Big Man, Little Kitchen

So Kris and I had some of the neighbors over for sweets and drinks. I had some rhubarb in the freezer (picked from my Moms garden last summer) so decided to make a rhubarb cake. To make this super easy, I used Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix for the cake base. 

Not too many ingredients in this one. Simply prepare the cake mix as directed on the box. Pour into a pan, I used a 9 inch spring form. Next top with about 3 cups of the rhubarb, thawed. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of sugar over the rhubarb. Finally pour 1 cup of heavy cream over everything. Bake at 325 until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Now just flip over onto a cake plate and you are ready to go! I served this with homemade whipped cream and it was a big hit. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 box gluten free yellow cake mix
• 3 cups fresh rhubarb, diced
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Prepare cake as directed on box. Pour into a 9 inch spring form pan. Butter the bottom of the pan only. Top the cake mixture with the rhubarb. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb then top with the heavy cream. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven until golden brown and cake is set.

This is what I call ‘Fall on a Plate’. Apples, cinnamon and butter all wrapped up in a tasty pancake! I found this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine and had to give it a try. Kris and I had this for Sunday brunch and I am looking forward to the next time I cook this up.

The Apple Cider Syrup is so good. It is almost like a caramel sauce to top this pancake. I saved the extra to use as a topper for ice cream!This is a fairly easy breakfast to whip up on the weekend. With apples in season it makes for some fresh fall flavors. Make sure to use a cast iron pan to get all the flavors. Cooking the apples in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon made the house smell amazing. I think I woke up the neighbors:)After cooking the apples for about four minutes, remove them from the skillet and wipe it out. Heat the skillet up in your preheated 425 degree oven to get it HOT. Add some more butter and add the apples to the center of the pan. It is looking good now.Pour the batter over the apples and pop it back into the oven. Since Kris and I are wheat free, I used Betty Crocker Gluten Free Rice flour blend for the batter. Bake for 12-15 minutes and remove from oven.Now it is time to eat! Slice it up and top with the Apple Cider Syrup and you have an amazing Sunday breakfast. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS
APPLE CIDER SYRUP
4 cups apple cider
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
DUTCH BABY
3 large eggs, room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, room temperature
¾ cup Betty Crocker GF Rice Blend Flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 large Pink Lady apple, peeled, sliced ¼” thick
1 tablespoon light brown sugar

APPLE CIDER SYRUP
Bring cider, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon to a boil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Reduce heat and boil gently, whisking occasionally, until thick and syrupy, 30–45 minutes.
DO AHEAD: Syrup can be made 1 week ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
DUTCH BABY
Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, salt, and ½ tsp. cinnamon in a medium bowl until smooth.
Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a 10” skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Add apple and sprinkle with brown sugar and remaining ½ tsp. cinnamon. Cook, tossing often, until apple is coated and softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Wipe out skillet and heat in oven until very hot, 8–10 minutes. Carefully add remaining 2 Tbsp. butter to skillet, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Add apple to center of skillet; pour batter over. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden brown around the edges and center is set but still custardy, 12–15 minutes.
Serve drizzled with apple cider syrup.

The other day Kristen said we should have some enchiladas for supper. That sounded like an excellent idea so I came up with my own version of this classic. These turned out excellent and I am glad I wrote down the ingredients and directions! The chicken is an important part so I thought I better grill the breasts on the Traeger for some flavor.Season the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the internal temp is 165 degrees. Remove from grill and let cool. I grilled some fresh sweet corn at the same time to use in the filling as well.Meanwhile grab up the rest of the ingredients and get started. Here is what you will need:

• 1/2 small onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 can diced green chiles
• 1 can red enchilada sauce
• cut the corn off 2 ears of the grilled sweet corn
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 8 corn tortillas
• cojita cheese
• salt
• pepper

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and green chiles, saute for about 5 minutes. Add the corn and diced chicken and cook for a few minutes more. Finally add the garlic and cook for one minute. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl add the ingredients from the saute pan. Add cheese and sour cream. Season with cumin, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Now let’s assemble the enchiladas.Grease an 11 x 7 baking dish and pour in come of the enchilada sauce, about a 1/4 inch deep. Pour more of the sauce in a large bowl. This will be used to dip the corn tortillas in before rolling. Add a tablespoon or so of the filling to the tortilla. Roll up tight and place in baking dish. Continue with the other 7 tortillas.With all the enchiladas in the pan, top with remainder of the enchilada sauce. top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 10 minutes. To serve, place enchiladas on a plate and top with some crumbled cojita cheese. Enjoy!!

It was a beautiful Sunday morning so after a nice run we decided to have breakfast on the deck. I had never cooked a complete breakfast meal on the Traeger but thought I would give it a try. We had over easy eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes with onions, pepper and bacon.For the bacon I just put it on a foil lined cookie sheet and grilled it for about 20 minutes. I parboiled the potatoes so they would fry up better. I added the bacon, onions and peppers to a hot cast iron skillet and cooked them for about 10 minutes then added the potatoes. Total cook time around 30 minutes.

The eggs were surprisingly easy as well. I placed a cast iron skillet on the grill to heat up. Tossed in a tablespoon of butter to melt. When everything was good and hot I added the eggs. Cooked for 6 minutes, flipped and cooked another 30 seconds and done!

It was a great morning eating out on the deck.

So here is our new deal in the mornings – Smoothies!!! Packed with everything we need to get moving and quite easy.

Here are the basic ingredients I like to use. The avocado makes the smoothie extra thick. Just toss everything into a blender and process until smooth. Tasty!!

• Almond milk
• Greek yogurt
• Frozen berries
• PB2 – peanut butter powder
• Protein powder
• Avocado

I have had some people tell me a Traeger is no good for steaks, the temperature just is not hot enough. Well I tell them they are WRONG! I grilled these filets out the other night and they were perfect. The key is to pull the steak off the grill at the correct temp. Normally this is about 6 minutes per side for medium rare but to be more precise I have started using an instant read digital thermometer, to guarantee the right temp.

I cook the steaks to a temp of 130-135 degrees for medium rare. Once to temp let the steak rest for 3 minutes before slicing. We served the steaks with grilled potatoes and a nice side salad. Enjoy!

Here is another tasty salad for summertime cooking. This salad has black-eyed peas, butter beans and fresh green beans. A very fresh and light side dish to some grilling.

We served this with Cedar Plank Salmon, grilled chicken and grilled potatoes. To add some flavor we also had a trio of dipping sauces. A great summer evening meal!

INGREDIENTS

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 15-ounce can butter beans or lima beans, rinsed

1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas or navy beans, rinsed

1/2 pound lb. green beans, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Directions

Toss shallot, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl and let sit 5 minutes. Add butter beans, black-eyed peas, green beans, dill, and oil; season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

DO AHEAD: Salad can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Well I have been pretty lazy lately and have not done much posting. I think it is time to get back to it. This week Kris and I tried some new salad recipes for summer. Here is the first and it is TASTY! Fresh and full of summertime flavors. This starts with some good sweet corn, right off the cob. I did not realize you can eat sweet corn without cooking it but I was wrong. Makes this much easier when preparing the salad. The cherry tomatoes give a nice sweet flavor to the salad and the cilantro brings out the fresness.

Chop up all the veggies and cilantro and toss into a large bowl, top with the oil and vinegar. Toss gently and presto – you have a tasty fresh salad. Kris and I served this with Cedar Plank Salmon for a perfect summer evening meal!

Ingredients:

• Sweet Corn and Avocado Salad
  
• 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from cob
  
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
  
• 1/2 small avocado, diced
  
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  

   

  Method:
  

  Put corn, tomatoes, avocado, onion, cilantro, oil and vinegars into a large bowl and toss gently to combine
  

The weeknights are getting busier. Kris and I are in an April challenge at the gym so do not get home until after 8, tired and sore from the workouts! So what to do for an easy supper? How about a dish using leftover grilled chicken breast, all cooked in one pot in 30 minutes of course.

First heat some olive oil in a deep pan. Add some onions and peppers and saute for about 5 minutes. Next add the pinto beans, a can of Rotel and cook for 5 minutes more. I added the following spices – 1 T chili powder, 1 t cumin, 1 t oregano, salt and pepper – and cooked for 5 minutes more. Now toss in the diced chicken and simmer for 15 minutes. Done!

Serve with hot sauce and sour cream, if desired.

Ingredients

2 grilled chicken breasts, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can Rotel
Olive oil
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t oregano
salt
pepper

Directions

Heat oil and suate the onion and peppers, about 5 minutes. Add the pinto beans and Rotel, cook 5 minutes more. Add spices and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken and simmer fo