The Babbling Brooks

Brussel Sprouts, Anyone?

It seems either you are a brussel sprouts person or you're not. While they're not my favorite vegetable I've always liked them, especially when they're drenched in butter. But this is better! Even if you don't like brussel sprouts...you may like this one! I found the recipe in Every Day With Rachael Ray magazine. It's easy and the results are awesome! This is the second time I've made them and I think it's a keeper! Here's the recipe...

• 3 pounds brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 12 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut into one inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons EVOO*
• 2 onions (about 1 pound), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the brussel sprouts for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring until crisp, 8-10 minutes; drain, reserving the bacon fat. Add 2 tablespoons EVOO to the skillet, then stir in the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat and the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO to the skillet and increase the heat to high. Add the brussels sprouts and cook, tossing until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the onions and half the bacon; season with salt and pepper. Top with the remaining bacon.

*EVOO=extra virgin olive oil

Enjoy!

Look Ma! No Flour!

My favorite cookie for the holidays is a Peanut Butter Kiss. (OK, let's be honest...I'll eat these anytime :). They are super easy to make. I'm making them tomorrow to take to a cookie exchange on Saturday. Here's the recipe!

• 1 jar (18 oz.) creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 48 Kisses (a 9 oz. package has about 53 kisses)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Have cookie sheets ready. With a wooden spoon stir peanut butter, sugar, and eggs in a medium bowl until thoroughly blended. (Dough will be slightly sticky.) With floured hands, roll level measuring tablespoonfuls into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12-14 minutes until cookies look dry with tops cracked. Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate Kiss in the center of each. Cool on cookie sheet 1 to 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 48 cookies.

Per cookie: 111 cal, 3 g pro, 10 g car, 7 g fat, 12 mg chol, 71 mg sod....that's the bad news. The good news is that you can make them with reduced fat peanut butter, substitute Splenda for the sugar, and use egg substitute. I've done this and they are still yummy. I guess you could use some sort of carob instead of the kisses, but that's going too far for me :) Being the peanut butter snob that I am, I only use Jif. This a great recipe for baking with kids, too. No flour means less mess and they love rolling the dough into balls and putting the kisses on the cookies. Enjoy!

Now...Go Do The Right Thing!

I had a good time today. John took me to lunch at my favorite place, The Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue (WA). I don't even like cheesecake, but they have a great menu. Most of the time I order my favorite dish. Today I looked at the menu and was going to choose something else, but when our server came to take our order...I caved! Fish tacos,again! Fresh grilled fish with spicy cabbage, fresh salsa, and spicy avocado cream in warm corn tortillas. Yum!! After we finished I went to the ladies room and waited in line (of course, it's a ladies room...there's always a line). And who should come out of the stall announcing, "This one isn't flushing!" It's.....Dr. Laura! I was 99% percent sure it was her, but she was even tinier than I thought. She went over to the sinks and when I saw her backside, I knew for sure. There it was...Harley Davidson in rhinestones and sequins on the back of the jacket and the seat of her pants. I didn't want to create a fuss, so I just gave her a knowing smile as she passed by on the way to the door. We made a stop at The Container Store for a few items, then headed to the Will Call window at the Meydenbauer Center to pick up our tickets for the one-woman show, "In My Never To Be Humble Opinion" starring...Dr. Laura!

   

 We both enjoyed the show very much. She introduced the infamous Benjamin Pratt who does the music on her radio show and he was just as good with her stage show as he is on the radio. She read and talked about some of the e-mails and stories people send her. She shared stories about herself and she answered questions from the audience. No, you didn't have to stand up or raise your hand or ask in front of a crowd. They collected the questions on cards before the show began so that it was completely anonymous...unless maybe you happened to recognize that the person you were with probably wrote that question! This is the last stop for this show. I'm not sure how long she's been doing it, but she is retiring this one and preparing for a new one.

 

 

Red Lobster Biscuit Lovers! Try these...

I found this recipe for those yummy Cheese Biscuits on a blog and tried them tonight. Cindy at My Romantic Home has given me permission to share the recipe here.

RED LOBSTER CHEESE BISCUITS

• 2 1/2 c. Bisquick
• 3/4 c. cold milk
• 4 tsp. cold butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 heaping c. grated cheddar cheese

Brush on top after baking

• 2 T. melted butter
• 1/4 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine Bisquick with cold butter using a pastry cutter or a large fork. Don't mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in the batter that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix until combined, but don't over mix.

Drop approximately 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet (you can use an ice cream scoop). Bake 15-17 minutes or until the tops begin to turn light brown.

Mix melted butter, dried parsley flakes, garlic powder, and salt. Brush over the tops of the biscuits. Use all the butter!

Makes one dozen biscuits.

I love that it tells you to "use all the butter"! Enjoy!

Trevor Does Tae Kwan Do

We were able to watch Trevor at his Tae Kwan Do practice yesterday (the 2nd). He is doing really well and has his blue belt...halfway to black belt and he's only 7 (well, 7 1/2 as he would be sure to tell you that today is his "half birthday" :) We told him to let us know when he is going for his black belt so we can come to watch. That'll be a special day! After practice we had dinner at the Giggling Greek restaurant in downtown Puyallup. It just opened and was great. We'd recommend it if you're local. Look for it on Meridian!

The Cheesecake Factory

It's my favorite restaurant and I don't even like cheesecake. If I had to eat at the same place everyday for the rest of my life, it would be at The Cheesecake Factory. There are pages and pages of menu and you can find almost any kind of food you like. Of course, I almost always have the same thing.....Grilled Fish Tacos! But sometimes I deviate and order the Kobe burger, the Factory burger, the roasted chicken, the enchilada, or a pasta dish. John took me today for my birthday. (It's not my birthday till Thursday, but I have a date with the dentist that afternoon.) We shared Sweet Tamale Corn Cakes and John had Cajun Jambalaya Pasta. Yummo! Thanks for taking me, Sweetie!

On the Home Front...

We spent all day yesterday in Kalispell. We got more paint to finish up the interior painting. As I told the employees at Sherwin-Williams, I really like them but I hope not to see them again until spring :) We also have chosen our tile and carpet. We brought several sample boards home after working with Ed at Masterpiece One. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful in finding what we were looking for. Tomorrow we'll talk with Matt who is going to set the tile in the master bath and go over what goes where, so the tile order can be placed for there, my studio floor, and a kitchen back splash (probably just a 6"). If we can get the order in by Tuesday afternoon, it'll be on a truck out of Dallas and up here by the end of the week. Ed will be coming out, hopefully sometime this week, to measure for carpet upstairs and in the master bedroom. We stopped by Adoornment to order door hardware, but Annie was not there (We found out they are open on Saturday by appointment only.) We also accomplished a front-end alignment on the Beetle at Les Schwab, grocery shopping at Rosauer's, a look at peel-and-stick-tiles at Home Depot for the storage room (we've decided against those, we'll use the leftover wood from the floors downstairs), birthday gift shopping for a special little guy at Target, and a stop at Costco. The last stop was at the new wood-fired pizza restaurant, Bullman's, at Hutton Ranch. It was very good pizza, service could use a little polish, and they don't get their beer and wine license for another 2 weeks...but I'd go back.

Our cabinets are promised for Tuesday or Wednesday and we've rescheduled Woody from Distinctive Countertops in Kalispell to do the templates on Thursday. (Which reminds me we need to take our stove out there on Wednesday!) Once the templates are done, the counter tops should only take about 2 weeks!

And me...I've got one (hopefully, not two!) more coat of paint in the stairwell, John's office, and the bonus space...two coats on the theatre walls (ceiling and slopes are done)...two coats in the master bedroom (vaulted ceiling is done), one coat in the master closet and one coat in the powder room.

We need to install the electric heating mats in the master bedroom and studio to keep that tile warm! Install the tile studio floor. The furnace needs to be hooked up. The 2 water heaters need to be installed. Interbel has put the connection on the outside of the house for phone, they need to come back and do the inside work. As soon as the phone lines are working we are going to call Montanasky and change our ISP. (Having some complicated issues with DSL Interbel service.) We'll need to get the satellite people out to install a dish (yuck, I am really gonna hate having that thing hanging on my house).Matt will install all the window and door trim and the baseboards and, I guess, the doors. John and I are installing a wood paneled wall along 2 sides of the mud room area. I need to get those stained! I'm sure there's a million other things to do, too.

Ole'.....tonight's dinner!

Mexican food is one of my favorite cuisines (ok, there are many...I like to eat :) and handmade tortillas makes it all the better. Like they make at Old Towne Cafe in San Diego and Cafe Rio' in St. George! Earlier this year while visiting our friends, Lynn and Arthur, she made corn tortillas for us. They were yummy and she showed me how easy it was. I started looking for a tortilla press and didn't have much luck here in cowboy country. My sister found one for me at the outlet stores and brought it to me when we met at the beach in June. After a couple of attempts I have just about mastered the press, the hard part is getting the plastic wrap peeled off without tearing the edges of the tortilla to bits! Here are the results. The best part...by using chicken, fat-free sour cream (which must be Tillamook), homemade salsa, and low-fat or fat-free cheese on the taco it's a heart healthy meal! No fat, no cholesterol, and very low sodium in the corn masa. Yum! Thanks, Lynn, for teaching me a new trick!

Mountain Mexican!

Another food experience! We had dinner tonight at the Pescado Blanco Mountain Mexican Kitchen. Their menu says they blend cuisines from Southern Mexico to Northern Montana and so they do :) I've never seen another menu offering bison enchiladas, pheasant enchiladas, or elk tacos. They had a fresh salsa bar as well as their own yummy house salsa. I liked that they offered a salad as an option to the rice and beans (black or pinto). I had fish tacos (grilled halibut, red cabbage, orange/mango salsa, chipotle crema) and they rivaled those that I love at the Cheesecake Factory. John had the elk tacos and loved them, too. The hand-pressed corn tortillas made on premises were delicious!

BTW, it was 63 degrees here today!

Fresh Snow and Dinner at Mambo's!

We woke up this morning to freshly fallen snow and it is so pretty. It's warmed up to a balmy 23 degrees! It snowed off and on all day. Our Mickey balls are wearing cute little snow caps :) I love that this snow is so dry and fluffy. No more of that heavy, wet stuff I grew up with. This stuff is fun and so much easier! John's been keeping a fire in the wood stove and we are cozy and warm.

We celebrated "First Kiss and Engagement Day" today with dinner at Mambo's. We have always celebrated at Mitzels in Kent, scene of the previously mentioned, but 11 hours is a little far to drive :) So, we are substituting Mambo's in Whitefish. I'd mentioned this place last fall. It is the BEST Italian food we have found anywhere. Who'd have thought you'd find this in Montana??? They start each meal with garlic bread that is hot and cheesy.   We shared a spinach salad and ordered our favorite Piazza Santo Pietro pizza (pesto sauce, shrimp, red onions, yummy cheese) and the Chorzee (mussels with linguine in a seafood broth), also to share. The gnocche topped it off perfectly...deep, dark chocolate balls quickly deep fried in a very light crust and served with light whipped cream. Yummmmmmm!

We finally met our neighbors today! No, not here...at the gym! John happened to see them leaving for work this morning and saw them walk into the gym while we were there this afternoon. Nancy and Danny seemed very nice. Hope we'll get to know them better. The gym...yes, we're back at it. We found a really nice one that takes month-to-month payment without a contract.

Sunset on the Champ

Got a roll of film back today (yes, I am admitting that I am a photography dinosaur :).  I took this photo of the Champ while we were in Madras.  Just thought I'd share cause I liked the way it turned out. I used my wide-angle, 14mm, lens.

We went to Esther's annual Open House today.  She has a house full of consultants there selling baskets, cooking tools, make-up, books all in the same place.  So I did a little Christmas shopping and added to my Longaberger pottery dishes.  We had some yummy food made from recipes in the new Pampered Chef cookbook, "Cooking For Two" (which I ordered).  I especially liked the Cider Bulgar Chicken Salad!  Who'd of thought I'd like something with wheat pasta! The Strawberry Granita was yummy for desert, too.