Really Awesome News!

Since I finally paid off my credit card debt (Christmas and treadmill), I decided I would bump up the payments on my student loan. At the current rate I had about a year left; I was hoping I'd be able to cut that down to 8-9 months. Anyway, Sunday I tried to log onto my account (it's through Nelnet) and couldn't get on. Every time I entered my SSN and birth date I got an alert saying there was no account matching that info. So I sent off an email telling my problem and reminding them  I still owe them a nice chunk of money so they'd better get this glitch worked out if they wanted to see the rest of the dough. Yesterday I got an email saying since I had a zero balance they had closed my account!!! WHAT?!? I knew there had to be a mistake somewhere and was having grim thoughts of getting some kind of notice in a few months telling me my payments were way overdue and I was going to lose my good credit rating, etc. So I gave Nelnet a call (had to enter my SSN 4 times, each time it was rejected before I was finally transferred to an operator). After explaining the whole deal to the girl, she said, "Oh, I know what's wrong here." I was expecting to hear that there was another Rachel Packer with similar birth date/SSN and we had gotten mixed up, or some other clerical error. What she actually told me was that UHEAA (Utah Higher Education something or other) decided sometime in February to write off some of their student loans and mine was one of them!  So someone at UHEAA just decided that a bunch of people wouldn't have to pay back the rest of their loans! Not only that, they sent me back my last payment; just got the check in the mail. How cool is that? I'm never this lucky! At the library today I paid my 75 cent fine and so now I am completely, totally, 100% debt free! WooHoo!!!!!!

Now if only someone would decide to write off Rob's loans...

Vegetarian Burritos

The recipe is modified from a 'Cooking Light' magazine. Its super fast and easy and pretty darn tasty. We make it fairly regularly. Sam doesn't like the beans or the green stuff so I usually just make some quesadillas to go along with the burritos, appetizer-wise. I also don't have measurements for everything since I just do it by look and taste. I'll try to approximate. 

Vegetarian Burritos

serves 4 

1 can refried beans

1 can black beans, rinsed

Salsa, your favorite kind

1 avocado, sliced

1 lime, sliced

Cilantro, about a handful

Flour Tortillas

Cheese- optional

Garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano- all these are optional.

Rice-also optional

1. Mix the black beans with some of the salsa, not so it's runny, but enough so the beans hold together. Maybe about 1/3 cup?, then heat.

2. Heat up the refried beans. I will crush a garlic clove and add some chili powder, cumin and oregano into the refried beans, maybe about a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of each. This is really by taste. You can buy refried beans that are already mixed with salsa or chilies, in which case just use as is. 

3. Once everything is hot and your rice is done, just put your burritos together. Layer the rice, black beans and refried beans on a tortilla, add some cheese, a few slices of avocado, sprinkle on some cilantro and give the whole thing a squirt of lime juice. Wrap it up and dig in. 

Spencer Update

Official finish time for the Boston Marathon: 2:59:41

Run, Spencer, Run!

(Sorry, don't have a running picture)

Right at this very moment, my brother Spencer, husband of Anna, med student extraordinaire, is running the Boston Marathon. And doing amazingly, mind-blowingly well too. I signed myself up to receive text messages when he reaches different checkpoints. He just passed the half way mark running at a steady pace of 6:34. If he keeps this up he will finish in under 3 hours! This is so completely beyond the realm of my abilities. This morning, just for kicks, I decided to crank the pace on my treadmill up to a 10 minute mile. Yeah, that didn't last long.

The Hansen siblings are divided evenly between the runners and the non-runners. Spencer, Whitney and Erin are all runners, or at least enjoy running. Sally, Jacob and I are not runners or don't really like it all that much. Jacob runs out of necessity because he figured out you can't really not run while playing basketball and football. I run because I want to be a runner and to like running. Sally doesn't run. At all if she can help it.

Whitney and Erin both enjoy running and do it regularly when pregnancy and injury doesn't get in the way. Both have run marathons and other races. But really, no one in the fam compares to the Beeze. The first marathon he ran was really on a whim, with absolutly no specific marathon training. A friend of Erin's decided not to run the race the day before and Spencer took his place. And WON, if memory serves. He ran in the last Salt Lake marathon and came in in the top 10 of EVERYBODY. So yeah, he's a serious runner.

Run strong little brother

Fire up the Grill!

Last weekend, I'm sure as a birthday present to me, we had very spring, almost summer weather. The temperatures were up in the 70's, if you can believe it, which is warmer then we've been for at least 6 months! Of course by Monday we were back to rain/snow and chilly temps, but that brief respite of warmth was enough to inspire Rob and I to get out the grill and make us some oh-so-good grub. The way grilling works in our household, as I suspect in many another, is that I prepare the food and Rob places that food on the grill. So we really are a team :-)

Here's two recipes that I'm giving from memory so I hope I get it right. I didn't take any pictures but even if I did I doubt I'd be able to post them because we are having major internet issues right now. If you don't hear from me for awhile, that's why. 

Both of these recipes are from Cook's Illustrated. I do cook from other sources, promise!

Southwest Burgers

makes 4

1 1/2 pounds ground beef ~85% will make the juiciest burgers, but you can use a leaner ground if you wish

2 tablespoons minced green onion

1 tablespoon minced chili in adobo sauce

3 garlic cloves, roasted over medium heat in a dry skillet in their skins till fragrant and beginning to change color, about 7-8 minutes. Then peel and mince or press through a garlic press

Salt and Pepper~I can't really remember how much of these. Just put in to taste

Very lightly mix all together. You don't want to over mix your meat or you'll get a tough burger. Divide into 4 equal portions and lightly form each into a ball by gently tossing back and forth between your hands. Gently press into patties and make a indentation in the middle of each. This will help your burger cook uniformly. 

Follow your grill's instructions for grilling hamburgers. ~These burgers are actually quite spicy so you can cut down on the chili amount if you don't like spicy foods. 

Southwest Chicken Kabobs 

serves 4

The chicken needs to marinade for at least 3 and up to 24 hours, so plan accordingly

Chicken breasts ~I used 2, but there is enough marinade for probably one more. 

Green and red pepper

Onion

Pineapple~ PLEASE use fresh... canned is just not worth it.

Cut all of the above into bite size, uniform pieces. 

For the marinade:

Combine

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, and turmeric

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

mix together in a large zip lock bag or bowl and add chicken. Let it sit in the fridge for 3-24 hours. 

If you are using wood skewers, make sure you soak them in water for about 1/2 hour before grilling. Toss your fruit and veggies in olive oil and some salt and pepper. Then thread everything onto your skewers. I try to begin and end each with the onion, and to put the chicken next to the pineapple. I think I used 8 or 9 skewers. You'll want to grill these over medium-high heat for about 8-9 minutes, giving them a quarter turn every two minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through remove and serve immediately.  

Happy Birthday to Me

Some years I am more excited for my birthday then others. This year is one of those other years. Usually I have all sorts of things I want to do and have for my birthday because, after all, it only comes once a year and so you might as well milk it for all it's worth. But this year I couldn't even think of a great cake I wanted or a fun date for Rob and I or even a special something to treat myself to because its my birthday and I can do that without feeling guilty. So I had a pretty average day, which isn't to say it wasn't pretty good overall. This morning I took the kids to the science center for some science fun and then to McDonalds for some greasy, nutritionally negative fun. (In retrospect these activities were more of a present to them then to me). We did get to go to the WSU/ASU baseball game this evening, at least for the first three innings and I really enjoyed that. I'll have to get Rob to take me some other time sans children. I'm not sure who won the game since we left early but ASU was ahead and since my dad says they are the best in the nation right now I'm sure they must have won. (Spencer says it is UofA who is the best but he may be biased) I got some pretty sweet gifts from friends and family, including the great big bag you see below from my parents. As soon as I opened it Sam jumped in and said "I'm all packed up and ready to go to Nana's house!" I told him we'd just throw him in the trunk and be on our way. 

Princess Snow White Grace

Getting ready to blow. You'll notice from her face that Grace already snitched some of the cake. There's a great claw mark on the side of the cake that you can't see. 

Sam picked out trick candles for the cake. This is after many, many attempts to blow all the candles out. Rob had to rush around opening windows so the smoke alarms wouldn't go off. 

Here we come Nana!

 

Pasta alla Amatriciana

A few years ago I decided that I would rather eat homemade pasta sauce then anything I could buy at the store. I've tried several different recipes, but have only found two so far that I really like. One, a meat sauce made with ground turkey, is a weekly staple for us...I'll write about that some other time. It is really good, but also a bit time consuming to make (anything that takes longer then an hour is time consuming to me). However, pasta alla amatriciana, which I made last night, only takes about 30 minutes to come together and is oh so tasty. Here's the recipe:

Pasta alla Amatriciana

From Cook's Illustrated

serves 4

2 Tbls olive oil

6 oz bacon (about 6 slices), chopped medium.  You can also use pancetta if it is readily available

1 onion, chopped fine

1/2 teas red pepper flakes, or to taste.

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes

1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes

Table salt

1 pound linguine

1/2 cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese. ~I used Parmesan

1. Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat in the skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes with juice and salt to taste and simmer until thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Cook pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente; drain and return to pot. 

