Today, I got busy and cooked. I used two crock pots I have. OK, I have at least four, but that is totally beside the point. Today, I wanted to cook, but I didn't want my whole house to be heating up because of an oven, or me to be heating up because of the stove.
I got some pot roast meat the other day... a huge package for a discount. I cut the roast into six pieces, to make six meals for the two of us. I have a habit of cooking (particularly in a crock pot) for more than just the two of us. We eat leftovers for a week on the stews I usually come up with. Today, I used the 2 quart pot instead of the 6 quart oval one. {Edit: Oops! I actually used the 4 qt. crock. I didn't think about it, I just dumped stuff in it.}
Pot Roast Stew
About 1 pound of pot roast. I used thawed this time, but you can start with frozen, if you like.
3-4 medium red potatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 carrots (fat ones. I LOVE carrots in stew!)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (no salt added)
Frozen corn (about 1 1/2 cups)
Frozen green beans (about 1 cup)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (in the last 1/2 hour, to thicken the broth slightly)
1 bay leaf
Spices that sound good
Water (or beef stock) to cover at least 2/3 of the veggies (the veggies will give off some liquid, so make sure to leave at least 1 inch of space at the top)
Cook for 6 to 8 hours on Low, 4 to 6 hours on High.
I just put the meat in the bottom, and layered each thing on top of the pile in the crock pot as I cut them into small, bite-sized chunks. I have a mortar and pestle, and I put in all the spices that sounded good, and ground them up together before putting them on top of the veggies. Then I poured the water over it all. This was great at 4 1/2 hours on High.
This one wasn't as good as others have been. The meat turned out tender, but not the fall-apart tender I love. I took it out, and cut it in small bite chunks to match the potatoes. But, it was good for as little work as I put into it. I thought of a nice little add-in today; I used Baby Goldfish Crackers to add a little crunch and cheese flavor. DH tried that, but also liked Club Crackers with the stew.
I had to clean to start the stew, and had to clean after, to have clean bowls to eat out of. I have been very tired since this weekend, when I helped with a Yard Sale. I don't do so well in the sunshine. The sun is my enemy. It saps the energy right out of me. Mom used to get cold sores if she was in the sun too long. I just get dehydrated, burned to a lobster redness, and too tired to move for a long while. It took me all day Sunday and most of today to recover. I wasn't burned this time. We were in the shade the whole day. I was rosy for several hours, but no burns. Hooray for sunscreen!
I decided that I had several kinds of fruit in the house, and I wanted something special for dessert. I found a recipe for a Peach Compote on Stephanie's site, and decided to try my own with the fruits available.
Fruit Basket Compote
1 Nectarine, cut into small pieces
1 Apple, cut into small pieces (I used a Gala)
Blueberries, about 1/3 cup
Black Cherries, pitted, about 1/3 cup
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar {Edit: Don't use this. Seriously. The next day, you taste it more.}
1/8 cup Dark Rum
1 tsp. Vanilla
Brown Sugar to taste (start small, and taste after an hour or so...), optional
Cinnamon, Nutmeg (could use pumpkin pie spices)
{Edit: Also add 1 to 2 Tbsp. Butter.}
I put all of this in a Little Dipper 1 quart crock pot, and let it steep for about 2 hours. There are no temperature options on that crock, it is either On or Off. I got DH to go to the local Freddy's and get some vanilla custard, to serve under the fruit. I missed the butter that apparently goes in a true compote recipe. I may add it later when I reheat the rest of it, for breakfast tomorrow.
I have to go now and put the leftovers in the fridge. I have been letting them cool on the counter since 9 pm (two hours). Don't want to break a crock by putting it in the fridge after being so hot... a full and then cracked crock in the fridge would cause a huge mess, and then I would have to buy a new crock pot. Since I didn't win one of the 10 at Stephanie's contest, I can't afford to lose one now.
Happy Dinners!
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Crock-Pot That's A Basket
I have just added a link to the coolest recipe site I have found yet.
I would love to introduce you to Stephanie. She is the self-proclaimed Crock-Pot Lady. She made a New Year's Resolution to cook something every day for her family in a Crock-Pot. She was featured on July 9th on the Rachael Ray show, and has given the world her blog, to follow her progress.
Most of her recipes are gluten free, because of her family's diet restrictions. She will tell you if the recipe is NOT gluten free. (She is nice that way.) For those of you who think you have no time to cook, you really do have time to cook. Healthy, warm, and without the hot house and overworked air conditioner.
Go check her site out! She is having a contest right now to give away 10 fancy new Crock-Pot brand crocks. If you don't want one, enter anyway, and you can send it to me!
