Eh.

Dinner was an "eh" and a shoulder shrug.

I made this recipe for dinner tonight with a few changes: I used fresh peas instead of frozen, I used vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth, and I used my rice cooker to make the risotto.

Eh.

Shrug.

Nothing spectacular.

On a good note, I ate an Enjoy Life Cocoa Loco bar on a snack break at work today. I liked it and will buy them, but you definitely get the texture of the fig and date pastes. Not bad, though. The only bad thing I can say about them is that I really needed 2 to get through until lunch.

On a not-so-good note, while bending and squatting (you know, that half-bend, half-hunch thing you do when you want to get something out of a bottom drawer?) at work this afternoon, something in my lumbar region gave way. I am in a lot of pain, worse than any other back pain I have dealt with before, and I have had my share Cross your fingers that this is not my first osteoporosis fracture. Because that would suck.

I have one of those Thermocare heat jobbies on it now. As long as I don't move once I get into a position (sitting down, standing up), I am fine. It's the trying to move into a new position that is excruciating. I sure hope my legs stay up on my foam wedge while I sleep tonight or I bet I won't be getting any (sleep, that is).

I'm sure it didn't help that I had to haul in 5 bags of groceries and 2 boxes from Timber Creek/Natural Farms when I got home from work. The Man was sound asleep on the couch, where he remains even now. Since I had perishables in those bags and boxes, they couldn't sit out.

Sometimes, I swear, my life is a soap opera, without all the cheating bitchiness.

Enjoy Life Rye-less Rye Bread

I should go on record right now as disliking rye bread. Even when I ate gluten, I hated rye bread. The only time I actually enjoyed eating the stuff was at the Eagles Club Friday Fish Fry. Dad has been a member of the Two Rivers Eagles Club as long as I can remember, and they have been doing their Fish Fry thing for years. Every once in a while, I would get roped into helping in the kitchen.

I don't know who they get their rye bread from, but it's the only one I would eat and enjoy. I think it's because it wasn't overly "caraway-ee." I have bad memories of my dad going a lot overboard with the caraway seed in the sauerkraut and to this day, too much caraway will cause me to promptly spit out whatever it is I am chewing.

So it was with reservations that I toasted two slices of Enjoy Life's Rye-less Rye Bread to make a sandwich for dinner. To the toasted bread I added 2 slices of Hormel's GF deli ham, baby lettuce, a couple slices of tomato, mayo, and some provolone cheese.

And it was....


...


GOOD.

Toasted, the crust was a little tough for my beat-up teeth to bite through or chew easily, but once I got past that normal annoyance, it was pretty darn good. The bread didn't have so much caraway that it turned me off, for which my keyboard is grateful (that's where the bite would have landed).

Would I buy it? If I was planning a reuben fest or a fish fry, you betcha. Just for noshing, probably not. It will probably take me 6 months to finish off this loaf.

But know that the next trip to my parents we take, I will have 2 slices stashed in a cooler in preparation for the Friday Fish Fry.

Anyone else sick of winter?

We had a great time at the Transworld show yesterday and timed it so perfectly that as I pulled into the driveway, sleet began to fall.

We ordered nearly all of the costumes needed for this year's Barn, plus a few new "tricks" guaranteed to freak out most of the people who go through, and got ideas for the future too.

Can't be specific on what we got because I hate spoilers. If you wanna know, we're open every weekend in October :-)

Anyway, it sleeted. Then this morning, it rained. This evening, it snows. I love to cook when it's like this outside. And believe it or not, I did not make soup.

In hopes that my parents will come down this coming weekend with a greatly anticipated dishwasher, I stocked up on meat and poultry Friday night. With the thought of this dinner, I set in my cart 2 bone-in steaks, which is a big deal in this house as I usually buy ribeyes or filet mignon.

Pan-Fried Steak with Puffy Potatoes

For the steaks:
2 bone-in steaks of your choice
3 cloves garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper

For the potatoes:
5-6 large potatoes (I used a mix of what I had, namely 3 reds and 2 huge russets)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the steaks from the fridge and set on the counter to come to room temperature.

Peel and cube the potatoes; place in a pot of water with a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, cooking until the potatoes are tender.

Peel and crack the garlic cloves. Pour the olive oil into a skillet large enough to hold the steaks. Turn on low heat; add the garlic. All you are trying to do is infuse the oil with the garlic. After 6-7 minutes, add the rosemary. Keep the heat on low.

Sprinkle the steaks with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set aside.

When the potatoes are done, drain them well. Put them back into the pot and onto the stove to allow the heat to dissapate any remaining moisture. Then pour the potatoes into a clean bowl. Mash them with the cream and butter; if you have a hand mixer, use it, because you want these as smooth as possible. Once the potatoes are whipped smooth, mix in the cheese, salt, and pepper.

Lightly spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon the potatoes into the dish, cover, and bake for 15 minutes with the cover on and then an additional 10 minutes with the cover removed.

While the potatoes are baking, remove the garlic and rosemary from the olive oil in the skillet and then turn the heat up to high. Once the oil is smoking hot, add the steaks. Fry for 7-8 minutes on the first side, flip, and then fry for an additional 5-8 minutes, depending on how done you like them. Remove from the pan and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Halloween starts in February in this house

Very shortly, I will be on my way to the 23rd Transworld Costume & Party Show. We already have our basic game plan for the 2007 Haunted Barn, but we will be looking for props, costumes, and ideas for future years.

There's nothing like being surrounded by people who, just like you, love scaring the crap out of people.

Thursday night

About 4:45 this afternoon, The Man sent me an IM: "Dinner honey?"

I rarely have days when I wish I was married to someone who has a clue in the kitchen, because I love to cook so much. Today, though, was one of those days. Sometimes I just want to come home and relax while someone else does all the work. Because I don't want to drive a good distance in order to get an insured GF meal, I am stuck as I am. The Man has no interest in learning to cook.

My father is an excellent cook and makes the best pie crust I have ever eaten. My mom claims that it has something to do with his "magic" hands. I grew up in a household where the duties were split 50/50, so I tend to get frustrated with the lack of 50/50 here.

It's not all his fault - The Man was an "oops," born late in his parent's life, 11 years younger than his sister. His dad didn't cook either. So that's what he saw growing up.

I could be nasty and show the uneven split of household duties here, but then...that's just nasty. So I will list it in my head.


Hm.


Yup.


Jerk.


There. And now I can gloat because I am a career woman with three children (well, cats and a husband) who can "do it all."

And this "do it all" woman wimped out with dinner tonight.

Chicken Sandwiches with Baked Potato Wedges

For the chicken:

2 hamburger rolls (in this house, 1 GF and 1 not GF)
Favorite toppings such as lettuce, tomato...
1 tsp olive oil + some for the pan if not grilling
1 tsp Liquid Smoke (per their website this is GF)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

For the potato wedges:

2 large potatoes, cleaned and cut in half, then wedges
2-3 tsp olive oil
Mix of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder (I don't measure, I just dump it in until it smells good)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken breasts on a plate; sprinkle both sides with 1 tsp olive oil, Liquid Smoke, garlic powder and onion powder. Allow to rest.

In a bowl, combine the potato wedges, olive oil (enough to coat), and spices. Mix together so spices and oil coat all of the potatoes. Line a baking sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

When the potatoes are near done, preheat a skillet doused with a splash of olive oil (I have a Kitchenaid Pro stove, so I have 3 different sized burners. Here I used the smallest burner on medium). When the pan is hot, add the chicken breasts and cover. Cook, flipping once, until chicken is cooked through (10 minutes or so). Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to remove some of the oil; while draining, place a slice of provolone cheese on each.

Sometimes simple flavors are best

This morning, I told The Man that most likely I would not be making dinner tonight. We had a company meeting scheduled for tomorrow and since we waited until the last minutes to come up with things to talk about and an agenda, I knew I would be at the office late.

And then to my surprise, the meeting was cancelled.

I went to the store to see what I could see for dinner tonight. The produce naturally looks a little pale this time of year, but I have been scrimping on the veggies lately, so I decided to make myself something light, yet filling.

The Man naturally turned up his nose and has been grabbing string cheese out of the fridge for his dinner. I offered to make him leftover spaghetti, but rarely will he eat leftovers.

All I did was make a half-batch of polenta with butter and parmesan; saute some squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and orange pepper; and bake a piece of salmon.

And, boy, did it hit the spot tonight.

And it was FORTY-FIVE DEGREES TODAY! A veritable heat wave, compared to the frigid temperatures we suffered through over the past month.

On top of spagheeeeeeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttti

All covered with cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese.
I lost my poor meatbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll
When somebody sneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezed.

Or not. Try to take-a my-a meat-a-ball-a and I-a guarantee I will-a stab-a your hand-a with a fork-a.

Sheri's Spaghetti Sauce

2-29 ounce cans of tomato sauce (I use one normal and one "chunky")
1-14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 onion, finely diced for the finicky eaters in this house
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped mushrooms (again with the finicky eaters)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup red wine (I used merlot)
Meatball recipe of your choice (I used this)
Rice or corn spaghetti noodles

Heat a skillet with the olive oil; saute the onion, mushrooms, and garlic until onion is soft and garlic is lightly golden. Remove from the heat. Pour into the crockpot. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, salt, basil, oregano, thyme, and wine. Stir well to combine. Set the crockpot to cook as long as you need (mine has options for 4, 6, 8 and 10 hours). The longer, the better.

An hour before you want to eat, get those meatballs rocking. 15 minutes before serving, make your pasta.

Serve with GF garlic bread and shavings of fresh parmesan.

Just call me Slacker with a bagel

Usually on the weekends, I am a cooking fiend and catch up on all the posting I should have done during this week.

I was a slacker this past weekend. Sorry about that. I just had no motivation to do anything other than play a stupid computer game. Well, that's not completely true. I did make spaghetti sauce in the crock pot yesterday, even going so far as to write down everything I did in preparation for blogging about it (I have been making my sauce on the "fly" for years). But we ate a very late lunch, I ate a lot of fricking chocolate, and therefore the household was not hungry at dinnertime. Into the fridge the spaghetti sauce went. Once we eat it, I will post.

I really hate doing dishes when I didn't eat anything.

Speaking of doing dishes, a miracle may soon occur here. My father owns a tv and appliance store in my hometown in Wisconsin. I may shortly be receiving (either by drop-ship or personally delivery by my parents) one of these. It won't be anywhere near the sink, so we are going to run water and drain lines up from our basement. I will still need to wash dishes, as I will not put my knives or calpalon cookware in a dishwasher, but it will be much easier to clean up after cooking.

And maybe my motivation to create in the kitchen will become as forceful as it used to be.

About the Enjoy Life bagels.... I never did eat one with just jam. However, on Sunday I did use one to make an egg sandwich. It was delish. Will I buy these? Absolutely. The taste isn't what I was used to in a bagel, but the texture is good, the taste isn't bad, and I am not a "just-bagel-and-cream-cheese" person anyway.

Bagels...bagels....!

I must have whined prettily enough over on Mike's blog because Enjoy Life got in touch with me and sent 2 goodie boxes to me, too. One of the things I got is something I miss mightily - bagels. Well, I don't miss bagels themselves, actually...I miss Bagel Bites. You know, those pizza-bagel things in the freezer section?

I told you before that I love pizza.

So tonight, even though I made myself a pizza last night (yes, pizza 2 days in a row - leave me alone LOL - blame it on PMS, k?), I used one of those precious, adorable, cute as all get-out bagels from Enjoy Life and made me some bagel bites.

I guess I should start this off by saying that when slathering pizza sauce and other pizza goodness over the top of something you want to truly taste-test, it doesn't work out so well. I was more interested in satisfying the pizza-taste craving to pay attention to the vehicle conveying that spiced yumminess to my mouth. However, I can tell you that that chewy texture that I associate with bagels is there.

The taste? I will let you know tomorrow, when I plan on eating one for breakfast with some homemade blueberry jam. And maybe some peanut butter.

Thank god I only buy natural peanut butter.

If it's not one thing lately with the food poisoning, it's another. Makes you wonder what the heck is going on in the plants that make our food, doesn't it?

The ABCs of Housekeeping

Happy Homemaker over at Sensible Life posted this and I thought it was cute.

Aprons- Y/N? If Y, what does your favorite look like?

I own them, so yes, but I don't wear them. Too lazy, I guess.

Baking - Favorite thing to bake:

Anything, really.

Clothesline - Y/N?

Yes, we have an umbrella clothesline because I hate how much room the regular ones take up.

Donuts - Have you ever made them?

Yes. I have made them at home before, but my first job in Illinois was doing the doughnuts at a local convenience store - 5 days a week, starting at 4:30 AM.

Everyday - One homemaking thing you do every day.

Just one thing? Hah. Let's see - my schedule is as follows every weekday: Haul my butt out of bed, catch up on a few blogs, take my shower and get dressed, scoop cat litter, make the bed, sweep the kitchen floor, do dishes if I was too lazy to do them the night before (happens quite often), generally straighten up if I have time, and skedaddle for work. When I get home, I cook.

Freezer - Do you have a separate deep freeze?

We have freezer space all right, especiallly right now, with the deep freeze outside. Other than that, I have a chest freezer and a second refrigerator/freezer in the basement.

Garbage Disposal - Y/N?

Yes but no. Mine died Sunday night and will hopefully be replaced this week yet. I hate being without it!

Handbook - What is your favorite homemaking resource?

The Internet.

Ironing - Love it or hate it?

I choose option (c) - loathe with the fires of a thousand hells. I buy wash and wear clothes just to avoid it.

Junk drawer - Y/N Where is it?

Oh yes. What house doesn't? Even if it didn't start out that way! Mine is in the kitchen.

Kitchen - Color and decorating scheme.

The walls are currently burn-your-eyes yellow. I liked it. Really, I did. I still do. But I think we need to tone it down a bit. My mother made the curtains - predominantly blue with white and yellow flowers.

Love - What is your favorite part of homemaking?

The satisfaction I feel when the house is clean, I have fresh GF bread, all the laundry is done, and I still have time to do whatever the heck I want.

Mop? Y/N?

Hell yes. But 4 times a year I get down on my hands and knees and give all the floors a good handwashing.

Nylons - Wash by hand or in the washing machine?

Washing machine - on delicate, in a bra bag.

Oven - Do you use the window or open the oven to check?

Depends on what I have going on in there. If it's just a pizza or something, I tend to open the door. If there's anything that is supposed to be rising in any way, shape or form, I leave that door closed.

Pizza - What do you put on yours?

Can't do olives or anchovies. I am willing to try just about anything else. But my favorite pizza is just olive oil, tomatoes, onions, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella.

Quiet - What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?

Read, crochet (I haven't started a new project in a while - maybe I should do that), play computer games, snuggle with the hairdroppers

Recipe card box - Y/N?

Once upon a time, I had one. But the recipes got to be too many for the box, so now I have 2 binders.

Style of house - What style is your house?

1960s ranch with attached garage.

Tablecloths and napkins - Y/N?

Only at holidays. With the hairdroppers, are you kidding?

Under the kitchen sink - Organized or toxic wasteland?

Um...an organized toxic wasteland :-)

Vacuum - How many times per week?

I vacuum the kitchen floor nearly every day because of cat litter, but lately, the rest of the house only gets it once a week (gasp!).

Wash - How many loads of laundry do you do per week?

Hopefully only 2. My work clothes. Laundry is supposed to be The Man's job.

X’s - Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off?

At work I do but not at home. Unless I have family coming down, in which case I have lists everywhere.

Yard - Y/N Who does what?

Yes - we have a nice corner lot. I can't touch freshly-cut grass without getting a rash, so The Man mows and trims, but everything else is unfortunately my domain.

Zzz’s - What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed?

If I am not too lazy, the dishes. Otherwise, it's making dinner.

A Valentine's Day Dinner for Two

I had Food Network on the tube this afternoon and Sandra Lee was making something pretty nasty. Ugh. I much prefer cooking from scratch; it's just as fast IMHO, tastes better, and isn't full of nasty chemical-ly stuff. Such as this evening's menu: turkey tenderloins, roasted potatoes with olive oil and garlic, and some plain ol' corn.

Roasted Turkey Tenderloin

1/4 cup GF soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
The juice of 1 orange
The juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 package turkey tenderloins (mine had 3 pieces)

Combine all ingredients in a zipper-type bag; squish the bag around the tenderlions to be sure to coat them completely. Put in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours.

An hour before you plan to eat, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the tenderloins from the bag and place in a baking dish. Cover with foil and place in the oven, baking for 30 minutes. Increase the temperature to 425 degrees and finish baking for another 10 minutes (depending on the size of the tenderloins you are using, of course. Could be less, could be more).

I combined about a pound of red and purple potatoes (quartered), 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper in another baking dish and put that in the oven at the same time as the turkey tenderloins.

For dessert, I made Namaste spice cupcakes, following the package directions. I frosted them with caramel frosting and a dusting of cinnamon.

Caramel Frosting
Adapted from a recipe by Paula Deen

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup half and half
1 tablespoon vanilla
16 ounces powdered sugar

Combine butter, brown sugar and half and half in a saucepan; heat until butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; add in the powdered sugar in batches and mix until combined. Frost something.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pain and re-becoming a woman

Ten years ago this past November, I began taking the Depo-Provera shot as birth control because my monthly cycle was so horrible. When I received my diagnosis of advanced osteoporosis this past summer, my gynecologist decreed that I could no longer take this shot because of the osteo. He said that we could discuss new birth control methods once my body had rid itself of the Depo.

Monday afternoon, I started my first period in over 10 years. I have been dreading this, and for good reason, apparently. Every part of the misery that caused me to take injections every 3 months is back. Well, not all - I don't seem to have the vicious PMS. Yet.

I am really hurting today and decided to stay home to eat ibuprofen and apply heat to my abdomen and back. I can't even straight up to stand. Grr... Why does being a woman have to hurt?

The good news to all of this is there is already a half-baked plan to stop the pain in the future, but until I have a normal period, we can't move forward. My gynecologist is very talented in performing a procedure called a endometrial balloon ablation, where he inserts a balloon, fills it with saline, heats it - and cauterizes the lining of the uterus so that the lining can't grow. However, how long this procedure lasts depends on the person. It may only help for a couple of years.

Because of the severity of my cycle, he and I have also seriously discussed a hysterectomy.

Anyway, since I am home today and because it IS Valentine's Day, there will be food. Our protein is already marinading in the fridge, side dishes are planned, and there will be cake. Well, I should qualify that - there will be cake if I can bribe The Man into stopping at the store to get some heavy cream so I can make frosting.

I wonder if half-and-half would work to make caramel frosting?

My favorite meal in this whole wide world - now GF

Oh, I am so full.

There is one meal in this beautiful world that I will eat until I nearly explode, and when I know I am going to eat it, I make sure to wear elastic-waisted pants. Up until today, I hadn't made it because of the imagined difficulty in having it taste as good in a gluten-free version as it does "normal." It turns out that I did exactly right, you can't taste much of a difference, and I just made a huge pig of myself.

The meal is bread and potato dumplings, pork roast, and sauerkraut - but I skipped the kraut tonight and made kale with leeks and garlic.

I love it when I can revisit a favorite meal in my new lifestyle.

I was born on my parents' first wedding anniversary. For as long as I can remember, my birthday was celebrated "on the day" and then they did their own thing either the weekend before or the weekend after. My day was all about my favorite meal; one year only did I request something else - stuffed pork chops.

And yes, I am primarily German, with some Polish and Bohemian for good measure.

I'm not sure which relative the dumpling recipe comes from, but I think it's my grandma on my dad's side.

Bread and Potato Dumplings - the GF version

6 large potatoes
1 1/2 cups GF bread, dried and cubed
1/4 cup potato starch
1 cup white rice flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup butter

Wash and peel the potatoes. Shred them either on a grater or in a food processor with the shredder blade (God bless Kitchenaid - I used to do this by hand. Being the klutz that I am, I usually included some skin in the potatoes). Put the shredded potatoes in a sieve; press the spuds against the sides of the sieve with a spoon until most of the liquid drains out. Dump into a bowl.

Add the cubed bread, potato starch, rice flour, and salt. Combine with your hands like you would meatloaf.

Form into 2" balls and drop into wide-mouthed pot of boiling salted water. Boil for 20 minutes. Don't crowd them in the pot or they will stick together.

Melt the butter in your preferred way; use to drizzle over the dumplings at service.

The Pork Roast

Pork roast cut of your choice
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Liberally salt and pepper the roast, place in a roasting pan, and cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes, then adjust the oven to 425 and bake an additional 30 minutes (or until internal temperature of the roast reaches 180 degrees).

Kale with Leeks and Garlic

2 leeks
1 bunch kale
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil

Heat a large skillet; when hot, add the olive oil and garlic. Chop the dark green stuff off the leeks; slice the bulbs in half and then slice into "rings." Rinse well, drain, and add to the skillet. Saute on low heat. Wash and dry the kale; slice into 1/2" strips. Once the leeks have softened, add the kale, toss to coat with the oil, cover and remove from the heat. Allow the kale to wilt for 10 minutes before serving.

Just not hungry tonight

I'm not hungry, but since I haven't eaten much of anything healthy all day, I knew I better put something in my stomach or I was going to regret it.

The reason for the absence of hunger? I did a taste testing this afternoon - Pamela's Irresistable Chocolate Brownie Mix. And I added chocolate chips to the batter. I ate too many.

Pretty good, but I felt that there was a chalky aftertaste. Maybe it was just me. It didn't stop me from eating 3 big pieces, though.

Anyway, I needed something light. And I had a new-to-me product in the fridge - Greek yogurt.

Greek Yogurt with Fig and Honey Swirl
Adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange, juiced
12 dried figs, chopped into quarters
1 small container Greek yogurt
A small handful of almonds

In a saucepan, combine the honey, water, orange juice, cinnamon stick, and figs over medium heat. Simmer until figs are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick, and let cool.

In a dry frying pan, toast the almonds until golden.

Take the container of yogurt and divide between 2 serving dishes. Pour the cooled fig and honey sauce over the yogurt, top with almonds, and serve.

One bunch of greens done

I am so full. And I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

How did I choose which greens to make? Turned my head aside, stuck my hand in the fridge, and pulled out....green chard.

Green Chard, Potatoes and Mushrooms with Poached Chicken

For the vegetables:

1 bunch green chard, washed and dried, removed from stems and torn into pieces
10-12 purple potatoes (can use baby reds, of course),
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots
1/4 cup water
8 oz package of baby bella mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

For the chicken:

1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (I used chardonnay)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, cracked and peeled
1-2 chicken breasts (I used boneless skinless)

Create your poaching liquid by combining the chicken broth, white wine, and water in a sauce pan large enough to hold the chicken without it touching the sides of the pan. Bring to a boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, prepare the rosemary and garlic; add to the pan. Once the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and add your chicken. Cover and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of the chicken), turning the chicken once.

Cut the potatoes into halves; place in a saucepan filled with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. When they are cooked, drain and set aside.

Add the olive oil to a large skillet; heat to medium. Add the mushrooms, shallots and garlic; saute until shallots are soft and mushrooms are tender (5 minutes or so). Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the potatoes and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the chard to the skillet; pour in 1/4 cup of water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes.

Pack face with calcuim-loaded goodness.

A new box from Timber Creek

I received my latest delivery from Timber Creek Farms this morning. I love how I am early on the route and am home when they deliver, so I don't have to put a cooler out. I can get it unpacked into my fridge and not have to worry about the stuff freezing on my porch.

Here's today's bounty.

TCF is now doing something called The "Boxer Series," which is a series of boxes of fruits and vegetables geared toward specific health problems. I ordered the osteoporosis box and got a ton of "new to me" stuff like collard greens and kale.

They have boxes for anemia, arthritis, asthma, cancer, cardiovacular, diabetes, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, menopause, osteoporosis, weight management, and prostate.

I didn't know how much I was going to get in the osteo boxer, so I added a few things to my order. When will I learn? I added leeks, minneolas, 2 different kinds of cheese, beets, a clamshell of spring mix, and grape tomatoes. The osteo box contained kale, collards, chard, garlic, apples, oranges, pineapple, avocados, broccoli, strawberries, cabbage... My fridge is a wall of green inside again.

Now to figure out what to make with it all!

Rearranging the food storage shelves in the basement

That's how I spent some of my time this morning. When I went gluten free, I didn't do a very good job of making room for the GF flour purchases I made. A lot of it was sitting in boxes on the floor (not smart in a leaky basement - I got lucky that none of it got wet).

I was rooting through the various items on the shelves and realized that I have some stuff down there that I had completely forgotten about, stuff I bought to try because I had never had it.

I have a ton of regular pasta downstairs that I have no idea why I am hanging onto it. Two bags of wheat flour. Am I waiting for a miracle? Probably not. The only thing I can think of for holding onto this stuff is for when my family comes down to visit. I wouldn't cook any of it for a different reason, especially after what I went through de-glutening the kitchen.

Oh - and if anyone needs xanthan gum, let me know via email at sheri AT justnotdinner DOT com. I have five bags of Bob's Red Mill down there that there's no way I will use by their expiration date.

Back to the purchased-and-yet-untried. Artichoke hearts. The Man isn't home. Here comes dinner!





Pasta with Artichoke Hearts, Tomato, Mushroom & Basil

1/2 package Tinkyada spaghetti
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and cut into quarters
4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Sea salt

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. In a skillet melt the butter and olive oil together on medium-low heat. Add the artichoke hearts and mushroom (spinkle with a little salt); saute until mushrooms begin to soften (about 5 minutes). Drain the pasta, reserving a half cup of pasta water; add the reserved pasta water to the skillet with the vegetables. Toss together with the pasta. Right before serving, toss in the tomato and basil.

Not a bad introduction to the canned artichoke.



On another note, I have a really dumb question. I do not have a very large....well, chest. I want to know how it's possible that it becomes a shelf to catch what falls out of the hole in my chin? I didn't think I was a very sloppy eater, but whenver I eat pasta of any shape, I end up with noodles on my shirt!

The Superbowl at our house

The Man just stopped home after delivering The Stepson (who got his driver's license last weekend, by the way - get off the roads of northeast Illinois) to his mother's home. He had stopped at his favorite watering hole to have a few and borrow some masking tape.

He came into the house quietly, just in case I had crashed on the couch, which is my habit on weekend afternoons. When he peeked around the corner to see that indeed, I was awake and rotting my brain with Food Network again, he begged for my help with a blue marker.



The stupid crap we do in this house.

Baked bean and cheese taquitos

Thanks to a coworker (I believe I have mentioned this before), I am now in the possession of an authentic cast iron tortilla press. Isn't it pretty?



I used it for the first time a little bit ago, to make taquitos. Normally, taquitos are fried in oil, but I have an aversion to fried foods, especially since heart disease runs in the family. So I made me some baked ones.

Superbowl snacking. I will be home while The Man attends a party. Will I be watching the game? Well...to be honest, the TV will be muted while the playing is going on and unmuted for the commercials LOL



Baked Bean and Cheese Taquitos

1 cup masa harina
2/3 cup water
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 cup refried beans
1 cup shredded cotija cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the masa, water and salt to make your tortilla dough. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and press between pieces of waxed paper in a tortilla press (if you don't have one, use a rolling pin like I used to do). Fry each tortilla in a dry skillet for 2 minutes on each side.

After the tortillas are fried, spread a thin layer of refried beans over each tortilla, then sprinkle some cheese. Carefully roll the tortillas up and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Serve with salsa, sour cream (or a mixture of the 2, like I do), guac, or whatever you like.

Closed-minded people

Really tick me off. Really. A lot.

All I am saying.

A new vat of soup

Yes, another pot of soup. I know, I know.

Creamy Turkey & Rice Soup

2 quarts turkey stock
2 tbsp butter
1 cup onion, diced fine
1 cup celery, diced fine
1 cup carrot, diced fine
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground thyme
3 cups cooked and chopped turkey breast
Sea salt
Pepper
2 cups half and half
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup GF flour (I used Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour)

Melt the butter in a stock pot; add the onion, celery and carrot. Saute until onion is translucent. Add the stock, bay leaf, thyme and turkey. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 30 minutes. Add the rice and stir well. Continue to cook until rice is tender, about 35 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour in the half and half. Stir well. Combine the water and flour; whisk to remove lumps. Stir the flour-water mix into the soup and stir well to make sure you don't get lumps in the soup. Heat another 5 minutes and then serve.

The plan was for wild rice instead of brown rice, but someone (*cough* The Man *cough, cough*) picked up an Uncle Ben's wild rice thing that had wheat. Beware of those ;-)

Cold enough for ya?

Man, it's frickin' cold out there! Wind chills below zero. The Stepson actually thought I was going to let him out of the house a few minutes ago without a coat. Dork.

I have a turkey breast roasting in the oven in preparation for tonight's turkey and wild rice soup. Recipe and picture to come later.

Sweet cherries

Cherries are probably my most favorite fruit in the world. I got a pound of them in my last organic delivery and eyeballed them every day, trying to decide if I wanted to eat them out of hand or bake them up in something.

Earlier in the week, I thought about cherry-vanilla ice cream. But then, I still have the meyer lemon-mango sorbet taking up space in the freezer.

I almost threw a handful in with my lunch this morning. And changed my mind as soon as the word "cobbler" formed in my head.

So as I stuffed last night's leftovers in my face tonight, I whipped together a cherry almond cobbler.

Cherry Almond Cobbler

1 pound cherries, halved and pitted
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the cherries in half and then pull the pits out. Curse your lack of foresight in purchasing a device to pit cherries.

Combine the almond meal, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, white rice flour salt, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and xanthan gum. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, canola oil, milk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour the batter into an 8x8 cake pan. Spread out the cherries on top of the batter. Strategically place (ha) the almonds on top of the cherries. Sprinkle the whole thing with 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

More taste testings

I am a pizza fanatic. Back in my gluten days, I ate pizza at least 5 meals a week. Sick, I know, but I really, really like pizza. Just veggies, sauce and cheese. Yum.

Since going gluten free, I have been disappointed in the crust mixes available to me in my local stores. I love to make crust from scratch, but during the work week, it's just too much. So I rely on mixes for my pizza fix.

I finally found one that I like. Enough to eat half the pizza. In one sitting. Which is saying a lot, as I packed some veggie punch onto one pizza: a whole tomato, half a package of mushrooms, half a green pepper, half an onion, a good-sized handful of baby spinach leaves, lots of fresh basil, and half a ball of fresh mozzarella.

Who makes the crust mix? Arrowhead mills. If you haven't tried it yet, try it. You'll like it! (Mikey) Get it?

********

I have been snacking on something else for several weeks now that I hadn't gotten around to mentioning.

I got a box of these a LOOOOOOONG time ago through Natural Farms, I want to say November. The first one I had, I took 2 small bites out of and pitched the rest, chalking it up to experience. I was very surprised that I didn't like it because I absolutely love coconut. That's why I got them in the first place.

A few weeks ago, I needed to take something along with me somewhere, just in case. The only thing I had in the house was the box of Oskri bars. I tossed one in my purse and out the door I went.

The second time around, I chewed more slowly and allowed my taste buds to get past the texture. Not bad, I thought.

That was 8 bars ago and now I am hooked.

A word (well, a few words) to the wise: you really, really gotta like coconut to eat these. That's all they are - coconut, brown rice syrup and cherry flavor. They have a bunch of other flavors, too. Once this box is gone, I am going to try a different kind.

Blast from the past

I gave a flute lesson here last night. After choosing my student's solo piece for an upcoming contest and playing through it once with her, slowly, I dropped a bomb. She is involved in her school's musical right now and she elected to be on stage rather than in the pit.

She plans on being an instrumental music major in college. I explained that when applying to schools, they do look at overall performance experience, but the bulk of it better be on her instrument. Makes sense, right? I told her that she needs to start being in the pit orchestra instead of on stage. I don't think she was very happy about that.

I pulled out a scrapbook I kept all the way through college and showed her that going back to 1986, I was in every musical...in the pit. Since I had the book out, I showed her all the articles and programs from various performances I did as a flautist.

After she left, I continued to relive my glory days and googled old friends and professors. One of the professors I googled was Lovell Ives, who was Director of Jazz Studies when I was at UWGB. I found something very interesting while reading the various hits for Professor Ives. Back in 1992, I was a part of the group that recorded "Go! You Packers! Go!" which is the Green Bay Packers fight song. Turns out that even as recently as this past football season, this recording gets played at every game (I assume only home games).

Lovell directed the Packer Band. I was principal flautist at UWGB and he needed a flute/piccolo player for the recording. I got paid $90 for a couple of hours of studio work and had a blast.

And there's still a piece of me out there, being played on a regular basis.

How cool is that?

Bringing the taste of summer to the frozen tundra

It's cold. Damn cold. Have I mentioned that I absolutely LOATHE winter?

I hate to be chilly.

I had 6 meyer lemons in the fridge and a mango that I picked up Friday night. What to do...what to do...

I am going to imagine that it's July when I eat this.

Meyer Lemon & Mango Sorbet

1 1/2 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
6 Meyer lemons, juiced (makes about 3/4 cup juice)
1 mango, diced and pureed

Put the water, sugar and zest in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Put in the fridge to chill.

Juice the lemons.

Puree the mango and lemon juice together. Put in the fridge to chill.

Once the simple syrup and mango/lemon puree are cold, mix them together and pour into your ice cream maker. Follow the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream maker is done, after 30 minutes or so, it should be really thick. Pour into a freezer bowl, cover and chill at least 2 hours. I let mine sit overnight.

Dig in. Pretend it's summer. Unless you can't because you were dumb enough to take your sorbet outside to take pictures in the snow. Because you're dumb. Really, really dumb.

Lazy Sunday

The Man and I spent the bulk of the afternoon napping on the couches with the boys. It's so flippin' cold outside that we just didn't feel like going outdoors to do anything. I went at 7 AM to finish up the grocery shopping and the car said it was 7 degrees. SEVEN DEGREES. My face froze in the 15 feet it took to get from the car to the store and vice versa. That was enough for me.

While I was shopping, I spotted a good-looking beef roast, so I grabbed it up and figured I would make it for dinner. I dreamt on what I was going to do with it and here's what resulted.

Sheri's Beef Roast

A 2-pound boneless bottom round roast
12 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tbsp olive oil
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Using a sharp knife with a short blade, make 12 slits in the sides and top of the roast. In each slit, shove a garlic clove. Sprinkle all sides of the roast with onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and a VERY dash of cayenne. Let sit for a few minutes.

Put the olive oil in a skillet and fire it up. When the oil is hot, put the roast in the pan. Sear all sides to keep the juices inside and then get it out of the pan into your baking dish. Cover the baking dish and then put it in the oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Wine Sauce

2 tbsp butter
7 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
A pinch of salt
3 tbsp cornstarch

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion and mushrooms; saute until mushrooms are soft. Add the garlic and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the red wine and then bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, add the beef stock and salt. Cook for 10 minutes, then whisk in the cornstarch. Reduce the heat and allow to thicken.




I served this with sour cream and chive smashed red potatoes and steamed broccoli. Another keeper.

And then again...

...maybe he doesn't quite get it.

Conversation at the grocery store:

The Man: "Look, honey!" He's waving a bag of chips. "These don't have transfats! You can eat these!"

Sheri: "Umm...honey?" Reads the back of the bag... "Read the bold print."

The Man, taking the bag, reads silently: "Oh."

The bag has in bold print, "Contains egg, milk, soy and wheat ingredients."

So where do you suppose he got "no transfats" out of "no wheat, barley, oats and rye?"

At least he was thinking of me while grabbing his junk food, right? :-)

For us

For those of us who suffer with various chronic problems, there is Chronic Babe. Posted there is this link.

If you've got family and friends who just don't understand, read it.

Happy Saturday :-)

Comfort food

Yesterday, I was in serious need of comfort food. You see, The Man and I got into it a bit via IM in the morning about 2 things: my time on the computer/not going anywhere and him never being home.

Ever since I stopped drinking 7 years ago or so, I haven't been interested in going out with friends. Quite frankly, it's just not fun for me to sit there and watch everyone else "having a good time" while I sip my glass of water. So I just stay home so I don't have to feel out of place, a sore thumb, a red-headed stepchild. Well, my hair is red, anyway. :0)

The solution? The Man is going to check with his favorite watering hole if they can either get Sutter Home Fre or if I can bring in my own bottle. I know I would be willing to go out more if I had my own "alcohol" to drink.

I didn't quit drinking because I was an alcoholic or anything - I quit because after a Christmas party 7 years ago, my hiatal hernia flared up so bad that I missed nearly a week of work. From that point on, if I drank more than a sip of any alcohol, it burned for 2 days. It just isn't worth the pain - kinda like being gluten free!

So we worked it out. And I made a comforting dinner to celebrate. I am already regretting the lack of vegetables, but I will rectify that at lunch today.

Simple Cornish Hens

2 Cornish hens, cleaned
Sea Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Remove the giblets from the hens and then rinse well. Pat dry. Using shears, cut the backbone out of the hens so that you can lay them flat. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper; place skin-side down in the skillet. Brown both sides, then place in a roasting pan and put in the oven. Bake until the juices run clear when you pierce the birds with a knife, about 30 minutes.

We had ours with my favorite risotto. Well, without the spinach.

A taste test

A few weeks ago, I picked up a couple of "instant" quinoa dishes made by Seeds of Change. Tonight, I poached me a piece of salmon (yes, The Man went out to dinner with a friend tonight) and made the tomato basil quinoa blend.

It was pretty good. I'll buy it again. Added to the pretty good taste is the fact that it's certified organic, which makes me happy.

Speaking of organic, where the heck is my Natural Farms delivery? Hmm...

A rough few days

I am still so tired from Saturday that I am really surprised I don't have rug burns on my butt from it dragging on the floor. I guess jumping into the work week after a high-stress weekend wasn't the best idea, but I have put important stuff off to deal with the banquet and it's time to get back on track.

Yesterday, I worked from 8 AM to 7 PM, scarfed down a poached egg and a slice of toast, and crawled into bed.

Today, I worked from 8:30 AM to 6 PM, took a little more time for dinner by making a turkey burger with swiss, tomato, and lettuce, and some steak fries. And I am catching up on my blog-reading while tuning out the twit on TV. Oh - did I say that? My bad. Apologies for any offense.

The dishes are staring at me but I just don't care.

Too tired.

Going to bed.

Before I fall asleep sitting upright with the laptop on my lap.

Which wouldn't be the first time.

Quick recap and a new recipe

As far as I can tell, the banquet went off with very few glitches last night. I had a great time and actually made it to the end for a change. With energy to spare. I can't remember the last time I was up early (5:30) and managed to stay up until 1:30 AM without a headache, grumpiness and staring meanly at other people who still had energy themeslves.

I wasn't the only one amazed - The Man and my boss were, also.

The resort gave me a GF meal. Instead of the soup and salad, I received a huge fruit plate with cottage cheese. While the others ate their entree of chicken, beef filet (both in sauces), twiced-bake potato, and green beans/carrots, I had the GF version with a baked potato left uncut, a filet with no sauce, and the same veggies but with no seasoning. How wonderful to eat at a party and not want to curl up and go to sleep right after! And it was kind of cool to have my tablemates watch in envy as the banquet manager carried my food to me himself while the others had to wait for the cart.

Needless to say, I am a little wiped out. We slept until 8 and were on the road by 9, but driving was somewhat dicey due to some snow and sleet that swept through early that morning and continued on and off today. By noon, I was crashed on the couch with a headache and my boys. I woke up about 3, still with the headache, and decided I better eat something more than the half a protein bar I had for breakfast.

I rooted through the fridge to see what I could see and here's what I came up with tonight.

Clean out the Veggie Crisper Lasagna

Veggie layer:

4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 cup peeled and diced carrot
1 large onion, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp sea salt

Sauce layer:

1 29-oz can tomato sauce
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt

Other stuff:

6 Tinkyada lasagna noodles
2 balls mozzarella
Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel and chop the veggies and put them into a big bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of olive oil over the top, the sea salt, and then toss to coat. Line a jelly roll pan with foil and then dump the veggies into the pan. Make sure they are in 1 even layer; if not, move some to a second pan. Place in the oven and roast until carmelized, about 30 minutes.

While the veggies are in the oven, start the sauce. Saute the garlic in the olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce and then add the basil and oregano. Stir and then reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer. Add salt to taste.

Grate the mozzarella. Pull out the wedge of parmesan and have your grater ready. Prepare your lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Rinse with cold water, then place between paper towels to dry off.

Layer the lasagna in a 8x10 baking dish**: sauce, 3 noodles, veggies, cheese....and again until you run out of space or out of layering stuff. Cheese should be the top layer. Once you get the last layer of cheese on, grate some parmesan on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes after baking before cutting.

**When it's just me eating something, I make it pretty small. If making a standard 9x13, you'd probably want to double everything.

I am now going to submit to the headache that won't give up. Nighty-night, all.

Go Saints

As states the shirt owned by both The Man and The Stepson:

"My 2 favorite teams are the Packers and any team that places the Bears."

Last week, they rooted for the Seahawks.

Sunday, they root for the Saints.

This week, The Man's company, which is based in New Orleans, sent him a Saints jersey, since they know how he feels about the Bears. He wore it to work today. The location supervisor jokingly tried to send him home.

I will be in trouble if I don't say this, so GO SAINTS.

This just LOOKS painful, doesn't it?

That's because for me, it is.

I have short, stubby, snausage-like toes. So when I paint my toenails, I have to separate them or they will stick together as the polish dries. Because my toes don't like to be separated like this, they and also the bottom of my foot, like to cramp to make me miserable.

The stupid crap we women put ourselves through for beauty. I'd like to know who the heck is going to be looking at my feet, anyway. But I don't feel "dressed" when I am dressed fancy unless the toes are done.

Invasion of the Trophies and Other Tales

I think I may have mentioned in the past my company's award banquet, which is happening tomorrow.



Yesterday afternoon, I went to the place where I have the awards done and was shocked at the volume. They filled all available space in my SUV, including the passenger seat. If I didn't haul all the boxes in (well, The Man did that for me this afternoon), so I could condense and remove the awards of people not attending, The Man and our suitcase were going to have to ride an hour to the resort on top of the SUV.



So naturally, since I took the afternoon off of work, I spent 2 hours of it sorting and reboxing the trophies and plaques. But now The Man will be able to ride in style. And the living room looks like it has been invaded by the Trophy Army.




One thing about my company - they're great people, for the most part. I can't think of many companies that will let you drink all night, eat a bunch of food, and crash in a resort overnight ON THEIR DIME. Yes, they pay for it all, and they even allow us to bring a guest.


Last night, bored out of my tree after my wonderful hair chickie came to the house to color and trim my hair for tomorrow, I tried to read my favorite blogs. Something was whacked out with Blogger again because none of the blogspot blogs would open; I'd get an error message.


Which made me think even harder about tackling a web design program and moving my blog. Designing a web page is something I have been wanting to do for several years and now is my opportunity.

Be right back...I am making Shauna's GF bread and have to dump the dough into the heated pot...

OK. Timer is set for 30 minutes. Now, back to our story.


I emailed a former co-worker of mine, who just happens to be an IT guru. I asked her about Microsoft's Front Page and Adobe Dreamweaver. She recommended downloading the free trial of Dreamweaver and trying it out. Good suggestion - I'd hate to dump $400 on a program I can't figure out.


So I am working my way through the tutorial to see if I can turn the boring ol' Just Not Dinner into something that looks a lot more...well...cool, I guess. Plus I like the option of having exactly the layout I want and not being stuck within parameters of a standard blog template.


Time to put the first coat of paint on my toenails. Consider this a commercial break.

Frustration rant

Simple dinner plans this evening: twice-baked potatoes, pan-fried pork chops, canned lima beans for The Man, and brussel sprouts a la Orangette for me. So where does the frustration come in?

I get up by 6 AM every weekday. I putter around, check emails, etc., until The Man gets out of my way by going to work. Then I shower, brush my teeth, get dressed, make the bed, straighten up whatever's out of place throughout the house, scoop cat litter, do dishes when necessary, make myself a travel cup of chai tea, prepare lunch for myself, make up my face and curl my hair; added to today's schedule was taking out the stinky garbage and unpacking my groceries. Oh, and blogging. Because I don't have enough to do in the morning.

Then I go to work as an executive assistant to the highest-ranking officer of our company. I stress for 9 to 10 hours, depending on my workload.

Then I come home. Spend an hour making dinner. Give us a half hour to eat. Depending on what was served, anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get the dishes done (no dishwasher, remember?). So figure me finally getting to truly relax for the first time all day at about 8:00 PM.

So I catch up on reading my favorite blogs, snatch a few chapters of whatever book I am reading, snuggle with my boys, or whatever for an hour or two before I go to bed to prepare for the start of the very same cycle the next day.

Same shit, different day.

My frustration comes in when I wonder why I get no help around here. Tonight I mentioned at about 7:30 that I supposed that I should get up and do the damn dishes - looked straight at The Man. Evidently, as is the case every night for the last 6 months or so (or longer if I don't choose to delude myself), the TV was more important. Ferris Bueller was on, you know. So I spent 35 minutes in the kitchen cleaning up the dinner that he helped eat and he's sound asleep on the couch.

Rant over.

Food, glorious food

While I would prefer to eat not only organically, but locally and seasonally as well, it's just not an option in this house. Why, do I hear you ask? Because #1-The Man won't eat what's in season in winter that isn't local, and (2) I live in the Midwest and am realistic. We are finally getting "normal" weather around here (read 'cold') and quite frankly, you ain't growing nothing in 13 degrees and ice.

Poor California farmers. Poor us for not being able to eat all that glorious food that was destroyed by Mother Nature, damn her fickle hide. But mostly, poor farmers. I can't imagine what it's like to have your entire crop wiped out in a matter of days.

At 6:45 this morning, my latest organics order was delivered.

Leeks, red potatoes, bananas, meyer lemons (a first for me), cherries, tomatoes, a clamshell of baby greens, oranges (or they might be grapefruit), and a butternut squash.

My stomach is growling.

Things you can do with GF bread that doesn't taste caca-pooey

(1) Have a poached egg on top of cheesy toast for breakfast.

(2) Have a PB&J sandwich that doesn't make you cringe.

(3) Make decent-tasting bread crumbs.

(4) Have a well-deserved BLT.

Mondays don't always suck

Granted, it's been my experience that Mondays do indeed suck. At least as far as hauling my ass out of bed and going to work for 9 hours is concerned. Mondays don't suck when I am on vacation or when some pretty good grub comes out of the kitchen.

So today, this Monday, it doesn't suck. I made apple cinnamon scones for my week's breakfasts and when I got home tonight, I cranked out some chicken quesadillas - purchased flour tortillas for The Man and fresh homemade corn ones for me.

Play it safe - make your own tortillas. Less worry that way. Besides, it's damn easy. Right now, I make them using a rolling pin, but a wonderful co-worker is giving me her cast iron tortilla press this weekend! She said it's never been used.

At 7:00 this morning, I was cranking out the scones. Not bad.



Apple Cinnamon Scones
Adapted from the Pamela's website

2 1/3 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup apple, chopped
4 tbsps butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the butter; cut in using a fork or a pastry blender. Peel, core and chop 2 medium-sized apples. Add the apples, egg and milk; stir until just combined.

I used an ice cream scoop to portion these, so I came up with 7 big even scones. Bake at 375 for 15 to 18 minutes (or until browned).

Chicken Quesadillas

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp mexican seasoning
Shredded cheese of your choice
Corn tortillas
Salsa
Sour cream

Pour the olive oil into a skillet and then start preheating it. When it's hot, add the chicken breasts and cook until done. While the chicken is cooking, make your tortillas according to the directions on your package of masa harina. Note: I cook them in a dry skillet then cook them again in the oven when the quesadilla is put together.

Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the pan and set aside to cool for a bit. Then shred it with 2 forks. Place the shredded chicken in a bowl and then add the Mexican seasoning; toss to coat.

Shred your cheese. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 tortilla on a baking sheet; spread a helping of chicken over the tortilla, then top with cheese. Place another tortilla on top. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are browned.

Top with salsa and sour cream or whatever you like. This probably sounds gross, but try it - you might like it - I mix together about 1/4 cup of salsa and about a tablespoon of sour cream and then dip into it.

Even though my head is cracking in half...

...there must be dinner large enough to provide me with lunches at least a few days this week.

I haven't had a major headache/migraine in well over 2 months. I guess I was due. I have done nearly everything in my non-prescription drug arsenal to beat back the beast - ice, Advil, a half-assed neck massage provided by The Man (football was more important, I guess), peppermint essential oil on the temples and nape of my neck.

Still it exists.

So I had big plans to prepare and eat dinner (difficult when the brain is pounding like Thumper's foot on the ground in Bambi), do the dishes (as even severe brain pain does not induce The Man to help - yes, I am feeling a little pissy - sorry), take a shower to let our wonderful Revolution shower head pound on my skull and neck, and then crawl into my comfy bed with an extremely hard pillow and sleep the pain away.

Since going GF, I haven't had a migraine. I had honestly forgotten what it felt like and worse, forgotton what the warning signs were. I could have headed this off at the pass if I had been paying attention, but NO - I had to be playing around on the computer and not listening to the bod. Or watching what the cats were doing.

It's amazing what my boys do when they sense that something is wrong with their momma. Now that I am thinking about it, Vester was batting at the base of my skull above my neck three hours ago. Baby, not to be outdone, did his lovey-dovey thing (snuggling his head into me) up against my left temple a little while later.

What am I, stupid?

Anyway, we are under some sort of winter watch with freezing rain, sleet, etc., so I sure as hell wasn't driving to the store to get what I needed to make paella, which was the original plan for dinner. I told The Man this morning that I needed to use up some cheese in the fridge (I cleaned it out this morning) so we would be dining on the ultimate comfort food, macaroni and cheese, this evening.

Who knows - maybe a little comfort food will zap this headache.

And I am sure that staring at my laptop isn't helping. It's addictive, this blogging thing.

Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from The New Best Recipe

1 pound fusilli pasta (I use Tinkyada)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (don't use that bagged crap - take the time to shred a block)
1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 cup Monteray Jack with Jalepenos, shredded
5 tbsp butter (recipe calls for unsalted but I only had regular lightly salted so I cut back on the salt near the end)
6 tbsp GF flour (I used cornstarch - DON'T repeat this mistake)
5 cups milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
8 oz ham, diced
1 cup frozen peas

For the topping:
1 1/2 cups GF breadcrumbs
3 tbsp butter

Combine topping ingredients together in a food processor.

Cook the pasta per the package directions; drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, preheat your oven't broiler. In a stock pot, heat the butter until foamy. Add the flour and stir well to combine. Cook the flour/butter mixture for a few minutes, then add the milk; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook at medium heat (stir, stir, stir) until it becomes as thick as heavy cream. Add 1 tsp salt, the cheese, mustard, ham, peas and pasta. Stir until everything is coated in the cheese mixture.

Pour the mac and cheese into a 9x13 pan; sprinkle with bread crumbs and broil until crumbs are toasty brown.

Very creamy, but kinda bland. Gonna have to play with this one a bit.


I am now left with a small unopened package of goat cheese, an unopened package of Manchego, half a brick of Chihuahua, some Asiago, and half a brick of Swiss. What to do with that?

Does anyone really want to know?

I know I saw it somewhere...

On someone's blog last weekend, I saw a post about bloggers revealing more about themselves on their blogs. Can't find the post I saw right now, which is driving me batshit.

However, I figured "why the hell not?" So here goes.

About Me
Or "More Than You Ever Wanted to Know about a Crazy Red-headed Cat Freak Who Cooks"

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (Northeast Wisconsin) there was born a young female who appeared to be a quite-young version of her mother. This young female was named Sheri Lyn and was a first wedding anniversary gift to her parents (born 1 year to the day after their wedding - no mysterious early baby was she).

Sheri showed her enjoyment of certain pursuits early in life: she was known to raid her mother's frozen apple pie filling, strawberries, and other goodies and stash them under her bed until she was able to eat it all. She began reading a few short weeks into her kindergarten year of school and by third grade had read the entire C.S. Lewis "Lion, Witch & Wardrobe" series. She picked out "Hark, The Herald's Angels Sing" on her aunt's organ in the third grade.

Oh, and her most strange food craving, when she would eat a large volume of it at one time? BREAD. Go figure.

Unfortunately, her musical and educational pursuits allowed her to become a hermit. Nothing made her happier that to be playing an instrument (Mom, do you remember me hauling home that ancient bassoon and whaling on it until I figured it out?) or curled up anywhere comfortable with a good book. Playing outside had to be forced by her parental figures - even with a pool in the back yard and Lake Michigan merely a few blocks away.

She began to enjoy cooking about the time she began dying her naturally brunette hair a garish red - college. Each successive roommate would get to test more and more recipes made up in Sheri's head.

When she moved home after college, she realized that her parents would not enjoy the food she liked to cook, so she often accepted the afternoon and evening shifts at work so she wouldn't be asked to make dinner. Bet that one got past you guys, didn't it, Mom?

Sheri met her future husband, The Man, in an AOL chat room. By the way, at this juncture, The Man prefers to not be named. Unless you know me and therefore The Man, in which case you may speak his name yourself in place of any "The Mans" you read.

Cooking was shelved until the day she moved to Illinois to move in with The Man, where she again had her own kitchen to play in. As she learned about The Man's lack of taste buds, she learned to chop food extremely fine while using way-too-dull knives. She also learned that small town grocery stores don't carry SHIT.

After moving to a real house (previously the couple lived in a 2-bedroom duplex apartment), she began hoarding nice cutlery, quality appliances, and has recklessly indulged her need of kitchen tools and gadgetry, funky foods, and healthful eating.

Sheri is surrounded by The Man, The Stepson, and her two Hairdroppers. In other words -outnumbered by men. But she buys the food, damn it, so she will cook what she wants. They don't like it, they can go out because NONE of them can make anything more difficult than frozen pizza.

Did that sound a little bitchy? Ah...another side of Sheri. Hmm.

To this day, she is happier sitting on the couch reading while snuggling with her cats than going out-of-doors to do anything other than grocery shop.

And naturally, we took this picture at a bad angle. My nose really isn't that big.

God, am I vain or what.

A shopping excursion and a request

On my way home tonight, I decided to hit the grocery store (payday, you know). As I meandered up and down the aisles - I meander when I have finished in th GF section - I realized something important. I am no longer tempted by the gluten-containing formerly-nummy stuff on the shelves, endcaps, in the freezer, etc. When I can eat like I did last night, why do I need all that other stuff?

I think I have hit a milestone and am feeling pretty good about myself just now.

And for all you readers out there, I found out over at Gluten-Free By The Bay that it's De-Lurking Week (January 8th thru 12th).

This means you.

I would love to hear from the lurkers (and I am de-lurking myself at other sites at the same time) to see what they like, don't like, want to see more of, etc., here at Just Not Dinner.

Comment away!

Easy-Peasy Dinner for One

Another night where The Man has a dinner engagement for work. So...lucky, lucky me - I got to "stink up the house" with some favorites that he won't touch with a ten-foot fork.

Forgive me - I was in a groove (literally, as I was listening to the 80s channel on the XM radio in the kitchen while I cooked) and neglected to write down exactly what I was doing. So measurements are approximate.

Stinky food night - salmon, asiago, and asparagus LOL

Honey-Mustard Glazed Salmon for One

1 salmon filet
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dijon mustard
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a small baking dish that will hold your filet. Place the filet in the dish. Combine the honey and mustard; baste the salmon and put in the oven. Bake until done (15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your piece of fish) - it's done when it's no longer pink in the middle, if you're like me and like your fish cooked all the way through.

Easy Risotto for One

1/2 cup Arborio rice
2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 grated Asiago cheese
1/4 cup onion, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil
Heavy cream

Put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small stock pot (big enough to hold about 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice). Start the fire on medium heat and then add the onion; saute until translucent. Add the garlic and rice; toss to coat and then give it a good couple of minutes to "toast" the rice. Add the wine; stir constantly until the wine is absorbed. Then start adding stock a half cup at a time. Pour in a half cup; stir occasionally until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Continue to do this until the broth is gone, the risotto is cooked and it's not soupy. Remove from the heat and add the cheese and a splash of heavy cream; stir well until combined and the cheese has melted.

Dinner of champions

The Man has a business dinner tonight.

Pan-fried ribeye steak, a baked spud with butter, a glass of water, and a whole Dagoba dark chocolate bar.

The dinner of champions.

I bet I pay for the chocolate later.

Out of laziness comes...another pot of soup.

I bet you're thinking that all we eat in this house is soup.

While that's not the case, for some reason lately, I just want the whole "comfort food" feeling without a lot of slave labor.

I have been feeling like doing a whole lot of nothing for the past few weeks, which is why the Christmas decorations are still on display. I am hoping I get over this lethargy soon; I think part of it is due to preparing the company's annual banquet, which is in 2 weeks.

Anyway, I bought a bag of lentils a few weeks ago and since then, they have languished in the cabinet, waiting for me to figure out what to do with them. Several times, I have taken out the bag and set it on the counter, only to return it a few hours later after finding something else to cook or eat.

I decided since I haven't done crap all weekend but read blogs and rot my brain with TV, I could at least make something good for dinner that can also take care of this week's lunches. Again with the laziness - sheesh.

Lentils are new to both myself and The Man. He's willing to try them, which is all I can ask for. I promised grilled cheese if he hates this soup.

Ham, Potato & Lentil Soup

Stock:

12 cups water
1 ham bone (mine was leftover from Christmas Eve; about an 11-pound ham)
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
A sprinkle of sea salt (remember that ham is salty enough on its own)

Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of hours. When the time is up, pour the soup through a sieve to remove all the aromatics (I suggest taking out the ham bone first LOL).

To make the soup:

1 ham stock recipe (above)
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 celery ribs, diced
3 good-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
A 1-pound bag of lentils
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme (I would imagine fresh is a heck of a lot better, but I wasn't going out in the rain)
A couple grinds of fresh black pepper
Diced ham (I bought a ham steak to add in because my ham bone had less meat than I thought).
2 tsp dried parsley (see my comment by the thyme)

Rinse and drain the lentils. Bring the stock to a boil, add the thyme, and then add the lentils; reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and potatoes. Simmer again for 30 minutes. Give the soup a few grinds of pepper.

Dice the ham and add to the soup, along with the parsley. Continue to simmer until the ham is heated through.

Serve with crusty bread (I had the teff no-knead bread tonight).

Happy Birthday, Daddy

I am 35 years old and still call my father "Daddy."

Today is his 60th birthday and I can't be there.

Pain in the ass leaky basement.

Love you, Daddy - Happy Birthday. Have fun at your party.

GF Cinnamon Rolls

The TV got me again last night. I don't know what the heck I was "watching" as I was dozing off (removing the glasses will cause that when you're as blind as I am), but it put the thought of cinnamon rolls in my head. Mom makes awesome ones, but I sure can't eat those anymore. So as I headed toward sleep, I thought about how I could make them. Here's what I came up with.

GF Cinnamon Rolls

For the dough:

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp yeast
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup water

(Yes, another bastardization of the no-knead recipe)

Combine all ingredients. Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place for about 3 hours. Then add about a cup of white rice flour to thicken it up so it resembles a gluten dough more closely. Put in the fridge for an hour.

Very carefully, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick between 2 pieces of wax paper. Time for the filling!

For the filling:

Softened butter
Cinnamon (to your taste)
Sugar (to your taste)
Raisins, dried currants, or whatever floats your boat

Slather a layer of butter on the rolled-out dough, leaving about 1/2 inch free around the perimeter of the dough. Sprinkle with sugar, then cinnamon, then with the dried fruit. Pat the fruit down so it sticks.

Very, VERY carefully, begin to roll the dough, starting at a long side. I used an offset spatula to gently loosen the dough from the wax paper about 2 inches in all the way down, rolled to that point, then loosened again, then rolled....Until I had this.

Slice the roll into 1/2 inch slices.

Grease a baking dish. Tuck the slices in the dish like this:

Cover and allow to rise again for another 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees until browned (about ____) minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before icing the rolls.

For the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp water or milk

Whisk together. How simple is that?

Once the rolls have cooled down and you have iced them, dig in!

For a first effort, they aren't bad. The dough isn't sweet enough, so I will have to add more sugar next time. Otherwise, not bad.

Dinner for one - again

Back when I started this blog, I told myself that I would post about any new food, recipe, whatever, that I made - be it good, bad or indifferent. Tonight's menu? I would rate this one as indifferent.

An experiment. I didn't know how it would turn out. I grabbed some stuff from the fridge, some stuff from the freezer, some stuff from the cabinet. For me, half the fun is combining stuff to see what can be created for a meal. So here's what I did tonight.

Cheesy Potatoes and White Fish for 2 (or 1 big eater)

1 good-sized russet potato, sliced into 1/4 inch slices (leave the skin on)
1/2 of a small block gruyere cheese, sliced
Roasted garlic olive oil
2 tbsp butter
Paprika
Dried parsley
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 large piece of white fish (I have NO idea what type of fish I just ate - I got it from TCF and it was wrapped in white paper with no label - part of a previous cookbook box)
1/2 a lemon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle about a teaspoon of roasted garlic olive oil (hereafter known as RGOO because I am tired and lazy tonight) into a small baking dish; use a slice of potato to spread the oil around to cover the bottom of the dish. Then layer as follows: bottom layer is potatoes, then a drizzle of RGOO, the 4-5 slices of cheese, then a sprinkle of parsley. Repeat until you have used all of the potato slices. Over the top layer, sprinkle some sea salt and pepper. Cover with foil and put into the oven.

When the potatoes are starting to soften, put your fish in the oven. To prepare it, rub a little butter in the bottom of your baking dish; place your fish on the top. Squeeze a lemon half over the fish. Cut the butter into 4 pieces and place them evenly across the fish. Cover with foil and bake until the fish flakes with a fork.

When the fish flakes and the potatoes are tender, remove the foil from both. Let it cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to (1) let the cheese brown a bit and (2) sprinkle a little paprika on the fish, then do a quick baste with the butter in the bottom of the dish.


Like I said, this was "indifferent." The potatoes were okay but needed more cheese for my taste (Wisconsin born and bred, remember?) and more garlic flavor. Next time I will roast some garlic and get it in there too.

Because I didn't know what kind of fish I was going to be eating, thanks to the mysteries of butcher paper, I ended up overcooking the fish a little bit. Next time? More butter. I already increased it in the recipe.

When it rains...

...we get water in the basement.

I just spent the last half hour with our friend the shop-vac, sucking up rainwater.

I swear to God, if The Man comes up with yet another excuse as to why he hasn't painted the sealer on the walls of the basement, I am going to bean him with a rolling pin.

Here's hoping that I don't have to spend my evening waging a battle against water instead of conquering ingredients in my kitchen.

It's supposed to rain on and off all day today.

Fajitas!

Fairly quick to prepare and nummy to boot, fajitas are a great weeknight dinner. Of course, The Man gets pissy when he sees me dump in sliced peppers and onions because then he has to pick around them to get at the meat. Remember, he's a damn picky eater and unless I grind up things like peppers and mushrooms to the point he doesn't know what they are, he won't eat them. What a pain in the rear.

Steak Fajitas

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 distilled vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 ribeye steaks
1 onion, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/2 orange pepper, sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced
Olive oil
Corn tortillas (easy to make scratch, but my next purchase will be a tortilla press)
Cheese of your choice
Salsa

In a fairly large bowl, combine the spices, garlic, OJ and vinegar. Slice the steaks into 1/4- to 1/2 inch-wide strips; add the strips to the marinade. Stir to coat and set aside. Slice up the peppers and onion.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a skillet; start heating. Once the oil gets hot, drain the marinade from the steak strips and then put the strips in the pan (be careful - splatter city). Add the veggies; saute until the steak strips get to the doneness you prefer.

I like my veggies to have some bite to them, so I prefer them this way. If you want them soft, you could saute them first, then add the steak.

Serve on a corn tortilla with salsa and cheese.

A new pork chop recipe

The Man was still off of work today (because he knows what happens at the cousin's on New Year's Day), so I left him a honey-do list. On that list was to get some algae killer for the fish tank, straighten out the basement after the sewer-backup-fiasco, and take out some sort of meat for dinner. He took out pork chops.

On the way home from work, I couldn't decide what I was going to do with them. Barbecue sauce? Broil? By the time I got home, I knew. And this is a very short drive, so be impressed LOL

We had ours with with baby red potatoes that I roasted with onions and roasted garlic olive oil. I added a salad (The Man claims that lettuce makes him gag - whatever).

Get the spuds in the oven first, because the chops don't take very long.

Breaded Pork Chops

1 1/2 cups GF bread crumbs (I used an old loaf of no-knead bread)
1 1/2 tbsps dried parsley
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
3 butterflied pork chops
Olive oil
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper

In a bowl wide enough to accommodate the dredging of your chops, combine the bread crumbs, parsley, onion powder, paprika, and garlic powder; set aside. Sprinkle sea salt over the pork chops; add a few grinds from the peppermill.

Whisk together the egg and milk in a wide bowl (same reason as above).

Put about 1/4 cup of olive oil in the bottom of a skillet; fire up the heat. While the pan is heating, dip each pork chop into the egg, then dredge them in the bread crumbs. Place into the hot skillet and cover, flipping them occasionally and cooking until done (I usually stick a thermometer in the thickest part of the thickest pork chop to make sure they're done - 165 degrees or thereabouts).

Keep the heat relatively low or you are going to burn the hell out of them. They cook pretty quick, depending on how thick your chops are. Mine were done in about 10 minutes.

I have a picture, but flickr isn't cooperating right now.