Christmas Break

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well and having a great holiday season! I want to apologize for not posting much since Thanksgiving. Since then and now, I have had finals and now Christmas break which has made it hard to cook meals because so much is going on. I am back in Denver right now until after the 1st of January. Once I get back to Laramie in January and school starts up again I will absolutely start the cooking and sharing again! Until then, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Dinner With The Hughes Clan

Dinner with the Hughes Clan

Cheesy and spicy

So good you'll want to eat more

Save room for dessert

Hi everybody! This is an extra special dinner post because on Thursday night we had Juli's family with us! They are in town for Juli's graduation! She graduated yesterday from the University of Wyoming with a Family and Consumer Sciences degree; congratulations Juli! So it was a real treat go get to meet all of her family and have them all here to celebrate. So upon their arrival, Juli prepared a fabulous dinner for everyone. She made sausage and broccoli pasta with warm bread, roasted garlic, and a crunchy green salad. It was incredibly tasty. And for dessert, we enjoyed a Marie Calendar's raspberry pie and vanilla ice cream. A complete meal that was perfect for hungry travelers.

Earlier this semester Juli made this dinner, so I won't post the recipe because it is already in a previous blog titled, "S-s-s-sausage and Broccoli Penne with Crusty Crust Bread". As for the salad, it was made with Romain lettuce, carrots, celery, tomatoes and croutons. The bread was a loaf of sourdough that I cut in half and buttered the inside. Then I put the halves back together and wrapped it in foil and placed it in the oven at around 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. By doing this the butter melted on the inside and the outside crust hardened a bit. It was the perfect crunchy-soft combo.

As a spread for the bread, we had roasted garlic that had a flavor that was out of this world! What Juli did was spray a glass baking dish with some non-stick cooking spray, and place whole bunches of garlic in it. About 5 or so. Then she placed it in the oven at 425 degrees and roasted them until they were tender and began to brown slightly. Once out of the oven, she cut them up in small pieces so that they could be spread easily over the bread. Roasting garlic in the oven is special because it does something to the garlic that gives it a great flavor, and the potency of it is minimized.

The real highlight about dinner though was not the food. It was all the people that we had joining us for dinner. We had: Juli's mom Judy, dad Randy, brother Willie and his girlfriend Miranda, grandma Pat, Aunt Andrea, Aunt Chris and Sam. It was the biggest dinner we've done here this year, and it was one of the most fun! I loved meeting everyone in Juli's family, and they are so welcoming and some of the greatest people I know.

Dinner that night was filled with laughs, stories and joy. We talked about all sorts of things and everyone shared funny stories they had from the past and it was great to see everyone smiling and having fun. We sat around the table well after dinner and eventually watched a video of Juli when she was on the show "Figure It Out" on Nickelodeon. It was back in 1998 and she sure dressed like it! The concept of the show was that there were about 4 judges that had to guess what your "talent" was. They had 3 rounds of 1 minute to ask you yes or no questions, and then from that had to 'figure it out' as to what your talent was. Juli's talent was that her family constructed a maze in their cornfield. So the judges had to guess, and they couldn't figure it out! So Juli won the grand prize which was a trip to Florida and got to swim with dolphins and all that jazz. But the video is hilarious and priceless, so it was necessary to watch with her whole family.

I really loved dinner this night and it is so simple to make, and the flavor is dynamite. Added with the salad, bread, and family it's a complete meal! I recommend trying this dinner, and again the recipe is posted on a post from October titled "S-s-s-sausage and Broccoli Penne with Crusty Crust Bread".

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

Hi everyone! Put on your sombrero's because this dinner was from South of the border! Last night we ate cilantro lime chicken tacos with all the fixings. I cooked the chicken in the crock pot all day so it was nice and tender by dinner time. Along with the chicken tacos, there was a bean and corn mix, homemade tortilla chips, and Mexican rice. And to top off the tacos we had shredded lettuce, diced tomato, black olives, guacamole and shredded cheese. It was quite the fiesta too; we had Mike and Tim join us for dinner so it was a full table...just the way I like it!

