I love summer food. Fresh watermelon, peaches, and corn, grilled everything, and all those potlucks. Yes, I love potlucks. And since we don’t go to nearly as many family parties or reunions since moving to Texas, I miss them. So, over the next few weeks or so, I’m having my own virtual potluck. A ‘here’s what I would take to the potluck’ if you will.

To kick off this summer party potluck: Summer Street Corn Salad. Another salad today? Really, Jill? Yes. Yes, yes yes. If this is the last salad I ever write about (hint: it’s not), then I’m glad I snuck it in. This corn salad is my go-to, my answer to what should I make to pair with that grilled chicken or spoon into some tacos to add a little umph or scoop right out of the bowl with some tortilla chips. I make some version of this corn salad almost all summer long, and it’s long overdue for its own post.

The base of this salad is a variation of the Mexican street food favorite elotes. Elotes is mayo-slicked corn on the cob sprinkled with chili powder and topped with a handful of queso fresco. You can eat it right off the cob or they will shave it off into a cup for you. If the mayo sounds weird, don’t be nervous, it’s fantastic. It melts a little bit once it hits the warm corn and is the perfect condiment that you didn’t know your corn was missing.

We are kind of big fans of all things Mexico in our house, so street corn is on heavy rotation in the summer for us. It goes from street snack to salad with the addition of tomatoes and avocado (the start of any good summer salad) plus a healthy squeeze of lime juice to keep the potentially heavy mayo in check. Jalapenos, green onions, cilantro, and smoked paprika = flavor, flavor, flavor. I always have to make plenty of extra because several large spoonfuls undoubtedly go missing from the bowl before it makes its way to the table. I definitely encourage you to do the same . . . you won’t be able to help yourself either.

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Summer Street Corn Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 side-sized portions

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 4 cobs fresh corn, husks removed, kernels cut off the cob about 3 cups
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small jalapeno, thinly sliced for more heat, ribs and seeds removed and diced for less heat
• 1 heaping tablespoon mayo light is ok
• 1 large pinch smoked paprika regular works here too
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1 medium tomato, seeds removed and diced
• juice of one lime
• small handful cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup queso fresco feta cheese will work if you can't find queso fresco
• 1 avocado, diced

Instructions

• In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the corn and jalapeno. Stir to coat with oil, season with salt, then let it sit undisturbed for a few minutes. Stir again, then let sit for a couple more minutes. You aren't looking for your corn to get too brown, just brown in a few spots. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the mayo, green onions, and a big pinch of smoked paprika. Let cool to room temperature.
• While your corn is cooling, dice your tomato. You really do want to remove all the seeds and 'guts' of the tomato. The salad just gets too watery if you leave them in. I cut my tomato in quarters then use my thumb to scrape out the seeds. It's super easy, I promise, and worth the extra step.
• In a medium bowl combine the corn, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, and queso fresco. Season with salt and fresh black pepper to taste. The salad at this point can be kept in the fridge for several hours or even overnight. Just before serving lightly mix in the avocado and enjoy!

The post Summer Street Corn Salad appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

My in-laws run a cattle ranch in Wyoming. They actually moved from Texas when my husband was younger to run a great-aunt’s old ranch so it could stay in the family. How cool is that, right? Almost 20 years later they are still at it.

While my father-in-law, brother-in-law, and a handful of weekend cowboys do all the ranching, my mother-in-law is the true hero of the operation . . . she feeds everyone and is the original Pioneer Woman. And I can promise you that feeding a rowdy crowd of 150+ for a mid-May branding is no small feat. She’s got it down to a science, though, and this recipe is my version of one of my favorite things that she makes. Show up a little early for branding and you might be able to snag a few of these warm out of the oven to stick in your hoodie pocket before you head out to the field. Ah the nostalgia!

Joy will be the first to tell you that these breakfast burritos aren’t fancy (are any?). Nor are they inventive or pushing the breakfast creativity envelope. Nope, they are just normal. But something about making burritos like this is perfection. So pull on your boots and let’s see what makes the perfect breakfast burrito.

1. The ingredients are simple –  flour tortillas, eggs, melty cheese, sausage, potatoes, and some sauteed peppers and onions for a touch of extra flavor (my addition)
2. Potatoes. They are super important! They get cooked in the same pan as the sausage, preferably in the sausage grease, until they are perfectly crisp. They’ve gotta be crisp otherwise they get lost in all the eggy-cheesy goodness.
3. Let’s talk cheese. Joy uses whatever’s in the fridge and has been known to throw in a few Kraft Singles from time to time (extra extra melty!). The cheese is the glue that holds everything together, so no skimping!
4. Grab some sheets of aluminum foil and wrap up each burrito. Even if you’re eating these right away. Wrapping them up gives the burritos the steam treatment so everything has a chance to melt together.

Not feeding a crowd? Not a problem. Once wrapped in foil, the burritos are good to go in a warm oven to eat in a little while, the fridge to reheat the next day, or the freezer to eat throughout the next month. Life is always a little happier when I can shove one of these into Nathan’s hands before he rushes off to work in the morning. Thank you, Joy, for teaching me the art of the breakfast burrito… among many other things

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Ranch-Style Breakfast Burritos

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12 burritos

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 12 flour tortillas 6-8 inch work the best
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
• 12 eggs, whisked together with a splash of milk
• 8 oz melty cheese like American or Monterrey Jack, shredded

Instructions

• In a saute pan over medium heat, drizzle in one tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, saute the peppers and onions with a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until soft and browned in spots, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat.
• While the peppers and onions are cooking, heat another large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the breakfast sausage. Cook the sausage until well-browned and crispy in spots. We are trying to build lots of flavor here, so crispy is a very good thing. Once your sausage is done, remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon onto a plate, reserving about 2 tablespoons of grease in the pan. If you have more than 2 tablespoons, go ahead and drain some off.
• Still over medium-high heat, add your potatoes to the sausage pan. Give them a good stir to get them coated in grease, then get them settled into a single layer. Let them sit for 3-5 minutes without stirring, then stir and redistribute into a single layer again. Try to get non-crisped sides of the potatoes to the bottom of the pan, but it definitely doesn't have to be perfect. Let sit for 5 more minutes, then repeat. Keep this up until your potatoes are nice and crisp. Again... don't skimp on this part! Season your potatoes with a good sprinkling of season salt and remove to a plate. 
• Next are the eggs. Over medium-low heat, pour your whisked eggs into the potato pan. Season with salt and pepper. Scramble your eggs (see notes for my preferred method - changed my mind completely about scrambled eggs!), and just before they are done, sprinkle with 3/4 of the cheese, then give the eggs a few more quick stirs and take the eggs off the heat (they will finish cooking/melting, I promise). Stir in the sausage and pepper/onion mixture but be sure to leave some bigger egg chunks.
• Take your tortillas out of the package and wrap them in a slightly damp but clean dish towel. Heat in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. This steams your tortillas and keeps them a lot more 'foldable'. 
• Next up - assembly. Cut yourself 12 pieces of aluminum foil. They should be wide enough that you have about an inch extra on each side of your tortilla. Grab a piece of foil, put your tortilla on top (keep the others in the dish towel), and scoop some of the egg mixture down the middle of the tortilla. (I like to divide my mixture into four piles while still in the pan, then I know I have three servings in each quarter - super helpful to decide how much filling to put in each tortilla.) Add a sprinkling of potatoes and the reserved cheese. Roll the burrito up (you can keep the ends open since we are wrapping these in foil), and wrap in the foil, making sure that the ends are secured. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
• Now that they are wrapped in foil, you can go a few different directions with the burritos. You can eat them as is, but I will admit this is my least favorite way. I like these best when they have sat wrapped in foil in a warm (200 F) oven for 20 minutes or so (think excellent make-ahead breakfast!). They will hold like this for up to two hours. You can also freeze them once they've cooled down. Thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the microwave or a warm oven. Enjoy!

Notes

This scrambled egg tutorial is my favorite!

The post Ranch-Style Breakfast Burritos appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

Sunday dinner is a bit of a big deal in my family. Growing up it was always the “big meal” of the week, when my mom made things like roast beef with potatoes and Yorkshire pudding and homemade gravy and always dessert. Always. Calories don’t count for Sunday dinner (right?) and we go all out.

I’m not sure which matriarch of my family started this tradition, but I know for sure that my Grandma solidified it. My family is BIG on tradition (sing it with me… Tra-di-tion, tradition….. tradition!) and I love it! I really do – the holidays and the specific things that we eat on specific days and how we celebrate birthdays.

I also love Sunday naps. And Sundays full of reading on the couch. And Sundays most importantly not full of doing a thousand dishes. So I want a nice traditional Sunday dinner but I gotta get in my Sunday nap too. Enter these green beans.

These green beans were a discovery from one of my favorite cookbooks –Genius Recipes from the amazing folks at Food52. Green beans are always something my grocery store has a heaping mound of no matter the season, so we eat quite a few of them. Or maybe we eat so many of them because of this recipe. Either way, good things are happening here.

Like that these beans are super hands-off. All I have to do is snip off the ends, throw them in a pan, and stir a couple times. I don’t even need a cutting board (read: less dishes).

Oh and that they don’t have any ‘special’ ingredients in them that I’m not going to have on hand. Beans + olive oil + salt + an optional splash of vinegar at the end. This is at about the same level as throwing a bag of steamable green beans in the microwave but like 10,000 times better.

Oh and, most importantly, the taste. These beans . . . I didn’t know a green bean could taste like this. The nuanced flavor is nothing that I thought could be coaxed from said vegetable, and I like green beans normally! They’ll go perfectly with your roast or your chicken or your lasagna or your boxed mac and cheese if that’s what your Sunday dinner looks like. No judgment here.

So if you too want your Sunday nap and a traditional BIG Sunday dinner (or a quick-and-easy weeknight vegetable side because that’s a whole other problem), make these beans. You’ll thank me later

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Sunday Dinner Green Beans

Recipe adapted slightly from Food52's Genius Recipes (see recipe notes for link)

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh green beans
• 1 TBL olive oil
• splash apple cider vinegar optional
• sea salt, to taste

Instructions

• In a large saute pan that has a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. While your pan is heating, snip the ends off your beans. (I just snip off the end that was attached to the plant - you do what works for you.) When your pan is hot, add the beans. Don't stir, just let them sit for a little bit.
• After a few minutes, give the beans a good stir. You'll probably see a few charred spots on the parts that were touching the pan - this is what you want. Let them sit a minute or two longer, then stir again, letting the beans get charred in a few more spots.
• Turn the heat down to low and cover. This is where the magic happens! Let the beans steam for 20 minutes or so, stirring every 5-ish minutes. Don't worry too much about them, though - they'll be fine.
• Once your beans are done to your liking, uncover, crank the heat up to high. Once your pan is hot (your beans will probably be sizzling), add in the splash of vinegar and let it reduce. Season to taste with salt and enjoy!

Notes

Genius Recipes by Kristen Miglore of Food52

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So, have you given up on the blog? Remember when you were a food blogger for like four months? Are you just not going to blog anymore or…?

Questions I’ve been getting for the past almost year. And all very good questions! And I’m glad for the questions because it makes me feel like people actually read what I wrote and care. Success!

To be completely honest, I kind of lost my mojo. Work got busy and Sutton got busy(er) and we bought a house and then holidays and then… life, right? And in all of this I lost my blog mojo. It felt like something looming over my head, a pushed-to-the-bottom item lurking on my to-do list that I constantly felt guilty about. I mean, I’m paying like $8 a month to keep this domain name as mine, I should probably put that $8 to good use.

Then this salad happened. The Salad that Saved my Blog (a crunchy, fresh, Asian-y, chicken salad with enough bulk to actually make you feel full). A total fluke. 100% planned at the grocery store while circling through the produce section. Nathan thought of half the ingredients, the other half are things I love to eat pretty much all the time (avocado, pasta, cashews, more avocado, etc).

Not inventing anything new here, folks. Just found a combination of simple ingredients that complement each other really really well. You can definitely adapt based on what you have in your fridge or what your picky little human will or will not eat (lettuce is forbidden!). Would I recommend trying it out as written? Yes, I think I would. Oh, and it’s easy. Super, super easy. 30 minutes max, probably less. Which, due to said busy(er) boy above, is mandatory

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The Salad that Saved my Blog

A fresh, crunchy, Asian-y, chicken salad that's toddler approved, generates almost no dishes and can be on your dinner table in right around 30 minutes.

