I used to have a handle of things.. until it broke off

Fare thee well cool sweater days.. Hello swollen cankles

I knew it wasn’t going to last but I was  really hoping.

May was a uneventful month filled with revelations of myself.

I’ve learned that I am a miserable person to live with..

You can’t leave a kid, a hammer, and a pile of wood together and not expect something to emerge with at least a half a yard of your good cloth on it.

A computer brings out the worse in you when it crashes..

A depressed mood is not when you blog or write things down…You’ll end up feeling worse than before you started and then everyone suffers.

I gave up one of my kids to teenagerhood ( I know not a real word) and more and more I am thankful that I managed to grow up with all my limbs intact.. one down three to go..

Parenthood is not a choice…  You don’t get to continue your dreams of being a famous writer or a professional banker.. you choose whether the car gets tires of your kid gets shoes.. YOUR dreams and inspirations are put on hold till your little ones are off on their own. You don’t choose sleepless nights or saggy skin.. as those are just little extra gifts you get for birthing midgets.

Dust is just an extra surface  for the kids to practice their artistic abilities… also windows, fish tanks, walls, wash machine…..

Indigestion is just a side effect of all the migraine pills I’ve been taking because the kids have been sick or fighting or bills to worry about. It’s so bad now I just think of taking them and WALLA!! Instant heartburn.

Grass has to be mowed.. of all things!

It never ends well when you jump to conclusions.. and I am amazed how some people think that their conclusions are the truth.. and you as a person can sit there, open your heart up and tell them the truth and all that comes of it is that your making excuses.

I hope that June brings cool weather and more smiles....

The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Sprat

Ahh Internet… the portal to the outside world for us shut-ins.. a great and wonderful tool that if you live in the right spot and your house is facing eastwest and not westeast, then you will have lightening speed internet.. unless you computer is old… then you have half lightening speed.. and if your computer is REALLY old like say over two years then you have snail speed.. but that is still better then dial up.. the aging of computers are for another time..

I am here to complain about my lightening speed internet..

     *The following story depicts fictional characters who’s names have been changed to protect their privacy as the wife blogs about it.

It all started one fateful evening in early March… here sat the *husband on the computer trying to play or watch or look up something and it wasn’t working as fast.. the *wife in the kitchen was listening to the conversation her husband was having with himself and everyone within a five mile radius now how he pays for so much speed and he wasn’t getting such speed. Day after day… week after week wife listened to the “ ONE PHONE CALL” speech he often gave about anything that wasn’t flowing his way…  so she decided to finally make that dreadful phone call to the phone company to complain about said speed. Only thing was is that calling the phone company is usually a 40 minute job with the caller on hold listening to elevator music… and then a 6 min conversation with a east Indian who doesn’t speak very good or any at all English.. resulting in a very frustrated wife who couldn’t spank one or two of the 15 kids she has who as soon as they see the phone raise up to the ears they either try and choke each other, mouth a question about whether they can go outside/upstairs/eat the last cookie/why does an egg shell not go down the drain. Or throw them selves at the wifes feet in a screaming fit. And then scream louder as the wife trips over the body flailing about to run outside where everyone isn’t because they were supposed to be picking up the sticks in the yard.

From what the wife gathered the internet was to be up to speed in two weeks.. good.. now when her husband came home she would have some good news to tell him.. and maybe.. he wouldn’t spend the whole evening complaining.

Wishful thinking… but what is life with out a little hope? The complaints slowly quieted down or maybe the wife grew deaf to them.. we are still not sure.

The two weeks were up.. Husband was counting down the days and when the day came and went with out the internet speed to his liking, wife suggested that he himself call the phone company and tell them about his “one phone call” proposition.

They were given another four weeks to wait.. this time the wife is eagerly waiting along with the husband because if she heard anything more about how hard her husband worked on his job and his internet should be fast as he swallowed her food that she slaved over a hot stove all day with out even tasting it she was going to stab him in the eye with a spoon.

Husband and wife currently are waiting in week number nine… wife has grown accustom to  the rantings drifting from the computer area.. she has learned to tune them out along with the music that stops every three seconds so it can buffer.. the twitches aren’t so bad now.. and the jelly beans help out a lot too.

The saga continues……

Potato soup

I found this recipe a few months too short.. AFTER the last snow fall and when you really want to have a warm creamy soup.. but hey..a little sweat dripping off your face and dropping into your soup bowl as you suck this down only adds flavor..

Or you can save it for when the weather turns cold again.

A simple soup that would go great with bread sticks or grilled cheese…

And all we need is potatoes, dried onions, salt, parsley, cream cheese and broth ( that was already in the pot when I thought of sharing this recipe)

As a rule you need about one large potato per one cup of broth.. may that be chicken or vegetable. And one 8oz package of cream cheese for every 4 cups of broth..

Cut up your potatoes add to your boiling broth.. boil till done..

With your hand mixer mash the potatoes … that helps to release their starches for your soup to thicken…

Let simmer for a little longer till it starts to thicken and then add your cream cheese.. this is where we need the whisk..  

Serve…  top with cheddar cheese or what ever you have in your fridge.

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Recipe

4 cups chicken broth

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1/4 cup minced onion

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks
Salt to taste

Directions:

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.

Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.

Smash the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.

Reduce to low heat.

Add cream cheese.

Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

My Mama…

When I was growing up I swore I wasn’t going to be like her…

She was bossy.. she was always working.. we couldn’t just drop our toys, clothes and uneaten food where ever we were..

She expected me to do my part in the family,

I had to fold those stupid rags if I wanted to go play..

What a mean mother..

I wasn’t going to make chore lists or make my kids brush their hair.. I wasn’t going to expect them to eat everything on their plates.. and when it came time to cleaning my room I would never yell like she did..

When I home schooled my kids I wouldn’t even give them math and expect them to do it. And if they hid it and ran off to go play I wasn’t going to yell at them..

I was going to give them all the candy they wanted..

Brush teeth? Who in the world brushes their teeth?

I was going to be understanding to my teenager..

Why did she have to yell at me when it took me 15 mins to even put shoes on?

 And when my kids didn’t do their chores the right way and the manure piled up so the horses couldn’t stand up straight I wasn’t going to yell and scream at them… not I said the brown cow.

What was so wrong with that outfit? I would let my daughter look like  a big flowery cloud.

Talk back? Oh of course I let my kids do that.. how unreasonable for her to expect me to listen to her..

She just didn’t understand what it was like to be a teen..

I wasn’t going to parent like my Mama did. I was going to do it PERFECT.

Then I became an adult and realized that my Mama DID know what she was doing..

The chickens really came home to roost when I started having kids..

Mama wasn’t so bad after all.. in fact Mama was right.. and to my surprise my skin didn’t fall off when I admitted it to myself..

I really regret not calling my own parents sooner and telling them how sorry I was for all the horrible things I did as a child and teenager..

And telling my Mama sooner that she did an awesome job raising me and how much I love her for all that she did for me.

I made it past my teenage years with out her strangling me.. That must have been really really hard.

And then I grew up to be just like my Mama…

I just haven’t started pointing yet..

Oatmeal cranberry pecan cookies

Gabriel “ Daddy… you want to know how they make milk? It is disgusting but they take a cow while it is alive and they squeeze them into a bucket… that’s how they make milk!”

Oatmeal cookies to me are one of the easiest cookies to make.. with just a few ingredients that you already have in your pantry you can have a wholesome snack for the bottomless pits in your house..

I don’t usually put pecans in my cookies because.. well they are a small fortune. I had come across some so I thought instead of hoarding them like I usually do with tasty little morsels I thought I should use them up before they go rancid, I love cranberries and I did hoard some of them back from the last Costco trip so I was ready to make oatmeal cookies!

Just the sight of these ingredients I get all giddy  about cooking..

