Chomping at the bit

A little vacation truly does one good. I can't wait to get back to blogging! I have nearly finished up the project I am working on for my Dad's 80th birthday and then I can breathe a little and get back here.

I also can't wait to get back to auction on Friday nights AND they are starting a new swap meet kind of thing in the next town on Saturday mornings. Maybe I will find some cookbooks there. I'm not sure if there will be produce vendors there or not - that would be fantastic. It's killing me that I have to wait until next weekend (although maybe, just maybe I might get there on Saturday morning this weekend).

So, please hang on. I'm coming back soon.

I'll give you a funny story, my husband 'Oscar'. I made a Deep-Dish Taco Pizza last night and he must have thought he was putting garlic powder on his food but I looked at his plate and his food was covered with dried parsley flakes. Both spice containers look the same. Bah ha ha! Serves him right for always pouring crap over his food.

What I've been cooking

I have one more busy week left before things get back to normal around here. In the meantime, I'd thought I'd tell you which recipes I've found worth repeating recently.

Braised Ginger Pork:



I made a bad pork loin recipe recently that was really tough and flavorless. I wasn't sure if it was the recipe or the loin so to use up more of that same pork loin, I went with this tried and true recipe. I knew it would tender and delicious and it was.

Kielbasi with Beer & Onions:



I wanted a fast recipe that wasn't expensive. Kielbasi was on sale buy one get one free and this recipe only takes about 5 minutes to get in the crockpot. A no-brainer.

Big Game Baked Round Steak:



We have a ton of venison that I tend to forget about since it's in a separate freezer. This is one of my favorite venison recipes.

Deep Dish Taco Pizza:



I made up the meat portion of this pizza on Sunday and then during the week I just need to bake the pizza.

Amish Friendship Chocolate Bread:



I made this twice so far. I recently pulled some out of the freezer and remembered how delicious it was. I was just given more started so I'll have to make it again soon.

Cheeseburger Macaroni:



That's a fall-back recipe I go to often.

Grilled Chicken Marinade:



Grilling season is back but it's so easy to use the Cuisinart Griddler that more often I just use that.

Out-of-This-World Waffles:



I've made these waffles for my husband quite a few times. Sometimes I healthy them up with bran and whole wheat flour but they are best as the recipe is written.

Porcupines:



Everybody loves porcupine meatballs. They are very flavorful for such a simple recipe.

Pizza Dough:



I'm still using this recipe and sometimes I make stromboli with it which my husband LOVES. However, the meat is $$$ so I can only make stromboli about once every month or month and a half.

Stuffing Topped Chicken Bake


This is a simple recipe that's easy to fall back on.

Crock-Pot Pulled Pork:



I've made this twice already (two big batches with leftovers). It's not only great as a sandwich but I took some of the leftovers and added ground chipotle and cheese and made fantastic quesadillas.

Cooking without blogging is no fun

So I haven't been blogging but I do need to get dinner on the table every night. And you know what? It's not fun. I'm sick of cooking. It's just not as fun when I'm not trying new recipes and blogging about it. I can't wait to get through these next couple of busy weeks. I miss blogging!

Drowning (yet again)

Sorry but I just have too much going on right now to blog with any regularity. Things should calm down by the end of the month but right now the blog is going on the backburner.

I need sleep

Applesauce Bars
Best Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Jars Copyright 1979,1981 and 1982

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 c. shortening, softened
1/2 c. water
1 (1 lb., 1 oz.) can applesauce I used jarred applesauce
1 lg. egg
1/2 c. chopped nuts I omitted these
1 c. chopped raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 15x10-inch jelly-roll pan. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Add shortening, water, applesauce and egg, beat with mixer on medium speed for about four minutes. Gently fold in nuts and raisins into batter. Pour into prepared panand bake for 30 minutes. Cool. Frost with Caramel Frosting. Cut into 48 bars.

Caramel Frosting
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar

Combine butter and brown sugar in a saucepan. Boil and stir for 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Cool slightly. Add milk and beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat to spreading consistency. It was a tad lumpy and softer than I thought it would be but still very delicious.

__________________________

Sorry that I've been MIA. I'm tired so very tired. The baby had one great week and then, now, a horrible, horrible week. I'm just cooking what is easiest which is usually something that I've already blogged about or something that I don't have a recipe for. April is a super-busy month for me so it may get even slower around here.

I decided that I wanted to make something besides chocolate. Everybody in my treat circle loves chocolate so I seem to always fall back on that. I saw this recipe and it looked so good. I thought, well whoever likes it, likes it. I can't please everyone all the time.

Turns out everyone loved it. Maybe everyone needed a break from the chocolate. It was so moist and flavorful. Definitely a keeper. I'm excited about finding more non-chocolate recipes.

Here's the little demon who's been keeping me up at night. He's 9 months old today - can you believe it?




Question of the Day: What's your favorite non-chocolate treat?