resolution numero uno: cook, bake, blog.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you (any of you that may still be there, occasionally checking this sedentary blog) how much I've been cooking/baking/in the kitchen.  I could, but I won't.  Why?  Mostly because I haven't been doing much of any of that lately. Two resolutions on my very short list of resolutions are going to get me back in the kitch:

1. Overcome my fear of baking with yeast, and master the art.

2. Cook.  And blog about what I cook.  It's not that hard!

  Proof is in the pudding, right?  So, here's some pudding.  In the form of a very, very tardy TWD rewind post.

These corniest corn muffins are great on their own, or on the side of a meal.  My personal favorite way to eat them is crumbled up on top of a salad.  They're actually the star of my favorite salad:  Corn Bread Salad.  Click here for that recipe, and see below for the muffin recipe.

Corniest Corn Muffins

From Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients

1 c. all purpose flour

1 c. yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

6 Tbsp. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, optional

1 c. buttermilk

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 Tbsp. corn oil

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 c. corn kernels (add up to 1/3 cup more if you like) - fresh, frozen or canned (in which case, they should be drained and patted dry)

Directions

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular size muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.  In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and other yolk together until well blended.  Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend.  Don't worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy, and that's just the way it should be.  Stir in the corn kernels.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.  Transfer to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

What are your cooking resolutions for 2011?

Pear & Walnut Rice Salad w/ Cranberries

I know it might be hard to believe that I work in the health field when you look at a number of the oh-so-unhealthy (but delicious) recipes I've shared with you, my foodie friends.  But believe it or not, I am a health professional.  You might think that I would feel guilt in flaunting the less than healthy treats, but I don't.  My mission is to live a life of balance where I can experience all of the physical activity I can get and enjoy eating all of the foods that I love in moderation.  Its a package deal - you have to practice both exercise and moderation for it to work - and I want you all to enjoy that same balance and happiness with me.  That being said, I expect people to be smart enough to eat only a small slice of the banana split ice cream cake, and not the whole thing on their own.  I won't feel guilty for someone else being a dummy.  Anyway, every week I post a "healthy recipe of the week" on a bulletin board at work for all to see, and this was one that I couldn't wait to test in my own kitchen.  Dick and I were both huge fans, and we fought over who got to take leftovers for lunch when it began to disappear.  So, if you had pizza for dinner last night, try balancing your menu out with this one tonight!  That way none of us will feel guilty.

Pear & Walnut Rice Salad w/ Cranberries

From EatingWell Magazine

Ingredients

3 c. cooked brown rice

1 large pear, cored & diced

3 medium green onions

1/2 c. chopped toasted walnuts

1/3 c. crumbled blue cheese

1/3 c. prepared raspberry vinaigrette

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

handful of dried cranberries

Directions

Mix all ingredients until well-incorporated.

Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature - all taste great!

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese = My homerun of the weekend

Last night we had my parents over for dinner. And then we went to see Iron Man 2, but we won't talk about that because I'm starting to lose it just thinking of hunky Mr. Downey! Anyway, I was able to kill not only 2 birds by having them over, but 4. Yep, 4. I tried 3 new recipes last night, and luckily they were all big, big hits. I'm pretty sure everyone's fave was this salad, though. At least that was the vibe I got when Dick licked his bowl clean. Just like the dear in Snow White. Which is why I just invited Mom & Dad to my house rather than a restaurant...I can't take him anywhere! teasing, teasing. You'll be inviting everyone you know over for dinner so that you can dazzle them with this scrumptious, fancy-looking, but super simple salad, too.

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese

Ina Garten from the Food Network

Ingredients

3 ripe but firm Anjou pears

Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

3 oz. coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. walnut halves, toasted & chopped

1/2 c. apple cider

1/3 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 c. good olive oil

6 oz. baby arugula (I used leafy green lettuce)

Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel the pears & slice lengthwise into halves. Remove the core & seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the blue cheese, dried cranberries, & walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same small bowl, combine the apple cider and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temp.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 c. of lemon juice, and 1/4 c. of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt & serve warm.

~Your Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Menu~

Hola, amigos! And that's about the extent of my Spanish speaking abilities, despite the fact that Dick has tried to give me multiple lessons when I'm trapped in the car with him on the 4-hr drive to see his family in So. UT. He lived in Chile for 2 years when he went on a mission for our church, and he loves to speak Spanish any chance he gets. But just because I don't speak Spanish doesn't mean I won't eat it! I tried my hand at some Mexican recipes this week in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo, and they were a big, BIG hit!

The entree I chose to make is a copycat recipe from a very popular Mexican restaurant called Cafe Rio. By far the best thing on their menu is the sweet pork salad, so that is exactly what I made! My awesome sis-in-law, Megan, happened to find these recipes on this website, and let me in on her little secret. I thought it would take forever to make them because there are a few different parts to the salad if you want to get them just right, and I did! You start with a warm flour tortilla sprinkled with cheese, followed by cilantro-lime rice, black beans, sweet pork, lettuce, and topped off with the best cilantro ranch dressing in the WORLD! It didn't take long at all, just a little planning ahead for the pork to be in the crockpot, which gives you plenty of time to put everything else together. Trust me, if you like Mexican food, and you like salads, you're going to looooooove this one! And don't skimp on any part - its totally worth making the entire thing!

For dessert, I had to go with Tres Leches, of course! Its super sweet, and super soggy (in the best way you can possibly imagine), and completely and utterly satisfying. That is just a normal slice of this 3-milk cake, but when you add the mango & cinnamon this recipe calls for it will literally uproot you from where you are sitting and take you to a Mexican beach, leaving all of your worries behind. Mangoes are definitely my worst enemy when it comes to pitting a fruit, but they are so delicious, and absolutely take this cake over the top, so it is well-worth the sticky hands and juicy mess - trust me! Well, now you have to make it, don't you?! Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Salad From Cafe Rio

From www.favfamilyrecipes.com

Assembling your salad:

1. start with a warm flour tortilla, sprinkled with cheese.

2. Top with a heaping spoonful of cilantro-lime rice.

3. Top with a spoonful of black beans.

4. Top with 1/4-1/2 c. sweet pork.

5. Top with 1-2 c. of shredded Romaine lettuce.

6. Drizzle with cilantro ranch dressing.

7. Dig in!

Cilantro-lime rice

Ingredients

1 c. uncooked rice (I used brown w/ good results!)

1 tsp. butter or margarine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 can (15 oz) chicken broth

1 c. water

1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp. sugar

3 Tbsp freshly chopped cilantro

Directions

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime juice, chicken broth & water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar & cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice & mix in as you fluff the rice.

Black Beans

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 1/3 c. tomato juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

In a nonstick skillet or saucepan, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over med. heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice & salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving, stir in the cilantro.

Sweet Pork

Ingredients

2-3 lbs pork (I used bone-in Boston butt)

3 cans coke (not diet!)

1/4 c. brown sugar

dash garlic salt

1/4 c. water

1 can sliced green chilies

3/4 can enchilada sauce, medium spiciness

1 c. brown sugar

Directions

Put the pork in a heavy duty Ziploc back to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours, or overnight.

Drain marinade & put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in a crock pot on high 3-4 hrs, or low for 8 hrs, until it shreds easily (don't let it dry out!). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred the pork.

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste...). If it looks too thick, add more coke, little by little.

Put shredded pork & sauce in a crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it!

Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

1 packet TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not buttermilk!)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. buttermilk

2 tomatillos, husks removed, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeno (I kept the ribs & seeds for a little kick!)

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a blender. That's it!!!

Tres Leches Cake

Adapted from Food Network Magazine, May 2010

Ingredients

Non-stick spray, to prepare your pan

4 large eggs

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/4 c. milk (I used skim w/ excellent results!)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

12-oz can evaporated milk

14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 ripe mangoes

2 Tbsp. sugar

Whipped cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Make the cake: Beat the eggs & sugar in a large bowl w/ a mixer until pale & slightly thick, ~6 min. Slowly beat in the melted butter, then beat in the vanilla & 1/4 c. milk.

