Go Meat!

I detest those Hillshire Farms commercials where all the hungry people are cheering for meat. But, I do love me some meat...especially when it is a delicious steak from Outback. For Jason's birthday, he asked for a steak dinner. So I lovingly obliged. Here's how I did it:

First buy your meat. Costco has really great meat so we bought a bunch there. I cooked all of it so we can have steak ceasar salads for dinner tomorrow night. Incidentally, we chose sirloins because of the price, but filets would have been even more delicious!

Then I looked up how to cook the perfect steak on the internet and found this article on About.com: http://bbq.about.com/od/steaks/ss/aa071507a.htm I followed it to a T, except I added my own seasoning (see below), and I did not make the sauce listed. I made my own sauteed mushrooms & onions using the pan drippings instead. As the article says, this process generates a lot of smoke. I would recommend doing it outside on a grill for that reason, but we made it work indoors. The oven did just as great a job as a grill would have. Don't forget to take heed on their tip about removing the steak from the heat BEFORE it reaches the desired doneness because it does indeed continue cooking for about five minutes after you take it off the heat. I served the steak & sauteed mushrooms with a side of steamed asparagus and a wedge of iceburg lettuce drizzled with homemade balsalmic vinigrette and crumbles of blue cheese. Just as good or even better than Outback, and a lot less expensive! Enjoy!!

Outback Steak Seasoning (found somewhere on the internet)
2 tsp. coarse ground salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
dash coriander
dash tumeric

Slow Cookin'

I'm trying a new recipe in the crockpot for tonight. I put it on at 7:30 this morning and it has been simmering away all day. The house smells absolutely delicious! Here's what's for dinner tonight. What are you having?

Hungry Girl's Slow Cookin' Pulled Chicken

1 1/2 lb. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breasts, halved (I use the frozen ones and you don't even have to thaw them!)
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar (not packed)
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
Optional: red pepper flakes, to taste

Place all ingredients except the chicken in the crock pot. Stir until mixed. Add chicken and coat well with the sauce.Cover and cook on high for 3 - 4 hours OR on low for 7 - 8 hours, until chicken is fully cooked.Remove all the chicken and place it in a bowl. Shred each piece using two forks -- one to hold the chicken in place and the other to scrape across the meat and shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot, and mix well with the sauce.If you're serving a group, keep the crock pot on its lowest setting, so the chicken stays warm. If you like, season to taste with red pepper flakes. Eat up!

MAKES 7 SERVINGS


Sweet Restaurant Cole Slaw (from AllRecipes.com)

1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
2 tablespoons diced onion
2/3 cup creamy salad dressing (such as Miracle Whip™)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used only 2 Tbsp canola oil)
1/2 cup white sugar (I substituted 12 packets Splenda and it was too sweet, so I'll try less next time)
1 tablespoon white vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Combine the coleslaw mix and onion in a large bowl.
Whisk together the salad dressing, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and poppy seeds in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. Pour dressing mixture over coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Muffins for my Little Muffin

Zachary loves muffins. I mean, he LOVES them! He calls them "muff-muffs." Too cute, huh? I have to say that one of our new favorite products is the new toaster mini muffin-tops made by the Eggo waffle folks. However, they are a bit pricy for muffins and Zachary goes through a box in no time flat. Plus the ingredient list is too long and filled with a bunch of stuff I can't pronounce, so I decided to make my own muffins today. I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins, and I adapted it to make my own recipe. They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Zachary certainly approved!

Banana Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup plain skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (roughly two bananas)
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, applesauce, milk and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and walnuts/chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes (for standard sized muffins) or 10-13 minutes (for mini muffins), until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Kids Cookbooks

My mother-in-law recently gave me (and Ethan) a couple of cookbooks for kids. Ethan loves to help out in the kitchen and we have really enjoyed making a few of the recipes. One of his favorites was this club sandwich. We didn't have skewers, so we used chopsticks that we saved from our last Chinese night instead.

