Monday, it was:
Grilled Steak
Baked Potatoes
Buttered Peas
Fresh French Bread
Tuesday, it was:
Grilled Chicken
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Steamed Green Beans
Sauteed Vidalias
Fresh salsa
Tortilla chips
Tonight, it will be:
Sauteed Sweet Italian Sausage
Aglio e Olio with fresh basil
Tomato, Cucumber, Sweet Onion salad with fresh herbs
Thursday:
Subs on Homemade French bread (using my new French Breead pan) with homemade vinaigrette and garden-fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green peppers
Friday:
Salad
Cumin-rubbed Pork Chops
Homemade Refried beans with cheese
Tortilla chips
Sliced tomatoes
Saturday:
Clean out the fridge
Sunday:
Chicken Pasta Salad
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Food Journal 1
I just wanted to tell you about the meal we had last night. It was so good, I was practically licking my plate...and my kids' plates, too. We were invited to have dinner with Tim and Beth and family--apparently, after spending 8 days straight with us, three days without us was too much to handle. On the menu were some of my favorite summer things: Grilled bone-in chicken, grilled corn on the cob, steamed green beans, sauteed Vidalia onions, fresh salsa, and yellow corn tortilla chips. It may not sound fancy, and it wasn't, but there is something so wonderful about fresh August produce: it needs no fancy embellishments to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Chicken: Brining is very important when grilling chicken, I think. It keeps the chicken from drying out, and also seasons the meat all the way to the bone. A solution of 3/4 c. salt and 3/4 c. brown sugar dissolved in 1 gallon of water goes a long way in improving the flavor and texture of chicken. Submerge the pieces in the brine and chill for up to two hours before cooking. Normally, I sear the chicken over the high flames, then grill with indirect heat on a covered grill over a period of about 45 minutes, but last night, since we were grilling the corn, too, we par-cooked the chicken in a 425 degree oven. Also imperitave is not to let it exceed the temperature of doneness: 161 for white meat, and 180 for dark meat.
Corn on the cob: soak unhusked cobs in cool water for about 30 minutes before grilling, then go ahead and char the exterior over some medium coals. Perfection!
Green Beans: they're best if you can pick them from your garden and steam them immediately. In fact, next year, I will plant more bean plants so I can do this more often. Just make sure not to boil them--it takes away too many nutrients and too much flavor--and make sure they're still tender-crisp when you remove them from the heat. Then add a bit of butter, salt, and pepper, and throw in some toasted almods if you're feeling fancy.
Vidalia onions: I like using a cast iron or similarly heavy skillet over medium heat with a pat or two of butter and a sprinkling of kosher salt. I melt the butter, toss in the sliced onions, salt them to help draw out a bit of moisture, then sautee them until they're a pasta sort of al dente. I could eat these alone as a meal, they're that good.
Salsa: make it right before you eat it. I use my Salsa 101 recipe. The most important thing to achieve here is good balance--not too heavy on the tomatoes or anything else. You should be able to discern all of the individual flavors--tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime (and kosher salt)--without being overwhelmed by any of them. Fresh salsa doesn't keep more than a few hours before if starts getting soupy, which is reason enough for me to load my chips up with great big scoops of it. Last night, Judah skipped the chips and just ate it like a salad. Three helpings' worth. We consumed 6 tomates, 5 jalapenos, 1/2 a large onion, and a cup of cilantro's worth of salsa last night...and enjoyed every drop. I even used my chicken to sop up the salsa juice. Heavenly.
What great meals have you had recently?
Chicken: Brining is very important when grilling chicken, I think. It keeps the chicken from drying out, and also seasons the meat all the way to the bone. A solution of 3/4 c. salt and 3/4 c. brown sugar dissolved in 1 gallon of water goes a long way in improving the flavor and texture of chicken. Submerge the pieces in the brine and chill for up to two hours before cooking. Normally, I sear the chicken over the high flames, then grill with indirect heat on a covered grill over a period of about 45 minutes, but last night, since we were grilling the corn, too, we par-cooked the chicken in a 425 degree oven. Also imperitave is not to let it exceed the temperature of doneness: 161 for white meat, and 180 for dark meat.
