Bad bad babies Dead roll of paper towels

This is Will’s other half, he is out of town this week but will be back Friday and we have a long weekend coming up so we hope to be doing some cooking. The 25 was our 13 anniversary and he was gone so I hope we can whip up something good or go out to eat. Hint hint. We went to a restaurant a month or so ago Mediterranean Fish and Grill. Will had a chicken meat pie to die for. We have looked for a recipe but cannot seem to find one near it. I would like to go back, get another one, and see if we can figure what it is made of.
Mean while the babies have been bad. We know who is leading the young ones astray.

The roll of Paper towels did not survive the attack

Couldn't be them they are so innocent looking.

The guilty one

I got the I heart your blog award.

Thanks to Dannas Corner, she has helped me learn a new trick. How to add the Cook it Blog it folder and gave me an award of I heat your blog. I have to choose 7 people to pass the award on to so that will have to wait until tomorrow I am afraid. I have my monthly jam tonight and have to get ready. We made a new dish that I will put up tomorrow. Meanwhile this is a watermelon we cut the other day.

Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp

Been working out of town this week and glad to be back home. Looks like we are set for another round of rainy weather. Looks like I will not get the grass cut this weekend. Still with out a refrigerator so to speak so this is a quick and easy dish for two.


Pasta with Asparagus and Shrimp

12 large shrimp (we use more)
Pasta of choice, linguine spaghetti or angel hair. (we used spaghetti)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of garlic (we use a little more)
1 teaspoon chopped shallots ( we used a yellow onion and of course added a little more)
10 stalks asparagus cut in 2-inch pieces.
½-cup mushrooms or small can.
¼-teaspoon salt
1/8 dry crushed red pepper (we add a pinch more because we like it spicy)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil (this is one herb we were able to grow fairly well this year)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (this is another we were able to grow fairly well this year)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 Tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese ( We love cheese and this is no way enough so we extra after it is served.)
½ cup dry white wine. Save rest to drink with meal.

1. Cook pasta and ser aside.
2. Heat large skillet about 10 inches or larger. Add olive oil garlic onion and shrimp cook 2 3 minutes stirring constantly until shrimp turn pink.
3. Add asparagus and mushrooms salt and red pepper.
4. Stir in wine scraping bottom of skillet to loosen any partials (the good stuff.)
5. Add pasta, basil and rest of the herbs and cheese.
Serve with crispy bread and enjoy.

Tortilla Snacks

This is one of several yummy snacks from my friend Lisa AKA Mother of the Sky.



Tortilla Snacks
From About.com
Serve with with salsa.
Ingredients:
12 (14-ounce package) flour tortillas
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
12 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
Preparation:
Directions for tortilla roll-ups.
In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, chilies, onion, red bell pepper, and Cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto tortillas and roll up. Cover tightly and chill for 2 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, cut each roll into 1/2-inch slices. Serve with salsa or picante sauce. Makes about 8 dozen pieces of tortilla roll-ups.

August has not been good to me

Well when it rains it pours and I am not talking about the 6+ inches of rain we got Monday and Tuesday. This 8 stuff has not been lucky for us.
Our phone went out Sunday night and I am waiting for the phone guy now they can be here any time between 8 and 7.
The week before we had a real disaster. Both our old refrigerators bought in the 80s died on us. The small one in the back as our back up and wine storage quit completely and we lost everything in the freezer all our beautiful blueberries. That will teach us to put everything in the little chest freezer. At least all our asparagus was in the little chest. We lost the fruit and other veggies that we had in there. Next, the big frig in the kitchen freaked out. The freezer is working but not the bottom so we have had to throw everything out. We thought if we replaced the seal on the bottom part that would help, no didn‘t work. Again, another drawback to living way out here is getting service and delivery. With gas so high now that is where everyone is cutting out the free stuff. Needless to say, we have not been cooking much for now so I will be putting up some stuff we had cooked before the refrigerators went out.

Cinnamon Cake

My wife has cravings for things from time to time and she has been thinking of the fair cinnamon buns lately. After looking at http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com I found the perfect solution. On their June 13 2008, post was a recipe for a Cinnabun Cake. Please visit their site for the recipe. We followed as written maybe adding a little more cinnamon and we have plenty of pecans so we added some on top. Here are our pictures.

Figs on a Hot Biscuit

Cooked down Figs

2 cups fresh whole figs
1 ½-cup sugar (can add more if you like them sweeter)
½-teaspoon lemon juice
Dash orange zest
1 cup water (add more if needed)
Cook on top of stove in saucepan until cooked down. Stirring occasionally until the figs gets thick about 30 min to 1 hour at low heat.

Will keep in frig for 3 to 4 days.

We make just enough for the two of us at a time. In addition, we somewhat just taste it until we have it to our liking. We really do not have a recipe for this.

Fresh figs with breakfast

We are getting the figs all dressed up for their date with the biscuit tomorrow but today we had some naked ones on a plate.

Figs are coming in

Figs fresh from our tree. These boys are looking for a hot date with a biscuit.
The fig tree this year has more figs than last year maybe it’s because we have had more rain but whatever the reason they will sure be welcomed when the weather is cold. We will be putting some up and looking for new recopies so if any one has a favorite please let me know.