3. whisk the flour, baking powder & salt in a bowl. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold together w/ a rubber spatula to make a thick batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan & bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, ~30 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to release the cake from the pan.

4. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 c. milk, the evaporated milk, & condensed milk in a bowl. Pierce the warm cake all over w/ a fork, then pour the milk mixture evenly on top. Cover & refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight.

5. Before serving, make the mango topping: Peel, pit, & dice the mangoes. Puree half the mangoes in a blender w/ 2 Tbsp. sugar. Transfer to a bowl & fold in the remaining diced mango.

6. Top each slice of cake with mango topping, a little whipped cream, and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Blue-Cran Salad

It's true: I love cheese. In fact, I just informed Dick the other day that my new life goal is to be the Cheese Lady at Harmon's (a local chain of grocery stores here in UT). Might not sound very ambitious to some, but those who turn their nose up at this have probably never visited the Cheese Kingdom at Harmon's. It's not officially named the Cheese Kingdom, but that's what I like to call it. It's a huge circle counter with a hole in it, and a lady stands in the middle (the Cheese Lady). On this counter is every kind of cheese you can imagine. The likes of which you'll never find at your run of the mill grocer. This special lady will answer any of your cheese questions, and she'll even give you samples! Now tell me this all you cheese lovers out there, does that not sound like a great way to spend your days?! Ok, ok, so I probably won't be switching professions any time soon, but one can dream haha

Speaking of cheese....if you like blue cheese, you're going to love this salad! Blue cheese is great on its own, but throw in some dried cranberries and you are in Heaven, my friends. Spinach is my leafy green of choice (I like to know I'm getting some nutrients in my salads!), but you can use Romaine or another lettuce if you'd like. And, although the pictures don't show it, I did toss it with a little poppyseed dressing. Super easy. Super tasty! Hope you like it.

Blue-Cran Salad

From Yours Truly

(For 1 serving)

Ingredients

2 c. baby spinach, washed and trimmed

1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

2 Tbsp poppyseed dressing

Directions

Place the spinach in a salad bowl. Sprinkle blue cheese, cranberries, and nuts over spinach. Drizzle with dressing and toss lightly.

cOrN bReAd SaLaD

You know when someone tells you to try something, and you think, "Now that's just crazy! It sounds stupid, and I don't do stupid things." I thought that exact thing when I first saw Dick put ketchup in his mac & cheese. But then when I tried it, I realized that it tasted just like dipping a grilled cheese sandwich in ketchup, which I love to do! Well, that thought might go through your head when you think of putting corn bread in your salad instead of just having it on the side, but once you try it you'll be thinking, "Mmmmmmm...ok, ok, now I get it!" This salad is perfect, or at least I think so. And I'm pretty sure my sis-in-law thinks so, too, because she wasn't going to eat with us tonight - she was going to go on a date with her BF - but then she had a bite of Dick's salad and she called her boytoy to tell him they were eating dinner here. Told ya. Yup, that's what I thought. And the great thing about this salad, just like pretty much any other salad, is that you can add or take out any ingredient you want. I love that about salads! It's also an awesome option if you're wanting something filling, but not super heavy. I've seen chicken put in it, and you can do that if you absolutely love chicken, or if you just need to stretch it to feed a lot of people, but it's totally not necessary. The beans and bread fill ya right up. So, go ahead and think I'm crazy. But then make the salad so we can be food-friends again, ok?!

Corn Bread Salad

From lots of places - seen it done here and there.

Ingredients

1 10 oz. bag Salad greens (I used spinach, but like it with Romaine, too)

Corn Bread (recipe follows)

1 can kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 1/2 c. baby carrots, thinly sliced

1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Ranch dressing

Directions

1. pile a 1-2 cups greens in your bowl.

2. Cut a square of corn bread into smaller pieces and top your greens with them.

3. spoon some kidney beans and carrots on top.

