The official lazy days of summer have hit me BIG TIME! I'm finding it hard to do anything, especially cook. Even worse, it is so miserably hot that I cringe at the mere mention of turning on my oven. That's where I was at about an hour ago when I was pondering supper. That is, until an idea struck me!
My sister gifted me a Pampered Chef Grill Basket for my birthday last week AND I just went to the store and scored some really awesome looking peppers-red, yellow and green! Why oh why didn't I think to pick up mushrooms, because this marinade is THE BEST for them.
Anyway, my sister came up with this amazing marinade that she used with veggies a couple of weeks ago and I'm trying it on my steak tonight, too. Stay tuned...
Marinade
2 TBSP lemon juice
3 TBSP soy sauce
2 TSP brown sugar
2 TBSP olive oil
1 clove garlic
Mix all together in a plastic bag until sugar dissolves.
For the veggies, I used red, yellow and green peppers, an onion fresh out of the garden, and curse me Perry the Platypus but I had no mushrooms to add to the mix. Yes, the kids are having a hard time with the lazy summer days, too, hence we have lots of Phineas and Ferb!
I am just about as excited as my lazy body can get about supper tonight because these veggies are amazing grilled. I could actually care less about the meat, which for me, is unusual! I'm sure you could make kabobs out of this as well, but my grill basket is just a little lazier side step, so I'm going for that!
Man, I feel like a slug...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Ode To My Crock Pot
An old college friend of mine messaged me today wondering if I had ideas for a get-together without warming up the house with the oven. Instantly, as would anyone else, I asked about a grill. Darn it, no grills allowed, so my next question was crock pot. She replied she was afraid of her crock pot. OHHHHHH THE HORROR!!!!! To be afraid of your crock pot is a sadness upon my heart, my dear. I myself have a love/hate relationship with my crock pot. Love it because I can come home during the school year to a warm already made meal and hate it because the darn thing just won't fill itself! HA! Or wash itself for that matter. I know, I know, they make those crock pot liners, but that just goes against my frugal tendencies that come from my mother who still washes and reuses her plastic bags...now that's another story for another day, and really, you can't blame her, because I think she learned it from her mother!
For a vast majority of my crock pot cooking, I use the Fix It And Forget It crock pot cookbook. Tons of great recipes-get one. Which one, you say...crock pot, cookbook? Get one of each, I say. But really, who doesn't already have a crock pot. Everyone received one as a wedding gift. It's just a matter of finding it for some of us!
But now, my favorite crock pot recipes. I'm not sure you can even call it a recipe it's so easy.
Shredded Ham Sandwiches
Warm up ham roast in crock pot. Shred it. Mix in appropriate amount of taco seasoning for size of roast. Taste it-you'll figure it out. Put in crock pot to stay warm. Serve on homemade hamburger buns (I say homemade because they are the best...do I usually use homemade hamburger buns??? Are you kidding me-do you really think I have that much time or patience in my life???)
And this recipe is SO versatile. Watch this.
Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Cook beef roast in crock pot (I use pretty much anything but a chuck roast-I hate chuck roasts and chuck roasts hate me-I think they multiply in my freezer...) Shred it. Mix in appropriate amount of Italian seasoning for size of roast. Taste it-you'll figure it out. Put in crock pot to stay warm. Serve on homemade hamburger buns (see above notation regarding homemade hamburger buns...)
I would elaborate more on my love for my crock pot, but alas, it's like 100 degrees out and I'm a crock pot soup and stew kind of girl and it's just putting me off right now. Just wait a few months and I'll be poppin' those crock pot recipes out like none other!
For a vast majority of my crock pot cooking, I use the Fix It And Forget It crock pot cookbook. Tons of great recipes-get one. Which one, you say...crock pot, cookbook? Get one of each, I say. But really, who doesn't already have a crock pot. Everyone received one as a wedding gift. It's just a matter of finding it for some of us!
But now, my favorite crock pot recipes. I'm not sure you can even call it a recipe it's so easy.
Shredded Ham Sandwiches
Warm up ham roast in crock pot. Shred it. Mix in appropriate amount of taco seasoning for size of roast. Taste it-you'll figure it out. Put in crock pot to stay warm. Serve on homemade hamburger buns (I say homemade because they are the best...do I usually use homemade hamburger buns??? Are you kidding me-do you really think I have that much time or patience in my life???)
And this recipe is SO versatile. Watch this.
Shredded Beef Sandwiches
Cook beef roast in crock pot (I use pretty much anything but a chuck roast-I hate chuck roasts and chuck roasts hate me-I think they multiply in my freezer...) Shred it. Mix in appropriate amount of Italian seasoning for size of roast. Taste it-you'll figure it out. Put in crock pot to stay warm. Serve on homemade hamburger buns (see above notation regarding homemade hamburger buns...)
I would elaborate more on my love for my crock pot, but alas, it's like 100 degrees out and I'm a crock pot soup and stew kind of girl and it's just putting me off right now. Just wait a few months and I'll be poppin' those crock pot recipes out like none other!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Little Kid Kind Of Salad On A Lazy Day In Summer
Just in case you had forgotten, I'm not much of a salad maker. After pondering why this is, I think it's because I'm not much of a salad eater. If I don't eat it, why would I make it, right? Growing up is good for the palate, however, and I do find myself enjoying more and more salads in life. But this one, I would have loved even when I was little and the idea of something crunchy or even mushy in my mouth was revolting!
I'm again, not sure where I rounded this recipe up, but it is a keeper!
Ranch Potato Salad
2 lbs potatoes, cubed into bite-sized pieces
8 oz Ranch Dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese
2.8 oz bacon bits
onion powder and garlic salt to taste
Cook the potatoes until they are just tender. Don't cook too long or they will fall apart! Run cool water over potatoes until they are cool.
In the meantime, mix the rest of the ingredients together. Once the potatoes are cool, mix they in with the rest. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Don't judge the taste until you let it cool for a while!
How easy is that??? It's a salad, but there's nothing in there that is offensive to the little ones-well, unless you are Bubba who doesn't like Ranch dressing. What's up with that? What kid doesn't each Ranch dressing? Mine, apparently!
As a variation that I haven't tried yet, instead of using the 8 oz of Ranch dressing, use 1 cup of sour cream and one package of dry ranch dressing mix.
My sister just let me know that her family called the salad a hit, too, and was sad that I brought it home with me last night! Hooray for me! Hooray for me what, though-for making a salad that everyone likes or hooray for me for bringing it home so now I can eat it for lunch myself! :)
As an aside, can you believe the hot weather? I went out to feed and water the animals this morning and by the time I was done I had pretty much decided that that was about all I was going to do today. That's why they are called the "lazy days of summer", right?! Heat indexes of 108 degrees are not my idea of good, well, pretty much anything, weather. On my way back to the house, I stopped by the mini garden patch to check out the peas and saw that the rhubarb plant was in need of being baked, so I pulled about 4 cups worth of stems. I was in need of a good Rhubarb Crunch fix anyway. But when I got back to the house and cleaned and cut them all up I realized that now my oven is going to have to be on for a WHOLE HOUR???!!! What was I thinking??? Oh well. I guess when the crunch comes out of the oven, I'll just have to have a bowl topped with nice, cold ice cream to overcome the heat! :)
Stay cool everyone!
I'm again, not sure where I rounded this recipe up, but it is a keeper!
Ranch Potato Salad
2 lbs potatoes, cubed into bite-sized pieces
8 oz Ranch Dressing
1 cup cheddar cheese
2.8 oz bacon bits
onion powder and garlic salt to taste
Cook the potatoes until they are just tender. Don't cook too long or they will fall apart! Run cool water over potatoes until they are cool.
In the meantime, mix the rest of the ingredients together. Once the potatoes are cool, mix they in with the rest. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Don't judge the taste until you let it cool for a while!
How easy is that??? It's a salad, but there's nothing in there that is offensive to the little ones-well, unless you are Bubba who doesn't like Ranch dressing. What's up with that? What kid doesn't each Ranch dressing? Mine, apparently!
As a variation that I haven't tried yet, instead of using the 8 oz of Ranch dressing, use 1 cup of sour cream and one package of dry ranch dressing mix.
My sister just let me know that her family called the salad a hit, too, and was sad that I brought it home with me last night! Hooray for me! Hooray for me what, though-for making a salad that everyone likes or hooray for me for bringing it home so now I can eat it for lunch myself! :)
As an aside, can you believe the hot weather? I went out to feed and water the animals this morning and by the time I was done I had pretty much decided that that was about all I was going to do today. That's why they are called the "lazy days of summer", right?! Heat indexes of 108 degrees are not my idea of good, well, pretty much anything, weather. On my way back to the house, I stopped by the mini garden patch to check out the peas and saw that the rhubarb plant was in need of being baked, so I pulled about 4 cups worth of stems. I was in need of a good Rhubarb Crunch fix anyway. But when I got back to the house and cleaned and cut them all up I realized that now my oven is going to have to be on for a WHOLE HOUR???!!! What was I thinking??? Oh well. I guess when the crunch comes out of the oven, I'll just have to have a bowl topped with nice, cold ice cream to overcome the heat! :)
Stay cool everyone!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Battle of the Desserts
Last week, we had two family get-togethers within like two days. The first night, my sister made a dessert. It was amazing, absolutely fine restaurant style that one would easily pay $10 for. Homemade New York Cheesecake with Rhubarb Sauce. Supposedly, the Rhubarb Sauce was a recipe of our Mommy's, but I don't ever remember tasting it before and trust me, I would have remembered. Let's see if I remember the recipe:
Rhubarb Sauce
3 1/2 cups cut up rhubarb
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 package cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
frozen strawberries
Combine the rhubarb, water and sugar and cook on stove until rhubarb is tender. Add pudding and mix until thick. Add strawberries if you wish to the mixture and then cool.
My sister is the cheesecake queen. She makes THE most beautiful cheesecakes you'll ever see this side of a restaurant. And not only are they pretty, but they are GOOOOOOOD!!! I can make a cheesecake, but my excuse is that we live so far out in the country that by the time I get my cheesecake to town, the roads put big huge craters in the middle of my cheesecakes. Yep, that's my excuse and no one's going to change it!
Anyway, my sister's New York Cheesecake is to die for. I'm not even sure I should give you the recipe because even if you make it, it probably won't taste or look like hers anyway!
My Sister's New York Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP butter, melted
5 - 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP flour
1 TBSP vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Mix crumbs, 3 TBSP sugar, and butter. Press onto bottom of 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes.
Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour over crust.
Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Okay, so I can MAYBE see why mine don't turn out like hers. As I am guffawing the preciseness of the directions, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "hmmmmm, do you think if I actually did some of these things, my cheesecake might just work???" No, it couldn't be because I just turn my mixer on and blow caution to the wind...medium speed, low speed, does it really make a difference? Really, do I have to go find a knife or metal spatula and then DIRTY IT to loosen the cake? What is a metal spatula anyway??? Okay, okay, so maybe my sister's "attention to detail" does work out for the best...
Well, so after devouring a wonderful meal at my sister's house of steak kabobs and cheesecake with rhubarb sauce, we began to talk about the next family get-together meal. Now remember, I was irritated with myself for saying I would bring a salad to our first get-together, so by golly I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and I hurriedly said I would make the dessert. Whew-that disaster was averted!
That is, until the next day when I started to think about what to make for dessert. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? How can you offer to make a dessert after everyone just had my sister's New York Cheesecake with Rhubarb Sauce??? HOW DO YOU TOP THAT??? I swear there was a cold sweat on my skin-have you ever read books that talk about a "cold sweat"? Well, this is what I best imagine that as...
I went through recipe after recipe after recipe to no avail. I googled the top ten recipes of all time-nothing. How am I ever going to top my sister? True, I did beat her that night at the card game "Up And Down the River", so that should account for something, right? Well, I gave up. I couldn't think of anything that could top my sister's cheesecake, so I just pulled out a recipe-wait, cream puff? Chocolatey cheesecakey puddingy layer of goodness? Chocolate and caramel drizzled on whipped cream with toffee sprinkles and mini chocolate chips? Have I just stumbled upon the one dessert that might just bring my dessert making to my sister's level???
