How To Dice An Onion

Sometimes when you've been cooking for a long time, you just assume that everyone knows how to do the same things you do.  But then I remember that I didn't always know my way around the kitchen like I do now.  I learned a lot by osmosis, growing up in a family of great cooks, and the rest has come from trial and error and watching all those chefs on the food network.  As many hours as I've logged on that station, I think I should receive some kind of honorary culinary degree.   

The thought popped into my head as I was making dinner one night that it might be fun to do some basic kitchen "how- to" posts.   Since almost every meal I make starts with dicing an onion, this seemed like a good place to start.  I cut up a lot of onions before I learned there was a better way to go about this task.  This is how I do it.

I start by cutting the root end off the onion.

Then I turn the onion around and cut off the other end.

I sit the onion upright and cut right down the middle.

Next, off comes the peeling.

With the knife parallel to the work surface, I slice through the onion 

without cutting all the way to the end.  This helps the onion stay intact as I slice several more times.

I usually make three slices, but if I wanted really small dices, I would slice across the onion four or five times.

Then I turn the onion half around and while holding onto the sides, make slices all the way across, about 1/4 inch apart.

Starting at one end of the onion, slice across to the other end and the onion will fall into perfect dices.

I realize as I'm typing this how complicated it sounds when put into writing, but trust me, it's fast and easy once you get the hang of it.  It takes me less than a minute to dice a large onion. 

Butternut Squash Soup

See that butternut squash and those sweet potatoes.  I grew those babies.  Just thought you should know that before we get started.  It always makes me happy when a recipe begins with food that's been grown in my garden.  

I had intentions of doing a weekly soup post during the winter months, but I can't seem to get around to bringing my ideas to fruition.  I will start with this one though, and maybe others will follow.  Butternut squash is one of my favorite autumn/winter soups.  The squash and sweet potatoes are some of the last vegetables to come out of the garden and they store well in my basement and garage.  This soup finished off the stored squash, which were beginning to show their age, but the sweet potatoes still look as good as the day I dug them.  That's so awesome!

I cut the squash lengthwise and scooped out the seeds, then placed them cut side down with a little water in the pan.  This recipe doesn't call for sweet potatoes, but I had one already peeled in the refrigerator, so decided to put it to use.  In case you're wondering why I had a peeled sweet potato in the fridge, it's because I had cooked sweet potato fries earlier in the week and had peeled two potatoes for that dish.  They were so big, it only took one potato for fries for five people.  Yes, I love those Beauregard potatoes.  I also cut up an apple, in chunks, to cook along with the sweet potatoes, added a little oil and gave them a quick stir.  In a hot oven (400 degrees), I roasted all of this until it was tender.

Once cooled, it's easy to scoop out the flesh of the squash.  Because I wasn't planning to make the soup until the next day, I put everything in a bowl and kept it in the refrigerator over night.  The next day, I chopped a couple of slices of pancetta (you could use regular bacon instead), but pancetta is oh, so good.  I buy it on sale, vacuum seal it and freeze for recipes that really benefit from the extra flavor.

I sauteed the pancetta and set it aside.  In the rendered fat, I sauteed a small chopped onion and a clove of garlic. Then, I added the cooked squash, apple and potato.

To this, I poured in enough chicken broth to barely cover the vegetables, gave it a stir and cooked it for about twenty minutes at a simmer, keeping my eye on it and stirring frequently. 

You can see how it cooked down so nice and thick.  I like this soup silky smooth, so I put it in the blender

and added a little cream to make it really wonderful.  It doesn't take a lot, but you can taste test and then add more if you want.

Once the soup has been blended, I put it back in a pot on the stove and started adding flavors.  This is the fun part, because you have to taste it as you go along.  I grated a little fresh nutmeg, added salt and some brown sugar, along with a little butter.  Stir, taste, add, stir, taste, add ...until you get it just right.

This is what it looked like when I served it.  I drizzled a little maple syrup (the real thing, of course) on top, and sprinkled on some of the cooked pancetta.  Then I invited my neighbor over, and we had lunch.  Soup is always better when shared.

Where's the Beef?

Where's the beef?  Well, in my freezer of course.  This, my friends is what two hundred and ninety-three pounds of cow looks like, all cut, packaged and ready for many tasty meals.

If you're interested in checking out my preparedness goals this year, you can find them under the preparedness tab at the top of the page.  I'm working hard on being as self reliant as possible and I like lists that I can mark through.  It feels so good to mark something off your to-do list, don't you think?

New Year Blessings

First week counting...

                       when I share entries from my Gratitude Journal

1978-the smell of a freshly cut lemon

1979- banging sounds of workmen, bringing improvements to our home

1980- guitar strumming

1981- chocolate chip cookies being pulled from the oven

1982- a crafty girl

1983- clearing away clutter

1984- new furniture to replace the thread bare

1985- Texas grapefruit

1986- perky yellow pansies that greet me when I walk in the door

1987- new carpet

1988- wood stoves cranking out the heat

1989- puppy breath

1990-Winston and Parker

1991- dinner with the missionaries

1992- cherry pie with ice cream

1993- peanut butter on Ritz crackers

1994- rereading a favorite book

1995- partaking of the sacrament

1996- holding hands during church

1997- hearing mom speak in sacrament meeting

1998- crunching on won ton salad

1999- the eulogy of a good man

2000- faithful home teachers

2001- prayers in the driveway

2002- blue potatoes smashed up for dinner

2003- getting to know a new neighbor over bowls of steamy soup

2004- a piano concert with Cindy's family

2005- a new hiking group

2006- waterfalls

2007- organizing bookshelves

2008-Chocolove Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt

2009- boxes of local beef

2010-pizza night

"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

A Puppy's Life

These little guys have been with us for two weeks and already have stolen our hearts.  And our schedules.  Especially that nice "eight hours of sleep" night that I'm so fond of.   How happy I'll be when they get on my schedule!  Until then, we're trying to make the best of it, 'cause their so darn cute!

Meet Winston, the big brother.  He's a fan of the doggie treats and any leftover food from Parker's food bowl.  He listens well and comes when called.  Again, I think it has to do with those treats he gets when he's a good boy.  He also wants lots of attention and will whine if he can't see you.  He's our high maintenance guy!

This is Parker, our adventurer.  He wants to be outside all the time, chewing on sticks, digging at tree stumps and wandering all over the place.  Yep, we've gotta keep our eye on this one.  He has a tender heart though and pouts when he gets fussed at in the least little way.  He's our "emo" dog.  He loves to crawl up in your lap and fall asleep.  Ahhh...

Exploring the great outdoors is their favorite thing to do, but when it's 20 degrees, the excursions are short.  Training puppies in the summer would've been easier, but we didn't approach this very logically.  That's obvious by the fact that we bought new carpet and furniture in the same month as puppies.  I mean really, who does that?

They are so fun to watch as they romp and play together.  Chewing is their number one past time, so we've provided lots of toys and even a few stuffed ducks,

so they'll be ready when Dad takes them hunting.

That's pretty much a puppy's life.  Eating, chewing, playing, sleeping, going to the bathroom and then starting all over again.  Even though they've completely disrupted our lives, we love them and keep reminding each other, "it's going to be worth it, right?"

Fiesta Bowls

Doesn't that look yummy?  This week I tried two new recipes and used a new Christmas gift to make these Mexican salads.  We've named them Fiesta Bowls, because they are a party in your mouth!

Whenever I travel in the west, I try to make it a point to visit Cafe Rio, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.  So I was tickled to find a recipe for Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken and Cilantro Lime Dressing on Pinterest.  It turned out to be super easy and although I can't say for sure if it tasted like Cafe Rio (because I always get the pork), it got rave reviews at my house.  One of the things I often do is cook meat in big batches, in order to have enough for several meals.  This chicken is great because it can be used as fillings for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or as I used it here in salads.  I even caught someone piling leftover chicken onto a bun with mayo and proclaiming it, a pretty good chicken salad sandwich.  I'm thinking having some of this on hand would be a nice shortcut for this recipe, and this one too.  I'm sensing lots of possibilities here.

I put five whole boneless chicken breasts in my crock pot in the morning and added Italian dressing, ranch dressing, chili powder, cumin and chopped fresh garlic.

I set the crock pot on high and let it cook for about six hours.  The house filled with a wonderful aroma that even sent the carpet installer into my kitchen at one point, exclaiming, "what are you cooking that smells so good?!?  I almost felt like I should've invited him to stay for dinner since he had to endure smelling it cook all day.

Later in the day, I mixed up the dressing for the salads and left it in the refrigerator so the flavors could get happy with each other.   I used plain greek yogurt, mayo, milk, lime juice, garlic, chives and

lots of chopped cilantro,

and mixed it all up in the food processor.

The fun part of this meal was getting to try out my tortilla pan set that I received for Christmas.  You gotta love having a friend who just has to buy new kitchen toys for you when she buys them for herself.  Thank you, Tara! 

With these nifty pans, all I had to do was press a flour tortilla in each one and bake them in the oven
for  eight to ten minutes.  Once cooled, the bowls popped right out and looked quite professional.

I shredded the chicken with two forks and we were ready to assemble the salads.  We loaded the bowls with lettuce, tomato, shredded chicken, black beans and corn, cheese and topped them with the cilantro lime dressing.  Deliciosa!!!

I just looooove Pinterest, don't you?

Cafe Rio Chicken

• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 1/2 a small bottle of zesty italian dressing
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
• 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on High 5-6 hours OR on Low 8 hours. Shred with fork and serve in salads, burritos, tacos…etc. You can also double or triple this to make extras for freezing. Then simply thaw and reheat for a lickity split meal.

Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing

3/4 cup light mayo

3/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 T. fresh lime juice

2 T. olive oil

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup packed cilantro, rough chopped

2 cloves garlic, rough chopped

1/4 t. salt and pepper 

2 T. chives

Blend in food processor.  Adjust flavors as desired.

2013 Possiblities

I can hardly believe it's the fifteenth of January and I'm just now getting around to talking about my hopes and dreams for the new year.  Ordinarily, I would've jumped on this two weeks ago, because this is the kind of thing I love to do!  I have thought about it and a number of other "beginning of the year" posts, but there are simply not enough hours in the day to do all my heart desires. Blogging is a "heart desire", but not at the top of the priority list.  Sister Julie Beck (one of my spiritual mentors) taught an important lesson on balancing our lives, when she was the General Relief Society President.  I won't quote her, because I don't have her exact words, but this was the basic idea.  We should categorize our activities in the following way; essential things, necessary things, and "nice to do" things.  Essential things are the activities that I need to do to bring me closer to Heavenly Father and help me to become more like Him.  This would include scripture study and prayer, service, temple worship, partaking of the sacrament. These are essential and must be done first, because they can easily be pushed aside in the rush of a busy life.  The necessary things, are the duties I must attend to that keep my world operating and allow me to be with the most important people in my life.  Things like, spending time with my husband and other family members, keeping my home clean and comfortable, preparing healthy meals, tending to my health, being a good steward over the gifts I've been given are examples of necessary activities in my life.  There are a lot of things that fall into this category, from doing laundry to exercising and shopping, carting away the garbage and recycling and gardening.  Pretty soon, it will include training puppies!  The last area is the "nice to do" things.  This includes blogging, having lunch with friends, getting a massage, taking a road trip, enrolling in classes, watching tv, reading...   I could go on and on with this, because these are the really fun things I love to do.   According to Sister Beck, she found that when she prioritized her time in this way, the most important things were accomplished and she was always amazed at how many of the "nice to do" things she was able to fit in to her life.  Following her teachings, I try my best to organize my schedule this way.  And I've found it to be a true principle.  When we put the Lord first in our lives, everything else seems to find it's proper place.  He seems to bless my time, so that I can do the things that are essential and necessary and still have time to do the fun things I enjoy.  So, if I'm not in this space as often as in the past, just know I'm probably up to my eyeballs with the essentials and necessaries.  And I'll return as soon as I have some time for the "nice to do's".

This year I've moved away from making resolutions, which can seem to put so much pressure on a person, to making a list of possibilities for the new year.  I like the sound of that better.  These are the things I hope will be a part of my life in 2013.

2013 Possibilities

* Take a photography class.  I think it's time I get some real training with my camera.  I have lots of fun snapping shots and every now and then I think I end up with a great picture, but it's pure luck.  I keep my camera on auto mode and let it make all the decisions for me.  I need to put it on manual and accept some responsibility for the photos I take.

*Section hike on the AT.  I really, really want to hike the Appalachian Trail.  The only way for me to accomplish this goal is to choose a section and work on it.  This year, I hope to hike the section through Georgia.  I have sons who have hiked this and are close by to help me make plans.  I realize that hiking the trail this way will take years, but no time like the present to get started, right?

* Learn to make challah.    I love the idea of having special foods for the sabbath.  Many Jewish people eat challah on the sabbath and other holy days.  It's a beautiful braided bread that's a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy.  I want to learn to make it myself.

*Slow down.  This one doesn't need explaining, does it?

* Visit Kirtland, Ohio.  Somehow, I've missed this one on my quest to visit church historical sites, and since we're studying church history this year, I've decided it's a good time to go.

* Eat asparagus from my garden.   Last year it was hard to see it grow and leave it in the ground, but this is the third year, so according to all my gardening resources, I should be able to harvest all I want.  I can't wait!

*Knit.  I don't know what it will be, but I have to spend more time on this skill if I want to master it.  I really enjoy knitting, when I feel like I know what I'm doing and not messing up all the time.  I need to practice, practice, practice.

*Be more charitable. I know that's vague and not at all a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) goal.  But I'm focusing on charity this year in every aspect of my life and am sure to share more about that in later posts.  Charity is my word for the year too.  Remember, how I choose a word for the year?  You can read about my word for the last two years here.

*Clean out my basement.  It's horrible and even though I don't have to look at it every day, I know what's down there and it's messing with my peace of mind.  Out of sight, out of mind doesn't work for me.

*Spend more time with people I love.  When it's all said and done, it's the relationships with people we love that will matter.  This year I don't want to be too busy to make memories.

That's it.  My list of possibilities for this new year. 

I'm looking forward to each new day.