Oven Night

Almost everything I made tonight for dinner was done in the oven. It was NOT done on purpose. I didn't realize it until I had dessert in the oven and I needed to add something else to it. Mom and I made the dinner tonight. It was in the category of awesome. Parmesan Chicken Tenders, PD's Mini Onion Quiches Italian Tomatoes, PD Lady's Cheesy Mac and for dessert, Lady Cream Cheese Brownies. All of the PD recipes came from her first cookbook, and since I had to look them up online because I have alread returned the cookbook, I can not get you the page numbers, but that is where the recipes came from.
Mom raved over the Parmesan Tenders. That is part of a recipe from the Giada De Laurentiis, Everyday Italian collection that Jamey & the kids already like.
The quiches were good room temp, but were better warm when they came from the oven. The mac n' cheese wasn't anything super special as it was a basic mac n' cheese. Nikki suggested that we take the rustic bread topping from MS's crapy mac & try it own what I made tonight. The brownies were the same as I made on Jan 8th, so we knew they were going to be great. I decided on that desert so everyone else could taste them since there wasn't any left from Joey's b-day dinner.
We washed it down with some throwback Mt.Dew, which is oh, so very very good!
OMG - it's ALL BUTTER!!!

Omelets

So, I didn't get to post this last night because I had 2 boys that had not done their spanish homework which was due today. Anyway, so the omelets was a new thing for me. I didn't have the 7 in skillet which Julia calls for in her cookbook but my pampered chef one did the job. The 1st couple were not the best looking but in the end the last ones turned out beautifully. Still all was eaten and everyone had a full tummy. So with a little practice I say they may become one of the family faves.

Garlic Bread

Tonight I wanted some fresh garlic bread to eat with the spaghetti. Jamey got out some White Wheat hotdog buns from the freezer for us to use.
I softened some unsalted butter and mixed in some minced garlic. I brushed the mixture on each half of the bun & put it under the broiler. It turned out okay, but we needed a more butter & garlic flavor going on.
Might have to add some garlic power & brush it again with butter when it comes out of the oven. Cause it's all butter!

Tuesday's Lunch and Dinner

Well today we had Creamy Potato Soup and sandwiches for lunch. It was very yummy. Instead of lettuce my kids like the green leaf spinich leaves...which I think is an exellant choice. I also think there is nothing to warm you up on a cold winters day than a hot steamy bowl of potato soup.

For dinner we had Italian Mac and Cheese. I got the recipe from my sister n law Nikki. It was a big hit at our house and yes everyone ate the mushrooms....shocker there. So we would have a veggie we had sauteed green beans.

Dessert was a 3 minute Chocolate Cake in a large microwave proof coffee mug. It was a pain in the tail fixing 5 cups of this stuff separate, next time Ill just put the batter in one bowl and then pour into mugs. But it was still delish with chocolate icing and whip cream. It was great not having one fussing over who got more because it was all the same portion.

Haven't decided if tomorrow will be FFYSN (Fend for Your Self Night) . We have one or two of these a month depending on how busy the week is going. I love it...it means no clean up for mom!

Rebekah's First Attempt at MtAoFC Vol.1

Thanks to Julie and Julia I have fell in love with french cooking. So last night I made guinea pigs out of my family and we had Fondue De Poulet A' La Creme pg 262 , Concombres Au Beurre pg499, rice because I did not have time to make Risotto, and for dessert Tarte Au Fromage Frais pg 647. In English that is Chicken simmered with cream and onions, baked cucumbers, and cream cheese tart-hot or cold. It was easy to make all done with in 2 hrs. I thought the cucumbers were awesome...tasted like a baked pickle. The cream and onion sauce was the biggest hit , poured over rice...tasty. Can't wait until the next attempt...any ideas?

Birthday Dessert

So, tomorrow is Joey's 14th Birthday. Emma has a VB tourney is in Sparta, so we did his dinner tonight. He chose his menu as each of my kids do for their birthdays. He chose filet migon, bacon potatoes, burnt broccoli and broccoli with cheese sauce. Then for dessert, he wanted marbled brownies.

Well, as for the dinner courses, those were easy, I make them through out the year. The brownies I knew were going to give me a fit since I the last time I tried to make them.

Paul Deen to the rescue! Page 149 & 150 for the Lady Brownies & Cream Cheese Brownies from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. PERFECTION!!! There is no other word for it!

I also made Peanut Butter Bread page 102 from the same cookbook. It was ok. Kinda dry, but maybe that is way it says eat with some homemade jam.

But hey - it's all butter!

A Cooking Lesson

So, in my house I have always encouraged my kids to help me cook. So, last night Emma got a lesson on how to make scalloped potatoes. She is really good at peeling potatoes, so I called on my way home from the office to have her start that and give us a head start on dinner.
As I was grating the cheese Emma asked if she could put it all together. As she was following my directions she was like "This is SO easy! I could SO make this next time!" Now, if you know Emma you know how excited she can become on the most simplest things and can just hear her saying this.
The potatoes turned out wonderfully delish! But you know it's all butter!

Goodbye Martha.......we're re-shelving you!

I have poured over Martha's cookbook and I believe that she cannot redeem herself with any recipe in the cookbook I own. Compared to Child and Deen, Stewart's flavorless recipes and UNLIMITED budget for ingredients has put her back on the shelf. So we’re renaming the blog…..Mastering the Art of French and Southern Cooking. I really hate it for Martha, she did have some nice top-shelf drink recipes, but 2010 is the year of being happy and frugal, not disappointed and broke. I finally was able to doctor the macaroni and cheese that I made the other night and made it edible. It’s called Mrs. Dash and lots of it! I believe I’m still pissed about the $6 worth of cheese, but I’ve ate dinner at a bad restaurant and spent more than that.

