Posts RSS Comments RSS

Archive for June, 2007

Sheri on Jun 24th 2007 Sweets

Goodie night

Oh, my.

I had a plan. The Gidge had crashed, allowing me to do what I wanted within reason (as she will wake up and follow me wherever I go). So I pulled out the Kinnikinnick pizza crusts and made my favorite pizza (olive oil, tomato, fresh basil, green onion, fresh mozzarella). While they were baking, I prepared part of my most important meal of the day - dessert.

On my counter sat some bananas. In my freezer was good vanilla ice cream. In my cupboard resided 6 ounces of milk chocolate and 6 ounces of good dark chocolate.

Wheels turned. Smoke rolled. And I decided to make a carmelized banana sundae with hot fudge sauce and macadamia nuts. Oh, and toasted coconut. So it was kind of a tropical thing I had going on. With yummy chocolate.

Oh my.

The Man will never buy hot fudge sauce in a jar again, thanks to the recipe I found here. I used half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate because it’s what I had.

And since I was raised in the city that claims to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, it felt a little like home.

Sorry about the really bad picture - I had several spoonfuls in my face before I realized that I wanted to take a picture. And since I had a cold mouthful of ice cream, I could only use one hand to hold the camera (Ever do that? Shovel something cold in your mouth and hold your hand to your closed lips like it’s going to HELP WARM IT UP?)

I may not eat again for days.

2 responses so far

Sheri on Jun 20th 2007 BS

A new cookbook

Several weeks ago, a publishing company sent me a cookbook to try - Eat Well, Feel Well by Kendall Conrad.

Normally, I pour through a cookbook and stick post-it notes all over the place to mark things I want to try. Some of these recipes look absolutely wonderful. However, ’round these here parts, cashews cost a pretty penny, if you want to get decent ones. And I rarely settle for substandard food unless I absolutely have to. A lot of these recipes call for cashews.

So I have a few things marked that are not cashew-based that I plan to try. The plan that these recipes are based on makes a ton of sense. Anyone who has a digestive condition that won’t subside could benefit from the information in this book.

Ahh…I spy the coconut cake recipe. Because my men hate coconut, this would be ALL FOR ME. Stay tuned for this one. Or maybe the tarte tatin. We have an eenyty-meeny-miney-moe situtation here, folks.

5 responses so far

Sheri on Jun 19th 2007 Main Dishes, Sides

Two keepers

I made the aborted Father’s Day dinner last night for The Man, his friend, and his friend’s son. Both recipes, found on the Food Network’s website, received a huge thumbs-up from each of them.

The burgers I made are Tyler Florence’s Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers. I exchanged the monterey jack with co-jack cheese (my great grandma lived right across the street from the cheese factory in Colby, WI so naturally, I love the stuff) and added 1/2 tsp of onion powder to the meat.

GLUTEN FREE ONION RINGS! Yes, you must try these. Oh my goodness. I swapped the regular beer out with Redbridge and added 1/4 tsp salt into the batter. All three gluten-eaters gobbled them up.

One response so far

Sheri on Jun 17th 2007 BS, Hairdroppers

Blooms and lightning bugs

I was out watering my flower and vegetable gardens this morning and took time to smell the flowers. I thought I’d share some of them with you.

Tonight Gidget met lightning bugs for the first time. She didn’t know if she wanted to watch them or chase the frisbee. The bugs won.

She was supposed to get groomed last night, but the groomer got hung up with another dog that was extremely matted. So she came today and I had her go as short as was safe for The Gidge. She’s nekkid now. The groomer put bows on her ears (which The Gidge promptly dispatched) so she looked like a girl dog instead of a boy dog.

We’ve had a few laughs over that.

I had big plans for The Man’s Father’s Day dinner, but he chose to be elsewhere. Which worked out okay since I am getting over a migraine that hit this afternoon, most likely due to the heat, which I don’t handle well. So hopefully, I will have belated Father’s Day yum pictures for you tomorrow.

No responses yet

Sheri on Jun 14th 2007 Hairdroppers, Main Dishes, Quick and Easy

Show & Tell

I love my stove (basically a 2-year-old version of this). I got it to replace my first Kitchenaid stove, which died on me less than 2 weeks before The Stepson’s junior high graduation party. Oh, the horror. Add the limping-along fridge into that mix and you get 2 new appliances.

One of the best parts of my stove is one that rarely gets used.

Looks like a normal stove grate, right?

Shazaam! It’s a wok ring. Handy, huh?

I whipped together a quick and simple stir fry for dinner tonight, since The Gidge didn’t give me any other option. The Man has batting practice and TWO softball games, so I was on my own for dinner. He wouldn’t eat this, anyway.

Slightly untraditional in my veggie choices, but it’s what I had.

Quick Chicken Stir Fry

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 zucchini, sliced
1 8 oz package button mushrooms
6 green onions, sliced
1 small package snow peas
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp + 1/4 cup water
1/8 cup GF tamari sauce
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your wok (or large skillet) over high heat. Add the olive oil; when the oil is hot, add the chicken. Cook over high heat, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.

Place the veggies into the wok and cook until softened (doesn’t take long!). Add 1/4 cup water to help steam the veggies. When the veggies are softened to your liking, add the chicken back into the wok. Turn off the heat.

Combine the cornstarch, tamari and remaining 2 tbsp water in a small bowl. Pour over the food in the wok; toss to coat. Serve over white or brown rice.

And now….

I am so proud . About 2 weeks ago, I hung bells on the doorknob to the back door, which leads to the enclosed porch, and by the back-back door, which leads to the backyard.

Tonight, The Gidge rang the bells on the back door to go out.

Now, if I could just get her to stop dining in the a la carte line. That’s her to the left, right after I yelled at her for snacking.

One response so far

Sheri on Jun 10th 2007 Main Dishes, Quick and Easy

Long summery days

This weekend, we got some stuff done around here. The Man mowed the grass twice (we hate bagging), cleaned the back porch, and laid more sand down on the brick patio. He also caught up the laundry.

The Stepson got gas money in exchange for washing my SUV, inside and out, and cleaning off my clotheslines.

I weeded, watered, thinned out onions, and cleaned the house. And basked in my little empire by taking a 4 hour nap with the Gidge this afternoon. So now my butt is dragging on the floor and she’s totally fired up.

I had taken out a beef roast to make for dinner tonight, but naturally The Man screwed up those plans by making OTHER plans to go to a friend’s house to watch the Sopranos. Because, you know, you need to hang out for 2 hours before the show starts. So I put the roast into the fridge for tomorrow and rooted through the cabinets and fridge to see what I could find to eat. After grabbing bags and boxes, I got to work. And if it tasted like crap, well, there was always cheesecake!

I will have to upload the picture later; Flickr is being a PITA.

Fusilli with Two Beans

8 oz fusilli pasta (I use Tinkyada)
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (retain juice)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/2 a green pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
1/4 cup pecorino romano, finely grated
1 tbsp fresh basil, roughly chopped

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Preheat a skillet over medium heat; add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic and green pepper; saute until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and a good pinch of salt; stir.

Drain the beans. Add them to the skillet; reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, just to heat the beans through. Pour the pasta into the skillet, along with the basil and pecorino romano. Toss gently to coat and serve.

And no, I didn’t need to eat cheesecake for dinner. Why is it that very often, the most spontaneous, come-out-of-your-butt recipes taste better than something you’ve slaved over for hours?

One response so far

Next »