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Play Day and Pending Birthday…..

Posted by on April 8, 2011

Wondering what is encapsulating Ryan?  That would be my couch cushions of course!  I love that for Christmas I bought him a fancy little pop up tent and he takes my couches apart on a daily basis to make a “fort” or a “tent.”  Creative play is the BEST!  I suppose the triangle here reminded me of his last birthday cake….. 

We are fast approaching his 6th birthday and I have no idea how I’m going to pull off a Spider Man cake.  For his 5thbirthday I did a volcano cake with ferocious dinosaurs……

Oh, did I mention that the volcano worked???

It was so fun!  I made a pocket in the center for a small dish to hold the dry ice.  It was very cool.  (no pun intended) Dry ice tip:  always add boiling water to dry ice to create the best “smoking” affect.  The volcano was chocolate and the base was vanilla…Fruit roll ups were the molten lava running down the cake.  So FUN to make!

So.  For Spider Man I’m thinking that I’ll have to make some sort of building for the cake and have Spider Man propelling off of it somehow…..

I’ll have to “google Judy.”  My mom always has fun and fantastic ideas! 

Let me know if you have any good cake ideas!

Have a great evening~

Angie

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Have You Tried My Oven French Fries???

Posted by on March 26, 2011

Once you try my Oven French Fries, you’ll never go back to any frozen varieties.  These make it into a very regular dinner rotation at my house.  They are crisp and actually taste like a potato!  If you like spicy fries, just add a sprinkle of cayenne when seasoning….healthy and delicious!

You will find this recipe in the “side dishes” category.

Have a great day!

Angie

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Hey, Thanks!

Posted by on March 3, 2011
I’ve been blogging for about a year and a half now.  This would not be possible if it weren’t for YOU!  I want to express my sincerest gratitude for your visits and comments.  Often times your comments completely make my day! 

I love sharing what I do in my kitchen with you.  Growing up, I loved when my Mom and Grandma let me putz in the kitchen with them.  When I blog, I feel like you’re in my kitchen with me.  I get huge warm fuzzies when I hear that you’ve enjoyed a recipe I’ve shared with you.

So, thank you again.  For everything!

Have a wonderful day-
Angie

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God Given Cooking Utencils….

Posted by on March 3, 2011
There are thousands of kitchen tools/utensils out there.  In some cases, we can make due with our hands.   Of course we wouldn’t want to dip our hand into a piping hot pot of soup to ladle out a serving or two.  I made homemade biscuits this evening.   I used my hands to blend the flour and butter together and to flatten out the biscuit dough.  I used my fingertips to coat the tops with milk and check for doneness.  There is something playful about getting your hands right in the flour and butter…like making mud pies as a kid.  Next time, I’m enlisting Ryan to help me, he’ll love it!

Tonight I whipped up a batch of whole grain biscuits to go with my Crispy Oven Fried Chicken.  Warm Homemade biscuits with a pat of butter and honey served alongside crispy oven friend chicken…so, so good!

I do not measure when making these, much like when I make pancakes or waffles.   Into a large mixing bowl goes white flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, a small amount of sugar, baking powder, and a little salt.  With my hands, I blended about 1/3 cup butter into the flour mixture, it resembles cornmeal when it’s ready for liquid.  I didn’t have buttermilk, so I mixed about 1/2 cup plain yogurt with milk and dumped it into the flour mixture. My favorite mixing tool to mix is a fork.  I mix until most of the flour is moistened, dump onto counter and knead into a ball.  Pat into a circle that’s about 1/2″ thick.  Cut with biscuit cutter.  I coat the tops with a little milk, with my fingers, of course!  Bake at 375′ for about 18 minutes.  Carefully, I touch the tops of the biscuits with my finger to check for doneness.

These go together in five minutes…so easy.  Kind of fun to eat a biscuit in lieu of the typical starches.  The boys go CRAZY for them.  Nice treat for a Tuesday evening.

I think these might make an excellent demo video, don’t you think?

Have a great evening!

Angie

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Snow….Serious Snow….

Posted by on February 2, 2011
Our back yard this morning around 10:00 a.m…..
Our deck…my grill.

 A not so great picture of my heated bird bath…it stands about 3 feet tall.

It stopped snowing, so I filled my bird feeder, after I shoveled a path, of course.
And I have a customer, so beautiful!
Fun…snow is soooooo fun!
My handsome husband is making great progress!
Well, I think the worst is over.  The only interrupted services were cable, home phone, and Internet.  We had power and heat, thank God.  I can live with that.
Seeing as it’s so cold and snowy outside, I think the perfect comfort dish of the day would be my Three Cheese Penne Pasta with Turkey Sausage.  It’s quick, healthy, and really tasty!  I’m going to serve it up with some frozen petite peas. 
Have a safe rest of the day.
Angie
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Winter Blizzard!

Posted by on February 1, 2011
We are in the midst of a serious blizzard, and it’s only just begun!  The wind is howling….I’m worried a bit about the power going out.  Visibility is next to zero.  We are going nowhere.  School has already been cancelled for tomorrow.  I have no place to be for the rest of the week. Should have plenty of time to work on some new recipes to share with you. My pantry is stocked and I have plenty of butter and eggs. I think it’s time to start thinking about Valentines Day baking.

For the time being, I’m on my couch wearing my slippers and am covered in a cozy fleece blanket.  For dinner tonight I’ll be serving Braised Beef Goulash  over noodles with a simple salad.  I made it yesterday, it’s the perfect comfort food for this blustery weather.  Have you tried this recipe?  It is so simple and can be made ahead or frozen.  My kids LOVE it!  

I’m still on a mission to share my soup recipes, so stay tuned!

Have a safe and warm evening!
Angie

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Corn Muffins with Ceddar Cheese and Chives…..

Posted by on January 31, 2011

Boy, look at the background in this picture!  I took this last summer….I can’t wait to take my pictures on the deck again!  I love that you can see Ryan’s ball in the back of the yard.  I’m so easily distracted!!!

This muffin is outstanding with most any soup creation you come up with.  They go together in about 10 minutes and bake for only about 17.  These round out your soup into a hearty,  pleasing supper.

Corn Muffins with Cheddar Cheese and Chives

1 ¼ cups flour
¾ cup yellow corn meal
1/2  cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons minced chives
3/4 cup milk
¼ cup sour cream or plain non fat yogurt
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 beaten egg

1) Preheat oven to 350’. Line a twelve count muffin pan with paper liners and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
2) In a large bowl, add flour through chives, mix to blend.
3) Into a 2 cup measure, measure milk, oil, and add egg. Beat slightly.  Add sour cream or yogurt and give a quick mix.
4) Make a well in the dry ingredients and add liquid all at once. Mix until just blended. Divide evenly among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 12 muffins.
*if you don’t have sour cream or plain yogurt, simply substitute ¼ cup of milk.

Enjoy!
Angie

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Vegetarian Curried Lentel Soup….

Posted by on January 31, 2011

After all the blustering about homemade stocks this one calls for water.  I love the simplicity of this soup.  Ready in only about 60 minutes.  Vegetarian, delicious, simple, flavorful.  Add any miscellaneous veggies you have hanging around in the refrigerator.  Feel free to add leftover rice or barley. 

Here we go…

First and foremost, you have to sort through the dried lentils.  You will find a few not so pretty ones but also be looking for small debris like stones.  Rinse well.

Next finely chop 1/2 cup each celery, carrots, and onion.  Add to your heavy soup pot over medium heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Saute for about 10 minutes.

Add 4 large cloves of minced garlic and cook another minute.

Veggies should look like this….

Add the water, salt, and pepper, and begin to simmer over medium heat.  The lentils should cook in about 30-40 minutes.  Once the lentils are soft, put the chick peas, lemon juice, water, and parsley into a food processor and process until smooth.
Add to the soup….

Enjoy with crusty french bread or corn muffins (recipe below).  YUMMY!

Curried Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced carrot
½ cup diced onion
4 large cloves garlic, minced
9 cups water
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 15 ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup water
¼ cup parsley
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon pepper

1) Heat a heavy and large soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil. Add celery, carrot, and onion. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook another minute.
2) Add water, curry powder, and rinsed lentils. Simmer for 35-45 minutes or until lentils are soft. If the water is getting low, add a cup at a time. You want it to be more stew-like. Taste the lentils after about 30 minutes of cooking for doneness.
3) Put the chick peas, lemon juice, ¼ cup water, and parsley into food processor. Process until smooth. Add to the soup when the lentils are done. Serves 8.
*If you do not have a food processor, add a cup of prepared hummus.
*If you don’t care for curry, simply omit. 

Filed Under: Soups & Stock, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tagged: Tagged With: , , ,

Soups!

Posted by on January 28, 2011
Gee, anyone sick of being cold?  In addition to the cold, sick of being sick?  It seems that every time I turn around, someone in the house is sick.  The perfect remedy?  Soup.  The ultimate comfort food when you’re sick or healthy.  Piping hot and loaded with goodness.  With or without meat, you choose.  In the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing some of my favorite soup recipes.  In addition, what’s soup without a yummy bread side.  How about cheddar corn muffins?  Or an old fashioned buttermilk biscuit?

Have you been saving your chicken bones/carcasses?  There is absolutely NOTHING like making your own chicken soup base.  All you need is a carrot, a stalk of celery, a half an onion, and water. (and chicken bones, of course)  The longer you simmer the better.  If the water gets low, simply add more.  I simmer this concoction for about 4 hours.  Remove the large bones with a slotted spoon.  I strain stock through a sieve to insure that there are no bones or skin left in the stock.

Vegetable stock is equally as simple.  Stash all those asparagus ends you don’t use, broccoli stems, or any fresh vegetables you can’t use in a timely manner in the freezer.  Dump it all in a pot and cover with water.  Again, add some onion, celery, and carrot.  Simmer for a minimum of 2 hours, do not allow to boil.

If you enjoy rotisserie chicken on occasion, save that carcass.  As always, label and date what you put into the freezer.  If you’ve got a few pieces of chicken leftover from a dinner, freeze them, they’ll work too.

Get ready, we’re makin’ soup! (and bread:-)

Have a great day!
Angie

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Chicken Vesuvio….

Posted by on January 27, 2011
Chicken, potatoes, peas, garlic & herbs, and wine.  Dinner.  This is one of my favorite “one dish” suppers.  Use more garlic if you like, the more the merrier!  
Chicken Vesuvio
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 whole chicken, cut up, excess fat removed
8 large cloves fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary coarsely chopped, or 2 tablespoons dried, crush with your fingers
6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem or 2 teaspoons dried, crush with your fingers
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups white wine, anything dry would be good
1 lb. frozen petite peas, thawed
1)  Non stick foil line a large cookie sheet with sides.  (you may need two pans depending on the size of your pans)  Set aside.  Preheat oven to 375′. 
2)  Peel and cut potatoes into wedges.  Place in a large bowl and cover with water.  Set aside.
3)  Into a small bowl, combine fresh chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, thyme leaves, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
4)  Drain the potatoes and allow them to sit in the drainer for a few minutes.  Blot the drained potatoes with paper towel to remove excess water.  Dump the potatoes on the cookie sheet and add a tablespoon of the garlic/herb mixture and toss to coat.
5)  Gently lift the skin on the chicken pieces and rub the remaining garlic and herbs under the skin.  (Don’t worry about the wings.)  Season each piece with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper.  Place on cookie sheet between the potatoes.  Try not to crowd, use another baking sheet if there isn’t enough room.  Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
6)  Roast for 40 minutes, baste with the pan juices occasionally.  After 40 minutes of roasting, add the wine to the pan and roast another 25 minutes. 
7)  Add the peas to the pan and bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven carefully as there is a lot of hot liquid.  Serve with the chicken, potatoes, and peas with the pan juices spooned over.  DE-LISH!  Makes 6 servings.
*Make with all white meat on the bone if you wish.  I do not recommend boneless, skinless chicken.  The chicken will be dry.
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