What happened to this year?

It's only been 2-1/2 months since I've gone to work, but it seems like it was only yesterday.  Blogging has taken a back seat because I just don't have the time it seems when you factor in 9-10 hour days, an hour in the gym, then heading home to shower, care for the puppies and throw a meal together.

 

To all the working moms out there...wow, I don't know how you do it, I'm super impressed!

Alas, don't dis-pare!  I will be blogging again soon, next week to be exact!! As it is Thanksgiving week...and as of Friday my parents have officially moved to the city to be closer to my DH and me!!!  So with their new house not ready to move into, and their rental having a tiny kitchen compared to my own...I will be hosting, and cooking Thanksgiving dinner here!!!  WOO!

This means I will be able to try out new recipes, use a lot of my Spice Agent spices, and really do this on my own for the first time EVER!  And what better way to document it than to blog about it over the next few days!  I have my schedule made out, and I'm ready to get a cooking!

Today: Grocery shopping...Thank goodness for shelf stable items...

A little bit of everything here...

Apples for pie and stuffing...

Cause our fridge is stuffed!

I don't know if we can fit anything else!

Monday: After work a fun 6:30am till 5pm), gather all pots/pans etc and make sure they are ready to go!  Get all the dishes done and make sure the kitchen is clean and ready to "destroy". Check on the Turkey to see how frozen it is still...


Tuesday: Start the brine, thankfully it is an early day for me at work (done at 330) and start the fresh cranberry sauce.

Wednesday: After work, make the apple pie, and remove the turkey from the brine to drain.

Thursday: 8am, start the stuffing, 11am put the turkey in the oven, after the turkey is cooking, prep the carrots, potatoes and Cauliflower.  Clean the kitchen then finish the Cranberry sauce!  This is also the time once the prep is done that we will be making home made crescent rolls, we as in my mom and I!!!.
Turkey should be done around 5:30 or so...leaving time to bake a batch of rolls so they are fresh and hot for dinner, as well as the cauliflower and carrots...Already I am thinking ahead to next year and HOPING I have two ovens...cause that would be a HUGE help, we can do it!

Friday: After emerging from a food coma, bake a Pecan Pie for Lunch Saturday.

Saturday: Dinner at the In-Laws!

Sunday: Lounge and snack on leftovers.

I just hope somewhere in there I can find time to go to the gym...get ready for this crazy week!

Today, the crock pot is our friend!

Happy Sunday!  Today is going to be one of those days, a day filled with a lot of stuff to do, and not enough time to cook a proper Sunday supper!  Bring forth the crock pot!  The recipe is simple enough, in fact it is not something that I even write down.  Pot roast.  There are a ton of recipes out there telling you exactly the best way to make a pot roast.  So here is my way.

Start with a roast.

Season one side well with Spice Agent Durango Hickory Sea Salt, Garlic and Black Pepper.  Rub it in to make sure it sticks. In a large skillet heat up, on high, a spoonfull or so of bacon drippings. Place season side down and brown it well until a crust forms.  While it's browning, season the other side. Same as before.

Lift the meat out of the pan and add another spoonful of bacon drippings...place the un browned side down and let it brown!

While it's browning get your crock pot ready, wash some small red potatoes, and quarter two small onions.

Potatoes go in the bottom with some beef bullion, roast next, put the onions around the meat.

Fill with water

Cook on high for 6 hours, or if you have time low for 8-10.

What about carrots you ask?  I put those in about an hour before serving so they aren't mush!

It's not your mama's meatloaf

Inspiration strikes again!  Tonight I decided to make Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf.  Not a new recipe to me, it's been a while, but I had the energy to make it so here we go!

Start by browning 10 pieces of bacon, if it's thick cut you can use 5.

Then take your beef (or whatever ground meat you want to use) and combine the eggs

bread crumbs

mayo

shredded cheddar cheese

and the Worcestershire sauce

in a big bowl with the salt and pepper.  At this point I realized that I was STILL out of ketchup...so I used BBQ sauce, and omitted the mustard.  Make sure your hands are clean and take any rings off...then mix and mash it all together.  Form it into a loaf shape, spread more BBQ on top

and bake at

for 40 minutes, or so...

Then top it off with the french fried onions!

Cook another 10 minutes, and it's ready to eat!

ENJOY!

Even a failure can turn into a success

Two nights in a row now I have had ultimate failure in brownie making.  I had new to me pans for making mini muffins and thought, hey I can make brownie bites!  So I mixed up my death by chocolate brownies and away I went...15 minutes later they are done, and unequivocally stuck to the pan.  They tasted wonderful, but I was not about to take a plate full of crumbled brownies to work...so tonight I mixed up another batch of brownies, made sure I greased the bejeebas out of the pan, and sugared it, cause that works when I make banana bread...and again, superbly stuck brownies. 

Epic fail...so on to plan B.  The pans went into the garbage, and the moist but crumbly brownies went into my mixer.

Add a bit of cream cheese (all 8 ounces actually)

And mix until the whole mess is combined, I found out after making several "truffles" that this part gets messy, so I would refrigerate your truffle middle for at least an hour, and a second pair of hands would be great...

I used the Baker's microwavable chocolate, it's a super time saver!!!

Roll a small spoonful of truffle into a ball, then dip in the chocolate.  Sprinkle with Spice Agent vanilla sea salt if you have any!

Enjoy!

I'm not chicken about trying a new recipe!

It’s been a fast paced week…and I haven’t been in the kitchen at all!  So tonight, it’s all about the Garlic Mushroom chicken in a white wine sauce!  There are many steps, and it takes a bit to make, but hopefully the results are worth it! 

The key to cutting chicken breasts is to keep them partially frozen, then they are super easy to cube! 

My recipe calls for dried tarragon, but I bought fresh, so you don’t have to use as much!

 I also like to slice my own mushrooms

Once the chicken is cooked remove it from the pan, and add a bit more oil, then the mushrooms, tarragon and garlic and let them cook down a bit.  

I hardly ever drink wine and I never drink dry wine, so I just purchased a small box of dry white.  

Add to the mushrooms and cook 1 minute, then add the flour and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly, then add the chicken broth, cooking for another minute or so until the liquid becomes thick.  Next time I make this I am going to double the sauce.

Return the chicken to the pan and let it all heat back up.  Serve over the noodles!

Enjoy!

It's a good day for a pot roast

This week marks a new beginning.  I was offered a job today.  Very exciting news, and also a change to the way I do things!  The crock pot will now be my friend, and freezer meals will be essential!  So, today to celebrate I decided to make a pot roast!  It's a new recipe, Balsamic Onion Pot Roast, and yes I have an obsession with Balsamic Vinegar.  Maybe one day I will be able to afford the super expensive sweet stuff to use on desserts!

Start browning the roast

Cut up the onion and line the bottom of the crock pot

Wash the mushrooms and set aside

In a sauce pan boil the 1 cup of broth to reduce

Once meat is browned, place in the crock pot on top of the onions, surround with the mushrooms and I added some carrots.

Pour sauce over the top and cook on Low for 6-8 hours.

While I'm waiting I'm going to make some Croutons, and an Enchilada Casserole.

After 6-8 hours, remove meat, and vegetables, scoop out as much of the fat that you can, and put the liquid in a pan, reduce and thicken if you want, serve on the side, or pour right on top of the meat!

Enjoy!

Something with a crunch

You ever wonder what to do with that bread that is almost stale, a bit too crunchy to eat by itself?  I had a loaf of french bread, that I left too long, and it got very crunchy.  So today I decided to make home made croutons!  It is very simple, no "recipe" needed!

Slice the bread into cubes. Again, I have french bread,  you can use any type of bread, really, ANY type!

Melt butter 8-10 Tablespoons depending on how much bread you are using, the more liquid, the crunchier the croutons will be, and the more "meltier" they will be in your mouth!  Of course you can also use olive oil.

Pour the butter/oil over the cubes tossing to cover, then add the spices you want to use, I chose garlic and onion as these are the store bought flavors I always get.  You can use whatever flavors float your boat!

Place the cubes in a baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes or so, stirring every 5, until all the cubes are crunchy.

Store in the refrigerator until you have eaten them all! Use them on salads, or as a snack!

Enjoy!