Corner Pantry

OUR NEW CORNER PANTRY

Finished Pantry face lift. I think both doors turned out awesome and it really changes the look o the kitchen.

We decided to not only do the pantry door but also the door to the basement as well. Painted sanded then used dark stain.

Prior to antiquing the color of paint was called cranberry zing glidden. We got it at Wal-Mart.

We have been in need of some more cabinet space. Kori asked her dad if he would build us this corner pantry. We gave him some ideas and this is what the finished product look like.

It will really help to have this little extra space. Plus it really didn't take a noticeable amount of space in the kitchen away either.

The pantry blocked an outlet we had in the wall. The outlet on the exterior of the pantry is just an outlet that plugs into the other outlet, So we didn't loose access to anything. I think it turned out great. Sometimes the in-laws are good for something! LOL

Louisiana Crusted Tilapia with Buffalo Tartar Sauce

BUFFALO TARTAR SAUCE

1/2 Cup light Sour Cream

1/4 Cup light Mayo

1 Tablespoon Sweet Relish

1 Teaspoon Frank's Red Hot

1/2 Teaspoon Hot Creamy Horseradish

1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

Dash of Seasoning Salt

Dash of Black Pepper

This is Dave's creation due to the fact he likes things spicy! If you are not a horseradish or spicy fan I am sure you could omit it, but I would still keep the Franks to have the "buffalo" taste I doubt it would be very spicy with just the Franks.

DIRECTIONS

MIX IT ALL TOGETHER IN A BOWL! DUH ;)

Louisiana crusted tilapia

There is no real magic trick to this one.

Rinse the fish and shake off excess water. Salt and pepper the fillets then we dip them in Louisiana Fish Fry (we bought it at Wal-Mart) less tan $2.00 an it is awesome stuff.

Then heat up 1/2 inch depth of canola oil in a pan and fry until golden brown on each side. Place on a paper towel to take excess oil off.

This is a real easy and yummy dinner. Hope you all enjoy!

Super cute and easy Easter Tree

Super Cute Easter Tree

I got out my Easter decorations yesterday and found this cute tree I had made a few years back. It was so simple to make and friends of mine have said they would like to know how to make it so here are the simple instructions on how to  construct this Easter decoration.

Materials

1 Styrofoam cone approx. 12 inches tall

A bucket or any sort of pot that the cone will fit into

Some sort of spring like ribbon

Easter grass (What ever color you would like)

Assorted plastic Easter eggs

Some sort of figurine for the top

A handful of rocks

Instructions

Add the rocks to the bottom of the bucket or pot, whichever you decide to use. The rocks are nice to make sure the bottom is weighted down. Using hot glue, glue the Styrofoam cone to the inside of the bucket/pot.  Use the glue and glue the Easter grass all over the cone, as thick as you would like it. Pick out the eggs you would like to use and glue them on top of the grass, spaced as close or as far as you prefer. Cut the ribbon so it fits around the top of the bucket and tie it on. I used a few dots of glue around it to make sure it wouldn't fall off. Last get your figurine and glue it to the top of the tree. And viola, you have a cute new decoration for your Easter celebration!

Best Damn Deviled Eggs Ever!

The Best Damn Deviled Eggs Ever!

12 eggs

4 tsp. light mayonnaise

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1-2 green onions

1 1/2 Tbsp. Frank's red hot sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

Boil the eggs. I find it works best if you add oil to the water, because the shells come off of the eggs better. 

After the eggs are cooled and peeled, cut them in half and scoop out the yolk and put in a bowl. Mince up the onions very fine and add to the yolks along with the mayo, mustard, Frank's, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Mash up until smooth and spoon back into the whites.

Sprinkle a little more paprika and a light dusting of salt!

The hubby had said that he wanted Deviled Eggs the other day, so I just made these up tonight, and they are SO good!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2 to 3 large chicken breasts

2/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat flour

1 egg

Water

Cut the chicken breasts up into little bite sized chunks. Once chicken is cut up, put into a Tupperware with 1/3 cup of the cornstarch, the salt and pepper, put on lid and shake to coat. 

 In a separate bowl add wheat flour, 1/3 cup cornstarch, egg and then add enough water to make a batter about the same as a pancake batter. I also add a dash of salt and pepper to the batter. 

Heat up some oil, about a half inch deep. Dip chicken pieces into batter and add to oil. Once they are golden brown on one side, flip over until they are golden brown on both sides. It doesn't take long. Drain onto paper towels.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1/3 cup rice vinegar

8 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp Ketchup

1 tsp. Soy Sauce

2 tsp. cornstarch added to 4 tsp. water

Mix together vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup and soy sauce in a small sauce pan. Mix water and cornstarch together in a bowl. Once mix is boiling add cornstarch mix into pan and whisk until thick!

We like to make this in conjunction with the veggie egg foo young recipe previously posted. It is an excellent combo. Enjoy!

Veggie Egg Foo Young

Veggie Egg Foo Young



1 crown of broccoli, cut very small

1 carrot, grated

1 onion, small dice

2 stocks of celery, small dice

1/2 cup frozen peas

Saute until tender in a little bit of olive oil. Once the veggies are tender put into a bowl and let cool. Once they are cool add 6 eggs and 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce.

  Heat up a skillett to medium high heat with some oil spray. Using a ladle pour a half of a ladle full onto the skillet. Once the pattys are firm on one side, flip and wait for them to be cooked all of the way through.

Egg Foo Young Gravy

Boil 1 1/2 cups water with 3 Tbsp cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Make sure to whisk until smooth. Add 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce and 3 beef bullion cubs. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until cubes are dissolved and sauce is thick.

We always make this along side our sweet and sour chicken recipe posted next.

Enjoy! This is one you will not regret, it is truly yummy. This has been a work in progress for a year tweaking this and learning that each time we made it.

St. Paddy's Day Homemade Reuben

         St. Paddy's Day Homemade Reuben



Put 2 cups of water in a roasting pan. Place the corned beef brisket fat side up (with all liquid from bag) then place seasoning packet on top of brisket.
Add 1 cut up onion
I add 4 drops of liquid smoke
Roast at 300 degrees covered for 1hr per pound.

Bowl of sauerkraut with 4 drops of you guessed it..green food coloring!

Sandwich
Thinly sliced corned beef
Green sauerkraut
Swiss Cheese
Your favorite thousand island dressing
Finally your favorite rye bread
Enjoy!



Leprechaun Goodie Buckets

Leprechaun Goodies Buckets

This is just a quick little thing I made for the kids. I picked up some cheap sand bucket and shovel at Wal-Mart.

Contents:

Pringles sour cream and onion chips

Rainbow glow wand (from Dollar Tree)

Green Apple

Small can of 7-up

Pringles pizza stix

In the sandwich bag I put a roll of Rolos then used 5 pieces of Twizzlers rainbow flavor.

I thought they turned out pretty cute. The kids loved them.

LEPRECHAUN TRAP!

I used an old make-up case. One of the ones my mother in law gave me for Christmas with make-up in it. I painted the outside back, sides, and top green. I wanted to keep the front clear to see the Leprechaun in case we caught one. After painting the outside green, I painted a rainbow in the back of the inside. The bottom of the "trap" is painted with gold glitter paint, as well as a yellow painted rock that was painted over with the same gold glitter paint sitting in the middle of the trap. I then painted a plastic fork green to hold the lid open. We then hung a gold pocket watch from the handle into the trap to lure the Leprechaun in. Once the watch is moved, it slams the lid shut! :) Happy Leprechaun hunting!!





Garlic Parmesan Broccoli

This is my wife's personal recipe that turned me into a broccoli lover. I love it so much I wanted to share it in hopes it will get people to eat more broccoli. Hey it's a great source of fiber.

Husband Pleasing Garlic Parmesan Broccoli

1 Pound Broccoli tops
3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese (we use Kraft green tube type)
1 tsp Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
2 Cloves Finely Chopped Garlic

Steam broccoli until fork tender approx. 7-8 minutes. In a satuee pan melt butter add olivie oil, brown sugar, garlic, red pepper, salt, black pepper. Then add steamed broccoli and sautee for 2 minutes continually stirring.

Pour into a bowl add parmesan cheese and stir to coat. Then enjoy!

Don't Sweat the Scale

Trying to get healthy and fit? Quit worrying about what the scale says. Blasphemy you say?  Worry more about your waist circumference and BMI (take into consideration the caveat I give you at the end of this) please. Because I personally am on the bubble between obese and morbidly obese. I have single digit body fat.

Why? Because if you exercise the way you should, your body composition will change, with muscle replacing fat. Because muscle weighs more than fat, your weight may stay the same or even increase slightly as you become healthier.

Body Mass Index is your weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Intimidating as that may sound, you can find BMI calculators at several sites online, including www.cdc.gov (search for "BMI calculator.")

Your target: A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is ideal. A BMI of 25-30 is overweight. A BMI of more than 30 is obese and brings a substantially increased risk of health issues, ranging from diabetes to depression.

