Homemade Refried Beans & Shredded Buffalo Chicken Wraps

My favorite refried beans are the ones you get in the mexican restraunts.  They are so packed full of flavor.  The ones in the can, not so much.  This is the first time I have ever made refried beans, and I have to say it was a giant success! I will never spend money on canned beans again! 

 On the same note of things that we love, who out there loves buffalo wings?? I know Tom and I sure do!  We could eat them until we were breathing fire! (yes, that is how much we love them!)  The only problem with them, is that they are sooo high in fat.  This recipe gives you all the yumminess of buffalo wings, without the overwhelming guilt that comes with them!

So for the beans, here is what you are gonna do:

Put about 2" of dried (rinsed) pinto beans in a LARGE stockpot.  Add about 3T chicken granules, 1T galic salt, a dash of ground cumin and enough water to come about 2" shy of the top of the pot.  Crank up the heat to high, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to about medium (depending on your stove), and cover.  Let simmmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally.  You are going to have to keep adding water, as the beans will be absorbing it all. 
Drain beans, and reserve all the remaining liquid from the pot.  Put the drained beans into a large mixing bowl, and add about a cup of cooking liquid to the beans.  Using an electric hand mixer, beat on low speed, incorperating more liquid as you go.  You will want them somewhat runny, as they set up  quite a bit after mixing.  Be sure not to over mix the beans though, you do want some whole beans, and chunks in the mixture.
Serve with your fave dish (or the one below) and enjoy as much as we did!  Store in the fridge for up to 10 days. 
NOTE: this batch makes a TON of beans...you may want to put some in jars, and give to some of your friends!  I am going to try freezing some and see how they turn out...I will let you know...of course, if you have a canner, just go a head and can them.
(recipe adapted from chef-in-training.com)

For your buffalo wraps:

2 very large skinless, boneless chicken breast
1T lime juice
dash of kosher salt
1/4 C buffalo wing sauce (I like to use Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce)
1T ranch dressing
1T lowfat buttermilk
Lettuce, shredded or whole leaves
Grated cheddar cheese
Whole wheat tortillas 

Sprinkle your chicken breast with salt.  Poke holes all over chicken with either a fork or knife.  Place ckicken in a crock pot sprayed with cooking spray.  Drizzle lime juice over chicken breast.  Cook on low for about 7 hours.
When chicken is tender and cooked, put in a bowl (I like to use a pie plate) and begin to shred using two forks, and just pull the chicken apart.  In a small bowl, mix together your wing sauce, ranch and buttermilk.  Pour over chicken and mix well. 
Layer totillas with chicken, cheese and lettuce.  Wrap up and serve with a side of your homemade beans!  This dinner makes great leftovers, and very quick lunch to throw together if you are runnin out the door! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
(Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker recipe calendar)

Lovin the Chicken Life!

So far so good with the chickens!  We started out with 12...and well, we added a few more...like 11 more!  23 in total, and Im sure we will have eggs coming out of our ears once these gals start laying!  We finished to coop and out door run completely, so everything is ready for our girls once they get big enough to go outside.  The kids just love them, and Skyler has pretty much memorized the name of each breed that we have.  Black Australorp, Barred Rock, Production Rhode Island Red's, (RIR) Golden Laced Wyandotte, Buff Orpington, Silkies, Golden Sexlink and Silver Wyandotte.  (He seriously knows 5 out of the 8!)

I have found the best website in the world...it is everything chicken!  If you have chickens, or want chickens, check it out, cause it it a life saving resource!  www.backyardchickens.com if you cant find the answer you are looking for, someone (or 10 people) will answer it for you a discussion forum, designed to cater to whatever question you may have!  And you get advice from seasoned veterans!  Obviously, I am a total advocate for their site...because it is awesome!

Aside from all that rambling, here are some pics of the coop, (I still need to take pictures of the coop completely finished) and some newer pics of the chicks!  They grow so fast, I am amazed!  Only a few more weeks and they will be outside, and a few more months and we will be gettin some super fresh eggs!  I just cant wait for my first fresher than ever breakfast!

We Have Chickens!

Tom went to Wilco today to buy some new wooden stakes for our company yard signs.  When he came home, he started talking to me about how they had all these adorable baby chicks (adorable was not exactly the word he used) and that it might be cool to get some.  But then he said maybe not, it might be too much work, and probably just not right now.  Of course, I convinced him otherwise! Muahahahaha!!!  So Tom left home, and came back with 12 lil chickies!  I was so excited!  I mean, we already have a garden shed that is practically a chicken coop, (we just need to make some windows and a chicken door) and I mean, Tom is a general contractor.  It will be such a piece of cake for him to make some nests inside the coop, and an outdoor run.  Right?

Skyler was so excited when Tom brought them home!  I picked a few up, and let him pet them.  Later he told me that he just couldn't stop smiling because he was so happy!  And we "never had chickens before mommy!"  His happiness and excitement was all I needed to know that this was gonna be an awesome adventure!  I cant wait for the first egg to be laid, and to make breakfast with it!  Skyler and Caylee are going to have so much fun helping collect all the eggs from the hens, and help with feeding them.

Tom also agreed to pick up all the supplies I need to make my raised vegetable garden...Its like farm life in the city!  I will be sharing progress pics of everything form start to finish!

This is going to be such a fun summer, and I cannot wait for all of it to unfold!

Quick and Easy Gyros

So, if you hear the phrase "Quick and Easy Gyros" you are probably thinking I'm crazy, cause authentic Gyros are neither quick or easy.  Well, I'm not crazy, I just cheated a little bit.  I do not own a vertical spit, and leg of lamb is not my usual meat I pick up from the grocery store. (I'm sure you can relate!)

I can assure you that this recipe is just as delicious as the real thing, but sooo much simpler!

Here is what you will need:

Serves two

For the Gyro filling:

1/2 TBSP olive oil

4 oz high quality deli sliced roast beef (I used  3/4 lb, cause I wanted extra for later) 

3 drops Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes lemon pepper (I used 1/2 TSP)

1 dash paprika (again, I used 1/2 TSP)

1 TSP garlic powder

3 dashes black pepper (for mine, 1/2 TSP was good)

For the Tzatziki sauce:

1 whole cucumber, divided

8oz plain Greek yogurt (I like Greek Gods)

1/2 medium sized red onion, divided

1 TSP white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar cause I was all out of white, it was just as good)

1/TSP fresh dill

1/2 TSP salt

For assembly:

2 slices of any flat bread of your choice, ( you can always use you own pitas, made with my recipe listed below this one)

1 whole medium tomato, sliced, or chopped whichever you prefer

Feta cheese crumbles

Black or kalamta olives, sliced

Lettuce or baby spinach

Preparation:

For the filling:

Slice your roast beef into 1" strips, then cut down middle, cutting them in half length ways. (This probably looks like a lot of meat, but it isn't really that much after you cook it, and its so good you are gonna wanna pile it on!)

  Add your beef to a heated skillet over medium high heat with olive oil, worcestershire sauce and your seasonings.  Stir, then reduce heat to low and cook while you are preparing you Tzatziki sauce.

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
Finley dice half your cucumber and red onion.  Add your iced cucumber and 1/4 of your red to a bowl.  Add the vinegar, dill, salt, and a dash of garlic powder.  Stir to combine.

Once you are done with your sauce, remove your beef from heat.  It should be browned and caramel-y looking, but not crispy. 

Now, heat your flat bread either in the microwave for about 20sec, or in the oven.  Next, just assemble your Gyros. I did meat, Tzatziki sauce, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and cheese.  I forgot the about the olives until after I had already devoured mine.  If you don't like feta, you could always use goat cheese too.  Its not salty, but still creamy and delicious.  I put lettuce on mine, but you could do spinach too.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

Recipe adapted from tastykitchen.com

Pita Bread

This was probably the simplest bread recipe I have ever made!  They are delicious, fast (except for the rise time) and just plain awesome!

Here is how you make them:

Makes 8 pitas

3 C four

1 1/2 TSP salt

1 TBSP honey or sugar

1 packet yeast (or if from bulk, 2 TSP yeast)

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 C water lukewarm

2 TBSP olive oil, canola oil or vegetable oil

For extra flavor, I added  garlic powder, and dried dill weed, or you could use fresh too. ( I didn't put measurements up, cause I didn't measure, I just eyeballed it)

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the package to activate it.  (mine said 1/4 C warm water, roughly 110 degrees, and 1 TSP sugar, stir with a wooden spoon, and let rest for 10 minutes, then mix your remaining ingredients).  Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt and sugar.  Add the olive and 1 1/4 C water (or just the remaining cup if you used active yeast) and stir together with a wooden spoon until ingredients form a ball.  If some of the flour doesn't stick to the ball, add more water a tiny bit at a time.  However, I found that mine was still too tacky, but I didn't add more yet, cause I just kept flouring my kneading surface.

Once all the ingredients form a ball, place dough on a flat, lightly floured surface.  Knead the dough by hand for approximately 10 minutes, (if you are feeling particularly stressed out, kneading some dough for 10 minutes is a great tension reliever!) or until the dough when pressed in with your finger, the dough springs back.  Once you have achieved this, lightly coat a large bowl with olive oil.  Shape your dough into a ball, and roll the ball around inside you oiled bowl, so as to coat the dough with oil.  Now cover your bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let rest for 2 hours, (or until your dough has doubled in size) in a warm place. 

When it's doubled in size, (ooh boy, this is may favorite part!) punch down the dough to release some of the trapped gases. 

Now divide your dough into 8, somewhat equal pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a ball, cover the balls with a damp, room temperature towel, and let them rest again, this time for only 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting, pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.  If you have a baking stone, I recommend baking your pita bread on it, it cooks so evenly, and doesn't burn.  So, if you are using your baking stone, put it in the oven as soon as you turn it on to heat.  If you are using a cookie sheet, place it upside down in your pre-heating oven.
After your dough is done resting for 20 minutes, lightly flour your flat surface again, and begin rolling out your little dough balls.  You want to roll it out to about 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  If your dough isn't stretching properly, cover it back up and let it rest for another 5-10 minutes.  It is okay if they aren't perfectly round. (as you can see mine are not round at all)

Now you are ready to bake your pitas!  Open your oven, and place as many pitas as you can on your baking surface.  (If you are worried about excessive browning, you can use a spray bottle, filled with water and mist your baking surface, and the tops of your pitas, but I didn't find it necessary.  Mine were just fine.  So if you don't have a spray bottle, don't worry about it.)  Bake your pitas for 3 minutes, they will get puffy, not all mine did though, but they were just as good as the ones that did.  If you want them crispy, let them bake for an extra 3-5 minutes.  I like mine really soft, so I baked mine for about 2:30.  

Now you are done, and enjoy your pitas! Go make some gyros....I know I am tomorrow, and I will posting a recipe for those as well!

Rosemary Pretzles with Rosemary Cheese Sauce

First time making giant soft pretzels today.  I have to say it was really fun to make them, and the kids had a blast helping roll out the dough to twist.  The cheese sauce was good too, but I think next time I make this, I will add mustard to it, and give it a little tang! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Ingredients:

For the pretzels:
1 1/2 C warm water
2 TBSP light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast
3 oz unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 TSP sea salt
4 1/2 - 5C all purpose flour
2 TBSP chopped fresh rosemary
Oil, to grease bowl
3 quarts water
2/3 C baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1TBSP cold water
Coarse sea salt, (I just used regular sea salt, cause it was all I had)

For the Rosemary Cheese Sauce:
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP all purpose flour
1 C milk
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
2 TSP fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. To make pretzels: combine 1 1/2 C water, sugar, yeast and melted butter in a bowl and mix with electric mixer until combined.  Let sit for 5 minutes.

2. Add salt, flour and rosemary to the mixture (I used 4 1/2 C and it was enough) and mix on low speed until combined.  Increase speed to medium and continue kneading until dough is smooth and begins to pull away form the side of the bowl, about 3 minutes.  If dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 TBSP at a time.  Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

3. Coat a large bowl with oil, (I used olive oil) add the dough and turn to coat.  Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap, and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

4.  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.

5.  Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface.  Divide dough into eight equal parts.  Roll each piece into a long rope.  To shape into pretzels, take the right and left ends, cross over each other, then twist and press into center of the rope.  Slowing add baking soda to boiling water.  Boil pretzels in the water solution, 2 at a time for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with warmed water using a spoon.  Remove with a large slotted spatula.  Place 4 pretzels on each baking sheet, brush tops with egg mixture and season liberally with sea salt.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown.

6. Remove pretzels from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
7. To make the Rosemary Cheese sauce:  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and whisk in flour.  Pour in the milk and whisk until mixture thickens.  Stir in shredded cheese, stir until cheese is melted and smooth.  Stir in fresh rosemary and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Serve with pretzels, and enjoy!  We sure did!

Recipe courtesy of Chef Tyler Florence



Spring is FINALLY Here!

     Today was such a great day!


     The kids and I spent the whole day outside in the sunshine! Skyler and Caylee helped clean up the grass clippings from yesterday, I got some garbage moved out the soon-to-be old burn pile, (eventually it will be a raised vegetable garden) trimmed up a few bushes and trees, and took tons of pictures, and Skyler even helped with that. Parker and Jackson played in the grass for the first time, and Jackson loved it!



     I cannot wait for this good weather to continue so we can spend more quality time together outside. I plan on having the kids help me clear a spot and construct the garden bed, and then plant the seeds. It will be so much to go out there and harvest the produce that we will have growing in our very own garden! I bought carrots, onions, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and number of other vegetables. I know the kids will have so much fun helping pick them all! I will be posting progress pics of it all! 

     For now, here are some pictures of what we did today!