COOKIES!!!

After making homemade chicken soup and cleaning like a mad woman today, I figured I needed a treat! I looked through a lot of my cookbooks but nothing looked good.  SO...I did what I do best.  I went into the kitchen and started pulling stuff out of the cupboard. 

Two sticks of real butter, softened
3/4 cup of white sugar
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Mixed until smooth.
Add two eggs and mix well
2 cups of sifted flour and 1 teaspoon of baking soda and mix

They are a little loose, not sure what I did wrong.  I threw some milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips I had left over on top of them.  Actually, to tell the truth, I only stuck two chips each on top and now my cookies look like they have boobs! LOL

Healing Chicken Soup

My sweet husband has a terrible cold so I am going to do everything I can to make him better.  I put a stick of real butter in a large soup pot to melt.  I chopped one fresh sweet onion and put in the melting butter to saute and soften.  After the onions softened up I added a very, very large amount of chopped garlic.  I let those flavors marry for a while.  I then added 16 ounces of chicken broth.  I put in three pieces of chicken (raw) and added water to cover to the top of the chicken.  It is boiling now.  After the chicken boils for a while, I am going to add carrots.  I am also going to add some Aunt Annies dumplings.

This soup should do a lot for my baby's cold. 

Pot Roast

It was another trip to the butcher today.  I got 2 1/2 pounds of chuck roast.  I also grabbed some red potatoes, a sweet onion and some carrots.

This is what it looked like before it got put into the oven.  I set the oven on really low, at 325 for the first hour then 250 for the next three hours.  This is how it turned out:

It was very flavorful and tender.  The meat was fall apart tender.  The potatos were just perfect.  It was a very yummy dinner tonight.  I have to say I am getting very used to getting really, really fresh meat.  Having a butcher right around the corner from my house is very convenient and awesome.  He is a little pricier than the regular grocery store but you can actually taste the difference in the meat versus getting it at the grocery store.

Cornbread and beans....and a new kidney!!

The most exciting news of all:  My dear friend received the phone call that a kidney was available.  She is in surgery right now! Father, THANK YOU for this but also I pray for the dear family that lost a loved one but was thoughtful enough to donate their family member's kidney. 

Tonight was a lazy night.  It is what I call my "poor man's dinner".  I made a pot of pinto beans with a stick of butter in it. I also made a big pan of cornbread.  My parents had to raise seven children so money was scarce.  We had pinto beans A LOT!  I have always been told you have to soak the beans the night before or you will never be able to cook them.  Not true.  I sorted and washed my beans this morning around 10:00 am.  I put them in a large pot and brought them to a boil, put a lid on it and turned the heat down to low.  They simmered for three hours and then they were fork tender! It was awesome.  I let them simmer the rest of the day and threw in a stick of butter about 30 minutes before we ate them. 

I know that cornbread is a very subjective thing.  People make it so many different ways.  My prefered method is putting an entire can of drained corn in it.  I also throw in a very healthy pinch of sugar.  Other than that, I pretty much follow the recipe on the side of the Jiffy box.  I love my cornbread.  The real corn keeps it nice and moist....oh yeah, and I also melt a stick of butter in the bottom of the pan before pouring in the cornbread batter.  It is sooooo yummy.  I wonder what your favorite way is to make cornbread? Let me know! I would love to hear new ideas!

Da sauce!!

After I put my Mega-Meatballs in the oven, I had to make a sauce from scratch.  I confess, I typically use Hunts spaghetti sauce but I was out.  So this is what I threw in my pot:

1/2 stick real butter plus a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped large (I do large chunks so my picky eaters can see them and avoid them)
I sauteed the onion until soft. 

After the onion is soft, I tossed in about 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
(3) cans of Hunt's chopped tomatos
(1) can of Hunt's tomato paste
(2) 16 ounce cans of V-8
chopped basil (dried)
chopped oregano (dried)
red pepper flakes
fresh ground pepper

I added all the above in varying degrees until it tasted right.  To confirm my taste buds, I took a spoonful to my Italian hubby and amazingly enough, he was able to pick out all the ingredients I added! He is so amazing.

