The Art of Cooking

When Jason and I got married, we made a list of all the things that we both like for dinner.

Chili
Tacos
Shake n Bake chicken w/ mac and cheese
pork chop potatoes
hamburgers
calzones
spaghetti
stir fry
sloppy joes
breakfast food
buffalo wings

It was a sad list. Over our last year of marriage, I have tried to vamp up the list to more healthy and from scratch type dishes.With a little help from Cook's Illustrated and some friends, our list is a little more diverse today.

tostadas with grilled veggies and homemade refried beans
spare ribs with homemade bbq sauce
Curry Chicken
homemade buttermilk biscuits
homemade chicken noodle soup
strip steak with corn and black bean salad
creamy orzo pasta with tomatoes, peas, and parmesean


There are  more, but you get the idea. My newest recipe has come from Giada (Food Network) and it is meatballs. I combined it with a Cook's Illustrated recipe of Romano Cheese Pasta. It was so yummy!

Ok, so I took the pictures after we had eaten, but I can assure you it was delish!

Ethan cuteness sidenote: When we eat, I usually say mmmm applesauce or mmmm yummy food. Now when he sees us eating or food that he wants to eat he says mmmmmmm and smiles.

Dinner and a Laugh

I made this for dinner last night. It was pretty tasty and for the 2 of us will feed us again tonight. :) The chicken was super moist and the potatoes were really yummy. I think next time I'll add a few more veggies in the dish. Super yummy!

Ethan also found himself in the mirror last night. It was too cute. I thought I would share.

Mmm Holiday Recipe

I love mushrooms. I know that there is a significant part of the population that would disagree with me. I will admit they have a rather sponge like consistency and absorb any flavor they are combined with. Some people don't like how they burst their juices in your mouth after they've been cooked or have to be chewed a few times when raw. I love it all.

I made some mushrooms to take to a housewarming party last night and they were not a hit. I ate almost all of them because I love them so much. I don't think the people there were mushroom people. I did take the leftover filling and served it with crackers. This was a big hit. The filling is amazing- I just don't think people appreciated it inside a baked mushroom.

In the off chance that you are a mushroom person, here is the recipe. If you are not, you could make the filling and serve it with crackers.

Ingredients:
2 cartons of bite sized mushrooms
1 tube Jimmy Dean mild sausage
1 block of 100% real cream cheese
some pancake syrup

Directions:

Filling:
Brown the sausage
Squirt some syrup into cooked sausage- mabye 1/4 cup
Add cream cheese
Stir until melted

Mushrooms:

Destem mushrooms
Clean by using wet paper towel and wiping off dirt- if you rinse them in a dish drainer they will absorb too much water and become slippery
With a small spoon, fill each mushroom with filling and place on a baking sheet or pyrex dish
Cook for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Serve leftover filling with crackers.

Yummy!

Great Recipe!

I have been in a slump when it comes to cooking lately, so I did what any self respecting wife would do..... I googled the word recipe. :)

After looking at a few different websites. I found this great recipe for pulled pork barbeque. I thought it was a bit ambitious, but I was feeling fiesty and fearless. So, I gave it a try. I'm glad I did, because it turned out to be a hit!

We ate it for 2 nights and ended up freezing about 1/2 of the recipe to eat as leftovers. It is pretty low prep and was easy to shred. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 lbs pork roast (shoulder or butt)

2 large onions

1 cup ginger ale

1 (18 ounce) bottle favorite barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)

barbecue sauce, for serving (optional)


Directions:Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 day

1 Slice one onion and place in crock pot.
2 Put in the roast and cover with the other onion, sliced. Pour over the ginger ale. Cover and cook on LOW for about 12 hours.
3 Remove the meat, strain and save the onions, discard all liquid. With two forks, shred the meat, discarding any remaining fat, bones or skin. Most of the fat will have melted away.
4 Return the shredded meat and the onions to the crock pot, stir in the barbecue sauce. Continue to cook for another 4 to 6 hours on LOW.
5 Serve with hamburger buns or rolls and additional barbecue sauce. Any leftovers freeze very well.
6 TIP: freeze ready-made sandwiches - a scoop of meat on a bun, well-wrapped. These make a great quick meal or snack. To reheat, remove wrapping, wrap in a paper towel, and zap 1-2 minute in the microwave.
 
Notes:
1)Shoulder or butt are recommended because the meat shreds very well. Other cuts do not shred as readily. It is a fattier cut, but the fat melts away in the cooking and is poured away when you discard the liquid.
 2) I have an older, smaller crock pot. The above times work perfectly for me. But if you have a newer or bigger crock pot, you may need to revise times downward, esp. after the bbq sauce is added. I think you need at least a couple of hours for it all to meld, but that may be all you need.
3) You might want to turn your roast over after it's cooked a while, to ensure more even cooking. I think this may depend on the size and shape of your roast and the size of your slow cooker. Remember that each time you remove the lid you lose heat and be careful, as turning a large piece of meat is awkward.

friendship

What a long day! I was at school yesterday and today for 12 hours. A total of 24 hours in 2 days. 8 of those hours were spent in parent conferences. I have heard it all- I think. 5 years of conferencing with parents has revealed a lot of things. There are parents who freak out that their child has all 100s and one 97. There are parents who want to talk out all the problems that they are facing at home, there are parents who find out that their child has been telling them one thing but doing another, there are parents who are surprised to find out their child has homework and does not tell them that the homework exists. I could go on and on. I am drained. And I am usually energized by being with people. But the last 2 days have been draining.

So, what do I do when I am drained? Make 2 loafs of Amish Friendship Bread. :) Diana Blaine (link to she and her husband's ministry to the right) came to visit a few weeks ago. She left me with this starter for Amish Friendship Bread. It was a bag of dough that sat on my counter for 10 days and then I followed the recipe to whip it into 2 fabulous loafs of bread. So good.

I gave away the starters to coworkers last week, and am in need of 3 more peeps who want a bag of dough to start off their Amish Friendship Bread cooking. It is pretty easy to do. Most days all you do is "mush the bag". Here is the recipe.

Amish Friendship Bread
Do not use at any time a metal spoon or bowl for mixing. DO NOT refrigerate.

It is natural for batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.

Day 1: Do nothing ( this is the date on the bag)

Day2: Mush the bag.

Day 3: Mush the bag.

Day 4: Mush the bag.

Day 5: Mush the bag.

Day 6: Add to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Mush the bag.

Day 7: Mush the bag.

Day 8: Mush the bag.

Day 9: Mush the bag.

Day 10: Follow instructions:
1. Pour entire contents of the bag into a nonmetal mixing bowl.

2. Add 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 ½ cups milk.

3. Measure out four separate batters of one cup each and put into 1 gallon ziplock bags. Keep one for yourself and give 3 to your friends along with a copy of this sheet. Don’t forget to write the date on the bags.

4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

5. Add to remaining batter: 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, ½ cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp vanilla, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 2 cups flour, 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix

6. Grease 2 loaf pans.

7. Mix additional ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon. Dust greased loaf pans with mixture, save the rest to pour on top.

8. Bake bread for 1 hour or until done in the center. Cool until loosens from pan.

9. Turn onto serving dish. Serve warm or cold.
If you keep a starter for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. This bread is very good and will make your home smell delicious! ENJOY!

If you are interested in a starter, let me know. I have 3 to give away this week. I just made mine. It took about 30 minutes to prepare. But, in 1 hour I will have some fresh bread to enjoy. Yum.