Posts Tagged ‘recipes’

Random Thoughts

Monday, October 5th, 2009

My fall break started Friday.  So far, I have done nothing productive, but had some much needed lazy time with my husband, daughter and dog.  Tomorrow my sis, nephews and mom are coming in town to hang out for the day.  Because my car died on the way home to Tanner’s birthday party I did not make it.  So, my loving sister has agreed to throw a mock birthday party on Wednesday so I can be there to celebrate.  Thursday we meet up with some dear friends for a relaxing time in the Smokies.  Next Tuesday I have set aside to plan with my team teacher and make baby food.  My fall break is turning out to be pretty busy, but I am excited about each and every aspect of it.

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Tonight I cooked…for the first time in forever it seems like.   I made Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice from Kraft Foods.  (Side note – I love this magazine, if you don’t subscribe you should!)  Go here for the recipe.  It was simple and delicious.  The only change I made was to season the chicken (black pepper and salt) and add some pepper and seasoned salt to the final product.  I served with some Sister Schubert Yeast Rolls.

In preparation for our big trip, I made some Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The trick to make them extra delicious is to use dark chocolate chips and to chop them up so that they are mini and some are shaved.  I just stick them in the food processor and chop away.  This evenly distributes the chocolate into every bite of the cookie.  The one thing I haven’t mastered yet is to make my cookies fluffy.  Mine always end up flat.  In high school, Mrs. Tuttle always made the best chocolate chip cookies.  They were the perfect blend of crunchy, cakey and gooey.  I hope to one day cook cookies as good as hers.  Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong or what I can do to achieve this perfect blend?

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In case you didn’t read Ben’s post, the Camry is dead.  This was my first car.  In highschool my sister and I shared an Acura Legend.  Technically, this was my first car, but because we shared it and she started driving first it never felt like my car.  I only felt like I borrowed it from her when driving.  The Camry was my car.  I helped by it, I was the sole driver, I loved that car.  Now I must say goodbye to a dear friend.  Ben doesn’t understand why this is so hard for me, and really I don’t either.  It is like parting with a good friend I suppose.  But the difference is, I won’t be seeing it later, it is a for real goodbye.  Has anyone else felt this or am I really crazy?

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This post is very scattered, but that is my life in a nutshell at the current moment!

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Posted in Life |

Recent Cooking Adventures

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

In the past few weeks I have done little cooking.  School has started back and I have just been plain exhausted!  However, we have managed to squeeze in a few amazing cooking experiences.

First, my dear friend Dacia came over and helped me make salsa.  By help me make salsa I really mean she did most of the work while I entertained Mikayla and taste tested the yummy salsa.  Here are some photos of the fun afternoon!

The crop needed to make salsa: tomatoes, onions, pepers (bell, jalapeno, banana), apple cider vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt

The crop needed to make salsa: tomatoes, onions, pepers (bell, jalapeno, banana), apple cider vinegar, sugar, garlic, cilantro and salt. All the veggies are either from our garden or the local Farmer's Market.

Dacia food processing the ingredients for salsa! She is such a sweet friend to come "help" me make salsa!

Dacia food processing the ingredients for salsa! Just stick it all in the food processor and hit process! She is such a sweet friend to come "help" me make salsa!

Salsa boiling away!

Salsa boiling away!

Boiling water and lids for canning! We are getting close...

Boiling water and lids for canning! We are getting close...

Jars in the sink awaiting boiling water and then hot salsa! I didn't manage to take a final picture, but we ended up with 16 jars. That should last us at least a month!

Jars in the sink awaiting boiling water and then hot salsa! I didn't manage to take a final picture, but we ended up with 16 jars. That should last us at least a month!

Second, after some inspiration from Terry and Dacia, we bought a sushi mat and all the fixings and fixed ourselves some cruchy shrimp rolls.  Again, I entertained/fed Mikayla and Ben rolled out the sushi!

Sushi on its way! Seaweed paper + avocado slices + cream cheese + sushi rice + tempura shrimp = ...

Sushi on its way! Seaweed paper + avocado slices + cream cheese + sushi rice + tempura shrimp = ...

... One amazing crunchy shrimp roll!

... One amazing crunchy shrimp roll!

Last, we made some homemade pizza!  The cheese is what really makes the pizza.  We use cheese from Kenny’s Cheese here in Kentucky called Kentucky Rose.  It really makes the pizza amazing!

Pizza on its way. Crust is from the Amish Market, we cheated with the sauce and bought some from the store, Kenny's KY Rose Cheese, and toppings include onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, banana peppers, ham and bacon! We sprinkled a little Italian seasoning on the top! First bake on a pizza sheet and then when almost finished transfer to a pizza stone to crisp up the crust!

Pizza on its way. Crust is from the Amish Market, we cheated with the sauce and bought some from the store, Kenny's KY Rose Cheese, and toppings include onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, banana peppers, ham and bacon! We sprinkled a little Italian seasoning on the top! First bake on a pizza sheet and then when almost finished transfer to a pizza stone to crisp up the crust!

MMM MMM Good!

MMM MMM Good! We paired with with 1919 Malbec and it was fantastic!

All this talk of food is making me hungry so I am going to go fix some lunch.  What have you been cooking lately?

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Posted in Cooking |

Summer Favorites

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

One of my favorite plants that we grow in our garden is okra.  I love okra!  I will eat it almost anyway, well except for boiled because it gets really slimy and gross.  Two of my favorite okra dishes are Fried Okra and Okra Stew (and of course Veggie Patties, but we have already looked into that one).  Here is how I prepare both.

Fried Okra

  • Okra cut into 1/2-1 inch stars (as much as you want)
  • Flour (Self-Rising works best, but I mostly use All Purpose because that is what I tend to keep on hand)
  • Oil (enough to fry in)
  • 1-2 eggs, depending on amount of okra
  • Hot Sauce (optional)
  • Seasonings:  Onion Powder, Cajun Seasoning (Tony’s baby), Seasoned Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Cumin, and Garlic Powder (or Garlic salt depending on preference)
  • ZipLock Baggie
  1. Cut okra into pieces.  Meanwhile heat oil in a large skillet.
  2. Scramble eggs in small bowl.  If wanted add a couple of dashes of Hot Sauce.
  3. Mix flour with seasonings, roughly a cup or so of flour and 1-2tbsp of each seasoning.  I never measure exactly so this makes it taste slightly different each time!  Pour into ZipLock baggie.
  4. Coat okra pieces with egg mixture.
  5. Place okra in the baggie with flour mixture and shake bag until flour evenly coats all sides of okra.
  6. Place flour coated okra in hot oil and gently toss with tongs until okra is golden brown.  Transfer to plate covered in paper towels.  Serve immediately.  We like to eat ours with ketchup, but they are just as good plain!
Ingredients all ready to go!

Ingredients all ready to go!

Okra coated in egg mixture

Okra coated in egg mixture

Coating the okra in flour, last step before frying!

Coating the okra in flour, last step before frying!

Finished product...doesn't it look delicious?

Finished product...doesn't it look delicious?

Okra Stew (adapted from All Recipes) – beware this is a spicy dish

  • 1 pound Kielbasa sausage cut into bite sized pieces
  • 4 tablespoons margarine
  • 2 green bell peppers, seeded
  • 1 large onion
  • 1-2 cups frozen corn kernels or fresh whichever you have on hand
  • 1-2 cup chopped okra
  • 10 Roma Tomatoes – blanched, peeled and chopped  (you can add more if you wish)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tsp bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 green chile pepper
  • 1 jalapeno pepper
  • Shrimp (optional)
  • Chicken, diced and cooked (optional)
  1. Fry sausage in skillet until heated through (I like to blacken mine a bit).
  2. Dice vegetables.
  3. Heat butter in a stock pot and saute the green pepper, onion and jalapeno pepper for 2 to 3 minutes or until translucent. Mix in corn, okra, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaf and chili pepper. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the sausage (if using shrimp and/or chicken add it here), return to a boil and simmer for another 25 minutes.
  5. Serve warm

**This recipe freezes very well and is easy to make large servings for.

**We serve ours over Jasmine rice or Minute rice.

Frying the sausage and blanching tomatoes

Frying the sausage and blanching tomatoes

How to Blanch Tomatoes: First boil tomatoes until skin starts falling off. Remove from boiling water and place in ice bath. Once tomatoes have cooled remove skin

How to Blanch Tomatoes: First boil tomatoes until skin starts falling off. Remove from boiling water and place in an ice bath. Once tomatoes have cooled remove skin

Finished product - My mouth is watering!

Finished product - My mouth is watering!

Happy Cooking! Disclaimer:  I never really measure spices when cooking so they could be off a bit.  Just use your taste buds and add more or less accordingly.

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10 Websites

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Today is day nine in our Top Ten Lists.  Today we venture into CyberWorld for our Top Ten Websites.  I am taking mine a little different route than Ben, I am going to do my Top Ten Blogs.  So here are they are in no particular order:

  1. Happy in the in Between – This is my dear friend Catherine’s blog.  We have been friends since elementary school.  She is one of the few people in my life where I can be completely real with.  We have been through so much together, and she knows me almost as well as Ben!  She is going to have a baby in December and I couldn’t be more thrilled!  Mikayla and her little one are going to be great friends I just know it!  Her husband is pretty great too.  He has a blog, but hardly ever updates it!  They are one of Ben and I’s favorite couples in the whole world.  Ben and Dave actually grew up together as well.
  2. My Charming Kids – This dear family has endured so much, but throughout it all keeps a positive attitude.  I started reading MckMamma’s blog about a year ago.  She is a mom to four adorable children, the youngest of which has SVT (a rare heart condition).  They have battled her son’s SVT since birth, but even throughout the heartaches she remains positive.  She is also a wonderful photographer, I love looking at the pictures.  Even though I don’t know this family personally, I feel like I do because I read the blog so often!
  3. The Diaper Diaries – In case you didn’t read this post on Ben’s blog, Mikayla is being cloth diapered.  At first people thought we were crazy, but after awhile people just wished us luck!  So far I haven’t had a problem with cloth, I honestly can’t imagine spending fifty bucks a month for disposable diapers.  Anyway, I digress.  This blog is a great resource for those using cloth diapers.  These are also some of my other favorite cloth diapering blogs:  this and this.
  4. Cake Wrecks – I think this blog is hilarious!  The author finds cakes that have huge errors, or are just ridiculously funny and post pictures and comments about them.  The author is very witty.  If you need a good laugh, check this one out.
  5. Joy the Baker – Another funny/witty blogger.  Joy loves to bake and take photos, and combines both in her blog.  Her passion for life really comes through in her presentation.  She has some amazing recipes, and whether or not they are tasty, they look delicious!
  6. Meal Planning Mommies – This is a group of three mommies and their adventures with meal planning.  Recently they have take a blogging sabbatical, but when they were more active they would plan out weekly meals.  They would post the frugal meals on their blog including grocery list, recipes and pictures.  Their recipes were always easy and crowd pleasers.  I hope once they all have their babies (they all had kids and were pregnant at the same time), they get back into the blogging routine.
  7. Jenny Bakes – Another random baking blog (cooking blogs is somewhat of an obsession of mine).  She is not afraid to experiment and admit her mistakes.  I love the honesty.
  8. Friends Blogs – I also stalk read  a lot of blogs written by friends.  Here are some of the more visited ones: Katie, Jenny, Jason, Michelle, Stephanie, Sarah, Cheyenne, and Bella/Jennfier.
  9. The Africa Mercy – This is Ben’s cousin Jana’s blog.  She is not afraid of adventure and will often take off for six month adventures.  Her most recent adventure is working on a Mercy Ship in Benin, Africa.  She is a physical therapy and has been using her expertise to help the people living there that can’t afford expensive medical assistance.
  10. Other favorite websites – Even though I mentioned at the beginning of this post that this would be my Top Ten Blogs, I decided to make Number Ten, some of my favorite websites.  They are as follows:  Craig’s list, Amazon, Autism Society of America, Facebook, The Weather Channel, All Recipes and Google.  I know I am kind of boring, but that is just who I am.

If you are a blog reader and have not discovered Google Reader, you should check it out.  It makes it easy to organize and keep up with all the blogs you read.  Check back soon for Day Ten of the Top Ten Lists.

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Posted in Random |

10 Foods

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Day Three of Ben and Beth’s Top Ten Lists takes us straight to the stomach…Top Ten Foods.  Let me begin by saying that this was very difficult for me.  Several of my favorite foods did not make the list.  In reality I wanted to do a Top Ten List with 90 honorable mentions, but Ben told me no.  Enjoy the list and don’t get too hungry!

  1. IS Special – Grilled chicken, Mexican rice and white cheese sauce all mixed together…what is not to like?  This is a specialty of a Mexican restaurant in BG.  However, it has expanded to El Mazatlan in Bowling Green (known as the Chef Special) and Casa Grande in Somerset (known there as Vivian’s special).  Vivian, daughter of Casa Grande owner,  came to school at WKU and brought the dish back to  Somerset.  It has now become a favorite at Casa Grande as well.   I would also like to add that I will eat just about anything Mexican, I love it!  I am pretty sure I was Mexican in a former life 😉
  2. Grilled Chicken or Cindy’s BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Corn on the Cob – This is a great comfort food.  I could eat mashed potatoes and fresh corn on the cob for every meal and not be disappointed.  Cindy is my second mom in Somerset.  She makes the best BBQ Chicken.  Growing up I would often call her house and ask what she was having for dinner, if it was BBQ chicken I was sure to stay over longer!
  3. Soups especially Chili or Okra Stew – I love a nice warm bowl of soup on a chili evening.  Both chili and okra stew are hearty and delicious!  My chili is a staple, it is the main dish at our annual Halloween party.  Okra stew is a mix of okra and fresh summer vegetables, shrimp and sausage.  I just discovered this recipe last summer and fell in love with it!  I hope to post recipes of these in the near future, so if you are interested keep you eyes open.
  4. Roast and Potatoes – I like to stick this in the crock pot before I leave for work and come home to  a delicious smelling house.
  5. Anything breakfast related (waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy…) – What can I say I love it all.  It doesn’t matter if I cook it myself, someone else cooks it or we go to a favorite hot spot in town, I love it.  If I could eat breakfast for every meal I would.  Ben doesn’t really care for breakfast so I have to occassionally sneak it in on him.
  6. Lettuce Wraps – I am particularly fond of these from P.F. Chang’s.  Like most meals out that we enjoy we have tried to recreate the masterpiece.  While ours is good, it doesn’t compare to the real deal (you can also look for this recipe soon).  I could eat lettuce wraps and their Asparagus and be completely content.
  7. Sushi (not the raw stuff) – This is another fairly new staple to our menu.  We haven’t branched out much, but from what I have tried I enjoy sushi…maybe one day I will try the raw rolls!
  8. 805 or Chicken Delight from Royal Thai – Let me begin by saying that this is probably my favorite restaurant in town.  So much so that we actually rented the entire restaurant out for our rehersal dinner.  We frequent this establishment often.  It has gotten so bad that when we go in they know exactly what we want and know us by name.  At one point they would bring us a dessert that had been temporarily taken off the menu.  Is this pathetic?  Both of these dishes are a mix of rice or noodles, veggies, chicken, and Thai style spices.  It is making my mouth water just thinking about.
  9. Beef Stew – I would consider this one of my specialties.  In the winter (and sometimes in the summer) I will make a big batch of this to eat on for a week.  I serve mine over rice.  Again, I hope to post recipes of this very soon.
  10. Veggie Patties – This is the newest recipe in my recipe box.  It is a compilation of fresh veggies pattied together with egg, flour and seasonsings, then fried to perfection.  Check here for pictures and the recipe.

Is your mouth watering yet because mine is.  Tomorrow is Day Four – Top Ten Things to Do (Our Bucketlist).

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Posted in Cooking |

Veggie Patties = Deliciousness!

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

As many of you may know, my husband and I have a garden in our backyard (check out this for some pictures).  We only grow the veggies that we love, so coming up with summer veggie dishes is a breeze!  The other night I discovered a new favorite…Veggie Patties.  The idea stemmed from this recipe.   I altered the recipe to meet the needs of what we had on hand and here was the final result:

  • 1/2  pound okra, finely chopped
  • 1 small zucchini, finely chopped
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2 jalapenos, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tbsp garlic salt
  • Cajun seasoning (we didn’t have very much, but I would reccommend adding a generous amount).  We like Tony’s.
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4-1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  1. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the okra, zucchini, onion, jalapeno, seasonings, water and egg. Combine the flour, baking powder and cornstarch; and stir that into the okra mixture.
    3. Veggies all cut up and ready to go!

    Veggies all cut up and ready to go!

    My wonderful hubby managing the cutting board.

    My wonderful hubby managing the cutting board.

    Mixed up and ready for the pan

    Mixed up and ready for the pan

  3. Carefully drop spoonfuls of the okra batter into the hot oil, and fry on each side until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.
Finished patties

Finished patties

I completed the meal with summer sausage, steamed broccoli and cornbread.  However, these would work nicely as a main dish (I was just nervous they wouldn’t’ be very good)!  It was a perfect combination alongside a nice glass of milk.  (Mikayla even liked them, a lot better than the stuffed jalapenos she had after the 4th of July!)  We warmed them up the next night on the pizza stone in the oven.  To my surprise they were just as good the second day.  I topped the patties with a little hot sauce.

Almost any combination of veggies could be added to these; however, the best ones would probably be zucchini, okra, squash, eggplant, or any type of peppers.  Next time I think I will add more spice to it (Cajun seasoning and hot peppers) and maybe a little fresh garlic.  I may even add a little hot sauce to the mix, just to get crazy!

**I will post pictures when I can find my camera cord!

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Cookie Fail, Muffin Success

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

Last week Mikayla was in a good mood and I was in a baking mood so while Ben was sleeping, we ventured to the kitchen to try our hands at a couple of new recipes.  There were plenty of blueberries to go around thanks to our Local Farmer’s Market and since bananas lifespan is shorter in the summer we had a bunch of those as well.  Fun fact about Beth – I only like green bananas.  Once they start getting brown I refuse to eat them – even if it is just a little brown.  So needless to say, bananas do not last long in our house.  The two recipes I chose to try included both of these ingredients:  Loaded Oatmeal Cookies and Blueberry Banana Muffins.    We started with the muffins.  Here is the recipe that I used.  Side note – All Recipes is one of my favorite places to find recipes.

Of course if you know me at all, I had to tweak the recipe a little!!  First off I did not have any whole wheat flour so I settled for All-Purpose Flour instead.  I tripled the cinnamon and only used two whole eggs (had to save some for the cookies).   I also added in a few extra blueberries (their flavor is so good this time of year).  I had some peaches that were getting ready to go bad so I cut up a few of those and threw them into the mix, along with a little heavy whipping cream to thin out the batter.  Here is the end result:

cookies1cookies2

They were delicious too!  The cookies on the other hand…let’s just say they did not turn out as good as the muffins (at first).  I can not seem to find the recipe I found on some random cooking blog, but I can tell you that the recipe did not have enough flour.  Here is the result of the cookies when I followed the recipe:

cookies5cookies6

They completely stuck to the pan.  However, after I added about a cup of extra flour the cookies turned out looking good, I forgot to take a picture though.  They were loaded with oatmeal, banana, chocolate and craisins.  I was unsure about the combination at first, but in the end I found them tasty!  All in all, my baking morning turned into a success!

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Posted in Cooking |

Hello blog-world!

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Hello blogging world!  Since I follow several (and by several I mean lots) of blogs, I thought it was only appropriate that I start a blog of my own.  So…here it is!  What do you think?  I am not much of a writer and I stay pretty busy, so I can’t make any kind of promises as to how often I will blog.  That being said, let me explain my blog title:  A Sugar-Mamma’s Thoughts.  The title was a joint effort by my husband and I.  Here is the explanation:

Sugar-Mamma – I teach kindergarten and love it!  Wouldn’t trade my job for anything.  My husband stays at home with our baby.  Thus making me his Sugar Mamma.

My sweet kiddos at Christmas time!

My sweet kiddos at Christmas time!

Sugar – I love to cook and hope to share some of my passions with the blog world.

Mamma – This one is pretty obvious.  I am a mother to a beautiful 7 week old baby girl.  Mikayla Lillian Kickert!  We think she is the most beautiful thing in the whole world, but we are her parents.  Judge for yourself.  I am also a “mamma” to our dog Shiloh.  She is a rescue from the Humane Society, and in my opinion the best dog ever.

My wonderful husband and Mikayla

My wonderful husband and Mikayla

Mikayla

Mikayla

My other baby, Shiloh

My other baby, Shiloh

Thoughts – I plan on including anything else random under this category.

I am glad you stopped by my blog.  Check back soon for some of my ramblings!

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