Lime Chicken!!!

Okay. So that excellent idea with the lemon slices tastes even better with lime slices!!!

So do exactly what I wrote in this blog:
http://beckysbiscuits.blogspot.com/2014/07/grilled-lemon-chicken.html

BUT, use limes!! So good!! It would taste good with fajitas or something of that ilk, too.

Till next time...

Grilled lemon chicken

So yeah... I suck at updating my blog. I have a gazillion food pictures and recipes to blog about, but, alas, I refuse to dedicate any time to it. Until now.  Maybe this will get the ball rolling, again. Don't count on it!

Anyway, I was looking at a news site and it had a neat idea for cooking fish on the grill. You put slices of lemon underneath said meat and it won't stick. Welllll, I thought that "should" work for chicken, right?!?

 It sure does!

2 lemons sliced (not too thin, so they can endure the grill flames.)
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 4 pieces and flattened to uniform size.
Salt & pepper for seasoning.

I use a grill pan for on the grill. It's much easier to clean and if the grill gets obnoxious and "flame-y" it lessens the char burn damage.

ANYWAY...  Put the lemon slices onto the grill pan and put the chicken pieces onto the lemon slices. Season with salt and pepper.  And grill. Just make sure to watch it and flip it to evenly cook.

 I did find that it took a little bit longer, since it had to cook through another layer.  Also, be prepared for the lemon slices to be charred/burned to the grill pan.  It just took some elbow grease to get it off the pan.

The chicken had a nice, light, lemon-y flavor.  The hubby even suggested it would be good on a salad. And I would have to agree.

I will definitely be making this, again. Super easy and great.

Till next time...

Stove Top Popcorn

I finally got the directions to make stove top popcorn and I LOVE IT!!! It's super easy and tastes so stinkin' good. I could eat it all day, every day... That might not be a good idea.

First you add 3 TB of canola oil (or whatever salad/vegetable oil you have.)
Put 3 kernels into the pot...  Be sure you use a pot with a vented lid or have some sort of contraption that can be ventilated.

Wait until these 3 kernels pop.

Add 1/2 cup of kernels.

Put the lid onto the pot and wait.  The lid is kinda important since it would create a huge mess!

The oil in the pot was especially hot and it popped the kernels lickety split. I wasn't thinking and walked away for two seconds and wondered why it stopped making noise so soon. Well duh! It was done. 

Thankfully it only burned a very small amount and they didn't taste that bad.  Melt 2 TB of butter (or margarine or mix of butter/margarine) and pour over corn. Stir and enjoy!

This is a super fast and super delicious way to eat popcorn!

That's it for today. Till next time!

Instant (well almost) Soft Pretzels!

I, again, forgot to pack an ice pack, of any kind, on a multi-tasking trip around the area. My solution, per usual, is to buy a pack of Rhodes bread dough.  Of course, when you do this on a 80+ degree, hot and humid day, it is going to thaw.  And then the challenge is to figure out what to do with five thawed loaves of bread.  Sooooo, I decided to make soft pretzels!!

The first thing you do is let the dough rise at room temperature overnight. Be prepared to find a huge, bloated, piece of dough in the morning. Punch it down and when you are ready to do something with it, it will be ready.

I had C#1 smoosh out about 3 or 4 loaves of it into a large jellyroll like pan.  I then used a cutting tool (a regular, sharp, knife would work) and sectioned it off into pieces about 3x1 inches in size.

Stir together 1/2 cup of warm water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Stir it until the soda is dissolved.  Dip each piece into the soda water and put on a cooking sheet about an inch apart.  Sprinkle with salt - I used sea salt, but, whatever you want is just fine.

Bake these items for 15-18 minutes or until they are browned.

These taste wonderful with melted butter or hot nacho cheese.

Definitely a good use of bread dough!

Till next time...

I survived the middle schoolers!

I survived the middle schoolers!

But, I am surprised I am not completely deaf...

They had a DJ and the music was very, veryyyyyyy loud. But, that might be because I am getting old. Of course, I wasn't the only adult that thought it was too loud.

I found it highly entertaining to watch these children run and dance around for two hours.

The DJ played many line dances.  "The Macarena," "The Chicken Dance," "The Hokey Pokey," "The Locomotion" -- just to name a few. 

 The Locomotion?!?!?  More like crazy train.

I was sad that the DJ didn't play "The Electric Slide" or "Crocodile Rock."  I might have had to participate.  But, then that would probably have made me "uncool."  C#2 did tell me not to be like the "Goldbergs" mom (a really funny show on ABC about a family in the 1980's.)  Although one of her friends tried to get me to participate in the dancing festivities. But, alas, I am now an old fogey and I don't know any "good" dance moves.

I am also happy to report there was no excessive PDA.  And only a little tiny bit of that even. There were only two slow songs and for the most part they all acted shy and weirded out by the whole idea of dancing with a boy or girl.  I will just presume they will "get over" that next year -- YIKES!  I will not volunteer for that function. I might have to cry.

So there you have it. My adventure with a large group of children that are 12 and 13.

As an aside, I felt a little bit bad for any of the children than knew me.  You know you go to these functions to get away from the adults (parents) you know.  C#2 didn't seem to mind.  She used me as a pit stop to drop her winnings, camera, etc. And I will admit that I took pictures without her permission and she didn't seem to mind.  I didn't go crazy with pictures, because, I wouldn't want to be "uncool," ya know....

Till next time.

I get to chaperone a middle school event tonight!

Now who's excited for me?!?!?  I have had to promise C#2 that I will not follow her around or take pictures or be totally uncool in front of her friends.  I promise to get permission first before taking any pictures.

I asked C#2 what would be my responsibilities as a chaperone.  And I quote, " Make sure no one is sucking face."  All righty then! I wouldn't think that would be a problem for children this age.....  But, I guess I am wrong -- I guess they are 12 and 13 years old that do this -- OYE!

Apparently there are children "dating" each other and asking each other to this event. Thankfully not mine.

I will let you know how it goes.  I am actually looking forward to see how these little hooligans behave. And I hope no one gets in trouble.

Till next time...

Crockpot Meatloaf

I bought C#1 a new pair of sneakers last Thursday.  His old pair was losing the sole and were torn to shreds on the inside.  Four days later, these brand new, beautiful, apparently cheap, poorly made, pieces of crap already had a hole in them. WHAT?!?!?!?  Well that won't do. The last time I bought a cheap pair of shoes from this store they lasted almost a year. Sheeeeesh!

Anywhooooooo... I took C#1 to a different store to find different, hopefully better shoes. All to say, I needed to make something for dinner in the crock pot. Especially since I wouldn't probably be home until way late.

I uncovered a few crock pot cookbooks and came upon a meatloaf recipe that I used as a guide.  Which means, I used a lot of poetic license.

Here's what I did.

Plug in your crock pot and spray the "pot" with a cooking spray.  Set it to the lowest setting -- although I would recommend turning up the heat a little bit during the last couple hours for complete cook-age.

Mix together:
2 lb ground beef
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cups dried bread crumbs -- I used garlic/herb because that is what I found the quickest. Any flavor would work.
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Shape into a loaf and cook on low to medium for 6-8 hours.

This tasted great with ketchup and everyone seemed to like it.  I will definitely be making it, again!
Sadly I didn't take a picture. But, seriously, it's only meat loaf. Imagine a meat loaf and there you have it. Except it was cooked in a crock pot.

That's it for today. Till next time...

PS... I did get a full refund for the shoes with no problem!

Lightsaber anyone?

I am currently working my a$$ off trying to get S#4's bridal shower food situation in order. I love working under pressure!!!  The theme for this shower is "Star Wars"!! I had to make lightsabers.

My friend came over for coffee and we sat there mulling over the best way to do this.  Making them wasn't the hard part --- getting them to sit upright to dry was a challenge.  I was partially successful using one of the drink carriers from a fast food joint. But, they started falling into each other. UGH!  We then spotted an egg carton and my friend suggested poking holes in the bottom of the container.  It was pure genius! I flipped the carton upside down and on each egg space there was a circle. I used a steak knife and cut out the circles.

