Best of the Month February 2015

A recap of my most popular posts from February 2015.

This month (February) I added a most pinned widget to the header of my blog.  I must say, it's pretty cool.  Blogger doesn't have an already prepared widget so I had to look through Pinterest, find my most pinned pictures, then write the html for this widget.  I used many different websites to get instructions to put it together and whenever I had a question I just googled it.  I'm super excited about my results and it seems to be useful.  The goal is to keep visitors interested and on my site longer (once I get better with analytics I'll let you know if it's working).  Most importantly I love the way it looks and I'm proud I made it myself.

I'm still posting to link parties regularly and to google+, facebook, and twitter. I'm gaining followers on all platforms and my page views are increasing.  I'll never know everything about blogging, it changes so much, but I'm getting more familiar with many aspects.  Most importantly I'm still having fun.

Now on to the best of the month:

Last year's most viewed of February:

Baked Potato Salad

A potato salad side dish made with baked red potatoes, celery, and dill.  Now has 219 views and 44 +1s.

#Bestofthemonth February: Baked Potato Salad -Last years best of February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Now this February's most viewed:

How to Make a Great Baked Potato

Baked potatoes are a simple and tasty side to any meal. They can even be a great meal all on there own. 356 views and 21 +1s.

How to Make a Great #BakedPotato | #Bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb

Delicious lamb leg roast seasoned with herbs and spices. Makes a great holiday, or romantic, dinner. 327 views and 37 +1s.

Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Meatball Calzones

Hot gooey cheese and meatballs folded inside a soft and chewy pizza crust. 300 views and 70 +1s.

#Meatball #Calzones | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Lamb Salad

 

A green salad topped with leftover Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb, olives, tomatoes, and feta. 290 views and 39 +1s.

#Lamb #Salad | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Rye Yeast Rolls

Soft and fluffy yeast rolls made with rye flour, onions, and caraway seeds. 289 views and 56 +1s.

#Rye #YeastRolls | #bestofthemonth February via @joybeewhatsfor [Tweet this]

Check out last year's best of February:

Linked to:  Show Off, Best of the Weekend, Pretty Pintastic, Treasure Box, 2 Cup, LouLou Girls, Teach Me, Tasty, Tickle my Tastebuds, Full Plate, Cook Craft Share, Freedom, FoodieFriends

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Best of the Month October 2014

A recap of my most popular posts from the previous month, October 2014.

I've passed 100,000 total page views on my blog.  Pretty cool (I think).  Now my next goal is 1 million.  I'll get there slowly but surely.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and will have a great/delicious holiday season.  I cooked a turkey this year for just my husband and me and we've been eating leftovers since.  The only bad thing is that a 10 pound turkey didn't leave enough leftovers.  I was excited about using leftovers in new and creative ways but my husband and I haven't gotten tired of eating them yet.  I think we are gonna try to buy another turkey after the holidays when hopefully they'll be on sale.  Then maybe I'll get a chance to get some pictures and posts bout turkey.

Now for this month's most viewed:

Loco Moco

White rice, smothered in brown gravy and a beef patty, topped with a fried egg.  The Hawaiian breakfast of champions. 438 views and 45 +1s.

Last year's most viewed recipe of October was:

Slow Cooker Roast Beef Sandwiches

Beef roast slow cooked in broth and beer until tender then placed on a baguette and topped with melted cheese.  The cooking liquid can be used as a dipping sauce.  It now has 1259 views.

Back to this year:

Spiced Eggplant & Mushrooms Sandwich

Spiced eggplant and mushrooms wrapped in a warm pita with hummus and veggies.  An easy meatless sandwich with Mediterranean flavor.  364 views and 34 +1s.

Chicken and Black Bean Salsa Nachos

Crunchy tortilla chips layered with leftover rotisserie chicken, black bean and corn salsa, and shredded cheese.  322 views and 47 +1s.

Green Lasagna

A meatless lasagna layered with green vegetables, cheese, chickpeas, and pesto.  315 views and 131 +1s.

Habanero Hot Sauce

A ridiculously spicy and simple hot sauce made from habanero peppers.  296 views and 26 +1s.

If you would like to see the rest of last year's Best of October click on the picture below:

Enjoy.

