Stuffs!!

I guess I can call this past weekend… Productively Lazy?  Yeah.  I’m gonna go with that.  Got nothing done on Saturday.

It was cold, windy, and rainy.  Hello?  April??  Where is my Spring?  Enough of the wintery weather already!!  I was far too lazy to do any real cooking, so I dug an old college staple out of the pantry…

Ramen!  But I made it look pretty!!

Okay…so I just stuck some chopsticks in the bowl…but they’re pretty chopsticks!

…you really don’t want the recipe for this, do you?

And continuing the lazy theme…dessert was the last piece of Bread Pudding (from the last post), with a big pile of ice cream on top of it.  I will be making that again.  And again…and again…

Doesn’t it just look yummy?

Sunday was a bit more productive…but not by much.  I made bread, but I did it the lazy way.  In the bread maker.  I didn’t take photos of the loaves, but they turned out really good.  And for you bread maker owners out there…

Country White:  http://www.food.com/recipe/country-white-bread-or-dinner-rolls-bread-machine-71373

Cheesy Potato:  http://www.food.com/recipe/cheesy-potato-loaf-bread-machine-498890

Now today on the other hand…I was feeling very productive!  I made shrooms.  And pie.  Because pie is good.

Mushrooms are growing on me.  Especially cooked ones.  I’ll eat them raw like they’re candy.  But cooked…I’m iffy on them.  Once they get slimy…no thank you.

Perfect Sautéed Mushrooms.  I was very pleased with how they turned out.  There was a bit more sauce then I would have liked, so next time, I’ll probably omit the butter.

http://www.spendwithpennies.com/garli-mushrooms/

And for dessert…Chocolate Truffle Pie.  Now, you have to understand something about me and pie.  I love it.  I mean…REALLY love it.  Well, eating it.  As for making it…that scares the shit out of me.  I’ve wanted to try for a while, but never really did, until now.  I cheated and used a store bought crust, and most likely will for a very long time.  This recipe though, looked very simple.  So simple that a pie-baking-novice like me couldn’t even screw it up.  And I didn’t!

The pie!

My apartment smelled AMAZING!  It still smells amazing!  And if you think this picture looks nice, take a look at this one…

Stephanie…you need to make this pie.  Now.

For my first attempt at baking pie, I’m very proud of myself.  It’s chocolate.  How do you think it tasted?  A-freaking-mazing!  I think the next time I have a piece, I’ll put some the Caramel Sauce I made last week on top of it.  Can you say sugar coma?

http://cookiesandcups.com/chocolate-truffle-pie/

A note here.  I’m out of foil, so I didn’t put a strip of it around the edge of the crust to keep it from browning too much.  And it turns out that I didn’t even need it anyway.  The crust came out perfect!

One more thing I want to mention.  May is ALS Awareness Month.  As most of you know, this blog is dedicated to my Mother, whom was taken from us far too soon by this disease.  Please, take a few moments to learn about ALS, and what you can do to help those who suffer from it, and help their families.  http://webkwc.alsa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=KWC_homepage

So…go be productive.  Go make pie!  Go make Chocolate Truffle Pie, and be happy!

Oh, it’s been a BUSY weekend!

Has it ever!

I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning, and bought some Ossabow Bacon.  Very yummy.  Then I spent the day cleaning.  No easy task when you have a glass collection with over 80 pieces.  And of course…nothing beats Classic NES in HD…so I had to hook up the old Nintendo…and dust two years of crap off parts of the TV stand I have’t reached in as long.  Then went to a friend’s wedding and had quite a bit of fun.

Today…I cooked.  A lot.  *grin*

So, I present to you…Honey Mustard Chicken with Crispy Bacon!

 

I had to bake it a little longer than the recipe called for, but that’s because I doubled the recipe.  I wanted enough to last me the week.

I was amazing.  I could taste the chicken without it being overwhelmed by the mustard flavor.  And I’m a huge fan of mushrooms.  I actually sauteed them in some of the rendered bacon fat as opposed to oil.  Just adds more bacon-y awesomeness!

Here’s where I found the recipe:

http://gourmetonthegoblog.com/2013/04/03/honey-mustard-chicken-with-crispy-bacon/

For dessert…Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce.

