GHSS: French Onion Spaghetti Pie

When I first flipped through this book, I just knew I would never make this recipe. I like spaghetti the way I like spaghetti and I didn't feel like I needed to try it any other way. All of that changed when Collin asked if I would stop making Salmon for a while...which is what I was going to make for dinner... and I realized that I already have most of the ingredients needed for this recipe.

The ingredient I didn't have? White wine. Why? Cause I drank it earlier in the week. Thanks mom, for giving me one of your bottles.

Now I'm just going to come right out and say that while this recipe wasn't the worst thing I've ever made, I will not ever make it again and the leftovers will likely make it into the trash. It was just very bland. I had to add a fuck ton of crushed red pepper to make it through the dish and I wish I would have added bacon. You also need about 3 mixing bowls and a pot in addition to your skillet. It's exhausting just writing all of that out. So many dishes for a not-so-great reward.

You also need 1 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese which, aside from being hella expensive, added zero flavor. I honestly wish I would have used pepper jack or something with a little more oomph to it.

The real winner here was the breadcrumb topping. That shit was legit.

Whole

It did slice quite nicely

Nice and Sturdy

I won't post the recipe because I really don't think it's worth it, but if you would like to give it a shot and see if you can make it work holler at me. I'll send it your way. 

Next stop is the meatloaf train...tonight!

GHSS: Crispy Sesame Pork

It's obviously no secret that I love cooking. I love reading, making my own notes on, and modifying, each recipe...it's pure relaxation. That being said, it's not often that I come across a recipe that is out of this world delicious. Let's be serious here, most cookbook recipes range from "okay" to "pretty good" when prepared exactly how the recipe states.

Well my friends (sisters), this one is an out of this world delicious recipe. So delicious, in fact, that I could barely hear Calvin's complaints about the "weird sauce" and his requests to "rinse off the lettuce" over the flavor packed rave that was dancing across my taste buds.

This is basically a salad. You cook the pork and cut it up and toss it with a spring mix and drizzle a soy/brown sugar reduction on top. I figured it would be mediocre at best. Boy, was I wrong. Like. I don't want to brush my teeth because it was SO good. Disgusting, I know, but I really don't know how else to get my point across.

The only modifications I did to this recipe were:

1) I seasoned the pork with salt and pepper
2) I seasoned the panko/sesame seed mixture
3) I added a little water to the sauce to thin it out a little (it thickened upon standing)

There is really nothing else to say except that if you make this your life will be better. It's that good. Facts.

Sauce on

Sauce off

Recipe:

3 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs brown sugar (I eyeballed this)

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (I used about 1/2 cup)
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 large egg
4 thin boneless pork chops
3 tbs canola oil

1 container (5 oz) spring mix
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup shredded carrots (I used 2)

1) In a small saucepan, mix soy sauce and brown sugar until blended. Simmer for 2 minutes; cool.
2) On a plate combine the breadcrumbs and the sesame seeds (season this). In a shallow bowl, beat the egg. Dip the pork in egg and then coat with crumb mixture, pressing firmly so mixture adheres.
3) In 12 inch skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Add pork; fry for 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels and cut into cubes.
4) In a large bowl, toss the spring mix with the tomatoes and carrots. Add pork and the sauce.

Prepare to be amazed.

GHSS: Pepper Jack Quinoa

Once upon a time I decided to make black bean and quinoa burgers. While the name itself should have been my first red flag, the other should have been when the recipe told me that 1/4 cup of quinoa needed 2 cups of liquid. Yes, you read that right. I remember wondering where the hell that recipe was going and eventually decided (even though every part of my brain was fighting me) to take the plunge and do it their way. Cut to me ruining a dish towel trying to ring out the black bean and quinoa soup that I was left with.

After that I got smart and bought some cheese cloth for emergencies like that one. That was probably 2 years ago and I haven't used it since. Until today.

When I first read this recipe and found out that it called for 1 cup of quinoa and 4 cups of water, I almost closed the book and ended it all. But then I had a bottle of wine and decided to, again, trust the author of the cookbook.

For this particular recipe, you cook the quinoa in the 4 cups of water and then add broccoli toward the end of the cooking time. Ok, now that makes sense. You gotta have room for the broccoli to cook. At least there was a reason for this insanity. Here's where the cheese cloth came in. I know damn well that all of my colanders have holes that are way too big. Cooked or not, I'd lose some of that quinoa to my garbage disposal. Quick fix: loosely hang some cheesecloth over the colander and drain. It also makes it easy to squeeze the excess water out... OR just cook the quinoa with 2 cups of water and the broccoli separately.

Look at that y'all. I'm evolving. 

