HappyTrails

Since we are saving for a cruise and really watching our budget, we are not eating out as much.  It is giving me withdrawal symptoms!  Some hot and crunchy breaded chicken wings or some kind of appetizer would be nice.

Likely the weather is getting to me as well.  Colder air has been blowing in and the front screen door is banging against the frame; that only happens when it is really windy out.  We are going to be getting zero and below zero temps, and cold weather really just is not my bag any more.  Snow is fine, as long as the temps do not go low, but this is just too cold for comfort.

Fortunately, we went food shopping earlier today, because it is just too miserable outside to do that now.  Shopping can be exhausting when you go to several stores to stock up on the specials and bogos.  One of the places had a favorite vegetarian canned soup on sale.  After all the driving around and shopping, I was not planning on spending an hour cooking dinner afterward, so that was part of what was easy for dinner tonight.

I decided we needed more than just soup, bakery bread toast and hot spiced applesauce.   How about some appetizers?  They had to be easy, I was tired already.

We had just bought some fresh low fat deli ham thin sliced, and that would help ramp up the protein for dinner.  Ham and cream cheese appetizers sounded good, and they really tasted pretty good.

Take a thin slice of ham, spread with room temperature cream cheese and well drained, chopped green olives with pimento.  Roll the ham slice and chill.  Just cut it in serving sections — and use about three thin ham slices per person.  Yummy appetizers, and it seemed like a special treat because it was different.

To make spiced hot applesauce is pretty simple too.  Heat the contents of the can or jar, add a couple heaping tablespoons of brown sugar, and a few dashes of cinnamon.  Stir well and serve.  Occasionally we add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the mix, but not everyone likes that.  My family just prefers it sweet with cinnamon.

The ham appetizers will definitely be made again.  I was looking for some simple ones, and while this video starts out slow getting to the point, it was definitely worth watching to see these appetizers being made.  Well, now I am hungry again, I will not mention for what, but I have the bacon and the breadsticks…

Happy New Year everyone!!!  Hope you had a wonderful day and dinner.   We did the traditional pork, sauerkraut, potatoes and vegetables.  Even for this German Gal who loves great food, sauerkraut can be a bit overwhelming to the taste of the pork if it is cooked together, so ours is always cooked separately.  Hubs loves it that way too.

Just drain a bag (no canned kraut for us) add water, cook over medium high heat 1-1/2 hours (do not let it get dry and burn) then drain excess liquid.  Add a tablespoon of the pork drippings, a pat or two of butter, and my secret ingredient?  A teaspoon of bouillon.  Mix well and serve hot.  Yummy!

After a big dinner, it is time to sit and read what is going on in the news.

Chief Justice John Roberts  is reminding Congress that judges need a COLA, but Congress has not voted them one, unlike the automatic one Congress got and “forgot on purpose” to vote it down, our economy being in the dumpster notwithstanding.

Gee, aren’t all these people lawyers?  If they were partners in a private firm, it is likely they would be receiving more money.  However, when you work for our federal government, you get loads of perks you have to pay for yourself in the private sector.   Lawyers might not always win a case, but they will get their share.

Yes, I surf the net way too much.  I really should not be reading about lawyers laying off massive amounts of staff and junior lawyers, you know they were preserving their share.  Depressing reading,  especially where share per partner was mentioned, but when it is important to know what is going on, what can I say?

Have a Pepsi!  That will be about the only kind of COLA most of the rest of us can have.  Oh, and ours will be diet — right?

Why go out for a great burger when you can make it at home for so much less?  Hubs went to the store and brought home all the fresh ground sirloin and fixings.  All I brought was my appetite, the ability to cook, and we already had frozen french fries which I timed to be hot, crispy and ready at the same time as the steak burgers were done.

For the best burgers you can make at home, here is how I do it — fast and it makes 4 servings.

To Make the Burger:

1 lb very fresh ground sirloin (you want about 90% or a little above lean)
Salted butter
Non-stick skillet and lid
4 Bakery burger buns

Fixings To Combine or Choose

Salt and/or Ground Black Pepper
Thin sliced onion to saute
Fresh sliced mushrooms
Crisp (refrigerator dill) pickle slices
Blue Cheese, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, etc.
Mayonnaise, Ketchup or Ranch dressing
Fresh lettuce and fresh sliced tomato and/or thin sliced green pepper

Extra side dishes suggestions:

French fries
Soup
Salad

Heat the skillet until it is hot then add your butter to coat the bottom, enough to provide a little sizzle in the pan.  Do not burn the butter.   Divide the ground sirloin into four patties and press to flatten about an inch larger than the bun.  The ground sirloin will shrink as it cooks.  Do not crowd the burgers.

Cook uncovered until you see the meat beginning to brown nicely and starting to cook up the sides of the burger.  Add a small pat of butter to each burger top and flip over.  That should cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.   Place lid on skillet and immediately reduce heat for 1 or 2 minutes until thoroughly cooked throughout.

Open lid, place cheese on top, add the top of the bakery bun to each burger, and place the bottom of bakery bun on top of all.  Replace the lid for a minute or two and your cheese will melt while your bun heats.  Remove quickly onto serving plates and add your favorite fixings.

The no waiting for saute to be finished method:  Heat a second skillet at the same time as the burger pan, lightly cover the bottom with EVOO and/or butter.  Saute lightly the onions, mushrooms, and/or sliced green pepper.  The vegetables should be tender crisp and not overcooked.

Many people prefer to add spices and stretchers to their burgers before cooking, but I have always felt that those are pretty close to mini meatloaves and we want to be able to taste each individual ingredient as well as the great ground sirloin.

The method in the video below looks pretty good, except they are using a lot of spicy ingredients mixed in the burger itself.  Probably too much for us, but interesting take on a burger nevertheless to add spices and chopped toasted pecans.

Home made soup will warm your bones and made properly, it can be your main dish for dinner.  Add some toast or crusty bread, a salad, and it is a perfect meal.

Today’s choice was split pea with ham, a family favorite.   This is very easy to make and uses leftover ham.  Great for budget meals.  Serves 6.

1 pound bag dried split green peas
1 ham bone and leftover ham (about 1/2 lb.)  cut into bite size chunks
1 cup diced celery
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh onion
2 whole carrots diced
2 heaping teaspoons no salt chicken bouillon granules
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
3 potatoes cut into small cubes
Black pepper to taste
2 quarts water
Optional toppings when serving:  Croutons, sour cream or shredded cheese

Sort peas and bring to boil, mixing often.  Remove from heat.  Let sit 10 minutes.  Rinse well and drain.  Add all listed ingredients, bring to a boil, mixing frequently.  Reduce to simmer and put lid on pot.  Cook approximately 90 minutes, stir well every 15 minutes.  Remove lid and simmer until it reaches thickness preferred.  Soup can be cooled and stored overnight and will tend to thicken more.

There are many methods to make split pea soup, here are some chef tips  (but video forgot to remind people to remove the bay leaf so no one accidentally eats it).

Hubs’ cousin sent her turkey leftovers home with him today and we just had that for dinner.   Since I only made one roast chicken and one turkey drumstick for each of us, it was sooo good to get a second round of turkey.  We don’t eat a lot of turkey, so I do not make more than just a serving for each of us.  One drumstick each is all you get here.

Some people have a great knack for making a tender moist turkey and his cousin did a really great job.  She probably bought a fresh one and brined hers.  My biggest and deepest roasting pan would still need to have the turkey cut into pieces to get it in the brine, so on the occasions when one is cooked here, it goes into a cooking bag.  That works pretty well for me, but then I have all these leftovers no one wants to eat.

Here’s a video on how to brine your turkey.  I have the big roasting pan to hold it, but will have to get the really large roasting bags.  Next we will have to dismantle the drawers in the refrigerator or maybe just leave it in the garage if the weather is cold enough?

Does anyone help you cook your holiday meal? 

Perfect food is my passion, probably passed down to me since I am mostly German.  Everything has to be just right down to the smallest detail and that includes the bread.  There is no rule here that anything has to be an ethnic meal, it just has to be very, very good.  I always insist on doing everything myself.

Our local Sam’s Club has great bakery style breads, and this year we decided on sour dough.  That was simple enough to foil wrap and reheat to a crispy crust when the rest of the meal was just about finished baking.  It was so much better than the common bake and serve variety in a plastic package that the grocery stores sell.

I really miss the home made breads my mother and grandmother always used to make.  My sister uses Rhodes Bread that can be found in the freezer section of most groceries around here.  Her holiday dinners have to be perfect too, and these were really good.

This really sounds like a project I could get a family member (like Hubs) to do ahead of time and reheat.  What is really neat is the different shapes you can make according to the holiday.  Armed with a batch of dough and scissors, I can imagine Valentine hearts, little Christmas trees, or even bunny shapes for Easter.

Watch the video on how to make these cute turkey rolls.  It is not difficult at all.  You really would not need to add any extra ingredients to the dough.

Five pounds of potatoes are a lot to peel and cook at once, but we are going to get three meals from this bag.  One will be home fries with tomorrow’s dinner, another for potato soup and lastly, my white mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving Dinner will be frozen and ready to reheat.

Potato soup is so easy to make, and just perfect to warm you inside on a cold day.  It is nutritious and filling.  Now if the family didn’t argue over whether it was smooth and creamy or lumpy, creamy and full of other good things, it would be much easier besides being an economical luxury.   Add some bakery bread with butter and a salad, and you have a great meal.

Most of the ingredients are already on hand.  I have little baggies of chopped celery, mushrooms, onions, leftover chicken and pint containers of home cooked chicken stock all in my freezer.   Whenever we have roast chicken, we save the bones and cook stock.  Sooooooo much better than canned.

For the potato soup, the chopped potatoes will be cooked in the chicken stock, with just enough stock to cover them with about an inch of liquid.  While the potatoes are cooking, the frozen vegetables are sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and butter.   Then add the frozen chopped chicken which will thaw in the pan with the sauteed veggies.

Do not drain the potatoes when done cooking.  Set aside some of the chopped potatoes for “lumps” and mash the rest in the liquid.  Put those together and add the veggies, chicken, and add enough light cream or whole milk to taste.

Do not worry if the soup is too thin.  Just add a couple tablespoons or quarter cup of dried potato flakes at a time until it becomes thick enough to your liking.  Stir well and heat gently to steaming hot so soup does not scorch, and all the ingredients are blended.  Each person here adds their own salt and pepper at the table.

There are many different ways to make potato soup.  You can experiment or get many recipes from the internet.  Here is how one chef makes Irish potato soup: