Cranberry Relish

 Happy Thanksgiving! I know this is a little last minute but this relish is so delicious that it just had to be shared. Cranberry sauce always gets thrown away (at least in my experience) but this stuff is far from trash worthy! So, enjoy your feast and try this out this year. You won't be sorry.

{Ingredients}

1 Cup whole cranberries

peel of 2 clementine oranges (or one large orange)

1/3 C water

1/4 C sugar

{Directions}
Blend all ingredients. Easy Peasy!

Serve with your turkey and all the fixings.

Enjoy!

Irish Roasties

From December 2005 until July 2007 I lived in Ireland and LOVED it!!! Have you been there? It's one of the most amazing places I have ever seen and I miss it every day. The green, the Paddy men, the flower boxes (they really are amazing, especially in Killarney in summertime), even the rain. There is just nowhere like it and I can promise you, when you go -- YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!!

For those that have experienced the Emerald Isle you will know that a meal in Ireland is just not complete without at least one, usually two, types of Potatoes. Mashed, Roasted, Boiled...I could go on and on.

So, in honor of St. Patrick's Day I am sharing with you the most common and my most type of potato I ever experienced in Ireland. Roasties. I made these for our St. Paddy's Day dinner and it took me right back :) Ah...enjoy.

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*Note to all my friends in Ireland: Please critique and add your tips for us in the comments! We would love all the help we can get making these as legit as possible.

I have been trying to recreate these babies for years now and never feel like they measure up. These were my best attempt. They still aren't perfect but they were close enough to bring memories flooding back when I bit into the first one. Sooo, I'm calling it close enough to share and while I perfect them I will share any changes I make.

I found this article and it was so extremely helpful. This is also the recipe I used, minus the polenta.

{Ingredients}

• about 3.5lbs potatoes, preferably a floury variety (Russet work great for this)
• 4 TBSP olive oil
• 4 TBSP cornmeal / polenta (opt.)
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary needles
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

{Directions}

• If you are super organized and feel inclined to try it, put can your potatoes, unpeeled, in the fridge for a day or two before roasting. It will cause some of the starch to turn to sugars and encourage browning.
• When ready to roast, preheat your oven to 200C/400F. Add the oil to your roasting tin and place in the oven to preheat also.
• Peel your potatoes, keep the skins and wrap them in a piece of muslin and tie together in a little bundle with some string. (This will give more of a potato flavor but it's not absolutely necessary)
• Cut the potatoes into roughly even-sized chunks (for large potatoes, quarter them, for smaller potatoes, halve them unless very small) and rinse the potatoes under running water for a minute or two to wash off surface starch.
• Bring about 6C of water to the boil in a saucepan, add about 2 tsp salt, the potatoes and the wrapped-up potato skins. (*as long as your potatoes are covered, it doens't really matter how much water is in the pot)Allow the water to come back to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the polenta, rosemary, about1/4 tsp salt and a couple of twists of freshly ground black pepper.
• When the potatoes have finished simmering, remove from the heat, drain very well and discard the potato skins.
• Return the potatoes to the pot, cover, place over a very low heat and, holding with both hands and using a tea-towel to protect yourself from any steam, shake the pot back and forth for up to a minute or so, so that the potatoes both dry out and the edges are roughened up. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the roasting tin from the oven and spoon the heated oil over the potatoes, tossing to mix, then roll each potato in the polenta to coat and place on the roasting tin.
• Cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until nicely crisp, then eat.

The Variations:

• For plain roasties, just leave out the coating of polenta, or keep the polenta and add to it by sprinkling some grated parmesan over the roasties about 5 minutes before the end of cooking time.

Now, don't forget -- the crispier on the outside the better. The softer on the inside, the better! You will love these, they are amazing!

Fried Rice

Alright ladies and gents, sometimes you need a side that is delicious but different! do you guys get into the same rut that I do? Steamed veggies or brown rice with EVERYTHING!? Sometimes I don't even think about it, I just grab the rice or veggies and throw them onto the plate with whatever is for dinner. This side is fun, easy, delicious and fast! Our favorite is to serve it with potstickers for a fast dinner on those nights when you are rushing!

