Beginning the week of March 23rd, a week after being quarantined…. I decided to embark on a mission to cook through the alphabet as a challenge to myself. As a way to be creative. As a way to get my friends and family involved. As a distraction from the world. The kitchen immediately became my getaway. Not necessarily because I was hungry, but because the news is not allowed in there. Only music. Only REALLY LOUD music. And no I will not cook full meals everyday. That’s way too much. Sometimes it just an afternoon snack. Sometimes it might just be a drink. I have no rules for myself. Only that it must start with that letter for the day.  And the challenge of finding food in the grocery stores right now, made it even more appealing. Once a week is all I get.  (I’m one of those people who buy food to cook for the day as I’m spoiled and love fresh stuff)

My Dino Dude and I did this project when he was little and learning to read and write. We would cook and he would write the words of the dishes we made. If you dig hard enough you can find them on my old blog. We didn’t just cook but often we would have friends for dinner or parties when others would bring something with that letter. It was such a good way for us to connect.

And so… if you want to. Even though it can’t be in person.

Connect with us.

I’ll be posting recipes here once a week. But you can see what we’ve cooked through the week on Instagram and Facebook Stories.

I’ve said for 18 years… the time I’ve taught myself to cook, that food is the ultimate connection to the world. Everyone eats. Everyone.

So let’s start

A

A was a simple day. An afternoon snack. And a smaller snack for supper.

 Apple Pie Nachos

Found on Pinterest, but changed just a little.

Ingredients

• 6 flour tortillas, cut into 8 pieces.
• 1/2 stick butter,  divided
• 1 cup cinnamon sugar (1 cup sugar + 2 tsp cinnamon), divided (Or however much cinnamon you want)
• 1 tsp cardamom (optional)
• 3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup caramel sauce, optional (and I totally used the stuff out of the bottle because it was in the fridge.
• whipped cream, optional (I made my own because we had the stuff and I can just make a little amount in the magic bullet)

1. Preheat oven to 300F degrees. Spray a couple baking sheets with baking spray. Set aside.
2. Cut the tortillas into even triangles and place in a large mixing bowl. Add 3 tbsp melted butter and 3/4 cup cinnamon sugar, and the cardamom,  tossing until coated. (I ended up putting mine in a plastic bag and throwing it around, it was good therapy)
3. Place pieces onto prepared baking sheets and bake for about 15 minutes, until you get to the appropriate and liked crispiness.
4. Meanwhile, add the rest of the butter to a sauce pan and melt over medium heat. Add apples and remainder of cinnamon sugar mixture. Cook until just tender (not super soft)
5. On a large serving plate, place a layer of tortilla pieces and add apple mixture on top.  Top with caramel sauce, pecans and whipped cream. Enjoy!

I was told these taste just like something from Taco John’s or Taco Bell (I don’t ever know which is which) from the 80’s and 90’s. Needless to say they went over well!

We also for “A” day steamed an artichoke. And dipped the leaves into butter. And then tried to find the heart. All I gotta say is that I would rather just buy a can of them, but it was worth for the suspense of who got to the bottom first.

B

Boneless Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese

One of my favorite things to eat. Completely unhealthy. And fried, but totally totally work it.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole Chicken Breasts (cut into small pieces)
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
• 1/2 cups White Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Paprika
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Tabasco
• Canola Oil for Frying
• Blue Cheese Crumbles

C

C day was a day completely filled with carrots. I make a pumpkin roll every year for Thanksgiving and have been wanting to try a Carrot Cake Roll for Easter. Turns out they are remarkably similar. And got devoured in much the same fashion. It comes out a little spongier, but SO SO SO good. I got the recipe from https://healtyhspirit.blogspot.com and made a few minor changes (I use the same cream cheese frosting/ filling recipe for everything I do…. and no sense changing it because it’s damn good!!!)

