A Hoppy Easter!

Saturday we were greeted by a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny! Mary-Claire loved it, and I think she thought it was a big puppy dog - she kept patting it. A wonderful surprise from friends that we will appreciate for years!

The Easter Bunny snuck in again and left the little one with a few Easter treats. She loved "shaking" the eggs to see if there was something inside.

We went to Easter Mass, which was followed by an egg hunt, however Dad supervised and didn't want her to mess up her outfit in the wet muck. Good call by Dad, I think. I think she had fun watching the other kids, though.

We followed that with Easter brunch. It was a beautiful display, and again, we saw the Easter bunny.

Mary-Claire had a fancy lunch, and was mostly well-behaved, but then needed to run and play, so off to the croquet court she went.

She tried to make friends with the older girls, but they can be a little "cliquey."

Then back inside to play with the bunny ears

And finally home to dump all the eggs

It was a very Hoppy, Happy Easter!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

Gourmet Baby

We have a gourmet baby on our hands.

She is really growing and seems to gobble up just about everything I make for her.  And we're not talking mashed potatoes here.  Not yet, anyway.  I got it in my head that since I was no longer working I would have time to make her food.  It's not difficult, just some steaming and whirring in the food processor, followed by pouring in the ice cube trays, then packaging into little plastic freezer bags so we can grab what we need when it's time to eat.  

It's funny, because I've made things for her that I would probably never make for us, as we're not really vegetable eaters.  Yes, I even roasted two pie pumpkins and made my own puree. And guess what - she liked it!

I guess I'm hoping to have a child who likes more than hot dogs and chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches. I pray that I don't become a short-order cook.  Or perhaps I should just refuse to.

I'm glad she likes avocado, which was her first food after a little rice cereal, and also yogurt. She loves sweet potato and her new favorite is edamame!  

She likes all of this. And especially these

It's fun to listen to her whittle them down with her little teeth. She's such a big girl in her high chair that was a gift from Uncle Wilbur

She's over 17 pounds now, so I guess all the good nutrition is paying off! Perhaps my effort is worth is. Of course it is!

My blogging has become less frequent, as I have other things to tend to - like this

The rope is not her toy, it's the dog's--and it's heading straight for her mouth! Whew! Just in time!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

The First Food I Ever Cooked: A Walk Down Memory Lane

When I was young I received a cookbook from a teacher friend of my mother's, Mrs. Espy.  She taught high school English.   I have tried in vain to find this cookbook, as I know I would never give it away, but to no avail.  The cookbook was especially for kids, and used kitchen appliances such as the toaster oven, the "fry-daddy" and maybe the "Presto" hamburger maker - remember those?

Mrs. Espy had gone through the cookbook and written little notes in red pen, such as "These sound delicious!"  "I can't wait to try these!"  And next to some recipes, she just drew a smiley face.  This was my first experience with a cookbook, and especially one of my own.   The recipe I remember making was Biscuit Pizzas, and I think I remember it went something like this:

Ingredients:

1 can of refrigerator biscuits

tomato sauce

cheese

Instructions:

Pat out biscuit dough until it forms a flat round.  Top with tomato sauce and cheese.  Place in toaster oven (or real oven) for time recommended on biscuit can.

That's it!  

In honor of Mrs. Espy, I made them again, but "doctored" them up a little.  They were a big hit with the hubby, and I'm sure P-Nugget will like helping make them when she's big enough.

Mrs. Espy was a very nice lady, and when she passed away, there was an auction for some of her belongings.  My mother acquired some Southern Living cookbooks from the auction, and sure enough, Mrs. Espy had written little notes on the pages.  Now when we look at the cookbooks, we think of her.  I think this is the reason that I make notes in my cookbooks and on my recipes - someone will have my books someday (maybe little Mary-Claire) and with my notes, the books will have just a little more personality.

I still buy kid's cookbooks, and I recently bought the Sesame Street one for Mary-Claire.  The Emeril's is an autographed copy from a few years back:

I can't wait until she's old enough to help me pick something out!

What was the first thing you remember cooking?  I'd love to hear!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

No Recipe? No Problem

I am still participating in the Dinner On A Deadline project, and our homework for this week was to cook without a recipe.  Ten years ago this might have been a problem, but after taking a 14 week Basic Food Prep class at the local community college, I became much more comfortable in the kitchen.  Now I see ingredients as a starting place, instead of relying on a recipe for everything.  Yes, I still try recipes, but I don't fret if I don't have all the ingredients.  Sometimes, the best meals come from just winging it!  

Tonight I started with this:

Lettuce Leaf Basil from my herb garden

then found this in the pantry

Heated it up like this  (over low)

Deglazed with this

And ended up with this

Tasty

Dinner on A Deadline: Week 2

Granted, my posts have gotten less frequent since the baby arrived, but I am still committed to Dinner on A Deadline.  Homework for this week was "planning."  Never my strong suit, being a right brained, creative type, but like Frank Sinatra, I did it "My Way."  

At the beginning of the week I had the conversation with hubby on scheduling - what nights will he be home and what nights he has meetings or other obligations.  He told me he would be home Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, and on Tuesday we would have our big city friend, Rufus, joining us and it's a tradition that they barbecue.  Easy enough.

Now, to scan the freezer.  We had chicken, and steak.  Perfect for barbecue.  I have a simple marinade that I use for chicken.  I know I could use a bottle of italian dressing, but have you read the ingredient list on most of the bottles?  I swear I can't pronounce most of it, so I have a basic marinade I use and "doctor" it up depending on what herbs I might have around.  Here are the ingredients for the basic marinade:

Olive oil - I don't use Extra Virgin here because it's just going to get cooked. Save the good stuff for your salad dressing!

