Send hints & tips anonymously for FREE!

I had to share this with you all. I found a site where you can ANONYMOUSLY send hints and tips, you know like “keep your music down at night” and “wear deodarant during carpool” for FREE! It’s hilarious and fun. There is something for everybody and it’s organized in categories to find what you are looking for easily and quick.

You can have them delivered to their cell phone or email. The site is always updating with new stuff and now you can even choose the tips you want paired with the hint you chose.

The site is www.hintlibrary.com Check it out if you get a chance!

Blog’s Demise

I will not be adding any new posts for quite awhile. I have too much on my plate and have to cut something, unfortunately I have not been able to devote the time I once thought I could to make my blog’s successful, so they are being cut. I am going to leave this one active to share the recipes I have already posted.

Thank you for your support. Please take a moment to look at my other published pieces and watch for my name on bookshelves in the future!

Chorizo-Beef Nachos

I apologize for being AWOL for awhile. The holiday weekend was full of BBQ’s and leftovers. So, here is what I made on Monday. It was DELICIOUS!!! A bit labor intensive for nachos, but so worth the time.

Ingredients

5 ounces skirt steak (see Notes), chopped, or lean ground beef
5 ounces Mexican chorizo, casing removed, finely crumbled
1 medium onion
1 large garlic clove
1 teaspoon ground cumin, divided
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp. mild to hot salsa verde
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 can (4 oz.) diced green chiles, drained
1 large, ripe avocado
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
Kosher salt
9 cups tortilla chips
2 cups (1/2 lb.) shredded jack cheese
1 quart finely shredded Iceberg lettuce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, brown steak and chorizo, stirring, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop onion and mince garlic. Add onion and all but 1/8 tsp. cumin to pan. Stir often until onion is soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in 1 1/2 cups salsa. Simmer until thick, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.2. While steak mixture simmers, combine black beans, 3/4 cup water, oregano, 1 tsp. garlic, and chiles in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until all but about 1/4 cup liquid has evaporated, 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make guacamole: Pit and peel avocado. In a bowl, mash avocado with remaining 1 tbsp. salsa, remaining 1/8 tsp. cumin, remaining garlic, and the lime juice. Stir 1 tbsp. cilantro into guacamole and add salt to taste.

4. Line a large, rimmed baking pan with parchment paper. Arrange chips in a 12-in.-wide circle. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese melts, 3 to 4 minutes.

5. While chips are baking, arrange lettuce around rim of a large serving platter (at least 16 in. wide). With a wide spatula, loosen chips from parchment. Carefully lift parchment from pan, then slide chips off paper into center of platter. Spoon meat mixture over chips. With a slotted spoon, top with beans. Spoon guacamole over center of nachos and sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. cilantro.

Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.

Yield

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 795(55% from fat); FAT 49g (sat 16g); CHOLESTEROL 75mg; CARBOHYDRATE 63g; SODIUM 1271mg; PROTEIN 29g; FIBER 0.0g

Sunset, JANUARY 2008

Fruity Fish

I was experimenting with flavors again last night. I marinated salmon in Raspberry Vinagrette, then baked it on 400° for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I made couscous with 1/2 water, 1/2 fruit juice and when it was done added crumbled feta and dried cherries. Green beans on the side and we were done.

I am using the left over salmon tonight to make a frittata and hashbrowns with bacon. Breakfast dinner is delicious once in awhile.

Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and see you around the table next time!

Lemon Roasted Chicken w/ Potatoes

This was a huge hit tonight! My toddler wanted more and my husband loved it!!!!! You don’t know what a miracle this was…well, maybe you do….hope it works just as good for your family.

What You Need:

• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• Coarse salt, to taste
• 1 whole chicken, appr. 6 lbs.
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 12 stems of fresh thyme
• 2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 halved (I didn’t have lemons, so I used oranges)
• 4 T. unsalted butter, softened
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook potatoes in simmering salted water until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Drain. Place chicken in a roasting pan, breast side up. Scatter potatoes, garlic, thyme and 1/2 lemon slices around chicken. Dot potatoes with butter. Stuff chicken with lemon half and thyme stems. Truss chicken. Rub butter on skin. Loosen skin and place remaining lemon slices under the skin. Squeeze lemon juice all over the chicken and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken is cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

Hope you enjoy this dinner as much as we did. Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and see you around the table next time!

Creamy Basil Zucchini Soup

I found this recipe in the May issue of Sunset magazine. I am just starting my garden and have yet to experience the overwhelming production of zucchini that I have heard much about from my friends. I have been keeping eyes, ears and nose out to find some used for zucchini’s to use up the vast amounts around me and to enjoy it during the winter months. I am making this soup today, on a 90° to freeze and store in our chest freezer. We got the chest freezer to house the 1/2 a pig we bought, and now I have gone a little crazy wanting to make, bake and freeze. We also have a 1/2 a cow coming n the fall, so I must leave a little room. But, anyway, on to the soup!

