Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of your favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a youtube video
Day 24 - where you live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - your worst habit
Day 28 - what's in your handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future
I've been thinking about what I would post here for a few days. I honestly had no idea what to post. Then I sat down to write, well type, this post and I still had no idea. I was going to post a pasta recipe, but then I couldn't find it. And the recipe doesn't really get made as originally directed any more. Like most recipes you make over time, I have tweaked it to make it my own and satisfy my tastes.
I was going to post the recipe I use to make my mom's birthday cake every year (German chocolate), but again, I make it the way my grandmother did every year for Mom - since she passed in 2007 I make Mom's cake every year.
I was even going to take a different direction and post something witty like a recipe for being a Mom, or something.
It wasn't until I actually had typed the first few words that I decided what I was going to post. I guess one of the things you should know about me is that I have very "American" tastes, as I like to say. I like my pizza with sausage, not pineapple. I like my pork in chops, not roasted in the original packaging (think pig roast). I like Taco Bell Mexican food and good old cheeseburgers with American cheese cooked on a Weber grill - no blue cheese with calamato olives for me. I wouldn't go so far as to say I am a plain-Jane, but I am not wild with the foods I like to eat. That said, I have ventured to try oysters, sushi, and conch, but I don't make it a habit.
So, what I have for you - my lucky few readers - is a menu I might make if I were looking to make someone a nice dinner - complete with appetizer, salad, main course, bread, dessert, and even a special drink. If I really wanted to go all Sandra Lee on you, I would set my table and take a picture of the setting, but I won't take it that far :-)
Everything is simple to make (in my opinion), and can be done fairly inexpensively (something that is important to me, someone of limited budget).
Appetizer - Normally I would go with something easy like shrimp cocktail. I would buy frozen, fully-cooked shrimp and a jar of cocktail sauce. I would place a small piece of fresh spinach in the bottom of a nice cocktail glass, put a couple tablespoons of cocktail sauce on top of the spinach, and hang the shrimp over the side. Sometimes it's not so much about how complicated something is, as much as it is in how you present it.
For those who do not like shrimp, or want something else, here is another stand-by I have for appetizer - I found this recipe for "Tiny Chicken Turnovers" but I changed it to make it easier and cheaper. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Mix pre-cooked chicken, like Perdue Short Cuts, southwestern style, with 3 oz. cream cheese. Using Pillsbury crescent rolls, place a teaspoon +/- in the center and fold over to make a pocket. You make have to "re-shape" the rolls from triangles into something more manageable. Prick tops with a fork for steam vents. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375ºF for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. As a bonus - For do-ahead appetizers, they can be baked, frozen and reheated at 375ºF for 5-7 minutes. You can add onions, celery, carrots, etc. to suit your taste, but keep in mind, you're making an appetizer, not a mini-dinner.
In my family, one of the ever popular appetizers is cocktail weenies wrapped in crescent rolls. You could get creative and make, or use, different dips for them - a mustard, a bbq, a ketchup, etc.
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My go to salad is fresh spinach with raspberries, slivered almonds with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I would like to say I get all fancy and make the dressing, but truth is I buy bagged salad spinach, a bag of almonds, a small container of fresh raspberries and a bottle of dressing. It is simple, but it hasn't failed to impress anyone.
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I can't believe I am about to share with you my top-secret steak recipe - good thing I only have 6 followers. I am not really sure how I came up with this, but I decided to bake a steak one day. It all started because I was looking for a good way to cook potatoes that made them flavorful. On a piece of aluminum foil I spray non-stick cooking spray and layer thinly sliced red potatoes (2-3 per packet). I put two small pats of butter on top of the potatoes. I open the steak packing and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic. I place that side down on the potatoes and sprinkle the other side of the steak with salt, pepper and garlic. Then I add a layer of jarred mushrooms. Close up the packet and bake. Lately I have been doing 400ºF for about 20-30 minutes. Cooking time will depends on how thick your steaks are and how you want them cooked. Be careful not to make you layer of potatoes too thick or they won't cook all the way. I have also added minced onions to the potatoes before I put down the steak. I am not an onion eater, but I do like the flavor they add to food. For my father I sauteed a fresh cut onion with the mushrooms and put that on top pf the steak.
I served my steaks with fresh-frozen corn. Honestly you don't need much, it's a huge meal in itself.
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This has always been my favorite biscuit recipe:
| 2 | cups Original Bisquick mix |
| 2/3 | cup milk |
| 1/2 | cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces) |
| 2 | tablespoons butter or margarine |
| 1/8 | teaspoon garlic powder |
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- Heat oven to 450ºF.
- Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.
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Honestly for dessert I like the single serving slices by Edwards. I like getting the pie I want without having to buy (or make), and eat a whole pie.
If you really want to make something, here's a yummy apple, pear, cranberry cobbler recipe.
Want something fruity and easy? - Fruit salsa and cinnamon chips. You can buy fresh fruit and chop it up, but to be honest I found that a bag of fresh frozen fruit yield the same effect at a much lower price. As a bonus, there is usually a nice amount of juice in the bag, which you may not get with fresh fruit you've cut up. Thaw the fruit and put in a nice bowl. Or better yet, use small individual bowls and a small plate. Put some fruit salsa in the dish, put the dish on a small plate and surround the dish with cinnamon chips.
**To make cinnamon chips - Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cut a soft, flour tortilla shell in half. Cut each half into 3 wedges (if you use large shells you may have to do some creative cutting). If it's a birthday, or other type of themed party, you can also use a cookie cutter to cut the tortillas into shapes. Place a single layer of cut shells on a baking sheet. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.
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Relax after with hot chocolate (I'm not a coffee drinker) with peppermint of butterscotch schnapps topped with a dollop of Cool Whip. Hey, I said these were quick, easy and cheap recipes. I could give you directions on how to make the schnapps if you would like. The older I get the more I shy away from drinking alcoholic beverages with my meals. I find they take something out of enjoying the flavors of the meal.
If you make anything, let me know how it turned out for you and if you enjoyed it.
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