Category: BLOG 365

CLASSIC BURGERS with BACON AIOLI ~ BLOG 365.7

CLASSIC BURGERS with BACON AIOLI 8 Servings
1 pound black pepper uncured bacon, cut into thin strips
2 LARGE Egg yolks
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (OPTIONAL)
3/4 cup avocado oil
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground sirloin brisket
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
8 hamburger buns (OPTIONAL)

CONDIMENT SUGGESTIONS
Lettuce
Tomato
Sliced Red Onions
Pickles
Sliced Cheddar Cheese
Crispy Onion Strings

  • In a sauté pan over medium heat, fry bacon until crispy (about 8 – 10 minutes).
  • Drain bacon pieces on a paper towel and cool. Discard or save bacon grease for another use.
  • In a food processor, add bacon, egg yolks, vinegar, garlic and mustard. Purée ingredients and slowly add oil until emulsified and liquid is thick like a mayonnaise.
  • Season aioli to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer to a container and refrigerate until ready to use. Aioli can be made up to a week in advance.
  • Preheat grill to 350-375º, or a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
  • In a stainless steel bowl, combine ground pork, brisket and beef, mixing gently and thoroughly by hand.
  • Form burgers into 6 – 8 ounce patties and set on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
  • Make an indentation in the center of each patty.
  • Season all patties liberally on both sides with salt and pepper. For even cooking, allow to come to room temperature for about 20 – 25 minutes.
  • Place burgers on grill or in pan and cook 6-8 minutes per side until internal temperature reaches 155º. Allow burgers to rest 15 minutes.
  • Serve burger on a toasted bun (we prefer bunless) with bacon aioli, piled high with your favorite burger condiments.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with RECIPE LINKS & MENU ~ week 1 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.6B

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

I don’t care for Christmas and New Years falling in the middle of the week! Last Wednesday felt like a Sunday and I was messed up for the rest of the week! I’m looking to return to a routine this week!

So our “weekend” really began last Wednesday. We watched the Rose Parade, went and saw a friend who had to work (fortunately she runs a bar and grill so we got breakfast) and then watched the Rose Bowl before we ate Black Eyed Pea Chili made from our left over Christmas Prime Rib for dinner.

I spent Thursday cleaning the refrigerator and freezer and making an inventory list for both to start the year out fresh. Fortunately, it was also trash day, so that helped a lot. The woman who normally mans the Eagle’s kitchen for me on Thursdays had to bow out because her grandson came down with the flu virus while he was staying with her and we didn’t want to expose people, so I ended up covering for her.

Friday we were getting a bit of cabin fever from all the rain so decided to take a drive down to the river and were rewarded with a fantastic new little restaurant. On the way we encountered a barn that made me think of Jean so I took a picture for her. But, Jean and Carrie, I’m so sorry about the Chiefs and Packers yesterday 🙁

The rest of Friday through Sunday was spent de-cluttering and washing linens from Christmas and beginning to pack it all away for another year. I’ll finish packing away Christmas today. We also watched A LOT of football for the final regular season day.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

While the temperatures are still supposed to be in the 40’s we are supposed to FINALLY dry out a bit this week, at least enough to dry out a bit and not be so soggy. That said, nighttime lows will be much lower with clear skies.

ON MY MIND

I was so saddened to wake up on the 1st to hear about all the senseless terror situations in New Orleans, Las Vegas and all over the world! I pray for an answer every day to the senseless violence!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll need to deep clean after I finish putting away the Christmas decorations. I also am going to try and deep clean the baseboards. Fortunately, I’m up to date on the laundry.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ve searched high and low for an 11×14 frame for my small jewelry tree and finally resorted to ordering one from Amazon. I TRIED to shop local!!!
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS I’m trying to finish my jewelry “forest” so I can get it packed away until next Christmas.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING working on next week’s menu

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We finished season 6 of Virgin River and Man on the Inside – can’t wait for the new seasons of both.
  • HALLMARK When Calls the Heart’s new season started last night. I’m excited for the changes that this new season will bring. And The Way Home started last Friday.
  • CABLE New season starts this week so we’ll see – looks like a couple of promising new shows.
  • THEATRE I saw a preview for FLIGHT RISK (opens 1/24) with Mark Wahlberg that looks like it’s going to be pretty good.

READING TIME

I’m reading The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. I LOVE WWII stories that empower women! The new book club book was supposed to be announced last night, so we’ll see what her “wheel of chance” chose for us. We’ve all been feeding her titles and to make it fair she’s using an APP that chooses at random. I just checked again and the book has been chosen, NONE Of This Is TRUE by Lisa Jewell. So many of the titles the others are throwing out have such a sinister true crime, psychological thriller type vibe to them, not titles I would choose on my own 🙁 we’ll try another month and see what comes of it.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

 
1/6 MONDAY
1/7 TUESDAY
1/8 WEDNESDAY
1/9 THURSDAY
1/10 FRIDAY
1/11 SATURDAY
1/12 SUNDAY
DINNER
NUMERO UNO PIZZA REMAKE
COCA COLA PORK LOIN with CARROT CASSEROLE
PIZZA EGG ROLLS
 BEEF & BBQ BEAN STEW
 GREEN CHICKEN CHILE
 SWEET CORN DIP & HOT DOGS
 BEEF & NOODLES
DESSERT
 
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES POSTING THIS WEEK

  • CREAMY LEMON PARMESAN CHICKEN
  • CLASSIC BURGERS with BACON AIOLI
  • SLOW COOKER TEX MEX CHICKEN

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

  • CHICKEN TOSTADA CUPS
  • COUNTRY FRENCH CHICKEN GARLIC SOUP

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

COUNTRY FRENCH CHICKEN GARLIC SOUP ~ BLOG 365.3

This recipe is inspired by an old Julia Child recipe.

COUNTRY FRENCH CHICKEN GARLIC SOUP
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 SMALL onion, chopped (1 cup)
10-12 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups homemade chicken broth
1 LARGE potato, diced (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups diced rotisserie chicken pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon FRESH chopped thyme
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1/4 cup chopped FRESH parsley, for garnish
Grated Gruyere, for garnish
Crusty bread or Butter Swim Biscuits

  • Melt butter and oil together in large pot over medium heat.
  • Add onions and garlic, sautéing until soft.
  • Add chicken broth and diced potatoes. Bring to a SLOW boil.
  • Reduce heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.
  • Stir in heavy cream, thyme, chicken pieces, FRESH ground salt and pepper. Heat through.
  • Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley before serving and serve with crusty bread.
  • For extra richness, top with grated cheese and crusty bread.

CHICKEN TOSTADA CUPS ~ BLOG 365.2

CHICKEN TOSTADA CUPS
12 (6 inch) corn OR flour tortillas, warmed
Cooking spray
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken pieces
1 cup chunky salsa
16 ounce can refried beans
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Optional toppings: Shredded lettuce, sour cream, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, sliced jalapeno, lime wedges, sliced ripe olives, sliced green onions, sliced radishes, and pico de gallo or additional salsa

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Press warm tortillas into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray, pleating sides as needed.
  • Spritz tortillas with additional cooking spray.
  • Bake 5-7 minutes until lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.
  • Toss chicken with salsa.
  • Layer each cup with beans, chicken mixture and cheese.
  • Bake 9-11 minutes until heated through.
  • Serve with toppings as desired.

NEAPOLITAN CAKE ~ BLOG 366.362

Why have one flavor when you can have three? Neapolitan bundt cake is a tribute to nostalgic classic Neapolitan ice cream from childhood. It was a family favorite with a flavor for everyone in the family. I was never a single flavor girl. I always ate a mix of all three flavors together.

This bundt cake is dense but soft, similar to a pound cake in texture with strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate layers of soft and fluffy cake and all three flavors – strawberry (sweet), vanilla (basic), and chocolate (deep and rich) are all made from the same batter, making this cake much easier than it looks. But, with just a few additions for the sweet strawberry layer and the deep rich chocolate layer combined with the base vanilla flavor it all balances out! Not the best picture, but the flavor made up for it!

VANILLA CAKE
1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons PURE vanilla extract
3 LARGE eggs, room temperature
2 and 1/4 cups AP flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup full fat or whole milk
2 tablespoons full fat sour cream

  • Grease and line three 6-inch round baking pans.
  • Preheat oven to 350 (320 convection).
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
  • Sift in flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add milk and sour cream and beat on a low speed until just combined. DO NOT OVER MIX!!!!!
  • Divide batter evenly into three bowls.

STRAWBERRY CAKE
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
Pink food gel or food coloring

  • Add strawberry extract to one bowl and a few drops of pink food gel and stir together.

CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon milk

  • Add the cocoa powder and milk to another bowl, stirring until smooth.
  • Leave the final batter as is for the vanilla layer.

 

  • Carefully pour each batter, one layer at a time, into prepared cake tins.
  • Bake cakes 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • Carefully remove the cakes and set on a wire rack to cool completely.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
1 cup or 2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons PURE vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
5 cups powdered sugar
3–4 tablespoons WHOLE milk, room temperature

  • Beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
  • Add the vanilla.
  • Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
  • Add a tablespoon of milk as needed.
  • Continue until you have used all the icing sugar and milk and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
  • Use a serrated knife to trim tops of cakes to even them out.
  • Place one cake on a small cake board, then cover the top with buttercream.
  • Place the second cake on top. Cover top with buttercream.
  • Place the third cake on top.
  • Cover the entire cake, top and sides, with remaining buttercream. 
  • Use a cake scraper to remove excess buttercream on the sides.

