Southwestern Pasta Salad

Southwestern Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 (16 ounce) package rotini pasta

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 1/2 cups whole kernel corn

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

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup chopped roma (plum) tomatoes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. In a large bowl combine oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. Stir in pasta and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in corn, beans, green pepper, red pepper and 1/2 of the cilantro leaves. Spoon onto a platter and garnish with tomatoes and remaining cilantro. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

I just know you will LOVE this meal. Give it a try! Also check out my blog post on why I decided to try this recipe. It's called Meal Share.

Have a great day!

Jamie Willow

Christmas Cookies

This year I tried 2 new Christmas cookie recipes. I highly recommend both of them! I thought they were pretty cute and they tasted good too!

Candy Cane Blossoms

Oreo Truffles

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

I made this a few weeks back for my dad and husband and we all loved it. I love pesto, and sometimes like a little something extra added into the sauce. The best pesto I had was in Italy, of course, but this is delicious and easy for at home.
(Next time I make it, I'll come back and add a picture.)

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package rotini or penne pasta
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup pesto
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost cooked.
3. Reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.
4. Stir in cooked pasta and serve.

I serve it with a green salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

Super Simple Pasta Salad

Summer is coming!  That means BBQs and yummy foodstuffs.  So, I thought I'd throw up my super simple, yet incredibly delicious pasta salad.  

Please note though, this recipe needs to mariante overnight, so don't try to make it the day of, it just won't taste right.

Ingredients

12oz box of Tri Colored Rotini Pasta

1 bottle of Wish Bone Robusto Italian Dressing

1 container of Grape Tomatoes

Directions

Make pasta according to directions

Drain

Put in large bowl, whatever you plan to serve it in.  

Halve the grape tomatoes, as many as desired

Add the bottle of dressing, stir well to mix it all together.  Yes it will seem like a lot, but the dressing is intended to soak into the pasta and that's what makes it all taste amazing.

Refrigerate overnight.  Stir it in the morning if you remember to mix the dressing, since it will settle at the bottom.  Then, when ready to serve, make sure you stir it really well again.

Enjoy!

Spring Treat: Bird's Nests

This is a perfect kitchen project for moms and kids...

or ladies who just like to act (and eat) like kids. 

: )

They are so yummy.

 Chocolate bird's nests.

We make them every spring - just before Easter.

I suggest you install the same tradition.

Here's the recipe:

Full post HERE.
Pictures taken by Ashley Miller.
Recipe by Mrs. B.

: )

Happy Spring!

Ciabatta Bread

 I came across a super easy bread recipe and decided to give it a try. My niece said "Amy's yummy bread is THE best ever"!  You'll just have to try it for yourself!

Ciabatta Bread

4 cups flour
2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp if using table salt)
1/4 tsp yeast + 2 cups warm water (put in microwave for 30 seconds)

Mix all ingredients together just until moist.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave for 8-12 hours on counter.
Put on greased cookie sheet (or silpat on cookie sheet) and gently form.
Bake at 400 degrees 35-40 mins.

I added sunflower seeds to the top. You could also try cranberries. Let me know if you have other great ideas!

Cake Mix Cookies

These are the EASIEST cookie to make! There are only 3 ingredients and they are fantastic!

Cake Mix Cookies

1 Cake Mix (your choice!)

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Oil

Roll into a ball. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 7-10 min. (I usually bake mine 7-8 min because I like mine chewy)

I love to experiment with this recipe and see what I come up with. Here are some ideas:

• Roll the top of the cookies in sprinkles. I especially like the Wilton Mint Crunch (see here).
• Make homemade Oreos with vanilla frosting.

Enjoy!

Spinach Salad w/ Cranberries & Balsamic Vinaigrette

For the salad:



spinach leaves - washed
dried cranberries
slivered almonds
stinky cheese

When I say "stinky cheese" I mean a pungent cheese like goat cheese or blue cheese.
I'm not a fan of these types of cheeses...too strong for my tastes but I'm sure they would taste lovely on this salad if its your thing.

 For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 T. chopped garlic
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (optional)*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil


*the brown sugar is not needed if you have a good quality balsamic vinegar.
I mix all my dressing ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until they are well combined.
Adding more or less of an ingredient to taste.

I promise, once you make your own Balsamic Vinaigrette you will not go back to the store bought varieties if you can help it.
It's so easy to make and the taste is exceptional.


Mrs. B.

Sugar Cookies w/Lemon Zest

This Christmas I decided to try these Sugar Cookies. The lemon zest really made it intriguing to me. I thought they turned out really good! I will be making them again!

Uncooked Tortillas

My sister in law makes the best tortillas from scratch, but there is no way that I have that kind of time. So, I found these Uncooked Tortillas that are a great substitute. They are really easy to cook. They are great for Quesadillas, Fajitas, Tacos, Wraps, etc.

I have found them at Costco, some Grocery Stores, Walmart.

For quesadillas, I usually just add cheese, chicken, salsa. Makes a great lunch!

Christmas Cut-Out Cookies

I'm pretty convinced that these are the best cut-out cookies you can make.

They aren't sugar cookies, so they don't puff up when you bake them -

creating cookie blobs instead of cookie shapes.

Butter Cut-Out Cookiesfrom Susan Branch

2 cups butter -- softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix well. Sift flour and salt together and beat into butter mixture until well mixed.

Roll dough into a ball and refrigerate, covered, for about an hour.

When ready to bake, use an ungreased cookie sheet and place cookies 1 inch apart. Bake for about 10 minutes, but do not brown them. Remove cookies from cookie sheet after cooled. Decorate, if you like. Makes 6 to 8 dozen.

For the frosting we just mix confectioners sugar with milk until we get the consistency we want. It takes a whole lot of sugar and just a bit of milk (you can use water instead if you want).
recipe also posted here.

TotallyFeelingTheChrsitmasCookieLove,

Mrs. B.

My Mom's Apple Crisp

So my mom is a really good cook...the only problem is, she doesn't use recipes and I need a recipe to cook...so I have implored my mom to write out a recipe here and there that I am just desperate to have...

Her Apple Crisp is divine...so here is her recipe and a couple pics of when I made it! It is a great treat!

"Apple Crisp ala my own made up Recipe"

by Lynda Baldwin

Peel lots of apples and slice (put in cold salt water so they don't turn brown- 1 tbsp salt to 2 quarts water) This means enough apples to cover the bottom of your pan (9 X 13) at least 1 1/2 inches thick. 10-12 big ones maybe

In a medium sized bowl combine:

1 1/2 cup flour (I use rice flour but whatever)

1 1/2 - 2 cups of quick oats

1 1/2 cup brown sugar. I use dark brown.

1 stick salted butter melted

Mix together to a crumbly

Drain apples and cover bottom of pan and put 1 Tbsp Cinnamon on top

Add 1/4 cup of apple cider or leftover juice of any kind in the fridge

Sprinkle the juice of one lemon over the top. You may use 2-3 Tbsp of Cider Vinegar (Organic) instead of lemon.

crumble the topping over the apples and add another good sprinkle of cinnamon over the top/

Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees (preheated)

Serve with Vanilla bean or Cinnamon Ice Cream

Thanks Mom!

a request for readers/contributors

okay ladies and gents...I am in need of a pizza sauce recipe...does anyone have one? I keep making home made pizza and my attempts at sauce are just not good. So if someone has a recipe and could either post it or leave a comment with the recipe or a link or something, I would SO appreciate it...

Help!

Jamie

Porcupines!

Okay People....prepare yourself for this one. It will make your mouth happy. So So So Happy.

Porcupines!

This is a picture of them right when I started cooking them...they were devoured before I could take an "after" pic...

So here's the story...one of my besties lives in NC and I was staying with her for a mutual friends wedding weekend. We were crazy busy, but the first night I arrived, she made these delicious little delights for dinner and I demanded the recipe! Turns out it is her moms recipe...and her mom is one of my favorite people because once upon a time she was the only mom we could get ahold of on a major holiday when we needed help figuring out how to get the stupid turkey's legs apart...but that is a whole other story ;-)

So here is the recipe..and I will have you know...I quadrupled the recipe so I would have left overs. And this recipe is really only enough for one person...double it and it's good for 3 people...quadruple it and it's enough for a couple meals and it is just as good reheated :)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 cup uncooked white rice (I used minute rice)

1/4 cup milk or water (I used milk)

2 Tbsp chopped onion (I use the equivalent amount of dried minced onion, instead)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt or powder

dash of pepper

Sauce 8 oz can of tomato sauce (You can never have too much)

1/2 cup of water for every 8 oz of tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix first set of ingredients together and form into balls about golf ball size or a little smaller. Should make 4-6 balls. Mix sauce ingredients in a deep covered saute pan or frying pan. Put meatballs in sauce and spoon sauce over them. You want to have enough sauce to come up at least halfway on the porcupines.

Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 40-45 minutes. Flip them over about halfway through the cooking time and add some water if the sauce has cooked down too much, but resist the temptation to uncover them more than once. When they're cooked when get firm and the rice should be soft. I usually break one open to see if the rice is cooked. Chef's prerogative to taste test. ;)

Serve with egg noodles or mashed potatoes to soak up all the sauce.

You are Welcome.

Joyfully,

Jamie

Pumpkin Bread

It's FALL! I love the leaves changing, cooler weather, and I am definitely ready for the holidays!!! I love holiday baking. So I decided to start with Pumpkin Bread to start off my holiday baking kick.