I made some angel hair pasta, poured the sauce over, gave them two mega-meatballs a piece and tore up some fresh mozzerella for the top.  Overall, it was a yummy dinner.

Mega-Meatballs!

Mega-meatballs in the oven.  I am not sure what I am going to put them with! I do not have any sketti sauce but I guess I can make some from scratch.  The meat is fresh ground chuck from my local butcher.  There is nothing like fresh meat!  I will update when I figure it out!

Denny's Restaurant.....and God?

After about two hours of shopping at two amazing guitar stores, my hubs took me to Denny's for dinner.  The restaurant was fairly empty.  We sat in a booth and both ordered up Denny's new Western Skillet.  It was quite conceivably enough food for four people on one skillet! Breezy and I both did not get past more than a 1/4 of it.

While we were eating, a group of five young adults came in and sat at a round table behind our booth.  They were pretty typical college age kids, between 19 and 24.  I doubt a single one of them was older than 24.  Their talk mostly centered around the fact that they had been unable to purchase guns tonight.  One young man complained to the other why they were going out on Monday and not a weekend.  The fellow said he works on Saturdays and on Sundays he has to go to church because he is a youth leader. 

Honestly, from the conversation at the table I would have never guessed that any of them ever darkened a church doorway.  Many expletives were bandied about as casually as you or I may use the word "the".  Food was ordered and drinks were delivered.  The original young man who complained about it being Monday night extended his hands to his friends and timidly said, "should we go ahead and pray before the food gets here?"  He was rebuffed by all his friends and he acquiesed.  The young man who was a youth leader stated "I pray over every meal on the weekend, I don't need to do it right now".

So....his God is only for Sundays? What if I were one of the parents of the teenagers he was a youth leader for? Would he be embarrased? Is this modern day Christianity? The convenient kind? The kind where God is only for when I want him and not for everyday, all day, anytime, anywhere? And as I pondered this question, the Spirit gently turned that question inward.....do I put God in a box when I don't want him around? Furthermore, where would I end up without God's Grace?  I am 100% certain that God would never shove me in a box until he was ready to deal with me.  I am 100% certain that I have been guilty of doing just that.

As we were about to leave the restaurant, my husband spoke to the group, had them laughing.  And since "contact" had been initiated, I told the one young man I was proud of him for offering to pray before their meal.  They laughed it off with him telling his friends they were all going to hell for not praying.  I pray they know that there are REAL consequences for putting God aside.  I pray that the church they go to, that someone there will open their eyes.  Brandon Heath said it best when he asked God "Give me your eyes for just one second"  God help me to be ever mindful and let me see through Your eyes....

Sunday night dinner

It was a good day at church today.  We got set up for our Secret Sister program.  It was a huge turn-out for Sunday school class.  And now I have dinner in the oven!

BBQ chicken is baking in the oven.  Saffron rice is cooking gently on the stove.  I now just have to decide what vegetable to put with all of this.  There were no special recipes to follow tonight.  I just dumped a jar of sauce on my boneless, skinless chicken thighs and threw them in the oven.  The saffron rice is a pre-mixed package from a favorite manufacturer.  I admit it, I was not very creative tonight!

I hope everyone has a great week! I will be back for more tomorrow and I promise to get creative again!

Jello.....

My husband dares to go where I have always been afraid to go:  combining Jello with pineapple.  I mean, gosh! Even the package says don't use canned pineapple.  But he does it....successfully!

While I was away yesterday, he mixed Lime green Jello with an orange Jello with pineapple:

It is a strange olive green color and it tastes GOOD.  He did a really good job.  It is quite yummy.  It kind of fixes my sweet tooth need!  My hubs is very smart.

No Recipe Concoction!

