Improvising

I had a dinner planned for Saturday and was really excited about it. When I looked more carefully at the recipes, I realized that I had forgotten to pick up some ingredients at the grocery store. My chili called for a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, which I didn't have. I do quite a bit of cooking, yet I didn't have tomato sauce?!? I had spaghetti sauce, but knew that wouldn't be close enough. So, I improvised. In my pantry, I found a can of diced tomatoes. A few minutes in the food processor did the trick. It wasn't exactly sauce, but it was good enough.

So, I assembled my chili, and let it cook in the crockpot all day. Then, I went to make my jalapeno cornbread. Heaven help me, I had forgotten to buy buttermilk at the grocery store. I was going to use regular milk, but my innovative husband suggested some butter along with the regular milk. Guess what? It worked! Along with the butter, he suggested some cheese with the cornbread, so I added that as well.

The result was a tasty supper with some modifications. The chili could have used more spice. I should have chopped up a jalapeno from my garden and added it to the cooking chili. The cornbread was by far my favorite part though. It was moist, and had just enough cheese. I couldn't taste the jalapenos, but that's my fault. I didn't produce a very spicy crop of peppers this year.

Enjoy my improvisational meal (is that a word?) below. You probably are going to be more responsible than me though and make sure to have tomato sauce and buttermilk on hand.

Slow-Cooked Chili

from: Pillsbury One-Dish Meals Cookbook

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage (I suggest Hot)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes, undrained, cut up

1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1 to 1.5 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 can (15 oz.) spicy chili beans, undrained

1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed

1. In large skillet, cook ground beef, sausage and onion until beef is browned and thoroughly cooked. Drain.

2. In crockpot, combine browned meat and onion with all remaining ingredients; mix well.

3. Cover; cook on low setting for 7 to 8 hours or until thoroughly heated.

Jalapeno Corn Bread

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/ with Pachey's modifications

1.5 cups cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

6 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

2 tablespoons butter melted

3/4 to 1 cup of milk

1/4 cup olive oil

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and oil. Melt the butter and add to a 1 cup measuring cup. Pour in milk until it fills the measuring cup. Add the milk/butter mix to the eggs and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos and cheese. Pour into a greased 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm.

Spaghetti and Salad

These are usually two dishes that you would eat together. A nice spaghetti dinner with a green salad. But, what if they were actually together? The spaghetti and the vegetables. That is what this is. It's a pasta salad using spaghetti, and all kinds of fresh, crisp veggies. I usually don't like raw onions, but in this, if you use a nice sweet red onion, it's delicious. I can't get enough of this salad. I made it for a potluck a few weekends ago, and I was so glad that there were some leftovers. There were leftovers because half the people showed up at the potluck, not because it didn't taste good. I just had to clarify that for a few people.

Speaking of potlucks, this is a great recipe for one. You can chop the veggies and cook and chill the noodles the night before. Then, in the morning, throw everything together with the dressing. Or, you can make it the night before and let the flavors mingle. Either way, it still tastes fantastic.

This salad would be excellent as a vegetarian main dish, or a side with grilled burgers, chicken or steak. I have taken it as my lunch for a week in a row. That is how much I love this stuff.

Do not double this recipe. Why? Because, you will end up with pasta salad for weeks. Seriously, it makes a ton. The only time I would double it is if I was feeding an army. An actual army. The recipe by itself easily serves 8-10 people if everyone has at least a cup full.

I envy anyone that makes this. I would, but I may be pasta salad-ed out for a while.

Spaghetti Salad

from: http://www.allrecipes.com/

1 pound spaghetti
1 (16 ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Rinse in cool water, drain.

2. In a large bowl place chopped tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion and cucumber. Add Cheddar cheese, and salad seasoning.

3. Add cooled pasta to large bowl with vegetables and pour salad dressing over top. Toss well to coat. Chill for several hours before serving.

Barbeque Season

It's the time of year for barbeque, and that means two of my favorite things: Hot dogs and potato salad. Although we aren't eating hot dogs for dinner, we are eating potato salad.

This is my aunt's recipe which I altered a wee bit. I added some green onions from my garden and some dill. I think it tastes better now, but I won't tell my aunt that. If you don't have dill pickle relish, that's okay. You can dice up some pickles instead.

Tonight, this potato salad is being consumed with cheeseburgers from the grill. I would prefer hotdogs, but I am weird after all.

Potato Salad
from: Pachey's aunt with some alterations

8-10 medium sized potatoes

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 hard boiled eggs

1 tablespoon mustard (or more if you like mustard, which I do!)

2-3 tablespoons dill pickle relish

pickle juice

salt, pepper, dill, garlic powder to taste

3-4 green onion, sliced

paprika for garnish

1. Peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Boil with 2 tablespoons vinegar until cooked. Drain and cool to room temperature.

2. Cut eggs with egg slicer, but do not cut any further.

3. Add all ingredients together and mix well. The eggs will break up while mixing. If mixture is too dry, keep adding pickle juice.

4. Sprinkle with paprika.

Baking Fool

I have been a busy bee this weekend. Not only did I paint our entire pantry (I refinished that hardwood a couple of weeks ago), I went to Costco, the grocery store, Petco, weeded the gardens, cleaned the house, did about a billion loads of laundry, organized our computer room, and baked.

I baked a lot. Well, a lot for me at least.

I had three over-ripe bananas that I needed to use, and due to the bounty of my vegetable garden, had tons of zucchini. You know what that means?! Banana bread, and even better: Zucchini bread!

This is my mother in-law's recipe. Ssssh, don't tell her I posted it here. It's very good and rich because it's made with brown sugar rather than the traditional white sugar. When it's fully baked, I assure you it isn't burnt. It just browns up due to the sugar. I think this would be really tasty if you used raisins in the batter, but my husband forbid me. He can't seem to understand that sometimes, variating from the norm is OK! I didn't want to give him a heart attack by changing his mom's recipe. So, no raisins this time.

Now, I just need to get my very sore and tired butt off this chair so I can go enjoy some warm zucchini bread. Oh, and if anyones know what else I could do with zucchini, that would be great.

Zucchini Bread

from: Pachey's mother in-law Lynn

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 cups packed brown sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups grated zucchini

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

1. Mix eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy.

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a small bowl.

3. Slowly add dry ingredients to egg mixture and stir until combined.

4. Fold in zucchini.

5. Pour into two prepared loaf pans and bake at 325 degrees for an hour.

The picture below looks funny because someone (husband) snuck some bites off my piece before I noticed.

It's Not Cat Food!

This is what I was yelling as I was opening the can of tuna for the Tuna Casserole. My cats can literally hear the can opener come out of the drawer and they come running. They always seem to think that the tuna is for them. I don't know why, because I don't think they have ever even had tuna!

This recipe reminds me of a 1950's housewife. I think it's the negative connotation that tuna casserole usually gets. This one doesn't have the icky potato chip topping ::shudder::. Instead, it's topped with breadcrumbs. It still gives the casserole a nice crunch without using chips or crackers ::shudders again::.

I found this recipe years ago and have made it several times. It's actually one of my go-to casseroles. I am surprised it hasn't made an appearance in my blog before now. I make it probably around three or four times a year. This doesn't sound like a lot, but considering I only cook on the weekends, it's a lot.

This is very easy to assemble, although it looks like beach sand when it's baked. See the picture below and you will understand. The recipe doesn't say to drain the pimento, but I always do. Please drain the mushrooms as well. You don't want the mushroom juice to overpower everything else in the recipe.

All I can think of when I eat this is my cats. But, it's hard not to think of anything else when they stare at you while you are eating. I swear they think are going to get some tuna, but they never do.

Tuna Casserole

from: Pillsbury Casseroles

1 package (7 oz) elbow macaroni (1.5 cups)

1 cup milk

1 cup (about 4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 can (6 oz) tuna, drained and flaked

1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, drained
1 jar (2 oz) pimento, drained

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2-quart casserole dish. In a large saucepan, cook macaroni as directed on package. Drain, return to saucepan.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except bread crumbs; stir to combine. Pour mixture into greased dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

3. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Spontaneous

I title my entry this because that is what I was this morning. I woke up on Sunday at 6:30 (thanks to one of my cats), and it was now 10:30. I hadn't eaten and I was hungry. My two cups of coffee had not satisfied me. I really didn't want the regular breakfast fare, so when I saw the recipe below, it "called" to me. It was like an epiphany.

This recipe has circled around the Nest for some time, so out of hunger or spontaneity, I decided to try it. I do have to admit that I ate too much of it. I now have a stomach ache. Although it could partially be the fact that I am allergic to cinnamon. But, the stomach ache is worth it because this is a good one! It makes lots too, so it would be good for entertaining or for a family breakfast. It's similar to a coffee cake. You can use as little or as much brown sugar as you desire. If you like a lot of topping, use a lot. If you prefer a lesser topping, use less.

I probably should limit the times that I am spontaenous when it comes to cooking. I end up making or baking something that is not usually healthy. Last weekend for 4th of July, I decided to bake a chocolate cake. Not a good idea for a woman home alone.

Oh well. Anyhow, enjoy the one below.

Cinnamon Flop
from: The Nest (www.thenest.com)

2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder

Mix all the ingredients above together. Pour into a 9x13 pan, or two round cake pans.

Top with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon. I suggest using enough brown sugar to lightly cover the pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the brown sugar. Cut up some butter, around 1/4 cup, into little chunks and place it over the top of the brown sugar and cinnamon mix.

Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Easy Peasy

This doesn't even warrant a recipe because it was so easy. I wanted stir fry and we had all the ingredients on hand. Plus, I had a weird craving for rice with soy sauce. I'm a weirdo.

Below is how I threw it together, but if you have any vegetables on hand, fresh or frozen, you can make a stir fry. Some good combinations:

* Steak, sugar snap peas, bamboo shoots, zucchini, carrots, onions
* Chicken, peas, baby corn, celery, water chestnuts, onions
* Chicken, asparagus, onions, green peppers, red peppers

I could go on and on. For this recipe, I used two cut up chicken breasts. You can either cube them or cut them into strips. My husband made fun of me because I cubed them. He says "That isn't how you make stir fry". Whatever. I am a free spirit. I don't like to follow directions. I also used a package of frozen stir fry veggies. I believe it had carrots, water chestnuts, sugar snap peas and a couple of other things in there.

If you want to get really creative, you can make your own sauce. I used a bottled sauce (GASP!) but your own would work. Soy sauce, fresh ginger, garlic, fish sauce, hoisin, or anything else your heart desires.

Here is my take on stir fry:

Pachey's Chicken Stir Fry

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 package (16 oz) frozen stir fry vegetables
4 tablespoons sauce

1. Heat oil of your choosing in a pan over medium heat.

2. Cook the chicken until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes

3. Remove chicken from the pan and add vegetables. Cook, about 5 to 7 minutes until done, but still crisp.

4. Add chicken back in pan. Add sauce and stir to coat. Let everything heat through.

DONE! Serve with rice and my favorite, soy sauce. The best part about this meal is it takes about 15 minutes, not counting the time the rice takes. I have a handy dandy rice cooker, so I always rely on that.

Easy Peasy! How appropriate since this recipe had sugar snap peas in it!