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.

Summer on my Mind (Beer Margaritas)

Summer is ready to roll, it seems, as indicated by a very nasty hail storm this a couple weekends ago.  In Montana it is pretty much par for the course that extreme weather marks the beginning of our seasons, which doesn't always fall into the same seasons that are displayed on a standard calendar.  We may still get one more snow storm before the end of May, it's just that loco up in here, and maybe even a little tornado warning at or around Father's Day.  It's like a barometric adventure every day!

When summer begins there are several ways to beat the heat.  One of my favorites: COCKTAILS!  From a cold glass *ahem bottle ahem* of chilled Moscato to a nice tall aluminum bottle of Coors Light (here's lookin at you, LG), cocktails make the summer season slightly more fuzzy and 100% more hydrating.  It's science.  Let me introduce you to one of my favorite summer treats.

Behold, the glory that is the Beer Margarita!  This was another Pinterest discovery (recipe HERE) that rocked my proverbial socks off, and they are ridiculously easy to make.  All you need is a frozen can of concentrated lime-aid (thawed), a bottle of beer (I go with Corona), water (just fill the empty Corona bottle and voila!), tequila (about a half a cup, or more, whatever blows your hair back), combine all of the above and serve over ice with lime slices!  You really can't detect the beer at all, they just taste like a lovely, tart margarita.  

I particularly love doing a salt rim on a chilled glass, and a dash of fresh chopped cilantro (along with the obligatory slice of lime) is the perfect garnish for this concoction.  If you love margaritas I thoroughly recommend you try this version rather than the pre-made stuff.  And don't forget the cilantro and salt!!!!

Obscenely Good (Barefoot Contessa Roasted Chicken with Compound Butter)

Have you ever made something delicious, but almost felt embarrassed sharing it because it looked a little pornographic?  No?  Oh, ok then, I guess it is just me.  I made the most delicious roast chicken a while back, and the resulting picture looked a little like a chicken in a highly provocative "come hither" pose, but that could just have been my imagination.  You be the judge:

This chicken was stuffed with fresh herbs and slathered with a delicious compound butter.  The recipe (located HERE) was one I found on Pinterest (titled Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken).  At the time I made this I didn't have any lemons, and if you know me you know that I avoid trips to the store at nearly all costs, so I used an orange I had on hand instead.  The flavor was just terrific, a little sweet but still citrusy, and it played very well alongside all the thyme and parsley.  I just wish that the final result didn't look so.... slutty.

My Triumphant Return to Swans Eat Everything (Vietnamese Breakfast Banh Mi)

It's been months... MONTHS... since I posted, and today I happen to be home with a sick little girl so I thought "What better time than now, on an unexpected day off, to write some blog posts about some of the lovely things I've eaten lately".  There hasn't been a huge amount of nothing going on in Casa de la Swan, just living the dream while getting ready for a summer of camping and fun.  We have a new tent (a Kelty Air Pitch) which I anticipate will make our camping experience 500% faster and less stressful *fingers crossed*  Our first trip happens to be Elora's last day of school, so we are going to hit the camping season hard and fast, with some good friends by our side.

So back to the food!  A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting my good friend Matt for brunch, and since I knew he would appreciate something a little out of the ordinary so I decided to take a culinary trip to Vietnam.  Another good friend of mine (Adriennit, holla!) introduced me to banh mi sandwiches a couple years ago, and they are so fantastically good it's difficult to believe, but they do require a little work (and a good crusty baguette) so I don't make them very often.  But this is what a real banh mi should look like:

The breakfast banh mi is very similar, but with less pate and more eggs and bacon.  I used this Serious Eats recipe and used some jalapeno bacon we got out at Project Meats in Huntley Project, MT (buy local, folks).  I nixed extra jalapenos, as the bacon was spicy enough for all our palates.  The finished project looked like this little slice of fried gold:

We ate the shit out of this sandwich, it was very filling and exotic on a Sunday morning, especially with a spicy Absolut Peppar Bloody Mary as accompaniment.  If you are looking for something new to try I would definitely recommend doing some research into banh mi and trying one out for yourself.  Or just have Adrienne make you one!

Six Dinner Pile-Up (Freezer Cooking with LG)

No, LG does not refer to the cell phone manufacturer (who I guess makes other things, like washers and dryers and such).  LG is Laura G., one of a handful of lucky dames to have made it to my inner circle.  Please note: being a member of the inner circle guarantees that you will see me without a bra on, and I may or may not brush my teeth for the occasion.

Laura is one of several highly motivated friends of mine.  These are very important people in the delicate ecosystem that is my life.  I am plagued by laziness and procrastination, so it is a blessing to have folks that kick my ass into getting up and DOING (and sometimes just making decisions for me when there are too many choices for my indecisive little self to handle).

Laura suggested we craft over the weekend, but I ixnayed that suggestion in favor of freezer cooking, in hopes that having a freezer filled with healthy meals would make it easier to work out.  Lo and behold, I have worked out 4 days in a row, and tonight I was rewarded with a delicious meal that took me as much time to make as pulling it from the freezer, adding chicken stock, and setting my crock pot light timer before I went to work.  The recipe for tonight's dinner will be posted shortly.

We took a trip to Costco Saturday (awful), got a ton of ingredients (I summarized them below, some might be missing) and made a plan.  I knew I wanted to make My Favorite Lasagna, a variation of Slow Cooker Beef & Barley Stew using quinoa instead of barley, and Laura wanted Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings.  Along with these we decided on White Chicken Enchilada Slow Cooker Casserole, Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo, and a variation of this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup.  And to top it all off, we got 2 pot roasts and Laura transformed hers into a moist roast, while I decided to reserve mine for French dips in the near future.  We had a plan.  Now we had to get crackin'.  And crack we did.

I had several frozen chicken breasts, and Laura did as well, so the only chicken I purchased at Costco was thighs (which were called for in the enchilada casserole).  I also had a couple bags of mozzarella, so we split those.  The rest of the ingredients we got at Costco consisted of:

Potatoes

Carrots

Celery

Onions

Mushrooms

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Tortillas

Chicken thighs

2 chuck roasts

We also each made individual trips to Walmart, mostly for items we couldn't get at Costco or didn't remember to buy (like ricotta cheese).  A couple of the items we had to get outside of Costco were:

Fresh Italian parsley

Ricotta cheese

Cream of chicken soup

Cream cheese

Black olives

Spaghetti Sauce

Shredded Monterey Colby cheese

Lasagna noodles (oven ready)

And pantry items we already had:

Diced tomatoes

Frozen spinach 

DIY Bisquick (for the dumplings)

We spent about 4 hours prepping and bagging all of the meals, and ended up with the sight you see before you.  We had wine to celebrate, and went to sleep satisfied with the knowledge that our families would not go hungry for quite a while.

Up next: Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup!  Super delicious!

New Year, New Recipe (Not Yo Mama's Tuna Casserole)

Thursday night I came home from work with no dinner plans, but knew I had everything to make a tuna casserole.  But then I realized that I was looking at a can of sweet peas in the midst of my ingredients when I had some broccoli and cauliflower resting (nay, languishing) in the crisper and decided to get creative.

Not Yo Mama's Tuna Casserole
3 cups egg noodles, cooked in salted water and drained
3 cups steamed broccoli and cauliflower florets (I steamed in the microwave while the noodles cooked)
1 can tuna, preferably packed in olive oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c white wine
1 small can evaporated milk
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
crushed potato chips for topping

1. Combine noodles, veggies, and tuna in a large bowl.
2. Combine soup, sour cream, wine, milk, onion, salt, pepper, and celery salt and mix until creamy and blended.
3. Mix noodle mixture and cream mixture together until everything is coated.  Place in a greased baking dish and top with shredded cheeses and potato chips. Bake for 20-30 minutes, uncovered, until cheeses are melty and delicious.
Enjoy!

This is how little was left by the end of the pan.  And I ate that last bit, oh yes I did.  Should have saved it for leftovers but it was too good to resist.  The white wine really kicked up the cream mixture a notch, and I really loved that there were as many veggies as their were egg noodles.

The kids even ate theirs, which is always my barometer for how delicious a meal was.  Elora cleaned her plate, which is good because I don't know when she'll be eating again after losing both her front teeth in the last 7 days.

Ewwwww.  Still love her little face, just can't wait for the spaces to fill in with chompers :)

Back to the Grind (Eggnog Baked Pancakes)

So we are back in the non-holiday swing of things, and I am both saddened and thrilled that the holidays are over.  Sad because Christmas carols are no longer in season.  Thrilled because every other part of Christmas is no longer in season.  I'm not really one to make my resolutions public knowledge (because then I'm accountable to see them through), but if I did have resolutions I was willing to share at least one of them would include homemade breakfast for my kids all year long.

I've shared the baked pancakes recipe previously (see HERE for a gorgeous reminder).  If you haven't already tried it I strongly encourage that you do so.  They are so quick, so easy, and so delicious you will wonder why you haven't been making your pancakes like this for years.

The flavor combinations are endless.  I've been known to mix up two batches of batter at once and bake two pans in one day so I can freeze the extras and eat them all week long.  This weekend my batches were pumpkin chocolate chip (my kids are in love with this combo) and EGGNOG.  I needed to get that delicious elixir out of my fridge before it went bad, and this was just the ticket.

I used the standard Baked Pancake recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff and replaced the milk with eggnog and a little milk (I only had a little over a cup of nog, so the milk was just to measure it out to 1.5 cups the recipe calls for).  I also added a little cinnamon, and WOW.  These were divine.  As you can see in the picture they are cut into nice size rectangles, and I love that they puff up nice and thick, so it's like you've got a little stack of flapjacks to call your own.

Baked pancakes have really been the most versatile breakfast recipe I've found in a while.  It is such an easy recipe to follow (so much so I've pretty much got it memorized) and with the endless variations of delicious add-ins, plus the ability to freeze the leftovers to enjoy all week long.  If you haven't tried these out yet I STRONGLY urge you to do it today.

This post is in memory of a dear lady, Ms. Lisa Frank, who passed away peacefully on Monday night.  She loved the pumpkin baked pancake, which thrilled me to no end.  She was as funny as she was shy and kind, and my thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends who are hurting right now.  Wish we would have had a chance to say goodbye, L2F, but in lieu of goodbye I'll just say "see ya later".  You will be missed.

Happy New Year!!! (Bahn Mi and Goop's Vietnamese Salad)

Happy first birthday to this crazy little blog!  I only had 16 posts in 2013, so my goal this year is to double that number by 12/31/14.  Technically two recipes in one post should count as 2 posts, but whatevs.  I have a 2nd and 3rd blog post for 2014 right up my little sleeve, don't you worry.

This year was a very low-key New Year's in our neck of the proverbial woods.  It feels like the older we get the more appealing it is to be in bed by 12:30 (if not earlier), which allows one to wake up early on New Years Day and plan a sumptuous early afternoon soiree.

Our New Years crew over the years has evolved, as well.  In our 20s the folks we hung out with were the folks we went to bars with.  We drank, we smoked, we puked, and usually we spent the night at a beautiful cabin on Rock Creek, just outside of Red Lodge.  There are probably pictures hidden on an external hard drive of our first New Years at the cabin, back in like 2001 or 2002, that include me wearing some type of pelt like a New York socialite whilst Thad played dj and had the whole place bumping to Tha Dogg Pound.  Aw, the good old days.

Now, in our 30s, we hang with a crowd that prefers to celebrate New Years on 1/1, rather than trying to make it to the ball dropping.  I've never been good with the pressure for holidays to be awesome, so I like to celebrate them a day or two late, then the pressure to perform is lowered considerably.

I made pho a couple years ago for NYE, and it turned out surprisingly good for my first attempt at a rather long and involved international recipe.  This year I decided to spare myself the hours of preparation making my own stock and go with another Vietnamese staple: bahn mi.  I was first introduced to this dish by a dear friend who made a wonderful home version for me on a trip back to my hometown.  Tis a glorious concoction of meat and mayo, cilantro and slaw, crunch and chew.

I decided to try the Bon Appetit variation of the sandwich using meatballs and, on the suggestion of the same dear friend I mentioned above, saved myself the trouble of rolling a crap load of meatballs by turning the meat mixture into an Asian inspired meatloaf.  Once cooked I laid slices of meat in the sandwich  and it was just as delicious, if not more so, than the balls.  I made two full sandwiches, one with ground turkey and one with ground pork... both were delicious.

Since I was buying a crap-load of fresh herbs for the sandwiches I decided to make a slightly bastardized version of Goop's Vietnamese salad (no watercress, no shallots, no fresh ginger.... replaced with green onions and a tiny amount of ground ginger).  Whoa nelly, the flavor explosion from all the fresh herbs in this dish was just dynamite.

All in all New Years Day was a rousing success.  We played some games, ate up all the food, had some uh-mazing desserts, and everyone was home by 6!  A perfect way to spend New Years Day!