Carrot Cake Roll

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

• 3 eggs
• 1  cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon bakìng powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups shredded carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
• Powdered sugar  (to aid in rolling)

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 block cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 stick of real butter (room temperature)
• 1 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanìlla extract
• Powdered sugar  (for dusting)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a jelly roll (10×15”) pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes and they become really frothy. This part is pretty important, as this is what makes rolls easier to well… roll
3. Whisk together salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and flour. Stir into dry ingredients.  Mix in carrots. 
4. Spread in prepared pan. Use a lot of spray… it helps a ton. Batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan. Bake for 9-15 minutes, check with toothpick to make sure it’s cooked through and the edges should be separating from the pan.
5. While the cake is baking, set a clean kitchen towel out on a large work surface. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar  As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar.
6. Working at the short end, fold the edge of the towel over the cake. Roll tìghtly, rollìng up the cake ìnto the towel. Let cool completely whìle rolled, at least one hour.
7. While the cake is coolìng, make the frostìng. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat ìn powdered sugar and vanìlla.
8. When cake is cool, carefully unroll the towel. Spread the filling on the cake evenly, and re-roll tìghtly. Chìll untìl ìt fìrms up a bìt, at least thirty mìnutes to one hour. Dust wìth powdered sugar,then slice and serve.

I also made

Sautéed Carrots Covered in Lemon Sauce

I think everyone knows how to sauté a carrot , if you don’t, pick your favorite olive oil ( I as actually given flavored ones for Christmas a few years ago and this is a great chance to use them), heat it up on the stove and then cook carrots until they are tender) I added a little salt and pepper and some basil because it’s growing, and if I don’t use it, I will lose control of it!

For the Lemon Sauce (I also use this on chicken and asparagus and all kinds of things. I rarely have a meal without some sort of sauce)

Lemon Sauce

• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Tablespoons cold Water
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tsp oil (vegetable)
• juice of 1 lemon or about 1/3 cup

In small cup mix together cold water and cornstarch (I learned recently this is how cornstarch works… not with hot water and definitely not just adding it to food, I had been doing it wrong for a lot of years)

Heat chicken broth over medium heat and add sugar until its melted. Add salt and cornstarch mixture and lemon juice. Stir until thickened.  Add oil  (to make it shiny, this ingredient is really pretty optional)

Pour over carrots and viola!

And since we survived Wednesday… and since I had bought Carrot Juice Earlier in the month (For Easter Cocktails…) we decided to drink them. Champagne provided by the lovely realtors (thank you Century 21, we love you!)  and sparkling cider from my dad, he was supposed to be here this week celebrating a lovely Orchestra concert.   so…. Carrot Champagne Cocktails it was.

D

“D” day was a pretty laid back day. None of us were hungry, so snack it was

I made a dip and deviled eggs. And everyone kind of fended for themselves. We have a lot of those evenings around here. We call it grazing.

Dill Pickle Dip

So there are literally no ways to make this wrong. I normally put a small dish of this on charcuterie boards for parties.

All you need for it is

• 2 large pickles chopped finely
• 1/2 onion chopped finely
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 or three cloves garlic chopped finely
• Bay Seasoning enough for taste
• 1-2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
• *you can also use 1/2 package of cream cheese if you have it instead of sour cream. I was running out, so I didn’t and it was still delish
• *seasonings are up to you in dips. Experiment with what you think will taste amazing!

Mix everything together and either eat with chips or crackers or here it was put on ham sandwiches. Seriously, now is the time to try things!

Deviled Eggs

There are literally thousands of ways to make deviled eggs. I asked all my people about what they put in them, and most of the recipes were consistent with what I’ve been doing.  Someone added celery seed.  One horseradish. Another added wasabi (which I LOVED the idea of)

I don’t have an exact recipe but I’ll try.

First you gotta boil the eggs, I used 6 this time….  and my trick for knowing that they are done is that they spin really fast after they are cooked (about 10 minutes) if they are slow and wobbly, they aren’t done.

For the filling: Take the cooked yolks out of the eggs, mash them (I think a lot of people use mixers for this, but like mashed potatoes, I kind of like the lumps) I put in about 1/3-1/2 cup of mayo (I have literally never measured this part, so I’m sorry) and about 1/3- 1/2 cup (it all depends on how many eggs you use, so I will say start with a little, and keep adding and tasting until it is what you want) and then I add a little pickle juice, salt and pepper and a little tabasco and a little worchestire .   Mix until its what you like it to taste like and then fill your eggs.  Sprinkle with paprika (I had run out of that thanks to another recipe from earlier in the week… and store runs… not happening.)

Also, there was also an argument in my family about which way to cut the eggs. I cut them in half, top to bottom. My family cuts them so they are symmetrical… I always thought that was ridiculous.

E

I made a full meal for “E” day… but was unable to photograph it (so the photograph is old….)

Because quarantine and mass hysteria hit my house around 4pm .  Emergent vet appointments, backed up sinks into the bathtub, internet problems (which is a huge problem with a banker working here!)

Regardless… a DELICIOUS meal was made. Enchiladas. (Mexican food is probably top 5 on my list and I could eat 3 times a week, at least)

Enchiladas

Again, there are a million and half ways to make enchiladas. I do make my own sauce, you can find it here and thank god I had all the ingredients  for it.

For the “stuffing”

This varies every time I make them, it really just depends on what I have in the fridge. This is what I had this time.

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1/2 jar peppercorn peppers and the juice
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 1/2 onion chopped finely
• 1 cup salsa (your choosing)
• 1/2 package cream cheese

You’ll also need

• 1 bag shredded fiesta cheese (that’s what I use, you can use whatever you love!) 
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 small can diced olives
• Sour cream for topping

Put all of these into a crockpot and let cook on high for about three hours. It makes these so much easier and less time consuming. After everything is cooked down. Shred the chicken and mix it all together. Be sure to get all of the stems of the peppercorn peppers out (you can cut them off before hand, but I was lazy)

Next (THIS PART IS ESSENTIAL TO AMAZING ENCHILADAS!!!!) fill the bottom of your baking pan which enchilada sauce, (about half of it) and coat all your tortillas in this sauce on both sides.  (I use between 6-8 large tortillas each time) It’s messy, but it makes a huge difference in taste. Then fill your tortillas with chicken mixture. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top. Spread shredded cheese over the top of enchiladas. As well as chopped cilantro and can of diced olives. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly.

F

Saturday

Grocery day.

I am not the one to get groceries, but am thankful we are able to get them none the less.

On today’s menu…

Fried Rice

This is by far a favorite in my family. My whole family. I have made it for huge dinners. And it always, ALWAYS goes over well. I normally plan ahead and cook a ham and then use the left overs for this recipes. I did it backwards this time. I did cook a ham, but the left over ham is in the refrigerator and the Fried Rice came first.

A little aside. This recipe came to me about 17 years ago. I was an unskilled cook. But this was so easy. And was given to my by a man that was generous beyond measure. He was here when my son was born. He spoiled him. And I never saw him without a smile.

What you’ll need

• 5 or 6 pieces of uncooked bacon chopped
• 1 scrambled egg
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2 stalked of celery chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 cups cooked rice (I used to use brown rice for this, but it really does taste better with white rice)
• 3-4 cups diced ham (I use a lot of ham in mine…..taste is totally up to you!)

G

Since we had a lot of leftovers from the last few days, G was a pretty simple day. Some grapefruit and granola

But this kind of granola is kind of like crack, it’s super easy to eat a TON of it in one sitting.

Granola

• 3 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• ½ cups Chunky Peanut Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 bag of dried cranberries
• 1/2 bag peanut butter chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350.
In a big mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, except the honey, cranberries, and peanut butter chips.  The peanut butter and sugar will clump together – just break up the clumps with a spoon. I always leave a few, though – they taste amazing. Not all of the oats will look like they have any peanut butter flavor, but trust me, once it’s done baking you’ll have some heavenly PB granola.
Spread out the mixture onto a cookie sheet and bake for up to twenty minutes. After the first ten minutes, toss the granola so it bakes evenly. Drizzle the honey on top of the mixture at this time (I just eyeball the amount of honey), then put back in the oven for the remaining 10 minutes. Make sure to let the granola cool completely before storing in the fridge. (I didn’t store my in the fridge) Let cool for a little bit and then add the dried cranberries and peanut butter chips

H

Still eating left overs (when there is only three of us, cooking huge meals everyday.. is a lot of food.) We had the other half of the ham that I cooked for fried rice. I also made championship potatoes. (I think I will go ahead and add those to C day, even though we didn’t have them that day, but I would like to have the recipe written down as it’s one of our favorites, especially during thanksgiving.

And for dessert….Copycat honey butter and biscuits that we were able to get from one of our local bakeries.

Honey Butter

Ingredients

Mix together. Serve.  YUM!

I

Well what else are you going to eat on “I” day for ice cream. I haven’t had store bought ice cream in probably 10 years. I have a very simple recipe that I’ve been using for a really long time. I don’t even use measuring cups. I use the sweetened condensed milk can once it’s emptied.  I keep most of the ingredients on hand. And the ice cream maker is probably the one appliance that I don’t think I could live without.

Ice Cream

Ingredients

Mix all ingredients together and then pour into ice cream maker and mix according to directions (basically turn the machine on for about 20 minutes)

J

I had it in my mind that I wanted to make jalapeño poppers for supper, but since I hadn’t made a “regular” meal in a couple days, I thought I needed to make something a little more substantial. I scoured the webs for a jalapeño popper pasta, and I couldn’t really find one that I loved. So I made one up… and I can tell you, it was the best thing, LIKE ever.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Pasta Bake

Ingredients

Sautee the garlic and onions in the butter until translucent. Add chicken and cook until juice runs clear. Add cream cheese and whipping cream until sauce thickens. Remove from stove and stir in cooked pasta and transfer into a baking pan. Spread cheese over the top of the pasta. In a separate small bowl, mix together bread crumbs, egg and a couple spoonfuls of bacon grease (this will give them a really good flavor) Spread mixture over the top of the cheese. Sprinkle with bacon and jalapeños. Cook at 400 degrees until topping is golden brown (about 15 -20 minutes)

Jack Salad

A recipe inherited from one of my favorite families. This recipe makes a huge amount, and I always cut it in half when it’s just us.

Ingredients

K

I had a hard time finding an authentic recipe for Kung Pao Chicken, the one I did find didn’t have any measurements, just ingredients. And so I just went with it and made up my own. You just have to mix the sauce on the side, keep tasting until it’s something you like…. that’s pretty much how I cook anyway!  I did not use peanuts in mine as I just couldn’t find any and grocery store trips are not an option right now.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons hoisen sauce
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons cold water mixed with one teaspoon cornstarch (cornstarch dissolves in cold water, not hot, and then you can add it to your sauce to make it thicken over heat)

Mix together all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

Add salt and pepper to cornstarch and dredge chicken pieces in mixture. Heat vegetable oil in wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Fry chicken until crispy and done (I get tend to cook chicken a little longer than I should, just because I don’t want to ever be eating raw chicken.) Add vegetables and cook until tender.  Pour sauce over chicken and vegetable mixture and cook until sauce thickens. Add dried peppers and/ or red pepper flakes.

Serve over rice.

Key Lime Pie

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup key lime juice (I used regular lime juice, key limes are hard to come by in Wyoming) 
• one envelope gelatin powder
• 8 oz cream cheese , room temperature
• one 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• store bought graham cracker crust (you can make your own, but I was trying to keep things as simple as possible with this one

Key Lime Pie Filling

• In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• Add the lime juice and gelatin to a small bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, or until almost boiling. Stir to dissolve the gelatin.
• In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until soft.
• Beat in sweetened condensed milk and lime juice mixture.
• Then fold in the whipped cream until even.
• Pour the mixture over the prepared crust, spread the top smooth and place in the fridge to set for at least 6 hours.

L

After a few days of eating pasta, we decided we just wanted to make dessert. A really really easy dessert.

Lemon Crumb Bars

Ingredients

• 1-⅓ cup All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• one 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Slightly Softened
• 1 cup Brown Sugar (lightly Packed)
• 1 cup Oats
• ½ cups Lemon Juice
• Zest Of 1 Lemon

Mix butter and brown sugar until well combined.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.
Add oats and flour to butter/sugar mixture and mix to combine.
Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch pan.
Mix together condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread onto the bottom layer of the crumb mixture. Top with the other half of the crumb mixture, but don’t press.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Allow pan to sit on counter for 30 minutes after baking. Cut into squares and refrigerate for a couple of hours or until cool.
Serve cool.

M

One of my all time favorite foods…. and I’ve served it so many times to large groups. It’s always well received. And it’s my son’s favorite pasta, so I basically had him cook it.

Mediterranean Pasta

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon
• 1 package of penne pasta (I use wheat pasta)
• 1 pound boneless chicken breast half, cooked and diced
• salt and pepper  to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes with juice (I normally use the garlic kind)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2/3 cup pitted black olives
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 (6 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Crumble and set aside
3. Season chicken with salt. Stir chicken with left over bacon grease in a large skillet or saucepan. Add tomatoes and rosemary, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in feta cheese, olives and artichoke hearts and cook until heated through. Toss with fresh cooked pasta and serve warm. Garnished with extra feta if desired or parmesan cheese.

