Pico de Gallo

I love Mexican food and while I realize that being a Crohn's patient Mexican should be at the bottom of my food pyramid I can't help but enjoy it every now and again. During our few trips to the local Mexican joints I absolutely must get my fill of the complimentary chips and salsa, it's the staple of my meal and if I am not careful it becomes my entire meal. I am fortunate that my Husband shares my love of chips and salsa and he and I both especially love Pico de Gallo. My wonderful Husband attempted to make some Pico de Gallo on his own several weeks ago and to say that it had a strong onion flavor would be an understatement...love you honey! So after he almost bought the store made kind yesterday I promised that I would make it fresh for him at home, with a little less onion of course. This is the creation and it met his approval although I think he would have liked a bit more jalapeno. I love Mexican but I do not love heat so he compromised and didn't insist on me adding anymore.

Ingredients:
10-12 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp. salt
lemon juice

1.) In a large bowl combine tomatoes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro and salt. Add a splash or two of lemon juice and carefully mix together.
2.) Cover bowl and refrigerate for several hours to allow the mixture to marinate together.

I serve mine up with tortilla chips and this go round Daniel is enjoying his with Frito Scoops.

Katie's Club Sammy

Tonight was yet another family dinner and this time I served a nice pot of chili along with this sandwich I just kind of threw together. Everyone raved about how good it was and that it was better than any store bought sandwich. They actually thought I bought it so I took that as a compliment. Very simple to put together and great for all of your Superbowl parties!

Ingredients:

2 loaves of french bread

1 lb. sliced ham

1 lb. sliced turkey

1/2 red onion, finely sliced

1 bag of Dole shredded lettuce

3 tomatoes

1 package of swiss cheese, about 12 slices

Mayo

Brown Mustard

Salt

Pepper

Directions:

1.) Take your loaves of french bread and slice down the center.

2.) On the bottom layers spread on some mayo and brown mustard.

3.) Layer half of the ham and half of the turkey on each bottom half.

4.) Top meat with swiss cheese and layer with your lettuce, onion, and tomato.

5.) Sprinkle the tomatoes with about a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper.

6.) Take the top half of each loaf and hallow out the center that way the top of the bread can cradle the veggies.

7.) ENJOY!!!

Snow Day

I am sure a good chunk of you all are experiencing the same weather as we are here in Ohio, keep safe and stay warm! I finally got a snow day off from work which is very exciting. I know my boys sure are having fun!

Oreo Dream Cupcakes

I want to take a moment to apologize for my lack of food blogging these past several days. I have been a little under the weather and haven't been cooking quite as much because I haven't had much of an appetite. Once again we had our family dinner on Saturday night and we went pretty easy, I made a big pot of sloppy joes and some macaroni and cheese out of the box, please forgive me father for I have sinned...lol. If it makes you feel any better I did make these fabulous cupcakes which are some what of a spin off of Christy's Kitchen Creations blog. She called hers Mississippi Mud Cupcakes and everything was made from scratch, I cheated and used the box cake mix.

The measurements aren't exact since I pretty much flew by the seat of my pants but the extras I had of everything made great snacks.

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 box of milk chocolate cake mix (Make as instructed on the box)
10-12 Oreo Cookies, crushed
Lg. box Vanilla Pudding, instant
Icing:
2 blocks of cream cheese (16 oz.)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. powdered sugar

6-7 oreos crushed

1.) Take oreos and crush, placing about two teaspoons into each cupcake wrapper.
2.) Pour batter into each cupcake wrapper over top of the crushed oreos. Bake as directed and allow to cool.
3.) Once cupcakes are cooled, make your vanilla pudding as instructed on the box. With a pastry bag fill each cupcake with the pudding mixture after the vanilla has had time to set up.
4.) In a large bowl beat together room temperature cream cheese with vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Add crushed oreos and gently mix. Top each cupcake with icing.

I used the large box of vanilla pudding and had two little dessert bowls left over. You can either do the same as I did and just have some vanilla pudding for a snack later or you can use the smaller box. I also had quite a bit of the icing left over which my Uncle Dan and I found to be quite tasty on graham crackers. If you don't want to make extra just cut everything in half.

Chicken and Broccoli Spaghetti

I love Italian food, especially anything made with spaghetti noodles, so when my step-mom started making this dish for us years ago I definitely made sure to keep track of how it was done and make sure it was stored away upstairs for when I needed it. Now that she and my Dad are divorced it's a pretty safe bet to say it's a good thing I was paying attention. This is a simple dish that has simple ingredients. The addition of the ranch seasoning should get all kids excited because come on...what kid does not love ranch?

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 sm. bag frozen broccoli,thawed
1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning
butter
Parmesan Cheese

Directions:
1.)Bring water to a boil for spaghetti noodles, cook as directed on the box.
2.) In a food processor, take your broccoli which has been thawed and process into fine pieces. You do not want to cook the broccoli as it will cook in the saute pan.
3.) In a large saute pan melt a couple of tablespoons of butter and add shredded chicken, broccoli, and ranch seasoning. Cook until everything is warmed through.
4.) After spaghetti noodles are done boiling add about a couple of tablespoons of the liquid to your saute pan. Drain noodles and then add to saute pan.
5.) Toss ingredients and serve. Top each plate of spaghetti with the Parmesan cheese.The picture I have posted is missing a very important ingredient! I make this dish so often that I usually always keep a bag of frozen broccoli in the freezer, for once I did not have any. I was in the mood for this dish though so it was full steam ahead. It was good without it, but I definitely enjoy it better with it.

Veggie of the Week-Broccolini

Broccolini is a green vegetable not unlike broccoli with small florets and long, thin stalks. Although often misidentified as young broccoli, it is a cross between broccoli and kai-lan, Chinese broccoli. A natural hybrid of the cabbage family Brassica oleracea, it was developed by the Sakata Seed Company of Yokohama, Japan. Broccolini's flavor is sweet, with notes of both broccoli and asparagus.

Broccolini is a registered trademark of Mann Packing Company, Inc. Its generic name is baby broccoli with product look up number 3277. Sanbon Incorporated originated a commercial program for asparation in Mexico in 1994 and first brought it to the U.S. market in 1996. Mann Packing Company introduced the new vegetable to the US market in 1998. They grow the vegetable year round in California and Arizona. Today, you can find broccolini throughout the United States and Canada.

The entire vegetable is consumable, including the occasional yellow flower. Rather delicate, common cooking methods include sautéing, steaming, boiling, and stir frying.

Nutritionally, broccolini is high in vitamin C but also contains vitamin A, calcium, folate and iron.

Chilli & Garlic Broccolini

Ingredients:
2 bunches Broccolini
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 long red chile, seeds removed & chopped

Directions:
1.)Steam or blanch broccolini for 2-3 minutes until just tender. Drain & refresh.
2.)Heat oil in large pan over medium heat. Add garlic & chilli. Cook for 1 -2 minutes until garlic just starts to colour (don't let get brown or it will be bitter).
3.)Add broccolini, season well with s & p, then toss to warm through.

Recipe from Recipezaar.com

Fried Rice The Murphy Way

Yes I failed at the Lo Mein and yes I am now scared to death to ever try my hand at making Chinese again, but I have been making this fried rice for years thanks to my Dad and plus I don't really consider it a true blue Chinese dish, it's more Chinese...the American way. It's a family favorite and you can add all kinds of ingredients to it and it will still be good. It also makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. Did I mention that it is also very simple to make.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 cups white rice, cooked
1 bunch green onions
3 stalks of celery
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
5 eggs, scrambled
Soy Sauce

Directions:

1.) In a skillet over medium high heat, add extra virgin olive oil and begin browning chicken that has been cut up into small cubes. Sprinkle garlic powder over chicken. Once cooked through set aside in a separate bowl.
2.) In another pan begin boiling water for your rice. Use three cups of water for three cups of rice. Cook rice according to directions on the box.
3.) Start vegetables by chopping green onions into small pieces, use both the green and white portions. Cut the celery stalks in half down the middle and dice into pieces. Set veggies aside in a separate bowl.
4.) In the same pan used to brown your chicken, scramble and cook five eggs.
5.) In a stock pot or dutch oven, add your chicken, vegetables, rice, and scrambled eggs. Begin adding your soy sauce*.
6.) Cook on low heat for five minutes or so, until heated through. Careful not to allow the bottom to burn.
*I didn't measure out the soy sauce because I have found that everyone has their own preference. Some like a lot of soy sauce like myself, while others like very little. I always go easy on the soy sauce and set out the bottle to allow others to add more if they would like.

Our family loves this dish and I hope yours does to. Feel free to let me know if you add any other extra ingredients...I would love to know how they turn out in the dish!