Christmas Dinner

As the weeks came closer to Christmas we learned that it would be best to just stay at our house. I'm glad we did! It was a little weird since I can remember only one dinner (and that might have been Thanksgiving) that we stayed home. I was quite proud of myself though it was taking forever. Having worked the night before I was tired but determind. So worth it!

Matt asked for a old fashion Thanksgiving meal for Christmas. All these years we have been together and I just now learn that he doesn't like ham. I thought he did! Hahaha! Anyway, I asked him to give me a list of what he wanted and I would make it happen. So turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls and apple pie were my challenge. I really wanted to make my mom's rolls but Matt came up with a good point. "You have your plate full and there's no one here to empress, take shortcuts where you can." So I bought the rolls and gravy then added stuffing to the list. Oh, and apple cider. Matt may not like it but I've been craving this stuffing since we had it add his sisters' house.

I wasn't that impressed with the turkey but it wasn't the turkey's fault or the recipe's, it was mine. It had to be in the oven for 30 minutes then four hours more at a lower temp covered. I forgot to tell Matt to cover it so it burned all the skin. Still tasted good which it nice, I was worried. Plus, it's the four of us eating this turkey for a month. I was going to go for just turkey breast but it was the same price as the 16 lbs turkey I bought. I like dark meat so might as well. Plus, it will give me a chance to find some recipes for cooked turkey!

The sweet potatoes were so easy to make! I even liked them! There were mixed reviews on it. Some said it tasted awesome, others said it was more dessert like, and others said it was the worst thing ever. Well, we thought it was awesome! I will add more potatoes next time, I was unsure because it was using cans and I was using fresh. Seriously try this one! I did cut the flour down to about a half cup. That was one of many people's tips.

The stuffing was easy but time consuming. I will add a little more chicken broth to the stuffing that is not being cooked in the bird and I might go for a spicy sausage next time. Other than that, yum yum! Make sure you grab a big deep pan though. I started with a big skillet then switched to a deeper one. Even that was difficult to mix in.

The apple cider was so yummy! I went by a recipe from a book that came in my spices I got for Christmas (Thanks Kim and Angie!) and I made it in my new crockpot (Thanks Hubby!) Perfect warm drink to sit back and relax with.

The potatoes are no biggie, regular mashed potatoes but the apple pie.....OH MY GOSH! First off, I forgot to put butter with the apples, please don't do that. I added some white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, and some lemon juice. Tasted good but needed some butter. The crust on the other hand......WOW! I made a vodka pie crust. Seriously, go for it, try it! You will thank me and America's Test Kitchen. It turned out PERFECT! I don't own a big food processer so I just mixed it with a pastry blender.

So that was our Christmas meal, hope yours was just as tasty!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Roast-Turkey-and-Gravy-2/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Sausage-and-Apple-Stuffing/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Thanksgiving-Sweet-Potatoes/Detail.aspx

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=11482&extcode=M**ASCA00

*you might need to sign up to read the pie crust recipe....trust me, it's worth it!*

BBQ Meatballs.....Sloppy Joes

Do you remember my Sausage Meatball recipe? It tasted fine but I wanted to use beef instead? Well I did and it turned out great....sorta. I actually had a real onion for once so I used that instead of onion powder. I also used carrots and celery in the recipe. However, I didn't add an extra combining ingredient so they started to fall apart. I wanted to have them simmer in my yummy barbecue sauce too for an added kick. Well, after sitting in the crock pot for a good 30 minutes I checked on them and they had completely broken down. I cracked up as I stood there stirring the meat mixture into the sauce. Well, lets have sloppy joes instead? They turned out fine, just needed a bigger kick. More spice. That's an easy fix and I probably would have done so if I have known I was going to change the recipe. I served them with baked potatoes (nothing fancy about those, salt, pepper, cheese and butter) and everyone seemed to enjoy them. Claire killed her plate, and part of Matt's. I don't think he was that impressed but I think he also would have preferred a better kick.

Fluffy Eggsless Pancakes

My idea of yummy? Not really, however, pancakes are a food that Trent goes crazy over and I have no eggs at the moment. My first bite wasn't impressed. He ate them so ate least it wasn't a complete fail. After scanning over the recipe again I realized that I skipped over the butter! The recipe has you melt the butter in the skillet then add it to the batter. I read the 'melt the butter' and figured it was done. I am happy to report that these pancakes tasted much better. I wanted to add some fruit to them but Claire doesn't like peaches today. Enjoy!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,165,133179-255194,00.html

Philly Steak Sandwhich

It sounded good one day so I looked it up. There was a huge debate going on in the comments about what a REAL Philly is. I could care less what a true Philly is, I just know that this one turned out great! I had bought some type of beef awhile ago on sale but I wasn't sure how to cook it. I made some type of beef stir fry that turned out okay but Matt wasn't a fan. Then I remembered this recipe a few days ago and got all excited! The only thing I had to buy was the buns and cheese. I normally don't keep Provolone cheese on hand, I'm sure Mozzarella would be fine, even Swiss perhaps! I didn't have marjoram on hand when I found this so I had to buy that at the time.

It's an easy recipe except if you have to cut the meat. I hate cutting raw meat. But after that it's easy flying. Yesterday I made these and totally burned the crap out of them. Once you get the sandwiches all set up you have to melt the cheese. I turned on the broiler then cooked them too long. Yeah, don't do that. So keep a good watch and enjoy.


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Philly-Steak-Sandwich/Detail.aspx

Pizza

If my husband and daughter had their way, the would probably eat pizza everyday. And Trent, he must have the crust. That's a plus because Claire doesn't eat hers. How often does that work out right? Now, I myself love pizza and I never liked homemade until I found this recipe. There was one before this one and it was pretty good, just not better than something from a pizza place. This is the best recipe you will ever had! I was so excited when reading the reviews and all the positive comments. I actually found it by looking for a pizza sauce recipe, which is also awesome (I did have to make some tweaks). Altogether I think it takes about 2 1/2 hours. Trust me, it's worth the wait! I have a huge pizza pan and when made on that it is a nice thick crust. However, when I made this at my mom's yesterday, she only had two smaller pizza pans. So I cut the dough in half and it turned out so much better! Just like Little Caesars, but better! I'm thinking of making pizzas for Trent's birthday that is coming up. I'd like to try a veggie pizza and with having people over, what a great time to test it!

Now I have changed the sauce a bit and I did add a little extra something (thanks to my sister for the tip). I hate fresh tomatoes. I hate the smell and taste. However, I didn't want to go canned, I wanted to try to make it all homemade. Other than the cheese and pepperoni, it is! The sauce recipe wants a pinch of cinnamon and white sugar. I didn't like the cinnamon. I didn't like the strong taste of the tomatoes either. I thought of adding brown sugar to it one day just out of the blue and what do you know? It completely mild down the flavor! The trade off is the amount of sauce you get. I might try a mixture and see how that comes out. Another thing I did was before any toppings go on, mixed olive oil and minced garlic together and put on the crust. Then put a few slices of pepperoni (like five) and then topped with cheese. The pepperoni oils do something that is just amazing! And when you mess with the garlic and oil, make sure you put it on the edges! You will thank me!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jays-Signature-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Sauce-I/Detail.aspx

White Bread

I did make a PB&J sandwich today. This time it wasn't on the bread I normally make but I thought I would share it anyway. I love this recipe. It's simple and takes about 2 hours to prep. Freezing it uncooked is something I just recently learned and thought I would also share.

Right before you place it in the bread pan to rise is when you want to freeze it. I was concerned the bread free forming and not looking like regular bread. I did come up with an idea that worked perfectly. Place plastic wrap in the bread pan and spray lightly to keep the bread from sticking. Place the dough in the pan and wrap it tightly. Pull it out, place in a freezer bag and put in the freezer.
To defrost, unwrap and place in bread pan. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 12 hours, maybe more. When it looks like dough ready to be put in the oven, have at it.

Also, you can use all purpose flour and it will turn out fine. I highly recommend using bread flour. I did the cost for this and it's about $1.00 a loaf. Not too bad for homemade!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandma-VanDorens-White-Bread/Detail.aspx

Chicken and Rice

What to make when you are hungry and don't feel like cooking? Chicken and rice of course! I'm sure there is a real recipe out there, I don't use one. It's a tasty one dish kind of meal that can be made for two or twenty. Okay, twenty is a little over the top, but you get the idea. I also love this meal for the ideas it can bring. I thought of adding corn and some salsa to it to see what would happen. Cambells makes tons of 'soups' dedicated to this meal too. They have a nacho cheese one that is so yummy and adds a slight kick. To make things even better, this was ready in 30 minutes.

I took two frozen chicken breasts and stuck them in a baking dish. Poured a cup of rice around the chicken and then 2 cups of water. Chicken broth would be a great idea, but I do recommend low sodiom, this can get salty. Take the can of soup (I used cream of chicken) and scoop on top of the chicken. Add whatever seasons you like (I used onion powder and minced garlic. Normally I would add pepper too but I forgot). Stick in hot oven (400) and cook covered until rice is cooked. Add some broccoli (frozen or fresh) and cover in favorite cheese. Cook until cheese is slightly browned.

Banana Bread and Pumpkin Muffins

Matt made a comment about wanting Pumpkin Muffins. I had a can of pumpkin leftover from Thanksgiving because I bought two and only needed one. Yay for us because these were yummy! I did read the comments of cutting the spices in half (and using can instead of a real pumpkin). I didn't quite cut them in half but I did cut back. These muffins are packed with flavor and taste awesome with some butter. The recipe says it makes 12 muffins but I'm sure you can get away with 18. I made 12 huge ones because I used half of the banana mix for muffins.

The banana bread is AMAZING! I knew as soon as I mixed in the eggs that it was going to be delisous. They have cream cheese it them! Can't get any better than that. I didn't put any type of nuts on top. Matt and I aren't a big fan and I'm sure Trent will have a taste. He ate a whole pumpkin muffin. Crazy boy!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Banana-Bread/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Muffins-II/Detail.aspx

BBQ Chicken, Seasoned Potatoes, Garlic Bread

Yes, I know these do not go together at all! My original plan what to have baked potatoes but I thought it would take too long. So I did diced and it still took an hour to cook the potatoes. Matt pointed out and I do agree, should have put in some bacon. Lesson learned. Actually, I did learn a tip the other day about potatoes. Potatoes can over power any season that you put in them. So when you season, don't be shy! The chicken was so yummy! I found a recipe about a month ago on the site I go to and have fallen in love. There is no reason to buy barbecue sauce anymore. Sure I'll keep a bottle in the house but other than that, all homemade! And it's easy so why not ya know? Our garlic bread is the same old one we use. A loaf from the store (we like to use the garlic Parmesan), add garlic salt, butter, and Parmesan cheese. Oh so delicious! All together it took a little over an hour. I also made the Grasshopper brownies for dessert. I you are smart like I wasn't, take the time in between making dinner to make them then cook it while you are eating. They take about 40 minutes to cook then you have to let them cool a bit before eating so the timing would be almost perfect.

Okay, down to the food. The only real recipe I have is for the sauce. All of the ingredients I own naturally, which is always good. Well, except for the brown sauce that it calls for but I don't even bother with it. I read good reviews for people who included it so feel free to try it. Maybe one day I might if I find another recipe that calls for brown sauce. The sauce does say to let it sit for 10 minutes before using. I let it sit for awhile, probably not 10 minutes. I cooked the chicken on one side then added the sauce. In the chicken I used a spice mix we bought from the farmers market that is around us in the summer. It's pretty mild so I figured it would just add flavor, and it did. With the potatoes I had fun. I add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, and for more tastiness, a garlic Rosemary that we also bought at the farmers market. I added tons of the spices, added olive oil and stuck in the oven. I think I had it at 400. When it was done I put cheese on top. You can never go wrong with cheese. I had left the skins on and used the cheese to hide that fact that I didn't peel the potatoes. Matt still noticed. I wonder if he would have if I put bacon it it?

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/This-and-That-BBQ-Sauce/Detail.aspx

Beef Flank Steak

I found a crock pot recipe book that I never knew we had. Inside were quite a few recipes that I want go try. One of them for Trent's birthday party that is coming up next month. Nothing says winter like a good crock pot meal right? Anyway, this recipe was actually for a beef salad and that's not how I used it. I just made the beef. My honest opinion of it, tasted like roast beef and not that impressive. Good, but the taste kinda stays in your mouth for a few hours after. I kinda like the idea of using it as a salad but I didn't have and lettuce around sadly. I don't like green onions so I added onion powder instead.

You were suppose to remove any visible fat and I didn't. let it sit for 8-10 hours on low. (3-4 on high) then cut into slices for the salad.

