Fuzzy Fish and Almond Green Beans

Guess which dish was a hit and which wasn't?

If you guessed the green beans with almonds was a hit, you'd be right.

My youngest daughter, the fish lover, called my fish "fuzzy".

Fuzzy!?!

She elaborated that I added too much lemon zest so that it looked like the fish was growing grass.

That's funny as I zested the fish with orange, not lemon. She challenged me to taste it which I already had. I added the orange so I know darn well it wasn't lemon.

I thought the fish was okay, if not fabulous, and should have been marinated longer.

The green beans were very tasty so I'll provide the recipe.

 

GREEN BEANS WITH ALMONDS & GARLIC

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 



16 ounces French style green beans
2 tblsp butter or margarine
garlic salt
2-3 tblsp almond slivers

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in a small sauce pan.

Add green beans and almonds. Then very generously sprinkle garlic salt on top of the green bean and almond mixture. Mix well.

Cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Then simmer on low heat for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve warm.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

We have an ice-stealing ghost.

Unfortunately, our new (to us) house did not come with a fancy schmancy refrigerator that has an ice maker. No, but it did come with 4 old-fashioned ice trays. Since our the money tree outside also died (or maybe was dug up and taken by the new owner) we have to make due with the current refrigerator. Yes, that's the same one whose door fell off a couple weeks ago.

This ghost loves to steal ice but never makes new ice. He's a very naughty, inconsiderate ghost.

See? Here's the proof. Another empty ice tray left sitting around. Often, I find the empty tray inside the freezer. What's up with that? Someone's L-A-Z-Y.

 

 

Um, it occurs to me that it's hard to tell from the picture that the tray is empty. Trust me, there's no ice in this baby. My normally low blood pressure was boiling. You see, I like lots of ice in my soda.

 

 

Let's forget the ice. It's not really a biggie in the scheme of things.

I LOVE ham and cheese. I mean I really really LOVE them.

My picky eater loves chicken.

So any dish with a combination of ham, cheese, and chicken has got to be a winner in my house.

And miracle of miracles! My picky eater is showing an interest in cooking. Her hands are pictured in the photos below. She really got into pounding the poor, dead chicken. I couldn't help but think that my vegetarian friend would be appalled if she saw us taking out our aggression with the mallet.

Since I haven't told my vegetarian friend about this blog, I'll admit it was cathartic to pound the chicken.

 

 

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

 

 

 





INGREDIENTS:

1 chicken breast per person
about 1 pound ham, sliced
about 1 pound shredded Italian mix cheeses
bread crumbs
2 egg whites
tooth picks
non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Spray a large baking dish or pan with non-stick cooking spray

 

 

 

 



You want to tenderize (pound) the chicken until it's flat and can be rolled around the filling.

 

Dip your flattened chicken into the egg white. Then dip into your bread crumbs.

 

 

When the chicken is thoroughly covered with your bread crumbs, move it to your baking dish.

 

 

 

 



Next, break up the ham into small pieces and cover the chicken.

 

Now, sprinkle the cheese over the ham.

 

Roll the chicken up and "pin" it together with a toothpick.

Bake in heated oven until chicken is done, about 40 minutes.

Serve with a vegetable or starch.

Enjoy!
 

Grandma's Cherry Pie

When I was a little girl, my favorite grandma and I picked cherries from her tree in the back yard. Then she would make the tastiest cherry pie in the world.

Those are precious memories. I don't know what was better - picking the cherries with Grandma, smelling the delicious pie baking, or eating that scrumptious pie.

She obviously canned a lot of cherries as my father said her basement was full of canned cherries when she died.

To this day, I don't see a cherry pie without thinking of Grandma.

Grandma was special for many reasons. She played Yahtzee and other games with me. She taught me to play Canasta and Sambo. She walked uptown with me to buy cookies with icing in the middle, to get Cincinnati chili, and to buy my winter coat and school shoes. We fed her beloved red birds and blue jays from her kitchen window then watched them fly around her backyard around the cherry tree while we ate at her strategically placed kitchen table; by the window, of course.

And of course, Grandma made her own pie crust to go with her home grown cherries.

Writing this, I can practically smell her pie baking and feel her hugging me.

I wish I had a cherry tree so that I could pick cherries with my grand kids.

GRANDMA'S CHERRY PIE

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:
4-5 cups fresh cherries
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

PIE CRUST:
2 cups white flour, sifted
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup milk


DIRECTIONS:

Boil cherries in medium to large sauce pan with sugar, salt, and water. Reduce heat and simmer. Stir often until a syrup forms.

Set aside to cool.

Mix the flour and salt. Pour oil and milk into the flour mixture and stir until well mixed.

Roll 1/2 of the dough betwen two pieces of waxed paper until about 1/8" thick and large enough to fit the pie plate.

Spray the pie plate with non-stick cooking spray.

Transfer to pie plate.

Pour the cooled filling onto the pastry.

Next roll the remaining dough to 1/8" thickness and cover the top of the pie. Remove the excess dough. Flute the edges.

To release steam, make slits in the top of the crust.

Bake in 350 degree F preheated oven.





 

Julie & Julia

I'm watching JULIE & JULIA, not only one of my favorite movies, but one of my major blogging inspirations.

I want to be a blogger like Julie as much as I want to be an amazing cook like Julia.

