Icelandic doughnut balls Ástarpungar

The name ástarpungar means “love balls.”
These are a delicious workaday kind of fried pastries that are still made weekly in some households. My paternal grandmother always has some ready for guests.

I really like these little doughnuts, especially warm with a glass of cold milk. Make them and everyone will love you for it ;-)

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
to taste: raisins

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients well in a bowl, add the rest and mix into a smooth batter. Batter should not be very thick. Unlike regular twisted doughnuts which are made with kneaded dough and need very high temperatures to fry properly, these doughnuts can be fried in a regular deep fryer. Use whatever frying fat you like best, heated to the highest temperature the deep fryer offers. Drop dollops of dough into the frying fat with two teaspoons and fish out when they have turned a dark brown colour. Drain on paper towels. Some people like to sprinkle icing sugar on them, but I prefer them plain. Can be eaten hot or cold and freeze well.

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Surströmming and surströmmingfest Swedish fermented herring

Theres a popular evening show on Estonian national TV, called Ringvaade. About two weeks ago they had a brief section about the infamous Swedish delicacy, surströmming or fermented herring. Theres a krog (tavern) on the island of Vormsi, called Krog №14 and they were holding a traditional surströmmingsfest in early October. On the show, the chef of the Krog was talking about the event and about surströmming, and then offered the host a chance to taste some of the fermented fish. The moment they opened the canned surströmming, the host looked utterly disgusted and although he later admitted that it didnt taste as bad as it smelled, he still named it No 2 in his list of the most awful food he has ever tasted (apparently he had eaten some barbecued cockroaches that tasted even worse).

This brought back "fond" memories. About a year ago we hosted a surströmmingfest ourselves. A colleague of my dear K., a cheeky middle-aged Swedish guy called Lars-Olof, offered to bring back some surströmming cans from Sweden, and K., ever so open to new culinary experiences (and experiments), said yes before even consulting with me. Let me know that this was certainly a culinary experience that will NOT become a tradition in our home.

After opening the first can in our kitchen, we quickly decided to move the surströmming-party outdoors. I could still smell the fish on the following morning, even though we cleaned up thoroughly after the party :)

We had actually about 20 people at the party, all with a Swedish connection - they had either lived or studied there, or they were Swedes living or working in Estonia. Here are three brave men preparing the surströmming:


Thats the way to do it: take some tunnbröd or flat wheat bread, smash some "almond potatoes" on top, garnish with finely chopped onions and top with the fish:


One of our guests, Maarja, eagerly biting into the surströmming sandwich:


And we are thorough here over at the Nami-Nami kitchen. We didnt just hold a surströmmingfest, we had a comparative tasting of surströmming. Last autumn, we had three different types of surströmming - filleted fish canned in the same season 2010, whole fish canned in 2010 and whole fish canned in previous season 2009. The adventurous jury decided that the whole fish that had fermented over a year - although it looked most suspicious - was the best, taste-wise. Its like a good bottle of wine - ageing improves - and mellows - the flavour, apparently.



Overall, we had loads of fun and a great party (I didnt serve _just_ surströmming, of course - Im not some Cruella de Vil, but a kind hostess. However, we did decide that this was a one-off event - the smell of surströmming is just a wee bit too overpowering, and not something were keen to replicate at our home any time soon.

Sorry, Swedes :)


* As I was pregnant with our second child at the time, I restrained from eating the fermented fish for obvious reasons and acted as the photographer for the event :)

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3 Cheese Lasagna Rolls a 50 VISA GIFTCARD GIVEAWAY!

       Hi guys!! I am SO EXCITED to be doing my very first GIVEAWAY!  Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy : )

This is your chance to WIN a $50 dollar VISA Giftcard from yours truly! I have been having so much fun blogging about the greatest thing in the world.... FOOD!  It is my ultimate passion to cook and bake and experiment in my kitchen! I love hearing all of your feedback and sweet comments. Thank you to all who let me know what you think... and to all of my Followers and Facebook friends! I really do appreciate all of your love and support!  Here is how you enter the giveaway:

                                                    **THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED**

                  Leave me a comment on this post, telling me how you found my blog!