Mimosas

Mix orange juice and champagne

Drink

Before noon is totally acceptable during Corona Cooking. At least on Easter it is.

N

I literally was so full of food by the time I got to this letter that, I needed a break from food. So for lunch one day… we had nachos. Everyone has their own way of making nachos. They are pretty much my go-to meal when I’m not into cooking anything. And I’ll eat them with pretty much any chip known to man. (Lays, Fritos… I’m not picky.) But I always use shredded cheese. And almost always have pickles on them.

O

“O” was another dessert kind of day. Grazing for meals and treats in between.

Oreo Cookie Pudding Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 package pudding (vanilla, banana, oreo if they have it)
• 1 package cream cheese
• 2 cups milk divided
• 1 tub cool whip
• 1 oreo cookie crust  (store bought or homemade)
• 7-10 oreos crushed

Mix together in stand up mixer, pudding 1 1/2 cups milk and cream cheese. Mix until creamy. Add crushed Oreos. Pour into prepared pie filling. Top with cool whip and sprinkle extra cookie crumbs on top. Let cool for a couple hours. (I always freeze mine for a little bit so I can make nice fresh slices)

Orange Julius

This is my son’s recipe that he’s been making for a couple years. SO GOOD!

Ingredients:

We doubled this recipe as this is a single serving

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 cups sugar
• 6 ice cubes

Mix all ingredients together in blender until frothy and serve!

P

Apparently this was the week we ate pasta for every meal. This one is a fresh one using mostly fresh herbs and ingredients. It’s perfect for warmer spring days or the summer. I actually ate outside when we had this! Yay!

Pesto Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 pound Penne Pasta
• 1/2 pound asparagus (cut into pieces)
• 1 small zucchini cut into long pieces (or round pieces whatever is easiest)
• 1/4 pound green beans, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup basil (about 20 leaves)
• handful flat leaf parsley
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (plus more to pass at the table)
• coarsely ground pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Boil pasta in salt water to give it a little extra oomph, or if you’re watching salt intake….don’t use salt. Add vegetables to pasta after the pasta has been cooking for about 5 minutes. (I think they taste best when they are a little crunchy, but that’s a personal preference)

While pasta is cooking, toast pine nuts in small pan until golden, then cool. Place nuts, basil, tarragon, parsley, lemon zest, garlic, cheese, oil and a little salt and pepper in food processor (I just use the little magic bullet…less mess)

Add a ladle of hot water from veggies to the pesto and then toss with the drained pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with extra grated cheese.

(I cut this recipe down by half, it makes a lot of food and it’s one that I don’t love to eat left overs of)

Q

R

For Easter, we decided, since it was not a traditional kind of Easter, we would have untraditional food. We had ribs. We’ve been using the same rib recipe for years and years and years. They do take a long time to cook, but they don’t take a whole lot of work. Find a good rib rub (there are a million on the market right now) Rub them down and then put them on the rack of a roaster. Fill the bottom part of your roaster with very strong hot coffee.

We’ve been using the same rib recipe for years and years and years. They do take a long time to cook, but they don’t take a whole lot of work. Find a good rib rub (there are a million on the market right now) Rub them down and then put them on the rack of a roaster. Fill the bottom part of your roaster with very strong hot coffee. Cook in the oven at 250 degrees for several hours. Until tender and falling off the bone. Then coat with BBQ sauce of choice and grill for 15 minutes .

S

Of course all I wanted to eat for “s” was sushi. But I am literally a terrible sushi maker. I’ve tried so many times. And I again I tried again, to no avail. Which was totally my plan the whole time. However, you can put all things sushi, in a bowl, and make it into a salad. AND… I am a fantastic sauce maker. Most everything I make, every dinner, there is some sort of sauce involved.

So I suppose we should start with Spicy Mayo Sauce. It’s a staple in my recipe repertoire. I use it on SO MANY things that have nothing to do with sushi.  I keep this in my fridge most of the time.

Spicy Mayo Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup Mayo
• 1/4 cup Sriracha Sauce
• 1/4 cup Worchestire  Sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and put in squeezable container. That’s it!

Now, since I’m really bad at making sushi rolls, id decided to turn it into a salad. And guys, it turned out really really awesome. And I ate it for a couple days even (I kinda hate left overs, so that’s a big deal for me.)

Sushi Salad

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sushi rice (this is cooked a little different and requires a little cleaning. Instructions are normally on the package, my method uses rice wine vinegar and brown sugar)
• 1/2 package cream cheese sliced into cubes.
• 1/2 package of imitation crab, sliced, cubed, however you like it (if you have real crab readily available, use it… but, I live in Wyoming.)
• 1/2 cucumber diced
• 1/2 avocado diced
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Nori Sheets, torn or sliced
• Spicy Mayo sauce

Over medium low heat cook panko crumbs and tablespoon of rice wine vinegar until browned. Layer the rest of the ingredients in bowl. Top with Panko crumbs and spicy may sauce.

Spicy Sriracha Shrimp Pasta

This one was made on the fly, and it turned out incredible. I had things in my fridge that needed to be used, and this is what I came up with.

Ingredients

• 1 box Penne Pasta, cooked according to directions
• 1 package medium shrimp, tails removed
• 1/2 package cream cheese
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 small onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic diced
• 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 jar roasted red peppers
• red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup Sriracha sauce
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Over medium heat, melt butter and then add onions and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add heavy whipping cream, cream cheese and Parmesan Cheese, cook until mixture thickens a bit and until cream cheese in melted.  Stir in shrimp and cook until pink. Add roasted red peppers (be sure to drain them before adding them to the mixture)  pasta and Sriracha sauce. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes (these make the pasta very spicy, so you can skip this part if you need to. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with extra Parmesean cheese if you have it. ENJOY!

T

Keeping things a little bit easier….. tacos were on the menu. I don’t have specific recipe for every day tacos. Everyone likes them with different meat (I’m a chicken person of course…. you might notice there are no hamburger recipes here, it’s because I don’t eat it, so on the days I don’t cook, the boys will normally fix something with ground beef etc.

I did however come across a video of how to properly fry a taco shell. And it’s pretty amazing and it works perfectly every single time! I only had the giant ones, but it still works!

Here’s the IG story link to that: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17874997057601210/

U

I went a little blank trying to think of something to cook for “U”

So I went for the obvious.

Upside own cake. Only I tried a banana upside down cake, with a recipe found on Pinterest. Peanut Butter style. I rarely just blindly follow a recipe, but in the middle of pandemic… I decided to just give it a go.  If I were to cook it again. I would double the sauce and pour it over the top at the end.

Upside Down Peanut Butter Banana Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. Flour
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-5 bananas sliced lenthwise

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk milk, peanut butter, oil, and egg until well combined. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture until just combined.
2. Over  medium heat, melt butter. Stir brown sugar and vanilla into butter and remove skillet from heat.
3. Arrange bananas in the bottom of prepared spring form pan. (Just be sure to grease it really well, so your cake comes out smooth) (Make sure to set on top of cookie sheet, or other baking pan so it doesn’t leak. I use one with edges so it doesn’t drip all over the oven) Pour butter mixture over the top. Then spread cake mixture over the top of that
4. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then remove from springform.

V

Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 diced onion, diced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 2 cans of vegetable broth (you can use chicken too)
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 cup green beans
• 1/2 can corn
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1/3 bag of shell noodles of your choice
• 1 cup red kidney beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• parmesan cheese for topping
• Italian season to taste

W

Won Tons

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman, though I think you can add whatever you want to wontons. And I of course dip them in Spicy Sriracha Sauce from above. This was the first time I had made them, and was unimpressive at wrapping and frying. They were delicious though.

Ingredients

X

“X” is always a little tricky. And the first time around when I cooked through the alphabet, I had a really tough time with this. That was 11 years ago. Now…with the internet, I can learn about all kinda of things.

 Xalapa Punch.

It kind of reminded me of what chai tea is…. which basically happened because someone swept up a bunch of spices off the floor and through them into tea and it tasted amazing. This kind of tastes like something you would mix up after a college party with all the left overs. And it still tastes good!

Y

I have to say… this “recipe” is a stretch…… but in my defense. I used to make my own yogurt. I know how. It’s just a lot easier to buy it. I used Tillimook for this one, and I’m a little partial to Tillimook  anything, it’s made in Oregon.

For this I layered yogurt and Lemon Curd Custard. Which is something I love making for parties with shortbread cookies. But, guys… this was soooooo good. Seriously. And this recipe is sooooo easy!

Ingredients

Z

I made Baked Ziti. I didn’t not take a photo. It was delicious. I was tired of food though.