Cream Puff Dessert
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups cold milk
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 package instant cheesecake pudding mix
Topping:
1 8 oz carton whipped topping
chocolate and caramel ice cream topping
toffee bits
mini chocolate chips
In a saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely.
Beat cream cheese, milk and pudding mix until smooth. Spread over cooled cream puff. Refrigerate for half an hour. Spread with whipped topping and drizzle and decorate with topping ingredients of your choice.
Yummy! Now I'm not going to say that my dessert in any way topped my sister's cheesecake with rhubarb sauce, but it was good. I felt like I put in a gallant effort to top her. And even better, while I didn't win at the card game that night, neither did she! :) Love ya, Sis!
Oh wait, there was a surprise player in our Battle of the Desserts that we weren't expecting that night. My Aunt also made a dessert and oh my goodness, was it ever delish! Don't have a recipe for you, but imagine Symphony Bars baked in the middle of decadent brownies. Yep, I can hear you moaning in delight already! Which leads me to another recipe-has anyone ever tried a Milky Way Cake? There are like 10 full sized Milky Way Bars baked into this cake? I have never, but The Pioneer Woman Blog and the pictures she adds with it SO makes me want to try it!!!
Rhubarb Sauce
3 1/2 cups cut up rhubarb
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 package cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
frozen strawberries
Combine the rhubarb, water and sugar and cook on stove until rhubarb is tender. Add pudding and mix until thick. Add strawberries if you wish to the mixture and then cool.
My sister is the cheesecake queen. She makes THE most beautiful cheesecakes you'll ever see this side of a restaurant. And not only are they pretty, but they are GOOOOOOOD!!! I can make a cheesecake, but my excuse is that we live so far out in the country that by the time I get my cheesecake to town, the roads put big huge craters in the middle of my cheesecakes. Yep, that's my excuse and no one's going to change it!
Anyway, my sister's New York Cheesecake is to die for. I'm not even sure I should give you the recipe because even if you make it, it probably won't taste or look like hers anyway!
My Sister's New York Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP butter, melted
5 - 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP flour
1 TBSP vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Mix crumbs, 3 TBSP sugar, and butter. Press onto bottom of 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes.
Mix cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour over crust.
Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Okay, so I can MAYBE see why mine don't turn out like hers. As I am guffawing the preciseness of the directions, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "hmmmmm, do you think if I actually did some of these things, my cheesecake might just work???" No, it couldn't be because I just turn my mixer on and blow caution to the wind...medium speed, low speed, does it really make a difference? Really, do I have to go find a knife or metal spatula and then DIRTY IT to loosen the cake? What is a metal spatula anyway??? Okay, okay, so maybe my sister's "attention to detail" does work out for the best...
Well, so after devouring a wonderful meal at my sister's house of steak kabobs and cheesecake with rhubarb sauce, we began to talk about the next family get-together meal. Now remember, I was irritated with myself for saying I would bring a salad to our first get-together, so by golly I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and I hurriedly said I would make the dessert. Whew-that disaster was averted!
That is, until the next day when I started to think about what to make for dessert. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? How can you offer to make a dessert after everyone just had my sister's New York Cheesecake with Rhubarb Sauce??? HOW DO YOU TOP THAT??? I swear there was a cold sweat on my skin-have you ever read books that talk about a "cold sweat"? Well, this is what I best imagine that as...
I went through recipe after recipe after recipe to no avail. I googled the top ten recipes of all time-nothing. How am I ever going to top my sister? True, I did beat her that night at the card game "Up And Down the River", so that should account for something, right? Well, I gave up. I couldn't think of anything that could top my sister's cheesecake, so I just pulled out a recipe-wait, cream puff? Chocolatey cheesecakey puddingy layer of goodness? Chocolate and caramel drizzled on whipped cream with toffee sprinkles and mini chocolate chips? Have I just stumbled upon the one dessert that might just bring my dessert making to my sister's level???
Cream Puff Dessert
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups cold milk
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 package instant cheesecake pudding mix
Topping:
1 8 oz carton whipped topping
chocolate and caramel ice cream topping
toffee bits
mini chocolate chips
In a saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth. Spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely.
Beat cream cheese, milk and pudding mix until smooth. Spread over cooled cream puff. Refrigerate for half an hour. Spread with whipped topping and drizzle and decorate with topping ingredients of your choice.
Yummy! Now I'm not going to say that my dessert in any way topped my sister's cheesecake with rhubarb sauce, but it was good. I felt like I put in a gallant effort to top her. And even better, while I didn't win at the card game that night, neither did she! :) Love ya, Sis!
Oh wait, there was a surprise player in our Battle of the Desserts that we weren't expecting that night. My Aunt also made a dessert and oh my goodness, was it ever delish! Don't have a recipe for you, but imagine Symphony Bars baked in the middle of decadent brownies. Yep, I can hear you moaning in delight already! Which leads me to another recipe-has anyone ever tried a Milky Way Cake? There are like 10 full sized Milky Way Bars baked into this cake? I have never, but The Pioneer Woman Blog and the pictures she adds with it SO makes me want to try it!!!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Long Time Summer
Wow! It's been since June 16th that I last posted??? Time flies during the summer, doesn't it? There has been so much going on that I just haven't taken the time to sit down and blog a thing! But don't worry, in that time, I have come up with some really great recipes to share. I went camping and there will definitely be some camping recipes coming up, but first I'm going to share this recipe that I just made this morning for our family gathering tonight.
First off, let me say, what in the WORLD was I thinking telling my sister that I would make a salad for tonight??? I don't usually even eat the salads, let alone make them or make them well! I have just a few tried and true salad recipes that I'm not sure I would really deem salads-they are more like desserts but called salads just so you can get dessert afterwards, too! :) That's the arsenal I went for today. I knew it was going to be hot today and I really didn't want to turn on my oven either, so that left me with one choice-Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad. See how I added that "Salad" at the end? That makes it okay to have the homemade New York Cheesecake with Rhubarb Sauce that my sister said she was also making after supper!
Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad
1 carton whipped topping
1 can cherry pie filling (I put mine in the food processor and chop it all up)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
little bit of almond flavoring for taste
Mix it all up and place in a square pan. Freeze well.
I have this Tupperware container that is like 6 x 8 or something really odd like that and I have absolutely nothing to put in it ever, so several years ago it was dubbed the Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad pan.
Now how did I come up with this recipe. That is a really good question, because for the life of me, I do not remember eating this when we visited Aunt Carol and Uncle Don, but I was young then and WAY more interested in the Dairy Queen they ran instead of the salads that Aunt Carol made!
Enjoy this perfect summer SALAD fare!
First off, let me say, what in the WORLD was I thinking telling my sister that I would make a salad for tonight??? I don't usually even eat the salads, let alone make them or make them well! I have just a few tried and true salad recipes that I'm not sure I would really deem salads-they are more like desserts but called salads just so you can get dessert afterwards, too! :) That's the arsenal I went for today. I knew it was going to be hot today and I really didn't want to turn on my oven either, so that left me with one choice-Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad. See how I added that "Salad" at the end? That makes it okay to have the homemade New York Cheesecake with Rhubarb Sauce that my sister said she was also making after supper!
Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad
1 carton whipped topping
1 can cherry pie filling (I put mine in the food processor and chop it all up)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
little bit of almond flavoring for taste
Mix it all up and place in a square pan. Freeze well.
I have this Tupperware container that is like 6 x 8 or something really odd like that and I have absolutely nothing to put in it ever, so several years ago it was dubbed the Aunt Carol's Frozen Salad pan.
Now how did I come up with this recipe. That is a really good question, because for the life of me, I do not remember eating this when we visited Aunt Carol and Uncle Don, but I was young then and WAY more interested in the Dairy Queen they ran instead of the salads that Aunt Carol made!
Enjoy this perfect summer SALAD fare!
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