For Avocado Lovers Like Me

I received this super yummy sauce in a gift basket last Christmas. I use it to make my favorite sandwich. I start with a toasted whole wheat bagel (I've also done it with a whole wheat English muffin or bread) add cream cheese, turkey, some of this raspberry chipotle sauce and of course, lots of avocado slices. It's delicious!



Claim Jumper serves a "California Citrus Salad" that is a real favorite of mine. Here is my re-creation of this favorite. It has chopped lettuce, bleu cheese crumbles(I use gorgonzola), chopped nuts (I've used pecans, almonds or hazlenuts. I think the hazelnuts are my favorite), mandarin oranges, golden raisins, chopped apple and avocado. The dressing I use is pictured below. I think it tastes just like the real deal. Love it!


**Note: I took this to a luncheon the other day. It did not start on time and the salad got a bit soggy. My avocado was a bit soft and since I'd tossed it at home, then it sat on a counter for a while waiting for the lunch to start, I didn't taste nearly as good as is always does at home. So my suggestion is; serve immediately and add avocado after salad is tossed with the dressing.

Quick and Easy Gift Idea

I found this cute cookie jar at Target for about $6.00. I added some rub-on flowers, (mine were from Stamp'n Up but you could get them at any craft store) a coordinating flower tag and filled it with cookies. It made the perfect birthday gift for a friend.

Cookie Sunday #2

I made cookies again this Sunday. Spencer and I ate about 6 of them that night and the rest were packaged up for the good folks at JPMorgan. They took the trip to the city this morning to make their public debut.

Spencer came home tonight telling me that everyone at the office went crazy for them. He could very well be exaggerating but, he said they were all gone within one minute! Apparently they were such a hit that one man even came up to Spencer and told him that I need to market my cookies. "These are much better than Mrs. Fields", he said.

Oh, how I wish! If I could make some moolah just from baking little old cookies that would be amazing! I told Spencer that I would be more than willing to put them in cute little packages and he could sell them for a buck or two a piece. Unfortunately he doesn't feel comfortable trying to make money off of his co-workers. I don't exactly see a problem...they're willing to pay! We actually ended up discussing my options for about a half hour. But in the end, we decided it's a dream that will probably never been realized. Oh well, would be nice!

Potato Salad

12 cups cubed red potatoes
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Cook potatoes, covered in boiling water, 10 minutes, or until tender; drain well and cool. In a large bowl, combine potatoes, bell pepper and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate.
Notes - I didn't use red potatoes since I only had russets. I left out the onion and used a little onion powder and then added celery, carrots, a hard boiled egg, and I halved this recipe and it still made a lot.

Pizza Potatoes

This is my re-creation of Jon's all-time favorite Staggering Ox dish. They aren't made with traditional potato toppings but I promise, they're delish!

Bake potatoes (one per person) until tender. The key is to get the perfect doneness because you don't want them too mushy or too firm. I error on the side of firm, then cut them into bite-size pieces. Place the pieces in individual-size casserole dishes. If the potatoes are still a bit too firm, I'll put them back in the oven for a few minutes, or if I'm in a hurry, I'll cover the dish with plastic wrap and give 'em a minute or two in the microwave. But if the potatoes turn out to mushy, then they're difficult to cut and the finished product is not nearly as good.

Next top the potato pieces with sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives. Top that with pizza sauce. (Not spaghetti sauce!) Then add cheese. I like to use a mozzarella with a little cheddar combo. Then top that with pepperoni slices and add just a bit more cheese. Place dishes under the broiler until the cheese turns to a melty, bubbly delight. Remove from oven and place casserole dish on a dinner plate and serve with a side of ranch. (No bottled ranch, use the yummy Hidden Valley Ranch envelope mixed with mayo and buttermilk)

The flavors really are great together. As you can see, Jon's always happy when I serve these yummies up for dinner.



I was never tempted by them in the restaurant but after making them for Jon, they became a favorite of mine!

Cookie Sunday

I only bake on Sundays. Thanks to Family Fitness, I don't allow myself to eat sweets except for Sundays. I make cookies and give Spencer strict instructions that all remaining cookies must disappear by morning. They usually get wrapped up for visiting/home teachees or co-workers. I refuse to have cookies sitting around staring at me all week!

I'm a sucker for a great chocolate chip cookie. I usually make the Tollhouse recipe (I have it memorized) and I've prefected it to a yummy delight. My former co-workers used to rave when I showed up with a platter-full.

The past two weeks, I've decided to play around with the recipe. This week, I added oatmeal, peanut butter and butterscotch chips. The result was similar to Tara's favorite. They were delicious!

2 Sticks Butter, softened
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 3/4 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Oatmeal
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Butterscotch Chips

You may have noticed that the cookies in the picture above are on my cake stand. Don't worry, they won't be allowed to stay there!

Kahlua Pork and Sticky Rice

4 Lbs Pork roast (I used a Picnic Roast)

Liquid Smoke

Hawaiian Salt (like rock salt, but smaller I found it at the asian market)

Make cuts in the raw roast, add some salt and liquid smoke to each cut, wrap roast tight in two layers of tin foil add 1 inch of water to the bottom of the crock-pot.

Roast on low in the crock-pot for 6 hours. After 6 hours take the roast out, clean off any extra fat and shred, add the shredded pork to the leftover liquid. We serve it with sticky rice and a ton of veggies.

Meatloaf Muffins

This is one of our Rachael Ray favorites because it's tasty and much quicker than traditional meatloaf. I didn't have celery or pepper on hand today and they were just fine without it. I served them up with some twice baked potatoes and fresh-baked rolls.

Meatloaf Muffins

1 lb. beef

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 stalk celery finely chopped

1/2 green pepper finely chopped

1 egg beaten with a splash of milk (only use half of mixture)

1/2 C bread crumbs

1 tbsp. Montreal steak seasoning

1/2 C barbecue sauce

1/4 C salsa

1 tbsp. worchestershire sauce

Put meat, veggies, egg mixture, bread crumbs and seasoning in a mixing bowl. In separate bowl mix remaining ingredients to make sauce. Add half of the sauce to the meat mixture and mix together with hands. Use ice cream scooper to fill meat into greased muffin tins. Top each muffin with a spoonful of remaining sauce. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

Jon likes his with A-1 but I don't think they need any extra dipping sauce. Yummy!

Spencer's New Favorite

While browsing in the gourmet shop down the street, I found a little bottle of Heaven. It's Neera's Jamaican Jerk Spice Paste and it's the key ingredient in Spencer's new favorite meal. The meal takes a bit of forethought because the meat needs to marinate for 6-8 hours but if you plan ahead it's very easy to prepare.

The paste is mixed with either oil or yogurt (I prefer yogurt) and poured onto chicken. I usually mix it up in the morning, pour it right on to several frozen chicken breasts, cover and stick it in the fridge until evening. One bottle will make approximately 4 meals of 4 chicken breasts each.

Apparently true Jamaican Jerk Chicken is only grilled. I have baked mine, as well as used the George Foreman. The George is definitely much faster. With the warm weather approaching, this is a fantastic reason to fire up the barbecue.

Serve this tasty chicken with Jamaican Rice and steamed cabbage.

Look for Neera's Jamaican Jerk Spice Paste (or similar product) in your local gourmet or grocery store. It's definitely worth it.

I Made It

Last night I made one of our favorites: Thai Peanut Chicken. I got it from a chicken recipe book Spencer's dad gave me. The recipe is for one but I've increased it to make enough for both of us and have some leftovers too. We love it!

4 Chicken Breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
2-3 Garlic Cloves, pressed
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 Cup Water
4 Tbsp Peanut Butter
8 tsp Rice Vinegar
8 tsp Soy Sauce
Crushed Red Pepper, to taste (I usually add a lot cause we like heat)
1 Cup White Rice

Saute chicken in a little bit of oil with garlic and ginger until no longer pink. As chicken is cooking, start cooking rice. In a 2 cup measuring cup whisk together water, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce and crushed red pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and continue to cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Weight Watchers Points (with rice): 9

I hope you all try it and like it!