I really hate to see her go, but she’s left us no choice. After pouring through recipes titled as “Lobster Rolls” , which in fact is 1 ½ lbs of cooked lobster meat chopped up from a 4 ½ lb lobster, served on a hotdog bun with mayo and spices. Now, as readers, would you want to spend the money for lobster and serve it on a hotdog bun, even if it calls for the fancier “split-top bun”? I don’t think so! What about “Grilled Knockwurst”? I don’t even know what that is! However, if I win the lottery, I’ll be able to afford this extravagant cookbook filled with over-priced ingredients. If there is someone out there who really wants Martha as a part of this, speak now or forever hold your mouth shut! I hate to be so sour about this, but Martha, you made me ill! BTW-I found a neat article on RealSimple.com. Follow the link.

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/kitchen/organizing-recipes-foolproof-methods-10000001558999/index.html

After all it’s all butter!

Sunday Evening

So Sunday evening we had hot dogs, chili, slaw, and fries. I had to pick Emma up from volleyball practice so I decided to stop back by Food Lion to grab the items I didn’t when I was there 2 hours earlier when I bought the groceries for the next 2 weeks. I was really proud that I only spent $99.48 the first trip for groceries, but just so you know, I did have some items on hand plus I bought some pantry items to help restock (i.e. Stove Top Savory Herb & FL Shell’s and Cheese.)
-off topic- the FL brand is less salty & cheaper than Velveeta brand. –back on topic-
When I came home from FL (first trip), I began preparation for dinner. Started the chili and made the slaw. The head of cabbage I bought Thursday was a little larger than what I wanted but there wasn’t a great selection at ugg-Walmart (hey-I was there & the hot dogs were on sale & I had other stuff I had to get). So, I made enough BBQ slaw for the family for dinner and tomorrow leftovers. I still had a VERY large amount of cabbage to use so I made up the rest of it and I will be taking it to the office tomorrow to see if anyone wants it. The chili wasn’t my best, I am not sure why it wasn’t my best, but the kids & Jamey still ate it.
On my way out the door to get Em from practice I grabbed a The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook by Paula Deen. I knew I wanted to make a dessert but not sure of what. I had perused the book several times & had noted some recipes I wanted to try. I decided as Em walked out from the gym that I was going to attempt Gooey Butter Cakes (pg 125). I spent another $12.22 at FL. NOTHING was on sale, plus I did purchase 2lbs of butter (1lb unsalted & 1lb salted). Plus I had no cake mixes in the pantry or cream cheese. I cannot find a note in the cookbook that says where to use salted or unsalted butter. So I used the salted tonight.
I made the basic Gooey Butter Cakes recipe. It smelled wonderful coming out of the oven and the filling rose quite high. As it cooled it sank back down.

We “tested” it while it was warm. OMG! It is sooooo good! There is definitely no way to make this healthy…because it’s all butter!

*NOTE-I have learned that since I purchase the imitation vanilla flavoring b/c it is cheap, that if I double the amount called for in a recipe, it does what the really good expensive stuff does in regular amounts.*

If Martha's joining the party, she better step it up a notch.....

So, I started planning my menu for the week on Sunday afternoon. I really wasn't feeling all that well, but had to do it. I flipped and flipped through the cookbooks for a Macaroni & Cheese recipe. I planned on Salmon Patties, Southern Style Greens, Macaroni & Cheese and Deviled Eggs for dinner one night this week.
Scratch that- in lieu of the the greens we had Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce from MtAoFC. I picked a Mac & Cheese from ole' Martha's cookbook (pg. 227)that had crusty bread torn apart on top, cherry tomatoes and white cheddar cheese. Sounded good and not complicated. Okay, so I made it per the directions with SIX dollars worth of Wisconsin White Cheddar Cheese, one pound of cherry tomatoes, the quart of milk and other ingredients it called for.
Let's just say after enjoying the Hollandaise Sauce (pg. 81) poured over my Salmon Patties and dipping my artichoke petals into, Martha now has her head on the chopping block. She needs to redeem herself and do it quickly. The macaroni was okay, it was missing something. I loved the crusty bread topping and the cherry tomatoes in it, but not loving the flavor of the cheese sauce. It could have been the white cheddar, but not 100% sure on that. Next time I make macaroni and cheese, I'll incorporate the tomatoes and the crusty bread topping into another recipe. The artichokes were good, but A LOT of work for so little. I made them according to the basic directions on page 424. I liked the petals better than the heart, however, this might be a different story when I have a better variety to choose from later this spring.
Back to the YUMMY Hollandaise Sauce-I cheated and did the directions for the blender. It was so easy to make, MtAoFC says that an 8 year old can do it and I agree. Who knew that a stick of butter, a little salt & pepper, lemon juice and egg yolks would be so heavenly? YUM! And to believe that McCormick sells a powder to make the same thing and it probably tastes like dirt compared to what I made. After all, it's all butter!

Choices

So. Choices. So many choices. I have to make a decision on where to begin. I am leaning toward a dessert. Not knowing by who yet, but my sweet tooth is calling.
I picked up two PD & 1 JC book at the library yesterday just to look. I haven't even cracked open the JC book yet. It's not her cookbook, it's like a how to do stuff book. I'll get the name up if I use something out of it.
I did cook some eggs for breakfast this morning. Michael had fried & Emma had an omelet. I had the pan shaking going for the Em's omelet & it was going great. It was loose an' all like JC describes in her book - but I chickened out and slipped half it out of the pan onto her plate and flipped the other half on top. My omelet stuck so I had a super scrambled egg. Still edible, which is what matters the most, right? But hey- it's all butter!