Rib-o-flavin'

Do you love the flavor of ribs cooked on the grill? Do you hate that if you grill them too fast, they are as tough as Robbie is on delinquent fathers, or that if you grill them low and slow that you run out of propane father than the Gillilands can finish 5 large pizzas from Barro's?

Here's the solution!  All you have to do is cook them in the crockpot with whatever you would like to flavor the ribs, and then when you are done, just brush some bbq sauce on the outside and grill them for a few minutes.  It works like a charm for those of us who don't have enough cash to slow grill or smoke our meat, but still like them tender and flavorful. After they come out of the crockpot, they are very fragile while you grill them, but if you are careful, you can get that nice grill-char and still have them fall off the bone! (Becca cooked and I grilled)

The Magical Salad

Heather's wedding has been an enlightenment to us all.  Sure, she made an eternal promise, joined her husband to start a new family and took a spiritual leap of progression, but what I'm talking about it the part where her wedding got us all to like salad.

Just about every other day since the wedding luncheon in Phoenix, Becca has tried to recreate the salad that we had to go along with the potatoes and chicken croissants. This salad, with spring mix, sugar roasted almonds, craisins, feta cheese and poppyseed dressing has also brought me to the realization that a salad doesn't have to have bacon or some other sort of meat for me to enjoy it.  (Now whether or not such a salad can be counted as a meal is another matter).

The other great thing about it is its versatility.  For example, the picture below.  Want to get out of the rut of having corn, potatoes, and rolls with your steak followed by some other carbolicious dessert?  Try this on for size:

Probably still a little light on the veggies, but at least you feel a little bit better about it.

Fish Tacos

Becca, like most female members of the Gilliland family, does not like seafood.  We have found one way that she can appreciate it.  Behold, the fish taco!  This is actually a pretty easy dinner idea.  Take any white fish, cut it into little strips, dip in flour, then a beaten egg, and then some kind of bread crumbs, we used panko.  Then fry and drain the strips of fish.  With the corn tortillas, either wet them or put a little oil in a pan and saute them for a few seconds.  Put the tacos together adding finely chopped cabbage, tartar sauce (you can make your own to taste with mayo and relish), and fresh lime to squeeze on the tacos.  I know those who have never had a fish taco are doubting right now, but the even the fish hating Becca couldn't get enough of these the other night!

Tacos al Carbon

¡Estos tacos están de rechupete!
These tacos are finger lickin' good!

One of my go-to selections when going out for Mexican food is 'steak tacos al carbon.'  Mostly because they are super delicious.  This is our chicken version.  For the chicken we just take our regular fiesta lime chicken (sauteed chicken marinated in lime and Italian dressing) and re-saute it with some peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic salt, a sprinkle of taco seasoning or chili powder and a little extra lime.  (Sorry for the lack of quantities, we just do it based on what looks/smells/tastes right. We prefer them on corn tortillas, but I suppose any tortilla will do.  Top with whatever you want.  I prefer simple sliced avocado.  Becca likes the crisp of lettuce.  This is where you get to be creative and pimp out your tacos to your liking!

Stone them!

It turns out that a Pizza stone is a worthwhile investment.

We went to look at them at Bed Bath and Beyond the other day, and they were $15 with a handy little rack. After our $5 coupon, the Pizza stone was free! We also had a gift card, which I suppose also contributed to freeness.

We have made pizza twice since the acquisition, and the results have been pleasing. We also started using bread flour instead of regular flour, which also helps the crust out a little bit.

This was the first time. The pizza came out looking and tasting great, but it was a little tall.

This is my pepperoni version, the second time around. Sometimes you just gotta go with the classics.

This is the Becca Specialty in the process of construction. I took the picture because she just makes pizza building look like art! Start with the crust on the peel with a little corn meal so you can slide it onto and off of the stone. Ricotta(or cottage cheese) and Parmesan sauce, with a little garlic in it, with spinach and tomatoes(sun dried optional). Sometimes this one gets chicken or bacon depending on how meaty or unhealthy the mood is that day.

This is the finished product. Doesn't that look scrumptious?

Here's Alton Brown's recipe: (makes 2 10-12 inch pizzas)

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt (I use 1/2 Tbsp table salt)
1 tablespoon pure olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 teaspoons olive oil
Olive oil, for the pizza crust
Flour, for dusting the pizza peel

Place the sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 cup of flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into the mixer's work bowl.

Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray. Attach the hook to the mixer and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed.

Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin. Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed. If the dough tears before it forms, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

(Here's where he says to refrigerate it 18-24 hours in a greased bowl--we don't always follow that. He also likes you to rest the dough at different times. I would suggest trying the original recipe once to see if you like it enough to go to the effort. Click here for Alton Brown's recipe in its pure, unadulterated state)

Place the pizza stone or tile onto the bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to its highest temperature, about 500 degrees F. If the oven has coils on the oven floor, place the tile onto the lowest rack of the oven.

Sprinkle the flour onto the peel and place the dough onto the peel. Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza. Stretch the dough into a round disc, rotating after each stretch. Toss the dough in the air if you dare. Shake the pizza on the peel to be sure that it will slide onto the pizza stone or tile. (Dress and bake the pizza immediately for a crisp crust or rest the dough for 30 minutes if you want a chewy texture.)

Slide the pizza onto the tile and bake for 7 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown. Rest for 3 minutes before slicing.

"meal in a salsa"

I figure anything that we eat 3 times in 3 weeks is good enough to put on this blog--now, many of you may already have some variation of this recipe--in fact, every time I make it there are variations!

Basically, it's a "meal in a salsa"!
1 Can black beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1/3 c cilantro-chopped
1/3 c onion-chopped
1-2 jallepenos (fresh or canned)
2 or more tomatoes-diced
1/2 red bell pepper-diced
1/4 c lime juice
2 avocados-diced
salt, if you like

Mix it all up except for the Avocados--let it marinate a bit--add the avocados just before serving. Katie likes to eat quesadillas with it. I microwave a wheat tortilla (salted) until it's crispy. Dad likes it best with tortilla chips. Luke, of course, likes it every way and anyway!

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

Here is a pretty easy recipe for some really delicious little muffins I made about a week ago. They turned out great for us, because we love when something is sweet, but not overpoweringly so. I made some adjustments in red, which I think improved upon the recipe, which we got from good ol' Betty Crocker's website.



Ingredients

1/2	cup sugar
1/3	cup vegetable oil
1	egg
1/2	teaspoon almond extract (round up a little)
1/2	cup sour cream
1/4	cup milk
1 1/3	cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/4	teaspoon baking soda
2	tablespoons poppy seed
3	teaspoons sugar (can round down)
2	tablespoons sliced almonds (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups (or spray cups with cooking spray or grease with shortening).
2. In large bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, the oil, egg and almond extract. Beat in sour cream and milk with spoon until blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and poppy seed until well blended. (Don't over mix, or the muffin texture won't be as muffiny.) Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle batter with 3 teaspoons sugar and the almonds. (Don't skip the sprinkle of sugar, and don't ask why not. Just do it. You will thank me later!)
   
3. Bake 14 to 17 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm or cool