Shrimp Crepes 2/23/12

Griffen has recently been talking about how good crepes are after we made some for breakfast a few weeks ago. I'd heard of crepes for dinner and thought we would give it a try.
Seafood is always good so I looked up a shrimp crepe recipe and it turned out fantastic! It was super easy to make. We have a crepe maker so that definitely assisted in the process.
The choice of shrimp is terrible and I refuse to buy any that say "farmed in Indonesia". Take a closer look the next time you go to the butcher block and you will see what I mean. I settled for the baby shrimp, at least they are from the Oregon coast.
Here is the recipe that I used:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Shrimp-Crepes

Beignets!

We were having the missionaries over for dinner so for dessert I planned to make beignets. It then dawned on me that it was Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras, so it was the perfect dessert for the day.
Beignets are fairly easy to make. I attempted to use our Fry Daddy but it didn't get quite hot enough so we used a cast iron skillet instead and shortening for the deep fry.
Here is my favorite recipe! It is from Paula Deen of course.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/french-quarter-beignets-recipe/index.html

2/5/12 Lemony Chicken with Artichoke Hearts and Green Beans

Chicken is a staple in most homes but I'm always trying to find different ways to prepare it. There is nothing wrong with my typical oven baked chicken but it is nice to change it up a bit every once in a while.
I recently subscribed to allrecipes.com for their daily recipe delivery and I received this one about a week ago. I'm glad that we gave it a go because it was delicious!
Please take a look at the recipe - it was very easy to prepare.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemony-chicken-with-artichoke-hearts/detail.aspx

I also wanted to take a moment to talk about chicken. More to the point....the quality of chicken that I buy.
We go to Silvana Meats every 1-2 months to stock up on pork and beef along with whole fryer chickens. Any realist would understand that you don't always want or need to cook an entire chicken. Sometimes you just want some thighs for the grill or a few breasts for dinners like the one described above.
I have been researching chicken and found a good choice for local chicken. Draper Valley Farms is based out of Mt. Vernon WA and they have been in business since 1935.
The chickens at Draper Valley Farms are raised without the use of antibiotics and raised with excellent poultry husbandry practices. Chickens are grown in spacious housing with plenty of natural sunlight and fresh air and have sufficient room to move about the entire house. They are Free-Range, given outdoor access which helps contribute to a stress-free living environment. Most importantly they are not given antibiotics, hormones, and no preservatives are used.
Draper Valley utilizes 29 local farmers to raise their chickens and they have a hands on approach with all of them.
Below is an article by the Skagit Valley Co-op describing the practices at Draper Valley.

http://skagitfoodcoop.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/meet-your-local-chickens-draper-valley-farm-tour/


 Locally you can find their products at Haggen and Top Foods among other grocers and co-op locations.

Where did I find the local ingredients?
Chicken - Draper Valley Farms from Haggen

1/31/12 BBQ Chicken Calzones

Sometimes we like to make homemade pizza so to change it up we made calzones instead!
I found a great recipe on allrecipes.com.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bbq-chicken-calzones/detail.aspx

I wasn't up to making pizza dough this week so during my shopping trip at Trader Joe's I picked up some of their herb dough. I love the TJ's dough because it doesn't have extra unnecessary ingredients, it's quick, and it's cheap. Only 1.29!
Another must-have item is the TJ's Bold and Smoky Kansas City Style BBQ sauce. It is the best hands down. I refuse to by another BBQ sauce.
I ran out of chicken from the butcher so we will have to make a trip north this week to stock up. I picked up some free range chicken breast while we were at TJ's as well.

This was a fast and easy meal. Not to mention delicious!

Where did I find the ingredients?
Chicken, mozzarella cheese, BBQ sauce, dough - Trader Joe's
Bacon - Silvana Meats
Onion - Sno-Isle Food Co-op

Oops I forgot to take a photo before I dug in!