Perfect Cut-out Gingerbread

The dilemma with gingerbread cookies is making something that rolls out thin and can be strong enough to make a gingerbread house with, but that could also be cute little gingerbread people for decorating with buttons and frosting, AND that could be soft and yummy enough to eat for a snack! I feel like I've created the perfect recipe for gingerbread that you cut out. I also came up with a really good lemon-cream cheese frosting - tastes like gingerbread cake with lemon sauce.

Gingerbread:

5 1/2 C. flour (this amount keeps in mind the flour you will be mixing in when rolling the dough out.)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt (may add 1/2 tsp. more)

1 C. melted lard, coconut oil, or vegetable oil

1 C. molasses

1 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. water

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour with rest of spices. In a mixing bowl cream oil, sugar, molasses, egg & vanilla until well combined. Switch to a dough hook. Gradually add flour mixture. Mix well. Chill as flat and thin as possible (gallon ziploc bag perhaps) for no less than 3 hours. Roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thick, and cut out. Lincoln and I had fun doing little gingerbread men with sprinkles, we did all the Christmas shaped cutters, I did little circles using half of a small easter egg for bite sized cookies, and I did walls and a roof for a gingerbread house too. So fun! Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes. (The cookies should not look wet anymore when done; they should be puffed up a bit, but the bottoms and sides should not be browned at all. If you like yours a little crunchier, go ahead and let the bottoms brown a little bit.)

Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting - I did this for the small round cookies in - be careful, I couldn't stop eating them!

8 oz. cream cheese

4 Tbsp. softened butter

1 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla, lemon juice & zest. Store in refrigerator.

Chicken Cacciatore

From Kim - everyone really liked this dish when I served it the day before Thanksgiving

Chicken Cacciatore

Step One
Olive or canola oil
2 onions
2 green peppers (more or less to taste)
1 can chicken broth

Dice onion and green pepper. Heat oil in large pan and add onion and green pepper. Cook until tender. Add can of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Step two
2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce (I likes Hunt’s Spaghetti Sauce)
2 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes (I like to blend mine in the blender)

Stir tomatoes and spaghetti sauce into vegetables. Bring to a simmer and let slowly simmer for ½ to 1 hour.

Step three
Non-stick frying pan
2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Oil

While your sauce is simmering, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Combine flour with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken in the flour. Heat oil in non-stick frying pan. Fry the chicken pieces until just barely golden brown. Add them to the sauce.

Step four
2 cloves of garlic (I like to use 1 teaspoon minced garlic)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil (optional)
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons parsley (optional)
8 oz. of sliced mushrooms

Add the garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, parsley and mushrooms to the sauce. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve over noodles. (I like to use fettucine noodles)

English Tea Scones with Special Jam

2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons butter
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
1 beaten egg (another one)

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter till crumbly. Combine 1 beaten egg and milk. Add to flour mixture and stir just till dough clings together.

On lightly floured surface, knead lightly, about 6 strokes. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into ball. Pat or roll to 6 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Sapce slightly aprart on ungreased baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 oven 12-15 minutes. Can burn easily on the bottom so watch carefully.

Special Jam
favorite jam and thawed cool whip.
Mix together slightly so there are big chunks of jam and white dots of whip cream.
Enjoy on top of scones

Angela

This week

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: leftovers

Monday: turkey soup

Tuesday: turkey fajitas

Wednesday: turkey sandwiches

I also made that cranberry salad and was worried I didn't make enough, it was just a small bowl, but it wasn't even half gone at the end. I'm not that fond of it myself, but it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it!

For Thanksgiving we had:

23 pound turkey

mashed potatoes and gravy

stuffing

homemade pickled beets (more on this later)

cranberry sauce

cranberry salad

green bean casserole

candied yams

cranberry ginger ale

homemade crescent butter rolls

cranberry cheesecake

pumpkin cheesecake

chocolate eclairs and cream puffs

To make homemade pickled beets, (I got a 50 pound bag of humongous beets really cheap) I roasted the beets in the oven in foil like a potato, peeled and sliced, packed in a half gallon jar (an old pickle jar I saved) and poured a brine over them. The brine is 2 cups sugar, 2 cups cider vinegar, and 2 cups water, boiled 3 minutes. I just leave this in the fridge until they are gone! It should last 3-4 months, but I'm sure they will be gone fast, Charlotta thinks they are better than candy.

Melissa - Thanksgiving

Well! Thanksgiving was a success, even if I didn't get to spend it with any of you. :( But I did do a rotisserie chicken, and holy cow - it was SO GOOD!!! Everyone LOVED it. It was flavorful throughout the entire thing, and perfectly moist - I seriously cannot recall a single time that I've had home cooked chicken with moist breast meat before this. I never liked the white meat because it was always so dry. But oh.......my........gosh. It was amazing. Here's what I did:

Whole roasted chicken

5 lb. chicken

2 Tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

The night before you want to cook it: Remove giblets from chicken, rinse. Run fingers under skin, separating it from the meat but trying not to tear it. Cut small slashes above the legs, and several on the front and back. Combine all spices. Rub most of the spices under the skin, using the small slashes as access holes for the legs and wings. Rub remaining spices on skin. Place in gallon ziploc bag, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, turn the chicken over. When you are ready to cook the chicken, remove from ziploc bag, and completely wrap in tinfoil (shiny side in) or in turkey bag. Place in baking dish and roast at 350 for about 20 minutes per pound, plus 15. (Or if you have a rotisserie, it would be about 2 hours.)

I also did the woodford style cranberries. I love this dish, I make it every year. I'm super surprised that no one else gets as excited about it as me, but........more for me!!

Cranberry Salad

1 package cranberries (12 oz.), chopped (I pulse them in a food processor)

1/2 C. sugar (2/3 if you need it more sweet than tart)

1/2 tsp. salt

2-4 C. red grapes, halved

1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 C. whipping cream, whipped with 1/4 C. sugar

Soak cranberries in sugar overnight. Add sliced grapes, nuts & salt. Up to 1 hour before serving, whip cream and fold in. Droooooooooool.

Baklava Cheesecake

That's right. Baklava. And cheesecake. Together.

Baklava has actually become a Christmas tradition for me. I've made it every year for the past 4 years, and I really love it. I bring it to the ward Christmas party. Here's my regular Baklava recipe, then the cheesecake one - which I totally made up (although I'd heard of Baklava cheesecake before, and that's why I wanted to try one.)

Melissa's Baklava

Syrup (make first):

3/4 C. sugar

3/4 C. water

1/3 C. honey

1 tsp lemon juice (it doesn't seem like much, but trust me: you don't want to overdo it.)

Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Cool in refrigerator while making pastry part.

Pastry:

8 oz. phyllo dough (from the frozen section, it will be in a long thin package next to the frozen pies and pie crusts. Just make sure you get phyllo sheets, and not cups.)

1 1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 C. butter, melted

Take one package of phyllo dough out, put rest in freezer. Let thaw unopened several hours on countertop. Mix nuts with cinnamon. Melt butter. Get 9x13 pan ready. Open phyllo package, and working quickly (don't be stressed, its not a big deal if you are not very fast. Just don't let the phyllo dough sit for hours and dry out before you start) layer 5 sheets of dough in baking pan, brushing small amount of butter between each layer. (Try not to saturate dough with butter, it will make it mushy.) After 5 layers, sprinkle 1/3 of the nuts over the top. Layer another 5 sheets with butter, then another 1/3 of the nuts. Repeat, layering the rest of the phyllo dough on top. (Its good if the dough is wrinkly and not lying flat - it will make it flaky and good.) When all assembled, use a sharp knife to cut into bite sized squares or diamonds. Try not to cut all the way through to the bottom, leave a few layers uncut. Bake @ 350 for 35 minutes, or until golden brown and flaky on top. Immediately after removing from oven, pour chilled syrup over the top, making sure to get all the edges and in between all the pieces. Let cool UNcovered, then chill.

Okay. Now that you have an idea for how to make Baklava, here is the Baklava cheesecake.

Baklava Cheesecake

Pastry:

8 oz. phyllo dough, thawed

1 1/2 C. chopped pecans

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 C. melted butter

Syrup:

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 C. water

1/4 C. honey

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Filling:

2 packages cream cheese, room temp.

1/2 C. sugar

3 Tbsp. honey

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 eggs, room temp.

Mix all syrup ingredients in small saucepan, bring to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is completely melted. Chill in refrigerator.

Working on filling, mix cream cheese with sugar, honey, cornstarch, & lemon juice. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well between each. Set aside. Mix pecans with cinnamon, melt butter. Lay parchment paper in a cheesecake pan, open phyllo dough. Cut 1/3 off end of phyllo dough, so you have squares rather than rectangles. Layer 5 squares with melted butter brushed in between. Add 2-3 Tablespoons of nut mixture, then layer 5 more squares. Pour cheesecake on top. On cutting board start layering phyllo dough in layers of 5-6, with 1/3 nut mixture between each, ending with phyllo dough. Use 2 rectangles side by side when squares are all used up. Trim corners of phyllo dough if desired. With sharp knife, cut into 16ths almost to the cutting board, leaving a few layers uncut. Transfer to top of cream cheese filling, trim as desired. Bake @ 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until phyllo dough is golden brown and flaky on top. Remove from oven, and pour chilled syrup over hot Baklava filling carefully, making sure to get between cuts. Let cool to room temperature, then chill overnight. Use cuts in Baklava as a cutting guide.

I totally just tried some a few minutes ago, and it was Greek perfection! YUM.

Melissa - on Poultry

I've been researching cooking poultry for the past few years, mainly experimenting with brining or salting. The basic goal is to get a salt solution into the bird so that it cooks flavorfully. I've discovered that I can do this in two ways - Brining: Soaking the bird in a salt water solution or Salting: Rubbing a salt based rub onto the chicken and letting it absorb. With both of these methods you can use water soluble spices such as paprika, chili powder, and pepper, and you can also use sugar. You can go further in brining, because you can add liquid flavors such as juice concentrates, apple cider, vinegar, soda, etc. Here are the ways to achieve both methods.

Brining:

You'll want the bird completely submerged in liquid.

For every gallon of water, use:

1/2 c. table salt, or 3/4 c. coarse kosher salt

3/4 c. sugar

any spices or flavorings you want to add.

For poultry pieces or small roasting chickens, you can usually fit them into a large pot with room for expansion, and brine them in the fridge (make sure it is covered.)

For larger chickens and turkeys, if they don't fit in the fridge you can use a 5 gallon bucket, or a cooler - but you will need to add bags of ice to keep it cool.

Brining Times:
chicken pieces - 1 to 1 1/2 hours

small chickens (up to 5 lbs.) - 4-12 hours

turkeys - 1 to 2 days

After brining, be sure to rinse VERY thoroughly. Then add whatever seasonings you want on the outside, and cook.

Salting: The theory behind this is that when you rub a salt and spice combination on the bird, it will start to draw the moisture out of the chicken. Wait! Keep reading. After about 3 hours, all the moisture will be on the surface of the chicken, and will start dissolving the salt. At that point the ratio of liquid inside the chicken is less than on the outside, and will begin to be drawn back in, but with the salt and spices along with it. After 6 hours, the liquid is back inside the chicken, along with lots of flavor! I am trying this method tomorrow.

The advantage to this is that it uses less ingredients - you need 1/2 a cup of salt and lots of spices to flavor a brine (most of which you have to throw away when the bird is done brining), but with this salting method you only use a few Tablespoons and don't waste much. I'm not sure about an advantage in taste, but I'll be finding out soon!

Salt rub:

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 - 2 tsp. other spices

I think I'll be using:

2 Tbsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. onion powder (this is fat soluble, which means it probably won't be drawn into the chicken, but it will flavor the outside).

1/2 tsp. garlic powder - also fat soluble

1/2 tsp. ground thyme

Rub inside the skin, cover and refrigerate 6-8 hours

Roast!

Melissa

We just got a new grill! It is AWESOME. We cooked some hamburgers for dinner tonight, and tomorrow we are having some friends over to help us test drive some steaks. It comes with a rotisserie attachment, and I think I am going to try rotisserie cooking a chicken for Thanksgiving!

Angela

So I never did find an onion soup recipe that didn't call for alcohol, but I did figure out how to make it. I just left the alcohol out. I fried 4 onions in butter until they started to brown. Then I added some flour, I think it was 1/2 cup. I cooked the onions and flour for a while, and added 2 tsp salt which Miriam said was too salty. I thought it was perfect. Brady said maybe a little too salty. Then I added 4 cups homemade beef broth and let it bubble for a while. Homemade bread and butter on the side. It WAS SO GOOD. I couldn't believe I have never made it yet. I'm totally making it again tomorrow.

Kim
Wow Angela! What a lot of work. I sure loved the venison steaks you served us while we were there, and dad said it was fantastic.

Melissa, I'm interested. Did Lincoln eat the spinach salad? It sounds good!

Melissa

Besides pizza, this is how we ended last week:

Spinach Bacon Salad

baby spinach (enough for a salad to feed the whole family)

8 oz. swiss cheese, cubed or thin stamp-sized pieces

6-8 oz. thinly sliced mushrooms, raw

1/2 package bacon, cooked and chopped

dressing:

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. vinegar

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. yellow mustard

Mix all salad ingredients together, mix all dressing ingredients together. Toss. (I add the dressing to 1/2 the salad at a time, because if I don't eat it all in one night it goes soggy by the next day.) This would also be good with bleu cheese crumbles instead of swiss cheese, and craisins. Yummy!

Now I am all out of steam from cooking good dinners all last week. Leftovers tonight!

Angela

I spent half the morning skinning and cutting up a deer today. It's too bad that you usually waste half the deer by blasting a hole through it, making the meat around it bloodshot and inedible. I just cut the deer in half and hoisted that half into the pig pen, leaving the nice clean half for me to carve steaks off of. I got 8 meal sized bags of steaks (I have to add more steaks to a bag nowadays because my family is growing so big and hungry (It would have been 12 bags 2 years ago)), and about 8 pounds of hamburger meat for me to grind up. Took me about 2 1/2 hours. If you say we can eat a meal using one pound of hamburger (might be wishful thinking with my eager eaters), that is 16 meals off of one deer! It was a big deer though. Backstrap the size of my palm instead of those tiny nugget steaks we got off the tiny deer last year. Hopefully we will have at least 2 more deer coming our way in the next week. Hopefully we will have 10! You never know with hunters. Sometimes they get something, sometimes they don't. If we get 2 more deer that size, that would be 48 bags of meat and we can eat deer once a week this next year for only 7 hours work. Awesome. Sure beats a chicken, which takes me 1/2 hour each time and yields only one meal. That's 5 meals for 2 1/2 hours work. Cows win though, with about 12 hours work and enough cow to eat 5 times a week for a year! Wish I had another cow growing, I'm getting low......

Angela

1. Fried potatoes and polish sausage.

Cut the potatoes into cubes. Fry them in butter. Salt and pepper. Slice polish sausage and add them near the end.

2. Pot roast.

Meat, potatoes, carrots, cabbage in a crockpot with a little water and some lipton onion soup mix sprinkled over the top.

3. Chicken broccoli casserole.

Chop up some cooked chicken. Steam some broccoli. Mix 2 cans cream of mushroom soup with 2 cups of sour cream. Add a little lemon juice. Put all of that in a cake pan, sprinkle it with cheese, and bake it until the cheese is melty. Serve it over rice. I use brown rice.

4. Corned beef and cabbage. Yay! I finally found corned beef!

5. French onion soup and fresh bread. I am still looking for an onion soup recipe that doesn't call for alcohol. I'll do an internet search sometime.

6. Hash browns, eggs, sausages. Classic.

7. Chunky cheese soup.

Chop up some celery, potatoes, onions, and carrots. Boil them in about 4 cups of broth or water for 1/2 hour or so. Dice some ham.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and let it bubble a bit. Gradually add 2 cups of milk, stirring well. When it is cooked and thickened, add 2 cups grated cheese and stir it. Pour that into the vegetable pot and stir it some more. Do not bring it to a boil. Eat it!

Italian Meatball Soup

This is the best soup for Autumn that I have ever tasted. I'm making it for Greg's birthday party tomorrow.

Italian Meatball Soup
1 recipe of Italian meatballs (recipe follows)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
5 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups small pasta (like macaroni) uncooked
2 cups spinach, thinly sliced

1. When preparing meatballs, make them small and bite-sized. Broil the meatballs according to the recipe directions until they are just brown and can maintain their shape.

2. While the meatballs are cooking, heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Saute the onions and garlic until translucent. add broth, water, tomatoes, and italian seasoning. Heat to boiling. Gently add the meatballs, carrots, and spinach. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add pasta and cook unil pasta is al dente.

Italian Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1 pound italian sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 cup dehydrated onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar

1. Turn the oven to 400. When heated, turn to broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

2. Gently combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs. A cookie scoop is great to do this. Place meatballs on baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the meatballs are becoming brown and fragrant. If you are going to be simmering the meatballs in soup it's best to cook them until they're just brown so they can finish cooking in the soup and release some of their flavor into the cooking liquid.

4. Enjoy! Tastes even better the second day.

Cabbage Recipes

Japanese Salad - This is my mom's; I really like it!

2 C. cooked, cubed chicken

1/2 head cabbage, chopped (bite sized squares)

1 package ramen noodles, uncooked and broken into bite sized pieces

2 green onions, finely sliced

2 Tbsp. slivered almonds (opt.)

2 Tbsp. sesame or sunflower seeds (opt.)

dressing:

1 package ramen seasonings

3 Tbsp. vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/3 C. oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine salad ingredients in large bowl, set aside. Combine dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour over salad and shake/toss until completely coated.

Hot "Artichoke" Dip - I've found cabbage to be as satisfying as artichoke hearts, and have had some success in substituting it for certain recipes.

1/4 - 1/3 head cabbage, lightly steamed or boiled (3-5 min.)

1 C. miracle whip

1 C. parmesan cheese

1 4oz. can diced green chiles

1 garlic clove, minced

Heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients & spoon into shallow baking dish (pie pan, 8x8 pan etc.) Bake 20-25 min. or until lightly browned and bubbling. Serve with crackers or chips.

"Artichoke" Chicken Bake

1 1/2 C. uncooked corkscrew pasta

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 med. onion, minced

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

2 C. cooked chopped chicken

1 can (14 oz.) Italian spiced tomatoes, diced

1 can (6 oz.) sliced black olives

1/2 head cabbage, chopped & lightly steamed or boiled

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta. Drain & set aside. Heat oil in LARGE frying pan. Sautee onion & pepper 1 min. Add chicken, tomatoes, pasta, cabbage, olives & seasoning. Mix until combined. Place 1/2 in greased 9x13 baking pan, sprinkle 1 cup of cheese on top. Repeat. Cover with foil & bake 30 min. Uncover & bake 10 min. more to brown cheese.

Angela

I have 15 cabbages I have to eat in the next 3 months. That is how long I can keep a cabbage in the fridge. Anybody have a good recipe that uses cabbage? I have corned beef and cabbage, a casserole with meat and rice topped with cabbage and cheese, plain old steamed cabbage with cheese sauce, saurkraut, soup with thinly sliced cabbage, and pot roast. Brady is the only one here who enjoys coleslaw, so that is out. Also I am about to get 20 pounds of beets if anyone has any good beet recipes. I could use a new pickled beet recipe too.

Angela

Brady brought home 12 pumpkins someone was giving away so we had PUMPKIN COOKIES for dinner tonight!

Coming up: Pumkin bread, pumpkin stew, pumpkin pie, pumpkin with butter and salt, soups with pureed pumpkin, and of course, pumpkin cheesecake!

Melissa

Lots of good dinners this week - I felt bad about the frozen food and cookie dinner from earlier. I'm thinking about starting to post our recipes on our Cheesecake website - change it so it has more categories for other food. What do you think Angela?

Chicken Alfredo

This is a recipe that does not use cream or butter (if you choose) and tastes better than any cream based Alfredo sauce I've ever tasted! It is SOOO good. (Btw Angela, I found that coconut oil Patrea was talking about at Walmart! LouAna brand, by the oils and lards - white cylinder container with a big picture of a coconut on it with a black lid. And it doesn't taste or smell like coconut.)

1-2 chicken breasts

2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or butter)

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

4 oz. cream cheese softened

1 C. milk

1/4 C. chicken broth (from cooking chicken)

1 C. grated Parmesan cheese (fresh if you can)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Slice chicken breasts the hot dog way, place in foil in a baking pan. Sprinkle with salt, wrap completely in foil. Bake @ 350 for 30-40 min. Remove from pan, chop chicken into bite sized pieces and reserve broth.

Melt oil in saucepan. Sautee garlic on med-low for 2 min. Add cream cheese in pieces, stirring until melted and smooth. Add milk & broth 1/4 C. at a time until incorporated and smooth. Stir in Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. Let bubble 1-2 more min, add chopped chicken. Serve over hot cooked noodles! (I used angel hair, but these would also be good: corkscrew, penne, bowties, linguine, fettucini.)

Baked Potatoes

I tried doing baked potatoes with some oil rubbed on the skin and a little salt sprinkled on them before wrapping them in tinfoil. They turned out really good! I also do little ham cubes as a topping along with sour cream, butter, cheese, & salt.

Tacos

Hard or soft shells, cooked and seasoned ground beef or chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream. Yum.

Fish

1 Tilapia filet for each person eating

citrus grill seasonings/any fish seasoning you prefer

butter

couscous or flavored rice (Rice-a-Roni or Rice Sides), I like the butter & herb flavor

Thaw fish. Layer it in a baking dish, sprinkle seasonings liberally. (Fish needs flavor!) Top with pats of butter, cover with foil & bake @ 350 for 30-45 min (depending on how much fish - avoid double layers.) Serve with flavored rice & broccoli.

Chinese

I have lots of chinese food recipes including:

General Tso's chicken

Lemon chicken

Chinese lettuce wraps

egg rolls

Hot & Sour soup

steamed chinese buns

I haven't decided what to make yet.

Angela

Tonight's dinner: I planned to make fried eggs on toast. Here is what actually happened.

3:15: Brady struts into the house saying he just finished my chicken plucker he has been building and we should go pluck a chicken. I evaluate the time and decide a quick switch to chicken and potatoes for dinner would work out just fine. I peel some potatoes super fast, plop them in water, and put my canning pot on to boil to scald the chicken in for plucking. Brady goes to wash his hands and eat some toast.

3:30 We head outside with sharpened knives to find it has started to rain. No problem, we will be inside in a jiffy with an awesome new chicken plucker. We haul the scalding pot of water outside next to the chicken plucker and watch the raindrops plip in it. Brady goes to get a chicken and we debate over the many ways to kill it ending with Brady deciding to poke the knife through it's brain and then slit it's throat.

3:35 Brady pokes the knife into the chicken's brain so hard that it goes right through the chicken and stabs the palm of Brady's hand. Undaunted, he maintains enough composure to continue on and slit it's throat, then makes a mad dash inside to assess the damage leaving me to hold the chicken through it's death struggle during which I am liberally sprayed with chicken blood. (Or was it Brady's?) When it is all over I put the chicken on some clean cardboard in the rain and rush inside to help Brady.

3:45 We emerge outside after bandaging Brady's hand which has a very deep and painful puncture would right in the pad. We dunk the chicken in the scalding water and turn on the chicken plucker! Nothing could make us miss this momentous occasion where the plucking is the easiest part! How long we have dreamed of never plucking by hand again. Alas, the rain made the belt slippery and the chicken plucker is not working. The belt just slips. We exchange dismayed looks and go to plan two; skinning the little bugger.

4:00 We bring the chicken inside for gutting. Gutting goes without a hitch.

4:15 I rub herbs all over the nekked chicken and pop him in the oven to roast.

Currently starving and can't wait to eat! Will finish the mashed potatoes and cook some frozen peas.

Melissa

Levi's birthday dinner

We had some friends over for Levi's birthday dinner, and had some amazing bacon guacamole burgers! Here's what we did:

Burgers:

ground hamburger

worcestershire sauce

salt

pepper

Mix together, flatten into patties (they need to be a lot thinner and wider than you want them to actually be - they shrink when they cook).

Fry in frying pan, griddle, or grill. Top with cheese.

Guacamole:

4 ripe avacados

1/2 onion, minced

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. lime juice

2 roma tomatoes, diced

Blend first 4 ingredients. Dump into serving bowl, stir in tomatoes.

Bacon Guac Burgers:

Assemble burgers as normal (patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, mustard, etc.). Layer several slices of bacon on, then spread a thick layer of guacamole. DELICIOUS!

Just a quick list this week.

1. Hamburgers with the last of the tomatoes my mom brought and boring old bread instead of buns.

2. Baked potatoes and frozen peas.

3. Stew. Simmer some meat chunks all morning. Add salt and some vegetables. Simmer the rest of the day. Bake bread or rolls.

4. Vegetable bean soup. Soak beans, cook them in a slow cooker. Toss them in a pot with some veggies and salt. I have some leftover mashed sweet potato in the fridge I will use in it too. Simmer them all afternoon. I have a handheld blender I stick right in the pot to blend it a little and make it thicker.

5. Cheese fries. Our old standby for when we have no food in the house. Slice and bake potatoes and put seasoning salt on top. Sprinkle with cheese, make some fry sauce.

6. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

7. Bean and cheese quessadillas. I have no idea how to spell that. Soak some beans. Cook in a slow cooker. Add salt, garlic powder, maybe some onion. Mash a little, or blend. Make sure it isn't too runny. Make or buy tortillas. Put some beans and cheese in the middle of two and heat in a skillet (or your super awesome tortilla maker. Oh wait, it's MINE!) Flip it over. Serve with sour cream or guac or nothing.