So, I know that several of my readers are frugal homemakers who have limitless resources to eat healthy and homemade. What are your favorite recipe sites out there? Do you have a favorite Crock-Pot recipe? Do you have something that you do that you have not seen in a book? I am looking for ideas. I need help to make the same-old same-old food with a new twist, so that it is interesting for me, and not too daringly different for DH.
Hope your summer is going swimmingly!
I would love to introduce you to Stephanie. She is the self-proclaimed Crock-Pot Lady. She made a New Year's Resolution to cook something every day for her family in a Crock-Pot. She was featured on July 9th on the Rachael Ray show, and has given the world her blog, to follow her progress.
Most of her recipes are gluten free, because of her family's diet restrictions. She will tell you if the recipe is NOT gluten free. (She is nice that way.) For those of you who think you have no time to cook, you really do have time to cook. Healthy, warm, and without the hot house and overworked air conditioner.
Go check her site out! She is having a contest right now to give away 10 fancy new Crock-Pot brand crocks. If you don't want one, enter anyway, and you can send it to me!
So, I know that several of my readers are frugal homemakers who have limitless resources to eat healthy and homemade. What are your favorite recipe sites out there? Do you have a favorite Crock-Pot recipe? Do you have something that you do that you have not seen in a book? I am looking for ideas. I need help to make the same-old same-old food with a new twist, so that it is interesting for me, and not too daringly different for DH.
Hope your summer is going swimmingly!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
A-Musing Potpourri
Word of the Post
Today's word is: brouhaha
/brew"ha*ha/ noun
The confused noise of many voices, cacophony. A noise much louder than its reason deserves.
I heard a clatter, and the sound of the resulting brouhaha carried all the way outside.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ever wondered why you bother? I have had a few days of that. I try and try, only to be disappointed again.
Roadrunner and I were supposed to do our multi-family garage sale on Friday and Saturday this week. And it rained. A lot. Getting up early, I took a shower and got dressed. I pondered the irony of putting on sunscreen as I heard the thunder for the first time. My paleness is legen- (wait for it...) dary. I can get a burn by starlight, I think. And I never even get a tan to show for it. So sad.
On Friday, we had both been awake from before 6, and had done all that weight lifting getting the stuff outside and onto the tables, only to take it back inside. We decided on Friday that we would try again some other weekend. We only had one lady actually look at our stuff, and we weren't even done displaying it that early. We were ready by 8, we were packed and back in the house by 11. Depressing. As if the rain weren't enough.
Today, DH and three other people went to work at the Luther Christian Service Center. It is a store of sorts, run by a lady in the church, who serves a very poor area not far from the city. She has a wall of shoes, piles of clothing, donated bulk food, furniture, and even toys. The guys are part of our clandestine group of charitable givers. We have had several workdays out there. When I went once, I helped one of the guys replace about 40 of their 6 foot flourescent light bulbs. DH helped replace the ballasts for some of their non-working lights today. He came home exhausted. Good work wears one out.
When he came home, DH brought with him a desktop computer tower. He said it was in the dumpster. The processor is the same brand as ours. The tower has a 160 gig hard drive, 1/2 gig of RAM, a DVD writer drive, a CD reader drive, built-in card readers (like the little external attachment I have for the laptop to read my camera card), and a black faced floppy drive, instead of the cream one (from DH's first computer, Maleficent). Most of that information is mumbo-jumbo to me, but I get some of it. I am wondering why it was thrown away. If the hard drive is bad, but the rest is useable, we still can upgrade our own tower for nothing. Yay! If the hard drive works, we just added quadruple the storage to our system. I hope it works. Even if just one part is salvageable, we are better off. Normally, I would have issues with him bringing leftovers from a dumpster, but this is different. Whatever we can't use, we can throw away, give away or sell in the next garage sale attempt. We couldn't buy these components right now, so I choose to think of it as reward for DH helping the Service Center. We don't do this for reward or profit. We do this to help Miss Ruby help the less fortunate.
Today has been a lazy day for me. I have done a lot of reading, some dishes, and I spent a lot of my TV time on the Hallmark Channel, or the Contemporary Christian Music Channel. I am reading The Shack by William P. Young, on the advice of Niki. She wants to have discussions about it. I am thinking these discussions will be good. I have about 50 pages to go, out of 248. It is a short book, as my reading list goes, but it is a lot to digest. Each chapter is full of deep thoughts to ponder, absorb and reflect upon before moving on. I want to rush through and finish, but I find I can't.
I made a Citrusade. Two lemons, two limes, one orange, some orange juice I had in a jug in the fridge, a little Marischino cherry juice, some Grenadine, a bit of vanilla and LOTS of sugar. I think it still has less sugar than the juices I could get at the store. I wasn't too terribly impressed, but DH is now on his second glass, so it can't be bad. I should have done some more housework. Laundry, dishes... something. But I just couldn't. The work yesterday wore me out. Today has been a rest. Tomorrow will be God's day, and then I can do work on Monday.
