Mommie Cooks!

Sometimes Simple, Sometimes Grand, Always Declicious

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Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup

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Having grown up in Wisconsin, there were certain foods that I came to enjoy as a part of everyday life.  Bratwurst cooked on the grill.  Friday night fish fries.  Beer (Need I say more).  And then there is the food that Wisconsin has always been known for, cheese.  California may try to claim it from us, but make no mistake, we are considered the cheeseheads for one big reason.  Wisconsin knows cheese.  Sorry California.  I love your beautiful weather and your beaches (lord knows Wisconsin is lacking in the sand and salt water department and our winter weather leaves something to be desired), but I just can’t give you the crown for cheese over my beloved hometown state; and yes I’m most definitely biased.

So in the spirit of true cheesehead pride, I have created this recipe as a salute to the state where I grew up.  You can find a steaming bowl of beer cheese soup in just about any mom and pop restaurant in Wisconsin.  And I’m willing to throw money down that pretty much every bowl you find will be good enough to scrape the dish clean.  There’s just something magical about combining cheese and beer together that makes the world right again.  Serve up a brat or some fish fry on the side and you’ll be ready to move your roots to the north.  Guaranteed.

In other news, the big day is finally here!  My blogoversary is officially on Thursday, but we’ll be celebrating on Friday with a giveaway or two and a look back at the past year of Mommie Cooks (and what a year it’s been!)  Hopefully the new site design will be launched by then as well.  It’s as good as ready.  I’m just waiting for the green light from my designer.  So keep an eye out cuz Mommy’s updating to a whole new look and this one plans to stick around for awhile.

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Mahi Mahi + Salad Fixings+ Homemade Asian Dressing

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Put it all together and you have One. Killer. Salad.  I have to say, this was some tasty fine dinner.  The inspiration for this meal actually came after a last minute decision to head to Le Peep for breakfast after church last Sunday.  Going out to breakfast isn’t in our normal routine, but for some reason I was just feeling the need to partake of somebody’s cooking other than my own.  And believe me, when the mommy’s got an urge for breakfast, it darn well needs to be honored in this house.

So after consuming more than a few breakfast delights and pretty much rolling ourselves out of the restaurant, my husband proclaimed that a light dinner needed to be in our future in order to counteract the pig out that so shamelessly occurred just a few minutes earlier. Hence, this delicious salad was born.

I know it’s going to sound silly, but my favorite part about this salad is the mandarin oranges.  There’s just something about those little orange slices of heaven that get me every time.  I could eat them straight out of the can.  Ok, who am I kidding, I DO eat them straight out of the can.  It’s so bad that I’ll hide them from my kids and eat them when they’re at school just so I don’t have to share.  Yes, my name is Julie and I have a mandarin orange problem.

Ok, first up, the dressing.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients Needed:

For the Dressing:

3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Tbsp of Fresh Ginger
1 Green Onion, Chopped
1/2 Lime, Juiced
3 Tbsp of Honey
1/2 Cup Sesame Oil
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup of Soy Sauce
/4 Cup of Rice Vinegar

This dressing is so easy peasy, it make me wonder why I don’t make homemade dressing more often.  You basically just take everything from the list above, throw it in a blender/processor and hit start.  Bango, homemade Asian dressing.

Now, take about a half of a cup of your dressing and throw it in a gallon sized ziploc bag along with your mahi mahi.  Close ‘er up, throw it in the fridge and let it marinate for at least an hour if not longer.   Be sure to refrigerate your remaining dressing as well.  You’ll need that again later on to slather on your finished salad; yum!

Once dinner time is upon you, grab your marinated fish and throw it on the grill until cooked through and then set to the side to keep warm.

Now you can really put anything you’d like in your salad so it is by no means a requirement to have what we used in ours (although, I might disagree with that statement when it comes to the mandarin oranges).   Here’s what we threw into our salad:

Ingredients Needed:

For the Salad:

1 Bag of Spinach
1 Bunch of Romaine
1 Handful of Carrots, Chopped
1/2 Pint of Cherry Tomatoes, Halved
1 Handful of Sliced Mushrooms
1 Can of Mandarin Oranges, Drained and Rinsed
1 Small Cucumber, Sliced (or in our case, 1/4 of a really LARGE cucumber)
2/3 Cup of Crumbled Blue Cheese

Throw all your salad fixings in a bowl and voila!  Isn’t that beautiful?

To plate your dinner, grab the a plate of salad, toss in a little (or a lot depending on your tastes) dressing and throw a mahi mahi fillet on top.  And that’s all there is to it!  Grab your wine, grab your salad and enjoy every. last. bite. of your creation.  I know we did!