Did you find me on Facebook?  Or on Tasty Kitchen?  Did you google a recipe and my blog pulled up? Are you one of my friends?  Any answer is fine... just let me know how you heard about my blog! Thats it!! : )

       The giveaway will close on Thursday February 3rd at Midnight (Pacific Time), so no more entries after that. ( Please be sure to leave an email address or someway to contact you, if you do not have a blog or google account.)

I will announce the winner Friday February 4th sometime around 8 or 9 p.m. or whenever my kiddos are fast asleep in their beds! GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE! Please ONE ENTRY (COMMENT) per person!

3 CHEESE LASAGNA ROLLS

Recipe By: Holly Lofthouse

• 9 Lasagna noodles
• 2 large Chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
• 1 jar (16oz) Alfredo sauce
• 1 jar (26oz) Spaghetti sauce
• 2 T grated Parmesan Cheese
• 3 oz Chive & Onion Cream Cheese
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 cup shredded Mozzerella Cheese
• 1/4 tsp dried Basil

Directions:    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Start by boiling your lasagna noodles in a large pot. Cook according to package directions. Drain and then place lasagna noodles on a foil lined cookie sheet.

In a large bowl add your cooked, shredded chicken, garlic powder, parmesan cheese and cream cheese. Mix. Pour in alfredo sauce and mix all together well.

Pour one cup of the spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 2.5 quart baking dish. Spread chicken alfredo mixture onto one lasagna noodle about 2/3 of the way up. Roll noodle up. Place in dish. Repeat with all remaining noodles. Once all rolled and in dish, cover with remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with shredded mozzerella cheese and basil.  Bake, uncovered for 25-30, or until Hot & Bubbly! 

                                                  

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Weekend Potluck 28

   Welcome back to Weekend Potluck! Thanks for bringing so many awesome oven free recipes last week. There were so many good ones! I picked a ton I want to try :)

 Now, lets take a quick peek back at last week...

                       The recipe with the most clicks was ~

                                          Cheeseburger Macaroni by Everyday Mom’s Meals

                         Recipes that caught our attention ~

                                                      Nanaimo Bars by Ginger Bakes

                            Deep Dish Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream Sundae by Crazy for Crust

Your hostesses ~

• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Meet Penny ~ Tabitha
• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• Sunflower Supper Club ~ Kim & Julie
• Life As a Lofthouse ~ Holly
• 4 Little Fergusons~ Tonya

Remember that when you link up, it shows on all SIX blogs. Plus…

We TWEET. We PIN. We LIKE.

Linky Guidelines: If you wish to be a featured recipe or for us to promote your recipe either on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, you MUST follow these instructions.

1. Please link up to your exact post and not the main page to your blog.
2. LINK BACK HERE from your post so that others can find the fun. (Need help linking back? Read this or watch this great instructional video.) You can use the button below or a direct link within your post.

When you are kind enough to follow our guidelines, we work hard to get you as much exposure as possible so that your time here is well invested. We want this to be a fun and rewarding experience for everyone!



<a href="YOUR BLOG URL" ><img border="0" src="http://www.meetpenny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/weekend-potluck-buttong.jpg" width="125"/></a> );

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Blogger Spotlight Mandys Recipe Box

   Hi guys! I am so excited to announce my very first Guest Blogger Spotlight!
I have a list of blogs that I am just obsessed with! I have to stop by them everyday to see what yummy foods theyve posted. So many of the meals that have graced my kitchen table are because of these awesome blogs. I thought that I would start sharing the love and let you all know about them too!

   I am honored to announce my first guest! She is basically my bloggie BFF. If there is such a thing!  lol  She has tons of amazing recipes and we have so much in common! It has been so fun getting to know her through Facebook and Emails. She is such a sweetie! 
Okay, Ill quit rambling on. Ill let her tell her story....  





Hey everyone! Its Mandy from Mandys Recipe Box. I am so excited and honored to be here on Life as a Lofthouse. As you already know, Holly has an incredibly delicious blog and I am happy to know her.

I am a wife to a hot farmer named Lance, and momma to 3 pretty awesome kids- Hannah, Preston, & Emma. We live in the rural (translated:middle of nowhere!) Idaho. I am from Ogden, Utah and then met and fell in love with Lance. After living in Ogden for 3 years, we moved to Idaho so Lance could join the family farm. I have definately been converted to a country girl. I love my life!
Today I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes using a grill. It is so simple, which is my motto. Who says incredible food has to be complicated? I hope you enjoy it and send some warm weather thoughts my way, would you? Thanks!

Greek Souvlaki

2 lbs. pork roast cut into bite sized chunks

Accent or Season Salt

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

 olive oil

whatever veggies you want to add

Mix all seasonings together. Place pork in a container and sprinkle seasoning over it. Toss to coat. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the pork. Cover and marinate over night. Put onto skewers with veggies (peppers, mushrooms, onions etc), wrap in foil, and cook slowly on the grill. About 20 minutes or until done. Before serving, remove foil and sprinkle with lemon juice.

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do. Be sure to come visit me at Mandys Recipe Box. Id love for you to say Hello!
~Mandy

Thanks, Mandy, for stopping by and sharing this great recipe! 

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Ranch Chicken

I wish I could take the credit for this delicious recipe! It is one of my favorites! I honestly dont even know who to give the credit to because I dont know where it originally came from. My little sis Lindsey told me about it a couple of years ago and I think a friend of hers gave it to her. It is crispy, full of flavor and baked, not fried! It is made up of only 3 ingredients: crushed Corn flakes, grated Parmesan cheese and of course, Ranch dressing! YUM :)   Heres how ya do it:

RANCH CHICKEN

3-4 chicken breasts

1 packet Ranch dressing seasoning mix

1 cup crushed Corn flakes

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.  

Combine the Ranch seasoning mix, the crushed Corn flakes and Parmesan cheese into a large freezer baggie.

Shake well to mix all together.

Dip each chicken breast into the melted butter, and then drop into the baggie. Seal the bag shut and then shake well to coat with the seasoning mix. After well coated lay chicken into the baking dish. Repeat with all of the chicken.

Once all chicken has been coated, sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture onto the tops of chicken.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. (Towards the last 15 minutes of cooking you may need to lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent from burning.)

Linked up at Mandys Recipe Box

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My baby is 3!

  My baby turned 3 last Saturday, and Im still crying about it :*(  He is growing up too fast! I wish I could push pause and take in all the special moments. One of the most recent, and favorite of mine, was when I was driving him to daycare last week. I could see him looking at me in the rear view mirror when he said, "You so pwetty, Mommy."

Gah! Talk about melting a Mommas heart ♥  :)


 Kallen is our last baby. A few months after he was born we decided three kids was plenty for us, so its bittersweet as he grows older. It also validates why I go all out for his birthdays. We celebrated with a big bash and invited all of his favorite people. It turned out so fun! I thought Id share a few pics of the big day.

The Birthday boy!



He specifically requested a Cars cake.
This was my attempt...

Some Traffic Light

treats for the partay!

We served sandwiches and lots of

yummy food to the party guests!

Present time!

After about 2 hours of partying,

he was done.

Seriously, done.

Ummm, wait. Maybe Ill just enjoy one more

bite of cake with the boys...

And one more cruise on my new ride.

Happy Birthday, Kallen ♥

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Fried cod cheeks

10 cod cheeks
1 egg white, beaten until it begins to froth slightly
Bread crumbs with salt and pepper to taste
200 g butter or margarine

Cut the cheeks away from the heads if needed. Clean well (scrape off the slime under cold running water) and pat dry. Dip the cheeks in the egg white and dredge in the breadcrumbs. Fry in the butter until golden brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper over them and serve with hot, poached potatoes.
May also be cooked in the oven.

From 160 fiskréttir by Helga Sigurðardóttir

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Menu Plan Monday 5

   The new year is here and I can hardly believe it. I have a few goals I want to accomplish this year. Im calling them goals and not resolutions. I think the name change will help my own weird head to keep on track and stick with them. Along with eating better, getting organized, and spending more quality time as a family, the main one (and most exciting) is to buy a new home! Were planning to buy in March, but were going to start house hunting now. We have definitely out grown the house were in, and also want to move closer to town. I cant even tell you how excited we are! Yay!! Okay enough about that, lets bring on with the grub. Here is week #5!

Monday

Bruschetta Chicken*

green salad

Tuesday

BBQ Chicken Salad

Wednesday

Southwest Lasagna

corn

garlic bread

Thursday

Leftovers!

Friday

~Kitchens Closed~

(date night!)

Saturday

~Kitchens Closed~

(out to eat with the fam)

Sunday

Mozzarella, Tomato and Pesto

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches*

green salad

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Parmesan Garlic Chicken

   There are a lot of different versions of parmesan chicken out there. This one is my favorite! Its probably the easiest one to make too. I love that it doesnt use bread crumbs like most of the other recipes Ive seen. This is one of those easy weeknight meals we all look for. It can be ready in 30 minutes and it is sure to please. Serve it up with a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce and pasta, or it would be great chopped up and put on top of a big green salad!


Parmesan Garlic Chicken

4 small boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and garlic powder in a large, shallow bowl or dish. Run the chicken breasts under cold water, then roll wet chicken in the seasoning mixture to coat. Place coated chicken breasts on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Serve with spaghetti sauce and pasta.



Recipe Source: Kraft.Com



Linked up at Mandys Recipe Box

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Candy Bar Cupcakes with Quick and Delicious Buttercream Frosting

 I LOVE cupcakes! But, who doesnt? I also love candy bars and thought how cool and delish would it be to throw some mini candy bars in a cupcake batter!
        I also have been on the hunt for a bakery like frosting and I think I created it along with these cupcakes! Whenever I taste a cake or cupcake from a local bakery I just cant seem to figure out how they do it.  What gives the frosting that texture and delicious flavor? There are a lot of great recipes out there, and everytime I tried them Im always a little disappointed. Some of them are with flour (which I feel is weird in a frosting) Some of them call for shortening (YUCK!), and some of them tell you to beat it til the sun dont shine.. and me being all about easy and fast, I dont have time for that!
       This frosting is SO EASY and super delicious! I think the whipping cream is what makes this frosting a winner! This is now the one I will always make! Give it a try and let me know what you think!  
       The cupcakes turned out really good as well. I actually tried a bunch of different kinds of candy bars. Twix, Rolos, Snickers and Milky Way. They were all great. I was sad that they do sink down to the bottom, but who cares! With the last bite of your cupcake, you get an extra surprise with a big bite of candy car! Thumbs up for me!

   

CANDY BAR CUPCAKES (makes 36 cupcakes)

Recipe By: Holly Lofthouse

• 1 box (18oz) cake mix 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• small box instant pudding (I used chocolate w/ Devils Food cake mix & vanilla w/ Vanilla cake mix)
• 24 mini candy bars of your choice (Snickers, Milky Way, Rolos)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line mufftin tins with cupcake liners.

Mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, sour cream and pudding mix together with a hand mixer. Beat on low for 30 seconds and then on medium for about 2 minutes. (Batter will be very thick)

With an ice cream scoop, fill liners about 1/3 of the way full of cake batter. Top with one candy bar. Cover candy bar with 2 tablespoons of batter so its completely covering candy bar. Repeat with all.

Place in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

QUICK & DELICIOUS BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Recipe By: HollyL

• 3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 2 sticks of Butter (1 cup), room temperature  (make sure to use REAL butter)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Whipping Cream

•  FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING- Add in 1/4 cup of cocoa

Directions:

Mix powdered sugar and butter in a large bowl with a spatula until well combined. With a hand mixer, mix in Vanilla and Whipping cream. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until well combined.

(For chocolate version,  add in cocoa when mixing the powdered sugar and butter together)

       

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