I've been busy in the kitchen...

All last week we enjoyed Spring Break. Chris was out of school & Clay was off work and when we were home, I was in the kitchen taking pictures of all my food creations. We didn't plan our weekly menu, we just flew by the seat of our pants with meals. We went fishing and to the zoo in Manhattan. I got a new cameraand justifiably a hobby besides cooking. I made biscuits, a Asparagus & Goat Cheese quiche, some Choconut Pumpkin cookies, a broccoli salad, homemade orange rolls, Clay grilled the trout we caught and lots of other yummy stuff. The biscuits were a delicious recipe from King Arthur Flour. They were a bit time consuming but nonetheless exactly what I've been wanting along with a slice of country ham. The Choconut Pumpkin cookies were an experimental cookie that I found on another blog "Eating Bender" under the Lazy Chef tab and turned out awesome. I followed the recipe loosely, but used a whole can of pumpkin, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips, some coconut flakes, an egg, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tbsp of butter, some vanilla extract, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 cup of brown sugar and a cup of quick oats and these melt in your mouth cookies were gone as soon as I got them out of the 350*oven. I baked them for about 17 minutes until set. They stayed moist and fluffy too! My Asparagus & Goat Cheese quiche is a staple in my Meatless Monday regime. Super simple to toss together and ready in less than an hour. This week I'm slowly getting back into our routine and finding some new recipes that may become our new favorites.

Fixing Duck

Mande and Nikki are more of the chefs/bakers than I will ever be. However, I have learned how to make a pretty good Zydeco gumbo. And tonight was the VERY first time I made the gumbo with out aid of my trusty recipe. Gumbo is one of those winter rarities I fix simply because it is so expensive to make. A big pot, if you don't have the majority of the ingredients at home, will cost about $50 to make. Thankfully, that pot of goodness will last a good long while. Whatever is not eaten is usually stored in several quart containers and frozen for later.

I kind of haphazardly came about the gumbo idea as I was wandering around the kitchen tonight trying to find something for dinner, much less just eat. I was in one of those moods where I wasn't really sure what would be good. While looking through the freezers, the fridges, the canned goods, I realized I had just about everything for gumbo. All that I was missing was a can of Rotel and kielbasa sausage. But I had everything else. I was so excited but a little worried. I'd never made gumbo without my trusty recipe. I was honestly really worried that it would taste horrible. I browned my chicken, started the rue, got the garlic, peeled some shrimp and poured the beer. Before I knew it, I was chugging along making one of like the five things I know how to make. By the time I was almost finished up making that pot of Cajun cuisine, I thought to myself, "Maybe we do have some sausage somewhere in the freezer." So back to the freezer I went. Moved the edamame to the side, moved a pint of Cherry Garcia out of the way and BAM! There it was. I could have sworn I heard angels singing. I went back over to check on my bubbling brew and then proceeded to thaw and fry up the sausage. My pot was about overflowing of all the ingredients so I had to remove a good bit of it to accommodate the added sausage. I added the sausage, stirred the gumbo around and let it simmer for another 10 mins.

Finally! It was finished. But worry crept over me even more. Let's just say if something looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, one would think it's a duck and not a platypus. Thankfully, I was eating duck. It was so good! It had been several months since I had last had it and what I had fixed tonight without my recipe was just as delish!!

Dinner with the Parents

So, my Mom called me this afternoon wanting to know if we wanted to come over for dinner. Of course, I said Yes! I don't think we have turned down dinner with them ever.

Grilling was the choice of cooking the salmon steaks, Citrus Shrimp and Londron Broil. Dad was the "Grillmaster" for dinner to night and it all turned out wonderful!

We kept the side dishes pretty simple. First was the Lemon-Basil Bow Ties that we have enjoyed on several occasions and some Pesto Pasta. The Lemon Basil Pasta, has been modified to be just whatever pasta shape we choose as well as more basil and lemon. The Pesto Pasta is just rotini noodles and store bought pesto. Both are very quick and very simple. The original recipe we used was from Food Network but I can't find their link for it, but the one above is what we have based our version off of. Unfortunately, because the amounts of lemon, garlic, basil and parmesan can vary each time it is made, it is short of impossible for me to get a "correct" recipe on here.

Mom said that she was going to pick up some strawberries on the way home and was going to get those little dessert cups for them to go in. Well, I told her not to get the dessert cups, that I would bring something to eat with the strawberries instead. I used the recipe for Basic Angel Food Cake on page 692 of The New All Purpose Joy of Cooking but instead of making a cake, I made cupcakes! I also added some lemon zest to the recipe. They were extremely good. The strawberries were just sliced and sprinkled with sugar and topped with some whipped cream. I think that making these cupcakes has turned me off of those dessert cups from now on!

Thanks Mom for the invite to dinner!!!

The Joy of Cooking

I have been fighting one of my weaknesses all week – buying a new cookbook. I have been fighting back really good with the help of a trip to the library this morning before I came into work. I picked up what I thought was the ORIGINAL Joy of Cooking, but when I looked closer it was The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking. Which I really didn’t mind, it was just that I had no idea it has had several revisions done and this cookbook was copyrighted in 1997.
Several things caught my eye as I have flipped through the book so far. First off is the proper way to set a table. Guess what my kids are going to learn!!!! (insert evil mom laugh here). Next was in the recipe for sauces. I have learned, from page 46, that cheese sauce – like I make for our broccoli with cheese sauce has a proper name: Sauce Mornay. Never knew that. Also, page 127 informs me that fried eggs, really aren’t fried, they’re sautéed eggs! Never knew that either!
Looking at some of these recipes makes me happy that I don’t have to have much processed foods to prepare a dish. I am looking forward to making the Tomato Ketchup found on page 69 – that is as soon as I get ahold of 14 pounds of tomatoes! I am thinking that I may need to plant some since I want to try the Fresh Tomato Soup on page 97. After looking at the Red Onion Dip on page 145 I think we will have some of the Root Chips on page 144. I have barely made it 1/8 of the way through this cookbook and have a lot of ideas for next month’s menu. Right now, I am thinking of having Hors D’oeuvres for dinner one evening – as a meal. We’ll see what happens!
Oh, if any of our readers have a copy of Joy of Cooking (any verison) or any other cookbook they do not care for any longer, please let me know & I will be glad to take it off your hands!

Chicken and Goat Cheese Pizza

Tonight's dinner wasn't on the menu nor have I ever made it. I had completely forgot that Clay was spending the night in the field "playing Army men" as Chris (my oldest) calls it. I really wanted Clay to be here to try the Salmon Rosti, so I made a new dish with leftover goat cheese from Monday's souffle. The idea for dinner was inspired by an article in the April edition of Cooking Light magazine and a pizza I had in Salisbury, NC at "The Salty Caper" Woodfire pizza & bar. Now, I would love a Red Sin Cider to go with this pizza tonight, a concoction of Cheerwine & Original Sin Cider. (Heaven in a glass with a slice of Greek pizza) But, I'll make do with a MGD that some poor soul left in my fridge Saturday evening. My pizza starts with a simple Pillsbury Crescent Creations or regular crescent rolls with the seams pushed together & baked for 5-7 minutes at 375*. Then I topped it with some Hunt's Fire Roasted tomatoes with garlic (drained), roughly chopped Baby Bella mushrooms, green onions, olives & some grilled chicken breast. Then I topped that with the leftover goat cheese & threw it in the oven for 25 minutes. I enjoyed a quick & delicious dinner that my kids enjoyed as well. :D

Cheesy Baked Ziti

Tonight we had Cheesy Baked Ziti with some Italian bread topped with of course, my Whipped Garlic Spread. I just modified several recipes from AllRecipes.com to come up with my version.

This great dish is enough to serve 12 people nice portions or my family of 5 with plenty of leftovers. This freezes well also. With dinners like this, I look forward to my lunch the next day at work!

Meatless Mondays and Budget Shopping....

So much for the 5 day stretch of nice warm weather, because we woke up this morning to a blanket of snow covering the ground. However, the great part about when it snows here in Kansas, your day goes on as planned after the roads are plowed, of course. Clay went out to the field as planned to "play Army", Chris went to school and Ayden & I did our normal Monday ritual of grocery shopping for the week. We've started our weekly budget for groceries ($75), since we finally have our staple items (flour, sugar, spices, etc.) stocked in our cabinets and pantry. After shoveling the drive way, I started off with Ayden in tow towards the Commissary on post. Normally, I buy all of our meat, cheese, and canned items here. I haven't enjoyed their selection of produce this winter, but surprisingly it looked good today with the exception of tomatoes & bananas (which I needed.) So, I managed to get all of our items for this week's meals for a total of....wait for it....$44.80. You must think we're eating gruel, but we're not. We're eating pretty good this week. By eliminating 75% of processed foods out of our diets and shopping the perimeter of the store (produce, dairy & fresh meats) for the majority of our food, we're coming out on top budget wise. Granted, if I were still in NC and shopping at the Food Lion in downtown Tyro, I would have spent close to double and paid tax. On this week's menu we have lots of new recipes (marked with an *) to try out & I'm also implementing "Meatless Mondays", having fish 2 nights a week, cutting our portion sizes back to a reasonable serving size, less carbohydrates and more fruits & veggies.

Rummage Family Menu for the Week:

Sunday-Buffalo Mac 'n' Cheese & salad
(There is a ton of cheese in this, I end up splitting this recipe in 2 dishes and freezing the extra dish for another meal down the road.)
*Meatless Monday- Broccoli & Goat Cheese Souffle & salad
*Tuesday- Slow-Simmered Meat Sauce & noodles, salad and garlic bread
*Wednesday-Salmon Rosti & roasted green beans
Thursday-Black Bean Burgers (below) with Beautiful burger buns, chips & pickles
Friday- Grilled Chicken Salad
*Saturday- Broiled Whole Salmon Fillet & Crispy Topped Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower Gratin

Homemade Quick Black Bean Burgers
Serve on a bun with a combination of hot sauce-spiked ketchup, spinach leaves, tomato slice, a slice of Monterey Jack cheese, avocado slices, Chipotle mayo or onion. Yield: 4 patties (serving size: 1 patty)
1 (2-ounce) hamburger bun, torn into pieces or 1 cup breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Place bun in a food processor; process 4 times or until crumbs measure about 1 cup. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, and beans in processor; pulse 8 times or until beans make a thick paste. Scrape bean mixture into bowl with breadcrumbs. Stir in rind and remaining ingredients. With moistened hands, divide bean mixture into 4 equal portions (about 1/3 cup mixture per portion), shaping each into a 3-inch patty.

3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes or until bottom edges are browned. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until bottom edges are done.

Marie & Lorraine Came to Dinner Tonight!

Actually it was Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing and Quiche Lorraine that we dined on this evening for dinner. The menu was JC's Quiche Lorraine, from Vol.1, page 147 and a salad. The quiche was light and fluffy with the cream and eggs. Michael is now calling this "Egg Pie" for the fact he thinks it taste like a scrambled egg with bacon in it. Joey asked for the addition of cheese to it.I don't purchase Marie's Blue Cheese Dressing a lot because it is $2.99 a jar, so it was a "splurge" item for the grocery list this week. My kids love the stuff as much as I do, but they know it doesn't come home that often.
The salad was just iceberg lettuce, tomato, carrot, cheddar cheese, red onion, diced ham and some bacon that I didn't use for the quiche. I sprinkled some Salad Supreme Seasoning then tossed it all together.

