Kitchen Meets Culinary Clutz

 National Lampoon's Vacation brings back so many memories of when I was a child and our family took cross country road trips in our "Family Truckster". Actually it was a Tan colored Chevy Caprice Station Wagon with wood style paneling, Ha!. We took so many trips to Disneyland we knew the park like we knew the In's and Out of our home!



Monday night is Hamburger Helper night and I couldn't skip a day of blogging without sharing this video clip from the movie. It suits the mood perfectly!



I'm not too big a fan of Hamburger Helper, but I can't complain when it comes to a quick meal that taste's pretty good. The first time I tasted it was back in 1999 at a friend's house. She prepared the Stroganoff Helper. Believe it or not, I was so out of tune with meals from a box or a can that I actually asked for the recipe at the end of dinner haha!

Wishing you a fantastic week!!

It's 4:30 p.m. here in Oklahoma. We woke up to a snowy white Valentine's Day! It didn't last long but it was pretty while it lasted.  The snow melted by noon, just in time for me to run into the city and purchase a dozen mylar balloons for my Country Boy and the kids! They loved their heart and rose shaped balloons by the way!  I just set the T-Bone steaks to marinate with McCormick's Montreal Steak Marinade (mix together as directed by packet), and the potatoes are in the oven steaming.



 Main Dish:

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs T-Bone Steaks
• McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Marinade packet
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 tbsp red wine or white vinegar

Mix marinade as directed on packet and pour over steaks. Set aside to marinate for an hour.  About 15 minutes before potatoes are done, preheat your grill. After potatoes are done, grill steaks over direct flame for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Turn steaks over and grill for 1 minute longer.


*Steam Baked Potatoes:

• 4 -6 Medium Russet Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Foil

1.  Adjust the rack in your oven to the middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
2.  Rinse and scrub each potato under cold running water. Dry each potato thoroughly.
3.  With the tip of a knife, remove any bruises or discolored spots.
4.  Pierce each spud deeply with a fork or sharp knife four times on each side at approximately 1" intervals. This will allow steam to escape during the baking. (If the potatoes are not pierced, they may explode during baking in your oven.)
5.  Rub each potato with olive oil.
6. Wrap tightly with foil.
7. Bake potatoes 3 inches apart, directly over oven rack at 400°F, for 45 minutes or until 
tender when pierced with a fork and the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees F.
You can also test for doneness by gently squeezing the middle of the potato (using a pot holder). If it gives in easily to your touch, it is done. 
*Back to the Basics Recipe



 

Alrighty!!! Grab your ingredients because this dish is ultra easy! I am so thankful our week is over. It was a busy one with award ceremonies, school functions, sporting activities, volunteer work, and lending a helping hand to friends both near and far! I am sitting back and relaxing now. "I'm beat!" I barely stayed awake while getting my nails done this afternoon! Ha! Ok well, How about that dinner?

Our week has just been way too busy and it just began!! Thankfully this week has been busy with good things though. KT-Q received First Place for her District Science Fair Project in Division 4 of Biochemistry! "Hooray!!" She was also inducted into the National Junior Honor Society for 2010-2011, this evening!! HOORAH!!  Our kids make us so proud to be their parents!!

This evening we planned another "Quick Fix" meal. It's a Summer family favorite. I don't normally make Chicken Pasta in the wintertime. It was just a easy thing to whip up for this busy evening.

2 boneless Chicken Breasts
12 or 16 oz package Egg Noodles
4 Tbsp margarine or spread
Garlic Salt


1.  Chicken: Prepare your chicken breast how you like it, grilled, boiled, broiled, pan fried, etc. I suggest that if you are boiling your chicken breast to add a little bit of salt to the water.


2.  When chicken is fully cooked (160° F, Juices run clear, meat no longer pink in center), move to cutting board and dice into bite-sized chunks. Set aside.


3.  Noodles: Bring a  6 quart stock pot of water to a boil and cook noodles as directed on package. Drain.

4.  Return noodles to stockpot, add margarine and stir into noodles until melted.

5.  Stir in chicken and sprinkle with garlic salt (enough to desired taste).

6.  Voilà!! Quick fix dinner!!

Mondays are always crazy for us!! That is why I always plan easy quick-fix meals on these days. We make our Sloppy Joe Sauce from scratch a majority of the time, but tonight we plan on a good 'ol can of Manwich!



We have KT-Q's Science Fair Award Ceremony to attend this evening!! We are so proud of her! Her project will move on to the Regional level later in the month.

I started making homemade Sloppy Joe Sauce a few years back when one evening I peered into our pantry and realized we were all out of Manwich!! I thought for sure that  my head was going to spin off into oblivion when I had a pound of ground beef to use for dinner and  nothing to make with it. That is when I put my taste buds to the test in an effort to make Sloppy Joes from scratch. I assure you, your kids will thank you for making this meal. It is delicious!!

Enjoy!

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper finely chopped (optional)
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp prepared mustard
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp Vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup ketchup

I am way late getting this recipe out! Been busy being lazy and playing with my new Blidgets! Just returned from town. The grocery is crowded and the highway heading north into the city is sheer gridlock with everyone heading out to their Superbowl parties!! I'm so happy to be back home in the country where the only traffic you see is the deer crossing the road!

• 2 1/2 - 3 lbs cubed steak
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• Dash of garlic powder
• Dash of Paprika
• 3/4 - 1 cup flour for dredging
• 1/4 cup canola oil for frying

I was just thinking, "What if other families were smaller than mine! And if other families were smaller than mine, then they would make less portions. And if they make less portions to serve then my big chili recipe would be way too much for the smaller brood who might want less!" Boy do I feel so thoughtless of the little people who like less! *blush*

Ok so here you have it, our South Shore Original Chili recipe! This recipe feeds a family size of 4-6. It's a perfect recipe for an after school snack or a quick weekend lunch, and it's a snap to whip up (20 minutes start to finish)!

• 1 lb ground beef, crumbled, browned and drained
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 15-ounce can kidney beans
• 1 15-ounce can red beans
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 1/4 cup chili seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 dash crushed red pepper
• Seasoned Salt (to desired taste)

1.  Ground the beef into crumbs in a 4 quart saucepan, drain.
2.  Stir in tomato sauce and water.
3.  Add two cans beans (do not drain), and  minced onions.
4.  Blend in chili seasoning, garlic powder and crushed red pepper.
5.  Sprinkle with Seasoned Salt (enough to reach desired taste) and blend in.
6. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Have a great weekend!

This stir-fry recipe is a family favorite. It's very basic and can be turned into your very own original recipe when adding your favorite vegetables!

• 2 lbs *beef boneless sirloin steak
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 1/3 cup beef broth
• 4 Tbspcornstarch
• 4 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 8-ounces Frozen Broccoil
• Steamed rice (optional)

1.  Start your rice. After timer is set for rice begin prepping the stirfry. (Recipe below)

2.  Cut beef with grain into 2-inch strips; cut strips across grain into 1/4-inch slices. (*Time Saver: purchase precut stir-fry beef to save time)


3.  Heat skillet or wok over high heat 1 to 2 minutes. Add oil; rotate skillet to coat with oil. Add beef and garlic; stir-fry about 3 minutes or until beef is brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper over beef; stir in broth. Heat to boiling.

4.  Mix cornstarch, water ginger and soy sauce; stir into beef mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Continue boiling 1 minute, stirring constantly (sauce will be thin).

5.  Option to add Broccoli into stirfry: Stir in frozen broccoli. Cook uncovered about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is crisp-tender. Serve over rice.

 
Basic Steamed Rice**:

• 1 cup rice
• 2 cups water

1.  In a 2 quart sauce pan bring water and rice to a boil.
2. Turn heat down to low setting, stir once and cover with lid.
3. Set timer for 18 minutes.

**Back to the Basics Recipe

• 4 thin chicken breasts (we used 6)
• salt and pepper 
• 2 egg whites 
• 3/4 cup milk 
• cooking oil

• 4 cups Corn Chex Cereal or 1 sleeve Saltines, crushed (we used 5 cups)
• 1 t. seasoned salt 
• 1/2 t. fresh ground pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
•  1/2 t. baking powder 
• 1/2 t. ground red pepper (cayenne)

• 3-4 T. butter 
• 1/4 cup flour 
• 1-2 cups milk 
• salt and pepper

Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Slowly stir in milk and bring to a boil. Add more milk until gravy reaches desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Originally Posted by the country cook on 01.16.2010 at 9:52 PM

I've had a huge turn out of emails concerning my Monthly Meal Planner Widget. Some asked where my recipes were, others asked for grocery/pantry lists! Wow! Great ideas come from great minds!!

I've updated the widget to only show the ingredients needed for each recipe. If you click on the Menu Dish, then scroll down, you will see the phrase "More Details" underlined and highlighed in blue. Click it to open up a new window to view the entire grocery list for that recipe. I will make every effort to post the recipes on my daily blog the day before the meal is due to be prepped. Images will be updated on the night the meal is planned. (did that make sense? LOL I'm half falling asleep here!)

Chicken Fried Chicken- (Thursday's planned meal) Please go to: http://goo.gl/TAZp and/or http://delightfulcountrycookin.blogspot.com/2010/01/chicken-fried-chicken-with-gravy.html for full recipe and tutorial! Then after you've prepped the dish surf over to "The Country Cook's" Blog and leave her a **super-sparkly** comment! She'd love to hear how much you loved her recipe!!

Ok it's sleepy time! Goodnight!

Q.  What do you do when you find three gallons of Musselman's Apple Cider sitting in your pantry, stumble across an easy-breezy recipe on COOKS.COM, and have a whole day of nothing going on? 

A.  You Dust off your Crockpot and Make Hot Apple Cider!!

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 4 oranges
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp. cloves

Combine all ingredients with oranges either sliced or cut into chunks. Steep over low heat (a crock pot is ideal). May start using as soon as it is very hot, but it gets better after several hours. Serve hot.



Survey Says: WE LOVE IT!!! This recipe was so ultra easy to follow, our home is filled with a wonderful aroma and the cider is delicous! We give this recipe 5-Stars! Oh and to speed things up we simmered our cider on "High" in our crockpot!!

Now it's time to start prepping dinner!

I recently put a new use to my Google Calendars app. I turned one into an interactive Monthly Meal Planner, grabbed my html code for the widget and added it to my blog. Now everyone can see what's cookin' in the South Shore Kitchen!

A very good friend of mine (Hey Khriss!) gave me a fabulous idea to add the recipe of each day's meal into the calendar. Why didn't I think of that? However, seeing as how most of the recipes will be posted in the blog, I ran with her idea in a whole different direction and decide, "Hey, why not just include the shopping & pantry list to the calendar description instead?" So I want to say "Thanks" to Khriss for plugging your fabulous idea into my brain! haha! (I will hop onto that task in a jiff.)

Ok so back to the Menu Planner. Not only does a monthly dinner plan save time in the kitchen but it helps save on impulsive spending at the grocery too! When your meals are planned in advance, you then know exactly what should be jotted down on those nifty little magnet grocery lists that you never use, but have set on the side of your fridge, and you "Save Money" too because you're sticking to your list!! Right?? haha! Ok, we stick to the list for the most part!

• 
  
  Successful Family Chores
• 
  
  DLTK
• 
  
  Alenka's Printables
• 
  
  Parents
• 
  
  Free Printable Calendars