I know, I know what you're all thinking. You don't just make homemade baked donuts from scratch, insert a pair of English muffin bread loaves into your diehard repertoire, insist the fudginess of these quick, easy brownies didn't astound you in their refrigerated condition, unless you're bored.
And reckless. In search of the homeschooling solution my whole life, wherein self-directed learning takes the cake, and betting your life on all you know matters makes the difference you were looking for. A meal plan into it and everyone's fed, and nourished, and happy.
It's an easy balance knowing everything I need is in my pantry, should beans and tomatoes suddenly wage certain war, if headstrong romaine forces broccoli, cauliflower, and shredded carrots into convincing a tricolor cheese tortellini to embrace Alfredo, scooping in the Parmesan.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
My own new casserole
It sits well to have forgone the absentee cabbage, making acquaintance with oregano like never before raised the gold standard, that and pepper. You see, browning 3 lbs of ground pork and ground beef with two small diced onions to congratulate them on their togetherness, in public anyway. Behind closed doors you see what two cans of diced tomatoes are made of, two cups of water and a cup and a third of rice into the equation, and you've got the boiling to simmering down to a pattern.
Hope you remembered the 2 tsp oregano and gallon of pepper invited, just kidding it's only a teaspoon adopted from foster care. About twenty minutes later, if you've kept your pot covered, your goulash has morphed from cabbage roll ingredients to a Shepherd pie bottom. Sure you still mix the cupful of cheese in, gotta have your dairy. Layer the bottom of your 9 x 12 with half that 28 oz can of tomato sauce, having stirred the 2 tsp sugar and a tsp of dried oregano in, a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes will cover the magic.
Of course you're a stubborn old Capricorn goat like myself, and you layer 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables, awash in tomato sauce, atop goulash for another layer. Thank every lucky star in the sky that you pre-made 4 lbs of peeled, sliced 3/4 in, covered with cold water and then boiled somewhere between 10 minutes and fork tender. Mash with 12 T butter and 2 cups half and half, or just use milk and stop at a cup, then salt and pepper with abandon.
It's a mess to be cleaned up, an agreed flotsam we can both spit on, you and I are freed. To know layering Easy Mashed Potatoes upon mixed frozen vegetables, upon pork/beef/rice/tomato/onion goulash, with an extra half cup or so of shredded cheese propped on top, like icing.
Hope you remembered the 2 tsp oregano and gallon of pepper invited, just kidding it's only a teaspoon adopted from foster care. About twenty minutes later, if you've kept your pot covered, your goulash has morphed from cabbage roll ingredients to a Shepherd pie bottom. Sure you still mix the cupful of cheese in, gotta have your dairy. Layer the bottom of your 9 x 12 with half that 28 oz can of tomato sauce, having stirred the 2 tsp sugar and a tsp of dried oregano in, a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes will cover the magic.
Of course you're a stubborn old Capricorn goat like myself, and you layer 2 cups mixed frozen vegetables, awash in tomato sauce, atop goulash for another layer. Thank every lucky star in the sky that you pre-made 4 lbs of peeled, sliced 3/4 in, covered with cold water and then boiled somewhere between 10 minutes and fork tender. Mash with 12 T butter and 2 cups half and half, or just use milk and stop at a cup, then salt and pepper with abandon.
It's a mess to be cleaned up, an agreed flotsam we can both spit on, you and I are freed. To know layering Easy Mashed Potatoes upon mixed frozen vegetables, upon pork/beef/rice/tomato/onion goulash, with an extra half cup or so of shredded cheese propped on top, like icing.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Always waiting
It was a joke. Sweet potatoes have no problem knocking at my door, sporting fries coated in panko, so what's up with cabbage pulling the whole disappearing act, I'm sure my cabbage rolls wouldn't understand if you asked them. A pound and a half of browned pork and ground beef, a small chopped onion. Adding 2 cups of diced tomatoes, a cup of water, 2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice, a tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp pepper.
If you bring that civilized concoction to boiling on your stovetop, over reduced heat you can simmer for 20 minutes, so long as your pot's kept covered. Trimming a heavy vein from a cabbage leaf will have to wait until cabbage gets over its complex need for approval, immersing 4 at a time into boiling water ought to scald their socks off. Two to three minutes later you've got that limpness required.
Not everyone can handle the insight involved when taking a half cup of shredded Swiss cheese, use your own compass, guide that Swiss cheese somewhere. Note the 1/3 cup of meat mixture getting over itself as we speak, cheese included. Fold in sides, roll up, a yogi catches my drift here. A sauce for cabbage rolls is not complete until two 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce date 2 teaspoons of sugar for just a little bit, only to find a teaspoon of oregano just doesn't stop cheating on her.
Being all alone with your recipes is tragic enough, two times can't be a charm, why would three successful cabbage roll dinners in a row change your mind about all those who disappoint you. Never pour half the sauce on the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish then, arrange rolls and spoon remaining sauce over your conscience buried somewhere in there. Three hundred fifty degrees for 35-40 minutes is a no brainer, skull's empty.
If you think another half cup of Swiss cheese sprinkled on top doesn't change your cabbage, easy mashed potatoes, corn, wait-I'm-out of cabbage endeavor, think again sister.
If you bring that civilized concoction to boiling on your stovetop, over reduced heat you can simmer for 20 minutes, so long as your pot's kept covered. Trimming a heavy vein from a cabbage leaf will have to wait until cabbage gets over its complex need for approval, immersing 4 at a time into boiling water ought to scald their socks off. Two to three minutes later you've got that limpness required.
Not everyone can handle the insight involved when taking a half cup of shredded Swiss cheese, use your own compass, guide that Swiss cheese somewhere. Note the 1/3 cup of meat mixture getting over itself as we speak, cheese included. Fold in sides, roll up, a yogi catches my drift here. A sauce for cabbage rolls is not complete until two 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce date 2 teaspoons of sugar for just a little bit, only to find a teaspoon of oregano just doesn't stop cheating on her.
Being all alone with your recipes is tragic enough, two times can't be a charm, why would three successful cabbage roll dinners in a row change your mind about all those who disappoint you. Never pour half the sauce on the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish then, arrange rolls and spoon remaining sauce over your conscience buried somewhere in there. Three hundred fifty degrees for 35-40 minutes is a no brainer, skull's empty.
If you think another half cup of Swiss cheese sprinkled on top doesn't change your cabbage, easy mashed potatoes, corn, wait-I'm-out of cabbage endeavor, think again sister.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Fresh Market Slaw
If you're gonna go ahead and make cabbage your centerpiece, invest in red and green. Slice each in half unless cooking for an army, then shred any which way you can, and add a bunch of sliced scallions. Dress with 1/2 c apple cider vinegar, 1/4 c rice wine vinegar, 2 T honey and sesame oil, 2 t salt, 1 T mustard seeds, 2 T toasted sesame seeds, an hour at room temperature to meld.
15-1/2 cups of vegetables a week
You've no idea what I've been through, an enlightenment as to our daily requirements of vegetables, you get the picture? Who was I to ignore the sage advice of my elders, pumping 5 cups a week of red and orange vegetables (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots being the star) into your bloodstream is barely fathomable, let alone the 5 EXTRA CUPS of starches expected, you know a mere five cups a week of peas, corn and potatoes.
Then 4 cups extra of "other vegetables" later, you've celery to pick through, green peppers, onions, cauliflower, cucumbers, cabbage and mushrooms to regard. Go ahead and stake your odds on an additional 1-1/2 cups dark green vegetables, trending spinach and kale if I get my ornery way, that broccoli you owe your talent to, even romaine gets a challenge. A cup and a half of bean opportunities and peas with various pastas or beside mashed potatoes is not really that big of a deal, so confront it.
And if you can guarantee a cup's worth of tomato sauce per week into yours and everyone else's diets, a simple surrender to a crockpot chili (turkey or beef), a knowing glance at cabbage rolls, a fiesta casserole. Then the six ounces of protein you're expected to eat every day makes chickpea red pepper hummus kind of essential, also a tuna dish, chili bean pockets and homemade bean burritos always there, quenching hunger.
Only a fruitophobe would deny the cup and a half necessary to meet blueberries in oatmeal halfway, to take pineapple, cantaloupe and watermelon out on a limb, the random mandarin orange sideglancing grapefruit before ignoring her altogether. We all have our favorites, don't let frozen fruit smoothies just get a cups worth over with and accept responsibility for the two cups of kale/spinach that goes into every act of second guessing.
Life's way too short and to let grains like quinoa, or even rice, crackers and bread miss out on acting their age, even when a free spirit and intuitive nature are all that is required of any of them, everlasting. Saying it up front is not the same as putting it out there, three cups of dairy a day takes things personally, 8 ounces of yogurt, a couple ounces of cheese, that almond milk you rely on. Become your own best friend, make the refrigerator bran muffins of your dreams, a veggie bow tie salad is at the top of your list, a fresh market slaw that feels amply like family.
Then 4 cups extra of "other vegetables" later, you've celery to pick through, green peppers, onions, cauliflower, cucumbers, cabbage and mushrooms to regard. Go ahead and stake your odds on an additional 1-1/2 cups dark green vegetables, trending spinach and kale if I get my ornery way, that broccoli you owe your talent to, even romaine gets a challenge. A cup and a half of bean opportunities and peas with various pastas or beside mashed potatoes is not really that big of a deal, so confront it.
And if you can guarantee a cup's worth of tomato sauce per week into yours and everyone else's diets, a simple surrender to a crockpot chili (turkey or beef), a knowing glance at cabbage rolls, a fiesta casserole. Then the six ounces of protein you're expected to eat every day makes chickpea red pepper hummus kind of essential, also a tuna dish, chili bean pockets and homemade bean burritos always there, quenching hunger.
