Friday, April 27, 2012

FROZEN COCONUT LIMEADE


recipe found at: She Wears Many Hats
  • 5 1/2 cups ice
  • 5/8 cup cream of coconut
  • 4-5 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate (substitute lemonade version if you’d like)
  • 1/8 cup water
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.


Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 3


I love love love this drink!!

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Braided Lemon Bread via King Arthur Flour

Just found this recipe via foodgawker.com.  I followed the links back to the original from King Arthur Flour.   Laurel and I both love braided bread... here is a sweet version!!  I'm totally going to try it.  Maybe Sunday.   http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/braided-lemon-bread-recipe



There's just something about lemon that brings a smile and cheerful laugh in the middle of even the dullest of days. The bright yellow color and zippy taste can't be beat. This bread combines a soft and tender sweet dough with the tangy flavor of lemon, and wraps it all up in a beautiful yet easy-to-shape mock braid.

SPONGE

DOUGH

CREAM CHEESE FILLING


Directions

In a small bowl, combine the sponge ingredients. Stir well to combine, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
1) In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the sponge, yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and flavoring. Add 4 1/2 cups of flour and mix with the paddle attachment until the dough is a rough, shaggy mass. Switch to the dough hook and knead on speed 2 until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 5 to 6 minutes, adding more flour if needed to achieve the correct consistency.

If you're using a bread machine, combine all the dough ingredients in the pan and set the machine on the dough cycle. Be sure to check the dough as it kneads and adjust the flour or water as needed to achieve a soft, supple consistency. Let the cycle complete itself.
2) If working by hand or stand mixer, place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until quite puffy and nearly doubled.
3) While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free. Reserve the filling and lemon curd until ready to fill the braids.
4) Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Cover half with plastic wrap and set it aside as you roll out the first piece into a 10" x 15" rectangle. Rolling on parchment paper makes moving the bread to the baking sheet much, much easier. Lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise, to divide it into 3 equal sections. Spread half the cream cheese filling down the center section, and top with half the lemon curd, leaving 1" free on all sides of the filling.
5) To form the mock braid, cut 1" crosswise strips down the length of the outside sections, making sure you have the same number of strips down each side. Beginning on the left, lift the top dough strip and gently bring it across the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side with the top dough strip, so that the two strips crisscross each other. Continue down the entire braid, alternating strips to form the loaf
6) Repeat the rolling, filling, and braiding steps for the second piece of dough, using the remaining cream cheese filling and lemon curd. Set both loaves aside, lightly covered, to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, or until quite puffy
7) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the loaves with egg wash (one lightly beaten egg, 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt), and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Yield: 2 loaves.

Green Enchilada Sauce

This is from Our Best Bites. It's a cafe rio copy cat. No idea why the instructions are so lengthy and time consuming. I washed all the produce gave them all a rough chop. Through everything into a stock pot. Turned it to simmer. Went and watched some Hulu for an hour, came back and ran my stick blender until smoothe. Or pour it all into a regular blender and make it smoothe. Then I wanted it a touch thicker so I boiled it on high for 5-10 min and poof Done! No MSG no extra calories just straight up veggies and flavor! Yum! 2-3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, minced 5-6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 2 green peppers, chopped 1-2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed if desired (and I desire. Always.) 1 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered or halved 1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1 1/2 tsp. cumin 4 c. chicken broth 2-3 Tbsp. sugar (optional and to taste; the sauce Cafe Rio uses seems to be slightly sweet, so if I’m using this sauce for enchilada-style burritos, I generally add a little sugar, but for everything else, I leave it out.) In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions and garlic until tender and fragrant. While onions are sauteeing, combine tomatillos, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro in your blender. Process until smooth; you may have to do it in batches and/or add some chicken broth to make things blendable. Pour the tomatillo mixture over the onions and garlic and add chicken broth, salt, pepper, and cumin. Simmer 15 minutes-1 hour, depending on the consistency you want. I usually turn the heat to high and boil it uncovered until I reach the consistency I want; it makes things go a lot faster. The sauce can also be simmered in a slow cooker all day. Serve over tacos, as an enchilada sauce, inside burritos, or as a dip for chips.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Carribean jerk salmon

This was so yummy!! I just used regular Filets from butcher. Nothing fancy. I used moms corn salsa recipe with it. It was so easy and delicious! Recipe: pinch of yum.com 1 lb. wild caught salmon filet with skin (in one or several pieces) 1 teaspoon oil 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon curry 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon allspice 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon pinch of sea salt 2 cups cooked white rice 1 12 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained 2 mangoes, peeled and diced 1/2 large red onion, diced 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped 1 squeeze lime juice 1 avocado (optional) Stir the spices together. Rub over salmon filets (on the meat and also the skin if you want). Sprinkle with sea salt. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add salmon, starting skin side down, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add more oil as necessary to prevent from sticking. Flip the salmon and cook another 3-5 minutes on the meat side. The salmon will start to get a brown crust on the outside from the spices. When salmon is mostly cooked, pull off the skin, leaving just the pieces of meat in the skillet. Break up into smallish pieces and leave on heat until completely cooked through (not translucent). Once the pieces are cooked, remove from heat – salmon dries out quickly if you overcook it. Combine mangoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and avocado in a small bowl and stir until combined. Season with sea salt. Stir together rice and beans and season with several pinches of salt, adding a tablespoon water if necessary. Divide between bowls, layering the rice and beans, salmon, and salsa into each bowl.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Roast with Gravy

Roast Cream of chicken soup Brown gravy mix packet Onion Potatoes Carrots Meat dry rub - previously posted- Rub roast with dry rub. Sear in a skillet. Place in a casserole dish. Mix 1 can cream of chicken soup and brown gravy together pour over meat, add in veggies. Loosely cover and cook at 300 degree for a couple hours depending on your roast size. We did this with elk. Trina got the recipe from her mother in law. I added the dry rub and it was SO delicious!!

Dry rub

1/2 c white sugar 1/2 c brown sugar 1/4 c kosher salt 2 T black pepper 2 T dried chopped onions 1 T paprika 1 T garlic salt Mix all ingredients together in air tight container to keep dry. Rub on your favorite meats.