Blogarita's Kitchen

More Recipes?

2007-09-25T09:57:00.001-06:00

I continue to get quite a few daily hits on this website, so I can only assume that folks are searching out recipes here.

I'm not going to be posting here anymore, but I have another blog up and running, and it does include recipes and food photos among other things.

For personal reasons, I'm not providing the link here, but anyone who is interested can send an email to me here and request it. I'll send the link to you right away.

Kitchen Is Closing Indefinitely

2007-07-28T22:47:00.001-06:00

I'm closing Blogarita's Kitchen down indefinitely. If you want to know the reasons why, you can check out my other blog, which I'm also closing.

Thanks for stopping by here. I did almost nothing to promote this blog, yet I had several thousand hits in the seven or so months it's been up. I think that's because everyone loves food.

I toyed around with the idea of replacing this with a full-on homemaking blog, not just a cooking blog, but at this time in my life, I just don't have the time to devote to doing that kind of thing well.

Maybe some day.

Chicken Lickin' Good

2007-07-27T12:22:00.000-06:00

Feast your eyes on this! It's Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken Recipe. You can find the recipe here. It's by far the best fried chicken I've had at home.

Sorry for the dearth of posts here lately. I'm busy getting ready for another garage sale, getting ready to go back to work, and working on a new project (to be announced here soon).

Restaurant Review: The Courthouse Exchange

2007-07-16T12:42:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd try something new here by doing a restaurant review now and then.

Spouse Guy and I don't go out to eat often -- once a month or so is about it for us. When we go out, we: 1) like to try places we've not tried before, 2) prefer local eateries over the franchises, and 3) try to get a good value for our money.

I'm not saying I'll never write about a franchise restaurant, but most of the places I write about may be of interest only to my handful of local readers or any of you who might have the opportunity to visit Greater Blogaritaville (the Kansas City metro area).

**********

The Courthouse Exchange
113 W. Lexington
Independence, MO 64050

Type of food: American/Home Cooking
Atmosphere: Casual
Blogarita's Rating (1 to 5): 4.5

Some of our local radio stations sponsor "dining deals" in which you can buy a $50 gift certificate to area restaurants and/or business for half price. One of these dining deals is how we decided to try The Courthouse Exchange. That was back in May. Since we had enough money left on our gift card, we were happy to go back again this past Saturday.

Situated on the south side of the square in historic Independence, MO, the restaurant was established in 1899. Located in the basement of the structure, the decor is an interesting cross between the bar in "Cheers" and an actual courtroom, with hardwood booths and tables, renderings of the Jackson County courthouse during different eras, and photos of Independence native, President Harry S. Truman. It's said he was a regular of the restaurant during his day.

Our first trip was for lunch on a Saturday, and the dining area was busy with patrons of all ages. The restaurant features a separate bar. Like the restaurant, the bar seemed to be a non-smoking area, making it a family friendly establishment, evident by the number of young children who were there. Although the restaurant was busy, the noise level was surprisingly low.

The food at The Courthouse Exchange is home-cooking, pure and simple - no warmed-over canned green beans or instant mashed potatoes here. Portions are very generous; the tenderloins are plate-sized, and one of the kids' meals featured a 1/2-inch thick burger with fries, drink and ice-cream cookie sandwich. The onion strings, pictured above, may be the best onion appetizer I've ever tasted.

Service at the restaurant was great. We were seated quickly, our waitress was friendly and helpful, and our food arrived at the table in short order.

Prices at the Courthouse Exchange are quite reasonable, especially considering the size of the portions. Daily specials, ranging from meatloaf dinners to steak, are even better values. Our tab, which included an appetizer, two adult meals, a kid's meal and drinks for all of us, was just $35. And unlike some establishments, who will not give change for any unused portion of a gift card, they gave us the difference on a new gift card, which we used over the weekend.

This time, I tried a Reuben sandwich instead of the chicken-fried steak dinner I had before, and was just as pleased. Spouse Guy and Sparky are creatures of habit; he ordered a tenderloin sandwich both times, and she ordered the cheeseburger kids' meal both times. I heard no complaints from either of them.

Try out the Courthouse Exchange if you ever have the opportunity. Don't forget to order the onion strings!

The ABCs of Reading

2007-07-13T07:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday Sparky was on a field trip with her daycare to an old-fashioned country school house. While there, she wrote her name with chalk on a small slate. This is a big step for her, because she is only 4 and because she wasn't asked or encouraged to do it by her daycare teacher, Miss Amanda.

She couldn't have done this a month ago, but Miss Amanda has spent a lot of one-on-one time with her. Although already knew, mentally, the importance of reading tutors, having the results right before my eyes just reinforced what I already knew.

I hope Sparky continues to have success in learning to read, and learns to truly love reading. But there may come a time when she doesn't love reading because she's struggling with it. If that happens, I won't hesitate to consider getting her a reading tutor. Her literacy is just too important not to.

This has been a sponsored post.

Why I Gave Sparky Ice Cream For Breakfast

2007-07-13T07:08:00.001-06:00

All through the cooler months, Sparky would wake up famished in the morning and wolf down whatever I made for her. Her favorite was a scrambled egg, two pieces of toast and some chocolate milk.

Lately, though, she hasn't wanted much for breakfast. I don't know if it's the warmer weather or if her appetite has changed, but some mornings it's a struggle to get her to eat anything at all.

This morning she asked if she could have ice cream. At first I told her no and offered her other things, all of which were refused. Then I mentally compared a small bowl of ice cream with a donut and decided it couldn't be any worse for her nutritionally. I was right. Here's how a bowl of ice cream compares to some other, more traditional, breakfast foods.

FYI, the information for the donut was just a generic Google search. The rest of the figures came straight from the product packaging or website. The ice cream we had was homemade from a mix and probably nutritionally a little different than store bought. I threw in a couple of tablespoons of dry roasted peanuts for a little protein, but those aren't counted in the information (much like the syrup isn't counted with the waffle).

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Calories - 120
Fat - 3 g
Carbs - 21 g
Protein - 3 g
Cholesterol - 10 mg
Sodium - 40 mg
Calcium - 10%

1 glazed donut
Calories - 180
Fat - 8 g
Carbs - 25 g
Protein - 3 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 250 mg
Calcium - 0%

1 Eggo waffle (before adding syrup)
Calories - 180
Fat - 6 g
Carbs - 26 g
Protein - 5 g
Cholesterol - 15 mg
Sodium - 4 mg
Calcium - 10%

1 oz. Honey Nut Cheerios (before adding milk)
Calories - 110
Fat - 2 g
Carbs - 20 g
Protein - 4 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 2000 mg
Calcium - 8%

1 Pop-Tart (frosted strawberry)
Calories - 200
Fat - 8 g
Carbs - 38 g
Protein - 2 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 170 mg
Calcium - 0%

While I don't really consider any of these to be an ideal breakfast, they're foods most of us probably give our kids (or eat ourselves) from time to time. I don't think the ice cream is any worse a choice than any of the others.

I think eating anything for breakfast is better than eating nothing, so I'm not going to worry about a bowl of ice cream now and then.

An Important Resource

2007-07-12T10:49:00.000-06:00

As I expand the scope of this blog, I hope to add links to lots of resources that readers will find helpful in one way or another.

Part of living a simple, healthy and frugal lifestyle is living a life free of addictions and dependency. Addictions and dependency are expensive, not only in the obvious sense of the word, but also in terms of lost health, decreased productivity, relationship problems and/or counseling, medical bills and the cost of drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

I hope none of my readers or loved ones ever has to seek out drug or alcohol rehabilitation. But if they do, I hope they start their search with Rehabs.biz for a comprehensive listing of rehabilitation facilities in their area.

This has been a sponsored post.

Have Cats? Save Money

2007-07-12T10:38:00.000-06:00

No, this isn't another sponsored post. It's just my opinion on a good product.

We have two cats. A few years ago, we switched to a pine pellet cat litter. The litter is made up of small pellets of pine sawdust. When the cats use the litter box, the pellets turn back into sawdust and absorb the fluids and the odors from both the liquid and solid waste. (The pellets themselves, to me anyway, smell less like pine and more like sunflower seed shells.) A 1/2-inch layer in the litter box would about a week, although I occasionally "scoop the poop" between changings.

It was great; the brand name was a little costly, but because we used so little at at time, it seemed worth it in comparison to regular clay litter or scoopable litter. The odor control alone was enough to make us want to stick with the pine litter.

We were lucky enough to learn that one of the major pet supply stores carried their own generic. We used that for a couple of years. The cost was much less than the brand name, running about $8 for a 20-pound bag. For us, 20 pounds would last 6 to 8 weeks.

Then one day we were in our local farm and ranch store for something and I noticed they had a product called Equine Fresh. It was the exact same pine litter packaged to use in horse stalls. The pellets were just the tiniest bit larger, but that didn't matter to our cats. The best part is the price. It runs about $6 for a 40-pound bag. It saves us more than 60% over the generic we were buying.

Now if I could only figure out a way to save money on cat food.

Crafty Savings

2007-07-11T09:14:00.000-06:00

In my spare time, I like to do crafts. My favorites are knitting, crocheting and cross-stitching. It’s always fun to go to a craft store and look at all the new things. But the next best thing is shopping online AND saving money on craft supplies using Joanne.com. coupon codes.

Joanne.com and many other online shopping coupons are easy to find at www.couponchief.com.

After all, who doesn’t like saving money?

This has been a sponsored post.

Spinach Salad With Oranges and Beets

2007-07-11T08:49:00.000-06:00

Here's a nice salad to go with just about any kind of meat. We had it with KC Strip steaks. The beets discolored the cucumber slices a little, but it still tasted great. We added a few last minute toppings as well: sunflower seeds kernels, shredded cheese and for Spouse Guy, some bacon bits.

Spinach Salad With Oranges and Beets

Fresh spinach, about 5 ounces, rinsed and stems removed
1 7-ounce can mandarin orange segments, drained
1/2 of 15-ounce can of sliced beets (save rest for another meal), cut into julienne strips
1 small cucumber, cut into slices, then cut into quarters
2 green onions, thinly sliced
prepared Italian dressing

Toss all to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Going Back To Work

2007-07-10T15:20:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't read my other blog, I've been hired by a food service company that has a contracted with a local university. They've hired me to be their baker and on-campus caterer, but I'm sure I'll be helping with everything else, too.

The position allows for more flexibility and creativity than one might think, and I've already been encouraged to bring in some of my favorite recipes that might be adapted to serve 300 or so students and faculty.

The kitchen is being revamped now, and I start on August 9. Maybe even a few days sooner. In the meantime, I'll be trying to get some things done around here to make my transition back to work more easy. In particular, I'm going to be "cooking ahead" and freezing some meals that will be quick to heat and eat later. I'll share those with you as I make them.

I hope to keep up on my regular posts, too.

Vacation Savings

2007-07-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

Our family recently took a trip to Omaha, and it took me quite a while to find Hotel Discounts for our stay. We were looking for a hotel that was both affordable and had the amenities we desired. Cheap hotels that are also clean and comfortable are often hard to come by. The hotel where we stayed was more than adequate, but in order to get the best deal possible, I had to book it “sight unseen”, meaning I didn’t know for sure which hotel chain we’d be getting. As it turned out, it did have the swimming pool we’d wanted, but it was an outdoor pool and the weather was too cool to use it. An indoor pool would’ve been more desirable, but all I was able to find out, in order to get that deal, was that it had a pool of some kind.

I had searched through several of the online travel/hotel locators, but if I’d been aware of Hotelreservations.com, my job would have been so much easier. Their website is a cinch to use, and allows searches based on city, address, or available amenities, like that indoor pool. The search results can then be sorted by best value, price, quality or alphabetically by name. Once a hotel has been selected, reservations can be made online or over the phone.

In addition to hotel reservations, Hotelreservations.com allows users to find and book flights, vehicle rentals, vacation rentals and vacation packages. Because of the nature of Spouse Guy’s work, we don’t have any plans for a longer, farther-away vacation any time soon, but I’m sure the vacation rental feature will come in handy in a few months when we plan a 2-3 day getaway for our 8^th anniversary. I’ve done a couple of quick searches already and have come up with some interesting possibilities. And I feel confident I can find the best rates using Hotelreservations.com.

If you’re planning a trip, check them out:

This has been a sponsored post.

Back-To-School Sales

2007-07-10T08:32:00.000-06:00

No one in our home is a student, but we still take advantage of back-to-school sales; they're already beginning in our neck of the woods.

It's a great time to stock up. There are usually discounts on computer equipment, great deals on underwear and socks, and huge savings on office supplies.

This isn't a sponsored post, but many Fruit of the Loom items (socks, t-shirts, underwear) for all ages are on sale right now. Fruit of Loom is offering a $10 store card at K-Mart when you purchase five packages of any of their items. Combined with the sale prices, this can end up being a very good bargain. We were able to get Spouse Guy some much needed colored pocket t-shirts for work at 50¢ each, after the rebate. Unfortunately, the rebate is limited to one per household.

Take a look at those store ads, whether or not you have kids in school. You're likely to find a good deal or two on some things you really need. And if your state has a tax-free school shopping day or weekend,* take advantage of that, too. It's especially helpful when buying big-ticket items such as computers.

*Information on this link may or may not be current.

Changes Are On The Way

2007-07-07T16:37:00.000-06:00

Changes are on the way at Blogarita's Kitchen, and among them will be occasional sponsored ads. While some readers may be against ads on blogs, I've decided they're fitting on a blog that will soon be not just about recipes, but about living a frugal lifestyle. Feel free to read them or skip over them as you prefer.

A penny saved may be a penny earned, but a penny earned can easily be a penny saved. Ads on blogs are just one more way to make (and save) a little extra cash.

So many of my blogging friends have chosen Pay Per Post as a way to boost their income that I decided to give Pay Per Post a try, too. Why not make a little money doing something I love?

If you’ve been thinking about ways to make money while you blog, give Pay Per Post a try. You’ve got nothing to lose.

Sparky's Birthday Cake

2007-07-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

Today is Sparky's birthday! The theme of her party was SpongeBob SquarePants, and I made a cake to go along with the theme. I'm not very good at drawing, so instead of making a cake that was just SpongeBob, I decided to go with an underwater theme a la the TV show. I guess "the Bob" is no longer THE rage in the stores, and I had trouble finding a figuring or toy I could use as a cake topper. Instead I found a deck of playing cards and used one of those.

For anyone who's interested, here's the play-by-play. It's not the best decorating job I've done, but it may have been the most fun.

Here's the cake with just a light coating of frosting to seal in crumbs and moisture.

Again, I took the easy way out and used a couple of cans of canned frosting. I had to add additional powdered sugar to make it stiff enough to work with, though. I colored a good portion of frosting a medium-light blue, and an equal portion a medium-light green. Then I piped a stripe of each color around the sides of the cake and several stripes of each on the top of the cake, with more blue toward the bottom and more green toward the top. I blended it as I spread and smoothed the frosting.

Next I added the "things". I'm not sure if they are supposed to be starfish or amoeba or just what, but they are in the background of almost every frame of the SpongeBob show.

Using the same blue and green frosting and adding just a little more coloring to each, I piped green shells around the base of the cake and blue ones along the top edge.

The last frosting decorations I added were the aquatic plants. I just winged it and they came out looking alright.

Finally, right before serving, I added the SpongeBob card and 4 candles.

I had fun making it and the kids loved it!

Greek-Style Chicken Pitas

2007-07-01T18:06:00.001-06:00

If you like gyro sandwiches, here's a great recipe you can make at home. It's reminiscent of restaurant gyros, but without the expense (or the sometimes too-strong flavor) of lamb.

The original recipe called for pocket pitas, but I prefer the softer pitas without pockets. I made them from scratch using the same recipe I use for Garlic Bread Sticks. Instead of forming them into bread sticks and baking them, I divided the dough into 16 portions, patted each out into a circle about 10 inches in diameter, and cooked them in a medium-hot skillet for about a minute and a half on each side. The leftovers can be used for other sandwiches, or frozen for a later meal.

Greek-Style Chicken Pitas

2 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup dry instant milk (optional -- I added it to increase calcium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey

*****

1 6-ounce carton of PLAIN yogurt (make sure it is not sweetened and not vanilla flavored)
1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon sugar

*****

Fresh lettuce or spinach leaves.
Pita breads

Combine milk, cracker crumbs, onion, dry milk, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.

Add ground chicken and mix well. Shape into 6 oval patties.

Place patties on unheated broiler rack. Turn oven on to broil. Broil for approximately 7 minutes, then turn over and broil an additional 5 - 7 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, combine yogurt, cucumber, green onion and sugar. Chill until ready to use.

To serve, slice each chicken patty in half lengthwise. Arrange in center of pita bread. Top with lettuce and cucumber sauce. Roll or fold to eat.

Makes 6 pita sandwiches.

Kitchen To Re-Open Soon...

2007-06-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

...and with updated features.

Food is foremost in Blogarita's Kitchen, but I'm hoping to also include some new features, including:

* Local restaurant reviews
* Product reviews (both sponsored and non-sponsored)
* Money-saving ideas for the kitchen and all around the house
* Helpful homemaking tips
* Menu ideas
* Home improvement (watch us...slowly...get our home in shape)

While there's no shortage of homemaking and food-related blogs and websites, we all do things differently and there's always something new to be learned. I hope, with that in mind, you'll visit often, and will also check out the sites on my blogroll for other great ideas. I plan to update those soon, too!

The Kitchen Is Temporarily Closed

2007-06-22T07:10:00.000-06:00

Due to the demise of my digital camera, I won't be posting on Blogarita's Kitchen for a while.

But keep it in your favorites. I'll be back soon with more recipes and food pics!

Garlic Bread Sticks

2007-06-11T15:34:00.000-06:00

I pulled a pan of lasagna out of the freezer that I'd made a while back, and decided some soft bread sticks would be just the thing with it. These aren't a copycat of Olive Garden's bread sticks, but they are clearly similar. They're full of soft, garlicky, buttery goodness.

They're easy to make, too.

Garlic Bread Sticks

2 cups very warm water (110° - 115° F.)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons active dry yeast (or two of the small packages of yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups of flour
_____

1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a large mixer bowl. Stir well and let stand for 10 minutes.

Using the bread hook attachment, mix in salt, then olive oil. Add flour all at once and mix to moisten, then knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms. Kneading time will vary depending on the type of mixer you use or if you decide to knead the dough by hand.

Remove dough from mixer bowl and place in lightly oiled bowl, being sure to coat all surfaces with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 325°F.

Punch dough down and knead about 10 times on a lightly oiled surface. Divide dough in half, placing one half back in oiled bowl. Cut the other half into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into a bread stick approximately 8 inches long. Place bread sticks on cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or lightly greased. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Repeat with remaining dough.

While dough rises, place 1/2 stick of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in microwave safe dish. Heat in microwave just until butter is melted. Remove from microwave and stir in garlic granules. Set aside.

Bake each tray of bread sticks for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove bread sticks from oven and immediately brush with garlic butter mixture. Let bread sticks cool on pan for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 32 bread sticks.

Beef Tips and Noodles

2007-06-04T06:24:00.000-06:00

Quite unintentionally, we found ourselves in a rut the past few days with Italian food. Last Thursday and Friday we had homemade pizza (admittedly not the best I'd ever made, either). On Saturday, we enjoyed a delicious Italian buffet meal with our friends Nobody and Fantastagirl, and last night after being on the road for a couple of days, all I could muster was a couple of Jack's frozen pizzas.

I was in the mood for something different tonight, and Beef Tips and Noodles was just the ticket. In my opinion, it's nothing but comfort food that can be dressed up for company. I like it best with hot dinner rolls and a cool salad.

The following is a recipe I "stole" when I worked for a catering company, and reduced to a family-sized amount. You can use any cut of beef, even a tougher one. The meat simmers for such a long time, it will be tender. I've made it several times with venison, and I think I like it even better than beef, but we haven't had any venison for a long time, so beef it is. This time I'm using top round steak.

I like to use an oven-proof skillet and lid, but if you don't have one, you can use a large casserole dish and cover it with foil.

Beef Tips and Noodles

Roux (for thickening gravy):

1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour

Combine and cook over medium heat until mixture is bubbly and gives off a nutty aroma, about 3-5 minutes. Note that the darker the roux is allowed to cook, the "darker" your gravy will taste.

Set roux aside. (If all if it is not used in this recipe, you can refrigerate it for use at a later date.)

Beef Tips

1 lbs. beef, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 onion, cut into chunks
mushrooms, cut into chunks (optional, as many or few as you like)
1-1/2 cups water
1 10-ounce cans beef consomme (can use beef broth, but consomme has richer flavor)
browning sauce, such as Kitchen Bouquet

Heat oven to 400° F.

Spray bottom and sides of oven-proof skillet or casserole dish with non-stick spray. Combine garlic powder, seasoned salt, dried thyme leaves and pepper. Sprinkle half of this mixture over bottom of pan. Place meat cubes in pan and sprinkle remaining spice mixture over the top. Bake in oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring once if desired.

Remove pan from oven. Reduce heat to 250°. Pour water and beef consomme carefully around beef cubes. Add onion and mushrooms. Cover pan, return it to oven, and let simmer gently for at least 2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Remove pan from oven and sit on top of stove. While liquids are still very hot, carefully whisk roux into liquids 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired thickness is achieved. Gravy will be light to medium brown. Stir in browning sauce, a little at a time, until desired color is achieved.

Taste gravy and adjust seasonings to taste.

Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

Noodles:

1 8-ounce package of dry egg noodles
olive oil
fresh or dried parsley

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil (I prefer extra light olive oil for this), and toss to coat; this keeps noodles from sticking together.

Sprinkle with parsley flakes and toss.

Portion noodles onto serving plates or wide shallow bowls. Top with beef tips and gravy. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Dress-Ups:

Add 1/4 cup or so of dry red wine with the water and beef consomme for a richer flavor.

Stir 1/4 cup or so of sour cream just before serving for more of a stroganoff flavor.

Fried Zucchini

2007-05-23T11:55:00.001-06:00

I love fried zucchini. I usually just dip the slices of zucchini in beaten egg and then flour, then pan fry them, but this time I decided to use a crumb coating and deep fry them. I like the flavor both ways, but I think deep frying makes a better looking dish.

When I made Fantastagirl's Chicken Parmesan, I had crumb coating leftover, which I stored in a zipper bag in the freezer. I added a little seasoned salt (1 t. seasoned salt to 1/2 cup breading) and used it to bread the zucchini.

Fried Zucchini

2 cups cracker crumbs
2/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
Seasoned salt to taste
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/8" to 1/4" thick slices
2 large eggs, beaten
Peanut oil for frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 345°.

Combine cracker crumbs, Parmesan, salt and paprika. Add seasoned salt to taste.

Dip zucchini slices in beaten egg, then coat with seasoned crumbs. Fry in hot oil, in batches of about 5 - 8 slices, until golden brown, turning once.

Drain on paper towels, then serve.

Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Roast Sticky Chicken

2007-05-18T07:39:00.000-06:00

Versions of this recipe have been all over the Internet for years, so I just picked one and ran with it. I ended up with moist, rotisserie-style chicken and a cup or two of flavorful, if a little spicy, gravy to go with it.

You have to plan ahead for this recipe because the seasoned chicken has to sit over night in the fridge. I tried skipping this step once before, and all I have to say is "Don't!". It makes a huge difference in the flavor and moistness.

Roast Sticky Chicken

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 onions, quartered
2 (4 pound) whole chickens

In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, pepper, cayenne pepper and garlic powder.

Remove and discard giblets from chickens. Rinse chicken cavities, and pat chickens dry with paper towels. Rub each chicken inside and out with spice mixture (I only did the outside). Place 1 onion into the cavity of each chicken. Place chickens in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. (I put them in the pan I wanted to roast them in and wrapped the entire thing in plastic wrap.)

Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 250° F.

Place chickens in roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180° F. Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.

Notes: After about 1 hour of cooking, I poured about a cup of water in the pan, stirred it into the pan juices, and then basted the chickens with the liquids every 45 minutes or so.

To make gravy, remove the cooked chickens from the pan, pour the pan drippings into a small sauce pan, and add about a cup of water to dilute the spiciness of the drippings. Heat to a boil, and then thicken with a mixture of cornstarch and cold water (about 2 T. of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of cold water).

Makes 2 whole chickens and about 2 cups of gravy.

Shrimp On The Barbie

2007-05-14T09:10:00.000-06:00

I decided to make some shrimp kabobs on the grill yesterday (yeah, it was Mother's Day, and I still cooked...but I wanted to, so it's all good).

I didn't use a recipe, but just put together kabobs from whatever I could find in the fridge. The veggies are green pepper, chunks of yellow squash, onion and chunks of pineapple. I brushed both the shrimp and the veggies with this Ginger Dressing. I love it on salad, but to be honest, I couldn't taste it on the kabobs once the food was done. Next time I'll probably use some kind of an Italian dressing.

Because shrimp cooks so quickly, I skewered the vegetables separately and put them on the grill about 10 minutes ahead. I served the kabobs over orzo pasta (could use rice) with a side of steamed broccoli.

I was a little hesitant to post this, because on first taste, I thought it was a little bland and could have used a sauce of some kind. But with a sprinkle of salt and garlic powder, it perked right up, and the more I ate, the more I started wishing I'd made more!

Sports Drink

2007-05-10T12:05:00.000-06:00

Spouse Guy works out in the heat every day and goes through a lot of sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade. Those drinks get to be very expensive, especially if you buy them by the 32-ounce bottle. The powdered form is a little less expensive, but only comes in two or three flavors.

Instead of buying sports drink, I've been making it home for the last couple of years. Spouse Guy saves a couple of the bottles from the store-bought kind and refills them to take in his lunchbox (aka, a 12-pack sized cooler). The number of flavors is limited only by the combinations of Kool-Aid you can come up with.

The salt and potassium chloride is what makes this a sports drink and not just Kool-Aid. The orange juice is optional, but don't add it to grape or any other purplish drink mix. The memory of me making punch as a young teenager tells me that mixing orange and purple results in a tasty, but hideously ugly, army green drink.

Homemade Sports Drink

1 pkg. non-sweetened drink mix such as Kool-Aid
2/3 cup sugar
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon salt substitute (potassium chloride)
1/2 cup orange juice (optional)

Combine all, then add cold water to make 2 quarts.

Double the batch using two different flavors of drink mix to create a new flavor.

Chicken with Pepperoni Cream Sauce

2007-05-08T13:41:00.000-06:00

That's one bright photo! Not sure what happened, but this isn't quite so orange-y in reality.

I found this recipe some time ago, then lost it, then found it again. It came from Hormel or Armour or some other maker of pepperoni. I made it with my homemade pasta sauce instead of canned chopped tomatoes, and omitted the oregano.

Serve it over pasta or rice, or do like I did and serve it over orzo pasta that's shaped like rice.

Chicken in Pepperoni Cream Sauce

4 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half cross-wise
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small package of sliced pepperoni
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 can (15 ounces) can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1/2 cup half and half

Brown chicken breast pieces on both sides in olive oil in a large skillet. Remove chicken and set aside.

In same pan, saute pepperoni and onion until onion is tender, about five minutes. Add tomatoes (or pasta sauce) and oregano. Stir well. Place chicken back in pan; cover and heat over medium-low heat until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

Stir in half and half; heat through and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Product: Spray-On Salad Dressing

2007-05-04T05:16:00.000-06:00

Anyone else tried this yet? It's Wishbone Salad Spritzers. A few sprays on your favorite salad and you're good to go.

We generally go for the creamy salad dressings, but I found these on a great sale and decided to try one. We bought the Balsamic Breeze flavor, and liked it well enough that I went back and got the Italian flavor.

The label says it has just one calorie per spray and that the smallish 7-ounce bottle will dress as much salad as a 16-ounce bottle of regular dressing. That's at 10 sprays per serving, which is what Spouse Guy uses. I prefer a lot less dressing than he does, and the pump is a great way to keep from over-dressing my salad.

You can read more product information here.

Copycat Pan Pizza

2007-05-02T07:08:00.000-06:00

Although I've posted a picture of this pizza here before, I don't think I've posted the recipe. I'm not sure where I found the recipe, but it's been a favorite since I did. It's not an exact replica of the well-known pan pizza, but it's close. It's by no means a low-cal or low-fat dish, but you can use the same crust recipe and bake it just as you would any other pizza with great results and fewer calories.

A word about my equipment. My pans are actual pans from the Pizza Hut chain. I bought them on eBay about 3 years ago and they're wonderful. Because they were actually used in the restaurant, they came to me well-seasoned and virtually non-stick. Most times I simply wipe them out with a paper towel after I use them (much like a cast-iron skillet) or, if absolutely necessary, I wash them with hot water, but no soap, then oil them lightly with olive oil to keep the surface non-stick. If you make a lot of pizza at home, it's well worth it to try to find these pans. They're also great for baking a pan of dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls.

The cutter I use looks something like this. It works so much better than the typical wheel type cutter. I highly recommend one of these, too, if you make a lot of pizza. They are also great for cutting quesadillas, some kinds of cakes and pies, homemade dough into noodles, etc.

I used to use a KitchenAid mixer for bread doughs, which worked great until the heavy doughs eventually stripped the gears. Now I use a Bosch Universal. It costs about the same as the top-end Kitchen Aids, but is belt-driven from underneath the mixing bowl (instead of gear driven from the top). It also has an integrated blender that actually works the way a blender should. If you don't have either a KitchenAid or a Bosch, you can still make this crust by hand-kneading. (Some people find it therapeutic.)

Copycat Pan Pizza Crust

Crust:

2 cups warm water (110° to 115° F.)
1 pkg. dry yeast (or 1 tablespoon bulk yeast)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 8 cups of all-purpose white flour (can use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
1/2 cup olive oil, divided

Place warm water, yeast and sugar in mixer bowl. Stir. Let proof for 10 minutes.

Add oil and salt. Mix. Add 4 cups of flour. Mix well.

With mixer running, gradually add additional flour until dough forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from sides of bowl. Continue mixing (or knead by hand) until a soft, well-developed dough forms (if you use all white flour, the dough should feel like very soft with a silky texture).

Prepare pans by pouring 1/4 cup olive oil in each of the deep dish pizza pans. Rotate pan until bottom and side surfaces are coated, then set aside. Oil will pool in bottom of pan.

Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll or pat out on a lightly oil (not floured) surface until they are slightly larger than the size of your pans. Carefully lift dough and place in each pan. If dough doesn't quite reach the edges or if the oil comes over the top a bit, that's normal.

Cover each pan and let sit for an hour for dough to rise.

Heat oven to 400° F.

Remove covers from pans and top with your favorite sauce and toppings (pictured are pizzas with homemade sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella).

Bake at 400° for approximately 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and cheese and crust are nicely browned. Transfer pizza to cutting board or pizza stone to cut, then transfer back to pan if you wish for serving.

Makes 2 medium (12-inch) pan pizzas.

Shredded Savory Pork Soft Tacos

2007-04-25T09:22:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from the "Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest: Mexican" recipe magazine.

I reduced the amount of chopped jalapeno pepper to just one (from three). This yielded nice, mildly spiced pork that's ideal for kids or anyone who doesn't like a lot of heat. If you do like heat, spice it up with your favorite hot salsa. The same recipe could probably be used with boneless chicken breasts instead of pork.

I snapped the photo before folding the whole wheat tortilla, so you could see the filling. The one in the picture is topped with a few cooked black beans, some cheese, sour cream and homemade salsa. I also added some shredded lettuce to mine before folding.

Shredded Savory Pork

1 2-pound boneless pork loin blade roast
2 large onions, quartered
3 fresh jalapeno peppers, cut up
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Trim fat from meat. Place roast in a large saucepan or Dutch oven;' add enough water to nearly cover. Stir in onions, jalapeno peppers, garlic, coriander, cumin, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Summer, covered, for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender.

Remove meat from liquid; discard cooking liquid. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Use as a filling for tamales or tacos. Makes about 8 servings (about 3 cups cooked meat).

Slow-Cooker Directions: Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut meat to fit in a 3-1/2 quart or 4-quart slow cooker. Add 1 cup water and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low setting for 8-10 hours or high setting for 4-5 hours. Continue as directed.

Make-Ahead Directions: Place shredded meat in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

Stuffed Peppers

2007-04-20T14:00:00.001-06:00

These peppers received high praise when I cooked them for our traditional Tuesday night American Idol gathering. I'm posting just the general recipe, but for mine, I used ground turkey, brown rice, and fat-free cheese, which makes them a very healthy choice for a meal.

These also are great for leftovers. I brought them to work for lunch both Wednesday and Thursday and they tasted almost as good as they did when I first took them out of the oven. My friend, Paula, suggested freezing them for a quick meal later on.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Six Green or Red Peppers
2 cups cooked rice
1.5 pounds of ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of fat-free shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon crushed basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Cut peppers in half, lengthwise, and remove seeds and membrane. Bring enough water to cover peppers to a boil in a stockpot and immerse peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. (This helps to pre-cook the peppers so they are soft, instead of crunchy, when they come out of the oven.)

Cook meat and onions in large pan. When almost thoroughly cooked, add tomato sauce, salt, and garlic to meat. Cook, stirring frequently.

Put peppers in a glass, non-greased casserole dish. Spoon meat mixture into each pepper. Cook in 375-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle cheese over the top of peppers and return to oven for another 10 minutes of cooking.

Fantastic, Incredible Chicken Parmesan

2007-04-14T09:05:00.000-06:00

A while back, Fantastagirl posted a recipe for Chicken Parmesan. She said the recipe came from Mr. Incredible's mom. (I hope she doesn't mind that I'm writing about it here; I wasn't able to get in touch with her yesterday to ask permission.)

Under the category of "back story with too much information", a long, long time ago, I tried a frozen version of Chicken Parmesan. Either I was already getting sick, or I got sick from it. Either way, it was many years before I could even think about the combination of breaded chicken and pasta sauce together. Even now, I tend to avoid this kind of dish whenever we go out for Italian food, in favor of creamy white sauces.

But I have to admit, I loved this dish! I tried to stay true to the recipe, but in the end had to make two changes. I used cornflake crumbs instead of cracker crumbs, because that's what I had on hand. And I cut the amount of Parmesan cheese from 3/4 cup to 1/3 cup, because of Spouse Guy's dislike for "stinky cheese". Otherwise, I made it just as she posted it.

We served it over pasta, with a salad and some garlic toast to go with it. This is definitely one for the "keeper" file.

Quiche Lorraine

2007-04-12T11:08:00.000-06:00

This was a great addition to our Easter brunch this past weekend. Dave refuses to eat quiche - he says that it isn't very manly. However, by simply changing the name to "egg pie," he decided he was willing to eat it, and verified that it was delicious!

I actually made these the day before, kept them in the fridge overnight, and then rewarmed them for about 15 minutes in the oven the next day. These also freeze really well!

Quiche Lorraine

1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust
6 slices of bacon
1/4 cup green onions
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

Cook the bacon until it is crispy. Cut or crumble into small pieces. Set aside.

Lightly saute the green onions in the cooking oil. Set aside.

Beat the eggs. Mix with half-and-half, salt, dry mustard, and nutmeg.

Layer cheese, onions, and bacon in the pie crust. Pour egg mixture over the top.

Cook in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. You should be able to insert a knife near the center and remove it still clean when it is fully cooked.

Note: I also made another "healthier-version" of the quiche. I omitted the bacon, added some other veggies that I sauteed with only Pam Spray, substituted the eggs with Egg Beaters, and used fat-free cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. I also used some basil instead of the dry mustard and nutmeg. It was a hit!

Sweet & White Scalloped Potatoes

2007-04-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

I almost forgot to grab a picture of these before they were gone! These scalloped potatoes are a wonderful side dish for an Easter ham, but I think they'd be great with just about any meat.

There are two things that make this dish unique compared to other scalloped potatoes. The first is that they include sliced sweet potatoes. The second is that they are made on top of the stove, freeing up your oven for other things, like that ham or a pan of rolls.

Giving credit where it is due, this recipe is from the Carnation Milk Company. I clipped it from a local grocery ad.

Sweet & White Scalloped Potatoes

1 can (12 oz.) Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 cups peeled and sliced white potatoes
2 cups peeled and sliced sweet potatoes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat evaporated milk, bouillon cubes, onion powder and thyme in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and bouillon is dissolved. Add potatoes.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Cover ; reduce heat to low. Cook, rearranging potatoes gently and occasionally, for 35 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cheese; serve immediately.

We've Been Nominated!!

2007-04-08T15:42:00.000-06:00

DutchBitch over at The Dutch Files has nominated us for "Best Food Blog" at the Blogger's Choice Awards!

Please click over and cast your vote for us! I can't vote myself because I had already voted for someone else before I learned of the nomination.

You can vote here. You have to register, if you haven't already, but registration is quick and easy.

Thanks for your votes, and thanks, Dutchy, for the nomination!

Decorated Cake For Easter

2007-04-06T13:03:00.000-06:00

Cake decorating can be a lot of fun if you're in the right mood. I guess you could say that I'm "self-taught" when it comes to decorating. When I worked for a catering company a few years ago, I started out by piping small flowers onto brownies after watching a co-worker do it. The more I watched, the more I picked up, and once I finally got around to taking a cake decorating class at one of the hobby stores, I already knew how to do everything in the beginners' class.

I thought about going on to higher cake-decorating education, but I didn't have any plans to make a career out of making party or wedding cakes, and we don't eat enough cakes at home, so I decided that what I can do now is enough.

This was my first single-layer decorated cake. I have to say it's much easier than the multi-layer cakes, simply because I could tilt the plate to get the sugar on the sides. Had I done that with a double-layer cake, the entire thing would have landed on the countertop.

I "cheated" this time around and used 1-1/2 cans of prepared frosting in a tub. This is NOT the ideal frosting for decorating. It's far too soft and drastically limits what can be done with it (no roses, for example). But for the design I made and the limited time I had, it worked just fine. The cake will have to be refrigerated until serving time, though, because the frosting is so soft.

There's no recipe, but I did take step-by-step pictures:

1. Start by baking a cake in an 8-inch or 9-inch round pan. I used 9-inch, but wish I'd used the smaller so it would have been a taller layer.

2. If you use parchment paper, don't forget to peel it off the bottom. Let cake cool on a wire rack.

3. Place cake on serving plate, with strips of parchment under edges to keep frosting off plate.

4. Cover with a very thin layer of frosting, to seal in moisture and to also seal down any crumbs. Chill for at least two hours.

5. Cover with a moderately thick layer of frosting.

6. You can smooth out the top by dipping the offset spatula in room temperature water and running it lightly over the frosting.

7. Sprinkle colored sugar on sides.

8. Color a small portion of frosting a deep shade of lavender. I use Wilton gel coloring. Pipe concentric circles of this frosting onto cake using a small round decorator tip.

9. Using a wooden skewer draw through the frosting from center to edge to create spider-web effect. Or draw from the edge to the center to create a similar, yet different, effect.

10. Add remaining white frosting to whatever is left of the deep lavender frosting. Stir very well to achieve a paler lavender color. Pipe large rosettes onto top of cake using an extra large star tip.

11. Carefully remove parchment strips from under cake and using a small star tip, pipe a chain of shells around edge where cake and plate meet. You're done!

Citrus Shrimp with Penne Pasta

2007-04-06T11:08:00.000-06:00

Hey, all! This is Violet! I'm feeling rather honored that Blogarita asked me to come over and post some of the recipes that I try at home... I have only recently begun cooking foods other than Easy Mac and toast, because I've spent so many years working so much that I haven't had time to cook. But, with Dave around to sample all my experiments, I've become rather adventurous and like to try things out of the ordinary.

This is a recipe that I found in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. When I decided to make it at first, I thought it would be just for Dave and me. Then it was us plus two friends. By the time I was cooking, we were having a dinner party for eight people... Luckily, I had enough food to double the recipe.

I was a little bit nervous that the citrus flavor of the dish wouldn't go over too well and that we would end up ordering pizza instead, but in fact, the flavor gave just enough kick to it to make it unique, but not overpowering. The orange slices also really brought out the flavor and the shrimp really complemented the whole dish quite well. I think one of the tricks is not to overcook the veggies; they were tender but not mush. I've also been on a health food kick recently, and I replaced the regular penne pasta with whole grain pasta, which worked well. Everyone liked it so much that I didn't even have any leftover to bring to work with me for lunch the next day!

Citrus Shrimp with Penne Pasta

12 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
4 cups (uncooked) penne or bow tie pasta
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel (set aside)
2 medium oranges
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules (I just used one of those little cubes)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares (Since I double the recipe, I used one of each)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 1/2 cups fresh pea pods, ends trimmed and halved diagonally

Thaw shrimp, if frozen. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.

Meanwhile, shred the peel from the oranges and remove remaining peels. Set oranges aside. In a small bowl, combine orange peel, orange juice, water, cornstarch, bouillon granules, sesame oil, salt, and ground red pepper; set aside.

In a large skillet cook sweet pepper in hot oil over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove sweet pepper from skillet. Add shrimp to skillet; cook and stir about 2 minutes or until shrimp turn opaque. Remove shrimp from skillet.

Stir orange juice mixture; add to skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return shrimp and sweet pepper to skillet; stir in pea pods. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Gently stir in orange sections. Gently toss shrimp mixture with pasta.

Nutritional Info: Makes 4 large servings! 384 calories, 7 grams total fat, 2 grams of fiber

Blogarita's Kitchen Under New Management

2007-04-05T09:33:00.000-06:00

Running a kitchen is hard work, so I've asked Violet to join me here at Blogarita's Kitchen.

Violet writes about food occasionally on her blog, The Lemonade Stand. At my request, I've asked for...and posted...some of her recipes here. I figured, why not cut out the middle man (me!) and have Violet post recipes whenever she finds one she'd like to share?

I've been treading water here in the Kitchen for a couple of weeks now. My goals have been not so much to try new things, but to use up some leftovers from our freezers and get meals on the table as quickly and easily as possible. I thought I had next week's menus planned, but found out earlier this week that we'll be having company for Easter, and ended up switching from grilled chicken to baked ham for Sunday's meal. That, in turn, caused the rest of my week to change, as I make meals to use the leftover ham. Simply put, I've been busy here, but not necessarily with interesting meals.

I hope to have some new recipes by the weekend, but meanwhile, I'm hoping that Violet will post her recipe for this scrumptious looking Citrus Shrimp.

Welcome Violet!!

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Pesto Cream Sauce

2007-04-02T08:31:00.000-06:00

Here's a recipe I came up with by combining and changing two other recipes. The great thing about smoked salmon is that a little of it adds a lot of flavor!

I really enjoyed this, but Spouse Guy said it isn't one of his favorites. Why? Because he doesn't like Parmesan or Romano cheeses. I cut the amount in the original recipes back considerably, but the prepared pesto I bought had a STRONG flavor of both cheeses, while most pesto sauces we've tried have been much milder. I will probably make it again, but I will try a different brand of pesto, or will make my own.

Pasta With Smoked Salmon In Pesto Cream Sauce

1 lb. any dry, chunky pasta, such as penne or bowtie (I used spiralini)
5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-1/2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup prepared pesto sauce
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
5 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
salt to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to keep butter from burning. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic; saute until onions become translucent and mushrooms are tender.

Stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat until sauce thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese, pesto sauce, broccoli and tomatoes. Continue to cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in salmon and heat through, stirring often. Should sauce get too thick, add a little more milk. Add salt to sauce according to your own taste.

Drain pasta and serve with sauce.

Makes 4-6 generous servings.

Strawberry Galette

2007-03-24T16:00:00.000-06:00

There's some disagreement from website to website on just what a galette is. Right or wrong, I don't know what else to call this dessert, so I'm calling it a galette.

I had some strawberries in their juices in the freezer -- about a pint or so, I'd guess. Not sweet enough, these berries, so I added about 1/2 cup of sugar and brought them to a boil, then simmered them down to about 1-1/2 c.

I used a ready-made refrigerator pie crust (because it's just that kind of day) and placed it flat on my baking stone. I spooned about 3/4 cup of the cooked strawberry mixture into the center, then folded the dough up over the filling, leaving a 4- to 5-inch circle of filling exposed in the center and letting the dough pleat naturally.

I brushed the dough with just a little bit of water, then sprinkled the entire galette with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Then I baked the pastry in a pre-heated 375° for about 20 minutes.

I let it cool before cutting it into wedges.

I saved the remaining 3/4 cup of strawberry filling to use later, maybe as a topping for ice cream or spooned over some cake.

Cookie Update

2007-03-21T08:57:00.000-06:00

This morning Sparky and I made the cookies I wrote about yesterday. We followed the recipe to the letter, taking them out of the oven when they were just barely done (they continued to brown a little on the pans). I even opted to use use the traditional oven -- something I haven't done since we got our convection/microwave.

Patience is key while waiting for them to cool on the baking sheets, but it's worth it. These cookies are really good! They are soft and chewy inside, with just a little crunch around the edges.

The trick now will be finding out how they fare overnight. Once Spouse Guy gets home, I'm going to have a hard time making sure there are any left to try tomorrow.

By the way, we made both large and small cookies. The smaller (1/8 c.) cookies were done in 14 minutes, and the larger ones (1/4 cup scoop) took 16 minutes. All told, the batch made 24 small and 9 large cookies.

Two Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

2007-03-20T07:03:00.000-06:00

Bluepaintred emailed me to ask if I had a recipe for soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies. Well, yes...and no.

I have a tried and true recipe that makes cookies that stay soft, but they are more cake-like than chewy. It's the final recipe of this post, and can be made with either semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips.

I also have a recipe that I've never tried before that is supposed to make chewy-gooey cookies.

My understanding is that the secret to chewy cookies is as much in the method as in the ingredient list. Apparently, using melted butter instead of room temperature butter will help make the cookies chewy, as will the addition of a second egg yolk and the use of brown sugar. Don't over-bake the cookies; remove them from the oven when they are just starting to brown around the edges and the tops have just lost their wet appearance -- don't wait for them to look brown on top. Cooling the cookies on the pan, rather than moving them off the to a cooling rack, will help them stay chewy. Finally, when you store your cookies in a cookie jar or other airtight container, try putting a slice of bread in with them. It helps keep the cookies moist.

Here's the untried recipe. I don't think I will have time to make a batch today, but maybe Blue will, and will let us know how they turn out. I'll try to get to them myself within a few days.

Big, Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (if using salted butter, you can omit the 3/4 t. of salt)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1-1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 325° F (165° C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the dry ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Cover dough and chill for about 45 minutes.*

Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool completely on baking sheets.

Makes about 1-1/2 dozen large cookies. For smaller cookies, use smaller amount of dough and reduce baking time by a minute or two.

*If your cookies are too flat, next time try chilling longer. If they aren't flat enough, next time omit the chilling step.

Other People's Recipes

2007-03-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

The past few days I've been able to try some recipes that other bloggers mentioned on their blogs and/or submitted here.

1. Pixie submitted her recipe for Meatloaf Muffins a while ago and we had those earlier this week. Just like she said, they were tasty and popped right out of the muffin pans easily.

2. Granny Geek mentioned this wonderful Chocolate Tres Leches cake on her blog recently. I had to try it, and I'm glad I did. I'm not a big fan of chocolate...a little goes a long way for me...but this cake was gone within a couple of days. The link to the recipe is in Granny's post.

3. Not long ago, Violet wrote about taking a Waldorf Salad to a shower she attended. (Sorry, Vi, I can't seem to find that post on your blog.) Anyway, it had been a long time since I'd had Waldorf Salad and I thought it sounded good. But I didn't have the typical celery and raisins that usually go in it. So I made up my own version using dried cranberries, instead. As an aside, I tried using mayonnaise. It was a brand new jar, but for some reason, it didn't taste fresh, but I didn't figure this out until after I had it in the salad. No worries...I just dumped all of the salad into a large colander, rinsed off all the mayo with cold water, let it drain a little and started over. This time I used Miracle Whip from an open jar in the fridge, and it turned out much better, without having to through the whole thing in the garbage.

Here's my version:

Blogarita's Cran-Apple Waldorf Salad

3 large apples, cored and chopped (leave peel on)
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice (to keep apples from darkening)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of celery seed

Toss apples with lemon or lime juice. Stir in walnuts and dried cranberries.

Add mayonnaise and stir until all pieces are coated well. Add allspice and celery seed and stir well.

Chill before serving.

Makes about 4 servings.

Mediterranean Rice and Broiled Tilapia

2007-03-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

When Artsy Girl was about 16, she worked in a Lebanese cafe that served this rice with every dinner. She was able to get the recipe from them and I reduced the amounts to a workable family size. It's a great side dish with just about any meat.

The tilapia recipe is more of a non-recipe, but I've included the directions below.

Mediterranean Rice

1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup vermicelli or broken angel hair pasta
1 cups converted (parboiled) rice
2 cups water
1 teaspoons chicken base (or 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Brown vermicelli in butter. Add rice and saute until aroma is nutty. Add remaining ingredients; stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Broiled Tilapia

Italian-seasoned bread crumbs or corn flake crumbs
Dried thyme leaves
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or melted butter
Tilapia fillets (1 per person)

Heat broiler.

Season the bread crumbs with thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Spray a baking dish or shallow pan with non-stick pan spray. Brush one side of fish fillets with olive oil or melted butter and press buttered side into seasoned crumbs. Lay un-coated side down in baking dish or pan.

Place fish under broiler and broil until fish flakes easily and crumb coating is beginning to brown.

Easy Wintertime Salsa

2007-03-09T11:16:00.000-06:00

I call this my "Wintertime Salsa" because it's a good salsa to make when fresh tomatoes and jalapenos may not be the most flavorful because of the season. But it's good year-round. All the ingredients are canned or dried, and are things I usually have on hand anyway.

As is, I consider the salsa to be "medium" in heat. Adjust the peppers accordingly to make it as hot or mild as you like.

It goes together in less than 10 minutes, so it's a good appetizer to whip up if you have unexpected company.

Blogarita's Easy Wintertime Salsa

2 14.5-ounce cans stewed tomatoes, with juices
8 slices of pickled jalapenos (use less for a milder salsa)
2 tablespoons of the juices from the pickled jalapenos (use less or omit for milder salsa)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon bottled lime juice
2 teaspoons dried cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Set one can of stewed tomatoes aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine remaining ingredients and process until fairly smooth.

Add reserved can of tomatoes and process (or use pulse setting) for approximately 1 second at a time, repeating 4-5 times, until tomatoes are blended in, but still slightly chunky.

Pour into a bowl and serve at room temperature or chill, if desired.

Makes approx. 1 quart of salsa.

Oven Adventures

2007-03-06T10:09:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't read my other blog, we recently bought a combination microwave/convection oven to replace the vent hood over our gas range.

We bought it last Saturday, Spouse Guy installed in Sunday, and since then I've had very little time to play with it, but here's what I know about it so far.

The microwave is just as you'd expect. However, the popcorn sensor button really works, which is something that never quite worked well on the other microwaves I've had.

The convection oven will take a little getting used to. For one thing, the instruction manual was contradictory about whether or not you can use traditional metal pans when using the convection only feature. I've been especially careful about using microwave safe dishes, and I've been slightly dissatisfied with the way things have browned (or not) on the bottom. A phone call to Maytag this morning cleared that up; when using the convection-only setting, metal pans may be used.

Here's my first attempt at baking something. It's obviously a pizza, but I don't think it's a good test example. For one thing, I used a crust mix rather than mixing up my own (I almost never do that, but I was busy yesterday) and I accidentally bought fat-free mozzarella cheese and had it open before I realized my mistake. That stuff doesn't melt! I baked the pizza on a stone, which I often do, and used the convection setting. The bottom didn't brown well. I'm not going to make a judgment call on this, because I'd like to try again, with my own crust, cheese that will melt and a metal pan.

This morning I tried baking muffins. This was before the phone call to Maytag, so erring on the side of caution, I used my new silicone muffin pan. This first batch, filled with Peach-Mango fruit spread, went straight into the pan (no greasing or spraying necessary) and was baked on the convection setting. They took 15 minutes to bake and were nicely brown on top, but a little less so on bottom.

For the second batch, filled with strawberry preserves, I used cupcake papers simply so that I could get them ready while the first batch baked. I put the filled papers into the same silicone pan. This time I used the combination microwave/convection setting and they took just 9 minutes to get done, but as you can see, they barely browned at all, didn't rise as well, and they stuck to the papers (which I probably should have sprayed with non-stick spray).

Obviously, the first batch is more visually appealing. Both batches tasted great, but the second batch was actually just a little more moist and tender. Really, the taste/texture difference wasn't enough to be concerned about.

I think if I were making cupcakes or a cake that was going to be frosted, I would use the quicker combination-cooking setting. Otherwise, I'd use convection for the sake of appearance.

Next time I'll try baking in a metal pan, or maybe roasting or broiling meat. I'll let you know how those turn out, too.

Meanwhile, here's the muffin recipe. It came from Tawra Kellam's book "Not Just Beans", which is a really great cookbook for basic, frugal recipes.

Basic Muffins

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix ingredients together; batter will be lumpy. Spoon into greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 425° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12-15 muffins.

Jam Muffins

Fill greased muffin cups 1/4 full. Place 1 teaspoon jam on top of batter and fill with more batter until muffin cup is 2/3 full. Bake as above.

Shrimp In Beer

2007-03-04T17:26:00.000-06:00

This shrimp and pasta recipe has a mild-flavored sauce that keeps the flavor of the shrimp the main attraction. It goes together quickly and is great with bread sticks or garlic toast on the side.

Shrimp In Beer

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 bay leaf
2-3 cups flat beer|
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish

Place shrimp in a large skillet and pour in enough beer to just cover them. Heat over medium-high heat until beer simmers and shrimp just turns pink. Remove shrimp from beer and set aside.

Increase heat to high and reduce beer in pan to 1 cup. Meanwhile, in another pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and cook until thick and bubbly. Whisk in reduced beer until smooth. Add cream and continue cooking over medium-high heat until thickened. Remove from heat.

Stir in cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and reserved shrimp. Pour over pasta of your choice and garnish with chopped parsley.

Makes about 6 servings.

Go Ahead. Search My Kitchen.

2007-03-04T11:04:00.000-06:00

I just added a neat little search bar to the blog at the top of my sidebar. Now you can search my recipes by ingredient or any other keyword you like. Or you can go beyond my blog to other blogs or the entire Interwebs.

Have fun!

Bourbon Nut Pie

2007-03-01T11:55:00.000-06:00

I had a small unopened can of mixed nuts left from Christmas, and I've been wondering how they'd be in a syrup-based pie in place of the traditional pecans. So, I found a recipe, made some changes and came up with this.

I forgot to snap a picture before I cut into it! Even with peanuts in the mix, it's delicious, but I think if I try it again, I will use the "fancy" mixed nuts without peanuts.

Blogarita's Bourbon Nut Pie

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 oz. (1/8 cup) bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can (5.5 ounces) mixed nuts (chop them if you like, I didn't)
9" pie shell

Heat oven to 375°.

Cream sugar and butter in medium bowl.

Add eggs, syrup, honey, salt, bourbon and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in nuts.

Pour filling into a pie shell; bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until knife inserted near center of pie comes out clean.

Let cool completely before cutting.

Makes one 9" pie.

Zio's Chicken Pepperoni

2007-02-26T07:08:00.000-06:00

Any of you ever eat at Zio's Italian Kitchen? It's been a few years since I've eaten there, and I haven't tried this dish, but it is supposed to be a copycat of the one on their menu. I used my own pasta sauce from the freezer and a different shape of pasta, but otherwise, was true to the recipe. It's a good one.

Copycat Recipe for Zio's Italian Kitchen Chicken Pepperoni

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-6 ounces good quality sliced pepperoni
1 jar Bertolli Marinara (if you double this recipe, use 3)
1 pound penne pasta
1 large sweet onion, julienned or large chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, julienned or large chopped
1 green bell pepper, julienned or large chopped
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced thick
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 small can black olives, drained and sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
Grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Put 4 quarts water on to boil in a 6-quart pot. When water is boiling, add pasta.

In hot skillet, add 2 teaspoons olive oil, then sauté onions, peppers, mushrooms and pepperoni until vegetables start to sweat. Add garlic, olives and chicken, stirring often. When chicken is white and onions are translucent, remove from heat (be careful not to overcook vegetables or everything will be too soft)

Drain pasta when done.

In large bowl add pasta, meat mixture, topped with grated mozzarella, covered with marinara and tossed lightly. Top with grated Romano or Parmesan to taste. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

"Land of Enchantment" Posole

2007-02-24T14:37:00.000-06:00

Odd how these things happen.

The day I'm preparing a cocina tipica, or typical dish, of the State of New Mexico is the very day that Violet posts some more...um... interesting...facts about our 47th state. Pretty coincidental, since Violet and I both live in the same state, which is NOT New Mexico. I don't know about her, but I've never even been there.

This "Land of Enchantment" Posole is a spicy pork and hominy stew. It's another recipe from the February/March 2007 issue of Taste of Home magazine, and the only change I made this time was to add 1/2 teaspoon of the herb epazote that I mentioned in an earlier post. Spouse Guy and I are finding we like the slight tartness it adds to Mexican (and New Mexican) food.

BTW, I guess the posole will end up being dinner tomorrow night. Some friends invited us out for a steak dinner. How could we refuse that?

Land of Enchantment Posole

1-1/2 pounds pork stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups beef broth
2 cans (15 ounces each) hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
Tortilla strips, optional

In a soup kettle or Dutch oven, cook the pork, onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the broth, hominy, chilies, jalapeno pepper, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until meat is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with tortilla strips, if desired.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Louisiana Meat Pies

2007-02-21T19:50:00.000-06:00

I meant to make these last night in honor of "Fat Tuesday", but time got away from me. Yes, these meat pies are fried, and yes, they take a while to put together, but they taste so good that they are worth every minute and every calorie.

The recipe makes about two dozen pies. I like to flash-freeze them before I fry them, then just take out as many as I need for a meal. They can be baked, but they don't taste nearly as good as they do fried.

Louisiana Meat Pies

Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork (can use ground turkey or chicken or another pound of ground beef)
1 bunch of green onions or one medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, diced
black pepper to taste
1 to 4 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend, to taste
1 teaspoon dry oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
1 tablespoon flour

Pastry:

4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cold butter (can use shortening or lard; lard makes the flakiest crust)
1 egg, beaten
2 cup milk

Oil for deep frying (I prefer peanut oil)

Cook meats, onion, garlic and bell pepper in a large skillet. Drain; rinse away fat if desired. Return meat to pan. Add seasonings and flour; mix well and set aside.

In a food processor, blend flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter and process until incorporated. Pour four mixture into a bowl. Combine egg and milk, then gradually add liquid to the flour until dough forms, adding additional milk or water a tablespoon at a time if needed.

Break off pieces of dough and roll very thin. Use a saucer to cut dough into circles. Place a 1/4 cup (or slightly less) meat filling on half of a dough circle. Fold dough over filling and crimp with a fork to seal. Place on cookie sheets to freeze at this point.

To fry, heat oil to 400°F. Fry pies, one or two at at time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Makes approximately 24 pies.

Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

2007-02-18T18:53:00.000-06:00

This soup, another Taste of Home recipe, is delicious...or as granddaughter Sparky would say, "It's awishus!"

I made a half-batch of this today, which still yielded 2 quarts of soup. I made two small additions, which was adding about 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar along with the Velveeta and about a teaspoon of salt. I also garnished the soup with more cheddar, since I didn't have any bacon.

I put the soup in bread bowls just for fun.

Cheeseburger Paradise Soup
(from Taste of Home February/March 2007)

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 small carrot, grated
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
3 cups water
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
5 cups milk, divided
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (16 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Crumbled cooked bacon

In a soup kettle, combine the first nine ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add to soup. Stir in 4 cups milk; heat through.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon.

Makes about 14 servings.

Bread Bowls

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup instant milk powder
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon bulk yeast (or one packet of yeast)
6 cups flour

In large heavy-duty mixer (i.e., Bosch, Kitchen Aid) combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in flour and knead for 4 to 10 minutes (depending on mixer capabilities). Place dough out into a well-oiled bowl, turning to coat on all surfaces. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Form dough into 8 balls. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cover and let rise again, until doubled. Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes until golden.

To serve, cut a slice off top of each loaf and scoop out insides, creating a bowl. Fill with soup and serve with bread from center of loaves.

To make by hand (without mixer), combine water, milk powder, olive oil, sugar, salt and yeast. Stir in flour, using a wooden spoon, until dough is too stiff to stir. Use hands to mix in remaining flour until a workable dough forms. Knead by hand for 10 minutes, then proceed as above.

Makes 8 small bread bowl loaves.

**********

We tried Violet's Roasted Corn and Crab Soup yesterday. I highly recommend it; it was wonderful!

Cheese Ravioli Lasagna

2007-02-14T23:25:00.000-06:00

This has to be the easiest "recipe" ever for lasagna.

Just spray a pan with non-stick spray, spread about a 1/2-cup of pasta sauce on the bottom, and add a layer of frozen cheese ravioli.

Add a layer of whatever you like (I used cooked and crumbled Italian sausage and some shredded Mozzarella cheese...you could use ground beef, frozen chopped spinach or broccoli or just about anything else that sounds good).

Spread on another cup or so of sauce and another layer of frozen cheese ravioli. Top it all with more sauce, cover it with foil and bake it at 350° for about an hour.

Remove the foil, sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or so to brown the cheese a little.

That's all there is too it! Super easy and tasty with some garlic toast and a salad.

Red Velvet Cake

2007-02-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make a special treat for Valentine's Day this week, but I wanted something that was also simple. I decided on this Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It's a very basic recipe similar to those that can be found in many cookbooks or on the Internet. To make it special, I dug out my heart-shaped cake pans.

I saved the "scraps" from where I trimmed the cake to level it and crumbled them to use as sprinkles.

Red Velvet Cake

1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) liquid red food color
2 teaspoons white vinegar
2-1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

Frosting:

2 bricks (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2 round layer cake pans --OR-- line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray both paper and sides with non-stick pan spray.

In a large bowl, with mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla for 2 minutes until creamy.. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Stir buttermilk, food color and vinegar in a 2-cup measuring cup until well-blended. With mixer on low speed, beat in flour in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, beating just until blended. Divide batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl, with mixer on medium speed, until smooth and creamy. On low speed, add confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Increase speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy.

Spread frosting between layers, on top and on sides of cooled cake. Refrigerate until serving.

Makes 1 two-layer cake.

Marinated Flank Steak and Twice-Baked Cheddar Potatoes

2007-02-11T19:29:00.000-06:00

This is the first time I've made marinated flank steak (sometimes called a London Broil). We were happy with the way it turned out, so I'll be making it again. We also had Twice-Baked Cheddar Potatoes, Braised Cabbage and a side salad.

There are many marinades for flank steak. The one I used was especially simple and made the meat taste great. I ended up making only half the amount of marinade and it was plenty, but I'm posting the recipe as it is in the magazine. I do suggest letting the steak sit for about 5 minutes before slicing.

The potato recipe is based on one that I saw in the February/March issue of Taste of Home. It called for bacon, but I used ham, with fine results.

Marinated Flank Steak
(recipe from Taste of Home, February/March 2007)

1 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce (I used regular soy sauce)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 beef flank steak (1-1/2 pounds)

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the soy cause, lemon juice, honey and garlic; add steak. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

Drain and discard marinade. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat or grill over medium heat for 8-10 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°). Thinly slice steak across the grain.

Makes 6 servings.

Twice Baked Cheddar Potatoes

6 large baking potatoes
8 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 pound sliced bacon, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Scrub and pierce potatoes; rub each with 1 teaspoon butter. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. In the drippings, saute onion until tender; set aside.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each and discard. Scoop out pulp, leaving a thin shell. In a bowl, mash pulp with remaining butter. Stir in the milk, egg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese, bacon and onion.

Spoon filling into the potato shells. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Makes 6 servings.

Braised Cabbage

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 head cabbage, cored and cut into pieces about 2-inch square
salt
pepper

Heat olive oil in large non-stick skillet over high heat. Add cut up cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.

Let cabbage cook, without stirring, for about 4 minutes or until cabbage pieces on bottom begin to brown. Stir cabbage.

Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Cover skillet and let cabbage continue to cook, stirring occasionally, just until tender.

Makes 4 - 8 servings (depending on size of head of cabbage).

Preparing For A Busy Week

2007-02-11T10:37:00.000-06:00

Being a stay-at-home wife, I'm used to the luxury (at least, I consider it a luxury) of being able to start supper early in the afternoon. It's been quite a while since I've had to come home late in the afternoon and try to put a meal together in a hurry.

This week, I have appointments to keep throughout the day Monday, some important work to do here at home on Tuesday, then Wednesday through Friday, I'll be caring for a friend's mother all day. (She recently had shoulder surgery and needs someone to stay with her in her home until family members can get there after work.) So, it will be an unusually busy week for me.

I have some free time today, so I'm going to take advantage of it by doing a lot of prep work in the kitchen to plan for the week ahead. That way, on those three busiest days at the end of the week, I'll have lots of yummy leftovers that I can just heat up quickly for us to eat.

Here is our menu for this week:

Today (and again on Wednesday): Marinated Broiled Flank Steak, Twice-Baked Cheddar Potatoes, Braised Cabbage, Green Salad.

Monday (and again on Thursday): Taco Salads in Tortilla Bowls, Drunken Pinto Beans

Tuesday (and again on Friday): Cheese Ravioli Lasagna, Garlic Toast, Summer Squash Veggie Medley, Green Salad.

Saturday: Ham and Pepperoni Panini, Roasted Corn and Crab Soup (I had originally planned for a creamy potato soup, but decided to try Violet's soup instead!)

To get a jump start on the week, this morning I have already:

- put the steak in the marinade and cooked the cabbage for today's meal;
- cooked and seasoned the ground beef, shredded the lettuce, sliced the black olives and made the salsa for the taco salad meal;
- cooked the Italian sausage and cut up the zucchini, yellow squash, onions and carrots for the lasagna meal. I have pasta sauce that I made last week in the freezer.

With these things done already, the meals will go together very quickly each evening. By Saturday, things will have slowed down again and I'll have plenty of time to make the soup and grill the sandwiches that are on the menu.

And if everything goes well, I might even have time to make a cake of some kind today for an early Valentine's Day treat.

Two-Way Grilled Chicken Pizza

2007-02-09T09:09:00.000-06:00

A couple of years ago, daughter Artsy Girl put together this Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Alfredo pizza. I've been putting off trying it, only because Spouse Guy isn't a big fan of Alfredo sauces. I decided to try it anyway, and made two pizzas, the only difference being that the second pizza uses regular tomato-based pizza sauce.

Guess what? Spouse Guy ended up liking the Alfredo version better after all.

The only thing I was unhappy about was the crust. I've used the same crust recipe many times, but it's never risen this much. In my opinion, these particular pizzas would be better on a thin crust.