I then microwaved the melting candy (I used full power, not the half power,as the package suggested, and it worked just fine and was quick!)  I rolled the pretzel sticks into the melted chocolate and used a scrapper to make sure that the ends were equally covered. I then carefully placed the uncandied end into the hole and VIOLA!   It worked!! I did have a little bit of any issue with them running into each other, but, it still was wayyyy easier than the cup carrier.

As you can see I ended up making too many. They do make a lovely lightsaber bouquets!

And I must add that pretzels sticks and vanilla flavored chocolate tastes delicious. I have a feeling there may be some leftovers and I am very happy about that!! More for me!!!!!!!

Till next time...

Clumpy Brown Sugar and Bread -- What a neat trick!

I mistakenly left a bag of brown sugar open. For many days. And weeks.  Needless to say, it turned into a clumpy, unusable, mess.  I knew the microwave trick - you know, nuke it for a little bit and it gets soft. But, that wasn't helping this time.  I had already conceded my last batch of chocolate chip cookies to crunchy chunks to brown sugar. Thankfully they turned out okay in spite of my failed sugar.

My next cooking adventure needed a lot of brown sugar and all I had left was a rock solid clump.  In desperation I turned to the internet and it was suggested many times to microwave the sugar with a piece of bread.  Apparently "everyone" knows this trick. I however did not.

Anyway, I had no problem finding a piece of bread.  If you remember my challenge to use lots and lots of bread in a short time period since I bought too much. Well AH-HAH! Another way to use that pesky bread!!!

I put a piece on top of the sugar and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

It appeared to be working!! The moisture from the bread was sucked into the brown sugar. There were still clumps, so I put it in again for about 20 seconds more.

Viola! Nice soft brown sugar.  

Apparently you can put a piece of bread in your brown sugar for the long haul and it will keep it moist, too. No microwaving necessary.  I'm not sure I will do that. But, I will definitely use this neat trick, again!

That's it for today. Till next time.

Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

The hubby declared one day that he wanted bread pudding.  So I found a recipe in Mr. Food's: Old World Cooking Made Easy on pages 239-240.  It was good! I liked even better the second day.

In my crazy price match ways, I bought wayyyyy too much bread.  And now the challenge is to blow through a ton of bread in a short time.  Which means more bread pudding!

Old Fashioned Bread Pudding

1 lb. day old bread (or much longer) 10-12 slices, torn into 1 inch pieces (I used white or Italian and/or cinnamon raisin bread -- whatever you have is fine!)

2 cups warm water

3 eggs

1/2 pint heavy cream (1 cup)

1/2 cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla 

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (more!)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 TB whiskey (Use RUM!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together the bread pieces and water, soaking the bread.  In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then stir in the heavy cream.  Add to the soaked bread along with the raisins, vanilla, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon; stir until well combined. Place in an 8-inch square glass baking dish that has been coated with nonstick baking spray.  Bake for 60-65 minutes or until puffy and firm in the center.  Meanwhile, in another small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and whiskey, stirring until smooth. Remove the finished pudding from the oven and while still warm, top with the whiskey glaze.  I poked holes in the top of the pudding, so that the glaze will seep into the pudding.

The leftovers should be refrigerated and then re-warmed to eat.

This batch was just as good as the first.  The leftovers also taste good with a splash of cream or vanilla creamer. 

I was able to blow through almost a whole loaf of bread.  Now I just need to make french toast a few more times and the bread crisis will be averted.

Till next time...

EZ-Doh Bucket --> My new toy!

One day not so long ago, my friend and I were talking about a "bread bucket."  I personally had no idea what that was, at the time.  Apparently it is a bucket with a churning hook used to mix bread dough manually -- meaning no electricity required, meaning potentially easy way to stir/knead the dough without too much hassle and did I mention no electricity?!  I looked on ebay and found one for a mere $225.00 and it was a rust bucket --- literally.  So pretty much you'd have to make sure everyone had a current tetanus shot before using/eating anything made from said machine.

Actual picture of said bread bucket, aka rust bucket, that is listed on ebay.

