It all began with a bond of hot cowboys, beer, food, and football. Here are some recipes from the Squad that Slay, and of course masterpieces from The Queen of the Kitchen, out girl Carolyn.
Carolyn’s MotherSip Thanksgiving Feast!
Growing up, my Mom used to always say that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. It would blow my mind as a kid because how could that be? We don’t get any presents on Thanksgiving! But, as I’ve grown older, I now realize where she was coming from. Thanksgiving is all about gathering with your loved ones and eating delicious food. A LOT of delicious food! What’s not to love about that? No stress from trying to find the perfect present or trying to remember who gave you what last year so you don’t re-gift it this year to the same person. Nope, just lots and lots of delicious food…and football, Go Cowboys! I’m a Denver Broncos fan through and through, but on Thanksgiving, it’s all about America’s second favorite team, the Cowboys. (Alisha is going to love that!)
Carolyn’s Tortilla Soup
It’s fall y’all! My favorite time of year, and best of all, it is green chile season!!! We have already had two snowstorms here in the mountains of Colorado, and nothing is better on a cold Fall day than soup. Here’s another one of my favorite recipes that incorporates one of my favorite ingredients, Green Chile. If you can find it fresh, that is always better! But frozen green chile works great as well. Whatever you do, do not used canned green chile. They just don’t bring the same flavor to the recipe as fresh or frozen green chile.
Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Fresh green chile and Oregon Pinot Noir are two of my favorite comfort foods in the fall. Pre-Covid you would find green chile roasters set up at your local Oregon farmers market starting in September, or here in Denver they switch out the 4th of July Fireworks stands and make them into green chile stands. If you can find fresh Hatch green chile, it is the best! Ask them to roast them for you on site, then put them in plastic bags and allow them to steam so it is easier to remove the skin. Once you get them home, peel the skin and freeze the chiles, portioning them out about six in a bag, so you have fresh chile all year long.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Over the weekend my husband said to me “but I can’t get anything done if I am babysitting!” No shit, really? What a fucking eye opener! My toddler is at the stage where he is getting into everything and giving a mouth welcome to anything and everything that he can put his hands on. Unless he is in our safe zone area, you can’t take your eye off of him for a second. So, I’m always looking for ways to save time and cut corners so that when I do get a second to do something, there is a possibility that I might just get to do something for myself.
Fast and Easy. Just the way we like it!
Don’t let the title mislead you if you were hoping to read a story about Alisha’s younger days, you are on the wrong page. This is a recipe for three quick, delicious, and healthy dinners, all of which use the same quick shrimp marinade! I have been tending to lean toward comfort food these last few months (see previous Fried Chicken and Biscuits and Gravy Recipes).
Mommy's Dirty Little Secret
I like it dirty. Really dirty. And I am here to let you in on the secret to making it extra dirty if you're into that sort of thing. Like anything, it's all in what you use and how you do it. Start with a firm foundation. Some like it sweet, others tart, I like mine a little smooth and sweet.
Engagement Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
Time in the kitchen is like therapy for me, a great stress reliever and I really enjoy cooking. So, if you are really looking for some kitchen therapy, make your biscuits from scratch. But I think your favorite store-bought biscuits that come in a tube and you just pop them in the oven are just fine, especially when you are smothering them in this delicious gravy. You could smother cardboard in this gravy, and it would be delicious.
Grandpa’s Favorite Fried Chicken
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to move home to Colorado and help my Mom take care of my Grandparents who at the time were 93 years old. They were amazing people, and still living on their own and didn’t want to leave their home. But, as they were aging, they were having trouble taking care of themselves and keeping their house up. So, I was able to rent the house next door to them and help them out by cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner and taking care of things around their home. It was an amazing experience to be able to spend that time with them. My Grandmother loved to cook and was an amazing cook. She was a great influence on me, definitely a role model and someone to look up to in the kitchen. She taught me her love for food and the joy of feeding her family, and I have many fond memories of cooking with her.
Easy-Peasy Beef and Broccoli
There is nothing better in this world than that feeling when you get off work and start to stress about what to make for dinner and then BAM! You remember that you’ve got something going in the crock pot. Now, I am NOT a morning person. So, unless I prepped something the night before, between trying to get my Son fed and myself ready for work, I don’t have the extra time in the morning to chop a bunch of shit to throw in the crock pot. That’s why I love this slow cooker recipe, it only takes four hours to cook! I work remotely, and since most of the population is working remotely right now during the Pandemic, you can put this together over your lunch break and BAM! Same after work dinner prep bliss. This recipe is delicious, and the sauce is sweet enough that your kid might not notice that it is loaded with veggies.
Quarantine Soup
Like most families, we are staying in and limiting trips to the grocery store. Two produce items that will last a long time are potatoes and carrots. I created this soup and it is velvety, healthy, and delicious…my husband says it tastes like Thanksgiving gravy. I make potato soup all the time, but I added the carrots to try to make it a little more nutritious and turns out, we like it better that way! The Jalapenos are a great source of vitamin C and garlic is a good immunity booster. Heavy cream is used in traditional recipes, but the Greek yogurt is a great substitution that adds a tangy creamy flavor, and less fat and calories. This is also a great way to sneak in some veggies if you have a picky eater. Serve it with a thick slice of buttered bread, if you have it
The Portland Spanish Coffee
Portland doesn’t just have the best food, weed, coffee, wine, and beer…but our cocktails are pretty fucking rad. The Spanish Coffee is served at several bars in town and are the best to kick your night right into gear…or to warm up by a fire. Originally we believe it came from the oldest bar in Portland called Hubers, they do it the best and the show and hot bartenders makes it that much cooler. There are a lot of old wives’ tales on this delicious recipe, but all I know is I love it and its strong AF! Check out the recipe and give it a try! But be careful…if catching something on fire just sounds like a bad idea at the time…do without the flames.
Redemption In An 8oz Jar
Breastfeeding is hard. I tried and tried and couldn’t do it. The guilt, shame, judging and feelings of failure were unbearable. My Mother-In-Law’s comments of “oh breastfeeding is so easy!” was just icing on the cake. Are my boobs too small? Am I too old? Does my baby hate me? Is there something wrong with my body? Am I really even a Woman? Why isn’t this working? This miraculous phase came after I couldn’t give birth naturally, either. I was in the hospital for 65 hours before giving up and getting a c-section. For a perfectionist with a mentality that with enough hard work, you can do anything, accepting this was hard, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was off to a shitty start at Motherhood. Now I blow through the checkout line with my chubby healthy baby, four tubs of formula in my cart and my middle finger up in the air. I don’t give a fuck about the Judgy McJudgersons, my baby is healthy and happy, but it took me a while to get there.