Author Archives: kkregel

by | August 13, 2012 · 9:31 pm

Bug Themed First Birthday Party

So my little bug turned one last weekend!  Where did the year go?  I feel like I was just posting about our brand new baby and now he’s quite the active little boy.  But enough of the sappy mom syndrome and onto the party.  We decided to keep things on the simpler side and had a small casual bug-themed BBQ for our families.

The mantel was cute-ified with a Very Hungry Caterpillar banner created by Will’s particularly crafty grandma.

very hungry caterpillar birthday banner

Guests young and old got into the spirit of things with fake spider rings.

Colorful bowls of candied watermelons and neon gummy worms were set about for nibbling as guests chatted. 

We paired grass green silverware with bright green plates to add color to the table and decorated cheap IKEA vases with little felt ladybugs purchased at a craft store.

Guests snacked on carrots and potato chips with “bug dip”, which was inspired by Taste of Home, while plastic bugs adorned the various serving platters.

Watermelon, baked beans and butterfly pesto pasta salad accompanied platters of homemade burgers and brats.
butterfly pesto pasta

We made picnic ant cupcakes, inspired by the Hostess with the Mostess, to match the piece de resistance – Will’s mini vanilla bean birthday cake. I’ll post more details about the mini cake soon!
bug theme birthday cupcakes
bug birthday cake

The birthday boy was quite the ham and had a grand time playing in his caterpillar shirt made by NaptimeCraftMommy.
hungry caterpillar birthday shirt

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by | July 31, 2012 · 9:03 pm

Smoked Salmon & Egg Baguettes

Ok so I promise this will be my last salmon post for a little while but when the gettin’ is good it’s just too hard to not experiment. My brother-in-law spent an afternoon smoking some of his fresh catch and passed a little our way so I put it together with some equally bold flavors and texture for a super fast and hearty weeknight meal. I especially love the way the gooey egg yolk binds it all together.


Smoked Salmon Baguettes
1/3 C cream cheese
1/2 tsp dill
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bunch asparagus
Drizzle olive oil
1/2 Tbsp butter
2 C smoked salmon
4 eggs, cooked sunny side up
1 large baguette or loaf of french bread, cut into 4 large chunks
cracked black pepper
Kosher salt

In a small bowl, use a spoon to mix together the cream cheese, dill and garlic powder until well blended. Set aside.

Heat a grill pan on medium and place asparagus on the pan. Lightly coat with olive oil just enough to not burn. Cook asparagus for about 4-6 minutes depending on thickness, turning with a tongs until each side is slightly seared and asparagus becomes tender. Season lightly with salt.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium. Once pan is hot, crack eggs and cook sunny side up (or over easy if you prefer) for approximately 4 minutes. Egg whites should be opaque and the yolk should be just beginning to cook.

While eggs and asparagus are cooking, slice the baguettes and spread the inside generously with cream cheese mixture. Top with several piece of salmon. Once asparagus and eggs are cooked, place asparagus,then the egg on top of the salmon. Finish with freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt.

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by | July 17, 2012 · 8:12 pm

Grilled Salmon Tacos with Watermelon Salsa

With the Salmon-a-Rama fishing tournament (yep, you read that right) in full swing in Milwaukee my fridge is overflowing with fresh fish. Which is a good thing since the drought situation we’ve got going on has left me with a garden that’s struggling to survive.

I don’t usually make tacos with salmon but I figured, why not? Grilled with a simple, spicy dry rub and paired with a crunchy-creamy cool salsa they made for a light and healthy dinner to beat the summer heat.

Grilled Salmon Tacos
1 lb salmon fillets, skin removed and de-boned if needed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chipotle powder/chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 small tortillas

In a small bowl, stir together garlic, chili powder, cumin and salt. Form a “cookie sheet” of aluminum foil and place on a plate or cutting board. Place fish on the aluminum foil and gently and evenly apply olive oil, then dry rub to fish. Heat grill to 400. Transfer “cookie sheet” to the grill and grill for about 6 minutes. Salmon should be opaque and slightly flaky.


Watermelon Radish Salsa
1/2  C watermelon, diced
6-8 radishes, trimmed and diced
1/2 C cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
pinch kosher salt
pinch cumin

Dice watermelon, radishes and cucumber into evenly sized pieces and transfer to a small bowl. Toss together. Chop cilantro and mix into salsa. Season with salt, cumin and lime juice and toss. Dice avocado and gently toss into salsa, taking care not to smush the avocado.

Place salmon in tortillas and top with salsa and hot sauce if desired.


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by | July 2, 2012 · 12:39 pm

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Awhile back when I made these Buffalo Chicken Poppers, I found myself with leftover chicken filling. Leftovers can be a dividing topic, however I happen to be a huge fan – especially of ones that can do double duty and transform into an entirely different dish.

Such is the case here. I converted my popper filling into tasty Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas to give us a break from the traditional Mexican flavors we usually use in quesadillas. They’re best served hot but can make a good portable lunch…if you’re into double leftovers. 🙂

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
serves 3-4
2 C shredded chicken
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tsp ranch dressing powder mix
3 Tbsp Franks Redhot Buffalo Wing sauce
3/4 C shredded sharp cheddar
3 large flour tortillas
1 Tbsp soft butter/margarine
2 stalks celery, trimmed and grated
Avocado Blue Cheese dip (optional)

Grate celery stalks using a cheese grater. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, cream cheese, ranch powder and wing sauce until ingredients are well mixed and chicken is coated. Spread softened butter on one side of a large tortilla.  Fill half of the tortilla with chicken mixture and top with sharp cheddar.  Fold the unfilled half of the tortilla over the top of your chicken fillings to form a half moon and transfer to your skillet.

Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown, carefully flipping once the first side is crisped.  I find a large pancake spatula works well for flipping.

Top with grated celery and a drizzle of extra hot sauce. Serve with avocado dip or ranch dressing.

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by | June 18, 2012 · 7:39 am

Pork Chops with Cherry Saison Relish

It’s hard for me to resist the bags of ruby red cherries that abound this time of year. Even though they can be a pain to eat, I’m a sucker for the sweet-tart flavor. To amp up our standard grilled pork chops over the weekend, I put together this easy but complex cherry saison relish using items I had on hand, including a home brewed Belgian saison ale. Sweet, tart, savory and a touch spicy thanks to a sprinkle of chipotle, it has everything you could want in a summer sauce.

Pork Chops with Cherry Saison Relish
serves 2
1/3 C chicken stock
1/3 C Belgian saison ale (or wheat beer)
2 Tbsp stone ground mustard
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp corn starch
small pinch chipotle powder (optional)
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper

Remove stems and pits from cherries. Roughly chop cherries and transfer to a saute pan. Begin to heat on medium heat. Add chicken stock and saison ale to cherries, whisking to combine. Whisk in corn starch, brown sugar and mustard so that there are no clumps and let simmer until mixture reduces and begins to thicken, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chipotle powder. Whisk well and let mixture continue to reduce and stay warm while your chops are being grilled.

Season chops on both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Grill chops on raised rack of grill at 400 degrees for about 5-6 minutes per side based on thickness. Top chops with cherry sauce.

Recipe for sauce can be increased to support more chops and could also be paired with chicken.

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by | June 13, 2012 · 7:45 am

Bacon & Grilled Garlic Scape Risotto

Every year at the spring farmer’s markets I see the baskets of the quirky, curly garlic scapes. I’ve always been curious but with such a short season of availability, the opportunity to try them is fleeting. Last weekend I finally decided to give them a whirl.

If you’ve never had them, garlic scapes taste like garlic mixed with a green onion. Raw they are a bit pungent however, when cooked any sharpness mellows out to a more delicate and balanced garlic-onion flavor. I made this risotto to let the flavor of the scapes shine and paired it with salty bacon to add a bit of richness. Just the first hint of the loveliness to come from the farmer’s markets this year!
scapes
bacon scape risotto

Bacon & Grilled Scape Risotto
1 1/2 C arborio rice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 C white wine
4-5 C chicken stock
6 pieces bacon
7-8 garlic scapes
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper
salt

In a large sauce pan, add olive oil and arborio rice and begin to toast over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add in white wine and cook, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Add 1 C stock, continuing to stir until liquid is again absorbed. Repeat process, continually adding stock and stirring until it is absorbed. When most of the liquid is gone, test rice. It should be slightly al dente and creamy.

Place scapes in a grill pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Cook over medium heat until scapes have light grill marks. Meanwhile, cook bacon according to your favorite method. When I have multiple pans going, I like to microwave my bacon. To do so, place 2 paper towels on a plate and cover with bacon. Place one paper towel on top. Cook for about 7 minutes.

Transfer scapes and bacon to a cutting board and let sit until they’re cool enough to touch. Dice both. Reduce heat to very low. Stir in bacon and scapes. Fold in parmesan until it melts. Cut butter into four small squares and fold into risotto. Season with salt and cracked pepper.

Top with sprinkle of parmesan and diced raw garlic scape.
scape recipes

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by | June 4, 2012 · 7:45 am

Mango Coconut Cookies with Salted Caramel Drizzle

After recently returning from a vacation in Florida, I’ve been looking for ways to infuse a little more “tropical” into my life. So when some friends were hosting a shrimp boil over the weekend I decided to get experimental with flavors that would continue the beachy vibe of their party for dessert. The Mango Coconut Cookies I put together would be good on their own but the salted caramel drizzle gives them that extra something to make them quite addictive!


Mango Coconut Cookies with Salted Caramel Drizzle
1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 C flour
2 tsp ground flax seed (optional)
1 C coconut flakes
1 C dried mango, chopped into small bits
1/2 C prepared (or homemade) caramel topping
sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Next, beat in vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Finally, mix in flour, one cup at a time until batter is thick.

Use a spatula to stir in coconut, mango bits and flax seed if using until all items are well incorporated into batter.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Place a cooling rack on top of aluminum foil or waxed paper. Transfer cookies cooling rack. Once cool, drizzle with caramel topping and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.


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by | May 21, 2012 · 7:30 am

DIY Succulent Terrarium

A few months back my mom came to visit with this large glass apothecary-esque jar in tow.

