Weekly Menu

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I learned a lesson this week. One that I, apparently, need to relearn every once in a while. After feeding my brother's family dinner last Thursday and Friday (and then on Sunday and Wednesday), I decided that I would not go to the store for my weekly shopping. Since my brother is not very good at planning ahead, I ran to the store five times while he and his family were here, between Thursday and Wednesday. I spent much more time shopping that if I had sat down and planned my trip, and I spent much more money (and it wasn't because I was feeding five more). Urg.

It was a good reminder -- planning saves time and money.

Fortunately this weekend will make up for all that work, because we've been invited to dinner elsewhere on Saturday and Sunday. And all I have to bring is dessert. Awesome.


Saturday
Lunch: Skyline Chilitos
Dessert: Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cupcakes

Sunday
Lunch: Omelets
Dessert: Chocolate Covered Oreo Cake

Monday
Lunch: Bagels and cream cheese
Dinner: Sausage gravy and biscuits, fried eggs

Tuesday
Lunch: Sierra Turkey Sandwiches
Dinner: Bratwurst, Wilted Spinach Salad

Wednesday
Lunch: pizza
Dinner: Lidia's Chicken and Potatoes

Thursday
Lunch: Corn dogs
Dinner: Chicken Chop Suey

Friday
Lunch: Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Dinner: Cheese ravioli and Marinara, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

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Best Backyard Barbecue Chicken

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Most real barbecue chefs are very protective of their recipe. Some enter contest after contest in hopes of winning money for their secret method. And while my family thinks my recipe could win some dough, I'm not going out on the barbecue circuit anytime soon. I'm just glad they like it well enough to eat a whole big platter of legs and thighs when I serve it up for dinner.

My very secret (until now) barbecue recipe is a two-part thing. First you rub and bake, then you grill and sauce. It's a method I use on chicken, ribs, and chops. You could probably use it on a dirty boot and make it taste good (although I've never tried).

The rub is a good combination of basic spices that you most likely have on-hand all the time. I mix it up and keep it in a Mason jar in the spice cabinet. The sauce is a personal thing, in my opinion. If you have a sauce you like, use it. Mine is just a combination of prepared BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. Quick and dirty, but with the flavors from the rub, I'm happy with it, and so is my hungry gang. The other night my husband ate five pieces of chicken for dinner. That's almost a whole chicken!

Best Backyard Barbecue Chicken
(or Ribs or Chops)

Dry Rub

4 T. paprika
1 T. cayenne pepper
2 T. salt
1 T. marjoram
2 T. granulated sugar
1 T. cumin
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. onion powder
2 T. chili powder
½ T. dry mustard
1 T. fresh ground pepper

Sauce

1 cup prepared barbecue sauce (I use Hunt's Original -- it's cheap and available)
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
a squirt of mustard (that's about a teaspoon)

10 chicken drumsticks
and 5 thighs
or any combination of chicken pieces -- about 3 to 4 pounds
the rub and sauce will also cover about two slabs rubs or 10 chops



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix rub ingredients.
Rinse and pat dry chicken pieces and trim fat with kitchen shears.
Rub chicken pieces with spice mix and place in a large roaster or casserole so that pieces are not touching. Roast, uncovered, for one hour. (If roasting ribs, roast a little longer, maybe 90 minutes. No need to precook chops -- just rub and grill, and baste when both sides are seared. Same with boneless chicken breasts.)

Mix sauce ingredients in a large measuring cup or bowl. No need to heat, but you can if you want.

Preheat grill. Transfer chicken pieces from roaster to grill and cook over medium heat until seared all over. Brush with sauce, close grill and cook for 5 minutes. Turn and brush with sauce on other side; close grill and cook for 5 minutes, watching for smoke to make sure fire doesn't flair. Continue until sauce is gone. Remove chicken from grill and enjoy.

Roasted Corn recipe found here.
Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw recipe found here.
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Recipe Review -- Bella Bruschetta Salad

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I have, today, another new recipe that we recently enjoyed. I love a salad for dinner -- one big bowl and you're done. Most salads aren't hearty enough for a supper, though. And most wouldn't entice my kids. But this one did. The cheese, pepperoni and bread filled us up (at least until snack time), and the flavors of pizza made it an all-thumbs-up recipe. Of course, college boy wasn't home and he wouldn't have touched it. But everyone else loved it. I made this recipe just as it was posted at Mennonite Girls, except I used my house cheater dressing. That's half Marzetti's Sweet Italian -- from the produce department -- and half Girard's Olde Venice. Both I can get at my grocer. I also threw in a handful of pepperoncini -- we like it spicy!

Bella Bruschetta Salad

4 cups torn romaine lettuce, or mixed lettuce
8 roma tomatoes or 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1⁄4 cup chopped basil
1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
2 cups sliced pepperoni stick
1⁄2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pepperoncini (optional)
4 cups cubed baguette or French bread stick
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing (see note above)

Toss together lettuce, chopped tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, pepperoni, and pepperoncini. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Add bread and toss with dressing.

Source: modified from Mennonite Girls Can Cook

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Recipe Review -- Annie's Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

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I get great pleasure from finding a dish that tastes great and is cheap. Yes, I said CHEAP! It satisfies this inner need to not only feed my family, but to know that I could still feed them if we were poor. I am very fortunate that I don't actually have to scrimp to buy food, but it's good to realize you could do it if you had to. And since I am actually trying to save for a little vacation, it's nice to come in under budget on groceries once in a while.

This dish is not ramen noodle cheap, but it's pretty darned inexpensive considering it's also pretty healthy. I made it pretty much the same as Annie, but I admit to drinking half the beer that was supposed to go in with the beans. The beans didn't miss it one bit. I skipped the salsa on top, but I won't next time. Some diced fresh tomatoes would have been just as good. I tossed some sliced cabbage, minced cilantro and green onions with lime juice, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper for a side. It was yummy.

Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

Ingredients:
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 T. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ t. ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz. beer, or 1 ½ cups water
1 (10-oz.) package frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 oz. shredded Mexican cheese
sour cream and salsa, for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.

Using a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan, using the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside. (My springform pan is a 10-inch and so I didn't need to do this. Obviously, skip it if they already fit.)

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5-7 minutes.

Add beans and beer to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and sprinkle evenly with some of the cheese. Repeat three times, using all of the remaining cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Remove sides of pan; garnish with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges and serve with sour cream and salsa.

Source: Annie's Eats
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Weekly Menu

Saturday
Lunch: Subs and chips
Dinner: church festival!

Sunday
Dinner: Walking Tacos, fruit salad, Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw, Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Monday
Lunch: pizzas
Dinner: BBQ Chicken legs and thighs, salad, Chicken rice and roni

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheese quesadillas
Dinner: Scrambled eggs, Fried potatoes, Crumb coffee cake, fruit

Wednesday
Lunch: Taco salad
Dinner: Pulled Pork sandwiches, baked potatoes, Roasted corn on the cob

Thursday
Lunch: Pancakes and bacon
Dinner: Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken and Black Beans, Guacamole and chips

Friday
Lunch: Cheesy Pizza bread
Dinner: Breezie's Clam Chowder, Cornbread

* Tried and true
* New to me
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Cajun Burgers

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I am always looking for something to jazz up an ordinary dinner like grilled hamburgers. This recipe was simple, but definitely not ordinary. The key ingredient here is the special sauce. The kids and I recently had lunch at Cane's Chicken Fingers, and if you've ever eaten at Cane's, you know the sauce is key to the taste of those delicious chicken fingers. It has a little bit of a Cajun flair, and after doing a little research I found the reason is they originated in Louisiana.

I found many recipes for the sauce online, but most were missing something very important. I think without the Tony Chachere's creole seasoning it wouldn't be the same. My kids said mine was even better than Cane's. That's mighty sweet of them.

You can top this burger with anything you like -- lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, but make sure you don't skip the sauce.

Cajun Burgers
serves 6

2 pounds ground beef/round
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 t. onion powder
1 to 2 t. Creole seasoning salt (depending on how spicy you like your burger)
1/2 t. ground pepper

6 slices sharp cheddar cheese
hamburger buns
sliced tomato
lettuce leaves
onion slices
hamburger pickles

"Cane's" Sauce
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. Tony Chachere seasoning
dash Tabasco
pinch black pepper

Mix sauce ingredients thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.

