How to Hard Boil the PERFECT Egg

Many of people know how to fry fish, bake cookies, or steam shrimp (which if you ask me can all be complicated matters on their own), but the concept of boiling an egg can throw off even the most experienced cook. You sit there watching a pot, waiting for it to boil, and then gues-timate whether the egg is thoroughly cooked. It’s not until the egg is cooled, shelled, and sliced into that you will know if all your hard work has paid off and whether or not the egg is cooked properly. Your egg can go into two extreme categories: the yoke is still runny or the yoke is overcooked and is a greenish/grayish color (YUCK!). I’m don’t know which one is worse, but both can be the making or breaking of a good recipe. Luckily, I have done several practice runs and have come up with the perfect method of hard boiling the PREFECT egg. Follow my step-by-step instructions and you will have hard boiled eggs set to serve the queen (or Prince Harry which I would enjoy more). Pay attention, because you don’t want to miss anything….it is all very scientific.

How to Hard Boil an Egg:

1)      Pick the eggs in your fridge that are older (please throw oldest away…Double gross)

*TIP: Older eggs are better for boiling, younger eggs are better for frying

2)      Place your eggs in a deep, but small in circumference pot

*This will prevent your eggs from jumping around too much and reduce risk of the shell breaking

3)      Fill pot with cold water 1-inch above the eggs

4)      Add dash of salt and a splash of vinegar to the pot

*the salt helps stabilize the heat of the water and the vinegar will soften the shell allowing for easier peeling

5)      Put the pot on the stove

6)      Turn the burner on high/medium-high

7)      Watch the pot…(I told you it was going to be scientific)

8)      Once to pot comes to a roaring boil, turn the burner’s heat down to low/low-medium where the water is simmering

9)      Set a timer for 10 minutes (not a minute more or a minute less)

10)  Once the timer goes off remover the pot from the stove and ladle out the eggs

11)  Place the eggs in an ice bath

*This will stop the cooking process of the eggs and the yoke/whites will shrink allowing for even easier peeling

12)  Peel the eggs

13)  Slice the eggs and see the fruits of your labor!

 With your perfectly boiled eggs you can create many of dishes, but some of my favorites include: deviled eggs, egg salad, cob salad, or plain with salt and pepper to taste.

Don’t Mess With Texas: Southwest Takes Over Hummus

A few weeks ago I went to Biscotti’sfor Stephany’s, one of my good friend’s, birthday. I was beyond excited, because it being on a Thursday night (out on a work/school night???) and with all of my friends and I being so busy, I rarely get to have time to relax with my friends. Biscotti’s is a local gem where birthday dinners are a must in that it is known for its wine, salads, and CAKE. All a great combination in my book and luckily this visit I wasn’t lacking in any department. Before we were able to order our food, one of the girls ordered a combination patter that had mango salsa, brushetta, and black bean hummus. Being starved to death, we dug in and where surprisingly shocked of how scrumptious the black bean hummus was. Normally, I don’t reach out on the supermarket isle and buy hummus for myself, since most of the time it can be lack luster in the flavor department and can catch up with you on the calorie count (health food? I’m still skeptical). This black bean hummus though was exploding with a southwestern flavor that gave boring hummus a new view in my eyes. I couldn’t have enough and despite having six of us girls splitting 3 (double chocolate, bread pudding, and carrot) cake, I later found myself dreaming about that hummus.Fast forward to this weekend when yet again my parents went out of town leaving me to my own devises. Being a (soon to be) 24 year old, when my parents go out of town I normally revel in the idea of being by myself and cooking myself something that I want when I want it. Do not think that I’m complaining and am being starved, but when you return home from school the notion of cooking dinner is decided by what the majority wants to eat. Having had weeks to brood over what to cook, I decided that black bean hummus was exactly what the food gods ordered to finally quiet the cravings that I’ve had for it ever since that glorious September night at Biscotti’s.The major obstacle I found was that while the Crabtree’s have 4 (count them: 1, 2, 3, 4) Bundt pans, we did not have a food processor. That just goes to show the type of food we southerners typically lean towards, since the notion of needing a food processor to make hummus never would have come up in my household before. Therefore, I went out and both myself an early birthday present and got one right before going to Publix to pick up the ingredients I needed. The recipe that I decided to follow a Cooking Light winner for their 2008 Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest entitled “Spicy Black Bean Hummus”. The name is very literal, and not to be corny but is literally the best hummus I’ve ever eaten.

