Onion Dip

Since it is football season, we invited several friends over to watch the game. My husband loves chips and dips. He thinks it is a food group.

So, we were at the store purchasing the necessities for our guest like chips, beer, and soda when my husband asked about making an onion dip.  I said it sounded good except for chopping all the onions.On this day, my husband offered to chop up the onions for me. He informed me that he wouldn't cry since he was so tough. I didn't argue with him. If you are going to make this dip, find a tough man to chop the onions.

Tough men

I will not show you any photos of whether or not my husband cried. I will assure you that I didn't cry at all.  It is hard work. I have heard if you wear goggle you will not cry. My husband is too cool to wear goggles. He would rather cry.

Warning: even the tough will cry while making this dish.

I seem to always cry when I chop onions, While I'm crying, I say loudly, "Why me? Why?" Instead of feeling sad for me, the kids find this very amusing.
 

Onion Dip
2 Tbsp olive oil 
2 1/2 cups medium onions, diced
1/2 tsp  salt 
1 1/2 cups sour cream 
1 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 tsp garlic powder 
1/4 tsp ground white pepper 
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add oil.
2. Add the onions and 1/4 tsp salt in the hot pan.
3. Cook the onions until caramelized, about 18 minutes. Make sure to stir over the onions may burn.
4. Remove from heat and allow the onions to cool.
5. In the serving bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
6. Once the onions cool, add the onions to the sour cream bowl.
7. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
   

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown.

My three tough guys

Did you already know…………

-White pepper and black pepper are from the same berry.

-White pepper is from a fully ripe berry.

-It is milder in taste than black pepper.

-If making a white sauce or dip, use white pepper instead of black so no specks are detected.

Chicken Enchiladas

When I lived in Colorado, I would always order blue corn enchiladas. I thought the blue corn must be the reason why they are so good. (I still think it is true.) Since I couldn't find any blue corn tortillas, I settled for the flour ones.

Enchiladas are my favorite Mexican food. What is yours? My children's would be the taco. I prefer crunchy but the rest of the family prefers the soft taco. I guess (sometimes) majority rules.

Chicken Enchiladas
3/4 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers (I used the jar)
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 cup light sour cream
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 boneless chicken breast
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
6 flour tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with PAM cooking spray.
3. Chop the roasted red bell peppers.
4. In a bowl, add the peppers, chiles, 3/4 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of cheddar, cumin, garlic salt, and oregano.
5. In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
6. Add the onion and chicken to the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the chicken and onion to the pepper mixture. Combine well.
8. Lay a tortilla flat and spread about 1 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla.
9. Fold in the sides and roll the tortilla up.
10. Transfer the tortilla to the baking dish with the seam side down.
11. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
12. Top the tortillas with the enchilada sauce.
13. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the rolled enchiladas.
14. Bake for 45 minutes.
15. Broil on high for 2 minutes if the cheese isn't nice and golden brown.
16. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
17. Serve with sour cream, cheddar, onions, etc.

Adapted from Pillsbury Halloween October 2007 cookbook.

Did you already know..........
-Enchiladas are street vendor food in Mexico.
-Enchiladas have been around since the Mayan times.
-Enchilada means in chile.

Oh no, Mr. Bill

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I will occasionally ask my youngest daughter to go downstairs and get her sibling. Instead, she will holler for them while she is next to me. Does anyone in your house do this? I want to make sure it isn't just mine. 

  I think she just likes to holler. One day, we were all downstairs and my youngest daughter started to holler for her dad. He would holler back, "yea." She wouldn't answer but she kept hollering for him. Since my husband was busy, he just kept hollering back up to her. After a few minutes of this exchange, the next time my daughter hollered for "Dad", my husband responded "There is no one here with that name." It was suddenly quiet since she didn't know how to respond back but my youngest son did. My son turns to his dad and said, "Hey, whoever you are, she wants you." Then he smiles at my husband and says, "Did you like that better?"

  Yum! Whoopie Pies! They remind me of a cupcake with the filling in the middle instead of on top.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Whoopie Pie Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup of apple sauce
3 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whoopie Pie Filling:
4 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powder sugar
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
4. In another bowl, cream the brown sugar with the vegetable oil and applesauce.
5. Add the pumpkin to the sugar mixture and beat.
6. Add the eggs one at a time then the vanilla. Mix well.
7. Slowly, add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture.
8. Mix until incorporated.
9. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter onto the baking sheet. Try to make the sizes.
10. Cook for about 15 minutes.**Prepare the filling while waiting**
11. Let cool on cookie rack for five minutes then transfer to a wire rack.
12. Prepare the next batch of cakes and place in the oven

**Whoopie Pie Filling:
Let cool completely about 30 minutes before frosting.

For the filling, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, and the butter.
Add the powder sugar to the filling mixture.
Mix in the spices into the filling mixture until well incorporated. Refrigerate.

Whoopie Pie Cake recipe adapted from Bake at 350. Whoopie Pie Filling recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

See the eyeball?

I highly recommend you to make these whoopie pies before someone hollers your name! My oldest daughter gave her best friend one and after each bite she would say, "I love your Mom." My husband doesn't like pumpkin (I guess he knows it is a vegetable) and he liked them.

The oldest daughter!

Did you already know.............
-The Maine State treat is the Maine Whoopie Pie.
-The Maine State dessert if the Blueberry Pie.
-The Whoopie Pie festival is held in Pennsylvania. 
-The Whoopie Pie has been argued to originated in Pennsylvania, Maine, or Massachusetts.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

I live in Maine. We have local lobster restaurants everywhere. There are restaurants right on the water where the lobster boats will dock to deliver lobster and other local seafood. We do not have Red Lobster restaurants in Maine. The closes Red Lobster is in New York. The closes Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits are at least five hours away. I don't think I'll convince my husband to head to New York for biscuits. Honey, dear, lets go for a ride today? A long ride? For some biscuits? Did I convince you? If not, I don't think he'll go for it. If you do not feel like driving so far for their delicious biscuits, try making this recipe.

When I was a teenager (a few years ago?), my sister took me to a local lobster house for my birthday dinner.The restaurant did serve good rolls.My sister doesn't eat lobster but she is sweet and took me anyways. She hasn't taken me since. I have some suggestions for you if you are eating lobster. If you are eating lobster, your companion should sit next to you. It is safer. You are the one wearing the lobster bib but the other person isn't safe from getting sprayed. Another suggest is if you are on a date, don't order lobster. It is not an attractive item to eat.

 Cheddar Bay Biscuits
2 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 Tbsp cold butter
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. In a bowl, cut the cold butter into the Bisquick with a pastry cutter. Don't over mix. The butter should be about the size of a pea.
4. Add the cheddar cheese, buttermilk, and garlic powder.
5. Mix with a spoon until combined. Don't over mix.
6. Drop the dough by spoonful onto the cookie sheet.
7. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the butter until melted.
8. Stir in the garlic powder and parsley into the butter.
9. Brush the tops of the biscuits and set aside.
10. Bake about 13 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Brush the tops of the biscuits again with the butter glaze.
12. Sprinkle the top with additional parsley.

Recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Did you already know.............
-Red Lobster is known for their Cheddar Bay biscuits and serve about 1.1 million of the biscuits every day.
-New England cheddar cheese traditionally is white in color because it doesn't contain color additives.
-Cabot's naturally aged cheddar has no lactose.

Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs

 My oldest daughter's teacher asked the class if they were on a deserted island, what three items would they bring. My daughter said How to survive on a desert island guidebook, a cute carpenter, along with potatoes. What good choices especially how versatile potatoes are-now you thought I would have said carpenter but I surprised you. I told her I liked all of her choices except I would have pick pasta instead of potatoes since I could eat pasta everyday. This is not the case with my husband. He gets tired of pasta.

I like to make new dishes all the time but normally it just seems like we've been having a lot of chicken or beef lately.So, the other day I saw pork chops were on sale. Why not? I hardly make it and it would be a nice change. Everyone agreed but my oldest insist pork chops MUST be served with applesauce. I have made applesauce from scratch. All the work and cost, I prefer to buy it in the jar. So, my applesauce is not homemade this time. Also, it is hard to take a photo of applesauce on the plate. I guess I could have done it gourmet and served the pork chops on top of the applesauce. 

Pork Chops with Garlic and Herbs


4 boneless pork chops about 1 inch thick
2/3 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 Tbsp. sage
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp butter


Directions:

1. In a oven safe 8 x 10 baking dish, mix the the wine, oil, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, rosemary, and garlic.
2. Arrange the pork chops in the baking dish in a single layer.
3. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure to turn the pork chops at least once while it is marinating.
4. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Cook the pork chops for 8-10 minutes per side. Make sure to turn the pork chops once while cooking.
6. Let cool on the counter while you preheat a skillet.
7. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan with 2 tsp of butter.
8. Fry the skillets for about 1-2 minutes per side for a crispy appearance.
9. Let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Adapted from Annie's Eats. Originally from Williams Sonoma.


If you are in the mood for pork chops, I would recommend making this recipe. My pork chops were not dry and really tasty. I like rosemary and it was a nice accompaniment to the pork. I know it seems unusual to fry after cooking in the oven but my oldest suggested it so it added a little color. You can cook these on a grill which would probably do the same results. We will be making these again.


Did you already know.........
-One of the first animals to be domesticated were swines.
-Swines are the family name for hogs. The mother is called a sow. The father is called a boar and the babies are pigs.
-In 1539, the Spanish explorer brought the first swine to North America.