Wazzu Tailgate Chili

At Lauren H's we gathered for some fun with her boys and once we read them some books and they went to bed we discussed the body's need for certain exercises :) Many of these Lauren learned about on her new venture to becoming a new Stroller Strides program operator.

Stroller Strides is a nationwide fitness program for moms and babies. It combines power walking/jogging and strength training using resistance bands, your stroller, and the natural environment. It is designed to make mom fit for motherhood and engage baby at the same time. Our current location is at Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley. And another class at Lake Meridian in Kent will be opening in summer. All moms are welcome as well as all fitness levels. Another perk to stroller strides is that it has a support system built right in. Our classes are linked to a moms group that meets weekly after our workouts for play dates, arts and crafts, and coffee. It is a great way to get your workout in, meet other moms, and set a good example for your children. The main website is just http://www.strollerstrides.com/ From there you would search for a class. Until her program is open in Kent, Lauren's local website is: http://classes.strollerstrides.net/maple-valley/moreinfo/9df6c4263e14dbfc4181551f271d9046/98038/lake-wilderness-park---stroller-strides/maple-valley/index.aspx

For dinner Lauren made us Wazzu Tailgate Chili (courtesy of http://www.allrecipes.com/) Whether you're a fan or not, you'll love this hearty dish. Here is your recipe for this week...

Wazzu Tailgate Chili

2 lbs. ground beef
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped, divided
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs. chopped green onion
3 (15 oz. cans) beans (you can use all chili beans, or 2 chili & 1 black, or 2 kidney & 1 black which is what I used)
1 (14.5 oz can) diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz can) tomato sauce
1 (6 oz can) tomato paste
1 (12 oz can) beer
2 Tbs. cornmeal
1 cup water
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbs. salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

-Cook meat til browned, drain
-Heat oil in large pot, stir in 3/4 of the onion, all green pepper, jalapeno, & garlic. Cook til onion has softened. Stir the meat into the onion mix with green onion, beans, diced tomatoes, sauce & paste, beer and water.
-Sprinkle with cornmeal, then season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
-Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce heat to medium low and simmer at least 2 hours. (The longer the better.)
-Top with your favorite things or nothing at all. We'll leave this up to you.

Dessert was Double Chocolate Lava Cakes from Fred Meyer. They have these new frozen offering by their in-store brand, Private Reserve. They were ooey-gooey and so delicious. I've also tried the Pineapple Upside Down Cake they offer, which are now a favorite of mine & my husband. Lauren, Emily & I are members of a word-of-mouth marketing program that send us free product or coupons for free product, which is how we heard of Fred Meyer's Private Reserve frozen goods. If you are interested in becoming a product tester or Bzz agent, as we're referred to, you can sign up at http://www.bzzagent.com/. It's easy and free. You answer a few surveys regarding your age, social environment, likes/dislikes and so forth and depending on how you answer they start to invite you to the "campaigns" that best suite you. You then have a certain amount of time to report back to them on the product. We all love it and sometimes end up all being invited to the same campaign so we have 3 times the free stuff to share at a dinner and lots of high value coupons to hand out to the rest of the girls.

Until next time, enjoy the chili!

AK

Pinterest is everywhere...Our tables are no exception!

It's no secret...anymore, Pinterest has opened up a world of ideas and new recipes, and we are right in line with the rest of you taking advantage of all the amazing-ness...Time consuming or not, we feel it's worth the research time. While at Tiff's we enjoyed an appetizer of German Cheddar & Beer Fondue. This recipe originally comes from foodnetwork.com courtesy of Rachael Ray:

Ingredients

• 1 sack, 10 ounces, 2 1/2 cups, shredded sharp Cheddar, available on dairy aisle
• 1/4 to 1/3 pound, 4 to 6 ounces, Gruyere, shredded
• 1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup German lager beer
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• A few drops hot sauce
• A few drops Worcestershire sauce

For Serving:

• 1 1/2 pounds cubed or thick sliced and browned wursts: knock or brat
• 1 package mini party franks (recommended: Boars Head)
• 1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
• 1 small jar mini Gherkin pickles, drained
• 1 small jar pickled onions, available on vegetable aisle
• 1 small, round loaf rye, pumpernickel or sour dough bread, cubed

Directions

Combine cheeses in a bowl with flour. Add beer to a small pot and bring up to a bubble over medium heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and add cheese in handfuls. Stir constantly, melting the cheese in batches. Stir in a figure-eight pattern with wooden spoon. When the cheese has been incorporated fully, stir in the mustard, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Transfer fondue to warm fondue pot.

In a large skillet, bring 2-inches of water to a boil and blanch the cauliflower for 2 to 3 minutes, drain and arrange around the fondue pot.

In the same pan, bring the cooking water back to a boil and add the mini franks and sliced wursts. Cook, uncovered until all the liquid has evaporated. Add 1 tablespoon butter to the pan to crisp the casings. Pile wursts and dogs near fondue. Complete the dipping selections with dishes of pickles, onions and cubed bread.

Our main course is a popular pin you might recognize...Chicken & Cheese Lasagna Roll Ups. You can fin the original recipe courtesy of ivilliage.com. Here it is in all it's deliciousness...

3 cups chopped cooked chicken		1/4 cup milk
1 cup Ricotta cheese		1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese		8 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese		2 cups Prego Spaghetti Sauce

Yield: 8 Servings

Prep: 1 hour 10 min (70 mins) Total:

• In medium bowl, combine chicken, cheeses, milk, and pepper
• Spread 1/2 cup mixture on each lasagna noodle; roll jelly-roll fashion
• In a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• Arrange lasagna rolls, seam-side down in sauce in baking dish
• Top with remaining spaghetti sauce
• Cover
• Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes or until hot
• Serve, if desired, with additional Parmesan cheese.

We finished off the evening with another fondue...chocolate this time. It was served with strawberries, graham crackers and marshmallows.

I think it's safe to say we were spoiled tonight! Thanks Tiff!
Enjoy!!

Happy Hour at Danielle's

When we heard we were having a night of appetizers for dinner a few of us definitely thought we were going to starve. Were we ever WRONG! We stuffed ourselves with 4 different plates, not to mention a mashed potato bar with all the fixins and dessert. 'Nelle is pretty well known for her appetizers and here she shares some of her secrets.

Baked Brie Cheese

From- Lisa Bauder (Jake’s Aunt)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts or pecans

1 tablespoon brandy

1 (14-ounce) round brie

For Serving-

Apple wedges

Pear wedges

2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Crackers

Baguette

In a small bowl stir together the sugar, nuts, and brandy. Cover and chill for at least 24 hours or up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place the brie on an ovenproof platter or pie plate and bake for 4 or 5 minutes or until the brie is slightly softened. Spread the sugar mixture in an even layer on top of the warm brie and bake for 2 to 3 minutes longer, or until the sugar melts. Brush the fruit wedges with lemon juice and arrange them around 1 side of the brie. Place crackers & baguette around the other side.

Lemon Quinoa Cilantro Chickpea Salad

From- Pinterest; The Diva Dish blog

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa

2 C. vegetable broth

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 c. cherry tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

2 C. spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 lemons

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. agave nectar

1/2 tsp. cumin

Dash of salt and pepper

1. Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa in a pot in the veggie broth for about 15 minutes. After that, turn on the heat to medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it completely dried out, so when there is just a TINY amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad.

2. In a food processor, add your spinach and cilantro. Make sure to wash you greens.

3. Process the greens until they are finely diced. You can do this by hand as well if you don’t have a food processor

4. Add the greens to a bowl, and set aside. Next take your onion and garlic and finely dice those (I do this in the food processor to), and add to the greens mixture. Next add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and coated. If the quinoa is cooled, you can add it to the chickpea mixture next.
5. Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado and mix. Set in fridge for about 10-15 minutes before serving so the flavors set.

Chicken Parmesan Bites

From- Rachel Ray Big Orange Cookbook

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

¾ cup bread crumbs

¾ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; grated

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

2 pounds chicken (cut into pieces)

Salt & Pepper

3 tablespoons oil for pan cooking the chicken (I prefer vegetable oil)

1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

½ cup homemade basil pesto (or store bought)

Arrange 3 bowls, fill one with the flour, one with the eggs and the third with a mixture of the bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, lemon zest and parsley.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and coat each first with the flour, then egg and finally the bread crumb mixture. Set the coated pieces on a baking sheet.

Place a large pan over medium-high heat with the oil.  Cook the coated chicken bites in 2 batches, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.

While the chicken bites are cooking, place a small pot over medium heat with the crushed tomatoes and bring to bubble. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the pesto.

Serve the chicken bites with the tomato-pesto sauce alongside.

The mashed potato bar is pretty straight forward...

Then for dessert we had Santa Hat Brownies...This recipe is easily found on Pinterest and also pretty easy to put together yourself with any brownie recipe.

Enjoy!
AK