blue messa gril

we went to blue messa grill for karen ann's birthday. it was joanie, katie and becky FTW! 

shrimp

vurrah chunky guac

because people like to say salsa.

mushroom and steak soup

steak soup with mushrooms. this time i blenderized the mushroom and i love the texture of it with the beef roast in the crockpot all day with spices and onions and broth and or water. once it's cooked i take the beef out to cool, take the onions out to discard, saute the mushrooms while the meat is cooling. once the mushroom's water has cooked off, add some thickener (i use cornstarch) and cook for about a minute. chuck the mushrooms into the soup, stick blender the entire thing together, cut up the beef into bite sized pieces and put the chunks back in the soup, add some half and half or cream until your desired creaminess.

stuffed jalapeños

stuffed jalapeños with mexican ground beef, cream cheese and sharp cheddar cheese. in the oven on aluminum foil for thirtyish minutes. all i can say is yummmmmm.

cactus omelette

did you just say cactus omelette? yes. yes i did. matt wanted to try different omelettes and came up with a cactus omelette. so we got a jar of pickled cactus and tried it out. matt says it's actually yummy.

typical

skirt steak taco

so montana again... we went there. it was like almost two months ago BUT here are some pictures of skirt steak tacos we had one night. yummay!

i'll be your huckleberry

well! we found huckleberries! in montana! at the top of the mountain! big mountain!

piiiiizzza!

so, i get pretty excited about pizza. these gluten free crusts are a little tricky but i've started pre-cooking them before adding toppings and i think it's all figured out. i like simple pizza so my toppings are usually pretty close. and i have basil! yeah!

pork chops, schmork chops

pork chops marinated in white whine and frozen. spiced with ginger, allspice, nutmeg, salt/pep, and cinnamon i like the pork to be seasoned a little on the "sweet side" if that makes sense. pan seared, finished in the oven. served with smashed potatoes and a pan gravy.

almost forgot!

i came back from vacation to montana and found a lovely new plant in my vegetable drawer.

shrimp and broc

we got cocktail shrimp at central market. let me tell you: they are AWESOME! so, i warmed them up with some butter, lots of spices including chives and capers. took the shrimp out of the pan, sauteed the shiratake noodles, and then let them come together at the end. served with lemon broccoli.

leftover steak salad

leftover from the dinner, this lunch was the tops! added more artichoke hearts, tomatoes and avocado. deeeelish!

steak dinner

sam's has the best steaks. they've started selling their huuuuuge tenderloin in easy to use fillets. they are yuuuuummy! their strips aren't bad either. anywhozzle, i pan seared the steak and then threw them in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with foil at 400 for 10ish minutes. while that's going i sauteed the mushrooms in the same pan until all the water's gone, added capers, artichokes and lastly the shiratake noodles. i call it steak scallopini. that may just be me though.

chicken curry

chicken curry with red curry paste, coconut, chicken pieces and shiratake noodles. the key, i've found for me, is to add the paste over heat, get some caramelization, add chicken, then add some broth (any kind i have open in the fridge) and let the chicken kind of boil to get it really soft. one the chicken is mostly cooked, i added another curry sauce, then coconut milk. the heat will develop more as it sits.

oolong tea and becky's teapot

we went to pf changs (holla gluten free menu!) and matt had oolong tea and he shared with yours truly. it. was. awesome. theeeen we went to the store (sprouts) and found some oolong tea there. not so great, sadly. our next try will be what the internet says is the brand that pf changs actually uses. keep your fingers crossed!

cauliflowers, lebanese style

one of my favorite veggies? cauliflower. mmmmmm. i found a lebanese (sort of greeky as well) packet of cauliflower spices. it was super easy, just add a little oil and cook with the spices for ten minutes. spicy and delish! i served the cauliflower with chunks of chicken (i bought a huge package at sam's, processed them, cut them into bite sized chunks, and froze them for easy dinners. i'm so awesome.) the chicken was pretty simple... but went well with the spicy, tasty cauliflower.

you're it!

i was tagged by the lovely jen from the lovely feeling better gluten free! yayee! and then i did the whole thing, here. and then the whole thing went away and i was sad... then i tried again and viola! finito!

so, you answer these questions with pictures:
1. What is your name.
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your hometown?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. What is your favorite movie?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. What is your favorite dessert?
9. What is one word to describe yourself?
10. How are you feeling right now?
11. What do you love most in the world?
12. What do you want to be when you grow up?

and then you go to this thing and input your picture answers via the internet's vast array of pictures... it was actually quite interesting (except for the horrible going awayness of my pictures and losing all my pictures. sniffle)

now i'm supposed to "tag" people... no, you cannot be touching the safe, no tag tree in the backyard! (i asked) everyone can go ahead and do it if you like! BUT i'll tag (specifically):

robyn (who's pregnant, so must be tolerated in her meaness. and also, we like her)

sundey (whose answers will be cool. and also? don't click that link because she doesn't trust you. only me)

rashai (my international bloggy friend)

lindsay (because she's cute)

oh, and ps: i'm going to montana for my VACATION! for one week. try not to be too sad. up next, montana food! also? they have not invented the internet in montana (i'm pretty sure) therefore, i will be sans internet. *gasp!* BUT i did set up twitter... so i'll have a one sided convo going on. ex: just saw black bear. looks hungry.

buger kick continued

potatoes and burger time!

pizzaz! also, mmmmmm!

nectarines and bahnahnah

crockpot turkey

lunch!

for lunch i had tomatoes, mozz, MY OWN basil, the last remaining lamb dolma (not from that time, eew) and a dab of hummus. so yummy!

chili

found some jarred chili that was gluten free. added meat and such. then served with polenta and ricotta cheese.

oven corn

oven corn is the new black. i'm telling you, this is "the awesome" and you will cook corn this way forever! ok. so, you're making a tin foil packet of corn and butter or olive oil and spices. they go in the oven for 30 minutes at 350-400'F depends what else you have cooking. when they're reasonably soft, open the packet and broil the corn until they're browny and delicious (this is my cooking philosophy in a few words). the pan drippings (all the spices and herbs) are slathered all over the corn for spicy goodness. so great!

best meal ever!

we found some artichokes at the grocery store. they were hidden but we found them. anywho, i looove artichokes. however, there is a artichoke controversy in the becky household. matt wants to boil them and i want to roast them in the oven because they are so very much better the way i make them. obviously. (he only checks this thing sporadically so i'll assume that i'll never be contradicted. this will be a one sided story. the right story. the end.) the way i do it is to cut the top off, scrape out the pointy bits, sprinkle with acid (lemon juice or i used rice wine vinegar), slather them with butter and herbs and spices and olive oil and stuff (mostly the first stuff i said). then i settle them all in a pan together, pour a little chicken broth on the bottom, tin foil the whole lot to keep in the steam, oven them at 400'F for 40minutes, take off the foil, turn over, reduce to 350'F and roast until the tops are browny and delicious.

the steak i pan seared (in a pan) until seared. then the pan goes in the oven to your desired doneness. this is by far the best way to do this thang. easy and delicious. then i made a red wine sauce with the pan drippings/browny bits.

oven chicken breasts

skin on chicken breasts, smothered in herbs and a little olive oil, in the oven. simple, classic, wonderful.

what happens to corn tortillas in the crockpot?

yeah, mooosh! that's what happens. good moosh, but moosh, nonetheless. chicken enchiladas with black olive, jalapenos and a lot of cheese. maybe i can cut back on the cooking time.

too much bacon?

fingerling potatoes are the best thing ever! i've been ovening them with bacon (oven bacon is the other best thing ever!). have you tried oven bacon? oh, oven bacon, how i love thee! i do it for 15 minutes at 400'F, then twist the pan, then like another 15 minutes. depending on your desired level of crisp. be careful with the nitrate free bacon it only needs about half the time.

for the potatoes i do them at 350-400'F until they smell wonderful and have a little browning on the cut bottom. i keep bacon in the freezer, so i throw some on top while the potatoes are cooking, to thaw. when thawed, squish the potatoes to one side and cook the bacon flat like above. remove from oven when crispy. crumble bacon on top with sharp cheddar cheese and chives. then die happy.

shrimp and grits

well, ok. it's actually polenta. mmmmm, polenta, shrimp, capers and parm cheese. i've found these already made tubes of polenta at the store. i dress it up by sauteing the polenta and adding milk or cream. deeeelish!

sal odd (cobb? sorta?)

lookie what i gotted!

matt's getting good at dollar bill origami

shrimp and floaties

sunday at vovo's house. dafne loooooves the pool. and vovo made shrimp and corn and salad. it was super awesome and yummy!

general tso

we purchased some miracle noodles. they are pretty good sub for noodles, esp with asian cuisine. and they're gluten free. chicken with asparagus and noodles.

ps i've been told this looks gross (it does) but it's really hard to get those noodles to look good, they're gross BUT they taste ok!

mother's house again

flowers from mother's day (i made pie)

this was my plant in college, she now claims it as her own, pffft. i can take it back whenever i want, i have a key!

weird heads that my mother collects. this is so my mother. so.

shepherd's pie

i made a shepherd's pie based on gordon ramsay's recipe. made some adjustments mainly added a lot of spice to the potato topping (ancho chili). i love that the top gets crispy. i also used beef instead of lamb. i made it for mother's day as well with venison. both delicious.

done