King Salmon, A Northwest Dinner For Sure!

Last night for dinner we had Chinook salmon, baked with brown sugar, butter and lemon juice. You put the filet on a bed of lemon juice sprinkled with brown sugar, then you pour melted butter on top, and rub in the sugar. Bake 15 minutes, take out and repeat. Bake another 15 minutes. Done!

I wanted to make my fettuccini alfredo to go along with the this dish, but realized as I went into the kitchen to start cooking, I was out of whip cream so I couldnt make it. Hmm, what else can I make on the fly, potatoes! I chopped up potatoes, boiled them, drained them and back into the hot pan on low. I drizzle them with a good extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Let those fry a bit as you mix them up a bit. Then add a quick dash or two of seasoning salt and continue to toss. My husband likes to put ketchup on these and I have to admit, they aren't bad with it.

The veg....ugh. I went to get out my broccoli that I was going to steam and just maybe make a sauce to go with. Well, I haven't really been thinking broccoli lately and its been sitting in the fridge for a while and I had to throw it out into the compost. What to do, what to do. Carrots!

I peeled and quartered the carrots, and simply candied them. I use a honey from a farmer that lives about 5 minutes from us. His bee's produce some darn good honey. In fact, its almost time to pay his honey shack a visit. He usually sells at the local farmers market, but since that is closed til' May, he sets up a little outdoor shack like thing where you just pull up, stick your money in a lock box and take the size jar that you payed for. Very trusting of him, and totally convenient for anybody. I believe what I have now is blackberry honey.

I was wrong about the sourdough starter. It has to sit for no less than 24 hours so it has time to ferment! This should be interesing. I didn't get a chance to start that, I ended up starting some of my sewing projects instead. I have to finish my husbands alterations on his hunting pants today, he's going hunting tomorrow.

What? Dinner? Oh ya..

Still recovering from Thanksgiving. Almost done with all the leftovers. Last night I made baked pesto chicken topped with fresh cut tomatoe and a thick slice of mozzarella cheese, served over lightly oiled angel hair pasta and served with warmed dinner rolls that I still have, think I made to many. We still have a few opened bottles of red wine left over so we each enjoyed a glass of Red Diamond merlot, 2008. Very strong, 2 glasses would be too much, 1 big glass is perfect.

When I went grocery shopping the other day, I was in a huge hurry because we had to get Mia to a birthday party. I had just under 2 hours to get what I needed and I ended up not getting a few key ingredients for dishes. Ill make a point to pick them up tonight. I also have to go to costco for some meats so I feel very limited right now and am not enjoying that feeling. Still having my morning coffee and thinking about getting a sourdough bread starter going, since it has to sit for 8 hours. Honestly not sure whats for dinner tonight.

Fully Bellies and Forgetful Minds

I completly forgot to take pictures of the food for Thanksgiving. It was awesome though! Both my mom and sister brought dishes that were yummy. We had deviled eggs that my father-in-law made and of course all the other stuff that you find on a Thanksgiving table. Cooking dinner hasn't been on my mind that much yet because even though everybody took home food, we still have a fridge full of leftovers. I didnt have to bring out my emergency 5th pie so we get to eat my pumpkin pie - yumm!

Been making my grocery list and checking recipes, Ill probably cook dinner tomorrow. I've been checking out this Chicken and Sausage Gumbo recipe in the crockpot served over hot cooked rice, sounds and looks so yummy so maybe Ill start that Sunday morning while I start to break down the tables and put stuff away. My house is still kinda all over the place.

I actually went shopping on Black Friday! I usually make a point to stay home and away from the crowds. I went to Gretchens, only the best kitchen store in the world, and bought myself a baking stone for bread making, a really nice high quality set of measuring spoons. If you saw the ones Ive been using for the past 10 years, you would hate them as much as I do. I also found the cutest little glass air tight containers that are for herbs and spices. Im really excited about those because I've been storing about 6 or 7 spices in baby food jars that I've had since Mia was a little babe. I'll be happy to finally throw those in the recycle bin.

I also went to Joann Fabrics, holy cow did I score there but I waited in line FOREVER to have my fabric cut. I found some nice fleece patterns that Im gonna make into a large blanket for Mia. Its a style that I think she will be able to enjoy for a long time, its timeless and ageless if you know what I mean. Then I went to Target...twice. I found a crapload of stuff for both the girls, tons of jammies, nice shirts and sweaters, socks, Hello Kitty slippers for Mia, and toys. I definitly scored, so much I went back for more.

Even my husband did shopping. He got up before 5am to be at the hunting and fishing sport store to get the coolest gps system that has special programs for hunting. He's excited and its nice to see him so happy with his gadget. He also got a nice hunting backpack for dirt cheap. To say the least, we ALL scored so much that Im gonna make a big breakfast.

Fruits Of My Labor

This is what I have been doing all day. I've managed 4 batches of dinner rolls, 2 batches of cranberry chutney sauce, 1 pumpkin pie made 100% from scratch, pumpkin too, and have added the final touches to my table. We are eating pizza for dinner, but will be doing something interesting and different for breakfast.

Its actually a crockpot breakfast meal. I put a bunch of stuff in it tonight including eggs, sausage, peppers and onions, and potatoes. By the time we wake up, it should be done and I dont have to make a mess in the kitchen any earlier than I have to! One super long day in the kitchen equals an almost carefree and relaxing day all day tomorrow.

My husband has been working on his brine for the turkey for the past few hours and when it was boiling it smelled so good. He did the turkey last year and it was awesome! Here soon I will help him put the turkey in the bags with the brine and into the fridge for the night. In case your wondering why he's doing the turkey, my husband is wonderful with meats. Its sort of an unwritten rule in our house that if its bigger than a chicken breast, he takes care of it. Boy I love me a man than can make me some meat.

Also today he picked up some vodka, 151 and egg nog for tomorrow. The 151 will also go good with the apple cider that I will be starting in the early afternoon. Not to mention all the wine we have. Can't wait!

A Taste Of Whats To Come

I have been working hard, well at least mentally, on the table for Thanksgiving. Here is just a taste of whats to come. Again, dinner n' such lately has been the last thing on my mind. After Thursday, I plan to get back into my normal groove. Ill post pictures tomorrow of my baking.

Busy Busy Busy And...Busy!

I have been so busy getting my house ready for Thanksgiving, dinner has been kinda of an after thought. I did make some peanut butter cookies, some breakfast, and chicken chow mein with crunchy noodles. The chow mein was ok, didn't blow me away or anything. I think I would make it again and maybe serve it with soft noodles. It took 6 1/2 hours in the crock pot and any longer it would have started to lose its juices.

I spent almost my entire day today ironing table cloths and napkins, and setting up the table. All I have left to do for the table is to polish my wine glasses and set them with each setting and its done. I also got out some of my glass and silver pieces that I purchased at an antique store about 5 years ago that haven't since seen the light of day. I'm excited to be able to display those.

Anyways, Tuesday will be full of some serious cleaning of the entire house. My house is pretty messy right now with all the moving of things. Im even having a hard time keeping up with the dishes right now. Oh well, it will all be worth it to have family at one table.

Oh My Gosh! Is It Really Dinner Time??

What a weird day today. My whole routine has been non-existant. I layed down with my youngest Isabel and when we both woke up I couldnt believe that it was 7P.M. Luckily I had thawed some kielbasa and was able to whip up a quick dish. Again, making dinner this late was weird to me. I made some peppered Jasmin rice and topped it with fried veggies and kielbasa. My husband was making hot chocolate when I woke up so that was our drink. It was very random, but I thought it was pretty good. I was happy.

I think I'm off my normal schedule because my house is a total mess. I've been getting things out for my Thanksgiving and moving things around and trying to put some things away. Tomorrow I will be setting up tables and then my mind will really be all over the place. To top it all off, my washer is sick and in the repair shop. You pay a fortune for a nice washer and 3 years later...bam! Sucks big time. Alas life goes on and we all have full bellies.

Well, last night I made something thats been on my list for a while. It wasn't a complete miss but I was disappointed and if I ever make it again I will be making some changes. It was a Spanish Chicken Casserole made in the crockpot with beans, corn, onions, whole tomatoes, chopped yellow bell pepper, some spice and chicken. Directions say to put in raw rice and that it will cook in the juices - wrong! When my husband walked in the door, which is when it should have been done, the rice was still uncooked...after cooking for hours. So not only did it take 1 1/2 hours longer than the said cook time, by the time the rice was cooked, it was all mushy.

I think that if I made it again, I would cook rice seperatly and just serve this over the rice and I would cut up the chicken, it called for a whole chicken breast. I ate a bowl of it and the taste was pretty descent, but again, the mushy rice wasn't all that fun. Just enjoyed bacon, eggs, toast and jam for breakfast.

I'm in the mood for some baking. Mia is feeling a bit better so we'll see what I can make time for today.

A Healthy Dinner

Good Afternoon. In the spirit of trying to eat healthier meals more often, I made a huge chicken salad for dinner last night. I put of course grilled cut up chicken, walnuts, lettuce, fresh grated parmesan cheese, tomatoes and hard boiled eggs. Topped with Italian dressing. I haven't done much else as far as cooking or baking goes because I still have a sick but getting better toddler in the house. Been using my spare time to lay down with Isabel and try to get a bit of rest in hopes that neither of us get sick.

I will try to start the habit of taking pictures of what I make. I am getting so anxious to start all my stuff for Thanksgiving. Until that day comes all I can do is start re-arranging the house and setting up the tables. I have silver to polish, wine glasses to polish, napkins to fold and iron, table cloths to play around with and dishes to get out and wash so I can start putting them on the table. I'm pretty sure that with 2 small children, it will take me all week to do this.

Not to mention thinning out some of Mias toys. They're everywhere and I mean in every corner of the house. The girl has enough stuff for 3 kids! Yesturday I found myself vaccuuming the ceiling...I know.

Pasta Prima-yummy!

Good Morning! It is really windy outside this morning. Enjoying my coffee as always.

Well, yesturday my Ms. Mia showed first signs of being sick. So I made her her own little pot of chicken noodle soup. I for some dumb reason have always struggled to make a good pot. I finally feel like I've got it down. I found a new recipe and it too was so basic but it was just a world away from my previous attempts. Success! She'll be eating that through today as well.

Last nights dinner was pasta primavera. It was SOOO good and so simple I can't believe that I haven't tried this before. I could have easily eatin' every bit of it by myself. I just have to share this.

Heat pan to med heat. Add 2 tbsp Italian dressing. Add cut up chicken, chopped red bell pepper, chopped zucchini, broccoli and asparagas. Cook 10-12 minutes until chicken is cooked. I covered this for most of this time. Add 1 cup chicken broth, 1/2 block cut up cream cheese (4oz); cook until cheese is melted. When ready to serve, add your cooked penne pasta and sprinkle 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and mix well. Yummy!!!

I really wanted to make chicken and sausage gumbo today but used the last of my celery for the chicken noodle soup and dont normally stock up on okra. I somehow missed that on my last grocery day.

I've added carrots, celery, bananas and garlic to my shopping list.

Eggs, Coffee and Dinner On My Mind

Good Morning! This morning for breakfast we had fluffy eggs with a bit of pepper and parsley, coffee, toast and banana. Quick, easy and healthy. Im saving the rest of my bacon for a dinner dish that I'm thinking about.

I'm leaning towards the pasta primavera dish for dinner. It would (at least I like to think so) go good with the rolls that I still have, just enough to have with dinner.

Yesturday my oldest, Mia and I baked snickerdoodle cookies. She loves being in the kitchen with me. The coconut chicken was good, its so simple to make. Just sautee minced garlic and chopped bell pepper in just a tiny bit of good pure olive oil. Then add a bit of white wine vinegar, along with oregano, paprika, soy, sugar, parsley and 1 can coconut milk. Once I add the coconut milk, I add the cut up chicken. Put on simmer, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes or so, stir. Continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked. Serve over white rice. It's a "make your own measurements" meal.

I keep wanting to make this chicken chow mein with the crockpot. It will take 8 1/2 hours and I keep forgetting to prep my chicken the night before. One of these days I will remember.

Been prepping for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm having 18 people for dinner and everything is going as planned. I do need to pick up some more wine, 4 bottles is just not enough. I also need to pick up some apple juice to make my cider with. Its a traditional cider recipe but I add some chopped/mushed apple to it. Sounds weird I know but when I was about 11 or 12 years old, I was living in Canon City, Colorado. They had this Christmas parade every year and I was down there with my mom. I bought this hot cider from a stand expecting the same ol' same ol' cider. NOT! It had mushed apples and small chunks of apples in it and it was by far the best cider recipe I still to this day have ever tasted.

So here I am re-creating...or at least trying. Last years cider was pretty close but still I feel like something is missing. I'll work on that.

Food & The Dreary Day

It's so dreary outside this morning! I'm enjoying my coffee, cup #2. Well, lasts nights dinner was interesting. I would make it again, but maybe as a side dish for a party or an appetizer. The sound of it made me think it would be a good main course, not so much. The Mexican Beef N' Beans had a perfect amount of spice to it.

