Cooking At Last

I have been suffering from kitchen malaise for a while. Just haven't felt like cooking. (Another reason to keep the freezer stocked.) But yesterday as I was deleting old emails I came across one from Mommy back weeks ago with a recipe that ALL of her family liked. If you don't have a houseful of people who show up for dinner each night, you don't understand how hard it is to find something that everyone really likes. They might eat it but they don't always love it. But I remember that she told me that she had no leftovers that night. That was a good thing (because they all liked it) and a bad thing (because she had no leftovers for lunch the next day.)

I've always told my daughters that cooking isn't nearly as hard as thinking of what to cook. So yesterday I let Mommy do the thinking. I just used her recipe.

When I was learning to cook in the college home economics lab, we were taught to gather and measure all the ingredients before starting the actual cooking. I did that last night. I set out the onion, mustard and the chicken broth somewhere along in the afternoon. Before I started the chicken, I actually measured the flour and mustard and chopped the onion. So when I really started to cook, this was super simple to make. My kind of dinner. Take a few minutes to do your prep work. It helps.

I bought a package of boneless, skinless chicken breast—three to a pack—and sliced them in half horizontally. I browned them three pieces at a time, not to crowd the pan. Then I put all the chicken into the pan and poured the sauce over it.

CHICKEN DIJON

3 chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally (or use 6 chicken cutlets)-My package was 2 lbs.
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoon butter
1 (14.5-oz.) can chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons dijon mustard

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. (I didn't measure, just sprinkled.)
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, three pieces at a time, and cook about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Put all chicken in the pan. Stir in chopped onion.
Whisk together chicken broth, flour, mustard and pour over chicken.
Cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.

The only thing I might change next time is to take the lid off the skillet toward the end to let the sauce thicken a bit more. Don't let the dijon mustard frighten you. It's not spicy at all; it just gives the broth a rich flavor. I was surprised. This is good enough for a company meal. And it would be great to "make and take" when you need to take dinner to someone. Easy and delicious.

And so that this cutie and her big sister won't be disappointed when they are here, this morning I stirred up the starter for what Big Sister calls "Mimi bread." The rest of the world calls it sourdough bread. I like her name better. It will be ready when they are here for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to have them home!

To Warm The Bones

I am Southern to the center of my bones. My ancestors settled in 1769 just two counties away from where we live now. So it's no wonder that I do not tolerate cold weather very well. We are looking for an unusual blast of cold Canadian air to wash over us this week. Just thinking about it has made me cold this afternoon.

Best remedy for "chilled to the bone"?—well, a very good remedy, at least. Hot cocoa. Not the kind that is found in packets in a box. But the real stuff. The kind my mother made when we were little--long before those packets of mix had been dreamed up.

My mother made it with evaporated milk (mixed half & half with water) and I still love that taste. But you can use your regular milk and it will be fine. It is easy. And it's all real ingredients. No chemical concoction here. 

It's simply the recipe on the side of the Hershey's cocoa can. This is what I made for my girls when they were small, usually making a panful. Today I only needed one cup for me. Both recipes work. And both are good. It takes about 5 minutes to get out the ingredients and stir it all together. Treat your folks (or yourself) to something special. You're all worth it.

HOT COCOA (single serving)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

dash salt

1 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

MIx sugar, cocoa and salt in a large mug. Heat milk in microwave on HIGH for 90 seconds, or until hot. Gradually add the hot milk to the cocoa mixture in the mug, stirring well. Stir in vanilla.

This next version makes enough for six. It basically makes a chocolate syrup at the beginning. This is what I made most often for our girls, so there would be enough for all of us! Mommy makes it now for her family.

FAVORITE HOT COCOA (serves 6)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 

dash salt

1/3 cup hot water

4 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a saucepan. Stir in hot water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and heat but DO NOT BOIL.Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

Now, if the weather forecasters are right, there might be a snowflake or two falling here in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday. I've never seen snow on my birthday, so I might stake out a window, hot cocoa in hand, and watch for it. Wouldn't that be a grand present?

Good Times

I've been moving in slow motion this week. Got home from the mid-west visit on Monday night and I'm tired. I am trying to catching up. Here is a quick look-back at my visit.

We didn't have huge plans for my visit. I just spent time doing regular grandmother things,

like working puzzles...

and getting to see our pink unicorn on Halloween...

who only wanted one lollipop after trick-or-treating.

She wears high heels better than I do.

The only toy better than the building blocks was my tape measure.

Little Sister said my hand measured "forty-three."

