SWISS POTATO BAKE ~ BLOG 366.240

I was able to get ALL my errands done quickly and completely yesterday so had time to whip up this favorite side with dinner last night.

SWISS POTATO BAKE
5 LARGE russet potatoes, peeled and shredded
4 ounces Gruyere or Baby Swiss cheese, shredded
1 LARGE bunch green onions, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs, lightly beaten
16 ounces Mexican sour cream**
1/3 cup butter, melted
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup sliced almonds

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Grease baking dish and set aside.
  • In a large bowl toss together the shredded potatoes, green onions, garlic and shredded cheese.
  • Whisk together the eggs, sour cream and melted butter.
  • Season egg mixture with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Pour egg mixture over potato mixture and toss to coat evenly.
  • Spread mixture into prepared baking dish.
  • Sprinkle almonds evenly over potatoes.
  • Bake uncovered for 1 hour until cooked through and turning golden.

**NOTE: Darigold makes a Mexican sour cream that has a nice kick to it. Plain works well too if you can’t find it.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENUS, RECIPE LINKS week 34 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.239

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

WEEKEND RECAP

The weekend weather was ABSOLUTELY beautiful. A girlfriend and I went to a local Vintage Street fair that is held annually. Fortunately the weekend rain fell Friday night before the event and while it was cool enough for flannel shirts in the morning, it was perfect the rest of the day. We had yummy local made sourdough lemon poppy seed treats and lavender ice tea and found some wonderful vintage finds for upcoming Christmas projects and gifts. Sunday was just a lazy day and that was okay by me!! I had so much to catch up on!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

We are supposed to heat back up a little bit this week, but fortunately the nighttime lows are going to be perfect so once again, that is just fine by me! Highs in the low 80’s for the most part and lows in the low 50’s 😀

ON MY MIND

My surgery follow up is on Wednesday and I should be released to “normal” activity though my choices for normal will be different by MY choosing. I do have a meeting tonight and expect a bit of blow back from some of my decisions to NOT be involved in some things moving forward. I will continue to do fundraiser dinners on Fridays once a month or so, but am dialing it back A LOT on other levels.

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 a bit of vacuuming, but all good otherwise.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I need quite a few things for the fundraiser dinner on Friday and will shop later today so I can get the macaroons done soon. I guess it will be a several trips to town kind of week since my post op is on Wednesday but I need things today and tomorrow 😀
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING Hubby bought me a NINJA FOODI POSSIBLE COOKER for my upcoming birthday and I have been busy working on some fun recipes for the upcoming weeks 😀

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING We finished STARGATE ATLANTIS and have returned to finish SUPERNATURAL, but aren’t thrilled with that choice so are rethinking for another show. We watched a cute movie on NETFLIX called THE UNION.
  • CABLE We finished the FOOD TRUCK RACE and got caught up on BBQ BRAWL.

READING TIME

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
8/26 MONDAY
8/27 TUESDAY
8/28 WEDNESDAY
8/29 THURSDAY
8/30 FRIDAY
8/31 SATURDAY
9/1 SUNDAY
DINNER
 BEEF TIPS & BROCCOLI
 PORK CHOPS & SCALLOPED POTATOES
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
 MEATLOAF, SAUER MASHED POTATOES, TOMALITOS
 PORK MEDALLIONS with ONION GRAVY and ROAST POTATOES
 LEMON CHICKEN AND GLAZED CARROTS
DESSERT
 
 
WHITE CHOCOLATE CRANBERRY MACAROONS

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

I didn’t take many pictures last week, but here are a few from the street fair we went to. I adore the repurposed horse trailers. The lavender ice tea is the daughter (hence the Farmer’s Daughter name) of one of my favorite local community minded farms, LEHNE farms, that has a wonderful fruit and veggie stand and bakery at a local nursery!

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

LEMON BLUEBERRY SCONES ~ BLOG 366.236

Prior to last week, I had only rarely had a scone and they were always a dry, crumbly and plain. I truly never understood the appeal. Then last week I saw some at a local farm stand that looked so delectable I decided to give Tham a try again. THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!!!! So I started searching for the perfect recipe and I found one that with a few tweaks is so YUMMY! They are sweet, tangy and filled with bursts of blueberry flavor. Don’t forget the glaze!

