For my 100th post...Pasta Salad

Wow! I can't believe that I am at 100 posts already. If life hadn't gotten in the way, I'm sure I would have 200 by now. But I will celebrate this small milestone with a festive and colorful dish.

To me nothing say summer like pasta salad. It is at every family get together and BBQ. I can't wait for summer this year, since The Good Baby will be making her appearance then and I think my summer social calendar might be booked this year. So, I wanted a taste of summer now. I also had a huge craving for salami and lunch meat and took a pregnancy gamble.

This dish is pretty easy to make, just like most of my other dishes. The most labor intensive part is all the chopping and the cooling of the pasta. But it came together in less than 20 minutes. It took me less time to eat it all.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat pasta, any shape
4 oz hard salami, chopped
1.5 oz pepperoni, chopped (1.5 oz sounds like a strange amount, but it is half a package)
1 can of jumbo black olives, chopped
4 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
4-6 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, chopped (I forgot to add this)
1 large handful of basil, chopped
1 recipe The Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar

Directions:
~Boil the pasta in salted water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool, rinsing with cool water.

~Combine the Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix with the oil, lemon juice and vinegar in a jar and shake to combine.

~Combine all the remaining ingredients with the pasts in a large bowl. Toss to coat.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Guacamole

For every cook, there is a different guacamole recipe. I love a lot of garlic and lime in my guacamole. I also like to blend the crap out of it until it is smooth. I could eat this everyday and I tell myself that it would be ok, since avocados have the"good" fat in them.

Ingredients:
2 avocados, ripened
3 cloves of garlic (I told you I love garlic)
1 small onion
The juice of two limes
A big handful of cilantro
Salt to taste

Directions:
~Peel the avocado and spoon the flesh into the bowl of a food processor.

~Combine the remaining ingredients and process the crap out of it or until it reaches the consistency you desire.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Refried Beans

I have a weakness for Taco Bell. Yes it is not the healthiest and you would think that even after working there for a year and seeing how everything is made, I wouldn't like it. But I still can't shake my love for cheap, easy food and every now and then I have to get some refried beans.

Then after staring this blog and reminiscing over my culinary accomplishments, I realized that there is a lot of premade food that would be super easy to make at home. This is one of them.

I had occurred to me that I probably never even had homemade refried beans before. Yes, I eat at other Mexican places than Taco Bell, but honestly, all the refried beans looked strikingly similar to Taco Bell's or the stuff you get out of a can.

I will say that making this was super easy. First of all, I bought canned beans. Now we can debate how much that qualifies this as truly homemade but when I can get one can of organic pinto beans for $1 versus a 1 pound bag for $3 something, well, then cheapness wins out and I went for the can.

The refired beans tasted nothing like what I have ever eaten before. I don't know if that was due to the organic beans or the lack of animal lard (seriously, look on a can of refried beans sometime. Animal lard is in there). They were a cousin to all the refired beans I had ever had before. I need to work on the seasonings, since the beans seemed a little bland, but overall they were good.

And hey, I knocked another food off my 100 Foods List.

Ingredients:
1 can pinto beans
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons butter
salt
Cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
~Dice the onion and garlic. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic. Add salt to taste and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

~Drain the beans, reserving the juice. Add the beans to the onion and garlic mixture and cook for 5 minutes.

~Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach the consistency you desire. If needed add some of the reserved juice.

~The beans will thicken considerably when removed from the heat, so removed from heat when the beans still look watery. Let stand 5 minutes and top with cheese or diced onion.

recipe by: The Good Wife

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I don't remember the first time I had BBQ Chicken Pizza, but I will say that since I have had it, it might be one of the best types of pizza out there. Of course nothing can replace the awesomeness that is Imo's Pizza, but sadly there are none out here in the sticks.
You can see my recipe for pizza dough here.

Toppings
Ingredients:
2 cups diced cooked chicken
4 slices of thick cut bacon
1/2 Parmesan cheese
2 cups Cojack cheese
1/2 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce
1/4 cup chopped white onion (optional)

Directions:
~In a large skillet over medium high heat brown the bacon. Once the bacon has browned, remove from pan and drain on a paper plate.

~Top the pre-baked pizza dough with the bbq sauce, Cojack and Parmesan cheese, bacon and chicken (and onion).

~Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until the crust is golden.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Italian Beef

As a foodie, I am supposed to hate the crock pot.

I will confess to not using it all that much, but when I do, boy! I look at it and think I should make everything in this little baby. Then I try a recipe for something like soup and it turns out horribly. Then I remember why I only use it for shredded meat and roasts.

The crock pot really is fool proof, if you stick to the above mentioned two items. Just plop everything in the crock in the morning, turn it on low and come home 8 hours later to your house smelling like a deli. The Good Husband happens to love that smell.

I should try and bottle it and market it as a perfume. While it would attract all Good Husband types to you, the only draw back would be the occasional stray dog following you home, since really, you smell like meat.

But on to the sandwich.

This Italian Beef recipe is my old stand by. I have to eliminate the banana peppers since TGH can't stand them, but you can see I compensate for the lack of pepper spice with a good helping of horseradish. Oh yum.

Ingredients:
2 heaping tablespoons of The Good Wife Italian Seasoning Mix (recipe to follow)
3 - 5 lb beef roast (I usually just get whatever cut is on sale that week)
Banana peppers and juice (optional)

Directions:
~Combine all in crock pot and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.

~Shred meat with forks 30 to 45 minutes before serving, stirring to combine all the flavors.

The Good Wife Italian Dressing Mix
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried celery flakes

Directions:
~Combine all in a bowl and stir until well blended.

~Store in air tight container.

recipe by: The Good Wife

The Good Wife Trial Mix

I was craving some trial mix the other day and since I am rather picky about what type of nuts and fruit I like, I decided to make my own. My favorite type of nut is walnut, which is not very common in trial mix. But walnuts and other nuts are high in the good kind of fat and all the pregnancy books I am reading say it is really good for a baby's growing brain.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup honey roasted peanuts
2/3 cup dried fruit, I used Tropical Trio by Sunmaid
1/2 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup pecans halves
1/2 cup dried bananas (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate covered soy nuts (optional
1 package plain M&Ms (optional)

Directions:
~Combine all in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.

~Grab a handful and enjoy.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Bagels

Anyone who has read my blog before knows how much I love bread. And how that it is the only thing I am craving now, I have to find more creative ways to satisfy my bread desire. This week, after seeing an episode of Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives, which featured Surrey's Café and Juice Bar, in New Orleans, I had a HUGE craving for bagels and lox.

Sadly the lox I can't have, but nothing can stop me from eating a dozen of these!

I found a bagel recipe in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. I did have some problems with the recipe though. The dough was just so dry that I had to add several tablespoons of water to get it to a smooth stage. I don't think it effected the overall texture or flavor but I was just a little disappointed that the dough wasn't perfect the first time. I also didn't roll the dough into a log and shape the bagel. I just rolled the dough into a ball and pushed my thumb through to make the hole. I think that is why my bagels have almost no hole.

When I ate all of these bagels, I decided to try again a few days later to see if maybe in a rush, I had just dumped all the flour in and that was why my dough was too dry. I slowly added the flour and when the dough looked stiff and could hold no more flour, I realized that I had almost one half cup of flour that I hadn't mixed in.

So while this recipe did produce a very tasty bagel, I might go with a different version next time.

Ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp warm (105° to 115° F) water
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar plus 1 1/2 teaspoon
1 Tbsp melted vegetable shortening
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 cup plus 3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour

Directions:
~Combine in a large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and let stand until the yeast, dissolves (about 5 minutes), the water, yeast and 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar.

~Slowly stir in the shortening, 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt and 1 cup flour.

~Slowly add the remaining flour and knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.

~Let rest, covered, 15 to 20 minutes.

~Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope tapering the ends. Wet the ends to help seal and form into rings, stretching the top end over and around the bottom end and pinching them together underneath. Or alternately, roll each piece of dough into a ball. Stick your thumb through the ball to make a hole. Stretch the hole out about 2 inches. Let rise, covered, on a floured board about 15 minutes, until puffy.

~Preheat the oven to 425°F.

~Bring to a boil in a large pot:
4 quarts water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

~Drop the rings 4 at a time into the boiling water. As the bagels surface, turn them over and cook about 45 seconds longer. Skim out and place on an ungreased baking sheet coated with cornmeal.

~Bake 20 to 25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

recipe by: The Joy of Cooking

Turtle Brownies

One of the first jobs I ever had was working at a local ice cream shop. It was the best job to have since I got to eat ice cream all day long. The even better part was all the different ice cream concoctions I was able to create in the 4 years I worked there. By far the best was the turtle sundae. Ice cream, hot fudge, caramel and salty pecans. Oh heaven.
So when I had a particularly rough day at work the other day, I decided that nothing would be better than a big 'ole turtle brownie. Too bad my rough day followed me into the kitchen where I dropped the bowl of hot melted chocolate and it shattered, sending glass and liquid chocolate everywhere. Not so good. That side tracked my brownie making my a good half hour, so by the time the brownies were finished, it was late and I had no patience to wait for them to cool.

That's why it is so gooey looking in the photo. The brownie was screaming hot out of the oven and so soft, it almost spread out on the plate. But with a cold glass of milk, it was oh so worth it.


Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 jar caramel topping
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
~Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

~Melt chocolates and butter in the microwave for 90 seconds or until melted, stirring every 30 second to make sure the chocolate doesn't burn. Cool to lukewarm, then stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating with a wooden spoon after each addition until mixture is glossy and smooth. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.

~Spread batter evenly in baking pan (I used an 8x8) and bake at 350 in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

~Combine the caramel sauce and the 1/2 flour in a small bowl and stir to combine

~Pour the caramel sauce over the brownies and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

~Remove the brownies from the oven and sprinkle the pecans and chocolate chips over the top. Allow to cool completely before serving.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Poll Results

The results are in and most people stay in for Valentine's Day and make a nice dinner at home. That's what The Good Husband and I did.

Coming in a close second was having dinner in a nice restaurant.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day.

Love,
The Good Wife