Friday Fragments - November 23, 2012

How was your Thanksgiving???  Mine was great.  All of the essentials were present - turkey, pie, and family.  We will be repeating the process with my side of the family on Saturday. 

The only thing I had to bring was dessert - and not a pie because that was already covered.  Okay, little kids were going to be present so Rice Krispy Treats is pretty easy and always a hit, right?  Yeah, I've made them with stale marshmallows in the past with no problem but this time was not so successful.  It was more like Rice Krispy BRITTLE.  Even my teenager said they were horrid.  That's okay, I've been wanting to make my fruitcake recipe without the fruit.  OMFG, that also turned out horrible.  I didn't toss it out, but soaked it with amaretto and have managed to create something palatable, but not appropriate to bring to a house of teetotalers.

Finally, I broke down and whipped up pumpkin bread.  I cannot even begin to describe the heavenly scents in my house.  The teenager turned up his nose, convinced it was going to taste like shit.  He did manage to choke down a tiny crumb after some coaxing... and ended up with two servings on his plate.  Hubby found the recipe when looking how to improve Bread Pudding.  He found one from Alton Brown that used pumpkin bread instead of a stale loaf of white bread.  The bread pudding was divine, but we also discovered this easy bread recipe was tasty on its own.
Alton Brown's Pumpkin Bread Recipe

 

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Are you participating in Black Friday?  I have managed to sleep in and have no plans to leave the house.  Our shopping this year will be online.

My sullen teenager reared his head in this endeavor as well.  He has spent the last several weeks bemoaning the need of a new Xbox so he can play the latest release of Halo (which he is also lacking).  As we scoured the Black Friday ads he discovered large flat screen TV's in his price range.  Suddenly his priorities have changed and he is in DIRE NEED of a new TV.  The measly 32" currently residing in his room is simply insufficient for his gaming and viewing pleasure.  Poor thing. 

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Oscar Movie update:  I've started to dedicate my Monday posts to discussing my movie watching adventure so make sure to come back and read more.  The one pick I have to offer you this week is Life Is Beautiful (1998).  Usually I go into these movies blind, unaware of the topic.  Sometimes it burns me and other times, like this, I am pleasantly surprised.  Had I even known the synopsis I would have been prepared for something wildly different.  It was about a Jewish family taken to a concentration camp.  Yet, it was more about the man and his incredible view on life, how he swept his wife off her feet and later how he kept his son shielded from the atrocities going on around them.  I smiled quite a bit and even giggled a few times.  It was truly a touching story (and true).

*****

Christmas preparations are now underway.  Time to listen to carols, pull out decorations, shift through wrapping paper, and send out cards.  Are you ready?  I'm certainly not.  Of course I never am ready.  Ever.

*****

Grilled Stew

We did it!  We made what I am calling "Grilled Stew"!

The idea came up a couple weeks ago as we tossed around ideas for stuff to make on the grill.  By the way you can prepare anything over an open fire, you only have to get a little creative with some of it.  I have successfully made burritos while camping, so I'm not really intimidated by the challenge.

Hubby suggested we grill stew meat and that was enough to spark my tiny brain.  The thought of a smoky flavored beef stew got my mouth watering.

We started off with a pack of stew meat.  We got ours at Sam's so it's a big pack and the first one was filled with miniature steaks.  They were beautiful pieces of beef.  The next two packages we bought weren't nearly as pretty and I would be tempted to buy steak in the future.

I didn't marinate it or anything, just plopped it on the grill.  Like I said, the pieces were big.  I've seen packages in the past holding tiny pieces of meat that would easily slip through the grill, so maybe a basket would be useful.  I tried really hard to cook the meat evenly to medium - kinda difficult with the all of the pieces on the grill and the differing sizes.

Once the meat was cooled (as in overnight in the fridge) I sliced the meat, removing globs of fat and bringing the pieces down to bite-sized.  People (husbands) get lazy in this arena and tend to leave the pieces too large.  "Bite sized" should be smaller than a spoon, maybe even two pieces fit on a spoon.

I diced carrots, celery, potatoes and onions.  The first time I diced too small and they kind of mushed along the way.  This time I sliced them larger, but still "bite sized".  Ideally I would have cooked them on the grill too, but I made the stew several days after my grill-fest so I resorted to roasting them in the oven.  Again, the first time I cooked too long, the second time aldente.

Then I made a roux from butter and flour.  The only time I ever do this is for biscuits and gravy, which oddly enough I don't eat.  I researched roux and evidently the secret is to keep stirring until it gets dark.  With batch one the roux was so-so.  On the second batch I used bacon grease, too much flour and then butter to compensate.

If you're looking for exact measurements, I'm sorry, this was all a dash here and a splash there.

I put way too much water in the first batch.  On the second one we loaded the meat and veggies in the pot and then added water until it barely reached the top of the stuff.  I stirred in the roux and we started adding seasoning.  I added more onions, not roasted, garlic, black pepper, cumin, onion salt.  After the first batch we decided we were missing tomatoes so the second batch had a can of stewed tomatoes and one of diced tomatoes in italian seasoning.

The first batch, despite the addition of the roux, was very watery.  We served the soup over rice and it was pretty good.  The second one would have been good with rice, but we were impatient.

The clue that the second batch was awesome was the smell.  It was mouth watering.  Even the picky teenager went back for seconds.

What makes this so good is the meat.  We have been using quality cuts, plus they aren't over cooked before going into the pot.  Each bite is tender and delicious.

Friday Fragments - June 1, 2012

Whew!  May is OVER.  It is such a crazy busy month with something going on in every corner of my life.  It's fun and always memorable, but damn, it's also exhausting.  June seems to blur into the other months of summer as we look forward planning our social schedules.  Already we've had to stare at the calendar for August figuring out what day Ian has to return to school.  It doesn't seem right to be talking about that so soon after school letting out just days ago.

******

We've already had summer-like weather.  Until yesterday it was hot and humid, setting record highs in the 90's.  We don't normally get this type of heat until mid-June.  Then this morning it dropped to 49°!!!!  It will rebound soon enough.  Fasten your earplugs as I launch into my regular tirade of hating St. Louis weather.

******

In family news, my youngest brother is looking to move back to Missouri.  He and his wife are done with their stint in North Dakota.  He has retired from the Air Force and they are feeling the pull to be closer to family (or at least that's what they're telling us).  They aren't wanting to be super duper close so St. Louis is out of the question, but nearby rural property has caught their eye.

Over Memorial weekend they breezed into town, dropped the kids with various friends and family, and took off in search of their next home.  No decisions were made, so we wait.  Cross your fingers, toes, rattle some bones, and offer a few prayers that they get something fabulous.

*****

While bro and SIL were galavanting about the wilds of Missouri, we had their two youngest over Saturday night.  Both are fabulous little boys, one incredibly energetic, both very inquisitive.  Fortunately we (okay, IAN) had enough stuff on hand to keep their minds and bodies entertained.  Bionicles are lego toys that can be built into transformer-like monsters.  That retained their interest the most.  We also blew bubbles, walked to the park, and investigated every nook and cranny of my house.


After they left on Sunday, I collapsed onto the couch and didn't move until dinner.

*****


We declined an invitation to hang out with friends Sunday night and instead grilled at home.  I've posted in the past how we have taken up cooking nearly a week's worth of food on the grill.  Sunday I did four large steaks and a whole gob of stew meat.

The stew meat was a lark as we made our first attempt at "Grilled Stew".  We grilled the meat and then I had intentions of grilling the vegetables.  The veggies ended up getting roasted in the oven.  Overall the stew was good and we will be doing this again.  Yet, it was missing something so more tweaking is needed before I post the recipe.

For quite some time we have grilled more steaks than we can eat in one night.  I've learned to cook two of them medium rare (a tad too bloody for our tastes) to use a day or two later in fajitas.  Between refrigeration and reheating, they come up to medium well (just a smidge of pink).  The meat is tender and smoky and absolutely delicious.  Hubby doesn't like any spicy seasoning and to be honest the meat really doesn't need much sprucing up.  I slice it super thin, toss it in a skillet with onions just long enough for the onions to carmelize and the meat to warm up.  I eat mine with a few reserved uncooked onions, bell pepper, salsa and cheese.  Hubby just goes for meat and cheese.  This has been a huge hit with everyone we serve and I like it because it's quick and easy.

Friday Fragments - January 3, 2012

Okay, everyone bellyaching about the loss of winter?  Denver is currently getting pummeled.  Quit yer bitchin' and appreciate the pleasantness.  I have never heard so much negativity around something so beautiful.  How about a few doses of gratitude?  Savor what you've been given instead of worrying about when it will stop.  Anyone who can bitch about a beautiful, sunny day is not capable of being happy.

It is a glorioius day and I love it.

******

Yesterday I met with my son's English teacher.  It's a little late in the school year to be holding a parent-teacher conference, but hopefully early enough in the semester.  He's just not grasping certain concepts so in order to be a better tutor I had to find out what she's presenting in class, how she tests and where to find more information.  It was a productive meeting and now she knows I'm on board with getting this kid through her class. 

And while he's bombing English, he just signed up for Honors Geometry.  There is not a chance in hell that I will be able to help him in that class.  I remember telling his brother and sister when they maxed out my knowledge and would have to seek tutors for any assistance.  The look on their faces was priceless - I really DON'T know everything.

******

Dear Daughter,
Beware of your 45th year.  That is when hormones will start to kick your ass.  Sleepless nights, random sweating, weird periods, bursts of energy, complete lack of energy, grogginess.  I think forgetfulness is a symptom, but I've been suffering that my entire life so I don't notice.  People are telling me this will last at least five years.  Yippee.  Oh, and gray hair.  You do know you're doomed to a life of coloring or else changing into a silverback?
You've been warned,
Crazy Cat Lady In The Making

******

Yeah, I actually had to leave work because I was so groggy.  Honestly, it hasn't been too terrible, but the sporadic nature of symptoms is annoying.  I wish I could find the triggers or patterns so I could at least have a little preparation or be able to say to myself "aha, hormones going insane, time to lie down."

******

I still haven't made a pie like I keep nagging myself to do.  No, I went the easier route by making a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.  I swear this is easy-smeasy.  After baking several where you make the cake batter from scratch and not really liking the cake itself (I mean come on, shouldn't the cake be delicious before you add all the gooey stuff?) I found an easier solution. 

So here is my secret to fabulous Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
LEMON cake mix - any brand.  You'll also need 1 can of pineapple rings and 1 can of pineapple tidbits (in natural juices not syrup), brown sugar, and whatever stuff the mix requires like oil and eggs.

Start off by spreading an even layer of brown sugar on the bottom of your pan (the springform pans are awesome, but when I'm super lazy I use a 9x13 and just don't flip it out of the dish at the end... which is a lie because I have flipped a 9x13 onto a platter and then slid it back into the dish with the pineapple slices face up).

No, I did not melt butter or spray the pan.  Just an even layer of brown sugar, not so thin you can see the pan, but not too thick that you have to pat it down.  It might be 2 cups, maybe less, clearly I just open the bag and start shaking it out.  Since there's no goo in the pan you can scoop out any excess.

Drain the juice from the slices and tidbits into a cup because you're going to need it later.

Arrange the slices into a pretty design on the brown sugar.  If you have maricino cherries you can pop them into the picture too.  I don't because I never have them on hand.

You're ready to mix the cake.  Replace the water with the drained pineapple juice.  Go a little lighter than it says because there is still a ton of juice in the pineapple pieces.  Add the eggs and oil as specified on the box.  Once your cake batter is free of major blobs stir in the pineapple tidbits.  Do not use "chunks" because they are just too large.

Pour it in the prepared pan and cook according to the directions.  Once you hear the timer, turn off the oven, but leave the cake in there.  It's still too jiggly in the middle.  I keep telling myself I should put foil on the cake to get that center fully baked without burning the edges, but I always forget.

This is a very moist cake (even when I burn the edges) and the lemon cake mix is a perfect blend with the pineapple.

Beans... No Gas

Since losing my gall bladder beans have given my intestinal system quite a workout.  TMI, I know, sorry.  My mother-in-law said something a year ago about adding baking soda to beans when they soak to alleviate such a problem.

REALLY????

I never heard of such a thing.

It didn't take too much searching on the internets to find reinforcement data, that yes, adding a little bicarbonate soda to the beans will reduce the gaseous affect.

I ended up with the ham bone leftover from my mom's Thanksgiving dinner.  We're going to make ham and beans.  As soon as I added water to my navy beans I also sprinkled baking soda in - about a tablespoon, it wasn't an exact measure.  They soaked overnight and were rinsed off the following morning ready to be transformed into soup.

Here's the recipe I used and by the way, this emitted the most awesome smell while it brewed...

http://www.bluebonnetsandbrownies.com/2011/01/05/bean-bacon-ham-soup-recipe/

Bacon, Bean, and Ham Soup

Serves 6 to 8 or makes 2 dinners to freeze
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 Ham bone, if possible with chunks of left over ham
4 strips of thick Bacon, cooked until just done
4 Celery stalks, diced finely
4 Carrots, diced finely
1 Onion, diced finely
1 small can (8 oz) of tomato paste
1 tsp thyme
3 cloves of minced garlic
6-8 cups of water
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
2 large (28 oz) cans of white beans (like Goya)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a skillet or oven set to broil. (I bake it on a cookie sheet with a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, flipping once, on the middle rack of the oven, and it turns out perfectly every time.) When bacon is done, patted with paper towel, and cooled, dice into small pieces.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot enough to easily spread across the pan, add in diced onion, carrot, and celery. Allow to sweat down until the onions and carrots have some color.

Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Stir to evenly distribute. Add ham bone with chunks of ham to the pan, and then add water to fill the pan with 2 inches to spare. Add liquid smoke, bacon chunks and beans straight from the can (no need to rinse, the liquid from the can adds extra flavor).

Allow to simmer on low to medium heat 2-3 hours. Remove ham bone from soup pot and dig in.
If you’d like to make this in the crock pot instead, simply brown the carrots, celery, and onion in a frying pan, and then add all ingredients at once into crock pot and cook for 4-6 hours on low.
Since technically all the ingredients are already cooked, really what you’re doing is allowing the ham bone and marrow time to infuse the water for a rich and meaty taste.

Serve with warm rolls, corn bread, or beer bread – perfect for dipping.

Friday Fragments - Thanksgiving Wrap Up

It's Black Friday - the crazy day to go out shopping and land incredible deals.  We slept in.  I do need to hit a certain store this morning, but I'm not rushing out to beat the crowds.  My husband got me to do the 4am stand in line thing a couple of times and actually it was fun.  We had a plan, each with a loaded list of must-have deals plotted out.  We'll do it again in the future, I'm sure.  Today, though, we will be retailers and I need to be bright eyed and bushy tailed, not groggy and bitchy from being awake since 3am.

On Wednesday I "surprised" my mom by bringing a birthday cake to her dance group at the mall (they meet every week for a little line dancing exercise).  I say "surprise" because she suggested this several months ago and then she acted surprised when I showed up.  To be honest, I've been so occupied with work and the shop that it never dawned on me to do anything special for her 70th birthday this year.  I feel bad that I didn't come up with this on my own, so the very least I could do is comply with her less than suble request.

Tuesday night I baked her cake - a pineapple upside-down cake, isn't it pretty?

Wednesday night I baked the rest of the stuff for Thanksgiving dinner...

Spiced apples from a recipe my son found online Monday

 -Slice and core several apples (I used up the ones left from last month's CSA box and they were getting soft).  2 cups water, 2 cups sugar, grated lemon rind,  juice from 1 lemon, 1 cinnamon stick (I didn't have one so I just used several teaspoons of ground cinnamon) and I added a teaspoon or two of ground cloves.  VERY yummy and VERY easy.

We had a second birthday to celebrate besides my mom, so I made a requested yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Unfortuantely I didn't have any chocolate frosting on hand, so I made it from scratch.  I think it needed more chocolate.

Pumpkin Pie!  I love using Pillsbury pie crusts - they're easy and already rolled out AND they bake beautifully.  It's taken a bit for me to master crimping the edges, but it does look homemade.

And finally, my famous baked beans.  Even my kids who never eat anything with a bean in it, dig into this stuff.  It's incredibly sweet and could easily sit on the dessert table.

 -chopped onions, crumbled bacon (I used three strips in this batch), about two cups brown sugar, 2 cans of pork and beans (the brand doesn't matter, just don't mix brands - I've made that mistake), 1 teaspoon of barbeque sauce, 2 teaspoons of mustard, 3 or 4 tablespoons of ketchup, and several shakes of chili powder.

And finally, a little alcohol.  It didn't get added to anything, although it would be fabulous in the spiced apples.  I felt more than a little like Julia Childs with my glass in hand.  I had a tickle in my throat warning a cold was brewing so I battled it with my own brew.  Usually I seek out vodka mixed with fruit juice, but I only had a drop left so I found this in the back of the fridge.  Cured me up just fine!

We made two stops for Thanksgiving - my mom's house and my mother-in-law's house.  Usually I'm pretty good about taking enough small portions that I don't feel like I'm rolling out of the house,  but I royally failed yesterday.  Last night required a dose of Tums before I could go to sleep.

We do have some awesome leftovers for today.  I don't make anything special out of leftovers, just warm up and eat.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

CSA - Sept 3

I have a whole lot of to catch up with our CSA boxes!

•Apple Cider - VERY tasty, but nobody other than me drank it.  And I can only drink so much...
•Pizza Crust - There were four thin crusts.  We each made our own version and it went over okay.  Hubby is not a fan of thin crust pizza though.
•Okra - fried it up and ate it all (I have never even TRIED okra up until we made it and I LIKED it!)
•Tomatoes - gone quickly
•Nectarines - I think I got to eat one out of the batch.  Hubby gobbled up the rest.
•Zucchini - see below
•Man Dip - it's supposed to be a cheese and meat dip.  It's still sitting in the freezer waiting for the right gathering
•Concord grapes - very delicious, but not all of them were eaten.

 
I wanted to use zucchini in a different recipe so I went surfing.  I found two recipes to try out. 

First, I found a twist on a potato pancake using shredded zucchini.  I went ahead and tossed in yellow squash, carrot, potato, and bell pepper.  For bread crumbs I used rye bread, chopped up and toasted.  I added a couple of eggs for binding and salt and pepper.  Fried it up and it came out wonderful.

Last week while we had family camped out at my mom's house I made up another batch.  It was a huge hit with the two vegetarians, both asking for the recipe.  This was definitely one of those recipes where you can get away with the "dash of this, pinch of that" approach and it was a great way to use up various veggies before they go bad.

The second recipe also used shredded zucchini with cheese and cooked italian sausage.   Then you load that into scooped out zucchini boats, cover with more cheese and toast in the broiler.

It looked impressive and smelled delicious.  The zucchini boat, however, was a bit much.  We just ate the innards and threw away the rest of the zucchini.  I can see making that again in the future, but toasting it a bowl next time.

CSA Box 8/22/11

•Watermelon
•Roma tomatoes
•Bell peppers
•White eggplant
•Pears
•Trout - sitting in the freezer
•Eggs
•Dip (this could easily rot in the back of the fridge before we decide what to do with it)
•Squash - DO YOU SEE THIS THING????  It's HUGE!  I could carve it into a jack-o-lantern!

Okay, so this bigass butternut squash had me intrigued.  I researched online and everything says to make it into soup.  I don't hate soup, but I also am not a big fan.  There was one other recipe that jumped out but I didn't need a whole bunch of squash either.

I tried to peel it with a vegetable peeler but the grooves made that a little difficult so I chopped it into big chunks and just used the knife to remove the peel.  It came down to TWO baking trays!

I also scooped out the seeds

But dumbass here left them in the oven too long.  (Son says they look like cockroaches)  I went ahead and ate most of them even the burnt ones.  I discovered that eating them with M&M's (don't ask) took away most of the charred taste.

I roasted the chunks and put nearly all of it back for soup some later date.  Good thing I have a deep freezer.  The left over peaches from last week and the strawberries I bought are also being stored away for later this year.

I warmed up the chunks in a skillet with a pear and some dried apricots.  The recipe called for dried cranberries but I didn't have any on hand, but yes, I had apricots.  The apricots were definitely a good selection!  Also added butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.  I had also made wild rice (from a couple weeks ago) and this concoction tasted great on top of it.  We decided maybe the rice would be good in a soup?  We'll see.

Not pictured were the additional peaches my husband bought a few days ago.  He got a whole case for $10 so we've been sharing peaches with everyone.  I chopped a few up and tried to make smoothies with the yogurt and honey from previous boxes.  It wasn't as good as I hoped so I guess I'm going to have to make cobbler in the next couple of days.

CSA Box 6/27/11

I'm sorry I missed posting last week's CSA box.

There was a ginormous head of cauliflower that actually took a few days to polish off.  It's not something I will eat but The Husband gladly snacks on it so I had it all chopped up ready to grab.  Roma tomatoes, not yet used.  Squash and zucchini were diced up and I added potatoes and red bell pepper to roast and mixed in diced up chicken.  It made a ton of food, but it was enough for a meal for the 3 of us.  Cucumbers got a little use being added to sandwiches.  Seriously if you've never added a cucumber to a sandwich you've got to try it (provided you like cucumbers).  We didn't use very much of what we had so it's possible the rest will be thrown away.  There are makings for a great pasta dinner including fresh pasta, sesame bread and spaghetti sauce.  The bread was gone in 24 hours, but the pasta and sauce are still waiting to be used, probably in the next few days.  The brown paper is wrapped around a small wedge of soft cheese and in the very back is a mix for bean soup that I exchanged for the head of lettuce we were supposed to get.

This week I exchanged a bag of mixed lettuce greens for a packet of rice soup mix.  We received another jar of apple butter and a bag of vanilla granola.  I'm sure I'll plow through that granola in no time - yum.  We got a couple of sticks of honey.  I don't have any fancy plans for them, but I did use one already in baked beans.  The sticks are great for small or pre-measured use.  I guess you could suck on them like pixie sticks, but I don't like the straight taste of honey.  We also got tomatoes and peaches - haven't touched those yet, but they'll surely be gone in the next day or two.  We also got beets and turnips.  I hate beets.  Hate them.  But everyone has been raving about roasting them, enough that I'm curious.  Funny enough that on Friday we actually saw a cooking show that highlighted roasting beets.  So last night I roasted them.  They weren't ready in time for dinner, but we'll have them tonight.  My first stab to test doneness, I sampled the juice on the fork and it wasn't too bad.  So I may be a convert.  For the turnips I made them like mashed potatoes.  We agreed that we could mix it in with regular mashed potatoes.  I also think having them steamed with carrots would be good.

Getting me to eat turnips and beets is a huge feat.  This is the purpose of joining a CSA for me, testing foods I've resisted in the past, adding variety to our diet.  We certainly would not have sought out these foods in the past, but I can guarantee we have additions to our shopping list in the future.

Beets:  Rinse, place inside a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Wrap the foil securely around the beet and roast in the oven for 1 hour. 

CSA Box 6/13/11

Multi-colored tortilla chips, red onion, cauliflower, salsa, cabbage, white radishes, zucchini, lettuce, green beans and tomatoes.  The salsa was a little too sweet for my tastes and will be given away.  The cauliflower is going to be chopped up today for hubby's munching - one of the foods I will never eat no matter how it's prepared.

We still had english cucumber left from last week so I sliced it up with onion and added the sweet onion dressing we got in the first box.  Absolutely wonderful.  I'm thinking of doing the same with the zucchini with this week.

Pineapple Chicken

Sorry, I don't have pictures but trust me it was good and really easy.

I am very guilty of using prepared box meals from the grocery store.  It's just... easier.  Or so it seems.  Actually, they introduce me to a meal idea that I would not have come up with on my own.  After I decide I like the combination, I will tinker around and try to make it from scratch.

I did that with pasta salad.  I don't like mayonnaise based sauces, so when Kraft had a pasta salad using italian dressing, I had to try it.  It used different colored spiral pasta and had dehydrated olives and diced onions.  Okay, I think I can do that on my own and I have and it is a huge hit with my kids.  I've even added other veggies like bell pepper and celery.  I'm sure broccoli would be good in it too.  It's my go-to dish for pot lucks.

For the past couple of years we have been making a pineapple chicken dinner from LaChoy..  Just add chicken.  We had been sprucing it up with an extra can of pineapple chunks.  It seemed we could do it from scratch using a bottle of sweet an sour sauce.

We tried it last night from scratch
1 1/2 cup of dry rice.  Cook according to package and then add other ingredients.
3 small chicken breasts (grilled and diced)
1 bottle of sweet and sour sauce (add a half bottle of water to rinse the contents into the pot)
1 can of pineapple tidbits including the juice
salt to flavor

But it needed a little more umph.  It was a little bitter.  I added a cup of brown sugar and that polished it off perfectly.

We won't be using the box any more.  All three of us went back for seconds and Husband and I have enough left for lunches today.

Baked Beans

I've hesitated in sharing my recipe for baked beans only because I don't have exact measurements.  It was the first thing I ever learned to cook all on my own and I did it by the old fashioned method of a "pinch of this" and a "dash of that."  I was working off the memory of my great-aunt's baked beans that she brought to every single gathering.  Her's were thick and gloppy and extremely sweet.  My mom would make them using the same ingredients, but somehow they just weren't the same.  So picture me in my tiny college apartment, dancing around in triumph as I successfully matched my aunt's recipe.

Ingredients:
Canned pork and beans (do not mix brands - they are different)
Dark brown sugar (I've used light, in fact that's what is on hand at the moment, but dark is better)
Chopped onion
Bacon
Yellow mustard
Ketchup
BBQ sauce
Chili powder
Paprika

To feed the tribe of ten gathered around the table for Thanksgiving, I used two standard-size cans of pork and beans.  Yes you could go the route of soaking the beans and all of that, but the cans are easiest and it's the way I figured out how to make them.  Drain as much juice off the beans as possible, but do not rinse them.  Put them in an oven safe baking dish.  (I've also made them stove-top, but they get thicker if you use the oven)

Load on the brown sugar.  TONS.  By my best estimate I use about a cup and a half per can of beans.  Maybe more.  Like I said, these are sweet, nearly dessert quality.

If you have cooked bacon, chop it up and toss it in.  I had four strips and that was a perfect amount.  Frequently I don't have bacon, and no, DO NOT use bacon bits.  Only real american bacon will do or go without (if you don't know, there is a huge difference as to what the rest of the world calls bacon and what I fry up in the morning to go with my eggs).

Onion.  I have used dried onion in the past, and it worked out just fine.  Of course, fresh onion is best.  I used half of a small onion for this recipe.  Had I used the entire thing it would have been okay.  Just make sure it is chopped fine. 

Add a large dollop of ketchup - maybe two tablespoons.  Then add a squirt of yellow mustard.  My mom's recipe called for dried mustard, but lacking that I used yellow prepared straight from my fridge and never bothered with the dried stuff ever again.  It was about a teaspoon.

Add about a teaspoon of barbeque sauce - just the standard stuff hiding in the back of your fridge.  I used KC Masterpiece hickory smoke.  Do not make the mistake of using too much BBQ sauce.  These are not barbeque beans.  A teaspoon gives a hint of smoke.  A small drop of Liquid Smoke could do the same.  If you don't have any then skip it.

A light sprinkle of paprika, possibly a 1/4 teaspoon, and then a few dashes of chili powder - a teaspoon and a half?  I live with a man who finds ketchup too spicy so I go light on the chili powder.  I've had baked beans with chopped up jalapenos in the past.  It was HOT HOT HOT, but very good.  Whatever you decide, go light and sample along the way as you spruce it up.

Stir the ingredients together.  The sauce should be a rust color, not the wimpy pink of the pork and beans.  If it still looks like pork and beans add more brown sugar.  Make sure to taste it - there's nothing raw in it to make you sick.  Ensure the balance of ingredients is "right".  Usually there isn't enough brown sugar or chili powder.

Then pop it in the oven at 325 or 350 degrees for about an hour.  When it's bubbling is a good sign.  Allow to cool at least 20 minutes before serving or everyone will scald their tongues. 

I much prefer to eat the beans the next day straight out of the fridge for breakfast.

Celebrating Strawberries

I've had the taste for strawberry shortcake for sometime now so we finally got around to buying strawberries.  While in the store, peaches jumped up and screamed that we should take some of them too.   Mmmmmmmm..... peaches (insert Homer Simpson drool).

When I got home and started to slice up the strawberries, again the peaches started to sing out.  So what the hell, I sliced those up too and mixed them together then sprinkled sugar over it all.

OMG... YUM!

Then it dawned on me, THIS SHOULD BE IN PIE!

And really, is there anything better than pie?  I love pie.  So I scoured the internets and lookie what I found!


FRESH STRAWBERRY - PEACH PIE
Printed from COOKS.COM

□   1 c. sugar
□   1/3 c. flour
□   1/4 tsp. cinnamon
□   1/8 tsp. nutmeg
□   1/8 tsp. salt
□   4 c. sliced peaches (3-4 lg.)
□   2 c. sliced strawberries (1 pt.)
□   2 tsp. lemon juice
□   Double 9-inch pie crust

Heat oven to 375 degrees. For filling combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Add peaches and strawberries. Drizzle with lemon juice.
Toss to coat fruit with sugar mixture. Spoon into pastry-lined 9-inch pie plate. Add top crust.

□   TOPPING (optional) :
□   Milk
□   2 tsp. sliced blanched almonds, crushed
□   2 tsp. sugar

Brush top crust with milk. Sprinkle with nuts and sugar (can omit nuts). Cover edge with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil; bake 30-40 minutes or until crust is light golden brown. Cool before serving.


So here's the verdict - strawberries and peaches are a match made in heaven.  This pie is pretty awesome.  I don't know that cinnamon and nutmeg is really necessary and in the future I will make it without the extra spices.  And hey, look at this - I even took a picture

Oatmeal Cookies

I'm not the best cooking blogger as I didn't bother to snap pictures as I was concocting so you'll just have to fly blind like I did.  This particular recipe was in the bigass haul of clipped recipes I bought at an estate sale.  I have no clue where she got it but it's clearly clipped from a magazine therefore I'm unable to credit the author.

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine, at room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup granulated fructose (since I really don't stock that on my shelves I took a wild guess and substituted brown sugar.  Do this.  It was awesome.  Seriously, who has granulated fructose? And if you're all smart and know they are the same thing, don't say anything.  I'm feeling smart and smug)
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1/4 cup water
1 cup raisins
1 1/4 cups coursely chopped walnuts.  (I used whole pecans because that's what we had on hand - I'm allergic to walnuts- and he likes big pieces.  OH maybe I should note that I never sampled these cookies because of the nuts.  I can eat very small amounts of non-walnuts and I put a shitload of them in the batter -more than the recommended cup and a half, like covered a baking sheet)  Spread the nuts in a shallow baking pan (like I said, I covered that bastard).  Bake in 350° oven, stirring often, 10 to 15 minutes (or SEVEN, seriously when it gets a pleasant fragrance pull them out) until a rich golden brown.  Cool before using (so don't be a dumbass like me and mix all of your shit and then read the goofy note at the bottom of the recipe about toasting your nuts, thus the reason I put this little detail at the beginning of the ordeal.  I'm a giver)

Heat oven to 350°.  Mix oats, flour, baking soda and salt (isn't that all of the dry ingredients?  Bet the next set of directions is to mix the wet stuff).  In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, fructose/brown sugar and vanilla (mmmhmm) with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in egg and water until blended.

With mixer on low speed gradually add flour mixture; beat just until blended.  (They're high, this is kind of a dry dough and I eventually had to use my hands to get it fully mixed)  With a wooden spoon (or your hands since they're already dirty) stir in nuts and raisins (oh I didn't have any raisins so we just did without - poor hubby). 

(Stash the bowl of dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before baking and return it to the fridge between batches.  My SIL taught me this little trick for drop cookies and they turn out with a nice soft center so I do this for all the cookies I ever make.  So do it because I said it works)

Scoop dough (it has some note referring to page 79 but we're both SOL on that since granny didn't bother to keep that info) or drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  (make sure to kinda smash them down because these don't spread out).

Cool on sheet about 1 minute before removing to racks to cool completely.  Makes 36 (I think I made mine larger and I didn't bother to count)

The Husband LOVED these.  He liked that I used pecan halves and he REALLY liked them toasted.  He said that released a flavor that made them very yummy.  Which means I'm going to have to toast those fuckers every damn time now.

Enjoy

Cindy's Happy Fruit Salad

While my beloved SIL was in town, she introduced me to Cindy's Happy Fruit Salad.  It actually didn't have a name until Friday, but when you make this, please use the name.  Cindy deserves the credit and really, it IS happy.

*I just had a panic moment - I suck at remembering people's names and what if it's NOT "Cindy" but "Kathy" or "Mary"???  Well, fuck it, her name is Cindy now*

You're going to smack your head with how freaking simple this recipe is.  In fact, you can even be lazy and use canned fruit cocktail, but really, take the time and use the fresh stuff.  Use the canned crap if you cannot access a bounty of fresh fruit or live in North Dakota.

So here it is...

Add Malibu rum.

You're welcome.

Now for my twist on fruit salads - you know how you're supposed to soak bananas and apples in lemon juice?  I started using a can of pineapple in natural juices (not syrup), it works just as good and then you have added pineapple - yum!  My SIL when she uses canned fruit, she rinses it off, which is pure genius, except for the pineapple, you need its juice.  So don't rinse it off.  But do that for the other fruits.

Thank you Cindy, this is truly THE BEST RECIPE EVER!