GLAZED LEMON BLUEBERRY SCONES adapted from LOVE NERDS

SCONES yields 8 scones
2 cups flour
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons COLD butter
1/2 cup WHOLE milk
1/4 cup FRESH lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
2 tablespoons FRESH lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon PURE Vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon PURE Almond extract
1 cup FRESH plump blueberries

  • Preheat oven to 400°.
  • Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • 
Dice the COLD butter into smaller cubes. You can also use a box grater to make pieces a bit smaller.
  • Cut the butter pieces into the dry ingredients until it all resembles coarse wet sand.
    BE PATIENT! It might take a little time but the butter will break down into the mix.
  • Stir in milk, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest until moistened. **see note**
  • Pat the dough into an even layer on your floured work surface.
  • Sprinkle the dough with the blueberries, and GENTLY fold the blueberries into the dough without squishing them.
  • By hand, form the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick. Once again be careful not to break the blueberries.
  • Cut the rectangle in half making 2 squares.
  • Cut each square diagonally in both directions so you have 4 triangles.
  • Place scones 2 inches apart onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
  • Bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Cool slightly and drizzle with Lemon glaze.

LEMON GLAZE
1/2 cup powder sugar
1 tablespoon FRESH lemon juice
Pinch of lemon zest

  • Whisk ingredients in a small bowl, adjusting lemon juice to taste and to get the consistency you need: a little more lemon juice for thinner glaze and a little less lemon juice or more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze.

NOTE**: If your dough is a little dry I use ice cold vodka in the dough to make it come together. The vodka will evaporate during the baking process.

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN SALAD ~ BLOG 366.235

A giant salad loaded with the tropical flavors of Hawaii!

HAWAIIAN CHICKEN SALAD

MARINADE
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon jalapeno or chipotle ketchup
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid amino
Zest of 1 LARGE lime
2 garlic cloves , minced
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ginger
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Mix together Marinade ingredients.
  • Marinate chicken for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight.

DRESSING

1 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
2 1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro/coriander
1 clove garlic, FINELY minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar or QUALITY honey
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper

  • Shake Dressing ingredients together in a jar, set aside for at least 15 minutes.

CHICKEN & SALAD
1/2 tablespoon avocado oil
1 large chicken breast , halved horizontally
1/2 cup corn frozen, thawed and drained or a can of Green Giant niblets)
1 can pineapple tidbits, drained and juice reserved
4 – 6 cups chopped lettuce
1/2 avocado , cut into wedges
1/2 red onion , finely sliced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
1 small carrot, finely shredded
1/4 cup shredded coconut

  • Heat oil in a non stick skillet over high heat or spray BBQ grill with non-stick spray.
  • Add chicken and cook each side for 3 minutes or until golden.
  • Remove and cover loosely with foil for 5 minutes, then slice thickly.
  • Sear 1/2 cup pineapple pieces and corn in the skillet until golden.
  • Pile salad ingredients on a platter and top with sliced chicken.
  • Drizzle over Dressing.
  • Serve and pretend you’re in Hawaii!

CHICKEN & SNAP PEA PASTA with CREAMY GARLIC BASIL SAUCE ~ BLOG 366.233

CHICKEN & SNAP PEA PASTA with CREAMY GARLIC BASIL SAUCE adapted from the INTERNET
Yields 4 – 6 serving(s)

FRESH ground Kosher salt and black pepper
1 lb. gemelli or small penne pasta
8 ounces snap peas, trimmed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, FINELY minced
2 tablespoons WONDRA flour
1 1/4 cup WHOLE milk
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped FRESH basil, plus more for garnish

  • Bring a LARGE pot of salted water to a boil.
  • Cook pasta per package directions.
  • Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water and then drain.
  • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add garlic, cooking and stirring 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
  • Add flour, whisking and stirring 1 minute until golden.
  • Slowly whisk in milk, stirring constantly in the beginning and then occasionally 3-4 minutes until thickened.
  • Season to taste with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Stir in pasta, peas, chicken pieces, Parmesan and basil.
  • Stir in reserved pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time as needed until desired sauce consistency.
  • Garnish with basil and serve immediately.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY, MENUS, RECIPE LINKS week 33 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.232

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

WEEKEND RECAP

The Eagle’s Madam President dinner was a HUGE success! I have given up MANY of my day to day operational, maintenance and support duties because of the new board and their inability to follow rules and guidelines in the best interest of others, but I still support my sisters when and where I can with my cooking and baking. A friend asked me to bake her desserts for her fundraising dinner functions that occurred on National Lemon Meringue day and on the eve of our local Blackberry festival so I made her lemon blueberry scones, cherry lemon scones and blackberry pie bars. She made a fantastic dinner and had a dessert bar with one of the largest turnouts ever!

Hubby and I planned on being at the Show and Shine first thing Saturday morning because we were going to be under a red flag warning later in the day for dry lightning strikes. Well mother nature had other ideas! The coffee had just finished brewing when the power went out. Long story short a lightning strike took out a transformer transmission pole for several small towns. I took a shower by candlelight and then we still went to the Festival which fortunately was in an area unaffected by the power outage. Afterwards we went and had breakfast with a friend and the power was back on just as we got home. The serious rain began an hour or so later and the lightning storm continued throughout the evening.

I was able to get the tomatoes picked and garden cleaned up before the rain began and spent the day making my kitchen sink (clean out the veggie crisper) bolegnese sauce with the tomatoes I picked.

Sunday was planned to be almost as lazy. And then we changed our mind. 😀 It was our anniversary and the restaurants (there are only 2) that we had to choose from for a nice dinner out are now closed on Sundays so we decided to go out tonight instead and head to the coast yesterday which was a GREAT choice for us until it wasn’t LOL traffic to and from the coast was heavy so we changed our mind again and went back to the lazy Sunday idea and had a late breakfast/lunch at a local haunt that runs wonderful specials for the Blackberry festival.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

This week is going to be pretty nice with highs in the low 80’s and lows in the low 50’s. I really hope this means fall is right around the corner. It’s only 3 weeks to the ‘BER’ months and I am ready!!! Please no Indian Summer this year!

TO DO LIST, APPOINTMENTS & PROJECTS

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
  • LAUNDRY & CLEANING Everything is actually up to date except for some vacuuming.
  • GROCERIES & ERRANDS I don’t need much and have a haircut appointment on Thursday so will pick up anything I need then.
  • PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I have a slew of paperwork to sort through.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m really looking forward to the fall months and have planned several new recipes to try for fall. Some of the recipes are: CIDER GLAZED CHICKEN THIGHS, CIDER BRAISED BRISKET, PARMESAN ROASTED GREEN BEANS, PEPPERONCINI CHICKEN & RICE, STUFFED PEPPER SOUP, CHICKEN TAMALE PIE, ALMOND CHERRY POKE CAKE, SHEET PAN SCONE CAKE

DVR/TV TIME

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
  • STREAMING I am just about done with the OLD MacGyver reruns and will then finish the OLD Matlock reruns. We’re still watching Stargate Atlantis of an evening and then the OLD Night Court comedy for late night.
  • CABLE I’m looking forward to the fall line up in a few weeks, but in the meantime have been getting caught up on the DVR cooking shows and spring back load of shows.

READING TIME

I’m reading Gill Paul’s The Collector’s Daughter: A Novel of the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

FUNNIES

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
8/19 MONDAY
8/20 TUESDAY
8/21 WEDNESDAY
8/22 THURSDAY
8/23 FRIDAY
8/24 SATURDAY
8/25 SUNDAY
DINNER
 OUT for our anniversary since everywhere we wanted to go last night was actually closed 🙁
 PORK CHOPS with PINEAPPLE RELISH, RICE & SALAD
CHERRY COLA BBQ CHICKEN and COLE SLAW
 SPINACH SALAD with WARM BACON VINAIGRETTE
 CORN/YOYO clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own
LEMON CHICKEN, HONEY GLAZED SNAP PEAS and ROAST POTATOES
 CHICKEN TAMALE PIE
DESSERT
 
 
BLACKBERRY PIE BARS
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

This past weekend was our annual Blackberry festival – always a fun time with a show and shine classic car show, movie in the park (AMERICAN GRAFFITI), favorite craft and food vendors, a chili cook-off and lots of homemade blackberry goodies of every kind. Saturday did bring rain, thunderstorms, red flag warnings for lightning and a little bit of humid heat.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS