Don't Forget Your Veggies!

I am trying to make a more conscious effort to serve more vegetables as side dishes. Here is a fantastic and easy recipe I found.

Grean Beans Amandine

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring beans and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the beans are crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook almonds in butter over low heat. Stir in lemon juice and seasoned salt, if desired. Add beans and heat through.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Brenda DuFresne. I can't actually find it on their website anymore though. I had gathered this recipe years ago, and just finally got around to trying it. I'm glad I saved it since it isn't on the site anymore!

Notes: I used sliced almonds instead of slivered (it was what I had). I also only used 1 tablespoon of butter, and I increased the lemon juice to my taste (probably more like a tablespoon because I like things lemony).

Oh, and I forgot to cut my green beans into 2-inch pieces. Definitely make sure you cut them! It makes them easier to eat!

This was so good. I definitely wouldn't skip the seasoned salt because it added such a nice flavor.

Serendipitous!

You know how in the movie "Serendipity," they go and have some frozen hot chocolate at a fancy place in New York City? Well you can too...and you can do it at home. It is so easy and absolutely delicious.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

4 cups ice
5 packets hot chocolate mix (about 0.71 oz each)
1 1/2 cups milk
Whipped cream, optional

Directions:

Fill a blender to the 4 cup mark with ice. Add cocoa mix and milk. Use the "high" or "ice crush" setting to blend for about 30-40 seconds.

Pour into glasses and top with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

Source: A wonderful website called Jen's Favorite Cookies. You can find the original link here. Be sure to check out her site. First of all, her pictures are way better than mine, and she also has so many amazing recipes there.

Notes: I am amazed at how well this worked. Have you ever tried to mix hot cocoa mix into cold milk? It gets all clumpy and the mix doesn't dissolve all the way. I wondered if this might happen here...but it didn't! The blender kept things smooth.

I opted to skip the whipped cream because I was trying to watch my calories, and this was so rich and satisfying without the whipped cream. I can only imagine that it would be even more decadent (and beautiful) with the whipped cream. I might even throw some grated chocolate on top of the whipped cream for a special touch.

So, if you are in the mood for a hot cocoa flavored smoothie, this is definitely what you need!

Everything is Rosy

You know, I love roses. We had such a beautiful rose bush at the house that I grew up in. It grew such beautiful long stemmed light pink roses. They were the most heavenly smelling roses I have ever smelled. When we moved, I was so tempted to dig that bush up and bring it with us! It turns out that the new owners pulled the bush out, which broke my heart, and made me REALLY think that I should have just dug it up and taken it with me. I have no idea what specific kind of roses they were either. I'll have to do some research one of these days and see if I can get a bush of my own that is like that one. I remember even making rose syrup with those petals once upon a time when I was in high school, because yes, even the taste of roses is heavenly (they are non-toxic and completely edible, which is why you can put them on wedding cakes).

Here is a recipe that will allow you to appreciate the beauty of roses at any time of the year.

Rose Petal Jelly

Ingredients:

2 cups water
3 cups unsprayed pink rose petals, thicker tissue at the base of petals removed
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 ounces liquid pectin
1 tablespoon rose water

Directions:

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan; remove from heat. Add petals; cover, and steep for 30 minutes. Strain liquid into clean saucepan. Discard petals.

Add sugar and lemon juice to pan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring, over medium-high heat. Boil 2 minutes; add pectin, and boil 2 minutes (for firmer jelly, boil up to 2 minutes more). Remove from heat, add rose water. Pour into sterilized jars, and let cool completely. Store in refrigerator up to 6 months.

Source: Martha Stewart. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: Holy cow, this was the easiest thing to make ever! I did boil my jelly an additional 2 minutes (so it would be more firm).

I also did not trim the ends off of my rose petals.

I think rose flavoring is a pretty acquired taste, but I love it. Oh, and do not be tempted to use more than 1 tablespoon of rose water. It is pretty potent stuff. If you use too much, it will taste like perfume.

As is, this was sweet and delicate. Oh, and you can find rose water at middle eastern markets. My mom got me three jars of rose water at a market in Salt Lake! I will have to research some more rose recipes! I will definitely be making some Turkish Delight (which is traditionally rose flavored) in the near future.

Summer Picnic Salads

I just love summery side dish salads. I also love hearty salads where you can have the leftovers for lunch and feel perfectly satisfied. Here are a couple that you might like. I know we sure liked them!

Tortellini Bacon Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

2 (9 ounce) packages refrigerated three cheese tortellini
1 pound bacon
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup bottled coleslaw dressing

Directions:

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions, drain, rinse with cold water, and refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Chop the bacon into 1/2-inch pieces while still a little warm.

Place the tortellini, bacon, broccoli, grape tomatoes, and green onions into a salad bowl. Pour the dressing over the ingredients, and toss lightly to coat. Chill in refrigerator before serving.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by MostAwesomeChefEver. You can find it here.

Notes: This was so good. I loved it...and it most definitely made for awesome lunch leftovers for me!

Picnic Potato Salad with No Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

2 pounds small new potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with lightly salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes; drain.

Whisk vinegar, olive oil, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl; add the potatoes and onion. Toss gently to coat. Let stand until cool, about 30 minutes.

Fold blue cheese or gorgonzola and chives into potato salad until blended.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by It's A New Day. You can find it here.

Notes: We had a bad experience with blue cheese recently where we tried a buffalo chicken lasagna recipe that we were excited about that basically just tasted like blue cheese. Now, we all love blue cheese, but that was just too much. So, we have decided to tone it down lately and we have been opting for gorgonzola in place of blue cheese. Prepared with the gorgonzola, I absolutely loved this recipe. it was so good. I couldn't get enough of it. The lelftovers were also a good lunch for me!

Po-ta-toes

Whether you boil 'em, mash 'em, or stick 'em in a stew, I can never get enough of potatoes.

Here are two potatoes recipes that we found that will complete any meal!

Lemon Horseradish New Potatoes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes, unpeeled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole dish in the oven. stir in salt, pepper, horseradish, and lemon juice. Place potatoes in a dish and toss to coat with butter mixture.

Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by numnum. You can find it here.

Notes: We loved these. They had such a great flavor. We did decide though that in the future, we would probably bake them uncovered for all or part of the baking time to allow them to get crispy on the outside as well as tender on the inside.

California Creamy Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 can (10-3/4 oz) condensed cream of potato soup
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 lbs. red potatoes (about 8), very thinly sliced
1 cup shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix first three ingredients in large bowl. Add potatoes; toss to coat. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with cheese.

Bake 55 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Sprinkle with chives.

Recipe notes: When thinly slicing a large amount of potatoes, use a food processor or manual slicer (mandoline) for even results. Place the sliced potatoes into a bowl of cold water until ready to cook to prevent them from darkening.

Yield: 24 servings, 1/2 cup each.

Nutrition information: 90 calories, 4.5 g fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 3 g protein.

Source: Kraftrecipes.com. You can find it here.

Notes: These had such a great flavor. One caution though, 55 minutes might not be quite long enough for your potatoes to be tender. Make sure to test them with a fork for tenderness before you assume they are done.

"What Is That Amazing Smell?"

"Chocolate! Ha ha ha!" I frequently get those lines from Frozen stuck in my head, but the good part about it is that my youngest son laughs at that line every single time (and he has the cutest laugh), and he now says "chocolate" in pretty much the cutest way possible.

Anyway, here is a great chocolate cake recipe that we recently found.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 ounce) package Swiss chocolate cake mix (such as Duncan Hines)
1 1/4 cups chocolate milk
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder, optional
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup evaporated milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x13-inch pan with butter and flour.

Bake cake mix, chocolate milk, canola oil, eggs, and espresso powder (if using) together in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer on a low speed until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speped to medium and continue beating another 2 minutes; pour into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan until it is no longer hot to the touch. While the cake is still warm, poke lots of holes all over the cake with a small skewer or a fork.

Whisk sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, evaporated milk, and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder together in a bowl until cocoa is mostly incorporated into the liquid; slowly pour the milk mixture evenly over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely as the liquid soaks into it.

Sift confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder together in a bowl.

Beat heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute. While continuing to mix, add sugar-and-cocoa mixture to the cream in 2 batches, allowing the first to incorporate before adding the second. Increase mixer speed to medium-high; beat until soft peaks form and the cream is thickened and spreadable. Spread chocolate whipped cream on the cake to serve.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by MrsFisher0729. You can find it here.

Notes: It is currently rated as a 5 star recipe, and it deserves every one of those stars! This is yummy stuff.

 

 

Summer is a Time for Sandwiches

I think you can't really have summer without having at least one pulled pork sandwich. Am I right? Here is a new recipe that we found, which we liked very much.

Slow Cooker Pulled Jerk Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 boneless pork shoulder (2 1/2 lbs.)
1 tablespoon Jamaican jerk seasoning (dry)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 cup cola
2 cups barbecue sauce
8 sandwich buns

Directions:

Spray 3 1/2 to 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Remove fat from pork. Rub jerk seasoning over pork; sprinkle with thyme. Place pork in slow cooker. Sprinkle with onion. Pour cola over pork.

Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.

Remove pork from slow cooker; reserve 1/2 cup juices. Use 2 forks to pull pork into shreds. Place pork in slow cooker. Stir in barbecue sauce and reserved juices. Increase heat setting to High. Cover; cook 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Spoon filling onto bun.

Source: Betty Crocker. You can find it here.