DAMN!

RATS! A FIRST for me...... grrrrrrr......... I had prepared my 'one-skillet-meal' for tonight...... a kind of meal we used to call 'Spanish Rice' back home (cooked rice, hamburger, tomato sauce - along with my own spices and chopped carrots, chopped onions and chopped celery)...... it smelled great! A misnomer, I know, but whatever.

So it was basically all cooked and I was just keeping it warm in the skillet on the stove. 

AND I FELL ASLEEP!

I awoke to a burned mess and a smell of of burned food!

OK.... PLAN B........ (don't know what PLAN B is, but.......)

Saturday Morn

Cleaned the kitchen this morning - I'm getting SO tired of dirtying so many dishes just to make a single meal for myself... Tonight is going to be something SIMPLE - don't know what yet but if it's gonna take more than one pot/pan I'm not doin' it!

Then I haveta hide from the Trick or Treat-ers....... hate to do that but, on my street, we can easily get upwards of 700 ghosts/goblins and at this point it's a choice between feeding kids candy or paying for healthcare.

BTW my efforts to eat on $3.50/day are falling a little short. Right now I'm at about $5.50 - BUT I DID buy meat etc that's still in the freezer so that will even out over time. 

Happy Halloween all and don't forget to 'Fall Back' tonight.

FRIDAY MORN

Raining once again and a good stay to stay inside. Am cooking up a small batch of pasta sauce and adding some homemade meatballs. Also baking a cake to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Already vacuumed, will work on some other cleaning thing a little later.

Thursday Morn (2)

WOOHOOOO!! A sale day at the market!!!!  Spent a lot more than I intended but I got some great deals! Bunches of broccoli $1 ea, 26 oz cans of spaghetti sauce $1 ea, large bottom round roasts reduced from $4.29 to $1.99/lb (WOW) AND Johnsonville sausages on sale too (they're poaching right now and then to the freezer)!

Now usually I don't purchase canned/bottled spaghetti sauce because I prefer to make my own BUT I've had really good luck 'doctoring' some basic spaghetti sauces (like I bought today) and making them taste pretty darn good. So I figured for $1, I couldn't go wrong. 

Thursday Morn

Sorry everyone..... I've been a little busy and not cooking very much. Was invited out to breakfast by a friend yesterday so I wasn't very hungry at dinner. Just had that little piece of leftover stuffed chicken breast with some leftover potatoes (YES, I DO have leftovers....LOL).

BUT I had purchased (on sale, natch) a thick piece of chuck that I had to get cooking so I braised that last night. I'll finish that today and that'll be dinner! Have a couple of things to pick up at the store so I'll also look for some fresh veggies - got a craving for something fresh and green (green beans? asparagus? - we'll see....). I also might pick up some boneless chicken breasts (gotta LOVE chicken!) 'cause it's on sale this week. 

Next week is supposed to be MUCH colder so get ready for stews and soups next week!

Tuesday Morn

Was tired last night so I went to bed early. Unfortunately that means that I AWOKE early (3:00am). Continued reading "THE LOST SYMBOL" over coffee. Then, for a break, went to the garage and finished 5 new stoppers. Need to make a few more if I'm going to display at the Arts & Crafts Show on Nov 14th.

Later this morning I need to cook the rest of the ravioli as well as the sauce and make the salad - am bringing lunch to friends at the local bank today.

Never Afraid To Admit My Mistakes

OK..... that recipe doesn't work...... granted, my chicken breast was extra large but NO amount of time at 450 would brown it..... and it still wasn't done on the inside. I should have stuck a little more with the original. 

So.........

Forget the crumbs...... stuff the breast as written. 

Brown the breast in a saute pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. 

THAT should do it.

In my defense, the taste is just AWESOME..... just a difference in cooking methods.

On the plus side, probably no one has read this (or will) so I'm sure I haven't spoiled anything.

The Plan for Dinner Tonight

I originally saw this recipe used with Blue cheese and the chicken breast wrapped with bacon. I've modified it a bit and think it's even BETTER! Sorry it's so long but so many people have been requesting recipes that..... well, here it is....... adjust the quantities for the number of chicken breasts you're making.

Boneless, skinless chicken breast (on sale this week)

Cream cheese, softened (for 1 breast I used about 3 oz)

sliced bacon (1/2 slice per breast)

chopped chives (can use dried)

bread crumbs

Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425

Fry the bacon until crisp, drain and chop fine.

Add some chives and the chopped bacon to the softened cream cheese and let stand for at least 30 minutes (to let the dried chives soften)

Make a mixture of 1/2 and 1/2 bread crumbs and Panko crumbs.

Cradle the chicken breast in your hand with the thicker side UP. Insert a very sharp paring knife into the thick side, make an opening about 1 1/2 inches long. Move the paring knife to cut a 'pocket' inside the breast without any exit wound. 

Stuff the breast 'pocket' with the cheese mixture.

Rub just a bit of olive oil onto the breast and season the breast with salt and pepper

Roll breast in bread crumb mixture (You could make this simpler by using Shake n' Bake, I suppose)

Bake on a foil-lined pan for about 20 minutes.

NOTE: In order to bake more evenly and avoid the cheese possibly running out the slit in the breast, I used one of those adjustable roasting racks that allows you to adjust the width of the rack. This way, the breast can roast upright with the slit on the top!

Posts/Comments

It should be easier to post a 'comment' now - I think I've figured out the proper settings in this blog. Forgive me.

Monday Morn

The ravioli was WONDERFUL! Above you'll see a pic of the first batch I made. I did 45 ravioli total and could've done probably 60 but ran out of filling. There's also a pic of the 'left-over' dough after using the new ravioli stamp - works like a charm!

Seriously, if you've never tried making your own pasta, you should. It's very easy and would be a great family activity! 

Sunday Morn

Just finished making 45 ravioli...... could've made a few more but I ran outa filling (will have to adjust that whenever I make more - could've prob made 60 total).

The new KitchenAid roller attachment is a GODSEND!!!!! It made rolling the dough almost effortless! And I could use both hands to guide the input and output of the dough. I also used th new ravioli stamp mentioned in previous blog - they look VERY professional!!

I took pictures but will have to reduce 'em to post them here. Look for a future blog as well as one on how thy taste later tonight. Most are going to some friends for lunch on Tuesday so I won't cook those until Tuesday Morn.

Sat Late Afternoon

OK, I've decided on ravioli (prob cause I want to use my new ravioli stamp). Made the 3 cheese filling and the dough for the ravioli. Won't roll it till tomorrow. The filling is WONDERFUL! The sauce is what is called Sunday Gravy - a meat juice base with meat in a  tomato sauce - a very hearty and flavorful sauce to contrast with the (somewhat) bland cheese ravioli.

Ricotta Comparison

OK.... so I DID go out and buy a tub of Ricotta. First of all, it cost $3.30. Second, the contents are only about 1/3rd of the volume of what I made. Result: it's DEFINITELY cost effective to make your own. Taste results: difficult - BUT there's a HUGE difference in consistency! The store-bought version is much more grainy, almost 'sandy' in comparison to the creamy consistency of the homemade version. 

Since this 'cheese' would be in a hot dish (and melt), I would DEFINITELY make my own as opposed to buying it over-the-counter. (Of course, if I lived in a large city and had access to a big Italian deli, I might change my mind).

Saturday Morn - Ricotta Success!

Another cool, rainy day   :-(

At least my ricotta experiment is a big success! Almost lie a very, very fine cottage cheese. I'm not a big ricotta fan but it's a main ingredient in lasagnas and cheese ravioli so I'm glad it turned out so well. As for taste, that's difficult for me to determine - I hesitate to go out and BUY a tub of it to compare tastes but I may have to do that. 

Cost for the resultant approx 3 cups was roughly $2.50.... I guess I'll HAVE to buy a tub now in order to compare both taste AND price.... but....... since last night's chicken pie was at $0.00 maybe I can afford that.

