Now for what i've made for February...
Super Quick Chilil - didn't care for it...the taste was okay. We like ours with more kick and I think it's best to put it a crock pot or cook a lot longer for the favors to marry together. I really think that was all that was missing.
Bev's famous meatloaf ..I combined parts of each, so i guess that makes mine kinda better for you. I used lean ground beef (90% 10%) and subsituted the oats for the saltines. I usually use bread...couldn't tell the difference. Loved the sauce on top and the leftovers made for excellent sandwiches the following day for lunch. Keeper and my meatloaf is usually a thumbs down. So I was excited.
Chicken Parmesean from pioneer woman. Never made this before and the chicken parmeasean pizza made me decide to do it. Score....
Pork Chops with field peas - can't get much easier than this. it was tasty my crew liked it.
What's coming up:
Buttermilk fried chicken breasts with okra pilau
Linguine with sun dried tomatos
Banana Bread cobbler
I'm enjoying trying the new recipes, it's exciting!!! I still need to learn to break out and make some things that sound iffy to me.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Cooking trials
After watching Julie & Julia, I decided to break out of the same thing all the time rut. I didn't want to commit to wading through a cookbook so I decided I'll be a test kitchen for Southern Living. I seem to grativate towards their recipes more so than Good Housekeeping or More magazine.
I journaled my notes as I went through the January issue, i'm going to try and make all the recipes unless they just sound too off the wall for me and my crew.
This is what I made for January:
Easy Chicken and Dumplings - a keeper according to my crew. i usually use cream of celery but I like using celery and the cream of chicken soup. I was a little put off by the addition of carrots but once I decided to do they were perfect.
Pam cakes - awesome...i usually use a Krusteaz mix for pancakes but I've definately changed to this recipe. Made with the Buttered Honey Syrup - yummy. another keeper!!!
Good for you collards - they were good, but I prefer the spicy collards for Big Daddy's House (food network).
White Cheddar Cheese Grits - this was my flop!!! or as my family refers to wall paper paste. Had to toss it. too thick. I'm going to try it again since I'm sure it was more me than the recipe.
Publix had bertolli meals on sale so I picked up a few for my lunches this month. Of course, I was late arriving home a few times so we wound up having them for dinner. Our favorite, Italian Sausage with Penne Pasta. I got it just for a change up from the chicken ones I purchased. WOW...AWESOME. I've since learned how to make it (or a close version anyway) because they aren't always on sale and I'm not willing to pay full price for them. I use spicy spaghetti sauce, penne pasta, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, matchstick carrots and ravioli. We prefer the ravioli from Sam's, Member's Mark i think, in the meat section. It's not frozen, and it just has a better flavor. Slice the peppers very thin and saute them with onions and carrots, then add sauce and viola - dinner is finished! About 45 minutes (unless everything is chopped beforehand).
My family enjoyed the new additions and it was nice not feeling like we were eating the same thing over and over and over again.
On to february...
I journaled my notes as I went through the January issue, i'm going to try and make all the recipes unless they just sound too off the wall for me and my crew.
This is what I made for January:
Easy Chicken and Dumplings - a keeper according to my crew. i usually use cream of celery but I like using celery and the cream of chicken soup. I was a little put off by the addition of carrots but once I decided to do they were perfect.
Pam cakes - awesome...i usually use a Krusteaz mix for pancakes but I've definately changed to this recipe. Made with the Buttered Honey Syrup - yummy. another keeper!!!
Good for you collards - they were good, but I prefer the spicy collards for Big Daddy's House (food network).
White Cheddar Cheese Grits - this was my flop!!! or as my family refers to wall paper paste. Had to toss it. too thick. I'm going to try it again since I'm sure it was more me than the recipe.
Publix had bertolli meals on sale so I picked up a few for my lunches this month. Of course, I was late arriving home a few times so we wound up having them for dinner. Our favorite, Italian Sausage with Penne Pasta. I got it just for a change up from the chicken ones I purchased. WOW...AWESOME. I've since learned how to make it (or a close version anyway) because they aren't always on sale and I'm not willing to pay full price for them. I use spicy spaghetti sauce, penne pasta, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, matchstick carrots and ravioli. We prefer the ravioli from Sam's, Member's Mark i think, in the meat section. It's not frozen, and it just has a better flavor. Slice the peppers very thin and saute them with onions and carrots, then add sauce and viola - dinner is finished! About 45 minutes (unless everything is chopped beforehand).
My family enjoyed the new additions and it was nice not feeling like we were eating the same thing over and over and over again.
On to february...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Time Flies
Wow, does time get away from you during the holidays or what? work has been so super busy, end of year, audit, regulatory reports etc. and my 2 weeks flew by and here it is mid January. Was the Gator Bowl not the best bowl game? I cried through almost the whole thing, it was so bittersweet, i've never known FSU without Bobby Bowden. He was the coach there when I started in the late late late 70's (79 to be exact). It won't be the same without him! Here's to retirement for him and the next season for us.
I think our theme this year will be clean, paint & fix it around our house. We have so many remodeling projects hopefully we'll have enough money to complete them.
Found great deals at Publix last week!! so that will help with the money part some. Sirloin steaks for $1.99 a pound. I thought it was a misprint. Stocked up when I realized it wasn't. Will be enjoying some this weekend. Also found whole chickens for 69 cents per pound!! Unbelieveable. Hopefully they'll continue to have bargains like this. While shopping they were cooking their Publix meal for the week, it was a meatloaf sandwich. Quite tasty or so we (me & hubs) thought. Of course we purchased the fixings for this quick meal and I made it last Tuesday. My men (the other 2) were not the least bit impressed. They decided we must be really hungry!
This is what the Nole House is dining upon this week:
Sunday: Rigatoni & Italian Sausage & garlic bread
Monday: chicken soup and grilled cheese
Tuesday: Beef Pasta
Wednesday: Pigs in the blanket chips & dip
Thursday: Pork Chops, cheese potatos & squash w/onions
Friday: Fried Chicken and rice with roasted vegetables
Saturday: Fried Shrimp, French Fries & Cole Slaw
I think our theme this year will be clean, paint & fix it around our house. We have so many remodeling projects hopefully we'll have enough money to complete them.
Found great deals at Publix last week!! so that will help with the money part some. Sirloin steaks for $1.99 a pound. I thought it was a misprint. Stocked up when I realized it wasn't. Will be enjoying some this weekend. Also found whole chickens for 69 cents per pound!! Unbelieveable. Hopefully they'll continue to have bargains like this. While shopping they were cooking their Publix meal for the week, it was a meatloaf sandwich. Quite tasty or so we (me & hubs) thought. Of course we purchased the fixings for this quick meal and I made it last Tuesday. My men (the other 2) were not the least bit impressed. They decided we must be really hungry!
This is what the Nole House is dining upon this week:
Sunday: Rigatoni & Italian Sausage & garlic bread
Monday: chicken soup and grilled cheese
Tuesday: Beef Pasta
Wednesday: Pigs in the blanket chips & dip
Thursday: Pork Chops, cheese potatos & squash w/onions
Friday: Fried Chicken and rice with roasted vegetables
Saturday: Fried Shrimp, French Fries & Cole Slaw
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