Thursday, March 10, 2016

Honey Chex Mix

1 1/2 cups Rice Chex
1 1/2 cups Crispix
1 cup Corn Pops cereal
1 cup Bugles, original flavor
1/2 cup Teddy Grahms

2 tblsp light corn syrup
2 tblsp honey
1 tblsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

  1. Preheat oven to 250*F.
  2. Combine Rice Chex, Crispix, Corn Pops, Bugles, and Teddy Grahms in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Heat corn syrup, honey, and butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
  4. Pour corn syrup mixture over cereal mixture until well coated.
  5. Spread this mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and let cool before transferring to an airtight container.
  6. For an added boost of flavor and texture, stir in 2 to 3 cups of kettle corn.

Kettle Corn

4 tblsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt

In a tall stainless steel stock pot with a lid, add the vegetable oil and one kernel of popcorn. Heat covered on medium heat until the kernel pops. Immediately after the kernel pops, add in the rest of the popcorn kernels. Quickly add in the sugar and salt, shaking the pot back and forth to dissolve the sugar in the hot oil. This works best with two people!

Replace the lid as soon as the sugar is added. Continue cooking on medium heat, picking up and shaking the pot frequently so the sugar doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan. It should take about 3 minutes until most of the popcorn is popped.

Carefully remove the lid and pour the popcorn into a serving bowl!

Chex Mix

3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
2 cups Wheat Chex
1 cup pretzel sticks
1 cup Spicy Nacho Doritos, broken into smaller pieces
1/2 cup cheddar Goldfish
1/2 cup bite size bagel chips, broken into smaller pieces

1 cup butter, melted
4 tblsp Worcestershire
2 1/2 tsp season salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 250*F.
  2. Add the Chex cereal, pretzels, Doritos, Goldfish, and bagel chips to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Mix together the butter, Worcestershire, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper.
  4. Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture, stirring to coat evenly.
  5. Spread this mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool and transfer to airtight container.


Fish Tacos


Single Serving (3 tacos)

For the meat:
12 jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined 
1/3 lb cod or halibut steak
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp onion powder

Mini flour tortillas

Suggested toppings:
Diced avocado
Diced tomato
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese

Enhanced Sour Cream:
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
¼ tsp cumin powder
¼ tsp salt

  1. Mix together olive oil and spices into a small bowl. Coat cod/halibut steak with oil mixture and place in separate bowl into the fridge. Combine the remaining oil mixture with the shrimp, mixing to coat evenly. Place this in the fridge to marinate for roughly 20 minutes.
  2. While the fish is marinating, mix together the ingredients to make the enhanced sour cream. Dice the avocado and tomato also.
  3. Heat a skillet on medium and cook the shrimp and cod/halibut until the shrimp is pink and opaque and the cod/halibut is cooked through.
  4. Assemble tacos: sour cream, avocado, tomato, cheese, shrimp, cod/halibut, and shredded lettuce.

*Note: The cod doesn't add much taste, so these tacos are just as delicious with only shrimp!

Pecan Pie


 Makes 1 12-inch pie

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup Crisco
1/2 tsp vinegar
1 beaten egg
2-3 tblsp ice water

Pie Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups corn syrup (½ dark, ½ light)
4 eggs
¼ cup butter
1 ½ tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups pecans

  1. In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, and Crisco. Mix together until flour and Crisco are combined. Add the vinegar, egg, and 2 tblsp of ice water to this. Stir until moistened. If it's too dry, add an additional table spoon of the ice water.
  2. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge to stiffen up while you measure out the filling ingredients.
  3. Roll out the dough using a little flour and some parchment paper to prevent sticking. Be sure to roll the dough large enough to fit your pie plate. Transfer it to the pie plate and form the crust.
  4. In a saucepan, boil the sugar and corn syrup together for 2 to 3 minutes; set aside to cool slightly.
  5. Add butter into sugar mixture to melt.
  6. In large bowl, beat eggs lightly and very slowly pour the syrup mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly. Strain this mixture if desired.
  7. Stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour into crust.
  8. Bake in a 350*F oven for 45 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges are browning too quickly, cover them with tinfoil.
  9. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting open.

The filling is thick and doesn't seep out of the pie once cut!