Spam and Pineapple Fried Rice

Whipped up this number again and even with all of my failed short cuts, it didn't disappoint.  It was also Wade's first spam! That's a milestone, right? He approved...and then drank lots of water.  Perhaps the reduced sodium can next time.

Potential shortcuts:

For this batch, I used canned pineapple instead of fresh. I thought it was lacking in pineapple flavor. Steven was wolfing it down too fast to notice.  

I also tried to cook the spam and onions together and it burnt my onions, not bad enough to effect the taste but it would be easier to cook the onions separately. 

And lastly I didn't think I had enough 'old' rice so I cooked a new batch, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer for, well, far too long. It got weird. Fresh rice would have been better than frozen rice.

Spam and Pineapple Fried Rice

Cowboy Cookies

Hide your choking hazards, electric cords, and puppy dog tails - Wade is crawling.  We got this boy baptized this weekend so we had to plenty of family in time to eat all the cookies I accidentally made.

Both boys were napping (!) and I told myself to exercise but found myself checking to see if I had all of the cowboy cookie ingredients. And I didn't....but I had most of them. So I went for it. Making cookies, not exercising. 

I was definitely in a rush and didn't look at anything but the ingredient list but this made 3 and 1/2 dozen of the biggest cookies I have ever made. The dough was overflowing my stand mixer. You use a 1/4 measuring cup to scoop it. Holy cow! Thank God my father in law ate about a dozen of these in a 24 hour visit. 

Cowboy Cookies

3 1/2 dozen large cookies

Adapted from New York Times

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (this is when I should of realized how much cookie I was making)
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks butter, room temperature (I use salted butter because the more the better)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups unsweetened flake coconut
• 2 cups chopped pecans (about 8 ounces)

Preheat however many ovens you have to 350F.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.

In a stand mixer cream butter at medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Then add the vanilla.

Change the speed to 'stir' or 'low' and push in the flour mixture until combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecan.

Drop 1/4 cup of dough onto an ungreased baking sheet 3 inches apart on a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper). This was like 6 cookies per medium baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or when the edges are lightly browned.  Remove cookies to a rack to cool.

Sausage Red Beans and Rice

Do the excess herbs make it look like I'm trying too hard? Well I am because this is a repeat recipe and one of Steven's favorites.  I had to make it again for the freezer test. Results are in frozen is great for a work lunch or even a family dinner but if you are going to have guests over make it fresh. Unless they just show up, then they get family dinner quality. Ya know, still good but maybe no garnish.

I used this on sale sausage and it was delish. I prefer non-flavored sausage for this dish, I'll add my own garlic thank you.

Red Beans and Rice

Greek Chicken Salad

A whiny threenager because Frozen keeps freezing, an overtired babe strapped to you, a little of this, a little of that and viola - dinner.  Its that easy.

P.S. Please note the new page of not-inclusive-just-our-favs Recipes (it took forever).

Greek Chicken Salad

• basic baked chicken seasoned with oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.
• romaine lettuce
• red onion
• kalamata olives
• feta
• any vinaigrette dressing I used store bought bc I'm lazy
• I also included: avocado, grilled corn (leftover but delicious), and radishes. I used some pita chips for some crunch. If I had cherry tomatoes and a cucumber I would have thrown those in too.

Combine! I always start my making salads early in the afternoon because they take forever with all the chopping and the longer it sits out the more stuff I can scrounge up to add. Plus I'm a firm believer in a room temperature salad and sneaking bites along the way.

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki

Why do we always want Chinese food for dinner, when lunch is like 40% off AND comes with an eggroll and a soup I won't eat!? I don't need to play those games with a slow cooker handy. 

Chicken Teriyaki

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• garnish: toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onions

Add chicken breasts in a single layer to the slow cooker.  In a separate bowl whisk garlic, onion, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger, and pepper until combined and pour mixture over the chicken breasts. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Remove chicken to a separate bowl and shred using two forks. Transfer the teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker to a saucepan.

Mix together water and cornstarch until its dissolved, whisk into the teriyaki sauce.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil for about 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat, pour on top of the chicken and toss to combine.

Serve with rice and broccoli and top with scallions and sesame seeds.

Crispy Carnitas

Full flavor right from the start, these are hands down the best carnitas I've made. I like to freeze some before the broiling process for a quick prep meal for my future self.

Crispy Carnitas
Adapted from Marks Daily Apple

• 3-4 pounds boneless pork shoulder - cut into 5 pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped or thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup water
• queso fresco for serving...optional

Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. 

Preheat the oven on broil. Move meat to a cutting board (no liquid, cinnamon stick or bay leaf), shred, and spread evenly on a baking pan. Broil until meat is at your desired crispness. 

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole

White enchiladas for white people. If I had to put this in a food category I would said Ohio-Mex? Its definitely not Tex-Mex or Mexican. Its more casserole than enchilada and cheesy instead of spicy. Whatever it is, its delicious and there is a lot of it.  We froze some for a quick-fix later on.

White Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
• 24 soft flour tortillas, halved
• 2 cups shredded chicken, cooked
• 2 14 ounce cans white northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cups shredded pepper jack or Monterrey jack cheese
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add flour while whisking constantly. Cook for a minute. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and whisk until combined.  Add the rest of the broth, green chilies, and cumin and whisk. 

Bring to a simmer and let it thicken for a couple of minutes. Stir in Greek yogurt and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place 8 tortilla halves to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the cheese sauce, sprinkle with half the chicken and half the beans and 1 cup of cheese.  Repeat with tortillas, 1/3 of cheese sauce, the rest of the chicken and beans and 1 cup of cheese. The final layer is tortillas, cream sauce, and cheese. 

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve with cilantro and avocado on top.