Camping Eggs

Jake, Boomer and I went camping this weekend with our friends Mere, Mike and their dog Stella. It was a bit of a cold and wet experience but fun too. I got a new cook stove and we cooked up some coffee and eggs to warm up in the morning, they hit the spot!

Camping Eggs
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Eggs
Tomato
asparagus
onion
ham
Cheese (cheddar, feta ect)
s/p

Crack the eggs in a zip top bag. Chop the tomato, asparagus, onion and ham. Throw it in the bag. Add salt and pepper. Put the bag in your cooler with the cheese in a separate container and go camping. In morning cook up the eggs on the camp stove in a skillet (scrambled), when they are almost done, throw the cheese on top until melted. Serve hot and yummy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad!

This Recipe: Aunt Betty----->Grandma Mary O------>Mom------ME!
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Mom made this for dinner last weekend when the HAG's came to the Neil cabin on the lake for dinner (and to meet Boomer the puppy), a really run evening and a really yummy dinner thanks to Jean, Wayne and Mom (oh and Dad who contributed the whisky :) Its perfect for right now with all of the spinach and strawberries out in the stores.

Strawberry Spinach Salad
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2 bunches spinach
1 pint fresh strawberries-sliced
1/2 cup sugar
2 T sesame seeds
1 T poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup vegatable oil or olive oil
1/4 cup cidar vinegar

Spinach and Strawberries in a serving bowl or on individual plates. Place next 6 ingredients in the blender or food processor. With the unit running, add oil and vinegar in a steady stream. Blend until thicked. Drizzle over salad. Serve immediately.

*mom put slivered almonds on the salad too!!

Grandpa Whitman's Banana Bread

I really have no idea who Grandpa Whitman is but my mom always made this version of Banana Bread and I always have to, yummy and good!

1/2 Cup Shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

3 overripe bananas, smashed

1/2 cup nuts

1 cup raisins (optional)

Cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs. Stir dry ingredients together and stir into wet mixture. Add the bananas, mix well. Fold in the nuts and raisins if desired. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick in the middle comes out clean.

**Try this: I made this last night and added about 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder to make a Chocolate Banana Bread! Super yummy!!

**Or this: I have also used frozen strawberries or mixed berries mashed in substitute of one or all of the bananas to make "Strawberry Banana Bread" or "Berry Bread", i use about 1/3 cup smashed berries per banana. (good plan when you buy an "on the way out" flat of strawberries at Town and Ghetto :)

Easy Chicken Nuggets

Gonna whip this up for dinner tonight before I head off to my third night in a row. "Easy" is vital for dinner tonight since sleep is more important than a gourmet meal!

Easy Chicken Nuggets
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Chicken breasts cut into bit size pieces
Shake and Bake
Garlic powder
Red Pepper
s/p

Mix the spices in with the shake and bake mix in the bag provided. Throw the chicken in and shake. Bake as directed until cooked through. Serve with sweet and sour, ketchup or ranch.

Jake's Cedar Plank Salmon Marinade

Jake and the other Neil boys made cedar plank salmon last weekend for the whole family. You will have to ask them how to make salmon on a cedar plank beyond this maranade because that was the man job :) Jake whipped up this marinade for the fish. (No, that is not a salmon, its a trout.....but it such a good picture of Jake and a fish I had to put it on here)

Jake's Cedar Plank Salmon Marinade
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lemon juice
lime juice
honey
soy sauce
orange marmalade
lemon zest
garlic
ginger
(I buy the garlic and ginger in the jar/tube)
Pepper

Throw all the ingredients in a large plastic zip top bag and put the salmon in there too. Marinade as long as desired in the fridge before BBQing.

International Night-Costa Rican Chicken

Jake and I went to Costa Rica last month where the fresh pinapple and coffee were to die for, we had so much fun. My friends and I have this rule that if you go somewhere to visit and eat the food you have to host International Night. This is where you have everyone over and show off your pictures as well as try to re-create a meal from the country you were and feed everyone. We did this last week!

When we arrived in Costa Rica we quickly realized pretty much everything there is served with rice and beans so there was little question on what to make for dinner. Most of the chicken served there was served fairly plain so I decided to use some of the flavors that we experienced while there and create a recipe I call Costa Rican Chicken.

Costa Rican Chicken
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Chicken breasts and/or legs
green pepper
red pepper
onion
garlic
cilantro
1 can diced tomato
cumin
yellow curry
a can of beer (I used red beer from a can)
S (or chicken boulion) and P

Dice peppers and onion. Place in a skillet with some oil and garlic. Saute until tender. Turn the pan off and add some cilantro and stir around a bit. Add half of the mixture to a can of black beans in a casserole dish.

Turn the pan back on adding some more cilantro, the cumin, yellow curry, tomato, beer and salt and pepper to taste (I used chicken boulion powder instead of salt). Reduce for about 10 minutes. Pour over the raw chicken in a separate casserole dish.

Bake the chicken at 350 until cooked through. Put the beans in the oven too until they are warm.

*Dont forget to serve with white rice and maybe a simple ensalada (salad) with oil and vinegar to keep with the Costa Rican theme.

Mothers Day Carrot Cake with Chai Tea Cream Cheese Frosting

This cake was a suggestion from my sister, she has made it for dessert at the Mint Restaurant in Belgrade where she chefs up so much yummy food. She found it on her favorite site: http://www.epicurious.com. This carrot cake is the best one I have ever had, so moist and yummy. As usual I added more spices, I doubled the cinnamon and added nutmeg. The Frosting that my sister and I made up was by far the best part!

Cake

• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 cups (lightly packed) grated peeled carrots
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Sift first 5 ingredients into medium bowl. Beat eggs, oil, sugars, marmalade and juice in large bowl until blended. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in carrots and nuts. Divide batter between cake pans. Bake until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer cakes to racks; cool 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks; cool completely.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Marmalade-Cream-Cheese-Frosting-1825#ixzz1MU3IYfq9

Chai Tea Cream Cheese Frosting

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8 oz Cream Cheese

1 stick butter

1/4 cup powdered chai tea (I went to a coffee shop downtown to buy it, can use spiced or vanilla)

1 Tbs vanilla

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

cream the cream cheese and butter in the mixer bowl. Add chai tea and vanilla. Add 3-4 cups powdered sugar until desired texture.

Last Minute Salad Dressing

The girls and I had girls night last weekend and after we all started at the gym and Mere decided we all needed a beer we headed to the new 406 Brewery. Since those beers go straight to my head then we were all just tipsy and really hungry. Lindsey and I stopped for a vegy pizza from Papa Murphys and we headed to my house. I had some leftover salad from the night before but no dressing, solution:

No Fat Citrus Dressing
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1/4 onion
garlic
lemon juice
lime juice
honey
orange zest
S & P to taste

Throw it all in the blender and hit go for a few seconds. Toss with greens or leftover salad for a yummy side.

Start Simple and Warm....

Its feezing cold on this May Tuesday in Bozeman. Raining and dreery with the snow line almost back down to the "M". So to warm up and fill up this is what I had for Breakfast:

Yummy Cream of Wheat

Make Cream of wheat in the traditional way
(although when I was a kid my sister and I would ask my mom not to stir it while it was cooking cause we liked it lumpy :)

After its cooked and in your bowl add:

Milk
Chocolate syrup (instead of sugar)
banana
fresh berries

YUM!

Well look who is a Blogger....

Well looks like I have become a blogger, so far so good. I just have to figure out how to share this site with others who might want to check it out and post my first recipe ideas. I think this site is going to make a wonderful replacement for my old fashon recipe cards that are all a disorgainized mess in my pantry that I never use anyway. How fun to just jump on my Blog and find the recipe for whatever it is I forgot how to chef up!