I Like Food, Food Tastes Good!

Here are some of the recipes I've been loving on over the past 12 months but have been to lazy to take pictures of and do full write ups on.  I'm chubby and I love these recipes; that's all the endorsement these recipes should need to for you to know they are good and you should make them.

Healthy


Thai Cilantro Stir Fry:  Just yum, good week night recipe. Super easy to make if you just buy a bag of coleslaw and use that as the veggies in it.

Caramelized Honey Dijon Chicken:  Another tasty and easy week night recipe

Ground Turkey and Peppers:  This is a low carb recipe.  I usually add some soy sauce to it for more flavor.

Persian Meatballs with Orange Sauce and Spinach:  Sounds weird to have meatballs with orange sauce, but it works, even my Dad likes it, which I was surprised by.  I substitute the ground meat for ground turkey or chicken.

Black Bean Soup:  I made this for dinner tonight, but reduced the broth a little this time to just make it more like straight black beans.  I don't know where to find Serrano chiles here so I just threw in a can of diced green chiles.

Not Overly Bad Nor Overly Good for You


Sweet and Spicy Honey Grilled Shrimp:  I omitted the sweet chili garlic paste, but that was the only thing I changed.  I would eat these every day if I could, if I could remember to prep them 24 hours in advance.  They really do need to marinade that long to be great.  We bbq'd them and had they with asparagus.  Seriously, let me say it again, I could eat these every day for a few weeks and not get sick of them.

Not So Healthy


Chicken Flautas:  You can't get Rotel here but it's just a can of tomatoes and a can of green chiles.  I also don't add the jalapeno and I don't use chicken thighs that have the bone in or skin still on them.  I don't tend to follow recipes exactly but for the amount of thighs they are telling you to use, I don't think there is any way you can get 24 flautas out of them.  If you did, they'd be the most miserly filled flautas in the world.  We probably make about 12 each batch.  You gotta make sure you top them with guac and sour cream.  We were eating these about once a week but our diet doesn't really allow for it these days (I type as I'm in the midst of currently baking 4-5 dozen of those chocolate chip oreo cookies I posted about earlier!).

Pasta with Bacon and Mushrooms (and Chicken, we add the chicken):  this is our go to weekend recipe when we want to indulge but don't want to go out to dinner.  I bam it up a little by adding a grilled chicken breast to it (I cook that in the pan first and then follow her recipe as she says to)

Baking


Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake:  The name says it all!

Glazed Lemon Cookies:  These are pretty easy to make.  They are a drier, more shortbread like cookie than I normally make but one of the girls at work said it reminder her of something her dad used to make her and she's requested them a few times.  They are like a sweet burst of sunshine in your mouth.

Honey Bun Cake:  MOTH's family isn't as in to chocolate as I am so I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are none chocolate that I still think sound yum; this recipe is one of those.  It's sweet and delicious warm.  Probably best during fall or winter though as it's a bit on the heavy side for a summer night, I think.

Happy Eating!

Open Up the Tired Eyes

View from our table at our favorite restaurant

Well, I did it!  I got the job!  I start in about 2 weeks.  They pulled some strings and were able to get me all the leave I need off for the wedding and everything.  Although it's a substantial pay cut, I think this job will bring me more satisfaction and happiness and I'll finally put that degree I got to some use.  Plus, I hope that this job will start me on a great career path and it's the type of job that I could do anywhere in the world through any university, which is part of the reason I chose teaching in the first place.

I've taken a sick day today because I woke up with a headache and my ears have really been bothering me lately.  I'm going to the doctor's later today to have them check my ears and discuss an ongoing issue I've been having:  for the past 3-4 years a few days a month I get really nauseous or have other unpleasant stomach issues and up until now the few doctors I have seen have said it was probably a gluten allergy.  When I cut gluten out, my life wasn't magically transformed.  And believe me, I know it would've been since my Mom cut gluten at the same time I did and her stomach issues have all disappeared.  After telling some friends about my symptoms, two suggested it might be this other problem that is fairly common in women.  I'm hoping when I speak to the doctor today and suggest that this might be the cause of my problems, they will refer me on to the right person and I can finally get to the bottom of this. I wish I was the type of person who could just "chuck a sickie" but I have so many days off where I'm actually sick that there are never very many days left over to use because I just want to lay in bed and watch Revenge all day.  (P.S. Are you guys watching Revenge?  I know it's cheesy and girly, but I'm totally sucked in!)

I'm hoping that I'll be able to schedule in an appointment next week for a skin cancer check, too, since they also offer that service at the medical center I'm going to this afternoon.  I've never had one done and with my Mom's history of having skin cancers removed, my love of bronzing, and the intense Aussie sun, they'll probably find more than a few things to cut off of me.  I just hope they don't find anything serious.  MOTH has a few sketchy looking freckles and moles that I've been on him for forever to have looked at so hopefully my appointment will motivate him to get it done soon.

Speaking of my MOTH...the big man turns the big 2-9 on Saturday.  Tomorrow we are going out to dinner with his parents and his brother to our favorite restaurant on the water (see the picture at the top of the page).  Have I mentioned this place before?  To be honest, I'm too lazy to read back through my last few blog posts to see if I have so if I have, sorry for the repeat!  It's called Fisherman's Warf in Woy Woy.  The decor is really cute and beachy and laid back and the huge windows overlooking the water open out so I always spend at least 75% of our meals with my head hung over the rail looking in to the water below.  We've seen tons of fish, starfish, and a few stingrays while we've sat there eating.  Last time a momma duck came by with her 12 ducklings and we saw two sea eagles fly by.  They also serve fish, chicken, veggie, and shrimp tacos.  I am obsessed with the shrimp ones.  The only thing they get wrong on them are they chop parsley to serve on top, not cilantro, other than that the whole place leaves me feeling like I'm in California having dinner.

Saturday night for his actual birthday, we are going out for teppenyaki with some friends and then probably hitting the bar for St. Patty's day festivities...I don't like beer, but I've never had green beer, and while I know it's just food coloring added to normal beer, I want to try one anyway!

Sunday, we are headed down to this fake Crate and Barrel place: Wheel and Barrow to do a mini wedding registry.  We weren't going to register anywhere since a) lots of our guests are doing serious travelling to come to our wedding so we weren't expecting gifts anyway and b)we didn't know where to register at for the people who may want to get us something since the wedding is in California, but we'd have to bring it back here to Aus with us.  This place looks good since it is just like Crate and Barrel and they let you register in store and then people can look at your registry online and buy stuff and they accept American credit cards.    We are then hopefully meeting up with one of MOTH's cousins and her husband for dinner in the City that night.  She loves all things wedding and has actually become a wedding officiant and we'd like to ask her if she'd do a reading at our wedding;  I hope she'll say yes!

Speaking of wedding related stuff, we ordered our invites over the weekend and approved the proof yesterday.  Wedding Paper Divas was having a 30% off sale so we jumped on it.  We had had a certain design in mind for the last 6 months but when I went on to personalize it the other day, I came across this other design that caught my eye and when I showed it to MOTH he loved it and had such a gut reaction to it that we knew it was the one.  We're using the flowers on the invite as our main wedding flower.  They are called craspedia or billy buttons/balls and they are an Aussie native.

We also put a deposit down on a house we are renting a few hours outside of Puerto Vallarta for a week for our honeymoon.  I can't wait to get there!

That's about all from here.  I thought for sure I'd posted the recipe for Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies before, but going through all my recipe posts, I haven't.  I know throwing Oreos in to chocolate chip cookies sounds like overkill, but believe me, it's not, no one has ever complained and I get requests to make them all the time.  Make sure you use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, though, so they aren't sickeningly sweet.  I'll be making them tonight for my workmates since one of the girls has put in a request for them.  I will also try and take some photos of the coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting I've just started making over the last few weeks since they are amazing (and I'm not even usually a coconut dessert loving girl) and my workmates have requested them 2 times since I originally made them a month ago along with the recipe I threw together for them some time next week (I'm trying to bake everyone's favorites before I leave).

If I have time this afternoon, I'm hoping I might finally get around to a blog post with links to all the recipes I've been loving lately, too.

The Time Has Come for Colds and Overcoats

This is the Father's Day Card Boyfriend sent to my Dad, saying it reminded him of me!

It probably feels that way, but this blog isn't turning in to a recipe blog, I promise. It's just for now, while the weather sways between sunny and kindof warmish and freezing and overcast/rainy there aren't a whole lot of adventures going on in my life. Plus, I'm really trying to focus on finding on job so that doesn't make for very exciting days, either.

Boyfriend's name has been resolved, sortof. I'd prefer to call him Beau because it means both handsome and someone's sweetheart which Boyfriend is and it's also a guy's name so it'd be easy just to start referring to him as that, but after reading everyone's suggestions in the comments he would like to be called MOTH Dude, like some sort of super hero! He has been thinking up a MOTH Dude theme song, contemplating what sort of outfit MOTH Dude should wear, and even referring to himself (in public!) as MOTH Dude to drive me crazy!

Friday night MOTH Dude and I headed out to an uncelebratory dinner for me not getting the job. There is a SsS BBQ Barn not far from us and we've been wanting to try it because they serve ribs. It wasn't that great and we won't be going back. I ordered a margarita and it tasted like a frozen lemonade, I don't think there was any tequila in it at all. The ribs fell of the bone, but there was less than you'd get at Tony Roma's in Sydney and they needed more sauce. MOTH Dude was starving so he ordered a damper roll that was $5 and the size of a bread roll! We were full when we left, but not satisfied and for $87 you want to leave a place satisfied!

After that, we went over to the Soccer Player and the Hairdresser's place and hung out with them and the baby and it was just a fun, relaxed night sitting around talking and watching the football game on in the background.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Farmer's Market at The Entrance with MOTH's parents. It was a beautiful day and although the market was super crowded and more expensive and had less produce than I am used to, it was nice that after we were done shopping that we could sit on the walkway with our feet hanging over the water and look for schools of fish swimming by. Saturday night, we went over to the Farmer and Tinkerbell's house and it was another fun, relaxed night of sitting around and talking with friends.

Sunday morning, I slept in super later, while MOTH actually got up early and was productive. He went out for a dive at one of the local beaches and it was so cute to see him when he got home because he was bursting with excitement and happiness over all that he had seen. He told me all about it then proceeded to pass out for 3 hours, while I baked up a storm for our weekly dinner at his grandparents' house.

And that was our weekend! Now it's Monday, nearly noon my time and I'm waiting for my family to get back from dinner so I can call my Dad for Father's Day. I'm also working on finishing up my contracting job for the University my Mom is working for and I've got soup started in the Crocpot. So yeah, it's not a recipe blog, but I do have another recipe for you all today. Now a) I claim to not eat pork, but I ate ribs the other day and there is ham in this soup, so I guess I go through phases and b) Yes, I know ham and lentil soup sounds kind of yuck/boring, but it's actually really, really good! One of our family friends threw this together with stuff she found in our fridge the day after Easter and I was skeptical at first, but after having a taste I was hooked and had been craving it ever since! It's really cheap and easy to make, which is a bonus, too! MOTH and I both agreed that the soup kind of tastes like smokey Mexican beans.

You Will Need

1. Crocpot

2. 2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3. 1 Medium Brown Onion

4. 1 Heading Tablespoon of Minced Garlic

5. 1 Large or 2 Medium Ham Hocks

6. 1.5 Liters of Chicken Broth (I use a brand called Massel)

7. 1 Bag of Green Lentils, I think the bag is about 300 grams? or maybe 1.5 cups worth, dried

8. Blender

What To Do

1. Turn your Crocpot on to high and add Olive Oil.

2. Chop up the Onion and add that and the Garlic to the Oil. Let sit for a few minutes, I don't know if this really sautes them or not since Crocpots cook at such a low heat, but I like to pretend it does anyway.

3. Throw in your Ham Hock(s).

4. Add .5-1 Liter of the Chicken Broth.

5. Let the Ham Hock(s) simmer away on low for 6 hours. Meanwhile, soak your Lentils in water for 6-7 hours (can also be done before hand and soaked the night before).

6. Add Lentils to Broth and turn up to high for 2-3 hours, until Lentils are soft and all meat is falling off the bones.

7. Fish out the bone and fat.

8. Scoop half of the Lentils, Ham, and Broth out and into a blender and blend on a medium setting for about 15 seconds.

9. Pour the blended stuff back in with the Broth and other Lentils and mix the two batches together.

10. Serve with hot bread.

We got 6 HUGE servings out of this.

I Can Tell You Buy at Costco

Look at me, I'm a delicious heart attack on a plate!

Have you ever been at least 500 miles from the nearest Costco and found yourself craving a Chicken Bake? No?? It's only us?

From the first time he came to California, Boyfriend was hooked on Costco's Chicken Bakes. I think they are probably about 25% of the reason he now makes the trip out to visit my family every year!

After his second trip to the States, Boyfriend asked if I could try and find out how to make the Chicken Bakes at home so I found a copy-cat recipe and he has been happy ever since.

What You Will Need

1. Enough pizza dough for one pizza. (I used one of the Aldi pizza kits with the pre-made, but uncooked dough)

2. Mozzarella cheese

3. Parmesan Cheese

4. Green Onions

5. 2 Slices of cooked Bacon

6. 1 Cooked Chicken Breast

7. Cesar Salad Dressing (Don't make the mistake I did this last time and get the Aussie stuff because it's cheaper-it was kinda sweet and really gross! Stick with Paul Newman or Cardini's)

What To Do

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2.Roll out pizza dough in to a rectangle (Aldi's is already in this shape). If you'd like to make 2 chicken bakes, rather than one large one, then cut your rectangle in half so you are left with 2 long, skinny pieces.