*Nothing in this recipe is measured -- it's all estimated, sorry :)

Cook your rice as normal (this recipe uses 2 1/2 C white rice, cooked. brown works too but doesn't get quite as sticky). While rice cooks, cook approximately 2-3 slices bacon cut into small bite size pieces (refer to the picture above if you are unsure) in large frying pan (I use a 12" pan and make enough rice to fill it, it's totally up to you though). When bacon is almost done add 1/4 C green onions (one batch). Cook for 3-4 minutes. Add cooked rice and stir everything together. Mix one egg into rice mixture until all the rice is well coated. Add 1/4-1/2 C soy sauce and 1/4 C water. Stir and cover. If you would like additional veggies, ie frozen peas, add those now. Let sit on medium low heat 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.When liquid is gone and consistency is where you like it, season with pepper and serve hot.

*Note: It will look runny and then pasty after the liquid has been added. Give it time -- it will improve.

Let me know how it goes!!!

Parmesan Black Beans

I feel funny posting this recipe because the first step is, Open and drain one can of black beans. Enjoy this, it's a great little side dish.

1 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 grated Parmesan (or Romano, or mixture of both) Cheese
Salt

Heat beans in a small sauce pan, stirring frequently
Add cheese and salt.
stir until heated through and cheese is melted, enjoy.

Goes great with Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

Garlic Parmesan Pull-apart bread

THIS WAS TO-DIE-FOR!!!!!

Any bread is my weakness but this stuff was amazing! The best part was how easy it was. Honestly besides rising it was maybe 10 minutes total. It stayed moist, tender, warm and it can be different every time which is soo much fun! I made my balls bigger than the recipe called for and they were great. (I did it because I was in a hurry and didn't have time to do loads of little balls, either way works). 
My one yr. old ate almost as many of these things as I did and they were just as tasty the next day with left-over soup!

I served this with Pork Chops Agrodolce and a Ceasar Salad and it was one of our favorite meals we have ever had! The pork chops are coming soon and are worth EVERY BITE!!!!!


I originally found this recipe on pinterest (my latest obsession) but through it was led to the cutest blog, The Pastry Affair. It is darling and the author has some GREAT ideas! Here is the link, thanks pastry affair!

Yields 1 loaf

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/3 cups barely warm water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose (or bread) flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water. Let sit 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. Mix in the olive oil, salt, and flour. If you have a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes, or until elastic. If you are doing this by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough is elastic, 7-10 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until dough is doubled in size. (I was in a bit of a hurry as I made this and didn't let it rise for as long as it should have and they turned out great. I would still recommend letting it double but it is not super finicky dough)
In a small bowl, combine melted butter, parsley flakes, and minced garlic. Set aside.
Punch down the dough. Tear off small pieces of dough (roughly the size of the bowl of a medium spoon), coat in the butter mixture, and place in the bottom of a bundt pan. Repeat this process until you have one layer of dough balls. Sprinkle on 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese. Continue layering the dough balls and cheese until you have 3 layers. Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit until dough has doubled in size, 20-30 minutes.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Serve hot with a side of marinara or tomato sauce.
 

You can do your balls any size, as you can see mine are on the big side, like golf balls, remember they rise a lot!

My bread fell apart as soon as I tipped it upside down out of the bundt cake pan, but I was totally fine with that because it made for a darling bread basket instead a cake platter.

Try these, love these and let me know your thoughts!

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

I logged on here today to grab this recipe for dinner tonight and was appalled to find that I had never posted it! This is one of my all time favorite recipes (I am a succor for any bread)! Jared and I were planning our dinner menu for the next couple of weeks last night and he kept suggesting things that went really well with breadsticks. He confessed later that he was trying to plan dinners around the breadsticks so I would make them again. These are very similar to Pizza Factory Breadsticks and are surprisingly easy but time consuming. Whatever event you make these for it will be a HUGE HIT! Trust me!

Thank you Jessi, found these treasures on her wonderful blog, nummies.

yields about 25 but the above picture is half the recipe and it made about 30. My balls of dough (see below) were smaller so that my breadsticks were a little more manageable. If your breadsticks are big this recipe makes 25. If you do smaller breadsticks you will get loads more than 25.

Ingredients:

4.5 cups hot water
3 tablespoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons instant yeast
10.5-12 cups flour

(i've used white flour, wheat flour and half white/half wheat -- they were all delicious)

Glaze:

1 1/2 cube butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon dill weed

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

Combine (in a Kitchen Aid, Bosch mixer or something like it -- i love my Bosch for this one) water, sugar, salt, yeast, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 3-4 minutes. On greased countertop, break off pieces of dough (a little bigger than a golf ball when rolled into a ball) and roll into thin ropes. If you're using skewers like at Pizza Factory, roll the ropes about 1 1/2 times the length of your skewers. Twist the rope around the skewer. I didn't use skewers. Instead I twisted two ropes together and pinched the ends so they stayed. Place on a greased cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until the breadsticks double in size. Repeat till all dough is used. (*note: If you use a dark coated cookie sheet the bottoms burn more easily so watch them closely)

While they are baking, combine
glaze ingredients so the flavors will blend. Bake twists at 375 for
about 12 minutes if you're using skewers, and 14 minutes if you are not,
and are using the twisting method. Remove from oven and brush with the
butter glaze. (Don't glaze before you bake, it's not as good.) I
sprinkled fresh parmesan cheese on top, too, and let that melt before I
served them. Or you can add add canned parmesan cheese to the glaze,
which adds even more flavor. Best if served immediately, but amazing at
any time!!!

*note: I have never actually followed the recipe for the glaze. I always make up my own and it has always turned out yummy. Experiment and see what you like.

Some ideas: butter; fresh garlic, minced; onion powder; basil; oregano; salt

*If you don't use salt in the glaze, the dough may need a bit more, according to your taste.

Serve this along side any pizza, pasta or other favorite meal!

Cajun Corn on the Cob

We took this corn to a Barbecue with some friends last summer and it was a huge hit! These were inspired by somethings similar we saw in a cooking magazine a few years ago and they add such a fun flavor to any barbecue! Enjoy!

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{Ingredients}

2 1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

Olive Oil spray

6-8 cobs of corn

{Directions}

Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl. Spray the corn lightly with olive oil and rub the spices over the corn. Wrap the corn in aluminum foil. Cook on a barbecue grill over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.

Devour.

Cheese-garlic Biscuits

Have you ever had the cheese biscuits at Red Lobster? They are amazing. (shocker that i love the bread at another restaurant!) After eating there one night Chef Jay took it upon himself to recreate these fantastic creations. They were not exactly red lobster but they were incredible in and of themselves! Try them. You won't be disappointed.

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{Ingredients}

2 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

1. heat oven to 450. Stir Bisquick, milk and cheese until soft dough forms.

2. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls unto ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Mix butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.

Easy-Peasy!

Orange-Cheese Jello

Everyone says that Utahn's are known for eating 2 things, Ice-cream and Jello. Can't be a Mormon party or a family party without at least one of these (and preferably both!) This one is for my Dad! It's his favorite and is a definite must-have for his birthday and Father's Day! Trust me, it's worth trying!!!

{Ingredients}

1 3 oz. Orange Jello

1 c cold water

sm can of crushed pineapple, drained

½ pint whipping cream

2/3 c cheddar cheese

½ c sugar

{Directions}

Dissolve jello in 1 cup water

heat pineapple and sugar in pan until dissolved.

Boil

Add jello to pan, return to boil.

Put it in the fridge to thicken, stirring occasionally.

When thickened add cheese and whipped cream.

Stir together, put back in fridge. Let solidify.

Black Bean, Rice and Sweet Corn Salad

I should work for Cooking Light. I just love their recipes. They are so healthy, creative, usually pretty simple and delicious! Jared and I preferred this one with tortilla chips but it was good as a salad too. I personally want to try it in fajitas, tacos etc. to add a little something extra. Get creative and let me know how you use it!

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Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1/3 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup long-grain rice
• 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 large limes)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Combine 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Add rice to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, juice, oil, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl. Add rice and beans; toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes or until completely cool. Stir in corn and cilantro.

***I have since added this to tacos and fajitas more than once and IT. WAS. DELICIOUS!!!!! I think my favorite was in fish tacos. Go figure!