Stock Your Kitchen - Foods & Spices

It hasn't been a year yet (barely 6 months) since I've truly started cooking (true cooking involves a recipe, a plan and actually caring about the food you're making) and I've noticed that there are quite a few recipes that use the same ingredients. There are also at least 3 meals I can think of this second that I can make in an emergency because the ingredients are those that won't perish quickly and so I always make sure to have them on hand.

Also, when I got my first apartment I really could have used a guide when I went shopping to stock the cupboards. Had I been able to find one, I probably wouldn't be so late in starting my culinary fixation.

C'est la vie!

However I got here, here I am, giving you a guide that I could use myself. Please remember that this is great for my family and the foods we regularly eat (and recipes I am attracted to making) so feel complete freedom to add your own ingredients or spices if I have left your favorites out.

*I wish I were a pro and had everything organized by location in the grocery store, but instead I'm listing them as I find them in my own kitchen. Welcome to the layout of my pantry & spice rack!*

     Green Beans
     Peas
     Mixed Vegetables (great for emergency meals & pot pies)
     Sliced Carrots (great snack kids love, emergency meals, filler)
     Olives
     Pineapple
     Pinto Beans
     White Beans (use in place of Great Northern)
     Tomato Sauce (not to be confused with spaghetti sauce)
     Tomato Paste
     Diced Tomatoes (with AND without italian spices)
     Canned Mushrooms (sliced or whole in jar)
     Chicken Broth
     Beef Broth
     Cream of Mushroom Soup
     Cream of Chicken Soup
     Cream of Celery Soup
     Beefy Mushroom Soup
     Cheese Soup (or Nacho Cheese Soup)
     Spaghetti Sauce
     Spaghetti Noodles
     Elbow Noodles
     Egg Noodles
     Instant White Rice
          Secondary less used rices would be converted white & wild
     Saltine Crackers
     Barley (buy it once and it will last a long time)
  **Brown Sugar
     White Sugar
     All Purpose Flour (the bit healthier unbleached if possible)
          Secondary less used flours would be wheat & bread
     Baking Soda
     Baking Powder
     Iodized Salt
     Ground Pepper (I use only in recipes calling for measured amounts of pepper)
     Peppercorns (use in place of ground at each opportunity)
     Pure Vanilla Extract (splurge, you'll notice the difference)
     Cornstarch (!!!!! Makes anything thicker & does not dilute flavor)
     Parsley
     Basil
     Whole Bay Leaves (always use 1 in place of bits, just pluck out before serving)
     Oregano
     Thyme
     Paprika
     Cinnamon
     Ground White Pepper (cannot see it in food & is MUCH stronger)
     Onion Powder (I use in place of onions *shudder*)
     Chicken Bouillon (adds flavor or broth in an instant)
     Beef Bouillon
     Italian Seasoning
     California Seasoning Garlic Salt (my fav spice bar none)
     Garlic Salt (the kind with Parsely is our go-to spice)
     Garlic Powder
     Minced Garlic
     Dried Onion Soup Mix
     Packaged Spices I Can't Live Without:
          Meatloaf Seasoning
          Country Gravy Mix
          Mild Chili
          Taco Seasoning
     Lemon Juice
     Honey
     16oz Brick Cheddar Cheese
     Butter Sticks
     Worcestershire Sauce
     Soy Sauce
     Ketchup (I prefer Heinz. This is a base for a lot of great sauces)
     Pickles
     Applesauce
     Tuna
Buy in bulk & vacuum seal:
     Burger of some sort
     Ground Sausage
     Chicken Breasts

The majority of the list are things that you should pounce on during store sales! I'm that crazy lady you see with 25 cans of Pinto Beans in my shopping cart. When they're on sale for a dollar apiece, I don't mind the weird looks I'm given! Pinto beans are good for almost anything... soups, tacos, burritos, chili, dip....    

With this list you can easily make a last minute wonderful dinner or a gourmet slow cooked delight.

**not recommended to innocently holler "where's my brown sugar at?!" When frustrated in the middle of a newly renovated Target filled with black people.

A Quick Catchup

Hola! I've been so busy with Christmas to-do's that I haven't really cooked anything this last week! I've been refurbishing? upcycling? a dresser that I found at my local Goodwill. I lucked out and was able to purchase and pick it up just days after they marked it down to the bargain basement price of $19.99!

I'm not going to say more on that just yet because I'm intending on creating a post specifically of my work on the dresser *SQUEAL* wait until you seeeeeee!

My major project (other than the dresser but inspired by it) was to completely makeover my daughter's room. In buying our beautiful hunk of land I call The Farm (currently rabbits, chickens, horses, cats & dogs), along with 10 acres (we lease an additional 80 acres) we are proud owners of a barn, a shop (with a kitchen, canning room & freezer room!!!) and a singlewide 1980something trailer... so household space is tight and will be for another 4-5 years when we get our 2 story farmhouse (I swoon at the thought) built.

The Point: everything HAS to be functional and space-saving! Luckily, mama here played a lot of Tetris in her day and also worked for UPS (until I got hurt. I loved that job *tear*) so I KNOW how to stack me some stuff, m'kay?? I know how to fit almost anything anywhere.

The Problem: I am sentimental. I am soft-hearted when it comes to Things and Things My Daughter Wants To Keep. I didn't have much growing up and I know that's the reason. Now, I am not a hoarder by any stretch of the imagination, so don't get that idea! Its just tough to let go. HAVING to let go makes it easier.

Little house = not really a choice.

So I decided when I saw the dresser that I would makeover Aly's room, not in some googly pretty fantastical showpiece way though. More like a "hey, this is really functional compared to what was here and its also sort of cute" kind of way. I've been working on it every day.

I have learned 2 things:

     1. My daughter is more creative than she lets on.

     2. Taffy DOES rot.

I will get that posting up of the dresser soon but for now I'm going to see if I can make biscuit bowls using bisquick and a cupcake pan! Will it be possible?! In the immortal and breathless words of Lea Thompson in Back to the Future, "I don't know... but I'm going to find out!"

*NOTE* I made a ham and bean soup with the leftover ham with my last posting from a recipe I found online. I chose the recipe because I had all of the ingredients on hand... yeaaaah... I should know better than to choose a recipe based on that. It called for 2 tsp of Italian Seasoning WHICH MADE IT STINK AND TASTE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING so don't ever do a recipe for ham & bean soup that calls for Italian Seasoning! I am a fan of Italian Seasoning but combined with the ham & beans it was more like Italian Armpit Hair Especial. *shudder*

Kid Friendly Holiday Candy Craft Gifties!!

I was looking for a holiday craft that my 8yo daughter and I could do together and I didn't find anything to suit us; either it involved too much time, money, or really wasn't cute. Finally when I stopped looking for "crafts for kids" I found something!

This is our version of what I saw. You may want to figure out how many of these you'd like to make before you go buy supplies!  I bought enough supplies to make 40 giftie bags and spent less than $10 (dollar store marshmallows & bagged round peppermints, ya'll!)

*cute interruption: I just got a text from my husband that says "I love you wife." awwwww*



Note: an average bag contains 40 marshmallows which makes about 10 gifties (4 per bag)
         an average box of hot chocolate contains 10 packets which makes about 5 gifties (2 per bag)
           
 Buy 2 boxes of hot chocolate for every 1 bag of marshmallows

    Kid Friendly Holiday Candy Craft Giftie

 

Water

Ribbon

 Marshmallows
Powdered Sugar
Hot Chocolate Packets

Skewers -found in most baking sections

Cellophane Baggies -You want to show off the pretties!
Peppermints or Candycanes -I found mints cheaper than canes

I did not take a picture of every step because it's just. that. easy.

Unwrap your mints or canes and place them into a gallon sized resealable bag. Place it on a hard surface and

LET THE KIDS WHACK IT!

You can have them use the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, hammer, can of vegetables or (the less fun because there's no whacking) a rolling pin. Bigger chunks sure would be prettier but don't even waste your time stopping the whackification process to try out the big chunks on the mallows. They just won't stick as good and there will be big gaps in between the chunks... NOT pretty.

Make an edible glue by mixing a TINY amount (start with a teaspoon) of water with powdered sugar. Keep adding powdered sugar and mixing until it's about the consistency of that school glue your remember.

Holding the ends of the marshmallow, coat it in the "glue" and then when the dripping has just about stopped, roll it in the crushed candy. Don't bother with getting the ends coated in candy, you'll need to be able to stick skewers through them later.

Set the coated marshmallows on waxed paper or freezer paper (at my house we ALWAYS have at least 3 rolls of freezer paper handy) using your keys, wallet, corner of a crock and a brass mouse as paperweights. That configuration is super important.

HAHAHAHA!!!!

While the marshmallows are drying, fill each cellophane bag with 2 hot chocolates (it's always nice to share with a friend. If you only put one set per bag, you're pretty much telling the recipient that you believe they are a lonely individual that has no one to share a cup of hot chocolate with and you don't want to give that message do you?).

If your glue is thick it will only take about 30 minutes to an hour for the candies to dry. Place 2 on each skewer (I had to trim about 3 or so inches off each skewer to get them to fit properly in the bags. Wire cutters work great for that) and then place 2 skewers in each bag.

Tie the bags with a lovely piece of ribbon and TADA!!!!!!


Now, not only do these LOOK GREAT but they TASTE GREAT TOO!!! Aly and I taste tested these ourselves to make sure we wouldn't give our friends and family ishy treats.

We taste tested them a couple times.

You know, to be SURE sure.

ENJOY!!!!

Diabetic Coma Ham

When we got our bacon and hams back from the butcher the other day, Shawn left a HUGE ham out (about 18" long by about 4-5" thick) for me to "figure something out" to do with it. I have never cooked a ham nor have I crocked a ham.

Research tiiiiiiime!!!!

The most common element to cooking hams it seems, is brown sugar. Several recipes I saw called for brown sugar and pineapple juice, or brown sugar and coca-cola, or just brown sugar on it's own. I had been planning on making a Pear Chrisp and had some large cans (29oz each) of pears in the pantry (I didn't use the pears we canned ourselves because if it was any good I wanted to be able to give you a recipe you could shop for and "a jar of pears worth of juice" just isn't transferable) so I thought I might as well make the Pear Chrisp to go with the ham and use the pear juice along with the brown sugar. 

The result will probably put most diabetics into a coma, but here goes:

   Diabetic Coma Ham

     1 Bigass Ham
     Juice from 1 29oz Can of Pears

     2 C Brown Sugar

To gain perspective, that is a HUGE 7qt crock

Grease the crock!! You can use spray if you don't have Crisco. In this case I had both but I want the thicker coating the Crisco will provide.
 
I chose pear juice partly because it's the fruit juice I had on hand and partly because with all of that brown sugar I wanted something a little milder. I cannot fathom (yet) crocking meat without some sort of liquids; I have to steam the meat. Open the can of pears and drain the juice into the bottom of the crock. Set pears aside for Pear Chrisp.

Next we'll add some brown sugar. A Super Tip with brown sugar is to store it in a gallon sized resealable bag. This will keep it from drying out AND it's much easier to measure out what you need with less mess and no spoon to pack it in the measuring cup and no knife to level it off... just use your hand! Dip the measuring cup inside with one hand and on the outside of the bag use your other hand to pack the sugar into the cup and level it off and then reseal it. TADA!!!

Put 1 1/2 C of the brown sugar into the bottom of the crock with the juices and lightly stir.

Squeeze the ham into the crock. You may have to trim some of the fat off of it so that it'll fit.

Put some of the juice from the bottom on top of the ham and then rub on the remaining 1/2 C of brown sugar.

Cook on LOW for 6 hours.

I am going to flip the ham over when I get home from work.

I will post the recipe for Pear Chrisp when I make it and I'll have a link here.

I don't know if this ham will be good but if I don't post for a few days it's probably because I went into a coma!!!


**UPDATE** 12/17/2011 This ham turned out AMAZING!!! I'm not going to crock a whole ham any other way (well, if I'm keeping it a whole ham when I serve it) than this. It literally FELL APART and my husband had to use two spatulas to get it out of the crock in a decently whole manner. It was tender and right on the line of  "is this going to be dry?" without being dry. The pear juice was the perfect mild toner (I don't know what else to call it) for the meat and all that brown sugar. I definitely went into taking a bite thinking that it was going to be sweeter than it was. Nope! It was perfectly tempered, seriously... you wouldn't take a bite and think "this is sweet". Very VERY good! I'm sure the Hammy Bean Soup I'm making with the leftovers I wrestled away from Shawn (just about literally) will be delicious as well!

My Home Depot Experience

Be warned, this is a rant.

Yesterday I went into my local Home Depot to price out some stainless steel sheets (for the project I mention in A Note About Spices) and it went about the same as every other visit there has gone.

A little something like this:

I walk into the HD to see 2 employees near the entrance busily talking about their day. I walk on, trying to find the item I need. I can't find it so I try to find an employee to assist me. Mind you, I've seen about 10 employees wandering around at this point. When I actively try to find an employee, somehow they sense my need and become impossible to pin down. I walk up on a herd of about 5, all of whom studiously do not make eye contact with me, and they scatter like cockroaches as I come within "Excuse me..." distance (about 15ft). If I'm lucky, which is rarely, I catch the slowest and weakest of the bunch and forcibly enlist their help by stepping squarely in their path and issuing the louder version of the "Excuse me.." call.

If I'm not lucky, which is usually, I've got to employ the "spot and stalk" tactic which involves spotting an employee at the end of another aisle and then stalking them as they walk quickly away and pretend they haven't noticed my existence.

Oh yes you have, you prairie dogging aisle ducking sonofa$#%@! 

(I don't cuss a lot, only when I'm irritated or mad or talking)

When I catch the mythical white buffalo, er, HD employee, it INVARIABLY goes like this...

ME:     "Excuse me, could you tell me where I could find the <whatever>?"

HD:     "well I don't know.. <mumblemumble> *shifting feet*.. maybe down... <mumblemumble>"

and then they start walking away!!!

WTF?? I never know if I'm supposed to follow them.. so I do anyway because I've got nothing to lose and I'd like to see more of this creature's habitat. I follow the HD employee as they randomly zig here and zag there, all the while muttering to themselves

and I have no idea why I've bothered following them!!!but I keep following until they stop and mutter halfway intelligibly "..maybe Frank might know..." but they just stand there

as if I know who the hell Frank is!!!

How in the %$*&# would I know who Frank is, much less where Frank could be located???!!!

GRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!I end up tossing out an "uh, okay, thanks anyway I guess" and just walk away. I can't help but glare at the multiple small herds of employees I run into as I huffily walk out the door.

Yesterday I saw no less than 4 other customers needing assistance and not getting help from an employee, and 3 packs of employees scattering and collecting.. scattering and collecting... like schools of fish.

On my way out of the store yesterday I was SO MAD
that when an employee asked,

     "How are you today?"

I said, "FINE. I hate this store." and walked out.

I still have no idea if they carry stainless steel sheets and I don't give a $%&#!

Buzzy Pork Loin Roast

Earlier this year I bought a few pork loin roasts that were on sale for $4/ea and vacuum sealed them. I found one last night when we were stuffing the hams (12 of them!) and bacon (loads!) into my already overstuffed 32 cu ft freezer that we just got back from the butcher. There is nothing better than raising your own meat. We fed them apples & pears for the last month... makes for some NUMMY meats!

I digress...

I found this pork loin roast (about 2lbs) that needed to gooooooo but how to cook it?? I came up with a little something and I have no idea how its going to taste!

I'm okay with that!

If its gross, that's okay!

If its good, that's okay!

Let me tell you what I've created and what I'm planning to do with it... just in case its edible!

    Buzzy Pork Loin Roast

     1 Pork Loin Roast
     1 C Columbian Coffee -buzzzzzzz
     1 tbs Soy sauce
     1 pkg Onion Soup Mix -with the onions strained out of course!
     3 tsp minced garlic
     Cracked pepper

    
    Greaseth the crock. Place the loin on the bottom, add in the onion soup mix, soy sauce & coffee. Spread the minced garlic across the top of the roast that is showing out of the liquids and then crack some pepper across it.

     Cook on LOW for 6 hours

I'll be setting the crock to turn on at 12 so I have dinner ready at 6. It will be very nice to go to work, work, come home, "run into town" (1 1/2 hours) and come home to a great meal without having made a huge effort!

**UPDATE** 12/15/2011 We LOVED this! It was actually ready in only 5 hours. I used a meat thermometer to check it because I'm scared to get brain worms from pork. If you saw the documentary, you know what I'm talking about! It was super tender (gotta love the caffeine!) and had wonderful flavor BUT it was too salty.

The flavor of the soy sauce was spot on but it made it too salty so I'm going to take the amount down to 1 tablespoon (previously had it at 2 tablespoons) next time and see how it goes.

Also it is important to note that I flipped the loin over when I got home from work (about halfway through cooking time) because I always like to have both sides cooked in the juices if possible.

I made a gravy by adding a couple tablespoons of cornstarch to the gravy. The saltiness of the gravy was tempered to a tolerable level by the mashed potatoes but not enough to keep the amount of soy sauce at the original 2 tbs.

Definitely a winner!

Banana Cream Pie!!!

 

While I was at work today, my brand shiny spanky new gorgeous Cuisinart stand mixer arriveth! I suddenly started feeling sick *cough*sniff*cough* and headed home to play with it... er, to feel better...

I stopped at my local Top Foods on the way home to pick up some banana pie fixin's... oh, uh.. and cold medicine *cough*hack*cough*

I'm sure most of you have made a banana cream pie but I still want to share with you my own super quick and yummy version.

Fun Fact: homemade whipped cream contains half of the carbs and half of the sugar than most ready made versions.

Without further ado, I give you:

    Mr. Barton's Favorite Banana Cream Pie

     3 Banananananananas
     5.1oz pkg Banana Pudding Mix
     2 1/2 C Milk
     2 C Whipped Cream -made mine with my mixer *snaps suspenders*
     1 Ready-made Graham Cracker Crust
    Mix milk and dry banananana pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in the whipped cream and then set the mix aside in your fridge. Slice the bananas and line the wall and bottom of the graham cracker pie crust with them (1 layer). Pour mix into crust over banananananas making sure to cover the ones around the edge very well so thay they don't turn brown. Put back into the fridge for at least 1 hour.

I know its not the best picture but I didn't want to drag out my camera-camera.

It was soooo nice having a mixer! I was able to do other things (cut up the bananas) while it was mixing and the clean up was much easier :)

I love my Nart!

The Spiciest Whole Chicken You'll Ever Crock

I stumbled across this recipe and couldn't resist trying it because it involves a rub and I'd been wanting to get more cooking experience with those. I knew it would be spicy just from reading the ingredients but I didn't know it'd be napalm in chicken guise. Its very good, just very hot. The skin is, anyway. What ends up happening is the skin and juices will be hot enough to melt your face off (hot enough to make Chuck Norris blink) but the meat will be tender and flavorful so its well worth the try... at least once.

I've said before that putting your prepared dish in the refrigerator overnight (except those including noodles. Down with mushy noodles!) is always a great way to build flavor in your meats and vegetables and this is a great recipe for that if you've got the time. Any time you use a rub, an overnight sitting will really benefit it.

You'll see there's a lot of ingredients but don't let the amount of them deterr you; its actually quite easy.

    Spicey Whole Chicken

     2 tsp Salt
     2 tsp Paprika
     1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
     1 tsp Onion Powder
     1 tsp Thyme
     1 tsp White Pepper
     1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
     1/2 tsp Black Pepper

     1 can Chicken Broth

     1 Whole Chicken

    Grease the crock!

    Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with a paper towel.

    Put all of the spices in a bowl & mix.

    Rub spices all over the outside of the chicken. Immediately wash your hands when you're done!

    If you have time to let the chicken set overnight, put the chicken into a gallon sized resealable bag and then rub with spices.

    When ready to cook, pour the broth into the crock (you want a half inch to an inch of liquid; basically you're steaming the meat so add/reduce as necessary) and then place the chicken in, being careful to keep it from touching the sides if possible.

    *note: do not EVER place meat that has been rubbed with dry ingredients, into liquids from the recipe for overnight setting unless specified. This pretty much defeats the purpose of the rub and turns it into a marinade instead.    

    You'll notice in the photo that I had put baby carrots in mine. I was unaware how muy, muy, MUY caliente it would be. This was a mistake. I don't particularly enjoy a spicy-hot vegetable and those were little A-Bombs of hotness.

    If you like very spicy foods or need some passive-aggressive revenge on your significant other, the "fire breathing dragon creating veggie" option might be the one for you. If you add vegetables for the second reason mentioned, might I encourage you to also make a gravy from the drippings and then pour out all of the milk in the house?

    Cook 5 to 8 hours on LOW. You can start checking the internal temp at 5 hours or just watch the leg bones.

Wait.. Homemade Mac & Cheese Is NOT Gross??

Ugh, I've always disliked homemade mac & cheese. I don't like cooking that takes up a lot of time. I don't like brick cheese (well, DIDN'T). I do not like overcooked noodles. I don't like weird stuff in foods it doesn't belong in. All of that meant homegrown M&C was out for me.
.
.
.
.
... until now!

Crocked Macaroni & Cheese

12-16oz box of noodles, half-cooked - I like Barilla's cellentani

16oz brick of Sharp Cheddar, shredded

1 can Evaporated Milk

1 1/2 C Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper, ground

O Chopped onion to taste *shudder*


Grease or spray crock pot. 

 

Cook your noodles for HALF OF THE TIME YOU NORMALLY WOULD COOK THEM. Rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. This is important; you do not want an icky mushy noodle mushing around in your mouth, being all mushy and stuff. 

 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture in crock. Cover, COOK 3 to 4 hours on LOW.

DO NOT remove lid or stir until mixture has finished cooking.

I love this recipe because it's very very easy and all of the ingredients are ones that I always have on hand or can have on hand without worrying they will spoil. I wish I could express how much I've HATED any M&C other than Kraft brand so that you could understand how great this recipe must be for me to love it. I've made it 3 times in the last 6 weeks and it's a hit every time! 

Holy Cats!

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. So many new things coming my way!

---------------
CUISINART

I researched like crazy (because that's how I do), found a brand of stand mixer that was NOT the one I had planned on, found a super great deal online and it'll be here Wednesday! Oh joy of joys! I went into it thinking, of course, KitchenAid! But alas, KA's in my budget (more than a candy bar, less than a good jar of peanut butter)  would not work for the bread I need it to do. Let me share the things I learned with you....

     If you plan on doing bread with it, and you want it to last,  you need a mixer with at least 600 watts.

     Fun Fact: 1 horsepower is equal to 746 watts.

     KAid mixers are overpriced. The cheapest I found in a 600 watt was one on Craigslist for $300. Used.

     There were pros and cons with all mixers I researched... except Cuisinart. I did not find anyone that had any issues with the brand and several pros recommended them for home use.

     Cuisinart has 2 models: The 5.5qt 800 watt and the 7qt 1000 watt. No gimmicky models to try and decipher what they actually consist of.

     The cheapest KA 5qt I found was $200. It was only 325 watts.

I chose the Cuisinart 5.5qt from my favorite tech site Newegg.com, for $275 with free shipping AND a $50 promo gift card. Oh yes. Nart will be home in 4 days.

-----------------
BIRCHBOX

My first Birchbox will arrive next week! For those that don't know, Birchbox offers a subscription of a sort. You tell them what you like, your coloring, etc. and for $10/mo they send you a box of excellent health & beauty samples! The boxes I've seen have been pretty substantial, so I'm eager to see for myself and judge its worthiness. I love to try new things but don't have time to wander department stores or grill other ladies. I'm not the type anyway to do those things but that doesn't mean I don't want to feel girly sometimes.

------------------
CRICUT

I really enjoy reusing materials whenever possible and this year I thought I'd reuse the shipping paper we receive at my workplace quite a few times a week. I'm going to iron it and use it as wrapping paper. I bought hardback books at Goodwill and planned on cutting letters out of the pages so I can glue them on the gifts and spell out the recipient's name. This would involve buying/making stencils, tracing each letter and then painstakingly cutting each out. Not that I've got a lot of gifts to give but still, the thought was daunting. I thought I might have a line on one for less than $100 but the very nice lady suddenly stopped emailing me (after 17 emails!) and it didn't pan out. I posted on FB to see if I could borrow one and voila! A very wonderful person whom I've never met or previously spoken with, offered to give me hers (she'd gotten a bigger one) if I'd just pay shipping. Um... YES! It was a wonderful thing of her to offer and she's shipping it Monday. Proof that karma and genuinely nice people exist. This is the kind of thing I've taught and preached to my awesome high school Be The Change Team. It feels wonderful to have the circle come around. Hopefully THAT will be here next week also!

---------------
VACATION

Next week is my last week of work for the year and I'll have 2 weeks off!! I'll be able to play with all kinds of new stuff!

It feels so good to have so much good happening, especially when I was so down a week ago.

Enough of my happy rambling, I will be posting another recipe tomorrow so stay tuned!

Incredibly Edible Elk Roast... Caffeinated!

Let me start off by saying that I have never liked roast. I've eaten it because that was what we had for dinner and "if you don't eat it you're not getting anything else!" It was always dry no matter who made it and I can recall even now the chewing and chewing, working a piece like it was cud... working a piece until I could hang my NKOTB poster on the wall with small wads of it *shudder*

Not anymore, my friends!

My husband and I both got our elk this year (means LOTS of burger) so I had him make roasts. I went in search of roast recipes and found a couple I liked, making this particular one out of ideas from those.
I made it with the expectation that it would be a little dry. To me, roast = dry. Its just a given. Oh my jeebers, I bet the look on my face was priceless when I had my first bite!

I felt like Indiana Jones when he found the lost treasure.

I felt like a school kid waking up to snow and no school!

I felt COMPLETELY REBORN!!!

I'm kidding.. but it IS spectacular and I love that I have a way to make it that I will enjoy eating.

My first elk. Got it on our honeymoon Nov. 2011

Incredibly Edible Elk Roast

     1 Elk Roast (or beef) -ours were about 4lbs
     1 can Beefy Mushroom soup
     26-32oz Beef Broth
     1 freshly brewed cup of coffee (or 2, I like 2 cups)

Elk has MUCH less fat than beef. Less additives too ;}

 
Now grease your crock!

    Sear the meat on all sides, don't forget the ends. A pair of tongs is great for this because it won't pierce the meat. Try not to pierce any meat you cook because this will allow the juices to escape.

    Super Tip: if you must pierce the meat (taking temp, etc), before you pierce it, have a pinch of flour in one hand. Pierce the meat & when you're done, fill the hole with the pinch of flour as soon as possible so that it seals back up. Trust me.

    Place the meat in the greased crock, try to keep the meat away from the sides so that it doesn't burn.

    Pour the can of beefy mushroom soup over the roast.
    Pour the beef broth over the roast.
    Pour the coffee over the roast.

   Your roast may or may not be completely covered at this point. If it is not, we will make an exception to the "Never Take The Lid Off While You're Cooking In The Crock" rule and halfway the through the cooking time (or whenever you get back home) you can take the lid off, flip the roast over and put the lid back on. Make sure no one is looking while you violate The Laws of the Crock.

    Once you've got the roast and liquids in, you've got two choices. You can marinate it overnight, or set it to cook. I like things like this that can sit overnight because I prefer to make things later at night rather than in the morning. Either way, this will be delicious!

    Cook on LOW 7 to 8 hours  - if it's 3-4" thick, 7 hours on the dot!

  *note: when done, remove liquids and add cornstarch to them for a nice deep, dark flavored gravy.

By Crockies, Egg Nog Cake!

I'm sure you're reading this because you love egg nog as much as I do (maybe more) but just in case you're a nog hater reading this who is completely unable to look away due to some sort of instant and freaky temporary paralysis, dear god, YELL for someone to click the mouse because you will not want to stay tuned for all of the noggity egg noggy horror about to befall a hapless vanilla cake mix.

Or, stare -->HERE<-- until your screen saver kicks in.

I adore egg nog but can only handle a small glass or two a night because it is just SO rich. If I could have the flavor, though..

Another fellow crocker and friend of mine suggested I find a recipe including egg nog for crock pottery (I'm still trying not to use the word CP) and I found this simple one. I think anyone (of any age or skill level) with a crock and none of the ingredients could buy & build this in 10 minutes for less than $10. I think I'm going to let Aly make it tomorrow!

  Egg Nog Crock Cake

   Grease your crock and flour it! No one wants to see a naked crock.

    Although it would save the washing of another bowl, I would suggest NOT mixing this in the greased crock, it will scrape grease off of the crock in some much needed areas.

    Mix together :

     1 Package Vanilla Cake Mix
     1 C Egg Nog
**1 t Rum Flavoring
     1/4 tsp Nutmeg

    Pour into crock, cook on LOW 4hrs

**Everywhere I looked, this just said "t". Not "teaspoon", "tsp", "tablespoon", or "tbs". I have interpreted this as follows:

    If you are sad, this is one Tablespoon of Rum.
    If you are happy, this is one Tablespoon of Rum.
    If you are reading this, it is one Tablespoon of Rum.
    Unless you will feed it to your children, then its 4 Tablespoons of Rum, they'll go to sleep early, you can eat the rest and partaaayyy!

    Holy cats, I'm kidding! Don't waste your good Rum on the kids, use 1 teaspoon of Rum flavoring instead!

**UPDATE** 12/07/11 8:54pm : The "cake" has been in the crock on low for 4 hours. It looks like my crock had digestive issues. It's texture is between that of a custard and a sponge. The flavor is wonderful but I'm not quite sure what to do with the stuff. Maybe put it over ice cream? Blend it with some whipped cream and put a dollop into my coffee or hot chocolate? I made it in Hamilton, thinking i'd like more surface area on top rather than side. I might just get another cake mix tomorrow and try it in Hamilton, Jr.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU DID WITH YOURS AND HOW IT TURNED OUT  

A Note About Spices

These are a few of my favorite spices. I'm sorry for the ishy picture but I could not find ones online to show you. I love the Full Circle Organic spices for several reasons..  The first is that, well, the jars are PURTY! The shape caught my eye first when I was shopping for a few things (I now spend an embarrassing amount of time browsing the spice aisle every time I go into the grocery store. I never in a million years thought I would be THAT EXCITED about spices.) The second is that they are organically grown and the third is that I like their philosophy. Here is a bit about them from their own website:

     At Full Circle^TM we believe natural and organic products are an important part of a healthy and well-rounded lifestyle.  That is our passion.  For over 10 years, we have been sourcing great-tasting products through our partnerships with the best growers to deliver great-tasting, high-quality products made from only the finest natural and organic ingredients.  That's why we join only with supplier-partners who follow the strictest guidelines for sustainability in order to protect Mother Earth.  Together, we have been committed to providing products that are minimally processed, and free of artificial preservatives, artificial colors, and artificial flavorings.  Over the years, Full Circle^TM has tirelessly sourced products across the United States, expanding our line to over 1,000 items.  Our calling: "Return to a natural way of living."^TM was created with you, the inspired consumer, in mind!  We know you are passionate about giving your family the very best and we hope we can be a part of that mission!

And did I mention that their square jars are just GORGEOUS?! Their square, clear, beautifully different glass jars?!

Unfortunately the fact that they ARE clear poses a problem. Do you know what that is? I will tell you what that is.

Molecular breakdown. Heat and light are 2 things for you to think about when it comes to the storage of your spices. The less breakdown that occurs on the molecular level, the better tasting the spice will be.

The Wiley Online Library has a phrase on the effect of light on meat

When exposed to fluorescent light (250–1000 1x) at 4°C, luncheon meat containing erythrosine undergoes marked flavour deterioration in a few hours which is perceived mainly as a loss of flavour. The effect increased with light intensity and time of exposure but is absent in luncheon meat without added colours or with Red 2G in place of erythrosine. The results are consistent with the unique ability of erythrosine (amongst artificial food colours) to act as a sensitiser of photo-oxidation.

The  US National Library of Medicine says this about the effect of light on milk

To determine the effects of light exposure on vitamin A degradation and on light-oxidized flavor development, samples of whole, reduced fat, and nonfat milk were exposed to fluorescent light (either 1000 or 2000 lx) at time intervals of 2, 4, 8, or 16 h. Measurable vitamin A losses occurred at 2, 4, and 16 h at 2000 lx for nonfat, reduced fat and whole milk, respectively. Moderate light-oxidized flavors were detected after 4 h of light exposure (2000 lx) in the whole and reduced fat milk and after 8 h in nonfat milk. The different types of milk show a significant difference in relative flavor scores. By 16 h at 2000 lx, relative light-oxidized flavor development was lower in nonfat milk than in whole or reduced fat milk. The presence of milk fat appears to protect against vitamin A degradation in fluid products, but adversely affects the flavor quality of milk after exposure to light. In summary, these findings demonstrate that even a brief, moderate light exposure (2 h; 2000 lx) can reduce the nutritional value and flavor quality of fluid milk products.

PMID: 11913693

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

There wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that some of the effects in the two blurbs would also be happening to your spices if exposed to light, whether sunlight or fluorescent.

I currently have my spices in the cupboard above my oven but the danger of that is the heat from the oven causing breakdown as well. Having been actually INVESTING in good spices lately, I want them to STAY good (and okay, I'm running out of room for my lil' obsession) so I've got to move them elsewhere. Out of the cupboard I risk light damage.

Here's my plan.... eventually I'm going to measure the stud width in my house, go to a building supply store (bring a magnet with me), choose a wide enough sheet of stainless steel (probably 2 studs widths -to cover the stud on the left, pass over a middle stud, and cover the stud on the right) that has enough magnetic oomph to hold a spice jar, install that on my kitchen/dining room wall with heavy duty screws and semi-large washers (I'll paint these a neat color, these are just for flash), buy some tins from SKS Bottle, hot glue a magnet on the back, and slap them on the sheet of steel. Can you picture this? oooooooooohhhh I can!!!!

I think I can do all relatively soon and relatively inexpensively EXCEPT the tins. That will have to wait. If I get this sheet up, I think I'll have to glue magnets on the back of my existing spice jars until I can get the tins.


WHEN I do this, because I WILL do this, I will post pictures!!

How do you store your spices?

