A Celebration of Christmas

Christmas is just a week away and normally I would be in full holiday mode; holiday shopping, baking, gift wrapping, food planning and preparation, but not so much this year.

It has been completely surreal watching the Christmas season wing into high gear here.  It is definitely not how I imagined it!  It's hard to describe but I guess to sum it up it's just not very holiday-ish here.   And that is not because it is 80 degrees and we are surrounded by palm trees and surf boards.  It's just everything...the decor is willy nilly at the mall, few places play holiday music, holiday lights are hung sparingly, traditional Christmas trees are half dead by they time they arrive on the island, and of course your shopping on-island is quite limited.  Oh and Santa.  Who's Santa?  Good luck finding the big guy here.  I can say for certain after my time in Maui that I miss the traditional mainland Christmas hoopla!

Since we are not going home for the holidays and we have no plans in Maui, I planned Christmas dinner virtually and delegated the work to my Mom.  She is a darn good hostess, so I am sure she will pull the celebration together beautifully!

1/2/3/4/5/6

My family's Christmas Celebration this year will be...

Appetizers:

Stuffed Mushrooms

Cheese board with marinated olives

Main Course:

Honey Glazed Spiral Ham

Balsamic Roasted Red Potatoes

Pomegranate Appeal Pear Salad

Roasted Mushroom Medley

The recipes and sources can be found by clicking on the numbers just underneath the photo spread.

Happy holidays!

Courtney

what's cookin'

It has been a while since I shared a Pinterest inspired dish.  Every Sunday my food board and I bond for sometimes an hour while I put together my meals for the week and make my grocery list.  It has been such a relief and time saver for me because before Pinterest, I would walk aimlessly through the store tossing items into my cart with no rhyme or reason.  Later when I would go to make lunch or dinner, I would find that I had the most random items in the pantry and not enough to make an entire meal.  My budget for groceries each week is $100 and I have managed to stay right at my goal by planning ahead and making a detailed list.

Today's What's Cookin' is really a condiment but is so dang good that I couldn't resist sharing it with you.  It will become a staple in your house.  Before discovering this recipe I would rarely eat salsa.  I despise tomatoes and most store bought salsa is super thick and chunky and have sugar added to them.  So, without further ado, I present to you the tastiest, easiest homemade salsa in the whole wide world.

via

Chili's Copycat Salsa Recipe:

(Original recipe from Deals to Meals, modified by me)

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes, fire roasted if you can find them
3 medium jalapenos (or less if you don't like a lot of spice)
1/2 of a yellow onion, cut into quarters (you can also use dried minced onion)
1 tsp. garlic salt (generally I add more but I taste along the way to see where I am at)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp. lime juice

Place the jalapeños, tomatoes and onion into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and add garlic salt, garlic powder and lime juice.  Taste and dash with extra garlic salt, garlic powder and lime juice as you see fit. Serve with tortilla chips.  It saves in a plastic container for about a week.


Enjoy!

an excuse + baked chicken taquitos

Yesterday I didn't show up around here to share a super duper yummy recipe.  The main reason for my absence was because well, we woke up to a messy leak in our kitchen.  Good times indeed.

The cat was supervising the inspection of the sky light and wondering how he was going to get up there to play around.  I failed to get a picture of the dogs who proceeded to drink out of the bowl catching the dripping water.  Sometimes it's a real zoo around here.

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Today I am sharing with you a yummy, yummy baked chicken taquitos recipe that I initially found Pinterest that ultimately led me to The Girl That Ate Everything.  I swear 99% of my food pins lead me back to Christy's blog.  She shares some good stuff!  

I made a few modifications to the recipe mostly because of the husbands allergies.  Despite the modifications, the dish received raving reviews and he is still eating leftovers!  My substitutions are added to the right.  

[source]

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Recipe by OurBestBites.com

1/3 cup (3 oz) cream cheese (substituted 3/4 of a can of vegetarian beans)
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese (sprinkled to our liking, so it was minimal)
about 12 small corn or flour tortillas (we used flour)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it's soft and easy to stir (did the same thing with the bean substitute). Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and pepperjack cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 12 taquitos.

I made spicy salsa for dipping.  Will share the recipe soon.  Guacamole would have been good too...

I was honestly surprised at how easy these were.  I was looking at the ingredients list and all the steps and almost didn't make them.  If I would have cooked the chicken ahead of time, this could have easily been a 30 minute meal!

cucumber salad + cute pictures

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is the food section.  I pin throughout the week and then on Sunday I go back through my pins and create a menu for the week.  It is so fun and gets me out of the rut of the same meals week in and week out.  If I were left to my own devices I would eat the same thing every night and be perfectly content.