Linked to:  TYSH, Cook Craft Share. Full Plate, Eat Create Party, Freedom, foodie friends, Snickerdoodle, See ya in the Gumbo, Merry Mon


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Rice Noodle Stir Fry

This easy stir fry was made using leftovers and some Thai flavors.  It was quick and made with left over cabbage, carrots, and barbeque pork.  A very tasty last minute meal.

A few days ago, in China Town, I found brown rice noodles.  They were very thin and I have never tried brown rice noodles, so I picked them up.  Since I had them on hand I used them in this recipe.  They were very good and supposedly more nutritious than regular rice noodles.  The noodles only took a 5 minute soak in cool water before they were softened enough to add to the stir fry, so it was great not needing to boil any water, and it's fun to use something different.  Here is my recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced
3 carrots, julienned
1/2 red onion, sliced
about 2 cups BBQ pork, chopped bite sized
1 Tbsp dried shrimp soaked in 1/4 cup water (optional)
1/2 package rice noodles, about 100 grams

Sauce:

1 Tbsp fish sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
minced fresh or dried chilli to taste (optional)

As usual prepare everything and have it ready to go, when stir frying things move fast.  Begin to heat a 12 inch skillet, or wok over medium-medium high heat.  While pan is heating start the noodles soaking in a large bowl of tap water. When the pan is hot add about 1-2 Tbsp oil (I used veg.) and toss in the ginger and garlic. Cook while stirring for about 1 minute until it becomes fragrant then add the veggies.  Cook until vegetables begin to soften (a few minutes more) then add the drained, soaked noodles and shrimp and their soaking water (if using).  The noodles will have softened a little but will continue to soften in the stir fry.  Add the sauce and pork, at this point I added about 1/2 cup more water to help mix the noodles around.  When using noodles, I find it hard to separate them and get them mixed with the other ingredients.  So I used 2 forks to help pull the noodles apart and mix them with the other ingredients.  This is ready to serve when the liquid is mostly absorbed and the ingredients are mixed.  Makes 4 servings.

This turned out so delicious.  I love the basic Thai flavors of fish sauce and lime juice.  I did not have fresh ginger for this recipe but I remembered I had some frozen so I used that and it was perfectly fine.  The fish sauce and oyster sauce add great flavor, but I realize not everyone keeps them on hand.  You could use more soy sauce, or other flavored sauces, but if you like to make stir fries I encourage you to find some it adds such wonderful flavor.  This is very versatile, you can use any combination of vegetables you have on hand, or any meat, chicken or beef would be fine in this recipe.  You could also use tofu and make it vegetarian.  This is the joy of stir fries, they can use up just about any left over you have.  Be creative and enjoy.

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Tabouli and Greek Salad with Hummus and Pita

A healthy and fresh  Middle Eastern themed meal of Tabouli and Greek salad with pita and hummus on the side.

Tabouli is a salad traditionally made with bulgar wheat, tomatoes, parsley, mint, lemon juice, and olive oil.  I had buckwheat on hand, so I used that instead.  I have seen tabouli made with all kinds of grains and it doesn't seem to detract from this tasty salad.  The benefits of using buckwheat is that it is wheat free (for people with wheat allergies) and heart healthy.  Buckwheat isn't even a grain at all it's actually a fruit.  I just had some in my pantry so I used it and it's a bonus to get all the good nutrition from it.  For more information about buckwheat check out The Worlds Healthiest Foods.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry buckwheat
1-14oz can chicken broth, for vegetarian just use water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 clove minced garlic
15 grape tomatoes, quartered
salt to taste

The day before making the salad I cooked the buckwheat in 1 can of boiling chicken broth.  I heated the broth to a boil, added the rinsed buckwheat and reduced the heat to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes.  Most of the liquid was absorbed but there was still some in the pan.  I removed the pan from the heat and let sit for another 15 minutes until all of the liquid was absorbed.  Then I fluffed the buckwheat and refrigerated it (I did this the day before just to save some time).  Then I made a dressing with 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and about 1/2 cup olive oil, the parsley, green onions, and garlic.  To this I added the tomatoes, and the cooked buckwheat, tossed it together with some salt then let it sit in the refrigerator for a while in order for the flavors to blend.  Serves 4.

For the Greek salad  I used 1 cucumber, about 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, and 1 red bell pepper.  I chopped everything into bite sized pieces and tossed with the juice of 1 lemon, about 2 Tbsp of olive oil, about 1 tsp of oregano, and salt to taste.  Then I topped the salad with some Feta right before serving.

I served these salads with warm, homemade pita and fresh made hummus on the side.  This was a satisfying and healthy meal.  When I make Tabouli again I will add more lemon juice, more parsley, and add some mint.  It was very good the way I made it but I think it could be even better.  Most people add olives to their Greek salads, but I do not care for them so I omitted them.  If you love olives by all means add them. These are great salad recipes to know for something different from the usual lettuce salads.  Enjoy.

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Barbecue Pork with Cheddar Ranch Scalloped Potatoes and Slaw

A delicious smoked pork butt sliced thin and served with creamy, cheesy, scalloped  potatoes and a red cabbage slaw.  A very satisfying weekend meal.

There is nothing better, to me, than a pork roast sitting on the smoker all day.  I had this pleasure over the weekend.  My husband brought home a pork butt (which is actually the shoulder) and he spent all day with it on the smoker.  We didn't do anything too fancy with the pork, just put a dry rub on it and let it smoke for hours.  The rub consisted of brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and onion powder.  I made the rub a while ago so I don't remember exactly what proportions I used but that is the basic contents.  The main thing to make this great is a long slow smoke with occasional 'sopping' (brushing or spraying with a beer and spice concoction).

Since my husband manned the smoker I made the sides.  The scalloped potatoes are a pretty basic recipe that I use all the time, but I spiked it with about 1/2 cup of ranch dressing.  Here is the recipe.

Cheddar Ranch Scalloped Potatoes:

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
1 small onion, chopped small
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk, I used skim but any will be fine
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, I used mild
salt and pepper to taste
pinch habanero flakes (optional)

First I made a white sauce.  I sweat the onion until soft, in a small amount of oil or butter.  Then I added the 1/4 cup of butter until it melted and added the flour.  I stirred for about a minute or too until cooked then added the milk and ranch and habanero flakes, if using.  I kept stirring over medium low temperature until the sauce thickened and began to simmer.  Then I turned off the heat and stirred in the cheese until melted and smooth.  Finally I added salt and pepper.

Once the sauce was made, I layered an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with a layer of potatoes, then sauce, then potatoes again, finishing with a layer of sauce.  This was covered with aluminum foil and baked for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees F until potatoes were soft.  Serves 4.

The slaw was nothing fancy, but it tasted very good and the colors were pretty.

I shredded 1/2 of a small head of red cabbage, 1 carrot, and thinly sliced 4 stalks of celery.  To this I added the juice of 1 lemon, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and about 1/4 cup olive oil.  I also added some salt, pepper, and hot sauce.  Mixed it all up and let it sit for at least 1 hour.

All together this made a great evening meal.  The pork was so tender and juicy.  The potatoes were creamy and the slaw was colorful and fresh.  We will be happily eating this for another night or two.  Enjoy.

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Brats in a Blanket and Papaya Salad

This meal takes a childhood favorite (pigs in a blanket) and makes it adult food by wrapping bratwursts in a homemade roll with smoked Gouda and sauerkraut.  Served with papaya salad on the side, and mustard for dipping, of course.

 

When I was planning dinner I found a package of bratwurst in the freezer.  We had no buns or rolls so I decided to make some, and that's when inspiration struck. Why not wrap the brats in the dough and make them like pigs in a blanket?  Then I also remembered there were some smoked gouda slices in the freezer and I added  them to the recipe.  I was excited all day to make these, and they did not disappoint. Here is what I did.


Dough (a basic roll dough, that made 12 hot dog buns, cut in half)

8 oz bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 oz brown sugar
1.5 tsp yeast
1 egg
1 oz shortening
4 oz kefir or milk

Mix ingredients together until they all come together and form a ball.  Then knead (adding more flour as necessary) until dough becomes smooth and elastic, soft, and tacky but not sticky (about 6 minutes in a stand mixer longer if by hand).  Lightly oil a medium bowl, roll the dough in the oil to coat and let rise, covered, for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, cook the brats, whatever method you prefer, and let cool to room temperature.

Once dough has risen, cut into five pieces of about 4 oz each.  Roll each piece into a ball and let rest (covered) for about 5-10 minutes.  Roll each ball into an oblong shape about 2 inches longer than the brats, and about 3-4 inches wide.  Place a slice of Gouda in the center, and place a brat on top of the cheese, add as much sauerkraut, drained, as you prefer (none for me) and roll.  Place the rolls seam side down on a parchment covered baking sheet, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes.


Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 15 minutes.

I served these with Papaya salad, a Thai salad made from shredded green (unripe) papaya and some other ingredients.  Here is the recipe I used.

1 small green papaya (just a little over 1 lb)
3 Thai bird chillis
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar melted in 1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp dried shrimp
juice from 1 lime

Peel and shred the papaya. Use a mortar and pestle to mash the garlic, chillies and shrimp, then add the liquids and pour over the papaya.  Mix well and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

This dinner was great.  The rolls were soft and warm, the brats were tasty, and the Gouda added a nice creaminess.  The papaya salad was great too, I love Thai flavors and it complemented the brats nicely.  These both are keepers.  Enjoy.

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Penne with Tomatoes, Mushrooms, and Choi Sum

A vegetarian pasta dish to help us recover from Thanksgiving overload.  This dish uses up leftover grape tomatoes, while adding mushrooms and choi sum (or you could use spinach).

For those of you who do not know what choi sum is here is a picture.  I see this all of the time in Chinatown, and it's relatively inexpensive.  I have used it before in stir-fries, soups and just boiled or stir-fried as a side. I originally planned to use spinach in this recipe but, when I got to Chinatown, the spinach looked wilted and the choi sum looked fresh and crisp.  So choi sum it was, it was also $0.89/lb where as spinach was at least $1.50/lb.  I like the choi sum because it is a hardier green than spinach, maybe a good substitute in this recipe would be kale or something similarly bold and green.  Choi sum does have a distinct flavor, but it did not seem bitter, it melded nicely with the other flavors and added a little crunch and lots of nutrition.  For more information on choi sum click here.

Ingredients:

2 small onions, chopped
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 cup grape  tomatoes (leftover)
4-5 cups chopped choi sum
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup Thai basil, torn (leftover)
Few dashes red chilli flakes, optional
Salt and pepper
Penne

I started by cutting and preparing all of my ingredients.  Then, when I was ready to start dinner I started a big pot of, salted, water to boil for the pasta.  While the water was heating, I heated a frying pan, about medium-medium low, with  about 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  To this I added the onions and cooked until tender.  Then I added the mushrooms, minced garlic, and spices stirring until the mushrooms became tender and started to shrink.  Next I added the whole grape tomatoes and covered the pan for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes became soft and wrinkled.  By this time the water was boiling and I added the pasta (enough for two) and let it boil for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, I mashed the tomatoes with a potato masher to break them up, and added the choi sum.  The choi sum crested well above the pan, but I covered it and let it cook for a couple of minutes before I began to stir.  I added the balsamic vinegar and gently stirred while the choi sum began to wilt.  In no time it wilted to less than half of its original size and I added the basil and red chilli flakes (if the sauce seems too thick add some pasta water) then turned off the heat.  You can stir in some Parmesan if you like and add salt and pepper to taste.  When the pasta was done  I drained it and tossed it with the sauce.  Makes 2 servings.  Serve topped with Parmesan. 

It turned out great.  For a meatless dish it was incredibly filling and all of the flavors tasted great together.  Best of all I feel healthy, and full, after eating it.  Pastas are a great way to experiment with different foods and flavors.  Be creative and enjoy.

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Thanksgiving for Two Continued

This is part two of my thanksgiving recipes. Sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, and green beans. 

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

I was a little concerned that sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes would be overkill. However, I did not make a desert for this meal and sweet potato casserole is as good as sweet potato pie (to me). So why not? I think sweet potatoes are pretty sweet on their own so I did not use as much sugar as some recipes. I was also able to use some leftover pumpkin pie spiced sugar, from an earlier post of Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread.

3 large sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 stick butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin pie spiced sugar

Crumble topping:

1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp brown sugar

Cook sweet potatoes (you could boil or steam them; but, I baked them, at 350 degrees, in a toaster oven for 1.5 hours then scooped out the flesh when cool) and mash with butter, eggs, milk, and sugar.  Pour into a greased 8 by 8 inch baking pan.  Then, make the crumble.  Chop the pecans, by pulsing, in a food processor (or by hand) until evenly chopped.  Switch to the plastic pastry blade and add the rest of the ingredients.  pulse until evenly mixed, then pour over potato mixture.  Spread evenly and cover with foil.  Refrigerate until ready to bake.  Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 30 minutes.  Then uncover and bake for 15 minutes more or until nicely browned.

These turned out great, sweet but not too sweet, and the crumble added a nice crunch.  Leftovers make a great breakfast.

CRANBERRY RELISH

This recipe I adapted from No Cook Cranberry Orange Relish that I found on Foodista.  I did not use fresh cranberries I used Craisins, because I had them, and I changed a few other things, but the No Cook Relish was my inspiration.

1 cup craisins (dried cranberries), chopped
1 orange, the zest and juice
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger

I pulsed the Craisins, in two batches, in a food processor until chopped.  Then I also chopped the pecans.  I mixed the two in a medium mixing bowl then added the grated zest and juice from 1 orange and the grated ginger (a last second inspiration because I had some on hand).  I mixed thoroughly and refrigerated for a day before serving.

This was amazing.  The flavors were so great together, and it was so easy to make.  I highly recommend this recipe.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE (sort of)

I picked up some fresh green beans for a vegetable side.  This dish was made up on the fly.  Some bacon was cooked, to flavor the green beans, then flour added to the drippings (making a roux).  There was about 1/2 of a can of chicken broth left over so that was dumped in along with a dash of cream and cooked until slightly thickened.  Then the cleaned and snapped green beans were added to the bacon gravy and simmered for about 15 minutes.

This made a kind of green bean casserole.  That wasn't the goal at the outset, but things were just added as they were thought about and that was the result.  It turned out very good and the beans were still crunchy, which is how I like them. 

Enjoy.

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Thanksgiving Dinner for Two

A typical Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green beans, and cranberries.  This dinner was delicious and made for two, but there were plenty of leftovers. 

 

TURKEY

 

I did not want to cook a whole turkey. This may not be very American of me, but I don't like turkey that much. My favorite thing about thanksgiving is all of the sides. So knowing it wouldn't feel like thanksgiving without turkey, I made turkey drummets (part of the wing). There were 3 in the package I bought and they were pretty big. For an easy and no hassle way to cook them I used a Crockpot/Slow cooker.  After searching online I found a general consensus of how to do this.

2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 can chicken broth (use the soup can to measure)
Salt and pepper
1 tsp dried sage
3 turkey drummets (thawed)

It is a simple recipe, just put all of the ingredients in a crock pot and cook all day on low (or 3-4 hrs on high). The turkey turns out moist, and falls off the bone, and you can use the cooking liquid as gravy.

STUFFING

My favorite thanksgiving food is stuffing so I have been planning this for a while. Usually I just use the store bought bread cubes, but I make homemade sandwich bread weekly.  So I  cut whatever bread was leftover and about to go bad into cubes and dried them out in the oven at a low temp. I have been doing this for a couple of months before I saved up enough. It is a great way to use that last third or fourth of your loaf (croutons are also a great use).

5 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
3 cups bread cubes
2 eggs
1 tsp dried sage
Garlic powder, to taste
1 tsp salt
Chicken broth (enough to moisten)

Saute celery and onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, with butter in a large pan until soft. In a large mixing bowl mix the veggies with the bread, eggs and spices. Add enough chicken broth to moisten. Pour into a greased baking pan and cover with aluminum foil. This can be done a day ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to  bake. Bake in 350 degree oven (covered) for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15. This is delicious and classic, nothing fancy but still very good.

MASHED POTATOES 

 

Mashed potatoes don't really have a recipe in my family. My husband is in charge of making the potatoes, he introduced me to good mashed potatoes so he's in charge.

Growing up I always had mashed potatoes that were mashed with margarine and either skim milk, or potato water. These were fine, I knew no better and they may have been healthier but I never went back for more.

My husband's mashed potatoes are a once or twice a year treat. He mashes the potatoes with plenty of real butter an real cream. It may not be very heart health, but we don't have them often, and they are so good.

This post is getting long so I will continue this next time with my sweet potato and cranberry recipes. See ya then. Enjoy.

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