tangerine beef stir-fry

This recipe from Everyday Food might well be one of our new family favorites.  All of us just loved the flavor of the beef.  The glaze was sticky and rich, with just a hint of citrus at the end.  Because it's so hard to find various cuts of organic beef here, I used NY strip instead of the sirloin and served the meat with brown rice. I prepped the meat mixture and the sauce during naptime and could just put everything together quickly in time for dinner. 

pumpkin pie

This is the recipe that I'm sure 90% of the pumpkin pies are made with, but we always have good luck with it!

tater tots

Kory and I both thought that these turned out really well and liked having control of the (very few) ingredients instead of buying prepackaged and frozen tots.  I only made half the recipe, pressing them into a loaf pan instead of an 8x8" baking dish.  Sadly, our anti-potato children had no interest in them.  The recipe was from Cook's Country.

sweet potato dinner rolls

The Thanksgiving baking has begun!  I saw this recipe on The Kitchn blog and thought they looked perfect for a make-ahead roll for Thanksgiving.  Cael thought they were fun to make (our whole family loves sweet potatoes) and they were easy enough for him to help with the whole process.  They were delicious fresh-- crispy and browned, but soft and moist on the inside.  Now I just have to hope that they reheat well after being frozen!

marshmallows

Our good friends and neighbors, also natural food junkies, were having a fondue dinner party and asked me to try making homemade marshmallows.  Cael and I had a great time making them, they were incredibly easy to make, and were a big hit, especially with the kids.  I have a feeling this recipe from Our Family Eats will become a family favorite!

strawberry rhubarb freezer jam

A neighbor gave us some of their extra rhubarb, so we headed out to buy some organic strawberries to try this result from kitchenlane.com and the result is delicious!

freezer jam

I had just received the September 2011 issue of Everyday Food and thought this recipe looked simple.  Kory told me it wasn't worth the effort and I should just buy organic jam.  Well, kudos to our neighbors for giving us about forty small peaches from their tree so that I could have an excuse to try this.  Everyone loves it, even naysayer, Kory!

vegetable lasagna

In an attempt to add more vegetarian meals to our routine, I just had to try this recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  I loved that it was full of veggies, not just spinach like so many other recipes.  The timing was perfect too, because all of the ingredients are in perfect season right now.  Kory was quite impressed (yay!) with this recipe and Elle and I both loved it.  Cael, well, not so much, but he'll get over it...  I did make two mistakes when grocery shopping-- I bought diced instead of crushed tomatoes and the pack of lasagna noodles I bought only had 8 noodles, not 12, but it still turned out really well!

boneless buffalo chicken

GF update: The recipe I use is still based on the original recipe below, but I have found that marinating isn't necessary. 

• Cut ~ 1lb. chicken breast into ~1 inch pieces s
• Dip chicken pieces in whisked egg white (whole egg is ok too) 
• Dredge chicken in a mixture of 1/3 cup Cup4Cup flour, 2/3 cup cornstarch, and about a Tablespoon of buffalo sauce (we've used Frank's-- even though it isn't certified GF, the ingredients seem to be OK)
• Fry ~4-5 minutes in 350 degree oil
• Toss in additional buffalo sauce

Kory and I love this Cook's Illustrated (I think...) recipe.  I don't know how I didn't post it earlier, but we eat it regularly.  We give the kids the chicken nuggets before we sauce them and they don't seem to notice the hot sauce in the batter at all.  We used to use the Whole Foods buffalo sauce, but seeing we have no Whole Foods anymore, Kory found a new favorite, Uncle Dougie's Chicago style chicken wing marinade.  It is HOT though, so I use 1/2 a cup of it with 1/2 cup of water and add a bit of extra sugar and butter to balance it out.  We serve these with Marzetti's Blue Cheese Dressing, but I want to start making my own someday soon.

chicken gyros

We tried this recipe that I found on www.ourfamilyeats.com for the first time tonight and, I have to say, everyone loved it.  Elle would have just eaten the sauce with a spoon, Cael ate plenty of chicken and veggies, and Kory and I were both pleasantly surprised with this very simple recipe.  Kory said he'd like to have chopped olives and feta cheese to go with it next time, which I guess would change this from nontraditional gyros into greek pita sandwiches, but I agreed that they would make delicious accompaniments. We did use whole wheat pitas to keep this recipe quite healthy.

lemon blueberry bars with coconut crust

The kids and I flew home from California yesterday and Kory is driving home today, Father's Day, so we decided to make him a special treat for when he gets home.  This recipe is from For The Love of Cooking.  The only thing we omitted was the powdered sugar sprinkled on the top and I don't think we missed it at all. 