I made this salad as a side dish last night.  It was SO easy and carried a nice light flavor that didn't overpower the rest of the meal.  I tweaked the recipe just a bit---I substituted the tomatoes (ick) for red peppers and only added a dash of crumbled feta (I don't eat cheese).

[source]

What You Need 3 cucumbers
4 Roma tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
1 medium red onion
Handful fresh oregano
1 lemon
~1 cup Kalamata olives
~8 ounces feta cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
White wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper

What To Do

1  Peel the cucumbers. Cut them in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds, then chop them into bite-sized chunks. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, dice the red onion, and chop the oregano.

2  In a large bowl, mix the cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and oregano along with the Kalamata olives. Mix in the 3 tablespoons olive oil, juice of 1 lemon, fresh ground pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add a splash or two of white wine vinegar. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if desired.

3  If possible, let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour to allow flavors to meld. Before serving, crumble or cut the feta cheese into chunks, and add it to the salad.

I am pretty excited that there are leftovers because that is my lunch for today!

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And because it has been a few days since I last shared some pictures of my kiddos, here are a few of them playing in the snow.  It was the first time Paisley had played in the snow and she LOVED it.  She thought it was some neat stuff.

Paisley

Cooper + Ellee Mae

Cooper-you know it's been a good day when you have snowballs on your fur!

tug-o-war

Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone!

weekend + a tasty soup

Sticking to my goals for 2012, I dusted off the camera and packed it around in my bag this weekend.  Friday, I spent part of the day reviewing this tutorial on the basics of understanding your DSLR camera.  Amanda, of Kevin & Amanda has put together an easy to use, simple, informative tutorial to help you understand the basics of your camera.  I found it incredibly helpful which got me back into the shooting of things!   It's not that I don't know how to use the camera, I just needed a quick refresher on what the heck all the buttons do!  I can take pretty darn good photos in natural light, but indoors and at night is another story.  Every. Single. Photo is blurry.

As usual, I followed the dogs....and cats around the house, the park and outside taking hundreds of photos.  I am pretty sure they were annoyed.  So, I'll spare you the hundreds of photos and show you just a handful.

Jimmy

Paisley

Milo

Ellee Mae

Franklin

Franklin + Ellee Mae

So that was that.  Yes, I am missing a photos of one dog and one cat.  The one cat, I am pretty sure has never been on this little blog because she is frightened of her own shadow.  The one dog, Cooper, well, he was way, way too busy playing with his ball to hold still and be photographed.

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Moving right along to this recipe.  This is the second time I have made this Ravioli and Vegetable Soup and the husband LOVES it.  I made it again last night at his request and apparently while I was sleeping he was up snacking on it at midnight.

I should mention that it is incredibly easy to make and can be made ahead of time and it only uses one pot!  It has great flavor with a bit of heat from the tomatoes and crushed red peppers.  It doesn't take too tomato-y either (I don't like tomatoes, but I like this soup).  If you're making for the kiddos, I would leave out the peppers and use regular tomatoes because I think it is really spicy (in a good way).

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional)
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
• 1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram
• 1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat
• 2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pepper-onion mix, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil (or marjoram); bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Season with pepper.

That's all.  Happy Martin Luther King day!

festive salad and a cute puppy

Hello Monday.  Hope everyone's weekend was fantastic!

This weekend we attended a party  that was potluck style.   We agreed to bring a salad and I must admit that after all the holiday hoopla and cooking I really, really wanted to go the local deli and buy a salad and throw it in a pretty bowl.  But....I didn't.  Mostly because my biggest pet peeve with potlucks is when people just buy junk and even bring it in the store container!  I so wasn't going to be THAT person.

I made this festive broccoli, grape pasta salad that I had bookmarked a few months ago.  Although it is not the healthiest of dishes, it was outstanding.  It is a bit time consuming but was worth it in the end--a huge hit at the party.

[source]

I doubled the recipe below to make enough for a big group.  It filled a large bowl nicely.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 (16-oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
• 1 pound fresh broccoli
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup diced red onion (*I used one medium onion)
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved (*I used probably 3-3.5 cups grapes)
• 8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.

4. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

And because she is so darn cute and I am absolutely smitten about her is a current picture of Miss Paisley Mae.  She is almost seven months.  She is the sweetest little thing on the planet if I do say so myself.

marinate

Since the weather has been so nice as of late, we have been barbecuing almost every night.  Yesterday I marinated a steak for Ron using a long time family recipe.  I'm thinking it was a hit as there was not one ity bity scrap left on his plate for the dogs.  I don't eat meat (never have) so I have no idea how it tasted, but according to the husband, it was out of this world.

Here is the recipe:

Mary's Marinate for Steak and Chicken

3 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/4 cup salad oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cloves garlic (I used garlic from a jar--about 2 heaping spoons)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 sliced green onions

Soak overnight; occasionally turning meat.

Enjoy!