Kale Chips

I have been hearing a lot about kale chips lately, so while I was at the store, I decided to pick up some kale and try it. 

First I washed the kale and made sure it was super dry.  I ripped it up, and placed the pieces on a cookie sheet.  I would suggest only using the curly part of the kale, and toss the fibrous steams. 

I then drizzled the pieces with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. 

They come out very light and crisp.  They were pretty yummy, but I don’t know if I was completely sold.  Hey, they are a healthy alternative to potato chips, but I think I still prefer my kale in my mashed potatoes. 

Strawberry Pomegranate Mojito

As summer is coming… and our mint plant is going crazy… we are finding refreshing drinks to use our mint in. In addition to iced tea, we are making mojitos!

1/2 lime cut into four wedges

10-12 mint leaves

1 Tbs. sugar

1 1/2 white rum

1 diced strawberries

club soda

splash grenadine (true grenadine is actually pomegranate) If you want to leave this out, add another Tbs. of sugar.

1. take the mint leaves and put them in a sturdy cup with two of the wedges and pulverize them. We used the back of a wooden spoon.

2. add sugar, strawberries, and one more wedge of lime and smash some more.

3. Fill the cup with ice and add the grenadine and rum. Fill the remainder of the cup with club soda and garnish with the last wedge of lime, and perhaps another sprig or two of lime.

Bacon Pancakes

Oh yes….. I did.

My husband doesn’t really like pancakes… but he loves bacon. Since I was craving pancakes….. well… I added bacon (cooked it in the microwave and then put it in the batter).

all were happy :)

Epic Chili

I served this chili at my house warming and it was a huge hit. I was asked for the recipe several times, so I thought I would share. enjoy!

2 lbs ground beef

1-2 cups shredded beef (either make your own or they sell it pre-cooked)

45 oz pinto beans

16 oz black beans

16 oz kidney beans

56 oz diced tomato

6 oz tomato paste

1 onion, chopped

3 stocks celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1-2 c. corn

3 Tbs. steak seasoning

3 Tbs. chili powder

1 Tbs. worceshire

1 Tbs. chopped garlic

1 Tbs. oregano

2 tea cumin

2 tea. hot sauce, or more to taste

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. season salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. basil

1. tsp. paprika

1 tsp. sugar

optional to taste… I threw in a little

Jerk seasoning, Northwoods seasoning, Cajon seasoning, jalapenos

The beauty of chili is that you can change things up… add more of one thing and leave out simething else, and it will still be super yummy.

1. brown the meat with the steak seasoning. Drain the fat.

2. throw in the chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper and cook until the veggies start to become tender (not all the way done)

3. open all the cans and start dumping (yes liquid and all.. it will help thicken it) the beans, tomatoes, and tomato paste. stir. Add all of the seasonings and heat until it is simmering.

4. add the shredded beef and corn. Simmer for as long as you desire, but at least 15 min.

serve with the toppings you like… sour cream, onions, cheese, corn bread, French bread, etc.

you can even make this the night before and re-heat it. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will combine and get even yummier. :)

When the in-laws come to visit

This weekend Lan was replacing our door frame and asked his dad to come and help him. As always when we see them, they came baring food! Yum :) The fried rice was eaten that day for lunch and the home made egg rolls are in the freezer for a dinner this week :) They also brought with them some fruit. In the background is a branch off of their kumquat tree. Yes... the whole branch. That big spiky thing in my poorly lit slightly blurry photo isn't a hedge hog, but it is a fruit called Durian.

The outside skin is very spiky. Personally I would use gloves, but my manly husband said he didn't need them. You cut off a large section of the husk and pull it back. you can see how thick the skin is. The fruit is inside and you just scoop it out.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of fruit in there. There are large seeds coated by the fruit. Simply peal the fruit off of the seed when you are ready to eat it. We mixed some in with some vanilla ice cream, and then froze the rest in a plastic bag to be used later. (freeze it with the seeds)

Its an interesting flavor that not many people like. It has almost a savory taste. Hey if you are up for an adventure, pick one up at your local Asian store. They sell them frozen, so letting it defrost will make cutting into the thick skin much easier.

Fun Shaped Pancakes!

Don't fun shaped pancakes just make you smile!

My mom gave me this fun little pancake shaper thing. You probably have already guessed that she gave it to me for Valentine's day... and now months later I finally decided to use it. As I was using it I thought to myself... this is just a cookie cutter with an easy way to pick it up!
So that gave me an idea. Why not just use a cookie cutter and a pair of needle nose pliers? So I did. Now don't laugh... yes I know it is now spring and no longer fall... but I am a Kindergarten teacher and most of my cookie cutters are at work. So yes... I know it is a pumpkin, but hey, it will do the job. Be sure to spray it with non-stick spray before you begin, put it on the skillet and then pour in the batter. Remove the cookie cutter with the pliers before you flip the pancake and....
Bam!! fun shaped pancake without the need of an over priced silly device.

Smashberry Jam!

Smashberry Jam is perfect for moms to do with their kids, for you to do in your classroom, make and give as gifts, or just because it is so yummy!

After taking my Kindergarten class on a trip to a fruit and vegetable farm, we read the book Jamberry, and then made our own Smashberry Jam! It was so easy. I took three bags of frozen strawberries, but you could also use any other type of berries. I pored them into a big ziplock bag and we all sat in a circle passing the bag and smashing the berries. When it was all smushy and goopy, you add no cook pectin and sugar (I just guessed but you can read the back of the pectin package to be exact)

According to my package of no cook pectin I let it set for 30 minuets. We did a taste test at school, then I took the jam bag home and put it in a clean jam container. We had Open house at the end of the week so I put it out with some cookies for the families to try. It was so fun for everyone to try what we had made. I also had everyone place a strawberry on a graph to see if they liked it. The families had so much fun doing this yummy activity together.


It was such a hit that the families ate probably 2/3 of the jar. I took the rest home to enjoy with my husband. So far I have found that it is super yummy on pancakes!