3. Cut up 2 green onions, using the majority of the white end from both of them and the green end from 1 of them.

4. Spread between 1-2 tablespoons of the Cesar dressing on to the pizza dough (dough should have a thin layer of dressing across all of it).

5. Sprinkle mozzarella over the dressing, again you want a thin layer across all of the dough.

6. Spread chicken pieces, bacon pieces, and green onion slices across the mozzarella using as much of each ingredient as you like.

7. Sprinkle more mozzarella over the top of the chicken, bacon, and green onion so that ingredients are lightly covered.

8. Sprinkle a small amount of parmesan cheese over the mozzarella.

9. Roll dough in to a burrito like shape and tuck in ends of dough so that fillings don't spill out.

10. Spread a handful of parmesan cheese over the top of the Chicken Bake and make sure you press it in to the dough a bit so it doesn't fall off.

11. Bake on an oiled or baking paper lined cookie sheet in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

Image from Kevin and Amanda

Well....that's what I should be doing! I've been slacking this week on my walks. I'm really nervous about getting this job and it's all I can think of. So instead of walking, I've been watching old episodes of Australia's Next Top Model and eating things that taste really, really good but probably aren't the healthiest for me.

If you're looking for comfort food, tonight's recipe will hit the spot! I know it doesn't look like much in the pictures, but it is heavenly. Boyfriend isn't home yet and after trying the sauce, I had to have a little bowl to hold me over til he gets here.

Grilled Chicken Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

Recipe from Kevin and Amanda via the Pioneer Woman (They also have really nice step-by-step pictures on their blog you should check out for more details.)

Here's What You'll Need

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Montreal Steak seasoning (I didn't have this so I used some other chicken seasoning we had)

1/2 pound penne pasta

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chicken broth

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (I didn't know what this meant so I used some really plain, organic pasta sauce)

1 cup heavy cream (I used 300 ml of whipping cream)

1/2 to 1 tsp salt & pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (Didn't have)

6-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded (Boyfriend was supposed to bring this home from his parents' bush but he forgot)

Directions

Rinse chicken breasts in cold water. (Oops!)

Layer between sheets of wax paper and pound to even thickness. (I just cut my chicken in to really thin strips)

Season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.

Preheat grill for medium high heat, lightly oil grate, and grill chicken breasts on medium high heat for 6-8 mins each side. OR heat 2 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Once the butter and olive oil is nice and hot, add chicken breasts and cook 5 mins each side. Set chicken aside to cool.

In a large pot, boil water with 1 tbsp salt. Add 1/2 lb penne pasta noodles and boil according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is tender, but do not let the garlic turn brown (about 3-5 mins).

Add the chicken broth to the pan and allow to reduce by half.

Meanwhile, slice chicken.

Once the broth has reduced, stir in tomato sauce. Add the heavy cream and stir well to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat to low. (Mine didn't need any salt so taste before adding)

Chop the parsley and basil, add to sauce and mix well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Stir well to coat. (I also tossed the chicken in to the mix.)

Serve pasta on plates, top with sliced chicken.

Well You'll Never Gain Weight From a Doughnut Hole

ETA: Well I certainly have great timing as June 4th is National Doughnut Day, too funny!

Who knew Tori Amos sung a song about doughnuts??

Boyfriend didn't get home until 10:30 Wednesday night and after a long walk, some work, and being by myself all day I got bored. I was craving a maple bar, but they don't do that here so I thought it would be a perfect time to try and make my own doughnuts (who knows with ideas like this how I've managed to lose 5 pounds since I've gotten back!) and use the maple extract I had brought over to try and recreate them. Well, the maple ones didn't turn out; my glaze was too runny and the flavor was off.

Boyfriend called just as I started to make the doughnuts and he said I sounded busy so I told him "I'm in the middle of making doughnuts" and he nonchalantly, like I make doughnuts everyday and not at all like this was the first time he's heard of me making doughnuts says, "Oh, well can you make me some cinnamon and sugar ones then" so I did and thank goodness for his request because those ones turned out really, really good! I thought these were the best straight out of the oil and still hot, but Boyfriend had a bunch of doughnut holes for a snack at work the next day and he came home raving about how good they were.

Here's the basic doughnut recipe from LoveToKnow.com and then all I did was drop them straight from the oil and in to a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Doughnut Recipe

• 2 1/2 cups flour (plus lots of extra for when you roll the dough out)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 quarts oil for deep frying (I put about half a cup in the bottom of my wok and topped it off with probably another 1/4 of a cup halfway through so don't waste all this oil from the start)

1. Stir the dry ingredients together.
2. Mix in the milk, beaten egg, and vanilla.
3. Heat the butter until melted and beat in to the flour mixture.
4. Let chill for one hour.
5. Bring oil to 370 degrees. (I didn't have a thermometer so just get the oil nice and hot and turn it down if your doughnts start to brown to quickly)
6. Knead and roll out dough, then cut with a thick, round cutter. (My dough was VERY sticky so you'll probably need to add a lot of flour to keep it from sticking. I used an extra large mug for my outside circle and an egg cup for my inside circle.)
7. Using smaller circle, cut out the middle to create a doughnut shape.
8. Drop doughnuts into oil until they cooked through and light brown then immediately drop in to your cinnamon and sugar mixture.

You Taste So Sweet For Only Me

Image courtesy of Annie's Eats

Pretty much every Sunday night we go over to Boyfriend's Grandparent's house (Nan and Pop's) and before I left and since I've been back, I try and bring something to contribute to the dinner. Over the last three weeks I've made bread rolls twice that one of Boyfriend's cousins said was just about the best thing he's ever eaten, that lemon cake I put the recipe up for in April, chocolate chip peanut butter cookies, and tonight I brought bread and brownies. Seven of the local cousins were there tonight, along with an aunt, two uncles, and three baby second cousins; the crowded nights like tonight are always the most fun there.

It was my first time making brownies from scratch and I was pretty nervous about how they would turn out, but they were so good. They were a lot richer than store bought brownie mix brownies and by the time I got out to get a real serving (compared to the tasters serving I had before I put them out ;D ) they were all gone! Make these as soon as possible, you won't regret it!

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats recipe for Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies:

Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (For the first two ingredients I used a 100g-about a third larger sized bar than a regular sized Hershey's bar- organic, dark chocolate bar, chopped)
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters (I used salted and omitted the salt later in the recipe)
3 tbsp. cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder I brought from home...yum!)
3 large eggs
1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract (I added a 3rd tsp just because I always add extra vanilla)
½ tsp. salt (remember to omit if you used salted butter earlier)
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

1 cup of dark or milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. (I lined my baking dish with baking paper instead.)

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (Stir in cup of chocolate chips.) (It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.) (Unlike the original author, I found that everything incorporated very easily and I only stirred for about 20-30 seconds by hand.) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes (Make sure you watch your brownies! I set my timer for 25 minutes and I think they were pretty much done then. I left them in for another 3 minutes and they came out with a slightly crunchy top and were thick and fudgy in the middle). Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours (I was in a hurry so I just left mine in the baking dish and they were easy to cut and remove when we had them a few hours later).

Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares as desired. Store in an air-tight container. (I've never had brownies last long enough where I needed to store them in an air-tight container!)

I'm still waiting to hear back on the job. I'm not worried yet because the job only closed last Wednesday so I'm hoping I will hear from them by this Wednesday and if not, I will call and ask if there is anything else I can provide them with to help make their decision easier. I still really, really want this job!!

It's supposed to rain again over the next few days. I think it's rained for about 12-14 of the 17 days I've been here so far! If it's not raining, I'll get my walks in (though they aren't as nice without my Dad to walk with) and I've got lots of good things on the menu for Boyfriend and I for dinner this week so I'll be busy every night in the kitchen: Mu shoo Chicken, Roasted Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, Fajitas, Spring Rolls, and something else that I can't think of off the top of my head but is asian inspired.

Hope you all have had/are having a nice weekend. Enjoy that summer weather everyone in the Northern Hemisphere; I'm down here super jealous of you!

A Kona Hema 'O Ka Lani

Image Source

I made these Pacific Rim Burgers that I had seen on the Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy Blog a couple of weekends back and thought they were so, so good. My parents thought they were "interesting" and didn't seem as in to them as I was. I might make these again when I got back to Australia and get Boyfriend's opinion of them because I was really surprised that my parents weren't raving over these burgers like I was. I served them with sweet potato fries (and I thought the mayo made a good dip for the fries, too) and I thought it was the perfect backyard barbecued dinner to celebrate the start of spring.

