Bradenton Bites

Menu Plan Monday

2010-02-22T12:24:00.002-05:00

...which actually goes back to the past Saturday...

Saturday - Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes - post to come
Sunday - Kalua Pork (no... not the liquor but the cooking method) - OMG gooooood stuff - post to come!
Monday - Leftover Cheesey Chicken Spaghetti and Salad
Tuesday - Hamburgers
Wednesday - Oven BBQ Chicken with Broccoli
Thursday - Pasta with Sauteed Chicken, Tomatoes, Garlic and Basil
Friday - Driving to Tallahassee and will have dinner with the boy

Chicken Kabobs

2010-02-01T19:31:00.002-05:00

Lots of challenges with dinner tonight.

I HAD to make it because I had the chicken marinating since yesterday and it needed to be cooked.

It was raining and I couldn't cook on the grill.

I had no skewers except for flavored ones that I've had for a couple of years (gross) and mini ones I use for appetizers.

So I pre-cooked the mushrooms and onions in the microwave and then dumped them on a baking sheet with some grape tomatoes. Then I dumped the marinated chicken on and stuck the entire thing under the broiler (the rack was half way in the oven) and cooked until browned.

I microwaved Uncle Bens Brown Rice in a bag and served the 'kabobs' over the rice. It was very yummy without all the skewering (is that a word??).

Would I make again. YES. I make kabobs all the time so of course I will.... and this was a quick option if need be.

Menu for the Week

2010-01-31T19:29:00.000-05:00

Saturday -- Fish (for Mark)/Steak (me) with Baked Potatoes
Sunday -- Black Bean Soup and Sandwiches
Monday -- Chicken Kabobs
Tuesday -- Chicken Spaghetti
Wednesday -- Buttermilk Chicken w/Biscuits
Thursday -- Turkey Burgers
Friday -- Date Night (my choice this week)

Hungry Girl's Sloppy Janes!

2010-01-28T16:30:00.004-05:00

Do you know Hungry Girl?? If you don't check out her website http://www.hungry-girl.com/ if you're interested in low calorie, low fat food that TASTES GOOD!! She also includes WW points for most of her dishes. This is the best sloppy joe recipe I have ever found - even if I'm not in a dieting mode (but I am, of course...still...again)

Sloppy Janes

Ingredients:
1 lb. raw extra-lean ground turkey
5 small hamburger buns (light, if available)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped red bell peppers
1 cup canned tomato sauce
3/4 cup canned no-salt-added tomato sauce
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry steak seasoning blend
dash salt

Directions:
Spray a large pan with nonstick spray, and bring to medium-high heat. Add turkey to the pan. Spread the meat around in the pan to break it up a bit.

In a small dish, combine Splenda, salt and steak seasoning. Sprinkle this mixture over the meat, and continue to stir meat in the pan. Once the meat has browned, reduce heat to medium.

Add onions, peppers, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar to the pan. Stir, and then continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauces and paste to the pan and stir well. Reduce heat to low, and cook the mixture for an additional 5 minutes.

Toast the buns, if desired. Put 1/5th of the mixture on each bottom bun, and then finish off with tops of the buns.

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Heads Up! These Sloppy Janes are a little sweet, because, well, that's the way we like 'em! If you don't like yours sweet, feel free to leave out the Splenda.

Serving Size: 1 sandwich
Calories: 271
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 835mg
Carbs: 32g
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 31g

POINTS® value 5*

Unstuffed Cabbage

2010-01-26T17:38:00.004-05:00

Unstuffed Cabbage

I love cabbage rolls; hate to make them! Changes to the recipe -- I used 2 1/4 pounds ground turkey and I added an extra can of tomato paste to make up for the extra meat. I also added season salt and some 'montreal steak seasoning' to taste. The dish needs a lot of salt. I give it a 6 out of 10...probably won't make again.

1 ¾ pounds ground beef(I used 85%)
1 medium sized onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 can (28oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 ¼ cups water
1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
¾ teaspoon black pepper

1 small head cabbage, shredded, about

8 cups

Heat a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add beef and cook for 6 minutes until no longer pink. Stir occasionally. Drain fat. Stir in onion and cook 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute.

Add tomatoes and paste. Using a potato masher, break up the tomatoes. Stir in 1 ¼ cups water, parsely, salt, oregano, sugar, and black pepper. Simmer 5 minutes.

Add half the cabbage and cook covered 5 minutes. Add the remaining cabbage and simmer, covereed, 90 minutes to 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Roast Chicken -- Gotta Love It!

2010-01-24T18:03:00.006-05:00

This is my new favorite chicken. Very good flavor and gravy.... I give it a 9 out of 10. The only change is that I didn't have wine (unbelievable but true) so I used a cup of chicken stock (instead of half) and a couple of glugs of dry sherry. I also only needed to cook it an hour. I took it out when the thigh meat was at 170 and let it rest. By the time I was done with the gravy it was 180.

Ina's Engagement Chicken

Ingredients
• 1 (4 to 5 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lemons
• 1 whole head garlic, cut in 1/2 crosswise
• Good olive oil
• 2 Spanish onions, peeled and thickly sliced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Cut the lemons in quarters, place 2 quarters in the chicken along with the garlic and reserve the rest of the lemons. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the chicken in a small (11 by 14-inch) roasting pan. (If the pan is too large, the onions will burn.) Place the reserved lemons and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the mixture around the chicken in the pan.

Roast the chicken for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the chicken to a platter, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the sauce, leaving the lemons and onions in the pan.

Place the pan on top of the stove and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Add the stock and sprinkle on the flour, stirring constantly for a minute, until the sauce thickens. Add any juices that collect under the chicken. Carve the chicken onto a platter and serve with the lemons, onions, and warm sauce.

Menu for the Week

2010-01-23T20:00:00.001-05:00

Saturday -- Schnitzel and Baked Mac and Cheese

Sunday -- Roast Chicken with leftover Mac and Cheese

Monday -- Hungry Girl's Sloppy Janes

Tuesday -- Italian Wedding Soup and Sandwiches

Wednesday -- Unstuffed Cabbage

Thursday -- Chicken Marsala

Friday -- Quesadillas

Anyone Out There?

2010-01-17T19:00:00.003-05:00

Question is.... anyone in HERE! Here's a recipe from my new hero, The Pioneer Woman. These were very good -- I'd give them an 8 out of 10 -- and will definitely make them again. The only reason they weren't higher is because they kind of fell apart when I took them from the pan to the plate. The corn tortilla fell apart but that may be because I skip the 'quick fry' part. Wish I had a picture. I'll have to remember to move my camera back over to my work area so I'll have it handy. I'll try to get back into the swing of things here!

For some reason I can't cut and paste from the website to this template. So, here's the link to the recipe -- http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/09/simple-perfect-enchiladas/

And here's what I did different.

Sauce -- no changes. I prepared it as written. I did make this early in the day and let in simmer a bit.

Meat -- I had some shredded pot roast in onions that I mixed with the canned green chillies. Turned out wonderful. Although I can't wait to try with ground beef.

Assembly -- didn't quick fry the tortillas in oil. Big mistake. The tortillas fell apart as I said earlier. Also I didn't have any black olives so I left those out.

Tomato Soup

2010-01-16T19:19:00.000-05:00

Another Pioneer Woman recipe - Tomato Soup. We have an abundance of tomatoes right now and it will be the last of them (due to the freeze) until the next crop is ready in March. I fried some green ones Friday night but had a bunch of ripe ones to use up. Decided on the soup since I'm traveling this week and I think Mark can manage to heat some of that up while I'm gone :)

Another non-picture post.... sorry!

Here's the link http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/sherried_tomato_soup/

My changes --

I roasted tomatoes in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. I pureed them with the stick blender and used them instead of the canned tomatoes.
I used 1 cup of chicken broth instead of cooking sherry and the chicken base.
I glugged in about 1/4 cup of REAL dry sherry.
I pureed the entire soup so it was creamy.

At first I thought it tasted like NOTHING. Then I let it cool down a bit and I thought it was really good. I'd give it a 8 out of 10 and I would make it again!

Chipolte Chicken Skewers

2009-09-20T19:37:00.006-04:00

These were delicious. Part of the reason for my lack of posts lately is that I don't think much of what I've made lately is worthy. Or they're repeats. But this is wonderful.

I also made a cilantro sauce and sweet potato fries to go with it. The sweet potato fries were chipolte flavored, too, made by Alexi (I think...frozen food section at Publix).

This recipe came from Joe. Like him I used the broiler (about 6 inches from element for about 7 minutes a side) since we were getting our usual Florida evening thunderstorm. I didn't use skewers since I didn't cook them on the grill. Seemed unnecessary.

Oh...this is supposed to be an appetizer or party food, but, obviously we had them for dinner with enough leftover for my lunch tomorrow!

For the chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2" thick strips

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (I used two)

2 teaspoons adobo sauce

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

wooden skewers, soaked in water

For the sauce

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 small garlic clove, minced (I used two)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 scallions, minced

salt and fresh ground black pepper

To prepare the chicken - In a large bowl, add chicken, brown sugar, cilantro, chipotle, adobo sauce, salt, chili powder, garlic and pepper, tossing well to combined. Cover bowl and place into the refrigerator to marinate for about 2 to 4 hours. Mine actually marinated for about 10 hours.

To prepare the sauce - In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and scallions - season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cover bowl and place into the refrigerator to chill while the chicken marinates. I actually put all the ingredients into the food process for a slightly green tinted smooth sauce.

Preheat broiler with a rack placed in the top position.Thread each piece of chicken onto the soaked wooden skewers. Place chicken under the broiler and bake until cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes, turning skewers over halfway through.

Serve with dipping sauce.

Beef Barbacoa

2009-09-19T19:18:00.001-04:00

The Mettille boys love going to Chipolte. I prefer Moe's just because I think you have more choices and it's a bit cheaper. But I do enjoy them both. I found a copy cat recipe online for the beef barbacoa and decided it would make good football food.

I'm not really sure it tasted the same but it was very good and I'd make it again. We topped ours with fresh tomato, seasoned blackbeans, lettuce, chopped green onion, cheese and sour cream. I had to use the small tortillas because I couldn't find burrito size that were whole wheat or low carb. This took quite a while....not something you can do on a work night. At least I can't :)

Here's the thing... Our Seminoles won against #7 BYU which no one thought would happen so do I have to make these meal every Saturday now?? We have rules in the family about game days. You can't wear a shirt that you wore when they lost. I have to wear my new FSU crocs during the game, etc. etc. You get the idea. As good as the beef was, don't want it every week!

Beef Barbacoa

Ingredients

1 1/2 # beef brisket
2 cups diced tomatoes (I used canned)
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1 seeded and sliced jalapeno (I used two)
3 Tbs. cilantro (I used a handful)
1 large onion,thickly sliced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

Put everything in a slow cooker cook on low for 8 hours. I didn't really time this. I just checked when the meat could be pulled. I took the meat out, and shredded it and then I thought what a shame to throw out all this liquid so I blended it with my immersion blender. I poured it out of the slow cooker, put the beef back in and moistened it with a bit of the sauce.

Easy Cheese Danish

2009-08-16T19:22:00.003-04:00

I've made these twice and I'm in love with them. I'm on a diet and I'm in love with Cheese Danish.... jeepers!

Thanks a lot Ina Garten. Thanks for making sure the weight I lost during the week comes back on the weekend. Thanks for making me crave these crazy things all the bloody time. Thanks for making me think about different variations and ways that they could look prettier.... Thanks a lot!

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tablespoons ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (1 lemon)
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted (Note: you could easily double the amount of pastry and have enough filling)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until it's a 10 by 10-inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife. Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold 2 opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash.

Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate the filled Danish for 15 minutes. (I don't do this -- but I do refrigerate the filling for a while before using -- last night I made the filling; this morning I made the danish).

Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking, until puffed and brown. Serve warm. Or cold. It really doesn't matter.

Not My Grandmother's Pot Roast

2009-08-16T19:08:00.003-04:00

Thank goodness! My Grandmother watched my brother and I during the summer when we were in elementary school. Every Tuesday, we had pot roast. It was greasy and disintegrated when you tried to cut it. And did I mention that we had this every Tuesday. It's something that I don't normally crave (to say the least). That is, until I saw Paula Deen make it the other day. The sauce is made with cream of mushroom soup and a bit of red wine which made it almost smell like Beef Burgundy but it didn't have that strong of a wine taste. I did throw some potatoes in the pot when there was about an hour left to cook.

From Paula Deen (with some changes)

Ingredients
1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless chuck roast
1 teaspoon House Seasoning, (I used Lawry's Season Salt and Garlic Powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion wedges
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (I used two - we're saucey people)
1/4 cup red wine (doubled the wine)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules (didn't use)
3/4 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub seasoning into the roast on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the roast, searing it on both sides. Place the meat in a roaster pan (I used a big dutch oven). Add onions and garlic to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. Place into roaster pan with meat and bay leaves. Note: I did everything in the dutch oven.

Combine the mushroom soup, wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef bouillon into a bowl. Pour over the roast. Add water.

Cover pan with lid and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

2009-08-15T18:56:00.000-04:00

I finally have some food worth talking about. Seems that lately nothing was really that good, or very interesting or just repeat food. Also trying to diet makes it hard -- it's hard enough trying to think of food that meet the calories, fat, carb restrictions!

A big hit last night -- let me tell you!! I served these with a grilled t-bone steak (for me) and blackened salmon (for Mark). The original recipe came from http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/, with of course some changes of my own.

Ricotta Stuffed Tomatoes

Tomatoes, cut in half (I used 2 big vine tomatoes)
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2-3 tbsp asiago cheese, grated
10-15 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Italian style panko crumbs

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the insides. Mix the rest of the ingredients except for the panko crumbs. Stuff the cheese mixture in the tomatoes and top with the crumbs. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake approximately 30 minutes -- but I think it would depend on the size of the tomato, too.

Comfort Food

2009-07-05T08:57:00.004-04:00

This was a nice twist on a comfort meal. Instead of tomato soup and grilled cheese, I used a couple of Tyler Florence's recipes with a some changes - I bought pesto since I no longer have a basil plant, and I didn't make the chicken meatballs - I used slice chicken sausage since that's what I had in the freezer. When I make this again, I'll purchase the correct sausage and make the meatballs.

The 'grilled cheese' sandwiches were wonderful though. In fact, I'm craving it right now. Don't use the crappy grocery store mozzerella....get the fresh stuff from the deli or from SAMS.

Chicken Soup

Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 large carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 bay leaf
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
5 parsley stems, plus 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
4 black peppercorns
Kosher salt
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish

For the meatballs:
1 medium onion, diced
Olive oil
6 links organic chicken-apple sausage meat
1 egg
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 handful fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 pounds frozen cheese tortellini, store bought
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the soup:
Set a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, half the garlic, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf, and thyme and gently saute until fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Pour in chicken broth, add parsley stems, black peppercorns and salt, to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer while you work on meatballs and tortellini.

For the meatballs:
Caramelize the diced onion in a saute pan with a little olive oil over medium heat. Add the sausage, egg, onion, thyme, parsley, and cheese to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they all come together. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking. Use a small ice cream scoop to drop meatballs onto skillet. Cook, turning, until golden brown.

Drop tortellini straight from freezer into soup. Cook until they float. Once meatballs are browned, add to pot of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Give soup a final seasoning and serve in shallow bowls with a small shower of Parmesan, olive oil, and parsley.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients
4 slices thick-cut sourdough bread
1 ball (1 pound) fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 plum tomatoes, cut into thick slices
1 cup fresh basil pesto, recipe follows (I used jarred)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil

Basil pesto:
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup Parmesan or Romano
2 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Combine pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined but still rough-textured.

Assemble sandwich by smearing insides of bread slices with pesto. Arrange a layer of sliced tomato and season with a few turns of fresh pepper. Layer the mozzarella slices over the top and then place another piece of bread on top to make the sandwich. Drizzle olive oil over skillet's surface and place sandwiches on the hot skillet or panini press. If using a skillet, place another heavy skillet over the top to form a "press". Turn after 2 to 3 minutes and replace weight. The sandwich is ready when golden brown and mozzarella has melted around the edges.

Hello Out There!

2009-07-05T08:24:00.009-04:00

I guess it's time to get back on this proverbial horse! I have some old things to post, but, I'll start with present day and go backwards.

It was a quiet 4th of July. We stayed in and I made Strawberry Margaritas (that strangely just tasted like regular margaritas).

I marinated a London Broil and sliced it thin. I used a package marinade that I got from SAMS. It's made by Weber and is chipolte flavor. You know the ones - in the packet and you mix with water and oil. I gave the beef a good soakin' - for about 8 hours and did a quick sear on the grill (about 5 minutes each side) for a rare in the middle; medium rare on the ends. It doesn't look like it from my 'resting' picture but this was juicy and very good!

As a side, I made Pioneer Woman's Hot Crash Potatoes. I'm constantly trying to eliminate the number of pans/dishes that need to be used. So instead of boiling the potatoes first and then baking; I just throw them in the microwave. Brillant. No difference as far as I was concerned. I smushed the potatoes with the bottom of a glass and sprinkled them with kosher salt, pepper and olive oil. Baked at 425 for about 40 minutes or until brown. These are seriously good!

Corn Salad

2009-06-27T09:51:00.001-04:00

Of course there is not a picture. I made this for Mark's birthday and quite frankly it was a little too hectic for me to stop and take a picture of the food. I'll give you a run down --

Brats

Chicken Sausages

Cheeseburgers

Potato Salad

Corn Salad

Boston Creme Pie

All cooked and served from our camper! While camping!

I thought the star of the show was the corn salad. Got the recipe from http://lacucinadilauren.blogspot.com/2009/05/corn-tomato-and-avocado-salad.html where you can actually see what it looks like. Mine was a little sloppier though, but, it was really good. Don't be stingy with the salt - it really soaks it up.

Just like Mark 'soaks up' getting presents for his birthday!

Easy Week Night Dinner

2009-06-22T09:39:00.000-04:00

I love sauteed zucchini. I used a combo of butter and olive oil with the zucchini, onion and a couple of tomatoes that needed to used ASAP (or throw away). Throw in some salt, pepper and garlic - it's just about my favorite veg dish ever.

To go with, I breaded some thin pork chops and did a quick fry in the same skillet until they were golden brown. Probably 3 minutes a side.

With the fat left in the skillet, I made a roux and then poured in some milk, salt and pepper (with a dash of cayenne and garlic powder) to make a cream gravy.

Good dinner. The leftover pork chops were great on a bakery bun with a bit of mayo!

Day of Smoking

2009-06-13T08:41:00.000-04:00

We decided that if we were going to fire up the smoker and use all that charcoal and wood, that we would make it worth our while.

We began with a pork roast with a rub. This was on the longest -- about 8 hours and was used for sandwiches. We poured a bit of Sweet Baby Rays on top.

The chicken was the best. It was on for about 4 hours and was coated in a jerk seasoning. I used the leftovers in enchiladas. The breast meat was so juicy it was unbelievable...I've never seen it like that before.

And then some beef. Again we used the chipolte marinade. This was just a cheap piece of some type of roast. Should have taken it off earlier - it was still good but not my favorite.

Meatballs in Gravy over Mashed Potato

2009-04-29T16:45:00.007-04:00

The plan was to alter our food again on Monday -- eating low carb at night, concentrating on fresh meats and veg. Monday I didn't feel good, my leg was killing me and I just didn't think I could stand much longer -- so we went to Firehouse Subs. Tuesday we did ok - I made wonderful Chicken Caesar Salads. So tonight I'm going for the potatoes! And gravy!

Meatballs

(I used the basic recipe for The Pioneer Womans BBQ meatballs but made some changes)

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 small onion very finely diced

Lawry's Season Salt

Lots of pepper

Mix together in a large bowl. Mixture will be gooey. Shape into golf ball size balls and place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

This gravy is awesome. I think I originally got the concept from Rachael Ray but over the years changes have been made here and there so I call it my own at this point.

Brown Gravy

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
garlic powder
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 quart beef broth
salt and black pepper to taste

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until the mixture is golden-brown and smells like cooked pie crust. I love that part. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in a cup of the beef broth, and then add the rest of the ingredients.

Eggplant Rollatini...

2009-04-26T19:52:00.001-04:00

....takes bloody forever to put together! Did you know you could only get 5 slices of eggplant on one baking sheet at a time?? Was it worth it? It was good. I probably won't make it again. It's easier to get it from Casa Italiana two blocks down the road and theirs is really better.

I sliced a couple of peeled eggplants lengthwise. Dipped them in egg and breadcrumbs and baked until golden. I basically spread a thin layer of a mixture of ricotta, spinach, garlic, and mozzerella on each slice and rolled up. I used some homemade sauce I made a few weeks ago and topped the rolls with the sauce and some mozzerella.

It made a lot. I ended up with two pans with 8 rolls each. Considering we only ate two each it's really not a practical dish for us.

BBQ Meatballs

2009-04-22T17:52:00.004-04:00

I saw this recipe and said, 'so what.' I can make meatballs. I'm like the Queen of Meatballs. What do these meatballs have that mine don't?? Curiousity got the best of me and I made them last night.

I told myself that I was going to follow the recipe (for once) but decided at the last minute to double the sauce. My advice: DON'T DO IT. It's more of a glaze than a sauce (at least mine was) and it was a bit too much.

We liked these. Ok...we liked these a lot. I'll make them again. I would even make them for other people. I liked the consistency of the meatball and in spite of the numerous steps it didn't take that long to throw together.

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes. Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour. Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

BLT Dip

2009-04-22T17:43:00.003-04:00

I made a batch of this to take to work tomorrow....and then....I had to make a batch for Mark because he totally inhales this stuff. Unfortunately I always forget to stir in the tomatoes 'right before serving' and it turns a bit soupy but I'm ok with that!

Sorry no picture -- it was kind of....well....white....and it didn't look that great in a photo. But trust me it tastes good!

BLT Dip

1 pound bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 tomato - peeled, seeded and diced

Directions:

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Crumble bacon into the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Mix in tomatoes just before serving.

Easy Monday Meal

2009-04-13T17:10:00.007-04:00

Today was my first day back to work after a bit of a vacation. I couldn't sleep last night sick to death about having to go back in there today -- so I got (I think) 4 hours of sleep. After work I needed to finalize our taxes so I was late getting home. Mark is on the road so I needed something to throw into a pot and let it cook itself until he arrives home.

I love lentils and sausage. I know it's probably a 'cold weather' meal, but, when do we get cold weather?? Of course as many of our family will tell us...our house is like a meat locker due to the a/c being on as low as it it! No wonder my bread dough won't rise, huh?

Tuscan Lentils and Sausage

adapted from Food alla Puttanesca

http://foodallaputtanesca.blogspot.com/2009/02/tuscan-lentils-and-sausage.html

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves of minced garlic

about 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 lb hot Italian turkey sausage

32 oz can diced tomatoes

pinch of dried basil

freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

1 cup dry lentils

2 cup water

5 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Heat a large saucepan over medium-low heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Squeeze the sausage out of its casings and cook, crumbling with a spoon until no longer pink. Add the onions and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until softened. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, basil, salt and pepper and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add the lentils, canned tomatoes, and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add spinach and cook 10 minutes more, until spinach is wilted and lentils are tender.

Easter Dinner

2009-04-12T19:54:00.006-04:00

Appetizers -

Deviled Eggs and Stuffed Celery (no picture - I was busy eating!)

Cocktails -

Anything you wanted -- martini's, manhattans, margarita's, magners, bourbon, beer, etc. My mom's bar is usually very well stocked!

Ham and Scalloped Potatoes (not pictured)

Corn Casserole

Asparagus (not pictured)

Pineapple Casserole (not pictured)

Angel Food Cake with Pineapple Cream and Raspberries

Honey Yeast Rolls - Finally!!

2009-04-12T19:44:00.005-04:00

Well...I did it. I made something with yeast. I utilized the recipe from Brooke at '...and a cookie for dessert' http://brooke-cookiejar.blogspot.com/2009/01/honey-yeast-rolls.html.

I liked the recipe because it utilized the bread machine and I've had so much trouble getting dough to rise. And ya know, my mom never baked bread. She is a great cook but I never 'saw' bread being made -- so when someone says (for instance) 'the dough should be slightly sticky...' I have no idea what that looks like! But anyway -- these turned out nicely and I already have plans to make some hamburger and hotdog rolls the same way!

Honey Yeast Rolls

2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

1 cup warm water (105°-115° F)

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoon canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

4 cups bread flour, separated

vegetable cooking spray

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon honey

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining 1 cup flour and mix until it is incorporated into the dough. Switch to the dough hook, and continue kneading on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, about 2 hours.*

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.Punch the dough down and divide into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball and place into a round, lightly greased baking dish, spacing evenly. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush lightly over the tops of the rolls. Bake at 400° for 13-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*To utilize your bread machine, put all ingredients (through flour) into the machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer and select the dough cycle. Once dough is done, proceed with paragraph 3 of the recipe.

Mozzarella Quesadillas

2009-04-10T20:56:00.004-04:00

As irritating as she can be, I tend to like Rachael Ray recipes. We like recipes with lots of sauce and lots of flavor and they usually don't disappoint. This recipe, however, did disappoint. Absolutely no flavor at all. I've thought about what to do differently next time and decided there wouldn't be a next time -- too many other recipes in my to-do pile. The only good thing about the recipe was how wonderful and creamy the fresh mozzarella got as it melted.

Just in case you want to play around with this -- here's the recipe. Maybe some additional garlic?

Caprese Mezza Luna
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

Ingredients
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
4 large flour tortillas, about 10 to 12 inches
1 ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
12 leaves fresh basil, shredded
2 vine ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a small pot with garlic until it bubbles, simmer a minute. Brush a skillet with garlic oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the first tortilla and blister it 30 seconds, flip and cover half of the surface with arranged layers of mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and fold over the quesadilla, cook 30 seconds on each side to set. Remove from pan and repeat. In less than 10 minutes, you'll have 4 half moons (mezza lunas). Cut into quarters and serve.

Camping on the Suwannee

2009-04-09T18:47:00.001-04:00

Riverfront property on the Suwannee River. Beautiful, however, the river was running FAST and rising noticeably from the time we arrived.

Our caravan of campers. We're really roughing it, huh?

Good location for an afternoon nap.

Hardly anything better than grilled hotdogs for lunch!

Beef Stew Ala Campfire

2009-04-09T18:23:00.006-04:00

Last weekend my brother braised a chuck roast and produced a wonderful tender roast and some very flavorful pot liquor to go along with it. Beef broth with seasonings, soy sauce, garlic...it's all good. Then Monday night (while we were camping in Suwannee) he broke out the dutch oven and placed it over a fire that had been going all day.

He sauteed --

Fingerling potatoes
Mushrooms
Onions
Carrots

in some oil.

Then added the beef and beef broth to the pot. That simmered for a bit until the veg was tender and then added a slurry of cornstarch and beer.

The final result was served with chunks of crusty bread that had been toasting slowly on the grill. Both the stew and the bread had a nice smokey flavor to it. It would have been nice to get a final picture of it had I not dove head first into my bowl forgetting all about my camera!

Camping - All About the Food!

2009-04-09T08:15:00.008-04:00

If you've ever gone camping you know that the day you arrive is a long day. Setting up camp can take upwards to 2 hours -- so when dinner time rolls around I usually want something that's quick and easy. Whether you cook this in a cast iron dutch oven over a campfire or a pan on your electric stove, this is good stuff.

Jambalaya (adaptation of Rachael Ray's 'Everything Jambalaya')

2 cups white rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1 lb smoked sausage, cut into bitesize chunks
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped (I leave out because we don't like)
1 fresh bay leaf or dried bay leaf
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper sauce
2-3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 (14 ounce) can chicken stock or chicken broth
1 palmful of cajun seasoning (I actually used two but we're spice hounds)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 lb medium shrimp, raw,deveined and peeled
coarse salt

Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.
Add oil and butter to the pan.

Cook sausage for a couple of minutes until browned.
Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne.
Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more.
Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cajun seasoning, garlic, and Worcestershire.
Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp.
Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm.
Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet.
Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls over white rice OR using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya.

I Guess I Have Pasta Issues

2009-03-29T15:54:00.005-04:00

As much as I love pasta, I really only love it in certain ways. As most of you know, I will order Spaghetti and Meatballs anywhere it's on the menu. And then I'll ask if I can substitute angel hair! If there is only meatballs and sauce over ziti or bowties or something like that, I'll pass. I like fettuccine - but don't normally care for alfredo sauce (unless it's just a small portion as a side dish). I like elbow macaroni only in mac and cheese and in goulash.

Is this weird? When I started typing it didn't seem weird but now the word 'therapy' is popping in my head.

Ok. So here's the point. I'm going out on a limb today and making the Penne Ala Betsy. Key word here being PENNE. I hope it's as amazing as all the reviews say it is. It's another Pioneer Woman (http://www.pioneerwoman.com/) recipe.

Side Note: My basil plant died. Did you know that fresh basil in the produce section costs 3.89!! Are you kidding me?? I could have bought two new plants for that!! Which I will - take that Publix!

Penne Ala Betsy (PW's sister)

Olive oil
Butter
1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 lb penne or other short pasta
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper
Parsley
Basil

1. Put water on to boil for the pasta.

2. Heat a large frying pan and melt 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp olive oil in pan. Sautee shrimp until opaque and then remove to a plate to cool.

3. Melt another 2 tbsp butter and olive oil in the same pan and cook garlic until slightly browning. Add onion and cook until translucent.

4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook per package directions.

5. Add 1/2 cup of wine and allow to cook down for approximately a minute. Then add tomato sauce, stirring to combine, and cream.

6. Chop parsley and basil and add to sauce to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Remove shrimp tails and chop shrimp into tiny, bite-size pieces. Return to sauce and stir to combine.

8. When pasta is cooked, drain, and then add to sauce, tossing to cover.

Day after thoughts: This was delicious. Even with the penne! I don't think Mark was prepared to like it because I think he smelled the wine that went in the sauce - but then I cooked most of that out. The only thing is neither of us thought the shrimp added anything to the dish. And we LOVE shrimp. Probably would leave it out next time and make it a meatless meal.

All In The Family

2009-03-27T15:35:00.002-04:00

My brother is a brilliant cook.

I'm a good cook which means I can read, I know what a teaspoon of salt looks like without using a teaspoon, and I can improvise a bit when I need to. My brother can re-create meals he's had in restaurants and can whip up a creation on the spur of a moment. We're going camping with him and his family next week so I'm excited to see what he whips up for us.

When we were kids, my mom would let us pick out a recipe that we wanted to cook (once a week) and she would buy the ingredients. My first pick was veal parmesan -- she told me that veal was too expensive and that she would get round steak instead -- haha. Anyway, one of my brother's creations during those dinners was his 'sizzle burger.' He would get the skillet screamin' hot with butter, put the hamburger patties in the pan and then doused them with worchestire sauce. What a mess it would make - splattered grease, butter and worchestire sauce all over the stove and cabinets....but oh my gosh, they were good.

Here's his Slab-O-Grouper and Green Beans that he had for dinner a few days ago. Wow...I just noticed his old-school platter. He must have stolen that from Mom's kitchen back in the 70's. Now I know what to get him for Christmas!

Wingin' It On A Friday Night

2009-03-20T15:06:00.001-04:00

I read on another food blog about a commentor who accused the author of stealing recipes. She, as I would have been, was outraged. I like having this sharing community of recipes and ideas and thank everyone for making my meal planning very easy. So....with that in mind I *really* thank Elizabeth at http://elizabethscooking.blogspot.com/2009/02/maple-hot-wings.html for this wonderful wing recipe. I changed it up a bit but I'll post the originally recipe with my changes in red.

Maple Hot Wings
Serves 4 Wing Lovers

6-7 whole chicken wings, divided (I used an entire bag of the quick frozen wings from SAMS)
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup lite soy sauce
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 TBSP minced garlic
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/3 cup maple syrup
2 serrano peppers, sliced (I used a healthy pinch of crushed red pepper)
Oil, for frying (I didn't need oil, see below)

Heat oil to 375 degrees. (I threw the wings on the grill and cooked them for about 45 minutes - they were frozen when I put them on there). Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, garlic, onion powder, pepper, maple syrup, barbeque sauce, and serrano peppers (or crushed red pepper). Bring to a low boil and simmer to allow it to thicken. Fry the wings until cooked through (should be about 10 minutes). Remove serrano peppers. Pour sauce over wings and shake to coat.

These were sweet and spicy and sticky and delicious! Serve with Bleu Cheese dressing (1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 4 ounces of bleu cheese, salt, pepper, couple of shakes of garlic powder, 1 tsp of sugar and a dash of red wine vinegar).

Oh...I also recommend having some wet-wipes around for cleanup!

There Is So Much Tahini!

2009-03-15T13:02:00.005-04:00

I bought the $7.00 container of tahini when I wanted to make the Black Bean Hummus my mom made one night. Since the purchase, I've made two more batches of that recipe. Today I ventured out a bit and made a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.

Spicy Red Pepper Hummus

2(15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
12 ounce jar roasted red peppers
6 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Olive Oil

In the food processor, puree the chickpeas, red peppers, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Process, using long pulses, until the mixture is fairly smooth, and slightly fluffy. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in and stir. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Update: I'm not feeling all that bad about the 7.00 can of tahini now. Oh my...this is GOOD!

Eating in Ireland

2009-03-14T11:50:00.001-04:00

I've been lucky to be able to visit Ireland twice (so far). The first time I went with my Mom and we took an organized motorcoach tour that turned out to be wonderful. We didn't really know what to expect but it was very cool - there was only a couple of times we wanted to stay someplace longer than the tour allowed, or stop at a place we drove by. But we stayed in wonderful B & B's and had traditional breakfasts that were incredible, visited pubs and local restaurants.

A few years later we returned with Megan and felt brave enough to handle the island on our own. We flew into Shannon, rented a car and made our way around the south of Ireland, ending in Dublin. We had a blast -- it was adventurous and so unlike us to travel without set plans or an itinerary (I make an itinerary when we take day trips to Orlando!). We ate in small waterfront restaurants, famous tourist spots, and got snacks at local bakeries and grocery stores. We walked the cities we visited looking for traditional Irish music at night. We played with a schnauzer in an abandoned church yard and we veered off the motorway at the last minute to find a monument of some sort.

I know this is a food blog and not a travel blog so let me get to the point -- THEY DO NOT SERVE CORNED BEEF IN IRELAND!! I never saw it on a menu! It never touched my lips. Here's what they do have that we will never forget and never be able to re-create or find at home:

Butter
Beef Stew at Greta's
Roasted Potatoes to put in the Beef Stew
Breakfast Sausage
Butter
Cheese
Brown Bread for Breakfast
Shepherds Pie
Butter
Toasted Special's!!
Club Orange
Bulmers Irish Cider, and finally,
Butter

I did see Bacon and Cabbage on a few menus, but bacon in Ireland is not like our bacon. It's more like our country ham.

Regardless, I love Corned Beef. I buy them primarily around St. Patricks Day because they're on sale. And....here is my second use of the slow cooker this week.

Corned Beef

1 Corn Beef (I use the flat cut)

1 Bottle of Guinness

1/4 cup of Spicy Brown Mustard

Water

Mix the beer and mustard and that funky flavor packet that comes with the meat. Pour over the meat in the slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the meat. I cook on low ALL DAY LONG until the beef is cooked through and passes the slice/crumble test. I kind of want it to fall apart like pulled pork. That's just me though.

Crock Pot Chicken

2009-03-13T11:19:00.001-04:00

I always *want* to use my crock pot more. I just don't know what to do with it. Crock pot meals are always so 'DONE.' And maybe a little mushy. That probably doesn't make sense but I think the food breaks down too much in the slow cooker. My work days are longer than the 6 to 8 hours cooking time that's normal for slow cooking. I know I could get a timer but it's never been really worth all of that. In spite of all this, I used my slow cooker twice this week! And it worked out well.

The first is a BBQ Chicken. Remember the chicken I thawed for the sweet and sour dish?? It was a huge package of bone in chicken breasts (for the sweet and sour chicken, I deboned them) and I had three left. I think I feel better about the slow cooker now. :)

Pulled Chicken

3 Large Chicken Breast
1 Bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Chipolte BBQ Sauce
1 Large Onion, Sliced
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
1/2 Bottle of Beer

Place the chicken in the slow cooker and place the sliced onions on top. Mix the BBQ sauce with the beer and the spices. Pour over the chicken; cover the pot and cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the chicken breasts and shred using the two-fork method. Return to the pot to coat with the sauce. Serve on fresh bakery rolls (or the cheap rolls in the bread aisle...it doesn't really matter).

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2009-03-08T10:32:00.002-04:00

I'm not one to be left out so I needed to get on this sweet and sour chicken bandwagon. Credit goes to Melissa at http://madebymel.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/sweet-and-sour-chicken/ for the inspiration. She credits a few other bloggers for the recipe as well.

I don't cook anything Asian and have it turn out tasting Asian. And when I read things that say 'better than take-out,' I'm thinking yeah, right.... I was going to first make this for my mom on her birthday and then I chickened out; then it was on our weekly menu for two weeks after that but I somehow managed to avoid it.

But then I THAWED THE CHICKEN. And that means commitment in our house! So here ya go. I followed the recipe exactly but next time I would add some red pepper flakes to the sauce. Also I chunked the chicken into about 1 inch cubes but some of the pieces were thinner and smaller due to the dynamics of the chicken breast of course... anyway, Mark commented that he liked the smaller pieces better so I will cut them smaller next time. Oh....one more thing -- I had to read and re-read the cornstarch and egg bit because it seemed backwards to me. But it works -- dredge in cornstarch and then roll them around in the egg. Gives it a great crunch and color.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken:
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar ( I used rice wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stove top. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

Florida in February

2009-03-01T09:48:00.001-05:00

What do you cook when you live in Florida in February and it's a beautiful 78 degrees?? Something on the grill of course. Along with some tangy and slightly sweet coleslaw and baked beans.

I had a slab of regular pork ribs that needed to have the membrane taken off the back. It's kind of a pain but you won't be able to enjoy your ribs if you don't remove this. Here is a video on how to do this.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-remove-the-back-membrane-from-pork-ribs-242508/

Cooking ribs at our house is usually an all day process. There's baking going on; then we move to the smoker and maybe to the grill for finishing off. On this night however, it was the very basics --

1 Slab of St. Louis Style Ribs (or what we call 'regular' ribs)

Pork Rub --

1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Paprika
1/4 cup Pepper
1/4 cup Kosher Salt
2 TB Cayenne
2 TB Garlic Powder
2 TB Onion Powder
2 TB Chili Powder

Liberally rub the ribs with the spice mixture. I let it sit there undisturbed while the grill heated up. I let it heat to 500 degrees and then turned down to medium with ended up being around 300 degrees. I put the ribs on and lowered the lid and let them cook slow for about an hour and a half. I moved them and flipped them quite a bit making sure they were cooked evenly. When they were done (I always check to see if the meat has pulled away from the bone) I slathered them with some Sweet Baby Rays Chipolte BBQ Sauce.

Simple But Satisfying

2009-02-27T19:08:00.007-05:00

Friday night is usually 'close the kitchen' night at our house. But we are watching our pennies, like most people these days, so we decided to stay in. Besides, we're visiting Megan in Tampa on Sunday and hope to go out for some good Cuban food in Ybor City. Anyway, we decided on grilled cheeseburgers and corn on the cob. I prepped some toppings - bacon, lettuce, tomato and onion.

Grilled Burgers

1.5 pounds of ground beef (and not the lean stuff - we wanted a good flavor!)

4 TB - A1 Sauce

Salt and Pepper

2 TB Montreal Steak Seasoning

1 TB Garlic Powder

5 Slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese

5 Buns, Toasted

Preheat the grill until it's screaming hot. Mix and form the beef into 5 patties. Place on the grill and cook until you see some liquid coming up on the top. Flip. Cook a couple more minutes and then place the cheese on top. I closed the grill cover to melt the cheese - about a minute or so depending on how thick the cheese is.

I topped mine with bacon, tomato, onion, ketchup and mustard.

Friday Night De-Lights

2009-02-22T08:09:00.005-05:00

My Mom made these meatballs for dinner Friday night and we were lucky enough to be able to take a couple home for lunch on Saturday. They were almost better the next day. The gravy is fantastic! Don't you love it when someone else feeds ya??

Funny thing...this is a Rachael Ray recipe and while we were eating the episode in which she made it was on tv! Ha! Anyway she served them with garlic mashed potatoes with spinach.

Gorgonzola Filled Meatballs, Bay and Onion Creamy Tomato Gravy

(Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground veal (Mom used pork)
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
2 handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 handfuls plain bread crumbs
3 tablespoons sliced or finely chopped sage leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces Gorgonzola
1 tablespoon butter
2 fresh bay leaves
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place meat in a mixing bowl and season with salt, pepper, add in garlic, eggs, cheese, bread crumbs and sage. Mix meat, roll into 8 large balls and arrange in a baking dish. Coat balls with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Using the end of a wooden spoon, make an indentation half way into each ball and fill the cavity with some Gorgonzola. Bake until golden and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and butter in a sauce pot over medium heat, add bay and onions and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and tomatoes and heat through, stir in cream, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer to thicken slightly 8 to 10 minutes.
Ladle sauce into shallow bowls and top with big stuffed meatballs and potatoes alongside, if desired.

Weekend Treat

2009-02-21T07:49:00.001-05:00

Friday night Mark and I went to my Mom's for dinner. For 'cocktail hour' she served Spicy Black Bean Hummus. It was so good that the next day I made a batch for myself. I should have taken a picture of my Mom's because it was in a pretty dish but I'm afraid all you would have seen is Mark hunched over the bowl... he barely let me even get to it! So here is the picture from cookinglight.com.

Spicy Black Bean Hummus

(Cooking Light Magazine)

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper

1. Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. We served with tortilla chips.

An Irish Girl Cooks Italian

2009-02-14T18:55:00.005-05:00

On Saturday morning Megan texted me asking for a good Baked Ziti recipe. She was having some friends over for dinner and they wanted pasta (and I'm sure lots of wine)! I heard through the grapevine (Mike, her twin, is our family Rona Barrett) that it was pretty darn good. Meg sent me a picture but it got deleted so I'm posting one from http://www.allrecipes.com/ where the basic recipe came from with some adaptation from Megan.

Here's the recipe I gave her.

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
1 pound mild Italian sausage
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 large yellow onion, minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce, divided
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cook the pasta about 8 minutes in boiling salted water until almost cooked through. Drain.

While pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, and cook and stir until brown, about 10 minutes. Drain sausage and set aside. Stir together the ricotta, egg, onion, garlic, and oregano in a large bowl until well combined. Stir in the drained pasta, the drained sausage, salt, pepper, and 1/2 jar of the spaghetti sauce; mix well.

In the prepared baking dish, cover the bottom with 1/3 jar of spaghetti sauce. Layer 1/2 of the pasta mixture, 1/3 jar of spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Then layer the remaining 1/2 of the pasta, 1/3 of the sauce, and 1/2 of the cheese. Sprinkle with basil. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Uncover; return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 10 more minutes.

The Squash Doesn't Fall Far From the Vine....

2009-02-13T19:13:00.001-05:00

Mike calls me from the grocery store near his home in Orlando. He says, 'I have very little money....tell me what I can get for cheap that will last a couple of meals.' I suggest grabbing a can of green beans and a can of corn, some ground beef and maybe a hamburger helper type mix.

He calls me back a few minutes later and says, 'I just couldn't do it.' And then sends me a pic of his dinner. His choice for dinner was sauteed chicken breasts and fresh zucchini sauteed in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Eat More Chikin'

2009-02-10T19:26:00.007-05:00

As much as we like to support our local businesses, Mark and I LOVE Carrabbas. I mean LOVE IT. And we talk about it all the time. More than we talk about our kids.

We start out by ordering two dishes of spices and olive oil because Mark doesn't share this well and doesn't care if any one else gets any. A small order of mussels comes next along with a request for more bread. Because really -- what else would you do with all that sauce in the bowl of mussels if you didn't sop it up with bread.

Mark's entree is usually pasta with a spicy tomato sauce and I get the chicken marsala. Mark always says...next time I'm getting that...but he never does!

So - here is my version of Chicken Marsala. I served it with steamed broccoli. There's probably an easier way to do this but this is how I manage it. And, surprisingly, it comes together very quickly.

Chicken Marsala

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large container of mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup of chicken broth

1 cup of marsala wine

2 tablespoons of butter

Seasoned flour (I used Lowreys Season Salt and Pepper)

Saute the bacon in a large skillet until almost done. Add the mushrooms and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until tender and bacon is done.

While that is sizzling away, pound out the chicken breast until they have an even thickness about 1/2 inch. Dredge in the seasoned flour.

Remove the bacon and vegetables from the pan. Drizzle in a bit of olive oil and place the chicken in the pan. I cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Take those out of the pan and put the mushroom mixture back in. I sprinkle a bit more flour and let that cook for about a minutes. Then add the chicken broth and wine. I let that cook for a few minutes, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Once you get that nice smooth sauce, I put the chicken BACK IN and let them heat back up a bit.

Now if we were skinny people I would serve this over spaghetti, but we're not (please refer to the first paragraph of this post and you'll understand WHY we're not).

The Star of the Show

2009-02-07T19:06:00.002-05:00

Roasted Vegetables. Wonderful. A few years ago, my mom suggested cooking my veggies this way and I (most) always listen to my mom! Good thing too, because, these are so good. I've roasted everything.....cauliflower, butternut squash, cherry tomatoes, zucchini!

Tonight I had zucchini, a sweet florida onion and a tomato. I tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper. They roasted on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Should have cranked the oven to 450, but.....there is some spillage on my 'easy clean' oven mat that I need to clean unless I want the smoke alarm to go off. Sorry, Mom...I'll do it this weekend, I swear!

To go with the veg, I lightly breaded some thin pork chops and fried them in a bit of oil. They were ok. Just ok. I was counting on the vegetables to be the big taste at this meal and it was.

Chinese Craving Taken Care of? Check!

2009-02-02T11:34:00.006-05:00

Friday night, Mark, Mom and I went to the Panda Garden in Bradenton. It's located on 14th Street just south of the Ford dealership.

I hadn't been to Panda Garden in years but I've been wanting Chinese food in a real restaurant. I have good memories of getting those massive quantity entrees that everyone at the table feeds from. Hoping that it was still good, we gave it a go. What a good decision.

First of all - I didn't see anything on the menu (I'm talking dinner) that was over 7.50. The prices are unbelievably low, the family who apparently owns and works at the restaurant are tireless, attentive and somewhat intimidating. Mrs. Owner made us laugh with how fast she talked and how strong her accent was -- throwing Mark into a tail spin when she asked what kind of soup he wanted......wontonoreggdropsoup?....huh? WONTONOREGGDROPSOUP? Oh, right....Won Ton please!

Portions were huge. Mom ordered the dumpling appetizer. She got (and shared) 6 very large fried dumplings. Then she ordered the MooShu Pork that was enough to feed three people. I mean, three HUNGRY people. Mark got a combo platter with Shrimp and Lobster Sauce, Soup and an Eggroll. I had Mongolian Beef with an Eggroll. Again, enough to feed three people. When Mrs. Owner brought our food out, she was so cute (and scary) and wouldn't let us lift the covers off our dishes! Next time we'll be splitting a meal.

Our bill for all that food was 30.00. Ok...honestly....Mark and I can spend 20.00 at McDonalds (Not really. Ok. Yeah, sometimes). We'll go back and maybe next time I'll have the nerve to snap a picture. Of Mrs. Owner, of course AND the food.

Super Eats

2009-02-01T08:30:00.018-05:00

Superbowl Sunday. Here's the scene.

My cocktail.

Super Dog.

The Food.

During Pre-Game -- we had ham salad 'tea' sandwiches and a veggie tray. Followed by a salami and cheese.

Second Quarter. Crabbie Melts

1/4 cup butter

1 (5 ounce) container sharp processed cheese spread

1 can of cooked crabmeat

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

6 English muffins, split

Preheat oven on broiler setting. In a medium bowl, mix together margarine and cheese spread. Stir in crabmeat, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and parsley. Spread the mixture on the split English muffins. Cut into quarters. At this point I put them on a cookie sheet to flash freeze (about an hour) and then I put them in a freezer bag. When ready to eat, stick under the broiler until hot and bubbly. No need to defrost.

Halftime. Stuffed Mushrooms.

1/2 Pkg of Bulk Sausage (I used hot)

1/4 Onion, finely chopped

12 (about) Large Mushrooms

1 Garlic Clove, minced

Season Salt

8 oz. Cream Cheese

1/4 of Parmesan Cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sausage, onion, garlic and the mushroom stems (that you chop very fine) until done. Add seasonings. Set aside to cool. Mix in the cream cheese and parmesan cheese. Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Enough Said :)

Guest Photographer

2009-01-31T08:51:00.005-05:00

Megan sent me a picture of her breakfast this morning. Megan is working with a personal trainer who has her working out intensely (BEFORE she goes to work in the morning) and eating low fat, low carb, high fiber, low calorie, and whatever else he feels like....the tyrant that he is! I do know that she is eating a LOT of veg and fruit these days.

Don't these strawberries look good?

Alice Springs Chicken (kind of)

2009-01-29T20:03:00.003-05:00

We've determined during all this dieting biz that the majority of our carbs need to be eaten before dinner. Seems like when we eat them at night -- even if they are whole wheat/high fiber -- we either gain or stay the same weight.

So with that in mind I made my version of Alice Springs Chicken. This is an Outback dish that I'm not even sure is on the menu these days. I would never order it there though because how could you go there and not get a slab of beef. Seriously.

Alice Springs-Like Chicken

4 Chicken breasts - around 4 ounces - pounded out to even thickness

12 slices of bacon - pepper bacon if you have it

Honey Mustard

Cheddar Cheese

Smear honey-mustard on both side of the chicken. Put it to the side. Cook your bacon and leave the grease in the pan. But I use low fat bacon so there is not that much grease. If you use regular bacon take some (if you must) out. Cook the chicken until done. Top each piece of chicken with 3 slices of bacon. Top with cheese. Cover with foil until the cheese is melted. Serve with a bit of honey mustard on the side.

Superbowl Sunday

2009-01-29T12:37:00.004-05:00

My menu for the Cardinal's victory on Sunday is --

Stuffed Mushrooms
Cheese, Meat (Hickory Farms), Veggie Tray
Crustless Mini Sandwiches
Crab Melts

and maybe (because I really want them....but, depends on how lazy I get)

Crab Rangoon

I met Kurt Warner once. My friend Mary and I were at the Press Party when Tampa hosted the last time (2001?). We actually crashed the party because the person who was supposed to sneak us in didn't show up.....so while I hid around the corner, Mary (who I still can't believe did this) -- went to the check in desk and was like....Uhhhhhhh, yeah, uhhhhhhh, right, we should be on the list! We're not!?!? Well....we're with King World Productions and you can ask 'mumble, mumble, mumble...' and then she grabbed a couple of badges and took off. Ok. I'm kind of exaggerating that last part but we got in due to her making up some name of the person authorizing our attendance and they said ok.

And while I'm confessing -- we didn't really meet Kurt Warner but he was there and we were there so it was dang close! Along with Dante Culpepper, Stone Cold Steve Austin and lots of other sport celebrities that I can't remember because it's been at least 8 years!

My Sunday Comfort Food

2009-01-25T19:05:00.003-05:00

I love making a roast chicken on Sundays. I do it one of two ways....either low and slow - and the result is like the roasted chickens you get at the grocery store. Here is the recipe I use --

Roasted Chicken

2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper1
Whole chicken
1 c. chopped onion

In a small bowl, mix all seasonings. Drizzle some olive oil on the chicken. Rub mixture into chicken - inside and out - patting mixture into skin. Stuff cavity with onions. Scatter some carrots and onions around the chicken. Roast uncovered at 250 degrees for about 5 hours, basting occasionally with pan juices until chicken is golden brown. This is a very moist chicken. Check your thigh (not yours, the chicken's) to see if the temp is 180 degrees.

I've made a big batch of the seasoning and keep it in a jar in my cupboard. I use it for other things although for the life of me I can't think of single thing right now.

Today, though, the damn chicken wouldn't thaw. So I used my other method.

Basic Roasted Chicken

Whole chicken
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper (actually today I used lemon pepper)
1 onion

You got it....drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season with WHATEVER. Really. Sometimes I use Lawry Season Salt. I don't EVER use garlic powder....it burns. Again, scatter some veg around the chicken. Tonight I used butternut squash with wedges of onion. It was yummy.

Roast at 425 degrees for about an hour and half. But I check at an hour fifteen with the thermometer because I don't want the white meat to dry out so as soon as that dark meat is done...or even almost done, I'm whipping it out of the oven. Let it rest for about 15 minutes to let it finish cooking and it's also easier to slice.

The Perfect Diet Dinner

2009-01-24T07:32:00.005-05:00

I love Kabobs. I think it's all very handy -- everything cooks together in one little package. I once even made a 'kabob bar' if you will for Mother's Day. When the guests arrived, they got a list of ingredients on a slip of paper. They put their name on the paper and then chose the meat and veggies that they wanted on their individual kabobs. My preferred side would be a flavored rice or couscous but since we're watching the carbs I steamed three broccoli crowns.

Beef (I used a sirloin)

2 small tomatoes (or some cherry tomatoes)

1/2 medium onion, cut into wedges and separated somewhat

14 medium mushrooms, left whole

Marinade

I cut the sirloin up into 1" cubes and marinaded them in Wish Bones Bountifuls dressing that Mary sent me from Las Vegas (from where she works). I ended up with 12 ounces of beef.

Soak your wooden skewers in water for a good while (I'm just saying this because it's the right thing to say. I never do this. It seems that they burn no matter what!)

Now....I microwave my veggies for about 3 minutes before skewering them with the meat. This way, the meat and the veg get done at the same time. I alternate the items going on the skewer, starting with a cube of beef and ending with a cube of beef (I put three cubes of beef on each skewer). So....beef, onion, mushroom, tomato, beef, onion, mushroom, tomato, beef. When finished with the six skewers I take the rest of the marinade and brush it over all the veggies and then salt and pepper the entire lot.

Now by this time your grill is screamin' hot. Oh...did I mention turning on the grill? If you didn't, do it now and get yourself a glass of wine. When the wine is gone, the grill is probably hot enough.

How long you cook these things is a personal choice. Mine are seared on the outside and then moved to the other side of the grill to cook the veg up a bit more resulting in a nice med-rare center on the beef. I don't lower the lid because I don't want the beef to 'bake.' They cook probably a total of (less than) 10 minutes. So be sure your sides are done before you put these on the grill!

Try them also with pork, chicken or shrimp! They never disappoint and you get a good portion of your '5 a Day' out of the way!

Moments and Memories

2009-01-23T08:02:00.002-05:00

Mark asked me the other night what the best meal I'd ever eaten. I told him that I didn't have ONE favorite meal of all times, but, I had moments or days or events that were favorites in my memory. Were they gourmet meals? No. But they're the events that have helped define my life, my relationships, my weight issues....

Not in any particular order and certainly just a sampling -

1. Potato Puffs at Two Friends in Key West during Mark's and my first trip together.

2. Cold meatloaf sandwich from a deli on Pike Street (Seattle) with my mom. We had a picnic at Chateau Sts. Michele in Seattle and watched a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert.

3. Shrimp Fajitas in Cozumel at Casa Denis with our friends Mary and Dennis.

4. The antipasta platter at Amicci's in Baltimore's Little Italy.

5. Eating dungeness crab with my friend Maureen on the waterfront in Seattle. The best I've ever eaten.

6. NEW YORK PIZZA!! At Big Nicks on Broadway in NYC. Sitting at a sidewalk table.

7. After driving all over Los Angeles looking at the sites, Valerie and I stopped at Gladstones in Malibu late afternoon, got some appetizers, and watched the sunset while sitting on their deck.

8. Sitting in the Italian Restaurant at Snowshoe with Mom and the twins and it began to snow. Through the twinkly lights outside. It was a magical moment for me -- can't even remember what I ate. Oh who are we kidding -- chances are it was spaghetti and meatballs.

9. The smell walking into the Pancake House in Gatlinburg with Mom and Mark -- smelled like my Grandmother's house when I was little. Coffee. Strong, rich coffee intermingling with the smell of pancakes and bacon cooking....OMG!

10. The best salsa and freshly fried tortilla chips I've ever eaten at this motor inn right outside the entrance to the Grand Canyon. I even put it on my eggs the next morning.

Gotta Have Me Some Noodles

2009-01-22T18:50:00.005-05:00

So we are nearing the end of three weeks of dieting. It has gotten easier -- mentally, but I'll be tell ya -- the hard part is planning the meals (and TRUST ME I get absolutely no help from Mark), figuring the calories, fat, carbs and protein. Then you've got to measure how much all those ingredients made and then divide it into servings.

For instance, tonight I made a Carrabbas Style Pasta. I had to collect all the nutritional values, multiple it by the number of servings (the can of fire-roasted tomatoes was 30 calories per serving; 3.5 servings per can) and then I divided by 4 overall servings. And what's up with the pasta measurements -- a serving is 2 oz dry. What am I supposed to do with that? I had to cook the box and measured it by a cup. Here's my recipe --

Carrabbas Style Pasta

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

Olive Oil

1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

5 links of hot turkey italian sausage

6 big basil leaves, cut into confetti strips

1 healthy pinch of crushed red pepper

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon of sugar

4 cups of cooked spaghetti (I used whole wheat)

Saute (in large skillet) the garlic in olive oil until it smells wonderful. Remove the casing from the sausage and brown in the same pan, breaking it up as it cooks. When all the pink if gone, add the can of tomatoes, crushed red pepper, sugar and salt. Let simmer away for about 15 minutes. Actually I let it simmer until the spaghetti water came to a boil and the spaghetti was cooked and drained. Then stir in the basil.

Measure 4 cups of the spaghetti into the skillet with the tomato/sausage mixture and toss. Top with a bit of parmesan cheese.

I'm not one for making up recipes and having them work...that's my brother's gig. But this was pretty darned good. And...I have two servings leftover. I have to decide it I'm going to give them to Megan when I see her this weekend. Good Mom? Selfish Mom? Good Mom? Selfish Mom?

Photographically Challenged!

2009-01-19T11:23:00.005-05:00

You must think I'm not cooking? Well I am but I'm dieting too. So usually by the time dinner is done -- I'm so dadgum hungry I don't even think about taking a picture. Maybe I'll have more control tonight. Afterall, I'm entering week 3 I should be getting used to this, right?

So in the last couple of weeks I've cooked a lot of chicken -- one was called Chicken Picante and I got it from the Biggest Loser Cookbook. You basically take some light cream cheese and smear it on a chicken breast and top with salsa. Bake it covered for 15 minutes, uncover it and put a bit of low-fat cheddar cheese on it and cook it until bubbly and melty. That was really good and it looked kind of pretty too.

I also made a meatloaf and that was very good. I based the recipe on Barefoot Contessa's Turkey Meatloaf. That was really good. For days and days it was really good. Now - not so good. It'll be a while before I'm hungry for meatloaf again. :)

We've eaten a good deal of salad -- chicken caesar salads, southwest chicken salad, plain lettuce salads. We also discovered that there is absolutely nothing you can eat at Sonic and stay within your calorie allowance, BUT, you there are 6 good options at Subway!

Tonight I'm making chicken wings. Teriyaki wings done in the oven. Hopefully I can contain myself long enough to take a picture!

Cheesecake Factory

2009-01-18T12:17:00.003-05:00

Cheesecake Factory takes a lot of heat from food critics. I don't really know why. It's almost like it's chic to hate Cheesecake Factory. Being on the outside (of chic) looking in most of my life -- gotta say....I love it. I love everything about it. I love how it looks, I love how my water glass is immediately refilled, I love the value for what you get, and I love the diversity of the menu.

I loved, until yesterday, the sliders. They're on the appetizer menu and are amazing. Four mini burgers with fried onion slivers and 'secret sauce.' Yesterday, though, I needed to find an alternative.

Why?

Sliders for Lunch + Diet = Nothing To Eat for Dinner That Night Because All Your Calories and Carbs are Used Up YOU FAT PIG!

We literally spent 30 minutes going through the menu and all of our options. Meg and I decided on the Baja Chicken Tacos (hold the rice...extra black beans, please). And Mark got the Wasabi Crusted Ahi Tuna with extra veggies instead of the rice.

I now have a new favorite. I would get the Baja Chicken Tacos even if I wasn't dieting! The homemade guacomole and the avocado cream were delicious. The black beans addicting!

Mark's ahi tuna was good (he says) and was a big piece. We're thinking between 6 and 8 ounces! He insisted on spreading more wasabi on it and we found it very entertaining watching his eyes burn and nose hairs sizzle.

Can't Get These at the Red Lobster!

2008-12-31T10:00:00.007-05:00

Ya know how you see the Red Lobster commercials on tv and all the food looks so good and fresh and bouncing all over the plate. And now they claim to have a GRILL MASTER cooking these wonderful dishes with grill marks all over them. Well I have to admit that I haven't been to Red Lobster in years. Reason #1 - Mark got sick there and ended up in the ER; Reason #2 - we live in a coastal town in Florida....there is absolutely no reason we should be supporting a national chain seafood restaurant when we have locally owned restaurants with fresh seafood; #3 - it's EXPENSIVE; #4 - When you get the food, it's a mess. Bland looking, small, not appetizing at all. Granted if you lived in the middle of Ohio or somewhere like that maybe Red Lobster is the best you can get! But not here and not at my house. Seriously these are the best fried shrimp you could possibly eat. I got the breading sequence from Elise at http://www.elise.com/recipes/.

My, oh my....this is some fine eating my friends!

Pound of large shrimp (think 16 - 20 count) peeled and butterflied. I even took off the tails - I don't want to have anything in my way when I eat!

1 cup of flour with salt and a bit of cayenne pepper
2 large eggs beaten
1 cup of panko crumbs (is that what they're called?? doesn't sound right.)
1 big bottle of canola oil

Put oil in skillet to heat. I used my 30 year old electric skillet, poured the oil halfway up the side and heated to 350 degrees.

Put the flour mixture in a ziploc baggie. I put all the shrimp in at once and shaked 'em up a bit coating them thoroughly with flour. I then dipped each of them into the egg making a bit of a glue on the shrimp -- then on to the panko coating each one completely. I did about half the shrimp at a time letting the coating rest a bit before plunking them into the oil. It was a quick fry - about 5 minutes on one side and maybe 2 or 3 on the other side.

A bit of fresh lemon juice and some awesome cocktail sauce -- oh my!! These are so crispy and good. Even good the next day for lunch. I reheated in a 400 oven on a cookie sheet with some cooking spray until I heard them start to sizzle a bit.

Acceptable Lasagna

2008-12-20T10:32:00.002-05:00

Mark reminds me often of the things I can't make as well as his mother or grandmother or aunt...whatever. It doesn't really bother me but I do attempt to make things he likes since he's my only audience these days. One of these items is lasagna. He likes DRY lasagna. Here's what I did which produced a product that he announced 'very good.'

Box of no-boil noodles
Leftover homemade sauce with spicy sausage
32 ounces of whole milk ricotta
Parmesan - the powder stuff
4 cups of shredded mzzerella
2 eggs
Garlic powder
Dried basil
Dried Italian seasoning

I basically followed the directions on the noodle box. Except the ricotta mixture. I mixed the ricotta with the two eggs and seasonings, a handful of mozzerella and a handful of parmesan. This doubles the cheese mixture. Bake as directed.

Wished (now) that I had taken a picture of a slice of lasagna. It really held together well and was quite pretty!

Fried Chicken....Finally

2008-12-15T10:31:00.001-05:00

Ok...so continuing with trying to tackle some very basic recipes (for some people anyway) I'm not giving up on frying some decent chicken. This method was good and I can improve on it.

Flour with dried italian dressing mix

1 cup up chicken

Canola Oil with a couple of tablespoons of bacon fat

I used my 1980 electric skillet and poured in the oil to go half up the sides. I heated it to 350 and plopped in the bacon grease. I put the flour and dressing mix into a ziploc bag and put a few pieces of my rinsed chicken in there at a time and gave it a good shake until well coated. I fried it until golden brown on both sides and then covered the skillet for approximately 20 minutes of cooking. I took the cover off for the last few minutes just to give it another chance for crisping up a bit. The end result was a lightly breaded, crispy chicken -- most importantly DONE in the inside!

Next time -- I will soak the chicken in buttermilk 24 hours in advance and I will probably double flour the chicken to provide more of a coating.

Toad in a Hole

2008-12-14T10:41:00.001-05:00

Why am I so comforted when I make and eat these? My kids probably don't even remember eating them...but really what could be better? I love things (and places) that are so self-contained!

Pepper Bacon

2008-12-13T10:55:00.000-05:00

Have you tried it? OMG...it is slap-your-momma good. Great on sandwiches!

The Infamous Marlboro Man Sandwich

2008-12-09T10:58:00.002-05:00

I've seen this sandwich posted all over the internet and finally decided to give it a whirl. It was good but I think I need some more seasoning (or maybe some different flavors) in the meat and onion mixture. It was actually better to me the next day. I was surprised how well the meat stood up to the cutting into strips and sauteeing since it was cube steak.

So giving full credit to Ree (by the way, check out her amazing website) -- http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ here is the original recipe -

Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich

2 to 3 pounds cube steak (tenderized round steak that’s been extra-tenderized
1 large onion OR 2 small/medium onions
4 French/Deli rolls
Butter
Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco

-Slice onions and cook in 1/4 stick butter until soft and light brown. Remove and set aside.-Slice cube steak against the grain. Season with Lawry’s. -Heat 2 TBSP butter over high heat (in same skillet) until melted and beginning to brown. -Add meat in single layer. Cook one side until brown, then flip and cook until brown, about a minute on both sides. -Add 1/2 (at least) Worcestershire sauce, 5 to 6 shakes Tabasco, and 2 TBSP butter. Add cooked onions. Stir to combine.-Butter halved French rolls and brown on skillet. -To assemble, lay bottom half of French roll on plate. Place meat mixture, followed by a spoonfull of juice from the pan. Top with other half of roll, cut in half, and devour!

Christmas Lights

2008-12-07T11:09:00.001-05:00

Masterpiece in progress.....

Cookies

2008-12-06T11:33:00.002-05:00

Soft and chewy. I used peanut butter and chocolate chips. The recipe is right off the bag of chips.

Fresh and hot!

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-12-06T11:19:00.006-05:00

Everytime I make chicken pot pie, Mark says 'it doesn't look like a pie.' Ok...here is your pie! And it was so good.

I got the recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/.

Chicken Pot Pie

Refrigerated Pie Shells

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups cooked chicken, chopped
2 carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I didn't use potato but I added a handful of frozen peas)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. In a separate pan, saute mushrooms in 3 tablespoons of butter, then stir into saucepan. Stir in chicken, carrot, celery and potatoes. Mix well and pour into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown, and filling is bubbly.

Ok....here's the thing. I don't unless I absolutely have to use multiple pans. I sauteed the vegetables first, added the 1/2 cup of butter and flour to make a roux. Then the chicken broth. I also added a glog of cream for some richness. I made sure that the mixture was very thick. I even let it set to cool a bit before baking to set up some more.

Look how it stayed together!

Raina's Birthday

2008-12-03T11:42:00.001-05:00

Mark and I joined Raina's birthday celebration at El Mocajetes in Palmetto. The company - good. The food - not so good. It did, however, prompt me to make my own salsa. In all honesty, Mexicali across from Walmart on Cortez Road is better and I classify that as only a few steps above Taco Bell.

Anyway, it was a good birthday celebration! Karaoke was entertaining - especially when Haleigh joined in.

Boiled Peanuts

2008-11-22T11:55:00.000-05:00

Secret -- buying fresh GREEN peanuts! They actually cook and get soft in less than 6 months! I bought a couple of packages from Publix so Mark could cook them while we're camping.

Fresh GREEN peanuts

A big stock pot

Cajun Seasoning

Garlic Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Once again, no measuring. We boiled the peanuts for about 3 hours and pronouced them 'done.' However, we left them on the fire for another two hours just because we thought...why not? Won't they be even better? The better part is that they were easy to access while we sat out by the campfire.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-11-10T12:34:00.003-05:00

Monday -- Buffalo Style Turkey Burgers and Steamed Asparagus

Tuesday -- Dinner with my Mom

Wednesday -- Chicken Wings and Steamed Broccoli

Thursday -- Vegetable Beef Soup and Rolls

Friday -- Kitchen Closed

Saturday -- Beef Stir Fry

Sunday -- Roast Chicken with Carrots, Potatoes and Onions

Smells of My Mothers Kitchen

2008-10-20T17:17:00.001-04:00

My mother used to make the best vegetable soup. I crave the smell and taste of that soup when it gets cool outside. I think I make a good (meaning very close) version to hers but I don't think it's as good. Maybe because things always taste better when someone makes it for you, right?

I love lots of cabbage in this soup so when Mark stopped at a Veg Stand recently and brought home this monster head of cabbage, I knew what I wanted to do with it.

Basically I brown the beef until it's colored and add the shredded cabbage, some chopped onion and carrot. I then add a large can of chopped tomatoes, beef broth and water. Mom would have added potatoes too, but, they make me fat(ter). I add salt, pepper, garlic powder, a bay leaf and some low sodium soy sauce. And I swear, that is it. It made enough where I have a container in my freezer ready to defrost anytime I want!

The Kids Will Be Proud

2008-10-19T17:10:00.000-04:00

....That I reached so far back in my memory (the memory that fails me every day) and remembered one of their favorite meals. At least I think this was! Sometimes they tell me (now that they're adults) that they just didn't want to hurt my feelings but if they saw ONE MORE quiche they were going to find alternative living arrangements.

Here's what I made Mark for lunch today!!

Grilled Shrimp

2008-10-18T16:59:00.000-04:00

Have I told you about the meal we had in Cozumel in August? I'm sure I've told EVERYONE but just in case you weren't listening.....

To make a long story short we had an amazing meal at Casa Denis. We had queso with warm tortillas, pork tacos, chips and salsa, and the best shrimp fajitas I've ever had. The shrimp were spicy and cooked with a nice crispy coating of seasoning.

I've tried to duplicate but am afraid the only way to do it correctly is to haul the cast iron skillet out of the camper and use that to cook in. In the meantime, I like to grill my shrimp. Next time we go camping I'll try again using the cast iron skillet over a fire.

I marinated the shrimp in a bit of oil, water, and cajun seasoning (think it was Tone's -- one of those big containers you get at SAMS). It was more of a paste actually as I wanted it to stick to the shrimp as they cook. I decided for ease of cooking I would skewer them and add some onion of course. End result -- not even close to the meal in Cozumel but pretty darned good.

More Football Munchies

2008-10-12T16:48:00.001-04:00

This is definitely a can-opener meal. Sorry if I offend anyone, but, honestly I defy anyone to make a better plate of nachos.

My favorite nachos are a mountain of chips with dollops of beanless chili (ok, Hormel -- you happy now??), and a cheese sauce made with Velvetta and a bit of cream melted together. I may, if I have some, top with some shredded cheese. I pop the plate in the microwave just to get everything warm. Then I top with chopped scallions, sliced jalapenos (pickled) and then some chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce if I have them. Tonight I didn't so they were topped with some salsa and sour cream.

These are slap-your-mama good!

Old Favorites

2008-10-11T16:21:00.002-04:00

I'm an impatient person. The thought of taking each of those green beans and snapping off the ends....oh my gosh. But I do it. I do it because it's so worth the ten minutes (seriously it turns out to take only 10 minutes at the most...and yet I complain).

The best green beans in the world are trimmed, rinsed, put in a big pot, throw some raw bacon in that's been cut in about inch pieces, salt, pepper, some chopped onion and then another big scoop of bacon grease. You put this on the stove and bring it to a boil. After, reduce to a simmer and let it cook all day.

Now these are the green beans that are COOKED. Definitely not 'tender-crisp.' Cooked enough to make a good pot-liquor in your pan. Good enough to eat as a soup! Take a look....

I served the beans with meatloaf and mashed potatoes, making a very nice dinner and wonderful leftovers for the week.

BONELESS Chicken

2008-10-05T16:07:00.001-04:00

Mark tells me today that he has decided that he's not going to eat 'meat off a bone' anymore. So I ask for clarification, 'does that mean ribs?' No, it didn't. 'does that mean pork chops?'
As I kept asking, I found that it apparently only meant chicken.

Eager (albeit confused) to please I made some boneless fried chicken fingers with a garlic-horseradish mayo for dipping.

This was a good football watching snack for the weekend. I mixed some salt, pepper and a bit of cayenne in flour. Dropped the tenders in beaten egg and cream and a couple of drops of hot sauce and then rolled in the flour. Fried them in a large skillet with about 1/4 of an inch of canola oil until they were nice and brown and crispy.

For the mayo -- it was a bit of a tasting experience. Some mayo, a good dousing of garlic powder and a heaping spoon of horseradish.

Back to Basics

2008-10-04T15:27:00.002-04:00

Sometimes you've gotta shove that pile of recipes to the side and pull out a classic. For a football snack today I thought Mark would enjoy the classic spinach dip -- right down to the pumpernickel bread bowl!

You can, of course, find the recipe on the back of the dried vegetable soup mix. We seriously ate the entire thing in one sitting.

Edelweiss?

2008-09-21T15:19:00.002-04:00

I have no idea what that means. It's the only thing that sounds German to me. I love German food....or my idea of German food. Who really knows. I would like to go to Germany someday and try it out! Other than the beer, I think I could fare rather well in Germany. Afterall, I did in Ireland and one could barely get a glass of water instead of Guinness there!

To satisfy my cravings, I boiled and then slowly browned some bratwurst and made some German potato salad. The potato salad was just ok. I'll try a different recipe next time.

Margarita's Anyone?

2008-09-21T10:59:00.002-04:00

Well not for a while anyway. But Mark planted a Key Lime Tree. Hopefully we'll get limes next season.

Did That Just Happen?

2008-09-21T10:55:00.003-04:00

Did the Seminoles forget that this was a REAL GAME, with a REAL TEAM? You're kidding me, right? Oh and Wake Forest -- don't go around celebrating and patting each other on the butt...I would be embarrassed if I were you! Puh-lease.

This is how I got through it.

Seminole Saturday

2008-09-20T10:36:00.000-04:00

Mark has had a hankering for Oysters Rockefeller. I keep putting it off. First you have to go to a special store to get the oysters. (yes, truly, I am *that* lazy). Then you have to keep them on ice (or simply put them in the fridge...again...excuses, excuses). Then you have to make the creamed spinach and grate the cheese -- ok see the recipe below. Then you have your husband ask 1) do you know how to open these things? and then 2) what is THAT??? (looking at my oyster knife that I stole years ago from my parents house).

I've been shucking oysters since I was a wee girl and really challenge anyone (maybe not my brother) to do it faster or better than I. My knife (you can't use those wimpy looking things they sell these days) is a relic and is the only tool I'll use. The end result - clean, fresh oysters cooked nicely on the grill to start off the Seminoles game Saturday night.

Let me tell you -- this are OH MY GOD good. Do yourself a favor (and if you don't it won't be my fault because I warned you) get two dozen oysters and double the recipe.

Creamed Spinach

1 pkg Green Giant Frozen Creamed Spinach - Cooked
3 TB Heavy Cream
3 TB (maybe more...I'm not sure) Parmesan Cheese
A couple of heavy dashes of Cayenne Pepper

Oysters Rockefeller

12 Oysters - Shucked, rinsed and detached (I'm sure there's another term for that)

Pile the spinach mixture on each oyster in the shell. Top with additional parmesan cheese. Place on outside grill (set on high) until the mixture is bubbly and you can kind of see the oyster curling up a bit (it's done then). CAREFULLY - remove with tongs avoiding losing one (rolling my eyes) in between the grates of the grill.

My Butt was Smoking!

2008-09-19T10:22:00.000-04:00

For almost 13 hours but worth it! I've had a pork butt in the freezer for a few months now. I knew it was going to be a production to cook and we needed to wait for an 'easy' weekend that we could dedicate to the smoking process. So - at 7:00 a.m. we got up and started to prepare the smoker. The butt was rubbed (gawd...I love saying that) and ready to cook low and slow! End result was a tender piece of moist meat - half that I pulled for sandwiches; the other half I sliced for later in the week.

My Rub

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Paprika

1/4 cup Pepper

1/4 cup Kosher Salt

2 TB Cayenne

2 TB Garlic Powder

2 TB Onion Powder

2 TB Chili Powder

My Mop

1 Bottle of Beer

1/2 cup Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Oil

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

He's No MIKE LOWRY.... But He's My Mike

2008-09-16T11:11:00.007-04:00

Things I love about Mike. My special child and Megan's twin. He lives in Orlando and although I don't see him as often as I like, I talk to him (several times) every day.

1. When he was little he would hide in the racks of clothes while I shopped. He didn't make a mess or anything, he would just sit in the middle of it all.

2. He is very passionate. Sometimes it's with the wrong things, but, nonetheless, he's a passionate person.

3. He's clean and sober. And he's just as passionate about that as he was when he wasn't clean and sober.

4. He's thankful for his family and his life and his job. All the things we all take for granted every day but he takes the time to communicate to people.

5. He cuts his own hair better than he could ever pay someone else to do. Seriously.

6. He spends more time getting ready to go somewhere than anyone I've ever known.

7. He loves coffee.

8. He can't tolerate a mess for long. He will for a while and then all of a sudden (usually at 3am) he'll break out the cleaning supplies and won't stop until it's done.

9. He loves really good food. He would make a good restaurant critic.

10. He reads the Wall Street Journal and enjoys it.

11. When he's talking to me on the phone, I hear him say 'excuse me,' 'thank you,' 'please,' and 'hey...how are you doing?' to people on the street and that makes me smile.

12. He makes sure he calls his Grandmother every couple of days to see what she's up to.

13. He is very GAP-ish. He look like he stepped out from the pages of a GAP ad.

14. He pretends he knows nothing about picking out clothes so the sales girls will help him. In actuality he's critiquing their clothing choices in his head at the same time.

15. When he was in High School his Algebra teacher had him be the substitute teacher when she had meetings.

16. His laugh is cool. Not as cool as Megan's (sorry Mike) but it's genuine and fun.

17. He likes all kinds of music. Once when he was little, he came home from hearing an orchestra play at school and said he could feel it in his heart.

18. He finally likes himself.

19. He never once was embarrassed by me like some teenagers were....ya know the ones who wouldn't even walk near their parents at the mall -- acting like they didn't know them.

20. Was afraid of a german shepherd in our neighborhood and was so startled that when he ran into the house he forgot to close the door and the dog followed him into clear into my bedroom. This is really a very funny story - much funnier than it sounds here - but he and Meg know!

I love you Mikey! You've turned into lovely, kind person who will do good work in this world someday. I truly believe that.

Don't Know What Got Into Me --

2008-09-16T10:12:00.000-04:00

but...I took lunch in for my co-workers last week. My intent was to make Miss Leslie's (via Rachael Ray) Ham Salad. The outcome was the only part of that recipe I used was the biscuit idea. Which, by the way, when I served some to Mark for dinner the night before...he did NOT appreciate. The man just wanted a bun or a couple of slices of bread!

Ham Salad

1 lb of deli ham (I had them cut it thick) - pulsed in the food processor

1/2 onion - pulsed in food processor

2 celery - pulsed in food processor

1/3 cut of mayo

2 TB mustard

dash of garlic powder

3 TB brown sugar

1 TB cayenne pepper

3 TB sweet pickle relish

Mix and let the flavors combine for a couple of hours. Placed on large size biscuits (8 to a tin).

There's Something About Megan --

2008-09-15T15:49:00.002-04:00

This has nothing to do with food. Well sorta because I love this girl more than a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs!! And everyone knows how much I love spaghetti and meatballs!

I'm really proud of my daughter. She's a good person and has a big heart. Even though she can be a bit (ahem) opinionated and hard-headed, here's (just a partial) list of things I love about her--

1. She is really good with children.

2. Which is good because she's a 3rd Grade Teacher!!

3. She has some weird way to do math... but it worked and you could say what's 338 x 476?? And she would contort her face and her eyes would roll in the back of her head and she'd give you the damn answer!

4. She likes shoes. Has ever since she was a baby. She would get dressed to go out to play and pick out a pair of pajamas and black patent leather shoes.

5. She makes really good baked asparagus.

6. And grilled chicken (she claims...I've not had it).

7. And beer-cheese dip.

8. She knows everything about football, I swear! Every rule, every player, every team, division, etc.

9. She can't drive without talking on the phone.

10. She will only have one drink per hour when out with friends.

11. She's the Beer-Pong Champ of Tallahassee! That's my girl!

12. She's an expert at driving round-abouts.

13. She's good even driving round-abouts the wrong way (don't freak out....in Ireland, I mean).

14. She's is very shy and people don't realize that about her. They instead mistake it for being a snob.

15. She makes a point to talk to her best friend from high school and college every Tuesday.

16. She recently made a plan to rescue Mike from a potential hurricane evacuation because she thought no one would remember to.

17. She cheats at Monopoly. Actually she cheats at any game she isn't winning at the time.

18. She will only camp in a tent. However, she does come in to our trailer when she needs to use the bathroom or heat something up in the microwave! Go figure.

19. She is very loyal to her friends but has learned to play work-place politics, too.

20. Is probably screaming at the tv right now since the Bucs just intercepted the ball!

Love you Megan!!

Philly Cheesesteak Eggrolls

2008-09-14T14:56:00.004-04:00

This was very good. I'm going to try with some other fillings. I got this recipe from Robin Miller on Foodnetwork.com. I hope I'm not breaking any laws by posting it here. Trust me I'm giving her full credit!!

Cooking spray

1 cup sliced onions

2 cooked fillet or rib-eye steaks, cut into thin slices (please...I used roast beef from the deli)

8 spring roll wrappers (I had enough meat for 6)

6 to 8 ounces provolone cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook 3 minutes, until soft. Transfer spring roll wrapper to a flat surface. Top with steak, onions and provolone cheese in bottom third of wrapper. Roll wrapper one time, fold in ends, and roll up. Place on prepared baking sheet and spray with cooking spray.

Roast cheese steak egg rolls and peppers 15 minutes, until wrappers are golden brown.

More Poppers

2008-09-14T14:53:00.003-04:00

Made more poppers for the Bucs game today. Today I used chive and onion cream cheese and baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes.

And this time I remembered to take a picture!

Football is in the air....

2008-09-13T14:26:00.001-04:00

Ahhh......football season. Our favorite season of all. Most people get to look forward to spring, fall and even winter. The only season we have is football! For us that means endless text messaging back and forth with the kids (complaining or celebrating), snack foods instead of meals, and cocktails in the jacuzzi while watching the game on the outside tv. Chores are schedule around game time both for the 'Noles and the Bucs!

Today was chicken wings. I marinade for a bit in olive oil, salt, pepper and Crystal's Hot Sauce. Then I throw them on the grill and cook them on medium with the lid down until their done. Lift the lid, crank up the heat a bit and let them crisp up.

When I take them off the grill, I toss them in medium Hooters Sauce. Oh, I know....there are a zillion wing sauces out there and I'm always saying to homemade is best but this stuff can't be beat. Add some crispy celery and bleu cheese dressing and we're ready to watch Florida State beat Chattanooga!! Go Noles!

Cocktail Hour

2008-09-12T14:48:00.002-04:00

My normal at-home cocktail is cranberry juice mixed with pineapple juice with a tad (or so...) of vodka. The other day though my mom said she was mixing cranberry juice with lemonade so I gave it a go --

1 can of frozen cranberry juice

1 can of frozen lemonade

5 cans of water

Fill your glass with some crushed ice. Add a couple of glugs of vodka and then fill with the juice.

I need to come up with a name for this.... Buc's Brew; Seminole Slush; Football Juice....

You Say Tom-ay-to, I Say Who Cares...Bring Me More!

2008-09-11T11:32:00.005-04:00

Do you know what this is?? This, my friend, is a REAL TOMATO! I know...you're saying, of course it's a tomato - it's red, round and probably has some little seeds inside.

The difference, you see, is it actually HAS SOME TASTE!! I've lived in Florida all my life. Tomatoes are red and wet -- but they don't really taste like anything. If ya wanna taste them you get yourself a glass of tomato juice...seriously. These jewels made a 1,200 mile trip from Illinois so I thought it only appropriate to celebrate their arrival by frying a pound of bacon and toasting some bread. No L for this BLT?? Nope -- didn't want the distraction!

Addiction Warning!

2008-08-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

Grilled Jalapeno Poppers

I tried making these once before and they were a flop. I think that I tried to cook them fast – like my bacon wrapped shrimp – so the bacon would get nice and crispy. So I changed my strategy – LOW AND SLOW this time and it worked well.

I sliced the jalapenos in half. Gutted them (not completely because I wanted a bit of heat) and stuffed 4 peppers with a sharp cheddar cheese spread and the other four with cream cheese with some onion and garlic powder. I put the two halves together and bound them with a piece of bacon. Now I think that most people would have maybe cut the piece of bacon in half? Seriously?? I say…the more bacon, the better!

I had the grill on low and cooked the peppers with the lid on. I had a bit of cheese bubble out but not much. I also – about half way through – turned off one of the burners and cook on indirect heat just to slow the cheese escaping.

(this is NOT my picture -- this is courtesy of 'longelegantlegs' on allrecipes)

These were REALLY good. I mean, REALLY GOOD. The peppers were hot….ya know sometimes you can’t really know how hot they’re going to be. I had tears running down my face but yet….could not quit eating them. I will definitely do this again and experiment with the flavors and cheese inside the peppers.

Bone Suckin' Good

2008-08-23T11:26:00.001-04:00

St. Louis Style Ribs

The first time I cooked these ribs I’d forgotten to remove that nasty membrane from the back of the rack. So after thawing the ribs overnight, I trimmed off that flap of meat on the backside, successfully loosened the membrane about three ribs from the end, worked it loose to the end, grabbed the ‘handle’ I created with a paper towel and pulled it right off. No big deal! And what a difference in the end result!

I rubbed the ribs with my dry rub – brown sugar, paprika, garlic and onion powders, chili powder, dry mustard. I placed them on a baking sheet and wrapped it tight. Into a 250 degree oven they went for 4 hours. After, I threw them on the grill and basted them with Sweet Baby Ray’s Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce. They were falling off the bone tender. If I had to do all over (and I will!) – I’d lessen the time in the oven and more time on the grill. Although extremely tender I would like to pick up the rib and be able to eat the meat off the bone.

I served some Publix Southern-Style Potato Salad along side the ribs with a bit of extra sauce.

Dinner at Mom's

2008-08-17T11:47:00.000-04:00

Since Mark travels during the week, I've gone to dinner with my Mom a few times and to her house. She made this shrimp dish for me and I've made it about 6 times since and have passed the recipe on to Meg for her to make, too.

15 Minute Shrimp

Preheat oven to 400. Place in a baking dish.

2 to 3 chopped tomatoes

1/2 chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

sprinkling of some herbs - oregano or whatever

salt/pepper

1 pound of shrimp

Drizzle with some olive oil. Top with a good handful of feta cheese. And I mean a *good* handful. Place in the oven until the shrimp are done - about 15 minutes. Serve over hot pasta. Top with more --yes, more -- feta cheese.

We Are the Beef People

2008-08-14T11:56:00.001-04:00

Seriously.

I've been hungry for a nice, rare roast beef. So I finally worked it into my menu planning and decided I would buy a large roast and use it throughout the week - the main meal, lunches, manhattans, french dip sandwiches and then finally Shepherds Pie. And wouldn't all of those pictures been fabulous?? Oh well.... lack of camera action continues. At least I'm consistent. I did get a photo of the original roast.

Not only are we the 'beef' people, but, we are the rare 'beef' people. This roast was a little overdone for me, but, it was flavorful. The best leftover for it was the Shepherds Pie.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2008-07-20T18:12:00.004-04:00

...frightfully HOT that is!! So why is it that I've been craving chili? And why is it that when I ask Mark what he wants for dinner it's -- CHILI? Isn't this winter food? Of course it is but given the fact that we haven't a proper winter in a few years -- why wait for something that may or may not happen.

Sorry - no measurements again.

Chili

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 onion chopped

Cook together until meat is done. Add -

1 large can of crushed tomato

1 15 oz can of fire roasted diced tomato

1 can of medium chili beans

2 pkgs of chili seasoning mix

some garlic powder

some chili powder

crushed red pepper flakes

some sugar

some crystals hot sauce

salt

Let this all bubble away on the stove until the flavors marry. Add more chili powder and hot sauce as it's needed.

Ham and Beans

2008-07-13T17:00:00.001-04:00

To use the ham bone that's been in the freezer since Easter, I decided on ham and beans. This was absolutely delicious. I've got half in the freezer for another meal.

Yankee Beans

INGREDIENTS
1 pound dried great Northern beans, soaked overnight
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 small can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mustard powder
1 ham bone with some meat
3 cups boiling water, or as needed
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes to the skillet, and cook for a minute to blend flavors.

Place the soaked beans in the dutch oven. Stir in the brown sugar, tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder. Bury the ham bone in the beans, and fill the pot with enough hot water to cover the beans. Add bay leaves to the top.

Cover and cook for medium low for about 5 hours. Take off lid and remove bone picking off the meat and putting back in pot. Cook another hour or so until it thickens slightly. Remove bay leaves, and season with vinegar, hot sauce, salt and pepper before serving.

Comfort Food

2008-07-12T17:09:00.004-04:00

Every week I ask Mark what he would like for dinner over the weekend. He usually says he doesn't care. This week he was very specific -- spaghetti on one night and meatloaf the other. So here goes another recipe that doesn't get measured --

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 pkg onion soup mix -- mixed with a bit of water

1 egg

Some breadcrumbs

Garlic powder

Healthy squirt of ketchup

10 shakes of worchestire sauce

Smear some ketchup over the top of it!!

Form and bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour and half. Or until it's done.... I'll serve it tonight with some mashed potatoes and roasted carrots.

Spaghetti with Italian Sausage

2008-07-11T16:51:00.000-04:00

Basic Sauce -- everything is to taste, no real measurements

Chop one onion fine. Saute with meat in olive oil -- throw in some chopped garlic. Last night I used hot italian sausage.

Add --

1 large can of tomato juice
2 large cans of tomato paste
1 can (tomato paste) red wine
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning mix
2 large bay leaves
Chopped dried basil
Crushed red pepper flakes

Let this bubble away for about 3 hours. I'm telling ya, it's good enough to put in a bowl and eat as soup!

Redneck Sangria

2008-07-09T14:50:00.005-04:00

My brother and I were laughing over our versions of Sangria this weekend. We basically take a bottle of cheap (CHEAP, kick your ass in the morning with a pounding headache) red wine, mix it with some fruit, 7-Up, OJ and maybe a bit of brandy. My bro puts in a touch of cinnamon, too. There is no measurement -- just mix, stir and sip; mix, stir and sip....

I made copious amounts when Mark and I went camping recently. Sure did taste good in the hot sun!

"There's lemon shrimp, bbq shrimp, boiled shrimp..."

2008-07-08T12:51:00.006-04:00

Gotta say..... I love Bubba Gump's Shrimp Co. Mark and I have eaten at the one in Chicago, Gatlinburgh, TN and now the one at Universal Studios in Orlando. Each time I leave there wanting MORE! We always start (because I insist upon it) with the Shrimp Net Catch appetizer with cajun seasoning. It's hot (temperature) steamed peel and eat shrimp with the most amazing flavor and seasonings. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

This last time we went with Megan and Mike. Meg had a pass to Universal that she got for Teacher Appreciation Week (hey! how about a raise instead for those poor teachers!!) and Mark, Mike and I had only a month left on our annual passes so we picked Meg up in Tampa and Mike met us there. Our plan was to get through Islands of Adventure, eat lunch, and then Mike would have to leave to go to work, but then we would go to Universal Studios.

We began of course with our usual appetizer but added the hush puppies with the chunks of mahi-mahi in them. I didn't have any but the other three said they were delish (and they were gone so I believe them). Megan and I decided to order the Shrimp Platter -- I'm sure there is a cute name to it, I just don't know what it is.... we got a sampling of fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, coconut shrimp, and shrimp tempura (in my head, I'm saying this in Bubba's voice...ha). Mike got a BBQ pork sandwich that he took half of it home with him, and Mark had the shrimp po' boy with the best remoulade sauce ever.

It was good fun. The waiter came by with some trivia questions about Forrest Gump. I told him you better make them hard because the twins have seen the movie about 50 times (seriously...at least!). They answered things I never would have known the answer to! Only one or two that they didn't know! Very impressive. In fact, I didn't think the waiter would ever leave. I think he was determined to stump us!

And of course you can't leave without having your picture taken on the bench with the candy and Forrests' shoes.....

Starfish Seafood Company

2008-07-07T07:39:00.000-04:00

Today we finally got to try out the Starfish Seafood Company for lunch. It's just an outside deck overlooking the docks and fishing boats -- with only 10 tables or so. You wait in line at the bar to place your order, TRY and find a seat and then your food is brought to you in a white box. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes to place our order we were resigned to the fact that we would probably be taking our meal home to eat because the place was packed. Right when it was our turn to place our order, two seats opened at the bar. And it was perfect - it was hot out but the fans made it pleasant to sit there. Mark had a sampler plate (or box, if you will....) of fried shrimp, scallops, grouper and oysters. Now when I say fried - it's not like Red Lobster fried. It's so lightly breaded you can barely see it. The seafood is fresh and is caught locally. He had an order of cheese grits with his meal and cole slaw. I had a shrimp po' boy sandwich that was delish. Next time I plan on getting the shrimp by themselves or even a crab cake!

Seemed like there were a number of tourists there STILL. How do they find this place??

After lunch we went into the fish market (which is why we went there to begin with) and bought some fresh mullet so Mark could smoke it. They clean it while you watch. Can't get any fresher than that!

Sausage and Sauerkraut

2008-06-04T11:46:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite meals. Mark tolerates it so I plan it on nights he's out of town. Except he ended up NOT being out of town. So, sue me. This isn't a McDonald's drive through ya know.

Of course I had to try something new. It had the usual components of smoked sausage and sauerkraut but you add some chicken stock, a whole mess of onions and the best part -- SOUR CREAM. In my book, if you add sour cream to anything it's a winner. This was pretty gross. Trust me - it's not even worth cutting and pasting the recipe in here. And poor Mark was scared to say anything. I have two more helpings to get through and then I can erase the entire thing from my mind.

I also roasted some cauliflower which I doused in butter and grated asiago cheese and that was super good! Again....I'm sure Mark was less than thrilled! The picture looks like blobs of white goo...which pretty much sums up the entire dinner!

Oh....and could someone come in to my house and get rid of that damn pineapple upside down cake! Today!