Bacon wrapped meatloaf

During the winter we usually have meatloaf once or twice.  It is a good comfort food which I have been craving.  To up the taste and change things up I made a bacon wrapped meatloaf.  It was SO good.  There are so  many little things you can do to up the taste of a dish and who doesn't like bacon?

My Week

 It is still a winter wonderland outside but the temps finally went above freezing yesterday and will be for the foreseeable future.

Meals this week were: ( because of the cold, a little heavy on the comfort food)

Monday- Beef Stroganoff

Tuesday-Lamb burger and oven fries

Wednesday-Brunswick Stew Just the smell of this stew brings back good memories.

Thursday- Spicy rice, chicken thigh and stir fried veggies with a green onion cheese egg roll wrap.

Friday- Bacon cheese burger, oven fries

Saturday Pasta bake, dandelion leaf and radish salad, bread

The big guy sent me a recipe.  When I asked him if it was something he wanted me to make he said he thought maybe we could make it together.  So yesterday afternoon we made a Hawaiian Pineapple Cake.  I actually was just a sous chef, he made the cake.  It is amazing. I can see making this often, though I will probably half the recipe for the two of us.

Cake:

2 Cups flour

2 Cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple ( undrained )

1 Cup chopped nuts (we used walnuts)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.  Pour into 9x13 inch greased pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  

Frosting:

1 stick of butter ( room temperature )

8 oz cream cheese ( room temperature )

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 Cup confectioners sugar

coconut and chopped nuts for garnish

What did you enjoy this week?

Winter Wonderland

 Happy Tuesday!  There was about 3 inches of snow when I went in to work at 6 am yesterday.  It was slick and cold but manageable.  By 10 am the snow was really coming down so I packed up enough projects to keep me busy at home for a couple days and headed out.

This picture is of me leaving the hospital.  At the very end of this road, less than 1/4 of a mile away, is a large water park.  You can't see anything because of the blowing heavy snow.  I'm so glad I have a 4 wheel drive Jeep!

By 1 pm it was really coming down.  Big, dry snowflakes and a lot of wind.  This is from our front porch.  You can barely see the road.

I roasted a bone in turkey breast Sunday night for dinner so Monday night I loaded the crock pot to make stock.  Yes Brunswick Stew is getting made tonight for dinner.

This morning I logged in around 6 am.  About 20 minutes later I noticed how light it was out.  I'm glad I didn't miss this. Our backyard faces East. The picture doesn't even come close to as beautiful as it was.

We have over a foot of snow in our driveway with a drift off to one side that is probably 4 or 5 feet deep. We haven't had a day above freezing since February 6.  It's 0 right now with a high of 12 so this is not going anywhere anytime soon.  PLUS...2-4 inches are predicted for tomorrow.  We don't get snow like this very often so I'm really enjoying it.  I am really hoping the neighbor kid comes today and asks to shovel our driveway.  

Edit:  Its 2pm and we finally got the lawn guy to come and blow our driveway.  Over a foot deep with two feet at the end of the drive where the street plow went by.  Best 50 bucks I ever spent.

How's the weather in your neighborhood?

My Week

 Happy Valentines Day!!  It's a sunny day and so bright with everything covered in white.  It is 1 degree out.  Yes, 1!  They are predicting 4-6 inches of snow between this evening and Tuesday morning with temperatures in the single digits until Friday or Saturday.  

Dinners this week were...

Monday: Beef and bean chili with nachos

Tuesday: Oven roasted chicken legs, 4 cheese penne pasta and salad.

Wednesday: Bacon, veg and cheese omelet, toast

Thursday: Calzone and salad (the calzone was big but in fairness, that is a small lunch plate)

Friday: Beef back ribs, baked potato and corn

Saturday: Beef sausage and veg stir fry with rice and a cheese roll up

Saturday I also baked sugar cookies with royal icing.

Tonight we're having roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans.

What's cooking at your house?

Random Thoughts on a Thursday

Well, I had good intentions of posting on Tuesday but didn't make it.  I will give the routine a few weeks, I'm sure it will easily become habit.

Like most of the US, it is brutally cold here in Southern Illinois.  Monday and Tuesday we had about 3 inches total of snow.  Wednesday, we had about a 10th of an inch of ice/snow/slush mixture.  We are not supposed to have a high above freezing for the next 9 days so none of it is going anywhere any time soon.  Plus next Monday and Tuesday we are supposed to get more snow.  It's too far off to predict how much.

I took this from my office window on Wednesday.

I am taking tomorrow off so I can enjoy a long three day weekend.  It's supposed to be single digits here so I figured it is a really good time to be home.  My plans are to watch part of a new Netflix series, Firefly Lane, which is based on my favorite authors book and she is a producer on the series.  I'm hoping it will not be a disappointment.  I also have her latest novel sitting on my bench ready for me to start.  Saturday I will be making Valentines Day cookies.  Some we will keep, the others I will take to work on Monday.  Then I'm planning on making a solid dent in my spring cleaning.  Surely with three days I can accomplish some of it. 