Pacific Rim Burgers with Ginger Mayonnaise
Adapted from Kristine Snyder and The Food Network

• 1 1/4 pounds ground chicken ( I used one pack of Trader Joe's minced chicken and it was just a little over 1.25 pounds)
• 2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, plus extra for garnish
• 1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2 cloves.)
• 1 teaspoon Asian hot chili sauce (I use Sambal Oelek and add 2 teasoons!) (I didn't have this so I sprinkled some red pepper flakes in)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup bottled teriyaki glaze (I didn't have any so I used soy sauce)
• 4 teaspoons honey (I use 3 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for hands
• 4 sesame buns, split and toasted
• 1 seedless cucumber, peeled and sliced very thinly (any one want to tell me how you easily deseed a cucumber without being left with just the outside ring? guess I misread this and I was supposed to buy seedless to begin with!)
• Ginger Mayonnaise (recipe follows)

…
In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, panko, egg, green onions, chopped cilantro, garlic, chili sauce, and salt. With oiled hands, form mixture into 4 patties ( I think I got more like 6-7 good sized patties out of my meat mixture).

…

In a small bowl, mix together the teriyaki glaze and honey. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken patties and cook on both sides, brushing each side with the teriyaki-honey mixture, about 10 minutes, or until fully cooked through. (SGCC Note: I find that the glaze sometimes starts to burn before the burgers are cooked through, so I sear the burgers and finish them off for 10 minutes in a 400 degrees F. oven)

(I did my burgers on the bbq)

…

Place burgers on toasted buns and top with cucumber and Ginger Mayonnaise. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and cucumber slices.

Ginger Mayonnaise

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used light mayo because that is what we had open)

(I think that I ended up adding more relish and ginger and lime juice and garlic to my mayo to give it a stronger flavor so start out with this and then add extra as needed for your taste)

2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
…
In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

There is Nothing to Keep Me from Coming Back to You

Source

(Yes, I'm singing a love song to my food in the title there like only a fat kid could!)

Tonight I made Avocado Chicken Cakes, Cous Cous, and Mom pitched in and made an Organic Spinach Salad with Oranges and Trader Joe's Soy Sesame Dressing. It was so delish! Oh man, I'd go back and have seconds if I wasn't so full from my first mega serving. I don't think I've ever had cous cous before, is that weird? I've certainly never made it, but it was super simple and really tasty. Here are the recipes for the Avocado Chicken Cakes from the blog Cake, Batter, and Bowl and the Sauteed Garlic and Onion Cous Cous from Hot Off the Garlic Press. In case you've forgotten how I do this, my changes to their recipes will be in parenthesis as we go.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (Like I really measure this stuff, I just poured some in to my fry pan)
1/2 cup chopped red onions (I used white)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used a big heaping tablespoon of the crushed stuff in a jar)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (I used 3 medium sized chicken breasts since this recipe says it serves 2)
1/2 avocado, mashed (mine was a little less than 1/2 cup) (I used 2 medium avocados)
1 cup panko (I poured out 2 cups but ended up with about 1/3-1/2 panko crumbs left over at the end)
1/4 teaspoon cumin (didn't measure, I just sprinkled some in)
1/4 teaspoon paprika (didn't have so I used some chili powder)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (no measuring, just sprinkling)
1/2 teaspoon salt (probably used a bit less than that)
1 egg, beaten (used 2 eggs since I was doubling the recipe)
5 tablespoons of your favorite salsa

Directions:

(Cook chicken if you haven't already)

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions for 5-7 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic and sauté one additional minute.

In medium bowl, mix together the shredded chicken, onion mixture, avocado, 1/3 cup panko, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and egg. Shape mixture into 5 cakes that are 1/2-inch thick; lightly coat all sides of each cake in the remaining 2/3 cup panko.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet. Add 2 chicken cakes and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and 3 chicken cakes. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of salsa over each chicken cake. (Maybe because I had my heat on high, but there is no way that 1/2 tablespoon was enough for 2 of the cakes, just pour some oil in, fry these guys off and if you need more, add more) Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 468 calories, 13.9g fat, 1.8g fiber, 45.3g protein per serving

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Sautéed Garlic and Onion Couscous:

2 drizzles of Olive oil, divided

1 clove garlic

1/3 of an onion, sliced into 1/2 rings

chicken stock or bouillon (I used Trader Joe's Organic Free Range Chicken Broth)

couscous (I used Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Cous Cous)


Add a drizzle of olive oil to small saucepan and in the onion. Saute over low heat until onions turn translucent, being careful not to burn the onion {this will probably take about 10 minutes}. Add a clove off finely minced garlic.

