Unlike everyone else I know, Frank’s hot sauce makes a rare appearance in house. We don’t actually put that $h!t on anything. We are more of a Chipotle Tobasco household and put that on just about everything. If you haven’t tried it I would highly recommend picking up a bottle. On a rare occasion I get a craving for buffalo sauce and these wraps totally hit the spot. In addition to your standard buffalo sauce and bleu cheese, they also included avocado and bacon – you really can’t go wrong there.
I never had much success folding up a wrap that actually contained the ingredients inside of it. I did find a YouTube video on how to fold the perfect burrito that I wanted to share with you. Although I think I still need some practice (notice the lettuce sticking out the side of my wrap in the photo above). Word to the wise, only watch about :25-:40 of the video, unless you really want to watch a variety of wraps being made.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps – adapted from Half Baked Harvest (my new favorite food blog)
- 1 pound chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 slices thick cut bacon
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 – 2 cups of spring mix (or any lettuce you prefer)
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled
- potato chips, lightly crushed (the recipe suggests adding these the wrap, but I just ate them on the side) 🙂
- 4 whole wheat tortillas
- ranch or blue cheese dressing
In a small saucepan mix together the butter, hot sauce and seasoned salt. Heat on low until combine.
Toss the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill the chicken for 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. OR bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through (whatever is easier for you). Let the chicken sit for a few minutes after it’s done cooking. Shred the chicken and toss with buffalo sauce, but reserve a little if you want to add more to your wraps.
To assemble the wraps layer a little buffalo chicken in the middle of each wrap. Add bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado. Drizzle with extra buffalo sauce, sprinkle with blue cheese and pour on a little dressing (ranch or bleu cheese). Add the potato chips to your wrap or serve on the side. Watch the wrap video and get rolling.
Mike is in the same camp as me when it comes to buffalo sauce, but won’t turn down a meal that includes bacon. I’m guessing he’s not alone in that.
I’ve come to the conclusion that after chips and salsa and nectarines, Mediterranean food (especially olives) is my favorite food. I can’t get enough of the salty olives and feta cheese, fresh garlic and chewy pita bread. I know my version is maybe a bit different than what you would actually find in the Mediterranean, but this is as close as I can get.
I tried a new recipe from How Sweet Eats, one of my favorite food bloggers, for Greek Tostadas. I don’t think Mike would add this meal to his top 5, but he did say it could be added to the make again list. I think part of the problem is his lack of interest in cucumbers and tomatoes, both key ingredients in this meal. Personally, I couldn’t get enough of it because it combined all of my favorite flavors. Another perk of this meal was the ease and speed of preparation.
Greek Tostadas – adapted from How Sweet Eats
1 lb chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill
2 garlic cloves, minced
the juice of 1 lemon
Whipped feta (cream cheese, feta cheese, garlic powder)
4 (small) corn or flour tortillas
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped, marinated artichokes
1 cucumber, diced
Flatbread (tortillas, pitas, naan), crumbled feta and lemon to serve
Start by combining the first 8 ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight). The recipe called for chicken cut into chunks, but I decided to marinate the breasts whole and then cut them up after I grilled them – either way would work.
You can also cook chicken however you’d like. I grilled the chicken, but you could cook in a skillet on the stovetop if you prefer. If you grill the chicken let it rest for at least 5 minutes before you cut it up.
In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, artichokes, olives, cucumbers and dill. Add a little olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper and stir.
Finally, make the whipped feta by combining 4 oz of cream cheese, 8 oz of feta and a 1/2 tsp of garlic powder in a food processor and pulse until it’s smooth.
To serve, heat the bread on the grill or skillet for a minute or two on each side. Next spread a generous layer of whipped feta, top with chicken and the additional toppings. I created the toppings in two bowls (one without tomatoes and cucs for Mike). Top with a little extra feta and a few squeezes of lemon and serve!
I could probably eat this everyday, but I’ll spare Mike and incorporate some other meals into the rotation as well.
Well, after a nearly two year hiatus, I’m bringing back the hungry hungry husband blog. As I mentioned here I started school in September 2013 and little did I know that was going to take up of my free time. And, by free time I mean ALL of my free time.
Now, two years later I have officially completed my master’s program and I have time to get back to things I had enjoyed doing before I started on this crazy journey. Last Monday I completed my final class and turned in my thesis so in honor of my first Monday with no class I decided to spend some time writing (not that I haven’t done enough of that in the last two years), but this writing is really for fun.
Tonight I made a big salad (Seinfeld fans out these, this reference is for you) for dinner.
This may not be the first meal that comes to mind when thinking of man pleasing meals, but Mike is a big fan. I discovered this salad when searching for quick meals with a limited number of ingredients and now after a few modifications it’s made it’s way into the regular dinner rotation.
The salad combines pork tenderloin, dried cherries, shallots and goat cheese for the perfect combination of savory and sweet. And, it’s super quick.
I don’t usually buy a full pork tenderloin because the store I shop at sells pre-sliced tenderloin. Just makes things a little easier. I then cut the slices in half so they cook quicker.
Start by combining pork with 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and a couple splashes of olives in a plastic bag and shake to coat. To that add the flour and shake again to coat all the pork. Let this sit until it’s ready to be cooked.
While the pork marinates, combine vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and 1/4 teaspoon thyme in a bowl and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat and add shallots; cook until tender and browned (about 3 minutes). To this add the cherries and wine (don’t hesitate to add more cherries if you want – I usually do) and cook until the liquid is reduced, about 2 minutes Next, add the vinegar mixture, remaining oil, salt and pepper and mix together. Turn the heat way down and cover while you cook the pork.
To cook the pork, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the pork and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Try to be patient and refrain from flipping before its had a chance to brown on either side. Repeat the same steps with the remaining pork. By cooking it in two batches you don’t overcrowd the pan and the pork actually cooks quicker. When the pork is cooked add to the warm cherry mixture and stir to combine.
To build the salad add spinach/arugula (or any greens you want) mix to a plate and top with goat cheese, cherry mixture and a few pieces of pork. I also like to drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the top as well, but that’s just a personal preference. And, the original recipe suggests using dried cranberries, but I much prefer dried cherries. Again, totally up to you.
I’m looking forward to sharing my man pleasing meals with you again. And, I would like to say thank you to my family, friends and hubby Mike for their amazing support over these last two years. In the words of Alice Cooper school’s out forever. 🙂
Well as most of you know it’s like 100 degrees below zero in the great state of MN. And really the only way to survive this weather is to make stew, thick, stick to your ribs, stew. I came across this recipe (and samples) at my local co-op, Valley Natural Foods, a couple weeks ago and have been waiting for the right day to make it. Well this Sunday just happened to be the perfect day.
As you may recall, Mike doesn’t really consider soup a true meal, but had mentioned in the past that he would eat stew for dinner so I had high hopes for this one. Mike also appreciates a really thick soup so I did add a little broth/flour slurry near the end so it would be extra thick. For the slurry whisk together about 1 tbsp of flour and a cup of broth to combine and mix into the stew. Other than that, I didn’t really make any other changes to this recipe. The sample I had at the co-op was really quite tasty.
Adapted from Valley Natural Foods
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 leeks sliced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 lb beef stew meat
- 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence (or italian seasoning)
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp worchestire
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 rutabaga, chopped
- 1 large potato, chopped (I used a yukon gold potato, but you could really use any potato)
- ¼ cup minced parsley
- ½ cup pearl barley
- Sour Cream (optional topping)
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in dutch oven or large sauce pot and add onion, garlic, leeks, tomato paste and beef stew meat and Herbs de Provence. Cook for 8-10 minutes to brown beef and soften onions. Be sure to stir frequently. Add the broth and worchestire and simmer on medium low heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Next, add the carrots, celery, rutabaga, parsley, potato and barley and cook an additional 45 minutes, again stirring occasionally. Test the potatoes after 45 minutes to make sure they are soft and you’re ready to serve. I topped mine with a little sour cream and served with some good crusty sourdough bread.