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Garlic Alfredo Pizza

1 head of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Two pizza crusts*
1 jar prepared Alfredo pasta sauce (or regular pizza sauce, if you don't like Alfredo)
Two grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced**
2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves and/or basil leaves
1 - 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese as desired

To roast garlic (quick method), heat oven to 375°. Spread individual unpeeled cloves evenly on cookie sheet, drizzle with oil, and bake about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, press garlic from peels and mash with a fork.

Spread pizza crusts with sauce to within 3/4" of edges.

Top each with slices of grilled chicken and bits of roasted garlic, then with dried herbs. Top with the Mozzarella cheese (half on each pizza).

Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 400° until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

Makes 2 medium pizzas.

* If you use homemade crusts, bake it for about 8 minutes before adding toppings to prevent sogginess, then bake until done, about 8 minutes more. If using a ready-made crust (such as Boboli), there is no need to pre-bake. If using refrigerated pizza crust, such as Pillsbury, follow package directions.

** We grilled the chicken for this recipe a couple of days ago when we were grilling steaks, but I believe you can purchase grilled chicken in the refrigerated meat section of the grocery store.

Low-Fat Roasted Corn and Crab Soup

2007-02-08T09:13:00.000-06:00

Here's another guest recipe! Violet recently mentioned this soup on her blog The Lemonade Stand. It was a hit at a "Soup-er Bowl" party she and Dave recently took part in. It sounded good to me, too, so when she offered to let me post it here, I wasn't about to refuse.

She's even included cook time and nutritional information.

Low-Fat Roasted Corn and Crab Soup

Start to Finish: 1 hour
Oven: 450°F
Makes: 6 servings

1 16-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn
2 cups chopped onions
1½ cups coarsely chopped red sweet peppers
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 14-ounce cans chicken broth*
½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup half-and-half or light cream
4 ounces of cooked crab meat, cut into bite-size pieces (2/3 cup)

Thaw frozen corn and pat dry with paper towels. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil; lightly grease the foil. Spread corn in prepared pan. Bake in a 450° oven for 10 minutes; stir. Bake about 10 minutes more until golden brown, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven; set aside.

In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook onions and sweet peppers in hot oil over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until nearly tender. Add roasted corn, 3 cans of broth, thyme, and red pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

In a large screw-top jar combine remaining 1 can broth and the flour. Cover and shake well; stir into soup. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1-minute more. Stir in half-and-half; heat through. Add crab meat; serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts: 229 calories, 7 grams total fat (2 grams saturated fat), 26 milligrams cholesterol, 907 milligrams sodium, 30 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber,14 grams protein.

* Violet mentioned she used garlic flavored chicken broth, which enhanced the flavor nicely.

Heat Wave

2007-02-06T17:40:00.000-06:00

We had a one-day heat wave yesterday. It reached 55° here and most of the snow is gone. It was a grillin' day.

In addition to KC strip steaks, Spouse Guy grilled a couple of chicken breasts that will be used in another recipe this week and we decided to try the grilled asparagus that Dave likes to make. It was wonderful! (I apologize for the photo; it was getting dark and it's hard to get a good picture with night mode flash.)

He gave me a quick how-to lesson by e-mail. I hope he doesn't mind that I've posted the recipe here.

Grilled Asparagus a la Dave

1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1/2 stick butter
Granulated garlic (similar to coarse garlic powder)
Lemon-pepper seasoning
Ground black pepper

Wash and trim asparagus and place in a baking dish. Melt butter and either brush or pour butter over asparagus spears. Sprinkle with garlic, lemon-pepper seasoning and pepper to taste. Roll spears in pan to coat evenly.

Grill on a hot grill (gas or charcoal) turning 1/4 turn every minute or two, until desired tenderness is reached, 5 to 10 minutes. It's normal for asparagus to develop brown spots (as the natural sugars caramelize), but don't let it char. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings (it should make 4 servings, but we love asparagus, so for us, only 2.)

Pixie In The Kitchen

2007-02-06T02:10:00.000-06:00

Pixie of Pixie's Temple asked recently if I would take recipes submitted from other bloggers. I thought it sounded like a fun idea, so I asked her to email me with the recipe she had in mind. She says it's quick, easy, kid-friendly and tastes delicious.

If anyone else enjoys cooking and has recipes to share, feel free to email them to me and I'll probably use them. Photos of the dish are optional but always welcome.

Pixie's Meatloaf Muffins

1 lb. ground beef
1 box Stovetop stuffing mix
1 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 onion, diced (optional)

Mix together all ingredients. Divide among 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes. During last 5 minutes of cook time top with Chili Sauce (or ketchup) if desired.

Sauce For Pasta or Pizza

2007-02-04T10:20:00.000-06:00

A couple of the recipes I'll be using this week call for spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce. I like to make my own sauce to use on pasta or pizza, but I don't usually can't (or don't want to) take the time to simmer a pot of sauce for hours. A few years ago I came up with this recipe for a sauce that begins with canned tomato sauce and ends in the freezer. It's been the sauce I've used almost exclusively since I first made it.

Although I originally developed the recipe using smaller 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce, I usually buy the large 6.5 pound can of tomato sauce at a warehouse club, make up a large batch of sauce, take out what I need for the next week to chill in spare canning jars, then freeze the rest in 2-cup portions. I'm including the measurements for both size batches.

Depending on the brands you buy, this recipe is also a money-saver. I calculate the large batch to come out to about 25 cents a cup. Large jars of sauce usually contain just a little more than three cups, and the cheapest I can ever them is $1.00 a jar. So I usually end up saving 25%.

Blogarita's Sauce For Pasta or Pizza - Small Batch
30 ounces (2 15-ounce cans) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons oregano leaves
2 teaspoons basil leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1-1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 "splashes" (about 1/8 teaspoon or so) Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Heat over low heat to use over pasta, or use at room temperature when making homemade pizza.

Freeze leftovers in zippered freezer bags.

Makes approximately 4 cups of sauce.

Blogarita's Sauce For Pasta or Pizza - Large Batch
1 6.5-pound can tomato sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oregano leaves
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon basil leaves
2 tablespooons minced garlic
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Heat over low heat to use over pasta, or use at room temperature when making homemade pizza.

Freeze leftovers in zippered freezer bags.

Makes approximately 12 cups of sauce.

Back To Basics

2007-02-01T09:31:00.000-06:00

It's just been one of those weeks when I wanted comfort food that was easy to make. Tonight we had beans with cornbread.

After the first five years of our marriage, Spouse Guy finally told me doesn't really care for beans and cornbread as a main dish. So I fried up some ham to go with it. He had ham for his main dish, but it was more of a side dish for me, since I love beans so much.

Growing up, we had beans about once a week or so. Sometimes my mom put ham in them, but as often as not, she made them without meat. She'd add just a little saved bacon fat to add flavor and help reduce the foam that sometimes forms when you cook beans.

Supposedly, eating beans as often as I did growing up is one reason why they don't bother me too much afterward. The more often you eat beans of any kind, it's said, the more easily your body digests them without producing as much gas. Products like Bean-O help a lot, too. Another "remedy" is the herb "epazote", used sometimes in Mexican dishes. I bought some recently, but hadn't tried it yet, so I divide the pot of beans and added the epazote to one portion about 15 minutes before serving. I'd read the flavor is an acquired taste, so I wanted to see if we liked it before I added it to an entire pot of beans.

I'm not sure if you've ever noticed the difference in flavor between refried beans at your favorite Mexican restaurant and those you buy at the store or make at home, but the difference is apparently the epazote. To me, it has a slight dill flavor. I like the flavor, but I guess it's not for everyone.

My favorite bean is the Great Northern White, which I used in this recipe. You can use just about any bean you like, though, especially navy beans or pinto beans. Your cooking time and the flavor of the soup will vary with the bean you use. It's also recommended that beans be soaked overnight. I never noticed much difference in cooking time or flavor when I soaked them, so I gave up soaking a long time ago.

Great Northern Bean Soup

1 lb. dry Great Northern Beans
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon (approximately) bacon fat or olive oil
2 teaspoons (approximately) salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic, if desired
pepper to taste

Sort through beans, removing any shriveled or discolored beans, small stones or pieces of dirt. Rinse well and put in a Dutch oven.

Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for several hours. The time will depend on the type of bean you are using, how fresh the beans are, etc. Check oven to make sure the beans are covered with at least 1" of water. When beans are tender, taste, then adjust seasonings as desired. Serve with ham, cornbread and fried potatoes.

Makes about 6 servings.

Chicken and Dumplings, Version #1

2007-01-31T10:37:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the scarcity of posts here. I've been busy, including being out of town for a couple of days. We had the pleasure of eating one of my mom's home-cooked meals while we were there, and we went out for Chinese buffet one evening. Unfortunately, most of the last week and a half, we've been surviving on convenience meals like hamburger helper (homemade, but still blah) and fish sticks, which I justify because Sparky seems to like them a lot.

For the first time in at least 10 days, I have time today to cook something from scratch. It's cold, snowing a little and Spouse Guy has a bit of a head cold, so I decided some homemade chicken and dumplings would be good.

I make chicken and dumplings three ways. This is the easiest version. I may post the others later, but they are both more time consuming to prepare and I didn't want to make time for them this week.

If you want a more basic dumpling, you can leave out the chicken base, curry powder and chives. Or you can use any dumpling recipe from a basic cookbook, such as Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping.

Chicken with Dropped Dumplings

3 cups cooked chicken, light or dark meat, cubed or shredded
6 cups chicken broth, homemade or purchased
1 - 2 tablespoons chicken base or bouillon to enhance flavor of broth
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup cold water

-----

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1-2 teaspoons chicken base
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried chives or parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 stick COLD butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
1/2-1 cup milk

Combine chicken, chicken broth and chicken base in a Dutch oven (the wider the pan, the more dumplings you can drop into it).

Bring to a boil; combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Pour into chicken soup, whisking constantly; cook 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover until ready for dumplings.

In a food processor*, combine flour, baking powder, chicken base, salt, chives and curry powder. With processor running, add butter, a piece at a time, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Turn processor off.

Add egg and process briefly. Again, with processor running, add milk gradually until a soft, sticky dough forms.

Drop dough by spoonfuls (or use a small ice cream scoop) onto simmering chicken stew. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove lid and if dumplings look fairly dry on top, continue to cook for 10 minutes uncovered. If they appear to still be wet (especially those around the outside), cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, then remove lid and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

'Rita Had A Little Lamb

2007-01-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

And she liked it!

Until today, the only lamb I've had has been that pressed meat combination of seasoned lamb and beef that's used on gyro sandwiches. I really like it, but I wasn't sure if I'd like lamb "straight up". I've wanted to try it for a while, but it's expensive and I was hesitant to buy it, not knowing if I'd like it.

My curiosity got the best of me a couple of days ago when I found a package of two small lamb chops marked down as a manager's special at the local meat counter. Two chops is not enough for a meal for Spouse Guy and me, so we decided to grill them today (on the snowy back deck), along with some hamburgers that were already on the menu.

I threw together a red wine marinade and let them marinate for a couple of hours, then Spouse Guy grilled them for about 5 minutes on each side. I didn't use a recipe, but here are the approximations:

1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon dry ground mustard
salt and pepper added just before grilling

The results? We were both surprised that the meat was very tender and milder in flavor than the gyro meat. We'd definitely eat lamb again, but probably only for special occasions because of the price.

Oh yeah, the hamburgers were really good, too!

Move Along...There's Nothing To See Here

2007-01-20T16:44:00.000-06:00

I've been especially busy the last few days and not able to get to the kitchen to make anything new, or at least nothing worthy of a post.

But today we went out for lunch at Carrabba's. Read all about it here.

Busy Night Chili

2007-01-18T06:47:00.000-06:00

This week has gotten out of hand with errands and appointments taking me away from the house, so last night I decided to go off my planned menu and fix one of our favorites. This is one of the most basic chili recipes I know. It can be on the table in less than half an hour because it doesn't require hours of simmering. (But it does seem to taste even better as leftovers the next day after the flavors have to blend.)

We like this chili with sour cream and corn chips, but it's also good with crackers.

Blogarita's Basic Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope chili seasoning mix
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 cans chili-style beans (do not drain)

Brown ground beef in Dutch oven. Pour cooked meat into a colander and rinse with water to remove excess fat. Wipe pan clean with paper towel.

Return meat to pan. Add remaining ingredients to pan and stir to combine. If chili seems too thick, add half a soup can of water.

Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until chili is hot. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Serves 4.

Spiked Sausage and Shrimp

2007-01-14T17:35:00.000-06:00

At first I wasn't going to post about this recipe that I found as part of a football party spread in the January 2007 issue of Woman's Day magazine. It just wasn't what I was expecting when it was done, and at first I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. For one thing, I mistakenly got chorizo that needed to be cooked instead of sausage that was fully-cooked, and it may have made a flavor difference. Not to mention that when I cut the recipe in half in order to have four servings (I was planning on leftovers later in the week) what should have been four servings only served two.

But then I considered that it had shrimp in it, so what was not to like? The more I ate of it, the more it grew on me. Ultimately, I decided I did like it, despite it not tasting the way I thought it would. I think I'll keep the recipe, but next time, I think I'll try it with smoked sausage or fully-cooked bratwurst instead.

Here it is as it appeared in the magazine (paraphrased):

Spiked Sausage and Shrimp

1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
6 oz. fully-cooked beef or pork chorizo (Mexican sausage), sliced
2 lbs. shrimp, thawed and shelled
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry white wine
chopped parsley
French bread for soaking up pan juices

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute garlic in hot oil for about 1 minute.

Add chorizo to skillet and saute for 3 minutes or until slices have browned.

Add shrimp, salt and red pepper flakes and saute until shrimp turn pink.

Add wine and cook until shrimp are fully cooked, about 2 minutes more.

Toss with chopped parsley and serve with French bread.

Makes 8 servings.*

*Count on this to make closer to 4-6 servings instead of 8.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2007-01-11T09:44:00.000-06:00

I'm taking my chances here trying to post a recipe for fried chicken. I've been making it myself for 20-some years now and have never used a recipe. It's one of those dishes, like my meatloaf, that never comes out the same way twice, and it never comes out as good as my mom's or my best friend's mom's. I do know that brining the chicken (letting is soak for a few hours in salted, sugared water) will improve the flavor, so I try to do that every time.

I always use whole chicken and cut it up myself, so I can save the back and wings to make chicken stock. I learned to cut up a chicken by watching my mom do it when I was growing up. If you don't know how, you can learn here, or you can spend a few cents per pound more and buy it already cut up.

And by the way, that's not some genetically modified chicken with extra parts in the photo. I cooked two (one for leftovers tomorrow or Sunday).

Fried Chicken

1 whole fryer chicken, cut up
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
______

3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
additional salt and pepper

Combine water, salt and sugar in a very large bowl or pan and stir to dissolve. Place chicken pieces in this brine. If chicken is not completely covered by water, add more to cover. Refrigerate until ready to fry, at least 1 hour, more if possible.

Drain chicken and set aside.

Combine flour, seasoned salt and pepper in shallow bowl.

Heat 1/4" or so of oil in skillet over high heat.

Dredge moist pieces of chicken in flour mixture. If you'll be making gravy, you can save the leftover seasoned flour for that. Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in hot oil. Do not layer the pieces (I have layered the pieces, but it's a lot of work to get them done right; it's easier to use two pans if you have more than will fit in one).

Once all pieces are in the pan, sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Fry chicken over high heat until well-browned on bottom. Turn pieces; again add additional salt and pepper if desired (we like lots of pepper).

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook chicken for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear.

Remove lid, turn heat up to high, and cook until coating is crisp.

Drain on paper towels.

Makes 6 or more pieces, depending on how chicken is cut.

Asian Stir-Fried Vegetables With Pork

2007-01-10T13:33:00.000-06:00

I don't try to do a lot of Asian cooking. Most of the time, I can't get it to taste as good as what I can get in a restaurant, and more importantly, when I eat Asian food, I love the variety I can get at a Chinese buffet.

That said, I decided to try a stir-fry for tonight. I didn't use a recipe for this (although I looked at a couple for basic sauce proportions). Sometimes I surprise myself. This turned out really good!

You can use chicken instead of pork, if you like; you wouldn't need to simmer the chicken to make it tender. Just cube it and cook it in a skillet until it's done, and set it aside until you're ready for it. Or leave the meat out entirely and use water or vegetable broth for the liquid for a vegetarian meal.

Blogarita's Asian Stir-Fried Vegetables With Pork

1 lb pork loin, but into 3/4" cubes
1 teaspoon chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube
_____

3 cups broccoli florets
3 cups cauliflower floret
1 large carrot, cut into julienne strips
1 medium onion, cut into wide strips
1 small zucchini, peel left on, sliced lengthwise, then cut into crosswise slices (half-moons)
1 can (7 or 8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1/2 to 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 c. red and/or green bell pepper strips
_____

1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (available in Asian foods section of market)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground ginger (the kind sold in a jar in the produce section)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Asian hot chili sauce (optional)
reserved pork or chicken broth
_____

Oil for stir-frying (I like peanut oil or extra-light olive oil)

Place pork and chicken base/bouillon in a small saucepan and add water just to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes to help tenderize the meat. Drain, reserving the meat and the meat broth separately.

Place broccoli and cauliflower florets and carrot strips in large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Set veggies aside.

In another bowl, combine onion, zucchini, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and pepper strips. Set aside.

In a 4 cup glass measuring cup, combine cornstarch, soy sauce, white wine, white vinegar, sugar, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and hot chili sauce. Whisk until well-blended. Add enough of the reserved meat broth and/or water to make 3 cups total. Set aside.

In a very large, deep skillet or a wok, heat about 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until very hot. Add the broccoli-cauliflower-carrot mixture to skillet and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add the reserved pork and remaining vegetable mixture; stir-fry for 4 minutes.

Whisk sauce again to make sure ingredients are well-blended, then add all at once to skillet. Stir constantly until sauce is thickened and all vegetables and the pork are well-coated with sauce. Serve immediately with steamed or fried rice.

Makes 6 - 8 servings.

Breakfast Served Anytime

2007-01-08T18:52:00.000-06:00

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of breakfast. Sometimes it's all I can do to fix something for Sparky on the mornings she's here. After I'm awake for a couple of hours, I start to get hungry, but it's usual not for typical breakfast food. Once in a while, on a lazy weekend morning, I'll fix a big breakfast or we'll go out for breakfast. Most of the time, though, I'd much rather have my omelets and sausage links for lunch or supper.

Tonight we're having Biscuits & Gravy, either Fried or Scrambled Eggs, and Hash Browns for supper. A few years ago, I was working at the time with a man who had transfered here from near New York City, and he had no idea what Biscuits & Gravy was. Until then, I had no idea that good ol' B&G might be a somewhat regional dish. For that reason, I'm posting the recipe.

BTW, Sparky helped roll and cut out the biscuits.

Biscuits With Sausage Gravy

1/2 pound pork breakfast sausage
1/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon ground sage (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 cups of milk, or a mixture of milk and half-n-half cream
Hot homemade biscuits (see recipe below)

In a large deep skillet, fry crumbled sausage until completely cooked. Drain, leaving about 4 tablespoons of fat in the skillet with the sausage crumbles.

Stir in flour, sage (if using), salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until flour begins to give off a nutty aroma, about 2 minutes.

Gradually add about half of the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. This mixture will thicken very quickly. Continue adding milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately over split homemade biscuits.

Makes 3-4 cups of gravy.

Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 (1/2 stick) cup cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 3/4 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice stirred in to "sour" it)

Heat oven to 400° F.

In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.

Stir in just enough buttermilk so that dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly about 20 times. Roll or pat to 1/2 inch thick and cut with floured biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Makes 8-16 biscuits, depending on size of biscuit cutter.

Yogurt Takes The Cake

2007-01-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here's a cake recipe with lots of potential!

It's a moist, dense cake with a fluffy frosting. The recipe was originally published in the Dec. 2006/Jan. 2007 issue of Taste of Home as Black Cherry Cake, but I don't see why it couldn't be made with any flavor of yogurt you like. The black cherry yogurt might even be good in a chocolate cake.

Black Cherry Cake

1 white cake mix
3 egg whites
1/3 cup oil
1-1/4 cups water
2 containers (6 oz. each) black cherry yogurt
1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Heat oven to 375°. Spray a 13-in. x 9-in. cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, egg whites, oil, and water. Mix until just moistened. Add one container of yogurt. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan on wire rack until completely cool.

In large bowl, combine whipped topping and remaining yogurt. Spread over cooled cake.

Store cake in refrigerator.

Makes approx. 15 servings.

1 Fish, 2 Fish

2007-01-07T13:15:00.000-06:00

Suppers have been kind of fishy around here this weekend. I didn't really plan to have these two fish dishes back to back; it just ended up that way.

The first recipe is for Pan-Fried Tilapia with Lemon-Caper Cream Sauce. Tilapia is a very mild white fish that doesn't taste "fishy" at all. Unfortunately, the creamy sauce negates any low-cal benefit of eating fish. Side dishes of creamy pasta salad, salad with homemade ranch dressing and black-cherry cake probably didn't help, either. !

The second recipe is for Fish Tacos. If you've never had these, you might be surprised at how good they are. There are at least two ways to make them. The first is to marinade and saute chunks of white fish seasoned white fish with Mexican spices, then put the fish mixture in a taco shell and top with shredded cabbage, salsa, etc. This is what I expected to be served the first time I ordered fish tacos. Instead, I was served tacos made from strips of battered and fried white fish that were topped with lettuce, tomato, salsa, and sour cream. This is the type of tacos we had today. We enjoyed Mexican rice and stewed pinto beans as side dishes.

(BTW, I tried baking the taco shells using fresh corn tortillas draped over a special pan. They turned out tough and chewy instead of crispy, so I won't be doing that again.)

Pan-Fried Tilapia With Lemon-Caper Cream Sauce

1/4 cup butter
2 T. flour
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. drained capers
1/4 - 1/2 cup milk or light cream
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
2 large or 4 small tilapia fillets, thawed if frozen

Combine butter, 2 T. flour, chicken broth, lemon juice and capers in a small saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until smooth and thick. Gradually add enough milk or cream to bring mixture to desired sauce consistency, whisking until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Combine 1/4 cup flour with the salt and pepper; dredge fish fillets in flour mixture. Cook fillets in hot oil for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until fish is golden brown and flakes easily with a fork. Remove to serving platter and pour caper sauce over fillets.

Serves 2.

Fish Tacos

1 large tilapia (or other white fish) fillet per person being served*
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup beer or water
2-3 warmed crisp taco shells for each person being served
taco toppings of your choice (shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, olives, onions, tomatoes, etc.)

Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375°. Pat fish fillets dry with paper towels. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (don't worry about a few lumps).

Dust fish pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. When just cool enough to handle, cut into strips.

Place fish strips in taco shells and top with your choice of toppings.

*Servings vary according to how much fish is prepared. One large fillet, battered and fried, will make 2-3 tacos.

There Are Times When You Just NEED A Big Chunk Of Meat

2007-01-03T09:57:00.000-06:00

The stress of the holidays is behind us now. It's a nice, fairly warm day for January. We don't have Sparky tonight, and there's still that bottle of champagne to open that I didn't feel up to drinking on New Year's Eve. It's a perfect night for a steak dinner.

I had planned a better picture, with the steak on the grill, or at least with some corn on the cob on the plate with the steak and potato. But I got a phone call, and Spouse Guy also got a call, and things just got neglected from there. But the KC strips were excellent and it was a nice meal, nonetheless.

I'm not posting a recipe this time. I'm pretty sure you know what to do.

Turkey Pot Pie

2007-01-02T21:09:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I don't have a picture of this biscuit-topped pie. For one thing, the filling boiled over the edge of the pan and created an ugly mess, and for another thing, we dug into it as soon as it came out of the oven without even thinking of getting pictures first.

I put this pie together without recipe, just using basic cooking concepts from similar pies I've made in the past. I used leftover diced turkey that I'd frozen right after Christmas, as well as turkey broth I'd made and frozen, too. I ended up adding one package of instant turkey gravy mix just to boost the turkey flavor a little. Here is the basic recipe.

Blogarita's Turkey Pie

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup flour (approximately)
1/2 large onion, diced
1 quart turkey or chicken broth
1 envelope instant turkey gravy mix
2 cups diced cooked turkey
1 pkg. (either 10-oz. or 16-oz.) frozen mixed vegetables*
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 c. (1/2 stick) COLD butter
1 cup milk

Heat oven to 375° F. Spray an oblong baking dish with non-stick pan spray.

In large pan or Dutch oven, melt butter. Saute onions in butter for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in 3/4 cup flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. This mixture will be very thick.

Stir in the gravy mix and immediately whisk in the turkey broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Stir in turkey and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Do not fill more than half full. ** Place in preheated oven.

Combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 salt and the baking powder. Cut cold butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk.

Remove dish of turkey filling from oven. Drop biscuit dough, using a large spoon or a small ice cream scoop, evenly over hot filling. Return dish to oven and bake until biscuits are full cooked and golden on top, approximately 20 minutes.

Makes 4-6 generous servings.

*You can use a peas and carrots blend if you don't wish to use mixed vegetables.
** If you have filling left over, it can be frozen and used later as a base for turkey soup.

New Year's Day Traditions

2007-01-01T15:46:00.000-06:00

There's chatter today in the blogosphere about what people are eating for their New Year's Day meal. Some folks don't keep with any traditions, while others have one or more food traditions they observe on January 1 each year.

I found this website that lists some of the New Year's Day food traditions. They are in the center column, not far down the page.

No one has ever been able to decide if Blogaritaville is in the South or not. Some say it's in a Midwestern, but historically, it has been considered a Southern state. In any event, I'm following Southern tradition today and eating black-eyed peas and mustard greens for luck and prosperity. Bucking the traditional ham, I'm serving super-easy-to-make pork chops instead, and mashed potatoes.

I'm just getting over a nasty cold, so to avoid some work in the kitchen, I opted for canned mustard greens and canned black-eyed peas. Normally I'd cook fresh greens and dried beans, but I just didn't have it in me today. I bought "Southern seasoned - ready to heat" greens, and I am surprised at how good they taste. The beans are just like any other canned beans; they are acceptable but not great.

For those who are interested, here is the recipe for the pork chops.

Easy Baked Pork Chops with Gravy

6 pork chops, trimmed of fat
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup*

Heat oven to 350° F. Spray an oblong baking dish with non-stick pan spray.

Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly over bottom of baking dish.

Place pork chops on top of onion soup mix; spread condensed cream soup over chops.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Serves 4 to 6.

*If you want more gravy, use two cans of soup.

Intermission

2006-12-28T09:18:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a short break to get the kitchen back in order and eat all those yummy Christmas leftovers.

I'll be back with more pictures and recipes very soon. Meanwhile, enjoy something from the snack bar.

Christmas Day Buffet

2006-12-24T11:13:00.000-06:00

The tradition here for Christmas is to not have a real meal at all. We like to have one main dish, such as chili or soup or a platter of sandwich meats, and surround it by all kinds of finger foods, cookies and candy. We don't sit down at any given time, but instead just kind of "graze" all day.

Because of the turkey dinner we're having Christmas Eve with my in-laws, I'll be putting out all the leftovers for our "main dish". In addition to the cookies and fudge I already told you about, and a few store-bought candies, I'll also be serving a platter of sliced cheeses, some store-bought chips and dips, a variety of snack crackers and also Spinach Dip To Die For and Cheddar Pepper Crisps.

With just Artsy Girl, her boyfriend, and Sparky here on Christmas to help us consume all the food, we should be set for leftovers almost until the New Year.

Spinach Dip To Die For

1 stick butter
1 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup bell pepper, minced
1/4 cup celery, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half and half cream
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 dashes hot sauce

In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter on high. When bubbly, add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Saute 5 minutes.

Add basil, Cajun seasoning, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper; stir well.

Add flour and stir until blended. Add cream and whisk until mixture begins to thicken.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring often. Add spinach and stir well. Cover and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in hot sauce.

Can be served hot, at room temperature or chilled.

Makes about 3-1/2 cups.

Cheddar Pepper Crisps

1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold butter
1-1/2 cups (6 0z.) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
coarsely ground pepper

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle mixture with water and viengar. Toss with a fork until a ball of dough forms.

Wrap tightly in plastic warp and chill for an hour or until firm.

Heat oven to 375° F.

Divide dough into six portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges and place wedges on greased or parchment-lined baking sheets.

Sprinkle with pepper and lightly press pepper into dough. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Cool on wire racks. Store in airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen crisps.

Christmas Eve With The In-Laws

2006-12-23T10:59:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow we'll be celebrating the holidays with Spouse Guy's dad and step-mom. Since they weren't here for our Thanksgiving feast, we are more or less going to do a repeat performance.

The changes will be potato casserole instead of mashed potatoes, green beans with carrots and mushrooms instead of country-style green beans, and sweet potato pie instead of pumpkin roll.

Here are the recipes for the casserole and the pie.

Rich and Creamy Potato Bake

(Sorry there's no picture of this. It came out of the oven just minutes before we ate, and I completely forgot to snap a pic of it.)

3 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 cup butter
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2-pound package shredded hash browns, thawed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350° F.

In large pan, combine cream, butter and salt. Cook and stir on medium heat until butter melts.

Place potatoes in 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. dish that has been sprayed with pan spray.

Pour cream mixture over potatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender and top is golden brown.

Sweet Potato Pie

4 oz. (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (about 3 med. ones)
2 cups sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice (to preserve color)
crust for two 8" or 9" single-crust pies

Heat oven to 375°. With mixer, combine butter, sweet potatoes, sugar and milk until blended well. Add vanilla, eggs, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and blend until smooth. With mixer running, very slowly mix in the lemon juice. (If mixture ends up looking grainy, either because of the lemon juice or because the butter particles start to harden again, don't worry…it will bake just fine.)

Divide filling between the two pie shells. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove foil and bake another 20 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool before slicing.

Makes two 8" or 9" pies.

Serves 8 to 10.

Never-Fail Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups COLD butter (can use shortening or lard if you like)
6 tablespoons ice water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar

Cut shortening into flour and salt. Beat egg with water and vinegar. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until soft dough forms. Knead several times on a well-floured surface. Divide dough and roll as desired.

Once this crust has been mastered, start omitting the vinegar. Once that version has been mastered, start omitting the egg for the final recipe.

I've never seen an explanation why this works as a "teaching recipe" for making a good crust, but it does. I still like to keep the egg in mine, though, because it helps give it a golden color.

Pistachio Cake

2006-12-22T10:50:00.000-06:00

Here's a popular cake that's made the rounds at potlucks and office "food days". Artsy Girl is made this for her boyfriend, whose birthday is today.

Pistachio Cake

1 pkg. white cake mix
1 4-serving pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix
3/4 cup oil
1 cup lemon-lime soda (7-UP, Sprite, Sierra Mist)
3 eggs

Heat oven to 325° F.

Combine all ingredients in mixer bowl and beat for 4 minutes.

Pour into greased and floured 13-inch x 9-inch pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Pistachio Frosting

1 3-oz. pkg. Dream Whip whipped topping mix
1 4-serving pkg. instant pistachio pudding mix
1 1/2 cups cold milk
chopped nuts (optional)
shredded coconut (optional)

Combine Dream Whip mix, pudding mix and milk with electric mixer until mixture is stiff. Spread onto cooled cake. Sprinkle with nuts and coconut if desired. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Makes one 13 x 9 cake.

Fudge Won't Fool Me This Time

2006-12-21T10:39:00.000-06:00

After last week's fudge failure, I've gone back to this recipe. I've heard it called either Foolproof Fudge or Fudge In A Flash. The texture isn't the same as fudge from scratch (it's actually smoother and creamier...to some that's a positive, to others a negative), but it comes out right every time. If you use the microwave, it takes about 5 minutes to make.*

Fudge In A Flash

3 cups (1-1/2 packages) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan, or line it with plastic wrap.

Place chocolate chips in large microwave-safe bowl. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the chips. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.

Stir. If chips aren't completely melted, continue to microwave in 10 second intervals until chips are melted. Stir in vanilla and nuts.

Spread into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill several hours until firm. Cut into 1" squares.

Makes about 2 lbs. of fudge.

* To make on top of stove, put chips and sweetened condensed milk in medium non-stick pan and heat over medium heats, stirring constantly, just until chips are melted. Stir in vanilla and nuts and pour into prepared pan.

Cookies Everywhere

2006-12-21T07:40:00.000-06:00

I mentioned on my other blog that it was getting down to the baking wire and I needed to get started in order to redeem myself. Well, consider me redeemed.

I spent five hours yesterday baking cookies. All told, I baked about 250 cookies, many of which will go to friends and neighbors. I made Coconut Macaroons, Copycat Sunshine Lemon Coolers, Festive 3-D Stars, Soft Milk Chocolate Chips, and the Mocha Chocolate Chips that Bluepaintred posted about on her blog. Oh, and quite by accident I made a few cut-out Christmas trees (because I got tired of making stars and had leftover dough). I just frosted those with pre-made cake frosting. Nothing special, but Sparky will like them.

And here's a tip for you...if you are going on a turbo cookie making marathon like this, start out with the lightest (in color and flavor) recipe first and work your way to the darker, more flavorful recipes (like the chocolate ones) last. Why? Because then you don't have to wash your mixer, beaters or bowls in between batches! At the very most, all you have to do is give it a quick rinse, and that's only if it has coconut or nuts in it that you don't want in the next batch. This saves a ton of time and effort.

Coconut Macaroons
(These are one of Spouse Guy's favorite. It's a small batch, making only a dozen, so I usually double it.)

2 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups shredded coconut

Heat oven to 325° F. Grease and lightly flour cookie sheet (or use parchment paper).

In medium bowl, beat egg whites lightly. Add sugar, flour, salt and almond extract. Blend well. Add coconut and mix well.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on pan. Bake 13-17 minutes, until set. Remove immediately and cool on wire racks.

Makes about 1 dozen.

Festive 3-D Stars

(This was originally posted in Taste of Home Dec/Jan 2007. I have to say I'm not thrilled with this recipe. The shortbread cookies taste just fine, but getting them to interlock is a big pain in the butt. If they aren't thin enough, or if the slot cut into them is either too narrow or two wide, they won't interlock right. That's a lot of ifs. Also, I had to add quite a bit of extra flour to get this dough to a workable consistency; that could because I used all butter and no shortening. And the excess sugar makes a big mess on the cookie sheets, even with parchment paper. In any event, I file these in the "good, but not worth my time" file.)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup red or green colored sugar

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-inch five point star-shaped cookie cutter. Cut a vertical slit between two points on each star to just above the center; spread dough apart to form a 1/4-inch opening.

Place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Bake at 400° F. for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Assemble by placing two stars together at slits.

Makes about 3 dozen (assembled) cookies.

Copycat Sunshine Lemon Coolers
(I've had this recipe in my card file for a long time, but this is my first time to try it. They are good little cookies; the only change I would make is to increase the Kool-Aid lemonade powder to make them more lemony. Also, this is a great dough to let your kids "play with" to make candy canes, snowmen and other shapes.)

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon (rounded) unsweetened Kool-Aid lemonade powder

Heat oven to 325°. Cream together sugars, butter, egg, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Add flour and baking powder.

If dough is crumbly, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time until a smooth dough forms. If dough is soft, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time. The goal is to have a dough that is smooth and similar in consistency to Play-Doh.

Roll dough into 3/4" balls and flatten each slightly onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-18 minutes or until light brown.

While cookies bake, mix 1 cup powdered sugar with Kool-Aid lemonade powder in a large plastic bag; shake well to mix. When cookies are removed from oven, and while they are still hot, add 4-5 at a time and shake until cookies are well-coated with sugar mixture. Place on wire racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Makes about 5 dozen.

Soft Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

(These soft cookies are most requested in Blogaritaville. It's the pudding mix that keeps them soft. Feel free to use semi-sweet chips instead of milk chocolate if you like.)

1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 4-serving package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375° F.

Beat butter, sugar, pudding mix, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy.

Mix in flour and baking soda. Stir in chips and nuts.

Drop by spoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie pan. Bake 8-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies

(These are my favorite of the five recipes. )

3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
1-3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350° F.

In large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well-blended.

Add rest of ingredients and mix until combined.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for one minute on cookie sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 to 3-1/2 dozen.

This One Will Warm You Up

2006-12-19T18:54:00.000-06:00

This recipe combines two of my very favorite things -- shrimp and Cajun/Creole food.

Shrimp cook quickly and easily. Some people who are worried about cholesterol steer clear of shrimp, but although they are somewhat high in cholesterol, they are low in both saturated fat and overall fat content (as long as they aren't fried), so the trade-off may be worth it if you like shrimp as much as I do. Living in the Midwest, shrimp can be a little pricey. I wait until it goes on sale for $2.99 per pound for 41-50 count, then buy up to 10 pounds at a time and put them in the freezer. Shrimp freeze very well, and in fact, any shrimp bought here in the middle of the country has probably been frozen, even if it is sold as "fresh".

This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of Creole or Cajun seasoning. That was about right for my taste -- a little on the hot side. If you're concerned about the heat, start with 1 teaspoon and work your way up to your desired taste.

Creole Shrimp and Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 15-oz. cans of diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun seasoning blend
1 10-oz. package whole or sliced frozen okra, thawed
2 lbs. shell-on shrimp, shelled and deveined (or 1 lb. shrimp that has already been peeled and deveined)

Shell and devein shrimp if necessary. Refrigerate until needed.

In large skillet, heat oil. Add uncooked rice to skillet and cook until rice begins to turn light brown, 2-3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes with liquid, water, Creole seasoning blend and okra. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir peeled and deveined shrimp into hot rice mixture. Stir. Cover and cook just until shrimp turn pink and are fully opaque, about 5 minutes.

Serve hot with corn muffins or garlic toast and a cool salad.

Serves 4 to 6.

Onion-Smothered Chicken and Country-Style Mashed Potatoes

2006-12-18T15:33:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd do a bit of a step-by-step process with the pictures on this recipe for Onion-Smothered Chicken. It's a dish that originally called for skin-on chicken leg quarters and 1/4 cup of olive oil. By substituting boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and just 2 tablespoons of oil, I think this can now be considered something of a low-fat main dish. It's shown here with Country-Style Mashed Potatoes with similar seasoning as the chicken.

Onion-Smothered Chicken

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut in half crosswise
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup white wine
3 bay leaves
3/4 tablespoon grated gingerroot
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves

Optional:

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup additional white wine

Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the chicken pieces.

Cook, turning frequently, until browned on all sides.

Increase the heat to high. Add onions, wine, bay leaves, gingerroot, oregano, black pepper, thyme and rosemary; mix well. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until meat thermometer stuck into thickest piece of meat reads 180° F. Discard bay leaves.

For low-fat version, the recipe is complete at this point. Removed chicken and onions to serving platter with slotted spoon.

If a little extra fat is not an issue, you may thicken the sauce as follows:

In small saucepan, melt butter, then stir in flour. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute to form a roux. Remove from heat. Remove chicken from pan to serving platter. Add 1/2 cup wine to pan and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a gentle boil. Add roux to simmering liquid, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Spoon over chicken in serving dish.

Serves 4 to 6.

Country-Style Potatoes

These potatoes call for unpeeled potatoes. The skins of the potatoes I used today weren't fresh enough to consume, in my opinion, but I do use mash potatoes with the peels on when I can. They add fiber, vitamins and flavor.

4 pounds baking potatoes, unpeeled
6 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup cottage cheese (or sour cream, if preferred)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces; place in medium saucepan.

Peel garlic cloves and place in the pan with the potatoes; cover with water.

Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

While potatoes are cooking, place milk and butter in small saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir until milk is warmed and butter is melted.

Place potatoes and garlic in large bowl.

Mash potatoes with hand masher or electric mixer on low speed just until potatoes are mashed. Beat in warm milk-butter mixture and cottage cheese until mixture is almost smooth.

Blend in parsley, rosemary and thyme. Serve potatoes immediately.

Serves 4 to 6.

Name That Cookie

2006-12-15T16:36:00.000-06:00

I think most of us have probably had these cookies -- or a variation -- at least once in our lives. Both Spouse Guy and I had them lots of times growing up. They are a candy/cookie hybrid that we always called No Bake Cookies or Refrigerator cookies. They are a mix of butter, milk, and cocoa, peanut butter, vanilla and oats, cooked on top of the stove and dropped by spoonfuls onto parchment or waxed paper, then chilled until they have set.

Does anyone know if they have a name other than No Bake Cookies?

Regardless of their name, you can call them fun, easy and good!

No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 cups oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil milk, sugar and butter for 1 minute. Add peanut butter, then other ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment paper. Chill to set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 2-3 dozen.

Failure Is Always An Option

2006-12-14T13:09:00.000-06:00

I was all set to do a post today featuring some Christmas treats. I found a nice-looking fudge recipe on another blog (that the blogger had found somewhere else herself), but when I tried to make it, it seized up terribly and was hard as a rock before I could even pour it into the pan.

I followed the directions without alteration, but I must have cooked the sugar and evaporated milk too long or at too high a temperature. I don't own a candy thermometer because I don't make candy often, and I don't make candy often because I don't own a candy thermometer. I think I'll just go back to my Foolproof Fudge recipe. It's specially designed for non-confectioners like me.

So, instead of fudge, you get some hints and tips I've used in the recipes I've posted recently. I find these ideas helpful; maybe you will, too. And if you know of better ways to do the same things, by all means, share!

1) Use non-stick pan spray any chance you get. It will make your life easier. I spray the inside of the crockpot before using it each time and it makes cleanup much easier. I spray pie pans, and roasting pans. I use parchment paper for baking cookies and cakes, but if I expect them to be especially sticky after they're baked, I spray the parchment paper, too. I have one of these, which I fill with extra light olive oil. You can use any oil you like in it. Extra light olive oil doesn't have the strong olive taste that extra virgin olive oil has, so it's ideal for cake and cookie pans. I also give a skillet a quick spray for frying eggs or sauteing vegetables.

2) Keep your meat a-movin'! That might not sound like a cooking tip, but stay with me here. When you are browning ground beef, pork, sausage, etc. for tacos, chili, pizza or any other dish where you want a finer meat texture, keep the meat in motion as you brown it. The more you stir, turn and flip it, the smaller those pieces will be.

3) If you're pressed for time, use the minced garlic that comes in a jar. It's not quite as tasty as mincing a fresh clove, but far superior to trying to substitute garlic powder.

4) Have multiple sets of measuring spoons and cups. If you cook a lot, you don't want to stop to wash and dry these utensils.

5) If you use a lot of shredded cheese, like we do, go ahead and buy it already shredded. It used to be that you had to pay for that convenience, but lately most basic cheeses (like Cheddar, Mozzarella and Monterey Jack) are the same price whether shredded or in a block.

6) If you have time, consider making up big batches of spaghetti sauce and freezing it in 2-3 cup amounts in zip-top bags (a typical large jar of sauce at the store is just less than 3 cups). If you lay them flat on a cookie sheet to freeze, you can later stand them on end in a freezer basket and they won't take up much room. If you don't have time or freezer space to make your own sauce, try some of the store brand sauces. I find them to be just as good as the name brands.

7) Consider buying bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They are considerably less expensive nearly all the time, and it's easy to fillet the breast yourself (here's one way). The bones will still have a lot of meat left on them; wrap them up and freeze them, then boil them later, remove the bits of meat from the bones, and use the broth and meat for soup.

8) Use a salad spinner to spin the water out of thawed frozen spinach. Pressing water out of spinach is a job most cooks hate to do, but the spinner makes it a much easier and cleaner job.

9) Store onions in the refrigerator to help reduce eye irritation when cutting them. I love onions, but I'm extremely sensitive to their fumes and often end up crying like a baby. That's not safe when you're trying to keep cutting. Keeping the onions chilled has helped in my case, but I'm more than curious if any of you know of any other ways to reduce eye irritation.

10) I like to cook with alcohol. If you don't keep wine or liquor on hand or don't want to use it in your cooking, you can always substitute another liquid. Try apple juice, water, chicken broth or even the liquids from canned vegetables instead.

Pork Roasts of the Caribbean

2006-12-13T08:48:00.000-06:00

"That roast has killer flavor."

That's what Spouse Guy said when he tasted this Crockpot Caribbean Pork Roast. I used a rolled and tied pork butt roast. It's a bit fattier than other cuts of pork, but it yielded meat so juicy and tender it literally fell apart when I tried to slice it. A pork loin would be leaner, and probably slice-able, but it might end up a little dry, so be forewarned if you go that route.

With the pork, I served long grain rice and Spirited Sweet Potatoes. The picture and recipe are below.

Crockpot Caribbean Pork Roast

1 boneless pork shoulder roast - 2 - 3 pounds in size
6 cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
1 piece of ginger root, approximately 2 inches, cut into slivers
20 whole cloves
2 T. brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup dark rum
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water

On all sides of meat, make small slits. Insert garlic and ginger slivers and whole clove's. Pat roast dry with paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and mustard. Rub all over the roast. (At this point, if you like, you can place the roast under the broiler and broil, turning to ensure that roast is browned on all sides. I did not do this with the roast pictured, although I do believe it would have added to the flavor had I taken time to do so.) Transfer roast to crockpot.

In a small bowl, combine jalapeno, salt, pepper, rum and lime juice. Pour over roast. Cook on low heat for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.

Remove roast and keep warm. Skim fat off of cooking juices and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add cornstarch-water mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve alongside pork.

Spirited Sweet Potatoes

2-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (I don't recommend canned, although previously cooked and frozen sweet potato puree is fine)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon or apple juice (yeah, I used bourbon)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Bake sweet potatoes until very tender, about an hour. Remove sweet potatoes from oven; let cool 10 minutes: leave oven on.

Scoop pulp from warm potatoes into large bowl, discard skins.

Add butter to bowl; mash with potato masher until potatoes are fairly smooth and butter has melted. Stir in brown sugar, bourbon, cinnamon and vanilla.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into sweet potato mixture.

Spray 1-1/2 qt. dish with nonstick spray. Spoon sweet potato mixture into dish, top with pecans. Bake until mixture is slightly puffed and nuts are toasted, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Spinach Lasagna and Green Beans with Carrots & Mushrooms

2006-12-11T17:00:00.000-06:00

I never cook my lasagna noodles beforehand when I make lasagna. It isn't necessary and I find I'm not very coordinated when I try to work with limp, wet noodles. In the stores I've seen "special no-cook" lasagna noodles. You can buy those if you like, but any kind will work just as well.

I like to serve this lasagna with garlic toast and Green Beans with Carrots & Mushrooms. This is probably my favorite recipe for green beans.

Spinach Lasagna

1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, or better yet, homemade sauce if you have it
1/4 cup dry red wine*
1/4 cup water
9 lasagna noodles, uncooked
12 oz. cottage cheese**
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray a 12-in. x 8-in. baking dish with non-stick spray. Set aside

In bowl, combine spaghetti sauce with wine and water. Spread 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom of pan. Place a single layer of dry lasagna noodles over sauce.

In medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, garlic powder, chopped onion and Parmesan cheese until mixed well. Spread half of this mixture over lasagna noodles in pan.

Sprinkle half of the well-drained spinach over the cottage cheese. Top with 3 more lasagna noodles and half of the remaining sauce mixture.

Repeat layers of cottage cheese mixture and spinach.

Top with remaining 3 noodles and the rest of the sauce. Make sure noodles are entirely covered with a layer of sauce (the need not be submerged in sauce, but should be well coated).

Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese over the top. Cover tightly with foil and back at 350° F. for 50 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 4- 6.

* Or you can use 1/2 cup water if you don't want to use wine.
** If you prefer, use Ricotta cheese. Spouse Guy prefers cottage cheese, so it's what I usually use.

Green Beans with Carrots & Mushrooms

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
5 medium button mushrooms, with stems, sliced
1 pound whole fresh or frozen green beans (thawed if frozen)
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and oil in large skillet. Add all ingredients and saute until carrots and green beans are tender-crisp.

Serves 4 - 6.

Breakfast Is Ready!

2006-12-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

I'm a big fan of oatmeal. I like it for breakfast, in cookies, mixed into bread dough and sprinkled on top of apple crisp. I don't think I've found a way to eat it that I don't like. It's also a great food to eat if you're trying to lower your cholesterol.

Some people don't care for oatmeal for breakfast because it tends to have a bit of a slick or even slimy texture. I'm not bothered by the texture at all, but if you are, you might enjoy this hearty recipe for Baked Oatmeal. It has a firm, almost dry texture, yet it's soft and warm. Think warm, hot granola, and you'll get the idea. It's very yummy, and has a pleasant texture, even after pouring a little warmed milk over the top.

Here's the recipe. It came from the book New Recipes from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams. I made the recipe just as it was in the book, but I already have an idea for a variation. If it turns out, I'll post it, too.

The only drawback to this recipe is that it has to be assembled the night before you want to serve it and refrigerated overnight before baking it.

Baked Oatmeal Porridge

1/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
3 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats (not instant)
Warm milk, for serving

Melt the butter and set aside. Spray a 1-1/2 quart casserole with non-stick spray. Break eggs into casserole and beat slightly. Add the brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Mix well, making sure there are no brown sugar lumps. Whisk in the melted butter and milk, then stir in the oats. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Uncover the oatmeal and bake for 35 minutes or until the top is brown. Remove from the oven, transfer to serving dishes and pass warm milk to pour over the top.

"Recipes" For A Clean House

2006-12-08T10:22:00.000-06:00

I noticed this morning that I was out of window cleaner. I make my own, and since I need to get the "recipe" out anyway, I thought I'd post a handful of formulas for homemade cleaning items.

I don't use...or buy...very many cleaning items. I make my own Windex-type window cleaner, my own laundry detergent and I came up with my own bathtub/shower/sink cleanser. I also use straight ammonia, white vinegar, bleach, Dawn dish soap for tougher cleaning projects. These items will take care of most cleaning and laundry needs. For really tough cleaning, I also use a product called Greased Lightning, and I use a steam cleaner if necessary.

The homemade products I use are less expensive than those sold in stores, they are safer (you know just what's in them), and I find they work as well or even better than their store-bought counterparts. Most of the ingredients can be easily found at the grocery or discount stores.

Homemade Window Cleaner

(1 gallon costs less than $1)

I use this for just about everything...windows, counters, laminate wood floors, daily cleaning in the bathroom, mirrors, appliances, etc. I keep spray bottles of it in the kitchen, in the bathroom and in our camping gear in the summer.

2 tablespoons ammonia
1 teaspoon Dawn dish liquid
1 pint (2 cups) rubbing alcohol
4 drops any color food coloring (optional)
a few drops of any scented or essential oil (optional)

Put all ingredients in a clean, empty gallon jug. Fill the rest of the way with hot water (fill very slowly, as it will suds up if you add the water too quickly). Pour as needed into smaller sprayer bottles. Use as you would any window or all-purpose spray cleaner.

1 batch makes 1 gallon of cleaner.

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

(30 load batch costs approximately $1.50)

The ingredients can be a little hard to find sometimes. I have found the Fels Naptha bar soap in the laundry sections of some Wal-Mart stores and some grocery stores. If you can't find it anywhere, you can use Zote soap (also in the laundry section and sometimes hard to find, but available in many Mexican food stores), Ivory Soap or homemade soap. As for the washing soda, it will probably be in a box in the laundry section that looks very similar to baking soda. Do not substitute baking soda, however. The Borax is also in the laundry section, and should be easy to find.

I've used a hand-grater to grate the soap, but the easiest way I've found is to use my food processor with both the grating blade in place and the chopping blade in the bottom. This results in a very fine powder. One bar of Fels Naptha soap yields just over a cup grated, so I usually just grate the entire bar.

If you have small pieces of the bar left after grating, save them. If there are stains on your clothing, just spray them with a little water and rub the slivers of soap on the stains. Most of the stains will come right out in the wash.

1 cup grated Fels-Naptha soap
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup Borax

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight plastic container. To use, simply add 1 level tablespoon (not a typo) of detergent to your laundry as you would any other detergent. Please note that this detergent doesn't form suds like most commercial brands, but cleans as well as any, and better than some. If you have really grimy laundry, use up to 2 tablespoons of detergent. But you should never need to use more than that.

One batch takes me less than 10 minutes to make and will wash approximately 30 loads of laundry.

Homemade Tub/Shower/Sink Cleanser

(cost is minimal; you probably have the ingredients on hand already)

Dawn dishwashing liquid
Baking soda
Scrubby sponge

There's no set formula for this solution. Simply wet a scrubby sponge with water, squirt a little Dawn onto it, and sprinkle a little baking soda onto it. Use as you would any scouring powder or liquid. The Dawn cuts through any grease and oils on the tub, shower or sink and the baking soda acts as a scouring agent. Works like a charm, with no bleach, fumes or toxic chemicals.

But be very careful, especially if you get in the tub or shower to clean it like I do. This stuff is VERY slippery. Be sure to rinse it off well with water.

Olive You Very Much

2006-12-07T15:31:00.000-06:00

The picture doesn't do this dish justice. Tonight we went meatless with Olive Lovers' Fettucine, with French bread and salad. I thought about having a glass of white wine with it, but decided against that at the last minute.

My husband, Spouse Guy, doesn't mind meatless meals a few times a month, especially when pasta is the main ingredient. I like meatless meals because they are usually quick and easy to make, tasty, fairly healthy, and good for the budget.

I try to make as much of our bread homemade as I can, but I didn't have time today, so I bought some from the grocery store bakery's day old shelf and made garlic toast with it.

This pasta is great as it is, or you can dress it up with any of the gourmet olives that are now available at most grocery stores.

Olive Lovers' Fettucine

12 ounces fettucine
1 (6 oz.) can pitted black olives
1 (3 oz.) jar pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 small bunch fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare the past using the package directions; drain. Cover pasta to keep warm.

Drain and slice the black and green olives. Chop the parsley. Mince th garlic.

Heat olive oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic. Saute just until the garlic begins to brown. Stir in olives, parsley, water, oregano and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the pasta to a heated serving platter. Spoon the sauce over the past. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Serves 4.

I Confess...

2006-12-06T15:50:00.000-06:00

We eat leftovers.

Not only do we eat leftovers, I plan my menus with every intention of having leftovers.

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But I'm busy and broke most of the time, and having planned leftovers saves me both time and money.

I hear people complain that they (or their spouse or kids) don't like leftovers. But what's not to like? Most things hold up well to being refrigerated and reheated, and many things (like chili) taste even better when they've chilled overnight.

As a way to save time, I make large batches of almost everything I cook. On average, I cook three complete meals each week. We eat each meal twice (on consecutive nights or spaced out, depending on our moods) and on the seventh night of the week, I normally fix a fast, simple meal that we eat only the one time. Or we might go out to eat on the seventh night. (And on the Seventh Night, God rested by going to Applebee's.)

I've been cooking this way for about four years now, and I can't imagine going back to cooking every night of the week. It's so nice to look at how my week is going to play out and plan to have the leftovers on the busier days.

You can probably see how eating leftovers saves time, but you might be wondering how it saves money. Good question. The savings go along with that old saying that time is money. Any time I don't spend in the kitchen cooking can be spent otherwise, maybe making or saving money in other ways. And whenever I feel crunched for time and I'm tempted to grab some carry-out food, I know that the leftovers are there waiting for me and can be reheated in the same time (or less) it takes to bring something home from the drive-thru, yet they are less expensive and probably more healthy.

But leftovers just don't taste as good, you might be thinking. Part of problem is in knowing how to handle them. A quick cooling and an airtight container is usually all it takes to successfully store food in the fridge. Cooling quickly keeps condensation from forming and dripping onto the food, and the airtight container keeps flavors from transferring back and forth between foods.

If I'm going to freeze something, I find it helps to put plastic wrap around each piece of meat, or right on the surface of soups, refried beans, mashed potatoes, etc. It really helps to keep those ice crystals from forming and freezer burn from happening.

Another complaint I hear about leftovers is that they are boring. There's a way around that, too. Try transforming them into an entirely different meal. If you make sauce with meatballs to go over spaghetti on Monday, try using the leftover meatballs for meatball subs on Wednesday. If you roast a chicken on Sunday, turn the leftover meat into a chicken pot pie on Monday.

Leftovers might not be "your thing". But if you think your family might go for it, and you want to save a little time and money, try planning a few meals from leftovers. Even one night a week will save you a couple of hours in the kitchen. If nothing else, it'll give you more time to spend blogging!

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

2006-12-05T15:36:00.000-06:00

My friend Granny at Granny Geek posted this recipe last Friday, and I think it's great. I tried to make it according to her recipe, but out of necessity and lack of desire to go to the store, I had to substitute dried basil leaves (about 2 teaspoons) for the fresh chopped basil, and plain home-canned tomatoes for the canned stewed tomatoes. I threw in a little chopped red bell pepper I had in the freezer to regain a little of the "stewed tomato" taste.

This stew is sweet, but not too sweet, and the cinnamon and nutmeg aren't overpowering (I'm sometimes leery of using cinnamon in savory dishes). And Granny's right, it's smells great as it cooks. I think it has a slight orange aroma.

We'll be eating the stew tonight with cornbread muffins and mixed green salad.

We love leftovers, but if for some reason you don't, you might cut this recipe in half. It makes a huge batch that would probably feed about 8-10 people.

Dressed Up Meatloaf

2006-12-04T15:06:00.000-06:00

Tonight's meal is a dressed up version of meatloaf called Meatloaf Wellington. The originally came from the October/November issue of Taste of Home. I made one fairly major change; I added 3/4 pound of ground pork in place of 3/4 pound of ground beef.

We ate this meatloaf with a mixed salad, some of the apples and onions leftover from last night, and these cheesy potatoes that I came up with based on a basic macaroni and cheese recipe.

Meatloaf Wellington

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds ground beef (or 3/4 pound EACH of ground beef and ground pork)
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent rolls

In a large bowl combine the egg, 1/3 cup of spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.

On a piece of heavy-duty foil, pat beef mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese and all of the parsley to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side and peeling foil away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour; drain. Unroll crescent dough; seal seams and perforations. Drape dough over mat loaf to cover the top, sides and ends; seal ends. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and crust is golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer meat loaf to a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve with remaining spaghetti sauce.

Serves 8.

Three-Cheese Potatoes

8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup Velveeta, cubed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Place diced potatoes in medium saucepan. Add water just to cover and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are just beginning to get tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine Velveeta, milk, salt and pepper. Stir frequently until Velveeta melts completely. Stir in cheddar cheese until melted.

Drain potatoes and return to pan. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes and stir well to coat. Spread potatoes into 13-in. x 9-in x 2-in. baking dish that has been greased or sprayed with non-stick spray. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake at 350° until potatoes are tender and cheese is bubbly and golden, about 20 minutes.

Serves 8.

Amish Apples and Peasant Pork

2006-12-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had the epitome of comfort food: Gravy made from boiled smoked pork shanks along with Amish apples and onions.

Pork shanks are basically cross-wise slices of a ham near what would be considered the hogs ankle. The meat is sparse, but what's there is tender and smoky. The gravy is great served over homemade biscuits (or those handy frozen bake-n-eat kind...those're good, too) with a salad on the side.

We left the table very happy.

Pork Shank Gravy

1 pkg. (about 1/2 lb.) of smoked pork shank slices
1 qt. of water
approximately 4 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Place pork shanks in water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
Remove pork shanks from broth. The meat will literally fall off the bone.
Remove any fat and bones, shred the pork and return it to the broth.
Bring broth and meat back to a gentle boil.
Stir in cornstarch and water mixture and stir until gravy thickens. (You may have to add additional cornstarch and water mixture.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 over biscuits.

Amish Apples and Onions
(from More Recipes From Quilt Country by Marcia Adams)

3 T. bacon fat (can use oil)
2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 medium apples, skins left on, cored and sliced 3/8" thick
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Saute onions in bacon fat over medium heat until tender and onions are just beginning to take on color.
Spread onions evenly in pan, then top with apple slices.
Sprinkle salt, pepper, cinnamon and brown sugar over apple slices. Do not stir.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and let cook without stirring for 10 minutes.
Remove lid, increase heat to high. Stir mixture lightly.
Continue to saute mixture until apples are tender and liquids have thickened. This may take 10-15 minutes, depending on type of apples used.
Serve as a side dish along with pork or alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Serves 6.

Mexitalian Chili, Anyone?

2006-12-02T14:03:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on Sunday, November 7, 2006, at Wasting Away In Blogaritaville.

As if election day isn't enough to give you indigestion, here's the chili recipe I tried over the weekend. Dave asked for the recipe. So did Bon, although she had stipulations about chili aftershock.

I love trying all kinds of chili recipes, and I thought this was one of the better ones. It's not all that spicy, and it has an interesting hint of Italian flavors. I also cut the amount of beans in the original recipe by half, so it's not that gassy, either. Like most chili recipes, it will freeze well if you have leftovers. I made mine in a pot on top of the stove, but it's meant to be a slow-cooker recipe. A slow cooker is a good idea for anyone who has a history of burning chili. I won't mention any names this time, but you know who you are.

Slow-Cooker Chili
(as tweaked by Blogarita from a recipe originally appearing in Taste of Home Oct/Nov 2006)

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (16 oz. each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14-15 oz. each) stewed tomatoes (or regular canned tomatoes), cut up, with liquid
1 can (15 oz.) pizza sauce or pasta sauce
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
4 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Brown the ground beef in Dutch oven, pour into a colander/strainer and rinse with water to remove excess fat. Return beef to pan or 5-qt. slow cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat on stove for 2 hours or in slow cooker on low for 6 hours.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Back during my school days, whenever the cooks served chili, they always served sandwiches made from peanut butter with a little honey mixed into it. Spouse Guy thought that was a strange side dish for chili until he tried it Sunday. He's a believer now!

Two Versions of Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies

2006-12-02T12:37:00.000-06:00

Originally published on November 30, 2006 at Wasting Away In Blogaritaville.

Some of you showed interest in the Pumpkin-Oatmeal cookies I made yesterday. I have to admit, the only reason I made the fat-free version is because the butter was in the freezer and I didn't want to wait for it to thaw. But the fat-free cookies were pretty good anyway. A little chewy/stiff, but that's the nature of a cookie without fat, I think. The flavor was just fine. Here are the recipes, both fat-free and full-fat.

You can add a little more sugar if you like, but I don't mind a cookie that's not quite so sweet. You can add a cup of raisins or chocolate chips if you like (I didn't). If you like, you can substitute 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (I did). You can make the cookies with any kind of cooked pumpkin or winter squash - just note that if you cook fresh pumpkin/squash, it will probably have more water content than canned, and you might need to add up to a cup more flour (I did).

Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies (FAT-FREE VERSION)

1 cup canned or cooked pumpkin (or any kind of cooked winter squash)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, or egg substitute for 2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups oatmeal

Thoroughly mix pumpkin and brown sugar; then beat in eggs or egg substitute. Gradually mix in the flour, soda and spices, than mix in the oatmeal. Drop by spoonfuls on non-stick or oil-sprayed* cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-20 minutes. Makes 4 - 5 dozen.

Pumpkin-Oatmeal Cookies (FULL-FAT VERSION)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup canned or cooked pumpkin (or any kind of cooked winter squash)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 cups oatmeal

Thoroughly mix pumpkin and brown sugar; then beat in eggs. Gradually mix in the flour, soda and spices, than mix in the oatmeal. Drop by spoonfuls on non-stick or oil-sprayed* cookie sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-20 minutes. Makes 4 - 5 dozen.

* I use parchment paper any time I bake cookies to keep them from sticking and to make cleaning up easy. But I still sprayed the parchment with non-stick spray when I made the fat-free cookies. It adds next to no fat to the recipe and I think you really need it to get the cookies to release when they are done.

Let The Feasting Begin!

2006-12-02T12:32:00.000-06:00

Originally posted on November 17, 2006 at Wasting Away In Blogaritaville.

In Blogaritaville, it's one big food fest from now until the beginning of the new year.

Tomorrow is Spouse Guy's birthday*. Artsy Girl and Sparky will go out to eat with us. He hasn't decided where we're going yet, but I'm betting he'll pick either Italian or Chinese food.

Then it's Thanksgiving on Thursday. Mom and Dad are planning on joining us. We'll be having a pretty typical meal of turkey and all the trimmings. SG bought a fryer, so we'll be giving deep-fried turkey a try. Instead of pumpkin pie, we'll be having pumpkin roll. It's a pumpkin cake with a sweet cream cheese filling, all rolled up jellyroll-style. We love it so much it's become a Thanksgiving tradition.

My birthday is in mid-December. We'll go out to eat then, too. At this point I have no idea where we'll go, other than it will be somewhere we haven't been before. For me, going somewhere new is half the fun of going out to eat.

Then comes Christmas. The tradition here is to make a big pot of chili, soup or stew, then an assortment of appetizers to munch on whenever we like throughout the day. It's all very casual and fun.

Going out on New Year's Eve doesn't hold much appeal for us anymore, but I'm sure we'll stay in with some movies, more appetizers and a champagne toast, if we can manage to stay awake until midnight**

Finally, on New Year's Day, I try to cook something a little different. Usually it's either a Cajun, Southern or Soul Food meal, any of which could easily include those traditional blackeyed peas for good luck and prosperity.

If all that isn't enough, there will probably be a few unplanned get-togethers and a lot of cookies and candy thrown in for good measure.

What are some of your holiday food traditions?

*Spouse Guy turns 30 this year. Finally, I no longer have to say that my daughter and my husband are both in their 20s.

**We're too old to go out and party. Spouse Guy is 30, for pete's sake!

A Little Lovin' From The Oven

2006-12-02T11:55:00.000-06:00

We had homemade pizza tonight, so I thought I'd re-post this. It was originally posted on Friday, April 28, 2006, at Wasting Away In Blogaritaville.

There are three things Spouse Guy can never get enough of: sex, beer and this...

Everybody's had bad beer, and I think most of us have had bad sex. But is there such a thing as bad pizza?

I've heard it said that pizza is like sex: when it's good it's great, and when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Take last night for example. We were busy, out dumpster diving for good strong boxes for moving in a few weeks, and since we were behind the $3.49-all-you-can-eat pizza place anyway, we decided to go in the front door and have us some buffet. It's good pizza. Not great by any means, but good, and we both stuffed ourselves silly for less than $8.

On the other hand, tonight we'll be having some of my homemade pizza, a lot like the one in the picture (that I made a while back). No matter that we just had pizza last night; Spouse Guy is always up for it. And my homemade pie is great pizza. The kind you keep going back to throughout the evening for "just a little more".

I better go restock the beer fridge and get my dough to rising. Y'all have a great weekend. I know we will.

Welcome To Blogarita's Kitchen

2006-12-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

Here in Blogaritaville, we love to eat and I love to cook. This is my place to write about some of the things that show up on our table.

There are no rules here. Sometimes I will post recipes with pictures. Other times, I'll post recipes without pictures, or pictures without recipes. I'll probably post a lot of other stuff here too, like homemaking tips, ways to save money (especially on groceries), and pictures of our granddaughter Sparky.

This is my frugal/wifey/homemaker blog. If you're into that sort of thing, pull up a chair and visit for a while.

If not, check out my other blog here.