Watch'ya got cookin' 2014-2

Besides the huge crock pot of ham, green beans, and taters, I made penne pasta with meatballs and red sauce, biscuits, corn bread, and tuna salad. Holly's mom goes tomorrow for a pacemaker exchange and since Holly's laid up her Aunt Jill is taking her. So I cooked and will continue tomorrow morning and make extra breakfast, to take along. That way she only has to warm things for a couple of days. My FIL loves my country style cooking especially since my MIL tried to restrict his cholesterol. His heart surgeon said his pipes are clean but his serum is still high. At 85 I doubt my cooking will kill him. When I mention butter and cream he gets a gleam in his eye, as for salt I use little to none, most people don't miss it with the herbs and spices I use. We get all the sodium we need from the few prepared foods we use. I worry more about BP than cholesterol.
Probably make a bunch of French toast, sausage, and bacon tomorrow in addition to a fruit salad or baked pears.

No rest for the weary! It's very comforting to have food made for you and I'm sure they appreciate that very much.

Wow Ric, YOU DA MAN!!! I'm sure you're the favourite in the family, even if they won't admit it out loud. =)

I like cooking speedie. I often have a couple of portions left and drop them off for the in-laws. I often cook for family gatherings and things like our GH club picnic. Cooking for 30-40 is no problem.I still enjoy it. I have to laugh, Holly's aunts think it is so much work they don't want me to do it year after year, so they give/force me to relax a couple of times every so often. Some of the "Hits" I've had were an Alfredo chicken, grilled Teriyaki chicken, and Cuban pulled pork. I just can't seem to convince them I can make a quality entree for the price of burgers and dogs. LOL We have this fabulous local grocery where I get great bulk deals. 40# case of chicken breast for $1.29/#. I bone and skin the whole thing and make 5 gallons of stock to freeze, free. I get pork the same way, a whole loin, 20-30#s @ $1.49, bone it and get free ribs. I always figure 1/2# of meat per person before boning, roasting, or cooking. I always seem to have enough and get the entree for $.65-$.75 per person, Heck, it cost more than that to buy Bubba burgers and hot sausages. LOL

Ric, you ARE awesome! All your meals sound great. I'm having potato chips and dip for dinner tonight - just kidding, but maybe not :)

aspenhill, I want to come over for dinner. I feel like a chip and dip kinda dinner!! Sadly the rest of the house feels like Italian sausage and pasta, zucchini, garlic bread.

Well, I totally hear ya there Ric, I really love cooking too, and I tend to 'get all bent outta shape' over-planning HUGE MASSIVE meals when we have the family come over. I love to just go all out... I don't have the wonderful grocery deals that you do, but I still go nuts anyhow. ;) Cooking for special events is FUN! =)

Terri - OH NO, I need to share my chicken fajita roll-ups with you!! (the kind like Applebee's makes). =) Love those Mr. Wilbur clone recipe books!

Speedie, I'd love that chicken fajita roll-up recipe. I don't go to Applebee's all that often, but the few times that I did, that is what I ordered. Does your recipe include that great dipping sauce?

LOL, feeling like a chip and dip or a marshmallow... hmmm I think I feel like a mashed potato.

Yes Ma'am, the recipe has it all - would you like for me to share it with you? It's helpful to make the marinade in a triple-sized batch; just use what you want, and the rest stores WELL in the fridge for like forEVER. (not to mention, that marinade is a great general cooking sauce for LOTS of things.)

Missed this whole Thread---again!!! Bummer--Had to read all the above...

I was just going to let you al know that, through Monday, 3-11, Safeway has really
nice Asparagus for .99/lb. I bought 3 lbs. today and fixed it all. my own concoction--
but they tasted awesome.

Maybe tomorrow--after the Flower and Garden Show--I will fry up some fish to go with it.
And--that yellow Saffron/Spanish Rice in those little yellow baggies. Only rice I like....

Paul said to look up the Rhodo Club display and tell them he sent me....Haaa..haa....

Talked Aina in coming along--but she wants to sleep in a bit.

I've considered growing my own asparagus...just not sure I'm that patient. ;)

Had these babies cookin' for dinner last night. I used a new (new-to-me) pizza dough recipe that Podster was so gracious to share, and MmmmmmMAN these turned out good!!!

Calzones!!

Before... and after! =)

Paul--

I did stop by the Rhodo desk--and said tot he man--"Paul said to tell you all "HI"!

He said to me..............WHO????.................LOL

I'm just as happy reading your reports, I think, as I would be if I'd watched. Maybe even happier, considering all the frustration I'm hearing. Thanks for taking the hit for me ! Joshuaa's song was a nice listen- such a voice. Thanks for the link Zuzu

My bread machine has a pizza dough setting and it comes out great. I should dig it out more often.
Something I just remembered I used to make was a Hawaiian wedding bread with fresh coconut and pineapple,Yummy. I may have to dig that thing out and dusting it off.

This message was edited Mar 10, 2014 7:43 PM

Gotta' go out for 1 trip today and buy my corned beef and cabbage and ingredients I need for my soda bread. Our local Giant sells tip cut corned beef brisket for $1.69/#, the week before St. Patty's Day, they are great and I usually buy 2 and freeze 1.

If not that, then watch for them on sale AFTER and freeze one.
Baked cod some way, potato casserole, something cooked and green.

Sally, what sort of "potato casserole"? I love potatoes in any casserole-y sort of way... I really like potatoes!!

Chicken, chorizo, chile Empanaditas for dinner tonight here - I hope they're good, this will be my first time making them. =)

ha, was going to be Four cheese Betty crocker; it turns out I bought four cheese mashed potatos from Betty, not the sliced potato version.

let us know about those empanaditas. My son likes chorizo but Mark didn't, the one time I cut some up in his scrambled eggs.

Oh Eeewww, (sorry, don't mean to be rude about it but..) I don't like boxed mashed potatoes. < =/ Sorry you had that boo-boo. I'm still trying to perfect homemade potatoes au gratin. Any tips or suggestions?

Mmmmm, I love chorizo!!!!

i have not tried much with scalloped pottatos from scratch either. My friend said "Parboil the slices, layer them with sprinkles of flour, salt and pepper and sliced onion, and Velveeta"
My mom did that but used colby cheese which turns out sort of clumpy, not creamy.

I do parboil the slices first (and use my mandolin slicer to make them good and thin), but I think I tend to over parboil them... then the slices are hard to separate.
I wonder what other cheeses are good to use? Cheddar is too oily and 'clumpy', and I'm not a fan of Velveeta. Used to love it as a kid, but now I find it waaayyy too salty. Will have to experiment a bit me thinks. Maybe Mont. Jack?

I LOVE Jarlsburg Cheese---
Get a huge clump of it at BJ's---or Costco...or Sams..

Bobbin & I, being the rather "intrepid" old farts that we are, have gotten to the point where too much salt from these boxed items, messes us up so the helper dishes, hamburger, tuna, eta have waaaaay too much sodium in them and I have to make them from scratch. The easiest way I found is to cook up a 16 oz box of noodles (usually macaroni), then put in a bowl, add a large can of tuna, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, tsp of celery salt, tsp of onion salt, tsp parseley flakes, 1/8 tsp pepper,2 cups of milk. Stir, put in a buttered casserole dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika & bake at 375 deg for 45 minutes. Even though I did put in celery & onion salt, it's not as salty as the boxed mix, & tastes better. This makes a two day supply for two people. Just half it for one person. I have about 2 cups left and I might try to make it into a pie like Ric did, and add mixed vegetables. I might try to make the hamburger helper with cheese soup or mushroom soup.

The way I learned was to layer the potatoes with cheese and onion if you like, in a greased casserole. Add a couple tbs. of flour (I use Wondra), and any herbs or spice you may want, to enough milk to nearly cover the taters blend well and pour over the entire thing. The blending is the key to a creamer finish, like dissolving your flour in cold water to make lump free gravy. Top with grated cheese and a few bread or cracker crumbs with a few (LOL) pats of butter. Bake @ 325*F till done (probably an hour) inserting a fork will tell.
As to the cheese used, the best I ever had was from a great aunt that referred to it as "cleaning the cheese drawer", it was a mix of everything. The closest I can get is some leftover Italian blend, Mexican blend, and Swiss. This was served as the entree with a home canned veggie when I was growing up. Meat and cheese was an either or back then. Holly's idea was the same as Sally's without the Velvetta.

wow Buttoneer, that tells you something crazy, when the boxed mix is saltier than even using canned soup and other salts. Egads!

I like the Wondra-milk idea, that sounds smart and logical.

I use low salt soup. LOL
Spent 2 hours this afternoon removing a little fat, strings of sinews & silver stuff off some deer meat. Gonna mix up a bag of flour mixed with garlic powder, onion powder, Chef Tim'steak shake, gently fry in butter. How do you do yours, Ric?

Aaaaah, blending the milk with the flour (ooops, almost typed "flower", HA!) sounds like a smart idea.. which is why I didn't think of it. Thank you Ric! :) I'm sure I've got a nice variety of cheeses in there.. white American, Colby, Cheddar, Provolone, Monterey jack.... Gonna be some YUMMY taters! =)

Button, oh yes, I am with you; I don't like to do those boxed dishes either, for the same reason; rice, pasta, potatoes... whatever it is, when it's a boxed mix it's like 1,000,000,000 grams of sodium!! I'd much rather make my own. And, like you, I often use low-sodium soups as a base for the creamy-sauce. Or, sometimes I make my own white cream sauce (white or brown) from a rue. No salt added, just lots of seasonings and herbs.

Judy, about the only deer I fry is tenderloin, butterflied, dipped in flour and briefly seared in butter or EVOO.
What I grill is usually marinated in Worcestershire Sauce and seasoned with Montreal, and again seared on a hot grill.
What I roast (usually a big hunk of neck or lower back) I put in a foil wrapper with condensed creme of mushroom soup and Lipton onion soup mix, baked at a lower temp (300*F) for 2-3 hours. It pulls apart so easy, and has it's own gravy. Served over a plate of mashed potatoes topped with buttered egg noodles. I really show my Pennsylvania Dutch on this one, LOL,

I was going to buy the corned beef and cabbage today- really not expecting that I may not be able to drive today!.

Our meal has been moved to tomorrow. Holly's parents and Josh are joining us and in consideration
of my FIL's driving. Since it's Josh's SO's (Cortney) work at home day tomorrow, she will join us also.
Stopped at Arbys yesterday for lunch and they are still serving their fish sandwich, it was so yummy.
Their combo meal for the fish is priced like $5, often when they have it, the sandwiches only are 2-$5. If you like fish try it.

For lunch I'm making Chinese Chicken Slaw from the recipe on the back of a bagged mix labeled "Confetti Slaw" found at Shoppers Food Warehouse. The mix is shredded green and red cabbage, broccoli, and carrots. The recipe calls for ramen noodles, chicken, sliced almonds, green onions, and a rice vinegar, cannola oil, sesame seed oil dressing.

My BIL Richard brought the 4 soon to be step-kids (ages 11, 9, 6, and 5) up for sledding, and the 2 youngest came in and helped. They took turns dumping the ingredients in, stirring, etc... He and Karen have been together for a few years, so I've gotten to know these kids pretty well. They are full of energy and imagination, and I enjoy and am amused by their company.

Parboiling the tater slices is a good idea. Never thought of that.

We have some great cooks here. Everything sounds so yummy.

The deer meat turned out even better than I hoped. I saved the sinews & gently fried them for Fritzie. We ate like kings, queens & princes for two nights. Accompanied by baked potatoes & peas. I have a deer roast left in the freezer so I'll try that sometime I can't think of anything else to make. Now all I need are Mukluks! (LOL)

Some of tiy HAVE TO do this!!! It is quick and easy--and SOOO scrumptious!
It is amazing what some Lime juice can add to a dish. I have made this many times...


GARLIC LIME CHICKEN

Ingredients:

1tsp. salt
1tsp Pepper
1/4tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4tsp. Paprika
1tsp. Garlic powder
1/2tsp. Onion Powder
1/2tsp. Thyme

6 boneless. Skinless chicken breasts
2Tbs. butter
2Tbs. Olive Oil
1/2cup chicken broth
4Tbs. fresh lime juice.

To Do:

In a bowl, mix together the first 7 ingredients.
Sprinkle mixture on both sides of the chicken breasts.

In a skillet, heat butter and oil together over medium high heat.
Sauté chicken until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes
on either side or no longer pink in the center.

Remove chicken and add Lime juice and chicken broth to the pan,
Whisking up the browned bits if the bottom of the pan.
Keep cooking until sauce has reduced slightly.

Add chicken back to the pan to thoroughly coat—and serve.

This is really good with rice (especially the packaged “Saffron Rice”.
It is bright yellow, Also called Spanish Rice, found in the rice aisle.
Also good with noodles (which I would cook in water with Ch. Broth added.)

Note: If using boneless Chicken thighs, you will need to sauté them
for a longer time. Splay them open for more even cooking.

Note #2; Mix up the spice mixture in a larger quantity ahead of time. Keep in a sealed
container. Using an old spice jar, with a sprinkler head, will make it easier to
coat sprinkle it on the chicken pieces.

Sounds good Gita.
Judy, I cook for Alfie too.
Made my corned beef, cabbage, and taters with soda bread this AM. In rushing, I got a late start, the outer shell of my soda bread was a little hard, but tasty. I have been told my traditional meal would not be what a common household would have in Ireland. Fat back or bacon would replace the corned beef and there would be no gold raisins or caraway in the soda bread. Apparently my meal would be expensive to many houses.

Ric--I LOVE caraway in bread---and some other dishes too....

Very Latvian....:o) Just add Dill somewhere--and you will be all set....
G.

I do to Gita. Caraway has been used for centuries in many European dishes to aid in digestion, especially cabbage and other Brassicas.
Some other facts about caraway:
Caraway is a plant that has an interesting place in legend. Superstitions held that caraway had the power to prevent the theft of any object that contained the seed and to keep lovers from losing interest in one another. These days, some people think caraway has healing power, and they use the oil, fruit, and seeds as medicine.
Caraway is used for digestive problems including heartburn, bloating, gas, loss of appetite, and mild spasms of the stomach and intestines. Caraway oil is also used to help people cough up phlegm, improve control of urination, kill bacteria in the body, and relieve constipation.
Women use caraway oil to start menstruation and relieve menstrual cramps; nursing mothers use it to increase the flow of breast milk.
Caraway is used in mouthwashes and in skin rubs to improve local blood flow.

Quite a tasty dinner tonight- Gita gave me some of her cabbage rolls. Yum!

Sally---
Glad you liked the cabbage rolls....
If you have had reg. Cabbage Rolls before (not mine)---how did you find mine different?
Did your crew like them too?

Honest question---need honest answer....


Speedie---

I am going to make my BQ'ed PORK spare ribs today.
Got some at BJ's-- still need to make the sauce...

I hope you give these another go--using the right meat....

G.