Chicken Cacciatore

Last night I was feeling feisty in the kitchen!
I made Pecan Pie AND Chicken Cacciatore!
My belly was happy....Dusty's belly was happy. It was a good time.

This meal is perfect for a crisp fall evening. I loved it! Definitely a good savory dish.

Here is what you need for 2 people:
-1/2 lb Egg Noodles
-4 chicken thighs
-Salt & Pepper
-1/4 cup Flour
-2 tbsp Olive Oil
-1 tbsp Butter
-1/2 of a medium Onion-sliced
-1 orange or red Bell Pepper-sliced
-1 green Bell Pepper-sliced
-2 to 3 cloves of Garlic-diced
-6 oz of Mushrooms-thickly sliced
-1/8 tsp Tumeric
-1/4 tsp Ground Thyme
-1/4 tsp Salt
-3 oz of White Wine
-1-14 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
-Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
-Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then chop up and prepare all the good stuff that is going to be cooked.

Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and then dredge them in flour. Shake off the excess flour.

Heat the olive oil and butter at medium-high heat in your Dutch Oven or large skillet and brown the chicken on both sides until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the skillet and scoop out all the fat/butter/oil.

Add the Bell Peppers, Garlic and Onion to the pot and stir it around for a minute or so. Then add in the mushrooms and all the seasonings and stir around for another minute. Add the white wine and let it bubble. This smells so good. I love it!

Next pour in the diced tomatoes and stir them around to combine.

Then add the chicken thighs back into the pot, but don't totally submerge them into the liquid. Let the tops of them poke out a bit!

Place the lid on the Dutch Oven and then put it in the oven for 45 minutes to cook. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to directions. Then after the 45 minutes, crank up the heat to 375 degrees and remove the lid. Let it cook a little more for 15 more minutes.

Now it is time to serve! Place the noodles on the plate first and then top them with the veggie mixture. Then add the chicken thighs on top. Make it extra special with a sprinkling of parsley and parmesan cheese!

Enjoy!

Pecan Pie

Thanks to getting Election Day off from school, I was able to have a relaxing and fun 4-day weekend up at Dusty's parents farm up north. The main purpose of the trip was to go "hunting".... but after 2 mornings of getting up before sunrise in the freezing cold and hiking 5 miles a day. I was over it.

Luckily, Dusty and his dad didn't care if I was there or not, because they were obsessed with getting a huge buck that was hanging out on the farm. He was a very fat and happy buck from eating all the grain, his antlers were so huge that they were wider than his whole body!

Lucky for the fat/happy buck, he got away. Sadly, for a smaller buck, he didn't. When Dusty called to say he shot the buck, I cried....I cried hard. It was my first time seeing an animal get dissected that wasn't living in a jar of formaldehyde in a lab. Let's just say that Haley will not be going on a hunting trip any time soon!

The best part of the trip however, was that I was taught Dusty's moms' famous and secret pie crust recipe! His mom has forever ruined me because now I am obsessed with pie! I have never made a pie crust before because I've been so terrified to make it because Dusty holds such high standards for pie from his mom. Let me tell you what, his mom definitely raises the bar high. IT IS SO GOOD! I'd tell you the recipe, but then I would have to kill you. So unfortunately in this post I will not be sharing the pie crust recipe....but hopefully talking about the pecan pie filling will be satisfying enough.
I'm sorry! I'd really like to tell you....but I can't.

So this is what you need for awesome Pecan Pie:
-9 in unbaked Pie Crust
-1-1/4 cup Pecan Halves
-1 cup Corn Syrup
-1 cup White Sugar
-3 tbsp Brown Sugar
-1/2 tsp Salt
-1 tsp Vanilla
-1/3 cup melted Butter
-3 large Eggs-beaten

Place the unbaked pie shell into your pie pan and form the crust so that it looks pretty. I like using the "Pinch Method" which is using my thumb and pointer finger with my other pointer finger to form the crinkled crust. It's what Dusty's mom taught me and I like it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of the pie crust with the pecans and spread them out evenly.

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and pour them over the top of the pecans.

Look how the pecans float to the top!  It makes for a really nice crusty topping.

Then you need to cover the crust with aluminum foil so it doesn't burn and place the pie in the oven.

Bake the pie for 30 minutes and then remove the foil. Bake the pie for 20 more minutes. If the pie filling isn't too jiggly, then it is good to go. Otherwise if there is still jiggle, cover the whole pie with foil and bake for an addition 10-20 minutes. Don't burn the crust and the pecans!

Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before serving. It is very important to let the pie set up, otherwise it will have a funky texture. I know because I got excited and cut into it too early last night. But this morning the pie was absolutely perfect!

Enjoy!

Apple Pork Loin

My Mom introduced me to this recipe about 2 weeks ago, the night before we left for Yellowstone to be exact. It's a recipe from Emril that was on Good Morning America, but his recipe had prunes....YUCK! So my mom changed it and took out the prunes. It turned out absolutely delicious!
I loved this recipe so much that I wanted Dusty to try it, so I made it last week. He loved it too! We concluded that this is the perfect recipe for a crisp fall day.

This is what you are going to need:
-1 1/4 cup Apple Cider
-2 1/2 lb Boneless Pork Loin
-2 tsp Salt
-1 tsp Pepper
-3 tbsp Olive Oil
-2 small Onions-cut into 1/2 inch wide wedges
-2 Pink Lady or Honeycrisp Apples-peeled,cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
-2 cloves Garlic-sliced
-1/4 cup Chicken Broth
-2 tsp dried Thyme (or 4 fresh Thyme sprigs)
-2 tbsp Cider Vinegar
-4 tbsp cold Butter

First preheat the oven to 325 degrees and then heat the olive oil in your Dutch Oven over high heat. While you are waiting for the oil to heat up, season the pork loin with salt and pepper on both sides.

When the oil is hot and ready, add the pork loin and brown on both sides (which takes approximately 4 minutes on each side). Then remove it from the Dutch Oven and place it on a baking sheet or platter.

Reduce the heat to Medium and add the onions, apples and garlic.

Caramelize them for about 3 minutes until they turn a slight golden brown. Then add 1-1/4 cup of apple cider and bring it to a boil. The smell of this combination reminds me of my moms homemade stuffing for Thanksgiving! It's heaven!

Return the Pork Loin to the Dutch Oven and nestle it in with the onions and apples. Add 2 tsp of Thyme and bring it to a simmer. Cover the Dutch Oven and transfer it to the oven. Cook the pork loin for 40-50 minutes until the pork is cooked all the way through....NO PINK!

Once the pork done cooking, remove the Dutch Oven from the oven and place the pork loin back onto the platter.

This next part is where the magic happens, trust me.

Turn the heat up to Medium-High and bring the apple/onion mixture to a boil to slightly reduce the mixture. Add the cider vinegar, salt and pepper and then stir to combine. Reduce the heat to Medium-Low to allow the sauce to simmer...not boil. Next, add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time while stirring until it is completely combine. Remove the sauce from the heat.

Cut the pork loin into thin slices and spoon TONS of sauce on top of it. You must have tons of suace because it is that good!

Enjoy!

Yellowstone National Park

Two weekends ago my family took a little trip to Yellowstone National Park. We are so lucky because we only live 5 hours from Yellowstone and 4 hours from Glacier National Park. Right smack dab in the middle of possibly two of the most beautiful places on Earth. My family had such a great time....we saw everything the park had to offer!

Here are some of the things we saw....

Tons of Buffalo

Old Faithful Geyser

Grizzly Bear and.....

BABY GRIZZLY BEARS!!!

They were so cute and this was an unbelievable opportunity.

We were so blessed to see them!

If we weren't lucky enough....we got to see a wolf right after seeing the Grizzly bears!

Although all of those pictures are great....this one is my absolute favorite.

I love this picture so much.

This trip was a weekend full of fun and amazement. I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful area with such great opportunities to see nature at its finest. If you go to Yellowstone, I highly suggest going in the late Fall like we did. You get to see so many beautiful sights and hear the Elk buggling. No words can describe it. You just have to do it!!!

My Halloween House

Last week I found this adorable Wilton Gingerbread Halloween House at Walmart. When I saw it, I knew I had to make it. But of course making this house had to come with some difficulties....actually one. The house comes pre-assembled, which can be a good thing but for me it was bad. The house kept breaking!

I had to return the house to Walmart to get a new one because the roof crumbled! I opened and checked tons of kits before I finally found one that didn't have cracks in it. But when I got home, I realized my kit didn't have the food coloring dye it was suppose to come with! UGH! Thankfully I had a bottle of black dye to use for the frosting otherwise it would have been a orange and white house, which isn't as spooky!

After a couple of hours of intense decorating, I think my Halloween House turned out to be adorable! I highly recommend buying candy corn and pumpkins to make a yard for the house because it was not included in the kit.

If you have the time and feeling creative, go to Walmart and get yourself this kit. It's only $9 and really fun!

"This is Halloween!"

Even though it's 2 weeks pre-mature...Dusty and I got super excited and decided to carve pumpkins tonight instead of waiting for Halloween. He and I had tons of fun picking out our stencils from online and looking for the perfect pumpkin. These are the best pumpkins that we have carved yet!

I made Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Dusty made Scar from The Lion King

We had so much fun! Next time, I am stepping up my game because Dusty's pumpkin is so incredible!

HAPPY EARLY HALLOWEEN!

Cotes de Porc Sauce Nenette

Guess what.....it's time for another Julia Child recipe!!!
For the first time in a long time I actually had time to make a recipe that didn't involve a microwave, so I took this opportunity to try another Julia Child recipe. I'm finding that the more recipes I make of hers, the easier they are becoming to make. Maybe it's because I am finally able to decode insanely difficult written recipes....who knows!

Last night I made for Dusty and I "Cotes de Porc Sauce Nenette" which translates to Pork Chops with Mustard, Cream and Tomato Sauce. And like every other Julia Child recipe....it did not disappoint!!!

First you need to marinade 2 Pork Tenderloins:
Marinade Simple
(Lemon Juice and Herb Marinade)
-1 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp pepper
-3 Tbsp lemon juice
-3 Tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp parsley
-1/4 tsp thyme
-1 bay leaf crumbled
-1 clove mashed garlic

Rub the salt and pepper into the meat. Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and add the pork. Flip the pork around until it gets covered nicely in the sauce and then put a lid on the bowl and place it in the fridge for 3-4 hours turning and basting the meat several times during.

Now that you have marinated the pork, this is what you need:
-3 tbsp cooking oil
-2 tbsp butter
-1 clove mashed garlic

Preheat the oven to 325. Scrap off the marinade on the pork and dry it with a paper towel. According to Julia, this allows the meat to brown properly (and it really works!). Heat the oil in a dutch oven until it is moderately hot and add the pork tenderloins to your dutch oven. Brown the tenderloins for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Remove the pork from the dutch oven onto a plate and pour out the cooking oil. Then add the butter and garlic.

Return the pork to the dutch oven and baste them with the garlic butter...it smells so good!

Cover the dutch oven and place it on the lower third of your oven for 20-25 minutes. Turn and baste the pork tenderloins once or twice while they cook.

Meanwhile, you need to make the sauce!!!
Here is what you need:
-1/2 cup whipping cream
-1/4 tsp salt
-Dash of pepper
-1 tsp dry mustard
-2 tsp tomato paste
-1 tsp chopped basil
-1 tsp chopped parsley

Simme the cream, salt and pepper in a small saucepan for 8-10 minutes or until it has reduced to about 1/3 cup.
In a seperate bowl, mix the dry mustard and tomato paste together. Add the hot cream to the bowl and beat it together. Mix in the basil and parsley.

Once the pork tenderloin is done, remove them from the dutch oven and pour out the garlic butter/fat juice. Add the sauce to the dutch oven and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.

That's it! Serve and Enjoy!

Game Time: Part 2

So besides having awesome cheese dip, a man can't watch a football game with all his buddies without having some hot wings.....and that is where I come in!

I'm not even a big fan of hot and spicy foods, but these were surprisingly delicious and not too hot so that you aren't crying out of misery and pain. Just the right amount of kick!

Here is what you are going to need:
-1 lb of chicken wings
-Canola oil (for frying)

-1 stick of Butter

-6 oz of Frank's Buffalo Red Hot Sauce

-Tabasco (to taste)

In your Dutch oven pour in about 1-2 inches of Canola oil and heat it up on Medium Heat.

Next, if you bought chicken wings like I did....they are literally wings! I opened the package expected them to be all cut up and ready to go, but nope! It looked like someone had literally chopped off the wings of chickens and put them in my container. Kinda freaked me out!

You can buy them frozen and cut up already, in the freezer section. I found out too late, but save yourself!
So if you are in the situation I was in, cut the wings into smaller sizes by cutting with kitchen scissors at the joints and then they are ready to go!

When the oil is hot and ready to go, place the chicken in the dutch oven and cook the wings for about 25 minutes until they are brown and crispy.

Meanwhile, while the chicken is cooking, melt the stick of butter in a saucepan. Once it has melted add the Frank's Hot Sauce and whisk it together until well combined. Add a couple dashes of Tabasco and you are good to go on the sauce!

Once the chicken is done, place it on a paper towel to drain the oil from it. Then scoop up a couple wings at a time and place them in the sauce to coat the wings. Stir them around so that you thoroughly coat them and then they are ready to eat!!!

I made them with Jalapeno Poppers as well and man did Dusty and his friends love me! :)

Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman

Game Time: Part 1

Part 1: Cheese Dip
It isn't a football game unless you have some really good food, and I'm not talking about healthy food, I mean the bad stuff!
To start off the game right I made a Velvetta Cheese dip you are going to drool over.

Here is what you are going to need:
-16 oz Velvetta-Cubed
-1/2 lb Hot Breakfast Sausage
-1/2 Onion-Diced
-1/2 Jalapeno-Diced
-5 oz can Rotel Tomatoes and Chiles
-3.5 oz can Chopped Green Chiles

In a pan, brown the sausage with the onions.

After browned, place the sausage and onions into a Crock-Pot and set the heat to Medium. Add the cubed Velvetta cheese and stir it occassionally while the cheese melts.

Once the cheese has completely melted, add the Rotel, Green Chiles and Jalapeno.

Stir together and serve those hungry men with some Tortilla Chips!

Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman

CAKE POPS!!!!

FINALLY!!!!

I've been waiting all summer for "Cake Pops" by Bakerella to be released and as of today I have my very own copy!

I'm addicted to these little pops and have made them on several occassions. The first time I was introduced to them was over this Christmas break when my mom showed me the clip of Bakerella making Cupcake Pops on Martha Stewart. I'll never forget Martha saying that the unfinished rolled out chocolate cake balls looked like turds. Oh silly Martha!

The first time I made them was about a week or two later when my aunt came to visit in January. My mom, sister, aunt and I spent all day long making the exact Cupcake Pops that Bakerella had demonstrated on Martha. After the first bite of cake mixed with Cream Cheese frosting and Candy Melts, I was hooked!!!

Since then I have made them multiple times. Once for Dusty's little sisters High School graduation. I was so proud of them because I decorated them in her school colors! Other than that I make them just for fun...if you recall I once made them look like Cuppie, the mascot for the Cakespy blog. And let us not forget my attempt to make Mickey Mouse shaped pops to celebrate the family trip to Disneyland!

FUN STUFF!

Now I have this book of fun and I'm lovin' it!

I'm going to make these.....

and these.....

and THESE!

This is going to be too much fun!

Cheesecake Factory: Part 2

This weekend has been absolutely hectic! Instead of having the usual relaxing Labor Day weekend, this weekend the ladies of my family decided once again to load up the car for the most insanely short road trip!

My cousin Brendon got married in Las Vegas on Sunday, September 5th and we had to drive about 28 hours total for a 4 day trip. Although the long drive was torture, it was absolutely worth it. My cousins wedding was absolutely beautiful and we had such a great time with him. Besides the wedding, the highlight of the trip with going and seeing the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor Hotel and having Fried Mac N Cheese at the Cheesecake Factory in Ceasars Palace.

I'll tell you all about it in my next post. It was incredible! In fact, it was all my mom, sister and I could talk about the whole trip home. But enough of that, lets talk about my journey for a taste of my beloved Fried Mac N Cheese....

My sister and I in front of Ceasar's Palace getting ready to walk to mile it takes to get to Cheesecake Factory.

It literally is a mile long walk to get to Cheesecake Factory! By the time we reached the restuarant, we were sweating and panting. We definitely worked off whatever we were going to gain from the Mac N Cheese.

Drum Roll Please......

Look at that beautiful site! They were well worth the mile long walk.

My mom cut into the Mac N Cheese so that you all could appreciate how beautiful this dish is.

It is a masterpiece.

And we all enjoyed it very much!

Sorry!

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I haven't been on here for almost 2 weeks! I just started a job and currently training to be a Vet Tech at a Veterinary Hospital. Let me tell you what....it is an absolute zoo! It's really stressful but I absolutely love it :)
Also, I've been spending time at home with my family before school got started and before I get super duper busy. I never get to be with them enough!
And if I weren't making enough excuses for why I haven't been on here....I have to drive down to Vegas with my mom, sister and grandma for another one of my cousins weddings this Labor Day weekend = Lots of Driving!!!
Therefore, I will be eating at restuarants and not making anything myself.
(Hopefully I will get to have more deep fried Mac N Cheese from Cheesecake Factory! One can only hope!)

In conclusion, I PROMISE that I will make something soon and post it up here.
Sorry I've been away so long!
Hang in there with me!!!

Sorry!

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I haven't been on here for almost 2 weeks! I just started a job and currently training to be a Vet Tech at a Veterinary Hospital. Let me tell you what....it is an absolute zoo! It's really stressful but I absolutely love it :)
Also, I've been spending time at home with my family before school got started and before I get super duper busy. I never get to be with them enough!
And if I weren't making enough excuses for why I haven't been on here....I have to drive down to Vegas with my mom, sister and grandma for another one of my cousins weddings this Labor Day weekend = Lots of Driving!!!
Therefore, I will be eating at restuarants and not making anything myself.
(Hopefully I will get to have more deep fried Mac N Cheese from Cheesecake Factory! One can only hope!)

In conclusion, I PROMISE that I will make something soon and post it up here.
Sorry I've been away so long!
Hang in there with me!!!