While the quinoa was doing it's thing, I prepped the rest of the dish. In a bowl you toss spinach, salt and pepper, garlic, and sour cream. What I didn't know is that I only had a few sad little dollops of sour cream left in the container. This was actually the best possible scenario because I discovered something amazing. In my refrigerator I had about half a jar of Prego alfredo sauce leftover from a casserole I made a few nights back. Now normally I would never entertain the idea of jarred alfredo sauce, because I make such a killer one from scratch, but sometimes you just want to live life without having to wash 2 extra dishes. Anyway the whole point is that I used the leftover sauce in place of the sour cream and it really gave this dish an extra punch. 

Look at the creaminess of that spinach mix

This dish was amazing. Technically, this is supposed to be served as a main dish (it's actually in the section titled "Meatless Mains") but I baked some chicken to go with it. 

Hello to the extra cup of cheese that I added

Recipe:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

8 oz broccoli florets

4 cups packed baby spinach

1/2 cup light sour cream (or just dump in some jarred alfredo sauce)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp salt (I added more)

1/2 tsp pepper (I added way more)

4 oz (1 cup) pepper jack cheese, shredded (I used 2 cups)

1) In a 5 qt saucepot, heat quinoa and 4 cups water to boiling over high heat. Cook as label directs. Add the broccoli to the pot 5 minutes before the end of cooking time. 

2) Drain quinoa mixture well; transfer to a large bowl.

3) Add spinach, sour cream, garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine.

4) Preheat broiler on high. Broil for 3 minutes or until cheese is melty and toasty.

GHSS: Moroccan Olive & Orange Chicken

There are a lot of things in this world that I love. Champagne, chips and salsa, lipstick, singing, my children...just to name a few. One thing that you might not know is that I love olives. I like to nestle in with a bowl of olives and little pickles and just go to town. It's a comfort thing, I think, dating back to my childhood Thanksgivings when my sister Suzy and I would scarf down an entire tray of pickles and olives that my mother meant to be appetizers. I love traditions.

So of course, when I saw the word "olive" I stopped immediately and declared that this would be my next recipe. I also really love cooking meat with fruit, something Collin never even knew about until he met me and he asked what the hell I was doing pairing apples and pork together. And he thinks *I'm* the crazy one.

So I gathered all of the ingredients and got to chopping.

Alright now looking back I would do a few things differently. I would definitely throw the chicken in some kind of orange juice marinade the night before and I would absolutely spice the flour. Salt and pepper can only carry you so far and it fell short here. The chicken itself was, you guessed it, a little bland but the olive and onion saved it as long as you ate all 3 in the same bite. I was a little disappointed in the sauce and I was kicking myself for not placing the orange slices on top of the chicken as it simmered. CUMIN. That's what it was missing. It just came to me. And now my tongue is doing that thing that tongues do like when you're thinking about eating a lemon jolly rancher.

It just looked so pretty

This looks scrumptious as hell.

I paired this with a spinach and tomato salad. I've been really into those lately.

RECIPE:

4 chicken breast cutlets about 4 oz each (I had some that were over 4 oz and it all worked out)

1/4 tsp salt (who even measures this out)

1/4 tsp pepper (seriously, who?)

1/4 cup flour (you'll love yourself if you spice this)

3 tbs Olive Oil

1 red onion, sliced

2 navel oranges (I used the kid's oranges cause that's what I had)

1/2 cup green olives

Rice Pilaf, for serving

Parsley, for garnish (I forgot this part)

1) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper then dredge each cutlet in flour.

2) In a 12 inch skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cool until it's done, turning once - about 6 minutes total. Transfer it to a plate.

3) Reduce the heat to medium; add onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Squeeze the juice from the oranges into the skillet and add a few orange slices. Add olives to skillet and 1/4 cup water. 4) Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until everything is nice and hot. 

5) Service with rice pilaf and garnish with parsley.

GHSS: Creole Fried Rice

Today was a lazy Sunday. And when I say lazy, I mean lazy.

To give a visual: I'm still in last night's pajamas and it's 4 pm. However, I did brush my teeth and do my skincare routine this morning because I'm not a fucking animal.

That being said it was hella tempting not to just say "fuck it" and order pizza, but then I thought of you (yes you) and how your Sunday would not be complete if you didn't get to find out what I made for dinner. I'm just such a good person.

I picked out 4 recipes from Skillet Suppers to put on my meal plan for the week and this one seemed like it was the easiest to throw together. We're talking 30 minutes from the second you start pulling ingredients to the moment your spoon enters your mouth. I really don't know how I've lived my life up to this point without this book.

This recipe calls for andouille sausage, which I've never actually been able to find in any of my neighborhood markets. It also doesn't help that my version of "not being able to find it" is walking up to the sausage section in the store, not immediately seeing it on the shelf, and then buying the cheapest jalapeno sausage instead. In this particular case, kielbasa was on sale so that's what ya girl bought.

