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Mini Recipe Roundup and Strawberries!
Recipe Roundup

Mini Recipe Roundup and Strawberries!

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Our week was completely thrown off this week. The Husband was at play practice as part of the crew and I had late nights all week. We still had two new recipes though, which was my goal.

We had sandwiches a few of the nights and I made a pork loin for the Husband today for lunch. He’ll have good leftovers for lunches and quick dinners next week. It looks like his play schedule will be the same. He has been running home to change into shorts and then heads back out again quickly. I may try to make some new recipes for my lunch or have some veggie options during the week too because it will probably be just me.

I only took one picture of dinner during the week. We had the post roast when we had company over and somehow I didn’t get a picture of it.

Here are the two recipes that we used:

1- Mother’s Pot Roast with Vegetables from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook. Section: The Story of Meats.

Modifications: I left out the celery seeds and the MSG. I didn’t have either and would prefer to not have a side of migraine with my beef. I thought MSG didn’t affect me, but after getting a migraine from bad Chinese food, I have learned. Plus, it’s gross. I did add a tiny bit of seasoned salt to the pot roast along with a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of oregano. Both of the herbs were from the garden.

I completely forgot to add any veggies at all. I was too busy crafting and sewing with my friend. I did make noodles and we had salad, so it turned out alright. The pot roast was difficult to get out of the pan, it was so tender. It tasted wonderful too. Sadly, we did end up wasting a little bit of it. Both of our stomachs got a bit rumbly after eating it. It didn’t make us sick, but neither of us wanted to have rumbly bellies at work. I’m wondering if it was the red wine vinegar. It’s not an ingredient that I use a lot.

2- Hobo Meatball Stew from Taste of Home: The New Slow Cooker. Section: Soups and Stews

Modifications: I used ground elk instead of beef. I was feeling tired of ground beef. Elk is sweeter than beef, I think. Sweeter and richer. The Husband agreed with that assessment. I also used tomato sauce instead of ketchup and added garlic and onion powder to the meatballs. They would have been bland without it. Also, added garlic powder to the stew broth.

The stew is actually the cover recipe for the book. Mine did not look like that at all. I actually made this overnight. I knew we were both not going to be home for way longer than it needed to cook, so I set it going around 11 pm and turned it off when I go up at 6 am. It turned out delicious and it heats up well. I would make this again.

Today we went strawberry picking with a friend and got around 16 pounds of strawberries. I have a canning marathon planned for tomorrow, as the Husband is working on crew stuff from 2-10 pm. Fancy will be bored, I’m sure.

My canning list includes any of the following:

-Rhubarb Marmalade

-Strawberry Marmalade

-Rhubarb Butter

-Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate: need to get lemons, so this might not be tomorrow.

-Nectarine Orange Marmalade

-Orange Rhubarb Spread

-Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce

I am also going to freeze some berries for the winter. This year it will be super easy since we have an upright standing chest freezer. I can freeze more than one sheet pan at a time. One year our freezer was so small that I had to freeze things one cake pan at a time…

In strawberry picking, I am my mother’s daughter. Looking at my 16 pounds, I think I need some more. And I couldn’t stop picking them. There’s always just the one more! I might actually go back and get more, if I have time. It would be terrible to run out of strawberries before all my canning is done.

A batch of shortcake and some muffins or a fresh strawberry cake are also on the “to make” list. I’d better get up very early tomorrow. 🙂 I should probably start now, actually.

Fancy got a new toy to shred a few days ago too. She is now dubbed “Fancy of Star Command” and is dedicated to protecting her humans against an alien invasion. She takes her job very seriously, as you can see. 🙂 Hopefully you all feel very safe with her on the job!

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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We never did end up having sausage tortellini soup because the Fancy showed us where the skunk poop is by rolling in it while we were attempting to figure out the garden. By the time we got her cleaned off, it was 8 pm, too late to make the soup. At least now we know what to start clearing out first, I guess, but it was still pretty horrible. We had just washed her too and she is now extra soft. This is a picture of her face anytime she finds something horrible to roll in.

We had chicken wonton soup instead that night, made with thin sliced carrots, celery, and fresh cilantro in the chicken broth. We had the homemade wontons in the freezer, so we just boiled them for about 12- 13 minutes. No real recipe, I just threw a bunch of Asian spices in the broth. I also added red chili flakes and it was very, very spicy at the bottom of the pan when the Husband tasted it. I felt bad. He was coughing for the longest time. He recovered though and we had ice cream to help his sore throat.

He also had pork yesterday. I was working late and had store-bought grape leaves and hummus. The pork was marinated in soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and Thai sweet chili sauce. He said it was good.

So now for the new recipes that I actually followed! Well, mostly followed…

1- Banana Bread from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, edited by Dorothy B. Marsh. Section: Favorite Quick Breads. 