You know the drill.. cream your butter and sugars together…

Add your eggs…

And your flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda

I love seeing cranberries in anything..

Add your oatmeal and then set in the fridge for a hour or so to set your butter back up.

Roll out to about 2” balls and bake for 15 mins until golden brown

As soon as your husband comes home hand him some milk and cookies…

Tip:

In order for your cookies not to spread during baking don’t put cookie dough on hot baking sheet.. and unless you have more than two baking pans ( or hands to wash the bowls and pans created by cooking ) or want to wait for the pan to cook, instead flip over and run cold water over bottom of sheet.. it will cool your pans instantly.

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Recipe:

Oatmeal cookies

1 cup Butter, Softened  1 teaspoon Vanilla 2 whole Eggs ½ cups Granulated Sugar 1-½ cup Light Brown Sugar 1-¾ cup All-purpose Flour 1 teaspoon Baking Soda ½ teaspoons Salt 1-½ teaspoon Cinnamon 3 cups Oats 1 cup Raisins or cranberrys 1 cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)   Preheat oven to 350°. Cream together butter, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix in granulated and brown sugar until incorporated. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Gently mix in oats, raisins (and walnuts, if using). Place 1- 1 1/2 inch balls of dough 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes and remove to a wire rack

Chicken Tikka Masala

I love curry.. I love Indian over all… Lately my stomach has been hurting so this dinner was welcomed. And the best part of it is Indian is pretty inexpensive too.. it does take a bit to get all your spices if your just starting but once you buy a bag of Garam masala for $3.50 it will last you for ages.

I can’t say that everyone will like this or that kids will.. Mine scarf this up.. only because they have learned to like the cuisine that comes out of my kitchen.. I am the “eat this or go hungry” kind of mother.. well I am to the oldest ones… Gabriel gets away with eating bread, cheese, beans and potatoes.. He now informs me that he doesn’t like the crust on his bread but he has to eat it because it is good for him..

I think it is a texture thing.. but I am just fooling myself.

And when he grows up and gets married I can then put all the blame on his wife and swear that he wasn’t a picky eater till she married him.. it must be her horrible cooking.. un-huh…  

I am gonna be such a horrid mother in law.

Can’t wait.

Ok so back to curry…  You can have this with chicken or not.. If you don’t have cilantro then no big deal and if you want to use canned tomatoes because that is all you have in your pantry then go for it.. I like the fresh ones better.. it makes it less canned flavor.. or if you have ones that you canned your self! This recipe is nice because you can play around with it a bit.

Here is what is missing besides my brain.. cilantro, butter and sugar

First lets ½ cup of yogurt in large bowl add some salt cumin and coriander stir it well and then add the chicken breasts and let sit for a hour or so in your fridge.

Turn on your oven to broil and lay out chicken on a wire rack that is sitting on a sheet like so.. bake until done.. or I should say broil till done.

Here I have some basmati rice, butter, turmeric powder, butter curry mix and some salt. Set aside

Dice your tomatoes and then dice your onions and garlic don’t mix.. you will be cooking them at different times.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in large pot add your garlic and onions.. cook till translucent

Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ginger

Next add a tablespoon of salt and three tablespoon of garam marsala

Let that cook for about a min or two.. and then add your tomatoes and one tablespoon of sugar. Turn down your heat to low and let simmer for 20 mins. Turn on your rice at this time too                                            

Add one cup of cream

Your chicken should be done by now ( unless your like me and forgot to start cooking it)

Dice it and add to your curry…

A large handful of fresh cilantro at this time is really good.. Stir well and wait impatiently for your naan and rice to finish.

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Recipe:

• Tikka Masala

  3 whole (to 4) Chicken Breasts Kosher Salt Ground Coriander Cumin, To Taste 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt Curry: 6 Tablespoons Butter 1 whole Large Onion 4 cloves Garlic 1 piece (approximately 2 Inches) Chunk Fresh Ginger or 1 tablespoon of ginger paste Garam Masala 1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes or 2 lbs fresh tomatoes Sugar 1-1/2 cup Heavy Cream 2 cups Basmati Rice _____ OPTIONAL: Fresh Cilantro Chili Peppers Turmeric Frozen Peas Preparation Instructions Start by seasoning the chicken breasts with some kosher salt. Next sprinkle them on both sides with some coriander and cumin. Then coat the chicken breasts completely with the plain yogurt. Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so as not to totally char the chicken. It should have slightly blackened edges. Remove from oven. Next dice one large onion. In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. As the onions cook, mince your garlic. Next, cut off the outer skin and mince or grate a 1 by 2 inch chunk of fresh ginger. Add the garlic and ginger to the onions. Also throw in about 1 tablespoon of salt. Next you are going to add about 3 tablespoons Garam Masala spice. And if you like it hot, this is also when you will add your hot chili peppers. Serranos work well. Now you are going to add your can of diced tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Add about 1 tablespoon sugar. Let this mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes. To a rice cooker add 2 cups Basmati rice, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon Ground Turmeric and 4 cups water. Cover, turn on your rice cooker and walk away. If you do not have a rice cooker, cook your rice as usual but make sure that you use Basmati rice. After the Tikka Masala sauce has had a chance to simmer for a little bit, add in the 1 ½ cups of heavy cream. Now, chop up your chicken breasts into chunks and stir them into the Tikka Masala sauce. A handful of chopped fresh cilantro is a nice addition if you like cilantro. You can also throw some frozen peas into the cooked rice, give them a stir, and allow the heat of the rice to cook the peas. It tastes great and gives another nice dash of color. Serve the rice with the Chicken Tikka Masala over top. Make sure to have some Nann bread handy, too.

Mexican wedding cakes…

A cookie of many names..

Not even close to being a cake and not a spring cookie either but I felt the need to bake these after rifling through my cabinet and finding a bag of almonds.. a few years back during Christmas I got a box of  snowballs and made them… not even close to being good and I always felt I needed to find a recipe that would undo all the indigestion that those store bought cookies gave me…

( I know… ANOTHER dessert recipe... that’s ok.. I won’t share!)

Lets gather up our ingredients… as for the almond flour I just used my food processor and woke everyone up in the house ..

Cream together your powdered sugar and butter…vanilla, almond extract… don’t be like me and forget the salt till everything is mixed in.

Add your almond flour

Add your regular flour

Even after mixing for several minutes it wasn’t completely done… if you ever made shortbread cookies you know it takes a while for the butter to break down.. that and my butter wasn’t even close to being soft.

Mix till you can make a ball and it sticks together

Grease your pan… and roll out 1” balls.. the recipe says 4 dozen but I got over 4 ½ dozen cookies.

Bake 15 mins and then in a med size bowl add your powdered sugar and five at a time roll in sugar.. let cool on rack.

Roll again in sugar and store in airtight container at room temp.

 Recipe:

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Mexican Wedding Cakes

Dough 8 ounces unsalted butter 2 ounces confectioners' sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon almond extract, optional 1 teaspoon salt* 2 1/2 ounces almond flour or 3/4 cup blanched almonds, finely ground 9 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour *If you use salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt to 1/2 teaspoon.   Directions 1) Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. 2) In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. 3) Beat in the almond flour, then the all-purpose flour. 4) Scoop chestnut-sized (1") pieces of dough, and roll them into balls. A level teaspoon cookie scoop will give you just the right amount of dough. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving 1" between them. 5) Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes, until they feel set on top: and some of them are MAYBE beginning to barely brown around the edges. 6) While the cookies are baking, put the topping sugar in a shallow bowl. 7) Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them, 5 or 6 at a time, to the bowl. Roll them in the sugar to coat, then transfer them to a rack to cool. 8) When the cookies are cool, roll them in the sugar again; they should be thoroughly coated and snowy white. 9) Store airtight at room temperature. Yield: 4 dozen cookies.

