Minnesota State Fair

Guess what today is?!?!? It's better than Christmas!

The state fair OPENS!!

We used to go about four times but have cut it down to just twice because it's gotten pretty expensive to go. Our new tradition is, the first Friday and once during Labor Day weekend.

There is SO much to do. We check out the animals, the midway, heritage square, international bazaar, creative arts & food building, we people watch, the kids build things at the Home Depot stand for free, they play wiffle ball at the Twins booth, we check out the butterheads & the giant pumpkins.

We eat our favorite things, we ride our favorite rides, we window shop the grand stand. The possibilities are endless. Did I mention that we LOVE, love, LOVE the fair?

Thanks MN State Fair for the photos!

You have to check out the butter heads.
Our favorite fries
And, my annual tradition. Only the year that I was 9+ months pregnant with Max did I miss a ride down the giant slide and that was only because they told me no;)

Hashbrowns

I'm not that organized to have ready made hashbrowns in the freezer or fridge when I want them but I almost always have potatoes so I make mine from scratch. Super easy and I think they taste better.

What you'll need:

2 medium size Potatoes shredded
1/2 small onion diced
2 T Butter
Drizzle Olive Oil
1 t Salt
1 t Pepper

Melt your butter in a frying pan. Add potato, onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper. If I am feeling really sassy, I'll add a teaspoon of garlic powder too. Pat this down as thin as you can. Cover and cook on medium for about 6 minutes, until it's golden brown. Take your spatula and flip, drizzle with a teaspoon or so of Olive Oil. Cover and cook about another 5 minutes and serve.

Here's what you're using to shred.




Getting ready to flip

Louisiana Pasta

Let's face it, having kids puts a damper on what you serve for dinner. I swear Max would be happy with some form of chicken and fried rice every single night. Easy, yes. Boring, YES.

I get SO tired of making the same things over and over again. So, I was super excited when I asked Claire what she wanted for dinner and she said, "Cheesecake pasta".

"Cheesecake pasta" is Louisiana Chicken Pasta that they make at Cheesecake Factory. Claire thinks this recipe is close enough to the real deal. I've posted the recipe before but this time I took out a step that I forgot and no one noticed;)

And, guess what?? Max actually ate about 10 bowties with his chicken!!

What you'll need:

Chicken
4 T Olive Oil
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts halved
1 C Breadcrumbs ~ I use Panko
1/3 C Parmesan Cheese grated (not the green can please)
1 C Milk
2 T Flour

Cajun Sauce
1 T Butter
1 small Yellow Pepper chopped
1 small Red Pepper chopped
3/4 small Red Onion chopped
1 C Mushrooms sliced
3 Cloves Garlic minced
1 t Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 t Cajun Seasoning
1 pint 1/2 and 1/2
1 C Chicken Broth
4 T Fresh Basil thinly sliced (I only had dried, used 2 T~fresh would have been better)
1 C Fresh Parmesan shredded or grated
12 oz cooked Bow Tie Pasta

Wash and dry chicken breasts. Pound until very thin with a meat hammer~I did it between two pieces of saran wrap or waxed paper to lessen mess. The thinner the better. I would also cut the chicken into pieces about the size of your palm, easier to work with and it doesn't matter if they are strips or pieces..it's all good. Whatever works best for you.

Mix breadcrumbs, flour and Parmesan Cheese together in a bowl you can dip the chicken into.

Put milk in another dish for dipping.

Dip chicken in milk and into the dry. Put on plate.

Move to sauce...

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, mushrooms and 1 t Cajun Spice and cook until crisp tender..about 4 minutes

Add garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and saute couple more minutes.

Add 1/2 and 1/2, chicken stock, 1 t Cajun Spice and Basil. Simmer until sauce re-heats and thickens, about 5 minutes. Add cheese to sauce, stir to incorporate.

Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer on low until sauce reduces and thickens.

Back to Chicken...

Heat Olive Oil in fry pan. Fry at medium heat until crisp and golden. Remove and put on plate, tent lightly with foil to keep warm. You don't want to cover tightly or it will get soggy.

Add oil as necessary and continue to cook chicken.

Add cooked pasta to sauce and give a toss.

Plate pasta, top with chicken and serve. Add additional parmesan if desired.

Your ingredients, don't be scared..it's SO worth it.
If I was doing this for a dinner party, I would do this step earlier in the day. It's a little messy. Start pounding in the middle of the breast, flatten from the middle to the sides.
This is how thin you want it.
Chop your peppers and onions, I threw in some green just because I had them. You could do this ahead too.
Wash, dry and slice the mushrooms, don't do this ahead, mushrooms are tempermental.
Saute your vegis with some cajun spice and crushed pepper flakes.
Add your cream, chicken broth, cajun seasoning and basil and simmer.
You can't really see the difference but it's thicker now;)
Here is your dry ingredients, mix it up with a couple of cranks from your pepper mill.
Dip your chicken, make sure it's well coated.
Keep going until all the chicken is coated.
Heat some oil, see you don't need much, just a light coating in the pan.
Couple minutes per side.
Yummy!
Dinner is SERVED!!

Strawberry Salad

This recipe was one of my only ones last August. Thought I would bring it back this year:)

Dressing
3/4 C Mayo
4 T Sugar
1 T Poppy Seeds
1/4 t Garlic Powder
1/2 C Whipping Cream
2 1/2 T Lemon Juice

Whisk together and chill for a few hours.

2 pkgs Romaine
1 pt Strawberries, sliced
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped

Toss together and serve with dressing. I don't mix the salad and dressing together because everyone likes a different amount.

AND, if you'd like to make this a meal, throw some cooked chicken on top. Easy and very YUMMY!

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

I found this recipe on line and the name caught my eye. I only changed it a tiny bit, using all purpose flour instead of half whole wheat. The final answer...these were more crepe like, than pancake. That means, I liked them better.

The only issue I had was that the batter didn't bubble up to let you know that it was time to flip. You had to check to see if they were browning and go from there. I would say it was about three minutes each side. I used a griddle set at 350 (I tried different temps and this appeared to be the one that worked the best). If I was doing them on the stove, I'd go medium heat.

Here's what you'll need:

2 C Flour
1/3 C Sugar
1 t Sea Salt
1 t Baking Powder
1/4 t Cinnamon
2 1/4 C Buttermilk
2 Eggs
2 T Butter melted
Zest from 1 1/2 Lemons
2 1/2 C Blueberries

In large bowl mix your wet ingredients and zest until well mixed. Add the dry until just combined, a few lumps are ok, don't overmix). Leave blueberries OUT.

Heat griddle over medium heat and brush with butter (yes, I did this for this recipe instead of my handy cooking spray~I think the spray would have worked fine). Drop 1/3 C batter onto skillet and throw some blueberries on top. Gently press berries into pancakes. Cook pancakes until underside is a deep golden, reduce heat to low, flip and cook for two minutes more (I didn't reduce the heat).

Zest your lemons

They didn't bubble like normal pancakes,
Breakfast is served

Miracles for Mitch

In one week, Max and Claire will be doing their annual triathlon. If you'd like to pledge their efforts, please click on the link below. All donations are tax deductible and goes to children who have cancer.

Click here to visit my personal page.

Book

I started my summer with a good book and I'm ending my summer with one too. Easy read and a glossary in the back to help.

You can order it from Amazon for as little as $1.89 used. Thanks Amazon for the image:)