TUESDAY 4 ~ ALL ABOUT COOKING

Welcome to Tuesday 4 which we keep going in memory of our dear friend Toni Taddeo. This week’s topic is all about cooking. 😀

1.  What is the most valuable kitchen utensil you have or one you use often and could not live without? A good set of sharp knives and crock full of QUALITY utensils. I LOVE my pampered chef mini whips for blending small amounts of sauces and gravies, otherwise my immersion blender works best.
2. Do you have any fancy gadgets like air fryers, etc in your kitchen? How are they working out for you? I have A LOT of gadgets, but I use all that I have.  I LOVE my NINJA Foodie grill in the winter for air frying, grilling, dehydrating, slow cooking…

3. Do you have any step or labor saving ideas that make cooking and meal preparation easier? By menu planning and sticking to it, I can cut the prep work in at least half by chopping veggies all at once on day 1 and then using the portions I need throughout the week.

4. What is your favorite recipe of all time? Would you share it with us? Undoubtedly it’s pot roast and homemade applesauce 😀 Here’s 2 different versions and my homemade applesauce.

MAXINE’S POT ROAST
2 tablespoons Avocado oil
3 pound boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
3 medium red potatoes, washed and quartered
2 celery ribs, washed and large chopped
2 carrots, washed and large chopped
1 LARGE Vidalia onion, large diced
3 cups STRONG brewed coffee
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Wondra flour
3/4 teaspoon salt

  • Whisk together 1 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 2 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder and 1 1/2 seasoned salt.
  • Rub seasoning mixture over entire roast.
  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown roast on all sides and edges.
  • Place roast and potatoes in slow cooker.
  • Saute’ celery, carrots and onions in hot drippings from browning the roast.
  • Add coffee, Worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet cooking for 3-5 minutes, loosening any particles stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
  • Pour over the roast and potatoes.
  • Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours or until roast and potatoes are fork tender.
  • Transfer roast and vegetables to a serving platter.
  • Shred roast with forks, cover and keep warm.
  • Melt butter in saucepan.
  • Whisk in flour until golden.
  • Add to drippings in crock pot, stirring to blend well and cooking until desired consistency.
  • Serve with Mashed potatoes, vegetables and roast.
MY SUPER SAVORY POT ROAST & VEGGIES
I love Pot Roast. I adapted grams old recipe to my family and their likes.
3+ pound Pot Roast
2 medium Onions
1 bag baby carrots
3 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
3 large Yukon potatoes~scrubbed clean, but not peeled
Kosher Salt
White & Black Pepper
2-3 LARGE cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Pampered Chef Rosemary mix
Beef bullion
Red Wine (2 cups) OR White Wine (2 cups) or plain old broth (2 cups) or combination of the three.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 350°. The meat you use is important. My favorite roast is the chuck roast because it has wonderful marbling throughout the meat, and when cooked right (prep, cover, cook ~ don’t fiddle with it while it’s in the oven) any chuck roast winds up being tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Be aware that the tougher the piece of meat is, the longer it needs to cook so that the connective tissue will soften and break down. You truly can’t rush a pot roast, you’ll be disappointed if you try as it will be dry or lack flavor. BE PATIENT. You want the meat to basically fall apart. You SHOULD NOT need a knife to cut it.
  • Bring the piece of meat to room temperature.
  • GENEROUSLY sprinkle the first side of meat with the Kosher Salt and Pepper mix.
  • Heat enough avocado oil in the bottom of a fry pan on medium-high heat to make a thick coating.
  • Cut the onions tip to root, cut off root and stem, peel and lay flat into hot oil. Brown both sides well.
  • Remove to side.
  • Add the baby carrots and do the same. I normally cut each carrot just in half. Brown carrots (you’re aiming more for color here than cooking them). They will have plenty of time to cook in the oven.
  • Add garlic and spices at this point. By this time I have put them all into a mortar and pestle to revive their scents and aromas.
  • When carrots are finished, remove them to the same plate as the onions. If necessary add more olive oil to the pan and add the roast seasoned side down. While it’s browning season the other side really well. Brown both sides and all edges really well.

Now, for the oven I like to use my grandma’s old Magnalite dutch oven which cooks really even! And see those little hobnail bumps in on the bottom side of the lid? Those are better known as drip catchers. They collect the steam from the juices and redistributes it all right back down on the roast as it cooks. These help keep the meat moist and juicy.

  • After the roast is browned, place it in the dutch oven and spread vegetables all around it.
  • While fry pan is still hot, add white or red wine and the beef bullion to deglaze the pan ~ make sure you scrape up all the stuck little bits from the bottom. Cook long enough to mix well and then pour over the roast. The liquid should come up at least half way on the sides of the roast and vegetable mixture. For this recipe we added the white wine to the recipe and drank the red. The red wine, Harrod wine, is from our nephew’s vineyard so we don’t waste it cooking, but enjoy every last drop.
  • Put the lid on the dutch oven, put it in the oven, don’t open the door for AT LEAST 3 hours! Today’s roast was 2.39 pounds and I roasted it for 3 1/2 hours. Go relax or at least get the dishes you’ve dirtied so far done up. At 3 hours, I prep the potatoes for boiling. I prefer not to cook mine with the roast  every time ~ sometimes I prefer a bit of substance instead of the mush they can become with the roast. I do a basic mashed with heavy cream, salt, pepper, and butter (hey you gotta splurge a little sometimes!)

HOMEMADE APPLE SAUCE
5 large Apples (I like Pink Lady, Honey Crisp or Braeburns)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 can peach nectar (Papaya or pineapple are good too)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

  • In a large sauce pan pour nectar over raisins and let sit while you prepare apples.
  • Wash, core, peel and chop apples.
  • Add water to sauce pan and stir in sugar until dissolved.
  • Add cinnamon and mix well.
  • Add apples and cook over medium heat until until apples are tender and mush easily.
  • Mush to desired consistency.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Cool and chill.
  • Can be kept in refrigerator for a week though it never lasts that long around here. When my apples are at the height of the season and falling off the tree I make this in huge batches and put it up in canning jars for the following year.

LAVERNE DEFAZIO ROAST
1 can Pepsi
3+/- pound pot roast, with good marbling
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 pound mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
1 package KNORR brown gravy mix
1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon Beef base
Kosher salt and white pepper

  • Bring roast to room temperature.
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Brown the roast, generously ~ salt and peppering it.
  • Whisk together the milk, pepsi, bouillon base and gravy mix.
  • Surround roast with onions and mushrooms.
  • Pour Milk/Coke mixture over roast.
  • Bake for at least 3 hours undisturbed. Depending on the thickness of the roast it will probably take 4-5 hours for a thick 3 pound roast until the meat begins to fall apart. You should be able to cut your roast with a fork.
  • The combination of ingredients makes its own gravy that is soooooooooooooooooo good.

TUESDAY 4 TO CLOSE THE YEAR

Happy New Year and welcome to Tuesday 4 where we continue to remember and honor the memory of  Toni Taddeo who began Tuesday 4.

Masses of people began celebrating in Times Square in 1904, but the New Year’s Ball didn’t drop until December 31, 1907. The ball is 12 feet in diameter, weighs 11,875 pounds and is covered with 2,688 Waterford crystals.  
Click here to see the HISTORY OF THE NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL it’s really quite interesting.

  • Despite the weirdness of this past year, was it still a good year for you anyway or not? While it was a strange year with the pandemic, it wasn’t bad per se, just inconvenient.  I thank God that I’m healthy and those I do know of that contracted COVID had relatively mild cases and have recovered.  We ate out less, traveled less, saw fewer people, shopped less, but are healthy.
  • How will you spend New Years Eve? Quietly at home with the love of my life and a good meal. We usually watch the festivities of TV, but not sure what those will be like this year.
  • What do you do on New Year’s Day? Is football part of the agenda? On New Year’s Day I usually make brunch and we de-decorate as we watch the parade and football.
  • It’s a Scottish tradition to kiss at midnight according to the person who wrote this question, but my research from TIME.com lends the origins to German traditions, at least here in the United States.  See The Mysterious Origins of Kissing at Midnight on New Year’s Eve. Do you keep that tradition? Does everyone get a kiss if you do? We do keep the tradition, but hubby is the only one I kiss even before COVID 😀

I pray your new year is a bright and Blessed one, free from the trials and tribulations that 2020 brought us. All the very best to you and your family.

TUESDAY 4

Hey friends! Welcome to our Tuesday 4 where we remember our friend Toni Taddeo with 4 questions each week.  This week is all about fun times. Come play with us.