Chimichanga’s

Most of my blogs have been so far is desserts.. only because to me that is the only interesting thing I cook unless it is for company and there is no way I have time to snap pictures while making something. And I find it the least bit inspiring to show anyone how to cook beans.. sort, wash three times, parboil, let soak over night, bring to a boil add water..add water… almost burn.. add more water.. only three are still crunchy… they’re done.

That’s how you cook beans.

Until this week..

I felt the need to cook again.. only not with desserts or snacks.. but food and on the menu we have chimichanga’s and tikki marsala. Both very inexpensive meals that go along way and give you the taste of something besides beans.

Another confession I have to make is there is a huge difference from when I cook savory things then when I bake a cake. I am a Nazi when it comes to measuring and not leaving out key ingredients for sweets but a complete slob when it comes to the savory…. NOT because I don’t care to cook food but more then I like to add more flavors then the recipe might call for.

That and it is usually the end of the day and everyone has chewed on my last nerve and what ever I make they better be happy before I waddle off into the sunset never to return ……..complain complain complain.

So today we had Chimichanga’s

With black beans, Cilantro rice and fresh salsasortastuff.

I have here is several cans of black beans that I have added salt, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.. set it aside for later..

Rice that I have rinsed and added salt, butter, garlic cloves and fresh cilantro. Cover and set aside.

If your going to do this Vegetarian style I would suggest adding more cheese or some chopped up Tofu that you seasoned with cumin and garlic. But here we have what was in the fridge. Minced garlic ( I used a whole head) dried minced onion, dried cilantro, cumin ( salt was busy with the rice at this time so she missed the photo shoot) flour tortilla’s, baked chicken breasts, cream che…..

This is why I don’t blog in the evening time I tend to ramble …. That white chunky stuff is cheese in all sorts and forms.. expect for that sour cream..

Take your sour cream, cream cheese and spices, dump into mixing bowl.

Beat well..

Add your cheese… here I have a mixture and part of it is shredded and the rest is cubed.. one  I do like the cubed cheese because it tends to leave a little pocket of melted cheese in your Chimi.. and since I didn’t have very much of that left I added some shredded chedder.

Mix well…

Cut up your chicken into cubed..  if you have a stand mixture then your going to cut a lot of prep time.. since the beaters will shred that chicken up for you.. and if you like to have chunks of chicken then just mix in but since I only used three chicken breasts I like to shred it to make it go farther.

Now lets assemble the Chimichanga’s… ( I am beginning to hate that word) Also turn on your rice and beans so they will be done by the time everything else is.

Lay out tortilla…

Blob some of your mixture in middle of said tortilla

Fold up the bottom of the tortilla like so to make the blob more log like..

Like so…

Fold in one side

Then the other… try not to drop kick the kid that went flying through the kitchen as you are taking a picture… while folding the tortilla

Fold up the bottom… 

As you fold up the bottom continue with the motion and fold the top.. with your seam side down.

Continue with the rest of the batch… 2314743 later you will then begin to fry them

Before you start the frying lets assemble the salsa…

Avocado’s,  tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and salt..

Chop and add all ingredients to large bowl mix well and let sit. 

Seam side down we add our chimi’s to hot oil.. if your cooking with cast iron remember to turn down your heat once it gets hot enough.. other wise your food will come out as charred lumps.

Flip over…

Drain and serve!

 

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Chimichangas

Recipe 8 oz cream cheese 1/3 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon each of the following Dried onion Cumin Salt Dried cilantro Whole head of garlic minced 1 cup of cheese.. cubed  your choice 1 ½ cup of cubed chicken breast 20 flour tortilla’s Oil for frying Directions:   Cream together your cream cheese to you garlic add cubed chicken, mix well. add cheese   Warm up tortilla's, place three tablespoons of filling in middle of tortilla fold up sides then bottom ending with top.. lay on seam side down. repeat till all filling is used. Heat oil add chimi's one at a time seam side down for three to four mins. flip over for two to three mins untill golden brown. drain, serve hot.