New year, new blog, same sisters! Yes, we’ve changed our name and our location. Go read more about it on our new blog, Biscuits & Basil!
We will keep this blog alive since so many people use it for recipes, but we’d love for you to join us at our “new location” as we continue to have fun with food.
Taco Salad has been a mainstay in my family of origin for as long as I can remember (nachos ain’t too shabby either!). It also became a fixture at family beach house get-togethers. And I love it. But leftovers don’t keep well. Like, at. all. So I decided to start serving it as more of a Taco Salad Bar, where all the ingredients are in separate serving dishes and you just put it together on your own. And that worked out great.
But recently, as we were having our traditional BYO (Build Your Own) Taco Salad with my own family, I kept wondering if there was an easier way to eat it. Trying to maneuver taco meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and Doritos all in the same mouthful is a challenge, to say the least. Should I just use a spoon? Should everything be cut super tiny….chopped salad style?
And then it came to me.
NACHOS. What if I made them like nachos instead?
And it worked. Beautifully!
The recipe does not show ingredient amounts, and that’s another great benefit of Taco Salad. You can just make what you are hungry for! A regular size bag of Doritos was PLENTY for about 6 people with generous portions. Adjust accordingly! We used the classic flavor, but you can use any Doritos flavor you like. The ingredient list reflects what my own family likes in our Taco Salad, but you may wish to add sliced black olives, avocado, diced green onions, etc. Whatever you decide to top your Nacho Mama’s Taco Salad Nachos with, I’m sure it will be delicious!
Cilantro Citrus Rice is the perfect accompaniment to your Mexican-inspired main dishes or even as the base for Hawaiian Haystacks! Don’t let my boring picture fool you. The flavors are beautiful and subtle, which is good for people like me who don’t love cilantro; I couldn’t get enough! If you want more flavor, simply double the cilantro and citrus juices.
Because of its ease of cooking and consistently successful outcome, a pressure cooker is my preferred way to make my rice. But don’t despair if you don’t have a pressure cooker (and jasmine rice is my preferred rice). This Cilantro Citrus Rice can be prepared using just about any rice method and type you like. Your basic set up is the same.
If you use the stove top to prep your rice, you will still follow the same steps after the rice is cooked. Want to use microwaveable rice? Same thing. Just start the recipe after rice prep and adjust the amounts accordingly. Cilantro Citrus Rice makes 3 cups of rice; next time I think I’ll double it as it is TASTY!!
The original recipe says it’s a copycat for Chipotle’s rice, but my husband said it tastes better than that! Give it a try and let me know if you agree with him!
You can’t go wrong with a good potato recipe, and if you add Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, and olive oil….well, then, you just have bliss, don’t you? Seriously, the combo of all these ingredients just makes your kitchen smell heavenly while it’s roasting. No wonder so many comfort foods contain potatoes! National Potato Day is coming up on October 27th, so why not celebrate with Italian Roasted Potatoes?!
You could use dried parsley for this, but the fresh cut parsley looks so great and is just so appetizing. I used powdered Parmesan cheese, but you could opt for freshly grated Parmesan if you prefer. When you measure out the Italian seasoning, pour it into the palm of your hand and then use the pads of your other hand to crush and rub the seasoning before adding it. In this way, you’re essentially making a kind of a mortar and pestle with your hands. Crushing the seasoning in this way will allow more flavor to be released.
If you can swing it, use a good, high-quality olive oil as it will make a big flavor difference. For example, my favorite olive oils come from Beaufort Olive Oil Company. (And by the way, that’s pronounced “BOW-fert” in North Carolina, as opposed to the South Carolina “BYUU-fert.”) Using a flavored olive oil might also be a fun thing to experiment with, but I prefer using a medium intensity, all-purpose olive oil such as a Picual or a Frantoio.
Great as a side to your dinner’s main dish, Italian Roasted Potatoes would also make a great addition to a brunch where you could serve it alongside egg dishes or Anna’s Fresh Tomato and Basil Pie. Whatever food companion you decide to serve this alongside, I’m sure you’ll be happy with result. I mean, who doesn’t love potatoes?
