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Meatless Monday

I’ll just tell you right now, I am NOT a vegetarian. I love meat. Some days, I can’t think of anything else in the world that would taste better than a hamburger. My daddy is a cattle farmer, so it would probably break his heart if I swore off meat. Yes, I know there are some of you out there who can live without it…..but I’m not one of you. Sorry. You stand alone. You and I can meet over a piece of chocolate cake. So, you might wonder why Barry and I go meatless on Mondays. Well, we do it on Mondays partly because it’s a national movement, but I’m going to get serious here for  a minute. We do it on Monday because………….I like alliteration and I just like how it sounds. Meatless Monday. Meatless Monday. See? It totally works. Just like Fishy Friday. On Friday I used to always serve fish – until Annie came along and now most fish makes me want to be sick. Not sure why. Hope it’s a phase that passes. I still serve fish on Friday when I can stomach it.

Ya know, I don’t want you to think I’m this big environmental activist who is going meatless on Monday to save all the cows. Nope, not it at all. I do it because it’s cheaper. Big shock, right? Leaving meat out of one meal per week can save you about $20 a month. Think about how much you can do with $20! Well, me anyway – I can do a lot with 20 bucks.  Depending on what type of meat you’re cutting out, it could be more than that. I know that I use reusable bags, make my own laundry detergent, use cloth diapers, dry my diapers in the sun, and use my bread bags over again…….but it’s not the environment that’s my main concern. (God calls us to take care of His earth, so act responsible, okay? If everyone would do that, there wouldn’t be an issue.). There are two reasons for all those things: 1. It’s better for my family. 2. It’s cheaper. There ya go. [Read more…]

Meatloaf in a Mug

See this plate? It was ready in 15 minutes. Ok, so my mom had already made the sweet potato casserole, but that doesn’t count. The veggies and the meatloaf were ready in less than 15 minutes. Wait! Doesn’t meatloaf normally take an hour? Who wants to wait an hour for a delicious hunk of meat? Add some ketchup and I definitely don’t want to wait! This meatloaf is made in a mug….in your microwave……in about ten minutes. Are you shocked? If you want a fast dinner, just go to your microwave. What did we do before the microwave? Gosh. I don’t want to think about it. It was the dark ages. Scary! Take away everyone’s microwave and we’d all pretty much be up a creek without a paddle. Sorry – I didn’t mean to interject that nightmare into your life. Don’t go to bed in the next few minutes. Let’s make meatloaf instead – in 15 minutes! [Read more…]

Deceptively Delicious – Turkey Chili

The second recipe I’m showcasing from the cookbook Deceptively Delicious is Turkey Chili. Please don’t run screaming from the room. I realize that a lot of people think that ground turkey is really gross – we are not among them. I use ground turkey a lot in our house…..especially when I find it marked down. My friend Kim will NOT use ground turkey because she tried it once and her family had nightmares for months. I keep telling her it was a loooooooooooooong time ago and she should try it again. Ground turkey has come a long way. It’s a great substitute for beef and pretty healthy to boot! However, if ground turkey makes you gag and fall down on the floor and have convulsions, then you can substitute ground beef.  The verdict for this recipe? Not bad. I liked the finely chopped vegetables and the addition of cornmeal. Now ,it’s not the BEST recipe for chili I’ve ever had, but it’s great for sneaking in vegetables and getting your kids to eat healthy. Even my mom liked it and she’s really picky about her chili. So, let’s be sneaky shall we? [Read more…]

Chicken, Corn, and Potato Chowder

This soup works miracles. Wanna know why? Jamey ate it. Let’s just say that my sister isn’t a big fan of my cooking. Baking, yes. Cooking, no. She likes chicken nuggets and hot dogs…….not Roasted Green Beans or Mini Meatloaves. But, this has some of her favorite things in it, so I took a big leap of faith. Success! Really, I have never made this soup where the eaters have not loved it. I’ve made it for us, I’ve made it for company, and I’ve even made it to sell. It’s THAT good.  It’ll warm you to the bones and make you come back for more. When I have leftovers, I hog them myself and usually don’t share. When Barry says “Where’s the rest of that soup?” I can only answer with a look of total confusion and say “What soup?” [Read more…]

Pumpkin Chili

I’m always intrigued by recipes that have unusual ingredients in the title and I usually end up making them. I once made brownies with cayenne pepper in them (Brownies With a Kick) and they were delicious! There are exceptions to this rule however. Like, any recipe with “whole fish” in the title is not for me. I don’t want food staring at me while I try to eat it. Or anything that says “live.” No. The point of food is that it’s dead.  But Pumpkin Chili? That’s not so scary sounding. I love soups with pumpkin stirred in. It gives it a little something special. This soup is very hearty and the pumpkin gives it a smooth taste. It’s easy to make and it’s very warming during this coooooooooooooooooold season. I’ll just stop right here and tell you that the Farmer’s Almanac was VERY wrong. It is NOT a mild winter. Where do they get their information? [Read more…]

