You-Cah

Yesterday,
I was in our corner store
where they sell so many fruits and veggies
for a much better price than the "real" grocery store,
and I saw that they had frozen yucca!!
(Bobby Flay from food network
pronounces this wonderful latin american root veggie
as the 'yuck-uh' plant,
but that just sounds yucky and makes me grit my teeth,
so please read that as frozen you-cah, okay? *smile*

So I bought a bag, got good tips from my mom on how to best prepare the yucca, and brought it home to defrost. Today I plopped the thawed clumps of yucca into VERY salty water, and boiled them for 15 minutes.

Then I filled the skillet with lots of canola oil, heated it, and cut the slightly boiled yucca into slices (about the size of home fries). I did 3 minutes on each side, and then pulled them out, blotted off the oil, salted them with Sea Salt (definitely a new favorite for me!) and then served them up.

They turned a beautiful golden brown, and they tasted incredibley wonderfully salty and crunchy.

If you haven't tried this before, you'll just have to come visit us here, and I'll buy some more frozen yucca, and fry it up for ya!

It's like a tastier, crispier, flakier french fry.

There's proof you need to come visit us *wink*!

Chili Cook Off

Today we are going to our church's
First Chili Cook Off
to kick off the Rally Week
before next week's Rally Sunday

Rally Sunday traditionally signifies
the pastor gives the church a challenge
to "jump on board" the church's vision
and commit to the next year...
It's usually an exciting series,
and also a good one to invite others to.

Anyway,
We are bringing Chicken Chili
to today's Chili Cook Off
(accompanied by a Swing Band!! fun!)
So I thought I'd put up the recipe
and tonight I'll let you know
how it was received by people
ha!


Hickle Chicken Chili
adapted from a recipe from Lori Meehan

Cook 1.5 pounds Chicken
Place raw (or still frozen) Chicken breasts or tenders
in crockpot on High. Add:
1 Bay Leaf
6 Black Peppercorns
1 tsp Celery Seed
1/2 Yellow Onion, in chunks
1 Clove Garlic, in chunksCover Chicken in water, and put in High until fully cooked.
Remove Chicken, shred and set aside.
Discard liquid.

In Saute Pan with 1 Tbsp Oil:
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, mashed
Saute until transluscent and beginning to brown on edges.

In Saute Pan Add:
1 can "Mexican Style" stewed tomatoes
2 cans "regular style" stewed tomatoes
2 cans Black beans (do not drain)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup your favorite salsa
(this is how you control whether it's hot, med or mild)

Cook nice and slow:
Pour entire mixture into preheated crockpot.
Add shredded chicken. Stir. Add:
3 Adobo (dried) chili pods, whole
(Leave peppers floating in chili)
Cook for 2-3 hours on high.
When ready to serve, remove and discard adobo peppers.

Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream.
Enjoy!

So I'll let you know what people think
of the Chicken Chili
after today's cook off.
I'm excited to go hang out with church people =)

Update:
We got runner up, but didn't win.
Had barely any to bring home with me though,
so I guess that's a good sign =)

Herb Slow Cooked Chops with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

I don't have a picture
of this wonderful creation
but I just have to share with you
how wonderful this recipe turned out!

I made it up.
I just didn't feel like
having the same ole' same ole'
flavored pork chops for dinner.

Herb Slow Cooked Chops
with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction
in a frying pan:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried rosemary
(I'm sure fresh herbs
would be even MORE WONDERFUL
but I didn't have any on hand...)

Cook until onions are transluscent,
and beginning to brown on the edges.

Lay six thick, juicy pork loin chops
over top the onions.
Generously salt and pepper the top of the chops.
Sear until browned on that side.
Flip, salt and pepper, and sear until browned.
(chops will NOT be fully cooked,
just browned on each side)
Transfer chops to preheated slow cooker.

Into pan with onion remnants add:
1 c. white wine
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 package mushroom soup mix

Simmer until thickened a bit.

Pour sauce over the chops in the slow cooker.
Cook, on low, 4-6 hours.

About 15 minutes before ready to serve,
pour 1/4 c Balsamic Vinegar
into small sauce pan.
Simmer over low fire until beginning to thicken.
Stir occasionally.

To serve:
Place pork chop on plate
(we served ours on creamy pasta- delish)
and drizzle balsamic vinegar reduction over top.

Mmm...
can't even tell you how excited I am for lunch tomorrow
cuz this meal was just so good, good, good!

Reunited in Folsom (Video of a Reunion)

There's so much to write about
when it comes to our fun family reunion last week.
And there's just TONS of pictures to show you.
Impossible, I'd say,
to get all the good ones into one, two, even FIVE blogs!
So I've decided to fit it all into a lil' video.

It amazes me that every single person
that is related to Grandma and Grandpa
was at some time or another
with us during the weekend!

And without further delay...
Hillis Family Reunion 2010
(it's a really big file, so if it skips, give it a second to load,
and then continue watching)


For those of you that are not part of the Hillis Family
here's some stuff you may need to know,
in order to appreciate the video all the more

#1 Weekend Highlights
*surprise
*Folsom Lake with everyone
*family pictures in the park
*swim, rest, catch up, hang out
*Family Talent Show
*church together
*open house for extended family and friends
*cake with the ORIGINAL cake topper from G&G's wedding cake
*interview about the last 80 years!
*good bye brunch
#2 Sound Track
provided by the Hillis Family Talent Show

#3 Inspiration
Grandpa wrote a song about how surprised he was
and how grateful he was
to be with the whole family to make new memories.
This is the song that you hear at the beginning and end.
Grandma and Grandpa,
love you bunches!
Congratulations on 60 years of marriage!!

Easy Peasy Chicken Enchies

This afternoon as I drove home
I knew dinner was going to have to be somethin' quick
as it was already near 4:30,
I was already beginning to feel hunger,
and I had prepped nothing early,
so whatever we ate would begin
either frozen,
canned,
or dried.
Spaghetti? with frozen meatballs?
chicken tacos? from frozen chx breast?

Then I decided I would go with
Chicken Enchiladas
even though I didn't have any Enchilada sauce
so I would have to improvise my own.

I did,
and decided the frozen chx might take too long,
so I asked Greg if he were willing to
"go on an adventure"
with me, and try canned chicken.
(I keep it in the cupboard
to use for quick bbq chix sandwiches
with homemade bbq sauce-
so easy... you just have to have time
to pick up some good rolls or buns.)
Thing was,
the corn tortillas we had on hand
turned out to be a little too old,
so they wouldn't fold around,
and broke apart,
so we decided
(Greg was helping assemble)
that we would make it a casserole.

So here's the creation,
and it's not gourmet to say the least,
but certainly
CHEAP,
FAST,
and quite
YUMMY.


Easy Peasy Chicken Enchies

2 Lg Cans Chicken, drained
1 Can Stewed Diced Tomatoes (I like the ones with garlic)
1 Can Cream of Chx Soup
1 sm Can Green Chiles
2 tsp chile powder
1/4 chopped onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
3 shots tobasco sauce
18 corn tortillas, uncooked
several cups of shredded cheese (we used Mexican blend)
several sliced black olives

Put tomatoes, soup, chiles, and spices in sauce pan.
Stir, and simmer for five minutes.
Pull out 1/3 of the mixture,
to use for later.
Add canned chicken to sauce pot.
Simmer for five more minutes.
Spoon 1/4 c sauce (no chx) mixture onto bottom of 9x13 pan.
Lay 6 tortillas over sauce, overlapping a little bit.
(sort of like lasagna noodles)

Spoon half chicken mixture over tortillas.
Sprinkle cheese generously.
Sprinkle half of sliced olives.
Repeat tortillas, all remaining chicken mixture, cheese.
Repeat tortillas, sauce (no chx), lots of cheese, and remaining olives.

Cover in tinfoil.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove tinfoil.
Bake @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven,
and let rest for 3 minutes.
Slice and serve with sour cream.
(makes 8 generous servings)

Green and Ham

When my mother in law was here
I think she "re-wet" my appetite
for cookin' in the kitchen!

So this week I've had fun
makin' real-ish meals!

Tonight I took some of what was left in the fridge
and found a yummy combination
so I thought I'd share.

Just beware...

It's definitely NOT gourmet,
in fact it is more like a "quick fix"
but it was pretty yummy
and definitely fast!

'Green Ham' Sandwichesfrom the brain of Katrina Hickle* ham steak, diced into cubes
* American Cheese slices
* crescent tube (I used an off brand)
* finely FINELY finely chopped green onion
(to the point that they looked almost like chives)

Line cookie sheet with tinfoil.
Grease it, cuz the melted cheese will stick.
Fill one triangle at a time with
small piece of cheese, ham, onions, then small piece of cheese.
Roll like a regular crescent,
Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.

They turned out a lot like a HOT POCKET
but with extra Umph, cuz they had the onions.

Also- I had some green onion left over,
so I made two crescents with JUST green onion,
and OMG I would TOTALLY serve those with a turkey dinner!
(Although my hubby would probably kill me
cuz he doesn't like it when I complicate something
when it was already good as it was...)

Anyway, try them for a QUICK and pretty CHEAP lunch.
I can imagine SEVERAL different variations I could do.
Maybe meatball with marinara,
shredded leftover chicken with black pepper and cheddar,
or pulled bbq pork or chicken.
Mmm!
Why have I never done this before?

Here's a shot of the process:

And here's the final product!
Yum!!

Savory Chicken Squares and Warm Potato Toss

I've come to really enjoy what food has to offer:

both to my taste buds
and my presence with company!

I love encountering new recipes
especially easy/quick/cheap/tastey ones
and it's a joy to add new flavor profiles to my repertoire.

My ma-in-law is here,
and she brought with her many yummy recipes
for us to try this week.
She even hand wrote them on recipe cards for us!
Too sweet!
Or should I say "too savory"?
haha

This our rendition of two of her recipes.


SAVORY CHICKEN SQUARESlightly adapted from Montana Rural Electric Magazine
via Aunt Barb Prichard

2 cups cooked, cubed chicken (about two chicken breasts)
6 oz cream cheese, room temp.
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp chopped green onion (whites and greens)
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 "tubes" refrigerated crescent rolls

Mix all ingredients except rolls together. On wax paper, pinch 2 triangle "rolls" together to form a rectangle. Place large spoonful (about 1/8 of the mixture) of chicken mixture into center. Bring four corners together over center, and twist. Sides of roll will not completely come together. That's okay, chicken mixture is not going to run out.

Bake on greased cookie sheet @ 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown.
Makes 8 Chicken Squares.

WARM POTATO TOSS
originally from Southern Living Magazinecalled "Spring Potato Toss"
but very adapted, so I changed the name

This recipe is originally made with pesto sauce, but being that I do not enjoy pine nuts all that much, and my hubby doesn't enjoy parmesan that much, and I don't have any pesto sauce on hand anyway, we decided to adapt the recipe to fit our tastes, and our available ingredients.

1 lb baby red potatoes, quartered
1 & 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen petite onions (pearl onions)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Italian salad dressing
3 strips bacon, crumbled

Bake quartered potatoes on a baking sheet, in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until tender to a fork. Put cooked potatoes in a bowl, and generously cover with Italian dressing. Fold together, careful not to mash potatoes. Add remaining ingredients, and toss. Serve warm or chilled. (If you do pesto, it calls for lemon or lime juice to bring out the flavor, and no pearl onions.)

We had it warm, alongside the Chicken Squares. Fantastic!

Simple Slow Cooked Chops

At the grocery store last week
we saw that there were lots of things on sale
and one was some amazing pork chops
but as I looked closer
the other "cheap" pork chops
were SUPER on sale
and I figured I'd try those instead.

Slow Cooked Chops
2 lbs "cheap" pork chops
2 Tbsp "Light in Flavor" Olive Oil
1/2 package mushroom soup mix
1/2 c. white wine
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
Fresh ground pepper
garlic pepper
1/2 bag frozen pearl onions

Preheat crockpot on HIGH.

Heat olive oil in frying pan.
Carefully lay pork into oil.
Sprinkle with garlic powder, pepper,
and mushroom soup mix over top of chops.
Cook for 1 minute, and flip.
Sprinkle other side with garlic and pepper.

When slightly browned,
transfer chops to heated crock pot.
Use white wine to deglaze the frying pan,
heat until bubbling,
stir in can of cream of chicken soup,
add liquid to crockpot.

Slightly stir,
to ensure all of chops
is covered in liquid.
Cover.
Cook for one hour.
Add frozen pearl onions.
Cook for three more hours.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Mmm, fantastic!
Breaks apart without a knife or anything!!

Introducing..

Yes, it may be three months after she's born
but I have FINALLY gotten around
to writing thank you cards for Baby Showers
and this is the little card we made up
to send as an "announcement"
with the thank you's!

A Few Tears

And So So Happy!

Red and White Baby Room

Today we exercised,  went to the bank,
went to Target, cleaned up the house.
and today Taylor's Aunt comes to visit.

So, since we cleaned, I videoed!
(it's kinda long, so it takes a sec to load... patience)