I scoured through some of my cookbooks and looked at an online recipe site but did not see anything that tripped my trigger!  So I just decided to go into the kitchen and let inspiration drive me.

I opened a can of tomatos and poured them in my baking dish and sprinkled them with some basil and oregano.

I have preheated the oven to 350 degrees.  In a saucepan I added olive oil and a diced yellow onion with about four cloves of minced garlic.  I softened the onion a little then threw some boneless chicken thighs on top.  I just wanted to get a little saute action on the chicken.  After a few minutes I poured the chicken, garlic and onion mixture on top of the tomatos and put them in the oven to bake.  I will let you know how it turns out!  I think I am going to make some garlic butter pasta for the side. Hopefully it will be juicy and tasty.

Are you hungry?

I am sorry I have not posted in a few days! Things have been difficult.  I have not even cooked a meal in at least a week! As I work out of town, cooking during the week is rare.  I am usually spoiled to pieces by my sissy.  Last night she made some really yummy beefy rice-a-roni with some stew beef that she had put in the crock pot all day. :) It was good.

So why do I ask if you are hungry?  As hard as it is to fathom, a lot of children and adults go hungry in the United States.  The United States, home to McDonalds and "super-size me please!".  I got to wondering today if we take our liberties for granted?  Do we automatically assume that everyone has enough because we do? 

I can recall a time when I did not have enough.  I remember pacing the floor of my tiny kitchen wondering how I was going to feed my three children.  Through God's grace, food was provided.  Somehow, the ingredients that I found left over in my pantry were enough to feed three hungry little kids.

The next time that you sit down to eat, don't forget to pray and ask God to provide for others.  Then take it a next step and drop off something at your local food bank or your church's food pantry.  The excess you have today could actually come back around and provide for you or loved ones when you need it.  Love is action, not just words.  Don't forget to live out the love you have today.

Until this weekend, when I get to cook again!  Take care!

The first Daffodil of Spring

I have been inside since Friday with a wicked cold but I just went outside tonight to take my ever-whining dog Humperdink to go potty and there it was! In my flower bed was the very first daffodil of spring! Yes, I know it is not spring yet, but there it was!  Standing tall and proud and oh so yellow.

Daffodils are a sign from God, my mother used to always tell me.  It's how you know renewal is coming.  I so love daffodils.  They remind me of my mother's love and of God's love.  "Thank you God for the birds that sing, thank you God for everything!"

Iron Chef America

I watched a re-run of "Iron Chef America" tonight.  Michael Symon got his butt kicked by a friend of his, another Italian chef, Marc Vetri.  I was completely fascinated by the secret ingredient, veal.  And it was not just cuts of veal, but the WHOLE thing.  It took two chefs to carry it over to the table.

Veal is a mystery meat to me.  I have never had it before.  I have had a dish at some snotty restaurant called lamb.  I don't believe that is the same thing.  Alton Brown said that this veal was very young, grass fed and never caged so it was all tender.  It was a little gross to hear the bones crunching when the chefs were butchering it up.

Throughout the episode, all kinds of interesting applications were used.  Michael Symon even paired the veal with some raw Ahi tuna.  Chef Vetri made a couple of pasta dishes. They all looked really good.

So my question is, is veal something that the "common man" could fix? Or should it be relegated to fancy restaurants only?  I am going to have to check with my local butcher and see if he gets any in that is fresh.  I am very curious to know what it tastes like.  I wonder if it will be "gamey" like the lamb tasted to me in that fancy restaurant?  I am also very curious to try the bone marrow roasted in the oven.  It sounds gross to me but looks so delicious!  I am definately going to need some inspiration and guidance! I will have to take a look at my favorite expensive restaurant for some help.  I will keep you updated on my quest for marrow and veal!!

Tonights episode of "What's for dinner?"

Well, I was feeling way too icky to go to the store.  Standing around in the kitchen I felt like I was on Food Network's "Chopped".  I have to figure out how to make an entree out of the mystery ingredients left in my cupboards and fridge!

So far, I have been boiling chicken.  After that was done, I just threw in some chopped carrots, broccolli and corn.  I sauteed onions and garlic in butter and just dumped that in.  I think my hubs and I need chicken soup!

I have added some spices, fresh cracked black pepper and will let that stew for a while.  I will probably add more to it.....gotta make the soup part taste yummy.  Then it will be on to face the "judges" and see who chops me! LOL

The Notorious Egg Salad

I am working from home today! It is lunch time and I just put some potatoes in the oven to roast.  Those are going to take at least an hour so I have decided to make some egg salad while I wait.  Then I got to wondering....everyone must have their own version of this delightful salad.  Of course, I think mine is the best but that is just because it is my mother's recipe!

How do you make yours? I do not have specific measurements to offer.  It is simply hard boiled eggs, Duke's Mayonnaise (it HAS to be Duke's...it's simply the best), mustard and pickle relish.  Sometimes, although very rarely, I had some minced onion and garlic powder but not often.

Let me know what you think! I want to know your recipes for egg salad! I am trying not to be a snob about it! LOL!!

Wednesday

It's Wednesday and I am lacking inspiration.  I am home alone at my sissy's house.  Everyone is at church.  I suppose I should find a church to go to up here on Wednesday's but I am not sure I want to even expend the effort.  I guess that is not a very good attitude.

For dinner I grabbed my favorite Tombstone Pizza (cheese) and a box of hair color.  I am getting tired of looking at all the gray hairs that are coming in so I am covering them up tonight.  No dramatic change, its just a brown close to my own color.  Hopefully the gray hair will stay hidden at least for a month or two.  Although with my continual driving of I95, probably not.  That interstate system is nuts.

SO here is to looking forward to culinary adventures this weekend when I am home with the fam! Stay tuned and see you then!

Unexpected cake baking!!

My sissy had to make two cakes for her husband's work tomorrow.  We made a chocolate sheet cake, Texas style with a creamy, candy like chocolate frosting made with sweetened condensed milk....total YUM (okay, yeah, I admit it....I liked the pan CLEAN!!).

The second cake was a peanut butter cake with my very own homemade peanut butter buttercream! Oh how I love buttercream!  I had the TOTAL fat factor going on tonight!

My sissy made both cakes from scratch, she doesn't use box mixes.  They are quite yummy.  She is an EXCELLENT baker! I wish I had pictures but my phone is dead and charging!!

Today's thrift store find....

"Winterthur's Culinary Collection" from The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, copyright 1983 and published by Galison Books.  It states it is "A Sampler of Fine American Cooking".  It has quite a few interesting looking recipes.  The one that caught my eye right away is called "German Chocolate Angel Pie".  I will definately have to make that this weekend when I get home from my week away at work in Northern Virginia.  I will definately post pictures!

Tonight I am chowing down on my sissy's chili soup.  It is yummy.  Until tomorrow friends!!

Cornish Hens!

I am so spoiled! My sissy made cornish hens!  I have never had them before...she stuffed them with yummy stuffing and they were just divine!  She also made mash-a-taters and corn.  I am one lucky girl.

Then for dessert, I had a slice of her homemade banana bread! Now I am getting ready to get my jammies on and crawly under my new electric blanket! Just call me spoiled!

Maybe one day I will brave enough to try to make cornish hens....I would not even know what to look for to buy them! My sissy is a GREAT cook!

Epic Fail

With a full belly and a heavy heart, this is my Post-Dinner....post. Ha ha ha.  Apparently I waited to long to use my asparagus.  It was as limp as a soggy noodle.  My crockpot did such a good job cooking my stew beef that is was mostly stew and no beef.  We slopped it over noodles, had some corn and some garlic bread.  It was too sad to take a picture.  Epic failure.  Why a full belly then?  WELL....it still tasted good.  BUT now there is 1/2 pound of unused proscuiito in the fridge with no asparagus to marry.  :(  My son was rather disappointed as he declared he loves asparagus (although I don't think I have made any in years).  I will try to find some next weekend at the Farmer's Market and give it a second go around.

I am off to clean up the kitchen and get my suitcase packed for another long week in Northern Virginia at my job.  Be assured I will be looking for "new" cookbooks at the local thrift store and searching for new recipes to try.  Have a great night!!

Crock pot!

I am home from Sunday School (did not stay for worship service as I was worried about my husband, he is not feeling very well today).  I opened up the package of stew beef I got from the butcher.  I coated it in flour and adobo seasoning and threw it in the skillet where I had some sliced yellow onions and minced garlic sauteing in butter and olive oil.  I seared off the meat and have now transferred it into the crockpot with some brown gravy mix and water!  It is going to simmer and stew all day! Later I will add some more stuff (not sure what yet!) and then make some egg noodles and broil the asparagus! Pictures to follow! :)

Another thrift store score!

The girls and I went to the thrift store today.  I am still looking for a shelf to store my records on!  I did not find that BUT I did find another cookbook! This one is called "A Treasury of Great Recipes" by Mary and Vincent Price (published by Ampersand Press, Inc. copyright 1965)

It is a very interesting collection of recipes with many color photos taken abroad and at their home.  The recipes are divided up into countries.  Most of them seem to "high brow" and complicated but there is an interesting one I am going to try called "Boccone Dolce" translated as sweet mouthful.  It is a meringue layer cake.  It does not look to over complicated.  When I make it I will make sure to take lots of pictures!

Also sprinkled throughout the books are the occasional picture of Vincent Price.

Look how young he is there! I think he is just so handsome! I love his voice too!  Anyway, it is a rather interesting book.  I would have NEVER guessed that he did a cookbook! Very "avante garde" for his time, if you ask me!

I was a naughty girl tonight and did not make dinner.  Even worse, I got the teenagers frozen pizza then the sexy hubs and I went out to dinner.  We tried a new Thai restaurant that is just around the corner from where we live.  It was quiet yummy.  We were the only customers for a while but soon others trickled in.  My sweetie had the pad thai and I had sizzling Bangkok beef.  It was good. 

When I get to cooking again I will let you know! I have to cook up the beef stroganoff tomorrow  and the asparagus! Pictures and updates more tomorrow!!!

So dinner is finished.  Here is what my plate looked like:



That is a thin slice of meatloaf, homemade mac & cheese, green beans and a slice of tomato with some fresh mozzarella with some olive oil drizzled on it.  It was tasty.  The meatloaf was rather good although I prefer baking it with ketchup on it and I did not do it this time.  It was a new recipe!  One I made up out of my head (see previous post).

Even the bird liked dinner! Here is a picture of Louie eating his mac & cheese.  For an Amazon parrot, he sure loves his pasta! I think he must be from Italy, not South America!!

Louie is a yellow-naped Amazon parrot and he is a real character! 

Meatloaf is in the oven!



That is a bowl full of fresh ground chuck and pork, bread crumbs, seasonings, an egg and my "secret weapon" some Parmesan Romano cheese! I mixed it all up and it is in the oven right now.  I just put some salted water on to boil, making homemade mac & cheese, gonna slice up some tomatoes and fresh mozzarella....yummy dinner!

Friday Night Dinner!

There is NOTHING like an old fashioned country butcher! I ran to the Farmer's Market this afternoon to visit my butcher.  Yes, my butcher! He is an old fashioned Irishman who married an Italian (just like me, an Irishwoman who married an Italian).  I got some fresh ground pork (they ground it right when I ordered it) and some fresh ground chuck.  They did not have any fresh veal.  I am making a meatloaf tonight.  I also picked up some amazingly fresh vine tomatoes and some fresh asparagus.  I got some proscuitto to wrap my asparagus in and I am going to oven roast them!

I will post my meatloaf when I get it all mixed up!  Heading to the kitchen to get dinner going! Be back in a few!

Lunch today



Well, I was not exactly a good girl today.  While I did not technically eat fast food, I did go to the local diner around the corner from my job.  It is called The Ashland Breakfast and Lunch.  The hamburger was a REAL one, not some pre-formed fake patty.  The french fries were thick and covered in Old Bay spices.  They were quite yummy.

Somehow I do not think this fits in on a low-calorie diet but I don't really care.  I was tired and hungry and it was quick.  I only paid $7.54 plus tip.  Today has been a funky day and my emotions are on a roller coaster.  It has been a rough week this week being away from the family.  I am looking forward to getting home tomorrow and spending time with the fam.

Cake finished!

Here are the cakes right out of the oven and then the finished product! I can't wait for her to get home!  I hope she will love it!

Coconut Cake for my sissy

So, my sissy's birthday was November 25th.  We could not be together! She didn't get a birthday cake, so I am taking advantage of the fact that she is not home tonight and making it for her as a surprise. 

As you can see, I start with a regular white cake mix.  In place of the water the directions call for, I use coconut water! It just adds a tiny extra boost of coconut flavor.  I have it all mixed up and it is in the oven.  When the cake comes out of the oven I flip them out of the cake pans (wait about 10 minutes and then they flip out real good, just like a crazy teenager! LOL).

After they have rested for a little bit, I poke the bottom layer full of holes with a fork.  Then I open the can of Cream of Coconut and pour it over the cake.  Add frosting and some coconut and then add the second layer.  This cake gets poked too! More Cream of Coconut! Then frosting then a butt-ton of Baker's Sweet Coconut is put ALL over the cake!

She loves coconut cake and has never had one of mine! I hope she likes it! 

Lunchtime

I am back to work this week in Northern Virginia.  I brought my Tomato Cabbage soup with me as well as my apple cranberry casserole.  I had the casserole for breakfast and just finished two bowls of the soup for lunch!  Low-calorie....yes.....exciting....NO.

I will be heading to my big sissy's house tonight.  I am not sure what is on the menu for dinner.  What I would really like is a juicy Sonic Hamburger....but that is a big fat NO!  I cannot believe how many calories are in one of those suckers! It must be why they taste sooooo good!  Thank goodness the slushies are not too bad! I cannot live without my grape Sonic slushie!

I won't say that I am officially on a "diet".  I mean, afterall, who wants to be on a DIEt....its so "death" sounding.  I prefer to do what my friend Sharon G. calls a "live-it".  I wish I could attend the classes for this at my church but they happen during the week while I am stuck up here at my job.  :(

I think I will peruse my sister's collection of cookbooks and see what I can come up with! I must try something new this week while I am up here with her! She can be my guinea pig <evil grin> HA HA HA!!

Dinner....definately NOT low calorie!

I was not in the mood to cook a full-blown dinner tonight.  After finding bacon on sale at Bottom Dollar, I decided it would be a good night for some BLT's!  Of course, we never do it exactly by the book.  That would be too boring.

After frying up the bacon the old fashioned way (man, I wish I had a microwave bacon cooker!) I put the bacon on some sandwich thins, spread on the Duke's Mayo (is there really any other kind of mayo???), lettuce, thinly sliced heirloom tomatos, salt and freshly ground pepper and some fresh mozzarella.  Hey! I am Italian by marriage so I don't think there is anything as lovely as adding fresh mozzarella to absoloutely anything I eat!

I believe it was successful...no words of complaint from anyone! And, although it was not exactly low calore, I did only have one sandwich, not two! I did not even sneak very much bacon while I was cooking it (is it possible to actually cook bacon and not sneak at least a little bite???)

Did I mention I love James Bond? We just finished watching "The Spy Who Loved Me"....<sigh> Roger Moore is so sexy.  HA HA HA...I know that was totally random.

New Year's Resolution

I don't usually make resolutions but I decided to this year.  My resolution is to try a new recipe every week from one of my many cookbooks sitting on the shelf by the kitchen.  I am off to a good start as I made two recipes yesterday from my new Patriot's cookbook.  The tomato cabbage and the apple-cranberry casserole turned out okay.  They both need a little modification, but overall I think they are keepers as far as recipes go.

My other resolution I made the week before the new year started.  I was sitting in Don Jose's Mexican restaurant with my sister and her family.  We resolved that 2012 would be the year that we stop drinking soda.  That is pretty big for me as I am a complete soda addict.  I would rather drink flat old soda than drink a fresh glass of water! I know that is bad.  SO....it is now the second day of 2012 and I have NOT had any soda.  I intend to keep it that way.  I need to get healthier.  I think this is a good step in the right direction.

Apple-cranberry casserole....

This is how my apple-cranberry casserole turned out.  It is rather tasty but in looks....hmm...just does not quite cut it.  I left the skin on the apples when I sliced them and put them in the dish.  The Granny Smith apple skin kind of resembles green pepper slices and is not very appetizing looking.  I am not sure what I will do to improve this recipe.  I guess I will have to peel the apples first.  That makes me kind of sad as I really like the nutritional value of leaving the peels on (as well as the ease of not having to peel).  The dish was a little bland.  I think I should have added some cinnamon and nutmeg somewhere in there too!

When I go to the grocery store I guess I will get more apples and cranberry and try again!  At least when I figure out how I should change this. Maybe I needed some vanilla ice cream to go with it?  I am also thinking that maybe the topping was too thick and I should thin it out a little bit.  When I perfect the recipe I will post the new one!! 

From low calorie to WOW

I found a second recipe that I just had to try in this Patriots cookbook.  It is called "Apple-Cranberry Casserole" by Susan Chewning.  It calls for 3 cups of raw apple, sliced, 2 cups of fresh raw cranberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1 cup uncooked oatmeal, 1 1/3 cup of flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans. 

I used 2 granny smith apples, 1 yellow delicious apple and 1 fiji apple.  I left the peel on and sliced them up thin and layered in a 9 x 13 cake pan.  I could not find my measuring cups so I used a coffee cup and put a whole cup of sugar on top of the apples and cranberries.  I melted two sticks of butter and put a (2) coffee cups of brown sugar, oatmeal and flour in a pan.  Let it get all melted and mixed well.  I spread that over the cranberries and apples and threw it in a 350 degree oven.  I will take a picture when it comes out! It is supposed to bake for an hour!!  That should give me time to get together the dinner I was going to make two nights ago!  It will definately be fried okra and fried chicken tonight!  Its not the traditional new year's menu but it works for us!

PS....just in case you are wondering, I did not add any nuts to this recipe as my oldest child has an aversion to the yummy things....if I want her to eat it, I have to always leave out the nuts!!

Low Calorie?

I was working my way through the cookbook I found at the thrift store yesterday (Patriots Delicious Delights) and came across a recipe called "Tomato Cabbage" by Katie Conrad.  The recipe calls for 1 large head of cabbage, 2 cans of tomato, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 1 stick of margarine, salt and pepper.  So I had my ever-anxious to drive teenager run me up to the grocery store for the few items I did not have.

I chunked up the cabbage and then not only did I add 2 cans of diced tomatoes, I also added a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes.  It is on the stove at the moment.  I do not think I am going to add the margarine.  I want to keep it low-calorie.  I added a squirt of ketchup.  I am letting it simmer on the stove right now....I can't decide if I should add more water or not.  I don't want soggy cabbage but I don't really want raw either.  I just put the lid on and I think I will let it steam up and simmer for a while.

It does not look very appetizing at the moment!! Hopefully it will taste better....I think adding an entire stick of margarine would make this a bad choice for low calorie so I am not going to do it.  I will let you know how it tastes!!