Haven't decided whether I should make lasagna or cheese ravioli. I just received my dandy ravioli 'stamp' (imagine a cookie cutter but thicker w/scalloped edge).... HEY.... I just found a pic of it. - it's at the top of the post here. EITHER way, I get to use my new KitchenAid Pasta Roller attachment - waHOOO! (Yeah, I know..... "Small things amuse small minds".....  :-)....)

I'll keep blogging.... though I still have no idea how many people read this.

Friday

It's a cold and rainy day..... so what do I do? COOK, of course! 

I've already made a batch of 'faux' ricotta cheese - saw the recipe in a cooking mag and just HAD to try it. I've never been a big fan of ricotta but it's an essential for lasagna and considering my recent forays into homemade pasta, I figured I should try it. Easy recipe.... now draining in the fridge until tomorrow. Guess that means I'll be making lasagna sometime this weekend.

Speaking of lasagna, I DID buy the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer - it came today.... cant WAIT to try it. It should make the whole pasta-rolling process much easier and quicker. The only thing is that the gradations on the roller go from 1 - 8 and the thickness levels are just backwards from the old hand-crank model I WAS using. Will just have to remember that when it's time.

Haven't decided whether it's my (last) bowl of 'chili stew' tonight or a chicken pie I made with last night's roast chicken. EITHER is gonna be awesome!

Dinner, Thursday

Had an AWESOME roasted chicken w/mashed taters and green beans. Enough left-overs to make 2 chicken pies (one small for me and a larger one for some friends) AND a half breast also!

Memories, memories..........

Thursday Mid-day

The day started out fairly nice but soon turned to rain. Was going to grill but decided to stay indoors and am roasting a small chicken ($4). I should get at least three meals out of that - waHOO! Spent $12.53 at the grocery - needed a gal of milk (for some homemade ricotta cheese-more on that as I make it), spices, the chicken, a loaf of ciabatta bread and some cream cheese (also for a meal-to-come). 

So right now, since I started keeping track, my daily average is about $6.26 (my goal was $3.50, remember?). But that'll go way down as have have meal after meal.

BTW, I'm not adding in costs of things that I already have in the house - that would be too complicated. It'll average out over the course of time.

I'll post last about the final meal tonight.

Oops - I forgot

I also added about 1/3 cup of rice to the mix and let everything simmer till it was cooked.

First 'budget' dinner

If you read the last post, you know what this is all about. Tonight's dinner is something I call 'Chili Stew'. I can't eat regular chili (the cost of the subsequent TUMS would ruin my budget!).

So, I had some left-over pot roast (VERY tender!) - cut it up into smaller pieces, added a can of chili beans, a little left-over homemade pizza sauce, some chopped green pepper and red pepper (both already in stock),chopped onion and garlic and some spices. VOILA! CHILI STEW! It needed a bit of salt and I ate it with some buttered bread - AWESOME!

Total cost - $0.00

Personal Budget and a change in spending

Sheesh! I got word the other day that my healthcare insurance is increasing by about 300%. That's gonna put a MAJOR crimp in my budget and force some hard decisions. Until the house sells and I can move to a more temperate climate (and save on Michigan heating costs), one of the few budget items I can control is food. Soooooooo, I've established a new goal..... low-budget meals. At least some of you know that I have a long-standing habit of eating only once/day. I've been that way for years now and it works for me. Now - the budget. I'm establishing a goal of $3.50/day. I know that sounds really low but it's a starting point. And I'm NOT intending to eat $1.00 double cheeseburgers at Burger King, or eating a whole bunch of Hamburger Helper (or dog food!) either!

Consider, I can buy a decent size pot roast for maybe $6 - $7 and have at least three meals out of it. Add potatoes or another starch and some veggies and I think it's doable. I'm gonna chart my expenditures and will adjust after a couple of months.

Yes, I'll be cutting back (mainly on more expensive cuts of meat) but, then again, I've been buying all my meats on sale lately anyway. And since it's only ME, I'm going to start being really creative.

So, you'll see some changes in my food blog here.... I'l keep you up-to-date on how the budget is looking (yeah, I anticipate some nights when I entertain or perhaps splurge but it's a 'goal').

BTW, this new budget thing does NOT include alcohol or tobacco - waddya think, I'm CRAZY! (I WOULD be if I had to include those!)

Stay tuned! And, as always, feel free to comment.

Family Pics

FINALLY here are some pics from my visit to Ann Arbor. 

Mezzaluna Success!

The mezzaluna was a BIG success!! The taste was great, none of them exploded or broke while cooking and the filling stood up to a light Alfredo sauce I made to go with 'em. They DID take a bit longer than expected to cook. Most recipes say that they're done when they float to the top of boiling water but mine were VERY underdone at that point. It took a couple more minutes before they were tender. 

A bit of browsing on the web, and I discovered the reason - I had let them dry on a cutting board for about 2 hours before cooking. If I had cooked them immediately, it would have reduced the time.... but no matter...... next time I'll know.

I might be getting to the point that I think about investing in a pasta-rolling accessory for my KitchenAid stand mixer. NOT that I'm opposed to the exercise I get cranking my handcrank pasta roller but, being the only person performing the whole operation, I always feel like I need to be an octopus with one hand holding/guiding the dough and another guiding the output of the dough and yet another turning the crank. I think it would go a whole lot faster with an electric model. (You see 'em in use on Iron Chef a lot)

Anyhow..... what I would do differently next time: I definitely want to experiment with more/different fillings....... I rolled the dough to a #4 setting on my pasta machine but I think I'll go to a #3 next time... no thinner, tho.... I think they wouldn't stand up. I may even try to make some for "Fried Ravioli" next time! And I may even try adding flavors to the pasta itself!

So, all-in-all, it was a HUGE success! What a sense of accomplishment!

Oh......... and then I opened my mail and found that my Health Insurance was jumping from $186/mo to $532/mo....... CRAP!!!!    C'monnnnnnn National Health Care!!!!!!

Forgot to mention

Technically these probably be referred to as 'ravioli'...... they're 'mezza luna' (trans. - half moon) pastas.

About 1:40pm

OK the filling was made (meat, onions, garlic, parmesan and a little cream) and then I started on the dough. The dough is always a long process - would be MUCH faster with 2 people, I'm sure!. I didn't know what thickness of dough to roll it (my pasta maker has settings from 7[thickest] to 1 [ultra thin]). In the past for noodles I've gone down to 1..... recipes varied in their recommendations so I guessed and rolled it to a '4'...... cut the sheets with a 3 1/4" round cookie cutter. Painted the edges with egg wash and spooned in the filling. Then I pinched the edges in my fingers and finally used a fork to crimp each edge. You should be able to see pretty well in the two pics.

Right now they're drying a bit. Will report on the taste either later tonight or tomorrow morn.

Even MORE Monday Morn

Looks like a nice enough day to mow the lawns. In preparation, I noticed that it looks like it's going to be much like last year when the three Maple trees (ranging from Large to HUGE - prob ranging from 80 - 150 yrs old) in my (enclosed) back yard WON'T color and fall until there's 6 inches of snow on the ground! They're still bright GREEN!!!  SHEESH! Not that I enjoy raking, but I hate the mess those soggy leaves leave when spring finally arrives. 

MORE Monday Morn

Going forward with the ravioli(see earlier post). Been reading ravioli filling recipes and decided to make a beef filling . Also ordered a round ravioli stamp (about $7).... wish I had one today, but........

Thinking of an Alfredo style cream sauce for the ravioli.......

Stay tuned.....

And

COMMENT!

Monday Morn

First of all, thanks to those who've commented (in other online venues like FaceBook etc) about this blog. Truthfully, because of the very nature of this free blog, I have no way of knowing just how many people are reading it (yeah, yeah, OK.... sometimes I wonder if ANYone is reading it!).

Anyhow, last night was a simple dinner - a small grilled steak, potatoes and some peas. Nothing to comment on - it was tasty.

This morning I was, for some reason, thinking about pirogues or ravioli. They have slightly different recipes for the 'pasta' outside and traditionally have totally different fillings, but my mind was thinking basically about them because of their shared, similar shapes. Since I'm trying to use up meat from the freezer, I think I'll make some homemade ravioli. I don't think I have to roll the dough as thin as I have for noodles/spaghetti and the extras (I'm SURE there'll be a bunch of extras!) should freeze well.

Look for the results tomorrow!

And please, leave a comment here (or a question)..... if only to let me know that you're reading the blog. My paranoid personality thanks you....   ;-)

Early Friday Morn re: PORK Brining

Yeah, yeah......I know I haven't posted for a few days but THIS one is really worth it for you fellow 'foodies' out there.

I saw a short piece on the internet on 'brining'. Now most of us have heard about the benefits of brining turkeys (moist white meat etc - Alton Brown did a whole show on it on Food Network). But the piece I saw was about brining PORK - specifically pork chops. The lean meat of a pork chop reacts similarly to a turkey breast (moistness).

So I figured that it should react the same with a piece of pork tenderloin. I had two smallish pieces in the freezer and decided to do a grilling comparison. I made a brine (very similar to the short internet piece I saw) of water, salt, sugar, spices and apple juice) and immersed one piece of tenderloin. The other piece, I simply marinated in my normal pork marinade (a homemade Italian salad dressing).

I grilled both pieces on the grill. When I figured they were done, I brought them inside and let them rest for about 5 minutes. I started by slicing (from the larger end of the tenderloin) the marinated piece. When I got to the 5th slice, I moved to the brined piece and sliced it likewise. I then sampled both of the 5th slices. The brined piece was noticeably more juicy!!

I must say, though, that the brining process doesn't seem to impart much flavor so the next time I think I'll use a basting sauce while grilling it. 

So there's my experiment in brining PORK - I'M A CONVERT!!!!

If anyone wants more info on the brining recipe, leave a comment and I'll post it.

Tuesday Afternoon

I tried a new recipe for my pizza dough last night - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! I found a wheat gluten additive that you add to the regular OO flour. A great difference in elasticity of the dough!! As always I used my homemade sauce and this time added slivered onions, slivered green peppers and sliced homemade meatballs - all with some provolone and a bunch of mozzarella........ it was wonderful!! I like a really fresh taste to my ingredients so I don't use a lot of spice on my pizza..... this one was just AWESOME!! I pit the pizza stone on the bottom rack in the oven and preheated to 500 degrees then used my pizza slip (peel) to slide the completed pizza onto the stone.

Seriously, if you haven't tried making your own pizza crust, you should!!!

Sunday morn

Had a great day yesterday with Jem (Jeremy) and Mariah in their new house...... cooked pot roast (a request, since he hadn't had it in a long while), mashed spuds, summer squash & carrots...... dessert was brownies with ice cream.

Mariah's parents are coming over this am and I've already made a breakfast casserole and will assemble a bacon/onion frittata in a little while.

Then it's back to Hastings

BTW, hats off to Jeff (a fellow 'foodie') who sent me a couple of very interesting articles to read!

In Ann Arbor

Awoke at 3:45am...... bought a GREAT magazine at CVS (open 24 hrs)....."Fine Cooking"..... I may have to subscribe! 4 cups of coffee at Big Boy while I read most of it. Next, food shopping (BIG list) for tonight's dinner (pot roast etc) and tomorrow's brunch for  8  (a big bkfst casserole plus a frittata)

Can't wait to see Jem & Mariah and their new house!!

Almost ready to leave

Going to Ann Arbor to visit my son and his partner, Mariah in their new home. Projects to do there.... and cooking! Had to pack cooking pots and some pie plates (perhaps for a quiche or two for Sunday Brunch!).

My poor PT Cruiser is almost full! YIKES! LOL  A rainy day to drive but I can take my time. Will try to post some from there this weekend.

Thursday dinner and the weekend

Dinner was just scrumptious! Sliced the steak into thin slices (but I didn't have any mushrooms - rats).

Will be in Ann Arbor for the weekend visiting my youngest son and his girlfriend - they bought a house there a couple of months ago and I haven't seen it yet. Evidently he has some 'projects' for me too. My daughter & grand daughter will be coming down also so that means that I'll be cooking a big dinner on Saturday night.