I made a mini crock pot of potpourri from the peels of the orange, lemon and lime. I added cinnamon stick, bay leaf, drops of mint extract, drops of vanilla, a dash of ground corriander, a teabag of Honey Peach Ginger tea from Cellestial Seasonings, and some whole cloves. My house smells yummy, and I can smell it best when the air conditioner kicks on. I need to take the teabag out, before the paper totally falls apart. I am thinking about just opening it up, and dumping the tea leaves in to keep the peachy scent alive. Or I can peel and core an apple, and add those bits while I have a tasty snack. Oooh. Idea.
The noisy bunny-painted ice cream van just drove by for the fifth time today (at 8 pm), and that is just the times I have seen it. I should call the city about the noise violation that thing is. Nuisance. It has a flashy yellow light on the top, and that is a danger to those prone to seizures and migraines. Health danger to the public, oh yes, I do need to call the city. I wonder what that guy's Carbon Footprint is? (Joking, but it can't be good.) He certainly can't be turning a profit, going through the same neighborhood six times a day, and using all that fuel.
Have a cold drink and a little dessert. You deserve it!
Today's word is: brouhaha
/brew"ha*ha/ noun
The confused noise of many voices, cacophony. A noise much louder than its reason deserves.
I heard a clatter, and the sound of the resulting brouhaha carried all the way outside.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ever wondered why you bother? I have had a few days of that. I try and try, only to be disappointed again.
Roadrunner and I were supposed to do our multi-family garage sale on Friday and Saturday this week. And it rained. A lot. Getting up early, I took a shower and got dressed. I pondered the irony of putting on sunscreen as I heard the thunder for the first time. My paleness is legen- (wait for it...) dary. I can get a burn by starlight, I think. And I never even get a tan to show for it. So sad.
On Friday, we had both been awake from before 6, and had done all that weight lifting getting the stuff outside and onto the tables, only to take it back inside. We decided on Friday that we would try again some other weekend. We only had one lady actually look at our stuff, and we weren't even done displaying it that early. We were ready by 8, we were packed and back in the house by 11. Depressing. As if the rain weren't enough.
Today, DH and three other people went to work at the Luther Christian Service Center. It is a store of sorts, run by a lady in the church, who serves a very poor area not far from the city. She has a wall of shoes, piles of clothing, donated bulk food, furniture, and even toys. The guys are part of our clandestine group of charitable givers. We have had several workdays out there. When I went once, I helped one of the guys replace about 40 of their 6 foot flourescent light bulbs. DH helped replace the ballasts for some of their non-working lights today. He came home exhausted. Good work wears one out.
When he came home, DH brought with him a desktop computer tower. He said it was in the dumpster. The processor is the same brand as ours. The tower has a 160 gig hard drive, 1/2 gig of RAM, a DVD writer drive, a CD reader drive, built-in card readers (like the little external attachment I have for the laptop to read my camera card), and a black faced floppy drive, instead of the cream one (from DH's first computer, Maleficent). Most of that information is mumbo-jumbo to me, but I get some of it. I am wondering why it was thrown away. If the hard drive is bad, but the rest is useable, we still can upgrade our own tower for nothing. Yay! If the hard drive works, we just added quadruple the storage to our system. I hope it works. Even if just one part is salvageable, we are better off. Normally, I would have issues with him bringing leftovers from a dumpster, but this is different. Whatever we can't use, we can throw away, give away or sell in the next garage sale attempt. We couldn't buy these components right now, so I choose to think of it as reward for DH helping the Service Center. We don't do this for reward or profit. We do this to help Miss Ruby help the less fortunate.
Today has been a lazy day for me. I have done a lot of reading, some dishes, and I spent a lot of my TV time on the Hallmark Channel, or the Contemporary Christian Music Channel. I am reading The Shack by William P. Young, on the advice of Niki. She wants to have discussions about it. I am thinking these discussions will be good. I have about 50 pages to go, out of 248. It is a short book, as my reading list goes, but it is a lot to digest. Each chapter is full of deep thoughts to ponder, absorb and reflect upon before moving on. I want to rush through and finish, but I find I can't.
I made a Citrusade. Two lemons, two limes, one orange, some orange juice I had in a jug in the fridge, a little Marischino cherry juice, some Grenadine, a bit of vanilla and LOTS of sugar. I think it still has less sugar than the juices I could get at the store. I wasn't too terribly impressed, but DH is now on his second glass, so it can't be bad. I should have done some more housework. Laundry, dishes... something. But I just couldn't. The work yesterday wore me out. Today has been a rest. Tomorrow will be God's day, and then I can do work on Monday.
I made a mini crock pot of potpourri from the peels of the orange, lemon and lime. I added cinnamon stick, bay leaf, drops of mint extract, drops of vanilla, a dash of ground corriander, a teabag of Honey Peach Ginger tea from Cellestial Seasonings, and some whole cloves. My house smells yummy, and I can smell it best when the air conditioner kicks on. I need to take the teabag out, before the paper totally falls apart. I am thinking about just opening it up, and dumping the tea leaves in to keep the peachy scent alive. Or I can peel and core an apple, and add those bits while I have a tasty snack. Oooh. Idea.
The noisy bunny-painted ice cream van just drove by for the fifth time today (at 8 pm), and that is just the times I have seen it. I should call the city about the noise violation that thing is. Nuisance. It has a flashy yellow light on the top, and that is a danger to those prone to seizures and migraines. Health danger to the public, oh yes, I do need to call the city. I wonder what that guy's Carbon Footprint is? (Joking, but it can't be good.) He certainly can't be turning a profit, going through the same neighborhood six times a day, and using all that fuel.
Have a cold drink and a little dessert. You deserve it!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Where Did You Find That?
This week I have been cleaning out boxes full of stuff I haven't looked at for years. I am cleaning, and pricing to get ready for the garage sale this coming weekend. Roadrunner and I are doing a sale at her house, with three families worth of junk.... er, treasures. This has cleaned up space for me to actually organize the junk... er, stuff I still have. In all of my sorting, I have found a few special things that were lost.
The one thing that I am sharing with you here, is the recipe that I have been tearing the house apart to find. A note: I make this in my 6 quart oval crock pot, and I only make half, so I don't have to worry about the lid not fitting. And it makes the whole house smell so wonderful!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Crock Pot Apple Butter
24 cups (approx. 30 medium) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced. (Cameo variety works great!)
4 cups granulated sugar (or less to taste, depending on the sweetness of the apples)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Place 1/2 the prepared apples in a 6 quart crock pot. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add half of the sugar mixture and half of the vinegar to the apples. Add remaining apples, top with remaining sugar mixture, and remaining vinegar. Cover with a lid. Lid may not fit at first, but apple will shrink down as they cook. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours, until thick and dark in color. Stir occasionally and mash apples with a potato masher to get a smooth consistency. Makes approximately 4 1/2 quarts of apple butter.
~~~~~~~~~~
You can substitute 4 or 5 teaspoons of pumpkin spice mix INSTEAD of the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. (But I prefer the strength of flavor of each spice separately.) Half recipe measurement of note: I also add a 1/4 cup of dark rum; it adds color and flavor, and the alcohol cooks out. I put the apples in late one night, and do the canning the next day. I can the apple butter in 1 cup glass jars. I also take out some of the juiciest juice, to make the butter thicker. It makes a tasty snack or an interesting addition to sweet desserts, or an awesome ice cream topping.
Reserve the apple peels and cores to make a potpourri in a mini crock pot. Mix with orange peels, lemon juice or peels, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, tea bags, peppermint oil (only a drop or two, or your eyes will burn!) and whatever spices you love, and cover with water. Simmer all day long for an irresistible aroma in your home. Make sure to keep the water level up, as it evaporates in the heat.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please tell me if you try it, I want to know what everybody thinks of it. Have an enjoyable Tuesday!
The one thing that I am sharing with you here, is the recipe that I have been tearing the house apart to find. A note: I make this in my 6 quart oval crock pot, and I only make half, so I don't have to worry about the lid not fitting. And it makes the whole house smell so wonderful!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Crock Pot Apple Butter
24 cups (approx. 30 medium) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced. (Cameo variety works great!)
4 cups granulated sugar (or less to taste, depending on the sweetness of the apples)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Place 1/2 the prepared apples in a 6 quart crock pot. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add half of the sugar mixture and half of the vinegar to the apples. Add remaining apples, top with remaining sugar mixture, and remaining vinegar. Cover with a lid. Lid may not fit at first, but apple will shrink down as they cook. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours, until thick and dark in color. Stir occasionally and mash apples with a potato masher to get a smooth consistency. Makes approximately 4 1/2 quarts of apple butter.
~~~~~~~~~~
You can substitute 4 or 5 teaspoons of pumpkin spice mix INSTEAD of the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. (But I prefer the strength of flavor of each spice separately.) Half recipe measurement of note: I also add a 1/4 cup of dark rum; it adds color and flavor, and the alcohol cooks out. I put the apples in late one night, and do the canning the next day. I can the apple butter in 1 cup glass jars. I also take out some of the juiciest juice, to make the butter thicker. It makes a tasty snack or an interesting addition to sweet desserts, or an awesome ice cream topping.
Reserve the apple peels and cores to make a potpourri in a mini crock pot. Mix with orange peels, lemon juice or peels, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, tea bags, peppermint oil (only a drop or two, or your eyes will burn!) and whatever spices you love, and cover with water. Simmer all day long for an irresistible aroma in your home. Make sure to keep the water level up, as it evaporates in the heat.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please tell me if you try it, I want to know what everybody thinks of it. Have an enjoyable Tuesday!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Every Girl Knows Statistics LIE
Word of the Post
Today's word is: onomatopoeia
/on*uh*maht*uh*pee"uh/ noun
Words that imitate the sound they stand for; Crash, bang and boom, for instance.
~~~~~~~~~~
I added a counter to my site. I wanted to see some statistics, because I only get a few comments for some posts, but I don't know how many times any of you may read what I have to say. It skews the stats just a bit to know that I count for each time I look at the site while updating. I still need to find a counter that shows me all hits, unique hits, and not myself. But it seemed like a good idea to start somewhere. It comes with a sponsor link, and I chose Lane Bryant, because that randomly came up, and it is something I would use (if I had money to spend on clothes!). So, go check out their coupons for me, and keep my counter busy!
Several people have said they like the recipes, so I am hoping to continue those on occasion. I find I am often in a rut about what to cook. I have stacks upon stacks of cookbooks. When we got married, I asked my mother-in-law to tell people that I wanted cookbooks. I received many at our various showers, and had no duplicates. I have added several since then. For Christmas, I got Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious", and just last night I got Missy Chase Lapine's "Sneaky Chef". I figure that if Ms. Lapine is going to accuse Mrs. Seinfeld of stealing her idea, then I should probably buy both books and compare them for myself. Ms. Lapine seems to take into consideration that you CAN add veggies to anything, but questions which ones you SHOULD add to each dish. Putting Cauliflower in Macaroni and Cheese doesn't sound so bad, but Broccoli in Brownies? That sounds bad to me. Anyway, I am willing to experiment, and maybe get some of the veggies past myself and DH to make us more healthy.
Speaking of experimenting, I tried something new the other night. This was last Monday, before the stew (which we still have at least one serving of). I was thinking on the idea of a Shepherd's Pie, and came up with a Joe-like version that tasted pretty good.
Pie-less Shepherd Joe
Large skillet (I used the largest one I had, but it could have been done in a 12 inch)
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup frozen diced onion
1/2 cup frozen diced green sweet pepper
1 can (10 ounces) Rotel (I used Mild)
1 can (8 ounces) Tomato Sauce
Spice to taste (remember my fondness for the spice rack). I recommend especially: a shake or two of Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until most of the liquid evaporates out, and you are left with a yummy sauce.
Serve on Toast, top with Cheese, and maybe add a side of Sour Cream.
This turned out pretty tasty, and I remembered to get pictures of it for you. A good day!
I got to baby sit the Candy Kids yesterday. Regular baby sitter's own child was sick with a fever, so late at night, I was called in as the pinch hitter. Jelly Bean was her usual aged 2 attitude, but still very sweet. She is doing well at the potty training. I had to keep asking her if she needed to go... and usually the answer was no. At one point, I just said, "let's go", so she didn't really have a way out. She really did sit, and actually did something twice, but she has no patience. "I done, that's all, there is no more to squeeze out." She does not like sitting there longer than she has to. So, at least there is no desire to read a magazine or something. She gets 3 m&m's when she accomplishes the use of the potty. Very cool reward. I even let her pick the colors she wanted. She did a lot of telling me no, hoping that I would not remind her that she needs to obey and respect anyone who is in charge. I did remind her. She also tried a lot of testing the rules, hoping that I would not know them all. Sneaky little thing. She did the most of her acting up when Mommy came home. I wonder what that was about? (Did I mention that she's 2?)
Gum Drop is growing so big! His sister was so little, and still is, I guess. He is now almost 5 months old. He doesn't like to sit down very much, he loves to stand and kick. We practiced walking a little yesterday. He did his own motion of one foot in front of the other. I just balanced him, and gave him the leaning cue to move the foot without the weight. He enjoys being on his back, and can almost completely roll over. He gets right on the verge, and then that arm on the bottom stops him. He also rolls from his front to his back, but he seems to be surprised when that happens. He puts his arms straight down by his sides when he is on his tummy, as if he thinks he can fly or something. (He was Superman for Halloween) He needs to get his arms up and his knees under him, so he can get the motion of crawling down. I have a feeling he will crawl for a day or two, and decide that walking is faster and easier. I propped him up on the arm of the couch with pillows for support, and he discovered his knee. He was very serious about examining what this new thing was.
Beware of people who don't like cats. ~ Irish proverb
Today's word is: onomatopoeia
/on*uh*maht*uh*pee"uh/ noun
Words that imitate the sound they stand for; Crash, bang and boom, for instance.
