Mountain Man Cooks!

Hello All,

I am so sorry I haven't blogged in over a week! I am experiencing some issues with my computer and it has been a slight pain to deal with! I want to share with you the highlights of last weekend, and an update on this week.
Last weekend, I went to work with the hubby and was more than excited when he dropped me off at Target. I haven't laid eyes on a Target since living in my hometown. Secondly, this Target had a Starbucks in it, another rarity I have not experienced in a long time. (Side note store about Starbucks- when we went to Seattle on our honeymoon there was a Starbucks every 1/2 block. We did not go into a single one! I prefer to support local coffee, especially since Starbucks has the same trademark taste at essentially every location). Don't get me wrong- I still like a good cup of joe or if I'm feeling special maybe a Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks. I'm not dissing it, just proclaiming that I'm not a junkie. Thirdly, this town had one of my favorite restaurants, Qdoba, where we had lunch. I will gladly go to work with him anytime he is in this town!
On Sunday, we made a huge brunch feast. Now, Mountain Man is a wonderful cook- he just doesn't have time to cook often. I have been itching to use my new Texas-shaped waffle machine ever since we received it at a wedding shower. I finally used it on Sunday and it produced wonderfully fluffy and delicious waffles. Mountain Man made the potatoes and bacon. He is an expert at making breakfast potatoes and pancakes. I am trying to upload some pictures but am having some technical difficulties. >:-(

We started a new schedule this week, one where I don't get home until 8:30 p.m. I have started volunteer assistant coaching at the high school and we are in "2 a days" right now. So for dinner, we have pretty much lived by the crock pot this week. M.M. made a wonderful dinner on Tuesday night. He baked salmon, sauteed garden fresh zucchini squash, and cut up and roasted sweet and white potatoes. It was a delightful dinner, I told y'all he could cook! Monday and Wednesday we had crock pot chicken dinners, and tonight we will have leftovers.

I signed up to be a substitute teacher, and will be coaching the high school girls and helping out with a youth weekly clinic. My schedule is still pretty open now except during the late afternoon/evenings. Things may get busier if/when I get called to substitute. I am nervous- I haven't been in a classroom setting since I was in high school! I figured if I could monitor college football players in study hall, I can handle a classroom (I hope!).

This weekend we do not have any special plans. Maybe another trip to the special little town I mentioned above- it even has a mall! I hope we can go to Sam's Club one weekend, it is quite far from where we live so it will definitely be an all day escapade. I hope I can have some more exciting stories to post about besides our lame weekend plans ;-). The State Fair will be here next weekend, so maybe I will have some crazy stories about the Bull-a-Rama or something.

Things I am missing about living in a suburban area: having everything at your finger tips, i.e. Sam's, Target, restaurants, health food stores, department stores, my local doctor and dentist, Fuzzy's tacos, college football games, and a post office that is open past 11:30 a.m., (friends and family I miss the most).

Things I like about rural living: The traffic does not make me want to take blood pressure medication, learning to overcome withdrawals to the luxuries of big town living at my fingertips, learning how to live simply, not having as many distractions, knowing the mailman knows my name, the church we have been visiting is full of friendly people, rummage sales, all the inquisitive people about my Texas license plate, all the Mennonite ladies in their prayer veils and dresses, the local farmers markets, and my favorite part is looking at the little ducks feeding in all the surrounding ponds, they're so cute!

I certainly am more appreciative of the small luxuries of life while living in a small town.  I love the local farmers markets and eating fresh garden vegetables. I love how I see so many hard working farmers on a daily basis, providing our country with food. After living in Kansas, I have a much greater appreciation for the agriculture world and the people who work the tedious front lines.

Well if any of you have a good crock pot recipe you want to pass along, feel free. Until then I'm going to be browsing a good recipe for the chuck roast I have in the freezer.

Have a wonderful day!

Dakota Darling

Fuzzy's Copycat Shrimp Tacos

Hello everyone! I want to post about the dinner we had Sunday night. It is possibly my favorite meal ever. I believe I referenced in earlier posts my inspiration for these tacos is the beloved Fuzzy's Taco Shop in my hometown. I pretty much used the same recipe for these tacos as I had for the fish tacos. I did make a garlic aioli sauce for a topping, instead of using the Green Goddess dressing on the slaw. I also added panko breadcrumbs to the fish fry breading mix.

The shrimp only take 3-4 minutes to cook! 

This is how I steam my corn tortillas. 

Finished product! Shrimp tacos with roasted sweet and white potatoes garnished with cucumbers!

Fiesta Feast!

Garlic Aioli sauce recipe:

•  2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder 

Mince 2 cloves of garlic and saute in 1 Tbsp. of butter on med-low heat for 3 min or until lightly browned. Add garlic/butter to 1 cup of regular mayonnaise. Then salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Recipe for Shrimp Tacos: 

• 1 lb of fresh shrimp- I had to peel and devein the shrimp
• 1 /2 packet of fish fry and 1/4 c Panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg + splash of milk beaten
• seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce
• 12 thin corn tortillas
• cabbage or coleslaw mix
• grated cheddar cheese for topping
• cilantro for topping
• lime wedge for garnish
• oil for cooking (I used olive oil)

Peel and devein the shrimp, then rinse off with cold water, put shrimp in fridge until ready for breading. Chop 1 cup of cabbage, place in fridge. Beat egg, milk, and seasonings in a bowl, set aside for breading. Mix fish fry mix and panko bread crumbs in bowl and set aside. Get shrimp out and place 3 or 4 shrimp at a time in the egg wash mixture, then place shrimp in breading, evenly coating with mixture. Set on plate and repeat until finished with all shrimp. While you are finishing breading the last few shrimp, put 1/4" of olive oil in a pan and put the stove on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp. I cooked about 10 shrimp in the pan at a time. Cook each side for about 2 minutes, watching closely so the shrimp do not overcook and get too brown. The shrimp should be a nice golden-brown. After shrimp are cooked, place foil over a pot with 2" of water and boil. Cut slits in the foil so steam rises all over the surface and place 2 or 3 tortillas on at a time, flipping over after about 20 seconds on each side. Get your nicely steamed tortillas, hot shrimp, cabbage, cheese, and garlic sauce out of the fridge. Enjoy your shrimp tacos with endless toppings! 

Recipe for Roasted Potatoes:

• 3 small Russet potatoes
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Dice the potatoes into 1" quarters, in large bowl mix potatoes, olive oil, and seasonings. Hand toss and place onto a baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Bake longer if necessary. I like to use parchment paper underneath these little joyous nuggets of flavor-it makes cleaning up so much easier!

Mountain Man in his natural habitat. 

**Mountain Man had a couple of suggestions after we ate: he suggested I mix the freshly chopped cabbage with the garlic sauce to create a garlicky slaw. Another suggestion he had was to bread the shrimp in Panko crumbs alone, not with the fish fry. It will probably have a lighter crunch and taste.** 

Enjoy y'all! 

Dakota Darling 

Rummaging!

So a highlight of this past weekend was going to Rummage Sales with my landlord's wife. Here in the Dakotas, they call garage sales or yard sales "rummage sales", and they go "rummaging". People are very serious about their rummaging habits (or addiction?). Another popular past time is attending auctions; estate auctions, consignment auctions, farm equipment auctions, you name it they have it. I have gone rummaging a couple of weekends. I even meticulously planned my rummage route, and was still blown away by how many items were already sold by the time I arrived. I clearly don't have much of an advantage on the locals that rummage. We furnished our entire place with rummage and Goodwill items. I have learned so much about bargain buying and realized how much good "used" stuff is out there. I feel it will be a very long time before I pay full price on anything and not feel bad about it! 

Here are some of the cool things we scored at Rummage Sales

Vera Bradly purse in mint condition- $1.00

Recliner, Lamp, and end table from Goodwill-$28.00
Couch from Craigslist- $60.00
coffee table from rummaging- $10.00

Rummage- 4 Elk coasters for $5.00
Rummage- candles $0.14 a piece!

I have picked up several other items, such as a huge Ball mason jar, wall decorations, Mary Kay products, plastic wine glasses, and I should probably stop there haha! 

So if you're ever in the Dakotas, pick up a newspaper for yourself and look in the classified section for "rummage sales", or if you're brave, an auction! You can thank me later ;-)

-Dakota Darling

Breakfast of Champions!

