Henry Homebrewing {Part 2}

Although a little over due, here are the photos from the second step to our first homebrew...bottling!

Thanks so much to Blake and Brennan for helping out with this crazy process! We'll see how it all tastes next weekend...can't wait!

Henry Homebrewing {Part 1}

Well, Chris finally cracked open his Christmas present...a homebrewing kit. I know, I know...what was I thinking? But, after watching {and documenting} the process today, I have to say that I'm pretty intrigued.

Check out Chris brewing his first dry stout...

{Getting his Pandora Station just right}

{Drinkin' a brew while he brewed}

Now, it's doing it's thing in a dark and cool part of our home for the next week.

Being a beer girl myself, I'm excited to see what happens next!

Chris' Leek and Noodle Soup

I have been under the weather lately and my super sweet husband made me a fabulous feel-good soup that I HAVE to share! I swear, he can do no wrong in the kitchen! Sick or not, you are going to love this soup!

Leek and Noodle Soup

3 leeks (chopped)
1 package of egg noodles
5 cups of vegetable stock (he used ours from kitchen scraps! Learn to make your own here)
3-4 stalks of celery (chopped, entire stalk, leafy ends and all!)
3-4 carrots (chopped)
2 medium sized onion (chopped)
1 bell pepper (chopped)
2 clove of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons of Thyme
1 tablespoons Fresh Ginger (minced)
2 Bay leaves
A dash of Cumin, Cayenne and Tony's
Salt to taste

First, chop all your veggies.

Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in your soup pot and then add your veggies and herbs to saute.

When everything is nice and translucent, add you vegetable stock.

While everything is cooking up nicely, don't forget your favorite glass of wine!

 (added per Chris' instruction!)

Also, save your scraps to make your next batch of vegetable stock!

Bring all your goodness to a boil and add your package of egg noodles. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Once cooled, serve with your favorite bread and enjoy!

South of the Border Lasagna

Last night, I had a meeting after work so I left dinner plans up to Chris. He is truly the master of our kitchen...yes, I admit it! When I came home, our house was full of yummy smells and I couldn't wait to dig in to his Mexican creation. He found a recipe at AllRecipes.com for a Burrito Pie. It had a few ingredients that weren't for us, so he tweaked it quite a bit and came up with this...

South of the Border Lasagna

1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (Rotel)
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (16 ounce) can black beans
1 (16 ounce) can of Mexican Rice
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
9 ounces shredded Colby cheese or favorite Mexican style blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic for five minutes. Mix in the green chile peppers, tomatoes with green chile peppers, beans, and rice. Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of the bean mixture in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish. Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese. Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

He served over a bed of chopped lettuce and with a dollup of sour cream (on his, I passed).

This was way tastier than I could have imagined! It wasn't too spicy or cheesy...perfect balance! Plus, he pointed out that all the ingredients cost about $15 and it actually baked enough for an entire family. It was cost efficient, easy, vegetarian, and yummy...all my favorite things!

Chris' "Paella"

I love it when Chris gets a fire of creativity about him and just starts throwing whatever we have in the kitchen together for dinner. When I do this we get spaghetti, when he does it...wow!

After our Red Stick Farmer's Market venture, Chris came home and started working his magic! He created, when he is calling,  a paella, but what I discovered after a Google search, isn't technically accurate. Despite it's actual name, it was delicious nonetheless! Enjoy!

First, he chopped 1 onion, 1 green bell pepper and 4 garlic cloves and put them to work with some vegetable oil  in the Wok with some salt & pepper and a dash of chili powder. Next he added, diced okra, 1 can whole kernel yellow corn, 1 package of Soyrizo "chorizo", 1 chopped red pepper, 1 can of green chilies and a little more salt & pepper to taste.

After about 10 minutes, he added 2 cups cooked white rice. He let the flavors come together for about 30 minutes before serving. And he garnished with green onions and cherry tomatoes.

This dish definitely had a kick but the bites with the cherry tomatoes really cooled things down without taking away from the flavor. We also steamed some tortillas and had mini burritos for a few bites, down right amazing!

If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes!