Meatballs...

 I've been wanting to make meatballs for a while now.  For some reason I have only done this once before, many many many years ago, and it was not very successful.  I thought that maybe now I have more experience with cooking and flavors that they just might turn out...and they did...

It started with the usual google search on recipes for the best meatballs and then some tweaking on my part. My darling husband/best friend says they are the best meatballs he has ever had and is just hopeful that, on the second occasion I make them, they turn out just as good.  I made my usual sauce with just the addition of some fresh basil and flat leaf parsley since I had them on hand.  And I used Dreamfield Spaghetti because I just can't have meatballs on any other form of pasta.

Meatballs
1 pound of ground sirloin
1 package of Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage (it's a little over a pound)
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 cup milk
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the milk and breadcrumbs and set aside while you get everything else ready.  The chopping time will probably be long enough for the crumbs to absorb the milk.

Take the sausages out of their casings and put in a mixing bowl with the ground beef.  Add the cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper.  I did four grinds of salt and 6 grinds of pepper.  Probably 1 teaspoon of salt and two of pepper.  We don't eat a lot of salt but if you do, please add more.  Mix this well.

Add the chopped parsley, sage, onion, garlic and grated cheese.  Mix well.  Then add the eggs and breadcrumbs.  Remember while you are mixing this that you want to thoroughly combine everything so there are no clumps of any one ingredient when you bite down into the meatball.  But at the same time, be gentle.  If you press the meat together too roughly your meatballs will be tough.  It's a fine line to walk...
Just take your time and it will all come together beautifully!!

I used my cookie scoop so that they would all be approximately the same size and rounded them as I placed them on the cookie sheet.  This recipe makes 30 meatballs.  Count them...it's 30.

before baking...

You don't need to grease your pan.  There is enough moisture in the mix they don't stick.  They cooked in 20 minutes.  I used my thermometer and they were perfectly at temp!  I did, however, broil them for one minute for just a little more color.  Place them on top of a pile of spaghetti, add some sauce and grated parm and enjoy!!!  Yummmmmm

Because the recipe makes 30 meatballs (did you count them?) there are leftovers.  Yay!!!  It occurred to me that the perfect use for them would be a meatball sub.  I adore subs.  Bread stuffed with goodness...what's not to love.  I found the perfect rolls at Wal-Mart.  They are called bolillio rolls.  They look like little footballs, don't they?  Hey...they would be perfect for a tailgate party.  I'll have to remember that.  Anyway, I took a can of fire roasted tomatoes and added 2 cloves of garlic and half an onion chopped up and about a tablespoon of chopped fresh basil and cooked that down with the meatballs in it so they could get warm.  This took about 15 minutes.  I split the top of the bun, shoved three meatballs and some sauce in it and then topped it with a mix of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.  About a minute under the broiler and you have the best meatball sub I have EVER eaten.  I think I like them better in the sub than I did on the pasta.  If not better, equally.

Two meals in one cooking.  That's is a winner.  And to have two wonderful meals.  That is priceless.

Very satisfied!!  And can't wait to have them again...and again...and again....

Drunken Noodles

We went to Blacksburg over the weekend to eat at a fish taco place after shopping at our favorite store, World Oasis.  However, we did not know that the whole town was going to be blocked off for a street fair and there would be no easy way to get to the fish taco place.  Fortunately for us, World Oasis has opened their own Thai/Vietnamese restaurant right next door to their store.  We went in and ordered the Pad Thai and the Drunken Noodles.  We liked the drunken noodles so much I asked the fellow at the check out if we could get the ingredients at the store and he said sure, just tell the clerk you want what was in the drunken noodle dish.  We did, they showed us and we purchased!!

They really have nothing to do with alcohol.  At least, not in the dish itself. I looked up the history of the name and there are two prevailing thoughts.  One, eating it helps a hangover.  The second, a man who was quite often drunk told his wife that the food she cooked was too bland.  In response (or revenge?) she came up with this recipe.  NOT BLAND!!!  Very hot but you can control that heat a bit by making it yourself.  The joys of cooking...

Drunken Noodles
1/3 cup sodium free rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium soy
1/3 cup fish sauce
4 tablespoons white sugar
1 lime juiced
3 tablespoons sriracha
  combine and set aside
5 cloves garlic
2 shallots
10 thai chilis
  mince and then grind into a paste.  If you have a mortar and pestle this is the time to use it.  If not you can put it in a food processor.
meat of your choice (I used a pound of flank steak cut into small pieces)
1 can baby corn rinsed and drained
2 eggs beaten
2 tomatoes sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly
small bunch of thai basil (or regular if that is all you can find, that is what I used)
8 ounces rice noodles

Get your wok hot with about a tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the paste of garlic, shallots and chilis.  Cook for about a minute and throw the meat into the pot.  Cook that for about two minutes stirring it around.  You want it to still be pink at this point because it is staying in the wok.  Add the onion and cook for a minute.  Make some room in the middle of the wok and add a teaspoon of oil and then put the eggs in.  Stir so they are like scrambled eggs.  Add noodles, sauce, tomatoes and corn to the mix and stir gently so as not to tear up the noodles.  Tear up the basil and add it in and you are done.  Dish it up!!

We bought fresh rice noodles in a sheet from the store so I cup them about 1/4 inch wide.  I don't know where to find fresh except at World Oasis so I will try a noodle I can find locally next time.  I don't think the noodle is going to make a huge difference to the flavor of the dish.  This dish is not for the wimpy at heart.  I only had seven chilis and that was enough heat for me.  If you are brave use all 10 and if you are a chicken cut it down to 5.  That is why you cook it yourself, right?  I really liked this dish.  It was not exactly what we had at the restaurant but it was good enough to be a do-over until I can get the original.

Satisfied yet again!!

Cold Soba Noodle Salad

YUMMMMM












It's been a while since I have tried something new and tonight was the night.  As if you couldn't tell, we really like Asian flavors and we are trying to eat lighter.  This recipe managed to take care of both!

This is a take on a Guy Fieri recipe.  It is tweaked a little of course.  I can't seem to resist tweaking...


Soba Noodle Salad
1 9.5 ounce pack of Soba noodles (found at Kroger...who knew?)
   Cook according to package, drain and put in an ice bath to cool quickly, then drain again, set aside
dressing
1 teaspoon spicy sesame oil (found at The World Oasis store) you can use regular
2 tablespoons no sodium rice wine vinegar (Kroger)
2 tablespoons low sodium soy (Kroger)
1 teaspoon sriracha (Kroger)
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (Kroger)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste (Kroger)
   Combine all these ingredients for the dressing
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
6 green onions
1 cup cabbage (I like Nappa)
1/2 red bell pepper
   Cut the veggies thinly or to whatever size you like.

Combine the veggies and cold noodles and pour the dressing over them.  Dish up and garnish with whatever you like.  We like unsalted peanuts so that is what we use.  If you like toasted sesame seeds or some other nut go for it!!

I really liked the heat on this dish.  My mouth was on fire while eating it but I did not break out into a sweat.  And within twenty minutes of finishing there was no heat evident.  And it wasn't just heat, the flavors were top notch.  Absolutely a do-over!!!  Next time I might add some flank steak to the mix but other than that, I won't change a thing.

Satisfied!!!

Biscuits and Gravy and more...

What a weekend!!!  Lots of good food and fun.  Food is my shtick, so I love it when it comes out successful and I was not disappointed.  Friday night was cheese burger and fries, Saturday morning brought sausage gravy and biscuits and fried potatoes and Sunday a new preparation for orange roughy.  Yummmmm!!!

Friday night's cheeseburger!

The spicy cheeseburger is just ground round with minced garlic and red pepper flakes mixed in.  I salt and pepper it before I put it in the skillet and when it is almost done I pop the colby cheese on top and lid it so the steam makes the cheese become a gooey mess.  This time I sauteed some onions in olive oil with some salt and pepper and put them on top of the burger right under the cheese.  A little smear of some light mayo on some toasted sourdough bread and Yummm.  The fries are simply potatoes peeled and wedged.  Rinse and dry them off and then toss them with some olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped fresh rosemary and sprinkle on the dried ancho chili powder. Cook them for about 45 minutes in a 450 degree oven. All of the spice amounts should be to your taste.  We like it spicy so I went heavy on the pepper and ancho chili powder.

Biscuits and gravy...need I say more?

Breakfast...I really like breakfast.  We had the guys this weekend and my budding young chef, Nick, wanted to venture away from the normal french toast.  I assumed it was because we had finally got the biscuits down and he wanted to include them.  We decided we needed two batches worth so I mixed up one and he did the other.  He is becoming quite the biscuit maker.  I am jealous.  It took me 51 years to get them down and he is only 14.  No fair!!!  But, I digress.  So, what goes better with biscuits than sausage gravy?  Not much!!  I won't bore you with the biscuit recipe since I put it in a previous post and the egg is merely egg, salt and pepper in a nonstick pan and you let it cook flat and flip it and fold it onto the plate.  I will share the sausage gravy and potato recipe though, since they were the stars of the show.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound sausage (your favorite)

6 tablespoons bacon grease (come on, you know you have some in the fridge)

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper.

Over medium high heat break up and fry your sausage.  When it is done take it out of the pan to give yourself some room.  Leave the sausage grease and add the bacon grease to the pan.  If your sausage was really greasy you need to cut down on the bacon grease.  My pan was almost dry when my sausage was done so  I used all the bacon grease.  Turn the heat down to medium and add the flour.  Whisk that into the grease and cook for about four minutes.  You want all the raw flour taste gone.  And by the way, you are making a roux at this point.  Another one of those fancy words.  After the flour is cooked down add the milk and heavy cream and whisk like crazy. When I added the milk it instantly began to boil and  you want this to boil but then turn it down to a simmer so it thickens up.  Now is the time to taste for pepper and salt content.  We like ours really peppery so I always do about 10 grinds and go from there.  Don't forget, you used bacon grease so the salt might not be needed.  Add the sausage back in and just keep stirring off and on for about 10 minutes.  If it does not seem thick enough you could always add a little corn starch slurry.

Fried Potatoes

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed 

1/2 onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 tablespoon bacon grease

salt and pepper

Rinse your potatoes and then pat them as dry as you can.  Put the bacon grease in a skillet on medium heat and add the onion and garlic.  Salt and pepper, you want to season each step.  Let these cook for about three minutes while you dry your potatoes.  Add the potatoes to the skillet, salt and pepper than put a lid on the skillet.  This will cause the potatoes to steam and cook through.  Leave them, stirring a couple of times, for 10 minutes.  Take the lid off, taste a tater to see if they are cooked through.  If they are, leave the lid off and they will start to brown up.  I usually cook them for about 10 more minutes at this point to get some color and crunch but they are pretty flexible and will sit for a while until you are ready.  We needed and extra minute for the double batch of biscuits and the potatoes were fine.

Orange Roughy...my new fav

Dinner on Sunday was a new preparation for orange roughy.  Nick had wanted to make a previous fish recipe from the blog but we were still full from breakfast and never got to dinner.  I checked a couple of websites and they recommended not holding fish in the fridge for more than two days so we had to have the fish for dinner.  I looked on line and kind of made up my own take on a couple of recipes I found.  I paired it with a bag of Uncle Ben's basmati rice and Pepperidge Farm garlic bread and of course our favorite side dish.  I just mixed the green beans and asparagus because I didn't have enough of just one for the dish.  It turned out great!

Parmesaan Crusted Orange Roughy

4 fish fillets
1/2 lemon juiced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
3 tablespoons I Can't Believe it Not Butter softened (microwave about 10 sec)
3 tablespoons light mayo
2 tablespoon garlic whole grain mustard


Place the fish on a baking sheet and cover with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Broil for eight minutes.  Mix the other ingredients to top the fish.  After the eight minutes pull the fish out and cover with the topping.  Broil for an additional three minutes.  It's really that easy!

Very tasty.  Every meal.  And totally satisfying.  I really love cooking.  It's like offering yourself up on a plate to the ones you love.  It's my way of saying I love you.  My Dad always greeted everyone, whether on the phone or in person, with the question "Whatcha got to eat?".  If you were on the phone, he proceeded to tell you, in length, about what he had for dinner.  If you should walk in the door, he would take you to the kitchen and start pulling food out of the refrigerator.  That was just his way, and I guess I inherited that gene. Food is in my blood.  And on my thighs...and hips....sigh

I don't care!  Bring on the good food!!!

Glazed Salmon and Cheddar Biscuits....

It has been some time since I posted a recipe.  My sister came in from New York with her husband.  One of her daughters, her husband and their two boys also came in.  A great time was had, lots of laughing and playing and getting skunked at Sorry by a six year old.  Humbling.....

Anyway, I took some time off.  I actually did make some pasta salad but I forgot to take a pic.  It is one of our favorite salads (my Mom calls it perfect, thanks Mom) so I am sure I will be making it again and I will share the recipe then.

Tonight's dinner was Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze, Spicy Brown Rice, Sauteed Green Beans and Cheddar Biscuits.  I was so happy when everything turned out good.  I have already shared the green bean and spicy brown rice recipes.  So here goes with the other recipes.

The biscuits were a slight alteration of the buttermilk biscuit recipe I have posted before but I will post it as I made it tonight.

Cheddar Biscuits
2 cups Virginia's Best Biscuit flour (the only flour for me)
1 stick of unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used colby-jack) be generous with the measurement, heaping is what I call it

I cut the butter into the flour just like making regular biscuits.  Then add the cheese and mix it up, I used my hands.  Add the buttermilk, I did half cup, mixed and then the other half and then started adding the additional as needed.  I didn't start out with the other 1/4 cup buttermilk but the cheese seemed to make the dough call for more moisture.  I wanted to kind of do a drop biscuit with this so it needed to be moister, stickier, than a normal biscuit.  Usually when you turn out the dough you want to be able to cut into it with your biscuit cutter but with these I actually just pulled a hunk of dough out of the bowl and loosely formed it into a biscuit onto the parchment paper covered pan.  A little lump of dough.  I then cooked them at 450 degrees for eighteen minutes.  When they start browning on top pull them out.  I was trying for a cheddar bay Red Lobster kind of biscuit and someone told me they use Old Bay Seasoning on the biscuit but I didn't have any Old Bay.  I did know roughly what was in it so I took the following and brushed it on top of the biscuits right after I took them out of the oven so it would melt down into the biscuit.

Topping for Biscuit
1/2 stick of butter melted
2 shakes celery salt
2 shakes paprika
2 shakes garlic powder
1 shake red pepper flake
2 grinds black pepper
2 grinds sea salt

Sorry I did not measure out the spices.  This was the first time making these and I was playing it by ear.  And when I took a bite my first thought was, oh, what a shame.  It is just really a bad thing for the figure that these taste so good.  This biscuit is actually one of the best things I have ever eaten that I have made myself.

Now onto the salmon.  We have been trying to eat more fish and normally have orange roughy.  This week Kroger had fresh salmon on sale.  Who can resist a sale?  and who can resist salmon?  Not I!!!!  I wanted to do something different so I did my favorite thing.  Googled on salmon and started researching.  Giada De Laurentiis was the winner this time.

Broiled Salmon with Herb Mustard Glaze
2 garlic cloves finely minced
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon chicken broth (she said dry white wine but I don't have wine)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (she said two, but I thought that would be too much)
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (again, she said two)
  Mix all these together and set aside.
Nonstick cooking spray
2 salmon fillets (6 to 8 ounces)
salt and pepper

Put foil on a baking sheet and spray with the cooking oil.  Place your salmon on the sheet and salt and pepper.  Put under the broiler for two minutes.  Take fish out of the oven and spoon on the mustard glaze.  Cook the salmon for five more minutes until browned on top and fish flakes.  It really did take that exact amount of time.  You can garnish with lemon if you like but I did not feel it needed any more flavor than it already had.  The glaze added to the flavor of the salmon but did not overpower it.  I was very pleasantly surprised.  This was a very simple yet very tasty way to cook salmon.  Absolutely a do-over!!!

This whole meal just made me happy.  Everything turned out well and the new items were the star of the show.  And the look on the darling husband/best friends face was payment enough for me.  We were having a discussion on chefs and cooks and I told him that the difference to me was a chef was upset and offended when you didn't like his dish...a cook just wanted to cry.  I consider myself a cook and that's why I like it when he is happy with the offerings I make for dinner every night.  The appreciation he expresses is what it's all about.

Satisfied!!  and very full!!!  and looking forward to making those biscuits again.  Hello thunder thighs!

Lemon Rosemary Crusted Fish...

I finally pulled the trigger and planned a radically different menu for tonight.  Everything on it was new.  Even some of the ingredients had never been used before.  The menu was Lemon Rosemary Crusted Fish, Balsamic Vegetables and Black Rice.  You know...forbidden rice...ooooo

Hopefully no one in authority will be beating down the door because of the rice...

I love to utilize the internet.  Google is one of my friends.  I have all these cookbooks on my shelf but I love the convenience of having an idea and instantly getting some other foodies opinions on the ingredients.  Thanks all you blogging foodies.

The veggies were a medley of some favorites, some not so favorite and a newbie on the block.  We had never tried fennel before and the darling husband/best friend had already been introduced to brussel sprouts and they did not have a good first impression.  I scanned the internet world and when seven different food bloggers talked about the same recipe I just had to try it.

Balsamic Vegetables
1 fennel bulb sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly
10 mushrooms sliced thickly
3 garlic cloves sliced
15 brussel sprouts cut in half
1/2 extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons minced rosemary
salt and pepper

Mix it all and put it in a 13x9 glass pan and roast them at 425 degrees for 40 minutes stirring them at the half way point.

Lemon Rosemary Crusted Fish
2 pieces of fish (I used orange roughy you could use any hardy fish you like)
1/2 cup panko breading
1 garlic clove minced
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 lemon zest and juice
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients from panko down except for 1/2 of the lemon juice.  Pat your fish dry and salt and pepper it. Put the fish on some parchment paper that has been sprayed with some canola oil.  Squeeze the other half of the lemon on the fish and then top with the breading.  Cook at 375 degrees for 18 minutes.

The black rice was just the package directions.  I did add a teaspoon of olive oil and some salt to taste when it was done because of some of the comments I read online.

Very different flavor profile for us but I LIKED IT!!  Very satisfied and happy that it all worked out!!

White Cheese Enchiladas

Flank Steak Enchiladas...yummmmm.

Ever since we had the cilantro cream sauce enchiladas I have been wanting to remake them with a different sauce.  Some sort of cheesy sauce...

I put flank steak mixed with onions, garlic and cheese, black beans straight from the can drained and rinsed and quick Mexican rice in the enchiladas and topped it with a cheese sauce.  You can use some thinly sliced green onion as a garnish.  As you can see from the picture I had leftover rice for a side dish.  You can cut the rice recipe in half if you don't want the extra but we are rice lovers in this house!

White Cheese Sauce
1 pound American white cheese cubed
1/3 cup of milk
1 tablespoon butter
2  4 ounce cans jalapeno peppers
2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon onion powder

Put the butter, cheese and milk in a saucepan on low heat and cook until cheese is melted.  You will need to pay attention to this so the cheese doesn't burn.  After it's melted add the rest of the ingredients.  If you want it thinner just keep adding milk.  I made the mistake of thinking it was thin enough because when it is hot it appears thinner.  Next time I will add a little more milk so when it sets up it won't be so thick.  If you have ever made cooked pudding you want it thinner than that.  I got to the pudding consistency and thought I was done...

I made a quicky Mexican rice because I didn't have the time for the really good stuff.  It was pretty good for being so quick.

Quick Mexican Rice
1 cup basmatti rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter
4 tablespoons salsa (whatever you like)

Put everything in the pot and bring it to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer, lid it and let it cook for 20 minutes.
I then added the black beans to the rice.

I used the same meat marinade that we used when we made the cilantro enchiladas.  I'll repeat so you don't have to go back to that post.

The Flank Steak
2 pounds flank steak cut into thin strips then cut the strips into inch long pieces then marinate
1/2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups shredded cheese (I used the Kraft with the jalapeno peppers.  You can use cheddar/jack)

Marinade
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
3 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

add the cut flank steak to the marinade and let it go until everything else is done.  The meat cooks up in a minute so you can wait until the end to cook it.  That's the advantage of cutting it so small.  You just want to fry it up in a little oil until it is just slightly pink.  Take the meat out and put in the other half of the onion chopped and the garlic and cook til soft.  Add the meat, onions, garlic and cheese into a bowl and mix.

Heat the corn tortilla in some 300 degree oil to loosen it up, about 5 seconds.  It's gonna be hot so be careful...put a spoon of the meat and cheese mixture and a spoon of the rice and beans in the middle of the tortilla and fold the two sides over and put it in the cake pan.  I sprayed the pan with some oil before I put anything in it.  When you have the pan full pour your white cheese sauce on top and put in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.  I turned the broiler on for the last two minutes to get some color on the sauce.

This turned out pretty good.  I do want to try it again and thin that sauce out a little but the flavor was spot on.   My darling husband/best friend said it needed just a bit more heat for him (told you he liked it hot) so I will add some red pepper flakes to the meat mixture and see what that does.  Right now I am full as a tick and pretty happy!  Satisfaction once again!

Chicken Tortilla Soup and Buttermilk Biscuits

 It has been a long time since I blogged a recipe.  I discovered that I have a limited menu going on at my house.  That will change.  Gonna pull out the cookbooks and see what I can find.  But for today I get to blog about the Saturday Guys Day fare at the Moore household.  Mike couldn't be with us, and he was missed, but Nick was there and requested my Chicken Tortilla Soup.  He also had a surprise for me.  He made some apple compote to go on our french toast for breakfast.  And I in turn had a surprise for him...we went out for breakfast.  But later in the day we made some buttermilk biscuits (something I have just recently been able to do...yay) and had the compote on them.  My darling husband/best friend declared the combination one of the five best things he has ever eaten in this house.  I must admit, it was like eating apple pie...sooooo good!!!

 The picture shows the biscuit with some apple butter on it 'cause we ate all the compote before I thought to take a picture but I will give you Nick's recipe for the compote and what I use for the biscuits.  I cannot put into words how happy I am that these biscuits are good.  I have tried since I was about twelve to make a biscuit that was not akin to a hockey puck and this last week was my first success at it.  Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks.  Ha!  I had Nick do the mixing on this day and boy was the dough sticky.  It was raining and I have googled since then and discovered that humidity can make a difference.  If you make the biscuits on a rainy day you will need to add more flour or use less buttermilk.  I am not experienced enough to tell you the amounts but we just kept adding flour after we had turned it out onto the counter until we were able to get the cutter through the dough and it come out clean.  Probably about 3 tablespoons if I had to make a guess were sprinkled on that pile of dough.  It was hilarious!!  But they still turned out good.  Love that Virginia's Best!!

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups Virginia's Best biscuit flour (the wonder flour in my opinion) plus some for the counter
1 stick cold butter
1 cup cold buttermilk

Take the stick of butter and cut off about two tablespoons of it and melt it to brush on top of the biscuits before you put them in the oven.  The rest needs to be cubed up (make sure you don't handle it too much while cubing, you don't want it to start melting on you).  Add the cubed butter to the two cups of flour and using a pastry blender cut in the butter.  If you don't have a pastry blender than use two butter knives passing them through the flour/butter mixture in a crisscross fashion until the butter is the size of peas in the flour.  Make a well in the center and add half of the buttermilk.  I used a long tine fork to mix the dough.  Gradually add the rest of the buttermilk until you get it all incorporated.  Turn the dough out onto a well floured counter.  You could put down some waxed paper under the flour if you don't want to clean up the mess.  Depending on how sticky your dough is you can sprinkle a little flour on top then turn the dough over lightly pressing about three times.  Pat the dough to about an inch or inch and a half thick and cut straight down with your biscuit cutter or drinking glass.  Just try to not twist because that will seal off the edges and they won't rise.  Put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper making sure they touch.  That also aids in the rising.  Cook in a 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.  These biscuits are so tender and taste really yummy!

Nick's Apple Compote
2 gala apples peeled and cubed
the juice of one small lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

While you are peeling and cubing the apples juice the lemon over them so they do not brown up on you.  Put the butter in a small skillet or small sauce pan on medium high.  Add the apple cubes (juice and all) and the brown sugar and cinnamon.  Cook until the apples are at the consistency you like.  Just keep stirring occasionally and checking by tasting.

I think it was the brown sugar that made it taste like pie.  Can't wait to have that again!!!

Now that the snack is over it is time for dinner.  This soup came about after a trip to Panera Bread one day for dinner.  We were on an excursion to Blacksburg to our favorite store, The World Oasis, and Panera is our go-to restaurant down there.  My darling husband/best friend, Nick and I all had the soup and loved it.  I decided I wanted to try to do a remake on it and this is the recipe I ended up with.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 roasted poblano pepper skinned, seeded and chopped

2 roasted jalapeno peppers skinned, seeded and chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

2 teaspoons Mrs Dash Southwest Seasoning

1 can fire roasted tomatoes-salsa style

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 can mexi-corn

5 cups chicken broth

1 can of water (I rinse out the tomato and corn cans with this trick)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed

1 lime juiced and tortilla chips for garnish

Timeline:  put the peppers on a foil covered cookie sheet, coat them with canola oil and put them under the broiler.  They will take approx 5 minutes and you will need to turn them frequently to roast them on all sides. When they are charred to your liking put them in a bowl and cover the bowl with saran wrap.  This will help them sweat which will make the removal of the skin easier.  Right after putting the peppers in the oven you can get the chicken cooking.  I pat the two breasts dry and then season them with salt, pepper and ceyenne pepper.  Put about two tablespoons of oil in your oven safe pan on medium heat.  Cook the chicken for five minutes on each side to create a nice crust.  By the time that is done the peppers should be out of the oven so you can put the oven on 350 and put your chicken in to finish cooking.  It takes about 15 minutes but just check it with your thermometer.  Be safe!!  Once the chicken is in the oven the hard part is over.  Now you get a good sized pot and put enough oil in the bottom to cover and put the temperature to medium high.  Chop up your onion and garlic and throw it in the pot with the Mrs. Dash seasoning.  While this is cooking take your peppers out of the bowl and skin, seed and chop them.  Remember, these are hot peppers so make it a fine chop.  No big hunks please.  Once you get the peppers in the pot the onions and garlic should be softened and you can add the tomatoes, black beans, mexi-corn and chicken broth.  You want this to come to a gentle boil.  When the chicken is done and cooled a bit you can cube it up and add it.  I like to make this soup the day before because it just gets better with age.  You want to add the lime juice right before serving.  I make the tortilla chips out of corn tortillas.  Cut the tortilla in half and then cut the halves into strips.  Get your oil to about 350 and drop them in.  We joke that when they stop talking they are done.  If you make them you will know what we are talking about.  They bubble up like crazy from the water content when you first put them in but as the water cooks out they get quiet.  When they are slightly changed in color you will want to pull them out because they "carry over" cook just a little.  Put some paper towels in the bowl you are going to put them in to take away some of the excess oil and don't forget to season them.  I just use some light sea salt but you can use your favorite seasoning.  

Now, I will admit, this is one spicy soup.  There are several ways you can cut down on the heat factor.  You can use the regular fire roasted tomatoes, salsa style means they added some peppers to the mix.  And you can use a roasted green pepper instead of the pablano and just have the jalapeno heat.  And you can not put the ceyenne pepper on the chicken when you cook it.  But also remember, it is supposed to have some heat.  If you take it all out you just have chicken vegetable soup...

This is my favorite soup.  And I am happy to say, it is often requested and brings a smile to everyone's face.  We were all happy and full and most importantly, satisfied.  If you try it tell me how you like it.

Pork chops...

Pork chops...he wants pork chops...

In an effort to eat less red meat we decided to give pork chops a try.  Not knowing my dislike for pork chops, my darling husband/best friend suggested we have some this week. This was a challenge for me.  I wanted to create a recipe that would make a pork chop that even I would like.  And I did...

Pork Chops My Way

4 Boneless pork chops
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon adobe chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper.

Pat the chops as dry as you can.  On one side I sprinkled the garlic powder, adobe chili powder and the rosemary.  I turned them over and put salt and pepper on the other side.  I did about 5 grinds each.  I then brought about one tablespoon of canola oil (cover the bottom of your skillet) to medium high and fried the chops for about 4 minutes each side.  Use your thermometer and bring them to 160 degrees.

They turned out very moist and flavorful.  I was very pleased.

Just in case the pork was disappointing I made sides that I knew could never disappoint.  Garlic smashed potatoes and bacon asparagus...yummmmm

Good meal.  And a keeper.  Who knew I could like a pork chop?

Beef Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

Yay!!!  Mexican!!!!

It is guy Saturday again and the budding young chef has decided that we will have some Mexican fare for the day!

What you see in the picture:

Guacamole- yes it is Alton Brown's slightly amended recipe
Pico de Gallo-same recipe as before
Mexican Rice-something new to the blog, yes!
Corn tortilla chips-just cut up some corn tortillas and fry them up
and some taco seasoned ground beef for Mike...

and the center piece of the meal...

Beef Enchiladas with Cilantro Cream Sauce.  We got this recipe from the Food Network but as I oftentimes do, we amended it slightly.

Beef Enchiladas with Cilantro Cream Sauce

2 1/2 pounds marinated flank steak (marinade recipe to follow)
1 onion chopped fine
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I could only find a mix of the cheddar and jack and it worked fine)
16 (or so) corn tortillas softened

Marinade for the steak
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 onion chopped
black pepper

Cut the steak across the grain as thin as you can.   Then cut those strips into one inch pieces.  Place the meat in the marinade at room temperature for one hour.  I got the wok out to cook the meat.  I thought it would do the job the quickest.  Heat it up with a tablespoon of oil and cook the meat in batches until almost done.  When the meat is done throw in that finely chopped onion for a minute or two to soften it up.  Put the meat and onions in a bowl and add 1 cup of the monterey jack cheese and 1 cup of cheddar.  Mix carefully.  I fixed tortilla chips as well with this meal so I put three inches of oil in a pot and brought it up to 350 degrees in order to soften my tortillas. If you are just softening up the tortillas to make the enchiladas you could probably just put an inch of oil in a skillet and put it on medium high.  You want to dip the tortilla in the hot oil for just a few seconds.  I counted to seven doing the "one one thousand, two one thousand" thing until I got to "seven one thousand" and it worked great.  Take the softened tortilla and put the meat and cheese mixture in the middle and fold the two sides over.  Put the enchilada in the casserole dish seam side down and move onto the next one.  When you have them all filled (and if you get exactly 16 please leave me a comment cause I don't think it would ever work out that way) pour on the cilantro cream sauce and top with the remaining cheese.  Cook at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until the cheese is all nice and melty...  Oh, I didn't tell you how to make the cilantro cream sauce did I...

Cilantro Cream Sauce
4 bunches cilantro
1 jalapeno roasted and deseeded
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper

Bring some water to boil in a pot and blanch the cilantro.  That just means dunk it in the water and count to three.  Put the blanched cilantro in the blender.  (You roast the jalapeno by rubbing it up with some canola oil and putting it on a pan and putting it under the broiler until it turns brownish.)  After you get that pepper roasted put the oven on 350 degrees for the enchiladas.  Add the roasted pepper to the blender and puree with the cilantro.

Put the cream in a saucepan on medium to medium low and reduce it by half.  This will take about 10 minutes or so.  We did not reduce ours enough before adding the cilantro/jalapeno and cumin but we were able to reduce it after.  Sometimes it's the end result not the manner in which you get there.  It needed a lot of salt and pepper, probably about 10 grinds of each and it tasted better as it sat.  Who knew that cilantro cream sauce would need to "marry" like a good tomato sauce.

This was very good but not spicy enough.  We are addicted to spice in this house so next time I will probably add some red pepper flakes to the steak and cheese mixture.  And maybe instead of cilantro cream sauce make a Mexican alfredo sauce....hmmmmm.  And let's not forget the rice...

Mexican Rice
2 cups of long grain white rice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion
2 cups chicken broth
3 jalapeno peppers chopped fine
3 cloves garlic chopped fine
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Rinse your rice under cold water for at least three minutes.  You want all the starch washed off.  When I think I have rinsed it enough I get a bowl and set the strainer of rice drain into it and look at the water to see if it is cloudy.  It usually is, so that means you rinse it some more.  This step is very important.  The more you rinse it the fluffier the end resulting rice will be.  When you have rinsed it well let it drain.  Shake it to remove all the water you can.

Put the onion and the tomatoes in your blender and puree them.  You need one cup of this mixture.  You could keep the remainder and freeze it for your next tomato basil soup...yummm.

Get a skillet that is oven safe and has a lid that fits and put 1/4 cup of canola oil in it.  You want this on medium low.  When you think it is up to temp put a grain of the rice in it and see if it spits at you.  If so, add all the rice to the pan and let it cook for eight minutes stirring often.  You want to toast up the rice.  Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for about one minute.  Add the cup of tomato puree and the two cups of chicken broth and stir well.  Bring this to a boil then lid it and put it in the oven on 350 for 45 minutes.  You want to stir it at 15 minutes.  When time is up fluff up the rice and add the cilantro.


Wonderful meal!!!  Good suggestion Nick!!!  Everyone was full and satisfied.  We even got Mike to try everything but the green enchiladas.  I must admit, they did look strange.  Looks can be deceiving though...try them, you may like them!!

Nothing really

It's been awhile since I wrote about our food.  With storms and no internet and a few days of not feeling well things sort of got lax.

Never fear.  We have eaten, just a lot of repeat dinners that I have already shared recipes for.  I didn't realize until I started this blog just what a rut I was in regarding the culinary world.  I really must dig out some of those recipe books sitting on my shelf and be more adventurous.  I thought I would catch up on some of the dinners we have had so here goes...

 This is a repeat of the Zatarain's recipe.  I did switch out the type, went from the dirty rice to the jambalaya mix.  Worked out just as well and was just as hot.

This is a repeat of the rosemary chicken and potatoes with bacon asparagus.  Can't get it often enough.

   And last but not least, a cheeseburger on ciabatta...yummmm

and raspberry chai ice tea!!!






It was all wonderful and satisfying!!!

Pot roast...my way...

Pot roast...yummmm

I was inspired...or determined to not be outdone...

We had pot roast at the Dish in Charlotte NC.  My guys proceeded to tell me it was the best pot roast ever. So, I took that as a challenge I guess.  I determined to make it just as soon as I could.  That ended up being today.  I have made beef stew before but never attempted a pot roast.  I read some recipes online and read the reviews attached to them.  What I came up with is not any single recipe but a conglomeration of several.  That makes me feel I can just call it my recipe.  Here goes...

Pot Roast in the Slow Cooker
4 pound chuck roast
2 onions peeled and cut into eight pieces
1 bag mini carrots (already prepped for you, how perfect)
4 cloves garlic just smashed with the knife
2 cans beef broth
2 sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme
2 bay leaves
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Olive Oil
salt, pepper and garlic powder

Put one Tbs of olive oil in your skillet and heat it to medium high.  Have your roast at room temp or as close as you can.  Pat it dry and then coat it with the Montreal Steak seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic powder on both sides.  When your pan gets hot, sear off all the parts of the meat you can.  I let it cook for three minutes each side and then stood it on its side one at a time and seared them as well.  Put the meat in the slow cooker when you have it seared.  Put a little more oil in the skillet and throw in the onions and carrots and let them cook about five minutes.  Put those in the slow cooker around the meat.  Add one of the cans of beef broth to the skillet and wisk up all the stuff on the bottom of the pan.  Put that in the slow cooker. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves.  Add enough of the second can of beef broth to cover the meat.  It took the whole can for me but it all depends on the size of your roast.  Make sure the herbs are submerged so the flavor goes all through the broth and not just on the meat.  I put the slow cooker on high for the first hour and then turned it down to low for the rest of the cooking time.  A total of seven hours is what I did.

I made some of my garlic smashed potatoes and cut off a hunk of rosemary potato bread and called it dinner.

I was very satisfied with how this turned out.  Not bad, if I say so myself...

Sorbet for dessert...satisfied and full!  It sure is nice to be back in the kitchen!!

The perfect bite...

The Guy Fieri tour continues...

I've been gone for several day.  Had a mini-vacation from the stove.  (A couple of nights doing the take out thing makes you appreciate good home cooking again.)

On Saturday we went to Charlotte NC to the yearly pilgramage of Geekdom also known as HeroCon.  I love every minute of it.  Being new to the geek world nothing is passe.  Anyway, that has nothing to do with food but it is the reason I was in Charlotte and got to eat where I got to eat. My darling husband/best friend has quite the surprise for me when dinner time came around.  He is a Food Network watcher for my sake and we watch a lot of Guy Fieri.  Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives is one of my (and the budding young chef, Nick's) favorites.  My darling husband/best friend did some research and found two sites in walking distance of each other in Charlotte.  We have managed to eat at one other site, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, and went to The Central City Cafe in Huntington,  but they were closed.  We will go back there during business hours someday.  

We had dinner at the Dish.  It was a blast.  The food was secondary to the fact that we were at establishment that Guy had been at.  The dinner at the Dish was good food.  For appetizer we had the cajun meatloaf sliders. Not bad, meatloaf with a kick, cheese and a pickle on a small ciabatta roll. The DHBF and I had the southwestern burger, he had squash and onions for a side and I had collard greens.  The collard greens were the bomb. Mike had the bacon cheeseburger with chips and mac n cheese and Nick had the pot roast platter with mac n cheese and mashed potatoes.  The pot roast got top votes. Even Mike liked it.  We didn't have the signature dish that Guy had (didn't know what it was til we got home) the chicken n dumplings.  If I ever go back, that is what I will have.  You will be seeing an attempt at collard greens in the near future. Perhaps a new green I can introduce into the repertoire.

My Guys at the Dish!!

Nick and I standing under the Guy Fieri head...

Cool retro sign!!

Nick and I outside the Penguin

The dessert menu is not huge at the Penguin.  DHBF and Nick had a Cheerwine float, Mike had a chocolate shake and I had the banana pudding.  I was so happy the pudding was made just like I make it.  No instant pudding here.  Yay!!!  We were all so full we could pop.

What a delightful surprise to end a wonderful day!!!

Chipotle Pepper Chicken Tacos

It's chicken night.  I had to freeze a couple pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast last week because the pack I bought was just too big for one meal.  I always worry about using chicken that's been frozen.  I didn't just want to cook the usual, rosemary chicken, from frozen so I started looking for a new recipe. My darling husband/best friend really likes spicy so I went looking for it.  And, boy, is this recipe spicy.  I had to tweak it a bit to fit with what I had and the servings amount. The original recipe fed about six and I just wanted enough for the two of us.

Chipotle Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 onion sliced

2 cloves garlic sliced

2 tomatoes

2 ounces of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules

1 onion thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

Put the chicken in a pot and just cover it with water.  Add the1/2 onion and 2 cloves sliced garlic and bring it to a boil.  Cook it about 25 minutes or until no longer pink.  Take it out of the pot and set it aside to cool.  When it is cool, tear it apart into shreds, either with two forks or with your fingers.

Put the two tomatoes in the boiling chicken water after you take the chicken out and boil them until the skins split, about three to five minutes depending on the size of your tomatoes.

Put the one thinly sliced onion and the 2 cloves garlic minced in a Tbs of olive oil in a skillet and cook until the onions are tender.

In a blender put the chipotle peppers and chicken bouillon granules and the two tomatoes when they are done and blend til smooth.  When blended put it in the skillet with the tender onions and garlic.  Add your shredded chicken and heat through.

We had corn tortillas,which I warmed up in a dry skillet on medium high about 15 seconds each side.  We topped our tacos with tomato, lettuce and mexican blend shredded cheese.  I think the next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will have some sour cream on hand to cool it down a little for me.  I'm a wimp.  I admit it.

Full and satisfied.  I love it when a new recipe works out.

Flank steak and rosemary potato salad

Flank steak, potato salad and asparagus.  It's what's for dinner!!  I had half a flank steak left from the Father's Day dinner and a desire to use rosemary in some potato salad and needed a green.  I tried a different marinade for the meat today and I really liked it.  And the rosemary potato salad is what I made yesterday evening so the flavors could "marry" overnight.  The asparagus is the bacon asparagus recipe from many posts ago.  It is our new favorite way to have asparagus and I am just not tired of it yet.  There are only two really reliable green veggies that get a smile from my darling husband/best friend, asparagus and green beans, so we have them very often.  I really like brussel sprouts and spinach but they were not met with rave reviews.  Still working on them and him.

Marinade for Flank Steak
1 Tbs Montreal Steak seasoning
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used the less sodium one)
1 Tbs honey
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic chopped fine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp canola oil
2 scallions chopped

I cut two pounds of flank steak very thin across the grain.  I have never had any luck with cooking a whole flank steak but sliced always comes out good.  I put the slices of steak in the marinade for 20 minutes and then cooked them a few at a time in a skillet on medium high in just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Just a minute for each one, you want it to still retain a bit of pink.  After I got it all cooked up I put all the steak (and the juices on the plate) back in the pan off the heat and put some tin foil over it until we were ready to eat.

Rosemary Potato Salad
5-6 potatoes cubed and boiled until fork tender (careful not to overcook)
1/3 cup chopped red onion (just as fine as you can get it)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar (I used a garlic flavored one)
2 Tbs mayonnaise (I use light mayo)
1 Tbs dijon mustard
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste (eight grinds each with my grinder)

Let the potatoes cool some before you mix it with the dressing (which is everything else in the recipe) and I prefer to let things like that set overnight.  You can eat it the same day and when I tasted it warm it was pretty good.  Darling husband/best friend does not like any kind of potato salad warm...

I was really happy with the meal.  The original plan was to have chicken as the protein but things happen.  I think all the flavors were good together.  The meat was spicy and the potato salad cooling and the bacon asparagus...well, the bacon asparagus is just GOOD.

Happy and full!!! and satisfied...

Lazy day...

The Monday blahs have struck...

What do you have for dinner when you don't want to cook?  I had bought some cajun roast beef at the deli over the weekend and had some texas toast left from Saturday's breakfast so sandwiches were the obvious answer.

This panini is cajun beef and provolone cheese with leaf lettuce and tomato and a light schmear of light mayo.  Some baked Lays on the side and call it dinner.  Glad my darling husband/best friend likes roast beef sammi's.  I didn't have to do much talking to get this simple menu cleared.

I do believe I will have some more sorbet for dessert.  Lazy day...

Tomorrow I will be back to the kitchen whipping up something new.  In fact I already have a head start because some things just taste better for the wait.  Come back tomorrow to see what it is...

Happy Father's Day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Today was a special day for my darling husband/best friend.  I wanted to make it a special food day so he got to select the menu.

This morning we had chocolate coffee and biscuit & gravy from Tudor's.  He had the fried potatoes also.  We really like Tudor's breakfast.  Especially when I am too lazy to cook breakfast.

Since that was really a brunch we simply had some watermelon for a snack.

I asked him to think about what he wanted for dinner on HIS day.  He narrowed it down to the Rice Noodle with Flank Steak or Kung Pao Beef.  I love Kung Pao Beef so that is what I made.  Since I have already shared that particular recipe with you in the second post I won't go into all that.  Just refer back if you would like to try it.  It really is our favorite go to meal.  I always have everything on hand that I need and is really simple to make.

Love the crunch of the peanuts...

We rounded out the night with sorbet.  Black cherry and blood orange.  We both love black cherry anything so it was a no-brainer.  The blood orange looked interesting and I must say, I really liked it.  I really liked them together because the black cherry was sweet and the blood orange tart, very good combination.

All in all, a very good meal day and I hope a very special day for my favorite guy...Love you honey.

Pizza!!!

PIZZA!!!!

Want some?

 It was guy day again and the budding young chef decided we were going to make some pizza.  We normally use Naan bread as the base that we purchase at World Oasis in Blacksburg.  I think I have mentioned this store before.  Love it!!!  We discovered the Naan bread last year when my darling husband/best friend and I were wandering around the store trying to think of things to do with what we saw.  You can't just pick up stuff without having a plan or it will just sit there and go bad.  We saw the bread in the cooler and immediately thought...pizza!!!  Unfortunately, we have not been to World Oasis for some time now.  No time to go, it's a little over an hour to get there and then you have to have shopping time and then the trip home...just no time.  So, Nick and I went on a crust search.  I had bought Naan bread at Kroger one day, and even though it was not as good as what we bought at World Oasis, I thought it might do for today,  They didn't have it.  The nice girl that worked there in the bakery said it was an occasional item.  Darn.  We then went to Walmart because I had seen Naan in the Bluefield Walmart bakery, but, no luck.  The Princeton Walmart does not carry as much specialty bread as the Bluefield store.  We proceeded to buy two ready made crusts and a pack of crust mix.  I also decided I would go online to see if I could find a recipe for the dough that did not require a stand mixer or bread maker.  I found one.  Alex Guarnaschelli, thank you very much.

Pizza Dough
2 1/4 tsp yeast (one pack)
1 1/2 cups of water at 110 degrees
combine and let them sit for at least 5 minutes

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
and we added 1 Tbs red pepper flakes and 1 Tbs italian seasoning

(I can tell you after haven eaten the pizza, we will do more "spicing" of the dough next time we make it.  We are big fans of flavor and it was just a bit too bland.  More of the red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning and a bit more salt too.)
add half the flour to the yeast mixture and mix.  Add the seasonings and mix.  Then add the rest of the flour gradually.  It will get sticky and hard to mix.  You want to drizzle in some olive oil and maybe add small amounts of water until you get it all incorporated.  Turn it out onto a floured board and knead it for 5 minutes.  Make it smooth and well incorporated.  Turn the ball into a well greased bowl and cover it with saran wrap for 1 1/2 hours.  It will more than double.  Turn it out of the bowl and split it into 2 or 4 pieces depending on the size pizza you want to make.  Roll each piece into a loose ball and allow that to sit about 15 minutes.  We got impatient and only waited 10 and it worked out fine.  Make sure you oil you pan well and then just take your time and stretch the dough out to the thickness you like.  We baked it off for 5 minutes at 425 degrees and then topped it.

The topping for the pizza are always the same.  We have made them enough that we know what we like.  We take about two pounds of ground sirloin and add three cloves of chopped garlic and one tablespoon of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook that up.  Sliced green peppers, I used what was left of the tri-color peppers I had and two cloves of garlic chopped and two onions sliced thinly, cook that up in olive oil.

Instead of pizza sauce we use roma tomatoes sliced as thin as you can get them as the base.  You want to salt them and let some of the moisture out of them before you put them on the pizza crust.  I have olive oil with red pepper flakes in a spray dispenser so we sprayed the crusts with that so the toppings wouldn't make it too mushy and then put the toppings on.  The final ingredient is shredded mozzarella cheese.  Yummmm

 Just a small note about breakfast.  We didn't take any pictures today but the menu was almost exactly the same as the last time we talked about it.  The only difference?  I found some apple fritter bread at the Walmart bakery (dang that bakery...) and made some french toast with it.  It was too good.  And I mean that.  Too good for my own good.  Dang that bakery!!!  And yes, we will probably do that again.  Dang!!

All in all, a very good food day.  Happy camper!!!

It's steak night....

Every once in a while you just need a steak.  And today was that day.  The menu for the evening is rib eye steak, rosemary roasted potatoes, bacon asparagus and herbed focaccia.  (I do wish I had taken the picture before I cut my steak, but you get the idea.) I gave the recipe for the bacon asparagus in a previous post so I won't bore you with repeating it.  Believe me though, I was not bored eating it. It is just too wicked!!

I have experimented with different cuts of beef and preparations and I have finally hit on my favorite.  And it also turns out pretty good every time.  I go for a good rib eye.  To me that means about an inch thick and very lightly marbled with fat.  We are not gristle people in this house so I try to go to the lean side.  I bring the meat to room temperature and coat it pretty heavily with Montreal Steak Seasoning and a little garlic powder.  I bring a skillet up to medium high with just enough olive oil in it to coat the bottom.  I used to think when they told you to put it in a screaming hot skillet that it needed to be on high but it really doesn't.  Medium high is just fine.  Cook the steak four minutes each side and then let it rest on a plate for about five minutes covered with tin foil.  That makes it just the brown side of pink.  The way we like it.  As a kid growing up we always had sauteed onions with our steak so I still do that now.  Just slice an onion (in this case it was the other half of the onion I used in the asparagus) and put it in a pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper and cook on low until tender.

