Springtime in Kentucky

Another weekend has come and gone. Where does the time go? We had a pretty productive weekend, even with the hubby working the nightshift. I planted 2 tomato plants and a zucchini plant, harvested plenty of herbs, baked muffins and a frittata, took plenty of pictures, snuck off to the gym a couple of times, and even braved the warehouse club that is Sam's. The hubby (on top of working, hello!) ran the weed-eater over the whole property and replaced the brakes on our old car. Whew! 

BTW, that's our house in the distance in the above picture. It's taking all my self-control to not harvest this bounty of wildflowers by our house. They would make an amazing flower arrangement on our kitchen counter, but I've been restraining myself. So that everyone can enjoy them :)

Gizmo, mid-air. I was surprised, #1 that the picture turned out, and #2 that it turned out well. He's a warm-weather loving dog.

One of my tomato plants, a starter I got at Lowe's. In true Jessica fashion, I killed all the seeds I planted in early April. Well, I take that back. The hubby bought the wrong kind of soil to plant them in, so couldn't we say he killed all the plants? I think so! Anyhoo, I bought a couple of starters for my beefsteak tomatoes. I've got some lovely blossoms on the plant, the hubby says I should have tomatoes in 5 weeks. Not soon enough!

Say what you want about daisies but I happen to love them. Takes me back to first-grade soccer, totally uninterested in the game, building daisy chains. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure daisy chains were a staple of middle school softball, too. I was older yes, but I played right-field. There weren't any balls getting hit there in middle school girl's softball. Trust me. The daisies kept me from the clutches of right-field boredom. And yes, there's a reason I played right-field ----->world's worst soft ball player.

Still sitting here, obsessed with the purple flowers :)

Birds have once again reclaimed the birdhouse. I haven't seen the birds that are nesting here, this box is in the hubby's aunt and uncle's yard. Last year I caught a glimpse of these birds in late June, so I probably won't catch a peep (hehe, peep) of these birds till later in the season.

These birds showed up about 2 weeks ago and only stayed for a couple of days. I'm left scratching my head as to where they went. I believe these are Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, which do winter waaay south. My best current guess is these particular birds summer a lot further north. 

*Side note- I just had to google this one. Where I'm located (NE Kentucky), I'm zoned migration-only for the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Therefore, I'm feeling pretty lucky that I witnessed them at all since they were literally just passing through.

A particularly sassy bluejay.

This squirrel cracked me up! This is the top of a tall, dead tree on the side of our house. One morning, I watched this critter scurry up there and just sit. This seemed like peculiar behavior to me, as he is just perched out there in the open for any predator to see, but hey, I'm not a squirrel. I enjoyed him nonetheless. 

One critter I did NOT want to see. Snakes give me the creeps! Bleh.

A cute picture I got of the hubby tilling the backyard. He actually drove around the yard singing, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy". I'm so serious. If anything else, he always makes me laugh :)

Annnnnd, this is what I do while the hubby works. Work on my tan!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I've got some delicious recipes on store for this week, so stay tuned!

Helpful links:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak wiki

Broccoli, Cheese, & Bacon Twice-Baked Potatoes

Potatoes make great meals. It's just a fact. Americans like to do awful, unhealthy things to potatoes like fry them, drench them in oil and cheese sauce, or mash them into a highly-caloric cream base. Of course, after doing all these things, we declare the potato and its carbs the enemy. I've mentioned this before, but I don't avoid any particular food group. This girl's well-balanced diet includes carbs in the form of potatoes and pasta. Granted, colored potatoes such as red or blue are a lot healthier, but I'll toss an Idaho potato into my diet on occasion. And Idaho potatoes were on sale this week, so here we are. 

Potatoes are cheap, versatile, and very filling. This makes them a fantastic meal option. Baked potatoes are a great way to get potatoes on the table. Now I have a confession: I've never been overly fond of baked potatoes. They are bland and blah to me. I drown the innards with butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper. And then I usually leave the skin. Well. I'm trying to get in the habit of eating the skins. They really are good for you, containing high amounts of potassium, iron, and niacin. One way I've gotten around my distaste for baked potatoes is by twice-baking them. I bake the potatoes for an hour, slice em' open and remove all the potato-y goodness, and then doctor them up. Toss in some broccoli, plain greek yogurt, a few bacon bits (I happened to have some leftover after making a batch of breakfast burritos), and some shredded cheese. Mix it all up, and stuff it back in the potatoes. Back in the oven they go, then it's Flavor Town!

To be honest, I haven't been making plain baked potatoes since I started making these. They just don't compare. I don't always have bacon to throw in these, and I certainly don't fry up bacon specifically for these. These potatoes are more of a throw-together meal, when I don't have much else planned. I usually use frozen broccoli, I don't even defrost it before I throw a handful of small florets into the mix. Serve a side salad with these, and you've got yourself dinner. Almost meatless. Almost.

Although these technically take about an hour and a half to make, it's all mostly hands-off cooking. The potato must bake for an hour initially, so that the innards are soft and pliable when you remove them. After mixing the potato combination and re-stuffing the potatoes, you're 20-25 minutes from dinner. Stick the potatoes back in the oven, and remove them when the cheese is melted and starting to brown. You can do so much during the baking time: clean up the kitchen, do the dishes, make the side salad, set the table... you get the point. This meal gives you time for multi-tasking :)

Well, it's Friday. We've made it to another weekend. The hubby is working the night shift all weekend, so I'm left pondering what I'm going to do. I do know there will be baking. Muffins for sure. Possibly cookies. Some chocolate here, and some vanilla there. Just the usual Jarrell Household activities. And where there's baking, a camera lurks not far behind :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Ingredients (makes 2 potatoes):

2 large Idaho baking potatoes

1/4 cup Greek yogurt, plain

1/4 cup small broccoli florets (chopped if not small pieces)

1 bacon strip, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Scrub your potatoes clean. Using a fork, pierce holes all over the potato. Place directly on oven rack and bake for 60 minutes.

2. Slice potatoes from end to end. Using a spoon, scoop out the potato innards into a mixing bowl. Add yogurt, broccoli, bacon, and 1/4 cup cheese to the bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Using a fork, mash up mixture. Very carefully, begin stuffing potato mixture back into potatoes. Distribute mixture evenly between 2 potatoes. Top each potato with 1 tbsp of cheese. Place potatoes on a cookie sheet, and bake in oven for 20-25 more minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Printable Recipe

Helpful Links:

The Benefits of Eating Potato Skins- http://www.livestrong.com/article/442807-the-benefits-of-eating-potato-skins/

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Fresh Mint Lemonade

The first of many mint recipes to come for the season.

Yesterday turned out to be a pretty nice day (for the most part), and it turned out to be a great day for my first harvest. After watching several YouTube videos on harvesting cilantro, parsley, basil, and mint and armed with kitchen shears, I ended up collecting what would have been an expensive bounty of herbs from the grocery store. And the smells of my fresh herbs! I think I've been buying artificial cilantro from Kroger... Have you seen that Dairy Queen commercial, about the artificial fruit stand (ironic, being a Dairy Queen commercial)? "100% not-real fruit" sound familiar? Well, that's how I'm starting to feel about Kroger's cilantro.

And the mint? Ohhhhh, the smell of fresh mint...

True to what my mother said, the mint has indeed taken over its little box. What started out as one lonely strand has branched into many strands. I've got a million mint recipes running through my mind, cookies and popsicles being among the top recipes I can't wait to experiment with. But first, I put some spring-y lemons to good use with this lemonade.

I love fresh lemonade. The difference in commercial lemonade (prepared with artificial fruit juice and more chemicals than you'll ever be able to pronounce) and homemade lemonade (prepared with water, sugar, and lemon juice) is vast. Fresh lemonade is a revelation. It's bright, tangy, and summery. And combined with fresh mint? Holy yum.

You want to know what I think? I think this would make one mean margarita. Think about it. Yeah, it's not lime-based, but it is citrus-based. Mixed with some tequila, orange-licquer, and maybe a touch of light beer to cut the sweetness? That experiment be calling my name! Oh, I'm so doing it :)

If you don't include fresh mint in your diet, let me provide a couple of reasons why you should:

1. Soothes stomach indigestion.

2. Mint provides quick and effective nausea relief. 

3. Can clear up congestion of the nose, throat, and lungs.

4. Mint is a natural stimulant which can help fight depression and fatigue.

5. Mint oil is a natural anti-septic and can reduce skin inflammation and acne.

6. Potential increase in cognitive function and alertness.

There's many, many other reasons to add mint to your diet. Not only is it tasty and fragrant, it's exceedingly healthy for you.

