I am always looking for quick, yummy dishes I can make during the week after a long day. Eating a sandwich or cereal just isn’t an appealing dinner selection. I want a healthy, warm meal on cold winter days. I had been wanting to make a curry dish over rice, but felt overwhelmed by it since I don’t cook that type of food often. On Tuesday, my co-worker shared an easy recipe I felt comfortable making! I grabbed all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s on my way home from work and it turned out great! It only took about 10 minutes to prep and another 12 to cook it. The green curry is very mild and has a slightly sweet taste with just the tiniest bit of spice. The recipe below only fed 2 people, so certainly double it if you have more people to feed. I’m excited to try variations of this with different vegetables, meat and even yellow or red curry sauce. Enjoy!
What you need:
1 tablespoon olive oil (or whatever you have)
1 clove garlic finely diced
½ lb chicken thinly sliced
1 cup vegetables of your choice, fresh or frozen (I used a frozen stir fry mix of broccoli, carrots, onion, pea pods, baby corn, etc.)
¼ cup chopped onion (if it’s not already in your vegetable mix)
1 small jar green curry sauce (I used Trader Joes, but you could use whatever you want)
Cooked rice for serving
What you do:
Heat oil over medium heat and sauté diced garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute, do not burn!)
Add chicken and cook until done
Add vegetables & onion and cook until desired tenderness (I like mine until just warmed so they still have a little crunch)
Add desired amount of green curry sauce (I only used ½ the can so I could use it again in another dish)
When my mom let me know that a Minnesota native had a new show on the Food Network, I knew I had to tune in. I immediately started up the DVR and recorded her show. Amy Thielen has such a great demeanor and represents our state well. She seems humble and cooks with fresh, local ingredients which can be challenging at times when the snow flies. I was looking for a little inspiration for an appetizer to bring to a Octoberfest party I was attending. While surfing online for a recipe, I caught up on her show, America’s heartland. In the episode I was watching, she made this incredible looking Fried Onion Dip. That was all the inspiration I needed, onion dip seemed like a perfect appetizer for the party.
I doubled the ingredients below and started cooking. While frying the onions totally smoked out my house, it was worth it. The dip received rave reviews at the party and was gobbled up right away. It has a delicious rich, savory flavor and the onions are smokey and don’t overpower the dip. It was excellent and can even be made ahead and refrigerated! Enjoy.
1 medium sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rings
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon honey
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup dry vermouth or dry white wine
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives, plus more for garnish
Dash of cayenne pepper
Directions:
First, clarify the butter so that you can fry the onions at high heat and put a very dark, almost burnt crust on them. (Clarify butter: Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat until it foams and browns. Remove from the heat. Tilt the skillet and carefully spoon off the foam, saving it in a small bowl. Pour the clear butter into another bowl, and pour the dark dregs at the bottom of the skillet into the bowl with the foam. Add the clear butter to a larger heavy skillet. Discard the butter foam and dregs.)
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Fry the onions, flipping them now and then, until they’re dark on the edges, even black and crispy in spots, about 10 minutes.
Add the honey and garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the vermouth, bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Put the sour cream and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix with a rubber spatula until smooth. Finely chop the fried onions on a cutting board and add them, along with their pan juices, to the cream cheese mixture. Stir in the chives. Add the cayenne and season with salt.
Transfer to a small bowl and garnish with more chives.
When I planted my first garden in May, I never thought that 6 baby tomato plants would become monsters and produce enough tomatoes to practically open my own garden stand. While that may be a tiny exaggeration, I did get about 300 Roma tomatoes off those 6 plants (yes, I counted them). That means those tomatoes cost about $.016 / tomato! So much cheaper than buying them at the store.
Since I have canned tomatoes, ate my fair share of caprese salad, made salsa and marinara sauce, I figured I’d try something else this time. Insert, homemade Bloody Mary Mix! There isn’t anything more enjoyable on a Sunday than sitting down to relax with a Bloody Mary while watching the Vikings (lose usually) game with a Frenchie cuddling on my lap. If you load that bloody up with cheese, beef sticks, homemade pickles and olives, you are set!
This recipe required quite a bit of peeling and chopping, but it was well worth it. The Bloody Mary mix is loaded with fresh vegi’s, lower on sodium that a store bough mix and a healthy (O.K., healthier) way to have a cocktail. I used the below recipe, but did still add more spice (celery salt, tobacco, Worcestershire) when I made the actual Bloody Mary. It was delicious and made 3 quarts!
Enjoy!
What you need:
10 pounds tomatoes, cored removed & quartered
2 green peppers, seeds and ribs removed chopped
2 red peppers, seeds and ribs removed chopped
1 large sweet banana pepper, seeds removed, chopped
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, chopped (omit if you don’t want any heat)
Add a splash of water, cover the pot, and cook until the vegetables are mushy, 40 minutes or so.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Carefully puree the vegetables in a blender or food processor (you will need to do this in batches).
