The Creative Muse

Holidaze

2010-01-01T11:23:00.000-08:00

See that...it's done with my spanking new awesome lil Photo Studio in a bag! My sis got it for me and it's awesome, I say again, awesome. Oh, the chocolate chip pecan pie was good too! (Clearly I need practice..)

I am a big Grey's Anatomy Fan. I can't help it, I love the characters, the drama of the hospital staff and the crazy things they come up with. I have to say that my favorite illness/accident was the one where the guy has tree branches coming out of him. Or wait no, maybe the time the little girl felt no pain and thought she was a super hero! Really, do these things happen to people or are they making them up? The worst one was, of course, George. Losing him suckethed very much. But enough of that....the real reason I am starting off with Grey's is because their last new show was called "Holidaze" and sometimes...no wait...all the time Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years seem to pass in a frenzy like daze thata lot of us can totally relate to.

So, here is my Holidaze post....Sorry, had to slick this computer so the pictures are in no way touched up and fancified!

I cooked so much and took so little pictures, but here is the list and the pictures for what I have....

Not Pictured (Shame on me)

Thanksgiving Dinner

Yeast Rolls (From Scratch)
Turkey
Creamed Corn n Cheese
Green Bean Casserole
Pies...Lots and Lots of Pies.
Collard Greens (Not from the can, that's Blasphemy!)
Bacon Cheddar Chicken

Christmas

Pancit
Brisket...num
Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese...mmmm
Some More Pies...

New Years

Seafood Salad
Spinach Dip
Chocolate Pudding Poke Cake

Pictured!

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies...and my daughter snatching one. See, they were great!

Mmmm...Orange Brownies inspired and adapted from the banging Paula Deen. I am so lucky, my best friend is a younger version of her. I keep telling her when she gets old I want her autograph!

Another Orangy inspiration from Paula Deen...I made this like four times over the holidays...I couldn't stop myself.

Requested by my son for New Years...these were the yummy cocktail meatballs!

Homemade Salsa..mmm

I know...It is horrible I didn't take more pictures. I should be shot! But good thing for you, one of my New Years Resolutions is to make sure I record my stuff more fully! Speaking of...I have just that thing to do that with thanks to some of my FAVORITE Christmas Gifts...

Thank you Laurie....I love it and I am already filling it up with plans of passing it down to Mya on her wedding day. It has all these wonderful inserts and now I love Susan Branch too!

My mother made this for me...it's a Raggedy Ann apron with my name spelled (Correctly even) across the top...who cares if the 'R' is on there wrong..I LOVE IT!

The Bread Maker

I haven't used it...I am scared to...the directions aren't so clear but...rest assured, BREAD I SHALL MAKE!

The lovely Black n Decker Food Processor (This was my gift to myself) Come ON...it was on sale!

And last, but certianly not least...my husband, the love of my life....got me...the MOTHER OF ALL CHRISTMAS GIFTS...THE MIXER!!! Just look at it...that red, that steel...she's a beautiful piece of loveliness!

So Happy Holidaze from My Family to yours!!!

Lumpia...It's whats for dinner...

2009-12-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

The holiday's have grabbed me up and while I have been cooking and baking like a mad woman, I have not had time to post here or even take good pictures...except one, which my friend Lisa fancied up for me. A few weeks back Lisa asked for a cooking lesson and I pulled out my best casserole's because for a beginner, those seem to be the easy things...and as we planned on when to get together, I got all self important and made a whole plan in my head about how I would go along teaching Lisa how to cook from the basic's until the intermediate, and so on....lol...we sure can let our egos grow big and strong sometimes. The last minute Lisa grabs me and says "Let's make Lumpia!" and she was so excited and I was thinking.."Oh crap, I don't know how to make lumpia!"

This is where God comes in, shakes me up, takes off my coat of self importance, and show's me how much better it is to do things his way. We did do lumpia and it was soo much better learning how to do it together! Lisa CAN in fact cook...and it was HER lumpia recipe we tried and perfected. It was also her design on the lumpia once it was picture time so if anyone asks you to come cook, chances are, they just wanna spend some time with ya! Lisa and I had a great time and realized that we needed more lumpia if we were going to feed both families! It was so simple and while the rolling was a bit time consuming, it went fast because we chattered to each other while we rolled.
So we chopped onions, shredded carrots, tossed in some garlic...ground some beef...soy sauce, sugared it, and off to the rolls we went..Oh wait and some lovely green onions!
Here is the recipe and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did...we are planning a Christmas Eve Asian style for our friends with the Pancit we also learned how to make and forgot to take pictures of...

Ingredients

1 egg
1 lb of ground beef
1 T of Hosin Sauce (I added this when Lisa wasn't looking O.O..so very optional)
1 bunch of green onions
1 medium onion
1 shredded carrot
2 or 3 T of soy sauce
3 T of sugar
2 cloves of chopped garlic
salt n pepper
1 package of egg roll wraps (We used these instead of lumpia rolls because the texture is better and holds less grease...I think)
Directions:

Cut up onion and put it and garlic into skillet under medium heat.
Let them soften before adding in ground beef to brown.
Once the meat is browned, drain it a bit of any fat and then add in green onion, carrots, soy sauce, Hosin Sauce, sugar, salt and pepper.
Taste the filling to make sure it has enough soy sauce and pepper...I added a bit more here and there until I liked the flavor.
Take it off heat and start to wrapping.
Crack and mix egg in small bowl.
Keep a damp cloth over the egg rolls to keep them from drying out and use the egg mixture to seal the wraps closed.
Once they are all wrapped up tight (You can use a burrito style wrap that keeps it all tucked in nice) tuck them into a deep fryer for about three or four minutes until the outside is a golden brown.
Lay on paper towels to drain and serve hot!!
We loved them and hope you do too...I am sure to try and add in some mushrooms or chicken later but for now, this is a good start for something I've never made before!

Salmon en Croute ~ Fancy Made Easy!

2009-12-18T07:28:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.

I must say, I am not normally a fish person. I love shell fish, but salmon has never been anything I wanted to try. Still, Daring Cooks is about being DARING and while they offered an alternative to the fish, I went ahead and did the salmon. How often have I cooked with it? Oh, never and I couldn't even pronounce it correctly!!! The deli guy was looking at me all strange when I ordered the fresh fish. Then he thought I was nuts when I asked him.."Can you cut off that skin...it's looking a little gross...I don't wanna eat fish scales." Call me odd, but hey...I wasn't feeling it!

So with my fish in tow I went home to start the short crust pastry. Because, hey...we need to try that too. Store bought pie crusts are heaven for me...but if I could learn the short crust...how much better would that be???!!! So I was excited and found a food processor on sale!! I got it and I then went to cart it home and I was madly excited. I followed the instructions for the pastry perfectly because I heard it could get tricky. I followed it perfectly four times....and each time...it just wasn't working out. Apparently I just don't have that special touch. Four hours into the pastry making I decided I had been daring enough and pulled out the puffed pastry in the fridge to de thaw...So sue me..x.x;;

Again, at the store I was instructed on what arugula was..and wondered why we had three different salad leaves in one spread but hey...not my recipe and I am DOING IT! So skipping the watercress I got the spinach and arugula and tossed them into the new processor with some extra dill, cream cheese....It was a really good spread.

I dribbled some lemon juice on my salmon, because while I don't cook fish often, I do have my beliefs about how it should be cooked...ha ha. Lemon and dill are necessary ingredients. Rolled out the puffed pastry, wrapped my fish up, baked...and realized minus the homemade pastry this is a pretty easy dish and my it looked pretty impressive when I was done.

I think it is definitely something we will try again!

I followed the recipe below which is a bit different then the original, but it was pretty good!

Salmon en croute:

Ingredients

I package cream cheese
Dill, rocket (arugula) and spinach - 1/2 cup of each but the dill...just a few tablespoons
One puffed pastry sheet
Salmon fillet (skinless) 17 oz.
egg - 1 medium sized

Directions:
1.Heat the oven to 390 F. Put the cream cheese in a food processor with the dill, spinach and arugula mix it into a puree of yum.

Season well with more dill? Maybe some lemon juice or salt!

2. Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (approx. 2-3 mm thick) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. Spoon half of the puree mixture onto the salmon. Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you don’t have any thick lumps of pastry as these won’t cook through properly. Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test wether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress puree as a sauce.

Two For One Cookies! Amish and Pudding Cookies!!

2009-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

If you have been following along, then you know all about the Sabotage of Amish Cookies! I tried them...I tried them three times...finally I called Gigi and asked for a personal lesson, clearly I needed it.

There is nothing so special as a day baking with a friend. I realized that this week as I trekked over to my friend Gigi's house. It was my first visit there and honestly I wasn't sure what to expect. You know how it is, going to someone else's home. Sometimes it's not comfortable, especially to bake in. Or maybe it's just me...but Gigi's was a HOME...if you know what I mean. The sort of place you sink into and relax. I wasn't worried about Mya getting into trouble, because Gigi has a granddaughter just her age. So toys, highchairs, and bassinets abound. Once Mya was settled, I got a bottomless glass of homemade ice tea. This is another feature at someone's home you have to watch out for...not everyone serves the 'tea' that is the 'tea.' You know what I mean....that powder mix. Nope, not my Gigi...it was a great glass of brewed southern ice tea that I would have proudly served to my own guests.

Gigi's kitchen is adorable. Small, quaint, with a bookshelf lined with cookbooks I was dying to dive into. AND...she had THE MIXER! She had the mixer and she let me USE IT. After conversation about books, which I love, movies we both enjoy, and basic good conversation we got to baking. I can honestly say that I rarely bake in other people's houses and enjoy myself. There is a comfort of knowing where everything is and just moving mechanically through your comfort zone....but Gigi had it all out and ready for us and while I watched...she showed me the magic of those Amish Sugar Cookies!

Let me tell you people, I like to consider myself a intermediate cook/baker. I mean, I got the basic skills down. But there is nothing like standing in the kitchen of a true genius and getting schooled. No ma'am, I've got a lot to learn. Like....softened butter is not the same as melted butter in the microwave. It makes all the difference and thus my mistake in making the cookies. So while I watched the master at work, I was transported back to when I was a little girl baking with my mother. It didn't happen often, but when it did it was special. I loved baking with Gigi, she makes a person feel loved, welcomed, and part of the family. Between the good conversation, the great cookies we made, and the gallons of coffee she forced down my ...No I am kidding...but we did drink coffee.

I know I have spouted the greatness of the woman in my Bible study. Gigi is the spitfire. She is this little ball of energy and spunk, independent and funny. Now, as Christians, we don't go around gang fighting, but if we did...Gigi would be in my Gang! 'Cause I know she'd have my back.

Sadly, my camera was on the fritz this day, so I don't have the picture's of the cookies, but read below for the great Amazing Amish Cookies from Gigi and my own Chocolate Chip Pudding Recipe. Here is your two for one!!!!

The Amish cookies turned out just as they should, that melt in your mouth yumminess that makes your hand reach, reach, reach, and reach for more.

The Pudding cookies were nummy and we used a mixture of Cheesecake pudding mix and peanut butter chocolate chips. Good Stuff!!!

The Amazing Amish Cookies

1/2C. Oil
1 Stick Butter (SOFTENED NOT MELTED)
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Powder Sugar
1 egg

Mix all of this together well. Then add the following:

2 1/4 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tarter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Vanilla

Mix all of this together in a large bowl. Put into the refrigerator to get it stiff and then take a small amount and roll into a ball in your hands ( about the size of a melon ball) Then place on a non greased cookie sheet and using the bottom of a small juice glass dipped in some sugar press the ball down. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 (3.4 ounce) package instant (Whatever Flavor you Like) pudding mix

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (Or butterscotch, or mint, or whatever you want)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour and baking soda.

In a separate bowl mix the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Add the eggs and mix well. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and the chopped nuts. Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

These are very versatile...and a holiday must at my house!!

Award Wining Crazy Chili

2009-12-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

As the holiday's approach and the weather gets colder my house is filled with a mixture of football news cast at battle with Christmas music, the occasional scream and lots of laughter. I count myself blessed for most of it, I could do without the football stuff but hey...nothing is perfect! It makes Marcus happy so I am really all in. Day's like today call for a special sort of warm dinner that is easy, hearty, and makes both the littles even happier!

The chili is Award Winning. I get to say that now because I won an award for it, even if it was for "Craziest Chili." I say it tastes great! Leeann and I tossed a whole bunch of stuff together and viola, we got a winner! I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did.

P.S. See that dish? My Mom gave that to me over the Thanksgiving Holiday...I LOVE THE SET OF FOUR!!!! Thanks Mom!!

Now, on to the ingredients!

We need some corn, chick peas, small onion, pepper, half a pound of sausage and ground beef each, diced tomatos, 8 oz tomato sauce, kidney beans, and a small can of chili...with or without beans..I use BOTH!

Let's not forget the spices...they are important.

To start off, lets brown the sausage and ground beef together. While they brown, add in a teaspoon of chili powder and a teaspoon of chili powder...okay I LIED...a whole table spoon of each!!! JUST DO IT!! Spice is life. Don't drain the meat, toss it into a crock pot.

I love this picture....something about those two colors made me smile today. Chop up that onion and green pepper. Mom, don't cry...we will find a way to replace your chopper!!!

Add them to the crock pot too! See..starting to layer it up.

Next, add in those yummy chick peas. I had no idea how yummy they would be until a friend from my Bible study, Kim made a chili with hers. It was sweet goodness...

Then comes the kidney beans and corn...such a colorful combination of flavors and ..um..colors!!!

Add in the rest of the cans of beans, chili, and diced tomatos. Then a dash or so of the pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder! Let it sit on low heat for five hours in the crock pot. Your house will smell like heaven and the guys will LOVE IT!!!

Commentary From an Eight Year Old Mastermind!

2009-12-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

This is not food related and while I am way behind on stuff to put here, I had to share this morning's conversation with my son. I woke up with a headache to end all headaches. I have never actually wanted to bang my head against a wall to stop the pain until...this morning. So instead of head banging my way back into the eighties I got up and moved verrrryyyyy slowly into the kitchen to make my son Marcus his breakfast and lunch for the day. Marcus, hearing his mother muddling around in the kitchen comes in to inspect. I don't know if any of you know about eight year olds but they talk. They talk alot, nonstop from the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep. AND THEN...sometimes...they even talk in their sleep. The same is true for him and as he entered, I held up my hand to stop him before he started.

Me: Marcus, Mama has a really bad headache so hush so I can do this okay?

Marcus with big growing large eyes: Oh man Mom, that's what happened to my knowing stuff. It's why I am so bad in school the headaches came and took away all the stuff I knew like ammonia!

Me: You mean amnesia..??

Marcus: Yeah Amnesia and it will come in and steal away all the school stuff in your head like worms and they take over and make you do things to...

At this point I tried to tune him out because otherwise I'd be drug down into his imagination and forget his sammiches. A couple minutes later I picked back up right...here.

Marcus: ..that's why when I have kids I am going to teach them a hundred ways to make hot chocolate. Don't give it to Mya cause she will be bouncing off the walls.

I was confused and thought..."How did he get from bugs in my brain to hot chocolate? Do I really want to know? Nahhhh."

Me: Okay Marcus no Hot chocolate for Mya...Baby Mama's headache...shhh..

Marcus: Oh that's right...man what if those bugs eat out of your brain and come after me and Mya...you should lay down Mom to protect us cause if they stay in your brain then we are safe....

I tuned out again.

I love that child. We have THE most interesting conversations, or rather he does. I basically just stand there so he can talk at me.

Christmas In Italy!

2009-12-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

So I want to do this meal for John and Laurie. I met them both in Italy and they have always held a special place in my heart. During the time I spent in Italy, John was always there for support, even when I went astray he was there. Now, eight years later we are still friends! I recently was over their house for a birthday party and John mentioned a meal we had all shared in Italy.

I forget the name of the place we all ate, but there were about thirty of us taking up the entire top room of this place. Candles everyone, music below us on the first floor. Glass windows that looked out over Napoli while we ate. The food was great and it was more an event than a meal. Of course I remembered it! He mentioned then the steak we had eaten. I remembered it because it had peppercorns on it and I thought they looked odd. (I wasn't the woman I am today then!!!)

I told him then I'd try and make it and see if I could do as well...the more I thought about it though, the more I wanted to recreate the entire night. Toss on some Italian music, mute the lights, light some candles. Invite them for dinner with me and imbue in the good food and memories we have together. Italy will always be a wonderful place to revisit in our minds...so while I endeavor to bring back Italy for my friends for Christmas, HELP!!!!

I think I am going to use the dishes I got in Italy. In Vietre there was this great pottery shop and I went a little out of control! I even have some authenic holiday decorations from Italy since I was there during the Christmas season!

So here is my menu...should I add in some things? Take some away??

Bruchetta
Caprese
Bread (OF COURSE)
Quattro Formaggio
Pepper Corn Steak in a Cream Sauce
Limoncello
Coffee
Tiramisu

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Salad

2009-11-20T06:53:00.000-08:00

This salad is great warm or cold which is one of the reasons I convinced myself it was okay to put up here way after Summer has gone. It's easy, delicious, and perfect for a bring over to a party. I know it's the grandest because my daughter ate it and cried for more and she is pretty picky. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do. It's going to be a staple at our house.

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped chicken
5 strips of bacon
1/3 cup of diced tomatoes
2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 package ranch dressing
3/4 cup mayo
1 box corkscrew pasta

Here we go....

Cook your bacon while you boil the pasta noodles. Drain and chop please!

Now, while the noodles are still hot, you want to watch the steam...

Okay stop watching the steam...add in the cheeses first so they can get all blended and melted in.

Then add in the rest of your ingredients and mix well.

That's...it. But let me tell you, it was good stuff. Good stuff I am going to go and eat some more of right now!

Baked Sausage n' Mushroom Gravy?

2009-11-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

I am starving...I have left over sausage and I am craving some of Carolyn's Biscuits and Gravy. I have clearly given up this eating healthy.
Anywho...this morning after posting all my endeavors for the last day and a half, I was hungry. Can you imagine? So pulling together what I had and recalling a similar throw together from a friend, I managed a pretty mean Baked Sausage Gravy!

Ingredients

1/2 pd sausage
1 can biscuits
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

See that, thrown together cause that's how I ROLL!

Lay the biscuits in the bottom of the dish, then the cooked sausage over top. Nothing so hard here..

Cheddar CHEESE IT!

Then pour the cream of mushroom over that! Put it in the oven on 350 for 20 minutes. DONE!

END! It so hit the spot.

Hot Chocolate a la Eggnog!

2009-11-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

Mmmm...

Chilly mornings call for a little warm up. A couple years ago Leeann was visiting and it seems whenever she does visit the noise clatter in and around my apartment keeps her up. This particular morning it was about 5am and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Then through the house arose such a clatter....DINKA DINKA DINK DINK DINKA DINKA....Leeann and I jumped up to see what was the matter!

So both of us come storming out of our rooms to the kitchen where Marcus was stirring chocolate milk in his glass...and you know the sound...when you are stirring something with a metal spoon in a glass?? Yeah, all over. Leeann and I looked at each other and stormed back into the room. I mean, what can you do? He was just getting milk. Later that week he was asking for hot chocolate. I told him no because he'd used up the chocolate syrup and we didn't have the packets. I underestimated the kitchen skillz of my friend who went in and whipped him up the best homemade chocolate milk he's ever had. At least that is what he said then.

I have a holiday treat I'd like to share in honor of that memory! Marcus loves the hot chocolate egg nog I make during the holidays. He can only get it one time during the year so it becomes a staple for morning breakfasts in our house. This morning was a great time to make some and he went off a happy kid, let me tell you!

Ingredients
1/2 cup egg nog (NON alcoholic)
1/2 cup whole milk
2-3 tbsp. Cocoa
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Whipped topping (optional)
Holiday Mug!

I really just wanted to show of my Christmas Mug. I love mugs, I collect them...and use all of them. Every morning it's a new style in my coffee cup, I am telling you!

Let's just put all of that into the saucepan on medium heat.

Let's stir until it does this! DONE..END!

Drink up the happiness in a cup! Marcus did!

Pepperoni Pasta Bake

2009-11-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

Wednesday's are our Bible Study days...I love them for a bunch of reasons, but mostly for the food. NO! I am kidding. I know, you guys expected me to say that...I'd hate to let you down! This Wednesday we were having a lunch for our Pastor and his wife (Mostly his Wife) to show our appreciation for him and to celebrate Jen's birthday! Whenever we get together to cook there is a ton of food to try, new things, old recipe's I try to finagle from them. I am telling you, there is a WORLD of food knowledge in those women begging to get out and tell ME! No, not really, they are like so tightlipped...especially Kim who wouldn't give me the recipe for the awesome homemade pineapple cake she made!

Me? Well I baked the Pepperoni Pasta. This recipe I got from Leeann, like many of them, and then twisted it to fit my family. We do that to each other's stuff. I won't put it on Foodbuzz, because it is hers...but so many asked me for the recipe I thought the blog needed a visit. So without further ado....I present to you....Pepperoni Pasta Bake!

P.S. Amy, your sister said she gave this to you already!

Shredded Cheese, Ground Beef, Sausage, Pepperoni's, Salt and Pepper, Garlic Powder, Ziti, and Sauce!

Let's put our pasta on to boil while we get the rest of the yummies ready!

Put half a pound of each of the ground beef and the sausage into the pan to brown with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Do not drain...

Once it has browned, add in the sauce and pepperoni's and stir until it is well blended. I also added in a half cup of water. It keeps it from drying out when I bake it later!

Look at all that steam! Now we layer it. I use the meat mixture first to keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom. Meat, Pasta, Cheese until it is all used up!

Once you get to the top it all sort of mixes together, just make sure there is meat on the bottom! I added in some provolone shredded cheese as well as the mozo!

Cover with tin foil and bake for half an hour on 350!!

Tada!

Ingredients
1/2 pound of sausage (your choice)
1/2 pound of ground beef or chuck
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 16 oz package of shredded mozorella or/and provolone cheese (really, any cheese you favor is fine!)
1 16 oz can Spaghetti Sauce
1 pacakge of Pepperoni
1 box of Ziti noodles
1/2 cup of water

Brown the sausage and ground beef with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Boil the ziti noodles to al dente (Don't overcook since we will be baking them too)

Pour in the spaghetti sauce, half cup of water, and pepperoni into the meat mixture and heat on low until bubbly hot.

Layer the meat, pasta, and cheese into a 9x11 baking dish.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sausage Puffs

2009-11-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

We had a birthday party this weekend and I wanted to bring the Andouille Sausage En Croute's I noticed on Cajun Chef Ryan's blog but my husband was not so keen. He asks me...

Him: Baby, have you made them before?
Me: Uh..no but this is the perfect time! They are easy, quick, they will love them!
Him: Well, maybe you should make them first before taking them there?
Me: -defeated- fine....

And so I showed up empty handed which was not what I planned on!

So today after he went to work I set down to make them. I looked up a few recipes because I like to get a feel for what I am going for and found lots of helpful tips. This one over at Kabobs was great, simple, and easy too! In the end, I took some from here and there and added in some of my own.

This is the first time I have worked with puffed pastry and for some reason sausage and mustard begs for cheese in my book, so I added in some of that too! Also, I skipped the Andouille Sausage and -gasp- went for some Bob Evan's Sage Sausage. Call me ghetto if you must, but it works for my family! So then I figured I probably can't call it Andouille Sausage anymore....so how's about we go with Sausage Puffs! (I was going to go with Ghetto Puffs, but that sounded like a cereal)

End!

They turned out surprisingly filling actually. Flaky goodness on the outside and yummy warm spicy on the inside!

So let's take it from the top, shall we?

Ingredients

1 box of puffed pastry (dethawed)
1 lb of sausage (of your choice!)
Djon Mustard
Shredded Swiss Cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup of water

First, lets cut up the pastry into 24 squares. It was a little hard for me, I am shape impaired so some of them were like rectangles!

Then I rolled the sausage into 24 little balls. Melon ball size is good...no fear, the pastry stretches and will fit them!

I squeezed a bit of mustard on each of the squares!

Then I put one of the balls and some cheese on each one. Normally I am more liberal with cheese, but I was worried it wouldn't fit. No worries, cheese it up!!!

Mix the egg and water together and use it on the edges of the pastry. Wrap the pastry corners upwards to join in the center.

Like that! Then turn them seam side down onto a greased cookie sheet about two inches apart and bake for 30 minutes on 350 degrees.

I was worried they'd be a bit greasy but nope, they were flaky goodness and worked out great. I will definitely be taking these to the next little get together!!! LOOK OUT CAROLYN'S CHRISTMAS PARTY WOOOHOOO!!!

Pain Ordinaire Careme (A Daily Bread)

2009-11-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

My best friend and I are as different as day and night....we grew up in completely different places, with different types of food, rules, and well as you can imagine in makes for totally different types of personalities....but we share a few loves and one of them is BREAD! Leeann and I could make a meal out of bread and butter, let me tell you. Jail is no sad place for us...so long as it's REAL butter!

Okay, I admit, I may not like jail so much, but this is my point....We Love Bread!! Short bread, skinny bread, bread that rolls on wheels....okay I'm done. Point Made. End.

This weekend we decided bread making was in order. As some of you may or may not know, yeast terrifies me. I mean, all I can think of is the cartoons where someone put 4 cups of yeast instead of 4 cups of flour and the bread comes growing out of the oven all over the place attacking. Thus my vision of yeast. So bread has always been a little...unattainable for me. At least homemade bread.

Last month I got to spend a whole week with her and she helped me, step by step, get over the fear of yeast. Then she left and I killed two packs full with too hot water. I could hear the little yeasties screaming. "IM BURNING IM BURNING....AHHHHH"

Once I got over my guilt, I got some more yeast and did it right. I think I got this whole yeast thing down. So this weekend we challenged ourselves to some French Bread Baguettes. Let me tell you how important this bread was...very important! That's how important! This bread I can dip into the special extra virgin olive oil with some basil and salt and be transferred back into Italy sitting on the Almafi coast with a glass of wine, some bread, and a few slices of great cheese. So I tell Leeann, when we are done we are having wine to celebrate!

So we found a few recipe's we liked but decided to use the Pain Ordinaire Careme (A Daily Bread) from the Bare Foot Kitchen Witch because hers is pretty direct and we loved the step by step pictures. I managed to break my mini hand mixer and well, minus the smoke and sparks, the bread went off without a hitch (The great thing? My husband went to put my Kitchen Aid mixer on layaway finally so WOOHOO...Success is within reach!)

So after our mixers (Yeah, her's died too...she needs Kitchen Aid too..) died we got on the phone and heavy breathed to each other while we mixed, kneaded, and shaped our bread! I got two long baguettes and a round loaf from mine...all of which is gone now...I managed to snag one quick picture for all our trouble.

Ingredients

6 cups bread or unbleached flour, approximately
2 packages dry yeast
2 1/2 cups hot water 120-130 degrees F)
2 teaspoons each salt and water

While the recipe says it can handle a mixer, both of ours went CAPUT so maybe just some manual labor for the first part here. We mixed the water and yeast together first and then poured it into 4 cups of flour.
Mix for ten minutes vigorously.
Then add in the salt dissolved in water.
Mix for another 30 seconds or so

Now for some more manual labor. We don't have the handy dandy KitchenAid Mixer yet so we were doing some serious kneading.

Since we kneaded, we would to a few turns of push, shove, punch, fold, then add in a bit of flour at a time until the 2 left over cups were used. Knead for ten minutes.

Put in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let it rise for two hours. It should triple in size unless you killed the yeast. I am an avid yeast killer...(AHHHH DYING...sorry it still rings in my head...I have nightmares!)

After two hours roll it back out onto a floured surface and knead for about three minutes.

Back into the bowl and cover it. This second rise will last for 1 1/2 hours.

Once it's tripled its size again, roll it back out and divide it up into the portions you want for your baguettes and such. I rolled two baguettes and one round loaf. Let the portions sit for about five minutes before rolling them out to their baguettes. Then cover with a breathable cloth and let it rise for an hour.

Now while they rise, put a cake pan (not glass) into the bottom of your oven. Preheat oven 450 degrees for twenty minutes then pour a cup of water into the cake pan. Watch out for steam!

Slide in your bread and let it bake for 25 to 30 minutes!

Don't be scared of the yeasties....they are more scared of you then you are of them, trust me. You have the real power!!!

Hashbrown Stratta

2009-11-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

It's no secret, my favorite morning dish is my hasbrown stratta. Why you ask? Well, I can do anything with it and never have the same one twice in an entire month. Mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sausage, cheese, lots of cheese, onions, ham, chicken, beef, corn...oh come on, anything! Today though I wanted a bit of ham and cheese with some fresh tomatoes so with the advisement that you can DO ANYTHING with it, I give you...The Stratta!

Ingredients

5 eggs

1 tbsp salt

1/2 cup cheese

3/4 cup chopped ham

1/4 cup of milk

2 cups of frozen shredded hashbrowns

Grease your pan with a tablespoon of oil and then layer the hashbrown's over the entire bottom. This will serve as your crust. Dash a bit of the salt over this layer.

Brown the chopped up ham.

Ignore my shadow, I was hungry, tired, and it was early in the morning. Wisk the eggs and milk together until well blended.

Let the hashbrown's cook on medium for about eight minutes and then pour the egg mixture over it. You may have to tilt the pan a bit to make sure the egg covers over the hashbrowns.

Then add a bit more of the salt and sprinkle the ham over the eggs.

Last, sprinkle the cheese over it to top it off. Let it cook until the top is cooked and the cheese is melted. It takes about 15-18 minutes. When you are ready to serve, it slides right out to a large plate!

Again, I need to impress upon you the urge to experiment with this dish. Green onions even! It's great for a cold morning, a warm morning, heck it's a great brunch dish! Try it and please....come back and tell me what you did with it!

Gigi's Amazing Amish Cookies

2009-11-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

.....I am not a sugar cookie fan. I mean, they are good and all but I prefer a chocolate chip for sweetness and a small tea cracker with my tea...but these cookies are the best of both worlds. I can't even really explain it, but when Gigi came to our Woman's Bible study and set them in front of me...after the first bite I felt bad for the other ladies.

1.) I am quick...I can reach out, grab, and eat cookies ten times faster than they can.
and
2.) I would do it and feel not a lick of guilt until every cookie was gone!

I had to tell someone to get them away from me. That was MONTHS ago and ever since I have been trying to get the recipe from Gigi. I asked, I begged, I gave her my email address, I made her write it in her book, I hounded her at church, I complained to my best friend that Gigi was holding out...finally...I coaxed and lured with truffles. I made her truffles!!!

Still no recipe.

FINALLY, I found her on Facebook and it came down to a real stalker like issue...but I HAVE THE AMAZING AMISH COOKIE GOODNESS! My months of groveling, plotting, and begging have finally paid off and now I give it to you, free and willingly, without getting your email address, with not a please, please, begging please, or even a single TRUFFLE!

So we baked, me and my son took this rainy afternoon to bake the cookies I have so been looking forward to baking.
This is the EXACT Recipe my dear sweet friend Gigi gave me:

"1/2C. Oil
1 Stick Butter
1/2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Powder Sugar
1 egg
Mix all of this together well. Then add the following:
2 1/4 C. Flour
1/2 tsp. Cream of Tarter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 tsp. Vanilla

Mix all of this together in a large bowl. Put into the refrigerater to get it stiff and then take a small amount and roll into a ball in your hands ( about the size of a melon ball) Then place on a non greased cookie sheet and using the bottom of a small juice glass dipped in some sugar press the ball down. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Enjoy!! :)"

She put that smiley face too, see it? It's exact...I cut and pasted. Notice anything odd? No? Well I didn't either...I just baked. So follow me and see if you see what I see.

Here we are, anything odd here?

So I added in the sugar, powdered sugar, the butter, and oil. Mix mix mix...

Bad photo, I know...but here I added in the flour, the vanilla, salt, cream of tarter, and baking soda. Then, as instructed, I tossed it into the fridge for about twenty minutes.

Then I rolled them like she said!

And then I flattened them. Then into the oven they went for ten minutes (I wanted the bottoms a bit more brown.)

So upon pulling them out I thought...ODD! They are still flat. Hmmm...could it be that Gigi has somehow SABATOGED ME??? So I thought it over and I said. WHERE WAS THE EGGS? She didn't tell me eggs! OH OH She so sabotaged me! Then I went stalking back to the Facebook email she had sent me and then I looked at my copied notes and NO EGG! -gasp- she tricked me!

And then I cut and pasted it up there....and VOILA the egg suddenly magically appeared....or I just didn't see it or something crazy like that. Although I think Gigi sabotaging me is more exciting and if you knew her, a lot more probable.

Alas, no, she did not sabotage me. I didn't see it. No matter...I AM DOING THEM OVER WITH EGG!!!!

Follow her stuff, it's the bomb. END!

Poorman's Steak

2009-11-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

Times are hard, but we can still eat like Kings on a Pauper's Budget!

So last night I thought....Ugh...I don't feel like going all out so Mac and Marcus can turn up their noses at whatever NEW THING I try out on them. And so I looked around and found a few cool ideas, but settled on a mix match of what I like. Settled on Poor Man's Steak, dinner last night was actually pretty fabulous and not at all hard. It was good and was gone 5.2 minutes after I pulled it out of the oven. I was rushed towards the end by hungry men so forgive the lack of pics for the last few steps.

Here is what we need supplies wise for the first half.

Mix it all together as if you were doing a meat loaf...pretty easy!

Bread crumbs...mmm..you could probably substitute them with whole wheat bread for a healthier steak. Of course, it's kinda like a raindrop in a river...

Now, layer it across an eight inch pan, flattening it down. Make sure to spray the dish/pan to grease it.

Cut it up, ignore my slippers, in equal parts and toss it into the freezer for about an hour.

Now, pull them out and pull them apart so that you have six square like pieces.

Dip in eggs, flour seasoned with salt and pepper...and then....

Brown them into loveliness. You don't have to cook them through!

Now here is where I lost the pictures. Mac loves country gravy, hates mushrooms, but I love mushrooms. So here is a twofer. You can do the sauce two ways. You can take the drippings from the pan and mix with a cup of gravy and water, season with salt and pepper (What I did for Mac). Or you can mix a can of cream of mushroom with a small can of mushrooms and milk and use that. Either way, lay the 'steaks' back into the eight inch pan, pour the gravy of choice over it and then bake it for 20 minutes or until the insides are completely finished. We loved it...will make it again soon!

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp season salt
1 tbsp Emeril's Original Essence
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
2 eggs
1 small onion

Humming Bird Cake!

2009-11-08T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it took me long enough! I meant to start this cake as soon as I got home from church, but then we had one of those sleep inducing lunches and I thought..."Oh well, let me take my Sunday nap" (Something I truly take advantage of!!!) and then I woke up and said "CAKE TIME!" But Mac asked me if I wanted to go for a drive and well, I try to never turn him down when he offers QT time...so OUT we went...

By time we came back home and settled in all my natural light was gone for my photos and my new light box is not yet constructed soooo bare with me!

I've never made a hummingbird cake but by looking at the ingredients I was guessing it had a sort of Caribbean flavor to it. Minus the pecans it called for. I MAY BE VERY WRONG!!! But I made some adjustments based on this assumption. I used all my pecans yesterday and I was pecan'ed out! So I skipped them and instead of the banana's (I so sang the song in order to spell bananas right!) I used crushed fresh apples...and instead of vanilla I used coconut flavored vanilla...o.o

So if you want a Hummingbird Cake the way it's supposed to be...then check out THIS RECIPIE HERE!!!! She has it down pat! And her cake looks ten times better than mine. PLUS I really like Mommy's Kitchen!

Alright, here we go, Hummingbird Cake....

Here's our supplies!

I could have cut her out, but she was sitting so nice helping Mama put all her stuff together. Everyone wave to Mya the helper!!! (She was actually just throwing popcorn at me in intervals, but I can dream). Also, I didn't forget the salt this time, but I don't know why the baking powder is in there, ignore it's sneaky-ness!

You know I used my handy dandy chopper thing for those apples, then tossed them into the Bullet! Mya screamed for some too, so I ended up cutting up more. Which reminds me of my Aunt Fae who is always telling us to "Fieee Fieee" (I think that's how we spell it in English?) It's Greek for "EAT" It's her favorite thing to say...so I bring Leeann to meet her and she is force feeding her practically and I tell her "Aunt Fae, we aren't hungry..we just ate." And she goes. "OH Okay, I make you apples..." Like...they aren't food? And so she cuts them like..without breaking the skin in one whole piece...okay end of story, sorry...away from the apples...

I got a brand new sifter...I didn't need to sift, but DANG IT I was going to use it!!!

The cool thing about this recipie, you can just mix it all together in one bowl! ALL OF IT! Dry, wet, fruit..everything.

And then it looks like this? (Ignore all my apple peels there....I have a use for them..)

Put em' in the oven for BABY AND ME!!! (Clearly and action shot...)

I stopped taking pictures until the end result because I lost the camera for a while there...it's a classic Sunday night here.

Mac is biting at the bit for the cake! The coconut is a slight taste, but I love it...I mean, I never made it before and don't really know what it is SUPPOSED to taste like...but I love it anyway!

Hope you do to!

List of Ingredients

1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple (Don't take out the juice..we need that)
1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 mashed up Apples (Or you know, applesauce...but I mashed me some apples cause we had extra)

Cream Cheese Coconut Frosting ( I know, it's weird but it does taste yummy)

1/2 package cream cheese- room temp
1/2 - stick butter, softened
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tbs milk, more if needed
1/2 pound box of confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, butter those 9 inch pans, then toss them with some flour...

Mix all the ingredients together for the cake!

Put it in the pan (You can do two or three layers, or even one...I guess it depends on your preference!)

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Make sure the top puffs up when you touch it...it has this amazing brown color and you can see all the yummy pieces of fruit!!

For Frosting

Blend together in a mixer until it is the spreading consistency you like. I used two tablespoons of milk, but others might like it a little thicker!

Deviled Egg Dip

2009-11-07T10:34:00.000-08:00

I am on a roll...Saturday's are my days of trying all the new stuff! Poor Mac...although he is liking this next one good enough! While roaming through the Tasty Kitchen last week, a feature recipe grabbed my eye. Karly Cambell had a great Deviled Egg Dip that I had to try. I even tried to get my mom to replace our deviled eggs with it for Thanksgiving...she wasn't so happy with the suggestion but it is a WINNER! Her recipe is found Here....but of course, I changed it up some to suit my family's taste buts. Enjoy and give Karly a holler..and tell her how awesome she is.

P.S. Good football food...
P.S.S Also a great egg salad sammie stuff!

Ingredients

Six eggs
Eight Slices of Bacon crumbled up (You can use Turkey Bacon too!)
3/4 cup Light Mayo
3/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 tsp Paprika (And then some on top when it's done for pretties!)
1 1/2 tbsp. Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
2 1/2 tbsp. Mustard
1 pack of whole wheat Ritz (Or whatever your using to dip into it!)

Boil your eggs and when they are done, drain and pour into a bowl of ice. (Because I am impatient and it cools those eggs fast!)

While the eggs cool, cook your bacon up and then crumble up into pieces.

Toss together the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, add bacon....chop up eggs or mash up, depending on the way you like your dips. I like a little chunky egg stuff.

Zuchini Apple Bread

2009-11-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

I've never really tried the zucchini bread, or enjoyed nuts in my breads, or even baked much bread...but that all seems so silly now. So this morning I woke up, made my coffee, opened the blinds to the lake out back and the ducks swimming around. I decided it should smell like baking. I have been dying to try a zucchini bread and this morning seemed the perfect time.

Here are our supplies!!!

I forgot to toss the salt in there. Actually, Salt is the thing I always forget to take a picture of. Bare with me, the more I post, the better my pictures will be.

Let's toss all our dry stuff together, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon!

Now, let's shred up a zucchini. I peeled off the sides first and then shred it up and put it in an paper towel to get some of the moisture out. We will have plenty moisture, trust meh!

Next, toss the eggs, sugar, and oil together. Then add in the vanilla and zucchini!

Then the yummy cup of applesauce. I am betting we could even use the flavored applesauce out there and really mix things up!

Lets mix in the dry with the wet and then toss in a cup of the pecans!!!

It makes enough for two bread pans or one large cake pan but this is BREAD so we put it in the bread pan...got it??!!

So I finished it after an hour in at 350 degrees and I forgot I needed to take a picture of it and cut off a pice and BIT INTO IT...See my teeth marks??

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 3/4 sugar
1 cup applesauce
1 cup shredded zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease bread pans.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and set aside.
In another bowl combine the eggs, sugar, and oil and mix together until blended.
Add in vanilla, applesauce, and zucchini.
Mix wet and dry ingrediants together until well blended and then toss in nuts.
Combine then pour into bread pans.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Slice....eat...sigh with contentment!

Shredded Pork

2009-11-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

I never really cooked much pork. Ham is normally a once a year deal, Easter. Even our bacon was -whispers- turkey bacon....shhhh...

But my best friend is a Southerner. She loves bacon, could never understand why I never used it. One day I stumbled across a website that told me in no unclear terms how terribly wrong I had been. She also had a few (by few I mean a whole BUNCH) of great recipes that me and my bestie devoured. Today I decided to go through and see if there were any there that I could make for my family and remain close to the healthy line. Based off this recipie, I decided on some shredded pork. I figure the options are pretty limitless. Sammies, BBQ style, or even burritos (which is how I had them). I left off the lime wedges this time because no one liked them the last time I made it!

So here goes....

4 pd. pork shoulder
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. oregano
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 onion

This is what you need...

I never really use fresh garlic and maybe I am -gaspness- for that, but the minced garlic works fine fine! The brown sugar is optional and actually I didn't even use it this time..I just like taking pictures of it...it helps me learn better angles...see how great brown sugar is?

I hate hate hate to cut onions...and I could just put it all in a food processor, but I don't have one. What I do have is this handy dandy chopper thing. It's amazing! Put it in like that see...-points up-

Close the lid and BAM CHOPPED ONION! <3 it! No tears

Then, just to make sure it's blended all together, I toss it into my Bullet...the bullet is an amazing gadget too.

When I opened my pork shoulder, it broke in two. I mean, it fell apart into two pieces, but yeah...brokeded.

Then I took the yummy greatness of all that cumin, onion (don't tell Mac I put onion on it...what he don't know won't hurt him) and chili powder and all that other stuff...RUB IT ALL OVER BABY!

Then get your roasting pan down. Mine is up there, see how high. My husband is 10 feet tall so he rearranges my cabinets and hides my lovely roasting pan up there. I canna reach it up there...soo...

I get the step stool....because that's how bad I wanted my roasting pan.

See...all slathered with the yummies...tucked safetly into the roasting pan.

Pour two cups of water over it...

You don't need to do the tin foil, but I like to cover it and THEN put the lid on...like a second vaccum to keep all that juicy goodness inside, not out. We want it inside!!

Then toss it into the oven on 300 degrees for ohhh five or six hours...until you see it start to fall apart when you touch it..like BARELY touch it and the insides are done.

I had to use a spatula to get them into the serving dish..cause they kept falling apart.

Done! Pour all that juice over the shredded pork and serve! It's the good stuff...we love it!

P.S. Thank you PW!!!

Baked Chicken

2009-11-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

With the holidays coming up and my family's need for a more healthy diet I am plotting on how I will still be able to make the pleathora of truffles I had planned, when I will be able to get in that new Amish cookie recipe I got from my friend GiGi...and in the end I have put aside the plots and focused on something healthy. So tonight we had my first attempt at a low carb meal and I think I did pretty okay.

We cut out the bread -tears up- then we added in some flava flav...the good kind, not the clock wearing kind, and baked up some chicken!

I used a cut up fryer. After rinsing it off, I tossed it into a bag with a half bottle of Italian dressing, some garlic, and a bit of poultry seasoning. Tossed it into the fridge and let it sit there ALL DAY LONG...though you could probably do it for two hours and be good!

When I was ready to cook, I poured a tablespoon of olive oil into a skillet and then added in the chicken pieces AND all the left over marinade. I let it simmer like that on medium heat for about twenty minutes, turning the pieces. I dashed in some red wine too, but that was pure experimentation!

The oven was preheated at 400 degrees. Once the simmering was done (I just made sure it was cooked through and that some of the marinade was really cooked in there) put the pieces on a foil lined baking sheet and toss into the oven for half hour. About halfway through the time use the left over marinade in the skillet and brush it over the chicken pieces. During the last four minutes, turn the oven to broil to get the skin nice and browned, crispy like. Serve with some steamed veggies and done!

It went over well and I plan on using the left overs for some chicken salad or chicken fajitas tomorrow afternoon. Hmmm....
Ingredients

One whole chicken fryer
1 1/2 cup of Italian salad dressing
1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 cup red wine

Broiled BBQ Chicken Wings!

2009-10-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mmm...Saturday and Sunday's at this house are football days, days where we relax, make a mess ( I hate that part), and watch different games. Mostly Mac does the game watching and I get down and dirty with the kitchen with whatever new recipe I am excited about. BUT I am a few days from a grocery trip so not so many ingredients to play with. So we had the basic football food. Wings!

It's a pretty easy recipe and I learned most of it from my Pop who, by the way, is my current teacher. He just doesn't know it. So here's what we do. Let's boil those chicken wings in some water. Flavor that water with some season salt and heck, toss in a bay leaf. This water by the way, when it's finished boiling the chicken, is good stock!

Okay, so lil chicken wings boiled and finished. Here comes the sauce!

3/4 cup honey
1/2 stick of butter
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 clove crushed garlic
salt n' pepper to taste!

Combine these and let them simmer for about five minutes. Toss with wings to coat and put them into a broiler pan and in the oven to broil for about five minutes. Maybe less...just until that sauce is all bronzed and the edges of the wings are getting crispy! I don't do grills in the winter...yet...and hate to fry foods so this recipe rocks for us.

Friday Pizza Night!

2009-10-30T13:53:00.001-07:00

Around here, Friday night is pizza night. At one time we would all relax and reach for the phone, but over time it hinders our bank accounts and our waist lines. So, to save them both, I've learned to make my own pizza night at home and honestly, it's much better. We can put whatever we want on it with no extra cost. What's a few pineapples here and there? BBQ Chicken Pizza? Piece of cake. Yet, my family isn't nearly as experimental as I'd like so for tonight, it's plain old pepperoni and cheese, which is fine...mostly...and while Pillsbury has an awesome crust pre made...with this recipe I can make as much as I need and even substitute the flour with some whole grain for a healthy twist.

1 tsp. salt
1 c. flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. oregano
2/3 c. milk

Mix ingredients together. Spread in GREASED pan. Then, go nuts. Layer it...fresh tomato's, mushrooms, fresh garlic, mmmm grated Parmesan. Who am I kidding?! My family wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. So, I tossed on some tomato sauce with garlic, oregano, and some pepper. Then some of their favorite toppings. It get's no easier than pepperoni and cheese! So simple! (I actually put mushrooms on half of one of them for me...cause I need something MORE on my pizza's). Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until the crust is a lovely brown and the cheese is melted!

Did I mention I am addicted to Febreeze? I am. I love every single can of yummy smells and cannot get enough of them, clearly. In fact, I have an addiction to all good smelling things. Yankee candle tarts, candles, candy, pizza, food, and there goes my waistline. See how the decline happens? Turn back now while you still can.

Navy Bean Soup/Caramel Brownies

2009-10-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Left over ham bone? Frozen veggies? Yes, well this is what I came up with tonight. I was going for low carb and low sodium so I kept the salt low, added water, and made no bread. GASP NO BREAD!!!!!

While I found it really tasty, a perfect thing for a cold rain like evening here, my son asked me if he could use it for fish bait. But he is 8 and cannot be counted on to appreciate a good hearty meal. Mac on the other hand had two helpings and I had to remind him not too much or he'd get no dessert.

Dessert. Should he be eating it? I made a caramel brownie recipe I got from a friend at my church. My friend Jill and I called them Heavenly Squares. They are heavenly, with some ice cream...but tonight he did not have ice cream sadly. So yummy ham and bean soup and some cake like caramel brownies. I have to admit, it's day two and I am not doing so well with the whole...diabetes healthy food stuffs.

I have the recipies for both...HERE and HERE!!!

Forgive my pictures, I am just starting out and using my husbands crappa camera. CRAPPA I SAY!

Picturesque Picnic

2009-10-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

I am an amateur. I am not a professional at anything really, but I have a lot of little hobbies that sometimes take up more time than they should. I love to write, I love to take pictures, make graphics, cook...love to cook...but recently I decided that I would like to take some more pictures. Pictures I can pretty up my blog here with. While I am waiting on a new camera (Dropped mine this summer and it's making the most interesting noises when it's on.) I will toss up little graphics and pictures I've already taken.

This is one of my favorites. My friend's two little ones had come over to have a picnic and we set it all up outside just as the clouds rolled in. Not to be deterred, we set up and ate up. Fast. Her little girl, Megan, wondered over to the waters edge and I snapped this shot and then did some color work on it in Photoshop 7.0. It always stands out to me, reminds me of that day. The picnic was outstanding even if it did rain, but next time I think I will check the forecast first.

The D Word

2009-10-28T15:39:00.001-07:00

Today I watched my dreams of cake baking, pie perfecting, dessert deliciousness come to a screeching halt. Give me a moment to mourn the loss of butter, real butter. Salt. Pasta OH WOE IS ME FOR THE LOSS OF PASTA!!! -Wails and Cries-

..............

Okay, I think I've got myself together now. I think. -sighs- I am so selfish! My husband came home today from the doctor and told me he has high blood pressure and diabetes. All I could think of was the things I'd have to throw away in our growing pantry of goodness. It's fall! I should be baking. Okay, enough Maria with your whining and crying when your husband is SICK!

Luckily and thank God...it can be managed with diet and that's where I come in. Mere weeks after finding my inspiration with Pioneer Woman...and the many other cooks I've found, I am now not only restrained by my husbands odd quirks of food, like the distaste for onions, mushrooms, and all that is good in the world, but now...now I must cut out butter and salt! BLASPHEMY! It's okay though....I am so up for the challenge. I can do this. I will do this! There is a Pioneer Woman out there who has a diabetic husband...I know this! If not, I will be her!

I am rambling.

Let me regroup here, refocus, and talk about what we shall do now. Now, we cut out my newest endeavors into the bread and yeast land and move into high protein meals that will both satisfy and titillate the senses. I think I want to work on a tuna melt, without the cheese of course. Warm toasted wheat bread, some yummy tuna, dill pickles, mayo...some artichoke...yes yes I think I can slip it in.

And so I am off.

Wish me luck.

Cholesterol Challenged,

Maria

Conversations With Children

2009-10-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

I was reminded, by a fellow blogger's blog...the adorably cute things our kids say sometimes. She had worded it in the conversation way that I am so often wording conversations with Marcus and myself. Recalling a few interesting ones, I went looking them up in an older blog and 'lo and behold...I've FOUND THEM!

The Greatest Conversations

Marcus...is growing:

Marcus: Leave me alone Mama...Ima protein.
Me: A what? Protein...yeah you look a little nutty.
Marcus: NO A PRO TIEN
Me: -blinks- You are not protien go to sleep.
Marcus: Whatever...When I am ten I WILL BE A PROTIEN!!
Me: -lightbulbs- A PRE TEEN Goofball! GO TO SLEEP!

Me and Marcus talking about Wii My Sims Video Game:

Me: Marcus, you have to make her a bed with yellow flowers.

Him: Why?

Me: Cause, if you don’t then you can’t get the blueprints for the next task cause she won’t give them.

So he makes the bed and the little sim person asks for a flower stand.

Me: Go you have to make her a stand.

Him: Why? I just made her bed!Me: Well you need the blue prints Marcus, so make her a stand.

Him: -debates for a moment and looks at me- Mama, she is a user.

Me: O.O Wha?

Him: A user...she is just making me go all over the place doing whatever she wants. She is a user.

Me: -tries not to laugh- No baby, that’s a wife.

Marcus and the Veggies

Marcus: Mama, do I gotta eat these broccoli's?

Me: Yes, put some ketchup on them, you will be fine.

Ten minutes later.

Marcus: Mama, do you want me to grow up into a man and move out?

Me: O.O NOOOO Your my baby duck!

Marcus: Den if you make me eat the treess I will grow big and strong and have to move out. If you make me...that's what will happen?

Me: O.O Uh....

Marcus: No stopping me now Mama.

When Will I Be A Chef?

2009-10-27T07:20:00.001-07:00

My best friend lives in Georgia and I live in Virginia. We have a shared love of cooking so when I found Pioneer Woman's website I instantly showed it to her and we have since been dreaming of how we could be like Ree! I wanna be like Ree, except my husband isn't a Rancher, he is a Sailor. Leeann, her husband is closer. We call him Mountain Man. So with my Sailor and her Mountain Man we make it work. We've been scouring her site, trying everything on our husbands and doing a pretty good job. In fact, they think we are great chefs! We actually won a chili contest this weekend. So what it was for "Craziest Chili" We won! We've been baking, cooking, kneading, and I think I have an impressive arsenal of yummy things to make for the holidays. What I am wondering is this....when do I go from following other's recipes to making my own? How does that happen? Must I sit there one day, dream up something, mess around with things until I have something completely uniquely my own? I mean, I improve on recipes I get, but that just doesn't feel like mine yet, not completely. How? How?

So while Leeann visited we got down and dirty with our recipes, in a completely sterile clean type of way. We are big fans of cleaning supplies and between us we have a pretty good wealth of information on how to make your house smell good. Look good. Feel good. With her eye for decor and mine for....well...I am her moral support! We could take over the world.

We made a great cobbler, Mountain Man's design there. But Leeann and I think we could add in any fruit and it would be grand stuff. We talked about the lovely goodness of our seven layer dips, the differences between them, and the joy of our enchilada's, which my roommate informs me..."aren't real enchilada's" but that's okay, she had three helpings! We baked bread. She held my hand through my fear of attacking yeast and I fear NO MORE!!! Then, on Sunday morning, we raided the kitchen cabinets and made the AWARD WINNING CHILI! It wasn't anything either of us made before. So when I ask...WHEN...I can say we did the chili together! It's ours! It's a mess and crazy, but OURS!!

I wish I had pictures, it disappeared before I could get a good one....but it was good! I've loaded the recipe HERE for all you curious minds, though mostly for my Pastor....he's heartbroken about losing. :(

Tonight I am working on my loaded baked potato soup. I think I may try using cream instead of milk, or maybe an can of Campbell's Cheddar Cheese...hmmm.

Useless Endeavors

2009-08-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but when I cook it's the "ohh's" and "ahh's" that really make it worth it for me. I love to see someone gobble something I've cooked up and ask for more. So recently I have been cooking a lot more different things. I mean, my menu was getting pretty boring. My husband calls himself a simple man but I call him flavor deprived. He doesn't like onions, tomato's, mushrooms, too much cheese, or salads. It doesn't leave me much to cook with. His favorite thing to eat in the entire world is rice and gravy. FEEL MY PAIN! Rice and Gravy? I can do that with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back.

So Sunday I put together the chicken spaghetti knowing that he'd taste the onions, but maybe he'd not see the mushrooms if I covered them with cheese...not a lot of cheese, but enough. It smelled so good in the oven, but the entire time I am fretting over the onions in it, or if he will see I snuck in the cream of mushroom soup. I pull it out, my roommate emigrates from her room like a hungry soul and she devours two bowls in a matter of ten minutes. I am getting excited, because if she liked it, certainly Mac will love it. So he goes in, I am holding my breath, he leans over the dish, and I lean forward a bit.

"Maria...is that a mushroom?"

HOW DOES HE SPOT THEM?! I can't even understand how a brief look turns up mushrooms and as small as they are, he knows they are mushrooms. Dejected, I slump my shoulders, sure the meal is ruined, and nod. He picks them all out, then the onions, slices off the cheese on top and eats a little bit. I stare at the ruins of the chicken spaghetti and shake my head.

Not to be deterred, I decide that he didn't eat enough dinner so maybe I can make him some Football snacks and instill his trust in my cooking once more. So I grab the jalapeno peppers, cream cheese, and sliced bacon. I clean out the peppers, stuff them, wrap them, pin them with toothpicks, and bake for twenty minutes. I love the way they smell...this is it, this is the thing I cook that makes him sigh with pleasure! I pull them out and I can't resist, I pop one in and rejoice at the taste of bacon and cream cheese and..it was just heavenly.

Out comes the roommate, four are gobbled up before she goes back into the hole of her room. Numming the entire time about how good they were. I'm excited again. Mac comes in, he leans over, and I hold my breath. "Is that turkey bacon? Can you wrap it in turkey bacon?" My shoulders slump, but I can. If that will make it better, I can! So I rush to the turkey bacon, even if it isn't as good, fry it up, re wrap a few jalapenos and hand them over.

I stare in horror as he unwraps the bacon slices, eats them and leaves the jalapenos. What...what was the point?! Does this man not know what good is? "Maybe stuff them with potatoes next time..." He says to my dismay. That sounds horrible to me, but I guess I can try it.

Finished for the night, I just toss up some pudding cookies for dessert because its easy...and watch him make them disappear. It occurs to me then...

...he really is a simple man.

Monday, I try to make a slow go of it. We have meatloaf and mashed potatoes. And what I am not calling Christmas Cake. It tastes like how Christmas should taste, if it had a taste. A prune cake really and it was mouth watering perfection. Mac informed me he was on a diet, my roommate said the texture was odd, and I give up.

Semi Quiet Sunday Morning

2009-08-23T04:52:00.000-07:00

Mac is sleeping, Mya is eating, and Meow our crazy fat cat is jumping around on the floor into a paper bag. So quiet, except for him. I guess I can't always have everything I want. Before I run off to church this morning, I am going to talk about my cooking endeavors over the last two days. All of them good really! I am so proud of myself and left wondering, instead of copying recipes, how do I go out there and just make my own? All these great cooks I am reading up on, they seem to have this little pocket of magic recipe knowledge. So I am just not there yet. I figure this is how it works out...I follow recipes, make them until I perfect them, gain some knowledge about what foods to what to a dish in what type of style and then...I will start to really experiment. Mac says I am doing that now, but he doesn't realize I have a step by step guide to everything I've done this weekend.

So let's start off with the salad I made from the lovely cookincanuck. Green bean and sweet tomato. It was great. My husband didn't eat it because he says the beans weren't cooked through. -rolls eyes- He doesn't know healthy. But I loved it, so that's all that counts! I blanched the beans (I never knew that term before...and actually I just recently started working with fresh green beans). I sliced the lovely baby tomato's...and accidentally ate a few. Drizzled them with yummy olive oil, then cut up some basil leaves over them....it called for moto cheese but I left it out only because Mac is cheese repellent these days and the main course was about all he could handle. Still, it was great, I ate all of it! It reminds me of the Caprese salads we ate in Italy, minus the green beans. But I am pretty sure I can leave the beans out, add in the cheese and BAM! Caprese! Bravo that I didn't mess it up and still managed to maintain the dish she made...mostly.

Then I went onto tackle the Ranch Style Chicken I found on Pioneer Woman (I LOVE HER...I WISH SHE'D MARRY ME....) I could be a good Marlboro Man, I think. Nahhh. She is probably safer where she is. Cooking from afar...-sigh- Now, before I sound like a stalker...the food.

The chicken, I didn't mash I just bought the thin sliced chicken at the store. I am not doing this again. Mainly because I wanted each piece to have MORE chicken. I had TWO and was still watering for more. But I sacrificed no flavor. My husband loved Turkey Bacon because there is no fat. -rolls eyes again- I explained about the flavor content in the fat of bacon but he just starts to glaze over. You'd think he'd be more interested. Whatever. ANY WHO...so I went behind his back and got the THICK Slices of bacon and recalled why I loved REAL bacon so much. The chicken turned out great, I loved the hint of sweetness in the chicken marinade and the way it complimented the bacon. Mac picked off the fat and liked it. Later, don't tell him I saw it, he went back for the BBQ sauce and at that fat dipped in it. Which leaves me to question the reason for Turkey Bacon again? It also gave me an idea...those Ranch Chickens would have tasted good with some BBQ sauce. I shall try that next time.

Bread. Okay, I did this on my own so maybe it counts as MINE, but I'm not sure. I had some left over cheese bread I had bought from the store. I sliced it, tossed on some butter, garlic powder, parma cheese, and stuck it under the broiler until it was browned on top. It was crispy outside and warm soft inside. And Gone. Can I claim that? Who knows...lol.

Yesterday I was geared up! I had this great idea in my head for meatloaf. I was going to vastly change my boring meatloaf into something new. So my husband ambles in yesterday morning and asks me. "Baby, can you make the Mannwhich you make?" GASP! WHAT? MANNWHICH!
That's what you want to eat?! COME ON! I need a challenge.

To which he responded. "Maria, this isn't reality TV." O.o What do I say to that? I caved in, because while Manwhich is certianly not the most sophisticated dish, it was what he asked for. The rest of the day I dreaded dinner time. Manwhich. GAH! But after dinner, I cleaned up and found this easy recipeie for bread.

I never made bread before. The whole active dry yeast thingy terrifies me. I mean, it's alive and on my counter growing and growing. I just keep seeing my Saturday morning cartoons where the kids slop up something and put it into the oven and it comes sliding out the sides, gooey and alive. What if that happened to me?! But...this reciepie for Beer Bread had no yeast...well none I had to work with. I did it. I made bread! I loved the bread I made. YUM! Though, it is muchas yeasty in the middle, I think I will put it in a little longer than the recipie calls for. But really it's very "Sigh"!

Tonight....Chicken Spag! Wish me luck.

Blogging It

2009-08-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I did it, I made a blog. I had to. I keep seeing all these amazing blogs with all these interesting things and I thought..."Hey, maybe I can be interesting?" Probably not, but at least I am trying. Today my husband, Mac, has taken my daughter, Mya, out with him for a drive. He's done this so I can lay on our freshly cleaned sheets after a long shower in front of the fan and die of bliss. Yet here I am, making blogs and writing in them. I had to! I was compelled! The house is empty without them, without my son Marcus.

I am excited. I have been trying some great new recipes and I am hoping to try more. At some point I hope I can learn to create some of my own, but until then you will just have to hear about my endeavors with other people's recipes.

Beyond cooking, I love to write. My best friend and I live hundreds of miles apart, so we get up in the morning, have our cup of java and plan out what we are going to write that day. Have you ever started a story, then passed it to another person and they wrote part of it? It's an old fireside game, but we do that to entertain each other and cultivate our creative desire to write.

Alas, one day...I will write a book or short story or something and have it published. I am just going to be thankful I have a blog and well, that's about as public as it is going to get at this point in time.

I have a sewing machine. I have never used it. I don't know how and each time my mother attempts to show me I go running for the hills. I don't know why, I really want to be able to make myself some curtains, a few cute pillows, but I've yet to force myself to learn. Maybe next time she comes up I will brave the flying needle that threatens to slice off my finger at ninety miles an hour. Maybe not.

I love my church. It keeps me connected to the outside world. Ha Ha, sometimes I feel closed in here with the kids, chores, and life. BUT Every Sunday morning I get up, excited because I will be teaching the three year old Sunday school and then go on to hear Pastor Barney tell bad jokes, get to the message, and open my heart so God can creep in and rest for the next few days. One Wednesday mornings...I go and sit with a group of women from the church and when I first started going I was thinking to myself. "Maria, here you are, only 30 years old and your making friends with older women, drinking coffee, and eating cake at Bible study."

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

These woman are my heart and soul friends. I can tell them anything and get sound, sage, Godly advice. I love Caroline's quiet strength, her delicate way of saying BACK OFF BUDDY! But she always has the best advice and a well of knowledge me and my friend Dee say is the only reason we come. Lola's spicy attitude in the face of her cancer makes me want to cry and rejoice all at the same time. Kim...well she is off putting at first, shocking, a big chocolate chip in the middle of all of us cookies. She doesn't fit any mold, she is loud, brash, and beautifully honest. I can't help but love her. Beside me sits Eddie. Eddie is always moving and always seems to me on the verge of a heart attack. I told Caroline one day. "I wish she'd slow down, she needs a vacation." And in Caroline's way, she said "I think she might die if that happened. Some people need to be always busy." Eddie thrives on being busy, but she is forever sweet natured and will go the extra mile for anyone. She will find a way. Katherine reminds me most of my mother. Not in her age as in her hobbies. She likes to sew and bake and she does it all for free! I am an avid recipient of both things. Her daughter Debbie brings an innocence to our group that always makes me smile. Her stories of her new pet, her days with her mother, they always touch my heart. She makes the best home made cards ever! I could go on, there is Jill and her smile, the independence of GiGi. The pure and unquestionable friendship of Dee. I love them all more than I can type here. I can find God's fellowship and love here every single time.

I think for now, I better go get in front of that fan and rest. Otherwise Mac's sweetness will be for naught!