Waist circumference

What is it? The number of inches around your waist as calculated by a tape measure at the smallest area above the umbilicus (your belly button) and not by your pants size.
Your target: For men it should be less than 40 inches and for women under 35 inches no matter what your height is. Above those levels your risk for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, strokes and some cancers significantly increases.

The caveat I would like to add in regards to the B.M.I. (body mass index) is

BMI may be an inaccurate assessment tool for certain population groups such as athletes or the elderly because it doesn’t take into account fat vs. lean body mass. Since muscle weighs more than fat, BMI may overestimate body fat in athletes with a high percentage of muscle mass, inaccurately putting them in an overweight or obese category. In the elderly, BMI may underestimate body fat since muscle and bone density tend to decrease with age. Case in point I am considered obese and almost morbidly obese so just be careful with BMI.

 

 

So in conclusion, keep up the strong work and don't let a number de-motivate you!

Dave's Homemade Healthy Version of Wingers Sticky Finger Salad

This is a step-by-step recipe for my version of Wingers Sticky Finger Salad. I really love this when I go to the restaurant and figured I could replicate it at home in a healthier way, most people recreate this using frozen breaded chicken tenders (frozen dinner style) you know more breading than chicken. Trust me this is a awesome recipe I have perfected over time and I feel now it is worthy to share, cause it's a hit every time at my house! So here we go.

3 lbs of chicken tenders rinsed, drained and de-tendoned ( use kitchen shears like a surgeon in order to not trash the meat)
4 eggs beaten in a separate bowl (in case you can't tell from the picture :)) I kill me!

Breading ingredients in another bowl.
1 Cup Italian flavored bread crumbs
1 Cup of Panko crumbs
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp No Salt Seasoning
1 tsp Sea Salt
Hand stir to mix all ingredients.

Hand dip chicken tender in egg then coat with the panko mixture. I pick the chicken up by the small tip end of tender in order to not wipe the mixture off the chicken. Then place them on a foiled cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or until no longer pink). You will notice from the picture they are lightly breaded, you can still see the chicken through it.

Sticky Finger Sauce
This recipe is the one I think is the best. I have tweaked with it many times and love this one the best. It is not too thick and syrup like. This one is tasty and thin enough it is great! One more thing I strongly recommend to not use anything other than Frank's please! It's just not the same....amen!

Combine the following in a saucepan on medium heat. Continually whisking until sugar has incorporated and it is a smooth sauce.
3/4 Cup Frank's Hot Sauce
1/2 Cup Water
1 1/2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
It's that simple!

Salad Presentation
This one is served on a bed of arugula and spinach. Complimented with cucumbers, craisins, lightly sprinkled monterrey jack cheese and little touch of lite ranch dressing.
I also like to drizzle a little of the sticky finger sauce as well.

The bonus is leftovers!

Thanks for reading and happy eating!

Dave Ulibarri

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Hi everyone, we are BACK! We have been so busy the last couple of weeks! I have been training for a half marathon. That has been interesting to say the least. I am up to 6 miles so far, and I am going for 7 on Sunday. Dave has been so busy with work. He is in the middle of getting ready for the statewide "shakeout" eathquake drill in April. I don't know how he does it! Him along with a few others are writing up all of the scenarios for this event. He says we are long overdue here in Utah for an earthquake. I am so proud of him! Anyhow, I have been trying out a lot of new recipes. The one I tried tonight was SO good. Twice baked cauliflower a lo carb spin on twiced baked potatoes. I tweaked the recipe a bit so it fits more into our lifestyle. EVERYONE should give this a try!

TWICE BAKED CAULIFLOWER

1 large head cauliflower
2 oz. low fat cream cheese
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
10 slices turkey bacon
4-5 green onions
1 1/4 cups shredded cheese
salt and pepper

Take the head of cauliflower and chop it into small florets.  Put into large pan and fill with water, add some salt as you would for pasta. Boil until tender.  While the cauliflower is cooking, cut up turkey bacon into small piece. Cook in a skillet with a little olive oil until crispy and then drain onto a paper towel. Cut up green onions and set aside. Once cauliflower is done, strain and put back into pan. Use a potato masher and mash up the cauliflower. I left it a little chunky for texture. It does not need to be smooth. Put into a glass casserole dish. Add the cream cheese and sour cream and mash a little more. add bacon, onions and 1/2 cup cheese and salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the top.  Put in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Serve right away!! YUMMY!!
I hope you all give this one a try! I will be back on soon with some more must try recipes!!