3. Add the bacon to the tomato sauce. Add sauce to the pasta and toss well to combine. Add cheese and toss again. Serve

This sauce came together really fast and was very easy to make. I love spicy pasta sauces so I put in a bit more red pepper flakes then was called for. Make sure you cook the tomatoes the full time or else they will taste tinny. You can use any long, thin pasta such as spaghetti or fettuccine. I always serve pasta with a salad and toasted artisan bread that has been lightly rubbed with a cut garlic glove and drizzled in olive oil.  

Pretzels II

Since a few people have requested the pretzel recipe I will include it here. Also I've been thinking about, almost for years, putting together my own cookbook, compiling all the successful recipes I've used and keeping a log of what works and what ends up in the trash. I've never actually done it and then just this morning it dawned on me to use my blog. So for the time being I may be writing about food more then anything else. It may not last long since consistency has never been my strong point :-)! So how I think I'll work it is to put my successful recipes here on the blog with commentary about what was easy or hard, any substitutions I made, and any other tips I can think of. Since I do not develop my own recipes I'll also tell you where I got it. Also, for my own memory I'll keep track of my flops so I'm not tempted to do it again later. 

Soft Pretzels

From 'Baking Illustrated'

makes 12

1tsp. instant yeast

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. salt

3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting the counter

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

3 Tbls. baking soda

2 Tbls coarse salt, poppy seeds, sesame seeds (optional)~I used kosher salt and didn't measure; just sprinkled on what looked right

1. Mix together the yeast, honey, salt, flour, and water in the bowl of a standing mixer. Using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a smooth, elastic ball of dough forms (the dough will be quite stiff), 5 to 7 minutes. ~mixing by hand is not recommended because the dough is so stiff. If you do make it by hand it will take a lot longer to knead the dough and will result in a less flavorful pretzel.

2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Deflate dough, cover, and let rise until nearly doubled in size again, 30 to 40 minutes. ~This is where I got my times wrong because I was trying to get the dough to rise in my chilly apartment. If your kitchen isn't warm (like in the mid 70's), then turn your oven on to it's warm, or lowest, setting for a few minutes, then turn it off and put your bowl in.

3. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450. Pour 6 cups of water into a 12 inch skillet, add the baking soda, stir, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray generously with cooking spray. Set aside. ~If you don't have a 12 in skillet, then a wide pot or dutch oven will work. The skillet is best because it is wide enough to fit 3 or 4 pretzels at a time and shallow sides make it easy to put them in and take them out. Also, try to time yourself so you're getting the water to a boil just as you are ready to start cooking to pretzels so you don't fill you kitchen with steam. 

4. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 20 inch long, 1/2 inch wide rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel and place on the prepared sheet. ~ my dough was a little sticky so make sure you have flour handy. Also try to get your ropes a uniform thickness. You can use a bit of water to stick the ends of the rope into your pretzel shape.  

5. Using a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, gently place the pretzels into the boiling water, top side down( you should be able to fit 3 or 4), for 30 seconds. Using tongs, carefully flip the pretzels over and boil for 30 seconds longer. Remove pretzels with a slotted spoon, drain well, and place back onto the prepared baking sheet. (because they wont rise much in the oven you should be able fit all 12 on one pan if you are using a standard 18x12 in pan). Sprinkle with coarse salt or seeds if using and bake for 12-16 minutes, or until the pretzels are well browned, turning the sheet halfway through baking time. Remove the pretzels to a wire rack. ~if you want cinnamon-sugar pretzels, then so not put salt on them after blanching. In a shallow dish mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 teas cinnamon. After the pretzels are baked and cool enough to handle, brush with melted butter and press the butter side into the sugar. 

The trouble I had with forming the pretzels came from not allowing the dough to rise all the way and from being in a big hurry and not being careful about rolling the ropes uniformly. I also wasn't very particular about dividing the dough into 12 equal parts. I think if you take the time to do things right and not rush through them you should have a much easier time then I did. I'm probably going to make some more tomorrow and hope for prettier looking results. 

Pretzels

These don't look very pretty, I know. The dough took a lot longer to raise then I had planned for so when it came time to forming into pretzel shape I was rushing so I could get to an appointment on time (Doctor's...Grace has ear infections :( ). So I admit they are torturous, misshapen blobs. But, man o man, the taste! These are easily the best pretzel's I have ever had, bar none! The recipe comes from our new cookbook, Cook's Illustrated "Baking Illustrated". We got it just last week, but have already been baking up a storm. Rob used their pizza dough last night for dinner for the missionaries and I made a Boston Cream Pie for dessert. The BCP didn't really look all that great (presentation is obviously not my strong point), but like the pretzels the taste was phenomenal.
Rob pointed out the other day that cooking really is our hobby. I usually don't consider it a hobby, but as he pointed out, we spend more time, effort, and money on cooking then any of our other pastimes. At least we get good results!

Maybe if my blog is springy the weather will catch on...