Mix ground beef with seasonings and combine thoroughly with your hands. Form into six large patties. Grill until desired doneness. Turn off grill and top with a slice of cheese. Cover and let cheese melt. Remove from grill.
Place burger on a bun and top with special sauce, and onions, pickles, tomato and lettuce -- whatever you like. You could even throw some pickled peppers on there.



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Summer Succotash

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The farming co-op has been an interesting experience. I truly enjoy getting my produce delivered right from the farm. I like supporting my local community. I like eating produce that is grown without pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

It's also interesting not knowing what you're getting. And when I say interesting, I mean somewhat frustrating. I'm a planner. I like to know what's coming. But, I'm learning to make do. You cut your pattern to fit your cloth, right?

Last week I made do with a little bit of everything. One problem with the farm produce, is my share is really not big enough for my family. One yellow squash and one zucchini is not enough for a night's dinner. But, by combining several veggies like I did last week, I had plenty for dinner and enough for my lunch the next day. And this succotash was so fresh and tasty, it was a delight to eat it twice. What this lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in taste.

You can make a succotash with a variety of vegetables. Mine included diced green and yellow summer squash, green beans, green peas, yellow onion, garlic and green onion. It would have been great with some fresh corn, spinach, pea pods, even fresh peppers. I wouldn't try any other leafy vegetables besides spinach, and winter squash needs to cook longer, but you can make this with so many different kinds of vegetables it would never get old.

My kids and husband did eat it, and proclaimed it "good," but they weren't as crazy about it as I was. But then, I'm a veggie girl.

Summer Succotash

3 T. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 c. diced yellow onion
4 c. diced, or bite-size, vegetables*
1/4 c. chopped green onions
2 T. butter
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and yellow onion and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add vegetables and green onions and cook over medium-high heat until tender and lightly golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes), stirring frequently but gently. Add butter and salt and pepper to taste and stir. Taste for seasoning and serve.


* If using green beans, steam until al dente before adding. I cooked mine in the microwave with a little water. If using carrots or any other longer cooking vegetable, do the same.


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Peaches and Cream -- Simple Pleasures

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This, to me, is perfect food. Fresh, simply prepared, delicious. These peaches came in our co-op delivery. They were juicy and ripe, but not quite the sweetest. The freshly whipped, sweetened cream was just exactly what they needed to be perfect. No recipe needed.





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Banana Cream Coconut Pie

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I can't explain it, but I seem to only have desserts to post these days. I guess I have sweets on the brain. I know my husband does -- he's the one who requested this one. Not too long ago he said it had been a long time since he had a Banana Cream Pie. Oh, poor boy. I tucked that thought away and last week I indulged him. I can't say this is an award-winning recipe, but it was good -- cold and creamy and very bananay. I cheated by using a box of Jell-O Cook and Serve Pudding, but after my experience with the banana pudding in the Banana Chocolate Chippers I thought it was worth a try. Normally I make a vanilla pudding from scratch for Banana Cream Pie, but honestly this was just as good, and much easier. If you're a purest, you can use the recipe for pudding at this post instead of the banana pudding. Definitely make your own graham cracker crust -- it is really crucial to the overall Banana Cream pie experience. If you're not a big fan of coconut, you can easily leave it out.

Banana Cream Coconut Pie
serves 8

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs (24 squares)
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. butter, melted
pinch nutmeg

1 large box (5 oz.) Jell-O Banana Cook and Serve Pudding,
cooked with 3 cups whole milk
3 bananas

2 cups whipping cream
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 cup coconut, toasted in the oven at 400 degrees F until golden brown, cooled


Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and nutmeg. Press into bottom and sides of 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.

When pie crust is cool, prepare pudding according to package directions with 3 cups milk. While pudding cools a few minutes, slice bananas crosswise and place them around the bottom of the pie. Pour pudding onto bananas. Cover with a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap stuck directly onto the pudding. Chill until cold -- several hours.

At serving time, whip cream with powdered sugar.
Spread over the pie and sprinkle with toasted coconut.



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Boston Cream Pie

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I hope that you'll forgive my lack of decent recipe posts lately. I'm feeling very summery -- not that I'm not cooking, but that's about all I'm doing. That and reading. I guess I'm saying I'm being lazy these days. But that's what summer is all about. Right?

Maybe you'll forgive me with this post. This recipe is a gem. I can't claim it as my own, but I did find it for you didn't I? And I tested it for you, didn't I? Trust me. It's a gem -- in the summer, winter, spring or fall. The recipe, which I swiped from Smells Like Home, apparently originated at the Parker House Hotel in Boston. Or at least that's what Tara said. All I know is this was an awesome cake/pie/dessert. The cake (you know I love scratch cake) was dense and moist and the cream was rich and vanillay (o.k. that's my word). It's a wonderful version of that age-old recipe. Like Tara, I doubled the custard. I couldn't fit all of it on, and as you can see from the picture it was oozing out when I cut it, but I think it needs more than one recipe. So I doubled it in the instructions and you can eat the leftover custard (pleeease don't waste it).

For a lower fat version, see my comments below. With the alternate ingredients there was no discernible difference between the lower and higher fat cream pies.

Boston Cream Pie

White Cake

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c. buttermilk or sour milk
4 egg whites (reserve egg yolks for filling)

Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350º degrees F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixer bowl. Add shortening, butter or margarine, vanilla and buttermilk or sour milk. Blend on low speed of mixer then beat on 2 minutes on medium speed. Add egg whites and beat 2 additional minutes. Pour into cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for ten minutes; remove from pans.

Cream Filling

2/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
3 c. milk
4 egg yolks
2 T. butter
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Gradually add milk and egg yolks; blend well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils; boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat; blend in butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl through a sieve. Chill. (I poured my cream into a 13 x 9 pan and placed a piece of wax paper directly onto the pudding; then I placed it in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Don't forget about it!)

Place one cake onto cake plate. Spoon as much pudding as you can onto one cake layer (eat the rest!); carefully top with remaining layer. Prepare Cocoa Glaze.

Cocoa Glaze

3 T. water
2 T. butter
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine water and butter in small saucepan. Bring to full boil; remove from heat and immediately add cocoa. Stir to blend well (mixture leaves side of pan and forms a ball). Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth – whisk if necessary. (You will need to beat the mixture very well for it to liquefy. I added a few more teaspoons of hot water to get it just right.) Pour onto top of cake allowing some to drizzle down sides. Chill thoroughly before serving.

* For a lower fat version, substitute 4 T. low-fat mayonnaise for the shortening, and low-fat buttermilk (or low fat soured milk) in the cake and use 1% milk in the pudding. Use 1 T. butter in both the pudding and the glaze. Add more hot water if needed in the glaze.

Printer version

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Weekly Menu

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This week I'm trying to save a little money at the grocery store with some budget dishes. Last week I did well at the checkout -- it was the first time in months that my total grocery bill was under $200. That really motivated me to try to spend less in the future. My husband keeps telling me that slim days are ahead. Whether or not that really happens, it's a good thing to use your food money wisely.

My brother and his family are coming in to town mid-week, so I'm scheduling some meals later in the week that can be expanded for a larger crowd if they dine with us. I'll also be baking on Friday because our church festival is this weekend and I take pies and cakes to sell whole or per piece.

Saturday
Lunch: Skyline chili
Dinner: Chicken Fajitas, chips, Fresh Salsa, Flan

Sunday
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner: Girl's night -- maybe we'll just eat popcorn!

Monday
Lunch: "Basghetti" (Peach's request)
Dinner: Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

Tuesday -- Feast of St. Lawrence of Brindisi
Dinner: Bella Bruschetta Salad (the kids can have frozen pizzas)

Wednesday
Lunch: Pizza
Dinner: Summer Veggie Frittata

Thursday -- Feast of St. Bridget
Lunch: Turkey club sandwiches
Dinner: Swedish Meatballs and noodles, Rye bread, Steamed green beans

FridayLunch: Bean, cheese, and fresh tomato salsa tostadas
Dinner: Stuffed Shells, Salad, Bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel's Feast Day

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For a special dessert for Our Lady's feast day, check my Our Lady's Crown Cake at Catholic Cuisine, or Jessica's Brown Scapular Cake. Either one will make a sweet memory of Our Heavenly Mother's special day.




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Calzones

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By now you've probably noticed that we eat a lot of pizza on Saturday nights. Sometimes I get tired of pizza -- unlike my children, it's not my favorite dish. I try to mix it up a little, every once in a while and serve burgers or stromboli or calzones. They are all easy Saturday night dishes. This past weekend I mixed it up with Calzones. Basically all the ingredients of a pizza are involved and you're just changing the method for baking them. We attended Saturday evening Mass, so I made my dough and sauce ahead of time, and assembled them when we returned.

The dough is almost my pizza dough. I add a little more oil so you get a crispy exterior on the calzone. This is really not so much a recipe as a method because you can fill them with whatever you want. Some of my kids like just pepperoni and cheese and some like everything, so these are made to order. You can make meat calzones, veggie calzones, or a mix. Mine (pictured) had sausage, mushrooms and cheese. If you're using sausage (I use Bob Evans Italian or spicy Italian), brown it and cool slightly before filling the calzone. I sauté mushrooms, cool, then squeeze out the moisture on paper towels. Green or red peppers, onions, hot pickled peppers can all be used raw.

Calzones
makes 8

Dough
2 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
2 packets yeast (or 4 t.)
1/4 c. olive oil
5 to 6 cups flour
2 t. salt

Filling
1/3 cup cheese for each calzone (total about 3 cups for 8 calzones)
meat or veggies -- about 1/2 cup all together for each

Sauce for dipping
1 large can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
3 T. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/8 t. pepper



For dough:
Place water in a bowl and add sugar.
Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes (until it foams). Add the oil, 3 cups of flour and salt, and mix until smooth.
Knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand)
adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
Dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands or the side of the bowl. The amount of flour may need to be adjusted if the weather is very dry or very humid. Just add flour slowly by the tablespoon and allow to incorporate before adding more. Place dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.

While the dough is rising, start sauce. Heat a medium pan over med-high heat; pour in olive oil; turn down to low. Add garlic and stir until it is fragrant and hot, but not cooked. Add tomato puree, sugar, salt, and spices. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning to taste, adding more sugar if desired, or salt and pepper.


When dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
To assemble calzones, punch down risen dough. Cut into eight equal size pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough piece to about an 8 to 10-inch circle.
On one half, place meat and/or veggies and cheese. Flip other side of dough over the meat and cheese and pull the bottom dough up over the top and crimp to seal. It doesn't have to be pretty, just sealed. You can mash the edge with a fork if that's easier. Place calzone on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with sauce to dip.

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It's Peach Time!

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It's back. Only in July. UDF peach ice cream. Oh yyyuuummm. It's one of my favorite things!


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Weekly Menu

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Saturday
Lunch: Skyline Chili
Dinner: Calzones, pepperoni and maybe sausage/ mushroom

Sunday
Brunch: Sausage gravy and biscuits, fried eggs
Dinner: Cajun Burgers, baked potatoes, Boston Cream Pie

Monday
Lunch: leftover calzones
Dinner: Overnight French Toast, bacon

Tuesday
Lunch: Cheese Quesadilla
Dinner: Hot Brown Panini, summer succotash

Wednesday
Lunch: Corn dogs
Dinner: Farfalle Carbonara, steamed green beans

Thursday
Lunch: Nachos
Dinner: Cuban Sandwiches, German Potato Salad, fresh fruit
(The Cuban and German sound like a strange combo, but really the flavors should be good together. I'm making the "real deal" Cubans for dinner -- with pork tenderloin and ham. I'll post both recipes.)

Friday
Lunch: tuna salad sandwiches
Dinner: Pasta Primavera, salad, garlic bread

* Tried and true
* New to me



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Teriyaki Burgers

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Back in the day, when we didn't have three large, teenage males to feed, we went out to dinner. Nothing fancy, but occasionally we would find ourselves out and about at dinner time and we'd stop someplace that offered free kids meals one night a week. Occasionally that was Red Robin. I enjoyed Red Robin because the food was pretty good, the kids enjoyed it, and it was loud enough that if they misbehaved, every one wasn't watching. Especially on kids night -- someone else's kid is always acting worse.

I haven't been to a Red Robin in probably 10 years. I'm sure Peach has never been. Such fun she's missing. One thing I remember from the menu, only because my husband ordered it every single time, is the Bonzai Burger. It's a teriyaki marinated burger, topped with cheese, grilled pineapple, lettuce and tomato. He fondly remembers it and when I suggested copying it, he was most pleased. He was even more pleased when I actually did copy it. He said it was even better than Red Robin's. Successful copycat. I have to thank Meemo, because when I Googled "Bonzai Burger recipe," her blog popped up and the recipe looked pretty authentic to me.

I changed the name to protect the copyright, but I am reposting Meemo's recipe almost exactly (her portions were really jumbo-sized, so I cut them back a little). When making these, plan ahead. The marinade not only has to do its work on the meat, but it has to cool after you cook it.

Teriyaki Burger
6 burgers

2 pounds ground beef, equally divided and formed into six patties

Marinade
1-3/4 c. water
1 c. soy sauce
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder


6 canned pineapple slices
6 slices cheddar cheese
6 sesame seed hamburger buns
mayonnaise
6 tomato slices
6 iceberg lettuce leaves

Combine all marinade ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Place burgers in a baking dish or a large storage container. Baste with marinade; flip and baste the other side (be sure to reserve some marinade for the pineapple slices). Cover container and refrigerate 4-12 hours. Place pineapple slices in a separate container with the remaining marinade, cover and chill.

Preheat grill to medium heat. Cook hamburgers 3 to 5 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. When you flip the burgers, add the pineapple to grill and cook until the grill marks show, turning once. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place a slice of cheese on top of each patty to melt.

Spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom of each bun. Place hamburger patty on bottom bun and top with a tomato slice and a grilled pineapple slice on each. Cover with a lettuce leaf and place top bun on sandwich.


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Over Easy

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Tough stuff, I know. Actually this was tough stuff for me. My husband has been putting up with messed up eggs for almost 24 years. He likes them over easy, and I almost always break the yolks trying to flip those suckers over. Or I overcook them. Poor guy never gets them just right.

Until now.

Voila.


Perfect over easy eggs and I didn't even have to flip.

The Farmer's Wife taught me how. Go see how she did it. Apparently you can teach these old dogs new tricks.

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A Catering Job

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Well, not exactly. A paying job, that is.

Tomorrow I'm "catering" lunch to my husband's employees. They did an awesome job last week hosting a special event for hospital donors at the city's fireworks. We thought it would be nice to pay them back with a free lunch. So, I'm catering myself and I admit I'm a little nervous. It's one thing to cook dinner for others in your home, or bring a covered dish to a pot luck, but I've never provided an entire lunch for an office, especially all women! Wish me luck.

On the menu:

Cold Chicken Pasta Salad
Marinated Bean Salad

Red, Green and Black salad
Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls
Iced Tea with lemon
Coconut Chocolate Chunk Blondies

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Orange Blueberry Scones

I'm still on a scone kick and I haven't tried all the recipes on my list -- it's the summer of scones I believe. This recipe is wonderful, but decadent. It has considerably more butter in it than the other two recipes I've recently tried. And as soon as you bite into them, you taste it and feel it. They are so tender and flaky. Oh yum! Better save these for special occasions. Originally this recipe was a dried cranberry scone recipe, but my source subbed with blueberries and I did, too. They would likely be good with dried cranberries or even dried cherries, but with blueberries, they were perfect. I halved the recipe and made a couple other minor changes, but the basic scones I kept the same.

I made these first thing in the morning, but you could start the night before and get your dry ingredients measured in a bowl and zest your orange and dice your butter. Then you just have to throw everything into the mixer and bake. If you are not safe with electric appliances first thing in the morning (except to press "brew" on the coffee maker) make these and freeze them in plastic freezer bags. Reheat on a cookie sheet in the oven (350 degrees F) for 10 minutes.

