Rhett and Link's Guacamole Recipe

Rhett and Link's Guacamole Recipe es muy bien!  And while I encourage you to watch the video many times, until you memorize the song, here it is:

4 avocados

1 teaspoon salt

juice of 1 lime

2 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 onion, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeño (or 1 serrano) pepper, minced

Easy Green Bean Almondine

Palmful of slivered almonds

1-2 Tablespoons butter

1 can green beans, drained

In a small skillet, toast almonds over medium heat until fragrant.  Add butter.  When butter has melted, add drained beans, salt and pepper to taste, stir.  Cover until warmed through--just a few minutes.

Easy Veracruz-Style Tilapia

2 1/2 cups salsa

1/2 cup green olives, chopped

2 heaping Tablespoons capers, drained, chopped

6 tilapia fillets, thawed, seasoned with salt and pepper

butter, olive oil, coconut oil (take your pick or combine them)

Turn your oven on warm.  In a liquid measuring cup, combine salsa, olives, and capers.  Stir well.

Melt the butter/olive oil/coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the tilapia about 2-3 minutes per side until done (2-3 fillets at a time usually fit in the pan).  Remove to a glass baking dish in the warm oven, tent with foil.  Cook remaining fillets and keep warm in oven.  Pour the salsa mixture into the skillet you cooked the fish in, scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a simmer.

Remove baking dish from oven, pour salsa mixture over all (or if you have family members who won't eat the sauce, just serve fish [with a little lemon would be nice] and sauce separately).  Enjoy!

Note:  You could use halibut, red snapper--if there is leftover sauce, it would even be good on scrambled eggs!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Man, there's so much description around those ingredients it's hard to tell what you need! Just make sure you have:

3 chicken breasts
garlic
ginger root (1 inch)
1 orange
red bell pepper
water chestnuts
green onions
Hoisin Sauce
Iceburg Lettuce

Okay, on to the recipe! :)

2 cups, (4 handfuls) fresh shiitake mushrooms (Kathleen didn't use these and neither did I, but they would be good in here if you like mushrooms)
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 pounds thin cut chicken breast or chicken tenders (cut them into a large dice)
2 TB lightly colored oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil (LouAnn's Coconut Oil)
coarse salt and coarse black pepper
3 cloves garlic, chopped (minced garlic from the fridge)
1 inch ginger root, finely chopped or grated, optional (first cut off the skin, then grate using a microplane grater)
1 orange zested (using a microplane grater)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced small
small tin, 6-8 ounces, sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 scallions, chopped (green onions, white and green part)
3 TB hoisin, Chinese barbecue sauce (available on Asian foods aisle)
1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered
wedges of navel orange--platter garnish (Here are good instructions on how to do this. You could just use mandarin oranges if you want to, but if you're going to zest an orange, you might as well section the orange.)

Remove tough stems from mushrooms and brush with damp towel to clean. Slice mushrooms. Chop chicken in small pieces. Preheat a large skillet or wok to high. (Okay, this cooks so fast, unless you are super fast at chopping and grating and don't have any children/pets/husband/phone/wandering mind to distract you, you'd better do all the chopping and grating before heating up the pan.)

Add oil to hot pan.

Add chicken to the pan and sear meat by stir frying a minute or two.

Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two.

Add salt and pepper to season, then add garlic and ginger. Cook a minute more.

Grate zest into pan (Since I did all the grating before the cooking began, my ginger and orange zest were all mixed together and I added them with the garlic. It was all good.), add bell pepper bits, chopped water chestnuts and scallions. Cook another minute, continuing to stir fry mixture.

Add hoisin sauce and toss to coat the mixture evenly.

Transfer the hot chopped barbecued chicken (that's what this dish is really called, but I'll never remember that name, hence, Asian Lettuce Wraps) to serving platter and pile the quartered wedges of crisp iceberg lettuce along side. (Believe it or not, both Mat and I ate almost an entire wedge of lettuce with dinner--we thought for sure a whole quarter wedge would be too much, but it wasn't--and it was delish!)

Add wedged oranges to platter to garnish.

To eat, pile spoonfuls into lettuce leaves, wrapping lettuce around fillings and squeeze an orange wedge over. (There's juice that drips as you wedge your orange so catch that into a bowl and squeeze the leftover orange into the bowl as well. During the demonstration, the chicken browned a little too much and Kathleen used some orange juice to deglaze the pan which I thought was a fabulous idea.)

Dilly Panned Summer Squash

from the 1981 Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

1 pound zucchini or yellow crookneck squash
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (or what? no, no, no--or olive oil, or coconut oil, but NOT or margarine)
1 tablespoon snipped parsley (I usually just use dried or leave it out)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed
Dash of pepper

Slice unpeeled squash (if you have the typical giant home grown zucchini, cut it in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds--and the skin is probably not very tender, so you'll want to peel it too--so learn to pick your squash while it is young and tender!) to make 3 cups (not too thin or they will be overdone and mushy). In a medium skillet melt butter or margarine (see above). Add squash; sprinkle squash with parsley, salt, dillweed, and pepper (be brave, don't measure). Cover and cook over medium-ow heat 8-10 minutes or till tender, stirring frequently. Makes 3 or 4 servings.

MM Specs

Cobb Salad with Chive Dressing

from A Pinch of Salt Lake

1 medium-size head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1 large tomato, chopped
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 large avocado, peeled, diced and sprinkled with lemon juice
1 pound sliced bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Chive Dressing:
6 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tablespoons chives
1/2 cup olive oil

Place shredded lettuce in a large salad bowl. Prepare dressing by combining salt, garlic powder, pepper, chives and the oil in a jar and shake well. Pour the dressing over the lettuce and toss. Arrange the tomato, chicken, avocado, bacon and eggs on top of the lettuce. Place crumbled cheese in the center of the salad. Toss at the table.

Okay, first of all, that amount of dressing is huge. We've never even used half of it. Second, don't take the amounts of the salad ingredients too literally. Just chop up what you think you will use. And only toss at the table if you're interested in getting lots of polite "oooo"s and "aaaaaah"s. Frankly, not many people I've served this to want everything on that list (which technically means they are not getting a Cobb Salad, but, oh well). So I chop up what I think will be good and let people assemble their own salads as if at a salad bar. If you've got little kids, often they just want things separate anyway.

Remember, if you don't want to heat up the kitchen, cook the bacon and eggs earlier in the day! While they are cooking you can chop (when it comes to the lettuce, tear) everything but the avocado (the lemon is supposed to keep it nice--which it does--but I often don't have a lemon, so--but if you have a lemon, it adds nice flavor), and when it's dinner time--simply assemble!

Asparagus Bacon Swiss Ricotta Frittata

The leftovers:

cooked asparagus, cut into 1" pieces, about 10 stalks
cooked bacon, rough chop, about 3 slices
Swiss cheese, finely grated, about 1/2 cup
cooked minced onion, about 2 Tablespoons, warmed in microwave for easy mixing (the oil solidifies in the fridge)

Mix with:

6 large eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated if you've got it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a pie plate--better yet, use some of the left-over bacon grease. It adds great flavor, and seemed to make the frittata come out of the pan better!

1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta and Swiss and beat to combine. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and beat to combine.

2. Toss in the leftovers! Mix well.

3. Pour mixture into the prepared pie plate then put it in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it's golden on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Spinach Mushroom Ricotta Frittata

6 large eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated if you've got it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2-3 Tablespoons fat (whatever you want, olive oil, butter, coconut oil, bacon grease, or any combination)
minced onion (about 2-4 Tablespoons)
3-4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 handfuls of spinach
1 clove minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a pie plate.

1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta and Parmesan and beat to combine. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and beat to combine. Set aside.

2. Heat the fat in a skillet on medium low. Saute the onion for about 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach. Cook about 3 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook about 30 seconds. Remove from heat. I decided I wanted to chop the spinach, I'm not sure that was necessary. I just didn't want big strings of spinach in there. Add to the egg mixture.

3. Pour mixture into the buttered pie plate then put it in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it's golden on top. When it's done, sprinkle some more parmasan on top. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Ricotta Frittata

I found this recipe on the SimplyRecipes website here and it interested me because I'm a frittata fan, and becauseI just planted zucchini and so I'll be needed lots of recipes that have zucchini in them soon! Ms. Elise cooked her frittata entirely in one pan--at first on the stove-top and then finishing under the broiler. My skillet won't safely go in the oven, so I just cooked it in a glass pie plate. Kate and I loved it. Sarah said it was too spicy (just her way of saying she didn't like it). And Kristen wouldn't even try it--wrinkling her nose at the sight of the zucchini. Silly girl. All the men were off on adventures so they couldn't give their opinion. My guess is they wouldn't have cared much about it, but would have been grateful for the calories and the change in menu. :) Here's what you need:

6 large eggs
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (if my basil plant doesn't survive, I'll just use dry)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (I used dry)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 small zucchini, or one larger one, washed and sliced into thin rounds (about 3/4 pound)

(If you're gonna do it like I did, before you begin, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9" glass pie plate.)

1. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add the ricotta and Parmesan and beat to combine. (I tried using just a fork for this--get out the whisk. It works much better.) Add the salt, freshly ground black pepper, basil (the basil plant you see in the background of the picture was only a few cents more than the little box of fresh basil leaves in the produce department. I planted it right next to the zucchini plant. If it survives I'll use it all summer.) and thyme and beat to combine. Set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch oven-proof stick-free skillet (just my regular skillet) on medium high. When the oil is hot and begins to shimmer (Sorry, I never did notice the "shimmer" thing--there's so much going on while I'm cooking dinner you gotta to do a lot more than shimmer to get my attention!), add the zucchini slices. Stir so that the zucchini slices are all coated with some of the oil. Cook, stirring only occasionally (if you stir too much the zucchini won't brown), until the zucchini slices are lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. (Thanks, Mom! for the cool oversized spatula that made flipping those zucchini rounds easy peasy! My girls asked if you got it at Spatula City! Hah!) Remove from heat. Remove zucchini slices from the pan with tongs or a slotted spoon to a bowl. Let cool for 30 seconds or so, and then stir the zucchini slices to the egg mixture.

That's as far as I followed the directions. At this point, I poured everything into the buttered pie plate then put it in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it's golden on top. I sprinkled some more parma on top after I took it out of the oven. You'll want to let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

I think its delish--but like I said, I'm a frittata fan. This is the first time I'd used ricotta in a frittata (Ha! Say that again, ricotta frittata, ricotta frittata! Ha! 'sworth makin' just to say "I'm servin' you a ricotta frittata!"). Anyway, I thought it made everything rich and creamy and wonderful!

MM Recipe Card

Chicken Curry in a hurry!

"What's for dinner?" + "Chicken Curry." = Smiles

I found this recipe in one of Mark Bittman's books. He writes "The Minimalist", a column for the New York Times. As the column title implies, he pares a recipe down to the bare bones. That's especially nice when dinner's gotta be done now! Mr. Bittman cooks this dish in one skillet, a really big skillet, and you can find a really good visual demonstration of how to do that here. My pan isn't that big and I like to cook the onions low and slow, so I mess with the recipe. For instance, today I used chicken that I had cooked the previous day. But however you do it, the end result will be big smiles!





Chicken Curry in a Hurry

1 T Canola Oil (Extra Light Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, or even Bacon Fat leftover from cooking bacon this morning)
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (sometimes I use this curry paste--about 3 Tablespoons)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, in 4 pieces (uh, read my comments below)
1 cup sour cream

Optional Add-ins
slivered almonds (toast them in a dry skillet on medium high heat until they become fragrant)
raisins (I plump mine by soaking them in warm water while I cook everything else, then draining them just before I add them.)

Place the oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. A minute later, add the onion. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, sprinkle with about half the curry powder, and continue to cook for a minute or two.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle it with the remaining curry powder. Move the onion to one side of the skillet and ad the chicken in one layer. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, remove to a plate.

Add the sour cream and stir constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture is nice and thick. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for 2 more minutes. Turning once. Garnish and serve with plenty of white rice.

Holy cow, I don't follow those instructions at all anymore. It's been awhile since I've looked at the recipe. Now, you've got to remember that I at least double and sometimes triple this recipe. To not have enough for left-overs for the next day would be a crime.

First thing you've got to remember to do is cook the rice, or you won't have anything to put your curry on! Actually, it's so good it doesn't need rice. But most people want it anyway.

So, I slice up two large onions and put them in a skillet with some oil and salt and pepper, and cook them on medium low for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While that's cooking, if I'm working with raw meat, I put oil in a skillet (okay, I only have one skillet large enough to cook this kind of stuff, so I use my giant stock pot--but that's good, because then there's plenty of room to mix a triple batch together) and cook the chicken in batches--there has to be room between the pieces of chicken or it steams instead of browns. I don't really like how the chicken cooks up if it's in large pieces, so I cut it into bite size pieces. And if you're cooking in bacon fat--my, oh my--you'll be in heaven. (Unless of course you're Jewish. And I have no idea what people from India who really know what a curry is supposed to taste like would think of using bacon fat. :) Ignorance is bliss.)

Look! I have a picture of how I cooked the chicken! Hmmm, should have spread apart that chicken more. And of course I'm not doing it in my giant stock pot. But you can see my handy dandy spider there to scoop out the chicken. And in that white mug--bacon fat!

So now I've got a skillet of yummy onion and a giant pot that has all the delicious brown bits that come from cooking the chicken (the chicken has all been scooped out). Over medium low heat I dump the onions in the big pot, add the sour cream and more salt and pepper, stirring constantly until it thickens, and then add the almonds, raisins, and cooked chicken. Check for seasoning. If you're concerned that the cooked chicken won't warm all the way through adding it at the end (you know, if you're using leftover chicken you just took out of the fridge), let it warm up with the onions before you add the sour cream.

Note: This is only Low Carb if you don't eat it with the rice. :)
MM Recipe Card

Hard Boiled Eggs (and how to devil the yolks)

Stove Top Hard Boiled Eggs

Place eggs in one layer in saucepan. Cover them with cold tap water by 1 inch. Bring water to a boil; when the water has reached a boil, cover and turn heat to lowest setting. Let sit 13 minutes. Transfer eggs to an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Pressure Cooker Hard Boiled Eggs

Pour 1 cup of water into the pressure cooker with a rack at the bottom.  Place eggs on the rack (without touching each other).  Cook on low pressure for 7 minutes. Immediately release the pressure and remove the eggs to an ice bath. (Large eggs 7 minutes/Extra-Large eggs 8 minutes/Medium eggs 6 minutes)

To Devil the Yolks

The usual: salt, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, avocado mayonnaise

I grew up adding Miracle Whip and yellow mustard, sprinkling with paprika. If you only use mayonnaise I think you need to add some vinegar and sugar.

Devil by hand if only doing a few eggs (they will be lumpy but delicious). If making a lot of devilled eggs, use the food processor. You can even then fill a piping bag and pipe the devilled mixture beautifully into the egg white.

No time? Cut the egg in half, season with salt, dollop with a small amount of BBQ sauce, pop it in your mouth, be happy. :)

The following is advice was gleaned here: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/how-to-make-deviled-eggs-without-a-recipe-article

For every six eggs, add 1/4 cup of something creamy, and about 2 teaspoons each of something spicy (in liquid form) and something tart. After mixed in season with salt.

Creamy mix-ins: mayonnaise, sour cream, Greek yogurt, creme fraiche

Spicy mix-ins: mustard, hot sauce, harissa paste, curry paste, chipotles in adobo

Tart mix-ins: white vinegar, rice vinegar, white balsamic, lemon or lime juice, pickle juice, relish (If you used a vinegar-based hot sauce as your spicy mix-in, back off on the vinegar here or use mustard instead.)

Season with salt: salt, fish sauce, anchovies

More options: add finely chopped fresh green herbs to your mix-ins, or some lemon or lime zest, or any other ground spices you want to feature, like a pinch of curry powder or cayenne or a bit of smoked paprika or some freshly ground black pepper.

Garnishes: dusting of paprika; sprinkling of fresh herbs; drizzle extra virgin olive oil and coarsely grind some black pepper over it topped with a cilantro leaf; top each egg with a little slice of pickle, or half a potato chip; or try pickled onions, caviar, or a piece of smoked salmon.

Bow Broccoli

This recipe makes the rotation on a regular basis. Another Giada recipe. Kathryn gave it the name "Bow Broccoli". I usually add left-over chicken and consider dinner done.


Farfalle with Broccoli
Giada De Laurentiis

1 pound farfalle pasta
2 heads broccoli, trimmed to florets (about 4 cups) (I usually use frozen because it's on hand)
1/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil (I use extra light olive oil)
4 Tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped (I used the bottled minced stuff I keep in the fridge)
5 anchovy fillets, diced (no need to dice them, they melt away to nothing--5 fillets is about half a tin)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
about 3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (plus more to top each serving--be generous!)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pasta and stir and cook for another 4 minutes. Drain pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes (reduce the heat, you don't want the garlic to burn--and this is when I add the chicken). Add the broccoli, pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Add some of the reserved pasta water, if necessary, to make a light sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with Parmesan (I stir in the 1/2 cup Parmesan, then add more for each serving).

How to make yourself a Low Carb portion:

Reserve some of the cooked broccoli and chicken.  In a skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon oil and 1 Tablespoon butter.  Add 1 anchovy fillet (or a little squirt of anchovy paste), a clove of minced garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Saute for a minute or two (don't burn the garlic).  Stir in the chicken and broccoli.  Toss until warmed through.  Plate.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Cheese Ball

We make this every year at least once between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a slightly altered version of the one in the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book, 1981 Edition.

Cheese Ball

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream*
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 Tablespoons finely chopped roasted red peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley or 1 Tablespoon fresh, snipped parsley
1 teaspoon grated onion (Really. That's all you need.)

1/3 cup finely chopped nuts

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and butter; beat with electric mixer till fluffy. Mix in red peppers, parsley, and onion. Chill. Shape into a ball and coat with nuts.**

Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

*This used to say 1/2 cup sour cream, but we decided we wanted a little stiffer cheese ball.  If you keep it at 1/2 cup sour cream, it would fill celery quite nicely though.  Also, to keep this cheese ball from getting watery, store leftovers level.

**Lately I just chill it in a bowl and sprinkle the nuts on top. Easy peasy.

Asparagus with Lemon Butter

Ingredients

• one bunch (about 1/2 pound) fresh asparagus
• salt
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions

Rinse asparagus. Trim asparagus by picking up each stem, holding it in the middle and at the bottom end. Bend until it snaps.

In a large skillet, bring about 1/2 inch of salted water to a rapid boil. Add asparagus and cook for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and just tender. Drain the asparagus by pouring into a strainer. Add butter to the skillet to melt. Stir in the zest and juice. Return the drained asparagus to the skillet and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Notes:

If you don't have the patience for bending each stem, here's a shortcut for trimming asparagus. Or just cut a couple of inches off the bottom.

How long you cook asparagus really depends on how thick it is. Use a fork to test for doneness. Underdone is better than overdone. Overdone is slimy.

Variation: After the asparagus is drained, stop the cooking by submerging it immediately in a bowl of ice water. This will help the asparagus to retain the bright green color. Serve the asparagus cold with a vinaigrette instead of lemon butter.

Asparagus with Lemon Butter