ROASTED BRUSSELS & BACON

 

as I’m once again trying to get in more proteins than carbs, I thought I’d try this combo that’s I had pinned on my Pinterest boards, it was really simple & wasn’t too bad, I’ll probably give them another chance once my brain stops telling my stomach it wants something  ooie gooie Chocó lee sinfully fatting lol! with that said  that’s a cake that sits staring at me well maybe since his eyes are gone he can’t see me  but I can see him!

Mr. Potato Head is a sweet potato cake  made by my daughter for  hubbys B’day all the kids were able to be here, 7 out of 8 grandkids, they all pulled together to make his birthday special, he’s under going radiation treatments & has good days & bad days, he knew the kids were coming for a visit but had no idea we were going to make him party lol!

 

   

I see a lot more parties in the sunroom’s future lol!

 

ROASTED BRUSSELS & BACON

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds Brussels sprouts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 bacon slices, cut into 1 inch pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Clean and trim Brussels sprouts and cutting any very large heads in half through the core. (It's fine if some of the outer leaves fall off – just bake those along with the rest of the sprouts. They get extra crispy and are delicious!)
3. Place the Brussels sprouts in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing to evenly coat.
4. Pour the Brussels sprouts onto a large sheet pan (you want them to be in a single layer). Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then evenly sprinkle the bacon pieces over the Brussels sprouts.
5. Roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time, until golden and lightly caramelized.
6. Serve immediately.

 

 

http://www.afamilyfeast.com/oven-roasted-brussels-sprouts-bacon/#_a5y_p=1493187

SAUTEED CHICKEN & TOMATOES,”MY VERSION”

I was hungry for something good but didn’t want to go into a lot of detail as it was getting a little late to be thinking about Dinner

what to do but work with what you.ve got , take some chicken tenders turn um into nuggets season with salt ,pepper, garlic ,oregano ,Italian spices, fry in olive oil set aside,

 

sauté just a touch of garlic in TBS or so of olive oil add home made sundried tomatoes "yummy"!

 

leftover garlic noodles from the freezer, chicken, fresh basil just had enough for photo shoot lol!

fold in grated parmesan& waaa laaa!

 

 

my inspiration for this was from a recipe I have pinned on Pinterest

 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/08/spaghetti-with-sauteed-chicken-and.html

DON’T THROW THE CAKE OUT!

now let me explain myself loll!  ok so my daughter makes cakes, she has this very sharp thingy that she slides across the top of the cake to level it off, now that’s the part she doesn’t use or need , what the kids & hubby doesn’t eat  gets tossed out & I’m always telling her  make cake balls , make something! lol! , so happens she had  a few orders this past week plus a wedding cake while staying with us while their air was being fixed, so I tell her  don’t throw the cake out  we can make something out of it like dessert!  so on line she goes & to the fancy dish closet I go to get the trifle bowl & thus  a strawberry shortcake trifle was born!

 

everyone was happy that I convinced her to save the scraps lol! after all a dump cake is a broken cake, right?

so if you know someone who makes cakes, ask them for the scraps & turn it into something yummy!

she  toped sliced strawberries with sugar, let them set for  a few minutes, covered the bottom of the trifle e bowl with cake, poured the juice from the strawberries over the cake, then added a cream cheese & cool whip mixture then strawberries  & repeated till bowl  was full the next day she made a chocolate cake & don’t think I didn’t grab those scraps & put in my freeze for  a future  black forest truffle lol!

 

 

CHICKEN IN PARMESAN SAUCE & SUNDRIED TOMATOES

 

I tried a new recipe to test my sundried tomatoes on , parmesan chicken & sundried tomatoes, this recipe was a winner! I will defiantly be making it again but without the red pepper flakes, boy did they make it hot ! the recipe says to deglaze  your pan  then add the cream etc.  but in their picture the sauce was white hummm bet they didn’t deglaze like they tell you to lol! but anyway it turned out delicious

 

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 (~6 ounce) skinless and boneless chicken breasts, pounded thin
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
• 1/4 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)

directions

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until lightly golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, before setting aside.
2. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
4. Add the broth, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 3-5 minutes.
5. Mix in the chicken along with any juices, season with salt and pepper to taste, remove from heat and mix in the basil.

Option: Add chopped spinach to the sauce.

 

source for printable recipe

http://www.closetcooking.com/2014/10/chicken-in-creamy-parmesan-and-sundried.html?m=1

 

have you made any recipes using homemade sundried tomatoes?

 

SUN DRIED TOMATOES TAKE ONE! & SUN DRIED TOMATOES TAKE TWO!

my father-n-law wasn’t sure if he could get tomatoes to grow too good, so what does he do? he plants rows & rows of them! & what do they do? they grow!! lol! he has tomatoes running out the Yazoo lol!

  

I’d came across a few recipes on Pinterest how to sun dry your own tomatoes, with some olive oil & a few spices you can make your own!

take one

the recipe said let cook for 4-5 hrs on 200 which I thought was a little too long as I almost got tomato chips, but once they’re jarred in olive oil they do ok  in recipes

 

 

 

 

 

now for take two, did I mention  there’s an endless supply of tomatoes? lol! I’d came across another recipe that only ask for 1-2 hrs on 225-300 so here  we go out for more tomatoes & take two!

 

I left  a little over half the seeds this time, seems like removing all of them removes the meat of the tomatoes as  it may be why I came up with tomato chips the first time lol! I  didn’t add thyme to the tomatoes as in round one but I did on the drying , I forgot to take  a picture after they came out of the oven

 

 

 

so there you have it take one & take two on drying your own sun dried tomatoes,

 

     

the thyme makes for a pretty presentation of the tomatoes , take two was just for me & I was tired of waiting  & wanted them out of the oven  in the jar & into the fridge  so I could go to bed lol!   so the next time you have  an abundance of tomatoes try drying them                                

 

http://tipnut.com/sun-dried-tomatoes/

B IS FOR BLACKBERRY B IS FOR BLUEBERRY

after the peaches were done it was time for blackberries & blueberries

there's nothing like fighting the briers for wild blackberries lol it is worth else I wouldn’t do it every year

 

 

yummy blackberry jam, I have more blackberries in the freezer that I will can later for cobblers

 

maybe one too many blueberries? lol!

 

a little goes a long ways, I forget that every year when I say  one more gallon! lol! some got frozen, some turned into jam , some got caned in  light syrup

 

and there were cows! lol!

 

 

are you canning this year? tried anything new? I have! sun dried tomatoes!

 

BACK ON LINE!

 

goodness! it’s been way too long! upon moving our new cable company sent someone out who didn’t fully know how to hook up my internet, so round & round we go with them telling me I’m on line & me telling then not finally my son-n-law to the rescue! he got my laptop up & running, then he got my desktop up & running 

there’s much to tell & much to show , so I’ve got to get to blogging!