In this recipe there is also a need for a can of kidney beans (Beans! What do you mean beans!?) which I already had in my pantry. Oh, that's another thing about this book. The majority of recipes call for things I already have. For this recipe, all I needed to buy was the sausage. Another huge win. But back to the beans. I felt like the beans kind of over powered the dish and wish I would have only added half a can vs the whole can. For bean lovers like my sisters this would not be an issue, but I like to feel like my bites contain more meat and veggies. Collin also really liked this dish and did not think the beans were an issue (he actually just got up for seconds) but I suppose that's all preference. You decide.

On to the rice - and this is important. The recipe calls for 4 cups cooked white rice. I thought about cooking some minute rice, but didn't want to dirty another pot so I grabbed two pouches of "ready rice" (Uncle Ben's is the brand name, but the off brand kinds are just as good). I had one pouch of brown rice and one pouch of the chicken kind and thought fuck it let's get wild and use them both. Note: each pouch is 2 cups of rice. I suggest going this route the first time you make this because I found one pouch (2 cups) to be the perfect amount of rice. If I had added 4 cups it would have been way too much. And in case you're wondering, I put the brown rice in first. The chicken will be for tomorrow's dinner. I know, I know...how boring.

Check out the perfect rice to meat/veggie ratio

She tells you to add hot sauce if that's your thing...and it absolutely fucking is

Creole Fried Rice 

2 tbs canola oil (olive oil, whatever)

8 oz. andouille sausage (she actually suggests Kielbasa as an alternative in the book - ha!)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbs. creole seasoning (let's be real - you'll need way more than that)

4 cups cooked white rice (strongly recommend going the pouch route first)

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained (if you're a beany person)

2 tbs. tomato paste

Sliced green onions and hot sauce, for serving

1) In a 12 inch skillet, add the oil over medium heat until hot. Add sausage, onion, pepper, garlic, and creole seasoning. Cook for about 10 minutes or until veggies are tender.

2) Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot. Sprinkle green onion on top.

3) Serve with the hot sauce.  

Motivation Station

Holy crap has it been two years?

Well, you know what they say: No better time than the present. Or is it: Presents are always a good time? Either way, motivation has begun tingling in the fingertips of yours truly and you all have an adorable redhead in the form of my sister's girlfriend to blame.

I know, I know. Out of nowhere I stopped blogging. Well, I stopped blogging and started taking mediocre photos of food and posting them on Instagram. I lost my food mojo, but it's back now and in the meantime I have acquired several new cookbooks. The most recent was a gift for my birthday. It's a simple little book called "Skillet Suppers" and, you guessed it, all you need is a skillet and about half an hour for all of the recipes. I'll call that a fuckin win.

The cover photo also looks fuckin legit

As I read through this book I got that itch that can only mean one thing: I need to cook and then blog about it so my sisters can read it.

Delicious things to come, ya'll.

TK: To-Go Breakfast Bars

I am one of those people who absolutely cannot skip breakfast. I have to have my 3 square meals a day or I will starve. The only problem with this is that my little family does not get out of bed until 8 am at the earliest, leaving me no time to make breakfast before we have to leave the house. (I understand the obvious answer here is to get up earlier...but abso-fucking-lutely not.) I usually make breakfast when I get to work, which is doable with my job, but I much prefer to just grab something quick. I flipped through Thug Kitchen and found this recipe for breakfast bars and thought maybe they're on to something here.

The fun part about these bars is that you can basically put whatever you want in them. Unfortunately for me, I did not have any dried cranberries (they suggested throwing some in there) and I think they would have really made a difference here. I did have dried banana chips and smashed those up in there, but they are missing something and I think that "thing" is flavor.

Mix, toast, stir and add and you press it all into a parchment lined 13x9. (The parchment lining is very necessary)

Then you toss it in the oven for about 25-30 and let it cool. Once you do that, put it in the fridge to harden even more then lift the parchment paper out of the dish and cut into squares (about 10).

The color is really lacking here and I don't like it

These are, as promised, an easy way to get in a quick breakfast that isn't drowning in sugar and fat. Again, my only issue is the lack of flavor and that's completely my fault. I encourage you to try it and add in what you like.

Recipe:

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1/4 uncooked millet

1 1/4 cups chopped mixed nuts or seeds (I used almonds and sunflower seeds)

1/2 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit (I used banana chips)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup maple syrup (I used a combo of syrup and honey)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup coconut or olive oil (I used coconut)

2 tbs sugar (I used brown sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x9 with parchment paper. 

Heat a dry skillet over medium low heat and add the oats, quinoa and millet. Stir them around until toasty.