One huge treat for me was getting to attend the All-Region Choral Concert. Big Sister auditioned and was accepted into this phenomenal group. Of the 45 from her school who auditioned, only five were selected to participate. There were large four choirs that performed. As a long time chorus mom (from Mommy's high school and college days), I know that these were excellent choirs. I got to play piano for her to practice a little when I first got there. I knew she could sing, but I didn't know she could SING! 

Pattern:  Honey Cowl

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Tosh DK, Jasper colorway

Needles: size 8

I delivered two finished cowls to Mommy just in time for cold weather. Big Sister wanted to wear them to school immediately. I think Mommy gets first chance! (I also think it's cool that a 7th grader likes my knitting.) I never got a photo of the soft mohair cowl on Mommy. Sad. It's pretty.

The most exciting knitting event was that Mommy finished the scarf that she started knitting just before Little Sister was born. It's done!!! I don't know that she'll ever love knitting like I do, but she now has a warm scarf to wear on cold days and she can say she made by herself. We are now a whole family of knitters. Big Sister and Jessica have been knitting for quite some time. Little Sister sat right beside me several times as I was knitting. She had a wooden crochet hook that she pushed in and out of a piece of plastic mesh. She told everyone she was "kniddin' with Mimi." That's a start.

And of course, there were other fun things, like a trip to the yarn shop and the yummy coffee shop next door to it, a holiday open house, a shopping trip with Big Sister to use her birthday gift cards (and I might have come home with some new shoes), lunch at some favorite local restaurants, our traditional girls' pancake night while Mommy and Daddy had a date night, and a marshmallow roast in the backyard the night before I left. S'mores!

I was so happy to spend some time with Little Sister and her family. She was pretty glad to see me, too.  Leaving to come home was hard for both of us. Mommy said when she picked Little Sister up from preschool after my plane had taken off, Little Sister's first words were, "Where's my Mimi? Let's go find her!" Sweetness, I am right here. Just a phone call away.

And thank you, Jessica, for coming home to check on Daddy-O while I was gone. He is on the mend but he was happy to have her come cook for him. (I made a Honey Cowl for her, too—a surprise for helping out.)

Face To Face

Finally! I get to grandparent in person. These two picked me up at the airport in the rain yesterday and then took me to lunch. On the first leg if my flight I was seated beside a young mom and her little daughter who was the same age as Little Sister. They were flying back to Oregon after a week at grandma's house. And I just think I live a long way from my grandchildren.

Tonight I'll help Little Sister trick or treat. And I'm excited that I will be here on Saturday for Big Sister's all-region choir concert. (She's excited that I'm here in time to hem her choir dress. )

My trip here wasn't planned around either of those things. Big Sister had not even auditioned for the choir when I bought my ticket. Sometime life just treats you right!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Getting Ready

I'm getting things ready to head west in a couple of days to visit Little Sister and Big Sister. (And their mommy and daddy.) Daddy-O is still on the mend, so I'm trying to make it easy for him while I'm away.

Yesterday I cooked stew beef & gravy. And while that was simmering, I popped Hot & Sweet Chicken in the oven to bake. That has to be the easiest recipe I know. I packaged everything for the freezer. He can pull out a meal size portion when he's ready. 

Today I made soup. This recipe came from one of my Ravelry friends in Tennesee. She said she likes to make it to freeze and to share. It's really easy (my friend says the hardest part is opening all the cans!) and it makes a ton. And it's good. Can't beat that combination.

I'll be gone less than a week. I may have gone a little overboard with the cooking.

SANTA FE SOUP

2-lb. extra-lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 onion, chopped
2 (.5 oz) packages Ranch-style dressing mix
2 (1.25 oz) packages taco seasoning mix
1 (16-oz) can black beans, undrained
1 (16-oz.) can kidney beans, undrained
1 (16-oz) can pinto beans, undrained
1 (16-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 (16-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (16-oz) cans white corn, undrained
2-3 cups water (more, if necessary)
garnish options:  sour cream, shredded Cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, avocado chunks, cilantro, tortilla chips or strips, wedges of lime

Cook meat and onion together until meat is browned. Stir Ranch dressing and taco seasoning mix into meat. Add remaining ingredients WITH JUICES from all. Add water. Simmer for 2 hours. (If mixture is too thick, add additional water.) Garnish as desired.
Makes about 4 quarts. (It made a little more than that today.)

I put 3-1/2 quarts in the freezer and we had plenty for tonight's supper. I put up some in pints and some in quarts. Glad to know I won't have to cook time I get home next week. There's plenty of this in the freezer.

Maybe I should think about packing now. 

Glad To Be Home

I have made many sunrise photos over the years from my back porch. This week I saw the sun coming up over the hospital complex. Daddy-O spent one night there after surgery this week. 

He is home recuperating now. And we are both catching up on sleep. Luck of the draw left him with a late afternoon surgery, so the post-op care meant the nurse was in his room every 30 minutes all night long. Thankfully, it was just one night. Yep, that wall clock says it's almost 2:30 AM. We watched it move slowly all night.

We've done hospitals before, so I packed a huge tote bag with all the things I thought we might need---paper and pen, cough drops, kleenex, knitting, water, a sandwich, socks, a book, iPad, a wrap, money for the vending machines and so on. I think between us, we used everything in the bag. 

We were able to keep both daughters informed as the day went on with text messages. And we could see what they were doing during the day. This was the best message! Love that at age three, Little Sister is understanding all about holidays. I will be out to visit them soon and I'll get to see her in her "perfect costume."

I'm not sure what we even ate the first night home from the hospital. I'm not even sure we ate. They didn't let him go until late afternoon so it was nearly dark when we got home. Last night we were still tired, but even when you're tired, you need supper. If we lived in a city, I would have ordered something delivered, but we don't have that option. And there aren't too many choices for pick-up, either. Mostly fast food things. So I tried to think of the easiest thing I could make with what was on hand. (My trip to the grocery store never happened yesterday.)

Thankfully I had bought a bag of frozen vegetable soup mix a couple of weeks ago. Vegetable soup mix, unlike frozen mixed vegetables, has okra in it. For me, it isn't really vegetable soup without the okra. I just added other things that I had on hand. I don't use a recipe. Best thing I found in the freezer was a small bag of leftover roast in gravy. 

I am writing down what I put in the pot last night. It's not really a "recipe," but more of a guide. I always use the vegetable soup mix and add extra onion, potatoes, corn and a can or two of tomatoes—whole or diced. After that I might add in any kind of beans or peas that are in the freezer, sometimes more than one kind. (I usually only cook a half a bag for the two of us, so there are often partial bags in my freezer.) Finely chopped cabbage would have been good, too, if I'd had any.

I don't always have leftover roast. But it surely does make good soup. I always try to freeze a little for soup when I cook a roast. Leftover chicken would work, too. Sometimes I have tomato juice or V-8 juice, sometimes I don't. I will say that this mix last night was a really good one. 

VEGETABLE SOUP

2 (15-oz.) cans diced tomatoes

1 tomato can of water

2 small cans V-8 juice (one was Spicy Hot, one was Original)

1 (16-oz.) package frozen vegetable soup mix

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 medium potato, peeled & diced

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup frozen black-eyed peas

1-2 cups frozen leftover beef roast & gravy

salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to simmer and let cook for about 40-45 minutes.

The best part about making soup is that there is plenty left for another day or two. I still have not made it to the grocery store. Surely I'll get there today. Maybe.

Weekend's End

This was a different kind of weekend. We spent Friday driving up into the mountains to play with my ukulele band at the NC/SC Airstream Rally. It was nice to have Daddy-O along for the ride.

We were lucky to have a beautiful day for the trip. 

The fall color has not quite reached us at home.

Our band has had quite a run for several years now. 

It's always fun to spend time making music with them.

I got a phone call yesterday from Big Sister. She was so excited to tell me that she had her first audition and was selected to be in their All-Region Choir. Another musician in the family!

Saturday night was my 45th high school reunion. How great to spend an evening with people that have been friends for over 50 years. Many of us have been friends since first grade. (There are no photos to share from that event--but we didn't look bad for "old folks!") It was fun to find another Mimi & Daddy-O among my high school friends. Who would have thought it?

Once again, there was no fire in the stove here at the farm since we were on the go all weekend. Thankfully, I still have another "Jessica" recipe to share. She made these cookies when she was home recently. It's not your typical peanut butter cookie recipe. We thought they were perfect with a cup of tea. Sometimes it's nice to enjoy a subtle sweetness. We love it when Jessica cooks.

PEANUT BUTTER & FIG PRESERVE COOKIES

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick), melted & cooled
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, melted & cooled
1 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
1 large egg & 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup fig preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First melt butter and peanut butter so they have time to cool. Melt them together in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir, then heat another 30 seconds and stir. Set aside to cool.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, peanut butter and sugars until smooth. Add in eggs, mixing again until combined. Stir in vanilla. Using a large spoon, gradually add dry ingredients to the wet, stirring well and using your hands if necessary to bring the dough together. Just keep mixing--it will come together. It may be a bit crumbly.

At this point, add the fig preserves to the dough, mixing it in with hands. Once dough is combined, place it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes. Roll the dough into balls that are slightly smaller than 1-inch in size. The dough will still be sticky but use damp hands and just roll them up the best you can.

Place on a baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely.