What to get the Kansas Girl!

Cookbooks! Its really not Christmas without one of my family members or more buying me a couple of good cookbooks. I usually assemble a list of cookbooks that I am interested in but would not purchase on my own. This year I received two cookbooks "America's Best Lost Recipes", and "Modern Classics 1" By Donna Hay. I have already baked a cake out of the Lost Recipes book, 7UP Cake, I made it for my husbands birthday. The other gift I received was a digital camera so I will also be posting more photos of everything I cook.

Christmas Dinner: The rest of the story..

I actually did make something, the "drinky drink" Christmas Punch Sangria:
1 Orange cut up into wedges
(add 1/2 of the orange then some ice, then the other half of orange to the pitcher)
1/2 Cup of Sugar (to 1 cup if you like it sweeter)
16 oz of Cranberry Juice
1 Bottle of white sweet wine
Mix together and serve.

Other items made:
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy (made from a trial packet Watkins brown gravy) we don't normally make gravy from a packet, but we had an opprotunity to try this one.) ** see review
Cherry Wheat Bread Rolls (my husband had made them for Christmas Eve Dinner)

Watkins Brown Gravy Packet Review:
It was slightly better than gravy made from a jar or packet from the store. It was a little on the salty side, which is a trait of pre-packed sauces. Other than that it tasted like gravy, thickened up nicely, and went well with the potatoes. It would be good in pinch, or if you want beef gravy but don't have any broth or meaty bits to make it out of.

Christmas Dinner: Mothers Creamy Cheesy Corn

Alright, so its not really my moms recipe, but she has mastered it and changed it over the years. She was given the recipie from Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue of Kansas City. The original recipe can be found at: http://www.jackstackbbq.com/article.asp_Q_ai_E_12_A_Recipes appears under Cheesy Corn Bake.

Christmas Dinner: Stuffed Pork Chops

We are having a "traditional" Christmas feast on Saturday with my cousins, Aunt and Uncle. For Christmas Day we decided to mix it up a bit and have something nice, but a little different. My dad made stuffed pork chops he loosely followed the recipe in "America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook".

Christmas Morning Breakfast

Mom always makes a great Christmas morning breakfast, she makes bubble loaf, and breakfast casserole. It is a perfect combination and it can be made up the night before an popped in the oven to bake whiles we all open our Christmas presents.

Spicy Thai

Well, it proved to be yet another snowy day in Kansas. I feel like I'll never get to go Christmas Shopping, sorry everyone the presents may be delayed. On the upside I have had plenty of time to cook. Tonight to heat things up a bit, we had

Stir Fried Thai Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts thinly sliced, it is easiest to do this when they are partially frozen.
Marinate them for 15m in:
1/4 C of rice vinegar
2 T of Brown Sugar
2 t of red curry paste
1/8 of a t of red pepper flakes (or less if you like it not-so-hot)

Whiles thats marinating chop up
1 Onion
1 C of Carrots

Start to cook onion in skillet/wok
cook chicken then remove, then cook
with 1 t of oil, after it starts to soften add carrots,
let cook until carrots are soft
add back chicken
add 1 can of Water Chestnuts
add 1 sm can of Pineapple
add 1 T of Fish sauce
add 1/2 C of light coconut
stir and cook until warmed through, and sauce is thicker,

Serve with rice, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

This snowy Saturday morning, I am so tired of this unpleasant weather. I made Pumpkin Bread, it was quick and easy to bake whiles I prepared to head off to work another Graduation.

Liquids:
1 Can of Pumpkin
3 Eggs
2/3 C Oil
2 C Sugar
Blend in mixer then slowly add flour mix,

Flour Mix:
1/4 t of nutmeg
1/4 t of ground cloves
1 t cinnamon
1 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
3 C flour

Fills 2 reg loaf pans, aprox 1 hr at 350deg F.

Oatmeal Pecan Pie (again!)

