Caprese Salad
Everyone has made or probably has a Caprese Salad recipe, right? So, I’m not going to say this is the end all be all recipe on my site. But it’s so tasty. And perfect for summer. If you have a farmer’s market in your town, go there. Get fresh locally grown tomatoes. Or even better heirloom tomatoes (my favorite!). But if you can’t get to a farmer’s market, I get the Trader Joe’s pack of mini heirloom tomatoes. They’re fabulous. š
Pollo Borracho…. Spaghetti
I have no idea how I came up with this recipe. All I know is that some kind of chicken pasta with tequila and peppers sounded REALLY good one day. Though now that I think about it, is there any kind of alcohol that chicken does not taste good with? I think not. And as I was cooking it, I added a bit of this here and a bit more tequila there. Borracho means “drunk” in spanish. And I like to get this chicken good and borracho. I am really not pleased with the picture I took cause the chicken looks funky in it? But I assure you, the drunk ass chicken pasta is downright delicious.
Hubby’s Note: Tequila? Check. Meat? Check. Carbs? Check. Tequila in a glass over rocks for Daddy? Check. All systems are go.
Recipes Headed Your Way
I am trying to release three recipes a week. I wish I could release one everyday but who am I kidding? I’ve got two kids and its summer! Lots of things to do before Pixie heads off to preschool in the fall…. ah! Gonna cry thinking about it.
Okay so here is a list of the recipes headed your way in the next few weeks. If you want to see something added to the list, post a comment! I’m totally down to take on your challenge. Let’s do this people:
Mango Chicken Salad
Because I love her and she asked for this recipe to be released next and because she’s carrying baby Jane in her tummy and because she’s all around fabulous, this recipe is for Jessica Waters (and Alisha cause this will always remind me of her!)
I started making this salad about 8 years ago. One of my coworkers, Alisha, was obsessed with it. We always joked about eating S#!& salad that we brought from home for lunch because if we ate the food at our restaurant everyday, we’d be large and in charge. My office was the first office as you came into the corporate offices and everyday, Alisha would peek in to see what I brought or, more importantly, to see if I brought this ridiculously yummy salad. I’m not sure if I ever gave this recipe to Alisha but I know she will be on here printing this one out! Shout out to S. S.!!
Hubby’s note: We’re doing shout outs now? Is this a morning radio show? If I were to shout something it would be…I LOVE THIS SALAD…AND I LOVE USING ELLIPSES! Seriously, this salad is so light and so good at the same time. I’m a man (I’m relatively sure about this). We generally don’t eat salad. But this one is amazing. It actually feels substantial. Like I’m eating a meal, instead of grazing on foliage. Peace out dog, word to ya mutha.
And the winners are!
Buggies is sitting in my lap and she just helped me go to random.org to find our winners of the Silpat giveaway. And the winners are:
(Drum roll please! Oh who am I kidding…I want a whole freaking rock band playing for this!)
Post #5: Heather: Okā¦.I over boiled water. Or I burnt the toast. Ha ha!!!!! I really enjoyed your new blog. Love it!!! Canāt wait to try out the recipes.
Post #9: Shannon: I would have to say mine would be when I was making coffee cake at my moms for Christmas morning. Apparentely I didnāt bake the coffee cake long enough so the inside was all gooey! Oh well, we could still eat the outside:) I love your blog Jess and canāt wait to make some of those yummy dishes. Love ya!
Post #13: Ginger: Ah, I love silpats!
My biggest kitchen disaster in recent memory was when I misread a recipe and whipped egg whites with the sugar instead of by themselves for a big baking project. I didnāt want to risk messing up the whole thing so I ended up dividing four more eggs and starting over.
Aside from the waste in yolks, it turned out ok cause I baked the original egg whites/sugar into meringues!
CONGRATULATIONS LADIES! You’re my first ever giveaway winners. Sheesh, I’ve got a tear in my eye….
Morning Glory
So, being a parent is one of the most exhausting (but totally rewarding) jobs on the planet. There are times when I am watching the clock like a crazy person counting down the minutes until Ryan walks in the door. And other days? It’s smooth sailing. You moms out there know what I’m talking about, right? Well, on weekends we love to be lazy. Like, grab the kids, bring them into our bed and turn on Tinkerbell (their FAVORITE!) while we catch a blissful 10-15 minutes more of sleep. But once that 10-15 minutes is over, Buggies is climbing all over us. “Mommy? I wannanack.” Translation? Mommy I want a snack. So, I head to the kitchen to start on….Morning Glory. It’s the end all, be all sandwich that keeps evolving and getting better. I had no idea it could do that.
Hubby’s note: The title of this sandwhich says it all. I’m not a morning person. And if it’s Saturday or Sunday morning, you can bet your ass that i’m dragging mine as Friday and Saturday nights are No Holds Barred in our house. For some reason my body/mind didn’t get the memo that once you have kids, there is no such thing a sleeping in. So i stay up late, and pay the price then next morning. This sandwhich saves me. It fills my taste buds, mouth, stomach, and head with all that is good in the world, and soaks up all that bad stuff from the night before. Best breakfast ever!
Silpat Giveaway – Update!
Seriously people? You ROCK! My site had so many responses that I had to up my bandwidth. I really don’t know if I want to go streaking or…um…puke? Over the amazing response. If you had any issues uploading your kitchen disaster story, please try it again. I don’t want anyone to miss out on the Silpat giveaway!
Also, I’ll be releasing a new recipe Saturday morning for you to make Sunday morning as we wait for the Silpat giveaway results. It’s my amazing breakfast sandwich….Morning Glory. I know I’ll be making them in this house Sunday morning!
Thank you from the bottom of my toes for the responses. Keep cooking friends!
Silpat Giveaway!
Well, it’s here. My mommy/cooking blog! Oh my gosh. I’m nervous. What if no one likes it? What if people think my recipes are junk?! What if IĀ spent all these hours pouring my recipes and rants online and no one will ever look at them? EVER!?! It’s too much pressure!
So, I’m resorting to the last true tool a mommy has to guarantee her kids listen. Bribery.
That’s right, I’m gonna reel you in. Here’s my bait, people. I’m giving away 3 silpat baking sheets in honor of my new site being all grown upĀ and out there for the world to see!
First off, if you don’t know what “silpats” are, then you are more in need of my blog than ever. They will change your life…for baking. YouĀ can do a million things with them. Make cookies, bake veggies, make cinnamon rolls, use them as a blanket. Ok, that last one I only triedĀ once after a long night of baking and I was just going to close my eyes on the kitchen floor for five minutes, so stop judging me Ryan—-sorry.
I’m just saying these baking mats are a must for your kitchen. Which is why I am giving them away.
Here’s how it works. You add a comment below in response to this question:
“What is the biggest kitchen disaster/mistake you’ve ever made?”
Three winners will be selected from the comments, utilizing the “true random number generator” at random.org and announced Sunday afternoon.
And now, I’ll get the ball rolling with my biggest kitchen disaster story ever. Enjoy:
French Macarons
I’m addicted. These little clouds of Parisian cookie sandwich heaven bring joy to my heart. And my tummy. My soon to be sister-in-law had one in a farmer’s market and fell in love. We kept wanting to have a baking day and make these for ourselves but kids and jobs and the holidays got in our way. Then one day we walked into a fabulous restaurant in downtown Los Angeles called Bottega Louie and there. they. were. Lined up in perfect little rows. Dozens of flavors and colors. We stood there in awe. I had no idea which…um…one, to get (um…one of each please!?!). I mean with that many little scrumptious choices which one is the right choice? (And is there a wrong choice?) What if I pick green tea but the passionfruit is amazing? What if I order them all and I melt slowly in my leather seat from the scowls of judgement thrown at me by the Size 2’s that surround me??? So we did what only us girls could do. We ordered four different ones and split them. Evenly. Admittedly, had I been by myself in the bakery after-hours, i would have eaten all of them. But I wasn’t. And they were amazing! Before I knew it, I was obsessed with these little devils. Mark my words – they are the next mini-cupcake. I’m already making them for my Sister & Brother In Law’s wedding in lieu of a cake. So, I’ve tried my hand at them and here is a great recipe for you.
Hubby’s note: Adult supervision is required with these little pillows of yumminess, lest the chef eat the whole batch.
Butter Chicken
I was very fortunate that when I had my second little one (we’ll call her “Buggies”), my mommy friends came by every night at 5:30 and dropped a complete meal off for my family and I for two fantastically wonderful weeks. As any mom can attest, the last thing a new mom wants to do or has the time to do, is cook a meal for your family (you’re far too busy “being” the meal for your new little sleep deprivation machine). One of the meals dropped off for us was what the hubby and I now call….Butter Chicken. I find this funny because there is absolutely no butter in this dish. It should be called Rosemary Chicken or Olive Oil Goodness Chicken but alas, it is the Butter of the Chick. I usually serve this with my mashed potatoes because it helps balance out the rich flavor of the chicken. Check that recipe out too!
Hubby’s Note: There’s no butter in this chicken? But it’s called Butter Chicken? A woman must have named this. Well, it tastes like butter. So I forgive the transgression. (More please?)