BLOGMAS 2024 ~ day 25 ~ MEANING OF CHRISTMAS ~ BLOG 366.358B

Christmas is the most important holiday to me and not because Santa comes, though that is pretty important to the kiddos, but more importantly, it’s a caring spirit, a sharing feeling, an attitude that I try to practice all year long.  I truly feel good about giving – whether it’s the Angel trees I select gifts for or the smile from the Salvation Army bell ringer as you put your money in their red bucket and wish them Merry Christmas. 

For 10 years I chaired an Angel Tree Program for FISH and I loved doing it! I prepared for it earlier and earlier every year and I truly believe each year got better and better because of that preparation. The night before we distributed the gifts I would go shopping for the teenage girls and boys that always seemed to fall through the cracks in the donations. We were ALWAYS lacking in gifts for the teen girls no matter what we tried to boost things up for them. So, now when I choose the angels from the trees in the community I seek out the teenage girls specifically. And the past few years I have helped chair a committee and shop for foster kids in need.

Christmas means lots and lots of memories of family, some no longer with us, but ALWAYS in my heart when I hang an ornament that reminds me of that person or a recipe that they always prepared like my dad’s, Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing, crazy Aunt Louise’s Holiday Wreaths or Gram’s Christmas box full of goodies picked out just for each one of us or…

One of the things I try to practice each year is to make at least one homemade gift – nothing too extravagant, but just something that says “I MADE THIS with LOVE JUST FOR YOU“.

The years that we host the Christmas holidays we include a lot of family recipes. But, more importantly, Christmas is the spirit of Love and Giving and it must be felt and shared. Christmas is a gift from above and each year as I grow older I realize more and more that Christmas is about Love, Peace, Sharing, Caring and just being together.

I can only answer for myself, but I assume for those that are not religious, the meaning of Christmas is still a celebration, but one of celebrating friendships and family by gathering to eat together, share their time and share tokens of appreciation in the form of gifts with others.
May we ALL carry the spirit of Christmas in our hearts all throughout the year by remembering the REAL reason for the season.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 51 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.358

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

WEEKEND RECAP

GOOD MORNING dear friends! Here we are in the FINAL STRETCH of holiday preparation! Are you ready? I hope you are taking the holiday week by storm and crushing it, BUT also going slow enough to REALLY enjoy it!! One thing fell through the cracks for me this year, mainly because Thanksgiving was so late. I normally have my cards ready before Thanksgiving, but didn’t this year. I have been working on them amongst all my other commitments. So, if you normally get a card from me, they are almost ready, but this year they will be a between Christmas and New Years card 😀

I stay connected by doing BLOGMAS each day to get me started in the right spirit. That said, I often do multiple posts ahead of time and schedule them while we are watching football or a Christmas movies throughout the month of December. I think next year I’ll combine many posts together and go with an every few days approach.

Last week was a SUPER BUSY one for me! There was something BIG literally every day – dinners in with friends and neighbors, dinners out with girlfriends and going to see a play, A Christmas Story at the local community theatre, parties at some of our favorite places with some of our favorite people… 

I have FINALLY learned how to slow down a bit and enjoy it even more! I have a girlfriend who comes over every few months and I usually make a “SPECIAL” drink and dinner for us. She has finally convinced me to make it “simpler” and you know what? We had an even better time with bacon cheeseburger balls, super creamy mac and cheese and a simple green salad. I did splurge and make mini raspberry cheesecakes 😀

Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS my friends. Enjoy your families and remember the reason for the season! And here’s a clue, it’s not perfection or commercialism.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We’re in the beginning stages of an atmospheric river back-up of storms here. According to a NY Times article, there is going to be one right after another for the next 10 days or so. So, wet weather attire will be worn at all times as we head into this first full week of winter!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING ALL done until the unwrapping mess on Wednesday.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS NOT on your life am I going near a store this week.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • CHRISTMAS MOVIES of course and clean out the DVR for the end of the year!

READING TIME

I’m reading The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak for book club. I’m really hoping to have more time for reading soon.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always (and probably always will be) a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
 LEMON CHICKEN & RICE SOUP
 MARINATED FLANK STEAK, FRIED POTATOES and MUNCHIES
CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
BAKED HAM, PRIME RIB, GLAZED ROASTED CARROTS, LOADED MASHED POTATOES
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
 PEASANT STEW, BUTTERMILK BAKED BISCUITS
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
 HAM TETRAZZINI, GREEN SALAD
DESSERT
 
 
RASPBERRY TRUFFLES, MOCHA BANANA RUM BALLS
 CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

Here are a few pictures from last week’s girl’s night for dinner and the play and the UGLY Sweater Christmas party at the Offyce.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

RECIPES TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEK

  • ROAST CHICKEN with APRICOT HABANERO GLAZE
  • NEOPOLITAN CAKE

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS