recipes

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Fiesta

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On Sunday night Abbey and Meg came over for a Mexican-style cookout. I grilled up some burgers and topped them with pepperjack cheese, some leftover three-bean and veggie chili, plus a couple of slices of avocado. THEY WERE VERY TASTY. 

Abbey had an awesome recipe for Mexican street corn, which is what you are admiring in that picture up there. All you do is throw the corn on the grill, and once it’s done you slather it with a mixture of mayo, chili powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Then you squirt the whole business with a lime. So good. I kept the leftovers to dip chips in. 

Also, there was Chex Mix and also brownies a’la mode. Neither of which are Mexican. Both of which are pretty darn good.

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Steak Tacos!

Credit for this one goes to Tom, who went to the store for yellow rice and came back with steak tips, ’cause that’s just the kind of guy he is. They used to make something like this at the restaurant where our old roommate works–the variations are totally endless, and the whole thing is summery and amazing. I served these with grilled summer squash, which is just about my favorite side ever in the warmer months.

You will need:

1 lb steak tips

1 cup guacamole

1 package giant tortillas

1 can pinto beans

Whatever veg you’ve got in the fridge

Shredded cheese of some ilk (we had cheddar)

Sprinkle the steak tips with salt and pepper and grill until medium; toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt and pepper and do the same. On the stove, heat the beans on medium-high, then warm the tortillas in the micro for 30 seconds. Spread the guacamole on the tortillas, add the beans and meat, then sprinkle with cheese. Roll ’em up and stick ’em in the oven (or on the grill, actually), just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

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Guac You

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In 2007 my high-school theater group (I know, I KNOW) had a hilarious and ill-advised reunion at a falling-down house on Long Island, complete with a couple of tearful meltdowns, vodka from a water bottle, and many, many renditions of “Light My Candle”. Here’s what I got that weekend: a sunburn, several eyefuls I certainly could have done without, and this guacamole recipe.

Guys. This is the only guacamole recipe you will ever need in your life. It’s amazing. There are six ingredients. Everyone will love it and tell you how great and pretty you are. Best of all, you can make it in five minutes.

Well. Ten if you are drunk and singing.

You will need:

2 avocados

1 tomato

1/4 red onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 lemon (or lime, if you’re drinking Coronas and you’ve got ’em lying around)

salt to taste

In a large bowl, scoop out the avocados and smash ’em up. Chop the tomato, onion, and garlic; mix them in and squeeze the lemon over the bowl. Dump some salt in there and presto: queen of the party.

And star of the show.

Also! I read this trick about how if you press the plastic wrap right down onto the guacamole it won’t get brown in the fridge, and you know what? It’s TRUE. I love that.

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Tried and True

After yesterday’s strawberry disaster (MORE THAN HALF A BATCH OF COOKIES IN THE GARBAGE, THANKS FOR NOTHING MARTHA), I was in the mood to make something I knew would turn out right. Luckily, Tom bought and forgot to eat a six pack of french rolls. What what.

Shamelessly gakked from Summer Picnic (except for the photo, which I got from the good people at Kraft because mine was–shocker–badly lit),  I give you: Chocolate Bread Pudding. 

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Guys. This is my favorite dessert. Seriously. The taste is fantastic–the cinnamon gives it just a little bit of a kick–and the texture is so smooth and comforting. PLUS it uses up bread that is on the stale-ish side. Add some vanilla ice cream, and oh man it is the best day.

Recipe is here. Make sure you tell J how awesome she is. 

And tell Martha we are ON A BREAK.

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Treats for Busted Friends

Our friend A took a nasty spill outside of work on Monday and wound up with eight staples in her pretty head. Since I am neither a doctor nor a maker of helmets, I whipped her up some cinnamon raisin bread instead. From Allrecipes:

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees)
  • 2 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups raisins
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/3 cup sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours. Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide in half. Roll each into a 15-in. x 7-in. rectangle. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; sprinkle over dough. Sprinkle with water. Starting with a short side, roll up tightly, jelly-roll style. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam side down, in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

 

This actually rose beautifully, which I was not expecting because my bread never rises beautifully, even when I make Ina’s version which uses 2 yeast packets. If I had it to do over again I would add more cinnamon to the actual dough, and also probably put some butter in the cinnamon sugar filling. 

 

Other Friday randomness:

Craigslist Killer: HEY STOP KILLING HOOKERS. They have enough problems already.

We’re dogsitting Frankie this weekend! Expect lots of slobbery photos. Also, some work-in-progress pics of the roof deck. Last night Tom blasted the rust off the steps with a special rust blaster. You’re very manly, Tom!

Is it nerdy to like OneRepublic? I think it is. Oh well. There basically is no band I like that is not nerdy, so. 

I am planning a lot of trips. Want to hang out this summer? Give me a holler. 

Agent rejection count: 4. 

Tonight I’m going to open every window in my apartment. 

I have had two large cups off coffee. Coffee makes me chatty. I’ll stop  now. Have a good Friday.

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Here’s What’s Gross:

The photo of the delicious smoothie I took in my kitchen at nine o’clock last night. 

 

Here’s what wasn’t gross at all: the smoothie itself.

 

One banana plus one giant handful of (slightly overripe) strawberries plus one container strawberry Light and Fit yogurt plus a splash of orange juice plus roughly two cups of ice equals: fruit smoothie heaven.

 

Already I can tell I’m going to be making these bad boys all summer.

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Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I needed something quick to bring to R & A’s last night–Tom called at four and asked if I felt like going over there for dinner–and these were perfect. A little bit of everything, which is exactly what I had on hand. The recipe from cooks.com is as follows:

 

2 1/2 c. mixture of whole wheat & unbleached white flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. melted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. oatmeal
1 c. coconut
1 c. chocolate chips

 

Mix well, form into cookies (they won’t melt down) and bake at 350 degrees 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool before taking from pan.

I know that’s kind of vague, but I just added stuff in the order I would have added it if I was making regular chocolate chips, and they turned out a really nice color and consistency. I think they actually could have benefitted from a little more vanilla, but other than that they were a solid choice.

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Skinny Cow

Dessert of the week: a chopped banana, a handful of strawberries, some plain nonfat yogurt, and a sprinkle of Splenda. 

Probably it’s better with a drizzle of chocolate syrup (or a giant scoop of chocolate ice cream), but I’m trying to eat less crap. 

This concoction is the perfect accompaniment to an evening of Idol results.

Good riddance, Scott McIntyre.

Hello, little summer clothes.

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