My Spice Cabinet!

Most of you know that cooking is my hobby- my creative outlet. I love to cook many kinds of cuisines, I love to challenge myself and to be able to do this I arranged my spice cabinet to look like this:

My Spice Cabinet- our family's favorite place!

This helps me get to my spices, herbs and condiments quickly. This is what I have in my bins:

Baking Bin on the Left: cup cake liners, candy melts, a variety of candy sprinkles, coarse sugar, and other colored sugars

Baking Bin on the Right:  a variety of flavored extracts, food colorings, gels and pastes, baking spices

Mediterranean: assorted flavored vinegars, curry powders, bay leaves, dried- oregano, basil, Italian Seasoning, rosemary, turmeric, cardamon; some speciality dried seasonings like greek, tuscan, bouquet garni, pizza, turkish and garam masala

Latino: (pretty much everything hot and spicy goes in this bin)- hot sauces of every kind (were a little crazy in this area), chili powders, creole & cajun seasonings, cayenne, assorted dried chilies, taco seasonings, cumin, Sazon (a Sunday staple seasoning)

Basic: salts in various flavorings, peppercorns, onion and garlic powder, paprika, garlic salt, lemon pepper, dill weed, old bay, seasoned salt and different pepper blends, - etc.

Asian: soy sauces, fish sauce, sesame oil, some different Asian vinegars, siracha, hot chili oils, ground coriander, chinese five spice, Sichuan peppercorns

Because of this collection I can pretty much make whatever I feel like for dinner! With these different seasonings I can have fish, chicken vegetables or whatever every week, but make it taste different each time. 

Tip: I have learned over the years to only buy spices that I know that I will use on a regular basis. I will forego buying a spice I will only use once. Spices typically need to be used within 1 year of purchase. If your spice has no smell, throw it out and decide if that is a spice you really need.

*If you live close to me, you can always try some of mine before making a purchase. :)

I love to buy most of dried spices from penzeys.com. For spices I use the most, I buy larger sizes that comes in bags. I put a small amount of that spice in little tins in my spice bins, then I will place the remaining bag full of spice in a freezer bag and store in the freezer.

No Recipe- Recipes

I probably have a couple hundred cookbooks, two filing cabinet drawers full of recipes and of course all the recipes I view daily from my favorite food blogs that I follow. Oops I forgot to mention my cooking magazines. I am little obsessed! 

As much as I love my recipes and cookbooks, I have really started going through them all and getting rid of quite a bit. I even went through my food blogs that I follow and really cleaned up in that area too. I think at one point I realized there was no way I was going to cook all the recipes I have in my collection, in my life time- yep- that much, gulp. 

Learning to read a recipe and follow the directions are crucial when learning how to cook. There are many skills and things I have learned over the years from using recipes. In fact, they have helped me learn how to cook without a recipe and there is such great freedom in being able to do that.

I thought it would be fun to start a new section called "No Recipe-Recipes"- Ha! Let me give you an example:

Last night I cooked tilapia for me and the two boys that were home. Cooking fish can be intimidating if you don't know how, but once you learn the technique (the recipe or really the method) the possibilities are endless on how you can make it your own and it's so easy!

I used lemon pepper seasoning this time and later added some freshly
grated Parmesan cheese on top!

First, I did not go to culinary school of any kind, so this is my way from all the things I have learned from reading recipes:

Sauteing Fish Filets

needed:

saute pan

fish filets, less than 1 inch thick (one per person)

oil or butter or a little combo of both

flour

favorite seasonings

vegetables, sliced (plan on about a cup or so of cooked veggies per person)

chicken broth

Rub fish on both sides with favorite seasonings*. Then pat fish filets in a some flour, shaking off excess (this helps to keep the fish from sticking to pan). Set aside.

Heat a saute pan to medium-high  heat. Add a little oil or butter or a combination of both until hot and sizzling. Place fish in saute pan and give a little shake. Cook fish for 5 minutes. Flip. Turn the heat down to low and cook for another 5 minutes. 

To check if fish is done, press finger down on the thickest part of the fish. It should feel firm and hot. You can also take a fork and kind of pull at it to see if the fish flakes. Done.

Remove fish from pan and place on plate; loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. 

Turn the heat up on the pan to medium-high and add a little chicken broth to the pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom (this is "deglazing" the pan- some use white wine which is fine). Stir, scraping all the tasty bits off the bottom of the pan from the fish.

