myUNcomfort zone

Homemade Tortillas

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:46:00 +0000

I got to use my new kitchen gadget yesterday, my tortilla press. I love it. I made some homemade tortillas yesterday and they turned out really good, even if I do say so myself.

They were really easy to make and don't require a lot of ingredients. The best kind of recipe!!

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir together. Add the butter and shortening (more about the shortening later). Use a pastry cutter to blend until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Poor in hot water while stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the dough just comes together. It will be warm. Put the dough out and knead for about a minute. Form the dough into a ball and put in a bowl, cover with a towel for an hour to rest.

Now it's time to make the tortillas. I used a piece of plastic wrap on the press to it wouldn't stick then pinch off a piece about the size of a large walnut and lay it on the press and then press.

And there it is! While you're pressing the tortillas, heat a heavy skillet, I used an iron skillet, on medium to high heat. Place the tortillas in the skillet one by one. Cook for about 30 seconds then flip and cook the other side for 20 to 30 seconds.

Place the cooked tortillas on a flat surface and cover with a towel until your done. The recipe makes about 24 tortillas, but I only cooked 6 because obviously I wouldn't be able to eat 24 and they wouldn't keep in the fridge for more than a couple of days. To keep them in the fridge for a day or so, wrap the cooled tortillas in foil and when your ready to use them, pop them in the oven for a 10 or 15 minutes at 300F. I just heated a couple in the microwave and they came out fine. I rolled the rest of the dough into balls and froze them to make in the future. The recipe didn't say if they could be frozen or not, but I did it anyway and hopefully it will work out next time I want some.

I ate a couple for lunch yesterday. I put a piece of cheese and a couple of thin slices of ham and baby kale to make a kind of "taco" and I must say it was very good.

Tonight for supper I had a couple of tortillas with a chicken tender, piece of cheese and more kale in each, so you see the possibilities are endless, you can put anything you want and like in them.

Here is the complete recipe and of course it is from my favorite cookbook author thepioneerwoman,com

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of masa harina (corn flour) usually found in the Hispanic aisle of the grocery.
2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (here I used the NON-hydrogenated lard from the farmer's market that I have talked about before and am hoarding in my freezer).
2 tbl. of butter
1 cup of very hot water (I heated it up on the stove)

I deem this recipe a success. I did notice that on the back of the bag of masa harina there was a recipe for corn tortillas and it was an even more simple than this one. I'm going to try that in the future.

Kathy

Ahh....Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 02:35:00 +0000

Well, it's official.......I AM SICK AND TIRED OF WINTER AND SNOW AND COLD. Now I know that our 3 or 4 inches of snow is nothing compared to more northern locales, but it's a lot here and the relentless cold just keeps on coming. I think we've had snow every week for a month now with another 3 inches last night. It doesn't even warm up enough in between to get rid of the snow before it snows again. OK, that's my rant about the weather, just had to put that out there.

Now, Lola on the other hand, has not minded the snow or the cold. Yesterday she sat outside on a cleared off spot looking for someone to bark at.

"I think somebody's coming.....I get to bark....oh goody."

"Never mind....they went the other way.....darn it."

Now this morning, after the new snow, Lola was anxious to get out in the snow. She likes to eat it.

Afterwards she camped out on the deck for awhile hoping to scare the bejeezus out of someone when they walk past. Unfortunately, no one walked past this early in the morning in the snow.

Meanwhile, while Lola was hoping for some excitement, I made some homemade, sour cream pancakes for breakfast. That is the beauty of a Saturday morning, the time to make a breakfast that you don't have time to during the week.

Yummy, pancakes with real maple syrup.

Today was a kind of lazy day, made breakfast, paid bills, did some computer stuff, did some reading. Isn't that what Saturdays are for? Usually I like to cook something different or special, but I just wasn't feeling it today. Tomorrow is another day though!!

Today was my second day working out. Before you laugh, I think I'm going to like it and I can do it with a program that's online. It's called dailyburn.com. My sister-in-law told me about it and she's been doing it. You can sign up for a 30 day free trial and if you like it, it will be just $10 a month. She's been doing it for a while and really likes it and has seen results. It walks you through and asks what level (I'm a beginner) and what intensity and length of time you want your workout to be. It will also tell you how many calories you've burned at the end of your workout. You can also follow your nutrition on the site, but I'm just doing the workouts. Also, I like that I can pause it if I can't quite keep up to catch my breath then resume. I've been a little sore from my workouts but that's a good thing. So far, so good.

Ok, now does anyone know what this contraption is?

I will be using this tomorrow in my cooking adventure. It is a tortilla press. I asked for one for my birthday. I'm probably one of the few women who ask for cooking gadgets for my birthday, but I love them.

I have a recipe for homemade tortillas so, of course, I needed this. I can't wait to try it.

Kathy

Potato Leek Soup/Chowder

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 19 Jan 2014 01:40:00 +0000

Friday was the perfect day to make soup, I had the time, it was very cold and snow was falling off and on all day. What a better day to warm your insides with a steaming hot bowl of soup and some cornbread.

When I make potato soup, I don't really use a specific recipe, I just kinda make it up as I go along. Most of the time it works out perfectly, but since I don't always make it the same way, there are a few times it hasn't worked out so great. I just fly by the seat of my pants when I make potato soup.

I get a bunch of leeks, which have a mild oniony flavor, cut off the ends, slice down the middle and then thinly slice.

Leeks have dirt and grit between their layers, so after slicing them you have to put them in a bowl of water to get the grit out. I let them soak for a few minutes then drain and rinse in a colander.

I cut up some bacon and cooked it til it was crisp then removed the bacon but kept the bacon grease. Then I put the leeks in to sauté until they were softand I added some dried basil leaves.

I also chopped up a couple of garlic cloves and added a dash of paprika, just because. Stir it around and next add two or three tablespoons of flour and stir it around and let it cook for a couple of minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. This will help with the thickening of the soup.

Once you let this cook for a few minutes, slowly add chicken broth (or you could use vegetable broth if you want it completely vegetarian) while stirring the whole time so there won't be any lumps. I ended up using a carton and 1/2 altogether.

I had already peeled, diced and rinsed about 4 pounds of potatoes and kept them in some cold water until I was ready for them. I added them to the pot, added some more broth to cover the potatoes and let it cook til the potatoes were almost tender but with still a little bite to them.

When the potatoes were almost done, I decided at the last minute to add about a half of a bag of frozen corn....just for the heck of it, for color and taste. I added the cooked bacon back in and put the fire on low and let it simmer for a little bit. I also stirred in some heavy cream about this time, maybe a cup or so, depending on how creamy you want it, along with some salt and pepper.

The very last thing that I did, while the heat was still on low, was finely shred some cheddar cheese, maybe about a cup. Add this to the soup and continue stirring until the cheese is melted.

I then took the soup off of the heat, covered it with the lid and let it sit for a little bit. Since the potatoes were just shy of being completely tender, by taking it off the heat the potatoes will continue to cook in the hot liquid til all the way tender without getting mushy and dissolving in the soup. I know this from experience....haha.

This soup may put you in a carb-induced coma, but what better way to feel cozy and warm on a cold and snowy day.

Kathy

Pie Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 01:46:00 +0000

Sundays are a kind of laid back day. A day to rest, recoup and not do anything if you don't want to. But I feel compelled to make pies on Sundays if I don't have anything else I have to do.

