Summer Kickoff (Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob)

Back by popular demand, here I am, trying to post a little something after a very long weekend of fun. Fun is exhausting. I had so much fun this weekend that I am nearly falling asleep while writing this post.  I better make with the food.

We had the perfect summer kickoff dinner tonight, grilled steaks with oven roasted corn and a big salad.  The corn was super easy, and incredibly delicious. The recipe I used is HERE but it so easy I will just spell it out for you. Oven at 400°. Shuck 6-8 rolls of sweet corn and lay them on a jellyroll sheet that has been covered on foil. Liberally salt and pepper. Place a pat of butter on each each cob, then bake for 30-45 minutes, turning twice, until a golden brown. If yoy are feeling bold add some parmesan and chopped parsley before serving. So flipping good. I am never boiling corn again. EVER.

Big House in the City (Bountiful Basket Apple Madness Part 1)

So it has been a while since I posted anything delicious. Billings participates in Bountiful Baskets, a food co-op program that allows you to get a bunch of produce for minimal dollars, and they usually have extra produce you can buy in bulk with your normal half fruit/half veggie basket.  I recently took the plunge and ordered a 38 lb box of Ambrosia apples and 12 small clam shells of blueberries. The blueberries are already frozen and bagged, but the apples will take a little more time to get through, so today we made a plan to get some apples processed and put up in a snackable format.

Thad went out and bought a mandolin (kitchen instrument, not musical) and a food dehydrator, and currently we have mangoes, blueberries and apples in the racks.  We also cored, peeled and chopped 2 bags of apples for a HUGE batch of apple butter that I put in the slow cooker this afternoon. I used THIS recipe, but I used half the sugar and added a touch of cardamom. I can't wait to report back on the results of an all day apple butter smell-a-thon.

Hello, 2015! (Overnight Blueberry French Toast)

Is it even necessary to comment on the hiatus from the posts anymore, guys?  If you know me, you know that the majority of my time not spent with my kids, my husband or my job is spent reading or drinking wine or eating, so I won't even try to make excuses for myself.  I'm a terrible blogger.  I don't make a living off of this blog.  If I did you would see a lot more of me, it's true.

The year has been pretty great so far, we have been busy since Christmas with various things.  I'm volunteering on a committee to organize a fundraiser for a local non-profit, I've been active in the PTA at Elora's school, and we managed to make a trip to Chico with the kids in January (they had SOOOOO much fun), so this year has been pretty stellar.  Then came February....

The kids have both gotten a variation of the flu this month, in the last week or so, so I've taken more time off from any job I've ever had for sick kids this month.  Not a complaint, truly, but I am grateful that I have a job that doesn't lump sick time in with paid time off, so I can keep my PTO hours to use towards things we actually WANT to do this year.  Everyone was a little under the weather for Valentine's Day this year, so last night, in the hopes that everyone would feel better today, I put together an Allrecipes item that I've been wanting to try for a while: Overnight Blueberry French Toast.  I also made another egg breakfast casserole like the ones I've made in the past (like THIS one), but the star of the show this morning was the french toast.

This recipe turns out a bread-pudding-esque pan of deliciousness.  The cream cheese makes it like a stuffed french toast, and the blueberry syrup at the end sends it into another dimension of deliciousness.  Both kids cleaned their plates, and I'm wishing I had company to help clear out the rest of the pan.  The next time I make this it will be when I have guests coming over; I have a feeling it will rock some lucky friend's socks right off.

The egg casserole I made this time had bacon, mushrooms, spinach, some leftover roasted asparagus, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and coconut oil.  Here is an artfully arranged photo of the delicious leftovers.

Today I intend to leave my windows open, enjoy the fresh air and the sun before they once again flee the coming winter weather, and enjoy time with my little germ-swillers.  Happy February, everybody!

Happy Labor Day! (Mary's Egg-squisite Breakfast Casserole)

Happy Labor Day, dear friends!  The Swans made it out for a Red Lodge camping adventure with a large group of friends, with whom we shared our 11 year anniversary this year.  There was a bunch of kids, a pack of dogs, and a caravan of campers.  We did a ton of laughing, a fair amount of drinking, and a gluttonous amount of eating.

We came home and Elora and I fell down the Netflix rabbit hole of Once Upon a Time.  We spent the better part of last night curled up together watching, falling a little bit in love with Prince Charming and explaining important plot points to Thad.  When she wakes her skinny butt up today we will resume our mass consumption.

I've been making an egg casserole the last few weekends, trying different combinations and loving each one, but today I had some camping leftovers to use up so there were a lot more veggies than I had used previously.  The result was a scrumptious concoction that I like to pretend is rather healthy for me.

9 eggs, beaten
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced peppers
1 cup crumble feta
1/2 cup cubed ham
1/4 melted coconut oil1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and pour into prepared dish.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving.  Add Sriracha to force your taste buds into a nearly orgasmic state of ecstasy.

Best Mom Ever (White Chili with Ground Turkey)

I hate to admit this, but there are some nights I just don't know what to make for dinner.  But this week I have committed to making dinner from my fridge/freezer/pantry every night (except Colter's birthday on Thursday, at which point I throw this plan out the window for Chuck E. Cheese and pitchers of beer).  Last night was Chicken Tikka Masala made from a surprisingly good little sauce packet I found in the Asian aisle of my local Walmart.  This was met with mild enthusiasm, but the spices in the tikka had me in the mood for savory this evening.

Tonight I was rooting around for ideas on what to make while also using up some ground turkey I had thawed in the fridge.  I googled "ground turkey green chilis" and came across this little AllRecipes gem.  I had already chopped up some onions yesterday for the tikka masala, so all I had to do tonight was open some cans, dump in some spices, and throw in some cheese.

One modification, I used 2 cans of beans and 3 cups of broth, as I didn't want it to turn out too soupy.  I also subbed a 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon and a 1/2 tbsp of chili powder in lieu of a full tablespoon cinnamon.  I think this was an excellent decision.  I also added a couple teaspoons of salt, and this was so good both my kids ate it all, and my little sister followed suit.  This also had just cheddar cheese, and there was no blending of any beans whatsoever.

I've always said that the mark of success for any recipe I try is whether my kids will eat it.  This isn't true for the amazing fresh Vietnamese spring rolls I have made a couple times, but I stand behind this statement when it comes to this chili.  Elora said she loves it more than regular chili, and that is all I need to know to conclude that this will be a regular fixture our (upcoming, squeal of delight) fall menu.

Ladies Night in Red Lodge (RL Smorgasbord)

This summer has flown by, as it is prone to do, and it has been a bit of an undertaking to get some fun packed into the few months of summer we get each year.  We have made it on two camping trips with the new tent, and have had a great time during both, and Thad had the entire week off with the kids due to our daycare being closed.  We may even have a camper by this time tomorrow, because we're insane like that.  Never a dull moment around this way (that last statement was 100% not accurate).

We spent the 4th of July surrounded by wonderful friends, and had a pretty enjoyable time as a family, watching fireworks and riding 4-wheelers (i.e. 'Murica).  This year I am so incredibly thankful that the 4th and Halloween both fall on a Friday, plus Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, so while I may have to work Christmas Eve it still affords me a 4-day-friggin weekend.  I'm also thankful for a job that allows me to leave for 3 whole days and come back to pretty much 0% of crap piled up waiting for me.  Seriously, so thankful.  People shouldn't dread taking time off, and I had forgotten that somewhere in the last year.

The 5th arrived and I set out with some very wonderful ladies to spend a night exploring Red Lodge, MT.  The plan was to eat, drink, laugh, and listen to some sweet rap tunes, and we hit every item on that list like it'd punched our mother.  We had lunch at the Kitchen Wine Bar (amazing tri tip sandwich), shopped for a bit, stopped at a few local watering holes to try out their bar stools, had a watermelon mojito at Natali's Bar (very refreshing) and all around traipsed about town, meeting new friends like the exact dogs from Where the Red Fern Grows.  Sure hope things turned out better for those two.

Dinner was at Bogart's (coconut margaritas may be a new addiction) and then enjoyed a little Cards Against Humanity before retiring to the hotel's "hot pool".  The Lupine in Red Lodge does not do a very good job of regulating the temperature in their hot tub (or scalding tub, as we referred to it), but the temperature of the pool was that of a pleasant bath.  I forced the girls to go on a quick run ALL THE WAY THROUGH TOWN to get some waters and snacks, and we fell asleep to the gentle hum that emanates from the back of my throat.

After a delicious nights sleep we got up early, checked out of the Lupine, and headed on down to the Red Lodge Cafe.  If you've been there, you realize it is an institution, one of the few remaining cafe's that use the brown mugs and serves real breakfast that puts the meat on your bones.  After refueling the tanks we stopped in next door for a Bloody Mary and then bid Red Lodge a fond adieu.  Thank goodness we had the good sense to record some of our best quotes for posterity, because when we are together it's like solid gold.

The next round of hot purse jerky is on me, ladies.  Until we meet again, dial 1.900.Mixalot, and kick them nasty thoughts.... baby got back.

Resident Chef (Thad's Lemon Butter Garlic Knockoff Sauce)

I am enormously blessed because I am not the only cook in my household.  My husband also has a wealth of culinary tricks up his sleeve.  He likes to take a recipe and make it his bitch, mastering it, and then using it to periodically lull his wife into complacency.  His pancake souffle is the stuff that dreams are made of.  He makes a chicken/sweet potato curry that is so good, the kids even eat it.  He made it for a group of 40-50 people a few years ago, in batches, and they all ate it up like manna from heaven.  Seriously, he's got some mad skills.

He decided to do a copycat recipe of Carrabba's Lemon Butter Sauce and boy oh boy, did it turn out delicious.  Forgive my poor photography skills, I sometimes don't clean my camera lens off prior to snapping off random pictures.  Or I might have been terribly drunk.  Which makes for a more interesting story?

This sauce is so buttery and lemony, and it just rings like a bell in your mouth.  The secret to this whole masterpiece is CLARIFYING THE BUTTER.  The result of a little effort, mind you, but you will not regret using a little patience, as you wipe the buttery remnants off your face.  Thad is also pretty liberal with the garlic, and this sauce is none the worser for it.  He's added in mushrooms, which helped rock it even further in my book.

This can be a side dish, as well, but we typically eat the whole pot for dinner.  A little grated cheese will blast it into gustational orbit.  As if anyone had to tell you to add cheese, if you're here at this blog you already know that is pretty much a given.