Springtime on the Chute

SPRINGTIME ON THE CHUTE (and tequila)

chute  

/SHo͞ot/

Noun A sloping channel or slide for conveying things to a lower level. In other words, it's a creek, a ditch, a drain...whatever. It's interesting and kind of pretty, in a Louisiana kind of way. I'm sure in the summer it will be a haven for skeeters and such, but for now, we're enjoying it. There's lots of interesting wildlife here. Birds I'm not familiar with, and weeds and wildflowers galore. I have no idea what kind of bird this little dude is. He's quite vocal and hangs out on the ground. If you are a bird person, please let me know! He's driving Daisy crazy! LOL A few more views of the chute and birds below... I think these are Sandpipers. Maybe? Some kind of tall white water bird shown below. Like I said...I really need a bird person to help me identify all these birds! In the afternoons and evenings we love to hang out on our patio and enjoy the nature show!   This past weekend was chilly, but we didn't let it keep us inside. We grilled out, then huddled under blankets and relaxed. We made THE MOST DELICIOUS grilled chicken on Friday night, then for Cinco de Mayo, we used the same marinade recipe and grilled flank steak. SO GOOD! We served the flank steak with a black bean and corn salsa. Oh, and did I mention the marinade recipe contains tequila? Oh yeah. We've also discovered Mission Artisanal Tortillas in Flax and Blue Corn. So much better than a plane old flour tortilla!  So, by special request, here is the marinade recipe and the salsa recipe as well. Note: We cut the recipe in half for the chicken breasts, since we just had two. We followed the recipe for the flank steak.  Tequila Marinade  1/2 cup clear tequila Juice of 2 large lemons, freshly squeezed (look for Meyer lemons, they're awesome) 1/4 cup orange juice 1 tsp. chili powder 1 seeded and diced jalapeno 3-4 cloves garlic minced 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes Mix all ingredients together. Place meat in ziploc bag or shallow baking dish and marinate for at least 6 hours in your refrigerator. Make sure the meat is well coated with the marinade. Preheat your grill, and prepare the grate with oil, so the chicken or steak won't stick. Grill chicken until golden about ten minutes per side, depending on your grill and the size of the chicken. Grill flank steak on HIGH for 7 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other side. Then remove from the grill, tent with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Slice and serve with tortillas and Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Black Bean and Corn Salsa 1 can drained and rinsed black beans 1 can Mexicorn, drained 1 can RoTel tomatoes drained (I use the original style) 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Juice of one large lime 1/4 cup clear tequila 1 tsp. cumin 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional) 1 avocado sliced or chopped. Mix all ingredients together, and chill in refrigerator for several hours before serving. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Sunday

If you've ever worked in retail, you know how hard it is. Feet hurt. Back hurts. Cranky customers make you want to run from the store screaming. So last weekend I decided to reward my coworkers at Chico's with some beautiful, homemade cinnamon rolls. I found the recipe at allrecipes.com, (which I highly recommend). Here is the link to the fabulous and easy recipe: Clone of a Cinnabon.

So, here's my photos, step by step. I started out, as the recipe recommended, by using the dough cycle on my bread machine. Hooray for bread machines! I also use mine at Christmas, when I make dozens of loaves of bread to give away as gifts. It's a time saver and works great!

After the dough cycle has completed, dump it out onto a floured surface, and roll into a rectangle-ish shape.

Make the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Spread your rectangle with butter. Lots of smooth, creamy butter! Real Butter please! Then sprinkle the rectangle liberally with your cinnamon sugar mixture. I used my flour sifter.
Roll the rectangle into this shape. Don't worry if it's not perfect. You can cut those ugly ends off, and bake them for your samples. I mean, you have to sample it right? You don't care if it's ugly, as long as it tastes good, right?
Here's my hint for slicing the rolls. Use Dental Floss!! Works like a charm, go under, criss-cross and pull. Makes for smooth clean cuts every time, and is better than sawing away with your knife.
Place your beautiful rolls into a BUTTERED pan. Yep, more butter. At this point, you can rise and bake as the recipe recommends, or cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. That way you can bake them in the morning! Just remove the wrap in the morning, and place into a cool oven, set the temperature to 350, and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Your kitchen will smell like heaven!
Ice the rolls while they are still warm from the oven. The cream cheese icing recipe is fabulous! I'd even use it on cakes. It's really yummy! Seriously, how gorgeous are these rolls? They tasted even better than they look! After making these, you'll never want to open a Pillsbury can again!