On a trip to Santa Fe we stopped at a popular Mexican restaurant and tried out their tableside guacamole, which was amazing. It was pretty easy to recreate at home. I also love to add fresh roasted corn when it is in season. I have discovered that there is no comparison with fresh lemon juice and canned, so I always have several fresh lemons on hand.
Tableside Guacamole
3-5 avacados
2 T. chopped red onion
juice of 1 lemon
fresh garlic or California garlic salt
1/2 a tomato chopped
chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. salsa
salt and pepper to taste
During college, I took a road trip one weekend with my roommate Alyssa to Zion's National Park. We slept a couple nights at her cousin's house in St. George. One of the nights we were there, they made a large pot of chili, and it was the best chili I had ever eaten! I begged for the recipe and have been making their version ever since. I suppose you could make it with steak instead of ground beef or turkey, but it seems to defeat the purpose of an economical and healthy meal. My kids all love beans and I always make them from dried. It is a fraction of the price and healthier. If you cook them on low in a crock pot they can count for either a legume or a vegetable.
I always start with a few cups of any variety of beans and cook them on low overnight. In the morning I add the rest of the ingredients. Any acid added to beans will stop them from cooking, so you can cook them the rest of the day on low and they will hold their shape. If you are in a hurry and want to use canned beans, just start them with all the ingredients in the morning and cook on low all day. If you forget to start them until lunchtime, cook on high for half the time. Or just cook them on the stove, but you will have to stir it more often to keep from it sticking.
Zion's Chili
2-3 cups of dried beans cooked overnight in 6 cups of water or canned beans
1 lb. cooked turkey burger or hamburger
1/4-1/2 c. taco seasoning
1 can of tomatoes
1 grated carrot (I also used zucchini tonight)
1 grated apple (for sweetness, if you don't have an apple add a little sugar)
1 chopped green pepper
garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
Nathan served his mission in Alabama and gathered several southern recipes. This cornbread recipe is the quintessential southern food! I love to add fresh corn to it.
Southern Cornbread
1 c. flour
1 c. cornmeal (yellow or white)
1/3 c. sugar (optional)
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. melted butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. milk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a cast iron pan in it. Mix all the ingredients. Put a dollop of shortening in the pan until it is melted and then pour in the mixture. Bake 18-22 minutes or until done. It tastes better if you have a helper mix it up.
Honey-butter is easy to make with equal parts honey and softened butter.
Tip: Leftover chili is awesome on baked potatoes, and it freezes beautifully. Sometimes I double a batch and freeze the extra for another meal.
(Sorry for the alien-colored photos)
Right after Danielle was born, the mayor's wife sent over a loaf of homemade bread. It looked like a pretty, yet dry, loaf of bread until we cut into it.....and then the angels sang and our mouths tasted the most delicious bread we had ever eaten. Nathan talked to the mayor a couple days later to ask for his wife's recipe, as he has always enjoyed baking. Sadly, she said that she didn't use a recipe, but she did use buttermilk in her bread. Thus began the search for the perfect bread recipe. Nathan started experimenting with various recipes incorporating buttermilk and fine-tuned them into the recipe that became the standard for our home.
Happily, I can brag that I haven't bought a single loaf of bread in the past year. Nathan exclusively makes our bread. The cost is less than store bought and the flavor has no comparison. We have a wheat grinder and use the fresh wheat, but we have decided that we like some white flour in our bread, so usually we do a 50/50 mix. He has baked a successful 100% whole wheat batch, but usually you need to add a little extra liquid and let it rise for twice as long. What I love is his nut and seed bread that he has developed. It is dense, but oh so good. Again, I'm all about texture.
Nathan's Buttermilk Bread
2 T. active dry yeast
1 T. honey or sugar
1/2 c. warm (105 degree) water
4. c. flour (of your favorite type)
1 T. gluten (makes the bread much more chewy without becoming crumby)
1 T. dough enhancer (optional, but it does make a difference)
1/2 T. salt
2 T. oil
1 c. buttermilk
Combine the yeast, honey, and water and allow to proof for 5 minutes. Add the rest of ingredients and mix well. Knead 10 minutes or more, adding flour as needed (kneading is the key to good bread). Cover with oil and let rise till double. Divide into 2 small loaves or 1 large loaf and place in greased baking pan. Rise another 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 29-30 minutes. Each oven is different, so you may have to play around with that a little. Cover with butter and remove from pans to cool.
The makes delicious rolls also and freezes well. It is a light, chewy and well crusted bread.
Sometimes Nathan uses Oatmeal in place of a cup of flour. In his seed bread he adds sunflower, poppy, sesame, chia, and pumpkin seeds, hazlenuts, pecans, and whatever else sounds good at the time.
Words fail to describe the heavenly aroma throughout our house every week. I am one lucky woman to have a man who likes to bake....he is better than Peeta! : ) To take it to another level, eat fresh out of the oven with a generous helping of Nutella! We freeze the extra loaves and just pull them out when we need a new one. Make sure you use a bread knife to cut it!
Breakfast for dinner is a family tradition, and I love to make waffles. This is a simple recipe that can easily be adjusted or "doctored." The beaten eggs make the waffles light and crunchy, or I sometimes use our food storage dried eggs to rotate them.
Waffles
2 cups flour (I use wheat and use a little cornmeal/flax meal to add texture)
1 T.* brown sugar
1/2 t.* salt
2 t. baking powder
1/2 c. oil
1 3/4. milk (I like to use buttermilk if I have it on hand)
2 eggs (beat the egg whites till stiff and then fold into the batter)
Hash Browns:
1-3 grated potatoes (can also grate sweet potato, onion. or carrot with the potatoes to make it healthier and more colorful)
Rinse the grated potatoes to get rid of the extra starch.
Microwave the potatoes for 2 minutes to partially cook the potatoes so they will brown without burning and still be cooked through.
Fry in a hot pan or griddle with oil and then salt and pepper. Don't turn over until they are well browned so they will still be crunchy. I am all about the texture!
Tip: Bacon cooks better in the oven on a rack and is much less of a mess. Just bake it on 350 until you have the chewiness/crunchiness you prefer.
* A capital T signifies Tablespoon and a lower-case t signifies teaspoon.
At the close of 2014, I am keenly aware that 2015 will be the last year all my children will be home for Christmas. I have always wanted to put together a book of my favorite recipes....some that have been passed down from family, some that I have invented or gathered from friends throughout my life. My hope is to preserve my favorite everyday foods one recipe at a time and compile for my children to have in the future.
