I answered the phone yesterday to a question from a friend...Where's your turkey? She was wondering if I'd remembered to take it out of the freezer to defrost. Seems she'd just remembered that morning and it was a 28lb hunk of wonder so didn't know if it would be defrosted. It was then that I told her that I didn't have to worry about the turkey since my mom was cooking it. I also let her
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
For our family Thanksgiving is all about the TURKEY. I've been cooking at least one whole turkey every year for the last 25 years or more, so it seems simple. But every year I hear people fretting about the fact they have to make THE turkey this year.Here are a few tips that I've picked up over the years.If you're buying a frozen turkey, be sure to give yourself enough time for it to defrost (
Monday, November 2, 2009
go to the freezer section.
buy a bag of frozen chicken nuggets. (I personally prefer the dino shaped ones)
follow the directions on the back.
wait...no...
So, this recipe is AMAZING! And it is super easy. Me and me roommates eat dinner together on sundays, and my roommate Megan offered to do it this past week. We were all a little skeptical because her idea of domestic is slapping some pre-made cookie dough on cookie sheets, and waiting for someone (usually me) to remind her that they are done, and making an incredibly large mess in the process. How you do that with pre-packaged cookie dough, I don't really know. But it happens. Bless her heart. :)
It turned out to be one of the BEST dinners ever! And you cannot just skip the honey mustard sauce with these. In fact, if your going to choose between the nuggets and the sauce, pick the sauce. It makes the whole recipe worth while.
AND its gluten free. thats important in my apartment :)
All thanks and compliments go to our dear southern friend, Paula Deen.
buy a bag of frozen chicken nuggets. (I personally prefer the dino shaped ones)
follow the directions on the back.
wait...no...
So, this recipe is AMAZING! And it is super easy. Me and me roommates eat dinner together on sundays, and my roommate Megan offered to do it this past week. We were all a little skeptical because her idea of domestic is slapping some pre-made cookie dough on cookie sheets, and waiting for someone (usually me) to remind her that they are done, and making an incredibly large mess in the process. How you do that with pre-packaged cookie dough, I don't really know. But it happens. Bless her heart. :)
It turned out to be one of the BEST dinners ever! And you cannot just skip the honey mustard sauce with these. In fact, if your going to choose between the nuggets and the sauce, pick the sauce. It makes the whole recipe worth while.
AND its gluten free. thats important in my apartment :)
All thanks and compliments go to our dear southern friend, Paula Deen.
Ingredients
- 2 cups
crushed sour-cream-and-onion-flavored potato chips
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 6 chicken breast fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- Honey Mustard, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spread the crushed potato chips in a shallow dish. Beat together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture and then dredge them in the chips. Place the chicken nuggets on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown. The chicken nuggets can be frozen after baking. Serve with your favorite sauce, such as honey mustard or ranch dressing.
Honey Mustard:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice or juice from 1/2 lemon
Horseradish, to taste (We didn't put this in, because we all think its gross)
2 tablespoons orange juice (more or less as needed)
Combine all ingredients except orange juice; stir well. Thin to pouring consistency for dressing or dipping consistency for dips with orange juice. Cover and chill for 2 or 3 hours.
Yield: 1 1/4 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: None
Ease of preparation: Easy
6 girls and 1 guy finished them all off, with more room to spare, although we all had a sufficient amount to eat.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I had requested spider recipes, and Amy called and gave me a few suggestions, ( I think this was at the point when she couldn't post because she had forgotten her password or something....) Anyways, she suggested layer dip with olive spiders, and I decided to give it a try. I piped on sour cream to make the web and cut up jumbo black olives to look like the spiders. I think it turned out pretty awesome.
Aaand, lets get a close up of my creepy friend in the middle there....
Aaand, lets get a close up of my creepy friend in the middle there....
Friday, October 30, 2009
This is a good chili… a nice gentle burn that sets in slowly, and a definite deep flavor to it.
2 Yellow Onions Sauteed in Olive Oil
2 Lbs Ground Meat (Pork & Beef combined, coarse grind is best) Browned
28 Oz Crushed Tomatoes
28 Oz Tomato Sauce
12 Oz Tomato Paste
15 Oz Beef Broth
4 x 15 OZ Dark Red Kidney Beans
Heaped TBSP Each of
Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
Ground Cumin
Cayenne (Red Pepper)
Garlic Powder
Cumin and and Red Pepper are of course a critical constituent of any chili. The Beef Broth and the Cocoa are the 'secret' ingredients. Cocoa sets off the Cayenne nicely. It does not make the chili ‘chocolatey’, although if you know it is there you can detect it.
