Terrific Tuesday!
Good Morning!
Happy Tuesday. I feel well rested today. Back to my normal shift, and slept like a baby last night!
HAHA!
Taking a quick peak at Michigan Primary weather: fairly quiet with a few snow flurries, but temperatures are seasonal…upper 20s, low 30s…so I don’t think the skies should interfere with voter turnout.
In other weather news, watching a system brewing in the Gulf of Mexico which could be a big weather maker for folks along the coast, into the southeast and up into the northeast. I will not be making any kind of snow predictions right now! I’m a little beat up from the last forecast! haha! But I will say we need to watch this action over the next few days, and some areas could get a surprise snowfall!
In the west, winds will be a problem once again for southern California tomorrow and Thursday as High Pressure settles into the Great Basin.
P.S. I got a great response about my domestically challenged cooking skills, and am thinking about getting some of your “easy recipes” to help my kitchen duties. So, think about some of your favorites (two requirements: easy and tasty) and I’ll set up a post later on today for your suggestions!
jd
Good morning Janice.
Well the temperatures will be falling and another round of winter weather may be coming up the coast so I’ve decided to give you a weekend homework assignment. When the weather becomes frightful I always enjoy a good bowl of stew to warm me up.
This is the stew recipe I used at the forest fire lookout tower. I usually use venison for this stew, but beef will do nicely too. Some folks use a tomato puree base and some folks cut down on the meat by filling in with two more potatoes. I don’t, I enjoy a meaty and thick stew, something that I can dunk a think slice of Italian bread in to.
This is a crock pot recipe, but it also comes out well being slowed cooked on a wood stove.
3 lbs. of stew meat (cut to 1” cubes)
¼ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cup beef broth – low sodium
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
4 sliced carrots
2 diced potatoes
1 chopped sweet onion
½ lbs slice mushrooms
½ lbs peas (frozen is ok)
4 sticks of celery – sliced
1. Place meat into pot.
2. Mix flour, pepper and salt in a bowl.
3. Pour over meat and coat.
4. Add broth and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Add rest of ingredients.
6. Cook on low for 8 – 10 hours or on high for 4 – 5 hours.
YUMMY!!
Hello Janice! After spending some time on Housley’s blog, I thought I would pop over here since the weather had been getting interesting.
North Carolina lately has been a roller coaster for weather, but with it getting cold, I enjoy a good chili. Unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe, per se. I essentially change things up from time to time and try to figure out a good combo that works for me.
One thing I do enjoy, though, is a casserole my mother-in-law makes. The best part is, you can use canned chicken and it essentially turns into a “dump and bake” recipe:
1 large or 2 small cans of chicken
2 cans cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 bag of stuffing (not Stove Top)
1-2 cans of mixed veggies or 1 small bag of the frozen kind
Mix everything in a bowl then transfer to a casserole dish. When mixed, everything should be coated with the soup. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until top is browned and crusty. Serve with biscuits. Best fresh out of the oven, but are great as reheated leftovers.
I would also recommend a couple of websites that may give you some good ideas: 101cookbooks.com and simplerecipes.com. I believe there are also numerous websites dedicated to “crock pot” cooking. Best part about those is that you prep it the night before and it will be ready when you get home!
Hey Russell! Thanks for stopping by. I have Housley blog envy! he has tons of visitors to his site. I’ll have to see what his secret is!
At any rate, your recipe sounds delicious!! And yes, looks like more cold weather settling into to your neighborhood this week! Perfect time for casserole! Thank you for the websites too!
Janice,
Good morning…You do look very well rested…I love that creme colored top you have on today..is it cashmere?…and you hair looks very nice too..healthly and shiny..
Weather today on the Cumberland Plateau..sunny..mild..48 degrees..
Rachael Ray has some quick and easy recipes on her website…
Have a nice day.. gotta go.. I gotta date..(with some laundry)..deb in tn…
Thank You Deb! I will let Karen know…(she’s the one that has to deal with my crazy mop every day)…Will you do my laundry too?
LOL at the cartoon, Janice!
Cute, eh? I loved it too!
JD just for you I will give the “farm tips”. I learned a lot about cooking after marrying into a farm family.
First off you need to brine chicken. No one likes a rubber chicken, and the only way to cook a juicy tender chicken is to brine it. You cover any cut or whole chicken with cold water, throw on a tbsp. of salt. Do not stir or anything, just put in frig for about 30 minutes. Cook your normal way, it will be the moistest chicken ever!
Freeze your flour for 24 hours and you will never have bugs in your flour.
Slow long cooking makes meat more tender then high fast heat. Which is BBQ is slow cooked with side heat. So anytime you can use your crock pot, it will be more tender and moist.
Beans don’t need to be soaked, just rinse and pop them in a crock pot with any seasoning.
Okay that should get you started! Glad dinner came out great!
Great stuff Kathy! Love the flour tip…No bugs allowed!