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 2 adults + a hungry toddler

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 1 small head romaine, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• cooked Asian noodles I like Cantonese style, but live in Austin so can get whatever I want. Ramen noodles (cooked without the seasoning packet) would work, so would linguine
• edamame
• thinly sliced carrots, cucumbers, radishes
• minced fresh basil, cilantro, green onions
• roasted salted cashews
• clementine orange segments (not pictured, but oh so tasty)
• fried wonton strips
• avocado, diced
• your favorite Asian dressing I used a sesame orange dressing - it was perfect

Instructions

• Combine all the ingredients except dressing and noddles in a big bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine. Toss the noodles with some more dressing and serve in nests on top of the rest of the salad. Promptly remove all lettuce from toddler's plate before serving, of course  

The post The Salad that Saved my Blog appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

Hello, hello, hello! I hope you’ve all been well and are soaking up the last little bit of summertime before kids go back to school and we plow full-throttle into fall. I do love summertime and have really amazing childhood memories full of night games, family vacations, water parks, countless sleepovers, and pretty much living on the trampoline in our backyard.

I’m gonna be totally honest though – summer in Texas is hard. I will even go so far to say that I dread summer. This is my third Texas summer, and they are getting a little easier. But the heat and the humidity . . . I’m a melty puddle 90% of the time, with the other 10% being spent in the pool or the shower, after which I promptly return to said melty puddle. Ugh. I can’t even say I glisten. It’s sweat guys. Just straight up sweat, and it happens all. day. long. Ughhhhhh.

Summer produce though? Now that I can do! When I’m trying to avoid turning on my oven at almost all costs, fresh corn, basil, zucchini, ruby red tomatoes, and all the stone fruit I can get my hands on to the rescue! Which is exactly how this salad was born. The sweet with the savory and the nutty and salty and herby – this salad has been on heavy repeat at our house. And not just because I had to make several versions to get this exactly right to make it blog-worthy either

This salad looks fancy, but it so isn’t. Don’t have shallot? Go ahead and use purple onion. Don’t like arugula? Use what you already have in your fridge. You could use different herbs, but I promise you’ll want the basil here. You could cook the corn, but I don’t bother, and I think it’s all the better for it. Make these almonds with a pinch of cinnamon and a few good grinds of crushed black pepper to go on top. YUM! So get to it – before those peaches disappear!

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Peach Summer Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil

Showcasing some of the best gems of summer produce, Peach Summer Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil is the perfect light, refreshing addition to whatever you're grilling tonight.

Course Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Jillian

Ingredients

For The Dressing

• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
• 1 tablespoon shallot, grated
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

For The Salad

• 8 oz arugula, or other salad greens
• 1 peach, pitted and thinly sliced
• 1 cob of corn, kernels removed
• 1/3 cup caramelized almonds
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Instructions

• For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender or regular blender if you'd like a smoother dressing.
• Combine all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. This is definitely a last-minute kind of dish since it doesn't really sit well. Dress right before serving and enjoy!

The post Peach Summer Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

I’m back! After nothing new for far too many weeks, I’m back with something so good, so easy, so tasty. You’re going to have to try it. Where did I go?

I got a job. It really is the best job – I get to work from home (or anywhere in the world with a wifi connection!), whenever I want, for only 20 hours a week. It’s the dream mom-job I’m telling you. Really! But it turns out training takes longer than 20 hours a week and being SUPER slow and, you know, learning how to do the job, takes much longer than 20 hours. So, after going from working 0 hours a week to almost 35 hours a week… the blog, among way too many other things, got a little neglected.

The great news is that I’m getting quicker and things are starting to get back to normal. Hallelujah! And with back to normal comes some syrup for y’all!

You thought I was going to give you a recipe for waffles, right? Nope, sorry. This recipe is for the caramel-y light brown goodness that is on top of these delicious waffles. (Not the best photographic representation, I know.)

