Adult Halloween Costumes

I'm obsessed with Halloween and always looking for ideas so figured I would throw out on my blog so people can see some good ideas :)

1. Crazy Cat Lady

2. Ms. Pacman, Pacman, and her ghosts

3. A tampon

4. Static Cling

5. Game Operation / Forrest Gump

Breakfast Sand'ich

What a treat!!  Ross made us breakfast this am - and since it was his own concoction, I'm blogging it!!  Super good!!

Rosscoe Sodahl

Ingredients:
Bread, toasted
Ham slices, fried
Cheese slice
Egg, over easy

Do up your eggs first - throw bread in the toasted - fry up the ham - and then slap it all on the bread and grill enough to let the cheese melt......delicious!!

HaLlOwEeN fOoD

Halloween party tonight!!  My favorite holiday!!  :)  I of course had to make some "festive" snacks!!

I'm PoInTiNg At YoU mY LiTtlE fRiEnD.....

This couldn't be easier - cut string cheese in half....use the flat side of a knife to make the knuckle marks - and attach silvered almonds with a little cream cheese for the nails.  I also used a knife to shave off a bit of the cheese at an angel before attaching the almond.

MuMmY dOgS!!

So I made mine with hotdogs (and then cut them in half) BUT you could also use little weiners - that might taste even better!!  All you need to do is cut crescent roll dough into thin strips - and wrap around hot dogs.  Bake according to crescent package directions and use mustard for eyes!

Creamy Tomato Soup

Birthday weekend is here!!!  :)  I possibly made "the best meal ever" for lunch today.  This soup and Smoked Turkey and Artichoke Panini!!  Ross said it was better than a restaurant - and well it tasted AMAZING!!  Really cooking it up now that I'm 30!!!  hehe  But for real - I don't even like tomato soup, but this I could have ate the entire batch!  It was so good!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon reserved oil from sun-dried tomatoes, or olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
¾ cup shredded carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2/3 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
14 oz can chicken broth
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese and fresh basil for garnish

Place oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion,  carrot, and garlic, and cook for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring often.

Add sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. (If you’re adding red pepper flakes, add them now)
Bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer.  Cover pan and simmer for 30  minutes.

Remove from heat. Place soup in a blender (do this in 2 batches if necessary). Add cream cheese. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape, but place a paper towel over opening in blender lid to avoid spills. Process for a few minutes until smooth.  You could also add cream cheese directly to the pot and use an immersion blender to combine. (YAY - I LOVE my immersion blender!)

Add additional salt and pepper to taste and then divide soup among bowls.  Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan cheese and a fresh basil leaf if desired.

Smoked Turkey and Artichoke Panini

Oh yeah - I made this :)  This was like heaven in your mouth!  The spread was so good....and the artichoke hearts made it Oh so tasty!!  We don't have a panini pan or anything - but grilling this worked great!!  We had this with Creamy Tomato Soup - ahhh soo good!!  You just get to dunk the sandwich right in that yummy soup!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
Loaf of sourdough bread
Jar of marinated artichoke hearts
Garlic-Herb Sandwich Spread
Smoked deli turkey
Swiss cheese slices
Tomato, slices
Olive Oil

Spread garlic-herb mayo on each slice of bread, then layer cheese slices on each. Pile generous amounts of turkey slices on one side of each sandwich, followed by tomato slices and artichoke hearts.

Brush both outer sides of the sandwich with olive oil - and grill until golden brown!

Garlic-Herb Sandwich Spread

Sick of your typical miracle whip or mustard spread on your sandwiches.....try this!!  Probably isn't the healthiest with all that mayo, but it added a good taste to the sandwich!  Might have to try this on a burger or something soon!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mayo
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon (1/4-1/2 t)
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon fresh basil

Use on sandwiches, burgers, paninis....put on this Smoked Turkey and Artichoke Panini - and it was SO YUMMY!!!

Pumpkin Seeds

 My favorite time of year....ahhhh PUMPKIN SEEDS!!!  When I was growing up - these bad boys didn't seem to last through the weekend, so now that I'm all grown up (yup - I'm 30 today!!) we get LOTS of pumpkins so we can have LOTS of seeds!!   So first step = Get lots of pumpkins!!!  Second step = carve those bad boys up!!

We always put paper bags down under the "carving station" - makes for really easy clean up!  Anyways - scrap out the guts of the pumpkin and put those bad boys on the paper bags....then have your "seed collector" (ME!) go through all those guts and put the seeds into a big bowl!  Fill that bowl up with some cold water - and wash those leftover guts off the seeds.  I usually let them just soak the rest of the time we are carving.