I haven't quite figured out what we are having for dinner but whatever it is will involve pickled jalapenos.  I pulled out a few peppers from the summer out of the freezer.  Add vinegar ( I used apple cider vinegar) and pickling spice and salt.  Just that easy.

What is going on in your world?  Stay safe!

My week

I woke up around 6 this morning. It was just starting to get light.  The blue sky was gorgeous against the new dusting of snow and the sliver of moon was shining bright. It was 4 degrees.  This entire week is going to be COLD thanks to a polar vortex.  It is winter though.

The work week was a little rocky.  By Friday I was SO thankful it was over.  Saturday morning we ventured to the grocery store.  We could have just made a quick trip for veggies but looking at next Saturday's forecast of -4 I decided we needed to do it now.  The store was a lot busier than normal, I'm sure because of the super bowl and the coming weather.  Today I am going to do my usual Sunday cleaning, food prep and laundry.  I want to be as ready as I can for the rough week ahead.  

We watched Hillbilly Elegy on Netflix which was a really good movie.  While cooking each night, I watched/listened to various cooking shows.  Thursday I had my fix of the one trash TV show I watch Southern Charm on Bravo.

Kristen Hannah is one of my favorite authors.  I have read all of her books. Some are better than others but in my opinion The Great Alone and Winter Garden are my favorites.  Her newest novel, The Four Winds was released Tuesday.  It arrived Thursday and I can't wait to start reading it.

This weeks dinners were:

Sunday- Stuffed shells, salad, bread

Monday- Beef bone broth with Thai noodles.  Our local butcher sells beef soup bones for a really good price.  I had one in the freezer so once it thawed I seared both sides in the caste iron skillet then put it in the crockpot with celery, carrots, onion and garlic.  Then I added about 7 cups of water and cooked on low until late Monday afternoon.  I pulled the pieces of beef out and strained the broth. I sauteed garlic, ginger, onion and mushrooms, splash of tamari and then added the beef.  Added the mixture to the broth, sprinkled in cumin, turmeric, coriander, red pepper flakes and let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Add the Thai or any noodle you choose, simmer for another 10 minutes.  This was one of those wing it dinners turned out really good.

Tuesday-Chicken legs, baked potato and salad.

Wednesday- Chicken (left over), cabbage, carrot and ginger egg rolls with green onion, cream cheese in an egg roll wrap. I sliced up 1/2 head of cabbage, one carrot and one nub of ginger. Shredded the left over chicken from Monday.  Cooked the veggies, added red pepper flakes, tamari and a splash of fish sauce. When the cabbage softens, add the chicken.   Cook for about 5 minutes.  Let cool and then assemble the egg rolls.  Then I just mixed green onion with cream cheese and spread on two egg roll wraps and rolled.  Then fry or bake. 

Thursday- Beef and bean chili

Friday- Mushroom, green pepper, pepperoni and red onion pizza.

Saturday- Beef sausage stir fry with spicy rice and a cheese roll up.

What was your week like?

Things That Make Me Smile

 

Dr. Ella brought me these beautiful tulips on Tuesday for making lunch on Monday.  

I found this sign and had to have it.  My dad used to get so upset when my mother would occasionally let me have cake for breakfast.  She always said it's no different than a doughnut.  Smart woman.

I am going to start doing a weekly recap on Sundays and then random posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'm feeling the need for routine in this crazy, upside down world.

What made you smile this week?

Buns

 In my last post I wrote that I was making buns for lamb burgers.  They turned out better than expected. I used a recipe from King Arthur Baking.  

1 Cup water

2 tablespoons room temperature butter

1 egg

3 1/2 Cups AP Flour

1/4 Cup sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 package of yeast

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients-by hand, processor  or bread machine-to make a soft, smooth dough. I used the dough hook with my Ninja food processor.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or until it has doubled in bulk.

Gently deflate the dough and divide into 8 pieces.  Shape each piece into a round ball, flatten to about 3 inches across.  Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet, cover and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.

Brush the buns with half of the melted butter.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining butter.

Cool on a rack.

I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out very good.  Nice flavor with a good texture.  The only thing I will do differently next time is instead of brushing with butter I will do an egg wash half way through the bake.  I think that will give them a better shine and hold the sesame seeds on better.  We had them with our lamb burgers and then for sandwiches for lunch one day.  I froze the remaining buns.  I will be making all my buns from now on instead of buying.

Random Thoughts

2020 was such a strange year.  In some ways I feel like we were all stuck in March when the Pandemic started here in the US but at the same time it's like the year flew by. We all experienced so many changes.  Some good, some horrible.  I know I stopped doing a lot of things that were 'the norm' for me and I want to be sure and get back some of what I had stopped doing.  I know things aren't going to magically get better so I decided this year to just focus on the little things that I can control. 

 Today is the 22nd day of this new year and so far I have done a mani- pedi each week. I had forgotten how nice it is to have nice looking polished nails.  I have started putting my daily outfit together the night before and included accessories. Firefly Grill is our favorite place to eat.  They are re opening in March and I have made the bold move of actually making a reservation in April for our Anniversary.  I know...living on the edge.  I hope things are at least manageable by then.  We will see.

We have consumed zero store bought bread.  I have made bread from scratch each week, sometimes twice.  I know we're saving money and flour, salt, yeast and water are so much better than store bought loaded with chemicals and questionable ingredients.  This weekend I'm going to attempt hamburger buns.  I'm craving a lamb burger so hopefully they will come out well.  Stay tuned to see how this works out.

My husband doesn't care for steak. (I don't understand it at all)  I on the other hand LOVE it.  For the last few years though I limit my steaks to only 2 or 3 a year.  So I enjoyed steak number 1 Saturday night.  It was a grass fed local sirloin that I seasoned with black pepper and black lava salt and cooked in a cast iron skillet.  It was so good.  

Sunday night I roasted one of our local chickens.  The taste is so amazing compared to grocery store chicken.  We had it roasted one night, I made stock and then a big pot of spicy chicken soup.  

We even had a little snow on Sunday so I was able to let Jet outside to check it out.  He's an inside cat but I do let him have supervised time outside occasionally.  How he sits his behind in that cold snow I do not know.

Now it's Friday.  I'm off work for the weekend.  Tonight I'm going to work on my grocery list and tomorrow we will go get groceries.  I haven't shopped since the day after New Years except for one trip for fresh veggies.  

What has life been like in your neck of the woods?  Are you daring to actually plan anything yet?

Flavor

I keep a pretty full pantry with all of the staples we routinely use. I always have a variety of pasta, rice, beans and canned tomatoes.  I have some veggies from the summer in the freezer along with a fully stocked baking cabinet.  I always have done this since that is how I grew up. I don't do a weekly menu plan, I plan the day before unless it is a special occasion  or one of us is craving something specific. First I look at what fresh vegetables we have that need used first, then I pick a protein or not and then I pull from my pantry and then plan what I will cook. It works for me.  

Along with a stocked pantry a large selection of herbs, spices and oils play a huge part in my cooking.  As a matter of fact, I need to hang another spice rack as mine is full and I have spices in a drawer as well.  I just love the fact that you can take a piece of chicken and turn it into countless different dishes just by the way you cook it and the spices or sauces that you use.

There is no way I could pick a favorite meal profile because there are just too many to choose from.  If I had to pick my top used spices I would say cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, turmeric, Mexican and regular oregano, fresh garlic and fresh ginger as some of the ones I use the most. We lean towards Mexican, Thai, Italian, Japanese, Indian and Americanish dishes the most.  

What is your favorite spice?  What type of flavors do you lean towards? I hope everyone has a safe and peaceful week.

Cold dark nights call for soup

Every year I try to take the first couple of weeks of the New Year to plan, reflect and relax.  I take advantage of the long dark cold nights to read, watch movies or play in the kitchen.  Once a week every winter I try to make soup because it is what the season calls for.  This week we enjoyed this cabbage soup recipe.  I've made it many times.  You can do it vegetarian or add meat if you want to make it a bit hardier.

Cabbage soup

6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth

1 can diced tomatoes

2-3 cup sliced cabbage-I used purple and savoy all are good

1 onion chopped

1 or 2 carrots chopped

2 celery stalks chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 inch nub of ginger chopped

1/2 tablespoon turmeric

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1 tsp coriander 

1 tsp paprika

1 tablespoon oregano 

salt/pepper to taste

red chili flakes to taste

lemon optional

cilantro optional

Put all of the ingredients into a soup pot except for the lemon and cilantro.

Simmer on low for 2 hours.

Add cilantro and a squeeze of lemon when serving.

This is not a very good picture, but this gives you and idea what it looks like when it begins.  I didn't get a picture of the end result but this is a delicious soup full of healthy ingredients. 

I hope everyone had a good week.  Do you have any favorite soups?

Hello 2021

New Years Day was very relaxing.  I got up and made a big breakfast then we went in to watch the movie Peanut Butter Falcon.  I've been wanting to see it forever.  We both really enjoyed it.  I'd say it's one of the best movies I've seen in a while.  The rest of the day was spent setting up this years journal and odds and ends around the house.  For dinner I made a big batch of stuffed shells and a salad.  When it is only the two of us, I only bake enough for our dinner and then we have two uncooked meals to add to the freezer.

I don't dream very often and if I do, I rarely remember them.  But four or five years ago I had a very vivid dream.  I was buying a new house and when I got there things were very chaotic so I walked down the street a block or two to the ocean.  I went quite far into the water and a whale came up to me, brushed my check and whispered Just Float.  When I saw the Dingbat journal with the whale on it, I had to have it.  I have it all set up for 2021 and my motto through the year will be Just Float.

Seed catalogs are coming in so I am looking forward to taking some time to plan my garden this month.  I remember even as a child I would flip through my grandparents seed catalogs when they came. 

I really enjoyed this holiday season even if it was a little different than most.  October through January has always been my favorite time of year and I'm a little sad to see it come to a close.  The decorations are all put away and today I'm getting everything ready for the first full week of the year.  Here's hoping 2021 will be kind.

Be safe everyone!