This is another one of those that really does taste better when it’s freezing cold outside, but would be good for any Sunday supper.
I’m enjoying a lovely, three-week break from school and wanted to share a new recipe with you because I have some time to write about it. Start off 2014 just right with this lovely Wild Rice Gratin from the Smitten Kitchen. I made a few modifications to turn it into a meal instead of a side and it was pretty tasty.
Mike doesn’t consider anything without meat in it a true meal, so in order to make this a “meal” I added some italian turkey sausage. But you could do any meat, pork sausage, ground turkey, whatever you prefer.
I used a wild rice blend from the coop instead of just wild rice because that is what we had at home, it was a combination of brown rice and wild rice. I think I preferred this over just brown rice because it gave the gratin a little more texture. Heads up here, wild rice (and brown rice) takes quite some time to cook, about 45 minutes. The nice thing about this recipe is the prep can be done while the rice cooks so its ready to go in the oven once as soon as the rice is done. Or you could cook the rice over the weekend and store it in the fridge for a few days until you make you the meal.
Wild Rice Gratin
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked wild rice
- 2 large sweet onions, sliced thin
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/2 lb ground turkey sausage
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 4 cups stemmed, chopped kale leaves
- 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (I ended up use a sharp cheddar cheese, but the Gruyere probably would have been better)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup bread crumbs
Cook rice according to instructions, for the wild rice blend bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil, add the rice (1 1/2 cups) cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 40-45 minutes. While the rice cooks, brown the sausage in a small frying pan until cooked.
Add 1 tbsp butter,1 tbsp olive oil and onions to a pan and begin to caramelize on low. Cook for about 15 minutes until the onions begin to brown. Add chopped mushrooms, red pepper flakes, garlic, s&p and cook for another 5 minutes. Lastly, add kale and cooked sausage to the pan to wilt the kale. Remove the mixture from heat and mix with parmesan cheese.
Combine cooked rice and kale mixture in a 9×13 baking dish (spray dish with non-stick cooking spray prior to this) and pour the chicken broth over the top so it soaks in. Mix together bread crumbs and grated cheese and sprinkle over the top of the gratin. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake gratin for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve warm sprinkled with parmesan cheese, preferably on a cold MN winter night. The last part isn’t required, it’s just a suggestion.
It’s been awhile and for that, I apologize. But, have no fear that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped cooking. I’ve just run out of time to write about it. Here are my excuses:
1. We went on the best 12 day vacation to the West Coast in mid-August.
2. Our garden has officially blown up.
3. I’m going to back to school.
To make it up to you, I’ve got a couple good recipes here. We had to do something with our garden harvest after we got back from vacation so it was time to make marinara sauce, refrigerator pickles, basil pesto and tomatillo salsa. A quick note about the salsa…
We didn’t grow any tomatillos this year, but Mike thought it would be fun to bring home about 50 tomatillos to make salsa with. Some sort of strange idea of fun. I really shouldn’t complain though because the salsa turned out to be quite good.
We made three kinds of pickles: garlic dill, bread and butter (Mike and my aunt Julia’s favorites) and spicy (my favs).
Garlic dill (Adapted from the Kitchn:
2 pounds slice cucumbers
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons salt
6 garlic cloves, peeled (2 per jar)
1 teaspoon dill seed per jar
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns per jar
Start by washing and slicing cucumbers, we choose to do rings, but you could also do spears. In a large pot, combine vinegar, water and salt and bring to a simmer.
Arrange jars on counter and place the spices in each. Pack the cucumber slices into jars, but not so tight that they are squished together.Pour the vinegar mixture into the jar, leaving approximately ½ inch at the top of each jar.
Top the jars with the lids and let cool. Store them in the fridge after they’ve cooled. Let them sit for at least 48 hours before eating.
Bread and butter (adapted from Smitten Kitchen):
1 pound cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick — “pickling” cucumbers work best here
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar – we went on the low end for the sugar, only using a little over a 1/2 cup
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp celery seed
In a bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion and salt. Stir well, making sure the onions and cucumbers are coated in salt. Top the mixture with ice and leave at room temperature for about two hours. In a saucepan, add sugar, vinegar and spices and bring to a boil. Drain cucumbers and onions and rinse well. We really were good about rinsing, otherwise the pickles are on the salty side. Add the rinsed cucumbers to the vinegar mixture and bring almost back to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool in the pan. Once cool, transfer the pickles, onions and liquid into jars and seal. You can store the pickles in jars for up to three weeks in the fridge. You can these within a few hours of pickling.
Spicy pickles (Adapted from The Food Network):
4 cups rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds (we used ground because we didn’t have seeds)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro
2 unpeeled cucumbers, cut into rounds or spears – whatever you prefer
In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, honey, pepper flakes, peppercorns, coriander, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cumin and salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Add the chopped dill and cilantro. Put the chopped cucumber in a large bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over them. Refrigerate for 2 hours and then place cucumbers and liquid in jars. Give these at least 24 hours before you dig in.
Stay tuned for my next post when I divulge my marinara and pesto recipes.
Summer foods. I forget how fun it is to grill things and make salads and eat outside.
Especially eating outside, that might be one of my favorite things.
Two new recipes involved in this meal, both made the “I would make this again” list. Although I think I would marinate the pork chops overnight so they took on more of the flavor of the fresh herbs.
Oh, I forgot another thing I really enjoy about summer eating. Walking out my back door, picking veggies and herbs, walking back inside and making dinner. So easy. We have a lot of veggies and we are about to overwhelmed by cherry tomatoes. And we even have ears of corn growing!
Pork chops
1 lb boneless, pork chops
2-3 green onions, chopped
4-5 garlic gloves, chopped
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
3 tbsp olive oil
Zest from 1 lemon + a little juice
The original recipe said to marinate the chops in olive oil and salt and pepper while you combine the other ingredients, but I would recommend combining all the ingredients and marinating pork chops for 2-4 hours. Grill on each side foor 3-4 minutes, allow to rest for a couple minutes, squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and serve.
Couscous salad with basil vinaigrette
1 1/2 cups cooked pearl couscous
3/4 cup torn basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar (I used red wine vinegar, but you could do white wine too)
1 cup corn, frozen or fresh
1/2 finely chopped red onion
1 habanero chi, chopped and seeded (knowing Mike’s fondness for not-so-spicy foods, I opted for 1 chopped, seeded jalapeno instead)
6 oz cubed feta cheese
4 cups baby spinach
Salt and peper to taste
Cook couscous, drain and place in large bowl.
In a food processor combine basil, olive oil and vinegar. Pulse until smooth, about 20 pulses. Add dressing to the bowl with couscous. Chop onion, pepper and add to bowl with corn and feta. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a bed of baby spinach.
Both are great summer meals, I would highly recommend enjoying outside.
Mike put in a request for this one awhile back. He recently brought it up again, so I figured it was time to give it a try. This really fits the bill for him, a piece of white bread, topped with turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. Man pleasing at it’s finest.
This was a first for me, so I did a little research and ended doing a hybrid of a couple different recipes that I found. One for the turkey in a crockpot, one for the gravy and then I used my own for the mashed potatoes. I was struggling a bit with how white the whole meal was going to be, so I mashed up sweet potatoes for my meal and I liked the flavor they added.
Turkey (adapted from Skinny Taste)
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 onion, cut into quarters
- 2 carrots, cut into thin circles
- 6 garlic cloves, pressed (or chopped small if you don’t have a press)
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup white wine (really whatever you have in your fridge)
- 2 tbsp fresh sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 lb turkey breast, with skin on
- salt and pepper
Start by melting butter over medium heat and adding chopped onion and carrot, garlic. Cook for about 6-8 minutes. Stir in flour so it coats all the veggies. I added another 1/2 tbsp of butter here because the flour was really clumpy. Stir in one cup of broth and whisk together for about 2 minutes or until the mixture thickens up. Pour into your crockpot.
