Cheddar Pecan Wafers

1 pound butter, softened1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded1 cup chopped pecans, toasted1 teaspoon cayenne pepper1 teaspoon salt4½ cups all-purpose flourIn a large bowl, mix together the butter, Cheddar cheese, pecans, cayenne pepper and salt until well blended. Gradually mix in flour, using your hands to work in the last bit. The result will be a stiff dough much like shortbread. Form the dough into logs about 1 inch thick, and 10 inches long. Wrap each log in waxed paper, and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Unwrap the chilled logs of dough, and slice into ¼ inch thick rounds using a sharp knife. Place slices about 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.Bake for exactly 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm and slightly browned at the edges. Allow wafers to cool for 1 minute before removing from the pan.

Vietnamese chicken curry

This chicken curry is a traditional flat Vietnamese that warms the taste buds! Depending on the sensitivity of your palate, feel free to review a little quantities of spices. Thanks to Thi Hanh for making me discover this dish!

First, prepare the chicken for marinade: Remove skin from the chicken legs and then cut them into pieces of 2-3 cm. Take care well to remove any small bones. Marinate the chicken pieces with the spices (ginger, Lemongrass, curry) for at least 20 minutes in the refrigerator.

Cut the onion into 4 small potatoes in 2 and carrots in large cubes. In a saucepan, fry the onion in oil and then add the chicken and let come back for about 15 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Add the glass of water, carrots, potatoes, sugar and coconut milk. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Chicken and potatoes should be tender.

Serve your curry chicken in individual serving bowls.

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Snapshot Saturday

Fully embracing where I live means embracing lefse.

Do you know lefse? It’s a super thin Norwegian flatbread. Made from potatoes and cream and a few other simple goodies, it is soft and delicious. Traditionally eaten with just a bit of butter, I have to admit that it’s dreamy with a touch of sugar, too.

After several thinly veiled hints, my friend Joni was nice enough to invite me over to learn how to make it. Lefse is a labor of love, man. We slaved for hours, and by slaving, I mean I took pictures while Veronica, Joni and Amanda did the slaving. But I was learning. Seriously. Learning a lot. And tasting. I was tasting. For research purposes of course.

My favorite parts were listening to Joni’s stories (making lefse is all about the stories), watching Veronica who is from Mexico roll the most perfect lefse ever on her first try, and laughing as Joni threw flour in Amanda’s face. Mother, daughter love at it’s finest. I have a feeling there will be a lot of lefse in my future. Come on over and we’ll make it together!

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Golden Skillet Potatoes {And Let’s Talk Food Allergies for a Second…}

Food allergies. What does that mean to you? My own little family has been blessed significantly in that we don’t have any food allergies to speak of among the 7 of us (yet…) and trust me, I am grateful every day for that; however, I have friend upon friend upon friend who deal with food allergies every minute of every day. We’re talking egg allergies, nut allergies, dairy allergies. Wheat allergies, shellfish allergies, soy allergies and many more. Some of these families even deal with multiple allergies and many of them are trying to navigate the public school system and society in general with these allergies (screaming in their pillow along the way, I’m sure). I bow down to each of you. I really do.

If you didn’t know (and I didn’t until my friend Megan alerted me), this week is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Hello! That’s a pretty important week to take note of, don’t you think?

In order to help raise awareness about food allergies, I thought I’d share some of my favorite allergy-friendly food blogs, all of which have amazing recipes whether you are an “allergy family” or not. Here are a few I enjoy and highly recommend:

Gluten Free on a Shoestring (the flourless chocolate cake is to-die for, plus Nicole has some really awesome gluten-free cookbooks and a bread book coming out in the fall)
Funny Tummy Cafe (gluten, egg, soy and dairy allergies)
Eggless Cooking (I’ve used several cookie/brownie recipes from here when baking for my egg-free friends)
Lexie’s Kitchen (gluten, dairy and egg-free)
Irresistibly Gluten Free (another gluten-free website with a cookbook that is a wonderful resource for gluten-free eaters)

I know there are many other recipe blogs/online resources for allergy awareness that I’m not aware of so please share any other useful blogs/sites in the comments. I also stumbled across this Top 25 list that looks like a great resource, too. Additionally many mainstream food blogs have categories dedicated to foods without certain ingredients (here on Mel’s Kitchen, I have categories dedicated to egg-free or gluten-free recipes and am hereby committing to do a better job at tagging recipes to help with food allergies!).

Even if you are like me and don’t have to worry about food allergies in your own home, there is good reason to educate ourselves on food allergies in general. It takes all of us to keep children and adults with food allergies safe. Ask questions to those you know who have food allergies. Know what foods are safe and if you know families that have food allergies, start keeping a list of meals that are food-allergy approved in their home. You never know when they might need a “safe” dinner brought to them!

As always, feel free to share any links/resources/advice in the comments about food allergies. I guarantee that most of you are more knowledgeable than I on this subject!

Today’s recipe, I’m happy to report, is egg-free, nut-free, gluten-free and very, very tasty. In fact, this has become our new go-to side dish for all of our recently grilled meals. I was in awe at how my boys devoured these. Not that I could blame them. The tender potatoes are lightly golden and crisp on the edges but velvety and creamy inside with the delicious hint of rosemary and garlic. Super yum. And really exciting to add another side dish that is simple, quick and really delicious to our dinner repertoire. Seriously, make these. They will get you out of any side dish dinner rut you are in. Guaranteed.

You can easily leave out the rosemary/garlic mixture. Just omit that step at the end and serve the potatoes after seasoning with salt and pepper. (But I'm warning you, you'll be missing out on some extreme deliciousness.)

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes (peeled if using Yukon gold potatoes), cut into 1-inch pieces 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil Salt and pepper 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemaryDirections

In a large microwave-safe bowl, toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Microwave uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until the potatoes soften but still hold their shape. It is really important to stir every couple of minutes or the potatoes might not cook evenly and you'll end up with some pieces that are super tender and others that are hard. Drain any excess liquid from the potatoes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until very hot. Don't add the potatoes until the oil is sizzling. Add the potatoes (cut side down if using red potatoes with the skins on) in a single layer and cook them without stirring for 5-6 minutes until they are golden brown on the first side. Gently stir the potatoes, rearranging them again into a single layer and flipping so the unbrowned side is down. Cook until the potatoes are golden brown on the second side, another 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, minced garlic and rosemary. Clear the center of the pan and add the mixture, cooking and mashing the garlic into the pan for about 30 seconds. Take care not to let the garlic burn. Stir the potatoes with the garlic/rosemary mixture. Serve. http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/05/golden-skillet-potatoes-and-lets-talk-food-allergies-for-a-second.htmlPrinted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe (www.melskitchencafe.com)Recipe Source: adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook

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Panna cotta légère au lait de riz et thé vert à l’ananas {recette végétalienne} et jeu-concours Nat Ali

Ce petit dessert est super léger et bien frais, parfait avec le soleil qui commence enfin à pointer le bout de son nez.

Vous pouvez décorer cette panna cotta avec des petits cubes d'ananas, comme sur la photo, mais ce n'est pas obligé car c'est déjà super bon tout seul !

J'ai utilisé de l'agar-agar pour gélifier du lait de riz infusé au thé vert à l'ananas (votre thé préféré fera l'affaire aussi !). L'agar-agar est un gélifiant naturel végétal extrait d'algues marines. On en trouve sous différentes formes (moi je préfère l'agar-agar sous forme de poudre), en magasin bio, et maintenant dans la plupart des supermarchés.

La marque Nat Ali -Nature & Aliments- propose à la vente (en magasin bio) des préparations en poudre, entremets, potages, produits sans sucre, agar-agar et autres aides culinaires... A l'occasion des 100 ans de la marque, on vous propose un petit jeu-concours pour gagner des lots de produits Nat Ali !

Les lots en jeu :

Pour le super gagnant : la box centenaire (assortiment de plusieurs produits de la marque dans une jolie boîte collector)

Pour le 2ème et 3ème gagnant : un lot de préparation pour muffins aux framboises

Alors comment on joue ? Tout simplement : dîtes-nous en commentaire à la fin de cet article quel est votre pire souvenir en cuisine, ou quel est votre souvenir le plus rigolo en cuisine ! (Veillez bien à laisser votre adresse mail dans le commentaire pour que l’on puisse vous recontacter si vous êtes tiré au sort)

Vous avez jusqu’au dimanche 28 avril inclus pour jouer ! Anna et moi procéderons à un tirage au sort via le site www.random.org pour déterminer les gagnants.  

Ingrédients

500ml de lait de riz

2 cc de thé vert (à l’ananas et à la vanille)

30g de sucre en poudre

Quelques gouttes de vanille liquide

2g d’agar agar en poudre (marque Nat Ali par exemple, 1 sachet = 2g)

1 boîte de conserve d’ananas en morceaux au sirop ou de l'ananas frais

Préparation

Faire chauffer le lait de riz dans une casserole pendant quelques minutes à feu moyen. Retirer du feu juste avant l’ébullition, faire infuser le thé pendant 8 à 10 minutes dans le lait (dans un sachet, dans une boule à thé, ou directement dans le lait qu’on filtrera ensuite).

Laisser reposer quelques minutes.

Remettre sur le feu (feu doux à moyen), verser dans le lait le sucre en poudre et l’agar agar, bien mélanger jusqu’à ébullition. Laisser la préparation bouillir environ 30 secondes / 1 minute. Retirer ensuite du feu, verser dans des verrines.

Mettre les verrines au réfrigérateur pour au moins 2h.

A noter : la gélification se fera lors du refroidissement, pas d’inquiétude donc !

Dès gélification, déposer sur chaque verrine des morceaux d’ananas en morceaux et une cuillère à café de sirop d’ananas.

Tous à vos commentaires !!

Pour nous suivre sur notre page Facebook, c'est par ici !

Olivia

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Peanut Butter Oreo Muddy Buddies

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Did you get an email to see if you were the winner? Check it out and see! 

The other day on Facebook I ask what kind of Oreo I should use in the new recipe I was making.

The top votes were for mint and peanut butter. Mmmm so delicious!! I love both of them but as I was browsing through the store I decided on the peanut butter Oreos especially after I "found" the peanut butter M&Ms. 

Maybe I should say they "found" me. Seriously, I "heart" those little things so much.  

Well this was a hit. Everyone at this house was in love. The combination of peanut butter and chocolate is the ultimate for me so adding even more chocolate and even more peanut butter seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

Heaven. Heaven. Heaven.

Peanut Butter Oreo Muddy Buddies

(click here for printable version)

9 cups Chex cereal (rice, corn or chocolate)
1 cup peanut butter M&Ms, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
10 peanut butter Oreos
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Mix cereal and peanut butter M&Ms in large bowl and set aside. In medium microwave safe bowl combine butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter. Microwave in 30 second increments until everything is melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Set aside.

2. Crush Oreos in your food processor (I like to have them crushed fine which is why I use my food processor but you can also crush them in a ziploc bag to the consistency you prefer). In a large ziploc bag add Oreo crumbs and powdered sugar. Mix well.

3. Pour chocolate over cereal and M&Ms. Stir until completely covered. Pour into ziploc bag and shake until cereal is coated with powdered sugar mixture. Pour onto large rimmed cookie sheet and let set 5 minutes to let chocolate set completely. Eat and enjoy!

Easy Healthy Recipes - Start Slow and Finish Big With Easy Healthy Recipes

It is of vital importance that what we eat comes from a healthy recipe. This is because healthy recipes, as the term imply, contains all the essential nutrients and minerals our body require. Healthy recipes stay away from all kinds of processed foods that are rich in sugar and salt. Instead, these types of recipes bank on fresh vegetables and fruits. To give you a really interesting and quick to fix healthy recipe, read on.

For breakfast, you can have a delicious Grape Nuts Bars. To accomplish this recipe, you need to have 3 cups of grapes nut cereal, a cup of semi-skimmed or skimmed milk and a cup of unsweetened applesauce as well as a cup of dried raisin-sized fruit and 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract.

Then, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and pour into a non stick cookware. Then for 35 minutes at 350 0 Fahrenheit, bake the mixture in an oven. When it gets to the desirable firmness, let it cool and cut into squares.

The recipe above is just one example of a healthy, mouth-watering recipe that you can enjoy. Whatever recipe you are going to make, remember the following ideas.

To get on the road of successful healthy eating, you need to follow a diet that consists of small and easy process. Stay away from huge steps that give you no assurance of getting finished. Simplifying your recipes on color, variety and freshness rather than on the complex calorie counting and measuring portion sizes will ensure that you get your ideal weight.

You need commitment and perseverance as you reach your goal. Remember that when you are aiming for something, the result is not always at hand. Start slow and finish big. Diet change does not come in just a snap of your fingers. Switching from butter to olive oil for a start is better than having no action at all.

Fixing a healthy and easy recipe is not about obsessive-compulsive nutrition fad diet. It's not even about depriving yourself of your favorite foods. Rather it is about making healthy choices in a way that works for you and living life feeling great and energized.