Favorite Recipe Friday: Guacamole

I grew up thinking I hated guacamole. I didn't like avocados, and any guacamole I'd ever had at a Mexican restaurant was sickly brown-green and tasted disgusting. This might have had something to do with the quality of the Mexican restaurants I frequented, but I digress.

So around the time I was pregnant with my first child, my mom started making homemade guacamole. I was highly skeptical, but I tried some to be polite, and I fell in love. It was amazing! The perfect balance of flavors, saltiness, everything. It was perfect. I swear it tasted green (I also swear I don't usually go around tasting colors). I knew I had to start making it for myself. I made it by hand, mashing the ingredients together with a pastry blender, but the texture was chunkier than I really liked, and it was waaaay too time-consuming for someone with a baby who wanted to be held all the time. So one day in Wal-Mart I saw a food processor on clearance for $30, and my love affair with guacamole has continued unhindered. Except when the food processor is dirty because I forgot to wash it. This happened a lot before we got a dishwasher.

Anyway, this recipe can be scaled up or down as desired; the quantities below are the small size I make for myself and my daughter to eat. It can be made by hand if you like a chunkier texture, or in a food processor if you like it smooth. You can even add tomatoes if you want. I know some people like them in guacamole, but I have a hate/hate relationship with tomatoes in their basic form, so I leave them out.

Guacamole

2 overripe avocados (You want them a little soft. Not super squishy, because then they're usually bruised)
1 T. minced garlic (I like a lot of garlic)
1 T. lime juice
1 T. dried cilantro
1 t. salt
1 slice onion
1/4 Anaheim pepper (optional; since my daughter started eating this with me, I usually leave it out)

Slice the avocados in half, cutting around the pit. Remove the pit and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Combine avocados and all other ingredients in food processor and process until desired texture is reached

If processing by hand, mash all ingredients together in large bowl using fork, potato masher, pastry blender, or other tool  until desired texture is reached.

To keep guacamole from turning brown , pat it down smoothly in the bowl and make sure there are no air pockets (air is what makes it turn brown; stupid oxidization). Take a piece of plastic wrap and press it down gently into the surface of the guacamole, making sure there are no air pockets under the plastic.

What's your favorite online recipe storage tool?

I'll admit, when it comes to recipe storage, I share the love. I have recipes saved in my email. I have a Google Documents folder full of recipes. And I have accounts with at least three online recipe sites that I can remember right off the top of my head. But there's one site that I use more than all of the others combined:

Allrecipes.com

I love Allrecipes for a lot of reasons. Let me count the ways

1. Membership is free! You can buy a "supporting membership" if you're so inclined, and honestly, I probably will at some point, but it's not really necessary in order to use most of the great functionality. The only thing I'd like to do that I can't do with the free membership is to save "custom versions" of recipes.

2. Flexibility! I can save recipes from their site. I can also enter my own personal recipes, or save links from other sites. If I want to be super meta, I can even save a note reminding myself which print cookbook or magazine a favorite recipe is in, if I don't want to take the time to enter it in the site.

3. The app. I don't have an iPhone. I'd love to have an iPhone, but then my daughter would forget what my face looks like because I'd be on the Internet all. the. time. I know this about myself. What I have is an iPod touch, which allows me to have limited functionality without having to pay through the nose for a (no longer unlimited--thanks a lot, AT&T) data plan.

But anyway, I shelled out the $2.99 for the pro version of the Allrecipes app, and it is great! I can take my shopping list to the grocery store, even if there's no wifi, but where the app really shines is in the kitchen. I can access online recipes without running back and forth to my computer every 2 seconds, or shanghaing my long-suffering husband into reading the recipe to me. Even if the recipe is on a different site, and I've just saved the link, it archives the link inside of the app and opens it there. It's amazing and I love it. You can get more info on the app at this page, or in the iTunes store.

I'm sure there's more to love about Allrecipes, but those are my top 3. Do you use an online tool to store your recipes? Which one is your favorite?

Strawberry Lemonade - New by Me

Sunday I had company coming over. The husband and I had decided before Christmas that we needed to stop buying pop (soda for those of you in different regions) because a) it was bad for us, b) it was expensive, and c) our toddler daughter is fast approaching the age where she will no longer take "This is Mommy's/Daddy's, you can't have it" for an answer, and we don't want to start her down the road of caffeine addiction when she still hasn't turned two. So, no pop in the house.

But company was coming. And I wanted something sweet to drink and to serve them, but not something full of powdered chemical bleck. So I fiddled around, looked up some recipes online, and came up with the following, which worked surprisingly well.

Strawberry Lemonade


1-2 c. fresh or frozen strawberries (I had frozen, because it's January)
1 c. lemon juice
1-1 1/2 c. sugar or other desired sweetener (adjust to taste)
water

In a blender or food processor, process strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar until well combined. Pour mixture into a 2 quart pitcher and add water to fill line. Stir well to dissolve. Serve cold.

Conclusion: Yummy! The seeds from the strawberries give it a bit more substance than you're used to having in lemonade, but once you get used to your drink having a texture, you don't even notice it, and this way you're getting the fiber from having actual strawberries. It was a lovely pink color in the pitcher, too: I'll try to take a picture next time I make this. I can't wait to try this with a mixture of fruit: Strawberry-Peach Lemonade, Strawberry-Mango Lemonade, etc.

Have any of you ever given up pop or other unhealthy drinks? Did it last?

Turkey Taquitos

This week's new recipe is Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I love, love, LOVE the taquitos you get in a box for like $5 in the freezer section (okay, I'm sure these days its more like $7, since I haven't allowed myself to buy them for a long time) but they're so full of processed crap I just can't justify putting them into my body. I'm sure the fried ones at Mexican restaurants are just as bad for me, but at least there I don't have to look at the ingredients list :).

I did modify the recipe a little bit. I had most of what I needed, but I made a few substitutions/omissions. The big one was to use cooked turkey instead of chicken, because I had a ridiculous amount left over from cooking a turkey breast in the slow cooker. Below is my modified recipe:

Baked Turkey Taquitos

1/4 c. (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 T. lime juice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T. dried cilantro
2 c. shredded cooked turkey
1 c. grated pepper jack cheese

approximately 20 small corn tortillas
cooking spray
salt

If cooking right away,  heat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. I forgot to use cooking spray on the foil, but it didn't seem to matter.

Mix cream cheese, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cilantro, turkey, and cheese in a small bowl until well combined. At this point, you can refrigerate the filling. (I had guests coming over, so I prepped the filling ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge for about 5 or 6 hours).

Microwave 2-3 tortillas at a time between damp paper towels for 20-30 seconds (my microwave is weak, so it took 30 seconds). Spread a small amount of filling in a line on the lower third of the tortilla (see the original recipe for pictures, since my camera is broken) and roll them up tightly. Lay them on the cookie sheet, seam side down, and make sure they don't touch. I had trouble keeping mine tightly rolled; they tended to relax once I put them on the pan. Anyone know a solution for this? It didn't affect the flavor, but it made my borderline OCD self unhappy.

Anyway, once you've filled a pan, spray them with cooking spray and sprinkle salt over the tops. The original recipe calls for kosher salt, but I found that the coarse grains tended to bounce right off instead of sticking, so I used regular table salt. Then bake them for 15-20 minutes, or until the ends are golden brown and crispy. (15 minutes in my oven, so you might want to check them around 12 minutes or so).

Conclusion: Delicious!!! The picky eater in me wants to point out that only the ends were crispy, while the middles were not, but that made my toddler happy (she broke them in half, ate the middles, and then shoved her finger through the crispy ends so she could wear them like a ring). These tasted a lot like the junk-food-in-a-box taquitos, but were full of yummy real food goodness. And they were baked, not fried! I had them with sour cream, my husband dipped his in homemade salsa, and the friends we had over for dinner took turns with the salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I was skeptical about using the pepper jack cheese, because I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy foods, but they weren't spicy at all (as we could tell, because my toddler ate them without complaint, except for the crispy bits)

As you can see from the picture, a couple of them split open while cooking, but that didn't keep them from being devoured. Next time I may make a double batch and pop half of them in the freezer to test out how well they taste after being frozen. 

What's your favorite guilty pleasure junk food? Do you have a healthier homemade version that makes you less guilty?

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole - (Late) Favorite Recipe Friday

Wow, I really suck at this blogging thing, huh? Mea culpa. In my defense, the circumstances that had me out of the house from 6 am to 8:30 pm yesterday are fairly rare. It's not every day that I go directly from work to an ultrasound appointment an hour and a half away. And call me crazy, but I feel guilty blogging on my work time (assuming I'd even get the chance)

Enough excuses! Today's Favorite Recipe is wonderful winter comfort food, and can be easily vegetarianized, if that's your thing. If you live in the South, this will probably remind you of what older ladies like to call "funeral potatoes." This would probably convert to the crock-pot fairly easily, but I haven't tried it yet.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

1 pkg shredded hash brown potatoes (I think the packages I usually get are 28 oz.)
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (I highly recommend sharp white cheddar)
2 10.5 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup (you can substitute other "cream of" soups if desired)
16 oz. sour cream
8 oz. chopped ham (optional)
4 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not the stuff in a can)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl (really large) mix all ingredients except Parmesan. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until mixture is bubbly around the edges and Parmesan is all melty. Eat hot. Reheat leftovers for as long as they last (good luck :)

For our family of two adults and one toddler, we usually get about 1 to 2 meals worth of leftovers out of this, depending on how starving we are.

Broken Camera Alert (and a new feature!)

So Tuesday my 19-month-old daughter decided that pulling on the lens of our digital camera was a great idea. The camera now refuses to turn on; just makes unhappy grinding sounds when I push the button. I will attempt to make alternate photo arrangements, but the blog may be photoless for a bit.

In other news, tomorrow I plan to start a feature I'm probably going to call Favorite Recipe Fridays. I'll share one of my tried and true recipes, along with any tips I've learned for streamlining the process.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Cups, Part Two

I finished baking the rest of the biscuit cups this evening. Through a little trial and error, I determined that if you roll or pat the dough to about 1/8" thick and cut it out with a large biscuit cutter (about 2 or 2 1/2 inches diameter) you can then stretch it out so it fills most of the muffin cup. They shrunk a little after baking, but that let me eke a few more out of the remaining filling. I couldn't quite manage the full two dozen, but I'm pretty sure that was because I used too much dough and filling on the first batch. I think now that I have experience with this recipe, it will go a lot smoother next time.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Cups

For my first recipe of 2011, I decided to make Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit Cups. I wanted something to reheat for breakfasts before school, and I needed something high in protein, since I worry about not getting enough protein while I'm pregnant.

I used the recipe almost as written, with only a few minor changes. I used 4 oz. of cream cheese instead of 3, because I couldn't find a 3 oz. package, so I cut an 8 oz. block in half. I used 1 c. of whole-wheat flour and 1 1/2 c. of all-purpose flour. I thought about adding veggies for more healthfulness, but money's kind of low after Christmas, so I wanted to use what I had available. Also, I didn't feel like having veggies for breakfast. Sue me.

So first, I cooked the bacon. In order to speed the process, I cooked it on a foil-lined pan in the oven for about 25 minutes at 375. I pulled it out when the ends were starting to crisp. This was my first mistake. I should have waited until almost the whole slices were crisp. I ended up having to tear the bacon rather than crumble it, which took more time.

It looked delicious, though. Tasted good, too.

Then I mixed the biscuit dough, and the filling. I ran into trouble pressing the dough down into the muffin cups. I had trouble with it getting too thin on the bottom, and tearing, and after tasting the finished product, I know it was too thick all over. I should have rolled it out, cut circles, and pressed them down into the cups. It probably wouldn't have taken much longer, and it would have been more uniform.

When I poured the filling into the biscuit cups, I was following the original recipe recommendation of 1/4 c. of filling. I don't know how big the original cook's muffin cups were, but mine overflowed with 1/4 c. 1/8 c. was much closer. You can see the overflow below.

The recipe makes 2 dozen, but I stopped after the first dozen were baked. I needed to clean my pan, the whole process had already taken almost 3 hours, including cooking the bacon, and I was tired, so I just stuck the remaining dough and filling in the fridge.

Conclusion: These were yummy. As previously mentioned, the biscuit crust was a little thick, but the recipe was very tasty without any added spices, salt, pepper, anything. The bacon and the super sharp cheddar I used for the cheese added plenty of saltiness. I liked the fact that I made the biscuit dough and knew what was in it, although it did add to the prep time.

My main problem with this recipe was the time consuming-ness. If I make this again, what I will probably do is cook the bacon one night, and put it in the fridge for later crumbling, prep the biscuit dough on another night, roll out and cut in circles, then put them in the fridge, and do the assembling and baking on a third night. For a weekend, it's not too bad, but there's no way I'd have time to do it on a weeknight after school.

Edited to add: See the next post for what I learned when I cooked the rest of the dough and filling

So there you have it! One week and one recipe down, 51 more to go.

The Resolution

Hi, my name is Sarah, and I'm a hoarder.

I hoard recipes. Computer folders, Google Docs, email folders, and cookbooks full of recipes I've never, ever used. I look at them sometimes, and then I go back to my standard rotation of about 20 recipes that are safe, simple, and familiar.

So for 2011, I have a resolution. I will try at least one new recipe per week in 2011. Probably. Maybe. If I don't get intimidated by my piles of recipes and decide to go hide in a corner and play World of Warcraft. We'll see how it goes.