T Stands for Zucchini Bread

 

Zucchini from the garden is coming in fast and furious. I used the recipe my neighbor, Prissy, had given me decades ago to make zucchini bread. I think she would have been pleased with how it turned out. Dense, moist, and studded with raisins and walnuts.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Himself saved movies on TCM and he saved Big Wednesday for me.

2. I dropped a heavy object on my toe and didn't break my toe or the heavy object. I did swear a lot

3.  I followed the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin recipe made with the blueberries from the garden

4. I talked to the Young One. She's planning on coming back for a visit

5. Teague and I talked about plans for Two Old Ladies on the Road in August

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The new fleece jacket with zippers in the pockets arrived. I hate carrying a purse.

2. I bought some comfy socks for Summer

3. I made pizza, and the yeast decided to add an ingredient

4. I made the Young One's delicious sausage soup recipe

5. I finished the layout for the baby gift

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1.A dreary, rainy Sunday. Perfect for crafting

2. The Coopers hawk is back surveying his territory

3. The Young One and I had lots of laughs on our video call.

4. I made beef soup and bread. Perfect for a chilly day

5. The Eldest planted Sweet Williams along the front walk

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1.The Young One notified me the computer game, Inkulinati, went on sale and I bought it.

2.  A half-assed, one pot, hamburger stroganoff turned out to be pretty good.

3. It was so warm I took a tea break in the sunroom

4. I got lost in my journal.

5. I saw the first robin of Spring in Teague's yard.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1.  I started the Feb. homework for the Empty Page journal class

2. "A" came early to clear the snow from driveway and walk

3. A report from the dermatologist: nothing to worry about

4. The Tuesday night into Wednesday snowstorm turned out to be a nothing. We only got 1 inch of snow from the storm and no sleet/ice

5. Teague baked gingerbread with whipped topping for afternoon snack.

How was your week?

Sausage Apple Breakfast Casserole

 

Last week, I mentioned I had made a Sausage and Apple Strata. I was asked for the recipe. Regular readers will know that I am a half-assed cook.

What's a strata you ask? It's a layered egg casserole. You can put pretty much anything you like in it.

This is the recipe I used as my template for the number of eggs, bread cubes, sausage, and apples, what temperature to bake it and how long.

Sausage Apple Breakfast Casserole 

The recipe called for Dubliner cheese. I've never heard of it, and I don't really like cheese. If I had to use cheese for this recipe, I would have used a mild cheddar, but you use what you like. I left the cheese out.

The recipe called for bulk sage sausage. I had frozen breakfast sausage links. I cooked the links according to the package directions and then cut them into small pieces.

The recipe called for Sourdough or French bread. Didn't have any. Bread in a strata should be a bit stale. I toasted about 6 bread slices and cubed that.

The recipe called for fresh rosemary. You guessed it in the cheap seats. Nada. I left it out.

We're pretty much non-adventurous eaters here. Salt and pepper is fancy enough spices for us.

The casserole was made for a Sunday brunch and I heard no complaints from the diners.

Build Your Own Veggie Soup

 

Last week, I posted a recipe for a Sausage and Chickpea Soup. I got a lot of questions about could it be customized and could you substitute this for that.

I thought I would share one of my favorite finds for making soup in the crockpot and it answers the substitute this for that question.

I saw this graphic on Facebook. It comes from HealthyFamilyProject.com. As you can see, this recipe is highly customizable. (I hope you can read the graphic.) It's also a very basic, beginner-friendly recipe.

I'm a dump and go cook and prefer the crockpot, but you can cook your soup on the stovetop. You just have to figure out the timing for meat and veg to be thoroughly cooked.

If something isn't on the list, for example, sausage is not included. There's no reason you can't use it. Would you prefer to use Chinese Five Spice to add flavor to chicken soup? It's not on the list, but use it. Use what you like and skip what you don't.

Have fun and be creative for the New Year.

T Stands for Sausage and Chick Pea Soup

 

My bad. I had promised to post the recipe for Sausage and Chickpea Soup last week.

The Young One shared with me a recipe she got from her meal kit so I can't print the exact recipe. As I've mentioned before, I'm a lazy, half-assed cook so here is the version I did. The soup got rave reviews from my Himself. The soup is customizable so use what you like best.

This can be adapted for the stove or done in a crockpot. I opted for the crockpot. How do you spell lazy? C.J. This will probably feed a family of 6 - 8 or a family of 3 Italians.

You will need:

l lb. of Italian sausage, chicken sausage, or sausage of your choice. I used Italian sausage with fennel.

Since the Eldest does not like Italian sausage, I also used 1 lb. ground beef.

2, 32 oz. of soup stock/broth. I had vegetable stock in the pantry. You could use beef or if you're using chicken sausage, use chicken stock.

Onion (to me this is optional as onion as well as garlic is an IBS trigger for me so I tend to use very little or to leave it out entirely, sauté it)

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.

1 can, Tomato paste (the recipe called for a couple of tablespoons, but I loathe recipes that don't use the entire amount. I had leftover jarred sauce in the fridge so I used that instead)

1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning (or to taste)

Salt and pepper to taste

8 - 10 oz. bag of spinach leaves. Himself won't eat cooked spinach so I left this out. I substituted a couple of cups of frozen, mixed vegetables.

Optional: 1/2 box of small pasta (Orzo, Tubettini, Ditalini, little Shells, Elbows) The soup as is wasn't substantial enough for me so I added the pasta. 

1.  Cook the sausage. I bake it in the oven until the internal temp. is 145 oF for pork sausage, about 40 or so min. at 350 oF. When cool, cut into rounds. Alternatively, you could squeeze the meat from the casing and brown that. But since I needed a way for the Eldest to pick around the sausage, I cut it into rounds.

2. If using ground beef, brown the ground beef until no pink remains. Drain.

3. To your crockpot add the sausage (ground beef),  the soup stock, (optional onion), chickpeas, frozen mixed vegetables, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, 

4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

5. At the last half hour left of cooking add the pasta.

6. If using the spinach, just before serving toss in the spinach until wilted

Serve along with a salad and bread if desired.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. I saw a red-headed woodpecker at the bird feeder

2. The Young One sent me a recipe for sausage and chickpea soup. So delicious

3. I visited Teague on Tuesday instead of Thursday because weather and being under the weather kept us away for two weeks. We had a fun day catching up, going out to lunch, and visiting a bakery.

4. I've been wondering where the cardinal pair has been. I saw the female cardinal in the Japanese maple tree so I'm glad the cardinals are still around.

5. A month or so ago, I bought an item for some Christmas presents, but couldn't for the life of me remember where I had put them. I looked all over. I looked 4 times in the place I thought I had put them, but the fifth time was a charm! Now I can finish packing up the box to send to the Young One and her SO

How was your week?

Monet and Me

 

Monet virtually poses with the Simmer Pot jar at Grandmaster E's house.

For my Italian Thanksgiving, Grandmaster E sent a jar of her delicious, meatball and sausage gravy. 

After I washed out the jar, I wondered what I could make to send the jar back. I was taught if someone sent a plate or container of food and the item was to be returned, it should never be returned empty.

What to send? Cookies? Candy? Grandmaster E is a world-class, Food Master, and my skills are no where near her level.

A search on what to put in a mason jar came up with a Simmer Pot. Perfect because last Christmas, Grandmaster E showed her simmering orange rinds, cinnamon sticks, etc. on her stovetop.

I already had some of the ingredients in the pantry. Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves. A trip to the grocery store for some whole cranberries, and cardamom pods. I could have bought some oranges and dried the peels, but that would have taken too long as the jar was to be returned when Himself went to help Master Beef at the Master in the Morning Class. So I ordered dried oranges and star anise.

The jar is very easy to assemble and there's really no right or wrong to the ingredients. Just scents that you like. The ingredients are layered or dumped into the jar. I used a Christmas napkin to cover the jar lid. I found the Christmas pick when I was looking for a doodad to use on Ink's wreath. Festively tied together with red and white baker's twine. I even found a free, printable, tag with directions online.

Grandmaster E loved the Simmer Pot and thought it would be too pretty to use. I told her to take a picture so she would always have it. 

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. Instead of the usual turkey, I made an Italian Thanksgiving. Home-made ravioli, eggplant Parmigiani, home-made bread, Cannoli Dip, and apple pie (I had to make one concession to tradition)

2.The day after the holiday no cooking and  I re-watched the Downton Abbey movie.

3. A coating of snow that turned to slush.  "A" came to clear the walk, driveway, and the cars.

4. I postponed a visit to Teague, but we had a video chat. Not as good as a real visit, but close

5. A herd of turkeys came through the yard and pecked the seeds out of the gourds and pumpkins

How was your week?

T Stands for Cannoli Dip

 

Besides apple pie, I was thinking of making cannoli for Thanksgiving dessert. The trouble is, I don't have the metal forms to make the cannoli shells. Yeah, I could have gone to an Italian bakery to buy them. Buying them ahead of time would mean the shells would be soggy. Cannoli need to be filled just before they are eaten. What to do?

I made Cannoli Dip. Just the filling. I found Cannoli Chips, broken bits of cannoli shell at a discount store along with pizzelle, Italian waffle cookies to use as the dip vehicle. Simple. The only thing is I forgot to buy the heavy whipping cream. I substituted half the amount of the whipping cream with Half n Half and increased the powdered sugar. The dip was a little thinner than I would have liked, but still delicious. If you make this, don't forget the heavy whipping cream.

Oh, no! I forgot to include my tea with the cannoli dip. Well, if you look in the china hutch, you can see lots of teacups.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Monet and Me

 

are going to share my recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. 

I don't like fussy recipes that have lots of moving parts. I'm pretty much a half-assed cook. Since I have an ample sized ass, my half-assed is still pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

You can go through the trouble of cooking chicken breasts or other parts. I find it easier to use either left-over rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, or canned chicken.

I also use an electric skillet, but you can cook this on top of the stove.

I don't really measure ingredients but try to plan on making enough for 6 people so I'll have leftovers and won't have to cook the following day

Ingredients:

Leftover chicken (cut up or shredded), or canned chicken

2 cans of Cream of Whatever soup. I like to use Cream of Chicken and Cream of Celery

3 cups of water or chicken stock

1/2 a bag of frozen mixed vegetables

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon or so of Bell's Seasoning, or whatever herbs you like best

Optional:

Carrots, peeled and chopped (3 or 4)

Potatoes, peeled and chopped (2 or 3)

Celery stalk, chopped (2 or 3)

Bisquick or other baking mix to make the dumplings. Follow the directions on the box. Prepare the dumplings and set aside

Directions:

Add the water or chicken stock to the pan. Stir in the Cream of Whatever soup, salt, pepper, and Bell's seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium

(If using fresh vegetables, add them to the pan and cook until the potatoes and carrots can easily be pierced with a fork. About 20. minutes)

Add the frozen vegetables and chicken, Cook for another 5 or so minutes until the frozen veg are cooked.

Drop the dumplings by tablespoon onto the top of the soup mixture. You may have to adjust the temperature so the soup mixture doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan. Keep the temperature to a low boil.

Cover and cook the dumplings for 10 minutes (for lightness)

Remove the cover and cook the dumplings for 10 minutes (until done)

Serve in bowls with a salad

Quick and easy.

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

4 Ingredients! NO Knead, NO Wait Crispy Bread (Ready in 60 Minutes – Bakery Quality!)

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. I made a perfect pot roast in the crockpot which meant leftovers and no cooking for most of the week.

2. Two old ladies are going on the road again next month.

3. Enjoyable discussions in class.

4. I bought some cider K-Cups for Hot Apple Cider from the Keurig machine.

5. Teague and I went to a new lunch place and had awesome dessert

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Calli and Quill followed me around after giving me the cold shoulder for being away.

2. As I was going to bed, I realized because of the Labor Day holiday, I didn't have to get up early to put the trash out

3. Himself made mashed potatoes so I could make the topping to a Shepherd's pie (made with lamb otherwise if it's made with beef it's a cottage pie)

4. A friend sent me a link to Bring Magic to Your Art & Life with A Free Taster Event!

5. A beautiful day. I had the sunroom all to myself so watched The Beautiful Game while I had lunch.

How was your week?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week

1. When you don't want to cook, chicken stir fry over ramen is quick and easy

2. 2 Old ladies are going on the road again at the end of the month

3. A long talk with my cousin. She's been ill so it was good to catch up

4. The washer was fixed

5. This week I received birthday greetings galore and a cute video of the grandniece and nephew singing the birthday song sent by their mother.

How was your week?

Monet and Me

 are sharing a memory about the Young One's birthday

Monday, July 23, 2012

Creating Memories

For The Young One's eighth birthday, the cake request for a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. No problem until the baking went horribly wrong. The cake layers baked uneven. So uneven, it would have taken a tub of frosting to even things out so the layers would stack on top of each other. What to do?

The gap between the layers looked like a mouth. I grabbed items I had hanging around. Desperation is the mother of invention. White chocolate chip bits, glaced fruit, and red licorice laces became the features on a monster cake and fortunately, The Young One loved it. Whew!

Twelve years later, The Young One's cake request was for chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. And then a surprise. I wish I could have a monster cake?"

"Seriously? "

"I loved that cake."

Ok. This time I went out to buy candies to use for decorations. I had to buy white chocolate chip bits because someone had opened up the package to snack on and only left two bits. Hugs, gummy worms, peach rings, M&Ms and red licorice laces jumped into the cart. The hard part was to intentionally bake uneven cake layers. without burning one side or the other not baking through. It worked and The Young One loved the result.

We spend a lot time, effort, and sometimes cash to create memories. Nostalgic memories  from when we were kids, or expose them to opportunities we never had as kids. Sometimes odd what we think what should be a memory, and what actually becomes a memory. Some thirty or forty years from now, The Young One will be saying, "That crazy, old, broad was hell on wheels with a tub of frosting and a bag of gummy worms."

Back to the present. Over the weekend, I sent a message asking if she was still here at home for her birthday, what would her request for a cake be? She said she would like the chocolate cake with the chocolate frosting and orange flavoring.

On Sunday, I was going to bake the Starlight Double Delight Cake with orange flavoring, but it was too humid to bake. Humidity can effect baking. Since today is supposed to be dry, I will bake the cake later on. It won't be as elaborate as the cake Monet is posing with, but it will be delicious.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Another warm day. Probably the last evening in the sunroom

2. Ran out of stick butter so I had to substitute vegetable oil in a cornbread recipe. A slight change in texture and taste, but not noticeable by the rest of the family 

3. Deep cleaned the living room in anticipation of The Young One's  visit.

4. Another sunny and warm day.

5. Another warm day. November weather has been unbelievable. Perfect day to spend with Teague as ladies who lunch and then afternoon in her sunroom. Ice cream was involved, too.

How was your week?