Veggies

It is summer and we have been eating a lot of veggies. I found two recipes on blogs lately and want to share them. Tonight we had these. Roasted Brussel Sprouts. I know, ewww, brussel sprouts, but really with the right amount of salt, pepper and vinegar combines with the roasting, they are good. Even my picky guy eats them.

A couple days ago, a guess week now, we had these. Green beans with tomatoes. Oh so very good, we will be eating them again soon.

I hope to blog more soon. We are moved, settled and I am enjoying my big kitchen. Tomorrow an impossible pumpkin pie has been requested, so I will bake and share. First time baking from scratch for a while.

Speaking of baking, we are looking for a good home made pizza crust recipe. Anyone????

Wow . I have a blog?

Yes, I have been baking and cooking. But, I have not found the time to blog.

I have not made anything super exciting really. I did make a good pot roast. We are military and a move is looming, so I am cleaning out the fridge and freezer. I took a roast and two half jars of spaghetti sauce in the crock pot and let it cook for a while. It was really good. We were kind of surprised.

This weeks menu is not that fun, but it works.

Today: Steak, green beans and potato packets.
Tomorrow: Grilled chicken, yellow rice and ziti
Tues: Baked ziti ( freezing half for later, this makes a great freezer meal).
Wed: Well, I am beach bound for 10 days with my mom, sister and niece.

Lemon Blossoms

A snow/ ice storm (I use the word storm loosely being as I am from the north) hit us on Sunday night. This made yesterday a great day to bake. I always make things I like, so I decided to make something for Jay. Lemon Blossoms

These were quick and east to make. Jay loves them and I can will eat them. I bit lemony for me.




I wanted something for me. Something quick and chocolate so I made this instant chocolate mousse. It was so good.

Do you Swag?

Swagbucks that is. I have been using it for a while. I use to get Amazon cards and now get cash. We are trying to adopt and I use the money to save for it. If you do not swag and want to , please sign up under me. You will earn bucks by searching the web and can redeem for money (paypal) or many different giftcards. I get some bucks when you earn, but this is at no penalty to you. Please consider it. Also, if you are already signed up or want to sign up check out www.sbcodez.com or swadcodez on facebook. They help with codes to get more bucks. Also, I do the daily poll and check surveys daily to more bucks.

Herb rubbed pork chops

I will be very honest, I am not a fan of pork chops. My husband however likes them. So, I try to make them on occasion . Tonight I tried herb rubbed pork chops from Taste of Home . Can I just say I just love this magazine and I wish I would have subscribe before.

These pork chops were very good. The herb crusting made them very tasty.

Herb-rubbed Pork Chops

1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp sage
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 bone in pork chops
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 c chicken broth
2 Tbsp sherry or additional chicken broth

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, marjoram, sage, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Brush both sides of pork chops with 1 tsp oil, rub with herb mixture.

In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chops in remaining oil over medium heat, 3-4 minutes per side or until lightly browned. Remove and keep warm. Add broth and sherry or additional broth , stirring to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil.

Return chops to pan. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Serve chops with pan juices.

Blackened Chicken and beans

I recently subscribed to Taste of Home magazine . While menu planning for this week, I picked three recipes from the magazine. Tonight I made blackened chicken with beans. It was pretty good. Definitely a make again recipe.

Blackened Chicken and Beans
2 tsp chili powder (I used Tastefully Simple Wahoo chili seasoning mix)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 TBSP oil
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup salsa (I used medium)

Combine the chili powder, salt and pepper. Rub over both sides of the chicken. In a large skillet cook chicken in oil over medium heat 4-5 minutes per side until chicken is done. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add the beans, corn and salsa to skillet, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 2-3 minutes or until heated. Transfer to a serving dish, serve w/ chicken,

* my notes- I served the salsa mix over the chicken. It added a lot of flavor. We had bread and spanish rice on the side.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

I recently subscribed to Taste of Home magazine. Today as I was menu planning for our week, I came across a recipe for some Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies.

I had to run to the store so I picked up the few things I needed to make these. It is a rainy day in the south and I wanted to bake. I was able to whip these up in no time at all.

And, I am pretty sure, I have a new favorite cookie. They are so very good. And will oatmeal and cranberries, they have to be somewhat healthy right? Ok, so do not answer that question. But, in all seriousness, I love these cookies. I already polished off about 6 of them.

Project 365

I started another blog. I wont really ever do long wordy posts on it. I want to try and do a project 365. 1 picture a day for 365 days. Should force me to work on my photography. Here is hoping I follow through.

http://jennifer-project365.blogspot.com/

Baby Cakes

For Christmas I asked for a mini cupcake maker. My husband actually bought it for me, which was surprising because he really thought it was dumb.


I am surprised at everything it makes. Quiche , mini pies, and of course muffin and cupcakes.

So for a NYE party we are attending I made red velvet w/ cream cheese frostings. French vanilla w/ vanilla and chocolate frosting. And of course, chocolate with chocolate frosting and some with vanilla frosting.



I did cheat this time and used box mixes, but in the future I hope to make more with different from scratch recipes.

Still around

It has been a very long time. I am still around just not in the kitchen much at all. I am hoping to change that soon with some holiday baking.

Is there anything you love to make at the holidays?

shameless plus

do you swag? I do and LOVE it. I have earned swagbucks which I turned into amazon giftcards. I use it a lot and love it.

more fall baking

The weather is nice. The bread is gone and so are the apple bars. So, back in to the kitchen I went.Baking is a fun activity for me . I could spend all day baking.

We are having beef burgundy for dinner, so I wanted a roll to go with them. I found a recipe for the best dinner rolls so I gave them a try. Very good. We will definitely have these again.




I also made spiced apple cake . It came from the Williams- Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen :Desserts cookbook. It is pretty good, very moist. I drizzled caramel on Jays and he liked it that way.

All Fall

My friend Kara invite me to join up with some other military bloggers with a weekly topic. I thought it might be fun.

This week is all about fall.

Favorite things about fall:

Living in the south the biggest thing would be the cooler temperatures. It is so hot here most of the year, that fall it finally starts to cool off a little.

Fall is my favorite season. I love all things apples and all things pumpkin. Sweaters and boots. Hot chocolate and pumpkin spice lattes. Little kids asking for candy in cute costumes. College football. And the start of hockey.

I can open the windows and let some fresh air in. Lighting pumpkin and harvest scented candles.

Of course, fall baking. Apple pies and cakes. Pumpkin pies, breads, and muffins. It is cool enough to turn up my oven and not be overly hot in my kitchen.

Fall Decor:

I do not have a lot out yet, I would like to do more, but havent bought much yet.





Halloween Costumes:

We do not dress up unless we are going to party, so no pics of that.

beautiful fall baking day

Today was a great day for baking. It was cool. I could open up the windows and enjoy fall. Turning on the oven was actually nice.

A friend of mine posted this on facebook last week. They sounded so good. So I made them today. Glazed Apple Bars.

Note - I do not have a jelly roll pan. So I made it in a 9 by 13 pan. I baked for 50 min. They turned out great.




I also wanted some fall bread. So I found a bread recipe for oatmeal bread. It was so good.

Honey Oatmeal Bread.

We cut it tonight and I sampled it. Pretty good. A little dense, but for snacking bread that is OK.




I used about 6 c flour. And i baked it at 375 for 30 min.

recipe #5

For me I found this spicy . It was not to bad , but I do not like spice, at all. My husband said it was not spicy at all.

This came from Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker cookbook

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

2 T olive oil
4 skinless boneless chicken thighs
3/4 lb andouille sausage
1/2 lb okra
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
2 T flour
2 c chicken broth
1 can diced roma tomatoes
salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
steamed rixe

In a large frying an over med-high heat, warm 1 T of the oil. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 8 min. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker, then add the sausages. Scatter the okra, bell pepper, celery and onion on top.l

Return the frying pan to med-high heat and add the remaining 1 T oil Sprinkle the flour in the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 4 min. Stir in the broth and the tomatoes with their juices and raise the heat to med0high. When the mixture comes to a boil, removes the pan from the heat. Season with 1/2 t salt and the cayenne and then pour over the vegetables, chicken and sausages.

Cover and cook on the high heat setting for 4 hrs or the low heat setting for 8 hrs. Season to taste with salt and cayenne. Ladle the gumbo over steamed rice and serve.


I will definitely make this again, if only for Jay.

Recipe #4

Well, Recipe #4 was a keeper. I kept it simple and roasted a chicken. Which was perfect because yesterday was a very cool fall day in the south.

I used a recipe from my Today's Kitchen Cookbook (if you are new here, cookbook links are in cookbook name and if I link a recipe or a blog it will be in the name)

Perfect Roast Chicken

1 6lb roasting chicken
1 lemon
1 large onion *peeled
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/2 c white wine (I just used cooking wine)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Clean and rinse chicken, drain well, and pat dry.

Cut the lemon in half, crosswise, and squeeze the juice directly onto the chicken skin, rubbing it in as you squeeze. Cover all the skin with lemon juice. Place the onion and rosemary into the cavity of the chicken.

Place the chicken on a rack in a heavy roasting pan. Pour the wine into the roasting pan and place in preheated over. ROast for 30 min. Lower the heat to 375 and continue to roast for another hour or until the chicken skin is golden-brown and crisp, thigh meat is soft to the touch, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast reads 155 degrees F.

Remove the chicken from the oven and let stand 5 min. Carve and serve.



We loved this. I seasoned my bird with pepper and garlic salt. The rosemary added a nice flavor to the bird. It was an easy recipe and very quick and easy.

Recipe #3

Not every recipe can be a keeper right? And it is OK to have an epic fail in the kitchen right? I keep telling myself this. Dinner last night was horrible, to say the least. I could not even eat it. Jay finished his, said it was edible. I read the recipe wrong and used three times the amount of lemon I was suppose to . It was so lemony that is tasted acidic. Not a good dinner. Oh well. Dessert was awesome.

I was in the mood for something fallish . And I had apples. So I went to www.foodnetwork.com. I just searched apple. And this is what I decided on.

Apple Strudel

It was so good. Oh so good. I didnt use caramel with mine, but Jay did. Also, I luckily read the comments first and made 2 full strudels and one small one. It was so much topping and the sheets were small. The last little I made for a friend and picked out the raisins in hers. I liked what the raisins added though.

It makes A LOT of glaze, so I recommend cutting that in half. Also, I drained my raisins after sitting as the comments said to do.

I will be making this again soon. It was so easy and good.

Recipe #2

This recipe was compliments of a friend. She posted on facebook. It looked good, so we tried it. Two thumbs up.

No Bake Tamale Pie

Easy Skillet Meals Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes

We tried a new recipe tonight and really liked it so I thought I would share.



Ingredients:

4 teaspoons vegetable oil (I use Olive Oil)
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed with garlic press
1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 log (16 ounces) precooked polenta, cut crosswise into 8 slices
1 jar (16 ounces) medium hot salsa
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook 30 seconds.

2. Stir in ground beef and cook, breaking up meat with side of spoon, until meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, and salt; cook 1 minute.

3. In nonstick 10-inch skillet, heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices, and cook until golden on both sides and heated through, about 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, add salsa and grozen corn to meat mixture; cook 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro.


5. Spoon meat mixture into deep-dish pie plate or shallow 1 1/2-quart casserole. Arrange polenta on top.

We enjoyed this. I added cheese and some sour cream to mine . I found it spicy , but I have a wimpy spice level. Jay said it did not taste to spicy to him.

Recipe #1

From Sunday - Thursday I will be making a new recipe.

Day one came from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast : Slow Cooker

Sorry, no picture , I forgot. Oh well.

Sauerbraten with Red Cabbage

Boneless beef chuck roast 3-4 lbs
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
2 chopped yellow onions
1 cup beef broth
3/4 c cider vinegar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1/2 head red cabbage , thinly shredded
12-15 gingersnaps, finely crushed (I used my food processor)

Season the chuck roast on all sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with ginger and pat the seasonings into mear. Place roast in slow cooker and add the onion. In a small saucepan over high heat combine the broth and vinegar and bring to a boil.Add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves. Pour the liquid over the roast and add bay leaf.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 7 hours. Add the cabbage , using a spoon to push into the liquid. Sprinkle the cabbage with 1 tsp salt and continue cooking for 1 hour.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and the cabbage to a serving bowl. Stir enough of the gingersnaps into the liquid to form a thick gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice the meat across the grain . (note - mine just fell apart when touched). Divide the meat and cabbage among plates. Spoon the gravy on top and serve.


My review- This was so good. I served with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. We really enjoyed it and went back for seconds. This will be made again and I cannot think of anything I would do different.

A Week of New Recipes

Fall is coming. The temperature is slowly falling. Yes, I live in the south so a temp of 80 is a drop.

I recently ordered a bunch of cookbooks and plan to starts using a bunch of new recipes . I will share the really good ones, of course. All the cookbook names will have a link to the book in it.

I love the Today show so I really wanted to get this book Today's Kitchen Cookbook.

I am trying to use my slow cooker more, with fall coming I like to have heartier meals. And on Tues and Thurs we have to eat late so we have been eating not healthy lately on those days. So, by using the slow cooker we can eat healthier .

Williams - Sonoma Food Made Fast Slow Cooker


The Gourmet Slow Cooker. This one looks very good, a lot I want to try.

And to add to my Williams- Sonoma addiction a few more cookbooks

Food Made Fast Small Plates


New Healthy Kitchen Desserts


New Healthy Kitchen main dishes

I have a few more cookbooks on the way and have seen a few more from Williams-Sonoma I may need to buy . Along with a new bookshelf to house them all.