Hey everyone – Barry (the husband) here. I thought for my first guest post I’d be writing something deep and insightful about being a dad, or maybe something useful about my role as a financial counselor – or maybe even something about my woodworking or something else about which I might consider myself knowledgeable. But alas, it is not so. Stacy asked me to write about how to make fried rice. Before you read any further, please know I cannot compete with my kitchen queen of a wife and would never try to get in her way in the kitchen. However, once a week, Stacy gives herself a reprieve from cooking the family dinner, instead opting to sit on the couch with her bonbons and forcing me to go to the kitchen and cook something…or something like that. I have always loved to cook, but I really enjoy this weekly opportunity to remind myself bachelorhood is not for me. Even though I enjoy doing my weekly dinner assignment, I much prefer to enjoy the fruits of Stacy’s labor. Anyway, there is one thing I make that Stacy tells me is better than hers – so let’s make some fried rice! [Read more…] |
Archives for May 2011
Sun Tea
My mom has made Sun Tea my whole life. It was rare that I didn’t see the jar of tea sitting on the edge of the porch. My dad goes through it like my car goes through gasoline……except it’s cheaper. Wish my car could run on Sun Tea. Barry likes tea too, so when we got married I started making it for him. Him. I hate tea. It makes me wanna yak. However, I have decided that I am going to attempt to learn to love it. I know it’s good for me……I just have to keep repeating that to myself. IT’S GOOD FOR ME! So are sardines, but that hasn’t really done much for me. All you need is water, marshmallow root tea bags, and a glass jar. Mom gave me this glass jar. I think it used to house pickles. If your jar used to house pickles, make sure you air it out and get rid of the pickle smell before you make tea…..that wouldn’t be a nice surprise for your husband – unless you’re mad at him. It’s pretty easy to find a glass jar like this….just ask around. Or visit Sam’s and buy something just for the jar. Been there, done that. Have I ever mentioned I have this thing for glass jars? [Read more…] |
Fix and Forget Friday – How To Cook Beans in a Crock Pot
Beans, beans! Good for your heart! The more you eat, the more you……..want. Seriously. We <3 beans. I grew up with a mom who almost always had a pot of beans cooking or already ready to eat in the fridge. She always cooked them by soaking overnight and cooking the next morning. It’s what I know……it’s what I did too. Funny how you grow up doing the same things your mom did, even if you don’t know why. We decided to increase our intake of beans so I set out to find an easier way to make them.When you buy dried beans, you’ll pay a LOT less than beans in a can. I’ve always kept canned beans in my stockpile, but now I’m keeping cooked beans in my freezer instead. They are SO easy to make! I knew tons of people cooked their beans in the crock pot, but I had never done it myself – instead doing it like my mom had always done it…..but my mom doesn’t love her crock pot as much as I do. It’s so easy to do; I’ll be cooking all my beans this way from now on. Come over into the light and eat beans. Have I mentioned they are super yummy? All you need are beans, a crock pot, and water…..and salt. Beans without salt are like Annie without Elmo. I needed a batch of black beans, so that’s what I used…..but you can use any dried bean that you have. [Read more…] |
Meal Plan 5/27-6/2
-Breakfast: Oven Pancake with peanut butter, fruit -Lunch: Cheesy Burger Hashbrowns leftover, veggies -Dinner: Taco Supper Skillet, frozen veggies |
-Breakfast: Easy Cinnamon Rolls, yogurt, fruit -Lunch: Leftover Taco Supper Skillet (above), veggies -Dinner: Eggs, toast, turkey bacon, fruit [Read more…] |
Salmon Burgers
Ya know how you have that list of things that you’re never going to do when you grow up? “GOSH MOM! When I’m a grown up, I’m never going to make my kids eat fish!……I’m never gonna make my kids clean their room!……I’m never going to tell my kids they can’t climb the poles in the basement!” Well, let me just tell y’all, I’ve been eating lots of crow. It’s dry and it makes me cough. Now when Annie says that type of thing, I’ll just get the giggles. I’m sure my mom was giggling behind my back too. When I was growing up, I hated when my mom would fix salmon. It stunk. It made the house stink. It made me wanna yak. And what am I doing now? Fixing it for myself. I’m a paradox. Let’s make these delicious Salmon Burgers and feed them to our kids! [Read more…] |
Fix and Forget Friday – Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup
I saw the idea for this recipe somewhere, but I didn’t really like the ingredients that it called for……so I changed them up and made this recipe mine. I don’t really mean “mine” because, in an act of graciousness, I did give a bowl to Barry and Annie. I didn’t want to, but I did it. I make sacrifices for my family. Ya know, I don’t even like hot wings – but I think it’s just because I get grossed out by meat that’s on bones. No, I have absolutely no reasoning behind that…..it’s all in my head. But this soup has no bones. It’s a winner! I love that it’s made in the crock pot, but it could easily be adapted and made on the stove. |
We need milk, cream of chicken soup, chopped cooked chicken, sour cream, wing sauce, chopped celery and onions, and bleu cheese crumbles. Notice that I don’t have fresh celery. I realized while getting my ingredients out that I didn’t have any left. Okay, so yes I did have some……but it was so limp that it looked like a wet noodle. I pulled out my dehydrated celery instead. I’m sure fresh celery would be WAY better, so don’t be like me and let your celery get limp. |
Put your chopped onions in a microwavable bowl and add a tablespoon or two of water. Nuke them for about 1 ½ minutes to get them semi-soft. Make sure it IS a microwaveable bowl, because we really don’t need any exploding dishes that contain white chocolate…..oh wait, that was the Cake Balls, nevermind. |
Put your chicken down in your crock pot and add the onions. I always make sure to have extra cooked chicken in my freezer. Sometimes I find a rotisserie chicken on a good sale and I’ll bring it home, chop up the meat and bag it in the freezer. It’s almost an instant meal. I am just full of tips up in here. |
I always make a mess mixing up my soup and milk, so I just used my onion bowl and did it that way, before adding it to the pot. I used a whisk and got everything nice and smooth. Please don’t dirty another dish for this. Thank you. |
Do you see a problem here? I do. It was at this exact moment that I realized I had chosen the wrong crock pot. Oops. I dirtied up an extra dish. Sadness. Moral of the story – use at least a 4 quart pot. |
Mix the soup mixture with the onions and chicken. Time to add the celery! If you are using regular celery, you will want to microwave it with the onions. |
Now, add the buffalo wing sauce and sour cream. You can vary the degree of hotness in this recipe by adding more or less hot sauce. I thought ½ cup was good. It was hot, but not hot enough that Annie didn’t lick her bowl clean. If you want to get heartburn and let your nose run, just add more hot sauce. Mix it all up. |
Put the lid on and let it cook for 4-5 hours on low heat. This is a great recipe if you have time early in the day, but you’re busy around dinner time. That happens to me regularly. I fixed this while Annie was down for her nap and then I had the rest of the afternoon free with her…..and Elmo. |
Will ya look at that? Hello beautiful! It was at the moment that I lifted the lid that I realized I did NOT butter my crock. Oops. Will that goop ever come off? Yes, it did……after a little soaking. So, please don’t be a doofus like me and forget to grease your crock. |
Sprinkle each serving with bleu cheese, if you’re risky like that. I didn’t do it……I hate bleu cheese. But Barry thoroughly enjoyed his. This soup is even better the next day! |
Buffalo Chicken Soup
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Meal Plan for 5/20-5/26
-Breakfast: Baked Eggs, biscuits, fruit -Lunch: Remaining Chicken Fajitas, rice, fruit -Dinner: Workshop in Wise, Virginia |
-Breakfast: Leftover Mexican Quiche, fruit -Lunch: Sandwiches, fruit -Dinner: Barry’s Fried Rice, green beans [Read more…] |
Baby Steps Toward Healthy Eating
You might recall at that the end of Stacy Goes Storeless I told you all that Barry and I had made a decision to cut out a majority of our processed foods. I was ready to move toward a more Whole Foods diet. We were eating entirely too much crap because I was able to get it cheap. I had never seen that before…..in fact, if you would have asked me, I would have said I didn’t buy many processed foods – I thought I didn’t….I was cooking most of our meals, so I thought I was getting a free pass. However, a month of Toaster Strudels will change anyone’s mind about what they should be eating. It all sounded great in my head. Whole Foods diet. Whole Foods diet. Yep, but was I really ready for that?I’ve made the switch to making all our bread at home, but I still have tons of stuff to get rid of. So, we’re slowly chipping away at that stock. I do not replace it with processed foods. I replace it with healthy stuff. Healthy meaning good for us, not fat free. Heavens to Betsy! Fat free stuff tastes TERRIBLE. Be serious with yourself. That fat free cheese you melted turns into rubber when it cools down….probably because it’s MADE with rubber. BLECH! [Read more…] |
Rhubarb Buckle
*UPDATE – See this post about our new eating habits.(7/10/11) Please excuse some of my pictures in this post. I’ve been experimenting a little bit since I had a photography lesson…..but these didn’t turn out very well. Let’s just pretend they did and move along. Thanks for your cooperation. Let’s see, we’ve covered crisp, cobbler, crumble, grunt, and now buckle. I LOVE buckles. Most recipes you’ll see will call for blueberries. You could really use any fruit for this dish, but you’d have to adjust the sugar amount. I needed to use up this rhubarb, so I went with it. I am ready for fresh rhubarb! I need to clean my freezer out to store this year’s bounty. What’s a buckle? It’s basically a cake with fruit. As the cake cooks, the fruit sinks to the bottom, pushing the batter to the top…..it buckles. And when that happens, it’s totally divine. YUM, YUM! Of course, after you eat it there is probably going to be some adjustment with another buckle – if you catch my drift. [Read more…] |
Making Any Recipe Your Own
Did you know you could write your own recipe book? It’s true. You’re an author in the making….if you’d just stop following those recipes step-by-step. I come across recipes all the time that sound delicious, but I just don’t have the ingredients…..or the ingredients are expensive. I’ll just tell you right now that I’m not going to be buying cardamom any time soon…..unless I feel like selling my birthright. It’s made from gold or something…..must be related to gasoline. So, I use recipes that I find as springboards and I go from there. Sometimes I follow a recipe 100%…..I used to always follow them, but then I got a little more confident and I started taking risks. Life without risk is like baked oatmeal without syrup…..like food without salt……like Stacy without her laptop. So, be bold and try something new (yes, even you, Rebecca Cobb). [Read more…] |