Modifications: I added butterscotch chips because it sounded good. The recipe was pretty simple and it turned out good. I was happy to use up my bananas. The Husband doesn’t like bananas, but I think my in-laws do, so I am planning on sharing with them. I’ll send any leftovers in with The Husband on Tuesday too.

2- Italian Chicken Meatballs from Fresh April Flours. http://freshaprilflours.com/2016/01/11/slow-cooker-turkey-meatballs-gluten-free/

Modifications: I used chicken and regular bread crumbs. It called for almond flour and I didn’t have enough time to grind them, as I would have ended up late for work. Also, I used diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce. They looked like they would be dry without the extra sauce. There were no directions on seasoning the sauce, just the meatballs, so I added the normal oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and basil on both layers of tomatoes. We had it over noodles, but at separate times of the night. I also forgot to take pictures. Both times that I was eating it, I was in a rush. Next time I will add more spices to the meatballs and sauce. Some of the flavor cooked off in the crockpot.

3- Rosemary Flank Steak from Food Network Magazine, March 2017, V.10, N.2

Modifications: I did not make the arugula salad or use the beans. It would have been just me eating it and I didn’t have either of those things. I’m sure they would have both been delicious. We were a little disappointed in the steak. It lacked a lot of seasoning. The recipe called for you to poke the steak with a fork and marinate it for 10 minutes. That wasn’t long enough. It was pretty bland, unless you happened to get a piece of garlic. If we use this recipe again, I’ll increase the marinating time. We had it with fancy mashed potatoes and a salad. I think I need to work on plating. I don’t like mixing foods though, especially meat, so it’s a struggle. The plate looks a little bare. The Husband volunteered his plate and tried a fancier plating style.

4- Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes from Food Network Magazine, November 2016, V.9, N.9

Modifications: I cut back the butter. Shocking, I know, but we did have less potatoes than the recipe called for. It also had shaved Parmesan, milk, and marscapone cheese in it. I thought we might not want to harden our arteries quite that much yet. I bet when we were eating them a cardiologist somewhere got really excited for no reason…

I was excited to roast a whole head of garlic. It felt so fancy and decadent. I smelled like garlic for the rest of the day, of course, but it was so worth it. After roasting it, you add it to the milk to infuse. You were supposed to drain them out, but I didn’t do it. The garlic mashed up just fine. They turned out very rich and creamy. Definitely special occasion potatoes only. We might make them again for Thanksgiving if we host this year.

Here is my separated plate.

I didn’t end up making gelato this week. The bowl still needs to be frozen. I am planning on getting that done tonight at least and we can try it in the next few days.

I was proud that I was able to try four new recipes this week. It reminded me that it just takes a little extra planning to make it work, but that I can do it, even when my week is crazy busy. I am going to try to keep this streak going and do some meal planning this weekend. I will also try to take more pictures!

Speaking of pictures, if Fancy will stop trying to eat her life jacket, I may be able to get a picture of her in it. She now has a lime green one which all the store employees told her she looked wonderful in. Apparently lime green is her color. There could be a boat ride in her future now that she can be safe on the boat. We’re not sure if she can swim, so figured better safe than sorry.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day, no matter what your plans are!

 

 

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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I used two new recipes this week, both for Fancy. For the Husband and I there were familiar, but good,  recipes. Tomorrow is my last shift at my third job and I’m hoping that this will free up some more creative time for trying new recipes. I am very excited to try some recipes from the freezer cookbook a friend gave me on my late evenings.

Despite the Husband telling me multiple times that he can feed himself, I’m still fighting off guilt when there isn’t a homemade dinner. I blame my Scandinavian heritage for that one. I get very nervous if I can’t feed someone properly. The few times I haven’t wanted to feed people have been weird for me. It also seems to be how I know that I don’t like someone; I won’t feed them. So you can see the problem, when my Husband is eating frozen dinners and saying “they really do taste better now. They’ve changed the recipes!” I just can’t imagine it.

So to prevent this, tomorrow I am making Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup, from Our Best Bites. http://ourbestbites.com/2009/10/tortellini-sausage-soup/

It normally turns out delicious, although I do need to see if we have apple juice. If we don’t, it may get moved to later in the week and I’ll make something else.

Here are the other meals we’ve had this week.

1- Lasagna, recipe by me. We had spaghetti over the past weekend while a friend was visiting, so I used the sauce over noodles. I used store-bought pasta sheets, as my day got away from me. I also used real shaved Parmesan. I’ve got the Husband hooked on good/fancy cheese and it makes both of us feel like fancy people.  It turned out pretty good.

2- Chef’s Salad with eggs and bacon. No real recipe, I just made a big salad and the Husband cooked the eggs and bacon when he got home. It works for a dinner and a lunch normally. We also have a fancy spicy pepper cheese that was a good addition.

3- Tequila Lime Chicken With Pico De Gallo. I used to use a recipe from The Pioneer Woman, but when I went to look for it to link it, it wasn’t there. I threw bone in, skin on chicken breasts in a bag with two sliced garlic cloves, fresh cilantro, silver tequila, olive oil, a chopped and seeded Serrano pepper, salt, pepper, and green onions. Then I let it marinate until I  came home and threw it in the oven. I baked it for about 45-50 minutes at 375. In the summer, this is really good to grill if you use boneless thighs or breasts. We had it with homemade pico and chips. I also had mango pieces with mine.

I did try to note what I was using for my pico this time, so I’ll write down what I think I did.

4- Pico de Gallo, method by me.

Roughly dice 3-4 Roma tomatoes. Chop a handful of cilantro, 2-3 green onions, and 1-2 jalapeños. I normally seed one half and leave the seeds in the second half, depending on spice levels. Add lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. Serve with chips, or over chicken.

The Husband will eat an entire bowl of it himself if I let him. The first time I made this with chicken for his parents, his Mom was amazed that he would eat it, as he has never liked raw tomatoes. It was pretty funny.

5- Apple Cinnamon Dog Treats from Two Little Cavaliers. http://twolittlecavaliers.com/2013/11/make-apple-cinnamon-dog-treats.html

Fancy haunted the kitchen the entire time these treats were baking and she likes them even better than her store-bought ones, judging by how intently she watches us when we have them, and by her incessant tail wagging. I was able to use up all my bruised apples too and know exactly what is in these treats. I never thought I would be the person who bakes for her dog, but I guess it makes sense. I do bake for everyone else. She is also a gluten-free dog, apparently she has stomach and skin problems when she has gluten, according to the rescue. We decided to keep to that and it seems to be working.

6- Chicken Rice Treats from Kol’s Notes. http://kolchakpuggle.com/2012/02/tasty-tuesday-hearts-for-my-valentine-chicken-dog-treats.html

Fancy was very excited by these as well. Chicken is one  of her very favorite things and I was able to use up leftover rice and chicken in these. I had to give her two right away, as she snatched the first one before I could get a picture. She can be a tall dog when she wants to be and I forget how short I am until she’s jumping for something.

Hopefully this week, I can make some new meals. I have one very late night and some early evenings this week, so I am planning at least one crockpot meal.

There will also definitely be an ice cream or gelato recipe, as I just bought us the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment. It was on sale and I had a coupon and ended up saving about 40%. I’m very excited and bought a salted caramel gelato mix with it, so we are going to try that soon. Pictures to come, of course!

Recipe Roundup
Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSieh2 Comments

This week I made a few new recipes and one recipe based on a family friend’s recipe. I also couldn’t sleep past 5 AM on Wednesday morning, so I did what any slightly crazy person would do and started a batch of chocolate filled brioche at 6 AM. The Husband is luckily used to the way my brain works and didn’t really bat an eye.

1- Petits Pains au Chocolat from Complete Book of Small Breads by Bernard Clayton, Jr. Section: La Brioche

Modifications: I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate baking pieces instead of semi-sweet, since it was what I had. I followed the recipe and I had a nice nap with the dog while the dough raised and then it chilled while I was at work. It required at least a four hour chill, if not overnight.

It was an odd dough. I’ve not felt one like it before. It was a cross between bread dough and puff pastry. Very easy to work with though. They turned out delicious, although I needed more evenly distributed chocolate and a bigger board to roll them out on. The dough wasn’t as sweet as I expected. I would make them again. The Husband enjoyed his as an afternoon treat with his lunch and liked it. The author mentions that these are wonderful “slipped in the pocket of a ski jacket and enjoyed warm at the top of the mountain.” I just had them with tea and an egg, having misplaced my mountain that morning.

2- Thai Sweet-Hot Duck from Garlic by Janet Hazen. Section: Entrees

Modifications: Dried mint instead of fresh and not as much as called for, the Husband doesn’t like mint. 1 Serrano pepper instead of 4. My mouth almost spontaneously combusted when I tested the pepper and I do like spicy food. Also served it with stir fried noodles, instead of lettuce, and it was lovely.

The Husband said this was the “single best thing” that I’ve made so far. It was pretty delicious. I did have texture issues with the duck, but occasionally get weird about new meats, so I think it might wear off. The recipe called for 10 cloves of garlic sliced thinly which I thought might be overpowering, but turned out quite nice. The Husband said that the flavor combo tasted “familiar.” It is fairly close to some of the Asian dishes we’ve been making and has star anise in it, which is in Chinese five spice powder. I got all my ingredients ready ahead of time, which helped speed the recipe along. I think I may have overcooked the duck. It was only slighty pink in the middle. We’ll be making this again. The next time I will flip the duck after searing the skin. The recipe omitted this step, but the Husband thinks the crispy skin would be nice.