“I figured you could use it for something,” she said. “Maybe a terrarium?” Brilliant. It was perfect for a terrarium to bring a little green to my new office at work, which happens to have a large, sunny (and empty) window ledge.

Last weekend when picking up a few extra vegetables and plants for my actual garden, I finally got around to getting the goods for my terrarium. Instead of the moisture-loving plants found in many terrariums, I went with charming succulents to create a quirky, low maintenance cactus terrarium.

This is a pretty foolproof project even if you’re not the gardening type. The hardest part of the whole project was editing my plant selection! I ended up with two neon colored cactus, an aloe plant, a mini jade, two sempervivum and a frilly ground cover succulent – which I’m happy to report are thriving so far.

What You’ll Need:
glass jar, apothecary jar or similar transparent container
variety of mini succulent plants, such as cactus, aloe, jade, sempervivum
cactus soil (quantity will depend on size of your container)
small river rocks
gardening charcoal (found at your local garden store)
a spoon

*NOTE: These are rough instructions. Depending on the size and shape of your terrarium container, you may not need all three “soil” items or you may need to adjust things to fit in a smaller container.

1. Line the bottom of the container with a thin layer of charcoal. This helps with drainage and with preventing potential odors in your terrarium.

2. Next, line with a thin layer of river rocks. In a smaller container you could reverse the layers of soil and rocks for a more “zen garden” look.

3. Depending on the size and shape of your container you may be able to put the cactus soil in first or the succulents, filling in the soil around them. I had to put the plants in and use a spoon to fill soil around the plants in order to fit them. Place plants as desired to mix up shapes and colors.
4. Finish off with soil or with additional rocks to achieve the look you want.

Care: Your succulent terrarium needs lots of sunlight but only needs to be lightly watered about once a week. If you choose to keep a lid on it, water less frequently as the plants will generate moisture.

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by | May 7, 2012 · 8:08 am

Thai Venison Noodle Salad

I’ve mentioned many times that I’m always looking for new ways to use the wild game the hubs brings home, especially venison and especially ground venison. In general there are only so many things to be done with ground meat and I’ve pretty much tried them all in some form or another.

So lately I’ve been steering into totally new venison directions with Asian flavors like curry or this Thai inspired dish. Using the venison and beefing up (pardon the pun) the vegetables from the original recipe made this a light but filling meal and a good detour from the standard venison tacos and chili.

Thai Beef (or Venison) Noodle Salad
adapted from Food & Wine
Serves 4
1 lb ground venison or beef
1/2 C chopped sugar snap peas
2 carrots, chopped
1 cucumber, julienned
3 scallions
1 inch piece ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/8 C fish sauce
1/8 C soy sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil (if using venison)
2 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
2/3 package angel hair noodles
2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
sriracha to taste

In a large saute pan, add begin cooking ground beef or olive oil and venison over medium heat. When meat begins to brown, add garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook for 1-2 minutes until they begin to become aromatic. Add the snap peas and carrots and continue cooking until meat is nearly cooked through.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt well and add angel hair noodles. Cook according to package instructions.

Add 2 Tbsp sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice to meat and vegetable mixture. Stir and reduce heat to low and let flavors simmer for 2-3 minutes.


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by | April 30, 2012 · 7:45 am

Beet Barley Salad with Feta

Ah, the lowly beet. I’d always been skeptical of beets and had this belief that they tasted like dirt. And let’s be honest, half the time they DO taste like dirt or are gross gelatinous mush cakes sliding out of a can.

But I’ve had a few salads at restaurants lately that opened my eyes toward what a beet should really taste like. Inspired to give them a try, I concocted this side dish-turned-healthy lunch grain salad for my first foray with cooking beets at home. The key for me was roasting. You get a sweet earthiness (not dirt-i-ness) that’s surprisingly enjoyable – especially when combined with other strong flavors like pungent greens and tangy feta (goat cheese would also be delicious). It even had my similarly skeptical husband sneaking seconds.

Beet Barley Salad with Feta
1 C quick cooking pearl barley, cooked
1 large beet, peeled and roasted
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 oz feta cheese
1/4 C slivered almonds
3-4 stalks rainbow Swiss chard
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 Tbsp stone ground mustard
1/4 tsp kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Peel beet and chop into small cubes, placing them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast beet for 25-30 minutes or until edges are beginning to crisp and beet is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, combine 2 C of water with barley. Bring to a boil and add a dash of salt. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Let barley cook, about 10 minutes until water has been absorbed. Barley should be slightly al dente.

Trim chard along the stalk to separate off the leaves. Roll leaves into a tube shape and julienne. Run your knife through the julienned shreds once or twice to avoid super long, stringy pieces. Place chard in a saute pan and drizzle very lightly with olive oil, just to prevent burning. Saute over medium heat until chard is just limp, about 5 minutes.

Transfer cooked barley to a large bowl. Mix in almonds and feta. Mix in Swiss chard. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars and mustard and toss with barley mixture. Season salt and pepper and mix to combine. Finally add the beets and very gently toss to combine.


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