OneCreativeCook

Chicken Pot Pies

2012-01-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

The recipe calls for 2 but I cook extra for meals later in the week!

Pot Pie filling, smells wonderful!

There is a little circle of crust on the bottom, you can't see!

The finished pie, it was heaven in a tin!

It is so cold and windy here today, I just wanted to stay in the kitchen and cook things! I decided on Chicken Pot Pies!
I ran to the store and got all the ingredients:

Pillsbury pie crusts ( I love these fast, easy, and flaky) Buy 2 boxes!
Or make your own pie crusts-show off!
2 whole chicken breasts
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 box 32 oz chicken broth
1 stick butter
1 shallot chopped small
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
4 potatoes chopped small
parsley chopped
Notice-I do not add peas to my potpies, peas are gross!

6 little pie tins - Find these in the baking section with the disposable tins! They even come with little lids, 6 to a pack!
1 egg
1 tablesppon water

Heat oven to 375*
Place the chicken breasts on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then rub the oil all over them, then salt and pepper them. Place in the oven and cook 30 minutes for small breasts, 45 for large.

While chicken cooks chop up your veggies, you want all pieces to be about the same size, maybe the size of a marble. Once the chicken is done, remove from oven and let cool. Then chop into bite size pieces.

In a large pot, melt the butter and throw in the chopped shallots, let cook for about 8 minutes. Then stir in flour until thick, stir in cream, chicken broth, add chicken and veggies, mix well, then add lots of salt and pepper and the parsley, cook for about 15 minutes on low.

While the chicken filling cooks, get your little pie tins ready...unroll the pie crusts, turn a tin over and cut around top, use a large biscuit cutter to cut out a circle for bottom of tin as well, you should get two tops and two bottoms from each unrolled crust. Spray the tins with pam and add your bottom, ladle in the chicken filling and cover with the top crust. Mix the egg and water and brush on to the top of crusts, slice slits in top. Put on to large baking sheet and pop in the oven 375* for 40 minutes, until golden brown on top! Let sit up for about 15 minutes and then serve, delicious!

Bang Bang Chicken

2012-01-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

This is the best recipe for breaded chicken nuggets! You could use just the chicken part of this recipe for any other dish, the chicken stays crunchy and flavorful! I made the sauce they suggested and mixed it with the chicken then piled it onto brown rice with broccoli florets mixed into rice. It was very yummy!

I got this recipe from tasty kitchen blog, www.tablefortwoblog.com.

Ingredients

½ cups Mayonnaise
5 teaspoons Sriracha Sauce
1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
1 Egg Beaten
½ cups Milk
½ cups All-purpose Flour
½ cups Panko Breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Ground Pepper
¼ teaspoons Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoons Dried Basil
5 Chicken Tenderloins
Vegetable Oil, For Frying

1. Prepare a plate lined with paper towels for the chicken after it’s done cooking in the oil. Set aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce (mayo, Sriracha, sugar, and rice vinegar) and set aside.
3. In a small, shallow dish, combine the egg and milk. Set aside.
4. In another shallow dish, combine the ingredients for the breading (flour, panko, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried basil). Set aside.
5. Bread the chicken cubes by first coating it in the bread mixture then the egg wash then back in the breading. Put the coated chicken cubes on a plate. Continue until all the chicken has been breaded.
Pop the plate of chicken in the fridge for about 20 minutes. It’ll help the breading stick to the chicken.
6. In a large skillet, add a thin layer of vegetable oil and place over medium high heat.
7. Once the oil is glistening, add in the chicken (you may need to do it in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan) and cook the chicken until cooked through and the breading is nice and crispy brown. it took about 5 minutes a batch, shake them around to brown evenly!
8. Once the first batch is done, put the cooked chicken on the prepared plate with the paper towel. Continue with the second batch and once that’s cooked, add that to the prepared plate.
9. In a large bowl, put in your cooked chicken and pour the sauce all over. Toss well to coat every bite.
I cooked some brown rice and some broccoli, mixed the 2, then piled some chicken on top!

Bbq chicken salad!

2012-01-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

This dish makes a great lunch/dinner, quick and easy under thirty minutes!
I love this salad! This will serve 2 people.

What you need:
4 chicken breasts
2 tomatoes
2 red bell peppers
1 head romaine lettuce
1 head iceberg lettuce
chedder cheese grated
some french fried onions ( I buy French's brand)
Bbq sauce
Ranch dressing

Start by grilling your chicken breasts (buy a four pack and use 2 for the salads and 2 for chicken tacos tomorrow night)

In an oven safe grill pan, add some olive oil and butter, about 2 tablspoons each, turn on medium high heat. Salt and pepper chicken both sides, add to grill pan and brown one side turn brown the other side then place in 400* oven for 20 minutes, exactly, no more no less!!
Remove from oven and put chicken on a plate and loosely cover with foil to rest for 15minutes, while you make other parts of salad.

Chop some romaine lettuce and some iceberg lettuce 1/2 head each, mix and place on two plates.

Chop the tomatoes and the bell pepper into bite size piece add to plates of lettuce.

Sprinkle on cheese and onions.

Now slice up 2 of the chicken breasts into bite size pieces, I slice at a slant then chop the pieces in half. Add to plates...drizzle on ranch and bbq sauce, give a good tossing and turning...then eat!

Perfect meal with some warmed up french bread!

Chicken broccoli fettuccine alfredo!

2012-01-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

You know me and pasta, we are best buddies! So tonight I decided to make one of my favorites that I order in a restaurant...Chicken broccoli fettuccine alfredo! Yum!

I love the alfredo at Macaroni grill so when I saw they sell it at the supermarket, I bought it!
So start with a box of macaroni grill fettuccine alfredo, add grilled chopped chicken, steamed broccoli and you are eating comfort food and homey goodness! Oh, don't forget my never fail garlic bread..recipe to follow!!

What you need:

1 box Macaroni grill fettuccine alfredo (don't follow the directions!- follow me!)
1 bag frozen broccoli
3 chicken breasts
1 stick butter plus 4 tablespoons also
3 cloves garlic
parmasan cheese
5 small french bread rolls
Parsley - dried chopped
1 1/2 cup milk
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Start with grilling your chicken..put some olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter in grill pan, heat on med high...salt and pepper the chicken, add to the pan, grill until brown on both sides, 5 minutes per side, then put in oven for 15 minutes. Take out and remove the the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to rest.

Boil a pan of water, add pasta from macaroni grill box. Cook ten minutes and drain. Then add packets from macaroni grill box, 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup milk, and stir well, put pan on simmer and cover to let thicken.

In a another pan put 1/4 cup of water, add broccoli and boil for 8 to 10 minutes covered, drain.

In a large bowl pour in pasta, pour in broccoli, chop up chicken in small pieces add to bowl, stir well and serve!

Garlic bread:
slice french bread in halves place on cookie sheet. Mix 1 stick butter, softened, with 3 cloves garlic, minced, add a tablespoons parsley stir well and spread on bread, sprinkle on some parmasan cheese. Bake in 350* oven for 10 minutes then change to broil until browned. Serve! Yum!

Waffles!

2011-12-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

Charlie makes waffles on the hotel waffle makers, marriott or hilton, one of those that have the free breakfast buffets, anyway, he is really good at it and tends to end up making others their waffles because it can be intimidating for some to use. He has a blast!
So I got him the double sided waffle maker, so we can eat together, it cooks two at a time.

Our review of this product is 5 stars out of 5! It is amazing!
The only thing we recommend is to not use the recipes they give you, they are complicated and time consuming, just go buy Krusteaz Belgian waffle mix, much simpler and the waffles are perfect!!

WARING PRO DOUBLE WAFFLE MAKER

We used Krusteaz Belgian Waffle Mix, fabulous!

Chef Charlie hard at work!

Winter Food!

2011-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

It is getting mighty chilly here in Vegas...so I thought I would make some chili!
This is a nice simple throw it in the crockpot butter some crackers dinner is done meals!

Here it goes:

1 large can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
1 large can 28 oz kidney beans (drain and smooshed)
1 pound hamburger (browned and crumbly)
3 heaping tablspoons of chili powder (mccormick)
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper - we like it spicy
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sugar
about 1 1/2 cups water

Dump all this in the crockpot and turn it on low and let it cook all day (9am to 4 pm).
Before serving add about 3 heaping spoons of butter and about 5 crackers smashed with your hand into the crock and give it a good stir, then serve with buttered crackers! You can also top with cheese and sour cream too!

*Warm and yummy in your tummy!

Let's Do Lunch!

2011-11-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

Lunch in a 3 section divided tray!
I got the idea from what we eat at crops, Mary and I will usually run to the grocery store the Thursday before cropping starts, we load up with veggies (sugar snap peas, carrots, celery), cheese, ranch dip, apples and wine! Makes for a great light lunch, the wine we save for after dinner!

So, I thought why not have that for lunch at work, I usually work 11:30-3:00 so I need a little lunch. I headed to the store and got all the right stuff, I like to throw in some pepperoni and maybe a couple crackers.
BUT:
Today at the store I saw this pack of lettuce wrap sauce, and thought, Oh that would be great for lunch!

Lettuce Wrap tacos....I love them in restaurants and now I can make them at home! Wow, they were really good! AND I used ground turkey, the kind biggest loser suggests, tasted just like chicken to me! These Wraps would make a great dinner!

Here is what you need:

Plus, you will need some lettuce leaves, I love that hot chili sauce, if you can't handle the heat, you can use soy sauce or what ever sauce you like but that chili sauce is the BOMB!

Brown the turkey meat and crumble it up...just before it is done, add in the can of stir-fry veggies (DRAINED), then pour in the bag of Wrap sauce, stir it up until nice and hot.
I added the hot sauce and the crunchy noodles to my tray for munching on and dipping.

That was a delicious lunch!

Olive Garden Recipes

2011-10-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

My sister got me a recipe book, America's most wanted recipes by Ron Douglas.
It has Olive Garden breadsticks and Fettuccine Alfredo! So I thought "Hey let's give it a try!"

The breadsticks did not work, the texture is all wrong....but the alfredo sauce was great and I made grilled chicken to add to it..That was very good!
But all in all, with an Olive Garden just around the corner, I don't think the expense and mess was worth the trouble...for 17.00 I can call up and place my order and pick it up in a half hour...no mess, no grocery store, no thawing dough and then proofing it for an hour and 1/2...and I get soup and salad too!

Oh well, I tried!