You first start off by chopping the garlic in the food processor…(I love garlic so I used 2 cloves instead of 1)

Then you add all the other ingredients….

Grind, grind, grind

Add some olive oil and voila! I know now you all want the recipe so here it is….

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

Ingredients
· 1 garlic clove, peeled
· 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
· 1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
· 1 teaspoon ground cumin
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
· 1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
· Dash of crushed red pepper
· 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
· Dash of ground red pepper
· 1 (6-ounce) bag pita chips (such as Stacy’s Simply Naked), carrots, sliced green peppers, etc.

Directions: Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita chips.

Note: I have been dying for a good turkey sandwich so I toasted up some bread, added Boar’s Head turkey, sliced tomato, spinach leaves, pepperjack cheese, and a smear of hummus on the bread.

Add Sun Chips and Diet Cherry Coke, my other guilty pleasures and I think I upgrabbed the commoners lunch to a kings (or in my case, a queen).

Don’t Judge a Book By It’s Cover: Not A Nora Roberts Book

A few weeks ago, the Crabtree family had a reunion at my Aunt Elizabeth’s (AKA Shorty) house. My grandfather’s family on my dad’s side is a collective bunch of individuals who like to have a good time. There should always be a never ending supply of food and booze when the Crabtrees are concerned, because when in the south it’s a law in spite of living on the boarder of the Bible Belt of America. Staying true to our roots, fried chicken, collards, and mac and cheese where only of the few options that we could choose from for dinner. From the bar I won’t even go into the selections, but I’ll just say that we had so much fun getting to catch up, tell old stories, and enjoy each other’s company.

Surprisingly, this post isn’t going to be about the food we ate, but about a book that I read that was suggested to my mom by my Aunt Susan at the family reunion. Any passionate reader will tell you that getting a book suggestion by someone that you know and care for is golden. The bestseller list is a joke in my option, because despite my 3 failed attempts, I still believe the Girl that Kicked the Hornets’ Nest is a joke of the masses where people say they liked it because while they actually hate it, they don’t want to be the one person in the world that doesn’t like it. Therefore, when someone suggests to you a book that isn’t on the bestsellers list, it means that the book is quality and is liked for its content. I’m sorry for sounding bitter, but the hours I’ve wasted on awful books can be summed up to years of my life.

Okay, back to the reason for this post…. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. My mom went to Chamblin’s Bookmine which is a heaven from another world for book lovers and bought Redeeming Love. At first I smirked at the title, expecting it to be another Nora Roberts type book, but I decided to give it a shot. I have to say that I was presently surprised. Here is the Amazon.com review:

“In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God’s unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this “soiled dove,” he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best.”

I began the book expecting to find a love story, but found there to be a deeper message woven into the storyline that was unexpected. Throughout the book there is a strong presence of God as a voice of reason for the characters that I found to be stilling. I don’t want to give away any of the story, but the idea of being “reborn” as a Christen has always baffled me, but now I know that is a decision to change your heart as the character Angel had. The past will always be with us, but it is the choice to overcome it and grow from it that truly matters. The reoccurring themes of love, forgiveness, and self growth taught in Redeeming Love leaves the reader with hope and joy that faith is the solution whether it is in yourself or God and believe that sometimes it is from the ashes that we can build our strength and become better individuals.

My favorite part about the book is the connect you feel to the characters. While they are all flawed, you find yourself rooting for the most flawed of all Angel to over come her demons (literally). When comparing yourself to a prostitute (Angel) and her struggles, you realize that nothing should stop you from being who you want to be. That, and I’m not going to lie, romance was a big part of the novel and I did thoroughly enjoy reading it (what girl doesn’t??). Therefore, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to any of my males, so women that just means more Redeemed Love for us!

The Good: Inspirational book that will leave you hopeful for your future and more understanding of other.

The Bad: There are some slow parts of the book, but it’s worth it to solider through.

Food, Football, and Glory

First of all I would like to say congrats to the Florida Gators for breaking the banjo over the Tennessee Volunteers’ heads on Saturday by winning 33-23. I had such a great time with my family and friend in Gainesville for the football game and the silencing of “Rocky Top” was music to my ears. The night ended at Krystals for me, which if you are from Ortega you know always is the stamp of approval for a night out on the town.

Overall, this was a very successful weekend for me which started off with making a steaming bowl of Chicken Fajita Chili. With the cooling temperatures (mid-70s burrrr!) and the promise of fall in the air, I have been craving homemade soup and decided to indulge myself. I searched the net looking for a recipe to use and didn’t find one that fulfilled my few requirements: 1) it had to be spicy, 2) it had to be loaded with veggies (no, I do not consider 3 types of beans veggie approved), and 3) is had to be cheap to make (my roommates are still my parents people!). Only one type of food came to mind when thinking about spicy and cheap….

I bet you can’t guess it….

Mexican!

(I just want to note that I realize Mexican didn’t fulfill one of my requirements (VEGGIE LOADED or HEALTHY, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t make it work.)

With Mexican on my mind I decided that Chicken Fajita Chili was exactly what my stomach was rumbling for. During my lunch break from work I went to Publix and grabbed all the ingredients that I needed. The best part about soup is that you can add and subtract based on personal preferences and since my parents left me and the dogs all by our lonesomes for the weekend, I put in the soup exactly what I wanted. I must note though, that getting a rotisserie chicken is on the expensive side for all the coupon lovers out there, but when in a time crunch it does the trick. On the flip side, when dealing with mostly frozen or canned items I was saving some doe. It’s a great tip to stock up on the canned items to have on hand if you want to bulk up the chili or make it spur of the moment.

I basically threw all of the ingredients in a pot, brought it to a boil, and then let it simmer for 1 ½ hrs. It was that simple for a gigantic pot of soup that could have feed an army or at least a unit. I may be biased, but I think that it was some of the best chili I’ve had in a long time, especially with the extra cheese and hot sauce I sprinkled on top, because who can deny more spice and cheese? Not wanting the chili to go to waste, I froze some of it and then lived off it for the rest of the weekend. You know that it was good when after 3 meals of chili I still wanted some more, but opted to eat it as a dip with Tostitos Scoops- let the chili simmer longer and you can make a great dip!

My one regret is not having a marg with it….CHEERS

The recipe to my Chicken Fajita Chili is below, but I must warn you that chili is a taste as you go affair. Don’t be afraid to add more water if the sauce is too thick or more spices if it’s too bland. Chili is one of the most forgiving meals you can make so just avoid burning it, taste as you go, and you will be fine.

Chicken Fajita Chili

Ingredients:

3 cups shredded or chopped smoked chicken (about 1 lb.)

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup spinach, cooked and drained

2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

1 (14.5-oz.) can low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
1 can red enchilada sauce

2 cups hot water

2 teaspoons hot sauce

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 package of chili seasoning

Garnish (optional): Tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, sour cream

Directions:

Shred the chicken, chop the onion, and mince the garlic. Put the onion and the garlic in a large pot (or crock pot) with the chicken broth over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce heat and allow pot to simmer for 1-1 ½ hrs. Stir occasionally. Garnish with toppings.

View Recipe on Tasty Kitchen’s Website!