What's for dinner 7/21/11

Something so good it made me say, "mmm" at every freaking bite!!! I ran across this recipe a few days ago. We had it for supper tonight and OMG was it DELICIOUS.

I was afraid it would be spicy, but it wasn't at all. I did omit the jalapeno pepper from the salsa just to make sure the heat was not too much. I didn't have fresh cilantro; I used dried instead. The next time I make it, I'll use fresh. I also used three Roma tomatoes. Also, I didn't put a lot of mayo on them except for one, and it does taste much better with a little more mayo. Oh and I also didn't have a fresh lime so I used bottle lime juice. Next time, I'll have to remember the fresh lime.

It is time consuming to prepare but sooo worth it. I made the marinade,salsa sliced the pepper, mango and onion while I was waiting on Baby Girl to finish her math work. Putting the sandwiches together was time consuming too but it was nothing that I hadn't done before. It was suggested on the site to add the mango in the salsa, but I didn't know what the mango would taste like (and wasn't sure Bear would like it) so I sliced them instead. Next time, I just may take that suggestion and add them to the salsa to omit one step in the sandwich preparation.

To me, the french bread set this sandwich way above any other. In all, I'd give this recipe 5 gold stars!!

Bon Appetit!

Blah Thursday!

Okay so I'm not having the best Thursday today.

Baby girl's birthday was yesterday. We had a splendid time. We started the day off by eating at Olive Garden. This is our annual birthday luncheon for Baby Girl. She loves the place. We really only go on her birthday. Baby Girl and I shared the baked ziti. OMFG! That was damn near the best ziti I've eaten! Bear had a pizza. We all shared a slice of their lemon cake...delish!

After the bellies were full, we proceeded to Toys R Us for BG to get her shopping on! It was so sweet. Bear went to customer service and told them it was BG birthday and they announced it over the intercom! Baby Girl barely noticed. LOL. But both Bear and I got misty eyed! We're such softies!

With her toy shopping done, we headed to Discovery Mills to Lunar Golf so she and Bear could play putt-putt. I do not, I repeat, do not play putt-putt. I have no patience or tolerance for it. I kept score. BG had a blast, so that's all that matters.

With our shirts still a-glow, we then went to Justice so BG could get her fashion on! She bought a few tops and shorts for Summer. She looks super cute in them.

Once her shopping spree was over, we headed home and spent the rest of the night just relaxing.

So what does all of our birthday activities have to do with me having a crappy Thursday some of you may be wondering...well of course, I'm going to tell you! I recounted the story of BG's birth to her yesterday. Many know the story and how very blessed I am to have my baby girl. The night before I laid in bed thinking, "what if all of this is a dream? What if 9 years ago my baby had died. What if Dr. G wasn't in time? and now I'm insane and I'm going to be sane in the morning and I'll have no BG." I know, morbid thinking, but that's how my brain rolls sometimes. But thankfully I woke up sane and my baby girl was here safe and sound. Again, I told her birth story to her. Thinking of her birth and how my mom was there and now my parents are not here another year to celebrate with us and to see how wonderful my baby girl is just breaks my heart. So there you have it! It's not often I let the fact my parents are gone affect me, but today I just couldn't control it.

Bear was my rock, as usual. He never lets me down. I really don't know what I did in my past life to deserve him but I'm glad I did it! No one would ever complete me like Bear. As I've said time and time again, BG is my heart, Bear is my soul. We are a rocking family! Tomorrow will be a better day...you can bet a bottom dollar on it!

What's for dinner 2/23/2011

Prepare yourself for jealousy!! Tonight I made grilled chicken marinated in olive oil, basil, garlic w/ a pinch of salt & pepper. Along with the chicken I made grilled asparagus & red peppers also marinated in olive oil, basil and garlic. I then used some of the grilled peppers to make a cream sauce. I know, you're drooling. I can't blame you.


So here's how I did it:

To marinate the chicken you just drizzle about 1-2 tbs of olive oil on the chicken while it's in a bag. I then minced a clove of garlic and about 3 basil leaves. I put the garlic & basil in the bag. I then lightly salted and pepper the chicken. Viola! That's it. Put it in the frig for about an hour and you're good to go.

I pretty much did the same thing with the asparagus & peppers. I cut the peppers into strips. I kept them in the frig for about the same time.

So I grilled some peppers for about 10 minutes then used them for my sauce. I minced another garlic clove and ever so gently sauteed it in about a tbs of butter. Then I used 1/2 pint (if I had a whole pint I would have used that) of cream and then used a cup of milk because I didn't have 2 cups of cream. Added another tbs of butter and then I added another 2-3 leaves of fresh basil along with salt, pepper, some onion powder and a dash of poultry seasoning. I brought it to a boil and then simmered it for about 20 minutes. I blended the peppers in the sauce so there would not be chunks.

While the sauce was simmering, I grilled the chicken and the veggies. I put the chicken on for about 8 minutes then flipped the chicken and put the veggies on for the remainder of the cooking time, about 18 minutes. Now I took my chicken off in 16 minutes and let it sit for about 10 while I was waiting for the rigatoni to cook. Double check your chicken and make sure the temp is 165. You don't want to under cook your chicken, but also don't want it to be leather.

I carved the chicken and laid it ontop of the pasta, added the veggies and then smothered it with the sauce. It was delish!

Okay, so stop drooling; go get your ingredients and have a hearty plate of Grilled chicken, red peppers and asparagus in red pepper cream sauce. Yummm!

Another year has come and gone...

I've meet some really rad people and kept them around. Others have come and gone. I've learned a little more about myself through those experiences. None of them bad, just revelations about me and how I see things. I guess I've grown. Here are just a few things that happened in 2010. I guess I'm writing this more for me, more of a synopsis of my life. Please continue to read or not...

I taught myself how to knit almost having a nervous breakdown while doing so. I've knitted hats and scarves for my friends, Amanda, family and myself. In 2009 Barry and I gave blood during the holiday. We both thought it would be a great tradition to carry out every year...giving back to the community. Well all that went to hell when I promptly fainted walking to the car. It was not a pleasant ordeal for me and I felt funky for a few days afterwards, being a chicken, I just didn't want to go through that again, so I opted for knitting scarves and hats to give to the homeless. I didn't have time to knit them during the holidays, so I'm starting that project tonight.

I almost died in March from an allergic reaction to medication. I had had several bladder infections and one of the meds actually cause me to go into anaphylactic shock. Barry got me to hospital (not that I thought I was going to make it. I thought for sure I was going to die in the car)and after being stuck with epi(which brought on an axiety attack) I was on my way home. After a couple of weeks recouping...I was right as rain. All is good now. I drink my water religiously.

Amanda finished 3rd grade making all A's. We actually took the summer off. She was so ready to start school I had to up my plans for a late August start to a late July early August start. She was bored of swimming and doing nothing. I didn't blame her; I was bored too. She started 4th grade strong and is still solid. She loves math again and I am thrilled! Math has been a struggle the last few years. I research lots of curriculum and then decided I wasn't going to use a curriculum. I was going to teach her math by doing and living not by a text book. It's working like a charm. She's gotten her natural ability back and I'm glad. No more tears math...hmmm maybe I should write a curriculum?

Barry and I are still going strong. I swear, I don't think we could love each other more than we do now. He's my everything. He really does complete me. I never get tired of him. The only complaint I have is that we don't have enough time together...just us. I love Amanda with all my being, but damn it, I miss Barry. I miss us. We had 15 years of us and sometimes, not often, I really miss just me and him. But then I look at my baby girl and it all washes away. I wouldn't change anything. Soon enough I'll wake up and it will be just us again and I will cry.

So that's my year in a nut shell. Some of it eventful, some not. It was life in Gina's World!

What's for lunch 10/31/10

I decided, since the weather has gotten a little chilly, that I'm going to make some soup for lunch for the week. Today, I decided to make Grill Red Pepper soup. Now I've never made this soup before so I was a little excited and and tiny bit apprehensive.

I started with 4 red peppers, 4 cloves of garlic, one onion and a large potato.

The first thing I did was to peel and cut the potato. I boiled it for about 25 minutes. I wanted it very mushy.

I cut the red peppers in chunks making sure I took out the seeds. I put them in about 1 tbs of olive oil and a little bit of minced garlic. I put it on the grill in a grilling basket for about 15 minutes. Next time, I'll put them in there for about 10-12. Some got a little burnt. I will also add some fresh basil. I didn't have any this time so I put dried basil in the soup.

Then I chopped the onion and boy did I cry!! It was the strongest onion I've chopped in a loong time! I chopped the garlic too. I sauteed the onion and garlic in about 2 tbs of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes.

I transferred all the veggies in a blender and pureed them. Now, I did not remove the skins of the peppers. The next time, I just may. It's really your preference. The skin kind of remains and gives the soup a different texture, but it's not off putting. I don't know if it will be worth taking the time to peel the peppers. That will take a lot of work. Like I said, your preference.

After the veggies are pureed, you transfer them to a big pot and add 3 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil while stirring. Once the soup comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

This soup was so delicious! Amanda even enjoyed it, which is saying volumes! I had a slice of sour dough bread with it. If I had time, I would have made a salad, but I really didn't need to. It was very fulfilling.

Make you pot and enjoy!

What's for dinner 10/13/10

After a long day at the zoo, I wasn't really in the mood to do a lot of cooking so I decided to make a pizza and garlic knots.

Now this was the first time I made the knots and man were they good!

You'll need two pizza stones. Put them in an 450 oven for about 10 minutes.

Now before I started the dough, I began my sauce. Here's that recipe.

1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp basil
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp onion powder
3 minced garlic cloves

Bring it to a boil, then simmer for about 20-25 minutes.

Yes, we love to keep vampires away so we love lots of garlic.


So here's the dough recipe for the knots and pie.

3 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbs baking powder
1 cup water

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the water. Mix by hand. Knead until the dough is smooth and pliable. About 2 minutes. I took about a third of the dough and made knots. I pinched off a bit and rolled in between my hands, reminded me of playing with play doh and making snakes. Take the snake and make a knot. Once made, put on one of the pizza stones that have been in the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

While the knots were baking, I took the remainder of the dough and made the pie. Before you put the pie dough on the second stone, put a dusting off corn meal on it. This keeps the pie from sticking. Roll the dough on the stone. You can try the pizza flipping thing, but I can't do that, so I just use a roller. Bake for 10 minutes.

After the knots were done, I put 2 tbs of butter and about 1 tbs of olive oil in a small glass casserole dish. I added another 3 minced garlic cloves; that's 6 in all. Then put the knots in the dish. I returned the dish to the oven and baked for about 5 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, mix them in butter sauce so they will have the sauce all on them. Serve them with the tomato sauce.

When the pie dough is done, put as much sauce as you want on the dough and add your pizza topping. I put pepperoni and cheese. Put in the oven again for about 5-10 more minutes. You know, until the cheese is melted.

So yummy, fun and easy.

Enjoy!

What's for dinner 10/10/10

Breakfast is what's for dinner tonight. Who says you can only eat breakfast at the crack of dawn? It's an easy, simple and so yummy meal to prepare. I suggest you do it often!

So on tonight's breakfast menu is the following: pancakes, eggs and bacon. Pretty much the staple of breakfast items.

Here's my recipe for the pancakes:

2 cups of all purpose flour (stir or sift it before you measure. It helps to keep the batter airy)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt

mix the items well

In a separate bowl (I actually use my measuring cup) mix 1 1/2 c milk and 2 eggs.

Pour the egg mixture in the flour mixture. Now stir. Here's where it's important to not over stir. If you do, your cakes will be tough. Don't want a tough pancake. Stir until it is blended. Don't worry if you see lumps, it okay. Trust me.

Now melt about 2 tbs of butter and blend it in the batter. Again, don't over mix or you're gonna have tough cakes.

Make sure your griddle is on about 375. I use a ladle to pour my batter on the griddle. You could also use an ice cream scooper. Yes, an ice cream scooper. It gives you the perfect amount for a perfect pancake. I wasn't being perfect tonight so I used the ladle which makes it a tad bit faster.

Watch your cakes and when you see tiny bubbles, flip those babies! Now leave them cooking for about another minute. Take a peek at them and see if they are brown. Now from my experience, they won't look like the top which are all golden brown, they'll be splotchy. That's because of the bubbles. So don't leave them on too long hoping they will look like the top. It won't happen and you'll burn your hard work. When they are brown, take the off. Now this is important. Make sure you put the ugly splotchy part on the plate so your golden brown cakes are showing. It's all about presentation people! ;) If you like, you can add butter between each cake, but I didn't find it necessary since I added quite a bit of butter in the batter.

Serve with your favorite syrup. Now I've not gone so far as to make my own syrup...but I'm thinking it is coming. We barely had enough store bought syrup tonight. GASP.

Bear's and Baby Girl's egg were scrambled. I sometimes add a drop of texas pete or salsa in the eggs. Gives them a kick!

My egg was a cheese omelet. Now the secret to an omelet is to let that puppy s.l.o.w.l.y cook. Turn the heat on low/med heat. Put your pan on the heat for about 30 seconds to a minute, then add your egg. I then add my fillings. In this case, about 1/2 a slice of White American cheese in bits. Now leave you egg alone. I'm serious, don't look at it, don't talk to it, just let it be. It will thank you for it. Now, I'm saying to forget about it though. When the egg has fluffed up and I mean fluffed up and there is hardly any egg left on it, it's time to fold it into an omelet. If you let it get to this point, it so easy to fold it. Fold it ever so gently, speaking sweetly to it and let it rest on the pan for about one minute, then flip it, again, let it rest for about a minute. Now, if your egg has gotten dark brown, your heat was too high. Your omelet will be a very so slight golden brown. I put salsa on mine sometimes, but not tonight.

The bacon, well is bacon. Just cook it the way you like. I do mine in the microwave for about a minute and half per slice.

Serve and eat!

Enjoy!