There’s a bit of a story behind this one.  I’ve mentioned Miss Muzzie’s several times on this blog.  Well, before they closed, they had this REALLY good Bread Pudding with Caramel Curd.  I ordered it the first time, and Mom turned her nose up at it.  She did not like Bread Pudding; too much of it as a kid, I think.  Somehow, I convinced her to try it, and she was hooked.  I’ve been looking for a recipe as good as theirs ever since.  I’ve finally found one!  Actually, rediscovered it.  Mom sent me a copy of the recipe back in 2009, and it got relegated to the massive “Food” folder in my e-mail.  Dug it out, and decided to give it a whirl this evening.  I am soooo glad I did!  I only wish I would have done it sooner.

It looks so pretty!!  It was kinda puffy coming out of the oven, but once it cooled, it deflated a bit.

Looks even prettier with the Caramel on it!

I only have one thing to say about this recipe.  Ho-ly shit.  I’m pretty sure it’s the best thing I have ever eaten.  I had two helpings.  I think next time, I’ll have it with some ice cream.  And die a happy woman.

The recipe is from a closed Wichita restaurant called Tanya’s Soup Kitchen.  And I’m so glad Mom sent it to me.

 TANYA TANDOC’S FAMOUS BREAD PUDDING WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

9 eggs
6 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla
12 cups stale bread, torn into chunks**

Caramel Sauce:
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

Mix the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until blended. Place bread in a 9×13-inch pan and pour mixture over it, then squish together with your hands until “well mushed.”

Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour, until top is browned and pudding is puffed. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes before serving. (Pudding will deflate.)

Meantime, make caramel sauce by melting butter in a saucepan. Add sugar and cream and stir with a whisk until the sauce comes to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 10 minutes. Makes 12 servings.

**Just a side note here.  I picked up two loaves of French Bread from the Walmart Bakery for this.  It was cheap, and I didn’t want to waste a whole bunch of money in case this didn’t turn out.  I ended up using about a loaf and a half.

Enjoy!  And remember…Share the Bread Pudding.  It’ll be hard…but you’ll make people happy.

 

I only have two words for you…

Monkey.  Bread.

I really don’t need to say more, but I’m going to…I’m pretty sure EVERYBODY has this recipe, but it’s special to me because my parents would make it for the holidays.  I don’t remember the last time I had it.

And I’m pretty sure that last time mom and dad tried to make it, they let the dough rise too long and came into the kitchen to find it crawling down the side of the fridge.

Not happening this time.  *girn*

I’m pretty sure that this bundt pan belonged to my grandmother.  And if that’s the case, then it’s older than I am.

It’s well loved.

Fresh out of the oven!  It doesn’t look like much now…but just wait.  The hard part is next.

Turning it out of the pan.  This is where things would go wrong when I was a kid.  Inevitably, part of the bread would stick to pan and would have to be pried out with a crowbar.

Not today!!

I used a shit-ton of cooking spray and a basting brush to make sure it got into all of the ridges.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen Monkey Bread come out of the pan that easily before.

Add a bit of butter, and it’s breakfast for the next week!

http://www.rhodesbread.com/recipes/view/1613

A side note…I did not cover with foil for the last 15 min.  And I used enough cooking spray that I didn’t even need the knife to loosen it from the pan!

 

 

Go bye bye?

Strider loves his car rides.  There was severe weather in the area over the weekend, so I had to go and drive right into it, and of course, the Corgi got to come along.

 

Got some lovely pictures.  I love thunderstorms.

 

 

 

And my favorite.  I love the contrast in colors during storms.  Especially when back-lit by the sun.

 

We’re going into my favorite time of the year.  Spring.  aka Severe Weather Season.  People think I’m nuts…going out after these storms, but, I know how to chase.  I work at a TV station, and I’m pretty sure my meteorologist friends/co-workers would smack me upside the head if I didn’t do it safely.

So expect pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures of storms.

*girn*

 

Thank you Kansas…

Wow!  Two posts in as many days!  There’s a reason though…

I’ve reached 60 followers!!  Yay!  I know that’s not a whole ton, compared to some of the blogs that I follow, but for someone who is still fairly new at blogging…THANK YOU SIXTY AWESOME PEOPLE!

So, I will give you pictures…of a snow storm…on March 24th.

Thank you, Kansas…

Strider enjoyed playing in the snow this morning…

 

Is it spring yet?  Oh…wait…

And because it’s cute…A Random Fuzzy Duck-Rabbit Pen Thing!

A Weekend with Friends

Hey, it’s the first weekend of Spring!

So, here’s a winter storm courtesy of Kansas Weather!!  Yay!

What do you do when it’s cold, and rainy, and generally crappy outside?  You hang out with your best friends and cook!

I had a few extra days off this weekend, and Amanda was in town to visit, with awesome yummy things…so we went over to Steph’s house and ended up trying a new recipe.  I’ve been wanting to try this one for a few weeks now, and it was worth the wait.

I bring you…Beer Braised Beef Stew!

http://heatherhomemade.com/2013/02/beer-braised-beef-stew/

And Brussel Sprouts with Bacon!

http://www.food.com/recipe/my-favorite-brussels-sprouts-348676

We used the frozen ones for this, and didn’t cut them in half.

Both recipes rocked.  I loved the stew.  It turned out so much better than the one I did last week.  This one is a definite keeper.  Just a note…We omitted the flour because of a gluten intolerance, and the peas because of a pea intolerance.  (Nasty little things…)  The beer I used was Honey Brown Lager. I would also like to say that neither Steph nor I have EVER had Brussel Sprouts until Amanda cooked this recipe for us, and we are now converts…Because bacon makes everything awesome.

And because the furry ones did not want to be left out…

This is Daisy, waiting for her human servant, Stephanie, to give her the bacon.

And this is Strider, begging Amanda to drop some of the bacon.

Neither of them got the bacon.

A Long Week

It’s been a loooong week…I’m glad it’s over.  I’ve not enjoyed the past year, but I- we’ve- made it.

We buried my mother a year ago today.   It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I know she’s doing okay.

So.  The new entry.  I know that Mom wouldn’t want me to sit on my ass and be all depressed today…I know she would want me to do what  I love to do.  So, here’s three of them.  Food, Tea, and Photography!

On to the food!

I got a new dutch oven.  I love my new dutch oven.  Everyone should have one.  This weekend’s recipe was Beef and Ale Stew with Buttermilk Scallion Dumplings.  Found it on From Away.

http://www.fromaway.com/cooking/beef-and-ale-stew-with-buttermilk-scallion-dumplings

 

The verdict:

It was pretty good.  I’m not a fan of cooked mushrooms, so I subbed potatoes for them.  It was my first time making dumplings.  I need to make them smaller.  I also need a bigger dutch oven…at least for this recipe.  It was HUGE.  I actually had to transfer the stew to my big-azz stock pot.  I will have leftovers for a week.  Yum.  Any ideas on what to do with leftover stew?  Oh a side note… Dawn Bleach Alternative five min soak is AWESOME for getting little burned things off the bottom of your pan.

Next, the Tea!

This tea is special to me.  It was actually the tea that got me hooked on tea.  My Mom, Aunt Judy, and Cousin Donna took me to a little place in Augusta called Miss Muzzie’s Tea Shop, which sadly, closed several years ago.  Mom had ordered some Wild Strawberry Tea, and encouraged me to try it (without dumping 6 tablespoons of sugar in it), and I was hooked.

I don’t brew it very often, but I felt today was the day to do so.

I love this tea.  I mean love, love, LOVE this tea.  It’s strawberry without the cloyingly sweet fake strawberry flavor.   It’s an organic black tea with natural flavors.  You can see the seeds and leaves in the bag.  I highly recommend it.  Without sugar. *grin*

http://www.davidsonstea.com/Wild_Strawberry_Tea_Bag.aspx

Oh, and that teapot was a gift from Mom when I went off to FHSU.  It’s the Assam, from Bodum, and I love it.  I’ve been using it for years.

http://bodum.bodum.com/us/en-us/shop/detail/1842-01US/?navid=272

And speaking of Tea…go  here…

http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=273428

Right now.  I mean it.  That link will take you to Adagio Tea’s website.  Specifically, my best friend Steph’s blend page.  That Taurus Blend looks yummy. (Yes, I am one.  Just ask my family.  I am Taurus personified.)  Check out what she’s got!

And as for the photography…*points to the pictures* Duh…

And because I do this blog for my Mom…

I love you Mom!