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Category Archives: Recipes

Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)

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First, let me tell you this: in our house, the TV is almost permanently tuned into the Food Network. Seriously – we love watching this station. When we change the channel, it typically gets changed to the Cooking Channel. Notice a pattern yet? Okay, so I have watched a few shows that talked about Mexican street corn and each time, my mouth started watering! So when I was at the grocery store last week, I saw some fresh ears of corn and decided it was time to give this a try. The other night, I cooked this up along with some grilled chicken tacos. Let me tell you… These were DELICIOUS! They got 2 thumbs up by the kids and grown-ups alike. If you’ve never tried this before, let me tell you – you are missing out! If you do try it, let me give you a hint – don’t be afraid to slather on the mixture. The more, the better!

*Photo and recipe courtesy of Serious Eats.

Hereford Style Bagels

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These are not NY Bagels.

They are not grocery store, gummy texture, never grow mold bagels.

They are not . . . english muffins, either.

These are Hereford Style Bagels, baby!

 bagel_Snapseed

I was going to show you a photo of the bagel I ate for breakfast. Instead, I offer you the photo of where the bagel was last seen.

I started making bagels when my family lived in Crete. We couldn’t reliably get bagels from our commissary. Either someone would fail to order them, people would buy them in bulk when the shipment came in, or maybe there was a bagel strike somewhere. Regardless of the reason, I realized that if I wanted a bagel, I was going to have to make it myself.

Bagels are easy to make and they are so much tastier than store bought ones. Please do not be intimidated by the making of bagels. Essentially, they are bread rolls that are boiled first. Not a big deal. If you have ever made any kind of dough, including play dough, you can do this.  In fact, I think you may be qualified if you’ve ever made Mud Pies.

Pure Joy

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Do you like Almond Joys? Or Mounds? Or Bounty?

If so, this is the recipe for you. I couldn’t pass this one up. It is as healthy as you are going to get, when indulging in a candy bar. It even has the Matt stamp of approval. So, you just know they rock!

These are so easy that I also made these for Cookie Wednesday, along with those yummy Chocolate Crispy Bars.

The right kind of coconut is key here – finely shredded, unsweetened. I could not find this type and had to substitute it with shredded, sweetened coconut. It worked, but not well, as they photo clearly shows. This recipe yields 12 bundles of joy. However, I only produced 9. Mine were a little larger due to the coconut problem. But they still taste amazing!

Chocolate Crispy Bars

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Three years ago, or was it four? I decided to liven up summer vacation by introducing Cookie Wednesdays. This has turned out to be a big hit.

The kids and I (okay, Matt too) decide what to make. Since summer break tends to be long, everyone gets to have his or her cookie and eat it too. Typically, we all run out of ideas before the end of summer. I know. It’s a cryin’ shame.

Why Wednesdays and not Tuesdays or Thursdays? Well, simply because Wednesdays are mid-week and I was really trying hard to cope with those long summer days. The great thing about these days are that the kids are involved in the cookie making process. However, they usually are anyway, so this really isn’t breaking news.

This week, I chose Chocolate Crispy Bars. They turned out to be delightful.

Decadent.

Delicious.

Dreamy.

Downright Delectable.

I’m done.

 

 

Malva Pudding

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Thanks to a very dear friend of ours, we were introduced to a delicious South African dish while we were living in Crete. Malva Pudding is a wonderful dessert for any occasion – and last night we decided to finally make it for ourselves. It was absolutely delicious – and brought back memories of sharing time with our friends back in Crete.

Spaghetti and Pesto Trapanese

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We just made this delicious dish last night and were very impressed. Ginger made some homemade whole wheat spaghetti noodles to go with this and they helped to bring out the delicious flavors of this very easy to prepare dish. We’ll definitely be making this again – and VERY soon!

Three Bean BBQ Beans

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Just cooked these up for last night’s dinner at the chapel and they got rave reviews, so I thought I’d share the recipe. Very easy to cook and come out absolutely delicious!

Recipe: Three Bean BBQ Beans

Summary: Great BBQ Bean recipe for picnics and potlucks.

Ingredients

  • 31 ounces dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 31 ounces white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 20 ounces pineapple chunks in juice, drained
  • 44 ounces pork and beans (DO NOT DRAIN)
  • 18 ounces barbecue sauce, any flavor
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 lb kielbasa, sliced and quartered into bite-sized pieces

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot, stir, and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.

Quick Notes

I could not find any white kidney beans, so just used Great Northern beans instead. I think any white bean will do.

Cooking time (duration): 10 minutes prep / 7-9 hours til ready.

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: USA (Southern)

My rating:5 stars: ★★★★★

Chili Corn Bread Salad

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I’ve been looking for a way to share recipes for some time now and finally think I’ve got it figured out. So, here’s my first recipe that I think you all will love.  I have made this a few times now and it has been a hit every time.

Recipe: Chili Corn Brean Salad

Summary: Easy to make and extremely delicious salad. This will be a hit at any potluck!

Ingredients

  1. 1 (8 1/2 ounce) package corn muffin mix
  2. 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
  3. 1/8 teaspoon cumin
  4. 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
  5. Pinch of rubbed sage
  6. 1 cup mayonnaise
  7. 1 cup sour cream
  8. 1 envelope ranch dressing mix
  9. 2 (15 ounce each) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  10. 2 (15 1/4 ounce each) cans whole kernel corn, drained
  11. 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
  12. 1 cup chopped green pepper
  13. 1 cup chopped green onions
  14. 10 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
  15. 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400.
  2. Prepare corn bread batter per instructions on package.
  3. Stir in the chilies, cumin, oregano and sage.
  4. Spread into 8×8 greased baking pan.
  5. Bake for 20-25 minutes (or until an toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean); cool.
  6. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream and dressing mix; set aside.
  7. Crumble half the corn bread into a 13x9x2 dish.
  8. Layer with half the beans, mayonnaise mixture, corn, tomatoes, green pepper, onions, bacon, and cheese.
  9. Repeat layer.
  10. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

CulinaryTradition: USA (Southwestern)

My rating: 5.0 stars
*****