I need an amazing project like Julie's. But what? I. Do. Not. Know.

Yet.

Is there another project as worthy as Julie's, learning how to cook from the master?

I can't conceive of deboning a duck or killing a lobster. I can't conceive of putting a poor, defenseless worm on a hook or catching a poor, defenseless fish. I'm 1000% positive my picky eaters would turn up their noses at an aspic. I wonder if I'd go broke and gain another 100 pounds if I choose a French cooking challenge.

Thus I am on the hunt for a specific project.

Unlike Julie I can see that a few people read the blog from my stats even though I've yet to receive any comments. Did blogger not show stats in 2002? I wonder where to find out who the most popular bloggers are on Blogspot.




 

Kitchen Ambush - Shrimp Scampi and Black Beans and Rice

I admit it. I'm an addict. A Food Network addict. (Also a Pinterest addict.) I guess I have an addictive personality.

I'm watching a new-to-me show, KITCHEN AMBUSH.

What a fun show. Fun, except I'd be mortified if somoene told me my kitchen was filthy, which is what one of the host chefs just told somebody. I keep my kitchen clean so I don't think that would happen to me. Unless he would count the fast food bags my hubby insists on overfilling the fridge with. He's on my sh-- list, ya know.

Anyway, what could the ambush chefs make if they ambushed my kitchen?

My pantry is really full. Some dinners are planned (not as much this week as I'd like because hubby overstuffed us with his snacks and leftovers) and most aren't.

There are a LOT of black beans. I bought a six pack at BJ's before two of my picky eaters told me they HATE black beans. I LOVE them - they don't know what they're missing. I'll have to make two versions of dinner again, one of my pet peeves.

I also have one large jar of Prego Italian sauce, minute rice, egg noodles, canned spinach, canned mushrooms, canned soups, french onion soup mix, mashed potato mix, bread, bread crumbs, flour, sugar, brown sugar, syrup, spaghetti, angel hair pasta, velveeta shells and cheese, Bisquick, nutella, baking powder, baking soda, zucchini, sweet potatoes, one onion, red/orange/yellow peppers, green onions, blue berries, shrimp, chicken legs, ground beef, tilapia, lobster/shrimp dip, Ritz crackers, sweet pepper jelly, pudding, brownie mix, cake mix, lemon juice, fresh garlic, barbecue sauce, ketchup, cottage cheese, yellow rice, chicken boullion, eggs, turkey bacon, and tortillas. I may have forgotten a couple things.

Oh! Another stipulation is that you have to make the meal in 30 minutes or less. That's my kind of cooking. But it's not always that easy.

Of course, there's my go-to easiest meal ever - Spaghetti with meat sauce. Duh! What a no brainer.

Then there's shrimp fried rice. Wait! I don't know if my 18 year old human eating MACHINE, devoured the ham tat is so necessary to this dish. Probably.

Crepes with nutella. That would be desert but not the main dish.

There's always another easy stand by - scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Or French toast.

If I had cheddar or Monterray Jack cheese, which I usually do, I'd make chicken quesadillas. I used all the cheese on homemade macaroni and cheese last night. I think I can squeeze some ham and cheese into my packed fridge as they're staples in my kitchen.

I have lots of American cheese so I could make grilled cheese.

I need to come up with fancier meals than grilled cheese, however, to fit the spirit of the show.

Maybe black beans and rice for half of us and grilled cheese for the picky eaters.

No! I've got it! Shrimp Scampi with black beans and rice on the side.

So, here are my newly made shrimp scampi and black beans recipes.

The shrimp scampi was so simple, yet so delicious. And I'm throwing in a bonus. We stopped at BJ's inbetween my writing the first part of this post and cooking shrimp scampi. We sampled baguette bread dipped in an olive oil mixture that was simply to die for. Knowing it would be the perfect accompaniement to the scampi, I scooped up the baguette. So I'll also post the recipe for the baguette oil.

 

SHRIMP SCAMPI
 

 

INGREDIENTS:

2-3 pounds shrimp, deveined and without tils
Butter
1 medium clove, Fresh Garlic, minced
Lemon Juice
Sea Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Melt approximately 1 stick butter in a non-stick skillet. When melted, add thawed shrimp. Cook on medium heat.

Generously squeeze lemon juice over the shrimp. Add the minced garlic and sprinkle sea salt over shrimp.

Cook until shrimp look pink, stirring often.

BLACK BEANS

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 can 16 oz black beans
3 small peppers, 1 each orange, yellow, and red, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt
black pepper
1-2 tblsp butter

DIRECTIONS:

Put black beans in medium-sized pot. Stir in minced peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, and butter. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. Stir often.

Meanwhile, make rice to go with beans. I made up a pot of Zatarain's yellow rice which was very tasty.

BRUSCHETTA AND DIPPING OIL

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 rolls baguettes
1 cup virgin olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
2-3 tblsp Italian spices

DIRECTIONS:

Mix olive oil, minced garic, and Italian spices.

Heat for 1 minute in microwave.

Slice baguettes into very thin slices.

Dip bead in warm oil mixture.

Yum!





 

Hash Brown Cakes

I love to watch Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, on the Food Network. I'm also on the hunt for new breakfast recipes. So when the pioneer woman showed how to make hash brown cakes, my ears perked up. I bet they looked positively Vulcanish.

Luckily I recorded the show to watch again because I left out a crucial step (or two) the first time I made these neat little egg nests.

So pay attention better than I did if you want the yummy version, intead of my first bland version.

There's nothing more blah than a bland potato.

So what did I forget? I forgot to cook and season the hash browns before topping them with the egg. I also cooked them a little too long. My granddaughter was bouncing her yolk around like a ball.

So please, cook and season your hash browns so no more innocent potatoes die in vain.

HASH BROWN CAKES

 

 

INGREDIENTS

Hash Browns (either make your own from scratch or buy frozen)
Fresh Eggs, enough for at least 2 per person
Salt
Pepper
Non-stick cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Spray non-stick cooking spray into a muffin tin. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.

Tuck your hash browns into each muffin indentation in the muffin tin. Make the hash browns look like a nest, with a well in the middle. Generously season with salt and pepper.

Cook the hash browns for 15 minutes.

Remove the hash browns from the oven.

Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

While the oven is heating again, crack one egg into each nest. Season each egg with salt and pepper.

When the oven is ready, cook the hash brown cakes for about 3-5 minutes. Don't cook too long unless you want to make your own bouncy balls.

When cooked properly, these are delicious.

Thank you Pioneer Woman!






 

Nutella Gravy

This morning I was tuned into Trisha's show on The Food Network and her friend Tina made the most delicious looking chocolate gravy and biscuits.

I've never heard of chocolate gravy but that didn't stop me from salivating.

For dinner, I made biscuits and my own version of chocolate gravy as I didn't have a pinch of cocoa in the house. Nor did I have self-rising flour. To top it off, I didn't have whole milk, just 2% milk.

It turned out great and the biscuits were gone lickity split even though I had to force the gravy on my picky eating youngest daughter as she thought it looked yucky. One taste and she was a convert.

NUTELLA GRAVY

 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
3 heaping tblsp Nutella
1 1/2 cups 2 % milk
1 tblsp butter
4 tblsp all-purpose flour

Directions:

Make a batch of biscuits. You'll want a minimum of two per person as these are yummy.

Melt the butter and Nutella in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat.

After the Nutella softens, mix in the sugar, milk and flour. Stir continuously until it thickens.

Pour over warm biscuits. Enjoy!





 

Ranch Salmon Fillets

At work today my lunch group talked about the wonderful salmon M enjoyed last night. He paid $17 for a large fillet he bought at Costco's that made 5 meals for he and his partner. He didn't merely mention it, he enthused at least half the hour about how wonderfully delicious it was.

I looked at my daughter who also works with us, and her expression was dreamy. Obviously, visions of sashimi danced in her little brunette head. If she could, she'd eat sashimi every day.

I hankered for a taste of salmon, too, after that. Who wouldn't?

After work, my daughter and I made a bee line for BJ's. I don't have a Costco membership and BJ's is around the corner and they have good prices on salmon, too.

I also bought some ranch dressing then brought the little darling home as soon as I spent too much.

When I got home, I was nice and let my daughters take a chunk to make their beloved sashimi.

Then I made my Grandma's macaroni and cheese to accompany this delicious salmon recipe.

To be honest, I had my doubts that ranch dressing would taste good on fish, but I am so glad I tried this. It was awesome and it's definitely a new favorite. It was a hit with my entire picky family.

I hope you'll like it, too.

Ranch Salmon Fillets

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Salmon (or any fish of your choosing), enough for your family

 

2 eggs, beaten

 

2-3 cups Flour

 

1 Tblp Salt

 

1 Tblsp Black Pepper

 

2 Tblsp Seasoned Salt

 

2-3 cups Bread Crumbs

 

2-3 cups Ranch Dressing

 

2 large ziplock bags (I used 1 gallon freezer size)

 

Non-stick cooking spray

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

 

Lightly coat a large glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

 

Cut fish into one portion pieces.

 

Beat eggs in a medium to large mixing bowl. Two eggs was enough for 10 servings.

 

Prepare two ziplock bags, one with flour, pepper, and salts, the other with bread crumbs. Pour a good amount of Ranch dressing into a second bowl.

 

Dip the fish into the beaten egg. Coat thoroughly. I worked on 3-4 pieces at a time.

 

 

 



Next put the egg-coated fish into the flour bag. Securely close the bag. Shake well until the fish is thoroughly coated in flour.

 

 

 

 

Now dip the flour-coated fish into the Ranch dressing. I used my fingers to make the dressing stick. I put the dressing on thick. This is messy so I washed my hands inbetween each step.

 

 

 



 

Then drop the ranch-coated fish into the baggie with the bread crumbs. Make sure the bag is securely closed. Shake well until thoroughly coated.

 

Place the fish into a large glass baking dish.



 





 

 

 

Bake the fish for about 30 minutes, until thoroughly cooked.

 

Serve warm.



CAJUN CHICKEN

Happy Easter!

(So that I could enjoy Easter with my family, I wrote this post in advance.)

What a lazy Sunday afternoon. My umpiring hubby is at softball games all day and night, and my youngest daughter has no softball games tonight. So there's no rush to make dinner before games.

I made a big lunch so maybe I'll make a quick, easy dinner.

Even my pets are taking it easy as we watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I blog. Here's Bobby whom I caught in the BJ's box I brought home yesterday from our weekly shopping. He's a cat so of course he can't resist a box. My little buddy likes this box better than the catnip toy we bought for him.

He was relaxing until I took the first picture. Maybe the flash woke him up.

 

 

That flash made him look demonic but he's really a sweetie.

 

Now you can see his eyes better, without the demonic glow. I should have given him a box for Christmas. He loves it so.

 

Back to lunch, in addition to Bobby's wonderful box, I bought a lot of fresh chicken at BJ's yesterday. I slept in really late so I didn't have time to look up a recipe. So I made up my own. The kids all gave it a thumbs up.

 

CAJUN CHICKEN

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

Fresh chicken enough for your family

 

lemon juice

 

Cajun Spice



 



Black Pepper


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees Farenheit.

Meanwhile, place chicken in a glass baking casserole dish. Liberally sprinkle first lemon juice, then black pepper, then Cajun spice over the chicken.

Bake 15 minute.

Turn over and liberally sprinkle the other side of the chicken with lemon juice, black pepper, and Cajun spice.

Bake another 15 minutes.

Serve warm.

Yum!

Beef Enchilada Casserole

My refrigerator door fell off last night. I bent over to get an onion out of the vegetable bin and the next thing I knew, there was a hard, heavy weight sliding right down me.

I caught the door before it slammed to the floor. Fortunately, it wasn't that heavy. I was more surprised than anything.

My daughters rushed to my aid as I yelled, "Dave! The refrigerator door fell off." Then I screwed up my face and hunkered down to hear the inevitable swearing.

You see, recently, we bought a new house and my husband blames me when anything isn't perfect. So far the floor is creaky. The dishwasher leaked and we had to replace it. The toilet seat in our bathroom came off. The shower in our bathroom is too low so he has to bend to get in and out. The toilet in the kids' bathroom was leaky. God, I hope nothing else goes wrong in the next year or he'll never stop moaning.

Luckily, he got out his handy tool kit, laid on the floor, and screwed the door back on. Meanwhile, I stepped around him to finish dinner.

So far (knock on wood), the fridge door is staying on.

When I got home tonight I had no clue what I was going to make for dinner. We already had spaghetti this week and we're out of fish. It would take at least a couple hours to make shrimp fried rice and I was too tired to do that after an eight-hour work day. I thought about making tacos but didn't have an appetite for them.

Then I remembered my husband had liked the look of a burrito recipe I found. As I dug the ingredients out of my pantry I changed my mind and decided to make an enchilada casserole which sounded faster and easier than rolling burritos.

I haven't made an enchilada casserole in awhile and I was missing the green chilies I usually add, and I had bought sour cream, so I made some changes. It obviously worked out well as my older daughter pronounced the enchilada's better than my lasagna.

I hope you'll like it, too.

 

Beef Enchilada Casserole

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

 

1-2 pounds ground, Hamburger

 

1 large can Red Enchilada Sauce

 

1 can Refried Beans

 

1 package Lipton's Spanish Rice, cooked

 

4 large Tortilla Shells

 

1 pound Cheddar Cheese

 

1 pound Sour Cream

 

1 chicken boullion cube

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.

 

Prepare the rice. Cook the hamburger with the enchilada sauce and boullion. Set aside.

 

Divide the cheese into two halves.

 

Layer a thin covering of enchilada/hamburger sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish. Cover with two tortillas.

 

Next layer the refried beans, hamburger, more enchilada/hamburger sauce, rice, and one half of the cheese. It should be nice and thick now.

 

Place the remaining tortilla shells over the cheese.

 

Smother the tortilla shells with sour cream. Make sure the tortillas are thoroughly covered. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the sour cream.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is meltd and golden.

 



 

Quiche Lorraine

Have I mentioned that I'm a Disabled Vet (Air Force)? Or that I'm a softball widow almost every weekend and sometimes, it feels like months on end during rec season?

I'm a lot of things but these are two main ingredients in the recipe that makes up moi.

I've been a disabled vet since I was 21 when I lost the hearing in my left ear due to a military hospital error. A tumor was left to grow until not only it, but most of the bones in my ear had to be surgically removed. No conductivity remained. Nada. Zippo. I no longer felt like a viable human being, not being able to participate in normal conversation without saying the dreaded "What?" fifty million times a conversation, bending my head and turning my body so my "good ear" was toward the speaker, trying to lip read, suffering humiliation almost every conversation because I still misheard important words, often entire phrases. Often my mishearing islaughable. Sometimes, I'm sure, disturbing or even undignifying.

Once again I am petitioning the VA to increase my disability to more than 10% and also to give me hearing aids as my other ear is going bad. As if things weren't hard enough to hear with only one ear. Now the "good ear" is on the fritz.

My hubby who is also a Disabled Vet for other reasons, is an avid softball officianado. He's always off at the kids games, or softball board meetings, or umpiring. Many weekends, he is away all weekend doing his thing. If I want to see him, I have to hunt him down at one of the many softball parks he frequents. Although it's jacket and mitten weather in Fort Lauderdale the day I'm writing this (in advance), he's umpiring for our daughter's league.

Voila! I often get called upon to whip up a quick dinner for him late at night when he tromps in late, despite the fact I have to get up early the next morning for the day job.

Since I work full-time weekdays, everybody's on their own for weekday breakfast in my house. On weekends, however, I cook for my entire brood.

Today, I made a Quiche Lorraine that my family enjoyed. It was a little different than the normal scrambled eggs and bacon or the scrambled egg burritos I usually make on weekends. It was a hit and something I'll do again.

QUICHE LORRAINE

INGREDIENTS:

1 pie crust, pre-made or homemade
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup milk
2 cups cheese, grated (I used a blend of cheddar and Monterray Jack cheese)
6 slices bacon, cooked, diced
3 eggs
1 tbsp. All-season salt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Poke pie crust several times with fork tines. Bake pie crust while you cook bacon and assemble the quiche.

Cook bacon. Then dice. Set aside.

Scramble eggs, pour in whipping cream, milk, salt, cheese, and bacon. Mix well.

Remove partially baked pie crust from oven. Pour egg mixture into it.

Return the quiche to the oven. Bake another 1/2 - 1 hour until egg-cheese mixture is firm.

Serve warm.

* If you prefer, exchange bacon for crab or add spinach or green onions.


 

Texas Chili

The kids and I checked out our local Flea Market vegetable stand yesterday and the first thing to catch our eye was this beautiful deal. $1.00 for all these gorgeous peppers.

One of my daughters said, "Please make chili, not Cincinnati chili."

I love Greek Cincinnati Skyline chili, but I also love Texas chili, so that was fine by me. I like variety and since we're blessed to have two Skyline Chili parlors in South Florida (plus I have the recipe), we eat it a few times a month. In fact, we usually have most of our family birthday parties at Skyline Chili.

Tonight, however, I made a hearty, spicy hot, Texas chili - no nutmeg, no cinnamon, and some other tweeks.

Because I added black beans, my husband refused to eat it. Sometimes I think he's a pickier eater than our youngest daughter. His loss. It was absolutely delicious.

So that you can enjoy it, too, here's the recipe.

TEXAS CHILI

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 - 6 oz cans tomato paste
1 - 16 oz can black beans
1 - 16 oz can pink pinto beans
2-3 lbs cooked hamburger
3 green onions, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
2 cubes chicken boullion
1 1/2 Tblsp white wine vinegar
2 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
6 tsp Mexican chili
3 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Red Pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups white rice cooked
cheddar cheese, shredded


DIRECTIONS:

Cook white rice according to directions. Set aside.

Brown hamburger in non-stick skillet.

Meanwhile, finely dice peppers and onion. Add to large pot.

Next add tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, spices, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and boullion. Simmer over medium heat. Add hamburger as soon as it is thoroughly browned. Cook about 20 minutes.

Dish rice into bowl. Spoon 2 - 4 large spoonfuls of chili over rice. Sprinkle cheese to taste.

Serve warm with a side of buttered French Bread.





 

Taco Shephard's Pie

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's a tasty potato dish. If you really wish to be Irish, add green food coloring to the mashed potatoes.

This is a quick cheater recipe which is good for a quick dinner after work or when you're tired.

I say "cheater" because there's not a lot of cooking involved. However it's very tasty.

TACO SHEPHARD'S PIE

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups Cheesy Instant Mashed Potatoes
1-2 lbs ground beef
2 packages taco seasoning mix
2-3 cups water
mixed vegetables (optional)


DIRECTIONS:

Brown ground beef,  Add taco seasoning mix and 2-3 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer until most of the liquid has boiled off.

At the same time, make mashed potatoes per package instructions.

If you want vegetables, heat in microwave

Pour ground beef mixture and if desired, vegetables, into a large bowl or casserole dish. If vegetables are added, mix well. Spoon mashed potatoes on top of taco meat.

Serve warm.

 

Grilled Cheese & Ham

My youngest daughter just asked, "Can you ever sit still?" Of course I answered, "No". At age twenty two she shouldn't have to ask. She's had years to observe me.

I'm pretty sure that I am the source of ADHD in four out of my five children. I have to multi-task or I fall asleep. I can't watch a movie without doing something else whether it be reading, writing, cooking, or playing on the computer.

She can't understand me. Worse, it seems I annoy her.

But that's me. I can't sit still.

So I've been up and down cooking while blogging, and taking pictures of my creations to add to the blog. Before I started cooking we shopped at BJ's Discount Center. Did I mention I have a family of 6, almost all big eaters and food lovers like me? I have to save money any way I can to afford to feed this troop.

Tonight I made a very simple, yet tasty dinner - grilled cheese with ham. Whereas I hate tuna, I LOVE ham. Ask my lunch friends at work.

I used to get this dish at a local diner. Unfortunately, the diner closed so I'm making this tasty sandwich myself.

GRILLED CHEESE & HAM

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices fresh thick bread per sandwich (Texas toast is really yummy)
2 slices American cheese per sandwich
3-4 slices deli ham per sandwich (the more the better)
butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Spread butter evenly over the bread.

Place the butter side down on the plate of one slice. Place one slice American cheese on top of bread. Cover with 3 slices ham. Top with the remaining slice American cheese. Then top with the remaining slice of bread, butter side on top so that it will touch the skillet.

In a preheated non-stick skillet, place two sandwiches at once. Fry until the side is golden brown. Flip the sandwich. Fry until the second side is also golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Transfer to its plate. Cut into four equal pieces, one catechorner to the other.

Serve warm with fries, sweet potato fries, or a bowl of soup.


 

Creamy Chicken & Rice

I watched The Bachelor last night and it struck me that there should be a cooking challenge. Wouldn't the bachelor like to know if his future wife can cook or not? That would be much more practical than scaling buildings like Batman and Robin.

Don't get me wrong. I love to watch The Bachelor, but some things seem ridiculous.

What do you think?

Tonight, my daughter wanted chicken and rice for dinner so I searched for a recipe using ingredients I have on hand.

I found several chicken and rice recipes but none that titillated my fancy, so I made up my own. I really like it so I will make it again.

I hope you like it, too.

CREAMY CHICKEN & RICE

INGREDIENTS:

5 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces, uncooked
8 cups cooked rice
Lemon juice
1 clove garlic, diced
3 Tblsp Soy sauce
1 small can Cream of Chicken soup
2 Tblsp olive oil


DIRECTIONS:

Cook rice and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet. Add chicken. Liberally cover chicken with lemon juice.

Add garlic and soy sauce. Stir fry until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

In a 9 x 13 glass casserole dish, combine rice, chicken mixture, and soup. Mix well.

Cover with foil. Bake about 15 minutes until soup is cooked.

Serves 8-12.




 

Chicken Paprika & Dumplings

Have I mentioned that I have a VERY picky eater in my family? She won't eat onions or any veggies. The only thing green she likes is money.

 

She LOVES meat and fish, especially chicken and sushi. She prefers things plain, such as plain white rice. God forbid I give her Rice-a-Roni or any creamed rice.

 

Unfortunately, I like things spicy and I don't like having to make two or more main dishes for one meal. So when I came upon a recipe for chicken and dumplings, I thought ah ha! We'll both like this.

 

I changed the recipe to fit our particular likes, for instance, I left out the onions which I would have liked but she would reject.

 

For example, last night I made a dish with vegetables for me and just meat and shrimp for her. Although it had the same base sauce, she wouldn't let me use the same spoon to stir her dish that I used to stir mine.

 

That's not the only change I made so I'll share my version as it turned out to be quite tasty.

 

Tasty yes, but also very laughable. Can you believe I've never eaten a dumpling? You will when you see my dumplings below. I'll work on these and be back after they're perfected.

 

I also want to share that I discovered The Pioneer Woman's TV show and blog this weekend. How awesome! The blog's visual alone took my breath before I read a word or tasted one of her tasty recipes. We had the patty melts this afternoon, and they were a hit! LOVED THEM! Thank you Pioneer Woman for a delicious, filling treat. Not one of my picky eaters complained, threw away their food, or made a face, In fact, they raved and asked me to make this sandwich again. I definitely will.

 

Until I recently moved, I was into scrapbooking and writing. Now I'm back into cooking and Food Network and Pinterest Recipes have become my new best friend. Tonight I'm looking forward into watching The Worst Cooks in America. What fun. :)

 

 

 

CHICKEN PAPRIKA & DUMPLINGS

 

INGREDIENTS - CHICKEN:

 



1 chicken, cut into small, bite size pieces

4 Tblsp shortening

Paprika

Salt

Black Pepper

2 cups sour cream

1 cup chicken broth

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS - DUMPLINGS:

 

3 eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 cup water

1 Tblsp salt

 

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

 

Boil water in a large sauce pan for the dumplings.

 

Assemble the dumpling mix. If necessary, add a bit more water. Make the dumplings very small and drop nto the boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Set cooked dumplings aside.

 

 

Melt shortening in a large non-stick skillet. Sprinkle chicken with a generous amount of paprika and pepper and dust with light sprinkling of salt. Cook chicken in the pan.

 

After the chicken is almost done, add the sour cream, chicken broth, and dumplings. Mix well. Stir occasionally.

 

Serve warm.

 

 

Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Onions

I thought I'd try something a little different tonight than my regular zuchhini (which I love). I put my own attitude and spin on this, as I hope the American Idol judges would say about this recipe if they judged food.

I finished this dish shortly before American Idol aired tonight, so I had the pleasure of tasting it for the first time while I watched one of my favorite shows.

I'm really feeling Charlie and Lazaro tonight. Curtis is something else, too. What neat young men and awesome crooners.

Although I'm the best singer in my family, I was never AI material. Maybe someday, I'll make it into a cooking contest or a cooking show.

I can dream...

My softball umpire hubby was a dear last night and brought home my fav Skyline Chili with Cheese (for other Cincinnati chili lovers, a three-way). I was already asleep so I took it for lunch today.

 

Although it's super yummy, it's a ton of calories, so I made light dinner tonight - baked salmon with a side of my favorite zucchini with an added zing. It turned out sooooooo good, I'll definitely make it again. I bet you'll like it, too.

 

 



 

Zucchini, Mushrooms, & Onions

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 zucchini, sliced into french fry shaped pieces

1 slice of onion

1 handful of sliced mushrooms

1-2 Tblsp Butter

Lemon Juice

Pepper, to taste (I like a LOT)

 

 



 

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Slice zucchini, onions, and fresh mushrooms. Thin slices are best.

 

Melt butter in a non-stick pan on medium heat.

 

Place vegetables in pan. Sprinkle generously with lemon juice. Sprinkle black pepper to taste. As I said above, I like a LOT of black pepper.

 

Let the veggies set for a couple minutes, then turn, sprinkle lemon juice and pepper onto ungarnished side. Let set for a couple minutes on that side.

 

Stir frequently until veggies are soft and golden.

Makes 2 servings. Double for a family of four.

 

Serve warm with a main dish.

 

 



 

Spinach Pie

Here's another diet recipe that's very tasty. I ate a lot of it, too, when I lost 95 pounds using the Weight Watcher's system. The only problem was, I couldn't stop eating it and I'd eat the whole "pie" by myself. Luckily an entire spinach pie was only 9 WW points so I didn't do too much damage.

My older daughter got miffed a couple times that I ate the majority. That's how much I love this dish.

SPINACH PIE


INGREDIENTS

1 package frozen spinach
3 oz shredded mozarella cheese, low fat
1 cup cottage cheese, low fat
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper


DIRECTIONS

Thaw and thoroughly drain frozen spinach. Wring out as much moisture as possible.

Put in a mixing bowl and mix drained spinach with the mozarella and cottage cheese. Sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper into mixture. Mix well.

Place "pie" in non-stick small baking dish in preheated 350 oven. Cook until cheeses turn bubbly and brown.





 

Spicy Cajun Green Beans & Mushrooms

My husband came up with this recipe so he gets the credit. We used to serve it only on holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Then I decided it was too good and too healthy to only eat a few times a year.

When I went on Weight Watchers several years ago, I ate this dish as a main course quite often. I lost 95 pounds and I enjoyed every bite of my green beans. I cut back on meat intake in favor of veggies and fruit and lots of exercise, something I need to do again, sadly.

Some people find it too spicy. If you do, cut back on the spices and try it again. I like mine spicy.

SPICY CAJUN GREEN BEANS & MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS

1 large can Italian cut green beans (you can use other green beans, but this variety works best for this recipe)
1 small can mushroom pieces (optional)
Cajun Seasoning
Black Pepper


DIRECTIONS

Pour 1 large can Italian cut green beans and 1 can mushrooms into large non-stick skillet with their juice.

Cover the green beans and mushrooms with a thick layer of Cajun Spice and Black Pepper. Bring to a boil then turn down to simmer. Cover with a lid until the liquid steams off. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.

This is a great side dish to serve with ham or turkey and macaroni and cheese on a holiday. It's also a great dish to eat to lose weight, holiday or not.

 

Shrimp Fried Rice

An ex boss shared this recipe with me and it's become a family favorite. Even though it has shrimp, it's economical as we cut it into small pieces.

I like this better than many of the restaurant Chinese dishes I buy. I also imagine this is closer to Chinese home-style cooking than the restaurant variety. At any rate, it's very tasty and a long time favorite.

SHRIMP FRIED RICE

(12 servings - we are a family of 6 and we get 2 servings each and more from this recipe)

INGREDIENTS

1-2 pounds shrimp, deveined, heads and tails off, cut into small pieces, and uncooked
2-3 slices ham
1-2 eggs, scrambled
4 cups rice, uncooked
1 bunch green onions (optional - I like them a lot, my kids do not)
Oyster Sauce, to taste
Soy Sauce, to taste
Salt, sprinkle
2 Tblsp Peanut or other oil

DIRECTIONS

Cook rice per package directions. Set aside.

Scramble eggs. Set aside.

Meanwhile, dice shrimp, ham, and green onions.

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp, ham, onions in about 1 Tblsp Soy Sauce and Oyster sauce each, until shrimp are no longer pink.

Pour this mixture and eggs into rice. Also add more Soy and especially Oyster Sauces to taste. Sprinkle a tiny bit of salt. Mix well.

Serve warm.



 

Hamburger Sliders

My good friend Linda is dying. I just returned from hospice where a large group of her family and close friends are gathered. We saw her but she slept the entire time because she's on heavy painkillers to make her last minutes bearable. Thank God she can be comfortable. I pray she is.

Linda longed to write a cookbook but never did to my knowledge. It was going to feature her many specially blended Italian-Spanish recipes. Before she got too ill to cook, I used to encourage her to follow her dream. Unfortunately, she didn't get around to it.

I'm so very sorry her dream didn't come to fruition.

I'm heart-sick that soon we'll say our final goodbyes. Today felt like it. I gave her a kiss and told her I love her.

When I got home from hospice and did my mundane chores - folded the laundry, put away the dishes, put new sheets on my bed - I realized Linda hasn't been able to enjoy these little things for years. When my cats and dogs barraged me for attention during my chores I realized she nor her pets will ever have that pleasure again.

One thing my friend was able to enjoy during her long illness was to watch her favorite cooking shows on TV. A couple weeks ago when I was last able to talk to her in person, I interrupted her watching one of those shows.

In a bit I have to make another dinner, then take my daughter to her softball practice. I won't complain that life is boring, that I want more zing and pizzazz. I'll remind myself to enjoy the little things that make up life that my friend won't be able to enjoy anymore.

Two of the things I enjoy doing are writing and cooking, so without further ado, here is today's recipe.

The other day I tried to make White Castle type sliders and wound up with a different, yet awesomely delicious hamburger slider.

I love onions but my picky children won't touch them, so I made two versions - one with and one without onions.

I will definitely make this recipe again and again. And except for White Castles, I've never been a hamburger fan.

HAMBURGER SLIDERS

Makes about 16 burgers



INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lb ground beef
3/4 tsp All-Season Salt
3/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 pound onion, finely diced
1-2 tsp olive oil
16 pack Hawaiian Sweet Rolls


DIRECTIONS:

Mix well ground beef with the salts and pepper.

Divide into 14-16 balls. On a flat surface, flatten balls into small, thin squares.

Make 4 small holes in each patty.

Freeze the patties for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in medium-heat non-stick skillet. Brown diced onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

When onions are soft and translucent and patties are ready, place the patties hole-side down onto onions in the skillet. Cook until brown. Flip patties. Cook thoroughly.

When done, place patties on Hawaiian sweet roll. Scoop extra onions onto bun.

Serve with sweet potato fries or french fries or other side.

* If you have onion-haters like I do, skip the onions. You will not need to make holes in the patties nor freeze them. Just cook the square patties. Add cheese if desired. I think these are so tasty, cheese is not needed. This says something, coming from a huge cheese lover.

 

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

A few years ago I lost 90 pounds following Weight Watchers. One of my go to favorites was Spaghetti Squash with spaghetti sauce. It wasn't just low cal and healthy, but really tasty!

I still haven't convinced my family to partake, but I still love it and bake a spaghetti squash for me when I heat up pasta for them.

Like my lasagna, I make it quick and easy by opening a jar of spaghtti sauce.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPAGHETTI

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 spaghetti squash, baked
1 jar Prego spaghetti sauce (I prefer mushrooms or meat flavored)
1-2 lbs. Hamburger


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Cut spaghetti squash in half with sharp knife. Put in oven baking dish. Bake spaghetti squash in the dish until soft, about 1/2 -1 hour.

 

 

 

You may either remove the seeds now or after baking.

Meanwhile, brown and drain the hamburger. Towards end of baking the squash, add spaghetti sauce to the drained meat.


When squash is cooked, remove from oven. Cool enough to touch. Use fork to remove seeds then rake out "spaghetti" (spaghetti-like strands of squash).

Place desired amount of squash on plate.

 

Top with spaghetti sauce.

 

 

It's that simple.

Delicioso!

Skillet Zucchini

I don't know about you, but I'm a full-time working mother and wife. Although I recently moved much closer to work and I don't have a long drive home, I still usually don't want to stand on my feet too long after a long hard day at the day job. I also write romance novels so I don't want to waste all my remaining energy cooking. Thus I prefer to make simple recipes on week nights whereas I'll get more creative and take more time on weekends to cook.

I will admit that since I get home a lot earlier (except this week when I had to work late to make up time for doctor appointments), I'm much more in a mood to cook and I'm having more fun with it than I have in a long time.

What about you?

Did I mention my youngest daughter HATES vegetables? I have to hide them in her food to get her to eat them. Even then, she usually figures out my madness and refuses to eat. Except for potatoes. We call her the "Potato Queen" and "French Fry Queen".

I'm a little picky when it comes to eating veggies, too. I was worse when I was her age although I've always eaten spinach and green beans, especially when my grandma cooked them.

I didn't touch zucchini, egg plant, spaghetti squash, or a number of other veggies until I was well into my adult years. I was absolutely sure I'd hate them and positively gag. Now, I'll fix a spaghetti squash or zucchini just for me.

Here's my favorite zucchini recipe, daresay as yummy (or more so) than Duffy's.

SKILLET ZUCCHINI

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium to large zucchini (per person)
1 pat butter
Lemon juice
Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse the zucchini. Slice off the ends and discard. Cut zucchini in half or thirds depending how long it is. Then slice lengthwise into several sticks. Leave skin on.

Melt butter in large non-stick skillet.

In a bowl, drizzle sliced zucchini with lemon juice. Generously sprinkle with pepper.

Cook in skillet, turning often to brown zucchini. If desired, sprinkle more pepper on as the zucchini cooks.

When the zucchini is browning and softened, remove from heat.

Serve warm.




 

Tuna Casserole

Obviously this is a new blog so I'm still decorating and setting up housekeeping. I will try to post a new recipe every Sunday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for lots of yummy stuff!


I HATE tuna, so it's extremely rare you'll see a tuna recipe from me. I wish I liked it as it's healthy and cheap and my family loves it.

This is the one tuna recipe I can stand. It's also my youngest son's favorite meal which he requested for his last birthday dinner.

I like it because it's budget friendly, quick and easy to make, so it's one of my go to meals. I can stand it because I smother it with cheese, milk, oregano and garlic salt.

TUNA CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:

1 large can drained tuna
1 - 8 oz box cooked elbow macaroni noodles
16 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 oz evaporated milk (regular milk will work in a pinch)
Oregano, to taste
Garlic Salt, to taste
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

Cook and drain macaroni noodles. Put in large 9 x 13" casserole dish.

Mix well with 1/2 cheddar cheese, all of tuna, and salt and pepper to taste.

Pour on evaporated milk. Toss well again.

Generously sprinkle oregano and garlic salt on top of noodles. Sprinkle with a tad more salt and pepper.

Layer evenly with remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake about 30 - 40 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Goes well with French bread or garlic bread.

French style green beans can be added if desired.  I usually omit them due to my husband's request.