 

3- Noodles with Asparagus from 400 Thai and Chinese Delicious Recipes for Delicious and Healthy Living. Section: Noodles

Modifications: Sesame oil instead of canola oil, as I had used it up in the Mongolian Beef. I think we have the wrong noodles too. I think we bought actual ramen noodles, instead of egg noodles from the Chinese grocery, but it was what we had in the cupboard and worked just as well. This was an easy recipe and went well with the duck. I would make this again, but to go with something, not on their own. They would be a little bland.

4- Mongolia Beef- The Husband’s family recipe book. The Husband says I can’t share it. He says there will be “dishonor on our cow” if it gets out… (I’ll give you a cookie if you can tell me which movie that’s from. The comments should be working.) I guess you’ll all just have to come over for dinner one night to try it.

Modifications: I left out the tiger lilly buds, as I couldn’t find them, and added garlic powder and white pepper to the marinade. I know, nothing is sacred from me changing the recipe, not even super secret family recipes! We had it over puffy fried bean thread noodles, which is what the recipe called for. I’ve not fried them before and it was fun to see them puff up. The Husband says he hasn’t had them with it before, his Dad makes rice to go with it. It was really good. Next time I will break up the bean threads, the middle ones didn’t get hit with the oil right and weren’t puffy. I also didn’t have enough oil to begin with, so will need more.

5- Scotch Broth based on a recipe from Pauline Bradley, a good family friend and I think, my older brother’s godmother. This one is pretty simple. Chicken broth-2 boxes, ground lamb, carrots, onions, potatoes, garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

The original version had barley, but the Husband is not a fan of the texture. I made it in the crockpot before work. Just brown the lamb, drain off the grease, and then throw it and everything else in the pot and let it cook. It’s delicious and even better on the second day. I had a turnip in the fridge and no recipe to use it for, so I chopped that up too and threw it in. No pictures, as I ate it too fast. It’s not terribly photogenic either, but makes up for it in taste.

I’ve got a bunch of recipes marked in some cookbooks for the future and to help with meal planning. A couple of the cookbooks only have a few more sections before they are complete!  I haven’t decided on the rules for what happens when I finish all the sections in a cookbook. They pretty much all have more than one recipe that I would like to try, but I want to make sure that the ones I haven’t touched yet get used too. Plus, there is a whole shoe box full of recipe cards and mini cookbooks to use as well. For now, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I actually get there.

Crafty · Recipe Roundup

Cooking and Crafting Musings

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Whew! I am glad last week is over. It was crazy busy and I worked late each night.  We didn’t have many recipes to talk bout because we had canned soup one night, pizza for 2 nights, and I had the Husband bake his own chicken another night. The only two things I actually made were a Milk Chocolate Cherry Pie and more of a method for the chicken. I did make new recipe last night and attempted to make something on Sunday after I came home from my trip, but the Husband convinced me to have rotisserie chicken, salad, and bread instead. It was probably a much better idea, I was so sleepy and loopy from driving.

I’ll start with the recipes first and then talk about the crafts.

1- Milk Chocolate Cherry Pie from Icebox Pies: 100 Scrumptious Recipes for No-Bake No-Fail Pies by Lauren Chattman. Section: Chocolate Dream Pies

Modifications: None, I followed the recipe! We liked it, but it was very rich and we weren’t able to finish all of it ourselves. I think I would make it again for a party where there were more people to eat it.

2- Italian Marinated Chicken Drumsticks. Method by me: Throw chicken parts in a zip bag and add Italian Dressing, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic powder. Zip the bag and roll the chicken legs round in it. Bake at 375 for about an hour, depending on how frozen the chicken still is. Serve with a salad and bread. No pictures, I wasn’t home until after it was eaten.

3- Crossword Cipher Chicken from The Nancy Drew Cookbook by Carolyn Keene. Section: Picnic and Patio Get-Togethers

Modifications: I used butter instead of margarine. One, I didn’t have any, and Two, I don’t believe in margarine generally. I have one recipe that I use it in and that’s about it. We used garlic butter Ritz crackers for the breading and it was pretty good. The breading didn’t stick on very well in spots, until I started pushing the crumbs more firmly into the meat. We had garlic bread, raspberries, and roasted carrots with it. I don’t have a picture of the finished project, but did take a picture of the chicken before it was baked.

I was working on my vending items all week, but did squeeze in one more project from my list. I made some Kanzashi-Style Hair Clips from the book Button and Stitch by Kristen Rask. I made them into pins as I have misplaced my hair clips. I’ve made something similar before, but this time I decided to sew a back on and sew the whole thing instead of hot glue. I think it looks neater and It was a good project to do while out of power.  Eventually they will go into  my vending stash, once I have worked out the kinks. I like doing the little projects like this, as it’s lots of fun to pick out the perfect buttons for it. It also helps me use up my already cut squares. My 2 inch square bag is currently overflowing. I want to try them with my bigger squares too for a different look.

Vending is a funny thing for me. I always get anxious about it, even though I have a lot of product. I’ve been trying to branch put from my preferred colors and patterns into more things that might appeal to others. I vend at bellydance events, mostly local, as I bellydance myself. Since I also have my Etsy store, it can be a good way to get my Twinflower Fancies brand to be more well-known. It can be disappointing though, when my table gets passed over or I don’t seem to be in the right genre. This weekend inspired me to work more on my Etsy store and see if I can develop better style and pictures online. Hopefully my next events will be a little less discouraging. I definitely came home from this weekend not understanding what was wrong and struggling with the motivation to make more items to sell.

I might take a break from making Etsy or vending items for a few weeks and make a few things just for me. I am reading a bunch of sewing blogs that are inspiring me to work on my clothes goals, including working with my serger. Hopefully I’ll have more clothes pictures to show you next week.

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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Sometimes it’s hard to remember what I did yesterday, much less what recipes I used. Luckily, the Husband helped me remember, so I could share them with you. We ate a lot of leftovers, due to long work days and mismatched schedules this week.

We joke that we saw each other more when we were dating than after being married. I had taken a break during grad school to get married and then went right back to two jobs and school. Between the two, I was working 12 hour days. Lots of crockpot dinners and unexpected menu changes were had in those days.  Now after changing jobs to what is my dream job, I ended up taking a second job until my dream job starts paying my dream salary. So we’re back to mismatched schedules and long nights. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer until I am working more regular hours.

You didn’t come here to read sappy thoughts about missing my husband though, so back to the recipes.

We had spaghetti and lasagna leftovers a bunch this week to use them up.

1- Creamy Chicken Ravioli from Good Eating Pasta: Your Complete Guide to Cooking Perfect Pasta Every Time. Section: Filled and Baked.

Modifications: I used dried herbs. I’ve been having trouble finding fresh. Not surprising, since it’s winter. I also didn’t let them rest for as long as it said to let them rest. It didn’t seem to make a difference in the final product. They were delicious. I used the pasta dough recipe I’ve used before from Luca Manfe’s cookbook My Italian Kitchen. I like this pasta dough recipe because I can use my mixer for it.

I do need to keep working on my ravioli cutting skills. They were a bit uneven. None of them exploded in the pasta water though, so it was a success. These were delicious. The Husband would like this recipe to go on a regular rotation. I am getting more comfortable with making pasta, so it might happen.

2- Dumplings from a family recipe. I was going to make them from the same cookbook as the Scallion pancakes, but my recipe seemed more exciting. This is actually from my side of the family. The Husband’s side has one too, but they use pork. We have discovered that ground chicken instead of pork works well. Pork and I are not friends. I also don’t have a recipe. This is one that we got from my uncle’s wife and she just gave us ingredients on a list. Now we just make them by smell and look. It’s very hard to think about measurements. Someday maybe I will try to figure out actual measurements for it.

3- Scallion Pancakes from The Food of China by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds. Section: Appetizers 

Modifications: I didn’t let the first batch rest as long as they were supposed to and I think they didn’t stretch out as much as they should have.  The recipe calls for three rest periods of 20 minutes after each step, raising the dough, after coiling, and again after rolling the circles. I did not read the recipe all the way through and missed the second and third rest. Since both the Husband and I were considering eating the cookbook as it was 9 pm with no dinner yet, I decided to make the first few without it. I have been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time, but just never was brave enough to tackle it.

They were delicious and cooked quickly. If I was making this for a crowd, I would definitely be able to fit the rising in, but would have to start it really early.

4- Shrimp Parchment Packets from Food Network Magazine. Jan/Feb 2015, v. 8, N. 1. 

Modifications: I left out the clam juice. I forgot to write it down, so when we got to the store, I couldn’t remember if I needed it for this recipe or not. The look on the Husband’s face when I said I might need it was absolutely hysterical. I don’t know if he was trying to figure out how they got juice out of a clam or what, but it was funny.

I also used dried herbs instead of fresh. I would like to try this again when we have fresh from the garden herbs, as I think it would better. Also forgot salt and pepper. It was good. Too much lemon for the Husband. We had it over rice. I had olive oil asparagus as well.

While waiting in the ridiculously long line at the store to check out, we started looking at pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid and discovered that there is a pasta press that has shaped pastas, like macaroni and rotini.  I did get excited about it, but told the Husband that I didn’t think I was ready for that much pasta responsibility. His response? “Think of the pastabilities.” I may have snorted loudly enough in line that the people behind us went to a different register.

