Today, I made the most wonderful beef ribs ever! Apparently, it's John McCain's recipe - and let me tell you, after tasting these - he definitely knows his way around a rib!
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/11/john-mccains-rib-recipe-in-crockpot.html
Of course, I had to make & freeze more breakfast goodies, but this time I added pancakes to the mix so we'll see how those are when they're reheated.
I made my first attempt at making meringue cookies - grapefruit meringues to be exact - I'm still waiting on them to dry completely, but I think they're gonna be lovely!
I'm thinking I just might have to try out a mocha milkshake using thoose amazing chocolate custard cups I froze yesterday...yummo!
May your inspiration be as tasty as mine has been lately!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Prepping!
Another weekend of culinary prepping has descended upon me! So far today, I've made slow cooker fried rice, chili, herbed tomato soup, homemade mayo & old fashioned carrot salad (with the homemade mayo!). I've discovered that the more I prep on the weekends, the easier my weekly meals go. So, tomorrow I'll be making slow cooker beef ribs, grapefruit meringue cookies and definitely more breakfast sandwiches.
It's been so wonderful to throw one of my bacon & egg breakfast muffins in my bag & then head off to work...I'm definitely a huge fan of this weekend food prepping thing!
I also made a recipe of Paula Dean's Workaholic's Hot Chocolate...and I must admit, I'm not a fan. It's made like a custard and with all milk...and I've come to the conclusion that I am just a powdered hot chocolate gal! However, I discovered that mixing it with coffee made a lovely mocha...so I put the rest of the batch in the fridge to just purpose. I'm also thinking of freezing some in ice cube trays to see how it works as a milkshake.
The Going Out to Eat Monster has not completely been kicked to the curb, but at least it's only 1-2 times a week instead of 4-5...I'm getting there!
May you have a perfectly prepping weekend too!
It's been so wonderful to throw one of my bacon & egg breakfast muffins in my bag & then head off to work...I'm definitely a huge fan of this weekend food prepping thing!
I also made a recipe of Paula Dean's Workaholic's Hot Chocolate...and I must admit, I'm not a fan. It's made like a custard and with all milk...and I've come to the conclusion that I am just a powdered hot chocolate gal! However, I discovered that mixing it with coffee made a lovely mocha...so I put the rest of the batch in the fridge to just purpose. I'm also thinking of freezing some in ice cube trays to see how it works as a milkshake.
The Going Out to Eat Monster has not completely been kicked to the curb, but at least it's only 1-2 times a week instead of 4-5...I'm getting there!
May you have a perfectly prepping weekend too!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
McMake 'em yourself!
It was another lovely culinary day in my kitchen! I started with a fantastic smoothie using some of the fruit juice cubes I made yesterday...so good! For dinner, I made the most wonderful turkey stoganoff...and I mean absolutely fantastic...hooray for repurposing leftovers!!!
I chopped a small shallot & cooked it in a little butter & olive oil, then added 4 sliced mushrooms & cooked until brown & lovely; added a couple teaspoons of flour & cooked for a couple of minutes; then added some of my homemade turkey stock to make a gravy & added some chopped leftover turkey breast. Finally, a couple spoonfuls of sour cream & some egg noodles = heaven in a bowl!!!
I've been researching freezing my own breakfast items so I can take breakfast to work with me...since I can never seem to get up early enough to make it fresh. I discovered that you can most definitely can make & freeze breakfast sandwiches, muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc. As you can well imagine, this made me very happy so I quickly got to work!
I like bacon but (like everyone else) I hate cooking it (although you can cook it in the oven, I don't have a broiler pan)...so I decided to pull out my dusty George Foreman grill & see if I could use it to make my bacon-cooking experience a little better. Well, I am quite pleased to say that it worked like a charm! I sliced all of the pieces in half so they would fit on the grill - which is the perfect size for a breakfast sammie too.
Toasted english muffins - check; flat fried eggs - check; bacon cooked - check; assembly - done; wrapped in freezer - finished; breakfast in a flash - priceless!
Of course, I had quite a bit of bacon left over since I decided to make all of the open pack in my fridge - so I put the rest of the cooked pieces in the freezer too - my own precooked bacon...great for a quick sandwich! I also made some banana muffins & froze them as well to give a little variety :)
I am bound & determined to keep the Eating-Out Monster at bay and am trying everything I can to set myself up for success!
Keep those creative ideas marinating!!!
I chopped a small shallot & cooked it in a little butter & olive oil, then added 4 sliced mushrooms & cooked until brown & lovely; added a couple teaspoons of flour & cooked for a couple of minutes; then added some of my homemade turkey stock to make a gravy & added some chopped leftover turkey breast. Finally, a couple spoonfuls of sour cream & some egg noodles = heaven in a bowl!!!
I've been researching freezing my own breakfast items so I can take breakfast to work with me...since I can never seem to get up early enough to make it fresh. I discovered that you can most definitely can make & freeze breakfast sandwiches, muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc. As you can well imagine, this made me very happy so I quickly got to work!
I like bacon but (like everyone else) I hate cooking it (although you can cook it in the oven, I don't have a broiler pan)...so I decided to pull out my dusty George Foreman grill & see if I could use it to make my bacon-cooking experience a little better. Well, I am quite pleased to say that it worked like a charm! I sliced all of the pieces in half so they would fit on the grill - which is the perfect size for a breakfast sammie too.
Toasted english muffins - check; flat fried eggs - check; bacon cooked - check; assembly - done; wrapped in freezer - finished; breakfast in a flash - priceless!
Of course, I had quite a bit of bacon left over since I decided to make all of the open pack in my fridge - so I put the rest of the cooked pieces in the freezer too - my own precooked bacon...great for a quick sandwich! I also made some banana muffins & froze them as well to give a little variety :)
I am bound & determined to keep the Eating-Out Monster at bay and am trying everything I can to set myself up for success!
Keep those creative ideas marinating!!!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Culinary adventures
Ok, well maybe it's not really adventurous...but it sure sounds fun, right??? Today, I decided to get back to slow cooking & see what I could come up with. I took 2 teriyaki marinated turkey breasts & put them on a bed of onion & celery & slow cooked them for about 6 hours. Of course, the veggies were cooked to complete mushiness, but the broth left over sure was yummy! I think I'll save it for some soup later on!
To go with the turkey, I decided to make zucchini pancakes - which I saw on Barefoot Contessa earlier today - topped with a little sour cream...Mmmm, scrumptious!
While the turkey was in its slow cooking sauna, I make some homemade tortilla chips to snack on...way better than any store bought chips!!!
While browsing around Ikea one day, I found the cutest ice cube trays in all kinds of shapes: hearts, fish, starfish & flowers. I've been looking for something equally as cute to do with them, so I froze 4 different kinds of fruit juice...I can't wait to make smoothies with these little jewels!
I'm thinking I may have to round out this culinary day with a little chocolate or caramel fondue!
So long from Yummiville!!!
To go with the turkey, I decided to make zucchini pancakes - which I saw on Barefoot Contessa earlier today - topped with a little sour cream...Mmmm, scrumptious!
While the turkey was in its slow cooking sauna, I make some homemade tortilla chips to snack on...way better than any store bought chips!!!
While browsing around Ikea one day, I found the cutest ice cube trays in all kinds of shapes: hearts, fish, starfish & flowers. I've been looking for something equally as cute to do with them, so I froze 4 different kinds of fruit juice...I can't wait to make smoothies with these little jewels!
I'm thinking I may have to round out this culinary day with a little chocolate or caramel fondue!
So long from Yummiville!!!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Cooking, Cooking, Cooking
So, it's official...the Apricot Chicken turned out great! Thank goodness!
Tonight, I decided to be creative & use my leftover tuna salad mixture to make a tuna casserole - once again...not too shabby! I mixed my tuna salad with 1 egg, some cottage cheese, shredded cheddar and salt & pepper, topped it with yet more cheddar & baked it...yummo!
I'm hoping I can keep the momentum going & beat the eating out monster into submission.
BTW - my new favorite snack thing combines a few items from Aldi...and it's spectacular!
1 box granola cereal
1 bag golden raisins
1 bag dried cherries
I simply cannot get enough of this little bit of snack heaven!!!
Till next time, make it yummy!
Tonight, I decided to be creative & use my leftover tuna salad mixture to make a tuna casserole - once again...not too shabby! I mixed my tuna salad with 1 egg, some cottage cheese, shredded cheddar and salt & pepper, topped it with yet more cheddar & baked it...yummo!
I'm hoping I can keep the momentum going & beat the eating out monster into submission.
BTW - my new favorite snack thing combines a few items from Aldi...and it's spectacular!
1 box granola cereal
1 bag golden raisins
1 bag dried cherries
I simply cannot get enough of this little bit of snack heaven!!!
Till next time, make it yummy!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Slow cooker inspiration
So, yesterday I finally made it to the grocery store...and I must say, I definitely did some damage! While wandering the aisles at Aldi, I found something wonderful...a new slow cooker! When I moved to Atlanta 15 months ago, I gave my huge, oval cooker to my mom & have been wanting a new one ever since. To my delight, I found a 5 qt. plus a dipper for only $24.99 - well, of course, it had to come home with me! Upon inspection of my receipt after arriving home, you'll never guess what I discovered....it only cost me $15.99!!! So, my brand new slow cooker is now my inspiration for creative cooking!
Last night, I spent over 5 hours looking at recipes...and recipes did I find! So, today I'm starting my slow cooker cooking!
I found a recipe for apricot chicken which sounded oh-so-yummy, but I had to tweek it since there were several ingredients I did not have....so, here it is...
1 pk frozen chicken tenders
1/2 of a 20 oz. jar of apricot jam
1 T (or so) of creamy sweet & sour salad dressing
1 t dried onion
1/2 t ground ginger
salt, pepper & cayenne - to taste - I justed a sprinkle :)
I'll probably make some rice & either a salad or some zucchine & mushrooms to finish off the meal. We'll see how this goes...I think it's probably impossible for anything bad to come from chicken & apricot, but we'll see!
Maybe you should have a fabulous slow cooker day too!
Last night, I spent over 5 hours looking at recipes...and recipes did I find! So, today I'm starting my slow cooker cooking!
I found a recipe for apricot chicken which sounded oh-so-yummy, but I had to tweek it since there were several ingredients I did not have....so, here it is...
1 pk frozen chicken tenders
1/2 of a 20 oz. jar of apricot jam
1 T (or so) of creamy sweet & sour salad dressing
1 t dried onion
1/2 t ground ginger
salt, pepper & cayenne - to taste - I justed a sprinkle :)
I'll probably make some rice & either a salad or some zucchine & mushrooms to finish off the meal. We'll see how this goes...I think it's probably impossible for anything bad to come from chicken & apricot, but we'll see!
Maybe you should have a fabulous slow cooker day too!
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