Never EVER cut and seed jalapeño peppers without wearing latex gloves...

...unless you want to be in tremendous and very long burning pain. Trust me, I speak from experience.

My husband had to spend the day at work on Superbowl Sunday so last night I thought it would be nice to make some jalapeno poppers for him and the crew to enjoy. The pioneer Woman has a great recipe for it in her cookbook so I thought I would give it a try. I bought about 30 jalapeno peppers. She does warn you that you need to wear latex gloves or you may have burning sensations on your fingers, but of course I didn't "listen". I thought it couldn't be so bad, and I could rinse off my hands if it bothered me.

I WAS WRONG. Ok, I may sound overly dramatic, but you have to understand that my hands ended up burning A LOT for about 15 hours before it started going away. At first it was just a little tingling sensation that started just about when I finished seeding the jalapenos. Then, within minutes, it felt as if I had stuck my hands onto a burning stovetop.

My husband tried to help me and did a google search on what might help to relieve the burning and I tried absolutely everything: baking soda paste, milk, orange juice, sour cream, rubbing alcohol, olive oil, aloe... Nothing worked! Some of those things helped for a few minutes, but then the burning would come back full force. I ended up sleeping only 2 hours last night. Around 4 or 5 am, the pain had subsided a little and I was so exhausted that I finally fell asleep (with both hands on an ice pack).

Needless to say, I stopped taking pictures when my hands started burning so there won't be any recipe today. My husband ended up finishing it for me while I rubbed my hands with baking soda. They cooked them and ate them this afternoon at work and he said that they tasted pretty good. It has been almost 24 hours since I cut those darn jalapenos and my hands are much better now. I still feel a little tingling sometimes, but nothing like it was last night!

Zucchini Bread

This was my first try at zucchini bread. I found the recipe in The Recipe Club, a book about a friendship between 2 women over the span of over 40 years. Their story is intertwined with great recipes that they shared during their life.

Ingredients:

- Butter or shortening for greasing pans,
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups peeled, grated raw zucchini
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup raisins (I did without)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 2 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until light and foamy.

Mix in the sugar, oil, zucchini, and vanilla.

Slowly add the dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Fold in the nuts and raisins.

Bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Let cool 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Wonderful Pot Roast.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a pot roast for the first time. I saw the recipe in the Pioneer Woman Cooks and it looked fairly easy so I thought I'd give it a try. First thing first, I needed a dutch oven and since I do not own one, my friend Maia offered to let me borrow one of hers. More on that later.

Ingredients:

- 2 or 3 Tbsp olive oil

- Kosher salt

- One 3 to 5 pound chuck roast

- 2 onions

- 6 to 8 carrots

- pepper

- 2 to 2 1/2 cups beef stock

- 3 or 4 fresh rosemary sprigs

- 2 or 3 fresh thyme sprigs

Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees.

Heat a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and let it get really hot. While it heats, prepare the other ingredients.

Generously salt the chuck roast on both sides.

Cut a couple of onions in half from root to tip. Then cut off the tops and bottoms and peel off the papery skin.

When the pot is very hot, place the onions in the oil and brown on both sides, about a minute per side. Remove the onions to a plate.

Next, thoroughly wash, but son't peel the carrots. Cut them roughly into 2-inch slices.

Throw the carrots into the same (very hot) pot. Toss them around until slightly brown, about a minute or so.

Remove the carrots from the pot and allow to get really hot again. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.

Place the meat in the pot and sear it, about a minute per side. Remove to a plate.

Now, with the burner on high, deglaze the pot by adding 1 cup of the beef stock, whisking constantly. The point of deglazing is to loosen all the burned, flavorful bits from the bottom of the pot.

When most of the bits are loosened, place the meat back in the pot.

Followed by the carrots and onions. Pour enough beef stock into the pot to cover the meat halfway.

Next, put in the thyme and rosemary sprigs. The fresh herbs absolutely make this dish. Tuck them in the juice to ensure that the flavors are distributed throughout the pot.

Now, cover the pot and roast in the oven for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the size of your roast. For a 3 pound roast, allow for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. For a 5 pound roast, allow for 4 to 5 hours cooking time. Don't disrupt the roast during the cooking process.

When the cooking time is over, check the roast for doneness, a fork should go in easily and the meat should be very tender. Remove the meat to a cutting board and slice against the grain.

I served my pot roast with broccoli and mashed potatoes. It was delicious!

Now, something terrible happened to Maia's Dutch Oven while it was in my oven. After we were done eating, I went back into the kitchen to put the left overs away and when I emptied the pot from the rest of the onions/carrots and the juices from the pot roast, this is what I found:

When I saw that, my heart sank, I was devastated. I had ruined Maia's pot. I sent her a very apologetic email and thankfully she answered back and told not to worry, that it was just probably a bad quality pot. Still, Maia, I am sorry I ruined your pot!

Today's Brunch!

The drink is a Mimosa (Champagne and orange juice), it's our favorite brunch drink :-)

The fruit salad is not looking too hot, I know.... I forgot to buy more colorful fruits. Then there is maple sausage. And the best part: zucchini and cheddar frittatas. Maia made this not oo long ago and it looked so cool that I had to try it! Mine didn't puff out as much as hers but they tasted delicious nonetheless! Here's the recipe.

This is what they looked like before going in the oven.

Then, after about 20 minutes:

They were delicious and very easy to make!

Chili

I had never made Chili until a few weeks ago. When my friend Josee came over one day and made a chili in my kitchen, I just fell in love with the taste of this delicious concoction! Since then, I have made three different Chili recipes and I am looking for more! If you have a favorite Chili recipe and would like to share it with me, I will be forever grateful! I have become slightly obsessed with Chili.

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman Cooks. I love her cookbook; it has lots of wonderful pictures and stories as well as recipes.

Ingredients:

- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp ground oregano
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 8oz can tomato sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup masa (corn flour)

Optional ingredients:

- 1 can pinto beans, drained
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes and chili (I use Rotel brand)

For serving:

- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Chopped onion
- Fritos

Place the ground beef in a large pot and throw in the garlic.

Cook the beef until brown and drain off the excess fat.

Pour in the tomato sauce, followed by the spices and the salt.

Stir together well, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add in 1/2 cup of water at a time as needed.

After an hour, place the masa in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork.

Dump the masa mixture into the chili.

Stir together well. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and add more masa paste and/or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency, or to add more corn flavor. Add the beans, jalapeño, and tomatoes if desired. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheddar, chopped onion, and Fritos.

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Greek Shrimp Stew

This shrimp stew is delicious! I like this recipe because it is easy to make and always yields good results. I make it once in a while and we all enjoy it :-)
This recipe is from Feeding the Whole Family, by Cynthia Lair.

Ingredients:

- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups chopped or diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 3 Tbsp snipped fresh dill or 1 Tbsp dried
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 pound cooked shrimp
- 1/4 to 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup chopped parsley

In a large soup pot, heat oil, and then add onions, salt, and garlic. Saute until onions are soft.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, mustard, dill, and honey, simmer for 20 minutes.

Five minutes before serving, add shrimp, feta, and parsley. Stir well and serve.

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