Just Dinner

Okay, so I told you that I would do the marinades again tonight and keep them separate...and I did!! Marinade Number 2 is way better in my opinion.

Also, remember those pork ribs I told you I butchered last friday? Member? Too salty. Well I couldn't stand to throw the $8.00 of ribs in the trash so I tried to salvage them today....success. I boiled them for about 15 minutes to try and get some of the saltyness off. Then I smothered them in Sesame Ginger BBQ (kraft) sauce and regrilled. They were actually really good.

Ok so had some more Feta Stuffed Mushrooms, because everyone likes them alot. AND the new recipe I made tonight is Mac 'n' Cheesee (yes 2 ee's because I can)

I also tossed some onions w/ Italian dressing and kabob-oed those as well. Didn't get a praise or complaint about them, so im not sure how they were.

7oz twisty macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups of milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup of sour cream
2 cups of cheese (1 cup italian style and 1 cup 4 cheese)

boil and cook macaroni until al dente

In a separate pot melt the butter completely then add the flour and stir continuously to blend.

once the flour/butter deal is turns golden brown gradually add the milk while whisking any lumpies out. Add the ground mustard and cayenne pepper.

bring that to a bubble (which is my word for almost boiling) and add the cheese then the pasta.

I then added the sour cream and some salt and peppa!


Christopher said he really liked it. Wasn't really my cup-a-tea, but im not a big mac 'n' cheese eater.

The "Dinner Party"

OK so I had 3 people coming over last night for dinner, and that turned into 7 people so I was Ms. Dinner Impossible. (you know, from the show) Anyways I had 3 hours to get to the store, clean my house, and cook for 7 people when I was prepared for 3. I had fun, im not gonna lie.





So we had:

Pasta Salad

2 boxes of Betty Croker's Classic Pasta Salad

Follow box in structions

Add about 3/4 cup of imitation crab meat to the mix and stir well

serve cold.

Everyone loved this and no one had a clue I used a box.....and I just let them go on thinking it was made from scratch!

Pork Ribs

These were a total flop. and by total flop I mean HORRIBLE. They tasted like you stuck ur tongue in a salt shaker! I don't know what really went wrong because I've made them like this before. I put cajun/creole seasoning and garlic powder on them and grilled. Yuck. But the chicken was a much better story.

Chicken Kabob-o's (yes, I addded the o because I can!)

I used 2 marinades and both of them I am pretty sure I got from AR.

Marinade Number One:
2/3 cup vegie oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup steak sauce (I was out so I used Kraft Sesame Ginger BBQ sauce)
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
10 cloves garlic (chopped)

Marinade Number Two:
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 TBS honey
2 TBS distilled white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp ginger (I didn't have fresh so I used the sprinkle kind)
3/4 cup veggie oil
pepper (I crank the pepper thing until my hand gets tired, about 1/2 TBS or so.)

Both marinades are good. I would love to tell u which one I like better, but I alway end up mixing them up and I can't remember which one is which. I did made this marinade tonight and I hope to keep them separate tomorrow when I grill the kabob-o's. I'll letchya know tomorrow!

We also had stuffed shrooms (My feta stuffed ones), brown sugar smokies(from AR...aka crack on a stick), artichoke dip (I didnt' make this), and carrot cake (didn't make that either)

Oh and my brother bought some porterhouse steaks that he grilled. but I had NO part in that. Not how I roll.

Breakfast for Dinner

Yesterday was a pretty rough day and I forgot to take out some chicken. We had a very easy breakfast dinner last night.

Pancakes
Sausage
Grits (lots of cheese and butter)
Scrambled Eggs.

For those of you non-grit eaters, you need to reform because those were the best part of the entire meal! Christopher wasn't a grits eater until me! Now hes hooked too.

Cheeseburger Pocket Things

Ok so Adrienne had me try her Chix Ceaser Pockets so now I have been putting everything in my kitchen in a 'pocket'. Just so you know, the kitchen sink is not so yummy in a pocket!! Don't try it!

OK so again, I am a horrible measurer. So the amounts are approx.

1lb Lean ground hamburger meat
1-2 TBS worshtershire sauce (yeah i can't spell it) 1 tsp garlic powder (maybe more)
1 tsp onion powder (maybe more)
sprinkle of parsley
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs mustard
6 strips of cooked bacon
2 good handfuls of ur fav cheese
2 cans cresent rolls (i buy the whole sheet kind)

preheat oven to 375
brown ground beef on med high heat and mash into tiny pieces
add garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley and cook until completely browned
take pan off heat and add ketchup, mustard, bacon, and cheese.
let mixture cool (if u put it in the dough hot it melts it or something funky)
cut dough into 8 rectagles
fill each rectangle w/ filling and fold up into a 'pocket'
bake for about 15-20 minutes in preheated oven

OMG delisiousness. I even ate the soggy left over ones for lunch and it was still good.
I was only able to make 6 because i guess i over stuffed, but whatever. I stuffed the extra two w/ what I could find in the fridge.

As Adrienne would say I served this particular delicacy w/ tater tots.

Corn and Crab Chowder/Bisque...or whatever

Ok so I made this last night for just myself and it got a little out of hand. I made enough to feed a small starving country. Anyways it was much better after it had been able to sit and stew a bit, and even more yummier at lunch today. Anyways im horrible at measuring, but I tried real hard....its something like this

1 Stick butter
6 TBS flour
1TBS garlic powder (estimate)
1 TBS onion powder (estimate)
2 cups chix broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 red potatoes (peeled and chopped into small pieces)
1 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning (estimate)
1/2 tsp old bay (estimate, and im not a fan of the flavor)
1 TBS dried parsley
8 oz velveeta, cut into cubes
1 can cream corn (next time i'll use whole corn, but it was still good w/ the cream corn)
1 cup of imitation crab meat (i am cheap, don't judge me)

In a pretty good sized pot melt butter until completely melted ( I added some garlic and onion powder to the melting butter, just for fun) and add flour. Stir for about 2 minutes or so , continually stirring, until it is brownish.

Pour in chix brother and whipping cream into roux. Add potatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, cajun seasoning, and old bay.

When the potatoes are about done add the corn, parsley, velveeta, and crab. Stir and let mingle on really low for a little while.

I had a bowl after it had simmered all together for about 15 minutes. Then I sampled about an hour later after it had been simmering and it was a lot tastier. And at lunch it was really good. I estimated on the spices because I would add a little and taste, add some more and I got frustrated w/ the measuring. Its not how I roll. Next time I will either use real crab or nix it all together.

OH and by the way, if u wanna try it I have a truck load of it left over. Christopher won't eat it because it has corn in it....I know, I know.

12/1/2008 I froze two ziplock bags and they kept good for the 3 months they were in the freezer. I soaked the bags in cool water to loosen it up and then just heated it on the stove. Just as good, if not better, than when I originally made it!

General Tso's Cheat Chicken

So I made some GT's Chicken last night, but I may have cheated...ok so I did. My grocery store sells these seasoning packets you can find them by the soy sauce and other chinese foods in ur grocery store. Its made my Sunbird (yellow pack). They are soo good I have tried a few of them. They are so quick and easy and really edible, no really...im for real. Anywyas...



You cut up the chicken and toss it w/ flour

Pan fry in about 2 TBS of vege oil until about done. (I always put a lid on chix when pan frying otherwise I have shoe leather) I sprinkle w/ garlic and crushed red pepper during this time.

Meanwhile I mixed my seasoning packet w/ 1/4 sugar, 2 TBS Soy Sauce, 3/4 cup water and added it to the chix and let it simmer for a few mins.



Ok...so that took all of maybe 25 mins from start to finish. Well I wanted some Crab Rangoon(thanks to Adrienne) but I didn't have the stuff so I ordered some from the Chinese Rest. about a mile away...well I ended up ruining my 'steamed' rice so i also ordered some fried rice for the two of us...well whats fried rice and crab rangoon w/out a spring roll??? So anyways $16.00 later all I made was the actual chicken. This dinner was supposed to be cheap!!! **But to be fair I like my General Tso's Cheat Chicken better than the actual Chinese restaurants. Plus I KNOW im eatin chicken!!

Jalapeno Bacon Thingies (Pioneer Women)

Ok so I made those this past weekend for my football clan. They liked them, but like my feta cheese stuffed mushrooms better. I only made a sample of them for them to try, So I did not use the full recipe.



Jalapeno Bacon Thinkies (Pioneer Women)

3 whole Jalapenos
2 strips of bacon
about 3 tbs cream cheese



cut jalapenos in half lenghwise and take out seeds and membranes.

stuff inside of jalapeno w/ cream cheese

wrap w/ a piece of bacon

Heat in oven on 375 (I think) bake for about 25 mins.



The gang decided they like the mushrooms I make better. I am not sure of the exact mesurements but its something like this:


Feta Stuffed Shrooms
Pack of smaller white mushrooms

Crumbled Feta Cheese (1/2 cup to 3/4 depending on how big ur mushrooms are)

2 Tbs olive oil

dash garlic powder

dash of Cayenne pepper

Fresh ground Pepper



clean mushroom caps w/ a damp paper towel and remove stems. (discard)

burn cap side up and drizzle w olive oil and sprinkle w/ garlic powder, cayenne, and pepper (more or less depending on ur taste)

Stuff caps w/ Feta cheese and place cap side down on a baking sheet.

Bake at 375 for about 25 mins or until the mushrooms are tender.

The mushrooms are toooo simple to make and everyone likes them, even those who dont' like feta cheese. I once tried to replace the Feta w/ onion cream cheese and I was told they were "okay" but not as good as the Feta.

Panko Crusted Chix

3 boneless skinless chix boobs
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
pepper to your liking
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
3 cups panko crumbs
2 Tbs oil (more or less depending)

Pound chix to 1/4 inch thick
Place flour, egg, and panko crumbs in 3 separate bowls
Add Cayenne, Garlic & pepper to eggs and whisk
Heat oil to medium high heat.
Dredge Chix in flour, then egg, then panko crumbs.
Fry on each side until no longer pink in the middle (2-3 mins per side)

I like this a lot. Very crispy and airy. Next time I think I will add more spices to the egg mixure and maybe some cajun seasoning to the panko crumbs. It needed something.

My Birthday

So my birthday was yesterday and I had one of the best ones ever! My mother bought me several things before my birthday because she feels Im picky-whatever. She got me 2 Disney DVD's I wanted, a pancake pan, and some of the coolest Halloween kitchen towels ever! My wonder Fiance couldn't wait to give me his gifts so I got them the day before. He gave me a $50 gift card to a nail place in town and this adorable Fat Chef man tart burnger from Yankee Candle that totally matched my kitchen perfectly. (who knew he even realized the kitchen was done in Fat Chef Men!!) Anita sent me a box w/ Witch sock, a garlic press, nutrageous candies, and a card. Kathryn and her boyfriend, Eric gave me a gift card to the Gap!! yeaah! I got calls, emails, posts and text from several friends and family memebers. My parents took us out to dinner at La Nopalera and my niece and nephew came too! All in all it was a great birthday! Sebastian, my nephew, did hit me up for money for doing good in school, tho...and of corse I gave it to him and Isabella too. So thanks to everyone who made my birthday great!