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Showing posts from March, 2013

Lemon Pepper Spaghetti Nests - Caity

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I threw this recipe together one night after work when I was starving but too lazy to go out to eat. I didn't want to make anything hard and I wanted to use things I had in my fridge; Lemon Pepper Spaghetti Nests were born!  This recipe is great because its easy, full of flavor and most importantly, it does not require you to go to the grocery store. Feel free to add any additional items you may have around like pine nuts, shrimp, chicken, zucchini, etc. This is also a great Meatless Monday meal.  One year ago: Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato Two years ago: Paprika Shrimp Pasta

Tutu's Macaroni and Potato Salad - Caity

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This is Tutu’s way (the best way!) of making a very standard dish in Hawaii.   Every picnic must have it; every plate lunch you buy has at least one scoop of it.   I think most versions use just macaroni, but this is so much more delicious and interesting.   As with most of Tutu’s recipes, she teaches you how to make it rather than giving you specific amounts—you’ll figure out how you like it.    When we would visit our family in Hawaii my mom always wanted to have a family picnic on her last night home, and Tutu was always nice enough to do it—usually at Ala Moana Beach Park over on the Magic Island-side where the cousins could swim in the shallow water and throw sand at each other, and she almost always made this salad.   It is best served with grilled Asian-style meats (like Kalbi Short Ribs or Kalua Pi g !) , rice, Tutu's Cucumber Kim Chee , Hawaiian-kind juice or soda—just before sunset on a beach in Hawaii with your family.    One year ago: Cuban Rice

Colcannon-Cathy

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Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish consisting of mashed potatoes with either cooked cabbage or kale.  There are versions that also add green onions, or if you add those and leave out the cabbage then it's called champ--just to confuse things even further... Either way, it's delicious and the perfect accompaniment to Irish Beef and Guinness Stew , and Killian's Irish Brown Bread (named after one of our beloved Golden Retrievers). Though I generally don't follow an actual recipe when I make Colcannon, for the sake of giving some proportions, I also referred to "Irish Traditional Cooking", by Darina Allen (though I 've adapted her method a bit) .  She runs the Ballymaloe Cooking School in County Cork and is considered to be the authority on traditional Irish food.  This is sooooo good with the s tew, but should you have any le ftover you can make it into po tato cakes the next day.  Just make them into nice small, flat shape s and fry them up

Beef and Guinness Irish Stew - Caity

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With St. Patrick's Day coming up and green beer and corned beef and cabbage being advertised everywhere, it's hard not to think about Ireland. My Auntie Jo has worked very hard and has traced our branch of the Walsh family back to Ireland where my great great great grandmother Catherine Joyce left on a boat from Galway City with her family in 1849 (at my last family history briefing, my great great great grandfather Martin Walsh possibly immigrated in 1846 -- any updates Auntie Jo???). My great great great grandparents were married in Pennsylvania and since then the Walsh family has spread far and wide across the US.  I was lucky enough to visit Ireland in 2007 with my family.  We toured a large part of the country and visited many ancient Irish historical sites. We even got to crawl inside a mound that people lived in a long long long time ago (the sleeping area was covered in rocks... I don't know how they did it). We also visited a large number of pubs for some

Lucky Green Smoothie - Caity

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Green is in! Especially with St. Patrick's Day coming up, you need to increase your green! Initially I was hesitant to make a green smoothie but after my first one, I was hooked. I have tried a variety of green smoothie recipes and through trial and error, I found this one is my favorite. It is (literally) packed full of spinach and it doesn't taste like spinach at all. In combination with the chia seeds (for more info on chia seeds see  Easy Refrigerator Berry Oatmeal ), oatmeal, yogurt and peanut butter (optional), this smoothie is bursting with calcium, protein, fiber and omega-3's.  I like to make a full blender of Lucky Green Smoothie and pour into two to-go cups and take it as an on-the-go breakfast. My sweet co-worker, Rebekah, made me a cute reusable plastic tumbler with plastic straw and lid that has my name on it in neon letters (my favorite!). I find that is perfect to pour my smoothie into and if you drop it on floor of your car, I can tell you from