~~~~~~~~~~
I added a counter to my site. I wanted to see some statistics, because I only get a few comments for some posts, but I don't know how many times any of you may read what I have to say. It skews the stats just a bit to know that I count for each time I look at the site while updating. I still need to find a counter that shows me all hits, unique hits, and not myself. But it seemed like a good idea to start somewhere. It comes with a sponsor link, and I chose Lane Bryant, because that randomly came up, and it is something I would use (if I had money to spend on clothes!). So, go check out their coupons for me, and keep my counter busy!
Several people have said they like the recipes, so I am hoping to continue those on occasion. I find I am often in a rut about what to cook. I have stacks upon stacks of cookbooks. When we got married, I asked my mother-in-law to tell people that I wanted cookbooks. I received many at our various showers, and had no duplicates. I have added several since then. For Christmas, I got Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious", and just last night I got Missy Chase Lapine's "Sneaky Chef". I figure that if Ms. Lapine is going to accuse Mrs. Seinfeld of stealing her idea, then I should probably buy both books and compare them for myself. Ms. Lapine seems to take into consideration that you CAN add veggies to anything, but questions which ones you SHOULD add to each dish. Putting Cauliflower in Macaroni and Cheese doesn't sound so bad, but Broccoli in Brownies? That sounds bad to me. Anyway, I am willing to experiment, and maybe get some of the veggies past myself and DH to make us more healthy.
Speaking of experimenting, I tried something new the other night. This was last Monday, before the stew (which we still have at least one serving of). I was thinking on the idea of a Shepherd's Pie, and came up with a Joe-like version that tasted pretty good.
Pie-less Shepherd Joe
Large skillet (I used the largest one I had, but it could have been done in a 12 inch)
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup frozen diced onion
1/2 cup frozen diced green sweet pepper
1 can (10 ounces) Rotel (I used Mild)
1 can (8 ounces) Tomato Sauce
Spice to taste (remember my fondness for the spice rack). I recommend especially: a shake or two of Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, black pepper, and garlic powder.
Simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until most of the liquid evaporates out, and you are left with a yummy sauce.
Serve on Toast, top with Cheese, and maybe add a side of Sour Cream.
This turned out pretty tasty, and I remembered to get pictures of it for you. A good day!
I got to baby sit the Candy Kids yesterday. Regular baby sitter's own child was sick with a fever, so late at night, I was called in as the pinch hitter. Jelly Bean was her usual aged 2 attitude, but still very sweet. She is doing well at the potty training. I had to keep asking her if she needed to go... and usually the answer was no. At one point, I just said, "let's go", so she didn't really have a way out. She really did sit, and actually did something twice, but she has no patience. "I done, that's all, there is no more to squeeze out." She does not like sitting there longer than she has to. So, at least there is no desire to read a magazine or something. She gets 3 m&m's when she accomplishes the use of the potty. Very cool reward. I even let her pick the colors she wanted. She did a lot of telling me no, hoping that I would not remind her that she needs to obey and respect anyone who is in charge. I did remind her. She also tried a lot of testing the rules, hoping that I would not know them all. Sneaky little thing. She did the most of her acting up when Mommy came home. I wonder what that was about? (Did I mention that she's 2?)
Gum Drop is growing so big! His sister was so little, and still is, I guess. He is now almost 5 months old. He doesn't like to sit down very much, he loves to stand and kick. We practiced walking a little yesterday. He did his own motion of one foot in front of the other. I just balanced him, and gave him the leaning cue to move the foot without the weight. He enjoys being on his back, and can almost completely roll over. He gets right on the verge, and then that arm on the bottom stops him. He also rolls from his front to his back, but he seems to be surprised when that happens. He puts his arms straight down by his sides when he is on his tummy, as if he thinks he can fly or something. (He was Superman for Halloween) He needs to get his arms up and his knees under him, so he can get the motion of crawling down. I have a feeling he will crawl for a day or two, and decide that walking is faster and easier. I propped him up on the arm of the couch with pillows for support, and he discovered his knee. He was very serious about examining what this new thing was.
Beware of people who don't like cats. ~ Irish proverb
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Dancing Among The Spices
Word of the Post
Today's word is: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
/don't*bother/ noun
The literal fear of the sum of 666. People who suffer from this fear often avoid the three digits together, as well as the quantity of six hundred sixty six. Superstitions trace their origins back to the Bible; specifically Revelation 13:18, which names the quantity 666 as a mark of the "beast" (the Anti-Christ, or Satan).
In recent years, the state of New Mexico changed the number of State Highway 666 to State Highway 491. I have seen people in line at the grocery store add a $0.30 pack of gum, so that their total cost or total change won't include the digits of 666.