I made this Quiche the other night, I used a combination of recipes. One was from Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible: Cheesy Southern Quiche with Country Ham, and Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Quiche. I came up with a delicious combo of both recipe's and had my first quiche-baking experience. Paula's recipe required me to prebake the pie crust for a total of about 35 minutes, so I had some holes in my pie crust when I poured in the egg mixture. The crust was surrounded by egg, so it tasted like a frittata-quiche. I used 6 eggs, Paula's called for 3, Pioneer's called for 8. I used the same ingredients in Pioneer Woman's, but I added country ham to it. Overall, it was very savory and tasty and pairs well with fruit and and coffee!

Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Quiche Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013/06/cowboy-quiche/

Paula Deen's Cheesy Southern Quiche with Country Ham: http://books.google.com/books?id=SEa1NJxPngAC&pg=PA98&lpg=PA98&dq=Paula+Deen+Cheesy+Southern+Quiche+with+Country+Ham&source=bl&ots=am-eNE5DjY&sig=qcoCJcmpJiDkJTVgPmSoEqc5d8c&hl=en&sa=X&ei=NwIEUsDaGsjMyQHorICIBg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Paula%20Deen%20Cheesy%20Southern%20Quiche%20with%20Country%20Ham&f=false

Garlic-Lime Chicken

I promise, I make more stuff than chicken dishes. These just happen to be my prettier dishes that I photograph :-p.

Here is a yummy recipe I modified from Pioneer Woman, we don't have a grill so I used my cast-iron skillet. I had almost all of the ingredients, and wanted a simple, healthy dinner. 

Here is the Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/bushs-grillin-beans/2011/05/garlic-lime-grilled-chicken-breasts-and-last-day-of-the-grilling-recipe-contest/

I didn't have Bush's Grillin' Beans, so I just threw a can of black beans in a pot, added picante salsa, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  I topped with shredded medium cheddar cheese for extra flavor and color.

I love garnishing my Mexican dishes with an avocado. It's bright, and yummy and healthy! And did I mention yummy?!

-Dakota Darling 

Super Excited!!!

My amazing Aunt Allison, who shared the Garlic Chicken recipe with me, sent these two cookbooks after a conversation I had with her, wanting to learn how to cook Chinese food. She is awesome! I can't wait to try a recipe out.

Fish Taco Fridays!

I have decided to start a new tradition: to make tacos on Friday. And they must be either fish or shrimp, not for any other reason than I am a fanatic of those two types of soft tacos! The real reason behind this inspiration is my favorite restaurant, Fuzzy's Tacos, a taco shop chain in the Midwest and Southwest. They made the BEST tempura shrimp and grilled shrimp tacos. My sister-in-law Heather gave me her recipe, after my mom raved about the fish tacos Heather made for a family get-together. I tried it, it was fun, simple, and scrumptious!

I'm sorry I don't have a prettier picture, the thought to take a picture didn't strike me until we were almost through with dinner.

Recipe:

• 3 fillets of tilapia  (you may want 2; 3 was more than enough for Mountain Man and myself)
• 1 packet of fish fry (just regular, not fancy stuff like tempura or beer battered)- although I want to try those variations someday. 
• 1 egg + splash of milk
• seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce
• 12 thin corn tortillas
• cabbage or coleslaw mix
• 2 Tbsp. Kraft Green Goddess dressing 
• grated cheddar cheese for topping
• oil for cooking (I used olive oil)
• lime slices for garnish and flavor

Pre-cook prep tip: Make your slaw ahead of time so the flavors can marinate and you will be ready to go when your fish is finished.

Slaw: Use 2 cups (or however much you want) of coleslaw prepackaged mix, or cut your own cabbage. Add 2 Tbsp. of Green Goddess dressing, or more for taste. Mix well and add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cover and put in fridge.

Wash the fillets off with cold water, then slice them into strips. I cut about 1" thick slices, and about 3" long. Pour your fish fry mix into one bowl, in another bowl add your egg, splash of milk, seasonings (salt, pepper, hot sauce if you like a little heat, garlic and onion powder), then beat mixture together. Take your fish strips and dip them into the egg mixture, then the fish fry mix. After I batter all of the fish strips I put them on a big plate and take them to the fryer! I used a regular skillet on medium heat and put about 1/2 " of olive oil in the bottom. Throw in about 6 pieces of fish. The fish does not take long to fry, about 2-3 minutes each side is adequate. Set the freshly cooked fish on a foil-lined plate and cover with foil until all of it is finished.

When you are finished cooking the fish, grab a plate, throw on 2 tortillas (I always double up with thin corn tortillas), add your fish, cheese, and slaw and you have your fish tacos!

***Bonus Points***
If you really want to go the extra mile with the tortillas (which as a native Texan, I consider a must), steam them before you serve them. I do not have a tortilla steamer, so I put about 2" of water in a pot and cover the pot with aluminum foil and  put slits all over it so steam can rise. I get the water boiling and then once the steam is fuming through the tiny vents I put a tortilla on top, it only takes about 20 seconds on each side of the tortilla then you have a deliciously steamed and warm tortilla to serve your fish tacos on!

Please feel free to share other variations, especially with different kinds of fish, slaw, and breading mixes.
This Friday I am going to attempt to make grilled seasoned shrimp tacos. Will post results of the aftermath ;-).

-Dakota Darling

Honey Garlic Chicken

I made this delicious dish a couple of weeks ago. It was an easy crock pot meal that turned out pretty good. The brown rice was a little coarse and bland, it is healthy, but sticky white rice would taste better- hey I'm just being honest!

Here is the recipe I used, thanks to my Aunt Allison who sent me the link. All I had to do was make some rice and steam some broccoli! Link to recipe: http://www.rachelsnest.com/2011/08/honey-garlic-chicken-crock-pot-recipe.html?m=1

My New Life

I just started a new life. One that has turned my world 180 degrees, yet I knew this is what I would be in for. Almost 3 months ago, I married my soulmate and partner in crime, Mountain Man. We met in college and dated our senior year, then spent the next 3 years apart. He found a career with a company that travels and moves frequently. I wanted to find my "calling" and tried several career paths. I coached volleyball at the collegiate level, went to graduate school and was a grad assistant in another field. Neither of us could find jobs in the other person's state, and neither of us wanted to quit what we were doing. So long distance for 3 years it was. It was long, and painful, but it made us tough. We learned of the depth of love for one another, and our "True Grit" to stick it out through thick and thin. And believe me, there was a lot of thin. We went 2-3 months at a time without seeing one another, and we could only travel by plane as our distance was great. Last fall, we got engaged during my last year of grad school, and we married just this past May! The engagement process was pretty hectic, as many of you may know, and we are just settling into married life. Right after we returned from our honeymoon, we moved to Kansas, where his job resided at the time, and lived with my 90 year old grandpa. I love my grandpa so much, but he is an old timer that is sassy. It's his way or the highway, and you either learn to live with it, or resent it. I didn't mind since he was my grandfather, and I could see the happiness in his eyes that he had some company around. The chores and errands kept me busy, and grandpa kept me company. Just about a month ago we moved to rural Dakota territory. We will only be here a few months, then move again. It has been an incredible transition going from working in Division 1 athletics, where the pace never ends, to becoming unemployed with a lot of spare time on my hands. At first, I had a bad attitude, I felt entitled to a job and a career since I have a Master's degree and a job offer after graduation. I was stuck all day by myself, not having an objective or plan. It has taken some time to find a "groove", and yet I have found one, and I am starting to love my new life. I have time to partake in activities that I never had or made time for when I was working. I have started a daily regiment of exercises at home (thanks to Pinterest), journaling and meditating, cleaning and cooking. I love to cook, I always have, I just haven't had the kitchen space or time to frequently cook. My cooking in Kansas was limited, my grandpa only likes beef and salmon patties, so I made lots of meatloaf, salmon patties, mashed potatoes, casseroles, canned veggies, and biscuits. We ate like farm kids in Kansas! Now that we have moved, I have busted out all of my new kitchen appliances! I am so excited to have a variety of them, and use them daily. I have been baking Mountain Man's employees treats on a weekly basis, and I cook dinner every night for him, so I'm gaining lots of experience. I will post pics of things I have cooked so far, and had success with. I love food, and making good food. I need all the practice I can get! I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life, it is something I have honestly dreamt of for a long time, yet I did not know how to handle it when I was given the opportunity. I have longed for the "simple life" for many years, and now I finally get to experience it. I definitely fought it at first, but the more I experience it, the more I embrace it. Thanks for reading! Now time for food pictures! Dakota Darling