The mint leaves really make the lemonade feel fancy. The scent of a glass of this lemonade is enough to put any grumpy-puss in a good mood.

Well, another week is almost gone. I can't believe it's Thursday already. I continue to be amazed at how busy the hubby and I have been this spring. Today's shaping up to be another busy day as the hubby has the day off. It's yard work and our nephew's t-ball game on deck. As for this weekend, the hubby will be working the night shift. We definitely won't be partying like we did last weekend! Back to reality :)

Happy Thursday!

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

6 cups water

2 cups fresh lemon juice (about 6-7 lemons)

1/2- 3/4 cup mint leaves

ice

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 2 cups of water. Heat over medium-high heat until sugar has been dissolved, and the mixture once again looks like water.

2. In a large pitcher, add remaining 4 cups of water to lemon juice. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar mixture to lemon juice. Add ice to taste. Stir in mint leaves. Chill in fridge for 1 hour. Serve over ice.

Printable Recipe

Helpful links:

Mint facts- http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-mint.html

How to make simple syrup- http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-syrup/

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Cheesy Eggplant & Orzo Casserole

Bear with me friends. This may not be the most attractive casserole I've ever made, but how often do casseroles really look beautiful? Seems to me, the very definition of casserole is a mass of different ingredients thrown together in a pot, cooked all at once, and then baked into bubbly goodness. Doesn't it make sense that a casserole wouldn't be the most photogenic baked good when you are just piling ingredients on top of each other? Well, that's how I justify it to myself :)

What this casserole lacks in the looks department, it more than makes up for in the taste category. To be honest with everyone, eggplant is not my favorite vegetable. I stuff them, and eh. I dredge them in a crunchy coating and bake them with marinara, and blah. I can take them or leave them. Not anymore! I finally found a recipe that makes excellent and delicious use of eggplant. Some even better news? The hubby adored this dish. We feel similarly about eggplant, and we felt similarly about this casserole. As in, keep it coming!

I changed the original recipe slightly. The source recipe calls for quinoa in place of the orzo, but I knew there was no way I was getting the hubby to eat eggplant and quinoa in one dish. No matter how I gussied it up. I decided to substitute orzo for the quinoa but you could substitute rice, brown rice, or even another grain, like farro. I got excellent results with the orzo however, the pasta provided a nice chew to the casserole. Since I knew the orzo would be baking in the casserole, I made sure I pulled the orzo from the heat while it was still a little al dente. Just so the end result wouldn't be a mouthful of overcooked pasta. 

Veggie lovers will love this dish. This is a vegetarian casserole, but I can almost bet you won't miss the meat. There's chopped onion and red pepper, sliced mushrooms, and of course, the eggplant. All tied together by a spicy tomato sauce and creamy cheese. Wow, I'm sad this casserole is long gone. I highly encourage everyone to make this one-pot wonder, you won't regret it. 

So, this bad girl did not tend to her herb garden yesterday. You can imagine what's first on my to-do list today. I didn't get a chance to make salsa yesterday either, so I guess that worked out for the best. I'll be making fresh salsa with fresh cilantro this morning. Obviously, I can't wait for the best part of that process... the taste test! I've been diligently watering my herbs, and still my oregano hath kicked the bucket. It was seriously weakened by all the wind we had this spring, and I wasn't sure it was going to make it anyway. It will just have to end up making good compost. I may get a start at Lowe's and plant it in it's place. Oh, and I wanted to warn everyone. My mint is growing like gangbusters, so expect some minty-fresh posts to start popping up. Man, I love summer :)

Looks like we are in for some blustery Spring weather today, so I better head outside to get my chores done before the storms arrive. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Ingredients (serves 7-8):

2 cups cooked orzo (about 1 cup uncooked)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 large eggplant, cubed (you can peel your eggplant, if you prefer)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 (25 oz) jar of Arrabiata Sauce

1  1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup parsley, minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly coat a 8 x 8 casserole pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. When warm, add onion and red pepper. Sauté 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add eggplant, and sauté for 7-10 minutes, or until all veggies have softened. Add garlic to the pan, sauté for 30 seconds. 

3. In a separate non-stick pan, toast cooked orzo with crushed red pepper, pepper, and salt for 1-2 minutes. Set aside. 

4. Remove eggplant mixture from heat. Add Arrabiata sauce, orzo, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Toss to combine.

5. Distribute a thin layer of vegetable mixture into casserole pan. Top with some mozzarella and a little parmesan. Repeat process until you have 3 layers. Evenly spread any remaining mozzarella and parmesan on top of the casserole. Bake, uncovered, in oven for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. 

6. Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Top with parsley. Serve immediately. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from See Brooke Cook.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Cincinnati Beer Run 2014

Well, it's Tuesday.

The weekend has come, and sadly, gone. I never got a chance to post my Monday post. Yesterday was crazy! One of those days you have after you've gone away for a long weekend, only to come home late Sunday night and realize the housework didn't go away while you were gone. In fact, it seems to have inexplicably multiplied. There's laundry to do, the grocery shopping must be done, the grass must be mowed, dinner must be prepared, dogs must be walked and fed, bird feeders to be filled, compost to be tumbled, etc. Not a lot of time for blogging when you've got a full day. I should have been up at 6 working on the blog yesterday morning, but instead I slept in till 8. I never sleep that late. I'm blaming the tequila-hangover-hideousness that was Sunday!

We had a great time in Cincinnati! We drove up Friday afternoon, which just so happened to be one of the hubby's cousin's wife's (that's a mouthful!) birthday. After meeting at one of the cousin's houses, we schlepped out for Mexican food. Delicious, delicious Mexican food. And no Mexican food outing is complete without a margarita.

The girls. I'm in the middle in the polka dot shirt. Coincidentally, both of the hubby's cousin's wives are named Kim, so we'll just go with Brunette Kim and Blonde Kim. It was Brunette Kim's birthday. The lucky girl is still in her twenties :)

The hubby is the only one missing from this picture, but someone had to be the photographer.

We were leaving for the race on Saturday morning at 8 am, so needless to say no one stayed up real late on Friday night. Come morning, we were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

For the most part. Not everyone's a morning person!

Ready to run!

The hubby and I decided to represent U of O on our run. Crazy enough, the hubby and I met another Duck fan! We met a guy who had just moved from Eugene to Cincinnati a year ago. He said he still works for the same company, which is based out of Eugene, so he makes a lot of trips back to Oregon. He asked us how we liked it here, and we chatted for awhile. He seemed pretty homesick to me, I felt bad for him. I definitely know how that goes!

The hubby and his cousins. They're Toys-R-Us kids. They're never gonna grow up :)

The race ended up being a ton of fun. Hard, I must admit, but fun. I've never been inspired to drink, and then exercise, and now I know why. It's not easy. The race was set up to start in Florence, KY, which sounds crazy, but it's actually just right across the river from Cincinnati. The race had us crossing the bridge from Kentucky into Ohio and back into Kentucky. That part was pretty cool, I thought. Every half mile there was a beer stand that was serving locally crafted microbrews. You could stop at all the stands, or you could stop at none of them. I opted to stop at all of them. I must say, running after guzzling a beer is like shaking beer up in its bottle, only it's getting shaken in your stomach. Not something anyone is going to want to do on a regular basis, but as a novelty? We all enjoyed ourselves.

And after we were done running, it was time for margaritas. Giant, fish-bowl sized margaritas.

And... this is what we looked like after the margaritas. I'm not sure who joined us in the picture :)

Brunette Kim hitching a ride with Blonde Kim.

Boys will be boys.

We headed back home early on Sunday morning, seeing as it was Mother's Day. We proceeded to spend the afternoon eating Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars with my mother-in-law. So yummy. So obviously I've been back to the grindstone for a day now. I've got another crazy day on deck. Grrr. The only thing that must happen today is the harvesting of the fresh cilantro. It's gotten out of control! I don't know what happened, but we came home from Cincinnati and it looked like we had a little forrest of cilantro. Good thing I need to make some salsa :)

Happy Tuesday!

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bars

So... I didn't make Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes. I just wasn't in the mood. I was reminiscing about my Raspberry Crumb Bars, and thinking I needed something like those in my life at the moment. And then, the idea just kind of formed. Why not another crumb bar? I don't make them often. With lemon curd, sprinkled with blueberries. And the more I thought about it, the less I thought about cupcakes until poof! The cupcakes were toast. Bring on the crumb bars!

And the rest is history. These turned out so yummy! I don't know about you, but I love baking with lemons. You can do so many things with them, and one of those things is lemon curd. Lemon curd is just one of those amazing things given to us by nature, and more importantly, chemistry. It's so surprising that the combination of egg, sugar, butter, and lemon heated to a precise temperature for a precise amount of time forms a creamy, delicious, smooth custard. Ah, science.

I had a hard time narrowing down my favorite photos to use for the post, so the post is a little more pic heavy than usual. My apologies :)

Besides the labor of love that is poured into the lemon curd, the rest of the bars are really quite simple. I made my dough in the food processor, and LOVED it. I can't believe I've never used it for that purpose before. I'll be experimenting with that a lot more. Thanks to my handy KitchenAid, I was able to make the dough in about 5 minutes. Yeah, I was proud. The blueberries got tossed in a little sugar and cornstarch, a spray of the pan with cooking spray, and I was pretty much done. Besides the baking part, but you know, that's all hands-off time. Meaning your hands are free to grasp a glass of wine while your bars are baking. I'm just saying...

I must warn you, these bars aren't for the faint of heart. They aren't your typical thinnish bar. They are thick, substantial bars with some real meat to them. I'm loving the thick layer of lemon curd in the center, it's luscious and bright. These would be a perfect treat for Mother's Day. Or any spring day. Or any day, period.

The hubby and I are off to Cincinnati for the weekend. We're looking forward to the Cincinnati Beer Run we're participating in tomorrow. I can't say I've ever ran in a race that handed out beer. I figure I should try every experience out that I can while I'm alive. We'll be staying with 2 of the hubby's cousins and their wives, so there will be lots of family this weekend. It should a fun, relaxing weekend in the city, which we so rarely do. Plus, I've already heard there will be Mexican food through the grapevine, so you know I'm excited. I can't say I'll be blogging any this weekend, so I'll close with my recipe.

Have a great weekend!

Ingredients (makes 12 bars):

Lemon Curd:

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tbsp lemon zest

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

Berries:

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Directions:

1. Prepare lemon curd- place a double broiler over a saucepan of simmering water. Carefully whisk egg and sugar in double broiler, whisking constantly. Be carefully to watch the heat here, you don't want to scramble the egg, you want to temper the egg. Turn down the heat if you have to. After whisking for 2-3 minutes, add lemon juice, butter, and lemon zest. Continue to whisk, for about 15 minutes. You want to cook the lemon curd until it's starting to get thick, but is still creamy. Remove the lemon curd from the heat, place a place a piece of plastic wrap against the curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and set lemon curd aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 375º. Evenly spray a 8 x 11 pan with cooking spray.

3. Combine flour through salt in a food processor. Pulse until mixture is a fine crumb. In a separate dish, whisk egg and vanilla together. Add mixture to food processor. Pulse until mixture has formed a crumbly dough.

4. In a small bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Toss to coat. Set aside.

5. Press half of dough into pan to form the crust. Layer the lemon curd evenly over the crust. Evenly sprinkle the blueberries over the lemon curb. Evenly sprinkle the remaining dough over the bars. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until bars are evenly browned. Remove from oven.

6. Allow pan to cool for 45 minutes- 1 hour before slicing bars. Serve immediately, or chilled. I found both ways appealing :)

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Annie's Cooking Lab.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesday, Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesdays

If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy this recipe-

Raspberry Crumb Bars

Homemade Hummus

Shall I open this post with a line from "Friends"? I think so!

"God bless the chickpea."

Alright, "Friends" fans. Who said that? It is the one person who guested on that show that I don't immediately associate with the show. It was... George Clooney! Love that episode. I was torn between that quote and another hummus quote from the show. I bet fans know which other episode I'm referring to ;)

I love hummus. As a child, I don't think there's a person in the world who could have got me to try it. It's just as well, I probably wouldn't appreciated the chickpea goodness. As an adult though, hummus is something I love to keep around. It's a great snack, low in calories, and may help lower cholesterol and risk of cancer. It's a great veggie dip, good in pitas, and occasionally, makes a satisfying dinner.

During the summer, one of our favorite hot weather meals is the hummus plate. We whip up a batch of hummus, and serve it alongside toasted pita wedges, sliced tomatoes and olives, and crumbled feta.  Holy yum! Talk about a light, refreshing, yet filling meal.

