My Sangria

This is now my most asked for recipe so its time to post it. I began making sangria when we moved to San Antonio and took a pitcher to all of our neighborhood parties, bunco, girls nights in, etc. Almost five years later, I still make it whenever we go to someone's house or whenever we have guests in town. Its so good!

 

Let me first say that it is not very precise at all and it tends to depend on what fruit and juice I have in my fridge sometimes. The red wine and triple sec are musts but after that, I throw it whatever I have on hand - blueberries, apples, strawberries, etc. I do think the recipe as listed below is the best though.

 

Ingredients

• 1 big bottle of cheap sweet wine (Lambrusco, LOL, Riunite, etc) - they are usually about $9 or $10 for the oversized bottle
• 1/4 c triple sec
• 1/4 c sugar*
• 2 lemons
• 2 limes
• 2 oranges
• 1/4 c black cherry rum (optional)
• Ginger ale or sprite (optional)

*Note: If you use ginger ale or sprite when you serve it, you may want to leave out the sugar, depending on how sweet you want it to be.

 

 

Directions

1. In a large pitcher, juice one lemon, lime, and orange.
2. Cut up the other lemon, lime and orange (don't squeeze) and just place them in the pitcher.
3. Mix the sugar and all liquid (except the ginger ale/sprite) in the pitcher. 
4. Still well.
5. Let it sit for 12-24 hours in the fridge. I cover the pitcher with saran wrap and occasionally stir it.
6. Before serving, be sure to stir it really well because the sugar settles on the bottom. 
7. I like to serve it with a splash of ginger ale (or sprite) just to make it a little effervescent but I pour the ginger ale/sprite in each glass, NOT in the pitcher.
8. If you have any left after 24 hours, strain the sangria from the fruit and store the sangria (minus the fruit).

 

 

Roasted Chicken with Asparagus, Lemon, and Potatoes

Who doesn't love a one-dish meal that isn't a casserole?

I came across this Martha Stewart recipe and adapted it slightly for our liking. It's easy, healthy, and has so much flavor! Plus it looks impressive when you serve anything out of a roasting pan at a dinner party.

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds yellow or red new potatoes, halved
• 3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 pounds chicken breasts
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
Place potatoes and half the butter in a shallow roasting pan; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until potatoes are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

Place chicken on top of potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Roast until chicken begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Scatter asparagus, lemon, remaining butter, and thyme around chicken. Roast until asparagus is tender and chicken is opaque throughout, 15 minutes. Serve chicken, vegetables, and lemon drizzled with pan juices.

Here's a picture of it from tonight's dinner...yum!

Oatmeal Pancakes

Our very favorite pancakes in the world are served at Legal Grounds in Dallas and are called prom cakes. We have been in prom cake withdrawal since we moved from Dallas, so I decided to make my own. This pancake recipe requires more effort than most, but it is worth it for these moist, fluffy circles of breakfast goodness. In fact, these pancakes are so good that I've been making them every single weekend - no kidding.   They are the only pancakes my family will eat now - I don't blame them!

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

3/4 cup oat flour (You can make oat flour by pulsing about 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor until finely ground.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

Wet Ingredients

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup cooked oatmeal*

1 Tablespoon honey

2 large eggs

Optional Ingredients

Fresh bananas, sliced very thin

Fresh strawberries, sliced

Homemade granola (See my recipe here, but make it without the dried fruit if you are using it as a topping on these pancakes.)

Chocolate chips (I put these in my daughter's pancakes they taste like oatmeal chocolate chip cookies - yum!)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together.

3. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

4. Heat griddle to medium heat and then lower to medium just before putting the batter on. Grease griddle with butter or cooking spray.

5.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the greased griddle. (If you want banana slices or chocolate chips in your pancakes, place them on the pancake batter as soon as your pour the batter on.)

6.  Flip pancakes once the bubbles have begun to form on the top side of the pancake.

7.  Serve warm with fresh strawberries, granola, and a little maple syrup. Enjoy!!

*Make oatmeal by bringing 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add 1 cup of rolled oats and simmer on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool. You will have more than 1 cup of cooked oatmeal so make sure to measure out exactly 1 cup before adding it to the ingredients.

Additional Info

**If you want to make it ahead, the batter can sit overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning, the batter will be thick and should be thinned, one tablespoon at a time, with milk. Do not overmix.

**I tried a healthy version of this recipe by substituting whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour and egg whites for eggs. It was still amazing!

Company Potatoes

This is one of our classic family dishes...its great as a side when the husband is grilling. It originally came to us from our friend Jennie and her daughter Sherri. Its easy to make and tastes amazing!!

Ingredients
2 lb package of frozen cubed hash browns (thaw for 30 minutes)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb sour cream
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix the above ingredients and cook in a greased 9x13 baking dish at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

*Note: I've tried making this with low fat cheese and sour cream and it is still really good. However, I tried substituting Butter Buds and fat free sour cream and cheese and it was not good.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

This recipe is courtesy of my friend Kalli Barker, photographer extraordinaire...and great baker! My favorite thing about this recipe, besides the fact that its yummy, is the recipe makes TWO loaves so I can freeze one and always have one on hand for company...genius!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Ingredients
2 cup flour (I usually use 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white flour)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup sour cream (Against my husband's wishes, I use reduced fat sour cream and you can't taste the difference)
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup shortening
3 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions
Cream eggs, sugar, sour cream, shortening, and bananas.
Add vanilla and other dry ingredients. (Stir in ½ cup nuts if desired.)
Grease pans. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon and dust pans lightly with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Divide banana mixture into prepared pans. Sprinkle some cinnamon-sugar mixture on top.

Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes. (Makes 2 large or 4 small loaves.)

Sopapilla Cheesecake

My friend Amanda makes this cheesecake and I just made it for the bunco party at my house tomorrow night. It is so easy to make it and tastes incredible.

Ingredients
2 cans of crescent rolls (Pillsbury has crescent roll sheets so buy those if you can find them)
2 cups of sugar
1-8 oz. box of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon and cinnamon sugar to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
In a 13x9 greased pan, place 1 can of crescent rolls flat in the bottom of the pan. Flatten around edges and do not separate.
Mix cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla in a mixer. Spread over first layer of crescent roll dough.
Place the other can of crescent roll dough on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Melt butter and add 1 cup of sugar, stir. Spread butter and sugar mixture over top crescent roll dough layer.
Sprinkle cinnamon over the entire pan.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350, or until lightly brown.
Sprinkler cinnamon or cinnamon sugar on top before serving, if desired.

Black Bean Salsa

We had this black bean salsa with tortilla chips at our friend's Christmas party and it was so yummy!  The sweet corn and vinegar make a great sweet and tangy combination.

Ingredients

1 large can of sweet corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
4 small green onions, chopped
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of sugar
2 small avocados, chopped finely

1 large tub of feta (Kraft)

DirectionsMix corn, beans, and green onions in a bowl.

Mix oil, vinegar, and sugar together and pour over corn mixture. Let the combined mixture chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Drain some of the liquid and add avocado and feta.