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OT: Something's Cookin' in the Kitchen!
Painterchic's request for our chronic pain stories in another thread got me thinking about how long it's been since I spent quality time in my kitchen. I hardly cook in the summer anyway, but we had a cool-ish, rainy day today so I started out making chicken stock. You can NEVER have too much homemade chicken stock in the kitchen! I make mine pretty stout with lots of fresh herbs, whole peppercorns and the requisite onions, garlic cloves, celery tops, and plenty of carrots. DH bought me a huge Calphalon stock pot last year so it got a good workout today.
I even took the time to break up the chicken bones and throw them back into the pot after deboning the chicken. The marrow really adds to the flavor, and with so many herbs I don't even bother with salt. This time around I used a 5+ pound chicken along with 3 bone-in, skin-on breasts. Don't even ask me about amounts because I never use recipes and anything I make never comes out quite the same way twice. Keeps it interesting anyway!
So what to do with all that great chicken? Tortilla soup! My Hispanic friends and relations swear nobody can top it - high praise indeed - and I haven't made it in months. I talked DH into being my sous chef and had him chop up the onions and jalapenos for the final round. Now just how stupid was that? The man has watched me do this for years, and he has a terrible time with too much pepper heat (much as he loves it) so what does he do? Chops the peppers up WITH the seeds. Holy cow! The fumes nearly seared my contacts to my corneas. I had to use a colander to seive out as many seeds as possible and both of us had tears streaming down our faces by the time it was over. So tell me if my suspicions are correct. He did it on purpose so I'd never ask for his help in the kitchen again. Right?!
Those were some majorly hot jalapenos - more like serrano peppers than jalapenos. The fumes permeated the whole house when they hit the saute pan and DH had to go outside for a while to save his eyesight. Serves him right! Hopefully I got enough of the heat sauteed out of the peppers so it's edible. I've got enough for an army and if I have to force it down his throat with alternate sips from a bottle of Maalox, he's gonna eat it. LOL!
There's nothing I like better than to spend time in my kitchen when the weather is cold and nasty. I can already smell the homemade bread that's going to be coming along in another month or so. And the pot roasts, corn soup with shrimp (kind of a gumbo-lite), chicken & sausage gumbo, shrimp creole, rib roasts, venison chili, pecan praline cheesecake, Christmas goodies, lemon bars... Too bad I can't actually EAT most of this stuff myself, but I share generously with friends and neighbors and their reactions are what make cooking so much fun. It's also a great pain distraction.
After we flooded last year, I had the old double oven ripped out and turned it into a wine rack and cabinet for my crystal stemware and other fragile glassware. The replacement oven I got is a slide-in gas convection and range top. The contactor couldn't understand why I wanted the "old fashioned" oven instead of the modern glass cooktop arrangement I had originally. Running the gas line in was no fun either, and I suspect that was his real objection to the change. How typical of late 1970's construction: gas everywhere in the house except the kitchen, and nothing but nothing beats gas for cooking. My old glass cooktop looked great, but took forever to heat up and stayed hot enough to burn careless hands for a good 30 minutes after shutting it off. With gas, you have full control over exactly how much heat you want and when you want it. Mine is a 5-burner model with the central burner being oblong so I can use my mother's old griddle. It's the size of a large cookie sheet, weighs a ton, was manufactured in the 1920's, and will probably still be in use long after I'm in the grave.
I am in love with the convection function on the oven, which is huge. Air circulates evenly which makes it more efficient. No more hot spots and I can fill every rack with cookies and they all get cooked exactly the same. It also allows for about 25% less heat and cooking time. Even better, I got it on sale at 45% off which put it in my budget range - on the high end, but still under the line. DH rolled his eyes about the major changes in the kitchen, but grudgingly went along with it. Then he used it a couple of times and fell in love with it too. Of course, he wouldn't take my word for it that he didn't need to use as much heat or cook as long as with the old conventional oven. He turned out a couple of evenly burned Stouffer's dinners before he grudgingly admitted I was... right!
Looking back, I don't know how in the world I ever managed to turn out anything edible with my old setup. That awful glass cooktop was just over two years old when a burner went out. Naturally, is was the large one that got the most use. Since the element was embedded in the glass, there was no replacing a single burner. We had no money to replace the whole rotten thing (out of warranty of course) so I got along with 3 burners. $750 right down the drain, but I still celebrated to see it go into the garbage truck and get smashed to bits. At least there's one blessing from that monstrous flood adventure. LOL!
So is there anyone else out there who likes to play in the kitchen? I'd love to hear from you and maybe get some new ideas. :-)
I even took the time to break up the chicken bones and throw them back into the pot after deboning the chicken. The marrow really adds to the flavor, and with so many herbs I don't even bother with salt. This time around I used a 5+ pound chicken along with 3 bone-in, skin-on breasts. Don't even ask me about amounts because I never use recipes and anything I make never comes out quite the same way twice. Keeps it interesting anyway!
So what to do with all that great chicken? Tortilla soup! My Hispanic friends and relations swear nobody can top it - high praise indeed - and I haven't made it in months. I talked DH into being my sous chef and had him chop up the onions and jalapenos for the final round. Now just how stupid was that? The man has watched me do this for years, and he has a terrible time with too much pepper heat (much as he loves it) so what does he do? Chops the peppers up WITH the seeds. Holy cow! The fumes nearly seared my contacts to my corneas. I had to use a colander to seive out as many seeds as possible and both of us had tears streaming down our faces by the time it was over. So tell me if my suspicions are correct. He did it on purpose so I'd never ask for his help in the kitchen again. Right?!
Those were some majorly hot jalapenos - more like serrano peppers than jalapenos. The fumes permeated the whole house when they hit the saute pan and DH had to go outside for a while to save his eyesight. Serves him right! Hopefully I got enough of the heat sauteed out of the peppers so it's edible. I've got enough for an army and if I have to force it down his throat with alternate sips from a bottle of Maalox, he's gonna eat it. LOL!
There's nothing I like better than to spend time in my kitchen when the weather is cold and nasty. I can already smell the homemade bread that's going to be coming along in another month or so. And the pot roasts, corn soup with shrimp (kind of a gumbo-lite), chicken & sausage gumbo, shrimp creole, rib roasts, venison chili, pecan praline cheesecake, Christmas goodies, lemon bars... Too bad I can't actually EAT most of this stuff myself, but I share generously with friends and neighbors and their reactions are what make cooking so much fun. It's also a great pain distraction.
After we flooded last year, I had the old double oven ripped out and turned it into a wine rack and cabinet for my crystal stemware and other fragile glassware. The replacement oven I got is a slide-in gas convection and range top. The contactor couldn't understand why I wanted the "old fashioned" oven instead of the modern glass cooktop arrangement I had originally. Running the gas line in was no fun either, and I suspect that was his real objection to the change. How typical of late 1970's construction: gas everywhere in the house except the kitchen, and nothing but nothing beats gas for cooking. My old glass cooktop looked great, but took forever to heat up and stayed hot enough to burn careless hands for a good 30 minutes after shutting it off. With gas, you have full control over exactly how much heat you want and when you want it. Mine is a 5-burner model with the central burner being oblong so I can use my mother's old griddle. It's the size of a large cookie sheet, weighs a ton, was manufactured in the 1920's, and will probably still be in use long after I'm in the grave.
I am in love with the convection function on the oven, which is huge. Air circulates evenly which makes it more efficient. No more hot spots and I can fill every rack with cookies and they all get cooked exactly the same. It also allows for about 25% less heat and cooking time. Even better, I got it on sale at 45% off which put it in my budget range - on the high end, but still under the line. DH rolled his eyes about the major changes in the kitchen, but grudgingly went along with it. Then he used it a couple of times and fell in love with it too. Of course, he wouldn't take my word for it that he didn't need to use as much heat or cook as long as with the old conventional oven. He turned out a couple of evenly burned Stouffer's dinners before he grudgingly admitted I was... right!
Looking back, I don't know how in the world I ever managed to turn out anything edible with my old setup. That awful glass cooktop was just over two years old when a burner went out. Naturally, is was the large one that got the most use. Since the element was embedded in the glass, there was no replacing a single burner. We had no money to replace the whole rotten thing (out of warranty of course) so I got along with 3 burners. $750 right down the drain, but I still celebrated to see it go into the garbage truck and get smashed to bits. At least there's one blessing from that monstrous flood adventure. LOL!
So is there anyone else out there who likes to play in the kitchen? I'd love to hear from you and maybe get some new ideas. :-)
I think our thrift and cooking skills are about to be tested with the rising prices, have you noticed that yet LOL so I have been looking at my Mom's old cook books and referring back to ww11 recipes, yes back that far,its amazing what the Brits lived on in those days .When she cooked cabbage , particularly the dark green kind, so good for us , she drank the cabbage water, after she drained it off the boiled cabbage apparently because the vitamins and minerals went into the water. In Britain they have always baked a lot of puddings and pies and I mean savoury ones, so pastry making may be something for us to cultivate more ..