Way back when our recipe blog first began, a recipe for Hawaiian Haystacks was posted by one of our original recipe authors, Kara. It was one of our most viewed recipes so I figured it was time to post another version of it and, I must say, I’m pretty in love with this one. Fortunately, it’s a bit quicker than other recipes, but just as delicious!
My family tried this recipe out recently during a weekend trip to a VRBO in Virginia. Although the pics aren’t great (dark and small kitchen) the dish was still delicious. No pressure cooker so I cooked the rice the old-fashioned way on the stove top. Either way I think that the timing–starting the rice then prepping the chicken/gravy and toppings while the rice cooks–works out about the same.
I’m a big fan of rotisserie chicken for convenience and flavor, so when I saw a recipe using it as the chicken base I knew I had to try it. I tweaked a few things to make it fit my family and my preferences and I invite you to do the same. Make it your own by incorporating toppings your family loves!
Jasmine rice is my very much preferred choice for just about anything rice-related! And I really like to use my pressure cooker for it. But you could use leftover rice from another meal (I often will make way more rice than I need so I can use it for other meals). Because there are so many rice options (leftovers, minute rice, pressure cooker, stove top, microwave rice) I have not included rice cooking instructions. So just make whatever rice you want in whatever method you want. Just use your judgement here: if you are “long” cooking (pressure cooking or stove top) start the rice first then do the rest of the ingredients. If you are using a “quick” cook (leftovers warmed up, microwave, minute, etc). Do that at the end. See, it’s versatile!
Now, as for toppings…I’ve only listed what *I* like. Many people include sliced black olives but I don’t because, gross. From Kara’s original recipe, she also lists diced celery, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, and sliced water chestnuts. But you do you…..do whatever toppings float your boat, tickle your Elmo, etc. By the way, you can find crunchy chow mein noodles in the Asian aisle at the grocery store.
So, what are your favorite toppings for Hawaiian Haystacks?
I love scratch bread recipes but let’s face it….sometimes you need something quicker and easier like these delicious bread sticks made from pre-made puff pastry out of the freezer section. Not only delicious, they are super easy and will have your guests grabbing for more. The texture alone is to die for, and you can play around with which herbs combinations you like the best.
Easy, quick, and delicious….your most complicated part of preparing these is to remember to thaw out the pastry sheets about 45 minutes before you want to cut and make. Seriously.
The original recipe recommended using only one of the sheets from the package (most packages are going to come with two sheets of pastry). Smartly, I decided to do both sheets when I served these for the first time at a casual dinner get-together for six. Your guests will be going back for seconds…and thirds. And you, more than likely, will have eaten a couple just while prepping the rest of dinner.
Not that I did that or anything.
And these will go with just about any meal. I served them alongside some tasty slow cooker chicken, roasted potatoes, and side salad.
What will you pair these flaky breadsticks with?
One of my very favorite things to use in the kitchen is really good olive oil. Only in the last few years have I realized what a difference it makes in cooking and preparing dishes (like my Italian Roasted Potatoes). Whenever I go to the Emerald Isle, NC, location for Beaufort Olive Oil Company, I just can’t get enough of the samples! Pouring a bit of balsamic and olive oil over those little bread cube samples….yum. So many flavor combos at your fingertips! But when it comes to purchasing, I usually stick with my favorite mild to medium all-purpose olive oils and get more adventurous with the balsamic flavors. Find a good olive oil store and go in for a sample; you won’t regret it!
I’ve been getting doTERRA essential oils for years now, and my favorite oil is still Holiday Joy! Just taking a whiff of it makes me smile and reminds me of Christmas. Pairing it with Tangerine or Wild Orange just makes it even better although it is great on its own. Often I will diffuse it in the kitchen while listening to Christmas music (yes, even when it’s not the holidays) when I just need a boost. Many essential oil companies have similar blends, though I have not tried any of them so I can only vouch for this one. What’s your favorite essential oil blend?
When did you get your first gray hair? Guess when I got mine. TWENTY-ONE!! Yep, that’s right. Now at that age I could just pluck the occasional gray hair out. But I got to a point about a decade ago or so that I started getting my hair colored on a regular basis. The sides and front are more than 50% gray! Rather than move my appointments closer together I’ve been opting for products to help me make it to my regular 5-6 week intervals. I’ve tried sprays, but those just feel gross in my hair and I always end up spraying my face a little. Recently I decided to try something easier to apply and I LOVE it! Style Edit’s Binding Powder is perfect for my needs. The actual powder is in a little pan on top (kind of looks like an eye shadow) and the applicator is a sponge attached to the bottom. Easy to use and it works great. It doesn’t make my hair feel gross and it stays on all day.
I don’t have the longest lashes. Don’t get me wrong–they’re not super short but they’re not long by any stretch of the imagination. So I’ve thought about lash extensions (worried about damaging what I already have). I’ve tried a direct sales company’s dual tube application system (no matter what I did, it kept flaking off…but dang they looked long!). I’ve even tried unsuccessfully to apply fake eyelashes (I just couldn’t get them to stay in place). But I have been using Thrive Causemetics‘ mascara for probably over a year and I love it. It gives me the length I like without flaking off and it doesn’t require multiple tubes to get there. A nice benefit to using their products is that for every product you purchase, they donate to help women who are fighting cancer, surviving domestic abuse , or are coming out of homelessness. Long lashes and helping others? Sign me up!
Stay tuned for December’s Favorite Things!
Ever since we found this way to make popcorn, I don’t think we’ve bothered to every buy microwave popcorn again! My kids and I watched an episode of Good Eats (the original series….can’t wait to see what Alton Brown has in store with his newest episodes…so glad it’s back!) and were intrigued with the idea of making popcorn on the stovetop. I grew up having popcorn made this way but with vegetable oil and in a heavy saucepan. This way is much better, tastier, and yields a LOT more popcorn per batch if you have a big bowl.
So, first of all, you are going to need a stainless steel bowl. Don’t know if your bowl is stainless? Read more here about how to tell. I happen to have a hand-me-down bowl from my mother that holds about 11 quarts. But the size here doesn’t matter, it’s the method you need to know. The amounts can adjust easily to the size of your bowl. Just tonight, I used my big bowl but didn’t use as much coconut oil and popcorn, so it made a small batch. With this large bowl, I have the option of going big or small.
Here’s how you do it…..and sorry I don’t have pics of every step, but it’s very simple. And, I do have a video at the end that my daughter recorded that should be very helpful for you!
What you need: stainless steel bowl, coconut oil, popcorn kernels, aluminum foil (heavy duty is best), small paring knife or ice pick, oven mitts of hot pads
Step 1–Lay out your aluminum foil. For my bowl I need two sheets several inches wider than my bowl is across. I overlap these two sheets on their long sides and fold that overlap over twice. This will cover the bowl during popping.
Step 2–Set the stainless steel bowl on the appropriate sized burner. The bottom of the bowl is what is making contact with the stovetop, so don’t pick a burner that’s bigger than the bowl bottom. Turn the burner on low. Immediately spoon in some coconut oil. For a full bowl of popcorn, I melt enough coconut oil to completely cover the bottom of my bowl to a depth of about a popcorn kernel.
Step 3–Once the coconut oil is almost completely melted, pour in your popcorn kernels until all the coconut oil is taken up by kernels. You know, no puddling of extra oil.
Step 4–Immediately lay the foil sheets (that have been folded together in the middle) over the top of the bowl and scrunch the foil around the edges of the bowl to secure it well. Use your paring knife or ice pick to carefully cut 6-8 holes across the surface of the foil to allow some steam to escape. Don’t make these too big as some oil splattering can occur.
Step 5–Turn the heat up to medium. With oven mitts on (or holding hot pads) grasp the sides of the bowl and shimmy it back and forth over the burner. Turn the bowl a quarter turn every so often and continue shimmying it until all the kernels have popped or till the popping sounds have slowed down a lot. Turn off burn and move bowl to another spot on the stovetop.
Step 6–Carefully remove the foil covering (steam will escape) and set it aside. Salt the popcorn, then use a wooden spoon or heat-proof scraper to turn the popcorn to distribute the salt evenly. Repeat if necessary until it’s salted to your liking. Serve! Just remember that the bowl stays hot for a while so be careful.
Muffins don’t have to be off-limits if you are trying to reduce your use of refined flour, as evidenced by these tasty banana-y, chocolate chip-y, oatmeal-y muffins!
This particular recipe was a big hit on our old recipe blog and was originally posted by one of our first blog contributors, Jamie. So we thought we’d bring it back for a reappearance on this blog.
Keep in mind that this recipe is not meant to be a complete replacement for regular flour muffins. Because there’s no flour–not even any gluten-free or alternative flours–the consistency is dense and not fluffy. But I thought they were a great breakfast and snack option to have around, and I snacked on these frequently after making them.
Low Country Boil has become a tradition for our family, but only if we are at the beach. Not that we couldn’t have it at home if we wanted to, but it’s just come to be associated with beach time! And that’s fine by me. The more of both, the better.
Over the years we have tested and tweaked and found our family’s favorite ingredient combo, amount, and method of serving. It suits us. You may choose to do it differently, but that’s the beauty of the boil…..you make it your own by what you choose to put it in and how you choose to serve it.
Crawfish, corn, crab legs, shrimp, sausage, potatoes, etc. There are so many variations. But our family sticks with the fab four of shrimp, polska kielbasa, corn on the cob, and Yukon potatoes. When you change up the ingredients just know that you will need to adjust the cooking times accordingly. While some people add vinegar or lemons, we prefer it with just some seasoning. But you do you! You’ll need a big stockpot with a lid to hold all this goodness.
Once the last ingredient, the shrimp, have cooked you need to drain that thing pronto! Overcooked shrimp are no fun to eat. So, ideally, you would be equipped with a special pot and strainer, like this one. But neither I nor the beach house kitchen has one of these bad boys, so we make do. Before it’s time to drain, I get my hot pads and a bath towel ready. And, by the way, with a heavy stockpot full of water and food, this now becomes a two person job.
I lay the towel on the edge of the sink and another person will use the bath towel to hold the bottom of it while I hold the handles and lid to drain. That second person essentially keeps the pot from falling over and slipping and they hold the weight of it so it can be tipped over while steam envelopes the draining person and makes their hair even more frizzy than it already is with beach humidity. But seriously, be very careful here because IT’S HOT!
Die-hards may tell you it’s not an official boil unless you dump it all out onto a table covered in paper (drained first, of course!). It’s fun that way, but messy. I have found that my favorite way to serve it is, after it’s drained, divide it up into disposable foil pans (like I said we do this at the beach and who wants to do dishes at the beach?!). The beach house dining room is two picnic tables placed end to end, so it’s a long dining space. This allows everyone down the table to have access to a whole mess o’ the boil.
Serve it with melted butter and cocktail sauce (Cross & Blackwell only please….on this I simply will not budge). I really like for everyone to have their own individual dishes for the butter and the cocktail sauce so I’ve come up with a couple of solutions on how to do this. Again, I’m at the beach and don’t want to add to my dishwashing duties, so both ideas are disposable.
My favorite: Use disposable foil muffin pans (the ones with 6 muffin wells). I cut these with heavy kitchen scissors so that I have 3 sets of wells (2 wells in each). That means each person has their own little serving container that can hold both the melted butter and the cocktail sauce.
My backup, if no pans can be found: Occasionally I go to the beach grocery store and they don’t have the foil muffin pans so I get the disposable 1 oz. sample cups that look like this. They are smaller than muffin pan wells, but they’ll do in a pinch.
