce to desired taste.

Serve the chicken mixture in the lettuce leaves and dip our pour the sauce over the top.

Recipe adopted from The Culinary Life

Kettle Corn! December 19, 2011

This was one of those spur of the moment recipes.  It was a Sunday night, hanging out with the fam and my bro, Tyler, waiting for the frozen pizza (yes I do pull out the prepared frozen pizzas occasionally!) to come out of the oven and my bro asks, “Can I have kettle corn?”  I hesitate a moment…and another moment or two, jump on the internet, find a recipe for kettle corn and respond back to him, “If you make it, you can have it.”  And so he went to it, with my help of pulling out the ingredients and supplies.  I will take the blame for the unpopped first batch.  Maybe I took the wrong pan out or told him to pour the kernels in before the oil was ready, so when he stareted the second batch, I SHUT MY MOUTH!  Which is hard for me to do while in the kitchen….SORRY sorry sorry to anyone I have pushed around in the kitchen.  I’m pretty good about keeping my mouth shut anywhere else, BUT the kitchen is my domain :)  So anyway, the second batch of kettle corn turned out beautifully!  Thank you Tyler for this idea, something I have never thought of making myself!

We started out with a recipe from Allrecipes.com and then I jumped onto Savory Sweet Life to get some tips for the second batch.  A few tips from a pro :)  1.  Use a pretty large pot to make room for the popped kernals, with a lid of course (and not a dutch oven).  2.  Heat the oil very hot (400 or so), if you think it’s hot enough, wait another couple minutes (test it by throwing 3 kernels in, when they pop, pour in the sugar, let melt a few seconds and add the remaining kernals.  3.  Shake shake shake!!!

Kettle Corn (I’d suggest reading the tips above before making.)

1/4 cup vegetable oil (can also use butter, shortening, etc.)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

3/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to b/t 300-400 degrees.  Add popcorn and sugar giving it a quick stir and then cover with lid.  Once popcorn starts popping, pick it up and give it a quick shake every few seconds until popping slows down, between 3-4 minutes.  Remove immediately from heat and transfer the popcorn immediatly into a large bowl.  Sprinkle with salt, serve and enjoy!

Recipe adopted from Allrecipes.com and Savory Sweet Life

I’d love to hear about your kettle corn experiences, or really any of your baking/cooking experiences!

Roasted Fajita-Spiced Chickpeas October 15, 2011

 This is a first for me.  Roasted chickpeas.  A really simple, healthy, crunchy snack.  Not sure how I came across Natural Noshings.  Probably just randomly ‘surfing’ the food world one day, but that is where I found this recipe.  It seems like you could really put any kind of seasonings you enjoy on these things.  I went by her recipe and made Roasted Fajita-Spiced Chickpeas.  I left out the cayenne pepper.  I also baked them a bit longer until, maybe 10 minutes or so, until they crunched all the way through the chickpea when I gave it a try.

Roasted Fajita-Spiced Chickpeas

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 Tbsp light tasting oil
1/2 tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, omit or reduce if you don’t like heat

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or foil.

Drain and rinse chickpeas in a colander.  Drain them well, shaking excess water let air dry or pat dry with towel.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine oil, salt, pepper and spices. Add chickpeas and toss to coat the chickpeas well.

Spread the chickpeas onto baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 40-50 minutes until crispy, shaking pan once or twice in the middle of cooking. Serve warm or let cool and enjoy!

Store in air-tight container once completely cooled.

Recipe from Natural Noshings

Peach Salsa Winner! October 8, 2011

Thanks to everyone for the comments.  Would love to hear from you more often!

So everybody knows, I used random.org to pick the winner of the Peach Salsa.  The winner is:

10. Jordan from Rhode Island

Congratulations Jordan!  If you could please e-mail me your home address to stacielk (at) gmail (dot) com, I will send the salsa on over to you.  I hope you enjoy!

Peach Salsa — AND MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!!! October 1, 2011

I canned some peach salsa last week and it turned out GREAT!  I love the sweetness of the peaches with the heat of the jalapenos.  The only thing I would change about this the next time I make it is to hold off with the cayenne pepper until it simmers for a while.  I’ll then taste it to see if it needs any more heat.  As mentioned before I don’t like a ton of heat in my food.  This salsa has a nice kick, probably perfect for most people, for me, just slightly too much, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to go to waste!  I’m sure I will be going through my cans quickly and wishing I made more as my cabinet sits empty of peach salsa in the middle of winter.

I found the recipe in a canning book called Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving I grabbed from the library one day.

