Month: November 2011
sunday night dinner: november 13, 2011 — chicken noodle soup
i haven’t had chicken noodle soup in oh probably about 5 years. why? dad went through a phase when i was around 14, where he made chicken noodle soup about every other weekend. the constant smell of chicken broth went from the smells of yum to nauseousness, not to mention i was also a vegetarian at the time. needless to say it has taken a VERY long time for chicken noodle soup to sound good again. so this weekend when i got a sudden feeling for the stuff i knew i had to run with that urge and make it!
lets cook
chicken noodle soup, i discovered while researching recipes, is shockingly lacking in vegetables! just carrots and celery. while i do like celery, i don’t really count it as a vegetable or as food really just sort of a flavorful alternative to drinking water. thus began the tweaking of recipes. my soup may of found some lima beans added to it and a little something else to give it a kick.
yet again i made way to much
that little something extra
for my first batch of chicken noodle soup ever, i must say, i do declare it a success. the banana crumb muffins of course helped make the meal extra splendid. i love baking those because the muffins have a butter/brown sugar crumb on top and when they are baking they make the whole house smell like melted sweet butter……mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
sunday night dinner: november 6, 2011 — pumpkin ale ribs
my freezer space is limited. you have no idea how much i day dream about one day having a deep freeze. so to be able to add more things to the freezer something had to come up. that items some pork ribs. looking at what else i could use up i saw i had potatoes and carrots….perfect i’ll make my ale ribs. now i tweaked the recipe just a little because i had no stout beer on hand but i still had some pumpkin. taking a risk i used it. the pumpkin could have made it fantastic or completely ruined it. luckily it was the first. deliciousness in my belly!
nnoommm
RECIPE
WHAT YOU NEED
2 1/2 to 3 lb bone-in pork country-style ribs
1 12oz bottle of dark ale or stout
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp shredded lemon peel
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 small read potatoes
12 oz peeled baby carrots
1/4 cup water
Tbsp cornstarch
1. marinate pork in the ale, garlic, lemon peel, rosemary, salt and pepper in a plastic bag for 4 hours to over night.
2. place potatoes and carrots in the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker. place ribs on top of potatoes and carrots, pour ale mixture on top. cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 4-4 1/2.
3. remove meat and vegetables. if you like create a gravy with 2 cups of the ale mixture and the cornstarch.
sunday night dinner: october 30, 2011— chicken and stuffing, pumpkin beer, and arsenic
halloween is my favorite holiday so i got super excited about making a fall meal. on sunday the whether was wonderful and fallish and i got to do one my favorite things….cook all day. i once again busted out my crockpot, which i swear i’m on the verge of writing a love haiku poem too. this meal is an excellent fall dish. in the crock you got chicken, cream of mushroom soup, and a box of cornbread stuffing, topped with peas. its sort of creates a meal that starts off feeling like leftovers, how everything begins all mushed up together.
oh how i love you so
to go along with it i made up some rosemary biscuits. biscuits are one of the easiest things to bake and you can transform them into such a variety of flavors by just adding a teaspoon of your favorite herbs. i like rosemary but oregano, parsley, thyme, and many others work just as well too.
give me them biscuits!
when making a batch of leftovers in a pot you got to have mashed potatoes. do you know the difference between dirty tators and mashed potatoes? there is a big one and i personal prefer dirty tators. dirty tators are when you leave the skins on the potatoes, leaving them extra chunky and colorful when they get mashed. and since it is october i celebrated with an o’fallon pumpkin beer in a frosted mug.
i got so excited for a real fall meal, i ate WAY too much
to make this even more perfect i watched my favorite halloween movie of all time, arsenic and old lace. cary grant discovers that his 2 elderly aunts have been poisoning old lonely men they lure into their home with a room for rent advertisement, they think they are providing charity by putting them out of their misery. the family is all batty including a serial killer brother and another brother that thinks he is teddy roosevelt. minus the killing of elderly men i could see steph and i becoming just like the brewster sisters.
Eating like a hobbit- the tale of two Sunday night dinners
If you don’t know, I pretty much eat like a hobbit.
Every fall I want to watch Fellowship of the Rings. It’s my favorite Lord of the Rings and I love all the autumn imagery, so it just seems fitting to watch it when the leaves are turning outside.
John and I spent two Sunday nights watching the extended edition of Fellowship and eating dinner. Here is what we had for supper…
Dinner: Disc 1 Vegan Jambalaya with Spicy Chorizo Sausage.
We made seitin to add to the jambalaya instead of beef.
Sauteeing the peppers, onions and spices.
Tomatoes, rice, and broth and we are in bubbly business.
Spicy Sausages!
Homemade potato chips are good for a side, right?
It's always good to have something green when everything else is red.
It's ready! And vegan believe or not!
TV dinner!
And for dessert I had a giant sugar cookie...
John finished off the dirt pie in true Gollum fashion.
Disc Two (or Secondises): Drunken Cheesy Bread, salad and pudding.
I had to have mead in my Renfair pottery mug for the continued viewing. Yes, I am a total geek.
I'm on this crazy pudding kick these days. Whipping up homemade vanilla pudding in the double broiler while dinner is baking!
Walnut salad
Drunken Cheesy Bread. This is probably my favorite dish right now. I"ve made it for years. Apples, melted cheese and wine all baked in chunks of bread and onion with a little veggie sausage. Any hobbit would love it!
Homemade pudding with pie crust cookies for dessert!
Hearty Eaters 