Opps wrong Olive Spread but they loved it all the same

 So as you might have guessed we watch the food network a lot in this house. Ok it might be said that I torture a few members of my family with the hours I can sit and have it on the telly while I crochet but we won't get too into details here. *grins* Anywho that dern Giada and her Italian food noms she plants into my brain. She made this olive spread and I thought to myself.... "ooo I am going grocery shopping tomorrow I am so making this for movie night!!! And we all LOVE olives!!" Yup I was excited. Well I goofed. I forgot to add the stuff to my list on the nook.So while in the store, mid shopping, I looked up what I thought was her receipt on my phone. I should have listened to my gut cause I know she always uses Ricotta cheese and I could have sworn I remembered that but nooo I went ahead and went with what I found on my phone. Anywho long story short my family LOVED this and in fact my 2nd piece that I had saved back got snatched and eaten by my hubby. When he was confronted i got told " opps I have only eaten half of it ... want the rest?" It was cool cause it was a little salty tasting for me which is odd cause I am usually the one who resalts my food. Anywho now I can not find out who or where I got this from cause it sure was not Giada but here it is and I hope you enjoy. Oh and if you want go halfsies on the green olives , I will next time. But first I am going to try Giada's.

 

  

Ingredients

• 1 6oz can black olives, drained

• 1 6oz jar pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained
• 2 stalks green onions
• 1 stick  room temperature butter
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 12 ounces Shredded Cheese , I used Colby Jack
• 1 loaf  French bread ,sliced in half lengthwise

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Chop both the black and green olives.

Thinly Slice the green onions.

Combine the butter, mayo, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl.

Stir together until thoroughly combined.

Spread the mixture onto the French bread.

Bake until the cheese is melted and browning, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meatball Stew

You are going to look at this and see the herb pouch part , your nose is going to crinkle and you are going to think to yourself ... I dun wanna mess with that...BUT YOU DO AND YOU WILL!  It is not that hard and it makes all the difference in this dish. So straighten your " I am a cook" hat and let's do this.

 IF you do not have a handy dandy spice ball , pic below, then you get to be creative. I know you just LOVE being crafty in the kitchen and here are a few suggestions to give you a leg up on that.

- Cheesecloth of course , cut a square the size of your hand, place herbs in middle, tie that baby up into a nice little hobo pouch with string.
- This next one was used when we ran outa cheesecloth and worked very well I must say.... a couple emptied tea bags filled and tied closed. HEY when in need you go all Macgyver on it.

Just FYI remember when you are stirring this that you have a bundle of Herb Joy in there that needs to NOT get opened by assulting it with your spoon.... be gentle or the herb monster will bite you.

This is one of my families favorite fall stews.  It is hearty and is wonderful reheated.

If you want you can make your own meatballs... I of course have made this to be a quick and easy dish that feeds a team so I have used premade.

Meatball Stew

Ingredients

 

• 1 bag frozen meatballs , thawed ( can use all beef, italian or homestyle)
• 3 Tblsp EV Olive Oil
• 7 cups Beef Broth or Stock
• 2 cups Water
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 small can Tomato Paste
• 1 cup Onion, Chopped
• 1 cup Carrots, Chopped
• 1 cup Celery, Chopped
• 1 cup Russet Potato with skin, cubed
• 1/2 pound Cabbage chopped into bite size pieces
• 2 cups Shredded Motzerella cheese  

        Herb pouch

• 4 Tblsp Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 2 whole Bay Leaves

Instructions

Gather 4 tablespoons parsley, bay leaves in a cheesecloth bundle or spice ball. Tie to secure.
In your skillet heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and briefly brown meatballs, then remove to a plate. This gives the meatballs a nice crust and texture for the stew.
To your stew pot add beef broth, water, salt, tomato paste, and herb bag. Bring this to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes.

To your pot now add onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Simmer 15 more minutes.

Now remove your herb pouch.

Add  the cabbage and meatballs. Bring to a boil, then simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve with cheese sprinkled over the top. Also a nice crusty bread goes well with this.

