Orange Poppyseed Cookies

Very rarely does a sweet recipe make its way onto my blog unless it's in cocktail form. I must say it's mainly because I don't trust sweets. Artificial flavoring and they're addictive, plus they offer up no nutritional value. But alas, they make people feel good, something about baking for people makes them smile and in return you smile as well when they fall in love with the taste. So I suppose I will make one occasionally here and there for people, the things I do for you!

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsps baking powder
• ½ tsps salt
• ½ tsps ground cardamom
• 2 tbsps poppy seeds
• 1½ cups sugar
• zest from 2 oranges
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 15 oz of ricotta cheese

For the glaze:

• 1½ cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsps freshly squeezed orange juice
• zest from 1 orange

I've been really feeling the 80's jams lately. They know my heart and summer soul, plus I love all things heavy beats and resonant guitars, and so should you. Please enjoy this little known ditty from The Mighty Lemon Drops and I hope you find your 80's heart:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease with non stick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and poppy seeds. Stir, then set aside.
3. Next, in a large bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Mix gently until well incorporated. Add butter to the mixture and beat until light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs one at a time, whisking them in. Beat in the orange juice, vanilla and ricotta cheese. Make sure it is mixed well.
4. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until there are no dry clumps. This dough is a lot more moist than regular cookie dough because of the ricotta
5. Dollop 2 tbsp of dough for each cookie on a baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. 
6. Remove from oven and and let them cool so you can add your frosting.
7. For the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, orange juice and zest well. Then drizzle an even amount onto each cookie (roughly 1 tsp). Let the glaze harden.
8. Serve!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Enchilada Lasagna

This meal is not only fun to say but also just plain delicious. You literally need to make this ASAP. Fusing two different cuisine flavors to make one beautiful hybrid is impressive, also beautiful. We can all get along through food. Peace unity and cheese people.

So sorry I've been slacking in posting for you guys but it's summer, I'm busy. Concerts, baseball games, trips, birthdays, festivals, etc. There's too much going on and I love it! Since is has taken so long to post a new recipe, I will give you one of the most delicious ones I have tried yet. Here you go!

Ingredients:

• 1 anahiem pepper cut into thin strips
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, roughly cut to 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch squares
• 1 medium onion, dice long ways and skinny
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 1/2 garlic cloves, minced
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cups salsa your choice
• 2 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 9-10 corn tortillas, halved (I used corn flour tortillas)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream and thinly sliced scallions for toppings

Because I am still reeling from the awesome concert last night, here's a bit of a band that conveys some of the greatest musicianship I have ever seen at a concert, plus you know, my love for Jeff Tweedy that has yet to die. Love Wilco, love that they preformed this song:

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Grease a cookie sheet 
3. Place all veggies but garlic and spinach on sheet. 
4. Drizzle oil and add the cumin and minced garlic over top. Add your salt and pepper to taste and toss with the veggies so they are all coated well.
5. Roast for 35-40 minutes or until the cauliflower and potato is easily stabbed with a fork.
6. Prepare an 9x9x2-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. 
7. In a small bowl combine the cilantro into the salsa.  Then spread 1/4 cup of salsa into the bottom of the pan.
8. Add a layer of tortilla pieces, to completely cover the salsa. Top with 1/2 cup of the vegetables, a handful of spinach, and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, salsa, vegetables, spinach, and cheese. Repeat the process then cover with aluminum foil.
9. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Get that cheese melty!
10. Let it sit for 5 minutes and cut into squares. 
11. Top with sour cream and a few pieces of the sliced scallions.
12. Serve!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Crab Rangoon Pizza

You know how, when you go to an asian restaurant, and you order your favorite appetizer and you just want more and more, or at least more than the four tiny morsels the waiter sets in front of you? Well I do, spring roll, rangoon, skewer, I want them all; and I always hope when I will sit down that they will offer a form of the appetizer in main dish proportions.  Well blessed be the Appetizer Gods that descended upon my kitchen today. I got to make one of my favorite appetizers into a pizza... I nearly weep at the joyous thought...

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza crust (pre-cooked)
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 4 oz imitation crab
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 cup arugula
• 1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

An ode to one of my favorite tracks to play during the summer. Sun bathing, sipping', and soaking in the glory of a classic oldie that I'm sure we all know and love:

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spread your cream cheese over your crust evenly.
3. Then top your pizza with your crab, mozzarella, garlic and arugula.
4. Bake for 10-15, or until your cheese is bubbly.
5. When your pizza is done, drizzle your sweet chili sauce onto it, slice and serve!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Peach Wine Slushies

We're back from vacation! As much as I love leaving and enjoying some time away, it's nice to be home again in  my own bed with my cat. It was a fun trip visiting family and enjoying the beauty of The Dairy State. It's a place I grew up and have roots in, I was so happy to be able to share it with my husband for the first time and to get to have some quality time with grandparents.

Now that we're back I can get back to posting some delicious recipes for you all and enjoy just being home for a few days before I have to return to work. Let's start out with a simple, cold adult beverage that can be enjoyed any day of the summer!

Ingredients:

• 4 soft and ready to eat peaches pealed
• 1 bottle of sweet white wine
• 2-4 cups of ice (whatever your preference is)

On our trip we didn't really listen to a lot of music, which is strange and out of the norm for us but there is one song we did listen to that speaks to who my grandpa is, he has sung this song as long as I can remember:

Directions:

1. Cut your peaches up into chunks so they are easy to blend.
2. Place your peaches into a blender. Then add the rest of your ingredients, except the ice.
3. Blend until there are no large pieces of peach. 
4. Next add your ice and blend until smooth.
5. Pour and serve!

Happy and safe drinking everyone!

Grilled Crab Quesadillas

 The introvert in me gets judged from time to time. It's bothersome and I never understand why. Some people take solace in gardening, others in shopping, some in hiking or like me, watching the character development in the tv shows or movies or books I love. I always hated the people who relished saying 'I don't watch tv'. I always had the suspicion that they don't actually hate tv they just LOVE saying that they don't watch it because it some how makes them better. Granted, I hate the slew of dumb sitcoms that are marketed towards people with an IQ level of a gnat, but some writing on television is a true art form. Scoff. Rant done. Stuff face with quesadilla.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz crab meat
• 6 flour tortillas
• 3 heaping cups shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 cup diced green onion
• 1/2 lime
• sour cream

Since the new season of True Detective has been on and I heard this lovely song bird, I cannot get enough of her. She has the elements of a lot of singers I have already come to love aka Gillian Welch, Alison Kraus and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Enjoy:

Directions:

1. 1/2 cup cheese on one side of each tortillas. Then add a good hand full of crab meat to each side with the cheese, sprinkle the diced onion on top.
2. Next fold the empty half of each tortilla over the top of the cheese side.
3. Grill on medium to low heat until cheese is melty or for about 3 minutes on each side.
4. Remove from grill and squeeze fresh lime juice over each quesadillas. Then dollop some sour cream on top.
5. Serve!

Happy Eatings Everyone!

Dark Sangria

Nothing says party on a hot summer day like sangria. The only thing I hate about sangria is when people add a lot of sugar. To me wine is already sweet, and then when you add all the fruit, it adds a lot of natural sugars to it. That's good enough for me, I don't need to add a cup or so more of granulated sugar, it's just a headache waiting to happen the next morning. I liked this recipe because it was very simple and used red wine. I'm not a big fan of the whites because I believe they are only meant to be used for cooking. The only white that proved to tasty that I can remember was one served my a local winery here in Spokane called Trezzi Farms. I highly recommend checking it out!

Ingredients:

• 4 plums, cut into 4ths and pits removed
• 2 cups seedless black grades, cut into halves
• 2 cups black berries
• 2 bottles red table wine or fruitier red blends

The artist featured in this post is Lana Del Ray. I never really got into when she first came out, I assumed she was just another wannabe pop star. But her classic femme fatal inspired lyrics and her incorporation of so many different genres, I am kicking myself for assuming anything. When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong. I have not been able to get this out of my head! Props to LDR:

Directions:

1. Place all of your fruit in an appropriate container.
2. Pour wine over the top of your fruit.
3. Chill for an hour or two. 
4. Serve!

Happy and safe drinking everyone!

Shrimp and Corn Fritters

Hello Saturday, I did not want to greet you so early. It's only 6 am and I am up and alert. Ew. Though I self describe myself as a morning person, I meant more around 730 or 8, 9 when I go to bed really late after a good night of talking about music with my husband. This brain had other ideas for today, other than letting me get my rest, so why not start out productive? I will do some chores... or I will sit here on the couch, staring at the coffee pot until I develop telekinesis and it pours itself for me and delivers me my morning cup of joe. The latter is totally plausible, I'm holdin' out for the x-men mutant ability. Anyway, let's get on to better things, like food that could be breakfast, lunch or dinner and was totally om noms.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound shrimp meat cooked
• 3 cups frozen corn
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

My husband showed me a band, not that long ago, that I instantly fell in love with, they remind me of so much and yet keep a sound that is uniquely theirs and I hope you love them too:

Directions:

1. Puree 2 cups of corn, egg and milk until well combined.
2. In a bowl mix together your dry ingredients. Then add your puree.
3. Next add your shrimp and last cup of corn.
4. In a skillet heat up some oil. Make patties from your mixture and fry them in the skillet. Cook until browned on either side. 
5. I topped it with some sour cream and sriracha, I wish I had green onions! 
6. Serve!

You can add pretty much anything to these guys instead of shrimp, you can go vegetarian and add fried mushroom or fresh green onions. Happy eatings everyone!