I grew up eating Buttermilk Syrup on my pancakes and waffles. The recipe was from my Aunt Lisa who made it for a family reunion, and I tell you, it was revolutionary! I don’t love maple syrup (really it’s Mrs. Butterworth’s that I don’t love, not the real stuff), so Buttermilk Syrup was a game changer for me.

Fast forward 10+ years, and I’m making Buttermilk Syrup for my handsome husband to enjoy with some pancakes. Because I apparently don’t know how to stock up on pantry staples, I had absolutely no white sugar. None. Which is a problem for Buttermilk Syrup. I decided to improvise with light brown sugar instead. Best. Decision. Ever. Now I make this “improvised” version intentionally, and to be totally honest, I think I like it even better!

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Better Buttermilk Syrup

Based on a childhood staple, this syrup is like liquid caramel gold! While I love the original, this version kicks it up a few notches. This will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for at least two weeks. Just warm it up slowly in the microwave, and it will be as good as new!

Course Breakfast

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12 oz

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the butter, sugar, and buttermilk to a boil, stirring often. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Be careful - this is going to fizz a lot. Just keep stirring, and the foam will go down. Serve warm and enjoy!

The post Better Buttermilk Syrup appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

I’m going to try really hard not to use superlatives on this blog. In no way do I think I make “The Best” or “World’s Most Delicious” of anything. I share things that I REALLY like (and I think you will too!), but I’m sure someone out there can do it better than I can. I need one exception to this rule, though. These peanut butter bars. They have got to be the exception because they are THE BEST I have ever had. The Ultimate. And I’ve tried a lot of peanut butter bars because I’m the kind of girl that eats peanut butter by the spoonful and considers it a perfectly normal afternoon snack. I don’t crave many things, but I do crave good peanut butter bars. And these right here… the best ones I’ve tried.

I can’t even take credit for these. All the credit goes to Jan. Jan is Lynzee’s mom. Lynzee and I played volleyball together in high school. Jan made these peanut butter “fingers” for the entire team before every single volleyball game we played. (Yes, Jan is amazing.) I’m gonna be honest… my favorite part about that volleyball season was not actually playing the game. Yeah, sure I like volleyball, but these bars… the real reason I showed up Kidding slightly, but these really were a BIG deal to me. My 15-year old self even asked Jan for the recipe at the end of the season, because that’s a normal 15-year old thing to do.

I make these peanut butter bars every year with a few tweaks from Jan’s original recipe. I usually make them in September sometime because that’s when volleyball season was (I’m a sucker for nostalgia), and also when my birthday is, so Happy Birthday to me!

So… the real question… what makes these “The Ultimate”? The cookie layer is perfect – soft, moist, not the slightest bit crumbly or dry. Top that with fluffy, smooth, not-too-sweet peanut butter frosting with a thin layer of chocolate in the middle instead of chocolate frosting. Everything works so well together, they’re perfectly balanced. This recipe makes 24 small-ish bars from a quarter sheet pan. That sounds like a lot, but if you plan on sharing, you’re going to want to double it. They have a habit of vanishing, and the last thing you would want is to run out

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Ultimate Peanut Butter Bars

After years of trying countless others, these are the Ultimate Peanut Butter Bars! A soft cookie, thin chocolate layer, fluffy peanut butter frosting - YUM!

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes minutes

Total Time 43 minutes minutes

Servings 24 1 x 3 inch bars

Author Jillian

Ingredients

For the bars

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, fairly cold
• 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the frosting

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, fairly cold
• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• a pinch of salt
• enough milk to make spreadable (2-4 tablespoons)

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix well. Next, add the baking soda and salt and mix again. Finally, add the flour and oats and mix until the dough comes together and no more visible patches of flour can be seen. The dough is going to be really sticky - don't add any more flour. 
• Scrape the dough out into an ungreased quarter sheet pan. You could also use a 9x13 pan, your bars will just end up thicker. Press the dough evenly into the pan using a rubber scraper. It's super sticky, so just do your best to make it even. Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges just start to barely brown.
• Top the still hot bars with the chocolate chips. Let them sit for a few minutes, then spread the melted chips evenly over the bars. Let the chocolate cool completely. Feel free to speed this step up by putting the bars in the fridge once the cookie portion has cooled. 
• To make the frosting, beat the butter with a stand mixer until light and "whipped" looking. Add the peanut butter, and whip for 1 more minute. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and mix well. Add the milk a little at a time, beating after each addition, until the frosting is spreadable, smooth, and fluffy. Top the cooled bars with the frosting, cut into 1 x 3-inch pieces, and enjoy!

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Time for some honesty. Today was not my day. Everyone has to have a day like that once in a while. Well, I picked the short straw and today was my day. Not like anything horrible happened. Just nothing stellar. Kind of meh.

So I’m going to my happy place, which involves listening to this while I imagine I’m smelling this wafting through the air, eating one of these and waiting in line to ride this. So good . . . if only.

But before I call this day quits, I have to tell you about these croutons. I started making my own croutons a few years ago and haven’t bought a stale store-bought box since. I used to cut my croutons into neat little cubes, then I made these, loved them, and decided on a more “rustic” crouton from then on.

Croutons are the best solution to any day-old bread problem you have: sourdough, bolillo, brioche, challah, Wonder, ciabatta, focaccia (super fancy and so tasty as croutons!), and almost any other kind of carb-y bread goodness you can think of. All work and all make good croutons.

The sea salt and cracked black pepper are just as easy – you always have them on hand, and they make croutons that will taste great with any kind of salad (or soup) you want to put them in. These remind me of my favorite flavor of Lays kettle chips. I don’t eat chips often, but if those are an option, I’m all in. Much like these croutons. So tasty, so easy, so sooo much better than what you can get out of a box.

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Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper Croutons

6 ingredients + a pan + 20 minutes are all you need for these Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper Croutons. Way better than anything from a box!

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 13 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 cups

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 4 heaping cups torn bread, day-old works the best
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• pinch garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Add the torn bread to a baking sheet. In a small bowl mix the oil, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss the bread with the butter mixture right on the baking sheet - no need to get a bowl dirty. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the bread.
• Bake for 7 minutes, give the croutons a good stir and bake for another 3-5 minutes. The croutons are done once the crust-less pieces are mostly dried out but still have a slight give. They will continue to dry out more as they cool, and you don't want croutons that are super hard, so try not to overbake them.

The post Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper Croutons appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

Is it un-American of me to say I don’t LOVE bacon? I like it well enough, and I enjoy it on occasion. But bacon has had its day in the sun for a few too many days in my opinion. Bacon-infused donut with bacon filling and maple bacon frosting, bacon-wrapped hot dog with bacon jam on a cheddar bacon bun, deep-fried battered bacon – I’m gonna take a strong pass on all of this. Bacon is a great flavor but this is all just too much.

I will say that there are a few times when I think bacon shines best, and this recipe showcases one of those times perfectly. The sweet fresh corn with the creamy rich avocado and the salty crisp bacon. Now this is a concoction I can support! Super simple stuff going on right here, which is why I think it works.

Start off by cooking a few slices of bacon, making sure to reserve the bacon fat. Next, cut the kernels off a cob of corn. One of my favorite kitchen tips: lay the cob on its side (as in the picture) and slice the kernels off at an angle down towards the cutting board. Rotate the cob, and slice the next section of kernels off. Loads of people will say the easiest way to do this is to stand the cob up and “saw” the kernels off. Don’t do it. It makes a HUGE mess. And corn juice is starchy and sticky and a pain to clean up. This way is mess free. Give it a try.

Cook the corn in the reserved bacon fat with a few paper-thin slices of jalapeno and some chili powder. While all that’s happening prep the guacamole. I like to keep the avocados in my guac nice and chunky, but I like my other ingredients nice and fine. Go with what you like – I know guacamole texture can be fairly divisive.

I like to treat this guacamole as more of a dip and display the different components separately. The thought of destroying crispy bacon by mixing it with moist avocado didn’t seem like a good plan. If you want to mix this up, go for it. The world is your oyster! Crumble on some queso fresco, grab some tortilla chips, and you’re ready for summer.

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Bacon Sweet Corn Guacamole

Perfect for a summer BBQ or backyard party, Bacon Sweet Corn Guacamole is a step up from the classic but is still simple enough to assemble in 20 minutes.

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 22 minutes minutes

Servings 2 cups

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 2 strips bacon
• 1 cob fresh corn, kernels removed (can use 1/2 cup frozen, thawed, drained corn)
• 1 jalapeno, half sliced paper-thin, half seeded and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 medium ripe avocados
• 1 tablespoon minced white onion
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
• juice from 1/2 a lime
• 2 ounces queso fresco
• chopped cilantro and tortilla chips for serving

Instructions

• Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the strips of bacon and cook until they are good and crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, keeping the bacon fat in the saute pan. Roughly chop the bacon once it's cooled.
• With the pan still on medium heat, add the corn kernels and the sliced jalapeno. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the corn is cooked through and begins to brown in a few spots. Add the chili powder, remove from the heat, and season with salt and pepper.
• While the corn is cooking, prepare the quacamole by cutting the avocados in half, removing the pit, and scooping out the avocado meat into rough chunks into a medium bowl. Add the minced jalapeno, onion, cilantro, and lime juice. Mix until it's the consistency you're looking for. Add salt and more lime juice to taste. 
• To assemble, transfer the guacamole to your serving dish and add the corn, bacon, and queso fresco. I like to keep my components separate, but you're more than welcome to mix them or mix everything all together. Serve with more chopped cilantro and tortilla chips. Enjoy!

The post Bacon Sweet Corn Guacamole appeared first on From Her Kitchen.

10 minutes.

Sometimes it’s forever. Waiting in traffic for 10 minutes, listening to a baby cry for 10 minutes (this FEELS more like 20 minutes, I’m certain), standing at the grocery store checkout for 10 minutes. 10 minutes at the DMV is a minimum. In fact, you need snacks for that trip because we all know it will be more like 60 minutes.

Most of the time though, the 10 minute increments that make up my day have the opposite problem. I look at the clock, and I’ve already lost 3 of them. Oh and there goes another 5. Instagram steals way, WAY too many.

On the more sunny side, 10 minutes is just enough time to get some really great stuff done. That workout that’s only 10 minutes long? Way better than nothing. Taking 10 minutes before bed to read a good book? An excellent way to unwind and encourage sweet dreams. Pulling faces for a certain nine month old in exchange for fits of giggles for 10 minutes? My very favorite 10 minutes.

10 minutes is all you need to show yourself some love by making this jam-swirled oatmeal with salty honey butter for breakfast. 10 minutes to salty-sweet, cholesterol-lowering, so-satisfying breakfast (even less if you use nuts that are already roasted and salted). Both honey and jam… really? Yes. A resounding yes. If you want to use a little less of each to lower the sweetness you can, but please don’t completely go without either. You would miss them. But what you won’t miss is your typical Special K with skim milk. Amazing what you can do with just 10 minutes.

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Jam-Swirled Oatmeal with Salty Honey Butter

10 minutes + one pan gives you Jam-Swirled Oatmeal with Salty Honey Butter. Top with toasty nuts and a splash of cream. Repeat tomorrow. And the next.

Course Breakfast

Prep Time 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Author Jillian

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon honey
• sea salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon jam
• milk (or cream!), for serving

Instructions

• To toast the nuts, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped nuts. Cook until the nuts are toasted, a bit browned, and smell wonderful, about 3-5 minutes. Add a small pinch of salt to the nuts and remove from the pan.
• In the same saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil, stir in the oats, and lower the heat to medium. Let the oatmeal cook until all the water has soaked in, about 5 minutes. You'll want to stir it occasionally so the oats don't stick to the bottom of the pan. 
• While the oats cook, make the honey butter by vigorously mixing the butter, honey, and a good pinch of salt in a small bowl. If your butter is straight from the fridge, 10 seconds in the microwave should do the trick.
• Assemble the oatmeal by swirling the jam into the oatmeal, sprinkling the nuts over, and adding the dollop of honey butter on top. It will melt and create the most delicious pool of honey goodness. Serve with cold milk. Enjoy and repeat the next morning!

The post Jam-Swirled Oatmeal with Salty Honey Butter appeared first on From Her Kitchen.