Press it through a fine sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible and tossing the pulp left behind.
Return all the extracted liquid to the pot. Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt, celery salt, pepper, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce.
Bring the mix to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
Pour it into a pitcher, chill it and use it right away.
OR….
Can it in quart jars for long-term storage.
Canning the Mix:
Sterilize 4 quart jars in the dishwasher or boiling water (it might only fill 3, but do an extra just in case).
Fill each of your warm, cleaned jars with the hot Bloody Mary mix, leaving a ½ inch head space (I like to use a measuring cup to scoop the liquid and a funnel to pour into).
Place new, clean seals on top and screw on the bands.
Gently place the full jars into the boiling water and process the jars for 40 minutes.
Carefully remove the jars and let them cool for storage (the lids should pop down which means they are sealed).
To make a Bloody Mary, fill a tall glass with ice, add 2 ounces vodka, top with Bloody Mary Mix and stir. If it’s not flavorful enough, add more spices to your liking. Top with a pickle, olive and any other fixings you like!
Isn’t it amazing that you can plant a $4 pack of tomatoes seedlings in the spring and get 100’s of vine fresh tomatoes a couple of months later? Garden fresh food is hands down the most amazing thing to cook with. You can take a stroll across your yard and pluck ripe vegetables & herbs right off the vine. And if you love to cook, with a small amount of patience and a little work you can turn a ripe tomato into homemade spaghetti sauce!
What you need:
20-24 large Roma tomatoes
4 large garlic gloves peeled and cut in ½
2 tablespoons tomatoes paste
3 large sprigs of fresh basil
EVOO
Salt & Pepper
Red pepper flakes if you like a little heat!
What you do:
Wash & remove the core from the tomatoes, set aside.
Bring large pot of water to a boil.
In small batches, drop the tomatoes into the water and boil until the skin starts to naturally peel.
Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and drop them into an ice bath.
Remove the skins from the tomatoes.
Repeat the above 2 steps until all tomatoes are peeled.
Crush the tomatoes using your hands until they are in small chunks.
Add EVOO to a large stockpot pan and sauté garlic for 30 seconds. Do not burn!
Add tomato paste and stir until combined, about 3 seconds.
Add tomatoes, fresh basil, pinch of sugar, red pepper flakes and season with salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes until reduced and sauce is thickened (make sure you boil the water out otherwise it’s really runny).
Remove basil stems and large chunks of garlic.
Optional: Let the sauce cool and puree in a food processor or blender if you like your sauce smoother vs. Chunky.
Even though I made a boat load of pesto and have been eating caprese salads several times per week, I still have basil coming out of my ears. I hate to waste any food, especially food I grew myself, so I have been searching for new things to try using basil.
When a neighbor came down and asked to use some basil, naturally, I was curious what she was using it for. What she said blew my mind. Basil simply syrup for watermelon cocktails! Being that it’s a holiday weekend, that sounded like a perfect way to use some of my basil.
This took only 10 minutes to make and tastes lovely! It’s obviously sweet with the sugar, but if you didn’t know it was basil, you’d have that “what do I taste?” thought. While I haven’t tried it in a drink yet (it is only 11am), I am excited to give it a whirl when guests arrive. I’ll likely add it to a vodka soda with lime, or even in a watermelon margarita. It would also be yummy drizzled over some fresh fruit or over vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
What you need:
1 Cup Water
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup loose packed basil
What you do:
Heat ingredients over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat, and allow to steep for about 15 minutes.
Strain syrup.
for about a week in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container.
While I haven’t been to any state fair other than the great Minnesota get together, I would be willing to make a wager that we have the best one in the country. You can get everything from Apple Pie to Walleye Cakes and all things in between. While they do have a few healthy options like fresh fruit on a stick, most things are deep-fried and I’d have it no other way. The Minnesota State Fair is he one time all year I can eat as much deep-fried food as I want and not feel too guilty. This year, I even had a mini donut beer brewed by Lift Bridge Brewing Company in Stillwater, Minnesota! Yes, I said a mini donut beer and it was deliciously rich with a touch of sweetness from its lovely sugared rim.
In order to make the most of our State Fair experience, my husband and I buy one of everything we want and split it. That way, we can sample more items. We also take lots of breaks in the shade to let the food settle 🙂 My favorite pit stop was Giggles Campfire Grill. They had a gorgeous new craft brew room with a cozy cabin feel showcasing large vaulted ceilings, cement floor and picnic tables. It even had a fireplace (not that you want that in the blazing heat but I’m sure its fabulous in the fall). The beer room had 20 beers on tap and a good selection of Minnesota wine’s. Grab a craft beer and a chicken fried bacon and you will be in heaven!
While I didn’t think we ate that much, by the time I left the fair I felt like total crap with all that salt and sugar rolling around in my belly. And when I look at the list below it’s a bit embarrassing. It sure tastes good at the time, but that salt and fat catches up with you quick in the hot sun. Next year, I might need to span shoving food in my mouth over 2 days verse eating everything at once. Or, I guess there is always eating less but that isn’t any fun.
Here is the embarrassing list of what we ate:
Breakfast sausage/pancake corn dog with maple syrup dipping sauce (new food this year and it was my favorite)
Green olives stuffed with cream cheese, breaded and deep-fried (new food this year and it was really good!)
Roasted corn on the cob
Sunny in a boat with lingonberry dipping sauce
Mini donut beer (this is a new item I was skeptical of but it was surprisingly yummy, even for a girl like me who doesn’t like beer that much).
Cheese Curds
Cheese on a stick
Sausage Sampler (they had a new bourbon-worst that was good)
Deep fried pickle sampler (the cream cheese stuffed ones are the best)
Fudge Puppy (I’m not a huge fan of sweets, but this is incredible!)
Do you remember when I planted my 1st garden? I doubted my green thumb, big time. However, thanks to the Miracle Grow Soil and some good sun and rain, my 1st garden is thriving. In fact, I have fresh basil coming out of my ears! I’ve been making 1 million caprese salads but wasn’t sure what else to do with it. In comes the pesto.
I haven’t been a huge fan of pesto in the past but I love basil so I wasn’t sure why. I think it is likely because a traditional basil is made with pine nuts. I’m not a huge fan. So, I figured I would substitute almonds for the pine nuts and see how I liked it.
I started with a small batch and loved it! I plan to make a boat load more and freeze the sauce in small enough portions (ice-cube trays perhaps?) that I can take one out at a time and use them for dinners during the week.
This time around I served it over a store-bought (gasp) gnocchi along side salmon and a caprese salad. It was divine!
What you need:
1 cup basil leaves (loose)
½ cup Toasted Almonds (I used slivers)
¾ cup EVOO (you can use more or less depending on how thick you want the pesto)
¼ cup parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon lemon juice (do this to taste)
Salt & Pepper to taste
What you do:
Lightly toast the almonds in a pan or oven
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add more oil if you want the pesto thinner.
Serve over any sort of pasta you like or even over fish!
Back in college, my friends and I would take trips to Mazatlan, Mexico. To say that we had a little fun is a bit of an understatement. We baked in the sun, talked to other college students from all across the U.S. and went to clubs I wouldn’t be caught dead in now. At the time, it was the best thing ever!
Believe it or not, one of the highlights I remember was a chicken tortilla soup served at a tiny corner restaurant. I feel like we went there almost every day for lunch. They would serve the soup with all the fixings on the side – avocado, crispy tortilla strips, cheese, etc. Once it was loaded up with the fixings, it was heaven in my mouth. The salty soup combined with the creamy cheese and crunch tortilla strips made my day.
Since 2002, I have been on the hunt for a recipe that did this soup justice. What I couldn’t put my finger on was what the broth was made of; chicken broth, onion broth, or something I had no clue about? The other thing that made it amazing was the crumbly cheese that melted just enough but still kept in tact when dropped into the soup. It wasn’t feta or goat cheese, but had a consistency similar to those if you mixed the two together.
After over 10 years of searching, I’m convinced I finally found a recipe that brings me back to those days. Once again, Food and Wine Magazine came through. I now know the broth is a chicken stock & tomato puree and the cheese is crumbled queso fresco found in the Mexican section at the grocery store. Duh. I can’t get over how similar this soup is to what we ordered in Mexico over 10 years ago. Now if I got some blue hair extensions and put on my backless shirt with hot pink shorts, I might think I was in Mexico while slurping on this soup. Oh the memories 🙂
4 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and coarsely chopped
8 cups chicken stock
Canola oil, for frying
6 corn tortillas, halved and thinly sliced
1 stick unsalted butter, diced
4 cups shredded chicken, from one 2 1/4-pound rotisserie chicken
Crumbled queso fresco, dried chile, avocado and cilantro leaves, for garnish
What you do:
In a saucepan, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and a generous pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, 8 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, chipotle chiles and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very soft, 30 minutes.
Roma Tomatoes
Chipotle
Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of canola oil. Add half of the tortilla strips and fry over moderate heat, stirring, until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the strips to paper towels. Season with salt. Repeat with the remaining strips.
Tortilla Strips and Queso Fresco
Carefully ladle half of the soup into a blender and add half of the butter. Puree until smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a large saucepan. Repeat with the remaining soup and butter.
Stir in the shredded chicken and gently reheat the soup. Season with salt.
Serve the soup in bowls, garnishing with queso fresco, chile, avocado, cilantro and tortilla strips.