Corn on the cob: soak unhusked cobs in cool water for about 30 minutes before grilling, then go ahead and char the exterior over some medium coals. Perfection!
Green Beans: they're best if you can pick them from your garden and steam them immediately. In fact, next year, I will plant more bean plants so I can do this more often. Just make sure not to boil them--it takes away too many nutrients and too much flavor--and make sure they're still tender-crisp when you remove them from the heat. Then add a bit of butter, salt, and pepper, and throw in some toasted almods if you're feeling fancy.
Vidalia onions: I like using a cast iron or similarly heavy skillet over medium heat with a pat or two of butter and a sprinkling of kosher salt. I melt the butter, toss in the sliced onions, salt them to help draw out a bit of moisture, then sautee them until they're a pasta sort of al dente. I could eat these alone as a meal, they're that good.
Salsa: make it right before you eat it. I use my Salsa 101 recipe. The most important thing to achieve here is good balance--not too heavy on the tomatoes or anything else. You should be able to discern all of the individual flavors--tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime (and kosher salt)--without being overwhelmed by any of them. Fresh salsa doesn't keep more than a few hours before if starts getting soupy, which is reason enough for me to load my chips up with great big scoops of it. Last night, Judah skipped the chips and just ate it like a salad. Three helpings' worth. We consumed 6 tomates, 5 jalapenos, 1/2 a large onion, and a cup of cilantro's worth of salsa last night...and enjoyed every drop. I even used my chicken to sop up the salsa juice. Heavenly.
What great meals have you had recently?
Monday, July 27, 2009
Menu Plan, dadgummit
I have felt lost without a plan of attack for dinners these past few weeks. In fact, last week, we hosted a garage sale, and homemade dinners completely fell by the wayside. I am now really sick of restaurant and take-out food and ready for something homemade.
On another note, my garden has also fallen by the wayside. It is being consumed by weeds. In fact, one of my sugar snap pea plants is actually missing; I can only assume the invasive weeds ate it for nourishment. The only redeeming factor is that we haven't had much rain. Had we had more rain in the past week, I'm sure the weed situation would be completely out of hand. So this week, even though I have a lot of other neglected stuff to do, I plan to become reacquainted with my garden. Last night, I even pulled a few weeds from the onions and picked cucumbers and green beans. Hey--you've got to start somewhere.
P.S. My basil is also going crazy, but in a good way. This week, I MUST make some pesto before my precious basil goes to seed. I do wish my tomatoes would ripen up so I could have some fresh caprese salad--is there anything better?
Monday
Homemade pizza: Chicken with garlic cream sauce and spinach
Salad
Tuesday
Grilled Pork Loin
Corn on the Cob
Zucchini patties
Wednesday
Fried Chicken
Roasted Green Beans
Thursday
Dinner at a friend's house
Friday
Grilled Steak
Fried potatoes with garlic and dill
Salad
Saturday
Leftovers
Sunday
Subway
On another note, my garden has also fallen by the wayside. It is being consumed by weeds. In fact, one of my sugar snap pea plants is actually missing; I can only assume the invasive weeds ate it for nourishment. The only redeeming factor is that we haven't had much rain. Had we had more rain in the past week, I'm sure the weed situation would be completely out of hand. So this week, even though I have a lot of other neglected stuff to do, I plan to become reacquainted with my garden. Last night, I even pulled a few weeds from the onions and picked cucumbers and green beans. Hey--you've got to start somewhere.
P.S. My basil is also going crazy, but in a good way. This week, I MUST make some pesto before my precious basil goes to seed. I do wish my tomatoes would ripen up so I could have some fresh caprese salad--is there anything better?
Monday
Homemade pizza: Chicken with garlic cream sauce and spinach
Salad
Tuesday
Grilled Pork Loin
Corn on the Cob
Zucchini patties
Wednesday
Fried Chicken
Roasted Green Beans
Thursday
Dinner at a friend's house
Friday
Grilled Steak
Fried potatoes with garlic and dill
Salad
Saturday
Leftovers
Sunday
Subway
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
The whole idea of biscuits and gravy used to repulse me. Of course, as a lactose-intolerant kid, I used to loathe any cream-based sauce of any kind. I remember going over to the Andrews' house and being served Chicken A La King and thinking that I was going to die if they made me eat it. Heck--I wouldn't even eat Mac and Cheese. How un-American was I? Given those things, it's probably understandable that I wouldn't go for a milk-based sauce served over soggy bread.
Then college came. You learn so many things when you're in college, don't you? How not to kill your messy roommate, how to sneak food out of the dining commons, how to write a senior thesis in under 72 hours...and, most importantly for this post, how to appreciate the beauty of gloppy white sauce.
I remember the first time I had sausage gravy: we'd gone to visit a friend of ours who had recently started waiting tables at Bob Evans. We went at breakfast, because that's when you eat at Bob Evans, and Nate, our friend, recommended the Sunshine Skillet. It consisted of an open-faced omelet topped with hash browns, sausage, country gravy, and cheddar cheese, and was served with one of their fantastic buttermilk biscuits. Hello--he had me at hash browns and cheese. I ordered it.
Sweet fancy Moses, it was good.
I thought I might die of heart disease right there, but my, my, it was good.
My affection only deepened when I sopped up the extra gravy on my plate with the biscuit. Suddenly, my eyes were opened to the glory of biscuits and gravy.
For years, unless I went to Bob Evans, I stayed away from that sausage gravy in particular. It just didn't seem prudent for my waistline to eat too much of it. But a couple of months ago, we went out for breakfast as a family and I revisited it at long last. The doctor had recommended that we feed Ruby all sorts of high-fat stuff, so I decided to take one for the team and order biscuits and gravy to share with my daughter. It was the least I could do.
Well, Biscuits and Gravy has since become a staple of my Saturday-morning eating-out experience. Thankfully, we don't do it that often. It has been a few weeks since I've had it, though, and I was getting a taste for it, so last night, I made it for dinner.
Sweet fancy Moses, it was good.
So I thought I'd share it with you.
Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits (from The Complete Guide to Country Cooking)
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening (sometimes I use margarine)
3/4 c. buttermilk (SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM)
Gravy
1 lb. bulk sausage
1/4 c. flour
approx 2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme (optional)
For the biscuits:
Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the shortening or margarine with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times, just so it isn't too sticky. Roll to 1/2-3/4 in. thickness and cut out with a biscuit cutter (I used a thin-edged cup). Place 1-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Notes on successful biscuit making:
1) Don't overwork the dough. Use a very light hand.
2) Brush the tops with a little melted butter before baking to achieve a really beautiful brown crust.
3) If you don't have a suitable cutter or cup to cut the biscuits with, you can always just use a knife and cut the dough into uniform squares. Who cares what shape the biscuits are?
4) Buttermilk: I don't keep it on hand, but you can imitate it with 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice, and enough milk to make a cup. Let sit for five minutes, then use as the recipe requires.
Gravy:
Brown the sausage to a deep, caramelized brown. Remove the sausage, leaving behind the drippings in the pan. (If you don't end up with about 1/4 c. of drippings, add a bit of butter to the mix to equal about 1/4 c. total, when combined with the drippings.) Add flour to drippings, and whisk over medium heat for about a minute, or until the roux is the color of straw. Add milk 1/2-cup at a time, whisking continually over that same medium heat so the gravy thickens nicely, without lumps. Add the sausage to the white sauce, then season with salt and pepper to taste. I recommend lots of pepper. You can also add thyme here, if you wish to have a more savory sauce. And if the gravy gets too thick, just add a bit more milk. Serve over warm, split biscuits, then swoon.
Then college came. You learn so many things when you're in college, don't you? How not to kill your messy roommate, how to sneak food out of the dining commons, how to write a senior thesis in under 72 hours...and, most importantly for this post, how to appreciate the beauty of gloppy white sauce.
I remember the first time I had sausage gravy: we'd gone to visit a friend of ours who had recently started waiting tables at Bob Evans. We went at breakfast, because that's when you eat at Bob Evans, and Nate, our friend, recommended the Sunshine Skillet. It consisted of an open-faced omelet topped with hash browns, sausage, country gravy, and cheddar cheese, and was served with one of their fantastic buttermilk biscuits. Hello--he had me at hash browns and cheese. I ordered it.
Sweet fancy Moses, it was good.
I thought I might die of heart disease right there, but my, my, it was good.
My affection only deepened when I sopped up the extra gravy on my plate with the biscuit. Suddenly, my eyes were opened to the glory of biscuits and gravy.
For years, unless I went to Bob Evans, I stayed away from that sausage gravy in particular. It just didn't seem prudent for my waistline to eat too much of it. But a couple of months ago, we went out for breakfast as a family and I revisited it at long last. The doctor had recommended that we feed Ruby all sorts of high-fat stuff, so I decided to take one for the team and order biscuits and gravy to share with my daughter. It was the least I could do.
Well, Biscuits and Gravy has since become a staple of my Saturday-morning eating-out experience. Thankfully, we don't do it that often. It has been a few weeks since I've had it, though, and I was getting a taste for it, so last night, I made it for dinner.
Sweet fancy Moses, it was good.
So I thought I'd share it with you.
Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits (from The Complete Guide to Country Cooking)
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. shortening (sometimes I use margarine)
3/4 c. buttermilk (SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM)
Gravy
1 lb. bulk sausage
1/4 c. flour
approx 2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. thyme (optional)
For the biscuits:
Preheat oven to 450. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the shortening or margarine with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times, just so it isn't too sticky. Roll to 1/2-3/4 in. thickness and cut out with a biscuit cutter (I used a thin-edged cup). Place 1-inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for 10-15 minutes.
Notes on successful biscuit making:
1) Don't overwork the dough. Use a very light hand.
2) Brush the tops with a little melted butter before baking to achieve a really beautiful brown crust.
3) If you don't have a suitable cutter or cup to cut the biscuits with, you can always just use a knife and cut the dough into uniform squares. Who cares what shape the biscuits are?
4) Buttermilk: I don't keep it on hand, but you can imitate it with 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice, and enough milk to make a cup. Let sit for five minutes, then use as the recipe requires.
Gravy:
Brown the sausage to a deep, caramelized brown. Remove the sausage, leaving behind the drippings in the pan. (If you don't end up with about 1/4 c. of drippings, add a bit of butter to the mix to equal about 1/4 c. total, when combined with the drippings.) Add flour to drippings, and whisk over medium heat for about a minute, or until the roux is the color of straw. Add milk 1/2-cup at a time, whisking continually over that same medium heat so the gravy thickens nicely, without lumps. Add the sausage to the white sauce, then season with salt and pepper to taste. I recommend lots of pepper. You can also add thyme here, if you wish to have a more savory sauce. And if the gravy gets too thick, just add a bit more milk. Serve over warm, split biscuits, then swoon.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Homemade Ranch Dressing
It really never occurred to me to make my own Ranch dressing until I saw PW do it on her site. It was last summer, and I was chained to the couch by kidney stone/stent pain and my midwife-recommended bed rest. There was no way I was trying it then.
By the time I was up to trying it, many of our herbs had gone to seed, and there was no way on this earth I was going to shell out grocery store bucks to buy fresh herbs to make this dressing that my children love, especially when they like the cheapo not-even-Hidden-Valley variety just fine.
But it's a year later, my garden has herbs to spare, and fresh Ranch sounds so much better than something that was once shelf-stable. I didn't look at her recipe when I made this today, so my ratios and method ended up a bit different, but the result was still fantastic. If you've got herbs growing in your garden, this is a delicious way to use them!
Homemade Ranch Dressing
1/2 c. mayonnaise (NOT salad dressing/Miracle Whip)
1/2 c. sour cream
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced, grated, or pressed (I used the minced stuff in a jar)
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs of your choosing (but I used, and highly recommend, basil, thyme, dill, cilantro, and chives. I ESPECIALLY recommend the dill.)
Whisk together the mayo and sour cream, add the lemon juice, then add milk gradually, until the dressing is your desired consistency. Keep in mind that when it's chilled, it will thicken up a bit, too. Then add the garlic, salt and pepper, and herbs. You can taste it now if you'd like, but the flavors will be much better when the dressing has been allowed to chill for an hour or so.
Makes about 1 1/4 cup of dressing, and will keep for about 3 days, if it lasts that long.
You can also omit the milk, up the sour cream, and call it "dip" instead.
By the time I was up to trying it, many of our herbs had gone to seed, and there was no way on this earth I was going to shell out grocery store bucks to buy fresh herbs to make this dressing that my children love, especially when they like the cheapo not-even-Hidden-Valley variety just fine.
But it's a year later, my garden has herbs to spare, and fresh Ranch sounds so much better than something that was once shelf-stable. I didn't look at her recipe when I made this today, so my ratios and method ended up a bit different, but the result was still fantastic. If you've got herbs growing in your garden, this is a delicious way to use them!
Homemade Ranch Dressing
1/2 c. mayonnaise (NOT salad dressing/Miracle Whip)
1/2 c. sour cream
3 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced, grated, or pressed (I used the minced stuff in a jar)
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs of your choosing (but I used, and highly recommend, basil, thyme, dill, cilantro, and chives. I ESPECIALLY recommend the dill.)
Whisk together the mayo and sour cream, add the lemon juice, then add milk gradually, until the dressing is your desired consistency. Keep in mind that when it's chilled, it will thicken up a bit, too. Then add the garlic, salt and pepper, and herbs. You can taste it now if you'd like, but the flavors will be much better when the dressing has been allowed to chill for an hour or so.
Makes about 1 1/4 cup of dressing, and will keep for about 3 days, if it lasts that long.
You can also omit the milk, up the sour cream, and call it "dip" instead.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Remember Me?
Do you? I used to cook stuff and write about it? I still cook. But apparently, I have forgotten how to write. I've recently been convinced that I need to write more frequently, even if I end up churning out mindless drivel instead of meaningful content, so today represents a (hopefully lasting) shift in my bloggy persona. Today I will begin posting more often, and let the chips (and dip) fall where they may.
Today's topic: Gardening.
This year, for the first time ever, I planted a garden. We had a garden last year, but we also had a renter who took care of it. While last year, my garden responsibilities were limited to clipping basil and turning it into pesto and pesto-related treats, this year, I'm it. I'm our sole gardener.
Because I do very few things by half-measures, I am now slightly obsessed with our garden.
I really couldn't tell you what all last year's garden included, since I was on bed rest for the planting, and on infant-duty and sub-par sleep for the rest of the growing season. Besides: it was Shaun and Emily's garden, and we were just loaning them the land. Isn't ignorance what lazy landlords do best? I think there was broccoli, and I know there were cucumber plants and tomatoes and peppers and jalapenos, and two kinds of melon, and a truck load of parsley for our renter's fiancee's rabbit, Mrs. Bennett.
There were other things in that inaugural garden, but I'll be flogged if I can remember. The only thing I remember thinking was that there were certain things I couldn't imagine having a garden WITHOUT, and a bunch of those things weren't a part of last year's offerings. I remember thinking, why on earth wouldn't you plant green beans? Who plants a garden without green beans? Isn't it interesting how some people are so misguided about the vegetables they enjoy? Oh, I kid. But I knew for certain that if I were planting and watering and weeding, there were a few things I'd add to the garden, and a few things I'd subtract. In fact, I even made a Google document entitled "Garden '09 Wish List" so I could remember for this year what I thought really, really belonged in a garden.
Here's the list, constructed sometime last winter:
lettuce
spinach
green beans
tomatoes
peppers
cucumbers
jalapenos
cilantro
basil
oregano
thyme
dill
Sounds simple, doesn't it? But then planting season came around, and to those 12 must-haves, I added:
chives
radishes
scallions
onions
sugar snap peas
grape tomatoes
a potato that had sprouted in my cupboard
and a vine-y plant that spontaneously came up in our garden, and whose identity has still to be determined. I'd guess pumpkins, only we've never had pumpkins in our garden before, so we'll just have to wait and see.
And in the past couple of days, I planted four more pepper plants and two hot pepper plants the name of which I can't remember.
For those of you keeping track at home, that's 21 (TWENTY ONE) separate crops. 21 different things to manage in my first go-around as a gardener.
Am I a fool?
Don't answer that.
Tomorrow: Tending the crop also known as WEEDS.
Today's topic: Gardening.
This year, for the first time ever, I planted a garden. We had a garden last year, but we also had a renter who took care of it. While last year, my garden responsibilities were limited to clipping basil and turning it into pesto and pesto-related treats, this year, I'm it. I'm our sole gardener.
Because I do very few things by half-measures, I am now slightly obsessed with our garden.
I really couldn't tell you what all last year's garden included, since I was on bed rest for the planting, and on infant-duty and sub-par sleep for the rest of the growing season. Besides: it was Shaun and Emily's garden, and we were just loaning them the land. Isn't ignorance what lazy landlords do best? I think there was broccoli, and I know there were cucumber plants and tomatoes and peppers and jalapenos, and two kinds of melon, and a truck load of parsley for our renter's fiancee's rabbit, Mrs. Bennett.
There were other things in that inaugural garden, but I'll be flogged if I can remember. The only thing I remember thinking was that there were certain things I couldn't imagine having a garden WITHOUT, and a bunch of those things weren't a part of last year's offerings. I remember thinking, why on earth wouldn't you plant green beans? Who plants a garden without green beans? Isn't it interesting how some people are so misguided about the vegetables they enjoy? Oh, I kid. But I knew for certain that if I were planting and watering and weeding, there were a few things I'd add to the garden, and a few things I'd subtract. In fact, I even made a Google document entitled "Garden '09 Wish List" so I could remember for this year what I thought really, really belonged in a garden.
Here's the list, constructed sometime last winter:
lettuce
spinach
green beans
tomatoes
peppers
cucumbers
jalapenos
cilantro
basil
oregano
thyme
dill
Sounds simple, doesn't it? But then planting season came around, and to those 12 must-haves, I added:
chives
radishes
scallions
onions
sugar snap peas
grape tomatoes
a potato that had sprouted in my cupboard
and a vine-y plant that spontaneously came up in our garden, and whose identity has still to be determined. I'd guess pumpkins, only we've never had pumpkins in our garden before, so we'll just have to wait and see.
And in the past couple of days, I planted four more pepper plants and two hot pepper plants the name of which I can't remember.
For those of you keeping track at home, that's 21 (TWENTY ONE) separate crops. 21 different things to manage in my first go-around as a gardener.
Am I a fool?
Don't answer that.
Tomorrow: Tending the crop also known as WEEDS.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Quick and Easy Donuts
Don't they look scrumptious?A few years ago, Vicki, a woman from church, told me that sometimes, on Saturday mornings, she makes homemade donuts for her family. Vicki is one of those women you just secretly loathe, just because she's pretty AND nice AND talented AND organized AND has perfect children AND AND AND. You know the type. So anyway, I figured she had some old family recipe that she slaved over every Saturday morning in the name of love. But then she told me that she uses buttermilk biscuits...from a can. In that moment, I loathed her a little less. Because how can you loathe anyone who introduces you to the ease and magic of making donuts at home using a 35-cent can of biscuits? I made them this morning for my kids, and it took all of 5 minutes, start-to-finish.
Quick and Easy Donuts
1 can refrigerated buttermilk donuts
vegetable oil or shortening
Optional toppings:
sugar, powdered sugar, cinnamon, chocolate frosting, sprinkles...the sky's the limit!
Pour vegetable oil about 1/2 inch deep in a skillet. Place over medium heat. Splash a few drops of water into the cold oil. As the oil heats, the water will pop. when the water droplets have about stopped popping, your oil is ready to use.
Separate the biscuits and poke a hole in the middle of each to give it that classic donut shape and also to make sure it gets cooked evenly. Drop donuts into the hot oil (I always try one by itself first to make certain the oil is the right temperature), frying for about 45 seconds on one side, flipping, and frying about 45 seconds on the other side. It really will be to your advantage to do a test donut first to gauge how hot your oil is running. Your time may be slightly different. In any case, don't walk away, because these little gems cook up FAST!
When the donuts are a deep golden brown, remove and drain on a cooling rack. When the donuts have cooled to the touch, toss them with powdered sugar, plain sugar, or a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Or melt a small amount of frosting in the microwave and twirl the tops of your donuts in the frosting, topping with nonpareil sprinkles. Or mix powdered sugar and a little bit of milk for glazed donuts--twirl donuts in the glaze mixture or drizzle over top. Use your imagination! Ooh...I bet if you didn't put the hole in the middle, you could use a food syringe and fill the donuts with jelly or pudding or custard! I've never tried it, but I bet it would work.
I buy my biscuits from Aldi, and they really are about 35 cents. For ten hot, homemade donuts, that's not bad!
Monday, May 18, 2009
It's Still Monday Where I Live
, so technically, this is still Menu Plan Monday. But my-oh-my, I've got to start posting some recipes on Ye Olde Neglected Blog again. I tried a recipe this past week for a Lemon Pound Cake that I thought sounded great, and which I hoped I would be able to post about. It was exceptionally labor intensive--zesting and supreming four lemons, making lemon sugar, warming the eggs separately, etc--and I had very high hopes for its success. And the cake fell short. Literally. My cake fell. Short. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a huge deal, except for the fact I was making it for a friend's wedding reception, a time when you want your food to be pretty perfect. The good news is that when it was cut up, it looked fine, and it still tasted good. The bad news is that it took me so long to make this cake that I will never make it again. It was good, but not worth all of the effort. So, long story short, I won't be posting a recipe for Lemon Pound Cake, at least until I can find a recipe that is much, much simpler.
ALSO, I've been cooking from memory and without safety nets a lot lately, not really using "recipes," and making lots of stuff that either a) needs no recipe to make, or b) I've already posted. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to spice it up a bit?
On deck this week.....
Monday
(we had the Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad that I didn't make on Saturday)
Tuesday
BBQ Ribs
Roasted Sweet Corn
Klondike Rose Potato Salad
Wednesday
Hawaiian Chicken
Rice Pilaf
Watermelon
Thursday
Grilled Steak Salad
with homemade dressing and croutons
Friday
Turkey Club Sandwiches
(on Naan)
Saturday
Maple Sesame Bacon Fried Rice
Homemade Egg Rolls (or pot stickers, if I'm feeling adventuresome)
Sunday
Takeout, I hope!
ALSO, I've been cooking from memory and without safety nets a lot lately, not really using "recipes," and making lots of stuff that either a) needs no recipe to make, or b) I've already posted. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to spice it up a bit?
On deck this week.....
Monday
(we had the Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad that I didn't make on Saturday)
Tuesday
BBQ Ribs
Roasted Sweet Corn
Klondike Rose Potato Salad
Wednesday
Hawaiian Chicken
Rice Pilaf
Watermelon
Thursday
Grilled Steak Salad
with homemade dressing and croutons
Friday
Turkey Club Sandwiches
(on Naan)
Saturday
Maple Sesame Bacon Fried Rice
Homemade Egg Rolls (or pot stickers, if I'm feeling adventuresome)
Sunday
Takeout, I hope!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Menu Plan Monday
Last week was The Week of Garden Craziness, wherein I pledged virtually every available moment to getting my garden planted. Except for radishes and scallions, it is now planted, but now I find myself in the unenviable position of having mountains of laundry to do, dishes to wash, and floors to vacuum. Our family of five can DESTROY a house in two days...and it has been six since I did any amount of housework. I have my work cut out for me.
But we still have to eat. And life still goes on: this week, I have a choir rehearsal on Thursday, a benefit concert on Friday, and 5 loaves of quick bread to make for a wedding on Saturday. There's no rest for the weary, so there had better be good sustenance. On that note, here's what I've got planned for this week:
Monday
Grilled Thin-cut Pork Chops
Greeky-Greek Roasted Red Potatoes
Broccoli and Cheese
Tuesday
Burgers (with Vidalias!)
Salad
Wednesday
Fried Chicken
Authentic Garlic Bread
Roasted Green Beans
Thursday
Country-style Pork Ribs (Crock Pot/Broiler)
Shells and Cheese
Glazed Carrots
Friday
Leftovers
Saturday
More catch-as-catch-can
Sunday
Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad
But we still have to eat. And life still goes on: this week, I have a choir rehearsal on Thursday, a benefit concert on Friday, and 5 loaves of quick bread to make for a wedding on Saturday. There's no rest for the weary, so there had better be good sustenance. On that note, here's what I've got planned for this week:
Monday
Grilled Thin-cut Pork Chops
Greeky-Greek Roasted Red Potatoes
Broccoli and Cheese
Tuesday
Burgers (with Vidalias!)
Salad
Wednesday
Fried Chicken
Authentic Garlic Bread
Roasted Green Beans
Thursday
Country-style Pork Ribs (Crock Pot/Broiler)
Shells and Cheese
Glazed Carrots
Friday
Leftovers
Saturday
More catch-as-catch-can
Sunday
Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad
Monday, May 4, 2009
Menu Plan Monday
Wheee! Warm weather! This week's menu plan reflects that (kinda?). I'm into fresh produce now that the weather is nice--this week's grocery cart was filled mostly with produce for Tuesday's fiesta dinner. I'm not Mexican, but I will celebrate just about any holiday that gives me an excuse to make Mexican food. Shoot, I'll celebrate any holiday that encourages me to cook with cilantro and lime. Mmmmmm.
Have a great week!
Monday
Chicken Florentine in garlic cream sauce
Orzo
Tuesday--Cinco de Mayo
Beef and Chicken Fajitas
Guacamole
Salsa
Refried Beans
Mexican Rice
Wednesday
Schultzie's Mess (Breakfast Scramble with Ham, Onions, Green Peppers, Hash Browns, Eggs, and Cheese)
Thursday
Shredded Beef Sandwiches, toasted with sliced mozzarella
Roasted Yukon Rose Potatoes--JoJo style
Salad
Friday
Barbecued Country-Style Ribs
Roasted Green Beans
Broccoli Slaw with Homemade poppy seed dressing
Saturday
Leftovers
Sunday
Subway
Have a great week!
Monday
Chicken Florentine in garlic cream sauce
Orzo
Tuesday--Cinco de Mayo
Beef and Chicken Fajitas
Guacamole
Salsa
Refried Beans
Mexican Rice
Wednesday
Schultzie's Mess (Breakfast Scramble with Ham, Onions, Green Peppers, Hash Browns, Eggs, and Cheese)
Thursday
Shredded Beef Sandwiches, toasted with sliced mozzarella
Roasted Yukon Rose Potatoes--JoJo style
Salad
Friday
Barbecued Country-Style Ribs
Roasted Green Beans
Broccoli Slaw with Homemade poppy seed dressing
Saturday
Leftovers
Sunday
Subway
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)