Food puns are just one of the reasons I love him. So with that thought, I’ve got to go plan my next meals and crafty things. Hopefully there will be more food puns in my future.

Monthly Review

Happy 2 Month Anniversary!

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Wow! It’s been two months already. How did that happen? I am feeling particularly cute today because I’m wearing my strawberry dress, which I finished specifically to get a project done for the blog. I thought I should take a minute and review what I’ve gotten done so far. It doesn’t seem like it’s that much when thinking about it, but I suspect I’ve gotten more done than I thought.

Food/cookbook Review: I went back and counted up my cookbooks that I used. 28 new cookbooks were used in the past 2 months! I didn’t completely finish any, but I might be close with Retro Diner. I seem to only have a few more sections of it to use. My most used cookbooks were Food Network Favorites and Better Homes and Gardens, both with 4 recipes. They were all from different sections though. I thought there would be more repeats, but I’ve done pretty good.

I’m getting better about figuring out recipes before I need to start working on them. I’m learning that sometimes it is better to follow the recipe and sometimes I need to go with my gut and make modifications even if it doesn’t call for it. The Husband keeps telling me I should be thinking about going on Masterchef and threatens to have friends bring over random foods for a Chopped style dinner party. I think that the Chopped dinner party might be fun, but am not sure about Masterchef. I still have trouble with planning sides and cooking things at the same time.  The Husband still claims that all I have to do to cook is to wave my arms and food magically appears. He is fairly gracious about eating a little later so I can get everything done, but I suspect it would do me in on a TV show. Plus, Gordon Ramsey might call me a muppet and I might never cook again…

I did find picture of the Wolfgang Puck pizza (Food Network Favorites) that I hadn’t posted and it looks delicious. It was very good and definitely will be added to the pizza night menu. This pizza was one of the favorite meals for the last couple of months. The Curry Chicken Salad (Food Network Favorites), Blackwood Hall Muffins (Nancy Drew), Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Better Homes), and the Stuffed Meatballs (Food Network Favorites) were all favorites.

Recipe misses were Chicken Risotto (A Quilter’s Christmas), and Creamy Mushroom Soup (My Recipe Keeper). I think everything else I would make again, just with modifications.

I still have this week’s Recipe Round up to write, but thought I would do a review first. Those recipes will be  written up tomorrow or Sunday.

Craft Project Review:

So far I have finished one baby quilt and the Rainbow Snowball quilt top, and started another scrap quilt, which I haven’t taken pictures of yet. Here’s the Rainbow Snowball sewn together. Excuse the wrinkles, I have not ironed it yet. I can’t decide on a border fabric, so it probably won’t get one, unlike the original look. It would make it too busy, I think, and I’m not a fan of white borders. It’s going to be quilted with buttons in the diamonds and probably backed with either a fleece or a red flannel. It does have a home, just have to get it done.

I made or completed 5-6 tea wallets for my Etsy store and vending. Some of them just needed a specific thread color to finish the final seam.

I added bias tape to complete the strawberry dress and made a complete dress from scratch in 5 hours for a Dita Von Teese show. The strawberry dress is not the McCall’s pattern that I thought it was. It has princess seams that I had forgotten about. I’m still going through patterns to see what it actually is.

Also, I discovered my dog is afraid of the dress form when it is undressed. Fancy is a terribly vicious pitbull, you know. 🙂

Finished three belly dance hip wraps from the project box. These are all put away in their box, but I did post a few pictures last Wednesday of the black and blue ones. I haven’t gotten pictures of the pink and silver one yet.

Finished two bags, the red and black Record Bag (only in progress pictures so far) and made a dinosaur 6 pocket tote bag.

It’s been a little easier to do more things with food, as we have to eat. Crafting seems to take a backseat, partially due to how ridiculously messy the craft area in the basement has become. It’s pretty cold down there right now, so I have just been down there to find specific things and not working down there. I’m ashamed to say how messy it is, but I really need to focus on getting it into better order. Potentially getting a space heater will help too because then I won’t be taking over the dining room table with all of it. We cut up almost all of our moving boxes and I’m planning on swiping the side flaps to wrap fabric around in hopes that it will help keep things a bit neater and help me to know what I have. I’ll probably post some in progress pictures to help keep my motivation going.

So there it is! Looking back at this list, even though I can see some room for improvement, I’m pretty proud of what I accomplished.

28 new cookbooks used and 15 craft/sewing projects completed in two months. That’s a good use of my time, I think.

Hopefully you’ve had fun following along and will stay tuned for more crafty and cooking adventures.

 

 

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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I had the Husband sit down and help me go through all the Food Network magazines to pick some recipes. We had a whole bunch and I used some of them this week. I think we might not be able to make something from every section, as there is always a fish section, but I thought we should at least find a recipe from every magazine.

I also used a Pinterest recipe for pretzel bread and buns yesterday which turned out well. I didn’t have a recipe for it in any of my cookbooks. We had two not new meals this week. We had canned soup and crackers on Saturday and bacon wrapped filets on Valentine’s Day.

Here are the recipes:

1- Hungarian Noodles with Sausage, Food Network, November 2015, Volume 8, Number 9. 

Modifications: I followed the recipe! The only thing I changed was to sub yellow pepper for the red. It was pretty good. I will keep this one in my file for a quick dinner. I got to char a pepper on the gas stove like all the fancy cooking shows! 

We had carrots and asparagus to go with it. The Husband had carrots. I had lemon asparagus, no recipe, I just threw on some lemon juice and garlic along with the butter.

2- Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings from Food Network, November 2016, Volume 9, Number 9. 

Modifications: The dumplings called for were actually pre-made mini cheese Pierogi. I didn’t have time to make or get them, so we subbed tortellini instead. It turned out pretty good. The Husband handled the last part of the cooking, adding the cream and cooked tortellini at the last bit of cooking time. Mondays are going to be late days for me, so we’ll either have a crockpot dinner, or something that the Husband can put in the oven when he gets home first. It needed a little more spice,  bit more salt and pepper and I might p,ay around with the spices later. We would eat this again. The chicken was really tender and it was very simple to put together. I don’t think I got a picture of it. It was eaten too fast!

3- Mushroom Burgers from Mooney’s from the Retro Diner by Linda Everett. Section: Fresh Off the Grill.

Modifications: Used 80/20 ground beef instead of sirloin. Everything else was followed. The recipe called for sherry in the meat which gave it a nice flavor. They turned out very good. (And yes, that was the dog in the lower right corner. She was extremely interested in this dinner.)

4- Onion Rings from The Book of Steak, Section: Sides

Modifications: None! I can follow recipes sometimes! Next time, I would add spices into the batter. Also, I want a deep fryer. The Husband has agreed to clean the oil for fried foods, so I’m okay with it. It might help the house not smell like frying when we go to bed, I think. They didn’t stay crispy in the oven. I think I needed to fry them more. They also looked nothing like the picture, which appeared to have panko on them as well.

5- Pretzel Bread from Joy Food Sunshine: http://joyfoodsunshine.com/pretzel-bread

Modifications: None. It was baking, so I followed the recipe. It turned out delicious. I made a small loaf of bread and four burger buns. Mmmm… this may be my favorite bread in a while.

Tonight the Husband is having pork chops and I am having lentils/vegetarian. Pork and I have not gotten along for the past 3 years or so. I can still eat bacon, ham, and Italian sausage, but not fresh pork. We’re not sure why, but think it may have something to do with how they are processed. So I’m off to find a recipe in one of my vegetable cookbooks!

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

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This week I used a couple of the same cookbooks with different sections. It was fun to pull them out for multiple recipes. I’m realizing how often I pull out the same few. I have some that it may be challenging to use. I’m a little ashamed to say, I bought a few just for the name without really looking at what they actually included. I have a Scandinavian cookbook that is mostly fancy fish recipes, for example, and neither the Husband or I eat fish. So we’ll see how it goes with those cookbooks.

It’s surprisingly hard to think about different uses for ground beef too. A lot of the recipes call for something else, or are too similar and might feel like we’re just eating endless spaghetti variations. Sometimes I can be snotty about how many cans of cream of something soup I choose to eat (the answer is generally none,) which doesn’t help with the ground beef question.

I also need to get a whole lot better at planning meals. We used to be very good, but with this project, it doesn’t seem to be as streamlined. I’m finding myself easily overwhelmed when trying to pick out recipes. The Husband says he doesn’t think I can make anything that is bad, because almost all of the recipes have been working. Even the ones that weren’t something we would make again were fairly decent flavor-wise.

Here are the recipes for this week:

1- Lemon Blueberry Streusel muffins from Pillsbury Best Muffins and Quick Breads. Section: Sweet Muffins

Modifications: Lemon Yogurt instead of vanilla and blueberries instead of raspberries. The recipe is actually called “Lemon Raspberry” muffins in the book, but I had no raspberries and no desire to go into the brief snowstorm to get them. These were good muffins, a little denser than most. I had to add some milk to the batter as it seemed way too thick and I didn’t trust it. The lemon didn’t come through as much, but the streusel topping is divine.

2- Mexican Cornbread from the same cookbook as above. Section: Quick Breads.

Modifictions: Substituted finely diced seeded jalapeños for the canned green chilis. Again, it was what I had and I am trying to stick to using as much as I can to what is actually in the house. Also, made sour milk instead of buttermilk. I had used all the buttermilk in the next recipe!  It turned out good. Very dense though and moist. The Husband didn’t like it as much, so we’ll probably find a friend to share it with. It had canned creamed corn, so I was able to use up the leftovers from the corndogs.

3- Tangerine Beef with Snow Peas from Everyday Asian by Farina Wong Kingsley. Section: 20 Minutes from Start to Finish.

Modifications: I reduced the ginger drastically. The Husband is not a fan of ginger. It was delicious, despite spilling more sherry by accident. We had it over rice. I would make this again. It took a little longer than 20 minutes, but not much longer.

4- Buttermilk Brined Fried Chicken from Better Homes nd Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Poultry

Modifications: I used chicken tenderloins instead of bone in pieces. I really don’t like frying things with bones and had forgotten to pull chicken out to defrost. I also misread the recipe, missed how much salt to actually add to the brine, and missed that there was supposed to be sugar in it. Other than that, no intentional mods. I did add a bunch of salt to the chicken as it was waiting to be breaded and salted it when it came out of the oil. It was good. I would probably make this again. The Husband has been requesting fried chicken for a while, so it worked well.

5- Herbed Creamy Pasta from the same cookbook as above. Section: Pasta

Modifications: I used Boursin cheese for the cottage cheese. Cottage cheese and I don’t get along. I used a little too much of the Boursin, I think, and the shaved parm didn’t want to melt. It was nice and melty until I added the cheese tortellini and then it got a bit gloppy. It tasted good, but it looked a little funny. I didn’t take pictures… I don’t think I would make this as a main dish again, or if I did, I might do something different with the cheese.

6- Turkey Thai Pad from September 2016 issue of Food Network. Kid’s Cookbook. 

Modifications: Used ground turkey instead cooked, cubed turkey and left out the bean sprouts and peanuts. It was good and came together quickly. I’m going to add it to the quick dinner file. We used Chinese egg noodle cakes for it instead of linguine.

It was a pretty successful recipe week. Next week I am going to try to pick books I haven’t used yet. Wish me luck!

 

Recipe Roundup

Recipe Roundup

LSiehLeave a comment

Here are the latest recipes from my cookbooks. Mostly hits, not too many that I wouldn’t make again.

1- Baked Spring Rolls from 400 Thai and Chinese Delicious Recipes For Healthy Living. Section: Light Bites

Modifications: Substituted ground chicken for the ground pork, since I can’t eat pork. These didn’t crisp up as much as I wanted, but they tasted good. I might look for a fried spring roll recipe in the future. We had these for our Chinese New Year party.

2- Buttermilk Scones from Celtic Teas with Friends by Elizabeth Knight. Section: January Women’s Tea

No mods made. I followed the recipe. They came out a little bland. I might add a little spice next time. They didn’t rise as much as I thought they would. I think I kneaded them too much.

3- Baked Mac and Cheese from What Can I Bring? By Anne Byrn. Section: Sides

Modifications: I was skeptical when I put this in the oven. Normally I make a roux with butter, flour, and milk, but this recipe had you combine the milk, cheese, and flour and pour it over the hot cooked noodles and bake it. It looked like soup! I was afraid to put the cracker crumbs on top because I thought they would just get soggy.  I hate soggy things, so I waited until it was half done to add them. I also added garlic powder, and more salt and pepper. It was good. We haven’t had Baked mac and cheese for a while. I would make this again. We had sautéed bok choy with garlic as well.

4- Shortcut Bolognese from the February issue of Food Network.

Modifications: Used tomato sauce in place of part of the tomatoes, since I had it in the fridge. It turned out very well. We liked it and would have it again.

5- Pancake Men from The Little House Cookbook by Barbara Walker. Section: Foods from the Tilled Foods

Modifications: I followed the recipe! I even started over when I forgot to add the baking soda to the water and put it in the dry mix instead. They had no sugar at all, so they definitely needed syrup or jam. I felt like you could taste the baking soda more too, which was a little off putting. With the jam though, they were good. We had them with eggs for a nice weekend breakfast.

6- Homemade Corndogs from Food Network Favorites. Section: Alton Brown. 

These were fun to make. They tasted good. We used all beef franks and I cut the recipe in half, since it was just the two of us. We didn’t think the leftovers would hold well. I did end up with extra batter, so I used it to make  fritters, which were also good. The batter didn’t stick on the dogs as much as they should have. I maybe didn’t cornstarch them enough. Also, the pan was not quite deep enough to have the dogs go all the way into the oil, so some of the of the breading burst off and stuck to the bottom. We had them with a salad and berries.

7- Vanilla Fudge Marble Cake from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Cakes

I made my own chocolate syrup, as we didn’t have any. It tastes delicious. I left it with no frosting, since I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to use. We ate it with ice cream, so the frosting wasn’t missed.

Whew, this turned into a long post! I’m still trying to figure out which system is going to help me keep track of which cookbook sections I still need to look at. Now to find the recipes for this week.