Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

We live in Northern Colorado, only a little over an hour from the Wyoming border. One of the nicknames for Wyoming is The Cowboy State. Every now and then, for a change of pace, we drive up to Wyoming, just to get out of Dodge for a bit. And trust me, if you’ve ever been to Dodge, KS, you would definitely want to leave too. 🙂 Yesterday we took another day trip up to Laramie, WY and made the loop back through Cheyenne, WY with Mike and Lauren. They had never been up to Laramie before.

We took a slightly different route going up to Laramie, and stopped at Horsetooth Reservoir first, outside of Ft. Collins, CO. We had talked about taking a picnic lunch with us, but changed our minds. Looking at the res though, I almost wish we had taken a picnic lunch with us. It was so beautiful.

Our drive up to The Cowboy State was a beautiful drive too though. I never get tired of looking beautiful scenery. These were taken from the car.

Once we stopped in Laramie, we walked around town a bit before stopping for lunch.

This was the sign on one of the doors of one of the shops. I love it. I think I am somewhere between the revolutionary and the do-gooder, leaning more towards the revolutionary side. There is no doubt about it; I am a REBEL! 🙂

We dined al fresco at a local restaurant called Altitude Chophouse & Brewery.

The bear made us all feel very welcomed indeed.

We enjoyed some soup, salad, sandwiches and fish & chips. It was good, wholesome food.

After lunch, with full and happy tummies, we walked around a bit more, taking in more sights, before heading out to the Wyoming Territorial Prison.

The other nickname for Wyoming is The Equality State because it was the first state to specifically give women the right to vote, which it did as a territory in 1869 and retained upon entering the Union. Lauren and I are bonding a little with the Wyoming Women.

Stay tuned. Part 2 is coming right up. ………

It’s been awhile since the Queen has paid a visit, but she came back again last night. This time she had a Peruvian accent, and presented herself as La Reina. For those of you who are new to my blog, “The Queen” is my alter ego. She gets her name from “The Queen of Leftovers”, since that’s a specialty of mine. In fact, in a way, creatively using leftovers was kind of the launching pad for my blog, way back in the beginning. 🙂

I love it when I can use up my leftovers, and I love it even more when I can totally recreate them into something different than what they were when I first prepared them. 🙂 This dish was almost completely made from leftovers too. It is always a win/win.

I had some leftover pasta, from when I made my pesto pasta primavera Pesto Primavera with Smoked Turkey. I marinated some pork chops in a lime vinaigrette and cut up some vegetables. Once those were all cooked, I added my Peruvian sauce that was leftover from my Peruvian chicken Peruvian Chicken, and voila! Dinner was served. Quick, easy-peasy and delicious! Just the way I like them too. 🙂

I let the pork marinade for about 3-4 hours, then sliced into thin strips. My vegetables were some leftover zucchini, corn, red onions, sliced very thin, and red bell peppers sliced into thin matchsticks.

Once everything was cooked and heated up, I layered all up and topped it with some fresh sweet 100 tomatoes, fresh from Janet and Bob’s garden. I cut those in half and generously sprinkled them on top of the pasta. This was my first batch of tomatoes from Janet and Bob’s garden for this year, but I know there will be a lot more in my very near future too. 🙂

Once again, The Queen and I collaborated well together and created yet another delicious meal that was nothing like the first over meal. We make a good team. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The squirrels are still out playing and having lots of fun. And I still enjoy watching them and all their fun antics. I caught them at play once again, just enjoying life, as they always seem to do.

Have a fun squirrely day. 🙂

When we first went to Azul Fuego (Blue Fire) Azul Fuego the owners and management were very happy when I reviewed them so favorably in my post, they invited us to come back again to enjoy more delicious food. How could I refuse? More delicious food with great ambience? Of course we went back again. This time it was just Janet, Bob, Larry and I and we enjoyed our dinner out in their garden patio, underneath their big beautiful tree.

Our food was just as good this time as it was before, and the staff was just as friendly and professional as before too. We would expect nothing less. Once again, we started off with some cool, refreshing bebidas, and chips, salsa and guacamole.

Janet ordered the same thing she had last time, the enchilada suiza.

Bob, Larry and I all ordered something different this time. Bob had the chicken mole.

Larry and I ordered similar things, but one was with beef and one was with pork. We ordered the chili Colorado.

Once again, we were all very happy with what we ordered and our tummies were very full and very satisfied. But we did manage to save a little room for some of their delicious flan too. We had one serving that we divided into four pieces, so we all had just a bite or two, which was just enough and just perfect.

We have now been to Azul Fuego twice in about a month’s time. This is a great indicator on how much we like it. We don’t go out to eat that often at all really, so to go back to the same restaurant twice in such a short period time is really something. 🙂 Next time you are in the Louisville area, stop in at Azul Fuego and give them a try. I know you will love them as much as we do.

Azul Fuego is located right on the corner of Pine Street, in Louisville at 1006 Pine Street, Louisville, Colorado 80027. We just walked right in, but we were early. The restaurant fills up quickly on the weekends, so reservations are recommended for weekends. You can call them at (303) 665 2833 or email them at MAIL@azul-fuego.com to make your reservations. They are open daily from 11:00 AM-10:30 PM. !Disfruitar!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

It is supposed to be yet another scorcher today, with the temperature soaring to about 100*F or 38*C. If I wanted to get in a walk, which of course, I always do, I had to do it early in the morning. I took my walk around 7:30 AM, and it was perfect out. I didn’t see too many birds today, but I did see a lot of bunnies. One of the bunnies was just a baby too. The bunnies like the cooler weather too. 🙂

This one was just a tiny baby.

Hopping back to mama.

Have a bunniful or at least a beautiful day today too. 🙂

Pistachios are old nuts, having been around for anywhere between 8,000-12,000 years. They originated in the Middle East, specifically the region encompassing modern-day Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and parts of Russia and Afghanistan. Today, pistachios are grown in many areas of the world, with the main producers being Iran, The United States and California in particular, and Turkey. California began large-scale pistachio production in the 1970’s. Today, the pistachio industry in California alone is a multi-billion dollar industry. California may be a major pistachio producer, but the experts still say the pistachios from either Iran or Turkey taste better. They have a very distinct flavor that the California pistachios do not have. American-grown pistachios are, on average, larger and plumper. American pistachio shells are naturally tan and never bleached. Iranian nuts are often bleached to mask discoloration. American pistachios are more uniform in size because of strict grading standards.

Pistachios are always associated with happiness, good luck and good fortune, in many different cultures. They are known as the smiling nut in Iran because of how the shell splits as the nuts, or kernels, inside ripen, which makes them look like they are smiling. They are also known as the happy nut in China. The nuts are often given as a gift during the Chinese New Year because they symbolize health, happiness and good fortune. In Israel and Russia, hearing the cracking of a pistachio nut was seen as a good omen. In the Middle East it means you will have a happy relationship so couples would meet under pistachio trees and wait to see if the nuts might tell them that their relationship was going to be successful. Pistachios are one of two nuts listed in the Bible. The other nut in the Bible is the almond. They were both listed in Genesis 43:11 as gifts to Egypt, as the “best products of the land”.

Pistachios were highly sought after treats all along the Silk Path, from traders from all over. As their popularity grew, so did their presence, all throughout Europe and beyond. In Persia (modern day Iran), pistachio trade and ownership of pistachio groves meant riches and high status. At first they were highly prized by the elite and the wealthy due to their original difficulty to produce. They were considered a treat for royalty, and only wealthy people could afford them. Legend has it that the Queen of Sheba forbid commoners from growing these delicious green treats. Originally, they were smuggled out of Iran because they were so highly prized by the wealthy and the royalty, and not meant to be enjoyed by commoners.