Apple Chrisp

Its not crisp. Its in a crock for crying out loud! Not much is going to be crisp out of a crock. Well, THIS batch I did in a crock. (I hesitate to use the words "crock" and "pot" together after what happened to the chefs formerly known as the "Crock Pot Girls". They were told by the owners of the trademark "Crock Pot" to cease and desist using that name. Jerks. I said it.)

Anyway... the "crisp" part is not crisp in a crock so... Apple Chrisp it is. The 'h' makes it softer.
It is 20 days until Christmas, my favorite holiday, and I'm not feeling it at all. I am bummy. I don't have my tree up yet. Nuthin.

*sigh*

I am going to post this and then eat a bowl of it!

This recipe was introduced to me via Crock Pot Girls (ooooo illicit) and I believe it was submitted to them by a lady named Melissa. I don't want to take any credit away from those deserving; this is just my favorite recipe for Apple Crisp and it is the only one I will ever use.
As always, an O is an indication of an optional ingredient or step that I have not done but you may want to. I used my 4qt crock and multiplied the recipe by 1.5 (9 apples instead of 6, etc) to completely fill it.

  Apple Chrisp Topping
     1 C Flour
     1/2 C Brown or Light Brown Sugar -I used brown
     1/2 C White Sugar
     1/2 tsp Cinnamon
     1/4 tsp Nutmeg
     1 pinch Salt
     1/2 C Butter, not melted or softened
    O 1 C Walnuts
  
Mix all of the ingredients except butter in a bowl, then combine butter to the mix until crumbs form.

   O Stir in walnuts

Set mix aside.

Why do you make the topping first? Because the apples will start to turn brown quickly without the lemon on them. If you plan on making this a lot, make a few of the topping mixes and keep them on hand in baggies! You can also do this with the dry ingredients for the filling, just make sure you have a permanent marker to write on the baggies with.

  Apple Chrisp Filling
   Mix together in a bowl
     1/3 C White Sugar
     1 tbs Corn Starch
     1/2 tsp Ginger
     1/2 tsp Cinnamon

   6 Sm-Med Apples, chopped

   2 tbs Lemon Juice

SPRAY the crock if you have non-stick spray!

I prefer Braeburn apples because they are a good small to medium sized apple, not too sweet and not sour, that is great for cooking with AND great for snacking on. They are very versatile.

I've found the best size of apple chunk to my liking is as follows:

Peel your apples, slice each in half, then each of those in half, then horizontally slice & two vertical slices. I know, that is REALLY breaking it down but some people may not have much experience with cutting :) What you'll end up with is each quarter of apple having been chopped into 6 pieces. I don't like 100% mush so this size is perfect for the cooking time.

Place the apples in the crock

    
Mix in dry ingredients from the Apple Chrisp Filling and then sprinkle the lemon juice over it, mixing just a bit.

Over the now mixed apples & lemon, pour the mix from the Apple Chrisp Topping and cover with the lid.

If its a tight fit like mine was, don't worry, it will go down some as it cooks. Do not mix the Topping in and do not open the lid until your chosen cooking time is up. Cook on HIGH 2hrs or LOW 4hrs.

I like mine on LOW for 3 hours. When I did my last batch, I accidentally bumped the knob (see the Honey Wheat Bread incident) to the "off" position about an hour and a half to 2 hours in. Yeaaaaaahhhhh.... don't do that. I was able to turn it up in time to have it ready after dinner, but don't do that! I forgot to build a fortress around it with cups and spoons :(

The good news? The night I last made this apple chrisp, I may have recruited another crocker. Oh yes. I'm working on it but I may have made yet another believer!

Can I Bob's Red Mill in a Crock Pot?

I bought a few packages of Bob's Red Mill products that said "gluten free" for my best friend for her birthday. She has fibromyalgia AND a few allergies, one of them being legumes. I didn't remember the legumes until after I bought them and 3 of them (all purpose baking flour, bread mix, biscuit mix) were made with garbanzo bean flour. ARGH! So I gave her the brownie mix and corn bread mix (laaaaamest present ever!). I thought about making the brownies and bringing them to her but that would make me feel like, "you may not want to eat a brownie right now but you have to because I made them and here they are, already made, so eat. Now." I know that's probably not how it would have gone down but I think if you make something, the person is pretty much obligated to try it right then and there and maybe she didn't feel like a brownie. I do not want to be a brownie pusher. "Hey man... Psssst... hey.. I'll sell you a dime-bag of brownies for a dollar, man!" You know, like that.

I hadn't crocked anything in a few days and was feeling the itch when I got home last night (I can quit any time, I tell ya!) And here were these three little bags of Bob's Red Mill just a-staring at me with their soulful little cellophanes practically BEGGING me to make one. I chose the bread and figured, well, I'm not going to lose anything if it doesn't work out.

Did you read my Honey Wheat Bread post? If you did or when you do, you'll know that I realize I need a stand mixer. Baaaaad. I wasn't going to make another dough until I got one because a hand mixer just isn't good for dough. I KNOW this. I was aware of this going into the Bob's Red Mill Bread Mix.

*sigh*

And I did it anyway.

I rinsed my crock under hot water because I don't want a cold crock near anything that's going to have yeast in it. I then greased it very well and remembering how hard it was to get the Honey Wheat Bread out, this time after I greased (with Crisco as always) I floured it. I threw a handful of all purpose flour in it, rolled it around and coated the inside. Then I opened my kitchen window and dumped it out (the flour, not the crock, although I have lost quite a few things through the window this way and my loving husband usually retrieves it for me. Anything to keep the good food coming his way!) into my garden. I love having my garden right outside the kitchen and I love the cycle of food into compost into garden into food! Our animals know that special spot and between the dogs, cats, rabbits and chickens, whatever we dump gets used and the rest spread into the garden. Do you have random lumps, hills, or mountains of soil, compost, animal bedding or rabbit poo? Get yourself some chickens! They do a wonderful job of spreading piles out completely flat! Chickens is where its at!

I took the little packet of yeast out of the mix, microwaved my bowl for 10 seconds to warm it up, poured in the milk, added yeast and covered it with a paper towel. I let that sit to foam for 5 minutes and went to put together the rest of the ingredients.

Not everything goes smoothly, I don't know everything, sometimes I can be a bit ditzy... I read, "1 whole egg plus enough egg whites to make 3/4 of a cup." Okaaaaaay... did that mean I put the whole egg in the measuring cup AND THEN add egg whites into the cup until it hit the 3/4 mark? Or did I add 1 whole egg to the bowl and then fill a measuring cup to the 3/4 mark with egg whites? I still don't know the answer to that.

My chickens have had a cold (one of them was sneezing & wheezing) and are currently on antibiotics so I'm running a bit low on eggs at the moment and I decided to see how far the whites of my remaining eggs would get me before I decided where to put the whole egg. I started separating eggs into the measuring cup (yolk out the window) and it barely registered so I panicked and the last 4 eggs I had went in whole and I ended up dumping 3/4 C total of eggs into the mix, not 1 whole egg plus 3/4. I added the mix and the  apple cider vinegar it called for and got out my trusty hand mixer. There was dried Honey Wheat Bread dough stuck up inside and I knocked as much loose as I could. I girded my loins and prepared to flick the switch, not knowing if it would work (quite a lot of dough had gotten in there) or if it would smoke or maybe shoot flames... and I turned it on (picture me holding it an arms length away).

Quite disappointing that nothing spectacular happened other than  the whir of the beaters rotating. I dipped it into the dough oh-so-gingerly, spatula in my left hand to beat back any encroaching dough, and started mixing. A little less than a minute of the 3 required minutes in, my mixer started bogging down. I started furiously scraping it away from the mixer itself (it kept rising on the beaters) and it got away from me and into the housing. Again. And all over a good portion of my kitchen because I freaked and pulled it out of the bowl.

Sh*#%$!!

I mixed it as well as I could with the spatula and plopped it into the crock pot. It had a lot of peaks and wasn't settling down and (let me repeat) I know nothing about dough so I figured OH WELL. Its going to do what it'll do. I set the warmer on high, timer for 3 hours.

It rose so much that I had to put a heavy pan on top of the crock's lid to keep it down! It looked like brains, though, and not a smooth fluffy bread. It looked sort of like a giant dumpling.

I let it cook for about 2 1/2 hours, took the crock out of the warmer and let that sit for another 1/2 hour. Thanks to my genius idea of flouring the crock, it came out easily and onto a plate. I let it cool for another 10 minutes and carefully sliced it with a bread knife (it is important to use a bread knife on bread -it won't smash it) and buttered a slice. It was... okay. I think it will make okay toast but I haven't tried it yet. I know it would have turned out better had I been able to mix it properly but instead I ended up with a hideous chud of a loaf of bread.

Can I Bob's Red Mill in a crock pot?

I'm going to say... no. Not really. Not yet.

UPDATE 12/05/11:    No! It was most definitely NOT good as toast. My husband really loved it with the Incredibly Edible Elk Stew (recipe to come at some point) and tried getting me to taste it that way. Luckily for him, he was able to duck my flying fork. *shudder*

Garlic Conversions (bookmark this)

Garlic is my favorite spice and one of my favorite flowers because it reminds me so much of books written by Dr. Seuss. If I'm cooking, it's probably got garlic in it and my new favorite (previously secret) weapon is the Spice Hunter's California Blend Garlic Salt. It is GORGEOUS to look at, AMAZING to smell and INSANELY BEAUTIFUL tasting. It is MINE and Shawn is not allowed to use it. Ever. I picked it up for a reasonable price at my local Fop Toods. Getcha some!

Occasionally (okay, a lot) I run into recipes that call for a version of garlic that I do not yet have. There are:


Garlic Flakes.
Chopped Garlic.
Garlic Cloves.
Minced Garlic.
Garlic Powder.
Granulated Garlic.
Garlic Juice.

What happens if you don't have what the recipe calls for, but you've got some other version? How much is exactly the same? You've got to call someone or scour any recipe books you can find around the house or go online to google the conversion. For me it's picking up the phone and, "Mooooooooom!!!"

Not anymore, my friend!

Here's a little something I picked up from the Kitchen Dictionary :

  Garlic Conversions

    1 clove =
    1 tsp chopped garlic =
    1/2 tsp minced garlic =
    1/2 tsp garlic flakes =
    1/2 tsp garlic juice = 
    1/4 tsp granulated garlic =
    1/8 tsp garlic powder

YES!!!! I high-fived MYSELF when I found that nugget of info! If you're crazy like me, you'll print that out and laminate it and have it posted on your fridge. If you haven't thought about laminating your recipe cards, now is a good time. Laminating machines are not expensive at all. I picked mine up for less than $20 at my local Mal-Wart! Laminate it, but halt at the golden gilding, okay? It's great but geesh.

Here are some more tips from the Kitchen Dictionary about garlic that you may find interesting:

It is known as the stinking rose. The edible bulb is made up of sections called cloves, that are encased in a parchmentlike membrane. Three major varieties are available in the US: the white-skinned strongly flavored American garlic; Mexican and Italian garlic, which have mauve-colored skins and a somewhat milder flavor; and the white-skinned, mild flavored elephant garlic, which is not a true garlic, but a relative of the leek. Green garlic, is young garlic before it begins to form cloves; resembling a baby leek, with a long green top and white bulb. Garlic's essential oils remain in the body long after consumption, affecting breath and even skin odor.


How to select: Choose firm, plump bulbs with dry skins. Avoid soft or shriveled cloves and garlic stored in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

How to store: Store fresh garlic in an open container in a cool, dark place. Unbroken bulbs can be stored up to 8 weeks. Once broken from the bulb, individual cloves will keep 3-10 days.

You're welcome!! Please share your comments, suggestions, and current scarf trends (I worship scarves!).

Pork Chops ala Crock

I like pork, I have nothing against it, its just never been one of my favorite meats. It might be be cause I do not like a lot of fat. Well, I don't like ANY fat really and pork seems to be 50% (in reality probably less than 25%). We raised pigs this year though (first time) so in preparation I scoured the internet for recipes and found this little ditty.
I am aware that a ditty is a song or song-like tune. This recipe makes my tastebuds siiiiiiing! Hence, it is a ditty.
I'm going to make this shorter than my usual posts because I've got to clean my kitchen! Just threw a bread dough in the crock (link will be here soon) and made a hellacious mess because I do not have a stand mixer as of yet! Argh!


  Pork Chops ala Crock
   Grease your crock pot!
     4 bone-in pork chops -the ones from our pigs were 1.5lbs each!

    Place the chops in the bottom of the crock. You may have to layer them.

    In a separate bowl, mix together:
     1 can cream of chicken soup
     1 packet of dry onion *shudder* soup
     1 packet of dry pork gravy -this was hard for me to find dry!
     1 1/2 C chicken broth

I mixed all of that together and then strained it over the chops so that the repulsive onion *shudder* bits didn't get through to taint my meat! You don't need to do this though. I am the crazy picky eater, not you. Or are you?
After you pour the mix over the chops, crock on LOW 6 to 8 hrs.
Pull the chops out and make a gravy with the remaining liquids. I swear, if you try this recipe this way, you'd kiss me if you could!
Please leave any comments, feedback, questions, cleaned up dirty jokes...
**UPDATE** 12/06/11: We had these tonight for dinner, it was my 2nd time making them. My husband hadn't remembered how amazing they were until he took a bite and said such things as:
     "Wow. I never want this taste to leave my mouth."
     "That is CRAZY good!"
     "They should make gum in this flavor so I can eat it longer."
     "You know what the problem with making that is? What can you do to top it?!"
I should rename these "Bribery Chops" because I believe I could have asked for and gotten anything I wanted with a plate of these in front of him :)
One thing I will change next time, I will double all ingredients except the chops. The gravy was so spectacular that a full small sauce pot of it wasn't enough for us! Maybe I'll actually be able to get some in the freezer this time!

I apologize for not having an "After" photo. 

Every time I make these, my family eats them before I can snap a picture!

Lasagna Can Be Crock Potted!!

Oh yes it can!!

Would you like to know the bestest most best ever part in the whole wide world???

The noodles...

don't need...

to be cooked!!!

I know!! You're freaking out! "What?? Let me read that again. She's GOT to be joking! How can you make a lasagna without cooking the noodles first?!"

Well, ladies and gentlemens, like THIS:

It is pictured in Hamilton, my beloved 7qt crock. I used Hamilton because I didn't know how much space the recipe would take up and my other crock is a only a 4qt (Hamilton, Jr.). Once I discovered this, even though I knew it wouldn't cook as well due to so much empty space (remember, you want to fill 3/4 to get the most out of it).

It tasted absolutely delicious, we all loved it, and I learned a few things from this, my first attempt. I will give you the recipe first and then I'll gab some more about my version, tips, etc.

  Lasagna Ala Crock Pot
  
     1 pkg burger (I used buffalo)
     1 onion *shudder*, chopped -I replaced with a small bit of onion powder. That's progress.
     2 garlic cloves, smashed or 1 tsp minced garlic -I used minced
   
   Brown ground meat, onion & garlic. While this is browning, grease your crock. CROCK! Geez.
        
     1 (28oz) can tomato sauce
     1 (6oz) can tomato paste
     1 1/2 tsp salt
     1 tsp dried oregano



    Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt & oregano and cook it just long enough to warm it all.

     12oz cottage cheese -I used ricotta
     16oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
     1/2 C grated parmesan cheese or asiago cheese

     12oz Lasagna noodles uncooked -I used an entire 16oz box

Spoon layer of meat sauce onto bottom of crock.
Add double layer of noodles (try to keep noodles from touching sides as much as you can. It is inevitable that some will, but try anyway) & top with cheeses. Do not mix cheeses together in a bowl first. Trust me.
Repeat with sauce, noodles, cheese until all are used up. (I topped with shredded mozzarella).
Cover and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours, I have to leave my house at 8am and don't return home until 3pm so I set my timer for 1:30 so we could eat around 5:30-6. 


This lasagna was good and that's why I'm giving you that version, that option, to try for yourself.

NOW, there will be a few changes to the next lasagna I make! While it tasted great, the sauce was NOT enough to my liking, I have to have sauce under AND over my noodles or else the cheese & noodle layers become one thick conglomerated amalgam of an entity. The next lasagna I do, I will take an extra can of tomato sauce and an extra can of tomato paste, mix them together (pastesauce) in a bowl and layer things suchly:


     Layer of meat sauce
     Double layer of noodles
     Layer of pastesauce
     Layer of cheeses

and repeat!


If you have any questions, comments, versions of your own, or a darn good knock knock joke, please use the comment box below!

Christmas 2011

I love and adore and cherish and LOVE Christmas! I love the atmosphere, I love that a higher percentage of strangers I meet throughout the month of December are friendly and cheerful. I love giving gifts more than anything!

(I love a lot of things)  

I love thinking about what I want to buy for a person.

I love researching the best one of whatever it is

 I love shopping for the most inexpensive one

I love wrapping it beautifully and uniquely

I love the anticipation of giving it to them

I love the look on their face when they open it

I Love Lucy!

The point is, I love Christmas and Christmas presents

But...

I've decided to give Christmas a little change-up this year.

Normally I buy our daughter Aly a "~.B.~"-"~.I.~"-"~.G.~" gift (for our financial means that's about $200-400) and then a bunch of smaller ones. The small ones are usually things I think she'd like and usually some books or video games, and of course the Christmas pajamas she is allowed to open and wear on Christmas Eve.

I've (we've) always done this because I grew up with very little. I would not change that if I could, I have learned so many valuable lessons living as we did, but I was determined from the day of Aly's birth to give her the things in childhood I wished I had. The problem is that I wished those things as a child, I didn't experience them, and so I did give them to her as finances allowed. She is not a spoiled brat as most would determine one, but she is spoiled in the way that she has material expectations at a level that's not okay. I know I created that, I take full responsibility, but now I have the responsibility of changing it. I don't want her to carry those expectations into adulthood. Now please don't read out of that, that I've given in to all of her requests or even most of them, I haven't. I have also always instilled in her a sense of empathy and sympathy for others and she regularly donates clothes and toys from her room on her own. She is a great kid and I'm very proud of her, I just don't like the amount of material expectations she has.

So....

Oh Christmas Tree
Oh Christmas Tree
This year you'll be so lonelyyyyyyyyy

I've heard somewhere about this little tradition and I'm going to implement it starting this year. We will buy Aly stocking stuffers but as far as the "under the tree" gifts go, we will buy her only four.

One that she WANTS

One that she NEEDS

One that she can WEAR

One that she can READ

My husband and I talked to her about this the other night and it went very well. We try to come across as including her rather than forcing her and it went great! It was SO great that she immediately got a paper out and starting listing things in each category, discussing them with us from time to time. I made sure to let her know that we would try to get one off of each list but that we might choose something different altogether and she was very happy with that because she was working toward the outcome WITH us. We reassured her (her biggest worry) that our decision to start this tradition would not affect anyone else in our extended family and that they could get her whatever THEY wanted to get her.

We also had a small bit of a "Is Santa Real?" conversation, her and I.
She asked if he would bring her presents also.
I told her yes, one or two of the four will be from Santa.
She asked, "How do you know? How can you talk to him?"

(I will do anything I can to never lie to my daughter. I will twist words and I will distract, but I won't lie)

I said, "I cannot tell you that. That is only something you will know when you're a parent."
She asked, "Well is he real?"
Ahhhh... at this point I was really wracking my brain so I put on my thinking face and I told her, "Well, that depends. He is real if you believe he is real. If you believe he exists, he will be real for you, and you will get a present from him. If you don't believe he exists, he will NOT exist for you and you will not get a present from Santa."

She thought about this for a minute and asked if he was a real person. I took this as "Did a real person named Santa ever exist and magically fly around in a sleigh and play with elves?" and I told her my honest answer, that I didn't know.

She asked, "Do YOU believe in Santa, mom?"

and I said, "Yes honey. I do." Because I do. I believe in the spirit of Santa Claus. Sometimes less is more and allows me to not lie or over complicate things. I don't like to leave her unsatisfied with a question and so I waited a bit, she sort of nodded to herself and that was it! It was a tough question I had no answer for until I opened my mouth.

It was a wonderful Milestone Mommy Moment <3

It's happened *sigh*

I knew it was going to happen soon.

I've had gray hair for years and I don't mind it, I really don't. I don't color my hair because gray is the truth. It is true that I have gray hairs and I really don't like feeling false (not that I feel anyone else is if they color theirs! Oh no! I just really don't mind mine) so there they stay.

That was just the beginning.

I've noticed a small wrinkle here, a difference in skin texture there. More peach fuzz on my face. A completely random 3" hair on my shoulder (I will always be honest with you, dear reader, and sometimes... it may get ugly) which was INSANE.

All of that was okay. I didn't even freak out when I turned 30 and I'm 31 now.

But then I drove home from work today.

And I left my blinker on.

NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!!!!