Bountiful Baskets

Recently, my sister told me about a project called "Bountiful Baskets" - basically, it is a volunteer-based group providing fresh fruits and vegetables (and sometimes other items like cookies, bread, etc.) at a discounted price. From their website:

Sally Stevens and Tanya Jolly started Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op in May of 2006. It was a winning combination from the beginning. Tanya and Sally both had experience running their own small food co-ops that were not web based. As their small co-ops grew it challenged them to think of a way to keep up as more families were wanting to save money on healthy food. Adding a little bit of e-commerce technology to the mix was just the trick. Since May of 2006 BBFC has grown from 2 sites and an average of 120 families a cycle participating, to over hundreds of sites in seven states and around 70,000 participating families! In June of 2008 BBFC started to offer 100% organic baskets every other week.

The Co-op offers a conventional produce basket very other week which is generally ½ fruit and ½ veggies. The monetary contribution is $15.00 and is generally worth $50.00 retail. Organic baskets require a contribution of $25 and are usually about the same amount of produce as the conventional baskets. To participate visit http://www.BountifulBaskets.org and check the schedule to see when your state is available to make your monetary contribution using a debit or credit card. Then, pick up your basket on Saturday morning at the time and place you chose when you contributed!

Last week was my first experience with Bountiful Baskets and I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical, but boy was I surprised. First of all, it was like the whole county showed up to pick up baskets, I felt like I needed another set of hands for all the produce I was getting, and I was excited to see so much product!

I was picking up two baskets - one for myself and one for my sister and we had both ordered "extras" - I ordered 9-grain bread and she ordered a guacamole mixer (basically all the ingredients for guacamole). Everything looked great and in our baskets we received the following: a box of strawberries, a bag of pears, a bag of clementines, apples, bananas, a cantaloupe, a head of broccoli, a head of cauliflower, celery, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, and maybe some other stuff that I am forgetting about. Talk about a bargain - and it is definitely a way to make sure you eat healthier.

My husband and I had nibbled on the fruit, taking some with us as snacks, but last night I cut everything up and made a huge (and yummy) fruit salad - sans a few pears as I am going to make a galette. We have eaten the spinach and tomatoes in salads, I baked the cauliflower with EVOO, salt, and pepper for about 20 minutes at 350 on a cookie sheet (yum), steamed the broccoli and served it with a cheese sauce, I have cut up the celery and taken some of it to work for an afternoon snack, and that leaves the peppers - which my husband plans to eat (since I'm not a fan) with his salad. You should check to see if there is a Bountiful Baskets in your area - it is wonderful and I can't wait to see what is in my basket this weekend! I'll post a picture of my next basket - since I forgot to take any this week!

Pillow Cookies & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Saw a recipe for Pillow Cookies on Bakerella and decided I had to try it. Needless to say, it was a success. Join your favorite boxed brownie mix with your blue ribbon chocolate chip cookies and call it heaven. Blue Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter - room temp
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar - packed
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In mixer, combine white and brown sugar. Add butter and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Add eggs and mix well.

To sugar mixture, add flour, soda, and salt. Mix until flour mixture and sugar mixture are combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using cookie scoop or spoons, drop tablespoonfuls of cookie dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks and enjoy!

Variation:

To make "Pillow Cookies", bake a batch of brownies (boxed or homemade) prior to beginning your cookie dough. Place a chunk of brownie in the middle of your cookie dough before baking. They are delicious!

Chicken Fried

If you show up to Sunday Dinner at my husband's Grandma Nellie's you will either be treated to a turkey dinner or fried chicken. Myself, I have never fried a chicken - I tend to purchase mine in the deli section of Albertson's Grocery Store. Lucky for us, one of Chad's students had an FFA project where he raised chickens and sold them. Of course, we bought some and threw them in the freezer.

Now, an entire chicken is slightly intimidating and I have never even handled a whole, raw chicken (seriously). Turkeys, chukars, pheasants, yes... chicken, no. This past Sunday one of Chad's fraternity brothers and good friends was going to be passing through on his way home from the Idaho/Nebraska football game. I thought it would be nice to have him join us for a home-cooked meal so I grabbed the chicken out of the freezer and mentioned to Chad that if he got bored while I was gone in town, he could cut it up.

Two hours later, I come home to a still frozen chicken and napping husband. I set it out on the front porch to thaw faster and I begin to prepare my materials to fry this chicken. First things first, I google how to cut up a chicken. I use this method provided by Gourmet Sleuth. To my surprise, it works.

Then, I searched online for "Chuck's Day Off Spiced Buttermilk-Marinated Fried Chicken" because I had seen it on the Cooking Channel and I knew if mine turned out half as good as Chuck's looked - we would be in business. Below are the ingredients, instructions (from cookingchannel.com), and of course, pictures!

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 8 chicken drumsticks (in my case, a whole chicken)
  
• 4 cups buttermilk
• Canola oil, for frying

Instructions:
Mix the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard powder together in a bowl. Divide the spices evenly between 2 mixing bowls. Add the flour to 1 of the bowls, mix well, and set aside. (I made 1 1/2 of the spice mixture and used one whole mixture for the rub and used the other 1/2 for the flour mixture. I think it just depends on the amount of chicken you have).

Rub the chicken drumsticks with the reserved spice mix. Poke all of the pieces with a fork a few times to let the flavors seep down into the meat. Set aside.
Pour the buttermilk over the chicken, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Cook's Note: You can also let the chicken marinate longer, even overnight.

Add the flour mixture to a large re-sealable plastic bag. Remove the chicken pieces from the buttermilk and in batches, drop them into the bag, shaking them to make sure they become heavily coated.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, pour enough oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 360 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 3 minutes.)

Drop the coated chicken drumsticks into the hot oil. Turn the pieces as they brown and do not let them touch each other while frying. Work in batches, if necessary check the underside of a piece by lifting it with tongs. It should be a deep golden brown. Cook the chicken until the pieces are crispy and brown, about 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
To test for doneness: Cut into the thickest part of a drumstick. The juices should run clear and the meat should be opaque throughout. If necessary, pop the chicken into a preheated 325 degree F oven, until they are fully cooked.

Transfer the fried chicken to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain the excess oil.

Transfer the drumsticks onto a serving platter, or put into a bucket. Serve the chicken hot, room temperature, or cold.
Oh my goodness, best friend chicken I have ever eaten. Ever. Thank you, Chuck for your recipe - I am in love with this.

Tomato-Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients:
Fresh tomatoes - cut into wedges (or halves if using cherry tomatoes)
Mozzarella balls - halved
Fresh basil - chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & PepperInstructions:
Mix together to taste. I generally do about half-and-half on the tomatoes and mozzarella balls... but I am in love with mozzarella. Toss the basil, EVOO, salt, and pepper to taste.

My mom gets even more creative and adds red onions, balsamic vinaigrette, and garlic. Try it, you won't regret it!

Enjoy!

Yummy Fruit Dip

Need a little something to dress up your fruit platter? This EASY and delicious fruit dip is just the ticket. In your mixer, place 8 ounces cream cheese (one box) and 13 ounces Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme. Mix well. Once smooth, add the juice of a fresh lime or orange to taste. Blend until smooth. Enjoy - it's wonderful... I never said it would be healthy!

Spinach-Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:
26 ounces of jarred artichoke hearts (four small jars) - the jarred is better than the canned - chopped
20 ounces chopped spinach (two packages of the frozen stuff) - thawed, rinsed, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
4 tsp. minced garlic - I buy it at Costco
1/2 tsp. pepper

Instructions:
Mix it all up, put it in a baking dish and bake approximately 30 minutes or until top and edges are browning. I serve it with crackers and/or veggies.

Crock Pot Meatloaf

As a child, I never liked meatloaf - there was just something about it. One day though, I was walking through the dinner line at my sorority and I smelled something delicious. You see, we rarely had beef, and once I saw it was meatloaf, I thought I had better give it a try. It was good, paired with mashed potatoes and a fresh green salad, it was really good. I have always made my meatloaf in the oven, but this week, I attempted a crock pot meatloaf and according to Chad, it was the "best meatloaf yet".

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 1/2 slices bread - ripped into small pieces
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 T Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1.5 lbs. ground meat (deer, elk, beef, etc.)
1/4+ cup ketchup
1 t.+ dry mustard
2 T+ brown sugar

Instructions
In large bowl, beat eggs. Pour in milk and top with bread crumbs. Add seasonings and mix well. Next, add ground meat and mix until completely combined.

Prepare crock pot with non-stick spray and put meat mixture into crock pot. Using a spatula, shape meat into a "loaf".

Cook on low for 4-5 hours. During the last half hour, mix the ketchup, dry mustard, and brown sugar in a small bowl and pour part over the loaf.

To prepare the bacon, preheat oven to 375. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and fill with bacon. Spread ketchup mixture over the top of bacon. Bake 10-15 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Cut loaf into slices and serve with a piece of bacon and any other sides!

Side-note - when I make meatloaf in the oven, I put the bacon and ketchup mixture on at the very beginning. The bacon is the best part.

Enjoy!

BBQ Ribs

We have a stocked freezer and when my husband wants to have something for dinner, he will generally set it on the counter to thaw - as a "hint". If I don't make anything with it for a few days, he generally takes matters into his own hands. So, the other day, I came home and there were pork ribs on the counter - thawing. Here's what I did with them...

BBQ Ribs Ingredients
Ribs
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T chopped garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 bottle Yoshio's BBQ Blend

BBQ Ribs Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 - Broil. Cut ribs so they fit on broiler (meat side up) and salt and pepper to your liking. Broil for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

While ribs are broiling, combine onion, garlic, soy sauce, and brown sugar in bottom of crock pot.

Once ribs are cool, cut into serving-sized pieces and place in crock pot atop onion mixture.

Pour entire bottle Yoshio's BBQ Blend over ribs and onion mixture. Cook on high for one hour and then low for four-five hours.
Yum! Enjoy!

Easy Country Style Swiss Steak

Lately, I have been obsessed with my crockpot - making everything from pulled pork sandwiches to fajitas to Swiss steak! This recipe is super easy, and I usually have all the ingredients on-hand, not to mention, Chad and I both love mushrooms (or fungus as my brother calls them). I tend to use elk steak in this recipe, but it can easily be substituted with beef - and because the crockpot tenderizes the meat, I usually use the lesser quality cuts from the freezer.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. (approximately) steak (elk, beef, etc.)
1/2 cup flour
1 T garlic salt
1 tsp. butter
1 Spanish Sweet onion, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
noodles

Instructions:
Trim steak and cut into serving sized pieces. Mix flour and garlic salt in Ziploc bag. Place steak pieces into bag and flour on both sides. In frying pan, melt butter and lightly brown both sides of steak.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion. Combine mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, and water - mix well. Place browned steaks in the bottom of crockpot, followed by chopped onions, and mushroom soup mix. Set the crockpot on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with noodles and enjoy!

Real Estate Apple Pie

For the whole story about the title, visit my personal blog, but I will give you the shortened version... My husband and I were recently approached by a local real estate agent to do a one-time showing and in the process of preparing the house, I purchased a bunch of apples. I already had Fuji apples, but they are not good for baking, so I bought several Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples because I wanted to have a variety of color. I suppose I should have called Jodi for advice, since she is the one with the experience in that department, but it was kind of a whirlwind. Anyway, a few days passed after the showing and we had eaten a few of the apples, but I needed to do something with them, so I decided to dust off my trusty apple pie recipe and add a twist. Usually, I use Granny Smith apples in my pies, but this time, I used three Granny Smith, three Red Delicious, and one Fuji apple. It may sound funny, but trust me, it was delicious.

Ingredients:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
3 Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and cut into thin slices
1 T lemon juice
2 T flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend
1 Box Pillsbury Refrigerated 9-inch Pie Crust (2 crusts enclosed) at room temp
*If they can make it better than I can, there is no point in me killing myself to make it homemade!
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core, and slice apples into large mixing bowl. I tend to slice my apples thinner than most, but that just means more surface area for the sugar and spice mixture!

Once apples are all in bowl, top with lemon juice, sugar, flour, and spice blend.
Mix well, until apples are coated with sugar and spice mixture. You may need to perform a taste-test at this point, because the apples are so delicious.
Unroll your first pie crust (if you forgot to take it out of the fridge/freezer, you can always pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to make them unroll easier) and place into pie dish. Smooth on bottom, against sides, and make folds in crust where necessary. Once prepared, spoon apples into pie dish, leaving the remaining juice behind (or your pie juices may overflow into your oven). Level the apples and if too full, remove slices.
Unroll second pie crust and place over apples in pie dish. Fold the edges over and knead the two crusts together to form a seal along the edges. Once all edges are closed, use a fork to poke holes in the top of the crust and I always put an "A" in the center - for Apple, of course! You can also use your fork to press down the edges of the pie for a decorative edge, but I did not on this pie.
Using a pie-crust shield or tin foil, cover the outermost edges of the pie to protect them from burning. Bake pie at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, check pie. Bake 20 minutes longer. Allow pie to cool and enjoy!

Lemon-Butter Salmon

My husband is not only an avid hunter, but fisherman as well. Living in Eastern Oregon, we have access to many salmon and steelhead fishing areas in both Oregon and Idaho and he tends to take full advantage. For this reason, we have a LOT of salmon in our freezer. We have experimented quite a bit with various recipes and this one is always a favorite.

Ingredients:

Salmon - shown below is a half-salmon cut into two large steaks

Lemon Pepper

1 cube butter (melted)

1/2 cup Lemon Juice

1/4 cup yellow Spanish Sweet onion, chopped

1 lemon, sliced

Instructions:
If salmon is frozen, be sure to thaw in the refrigerator before preparation. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium glass dish, place salmon steaks (skin down). Melt butter, and then pour butter and lemon juice over salmon and season (to your taste) with lemon pepper (I tend to use more than most).

Chop onions and sprinkle over salmon. Slice lemon and arrange slices atop salmon and onions. Sprinkle with additional lemon pepper and lemon juice if desired.

Bake 30-45 minutes, or until salmon is flaky. Keep an eye out for bones and enjoy!

Margarita Cupcakes

I don't know if you watch HGTV as much as you might watch The Food Network, but my cousin was recently the runner-up on HGTV's Design Star. My aunt Bev and uncle Dick (Dan's parents) had family and friends over to watch the show and one weekend, Dan flew in from Portland to watch the show with the family - so we knew it must have been an exciting episode! His deconstruction of an orchard for the white-wall challenge won the judge's approval and Vern Yip complimented, "In four seasons now of Design Star, that is the single most well-executed, most well-thought-out response to the white room challenge."

During social hour, prior to the start of the show, we had Mexican-themed hors d'oeuvres including taquitos, chips and salsa, and my personal favorite, chicken enchilada dip. To complement the meal, we had Design Star Margaritas created by Dan, but made by Aunt Vickie. Found this wonderful recipe on the HWTM Blog a while ago and decided this was the perfect opportunity to share! They must have been good, because I only ended up bringing a couple home and I know I saw my nephew Peter running around with several cupcakes!

MARGARITA CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
8 oz margarita mix (liquid)
2 oz tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier (or triple sec)
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp grated lime zest

Lime Buttercream Icing:
8 Tbsp butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp lime juice (approx 2 fresh limes)
1 Tbsp margarita mix
1 tsp lime zest
5 cups powdered (confectioner)
sugarcane sugar & fresh limes (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350º and prepare muffin pans.
2. Combine margarita mix, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a large glass and stir well.
3. In large bowl, combine cake mix, egg whites, lime zest, vegetable oil, and margarita mixture from step one. Stir ingredients together, then beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for approximately 2-3 minutes.
4. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pans. Fill each cup/liner about 2/3 full.
5. Bake at recommended temperature on cake mix box (usually 325º – 350º) for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Lime Buttercream Icing:
6. In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, lime juice, margarita mix, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
7. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and continue beating until smooth. If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time. I added a bit of green food coloring for a little more spark!
8. Spread icing generously on each cooled cupcake* or use a pastry bag to frost. Sprinkle cane sugar around the edges of the cupcake for a “salt rimmed” look and garnish with lime wheels & wedges.

*Make sure to remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting.

Tip: Leftover frosting makes a great dip for fruit - there is quite a bit more frosting than necessary for 24 cupcakes - I've been eating it with apples and strawberries - yum!

Contributor: TIFFANY

I'm Tiffany, a 20-something gal from Eastern Oregon who also happens to be Jodi's step-sister. Although I love to cook, I don't always find the time and will resort to crockpot and semi-homemade meals for my dear husband (not that he's complaining). My husband and I are avid hunters, so many of my recipes may include wild game, which can easily be substituted.

I imagine I got my start in the kitchen at my mother's feet, but my first major experience was with my 4-H group, the Cookie Cutters where I baked several types of cookies and even received blue ribbons at the Oregon State Fair. Since then, I have always loved to bake - cookies, pies, brownies, you name it.

My kitchen experiences range from genius to disaster - including some of my husband's mishaps in the kitchen. I'm excited to be along for this home cooking adventure, and look forward to sharing my recipes and stories. To keep up with me on a more personal level, visit Tiffany in Real Life.

Drinks: Tanqueray & Tonic, Spicy Bloody Mary, Tequila, & Coors Light
Steaks: Medium Rare
Sweets: Chocolate