Blueberry Jam

My mom was recently in town and brought me some jam she made. I LOVED how simple this is to make! You can puree the blueberries if you want a smoother consistency or leave it more chucky like we did. Either way it’s fresh and couldn’t be easier to make.

Blueberry Jam
(Adapted from Real Simple)

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5 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Mash with a potato masher or wooden spoon until the berries have released their juices.

Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to containers and refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 1 year.

Creamy Jalapeno Dip like Chuy’s

Houston has some great restaurants and one of my favorites for Tex-Mex is Chuy’s. They have this amazing jalapeno ranch dip that they bring out with their salsa. I admit I hold myself back from drinking this stuff, but boy is it good! I’ve seen several recipes online for copycat ones, but this one comes from my neighbor who made it taste the closest to Chuy’s. It should be a little thinner and I think that comes with blending the heck out of it. If you need to loosen it a little add some milk or buttermilk.

Creamy Jalapeno Dip like Chuy’s

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16 oz sour cream
1 packet of ranch mix
cilantro, to taste
1 garlic glove
2-4 jalapenos (depending on how hot u want it)

Put all ingredients in a blender. For the cilantro, just put a bit in at a time and taste it.

Tostada Cups

With the holiday’s fast approaching, I thought I would share one of my favorite ways to present appetizers. These tostada cups are really sturdy and look a lot better than those store brand chips. They’re really easy to make ahead of time too and then fill them the day of your party. I used them during the rice festival for my black bean and corn rice filling and I was shocked at how big of a hit they where.

Would love to know what you would fill yours with!

Tostada Cups

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flour tortilla
cooking spray

Spray both sides of the tortilla with cooking spray and cut into wedges. Press wedges into muffin cups with points sticking out.

Bake at 450 degrees F. for about 5 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Hungarian Paprika Chicken

I really like Eva Longoria’s book, but I have to say this recipe didn’t grab me 100% it tasted like a stroganoff and really bland. As long as you add a bunch of Mrs. Dash, Cajun seasoning or something to it then it’s edible just not my favorite. Probably doesn’t help that we aren’t big stroganoff fans in our house.

Hungarian Paprika Chicken
(Adapted from Eva’s Kitchen by Eva Longoria)

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2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size cubes
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 bell peppers, preferable 1 each. green, red, yellow and orange, cored and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 pound egg noodles
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
16 ounces sour cream
¼ cup all-purpose flour, or as needed

In a Dutch oven or other large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the chicken. Cook until slightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the paprika, salt and pepper and stir to coat the meat.

Stir in the peppers and tomatoes.

Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes; the vegetables and chicken will have exuded their liquid to create a fragrant, bubbling stew.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain thoroughly, return to the pot or a bowl, and toss with the butter. Put aside and keep warm.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and flour until smooth (for a thicker stew, add more flour).

Stir this mixture into the simmer stew, one large spoonful at a time.

Bring it all just to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve hot over the buttered egg noodles.

Chocolate Vodka Martini

Starting the week off with a cocktail sounds good to me haha. My picture didn’t want to rotate either so I’m not drunk yet I promise! Hope ya’ll had a great weekend! My schedule seems to be slowing down a little which is good, I need to get in rice mode and start coming up with some recipes. Rice festivals start at the end of September so looks like we’ll be eating lots of rice the next couple of weeks. Lucky for ya’ll I have non rice items for the next couple weeks lined up.

Chocolate Vodka Martini
(Adapted from lovetoknow.com)

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2 ounces chocolate liqueur (such as Godiva chocolate liqueur)
1 1/2 ounces vanilla flavored vodka (such as Stoli Vanil)
Chocolate shavings and sugar, to garnish

Blend the chocolate liqueur and vanilla vodka in an ice filled cocktail shaker.

Pour into a martini glass that has been rimmed in sugar

Garnish with chocolate shavings

*Note: You may substitute regular vodka for the vanilla flavored type in this chocolate martini.

Oat-y-licious Wheat Bread

On a recent hunt to lower my hubby’s borderline cholesterol I’ve been doing a lot of research to control it more with the foods we eat rather then starting medication. Oatmeal is a great simple ingredient to try and eat daily if you can. It can be added to a number of things such as cookies, pancakes, shakes, etc. My neighbor’s husband is having the same struggle, except the problem she has is everyone in their house hates oatmeal and gags at the texture of it. Here’s an easy way to sneak in oatmeal without the oat-y texture. Try oatmeal flour, you can substitute it in most of your recipes that use flour just the same as you would wheat flour. This recipe comes from the back of the container the oat flour came in and I was surprised how simple and yummy it was. You don’t have that oat taste it seemed more like a whole wheat bread to me.

Oat-y-licious Wheat Bread
(Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill)

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1 cup Warm Water (110°F)
2 Tb. Butter, melted
2 Tb. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1-1/2 cups Org. Hard White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup White Flour, Unbleached
1/2 cup Oat Flour
2 tsp. Yeast, Active Dry

Place warm water and sugar in large bowl; sprinkle yeast on top.

Let stand for 5 minutes to proof. In a separate bowl, combine flours and salt and mix well.

Add melted butter to yeast mixture, followed by the flour mixture.

Stir to combine and place on flat surface for kneading. Knead for 5-8 minutes, until dough is elastic.

Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.

Shape dough and place into a greased loaf pan.

Cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting.  Makes 1 loaf (12 slices).

Fettuccine with Yellow Squash and Parmesan-Lemon Cream Sauce

This is one of those dishes that are really light and take advantage of the fresh veggies you can find at the market. We really loved this dish. The basil pasta added a hint of basil, but didn’t overwhelm the other flavors of the dish.

Fettuccine with Yellow Squash and Parmesan-Lemon Cream Sauce
(Adapted from Kelsey Nixon)

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1 recipe fresh pasta dough with spinach puree, cut into fettuccine, recipe follows, or 8 ounces dried fettuccine I used basil pasta click HERE for recipe
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus Parmesan curls or more grated cheese, for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh Pasta Dough
2 cups flour
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, and cook the fresh fettuccine pasta until just tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Return the pasta to the pot.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and season with salt, and pepper.

Add the yellow squash and sauté until almost tender.

Add the lemon zest and continue cooking for 1 more minute.

Add the white wine, and scrape up the pan releasing any dry bits on the bottom.

Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, lemon juice, and reserved cooking liquid.

Bring to a simmer and continue cooking until the sauce is creamy and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.

Season the sauce with salt, and pepper, to taste.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and serve. Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese.

Spinach Pasta Dough (green hue): Blanch 8 ounces (about 3 cups) spinach leaves. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Press the spinach puree through a small strainer or chinois, removing the liquid before mixing with the eggs. Add 3 tablespoons spinach puree to the eggs before mixing. If the dough feels too sticky, add additional flour until a soft, silky dough is achieved.