Family and Food - My Favorites!

Sean got a 4 x 4 buck on Saturday evening. It is hanging in the shop - eww. We will cut, wrap, and grind (?) it. We are thinking of having some of it made into summer sausage at a plant and making some of it into sausage ourselves. We are feeling ambitious!

I almost forgot the best part of any week - DESSERTS!!!

I have made an apple pie (and froze the fixings for one more which should reappear around Thanksgiving), mini carrot cakes (which stuck to the pan, but taste scrumptious anyway), and some brownies over the last couple of weeks for our family to enjoy!

Hope you all are having yummy edibles too!

Eggplant Parmesan:
-One medium eggplant peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
Place slices flat on a cookie sheet and salt (I used sea salt).
Place paper towels on top of the eggplant (and in between the layers, I had two layers)
Place one or two heavy books on top of them (make sure they are okay to get damp)
Let set 1 hour. Remove books & wet paper towels. Add new paper towels and stick cookie sheet in fridge w/eggplant on it for 1 hour.

-3 Eggs (mixed up with a fork)
-3 Cups Panko (or some other breading material)
-2 Cups Veg Oil (you could use Canola if you wish)
-1 Jar Tomato Basil Sauce
-2 C Grated Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
-Few Sprinkles of Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Dip Eggplant into egg mixture, coat with panko, and fry in oil until nicely golden brown. Remove from oil and let dry on a paper toweled plate to remove excess oil.

When finished frying eggplant, place one layer into a greased 8x8 glass pan. Top with a small spoonful of sauce, sprinkle with mozz cheese. Add another layer of eggplant, sauce, and mozz cheese. Top with parm cheese and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

--------------
For the Chicken Parmesan, do the same dip/fry as above, but don't layer. I used three skinless boneless chicken breasts and just did one layer in a 9x11 glass dish. I also baked this for 20 min in a 400 degree oven (which is mostly just to melt the cheese and heat the sauce because the chicken should have already cooked in the oil when the panko was browning.)

--------------
Don't forget to cook the noodles while the Chicken or Eggplant is baking! Enjoy the Eggplant or Chicken over the noodles.


**Why did I cook both meals for only a family of two adults and two kids??? Well, lets just say I love my husband. He doesn't like eggplant and for him, I cooked the chicken (and for leftovers for me). As for the kids and I, we LOVED the eggplant parm. Would I cook it again at home? Maybe every once in a great while, but I will definitely order it more at restaurants. Through all this, I have proven to myself and my stubborn children that eggplant is good and has a place on our 'likes' list.**

Fry Bread:
3 1/2 C Warm Water
3/4 C Sugar
1 C Oil (I used Veg)
2 T Yeast
---mix in mixer and let set 15 minutes
3 Eggs
1 T Salt
10 1/2 C Flour
---Add these to mixer ingredients.

Pull apart small pieces and roll/stretch out on a floured surface until desired thickness. Fry in hot oil on stove top (I used Veg oil) until light brown on both sides (flipping of course).

**My husband and kids LOVED the fry bread....and not even for the tacos... They enjoyed slathering them with margarine and topping them with honey.**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Korean Beef Short Ribs Over Rice:
4 1/2 lbs Beef Short Ribs
1/4 C Green Onions
1/4 C Tamari (msg free soy sauce)
1/4 C Beef Broth
1 T Brown Sugar
2 tsp Minced Garlic
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
--mix above and place in crock pot for 7 hours
--remove meat from crock pot...separate it from the bone
--add 2 tsp sesame oil to crock pot & replace boned/chopped meat...cook for 30 minutes
--place meat over rice to eat

**I found the juices VERY fatty and tried to avoid them when topping my rice with the meat mixture. My husband, kids and mother (who was visiting) enjoyed the meal.**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Bread / Chicken Bakes:
1/2 C Warm Water
1 1/2 T Yeast
1 T Sugar
--mix in a small container and set aside
1 C Boiling Water
1/3 C Oil
1/6 C Sugar
2 tsp Salt
--mix in stand mixer w/bread dough attachment
1 1/4 C Cold Water
--add to mixture in stand mixer
Add Yeast mixture to stand mixer
3 C Flour
--Let mixture rise 1/2 hour IN mixer
3 1/2 C Flour
--Knead for quite a while until it looks right - about 5-10 min
Remove dough from mixer bowl and place into a large dish that has been greased with Veg oil to prevent sticking. Let rise at least 1 hour.

**Chicken Bakes take 1 8oz pk of cream cheese, a dollop of sour cream, some green onions, & some garlic, about two cooked chicken breasts cut into chunks - Mix it and place a plop of it in the middle of a flattened ball of dough & fold dough over it covering it completely. Place dough (seam side down) on an oiled cookie sheet. Cook 350 for 25-ish minutes until done.**

This bread recipe will let you make ONE loaf of bread and about 10 Chicken Bakes. I cook the Chicken Bakes first to eat with dinner and while we are eating I bake the loaf of bread for roughly 30 minutes in the 350 degree oven.

**I make this bread at least once a month over the winter months. I freeze one loaf and we munch on the other. We LOVE the bread! The chicken bakes are okay on occasion, but aren't our family favorite.**

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cauliflower Soup (Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup):
Please see this website for the recipe: http://just-cook-already.blogspot.com/

**We liked this soup a ton, but we thought it needed some chunks. I would recommend this as a base with chunks of potato and celery in it...maybe some carrots to give it an extra zing. My husband thought it would be great with some broccoli in it too.**

Thursday: Fry Bread Tacos (recipe will be added next week)
Friday: Korean Short Ribs over Rice w/Crab and Shrimp Rangoon (recipe added later)
Saturday: Shrimp, Green Beans, Peaches (might add a little pasta to the mix)
Sunday: Chicken Bakes, Cauliflower Soup (homemade - recipe added later)

Hope your weekend brings you all joy and yummy edibles too! :D

Tater Tot Casserole:

- 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1-2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1-2 Cups Grated Cheese (I use Colby Jack)
- 1/2 bag frozen mini tator tots
- spices (garlic salt, pepper)

Cook ground beef until not pink, add a sprinkle of garlic salt and a sprinkle of pepper to the beef just before it is done cooking. While the beef is cooking, grate cheese.

Spray an 8x8 dish with non-stick spray (just helps with the cleaning afterwords). Add cooked ground beef, top with cream of mushroom soup, then with cheese, finally add the mini tots on top.

Cover and cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 min. Uncover and cook 15 min longer.

Ready to eat. Enjoy (it is one of Sean's favorites).

Sunday: Homemade Potato Soup
-8 Red Potatoes skinned and cut into chunks
-Handful of baby carrots (what I had in the fridge already) cut in half
-1/2 a Red Onion cut into small chunks
-1 Tbs Garlic minced already (from Costco)
-3 Stocks Celery cut into chunks
-A little Pepper
-A little Salt
-2 Cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
-Tap Water

Put all above into a large pot. Put in enough water (after the cans of broth) to just barely cover the ingredients. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med low and continue to simmer covered for 20 minutes.

When the 20 minute buzzer rings, keep the soup simmering while doing the following:
-mix roughly 1/4 C all purpose flour with approx 2 C milk. Shake until mixed well. Pour into Pot while stirring (to prevent curdling). Stir well and recover. Leave on med low heat simmering for about 15 more min. Turn down to lowest setting until ready to serve...stirring occasionally. Enjoy. (Sometimes we put cheese, bacon, and green onion on top when we serve it, but this time we just gobbled it up w/out toppings.)

Monday: Creamy Garlic Parsley Chicken over Rice
-3 or 4 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
-Parsley
-Garlic (I usually use powder, but this time I will use the minced from Costco)
-1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup (or mushroom if you would prefer)
-3/4 C Milk (we use 2% - but if I have cream in the fridge, I use it instead)
-Rice

Spray 9x11 pan with cooking spray. Pat Chicken breasts dry. Sprinkle one side of each breast with garlic. Sprinkle the other side with Parsley. Lay breasts in pan parsley side down. Thoroughly mix Soup and Milk. Pour Soup/Milk over breasts in pan. Sprinkle a little parsley over the top (this time I plan on sprinkling a little green onion over the top too since I already have them on hand in the fridge). Place pan in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, make rice as directed on the package. I always make mine on the stove top because I already seem to have too many appliances in my kitchen and can't seem to convince myself that we need a rice-cooker yet! :D

To plate, put rice first, top with a chicken breast, and finally drizzle a little of the sauce over the top. I usually add a little cheese (just colby jack or cheddar) on top of mine (because I am a cheese freak). I like to serve this with Pineapple because for me the tastes go great together! Enjoy. (I am also serving a bagged lettuce salad to go with the meal...nothing fancy, but some greens.)

I have decided to plan my meals for one entire month at a time. I used to plan on a weekly basis, but have strayed from this. When I planned, I was much happier and the family actually ate well. My act will be getting together and we will be eating better again shortly...

I will begin with theme days and then go from there: For example, Thursday's will be Mexican food days (Tacos, Enchiladas, Fajitas, Posole, Tamales, etc). Tuesday's will be Pasta days (Chicken Orzo, Chicken Parmigiana, Angel Hair Flank Steak Alfredo, Home Made Mac n Cheese, Lasagna, Spaghetti, etc). Monday's will be Meat and Potatoes (Steak, Chicken Fried Steak, Pork, Lamb, etc). Wednesday's will be Casseroles (Tater Tot, Green Bean, Tuna Noodle, etc), Friday's will be Something New (from magazines, etc). Saturday's and Sunday's are right now pending. I am thinking about fancy for Sunday's (Turkey, Pot Roast, Ham, Prime Rib, etc). Saturday's will be From the Sea (Fish, Shrimp, Crab, Scallops, etc). Lunches (for me and Dominic since Alli eats at Erin's and Sean doesn't eat lunch) will be leftovers from meals throughout the previous week that I have frozen or saved. I will let you know my finalized plan and the recipes next week sometime. I will compile them today and tomorrow and begin my new life of planned meals as of Sunday or Monday...

Wish me luck!