Category: MEMES & LINK PARTIES

BEAT BOBBY FLAY with my CRISPY RICE ~ BLOG 366.261

I watch a lot of cooking shows. Many have Bobby Flay in them. I have resisted looking up his crispy rice recipe, but loved the idea so have made my own. As many of you know he almost always wins when he resorts to his crispy rice. One day I’ll look his up, but for now, my family says this one’s a winner.

CRISPY RICE

1½-2 cups white cooked rice prepared per package, BUT using homemade chicken broth NOT water
1 stick unsalted butter plus 2 tablespoons
1 yellow onion FINELY diced
1 SMALL carrot FINELY diced
1/2 cup FINELY grated Parmesan cheese
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 400°.

  • In an oven proof skillet or cast iron, melt the butter.
  • Add the onion and saute until golden.
  • Add the carrot and saute until soft.
  • Remove to a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add Parmesan cheese and toss with cooked white rice.

  • In the same skillet, melt ½ of the stick of butter over medium heat.
  • Once melted, Add the rice mixture to the skillet and carefully press down.
  • Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
  • Remove and dot the top with the remaining butter. Transfer back into the oven and continue to cook for about 15 minutes more until the underside of the rice is crispy. Remove from the oven.
  • Invert to serve immediately.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY and MENUS with RECIPES week 37 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.260

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

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning sweet friends. Can you believe we are already half way through September? Seems like it was just August! Our cooler mornings are really making me appreciate my butterscotch coffee and snuggling under my favorite blanket while I type this up.

My weekend began on Friday doing a deep clean that became a domino effect of several rooms leading into most of Saturday – kind of a reverse spring cleaning. I’ve boxed up several boxes for the garage and several bags for donation. Hubby made me take yesterday off for my birthday, but I’m hoping to finish today before, but probably after my noon meeting or maybe Tuesday if I can’t get done before the 4:30 meeting. We did go out for lunch on Saturday to a local haunt for our favorite pizza and salad. I was surprised with a impromptu birthday celebration at a friends bar and grill yesterday with friends that was a lot of fun followed by birthday drinks with another friend at the Eagles and then dinner with friends on their deck overlooking the pond and sunset.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

The past week has been wonderful in the low to mid 70’s and expected to continue into this week with the exception of tomorrow and Wednesday when it is supposed to dip into the low 60’s with rain before returning back to the 70’s. Once again I am NOT complaining as the weather is near perfect! 🙂 It’s that time of year where I need to start keeping a lightweight sweatshirt in the car and/or wear shoes and socks instead of my standard summer flip flops since I’m getting so cold inside most places these days.

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING COMPLETELY up to date except for a bit of ironing.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need to evaluate my week and search the pantry to make a list. I’m trying to plan the menu around the freezer and the pantry to pare down what’s on stock.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Now that the deep clean is done I have several boxes of papers to sort through. I just love being organized.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m still searching for fall recipes, but so far so good – hubby has been happy with the new recipes so far.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We are still binge watching FRINGE of an evening waiting on the new season of seasonal premieres. During the day I started binge “watching” aka listening to THE SCARECROW and MRS. KING which I’m not sure I ever saw the first time through!

READING TIME

I finally finished Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter and will start Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown tonight.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
DINNER
 GREEN CHILE CHICKEN & BEANS
 CHICKEN & RICE with GREEN BEANS
PORK MEDALLIONS and ONION GRAVY with PARMESAN GREEN BEANS
 CORN/YOYO OUT WITH GIRLFRIENDS FOR DINNER AND A PLAY
 STUFFED PEPPER SOUP
 CIDER GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS and RICE
 MISSISSIPPI CHICKEN
DESSERT
 BOSTON CREAM PIE CUPCAKES
 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

We went to feed the peacocks on Thursday afternoon and went across the new bridge between our town and a neighboring town. The old one was a one lane bridge with a light. It’s been quite an ordeal for them to both build the new one and tear down the old one because it not only spans across an active rail line, but also was full of asbestos. But, they’re almost done.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

PAD THAI CHICKEN ~ BLOG 366.257

PAD THAI CHICKEN

CHICKEN
1-2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin (½ inch thick) and portioned
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  • Season chicken with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste.
  • Sauté chicken in a large sauté pan over medium heat, stirring continuously 6-8 minutes until cooked through.
  • Transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside.

SAUCE
¼ cup jalapeno ketchup
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon QUALITY peanut butter
Juice of 1 LARGE lime
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon BRAGG’s liquid aminos

  • Whisk all sauce ingredients and set aside.

ASSEMBLY
8 ounces flat rice noodles OR fettuccine in a pinch, cooked al dente
2 LARGE eggs
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
⅓ cup sliced shallots
1 bunch green onions
⅓ cup chopped cilantro
Chopped peanuts

  • Crack eggs into the same preheated pan and allow to fry for a bout a minute.
  • Break up egg with a wooden spoon and add the shallots and sprouts.
  • Add chicken and sauce.
  • Add noodles and toss to coat the noodles in the sauce. 
Stir in green onions and cilantro.
  • Garnish with peanuts.

NOTES

  • Add 1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce or an extra pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to give it a kick!
  • Easily swap out the chicken for pork, steak or even tofu!

CHICKEN & TOMATO PASTA ~ BLOG 366.254

CHICKEN & TOMATO PASTA

2 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 SMALL Vidalia onion, halved and sliced thin
1 can San Marzano tomatoes DO NOT DRAIN
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, to taste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 pound (1 3/4 cups) uncooked macaroni pasta
1 tablespoon butter
FRESH grated Parmesan cheese for serving

  • Combine tomatoes and their juice with the chicken pieces and broth in a dutch oven.
  • Season with FRESH ground sea salt, black pepper and chili flakes to taste.
  • Bring to a SLOW boil.
  • Add pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes until pasta is tender, but not over cooked.
  • Remove from heat and stir in ricotta cheese and butter.
  • Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENUS & RECIPE LINKS week 36 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.253

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

WEEKEND RECAP

Good morning friends. Can you believe a week of September is already over? Sure seems like it was just August! Come on in, pour yourself a cup of my butterscotch fall coffee and let’s have a chat.

We started the weekend on Thursday night this week having dinner with a friend on another friend’s deck. She and I both have September birthdays and have agreed that at this age we get to celebrate ALL month so we take every opportunity to celebrate. She is also a WONDERFUL guinea pig letting me try new recipes on her. We celebrated the end of summer with wonderful Tequila Rose Fizzes, “elegant” pigs in a blanket and lemon blueberry crinkle cake. I had never heard of crinkle cake until a recent Master Chef episode and found it is all the TikTok rage, but I don’t TikTok either. 😂 I did make it my own though and we all thought it was really tasty!

Friday was errand day and then a fundraiser dinner a friend was cooking for.

Saturday was a lazy morning and then we met some friends for drinks in the afternoon. I made some delicious Black Bean Salsa chicken in my new NINJA Foodi PRO – I’m really loving my new toy.

Sunday was also a lazy morning (we’ve been spending less time outside with the smokey air) followed by lunch with a friend who had been on vacation. I did some organizing in the afternoon and of course this was the first full football weekend. 😀 I hope your team won. Congratulations Jean – it was a great game. And sorry Carrie – I hope next week is better in celebration of your wedding and my birthday. I always root for the Dolphins AND the Lions because they have had such tough seasons in recent years, but they BOTH won and looked pretty good! Sorry to hubby though who is a Rams fan.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We had a few recent days of heat advisories, but fall appears to be arriving here in the Pacific North West and that is making this girl EXTREMELY happy. Highs this week in the 70’s and low’s in the 50’s will be just perfect!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING I have a couple loads of laundry to do and will be deep cleaning our bedroom on Friday I think.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have a meat box arriving later this week that I’ll need to be home for and I’ll do most the grocery shopping later this morning. My plan is to be home for my birthday weekend (this upcoming weekend) baking and cooking whatever I want 😀 so I’m getting all the “chores” done early this week.
  • PROJECTS & TRAVELS No BIG projects this week.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on a fall menu full of stews, soups, chilis and casseroles, but taking things one week at a time right now.

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We’ve been binge watching FRINGE
  • CABLE I’m looking forward to the new season of shows beginning in a couple weeks.

READING TIME

I FINALLY found time this last week to read and am hoping to finish Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter.

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt to get my system kick started 😀
9/9 MONDAY
9/10 TUESDAY
9/11 WEDNESDAY
9/12 THURSDAY
9/13 FRIDAY
9/14 SATURDAY
 9/15 SUNDAY
DINNER
 SANDRA’S CRAZY PIZZA BREAD
 ORANGE CHICKEN and RICE
BUTTERMILK RANCH PORK CHOPS and POTATOES
OUT WITH FRIENDS to FNB
 GRILLED STEAKS and JACKET POTATOES
 not sure yet
 HUBS IS COOKING FOR MY BIRTHDAY
DESSERT
 
 
 
BOSTON CREAM PIE CUPCAKES

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I finished house sitting last night, but not before getting a few more pictures of life overlooking the pond 😀 I will miss the view, but I also found it quite noisy. They’ve been developing the pond are and the traffic have taken much of the serenity out of the view at times.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN PASTA SALAD ~ BLOG 366.250

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta Salad is perfect for backyard BBQ’s, potlucks or as a serve yourself side to a charcuterie board night.

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN PASTA SALAD adapted from CAFE DELITES who adapted it from her single serve version
1 pound spaghetti
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenders
1 tablespoon FRESH chopped basil
1 tablespoon FRESH chopped oregano
½ teaspoon garlic powder

FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon + 1-2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
1/4 cup red onion FINELY chopped
2-3 tablespoons QUALITY balsamic vinegar, to taste
8 roma tomatoes, diced
½ cup Parmesan cheese grated, plus more to serve
2 tablespoons each FRESH basil, Italian parsley and oregano, FINELY chopped
3-4 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 drizzle balsamic glaze to serve, optional – I use store bought

  • Cook pasta according to package directions; Drain and rinse in cold water. Transfer to a large bowl, drizzle with oil; toss and set aside.
  • 
Season chicken with the dried herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  • Heat 1 teaspoon of oil on in a grill pan or skillet, and sear chicken breasts 5-6 per side over medium-high heat until browned on both sides and cooked through.
  • Remove from pan; set aside and allow to rest.
  • Add the remaining oil to the same hot skillet.
  • Sauté the garlic and red onion 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
  • Turn off heat. 

  • Add in the tomatoes, toss them lightly into the mixture to warm them through and combine all of the flavors.
  • Add the tomato mixture onto the pasta. 
Mix in the vinegar, Parmesan cheese, basil and parsley.
  • Season with FRESH ground salt and pepper to your taste.
  • Slice the chicken and add to pasta.
  • Toss the pasta with all of the ingredients until well combined.

  • Top with more Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with balsamic glaze, OR refrigerate up to an hour before serving.


NOTES:

  • I prefer FRESH copped herbs, but dried work also. Substitute 1-2 teaspoons, to taste.
  • Salad can be served warm – heated through in the same pan as the oil tomato mixture.

SMOTHERED POTATOES ~ BLOG 366.249

This is one of those recipes I found written on a scrap piece of paper in the bottom of an antique recipe box. Whoever wrote it had written a side note saying it was excellent.

 

SMOTHERED POTATOES

2 extra large russet potatoes,baked, cooled and sliced
3-4 strips bacon, diced, cooked crisp, reserve rendered fat
1 LARGE shallot, diced
1/2-1 SMALL red pepper, diced
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  • In the same pan you cooked the bacon, add shallot pieces, cooking 1 minute.
  • Add red pepper pieces, cooking until peppers are softened.
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Spray baking dish with non-stick spray.
  • Layer potatoes in baking dish, seasoning with FRESH ground sea salt, black pepper and paprika.
  • Sprinkle with bacon pieces and cheese.
  • Bake 10 minutes until heated through.