spanish cod is whats for supper.

i have entered a phase of life where i want to try new things. i literally will walk around the store in the veggie section & look at everything that i have never heard of & wonder, what can i do with thisssssss. this is coming from a person who doesn't eat too many cooked veggies- i am a raw veggie girl. so i was on pinterest the other day & saw this -- this blog has some amazing recipes so take a few minutes & wonder about their page.

i had bought some cod at the local kroger the other day so i knew i wanted to make a dinner with it, but i had no idea it was going to be this good. like for real good & it is easy. i made a few changes to the recipe bc i had to work with what i had & what my grocery store allowed me to get.

here is what you will need:

• 2 chunky cod fillets (you could use haddock or pollock if you prefer)
• 100g diced cooking chorizo
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 1 large glass white wine
•  1 small box visconti crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large  onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Knorr chicken stock pot cheats in 31/2 cups boiled water
• Juice of 2 juicy lemons
• 2 tsp sugar
• Fresh flat leaf parsley
• Olive oil for cooking
• Extra virgin olive oil for finishing
• Sea salt and black pepper
• rice to serve with

--

*big thanks to my husband for sharpening knives & cutting stuff for me. 

step 1.

fry chorizo in some olive oil until edges are a little crispy - when it is done put it to the side in a bowl

step 2.

pour yourself a glass of the wine you will be using. you really need to make sure it is going to work for you. 

i usually use cheaper wine if i am cooking with it unless it is a dessert. you can't go cheap on dessert you guys. 

step 3. 

add your onion to the oil left from the chorizzo & then add garlic.

let the onion cook for a minute or two before you add the garlic.

this smell makes me the happiest person in the world. 

step 4.

now add your saffron, your wine, your stock, your box of visconti, & your sugar- bring to a simmer. 

taste & add your salt & pepper to taste. i did a lot of tasting, bc it was so good. 

step 5. 

add your can of drainer & rinsed chickpeas, lemon juice & cook for about 5-6 minutes. 

step 6.

add your cod filets, & chorizzo- put the lid on & let simmer for 8-10 minutes. 

step 7. 

sprinkle dish with fresh parsley

* i grow my own- its such a good feeling to go outside & cut your own, or pick your own veggies. 

step 8.

EAT!

i served this straight from the pan & with rice. 

i love one pot meals. 

cory loved it. 

i loved it. 

you will love it.

thank you to the kitchen alchemist for getting my creative brain going with this dish. you are the bomb. 

happy cooking. 

--e

pop-tarts are my JAM.

get it? well probably not yet, bc you have no idea what i am talking about at the moment. todays post is about homemade pop-tarts & homemade... wait for it.... JAM.  a little play on words action to get this sunday going.

i love a good pop-tart. blueberry pop-tarts to be exact. they remind me of simple times when i was getting ready for school & i would just grab a pop-tart- open that silver plastic & then magic. if i was feeling really crazy i would break up the pop-tart into pieces, put them into a bowl & then pour milk on top & eat it like cereal. #sugarproblems. i don't really keep things like that in my house anymore. i don't have chips. cookies. chocolate. none of it. i make everything homemade or try to at least.

i love fresh herbs & this week i scored big time at our kroger bc their herbs they put into those plastic containers were like 20 cents. so i take them home & hang them upside down & let them dry out. as i get older my taste buds have been finding their way to new flavors & i am happy about that.

can you believe all this was 40 cents? thank you kroger. 

so this dough recipe i found here

now usually i would use something that my mom has given me but they just moved & everything they own is basically in boxes so she couldn't find it, but HEY that just means i will need to make these again & again right?

dough:

2 cups AP flour
2 TB sugar
1 ts salt
1 1/2  sticks unsalted butter
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk + 1 TB divided

first step: combine all your dry ingredients. 

i used a cheese grater & grated my cold butter right on top of the flour mixture.

then using my hands i mixed it all together until it looked like this picture below. 

now in a separate bowl beat the egg & milk together & add to mixture. 

i had to add a TB or 2 of milk to get the dough to the right texture. 

now flour your surface- i have a stainless steel table in my kitchen that is perfect for all these recipes i have been trying lately. did i mention this was my first time making pop-tarts?

knead your dough on floured surface until it's the shape of a mound.

now divide the dough into 2 equal little balls. 

they looked so pretty i took 3 pictures. 

now wrap them with plastic & let them hang out in the fridge for an hour or so or even until the next morning which is what i did. this was very hard for me- all i could think about was how this recipe was going to turn out, or how good the smell coming from my kitchen would be. i am probably becoming impatient in my older age. anxious and impatient. 

when you are ready to assemble these, i literally rolled out of bed & headed straight to the kitchen, take your little dough balls out & we are going to work with them one at a time. 

flour your workspace & roll the ball into about 1/8 inch. now the directions said this but i have no idea about measuring this stuff. i literally just rolled it out until it felt right, whatever that means. 

now you have complete control over the shapes you want. the husband is really good about buying me cute little things for the kitchen or just cute things in general. if i say i am interested in something he is the first to invest in those interests. #blessed.

i did normal little rectangles. 

see that cute little tool. one of my interests he invested in.

now i swayed from the directions at this point & did my own things. 

i just made as many rectangles as i could with matching bottoms & tops. i did some small & some big ones. his & hers is what i am calling them. 

so when you have your bottoms you are going to brush them with your egg wash- 1 egg & a splash of milk.

now i spread the jam i made on top & then put the top on.

blueberry on the left. raspberry on the right. 

i used a fork for the edges & then poked some holes in the top to let the steam out. 

now this is where i made the mistake of not making sure they went all the way through so my pop-tarts were a little fluffy. next time i know. 

now put these in the fridge for about 25 minutes & then right before you put them in the oven brush the egg wash on top. 

bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. 

now for the JAM.

i had fresh local blueberries i got from the littler farmers market on the square her in carrollton & some blackberries i got from trader joes. 

for a thing of blueberries you will need.

1/2 cup sugar

your container of blueberries

2 TB cornstarch

4 TB water

1 tsp vanilla (haitian of course)

1 tsp mint- this is something i added at the last minute

a sprinkle of salt

in a medium sauce pan on medium heat put your blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, & water.

the little blueberries will start to bubble & burst & your entire house will smell like you could eat everything. the chairs. lamps. tables. sofa. everything is at risk.

after cooking for about 10 minutes i added my mint. my 40 cent mint from kroger. 

when it looks like this picture above i then put it through a strainer to make sure i didn't have any skins. i wanted everything smooth. 

i tasted this many times, which is why i had so much anxiety about waiting to make these for the next morning. i made the JAM yesterday & it was just sitting in my fridge begging to be put on something.

i used this same process with the blackberries too. 

these are easy to put in a container & cory can grab one on the way to work in the morning. zap it in the microwave for about 10 seconds & you have yourself a warm homemade nostalgic breakfast. 

when my mom finds her recipe i will be sure to post it. 

hope you guys enjoy making these for your family like i did. 

-- mrs. estes

cinnamon rolls y'all.

lets get real. you can never eat just one. nope, you eat one & then one becomes two & then two becomes 3 until your body starts shutting down from a sugar overload, but you don't care. just drink some lemon water take a nap & then start all over again. right?

working with yeast is something that took me a minute to get use to. its kind of like me- impatient & unpredictable. you can't poke it too much or it gets really upset & will ruin everything. it literally has ruined my days before. #breadgonewrong #ruinedcinnamonrolls you get the point.

so for these rolls i found this recipe here

this is everything you will need- if you are like me you organize everything before you start making it. i cannot even cook without my kitchen being super clean.

stuff you need:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 large eggs
6 cups AP flour
1 TB canola oil
4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 TB milk

sidenote: i did not have a lot of brown sugar- i had like 1 cup, so i used that & organic cane sugar & coconut sugar

i also used haitian vanilla
instead of using the canola oil for the bowl i used butter.

first things first- microwave your milk for 3 minutes
now add softened butter
add 1/2 cup sugar & yeast
stir a little, cover with a towel and let sit for 5 minutes.

now transfer this little bit of stuff to a bigger bowl & stir in your salt & eggs

now mix in 1 cup of flour at a time

knead for 5 minutes

make a ball with your dough pick it up & butter your bowl (this is where she used canola oil)

put the dough back in and flip one time

cover and let is rise for 1 hour

*this is always super fun when you go back in an hour & literally see how it has doubled in size. you literally squeal bc you know you nailed it. its all in those moments when you know if you got it right or not. 

now after the hour is done punch the dough down and let it sit for 10 minutes. 

now divide dough in 1/2 and roll each half into a rectangular shape

now for the filling you will mix together the brown sugar & cinnamon.

spread your melted butter over each half & let the sprinkling begin. 

make sure to get to the edges.

now roll them as tight as you can. pinch the edges closed when your finished rolling. 

divide them into whatever size you would like. you can make huge ones or little small ones. 

now i used a 9 x 14 dish and let some butter melt in the pan and sprinkled the bottom of the pan with my sugar mix. lay each little roll down on the pan and let them sit for 1 hour bc they will get bigger. 

plop them in the oven 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

when you pull them out you can start on the frosting. 

its really easy. 

mix together

1/2 cup butter softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

4 TB milk

if you want it thinner add more milk. 

then spread it over those bad boys. 

fix a plate & get down to business. 

hope you guys enjoy these as much as i did.

my sweet tooth has been fixed..... for now. 

-- E