Then lay out those seeds on a towel to let them air dry for a bit.  Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.  Then I put a single layer of seeds on a cookie sheet - put dabs of butter over the seeds - and then sprinkle them with Lawry's seasoning.  I usually cook each tray in 15 minute intervals - so place a tray in, set timer for 15 minutes, then take out - mix up the seeds - put some more butter/Lawry's (if needed) and repeat until the seeds to seem to be "cooked".  Usually you can tell by tasting :)

THEN - you are all done and all your need to do is hide these YUMMY treats from your hubby so he doesn't eat them all :)  The key to this trick is - pretend the pumpkins only made 1 tupperware container and hide the other one!  hehe

Asian Cabbage Salad

Had Kimmy over for dinner tonight, so looked for something that didn't take much prep time - but that was healthy!!  I'm on this health kick...we shall see how long it lasts (aka - till I make pumpkin seeds later tonight!).  Anyways, this salad was super tasty, super easy, and super healthy!  Also, it is supposed to keep really well - so that's nice...it gets better the more the dressing marinates.  Unlike other green salads where the lettuce gets all nasty as time goes on! 

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
14 oz bag coleslaw mix
1 rib celery, sliced
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 small handful sugar snap peas (about 20 baby ones)
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of a small red onion, thinly sliced
1 T toasted sesame seeds*
1/3 C slivered or sliced almonds, toasted*
Optional: 1 1/2 C cooked, shredded or diced chicken - marinaded with this recipe: Teriyaki Suace


Dressing:
2 T canola oil
2 T cider vinegar
1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
2 T sugar (or equivalent of sugar substitute)
1 t kosher salt
2 t soy sauce
1/4 t garlic powder, or one small garlic clove, minced
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 t sesame oil


* To toast almonds or sesame seeds, place them (not together, do one thing at a time!) in a dry skillet over medium heat. Turn constantly until golden brown. Let cool before using.


Begin by making dressing. Combine all ingredients in a sealed jar and shake shake shake. Store in the fridge until ready to use. You can definitely do this part a few days ahead of time.


Place all salad ingredients in a bowl.  You need to pour on the dressing and toss to coat at least 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve. When you pour the dressing on you might think it’s not quite enough, but just wait. When it sits and marinates, it combines with the veggies and draws out liquid and there will be more than plenty of dressing after it sits. After you’ve poured on the dressing, place salad in the fridge to sit for 30-60 minutes.


Right before serving mix in toasted almonds and sesame seeds.

Teriyaki Suace

I didn't think to take a picture of the marinade - but this was DANG good on chicken!!  We made the Asian Cabbage Salad and put this marinaded chicken on it.....yum!!!  This is probably good on tons of stuff -- LIKE...Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers - YUM!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon cold water
½ cup white sugar
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon black pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. We've talked about ginger before and you can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ginger.

Combine your ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While sauce is heating, combine cornstarch and cold water. When sauce comes to a full boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and use any way you darn well please. You can store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.

Chicken Cordon Blue

Oh yeah - I'm getting FANCY!!  I didn't need to go to Cordon Blue school to make this.....it was so easy!!!  Suggestion would be to use thinner ham - so it's easier to roll everything together, but good/thick deli ham was equally delicious!  This was amazing!!  It tasted like the real deal, and since you made it yourself - you got to have seconds!!  :)

OBB cookbook - serves 6

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella, provolone, or swiss cheese
6-12 slices thinly sliced ham
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Place a breast on a cutting board and place your non-dominant hand on top of it.  Using a sharp knife, cute each breast completely in half horizontally.  Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and, using a meat mallet, pound until the piece is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Repeat with remaining breast halves, you should have 6 pieces of chicken.

Combine the seasonings and sprinkle evenly over one side of each chicken piece.  Divide shredded cheese among all pieces, layering on top of the spices.  On top of the cheese, layer 1-2 pieces of ham.  Roll each chicken piece up and secure with toothpicks.

Place flour in shallow bowl, eggs in another bowl, and both panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese in a third, stirring to combine.

Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in flour, rolling the chicken around to cover the whole piece, then in eggs, and finally in bread crumb mixture.  Use you fingers to press bread crumb mixture in on all sides of chicken.

Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.  Drizzle melted butter evenly over chicken.  Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  If desired, place pan under the broiler to lightly brown the tops of the chicken.

Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Remove toothpicks.

Garlic Balsamic Asparagus

Needed something super quick tonight, since we were using the oven for the entree - so as that cooled off, we just threw these bad boys in AND heaven :)  We will be smelling it later -- hehe!!  Really good!!

Makes 4 servings - OBB Cookbok

 Ingredients:

1 lb asparagus

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

1 teaspoon minced or pressed garlic

If roasting in the oven, heat oven to 425. If grilling, prepare grill to medium heat. Wash asparagus and then remove the bottom couple of inches of each stalk. Just snap off the woody ends. It may seem wasteful, but you won’t eat it, anyway–it’s too tough and is one of the big reasons why lot of people don’t like asparagus.

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, oil, vinegar, and garlic. Drizzle over asparagus and toss to coat.

If roasting, place in a single layer on a broiling pan. If grilling, reduce heat to low, lightly oil grill, and place asparagus perpendicular to the grate of the grill. Drizzle any remaining oil/vinegar mix over the asparagus.

If using oven, roast for 10 minutes, turning once. If using grill, grill for 8-10 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and still slightly crisp, turning very frequently.

Spicy Cheese Ball

Nicole's Wedding Shower Day -- Woot Woot!!  Since I am hosting it - I wanted something super quick/easy, and that I could make ahead of time.  Each of the BMs brought something - so figured this cheese ball would be the perfect fit!  It is SOOO good :)

P.S. check out that awesome charm....perfect for the WEDDING occasion -- hehe :)

Heidi my sister in law gave me this recipe

Ingredients:
1 bunch of green onions - dice all parts
8oz finely grated cheddar cheese
6-8oz chopped pecans
1/4c lite mayo
cayenne pepper

Put diced green onions in a bowl.  Add cheese and pecans until all are equal.  Spoon in mayo 1 spoon at a time until mix sticks (usually 2 tbls)

Sprinkle cayenne - mash everything into bottom of bowl - then flip over onto plate and sprinkle more cayenne on outside.  Arrange crackers around spread.

Southwestern Beef Wraps

Lisa Chipotle in da house!!  This totally tasted like barbacoa from Chipotle!!  (maybe even better!)  and it was so, so, so easy to make!!  Gotta love the crock pot!  ahhhh so excited for leftovers!! 

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

2 1/2-ish lb beef roast, trimmed of fat but left whole

1 heaping teaspoon chili powder

1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping teaspoon cumin

1 heaping teaspoon Kosher salt

2 bell peppers (you can use 2 green bell peppers or mix it up a little with red, yellow, or orange; just make sure one is green), chopped

14 1/2 oz. can Mexican-style diced tomatoes OR 1 can of Rotel tomatoes (regular or mild, depending on your preference)

Small flour tortillas

Desired toppings:  Pico de Gallo, QUAC!! , sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

Okay, peeps, this is super tricky.  Place chopped onion in the bottom of the slow cooker.  Combine seasonings in a small bowl and then rub seasoning mixture all over the roast.  Place roast over onions, top with chopped peppers,and then pour the canned tomatoes on top of everything.

Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours OR tart this in the morning, cook it on high until things start to boil and then cook on low until dinnertime and the meat shreds easily with two forks. 

Shred meat and then serve with desired toppings.

FREEZER MEAL INSTRUCTIONS: Place tomatoes in the bottom of a freezer safe container. Place green peppers on top of tomatoes, then the seasoned roast, then the onions. When ready to cook, invert the container so the tomatoes are on top and cook 1-2 hours longer than the original recipe states

Thai Peanut Noodles

I thought Ross was going to the cabin for the weekend, so I planned on making a meal that didn't have meat. :)  but then - he decided to stay home, so I was a little nervous he was going to hate dinner tonight!!  BUT he actually LOVED it!!  Ross even said "wow - this doesn't even need meat!!"  um yeah - he really said that!!  This meal was amazing - so simple and so easy to cook, and tasted like heaven!!  Making this on a weeknight when I'm in a hurry!!

OBB cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1-2 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat.

Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

If desired, you can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly-sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.

Butternut Squash Soup

FALL.....means FIBER!!!  Cookbook club tonight - and we got our fill of FIBER for the week :)  We had ALL kinds of squash tonight!!  The butternut squash is that funny looking veggie that is shaped like a bell.  I've been making a lot of stuff with butternut right now - so now you have options!!  Ross commented that the soup looked like baby food (pureed veggie soup can only look so good....) but it tasted super good - so don't let the appearance freak you out!

serves 6-8: OBB cookbook

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon  butter
1/2 cup sliced carrots (1 med carrot or 12 baby ones)
2 stalks celery, diced
1 cup diced onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 medium butternut squash, (4 cups peeled and diced)
1 medium potato, diced (about 2 cups diced)
32 oz chicken broth (that’s one box/carton)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon dried sage
1 pinch cayenne pepper or a douse of hot sauce

Topping: croutons, sour cream, parsley OR 4oz prosciutto, cream, sage (see below)

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and butter. When butter is melted add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic
Saute for 2-3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add the squash.

Then add potato, sage, salt, red pepper, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 30-40 minutes or until everything is tender. Check a piece of squash and also a piece of celery and potato to make sure they area fork tender. Stir in 1 T brown sugar.

Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to a regular blender and puree until smooth.  YAY I got to use my immersion blender -- so exciting!!  These are amazing by the way - on sale at Crate and Barrel right now!  (just bought my last week!)

I topped mine with croutons....you could also drizzle sour cream or parsley too!  OR heat a skillet to medium heat.  Add a drizzle of olive oil and swirl to coat pan.  Add prosciutto and cook until brown and crisp.  Remove with slotted spoon and lay on paper towel to drain.  Add sage to prosciutto drippings until crisp - drain on paper towel too and sprinkle with sea salt.  To serve, ladle soup into bowls, top with drizzle of cream and sprinkle of prosciutto and sage leaves.

Spaghetti Squash

mmmm more squash!!!  This lovely squash is yellow - and the inside looks like spaghetti....hence the name!  This is super easy too!!  ahhh I LOVE yummy food that takes like 5 seconds to make!!

Miss Dobie

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon butter
Parmesan cheese
garlic powder
red pepper flakes

Cut this bad boy in 1/2 the long way - scrape out the seeds - place both halves cut side down on a cookie sheet.  Then just throw in the oven on 350 for about 1 hour.

Use fork to scrape squash into bowl - then put some warmed spaghetti sauce over it with cheese OR throw some butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt/powder, and red pepper flakes on top.....YUMMY!!

Acorn Squash

SQUASH season in the house!!!  I never liked squash when I was little, and now - I just can't get enough!!  This was a little snack for Dobes/I at cookbook tonight while we waited for miss Kate to get here!  Talk about super easy!!  If you are ever looking for a healthy snack - instead of grabbing those cheezits, grab an acorn squash!!

Tiff Blog

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon butter

Pierce the squash with a knife several times.  (yup- just like creepy Dobes is doing in the picture!)  Cook in microwave for 5-8 minutes - then let sit for 5 minutes.  Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, put some butter and brown sugar on that bad boy - and EAT!

Roasted Butternut Squash, Chicken and Parmesan Risotto

I'm all about the fall food....ahhh squash - so good!!  I didn't think Ross would like this meal, cause he is kinda weird with rice - but he liked it a lot!  It was so good with the roasted butternut squash - it gave it the perfect flavor!!  I think you could probably add some mushrooms too - might try that next time.  Takes a little bit of time to make - but if you start it all together, it took about 40 minutes from start to finish.  Worth it too!!

Picky Palate - 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 Cups fresh butternut squash, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Lawry’s garlic salt with parsley

1 Tablespoon butter
12 oz bag Arborio rice

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
4 Cups chicken broth
1/2 Cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Cups cooked chicken, cubed
1/4 Cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place squash, olive oil, salt and garlic salt into a large bowl; toss to combine and pour onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

In the meantime, melt butter in a large saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Stir in rice and onion; cook and stir for 5 minutes, until onions are softened. Stir in garlic for 1 minute. Stir in ½ Cup of chicken broth, stirring constantly. As the broth gets soaked up, stir in another ½ Cup until broth, continuing this process until broth is used up and rice is cooked. Then stir in Parmesan cheese, chicken and parsley. Stir in butternut squash right before serving.

Bacon and Cheese Egg McMuffin Cups

Nothing better than waking up to bfast from the hubby!!  We had leftover English muffins, so I found this recipe and it tasted even better because I didn't have to make it :)  I was told it was super easy to make - and it was really yummy!!  Do it up - thanks hon!

Picky Palate - 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 whole English muffins, split

4 slices ready cooked bacon, not microwaved, just right out of package

1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 large eggs

Pinches of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Press English muffins carefully into bottom of  a 6 cup Texas size muffin tin. (I used my ramekins - worked great) Form a little circle with the bacon and place around inside of muffin.  Sprinkle inside with cheese then top with a whole egg in each cup, keeping inside the bacon ring.  Sprinkle with pinches of kosher salt and pepper.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until egg is cooked through, not jiggly.

Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin.  Serve as is or with some of your favorite hot sauce and a side of fruit!!

Frosted White Sugar Cookies

If you haven't noticed yet - I'm all about celebrating the holidays/special moments AND keeping up with traditions!!  One of my favorite times of the year is FALL - and not just because it's my birthday, but I LOVE the weather, the food, decorations, and HALLOWEEN!!  Growing up we always decorated cookies for Halloween - so I couldn't resist being a part of it again this year :) 

Sugar Cookies

From Grandma Green - this tradition hits a couple decades!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour & 1/2 teaspoon soda : sift 3 times 

1/2 cup butter - work into flour till well blended (and yes, be careful with the flour....it tends to go all over the place...flour....faces....)

2 eggs beaten, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon flavoring: mix and add to flour mixture

This is where you get to sneak a bite....eating right in front of Grandma doesn't work anymore....(yes-Erik/Grandpa 2011 .....Erik/Grandma 2000)

Roll thin, cut out cookies, and bake in 350 degree oven.  ahhh 30 years of making cookies and the 4 year olds are still in charge of rolling the dough :)

  

Frosting 

Key to this bad boy is to have graham crackers on stand by....any leftover frosting makes those graham crackers taste like heaven!!

From my mom - 1 batch

Ingredients:

½ bag of powdered sugar

1 tsp of melted butter

½ tsp vanilla

Milk

Use beater so it is not lumpy and add milk to spreading consistency; if too runny, just add more powdered sugar

 

Now comes the fun part - DECORATING....aka trying to not lick your fingers!!!  Don't forget to decorate those cookies fast after they are frosted....if you don't - the frosting will get hard and you'll end up with sprinkles all over the tray!  We've always done the same thing - cookie tray over the sink - helps with the clean up!!  One person frosts the cookies (aka my mom) - and the rest of us wait out turn to decorate the ones we get to eat (and now take home...)

Here is the tray I got to take home to Rossy this year!!   Carter girl helped me decorate some really cool ones for Ross!!  mmmm yum!!  These didn't even last till Sunday -- haha!!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

 Hey girl - you hungry?!  This was amazing - but um, I must have been starving!!  Good work on the steak Ross - salad was leftover from Sunday (still amazing!) - and the potatoes hit the spot!!  I heart garlic and potatoes!!  :)  Such a great meal with my honey!!

Picky Palate - 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 recipe of : Roasted Garlic

2 ½ lbs russet potatoes
½ Cup whole milk
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 Cup sour cream
½ stick butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Follow the recipe for Roasted Garlic.

 

Peel and cube potatoes and boil for 15-18 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and transfer to a stand or electric mixer. Mix potatoes on low until combined. Add milk, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and mashed roasted garlic. Top with a pad of butter or your favorite gravy. Enjoy!

Lisa "Ronhovde" Sodahl Salad

I never think of my own version of something as a recipe - but this is my favorite type of salad ever!!  I just put all my favorites right in there - so figured I would share!!  Enjoy  - this one is ALLLLL me!!!

LISA "Ronhovde" Sodahl (I put Ronhovde too cause I've been eating this for YEARS!)

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Red pepper, diced
Green pepper, diced
Sliced mushrooms
Baby Carrots, diced
Hardboiled egg
Shredded cheddar cheese
Croutons
Sunfloweer seeds
Ranch / Western dressing

Babyback Ribs

A couple weeks ago our friend Meghan had stated that she has NEVER had ribs....let me repeat that - a 26 yr old who has NEVER had ribs...um yes - how is this possible!!!  I promised I would have her over for a Sunday Funday so she could participate in the awesomeness called RIBS - but I needed to find the best recipe to knock her socks off!!

We did a trial run tonight - and um, HELLO - best ribs out there right here!!!  SOOOOOO good!!!  Beats every restaurant...I'm not lying - these were amazing!!!!  and they couldn't be easier to make....and your house gets to smell like HEAVEN all day!!

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 rack babyback ribs (about 2-2.5 pounds; 1 rack feeds two adults; another rack of ribs will work with the marinade if your crockpot can fit them)

3 cup pineapple juice

1 ½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoon mustard powder
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon  ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

BBQ Sauce

Using a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen shears, cut each rack into about 4 portions (it ends up being about 3-4 rib bones each).

Place in crockpot. Mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, mustard powder, ketchup, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce, cloves, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Pour over ribs and cover.

This step can be done the night before. Set to low for 6-7 hours. You can poke ‘em occasionally to make sure they all get exposed to the braising liquid and that they’re not getting too tender (like totally falling off the bone; these babies still have to make it onto the grill!)

Remove ribs from liquid and heat grill to medium. Place ribs on the grill, brush one side with barbecue sauce, and close the lid for 3-4 minutes. Carefully turn the ribs, brush other side with sauce, close the lid, and wait another 3-4 minutes. Repeat.

Grilled Potatoes and Onion

Eh - I'm not impressed.....they were good - I just was shocked these could be in a cookbook.  The ones that come in the Sodahl staple meal are WAY better....so I'll be putting that into my own cookbook if I ever actually make one -- hehe.

OBB Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 potato per person (any kind of potatoes work; for the sake of sentimentality, I’m partial to Russetts, although red and Yukon Gold potatoes are so smooth and delicious)
1/2 small onion per person (the one pictured is a little large because I used some onions in the corn)
1 tablespoon butter per person, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt per person
Freshly-ground black pepper
Smoked paprika
Aluminum foil

Tear sheets (1 per person) of aluminum foil into about 16″ pieces. Fold each in half into a square-ish and set aside.

Preheat grill. Slice potatoes into pieces about 1/8-1/4″ thick.  Slice onions about 1/8″ thick.  Place 1 potato in the middle of each foil square and dot with butter pieces

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then sprinkle generously with smoked paprika. Remember, paprika is super mild, so it’s hard to add too much. Top each pile with onions

Fold edges in and secure tightly. It’s important to get a good seal because the moisture will cook the potatoes and onions and you want all those yummy juices, so if it seems like there’s not quite enough foil, wrap packet in another layer.

Turn heat on grill to low. Place each packet on the grill. Close lid for 15 minutes. Turn and allow to cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully open each packet.

These can also be cooked in the oven at 400 for about 15-20 minutes (just check on them to see how they’re doing) or in a panini press for about the same amount of time.

Dirty 30 & Sassy 60 Birthday Party

Woot Woot!!  BIRTHDAY MONTH in the house :)  We hosted a 30th and 60th birthday party for Harv (my mother in law), N-Ron (my mom), Lukey (bff), Ross (hubby), and myself!  It was so much fun - and I had a blast making the centerpieces / b-day "theme" ideas!  Figured I would share because I know there are many more 30th / 60th birthdays to be had!!

I followed the "Dirty 30" and "Sassy 60" theme!  See below some of the centerpieces I made!!

 Dirty 30 centerpieces: I just took a pot - super glued some ribbon around it - and then put slits in fun straws to hold pictures of us from when we were little.  I filled them with little rocks, and a couple with coffee beans -- to look like dirt....get it "dirty 30"  :)

Sassy 60 centerpieces: I bought some jars at Michaels for like $1 - and then put some fun mardi gras beads in it to make it look very "sas-lishes"!  Then I just bought super cheap candle holders at Michaels - and super glued a sassy ribbon around it!

I wanted to give each Birthday Peep a fun little take-away, so I set up a table as our "guest book".   All the guests wrote a nice little message....."How they met us....Birthday Wish....Favorite Memory....or Where we will be in 30 years".   Put the pens and guest book write up in a pot with coffee beans - holds them perfectly!!

We move on to the Dessert table!!  Here was a fun "Dirty 30" idea:

I wanted to do a dessert that followed the theme - so what food is dirty.....OREOs and Gummy WORMs!!  hehe  Next question - what food is sassy.....well Candy Cigarettes, of course!!!  and another popular candy that made its debut in the 50's was Sugar Daddy's!  I thank you the Internet for finding both of those purchases!!  The Candy Cigs were a HUGE hit :)

Then N-Ron helped out - check out this awesome 30th/60 Birthday cake!!  She outdid herself again....she even made pumpkin cupcakes!  Let's just say the dessert was a hit!!

Back to my creative craft post - I made shirts for all the bday peeps.....they were awesome! Customink.com has a great deal - so I worked with them to make the t-shirts!!  All you have to do is get some old pics - have them scanned so you can have the jpeg - and then bam....fun t-shirts for all!!

I also made up some driver licenses for us OLD folks.....hehe.....all you need is poster board - cut out a hole for the head...I cut the letters out at Archivers using the die cuts....and wrote up funny licenses for each of us!  ahhhh too much fun!!

Best party ever!!  Dirty 30 is going to be a blast!!  :)  Thanks for everyone who came to the party - we had fun celebrating with you all!!  YAY for BIRTHDAY MONTHS!!!