I took a big leap this Sunday and made an apple pie. I've never made a fruit pie before, it was quite the process. I'm sure once I get the basics down it will not take me all afternoon. But it was worth it, I think it turned out really good. We'll see what my official taste tester thinks.

On Saturday I made the crust from scratch so that I didn't have to do it all in one day. The recipe makes two crusts so there is an extra one in the freezer for the next pie.

After I thawed out the crust and rolled it out, I actually got it into the pie pan without any major disaster.

I trimmed off the edge and I certainly don't get any style points. I haven't quite got the hang of crimping the edges to look fancy.

I peeled and thinly sliced 5 small granny smith apples and added them to a mixture of brown sugar, sugar, flour, vanilla and heavy cream. (the complete recipe will be at the end).

The ingredients for the topping includes brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and butter, pulsed in the food processor til crumbled.

Pour the apple mixture into the pie shell. Also, put the pie on a rimmed cookie sheet because it may drip over the sides of the pie pan when it starts bubbling. Putting foil on the cookie sheet makes for easy cleanup. And I'm all about the easy cleanup!

Then just sprinkle the topping over the pie, then bake at 375F for an hour.

Before baking put foil around the edges and put another piece loosely over the top, this will prevent the crust and topping from getting too brown. After an hour of baking, take the foil off and let it bake for another 15 or 20 minutes until it is a golden brown. I have to confess that it took me at least 10 minutes to get that dang foil to stay around the edge.

And there ya go.......like I said, I'm still working on style and presentation. But that doesn't affect the taste. YUMMY.

As you can see, I have ingredients and utensils spread out all over the counters. Hopefully I can streamline this process in the future.

The aftermath.

This recipe is from my favorite thepioneerwoman.com. It's officially called DREAMY APPLE PIE.
Here is the complete recipe:

1 pie crust (of course you can buy a pie crust to make things a little easier and there's nothing wrong with that)
FILLING:
3 large or 5 small granny smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced.
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1 tbl all purpose flour
1 cu heavy cream
2tsp of vanilla extract
1/8 tsp of cinnamon

TOPPING:
7 tbl. of butter
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 cu pecans
dash of salt

Preheat oven to 375F
Roll out pie dough (or use a prepared crust) and decorate the edges if you can (obviously I can't yet)

Now what I did was mix together the cream, brown and white sugar, flour, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl and as I peeled and sliced the apples I put them in the mixture. When you're done slicing the apples then pour the whole mixture into the pie shell.

In a food processor (or by hand) combine the butter, flour, sugar, pecans and salt, then mix til everything comes together in clumps. Pour toppin over the apple filling.

Now you can fight with the foil and put that around the edges and you really need to or the crust gets too brown. Also, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top to keep that from browning too quick.

Place pie on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour. Then remove foil and let bake another 15 or 20 minutes til it is a golden brown. It should be nice and bubbly. Let cool and serve by itself or with whipped cream or ice cream.

It's well worth the time to fix this pie.....too good.

Kathy

I've Been Lazy

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 01:59:00 +0000

I've been lazy, I haven't been on here or posted anything in several weeks. First it was the Christmas holidays, New Years and all the business that comes with the holidays. Last weekend I was suffering from a muscle spasm in my back that was so very painful and lasted for two and half days. Then, of course, there was the whole "polar vortex" thingy that blew through 2/3's of the country this past week. I was busy trying to stay warm and keep my water pipes from freezing. Now, finally, the weather is back to it's usual winter yuckiness.

With everything going on I haven't cooked anything special or different for a while, just the usual meals. BUT, tomorrow is going to be "Pie Sunday". I going to try my hand at making an apple pie with a pecan/brown sugar topping. It sure sounds good and I hope I can pull it off. I will post the results.

Meanwhile, I've noticed something different at my grocery store. I don't know if it's new or I just haven't noticed it before, but this baby kale in a package is brilliant.

I noticed it a couple of weeks ago and have been buying it ever since. I love putting it on sandwiches instead of lettuce. It has kind of a peppery taste. I've also been putting quite of bit of it into salads, makes for a nice twist. I'm loving it. Plus it's healthy and keeps me eating my veggies.

I've also been on a Brussels sprout kick. I found this bag at the store and sautéed some tonight, in a skillet, for dinner. These, too, are also good chopped up and put into salads. I have a recipe somewhere for a Brussels sprout coleslaw that I'm anxious to try, maybe for the summer.

Again, it keeps me eating my veggies which I'm sometimes lax about, but determined to do better in the New Year.

On a separate note, my specialty utensil drawer is still a jumble, but I can usually find what I need.

I bet there's some things on the bottom of that pile that I have forgotten all about or could even throw out. But, that's another project for another day.

On a closing note, since the weather has warmed up slightly, it is still winter afterall, and it has rained several times this week, Lola's running paths are a mess.....but she doesn't seem to mind.

It's just soooo much fun.

Kathy

Everybody Loves A Tater

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Mon, 23 Dec 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Potatoes are so versatile, mashed, baked, boiled, au gratin, etc., etc. And the flavorings that you can add to potatoes, bacon, cheese, chives, butter, pretty much anything you want to add will go good on a potato.

I had some leftover mashed potatoes from supper last night so today I decided to make some small potato pancakes to keep in the freezer for a later date.

All I did was take the leftover potatoes and add 1 egg and about 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, pepper and some spicy blend from Mrs. Dash.

Just mix everything together and then I used my handy dandy small ice cream scoop to measure out the potatoes and then I flattened them a little.

Then it's just simply a matter of frying them up until they are a golden brown.

Drain on a paper towel. After they cool, I put them on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer til they were frozen. That makes it easier to put in a freezer bag and when you want some you can just grab 2 or 3 to reheat.

I always thaw a couple out and heat them up in the toaster oven til they are sizzling hot.

Yummy. There were two more but I had to do a taste test. One for me and one for Lola. We both agreed they were good.

I am going to report that there was no salt used in making these. When I fixed the mashed potatoes I did not add any salt to them. I did lightly salt my helping on my plate, but the pan of potatoes were sodium free. When I fixed these "pancakes" I didn't add any salt either, but I did lightly salt the one I tested. Small steps.........

I will confess that salt and I had a clandestine meeting on Friday night when I fixed a homemade pizza with Italian sausage on it. BUT, I figured it had less sodium in it then a frozen pizza or a take out pizza. Small steps......

I hope everyone has a safe, peaceful and Merry Christmas!!!!

Kathy

Heart To Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 02:25:00 +0000

I know I've discussed my love affair with salt in the past. We were good together, salt was always there when I needed it, never jealous, never demanding. Oh...and the taste....heavenly.

But it's time that we quit spending so much time together, see each other less often. I have met some new spices. As the old saying goes.."it's not you, it's me". It's a sad, sad day. We'll still be friends, spend a moment or two together every day but not hang out all day every day.

About a year and a half ago, my blood pressure was elevated, not dangerously so, but above normal. At the time I tried to change some of my eating habits and I did good for a while, but got lazy and didn't keep at it and eventually just took the easy route and started on the medicine. I haven't liked the side effects, constant cough, sore joints, dry eyes. Then there were the times that my blood pressure would drop really low and I would have to either skip a couple of doses or cut the pill in half to get it back up. But being on the medication allowed me to eat all the salt I wanted, so even as much as I wanted to get off of it, it was hard to give up the salt.

But then something happened the other day that has me rethinking everything. I have episodes of a rapid heartbeat for which I take medication for and have for quite a few years. The rapid heartbeat can come on at anytime and last from 15minutes to 3 or 4 hours. It stops as suddenly as it starts, but the medication keeps it under control and I can go months and months without it acting up, sometimes as long as a year.

Lately, I've had several episodes in the last couple of months. Last Sunday it happened and was still going on the next morning. I went to work but couldn't stay. I was very light headed and wobbly. Turns out my blood pressure had dropped to 100/60. I went to the doctor and of course, by the time I got there my heart rhythm was back to normal, isn't that always what happens! But my blood pressure had dropped even further to 95/60. Had EKG done and it was normal, had to some blood work done and the office called today to say it was normal.

The doctor told me to stop my blood pressure medicine for a week then return to the office next week to see where we are. I've also read that another side effect of the b/p medication can be an irregular heartbeat, although not always. Of course, I realize that it could be a coincidence, but you never know.

Anyway.....I'm taking this opportunity to re-evaluate my relationship with salt. I'm determined not to go back on that blood pressure medicine. I'm really going to work on changing my habits, watching the sodium in the foods that I buy and eat. But you know, this really plays into my liking to fix foods from scratch. When you cook from scratch, you know what is in your food, how much salt is in it. For instance, I might make bread and the recipe calls for a teaspoon of salt. Considering that is for the whole loaf of bread that is not much at all. But commercial bread has a lot more salt in it than that for each slice. Processed foods are the worse so it is preferable to make it at home from scratch. I'll still be eating good food, but I'll have more control over how much salt is in it. Read the labels, it's amazing what has salt in it and how much.

I don't know for sure that the blood pressure medicine had anything to do with my heart rhythm episode on Sunday, maybe it did. Or maybe my heart medication just needs to be readjusted. But I still am going to take control of this aspect of my health.

It won't be easy, especially with the holidays coming up and all the good food. Will I be perfect all the time, probably not. Will I probably splurge on occasion and eat something really salty, without a doubt, but change takes time and I'm committed to this change. I'll keep you up to date on how it goes, the successes and failures. Wish me luck.

Kathy

Cookie Time

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 03:41:00 +0000

Chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate chip, oatmeal, sugar.....ahh the possibilities are endless when making cookies. Cookies are portable deserts, portion controlled and everyone one likes a cookie of one kind or another. They are perfect gifts because you can personalize them depending on what the receiver likes, they are easy to make and not expensive to make.

The particular cookie recipe came from a tasteofhome.com magazine, a place where homecooks share their recipes. This cookie is called "Loaded Up Pretzel Cookies" and here are the players.

Lots of players in this production, but that is what makes them so good.

I started by chopping up all the add ins, the pretzels, M&M's and peanuts. Obviously I didn't chop up the candies, but I did the pretzels and peanuts. The original recipe doesn't call for peanuts, it calls for coconut but since I loathe coconut I switched it out for nuts.

I put 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 eggs and 2 tsp of vanilla.

In another bowl whisk 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp of salt, then gradually beat into creamed mixture. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Pretzels

Peanuts

M&M's

Then you stir it altogether. Now this is kind of a stiff dough and it takes some effort to stir everything into it, but it's well worth it. Of course, if I had a KitchenAid stand mixer it would be really easy. (are you listening kitchen gods!!)

I use a small ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. The cookies bake at 350F for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

The recipe makes about 2 dozen cookie, give or take a few. I have to admit, in the interest of testing, I ate one or two right out of the oven. They passed the test.

Make these cookies for yourself, to give as gifts, to take to an office party or for you own party. I think they will be a hit.

Here is the complete recipe:

1 cup of softened butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups of chopped pretzels (the recipe calls for miniature pretzels, but I used regular pretzels)
1 1/2 cups of flaked coconut (or you can switch this out for something else like 1 cup of peanuts)
1 1/2 cups of M&M's

Cream together the 2 sugars and butter til creamy, add eggs and vanilla and cream together til fluffy. All the dry ingredients get whisked together in another bowl. Add dry ingredients slowly to creamed mixture. When the dry ingredients are all mixed in add the pretzels, coconut (peanuts) and M&M's and stir together.

Shape 1/4 cupfuls of dough into balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment paper) at 350F for about 15 minutes, til golden brown. Remove from pan and let cool of a wire rack.

YUMMY!!!!!

Kathy

"One Who Plants A Garden, Plants Happiness"

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 01:20:00 +0000

After a snowy and icy weekend, I was hoping to see some melting, but Tuesday morning, here comes some more snow. It was just an inch or so and it was pretty, but I'd already had enough snow for a while. This is the kind of weather we usually get in January, very, very seldom this early in December. I have a bad feeling about this winter.....and winter won't even start for another 2 weeks!!

But when I got home yesterday, there it was, a ray of hope, a spot of sunshine, the will to live, just sitting in my mailbox.

My 2014 seed catalog, with all it's hope and promises.

As I lovingly turn each page, looking at all the vegetables, fruits and wildflowers, I know that Spring will come again.....as God as my witness, it will be warm again. While reading the descriptions of each seed, trying to decide what I want to order and reading the little anecdotes about the company and their mission and how they acquire their seeds, a calm washes over me. It will be warm again.

Until I step outside and almost slip on the ice!!

I had some hits and some misses with last summer's garden, but this year, I'm getting an early start and it's going to be much better. I hope.

The catalog also has different quotes sprinkled throughout, like the title of this post, a Chinese proverb.

Here are some of my favorites:

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat"..Genesis 1:29

"Neither human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought, as agriculture"..Abraham Lincoln.

"Globalized industrialized food is not cheap: it is too costly for the Earth, for the farmers, for our health"..Vandana Shiva

"The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart, and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world's luxuries, king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took; we know it because she repented."..Mark Twain

"The whole imposing edifice of modern medicine, for all it's breathtaking success, is, like the Tower of Pisa , slightly off balance. It is frightening how dependent on drugs we are all becoming and how easy it is for doctors to prescribe them as the universal panacea for our ills."..Prince Charles.

"Flowers always make people better, happier; and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul."..Luther Burbank

Stay warm.

Kathy

Cold + Snow = Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 08 Dec 2013 20:03:00 +0000

Well, the "white blanket of doom" has covered our area. We received about 1/4 in of ice and then 2 or 3 inches of snow Friday afternoon and evening. The roads were a mess, it took my son 2 hours to get home from work on Friday. A trip that usually takes him about 20 to 30 minutes. Cars and trucks weren't able to get on the entrance ramps to the highways because they were so slick, everyone was sliding. Even slight hills throughout the city were causing problems for drivers. As I've said we, here in the Upper South don't do well with snow, but when ice is added to the mix, it becomes a nightmare.

Since this was a cold snowy weekend, what better time to make a big pot of chili. I must say that it sure tasted good after I was out shoveling snow yesterday. You may ask why my son didn't shovel snow? He would have if I'd asked him, but since it wasn't really a lot, I look upon it as a good way to get some exercise, so I really don't mind. Now, if it had been 7 or 8 inches, yeah, he would have done it.

Yummy......

Now I know that there is one ingredient in this picture, maybe even two, that could be controversial, but just go with me on this.

Chili can be a touchy subject, depending on what part of the country that you live in. Some say that "true" chili should be just meat and sauce, some say no to beans, spices are different depending on where you live and then there is the pasta. Most people say a big NO to pasta, but around here, maybe not most, but a whole lot of people add spaghetti to their chili. This is the way we had chili in school, it's how my family made it and every church chili supper I ever went to fixed it this way.

First I browned 2 lbs. of ground chuck.

After draining any excess grease, I then add quite a bit of chili powder, about 1/2 of the 3oz bottle, sometimes even a little more.

I then dice up a large onion. I like lots of onions and not little teeny tiny pieces either, pieces I can see.

This time I even added several dashes of cayenne pepper and a couple of squirts of tomato paste. Just for a little extra oommpf.

Then it's just a matter of dumping everything else in, the diced tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the can of chili beans. I also filled the empty cans of tomato sauce and chili beans with water to add some liquid to the chili. I ended up only using 1/2 the can of black beans. Stir it all together and let it simmer for a couple of hours.

(those yellow pieces in the chili look like corn but it's not, it's pieces of onions)

After it has simmered for a couple of hours, bring it to a boil and then add the spaghetti. I break the spaghetti into 1/3's. How much you put in is up to you, some people like it with lots and lots of spaghetti, me, not so much. I don't put in a whole lot, just enough so you know it's there.

Let it cook til the pasta is al dente then take it off the fire. It will continue to cook for a few more minutes after that. The spaghetti tends to soak up some of the liquid and you may have to add a little more water.

Ta dah!! A steaming, yummy pot of chili.

Even how you eat chili can be a tricky subject. I grew up eating chili with a peanut butter sandwich or peanut butter and crackers. Some people eat it with grilled cheese sandwiches, which is good also. It can also be served with condiments like sour cream, shredded cheese, corn chips, lime wedges and cilantro. Then there are the people who eat it with saltine crackers and they smash lots of crackers into their chili til it soaks up almost all the juice. Not me though.

The majority of the time I like to eat my chili with just saltine crackers. I don't want to soak them in the chili, I like to dip them in and scoop up a little chili on the cracker and then eat it. That way the cracker is still crisp.

It's interesting how many ways there are to make chili and how many ways there are to eat chili. I hope you will try my chili, I think you will like it. There's nothing better on a cold, snowy day.

Enjoy

Kathy

Bread And Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 02:05:00 +0000

Snow.....snow and maybe some ice...it's on it's way, maybe. Snow is not a particularly common occurrence around here. This part of the country is considered the Upper South, maybe with a little Midwest thrown in. So, while we have four distinct seasons here, unlike the Deep South, a snowstorm can through us for a loop.

While we may get 10 inches or so every year, it's usually spread out through the whole winter. We have had a few major, city-stopping snows. I remember one major snowstorm back in January of 1994. It was going to be my first day back to work from maternity leave. I went to bed that Sunday night with the weathermen predicting a few flurries or maybe a light dusting and when I work up Monday morning, we had about 16 inches of snow. Needless to say, I didn't make it back to work that day. It took most of the day to dig the car out.

Then there was a pretty bad ice storm in 2009, that left several hundred thousand people without power, as tree limbs snapped and power lines came crashing down under the weight of the ice. But for the most part we don't get a lot of winter storms.

But when there is a forecast for snow, people freak out. We all worry about getting to work on snow covered streets. Is school going to be open, can I get out of my side street or subdivision, will I be able to make it up (or down) this hill without hitting another car? Since we really don't get hardly any big snowstorms, we don't know how to react when we do. Most people don't really know how to drive in snow since we don't get that much practice. The city has snowplows and trucks that salt brine the streets, but I'm sure we don't have the equipment that more northern cities. I guess the investment is not worth it to our city leaders, considering the amount of snow we generally get, therefore, it's usually the highways and main roads that get plowed and the neighborhoods are usually left to their own devices.

To be fair to our weathermen, it is hard to predict the weather here. Living along the river and in a valley, I can't begin to tell you how many "blizzards", thunderstorms or tornadoes have seemed to come right at us but in the end either go around us or just disappear without any severe weather at all. Not that I'm complaining, it can be a good thing, it just makes forecasting to far ahead an iffy business.

But with the impending weather coming right at us (maybe) and the freezing temperatures for the weekend, it is going to be a great time to make some chili. That is my plan for Saturday. I will share that recipe with you in my next post.

In the meantime, as everyone wrings their hands about the upcoming weather, the grocery stores are being overrun with last minute shoppers getting supplies for the next few days. We always joke around here about running to the store to get bread and milk when snow is coming. I guess everyone is planning on making French toast if the can't get out of their house for a few days. We all make fun of it but we still do it.

Me, I'm getting beer and toilet paper.

Stay safe and warm everyone.

Kathy

It's All About The Leftovers

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 02:22:00 +0000

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone and now it's all about the leftovers. Everyone wants and loves the turkey day leftovers. Usually there is such an abundance of food that there is plenty for everyone to take home.

But what to do with them? Do you fix another plateful, reminiscent of the "big" meal, do you fix sandwiches or make up a casserole that includes all the turkey, dressing, gravy and assorted sides? Is there a special concoction that you like and throw together?

I decided to fix up a leftover treat that I've never made before. I can't say that it is an original recipe but I've never seen it anywhere, but surely someone has done this.

Thanksgiving pizza!!

First I made some homemade pizza dough. I make this dough quite often for just regular pizza. I got it out of the cookbook, Mad Hungry. I'll post the recipe at the end in case you want to try it, it's really easy.

I cut this dough into six individual portions for personal size pizzas. They are about 7in. across when spread out on a pizza pan.

This make a thinner and crispy crust, but I like that.

I then spread a couple of spoonsful of our families traditional sausage dressing.

Next comes the ever popular greenbean casserole. I just sprinkled around a few of the green beans, along with some of the French fried onions, of course.

Next comes the pieces of turkey.

And we can't forget the gravy, it wouldn't be complete without it.

I then baked it at 400F for about 15 or 20 minutes. I just kept checking it to make sure it was hot, since all the ingredients were already cooked, except for the dough. You can tell when the dough is done by looking at the edges. Once it starts getting crispy and slightly browned, it should be done.

I have to say, this turned out really good. It had all the flavors of Thanksgiving in each bite. Even Lola liked it. She got the last piece because it was pretty filling and she was able to enjoy the holiday leftovers.

Here is the pizza dough recipe:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 pkg. of dry yeast
1/4 tsp. sugar
2-1/2 cups of all purpose flour (plus extra for kneading)
1 tbl. extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for brushing)
2 tsp of course salt

Heat water and milk to just lukewarm, transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle in yeast and sugar. Let sit about 5 min. or til dissolved.

Stir in olive oil, flour and salt. Once the dough is combined, knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 or 15 minutes.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil and add the dough and lightly brush the top with olive oil. Cover and let stand in a warm place til doubled, about 3 hours. (Or place in refrigerator overnight to rise slowly).

Punch down dough and divide into the appropriate number of portions that you want. I usually get 6 individual pizzas out of this dough. Wrap unused dough in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag and put in the freezer.

Enjoy

Kathy

Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 01 Dec 2013 01:16:00 +0000

Thanksgiving, that all American holiday. It's about family, togetherness and remembering the things and people in our life that we are thankful for. We all gather at grandma's house, mom's house or, as time goes by, someone in the younger generation who has picked up the traditions of our family and is keeping them alive.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and while all that may be true, we all know that it's really about the food. Food that is traditional to the holiday itself and food that is family favorites that have been passed down through the years. Copious amounts of food that can be enjoyed on Thanksgiving itself and for days afterward as the coveted leftovers.

Ahh....the bird, the Thanksgiving turkey, which is eaten probably in 95 per cent of households on this day. There may be people who go the ham route or some other special cut of meat, but for the most part, turkey is to Thanksgiving what Santa Claus is to Christmas.

Now the sides are almost as important as the main dish. Mashed potatoes is a given as is gravy. Cranberry sauce is a common side to the meal. There can be homemade cranberry sauce with varying additions.

While this whole berry cranberry sauce was very good, I still have to admit that my favorite cranberry sauce will always be........

I can't help myself, it will always be my first love.

Another Thanksgiving favorite is sweet potatoes with little tiny marshmallows melted on top,

Some people have macaroni and cheese with their feast or salads, many different kind of veggies, rolls and dumplings. Then there is the favorite, traditional, much maligned, ever controversial and the dish that can go down in Thanksgiving lore........the green bean casserole.

With it's crunchy, fried onions out of the can, and cream of mushroom soup (although, I used cream of onion and cream of chicken soup) it's been the fodder of comedians for years. But I have to say, I like a good green bean casserole. I only have it on Thanksgiving and I make it like the recipe on the can of fried onions.

I'm sure the green bean casserole could be tweaked to make it healthier. It could be switched up any number of way. I've even seen some "remodeling" of the casserole on cooking shows. But, for me, it just wouldn't say Thanksgiving. I'll leave it the way it is.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday, there are no gifts to buy, no cards to send and no decorations to put up. It's all about being with those you love, whether it be family or friends or a combination of both. It's about reflecting on the past year and realizing how much everyone means to you and not taking anyone or anything for granted. It's about counting our blessings.
And it's about stuffing yourself like there is no tomorrow and still having room for pumpkin pie or maybe an apple pie for desert. Then as you sit back on your couch or recliner, in your turkey coma, it's all about the other tradition of Thanksgiving...

Watching football.

I hope your Thanksgiving was a wonderful as mine.

Kathy

Beer..Cheese..Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 02:10:00 +0000

Each one individually is yummy, but put them all together in one food, and it doesn't get any better. I found a recipe four or fives years ago in Cooking Light magazine for some quick breads using beer. Well, like I said, that seemed a win/win situation.

You just sauté the onions, garlic and pepper in a tbl. of olive oil, til softened. Let it cool. Meanwhile whisk all the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the center, add the onion mixture, beer and cheese, then mix together.

Mix this together and put into a loaf pan that has been sprayed so it won't stick. It's a rather sticky dough. Melt a tablespoon of butter and pour on top before putting in the oven.

Halfway through the baking time take it out of the oven and pour another tbl. of melted butter over the top and finish baking.

This bread is especially good to eat with soups and stews. Well, really, it's good to eat with anything. What's good about this recipe is you can easily change it up. Use an Italian beer along with an Italian cheese and cut up salami for a different twist, or a Mexican beer with Mexican cheese and jalapenos for a spicy bread. I just used a domestic beer and Monterey Jack cheese.

Here is the complete recipe:

1 tbl of olive oil, for sautéing the onions and garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp. of freshly ground pepper, although I just used regular pepper since that's what I had
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 tbl. of sugar
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you want)
1 12oz bottle of beer (not lite beer)
cooking spray for a 9x5 inch loaf pan
2 tbl. of melted butter (or more if you like)
Bake at 375F for 35 minutes, take out of the oven and drizzle some more butter and bake for another 25 minutes until a deep golden brown and a wooden stick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan
Enjoy!!

Kathy

Soup Soothes The Soul

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 02:25:00 +0000

Nothing makes you feel better than hot, homemade soup and warm, homemade bread on a cold, frosty day. That's the one thing, and maybe only thing, that I like about winter, making soup, stews and casseroles.

This weekend I made some homemade vegetable, beef soup. It's not a recipe, it's just something that, over time, I have thrown together, tweaked and changed around ever so many times. But even if I don't always fix it the exact same way every time, it always soothes the soul. That is the beauty of this soup, you can change it up to include or omit whatever flavors you like. You can leave out the meat (ahem, L.R.) for a totally vegetable soup using veggie stock instead of beef. Add whatever veggies you like or even sub chicken instead of the beef. It's totally versatile.

I usually start with browning some stew meat, of course, if you have a roast, you can always cook that and shred it to use in the soup.

Here is the setup to make the soup.

And then I found this in the freezer and decided use some of it also.

Even though this mix had onions in it, I still used the pearl onions. I like a lot of onions.....in almost everything.

I sautéed the mirepoix mixture along with the carrots until they were slightly softened, while scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up all the bits of meat and flavor.

Then it's just a matter of draining and rinsing the green beans and kidney beans and adding them to the pot along with the cut up cabbage (I used about half of the head of cabbage), corn, tomatoes, onions, meat and broth. I actually ended up using 1 1/2 cartons of beef broth. Add a little salt and pepper and I used the season salt when I browned the beef.

After it heats up, this is where you taste and adjust the flavors you want. I added some Italian seasoning and a little tomato paste.

I then let the soup simmer on medium low heat for 3 or 4 hours, until the meat practically falls apart and the soup is steaming hot.

This soup freezes well. I like to freeze it into individual servings, that makes it easy to take work or heat up at home for a quick meal.

Like I said, you can tweak this recipe anyway you like.

It's getting cold out, time to make soup.

Kathy

Sunday Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 02:39:00 +0000

My experience with just roasting a plain ole chicken has been, at times, frustrating. It sometimes comes out too dry, under done or just not as flavorful as I think it should be. Now you would think that it would be fairly easy to do.

I've seen recipes that say to just put a little olive oil on the outside along with a little salt and pepper and bake at 350 til the internal temp. is about 182 (that's according to my meat thermometer). But I'm always afraid that it's not going to be cooked all the way that I leave it in longer than it probably needs to be.

Then there are the recipes that tell you to brine the bird, or to put butter under the skin and some say don't put anything on it, just pat dry and put in the oven. Then there's the whole question of that empty cavity. Do you put something in there to add flavor to the chicken or just leave it empty. Once I tried recipe that called for putting an onion that's been cut in half, garlic cloves and a lemon that is cut in half inside the chicken. I then cooked it til it reached the proper temperature, but the juice from the cavity was still pink and not cooked all the way. Needless to say, I never tried that again.

Well, yesterday I took a different approach. After looking up several recipes, watching several cooking shows and using some common sense, I gave it another go. Apparently, leaving the chicken, uncovered in the refrigerator overnight helps to dry out the skin which makes for a crispier crust. So I did that. I then thawed out some of the chive butter that I made last summer and rubbed it liberally all over the outside of the chicken. Do not be afraid of using a lot of butter for this. I even put some of it inside the infamous cavity. I used some kosher salt for seasoning.

