BROCCOLI SALAD

Crisp. Cool. Delicious. There are numerous versions of this recipe floating around and there isn’t really a wrong way to make it. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I’ve met a broccoli salad that I haven’t liked. This particular combination of ingredients was passed along from a colleague and we’ve probably made it a dozen times in the last six months with every intention of having it on stand-by with Spring here and Summer around the corner.

INGREDIENTS:

broccoli florets (12 ounces give or take)

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup red onion (diced)

bacon (6 strips crumbled)

craisins

sliced almonds (or sunflower seeds)

DIRECTIONS:

Mix broccoli, red onion, bacon, craisins and almonds (or sunflower seeds) in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together pouring over the broccoli mix once combined. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready. Enjoy!

BROCCOLI SALAD

March 26, 2015

CINNAMON APPLE BREAKFAST PIZZA

Recently, my wife and I have been making an effort to eat healthier and cleaner and in doing so we've been switching up our usual breakfast of various bars to something more filling and natural. Among the rotation is a five minute breakfast we find ourselves coming back to more often than not... a cinnamon apple breakfast pizza. I'm honestly not sure where we saw the idea originally and attempting to search for it just now proved that we're not the only ones waking up to this in the morning, it seems to be everywhere and in several different variations; however, this is how we make it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon peanut butter

apple, thinly sliced

whole wheat tortillas

cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

On a flat tortilla, spread the peanut butter then layer the apple slices overlapping each other slightly until the entire tortilla is covered. (Note: We use one apple and we're able to cover two tortillas with slices leftover for our three year old's breakfast.) Sprinkle cinnamon on top, as much as desired. Done! Less than five minutes and breakfast is served.

CINNAMON APPLE BREAKFAST PIZZA

August 21, 2014

SIMPLE GREEN BEANS

Sometimes you eat over at a friend’s house and you realize whatever you’re eating is delicious so you let them know by giving them a quick compliment. “This <insert food here> is really good” you say. After eating an entire serving you head back for seconds and finally ask for the recipe only to discover it’s something really simple that you should have been making your whole life. This is one of those things…

INGREDIENTS:

fresh green beans (washed with ends snapped)

olive oil

sea salt

black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

cavender’s seasoning
garlic (minced)

DIRECTIONS:
Drizzle olive oil on the beans tossing them to coat then sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and cavender's seasoning. Throw the beans in a pan with a tablespoon of butter, garlic and a little olive oil heating over medium heat until beans are tender, tossing occasionally. The amount of ingredients are to taste; we usually eyeball how many beans we're hungry for and almost always go heavier on the cavender's seasoning. Simple, easy and delicious. Feed them to your friends/family and they'll be asking for the recipe, or at least for seconds, guaranteed.

SIMPLE GREEN BEANS

May 3, 2014

MOVIE NIGHT MARGARITAS

This weekend, for the first time in a very long while, Allison and I treated ourselves to margaritas. However, instead of spending $5-8 per drink at the hands of a bartender and the demanding guidelines of a restaurant we decided to make them ourselves from the familiarity of our kitchen to enjoy from the comfort of our couch while the glow of a netflix lit our living room. Date nights at home, romance at its best I say.

INGREDIENTS:

tequila (anything except Jose Cuervo)

triple sec (cointreau)

fresh lime juice

simple syrup (sugar water)

DIRECTIONS:

Add ice then one part tequila, one part triple sec and one part lime juice followed by half part of simple syrup. Shake (or stir, depending upon preference). Salt rim of glass, if desired, then pour drink and make a toast if the occasion calls for one... enjoy.

MOVIE NIGHT MARGARITAS

April 5, 2014

PEANUT BUTTER BIRTHDAY CAKE

Every year when Allison's birthday rolls around I always ask what kind of cake she wants and if she would prefer a store bought or those of the box variety or one from scratch. This year she requested a peanut butter cake and had no preference of where or how it was made only that it incorporate lots of peanut butter. I searched through numerous recipes before finally drooling over this one and with a few minor adjustments, Allison's Peanut Butter Birthday cake was created... and it's delicious.

CAKE INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

1 cup natural, unsweetened peanut butter

1/2 cup (or one stick) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups powdered / confectioner's sugar

up to 1/2 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)

CAKE DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then set aside. In a large mixing bowl add the peanut butter, oil, and brown sugar beating until combined and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat just until combined. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk to the wet mixture, starting and ending with flour, beating just until combined. Be careful not to over-beat or the cake will be dense/dry, a few small lumps of flour is fine. Grease two 9x3 inch round baking pans and pour the batter, dividing it evenly, into the two pans. Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out moist; if the toothpick is wet with batter, bake a little longer, if the toothpick is dry then the cake will be dry. Let the layers sit in the pan for 5 minutes then invert the cake onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

FROSTING DIRECTIONS:

Place the peanut butter and butter in a large mixing bowl beating until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, continuing to beat then add the heavy cream until you reach a spreadable consistency. This will be a fairly stiff frosting. Frost one layer and down the sides then place the other layer of the cake on top of the now frosted bottom layer; frost the top layer and down the sides using as much frosting as desired. Then have your toddler dump some sprinkles on top... optional, of course.

PEANUT BUTTER BIRTHDAY CAKE

March 20, 2014

THE PERFECT PECAN PIE

I've never been much of a fan when it comes to pecan pie. If given the option, I would choose a slice from the apple or chocolate variety. However, when my father (who happens to love pecan pie) asked for one as a gift for his birthday, Allison made it her mission to find the best pecan pie recipe she could... with just a slight adjustment what she made was the perfect pecan pie. He thought so, too, and after a bite turned slice of my own I couldn't help but agree.

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole frozen pie crust

1 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

3/4 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup melted butter (salted)

3 whole eggs (beaten)

1 cup (heaping) chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl. (Spray measuring cup with cooking spray before pouring in the corn syrup to make it easier when pouring back out.) Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell. Then pour syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake pie at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans. NOTE: the pie should not be overly jiggly when removing it from the oven. If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until set. Required baking time seems to vary widely with this recipe. Sometimes it takes 50 minutes... sometimes 75! Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Cut into slices and taste pecan perfection in pie form.

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original recipe source

THE PERFECT PECAN PIE

March 6, 2014

SNOW CREAM

The making of snow cream is subjective and varies from home to home I've discovered.  We prefer the less is more approach and tend to let the snow itself be the star of the dish in that we don't add but a few ingredients and in fairly small amounts.  If you were to stop by our house on a random snow day we'd serve you a bowl of the following snow cream recipe and ask politely that you leave your winter boots at the door.

INGREDIENTS:

1 large bowl of (clean / fresh) snow

sugar

pure vanilla extract

milk (or condensed milk)

DIRECTIONS:

Collect snow in a large bowl and while outside add sugar and vanilla to taste then mix in milk until desired consistency is met.  Some prefer an ice cream consistency while others prefer more of a slushy texture, if the latter is the goal add more milk.  (For a sweeter tasting cream use condensed milk instead of regular milk.) In our experience, the most important detail is to mix the ingredients outdoors as the snow tends to melt fairly quickly once inside.

SNOW CREAM

January 23, 2014

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Whenever I want chicken noodle soup, there's only one recipe I go to... and that would be Paula Deen's recipe. Regardless if you love or hate her, the fact she can cook her face off remains to be true or at least it does regarding this particular pot of soup. One could follow her recipe verbatim or stray from it a little as we do occasionally (by leaving out the italicized ingredients/directions below), either way the end result is nothing short of delicious. Oftentimes we double the recipe so we have a ton of leftovers; I encourage you to do the same. You're welcome.

STOCK INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 quarts of water

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 bay leaves

3 chicken bouillon cubes

SOUP INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups sliced celery, with leafy green tops

2 1/2 cups uncooked egg noodles

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/3 cup cooking sherry
1 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 cup heavy cream

STOCK DIRECTIONS: 

Add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 to 3 1/2 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, shred it and set aside.

SOUP DIRECTIONS: 

Bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package.When noodles are done, add chicken, parsley and rosemary. Add sherry and Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding salt and pepper. 

Enjoy!

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

January 9, 2014