Special Post - Halloween 2013

Party Spread
Halloween is a great time of year.  It brings out a lot of creativity in people, including in the food department.  This year I attended a party at a close friend's house and we had a blast.  Everyone had cool and original costumes.  But the food was just as interesting!  The hostess made individual pizzas that had cheese in the shape of ghosts with olive bits for eyes and mouths.  She also made breadsticks into the shape of bones.  For dessert, she made "toe" cookies.  Her daughter made deviled eggs with olive "spiders" on top.  So creative!!!  I wish I had done some more research to make my food more festive.  My dishes included an antipasto platter and a dill dip in a bread bowl, delicious, but I know next year I will make my food a little more Halloween related!  Enjoy the pictures below of some of the party food!

"Ghost Pizzas" by Gail

My antipasto platter which included olives I marinated myself

Breadstick "Bones" by Gail

My dill dip in a bread bowl, a recipe my mom has made for years!

Simply Sides 8 - Dolmas

What is a dolma you might be asking yourself?  Why it is a tasty little morsel!  More specifically, a dolma is a stuffed fruit or vegetable, i.e. stuffed cabbage leaves, zucchini, tomato, or in this case, grape leaves.  A middle Eastern dish, stuffed grape leaves are DELICIOUS, although they may sound weird to those who aren't so familiar with this culinary delight.  You can commonly find dolmades on Greek menus, and as my parents were fond of Greek food while I was growing up, I have had quite a few of these in my lifetime.  

Grape leaves are stuffed with a ground beef (or lamb) and rice mixture, with a brightness from lemons and a kick from various spices.  

I have never made dolmades before, and as I am expanding my culinary prowess this year, I thought I would give it a go.  To kick it up a notch, I developed a crock pot recipe for them, so once you've assembled them, you can just set it and forget them for a few hours!

These are great for parties, make a great appetizer, and are a great (fairly healthy snack).  I hope you give them a try!

Dolmas

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz jar grape leaves (found in the olive/pickle section of your grocery store)
• 1 lb ground beef (or lamb), browned with a diced onion
• 2 lemons
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 - 2 cups of chicken broth (or beef broth or veggie broth)
• 1 cup white rice, cooked
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped fine
• 5 fresh mint leaves, chopped fine
• 1 tbs dried dill
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper (to taste, about 1 tsp of each)
• 1 onion, sliced

Directions:

Place sliced onion in the bottom of your crock pot.

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, beaten egg, parsley, mint, dill, red pepper, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.  Add in the juice of 1 lemon, mix well.  Drain and rinse grape leaves.  Take 1 grape leaf, place some of the beef/rice mixture in the middle.  Fold in the short sides, fold over one of the long sides and roll.  Place seam side down on top of onion in crock pot.  Repeat with remaining grape leaves until ground beef mixture and/or grape leaves are gone.  

Mix broth and lemon juice together.  Pour over stuffed grape leaves in slow cooker.  Turn slow cooker to low and cook 6-8 hours or place slow cooker on high and cook 2-3 hours.

Enjoy!!!

Crock*Pot Asian Chicken - Home Cooked Recipe 42

I am in love with my new Crock*Pot!!!  I have made so many dinners in it already.  It is a 7 quart Crock*Pot slow cooker, with low, high, and warm settings.  One of our new favorite household recipes is one for Asian Chicken, which is made completely in the slow cooker.  Very easy, very delicious, and you'll get some of the moistest, most tender chicken you'll ever have. I originally found the recipe on Pinterest, but adapted it for our own household preferences. See the recipe below!

Crock*Pot Asian Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup soy sauce 
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves galic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tbs red pepper flakes (less if you are afraid of spice, more if you like it spicy!)
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbs sesame seeds *optional
• 1 green onion bundle, thinly sliced *optional
• -if you like a thicker sauce, at the end of cooking dissolve 4 tbs cornstarch in 6 tbs water and add to liquid in slow cooker and cook on high 30 minutes before mixing the chicken back in

Directions:

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, place in slow cooker.  In a bowl, mix together broth, honey, soy, vinegar, ketchup, oil, garlic, onion, and red pepper.  Blend well and pour over chicken breasts.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  Remove chicken breasts, shred chicken with two forks, return to sauce in slow cooker and mix well.  Serve over rice, garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review 16 - Chuy's

I love good Mexican and Tex-Mex food.  I'm always in search of new restaurants that serve good food, and recently I was down in Kissimmee and stumbled upon Chuy's, a Tex-Mex restaurant that was founded in Austin, TX.  There are several restaurants nationwide, but only two in FL, one in Gainesville and one locally in Kissimmee.  Chuy's is a fun restaurant with interesting decor.  It is not fine dining, but their food is delicious and very reasonably priced.  Although it is too far of a drive to eat at more often, and is located in a tourist-centric part of town, it is a good find, and a place I will definitely go back to if I'm in that part of town again.  I'm actually hoping they open one closer to the metro Orlando area so I can go more frequently.

You can find Chuy's on Facebook, and they also offer take-out.  

I went to Chuy's for dinner on a Sunday night with a group of friends as it was my birthday dinner.  My date and I ordered the Chile Con Queso as an appetizer and it was cheesy goodness to go with the complimentary chips and salsa the restaurant offers.  Speaking of the salsa, I was impressed, it was fresh and tasty with a bit of kick to keep things interesting.

For my entree my date and I both ordered The Elvis Presley Memorial combo, which for just under $11 came with 3 enchiladas (cheese, beef, and chicken - although I ordered mine with beef instead of the chicken) and a beef taco, as well as a couple of large tostada chips dipped in the queso.  Plenty of food for a very good price.  We were more than stuffed when we left, but we both agreed our meals were delicious and I would definitely order it again.  What I liked was each enchilada came with a different sauce to try, all the ingredients seemed fresh and cooked well.  I also ordered a side of their Creamy Jalapeno dip, and it was DIVINE.  I put it on everything.  Get it if you go, you won't be disappointed.

Other guests at my table ordered fajitas, which they declared to have tender well-cooked meat (steak and chicken both) and lots of flavor.  Another guest ordered the Chicken Flautas, and one just the Crispy Tacos.  The only complaint about the flautas was that they needed more sauce.  I received a complimentary dessert for my birthday, a fried pastry served with a yummy honey sauce.  

The service was fast and friendly.  We had a large party, but the restaurant did a good job of accommodating us and the service was quick and efficient.

Oh and try their drink specials!  I had a house wine and it was priced well and tasty.  They offer margaritas, beers, and have a full bar.

If you're in the Kissimmee area and you're looking for a fun, well-priced, delicious Tex-Mex meal, visit Chuy's!  And check out their website for Facebook information, menu information, and more of their locations so you can visit one even if you're not from Florida!

Simply Sides 7 - Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a quintessential ingredient for picnics and BBQ's and people have many different recipes.  As crazy as it might sound, my favorite coleslaw has always been from KFC.  No matter how many recipes I've investigated, I have not been able to replicate theirs.  But NOW I have found a recipe that comes very close and my family absolutely loves.  Today I am going to share it with you, my dear readers!  

In the future I will be posting another coleslaw recipe, one for a spicy chipotle slaw, so keep a look out for that soon!

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg of coleslaw veggie mix that includes green and red cabbage, and carrots *I like to chop into a small dice with a chopper, even though it comes already shredded, but do it how you like best
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 tsp horseradish
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except first one together.  Blend well.  Fold in coleslaw veggies.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.  

Enjoy!