The Perfect Soft-Boiled Egg!

Whenever I was sick, as a kid, my Mom would make me soft-boiled eggs.

It’s actually a pretty sweet memory. Ya gotta love when Mom takes care of you. Although, my Mom was a nurse – so the minute your high temp was gone, you were tossed back in school. (She was also the pull-the-band-aid-quick kinda Mom. I just hope I got some of her immense strength.)

Recently, I’d been trying to perfect the soft-boiled egg. For some reason my old “boil for 4 minutes” routine was becoming quite inconsistent. But today, I felt a bit of AHHH.

Today’s attempt was first boiling the water. Then setting the two eggs in the water. Lowering the boil to about 4-5 on the burner. I let them soft boil for 6:40. And, well, got some perfection. I’d guess seven minutes for four eggs. I’ve also heard if you have more than four eggs, you need to do batches because these soft-boilers are sensitive!

You take the eggs out and rinse with cold water for a bit. Use the wider end of the egg to tap and peel. Add some salt & peppa. These were de-lush for sure! Miss you, Mom!

Enjoy!

❤

julie

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SweetJAMZ Quickie: Potato Pizza!

Ok, kids. It’s our first QUICKIE! This is beyond DEE-LISH. And pretty quick——>

Recipe (download the recipe here—> Quickie Potato Pizza):

Ingredients:
1 Large Potato
1/3-2/3 Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
4-6 Slices Prosciutto
1-4 eggs
Cup of Mushrooms
3 oz. Mozzarella Cheese (sliced or shredded)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

– Wash & cut the potato (unpeeled) into very thin slices. Heat a frying pan with olive oil. Arrange the potato slices in a ring pattern, overlapping. Sprinkle on the parmesan – cover and cook on lowish heat for 5 mins.
– Spread the tomato sauce onto potatoes. Add mozzarella & mushrooms, salt & pepper. Crack egg(s) on top. Cover & cook on medium heat for 5 mins or slightly longer.
– Divide into four & plate along with a slice of prosciutto.

No joke, this is DEE-LISH times ten & not heavy. Great breakfast for guests.

❤

julie

SweetJamz Tastes! Episode #008: Burger Tour LA 2017

Ever wanted to know the BEST fast food burger in LA? Here we go —->

❤

Julie

SweetJamz Cooks! Episode #006 – “Not So Philly” Cheesesteak!

If you can believe it, I was once in Philly & had a terrible cheesesteak! Shouldn’t that be illegal? This recipe was fun & really pretty easy. Boneless short rib, provolone, onions & peppas – a tremendous combo for our “Not So Philly” cheesesteak sandwich. Watch us make it here:

SWEETJAMZ “NOT SO PHILLY” CHEESESTEAK
(A printable version here—> not-so-philly-cheesesteak)
(Makes 3-4 hearty sandwiches)

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless short rib
Bread: baguette, hoagie rolls, or whatever floats your boat
6 slices of Provolone Cheese
1 red & 1 green bell pepper
½ Onion
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:
-Place unwrapped meat in pan lined with parchment paper in the freezer for 40 mins.
-After 40 mins – slice the meat thin
-Slice the onions & peppers
-Sauté’ the onions to start with some olive oil in a pan
-Then add the peppers to the onions – cook until softened (we liked them a little crispy)
-Preheat the cast iron & cook the meat with some olive oil – making sure the meat is not overlapping & occasionally flipping it until done
-Add Provolone slices and place lid on to let the cheese melt
-Cut the bread into individual sandwich sizes and half them down the side
-Heat bread in the oven on 350 for a few minutes
-Place heated bread on foil & start assembly with meat/cheese & then onion/peppers
-Wrap sandwich up in foil for a few minutes to let it keep melting
-Unwrap & dig in

Recipe source: Bon Appétit

Voila – you’ve got yourself another great SweetJamz – A Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

Is There A Taco Tuesday Addiction Club? (Asking for a friend.)

Hello. Our names are Julie & Jason. And we are Taco-holics. Do we eat tacos a little too often? Define often?!!

Let me tell you about this little game changer, though. Move over taco shell, it’s Guerrero Tostadas to the rescue: 

I prefer a hard shell over a tortilla any day, but I find most taco shells go stale or are stale when you open the package. These tostadas lasted so long and were so crunchy & amazing.

It’s fun to change the meat on these – turkey, beef or ground tofu. I recently started mixing in a refried bean to the meat (after the taco mix) & it’s perfect for these. Add your favorite toppings & voila!

With just two of us, the 22 count tostada packaging makes for an extended Taco Tuesday (hello, Taco Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) but who’s complaining? 

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

I Love This Dish So Much, I Want to Marry-nade it!

Fresh Ginger & Pear, oh my! We made this delicious Bulgogi recipe:

Who doesn’t love a good marinade. And we found it with this Bon Appétit Basic Bulgogi recipe <—click here.

We used a beef for stir fry that was already cut in strips, but the idea here is to get very thin strips to allow the meat to absorb the hot-sweet-salty marinade in minutes, not hours.
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Bulgogi Recipe: (Printable version here – basic-bulgogi)

INGREDIENTS:
4 SERVINGS
¼ pear, grated
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon gochugaru (coarse Korean hot pepper flakes), or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (<– we used this)
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed hanger steak, boneless short rib, or skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
Kosher salt
Sliced scallions (for serving)
PREP:
Combine pear, garlic, soy sauce, gochugaru, ginger, sugar, and sesame oil in a large resealable plastic bag or medium bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice meat into very thin strips. Add to marinade, seal bag, and squish everything around until the meat is coated. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes, or chill up to 8 hours.
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high until oil is shimmering. Remove half of meat from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag; season lightly with salt and cook in a single layer without moving until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Toss meat and continue to cook, tossing occasionally, until cooked through and crisp at edges, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil, remaining meat, and more salt.
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We served this over brown rice (cooked with coconut milk instead of water), topped with scallions…along with our tasty sautéed shishitos as a side.

More fun marinade recipes here!

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

If Pizza On Fridays Is Wrong – I Don’t Want To be Right!

Looking for a low-budget fun Friday night date? Making pizza at home does the trick. Every. Time.

When I was a kid, my Dad did a lot of the cooking. And every once in a while around 10pm, suddenly, out of nowhere, the most beautiful scent would be in the air: a sweet tomato sauce & a fresh baking crust. Dad was making pizza – yippee! My Dad totally had a leg up on the fourth meal concept. And what kid doesn’t absolutely love pizza.

Now, it’s time for another confession. He would make the pizza from this:

Not kidding. And sure, it wasn’t great, but it was pizza for heaven’s sake. (We rarely got the take out pizza treat – take out pizza was for fancy nights!) Oddly enough, did you know you can STILL buy this Chef Boyardee mix? Hilarious. And yes, my old coworker, Josh, bought me one. Jason & I made it. And yes. It’s terrible. 🙂

So, no, I’m not suggesting you buy the box. I went rogue a couple years ago and went so far as growing my own yeast (a How-To guide is here). It’s quite tedious – you literally have to care for it weekly. We did end up getting one or two great pizza crusts from it, but it was definitely hit or miss. I couldn’t rely on it working out. But when it did. Wow.

This time we went super easy. We bought Fleishmann’s Pizza Crust Yeast:

We also bought a can of pizza sauce & our favorite toppings (mushrooms, mozzarella cheese & basil). The nice thing about this crust is there’s no waiting time for the dough to rise. You mix it up, knead it for four minutes, roll it out, add sauce & toppings & voila you’ve got a pizza ready for the oven.

There’s something so fun about making pizza with someone. And pizza just always brings me back to the joy of being a kid.

I’d like to work on making the bottom of the crust more crisp, but this really was delicious. Give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

Dear Shishitos: I Love You!

Some girls like to snuggle up to a good romance novel, I prefer to romance my taste buds with tasty Shishito peppers:

I’m not sure why this took me so long, but Shishitos are an easy, light, delicious snack. I just pan fry them with olive oil & add some sea salt. I like them to get a little charred. Jason & I also love dipping these in soy sauce.

I came across four great recipes for Shishitos here. There’s Pan-Seared Shishitos with Sesame Seeds (that sounds yummy), Char-Grilled Shishitos, Shrimp, Shishito & Pineapple Skewers (woah) & Shishito Tempura.

The heat in the Shishitos range from mild to super hot, so be careful. And if you see a slight orange/red hue, that one is most likely hotter. But, again, I’m not a super spice-hot person & I absolutely love them.

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

Confessions of a Kraft American Cheese Girl!

Some days (mostly Mondays) a girl needs a little alone time. Just me. Coffee. And an egg sandwich…with Kraft American Cheese. Who’s with me?

I grew up in the suburbs just outside of Detroit – in Warren, Michigan. (That was four miles from 8 mile, yo!) My sisters & I always joke that we totally grew up white trash. Evidence? In our fridge at all times growing up: a package of Oscar Mayer Bologna & Kraft American cheese slices. Fried bologna anyone?

And I’ll tell you what, most of my adult life I kept the nostalgia going in my own fridge – although I’ve let it slide as of late. Jason & I have been trying to eat less bread & only consume real cheese 🙂 But this little lady came a calling:

Let me tell you, she didn’t disappoint. I made two eggs – sunny side up. Melted a piece of Kraft on top and plopped it onto my favorite English muffin – Bays (only found in the refrigerated section near the eggs). And voila! Perfection.

My point is. You can take the Kraft American Cheese out of the fridge but you can’t take the Kraft American Cheese out of the girl.

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production.

❤

julie

Get a Kick Out of This Light Crock-Pot Chili!

Like a little kick in your step? Try this Light Crock-Pot Chili With Jalapeño!

What I love about this recipe is you don’t have to brown the ground chicken & ground beef before you throw it into the crock-pot – and doesn’t that make sense? That’s the whole point of a crock-pot – the idea that you just throw a bunch of stuff in it and come back 6-8 hours later to enjoy it.

The toppings really make the chili & we had this with just sour cream (which was great) but if you like goat cheese, a little on top is divine. I got the recipe from Skinny Taste (love that site) & you can download it here–> light-slow-cooker-chili-with-jalapeno

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz – a Slater/Friday Production!
❤

Julie

Turn Up The Red Peppa – It’s Cold In Here!

I know it’s not really “winter” here in LA, but why is it I am so in winter mode and want all of this comfort food? Oh right, because it’s in the 50s and rainy and our early 1900’s apartment walls are made out of paper. So, turn up the red peppa – it’s cold in here!

I saw an infamous Tasty video for Taco-Stuffed Peppers on facebook & had to give it a shot. Here’s the recipe. There’s only two of us, so I bought just 6 peppers & had some leftover meat mixture which was OK by me.

Plus, with this dish – you can get creative with the leftovers. For lunch the next day, we made nachos. Why on earth is broiled melted cheese on taco chips so divine?!

And for dinner another night we made tacos with gas stove-top crisp tortillas.

The red pepper adds a nice little sweetness to the taco mix. This is even great chopped up over lettuce for a barely-any-carb salad.

**WARNING WARNING** This dish totally made me want margaritas —->

I highly recommend Goldie’s on W. 3rd. They have a Happy Hour Monday through Saturday 3-6p and Sunday 3p – close! This Golden Girl cocktail (spiced tequila, passion fruit, agave, lime, egg white meringue) was $6.50. Score! It even had a little kick, which we both love.

Thanks for stopping by SweetJamz!

❤

Julie

SweetJamz Cooks! Episode #005 – Vegan (Just Kidding) Buddha Bowl…With Chicken

This IS actually a VEGAN Buddha Bowl, but we added baked chicken (which you could disregard). The spiced chickpeas are to-die-for & oh my on the red peppa sauce.

Full recipe download here: vegan-just-kidding-buddha-bowl-with-chicken

It’s healthy & yet oh so delicious!

www.sweetjamz.com – A Slater/Friday Production

(This recipe was inspired by one found on http://www.wellandfull.com)