I'm sorry, but even if you click on the pic, you can't taste them!

Orange Blueberry Scones

12 scones

2 c. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 t. grated orange zest
12 T. cold unsalted butter, diced
2 eggs
1/2 c. cold heavy cream
3/4 c. blueberries

1/4 c. confectioners’ sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
2 t. freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 2 cups of flour, 2 T. sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Pour the cream into a measuring cup and add eggs. Whisk with a fork and then, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the blueberries and 2 T. of flour, add to the dough, and mix by hand -- very gently.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead gently it into a ball. Cut dough into two equal size pieces. Flatten, with your hands, into a round about 1 inch high. Repeat with other half. Cut each round into 6 triangles. Place triangles onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, until scones are lightly browned on top. The scones will be firm to the touch.

Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

Source: Smells Like Home

Banana Chocolate Chippers

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A few weeks ago on a Sunday evening just after dinner, my neighbor knocked on my door and handed me two plates of warm chocolate chip cookies. You gotta love a neighbor that brings warm cookies. She was thanking us for taking care of their home while they were out of town. That's quite a pay back for taking in the mail and mowing the grass, especially since I didn't do the work! They were, like I said, warm, and surprise, banana! They tasted exactly like banana bread in a cookie. They were awesome.

I asked for the recipe and I was again surprised to see that the banana flavor came from a box of instant pudding. The flavor was so real, I was truly shocked. I picked up a box of banana pudding the other day at the store and I'm going to make these this week. Sounds like breakfast to me!

Banana Chocolate Chippers

1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1 small box instant banana pudding
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips
1 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
With an electric mixer, mix butter, sugars, pudding, eggs and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour, soda, chocolate chips and walnuts. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool on wire rack.

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Weekly Menu

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Sunday
Lunch: BELTs (Bacon, egg, lettuce tomato sandwiches)
Dinner: Barbecued Pork Sandwiches, salads

Monday
Dinner: Beer Brats, Scalloped potatoes, green beans

Tuesday
Lunch: Nachos
Dinner: Sesame Chicken Strips, farm vegetable, mashed potatoes

Wednesday
Lunch: Bagels and cream cheese (I have pumpernickel bagels on the brain)
Dinner: Hot Dogs and Chili Sauce, baked potatoes, fresh fruit

Thursday
Lunch: Chicken snack wrappers
Dinner: Bolognese and Pasta, Salad, bread

Friday
Lunch: Tomato Soup and croutons
Dinner: Tuna Nicoise Salad, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

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The Fourth Menu

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Having family over is really the only way I ever want to spend this holiday (I suppose in that way it's just like all the other holidays). I'm not big on fireworks, and it's just too darn hot to sit and watch a parade. But lighting some candles on the deck, mixing some cold drinks, and eating until we are forced to unbutton our top buttons -- that sounds like a blast.

This year's menu is simple (as always) but I think everyone will be satisfied. I making pies for dessert, and I planned all recipes that need no refrigeration (gotta save room in the fridge for salads and cold drinks!). I'll bake in the morning and hopefully be finished by noon, when I can throw together some salads, some drinks, and get my kitchen cleaned up.

Fourth of July

Buttermilk Brined Chicken
Broccoli Slaw
Roasted Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad
Mustard Potato Salad
Cucumber Tomato Salad
Bread (I'm cheating at Panera -- gotta save room in the oven for pie!)

Blueberry Pie (this recipe)
Apple Pie (this recipe, just apples)
Vanilla ice cream (of course)
Sweet Potato Pie
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
S'mores (we'll have a big fire going in the backyard)


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Blackberry Pie

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The simplest things in life often give the greatest pleasure. What is more simple than a fruit pie? Nothing fussy, just the beauty of ripe fruit cooked to a lush juiciness. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, melted around the edges. Mmmm.

My husband asked me for a blackberry pie a few weeks ago. I held that thought in the back of my mind and when I was grocery shopping Saturday, I picked up some pints. Big, fat, juicy, sweet-tart blackberries.

I used the Joy of Cooking recipe, which is really so very simple, and can be made with any fruit. My pie ended up a little on the runny side, but better wet than dry, when it comes to pie (I'm a poet and I didn't know it). ;-) I used tapioca for thickening, but just as often use flour. Maybe flour would have been a better choice for my blackberries.

We're having a crowd over the weekend for the Fourth. I'm planning a few more of these -- definitely a blueberry, my personal favorite, and maybe a peach, or maybe an apple. Apple pie on the Fourth of July. Sounds good.

(Any) Fruit Pie

5 cups sliced fruit or berries
3/4 c. sugar (see note below)
3 T. quick-cooking tapioca or cornstarch (see note below)
1 T. fresh, strained lemon juice
1/8 t. salt
3 T. unsalted butter, cut into small bits
double pie crust (if you need a crust recipe, you can find the one I use here; just double it for this pie)

Prepare pie pan with bottom crust.

Mix the fruit, sugar, thickener, lemon juice and salt (do this gently with your hands to prevent breaking the berries) and let stand for 15 minutes.

Dot the butter over the filling, then cover with the top crust, or make a lattice for the top. Bake the pie at 425 degrees F in the lower third of the oven for 30 minutes. Place a baking sheet under pie and lower oven temp to 350 degrees. Bake until thick juices bubble through vents, about 30 minutes longer.

NOTE on sugar: tart fruits, such as cherries, rhubarb, cranberries, gooseberries, blackberries, fresh currants and green tomatoes require 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar. I recommend tasting the fruit, if in doubt, to see how sweet it is. My blackberries were not so tart, so I stuck with the original measure of sugar.

NOTE on thickener: Ideally, the amount of thickener should be adjusted according to the juiciness of the fruit. This can be tricky, though, because you just don't know until the fruit cooks, how juicy it can be. From Joy of Cooking: While flour is still a popular choice for thickener for home cooks, cornstarch or quick-cooking tapioca produces clearer fillings, and a smoother, more melting consistency. The exception is apple pie which seems to benefit from the creaminess that flour imparts. Of course, you may thicken any fruit pie with flour. Use as much flour as cornstarch or tapioca.

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Warm Chicken Cabbage Salad

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A big head of Napa Cabbage in my produce delivery last week prompted me to pull this recipe out of my cookbook where it's been hiding for years. I first ate this salad at my girlfriend's house way back when I was pregnant with Peach. I loved it, and that surprised me because I don't usually like fruit and meat together. But, I did, and I asked for the recipe, and then I never made it. But I remembered it and when I went through the salads in my cookbooks I would always think, "I should make that recipe."

I'm glad the farmer planted Napa Cabbage this year because this salad-for-supper was a real treat. The kids even liked it, except for one who wouldn't try it, and ate a ham and cheese sandwich for dinner. Since he is my one nut allergy, I went ahead and added the nuts to the salad. If he were eating it, I would just offer them on the side.

I doubled the recipe, so if looks like a lot of salad, that's because it was. But four of us ate almost every bite (college boy was at work, but high school boy ate as much as four people). I modified the recipe a bit, first by grilling the chicken. I think it had a lot more flavor that way, but you can use some leftover cooked chicken, or rotisserie chicken. Just make sure it's cooked before you put it in the dressing. The rest of my modifications I've included in the recipe.

Warm Chicken Cabbage Salad

Dressing ingredients:
¼ c. cider vinegar
2 T. oil
1 t. seasoning from Chicken-flavored Ramen noodle package
2 T. hot water
1 t. dried tarragon
½ t. Dijon mustard
½ t. Worcestershire
1 t. sugar

Salad ingredients:
1/2 c. crumbled dry Ramen noodles
1 c. halved seedless red grapes
3 c. chopped Napa cabbage
1 c. chopped Romaine
1 c. shredded red cabbage
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, toasted
3 c. chopped, cooked chicken
salt and pepper to taste



Combine dressing ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove all but 2 T. or so and set aside. Add chicken to 2 T. dressing in saucepan and heat until chicken is hot. Toss hot chicken with salad ingredients and the rest of the dressing. Salt and pepper to taste.

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