4. Sprinkle with cheese and top with dressing, if desired.

5. dig in!

Corn Bread

Adapted from Betty Crocker's Bridal Edition Cookbook

Ingredients

1 c. milk (I used skim)

1/4 c. margarine, melted

1 large egg

1 1/4 c. yellow cornmeal

1 c. all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat)

1/2 c. sugar

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. corn kernels (I used canned, drained)

Directions

1. heat oven to 400; grease bottom and sides of 9x1.5 inch square pan.

2. beat milk, margarine, & egg in a large bowl. Stir in dry ingredients all at once just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Then add corn kernels. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 20-25 min. or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Best KISS of my life!!!

Happy Halloween (belated, of course) to all! I hope yours was as rockin' as mine was...hee hee... let me just give you the run-down of how things went. I started the day by frantically looking for tight black pants for Dick and I - which I found in the girls' section at our nearest Target (yep, both in the girls section hahaha). I then sped home to make a dessert - it was the delicious, and blurry, Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte out of my new fave cookbook I got for my birthday two weeks ago! Don't worry, there's a whole story that goes along with the cookbook, but that will go in my belated birthday post coming up next time, here in the kitch. Dick picked me up after work to go help the other rockstars on our church's Activities Committee decorate the gym for our ward Halloween party starting just a few hours later. After the decorations were all up, and you could seriously no longer tell you were standing in a gym, we headed home to do each others' make up (pretty sure I've never said that before!) with our friends, the Coleman's, who were the other half of KISS with us that night. 8 o'clock rolled around and we made our way to the partay where we danced the night away. Yes, I said WE!!! Dick has always either thrown a fit about dancing or simply refused, but there was just something about those skin-tight leggings and all that makeup that gave him the courage and energy to get down with his bad self for hours on end. And, seriously, I know I said this was a church party, but it was by far the best Halloween party I've ever been to! And believe me, I've been to some good ones. We are in a ward of young married couples, many of whom are students at WSU, and all of whom are AWESOME! Holler, University 1st ward - love you all! Anyway, it was pretty much the best Halloween of my life! And that wasn't even really Halloween - it was the night before!

To top things off, we went to a little dinner party with some of our other favorite peeps, the Parker's. I was asked to bring a "Halloween-y salad." I hadn't the slightest idea of what that meant, so I spent forever searching for one online and found absolutely nothing but the stupidest ideas I've ever heard and seen. I opted for a black bean salad that included scrumptious flavors, as well as colors you see at Halloween, and I topped it with a spider. It was a hit!

Hope your Halloween was as GRAND as mine was!

My very own Gene Simmons

He loved every minute of it, & so did I!!!

Cherry-Fudge Brownie Torte

From Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

Sorry, I can't give the recipe to this one! I'm waiting to get into

a cooking club (Tuesdays With Dorie), and that would be against

one of the few club rules. Just know that it was FABULOUS!

Black Bean Salad

From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

dressing

1 small clove garlic

a pinch of salt, plus 2 tsp

juice of 1 1/2 limes, about 3 Tbsp

2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 c. olive oil


salad

1 c. corn kernels

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1/2 of small red onion, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed

freshly ground pepper

1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small avocado, diced

1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Make the dressing: smash the garlic clove, sprinkle w/ a pinch of salt, and w/ the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, salt & chili powder together in a bowl. gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting w/ a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad: cook the corn, bell pepper, and onions in the olive oil until beginning to brown over med-high heat in a skillet. toss in the black beans and cook until warm. add the dressing and toss to coat evenly. adjust seasoning w/ salt & pepper. remove from the heat & gently fold in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. serve.

summer spinach-berry salad

Ok, so you've probably seen this salad done a million different ways at a million different restaurants, bbq's, and pot-luck dinners, but that's the thing that is so AWESOME about this salad! You can use pretty much whatever fruit you've got in your kitchen & its bound to taste and look fantastic! Its funny to think that until a couple of years ago I don't think I'd ever had fruit on a green salad, but now that is how I make them most often. Dick and I fell in love with poppy seed dressing the instant we tasted it, and our salad-loving lives haven't been the same since.

Summer Spinach-Berry Salad

Ingredients

10 oz. spinach, washed & stems trimmed

3/4 c. strawberries, hulled & sliced

1/2 c. blueberries

11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained

1/3 c. almonds, toasted

3 Tbsp. poppy seed dressing

Directions

Put spinach in a large bowl. Add strawberries, blueberries, oranges & dressing & toss to coat. Sprinkle almonds over the top & serve immediately.

*Put dressing on right before serving. If it sits too long, the salad will become soggy.

cafe Rachel salad & PIZOOKIES

Ok, so I know you're thinking, "for the love! Another post about this dang pork?!" And believe me, I'm thinking it, too. But I promise this will be the last one because its finally GONE!!! Have you ever eaten at Cafe Rio? Its pretty much one of our fave restaurants, and mostly thanks to their insanely delicious pork salad (that can feed two, by the way, because they are LARGE and in charge). Well, we had the fixings, so I made my mock Cafe Rio - aka Cafe Rachel - salad. No recipe required because I'm sick of writing about this dang pork. Put some lettuce, black beans, brown rice & leftover pork in a bowl...and there you have it! It was delicious, but I'm seriously done with the pork. The End.

And now on to the main event ... Pizookies!

Our good friends Sam and Melissa introduced us to this one. They picked it up from a pizza place in Arizona. The word "pizookie," if you haven't already figured it out, is a combination of "pizza" and "cookie." So already you know its going to be great! You can use any kind of cookie dough, and the only other things you need are ramekin dishes and your favorite flavor of ice cream. I tend to like classics, so I used my mom's chocolate chip cookie recipe (you can find it under cookies on the right side of the page) and vanilla ice cream. The very best part of this dessert is that you eat it right out of the oven. As soon as you pull it out, you drop a scoop of ice cream in the center of your cookie, and it kind of sinks down and starts to melt. The perfect blend of hot & cold!

Pizookies

Ingredients
Your choice of cookie dough
your choice of ice cream

Directions
1. cover the bottom of your ramekin dish with cookie dough. about 1/2 cup, but not too much because it will rise quite a bit.
2. cook according to recipe directions, but keep an eye on it. they are done when just golden brown around the edges.
3. pull out of the oven & immediately drop a big scoop of ice cream in the middle.
4. Hold with a dish towel or oven mitt & enjoy every delicious bite!

Tony's fave fruit salad dessert

Welp, it's just about the end of summer, and I've finally made one of my fam's staple summer dishes for the very first time this year! Pitiful, I know. My mom picked this one up from our neighbor, the one and only Nanette Wayment, at a church pot-luck kind of dinner a few years ago, and we all loved it so much that its pretty much makes regular appearances at bbq's, birthday parties, and any other function where we can find an excuse to have it. It is officially my grandpa Tony's favorite fruit salad/dessert, so he's usually the one to request it, but none of us are complaining! As you can see from the pictures, I started out in a bowl that was much too small, so make sure you start out in a big bowl. I always underestimate how much room the fruit will take up. Anyway, its super easy, super tasty, and a major crowd-pleaser... so give the people what they want!

fruit & cookie salad dessert

adapted from Nanette Wayment

Ingredients

1 large tub whipped topping

1 packet vanilla pudding mix

1 c. green grapes, halved

1 banana, sliced

1/2 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks, drained

1 1/2 c. strawberries, hulled & quartered

1 11 oz. can Mandarin oranges, drained

~12 fudge striped shortbread cookies

Directions

1. Put whipped topping into large bowl & sprinkle pudding mix over it.

2. Add grapes, banana, pineapple, strawberries, & Mandarin oranges.

3. Crumble 8 of the cookies & add them to the bowl.

4. Fold the fruit and cookies into the whipped topping. Stir just enough to mix everything well, but not too much so that the whipped topping becomes runny.

5. Crumble or place the remaining cookies on top of the salad for decoration.

6. Refrigerate until served.