Joybee, What's for Dinner? : How to

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Sunday, November 1, 2015

Best of the Month September 2015

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A recap of my most popular posts from last month (September 2015).

Last month's #bestrecipes #BestoftheMonth Sept2015 [Tweet this]

First let's look back at September's best from previous years.

Best of September 2013:

Bacon Wrapped French Toast

Sweet french toast sticks wrapped in crunchy, salty bacon. A great handheld breakfast. Now has 1925 views. 35 +1s, and 8 'yum's. This is one of my most popular posts and I use it in many round-ups (like 8 Game Day Recipes, Bacon Day Round Up, and 30 Recipes for Super Bowl).

#BaconWrapped FrenchToast: #BestoftheMonth Sept2013 [Tweet this]

Best of September 2014:

Cucumber Bites

Crisp, fresh, cucumber slices on baguette spread with cheese. Now has 586 views, 34 +1, and 46 'yum's.

#Cucumber Bites: #BestoftheMonth Sept2014 [Tweet this]

Now back to this year's best of September:

Spicy 3 Beans and Rice

A spicy, one-pot, one-dish, vegetarian meal of beans and rice made with 3 different types of beans. 565 views and 86 +1s. This recipe was popular on Tumblr and re-blogged about 7 times with many likes. It was also 'Yum'ed 19 times.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: Spicy 3 #BeansandRice [Tweet this]

8 Game Day Recipes

A round-up of my favorite gameday recipes. From drinks to breakfasts snacks and meals there is something for everyone. 505 views and 62 +1s.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: 8 #GameDayRecipes [Tweet this]

Beer Cheese Nacho Sauce

A spicy cheese sauce made with beer. Great as a dip, on nachos, tacos, or veggies. 485 views, 38 +1s, and 9 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #BeerCheese NachoSauce [Tweet this]

How to Roast Garlic

A simple tutorial on how to roast garlic. A repost of my original from February of 2013. 416 views, 83 +1s, and 1 'yum'.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: #Howto RoastGarlic [Tweet this]

Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad with Smoked Salmon & Feta

Cucumber and Tomato Dill Salad: A light and fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a lemon dill vinaigrette then topped with smoked salmon and feta.

A light and fresh salad with cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a lemon-dill vinaigrette then topped with smoked salmon and feta. 341 views, 51 +1s, and 4 'yum's.

#BestoftheMonth Sept2015: CucumberandTomatoDill #Salad [Tweet this]

My best of the month September from previous years:

Best of the Month September 2014

Best of the Month September 2013

Linked to: 2 Cup, LouLou Girls, Tickle my Tastebuds, Wake up, Wonderful, Full Plate, Freedom, Foodie Friends, Pretty Pintastic, Show off, Best of the Weekend

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Monday, September 28, 2015

How to Roast Garlic

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A simple tutorial on how to roast garlic.

Re-post of original from 2/27/13 121 views updated: pics, minor editing, tweetables, and similar posts.

Roasted garlic is a must have for certain dishes. It smells and tastes fantastic. I love the smell so much I tell my husband (jokingly...mostly) I want to use it as perfume (he's all on board for that he loves the stuff too). Roasting softens the garlic, adds a sweetness, and enhances the flavor. It's a great addition to bread (such as Potato Garlic Bread), sauces, hummus, and, of course, makes the best garlic bread (I will post about garlic bread soon--I did, but now that post needs updating too). Here is my way to make roasted garlic.

Let's bottle Roasted Garlic smell as perfume [Tweet this]

Start with a whole head of garlic, or just a few cloves (my opinion is more is better, I love roasted garlic). Using a serrated knife or kitchen shears, cut off the bottoms of each clove. Some people keep the whole head of garlic intact and cut off the hard bottom piece, but I find that I end up wasting too much garlic that way.

More is better with Roasted Garlic [Tweet this]

Place the cloves of garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil (no need to peel the cloves) and drizzle or spray on some olive oil (you don't need much, about a teaspoon or less). Fold the foil around the garlic and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes (I use a toaster oven for this, no need to heat up the big oven for a small packet of garlic).

After about 15 minutes, you will start to smell roasted garlic but keep it in the oven the whole time until it softens. (This is my favorite house freshener. I just have a small apartment and it makes the whole place smell great. I joke with my husband that I'm going to rub some roasted garlic behind my ears like perfume...I love this stuff and my husband does too.) Remove from oven, or turn the heat off, and let cool until it is able to be handled. Then open the foil packet.

Roasting garlic makes the whole house smell great. [Tweet this]

The garlic should be soft and slip out of the papery peel with just a squeeze on the top of the clove. The soft garlic can be easily mashed once it is out of the peel and is ready to be added to any recipe.

Enjoy.

For recipes using roasted garlic check out:

Simple Pasta Sauce

Healthier Garlic Aioli

Potato Garlic Bread

Linked to: J&J, 2 Cup, Lou Lou, Tickle my Tastebuds, Wake Up, Wonderful, Whimsy, Freedom, Foodie Friends, Showoff, Pretty Pintastic

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Monday, July 6, 2015

How to Make Roasted Red Peppers

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A simple tutorial on how to roast sweet red bell peppers at home.

Re-post of original from 1/7/13 (90 views 1 +1) updated pictures, edited for content and grammar, pinnable image, tweetables, other post/recipe links.
I love roasted red peppers. I put them on homemade pizzas, sandwiches, in sauces and eat them by themselves.

Roasted Peppers make a great addition to meals & antipasti. [Tweet this]

Roasted red bell peppers are expensive to buy so I make them myself. It's messy, but the results are amazing.

Roasted Red Peppers are inexpensive when homemade. [Tweet this]

This tutorial is for people, like me, who do not have gas stoves (apparently you can char the pepper skins directly over the flame).

Start with whole, clean red bell peppers.

You can roast just 1 or as many that will fit on your baking sheet. Place them in the oven as close to the broiler as possible and broil for a few minutes until the skin chars, flip the peppers and repeat on all sides. (I used my toaster oven because my regular oven broiler has been broken for a while. It worked wonderfully and I set the timer to the dark toast picture and it was the perfect time.)

As the peppers char they will blacken, the blacker and more burnt looking the skin the better (this adds great flavor and makes the skins easier to peel off). Take out of the oven and immediately place the hot peppers into a zipper bag and seal (sometimes I use a Tupperware). Allow peppers to sit and steam for at least 1 hour until they are cool enough to handle.

Now for the messy part. Using your hands and a knife or fork, pull off the stem and squeeze out the seeds. Then begin to peel the charred skin off the peppers (the knife or fork helps pull up the skin so you can get your fingers under it to peel).

Once peeled, cut or slice the pepper into pieces of desired size or leave whole and place into a jar or Tupperware. Cover with olive oil and store in the refrigerator or use right away. I have kept these in the fridge for up to a week, but they will probably be eaten long before that.

Enjoy.

Use Roasted Red Peppers in these recipes:

Roasted Pepper

Salsa

Diced tomatoes and basil to top thinly sliced ciabatta toast with a meat and cheese platter. Great as an appetizer and filling enough for a meal.

Bruschetta and Antipasto

Simple Pasta

Sauce

Linked to: 2 Cup, Treasure Box, Lou Lou Girls, Tickle My Tastebuds, Wake Up, Full Plate, FunSummerFinds, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend

Follow Joy Bee's board Joybee Whats for Dinner blog posts on Pinterest.

Monday, May 4, 2015

How to Make Mexican Chorizo

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A tutorial that shows you how to turn ground pork into chorizo with some fairly common spices.

When I lived in Houston, TX there were a ton of small, family owned Mexican grocery stores. Chorizo was so easy to find as well as dried chilies, and pre-marinated fajita meat. Now that I live in Hawaii, Mexican groceries are harder to find but I have Chinatown with new flavors and foods to explore. While I love experimenting with new food sometimes I like to revisit old comforting food and recipes. So when I wanted to make a dish that needed chorizo I set out to figure out how to turn ground pork (easily found in Chinatown) into chorizo. I found this recipe and was happy to note I had all the spices I needed.

Turn ground pork into chorizo [Tweet this]

What better recipe to repost for Cinco de Mayo. I hope this inspires you to try making your own chorizo.

Mexican Chorizo

Ingredients:
(recipe from Honest Cooking: Authentic Homemade Mexican Chorizo)

1 pound ground pork
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt (coarse salt)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Place the ground pork in a large bowl while you combine the spices. You can use 2 Tbsp Ancho chile powder in place of the paprika and cayenne, but I did not have Ancho chile powder.

Sprinkle the spice mix on top of the ground pork and pour in the vinegar. Then get your hands in there and mix until all the spices are evenly incorporated. I keep latex gloves in my kitchen for activities like this so I don't make too much of a mess with porky paws (they're also are handy when cutting up hot peppers).

#Kitchentip use gloves to avoid porky paws [Tweet this]

Now you have chorizo. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld or wrap and freeze. I separated half out to freeze and used half in my Black Beans and Rice.

If freezing separate into whatever size portion you like (this is 1/2 pound), wrap in plastic wrap and put in a zipper bag. Just thaw and use when ready. I plan to use my frozen 1/2 pound in Taco Salad.

Enjoy.

Repost of origial from 9/16/13 added new cover pic, 'check out' pics/links, click to tweet, minor editing.

For recipes using chorizo check out: