Chunky Guacamole

I know what some of you are saying. Ewww. I don't like Guacamole. And before trying this recipe, I would have agreed with you. I don't care for the jar creamy type of green paste. But thought I would give this recipe a try. Whats the worst that can happen? I don't like it :)

4 ripe avocados (pits removed, and scoop out the flesh with a tablespoon)
1 Lime/Lemon, juiced
1/2 red onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 sm roma tomatoes chopped fine (seeds removed prior)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Kosher salt/Sea Salt to taste
Ground Pepper to taste

Halve the avocados and remove pit. Scoop out the flesh with tablespoon into a mixing bowl and mash the avocados with a fork leaving them somewhat chunky. Add remaining ingredients, and fold everything together until gently mixed. Lay a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface of the guacamole so it doesn't brown and refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or grilled pita bread

Apple Vanilla Almond Crisp

2 cans apple pie filling OR 6 fresh apples peeled and sliced evenly

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 real vanilla bean pod scrapped out into the brown sugar and mixed into the brown sugar by hand.

1 stick of butter softened

1/3 cup brown sugar packed (mixed with vanilla bean)

1 cup instant oats

Mix apples and cinnamon. Mix the vanilla bean with the brown sugar and then add butter and oats. Top the apples with the oat topping and bake at 400* for 30 minutes or until brown and fruit is tender.

Ginger Peach Crisp

2 cans sliced peaches in syrup - drained OR sliced fresh peaches that are in season or fresh frozen peaches thawed.
2 tsp ground cinnamon.

1 stick of butter softenend

1/3 cup brown sugar packed
1 cup instant oats

Preheat oven to 400*
Mix drained peaches with ginger and cinnamon. Place sliced peaches in greased small ramekins or oven safe bowl.
Mound the topping on top of the peaches in each ramekin. Place ramekins on a small backing sheet and bake for 15 minutes..or until the top is golden brown and fruit is tender. Remove from oven and cool slightly before topping with ice cream.

Carnitas Tacos with Spicy Slaw

Mouth Watering Goodness!

1 pork tenderloin 

Put in crock pot the night before:

Pour over pork: one package taco seasoning and one can of dark cola ie: diet pepsi, pepsi, coke. Set to low and leave until the morning)

Remove pork from crock pot and shred. At this point you can store the shredded pork up to three days in the refrigerator until read to use) discard juice.

When ready to make carnitas, add shredded pork to:

1 can enchilada sauce (i use mild)

1/4 small finely diced onion

Simmer on low 10 minutes.

Spicy Slaw:

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup real mayo

(you can use light on these)

2 T Louisiana hot sauce

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/4 tsp cracked pepper

1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 pkg of shredded Cole slaw

Mix all well together

Construct your taco with a soft shell, seasoned pork, spicy slaw and you can add your own other toppings such as shredded cheese, salsa, tomatoes, avocado ect. I like ours just with the meat and slaw.

Ham and Cheese Sprials

Are these babies delish!!! They are also super quick!

 Mix in bowl:
Three tablespoons olive oil

1 T crushed garlic

2 tsp Italian seasoning

fresh cracked pepper

Roll out a refrigerated pizza dough

Brush with the olive oil mixture

layer across entire dough, thin sliced either : ham, roast beef, turkey, ect

sprinkle over it your favorite shredded cheese

and roll starting at one end using your hands to roll entire dough up into a log.

Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices using sharp knife.

Place on well greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minute or until browned @ 375* oven.

Inspiration begins.....

Inspiration is defined as something inspired, as an idea. A divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.

What inspires you? That thing that you do and with in seconds you feel as though you breathe easier, your heart feels lighter, your mind feels clear.........
Whatever it is, it's a true gift. One that you should try to do more of in your life. For me? that is being in the kitchen and using my creativity to create dishes that hopefully my family and friends will love. I love the traditions that can stem from what I love doing.

 I spent many days as a child, with my mom learning, helping, laughing in our kitchen at home. I was blessed early on to be able to spend as much time as I did with my grandmother. There were times when I would spend weeks with her during the summer when my parents went on vacation. I remember asking my grandma (whom I wanted to be just like) what time she would be getting up in the morning. She would tell me 3:00 am and I would say " well get me up with you, Ill go to work with you and help" That following morning, I remember waking up and hearing her downstairs moving around and then the door closing. I looked out the window of my bedroom and saw her walking up to the restaurant, it was still dark outside, but I knew it was her. Under the street light I could see a dark figure walking with one hand on a wagon pulling it behind her. It was her. She always took the wagon with her, carrying things she would need for the day. You see, in all my grandmas years, she never had a drivers licence. My grandpa always drove her where ever she needed to go. Why didn't he take her up to work in the mornings? I laugh as I type this because my grandma was also very independent. If it was in her power to do it herself? She did it. The restaurant or "cafe" as they called it, was only two blocks from her home. So it wasn't to far of a walk for her.

I remember that morning clearly. I jumped out of bed and tossed on my clothes, shoes and passed on the rest of the morning rituals like brushing my hair, teeth or even pausing to use the bathroom... and sprinted out of the house. I caught up with her quickly and it was funny to see the expression on her face when she noticed the ease at which the wagon became as she pushed it. I looked up at her and said "you let me oversleep, and I gotta work today!'' She laughed and said " pull this wagon and lets get moving then". That wagon was heavy to pull. But I didn't say anything about the weight of it. If she could do it, so could I.

This was exactly like my chair. Only mine wasnt red.

At her cafe, I stood there while she flipped on several ovens, lights, adjusted the heater, and got down several items and then she passed  me this old chair. It was my favorite chair. And for years, I thought it was specially made just for me. It was a bar stool looking chair. Made of metal, with a flower patterned vinyl back rest and seat. Directly under that seat was all of this stuff, and at first I thought it was the oddest looking place to store stuff. Then my grandmas pulled all that stuff out. It cascaded down into two little steps. I loved it! She pulled it up to the counter and let me crawl up there to sit. I watched as she made her coffee and took her first sip. And she asked me if I wanted some. I said yes eagerly and she poured me a half cup full. That mug ended up being mine over the years. It was brown on the outside, and nearly the same on the inside from years of coffee stains. But I loved it, almost as much as the chair. She watched me as I took my first couple of sips. Apparently she could read my expression because she asked me if I liked it. I said "yes" and  not very convincingly because she poured in a bit of milk, and a little bit of sugar and stirred it up for me. I ended up being much better. It was also our secrete because my mom wouldn't want me drinking coffee so young. Grandpa said it would stunt my growth. :)

I noticed early on that my grandmother talked less than my mom in the kitchen. Watching her work in the kitchen was mesmerizing. She was very precise and fluid in her motions. I am sure this came from years of practice and knowing the next step long before that step came. She rarely used a cookbook, I am sure that those recipes were long burned into her memory. Only occasionally did I ask questions. And it was usually "why do you roll it like that?" "why do you use that tool" and she would answer me and then go back to her work. Our conversations were not many. But I learned alot. She let me help where I could. And there was always samples. The air in her cafe was like something magical. Close your eyes and imagine, apple, blueberry, pumpkin, peach, and cherry  pies, kringla, caramel pecan rolls, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies, and then top that off with oodles of breads, dinner rolls, and biscuits. Pots of simmering stew, chicken dumplings, mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, and much more...all filling the air in this 6 room cafe.

This is not her kitchen. But this is as close I could get to what her refridgerator looked like. Some of the doors to the fridge had glass so you could see in. Others had mirrors on them.  

It felt like a dream when she would hand me the cafe keys. I loved being the one to go to the front of the cafe and use the keys to open the door. My job was not just to unlock, but to make sure the front entry was swept off and clear, the open/close sign was turned, the front light was turned on, and that the front dining section was all ready to go. This was grandpas job. He would come up to the cafe later in the morning and make sure that the tables were set and the display cases were full of desserts and the daily menu board was correctly updated. Grandma used to say that he needed to be double checked so that he didn't forget anything. Grandpa used to say that grandma was just too picky. I wouldn't really truly understand this until I got older and married myself. :)

These are her dishes that she used in her ice cream counter.

It wasn't long before the bell over the door would ring and you could hear the stomp of shoes as the farmers started coming in for their breakfast. "Good Morning Peg" or "Good Morning John." were the typical greetings after they found their favorite tables. Many of them would come in a sit together like one big family, talking about their mornings out in the fields, their crops, complaining about too much or too little rain. I used to get to put coffee on the tables for them. You know...those white Thermos's that you fill up with coffee and leave so the customers can use as much as they'd like. I would blush all morning long I tell ya. Those big men would scootch over when Id say "excuse me, I have coffee"  and they'd say stuff like "well what do we have here... a little Peg with long blonde hair" or "You know John, she makes better coffee than you do, you should have her working here more often". And they would curse too. And then get all quiet and check to see if I was around where I could hear. My grandpa and grandma would let me do just as much as I could do around there. And I was ever so eager to do it too. I loved it. And often felt like it was my own place.

The bar stools that lined the main counter where customers could eat. May would I get chewed out all of the time for spinning around and around on these babies! HAHAHAH

Today, they "cafe" still stands. The last time I was there, was when my grandma died. The then owner, who knew my grandma and grandpa from when he was little, offered to have her luncheon there after her funeral. After all, she loved that place so much. It's changed alot since I was little. But it makes me happy to see that it still stands...

Thank you so much for everything grandpa and grandma. People ask me today, where I get the drive, the inspiration, the energy to do the things that I do.... this is where it all began....

It's a Wrap!!

I love easy dishes to make. The fail proof foil dishes are spectacular in that its all in one easy, mess free, easy clean up package.
Because lord knows... I would rather not do the dishes! So here are a few of my families favorites!

Fish Foils
(ok so this is my favorite(s) not my families...my boys hate fish :)
Tilapia, Cod, Salmon, Halibut: any will do or use another fish if its what you like best.

Create a square piece of foil and spray non shiny side with pam cooking spray. Place one tablespoon of butter in the center. Place washed fish on top. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoning ie: Cajun, Northwoods, Lemon Pepper, Old Bay, ect

Add to this vegis that you have on hand ie: fresh green beans, pealed and sliced carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, canoli beans, sliced red potatoes, mushrooms,  asparagus, ect

A quick dash of salt and pepper and your good to go!

Bring the sides of the foil together and fold creating a package. Fold in the sides and seal by making a couple folds. Once your foil packet is all folded, put on cookie sheet and set into a pre heated 350* oven for 30 minutes.  One foil package for each person.

Want to skip the fish? Use chicken or pealed and cleaned shrimp. Want to skip the meat all together? Load up the veggies :)

Foiled Potatoes now this is where my boys come into play... they love love these!

Preheat your oven to 350* and prepare your foil sheets with pam spray like above and include the pat of butter.
Peel and Slice russet potatoes and slice (making your slices even thickness will result in even baking time and doneness)
On top of your potatoes sprinkle salt and pepper. Slice an yellow onion and add 3 sliced rings to the top.  Add a nice amount of shredded cheese (insert your favorite kind here) and top with chunks of crisp bacon...(you can also use turkey bacon or even ham!) and seal that puppy up! Bake for 35-40 minutes until potatoes are tender. (i usually stick a knife right thru the foil and if it slides in easily your good :)