You can always find hummus at the store these days, even at my small-town grocery store. However, I have never found a grocery store hummus that I like. I'm not sure what the problem is, but it just tastes wrong. In fact, for a long time I thought I didn't like hummus because I'd only had store-bought hummus. This all changed the day the hubby made a batch of homemade hummus. Wow. Talk about good stuff! That was years ago, and hummus and I have been going strong ever since. I still haven't found a store-bought brand that I like. Good thing this recipe is super easy...

If you have a food processor or blender, you can make hummus. It takes all of 5 minutes. I'm such a cheater and I use canned chickpeas, but you could, by all means, prepare your own dried chickpeas. I just happen to have a fairly good stockpile of canned chickpeas to use. Chickpeas, by the way, are an awesome item to keep on hand. You can put them in salads, pastas, soups, dips, roasted on their own as a snack... They are incredibly versatile.

I'm excited to have a chance to bake this afternoon. The hubby and I have been pretty busy as of late, and I've been having baking withdrawals. Time to take care of that today! I'm baking Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes, and I'm oh-so excited. I think they are going to be amazing and bee-u-tiful!

Oh, and one last note. Summer has basically arrived here, as it supposed to be 87º today! I'm stoked!

Happy Wednesday!

Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup tahini

2 tbsp water

garnish: olive oil and paprika

Directions:

1. Place chickpeas through salt in food processor. Pulse until smooth.

2. Add Greek yogurt through water to food processor. Pulse until smooth. Taste test. Season with salt to taste.

3. Move hummus into a serving dish. Drizzle with a good quality olive oil and sprinkle with paprika. Chill in fridge until ready to serve. Serve with pita wedges, tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta. Keeps in fridge up to 2 weeks.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Dede's Mediterranean Kitchen.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Happy 6th of May!

Hopefully you are joining me this morning sans hangover from Cinco de Mayo. I didn't really plan my recipes out well last week, resulting in the lack of a classic Mexican food post yesterday. But, we still celebrated the holiday. The hubby and I indulged in Corona's and Tortilla Soup. Or rather, I indulged in Corona's and we both indulged in the tortilla soup. I was going to make chicken enchiladas yesterday (by the way, this is the 3rd year in a row that my enchiladas have been sidelined), but the hubby is recovering from a stomach bug. Instead of spicy enchiladas, I settled for tortilla soup because it's basically chicken soup. Everything is added to the soup as a topping, so this was a perfect solution for the 2 of us. He could make his as gentle as he wanted, while I was free to devour the avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro, and Mexican cheesiness. So. Good.

Now, about this chicken... WOW! So freakin' yummy. I thought I'd really come up with something with this recipe, until I googled "Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard" and realized I definitely hadn't come up with a new idea. That's the thing with food- even when you think you've come up with something completely original, all it takes is a quick trip to Google to discern that millions of other people have also come up with your idea. Great minds think alike? :) 

I thought up this recipe the other night as I was snacking on some pretzels. After I imagined a crispy pretzel coating on the chicken, honey mustard popped into my head. Pretzels and honey mustard go hand-in-hand, so why not make a dipping sauce for the chicken? Boom. Done.

Let's talk a little bit about honey mustard. I'm a honey mustard freak. I love the stuff. Love it. My favorite honey mustards are the Arby's/Wendy's variety, and Red Robin's honey mustard. My ideal honey mustard does not include the dijon flavor. When I was in college (and had just discovered honey mustard) I remember trying every single type of honey mustard the grocery store had to offer. This was years before I learned to cook, by the way. I was really peeved that every honey mustard that Albertson's sold in 2001 was dijon-mustard based. So not what I was going for. I wish I could go back to 18-year old Jessica and say, "Hey smarty-pants, the honey mustard you are looking for could be made at home using 3 ingredients. 3 ingredients you already have." Alas, it took me until 2014 to find the perfect honey mustard. And this is the perfect honey mustard, for me. It's reminiscent of Arby's honey mustard in texture and flavor. It makes me hap, hap, HAPPY! And combined with this chicken? Even better.

Conversely, if you like honey mustard with a dijon base, simply substitute the regular mustard in this recipe for dijon.