Step one, application. We didn’t have a dang clue what it took to gain entry in 2010 when we applied, but obviously made an impression and got in. I think part of the “impression” we made was at the 2010 selection party. Some guy approached Erin and me while we admired our sketch on display among 425 others. Then he told us he was head of the selection committee for Red Bull. Erin proceeded to laugh at him and then accuse him of “hitting on us”. We later found out he was head of the selection committee. Luckily, we flirted our way out of that one. Entry gained.
Being that Flugtag is in Chicago this year (we live in Minnesota) and we won’t have the opportunity to laugh at, mock and save ourselves by flirting with the selection guy, we had to bring the heat in another way via the application process. So we took the same approach but kicked it up a notch and added a bit more humor.
In case you are wondering what it takes to get into Flugtag, I thought I would share our approach and application. First, you need a theme. Both years we searched high and low for a theme that hasn’t been done before and is something everyone knows (Jetsons, CaddyShack, etc.). Red Bull only requires you answer a few basic questions and submit a sketch online. They do imply other approaches (pictures, video, etc), but don’t require it. As in life if you half-ass your approach to things you want, you don’t get the results you want. Enter…creative writing and iMovie (thank you MacBook Pro!). We kept the application on the down low in case we didn’t’ get it. But, we got the call from Red Bull saying we were in and they loved our theme! And that folks, is how you get into Red Bull Flugtag!
Follow us along during our journey to launch September 21st. And if you have any wheels, chicken wire or fake fur lying around, we will take it!
Application Video:
Application:
What’s the concept behind your craft?
Caddyshack!! We searched high and low for a theme that would have mass crowd appeal and hasn’t been done before. We think we found that theme! Caddyshack the movie is incredibly popular and allows for us to build a giant, hilarious gopher to ride. Plus, we can create hot-sexy golf themed outfits and dance to a popular and catchy tune! We can build this bad ass ride using chicken wire, paper mache, wood, foam and hay (for the gophers fur spray painted brown)! It’s going to be hilarious and awesome rolled into one.
Why should we pick you?
For us, RedBull Flugtag is sheer entertainment and to provide that, you need adrenaline seeking people who are outgoing and willing to go above and beyond to amaze a crowd. We can do that. Last time around, we were delusional and thought we could fly. This time around, we are aiming for pure entertainment and best crash. In addition, we have an award-winning choreographer to give us the best dance you have seen. Last time around, we took the same approach and heard over and over “You had the best dance!”
We have known each other for a long time and know what it takes to build a sweet whip. We have the same team as 2010 and promise to be back in style, better than ever. Pick us again, and you will not be disappointed! It can’t hurt to have crafty Flugtag veterans who know what it takes to get the job done right??
OK, I’m not really a landscaping queen. In fact, I’m a total wanna be and a bit of a putz when it comes to growing anything. But, I’m learning! A couple of weeks back I planted my first garden and I’m proud to report that the plants have tripled in size. Yes, tripled! However, I can’t take credit. It’s all thanks to that dang mother nature. She has been a total basket case lately and hasn’t let up on the rain. Boooo. Hiiisssss. I guess the good news is that I haven’t had to water anything myself which is obviously why it’s doing so well.
After I planted my first garden, I got the itch to do something about the eye sore of a space by our shed. It had 4 sad-looking hostas which I had dropped into the ground and did nothing with. I literally dug holes in the grass and plopped them in. Totally trashy. So, instead of pouting about how it looked, I grabbed the hubby and headed to the Home Depot. We picked up some cute pavers and a couple of plants. I had leftover cedar chips at home so only had to spend about $50.
I tore up the grass, turned over the soil, laid the pavers, dug some holes and plopped in the new plants. I was even able to salvage 2 of the hostas and they are looking great.
Up next? Who knows. You will likely just see food blogs for the rest of the summer and maybe a post or two about my thriving (or dying) garden. Oh, and a BIG announcement about an upcoming event we are participating in next September. More to come!
P.S. When I used the word “putz”, I thought I had better Google it to ensure it meant what I was trying to say. Apparently it means “A stupid or worthless person.”. Totally cracked me up. Verdict was to leave it in the post 🙂
or cereal just isn’t an appealing dinner selection. I want a healthy, warm meal on cold winter days. I had been wanting to make a curry dish over rice, but felt overwhelmed by it since I don’t cook that type of food often. On Tuesday, my co-worker shared an easy recipe I felt comfortable making! I grabbed all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s on my way home from work and it turned out great! It only took about 10 minutes to prep and another 12 to cook it. The green curry is very mild and has a slightly sweet taste with just the tiniest bit of spice. The recipe below only fed 2 people, so certainly double it if you have more people to feed. I’m excited to try variations of this with different vegetables, meat and even yellow or red curry sauce. Enjoy!
Twincitieschick 