Tomato Plate

Rather than do a stuffed tomato I just sliced 3 small medium tomatoes and put them on 2 plates and topped them with tuna. Same as stuffed tomatoes but less waste on the tomato. Just as good and quicker. Very diet friendly!

Bon Appétit!

Broccoli Potato Bake

I used 4 pounds of potatoes cut into cubes, 1 onion, 2 cups of pepper jack cheese, and about a cup of broccoli. I would have used more if I had it. Keep the potatoes in cold water after they are cut until they are all done.  Butter the bottom of the oblong baking dish. Place the potatoes in the dish and add the diced onion on top of there. Add the half the cheese and mix thoroughly. Add broccoli and mix again. Bake at 350 for about half an hour. Put the rest of the cheese on top then bake for about 15 – 20 more minutes. The variances in the oven temps will make a difference in whether your potatoes are done or not. Of course there is no such thing as a potato that is under cooked as far as we are concerned. We aren’t that fussy when it comes to potatoes so when everything else is done the potatoes are no matter how they are.  

Bon Appétit!

 

Meatloaf

I used 2 pounds of ground chick and 2 pounds of ground pork, one red onion, one half cup of diced celery 4 eggs, 1 pint of spicy tomato paste and cooked rice. Mixed it all together then divided into 3 parts for 3 individual pieces.  I put one pint of tomato sauce in the baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour at 350.   

Bon Appétit!

Happy Birthday Jack - Turtle Cake

This cake was so good a couple days ago they had another one in the reduced section today so I had to get it for your birthday.  But will do a diet friendly dinner to go with it since this is way over the top on calories. Maybe more stuffed tomatoes and deviled eggs you liked both of those.

Bon Appétit!

Deviled Eggs

Take your hard boiled eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Take out the yolks and mix them with dilled mayonnaise (that’s my preferred choice.) Add a touch of dry mustard for flavor. Mix thoroughly and put in the cooked egg halves. If  I had a pastry bag or any kind of bag I would put it in with that so it would look pretty but I’m out right now so a spoon works. Sprinkle with paprika for a dash of color. Another very diet friendly side dish.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Make your tuna the way you like it. I like using celery, hard boiled eggs, and dilled mayonnaise. I do not like the miracle whip or the mayo mixed with vinegar and sugar although some people do. Any way after your tuna is made hollow out the tomatoes you plan on using and fill them with the tuna. Simple and very diet friendly.  A great low calorie lungh or dinner item.  Bon Appétit!

For lunch today is a cottage cheese stuffed tomato as well as the tuna stuffed tomato.

Turtle Cake - - Happy Birthday Jack

THIS WAS GREAT WHILE IT WAS AROUND HOWEVER AS USUAL WHEN SOMETHIG IS GOOD THEY DISCONTINUE IT. IF YOU DIDNT ET ONE YET YOU MISSED IT !  I WAS TOLD TODAY IT WAS A THING OF THE PAST.     :-(

This was fantastic. I take credit for this only through the courtesy of the Wal Mart Bakery Reduced section. I could never make a cake like this. It was fabulous !

Swirls of chocolate and caramel cake layered with caramel. Iced with fudge icing and finished off with a caramel drizzle and a light chocolate square with the cake name on it.

They come from their supplier like this it is NOT baked or decorated at Wal Mart.

For those on a diet a piece about one quarter of an inch wide is diet friendly. Any more and forget it for the day you are sunk when you eat this cake, but its worth it for a special occasion.

This was so good we got  another one.

  

WAL MART BAKERY SECTION is where you can find this IF you have a supercenter. 

I think it would be great with French Vanilla Ice Cream but we didnt have any. Maybe next time.

Bon Appétit!

Mushroom Rice Bake

How much rice you use depends on how big of casserole you wish to make. The rice bake has mushrooms, onion, broccoli, mushroom sauce, celery, cooked rice, topped with cheddar cheese. Sauté the fresh mushrooms in butter. Add the onions and celery to the mushroom butter and sauté til translucent. Add the broccoli tips to the vegetable mix and just stir til it turns bright green. It only takes a minute or so then remove from the heat.  Add heavy whipping cream to your mix to make your sauce. Mix this with the rice. Mix it all together and put in buttered glass baking dish. Top with shredded cheese, and a light layer of pepper jack. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or so.  you can also make this a day ahead of time and bake it when you need it if you have more to do the day you want to serve it. Baking time then would be more like 40 minutes depending on  your oven.  

This is not quite as diet friendly unless you only eat a small portion.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie. This is her birthday party dinner.   

Bon Appétit!

the cooked one here is not one i made. this one has no pepperjack cheese on it.

the one at the top prior to baking is mine adn does have pepper jack cheese.

Butter VS Margarine

I was always and Imperial margarine user. I liked unwrapping the gold foil from the stick. It had excellent flavor and I used it for everything except turkeys. That is the one time I would use real butter. Once Imperial lost the gold foil wrapper and changed to a regular paper like all the other margarines I gave it up.  The elegance was gone, I was so disappointed. At that point I started using real butter. You can never use too much butter. When Cousin Sandi and I were teenagers and we helped with dinner, when I was in charge of the mashed potatoes I always used to get yelled at for making the potatoes yellow from too much butter.