Add favorite sliced veggies. Add seasoning if you want and cook until crisp tender. Pour veggies over the top of the fish. Done and Yum!

*Tomorrow I will post seasoning profiles you can use to make your food different each time.

Enjoy!

-Lisa

Chicken Tacos

I love any kind of Mexican food! My hubby, not so much! I love the spicy, meaty, crunchy, cheesiness of it all! I could probably eat it every day! Well, that would be nice, but it does not happen as much as I would like, but that's okay, restraint is good, right?!

This recipe for Chicken Taco's is sooo good! I made this the other night and Alex said "Mom, this is so good, and so authentic tasting!" Oh yeah!

I would love to take credit for the recipe, but it is from The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner cookbook.

However, lets talk about the taco shells for a second. You know those pre-formed taco shells that you buy in a box? Don't ever buy them- yuck! Fresh corn tortillas- that is what you want and if your lucky like me and live near a Hispanic market - go there!! I do when I can, and often find the corn tortillas still warm right after they were put in the bag!! (I have been known to open that bag immediately after purchase and eat one right away- HEAVEN!)

My favorite way to cook corn tortillas is to pull out my griddle and get it pretty hot. I thrown down my corn tortillas and give them a quick spray with vegetable spray. Then I flip them over right away and spray the other side. I cook them for about a minute, flip, and cook for another minute. I then take kitchen tongs and fold the corn tortillas in half, and then cook again for about a minute for each side. I transfer them to plate that has a clean kitchen towel on it and tuck those babies in to keep warm while I do another batch. Perfect! Ready for taco fillings!

Chicken Taco's

2 T. butter

2 T. canola oil

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tomatoes, chopped or 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tsp chicken taco seasoning (optional)*

salt and pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas, cooked

Add oil and butter to skillet over medium-high heat. Once sizzling add chicken and onions (and chicken taco seasoning if using). Don't stir; let it cook for minute or so to get a nice brown on the chicken. The flip over and do the same. Cook just until chicken is no longer pink inside- don't overcook.

Add garlic; cook for another minute.

Turn the heat to low and add tomatoes and cilantro. (Add chicken broth or water if the mixture seems to dry-this might happen when using fresh tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for another minute or two to meld the flavors and that is it!

I like to use chopped romaine lettuce and shredded Monterey Jack Cheese for the topping. The boys like to sprinkle some hot sauce on theirs. Yum! A must!

* I love Penzey spices (penzeys.com). They have a fantastic "Chicken Taco Seasoning" that I keep in my pantry at all times. I use it for chicken quesadillas, burritos etc. This is my change up on the recipe, but you can certainly leave the chicken taco seasoning out and still have some pretty good chicken tacos!! 

-adapted from "The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner" by Liz Edmunds

Enjoy!

Lisa

Peanut Butter Cookies

This past week, as a youth church activity, Austin and his friends made some cookies for some families in our neighborhood. I was asked to oversee this and give the boys some baking tips along away. For this activity, I decided we would do my favorite Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin and Peanut Butter Cookies.

I set up three stations in my kitchen, so I divided up the boys and gave them each a recipe. I first went over some basic baking techniques. One thing that is crucial in baking, is measuring the flour the right way. Even though I have known this for years myself, I have usually taken the lazy way out and measured my flour my own way and not the correct way.

Most recipes are developed using "cup" measurements for the home cook. Professional bakers will go by "weight" than "cup". But we are home cooks, so we are fine. It is how we get that flour in the measuring cup that really makes all the difference.  In photo 1, I scooped some flour out of the container and leveled it with a knife (my lazy way). In photo 2, I spooned the flour into into the measuring and leveled it with a knife- see the difference in weight:

Photo 1- wrong way (scooped)

Photo 2- right way (spooned)

About a half of ounce difference. You may not think that is much, but it really is when you want a nice light baked good. If your cookies are "led sinkers"- this could be why. This also applies to pancakes, biscuits, muffins etc. Try spooning flour into the measuring cup next time and you will see.

This is my favorite straight up Peanut Butter Cookie recipe. It makes a ton. So I take half the cookie dough and freeze it. It's quite simple. I divide the remaining dough in two and roll each portion into a log. I then roll each log up in parchment paper and tape the ends tight. I take a marker and write what it is and what to preheat the oven to and how long to bake it. Slip the cookie dough logs into a freezer bag and voila! Done. When ready to use, I put the cookie dough in the frig and let it thaw (a couple of hours). I then cut into the log make slices 1/4" thick and lay on a cookie sheet and bake.

Find the recipe here for "The Last Peanut Butter Cookie You Will Ever Try". It really will be!

-Lisa

Saturday- Family Eat Out Day!- Maize Grill

Almost every Saturday we eat out as a family. I would love to tell you that we try some new cool restaurant every week, that does happen once in awhile, but kids being kids, and adults being, uh, kids, we just want a good hamburger and go to our favorite hamburger joint. Our favorite local joint is Burger Supreme. We have gone there so often over the years that all the employees know us by our first names, even the owner! I am not sure if that is good or bad!? They even know what our favorite orders are! One day, along time ago, I went through the drive-thru to pick up a burger after work and Jennifer, the cashier said to me "You want to dine in? Michael is here having lunch." I was like "yikes, we must eat here too much if they know me that well". Of course, I did not say that, but went and parked my car and joined Michael for lunch.

There are perks to knowing the employees, but that's a story for another day!

Last Saturday though, we broke our normal routine and went to the Maize Grill for some Venezuelan cuisine. We love supporting our local restaurants- especially when they have good food! Alex and I had been there before and loved it, so we wanted Michael and the boys to try it too! It's a tiny place, in the mall actually, but the owner and staff are so friendly and the food is simple but really good!

If you live in town and want to go, make sure you get anything with the beef in it. Fabulous! As Michael was eating, he kept saying between mouthfuls, this is so good, over and over!

The big boys watched soccer why we waited, Aidan's eyes were glued on the cook most of the time!

-Lisa

Whoa!! This Has Been a Crazy Week!

Boy my week got away from me fast! But I have been cooking, but no time to post! So here are some short posts from this last week:

My new kitchen toy:

Oh yeah baby!! I have a bigger, traditional ice cream maker that mom gave me long ago, but this is a nice, electric smaller one that makes 1 1/2 quarts- no ice, no salt, perfect for customizing favorite ice cream flavors.

To break in my new kitchen toy I made Lemon Ice Box Pie from Southern Living. As soon as I saw the picture I knew I had to make it. I love lemon! CHOCOLATE always comes FIRST, but LEMON is SECOND! What I loved about the recipe is the simple ingredients and directions. It calls for half and half instead of full cream- I can live with that! It turned out so creamy, with the right amount of lemon zing! I used cinnamon graham crackers for my crunchy bits and ohhhh yummm!! A keeper!

LEMON TIPS: When buying lemons at the grocery store you should always pick the lemon up in your hand and try to see if it feels heavy for it's size. The heavier it is, the juicer it will be - this goes for all your citrus fruits.

The other thing to do is to give the lemon a slight squeeze- what you are trying to feel for is a thin skin, not a thick one- this is a little harder to do. Who wants pay for a thick skin??- we want juice, not skin, juice. This may take some practice. I still don't always get it right myself- look at the lemons below. Hardly any juice in the one on the left, the right was only a little better.

Watch for more  of my favorite lemon recipes to come!

-Lisa

Southwest Chicken Chop Salad

In the summer I always make a main dish salad once a week. Sometimes this is not easy to pull off with four constantly hungry guys in the house, but once I tell them there is some meat in the salad they all start to relax. I personally could leave the meat out, but when it's the main course, I have to include some meat or they will all be starving in an hour.

This recipe for Southwest Chicken Chop Salad is from a new food website I found a few months ago called Lauren's Latest. Here is the link to the recipe. The recipe comes with a really great dressing that is easy to make, but I, having a salad dressing issue in general, used just enough of the dressing to barely coat the salad. In fact I would recommend halving the recipe of the dressing and I think that would still give one more dressing that is needed, but maybe that is just me (If I am going to have extra calories it's going to come from CHOCOLATE, not salad dressing, if you know what I mean).

This is a keeper.

Stay tuned, tomorrow I will try my new kitchen toy out- wait and see. Also blueberry pie?? Maybe, it is going to be hottest day of the year so far and I am seriously debating whether I really want to heat my kitchen up tomorrow. And, another attempt at trying to love my crock-pot, or slow-cooker, "slow-cooker"sounds better right?!

-Lisa