Stroganoff

Tonight I made dinner for the family just my husband and the kids. I wanted to call my dad up and have him come to eat but I know that I was getting off to a late start with cooking. He lives 30 minutes from us now. Not just across the field, like he used to when my husband was in Iraq. He used to come over almost every night for dinner and to snuggle with the kids in the evenings. My parents divorced when I was young (7) and I was always a “daddy’s girl”. I took on the role of caretaker for my dad, not because I had to but because I wanted to. So quite often, I will call him and he will come up for dinner, I think it is his excuse to come see his grandbabies.

I made a homemade stroganoff and candied carrots for dinner. I am not sure I would exactly call it stroganoff but I am not sure what it would be otherwise. To make this I use stew meat, a medium onion, 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms, a few different seasonings, egg noodles, carrots, brown sugar, flour, milk, and smart balance butter. I take the stew meat, ¼ c water ¼ of the onion sliced and the seasonings and cook with cover on low heat for about 30 minutes. I then put in the rest of the sliced onions and mushrooms and cook until almost all of the liquid is gone. I mix flour and milk together to use as the gravy (1 ½ cups milk to 3 tbsp. flour). I turn up the heat just a little and stir constantly until it reaches the consistency I desire. I boil the egg noodles to al dente and put tbsp. butter on them to keep them from sticking together. I quarter about a half a pound of carrots and steam them for about 15-20 minutes (just enough water to cover ½ the carrots). The water will dissipate and I add 1tbsp butter and 2 tbsp. of brown sugar, they are heated until the carrots are glazed. I keep the noodles and meat separated, as my children are fussy eaters. I am able to put things on each of their plates per their liking. I find they eat much better this way.

Cheese Fudge

This week has been extremely busy for me. I have not cooked a dinner since Sunday night when I made the chicken noodle soup. Therefore, I do not have a new recipe attempt to share with you. However, I will share a recipe that has a lot of meaning to me. More so than anything I have ever made or ever will make. Ever since the first Christmas Eve I can remember, we would go to my paternal grandparents’ home for dinner and gifts. My grandmother would send home with every family her special cheese fudge. She has been passed on for five years now, and I have taken on the role of that tradition. It means a lot to me and I know that it makes others in the family smile. I did not like to eat it when I was younger because of its name “cheese” fudge. I have never liked cheese so I guess you could say I “stereotyped” the food because of its name. As many people do just that, quite often I am asked, “What exactly is cheese fudge? It doesn’t even sound good.” I love it and usually anyone who does try it loves it too.

I will start with all the ingredients you will need: 1 pound of Velveeta cheese, 1 pound unsalted butter, 4 pounds powdered sugar, a tablespoon of vanilla, and 1 cup of cocoa. I cut the cheese into cubes to make for easier melting. In a medium saucepan on low heat melt the butter and add the cubes of cheese stirring often. This is a timely process as you continue to melt the cheese until the butter and cheese mix into one another smoothly. If the cheese is stringy or has any chunks, it is not ready. While that is melting, in a large bowl sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together. Once the cheese is ready, add the vanilla, and proceed to pour the cheese mixture over the sugar and cocoa. Mix until everything is smooth and put into a large pan (11x13). Press until distributed evenly and put in the refrigerator to cool. This fudge will be best kept in a covered container in a cool area. It will become very soft if it is left sitting in warm temperatures. I truly hope you enjoy, do not let the name fool you.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday was a great and fun cooking day for me. I made homemade chicken noodle soup. I have to say I even patted myself on the back, for it was delish! I started by putting a whole chicken in a stockpot with half a quart of chicken stock and water to cover almost half the chicken. I let that boil on the stove on low heat for about an hour. I then took the chicken out of the pan and let it set in a bowl to cool. To make the chicken soup less fattening and oily (like it is in the can) I set the stockpot in the refrigerator to cool as well. Once it is cooled, you can skim the hardened fat off the top of the broth. While waiting for everything to cool down, I diced up a pound each of carrots and celery, and just over half of a medium/large onion and set them to the side. When the chicken was cooled, I deboned and pulled the meat off into chunks and put it back into the broth. I added another quart of chicken stock to the base and returned it to a boil. Once boiling I added the carrots and celery. After about 20 minutes, I added the homemade egg noodles and the onions. I let that cook for about another 20-25 minutes until noodles were tender. I prefer my broth to be a little thicker so I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch and a mix of two tablespoons flour and ½-cup milk and let boil a few more minutes.

The meal was amazing; I had my dad and my brother’s family over for dinner. There was not a leftover to be found. I also wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but was ready to sit back and relax with a full belly. So instead, I just made a triple batch of chocolate/peanut butter chip cookie batter and made cookie bars. I sent most of them home with my brother, as I certainly did not need that many cookies in my house. This was a complete success and I am really excited to try more new things.

Chicago Style Chili w/ Homemade Spaghetti Noodles

Tonight I made what is considered Chicago Style Chili. You make a pot of chili and a pot of spaghetti noodles then combine them in your bowl. I have eaten chili this way since I was a child. My dad has always made a great pot of chili; however, I do enjoy mine a little bit more because I can add onions and tomatoes that he will not eat. I feel that the chili taste better on the spaghetti when the chili is a day old. Mainly because the chili thickens up overnight and creates more of a saucy topping. Either way it is a very good meal no matter how you choose to make your chili. The spaghetti I used to make this meal was from the batch that I made last night. It had a wonderful consistency and flavor. The only bad thing was that it was way too thin for my liking. I like the pasta enough that I plan to invest in the spaghetti cutter rather than the angel hair pasta cutter that I currently have. Now I am really looking forward to trying the egg noodles as well.

Homemade Pasta

I started this week with attempting to make homemade pasta. I succeeded in making spaghetti and egg noodles. A few months ago, I purchased a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer and some of the various attachments that came with it. Of those were the pasta roller that flattens the dough, and two different cutters, one for large/egg noodle and the other for angel hair pasta. Therefore, in some ways you could consider me a cheater. I would not necessarily see it that way, as this was quite an in depth project. Although, I will admit I would not have wanted to do all this work with my own hands. I would not have had the time to cut each piece into the spaghetti noodle or had the perfect proportion of each strand. With this being my first time and not understanding the exact process to use the attachments, it was a trial and error in using the mixer to do the work. It was nice to have a dough hook instead of making it by hand. That definitely made creating the pasta dough very quick and easy. Tonight I had my children in the kitchen attempting to help me. My daughter Taylor is three and my son Jaiden is five so they like to help when they can. I enjoy letting them help me even though at times it can be more stressful than not. It is still quality time with them learning bits and pieces with me. I wanted to make spinach noodles tonight, but was not able to get into town for the needed ingredients. One of the reasons I wanted to start making my own pasta is because spaghetti is my favorite meal. The second is when I was younger I would spend a lot of time at my aunt’s house and I would always have a spaghetti dinner. She used spinach spaghetti and turkey burger to make her meal and it was a very delightful dinner. No one at my house would even try it because the noodles are green and more than likely the word spinach scared them away. Now in control of my dinners I have often looked for it in the stores and cannot find it on the shelves. They do have many varieties of noodles, just not the ones that I want. I know my son will freak out if I just cooked it for him, but maybe if he sees me create the noodles I could tell him I am making them green because it is his favorite color. I know that is a bit sly, but we need to eat healthier as a family and this might be one way to start. I used just a basic recipe for this project and semolina flour because it claims to make the noodles have a better taste. More so it is better for you with its high content of proteins and nutrients, that in turn it is more filling when consumed. I guess we will find out later this week when I make a dinner out of my new noodles. I look forward to sharing with you the taste outcome.

Not just a cooking freak :-)

In my early teens, I picked up the nickname Betty Goodwrench. I had the know-how and desire to go out change an alternator, pull the plug in an oil pan, or change a head gasket on a vehicle. Then go inside and cook a dinner or simply bake a pan of homemade cinnamon rolls. Just tonight, I helped my dad pull the side of the engine off to change the timing chain in my husband’s car. While at the same time that I love the life of being the woman of the house, I like to let the inner tomboy out in me and get dirty too. I like to cook a good meal in the evening for the family. I used to make everyone sit at the dinner table and have family dinner together. I feel that is a healthy practice to get into. With college, I have slacked at that quite a bit, because all of my classes have been in the evening and or I would be cramming in homework at the same time. On the nights that I have class I leave the cooking to my husband, Jason. That usually means that it will be a pizza night. I personally do not eat pizza so when they get the chance to have it Jason and the kids (Jaiden and Taylor) jump on it. I know they look forward to those nights of pizza and quality time with dad. This next week I am hoping to get the chance to try out the pasta making and being able to share those experiences with you.

What makes me smile...

I have an extreme joy for cooking since I was quite young. I cooked my first dish of fried venison when I was only 7 years old. I have not left the kitchen since. I grew up as the cook for my family and even today they all look forward to coming to my dads for a family meal. I always watched my grandmother cook and many things I know today are because of watching her. Grandma never measured much she just threw it in and tada it was perfect. I am not that talented though I hope someday my grandchildren will look to me as I did her. I like to attempt to make new dishes or create them myself. I personally do not eat a lot of the main dishes and appetizers that I make because I am a picky eater. The joy I get out of cooking is the fact the someone is enjoying my "creation". However, when it comes to the sweets I do indulge. Every year near the holidays I host a candy making weekend at my home with my sister, nieces, my aunt, and a friend or two. I get everyone started on a task and make my rounds helping and instructing what to do next.We have a wonderful time making holiday candies and attempting new candies each year. Some turn out and well some do not always make it to the candy bags. I bake the cakes for my kid's birthdays and I try to get as creative and yet simple as I can. I am also wanting to become more self sufficient by making my own pastas for my family. I have not yet attempted to do this, but I definitely will here soon. I would like to share my experience in attempting  new dishes or old dishes that deserve to be shared. Please feel free to give helpful hints or personal opinions on how to make something better or even your own way.