Tomatoes Sweet Basil and Feta

Love the summer tomatoes I may have withdraws this winter. This is a simple dish of homegrown tomatoes a little olive oil and fresh sweet basil (this and rosemary seem the only herb we can grow) with feta cheese. Of course salt and pepper.

Brunch in the country

As stated before we have a brunch on weekends as I have more time and I like to sleep a little later on the weekends. After 4 days of 7:30 to 5:30 days, those few extra hours in the bed on Sat sure feel good. Of course, if the cat’s food bowl is empty they will worry you until you get up and feed them.
Here in the south, I grew up during the summer eating tomatoes any time and that meant at breakfast. I am so lucky we are able to get some good tomatoes from the farmers market but even better form the neighbors in the neighbor hood and not have to worry about the dreaded salmonella.
We have put up some asparagus and the way its going I may not have any left for the winter.
This is hash brown potatoes, fresh tomatoes, cheese grits with shrimp and scrambled eggs with asparagus, and shrimp. I really do not have this written down as I just winged it over the years.

East Indian-Style Spiced Beef With Rice

This is a terrible picture but boy was it good. We halved the recipe for just us. We did not have any cardamom and our little grocery did not have any so we will defiantly make this again after we can get to a larger grocery store to find some. We would like to thank Recipezaar again for another winner.


East Indian-Style Spiced Beef With Rice Recipe by Lisa1
1½ hours 30 min prep
SERVES 4
2 lbs beef stew meat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, chopped
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick (apx 2-inch piece)
1 1/2 cups water, divided
6 tablespoons plain yogurt
hot cooked rice
chopped peanuts (optional)
Brown meat in oil in a large pot. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Cook onion and garlic in pot for about 4-5 minutes, stirring (don't let garlic burn).
Add all spices. Stir.
Stir in meat and 1/4 cup water.
Stir in 1 tablespoons yogurt until well combined. Continue adding yogurt 1 tablespoons at a time.
Stir in remaining 1-1/4 cup water.
Cover. Simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick.
Serve over hot, cooked rice.
Garnish with chopped peanuts if desired.

Blueberry or Blackberry Cobbler

This was easy to do and the recipe came from of course the Pioneer Woman, we are working our way threw her recipes. I have to admit we like a juicier cobbler(it may be a sourthen thing)as we felt like we were eating a giant blueberry muffin. Nevertheless, we still ate every bit and it went great with ice cream.




Blueberry or Blackberry Cobbler

1-cup milk
1 stick butter
1 ¼-cup sugar
C cup self rising flour
2 cups blueberries or blackberries (can use fresh or frozen)
(We used fresh blueberries)

Melt butter combine one cup of sugar and flour in bowl whisk in the milk. Mix well. Add butter and blend well, pour into a buttered baking dish. Take (rinsed and dried) berries and arrange on top as even as you can. Sprinkle on top ¼ cup of sugar. Bake in pre heated oven at 350 for one hour or until golden brown.

Chicken Spaghetti by Pioneer Woman

Gotta Love the Pioneer Woman this was really good.


2 cups cooked chicken
2 cans cream of Mushroom soup
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (we used the 4 mexican cheese)
1/4 cup green pepper (we added more)
1/2 cup onion (we added more)
1 4 oz diced pimentoes drained
3 cups dry spaghetti broken intio two inch pieces
2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( we think it can use more like some red pepper flakes which we will add next time to kick it up)
Salt and pepper to taste
we also added a can of drained mushrooms

Cook 1 cut up chicken (a little note a dish that uses a meat with bone in is tastier)
in water. (We did add a little seasoning to this)
take chicken off bone to make 2 cups if any left over set aside for another day and dish.
Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until aldente. Do not over cook.
When spaghetti is cooked combine with remaining ingredients except for one cup cheese. ( we found it easier to put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and warm it up enought to mix all the cheese and spices.) Then we add it to the spaghetti and place in a large casserole dish. Top with last cup of cheese we also used more.
Cook for 45 minutes at 350 until bubbly.

Ground Beef and Spinich Pasta Bake

Looking for dishes not using the oven much and came across this one.
We added a can of corn and a home grown tomato and more parmesan cheese.
We felt it was lacking and could have used something to kick it up a notch.

Ground Beef and Spinach Pasta Bake
by Sackville
25 min 10 min prep
SERVES 4
2 teaspoons oil
1 onion, chopped
250 g ground beef or
ground pork
2 (400 g) cans chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili flakes
salt and pepper, to taste
10 ounces frozen spinach
200 g tagliatelle pasta noodles (or other pasta)
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
Sauté the onion in a deep frying pan for 1-2 minutes, then add the ground beef.
Cook until beef is browned, then add the tomatoes, spices, salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer for 3-4 minutes, then add the spinach and simmer 3-4 minutes more.
Adjust seasonings to taste.
Meanwhile, boil and drain the pasta according to directions on the package.
Combine the two and place in a baking tray.
Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake in a hot oven until melted and the dish is pipping hot, about 5 minutes.
Serve with a salad and garlic bread.