Glorious Picnic

Now that summer has left us (I know, it's been five minutes) I am feeling nostalgic for my favorite thing to do. 

EVER.

I am surrounded by mountains.  Outside of every window of my house is a mountain view.  I am very blessed.  Skalkaho Falls lives in one of those mountains (the Sapphire Mountain Range) and it's my favorite place on earth.  There are beautiful water falls, bathrooms (crucial feature of any outdoors-y place), picnic tables and a great place for my guy to fish.  My idea of being in the outdoors is this picnic, a good book, a comfy chair, an icy beverage of some kind (now it will be sweet tea, OF COURSE) and my friends and family.  Most often, it's Nicole and her hubby, Ben and Travis and I.  Anyone is welcome to join us...a few of you have!  Come in July.  It's the best weather and most beautiful.

We take this picnic very seriously.  It caters to all of us.  It's amazing EVERY time because we don't mess around with the ingredients.  Don't worry about recreating this.  Just come with us and we'll do it for you!

Sandwiches:

Wheat French Bread (the best around here is from Walmart) or Wheat Hoagie Rolls

Black Forest Deli Ham (Boar's Head, if possible)

Oven Roasted Turkey (Boar's Head, if possible)

Roast Beef (Boar's Head, if possible)

Cracked Black Pepper Turkey (Boar's Head, if possible)

Pastrami or Salami - depending on what you have already (optional)

Sharp Cheddar Cheese, sliced

Medium Cheddar Cheese, sliced

Pepperjack Cheese, sliced

Smoked Cheddar Cheese, sliced

Kraft Mayo

Kraft Miracle Whip

French's Yellow Mustard

Any other kind of mustard you may like, but we all like the yellow mustard

Horseradish Sauce

Iceburg Lettuce

Tomato, sliced thin

White Onion, sliced thin or diced

Pickles (preferably, home made) but Nalley Baby Dill will do

Pepperoncini Peppers (from the jar is fine)

Large Black Olives - just to snack on

Fruit

Pineapple is our favorite.  Watermelon, Strawberries, Grapes, Oranges and Apples have made an appearance.

Chips

BBQ & Flamin' Hot Cheetos are a must!

Chinese Cole Slaw*

1 bag of chopped cabbage (we get the kind with green cabbage, purple cabbage, and carrots)

1 tbsp dried onion flakes (we use Onion Onion from Tastefully Simple)

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Put these ingredients in a bowl with lid for travel.

Dressing:

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Put these ingredients in a container with a lid.  Add the dressing to salad right before serving.

Other

We also sometimes take the Suddenly Salad, Ranch and Bacon Pasta

Don't forget lots of ice and water!

Here are a few photos of us in the beautiful outdoors of Montana!

Nicole & Laura

Travis & Laura

Ben & Nicole

*This recipe is our lazy version.  The original version came from our Aunt Gloria:

Chinese Cole Slaw (for real)

1 head green cabbage, chopped

1 chicken breast, cooked, cooled, and diced

1-2 green onion stalks, diced

1 package ramen noodles, crushed and discard seasoning packet

2 tbsp sliced almonds

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Mix these ingredients well.

Dressing:

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Accent

1/2 tsp pepper

Add the dressing to salad right before serving.

Corn Bread

Raise of hands, who hates dry corn bread?  But because of your love for corn bread, you'll eat it anyway?

Yep.  Us too.

No more!  In our infinite quest to better what we've been given (Jiffy, we still love you) here is a corn bread recipe that won't disappoint!

Corn Bread

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
1 – 8.5 oz can of creamed corn
½ – 15 oz can corn, drained
1 c sour cream
3 eggs
½ c oil
2 tbsp Heavy Cream
Honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat eggs and oil together.  
3. Mix in other ingredients.  
4. Stir until JUST incorporated.  
5. Bake in a greased 9x13” glass pan or cast iron skillet at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  
6. Drizzle with honey after removing from oven.

(These would be great as muffins, but not sure how long to cook them.  We've been too chicken to let an amazing batch go to waste on a "test".)

Baked Fish a la La

Today I learned that Nicole isn't the only reason our cookbook will be named "Cooking Mishaps".

I am a recipe follower.  I am not a recipe creator.  Travis (my husband) can create...a little of this and a little of that...and come up with the most delicious dishes.  Several will be featured in our cookbook (thanks, honey!)  Me, on the other hand.  I can cook ANYTHING and it will be amazing.  As long as I have a recipe.

So the other night, I decided I wanted to make fish.  Travis caught some great pike and it was calling my name.  I searched on Pinterest for a good recipe and found this:

Baked Fish

4 Haddock (Halibut, Tilapia, Pike, or any white, flaky, mild fish) fillets (6-8 oz ea)

For the sauce [I think it was supposed to be a marinade, but I didn't have time for that nonsense]:
3/4 c soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar or sherry [I used the vinegar]
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger [I used powdered]
2 tbsp brown sugar
6 cloves crushed garlic [I used minced from a jar]
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
3 tbsp sesame oil for rubbing on fish [I didn't use that much, maybe a teaspoon per fillet]
[Lemon Juice]
[Crushed red pepper flakes]

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line glass pan with tin foil.  
3. Rub fillets with sesame oil and season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (on both sides).
4. Mix all other ingredients in small bowl. 
5. Pour over fish.  
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until fish is completely white and flaky.

For the first time in my life - I read the list once and decided to make up my own recipe.  I put in parenthesis the changes I made and I have no idea what amounts of each ingredient I used.  I don't even think I could duplicate it. Which is one of the main reasons I don't love the "let's try this" approach.  It's SO good yet not replicable.

I can't believe how good it was.  And I was pretty proud of myself.

And then.

I was humbled.

In my glory, I forgot to turn the burner on the top of my stove off (for the side dish) and then I set the oven mitt on it.  Dang flat top stove that should never pair as a counter top!

Moral of the story?  Follow the recipe.

"Cheesy...Mormon...Funeral...Country Comin'...Party...Potluck...Potato...

...how-many-other-names-are-there-for-this" Casserole?

Add them below in the comments...yours may be added to our final title for the cookbook!

And how many variations have you eaten of this dish?  Us?  A bazillion.  But here is the recipe we love best.  You can substitute any kind of potato, kind of cheese, "cream of crap" soup and any kind of onion you want.  But try to keep the amounts the same and whatever you do...don't skip the delicious topping.

Potato Casserole

1 bag of frozen Southern Style Hash Browns (they are the square hash browns, not the shredded)
1 lb bag of Kraft Sharp Cheddar Shredded Cheese
16 oz sour cream
1 can of cream of chicken soup (I can't wait to try making my own cream of chicken soup so I don't have to call it cream of crap anymore)
1 T onion flakes (we use Onion Onion from Tastefully Simple)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together until well incorporated and spread into a 9"x13" glass pan.

For topping:

1 cube of melted butter
1 small box of corn flakes

1. Crush flakes into a large zip top bag.
2. Add melting butter into bag and seal.
3. Shake and mix bag until flakes are coated in butter.
4. Spread on top of casserole.  It will be a really thick topping...but trust me.  It's the first to go!

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until edges are golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

Update 11/18/13
Giving credit where credit's due (where possible):
Country Comin' - Kristie Osborn
Party...Potluck - Abby McGill