Not only are pistachios very tasty and delicious, but they are also very healthy for you too.  A single 1 oz serving of pistachios has as much protein as an egg. That’s about a handful or 49 nuts for 6 grams of protein. Like many other nuts, pistachios are a good source of a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that not only provide excellent nutrition for the calories, they provide many other health benefits as well. Studies show they may help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar, promote healthier blood vessels and healthier gut bacteria. They are packed with nutrients, including healthy fats, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. However, moderation is key, as they are calorie-dense, and are comprised of 45% fat.

While still growing on the trees, pistachios resemble olives on the trees.

Pistachios are nuts, that resemble olives while growing on their trees, but are actually related to poison ivy. Pistachios, along with cashews and mangos, belong to the same plant family, Anacardiaceae, which also includes poison ivy. This family of plants produces urushiol, the oily substance that causes allergic reactions in many people, leading to the characteristic itchy rash associated with poison ivy. While pistachios are related to poison ivy, most commercially available pistachios are processed in a way that removes or neutralizes the urushiol, so they don’t typically cause a reaction. While pistachios are in the same family as poison ivy, the way they are processed significantly reduces or eliminates the presence of urushiol. The shells are often roasted, which helps to destroy the allergen.

I have learned a lot of new information about pistachios. I hope you have too. Have a great day and learn something new everyday. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I am working my way through both leftovers and just everyday meals, many of which you have already seen before, so that means not much cooking taking place right now. This is always a good time for something fun. It’s a great time for some fun food quotes. Since many of us are on diets, definitely myself included, I thought these were apropos. 🙂

I think these are ones we can all relate to, especially if we are on diets.

I hope these brought a smile and a giggle or two. Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

The birds just love our dead trees. Why? I have NO idea, but they do. Last night as we were enjoying our dinner al fresco on our deck, our trees were filled with all kinds of birds. They would come and stay awhile, then flit off once again, with other birds coming in right behind them. We were greeted by the little Calliope Hummingbirds and American Goldfinches last night. It was an entertaining evening. We had dinner and a show right in our own backyard. 🙂

Life is full of surprises. You just never know what’s going to happen next. Sit back, relax, and let life come to you. 🙂

It’s still hot and that means it’s still salad season. I had some leftover beans I wanted to use Beans, Beans, Beans but I didn’t want to make anything that required the oven. So I hit my cookbook library and found a delicious recipe that was just what I was looking for. I made a salad with chicken and beans or ensalada con pollo y frijoles. It was perfect.

Ensalada con Pollo y Frijoles

This cool, colorful salad was loaded with all kinds of good things. It is a deliciously perfect way to help beat the heat on a hot summer’s day too.

The Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP either sherry or red wine or Prosecco vinegar

1 chipotle pepper with sauce, chopped fine

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1-2 TBSP chopped cilantro

1 tsp brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp cumin

Whisk everything together and set aside until ready to use.

The Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped or shredded

1/4 red onion sliced very thin

your choice of shredded cheese, optional

1 tomato, diced fine

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and warmed

1- 1 1/2 cups cooked mixed beans

1 chicken breast, sliced thin

avocado slices, optional

either fried tortilla strips or roasted pepita seeds for topping

Start layering the salad with lettuce, red onion, cheese, if using, and the beans. I used my leftover bean salad, which was just perfect for this salad. Add the sliced chicken, tomatoes, corn, and dressing. Then top with avocado slices, the fried tortilla strips and/or the roasted pepita seeds. I didn’t have enough fried tortilla strips for the two of us, so Larry used those and I topped my salad with the pepita seeds. Both options are just fine. 🙂

This salad is colorful, healthy and quick and easy-peasy. You’re going to love it. I promise.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay cool, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I don’t see these little Gray-headed Juncos too often, but I get real excited when I do. Sometimes I see them in the trees right beside my house, but by the time I get my camera ready, off they go. Every now and then I am able to get a few good shots before they take off though.