What did you have for dinner?

I have been trying to be good and plan what we will have for dinner. Some weeks I am great at this, others are more fly by the seat of your pants. This last week I was prepared. I tried to gauge where we had to be with how long it would take to make. Here is our list:

Monday: Tacos and Tapioca pudding. The tacos were traditional, the tapioca was the recipe from the box titled Tapioca egg cream. It was really easy to make, I did this in the afternoon so it would be ready for our family night treat. Why this combination? My Grandma Thiriot was known for her tapioca and when we would go to her house for family home evening this was usually what we would have for dinner and dessert. The only difference was that she would heat the corn tortillas in oil. They are tasty that way but a little more fattening than just warming them in the microwave.

Tuesday: This was a crazy day I made some Minestrone Soup and Pizza Grilled Cheese. We only ate the pizza grilled cheese and saved the soup for later.

The soup is souper easy, pun intended:

1 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1-2 cans chicken broth
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
macaroni or other small noodles
1-2 cans of garbanzo beans, juice included.
Mix together in a crockpot all day or on the stove for about an hour. Serve with parmesian cheese. You could add meat, but this is one of our meatless meals and is really satisfying.

The pizza grilled cheese are sooooooo yummy:
Butter one slice of bread, place on a hot griddle or skillet.
Top with provolone or mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and another piece of cheese and end with a buttered piece of bread. Cook both sides till golden and the cheese is melted.
Serve with spaghetti sauce as a dip. YUM!

Wednesday: Henry's birthday: Pizza, Root Beer and Cake

Thurdays: Creamy Chicken Taquitos, from Our Best Bites. We had these with rice and beans and they were a huge hit. These will definately be made again. I think I will keep them in the freezer and pop them out when I need them.

Friday: Italian Drip Beef from Pioneer Woman . Oh my, these were so yummy. I only added half the italian seasonings and it was almost too much. I will reduce it next time to maybe a quarter.

Now what are we going to have this week?

Variations of Buttercream

So besides tasty chocolate, this week I made a lemon cake for a funeral at church. I'm not sure why I made lemon, but it sounded springy and it felt like the right thing to do, maybe it would bring joy to someone at the funeral, I don't know. I couldn't decide what to put on the top of the cake. Should I make a 7-minute frosting, maybe some coconut. I called my mom for suggestions and she thought buttercream would be perfect, and of course it almost always is. So here is my variation of buttercream, I call it Lemonade buttercream, it would also be great with orange or lime. Mmmmmmm, yum.

Lemonade Buttercream
1lb powdered sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
pinch of salt
lemon zest from one lemon
juice from half a lemon
milk to the right consistency

Combine the powdered sugar, zest, salt and butter together, add juice and mix. Slowly add milk till it's thick, but not too thick. Spread on just about anything. Yum!

Buttercream Frosting

Oh, this stuff is yummy. It may result in you never, ever buying the stuff in the plastic container on the baking aisle. The nice thing is that it is easy. My Grandma Thiriot was the best cook ever. She even worked as a cook at the daycare I worked at as a teenager and the long-time teachers all remembered Miss Oma and her cooking. When I was little I would go and have impromptu lessons on cooking and making due with what you have. It is still one of my favorite memories of her. One time we were making frosting and I noticed the secret ingredient, salt. She told me it balanced out the sweetness and made it even better. And oh boy is she right. I guess we all need a little salt in our lives to make things sweeter. Try this on a cake, or ice cream cake, which is divine! This is a dump until just right recipe, make it how you like it by adding a little at a time and tasting.

Oma's Buttercream frosting (also good in chocolate)
1 lb powdered sugar
1/4 C butter, softened
pinch of salt
milk
cocoa powder if adding

Mix the powdered sugar, salt and butter together. Add milk in small increments till the consistancy is thick, but not too thick. Add food coloring if desired and slather on a cake, ice cream or graham crackers. Yum.

For chocolate, I alsways add the cocoa powder after I get everything mixed together. I usually add about a 1/4 C, but you can decide how chocolatey you want it and add more or less. Add more milk if it gets too thick.

Charlotta's tasty toffee

My sweet sister-in-law makes the best candy, wow! YUM. Over Thanksgiving she taught me how and gave me the tools to keep doing it. Today I finally made a recipe sheet with the pictures I took, it was so yummy, oh and addictive, enjoy!

Chicken Cabonera

I know that this is not real italian cabonera sauce. I haven't found a recipe I think my family will eat, so here is what I have been playing with. This sauce is good doubled and made into a casserole with chicken, sundried tomatoes, penne, mushrooms,provolone and swiss cheeses, but that is a post for another day. I've tried to make the sauce with cream cheese and it was too thick and didn't coat well. This has been the best so far. Oh, pictures are forthcoming, I forgot and started eating, it was really good!

Chicken Cabonera
Sauce:
3 tbsp butter, melted
4 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
3 cloves roasted garlic
½ C parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

6 slices bacon
2 chicken breasts cut into small pieces and cooked in a little bit of bacon fat (1/2 tbsp)
1 package mushrooms sliced or diced, we have mushroom texture issues at our house so the smaller the better
1 pound spaghetti
1 tomato diced

Instructions:
Cook bacon until crispy, drain on a paper towel and cook diced chicken and mushrooms until done, set aside.

In a saucepan melt butter and add flour, stir and cook for a few minutes to reduce the floury taste. Add the garlic cloves and milk, stir on medium heat until thick and bubbly, remove from heat and add cheese and salt and pepper. Add chicken, bacon and mushrooms to sauce and then add to 1 pound of drained spaghetti.

Top with tomatoes and serve. Half my family dislikes tomatoes so I usually put them on the side.

Heather's Famous Bread Machine Rolls

I have finally come into good graces with my husband with these rolls. It has taken me awhile to find the perfect roll recipe and here it is. I have started making this in my Kitchenaid mixer starting with the water and yeast and then add the other ingredients and mixing for 2-5 minutes until it's really smooth. You can double this in the kitchenaid as well. Makes 12-15 rolls.

(Side note from Heather: I never dissolve my yeast first, I put it in last, on top of the dry ingredients. It does make little gritty spots of yeast in your dough... but when it is baked it makes delicious little pockets of fluff! *grin* I also only knead it for about 3-4 minutes. Bottom line... these are hard to mess up! They really ARE tasty!)

Peach Raspberry Jam

This is my most favorite Jam and that's saying something because I love jam. I've been tweaking this recipe for years and finally feel it's ready, or close enough to share.

Peach Raspberry Jam

3 Cups pureed peaches

1 cup pureed raspberries

7 1/2 C sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 package pectin ( I prefer Certo liquid pectin)

Butter as needed

Combine the peaches, raspberries, sugar and lemon juice together, cook until it starts to boil, add butter a teaspoon at a time to reduce the foam. When it boils and doesn't stop bubbling when you stir it, it's ready for the pectin. Add the pectin and stir for one minute. Remove from the heat and ladle into hot jars. Seal with a hot lid and process according to package directions.

Enjoy!!!!

Orange Yogurt Muffins

We had these at our family reunion and I just got the recipe, I don't want to forget it so I'm posting it here, this is from Austin's Aunt Gail Hamilton. YUMMY!


Orange Yogurt Muffins
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons shredded orange peel
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
8 oz. carton orange yogurt
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla [less if it is pure vanilla]
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons orange juice

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well and then add egg mixture all at once. Stir just until moistened [will be lumpy]. Fill muffin tin cups 2/3 full

Bake in 400 degree oven for 18 - 20 minutes. Drizzle with powdered sugar/orange juice mixture while still warm.

Makes 12 muffins

Grilled Peaches

Here is a sweet treat that is healthy and yummy!

Grilled Peaches

5 peaches (not too soft, not too ripe works best)

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 hot grill

Make sure your grill is really clean, otherwise your peaches will taste like steak, or chicken or fish, you get my drift.

Melt the butter and add the brown sugar, stir till dissolved and drizzle over cut peaches.

Place the peaches cut side down on the grill and cook for about four minutes then turn and cook on the other side for four minutes. Enjoy! We had this with vanilla ice cream, it was almost like having cobbler, it was SO yummy

Italian Fried Rice?!?

So it was one of those nights. You know the type, when potatoes don't sound good and would take too long anyway and we had pasta last night and it's too hot to do anything but grill, but you need more than just meat at the table. Since we were having London Broil tonight and I had leftover rice, I decided to try this concoction, it was really good and very easy to make.

Italian Fried Rice

1/2 white onion diced

1 clove garlic minced

2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

4 + Cups rice (brown or white or mix, whatever you have)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese to taste

Saute the onions, garlic, tomatoes in the olive oil. Cook till the onions are translucent and soft, add the rice and cook until hot, season with salt and pepper and Parmesan cheese when you're ready to serve.

Cabbage Salsa or Slaw, you choose :)

OK, so this is a little weird but yummy. I first had it in Grand Junction, CO when we met Austin's boss for his internship. We were invited out to lunch and the waitress brought the usual salsa's and this green concoction. It was different but oh so yummy. Fast forward to our move to Ely. The local Mexican restaurant serves something similiar and it was just as yummy. So now I'm craving it and this is what I've come up with:

Amy's Cabbage Salsa or Slaw if you like:

1 bag cole slaw mix
1/4 red onion sliced thinly
1/4 white onion sliced thinly
1 can marinated jalapeno's and liquid
1 bunch cilantro
1/8 tsp oregano
juice of 3-5 limes
salt to taste

Add all the ingredients together, add the jalapeno's to taste, I like fewer, they are way hot, plus some liquid to the salsa. Ad cilantro to taste, lime juice and salt. Trust me on the oregano, it really makes it taste good.

Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve. Great with chips, fish tacos etc. Enjoy