I then meandered onto Amazon and found the EZ-Doh contraption.  I thought that was quite intriguing.  I looked at the reviews and one person loved it and another didn't.  Apparently the inside of this particular tool was too smooth.  The person who loved it had a remedy and I figured, what the hell!?! I'll give it whirl.  I've always wanted to make a loaf of bread when I was camping ---- errrrr... Not really. But, I could and that is what counts! Right?!?

Anyway, I have the lovely fast shipping service from Amazon, so my new toy showed up on a Saturday! Whoot!  And here it is in all it's glory:

Now, I just have to get inspired and make something. And that probably won't be today.  "They" were nice enough to include a packet of yeast, so there is no excuse to be had.  Of course, I will need flour and whatever else is required and that is all nicely listed on the opposite side of the plastic bucket.  That way I can't "lose" the recipe. Those EZ-Doh people are so smart.

Anywayyyyyyyyyyyy, I will definitely report back after I make something in this contraption.  

That's it for today. Till next time!

The cat ate my homework IS a real excuse.

C#2 had weekend homework.  This was sort of an anomaly. The teachers are usually nice and don't assign such tasks for the weekend.

C#2 was extra careful all weekend long to make sure that this lovely poster didn't get even a fleck of dirt on it.  She at one point wanted me to hang onto it, while we were traveling.  After I deposited her homework back into her possession it proceeded to roll onto the floor.  She then proceeded to blame me for not keeping track of her homework.  *sigh*  I informed her that it was not my responsibility.

Back to the story. This morning about six minutes before she had to go out to the bus, she discovered that her "precious" homework had ended up on the floor.  I was putting lunch ingredients away and heard C#2 say a very profound, "Shit!" Upon closer inspection it was missing a piece.  It should be noted that I have heard C#2 swear out loud only a couple times in her life.  This was a very traumatic event, apparently.

We of course did not find the missing piece (pictured above) so we had to be creative. I found a glue stick and a piece of white paper and proceeded to hurriedly glue the clean paper to the poster. I found C#2 a pen and told her to fix the empty spots. Viola!  Well sort of. It definitely didn't look as good as it did. I did find the missing piece after she had gotten on the bus and was on her merry way.

I wrote a note to the teacher explaining our ordeal. Let's hope the teacher is merciful.

That's it for today. Till next time...

My ultimate cookie weakness --> Fudge No Bake Cookies!

I know everyone has had these and probably made these.  I was surprised to find them being sold by the box at Walmart. As you all well know, they aren't hard to make.

This week, in an effort to make the family happy, I offered to make them brownies.  This idea was shot down, but, quickly followed with a request for these evil, super-yummy, delicious, very evil ---> did I mention evil cookies.  I, of course, had no problem making these. And a double batch, too!

I nicked this fine recipe from my Mom's recipe box.

Combine and boil: 

1/2 cup milk (I used 1% and it worked fine)

2 cups sugar,

1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco)

4 TB cocoa

I boiled this for a couple minutes -- there were no specific instructions.

Remove from heat.

Add 1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups quick oats

Cook for one minute longer. Drop on to wax paper in teaspoonfuls (I used my smallest cookie scoop.)

I cooked these exactly as above with the exact ingredients. They set up almost immediately -- WHOOHOO!!  I have had failures in the past.

I think I ate 5. But, I will not admit to any more. That would just be wrong.

So there you have it. My ultimate cookie weakness.  Now I just have to eat them sparingly. Which is no easy task.

Till next time...

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Strips

Yes, I am totally sucking at blogging. Oh well. Be happy when you get one.  Here's a quickie.

2-3 chicken breasts
garlic powder
chili powder
s/p
bacon
brown sugar.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut up the chicken into strips -- approximately 2 - 3 per breast. Sprinkle all of the pieces with the garlic powder, chili powder and s/p.  Wrap a piece of bacon around each piece. Roll each bacon/chicken piece through the brown sugar.

Place in a casserole or whatever you use. Bake for 30-40 minutes and done.

It tasted amazing.  The bacon does marvelous things to chicken.

That's it for me today.  Till next time!