Spanish Rice

I was craving spanish rice the other night to go with our tacos but didn't have one of those crummy boxes of rice so I decided to figure out how to make up my own recipe. I first cooked 2 cups of rice in my rice cooker and put in chicken stock instead of water. If you don't have a rice cooker go buy one, they make the perfect rice every time. While my rice cooked I sauteed up a half an onion and garlic in a pan, until the onions were soft. When the rice was done I added it to the onions in the pan. I also mixed in a small can of diced green chilies, about 8 ounces of tomato sauce. I seasoned to to taste with cumin, chili powder, and salt/pepper. Then I transfered to a pyrex and keep warm in the oven until the tacos were done. This rice was very good and very easy.

BLT night

Tonight I stole a tradition our good family friends do every year. Since they have been married they have grown tomatoes in their garden and every year the first ripe tomato they get they make BLT's with. When we started our garden I told Brian I wanted to do the same. BLT's have always been one of my favorite sandwiches, and in college at WWU, BLT night was always my favorite. So tonight was the night we started our annual BLT tradition. I went to the store bought a good package of apple wood smoked bacon and a watermelon.

Some people don't like cooking bacon because it makes you stink, so my advice is to cook it in the oven like they do in restaurants. You will not stink and you will get perfectly cooked bacon. I put the oven at 425 and laid the bacon on a baking sheet. You will have to pour off some grease and flip them half-way through. Should take about 12 minutes, just make sure to keep an eye on it to the crispiness your prefer.

Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes,and Goat Cheese

Every meal we eat right now has tomatoes in it, luckily we love tomatoes. This morning I wanted to use up the rest of the herbed goat cheese we had in the fridge that I knew wouldn't last many more days. So I went to the garden and picked a handful of cherry tomatoes, which I cut into halves. Then I scrambled up 4 eggs and 1 egg white with a little bit of milk, seasoned with some pepper (I don't salt my eggs until after they are cooked because Rachael Ray says they can get tough). When I make us eggs I usually give about 2-2 1/2 eggs per person. I dropped the tomatoes in first so they would cook alittle, then poured the eggs on top. I let the eggs cook about half way through then I put in the crumbled goat cheese, about 10 basil leaves that I tour up, and a little bit of fresh mozzarella I also had.

I served this with some orange slices and breakfast potatoes by Simply Potato. If you haven't used Simple Potato before I would strongly encourage you to try this product. It is very handy to have this if you want to make a quick breakfast. These are the breakfast potatoes that I also use in my One Dish Breakfast, that was one of my first recipes I blogged about. So if you are growing tomatoes and are running out of things to do with them try out this breakfast.

Oil-and-Vinegar Slaw with an Asian Twist

Brian's mom was nice enough to give us tons of veggies from her garden. I decided to make some slaw with the cabbage she gave me and shredded up some carrots to go in it too because slaw needs to have the cabbage/carrot combo! I shredded up my own carrots and cabbage for this recipe but you could just buy a bag of shredded cabbage mix to make it even easier. I love asian flavors with cabbage so I decided to adapt a recipe to reflect this. It turned out really well, if you had left over chicken in your fridge you could easily cut that up to put in it and that would be awesome too. This is a quick and easy side dish to take to your next bbq and wow your friends=).

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1-2 dashes of sesame oil (very powerful)
• 1 sack (16 ounces) shredded cabbage mix for slaw salads
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1-2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix vinegar, water, and sugar. Whisk in oil, and dashes of sesame oil. Add cabbage, almonds and sesame seeds to dressing and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Let stand 20 minutes. Retoss and serve.

Thanks Cam

Cam and Dave recently visited when they were in town and were nice enough to bring us a housewarming gift full of awesome bbq grill sauces. We used this one the other night on chicken and it was awesome. Although it was labled as a apricot-ginger sauce, it has a nice mustardy-citrus taste to it. We carmelized Walla Walla onions on the grill and made some brown rice, and it was a great, simple meal.Thanks again Cam and Dave we really enjoyed it!!!

Garden Salsa (or could be salad)

Ingredients

• 1 can corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• juice from half a lime
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Drain and rinse the can of corn and black beans. Pour into a bowl. Throw in the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Enjoy with chips or could be a salad=).
   

Pasta Frittata

This is not the best picture to prove this dish is really tasty but I always forget to take a picture until after I serve myself up!=). I chose to make this dish because I have sooo many tomatoes in my garden right now...I wasn't expecting it to be as yummy as it was. U could use the same techniquet to make this dish and really throw in anything u have in your fridge. I might try it next with mushrooms, onions and some cheddar cheese!

Ingredients

• 7 large eggs
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces(about one cup)
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup leftover cooked pasta, preferably with sauce (this one the pasta was with pesto)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and parmesan, season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute. Pour the egg mixture and cook until the edges begin to firm up. Using a wooden spoon, draw the cooked egg edges toward the center of the pan, letting the raw egg run to the perimeter of the pan. Continue until the frittatta is almost set but still slightly runny in the center, about 4 minutes. Transfer to the oven to finish cooking, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the edge of the frittata. Cut into wedges and serve hot or at room temperature.
   

Mac 'n' Goat Cheese

I absolutely love goat cheese, so when I found this recipe I knew it was a must try! I am happy to say it did not disappoint. I was not home when Brian tried it for dinner and was excited to get home from work to hear what he had to say about it. I knew it was good but was shocked to hear it was his new favorite pasta dish. I love dishes like this that are soo easy to make and quick but taste very fancy.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound macaroni pasta
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• One 9-ounce bag spinach
• salt and pepper
• 6 ounces goat cheese, broken into chunks (I bought herbed goat cheese and loved the way it tasted)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• Tip: add 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper when cooking the garlic if you like things with some heat.

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling water, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente (has a bite to it). Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and return pasta to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach and the reserved pasta water and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir into the pasta along with the goat cheese. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the walnuts on top.

Drifter Pale Ale by Widmer Brothers

I have not blogged about my food in a couple months. Not because I haven't cooked or tasted food that has not inspired me but because of my dying computer. It gets slower everyday. But today I went and saw the movie Julie and Julia which inspired me to try to post something new and not throw my computer out of the window.

A couple of nights a week, some of you might know, I bartend...still at a restaurant. It is my love for food, people, and the industry that keep me there despite finally (well almost) having my career on track. Being at the restaurant fulfills me in a different way than hanging out at school during the day. I like the interaction with adults and I love being around food.

Well, now on to the point of this post. I like beer but rarely have a beer in our fridge that I like for myself. This summer when we got Drifter on tap at the restaurant was the first time in a long time I found a beer I have tried to keep in the fridge for myself. This would of been a good idea but unfortunately for me, Brian has really enjoyed it to.

I have sold alot of these at the restaurant because I really believe it is one of the best new beers to hit the shelves. It is very easy to drink, and has such a great, unique citrus taste. Many of my customers when trying it for the first time say they taste grapefruit, which I agree with hints of orange. Most all the people I have given tastes to have ended up purchasing it. Now, many people think a pale ale= a girl beer, but that is way off base. This is a beer that anyone will enjoy. So if you are cruising the beer aisle and want to try something new, I suggest Drifter!!