The Cheater's Guide to Great Guacamole - And Guac Myths Debunked

Time to make some guacamole, the perfect 4th of July dip! Okay, maybe more appropriate for Cinco de Mayo, but whatever. I have a few tips I'd like to share that will cut down on prep time and pump up the flavor.


INGREDIENTS:
- Avocado (let's base this recipe on 4 avocados)
- Chunky Salsa (to taste, not too much, 1/8 - 1/4 cupish?)
- Dollop of sour cream (if desired, but not too much...and, honestly, you don't really need it)
- Garlic Powder to taste (yes powder, put that garlic press away!)
- Dried minced onion to taste (yes, dried, put your knife away!)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Red Pepper flakes (if you want it spicier)
- Lime juice (I just use my little squeezie lime juice from the fridge - a few squirts should do it - if you have a fresh lime, go for it)
- Fresh cilantro (if you have it), chopped
- Mix all together

TIPS:
- To remove the pit, whack it with the blade of your knife. It will stick and you can pull it right out. You can use a towel to pull the pit off your knife to reduce risk of cutting your hand off, but I like to live dangerously.

- Use a pastry blender to mix it up. It's perfect for mashing up the avocado, but keeps you from overmixing. You don't want to overmix - chunkier is better. Pasty, not so good.

- Salsa is my "secret" ingredient - you get hunks of tomato, onion and pepper, but you don't have to do any chopping. And it adds nice flavor.

- About the cilantro - I almost never have fresh cilantro on hand. The guac is delicious without it, I promise. But if you DO have it, it adds a nice fresh flavor.

- Make sure you salt it enough. This is important. Add a little bit at a time so you don't oversalt.

- You can tell when an avocado is ready because it's soft to the touch (not too soft!), dark in color, and when you pop the little stem thingy off the end, it will be green in the hole.

MYTHS DEBUNKED:
- Lemon and lime juice do NOT keep your guacamole from going brown. I use lime juice just because it tastes good.

- Putting the pit in the guacamole will NOT keep it from going brown. The reason avocados go brown is from contact with oxygen. The best way to keep it green is to put plastic wrap directly on the guac when you store it. It's still going to go a little brown on you. There's just no getting around that. The brown is a-okay to eat, but you can always skim it off the top if you don't like how it looks.

I'm telling you, my guacamole is GOOD. It's EASY. You can make it with whatever you have in the cupboard and fridge. I always have lime juice & salsa in the fridge and spices in the cupboard. All I need is the avocados and I'm set!

Kitchen Tips: Pizza Cutter Is Back...But Not for Pizza

Since I rendered my pizza cutter useless, it's been relegated to a spot in the back of the utensil drawer. And there it remained until just a few days ago, when I discovered the best use yet for a pizza cutter (and no, it's not for pizza)!


I love Jon & Kate Plus 8. It cracks me up (and makes me eternally grateful for my relatively simple life!). Apparently there was an episode where they showed Jon cutting up the sextuplets' pancakes with a knife and fork, which took forever. Ever since it first aired and every time since, Jon & Kate get emails telling them to use a pizza cutter to cut pancakes, which they now do.

What an ingenious idea! Seriously, I LOVE IT. I used my pizza cutter (now pancake cutter!) this weekend and it was awesome. It would be especially awesome with 6 toddlers. :)

Kitchen Tips: "Coring" Iceberg Lettuce

As I was getting our hamburgers ready the other night and banging the you-know-what out of my lettuce (you'll see why in a sec), I thought, this is a good Kitchen Tip. And perhaps you all already know it...but I didn't know it before I knew it, so figure there's someone out there who can benefit! :)


This is a simple trick that's not really very life changing, but it's handy. Know that core in the center of the iceberg lettuce that you have to dig out and causes you to get lettuce under your I'm sure what are beautifully-manicured fingernails?

Just bang your iceberg lettuce HARD on the countertop - core side down. Flip it over, and out it pops!

Week 67 Menu

We had the yummiest mango this morning. Worth the work, I suppose...does anyone have a "trick" for cutting mango? Or is it just a lost cause? Regardless, I love it!


Yeah, yeah, my menu's not so different from last week...for some reason I ended up not cooking a lot of what I had planned, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what we ate instead!

MONDAY:
- Chicken Masala & Rice
- Naan bread
- Some sort of veggie

TUESDAY:
- Bistro Chicken
- Mashed potatoes
- Veggie

WEDNESDAY:
- Orange Chicken (great recipe - click through!)
- Rice
- Carrots (click & scroll to the bottom for a "recipe")

THURSDAY:
- Homemade pizza

FRIDAY:
- Hot dogs
- Stuff that goes with hot dogs...how's that for specifics?

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Chicken Tostadas (see Chicken Tostada Goop recipe)

Now time for YOU to post your menu! Any menu! Fancy dancy, boring, yucky, yum. Bring it on!

And don't miss the ProFlowers Giveaway!

PS - I've been terrible about responding to all your lovely comments this week! It was a busy week for the blog and a busy week for work...please know I read them all! If you said something nice, THANK YOU. If you answered a question for me, THANK YOU. You guys are the best!

Kitchen Tips: Chopping Basil

First off, I apologize for my lack of posts this week...with Nate's PhD defense fast approaching and my own freelance work picking up on top of that, I've been a bit neglectful of my TWFD friends! Please stay patient the next few weeks - I'll try to post as much as I can!


Today's tip is another one of those things I should have figured out LONG ago but only discovered in the last few years. I used to tear up my basil by hand whenever I made pizza...or just chopped it very poorly. Then one day I discovered a great way to chop it up...it is NOT an original idea, but it sure made life easier. So, if you're like me and haven't yet put 2 and 2 together, this post should be helpful!

How to cut up basil the awesome way:

Stack your leaves.


Roll them up.


"Slice" the basil roll.


Voila!


If you need your basil even more chopped, just run your knife through the sliced roll the opposite direction a few times, before you fluff it and turn it into pretty ticker-tape confetti.

Compliments to the amazing one-handed basil chopper for modeling. Okay, the other hand was holding the camera...sorry there were no real action shots. Kind of tricky with only two hands. :)

Week 59 Menu (& Slicing Fresh Mozzarella)

I love fresh mozzarella. It's pretty much all I use on our pizzas nowadays. And I can make myself sick eating caprese salad. But I tend to mangle the cheese when I slice it. Quick side note - Cate loves Rachael Ray. It's hilarious. I asked her why she likes her so much and Cate responded, "Because she's nice." So cute. While Cate was watching an episode of 30-Minute Meals one day, I overheard Rachael give a great tip for slicing fresh mozzarella - use a serrated knife. DUH! Don't know why I never thought of that myself, but it definitely helps. It would probably work well on other softer cheeses as well.


Here's the menu. It's another crazy week. Actually, this whole month is crazy, but fun and exciting, too. One week and one day until Nate's defense! And this week we should get our apartment up near Stanford squared away - yea! What a mix of emotions right now...so busy, so stressed, so excited, so sad to leave San Diego. If I start talking crazy talk on here, please forgive me. :)

MONDAY:
- Omelettes
- Fruit

TUESDAY:
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Good crusty bread

WEDNESDAY:
- Mac & Cheese
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Book Club at Jen's

FRIDAY:
- Leftovers

SATURDAY:
- Eat out - family arrives for the Nate's PhD defense!

SUNDAY:
- Family in town...and the night before the defense...can't decide what we're going to do yet!

Thank you all for your great menus every week! I didn't respond to anyone's comments/menus last week. Please know that I read them all and use them for inspiration. As always, I was so happy to see people posting menus for the first time! And thank you for the PhD congratulations some of you left in your comments! :) Have a great week, everyone!

Truffles cont'd...the secret ingredient

While my attempt at chocolate truffles may not have been stellar, I did forget to mention something I discovered that I HAVE to share with you all...something I did RIGHT.


I've always heard that coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate. I'm not a big coffee fan, so usually when a chocolate recipe calls for it, oops, I left it out. However, I decided to give it a try this time around. Let me tell ya, what they say is true. The truffles do not taste like coffee at all AND the chocolate taste is so much richer. (As if you need to make truffles as rich as possible...but if you're gonna go, go all the way, right?) ANYWAY...it's true, it's true. The coffee definitely gave the chocolate taste more depth. It's an amazing little trick.

For all you coffee drinkers out there, yes, I used nasty instant granules. I know, I know. NASTY. But when you only need 1 tablespoon in a recipe AND you know you're not going to taste the coffee anyway...well, instant granules here I come.

If your truffle recipe doesn't have coffee in it, you could probably just add 1 Tbsp and be safe. I would just add it at the end when you add in the other flavorings, like liqueur or oils.

So far my friend Dottie is the only one to share a recipe and truffle techniques (thank you, Dottie!!). I know there are more experts out there! Get over to my original truffle post and help me out already! :)

Wanted: Truffle Teacher

I ventured into the world of chocolate truffle making the other night, with mixed results. The truffles TASTE great, but are far from culinarily artistic perfection. I thought today I'd share what I did along with my questions, hoping you can teach me the right way to do this!


Want the job as Truffle Teacher? All you have to do is post a comment! I'm mostly concerned with technique, but of course if you have a good recipe please share that as well!

For reference, THIS (click here) is the recipe I primarily used (although I referenced a few others as well).

Okay, the Truffle 101 Discussion Group is now beginning.

Jane Observations:
- When they say finely chop the chocolate, they mean FINELY chop the chocolate. I just had a few small pieces here and there (see pic), but they were just too big to melt in the heated cream.


- You can store your finished truffles in the fridge for weeks, but eat them at room temp - so much better when they are nice and soft.

Jane's Questions:
- I wanted to do some hazelnut-flavored truffles. I split the recipe in half and added ~1 1/2 tsp of hazelnut oil, but you honestly cannot tell that they were flavored. Has anyone used hazelnut oil in a similar situation? How much should I use?

- When should you form your truffle balls? One recipe said to leave the mixture out for 1 hour then make the balls. I did that - the chocolate was still so soft it was nearly impossible to work with. Another recipe said to refrigerate for 1 hour then make the balls...so I put the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes. When I tried to make the truffles I actually BROKE the melon baller the chocolate was so hard. It was the biggest pain making the balls (which is why mine look so lumpy). What technique do you suggest? Do you use a melon baller, fingers, two spoons? HELP!


- What is your favorite flavoring and in what quantities should they go into the recipe?

I THINK that was all the questions/troubles I had. Seriously, if you've made truffles and they came out, tell us what you did!

Even though my truffles don't LOOK as pretty as I would have liked...it's not stopping us from eating them! :)

Cookie Dough 101 Pop Quiz

Way back when I made these amazing chocolate cookies (thanks to my blogger friend Lindsey who created this perfect recipe). If you haven't made these cookies yet, you really should. This recipe is a keeper. The best chocolate cookie recipe I've used. Awesome, delicious, perfect. Enough gushing? Okay.

Now for today's POP QUIZ. A simple True or False question for you.

When you make cookies, you should cook all the dough at once.
T or F?


Get out your red pencils...here comes the answer...I would put it upside down at the bottom of the post, but I don't want you hurting yourself lifting the big heavy computer monitor...FALSE!!! Unless you have 13 children (which I was nearly forced to have thanks to Pottery Barn, more on that another day), when you make your cookie dough, simply cook one tray of cookies. Stick the rest of the dough in the fridge for later. Why, you may ask? Well, what is better than fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies? Why fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies day after day, of course! :)

If you got the answer right, A+. If you didn't, you fail...but it won't go on your permanent record. Promise.

Recovering Grapefruit Junkie Lapses

I went through a phase with two good friends where we ate red grapefruit ALL THE TIME. That was a super healthy phase in my life: everyday we ate grapefruit, spinach and cottage cheese for lunch and worked out together after work. Those were the days...what happened?!?! I'll tell you what happened...TJ's chocolate covered pretzels, that's what.

While I may not eat grapefruit every day anymore, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE red, sweet grapefruits (and Ruby Red juice, which I can chug, chug, chug). As I was enjoying an especially tasty grapefruit today (even Cate ate a few pieces!), I decided I needed to share some pictures of it with you (yes, I went picture crazy today) as well as the most killer technique for eating it.

The BEST WAY EVER to eat a grapefruit:

1. Get yourself a red flesh grapefruit - sample varieties are Ruby, Rio, or Star.


2. Peel the grapefruit.


3. Break it in half (the only reason it's cut in my pictures was because it was pretty...you don't have to cut it) and peel off the rind from the grapefruit flesh. The rind pretty much stays together while you peel off the flesh from each slice.


4. Enjoy!!!


Forget a spoon. It's only going to massacre your fruit, destroying the texture. Trust me - it is so much better this way and worth the extra 5 minutes it takes to peel. Yum.

Kitchen Tips: Cutting Brownies

Cate and I made some chewy brownies together this afternoon, which we both enjoyed thoroughly, of course. (We'll see if there are any for Nate when he gets home - just kidding - mostly.)


As I was cutting our brownies today, I thought I should share my brownie cutting trick with you: use a plastic knife. Works like a charm. Don't know why it's better than any metal knife you might try, but the brownies just don't stick to the plastic. Granted, if the brownies are piping hot when you cut (which mine were because I can't wait for them to cool), you'll still get a little stickage, but not much (see below). Trust me - the plastic knife is AMAZING.


I have a special edition of Fine Cooking called Chocolate. They give the following tips for cutting brownies into neat squares:
1. Line bottom of greased pan with parchment paper - grease the parchment paper.
2. After baking, run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the pan. This helps ease the whole baked brownie out of the pan. (Jane edit - plastic knife would be better...I'm sure of it...dude, I should be writing that magazine)
3. When the pan is cool enough to handle, flip out the whole brownie and then peel off the parchment.
4. Now invert the whole brownie onto a rack and let cool completely before cutting.

I think their method is handy for getting nice, even squares...but they didn't mention the knife. Go plastic!

Having a Baby = Paper Plate Week

When I had Cate, a friend who gave us dinner also brought a big stack of paper plates, which ended up being one of the best baby presents we received! We made sure this time around we had some paper plates and plastic cups in stock. This is a must for any family with a new baby...it is SO NICE not having to worry about dishes, especially when people are bringing you food and you don't have to cook either!


I went out to the playground the other day and was talking with my friend Emily, who was bringing us dinner that night. We were talking about meals that we make for people. She said I should do a post about the topic, so here we are!

What's your "go-to" meal when you have to take dinner to someone? Here's mine...and I've gotta say, it's pretty awesome for the giver AND the givee.

Jane's Dinner That She "Makes" When Someone Has a Baby:
- Costco Chicken (at $4.99, it's a steal..plus it's delicious)
- Mashed potatoes - I make these myself - it's the only thing I have to cook on the menu!
- Gravy - I either make gravy using juice in the Costco chicken container and some broth, or I swing by Boston Market and buy a container of gravy
- Bag of microwaveable veggies from Trader Joe's
- French bread/Rolls from Trader Joe's
- Bucket of Trader Joe's mini chocolate chip cookies

For those of you who don't have Trader Joe's, you could easily substitute similar products from another gorcery store. Here's why this meal is awesome for taking to people.

1) No dishes to return. The potatoes are the only item that need a container. I just put them in a disposable ziploc tupperware thingy.

2) Good food. Most people like this assortment of food, it tastes pretty homemade and it isn't spicy for nursing mothers.

