Seasoned Pretzels with Ranch

We went to a Superbowl party and had the most delicious pretzels!  I wanted to recreate them at home but didn't have the recipe.  I knew you seasoned them with a ranch seasoning packet, so I decided to make my own.  I had also seen where you could make your own ranch, so I tried it.  I have to admit that the ranch seasoning isn't the same as the Hidden Valley packet, but it still was very tasty!

First, start by making the ranch seasoning.  You'll have more than you need, but it's great for many things!  Here's what you'll need:

 

In a bowl, mix 5 tablespoons dried minced onions.

 

Add 7 teaspoons parsley flakes.

 

Add 4 teaspoons salt.

Add 1 teaspoon garlic powder.

Stir all of these together.

Add 2 Tablespoons of the "ranch seasoning" to 1 pound of pretzels.  (I just did it straight into the bag)

Add 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of canola oil.

Shake it all up!!

Shake it all up again :)

Put onto baking sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

Remove and serve.  I think it tastes better the next day!

Ingredients for Ranch Seasoning: (from http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html)

• 5 tablespoons dried minced onions
• 7 teaspoons parsley flakes
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

 

For Pretzels:

 

Mix 2 Tablespoons of ranch seasoning with 1/2 cup canola oil and 1 lb of pretzels.  Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes!

 

Enjoy!!

Ninfa's Green Sauce

If you live in Houston, Texas then you know that every Mexican restaurant not only serves you red salsa, but also a type of "green sauce".  If you're not from here, then you probably have no clue what we're talking about (but it's still good!).  Well, it didn't take long for me to love the green sauce and want to make it in my own home. 

Dave and I wanted to make our own cookbook a while back and started taking pictures. So even though these pictures aren't current for us or as detailed as I'd like them to be, they still work!

As I've had it told to me, Ninfa's is the original place to get green sauce.  If you're ever in Houston, check out Ninfa's on Navigation.  It's the original one, I swear our food was delivered to us there before we had put our drink order in.  I still have no idea how they got it out so fast.

Chop 3 medium sized green tomatoes.  Chop 4 tomatillos. Remove the "wrapper" and finely chop them.

Leave seeds in and stem and chop 2-3 jalapenos. Mince 4 garlic cloves.

Add all of these chopped veggies to a pan.

Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid), reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.

Place tomato mixture in food processor, add avocado and blend until smooth.
Add cilantro and salt to taste.  Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

Serve with chips or put on tacos, fajitas, anything you can find!

Yummy!! Oh, and we're so cheesy, that the bowl that the chips are in... we painted.. in Mexico when we got engaged.  Cheesy, yet so fun.

Enjoy!

Ninfa's Green Sauce
Ingredients:
3 medium sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped. (never use yellow!)
4 tomatillos, cleaned and chopped
2-3 jalapenos, stemmed and coarsely chopped (leave seeds in)
4 garlic cloves
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
cilantro
salt
1/2 cup of sour cream

Directions:
Combine chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in saucepan. Bring to a boil (tomatoes provide the liquid), reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Place tomato mixture in food processor, add avocado and blend until smooth.
Add cilantro and salt to taste.
Stir in sour cream and serve with chips or put on tacos, fajitas, anything you can find!

Spicy Chicken Nachos

So, you've probably seen on Pinterest the easy crockpot chicken.

http://mychocolatetherapy.blogspot.com/

Well,  I decided to make my own.  I of course added a little bit of more fattening stuff though.  (If you're doing a Paleo type diet, this is not the recipe for you..)

In a crockpot, I put:

• 3 small chicken breasts
• 8 oz of salsa (part medium, part hot), but any would do
• 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese

I let it sit on high for 4 hours and then stirred it together while shredding the chicken. 

During that time, my adorable puppy.... ate all the tortillas.  (there were 10..)

Isn't he cute begging for bacon right here?  Ugh...

Now we have Plan B - Make something for lunch with the chicken, with no tortillas.

Here's what we came up with from the house - Chicken Nachos!

The chicken came out delicious!!

On a foil lined pan we added anything we could find in the house which included

 chips, chicken, white cheese dip (I love the kind from Sam's Club), shredded cheddar cheese. Put it under the broiler in the oven with the door open until cheese is melted.

Yum!  Cheese is all melted!

Then add any cold items you want.  We only had salsa, but sour cream, etc would be awesome!

There you have the easiest and best Chicken Nachos!

Enjoy!  (and maybe it was a blessing Buddy ate the tortillas.... maybe.)

Make Your Own Thank You Cards

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, I find it only appropriate to share something from our wedding!  We were very blessed to have many people give us many thoughtful and sweet gifts.  So, I wanted to do something thoughtful back.  We personalized our thank you cards!

With the help of a photographer from Groupon and VistaPrint we were able to make our own thank you cards for probably cheaper than buying the pre-made ones.

You could use this same idea of holding papers for birthday parties, announcements, Christmas Cards, etc.  Enjoy!

We used the space on the inside left to write a personal note, and the right side had our names signed as pictured.

(oh, and if you're wondering why Dave has a goofy look on his face, it's because the out-takes were so much better than the cheesy grins and we chose to use them)



Perfect Carne Asada at Home (Sous Vide style)

As you know, Dave and I love to make restaurant quality food at our house.  You may have been to a very nice restaurant and seen "sous vide" style cooking.  It's meat, in a bag, in hot water at a specific temperature for hours and then taken out and seared on each side for a perfect seared outside and a very tender, medium rare center.  Well, the machine to do this costs $299, so we decided to figure out a way to do this at home WITHOUT spending $300.

So, here's how we did it:  (and it turned out great!)

Start by making a marinade.

Add 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice to a bowl.

We love garlic, so mince and add 6 cloves garlic.

Add 1/2 cup soy sauce.

Take 3 chipotle peppers from the can, dice and add to bowl.

Add your seasonings:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground oregano
• 1 tablespoon black pepper 

Chop and add cilantro, probably 1/4 cup.

Add 1 Tablespoon white vinegar

That's your marinade!

 

Take 4 lbs. skirt steak.
(This is a great way to make a cheaper cut of meat very tender and flavorful)

Tenderize the meat.  You can use a mallot, a jacardi (or both), or even the back of a plate.

 Now take a Vacuum Seal bag (from the foodsaver).  Put 1/3 or 1/4 of the meat in the bag.

Add the marinade to each bag.

Seal each bag.

Once all bags are sealed, put them in the fridge for awhile (a couple hours if you can).

Now here's the fun part!

Take a Crock Pot and fill with enough water to cover the vacuum seal bags.  You'll want the water to reach 134 degrees (the internal temperature of medium rare meat).  You can either put a bowl of water in the microwave for 1 minute at a time until it reaches 130-135, or you can put the water in the crock pot and let it heat up to temperature.  We've done both, and both work.

Put the meat (that's in the bags) in the water.

Once the water reaches around 130-135 turn the crock pot to warm.  It will maintain this heat the rest of the time!  You'll want some sort of thermometer in there to regulate the heat.  (and if you've met my husband, you know that everything you cook needs a thermometer to regulate heat...)

 

Let this meat stay in the water for at least 45 minutes but not longer than about 8 hours. (it'll start to get mushy past that)

 

 

After that time, take the bags out of the water.

 

 

Remove the meat from the bag.

Heat a skillet, cast iron worked great!

Sear on each side. (about one minute each side)

Serve perfect Carne Asada!

I don't have any pictures of it sliced with the perfect outside and medium rare middle because we ate it all up without taking any pictures!  Delicious!!!

PERFECT CARNE ASADA AT HOME (SOUS VIDE STYLE)

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. lime juice
• 6 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 c. soy sauce
• 3 chipotle peppers (from a can), diced
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 T. paprika
• 1 tsp. ground oregano
• 1 T. black pepper
• cilantro, chopped (about 1/4 c.)
• 1 T. white vinegar
• 4 lbs. skirt steak

Directions

• Mix marinade together
• tenderize meat
• add marinade to meat in vacuum seal bags
• Let set in fridge for 2 hours.
• Put bags in 134 degree water for at least 45 minutes.
• Remove from water. Remove from bags. Sear on each side in skillet for 1 minute on each side.

Enjoy!