Monday, July 29, 2013

Norwegian Crepes (Norske Pannekakers)

All growing up I would love when my dad would make us Norske Pannekakers! Or in English Norwegian Pancakes. He served a mission for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) in Norway. That is where I got my name! He likes to make us yummy things from there. Like my birthday cake every year! It is a Blit Kaker which I am probably spelling wrong and he will tell me later. I grew up saying other fun Norwegian words like: Jeg Elsker Deg (I love you)

Once I got asked while I was a cashier “what brings you to this country?” because my married name is Kjersti Helberg which sounds very foreign and I even found a Kjersti Helberg that lives in Norway!
On Top O Spaghetti Norwegian Crepes

These pretty much can be treated like a normal crepe. You still fill them with yummy goodness and everything but I love them even more than regular crepes. I normally eat 1 or 2 while I’m making them with nothing on them and then when I’m done I eat 3-4 more!

You need:

1 cup Milk
4 eggs
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup flour

Mix until there aren’t any more lumps in the batter. Pour about 1/4 cup into a 10-12 inch skillet/frying pan over medium heat and swirl the pan around until you have a crepe about 6 inches in diameter.

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Cook for 2-3 minutes just until bubbles start to form and check the bottom it should be a light golden brown. Flip with a spatula and leave on the heat for another 2-3 minutes the bottom again should just be light golden brown.

Watch these closely! They cook pretty quickly and you can have a casualty if you aren’t careful!

Fill them with deliciousness…strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, powdered sugar, bananas, caramel etc.

Or for a more savory crepe you can also fill them with chicken, lettuce, ranch etc. and make it more of a wrap/sandwich.

Tips from Kj:

I love to make these a little thicker than a normal crepe. It is so yummy! Just don’t swirl the pan quite as much to make a crepe that is a little smaller but thicker. Seriously. These are my favorite ones to eat plain with nothing on them!

Invite over your friends and serve this warm with some ice cream and fun toppings! Crepe Party!

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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Ranch Chicken (For Tacos, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas….)

I love a good taco, burrito, enchilada…etc. you get the idea! I love going to Mexican restaurants and getting a plate full of enchiladas, cheese, beans, rice and sauce covered in more cheese. Combining it all in one big bite is soooo yummy! Oh Cheese…it could be the reason that in a matter of 4 months I have gotten back up to my pre-pregnancy weight when I was about 10 pounds below it while I was still nursing/dieting for Jayden. I sometimes miss that diet. Forced willpower is awesome people! (I guess I should love myself more since I could do it for my baby but can’t seem to do it for myself)

But cheese exists! And it is good. And I will eat it.

This ranch chicken is the PERFECT addition to any taco sort of dish you are making. I loved it so much that I just ate it by the forkful on its own. It is also one of those meals that practically make itself which always makes me happy.

You might wonder  how this is different from other ranch chicken recipes you have seen...the trick is you have to COOK THE CHICKEN in the ranch/taco seasoning. Don't give in and buy pre-cooked chicken. It makes such a delicious difference if you are willing to let it bake...I promise! (Plus you can just mix it in the dish stick it in the oven and walk away...so easy!)

On Top O Spaghetti Ranch Chicken
Here is what you need:

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
Half Package Taco Seasoning
1/4 cup ranch dressing

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the above ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake for 1 hour in the oven. Save 1/4 cup of the juices and drain the rest. Add the 1/4 cup back in and get two forks. Shred the chicken to whatever amount of shred that you desire for your tacos.

Give it a taste test. If you want to add a little more ranch you totally can! (I just like putting more ranch onto the tacos when I make them)

Tips from Kj:

Like I said above use this meat for any kind of Mexican dish you desire! It is even great with just some rice and black beans. Pin It

Strawberry Banana Bread Bars

Is that a mouthful of a title or what? This morning my hubby was getting ready to head to work and he said, “did we run out of bagels?” and that is when I said “nooooo!” because I just went grocery shopping and YES we did run out of bagels and I was supposed to buy more yesterday(this is why I’m working on making grocery lists more diligently). Bagels are pretty much his top favorite…he has one like every single day and he actually has me hooked on them. Except for the fact that they are so delicious I avoid them at all costs because they have so many many calories and then you have to spread inches of cream cheese on top to make them even more heavenly…not so friendly for my efforts to lose a few pounds before our anniversary. Just sayin.

Anyway so I felt bad no breakfast was available and I really didn’t want to go back to the store again this week. One store trip with my little guy is good for the week, and not because he isn’t the most awesome baby in the world who laughs and smiles at every stranger he sees. I would just rather spend countless hours digging in the dirt and splashing in puddles with him, hello! (Can I sadly/happily say he will always be my baby but he is most definitely a toddler now because he officially started to toddle assistance free about 5 days ago!)

If I can stay off of another tangent I will share with you what I made. I only had 1.5 overripe bananas…not enough to make banana bread. Plus the fact that we live in corporate housing and they apparently don’t think bread pans are necessary. So I had to do something else and I did something wonderful! Introducing:
On Top O Spaghetti Strawberry Banana Bread Bars
Ingredients:

6 oz Lite Strawberry Yogurt
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
pinch salt
Pre-Heat oven to 350
Mix above ingredients together with no rhyme or reason about it. Then grease a cookie sheet or cake pan (Mine was a 9x13) Spread your batter evenly in the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

This makes about 24 bars. Watch out because they are so yummy you might eat all of them! My little guy and I each had 2 right after they were born. He loves them!

Tips from Kj:

Try this with different kinds of yogurt. (you don't have to use light yogurt)

Add other fresh fruits like strawberries or blueberries (with blueberry yogurt) to the mix! Pin It

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Honey Mustard Salmon (2 ways)

On Sunday’s after church normally we eat whatever we cooked for dinner Saturday for lunch. Yesterday we ate Lunch at 4 because we were in Kirtland being tourists during lunch and then each had half of a leftover steak at 8:30 followed by popcorn and then ice cream cones. Yes we are healthy. Thank you. No leftovers of any of that for lunch. So we popped this in the oven when we got home and had it with some delicious minute rice. Yum.
On Top O Spaghetti Honey Mustard Salmon

This is “two way” salmon because you can either grill it or bake it depending on time or weather or preference or status of grill ownership or…okay there are no more “or’s”! We have grilled it and now we don’t have a grill so we baked it…both delicious.

You need:

1-2 pounds of filleted Salmon

First mix all of these ingredients in a bowl to make a Marinade:

2/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1 large clove garlic grated/or minced finely
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper

Put Salmon in a zip lock bag and add the marinade. Massage it into the salmon and refrigerate for about 1 1/2 hours.

Once your meat is marinated it is now time to cook it!

Grilling Instructions:
Meanwhile heat up your grill to medium high.

Place your salmon skin side down on the grill. If your salmon has no skin place it on some aluminum foil. Grill for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon. When it is finished it should flake easily with a fork.

Baking Instructions:

Pre-heat your oven to 450. Place salmon skin side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes also depending on thickness of the salmon. Once again it will be flaky when done.

Tips from Kj:

I like to put this in the broiler for about a minute after its done baking because the sauce gets caramelized and delicious!

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Friday, July 19, 2013

Parmesan Alaskan Halibut

So we just moved to Ohio…we drove across the entire country in two days with our 1 year old. We were here for 3 days and then we went on an awesome vacation flying back across the country to Seattle. From Seattle we left on a cruise to Alaska. I grew up in Utah. Hunting, fishing, camping etc were my life! So I love to fish. My husband caught right on when he started dating me and we decided we just had to go fishing while we were in Alaska. Oh yeah!! hahaIMG_9867

We found a company that would allow us to go halibut and salmon fishing while we were in port. We fished for Salmon for a while and caught all of these bad boys:

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The ugly fish in the middle is my pride and joy!

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Then we decided to switch to halibut. We had NO LUCK. We tried so many spots and finally our guide was like this is the last spot we can try before we have to get you back to your ship. It was do or die. I got a bite and was so excited! But lo and behold I caught my big ugly fish from above. My brother in law Cesar got a bite though and as a team he and my husband Mark took turns reeling in this 60 pound 45 inch long halibut! It was so awesome probably one of the coolest things ever just to see it in the water and how huge it was. Biggest fish I’ve ever seen caught in my life.
halibut

Needless to say we could not just give up all that yummy fish so we had it packed up and shipped to us when we got home. We got it two days ago and last night I whipped up some delicious halibut. Oh my it was so good! Here is the recipe for you:

On Top O' Spaghetti Parmesan Alaskan Halibut

1lb of halibut fillets (they don’t have to be Alaskan don’t worry!)

Coating #1:
2 tb parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp brown mustard
4 tb mayo
2 cloves garlic minced

Coating #2:
4 Tbsp melted butter
5Tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley

Pre-heat oven to 350

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place your fillets on the foil. (You will probably have 3-4 fillets if you have 1 pound)

Mix the coating #1 together, divide equally, and spread over the top of each halibut fillet. You will probably have to use your fingers to press it down and make sure it is evenly coated.

Mix coating #2 together and dump/spread over the fillets again dividing it equally.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes and then place in broiler until the top is nice and golden. We actually have a real broiler now! Yahoo! Tonight I am broiling some steaks and I am really excited. Anyway so if you don’t have a broiler just put your oven on broil. Either way don’t take your eyes off of it because you don’t want it to burn.

Serve with rice, broccoli or any other sides you like.

Tips from Kj:

Use Kraft Olive Oil Mayonnaise and Blue Bonnet Light Butter to cut out some of the calories in this dish! You won’t lose any flavor at all. I promise I am not being sponsored to say that either. Me having a sponsor? Ha! That is still in my dreams…maybe one day though!

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