Spicy White Bean Chowder

I’ve been asked to do some nice, simple soup recipes. Since the cold weather is getting underway I thought now might be a good time to do it. I love soup, but we don’t eat much of it in the summer since it’s hot. Once I tried making a cold cucumber soup – Barry was NOT a fan. He said, “That’s just wrong. Soup is supposed to be hot.” Since then there have been no more cold soups in my house. I’m bitter. Monday is designated Meatless Monday in our home, so in honor of that I’m starting out with something bean-based.  Beans, beans, good for your heart……well, you can finish it. [Read more…]

My Favorite Things – 2010

These are a few of my favorite things!” I love that song…….girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes. Yeah, you’re gonna sing that all day now. I’m not sorry. I decided that since it was the Christmas season, I’d talk about my current five favorite things in the kitchen. I’ll also tell you how you can get them cheaper than retail. Yeah, you knew that was coming. If you know someone who loves kitchen things and you can’t think of what to get them for Christmas, then today you’re going to get five options to choose from. Your shopping just can’t really get any easier than this. I should go into business being a personal bargain shopper.

This is the most expensive of my five things……unless you run into one at a yard sale. I got one this summer for my friend Kim for a grand total of $1.00. Yep. Don’t be a hater. Anyway, I am in love with my food processor. I use it a LOT. It will puree soup….okay, it purees whatever you put in there, but I just wanted to say soup. It does a ton of other stuff too, but I didn’t read the manual. I’ve got a weird relationship with instruction manuals……I don’t read them. I just really enjoy mine. It makes a lot of the things I do in the kitchen a lot quicker. Sometimes if I have a lot of veggies to chop, I’ll just throw them in there and give it a whirl for a few seconds. Done! It can also be used to make pie crust, but we’ll explore that later. So, how do you get this baby cheaper? Mine was a gift from my Mama. Thanks Mama! That’s a good way to get it cheaper. Of course, I already said you could look for them at yard sales. However, if you want one NOW you’re in luck. ‘Tis the season! This time of year tons of electronic things are on sale. This is really the time of year to buy anything electronic. I just saw today that they have tons of options on Overstock.com and they are also offering $1 shipping! [Read more…]

Christmas Candy – Peppermint Bark

I make this every year at Christmas. It’s not for me though. Personally, I think it’s disgusting. 🙂 However, I am in the minority. Whenever I take it somewhere, I never bring any back. It’s hard to understand people when they’re talking to you and stuffing their mouth with Peppermint Bark at the same time. I have this thing with mint flavor – I hate it. Yep, that about sums it up. Now, this candy is SO easy to make and it is a really good gift for the mailman. You can put it in your mailbox and not worry about it melting at this time of year. We always gift our mailman at Christmas. Anyway, let me show you how to make this and you’ll be shaking your head in amazement at how easy it is….and then you’ll go make a dozen batches.

This is what you need. Peppermints of some sort and white candy coating. That’s it. Recipes with a small ingredient list always intrigue me. I used candy canes because they were on sale (duh) but you could use peppermint disks instead. Also, you can use the green ones if you’re feeling particularly festive. I don’t like those either. Blech! Oh my gosh! I just thought of this – you could use red AND green ones! [Read more…]

How to Make a Smoothie

Did you know there are actually restaurants that only sell smoothies? I still haven’t figured that one out. I’ve never been to one, as I’ve heard they’re pretty expensive. To me, it would sorta be like drinking my money, all blended up. Do you know where that money has been? Eww! Also, I think those smoothies are supposed to sometimes stand in as your meal. What is THAT about? Only a smoothie to eat? Man, I need something else with my drink, like cereal, toast, or waffles. Man cannot live on smoothie alone. I make great smoothies at home, using whatever we have on hand. You can do it too, because it’s SO easy! I’ll go step by step, giving you ideas so you can create your own custom smoothie, and for heaven’s sake please eat a biscuit with it.
For this demonstration, I made Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothies. Those are two ingredients that are just meant to be together. Soul mates! These are the ingredients that I used if you want to make one just like me (awwww, flattery!): two bananas, two tablespoons of peanut butter, ¼ cup dry milk, two tablespoons wheat germ, one cup of yogurt, and a handful of ice cubes. This made enough for two smoothies, so if you only want one you’d cut it in half – genius, right? [Read more…]