Easiest. Salad. Ever.

This is one of my favorite summer time recipes. My Merm always makes it for me on my birthday, and I don't think I know anything easier to make. Other than cold cereal maybe :)

Spaghetti Salad

1 lb. spaghetti
1 bottle zesty Italian dressing (I don't buy the light or free kind because they have high fructose corn syrup and a bunch of nasty gook in them)
1 bottle salad supreme seasoning
Your choice of veggies- I use broccoli, bell pepper and grape tomatoes. My Merm puts big cut up red onions for flavor, and you can easily fish them out for those picky onion haters :)

Boil the spaghetti, drain and cool.

Cut up veggies into bite size pieces and toss in a large bowl with spaghetti, dressing, and seasoning. let marinate for a few hours or overnight.

That's it! Dee-licious.

California Black Bean Burgers and Sopapilla Cheesecake

Ok, so I know this will only be the third set of recipes I've posted on here, and it's the second type of burger, but it's summer! That's where burgers belong. I absolutely love this burger recipe, and have modified it a tiny bit to suit my tastes. Feel free to do the same!

Black Bean Burgers

1 15 oz. can whole black beans, undrained (I like to buy the kind that have jalapenos already in them!)
1 4 oz. can green chiles
1 egg
1 C plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 C cornmeal
2 T vegetable oil
Buns

We like to put pepperjack cheese and avocado on our burgers but you can put whatever you like: mayo, salsa, mustard, lettuce, tomato, etc.

Blend beans in food processor or blender until mashed. Add chiles, bread crumbs, chili powder and egg. Shape into patties and coat with cornmeal.

Heat oil in skillet or grill pan over medium heat. Cook patties 5-10 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. If you're adding cheese, throw it on there and cover the burgers for a minute or so until the cheese melts.

Sopapilla Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese
1+1/2 C sugar
1 t vanilla
2 packages of crescent rolls
1/2 C butter
1 t cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cream cheese, 1 cup of the sugar and vanilla. Press on package of crescent rolls into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top and lay the remaining strips across the top.

Melt the butter and drizzle over the top (you may have some left over). Mix cinnamon and the rest of the sugar and sprinkle over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes!

This tasty treat comes courtesy of the Austin Tri-Ward Cookbook I got for Christmas from Andrea! It's amazing!

Honey Chicken and Buttermilk Pie

Ok, so I know all two of the people who read my blog already have this recipe, but I thought I'd throw it on here since I've passed it out a ton lately, and everyone seems to LOVE it.
My Merm gave me this recipe, which she got from a woman she worked with a long time ago. That woman got it from her mother, and before that, it's a mystery!

Honey Chicken

1/4 C butter, melted
1/2 C honey
1/4 C yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
4 chicken breasts (also works well with extra firm tofu!)

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour over chicken in a shallow baking dish. Bake at 375 F for 1 hour.

Sometimes I like to double the sauce for the same amount of meat! This is really good served over rice with steamed veggies on the side!

Buttermilk Pie

1 1/3 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C Bisquik baking mix
1/3 C butter, melted
3 eggs

Blend (in a blender, silly) until smooth. pour into 9 inch pie plate (sprayed with nonstick spray). Bake at 350 F for 30-40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Jerk turkey burgers

I've decided to make In Three Minutes a food blog. Or at least mostly a food blog. Hopefully I'll be able to include a nice main dish, side dish and dessert, but I'm not making any promises! Starting us off is a meal I made recently to celebrate a special occasion, Jerk turkey burgers with polenta fries. I do have to confess, these recipes are not my own (I'm not fancy enough to invent tasty dishes), they came from my Food Network maganzine!

Jerk turkey burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 T Jerk seasoning, plus more for sprinklage (I found it at Targét in the spice section)
1 small green apple, peeled and grated
1/2 C finely chopped scallions
1/4 C panko (also easily found at Targét)
Salt and Pepper
1/4 C mayonnaise, plus more for brushing.
3 C shredded cabbage
1 carrot
non- stick spray

4 buns or challah rolls


Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high heat. Mix turkey, jerk seasoning, apple and 1/4 cup scallions and panko. Season with salt and pepper. Form into four 1-inch patties and put a small indentation in the center to prevent puffage on the grill. Chill.

Toss mayo, cabbage, carrot and remaining scallions. Season with salt and pepper.

Spray grill with non-stick spray and grill the patties until browned and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

Brush cut sides of buns with plain mayo and sprinkle with jerk seasoning, and toast on grill for 30 seconds.

Serve burgers, topped with slaw, on toasty buns.

Polenta fries

1 1/3 C milk
2 C polenta (or corn meal)
1/2 C grated gruyére cheese (not hard to find at all)
3 T unsalted butter
Olive oil for brushing
2 t salt

Bring 7 cups of water to a simmer. Take 4 cups of the hot water and add it to the milk in a heat-proof bowl that will fit over the saucepan. Gradually whisk in the polenta and the salt. Cover the bowl tightly with foil and put over the hot water, but do not let the bowl touch the water. Cook until very thick, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, brush a 9x13 pan with olive oil.

Stir the cheese and butter into the polenta. Spread into the prepared dish and refridgerate at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450*. Slice the chilled polenta into small fry sized pieces and transfer to a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake for 30-35 minutes, turning halfway through.

If anyone was wondering....

Ok, here are a couple things I'm confused about..

First, when a place says they'll trim your bangs for free between haircuts, do they really mean it? Today I went in to get my eyebrows waxed, and asked the girl who usually cuts my hair to trim up my bangs. She was more than happy to do it, but afterward she just kinda stood there, waiting. Was I supposed to tip her? Was it really not free? Let me just mention that I get my hair colored far less than I used to because all the services there(and in Texas in general) are a little pricey. I don't consider myself to be a tight ass with the money (especially in a salon!), but if I'm going to pay for a bang trim, I'm just going to go all out and just get the whole damn head cut.

And second, whatever happened to good customer service? I called my doctor's office to make an appointment, and made the simple request that I be scheduled as early as possible. Apparently most of the doctors in the clinic start seeing patients at 7:30 a.m. Perfect. I'll take one of those! The woman setting appointments informed me that not only would my doctor would be out of town until the 22nd, but that he only does physicals at 7:30 and can only see me at 3:00. I explained my work situation to her, and asked her if she could make an exception, and you know the response I got from her? Complete silence. And when I said "Uh, hello?" she said "So do you want the 3:00 or not?". Wtf? Are you trying to be the worst appointment setter ever? Ugh.

Needless to say, I don't have a doctors appointment, and probably don't have a hairstylist anymore either...

I remember when rock was young....

Elton John is coming to Austin in a couple months, and... I want to go. Now, I don't know that I would call myself a fan of Sir Elton. But I wouldn't NOT call myself a fan either. But herein lies the dilemma I have: Tickets start at $95. So, am I that much of a fan? Can I justify $200 on tickets to someone I like, but maybe I don't LIKE like? I think none of it matters anyway, because my husband would neither pay that much for Elton John tickets, nor be caught dead at the concert.

So, if any of my rich, Elton John loving friends want to go, you know where to find me! :D

First Anniversary!

Today is our first anniversary. It's been a really fantastic year. We had our wedding at a beautiful greenhouse just as the sun was setting, followed by a reception with wonderful family and friends and of course, cake from Granite! We spent three nights at the Washington School Inn in Park City. It was such a fun getaway. We ate breakfast at 2:00 pm and strolled Main Street after everyone was gone. It was really a great honeymoon.
In October we went on yet another honeymoon, this time to Kauai, Hawaii. It was so magical. We laid on the beach, fed the cute chickens, played cards by the pool, jumped into waves two stories tall that could have killed us (and almost did), and were just plain lazy. I loved just sitting around with my best friend. It was soo hard to go back to work/school/snow after that.
We spent our first Christmas together, and even had our first Christmas tree. Evan wasn't a big fan of my idea that everything on the tree had to match, but eventually he came around. It was super fun to wake up Christmas morning and open presents together. Evan is too good to me.
The next three months just flew by and in March, we took our first trip to Austin. We really enjoyed the 86 degree heat when it had just snowed at home. We spent our time driving around and eating a lot of Mexican food!
In May, Evan had his 30th birthday (which I thought was a blast). We had a 70s themed party with tons of friends and family. Evan didn't want to turn 30, but I think the party help ease that pain!
June, July and August brought summer bbq's, playing with the nephews and a few birthday parties. Evan always has great ideas, and he made my birthday party very special. He sat through two hours of parade with me and three whining kids, because that's what I wanted to do (besides the whining). He got me a chocolate and strawberry (my favorite!) cake from Granite, and gave me two very wonderful gifts: Plant Earth (which is what we watched on our first date- I know, we're nerds), and a coupon to get Warren tinted! He's so good to me.
In August, we had to move away, but not before we stayed at my Merm's for a week! Evan has always been so sensitive to the fact that moving is hard for me, and he has been so supportive whenever I've had meltdowns over it. We drove for two 13-hour days to get to Austin, and Evan made it totally fun the whole way. He did get a little beligerant in Abilene, but I think he was just giving what he was getting! He's always a good sport when I get spastic like that.
And now, here we are, at the end of a wonderful year. I hate being stuck without friends or family, but I love who I'm stuck with. I couldn't ask to be permanently hooked to anyone better. Evan is patient, loving, funny and oh so handsome. I can't believe it's been a whole year!
I love you, Ev! Here's to 85 more just like this one!