Make chicken stock out of the bouillon according to package directions, for mine it is 1 c. water to 1 tsp granules. Then add the stock to the onions and garlic and use as you would water according to package directions on your cous cous. (I had to add about another 1/2-3/4 cup of stock then what was called for on the recipe because my cous cous was looking dry half way through)

Sorry, this may be confusing. Each of the couscous brands has a different water to couscous ratio they use, so make up however much stock you need and then add however much couscous your package calls for, my current is 1 1/2 c. stock to 1 c. cous cous, plus the garlic and onions we added. The package will tell you the rest, which will likely be something like 'after combining the water {stock} and cous cous, remove from heat and leave it to absorb for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving'.

Drizzle with another light drizzle of Olive Oil and serve. (I also added a tiny bit of salt and some cracked pepper to this)

All-in-all this was a fairly simple dinner to make. I did get the stove pretty messy with spilled cous cous and some oil splatters, but the taste made up for all of that. Hope you enjoy it!

And Your Friends They Sing Along and They Love You

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Here are two more recipes from stuff I made for Nae's going away dinner. I thought the satay was the best I've had at home ever and the peanut sauce (I think it was Simply Thai or Simply Asia brand) was the closest to restaurant quality I've had out of a jar. The salad was also a big hit and I should have made double what I did. Everyone one loved the fresh wonton wrappers in the salad. I had added slivered almonds to the salad, but I don't know if I just didn't get any or what, but they didn't add anything to it so you can leave them out.

Chicken Satay (from Good Things Catered) (I also did steak satay and this marinade worked for that, too)

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise 1 - 1 1/2 inch wide
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/8 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
2 green onions, white and light green portions sliced

Directions:
-In large bowl, combine soy sauce, oil, lime, curry, brown sugar, cilantro and green onion and and stir to combine.
-Add chicken pieces and toss to cover completely.
-Cover bowl and place in fridge for 1-2 hours. (Mine marinated for about 3-4 hours I think)
-Remove chicken from fridge, line baking sheet with foil, top with cooling rack, and turn broiler on low. (We barbecued ours)
-Weave chicken strips through bamboo skewers and place on cooling rack-topped baking sheet. (Once again, we barbecued ours so just place on grill medium to high heat until meat is cooked through)
-Place in middle of oven and broil until tops begin to brown slightly, about 5-7 minutes.
-Remove from oven, flip chicken over and place back in to cook.
-Broil on low until cooked through, about 5 more minutes.
-Remove, let cool for 3 minutes, and serve with Thai peanut sauce.

Won Ton Salad (From Hot Off the Garlic Press)

3 T rice vinegar

1/2 t pepper

1 t salt

1 T sesame seeds (omitted because I didn't buy any)

2 T sugar

1/4 C oil (I used olive because I assumed that's what she meant by oil)

Lettuce

Green Onion (omitted because our meal already had tons of green onions in the other dishes and I find lots of people tend to pick them out and leave them to the side in salads when they are raw)

Won Ton Wrappers

(I threw in some cherry tomatoes because we had a ton)

Prepare a bowl-full of the lettuce{s} of your choice. Add some green onion sliced diagonally. Take a small stack of wonton wrappers and slice them into small sections. Fry them until golden and drain on paper towels. Mix the vinegar, pepper, salt, sesame seeds, sugar, and oil and toss it all together just before serving.

You Taste so Sweet for Only Me

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When I planned last night's menu, this lemon cake wasn't even on it, but the recipe caught my eye when I realized I had all the ingredients already here at the house so I decided, "Why not?" This was a really delicious cake and I got a ton of compliments on it. Mine looked no where near as nice as the one pictured above, but I just cut it in the kitchen and served it so no one ever knew how plain it looked. The other yummy part about this cake is that the top of the cake hardened a little bit and formed a really crunchy sugary top that stayed crunchy even under the frosting. Here is the recipe from Good Things Catered, my comments will be in parenthesis.

Luscious Lemon Party Cake

Ingredients:
Cake -
2 1/2 c. cake flour (I used Trader Joe's white whole wheat fiber which made the cake a little heavy, but also added lots of fiber per serving and still wasn't as "chewy" as typical whole wheat flour)
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder (Didn't use because I didn't have)
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 extra large organic lemons, washed thoroughly then zested and juiced separately (I used 3 small organic Meyer lemons from our tree)
2/3 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
3 egg whites, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp)

Icing -
4 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp meringue powder (Didn't use because I didn't have)
tiny pinch of salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 extra large lemon, juiced (I only had small Meyer lemons so I juiced 2 of them to start with and then ended up adding the juice from a third one)