Add additional cup of broth, water, wine, sage and bay leaves to your crockpot mixture and stir together. Place turkey breast into crockpot, skin side up, and season with s&p. Cook for about 5 to 7 hours on low, or until turkey starts to fall apart.
For the gravy, strain the liquid left in the crockpot into a pan and heat over medium heat. Whisk together 1/3 cup broth and 2 tbsp flour and whisk into the liquid mixture. Keep whisking until it starts to tighten up. Add in 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme and fresh rosemary and keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.
And last but not least, the potatoes. Chop potatoes into fourths and add to a large pot of water. If you decide to do sweet potatoes also, you can add to the same pot. Bring water to a boil and cook until tender. Drain potatoes and add 1/3 cup milk, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary and s&p. Mash together to your desired consistency.
To create the open faced sandwich, place one slice of bread (I used sourdough because I love it) on the plate, top with a little gravy, 2-3 slices of turkey, a scoop of potatoes and another healthy pour of gravy and serve.
In true fourth of July form, it’s been a weekend filled with pasta salad, potato salad, burgers, hot dogs, the list goes on. You all know what I’m talking about. And don’t get me wrong, these things are great, but sometimes fall into the not so great for you category. I found this recipe for potato salad and was turned off by the amount of mayo in the ingredient list. Then I thought to myself, “I bet I could switch out most of the mayo for greek yogurt and no one would even notice.”
And that is just what I did.
(Adapted from Epicurious)
Greek yogurt potato salad
- 3 lb baby red potatoes
- 3 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar (I used red wine vinegar because we didn’t have unseasoned)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 3 sliced green onions
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
Cook whole potatoes in a large pot of boiling water over medium-high heat, about 20. I did this step the night before and kept the cooked potatoes in the fridge overnight. Let the potatoes cook completely before chopping.
Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Combine additional ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve. One tip, the longer this sits before you serve, the better the flavors will come together. Try to wait at least an hour.
The salad was a big hit, as you can tell there was nothing left.
I told Mike about the switch and he said “I knew something tasted different.” I’ll take that as an ok to make again.
I learned so many great things at my food blogging class at The Loft last Saturday and I can’t wait to try out some new ideas, but first things first. I must tell you about the amazing cake my amazing husband made for me for my birthday.
I came home from class and Mike was busy slaving away over the stove. Not only did he made a cake, he used the Kitchenaid to whip egg whites and fold them into the batter. Shocking really, considering the last thing he made was mac and cheese out of the box.
I could go on, homemade whipping cream, chopped fruit for the topping. Really everything about the creation of this cake was pretty impressive. AND it tasted wonderful.
Ingredients (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
- 1 cup All-purpose Flour
- 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 whole eggs
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla (we didn’t have any so Mike used rum, turned out awesome!)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can sweetened, condensed milk
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Icing:
- 1 pint heavy cream, for whipping
- 3 tbsp sugar
Start by combining flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate the yolk from the egg whites for all five eggs.
Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high until mixture turns pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla (or in Mike’s case, rum). Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined, be sure not to over mix.
Next, add egg whites to mixer and beat on high until soft peaks form. Add in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff, again don’t overmix here.
Fold egg white mixture into the yolk and flour batter. Be very gentle, only fold, don’t mix. Spray baking pan with cooking spray. Pour into 9×13 baking pan and even out.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely.
Combine condensed milk, evaporated milk, and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Poke the cake with a fork multiple times after it’s cooled.
Pour all but about 1 cup of the milk mixture over the top of the cake, making sure you get a lot around the edges.
Whip 1 pint heavy cream with 3 tablespoons of sugar until thick, about 4-5 minutes and frost the cake. The original recipe says to chop with maraschino cherries, but Mike opted for the fresh fruit. Much better idea in my opinion. Chocolate chips would probably be good too.
My hungry hungry husband 