Saturday

I've been busy lately so when I've been cooking I haven't been able to post. Mostly though I've been wussing out on the cooking.

The homemade meals this week were centered around on very large pork tenderloin which cooked itself in the crockpot while we were at work.

Pork Tenderloin Day 1

I threw that bad boy in the crock pot with spices(mustard, garlic, seasoned salt, and various other random stuff on hand) and water. Let cook on low for 8-10 hours. It was then accompanied by homemade mashed potatoes. Kudos to Eric on that the tatoes. They were fab!

Pork Tenderloin Day 2

I shredded the remainder of the meat and mixed it with a can of Manwich. I then pressed some Pilsbury biscuits into a muffin tin and threw some meat and shredded cheese on top. Bake for 15ish minutes. I really didn't keep track of the time because I was making Christmas cookies at the same time so the oven was under constant observation. Eric liked them and I thought they were okay. I'm not a Pilsbury biscuit lover. I would have preferred Pilsbury crescents but there were none on hand.

Sophie's Birthday Cake

The cakes was a monstrous masterpiece! My job was baking and assembly and Eric did the decorating. It took three cake mixes and five batches of buttercream frosting. On the bottom there are two nine inch round cakes and the top is two cakes mixes baked in a oven proof glass bowl. The bowl took almost three hours to bake at 25o degrees. I was worried the the outside would be crunchy and over cooked and the center still uncooked, but was done almost perfectly all the way through. This was my first attempt at Buttercream frosting. It was surprisingly easy and yummy. Sophie and everyone absolutely loved it, so definitely a big success!

Sunday Breakfast

Breakfast Burritos

1lb. ground pork, browned and drained
5-6 Eggs, Scrambled
Tortillas
Shredded Cheese
Salsa

Notes:
I seasoned my the ground pork myself though it would have been easier to buy the already seasoned. Also, the pork was a bit greasy for me. I would prefer to use turkey or a combination of turkey and pork.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

Notes:
These were fabulous when reheated in the toaster oven for a minute or two!

Sophie said, "You make really good breakfast, but I drank too much milk!" It was nice to see a five year old eagerly guzzle three glasses of milk.

Tuesday Night

Chili night(or Chili week)

So there is a lot of chili! No matter what you do you can't make a two person batch of chili. And unfortunately I wasn't a huge fan of the chili. This happens every time I make it though. I think I just love my chili memories more than the taste. It was the first thing that I learned how to cook with my dad. I'd drag my chair back and forth from the cutting board and the stove adding ingredients and stirring under the supervision of my dad. Eric helped me which was really nice but it still didn't make me want to eat the chili.

On the other hand, Eric really liked the chili. I think the beef roast chunks in lieu of ground beef made a big impact on him. I hope he still likes it as leftovers!

Sunday Brunch

Growing up my dad made brunch every Sunday morning, well I'm sure he still does I just no longer get to enjoy it. I have always wanted to continue this with for my family when Eric and I get to that point. However, Eric is not a breakfast lover but I figured as long as we were snowed in I might take a shot at making him a brunch lover.

Turkey Sammies on Bacon Cheese Waffles

2 C Bisquick

1 1/2 C milk

2 Eggs

1 C Shredded cheese

8 Slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (1/2 C)

Sliced Turkey Breast

Slices of Cheese

Mix ingredients and pour into hot waffle iron(greased). Bake 3-4 min or until steam stops and waffle is golden brown.

Notes:

The waffle recipe is an adaptation of Bisquick's Bacon and Swiss waffles. We're good old Wisconsin cheddarheads and not big fans of Swiss so the waffle battter had cheddar. And for the cheese on the sandwiches we each used our favorite(Pepper Jack for Eric and Muenster for me.)

The turkey breast was a Jennie-O turkey breast tenderloin which already came marinated in a lemon garlic seasoning. I just drizzled EVOO on it and broiled it according to the directions on the package. Eric complimented its amazing moistness. The bonus was it was on sale for only $1.5o for a little 1 lb. piece of meat.

Orange-Almond Streusel Muffins

1 tsp. grated orange peel

1/2 C orange juice

1/3 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 egg

1/4 Sliced almonds

Streusel Topping

1 T Bisquick mix

2 T packed brown sugar

2 T sliced almonds

1 T butter or margarine

Mix orange juice, brown sugar, egg, and oil. Stir in Bisquick and almonds. Pour into greased muffin pan. Make topping by mixing Bisquick, brown sugar, and almonds, then cut in butter using a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Notes:

My streusel topping didn't turn out well using I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Next time I'll use margarine or butter. Also, I think I may have added an extra egg to the batter and it turned out well, not over moist.

Friday Night

Spaghetti and ManMan's Meatballs

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 egg

about 1/2 of Rye Krisps crumbs(healthier version of bread crumbs)

minced garlic

basil

italian seasoning

Mix ingredients(with hands). From approx. 1 inch balls. Simmer in sauce(organic Ragu tonight), turning frequently, until cooked through. Spoon over cooked pasta.

Notes:

Next time I need to remember to add Parmesan or Romano cheese into the meatballs. Also, I had used the already seasoned jennie-o ground turkey so I felt I could have laid off the basil a bit. However, Eric felt they were bland, but what does a German know about a meatball? If it was up to him we'd have bratwurst on top of pasta!

Sunday Lunch

Hu-Hot:

My original goal was to document my culinary creations and their successes and failures, but I realized I may need reminders from time to time about past restaurant experiences. Take for example my continued dissatisfaction with the changes at Applebees. I used to love it, now they revamped their menu and had to two sub-par experiences.

However, today was a great experience! It was our second trip to Hu-Hot and the food once again was FABULOUS! I was more satisfied with the prices this time. Last time we had went for dinner which includes a salad or soup for $11.99, which the salad was good but I felt like I was wasting stomach space. Weekend lunch was just $8.99. In the future though I think we will try to go a little later in the day but before dinner to avoid the post-church crowd.

Tuesday Night

Tuna Casserole:

3 Cans of Tuna
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup(Low Sodium or Reduced Fat optional)
Couple of handfuls frozen peas
Couple handfuls of smashed ripple potato chips(Cheddar Sour Cream preferred here!)

Mix and cover with more chips! 350 for about a hour.

Huge favorite and repeat performer!

How it works...

Okay, I got this idea from Annie.

1. Log the daily meals.
2. Describe variables, as necessary.
3. Allow and receive feedback.
4. Use feedback for future meal decisions.

Part of this is addressing the problem that, although I'm a decent cook, I often get overwhelmed and cannot recall meal ideas that have delighted my family. Yet, I have some old-favorites (mine) that I can always remember--that doesn't mean anybody likes them. So, I'm listening to the analyst and posting and tracking data. Isn't that what good home economics is all about?

Comments encouraged by all that eat our food.
Comments also encouraged by everyone else.
That's the point.