We have been watching that show Top Secret Recipe, and the secret is that restaurants use convection ovens apparently! That is what is the secret to KFC chicken and the secret to Cinnabon dough...and I read online that they use a convection oven for the breadsticks at Olive Garden too! So I think I will leave the cooking to the restaurants on some things and make my own recipes on other things!
It is always fun to try new dishes but for the most part, Olive Garden can make my chicken alfredo and breadsticks anyday!
Bon Appetite!

Cajun chicken pasta!

2011-09-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is pioneer woman's pasta but ours was much more thick and creamy on the sauce and we could

not stop eating it, it was soooo delicious!

I made Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta tonight for dinner, I have an issue making cream sauces, this has a cream sauce, I had an issue.
I did everything the recipe said but that dang sauce was runny!!

So my husband said " maybe you did not reduce the wine and chicken broth enough " try again...so we halved the recipe to try again....I poured 1 cup of chicken broth and 1/4 cup of wine in the pan and heated it up...this time I stayed on high and waited longer and stirred longer...sure enough it really reduced!! I poured in 1/2 cup cream and waited and stirred longer..it got thick!!! We dumped the chicken, pasta, and veggies back in the pan and stirred and stirred and heated and heated...it was so thick and creamy!!

It was so perfect! And this recipe is very delicious!! You must try it..and don't be afraid to really reduce and really cook it, you want a nice thick creamy sauce!!

Ingredients

3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Cut Into Cubes
3 teaspoons Cajun Spice Mix, More To Taste
1 pound Fettuccine
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Sliced
½ whole Large Red Onion, Sliced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
4 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
½ cups White Wine
1 cup Heavy Cream
Cayenne Pepper To Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
Salt To Taste
Chopped Fresh Parsley, To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain when pasta is still al dente; do not overcook!
Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons Cajun spice over chicken pieces. Toss around to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy skillet over high heat. Add half the chicken in a single layer; do not stir. Allow chicken to brown on one side, about 1 minute. Flip to the other side and cook an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a clean plate.
Repeat with remaining chicken. Remove chicken, leaving pan on high heat.
Add remaining olive oil and butter. When heated, add peppers, onions, and garlic. Sprinkle on remaining Cajun spice, and add salt if needed. Cook over very high heat for 1 minute, stirring gently and trying to get the vegetables as dark/black as possible. Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove all vegetables from the pan.
With the pan over high heat, pour in the wine and chicken broth. Cook on high for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in cream, stirring/whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until cream starts to thicken the mixture. Taste and add freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and/or salt to taste. Sauce should be spicy!
Finally, add chicken and vegetables to sauce, making sure to include all the juices that have drained onto the plate. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and hot. Add drained fettuccine and toss to combine.
Top with chopped fresh parsley and chow down!

PIZZA PIZZA!!

2011-09-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

I love pizza, NO, you don't understand, I really love pizza. I could eat it for breakfast and dinner the rest of my life. I love it cold, I love it hot, I love it with red peppers and pepperoni and spinach, I love pizza!

So, now that you know where I am coming from...I saw this pizza dough recipe on Tasty Kitchen, so I saved it thinking I must make my own pizza, because once you eat real pizza from fresh REAL ingredients, like from Metro pizza here in Las Vegas, you can never, never order pizza hut or dominos or papa johns again...trust me you can't do it, it is like eating garbage out of the garbage can...yuck!

Metro pizza has a pizza I order that has spinach and garlic and mozzarella. Yeah, that is LOVE! Does not get any better!

So tonight I am on my own for dinner and think I am going to make that pizza dough and try it out! I went and bought a metal pizza pan, some sauce and cheese, spinach and pepperoni...ahhh, the grocery clerk was very jealous, let me tell you!

Here is the recipe from Codeeaj at www.TastyKitchen.com for the dough, I am so glad I bought my KitchenAid mixer, it whipped that dough up in 3 minutes! But you have to give yourself 1 hour for it to rise and rest or what ever dough needs or kneads to do...

Oh and how freaking awesome is this damn KitchenAid Mixer!!! I want it so bad for my retro diner kitchen I can taste it!!! But it was a promo model from www.Un-Amore.com She makes beautiful mixers!!

Ingredients:

¾ cups Warm Water
1 envelope Active Dry Yeast, 0.25 Ounce Packet
2 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Sugar
¾ teaspoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Plus Extra For Drizzling On Dough

Preparation Instructions:

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into a small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; mix until dough forms a sticky ball. Then add the dough hook and knead using the mixer for about 3 minutes or until the dough forms a soft ball. Or you could do it by hand on a lightly floured surface.
Transfer to a large bowl, add a drizzle of olive oil and turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. PUNCH down dough. Roll out dough and then follow your pizza recipe.
Note: dough can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

This recipe makes enough for two 12 inch pizza's, I made one tonight and one for my hubby for breakfast!Since he was not home tonight! He loved it!!

Here are my pizza ingredients:

The Bertolli sauce was the best ever! Italian sausage, with garlic and romano, it really worked as a pizza sauce!!! Very authentic!

Here is the pizza making process in photos!

rolled out my dough and jabbed it with a fork on a metal pie plate sprayed with pam.

The sauce, Bertolli's is Yummy!

The cheese 5 italian grated.

Baby Spinach! Just tear it up and plop it on!

Pepperoni, I can eat this stuff day and night as a snack!

Oh mama, 3 cheese, grated parmesan, romano, asiago! And some Basil flakes!

The finished pie! Oh my, this was delish!! It is ony 12 inch in diameter so I cut it into 4 pieces, ate 2 and put two away for breakfast....I am in love! This was real pizza dough flavor!!

I baked it at 425* for about 15 miuntes, just remove when it is brown enough for your liking!

This is one pizza pie that will hit your eye and be amore!!
Yum!

Doughnuts!

2011-09-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

The doughnut pan!

I made these! My own sprinkled doughnuts!

And they are baked, not fried, so they must be healthy for you, hee-hee!

Sometimes I just love to have a doughnut on a sunday morning with my coffee and sunday paper, or at bingo, yes, you get free doughnuts and coffee at bingo!

But what a hassle to run to the doughnut shop and bingo is fun on friday mornings with friends.

I saw this doughnut pan at Michaels or Joanns and thought, Hey, I can make my own, the recipes are on the pan packaging, so I won't list the recipes, if you want to make your own doughnuts go buy the pan and in about 20 minutes you have your own sunday morning/bingo doughnuts!

Summertime Gazpacho!

2011-07-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

With all the hot weather everyone is experiencing, I wanted to make a nice cool recipe, so I looked up Gazpacho on the Internet and found this recipe, Unfortunately it did not print out the maker's name, I will work harder on giving credit where credit is due...it is a very flavorful soup and very delicious!
Make it in the morning and it will be ready to eat at suppertime!

Here is the recipe:

1 can 28 0z diced tomatoes w/juice
1 english cucumber (the kind in the cellophane) chopped small
1/2 red onion chopped small
1 small can chopped olives
1 yellow bell pepper chopped small
2 cups v8 juice
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
lots of salt and pepper
Optional, parsley and sour cream

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and cover and refrigerate for a few hours, overnight would be best!
Serve in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and some parsley! Yummy!

Cheesesteak sandwiches!

2011-07-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

I really love a good cheesesteak sandwich, never attempted to make one until today! I got a recipe from the food network magazine, wow, this was yummy! I only cook steaks when my hubby is not home, (he does not eat steak/beef very often) so today was the perfect chance to try this out, he went to the races today.

For one person, you will need:

1 french roll
1 rib eye steak
1 provolone cheese slice
1 white onion
olive oil
salt and pepper

Put your steak in the freezer while you cook onions , Get your cast iron skillet out and pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in it, heat on medium, slice your onion into thin slices and throw in the pan, cook the onions for about a half and hour until golden brown and carmelized, place in bowl with paper towel to drain, set aside.
Get your steak out of freezer and slice thin slices against the grain, heat the skillet, again on medium, you should have oil left in it from onions, if not add a little olive oil...salt and pepper the meat and toss in the pan..cook a couple minutes until browned.

Now cut a french roll in half, place some meat slices in, top with some onions, top with a cheese slice and devour and make another and eat it too! Hey, I had the little french rolls so I am entitled to eat two!
Great way to make cheesesteak sandwiches at home, very tasty!!

Chicken and Budwiser!

2011-06-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

This summer I am going to practice cooking on the grill a lot! Now that we have a patio cover over it (thanks Traivs and Charlie) it is much easier to cook out there. So while looking for chicken recipes on the web I came across the "good ole beer can chicken recipe". I could not resist that one!
Charlie did not believe you can cook a chicken with a beer up its butt, but I proved him wrong!
It was delicious!

It's a COOKIE????

2011-06-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I find a cooking blog that stops me in my tracks, Bridget at Bake at 350 Did that with her amazing cookies!
Now I am not a sweet eater at all, but I would love to try one of her cookies, they look so good! Chcek out her blog for more fabulous cookies! Bake at 350

Saturday Supper

2011-06-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday's have always been a fend for yourself kind of day as far as eating goes...so I found this recipe for italian beef sandwiches on tasty cooking website (thanks go to Subau) and thought that would be great for my supper, Charlie would be at the races until late and I was going to be working in the backyard all day, this was the perfect supper for me!
I threw everything in the crockpot in the morning 7:00am and about 2:00pm it was ready to eat! I just shredded the meat and piled it on a french roll with provolone and supper was served!

Here goes:
2 pound beef roast (boneless)
1 onion (sliced)
1 green pepper (sliced)
1 16oz jar pepporchini's sliced with the juice!
salt and pepper
1 cup water
Put all this in a crock pot and cook on low 7 hours

When finished, take meat out and shred in a large bowl, ladle on some of the veggies and juice, stir, pile onto french rolls and top with a slice of cheese! Yum!

Perfect Garlic Bread!

2011-05-22T18:06:00.000-07:00

I finally mastered Garlic Bread!
My hubby did not feel like going out on his birthday so I made him comfort food for dinner..cheese raviolis in spicy red pepper sauce and homemade garlic bread....
The raviolis were just bagged frozen that you cook in boiling water then pour on some good jarred sauce, I chose Classico spicy red pepper, yum!
Pile on some parmasan cheese and it is all good...but I did not have any garlic bread in the freezer...I did have some french rolls leftover from the meatball sandwiches I made so I figured I could whip up homemade garlic bread..searched the internet and figured out this is how it should be done:

Slice your rolls in half and place on a cookie sheet, also, heat the oven to 350*
Take a stick of unsalted butter, 2 cloves of garlic minced, and some parsley, mix well and spread onto the rolls, sprinkle on some parmasan cheese and pop in the oven for 10 minutes...after 10 minutes turn on broiler and broil until brown on top, remove and serve with the raviolis..FABULOUS!
What a nice quick and easy dinner! He was impressed and loved his dinner!