Happy Birthday Sophie Bread and Rolls / Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Made from cake mix then topped with whipped cream tinted with red and pink.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie. This is her birthday party dinner.   

Bon Appétit!

Bread and Rolls

Rhodes frozen rolls and bread is fantastic when you follow the directions and make sure your oven is hot when you bake the product. Also make sure you let it rise properly. Best if let set for a few minutes bvefore cutting into it no matter how tempting it is. And of course you can never use too much butter on it.

 

Fruit Salad

Josh used fresh strawberries, blackberries, maraschino cherries, canned peaches, canned pineapple chunks. These were frozen for a short time to make them extra cold. They were put in a pink colored whipped cream which was whipped from heavy whipping cream.

                                                                                                                     

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie. This is her birthday party dinner.   

Bon Appétit!

Chicken Sticks / Shrimp with Pineapple Kabobs / Pork Steaks

Josh is our Grill cook today. Chicken thighs were marinated in teriyaki sauce for 3 – 4 hours then placed on sticks and grilled outdoors. He used medium shrimp and canned pineapple chunks. They were put on a skewer and grilled at the same time the chicken was since they both take little time to cook. Pork steaks were seasoned with pork outdoor grill seasoning then grilled outdoors. Both are healthy and non fattening for those of us on a diet.

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie. This is her birthday party dinner.   

Bon Appétit!

Pepper Jack Cheese Burgers with Carmelized Onions & Green Pepper

Tonight was Pepper Jack Cheeseburgers with Caramelized Onions for dinner with fresh pineapple and fresh strawberries with dip for dessert. I make quarter  pound burgers and toped them with pepper jack cheese.  I cut them in half and arranged them on a plate so I could make sure they were thoroughly cooked. I browned 1 onion in 2 sticks of butter and added a tsp or so of brown sugar after they were thoroughly cooked. I let them continue to cook then placed them on top of the burgers. The strawberries and pineapple were both cut and put on a plate. Made the dip and dinner is served. Bon Appétit!

These were so good I made them again only I added a half of a green pepper to it this time. It was just as good and the green gave it a little added color. Bon Appétit!

Taco Salad

Thursday night was Taco Salad. Jack didn’t want it either Oh well, cold chicken for him more for me. Browned the ground chuck with onion then added taco seasoning. I layered refried beans, guacamole, taco meat, sour cream and lettuce n a bowl. Then I served with Mega thin taco chips which were great, very thin and very good. Probably the best taco chips I have had in a long time. Bon Appétit!

Garlic Toast

Monday was a quick dinner at home. We got home late and didn’t have a lot to work with so it was Garlic Toast. Of course I left it in a little longer than I wanted and it got a little darker than I like it but it was good and it wasn’t burnt. That worked for me. Jack on the other hand was not happy about it but dealt with it. Then he had to have tons of chocolate because I didn’t make that much for dinner. I told him there’s always peanut butter if you don’t like what I fix. Bon Appétit!

Baked Potato With Sour Cream

Tuesday was a wonderful baked potato with tons of butter and sour cream. Shame on me that is a no no but it was so good. For dessert I made a dip for some fresh strawberries. Everything was very good. By the time the potato was cook I already had the strawberries and dip about gone. I had broccoli and cheese to put on the potato but was not hungry enough to add all that so I saved that for the next days lunch. Of course you know when you make a baked potato you need to use those huge almost 1 pound baked potatoes. They usually cook in a 350 degree oven for about an hour to an hour and a half. (the one with out sour cream is the wimpy one for jack cause he doesnt like sour cream.)

Bon Appétit!

Spaghetti and Garlic Toast

Monday Cousins and I made spaghetti for something quick. Just the basic browning of the ground chuck, add onion, and minced garlic. Would have added other stuff but it was last minute and that was what we had available for us. Instead of using the angel hair like we usually use we used thin spaghetti which works just as well it just takes longer to cook. This was a definite combined effort. Morgan started the meat then Sandi and I finished it and added the onion. Then Josh cooked the garlic toast because I put it in and forgot about it. Good thing he was in kitchen and knew about it. He made it perfect. Add a couple Coors Light beer and everything was fantastic.  Bon Appétit!

Salad

Sunday night was nothing but a plain salad. After a long day working on the pond followed by over 4 hours without electricity this was it. Open salad bag and pour on your favorite dressing, my preference is Kraft Catalina.  Paper plates and fingers and NO DISHES. Now that is lazy, but it was healthy and good. Maybe I’ll do that one again tonight with a baked potato. One of those nice one pound potatoes loaded with sour crea, butter, broccoli and mushrooms. Bon Apetit!

Chicken Rice Soup

Saturday night was chicken rice soup. A real no brainer here. Boiled chicken breasts and cut up. Add rice to broth and simmer till cooked. Add cut up chicken back to rice and a half of thinly sliced and cut red onion. I was great. Something quick after a long days work out in the yard. Bon Appétit!