Only a fruitophobe would deny the cup and a half necessary to meet blueberries in oatmeal halfway, to take pineapple, cantaloupe and watermelon out on a limb, the random mandarin orange sideglancing grapefruit before ignoring her altogether. We all have our favorites, don't let frozen fruit smoothies just get a cups worth over with and accept responsibility for the two cups of kale/spinach that goes into every act of second guessing.
Life's way too short and to let grains like quinoa, or even rice, crackers and bread miss out on acting their age, even when a free spirit and intuitive nature are all that is required of any of them, everlasting. Saying it up front is not the same as putting it out there, three cups of dairy a day takes things personally, 8 ounces of yogurt, a couple ounces of cheese, that almond milk you rely on. Become your own best friend, make the refrigerator bran muffins of your dreams, a veggie bow tie salad is at the top of your list, a fresh market slaw that feels amply like family.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Raspberry jam sugar cookies
Secrets to my success are never constant, just ask me. That exercise plan wherein thirty minutes a day, five days a week seems excessive, becoming three days a week, into nada, pure nothing. Can't say stretching and yoga didn't take its place on the spur of the moment, so did a rooted and centeredness become my calling.
Cooking is currently frozen at its nexus also, though I push forth with open-endedness, intent on past successes being the seat of my pants I fly on. Alas no, only my kitchen aid mixer has done all the damage what with pretzel bites, chocolate cupcakes, vanilla buttermilk also, and that buttercream with a stick of butter, three ounces of cream cheese.
So I can't say reflecting on an empty fridge hasn't somewhat restored me, complaining about extra watermelon seems meaningless, carrot sticks galore however, celery stalks out my ears, plus homemade ranch dressing. Doesn't make me a bad person that hardly anything speaks volumes, not the pork and beef I have frozen in the freezer.
But there's spinach, and kiwi, and lemon wedges. At four degrees, who goes to the grocery store? Not a feta cheese induced coma addict, nor the three pounds of tomatoes it takes to get there. Potatoes are needed at this very moment, to be baked and slathered in cheddar and bacon, which I don't have from Sam's Club either, missing frozen cherries and blueberries above all though.
Spring veggies have yet to allure, summer strawberries egging me on carelessly, and grilling that's impossible makes all the trouble. Gearing forward.
Cooking is currently frozen at its nexus also, though I push forth with open-endedness, intent on past successes being the seat of my pants I fly on. Alas no, only my kitchen aid mixer has done all the damage what with pretzel bites, chocolate cupcakes, vanilla buttermilk also, and that buttercream with a stick of butter, three ounces of cream cheese.
So I can't say reflecting on an empty fridge hasn't somewhat restored me, complaining about extra watermelon seems meaningless, carrot sticks galore however, celery stalks out my ears, plus homemade ranch dressing. Doesn't make me a bad person that hardly anything speaks volumes, not the pork and beef I have frozen in the freezer.
But there's spinach, and kiwi, and lemon wedges. At four degrees, who goes to the grocery store? Not a feta cheese induced coma addict, nor the three pounds of tomatoes it takes to get there. Potatoes are needed at this very moment, to be baked and slathered in cheddar and bacon, which I don't have from Sam's Club either, missing frozen cherries and blueberries above all though.
Spring veggies have yet to allure, summer strawberries egging me on carelessly, and grilling that's impossible makes all the trouble. Gearing forward.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
About three baskets of laundry first, then
Otherwise I'd have gone ahead and whipped the sugar to butter ratio for a fully absorbed five minutes, taking none of the time to complain that I have to wait until Valentine's day to enlist my new red KitchenAid mixer. Blending two eggs in one at a time, and then 2-1/2 teaspoons vanilla thereafter makes you finally take a stand on everything wholesome, it's well overdue.
Put thought into the 3-1/2 cups flour, two teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt that will go in there, because Frosted Soft Sugar Cookies are riding on this like an Olympic gold medal in need of a champion. Adding it a cup at a time instills fear in those who profess a 400 degree oven is not a threat, when 7-1/2 to 8 minutes is basically how you operate, no browning necessary.
So while rolling to a quarter-inch thickness, slicing out hearts at your whimsy, or if desperate to avoid freehand use a complicated cutter. Be sure the icing you also swiped from the back of your C&H sugar packaging comes in handy. No need to lie that two sticks of butter whipped together with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, a package of confectioner's, a tsp water, two tsp vanilla, you get the picture.
So when making Spaghetti Pie tonight like a real live rock star, envisioning the oversized casserole dish you'll stuff a doubled recipe into, for the love of your family. Make a fantastic attempt at your world famous garlic bread because when you pre-buy a whole wheat loaf, mourning the loss of any potential sesame seeds while being firm about the addition of softened butter, garlic powder and yes, shredded Sam's Club Stella, staunchly broiled. Leaning heavily towards the brand name and organic, it's tomatoes! Vitamins and antioxidants galore.
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