Oooohhhh! I LOVE smothered cabbage! I also like plain boiled cabbage with salt, pepper and lots of butter. Thanks for reminding my margypops - I haven't made that in a long time!
well I must have missed this one ... I just spent about an hour digesting the great food stories here , and you have made me hungry its only 4pm here so I will have to get a cookie to nibble on, .Tell you what I have found like us all we are being more economical and I find that I am making differant things , with cheaper products and yes enjoying it, Cabbage is a good price..still and I will heat up oil and stir fry it with onions, till caramelised ..then maybe chuck in a bit of sausage,have some baked beans as a side dish ... I have jotted down some of the ideas here, thank you for the wonderful writing jaybay and all you gals ..
Will y'all stop it!! You're making me hungry. Oooohh. Freshly baked bread. How delicious. But I can't eat today, at least solids. You know what I'm talking about, Jaybay. But when I can, look out!
I really do love to cook when I can. It must be OK. No complaints so far. But my daughter is a better baker than I. And unfortunately I learned to cook Southern style. Not the best in the world for you. But oh so delicious.
I really do love to cook when I can. It must be OK. No complaints so far. But my daughter is a better baker than I. And unfortunately I learned to cook Southern style. Not the best in the world for you. But oh so delicious.
Jaybay we have a woodstove in our kitchen .We use it to heat our house and in the winter I love cooking on it .I have even mastered baking biscuits on it .I have been getting zucchini out of the garden and made some zucchini bread last night .It was delish .I usually keep a sourdough bread starter and make bread every couple of days through the winter .There is nothing better than warm ,homemade bread with some butter on it .I love to cook and bake and then canning in the summer .We are getting ready to make apple butter and put down a steer last week .I cooked some of the beef and it was the best I ever had .It would melt in your mouth .I love farm living with fresh eggs ,meat ,vegetables ,at my disposal .I have been into fusion cooking lately I made a chicken caccitore and fused it with ancho chiles .It was great ! .It's nice to know there are so many great cooks here .
Melissa
Melissa
It's a Whirlpool Accubake. The early models had bad reports of the electronic keypads getting fried when people used the self-cleaning option. I'm not particularly worried about that because I don't like using the self-cleaning function on any oven. With the sale price I found at Lowe's and a further discount we talked the store manager into because we were buying all our replacement appliances there, it was a great deal. It's also very easy to clean. My old glass cooktop was a nightmare. It stayed hot so long that by the time I could touch it, any spills were stuck on so hard that it took ages of scrubbing to get rid of all the black carbon.
If you like the convection function, you might look into the microwave/ convection oven combos. A church friend loaned us her 36 foot, 3-slide travel trailer while we rebuilt, and she has that model in the kitchen. I loved it! We never had to fool with the propane-driven stove. Matter of fact, that trailer was so huge it was like having a house dropped on the driveway. What a blessing our church family was! Back to cooking though - The micro/convection units can run into a few hundred dollars, so depending on what you want to use it for it's a great appliance.
One reason I love gas so much is that I can still cook on the stovetop when the power goes out. Even though the ignition is driven electronically, it's easy enough to light the old fashioned way - with a match. The oven temperature is all regulated electronically, so that part is out of commission without power, but we do fine with our propane grill and smoker for cooking meat.
I've always dreamed of a retirement cabin out in the middle of nowhere with all the old-fashioned alternatives in case of power failure. I'd love to have a huge fireplace with bread ovens built into the wall on each side. A woodburning stove would be even better for both heating and cooking, but they're pretty pricey. I've been through enough hurricanes and other disasters to want to be able to live independently of all the creature comforts we take for granted.
If you like the convection function, you might look into the microwave/ convection oven combos. A church friend loaned us her 36 foot, 3-slide travel trailer while we rebuilt, and she has that model in the kitchen. I loved it! We never had to fool with the propane-driven stove. Matter of fact, that trailer was so huge it was like having a house dropped on the driveway. What a blessing our church family was! Back to cooking though - The micro/convection units can run into a few hundred dollars, so depending on what you want to use it for it's a great appliance.
One reason I love gas so much is that I can still cook on the stovetop when the power goes out. Even though the ignition is driven electronically, it's easy enough to light the old fashioned way - with a match. The oven temperature is all regulated electronically, so that part is out of commission without power, but we do fine with our propane grill and smoker for cooking meat.
I've always dreamed of a retirement cabin out in the middle of nowhere with all the old-fashioned alternatives in case of power failure. I'd love to have a huge fireplace with bread ovens built into the wall on each side. A woodburning stove would be even better for both heating and cooking, but they're pretty pricey. I've been through enough hurricanes and other disasters to want to be able to live independently of all the creature comforts we take for granted.
Oh I have done that strainer thing too! I had made that onion soup that comes in a packet so that I could use the liquid in a meal I was cooking. I don't like all the onions that are in it though, I prefer using some that I sauteed. I went to strain them, and of course had forgotten to put a bowl under the strainer so all the liquid went straight down the drain. I was so glad no one was there to see that!
Jaybay, if you don't mind me asking, what range do you have? I am always on the lookout for gas ranges that get good reviews and are good quality for a good price...I know its a tall order, lol!
I do tend to use "whole" foods the most. Which includes real butter, whole milk and all of that. I don't like the taste of fat free stuff, and I am always concerned about the stuff they have to add to make up for the lack of flavor since there is no fat in it. I just try to eat smaller portions of the real stuff. At the same time, I try to use whole grains as well. Oh, and I try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Of course I do use some but again in moderation. I always go for fresh fruits and vegetables, and if I can't get that I choose frozen over store bought canned.
Now I feel like cooking!
Jaybay, if you don't mind me asking, what range do you have? I am always on the lookout for gas ranges that get good reviews and are good quality for a good price...I know its a tall order, lol!
I do tend to use "whole" foods the most. Which includes real butter, whole milk and all of that. I don't like the taste of fat free stuff, and I am always concerned about the stuff they have to add to make up for the lack of flavor since there is no fat in it. I just try to eat smaller portions of the real stuff. At the same time, I try to use whole grains as well. Oh, and I try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Of course I do use some but again in moderation. I always go for fresh fruits and vegetables, and if I can't get that I choose frozen over store bought canned.
Now I feel like cooking!
I've done the strainer disaster myself. Oh boy! My father would be proud of the curses that come out of my mouth when that happens! One time I was in a hurry and decided not to use a strainer on a pot of pasta. You know the old trick of tilting the lid on the pan to hold back the food while you pour out the water? Well, I goofed. The lid slipped and everything went right down the drain. My mother did that as long as I can remember, and not once did she lose it like I did. LOL!
I grew up in Kansas and we had a huge vegetable garden. Mom had an unbelievably green thumb and the bug bit me as soon as I could toddle out into the garden behind her. Same with my older brother. My other two siblings wouldn't know a strawberry plant from a pea vine. I saw the old house about 6 years ago when I was back in town for a funeral. It had been a good 25 years since I'd laid eyes on it, and imagine my surprise to see one of Mom's old Concord grape vines still growing on the fence and producing grapes. I made gallons and gallons of grape jelly, jam, and preserves with my mom over the years.
I have a small vegetable garden now, and can't always keep up with even that little bit of land these days. Believe it or not, the most popular vegetable I've produced has been the homely potato. If you've never tasted one right out of the garden, you're really missing a treat. The natural sugars are still there and haven't turned to starch, and the texture is smooth as butter. It's an incredible difference that can't be found in any store. The sugars in potatoes quickly turn to starch after harvest, which is why stores have the grainy, tasteless potatoes that most of us are used to. I need to stop this - I'm starving!
I grew up in Kansas and we had a huge vegetable garden. Mom had an unbelievably green thumb and the bug bit me as soon as I could toddle out into the garden behind her. Same with my older brother. My other two siblings wouldn't know a strawberry plant from a pea vine. I saw the old house about 6 years ago when I was back in town for a funeral. It had been a good 25 years since I'd laid eyes on it, and imagine my surprise to see one of Mom's old Concord grape vines still growing on the fence and producing grapes. I made gallons and gallons of grape jelly, jam, and preserves with my mom over the years.
I have a small vegetable garden now, and can't always keep up with even that little bit of land these days. Believe it or not, the most popular vegetable I've produced has been the homely potato. If you've never tasted one right out of the garden, you're really missing a treat. The natural sugars are still there and haven't turned to starch, and the texture is smooth as butter. It's an incredible difference that can't be found in any store. The sugars in potatoes quickly turn to starch after harvest, which is why stores have the grainy, tasteless potatoes that most of us are used to. I need to stop this - I'm starving!
I love to cook and bake, although I don't do as much of the baking as I used to. While I've had to make some adjustments on how I do things in the kitchen (i.e., sitting down while chopping, resting in between "rounds", sometimes using two pots instead of just one so that the pot doesn't get too heavy for me to lift, etc.), I still enjoy getting in the kitchen and cooking and find it quite relaxing. One of my favorite things to do is to take whatever I happen to have on hand and see what I can come up with. I'm happy to say that most of these "experiments" actually turn out quite good! I also love watching the cooking shows on tv, see what they are making and adjust them either with different ingredients or different techniques and come up with my own version of their dish. One thing I would LOVE to do is to get on the cooking show "Chopped" - a friend of mine thinks I would definitely give those professional chefs a run for their money! I'm not quite sure about that, but it sure would be fun trying!
I don't cook AS much during the hot summer months - more simple things, but when the weather is cooler, I love to make soups, stews, chili, roasts - pretty much anything.
Sara - you're not alone in dumping an entire soup stock pot full of delicious stock down the drain - I've actually done that a couple of times - and I can't blame it on pregnancy!! LOL
I have another suggestion for that leftover heavy cream/butter making - a great way to get the kids involved - pour it into a clean, empty jar with a tight fitting lid (a canning jar works great) - give it to the kids and simply tell them to shake, shake, shake it!! It takes a while and they have to shake it relatively vigorously, but they have a great time watching as it turns from the liquid cream into a solid butter. It's certainly not as quick and easy as using a mixer, but it does do the same job and the kids usually have a great time with it (even works with a spouse who wants to "help", but is typically more of a hinderance than a help!)
My mom has always been a wonderful cook and taught me a lot as I was growing up. She and I would spend hours and hours in the kitchen cooking and baking, and when it was fruit and veggie growing season/s, we would also spend hours canning veggies and making pickles, etc. I definitely inherited my love for doing that type of thing from her - when I lived in central PA, I had a HUGE garden and would spend hours, days and weeks canning, freezing, baking, preserving, dehydrating - all the wonderful bounties from the garden and the fruit trees/bushes that we had on our property. Unfortunately, even if I still lived up there, my health, pain issues and mobility problems would no longer permit me to do that type of thing. In fact, however, I believe my parents still have some of the pickles and apple butter that I made when I lived up there - and I moved away from there in 2003 and hadn't made any in at least a year before that!
I'm actually fighting a cold right now, so today just may be a really good day to make some homemade chicken soup :)
I don't cook AS much during the hot summer months - more simple things, but when the weather is cooler, I love to make soups, stews, chili, roasts - pretty much anything.
Sara - you're not alone in dumping an entire soup stock pot full of delicious stock down the drain - I've actually done that a couple of times - and I can't blame it on pregnancy!! LOL
I have another suggestion for that leftover heavy cream/butter making - a great way to get the kids involved - pour it into a clean, empty jar with a tight fitting lid (a canning jar works great) - give it to the kids and simply tell them to shake, shake, shake it!! It takes a while and they have to shake it relatively vigorously, but they have a great time watching as it turns from the liquid cream into a solid butter. It's certainly not as quick and easy as using a mixer, but it does do the same job and the kids usually have a great time with it (even works with a spouse who wants to "help", but is typically more of a hinderance than a help!)
My mom has always been a wonderful cook and taught me a lot as I was growing up. She and I would spend hours and hours in the kitchen cooking and baking, and when it was fruit and veggie growing season/s, we would also spend hours canning veggies and making pickles, etc. I definitely inherited my love for doing that type of thing from her - when I lived in central PA, I had a HUGE garden and would spend hours, days and weeks canning, freezing, baking, preserving, dehydrating - all the wonderful bounties from the garden and the fruit trees/bushes that we had on our property. Unfortunately, even if I still lived up there, my health, pain issues and mobility problems would no longer permit me to do that type of thing. In fact, however, I believe my parents still have some of the pickles and apple butter that I made when I lived up there - and I moved away from there in 2003 and hadn't made any in at least a year before that!
I'm actually fighting a cold right now, so today just may be a really good day to make some homemade chicken soup :)
I'm not a cook. I wish I was. It's stressful for me. No one here likes the same stuff. (I do love tortilla soup!!) I've always had gas and I can't imagine not using it.
I can cook; it's edible ... even great sometimes. But I'm not a natural. I'm better at baking, though I'm not a natural at that either. I'll cook more now that it's getting cooler. I made an awesome roast beef the other night, mashed potatoes, peas, corn and rolls. Everyone ate. I will say I make great mashed potatoes.
I find that when I cook my hands ache so bad. I usually cook 2 great meals a week and the other nights it's eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese.
Funny thing is my mom was a fantastic cook. And so are my brother and sister. Not sure why I'm not.
I can cook; it's edible ... even great sometimes. But I'm not a natural. I'm better at baking, though I'm not a natural at that either. I'll cook more now that it's getting cooler. I made an awesome roast beef the other night, mashed potatoes, peas, corn and rolls. Everyone ate. I will say I make great mashed potatoes.
I find that when I cook my hands ache so bad. I usually cook 2 great meals a week and the other nights it's eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese.
Funny thing is my mom was a fantastic cook. And so are my brother and sister. Not sure why I'm not.
Oh and about gas. I had it in my last house. I love it! I've got a smooth top now but can't control that temperature like with gas. It's the best.
Actually I've done something even more stupid! I was pregnant and of course my brain always went to the beach whenever I got pregnant. Anyway, I made been making my broth all day. Come time to strain it and pour it in a pitcher, I strain it all right. I strained it right down the drain.
That's great to know the whipping cream and butter trick. Never knew that one. That's a keeper! Thanks!
Now, who else is willing to confess a kitchen disaster/screw up????
Sara
That's great to know the whipping cream and butter trick. Never knew that one. That's a keeper! Thanks!
Now, who else is willing to confess a kitchen disaster/screw up????
Sara
Yeah! Another gas stove fan! I know so many people who are scared to death of gas and won't even consider it. They don't know what they're missing, do they?
Don't give up on finding your dream range. I did a lot of online price shopping and was surprised at the difference in prices. The same exact model can vary by hundreds of dollars depending on who is selling it. I also did quite a bit of research with Consumer Reports and reading other online reviews of the models I was interested in. Try to ignore the obvious rants and look for things like a certain problem cropping up throughout several different sites.
And what's unhealthy about that menu?! If I'm going to take the time to cook something, it's going to be good, and that means FAT. That also means real butter instead of margarine. As long as we aren't stuffing ourselves with huge portions, there's not a thing in the world wrong with it. Like you said, you have to include the fruits and veggies with the meal and not OD on the rich stuff. My mom wasn't an enthusiastic cook at all, but she always made sure that all the food groups were equally represented at every meal. She never made us clean the plate, but did insist that we try one bite of everything she placed in front of us.
What Mom was really good at was growing vegetables, so we knew what they were supposed to taste like. A canned veggie was gag-worthy. Mom was also great at making baked goods and to this day I still can't duplicate her pie crust. Nobody ever has. I've got the recipe, but it's one of those things that you have to develop a knack for like knowing if it's humid to cut down on shortening - or was it the flour? See? I'll never get it!
Speaking of butter earlier, that just reminded me of something. If you ever have heavy whipping cream left over, don't throw it out. Make butter! All you need is a high-speed mixer and you'll have butter in about 15 to 20 minutes. Keep on beating it well past the stiff, whipped cream stage and soon the solids will separate from the liquids. You'll see the blue-tinged skim milk fall to the bottom of the bowl and the butter will cling to the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Reserve the skim milk if you have a use for it, rinse the butter well with cold water, chill a bit to make it easier to handle, form into a ball and enjoy! If you think it will last more than a week, add a dash or two of salt during the ball-forming process. In my house, I'm lucky if it lasts a day so I don't bother with the salt.
Don't give up on finding your dream range. I did a lot of online price shopping and was surprised at the difference in prices. The same exact model can vary by hundreds of dollars depending on who is selling it. I also did quite a bit of research with Consumer Reports and reading other online reviews of the models I was interested in. Try to ignore the obvious rants and look for things like a certain problem cropping up throughout several different sites.
And what's unhealthy about that menu?! If I'm going to take the time to cook something, it's going to be good, and that means FAT. That also means real butter instead of margarine. As long as we aren't stuffing ourselves with huge portions, there's not a thing in the world wrong with it. Like you said, you have to include the fruits and veggies with the meal and not OD on the rich stuff. My mom wasn't an enthusiastic cook at all, but she always made sure that all the food groups were equally represented at every meal. She never made us clean the plate, but did insist that we try one bite of everything she placed in front of us.
