A Nice Weekday Meal

So I tried the cheeseburger casserole Recipe Here tonight.

It was good. Could be better but good. I'll make it again and continue to tweak it. Here are the mods that I made this time:

Tater tots are the bane of my existence so I used the crescent roll top. (I got the seamless sheet made for recipes.) I used sharp cheddar and it was REALLY strong so I probably would use mild cheddar or the american it calls for. Also it seemed REALLY ketchup-y to me. Basically I'd add some ketchup and taste the mixture with cheese and play it by ear. If you like it with the whole 1/2 cup go for it. I have pics in my food album and you can see how thin the whole dish was because of how big my casserole dish was. If you want it deeper use a smaller dish. Oh and I cheated and used dill relish instead of chopping pickles.

Honestly I think it was too much ketchup for the sharp cheddar. So that relationship needs to be played with.

This recipe got my brain running. I might wanna try to make my own casserole recipes up now.

Thanksgiving!!

I came. I saw. I conquered. I got stood up and therefore didn't take pics.


Everything was absolutely delicious though. I'm very proud and as I recreate the sides or the desserts I'll share them.

Macaroons Motherfucker!

Ok so I wanted something sweet and I don't have butter or shortening. So I made some macaroons.

It's a good start but there's definitely room for improvement. I want to make sure I dry them out more, maybe use a little less sugar than the recipe called for.....flavor them a bit.

Tell me a little bit about your experience with macaroons! I wanna hear! 

Pot Roast #3 pics

The third pic is a better presentation. It was good but it wasn't GOOD. I forgot something to cut the acidity of the tomato sauce. Drew said it was too complicated but that's to be expected.


However....the other day I tried again and I do believe I got it right!!! I'm stoked!!!!!!

Pot Roast

So I've made pot roast three different times now. The third time is actually in the Crock Pot now. This is one of Andrew's favorite meals so it's nice to have the Crock Pot and be able to make it but I'm experimenting with the flavor. I got all fancy (seared it, used a bone in chuck roast, wine, onion, simmered it all day) and he put ketchup on it. So now I'm tweaking it and keeping it simpler. For the last 2 times I've used a boneless beef sirloin tri tip roast and it's been succulent.

Recipe this time:

• 32 oz of water in the bottom of the crock pot; generous amount of salt and pepper
• 1 lb bag of baby carrots in there and then garlic powder, onion powder, celery seed, thyme, and a dash of ground cloves
• Roast on top of that. This one was about 2.65 lbs. Small Yukon Gold potatoes quartered on top of that.
• 6 oz can of tomato paste stirred in 20 oz of water; pour that over everything. Sprinkle on more garlic, salt and pepper. Also sprinkle on parsley and basil. 

It smells really really good.  I'll be along with some pics.

Just Had the Most Fantastic Salad

So I was running around doing house stuff (we bought a house!!!) and I passed a lovely restaurant here in Jax called Native Sun. I went to the deli and got a salad custom made. Oh. Em. Gee!!!!! Must must MUST recreate at home. I had:

• spring mix
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• roasted red peppers
• dried cranberries
• strawberries
• almonds
• chicken
• feta cheese
• citrus dressing

There aren't enough words to explain the yumminess. I can't believe I forgot the onions though. :(

Something New to Try and I Know I Suck

I have photos. I have recipes. I just haven't had the time to write the posts. I'm sorry, I suck. :(

That being said...I saw this on a forum and I was intrigued. I will be trying it next grocery trip.

CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE!!!! Yes, Im yelling.

1 lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped dill pickles
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded American cheese (6 oz)
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury Crescent refrigerated flaky dough sheet
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon sesame seed

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in pickles, water, ketchup, mustard and pepper.
2. Spoon beef mixture into 11x7-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. Unroll dough; press into 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 squares; place on top of cheese. Brush with egg; sprinkle with sesame seed.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until deep golden brown.

I top mine with sliced american and tater tots instead though. Its better that way.

Drew really really REALLY likes burgers so I'm thinking....this could be fun? We shall see.

I have a new toy!

I bought this today:

http://www.crock-pot.com/Product.aspx?cid=113&pid=389

I am SO excited. Tomorrow we're having pot roast.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is SO versatile. And relatively easy.

Yet hard to grasp.

I don't just plan to blog about the successes that I have in the kitchen. I wanna share the whole journey. I, Joy LastNameHere, can not make alfredo sauce from scratch. It either comes out with the right flavor but entirely too thick and gluey or the right consistency but bland as a piece of paper. Which is a shame because I LOVE fettuccine alfredo.

So I make due by tweaking a jarred sauce. Add some spices and some sour cream and half and half and some cheese and just keep it moving. It works but one day I'd love to be able to master a sauce.

Anyway, earlier this week we had seafood alfredo. I minced garlic and onions and sauteed them in butter, adding salt, pepper, parsley and oregano. Then I tore up some flake-style imitation crab meat and put that in the pan along with some small already cooked shrimp. (Add in a little more butter because...well just because.) Add a bit more seasoning. At this point, pour in the jar of sauce. Fill up part of the jar with half and half, shake and pour into the pan. (I'm all about getting my money's worth.) Then add about 2-3 spoonfuls of sour cream for thickness and tang!

That's pretty much it. At the end I added in a couple of handfuls of spinach to just add a bit of green to the dish.

It was amazing and the next time I make it I shall have pictures for you!

FISH!

So.....

I have been cooking fish at least once a week. This has made for a very happy marriage. Joy gets to go to Whole Foods and just roll around in the vibes of freshness and Drew gets fish. Which he loves.

Last week it was tilapia. I cooked about a pound of it in a foil packet. Drizzled some canola oil on the foil, laid down the fish, sprinkled it with salt, lemon pepper (of the salt free variety) and red and black pepper.

Drew ate it in about....10 minutes. (Didn't want any for myself.) And loved every bit. It was nice to see him inhale like that. I kinda patted myself on the back.

No pictures though. Hopefully I will get pictures of the salmon I'm making tomorrow. I'm not sure how I'm going to prepare it just yet but I do know that dill will play a huge factor.

Stay tuned!

Chili Deferred

I made chili tonight. I will edit this post and add the recipe, because I didn't write it as I cooked it and my husband's insistence that I make something else (that was basically cook meat and add to contents of the bag) made me space and lose it.

Here's pictures of the final result, I have step by step ones that aren't worth shit without the steps.

Loaded Hash Browns

I tried these. They were great. Drew refused to try them because we didn't have ketchup. (I'm not going to get into how I resisted the urge to be offended.)

• 3 russet potatoes
• 1/2 medium yellow, white, anything that ain't red onion
• 1/3 large green bell pepper
• 4 slices of canadian bacon
• shredded mexican cheese blend...or cheddar it's all good
• sour cream
• chipotle chile pepper
• garlic salt
• crushed red pepper
• garlic powder
• lemon pepper
• roughly 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• skillet/saucepan with a lid

Ok so I didn't buy ingredients with this recipe in mind so I just used up an onion and cut up enough bell pepper to just about equal the same amount of onion. And all spices are to taste.

1. Peel and rinse taters. Place in a pot of cold water and cut it on high. Put lid on it.
2. Dice onion, green peppers, and canadian bacon (roughly the same size as you plan to do the taters).
3. Add green peppers to a warm skillet. The oil shouldn't be super hot but not cold. The potatoes should be boiling and rolling by this point. Cut off the heat underneath them and move them to a different eye.
4. Add onions and stir everything around. While that's going, cube the potatoes. They're gonna be sticky as fuck, it's because you cooked them halfway and all the starch hasn't cooked out/broken down. It's all good. (If you leave them in the water, it's likely the pot will retain heat which means the water will still be rather hot warm. If you wear glasses (like I do) and they're dirty (like mine are) you might miss the steam over the pot. For fuck's sake don't put your hand in there to get those potatoes out. It hurts.
5. Add potatoes to skillet. Add more oil if pan is bone dry. Toss to coat. Taste and reseason if needed. (I tend to underseason in the beginning and add more towards the end when everything is settling or gradually add some when I add each ingredient.)
6. Add canadian bacon. Toss to combine. Put on lid and let it cook till potatoes are completely fork tender.
7. Plate. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and garnish with sour cream.

Welcome!

My name is Joy. And I'm married to Andrew. I love him a lot.

I can not stand his palate. I, a lazy semi-foodie, tripped up and married a fast food junkie who has no plans of putting down the crack. He LOVES junk food. He does like "real food" but he is the master of consistency. If he has had a dish at a restaurant ONCE and loved it, it must always be that way. Until the end of forever. Add that to the fact that he smokes and our tastes are extremely different.

He doesn't cook either. This is our journey to happier meal times.