Sauce
3 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs oil
2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbs green onions, chopped

Salad
10 cups romaine
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 ribs celery
1.4 tsp ground black pepper

Lemon Chicken, Mac and Cheese and Sugar Cookies

Claire and I made sugar cookies today and they are sooooooo yummy! The recipe alone takes about two hours because they have to chill in the fridge for an hour. From start to finish you might even say three hours because we waited for them to cool completely (Claire was helping, otherwise I wouldn't have) then iced them with our own colorful icing. That was just powdered sugar, water and vanilla. I made it pretty thick too. They turned out perfect! And Claire, true to herself, took one bite and claimed she didn't like them. She doesn't have a sweet tooth and I'm not going to push it! More for me!

While the cookies were cooling I made the Lemon Chicken and Mac and Cheese. The chicken doesn't have a recipe and it's so simple. The mac and cheese is one I think I got off of AllRecipes. It's suppose to be an alfredo sauce but that changes by what cheese you put in it. I usually add a good dash of crushed red pepper, but Claire was the reason I was making it so I didn't this time. One thing I do add to the sauce is Mozzerella cheese. I find it thickens up the sauce perfectly whether I'm making it with cheddar or Parmasan. I also found that I didn't like it with parsley so I use oregano instead. Used it the first time because I didn't have parsley and it didn't taste right when made it that way. Tastes almost like Olive Garden! And another tip I found was if it turns out grainy just add more butter to it. Total time on this one is around 30 minutes! Gotta love those quick meals that leave you full. Add the Garlic Bread Salad and you are set!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mrs-Fields-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Alfredo-Mostaccioli/Detail.aspx

Chicken

Chicken
olive oil
garlic
lemon juice
lemon pepper

Cook garlic in oil. Add chicken and pour lemon juice all over (Careful, it splatters) then add lemon pepper. Cover with a lid until brown. Turn and cover again until done.

The End

Thanksgiving

Well what do you know? I cooked for Thanksgiving! Hahaha, well, not the whole dinner. I made mashed potatoes, applesauce, pumpkin pie and then (because my mom and I were curious) I grabbed one of those tubs of cheesecake that Philadelphia makes. It was a pumpkin spice one. Pretty good. My dad grabbed one of everything and I asked him how was it. He said, "They are both pretty good. The pie is better." I hoped so since I made the pie myself! I was hoping to use fresh pumpkin but never got around to it. It was pretty tasty. I was worried about the applesauce. My other big pot was dirty so I used the crock pot. Turned out perfect actually and it stayed warm. Lil miss even helped! She told me that no one would believe that she helped with the potatoes. Cracked me up! I explained that if anyone doubted that I would tell them it was true. That girl was so proud. So funny how the simplest things make a lil girl feel all grown up. Total time for everything was about three hours.

So on with the cooking! The applesauce is my mom's recipe. One thing to remember is some apple mash up really well and others (say Granny smith) don't. I think I used Macintosh along with two Grannies. You must finely chop the Grannies and even finer if you don't want a chunky applesauce. The potatoes I just used a five pound bad then added some sour cream, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, salt, pepper and butter. The pie took forever but everyone seem to like it. I give the cheesecake a three star. It was yummy but wasn't OH MY GOSH!


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Moms-Pumpkin-Pie/Detail.aspx


Applesauce

8 apples - peeled and sliced
1/2c water
1/2c sugar
1tsp cinnamon
dash nutmeg
Red Hots - to taste

Put apples and water in a big pot on median heat and boil, stirring frequently.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until it looks done, chunks are fine.

Gingerbread Pancakes

Oh so yummy! The recipe called for a lot of water and no milk. I think I'll change that next time. The flavor seemed to be watered down. Both kids ate a ton of tiny ones. Lil man loves pancakes. Claire was a little afraid of them but still curious. Add syrup and she was good to go! You need to try these! The only thing I had to buy was the molasses but I had to buy that for cookies for later.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Gingerbread-Pancakes/Detail.aspx?prop31=3#

Sausage Cheese Meatballs and Garlic and Oil Pasta

So this dinner failed. The meatballs were pretty good. I think I will like them better as ground beef instead of the sausage. They were super easy and I had everything for them. Instead of the onion I used carrots and added onion powder. One good thing about ground beef is it's easy to sneak in veggies. The pasta was just a mess! I burned the crap out of the garlic so it just tasted burnt. If I would have gone with my gut I would have redone the garlic cooking part while the pasta drained. I did make my own croutons. They turned out pretty well. I might try the pasta again.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jimmy-Dean-Sausage-Cheese-Balls/Detail.aspx

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Spicy Shrimp and Spaghetti Aglio Olio (Garlic and Oil)

Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Carrot Rice

Talk about a fast easy meal. I was able to do this one in about 30 minutes, give or take a few. Both of them were so easy. The rice needed a bit of work. I think next time I make the rice I will add whatever sauce that is in the main dish to it. It lacked a bit of flavor but I did use regular rice instead of what it called for. I was going to what I had on hand. I had everything but the orange marmalade and almonds. Oh yeah, one thing I love about All Recipes is the comments below. I always read them and if they are saying the same thing I will alter the recipe accordanly. In the Carrot Rice a good handful were saying to use almonds instead of peanuts.

The chicken was awesome! Very light in flavor but not lacking if that makes sense. Went really well with the rice too. I do wish I went with my gut and added some of the vinegar to it. Oh well, maybe next time! So a simple recipe that's fast too, love it!

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Carrot-Rice/Detail.aspx

Chicken Noodle Soup

I was sick, lil man got sick, hubby got sick and now miss beautiful is sick. Chicken noodle soup just seemed like the perfect idea. There is a slight problem, Matt and I are not vegetable fans. I don't like most of the textures but love the flavors. Matt, just hates them all. The recipe I was going by (usually make it up as I go but I found this one in my Look + Cook by Rachael Ray) used celery and carrots. UGH! I hate cooked carrots. Something about them is just nasty. The smell, feel and taste, eww. There is a new effort to figure out how to get vegetables in our food (without Matt's knowledge) so I was up to the challenge. The recipe, if you don't make your own noodles right then, took me about 45 minutes....ish.

First things first, make the noodles. I love homemade noodles. Totally worth the effort and I had Claire's help. She had a blast laying out the noodles, mama's help of course. I rolled them as flat as I could so they would dry fast. That alone only took a few hours. I had them drying right under our ceiling fan. To help with my veggie problem I chopped the celery as fine as I could. The carrots turned out almost perfect with an idea I had. I shredded them! Could barely feel them let alone taste. Sure the flavor came out in the soup, which doesn't bother me. The only change I really made was I didn't use the bay leaf. I keep forgetting to grab some from the store. Also, I don't have onions in the house or fresh garlic. Usually any recipe I have that calls for them I use powder or garlic from a jar. Happy Eating! Oh, and if you know how to make a soup with noodles and not have the noodles soak up all the liquid....let me know!

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Cure-a-Cold Spring Chicken Soup

Meatball Meat Loves, Horseradish-Cheddar Potatoes with Garlic Bread Salad

Matt being the sweet man he is bought me a Rachael Ray cookbook (Look + Cook) for our 1 year anniversary. I love Rachael Ray. I don't like a lot of her food (I can be a bit picky), but I love the idea to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes. With my little man not feeling the greatest he has needed a bit more attention, it gets difficult to get dinner ready. I was able to get this on this meal on the table in an hour. Would have been less but I forgot to defrost my hamburger while peeling the potatoes. Wait, correct that, I did end up making a dessert....so about an hour.

With this meal I combined two different recipes. The potatoes are actually suppose to be part of a shepherd's pie. I will change them by adding bacon next time. I'm sure they go great with shepherd's pie though. The meat can stand alone and way sooooooo tasty! I even ate the tomatoes that were on top. I hate tomatoes....at least fresh. These were canned. She had them paired with spinach and Parmesan cheese. Matt doesn't like spinach so couldn't use that. However, I can't wait to try them, sounds awesome! The garlic bread was a recipe I got a billion years ago from Taste of Home. Amazing!

To end the meal I made Grasshopper brownies. Rachael Ray had them in the back of her book. You take a brownie mix and make it normal. Then mix in a good handful of chopped chocolate mint candy. Pour that into the pan and top with crushed Oreos and more chocolate mint candy. Oh my gosh!!!! So good! You know that feeling you get when you eat a gooey brownie that begs for milk? The mint lighten it. I was impressed!

Here's all three links to the yummy goodness!

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Meatless Shepherd's Pie with Horseradish-Cheddar Potatoes

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Meatball Meat Loaves with Spinach-Parm Mashers

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Garlic-Bread-Salad