Did you as a child or do you now like amusement parks, going out to places of entertainment? (theaters, themed parks, etc.) I absolutely adored it! We lived in southern California and Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland were the big attractions.  Grams and gramps would go all the way to Knott’s Berry Farm with its Old Western Town feel just for the Sunday Chicken dinner that they were famous for.  But I also enjoyed the simpler amusement parks.  On Tuesdays my friends dad would pile us all into his little car and take us to Placerita Park to roam the hills, play on the playground equipment against the Oak of the Golden Dream (the spot of California’s first authenticated gold find) and BBQ us hot dogs as the sun set.

Which rides/parks did you enjoy the most or what snack foods to you enjoy when you are out and about? As for rides I was all about HIGHER and FASTER so it was roller coasters for me – Matterhorn, Space Mountain etc… but I’m also a sucker for the Haunted House, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Jungle Cruise and It’s a Small World.  As for the foods at sit down places, my all time favorite was a Monte Cristo at the Blue Bayou along the river that runs through the Pirates of the Caribbean or the Polynesian Chicken at the Tiki Hut which unfortunately has been gone a long, long time. And the Fried Chicken dinner I mentioned above at Knott’s Berry Farm was always a treat.  We didn’t get many snack foods as my family was more into “real” meals.

When you were a kid, what activities /games/places brought you the most enjoyment? I wasn’t allowed to play midway games either as they were considered a waste of money.  So I don’t have any real memories of bringing home a goldfish or stuffed animal.

Would you share with us a fun time or great trip that you’ve experienced? As an adult I began entering contests for jam making and table setting and quilting at the county fairs. I’ve even won a few ribbons which give me great memories. That’s also where I actually began to truly enjoy the amusement park midways and true amusement park food like frozen bananas and deep fried cheesecake.

MY all time favorite though was a trip to the IOWA state fair.  It wasn’t the biggest fair by far.  LA County was as big if not bigger, but I had the best time with my little nieces as they drug me to all their favorite rides,  I have to tell you that was the last time I was on a HAMMERHEAD too 😀 And the foods seemed more country and authentic than anywhere else. The quilting and cannnig exhibits were the best I’d seen at that time.

TUESDAY 4 ~ SCHOOL DAYS & PERSONALITY

 Welcome to Tuesday 4 which we keep up in memory of Toni Taddeo.

School days help to shape our future personality. 
  • Share a story of your school days that you think may have helped shape who you are today. ALL of grade school helped shape who I am today.  I had an incredible small class (I’m still friends with a few kids from then) setting with the same kids in my class for the first 6 years in a rural suburb at a time when teachers were truly respected and believed their success was based on their students abilities to succeed themselves.  Rules were followed, discipline was expected and rewards were abundant for success.
  • Did you have a favorite teacher and what made them special to you? I had several favorites!  Miss Suleski and Mrs. Ault were two of my favorites though.  I can still remember all their names, even the princpals. 😀
  • Did you enjoy the rituals of school… new clothing, pencils, notebooks, etc.? Absolutely!  Still today ALL office supplies call my name during back to school time.  And getting new shoes and clothes in the fall were a special memory.
  • Did you walk to school or ride the bus? Mainly walked, but there was no school yet in our neighborhood when I started school so we were bused to kindergarten and then in first grade our new grade school opened and we walked from then on.  Jr. High and High School were located a couple miles away and we walked mostly, but the bus was available and I used it during inclement weather time.

 

TUESDAY 4 – PARTS 1&2 making it TUESDAY 8?

I missed last week and decided to participate this week only to find it was PART 2! My OCD kicked in and made me decide I now had to do both parts! So does that make it a Tuesday 8? 😀

Tuesday 4 in memory of it’s founder, our friend Toni Taddeo…

How do you relax in the evening after dinner? After dinner relaxation is usually blogging or checking facebook while we watch a bit of TV.  Reading is reserved these days for bedtime, doctor’s office waits and the such. Do you read in bed? ABSOLUTELY! It’s how I fall asleep.

What kind of books do you read? I love all types, but tend to gravitate to contemporary series types where I can get invested in the same characters and/or families.

Do you have a list of books you look forward to reading? YEP, a VERY long list!

What is the best book you’ve ever read and why? This is a super HARD question for me!  I LITERALLY have a list of my favorites and have a favorite in many different genres. I cannot definitively answer this question 🙁

Kindle or hard cover/paper back? I was a die hard paper or hard back reader until about 6 years ago when hubby bought me a kindle for Christmas and I then realized it would hold ALL my favorites and yet to reads, ready at my fingertips at all times and I became a KINDLE GIRL. 🙂

Have you read a series like Harry Potter and if so which series and what did you think of the stories? Can you recommend them and why? I have read the Harry Potters and other realm series also.  I know many people have issues with many of these on religious grounds, but I honestly see them as entertainment and anything that gets someone reading and engaged is okay with me.

Do you have a library, book shelves etc... in your home? Don’t you?  Bookshelves are a MUST 🙂

Is there a book you just really disliked ? Why did you dislike it? In all my years of reading I can count on one hand the books I disliked or never finished and honestly don’t remember the titles or even the authors now.

TUESDAY 4 ~ SEPTEMBER AND AUTUMN

Tuesday 4 is hosted by Annie from Cottage by the Sea in honor and memory of Toni Taddeo who started the concept of Tuesday 4 years ago. Go to Tuesday 4 to play along.

1.What memories does September bring back to you of school, autumn, songs, movies? When I was a kid school always began after Labor day, so September meant Back to School.  September is also my birthday month so it was a big deal as a kid.  I still love my birthday even though I no longer count 😀 But, now September is Ovarian Awareness month where as a survivor I try and spread the word.  I can’t think of any specific movies or songs.  Fall is my favorite season though and I ALWAYS look forward to September to herald it in.

2. September is the first of what are called the “BER” months, the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Which do you enjoy more, summer or autumn and why? Summer is just something I tolerate.  I’m a serious Autumn girl!  I LOVE all things fall – cooler weather, cute sweaters, all things pumpkin and spice.

3. Have you ever gone apple or pumpkin picking or gone into a corn maze? What was that like? I’ve done them all. When I was a kid we had Lombardi Farms that was where you went for your pumpkins and all things corn maze. Through in a haunted house and I’m all in 😀

4. Are fall weekends different for you than summer weekends? What do you enjoy in autumn? This year will be different for sure, but years past fall weekends were reserved for NASCAR, football and baking
. 

TUESDAY 4 ~ SODA POP

Tuesday 4, is a collection of 4 questions each week that is kept up in honor and memory of Toni Taddeo, founder of the meme.

1. In New Jersey you put your groceries in a paper bag or plastic bag.  In Athens, Ohio where I went to university, you put them in a paper sack.
Is it bag , sack or something else where you live? Depends on the store and the clerk and where they grew up I think.

2. NJ says Stockings. Athens, Ohio used to call them “hose” and in Britain they are tights. What about where you live? Stockings are socks that are individual.  Hose are nylons or panty hose and tights are colored and in many colors.

3. Soda, Pop, Coke? Soda is a general term.  Pop is a regional general term for any carbonated beverage and Coke is a brand, but I prefer Pepsi 😀
 
4. Shopping cart or trolley or? What do you call it? Definitely shopping carts everywhere I’ve ever lived.

TUESDAY 4 ~ A MATTER OF TIME

Tuesday 4, is a collection of 4 questions each week that is kept up in honor and memory of Toni Taddeo, founder of the meme.

1. Are meals eaten at certain times in your home or are they more spontaneous? Dinner is usually around 6PM, but the other meals depend on the schedule for the day.

2. If you attend religious services or club meetings, are they morning, afternoon or evening? Are there advantages/disadvantages to that time? Depends on the event and the schedule.  I never really thought about an advantage to either. 😀

3. Are you in bed and up in the mornings at a regular time each day? Yes

4. Do you set apart specific times during the day or week to do certain things like study, shopping, laundry, visiting?  Nope, make the schedule according to appointments and plans for the week.

TUESDAY 4

IT’S TIME FOR TUESDAY 4 hosted at TUESDAY 4. This week’s questions seem a bit random, but I’ll try for answers that make some sense.

1. What kind of restaurants do you enjoy most and why? Do you have a favorite? This is a tough question these days amid the horrors of COVID19!  I LOVE a lot of different food and restaurants, but have been spending my money mainly on local mom and pop places to help them out. Hubby and I tended to go out to lunch more often than not before, whereas now we order it and then pick it up to eat at home. We do have a favorite old historic pub that makes tremendous sandwiches.

2. Do you have a favorite cartoon from film, news or comic book? Not really!

3. Do you belong to any clubs or societies or organizations? We’re military and hubby is a lifetime member of the VFW, American Legion, 82nd Airborne Association… I’ve been on the auxiliary of several and participated in the clubs at many levels like writing their newsletters, etc…  I was also a Girl Scout Leader for several years.

4. The internet is filled with ads. Are there any ads that you enjoy seeing or hate to see?  Honestly I HATE most ads – I find most of them insulting to our intelligence.  Now if they make them positive, add a golden retriever or a cute kid that makes me smile, I’ll watch.

TUESDAY 4 ~ HOUSEKEEPING

This week the Tuesday 4 topic is housekeeping. Click here to play along.

1 What do you consider the most important job or chore to do in housekeeping?

They are so very important, but the VERY most important job to me is ORGANIZATION and staying one step ahead of always being behind LOL 😀 That means doing the dishes right away, folding the clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer, taking the trash out before it overflows…

2 Do dishes ever sit over night in your sink?

NOPE, I can’t stand dishes in the sink EVER!  There is an occasional pot or pan that might soak for an hour, but that’s it!

3 Is being a stay at home mom a real career?

ABSOLUTELY! AND IT IS NOT A JOB FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

4 Can you share favorite brands of dish soap, cleaners, detergents or perhaps a tip on making house keeping easier?

Once again my answer is ORGANIZATION! I use simple cleaning products – lots of soap, Mr. Clean, Plain old bleach and vinegar.

TUESDAY 4 – 4th of JULY

To play along join up with Annie here.

1 DO YOU THINK THE 4TH IS AN IMPORTANT HOLIDAY? WHY? I think it is important that we have a national holiday of solidarity such as the 4th of July.  I also think that many of the oppressive things (government, taxes, etc…) that led to pilgrimage to America that initiated the need for independence have crept their way into American life anyway over the years.  But, it is still a time to come together as Americans and celebrate our freedoms, which are many.  Here is a link to the history of the 4th of July.
2 HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE? Personally, we usually stay home at least of an evening.  We have traditionally had pets that were afraid of fireworks so we would BBQ at home and stay near them to help comfort them from the neighbors that would start setting off fireworks early.  We usually watch the celebrations on TV. In years past we have celebrated with neighbors, but only close to home.
When I was a young girl we always went to my aunt and uncles house who had a pool and spent the day with family.  It was a long drive (about 2 hours) and after a day full of food and sun we’d drive home as it was getting dark and I would always look forward to seeing all the fireworks from town to town as my dad headed up the freeway.
3 IN THE TIME OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER, ALL AMERICANS READ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ON THE 4TH AND LEMONADE WAS A BIG TREAT FOR THE TOWN PICNIC.  DO YOU READ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE? OR YOUR NATION’S IMPORTANT PAPERS? ARE YOU A FAN OF LEMONADE? This question is the first I’d heard that the Declaration was read on the 4th in previous years, but it is something along with all the important documents that was taught in school at a fairly in depth level so there is a level of knowledge that is understood. And yes, if made well, I am a fan of lemonade, especially strawberry lemonade.
4 PICNIC – DO YOU EAT INSIDE OR OUTSIDE FOR THE 4TH? Honestly this question depends on the weather and where we are living at the time. When we were in Texas it was too hot and sticky to eat outside and sometimes here it can be too rainy or cool.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

TUESDAY 4

My friend Martha is back to blogging over at Seaside Simplicity! I love it, because I find more and more ways to get back into blogging more than recipes by following her again 😀 So, it’s time for Tuesday 4 and this week it’s all about summer.

1. WHAT ACTIVITIES DID YOU ENJOY AS A KID IN THE SUMMER?

I grew up in rural southern California (when there was such a thing as rural in southern California) where the sun almost always shined.  Summer were hot, but doable in the dry heat and we lived outside playing ball, climbing trees, riding bikes or swimming in friend’s pools or hiking to the frog pond or pig farm in the hills around our area.  We were up with the sun and had to be home by the time the street lights came on. We did pop in for meals, but other than that we were expected to STAY outside. 

2. DID YOU GO ON VACATIONS? WHERE DID YOU GO?

Vacations were not an every year thing for us.  There were a few over the years, but it was usually shorter trips throughout the year that would be our vacations.  There were a couple of summers that I spent in Texas with family, but all in all there were no actual summer vacations.

3. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SUMMER TIME DINNER?

We LOVE salads and homemade dressing in the summertime or anything grilled.  Really anything that doesn’t heat up the house.  Here are a few of our favorite recipes.

4. HOW OFTEN DO YOU SIT OUTSIDE AND ENJOY AN ICED TEA OR COFFEE?

We do like to spend the early mornings and evenings after dinner on the patio with either our coffee in the morning or a glass of wine and/or a beer in the evening.  If it’s nice enough I will sometimes grab an iced tea and my kindle in the late afternoons.

Head over to Annie’s place to play along on Tuesday 4. And I’d love to hear about your summers too!