Vinegar - here I used White Balsamic, but be creative - if you're grilling pork, an apple cider vinegar would be nice, or red wine vinegar is good for flank steak

Salt - here is used Mediterranean Sea Salt, but Kosher is great, too

Pepper - I like freshly ground

My proportions are as follows - there is no science to this

A "count" of olive oil for each piece you are grilling - i.e. 4 pieces of chicken, you pour as you're counting 1, 2, 3, 4  (I made this up, but it works)

I did about double the count of vinegar - it pours slower, but really did it until it equaled a little over 1/3 cup  (again, NOT science)

Salt - about 7 cranks on the grinder (if I were using Kosher I would have used 1t. for this amount)

Pepper - about 7-8 turns of the grinder

There's a reason recipes say "season to taste"  It's OK to "wing it!"

Add any herbs that might go with what you are grilling - in the summer I love basil with this, but also know that the marinade is good just as is, extremely cheap to make and takes almost less time than opening a bottle of salad dressing, and you know EXACTLY what's in it!

Next, I pour this over the chicken in a plastic bag and let it sit for at least 30 minutes like this:

You can even mix the marinade in the bag if you like!

Next for the steak - here's my trick.  I watch for beef tenderloin to be on sale at our local market - no kidding, I think I got this for $3.69/lb.  Then, have the butcher cut it into filets - thickness of your choice - I usually do about an inch, which makes for a perfect serving size.  Then I portion into quart size freezer bags and take out what I need.  I also label them so I know how many are in the bag and when I froze them....

Oops!  These have been here a while, but guess what, they were surprisingly fresh looking when thawed, so luckily no freezer burn.  All the more reason to plan your dinners!

A tender cut like this gets simple treatment - a little olive oil and salt & pepper.  That's it.

I tossed a mixed green salad with strawberries & goat cheese, used a basically the same mix for the marinade for the simple salad dressing and we were set!

Uncle Rufus was a happy camper!  And so was Mary-Claire!

My Wednesday dinner was shrimp from the freezer, linguine from the pantry and jarred pasta sauce.  Not fancy, not pretty, but I did it!  And we liked it!

Now awaiting my next assignment from Dinner On A Deadline!  

Have a great weekend!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

The Dinner on a Deadline Project

I happened upon this post the other day, and it got me thinking about my recent dinner endeavors.  I am a person who finds a lot of satisfaction in cooking, however since I became pregnant last summer, and now that I have given birth, I have been slacking in my culinary duties.

Luckily, I have a husband who doesn't mind, but I do know how much he appreciates when I go the extra mile.  We tend to eat healthier, more balanced fare, and there is something to be said about knowing exactly how your food is prepared.  

So, upon reading the post from Married With Dinner, I decided to get back in the game, food wise.  It really doesn't take that long, so I have committed to taking the fish, pork, chicken, beef, or whatever else I might need out of the freezer at least three times per week and putting a healthy meal on the table.  It really doesn't take that long, and although it may not always be pretty, it's better than some of processed stuff we have been eating too much of.

Here was last night's meal, which was truly a hit with my family.  

We started with this:

Just a simple green salad with tomatoes, a sprinkling of parmesan and some Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette, although I do make my own dressing frequently.

We proceeded to the main course

From Southern Living May issue - click here for the recipe

Spicy Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Sauce

Very easy, and very tasty.  For some reason I tend to forget how easy pork can be to prepare, so it doesn't get into the rotation very often.

We rounded out the meal with just a smidge of leftover mashed potatoes & stuffing from the night before.

Finally, a simple fruit cup for dessert:  fresh pineapple ($2.79 at Costco!), strawberries, blackberries and some cut up Clementines.  

Project Dinner on a Deadline has begun!  

Hope you try it!

The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

Home-Made Takeout: Lighter General Tso's Chicken

Towards the end of the year I wasn't cooking as much as I'd like.  Not sure if it was due to the pregnancy fatigue, or just laziness on my part, but I enjoy cooking, so have vowed to try to cook at least three times per week when my husband isn't traveling.


I have developed a taste for Asian food - sushi, Thai, Chinese - and one of my favorites is Chang's Spicy Chicken from P.F. Changs.  The big problem is that P.F. Chang's is over an hour from us, so it's definitely a special occasion thing.


I was happy to find this recipe (click on recipe) from Martha Stewart last year, and have made it several times.  It's easy, tasty and lighter than a lot of take-out.  I serve with long-grain brown rice cooked in my trusty Sanyo Rice Cooker ( Sanyo ECJ-HC55S 5-1/2-Cup Micro-Computerized Rice Cooker and Slow Cooker, White), and it turns out perfectly every time.  I usually make a little extra sauce, and yesterday added shredded carrots for a little more color.  You can cut back on the crushed red pepper flakes if you don't like it too spicy.

Also, the rice is served in my new piece of Fiestaware.  I love the color and the pattern on the side of the bowl.  Very pretty!

Good luck!  I hope you try it the next time you're craving take-out!


Stay Warm,


The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County

Going Home

Today we are heading back to Missouri and we are driving.  We are looking forward to seeing family and friends in both Columbia and Kansas City.


I think the one thing that my husband looks the most forward to each year is the big Christmas Day breakfast feast.  I will try to get a photo or two, but no promises.  Biscuits and gravy, country ham & red-eye gravy, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, cinnamon rolls, various jams, jellies and butters, and the list goes on.  This is all prepared in my granny's "one-butt" kitchen, with the original appliances from 1958.  And the appliances did not include a dishwasher or garbage disposal.


Should be a fun time, and my mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Here's to lots of food, family and fun and a safe trip in the car!


Happy Holidays to all.  No promises on posts for the next couple of weeks, but I will do my best!  


The Real Housewife of Sheboygan County