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Archive for November, 2006

Sheri on Nov 30th 2006 Soups

A perfect night for chili (mac) and cornbread

For the past 6 days, we have enjoyed 60-degree weather.

Today, we woke to freezing rain. We are currently under a winter weather warning; they are forecasting up to 12 inches of snow over the next 24 hours. That is, if the meterologists are accurate. The last time (last winter) they called for this kind of snow, we got nuthin. Not even a flurry.

Anyway, since it’s only 30 degrees outside, I thought it would be a good night for chili and cornbread. I don’t do anything fancy with my chili - I prefer it simple.

Chili Mac

from my head

2-28 oz cans tomato sauce

1-14 oz can garbanzo beans

1-14 oz can pinto beans

1/4 cup (or so - add to your taste) chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 pound ground turkey breast

1 onion, chopped
2 cups cooked rice pasta (I use Tinkyada spirals for this)

Brown the ground turkey breast. Pour the tomato sauce into a 6-quart stock pot. Drain the cans of beans, add them to the stockpot and turn the heat on low. Chop up the onion and dump in too (I like my onions to have “bite” when they’re in my chili).

Stir in the chili powder and cumin. When the turkey is ready, drain well and add to the pot. Let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When my stomach is behaving, I usually add a few shots of hot sauce, but today is not one of those days.

Serve with shredded cheese of your choice and cornbread.

The Man fell asleep on the couch before 6:30 tonight, so he didn’t get any. But it’s always better the second day.

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Sheri on Nov 29th 2006 Hairdroppers

What the (*&%$???

The things my animals do. I swear to God.

Take a good look at this picture.

Yes, that’s a cat.

Yes, that’s a lint roller that I had just used to get all the cat hair off my gig bag (which holds music, my flute and piccolo, tuner, metronome, etc.).

Yes, that’s a cat tongue licking the cat hair off the cat hair remover.

Go figure.

I was laughing so hard I almost missed preserving the moment.

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Sheri on Nov 28th 2006 Main Dishes

Lamb chops!



This was the first time I ever made lamb in any form. This was also the first time that The Man has ever eaten lamb. I assume he liked it as he ate 2 chops.

I took a couple of different recipes I found online and mixed them together to come up with tonight’s dinner: pan-fried lamb chops, smashed red potatoes, and peas.

I need to learn to measure when I am cooking; measurements below are approximate.

I love eating this way - I was sick/bloated/generally nasty-feeling after eating every day of my life for the last 10 years. It’s still a revalation to me when I can eat a healthy portion of dinner and feel NORMAL. I forgot what that felt like.

Pan-fried Lamb Chops with Smashed Red Potatoes

For the lamb chops:

4 lamb chops

Roasted red pepper olive oil (I found this one, along with the roasted garlic and basil oils, at my local store. According to their website, they are GF, but they are manufactured in a plant that uses wheat. I haven’t had any problems…yet.)

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 lemon

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

For the potatoes:

Baby red potatoes - enough to feed your particular army; I chopped up about 25 or so

Shredded cheese of your choice

Milk

Butter

Salt

Create a marinade for the chops by combining 1/4 cup roasted pepper olive oil, oregano, garlic and onion powders, and the juice of a lemon. Plop the chops, coating all sides well, and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

While the chops are marinating, clean and chop your potatoes in half (quarters if the potatoes are fairly large) so they cook quickly. Put them in a pot with water and 1/4 kosher salt. Start cooking them and bring them to boiling; they’re done when you can stick a fork into the biggest piece you can fish out with a fork.

After the potatoes come to a boil, heat a big frying pan. Take the chops out of the fridge and let sit on the counter for a few minutes. When the pan is hot, put the chops in the pan (be careful of splatters that HURT…OW!). Cook on moderate to high heat for 4 minutes and then flip them over. Fry until they’re at the desired rareness/shoeleatherness, turning them as seldom as possible.

Drain the potatoes well. I usually put mine back in the pan on low heat for a few minutes to get any residual water out of them. Pour them into a bowl you don’t mind scraping up with a potato masher (I won’t do that in my cookware). Start the mashing process without any additions so you get a feel for moisture BEFORE you add any milk. Slowly add milk in small doses until you get the consistency you’re looking for. When I do smashed potatoes (with the skins on), I want them to be kinda lumpy. When you get them where you want them, add the cheese and butter. Stir it up to get the cheese distributed before it starts to melt.

Blow any cat hair off the dinner plates and serve it up!
And while I was typing this up, I realized that one of the fish, which I hadn’t seen all day, had gotten stuck in one of the water “features” we have in the tank. I just had to stick my hand in the tank (not an easy task for a 5-foot-1-inch runt to do with a 75-gallon tank) and rescue the dumbass.

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Sheri on Nov 28th 2006 BS

Once upon a time…

…there was a young girl who lived for music. We’re not talking about Top 40 music here. I mean classical, jazz… This girl practiced on her hand-me-down flute at least 5 hours a day in high school (a feat as she went to school all day and also had a part-time job) and when she became a music major in college, and could schedule her classes as she liked, she was known to be closeted in a practice room for 10 to 12 hours a day.

She presented her junior recital in March 1993. Shortly after, she cracked, put her flute in a closet, dropped out of school, and just existed for a year and a half.

That girl, now a woman, enrolled in a different college and tried again. Her choice of school, while close to home, turned out to be a mistake as after two years, she could no longer afford her education. And she dropped out again.

That was in 1996.

Since then, she has played her flute for weddings and for herself, which is what she finally figured out music was all about. She has not taken or given a lesson in nearly 12 years.

She gives her first flute lesson in all those years tomorrow night. Wish her luck.

(and yes, it’s me)

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Sheri on Nov 27th 2006 BS

The transformation is nearly complete

I didn’t much feel like cooking after Thursday, or doing anything else, so no posts or photos this weekend. Sorry.

I had to throw out an uncut pumpkin pie this morning…the one I made for The Man and The Stepson. The Man wanted the damn thing and so I made one. And it grew fuzzies before a knife ever scored its crust. Not amused.

On a good note, we got the outside decorations done and I got most of the inside done. Note the 50% off commercial on the TV. LOL I shop online. On Friday, there were nuts out there that actually drove FIVE HOURS…yes, FIVE HOURS due to traffic, to get to an outlet mall about an hour from here. I guess you have to be pretty dedicated to getting a bargain to do something like that.

Probably cooking tonight.

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Sheri on Nov 23rd 2006 Sides

Scalloped Corn

(Believe it or not, the turkey was terrific. I have already made a date with it for sandwiches in about 6 hours.)

Yet another family staple at the holiday table.

Tweaked to be gluten free.

Scalloped Corn

2 cans corn

1 can GF mushroom soup

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 egg

Drain the cans of corn. Dump the soup and butter into a pot and heat to boiling. Lower the heat. Whisk the egg and pour slowly into the soup, whisking the whole time so the egg doesn’t scramble. Mix together the cornstarch and 1/2 cup warm water; make sure the cornstarch is completely dissolved before adding to the soup mixture. Continue to whisk as the soup thickens.

Add the corn to the pot and mix well.

Pour into a casserole dish and bake for an hour to an hour to 15 minutes at 350 degrees (or for 50 minutes at 425 because the turkey got done 2 hours faster than expected).

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