Guacamole

While the girls were up at the cabin over the summer, one of my friends, Julie, made up some guacamole and it was so good! I've never really tried to make guacamole before but she showed us how easy it was. She said she and her husband always have the ingredients on hand and make it on a regular basis. So once I got home, I thought I'd try it myself. And of course it was super easy. Not sure if I'll be making it as often as she does, but I'll definitely make my own now instead of buying it pre-made in the store. I'm guessing on the measurements, since you can add whatever ingredients you want and to your taste.

Guacamole:

2 avocados, pitted and mashed with a fork
1/4 c minced white onion
2 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tbsp minced cilantro
1/4 c halved cherry tomatoes
Lime juice, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve with chips or veggies. Store in the fridge. Enjoy!




Enjoy!...

Grilled Turkey

My parents started grilling their turkey a couple years ago and they loved it. I've had it a couple times when they've made it and the turkey is always so moist and the skin is always nice and crispy. When I hosted our girls' dinner last fall I decided to make the turkey on the grill. But for some reason I didn't post it on my blog then. The girls came up to my parents again in the beginning of August and I grilled up a turkey for all of us to snack off all weekend. This time I took pictures and wrote down the directions to add to my blog. Super super easy to make!

Grilled Turkey: 8-10 servings

Fresh or frozen turkey (thawed), any size, making sure to fit on the grill
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Any seasoning you prefer
Drip pan

Remove the turkey from the fridge 1 hour before grilling. Dry the turkey as much as possible inside and out with paper towels. Rub olive oil generously on the turkey. Season generously with salt and pepper. (When I made the turkey the first time, I only used salt and pepper. The second time, I used salt, pepper and a 15-seasoning blend my mom had on hand). You can use any type of seasoning you want. Make sure it generously coats the turkey.

Place the turkey on a rack-this is an important step as it will not cook properly if it is not on a rack. While the turkey is resting, prepare the grill.

Remove the grills and place a drip pan directly on the burners in the middle of the grill and replace the grills. The turkey has to cook by indirect eat so only turn on the outside burners to medium heat and preheat for 10 minutes.

When the grill is ready, place the turkey, with the rack it has been sitting on, on the grill in the middle of the drip pan. If you are cooking extra legs, place around the turkey anywhere they will fit and close the grill lid.

After about 1 hour, check the turkey. You want to cook the turkey 10 minutes per pound or until an internal temperature reaches 170. Take the turkey off the grill and let rest 15-30 minutes. Do not cover with foil or the skin won't be as crispy. You may need to remove the extra legs before the turkey is done so they cook faster. Enjoy!




Drip pan placed under the grill grates...






Ready to be seasoned...






Seasonings added...






Placed on the grill...






Ready to be taken off the grill...






Enjoy!...

Red Velvet Rice Krispy Bars

I found this recipe on Pinterest via www.passthesushi.com I also made this recipe for the girls' weekend at the cabin and it was a definite hit! This could easily be made up for Valentine's Day or Christmas, dyeing the white chocolate to any color you want. The recipe calls for Cocoa Rice Krispies but I was afraid the chocolate cereal would make the bars way too sweet so I just used the original Rice Krispies and it tasted just fine. I have to admit, when I was making this, my parents & my friend were looking at me like I was crazy to mix these ingredients together but it worked out and tasted really good. I'll definitely make these again!

Red Velvet Rice Krispy Bars:

3 tbsp butter
1 (10.5 oz) bag mini marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c red velvet cake mix
6 c Cocoa Rice Krispies or regular Rice Krispies cereal
4 oz white chocolate, melted

Grease a 9x13-inch pan well. Heat butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the marshmallows, cake mix and vanilla. Stir frequently as the marshmallows melt until the mixture is smooth. Quickly fold in the cereal to the mixture until well combined and everything is coated.

Transfer sticky cereal mixture to the prepared pan. It works well if you butter the back of a large spoon to press the mixture evenly into the pan. Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and pour it into a plastic sandwich bag. Snip off the corner and drizzle over the cereal. Let it set before slicing into squares. Enjoy!




Marshmallows & cake mix...






Mixture melted...






Rice Krispies spread out in pan...






The white chocolate exploded on me...






Enjoy!...

Texas Caviar Rice & Beans

This was one of the dishes I made for my weekend with a bunch of girlfriends at the cabin this past weekend. We had planned meals that were easy to eat off of all weekend and this recipe sounded perfect. I had to use 3 serrano chile peppers since Lund's didn't have poblano peppers. It was a little too spicy but all in all it tasted really good. I didn't roast the peppers and it tasted just fine to me. I also have an aversion to pre-cooked rice pouches-I can't stand the taste, so I cooked up some dry basmati rice according to the pkg directions. When I make this again, which I definitely will, I plan to use only one chile pepper and I will make it into a salad. The recipe says to use the leftover dressing as a side but I poured mine over the rice and the rest of the ingredients to add more flavor and it definitely worked.

Texas Caviar Rice & Beans (4-6 servings) (Southern Living):

1 (15.8 oz) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 c finely chopped roasted red bell peppers
1/4 c finely chopped poblano pepper (here I used the 3 serrano chile peppers)
Texas Vinaigrette, divided
2 (8.8 oz) pouches fully cooked basmati rice
1 1/4 c halved grape tomatoes
1 c shredded pepper jack cheese
3/4 c loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
2/3 c thinly sliced celery
1/3 c thinly sliced green onions
Tortilla Chips
Garnishes: Sliced pickled jalapeno peppers

*Texas Vinaigrette (1 cup): Whisk together 1/2 c olive oil; 1/4 c fresh lime juice; 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro; 1 tbsp hot sauce; 1 garlic clove, minced; 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp ground cumin. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Stir together the first 4 ingredients and 1/4 c Texas Vinaigrette in a microwave-safe glass bowl; let stand 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Microwave at high 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring at 30-second intervals.

Heat rice according to pkg directions; fluff with a fork. On a large platter, layer the caviar as follows: celery, rice, tomatoes, bean mixture, cilantro, cheese and pickled jalapeno slices. Drizzle the dressing over the rice and other ingredients on the platter. Serve with tortilla chips.




Bean mixture soaking in marinade...






Enjoy!...

Oriental Chicken Wings

I got this recipe from my friend Leigh's mom. I've had it once or twice when Leigh made it and when her mom made it a couple weeks ago I knew I wanted to make this for myself. The chicken becomes so tender that the meat just falls off the bone. There's no set time for how long to keep it in the slow cooker but the longer you do, the more tender the meat becomes. I left mine in the slow cooker for 4 hours tonight and it was so good! I will be making this recipe over and over again!

Oriental Chicken Wings:

20-25 chicken wings, cut tips off
1 c water
3/4 c soy sauce
1 c sugar
1/3 c sweetened pineapple juice
1/4 c olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger

Mix everything together except the chicken wings. Place the chicken into a 9x13-inch glass dish. Pour the sauce over the wings. (I had to use another smaller dish since not all of my chicken fit in the regular dish.) Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Either wait for the glass dish to come to room temp or transfer to a shallow roasting pan. Bake for about 1 hour, turning the chicken once halfway through the cooking time. Transfer to a slow cooker with the juices and cook on low for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

*Note: If you don't use a slow cooker, bake in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

I served my chicken with some sticky rice, to mop up the juice. So good!




Soaking in the marinade...






The rest soaking in the marinade...






Fresh from the oven...






Enjoy!...

Sour Cherry Vodka & Watermelon Vodka

I found the recipe for Sour Cherry Vodka on Pinterest via http://fancynapkin.blogspot.com/ Based on how easy the other recipe was, we used up my friend's watermelon and decided to try to make some watermelon vodka. I had a really hard time finding glass bottles that seal. I checked everywhere and as a last minute try I went to Home Goods and bingo! I found a couple bottles for the cherry vodka on clearance for $2.99. I found the bigger bottle for the watermelon for only $5.99. Super super easy to make. Just de-stem the cherries and fill up the entire glass bottle with cherries. Fill the bottle with cheap vodka. For the watermelon, we only filled the bottle up halfway and poured the vodka over the top.

The vodka should be ready to try in 3 months..so around the first of November. I'll let you know when we try it! If it turns out good, we plan on experimenting with other fruit and veggies.




Sour Cherry Vodka...






Watermelon Vodka...

Yogurt Cake with Tart Cherries

I found this recipe on Pinterest via www.http://cafechocolada.blogspot.com/ My friend has a pretty decent size tart cherry tree in her backyard so we picked them all but couldn't figure out what to do with them. I found this recipe and it looked pretty good. And easy. The only ingredient I was unsure of was the vanilla sugar. I didn't have a vanilla bean but I found something online that said I could make my own vanilla sugar using 1 tsp vanilla extract per 2 cups of regular sugar so I used 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 c sugar. I let it dry out on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes. Not sure what I'm going to do with the rest of the sugar now that it's made but I'll figure that out later.

The cake was okay..not very sweet tasting though. And the cherries were sour to begin with and they remained sour in the cake. Not sure I like the flavor of the cake. I thought the powdered sugar would help, but it didn't do too much. Pretty sure I won't be making this again. I took a couple pieces home with me and left the rest at my friend's. It might be good with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Yogurt Cake with Tart Cherries:

3 eggs
1 c plain yogurt
3 c flour
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 c tart cherries

Grease an 11x3-inch baking dish. Preheat oven to 395. Add baking powder to flour and mix well. Place cherries in their own bowl and add about 2 tbsp flour and shake to coat them.

With a hand mixer, mix eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar. Then add yogurt and oil and mix well. Gradually add flour mixture with baking powder and mix well. Fold in the cherries, being careful not to crush them. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake about 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool about 10 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar.




Vanilla Sugar...






Ingredients mixed together...






Ready for the oven...






Powdered sugar on top...






Enjoy!...