The Gyros!

2011-05-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Ok here is the gyro recipe to go with your sauce!

Grilled chicken breasts:
I heat a little olive oil in a grill pan, season the breasts with some greek seasoning (found in the spice section)
and salt and pepper, grill until browned on each side, then pop the pan in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes. Easy Peasy!
I use the pan I got for free from albertsons, I love that cookware, and will replace all my pans with these! They go from stove top to oven! Clean up super easy!

You will also need these items:
Chopped up for topping: Lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, greek olives.
Pita Bread.

Ok, after you have your chicken, let it rest, then slice into strips....place your chicken, some lettuce, red onion, olives, tomatoes into a pita pocket, pour on some sauce and enjoy your homemade greek gyro!

Gotta go greek in summer!

2011-05-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

I love greek food! The salads, the gyros, the olives...it is all yum!
So I went searching for a nice chicken gyro for summer lunch, and you gotta have the tzatziki sauce!
You have to make it the night before, gotta let the flavors meld...so tonight the sauce tomorrow the gyro!

All you need:

2 cups greek yogurt
1 cup diced cucumber (peeled and de-seeded)
juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove minced
2 teaspoons dill
salt and pepper

mix all ingredients and refrigerate over night..whew..that was tough!

See you back tomorrow for the gyro!

Buffalo chicken bleu cheese salad!

2011-05-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is a great easy dinner for summer because you can use the microwave for the chicken strips. I use the oven but I like the heat!

You also need, bleu cheese crumbles, bacon bits, and small diced tomato pieces. I forgot these on mine today but will use them next time. The recipe comes from the cafe at sunset station they serve this salad and it is amazing! So I copied it here at home, it is a great lunch/dinner!

Cut your iceberg into wedges, cook the chicken in microwave or oven...plate the chicken and lettuce, pour on some dressing and sprinkle on the crumbles, bacon and tomatoes and serve!

Chicken Tacos and Greek salad!

2011-04-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

I tried two recipes off http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ from her cooking portion, they both were great!

The first recipe for her brother's chicken tacos, very good and different, in case you are tired of your smae old tacos, give these ago.

The second recipe was for a greek salad, I love salads when I eat out in restaurants but at home, yuck, they always come out flat and boring tasting! Well, I can now make a pretty mean ceaser salad thanks to Colleen Myler's recipe for dressing, and now I can make a very tasty greek salad thanks to the pioneer woman!

Go search her site for the recipes, you won't be dissappointed!
Happy Eating!

Cornelia Maria Crab Cakes!

2011-04-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

I changed this recipe up so I changed the name in honor of Captain Phil on the Deadliest Catch!
It was from Paula Dean but had bell pepper and buttermilk so I had to change it a little to accommodate my hubby's delicate palette. They came out great and he really liked them!

Dill sauce: Make this first and put in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or two...
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup cream or half and half
2 tablespoons dill ( I used the freeze dried dill)
2 tablespoons parsley (I used the freeze dried parsley)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic minced
Mix all ingredients, cover and chill.

Crab cakes:
3 tablespoons butter
2 green onions chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup cream or half and half
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 egg
1 teaspoon parsley
1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
1/2 cup bread crumbs (Panko)

You need two 1/2 cups of panko one to cook and one to coat with

1/2 cup bread crumbs (Panko)
1/4 grated parmesan
1 can crab meat
olive oil and butter for frying

Melt butter in a skillet, saute onion, garlic for about 5 minutes.
Add cream, mustard, egg, parsley, old bay, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, and crab meat, mix well and cook for about 7 minutes on medium until egg is cooked, remove from pan onto plate to cool until you are able to handle it to make your patties. Mix the parmesan cheese and the other 1/2 cup of bread crumbs. Form patties out of crab mix, coat in the parmesan and crumb mix on both sides. Place the cakes in the fridge for about 20 minutes. When ready to cook, heat butter and oil in frying pan and fry the crab patties for about 10 minutes per side..serve with the dill sauce! Yummy!

Since we are on the subject!

2011-04-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

I have another pork recipe to share...Tanya wanted my carnitas recipe today and I thought I had put it on my cooking blog since it is the best thing I can cook in the whole wide world...well, it was not here so I am adding it now and you will not be disappointed, perfect every time!

Carnitas:

1 4 to 5 pound pork shoulder boneless roast
1 cup mini carrots
1 cup large chopped celery
cumin
onion powder
garlic powder
salt and pepper
water or chicken stock

add everything to crock pot, the spices are just tossed on to give a good covering of the roast, the liquid is added until it comes to the top of the roast.
Cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours.

When done remove the meat and place in a 9x13 glass baking dish, shred it up using 2 forks, pour some juice on and discard the rest of the stuff in crock pot.
Place the baking dish of shredded pork and juice in the oven on broil for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve with heated corn tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa and charlies gaucamole! Best carnitas in town!

Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork!

2011-03-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am amazed at the quality and taste of the Pioneer woman's recipes!
This one was amazing!
At first we thought it was going to be too spicy for us, we had a taste of it while cooking and yes, while in the pot with the sauce you think, holy smokes, and your mouth is on fire, you think oh man we cannot eat this! I was almost ready to go to the olive garden for dinner!
But, after removing from the pot and shredding the meat and making tacos, with lettuce, cheese, avocado, sour cream and the corn tortillas...all you get is this deep rich, smokey flavor of the chipolte peppers. Oh, this was very, very good!! Charlie was very impressed! I normally make carnita's tacos out of pork shoulder, or pork butt, but I wanted to try this one...just for a little change! Yummy!!
Give it a go, and if you cannot handle spice just use the small can of chipolte peppers and add the brown suger ( I forgot to do that)!
It makes the meat this deep smokey flavor that is just wonderful to eat!

Ingredients

■1 whole Large Onion

■1 whole Pork Shoulder ("pork Butt") - 5 To 7 Pounds

■Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

■1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce

■2 cans Dr. Pepper

■2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.
Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.
Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.
Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat.
Serve on warm corn tortillas. Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, avocado slices, I like sour cream too!!
This was very delicious!
Good luck and have fun!
Oh, and by the way, I bought a 3 pound roast because it is just charlie and I, and I cooked it in my pampered chef covered baker, it was perfect!! I cooked it for 5 hours!

123 Cooker!

2011-03-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

My friend, Colleen Mcgraw, (http://www.beadmetaler.blogspot.com/) is a jewelry expert, doctor, lawyer, cupcake maker, fitness guru and now she has added infomercial spokesperson to her many hats she wears!
She has been raving about the xpress cooker, which we call the 123 cooker. She bought one and started making her breakfast and lunches and dinners in it. Then her husband wanted one to make his fish dinners in so he got one, every friend and even strangers she meets hears about the 123 cooker! The omelettes, the pizzas, you can make anything in the 123 cooker!! It is so fast and easy! But I was dragging my feet, I have to eat breakfast and lunch on my own and then I have dinner with charlie, but with exercising you have to eat a good breakfast and a lite lunch and a good dinner. I would hear her talk about the pizzas for lunch (don't worry we use only healthy natural ingredients for these), and with the 123 cooker your portion control is maintained ,as it is not large, perfect for one or two people!
For my birthday she decided I really need one....I LOVE IT!
I made an omelette, WOW, that was so fast and easy and delicious!
I mixed up some eggs added mushrooms, green onions, tomatoes...poured in the cooker, closed the lid and BAM 10 minutes a perfect fluffy omelette!!! It was awesome! I can't wait to make more stuff, I have to go shopping and get some pizza dough and veggies and more for my 123 cooker meals!
Thank you Colleen!!
Oh, you buy yours today at: http://www.redisetgo.com/
Watch this:

Mashed potatoes and more!

2011-02-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

I know you missed me, but we are tearing up the kitchen to make it a beautiful place for me to cook! This is my inspriation photo:

I am hoping in a month or two I will have a similar kitchen!

In the meantime, I have to say I have perfected mash potatoes!! So I am going to share with you how you too may perfect mashed potatoes.

Start with Yukon gold potatoes (5 for two people)

1 stick of butter and 1 cup of cream

wash your potatoes, no need to peel

chop into quarters and add to a pot of cold water that is heavily salted with kosher salt.

cook on high 45 to an hour. While they are cooking melt 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of cream in a small sauce pan.

Once the potatoes are done...

drain the potatoes in a colander and then set the colander back on the pot over a low flame to dry the pan and potatoes. Once the pan is dry dump the potatoes in and start mashing, adding the butter cream mix a little at a time, you may not use it all..so don't pour it all in!! Just until you get the consistency you like!

There you have it the best mashed potatoes in the world! You don't even have to add butter to them once on your plate just salt and pepper!!

Here is a photo of a dinner I made, Filet Mignon, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus with bernaise sauce, very good!

You will never miss with these potatoes, I do the same thing everytime and they come out fabulous!

Seafood Buffet!

2011-02-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

Last night Charlie and I wanted crab legs, so we took our 2 for 1 coupon and headed to sunset station for the seafood buffet. But once we got there we discovered they did away with the seafood buffet when they lowered the prices to the buffets! So I had prime rib instead. Was not what I wanted.
So tonight I made a seafood dinner and thought I would share....It was perfect!

What you need to make your own seafood buffet:

6 king crab legs
bag of shrimp 40 cooked, cleaned, peeled, tails on.
butter 1 stick melted
cocktail sauce (I like the Zesty)
4 lemons
celery aprox. 2 stalks diced
romaine lettuce
homemade caeser dressing (recipe in the archives of this blog)
loaf of french bread
fresh parmasan cheese

Chop the lettuce and place in bowls, top with dressing and fresh grated parmasan cheese.

Grab 2 large wine glasses, put some chopped celery about 1/4 full, pour some cocktail sauce on add some shrimp, top with more sauce.

Heat some water in a large stock pot, put crab legs in, cover, and let water boil 10 minutes. Melt butter in a small pan, pour into little serving cups, and chop the lemons in to wedges.

Bake the french bread at 400* for 8 minutes, slice and serve.

Set the table: Crab legs on a platter, caeser salads, shrimp cocktails, warm sliced bread.

It was fun to have our own seafood buffet at home! I forgot to grab the camera but here is a photo to get you inspired! Make your own theme night for dinner and have fun!

A new addition to the family!

2011-01-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

I made an executive decision today to buy a real stove. Not that the one I had was a fake stove, it just had no power and the oven leaked and did not cook well at all, I was really struggling with it. We had bought it about 3 years ago and we bought a cheap model apox. 350.00, not knowing any better and thinking I don't cook much anyway. Well, that has changed and I am really getting into the whole cooking thing now and need a stove that can keep up! The old stove barely held a 15 pound turkey! This one has a 5.0 cubic ft oven! This one has 5 burners and a full grate so you can slide pans from one side to the other, no more lifting hot pans and spilling and burning myself! I think I am going to have a lot of fun with my new stove!

The specs on my new stove!

Burners: 5

Burner Configuration: All-purpose: one 9,500 BTU nat./8,000 LP,High output: one 12,000 BTU nat./10,000 LP,High output: one 16,200 BTU nat/14,000 LP Power burner,Low output: one 5,000 BTU nat./4,500 LP simmer burner

Cleanability: Sealed burner design

Grate Material: Dishwasher-safe cast iron grates

Type: Sealed burners

Upper/Single Oven Configuration:

No. of Oven Racks: 2 heavy-duty handle racks, 1 offset rack

No. of Rack Positions: 6

Bake Burner: 18,000 BTU Nat./16,000 LP

Broiler Burner: 13,500 BTU Nat./13,500 LP

Capacity: 5.0 cu. ft.

Cleanability: Self-cleaning

Cleaning Method: Self-cleaning

Heating Type: Standard (thermal)

Interior Dimensions: 24-3/8 in. W x 18-5/8 in. H x 19-1/8 in. D

Oven(s) Controls:

Cleanability: Smooth easy-to-clean surface

Clock Type: Electronic touch control

Cook Timer: Electronic touch control

Location: Rear

Overall Type: Easy Set™ 335 electronic control system

Self-Clean: Preset, adustable 2-3-4 hour

Color:

Burner Grates: Black matte

Cabinet Color: White

Control Dials/Knobs: White

Control Panel: White

Cooktop Surface: White

Handle Color: White

Door Panel(s): White

Drawer: White

Front Console: White

Overall Color: White

Styling:

Design Look: Flush look, cabinet depth

Oven Door Window Type: Extra-large

Dimensions:

Height, Backguard Top: 47-3/4 in.

Weight, Shipping (Approx.): 210 lbs.

Maximum Width: 29-7/8 in.

Product Overview:

Item Weight: 210.0 lbs.

General Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

Cooktop Controls:

Cleanability: Smooth easy-to-clean surface

Electronic: Easy Set™ 335 electronic control system

Location: Front

Mechanical: Knob

Oven(s):

Oven(s), Number of: 1

Upper/Single Oven Settings:

Baking: Standard baking

Broiling: Standard broiling

Preheat: Preheat signal

Specialized Cooking: Sabbath mode

Type:

Cooking Surface: Gas: sealed burners

Oven Safety:

Design: Anti-tip oven racks

Heating System: Automatic shut-off

Specialty Drawer:

Type: Storage drawer

Convenience Features:

Key Conveniences: Self-cleaning

Quality Features:

Installation Aids: Adjustable leveling legs

Materials & Finishes:

Oven Racks: Chrome

Power Source:

Convertibility: Propane (LP) convertible, kit included

Power Source: Gas

Mozzarella cheese sticks!

2011-01-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

I made another cooking video for Travis and Rebecca. Thought they would enjoy some mozzarella cheese sticks to serve at a superbowl party! Much better then the frozen chemical infused ones you get at the supermarket, these are nice and homemade and tasty!

Seared Steak Tacos

2011-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

I have been dying to try these tacos, I love steak anything, so when Charlie said he would be going to the race shop and I was on my own for dinner, this is the recipe I chose to make. They were fabulous!!! I found the recipe in the Everyday Food Magazine, it is the small magazine about 5x7 size, I love that little magazine! This recipe is actually one of the light menu items, only 390 calories a taco! I had to eat two, they were that delicious!! I have plenty of steak left over to make more for lunch tomorrow, or I could just eat the steak cold for breakfast, YUM!

Here is what you will need:

1 large top sirloin steak (will make plenty of tacos once sliced up)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

3 limes

4 tblsp olive oil

2 tblsp butter

1 large clove garlic (minced)

salt and pepper

1 large sweet onion (cut thin slices)

8 corn tortillas

chedder/jack cheese grated

1 tomato (slice into strips)

cilantro leaves

lettuce

Place your steak in a dish, pour on soy sauce and lime juice, cover and refrigerate at least one hour, or do this in the morning, then when you get home from work it will be ready to go!

Once you are ready to start cooking begin by putting 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small sauce pan add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of lime juice, I just cut a lime and squeezed in one of the halves. Cook on low for about 5 minutes. Set this garlic oil aside.

Get your cast iron skillet ready with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter, heat over a medium/high fire, get your steak out and blot dry with a paper towel, put salt and pepper on the steak and place in the skillet. Cook about 3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet onto a plate and cover with foil.

Add the onions to the skillet cook about 5 minutes on medium, add the garlic oil and continue to cook until onions are tender and carmelized about 10 more minutes on medium low fire. These onions really make the dish, I will make my carmelized onions like this from now on, they were amazing!!

While the onions are cooking you can prepare your taco additions: lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, lime slices.

Heat the corn tortillas over a fire, place them in a tortilla keeper to serve.

You also need to slice your steak in thin slices, be sure to cut across the grain!

Be sure to squeeze the limes onto your taco as you eat them, the combination of the cilantro, onions, and lime is so flavorful! These were the best tacos I have had, well, aside from my family recipe of Okie Tacos, but that is a recipe for another time!! I hope you try these tacos and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

Vegas Mom Cooking Show!

2011-01-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

I had a request from my son and daughter in law, they were interested in finding out how to cook some of my son's favorite meals. So I came up with the idea of video taping how I cook the dishes he likes! This should work out great! They live in California and with work and life, we don't get to see much of each other, and when they do come to town I like to take them out to the great restaurants we have here in Las Vegas, so I don't do much cooking then.
Here is my first cooking show, I decided to show him how I make my famous Fried Egg Sandwiches!

MEATLOAF!

2010-12-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

"Did someone say Meatloaf?"

No, No, not that Meatloaf.......This MEATLOAF!

I got a recipe from Pioneer woman's blog, I have been looking to find a meatloaf that I like. My husband and his mom love meatloaf but I could not stand it. I tried recipe after recipe and when I saw this one on PW, I knew I had to try it. It is completly different than any other recipe I ever tried. I always hated the bread crumb or cracker part of the whole meatloaf process and I always thought that is what makes meatloaf taste like cardboard!

Well, hang on to your platters because this is the most awesome fantastic meatloaf you will ever try!!

MEATLOAF TO DIE FOR!

1 cup Whole Milk

6 slices White Bread

2 pounds Ground Beef
1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used shredded italian cheese blend from kraft)
¼ teaspoons Seasoned Salt (I did not use this)
¾ teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
⅓ cups Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon (I only used 6)

Sauce:
1-½ cup Ketchup
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, cheese, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.
Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

This was so good, I had a slice left over for breakfast and even ate it cold, and it was even more fabulous!!
Thanks to Pioneer woman for another keeper!!

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

2010-12-04T19:47:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't tell you how fabulous this dish is, you just have to try it!
I was trying out some new recipes and when I completed this one I called Charlie on the phone and said "have you eaten lunch yet? He said No, so I said, get home now, you have got to try this!"
He rushed home and I had it all plated for him, he took a bite and said "wow, this is good!" and cleaned his plate!! I sent a plate of it with him to take to his mom, she lives near the office, and she wrote me an email a short time later that said "wow, that was good!" so we highly recommend this dish! I swear it tastes like something you would get off a fancy restaurant menu!

Grilled Chicken and Lemon Basil Pasta

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 stick butter
salt and pepper

penne pasta about 3/4 pound
lemon juice from bottle or 3 fresh lemons
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup half and half
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
15 fresh basil leaves chopped (or spinach if you like, I am going to try that later!)

Grill your chicken, I use a grill pan on the stove, I melt some olive oil and 1/2 the butter in the pan and I salt and pepper the breasts both sides, then brown each side in the grill pan and pop the pan in the oven. I earned the stamps at albertsons to get the grill pan, it is awesome, it goes from stovetop to oven!! It worked great! I cooked the breasts 20 minutes and took them out and covered them with foil to rest.

Cook Pasta, drain and set aside.
In the same pot, melt other 1/2 butter over medium heat, add lemon juice, whisk while adding cream and half and half, whisk until hot, then add cheese and salt and pepper add some hot water if you want to thin it out a bit. Add basil or spinach, stir until hot. Plate the pasta, slice the grilled chicken, and place over pasta. Serve!
Fabulous!!! Special Thanks to Pioneer Woman for this one!!

Fabulous Green Bean casserole!

2010-11-27T14:21:00.000-08:00

This is an adaptation of Pioneer Woman's recipe, I don't like bacon in my food, it is too strong, and I could not find good fresh green beans here in las vegas so I used frozen...Here is my version and let me tell you it is amazing!!

2 bags 14 oz green beans - I used Birdseye whole petite beans
3 gloves garlic-minced
1/2 onion -chop fine
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
some flour maybe 1/4 cup
2 cups whole milk add 1 cup half and half
salt and pepper
cayenne pepper couple shakes
1 cup sharp grated chedder cheese
1 jar 4 oz pimentos - drained
about 1 cup french fried onions from can (french's)

Get a large pot of water with salt boiling, chop the green beans for bite size pieces and drop into boiling water, cook till soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. Drian and set aside.
In large skillet, add olive oil, add onion, and garlic and cook until onions are super soft and cooked through, about 15 minutes on medium/low flame.
Remove from pan and set aside.
In same pan melt butter and then add flour stirring with a whisk the whole time, add enough flour until you get a thick mix -(think pancake batter), pour in milk and half half mix, keep whisking until it thickens a bit, if it does not thicken in a couple minutes add mour flour and whisk until it does thicken..about 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat and add onion/garlic mix, salt and pepper, pimentos and cheese..stir well.
When it is all mixed and melted together add your green beans, mix well, then pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish, bake for 15 minutes at 350* then add onions on top and cook about 10 more minutes, remove from oven and let sit up about 10 minutes before serving. WOW! YUMMY!

Chicken and Noodles

2010-11-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine was bragging about how good her chicken and noodles dish was and I said "I bet charlie would eat that" so she promised the recipe but forgot all about it..so I went to good old betty crocker cookbook and made it from there...I had to modify it because I wanted a more creamy thick sauce, I added half and half mixed with flour to thicken it up. I called my friend and told her I was making chicken and noodles and she gave me her recipe right away...she said make sure you use frozen egg noodles from Reames and add butter too!

Well my store did not have the noodles so I made it with plain egg noodles and I did add butter to add a little richness!I think this will be a keeper!

3 large chicken breasts
3 cups water
1 can chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/2 onion chopped fine
3 stalks celery chop fine
3/4 cup carrots chop fine
1 cup half and half with about 4 tablspoons flour, blend well.
1 package Reames egg noodles from the freezer section

Place the chicken, water, broth, thyme, bay leaves, salt ad pepper in large soup pot and boil, once boiling turn down to simmer for half hour. Take chicken out to cool until you can chop into bite size pieces, while you chop the chicken, get the broth back to a boil and add noodles. Cook about 20 minutes, add chicken, butter and the half and half mix, stir well until boiling again, simmer until ready to eat.
Serve with a salad and french bread.

Lemon Cream Chicken

2010-10-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

This was a very easy tasty dish! The lemon cream sauce was very good!

Here is how to make this:
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper
4 skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tablespoons lemon juice

Later you will need 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream as well!

In a large plastic ziploc bag put 1/2 cup flour and lots of salt and pepper, add the chicken and shake it up to coat all pieces!
In large cast iron skillet melt the butter, when it is good and hot, add the chicken pieces and brown them about 9 minutes each side, juices should run clear, remove from pan to a plate and cover with foil until later...

Add the chicken broth to the pan you cooked the chicken in, bring to boil over med high heat, stir up the browned bits of chicken, turn down to medium and cook about 10 minutes...Then stir in 3/4 cup cream and lemon juice..cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes...while that is cooking whisk together the 1/4 cup cream and tablespoon of flour, whisk until smooth and creamy...stir into skillet with broth and continue stirring until mixed well, turn up heat until it boils, then turn down and cook and stir about 3 minutes until thick and creamy, pour over your chicken and serve! Wonderful!!

Panko bread crumbs!

2010-10-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

I found a recipe on the tasty kitchen blog for mozzerella sticks, I know charlie loves these so I thought I would try to make them for him! They were a hit! Came out perfect! We did not make all 16, only about 8 cut in half! They were so fun and easy to make! Once I breaded them they went in the freezer for 20 minutes, very important step so don't miss it! While they were flash freezing I made some chicken alfredo for our actual dinner! Charlie really enjoyed it!

Ingredients
16 pieces String Cheese, Removed From Wrappers
½ cups All-purpose Flour
2 whole Eggs
3 Tablespoons Milk
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs (I Used Kikkomans)
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley Flakes
Canola Oil, For Frying
Marinara Sauce, For Dipping

Preparation Instructions
Slice string cheese pieces in half, for a total of 32 pieces.
Place flour in a small bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
In another separate bowl, combine panko bread crumbs with parsley flakes.
TO ASSEMBLE: One by one, roll mozzarella sticks in flour, then dunk in egg/milk mixture, then place in panko crumbs. Use your hand to sweep crumbs all over the mozzarella stick. Gently remove and place on a tray or cookie sheet. Repeat until all mozzarella sticks are coated.
***Place tray in freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to flash freeze.***
TO COOK: Heat 1 1/2 inches canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add mozzarella sticks 8 at a time. Watch closely and turn over to evenly brown, cooking less than 2 minutes. Do not allow cheese to bubble and leak.
Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce.

Baguettes on Parade!

2010-09-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is a great picnic sandwich idea or tailgate food, could be made and taken to potlucks as well!

I call it "The Deli Baguette" and I watched a guy make it on tv at the nascar race to feed to racefans! I made it for my friend Mary Nolan-Riegle while she is visiting and we loved it!

Here is what you will need:
2 long baguettes from the bakery (so you can cut into 4's)

1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup pepperoni
1/2 cup jack cheese
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh basil
5 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup salami

Also needed:
1/2 cup olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, 1 clove garlic-minced.

Chop all ingedients fine cut, just so you have little chunks of everything.
add all too a big bowl and add the garlic and olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix well and cover with wrap and refridgerate for a few hours. When you are ready to eat cut the baguettes in half leaving the ends on! Now hollow out the baguettes and fill with your deli mixture, use a long spoon to pack the mix way down the baguette! Once packed serve with coleslaw or salad or potato salad! Fabuous lunch!

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches!

2010-09-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

I love anything bbq'ed, smother it in bbq sauce and I will eat it...enough said!
The other day while having lunch with friends at Mimi's, by the way Mimi's has a new menu and they serve smaller portions, so on the lunch menu they had bbq pulled pork quesadilla, I thought that sounded yummy so I ordered it. It was delicious, you got just 2 triangular pieces and some coleslaw, oh, coleslaw goes great with bbq sauce! I also had a side salad, a blue cheese wedge. Fantastic lunch!

But it got me wanting more of this bbq pulled pork. I searched my trusty tasty kitchen food blog over at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and came across a nice easy bbq pulled pork recipe with coleslaw! I have never made coleslaw but I love to eat in any restaurant. I put the pork roast in the crock pot this morning smothered in bbq sauce, whipped up the coleslaw recipe so it has time to marinate, coleslaw needs plenty of time to blend or it won't taste right, 7 hours later we got home from work and sat down to some wonderful BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and the best version of coleslaw, very light, not too heavy or creamy, perfect for adding to your sandwich to give it just the right bite with the pork! This recipe is a keeper, Thank you to MrsWilliams for posting it!

FOR THE PULLED PORK:
My notes: I used a 28 oz bottle of Sweet baby rays bbq sauce instead of making my own sauce, you can do this with any of your favorite bottled bbq sauces or make her version, I am sure it will be great!
½ cups Ketchup
⅓ cups Cider Vinegar
⅓ cups Packed Brown Sugar
6 ounces, weight Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
1-½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
3 pounds Pork Sirloin Roast, Cut Into 3 Pieces

1 package Sandwich Rolls- I used a bag of the big round soft rolls you find in the bakery section of the grocery store, they are perfect for these sandwiches!

_____

FOR THE COLE SLAW:

1 bag (14 Oz. Bag) Cole Slaw Mix
½ cups Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ cups Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
¼ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Celery Seed or I used 1 teaspoon of celery salt which worked just fine!
1 teaspoon Onion Powder

Preparation Instructions
For the pulled pork: mix together ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, salt, and onion powder in a crock pot. Add pork and turn pieces to coat with sauce. Cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once done, shred pork and stir to completely incorporate in the sauce.

For the cole slaw: mix coleslaw mix, mayo, canola oil, sugar, cider vinegar, salt, celery seed, and onion powder well in a large bowl. Cover and let chill for while pork cooks.
Once pork is done and cole slaw is chilled, make sandwiches! Put some pork on your bun and top with cole slaw. Enjoy! That is exactly what we did, even Charlie ate the coleslaw!! I am so glad this was a nice light version of coleslaw or he would not have tried it!

Stuffed Jalapeno's

2010-06-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

I love Jalapeno's, I eat them on everything, and I can't eat pizza with out them! So when I saw this recipe in the everyday food magazine, I had to try it. Wow, they were yummy.
Great appetizer:

5 jalapenos
4 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese (grated)
salt and pepper

preheat oven to 450*
slice the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds, mix the cheeses together and add salt and pepper. Fill the jalapenos with mixture and place on a baking dish, place in oven for about 10 minutes until brown and bubbly.

Summertime and the living is easy...

2010-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

I know we have 21 one more days until summer officially starts, but it feels close in enough here in Vegas! We spent the weekend out at the pool and I wanted to share this super cool dinner with you.

BBQ Chicken Salads

Salad mix (I used a bagged salad, the romaine and iceberg mix) only because I did not want to spend time chopping in the kitchen, it is suppose to be easy, remember!
2 Chicken breasts (boneless skinless)
Your favorite bbq sauce (mine is sweet baby rays)

Cook the chicken on the grill, med high about 10 minutes per side, until juices run clear, remove from grill and spread on some bbq sauce, turn grill to high and char the sauce to the chicken real quick, remove from grill and let rest covered in foil about 10 minutes, you can plate the salad while chicken is resting.
Once chicken has rested, slice the breasts or cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, and place on top of the salad, squeeze bbq sauce all over and serve poolside!
* I like to add a little ranch dressing to some bbq sauce just to make mine more like salad dressing!

Terrific for a cool dinner out by the pool!

Onions are Love!

2010-05-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

HELLO GORGEOUS!

I had the most amazing hot dog while staying at the Del Mar Fairgrounds...I knew I must come home and make one!
The Story goes:
We were scrapbooking in a building on the fairgrounds, which were lovely, I may say! Well, they had one building for us to scrapbook in and one building to shop in that had many vendors, we bought lots of goodies, I even spent 40.00 on paper???? Yeah, 40.00!! But it is really good paper, trust me!

Anyway back to the food....for lunch one day he walked over to the food vendors that were set up outside, just like being at the fair...we had kettle corn, pizza, lemonade, hot dogs, gyros....one day we ate at the greek place, Mary N and I split an artichoke and avacodo sandwich (holy moly that was awesome!) and a greek salad, love those! The next day we decided to shoot for the moon and eat at the bratwurst and hot dog stand! Oh MAMA, They had a hot and spicy bratwurst with grilled onions and mustard, I said "Sign me up!" I was half way into it when I realized I was eating the bun, and I said oops, I am on no carbs, but I couldn't stop it was fabulous! One bun won't kill me....That was the best dang Bratwurst I ever ate! I never had grilled onions on a dog before and I don't normally eat buns, but this was more like a super soft roll, I decided I would make this at home but skip the bun, you can't find buns like those in Vegas anyway!
So tonight, I grilled hot and spicy brats on the grill, then I cooked some onions in my cast iron skillet, I had to look up how to do this:
You put some olive oil in your pan and get it hot, slice the onion and put in the skillet, cook on medium until the onions are brown and carmelized, start early it takes about a half of an hour, and they are worth every minute! I sliced my grilled brat and placed the onions on top and put a little mustard over it and some cheddar cheese and ate it bite by bite and it was marvelous!! I will never eat another dog without cooked onions again!
Yummy!!!

Roasted veggies and more!

2010-05-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

We had a discussion about roasted veggies over the scrapbook weekend..we had the most fabulous grilled aspargus and I was telling the girls I roast it all the time...so here is my take on roasted veggies:

Always use kosher salt when cooking makes a world of difference and I am convinced this is what makes restaurant food taste way better then home cooked food!

So last night I chopped some carrots, some green and red bell pepper and some asparagus, I have to keep it seperated cause honey bunny hates bell pepper and he had carrots in with his roasted chicken that was cooking in the oven.

Now line a cookie sheet with foil, put your veggies on and drizzle a little olive oil on top, just lightly not too much...then shake kosher salt, ground black pepper, and schillings lemon pepper on top...now mix it up with your hands and pop into a 375 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, keep an eye on it because you want them lightly sizzling and browned.

Take out and serve, very tasty:

I know I know..I'm a bad blogger!

2010-04-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I had to stop cooking for awhile....I have 29 pairs of jeans in my closet and they were getting mighty tight so I had to cut back. Some friends of mine decided to get healthy and drop some pounds so I joined in the fun. That type of fun should be spelt with four letters!

Anyway, one is on weight watchers and one is on atkins, I decided to try the atkins route as points and keeping track of them is somewhat of a challenge for me, atkins is easier, just don't eat any carbs, period. Well, they allow 20 a day but damn that is tough to do...try it, you'll be amazed at how many carbs are in things!! 23 in a small bowl of coco puffs!!

Well, what got me hooked was that I could have steak with sour cream and eggs for breakfast on atkins, yeah, my kind of diet!!
But that was soon short lived as I can't have bread or pasta, ok, shoot me now.
I found out it ain't that hard. Steak or chicken for breakfast, eggs and cheese. Then a salad for lunch, pour on the dressing, fat is a good thing here! Oh this is good, more meat for dinner, but don't touch the bread basket and don't touch the chips and salsa!!! Hey, I can have steak fajitas, just no tortillas, and you know what I don't even miss the tortillas with the fajitas!! But I am eating 20 chips, give me that, ok!! Yes, I count them!

I dropped 2 pounds the first week! Yeah! I just need 3 more pounds and I am good to go, no more tight jeans! I also exercise 30 minutes on the treadmill every day or every other day.
There you have it...I will try to do some new cooking soon maybe something healthy!!

I made crab legs and a salad for dinner, 0 carbs!! Yahoo!
So stay tuned I should be back with a low carb recipe for you all!!
Oh my friend on the atkins dropped 25 pounds in a month! No exercise, just no carbs!! wheeeeeee!!!
Do something healthy today!
And stay tuned for more fun in the las vegas sun!

Pork chops and pasta!

2010-04-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

I have never attempted pork chops in a frying pan, so tonight I got the ol cast iron out and gave it a valiant attempt..I failed, they were over cooked, but I do believe it was not my fault, the thermometers I used were not working and when I got my little digital one out they were at 177 degrees, I needed to stop at 160! Darn!
I will use my little thermometer next time...but they were still good, just not as good as they could have been!
I made homemade mac and cheese to go with, this is a really good easy recipe, my friend Myler has a recipe for fontina mac and cheese but it is a lot more work and she is much better at it then I, so I leave that one to her and I make this one, so creamy and good try it, you'll like it!!

adapted from paula deans recipe, slight changes...

2 cups macaroni, I like the mini piccolini (little wheels)
1/2 stick butter
2 1/2 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup half and half
1 can cheddar cheese soup (campbells)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
salt and pepper

Directions:
Boil the macaroni for 7 minutes
While that is cooking put all the rest of the ingredients in a sauce pan and melt and blend.
Drain macaroni and mix with cheese sauce, pour into a greased baking dish, bake a t 375 for 20 minutes.
Wow, very good!

Brown butter Ravioli!!!

2010-03-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, the assistant food and beverage director, Brent Cook, over at Harrah's got me the recipe to my favorite raviolis!!
Thank you Brent!!

Oh My Gosh! I nailed this one!
Amazing!
I was a little afraid I would burn the butter, you really have to watch this with your nose not just your eyes!

What you need:
some frozen ravioli's (I used about 10 small cheese ravioli)
3 cloves garlic-minced or 1 tablespoon of jar minced
1 shallot sliced thin and chopped
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup white wine
2 table spoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup grated parmasean cheese
fresh ground pepper and kosher salt

Bring a pan of water to boil, drop your ravioli in, while they cook... heat your stick of butter in a saute pan, get it very hot until it foams but not burns, as soon as you smell a touch of burned butter remove pan from heat, turn heat down to med/low and add your shallots and garlic let them sweat for about 5 minutes, make sure to keep removing pan and swirling to keep from burning, very tricky here! Your ravioli's should be floating at the top of the pan of water drain them and add to saute pan, crank up heat again and add your wine...with heat up you want to deglaze the ravioli mix, so let it boil down to 1/4 of the wine you started with.
Once everything is deglazed down, add your basil and oregano and your parmasan cheese and lots of salt and pepper! Swirl this around until a nice light brown...and your done...Plate it with some spinach and a nice glass of chauteau michelle riesling!! Oh my gosh, I died and went to ravioli heaven!!
Enjoy!

Food on the road...

2010-03-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, sorry I have not posted here lately but I have been traveling, so let's do a post about what to eat on the road of life....
I spent 3 days on the las vegas strip with my sister attending art and soul, we ate at the Paris hotel...let me just say "LeProvencal" go there and eat the classic ravioli's...oh my gosh they were yummy! They were not in a red sauce or a white sauce, they were stuffed with cheese and served with some type of olive oil sauce, very earthy and woodsy flavor, I cannot find a recipe for anything like this so if anyone has ideas send them my way!!
Another fine place to get fat and happy in the Paris hotel is the "Creperie" um, they make crepes, let's just say they make crepes stuffed with heaven in them! You can have crepes stuffed with fruity stuff, or chocolate stuff, or chicken and spinach stuff, maybe ham and egg stuff....just go and eat a crepe, you will thank me later!!
After I got home from that trip, my friends debbie and mary visited me and we stayed at the fiesta hotel in henderson and went to a scrapbook function all day saturday. Friday found us at the claim jumper, the salads are great, Mary had the large cobb and she was happy as a clam eating it! The chicken pot pie is great, I was happy as a clam eating it, hey, are clams really happy??? Well, debbie had tukey dinner, can't mess up turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes!! Charlie had his widow maker burger, that is the only thing he will eat there, he loves it, the name scares me...all I know is angus meat, and avacodo..not sure what else is in there, I really don't want to know, he loves it and it makes him happy!!
Saturday we ate denny's for breakfast, moon over my hammy is the best breakfast you can eat, period!
Saturday night we ate at Macaroni Grill, I had chicken and pasta, it was a nice dinner, not too much and not too little, and the rosemary loaf of bread they give you can bring tears to a bread lovers eyes, oh it was delicious!!
So there you have it..some nifty places too eat on the road.
I am home now and getting back in the grind so be on the lookout..I may cook something fun, or let you know where to eat when visiting las vegas, my home sweet home!!

A quick cooking lesson!

2010-02-20T19:23:00.000-08:00

I got home today from my charm party..check out http://www.onecreativecat.com/ and needed to whip up something for dinner, the hubby was working on his racecar so I was on my own.

So I had pasta and spinach and parmasan cheese and wine..yeah, that's dinner if I ever heard the word!

So here is what took place and it was fabulous!

Cook some pasta, I had shells and tubes, cooked it up about 1 1/2 cups worth, cook a pack of frozen spinach, once the pasta is done, drain and put back in pot, add some olive oil, drizzle about 2 tablespoons on the pasta and stir, add the cooked spinach, add some parmasan cheese about 1/4 cup, some mozerella cheese about 1/2 cup, some half and half about 1/2 cup, cream would have been good, but I was out of that. Some minced garlic 1 clove worth, some crushed red pepper, about 1 teaspoon. Mix that and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes until heated up...it should look like this:

I also had some french bread I threw in the oven at 400* and then I sliced the bread and poured a glass of wine, yummy!! You can never go wrong with spinach and pasta and cheese!!

Olive garden has nothing on me!

2010-02-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

Charlie was working on his racecar today so I went shopping and bought stuff to make olive gardens zuppa tuscana soup and olive garden tuscan garlic chicken, these are two of my all time favorite things to eat! I am very skilled in making them now too!

The soup recipe is already on my blog just go to the right column and pick soups, you will find it, it is just like olive gardens zuppa tuscana!

Here is the recipe for Tuscan Garlic Chicken, it is the most flavorful yummy dish I have ever tasted!

2 boneless chicken breasts

aprox 5 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup flour

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons italian seasoning

1/2 pound fettuccine (they use curly but I can never find it)
2 tablespoons minced garlic ( I use the jar minced) you can use fresh about 4 cloves
1 red bell pepper and 1 green bell pepper
2 tablesppons flour
1/2 cup white cooking wine

1 bag 9 oz. of whole leaf spinach

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmasan cheese

Heat oven to 350*
Combine flour, salt and pepper, italian seasoning in shallow dish. Rinse chicken and dredge in flour mix.
Heat about half the olive oil in a pan and brown the chicken on both sides, once it is browned place in a baking dish and stick in oven for about 20 minutes, cook chicken to 165 degrees.
While chicken is cooking bring a pan of water to boil and cook your fettuccine. Also you need to de-seed and julienne your bell peppers, you also need to chop the stems off the spinach leaves.

Your chicken should be done take it out to rest on a cutting board.

In the pan you browned the chicken add the rest of the olive oil and the garlic and the bell peppers, cook on med high for about 5 minutes, add the 2 tablespoons flour and the wine, stir, bring to a boil and then add the spinach and cream and parmasan cheese, stir until spinach wilts and cook for about 10 minutes on med high.

While that is cooking slice your chicken into bite size pieces and add to the pan of spinach/cream mix, add your cooked and drained fettuccine, mix well and cook a few more minutes, serve with warmed french bread and butter! Lovely!

Bon Appetit!!

Superbowl 44!!

2010-02-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

Here is the line up:
Shrimp cocktail, bbq pork ribs, homemade salsa, homemade gaucamole, little cocktail sausages, chips, olives, green and black, deviled eggs.

Enjoy the day and the food!

Taco cassarole!

2010-02-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

I got this recipe for a burrito cassarole but we decided to change it up and make it a taco salad cassarole!
I made the recipe just as planned but while eating it we decided to make some changes...

Here is the plan and it will be real good!

1 pound hamburger
1 large can refried beans
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
1 small pack flour tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese mexican blend
optional but highly recommended: salsa, pico de gallo, avocado, lettuce.

Brown the hamburger in a skillet add the beans and mix throughly.
Mix the soup and sour cream together in a bowl.
Spray a 13x9 baking dish with pam. Cut the tortillas into strips.
Put some soup on the bottom of the dish, layer tortillas, then meat mixture, then cheese, more tortillas, soup and cheese. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes unitl bubbly and brown.
Remove from oven and let sit up while you bake the flour tortillas in shell pans to make the taco shells.
Here is a link to get some shell bakers: Tortilla Bowl Makers

Now you have your taco salad shells, your cassarole, and your fillers.
Scoop some lettuce in your shell, add some cassarole, top with salsa or pico de gallo, and sliced avocado.
Very good!! You can also add tomatos and onions or what ever else you like on your taco salad.

Food...

2010-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Although I want this to be a cooking blog, sometimes I go through periods where I don't have time or feel like cooking, so it will be more of a food blog.
I can let you know where to eat in Vegas, or just give you a heads up on something tasty that you may have forgotten about, which brings me to todays post:

Cream of wheat, I had forgotten about it. Because my husband loves my oatmeal, and I can now make oatmeal by sense of touch, (how much resistence there is with the spoon and water and oatmeal). I can add just enough oatmeal to water ratio to make the perfect bowl of oatmeal.
But I love cream of wheat. Some friends and I were discussing it and I thought, wow, I have not had that in years. So today I made a nice warm bowl of cream of wheat, add a little sugar and milk and it is dreamy and creamy and yummy!
So think back to something you ate as a kid and you just loved it, but have forgot about it, go make it and let me know if it was a good today as it was way back then, I know my cream of wheat is!

Olive Garden Minestrone!

2010-01-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

I searched this recipe online and found "copycat olive garden minestrone soup by todd wilbur"

Well, I had to change a couple items and my soup came out, unbelievably close to Olive Garden minestrone!!
We love to eat at the Olive Garden and usually end up there once a week, but with business being slow we have to cut back and cook at home more, so this was a great find. I decided to make it for dinner tonight and I served it with a romaine salad with Myler's ceaser dressing (available on this blog, check the side bar under dressings) and french bread.

The only changes I made were: I added tomato sauce instead of wine, had to use vegetable bouillion cubes and make my own broth. The store did not have frozen or fresh italian green beans so I used one can. Oh and I sauted the first set of stuff then dumped everything in the crockpot and let it cook on high about 4 hours! It was awesome!!

My take on the recipe goes something like this:

3 tblspoons olive oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1 stalk chopped celery
4 cloves garlic minced
2 large vegetable boullion cubes, dissolve in 4 cups hot water
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can drained italian green beans
2 15 oz drained kidney beans
2 15 oz drained white beans
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup juliennne carrots
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 bag (2 cups ) fresh baby spinach chopped fine
1 cup uncooked small shell pasta or mini bowties
3 cups hot water

Step 1:
In a large Saute Pan saute onion, celery, garlic, zucchini in olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Step 2: to the saute pan add broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, all drained beans, carrots, hot water, and spices. Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Pour contents of saute pan in to a large crock pot, add chopped spinach and pasta. Stir well and cook on high 4 hours!
I started this at noon and we ate at 4:00.

Potato Heaven!

2010-01-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

I made these last night to go with dinner, pork roast, potatos and green beans....

I Got this from the pioneer woman blog www.thepioneerwoman.com

Heaven in a baking dish!

Ingredients:
4 whole Russet Potatoes, Scrubbed Clean
2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Heavy Cream
½ cups Whole Milk
2 Tablespoons Flour
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper, to taste
1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Freshly Grated

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a baking dish.
Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths.
In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes.
Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful. Delicious!

Cherry cobbler in the rain!

2010-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Rained yesterday, yes, it does rain in Las Vegas, once in a blue moon!
So I wanted to throw something in the oven, I had bags of frozen fruit that I was supposed use for yogurt smoothies to help my tummy issues, but I just can't drink those in the morning, way to cold, I have to have a nice strong cup of coffee in the morning!

On with the recipe, super easy and very yummy....you will need:
Some frozen fruit, small bag of dark cherries is what I used.
1/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp. flour
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 sugar
1 egg
1 teasp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teasp baking powder
pinch of salt

Dump the cherries in a 8x8 glass baking dish, add 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 cup sugar, mix and let sit for about 20 minutes. I used the time to heat up the oven and find neato stuff to look at on Etsy!
Ok, times up...
Grab your mixer and cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Once that is creamed, add 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Now plop it on the cherries, you can plop or smooth it over the top, which ever you prefer, cobblers usually have plops on them.
Bake in a 375* oven for about 45 minutes. Serve warm on a rainy day, yummy!

Sorry was busy helping my friend and forgot to take a photo! Next time!

Stuff you need!

2010-01-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

So I got asked what is the bbq sauce I like to use, well, there ain't nothing finer then Sweet Baby Ray's!! Oh Yeah! We used the hickory smoke one on the meatballs, it was a little too sweet for them, would have been better on ribs, but any Sweet baby ray's sauce is good.

I made a roast chicken tonight, you have to own a deep dish baker from pampered chef, I could never roast chicken until now, I spray the baker with pam, then put the chicken in and drizzle olive oil on, sprinkle garlic powder, onion salt, celery salt, lemon pepper, pepper, basil, throw some baby carrots around it and a 1/2 cup chicken stock, put lid on and bake at 400 for 1 1/2 hours, perfect!!! Transfer the carrots to a dish and watch your husband eat his veggies!! He loves them!

Another tool you must have is the pampered chef potato peeler, perfect and fast! Love it! Mashed potatos have never been so easy! I bought a potato ricer but have yet to use it, i keep forgetting!! Will try it out next time and let you know how that works!

Keep cooking and I will be trying some new stuff next week!

Meatballs!

2010-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

2 new recipes today!
It was a nice simple dinner tonight, bbq meatballs and mac and cheese and cornbread!
It was very good! We really enjoyed both dishes, I will make them again!
The meatballs are from pioneer woman and the mac and cheese is from paula dean. The cornbread is the package of marie callendars, sorry but you just can't top that stuff!

FOR MEATBALLS
1-½ pound Ground Beef
¾ cups Oats
1 cup Milk
3 Tablespoons Very Finely Minced Onion
1-½ teaspoon Salt
Plenty Of Ground Black Pepper, to taste
_____
FOR COOKING MEATBALLS
1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating For Frozen Meatballs)
Vegatable Oil
_____
FOR SAUCE (I did not make this sauce I used my fave bottled sauce)
1 cup Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
2 Tablespoons Onion
1 dash Tabasco
Preparation Instructions
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.
After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.
Brown meatballs in vegatable oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.
Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

The macaroni and cheese:
Ingredients
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Comfort food!

2009-12-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

My comfort food is pasta, but not with the red sauces..I am not a fan of spahgetti or lasagne, even though I make both and my family loves them. I prefer the cream sauces, and put lots of good stuff in my pasta dish like spinach or artichokes, my favorite is sun dried tomoatoes...yeah, now that is a good pasta dish!
So when this dish came across smitten kittens blog, ( www.smittenkitten.com ) I knew it was meant to be....mine, all mine!!!
I did not want to invest in a bottle of marsala wine just for little ole me so I just tossed in a cup of white zin and it was not too shabby...I will try it again and get the marsala, and I am sure it can only get better!!
This is one big bowl of comfort!

Mushroom Marsala Pasta with Artichokes

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and chopped into small bits (I used creminis)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1 tablespoon for pasta water
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 pound pasta, I used mini bowties.
1/2 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for one minute. Add the mushrooms and one teaspoon of the salt. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms have cooked down, about 10 minutes (though this took me much less time). Add the Marsala and continue cooking until almost all the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Stir in remaining salt. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and add it into the mushrooms, Marsala and onions Add the artichoke hearts, Parmesan and cream and cook until the artichokes are heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and pepper, then adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Breakfast time!

2009-11-28T10:23:00.000-08:00

I decided to try a new recipe this morning, I was hungry from skipping dinner last night due to still be stuffed from thanksgiving!

So I looked through my books and magazines and found I had the ingredients to make Migas from pioneer woman cookbook...well I did not have bell peppers but if I make this for charlie I can't have bell peppers anyway, he has been doing good with onions and I don't think he can say he does not like onions anymore. We will work on tomatos and bell peppers next year!

Ok so her recipe calls for feeding a large group, I cut it down to feed two..here is what I did:

small fry pan with 1 cup of vegetable oil

5 corn tortillas

4 eggs

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 an onion chopped

1/4 cup chopped jalepenos ( I buy them in jar sliced for my pizza so I always have them on hand now)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 chopped tomato

salt and pepper

1 cup shredded cheese ( I had jack and cheddar combo)

optional: sour cream and cholula hot sauce (my favorite) or tabasco

Start by frying the tortillas until crispy, let drain on paper towels.

In a large skillet ( I use my big cast iron) heat olive oil and butter, add chopped onion, jalepeno, tomato, cook a few minutes, cut up 4 of the tortillas into 1 inch pieces, keep one to serve on the plate, add the chopped tortillas to the veggies and cook a few more minutes...

Beat the eggs and pour in the half and half, now add this too the veggies/tortillas and cook until eggs are done, add salt and pepper, fold over but do not stir, I stirred and it got a little mushy, but I like it, I guess it should look like a omelet. I don't like omelets.

Put the last whole tortilla on a plate, spoon on the egg mixture, top with some sour cream and some hot sauce, you may not need the hot sauce with the jalapenos but I can't eat eggs without my cholula hot sauce any more!

Wow, this was very yummy! I will try this one on charlie and maybe we can alternate it instead of chorizo every sunday!

Test run!

2009-11-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

I am cooking Dinner on Thanksgiving day!

I decided to test run my creamed spinach and my artichoke dip...the spinach is a keeper! The dip is good and would be great to take to a party but I think I will try a different appitizer, this may be too filling because it is best served with little bread slices off a bagette.

Both recipes can be found on pioneer womens cooking blog! The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond

Dinner is served!

2009-11-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Hey it may not be pretty but Hot Damn it was tasty!! This is the Olive Cheese Bread from pioneer woman cook book, would make a great appitizer for a party, just cut into slices and enjoy! Charlie is at the races and since I had a big lunch I made this for dinner.
Here is the recipe:
heat oven to 350

Loaf of French bread sliced in half

1 pound jack cheese shredded
1 jar aprox. 6 ounces green olives with pimento drained
2 cans black olives aprox 14 ounces each drained
1/2 cup mayo
1 stick butter softened
1/4 cup green onions chopped

Chop up the olives then add everything into a bowl, mix well and spread on the bread, bake until light brown and bubbly, let sit for about 5 miuntes, slice and eat! Yum!!

Pasta and shrimp!

2009-11-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

I got my new pioneer woman cookbook, if you have not read her blog, go check it out, she is amazing and she is living the life I dreamed of..married to a rancher on a cattle farm, a big farmhouse where all she does is cook and take photos all day and look at her hubby wearing his chaps, trust me she photos that almost daily, it is her favorite part of being a ranchers wife!!
Here is the link to the main page: The Pioneer Woman From there you can choose to click on confessions (her main blog) or cooking or photography or the others, I stick to confessions, cooking and photography! She also has contests but they are hard to win as you have to leave a comment and the winners are chosen at random, the last contest for a set of le cruset caribbean blue cookware worth over 500.00 had 35,000 comments!! I did not win, bummer.
Anyway back to the recipe for dinner tonight...I made pasta alla besty...pasta with a tomato cream sauce and shrimp, it was good, charlie had 3 helpings! So it is a keeper!

Ingredients
¾ pounds Penne Pasta
1 pound Shrimp
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Onion (small)
2 cloves Garlic
½ cups White Wine (or To Taste)
1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
1 cup Heavy Cream
Fresh Parsley (to Taste)
Fresh Basil - To Taste
Salt To Taste
Pepper To Taste
Preparation Instructions
Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.
Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.
Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.
In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).
Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer.
Now chop your herbs, about a tablespoon of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil, or if you’re feeling very proper, chiffonaded.
Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and give it a good stir.
We added crushed red pepper to spice things up!

I served it with Myler's ceaser salad dressing and a salad, we also had french bread with balsamic vinegar and oil for dipping! It was a very nice dinner!!

The Pampered Chef!

2009-10-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

I bought a covered baker from pampered chef...it was not cheap but the mere mention of a juicy roasted chicken was more then enough of a sell for me...I took the bait...got my baker and went to the grocery store and bought a chicken some garlic and some lemons....followed the instructions and man, you should have seen my hubby tear into that chicken, I almost cried!!
Yeah - it was that good!
Buy a covered stonewear baker from pampered chef, I will even hook you up with a seller, what are friends for... jerry b's p chef She can ship right to your door!

I also made a tomato squash soup, from my friend Mandy, but let's not call it that for my hubby's sake, (he would never eat squash! haha) I will call it a minestrone soup, because that is just what it tasted like, olive gardens minestrone soup and he loves that soup!
I altered the recipe a little (mandys recipe had jimmy dean sausage, I like italian sausage) here goes, try it, it is real good:

1 pound hot (or sweet) italian sausage browned and crumbly
1 box mini bow tie (or the mini wagon wheels) I used half of each...cook the pasta.
1 can 28 0z stewed tomatoes
1 can 28 oz tomato sauce
1/2 onion chopped
2 yellow squash diced
2 zucchini diced
garlic salt
italian spice
salt pepper
2 bay leaf
some basil
some oregano
add some water to the consistancy you like, we like thick soup, some people like runny soup!

Dump all in a crock and cook for a couple hours on high, serve in a bowl with fresh parmasean cheese grated on top (I use the pampered chef cheese grater for that too!) and a loaf of hot french bread and butter!! Awesome, this will be great for wintertime!!

Sometimes

2009-09-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Chicken scampi, zuppa toscana soup and 1 glass reisling wine! oh and 1 bread stick!

Sometimes you just can't cook and you have to have your comfort food..NOW! Charlie is at the car show so I am on my own tonight.

I have an Olive Garden restaurant 1.6 miles from my house, this is not a good thing to have when you are getting old and middle age spread is happening! But sometimes it is just too easy to run and get my dinner, more time to play in the craft room if I don't cook tonight!

Don't worry I don't eat it all, small portions for me, the leftovers will be breakfast!

Failure!

2009-08-24T06:36:00.000-07:00

Ok I had a failure, one does not become a great chef without ruining some food!

Travis and Rebecca arrived to spend a saturday hanging out in the pool, so I decided I would cook them a fabulous meal, after all I was doing so well!

Went to the store and bought pork ribs but they said spareribs not back ribs, but that is all they had so grabbed them and left....got the ribs in the oven 4 hours 300*, with 45 minutes to go I put corn on the grill and potato packets (cubed potatos with a little onion, cream, butter, parsley, pepper wrapped in foil)
Waited 45 minutes took the corn and potatoes off and sat down to eat.....Oh my gosh I opened the potato pack and it was black inside! They were ruined, but there was no telling as they cooked on the grill, so we ate the corn and ribs but the spareribs were weird with all kinds of bones and gristle. The kids were great and ate it anyway! Telling me it was fine, I owe them big time, so next trip I will take them out for a nice dinner!

Next time: I will try the potato packs in the oven, I will not buy spareribs!

Here is the site that had the potato pack recipe, Nora griffin shared it on her site. I will put it on my cooking blog links to the right.
The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Ree Drummond

Buy the way I will be trying lots of her recipes, with step by step photos of her cooking they are very easy to follow along!!

Another tip!

2009-08-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

Myler also taught me a little tip which I have been using....after you chop your salad put in a glass bowl and cover with a wet paper towel until ready to serve, the salad is crisp and cold and taste delicious when you serve it!

Myler's Cesear Dressing

2009-08-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

I use my little mini food processor for this, it is a little of this and a little of that, I tried to get aprox. measurements, but after you mix it, taste it and see what you need. The amount of stuff listed here has been tasting great, so give it a whirl!

From my good friend and fantastic chef, colleen myler!

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon- squeeze the juice only
3 tablespoons grey poupon
1 inch of anchovie paste (it comes in a small tube)
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
6 shakes of tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons of mayo
2 tablespoons grated fresh parmasean cheese
1 tablespoon worchestshire sauce
Lots of ground pepper

Mix and chill, tastes awesome after chilling all day...serve on chopped romaine with some chopped small red onion in the salad. I am having a hard time going back to bottle stuff after making fresh dressing!

Mama Mia

2009-08-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

I got Tanya's Italian sauce recipe (her mother in law is Italian) it is simmering now, uh yeah, why did I ever dump something out of a jar! Oh god it is good right now.
So dinner tonight is french bread with unsalted butter dipped in real Italian sauce:
Basically...tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes w/ herbs, garlic salt, romano/parmasean cheese, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, real garlic sauteed in olive oil, I added a little onion salt and let it simmer, just apply your own measuring, a bit of this and a bit of that. My cat who I know is Italian has not left the kitchen!! He keeps looking at the stove! My cat Rusty (who is no longer with us) was Italian and could devour a plate of spaghetti like a true Italian could!

I am also making a salad..romaine lettuce with chopped red onion and myler's Cesaer dressing on top, waiting to see if I can share that with you all. Also you need "seriously sinatra" on the
tv music channel and I like to have a nice white wine, tonight it is Johannes Egberts Riesling Piesporter Michelsberg Saptlese! Long name but well worth it!! Available at Lee's discount liquor here in Las Vegas.

That leads me to why I don't just post recipes without the cook's permission, I just feel they have perfected heaven and they are willing to share with me but maybe they don't want the world to know, there may be cooking spies out there and they will make a million bucks on their recipes, so I ask first, post later.
Bare with me I am new at this cooking thing!

Mcgraw and Myler and I went to see Julie and Julia yesterday, WOW, meryl streep was just fabulous in it! I love Julia Child and she had the most wonderful supportive husband, i am looking forward to reading her biography, I bet it will be good!
see you soon...Bon Appetite!

Chicken Parmigiana

2009-08-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

I am really good at making these and whipped them up for dinner tonight, my husband was very impressed!

Chicken Parmigiana

4 boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs beaten
1 cup italian bread crumbs
1 jar of good marinara sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
1 cup grated mozzerella cheese
olive oil

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease a 12x13 baking dish and pour 1/2 sauce in it.

Dip chicken in egg then in bread crumbs and place in hot skillet, brown on both sides and place the chicken on sauce in baking dish, top with both cheeses and pour on rest of sauce and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. serve with garlic bread and a nice salad!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

2009-07-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

INGREDIENTS
1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces (I use precooked from salad section)
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced (1/8 inch thick slices then quater them) Russet potatoes, or about 4 large potatoes
2 cups of chopped kale

Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for approx. 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.

Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
Stir in the sausage and kale.
Delicious! This is my all time favorite soup!!

Olive Garden Tuscan Garlic Chicken

2009-07-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Olive Garden Tuscan Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
4 each (4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 Tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 lb fettuccine pasta, cooked according to package directions
5 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, julienne cut
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lb whole leaf spinach, stemmed
2 cups heavy cream
1 cups Parmesan cheese, grated

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.

MIX 1½ cups flour, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken in the mixture, shaking off any excess.
HEAT 3 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken breasts 2 at a time over medium-high heat until golden brown and crisp (2-3 min). Add more oil for each batch as necessary.
PLACE cooked chicken breasts on a baking sheet and transfer to preheated oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
HEAT 2 Tbsp oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for approximately 1 minute. Stir in 1 Tbsp flour, wine, spinach and cream and bring to a boil. Sauce is done when spinach becomes wilted. Complete by stirring in parmesan cheese.
COAT cooked, drained pasta with sauce, then top with chicken and remaining sauce. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese.

My new adventure begins...

2009-07-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am making a second blog to share my love of food!
This blog will have recipes that even I can cook. So I know you can make them too.

You see all my life I have enjoy good food, and I remember all the cooking shows from the 70's, most were found on pbs, my favorite show was The Great Chef series: a women narrates while a chef from a restaurant prepares the dishes, I still hear her voice when I read a recipe to myself! I am sure that is where I got my love of trying new restaurants, I am always hoping to eat one of the dishes that looked so good on tv all those years ago!

My mom always had Julia Child shows on the tv, Oh and the Cajun cooker, Justin Wilson, I loved his voice to, I Gah-ron-tee you will have fun cooking with me!

Now with satellite tv we have channels dedicated to just cooking shows and I have watched them all, I have bought tons of cookbooks, but somehow when I attempt to cook a recipe, things go wrong, really wrong.
I am 44 years old now and Dang it! I want to learn to cook! I have taken up cooking classes with the support of my husband, poor guy, he has had to eat the same old 6 dishes for 20 years, I think he is ready to try some new foods!

So let's get cooking!