Yesturdays test run of the new dinner roll recipe came out perfect! It rose beautifully both times, and it browned nice as well. I did buy a different brand of bread yeast, Red Star. I usually use Fleischmann's but with the recent disasters, I was starting to wonder if maybe it was my yeast causing such havoc. So for Thanksgiving I can rest my mind knowing that I should be able to whip up no less than 4 batches of rolls without going to the store for a midnight emergency. I'll probably do what I did last year, wake up at 5a.m. panicking that I might not have enough rolls and get up and make some more. That was interesting.

Dinner tonight I think is going to be a coconut chicken with rice. I've made this before and we all enjoy it. It's light and healthy. Even though it has no curry in at all, if someone closed their eyes and tasted it, they would think they're eating yellow curry with chicken. Never had much luck with real curry, so I guess I now have to look for a curry recipe so I can try it.

I also think I'm ready to try and start making sourdough and french bread. I know sourdough takes about 2 days because the sourdough starter has to sit for no less than 8 hours. French bread takes a bit too, but only 1 day. There's an aweful lot of "sitting" that will be going on. Anyways, I have all my stuff for it like the special bread flour. I'll let you know when I get started on that.

I have added mozzarella cheese to my grocery list.

Music And The Belly

Good Afternoon! Well last nights dinner was changed...again. Thats been happening a lot lately. We had some guests over and ended up eating pizza. The breakfast was great!

So its Sunday which means football will be on all day. I have bread rising right now, I just checked it and it appears to be rising nicely. Phew! I always worry about that part. I plan to make last nights dinner for tonight, so I will start that at 2p.m. It only takes 4 hours in the crock pot. All I really have to do for that is brown my meat and throw a bunch of stuff in at once and call it good. Again, will be serving over lettuce and garnished with sour cream. May even heat up some tortillas and make a nice messy burrito with it.

I just love the simplicity of putting together a crock pot meal. Best invention ever! Still haven't made a second attempt on the pasta. I really need a pasta roller, one that also cuts the pasta would be nice. Maybe if Santa really loves me.

The music part you say? I made my bread today with the sweet songs of Nightwish.

Food On The Brain

Good Morning! Just enjoyed my first sip of coffee...nice n' hot. As soon as my husband gets back from his errand, we will be eating a giant breakfast of fluffy scrambled eggs, bacon - chopped, bell peppers, potatoes and cheese all in one big skillet. Ill add some herbs and call it good.

I have a bunch of runnin' around to do today, and dinner is the last thing I wanna think about so I'm thinking about it first. I found a simple crock pot recipe that I will start before I head out the door. Its called Mexican Beef N' Beans. There's tortillas, ranch style beans, cream of mushroom and chicken, ground beef, Rotel, chili powder, garlic powder and cheese. Im suppose to use Velveeta cheese, but that stuff is gross so I'll be using real cheese. I suppose you could eat this with tortilla chips or over a green salad like a taco salad. Ill pick up something extra for this later to make it a full meal. Should only take 4 hours on low.

This recipe has been in my test recipe book so it will be nice to cross it off and seal its fate - trash can or recipe box. I plan on chowing on a PB&J later today with my oldest, I plan to take her with me and so naturally we will have food with us.

Also, I notice I make a lot of little typos. I apologize, I find I make more mistakes when I type with one hand instead of two, half the time I have my youngest Isabel in the other arm. Alright, I will update you on the outcome of dinner tonight.

Quick Dinner

Well tonights dinner was quick...and early. I fried up some brats and chopped up fresh green bell pepper, sliced fresh cheddar and threw it on a bun with some ketchup. I made a side of white rice with pepper, parsley and a bit of good oil. Simple and fast. My husband is working a night shift tonight so we ate around 4:30p.m. I am now enjoying a quick cup of coffee, my kitchen is already spotless, Mia is rocking her bunny and Isabel is learning to move backwards in her walker. Should be a nice quite nite.

Goodnight!

Friday Morning

Coffee has been poured. I made a change in last nights dinner, instead I made a vodka cream sauce with shrimp, served with spaghetti noodles, and a fresh baby spinach with tomato and mozzarella cheese. I enjoyed a cup of coffee followed by a white russian. My husband likes to make those.

I also found an easy recipe for pasta and thought - why not? So I made it, it was pretty easy but rolling and cutting it by hand was easier said than done. It's very sticky dough and didnt look good. But I cooked it anyways after in layed on a floured towel to dry out a bit. Again, it looked aweful but didnt taste that bad but still nothing I would serve to other people. This will take a bit of work I see.

Later on in the evening, my husband made his wonderful popcorn. He honestly makes the best Ive ever had! It sure was yummy. Dont know whats for dinner yet. Ill get back to you on that.