~~~~~~~~~~
I bought a new pair of jeans a few days ago. There was a sale, and I needed a new pair. My old pair was too short. Imagine that! I got the Petite length, and it was too far above my shoes. I can't win. Seriously. The new pair is now four inches too long. They are the Average length. I can't find a pair that is really built for me. But (the good news) this pair is a whole size smaller than the last pair! I have lost inches! The old short pair was falling off... which means that the goal of losing weight and eating healthy is WORKING again. Cheers! If I clean, I don't have time to sit and mindlessly munch. That is the new motto: Time to chew, time to DO.
I have been doing well in cooking so far this year. I try to make our food fresh, instead of buying canned, processed, fried, limp, over-sugared, over-salted junk. Apples and Oranges and, as Catherine said to me, Food that remembers where it came from. I am gradually changing from canned veggies (cooked and salted to mush) to frozen veggies (flash frozen, nothing added). I am not very good at keeping fresh veggies beyond the basic celery, carrots and potatoes. I buy too much, and then they go bad waiting for me to use them in a new creation.
I have played a little with variations on Rachael Ray. She says she only gives us ideas, it is not like she is going to come to our kitchen and criticize our dinners. She is my hero of late. She, like me, never really measures stuff. Spices and ingredients are just "eyeball it" and "palm full" and "more or less, whatever you like". I like how easy she makes it all look. Apparently, it isn't always that easy. I can walk into your kitchen, and look around, and come up with dinner. A little veggie from the can or freezer, a piece of whatever meat you don't know what to do with, a little pasta from the cabinet, a little soup to cream it all up... viola'.... dinner. Ferret says she can't envision dinners like that. She has to have a recipe or a box with instructions. Not to say that she isn't a good cook, just that she isn't so comfy with making experimental dishes. It is a knack that you either have, or you don't. I happen to have. I don't like to be mean to the have-nots I know.
Tonight, I give you "imagine this" of what dinner looked like tonight. Recipe a la Chelf. Tonight's creation was actually in a crock pot. I love this invention. It has made cooking convenient. I can go out and do stuff, and dinner is percolating at home.
Chicken Chunky Soup
6qt crock pot (make sure it is plugged in, and you have it set to LOW; it can warm while you are preparing the veggies)
3 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless (I start with frozen, because it keeps them moist)
Two or three handfuls baby carrots, cut or not
Six stalks celery, roughly chopped (I use a LOT of celery, love it in soups)
Four medium potatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium to large onion, roughly chopped
1 can corn (can also use frozen)
1 can green beans (can also use frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles (M&P or Hatch brands are best, authentic NM green chiles!)
Can also use 1 can of Rotel, in place of tomatoes and chiles.
Spice to taste: I use a lot of different spices, it is my joy to "play in the spice rack".
For this one, I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of most of the spices, more for the ones I love that sounded more adventurous. Spices in this soup (in no particular order, and with no real measuring): 1 Bay Leaf, Cumin, Oregano, Dill Weed, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Ground Thyme, Mrs. Dash (somehow, I think that is cheating, and yet it tastes so good, and adds no salt!), Cilantro, Paprika, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Ground Cloves, Cracked Black Pepper, Green Tabasco Sauce, and a sprinkle of Red Robin Seasoned Salt mix.
You just put the frozen chicken in the bottom of the crock pot, layer all the veggies that you love over it, sprinkle all the spices you love over the top, and pour some water over it. You have to make sure to leave 2-3 inches of space at the top of the crock pot, or the water that cooks out of the veggies will overflow your poor crock. Cover, and cook on LOW for 6+ hours, or overnight. I start counting the hours from the top of the hour closest to when I finish adding all the ingredients and put the lid on. Don't keep lifting the lid, let it be. The longer it cooks, LOW and SLOW, the better all the flavors mix. You can also cook for 4+ hours on HIGH, if you are in a hurry.
When you get to the end of your 6 hours, you can turn it off, or on WARM if your crock has that setting. I pull out the chicken thighs, and pull and cut them into bite-sized bits, and then put it back into the soup. I also added 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken with Herbs Soup, to cream it all up a little. Ladle into bowls, serve with a hefty hunk of buttery Rosemary Bread, and enjoy! Also good with Club crackers or Ritz.
Anything cooking in the crock pot makes the whole house smell like a warm hug for dinner. The aroma is unique to each kind of stew, roast or soup. My house is so thin and not air tight, you can smell dinner from the front porch. YUM!
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe day, and I want to know if you want to see more. A regular segment? A rare treat? Vote today! I promise I will not try to change your country. Vote for ME!
Today's word is: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
/don't*bother/ noun
The literal fear of the sum of 666. People who suffer from this fear often avoid the three digits together, as well as the quantity of six hundred sixty six. Superstitions trace their origins back to the Bible; specifically Revelation 13:18, which names the quantity 666 as a mark of the "beast" (the Anti-Christ, or Satan).
In recent years, the state of New Mexico changed the number of State Highway 666 to State Highway 491. I have seen people in line at the grocery store add a $0.30 pack of gum, so that their total cost or total change won't include the digits of 666.
~~~~~~~~~~
I bought a new pair of jeans a few days ago. There was a sale, and I needed a new pair. My old pair was too short. Imagine that! I got the Petite length, and it was too far above my shoes. I can't win. Seriously. The new pair is now four inches too long. They are the Average length. I can't find a pair that is really built for me. But (the good news) this pair is a whole size smaller than the last pair! I have lost inches! The old short pair was falling off... which means that the goal of losing weight and eating healthy is WORKING again. Cheers! If I clean, I don't have time to sit and mindlessly munch. That is the new motto: Time to chew, time to DO.
I have been doing well in cooking so far this year. I try to make our food fresh, instead of buying canned, processed, fried, limp, over-sugared, over-salted junk. Apples and Oranges and, as Catherine said to me, Food that remembers where it came from. I am gradually changing from canned veggies (cooked and salted to mush) to frozen veggies (flash frozen, nothing added). I am not very good at keeping fresh veggies beyond the basic celery, carrots and potatoes. I buy too much, and then they go bad waiting for me to use them in a new creation.
I have played a little with variations on Rachael Ray. She says she only gives us ideas, it is not like she is going to come to our kitchen and criticize our dinners. She is my hero of late. She, like me, never really measures stuff. Spices and ingredients are just "eyeball it" and "palm full" and "more or less, whatever you like". I like how easy she makes it all look. Apparently, it isn't always that easy. I can walk into your kitchen, and look around, and come up with dinner. A little veggie from the can or freezer, a piece of whatever meat you don't know what to do with, a little pasta from the cabinet, a little soup to cream it all up... viola'.... dinner. Ferret says she can't envision dinners like that. She has to have a recipe or a box with instructions. Not to say that she isn't a good cook, just that she isn't so comfy with making experimental dishes. It is a knack that you either have, or you don't. I happen to have. I don't like to be mean to the have-nots I know.
Tonight, I give you "imagine this" of what dinner looked like tonight. Recipe a la Chelf. Tonight's creation was actually in a crock pot. I love this invention. It has made cooking convenient. I can go out and do stuff, and dinner is percolating at home.
Chicken Chunky Soup
6qt crock pot (make sure it is plugged in, and you have it set to LOW; it can warm while you are preparing the veggies)
3 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless (I start with frozen, because it keeps them moist)
Two or three handfuls baby carrots, cut or not
Six stalks celery, roughly chopped (I use a LOT of celery, love it in soups)
Four medium potatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium to large onion, roughly chopped
1 can corn (can also use frozen)
1 can green beans (can also use frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles (M&P or Hatch brands are best, authentic NM green chiles!)
Can also use 1 can of Rotel, in place of tomatoes and chiles.
Spice to taste: I use a lot of different spices, it is my joy to "play in the spice rack".
For this one, I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of most of the spices, more for the ones I love that sounded more adventurous. Spices in this soup (in no particular order, and with no real measuring): 1 Bay Leaf, Cumin, Oregano, Dill Weed, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Ground Thyme, Mrs. Dash (somehow, I think that is cheating, and yet it tastes so good, and adds no salt!), Cilantro, Paprika, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Ground Cloves, Cracked Black Pepper, Green Tabasco Sauce, and a sprinkle of Red Robin Seasoned Salt mix.
You just put the frozen chicken in the bottom of the crock pot, layer all the veggies that you love over it, sprinkle all the spices you love over the top, and pour some water over it. You have to make sure to leave 2-3 inches of space at the top of the crock pot, or the water that cooks out of the veggies will overflow your poor crock. Cover, and cook on LOW for 6+ hours, or overnight. I start counting the hours from the top of the hour closest to when I finish adding all the ingredients and put the lid on. Don't keep lifting the lid, let it be. The longer it cooks, LOW and SLOW, the better all the flavors mix. You can also cook for 4+ hours on HIGH, if you are in a hurry.
When you get to the end of your 6 hours, you can turn it off, or on WARM if your crock has that setting. I pull out the chicken thighs, and pull and cut them into bite-sized bits, and then put it back into the soup. I also added 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken with Herbs Soup, to cream it all up a little. Ladle into bowls, serve with a hefty hunk of buttery Rosemary Bread, and enjoy! Also good with Club crackers or Ritz.
Anything cooking in the crock pot makes the whole house smell like a warm hug for dinner. The aroma is unique to each kind of stew, roast or soup. My house is so thin and not air tight, you can smell dinner from the front porch. YUM!
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe day, and I want to know if you want to see more. A regular segment? A rare treat? Vote today! I promise I will not try to change your country. Vote for ME!
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