Author Archives: Lucky Rhino

Enjoy It While It Lasts

That time of summer break between sports ending and sports and school starting. Two weeks of nothing but easy day camps, shopping for school supplies and hanging out at the pool. Wish that it could never end.

Didn’t do much in the way of cooking. Made some Greek chicken kabobs with Tzatziki Sauce and saffron rice.

Chicken Kabobs with Tzatziki Sauce

WHAT YOU NEED
For Chicken
2 cups plain greek yogurt (not non-fat)
1 1/2 TBSP chopped garlic
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice of said large lemon
2 tsp of chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 – 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into medium wedges
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

8 skewers

WHAT YOU DO
Place first 7 ingredients in a glass dish or bowl and whisk to combine. Add chicken and cover and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight. If using wood skewers, soak the skewers in water for 30 minutes before you are ready to cook. To grill, heat grill to medium heat. Thread the chicken and red onion on skewers, alternating between chicken and onion. Grill until chicken is 165 degrees, taking care to move to lower heat if burning. About 15 minutes total.

For the Tzatziki Sauce
I basically used Ina Garten’s recipe for the Tzatziki Sauce. However, while Ina awaits Jeffery’s arrival from the city with a fresh bouquet of hydrangeas, she has time to drain her yogurt and shredded cucumbers for hours. She is not taking her children to the latest movie cast by her dear friend Barbara McCarthy. No, not The Stanford Prison Experiment!! But Pixels. And if we’re going to see a movie about deadly video games, we’re going to do it in style where we can recline and be served ice-cold Fanta.

Needless to say, this left me without the requisite amount of yogurt and cucumber draining time. We did not suffer.

Saffron Rice

WHAT YOU NEED
2 pinches of saffron, crumbled or crushed with back of spoon in small dish
1 cup basmati rice
1 TBSP dried minced onion
2 cups low or no-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp kosher salt

WHAT YOU DO
Bring all ingredients to boil in a pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy.

I also had leftover red wine from Friday’s pizza night. So I made sangria with this cute pitcher I got when we accidentally went to Ikea after the movie.

However, the photo shoot of said sangria did not go well as I had a lot of help by someone with a bad sense of white space balance and shadows.

So we’ll make it again another time and share. But suffice to say, there is nothing LaCroix Cran-Raspberry water cannot do!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

This Weekend Was Meant for Firepits

And Ant-Man. But what weekend wasn’t meant for Ant-Man, really? Made s’mores (yes, I know, again). Hey, at least it gets them outside. You know, because otherwise they would all just be inside talking up a storm or playing a game, with a group of friends…

or, each playing on their own individual technological device while standing or sitting in each other’s general proximity. This is hanging in the 20-teens.

But we didn’t just have dessert all weekend. Coulda. Didn’t. First we had a dinner of Sticky Garlic Chicken from Pinch of Yum. Wow, was this good and fast as the recipe advertised.

Pinch of Yum is also responsible for teaching me how to host this site and has great classes through Food Blogger Pro. If you have any interest in such things, I suggest checking it out.

Then, Sunday breakfast!

There were pancakes.

Those were for the kids. For the grownups, I made Gashouse Eggs. Yes, that’s an…unusual..name. But years ago the supermodel B. Smith had a cooking show. This was back before the United States began assigning a cooking show to every 17th person born. It was a great show, she seemed like a really nice person. Well, she had dancer/actor Gregory Hines on, and he was telling the story of being little when his parents were showbiz people and how he’d be backstage with his Mom with the likes of Milton Berle. And that Milton Berle’s favorite meal to cook after a show was what he called Gashouse Eggs.

Now you would think there would be an explanation, on either B. Smith’s show or here within this blog, as to the origins of the name. But nope, that’s where the story ends. But luckily, it’s also where the recipe begins.

Gashouse Eggs

WHAT YOU NEED
4 TBSP butter
3 TBSP Worcestershire sause
4 eggs
4 pieces Texas toast
Salt and pepper

WHAT YOU DO
Cut a small hole in middle of each slice of toast. Melt butter and Worcestershire sauce in a skillet or griddle and stir to combine. Dredge toast through the butter mixture until both sides are covered. Crack one egg into each of the pieces of toast. Let cook until toast/egg are done on the bottom side and then flip to cook the other side.

Salt to taste and eat to full.

Bought Guitar Boy a new bike (he was looking a little Shriner in a tiny car-ish on the old one). Played some tetherball and tennis. Then we enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail.

Fill a glass half full with a dry Rose, add a little bit of La Croix Cran-Raspberry sparkling water and drop in two raspberries. Re-Fresh-Ing.

Lingering around on Pinch of Yum’s site around dinner time, I made this Skinny Garlic Fried Rice.

This was seriously good and easy. If you have leftover rice, this would be a great dish, so versatile you could add anything. I cooked some shrimp with it and used various rainbow carrots from our garden in addition to cabbage (red and green). The only thing I changed was I added about 1 tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce at the end and stirred it for about another 2 minutes.

Ended with Cherry Pie Crumble Bars from Shutterbean.

I think I added too much filling, hence the artsy close up of the Crumble Bars, and no picture of, you know, an actual BAR. Still, scooped into a bowl and topped with ice cream, there were no complaints.

And then we went back across the street, for some more, s’mores. Because, why not?

Hey, at least they were outside *watching an iPhone – Scott Sterling!!!!!!!!*

Have a great week everyone.

Happy Birthday Dodd-Frank Act!

You share a birthday with my husband. However, Dodd-Frank, so far you have not shown me how you are useful or done anything to impress me. So you, Dodd-Frank, do not get a custom can koozie. Kevin, on the other hand, has done all that and more. So he gets one for his birthday:

Step up your game, Dodd-Frank.

My friend receives a monthly box of fair trade food/ingredients, similar to the Hatchery box I get. We’ll call her Mbork to protect her identity. She wasn’t sure what to do with the California peach vinegar she received and Jbork agreed. So they dropped it off over here. Challenge accepted!

What, what?! That’s right, first up is Pineapple Salsa

WHAT YOU NEED
1.5 lb fresh pineapple, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups diced)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
1 cup finely diced red pepper
4 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP peach vinegar
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin

WHAT YOU DO
Whisk last 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add first 5 ingredients and stir. Cover and let chill at least 2 hours for flavors to meld. Serve with tortilla chips when you get to a 9 year old’s birthday party

Or save it as a topping for grilled fish.

What’s that you say? Big deal, so the bottle is missing about two tablespoons worth of vinegar? Not going to concede? Alllllrighty then.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Peach Vinegar Dressing

WHAT YOU NEED
4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP peach vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 heirloom tomatoes
2 TBSP sliced basil
1 ball burrata or mozzarella cheese

WHAT YOU DO
Combine first 4 ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Slice tomatoes and place on platter. Slice cheese and place under tomatoes (if burrata – cuz it’s messy) or on top of tomatoes (if mozzarella). Drizzle dressing over and scatter basil on top.

Had enough?! No? Prepare your face.

Pork Tenderloin with Peach and Ginger Sauce
adapted from Epicurious‘ recipe

WHAT YOU NEED
1 TBSP canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup PEACH VINEGAR (Bam!)
2 TBSP minced or chopped ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 16 oz pork tenderloin
12 slices frozen peaches, thawed.

WHAT YOU DO
Heat vegetable oil in a pot on medium heat. Add onions and sugar and sauté until only slightly golden brown. Add remaining ingredients up to pepper and boil 2 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and cool. Once cool, add about a cup of the sauce to the pork tenderloins in a gallon size bag and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Store remaining sauce in refrigerator.

When ready, heat grill to medium. Remove pork from marinade and grill until done. “Done” is a subject of intense debate here at Lucky Rhino headquarters. Some members would defer to the USDA which lowered the pork safety temperature to 145 degrees with 3 minutes of resting time. Others of us feel that we aren’t going to be tricked by some shadowy government agency who is likely trying to grow a tapeworm army with humans as hosts and insist there not even be a hint of pink. Thus, 155 and 10 minutes of rest time it is.

Anyhoo, boil remaining sauce (don’t use the marinade) until reduced by half, about 5 minutes or so. Add the peaches and cook another two minutes. Slice pork and serve sauce over pork.

Sorry, pork simply doesn’t photograph well.

And, since today is National Ice Cream Day (yep!) I also made this S’mores Ice Cream Pie from Two Peas and Their Pod. Don’t worry, I didn’t put vinegar in it.

The only thing I changed, albeit inadvertently, is that I forgot to mix the cracker crumbs into the ice cream, but I don’t think anyone noticed.

And I also drizzled the top with Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Because, why not?

And of course, then we went next door to Fake Sister’s house to make actual s’mores. Because, why not?

Have a great week everyone.

A Perfect Summer Sunday

Finally, a perfect summer day. Hot but not too hot. No rain, no hail, no 50 degrees (hello, it’s July). Just a great day to play outside. And The Block did just that.

But what to eat on this fine day? I subscribe to the Hatchery Box which sends a monthly box of various ingredients and sauces made by American businesses. Here was July’s selection:

So tonight I used the 4 Rivers Smokehouse All Purpose Rub on grilled chicken – delish, but spicy.

And made Cucumber Dill Potato Salad with the cucumber vinegar from Olivelle.

Cucumber Dill Potato Salad

WHAT YOU NEED
3 lbs. small potatoes (either red or Yukon gold), scrubbed, cut in half or quarters depending on size
2 TBSP cucumber vinegar
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup thinly sliced, diced red onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/4 heaping cup of fresh chopped dill
1 tsp kosher salt
ground black pepper

WHAT YOU DO
Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water 1 inch above potatoes. Bring potatoes to a boil and boil 9-12 minutes until potatoes can be pierce with a fork. Drain and rinse potatoes.

Whisk the remaining ingredients in bowl in which you intend to serve the salad. Add potatoes and toss gently with rubber spatula to distribute the dressing. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Back outside. You know what is even better that neighbors that became dear friends who have a huge side yard that they let us use? Neighbors that became dear friends who have a huge side yard that they let us use when they put up a big, jumpy water slide.

And you know what is better than that? Neighbors that became dear friends who have a huge side yard that they let us use when they put up a big, jumpy water slide and serve Bourbon Slush Punch from Smitten Kitchen.

Here are some of my other favorite things this week:

Pixi Endless Silky Glide on Eye Pen

I was in Target and as I was on my knees, sobbing and cursing almighty Odin that Neutrogena had discontinued my bronzer/powder (I’m fun to shop with!), a beauty consultant suggested the Pixi by Petra line as a similar type product. She also offered me a free sample of their eye pencil which she said would not come off until I took it off. Challenge accepted.

Pixi Pencil 1, me 0. Seriously, put it on at 7:00 a.m. on an 85 degree/90% humidity day. Power-shopped the Nordstrom anniversary sale, cleaned the kitchen, put together appetizers, went to my step-nephew’s going away to the Navy party, dealt with my mother’s definition of air-conditioning vs my definition of air-conditioning, sat outside in the rain, binge-watched Bloodline until 11 p.m (do it, DO IT!) and consarnit if I didn’t need to get out the make-up remover. Target beauty consultant, I salute you.

You need to watch this video by Studio C right now. And you need to do so on either a TV or at least a computer (i.e., not your phone). This has become required viewing at our house. If you walk in, even if only for 5 minutes after dropping your college car off on return from South Bend before you catch the train to the city,

you will be shown this video by one of the boys. It is made by BYU students and is pretty hilarious. Who knew BYU had such a high production budget? Scott Sterling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great week everyone. I’m off to NY for meetings for a couple of days, so nothing cookin’ on the horizon. So you’re on your own. Unless you want pasta with jarred marinara, in which case, I will ask Kevin to guest post.

Vacation’s All I Ever Wanted

Except now I’m exhausted from all the vacationing. We rented a house on the lake in Indiana and it was lovely.

There was beach time (ahem, strike a pose)

Bowling time (cold, rainy day)

Rollerskating time.

BIG waves (well, for Lake Michigan).

Up to no good at the beach time.

Digging holes.

Spotted an elusive beach gnome in one of the holes.

Just down the street, an American Ninja Warrior-like park. Big M as Kacy Catanzaro!

But from this blogger’s perspective, most of all, it had a really fully stocked kitchen which is unusual in a rental. Silicone basting brush – check. Juicer – check. Three colanders, one ginormous – check. I wanted for nothing.

So here are a few things that were on the menu for the week:

Smitten Kitchen’s Tomato Sausage Risotto which is a go-to dish to serve a lot of people. I use turkey Italian sausage to lighten it up a bit. Add 1/2 to every ingredient to serve 4 adults and 2 girls who are good eaters.

Cobb Salad with Pioneer Woman’s Homemade Ranch Dressing

WHAT YOU NEED
4 cooked boneless chicken breasts. You can cook them any way you want, but this method from thekitchn really works for salads.
16 oz. bacon, cooked crisp
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh peas (hint, Trader Joes has them in the refrigerated section)
3 hard boiled eggs
1 medium red onion, diced.
2 avocados, diced
Cooked corn kernels (good use for left-over corn on the cob)
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 head/clamshell butter lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
Blue cheese crumbles (optional)

WHAT YOU DO
Arrange all lettuce in bowl or platter. Toss with a little of the ranch dressing. Arrange all the ingredients in rows on the lettuce and drizzle with a little more dressing. I serve the blue cheese crumbles on the side as not everyone like blue cheese in this particular vacation house.

From BevCooks, Seared Steak with Chimichurri Sauce. I didn’t serve it with polenta, instead roasted a bunch of fingerling potatoes, halved, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for about 30 minutes, flipping half way through. Forget to take picture. To compensate, here are the sauce and marinade that I made ahead before we left.

Also featured in that picture is ginger syrup for the Ginger Beergaritas from How Sweet It Is. Tasted like a margarita soda. Yum.

We packed up this group of cousins and headed up the road to see the lake-adjacent house of my cousins. Showing up with 6 kids in tow, Tessa had this response:

We had a great time, great meal of turkey burgers, regular burgers, brats and as a side I made The Pioneer Woman’s Pasta Ai Quattro Formaggio, otherwise known as four-cheese, clothespin-on-the-aorta, mac and cheese.

Really a very simple dish when using Trader Joe’s 4 Cheese Italian blend. I make it often as a weeknight side. I also made a peach crumble from The Kitchn’s Make a Crumble from Any Fruit recipe.

It got a little dark to get too many pictures, but as least we got some fire pit action in.

And the song McNamara’s Band MAY have been played. And there MAY have a been a parade with tupperware instruments. However, in the interest that anyone may have in running for Supreme Court justice or other public office someday, we’ll keep that video just between us cousins.

There was card playing for money, natch.

And some pool time.

And this creepy, Scooby-Doo-like abandoned park named Canada Playground. This is Indiana’s way of saying “Hey Canada, maybe if you’d stop giving away health care you could step up your parks and rec maintenance!” Note it also says no dogs allowed. Because you wouldn’t want to mess up the facilities.

All in all, a success at Beachwalk Resort.

Now, one more day until I’m back to the life where there is much less joyful jumping.

But not before I made everyone one of these Birthday Cake Milkshakes. There are lots of different riffs on these out there, but I think using frosting makes for a better texture than the ones I’ve done with cake mix.

WHAT YOU NEED
1.5 Quarts of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
8 oz vanilla frosting from a can
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 – 1 cup milk (depending on how thick you would like the shake).
Sprinkles. Always sprinkles.
Extra frosting for the glasses

WHAT YOU DO
Blend first 4 ingredients in blender to desired milkshakiness. Rub vanilla frosting on the rim of each glass. Put sprinkles on a plate and turn the cup to coat rim in sprinkles. They can be any color or size, I just had Fourth of July nonpareils on hand. Pour in milkshake and serve to this happy camper.

I mustache you, was this delicious?

Happy 4th of July!

It doesn’t get more patriotic than:

Red, white and blue mustaches,

Pringles,

Place settings (may have accidentally gone to Homegoods for new tablecloth and napkins)

Patriotic looking salad (more on that on Instagram),

Candles,

And fireworks (being filmed on a iPhone):

Have a safe and happy 4th everyone. Vacation pics and best things to cook in a rental house coming soon.

Wherever She Is Right Now, She is Better
Accessorized Than I Am

My grandmother turned 102 yesterday. 102 people! So we had a very special Pizza Night (not a very Brady special pizza night, but special nonetheless).

It started out ok.

But then people started slamming cake shots.

And things got messy.

But, in State of Illinois news, after she passed her driving test. *I’ll let that sink in* The manager of the facility asked her for her phone number. Why? Because the Secretary of State would like to meet her because she’s apparently the oldest driver in the state. I insist someone else attend, as we need a full report of this meeting!

Stay turned for what happens next. And what these guys have to do with it.

Now go get your weekend on.

Father’s Day 2015

A relatively mellow Father’s Day.

An awesome pulled pork/BBQ buffet by Uncle M and Aunt C.

Kane wonders if he could have some.

A certain member of the family won the “Daddy Cup” made by hand by Miss Mimi.

I made Chilled Dark Chocolate Pie with Strawberry Sauce from Oh She Glows. Gluten free and vegan. And no one misses the gluten, as the picture shows.

Baby D is on the move.

A good time was had by all. Happy Father’s Day everyone.

What I Like About URL

Just browsing the internet this week:

This teenager is the type of teenager we all hope to raise.

However, this is more the reality of my boys right now.

I was kind of hoping these would be part of the summer sale at Nordstrom. And they are!

Um, I didn’t accidentally buy this small couch at Homegoods, but I might go back and accidentally do so. Wonder if it’s still there? Will it look right in the living room?

I kind of want these herb pots from Anthropologie. Because I need more stuff on my kitchen counters. There’s still a part where you can still see a little granite.

These Fruity Pebbles Krispy Treats are going on the need-to-make-next list.

This photographer takes beautiful portraits of shelter animals. Think, think, does Skunk need 5 dog brothers?

Happy weekend!

Fish and Hawks

I can’t remember if I’ve shared this before, but my go-to salmon recipe is Ken and Cally’s Salmon. Yes, that’s an interesting name for a recipe, but back in our late 20s/early 30s, if anyone cooked for anyone else, they got a recipe named after them. That’s just the way it was in the olden days. So Ken and Cally made us this salmon, and history was made. Cally continues to make history by being an amazing fashion designer who makes all her clothes right here in the good ol’ U S of A.

See her awesome stuff here – Kal Reiman

Ken and Cally’s Salmon

WHAT YOU NEED
1/3 cup mirin (sweetened sake – make sure its the darker one)
1/3 cup low sodium tamari (Japanese soy sauce)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp ground ginger
3 dashes toasted sesame oil
3/4 lb – 1 lb salmon fillet

WHAT YOU DO
Combine all ingredients. If you want more sauce, just up the proportions, the main liquids are all equal proportion. You then can either pour some of the sauce into a tray made from foil, put salmon in flesh side down and then wrap it up as a package and grill for about 20 minutes. Or, you can pour it into a glass dish, put the salmon in skin side down, cover in foil and cook in a 375 oven for 15 minutes with foil on, 10 minutes foil off. Serve over rice, If you have extra sauce (usually from the foil – it can’t hold it all) you should boil it down for about 5 minutes to concentrate the flavor. We love this dish, it has lots of healthy ingredients.

Sadly, it does not photograph well as a finished product. So I will spare you the orange/beige details.

And instead, present you with this:

Congratulations Chicago Blackhawks. And thanks to the neighbors who, at least this time, didn’t call the police on children banging pots and pans at 10:30 at night to celebrate! We salute you.