Margarita Cake

Cael and I made this cake this morning to have at our Mother's Day dinner.  It was a fairly simple Cook's Country recipe and turned out really well.  Kory loved the margarita jello that is the glaze, but thought he'd like a graham cracker crust better than the pretzel crust.  I liked the crust but actually thought it would be better with saltier pretzels (I used the Newman's Own, which aren't overly salty). 

Morning Buns

Cael asked last week why I never do special weekend breakfasts anymore, making me feel guilty that my goal to do this only lasted about two weeks.  I figured Easter morning was the perfect time to start again.  These Cook's Country Morning Buns were absolutely perfect for our family.  Sweet enough for the boys, but savory enough for me.  The orange flavor is just so bright first thing in the morning.  I baked six and froze six for another weekend, but probably should have only baked four at a time for our family.  Even though they end up looking like cinnamon roll muffins, this recipe will definitely be made again and again. 

pizza braid

I took this recipe from another blog I follow, For the Love of Cooking and the whole family was really happy!  I, unfortunately, couldn't find any better quality prepared pizza dough, so gave into the thin crust pizza dough in the pop can by Pilsbury, partially hydrogenated oils and all.  On half, I spread chicken italian sausage and quartered Applegate Farms pepperoni; the other half had a smaller amount of this mixture with sauteed mushrooms and onions as well.  I put the toppings down first, followed by the sauce (Enrico's all natural pizza sauce) and then shredded mozzarella.  I left out the pineapple.  Obviously, this could easily be done with any of your favorite pizza toppings.  After braiding, I sprinkled the top with Italian herb blend and parmesan cheese and only baked for about 20-25 minutes. 

broccoli sunshine salad

I made this recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Elle's first birthday party.  It was definitely yummy and extremely simple, but I did make a few changes.  I didn't have any cider vinegar, so I used red wine vinegar and I'm not a raisin fan, so I used a mix of dried cherries, cranberries, and blueberries.  I also used mozzerella cheese instead of cheddar.  I used Applegate Farms Sunday bacon to keep the recipe free of artificial nitrates/nitrites.

Creamy chicken taquitos

This recipe was on one of the many food blogs I follow and looked liked something I'd love.  I was right, of course.  The recipe was incredibly simple, but next time I'd divide the mixture before adding the pepper jack so that I could add shredded cheddar for the kids and pepper jack for the grown ups.  These might be better as an appetizer/munchie snack food than a meal.

Irish Carbomb Cupcakes

I did a test run of these in honor of St. Patrick's Day later this week and they were a success.  Just be sure not to add too much of the milk/sugar mixture to the ganache; stop as soon as it's a thick, glossy, mixture.  I added too much and after adding the cream and Jameson it got a little runnier than I would have liked. 

Funeral Potatoes

This Cook's Country recipe is like sour cream and cheddar potato chips in casserole form, literally.  It was really good, but really heavy, and will probably be saved for special occasions from now on.  Cael loved that I put the chips in a zip-top bag and let him stomp on them though.

Sloppy Joes

This is another one of my Grandma Kober's recipes that just reminds me so much of my childhood I can't stand it!  Unfortunately Kory's not a fan.  He grew up on Manwich (blah!!!) and this doesn't have enough flavor for him. 

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Yet another potato recipe from Cook's Illustrated...  This one is probably my favorite.  Kory, Cael and I all loved the crispy outside with the rich, buttery center. 

Egg Casserole

Yet another of Kory's mom's recipes.  The whole family likes this one, but I always claim the crispy corner pieces. 

Chuck Roast in Foil

I made this Cook's Country recipe as intended, even though Kory is not a huge fan of pot roast.  It turns out that the sauce is incredibly flavorful, but we both thought it would be better as shredded beef for sandwiches.  Next time I make it I will cook it with probably 2-3x the sauce recipe and shred it to serve for sandwich filling.

Chocolate Eclaire Cake

This is another recipe from Kory's mom that he used to have for his birthday every year.  I don't mind it, but am a little freaked out by all of the highly processed ingredients.  This is probably one that I will eventually work on revamping to make it a little more home-made. 

Chicken Glamourous

This is one of my mom's recipes that Kory loves, but, in it's original form, I find way too salty.  I can't help that I'm a pepper girl. Anyway, I change almost everything about it except the rice.  I tried to use brown rice once, but it just doesn't absorb the liquid.  OK, I'm going to try to remember my changes in full!  Instead of dry onion soup mix I use Lars crispy onions (they are natural fried onions in a little clear tub with a blue label) and some garlic salt and pepper.  I use the Health Valley cream of chicken soup, which is not condensed, so you need two cans.  I pour one can over the rice and mix the other with Better Than Bouillon (this stuff dissolves and tastes so much better than cubes!).  Instead of a cut-up chicken I use a shredded rotisserie chicken and only bake for one hour, covered with foil.  

Pumpkin Cake

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes.  When I was working in college, a co-worker made this for Halloween and brought it in.  I probably ate half the pan myself that day and have been hooked ever since.  LOVE IT!

Baked Beans

This is another one of Kory's mom's recipes.  No need to say (if you know me...) that I don't use pork and beans, but instead actually use a can of whatever organic baked beans look the yummiest on a given day.  Yes, I add ingredients to ready made baked beans.  I usually do a half batch and bake for only 1 1/2 hours.  Sometimes we skip the bacon all together, sometimes I use the Applegate Farms brand.  These turn out almost candied, they are so thick and sweet. 

Apple Crisp

This is Kory's Grandma Schleicher's recipe.  It's super easy, other than taking the time to peel all of the apples.  Cael loves to help make this one because he can easily mix and sprinkle on the topping.

Amaretto Slush

Kory's mom seems to always have a stock of this in the freezer.  Kory loves it and I used to, but since having the kiddos it is just too sweet for me.

Brownies

I was given this brownie recipe from a girl in my undergraduate lab.  She wouldn't give it to me until my last day before leaving for grad school and said it was a long-kept secret recipe.  Funny thing is, one of my good friends ten years later has the exact same recipe minus the chocolate chips.  Very curious.  I wonder what the original source was.

Crusty French Bread

Cael wanted to bake yesterday, well really he just wanted to use the stand mixer, so I hunted for a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for and this was it.  I did use olive oil instead of shortening.  It was yummy and we ate it with dinner fresh out of the oven, so it can't get much better than that!

Beef Teriyaki with Green Beans and Shitakes

Another great ATK recipe.  Kory prefers this if I mix half peas and half green beans.  We usually just serve it over brown rice. 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Spiced Maple Sauce

Another of my Thanksgiving recipes that works all winter long.  Sweet with a hint of spice (I halve the cayenne for the kiddos).

Posole Rojo

My love of posole took a long, convoluted route from New Mexico to the midwest.  I went to Louisiana with a good friend from grad school to visit her godmother's family.  Her godmother grew up in New Mexico, but didn't cook, so her husband learned to make this amazing dish.  He made it while we were visiting and I was immediately hooked.  It's cheap, easy, and incredibly tasty.  We usually cook it down to a thick stew consistency and just eat it with un-fried flour tortillas as little scoops. 

Foccacia

This recipe is super yummy with any foccacia topping you add, from nothing but salt, to herbs de Provance, to tomatoes and spinach.  It makes a huge loaf, so be prepared to share or enter carb-overload-zone!

Fish Tacos

I think fish tacos may be one of my most-craved meals and I've yet to find anything "San-Diego-worthy" other than School Yard in Chicago (YUM YUM YUM).  The tarter sauce in this recipe is delicious, but the quantity of this makes is WAY overkill.  I usually halve it, but you could easily get away with a quarter of it, I think.   I usually serve them with mango salsa and broccoli slaw.   We used to do the fish breaded this way, but now we usually beer batter it instead-- one 12 oz. beer mixed with 1 1/2 cups of flour, whisked together, dip the fish in batter and fry at 350 degrees about 2 minutes per side.

Enchiladas Verdes

I absolutely love to order this dish at Mexican restaurants and was happily surprised to find this Cook's Illustrated recipe is even yummier than most restaurant versions.  Be sure to taste the sauce and add sugar if it's too tart!