Tricky Treats

Every self proclaimed (and professional) cook has a couple of random and unexpected frustrations in the kitchen. The chefs that I work with surprise me with their soft boiled egg or perfectly shaped cookie setbacks. Super simple dishes, right? And for professional chefs? What kind of restaurant does this girl run, anyway? If you're in the kitchen at all, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't fret, even the pro's experience these simple dish vexations. Oddly, candied nuts and home made hash browns have been my personal tricky treats. However, I am very proud to say that I may have mastered the trick to these treats!

For perfect hash browns:

1. Peel and grate desired amount of potatoes, I normally do about 4 for Jeremy and I  (brown, red, sweet all work)
2. Put grated potatoes into a bowl of cold water, wait until the water is very cloudy (approx 7 mins)
3. Strain grated potatoes, really well
4. Repeat 3 times, maybe more depending on how starchy your potatoes are, until the water is fairly clear with the grated potatoes in it
5. Strain potatoes extremely well (I normally let it sit in the strainer for 20 or so mins to drain as much water as possible)
6. Pour all of the grated potatoes on to a kitchen towel and pat dry, the dryer the better
7. Heat a large skillet with 1 tbsp of butter (for 4 potatoes), 1 tbsp of minced garlic and enough olive oil to lightly fill the bottom of the pan.
8. Once the butter is melted and you can smell the garlic, transfer the grated potatoes to the pan, sprinkle whatever seasoning you would like and leave until the pan side is browned, flip, done!

And for delish candied nuts:

1. Boil raw nuts until soft- 15/20 mins ish (pictured below: about 1 lb of whole/raw walnuts)

 2. Strain the nuts and immediately transfer to a boil of white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and I add a pinch of chili powder. Coat every nut completely by tossing them in the sugar mixture. (Tip: save the nut water to make a yummy gravy with to pour over chicken or any protein later on)

 3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Transfer coated nuts to a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 or so minutes, you'll know when they're done when the sugar stops boiling and starts caramelizing; sticking to the nuts.

 4. Let the nuts sit for just a few minutes and transfer into a bowl. You don't want them to completely harden on the wax paper, unless you eat wax paper intentionally as a supplement for some sort of fiber deficiency...

And there you have it! Enjoy and good luck conquering  your personal tricky treats!

Cheese-less Pizza

I was craving pizza a couple of weeks ago and couldn't bring myself to get the dough whipped up until the other day. I used Giada De Laurentiis' recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pizza-dough-recipe/index.html. It's probably the easiest and yummiest dough recipe I've ever used.

Ok, dough done. Since I'm lactose intolerant, I prefer to whip a dairy free option together that can be happily and frequently eaten again and again. I had some pork roast sitting in my freezer that I defrosted over night and threw in the crock pot with a bottle of bbq sauce, onions, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Once I got home from work I removed the meat from the crock pot and used the leftover sauce to sautee some slivered onions, cabbage and green bell pepper. After the meat was shredded and the veggies were sauteed, I rolled out the dough, slathered it with a little bit of bbq sauce, loaded it,and popped it in to the oven for about 20 mins at 425, topped with chopped cilantro and there you have it. My version of a cheese-less, flavor-full pizza.

These are Jeremy's pieces, he topped them with ranch... Which has dairy in it...

Mine was delicious without dairy. I will absolutely be making this again!

What's Cookin'

I have been in a season of trying to be a better steward of my home. I'm trying to cut my work days a little short and pick up the slack around the house, like I used to. I threw together a dinner made up of mostly left overs, tonight that ended up being delish!

I've had some ginger in my fridge for some time now and we got a bag full of lemons that we've been trying to use before they go bad. I also cooked an entire chicken the other day to use throughout the week and have some carrots left in our garden. Add all of those up plus some other ingredients and what do you get? A seriously yummy stir fry.

Ingredients:

Sauce:
2 inch piece of ginger
3 stalks of celery
1/4 of a white onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp red pepper flakes
Juice of 2 lemons/zest of one lemon

Stir fry:
Chicken
3 carrots
1 portobello mushroom
1/4 pound edamame
1/4 Jasmine Rice
2 cups Orzo
1 cup chopped raw/unsalted peanuts

Throw rice and edamame in steamer
Once the steamed ingredients are done set it aside
Put the rest of the ingredients in wok with 1/4 cup of water and a splash of olive oil
Once the veggies are softened throw in the rest of the ingredients, turn the heat down to low and let flavors infuse for about 15-20 mins

These portions are estimated, I don't normally measure when I'm cooking.

Enjoy!
I'm going to have seconds :)

When He Cooks.. I Sit.

spicy corn casserole
apple/blueberry crisp

I am absolutely aware that I am one of those very blessed wives who has a husband who will cook for me. A husband who can cook well for me I should say. I definitely have never needed to choke down a dinner with the thought "it's the thought that counts, he tried" playing in my head on repeat. My only struggle with him being in the kitchen, is..... honestly?... with him being in the kitchen! I am a self professed (and working on it) control freak/perfectionist. Granted, not everything in my world is on the list of things I feel the urge to control, but the kitchen, absolutely, is on the list. I've noticed that in the past year or two, an increasing amount of situations will pop up where I am forced to fight the urge to just take over and force everyone else to just stand-by while I make everything "perfect." Seriously
:::who do i think i am?:::
I'm learning how to relax, take a few deep breaths and live a little. It's very stressful putting yourself in control all of the time, and when you realize how incredibly unnecessary it is and how much damage it's doing for --nothing-- it also makes you feel a little, nope a lot, ridiculous. I would rather have a blast and make memories and enjoy the time I'm spending with someone doing something than turning gray early worrying about the final product.

So from now on, when he cooks... I sit.
(unless he needs help ;)