Hankering

Hankering is a funny sounding word.  Tonight I had a really strong desire for fish tacos.  The craving was strong enough to be called a hankering.


The problem with making fish tacos on the spur of the moment is using the limited ingredients available.  I had one tomato that wasn't mushy and some onion.  I diced that up and added some dried cilantro.  Then some salt,  pepper, and lime juice.  While that marinated I baked a few pieces of cod. 


Do you call romaine lettuce a stalk or head?  Like head of lettuce?


I had romaine lettuce so I washed that up. 


When the fish was done I chunked it and tossed it in with the tomato/onion mixture.  Then the whole kit-and-caboodle was spooned onto a romaine leaf.


Did you hear me yelling NUMMY? 

I wonder if God had fun coming up with the word hankering.  Maybe He was sitting around, stroking his chin as He thought:  what would be a good word for a really strong desire or craving.  Oh, why don't we call it hankering. Ha! ha!

My fish tacos sound bland but they were incredible

May your next hankering be fulfilled in an amazing way like mine was tonight.



Boston Creme Cupcakes

I made these Boston Creme Cupcakes recently.

Start with a yellow cake mix and follow

the directions for cupcakes

 This ice cream scoop is perfect for each cupcake

 Bake according to the directions

 While the cupcakes bake, make two packages

of instant vanilla pudding and refrigerate

 When the cupcakes are cooled, slice them in half.

Place a spoonful of chilled pudding on the

bottom half

 Put the cupcake top on the pudding 

 Drizzle chocolate sauce over the cupcake...

I bet you can't eat just one

Amazingly.....delicious! 

Steak with Garlic Butter and Mushrooms

We haven't had steak in a very long time.  Recently we filled our freezer with a quarter of beef and one of the first meals I made was steak.

Too bad I didn't keep the recipe I used.  There was a lot of minced garlic cooked in a whole lot of butter.  As I cooked the steaks I spooned the buttery goodness over the meat.  Oh, and the sliced mushrooms soaked up the garlicky-goodness as they softened in the butter.

Our meal was complete with slices of American Soft Bread and baby carrots for some crunch.

Plate-licking was allowed... 

 

Barbecue Cups

I'm back blogging.
The days are flying by despite my
working only five hours a day at my job.
Plus...
We are painting and the house is in chaos.
Sheetrock dust is ALL over.
Kidlet Three's hockey team just won district playoffs.
We had out-of-town guests seeking medical care
at the medical center here.
I'm sewing diapers.
Yes, you read that correctly.
I'm sewing diapers but more on that in another post.

Tonight we needed something other than frozen pizza for supper.
It has been a long time since I made Barbecue Cups
but based on the fact Kidlet Three went back for seconds...
these were a hit for our supper.

Preheat over to 425 degrees.
You can use refrigerator biscuits but I
made mine from scratch.
Roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick.
The mouth of this large glass is a
perfect biscuit cutter.
 

Spray or grease a muffin pan.
Place one biscuit in each cup.
 

Brown ground beef and add your favorite barbecue sauce.
Tonight I used Sweet Baby Rays.
Simmer until the sauce thickens.
 

Place a large spoonful of the barbecue
into each biscuit.
 

Add a pinch of shredded cheese to each cup.
Usually I use cheddar cheese but we didn't have any.
Tonight it was shredded mozzarella and it was good.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the biscuits
are golden brown.
We had fresh peas with our meal.

 

A nummy, amazingly-good supper. 

No Leftovers

Last night I made Pork Chop Supreme.
There were no leftovers at this meal.
Pork chops with a sage dressing left
us licking our plates.

Here is the recipe I used:

6-8 pork chops (I used tenderloins)
1/2 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup

Dressing:
4 cup bread cubes
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup melted butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
1 small chopped onion
2 Tbls. parsley flakes
1-2 tsp. poultry seasoning

Brown pork chops and place in roaster.
Make dressing by mixing all
ingredients together.  Spoon dressing
onto pork chops.
Dilute soup with water and pour
over chops and dressing.

Cover and bake in 350 degree oven
for one hour.

Amazingly good!

Breakfast Muffins

Here is an easy breakfast muffin.
I made batch to freeze.
When I go back to work, I can grab a muffin
or two to eat for breakfast.



1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked chopped broccoli
1 1/2 cup Bisquick (I used Heart Healthy)
1/2 cup milk
3 T. oil
1 egg
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, stir together Bisquick, milk, oil
and egg.  Stir in broccoli, ham and cheese
just until well mixed.
 

Spoon mixture evenly into muffin cups.

Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan.
Serve warm.

A So Amazed easy breakfast that is healthy!

Saltines - Gluten Free

Pregnant with no saltines?  Can you imagine such a thing?

My co-workers and I had a total of six kids in about four years.  One of us was always pregnant.  It was easy to figure out who was pregnant by the saltines in the desk drawer.  Seriously!  I remember one day B was looking in D's desk for something and discovered the saltine stash.  Oops!  B showed me the evidence and we both felt a little guilty for the discovery before the big announcement had been made.

Kidlet One has been pretty sick in the early stages of her pregnancy.  She has to eat gluten free and she wasn't finding saltines.  So I went digging on the internet and found a recipe for gluten-free saltines.  In the event you know someone with celiac disease, you could make them saltines with this easy recipe, whether they are pregnant or not.

1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. xanthan gum
6 T. cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cold water
Kosher salt for sprinkling

I purchase the dry ingredients at a local health food store.  The flour is ground and in bins.  Patrons are able to scoop and weigh the amount they want to purchase.  It really is a less-expensive way to purchase these different flours. Here's a tip:  I keep the flours in a tub in my freezer.  When I'm ready to bake gluten-free, I grab the tub!

Whisk together white rice flour, brown rice flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum in a large mixing bowl or food processor.  Whisk or pulse to combine.

Add cold butter and pulse until butter is the size of baby peas.  Add water and pulse until a dough forms.  Dough will be firm.  If dough is dry, add an additional tablespoon of water.

Place dough between two pieces of parchment paper (at least 12 x 16 inches).

Roll dough about 1/16-inch.  Mine was too thick as you can see in some of the photos.

Remove top piece of parchment paper.  Slide dough onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Prick dough all over with a fork.  Using a pizza wheel, cut dough into cracker-size pieces.

Generously sprinkle kosher salt all over the top of the dough.

Bake until crackers are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and allow crackers to cool.  Once cool, break crackers apart, if needed.  Crackers usually break apart while baking.

Mine were more like a shortbread, because I didn't roll them thin enough.

I was surprised that saltines are pretty easy to make.  And they were a salty, crunchy snack for me!

An amazing recipe for our gluten-free friends.

Our Supper...In Pictures