Additional lemon for decorating (Didn't do but only because I'm not the best cake decorator yet)

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two cake pans. ( I only used 1 9 inch cake pan)
-In bowl of electric mixer sift and add flour, sugar, baking powder, meringue powder, salt, and zest of one lemon.
-Stir with mixer to combine, about 30 seconds.
-Add milk, oil, juice from two lemons, beaten egg whites and extract.
-Beat on medium to combine thoroughly, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
-Remove from mixer and stir with silicone spatula to thoroughly combine (making sure there is no flour mixture left unincorporated at the bottom of the bowl.
-Fill prepared pans 2/3 of the way full and bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (about 25-28 mins for 8 inch pans) (Mine took closer to about 35 minutes in a 9 inch pan)
-Remove from oven, let cool 15 minutes in pan and then turn onto wire racks to cool completely.
-Meanwhile, in the bowl of stand mixer, combine shortening, butter, and half of extract and lemon juice, stiring on low until relatively combined.
-In a separate bowl, combine sugar, meringue powder and salt, then add to mixer while still on.
-Stir, scraping down sides of bowl, until thoroughly combined, adding more lemon juice as needed.
(Add water if needed to reach desired texture.)
-Once cakes are completely cool, even out tops of cakes if needed.
-On cut side of one cake, spread generous amount of icing.
-Place cut side of other cake down onto filling and finish icing cake.
-Decorate with additional lemon and icing as desired.

All-in-all I'd say this was the perfect spring cake and would make a great dessert for Easter. I'm already trying to figure out how I can transport this cake in the car for 6 hours so that I can take one down to my Grandma when we go to visit her next week!

Owl in the Tree Says, "Who, Who, Who."

Since we've moved to Santa Cruz, there have been 3 great horned owls that hunt at night up and down our road. My Mom especially loves them so she and my Dad jumped at the chance to go to an Owl Class put on by the local community college. Saturday was the big day of the class so Friday I made these owl cupcakes that I had seen on Annie's Eats:

Her's were a bit more fancy because she piped frosting on the the eyebrows and made little wispy feathers around the face, but I thought mine turned out well for my first try.

Here's what you will need:

1 box of chocolate cake mix

Eggs, Water, and Oil per the recipe

1 container of chocolate frosting

1 bag of Oreo cookies

1 "to share" bag of MnMs

Jumbo muffin baking ups

Cupcake pan

Toothpick to dab frosting on back of Oreo's with

Here's what you need to do (follow Annie's instructions for more step by step guide and some really nice pictures):

Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe on the box.

Let them cool completely.

Frost cupcakes.

Split Oreos using a butter knife so that all frosting ends up on one half of the Oreo. Make enough frosted halves so that you have two per cupcake.

On the side of the Oreos that don't have frosting, cut in to thirds to create owl eyebrows.

Use toothpick to apply a small dab of frosting on to MnMs on the side that says MnMs. Press MnMs on to Oreos that have frosting left on them.

Frost the back of the Oreos and place on to center of cupcakes.

Frost the bottom backsides of the Oreo thirds you are using for the eyebrows and apply them (facing opposite directions, pointy side out) above the eyes.

Place a yellow MnM, centered, below the eyes to form the beak.

If you are good at piping frosting, pipe frosting on to eyebrows and create wispy lines around the face that look like feathers.

The Lemon Song

My sister, Nae, is leaving on a Girls' Weekend to San Francisco tonight with D.C. and the Camp Counselor so I decided to make them these Lemon Burst Cookies that I had seen on Brown Eyed Baker for the road. I'm always interested in trying recipes that call for lemons in them since I've got a whole, huge tree in the backyard that is always full of ripe fruit that tend to go to waste .

I made a few little tweaks to the recipe (and over did one batch of them), but so far during our pretrip taste test, everyone loved them! The best part is these were super easy to whip up!

Here's what you need:

1 package lemon cake mix (I don't think they have this in Australia, but you could probably use a white cake mix and add more lemon juice and limoncello to it to get a similar flavor) (I haven't tried it with the white cake mix so don't hold me to it turning out perfectly, but I plan to experiment with it when I get back)

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Zest of 2 lemons

2.5 Tablespoons lemon juice (I'd use about 1/3 of a cup if you are using white cake mix)

1 teaspoon of limoncello (I'd use a tablespoon if you are using white cake mix)

1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

Here's what you do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Make sure you either grease your cookie sheets or line them with baking paper because these cookies tend to stick.

2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract until well blended.

3. Once your confectioner’s sugar is in a bowl, drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in confectioner’s sugar until lightly coated and place on baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

(Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)