It's beer... it's bread... it's Beer Bread!

You know I love being honest about things.  What do I have to hide from the interwebs, right?  Right.  Well, I am a Independent Consultant for Pampered Chef, and I LOVE their gadgets, gizmos, and all around make-life-easier-nabobs.  They also sell, however, mixes, sauces, and rubs.  These are phenomenal, and one of our favorites at home is the Beer Bread Mix.  My biggest problem, however, is spending $10.50 on a side dish for two meals.

I don't often make beer bread, but when I do,
I choose Dos Equis.

That being said, I've found/concocted a recipe for beer bread that will only cost you about a quarter of that every time, and it's every bit as tasty!

First of all there is only four ingredients:
1. Bottle of Beer
2. 3 cups of Self Rising Flour
3. 1/2 cup of sugar (or I do 1/4 cup of Splenda sugar blend)

Mix all of these ingredients together.  Make sure you incorporate all of the dry ingredients.  The dough will be lumpy, but it should be moist.

Next, the secret ingredient:

Butter.  Yes, that's right, butter.  (It's always the secret ingredient, I don't know how anyone could be surprised!)

I melt one stick of butter, and after I have placed the dough in a well greased, non-stick pan, I pour the melted butter on top.

Then I stick it in the oven, just like that.
375 degrees for 55 minutes.

  I take the bread out after it's a nice golden brown all over.  It's this crispy, butter crust that really makes people fall in love with the bread.  It has a bit of a sweetness, from the sugar, but it's the butteriness that people come back for, I promise.

Let the bread cool 10-15 minutes, that makes it easier to cut.  Flop it out of the pan and on to a cutting board when you're ready.  We use the electric carver to make clean, clear cuts in our house, but you can just use a regular bread knife, if you're talented like that.

Oh yeah, it's amazing!  Serve with butter, applesauce, or whatever you'd like.  It's even great plain.  Just be careful, you'll get addicted, and self rising flour is about $4.50 a bag.  You can also make your own (I've been told) with getting yeast and regular flour, but I haven't experimented that far yet.  Either way, get out there and enjoy - your bread is getting cold!

A-side from the Obvious...

What the what?  I made a side dish?!?  Oh yeah!!  I found a recipe this week for Peperonata.

Thomas claims this dish is like ratatouille, but without the zucchini.  Since I've only seen the Disney movie, I have no basis for comparison.  There were no rats in the kitchen, I promise.  The other part about this recipe that surprised me was the tomatoes.  I'm not a fan, unless they're cooked, but I figured since the recipe calls for them diced, they would be negligible.  Sweetness.  I started with the tomatoes, since it's the part I dreaded most.  I used more huller (which is now part of the core and more), and this mess was actually a breeze.  I then used my nicer dicer to, well, dice them, and I was ready to roll!

Luckily, I still had some basil in the house from my crusty pasta, and I bought three packages of peppers (a red and a yellow per package), but I also had a pepper in the fridge that needed to be used, so there were a walloping seven peppers harmed in making this dish, in addition to the whole package of Roma tomatoes...

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  I only used half of an onion (I had already used the other half), and I used Italian seasoning mix instead of dried oregano.  Either way, it all worked out.  I had to upgrade the pan I was originally using, but I probably should have started with my stir-fry wok anyway.  The dish was easy to make, and Thomas worked on the grill and making the rice, so the night was a piece of cake for me!

Don't mind the screen, it's been very warm this week, and we needed the airflow.  No lights going in this household!  As you can see, Thomas grilled a whole chicken, made Jasmine rice (with some of my peperonata juice and tomato boullion), and I contributed the peppers.  I can't wait until my garden peppers are big enough so I can make this all out of my garden.  AWESOME!

Thirsty Thursday: Bloody Aunt Marys!