The balance isn’t perfect yet, it didn’t win the office competition, but I had three bowls of it myself, and my coworkers had kind things to say about it (even the ones who don’t report to me directly)…
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I decided to use Melissa's French Dip recipe a couple of weeks ago, in response to her challenge (2 points). I just didn't upload pictures from my camera until now.
I have never made French Dips before (5 points). And this is not a dessert (1 point). I did make a few changes to the recipe, basically because I had a roast in the freezer (from a quarter beef we bought a few months ago - food storage - 1 point) and I didn't want to buy au jus in a packet, for digestive reasons I'd prefer not to get into. For starters, I put sliced onions and chopped garlic in the crock pot,
threw the roast on top of it, added a little water, salt and pepper,
and let it go all day. So, it wasn't exactly sliced roast beef - more like shredded, but it was fabulous. I'll mention here that the onions were some transplants from Amy's Worthington house's garden that I grew in my garden this year (1 point). They are terrific in a roast. The garlic was also grown in my garden (1 point).
The second great part of this plan was that I didn't have to buy a packet of au jus. It was a natural by-product of making the roast myself.
The hoagies were store-bought. I had originally thought to make my own, but didn't get to it that day. Next time, I'll make them myself. They cost a fortune at the grocery store.
We melted mozarella on them (from our deep freezer - food storage - 1 point). They were really good. It is funny how a meal this good could have escaped my brain for so long. I think this will be at least a monthly dinner item in our household. Yum!
And if I can claim 12 points when I didn't really follow her recipe all the way, I'll take it!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
By request:
5 qts tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 lg green tomatoes, chopped
10 jalepeno peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
6 onions, chopped
2 cups celery (about 1/2 stalk), chopped
1/4 cup saltscant
1/4 cup honey (it says 3 Tbls, but I just usually dump in about 1/4 cup)
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 cans tomato paste to thicken it up, if desired (I add 1 or 2, and it's still pretty thin.)
Tomatoes- wash them, and then put them in a pot of boiling water until the skins crack a little. Take them out, let them cool a minute and then peel the skin off, and cut the stem out, and cut any bad spots out. Throw them in the food processor. I do the tomatoes first because it gives me how many batches I'm gonna make. One 5 gallon pail of tomatoes makes about 2 batches, give or take. All of the veggies get chopped up in the food processor. Do the jalepenos last, because it's just easier to get everything else done, in the pots, and then do those. Be sure you wear gloves and don't touch your face!!! After you have everything in a pot, bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for at least 15 mins (but you can let it go all day, too, just don't let it burn. Stir it!) Here, you can play with it to adjust heat and flavor. This recipe, as is, is pretty spicy. I water bath can them. Quarts need 50 mins, pints need 40. One batch makes 8ish quarts, depending on how long you let it boil down.
5 qts tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 lg green tomatoes, chopped
10 jalepeno peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
6 onions, chopped
2 cups celery (about 1/2 stalk), chopped
1/4 cup saltscant
1/4 cup honey (it says 3 Tbls, but I just usually dump in about 1/4 cup)
2 green peppers, chopped
1-2 cans tomato paste to thicken it up, if desired (I add 1 or 2, and it's still pretty thin.)
Tomatoes- wash them, and then put them in a pot of boiling water until the skins crack a little. Take them out, let them cool a minute and then peel the skin off, and cut the stem out, and cut any bad spots out. Throw them in the food processor. I do the tomatoes first because it gives me how many batches I'm gonna make. One 5 gallon pail of tomatoes makes about 2 batches, give or take. All of the veggies get chopped up in the food processor. Do the jalepenos last, because it's just easier to get everything else done, in the pots, and then do those. Be sure you wear gloves and don't touch your face!!! After you have everything in a pot, bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for at least 15 mins (but you can let it go all day, too, just don't let it burn. Stir it!) Here, you can play with it to adjust heat and flavor. This recipe, as is, is pretty spicy. I water bath can them. Quarts need 50 mins, pints need 40. One batch makes 8ish quarts, depending on how long you let it boil down.
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