I recently purchased a new book by Thomas Keller and it is pushing my limits in the kitchen. This was probably one of the easiest recipes in the book... and it still took over an hours to cook. This was a potato hash with bacon and melted onions. It was excellent (a heart attack waiting to happen) and would be excellent for a morning breakfast with eggs.

12 oz applewood-smoked bacon
Canola oil
3 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes
Kosher salt
1 thyme sprig (leaves only)
1 cup melted onions (recipe to follow)
1 tlbs minced chives

Melted Onions
8 cups sliced onions (about 3 large onions)
Kosher salt
8 Tlbs unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Sachet (1 bay leaf, 3 thyme sprigs, 10 black peppercorns, 1 garlic clove smashed and peeled - optional to wrap in a cheese cloth)

Put onions in a large saute pan, set over medium-low heat, sprinkle with 2 pinches of salt, adn cook, stirring from time to time for about 20 min until the onions have released much of their liquid.
Stir in the butter, add the sachet (I didn't use a sachet but just added the ingredients straight into the onions), cover with a parchment lid (parchment paper cut in the shape of the pan with a hole in the middle to release steam) and cook slowly over low to medium-low heat for another 30 to 35 minutes. The onions should look creamy at all times. The onions should be meltingly tender, but not falling apart or mushy.

Cut the bacon into 1" long and 1/2" thick pieces.
Pour about 1 1/2 Tlbs of oil into a large saucepan and heat to 300 degrees. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet and line the rack with paper towels.
Meanwhile, dice the potatoes into a 1/2" dice. Add half the potatoes to the hot oil and cook for about 8 minutes, until tender and rich golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
Pour 2 Tlbs water into a medium saucepan and set over medium heat (water keeps the bacon from crisping as the fat begins to render). Add the bacon, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the bacon render its fat for 30 min. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Drain the excess fat from the pan and leave a film of fat to cook the potatoes.
Add half the potatoes to the pan, sprinkle with salt, and add half the thyme. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp the potatoes and heat through. Add half the onions and fold in one-quarter of the bacon. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Cook remaining potatoes with the remaining ingredients. Season with S&P.
Transfer to plate and garnish with chives and remaining bacon.

Homemade Pizza Dough

*Sorry for the lack of a photo. . .I think we've all seen pizza dough, right? Believe me, this is it. This is the only recipe you will ever need for perfect pizza dough every time. It is light, tasty, and oh, so easy to make. You won't be disappointed! (taken from stephmodo.blogspot.com)

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar

Place yeast and sugar in bowl; pour warm water over and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

In another {larger} bowl place:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 TB olive oil

Mix for a minute. Dig a well in the middle and add the liquid mixture. Mix again (will be gooey). Place bowl in a warm location and allow dough to rise for one hour (a little longer doesn't hurt either).

Using a spatula, place dough on a well-floured surface. Knead slightly and roll, with a pin, into desired shape (you may have to add 1/4 cup flour to make dough more manageable). Grab a cookie sheet and sprinkle cornmeal evenly on both surfaces (err on the side of too much or your pizza will stick to the surface). Place your shaped dough on the cookie sheets. Your dough is now ready to be adorned with any toppings you wish.

Cook the pizza for 15 minutes in an oven heated to 425 degrees.

Black Bean and Spinach Enchiladas

SORRY... no picture. Lauren wanted the recipe so I figured I would just put it on the blog since I had to type it out. My kids love these enchiladas!

8 C. Fresh Spinach
2(5 oz) cans of black beans,drained and rinsed
1-2 C. Salsa
1 Tbsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
12 flour or corn tortillas
1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 tsp. lime juice
1-2 C. grated cheese( preferably Monterey Jack)
2 tomotoes, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Bring 1 Cup of water to bowl and add spinach that has been cut into bite size pieces(or smaller if you have kids that don't like"green things") Cook for 1 minute. Drain. Combine spinach, black beans, salsa, cumin, and chili powder. Spoon 3 Tablespoons mixture down the center of the tortilla. Place the tortilla seam side down, in a baking dish sprayed with vegetable oil. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Meanwhile, combine sour cream and lime juice. Remove enchiladas from the oven and spread the sour cream mixture evenly over each. Top with cheese, tomatoes, and green onions; bake for 5 minutes

Honey Mustard Chicken

The goal to our spring( almost )summer days... EASY! Otherwise, we are not eating it. Here is a favorite easy pleaser at our house.

Honey Mustard Chickenfrom We Are Eating /mykitchencafe.blogspot.com

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and tenderized slightly (if they are overly thick, slice them in half)

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons mustard (I used the basic yellow mustard since my husband is not a fan of Dijon mustard, but I bet it would be tasty with either)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 350. Place chicken in shallow baking pan. In a small bowl, combine butter, honey, mustard and salt and whisk well. Pour over chicken. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, basting every 15 minutes.
We Are Eating serves this with garlic mashed potatoes

New Favorite Pancakes

Recipe from the Grass Valley Cookbook
*Since I've never been a big fan of buttermilk pancakes, I found this recipe and LOVE it. The kids eat at least 3 a piece when I make them, and the batter makes enough for at least 2 mornings, if not more. I just put the extra in a container and keep it in the fridge until the pancake request comes again. (And can you dig the IKEA plate I displayed these on so well ?)

2 c. all-purpose flour (I use 1/2 white, 1/2 wheat)
4 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/4 c. sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 c. milk (I know, kind of a lot)
4 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. blueberries (optional)

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk and melted butter to bowl. Whisk slightly; batter should have small lumps (sometimes mine does, sometimes it doesn't). Heat griddle or pan and grease it up with grease of choice (butter or Pam). Pour desired amount of batter on the griddle. Dot with blueberries (if desired. . .). When pancakes have bubbles and are slightly dry around edges, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. (As if you all need directions on how to cook pancakes). Enjoy!

Real spaghetti and meatballs

Recipe via Ina Garten- the barefoot contessa

For the meatballs:

nocoupons

• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef** (we only have made this with ground beef about 1 lb. ish, we have never tried it with veal or pork, so we use the same measurements for everything else maybe a little less here and there, but only with 1 lb., vs. 2 lbs. for meat)
  
• 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
• 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

nocoupons

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs. (sometimes we have more because we make the meatballs smaller)

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

The kids LOVE this...even with the rich flavors. You could easily feed 6 adults plus or a family of 4/5 with leftovers. Eat your heart out! Sorry the pic isn't the best, we took it last night after dinner and there was no natural light :).

Thai Chicken Satay with Orange Noodles

Need: For Chicken
2 limes
1/2 c. Rice Vinegar
1/3 c. Chunky Peanut Butter
1/4 c. Cilantro (minced)
1 Tlbs Ginger (minced)
3 cloves Garlic (minced)
3 Tlbs Soy Sauce
3 Tlbs Light Brown Sugar
1 Tlbs Asian Sesame Oil
4 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs or about 12 frozen chicken tenders)

1. Marinate the chicken
Place 8 bamboo skewers in cold waters to soak until ready to use. Grate 1 tsp zest from the limes and squeeze 1/4 c. juice. In a bowl, whisk together the lime zest and juice, vinegar, and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in the cilantro, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Reserve about 1/2 c. of the mixture in a separate bowl for use as a sauce. Add the chicken to the marinade and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.

2. Cook the chicken
Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal grill or, preheat a broiler grill. When ready to cook, remove the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. Divide the strips among the 8 skewers (I cut the tenders in half lengthwise), threading the strips on lengthwise. Place the skewers on the grill, or put them on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Cook turning once until seared and opaque throughout, about 6 minutes. Drizzle with some of the reserved sauce, or use reserved sauce for dipping.

Need: Noodles
2 Oranges
1/2 lbs Fresh chinese egg noodles (we used fettuccine noodles)
2 Tlbs Canola or Peanut oil
1 Tlbs finely chopped Ginger
3 Garlic cloves (minced)
6 oz sugar snap peas
2 Tlbs soy sauce
about 1/2 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. dry white wine (we didn't use the wine, but we think it might taste better with it)

1. Grate 1 tsp zest from the oranges and squeeze 1/2 c. juice and set both aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large frying pan over high heat, heat 1 Tlbs oil. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar snap peas and stir fry just until tender crisp, about 1 minute. Stir in the orage zest and juice, wine (optional), and soy sauce and cook until slightly reduced, 1-2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles and green onions and toss gently to combine. Divide noodles to plates and top with chicken skewers. Serves 4.