Hoisin Rice Noodles with Shrimp

This recipe is so easily adapted. We've only used it with chicken, but I bet it would be awesome with shrimp. Also, I cook my vegetables, and I use a LOT of them. It's basically a stir fry, but amazing. The sauce is SO amazing!!

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Hoisin Rice Noodles with Shrimp

1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons peanut butter or tahini
1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 ounces rice noodles
Grated carrots, chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, chopped cilantro, chopped red pepper for topping

Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions by soaking in hot water.
For the sauce, whisk together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, hoisin and peanut butter. Set aside.
Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pat the shrimp {or whatever protein you use} dry and season them on both sides with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp with about 1/3 cup of the sauce until they are bright pink and cooked through, flipping once or twice, about 3-4 minutes. Scoop the shrimp and sauce onto a plate and set aside.
Drain the noodles and add them to the hot skillet with another 1/2 cup of the sauce. Cook over medium heat, tossing the noodles with the sauce, about 3-4 minutes until the noodles have soaked up a lot of the sauce and become even more tender.

Cook Vegetables with another 1/2 cup of sauce.

Place noodles, protein, and vegetables in separate bowls; then the leftover sauce in another bowl.
Allow everyone to dish up themselves and en.joy!

Recipe Source: Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

Super healthy, super delicious, super slow cooker-y. The perfect combination, yo.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs {I used leftover turkey}
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 poblano pepper or large green pepper, diced {I used diced green chiles}
32 ounces low-sodium chicken {I used turkey} broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 cans (15-ounces each) white beans (like Great Northern), rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Garnishes:
Sour cream
Avocado, diced
Chopped cilantro
Shredded cheese
Tortilla chips

Place the chicken in the bottom of a round, 5-quart slow cooker. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until rippling and hot. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the slow cooker.
Add the chicken broth and stir in the cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, and chili powder.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Remove the chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir in the rinsed and drained beans. Cook on high for 30 minutes until beans/soup are heated through. Stir in the lime and cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with garnishes

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Heaping Hash Browns

Hey, so these are ahhhh-mazing. Not healthy. But that perfect amount of crunchy outside and soft wonderful inside for the perfect texture of hash browns. Seriously amazing.

Photo Credit to Made from Pinterest

Heaping Hash Browns

1 bag of hash browns {I prefer the "shredded" hash browns}

1 stick of butter

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Open the bag of frozen hash browns. Microwave them in the bag for 6 minutes to soften. Pour them in a bowl and add all but 1 tablespoon of the butter. If you have a problem with using a whole stick of butter, you can use less or none, but your hash browns will not be as amazing as they should be. Throw caution to wind. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper to suit your taste. Stir it up. Heat a nonstick skillet on medium and melt the other tablespoon of butter in it. Pour the hash browns in the pan and press them down. Do not stir the potatoes! Let them be. When the edges begin to get brown, put a plate over the skillet.

Holding the plate tight to the skillet, flip the potatoes over onto the plate.
Melt a little more butter in the skillet, and carefully slide the potatoes back into the skillet. When the edges are brown on the underside, they are ready. Gently lift them with a spatula to check for brownness.
Flip them onto a clean plate and serve.

Recipe Source: Made from Pinterest

Chopped Taco Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing

I love salads, especially lately. I honestly don't know why. This one is a simple taco salad, but what I really love about this recipe is the Catalina dressing. I've never tried Catalina before, so I'm not sure how it compares...but I love it!

Photo credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Chopped Taco Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing
1/2-1 pound ground turkey or beef
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1 cup cubed (small) cheese, cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
1 6-ounce can olives, chopped {I didn't put these in because…I don't like olives. Gasp!}
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 roma or plum tomatoes, chopped
1-2 avocados, chopped
Crushed tortilla chips

Dressing:
1/4 cup ketchup (see note)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup onion finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large, nonstick skillet, brown the ground turkey or beef with salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon of each) until cooked through, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces as it cooks. Drain excess grease if needed. Scrape the meat onto a paper towel-lined plate and set aside to cool a bit.
For the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender and process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up 3-4 days in advance.
In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together (including the cooled meat) except the crushed tortilla tips.
Serve the salad with the dressing and crushed tortilla tips.
Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Buttermilk Biscuits

So I love bread. Any kind. It's really probably bad for me, but I can't help myself. I love it too much. I've tried a lot of biscuit recipes, but this one is awesome. According to my husband. And he doesn't call too many things awesome. So I'm awesomely excited about these delicious biscuits.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Buttermilk Biscuits
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons very cold butter cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, more or less

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is like coarse meal and the butter is in small, pellet-sized pieces (slightly smaller than a pea). This will take a few short pulses in the food processor.
Pour in the buttermilk and mix/pulse only until just combined. The dough should start to come together but you don't want to overmix the dough. If there are lots of dry patches throughout the dough, add a bit more buttermilk, just a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough comes together.
Scrape the dough out of the food processor or bowl onto a lightly floured counter. Gently pat (do not roll with a rolling pin!) the dough to about 1/2-inch thick. Gently fold the dough in half or in thirds, repeating for a total of 4-5 times and pressing it gently to 1-inch thick after the last fold. These folds, combined with the cold butter, are what help to create flaky layers in the biscuits.
Use a round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut into circles {OR just cut the dough to make rectangular-ish shapes, you make awesome shapes and use all the dough}. Do not turn the cutter while pressing into the dough, just press firmly enough to cut all the way through the dough.
Line a large, rimmed cookie sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. Place the biscuits on the pan with the sides barely touching each other. This helps the biscuits rise up instead of out. If you like crustier sides to your biscuits, space them further apart. They won't rise as high but they'll have golden edges.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are lightly golden on top and bottom, taking care to not overbake. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Sticky Chex Mix

Oh my. I love this stuff. Every time I get around it, I lose all willpower and seriously eat all of it. I just made a batch and I think the rest of my family had around 3 cups in total. I ate the rest. Yes I am disgusting, and yes, I love it. I have had some buttery versions of this, but that is why I love this version, not too buttery. Hallelujah.

Sticky Chex Mix
6 1/2 c. Rice Chex
4 1/2 c. Golden Grahams
1 c. sliced almonds
2 c. coconut

Optional: M&Ms, Reeses pieces, anything else your little heart desires
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) real butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

In a VERY LARGE bowl, combine cereal, almonds, and coconut {just an FYI, I just used whatever cereal I had to made 11 cups mixed together}. Set aside. In a large saucepan, combine butter, Karo syrup, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. While the mixture is still hot, pour over the cereal mixture and stir well so the candy mixture coats the cereal. Serve in a large bowl or divide into individual portions.

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

{Grandma's} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another "one" of my Grandma Schwartz's recipes. It might be my favorite. Seriously, I love these things so much. I have never in my entire life had a Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie ever come near to touching the delicious, softness of this one. It's a keeper.

Photo Credit to Me

{Grandma's} Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cube butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon soda
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 bag chocolate chips
nuts, optional

Cream butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin until smooth.
Place flour, soda, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt in a sifter. Sift half of flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Then the other half. Mix well.
Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes. {10 was perfect for me}