By cooking the chicken in the crock pot, it was so nice to not have to worry about it all day and it was tender and delicious. And a fun tip that might come in handy is that to shred the chicken, (if you have one) put the cooked chicken in a kitchen aid mixer and put on low for about 30 seconds and it shreds the chicken for you! I did this for the chicken and was amazed at how well it worked. It's a must try! 

The only recipe for this dinner was what I put in the crock pot with the chicken, the rest is pretty self explanatory. So here is the recipe for the cilantro lime chicken! (www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
1 (24 oz) jar of salsa
1 package dry taco seasoning mix
2 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions
Place the salsa, taco seasoning, lime juice, and cilantro into a slow cooker, and stir to combine. Add the chicken breasts, and stir to coat with the salsa mixture. Cover the cooker, set to high, and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 4 hours. If desired, set cooker to low and cook 6 to 8 hours.



 
 


 <----- Mike's plate! 









 Pretty simple huh? And let me tell you...it was awesome! Probably the best chicken tacos I have made at home. The lime definitely gave it a nice flavor; something like you would find in a Mexican restaurant. To warm the tortillas before eating, Kara "grilled" them on a griddle. She said it was how the Honduran women do it so it's legit. The black bean and corn mix was just a can of black beans, drained and rinsed mixed together with some frozen corn over medium heat until the corn was not frozen anymore. As for the Mexican rice, I just bought a box mix and followed the directions on the box. 

The perfect taco is one that had everything on it! Nothing was left out. When I had that first bite I knew it was something special. Another special bite was the homemade tortilla chips. Juli made these with some store bought tortillas, and just sprinkled a little salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Throw them in the oven until they are crispy and darken just slightly. And there you have it, homemade tortilla chips! I dunked them in the guacamole and it was spot on.

Please try these cilantro lime chicken tacos! They were super yummy and easy peasy to make! Let me know what you think, and if there is anything you would like my roommates and I to try!  

Gnocchi and Chicken Slurpee Soup

Hello everybody! I cannot wait to tell you about the dinner that I ate last night! Kara made a gnocchi and chicken soup that was out of this world. I was in potato heaven and didn't ever want to leave. Kara said that she had this dinner at an Olive Garden not too long ago, and wanted to try making it herself. So last night she did and it was awesome! To go along with this soup, we munched on some soft and warm buttery garlic bread that was warmed in the oven, as well as an Olive Garden-like salad that had pepperoncinis, black olives and croutons. This was the perfect dinner for a Sunday evening after a great Thanksgiving break.

 

After dinner we had a fun dessert too! Kara and Juli found a recipe for a no-bake cake recipe that allows you to microwave a personal size cake in a mug! You gotta try this. I have never seen anything like it, and it was pretty good too. Slightly dry, so I would recommend cooking it for less time, or adding more caramels, but nonetheless it hit that sweet tooth spot. 

And while Juli and I were helping Kara in the kitchen, we decided that it was appropriate to play some Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas music. It's not too early right? Well I know you're probably wanting to see the recipe for the gnocchi and chicken soup, so here it is! (www.food.com). Definitely one you need to try.

Ingredients
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups half & half
1 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
16 oz potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)

Directions
1. Saute onion, celery, garlic and carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
2. Add chicken, chicken stock, half & half, salt and pepper and thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach, cook another 1-2 minutes till spinach is wilted.
4. Serve hot.

A perk about this dinner is that it was super fast to make, so if you don't have all the time in the world to make dinner I would suggest this. However I would also suggest it just because it is tasty. And the buttery garlic bread we had with it was soft and chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside.

For the bread, I just sliced an Italian loaf in half and used one half. Then I cut that chunk in half the long ways, but not all the way through. Just enough so I could open it up and put all the goods inside and then close it back up again to bake. I spread some butter on the inside and sprinkled some garlic powder, basil and oregano and then wrapped it up in some foil and popped it in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until the butter is melted and the bread is warm.

As for the salad, it was just like I was in the Olive Garden. It was a mix of romaine and spinach that we put pepperoncinis, black olives and croutons in. There was the spice from the pepperoncinis and the crunch of the croutons, and the downright goodness from the olives. Something that might have been good too would be a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese right over the top.

Badadada....and for dessert! We had these amazing little cakes that you microwave. They are individual size because you put them in a mug, so it's fun to have your personal cake. I was surprised at how good they were. The only thing I had an issue with was that it was kind of dry. So my suggestion would be to not put it in the microwave for as long, or add more caramels to it. Something I tried was I put a scoop of ice cream in it, and that seemed to help with the dryness once the ice cream started to melt. But it was really fun to eat and it's worth trying! (http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/11/12/2-minute-chocolate-salted-caramel-mug-cake/#more-63636)

Ingredients
4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar (mine had 2 and was still good)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 salted caramels (maybe more)

Directions
1. Into a small bowl add: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt, egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix to combine.
2. Pour mixture into a regular sized coffee mug. Drop caramels into center of mixture one at a time.
3. Microwave on high for one minute and 30 seconds. If needed {if cake batter is still gooey}, microwave on high for up to an additional 30 seconds.

This mug cake was a fun little treat to end the evening. It was something I have never had before or even heard of, and if you're feeling adventurous give it a try! 

Tonight's dinner: cilantro lime chicken tacos! Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Hi friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! For myself, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and three football games with my dad, before spending the afternoon with my grandma, aunt, uncle and two cousins. And I can't forget to mention the four dogs that were in the house. Two, Cassie and Sophie are the resident labs that live at my aunt's house, but the other two, Coco and Bailey were two that my cousin Maddie was dog-sitting. So with seven people and four dogs, it was a full house!

Thanksgiving is a day where you can eat anything you want as much as you want because it's what your supposed to do! I feel like the Thanksgiving eating starts with the appetizers and ends with the pie. Yesterday's appetizer was a bangin' 7-layer dip that my dad made. It is the best 7-layer dip that I have ever eaten. He makes it every year and this year he did not disappoint. Once you take one bite, you won't stop; it's that addicting. And my dad made enough to take to my aunt's house, as well as some to keep here at home for ourselves. So there was enough to last us a while.

If you want to make a delicious 7-layer dip here is the recipe that you will want!


Ingredients
4 cups shredded Mexican four cheese blend
3 (9 oz) cans Frito bean dip
1 (9 oz) can Frito Hot bean dip
3 lbs. guacamole (homemade or store bought)
2 (2.25 oz) can sliced black olives
2 (12 oz) tubs of sour cream
3 medium tomatoes, diced, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup scallions
1 Tablespoon cilantro
2 bags of Frito scoops

Directions
Layer the dip in this order: bean dip, cilantro, guacamole, sour cream, green onions, cheese, tomato and olives.

It is so simple to put together, just layer all the ingredients. Something that my dad does when making it, is that after the bean dip layer and the guacamole layer, he puts it in the freezer for just a couple minutes. That way it hardens just enough so that it is much easier to spread the next layer and things don't mix when you are trying to spread it around. It work's great! And don't forget that this makes a ton of dip so if you do not want this much, scale back the ingredients back accordingly.

I thought this was kind of funny but after my dad made the dip he decided to weigh it. It came in at an incredible 4.5 pounds! And that was just for one of the two trays that he made!

Later yesterday afternoon we picked up my grandma and headed over to my aunt's house. And there is always a great Thanksgiving Day dinner there. There was a 26 pound turkey in the oven, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, salad and rolls. I was in heaven.

When it was time to eat, we all served up buffet style and sat around the kitchen table. I love being able to share this time with family and have such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all ate until we couldn't eat anymore, and had great conversation. My grandma was pretty entertaining too in her own way. We shared laughs and stories and I am so thankful that I have the family that I do.








 Grandma and I with Coco and Bailey!









No black Friday shopping for me today, but for those of you who did go, I wish you the best of luck! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

An 812 Thanksgiving

Hi everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! I am so happy to be back writing to you today, it has sure been a while. I apologize for not keeping up with everyone the past week. I have been busy with school and various things and since Kara was gone in Honduras, Juli and I were the leftover queens. So there was not a lot to write about since we ate leftovers and ate random things we had lying around.

But on Tuesday night, we decided to have our very own Thanksgiving dinner! We put it together before we all dispersed for the holiday, so we could enjoy the feast together too. Boy was it good! It was a triple date night too, with Kara and Tim, Juli and Sam, and Mike and myself. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people. The food was drop dead delicious too! Our Thanksgiving dinner did not include a turkey, however we did have a 6 pound chicken. And to be honest, if you were to close your eyes and take a bite, it would be really hard to decide if it was chicken or turkey. So that's a juicy win in my cook book. Along with the chicken we savored some green bean casserole, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and stuffing. I can praise it all I want, but the food speaks for itself.

Now unfortunately this time I do not have all the recipes for this dinner, but I do have the green bean casserole recipe and the stuffing, which was just a box mix. Kara baked the chicken, Juli made the cranberry sauce and together they made the mashed potatoes. I threw together the green bean casserole and stuffing. So I do not have exactly everything that went into all the food, but I can tell you about the stuffing and green bean casserole. The stuffing was just a stove top box mix that was super easy to make. Just follow the directions on the box. As for the green bean casserole, I found the recipe on French's website (www.frenchs.com).

Ingredients
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
2 (9 oz) bags frozen cut green beans, thawed
1/4 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups French's fried onion crisps

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together in a baking dish: cream of mushroom soup, thawed green beans, milk, black pepper, and 3/4 cup of fried onion crisps. Place in oven and cook for 30 minutes or until warm. Remove from oven, sprinkle remaining onion crisps over the top and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot!

This recipe is pretty standard for green bean casserole and it super easy to make. Green bean casserole is my personal favorite at Thanksgiving, so I was excited to be able to make this! We gathered around the dinner table and gobbled down some delicious food and shared some laughs.

Sitting around the dining room table, I was looking around and I am so thankful for every single person that was sitting at that table. I couldn't ask for anything more and to be able to have our own Thanksgiving dinner was just the absolute best. I got to share it with my Laramie family, and now I am sharing it with my Denver family. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Meaty Chili and Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Hi friends! I am psyched to write to you tonight and tell you about the dinner that I ate! On this evening's menu was a meaty and hearty chili along with some apple cinnamon muffins. I realize that we like to make a lot of chili at the 812 house. Everything from vegetarian chili, white chicken chili, Kara's chili cook-off winning green chili and now a super meaty chili. But what can I say, Laramie is a 'chilly' place! In fact, as I am writing this, I can hear the wind whipping around outside, and it does not sound pleasant at all!

I especially enjoyed making dinner tonight because I had my boyfriend Mike's help! He was in charge of the apple cinnamon muffins and did a great job because they looked, smelled, and tasted fabulous. While he was whipping those together, I was working on the chili and combining everything into one big pot. I didn't follow a recipe but added the staple chili ingredients. From start to finish it was a quick dinner that made a ton, was delicious, and warmed you from the inside out. As Mike said, "now I can go outside and take on this weather".

And also dining with us tonight was Juli, of course, and Sam! It's always fun to have great company when sitting around the dinner table. It just makes it that much better.

So here is the recipe that I put together as I was making the chili!

Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 green or red peppers, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
2 cans of pinto beans, drained
1 large can of diced tomatoes, undrained
approximately 4-5 cups of spicy V8 juice
chili powder (to taste)
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt
pepper 

Directions
Chop the onion and peppers. In a large pan, add ground beef, onion and peppers and cook on high until beef is no longer pink. Then add the kidney beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, spicy V8 juice, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir everything together and turn down heat, cover, and let simmer about 15-20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

This meaty chili was so easy to make and is a classic flavor for a hearty chili. It also made a lot, so this would be great for leftovers or if you are feeding a whole crowd of people. If you like spicy chili I would suggest adding more red chili flakes or chili powder. Or if you are feeling really adventurous you could add some Sriracha hot sauce, and that would definitely give it a little kick. And as for the apple cinnamon muffins, we just used a store bought package and followed the directions on the box. It did not make very many though, about 6, so if you want more than that I would suggest buying 2 muffin mixes. These muffins were some of the better ones I have had at home, and with a little butter in the warm center, it was absolutely perfect!

I will leave you all with this filling chili dinner, and hope that you try it out for yourself!

Chicken Caesar Salad and a Slit Baked Potato

Hello friends! On this Sunday evening, dinner was a bit more classic and simple. Juli, Anna and I dined on a crunchy chicken Caesar salad with croutons and Parmesan cheese, along with some baked potatoes that were slit and fanned out. Now you are probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about; slit potatoes. Well it was something that Juli and I found on this great website called Pinterest. Kara first showed it to us, and what it is, is a website that allows people to share ideas about anything and everything. It is a virtual "cork board", if you will, that users pin different things, such as recipes, fashions, decorating ideas, crafts, etc. and everyone else on the website can see it. And if you see something you like, you can re-pin it to your own "cork board". You can even follow your friends and see what they have re-pinned and vice versa.

So this Pinterest website is where Juli and I found the slit potato idea. It is something that was fun and different to do with a baked potato, and it was delicious! The way it presents itself makes it a good design for a table setting at a party or a holiday dinner. Even doing this with a sweet potato would be a fun way to make the food pop.

The chicken Caesar salad was fresh, green and crunchy. Just the way I like it! We used Romain hearts and sliced them into strips. The chicken was Parmesan crusted...and it sure was crusty. It was addicting when I would try a little piece and just kept coming back for more. Juli was the Parmesan chicken chef and cooked them piece by piece on the stove. We added in a few croutons and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top, and it was go time! 

Here is the recipe for the Parmesan chicken!

Ingredients
3 large chicken boobs
buttermilk
Panko bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
salt
garlic powder
2 eggs
olive oil

Directions
Cut the chicken in half long-ways and place in a zip lock bag. Tenderize the chicken like MJ and just beat it...with a frying pan. Once tenderized, pour some buttermilk into the bag until the chicken is coated and place in the refrigerator. Let sit in the refrigerator for as long as you can; maybe 30 minutes to an hour. While chicken is soaking, beat together 2 eggs in a small, shallow bowl. In another shallow dish, mix together Parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs. Remove chicken from refrigerator and take one piece of chicken at a time and place in egg wash until coated. Then transfer to Parmesan and Panko mixture and coat liberally. Then place on a plate. Do this until all the chicken is coated. Then heat some olive oil in a frying pan and place 2-3 large chicken pieces in pan and cook through so chicken is no longer pink. Serve and enjoy!

This way of making Parmesan chicken is pretty standard and simple, and it tastes so stinkin' good! I suggest to anyone that likes chicken to try making this. And now, here is the recipe for the slit baked potatoes!

Ingredients
2 large potatoes
olive oil
minced garlic
salt
pepper

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the potatoes with a bunch of thin slits, but don't cut all the way through. Then drizzle a little olive oil over the top and make sure it gets into the slits. Then spread minced garlic over the slits, and make sure those get in there too. Then sprinkle salt and pepper over potatoes and into the slits. Place in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from oven, and enjoy!

These potatoes were really fun to make and they are something new and exciting to do with potatoes. Whether you are just at home on a Sunday night making dinner, or making something to bring to a party, these are great! And with the garlic, salt and pepper, they tickle the taste buds.

I hope you are enjoying these recipes, and if there is anything you would like my roommates and me to try please let me know!