Your eyes don't deceive you

Yes. That is a plate-sized doughnut you're looking at. It's easily 600 calories of glazed goodness. Make sure you bring a friend and a gallon of milk before you embark on this adventure. Now, I need to say that this isn't the best doughnut I've ever eaten. The glaze-to-dough ratio was lower than a normal-sized doughnut.

But it was good, and I'd do it again.


So where can you buy this monstrosity for $1.49? At Bowman's. That's 326 N. Main in Kaysville. Here's what it looks like thanks to Google Street view:


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My goal here is to induce insane calorie consumption and weight gain. So please let me know when you jump on the bandwagon and eat the doughnut as big as your face.

Something fishy's going on

We are on a salmon kick lately in our family. Healthy stuff, you know. It's also delicious, and there are so many ways to cook it. This recipe has an Asian twist. We really liked it. The other nice thing about salmon is that it takes mere minutes to cook.

THE RECIPE:

1 lb. salmon fillets
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Toss salmon and sauce ingredients in plastic bag. Refrigerate for as long as possible so flavors can soak in. Place bag contents in frying pan, cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Uncover and cook salmon for about two minutes on each side, or until salmon flakes easily. Discard liquid. Cook just a little on each side in dry pan until salmon is browned and glazed.

The whole enchilada

An easy way to make run-of-the-mill enchilada sauce is to combine canned red sauce and canned tomato soup. The soup mitigates the spice a little bit for us wimps, although I still think it's a little spicy. I am the wimpiest of the wimps, though. Above, I just made plain old cheese enchiladas, but they are lightning fast to put together, and with the toppings, they make a great weeknight dinner.

THE RECIPE:

8 flour tortillas
Shredded cheese
1 10-ounce can red enchilada sauce
1 10-ounce can condensed tomato soup
Desired toppings

Fill tortillas with cheese and roll. Place in baking dish. Mix sauce and soup well, then pour over tortillas, ensuring that sauce sinks down to bottom of dish. Top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, etc. if desired.

Good garlic!

These garlic green beans have served us well over the past few years. Everyone loves them, and they make a nice side dish for almost any meal. I eat massive amounts of green beans when they are served this way. I use frozen green beans, but if you want to use fresh, you might need to steam them first so they are partially cooked.

THE RECIPE:

1 1/2 lbs. frozen green beans, thawed
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. canola, vegetable OR sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
6 cloves garlic, pressed

In small bowl, combine soy sauce, oil and sugar; set aside. Put garlic in skillet coated with cooking spray. Cook on medium-high for a minute or two, until softened. Add green beans. Stir until well-coated. Add sauce and stir until most of liquid is absorbed. Makes 6 servings.

Flurry of curry

This recipe for coconut-curry chicken was something different for us and really good. We definitely want to make it again. I might add chopped peanuts next time. I love the combination of coconut milk and curry. And the addition of basil was a pleasant surprise. And in case you're worried, it's not spicy.

THE RECIPE:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1 c. chopped red onion (I'm sure this could be optional)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk*
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. snipped fresh basil OR 3 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger OR 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Cooked rice

Mix curry, salt, pepper and chili powder in small bowl. Put chicken pieces in baggie and toss with spices. Close bag and refrigerate for as long as possible to allow spices to penetrate.

Cook onions and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Remove from pan. Cook chicken through, then remove from pan as well. Combine coconut milk and cornstarch, then add to pan and cook until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken, onions and garlic to pan. Stir in basil and ginger. Serve over hot rice.

*I know lowfat coconut milk exists, but I didn't see it at Walmart.

Love at first sight

My daughter recently told her grandma: "My mom is addicted to chocolate." What a smart girl. It's very true. Chocolate cake is divine with this chocolate cream cheese frosting. Store-bought frosting doesn't even hold a candle to this. Boxed cake mixes are fine, though. You'll want to walk around with a fork if you have this decadence at your house.

THE frosting RECIPE:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter or spread, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. cocoa powder
5 to 6 c. powdered sugar
Milk to thin, if desired

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together. Add cocoa. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency. Thin with a couple of tablespoons of milk if necessary. I like mine to be really spreadable and smooth, not thick and pasty.

And that's a wrap!

My friend Kylie gave me the recipe for these lettuce wraps. We have made them many times since. They have a mild flavor and are very good. There are never any leftovers. Someday I might tweak them to see if I can end up with a stronger flavor, just for a nice change. We'll see.

THE RECIPE:

3 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. rice vinegar*
1 Tbsp. oil
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can straw mushrooms, drained and chopped*
Lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar, and set aside. Saute remainder of ingredients in oil, then add sauce. Mix thoroughly and remove from heat. Before serving, cool until just warm. Wrap in lettuce leaves.

*Rice vinegar tastes very similar to white vinegar, so if you don't want to pay for a whole bottle, I'm sure you could just use white. You'll find straw mushrooms by the water chestnuts in the Asian food aisle.