Third Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

 On Saturday we hosted our 3rd Pumpkin Carving party since living in our house. I failed in the photo taking part, and the pumpkin carving part (our pumpkins are still whole!). But thrived in the food making. Steve and I didn't end up carving our pumpkins because I was helping a 2 year old paint hers and Steven was cleaning up the food. And, sadly, no pictures of anything were taken. I REALLY need to get better at that! But, we all had a great time. There were a lot of laughs, good food, loud playing children and a few pretty adorable pumpkins by the end of the night. 

 I made a plethora of things... 'Spider' Deviled Eggs, Nacho 'Pumpkin' Cheese Ball, 'Witches Broom' Hot Dogs, 'Spider' Shrimp Dip, my famous Macaroni and Cheese, Gma J's Chili, and 'Kitty Litter' Cake. I will post the recipes below but you will have to use your imagination because like I said I didn't take many pictures.

Salmon with Baby Artichokes

 Last night I got back into the cooking swing of things and made a delicious dinner! I am not a huge fan of salmon but I am trying to get us to eat healthier and eating fish seems like a necessary step in that process... I might not LOVE salmon but I LOVED this dinner- it was super tasty!

 Here is the recipe...

Salmon with Baby Artichokes

1/3 c. olive oil
3 large cloves of garlic
3 lemons
can of baby artichokes
1 onion
pepper
salt
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 lb. salmon

 Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Once golden remove garlic from oil with slotted spoon. 
 Fill a medium sized pot with cold water, juice of 2 lemons, and 2 of the lemon halves. Drain the artichokes and add them to the pot. add 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1 tbsp. of the garlic oil. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat and let simmer for 4 minutes. Drain and discard the lemon halves.
 Position oven racks so one is in the upper third of the oven and the other is at the lower. Preheat to 400 degrees. Thinly slice the remaining lemon and the onion. Pat the artichokes dry and add to a baking sheet with onion and lemon slices. Add 2 tbsp. of the garlic oil and toss until coated. Spread them out in a single layer and put on top rack in oven and let roast for about 35 minutes (stirring once or twice).
 Meanwhile, add salmon to pan with the remaining garlic oil. Season with fennel seed, red paper flakes, salt, and pepper. Brush both sides with soy sauce and flip so that both sides are seasoned and coated. Roast on lower oven rack for 15 to 20 minutes or until just cooked through. )Salmon should flake apart with a fork when cooked.)
 Top salmon with artichokes, lemons and pepper then serve. I made mashed potatoes as a side and it worked perfectly with the saltiness of the soy sauce. It was delicious.

 I got this recipe from my Food Network Magazine and slightly modified it (by adding soy sauce and using canned artichokes instead of fresh ones). Try it out and let me know how you like it!!

Gma J's Chili

 I have this dream of having a big family Sunday dinner- every Sunday. Unfortunately, we don't live near enough to our blood families to make this happen. So, I have started the tradition with a few of our neighbor friends. It is a good time for us all to get together, share laughs, and talk. 

 Steve and I often find ourselves having regret about deciding to buy a townhouse versus a single family home. But, when I get to thinking about it- I wouldn't change that decision for anything in the world... Except maybe a giant mansion on 2 acres... Joking... Kind of. See, if it weren't for us having moved into a town house and forcefully having to be literally so close to our neighbors we might not be so close to our neighbors. Since we didn't know ANYONE here having people right outside our door forces us to interact and get to know our neighbors. And, this I am thankful for. Our neighbors have become our family away from family. We are super close with 2 households and acquaintances with a lot of others. Our direct neighbors that we share a front porch with is a family of 5 and the people across the driveway is a woman and her roommate are the people that have become our family. We were grateful to get such amazing neighbors... I know some people aren't so lucky.

 Anyways, this Sunday I decided to host a family dinner with our 2 neighbors across the driveway, and their dog, my God-Daughter. I have been wanting to make my grandmothers chili forever- but Steve isn't a big fan of soup so I knew that in order for me to make a big pot (which she always does) that I would need to recruit some help eating it. It turned out as good as my Grandma's and it was COMPLETELY gone. Yeah, 4 people ate an ENTIRE pot of chili. It even got called the best chili ever by one of our guests.

 Here is the recipe...

G-ma J's Chili
1.5 packet of McCormick's chili seasoning (Grandma says she uses one regular and a half of a spicy packet- but our grocery store was out of spicy so I went all regular)
 1/2 green pepper
 3/4 onion
 1.5 lb. ground beef
 1 can kidney beans
 1 can spicy chili beans
 1.5 can Tomato sauce

Season the ground beef (with salt and pepper) and brown in large pot over medium high heat. Once browned, add the finely chopped green pepper and onion. Let the veggies soften then add 1.5 packet of chili seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Let sit for a few minutes then add the beans and tomato sauce. Stir and let cook until it comes to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer until ready to serve.

 I made my chili around 2 and left it cooking/simmering until about 3:15. Then I covered with a lid and turned off the heat and let sit until about 25-30 minutes before we were ready to eat at 7. Grandma said the longer that it can sit the better it is because the seasoning seeps into the beans. Which is why I made it so early. It was delicious. 

 If I would have been thinking I would have served baked potatoes on the side. But, that idea didn't come about until we were sitting down at dinner. It would have been amazing to put the chili and some cheese in a baked potato. Oh well, next time! 

 Well, the secret is out of the bag on the world's best chili... Make it and let me know how it turns out! 

Game Day Ribs

 I have been slacking major with the blog posts lately. Oops. I need to get better at this! 

 Nevertheless, we had a pretty great weekend despite our Mountaineers getting slaughtered by Texas Tech. We got up that morning and I played 'Horse' and 'Whale' with my two little neighbor boys (7 and 14). That was a lot of fun. I come from a pretty close knit family and being away from them is anything but easy. Which makes having neighbors that became our family away from home even more special to me. I love them. Garyn (7) always got to go first because he could spell horse and whale the best! ;)

 Then, Steve and I made a quick grocery store run to pick up ingredients to make the 'best ribs ever' (according to Steven) and stopped on the side of the road to buy some pumpkins for me to paint. I only got 1 rack (the recipe called for 3) and they were HOUSED within 30 minutes of being finished by just the 2 of us. I started them before the game started,  they were finished by half time and gone by the 4th quarter. Our game was so horrible that I went outside at the beginning of the 4th quarter and drowned my football sorrows with some pumpkin painting.

 Here is the rib recipe... Seriously, try them they are AMAZING!

Sweet-And-Spicy Baby Back Ribs

2 lb. rack baby back pork ribs

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 c. beer (I used Leinenkugal Sunset Wheat)

4 tablespoons butter

8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (I used 3 GIANT cloves)

1 tbsp. chile powder

1 c. thai sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp. backed brown sugar

1/3 c. rice vinegar (found with the Asian food- NOT with the other vinegar as one would expect)

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put the rib meat-side down on a cutting board and remove the membrane with a knife (fortunately, my wonderful neighbor did this step for me because raw pork makes me gag). Rub the ribs with lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the ribs bone-side down in roasting pan, then add beer. Cover with foil and cook in oven until meat pulls away from the bone. Took an hour and 35 minutes.

 Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden (about 4 minutes). Add the chili powder and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in chile sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and 1 c. of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and let the sauce thicken for about 40 minutes (stirring occasionally) (warning this makes your house smell super amazing!).

 Remove ribs from the oven and turn the temperature up to 400 degrees. Remove the foil and stir 1/4 c. of the liquid from the pan into the sauce then toss away the rest. Pour the sauce over the ribs making sure that it has a good coating all over. Save about 1/4-1/2 cup of the sauce. Return to the oven and cook for another 35 minutes. I kept opening the oven to spoon the sauce onto the top of the ribs (and burned myself pretty badly). 

 Cut the ribs then return to the roasting pan and pour the remaining sauce on them. Toss around and then serve. 

 I found this recipe in a food network magazine and I hope that I am not breaking any copyright laws by posting it in my blog! 

 Warning: these ribs are seriously delicious!  

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

 Today, I was productive... Way to get out of my funk! I completely finished ALL of our laundry, vacuumed the entire house, worked on my blog AND made a fantastic dinner... Good-bye, Funk. Hello, Productivity.

Here is the recipe for my homemade, better than the jarred stuff, spaghetti. It is super easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Put large pot of water on to boil.
Start cooking .5-1.5 lb of ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic until browned.
Finely chop 1 small-medium onion and 2-3 cloves of garlic.
Once, beef is browned, drain fat and return to pan. Turn heat down to low/simmer. 
Add onions, 1-1.5 cans of tomato sauce (I use Hunts), and a can of diced tomatoes.
Salt and add noodles to boiling water (if you cover the pot with wooden spoon it will prevent water from boiling over).
**Don't forget**- set timer for 9 minutes
Season the beef mixture with salt, granulated garlic, salt and pepper (to taste).
Add chopped garlic to sauce mixture
Add 4-6 oz cream cheese to sauce mixture
Add 1.5 tbsp of Italian Seasoning
Add 4 tablespoons of sugar (This is the sauces secret weapon. You can add as much or as little as depending on your sweet liking- but definitely add some!)
Add 3 tbsp of butter and let simmer
Drain noodles once timer goes off/ they are cooked to your liking
Add about 2 tbsp of butter to noodles as they drain in colander
Finally, combine sauce and noodles in large bowl or pot and stir.

 You could also put the combined product in the oven (at 350) for 15-20 minutes to make it set up.  Add mozzarella and parmesan cheese to the top of your individual servings then eat up!

 It is sooo good as soon as it is made- but makes even better left overs! 

 I also have enough sauce for another serving which I will freeze to be used for the next time. My sauce this time came out a little thin- if I had some tomato paste on hand I would have added it- however, it was just fine with out it. Also, another secret weapon is to add a few heaping spoonfuls of Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herbs Cooking Cream (but I am out!) so it didn't get added this time. It makes it even better and creamier in my opinion. 
 Don't be afraid to edit this and make it your own. You can serve it on any kind of noodles, or make it with out any meat at all or with whatever meat you might like. This is also the sauce that I use for my lasagna. It doesn't take much more effort than the jarred stuff but the outcome is A LOT better.

 Hope you enjoy the spaghetti. Let me know how yours turns out or any changes that you make for it to turn out better! Bon Appetite. 

Zesty BBQ Chicken

 So, now that College Football is in full swing; our Saturdays basically consist of us (or my fiance) sitting on the couch watching football from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to bed. I decided that it would be a good time to start a new 'family' traditions... Which is basically me throwing something in the crock-pot and sitting around the TV to enjoy the fruits of my not-so-hard labor.
 Today's concoction was soo good I think that I should share...

 Zesty BBQ Chicken

3 frozen boneless chicken breasts
12 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce (I used Baby Ray's)
1/2 c. italian dressing (I used Olive Garden dressing)
1/4 c. orange juice (I used Minute Made- made from frozen concentrate)
1/4 c. brown sugar 
2 tbsp. of worchestshire sauce
 Throw everything in your Crock-Pot. Cook on High for 3-4 hours or on Low for 5-6 hours. I did mine on high for 4 hours. Also, after the chicken was thawed I shredded it up using tongs and a knife.
 I found that it was better after it had time to cool and thicken up. The sauce was a little thin before I let it set for a few hours- but then it was nice and thick.
 Serve on a roll. 

I enjoyed mine with a slice of cheese and mayo. Steve ate his with just cheese. It was YUMMMMY. Try it out!

Mexican Lasagna

 As a person that prepares dinner at least four times a week and packs my fiance a lunch five times a week; food takes up a lot of my thoughts. And, I often find myself asking myself "What does everyone else eat?". Granted, I do not consider it below me to fix a boxed dinner now and again (Velveeta Skillets, Chef Boyardee Pizza, and Pasta Sides are the boxed staples); I feel even more satisfied when I prepare a mouth watering home made meal. 

 I am a mexican food creator queen. I make a Mexican Lasagna that would bring all of the boys to the yard and my Chicken Enchiladas are pretty amazing too. I also make my red pasta sauce from (mostly) scratch and everyone raves about it (used for spaghetti and lasagna). Just to name a few.

 Part of this blogs intention to share and hopefully have new recipes to try out shared with me. However, I don't think I ever make the same identical thing twice, as I don't ever write out recipes and stick to them. I am more of an add a few things here and there, taste as I go, trial and error, kind of cooker. With that said when following any of my recipes feel free to add things, change things, and make them your own. Hopefully, you will share your kitchen experiences with me and we can all grow into master-family dinner-making chefs together. 

 So, from now on I will start blogging recipes with out all of this explanation. Try them out, let me know how they turn out.. You make something that tops it? Let me know!

Mexican Lasagna

I make it in my trusty 8x8 glass 2 qt. Pyrex baking dish (I make everything in this, I own 2 and they get a lot of action in my kitchen). It makes 9 regular lasagna sized servings. And, typically everyone has at least 2 pieces (because it's THAT good).

What you'll need... 8 regular sized soft tortillas, about 6 oz. of cream cheese, about 1-1.5 lb. of ground beef (I suppose you could substitute with just about any kind of meat), 1/4 c. taco seasoning (I bought a giant season shaker of it at Sams, but you could use a packet or make your own), a can of corn, small can of diced green chilies, can of Diced Tomatoes (I use RoTel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies), salsa (I used Mrs. Renfro's Black Bean Salsa, it is a little more expensive but I think the taste is worth it), shredded cheese (I use Kraft Four Cheese Mexican Blend).

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking dish (I use Pam, however as soon as my Pam runs out I am going to attempt to make my own with no fillers or preservatives, I'll post on that when my Pam runs out).

Start browning your ground beef in a large, deep-ish skillet over medium high heat (I usually season my meat with some salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder while it is browning). While the beef is browning start putting cream cheese on the tortillas then folding them in half. Once beef is cooked through, drain it, turn the stove temperature down to low or simmer, put it back in the skillet and add 1/4 cup of Taco Seasoning, and the can of Diced tomatoes (you will want to kind of smash them down so the liquid comes out of them, you don't want the sauce super runny but you do want it to be saucy enough to not make your lasagna dry, use your own discretion.) If you are unhappy with the consistency you can always add a little water or tomato sauce to thin it out. After it is well incorporated, add the corn and chilies (feel free to add anything else that you think would be good here). Let warm through and remove from heat. 

Put a thin layer of prepared sauce in the bottom of your baking dish. Then a layer of the tortillas. I use 4 on the bottom later to cover the whole bottom and give it a good base but use just two on the other two layers. Add a layer of sauce, then a layer of cheese. Repeat Twice. Then add a pretty decent sized layer of salsa to the very top and sometimes I add some taco sauce for an extra little kick. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until bubbly. Remove, let sit up for 10-15 minutes (if you can resist that long). And, you're ready to chow! 

I searched my phone and computer for a picture of this stuff- but had no luck.. I'll take one and add it next time I make it. Bon appetite.