One that is done, toss the oat mixture with your nuts and dried fruit.

In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, peanut butter, oil, sugar and vanilla until warm and melted. 

Add the syrup mix to the oat mix and combine. 

Pour the mixture into a baking dish and spread around until even. Then make sure you pack it down really well. 

Toss it in the oven for 25-30, let completely cool then throw it in the fridge until cold. Cut into bars and keep in the fridge in an airtight container. 

SS: Tex-Mex Casserole

The other night I went to a charity event with my mother and my sister as a last minute thing. I already had dinner planned out and figured I might as well still make it since, well, the kids still had to eat. I got lucky in that this was quick and simple and, in true casserole form, took most of the time in the oven. Yay!

I love casserole dishes with pasta because the kids would eat pasta every day if I decided it should be so. It makes for a sure fire, no fuss meal every single time and God how I wish I lived in Italy. I feel like I would just fit in so well there. I mean, I could eat pasta and bread every day and then walk everywhere. (By the way, if that's not what it's really like - don't tell me. I need it to be that way.)

See the corn? I'm positive that's what makes it Tex-Mex.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

8 oz. whole wheat pasta

1 lb lean ground beef

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 (10.5 oz) can tomato soup

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15.5 oz) can corn, drained

1 (10 oz) can Ro*Tel (not drained)

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies (not drained)

2 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheese (mexican blend, I was out so I used parmesan and mozzarella. whatevs)

1 diced tomato, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9 x 13 with cooking spray

Cook the pasta. Drain and set aside.

Cook the beef, onion and garlic until the beef is done. Drain any excess fat and return to the skillet.

Add everything but the cheese to the skillet and mix together.

Transfer the mixture from the skillet to the 9 x 13. Sprinkle the cheese on top. 

Bake about 20 minutes, until hot and the cheese is melted. Top with diced tomato.

This was pretty damn good. I'll file this under "Kids will eat" and call it a day.

Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon & Roasted Mushrooms with an appearance by ST: Homemade BBQ Sauce

First, I'd like to clarify that there are 2 recipes here. No, there are no roasted mushrooms in the potato salad...although...I might dig that.

These two were my sides to go along with spontaneous brisket night from my earlier post. I was pretty excited about this potato salad because it makes a lot and I've been waiting for an occasion such as this so I could try it. I'm just going to come out and say that this did not disappoint. People ate this up like it was the ticket to everlasting youth. I got so many compliments on this and I don't know what it is that makes it so much different than any other potato salad out there. Collin swears it's the green onions, others swear the bacon makes all the difference, but whatever it is just know that it works.

I got one photo. One. 

Next up were the roasted mushrooms. This recipe calls for 1 lb white mushrooms and 1 lb cremini mushrooms. Now, I don't have any idea what a cremini mushroom is and I couldn't find them at the store, so I got 2 lbs of white mushrooms and called it a day. Spoiler alert: it made absolutely no difference. You want to know what does make a difference though? The fresh Thyme. Sometimes you can get away with the dried stuff, but trust me - you need fresh here. I wanted to eat the entire pan myself. My mouth is watering just thinking about it, actually. I'll give you this recipe, because it's easy and you need to try them:

Yummerz.

Recipe: 1 stick unsalted butter, melted, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbs. minced garlic, 2 tbs. chopped fresh Thyme, 2 tsp. kosher salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 1 lb white mushrooms, 1 lb cremini mushrooms. Preheat the oven to 425. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, oil, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and toss to coat. Spread them onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast, shaking occasionally (I forgot to do this part) for about 30-45 minutes until juicy and slightly shriveled. Bam. Done. Feast.

A close up of all their glory.

So you know how I mentioned before that planning things is my verb? Yeah? Now do you remember when I mentioned how a random crisis can really put me in a good mood? Well, in strolled the crisis right as the brisket was being cut: I forgot to buy barbecue sauce. 

Yes I, the planner of all things to be planned, forgot to buy the most crucial part of a barbecue. But did I let this small hiccup ruin things? Did I fall prey to the ridicule that floated my way? Ha! I threw my head back and laughed, because I knew I had seen a homemade barbecue sauce recipe in the newest addition to my cookbooks. Ten minutes later, we had hot barbecue sauce simmering on the stove and the evening was saved! That was also right around the time I almost gave peanut butter to my friend's son, who is highly allergic, but luckily I remembered in time and all was well. Just a reminder that no one is perfect, not even me. *sigh* 

*in a deep voice with a slight accent* BBQ SAUCE

Here is the recipe in case you're ever in a bind: 

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (I probably only had a little more than 1/4 cup left in the bottle)

1/4 cup tomato paste (I did not have this and used ketchup instead)

1/4 cup honey

3 tbs. molasses (thanks to my Grandma's crinkle cookies I always have a jar on hand <3)

2 tsp. liquid hickory smoke (I did not have this, or anything like it, so I omitted it)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder (I was out of this, but did have dried chopped onions and I tossed some in)

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp chili powder

Combine everything in a saucepan, bring to a boil and let it simmer until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. It will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month. 

Now, I tweaked this to the taste of my company so feel free to do the same. All in all, it was a hit, people loved it, and my crisis itch has been scratched for another day. 

TK: Creamy Black Bean and Cilantro Dip and Pineapple Guacamole

Because Collin keeps a strange work schedule, I meal plan on Wednesdays instead of Sunday like normal people. So when Sunday evening rolled around (and I'm already in bed) and Collin announced that he wanted to smoke a brisket on Tuesday and have people over that evening I literally had to shove my entire meal plan aside and figure out what I was going to prepare last minute for company. Lucky for me, I love this kind of shit. Last minute planning is my favorite - and I'm really not kidding. I'm a planner. It's what I do, and if I'm being honest, I'm pretty damn good at it. As a matter of fact, if you really wanna get my motor going, throw in a crisis during a last minute event that I'm planning and watch me handle that shit. *sigh* It has been too long.

Anyway, before I get way too turned on, I decided on a medley of things from Thug Kitchen and Cravings. I did toss together a double batch of Chrissy's Secretly Spicy Deviled Eggs, but I won't post about those because I already have. Of course, those were popular AF and were the second things to go. Yes, they were second. To what, you ask? Read on:

The one thing that got the most raves was, shockingly enough, the Creamy Black Bean and Cilantro Dip from Thug Kitchen. I'm not kidding. Everyone commented on how good this was. My sister even liked this and she really can't stand cilantro. It's such a breeze to make, too. You throw a bunch of stuff in a food processor and it blends so beautifully and the flavors mingle so evenly that it really just tastes like bean dip from heaven:

Here is a close up. Now I know why the book didn't boast a picture.

Recipe: 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 2/3 cans black beans, which is what I did), 1/3 cup veggie broth or water (I used veggie broth), 2 cloves garlic, juice of 1 lime, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 cup chopped green onions. Throw it all in a food processor and go to town.

I decided to make 2 dips from Thug Kitchen, and I'm glad I did because the brisket took way longer than we thought and people were very snackish. The next dip I made was called Pineapple Guacamole. I felt I used too much pineapple as I did not measure anything out and eyeballed it all. I was in a serious rush and short on time so next time I'll remember to measure out the pineapple. However, this went just as quickly as the bean dip - if not quicker:

Dip is hard.

Recipe: 2 avocados, 2/3 cup chopped pineapple (I used canned), 1/2 cup chopped red onion, 2 tbs. cilantro, 2 cloves minced garlic, grated zest of 1/2 lime, 1 tbs. lime juice, 1/8 tsp. ground cumin, pinch of salt. I actually didn't mince or chop anything and threw it all in the food processor (except the avocado) until smooth-ish. I mashed the avocado in a bowl with a fork and added the rest of the ingredients until mixed. Delish.

Side by Side

So basically, if you want to impress anyone - anyone at all - you need these. Someone call the Queen of England and tell her I've got her next dip recipes for high tea. Wait - do they have dip at high tea? Someone get the Queen on the phone, I've got a game changer here.

Skinny Taste: Fast and Slow

I've been on vacation (I think I've mentioned that) and tomorrow I go back for my first whole week at work. Throughout this little break I have done nothing but eat what I want, when I want, and I haven't worked out in weeks. This has resulted in some very obvious poundage (on top of the extra poundage I had accrued since I stopped working out) and I know it's time for me to scale back and get my life back together. This also means I need to get back on seriously meal planning instead of ordering take-out from menus that were placed on my doorknob. I've also been flipping the pages of my cookbooks looking for something easy and appetizing to kick back into gear and it's just so hard. Then I  remembered scrolling through Instagram a while back and screenshotting a cookbook I wanted to try:

Voila! 

This cookbook features recipes that are 30 minutes as well as recipes for the slow cooker and *drum roll* they are all healthy! This is the answer to my lazy girl problems. I often flip through these books and wonder if I'll ever gather enough motivation to spark my own originality when I cook again. Eh, who cares. I did that shit up until now. My mind needs a break. 

This book is nifty. She adds in a little key chart:

SO convenient!

I love this. This makes my life even easier. By the way, if you're reading this and you buy me things - I want a pressure cooker/instant pot. 

And she adds the keys to the contents page of each chapter. LOVE.

Anyway, the whole point of this post is to let you know that I'm adding a new book to my rotation.

OH. I've been asked this a few times. Because I cook from a few different books, I put an abbreviation before the recipe name so you know which book it's from: 

TK - Thug Kitchen

SS - Skinny Suppers

ST - Skinny Taste

And if there is no tag before the name then it is from Cravings. :D

Pineapple-Grilled Short Ribs with Sweet and Salty Coconut Rice

I have never found it necessary to purchase short ribs. I have never, to my knowledge, eaten short ribs and I probably could have gone my entire life without ever tasting them (and being quite OK with it). That being said, I had no idea what a flanken short rib was and really had no idea what they looked like. Thankfully, the Kroger I went to had ONE package of short ribs that actually said "flanken short rib" on it and it was the amount I needed. It was fate - except really. 

She suggests a 12-24 hour marination period and after last night's extra crispy almost-disaster, I did just that. As a matter of fact, as soon as I wrapped up blogging last night I got to work on these bad boys. Because marinating is literally letting meat soak in various spices and liquids, there is really nothing to elaborate on there and I'll move on to more important things.

Marination Station

Important things like, for example, the sweet and salty coconut rice. Do ya'll remember way back when I started this blog and I said that I absolutely had to make the recipe as-is? Well, I'm sure ya'll have figured out by now that I really can't be trusted because I fucked up again today by not double checking that I had all the ingredients. Can you believe I ran out of sugar? SUGAR. I had everything else: jasmine rice, salt, coconut milk, coconut flakes but not a spoonful of granulated sugar was to be found in my pantry. I then remembered putting sugar on my whiteboard grocery list outside my pantry door, but this did not change the fact that today I was sugar-less. Lucky for me, she does not specify what kind of sugar you need for this. It simply says "sugar" and nothing else. So, I am NOT cheating when I say that I used dark brown sugar (because, what do you know, I was also out of light brown sugar). Hashtag winning.

Oh, here is where I should also probably mention that I have never made a pot of rice (that wasn't instant) that came out edible. I swear I have cooked before and I am good at 95% of it, but rice is my nemesis. It's like it can smell the fear as I'm following the directions to the letter. Every. Time. Once, I attempted a pot of brown rice and it came out so crunchy I wondered if I had blacked out at some point and forgot to add water. That one still remains a mystery, actually. 

So now that you know my history, understand that I was very nervous while making this and checked, doubled checked, and checked again to make sure that I was doing this correctly. When all was said and done and the lid came off the pot it looked...creamy. But not bad. It did not "fluff", but after a good stir and a little taste I was certain that this was the end of my rice-fuck-up streak. Guys, this was amazing. AMAZING. And that was with dark brown sugar. I can only imagine how good this would taste using granulated sugar. I wasn't even mad that Collin was taking forever getting the grill ready because it gave me more time to eat this. 

Kind of looks like oatmeal.

And because I'm so thrilled this didn't come out crunchy:

There's one with the book.

As you can see, this looks a bit like oatmeal and/or brown rice because of my sugar choice, but fear not. It is as delicious as you hope it will be. 

So once the grill was finally ready, I forced Collin to read the recipe to make sure these were done right because the man has never met a rib that cooked in under 8 hours. However, he did as he was told and a few minutes later we had dinner:

Yeah I gnawed on it a little before I realized I should probably take a picture.

To summarize: these two were fantastic. Collin asked me to keep the marinade recipe and we chowed down. This is one of the most satisfying meals I have had in a while so do yourself a favor and treat yo-self.

"Everything" Chicken Sandwich Melts

This is one of those recipes that takes up more than one page, which means I was very reluctant to make it <--- that's the lazy girl in me. It doesn't matter that this looks amazing and every time I flip through to make something I think to myself "Why haven't I made that?" and then I remember it's because the ingredient list consists of 20 different items (yes, I counted). However, I am on vacation and decided there really wasn't a better time because I pretty much have nothing but time.

I should probably mention that the 20 different items are made up of mostly spices, making this much less complicated than I lead on. Basically, you toss some spices together in a few different bowls, coat the chicken, and fry away. It's really not that hard.

That being said, I have mentioned on more than one occasion that I do not...and I mean I do not, have any luck with frying meats. I tried to blame it on Chrissy at first, but if I'm being honest with myself I have to realize that this all can't be a strange coincidence. The failed fried meats all have one thing in common: Me. (Well... and this cookbook, but I'm looking past that). I will say that this is the first time I did not follow the recipe to the "T" in that I thought I had canola oil on hand, but I was mistaken. Because I did not realize this until the chicken was already coated, I substituted with what I did have...which was vegetable oil.

Now, I remember reading somewhere a while ago that different oils have differences when heated...something about how you should use this oil for that, etc. and there is a legitimate reason for it...OK maybe I don't remember exactly what it said, but it doesn't change the fact that I was aware that something could go wrong by switching up the frying oil. Are you sensing some foreshadowing here, because I'm laying it on pretty thick.

So I filled my pan with the oil and turned it onto medium heat as instructed. The moment I put the chicken in I knew it was over. They browned immediately. And then they got darker and darker very quickly, but I was determined to leave them in for the specified 2 minutes. When I took them out the breading was burned, obviously. The skeptic in me also just had to know if 2 minutes was enough time to cook them through, so I cut one open and it was perfect. Perfect. If it weren't for the burnt coating I would have nailed it.

This is about the time that Collin decided to waltz in and check things out, by they way. He actually told me to cut him off a little piece to see if it was still good and if you haven't noticed by now, Collin is a picky eater so this surprised me. I was even more surprised when he said it was good. Yes, you read that correctly.

Anyway, I turned the heat down to medium and tossed in the other two chicken breasts and they turned out a little less burnt...but not by much:

I ran out of tomato and cheese so the back one on the right is a little sad. Burnt and sad.

These just look hilarious. Here's a close up of one on my white plate.

No, that's not a burger. There is chicken under there.

And despite the singed outer layer, the perfectly cooked chicken underneath:

It makes no sense.

As far as taste goes, these were a bit too spicy to give to the kids so they had something else, but these were pretty good. I did dip mine in ketchup - it was pretty good that way actually - and Collin ate TWO of these. He even ate the tomato and I really thought he would pick it off because he doesn't particularly like tomato. 

What a strange dinner. 

TK: Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

Today is Easter! Calvin gets really excited about Easter because he is obsessed with egg hunts. Every year, the kids spend the night with the grandparents Saturday night and go to Easter service at church with them on Sunday. They don't get home until about 10:30, which gives me time to get everything set up, and this year I felt like making a cute little brunch.

So I fiddled around Pinterest for a few minutes and found cute little bunny butts made out of pancakes. I remembered that Thug Kitchen had a pancake recipe, and it's a good thing, because I didn't have any pre-made mix on hand. The recipe is simple and you always have the ingredients on hand. I whipped up a batch, divided it in two, and dyed them pink and blue. It was around this time that I realized I did not have any syrup. Obviously there is more than one way to eat a pancake and I was confident I could still make it work, so I decided to assemble the kid's bunnies peanut butter and jelly style. I stuck two pancake rounds together with peanut butter and jelly and assembled the rest with dabs of peanut butter here and there. They did not turn out as cute as I had hoped, but oh well:

I used a smashed tator tot for the tail since I didn't have whipped cream.

You also can't really tell that they're dyed until you bite into them. Lesson learned. 

Now for the really fun part of being a mom. I had to threaten Calvin to eat them, Andrew ate everything but the pancake and eggs...so basically just banana and raisins. And then. My husband, after witnessing all of this, tells me he won't be eating any pancakes because we don't have any syrup. 

At this point, I smacked my knife on the counter out of frustration and told him he'd better suck it up and figure it out because now I was extremely annoyed. He did take pancakes, and I really have no idea how he ate them - nor do I care. I, however, smeared peanut butter on mine and topped it with sliced bananas like a normal, problem solving fucking person and it was delicious.

Here is the pancake recipe:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used regular white because I'm sick of whole wheat)

2 tbs. brown or white sugar (I used brown)

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

And if you want to make them banana, which I did not this time but I have before, mash 1 small banana.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the wet. Do not mix too much or your pancakes will be tough.

VOILA! Happy Easter!

John's Marinated Steaks, John's Crispy Roasted Potatoes and IL Buco-Style Kale Salad

Today's post is a triple whammy. I realized two things while meal planning for this week: 1) I hadn't blogged in a bit and 2) I was short a meal for the week and was out of motivation. And that is how tonight's dinner was born. I skimmed through the book and found a nice medley of recipes that were sure to be winners. That being said, this will likely be a longer post than most - but I'll compensate with extra photos. I feel like everyone wins here. 

To start, me and the hubs had a little kid-free day and evening yesterday so we took that time to see a movie and do a little work around the house. You know, married people stuff. The evening ended with us jumping on the trampoline whilst drinking from a bottle of champagne and the hubs throwing up. 

So this morning when I realized I needed to marinate the steaks, I was simultaneously eating Chinese food to get my life right again. 

Fat steak in a little bowl

Because the bowl I chose was not quite big enough, I flipped the steaks after a few hours to ensure no steak was left out of being marinated. I'm fair like that. I feel like I should note here that this recipe is very easy to half. My small family can get by with 2 steaks instead of 4 - one for me and the boys and the other one for Collin because steak=manly. 

Once dinnertime rolled around, Collin was in charge of the grill while I tackled the potatoes and salad. I don't use the grill and have no desire to learn how, but I feel like I've touched on that before so I'll move on. 

The first thing I made were the croutons. Oh, man did those start out fun. I bought a nice, crusty bread maybe 5 days ago when I did my grocery shopping only to find that it had molded yesterday. I. Was. Pissed. I had to throw the entire thing away and made sure to curse the ever living shit out of Kroger in the process. To top it off, when we went to HEB to get the steaks I forgot to buy more bread. So today I guilted Collin in to going to the store to buy me more bread, which he did even though I could tell he absolutely did not want to. Once I had the bread, it was smooth sailing.

Good thing I made these first: I got to snack on them the whole time I was cooking.

This made an absurd amount of croutons. Way too much for the salad, unless you prefer your salad to be half salad, half croutons. Then this was probably perfect. They were delicious, though. However, since I am the only one who likes croutons in this freaking house I knew that the excess would likely be thrown away. It doesn't make any damn sense. Collin will eat toast, but doesn't like fucking croutons. I really just can't even get into that right now because I could go on forever. UGH.

The salad calls for Kale and you have to dunk it in boiling water for a few seconds before you submerge it in ice cold water. Then she stresses how important it is to dry the Kale as much as possible. So, I pulled out my trusty salad spinner and spun that Kale like you wouldn't believe. I spun at least 6 times and then put Collin on spinning duty for a while. I was so certain that this would be the driest Kale in all the land. HA. I could hear the Kale laughing at me while in the spinner because, although no more water was spinning out, the Kale was still very moist. Slick to the touch, even. I was baffled and didn't know if this was dry enough or if I should continue. I decided to blot with paper towels, just to be safe, and wouldn't you know - there was no water blotting onto the paper towels. What kind of game was Kale playing here? What kind of sorcery does this Kale entertain? Unimpressed, I decided that enough was enough and if the dressing didn't stick then so be it. 

 As you can see, it all worked out in the end. 

Now the first bite of this salad left my mouth puckered. The lemon flavor was entirely too strong and I had to choke back a cough. When paired with the croutons it tones down a bit, but if you're a crouton hater like my husband there's really nothing to be done. The leaves also feel a bit....thick...as you eat it. I can't describe it, but your teeth will have gotten a workout once you get through this salad. Here comes the strange part: I found myself unable to stop eating this. I would still tone down the lemon next time, but the tangy dressing paired with the garlicky croutons was irresistible.  

The potatoes required a bit more prep what with all the chopping and what not. She markets these potatoes as being crispy and I could not be more down with that if I tried. I love a nice, crispy hunk of potato. 

This photo is not at all relevant, but I thought it would make a cool picture so I took it.

Basically, you chop up a bunch of stuff and throw it in a bowl and when you're done it will look like this:

She has you pre-heat some oil in the oven and swears this is the secret to crispy potatoes every time. I get that. Oil crisps things. Makes sense. Either way, I couldn't wait to pop one of these in my mouth and hear the satisfying 'crunch' that only a crispy potato can provide. 

There they are. Browned and waiting.

I scaled the sheet and picked what looked to me to be the crispiest of them all and tossed it in my mouth...and was met with a soft potato. Soft. Not crispy. As a matter of fact, nothing about these were crispy. They were good, don't get me wrong. we enjoyed them and ate them up like nobody's business...but if you're going to market something as crispy and get my hopes up then you better damn deliver. To this day I have to say that the BEST crispy potatoes were made for me by my brother. It was the morning after we had spent all night drinking and playing board games. He threw these potatoes in the skillet with some sizzling oil and they were the most amazing things my taste buds have ever encountered. Salty and crispy heaven. His secret? Worcestershire sauce. You may take that information and do with it what you'd like, but I'll never go back.

Alright, Folks. We've reached the main event: the steak. She gives you a detailed description on how to cook the steak in the book, and I tried to get Collin to read it but I think we all know how that went. You can't tell a man to follow a recipe on how to cook a damn steak. I think all men are born with this information, actually. She gives you a little mini recipe on how to transform the steak marinade into a steak sauce, so I did that and it was easy enough.

Without steak sauce

With steak sauce

This steak was freaking delicious. Collin commented several times on how great the steak sauce was and I had absolutely zero complaints. This was amazing. Even the four year old ate it with ease - and that's a feat nowadays. I would recommend this recipe over and over again and it is just that good. I actually regret not getting 4 steaks because there is no more left. We ate it all. It's all gone and that honestly makes me a little sad. It felt like Christmas when all the presents have been opened. Mostly because it will probably be that long before I spend that kind of money on steak again. In the meantime, I still have chocolate and that puts the smile back on my face again. Anyway, food coma time.