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Archive for May, 2007

Sheri on May 31st 2007 gluten-free-ness

The metamorphosis from ChronicBabe to GlutenFreeBabe

Jenni over at ChronicBabe is going gluten free during the month of June. She will be blogging about her trials and tribulations during the GF period, so everyone needs to swing by her new site and cheer her on!

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Sheri on May 30th 2007 Main Dishes, Quick and Easy

Shh… Did you hear that?

That nasty crackling, painful sound? It might be a very faint sound on your end…. It’s the hardening of my arteries after tonight’s dinner LOL

I have a love-hate relationship with vacations from work. I love not having to rush around in the morning, being able to spend much time with the zoo, cooking whatever I want, regardless of prep or cook time. I hate not knowing what’s going on and dread the piles of paperwork upon my return to the office.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I love getting to take a nap every day? I am such a slacker.

The Man was also off today as he was on call for Memorial Day. His company is kind enough to give a “floating holiday” if they work on a major holiday. The poor guy had a hellish Memorial Day because his phone seemed to ring and ring and ring…. He slept in this morning and then took a 4-hour nap this afternoon, waking up just in time to grab his softball shirt and head out the door for batting practice.

Needless to say, he missed dinner. One that he would have loved, with his affection for anything and everything unhealthy. I personally don’t allow myself to eat like this very often because I am trying to fix what’s broke, but tonight it was a craving that wouldn’t be satisfied by anything else.

So, if you hear any crackling, don’t panic. No one is crawling through your bushes. It’s me, over here in Illinois.

Patty Melts

3 hamburger patties

6 slices bread (I used Enjoy Life’s Rye-less Rye)

4 tbsp butter plus more for spreading

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 bottle GF beer (I used Redbridge)

1 tbsp olive oil

3 slices swiss cheese

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Place the hamburger patties on a plate and sprinkle the top sides with salt and pepper. Set aside. Toast the GF bread slices and set aside.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat; add 2 tbsp butter and the olive oil. Once the butter is melted, pour in 1/2 cup beer. Add the patties seasoned-side down and then sprinkle salt and pepper on the tops. Fry in the beer, butter and olive oil until cooked to your liking (don’t use my 6 minutes total as a guide because I like my beef RAW).

In a small skillet, melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter. Once it’s melted, add 1/4 cup beer and the onions. Saute until onions are soft. Set aside.

To make the patty melts, spread each slice of toasted bread with butter. On 3 slices (turn them upside-down so you put everything on the un-buttered side), place a burger patty, then a good scoop of onions, then a slice of cheese. Top with a slice of bread (butter side facing up). Repeat with the other sandwiches.

Heat a third skillet (sorry, this is one of those recipes where I pray for my parents to pull into my driveway with my dishwasher - no, that hasn’t happened yet) over low to medium heat. Place the sandwiches (butter side down, remember?) into the skillet and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is equally browned.

Take a bite. Debate calling your former-paramedic neighbor to come and hang out, just in case.

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Sheri on May 29th 2007 Quick and Easy, Sides

You always remember the first time…

…you eat something that rocks. I made a roast chicken, some smashed red potatoes, and wanted a veggie for dinner. I had a seedless cucumber and some grape tomatoes, so I decided to wander the store this afternoon to see what I could throw in with them to make a salad. I came out with a jicama.

So here was my sidedish with dinner.

Tomato, Cucumber & Jicama Salad

12 grape tomatoes, cut in halves

1/2 a seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2″ coins

1/2 a jicama, cut into matchsticks

1 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced fresh basil

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Combine the vegetables in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil, the basil, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Whisk with a fork and then pour over the vegetables. Lightly mix and serve.

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Sheri on May 29th 2007 Main Dishes, Quick and Easy

Hoarding

I am a bad, bad blogger. I have been cranking out some pretty good stuff since Friday at 5 PM. How horrible of me to not blog about it! I guess I have some fairly good reasons:

–Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

–I got A LOT of yard work done, enough that we can finally get mulch laid down in the flower beds.

–Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

–I installed 2 fountains in the landscaping.

–We attended a Memorial Day breakfast at our neighbors while the parade went past our home for the first, and probably only, time.

–I assisted my sister-in-law in weeding, cleaning up, and planting flowers at the family gravesites.

–Demon Dog demands attention constantly.

But now, without further ado, I am posting Friday night’s dinner. It was really, really good, but too spicy (not hot spicy, but spice spicy) for my stomach, so I unfortunately paid for eating like a pig. It’s a Rachael Ray (gasp! But hey, when you’re in a hurry to put something in your gullet, you have to acknowledge that she can crank out grub dang quick) recipe that I adapted slightly.

Chicken Burgers on Teff No-Knead Bread

Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tbsp grill seasoning blend

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (from my garden - how exciting!)

1/2 a medium onion, chopped fine

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

8 slices teff no-knead bread

Butter

2 cups fresh baby spinach

4 slices provolone cheese

Using a food processor or meat grinder, grind the chicken breasts into…well, ground chicken. Add the paprika, grill seasoning, parsley, onion, garlic, salt and pepper; get your hands into the bowl (wash them first!) and mix well. Drizzle the olive oil over the top, then cut into 4 equal pieces. Take each piece and form it into a burger patty of your preferred size.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, drizzle a little more olive oil (another tablespoon, maybe) into the pan and then add the patties. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side, depending on thickness, (or until cooked all the way through.

Toast the slices of bread and then butter them lightly. Split the spinach between 4 of the slices and place the patties on the other 4. Top each patty with a slice of cheese, then marry the tops (with the spinach) with the bottoms to create sandwiches.

Serve with potato wedges.

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Sheri on May 25th 2007 BS

11 hours and counting

Until my first week-long vacation starts.

Please God, let 5 PM come quickly.

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Sheri on May 21st 2007 Main Dishes, Quick and Easy

A way to stretch your boxed mac & cheese

Back in high school, I used to babysit - A LOT - for one specific family. With the parents working and going to school, I think I saw those kids more than their mom and dad did. One of the meals they used to have me fix for dinner was “goulash” to them - they didn’t have a lot of money, so this was something I could give the kids for dinner and the parents could eat off of themselves for lunch for a few days.

I kind of lost my taste for it because I ate it so often. For some reason, though, today I wanted it. Or I should say my version of it. So here it is - kinda cheeseburger mac-y, kinda not. Sorry - didn’t time anything tonight.

Mac & Cheese Stretched Thin

1 pound ground sirloin (or ground chicken or ground pork or ground turkey - you get the idea)

1 box macaroni and cheese (I use Annie’s GF)

2 4-ounce cans mushrooms

1/2 a red onion, diced

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp yellow mustard

sea salt

fresh ground pepper

2 tbsp butter (only if your mac and cheese mix doesn’t call for it)

In a skillet, brown the ground meat with a pinch of sea salt and pepper; when it’s halfway cooked through, add the diced onion. While the meat and onion are cooking (it’s done when the meat is cooked through and the onion is soft and translucent), cook the mac and cheese according to package directions. Drain the mushrooms and set aside.

When the meat and onion are done and the mac and cheese is ready, melt the butter (if not part of the mac and cheese instructions) in a pot large enough to hold the pasta and meat together. Add the meat, onions, pasta, mushrooms, ketchup, mustard and cheese to the butter and stir well. Continue to heat on low until mushrooms are cooked through and the additional cheese is melted.

3 responses so far

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