Well, friends, it's finally happened...  The inspiration for Thirsty Thursday has returned!  My Aunt Mary is back and is ready to "share" her world famous Bloody (Aunt) Mary recipe!  Now, you'll have to be patient with me, because I learned of this while watching, and she didn't seem to have any set measurements in her head, it was just a splash of this and a tad of that.  With that being said, kick back, relax, and let's start the pre-weekend off right with a sip off the top!

It started with equal parts tomato juice and Bloody Mary mix.  Then, add a half of a bottle of tequila.  (She started with about a third of the bottle, but added more later.)

Juice about a lemon and a half, maybe some lime, too.
Add about a half a scant teaspoon of horseradish.
Add some Worcestershire sauce (she said soy sauce is even better)
Salt and pepper heavily, or to your own taste

The only thing we were missing was the celery salt, but I know you won't forget to have it on hand when you make this absolute yumminess!

Now, for the show of it all...
Put some Kosher salt and pepper in a dish for your glass rims.

Fill those glasses high, and bottoms up!  You're sure to want seconds (or thirds and fourths), so make sure you make a pitcher! You won't regret it for your Thirsty Thursday, or any other day of the week: look ma, I'm having my vegetables!

Sign at the Haunted Head Saloon, Oceanside

Baked Pasta

You know how I feel about pasta, and consequently how Thomas feels....  However, I'm going to keep plugging away until I can find something we can compromise on.  I think I'm getting closer with this week's Crusty Tomato-Basil Rigatoni.  Okay, time out.  Crusty?  I think there's too much of a negative connotation to call something crusty, but I get it, there's a crust.  How about Basil Crusted Tomato Rigatoni?  Doesn't that sound more posh?  Posh?!  Just kidding...

Here's where I tweaked the recipe.  #1 - I added meat to my pasta sauce.  When I told Thomas that, he said, "Tweaked it?  I'd call that "fixed" it!"  True story.  We'd make sucky vegetarians.

Basically, I made my pasta and sauce the way I normally would.  I used a jar of Prego Chunky Garden sauce, a pound of ground beef (have I pushed the Mix n Chop yet?  Still love it!), my
whole wheat blend pasta, some garlic, Italian seasoning, etc, etc...

Here's where the recipe actually started working for me.  I tossed the sauce and pasta together (something I NEVER DO), and then put it in a Pyrex dish.  I figured this would give me the depth I needed to bake the pasta, and my stoneware really shouldn't be placed under the broiler, so better safe than sorry!  I bought an 8 ounce ball of "fresh" mozzarella and chopped it up.  (Hello to my 5" utility knife - super love it!)  I then spread that over the pasta as evenly as possible.  In retrospect, I probably should have tossed some shredded cheese in the pasta as well, but the point is like a cow's opinion: it's moo.  (Is it bad that I still quote Joey?)

Here's my favorite part - making the pasta crusty!  I used some Parmesan sourdough bread, about two cups, coated in butter, and spread it out before throwing the Pyrex into the oven.  This is more bread than the recipe calls for, but I adore a good crust.  (Hmm.  I'm very love-ing this blog today.  Sorry for all the love, but it is a really good recipe!)  Pop that puppy in the broiler for about 5 minutes to toast the crust and melt the butter.  I turned the broiler off and left the dish in the oven for just another minute or two to make sure everything was completely melted without burning the bread.

Finally, top it off with some freshly cut basil.  Is it just me, or does fresh basil smell like being a child in the summer, playing outside?  I don't really connect the smell of basil with herbs, more with weeds, but it's always such a lovely addition!

Ahhhhhhmazing!  Bon Appetit!

Happy Fourth of July!

In commemoration of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that have molded America into what we are today, I'm going to focus on one summer tradition that really epitomizes us to the outside world: fried fair food.  There is seemingly nothing more American (to me) than overpriced food, on a blistering hot day, that is more likely than not going to make someone nauseous, especially if they go on the tilt-a-whirl located 20 feet from where said food is served!

Today is the last day of the San Diego County Fair, which is nothing like the Taste of Chicago, but since this is where I am, that is where I shall be.  As opposed to some of the more culinary treats Chicago hosts, San Diego is big into Chicken Charlie's: the booth that will deep fry anything to get you to spend $6+ on a sampling of it.  And yes, I did give them quite a bit of my hard earned money this year (as I do every year) to say that I've tried the next big "thing."

This year, everyone seemed to be talking about Fried Kool Aid.  Really?  Kool Aid??  Of course I had to try it - we went for the Chocolate Covered Bacon three years ago, why wouldn't we try this, too?

Okay, here's the truth about Chicken Charlie's: they use a Krusteaz fish & chips style batter on everything, so everything tastes pretty much the same.  However, you can usually taste a bit of what originally existed before the frying, and much is the same with the fried Kool Aid balls.  They taste predominately like batter, but every now and then you get that sweet, sugary taste of eating Kool Aid straight out of the packet.  It's an odd sensation to add to the flat batter taste, but I can say I tried it, and it tasted like fried sugar?  Maybe so.

Next on the list is Fried Girl Scout Cookies.  More specifically, fried Thin Mints.  Now I LOVE Thin Mints.  I make sure to buy a package (or four) every year, stock up the freezer, and take out a sleeve for dessert about once a month to help use them sparingly.  Thomas doesn't agree with my approach, but I try to make them last as long as possible.  There's lots of possibility in a friend GS Thin Mint, but I think these fell short.  There was too much batter to cookie ratio.  Maybe if there had been two cookies, and more cookie flavor, it would have been better, but as it was, it was just okay.  These also fell short of my expectations, but after awhile, all the fried food really just tastes the same to me.

Next up is the Fried Brownie.  Now, I know you're going to say that those look awfully similar to the Fried Girl Scout Cookies.  This may be true: Chicken Charlie's doesn't do much for presentation.  Fortunately for everyone involved, these two dishes were worlds apart.  The brownie was actually quite sizable, and it was able to hold its own against the batter, which is really what we're looking for in this situation.  We were all impressed by the brownie, but by this point, the batter quotient was getting to high, and we were having a nibble of each fried ball o' goodness.  There were three of us, which you'd think would make it easier, but in fact, it was even more difficult considering what else we had already eaten that day...

First, we came across the ginormous smoked turkey legs.  Thomas had one of those before I could blink twice.  He said that it was amazing, and I believe him. Anything that's bigger than your head is bound to be a tasty treat!

Mary had the corn dog and lemonade from the Hot Dog on a Stick folks.  This is something that I've had, and can say is good, but it's a dangerous slope to start.  I need a corn dog with curly fries with cotton candy with...  well, you get the picture.  She gave them both big thumbs up, so I believe I'll trust that recommendation!

Now I went with the fake curly fries option: curly fried zucchini with a side of ranch.  AMAZING!  However, this plate was huge, and I couldn't finish even half of it, so I needed to call in reinforcements from Thomas and Mary to help coming closer to finishing it, but there was still some waste.  :(

Obviously, we were full before we even tried the fried goodies, but we tried, and that's all that matters.  That's the American Way, right?  Give it that good ol' College Try! (which, doesn't make sense to me, and if you've ever spent any time on a college campus, you might agree!)

Seriously, though, get out there and celebrate the Declaration of Independence today.  I am thankful for those who have given their lives in order to make our country what it is today.  Love it or hate it, it's ours due to the sacrifice that others made for us: the least we can be is thankful.

Mount Soledad Veteran Memorial, overlooking all of San Diego County



White Girl Tamales!

Okay, I'm super excited about this recipe.  See?  There's this abuela who rides in a broke down green Chevy Astro around our neighborhood selling tamales out of the backseat.  The problem?  There is no rhyme nor reason to when she'll drive by.  (No, mom, the problem is not that I'm buying food out of a random stranger's van.  Stranger danger only applies to candy.)   Unlike the ice cream trucks that drive by at least once every hour all day long, all year long, the tamale abuela is much more of a rarity.  Unfortunate, because her tamales rock my socks!  So, when I found this recipe, I couldn't wait to try it.  Sure, I'm all for authenticity, but I know my attempts couldn't stack up, so white girl tamales all around!!

The problem with this recipe is that it wanted me to make my cornbread from scratch.  I understand that some people may find this to be a positive, but knowing that I have a box of Jiffy Muffin Mix, or something similar means I plan on being lazy and just adding the ingredients I need.  My surprise?  For once, there's no Jiffy in the pantry.  However, I did have a box of Krusteaz Natural Honey Cornbread .  Double bonus, since you only need to add water to make it a mix!

I started by chopping the pepper, and spreading it throughout the bottom of a well greased pie dish.  Truth?  I used a whole pepper, and I probably should have used two pie plates since mine are small.  However, I figured I was going for the "cram it in" approach, and all is fair in love and tamales!  I then made my taco meat the way I normally would.  I just added taco seasoning instead of many of the other ingredients, since taco mix generally contains all of them anyway.  Plus, we buy McCormick Taco Seasoning Mix in the bulk size, so it only makes sense to keep with what you've got instead of starting from scratch every time.

Speaking of things already in the house, I still had two-thirds of a block of pepper jack cheese. I just shredded the whole thing and added it to the cornbread mix. I didn't measure it - figured it needed to get used, and who hates cheesy cornbread/tamales anyway?   I followed the directions after that, I swear! I put part of the mix over the peppers and tried to spread it out as best I could. Turns out my mix was very thick (what with all the cheese and all), so I had to spread it out with my fingers, otherwise the peppers kept moving with the mix.

 

I then added the completed taco meat/salsa mixture, and then topped it all off with the rest of the cornbread mix.  I baked it per the recipe, although it did finish up about 3 minutes quicker than expected.  Could be my mix, could be how it was overflowing anyway.  Who knows?  I'm just saying know your oven and watch your food!

Now, the tricky part...  You're supposed to invert this on to a plate.  Now, I can't say that's the scary part.  I make pull apart (monkey bread) rolls and kick butt at inverting that mess, but if you remember back about two paragraphs, this mix was very thick, and it was difficult to spread.  I feared that my tamale pie would be three separate layers, and the taco meat layer would send the bottom (now top) layer flying.  Like any good wife, I connived convinced my husband that he should try the inversion process and I'd supervise take pictures.  Lucky duck - it worked like a charm!

It might not be the prettiest tamale you've ever seen, but I do believe I qualified that this was a white girl tamale and there was no holds barred!  We sliced it up and served it with lettuce - I'm not sure what my shredded lettuce obsession is, just go with it!  Thomas said it could have used something else, maybe more salsa or some guacamole, but I thought for a fake tamale it was pretty darn good (and it held its shape pretty well)!

Recipe to Share

For my mom's Pampered Chef party, we made A LOT of food.  My mother has seven siblings, and I think she still cooks for a family of 10, laying heavily on boys at a 6 to 4 ratio.  We prepared food for 12 guests, but probably could have easily served 25.    My mother also has a plethora of cookbooks.  Every year she gets rid of a bunch, but they multiply like rabbits left to their own devices.  She's currently into smaller cookbooks, like the yearly magazine sized ones.  Unfortunately, the one I took this recipe from doesn't seem to have an online equivalent, so, thanks for the patience!

I wasn't in the room when she was prepping this dish, since I had my own to make, however I can tell you she did add extra salt and pepper to make it to my taste, and the parsley was far more chopped in her dish than in the cook book's picture!  For the chicken, mom just bought a roaster from the grocery store and chopped it up.  Delish!!

As you can see, it's served in one of mom's (and dad's least) favorite "cabbage leaf" bowls.