Peach Salsa

1/2 cup white vinegar

6 cups chopped pitted peeled peaches

1 1/4 cups chopped red onion

4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup loosely packed finely chopped cilantro

2 T liquid honey

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

In large stainless steel sauce pan combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil over-medium-high heat, stirring contantly.  Reduce heat and b oil gently, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if nhecessary, by adding hot salsa.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 15 minutes.  Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Recipe from Ball COmplete Book of Home Preserving

And I didn’t forget about the giveway!  As you may not know, I get an average of about 100 views a day.  Not a ton, but enough for me.  I know there are a TON of food blogs out there.  Some MUCH better than mine some at the same level as mine :)  Anyway, looking at the 100 views, I don’t get very many comments, maybe 1 at the most lately…hmmm…not liking that so much.  I would LOVE to hear from you, meet those who read my blog (unles people get kicked to my blog by accident, so I don’t have as many readers as I think…)  So, if you would like to win a jar of this wonderful PEACH SALSA, leave a comment, say hi, tell me where you’re from, let me know how you found out about my blog.  If you don’t want to share too much info with me and just want to say “hi, I’d love to win a jar of salsa” that is fine too!  I’ll give ya a week!  Next Saturday, I’ll figure out how to randomly choose one of my lovely readers and post the winner.  Then all you’ll have to do is e-mail me your home address, if you’re ok with it, and I will mail you a FREE jar of Peach Salsa with NO shipping charge!  (And if you live close enough, I’ll personally deliver it.)  Can’t get better than that!  Can’t wait to see who wins!

If you win, here is one of my fav ways to use a fruit salsa, besides eating them on chips.  Fruit and Brie Quesadillas!

Pepper Jelly September 24, 2011

Ever heard of Pepper Jelly?  A friend recently brought this recipe to my attention and I couldn’t wait to try it.  I’m always looking for new appetizer ideas to bring places or just have in the house for unexpected guests.  This is perfect.  As long as you have package of cream cheese and crackers in the house along with a jar of this Pepper Jelly, you’re good to go!

How does it taste?  I was a bit hesitant as I was stirring, stirring, stirring the jelly until it came to a rolling boil.  I’m not a spice girl (neither part of the group nor one who likes real spicy foods).  After trying salsas/chilies around family members, my mouth can only handle a little spice.  And like I said, as I was stirring, and the cuts on my hands were starting to burn (NOTE:  do use gloves when cutting/de-seeding jalapenos…I learned the hard way!!!)  I was starting to think…what if this ends up to be too spicy for me…should I have used less jalapenos?  Well, there was only one way to find out, which was to finish stirring, stirring, stirring can the jelly and then give it a try!  So I finished it up, threw some in the fridge overnight and had a taste the next day.  SO glad I made this stuff!

I’ve noticed a very common use for Pepper Jelly (as mentioned above) is to pour it on a block of cream cheese (nuke the block if desired) and serve with crackers.  The coolness of the cream cheese complimented the jelly perfectly!  Not to spicy but had a touch of heat and of course had a nice sweetness to it also.  After all, it is considered a jelly and what is jelly without sugar.

Here are some other people’s comments on this Pepper Jelly Appetizer which I found off of Allrecipes.com:

“This was sooooooooooooo awesome. Hubby went crazy over it. We have served this with summer sausage as well, and the combination is outstanding. Definitely on my rotation list for appetizers.”

“A little unsure of combination but it turned out to be the HIT of the party. Many requested the simple recipe and will serve it again.”

“One of the easiest and tastiest appetizers. The sweet and spicy along with the cool and creamy cream cheese. Could eat and eat and eat!!! AMAZING!”

Does that convince you to give it a try?  If you’re wondering what else you could use some Pepper Jelly for, check some out here.  And let me know if you try any of the suggestions!  Would love to hear about it.

As for the pepper Jelly recipe, it originally came from Kraft Foods and, like I said, was brought to my attention from a friend who got introduced by it from her sister-in-law.  Isn’t it funny how great recipes are passed on from one person to another so easily!  I love it!  Anyway, enough of my blabbering.  Here is the recipe!

Pepper Jelly

2 medium red peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

2 medium  green peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

10 large jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 cup  cider vinegar

1 box SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

1/2 tsp.  butter or margarine (optional)

5 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl (See tip below.)

Bring boiling-water canner, half-full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain well before filling.

Place peppers in 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. Add vinegar. Stir in pectin. Add butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

Recipe from Kraft Foods

ENJOY!

What have I been up to… September 20, 2011

This past week or so I’ve been in the kitchen quite a bit.  The weather has been changing from hot 80-90 degree days into cooler fall-like weather.  I am sad to see summer leaving us so soon, as it does every year.  Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy fall a lot, leaving the grill covered more often (not my husbands preference but he deals with it) and making dinner inside more frequently, but I am just not ready for the snowy, icy weather.  I know, I’m sure that is months and months away yet, but still, fall is a sign of it approaching!  So, with celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of fall, I bring you:

Raspberry Margaritas

Super tasty and sweet.  Love it with strawberries or raspberries!

6 oz Tequila (I used a bit less)

2 oz Triple Sec

8 oz frozen raspberries, partly thawed

4 oz frozen lime aid concentrate

4-5 cups ice

sugar, to taste depending on the sweetness of the fruit.  I usually add 2-3 T.

Balsamic Chicken Sandwiches

I found this recipe in the Parade.  It is Jerry Seinfeld’s fav sandwich.  You can find the recipe here.  This one is good to, a nice change-up of recipes.

Homemade Pizza

Check out how I do it here.  I also threw some of my basil pesto on part of it.  My daughter loved that part as much as I did!

Pepper Jelly

You will have to visit again to get that recipe!

Homegrown Salsa

Tomatoes came fresh from my garden…the other ingredients…we’ll I’m going to keep those to myself because I make it the easy way, to my husband’s liking.

Crocheting…

You’ve probably noticed the random picture in my collage…that’s been in the making most of the summer, finally got it finished!  Never made a granny-square blanket until my sis-in-law brought this pattern to me so she could make it for her son who was actually born this past weekend!  She got her’s done the week before he came and I got mine done the day after.

Along with these recipes (and blanket), I made some Best Ever Oatmeal Cookies (except my cookies came out MUCH flatter than the ones in the picture if you follow the link, either way, they are tasty!) and some banana bread made with my FAVORITE banana bread recipe – super moist and tasty!  Looking back, I don’t think I ever shared that recipe for you.  I will have to do that soon!

Homemade Basil Pesto August 15, 2011

Wow, this pesto is amazing!!!  Thanks to my garden, which is producing a nice basil plant, I hope to make and freeze a ton of this stuff to be able to eat it through the winter, that is how good it is.

I made basil pesto a couple years back and I think I remember it being a bit too garlicky (prob my fault not the recipe).  I found this recipe in the June 2011 issue of Family Circle.  I bought the ingredients I didn’t have in the house, went to my garden to pick the basil and went to it.

Basil Pesto

1/2 cup pistachio nuts

2 cups fresh basil

1/2 cup spinach leaves (my addition)

2 garlic cloves

Process above for one minute.  Mix in:

1/2 cup olive oil (a little more if using spinach)

until incorporated.  Add:

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

3/4 tsp salt

Process until blended.

(Serving suggestion:  toss 1/2 cup pesto with 1 lb cooked spaghetti and 1/2 cup pasta water)

I first used the basil spread on some toasted bread and topped with fresh garden tomatoes and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.  So delicious that my 16-month old daughter climbed up onto my lap, took one bite and then ended up eating the rest of my lunch… :(  I’m totally serious, that’s exactly what happened, I tried to get a bite here and there when I could…besides being a cowgirl when she grows up, I think she may be a food snob too…I’d be ok with that :)

I then used it with some store-bought gnocchi and grilled chicken (thanks to my husband).  I must admit, I went to look for gnocchi recipes to make homemade but then chickened out when I saw some reviews and heard that it’s not the easiest thing to make…if you have an easy recipe that you’ve had success with, please share!  The Pesto Chicken Gnocchi was also delicious, but I’d have to say out of the two, the tomato basil on toast is the winner.  Mmmm…can’t wait to have it again!

Chipotle Corn Dip July 11, 2011

Need a quick appetizer?  Try this one.  It is delicious!  I really liked the sweetness of the corn with the heat from the sour cream and of course the cheesiness of it all.  And notice how much is left after a group of 7 adults got to it?  Not much…

Chipotle Corn Dip

1 pkg (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed (I used corn that we froze off the ears from last year, super sweet!)

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 cup Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese

1 Cup Breakstone’s Zesty Blend Jalapeno Sour Cream ( I used Chipotle b/c I couldn’t find the Jalapeno in the store)

Heat oven to 350

Combine ingredenets

Pour into a 9-inch pie plate

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until dip is heated through and slightly browned on top.

Recipe from Breakstone’s Zesty Blends Recipes and Ideas

Cheesy Pretzel Dipping Sauce September 10, 2010

Here’s the 2nd recipe I made from The Deen Bros. Cookbook — Recipes from the Road.  I had all the ingredients in the house and was wanting to make a cheese sauce to dip my soft pretzels in.  (I’ve made soft pretzels before, but bought a box from GFS a bit ago, a great quick snack for the family!)  I would use less cream cheese and sour cream next time.  I think it over-powered the cheddar cheese taste.  I also omitted the mustard and hot pepper sauce.  I’m not a huge fan of those ingredients, but last time I heated up some of the sauce to go with my pretzel, I added a bit of the pepper sauce and mustard and it added a nice tang.  I wouldn’t omit them the next time I make the sauce, one reason to follow a recipe to the T the first time you make it and the adjust after that.  Those ingredients I think helped bring out the cheddar flavor and lighten the cream cheese/sour cream flavor a bit.

Cheesy Pretzel Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup milk

2 T unsalted butter

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp prepared deli-style mustard

1/8 tsp bottled hot pepper sauce or more to taste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil; reduce heat.  Add cheddar cheese; whisk until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, mustard, and hot sauce; whisk until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer sauce to serving dish.  Serve sauce warm with pretzels.  If the sauce starts to cool and firm up, heat it in the microwave on low power, stirring frequently.

Recipe from The Deen Bros. Cookbook — Recipes from the Road