What You Need:

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 lrg. yellow onion, chopped
• 2 lbs. zucchini, sliced 1/4″ thick (the recipe doesn’t specify, but I peeled mine too)
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 1 c. loosely packed, fresh basil leaves
• 2 T. crème fraîche, plus some for garnish (or sour cream, if no crème fraîche)
• 1/4 t. chili powder
• Kosher salt

What You Do:

Heat the olive in a dutch oven and cook onions about 5 minutes, add zucchini and cook another 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and basil leaves. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a blender and force through a mesh seive. Add 2 T. creme fraiche (or sour cream) and 1/4 t. chili powder. Season with salt to taste. Serve or freeze!

And, get this…only 101 calories for each 1 1/2 c. serving!

Hope you enjoy! I will be embarking on a soup making adventure all summer long and will be bringing you more delicious recipes.

Pork Fried Rice

I had some left over pork from the chops the other night and wanted something quick and easy, so I threw together some pork friend rice. This, or stir fry, are both highly customizable. This is what I did for my family, find what works for yours and enjoy!

Cut some pork into small bite-size pieces. I used left overs that were already cooked, you can use raw, just allow it time to cook completely before adding other ingredients. The key to fried rice and stir fry’s are to have everything pre-cxhopped and ready to dump into the pan because you will be cooking on high and need to constantly stir the meal. Make some instant white, brown or whatever you like rice. Beat a couple of eggs and set aside. Chop any other veggies you are going to use. Broccholi works well, so does, frozen peas, frozen peppers mix, finely diced onions…whatever. I left out the veggies and served salad on the side, because my husband is picky.

Once you have everything ready to go, heat a skillet or wok on high heat until it’s smokin’ hot. Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in and allow the oil to heat. The oil will start smoking when it’s ready. Dump in the pork and keep it moving until it is warmed through and brown. Dump in the veggies and get them cooked through, dump in the rice and let it meld with the other flavors. Salt, pepper, soy sauce and any other flavors go in at this point. Dump in the eggs and keep them moving. This will help bind it together and give it some yummy flavor. Take of the heat and serve. Top with chopped scallions and slivered almonds to make it extra special.

Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and see you around the table next time!

Put Some Shrimp On The Barbe- Baby! -Que that is!

I must start by saying I long for a “real” grill. We have a little hibachi and I am making due, until we have the money to spend on a big kid grill. With that said, I made BBQ shrimp and potatoes with grilled corn on the cob.

So easy, you don’t even a need a recipe. I used left over corn and potatoes from last night. I buy my shrimp cleaned and deveined. I soak wood skewers for 30 minutes (this prevents them from catching fire or burning up) and put the shrimp and quartered potatoes on them. I seasoned with a little steak seasoning, use what you have. Grill everything for a couple of minutes on each side and EAT! Shrimp is finished when it releases from the grill, turns orange/pinkish and curls into a “C”.

Enjoy! Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and see you around the table next time!

Stuffed Potatoes

So, I had some steak we weren’t sure what to do with. We picked the wrong steaks at the store and ended up with thin, paltry looking things. I came up with an idea and set forth…

Steam some potatoes, I used a bag of small yukon golds. Cook up some steak. I chopped it up seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder then cooked in a little olive oil over medium high heat. Meanwhile, shucked and boil some fresh corn…yum! I made sure there was grated cheese and got out the salsa and sour cream. The idea is to build a yummy baked potato. It’s pretty low in fat and high in nutriets and the full factor.

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for having Dinner at The Hampton’s and see you around the table next time!

So…Good, and just for me!!!

So, the boys are both napping, at the same time….any of you WAH/SAHM’s know what I am talking about…aaahhhhhhh! So, I set about to make myself a light lunch. I had some left over chicken salad in the frig. from yesterday. I grabbed that, a whole wheat low-carb wrap, some grated colby cheese and Newman’s Own Mango Salsa (my fave). The chicken salad consisted of Swanson canned chicken, red grapes, salt, pepper and a little raspberry vinegrette in lew of mayo. I laid part of the wrap in the bottom of a dry non-stick pan on medium heat. Tossed a little cheese on top, some chicken salad and a tiny bit more cheese to hold the top of the wrap in place and folded the other side of the wrap over and gave it a little smoosh. I use medium heat because that lets the cheese melt without burning the outside of the casadea. I took it out of the pan after a couple of minutes and let it cool so the cheese would firm up a little, then cut it in half topped with the salsa and enjoyed…by myself…in a quiet house…..it was almost as good as dark chocolate…..ALMOST! The whole thing was less than 200 calories!

Thanks for having lunch with me, see you tonight at the dinner table!