Autumn Pork Chops

This was the shit!  I love gravy, but this gravy was bomb.  It was light and sweet.

Click here for the recipe!

I actually used butterfly chops because I didn't want to piss around with the bone in chops, especially with a puppy running around.  I like my meat thinner....(yeah yeah, thats NOT what she said).  Call me weird.

Very simple to make and I'm pretty excited for the leftovers tomorrow.  This is another meal that is fairly inexpensive, as most of the ingredients I already had in my pantry.

Mr. Whoa Rating:

√√√√√

Cleaned his plate.  Woot.

Soup and Sammy

Mr. Whoa doesn't request certain things to eat too often, but the other day he wanted soup and sandwiches.  I wanted to hop in my car and drive two minutes (I kid you not) to Panera Bread and take the easier and yummier route.  But I didn't.  Sometimes I'm good.

I came across a recipe for Ham and Potato Soup and decided to give it a whirl.  It was very easy to make, especially since I found a bag of diced potatoes.  I chopped the celery and onion, so give me a damn break.

For the sammies it was nothing special....just picked up some random deli meats from the counter and bought some kaiser buns.

Mr. Whoa rating:

√√√√


Soup was tasty and there was enough leftover for Mr. Whoa to take to lunch the next day.

Chicken Pot Pie

Is it sad that a South Park rerun inspired my dinner?

We've had some great weather here in Iowa lately, but tonight was cold.  I was watching Netflix today and came across the South Park episode where Cartman yells, "No Kitty, thats my pot pie."  I suddenly had a craving for pot pie, and it would be the perfect comfort food for the yucky rainy weather,  

I cruised some recipes online, and I came across this number:  Chicken Pot Pie II. It looked easy enough and the reviews were good.

What you'll need:

1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup of chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

3 tablespoons butter

1 onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 (9 inch) pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie

1 egg, lightly beaten

What to do:

1. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the chicken meat, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear.
2. Remove the chicken and let cool. Pour the remaining chicken broth mixture into a measuring cup. Let stand; spoon off fat. Add enough milk to the broth mixture to equal 2 1/2 cups. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. In the same pan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Saute, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in flour until well blended. Gradually stir in broth mixture. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and boils. Add the chicken, vegetables, parsley and thyme. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 quart deep casserole dish.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Roll out pastry 1 inch larger than the diameter of the casserole dish on a lightly floured surface. Cut slits in the pastry for venting air. Place pastry on top of casserole. Roll edges and cut away extra pastry; flute edges by pinching together. Reroll scraps to cut into decorative designs. Place on top of pastry. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

I do have a confession....I did cheat a little.  I bought a rotisserie chicken.  I bought a garlic and herb flavor one, and damn it was divine.  My blsl chicken breasts were frozen, and hey, I'm lazy sometimes.  

Mr. Whoa rating:

√√√√

We both decided it would have been a little better if there was crust on the bottom, rather than just on top.  But it must have been good?

Life happens...

Mama Vir, Circa 1962

As well as loss of life.  My Mom had a heart attack on January 4th of this year, and passed away on February 15th.  She spent six weeks in the hospital following two surgeries and a stroke, and passed away  surrounded by family and friends.

I was a case manager for the elderly for six years, and I always encouraged clients to have a living will and power of attorney.  My mom would never get rid of her throw rugs or her blouses that were twenty years old, but this is something she did listen to me about.  I can't say the decision to let her go was any easier with it being written on a piece of paper, but it gave my sister and I a peace of mind that that decision is what my mother wanted.  She was only sixty-nine years old, and my heart hurts every day.  So please friends, talk to your parents about this.  It sucks, but it will happen some day.  My sister and I had a folder in her hutch we discovered with all of her important papers in it.  In the folder left a note:

Hi Kelly and Jami-

For my investments call Al.  My life insurance and legal documents are in here.  I have no bills, my car is paid off.  I miss and love you.

Love,

Mom

She wrote that in 2007, five years before she passed.  

My dad has been gone almost twenty years.  I feel bad for people who are estranged from a parent, because I was blessed to have two wonderful parents.  Not everyone can say that, but I can.   

Pinterest Part Two: The Test Tube Spice Bin

Random shapes and sizes make it hard to organize.

My spices in the pantry were a mess.  I hate spice racks because they never include all of the spices you use, plus they include spices you may never use!  I found this idea on Pinterest (you know, the new crack for women) and decided to try it out. 

I went to Etsy and purchased test tubes and corks.  They were at my door step within a few days.  If you were smart you would use a funnel, but I did not.  Got a little more on my table on a few spices, and I've been sneezing like crazy.

I filled the tubes with the spices I had on hand.  Some of them required two tubes.  I was also glad I did this because I found some spices that were expired and should have been thrown out like five years ago.  I wish I was joking.   





Miss Kia is quite the assistant. 

I used a fine print Sharpie to label the spice on the corks.




Coolness....I'm done!  I used a little basket that I've had for years.  This project cost less than $30...$21 for the test tubes and corks, $8 for shipping.  There were cheaper tubes, but I really liked the look of the cork tops.  This was well worth the time and money because there is more room in my pantry and all of my spices are accessible with out taking up counter space. 





I decided to leave my salt and pepper in its shakers.  Maybe some day I'll get big girl shakers, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?    ;)



Bleu Cheese Burgers

I'm a sucker for curley fries.....

I love bleu cheese.  Love it.  I eat it with salads, wings, and will evem dip veggies in it.  Who knew rotting cheese could taste so good. 

Mr. Whoa and I live down the street from a tasty sports bar (hell, we love it so much our rehearsal dinner was there).  Eight times out of ten when we dine there, I order the black and bleu burger.  I've been hungry for one, but Mr. Whoa and I went out to lunch yesterday, so I wanted to try and make it myself.  Plus the sportsbar burger can be a little too spicy or salty, so I was hoping I could fix that. 

What you need:
1/2 pound of bacon
1 pound of ground beef
4 oz of crumbled bleu cheese
1 TB of hot mustard
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper


What to do:
Fry bacon in a frying pan.  When finished, cover in paper towels and set aside.
In mixing bowl add ground beef, bleu cheese, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mix together and form into four patties.  Heat in frying pan about 5-7 minutes each side. 

I served on an onion bun and broke a slice of bacon in half to put on the sammy.  Since the bleu cheese was in a 5oz container, I sprinked a little on the top of the burger. 

Mr. Whoa rating:
☺☺☺☺☺

Hot damn these were good.  The flavor was perfect. 

Any other "stuffed" burgers you think are TDF?

My first Pinterest project: The Chalkboard Menu

So I've pinned a gang of cute ideas to do the chalkboard menu, but I don't have a lot of wall space to do anything big.  As I was about to leave the craft store last night, I walked by the spring clearance (Clearance before spring?) and found this little flower pot chalk board. 



before

 I snatched it and grabbed some paint, because I finally had an idea of what to do.  When I got home, I removed the flower and the vine.  I painted around the pot a cream color, and then attempted to paint leopard print.  I added a bow in the corner and attached my chalk.  Glued some old magnents on the back and voila!

after

Since I had NOTHING (no paint, brushes, etc) it was probably pricier than I wanted to spend, but it ended up only being about $20 or so.  Not too shabby!  It took a long time, but it was fun.