Last night we made pizza roll-ups, adapted from one of their recipes. They'd be great for dinner or even as a snack or appetizer. Here's what we did:

Pizza Roll-Ups

Crescent Rolls (we used reduced fat)

Your favorite pizza toppings

Mozzarella Cheese

Pizza Sauce

Heat oven to 375. Separate crescent roll dough triangles and lay flat on a baking sheet. On each triangle, add a bit of your favorite pizza toppings (Ethan's favorites are bell peppers, onions & mushrooms, and Joel's is pepperoni!). Now top with a pinch of cheese. You don't want too many toppings or you won't be able to roll it up! Now, roll it up from the wide end to the short end, just like you would if you were making the plain rolls. Bake in the oven for about 10 to 14 minutes, until golden brown.

While rolls are baking, heat pizza sauce on stove or in microwave. When rolls are done, serve with pizza sauce for dipping. YUMM-O!

Happy New Year

So Christmas, and all of December for that matter, was much busier than I could have ever imagined. After enjoying Thanksgiving with my family in Texas, we wrapped things up at Ethan & Zachary's schools, finished Christmas shopping, decorating and wrapping, and went to see Jason's family in Alabama. It was a nice visit with everyone. My only wish is that we could have had more time to spend with everyone.

During this busy time we ate lots of great food! We had traditional turkey dinner at Mom's for Thanksgiving, and Faye prepared a standing rib roast for Christmas dinner. I made a special meal for Christmas Eve with a cheese lasagna (which we are still eating since it freezes really well). I also made New Year's Day dinner complete with black-eyed peas. The entree was Poulet de Normandy, a recipe that I got from Faye a few years ago from the little restaurant at which she was working at the time. So delicious! Here's the recipe:

Poulet De Normandy
1 package cornbread stuffing mix
1 stick butter, melted in a cup of hot water
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 cup mushroom soup
Grated cheese

Mix stuffing mix with liquid. Add onions, celery, salt and mayonnaise. Put half in a 9”X13” pan. Layer chicken. Top with rest of dressing mixture. Beat eggs and milk together and pour over casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Set out on counter for 30 minutes before cooking. Spread soup on top and bake at 325° for 40 minutes. Sprinkle top with cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

For Music Lovers and Carb-Addicts

Emily is here visiting us this weekend and we have been having a wonderful time. Thursday night we went to a Christian music concert at our church. We saw a group called the David Crowder Band and a couple of other artists (Jeremy Horn and Tyler Bass). It was my first Christian concert and I have to say I loved it! The music was really inspiring and uplifting, but that isn't what made the concert so great. What I liked most about it was seeing so many people unified in Christ. People were dancing and singing and completely immersed in PRAISE. It was a fantastic experience and I loved everything about it.

But I digress...Emily and I had lunch with Ethan at school on Friday and we enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening at home. Tonight we went to the evening service at church and are getting ready to challenge each other on the Xbox Scene It trivia game. Ethan is so sad that Emily has to go home tomorrow, especially since she is taking Daisy-Dog home with her.

I asked Emily what her favorite Thanksgiving dish was and she said stuffing and pumpkin pie. So I went to pull her mom's recipe for stuffing and realized that some of Faye's best Thanksgiving dishes are the yummy, starchy sides. So here are some of my personal favorites from Faye's kitchen. (Incidentally, this is the dressing that I *tried* to make for our Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, but it did not turn out well at all - it was too soggy. Late in the afternoon, when we were starving and tired of waiting to eat, we decided to go ahead and eat dinner. So I turned off the oven and we enjoyed our meal without the stuffing. Worse than that though, we forgot to take the stuffing out of the oven and found it the next day...and it *STILL* wasn't dried out!)


Cornbread Dressing
Martha White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix (plus ingredients to make cornbread according to package directions)
Onion, diced
Celery, diced
Butter
Poultry seasoning or Sage, to taste
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans chicken broth

Prepare cornbread according to cornmeal mix directions. Cool and crumble into a large baking dish.

Sauté onion and celery in butter. Add to cornbread crumbs along with cream of mushroom soup and seasoning. Add one full can of chicken broth plus additional broth until dressing reaches desired consistency. Bake for one hour at 350°.