Tonight I made the Oatmeal Pecan Pie that was made for Thanksgiving, only I added 1/2 C of chocolate chips, to the recipe and I must say it made what I thought was already a pretty perfect pie, even better. Nothing better than oatmeal, pecans and chocolate to make the holiday better. We've been busy eating leftover Tacos (which we made Sunday), and eating leftover Chicken from Saturday, and last night we went to Olive Garden and split the Tour of Italy, and pigged out on salad. It seems that when I eat cookies, I get really hungry for salad. Tonight I did however cook dinner, we had Honey Sesame Chicken, which we used a sauce packet to make. It was good, and nice change from leftovers. Tomorrow night I will be working late, and with the weather being snowy on Saturday its hard to say what I will cook this weekend, but stay tuned!

Cold Day Cookies

It is a very cold-snowy-icy weekend in Kansas perfect for holiday baking. So, that is how I spent my Saturday... in the kitchen knee deep in sugar, butter, and flour.

We started out the morning with

Peanut Butter Balls:
3 C Rice Krispys
1 box of Powdered Sugar
1/2 C of Margarine
2 C of peanut butter

-- Mix in bow, until fully incorporated.

Ball aprox 1-2 T of peanut mix on to lined cookie sheet (wax paper works best)
Set aside, or in fridge.

Melt in double boiler
8oz Hershey Bar
6oz of Chocolate Chips
1/2 Stick of Paraffin wax (yes odd, but it works)

One by one coat peanut butter balls in mixture and let cool.

Then we made -

Holiday Oatmeal Cookies

Mix together in a bowl:
1 3/4 C of All Purpose Flour
3/4 t of baking soda
3/4 t of baking powder
1/2 t of salt (we used a pinch)
1/2 t of ground cinnamon
1/2 t of ground nutmeg
1/2 t of orange zest
1/4 t of grated ginger

Mix together in mixer:
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter
1 Stick of Maragrine
(soften)

add
1 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar
1/4 C of sugar

after the sugar and butter mix are creamed and fluffy.
add
2 Eggs
2 1/2 t of Vanilla

slowly add flour mixture
then fold in
3 1/2 C of Oatmeal
1 C of raisins
1 C of chopped Pecans

Bake on lined cookie sheet at 350deg 8-15 min depending on size, ours were big cookies and took 15m, smaller cookies would take less time.

and if that wasn't fun... we then made..

Gingerbread Snowflakes

in bowl mix:
3 C of all purpose flour
1 1/2 t of baking powder
3/4 t of baking soda
pinch of salt
1 T of ground ginger
1 3/4 t of ground cinnamon
1/4 t of ground cloves

in blender mix:
6 T unsalted butter softened
3/4 C dk brown sugar
1 Egg

add to butter mix:
1/2 C molasses
2 t of vanilla
1 t of orange zest

mix in part of the flour mixture into the butter mixture in mixer, then kneed the rest in on counter top. Roll up into Wax paper and chill in the fridge, for at least an hour.

roll out on powdered sugar surface (to prevent sticking), use snowflake cutter to cut out, and put on lined baking sheet, and bake at 375 deg, for 7-10 min.

Whiles that was chilling we made dinner, (and a trip to Wal-Mart)

Dinner:

Baked Tomato Chicken with White Beans

Heat 2 T of Oil in Dutch Oven
add 1/2 of Onion, chopped in large chunks
add 4 cellary stalks, in large chunks, about in 1-2in in length.
let cook for a few min
then add
Italain Seasoning Mix 1 T
Thyme 1 t

add
2 leg Chicken Leg Quarters

1 C of Chicken Broth
1/2 of pre-made Spaghetti sauce with tomato chunks, we used what we had in the fridge.
add to the sauce 1/2 c of red wine

simmer of a few min on stove top, and then bake in 450deg oven, in the dutch oven with lid on, for 30-45 min, then we added in 1 can of butter beans rinsed, let set warm on stove top for 10min.