A Little Help from Butcher's Twine

Dinner on Friday was completely mistimed on my end because I didn't read an important line in the ingredient list. I missed the part where the Simple Tomato Sauce on was suppose to be used WITH the meat in the oven. Whoops!

We enjoyed Braciole with some Rotini pasta and some Pillsbury French Loaf. The Simple Tomato Sauce is really nice and makes extra so, I was able to put it in the freezer. I had quite fun tying up the meat since I don't use recipes that often that require butchers twine. It's not pretty, but it worked!

This was only the second time we have enjoyed this dish, as the first time was January 11, 2004. It has sat in my "Recipes 3" collection since then. I decided when making this month's menu that we would visit it again. I fixed my mistake and we ate later than normal, but it was still delish.

Finally grilling out in almost 70 degree weather....

So far it's finally out of freezing temperatures here in Kansas. We are enjoying a 5 day stretch of low 60's and 70's. I'm so excited, because that means spring is on the way and Clay gets to break in our new Weber grill. Oh, how I love the smell of sunshine, charcoal and cut grass. And guess what? I am so blessed that we live in one of the older housing developments here at the Big Red One and because of that I have the privilege of using a vintage clothesline. I even got to hang out Ayden's blankies on the clothesline yesterday afternoon.
We've got a lot of fun grilling recipes to do this weekend. Tonight we are enjoying a Cooking Light recipe "Cilantro Lime Chicken & Avocado Salsa" served along side a nice heap of saffron rice and black beans. It has a super simple 3 minute marinade which consists of cilantro, lime juice & olive oil on the chicken and the salsa comes together in mere minutes. The saffron rice is the only thing that needs to be started ahead of the grill.
Tomorrow night we're hosting a grill & game night with some of the guys in Clay's company and their families. So far on the menu: Our Best Bites Baby Back Ribs, some BBQ chicken, baked beans (Bush's) and Chris' Lemon Cake otherwise known as Le Quatre Quarts with Creme du Citron. Chris is also talking me into making lemonade and I'm not talking about thawing a can from the freezer section or mixing up some Country Time powder. Last summer, Chris & I discovered a fresh squeezed lemonade that would rival any Chick-fil-a's $8.00 per gallon lemonade. Once again this recipe is from the wonderful ladies at Our Best Bites.com (Thanks Kate & Sara.).
Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade

Recipe by Our Best Bites

2 c. sugar

1 c. fresh lemon juice (about 5-6 large lemons)

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/2 c. loosely packed fresh mint leaves (optional)

8 1/2-10 1/2 c. water, divided

Ice cubes

Combine 2 1/2 c. water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool about 20 minutes. Add lemon and lime juices to the sugar syrup. If desired, place mint leaves in a lidded pitcher or large, lidded storage bowl. Pour lemon-lime mixture into container. If not using mint, refrigerate. If using mint, allow to stand 1 hour and then strain mixture and store until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, mix lemonade base with 6-8 c. cold water. Start with 6 c. and then adjust according to your taste. 6 c. will be very sweet, 8 c. will border on watery. But I promise, however you like it, it will be delicious!

Happiness on Michael's Plate!

Tonight the menu actually showed Taco Salad but I read it wrong on Tuesday night so I made the Taco Salad last night and the Pineapple Chicken Kabobs/Pineapple Pork Kabobs tonight. The first time Imade these, I followed the orignial recipe from Mrs.Dash but found we liked the simpler version better. The "eyeballs" are actually the Easy Rolls I made Monday night but done in a mini-muffin pan. They were much better with the meal tonight than they were with the Beef Burgundy. Michael asked for his plate to be shown in the blog tonight.

For dessert I decided to get into my Betty Crockers Ultimate Cake Cookbook and see what I had on hand to make. The recipe I choose was the Gold Butterscotch Cake on page 37. I haven't cut into it yet, but the icing was more a cakey type custard instead of icing. It is possible at this point I won't make it again...

It's a Great Day at the Cape Hatteras KOA...

Ah, thinking of my summer in Rodanthe, NC back in 2001 has inspired dinner and brought back some wonderful memories. Here's a photo of me & my fellow Summershiners. Everyone is serious in the picture except for the Randy, our Activities Director & preacher, go figure. It's 34 degrees with an overcast here in Kansas today. So, to cope with a little spring fever, I'm making Baja Fish Tacos for dinner. This simple recipe is great for summer nights and ready in less than 30 minutes. Don't turn your nose up at fish & tacos in the same sentence, they are really good. When I lived at the beach years ago, a few of my older co-workers raved about Tuesday fish taco nights at their camper. I never joined them and I regret that, because as good as mine are, I would think that Skev & Bev's fish tacos were the bomb!

Yes, it's okay to play with your food. That's half the fun.

A Comforting Dinner

Our dinner tonight was one that we visit at least every month during the Fall and Winter. It is a great comfort food and is enjoyed by everyone at the table. The table was set tonight with Beef Burgundy, Mashed Potatoes, Dijon Apples and Easy Rolls.

The Easy Rolls are a Paula Deen recipe that I printed off in February 2004 and have never made. It was one that I pulled out of my "To Try" binder when I made my menu out for this month. They were definately easy and were pretty good. You couldn't taste the mayo in it but you could taste a hint of sugar. They will be made again, but maybe to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee.

The Beef Burgundy is from Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meal that we have been enjoying since December 2003. I have changed it since that time & do not use pearl onions (I just thin slice whatever kind of onions I have on hand), most of the time there isn't mushrooms in it, I use about 7 strips of bacon, I use dried herbs and just mix them in and I stopped measuring the wine a LONG time ago. It is so good, I suggest you attempt it yourself and make it as she has it written and just change it to suit you and your family. I hope maybe one day to gather the courage to make the original Boeuf Bourguignon by the bestest Mrs. Julia Child.


Lastly, the Dijon Apples is just part of Baby Spinach Salad with Thyme and Dijon Vinaigrette with Crisp Swiss Cheese Crisps
recipe by Rachel Ray. I made this the same time we tried the Beef Burgundy back in December 2003, from the same episode. We learned that we didn't care for the spinach and cheese crisp but we REALLY loved the apples with the Dijon Vinaigrette, so we have lovingly changed it to Dijon Apples.

Roast Chicken with Pears

I recently discovered a two recipes on the internet called Roast Chicken and Pears. One had turnips and parsnips in the recipe and a nice honey glaze, the other had dried cranberries, turnips, parsnips and no glaze on top. So, what did I do? I combined the recipes and came up with a awesome meal. The first time I made it with the vegetable called for and decided that I didn't care for parsnips (a relative of the carrot) or turnips (think giant radish). The second go round was last night. I swapped the parsnips & turnip for a bag of Alexia Red Potatoes & Baby Bella mushrooms. I also think a few fingerling potatoes sliced in half along with a few carrots in-lieu of the parsnips and turnip would be good also. Oh and to top it off, I got a new Kuhn Rikon kitchen knife the other day. This is an awesome knife and my favorite color.It did an amazing job slicing my onion, pears and the excess fat off the chicken. The first time I made this I was a bit intimidated by the use of fresh pears in this dish. I like pears, you know the kind that come out of a can & topped with a dollop of mayo & sprinkled with cheddar cheese, but fresh ones were a bit out of my scope. However, there was this handy tip on the bottom of the original recipe for how to core the pear before slicing.

*Tip- Because pears are harvested well into fall, fresh ones should still be available in your local market. The popular Bosc pear will work well in this dish, but almost any pear you find in your market is fine. To tell if the pear is ripe, press the fruit gently with your thumb just below the stem; the flesh should yield slightly to pressure. To core the pears, cut them in half vertically, from stem to base. Use a spoon or a melon baller to scoop out the core with the seeds. Then, using a paring knife, make a v-shape notch to cut out the line of tough core fibers that runs from the stem to the base of the pear.

Roast Chicken with Pears

½ cup dried cranberries

1 red onion, peeled & cut into chunks

3 parsnips or carrots, peeled & cut into chunks

1 turnip or a few red potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks

4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar or Balsamic vinegar

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Honey

2 tsp. thyme

2 Tbsp. parsley

Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste

2 lbs of fresh chicken pieces, I like to use thighs in this dish

3 Large Cooking Pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl, soak the dried cranberries in 1 cup of hot tap water for about 10 minutes; then drain the cranberries. In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine the drained cranberries, parsnips, turnip and red onion with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of the dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Shake bag to completely coat the vegetables and cranberries with the liquid ingredients and seasonings. Spread the mixture in an even layer on a large rimmed baking sheet or jelly roll pan and roast in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes until the fruit and vegetables are slightly softened.

Meanwhile, place the chicken pieces in the Ziploc bag and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Close the bag securely and mix ingredients by turning and shaking the bag to make sure the oil, vinegar and herbs are evenly distributed and coat the chicken pieces.

Place the chicken down the center of the dish or baking sheet and place the vegetables around it. Roast for 30 minutes. Meanwhile place the honey in a small bowl and whisk the remaining tablespoon of olive oil into it. After 30 minutes remove the dish from the oven and brush the honey mixture over the chicken. Place the pears around the chicken and return to the oven for an additional 35 minutes of roasting or until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 175ºF.

I hope that you try this simple yet, delicious dish. I enjoyed trying parsnips and turnips, but the good thing about many recipes is that they aren't set in stone and variations can be made and adjusted to your liking.

Mixing things up....

Okay, so you might have noticed that the blog isn't MtAoFaSC with my Sisters any more. No longer are we focusing on Julia and Paula or Mastering the Art of French and Southern Cooking. We're including all of the wonderful recipes we've ran across and made, but haven't blogged about. We're having Adventures in our Kitchens and we want you to join us for the fun. We enjoy cooking and this blog is a way for us to share all of our adventures in our kitchens as we prepare food for our families and friends. Here you'll find a random collection of recipes from the cookbooks straight off our kitchen shelves, internet recipes, other blogs, magazines and our friends.

It's been awhile since I've blogged. My family has recently moved to Kansas and we are adjusting to life in the Midwest. Last week, I finally dug all my cookbooks out of a moving box and found a home for them on a bookshelf in my dining room. I also got to sit down and peruse the cookbook given to me by my Mom & Dad for my birthday back in November.Heart of the Artichoke and other kitchen journeys by David Tanis, is a wonderful fresh take on meals and how simple they can be. There's maybe one recipe with artichokes in it, but the book's concept is to avoid processed foods and cook with fresh ingredients. Getting back to the heart of cooking and the ingredients; this is something that I am slowly doing in my own kitchen. I'm relying on less packaged foods and striving to buy more fresh foods. To help with my new mission, I ordered a few new cookbooks last week too. I got a copy of Our Best Bites cookbook, a blog that I follow and King Arthur Four Baker's Companion Cookbook. I need all the help I can get in the kitchen while baking and I know that this book will pay for itself with the knowledge that I gain from it. I made their Beautiful Burger Buns recipe that I had found online back in October and they were awesome. Here's the link to the post about them. So back to my kitchen adventure from last week. After reading the first story in Tanis' book, I set out to make Jalapeno Pancakes.
They were a cinch to whip up and even more delicious than I dreamed of. I topped with some warm syrup and a poached egg. (Yes, I can poach an egg now.) Now some maple syrup would have put these pancakes over the top, but sadly the Commissary on post was out and I had to settle for some Aunt Jemima's on them. Nonetheless, I enjoyed a simple and sinus clearing breakfast.

Cost of Convience

The basic point of this post is in regards to the cost of products. Tonight for dinner, we had Chicken Penne Pasta with Garlic Bread. While at the store and picking up the ingredients for the pasta dish, I notice some garlic bread near the end cap of the isle. There were six slices of bread spread with the whipped garlic spread for $2.99. Okay, not a big deal, right? Well, it was to me. So, I went to get a loaf of Italian bread from the deli. It was $1.79. A stick of butter is 75¢ and I have the garlic, parsely & minced onion in the cabinet. The loaf of bread made 14 slices. So I got the same thing that was being sold for $2.99 for $2.54 with 8more slices! Here is the recipe for the Whipped Garlic Spread and the orignial posting for when I decided to make it the first time.

Joey's Choice

This morning I asked Joey what he wanted for supper. He thought about it and decided steaks, Bacon Potatoes and Burnt Broccoli. Well, the Broccoli was nixed due to I forgot to purchase some EVOO, so I made Yorkshire Pudding Muffins instead.
I used Adolf's Meat Marinade in Minutes mixed with some Melot for the steaks and kebobs.
Here is the link for Joey's Bacon Potatoes. Since I don't measure when I make this, I can not give correct amounts. The Yorkshire Pudding Muffins are from a recipe that my Mom made when we were younger and we enjoyed throughly. The only differce I do, is make them in a muffin pan. This was done because my kids fight over the corner pieces when done in the Pyrex dish just as I did with my siblings. Why? Because it is baked in all Butter!!

Pepper Steak

I this is one of the best Pepper Steak recipes I have found. I don't use as many green peppers and no waterchestnuts but it is REALLY good over some white rice.

Our Super Bowl Food

Jamey and the kids picked the foods we had to eat during the SuperBowl. Since I was the one cooking it, I invited JC & PD to the party. Well, their recipes anyways! Here's what we had: Starting at the bottom left: Turtle Cake from The Lady & Sons, Just Desserts (page 54), Bacon Swiss Bread - top center, Quiche Aux Oignon (Onion Quiche) center, Ham Delights - bottom center, Rotel & Velveeta Dip - top right & lastly TGFI Buffalo Wings -bottom right.

The cake has a super gooey center and taste oh, so very good. I have been making the Bacon Swiss Bread for close to 10 years. The original recipe is from a Taste of Home magazine.

The Onion Quiche was really good hot okay warm and edible cold. I will take mine hot from now on. I can't wait to make more of the quiches in Vol. 1! I do admit that the crust was frozen as I am not quite ready to try making one of JC's patries yet.

Yes, I know I cheated on the wings, but since I don't eat them, Jamey had a choice to make them from scratch or buy the frozen ones. :-)

But you know what??? It's all butter baby!!!

3 New Recipes

Farce de Porc (Pork and Herb Stuffing, Vol. 1, Page 336)
This stuffing was originally intended to be placed in lamb and rolled up and placed inside of a lamb roast. Well, I can’t afford lamb so I served this on the side along with some egg noodles to accompany lamb chops. I can say, this is stuff is good!
It called for a cup of fresh white bread crumbs (French or homemade-type bread), I only make homemade-type bread when I make Sausage Bread. Luckily, I had some bread crumbs in the freezer that started their life as biscuits made from Jiffy Mix. This type of bread worked out very well for this recipe. I am so very glad I chose not to use can bread crumbs as I see that it is important to use ”fresh-real” bread crumbs.

Before I go any further, I need to say something about portion sizes. I have started serving dinner on smaller plates. Why you ask? Well, because the portions of food that we are served at restaurants are just way too large. That is why you can’t eat the appetizer, entrée and then the dessert. So, I am trying to reduce the portions we have and we can enjoy more food. Which now means… I am going to talk about desserts!!!!

I checked out The Lady & Sons, Just Desserts from the library last week when I got Vol.1 & Vol.2. Joey was the first to choose a dessert from this cookbook. He chose Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake, page 27. I made this Saturday evening. I didn’t care too much for it, but the kids liked it. They described the taste as “like a chocolate pop tart”.

Tonight, I was looking for a new dessert and all the ones that we kept picking out of Just Desserts, I didn’t have all the ingredients for. So, feeling defeated I pulled The Cake Mix Doctor off the shelf and hoped I had the ingredients of a recipe that I have been longing to try but kept being shy of one ingredient: Peanut Butter. But tonight, I had EVERYTHING! So, I made Chocolate Sheet Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, pages 52 & 427. This was incredible and lived up to what I hoped. The only change I will make to this will be that I will make it as a layer cake so I can have the peanut butter frosting on the top and in the middle!

Bifleck Haché à la Lyonnaise, Tomates à la Provençale & Risotto

So we took a trip to France for dinner this evening. The journey was courtesy of Julia Child and Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1.
Bifleck Haché à la Lyonnaise or Ground Beef with Onions & Herbs was really nice. It is a pretty good take on what we consider Hamburger Steaks, but has a reduction sauce for the top of it that is pretty darned good. Must have something to do with all the butter in it! Page 301 is the location of this new family favorite.
So for one of the side dishes, I choose to make Tomates à la Provençale or Tomatoes Stuffed with Bread Crumbs, Herbs & Onions. Emma and Michael were the only two who enjoyed this. It had a weird zingy taste according to Joey’s description. Michael says it was more of a tart tingle not the sweet tingle you think it is going to be. Page 507 can show you how to make this if you choose.
For the other side I attempted to make Risotto. I couldn’t find the raw rice the recipe calls for, but I found this Italian Rice that is apparently the same thing at Harris Teeter. The Risotto was delish! I used beef broth as the liquid since I was making beef for the main dish. We will add the recipe from page 533 to our menu rotation.
For these recipes I used a stick & a half of butter! The flavor that butter gives is worth the $2.99/lb plus it isn’t made out of plastic like margarine is! Why you ask??? Cause it’s all butter baby!!!!

Le Quatre Quarts with Creme du Citron

A delicious Pound Cake with a lemon- or orange-cream filling from JC’S MtAoFC Vol. 2 (pages 482-485).

This pound cake or as my oldest son calls it: LEMON CAKE, is a great light tasting cake with a simple sweet glaze.

It’s like sunshine in your mouth. I often imagine those little gnomes in “The Sunshine Makers” making this pound cake and singing their song while putting a bottle of sunshine it the batter. It’s a happy thought of mine while baking. :D

(Yes, The Borden Company originally commissioned The Sunshine Makers as a 1935 theatrical "advertising" film, with subtle suggestions that drinking Borden's Milk would make ANYONE feel "sunshine" within themselves....)

Let me say this is my favorite “go to” cake, majority of the time I have the items on hand to make this and it is quite effortless with my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer. Now, if I had to beat my butter into a mayonnaise-like cream by hand, I wouldn’t be making that often, but the way the butter beaten is the key to this simple recipe. Of all the times I have made it, I fail to take a picture of it before it’s all gone. So once again I have “borrowed” a picture off the internet of a similar looking pound cake.

Ingredient wise all you need is:

1 ½ sticks butter, 3 large eggs (2/3 cup), 1 cup sugar, grated rind of 1 lemon or orange and 1 ¼ cup cake flour for the batter.

The filling requires:

1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon or orange juice, the grate of one lemon or orange, 1 Tbsp hot water, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, an additional 3-6 tbsp of unsalted butter, and a pinch of salt

Very simple ingredients produce this moist and lush Le Quatre Quarts, meaning “Four Quarters” from the original proportions.

I will be making this very cake in celebration of my husband, children and I being together again as a family and our cross country move from NC to Kansas.

Crepes

Crepes…so after reading a post on Our Best Bites, I decided to hunt down a JC Crepe recipe. In her book, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom there is a recipe for her Master Crepe Batter. This can be used for savory or sweet creeps. In Vol. 1 & 2 she has a crepe recipe as well, but since I do not have those, I had to search the internet where someone had re-typed it.

I macerated some frozen strawberries in plain white sugar while I looked for the recipe and then I began. I can definitely understand where they say the practice comes in with making these.

The first ones that we tried were with just the strawberries. They were good but we decided they needed chocolate and whip cream. Emma then wanted one with Swiss cheese, which she said was really yummy. So, then I made me one with Cheddar. It was pretty good. It would have been AWESOME with ham and pineapple. Emma then asked for another one, so I suggested Swiss & Leeks. This is it below. She said it was awesome. I lost count on how many crepes Emma ate. Joey had 2 with some Italian blend shredded cheese and then one huge one with powdered sugar and syrup. He liked the last one best.

Will I make these again????? I really don’t know. Maybe if I had some ham & pineapple or chocolate & whip cream but I don’t really plan on going out & getting the stuff to make them on purpose like that unless requested by one of the kids.

On a side note, Emma is going to be our family’s food photographer for my post. The one of the Swiss & Leeks Crepe is her first. Thanks for your job well done, Em!

Cheesecake, Potatoes & Leeks, Oh My!

On New Year’s Eve I finally bought a spring-form pan. I found a very nice one @ Marshall’s for $6. Another $3 and I could have had one that said Cuisnart on it. Considering both pans were identical besides the name, I bought the $6 one. Jamey loves cheesecake and in our 15 ¾ years of marriage I have never made anything more than the one that comes in the box. I have purchased him several of the ones that are the “fancier” cheesecakes while choking on the price tag. So, with new pan in hand, I had Nikki Google me a recipe and found one at Food Network. This is the cheesecake that I made. I didn’t like the way the “topper” was added at the end and ended up raking the top part off the next morning. The citrus flavor mixed in with the 2 pounds of cream cheese is nice and I will only reduce the amount of orange zest the next time I make it. It is taking us 5 days to eat this and there are 3 teens in my house and I have given several slices away, but I think I have found a new “special” desert to make. My only disappointment in this process was that I was hoping to make a cheesecake from Julia Child but there isn’t one in her books.
Sunday evening we wanted soup for dinner and I decided to make Julia’s Potato & Leek Soup. It’s the first recipe out of Vol.1 but here is it online. I made the boys Chicken Noodle Soup (from a can) because they weren’t as jazzed about trying the Potato & Leek Soup as Emma was. I used butter instead of the cream because I ALWAYS have butter on hand, and it made it easier since I didn’t have to find another recipe to use the cream in. I also didn’t care for the fresh parsley in it, so next time I make it, I won’t use the parsley at the end. It was a very filling soup. I served it with some French bread I sliced up from the deli. Joey, Emma & Michael liked it as well as I did, but Jamey didn’t care for it.

But you know what? It’s all butter!!!!!

Check Out My Buns! Hot? Aren't they! ;)

So, after just random searching on the Internet I came across a modified recipe for Homemade Hamburger Buns. Intrigued by the reviews, I did some research before making them myself. I found a link to the original recipe site and WHAM! I found something to stick on my Birthday/Christmas Wishlist. Behold! The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook. Let me say that if these hamburger buns are in the cookbook and it's definitely worth $29.99 on their website. Hail to King Arthur Flour and their amazing buns. They were really good. They taste like deli style buns. Slightly sweeter and a bit yeasty, but over all good in taste. If I hadn't overcooked my burger, it would have been an awesome lunch. The buns don't taste like commercially prepared ones, i.e.: WhiteWheat, etc. The recipe makes 8 buns and takes about 2 1/2 hrs to make including rising time. Super easy directions. Here's the link to King Arthur's Buns!

So I'm Eating My Veggies Mixed with Meat Now!

(I stole this picture off the Internet. It's the closest looking thing to what mine looked like, but mine was far prettier than this. Amazingly this person and I have the same kind of counter tops in our kitchens. How's that for random Internet picture searching!)

Okay, I've been tiptoeing on the wild side lately. I've always had this thing for not wanting my meat and veggies to be mixed together. I would make Vegetable Beef Soup for my husband (who said it was awesome) when we first were married and not eat it myself and still don't eat it. But here lately, my taste for food has been a little more open minded. Maybe I'm looking for a one-pot meal? Probably, but I do know that I'm trying to cut out about 90% of processed foods in my diet. So far so good. The only canned goods I now have on hand are diced tomatoes, chicken or beef broth, pastas, pineapple, pumpkin, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, Cream of chicken soup (I haven't found a homemade substitution for this...yet), refried beans and olives. And you all are probably thinking-"What in the heck is she going to make with that on hand?" Well the answer is lots of good foods, but I'm still trying to incorporate things that I've learned reading "French Women Don't Get Fat". I'm shopping at least twice a week for fresh ingredients for my meals and cutting back on the over-processed garbage we toss in our mouths.

Anyway, I made a Lamb Pot Pie about two months ago and it was delicious. I made a Shepherd's Pie with lamb at the end of September and then on Thursday I finally made a traditional homemade Beef Pot Pie. Only I used refrigerated pie shells, just because making one from scratch still kind of intimidates me. (Go figure.) It was easy and effortless as the first two "pies" I made. So here is the master recipe for Lamb Pot Pie, which you can interchange ingredients with what you have on hand, like I did and the two variations. Simple as that! Oh and you may notice that I didn't give any measurements for the amount of veggies, meat etc. I really don't remember how much I used. Maybe a 1.5 lbs of meat (trimmed of fat) and 1/2 cup of veggies in addition to the 2 russet potatoes in the "pot pies". Guestimate on whatever you feel like is enough or to your taste.

Lamb Pot Pie (Master Recipe)

I first cut up 2 russet potatoes into bite-size pieces and parboiled them. I browned bite-sized pieces of lamb in some EVOO and butter. Tossed some S&P and some meat tenderizer on it while cooking. After it was done, I removed it from the cast-iron pan, then sauteed some garlic in the remaining butter and EVOO. Added the following frozen vegetables to the garlic: pearl onions, sliced crinkle cut carrots, corn, sweet green peas. I let them steam a few minutes, then tossed them in a bowl with the potatoes (drained) and then added my homemade cream of mushroom soup to the lamb I had returned to the cast-iron pan. I heated that through, then tossed the lamb and soup mixture with the veggies. Next I poured it into a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray and topped with crescent rolls in a lattice design. Then I baked at 350* for about 25-30 minutes until the crescent rolls had browned.

Shepherd's Pie with Lamb

This was exactly like the Lamb Pot Pie, but I didn't have any potatoes on hand. So I improvised using two packages of instant potatoes (cooked as directed) to top the lamb/veggie/mushroom soup filling. I baked at 350* again for about 30 minutes until the potatoes were starting to turn golden brown on top.

Beef Pot Pie

Same thing again as the Lamb Pot Pie, but I had forgot to thaw out a container of homemade Cream of Mushroom soup. I had a can of Golden Mushroom in the pantry (and using up my stock of processed food items) and added it instead and along with some Mushroom Duxelles I had froze for a Beef Wellington I had planned to make the other month. I put all of this in a refrigerated double pie crust. Then baked at 350* for about 35 minutes, until it was golden brown on top. Amazing and I had leftovers that I froze into individual servings for later this month.

So, I have to give myself a pat on the back for 3 amazing veggie/meat dishes. Super Simple One Pot Meals. I hope you enjoy trying one for yourself!

Salisbury Steak

I was watching Sandra's Money Saving Meals this morning on Food Network. She made Salisbury Steak along with some other stuff. I sat wondering to myself why I had never attempted to make this. Well, I made it for dinner tonight and served it with mashed potatoes, corn on the cob and peas. It turned out really well. I didn't do the mushrooms (surprise, surprise) but I used a 1.5lbs of ground pork & .5lbs of 80/20 ground beef. Otherwise, I followed it completely. Here's the link... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/salisbury-steak-with-brown-gravy-recipe/index.html Gosh, this is all butter!

Goodbye Campbell's Soup.....I've Replaced You!

Last Saturday, my friend Kelly and I hit the local farmers market. While there we both purchased some organic Shiitake mushrooms from a local farm. We tossed around ideas of what to do with our mushrooms, but never settled on anything specific to make with them. I brought them home and stuck them in the fridge. They sat in their brown paper bag until today. I opened them open and cleaned a few and diced them up. Then sautéed them with a handful of chopped green onions with butter and EVOO and served them up in an omelet for breakfast. Delicious!
So what to do with the remaining Shrooms? I had stumbled across a recipe online for Cream of Mushroom soup, but with this 100 degree heat it wasn't justifiable for a hot soup; until the rain came pouring down the other night. It finally cooled off and I hit up the “fancy” grocery store (as my oldest calls it), this morning to pick up a few odds & ins and vegetables for the rest of the week. I picked up a 4 oz package of mixed mushrooms while there to add to the Shiitake I had at home. Let’s just say that Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom is a far cry from the homemade version. Rich and velvety, pure heaven in a bowl! Here’s my revised version of the recipe I found online. This will be a weekly soup come fall! Enjoy!

Cream of Mushroom Soup (6 servings)
5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (Shiitake, Baby Bella & Oyster Mix)
1 can vegetable broth (14 oz)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pint half-and-half
1 cup white wine

Directions
In a large heavy saucepan, cook mushrooms in 3 Tbsp. butter with onion and thyme until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth and cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes. With emersion blender puree the mixture, leaving some chunks of vegetable in it. Set aside. In the saucepan, melt remaining butter, whisk in the flour until smooth and add ½ cup of wine to the roux. Once thickened add remaining wine. Add the salt, pepper, half and half and vegetable puree. Stirring constantly, bring soup to a boil and cook until thickened. Adjust seasonings to taste. *Freeze in six 8oz jars. Do not defrost frozen soup in refrigerator. Thaw in microwave or run under warm water.

French Women Don't Get Fat?!?!?!?!?

Yes, this is a food blog, but this is a JC related post. I read this article the other day and found it very amusing.

Hate the Gym? How Very French.

It totally makes sense, because how could Julia Child eat all that butter and not be 400 lbs? I realize that Child was born and bred as an American and then moved to France, but she adapted to the ways of the French when she enjoyed her food. Remember in the movie, "Julia & Julie" when Child is in France with her husband at the restaurant? She smelt her fish and savored each bite of it! Her husband asks her what she would really like to do and she replies "EAT!"

I was intrigued by the author of this web article and thought to myself, that there aren't many "FAT" French women....so I picked up the book at the library and have started to read it. I have learned a lot in the 4 chapters that I have read. First off let me start off by saying-"This is not a diet book!" It is a way of re-inventing how you look, smell, eat and enjoy your food. Yes, I said enjoy your food. Be obsessed with your food. Plan out what you want to eat for dinner as opposed to eating something for dinner. The steps involved that I have learned so far are simple and direct.

1)You begin by eating and writing down EVERYTHING that you eat for 3 weeks.
2) Recast yourself by evaluating your food journal.
3) Spend the next 3 months reducing the "offenders" in your current diet intake.
Key points-Slow & Steady, Variety, Ritual Preparation, Water, Ritual Eating, Portion Control, Don't Stock the Offenders, Substitutions & Pacifiers, Facing Demons, Move, Never Be Hungry, In case, Weekend Rewards and Zipper Syndrome.
Do these key points mean anything to you now? No, not really, but they will, if you take the time and read the book. I'm all for enjoying my food and hate depriving myself of certain foods while dieting. I say no more to counting calories, points, going through phases or what have you. I say enjoy what food you put in your mouth and savor each bite and enjoy this food for thought! Or in the words of Mireille Guiliano "Hate the Gym? How Very French."

Cheesy Garlic Bread

I was wanting some of the whipped garlic spread like they sell in the deli section of Food Lion, but I didn't want to pay $1.99 for something I might not like. So, I read the ingredients & see what I can come up with.
So, I make some based off of the ingredients & low and behold, it was AWESOME. The kids had the regular but I made some with mozzarella cheese. It was great as well. So, here's the recipe for the Whipped Garlic Spread! Cause it's all better with butter!

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

There is no pic because I forgot to take one before we ate them! Sorry! But they looked sooooooooooooooooo very good!
Today (May 2nd) I decided to butter up our lunch. Since we got rid of "margaret" (see Cryptic Text ). On this particular blog, it also has the link to show why we don't get margarine in our house an longer.
Anywho, I'd thought I'd share my Grilled Cheese Sandwich recipe with you. (If you take it from this blog, please show the credit to MtAoFaSC. Thanks.)
Because without "margaret" it's all butter!

I'm going to attempt.....

BEEF WELLINGTON!

Wheat-free, Dairy-free Beef Wellington, that is.

Our family has recently undergone a dietary change to be Wheat-Free and Dairy-Free (for one month, until Ayden's next doctor's visit) to help alleviate some of his developmental delays. It's all for one and one for all around here at our house. We're doing this together to make it easier on Ayden. I've read a lot on the topic and even his doctor says that changing his diet should make a difference. So, far he's getting frustrated with normal things and not his laid back self. He's also pointing and trying to use words to express himself for the first time. It's progress and I remain hopeful that it's as simple as changing what we eat.

For starters, I cleaned out the pantry, the cabinets, freezers (big and little) and the fridge of all things containing wheat or dairy. That left me eating guacamole and Frito's for dinner that night. And here we are approaching the end of week two...it's been interesting. We haven't starved, but I've gotten really creative in the kitchen. Another plus to this new dietary change, I haven't had any yucky, bloating feeling and lots of energy. (Maybe all that bread expands in your belly, making you feel gross?) Also, that cuts out 98% of eating out (YAY!) there are very few places that Ayden can eat at outside of home and daycare. By the way, his daycare has amazed me with the questions and dedication they have to help me out to figure out if these foods are making Ayden delayed. KUDOS to you Miss Heidi and Miss Ann!

So, I'm adapting a individual Beef Wellington recipe I found online along with MtAoFC Vol. 2 version. (I failed to mention that I purchased a copy of Vol. 2 the day before The "Wheat-Free/Dairy-Free" diet.) Talk about a bummer, Vol. 2 has a wonderful bread section.

So, we have NO BUTTER in our house, just Vegan sticks of a butter substitute...Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks. There's NO CHEESE, just Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternatives. And lastly, NO MILK, yep we've done soy milk before, but we've discovered ALMOND MILK! Oh and then the NO WHEAT thing...yeah, wheat's in EVERYTHING!

I had a bare pantry 2 weeks ago, but now it's a nice wheat-free/dairy-free place that I can feel good knowing that I can prepare foods for Ayden that will help him meet his goals and if not, well...there's no harm in continuing this diet. We all know that processed foods contain so many chemicals that aren't found in "nature" nor are they "all-natural".

Do we really know what we're feeding our children?