Pumpkin Bread

4 Eggs

3 c. Sugar

1 c. Oil

2/3 c. Water

2 c. Pumpkin

1 tsp. Ground Cloves

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

3 1/2 c. Flour

1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Nuts (optional)

Beat eggs until lemon colored. Add Sugar, Oil, Water & Pumpkin and beat well. Add dry ingredients. Mix Well.

Makes 2 loaf pans. Grease pans. Bake at 325º for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Happy Fall!!!

~Amy

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

6-8 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 diced potatoes

2 cups boiling water

12 oz corn, frozen, canned or fresh
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Cook the bacon and remove all grease from pan except about 2 Tbsp. Add onion to the pot and cook in bacon grease until soft. Add potatoes and water, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add corn, salt and pepper, milk and bacon. Heat well over low heat.

Makes 6 servings.


So easy and satisfying in the Fall. Especially if its served with a thick slice of this:

xo

Mrs. B.

Banana Bread

Here is the banana bread recipe I use.  There very well may be other banana bread recipes on this site already, it didn't occur to me until I was typing this very sentence that I probably should have looked if there was.  But, hey, nothing wrong with variety, right?


This recipe is from foodnetwork.com.  It's pretty good, I've made it a bunch of times.  Today, I used my Fall Icon Cakelet Pan from William's Sonoma.  Adorable little bites, aren't they?

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan, or follow the directions for baking with a specialty pan, such as the one I used.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Bon Appétit

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Baja Sauce

These are a huge hit here at home. Now, I'm not a fan of fish. I hardly touch it. But when made this way? I'm licking my fingers. Not the healthiest (okay...not healthy at all) but so good. Enjoy!


Batter

4 tilapia fillets
6 tablespoons of flour
Tablespoon of cumin
Pinch of salt
Cayenne pepper (Depending on how spicy you like your food, I use about 2 tsp)
2/3 cup of beer (I use Blue Moon but it doesn't really matter)
Canola Oil


Cut up tilapia fish into 1 inch cubes.
Mix all ingredients (except oil) together. It should feel thick and goopy (yes, a word!) so it can coat the fish nicely while frying. Chill for at least an hr.
Pour oil to depth of 1 1/2 inches into a deep skillet
Cook fish about 4 minutes or until done. Drain on paper towels.

Baja Sauce

1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup of lime juice
Pepper to taste

We put the sauce on a warm corn tortilla, add the fish, then add fresh salsa and guacamole. Delish!

Mimi's Cafe Buttermilk Spice Muffins

One of my favorite things is the Buttermilk Spice Muffins at Mimi's Cafe. You can find the recipe here along with some other great recipes. I am also anxious to try the Spinach and Artichoke dip and the Corn Chowder! I attempted the Buttermilk Spice Muffins and they turned out great!

Serves: 12

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 to 25 minutes

Muffin Batter: 1 cup Sugar ½ cup Butter or margarine 3 Eggs 2-½ cups Flour 2 tsp. Baking soda 1 tsp. Nutmeg ½ tsp. Cinnamon ¾ cup + 1 tbsp. Buttermilk Nut Topping: ½ cup Sugar 1 cup Walnuts (finely chopped) ½ tsp. Cinnamon ½ tsp. Nutmeg Preheat oven to 375°. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and the butter together with an electric mixer. When they are thoroughly mixed, add eggs and beat one more minute. Sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and the cinnamon. Add the flour and the buttermilk to the first mixture, mix at low speed until smooth. To avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts. Make the nut topping: Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Grease muffin tins with butter or margarine. You can also use paper baking cups. Fill each cup 3/4 full of batter. Add a full, rounded tablespoon of nut topping on top of each muffin cup of batter. Bake immediately or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffin. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out dry. Home ovens heat differently from commercial ovens so you may need to adjust the temperature or the baking time accordingly. Recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or six Mimi's-size muffins. If using the jumbo muffin pans, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time 5-10 minutes.

Divine Meatloaf...two words I never thought I would combine...

I got this recipe from the delicious Pioneer Woman's Blog...if you want to see way nicer and more detailed pictures of the process then go to her blog and check it out!

But if you are here and interested in how someone who is NOT a professional cook made this dish and how it turned out...then you are in the right spot!

This dish definitely took some time to prepare and cook. But it was SO worth it. The best meatloaf I have ever had. It was heavenly. I served it to my own little family and some dinner guests and it was a hit. We decided that calling it meatloaf was inaccurate and a misrepresentation of it's divine deliciousness...we decided "beef cake" might be a better term. which made us giggle. which made the food taste even better :) eating food with fun friends and laughing makes any meal a hit.

Here's how I did it!

Ingredients

Meatloaf:
1 cup Whole Milk (I used skim...)
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef (I used 2 1/2 lbs)
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used 1 1/2 cups heaping)
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
¾ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon

Sauce:
1-½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.



With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

*I didn't have a broiler pan...so after it was done cooking, I set it on a cookie rack to drain some of the fat off, before placing it on the serving dish...

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.



Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.