When you have steak you have to have potatoes, right?  Rosemary roasted is my darling husband/best friends favorite preparation.  Mine too!  Just peel and cube the potatoes.  Rinse the starch off a bit and dry them really well.  Toss them with about a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.  I put them on a roasting pan in a 400 degree oven for about twenty minutes.  Just check on them and stir them around at fifteen minutes.  I then start checking them at every five.

And to round out the meal I purchased some herbed focaccia from Wal Mart.  It really is not a good thing that I discovered their bakery.  So far everything I have tried has just been wonderful.  Not good for the hips but the lips and taste buds are loving every minute of it.

Pretty good meal if I do say so myself...and I do.  Full and very happy!!!

Fish...the do-over...

This will be a short post because we kinda did a do-over.  Whenever I try something for the first time I always ask my darling husband/best friend whether it was a do-over or scrap it and try something else.  The battered fish from the other day was given do-over status so when fish time came around this week it was the preparation of choice.  I was glad for many reasons.  I wanted to try and perfect the batter from last time, it was too salty.  And I had the oil from frying up the tortilla chips for Mexican night that needed to go soon.  Now it really needs to go.  Nothing trashes oil quite like frying fish in it.

I had the recipe for the batter written with the salt and pepper part being to taste.  I added NO salt this time and it was much better.  You might want to try that if yours turned out too salty too.

I made the spicy brown rice from the previous fish night menu and the tartar sauce.  As you can see from the picture I also used up the extra batter with some onion rings.  The only new thing on the plate, and the deviation from the previous fish night menu, is the slaw.  I had leftover Nappa cabbage that I wanted to use up so I made some slaw.

The Family Slaw

1/2 Cabbage thinly shredded
1 carrot grated on the fine side of the box grater
2 scallions thinly sliced

dressing:
1 cup mayo (I use light)
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
pepper to taste

Mix it all up and call it done!  Now, if you want it dryer, use less dressing.  Moister?  Make more.  It's all in your hands.

All and all it was an improvement on the first attempt.  That makes me happy.   I always want to do better.  I love seeing the smile on my darling husband/best friends face...and I love the empty plate...

That is the BEST compliment you can give to the chef.

Full and happy!!!

Rosemary Chicken...

Chicken night!!!  If you have been following the previous posts you already know that my darling husband/best friend is not a chicken guy.  But he is a rosemary guy so sometimes I can get him to eat something just because it has rosemary on it.  The sides for chicken is always green beans and smashed potatoes for me so that rounded out the dinner menu.

Rosemary Chicken
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
2 sprigs rosemary
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Put the olive oil in an oven safe pan and put on medium heat on the stove top.  Add the rosemary sprigs and garlic and let it infuse the oil for about a minute.  Pat the chicken dry and salt and pepper it liberally.  Move the rosemary out of the pan and put the chicken in top side down.  If you can't tell which is the top side and which is the bottom it probably won't matter.  Brown the chicken for five minutes.  Turn the chicken over and brown the other side for five minutes.  Place the rosemary sprigs back on top of the chicken and put it in the oven for approx. twenty-five minutes.  Be sure to check it's temperature and make sure it gets to 165.  The time in the oven will depend on the size of your pieces of chicken.  I always start checking mine at fifteen minutes and then go from there in five minute increments.

Green Beans
3 handfuls of green beans cleaned and broken in two
1 onion sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic chopped
1/8 cup chicken stock
1 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put oil in the pan on medium high.  When it is hot put in the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes, until the onion starts to soften.  Add the green beans and generously salt and pepper.  Add in the chicken stock.  Put a lid on the pan and turn it down to medium low so the green beans can steam a little.They take about the same amount of time as the chicken does once it is in the oven.  But please, pull out a bean and test it.  See if you want more salt and pepper.  It's so important to taste as you go!

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
2 potatoes cut into even size cubes
2 Tbs butter (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
1 Tbs garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the potatoes until fork tender.  Drain well and add the other ingredients and smash with the potato smasher until they are the consistency you like.  We like ours a little chunky.

Wonderful meal, if I do say so myself.  Satisfied and full.  What more could you ask for from a meal?

Mexican...take two...

It's Mexican night the sequel...ha!  If you have kept up with the previous posts you know how much I love nachos.  I LOVE NACHOS!!!  Anyway, the plate above has taco meat, pico de gallo, refried beans with cheese, tortilla chips and guacamole. In a previous post I gave the recipe for the pico de gallo and refried beans.  I cheated on the meat and cheese again.  I know, I know...I said I would make my own meat seasoning and cheese but I didn't.  Instead I made guacamole.

I never really cared for guacamole before I met my darling husband/best friend. Because he liked it I had to find the absolute best recipe for it I could.  And I did. Thank you Alton Brown!  I received the thumbs up award on this recipe from both my darling husband/best friend and the budding young chef. They both claimed it was the best they had ever eaten and the budding young chef took the recipe and has made it several times himself.

Alton Brown's Guacamole Recipe-(slightly amended)
3 Avocados
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ceyenne pepper
1/2 medium red onion
2 Roma tomatoes seeded and dices
2 cloves garlic (he says one...what does he know, just because he has his own show...)
1 lime juiced
1 Tbs chopped cilantro

Get the avocados pulp out, I use a spoon to scoop it out, and put it in a bowl.  Put the lime juice on the avocado and add the spices.  Smash this with a potato masher until you get it to the chunkiness you like.  Add the tomato, onion, garlic and cilantro and mix well.  Let sit for at least an hour.


It is well worth the time and effort it takes!  And don't try to use the pit in the guac to keep it from browning...it doesn't work.  The only thing that I have found to work is to put saran wrap down on as tight as you can.  Like when you make cooked pudding and don't want that skin to form.  It's the air that makes it turn so the saran wrap keeps the air from it.  I made the guac and pico the night before so the flavors could really incorporate and I did the saran wrap thing and it worked!  And I think both tasted better for the sitting.

This had to be one of my all time favorite meals...I really like all the different flavors coming together in such harmony.  Yum!!!

Satisfied and FULL!!!

The way I like it...

Hash!!!!

If you have read any of my previous blogs you know I like a good coupon and a good sale.  Both struck when I went to the store over the weekend.  I already mentioned they had the tri-colored peppers on sale so I had to get one of each color.  I also had a coupon for a Hillshire Farms sausage of my choice.  I got beef of course.  My darling husband/best friend is a beefaholic.  We could have beef every day as far as he is concerned.  So, what to do with a sausage and some peppers?  Why, hash of course.  I love a good hash.  I love a good potato.  And I have never had a bad potato dish.  Maybe I am a potatoaholic...

Here is the recipe.


Pepper and Potato Hash with Beef Kilbasa
1 sausage sliced
4 potatoes cubed
2 peppers cut in 1 inch pieces
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped

Fry the sausage on medium high with a Tbs of olive oil.  I got mine nice and crunchy.  Take out the sausage and put on a plate.  Put the chopped onion and garlic in the oil and sausage drippings and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and salt and pepper.  Cook for about 20 minutes and then add the peppers.  Allow this to cook for at least 10 minutes and then call it done when the peppers are as done as you like,  I like mine still a little crispy.

This was a very yummy dinner, and as long as you don't mind chopping, very easy to do.  Satisified?  Why, yes I am.  And full.