My Week

For some reason this week flew by and unfortunately the weekend did too.  I'm seriously thinking about working 4 10 hour days instead of 5 8 hour days.  I used to do that and it was really nice.  I just feel like I never have enough time at home to do everything that needs done and that is with a lot of help from the big guy.  This week I am really going to pay attention to how I spend my time to make sure I'm maximizing it.

The weather was pretty nice this week.  Yesterday was the warmest so far, hitting 78 degrees.  I did take a couple of hours and sit outside in the sun reading.  That always rejuvenates me.  This week though the temperatures looks like a roller coaster with a few nights down below freezing.

Dinners this week:

 Monday-Nacho chicken legs with rice

Tuesday-Italian Chicken Sausage with pasta

Wednesday- Chicken, potato salad and lettuce salad

Thursday- Italian beef sandwiches and oven fries

Friday- Alfredo sauce, ham and red onion pizza

Saturday-Chicken fajita and rice

Alfredo Sauce: ( I used it on the pizza and will be using the rest tonight over pasta)

1/2 stick unsalted butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 Cup flour

2 Cups room temperature milk

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

How was your week?

Things That Make Me Smile

 

Things From My Kitchen

I don't measure a lot when cooking but for baking you have to. So a couple of years ago I found this scale and I LOVE it.  It is so easy to use and it seems to be very accurate.  I haven't had anything flop yet.  I think this is the easiest way to convert measurements.  It's awesome that all of the information is right on the glass.

My Week

 Spring is officially here!  Yesterday we did our grocery shopping and then I spent the afternoon outside reading.  Ever since I was a kid, I have loved sitting out in the sun reading a good book. It rejuvenates my soul.  I am so glad grilling season is back for us.  It was a long cold winter and I have missed grilling outside.

Sunday-Stuffed beef burgers

Monday-Grilled chicken with black beans and rice

Tuesday- Hot Italian chicken sausage and pasta

Wednesday-Cauliflower 'buffalo chicken wings" and salad

Thursday- Korean beef and rice

Friday- Big salad

Saturday-Chicken and salad

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

Orange Pound Cake

I found this recipe over 10 years ago but I do not make it as often as I should.  It is such a fresh, moist, flavorful cake.  Be prepared for your kitchen to smell heavenly as it bakes.

Orange pound Cake

2 1/4 Cup Flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest of 2 oranges

1 2/3 Cup sugar

5 room temperature eggs

2/3 Cup Creme Fraiche or heavy cream

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

7 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour 9x5x3 loaf pan.

Place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt.

Toss the sugar and orange zest together in a large bowl.  Rub together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. 

Whisk in eggs until the mixture is pale and foamy.  Then whisk in the creme fraiche and  Grand Marnier. 

Switch to a large rubber spatula and gently stir the sifted flour mixture into the batter a little at a time.  Then fold in the melted batter a little at a time until the batter is thick and smooth.

Pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake 1 hour and 25 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

My Week and the April A-Z Challenge

 Monday-Steak, mashed potatoes and fried asparagus. We do not eat fried foods very often but the big guy saw fried asparagus on a show he was watching and wanted to try them.  SO good. Flour slightly damp asparagus, coat with egg wash and then shake the asparagus in a bag of bread crumbs or panko with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and fry in oil turning once until golden brown.  I served them with a side of ranch.  They were so good we had them again Saturday for lunch.

Tuesday-Left over steak on nachos. In the summer I make a ton of salsa.  I still had some diced tomatoes and jalapenos in the freezer so I used them and added diced green chilis, garlic, onion, salt and cilantro.  So much better than any jar of salsa.

Wednesday- Udon noodles, chicken and veggie bowl.

Thursday- Lamb meatballs with lemon, garlic aioli, roasted onions and potatoes.

Friday- Left over meatless sauce and spaghetti, salad and fresh bread.

Saturday- Jerk spiced chicken legs with broccoli mac and cheese.

Now about the A-Z challenge.  Martha from Seaside Simplicity had a post a couple of weeks ago about the April challenge.  I thought about it and decided to do it.  If you want to learn more or sign yourself up go to Blogging from A to Z April Challenge (a-to-zchallenge.com) to sign up. My theme is going to be Cookbooks and Food Memoirs that I have read.  I think this will be a fun challenge. I hope some of you join in.

Happy Sunday!!

Things from my Kitchen

 Just a random post on some of the things in my kitchen that I love.  

My brother made this cutting board in wood shop when he was 17 and gave it to me for Christmas.  He's going to be 44 this year so that tells you how long ago that was.  For many years it leaned against the kitchen wall unused.  I thought it was too beautiful to use.  But in my quest to use and enjoy the good stuff I started actually using it.  I still use my larger cutting board the most but this no longer sits on the counter being neglected.

This is a picture of the 6 sets of chopsticks a friend of mine brought me from Japan.  They really are beautiful.  The glass that I keep them in  is one I picked up when I was 13 from a local Chinese Restaurant.  The picture doesn't show how pretty it is.  It is a dragon that wraps all around the glass.

I may do more posts of my favorite things.  It was nice to take a few minutes and think about how special some things are to me.  

My Week

 It's been one year ago today since I have seen my Mom.  We had gone out to lunch to celebrate her birthday.  In one hand it seems like it has been so much longer than one year.  I just heard that our favorite Mexican place, Gueros has been sold.  It was owned and operated by a husband and wife who lived above the restaurant and the stress of this last year has really taken a toll on their family.  They did so much for the community, this is a big loss. I think we are all going to be feeling the effects of this past year for a long time.

Dinners this week...

Monday- Ham and Cheese puff pastry, salad

Tuesday-Chicken Tiki Masala, spicy rice and cheese roll ups

Wednesday-Sloppy Joes on homemade buns and oven fried potatoes

Thursday-Spaghetti, salad, bread ( I switched out Portobello mushrooms for the meat in the sauce.  The meat eating big guy couldn't even tell. )

Friday-Pizza

Saturday- Lamp chops, baked potato, asparagus

Here is my recipe for Sloppy Joes:

3 cloves of garlic, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1 pound ground beef

2 cups tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs. red wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

pinch cayenne

pinch thyme

Sautee the first three ingredients.  Add the beef.  Once the beef is cooked add remaining ingredients.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.

The weather is warming up here.  Each day this week is supposed to be sunny and in the 60's.  

Happy Sunday!!

Things That Make Me Smile

 I finally found Florida strawberries today at Fresh Thyme.  So excited.  They are all cleaned and some are in the freezer for shakes or smoothies and a large bowl is sitting in the fridge waiting to be scooped on vanilla ice cream.  I can't wait.

My Week

I am so happy to live in the area we do. We have access to some of the best meat and produce around.  There is a large community of farmers producing amazing products and a number of small shops selling these items. It is so important to me to know where my food is coming from.  The quality of your food is what makes amazing meals.  It doesn't have to be fancy or trendy, just good wholesome and fresh ingredients.  The only thing I miss is the fresh fish I could get in Florida. You can find local catfish which is great but that is about the only one. Nothing against Indonesia but I want my food sourced closer to home. Luckily a few years ago I tried Sea to Table and we love it.  They tell you exactly when and where your fish was caught and it is shipped in dry ice right to your door.   

This week I finally found some good vanilla beans that I didn't have to spend a huge amount of money to buy.  The price has really gone up over the last few years with the weather conditions wiping out so many vanilla bean producers.  I bought a 10 pack from Native Vanilla so now I will have two more jars of vanilla in a few months. I make a batch about every 2 or 3 years.  Vanilla beans and a medium quality Vodka make the best vanilla extract. In 3-6 months the beans will release their deliciousness and turn this a beautiful dark brown.

Dinner this week...

Monday-Chicken and Rice

Tuesday-Coho Salmon, potatoes, green beans

Wednesday-Bacon wrapped meatloaf, pureed parsnips and asparagus (Shown in previous post)

Thursday-First grilling of the season!  Chicken kabobs, black beans

Friday-Chili, cheese wonton cups

Saturday-Home made beef and cheese Ravioli, salad

How was your week?

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?