Saturday January 30, 2010

Tonight we had lasagna, spinach salad with grape jelly viniagrette, and focaccia bread.


Focaccia Bread

Can use as pizza dough

1 tb  sugar 1/4 oz  yeast 12 oz  water 18 oz  flour 1 1/2 tsp  salt 3 oz  onions, medium dice 1 tb  olive oil 1 1/2 teaspoons  salt 2 tbs  rosemary

1 Combine the sugar, yeast and water. Stir to dissolve the yeast. 2 Add the flour to the yeast mixture in 4 parts. 3 When the flour has been absorbed, add the first measure of salt and the onions. 4 Generously oil a bowl. Place dough in boil to rise until double. Can be refrigerated 2 hours to overnight. 5 In 13x9 pan, using your fingertips push the dough until it fills the pan. Ease the dough to fit the pan, might have to give it a quick break now and then. 6 Brush the top of the dough with olive oil. Allow the dough to double in size. If adding herbs do so now. 7 Bake at 400 for approximately 20 minutes or till lightly browned.

Servings: 10

Friday, January 29, 2010

Hubby took me out to supper tonight so no recipes or pictures.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Tonight we had baked chicken, parsleyed potatoes, oven roasted carrots and dinner rolls.

Here is how I did the chicken.

Marinade:
1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients. Pour over chicken in zip lock bag. Cover and marinate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Bake at 325 for about 1 1/2 hours. I used a large pack of thighs, but any cut of chicken would work.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

If you follow Keri's blog along with mine she won't post for today cause she had supper here tonight lol.

Here is the menu. Crawfish Etouffe, rice, noodles, green beans.

Here is the pictures of her plate and mine. She ate it over rice, I ate it over noodles.

I know I am strange lol. The traditional cajun way is over rice.

over rice

over noodles

Here is the Etouffe recipe.

Crawfish Etouffee

1 stick butter per pound of crawfish
1 lb crawfish
1 onion cut up
bell pepper
salt to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup water

Melt butter. Saute onion and bell pepper till tender. Add seasonings. Cook about 10 more minutes. Add crawfish and water. Simmer another 20 minutes.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Tonight I am cooking Chicken Parmigiana, steamed broccoli, bread sticks.

Here is the recipe.

Chicken Parmigiana

Thin cut or pounded chicken breasts, 4-6
1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cups red wine (white works also but I was out of white lol)
1 can (large) san marzana tomatoes, crushed
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper again to taste
chopped parsley
1 cup grated parmesan cheese, fresh is best
1 pound spaghetti, cooked

Mix flour and salt, pepper and garlic powder together.

Dredge flatten chicken pieces in the flour and set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet till hot and butter is melted. Fry chicken pieces till golden brown on both sides and cooked through.

Remove chicken and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add onions and garlic to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine scraping up any chicken pieces left in pot. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes or till wine is reduced by half.

Pour in tomatoes, sugar and salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Simmer 30 minutes. I added parsley at this time cause I used dried. Taste for seasoing and carefully lay chicken breasts on top of sauce and cover them completely with parmesan  cheese. Cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer till cheese melts and chicken is heated through.

Serve over cooked pasta.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Tonight we had fresh sausage in a brown gravy, rice, cream style corn and fresh french bread.

Hubby cooked and I didn't get before pictures but here is an after.

Here is the recipe for the sausage.

Fresh sausage

onions

water

Brown sausage well in dutch oven. Add diced onions, water to cover.  Simmer till almost all of the water is cooked out. Add water to cover. Simmer till reduced to about 1/4 of liquid.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Hamburger steaks, mashed tators and peas was the menu.

Here is the before picture...

Here is the after....

Here is the recipe..

Hamburger Steaks

2 lb ground meat
seasonings of your choice
onions
bell pepper
mushrooms
cream of mushroom soup
beef stock or broth

Season ground meat with your favorite seasonings. I don't add anything other then salt, pepper and garlic to my meat, but if you want to add anything else, go right ahead. I won't be there to see lol.  Shape into steaks.

Brown both sides of steak in dutch oven. Add onions, bell peppers, mushrooms.  Mix together all other ingredients with some more seasonings and pour over steaks. Simmer for about an hour. Go easy on the salt as the soup, and stock are both salty.

A recipe, but no pictures

Hopefully soon I will be back in the swing of things.  But I recently did cook our favorite french dip sandwiches for supper after the funeral. Here is the recipe.

French Dips in the Crockpot

beef roast 4-5 lbs
2 packages dry italian dressing mix
2 packages au jus gravy mix
2 cans beef broth or water and bouillion to make up 3 3/4 cups
sliced onions
seasonings of your choice but go easy on the salt because of the sodium in the mixes and the broth or bouillion.

Place the roast in crockpot. Mix all other ingredients except onions in a bowl till well mixed. Pour over roast. Add sliced onions around the roast. Cover and cook for about 4 hours. I have an auto setting on mine and it starts out on high and after a couple of hours switches to low. Flip roast over and cook for another 2 hours. Pull the roast apart or slice. Put back into crockpot and let cook for another 30 minutes to an hour in the juices. Serve on your favorite hoagie type bun or french bread.
Serve juice on side to dip into.

We served with chips.

So sad

I probably won't post much over the next few days unless I need the distraction. My mother-in-law is losing her battle with cancer and old age. She probably won't make it till tomorrow.

Monday January 11, 2010

Tonight we had buffalo wings, parsleyed potatoes, baked beans.

Here are the players....

Here is the recipe for the parsleyed potatoes..

Parsleyied potatoes

small red potatoes, quartered
water to cover
chicken bouillion cubes (about 6 broken up)
butter
salt
pepper
parsley

Boil the potatoes in the water with the bouillion cubes. When they are tender, drain, toss with melted butter, seasonings of your choice and parlsey.

Sorry I don't mearsure.

Peppered Rabbit

Tonight we had peppered rabbit, rice and corn.

I will post pictures but not the recipe cause it wasn't that great.

Here however are the pictures...

Saturday January 9th, 2010

Sloppy Joes, french fries, canteloupe

Here are finished pictures

and here is dessert

and here is the sloppy joe recipe.

Sloppy Joes

16 oz  lean ground beef 3/4 cup  finely chopped onions 3/4 cup  finely chopped bell peppers 1/2 cup  ketchup 1/2 cup  water 1 tablespoon  white vinegar 1 tablespoon  worcestershire sauce 1 Tbs  yellow mustard 1 tablespoon  splenda 6 hamburger rolls In large skillet sprayed with butter pam, brown the meat, onions, and bell pepper. Stir in ketchup, and water. Bring to a boil. Add vinegar, worcestershire sauce, mustard and splenda. Mix well. Lower heat and simer 6-8 minutes ( I usually cook it for at least 30 ) stirring occasionally. For each sandwich, spoon about /2 cup filling between bun halves. Servings: 6  Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1 serving Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet. Nutrition information provided by the recipe author. Amount Per Serving Calories 227.00 Calories From Fat (28%) 63.00 % Daily Value Total Fat 7.00g 11% Sodium 298.00mg 12% Carbohydrates 25.00g 8% Net Carbohydrates 25.00g Protein 16.00g 32%

Friday January 8th, 2010

Tonight we had canteloupe, parmesan cheese noodles, and shrimp and eggplant casserole.

I forgot to take a before picture but here is an after.

Here is the recipe for the casserole.

Shrimp and Eggplant Casserole

Peel and dice 2-3 nice size eggplants.
Boil them till just starting to get tender.
Drain well and saute the eggplant with onion, bell pepper, celery and lots of seasoning of your choice.

When the veggies are tender add in the shrimp. Saute until the shrimp are done. Add enough seasoned bread crumbs to firm up the mixture. Put into sprayed casserole and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 till nice and bubbly.

enjoy!

Fajitas!

Tonight we are having fajitas for supper.

Here are the ingredients.  And sorry but I forgot to take a picture after it was made.

But here is the guacamole recipe I used.

Guacamole
	2 avocados 1/2 red onion, chopped fine 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 2 tsp  cilantro 2 tbs  lime juice 1/2 tsp  kosher salt pepper 1 pack  cherry tomatoes, cut into 6 pieces each Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avocado from peel and coarse cut into small pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Servings: 8

Wednesday January 6th

The menu tonight was thrown together at the last minute. We were supposed to go to cooking demo but hubby ended up working late.

So we had Jambalaya, green beans, and rolls

Here are the ingredients except for the onion I used in the green beans. I forgot to grab one for the picture.

Here is the Jambalaya, I made it with smoked sausage and chicken.

I used a can of fresh style green beans, drained. First I browned some bacon cut into small pieces and some onion diced. Then I added the drained green beans, a little pepper and cooked it down.

And here are the rolls and yes they are brown and serve. Since I wasn't planning on cooking I didn't have time to make fresh ones. I ran to the grocery at 5 to get the ingredients and had supper on the table at 7.

January 5th, 2010

No cooking tonight, going to Johnny Carinos with some friends. So hubby and son (he is 19 lol) will fend for themselves.

January 4th, 2010

For supper tonight we had Shrimp in a creamy tomato sauce over spaghetti, oven roasted carrots, and garlic bread.

Here is the recipe for the carrots. It was a new one for me and I usually don't enjoy carrots but I could have eaten the whole bowl of these and we will have them again soon. Hubby enjoyed them alot too.

Oven Roasted Carrots

Peel carrots and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch lengths. Then cut in half. Coat lightly with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast in 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or till lightly browned and tender.

Here are pictures of supper.

Fried Venison Backstrap

I did cook tonight, made fried venison backstrap, three cheese mashed tators, and corn.

But I forgot to take a picture lol. If you want any of the recipes, just let me know. I will try to remember to do better tomorrow.

No Cooking Today

We had leftovers for lunch and we are going to our grandsons birthday party and then out to eat chinese with them.

New Years Day Menu

Today we had pork roast, rice, lima beans, black eye peas, cabbage with fresh sausage, homemade bread and homemade carrot cake.

Here is a picture of a plateful of food and a piece of cake.

This is how I made the cabbage and sausage:

1-2 large heads of cabbage
2 pounds of fresh sausage (your favorite one)
1/4 cup of water
seasonings to taste

Start out by browning the sausage in the pot. Add the cut up cabbage and water along with seasonings.

Cover and stir often till the cabbage is as tender as you like it. We enjoy it very tender and actually with a little "brown" to it.

WOW!

I just now realized I haven't updated or posted here since August. Where has the time gone?

Well if you look under blogs I read, you will see that I added 54 new links between yesterday and today. Why 54? Well because I am 54 years old of course lol. Actually I went to http://orgjunkie.com/ and saw that she does a menu planning Monday and alot and I do mean alot of people post links to their blogs/sites where they list their menu ideas and some of the recipes. I thought what a great way to get new ideas and recipes. Also I quickly scanned some of their main pages and there is alot of good stuff on them. So I posted the links here, so that you and I can browse the sites and the menus and recipes if we need new ideas.

Each week I will try and get the first 54 that post and add any new ones. I figure the same people won't always be the first 54 to post so I will get at least a few new ones each time. And who knows, maybe I will figure out how to link my plan if I post one on here.

Later today I will take a picture of my plate of food for new years and post the picture here along with a recipe or two for you.

Till next time, Happy New Year.