What Mom was really good at was growing vegetables, so we knew what they were supposed to taste like. A canned veggie was gag-worthy. Mom was also great at making baked goods and to this day I still can't duplicate her pie crust. Nobody ever has. I've got the recipe, but it's one of those things that you have to develop a knack for like knowing if it's humid to cut down on shortening - or was it the flour? See? I'll never get it!
Speaking of butter earlier, that just reminded me of something. If you ever have heavy whipping cream left over, don't throw it out. Make butter! All you need is a high-speed mixer and you'll have butter in about 15 to 20 minutes. Keep on beating it well past the stiff, whipped cream stage and soon the solids will separate from the liquids. You'll see the blue-tinged skim milk fall to the bottom of the bowl and the butter will cling to the sides of the bowl and the beaters. Reserve the skim milk if you have a use for it, rinse the butter well with cold water, chill a bit to make it easier to handle, form into a ball and enjoy! If you think it will last more than a week, add a dash or two of salt during the ball-forming process. In my house, I'm lucky if it lasts a day so I don't bother with the salt.
I also love to cook. I don't bake, but LOVE to cook! I love when its time to cook dinner. My husband takes the kids outside to play, and I can just relax and cook dinner. Helps the stress levels for sure! I also love using gas. We are actually going to be buying new appliances in the near future. My dream range is a 36" all gas American Range. It is too expensive, but I love it so much! We are probably going to go with the 30" as a compromise. We'll see, but whatever we end up with will be exciting! Our first purchase will be a refridgerator, because at this point that is what needs replacing the most.
I have started making all my winter recipes lately. I know its not officially winter, but here in the pacific northwest, it is rainy and getting colder. So I've made beef stew, stuffed bell peppers, chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and a beef roast. Oh, and recently beef stroganoff! Not the healthiest of food, but yummy! I always make sure to serve them with lots of fresh veggies too! Now that football season is here and my hubby is glued to the tv on Sunday's, I spend a lot of time cooking!
I have started making all my winter recipes lately. I know its not officially winter, but here in the pacific northwest, it is rainy and getting colder. So I've made beef stew, stuffed bell peppers, chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and a beef roast. Oh, and recently beef stroganoff! Not the healthiest of food, but yummy! I always make sure to serve them with lots of fresh veggies too! Now that football season is here and my hubby is glued to the tv on Sunday's, I spend a lot of time cooking!
OMG!! Tell me you didn't get burnt too badly? That definitely calls for smashing some glass in an empty dumpster and some heavy-duty bad words. I think that's one of the worst kitchen disaster stories I've ever heard. It's happened to me with things like frozen adult beverages and smoothies. As many smoothies as I make, I finally had enough of the "affordable" blenders and splurged on a commercial model. It's been going strong for almost 5 years now - knock wood! - in which time I would have spent the same amount of money on replacements for the cheaper ones. Get yourself a decent food processor for the hot stuff so you don't get sprayed again.
I keep my tortilla soup chunky. DH is a selfish hog when it comes to soups and stews. He digs around for all the "good stuff" and leaves the broth in the pot. The last person in line gets nothing but liquid. If I blended it smooth he'd never eat it. I swear, sometimes I think that "only-child syndrome" business has merit. He never had to share his toys and still sometimes doesn't quite understand the concept of "ours" vs "mine." Sheesh! I think we both need a stiff drink right about now!
I keep my tortilla soup chunky. DH is a selfish hog when it comes to soups and stews. He digs around for all the "good stuff" and leaves the broth in the pot. The last person in line gets nothing but liquid. If I blended it smooth he'd never eat it. I swear, sometimes I think that "only-child syndrome" business has merit. He never had to share his toys and still sometimes doesn't quite understand the concept of "ours" vs "mine." Sheesh! I think we both need a stiff drink right about now!
Funny you asked!! I made a home made chicken broth yesterday so I could make Tortilla Soup today. Well, started around 2 this afternoon making the tortilla soup. Cooked, chopped, stirred, etc. Then came the time to run it through the blender for a smooth consistency. I set the blender jar down beside the pot of soup, ladled it in and picked up the jar. And Voila, the blender bottom piece fell out leaving hot soup all over me, the counter, the island and floor.
ARGH! I wish I drank!
ARGH! I wish I drank!
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