Greg's Guacamole

When Greg asked me if I'd make a run for guacamole ingredients last night, I happily said yes. First, because he  had a stress-y, crappy, headache kind of day, and I wanted to help him feel better. And second, because I've been meaning to type up the recipe for it for my friend, Des. I thought it'd be fun to snap a few pictures as we went about making it, so I could do a proper post for her. Two cravings in one grocery trip...WIN! Too bad we were working at night in our neon-lit cave of a kitchen.  Some exposures were better executed than others. Oh well, it was still good practice for shooting with my camera in manual mode.

Guac is happy food around our house. We're big, BIG fans. It's oh so good, easy, and very adaptable to your own tastes and ingredients on hand.

The basic players in a good guac are avocados (duh), onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice.

We start out with about six small avocados or three jumbo ones.  Whichever are ripe or on sale at the grocery store. Spoon the flesh into a large bowl, and mash them up a bit. (Mmmm...I have a hard core addiction to avocados.) Then dice up two or three tomatoes, and throw them in the mix. (We usually use romas, because they're less juicy.)

We use a small food processor to quickly dice up the onion, cilantro and jalapeño. (I say "we", but really I just handle the avocados then sit back and eat Oreos while Greg does the rest.)

I really like white onions, but red onions are very delicious too. Of coarse, yellow is fine, but beware of the stronger flavor. Use a half to a whole depending on your taste. Please don't forget the jalapeños! They will not make is spicy. I promise. Greg has thrown in as many as three before without telling me until I declared it delicious. Throwing in the cilantro with the onions and jalapeños will help it chop up nicely.

Season your green goodness with a little salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

Oh BILLY! Guacamole rocks. I hope you enjoy it, Des!!!

Greg's Guacamole

6 avocados
2-3 roma tomatoes
1/2 to whole white onion
cilantro (about half a bunch)
juice from about one lime
1-3 jalapeños
salt to taste (honestly I don't think this is necessary, but Greg firmly disagrees.)

Smash, dice, chop, and mix it in a bowl. Eat on everything. Seriously....chips, sandwiches, wraps, hamburgers, plain on a spoon....everything.

13 Bean Soup (slow cooker style)

Melinda requested that I put this on the blog. I guess that's what happens when you post on Facebook about how good your dinner smells.

I actually have both Gwen and Mom to thank for helping me with ideas. I have never cooked beans before so I had no idea where to start. I love having a family full of good cooks! I didn't follow a recipe for this, but I'll give you an idea of what I did.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked beans (I used the bulk 13-bean mix from Winco)
5 cups water
1 cup broth
1 tsp beef bullion paste (or one bullion cube)
3 cloves garlic, minced (garlic=goodness, am I right?)
2 bay leaves
Italian sausage, cut into 1" pieces and cooked
1 large onion
mushrooms galore
2-3 bell peppers (I used a bunch of little ones)
1/2 head of cauliflower
ground black pepper to taste
celery salt to taste
sour cream (a dollop per bowl)

We used veggies that we had in our fridge, but I'm sure carrots, tomatoes, and many other variations of vegetables would be good. Gwen's in-laws use a ham bone instead of sausage to add flavor.

Steps:
Wash and sort through the beans, removing any rocks. Place beans, water, broth, and spices in the slow cooker and set on low heat. Cook the sausage thoroughly and add to the soup. Cook for 4-5 hours. Add veggies and cook for another 1-2 hours (or more) depending on the heartiness of the vegetables. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top or some shredded mozzarella.

I'm no expert in Crock-Pot cooking, but I think it turned out pretty good. We had some flaky biscuits with it. Yum! It was super easy and healthy.

Gwen says that her sister-in-law, Emily, has some yummy bean recipes. Maybe she will share them with us on here. hint hint. =] If anyone tries something else with this meal that turns out tasty, let me know! Jordan's favorite food is soup.

Strawberry "Party In Your Mouth" Sandwich

The other day I had a surplus of spinach, and nothing to use it for. I bought it with the intent to make a quiche, but was no longer feelin' it. Then I remembered hearing tale of an sandwich that could possibly be the solution to my predicament. A sandwich so amazing that it had earned the name "Party In Your Mouth." A sandwich made with strawberries. STRAWBERRIES! Fortunately, I had just purchased a carton of said sweet berries, (YUM) so I called my sister, Mignon, to learn how to make her creation. (Seriously, who tries making a sandwich with strawberries? Mignon. Because she's RAD.) It's super easy to make, and super fun to EAT! It could even be described as party like. =)

Strawberry "Party In Your Mouth" Sandwich

English Muffin (I used a whole wheat one.)
Deli turkey   (Mignon said to use sun-dried tomato turkey, but I had peppered, so that's what I used.)
Swiss Cheese
Spinach or lettuce
Fresh Strawberries, sliced
Poppyseed Dressing

Lightly toast the english muffin using the broiler setting on your oven. Then place cheese on one side and turkey on the other, and broil some more to melt the cheese.

When everything is nice, warm and melty, it's time to add the remaining ingredients.

Layer on spinach leaves, sliced strawberries, and a swizzle of poppyseed dressing. Place the other half on top, and freakin' enjoy the summertime fiesta.

Mmmmm...the strawberries warm ever-so-slightly making them taste AWESOME. I loved it. However, I have to admit I think it would have tasted even better if I hadn't used a whole wheat muffin. Which is why I made the same sandwich "quesadilla style" for lunch a couple days later.

This time I used sun-dried tomato turkey and a blend of italian cheeses.

BEST QUESADILLA EVAH!!!!