3) Low cost. It's not expensive for the giver.

4) Easy. Not much cooking involved, and it's easy to double up to have dinner for yourself the same night.

Leftover potential is another thing to consider...this is one aspect that my meal plan falls a bit short on. When Cate was born we received a homemade lasagna that was not only delicious, but froze well into individual servings...it was so nice to have that yummy lasagna waiting for us in the freezer when we needed it!

Now it's time for you to share your great ideas!

Kitchen Tips: Soft Brown Sugar

The other night I was thinking it's been a while since I did a "Kitchen Tips" post...then later that evening a friend stopped by to borrow some brown sugar and was excited about the piece of bread inside my brown sugar container. Tah-dah! A post!


Want soft brown sugar? Just throw a piece of bread in the container. That's it. Simple, easy, cheap. I change it out, oh, I don't know...hardly ever. I use white bread so no funny little grains fall into the sugar. The bread never gets moldy and the brown sugar always remains the perfect consistency. Just a little something I learned from my mama at a young age.

My friend Adrianne's scienctist husband tried to explain why it works to us...he said the explanation really wasn't complicated, but I think Adrianne and I only caught a couple words...like "the bread won't go moldy" and "there's a scientific reason it works" - good enough for us cooks. :)

Kitchen Tips: The Ultimate Pizza Cutter

Wanted to share a fun kitchen tip our friends shared with us recently...and since Friday night is often pizza night, thought it might come in handy for some of you!


Our friends Valerie & Graton (who recently had their 2nd baby - congratultions, guys!) invited us over for delicious homemade pizza. When the pizza came out of the oven, Graton walked over with a pair of scissors. "Scissors? You guys should totally get a pizza cutter!" says know-it-all Jane. Turns out they used to have a real pizza cutter but had since converted to scissors. And with good reason - they work like a charm! They are much more versatile and ALWAYS cut through. Such a great tip!

Oh - one more thing that gives scissors an advantage...you don't have to worry about what cutting surface you are on. I'm always making my pizza cutters so dull because I cut right on the pan. Thanks Nate for reminding me of this bonus! :)

(Don't forget! Sunday morning is the end of the giveaway!)

Kitchen Tips: Vinegar & Baking Soda

Okay, today's post doesn't have to do with food or dinner, but it does apply to the kitchen, so I think it counts! Allow me to introduce you to the power couple of the cleaning world - Vinegar & Baking Soda.


If you have a stainless steel sink, these two ingredients are the perfect, non-toxic way to clean and disinfect. I just sprinkle baking soda all over the sink, pour some vinegar over that, let it sizzle, then scrub away! Another of my favorite uses for this dynamic duo is pouring 1/2 cup of each down the drain and letting it sit for a bit. A great way to clean your drains.

While vinegar and baking soda make a great pair, vinegar is pretty stinkin' awesome on its own. Check out this great info from the Queen of Clean on the DIY network. This is the only episode I ever saw of "Talking Dirty with the Clean of Queen" (gotta love it) and I am so glad I did. I've incorporated vinegar into my cleaning ever since. Happy disinfecting!

Kitchen Tips: Working with a BUDGET!

A TWFD reader recently asked a great question that I think deserves a post for sure! Here's the question:

"I was wanting to know {if any of you] work from a food budget and if you do how you set your budget. I feel like I spend way too much at the grocery store and never have what I really want in the house...does this happen to anyone out there? Do you guys set your menu for the week and then make your list and only buy according to your list? Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated."


Planning my meals for each week DEFINITELY helps me save money!!! I make a list based on my menu and don't deviate from the list - this is a great help in the budget department.

I personally don't have a set budget (I should!), but I generally spend $80-$100/wk (including diapers). As far as the amount you should be budgeting...the average grocery spend for a family of 3 in the U.S. is $101/week. Miserly Mom on The Dollar Stretcher said when her budget was tightest she spent $10/person/week - wow!

Here are a few things I do or keep in mind when planning and shopping each week. My bottom line: You can certainly keep to a strict budget if you're willing to make the effort and, in some cases, spend the extra time. I pick and choose the ways I save money, balancing time spent with money saved.

• I go to more than one store to get best prices. Every week I go to Ralphs and Trader Joe's.
• When I can, I go to Henry's (a local San Diego chain market) for produce. I encourage you to find local markets where you live to save on produce (and more!).
• Trader Joe's has the best prices on a lot of items (butter, eggs, bread, crackers, cheese, etc). A lot of times they carry the same exact item as the grocery store and it will be cheaper than the grocery store's SALE price. Example: King Arthur's flour is $3.00 on SALE at Ralphs right now, but $2.79 regularly at TJs.
• Get a club card and only buy sale items at your grocery store.
• Buy in bulk! Costco, BJs, Sam's Club are all good candidates. I am not good about doing this. I should buy more bulk stuff. Also, Costco has great prices on meat and it is great quality, however...
• You can get great sale prices on meat at your regular grocery store! Just keep an eye out. I always get my boneless/skinless chicken breasts at Vons - they regularly go on sale for as low as $1.79/lb (Costco is $3.00/lb), so I buy a bunch and freeze it.
• Buy FRESH foods. Packaged and processed foods tend to be more expensive. A cartful of veggies is more filling, cheaper and much healthier.
• Coupons. The key to really saving money with coupons: use them on sale items and at stores that double coupons. Newspapers and weekly grocery store mailers will tell you the sale items each week and websites like The Grocery Game help with that as well. I've done coupon shopping in the past, and I did save money, but in the long run it's not for me so I don't use them anymore. If you are willing to spend the time, it can be a real money saver!
  

Please post your suggestions and tips!

The Goods: Toaster Oven Strikes Again!

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in today's post... like pizza, baked french toast benefits greatly from being reheated in the toaster oven!!!I know some of you aren't quite sold on this indispensable kitchen appliance, but I'll keep plugging away until you're all converted!

Same "recipe" as reheating pizza... heat leftover french toast in microwave first (to get it hot), then put in toaster oven on 'toast' setting (definitely use the tray on this one!). Here is why this method rules: if you just did the microwave, it would be hot but soggy. If you just did the toaster oven, it would be burned on the edge before it was hot enough. You gotta do both. Everyone can thank Nate (my husband) for this culinary stroke of genius.

My friend Jenn (who infamously bought a toaster oven last week) also made a good point...the toaster oven uses a lot less energy than your full oven, so you're helping the environment. I should really be working for the toaster oven lobby in D.C.

Picture disclaimer: This pic isn't so pretty, but toaster oven wanted to represent! You can see it's old and well-loved, and I'm not even letting you see the whole thing...

Kitchen Tips: Leftover Pizza

This post begins with a confession...mostly because you'll figure it out on your own if I don't come clean. I didn't cook Sunday or last night. We ordered California Pizza Kitchen with my mom & sister, and then ate those leftovers last night. For the most part you can believe that I do what I write on here, but SOMETIMES I go off program... :) But, my menu cheating resulted in this brilliant post. Aren't you lucky?

As a kid/teen/young adult I HATED leftover pizza. Luckily I married someone who insisted on getting a toaster oven (which I thought was unnecessary - I was so wrong) and who had perfected the art of reheating pizza. Last night when Nate caught me taking a picture of my CPK Carne Asada pizza, I told him my plans for this post and how I'm the pizza heater-upper expert, to which he replied, "And WHY are you the expert?" Yes, Yes, it's all because of Nate. So, with full credit given, here's the "recipe"


Leftover Pizza
Microwave pizza until it is quite warm - appx 45 sec - 1 min
Put in toaster oven (without the tray is better, if you can keep the cheese from dripping - nate uses the tray) and TOAST (not bake) a little longer. THIS IS THE KEY. It crisps up the bread so nicely. You won't even know it's leftovers. You're welcome.