Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Green Leaf Lettuce Tacos

Sandi made tacos last night. At home we had them on tortilla shells topped with lettuce, cheese, onion, tomato, sour cream, and chipotle salsa.  Today Jill, Marchae, and I had them for lunch using green leaf lettuce in place of the tortilla shell. We also didn’t have the onion and only topped with cheese, peach chipotle salsa, sour cream, and tomatoes.
Bon Appétit!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Beef Remoulade with Chive Potatoes

Sandi made Beef Remoulade for Sunday. She served it with harvard beets and chived potatoes. The beef was stuffed with dressing then baked at 350 until done. The potatoes were boiled then drained and loaded with butter and garnished with lots of fresh chives from the garden. They were served with sour cream with bacon bits.


Bon Appétit!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Sloppy Meatball Subs

Tonight is sloppy meatball subs. I have great buns and thought that sounded good. It was going to be regular meatball subs but they wouldn’t hold together so I made them sloppy instead. They were actually good. I mixed eggs, rice, meatball seasoning, grated parmesan cheese together with the meat and finely chopped onion. Then tried to brown the meatballs and ended up just browning the meat in small batches instead. We then They served with Gourmet Sicilian pasta sauce on sub buns.
Bon Appétit!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Chicken Fajitas with Refried Beans

Tonight Josh and Morgan made dinner. We had Chicken Fajitas with refried beans, and they were fabulous. The meat was marinated then cooked with the green peppers. We had finely chopped green onion, diced tomatoes, finely shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream for garnish. Everything was fantastic. Thanks guys it was great !
Bon Appétit!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Fruit and Nut Oatmeal

Actually this was very good. Just enough for a perfect breakfast with a cup of black coffee. This is one of McDonalds new breakfast items. Much better for you than a greasy sausage mcmuffin.
Bon Appétit!

Green Salad

A wonderful lettuce and grape tomato salad. Just perfect for a light lunch. With NO dressing, just a lemon wedge for a little extra flavor.
Bon Appétit!

Chocolate Cupcakes with European Silk Frosting

Morgan made these with her special recipe. Then Sandi made a  European Silk frosting that was so light and fluffy it was unbelievable. That was from her secret recipe she created. Thumbs up Morgan and Sandi, DON’T give out your recipes ! These were phenomenal. Only thing missing was a cup of Chocolate Truffle coffee and country vanilla ice cream, but then again with that we wouldn't have needed the sandwiches. Bon Appétit!

Turkey Subs

Sliced turkey with lettuce and mayo on a sub bun. Tomato would have been nice but we didn’t have any. Maybe next time. These were excellent. The buns were perfect. Served with Jalapeno chips and the wonderful cupcakes that Morgan and Sandi made. 
Bon Appétit!

Baked Beans

I used Brooks Beans this time. I added a lot of dark brown sugar and a large medium fine chopped onion.  The beans will be dark in color because of the dark brown sugar which makes it look good. Instead of the spices I usually use I changed and used a pint jar of my spicy tomato sauce instead. It was great. The spice was just perfect. I pre baked it at 350 for 45 minutes then alter reheated at Sandi’s. 
Bon Appétit!

Baked Hot Dogs

We wanted to grill outside but it was cold and rainy so we opted for baking them in the oven with the garlic bread. We used quarter pound hot dogs and baked at 375 till done. With this we had onion, tomato, relish, and mustard for toppings. Served with garlic bread and baked beans.
Bon Appétit!

Tomato Mozzarella Bread

We used the special recipe I got from Timmy Knight for this one. Take a loaf of French Bread and cut in half lengthwise. Coat with garlic butter. I sprinkled a light amount of cheddar cheese then topped with large slices of fresh tomato. Sprinkle with mozzarella on top of that. Bake at 375 to 400 till cheese is melted. Whether you get it a light brown for color is your option. This time we opted not to. Sometimes we sprinkle a little Italian Seasoning on top of the mozzarella but this time again we opted not to. The garlic butter is homemade.
Bon Appétit!

Chinese Diet Soup

This is a very good soup and you can eat pretty much as much as you want. It contains negative calorie vegetables only. I cook onions, cabbage, celery, sometimes carrots, sometimes broccoli in water then add beef base for flavor. When that is done I add 2 quarts of my home canned tomatoes for more color and flavor. Don’t cook the veggies till they fall apart you want them somewhat crispy. Its good and you can use this on days when you are so  hungry from your diet you want to cheat. This is an excellent CHEAT food.
Bon Appétit!

Beef Ravioli with Pecan Shortbread Cookie Dessert

The kids had the beef ravioli while we were waiting for the potatoes to cook. Wow everyone is going to be full before they get cooked.  One more time we have Sophie's plate with Tinkerbell again. Also for dessert is a pecan shortbread cookie with whipped cream.
Bon Appétit!

Corned Beef Hash

Of course Sandi was hungry and I was just cutting the potatoes and they weren’t even cooking yet let alone done. Sandi decided to settle for corned beef hash. It really was good for a canned product. It looked and tasted good both. Naturally she wasn’t hungry for mashed potatoes and gravy.
Bon Appétit!

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

This meal was the day after the sandwicnes. Either one is complete in itself no room for anything else with either meal. The gravy from the roast with a pan full of mashed potatoes. Not instant. For this gravy you need the best, and that’s what this was. Great job Sandi. There was no need for anything else to go with the potatoes either, but then again we are potato fans. This was little Sophie's dinner obviously, with the Tinkerbell plate.
Bon Appétit!

Roast Beef Sandwiches on Bun

This was the most amazing roast beef sandwich I have had in years and years. This was not the typical grocery store roast beef. Sandi bought a roast from where she works and it is fantastic. It is restaurant quality and believe me they do get better quality meats than we can in the grocery stores. She cooked this to perfection and made a fantastic gravy to go with it. We just used some smaller sub rolls and put mustard on it and it was great! This would be great to do for July 4 weekend, cook is same way just take individual portions of it and make some barbecued some as Italian beef sandwiches with au jus. I see great possibilities ahead!
Bon Appétit!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Stuffed Portobello Caps
Sandi made some stuffed caps.  Mozzarella, and spinach on some, and mozzarella and green pepper on some. Served with  Chicken and potato onion packet.
Excellent. Very diet friendly.


Bon Appétit!

Potato Onion Packet

Sliced potatoes and diced onion in lots and lots of butter and a quarter cup water to help the potatoes steam. Touch of salt, garlic powder and a special season for flavor. Yum BUTTER !
Bon Appétit!

Naked Chicken

Naked Chicken
Last night it was time to get the chicken cooked. I had boneless skinless chicken breasts so they cooked fast with no bone. I went threw it on the grill at 10 pm and they were done in no time at all. Needless to say it was too dark to put any kind of sauce or anything on it. I really wanted to bbq it but oh well, maybe next time. At least it got cooked it was tender and had a grill flavor so that works for me.

Bon Appétit!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Scorned Woman Wicked Chicken

We made a special sauce for the chicken. Applied it after the chicken cooked half way on the grill. Then finished it off in the oven. Just a touch of spicyness to it but not overpowering.


Bon Appétit!

Cheeseburgers

Josh made a few cheese burgers for the little ones who didn’t want steak or ribs.  They look great! Again Wonderful job Josh.

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

This was the ultimate. I’ve never had better and I won’t share the recipe, mainly because I don’t know it.   LOL.  Fantastic job Morgan.
Bon Appétit!









And now for a young man’s opinion of the dinner today.  I have to say I agree with him 100%.  It was fantastic all around but I feel so guilty I didn’t help with any of it. Love you all. Thanks for the plant and the card and a wonderful dinner.

Potato Salad

Morgan made the potato salad. She used potatoes, onions, bacon, celery and a few other secret ingredients in the dressing . It was wonderful. Great job Morgan !


Bon Appétit!

Grilled Steak

Josh cooked the steak on the grill with his secret spices to make it very flavorful but not over powering. They were perfect. Very tender, cooked just the way we all liked them. Excellent job Josh !


Bon Appétit!

Barbecued Ribs

Sandi made the bbq ribs and they were absolutely perfect. They were juicy, tender, perfectly done not over done or under done. You couldn’t have found better if you bought them in the store pre made. Excellent job Sandi !

Bon Appétit!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Chicken Rice Bake

I used partial white rice and partial brown and wild rice. After they were cooked I sautéed 1 vidalia onion finely diced and about a pound of broccoli tips. When they were almost done I roughly chopped mot of a pound of mushroom caps. I didn’t peel them like usual and left hem in larger chopped pieces. It was just fine. When that was done I added 8 – 10 ounces of heavy whipping cream. The rice was then mixed with the vegetable mixture and was placed in a 9 by 13 oblong baking dish. I grilled chicken breasts earlier and sliced them to put on top of the rice mixture. I then topped that with a little pepper jack cheese. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese and make sure the other stuff got heated the rest of the way since it had been a little while since it was cooked.

Bon Appétit!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Sandi’s Pepperoni Pizza Night

Sandi makes a great pizza dough and pizza sauce. She formed the dough in the pan then half cooked it to give it shape. At that point she added the secret pizza sauce. Mozzarella cheese was added to that and then saturated with pepperoni. I don’t mean pizza pepperoni I mean the good deli  stuff which is 100% better tasting and looking. It is absolutely wonderful for a pizza. We made 2 16 inch pizzas for the family. One we added a half of finely diced onion under the pepperoni. We added a small handful of shredded pepper jack cheese on top of the pepperoni. They were baked separately at 375 for about 20 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.  YUM !

Bon Appétit!

Onion Soup

I sautéed 2 chopped onions in 3 sticks of butter. When translucent I added some beef base to give a beefy flavor. After that melted in good I added a cup of water and a quart of tomato juice. Stir until bubbly then thicken with cornstarch water mixture. Perfect for a sandwich accompaniment.
The vidalia or the texas 1015 are both very good sweet onions that are perfect for this.

Bon Appétit!

Smoked Sausage Links

Saturdays dinner was an easy no brainer. Preheat the grill then put on and sty with them so they don’t burn. Keep rotating with grill fork until browned and thoroughly heated. Time depends on how hot your grill is and how your fire is. Serve with out without bun. Chips are always a good side dish in place of the bun.


Bon Appétit!

Baked Tomatoes / Grilled Tomatoes

Take tomatoes and cut off both ends then cut the tomato in half. I put basil olive oil in the bottom of the pan then placed the tomatoes in the pan. I made sure both sides had the oil on them, then seasoned with Italian seasoning and baked in the oven for about 10 minutes. They can also be grilled on the grill for 5 minutes on each side. Top with mozzarella cheese and let melt. Serve with your favorite meat and or vegetables.


Bon Appétit!

Fresh Pineapples and Strawberries

Cut strawberries with fresh cut pineapple. No canned stuff for this one. I added sugar to the berries so they could get juicy then added the pineapple and let them set over night in the fridge before serving. Normally I use my secret dip for these but I didn't have everything I needed so we roughed it without and ate them plain. They were still great !  Fresh fruit is always a good thing.
Bon Appétit!

Potato Packet

Sliced potatoes with sliced onions seasoned and baked in the oven until tender. Usually we do these on the grill and we add green pepper when they are good and don’t cost a fortune. Either way is great. We usually add butter and a couple tablespoons of water so they can steam in the foil packet.
 
Bon Appétit!

Grilled Eye Of Round Steaks

Sunday Sandi got an eye of round roast and cut it into steaks. Jerry grilled them to perfection on the charcoal grill. These were seasoned with Sandi's secret seasonings mix to make them burst with flavor.

Bon Appétit!