According to a lot of cooks you should first cook the chicken in a very hot oven, about 425F for about 30 minutes and then turn down the oven to 350F to finish. I had a pretty big bird so I cooked it for another 1 1/2 hours until the internal temp. reached 180. After taking out of the oven, cover loosely with foil and let it rest for 15 or 20 minutes. That way the juices re-absorb into the meat.

I have to say that this was the best chicken that I have ever roasted. It was juicy and perfectly done. Even my son said it was really moist and he's not a big fan of baked chicken.

I really think the difference was leaving it uncovered overnight to dry the skin, cooking it at a high temp. at the beginning and not being afraid to rub it with lots of butter.

I ate some moe of it tonight for dinner and it was still moist and delicious. Seems like just a few tweeks to what I had been doing made the biggest difference .........who knew!

Kathy

Reboot

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 03:32:00 +0000

It's been two weeks since I've been on here, I've just been really unsettled. First there was the break-in at my house. After that "violation" of my sanctuary, I felt disconnected from the whole experience. Yes, I was angry, feeling violated, upset etc. But I felt oddly disconnected.

I was coming to terms with the whole incident, then earlier this week my Mom was mugged and her purse stolen right on her own front porch. She had just returned from the grocery and was getting ready to unlock her front door when a woman ran into her fenced yard and pulled her purse away from her and knocking her down in the process. She hit her head on the concrete but it wasn't bad, just left her with a small knot on her head.

Luckily, they caught the girl just yesterday and she admitted to my Mom's mugging and two others. She would follow these elderly ladies home from the grocery and then steal their purses, One lady broke her shoulder when she was pulled down and the other was knocked down and kicked.

After my Mom's mugging, I started to feel like you couldn't be safe anywhere, in your home, your yard or just going to the store. Everyone walking down the street made me suspicious, I was constantly looking around to see if anyone was following me. I felt like I should carry all my valuables with me because they might not be safe at home, but then again, I could be mugged anywhere. I was starting not to feel safe no matter where I was. I was starting to really, really stress out and be on edge all the time.

So I've decided to give myself a (imaginary) slap in the face and say "SNAP OUT OF IT". I can't go around being afraid and distrustful all the time. Yes, I will be more aware of my surroundings, but I'm not going to let it make me on edge.

While the people who broke in my house may never be caught, the news that my Mom's mugger was caught gave me the little shove I needed to stop obsessing about it.

So Friday night I wallowed in it for a while and ate a big bowl of homemade popcorn with lots and lots of real butter and a coke for dinner and watched some trashy TV.

This morning I decided what I needed was something joyful. So I decided to start decorating for Christmas. I don't usually do it til the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I am starting early this year, just because I can. Now, I probably won't put up the tree until after Thanksgiving, but today I took my dishes down to the basement and got out my Christmas dishes and coffee mugs. I love my Christmas dishes. Tomorrow I'm going to get out my little Christmas village and set it up and put my wreath on the door and who knows what else. It's already made me feel better. I can't wait to light my pine scented candles and get out my collection of Santas. It's just what I needed.

I'm including this picture of a tree that I can see from my office. I find it fascinating how the leaves that have turned for Autumn are in three different colors. And they stay that way, they don't gradually all turn one color. They stay 3 distinct colors until they fall off. I just think it's interesting.

Here's to better times ahead and lots of good cooking.

Kathy

Ahhh..Sunday Cookin'

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 20:27:00 +0000

This is the first Sunday in a while that I feel like I can do what I really want to do, cook something. Last weekend was...well, I think you remember what last weekend was all about..security. Although, I did cook Sunday before last, but it seems like is was a lot longer than that. I guess that it was stress does to a person.

Today I am making some Chipotle Chicken Chili, a recipe from the tastykitchen.com website. It's a wonderful resource for recipes. It's in association with thepioneerwoman.com blog. This chili really looks good and while I like my own chili recipe, which I will share on here soon, I wanted to switch it up a bit and this fit the bill.

Here are the players for this soup/chili.

This is the finished product and I must say, it has a little "zing" to it. Yummy, here is the recipe.

2 tbl of olive oil
1 whole onion diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 lbs of boneless chicken breasts
1 (12 oz) bottle of good beer
1 can of diced tomatoes (I had crushed tomatoes so I used those)
3 whole chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced
1 can of kidney beans
1can of black beans
1can of pinto beans
(I just used the black and pinto beans, I found that two cans would be plenty)
1 tbl chili powder
1 tbl ground cumin
1tsp salt
1/4 cup of masa (corn flour, it can be found in the Hispanic section of the grocery)
1 lime

Heat olive oil in pot, add onions and sauté for several minutes, then add garlic and stir for a minute or two.

Meanwhile, dice the chicken into whatever size you want, I cut mine into medium size pieces. (L.R., this picture is for you.)

Then add chicken to onions and garlic and cook til just browned. Add 3/4 of the beer to the chicken mixture and let cook for about 10 minutes.

Chop up the peppers, drain and rinse the beans and then add the peppers, beans, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and salt to the pot. Cover and let simmer for 1 hour.

Then you take the 1/4 cup of masa and stir in the remaining beer. Add this to the pot and stir, it will thicken it and give a very subtle corn taste. Also, squeeze the lime into the soup. Let it simmer for about 10 more minutes and serve. The recipe suggests serving with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

I grew up eating chili with peanut butter sandwich/crackers but I'm stepping out of my box and using the shredded cheese and if I'm really adventurous, I'll use a little sour cream.

I really like chili, it is spicy and is quite different from any chili I have ever made before. Now I have to give some to my special taste tester and get her review of it.

Autumn is in the air.....

Kathy

Sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 01:58:00 +0000

A sanctuary is a place of peace and quiet, where you can feel safe and secure, be yourself and relax. For most of us our home is such a place. It's our personal space, a place we long to go to at the end of the day, where we can let our hair down, put our feet up and reboot. When that place of sanctuary disturbed and our personal space is invaded, it can be traumatic.

My home, my sanctuary was broken into last Friday, during the middle of the day. I had a doctor's appointment and was gone for about 3 hours. When I came home, I noticed a few odd things, a fan in my son's room had been knocked over, the security bar on the back door was removed. At first I thought my son had come home from work during his lunch hour and was in a hurry and knocked the fan over. I wondered if I had been in such a hurry to leave that I forgot to lock the back door. But something didn't seem right. I walked back through the rooms again, then I saw it. There was broken glass on the bathroom floor and it hit me. I turned and saw my son's tv was gone, his laptop was gone from off his dresser. I had left my laptop on the kitchen table, it was gone, along with a crystal necklace that my son had bought me for my birthday last year.

It must have been a quick job, probably one person, since only a few things were gone. I'm thinking maybe Lola scared the thief off when he came out of my son's room and started through the living room towards my room. He broke the bathroom window and climbed through. He/they didn't go through any drawers and left a few other items that I was surprised weren't taken.

I am grateful because it could have been a lot worse, more things taken or he could have hurt Lola or let her out the front door. But I don't know that I will ever feel the same about my house, hopefully I will in time, but it's going to take a while. My sense of security has been shattered, my sanctuary doesn't seem so peaceful.

I spent the entire weekend replacing the glass in the bathroom window, buying and putting up security bars on some of the windows, and extra locks on the doors. I still need to buy some more security bars for the rest of the windows. I will do that one at a time, but at least they're up on the bathroom window and my son's bedroom window. If I could afford to get a security system installed I would, but I just can't do it right now.

I've been trying hard to get out of debt and this sure has set me back. Between getting the locks and security bars. I did have to get a new laptop. not only for me but my son uses it also for his college classes. I still feel traumatized by it all.

My son's laptop had actually crashed a couple of years ago and he just uses his phone unless he needs to do something for a class then he uses my laptop, so I guess the thieves will get a big surprise. I was most upset by losing the necklace my son gave me and the pictures that were on my laptop that I lost.

It's a sad thing that you have to barricade yourself inside your own home to feel safe. That people who are too lazy to work feel entitled to take things that other people work hard to be able to have. That I don't feel a sense of peace in my home. That I have lost interest in the plans I was making to work on making a bigger garden next summer. That I look with suspicion at everyone who walks down my street. That I have to hide things when I leave for work in the morning or take them with me.

I'm sure a lot of those feelings will go away with time, but will my home ever feel like my sanctuary again? I hope so.

Kathy

Walnut Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:23:00 +0000

I bought this walnut oil a couple of years ago. Well, not this particular can, another can, this is a new can.....you know what I mean. Anyway, I bought it for a recipe I saw in a magazine for walnut bread. I never did make the bread but I did use it to make my own salad dressing.

I know salad dressing seems like such an easy thing to make from scratch, basically it's oil and vinegar, but for some reason I never could get it just right. But on the back of the can was a "recipe" for salad dressing:

4 Tbl. of walnut oil
1 Tbl. of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. of mustard
salt and pepper
and just shake it up

Pretty simple right? Yes, yes it is. One thing that I like about it, besides that it tastes good, is that it makes just enough for an individual salad. I don't like my salads swimming in dressing and the portion is just enough. I have seen recipes for homemade dressings before, but it's always way more than I need.

I've played around with this recipe by substituting different vinegar, like champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar. One thing that is really good is using lemon or lime juice in place of the vinegar. Something else that I've thought about but haven't tried yet is maybe using lemon and then honey instead of the mustard as a dressing for fruit salad......hmmmmm.

Lots of times I will add different flavors of Mrs. Dash seasoning to the dressing along with the salt and pepper, maybe the fiesta lime, lemon pepper or the extra spicy flavor. It really does make it tasty. Plus an added bonus to using this oil is that it's got lot's of omega 3 being it's made from walnuts, the good for you fats.

Now I must tell you that this oil is a little pricey. I believe I paid about $7 or $8 for it, but it will last me quite a while because I only use it for salad dressing and I don't eat salads everyday. It may last me a couple of months so I feel it is well worth it, being healthy and all.

Kathy

I must tell you though that this

Sunday Cookin'

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 01:20:00 +0000

Here it is Sunday again and I've got time to cook. I'm actually roasting a turkey breast in the oven for supper tonight, but I wanted to get something cooked ahead a time for later in the week and to put in the freezer for a couple of future meals.

I decided I had a hankering for nachos. Yummmmy. So I figured if I could cook up some "taco" meat ahead of time then I would just have to throw it on some chips, add some cheese and there it is. The meat could also be used in actual tacos or burritos. See how versatile it is and it freezes well too.

So I browned 1 1/2 lbs of ground chuck. I got a 3lb package at the grocery that was on sale. I'll use the 1 1/2 to make chili at a later date.

These are the spices I used to make the meat taste "nacho-y". But later I decided not to use the basil.

1 1/2 tsp of cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
Add crushed red pepper to taste, depending on how much heat you want.
salt
pepper
1 medium diced onion

Once the meat is browned and the excess grease drained off, add the spices and onion, stir around and let simmer for a couple of minutes.

This is a new ingredient that I saw used on a cooking show, so I bought it and was very anxious to try it. It is Mexican tomato sauce, found in the Mexican section of the grocery store (duh). It is nice and spicy. I poured it little by little into the meat mixture, letting it simmer for a while before I added more. I didn't want to make it too soupy. But I ended up using the whole can, it's only a 7oz can. Then I let the meat simmer for a while.

I had planned on soaking some black beans over night and cooking them today. But I was on the go a lot yesterday and was too tired to do it last night. But, you can always improvise, so I used a can of kidney beans that I had. I just drained and rinsed them and threw them in the meat mixture. No problem.

I let this all simmer for a while and even though I hadn't plan to eat any today, I had to have a taste for lunch. But there is still plenty for another meal of nachos or burritos during the week. I'll then freeze the rest in individual portions for future use, when I'm in a hurry and don't feel like cooking!

I shredded some of this cheese to put on my nachos. But you can always change it up by using Mexican cheese, pepper jack or any other kind of cheese that you like.

This was my quick lunch today, I just had to have some because it smelled so good. I did stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to melt the cheese. When I will fix it for dinner, I'll add some diced grape tomatoes, and have a little salad with it, you could maybe add olives if you like them ( I don't!).

I hope you will try it, it's pretty simple to make and you can add anything you like.

On a completely note, this is what my kitchen table looks like after a week of just throwing the mail and assorted things onto it instead of dealing with it daily.

Later......

Kathy

Fried Food Fridays

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:56:00 +0000

Try saying that three times really fast!! Today didn't start out to be "fried food Friday" but that's how it ended up. And I make no apologies for it, it was hot, tasty, salty and good.

Now I do try to eat healthfully during the week and sometimes I'm more successful that others, but I do make the effort. I try to incorporate more fruit and veggies in my meals. I try to bake, roast or grill any meats with maybe a fried option every now and then. I drink lots of water and limit myself to just one soft drink (coke) a day. Whole grain cereals and whole wheat bread is the order of the day. Now I may not be perfect and at times I don't succeed but I do make a conscience effort. I also make a lot of food from scratch.

But Fridays are a different story. I like to think of it as my "free Friday". By that I mean I am not so diligent about what I eat, I can indulge myself and not feel bad about it. I might have pizza, French fries, bacon or even have a big bowl of popcorn with butter for dinner. Of course I'm not saying I eat all that every Friday, it just options.

Where I work there is a coffee shop in the lobby that serves breakfast and lunch at very reasonable prices. They have bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy, French toast and also cereal, fruit, muffins and yogurt. For lunch there is assorted sandwiches, hamburgers and fries, chili, cheesesticks but also salads, cottage cheese and fruit. Most days I bring my lunch from home, but of course, not on Fridays! Everyday there is a lunch special for $3 and it could be anything from nachos to soup and a sandwich or salads or philly cheesesteaks. Let's just say that there is quite a bit to choose from.

Well, today I brought a couple of pancakes from home. I had made them from scratch several weeks ago and then froze them to use when I wanted to. They aren't big, about the size of the palm of your hand. Anyway, I brought two of them from home and then got some bacon from the coffee shop, a yummy breakfast since I usually only eat bacon about once a week.

The lunch special today was a fried, crispy, spicy chicken sandwich and onion rings, yummy, yummy onion rings. I couldn't help myself, I hadn't had any onion rings in forever. It was well worth it. I was full and I didn't feel the least bit guilty about it. But I could have used a nap......and a mint.

This was not a usual Friday splurge with all the fried foods, sometimes I might just have a big salad, a wrap or just some chili and a grilled cheese sandwich. Although, Friday will always be "bacon day". But my point was that I like to have one day a week where if I wanted to eat really bad all day then I will and I won't feel guilty about it. And I found that if you give yourself permission to splurge, more than likely you will pick "not too bad foods" a majority of the time but if you're too restrictive (at least for me) then when you go off track you REALLY go off track.

I did redeem myself by just eating a bowl of cereal, Wheat Chex, for supper.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Kathy

It's That Time Of Year

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 02:19:00 +0000

I've been meaning to post on here for days and days, but I've been so busy getting the house and myself ready for Autumn. I know, I know it is already Autumn and has been for several weeks, but around here it has been between 75 and 80 degrees for the past couple of weeks Not exactly Autumn weather. Of course when you consider that during the summer it was between 90 and 100 degrees, then it is fall-like.

Despite my well-known love of Summer and the hot, hot weather that comes with that, I do really enjoy Autumn. And there is always what I think of as a "magical" two and sometimes three weeks in October when the afternoon temperature is 75ish and the nights are in the 50's, warm days and cool nights. During this short period I have no need of air conditioning or heaters. My gas and electric bill really loves it too!! I can have the house opened up all day and since my kitchen windows sit up high, I'm able to leave windows open all night, makes for wonderful sleeping weather.

But there is a cold front coming later this week, so I've been busy "putting summer away". Last week I was washing blankets and getting out my flannel sheets. I loooove my flannel sheets. I got out my sweaters, jackets and hoodies and made sure they were clean and ready to go, changed out Lola's sheets on her bed and put on warmer blankets.

This past weekend I kicked it up into high gear by cleaning my ceiling fan and all the regular fans and covering them to store in the basement and I covered the air conditioning unit outside because there are a lot trees around my house and all the little seed "thingys" are falling and the leaves are starting to come down at a faster pace. I also gave Lola her last bath outside.

I then went outside and cut down all my hostas and my rose bush. I won't be raking leaves for a while yet, probably another month. I like to wait til they all fall and then rake them up at one time and I usually end up with about 25 to 30 leaf bags full.

I then moved back inside and took my summer clothes downstairs and brought my winter clothes upstairs. It's not like I have bunches of clothes but I live in an old house and these old house typically come with only one closet. But mine actually has two, small closets, one for me and one for my son. So I have an area in the basement that I can keep clothes that I'm not currently using. I must have made at least 25 trips up and down the basement steps this weekend between doing regular laundry, switching out clothes, taking the fans down that by the end of the weekend, my rear end was sore. Using those butt muscles which was probably a good thing.

So every evening for the past week, I've been exhausted once I sit down in the evening and could barely stay awake some to even fire off a quick post. This past Sunday I really wanted to make some homemade soup and post about that but I never got around to it. But I'm looking forward to next Sunday and cooking something good.

Autumn is nice.... crunchy leaves, Halloween and Thanksgiving Day, cool nights, sweaters and boots, soups, stews and baking pies, football and tailgating, hot chocolate. But then it all leads to winter.......ugh.

Be back soon.

Kathy

"MAD" Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 00:08:00 +0000

That's not really the name of these cookies but the recipe is from a great cookbook called "Mad Hungry, Feeding Men & Boys" by Lucinda Scala Quinn. It is one of my favorite cookbooks. She use to even have a cooking show on the Hallmark Channel until it was canceled to make room for some insipid home show full of household hints, crafts and blah blah blah.

Many times she would have her sons or other members of her family on to help her cook, the recipes were for, as she says, to bring back the family meal.

This particular recipe is for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Now, I have never been a fan of oatmeal cookies. I find most of them fairly tasteless or just plan icky. Maybe that's just me, but I decided to try these because, one, I like her recipes and two, oats are supposed to be good for you, right?

Well, I absolutely LOVE these cookies. Plus they taste nothing like store bought oatmeal cookies or any oatmeal cookies that I have tried before. Also, no raisins either, yuck.They are pretty easy to make and the recipe makes about 24 (or there about, haha) cookies.

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp coarse salt (I didn't have coarse salt so I just used regular salt)
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
6 tbl granulated sugar
6 tbl light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp water
1 cup rolled oats
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

The recipe says to whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl, but I just dumped it all in after I mixed together the batter. Your call.

Beat together the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and water and then this is where I dumped in the dry ingredients. Mix to combine and add chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 375F and I used parchment paper on the cookie sheet so they wouldn't stick. I love parchment paper. If you don't have parchment paper, butter the cookie sheet.

Drop by teaspoons (mine where more like tablespoons) one inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove and let cool.

Of course you can imagine how good they taste warm......uh huh!!

I got 22 cookies from this recipe since I used a tablespoon and not a teaspoon. They also freeze well if you are so inclined.

It's been a really rainy weekend here, really, really rainy. But it's been soothing for me to bake cookies. This morning I put a roast on, made my homemade breakfast muffins for the week and made homemade pancakes for breakfast this morning. It's good for my soul.

Just for the heck of it I'm including a couple of pictures of Lola.

She's hoping I drop a cookie, she likes them warm also.

What? What's that? Somebody must be walking their dog past the house. I must go bark at them.

Later

Kathy

The Other White Meat

noreply@blogger.com (Kathy) — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 01:47:00 +0000

I believe that I have talked about my son's picky eating in earlier posts. It's always been an adventure to cook for him, to say the least. But, fortunately, he's 19 yrs. old now and getting a little better with trying different foods. This seems to have come about because of going out to eat with his friends. However it's happened, I'm thrilled.

One food that I had a hard time getting him to eat when he was younger was pork chops. While he is a meat lover and would always eat steak and chicken, trying to get him to eat a pork chop wasn't easy, I'm not sure why. I eventually told him it was white steak and he ate it a liked it. Go figure. Hey, a mother's got to do what a mother's got to do.

I did finally 'fess up and he kept eating them. But, they had to be cooked a certain way, no breading, pan fried, but not browned and no fat. That's not an easy thing to do, food, especially meat, gets brown when you cook it. If any part of it got browned, he would cut it off. It's really hard to cook a pork chop and keep it "white". I did discover that if I went ahead and dipped them in egg and milk, then floured them, then after frying, you could scrape the crust off and the chop would not be browned.

Then I had a revelation, he loves chicken tenders and also eats the crust on them, I know it doesn't make any sense. So one day, I took boneless pork chops, cut them in strips, dipped them in egg, then dipped in flour and fried them, just like chicken tenders. Well, the heavens opened up, the angels sang and the world was right again.....he ate them and liked them, crust and all. Victory!!!

I still fix them that way today and I have to admit, they are pretty tasty. There is no magical formula, no special ingredients, except maybe the seasoned flour, but here is how I fix them.

I like using this flour when I cook, I think it has a nice flavor that gives food a little extra "umpf".

I would like to use local, pastured pork, but it wasn't in the budget this time so I used these thick cut boneless pork chops from the supermarket. I then used a mallet and flattened them out a little and was able to get four "tenders" from each chop.

After soaking in a egg and milk mixture and dredging in the flour, I just plopped them in the skillet to fry. I usually use my iron skillet, but used the electric skillet this time, that way I could get them all in there at the same time with enough room in between.

Sorry this picture is blurry (still working on my photography skills) but I think you get the idea. Drain the "tenders" on a paper towel, and I guarantee you will like them. Great finger food. You could even pair them with some dipping sauces. Yummy.

Kathy