Hashbrown Casserole
32-oz. bag frozen hash brown potatoes
1 pint sour cream
2 cups cubed Velveeta cheese or 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 Tablespoons grated onion
½ cup margarine

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together and pour into ungreased 9”X13” pan. Bake one hour.


Sweet Potato Casserole

5 sweet potatoes, boiled and skins removed
small can crushed pineapple, well drained
¼ to 1/3 brown sugar, to taste
2 to 3 Tablespoons butter
miniature marshmallows

Mash potatoes and mix with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes, until heated through. Top with miniature marshmallows and bake another 10 minutes.

I've been busy!

I have been so busy these days! Someone should have warned me not to sign up as Ethan's room mom and to volunteer on the PTA. I didn't know quite how much I was committing to. It has been fun though. I have now published two PTA newsletters for Ethan's school and survived Ethan's fall class party. Now I am starting on my Christmas shopping, which is tiring as well! I have made three trips to Toys R Us in the past two days, and I need to go back again! 'Tis the season, eh?

I mentioned to many of you in a recent e-mail that our family joined our church earlier this month. Zachary was baptized and we were welcomed into Hope Presbyterian Church on November 1st. I never in a million years imagined joining a church as large and "contemporary" as this one, or one that was not Lutheran, but I have to say that I love it. I feel so at home here. Everyone goes out of their way to make you feel welcomed, no matter if you've been attending for 10 years or 10 minutes. Jason and I both feel comfortable there and have agreed that we take so much home with us from the worship service each week. The pastors have a way of relating the message to our daily lives, and I often think (sometimes out loud), "Hey, he's talking to me!" Right now they are conducting a series on finances (getting out debt & living on a budget), and how we are merely stewards of God's money. The series has included clips of the pastor's interview with Dave Ramsey, who teaches a class that Jason and I took called Financial Peace University. (Thanks to that class we are well on our way to being completely debt free, eventually including our house!) Ethan and Zachary enjoy their Sunday school classes, the preschool and the recreation ministries (soccer!!!). The church has so many other ministry and service opportunities as well; I love that it is such a service-oriented community. This week, their kitchen ministry unveiled a new Hope Church Chefs blog where they promise to publish budget-friendly recipes and answer cooking questions submitted by their readers. So cool. Anyway, whenever you come to visit Memphis, I would like to invite you to attend a service with us. It is unlike any church you've ever attended (in a good way). We look forward to going each week.

Back to cooking: Thanksgiving is only two weeks away and I can already taste the turkey & stuffing, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie! (Mom, don't forget the Cool Whip, please!) These are some of my holiday favorites. What are yours? Leave me a comment and let me know. If you've got the recipe handy, send me that too. Meanwhile, I'll be posting some of our family's traditional Thanksgiving recipes, starting with dessert first of course!

Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie
From the side of the can of pumpkin
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 (15-oz.) can LIBBY'S 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 (12-fl. oz.) can CARNATION Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell
Whipped cream (optional)

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

Note: 1 ¾ teaspoons pumpkin spice may be substituted for the cinnamon, ginger and cloves; however, the taste will be slightly different. Do not freeze, as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.

For 2 shallow pies: substitute two 9-inch (2-cup volume) pie shells. Bake in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done.


Classic Pecan PieFrom the Karo Syrup bottle
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo Light or Dark Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ cups pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen deep-dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°. In medium bowl with fork beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, corn syrup, margarine and vanilla; stir until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pie crust.

Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

I'm cold!

I can't believe this weather. Yesterday I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt while enjoying Ethan's soccer game outside. (He made his first goal!!) Tonight I am sitting in my office in sweats with the heat turned on and I am still cold. We actually have a freeze watch tonight. In a couple more days I think we will be in shorts again. Ah, mid-south weather. It's no wonder we stay sick year round.

Weather like this calls for a hearty meal. This is one that we made this week. Ethan helped me make it (he chopped the bell peppers and grated the Parmesan), and everyone enjoyed it. Play around with the recipe a bit and add any ingredient you would normally enjoy on a pizza. I added freshly ground fennel seeds. I also wanted to add mushrooms, but was emphatically vetoed by my assistant chef. We enjoyed it with a nice crisp salad.


Pizza Casserole

8 oz. ground beef (90% lean) or ground turkey
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
15 oz. can can of tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or fat-free Parmesan)
1 tsp. pizza or Italian seasoning
3 cups hot cooked pasta (rotini, zitti, penne, bowtie, etc.)
3 oz. reduced fat or turkey pepperoni
1/3 cup shredded 2% skim Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8X8 inch baking dish with olive oil-flavored cooking spray. In a large skillet, brown meat, onions, green peppers and garlic. Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and seasoning. Add cooked noodles and pepperoni. Mix well to combine. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with Mozzarella. Continue baking for 10 more minutes, until cheese is melted. Set on wire rack for 5 minutes before serving.

Even I make mistakes!

So my dear old dad (yes, that's you Abbie) sends me an e-mail yesterday to let me know that I got some info wrong on a couple of recipes. For those of you who are keeping track, I have corrected the first one that he pointed out - the sausage balls recipe from October 15th. Apparently there should only be 2 cups of Bisquick (not 3) and no water. The second recipe he pointed out was the Cheese Soup recipe from October 16th. He remembers Aunt Judy's original recipe where she chops the frozen Italian vegetables a bit in the blender. You can do that, but I never have and the recipe is still delicious. It is a matter of personal taste I suppose, and I love big chunks of the good stuff in my soup.

Thanks for the help, Abbie. I love you!

If anyone else catches an error in any of the recipes I post, please e-mail me right away and I'll correct them (or argue a point).

So to end this post, I am posting a recipe that you really can't mess up. It's my Grandmother Mava's recipe for the most delicious fruit salad. I look forward to having this at our family's holiday dinners, but of course you can make it any time of year. It's not super healthy because of all the sugar, but I'm sure you can lighten it up with Splenda instead. Let me know how that works out if you decide to try it with Splenda.

To the left is a picture of my mom, grandma, sister and me at Christmas 2004. I am sure we had Grandma's fruit salad at dinner. Yummy!




Fruit Salad

Apples
Oranges
Grapes
Pineapple chunks, drained
2 cups sugar
Pecan halves
Maraschino cherries, reserve juice

Cut fruit into bite-sized chunks in a large bowl. Add pecans and cherries. Cover with sugar and add some juice from the cherries. Stir and set in refrigerator for a while – even better overnight.

Busy Day

Today has been (is) such a busy day. Jason and I are taking the IHS class (new members class) at our church, but we missed last week's class due to our trip to the mountains. So we had to make up the class today at 8:00 (early for us!!), then we attended the regular class at 9:00. We finished up at church around 11:30 and headed to McAlister's for a quick lunch. Then it was off to the soccer fields where Ethan *almost* scored a goal in his game. (This bigger, faster kid on our team swooped around Ethan and stole the ball!! Grrrrrr.....doesn't he know you aren't supposed to steal the ball from your own teammate???) Now I have about 15 minutes before my stamping group arrives for a class. I'll sooo be ready for an early bedtime tonight!

So that leads me to my recipe for today. I want something easy that you can make on a busy day like I had today. A slow-cooked crock pot recipe would be perfect. Looking through our index of recipes though, I don't see very many crock pot recipes. (So, if you have any you'd like to pass along, please e-mail me. *hint*hint*) I LOVE MY CROCK POT! Here is a great crockpot recipe that is absolutely delicious. It's one of mine and Jason's all-time favorites. And you can't even tell it's another Weight Watcher's recipe! Make it this week and let me know what you think.

Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash
2 cups mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup chicken broth
1 lb. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup fat-free sour cream

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and red pepper. Sauté 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, salt and pepper; cook 30 seconds more. Spoon mixture into a 4-5 quart slow cooker. Add broth.

Cut each chicken breast into 4 long strips; add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low setting 5 to 6 hours.

Stir together flour and sour cream in a cup (to prevent the cream from curdling in slow cooked dishes). Stir mixture into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until the mixture is thick and hot, about 10 minutes more.

Note: Weight Watchers – makes 4 servings at 4 points per serving.