Cooking

20 Jan | 2013

A Pinteresting Saturday

Have you seen Pinterest? I know that a lot of my online friends have but I’m not sure about everyone else. It can be a great source of inspiration- and a time drain if you let it.

Yesterday felt very much like Pinterest Saturday. It started with several projects related to things I’d seen pinned a long time ago.

I saw this and knew something like that would work great- and allow me to see all those shades of eye shadow I rarely use because I can’t get to them as easily. The problem being is that the breaker panel is literally against this wall. So, we can’t put any holes in the wall. I realized sometime this week that I might be able use a magnetic dry erase board and those command strips (the ones I’ll never use in a house we own after they took off the sheetrock in our old home.) So, I went to Hobby Lobby and project Saturday was born. The dry erase board I purchased had this metal back and I decided I liked it better- and it reflects more light in this little bathroom. I just hot-glued magnets to the lids of my make-up containers. So far, it’s still up- 24 hours plus later.

Then I’d seen this and a gazillion posts using a frame with glass as a dry erase board. So, I made some. This is hanging in the hallway. I used this Dear Lizzy paper that I had and these letters from my last Studio Calico kit. The hardest thing about making these- well, beside putting the hardware to hang them (Thanks Sweetheart!) was just making the decision to use the stuff I really loved. It seems like it would be easy. But, unlike digital scrapbooking, once you’ve used it, you can’t use it again. It’s something that’s taken some getting used to in Art Journaling, card making, and these projects. . . . but I just have to make the decision to use it.

I made this one for my office dry erase board to let folks know where I am etc.

And this one, with a blue striped paper though this shot doesn’t really show it- we’ll use it to make notes in the kitchen etc.

And then for dinner, we had this again. . . We made this earlier this week only we used refrigerated cubed hashbrowns and didn’t cook the sausage ahead of time. Then, Cody left the leftovers out. I wound up making it again yesterday. This time- well, we used real potatoes so I cooked those. About the potatoes were cooked. We put the sausage in another pan, the one I would assemble everything in and let it warm up. I made the sauce with a bit of paprika in it. Then we mixed the three- the potatoes, the sausage, and the sauce. We didn’t bake it and we didn’t add the sharp cheddar. It really was like eating the cheese potatoes my mom used to make with sausage in it. Love it!

In case you want to find me on Pinterest, you can find me here.

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1 Mar | 2012

It was just “So Me”!

Several weeks ago, I had an ill-fated meeting with a cinnamon roll recipe. It was one of those mornings where nothing went as planned. And it started with the Food Processor.

I’d gotten rid of my large, huge, gigantic food processor that I’d been given whenever we moved. I knew that would only leave me with the mini. But, I knew at some point I’d be replacing the one I’d been given with a bigger one that had features I wanted.

So, the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and I had a date with the mini food processor way too early in the morning. Of course, I’m so good at overloading it that it decided to fight back. . . and not mix- in fact, the motor hit it’s shut-off point. At which I did not panic thinking the food processor was broken- I’ve done this many times before over the years- Cuisinart’s do that.

But, it did mean I had to go to plan B- the Mixmaster- which, as everything went that particular moment, threw butter pieces across the kitchen- it just wasn’t my morning. I managed to get it mixed promising myself that when our Tax Return came in, I was getting the food processor of my dreams.

As luck would have it that morning, when I went to get the croissant rolls I was going to use for dough. . . . there wasn’t any. And getting some that night at Walmart- the night before Valentine’s day, not so fun either. Oh well, I just laughed at it all and took it all much better than I normally would. But, what else can you do when all the forces seem to be against you and the cinnamon rolls which really weren’t that great either.

So, I set out to research and plan for my new Food Processor. I started with the new Cuisinart Elite Food Processors I’d seen. They were pricey but I could justify it in the sense that I use my food processor a lot and have had some great Cuisinart’s over the years. I spent so much time debating whether to get the 12-cup or 14-cup dragging Cody to several stores in hopes of laying eyes on one though I knew I’d order from Amazon. (No one around here had them!)

When the return hit the bank, I went on Amazon to prepare to order the 14 cup- It was $20 cheaper than it had been. Cool, I thought, I’ll order it as soon as the return clears the bank. A few days later, when I went to order it, the sucker was $40 more! It left me less than happy with my old faithful Amazon.

I could not justify $260 on a food processor. So, I set out to re-figure out what I was going to get. I researched. I created charts with the features of the ones I thought I was interested in. I created charts showing me the price differences. I created charts figuring the percentages of the ratings on Amazon- and totally the bottom three ratings. I read reviews. And more reviews. I googled.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I spent hours looking at food processors. And, I still had no idea- what kept getting me was the reviews and the price. How could I say for sure that any one of them would be worth that much. . . they clearly had unhappy viewers.

So I did what most people who can get the food processor of their dreams and who spend hours analyzing which food processor to be would do. Right?

I bought a Hamilton Beach food processor for less than $40! That’s just so me that I had to laugh. Looking at all my charts and knowing that in the end, it was all for not- knowing that I could probably live just fine with this one for quite some time and save serious bucks. In fact, I was also able to replace our pasta maker that had broken for less than even one of the cheapest food processors I was looking at would have cost me.

(And as you can see, it meant lots of little things to wash when they arrived.)

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9 Oct | 2011

How to Eat Fried Worms & Share It: Ritz Chicken Casserole

This recipe came from my childhood best friend Caryn’s mom. We always loved it. At home, we called it Fried Worms because we loved the book How to Eat Fried Worms so much, didn’t really have a great name for this casserole. (We thought of the poppy seeds as worm eyes- doesn’t that make you want to make this recipe! Just saying. . . It’s what we called it. . . the imagination of kids, right?)

The thing about this recipe is that I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like it and it’s simple and easy.

Ritz Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

6-8 Chicken Breasts, cooked/boiled, and cut up (Could be other cuts of chicken too)
2 cans Cream of Chicken
8 oz sour cream
2 tsp poppy seed
2 Cups Ritz crackers, crumbled
1-2 sticks of butter (Or margarine), melted

Instructions

Mix the chicken breasts, cream of chicken, and sour cream together.

Spread this mixture in the bottom of a 13 X 9

Mix the poppy seeds, ritz crackers, and butter together.

Cover the top of the chicken mixture with the crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until the edges are bubbling and the crumbs begin to brown.

http://www.ordinarydetails.com/2011/10/how-to-eat-fried-worms-share-it-ritz-chicken-casserole/

This time when I made it, I made it for work. So, I actually baked it in the Roaster. I’ll get all the stuff ready the night before then bake it at work. Here’s what I do:

I mix the chicken, sour cream, and cream of chicken soup together and place them in a gallon size ziploc- refrigerate overnight next to the sticks of butter then put both in my cooler to take to work.

Then, I mix the crumbs and poppy seed and put that in a baggie. I then gather everything up I need and put it all in the roaster: the roaster, the rack for the roaster, pot holders, the crumb mixture, a container and lid used to melt butter and mix the crumb mixture (I bring the lid so that I can close the dirty container and wash it at home), a foil covered 13 X 9 (foil for easy clean-up), and the lid to my 13X9. (I have forks/knives/spoons at in my office.)

Then I put it together and bake in the roaster- it usually takes a little longer than at home.

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14 Aug | 2011

Lasagna: So Easy A Child Can Make It

Tonight, I’m making an old favorite- Lasagna. In fact, Cody likes this better than frozen lasagna. It couldn’t be easier to make. The recipe actually comes from a children’s cookbook. It doesn’t require cooking the noodles and requires ordinary ingredients.

Lasagna: So Easy A Child Can Make It

1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Lasagna: So Easy A Child Can Make It

Original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Children's Cook book.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (we often use a bit more or a bit less)
2 cups of Spaghetti Sauce (We use Prego Traditional)
1 1/2- 2 cups (6 oz) Shredded Mozzarella
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried oregano
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
3/4 cup hot water

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Cook the ground meat and drain. Remove from heat. Add spaghetti sauce and oregano. This will become your meat mixture.

Next, beat the eggs in a seperate bowl. Then, add: 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese. This will become your cheese mixture.

Next, line a 13 X 9 with foil (if desired- makes for super simple clean-up).

Place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles in the pan. Layer 1/3 of the meat mixture and 1/2 of the cheese mixture on top. Be sure to cover the edges of the noodles. Add 3 more noodles and layer 1/3 of the meat mixture and the other half of the cheese mixture on top. Add the remaining three noodles and layer the meat mixture on top. Try to spread the meat mixture so that all of the edges get wet.

Next, pour the 3/4 cup water into the pan- to keep the edges from being crunchy, I pour the water over the edges of the noodles.

Cover and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When done, add the remaining mozzarella ( and more parmesan if desired) on top.

http://www.ordinarydetails.com/2011/08/lasagna-so-easy-a-child-can-make-it/

The trick to this recipe, to me, is making sure that the edges of the noodles get either covered or at least moistened prior to baking. My other tip- use foil for lining and covering the pan.

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21 Jun | 2011

Birthday Cake

Most years, I don’t get a birthday cake and somehow that bothers me. This year, when I told Cody about it, he set out to fix it. We raided the pantry to see what kinds of cake mixes I had and there was Red Velvet Cake. So, Cody set out to make it. I had to laugh when he asked if he needed to split the eggs. It reminded me of just how many things we make from scratch in my home. But, of course, I told him no- it’s a box cake. They’re designed to be easy.

Next it was time for the icing- which happens to be Cody’s favorite icing, lucky for him, right? A little reward for him. Now our family’s red velvet cake icing isn’t hard but you kinda need to know what you’re doing. So, he reads the recipe. . . “5 tbsp of flour” I hear him exclaim. I explained that yes to you take the flour and the milk and you cook them until literally you can’t stir them anymore. Then you let it cool. He asked three times if he was done stirring.

He reminded me while stirring that I wasn’t in the kitchen stalking him with the camera- needless to say, I got the camera out.

When the cake was ready, he got it out. . . and since he knew I was taking pictures, he just had to have the cake tester facing so that you could read “Cake Tester”- he’s a nut as I’m sure you know.

Then it was time for him to study the icing recipe some more. I had to tell him that he needed to wait a bit or else the icing would totally melt.

So, he begins creaming the icing- using the pulse on the food processor. . . . Ah, you got to love him. He brought lots of smiles. And, he learned a few things, I hope- like cream means you let the food processor go for a while. As he was making the icing, he said he never figured his favorite icing would be so difficult.

Then, of course it was time to move on to the icing of the cake. I laughed when I heard him first get aggravated- red velvet cake always seems to crumble while icing it. But, then I noticed he was getting rather chinchy with icing. . . (He couldn’t wait to eat what remained, of course.)

The cake, it was delicious! (Sorry Jacksters, I know you both love this cake. Should have been here.)

PS Can you tell I was on a dish cleaning hiatus for the day?

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29 Dec | 2010

December Daily: Final Pages

Wow! I finished this project and I’m so glad I did it. Thanks to all of my family and friends who put up with me “documenting” each day- and those that took shots for me as well.

I love how this project made me think about the little blessings throughout the day- and how I noticed even more afterwards while looking at the pictures and reflecting on each day.

Here are the last two daily pages:

December 24:

Traditional but untraditional- After a lazy day, we had our orange chicken without the gravy and rice for dinner. We opened gifts- I love this picture of Cody that captures the “Oh gee- I got a rain guage” I got until he realized why he got them. Our gifts proved we listen to each other. After Christmas eve service, Mom “helped” me with communion.

I needed an additional page so I made another hymn page to go to the left of my Christmas Day page:

December 25:

Christmas day was all about family-loving the little moments of togetherness like Cody and Coralyn in the kitchen, me and Jack making fritters, and everyone enjoying my scrapbooking.

That left me with the cover pages. Since I ended up documenting hockey fights, screaming, and winning the day I took pictures of the house decorations, I decided I’d use those along with a few pictures of the tree for my covers.

Now, on to other projects. . . My One Little Word for 2011 (I’ll be posting about that super soon as I’m really ready to begin 2011!), Yesterday and Today class at Big Pictures Classes, and Project Life/365- a third try to document the entire year.

Filed Under: Cooking, Creating, Family and Friends, Life's Bits and Pieces, Scrapbooking 1 Comment

24 Dec | 2010

December Daily: Dec 17-23

It’s almost Christmas and I’ve spent some time going back through the last week as I catch-up on my December Daily pages. It’s amazing to me how much this project has made me thing about the special things this month- or even the regular everyday activities that December brings. It’s also amazing that the project is almost over.

December 17

Journaling reads; Waiting, that was the name of the name of the game today. First, it was waiting for Cody to get done with his ride along so I could hear all about it- especially after he told me they went on a disturbance call. but, then, the wait was even longer for Lisa to get here so we could visit. Of course, by the time she made it, we were both ready for bed. But, we talked a while first.

December 18

Today was a great day. Cody was off hunting at the deer lease and left Lisa and I to ourselves. Lisa and I watched old videos of Jack when he was younger- we even posted one on his facebook- oh how Jack’s face in it made us laugh. then, we got down to business. . . creating a website for Lisa’s work. While web work isn’t exactly fun, it was fun being able to help Lisa out with all the things I’ve learned. We had a few challenges but they are just opportunties to learn. . . and a few tricks I’m even going to try on my website. But, in all the time we got to spend working on the site, we also got time to talk and catch up. We simply just got to spend the day together.

December 19

Journaling Reads: We had dad’s birthday lunch a day early. Conversations included their new cell phones, working out, the football game Cody was watching, and Cody’s ride-a-longs.

December 20

Journaling Reads: After Cody left for Lisa’s, I baked cookies, put on music, and decorated our tree. It was the first time we’ve put the King Ranch ornaments Coralyn has gotten us since 1996 on the main tree.

December 21

Journaling: Today seemed to be about preperation. Cody’s present arrived and I wrapped it before he had the chance to see it. I made several batters for cookies to bake Wednesday, and Cody helped me clean house before Coralyn came up.

December 22

Journaling Reads: 234 Cookies plus a few. Today, Cody and I made five different kinds of cookies for the troopers at his office. Sad thing is, they’ll only get a dozen and a half each. We had less than 10 extra cookies. I don’t know how I’d have done it without Cody’s help.

December 23

Journaling Reads: Our traditional Christmas eve eve dinner wasn’t quite traditional. We used the mixture from Cody’s oopsy instead of mexican meat. Cody had put picante instead of spaghetti sauce with hamburger meat the night before. It still tasted good.

Filed Under: Cooking, Family and Friends, Life's Bits and Pieces, Me, Myself, and I 1 Comment

11 Dec | 2010

December Daily: Dec 7-11

Well, it’s safe to say that I got a wee bit behind on my December Daily pages- which I finished tonight. But, I’m not behind on taking time to enjoy the season and this project.

Here’s my pages up through tonight and a slice of life this last week.

Dec 7th

Dec 8th

Dec 10

Cody was off early today so he went to the grocery store, came home and packed, and went hunting. When I got home after work, there were three Little Debby Christmas Trees on the counter. I knew Cody was in the blind so I texted him.

And Lastly Tonight- Still can’t believe Pominville got in a fight. . .

Tis the Season- Hit Him!I was in the spirit tonight- not exactly the holiday spirit- but it was a fun game to watch even if we lost. I could be heard screaming- Make ‘em pay, shoot the Puck, Hit him! Score! This is the Season!

So, a few months back we went to the Caldwell Zoo with Lisa and Jack. (We won’t talk about all the problems with the truck that followed that trip!). While there I “manufactured” a shot to compare Jack then and now. I knew I wanted a similar shot of him, so I helped myself with a little gentle push of Jack.

I thought I’d share those two pics today now that I’m starting to catch up on a back log of pics that I have for editing. (New Computer= Freeing Lightroom with some Speed!- Sorry got geeky there, didn’t I.) As I looked at them I noticed that I also had then and now shots from the same two visits in our kitchen.

It’s amazing to me how much this kid has grown in such a short time, but then again, part of me can’t believe it’s only been five years since the 2005 shots. Was he really that little then? It won’t be much longer and he’ll be taller than me. . . and really not that much longer than he’s taller that Cody. . . or at least I expect he’ll get that tall.

Ok. . . Comparison #1- In with the Rhinos where it definitely stinks. I couldn’t quite get him to make the same expression. . . .

Summer 2005:

Summer 2010

;

A side note that I find interesting: The difference in his size and my camera is fairly obvious. But what’s not as obvious is the similarities in his shirts. The first shirt, a humorous look at 10 things not to say on a road trip, is from a trip he took with his Nana and Papa. The second shirt is from the trip we took with him last year.

Comparison #2- While #1 is somewhat staged, this one certainly isn’t. It’s something that happens everytime Jack comes up. In fact, it even happens at the deer lease and finally happened just last week when we were at his house.

Summer 2005

Summer 2010

Back then of course, we helped him make the pancakes. These days we just sit in the living room demanding he cook us breakfast. . . not that he isn’t a willing participant or that if he wanted us to come in there we would. But, he can make them from start to finish on his own now- all those early mornings of getting up to help him fix pancakes are paying off now- I can be lazy now.

Comparison #3. . . so while typing this, I realized I had yet another pair of then and now shots from these two visits. While the others show progression in size and cooking abilities, this one shows a whole other progression- one that I’m sure Uncle Cody is super proud of and one that Jack is more than happy to make.

Summer 2005

Summer 2010

Cody had promised that Jack would get to shoot the pistols next time he came up, so they had to squeeze a little time in this trip to do so. Jack posted one of the pics from shooting pistols on his facebook and his comment says it all “I love that gun”

Another interesting to me side note: Back then, we had introduced Jack to Johnny Horton music (is there any better road music at that age?) and so the coke cans he was shooting became the “Bloody British”. Just last week, Cody said that a Johnny Horton song came on the TV while he was down there and Jack started singing it.