I'm off to go for a run. The hubby and I are doing a... race in Cincinnati this coming weekend. I say "race" lightly because we are actually doing the Cincinnati Beer Run, which is 2.5 miles where you get a beer every half mile. So... not really expecting a PR on this course. It benefits the Marvin Lewis Community Fund, which helps a lot of kids in Cincinnati. That's right, I'll go and drink beers for the kids! My kind of fundraiser :)

Happy Tuesday!

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you could also use chicken breast, and/or chicken tenders)

2 cups pretzels

2 eggs

2 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp yellow mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a cookie sheet with cookie spray. Set aside.

2. Put pretzels in a food processor. Pulse until the pretzels are small crumbs. Place in a shallow bowl. 

3. Lightly beat eggs in another small bowl. To prepare chicken, dredge chicken through egg, discarding any excess. Dredge chicken through the pretzel crumbs, ensuring the chicken is well-coated. Shake off any excess. Place chicken on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with all chicken pieces.

4. Bake chicken in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Carefully flip chicken over, and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Chicken should be golden brown and crispy. Remove from heat.

5. While chicken is baking, prepare honey mustard. In a small bowl, combine mayo, honey, and mustard. Whisk to incorporate. Serve sauce immediately with chicken.

Printable Recipe

Honey mustard recipe adapted from The Salty Kitchen.

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Treasure Box Tuesday

DIY Glass Cleaner

I have a recipe for you this Sunday, but I definitely wouldn't recommend eating it!

You might think I've gone off the deep end, that I've taken my lifestyle to a crazy, hippie kind of place. You might be right. Despite all of that, I'm here to tell you that this stuff works. Better than Windex. Better than anything I've tried. And there's no harmful, toxic chemicals. AND it's super-cheap to make using ingredients you probably already have in your house. Intrigued?

First off, how did I get to a place where I'm making my own cleaning products? It's the result of 2 interests in my life colliding- saving money and slowly ridding the house of chemicals. I've been on a DIY kick for quite awhile. I've been trying different cleaning concoctions, and to be honest, not having much luck. As much as I want to kick that nasty bottle of 409 to the curb, it still does an amazing job. However, one homemade cleaning solution has passed the test of time. Again, and again. And it's this glass cleaner. I found the recipe on a very helpful blog I follow, Crunchy Betty. Crunchy Betty is all about making healthy, conscious choices. And not in a boring way :)

It's easy to make, using only 3 ingredients. The 4th ingredient is water. You mix all the ingredients together, and voila. Homemade glass cleaner. If you aren't fond of the smell (vinegar mixed with alcohol, yum yum!), you could mix in some lemon or orange essential oil. I have a feeling you would need a citrus oil to mask this scent. I'm kind of fond of the smell, it just smells clean to me. I was skeptical upon first using this, but wow. I was quickly converted. This is the least streaky product I've ever tried. Make sure to give this a good shake before each use, as the cornstarch settles to the bottom. My expert cleaning tip is to use this with old newspaper. I use one piece of newspaper to rub it all in over the glass, and leave it kind of damp. I use a second piece of dry newspaper to capture the residue. Using a dry material to finish is key with this cleaner. I think the dry newspaper mopping up the cornstarch is what really makes glass shine when using this.

Some of you might be saying that you use cloth to clean glass. Here's why I'm not a fan. Yes, cloth is good for the environment and reusable. But cloth leaves fibers over my glass and mirrors, and that annoys me. I don't feel bad using newspaper, because this newspaper promptly gets shredded and put in the compost. Yep, you heard me right. Put it in the compost. I was researching this very topic, to see if my DIY cleaning product is compostable. Sure is. Water? Check. Cornstarch? Check. Alcohol? A natural antiseptic, but it evaporates in the air so fast, it won't kill the bacteria in your compost. Check. Same goes with the vinegar, which dissipates a little slower, but is still compostable. Check!

Just a little Washi tape and some labels!

Now, the decorated bottle? Completely optional :)

I don't know about you, but I enjoy cleaning so much more with pretty things. Maybe I am that crazy hippie? LOL.

I highly recommend trying this solution. It's not one of those DIY cleaners that you are going to be disgusted with, and immediately tossing in the trash. I'm almost betting you'll end up a convert, like me. Never buying Windex again.

Happy Sunday friends!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup alcohol

1 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups warm water

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a  spray bottle. Shake to incorporate. Shake before each use, for best results.