Served over pasts, 1 serving is half of a leg quarter.

Yum. Now back to cookies...

Raspberry Strippers (chicka-chicka-ba-wa) as the husband says. :)
From Cooking Light, go to www.cookinglight.com and search recipes for "Raspberry Strippers"

then we made Basic Icebox Sugar Cookies, again Cooking Light. (For those of you that know me and have had "my sugar cookies" this is not it.) This was just quick and easy, and not nearly as fatty or ahh I mean YUMMY!

It was a fun day for my husband and I, and it kept the house warm.

Tis' The Season

Its that time of year, busy days, open houses, treat days, and then lets not forget all that holiday baking you do to take to all those functions. When your running around like a chicken with your head cut off it can be hard to squeeze in dinner. Which has been my dilemma lately. We have eaten lots of left overs and quick meals. This weekend we plan to make up some dishes in advance for the next week. As that happens I will put that up, other than that its been a little busy to do much cooking this week.

"Grilled" Burritos

Tonight's dinner was a re-mix of leftover enchilada meat mixed up with Beans and tomatoes for a quick and easy dinner!

Heat in Sauce Pan
Left over browned hamburger (enchilada meat, if you don't have any, these are great without the meat)
1 Can of Kruners of Colorado Pre-Seasoned Black Beans
1 Can of Rotel Tomatoes
1/2 sm bag of Corn

Warm up Tortilla shells, its just me and my husband and I always keep reduced fat, soft taco sized tortilla shells on hand.
So I heated up 4.

Sprinkle on tortilla reduced fat Mexican blend cheese

Spoon on warmed Bean Mix

Wrap up in Tortilla and put seam side down on Non-Stick Skillet,
until browned

then flip burrito over and "grill" on other side until browned.

Serve.

Sunday Morning Breakfast: French Toast

French Toast is a simple breakfast to reduce the fat in, and still enjoy all the flavor. This is one of the few times I don't mind egg substitute, in some dishes egg substitute can have a rubbery texture and in this case you don't even notice it.

Reduced Fat French Toast
2 sl of bread per person cut in half corner to corner (it fits in the round pans better, and makes it look like more on the plate) now here's the trick.. its all about the bread you use.
Some suggestions:
Sarah Lee has some great breads out there that are full of flavor, Cinnamon Swirl, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Blueberry Crumble, and etc..
Orowheat also has some great whole grain breads as well like Oatnut (one of my favorite everyday breads).
This morning I had Sarah Lee Brown Sugar Cinnamon, the breads from Sarah Lee Freeze well, I am not big on freezing bread as I think it can make it taste soggy and flat. However the flavored breakfast breads freeze up well, so if your a small family you can freeze some for another day.

Mix in pie plate or shallow dish:
1/2 C Egg Substitute such as Egg Beaters. (1/2 C is one of the little single serving cups of Egg Beaters, these also freeze well.)
1 t of Cinnamon Sugar per person
1 t of Vanilla

Spray Non-Stick Skillet with Crisco Butter Flavor Spray or other...

Coat each half slice of bread with egg mixture and cook in medium temperature skillet until browned then flip and brown on other side.

4 Half Slices per person, 2 T of Cool Whip Lite, and Syrup, we also serve ours with 1/2 a banana sliced on the side. My husband also commented that Honey works well if you don't like Syrup.

Beef Stew

It was a cool dreary day in Kansas, and this was a good stick-to-the-ribs stew.
I made it up as I went along but here is the general guide. If you like more veggies, add more veggies same goes for seasoning. I am a real general cook, I cook to make it taste good to me and my husband. I make notes as I go along, and journal any good recipies for future use.

1 LB of Roast, cubed
1 T of Flour
dash of pepper and smoked salt
coat meat with four and pepper/salt

Heat
2 T of Olive Oil in Dutch Oven
add 1 t of Garlic

Once warm add meat mixture, and brown meat (letting the brown bits stick to the bottom),
add
1
1/2 of med onion sliced
and 1 C of Red Wine (whatever you like best)

Stir to remove brown bits

add
2 Cans of Broth Slowly, and stir
simmer with lid on for at least 30min, but can go longer on lower temp.
1-2C of Water, less if you don't let it reduce before adding tomato paste
add 1 Bay Leaf
2 t of Rosemary
1 t of Basil

remove lid after this step if you want to reduce down on low heat for about an hour

add
1 can of Tomato Paste and wisk in
1 1/2 cups (aprox) of cubed potatoes
1 cup of (aprox) of sliced carrots

bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are ready.

If not very thick, add Corn Starch Slurry (1 cup water + 1 T of Corn Starch) sometimes I use more cornstarch if needed.

Stir in and boil, then remove from heat, and serve.

We served over egg noodles. YUM!

Friday Night Dinner: Beef Stroganoff

For Friday Night Dinner I made Beef Stroganoff, this recipe comes from one of my favorite books for classic recipes "The American Century Cookbook" by Jean Anderson. You might recognize Jean Anderson, as she did the "The New Doubleday Cookbook" and several other quality cookbooks. This book is really a great reference for learning more about certain recipes as she incorporates information on the origin of recipes and how some got to be really popular. The Beef Stroganoff recipe is no exception, as on pg 124 is the recipe and on page 125 is information about its origins. Its a great cookbook, at a really reasonable price, however before I purchased it, I checked it out at the Library several times.

Beef Stroganoff from "The American Century Cookbook"

Makes 4 Servings

11/2 Lbs of beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into 2x1/2x1/2 inch strips
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
1/2 t of black pepper
1 lg yellow onion
1/2 stick of butter
1 C of beef broth
2 t of Dijon mustard
1/3 C of sour cream (at room temp)

1. Spread tenderloin on wax-paper-lined counter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well to mix. Cover with onion slices and toss well again. Cover loosely with wax paper and let marinate 1 hr. (I have to admit I skip this step)

2 Melt 2 T of butter in large heavy skillet over moderately low heat and blend in flour. Add broth and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth -- about 3 minutes; blend in bustard and set off heat.

3. In second large heavy skillet, melt remaining 2 T of butter over moderately high heat. And tenderloin and onion and brown well--8 to 10 minutes.

4. Add browned tenderloin--but not onion--to first skillet, set over low heat and simmer, stirring now and then, 10 minutes.

5. Off heat, smooth in sour cream. Taste for salt and pepper adjust as needed, and serve with noodles.

Quick Low Fat Tip:
Now it calls for Beef Tenderloin, but a good Sirloin Steak will work and save a little on the pocket book. I usually use the thin cut and the cut up in a nice size. I also use low fat sour cream, and reduced sodium beef broth. It dose make a nice sized 4 serving for 4 adults toss with bag of "No-Yolks", good with a side of green veggies, peas or green beans.

Also you'll notice there isn't the traditional mushrooms or "cream of mushroom soup" (yuck!). As Jean Anderson explains on pg 125, the original Russian dish did not include mushrooms. They didn't make their first appearance until "The Joy of Cooking" (1943) cookbook.

Local Flavor

Tonight, there was little bit of dough left in the budget so, Brian and I went out to our favorite local Chinese restaurant, Hunam's on 29th Street. Its a great little place, where the owner is always out in front, and making sure the customers are always taken care of. I enjoy local eateries like this, where the owner takes pride in the resturant. It not only makes for the best food, but usually the prices aren't to bad either. My husband and I ate a Family Dinner for 2, and spent less than $25. I always consider anything in the $20-25 range a pretty good deal for sit down dinning.

Work Provided Free Pizza!

I work at a College Bookstore, its a great experience and I enjoy it most of the time. Tonight, I really did enjoy it. We as a staff decorated the store for the Holiday Season. The whole staff really pitched in a we have a very nicely decorated store. One of the perks of store decor night is free pizza! The Bookstore provides free pizza, and this year it was from Papa Johns! Yum! We all bring various desserts and snacks to go with the pizza. I brought pre-made sugar cookies, as I am a little short on time right now to bake. I will have to do plenty in the next two weeks, lets not rush into it! Tomorrow, will be left overs of the Enchilada's!

Enchiladas

Tonight I made Enchiladas with red sauce. We wanted something simple for this week, and we can have leftovers. I know that some people think that leftovers are the worst. I find that if I plan to cook extra they work out quite well on nights when I am in a hurry.

Reduced Fat Red Sauce Enchiladas

95/5 Ground Beef approx 1lb
1/4 C Bell Pepper and Onion Mix
Seasoning, Chili Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder to your liking
Brown Beef in non-stick skillet.

5 - 6 Soft Taco Size 98% Fat Free Tortilla's
warm in microwave oven

Coat the Tortilla with Fat Free Refried Beans
Sprinkle Reduced Fat Mexican Cheese Mix (Sargento's)
Sprinkle on Cooked Meat Mixture

Roll

2 Regular Cans of Red Enchilada Sauce

Cover bottom of a med baking dish, with 1/2 can of Red Sauce
Place rolled tortillas seam side down in sauce in baking dish
Keep repeating until dish is full.

Cover with remaining sauce
Cook at 400 deg oven
for 20m
then remove and top with cheese
cook until cheese is melted
serve

1 Enchie = Serving.

Sunday Morning Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals, especially on the weekends or a day off. Sometimes, I enjoy going out to eat and other I enjoy making it at home. There is just something about cooking in the morning, its just about as relaxing as cooking dinner. This morning I treated my husband to Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

Basic Pancakes
Mix Dry Ingredients first:
11/2 C Flour
3 T Sugar (vanilla if you have it)
11/2 t of baking powder

Mix wet separately:
11/2 C Milk (low fat= Skim, if you don't care whole milk from the farm it is best)
2-3 T Veg Oil
2 Eggs
1/2 t of Vanilla

Mix both together and leave lumpy.
Cook 1/2 Cup of batter on griddle or skillet (spray with cooking spray, Crisco makes a butter spray that works nicely, if you can get past the fake butter smell when you spray it)
before flipping add Chocolate Chips
Flip and Cook.

Quick Low Fat Tip:
We top our French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles with 1 Serving of Cool Whip Lite instead of butter or margarine. Its makes it seem extra fatty, but its actually better for you than butter!

Local Dairy -
Incase you noticed the glass jar in the Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Photo, or my refrence to farm milk. We get ours from a local dairy, called Iwig. To find out more, google Tim Iwig Milk, Tecumseh, KS. There is a couple of articles from the local paper, CJ Online and K-State Extension Office.

The Table Setting and Full Plate

The Feast!

My mom made the sweet potato's, with Carmel sauce, marsh mellows and pecans. My husband made the Sausage, Cornbread, and Fennel Stuffing (Cooking Light Nov 06), I made the mashed potatoes (my favorite part). It was a great Thanksgiving Feast prepared by the whole family.

Smoking the Turkey

My dad smoked the turkey. He started it at 10:00 AM and it was fully cooked around 2:30 PM. We brought it inside and tented it with foil on the counter by the oven until 5:45-6:00 PM. It had a good rest and was still plenty warm and moist when we sat down to eat.

Thanksgiving Day Lunch

We have our Thanksgiving Day Dinner at 6:00 PM, so around noon we have a light snack. Usually Cheese, Crackers, and Sausage nothing real big. The dog thought he would also get a bite. Thats our Beagle in the fuzzy shot, trying to figure out how to sneak a bite.

Mmm Pie!

Mom made the Pumpkin, and I made the Cooking Light Oatmeal Pecan (see original post for photo.) The pumpkin was made with the Libby's Canned Pumpkin.

Thanksgiving Day

Well, I am stuffed! It must be the day after Thanksgiving. I had a great time with my parents house with my family. We relaxed and ate and relaxed some more. As the day went on I took photos of the food we ate.

Traditional Weenie Roast

Tonight was our traditional Pre-Thanksgiving Weenie Roast. However, with it snowing out side, we had to move the roast in doors. This is a new tradition for our family, we adopted it about 7 years ago. Originally, we went out to the lake and roasted around a fire ring and more recently we have begun to roast at home. My parents have a great place out side to roast hot dogs (with the exception of this year). Instead we heated up the chili in the microwave, and put the hot dogs in a frying pan and cooked them up. They were still good! After we have our hot dogs we also have Smores. We toasted or burnt our Marshmallows in the fireplace which was perfect on this cold snowy night. One of the reasons this tradition works well for us, is when know that tomorrow we are going to have a big Thanksgiving meal that takes lots of time to prepare. This is quick and easy.

Thanksgiving Day Recipe

With Thanksgiving Day fast approaching I thought I would start to put up a few of my Thanksgiving Day Favs!
Check out Cooking Light, and search under the recipes tab for Oatmeal Pecan Pie. It will flip you over to a My Recipes Website, but should bring it up. This is a great pie, and you feel less guilty when you have that second piece, because of the "healthy oatmeal" in it.

Quick Tip:

If you choose to make your own pie dough, something which I rarely do. If you roll it out in Grahm Cracker crumbs it will roll out easier, and add an extra kick to the dough.

If you choose not to make your own pie dough, I strongly recommend Mrs. Smiths Frozen Pie Dough, it comes already in the pie pan, and is a pretty good runner up to homemade.

3 Bean Chili Re-Runs

Tonight was a "re-run" of 3 Bean Chili, by the way if you are re-heating bean dishes they usually heat better over the stove rather than in a microwave. Your beans will warm up all the way through and retain their heat longer when you take the extra time to on the stove top. The Chili was great reheated, and we even added a few hot dogs to the mix although we had no buns for the full on chili dog effect.

Quick Tip

I have mentioned it a few times now so I thought I would explain...
Bell Pepper and Onion Mix

I buy Bell Peppers on sale, and chop them up and freeze them on a flat sheet then after they are frozen individually, I put them in a plastic freezer bag for quick use. I do the same with onion. I keep one bag of plain onion, and one mixed bag. The mix ratio is below:

1/2 Onion and 1 Bell Pepper

This mix is just so easy and so quick, I just cut them up when I am already cutting up the items during the regular week. Then when I am in a hurry I just pull out a handful and use as needed from the freezer. I also keep the pre-shredded cheese in the freezer for quick use as well.

Breakfast for a Crowd:

If you are having a large crowd for breakfast on Thanksgiving Day or the Friday after, try this quick and easy breakfast casserole for feeding a large group.

2 eggs per person beaten
1 T of milk per person
1/8-1/4 Lb of Sausage per person
1/2 slice of dried bread crumbled into large chunks (more if you want to stretch it)
Green Bell Pepper and Onion to you liking

cook sausage, with Bell Pepper and Onion
beat eggs with milk, add cooked sausage mixture and pour into:
spray appropriate sized baking dish
(I have always at least made enough for 4 = 9x9

put in 350 deg oven
for 30 min or until center is firm
top with shredded cheese (cheddar)
return to oven to melt cheese.

Remove from oven
and serve.

Low Fat Option:
Use one egg, and one egg substitute (can be egg beaters or egg whites) per person
Use Skim Milk
Use Turkey Sausage
Measure out your cheese 1/2oz per person or less. Avoid using Low Fat or Fat Free Cheese on this, as it will not melt as nicely, just cut down on your serving per person.

3 Bean Chili

After working on installing a bathroom vent fan all day, I was glad I had taken the time earlier in the day to put on a crock pot of chili as the installation didn't go as smoothly as planned, and is not yet still complete. The Chili worked out great, and it was a great day for it!

1 LB of Hamburger
1/4 C of mixed bell pepper and onion
Cook in skillet and add:
Chili Powder
Cumin
Garlic
(to your own liking)

Put in Crock Pot
1 Can of Black Beans (rinse, unless they are Kuners pre-seasoned beans)
1 Can of Pinto Beans (same above)
1 Can of Bushes Chili Beans
1 Can of Bushes Chili Tomatoes
1 Cup of Water
add Browned Hamburger, and stir.

Put on low, until heated through, and a little longer for flavor.

This is a very bland, easy does it chili. I have made more complex Chili's that have more depth of flavor. However sometimes you just need a quick and easy chili. This Chili will also stretch out with another can of beans or tomatoes, for leftovers later in the week. We also had it with Cinnamon Rolls which is a long standing Kansas Tradition, and very yummy!

Friday Night Dinner

Tonight was "Friday Night Dinner" which we have with my parents every Friday night, or almost. Lately we have been busy, so tonight was the first night in a few weeks that we had the opportunity to all enjoy this tradition. We usually branch out and try new dishes, and every once in awhile we have more traditional meal. Chicken Fried Steak is a family favorite, and I make it only a couple of times a year. Once in the fall, once in the Winter, and maybe once in the spring, it requires a cool evening as it heats up the kitchen. It is always worth it! Tonight's dinner was a wonderful dinner, and I often claim it as Kansas Traditional Meal. Although, I think in Texas they claim it as their own. I have heard rumors that in Texas they called in CFS, but in my house it is all squished together as ChickenFriedSteakMashedPotatoesn’GravyPEAS! It has very deep roots in my house, deeper than in my husbands Texas house hold. In fact when I met my husband he didn’t even know that you could make it at home, he thought you could only buy it in a restaurant. At the time he didn’t know that it was my favorite food and that I rarely order it restaurant because I know it will not be as good as my own or my parents (which differs even between us). He has now seen the error in his ways and has a clear understanding of the difference between the home version and the restaurant version. Now, your probably wondering how can it differ so much in a family. My dad likes to just flour his cube steak, as where I like to triple-dip, flour/milk/flour. I once branched out and tried a recommendation of a TV food personality, and pre-soaked it in milk. All I can this is they must buy really tough meat, because when I pre-soaked my cubed steak from the top-quality meat counter at the local grocery store it fell apart. Tonight's dinner was so good, and worth every last fatty-bite!

Grocery Night & Old Chicago

Well, tonight is Grocery Night and with everything else going on we went to Old Chicago and enjoyed a thin crust cheddar and sausage pizza. One of my fav's when I am craving cheesy pizza with a lot flavor. So much more tastier than Hamburger and Cheddar. We finally, ran out of left overs!! I planned on a few Grocery's for next week, as its a partial week. We then made our round at Wal-Mart and then on to Price Chopper. I would love to only shop at one store, but I have a FANTASTIC local-chain grocery store on the corner. Price Chopper has a great meat selection (with a meat counter), but for some of the staple items the price is just better at Wal-Mart. On the menu for the up coming week:

Friday Night (Dinner with My Parents): ChickenFriedSteakMashedPotatoesn'Gravy-PEAS!
Saturday Night: Chili & Cinnamon Rolls
Sunday Night: Dinner at My Parents House
Monday Night: Left Over Chili
Tuesday Night: Freezer Dinner/Out
Wednesday Night: Pre-Thanksgiving Weenie Roast with Smores!
Thursday Night: This year a Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
Friday Night: Probably Left Overs!

So, I will be doing some cooking in the next week, I know FINALLY. I also examine some of the deep traditions behind those mid-western and Kansas dinners. What are some of your deep traditions?

A Week of Re-Runs!

Once again tonight we had leftovers! I really do cook, I promise. Sunday night we had a "Traditional Sunday DInner." Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, and Peas. Of course, now that we have had our leftovers my husband will now indulge in lunchtime meatloaf sandwiches. Anyway for this meal I made a quick gravy out of beef broth, I brought the broth to a boil with large chunks of onion, cellary, and bay leaf, after it came to a boil add half a cup of water, removed onion and cellary, added corn starch slurry (corn starch + 1c water), and let simmer utill thick. Quck, Easy and Low Fat!

Tips & Tricks

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you have never prepared a Thanksgiving meal before and are going to be preparing one for a crowd here are a few tips:

Recommended Reading:
Cooks Illustrated Magizine
Cooks Country (by the creators of Cooks Illustrated)
Cooking Light Magizine (November 2006 had some great recipies)

1. Make a Grocery list, for Thankgiving Day Meals, don't forget about Breakfast! If you are going to have several people for several days, plan for those meals as well. Don't be afarid to be creative with your leftovers!
2. Prepare as much as you can early. Cook the Turkey a day ahead, carve, and re-heat the day of Thanksgiving.
3. Keep in mind everyone may not like everything you cook for Thankgiving Dinner, its OK, there is usually a lot of food, and to help with those picky family members, make Thanksgiving a Pot-Luck!
4. Things go wrong when your cooking all that food, apoloigize for your error, but don't obsess over it. Everyone makes mistakes in the Kitchen, and even more so on Thanksgiving its ok.

Leftovers II

Tonight we enjoyed our left over pork chops and steak from the Herford House on Saturday night. They reheated well and were tasty out of the microwave.

Dinner Tonight

Ok, I probally picked a bad week to start this blog because we are having left-overs pretty much all week, but thats what happens when you cook food you like, eating the "re-runs" is not so bad. The left overs for tonight was Green Chili Easy Chicken Enchiladas. Its a pretty easy recipe:

For 2 People, Re-runs x2

6 Med Tortillas
Cooking Spray
1 Chicken Brest (cooked and shredded/cubed)
1/4 C Onion and/or Green Bell Pepper Minced
1 Small Can of Salsa Verde
1 Small Can of Green Chilis (minced)
2 T of Sour Cream
2 oz of reduced fat mexican cheese mix

Step 1:
Spray Med Sized Glass Dish
Larger than 8x8 smaller than 9x13

Step 2:
Mix Chicken and Onion together

Step 3:
In a blender mix
Salsa Verde, Green Chilis, and Sour Cream

Step 4:
Split 2oz of cheese

Step 4:
Asseble Enchies
Tortillia
Cheese (sprinkle)
Chicken & Onion Mix
Roll

Place in baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray.
Repeat

Once you get all 6 assembled,
top with Salsa Chili Sauce

Cook for 30 Min at 350 deg
after 30 min add remainig 1oz of cheese
and cook until cheese is melted.

Serving is one Enchie
goes great with beans!

This weekend my husband and I went out a date, and dinned at the Herford House in Kansas City, 5001 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS. My husband had the 10oz serloin steak with a twice baked potato, and house salad with house dressing on the side. I had the Double Pork Chop, Steamed Veggies, twice baked potato, and house salad with house dressing on the side. My husband and I have eaten at the Herford House before, and were a bit suprised to see how much the prices gone up. However it was a big date for us, so who cares? There was a family that had come in and were seated at a table close to us, once they took a look at the menu they headed for the door. I can't really blame them. However the food was pretty good, and there was lots of it, we brought most of it home for leftovers this week. The service was good also, friendly waiter and the glasses never went empty. Overall, I recommed this Kansas City orginal anytime you want a nice night out.

This is my first blog, so its going to be rough around the edges. It will be about what I cook, who I cook with, where I eat, and etc. All about Food and Fun. I am also working on adjusting to a low fat diet, so I will try to highlight those as I go along. I am from Kansas and I have lived here my whole life, but I love to get out and try new places and food.