 

 

 

Can not get enough Pumpkin Cobbler

Oh what a difference a day makes... 24 little hours. Yes I am singing. Why am I singing? Well is it not obvious? Summer is over and Oklahoma keeps getting these wonderful cold fronts that are just made for cups of coffee and warm fall desserts. This past weekend just happened to be my brothers birthday and he has the best request for his "cake"..... Pumpkin pie OR something that has pumpkin in it. Well if you read my blog ... and I know you do O.o , you know I am not a pastry chef and pie crust does not happen from scratch in my kitchen.... so Pie aint happening and I can not give him a store bought pie ... Noooooo! I have come across a few variations of this dessert and I have to say this is my favorite. It has a cobbler top so all the wonderful pumpkin is creamy and melt in your mouth on the bottom but the top has a buttery sweet slight crunch. Wonderful blend of the textures that are perfect for Autumn.

 

Pumpkin Cobbler

• 30 oz. of  solid Pumpkin , DO NOT USE PIE FLLING
• 3  large eggs
• 1½ cups  sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon  salt
• 1 teaspoon  ginger
• ½ teaspoon  nutmeg
• 1 12 oz. can  evaporated milk
• 1 box yellow cake mix Dry
• 1/2 stick  butter, melted
• 2 Tblsp brown sugar

• Blend the first Eight ingredients on low spped with your mixter or by hand.
• Pour into greased 13x9  baking dish.
• Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over top of pumpkin mixture.
• Drizzle melted butter over cake mix.
• Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter.

• Bake in 350F oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

         You can serve this warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

 

 

 

I have had my first Hooker moment!

I had 48 hours till the fall solstice and my daughters were already talking to me about the ideas they had for their Halloween costumes. All I could think about was how this year has flown by. Weren't we just watching money go up in the air and blow up into pretty bursts of sparkles? Now we are thinking about candy and turkey and ... OMG how many days do we have till Christmas??!!?? Yes time has flown by and that means one thing ......... I am getting old. No more years dragging on and the feeling of time to spare. Oh heck no! Valentines Day then ZOOOOOM " to old acquaintance be forgot". *sigh*

Now where was my train going? Oh ya! Costumes! Teh girls are going with a steam punk theme this year. I love that the girls coordinate their costumes. They have done it a few times and it is always so awesome. Beth will be Harliquin , not her sister LOL! and Harli will be Venus Mcflytrap who is like Ivy. Cool huh! I talked with them and got ideas on what they needed me to make and got started on the hats so we have time to find things to embellish them. Harli's was easy. I made it two tone green to give it a crushed velvet look from afar. Beth , oh boy I love her vision, I had to write a pattern for hers. I had to frog a few times but in the end I was VERY happy with it. I even posted it on my yarn Idol's facebook page AND guess what!!??!! He shared it and said it blew his mind!! I squeed when I saw this. * breaths *  One of my best Hooker moments! So you wanna see them?? Do ya do ya??

 

 

 
I can not wait to see what the girls do to embellish them. Next I make spats and corsets. Thank goodness they gave me a lot of time cause I have client orders AND a bazaar to get ready for. But I must remember that time flies. ZOOM!

Speaking of it is after 1am. EPPP! I am going to find my pillow.
Night my freaky darlings!! AND Happy Autumn Equinox!

Lasagna Soup

It is getting cooler outside and that means SOUPs and STEWs in our house. * Happy Dance * This is one of our favorites.

 

 

Ingredients :

• 1 lb ground beef 
• 1/2 an onion,diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp cheynne pepper
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water ... (equalling 8 cups of fluid total)
• 14 ozs diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb pasta, I use radiatore pasta
• 2 cups shredded motzerella cheese for garnish

 

Directions :

• Brown ground beef in pan till no longer pink. Drain off fat.
• Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 min.
• To a stew pot add meat, onion, garlic, cheynne pepper, chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes ,  can simmer up to 45 min. 
• Add the pasta and cook until al-dente, remove from heat.

Serving :

 

Top each bowl with a small amount of motzerella cheese.

Slap my butt and call me Hestia

It was brought to my attention my children have not eaten a Gyro. I KNOW! How did this happen?? Well we live in a small town and the last time I saw a restaurant that sold Gyros was in the mall when I was in high school. We DO NOT need to do the math to figure how long it has been... we will leave it at it has been a while since we have had one here. o.O  I will one day get them the real deal but till then.....

I needed to fix this issue and fix it on a budget. Meaning I checked on what lamb costs and about passed out. So I did some research and found a possible solution. Now do not run away until you hear me out ok? ..... It is made with ground beef. Calm down calm down. I was VERY worried about how this was going to turn out until I tried it. It is a different texture of course but the flavor was very good. In fact we had NO leftovers it was so good. Was also told it was a do again meal FOR SURE. You know when I hear those words it was good.

So lets get our Greek on!

Ingredients for Tzatziki sauce :
8 ounces of plain Greek yogurt
1/3 c seeded cucumber, diced small
1 tsp onion powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp sugar

Ingredients for meat :
2.5 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp dried oregano
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Toppings :
8 pita pockets OR flour tortillas
3 cups shredded lettuce
1 tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped

Directions:

•  In a bowl, combine first 5 ingredients. Cover and refrigerate.
•  In a separate bowl, combine ground beef and seasonings, Mix well. Allow the meat mixture to set in the fridge for 10 min. 
• set your oven to broil
•  Shape into 8  oval patties about 1/4 inch thick
•  Line a jelly roll pan with foil and cook in oven for 10 min , flipping them over once.
•  Cut patties into thin strips

Top with lettuce , tomatoes, onions. Drizzle Tzatziki sauce over top.

Serves 8

 


Serve with suggestions : Steamed zucchini , squash and carrots OR fried zucchini and squash to dip into Tzatziki sauce. YUM!

It's getting hot in here

Happy almost hump day my freaky darlings.

We got a cool front here in Oklahoma and it resulted in rain this eve!! It has been so nice in the house and the AC has not had to hardly run all day. LOVED IT! Now I am waiting with baited breath for Thursday and the 100% chance of rain it has. Speaking of ... My heart goes out to all those effected by the flooding in Colorado. I love the rain but not when it causes lives to be lost. :(

 

 

.......

 

 

So guess what I did today? I felt it was BRAVE and DARING and like living LIFE ON THE EDGE!!!!        ....

I turned the oven to burn that sh*t level. *flexes and grunts*

 

Something I normally do not do is turn the oven up above 375. Like honestly how many meals call for anything above that? No I do not need you to name 5 for me. *stinks toungue out in a bratty mannor*  ... so ya ... Normally anything higher is just to broil it for 3 to 5 min and I have a setting for that. Well with the possibility of rain and the stupid mosquitoes outside, I was not feeling the "Get ya Grill on"  like I normally would with the meal I had planned.... So what did I do?? Oh YA BABY  I cranked that oven to 450 and we roasted potatoes,onions and sausage indoors. Oh ya I was scared but I was living on the "that is really hot adrinaline". In the back of my mind I just knew we would have raw potatoes and charcoal brackets for meat. I was terrified we would be eating cheese sammiches for dinner not the yummy goodness known as smoked sausage. Once again I was wrong. The potatoes were perfect , the meat and onions had just the right amount of char on it to make it taste like it was grilled outside. I am totally bummed there were NO left overs to have for lunch tomorrow. Dang bottomless pits I call kids. LOL!

 

 Now this isn't a gourmet meal and there is not much to it. Just remember you CAN do this as long as you check on it in 15 min intervals if you are affraid of catching your kitchen on fire like I am...or 20 if you feel like Super Chef. But no matter what please check on this meal at this temp cause everyones oven is different and your oven may cause for a lower cook time... or more ya never know.

 

 

•  cut 5lbs of potaotes into 1/4 inch circles
•  cut two onions in half and then into 4 wedges
• cut 3 lbs of smoked sausage into smaller links , mine were about 2 inches in length cause I am sneaky and it looks like you have alot of meat on your plate with a large amount of veggies. 
• In a small bowl I mixed the sauce
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp of EVOO or Canola oil
• 1/3 c apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 c beef broth
• salt and pepper to taste

 

As you can see by the picture I goofed but YOU are going to pile just the veggies onto 2 foiled and cooking sprayed Jelly roll pans. It is so close to being a hot mess now.....literally.

Once I had it spred out evenly on the 2 pans I drizzled the "suace" evenly over both pans. Let this cook in your 450 degree oven for 20 min then add the meat to the top and cook for an additional 25 min. CHECKING on it at the 15 min mark. The meat is going to have crisp edges and the onions as well. You can add your sausage at the begining but I was really lucky we were checking it cause it could have gone way wrong way fast.

 

I served this with BBQ sauce to dip in but you can eat it nakie it is so good.

 

Hope you enjoy and feel like an indoor roasting rebel like I do!!