A Kraft-y Pork Chop

Peter Brady ate Pork Chops with Apple sauce. Mark Sabo eats them with Kraft Mac and Cheese.

It amazes me. That after 20 yrs together this man can still crave Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Truth be told he craves Kraft all the time. All his meals would be so much tastier with Kraft. Turkey........Kraft! Steak.........Kraft! Late night snack.........Kraft! But most importantly with Pork Chops.

Now you have to understand, I DISLIKE KRAFT MAC and CHEESE. I refuse to make it. I tried every way I could to separate my husband from this craving. I have made several gourmet cheese sauces over the years. From Fontina, Gouda, Cheddar and stooping as low as trying Velveeta. Nothing will fill his need. It must be Kraft.

So in order to make my husband happy and save my sanity. I will make him pork chops and mac, about every 3-4 months. That's it.

Look in our pantry any other given day and its Kraft free. In fact I get a good giggle when I quietly purchase the Kraft and then skillfully put it in the pantry. Only to then smile when my husband looking for a snack will stumble on the box. Releasing a shout of glee. Then a statement of anticipation, knowing he'll get his favorite meal pretty soon.

I love my husband and so Kraft-y concessions must be made. I do however stand firm in my refusal of Hamburger Helper. A woman's gotta draw the line somewhere!

Mark's Favorite Pork Chops (I'm pretty sure you can figure out the Mac and Cheese!):

Ingredients
5 Bone in Pork Chops
2-3 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon  Vegetable Oil
Salt Pepper

Heat frying pan with Butter and Oil on med high heat. Salt and Pepper both sides of the chops. Fry them, turning them consistently from side to side. Remove from the pan a pit before doneness is reached. They will continue to cook on the serving dish.

                                         

A Jeff by any other name......

Some people collect Nick Knacks. I collect Jeff's. I can't seem to recall a time in my life when there hasn't been a Jeff present. There was Jeff the childhood mate and I might also add a mean Kootie Kootie Ahhh player. Then came Jeff the teen infatuation. Who had the looks of a man and the charm of a snake. During my married years, I have cherished the friendship of Jeff the kindred spirit. I like Jeff's. I am still friends with all my Jeff's. It seems to me every landmark in my life has come with a Jeff. Now is no different.

I recently went through a major life change. After a mild stroke it was decided I needed to lose some weight. So I did. I am almost 40 lbs lighter and happily healthier. During my weight loss I met a new Jeff, a different kind of Jeff. This is a G Geoff.

One night while out to dinner with My husband and friends, I realized the conversation got a bit confusing while talking to both my kindred spirit Jeff and my new friend G Geoff. So I decided to call him the G man. Depending on my mood and my alcohol consumption, occasionally I call him Grand Master G. But the G man seems to do the trick most of the time.

I really like this Geoff. He's funny, intelligent, handsome and a great cook. The G man and I share a mutual passion for all things caloric. Food just seems to magically appear where ever we are. Most of the time I'm ok with this. I coming up on a year of weight loss and haven't gained any weight back, so bring on the food. However, the G man also goes by another name. A cursed name. A name my perceptive daughter gave him.

You see my friend the G man works for a major industrial baking company. Giving my daughter the idea to call him the Doughnut Man. The Doughnut Man is not my Geoff. The Doughnut Man is a scary creature. A doomed soul. Forced to work his trade by the dark of the night. Delivering tasty lard filled, sugar coated and Satan created treats to the mass population. My home is not immune to this evil.

There is a specific pastry that the Doughnut Man brings me. I can't say no. My mouth starts to water just from the sight. My arm involuntarily reaches as my hands grip the the cellophane wrapper and pull. Opening the package to release the demon inside. I  must take a bite. I am forced to chew and swallow the flaky buttery mound of  sweet iced goodness. If I could only stop at one. No I mustn't. Too late. Another package litters the floor as my eyes glaze over from the high my body receives. Ahhh the Svenhard Danish. How I love thee. But the Doughnut Man.........CURSE YOU DOUGHNUT MAN! CURSE YOU!

Svenhard's Danish

The Doughnut Man and The Devils Handmaiden!

I have OCFD!!!!!

Hello, my name is Kandida and I have OCFD.

What is OCFD, you ask. Obsessive Compulsive Food Disorder. I can't seem to shake it. I go through these spastic episodes where I crave a specific food. I have to have it, I want it and I need it! It's not the same food all the time. Usually an episode comes on when I have sampling of something delicious and the euphoria of its flavor just stays with me. I can't hide from it. I seek its goodness at all meals, at all times! Then just as quickly as it came, the heavenly craving evaporates. Usually not before replacing itself with yet another flavor to longingly seek.

My current OCFD is Hot Cocoa with Orange zest infused Whipping Cream. I know....your right....and yes....it is to die for!!!!

I came upon this tasty gem whiles spending Labor day at the beach with our friends Geoff and Mari. I had made a Strawberry Rhubarb cake for dessert and we topped it off with this Orange Whip Cream. As the evening wained darker the snack monster started to hit.

What better to cozy up on a cold beach front evening than a cup of Hot Cocoa. As I made my cocoa there before my eyes, just staring at me on the kitchen counter, was the left over orange whip cream. How could I not. I took a big spoonful and filled my mouth with its sweat rich goodness. Then it hit me. Orange and Chocolate are made for each other. I mean haven't you seen those chocolate orange shaped things during the holidays. You know the one you slam on the table to get the slices to break free.....I digress. I had to try it. I plopped a HUGE mound of cream in my steaming beverage and carried it into the sitting area. As I began to take my first heady sip, I noticed the cream was melting into my drink. Turning my cheap powdered cocoa in to a rich velvety pool of desire. Then POW the silken liquid hit my taste buds and I was hooked. I can't get enough. I am weekly making orange whip cream and hot cocoa. I have tried to stop. I have made coffee....too dull. I tried tea....too flat. Nothing seems to take away this uncontrollable need for cocoa and orange cream. I can't think of the calories I'm consuming. I don't want to know. All I can do is pray that my next case of OCFD is for Iceburg Lettuce.

Orange Whip Cream

Ingredients:
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
2 teaspoons  fine Orange zest
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Combine ingredients into a chilled bowl and whip till soft peaks form. Plop onto your favorite hot cocoa and enjoy! That's it......although I highly recommend letting the flavors meld for an hour or even over night. Then the orange really comes through.

Hold the Mayo please......

Last night our friends the Agard's came over for dinner. We didn't have a fancy feast or a sweat worthy cook off. We had sandwiches.

Mr. Agard in his circle is known as a bit of a sandwich king. Leading me to be very excited to see what kind of tasty toasted tid bit I would get to devour. I think there is something magical about a sandwich. The texture of the bread, the perfect meat to cheese ratio. Not to mention the pile ons. You know veggies, sauces, and hand picked yummy's. The combinations are endless and the the flavor factor can be off the charts.

Tonight was definitely an off the chart night. I stood in awe and wonder as Mr. Agard worked his magic fingers. He started of by toasting a loaf of Poor Boy bread. Then applied a "thin" layer of mayo. This thin layer was of concern to me. I HATE MAYONNAISE! However he is the sandwich king and I his humble subject. So mayo it is. He continued the spreads with fresh roasted garlic, Dijon mustard and herbed goat cheese,  Just the site of this spread concoction had me drooling. As I continued to watch and wipe my mouth. He then proceeded with Salami, Pepperoni and Provolone. Adding to it the following  accoutrement's: Red onion, Tomato, Basil, Cucumber, Roasted Red Peppers, and Avocado. Finishing off our tower of delight with Balsamic vinegar, Salt and Pepper.

With my first bite I was hooked, I didn't taste mayo at all. Instead I tasted a mouthful of kingly goodness.  Unbelievably Delicious!!!!

Here is some pics of Mr. Agard at work!

Et tu, Brute?

Linda and Zoey

I have this friend Linda, Lovely Linda is what I call her.

Linda has the face of an angel and a gentle heart to go with it. Linda for as long as I've know her strives to live a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes she succeeds, sometimes she falls short. But she never gives up on her ultimate goal of eating as fresh as she can. I envy her sometimes. She is blonde, taller than 5' 4" and her face radiates when she smiles.......Not to mention she runs the frickin' Hood to Coast!!!!

I am a talker and a bit of a nerd. I kind of stumble my way through social gatherings. Feeling either at odds with myself or with my environment. I ramble on and on. Even when there is no one to hear me. Linda is quiet, she doesn't need to be heard unless its pertinent.

I really like hanging out with Linda. She is cool and calm. She always sees things in a logical way and takes things one step at a time. I get a kick from watching her process, then slowly add a one liner or punchline. I love the way she giggles at her own clever wit, then falls back into her pensive state. Listening and watching.

Linda and I have very few things in common. But we share a combined love of reading and food. I really enjoy when I visit Linda's home. I always feel welcome and I leave with a bag of books and a belly full of eats. During one such visit to my friend. Linda had a theme party. Where everything was Italian restaurant related. We had Baked Ziti, Garlic bread, LOTS of Red Wine and Caesar Salad.

As I mentioned before Linda likes to eat fresh. So it was no shock to me that she made her own Caesar's salad dressing. (Again....Blonde and the Frickin' Hood to Coast!) It was however a shock when I ate it. It was delicious and it was so simple to make. Again I was mildly jealous of my friend. Why hadn't I made this? Why wasn't this my recipe to show off? Linda, being ever gracious and kind shared the recipe with me. So now I can claim the credit. I can feel amazing. And I can wow my friends. So in the spirit of Lovely Linda I pass along the favor and flavor. Caesar salad: exactly as Linda gave it to me, enjoy.

Chef Ramseyer’s Caesar Salad (from Ray’s Boathouse)

Dressing:

7 anchovy fillets (I like my salad strong and usually use the whole can)

2 large egg yolks (I use egg beaters)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp chopped garlic (I use to my own taste- much more)

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (I use a little more)

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup olive oil

Kosher salt

Complete Salad with extra dressing

I usually blend the garlic and then add everything in the dressing recipe EXCEPT the olive oil.  I blend it for a minute and then lift the lid of the blender while it is running and slowly add the olive oil ***If you add the olive oil too quickly or don’t blend it the texture of the dressing is ICKY!!!  I also make it in advance and put it in the fridge for at least an hour, taking it out about 10 minutes before serving it.

Salad:

Romaine lettuce, parmesan cheese and croutons

Lazy Mom's Enchilada's

My husband is gone tonight playing a softball game. It would be so easy to just skip making dinner and have the kids make Top Ramen.

Instead I made a enchilada casserole. I used to make enchiladas the traditional way. Cook a whole chicken. Pick it. Simmer home made sauce. Sauce a tortilla. Fill a tortilla. Roll a tortilla. It took hours. Somewhere along the line, I decided this was way too much work. So my style enchilada casserole was born.

The great thing about easy to put together meals is the kids can help every step of the way. My daughter Savanna was my helper tonight. She picked and shredded the deli bought rotisserie chicken. She squeezed the limes for the salad and made the salsa. All while I chopped: onion, avocado and tomato.

When the casserole came out of the oven, my son came bounding down stairs professing "Something smells great". He showed his approval when he took a 3 inch square portion of casserole. He also ate every last bit of the salad and then he licked the dish clean.
It may be an easy lazy mom meal, but it tasted great and I got to enjoy an evening with my kids.

Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:
A dozen or more corn tortillas
1 19 oz can Enchilada sauce
1 12 oz can Enchilada sauce
1 packet Taco seasoning
1 bag Mexican cheese blend
1 Deli Rotisserie Chicken

Preheat oven at 350

Pick and shred meat of the chicken with fingers. Mix shredded chicken, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and Taco seasoning in a large bowl. Add additional garlic, cilantro and cumin if you like.



Ingredients

In a 9x9 baker pour some sauce in the bottom of the pan, layer 4 corn shells, top with a spoon full of sauce on each shell and spread around. Cover with a layer of chicken mixture and top with cheese. Continue layering until all the meat is gone. Top off with a layer of tortillas, the rest of the sauce and cheese to cover. Bake till melted and bubbling.

Savanna eating the skin



Enchilada Casserole and Onion, Avocado, Tomato Salad



Finger Steaks

Ever wake up to "One of those days"? You know the ones. When you roll over look outside and its cold and dank. And you really feel the best course of action to survive the rest of your life is to simply turn back over, cover your head and go straight back to sleep. I'm feeling that way. This is only my second blog post but reality is already setting in. I can't stop thinking, OMG what have I done? I'm not a writer and now everyone knows. I woke up feeling anxiety over the Internet. How crazy is that.? I need serenity, calm, comfort.......I need Finger Steaks.

We all seem to have our favorite meals from childhood, one of mine is Finger Steaks. Its not fancy, it doesn't need $20.00 lb meat. Growing up there were times when money was tight and Mama would use the heart of a cow to make the Finger Steaks. I mean, seriously! Any recipe that can take an animal organ and make it palatable gets a thumbs up in my book.

Just recently I was under the weather and my girlfriend Sunshine asked me what she could make my family for dinner. There was no question in my mind, Finger Steaks. There was simply no doubt that if Sunshine made me Finger Steaks I would magically feel better.

Nothing said cozy loving family more than Finger Steaks. They were a tag team effort to prepare. I always got to help Mama make them. From slicing the meat, mixing the flour, to shaking the bag. It was a hands on comfort. Maybe that's why to this day I still love them. They make me happy, they make me feel loved. They just simply remind me of home.

 So for today, its cold, its wet outside, and I feel insecure. Finger Steaks here I come!

Recipe for Finger Steaks:

1-2 pounds Round Steak
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground or cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
Vegetable oil (enough to fill the bottom of the pan)

preparation:

Slice the round steak in 1/4-1/2 inch strips running against the grain. Combine flour, garlic, pepper and salt in a plastic or paper bag. Cover the bottom of a heavy duty frying pan or skillet  with oil and heat on med high till hot.

place strips in flour mixture bag and shake till well coated. Remove floured meat and fry on each side till done appropriately 1 min per side. Drain on paper towels or rack.

I highly suggest using the dripping in the pan to make your favorite style of gravy....yumm yumm.

Operation Hummus

I recently visited my friend Michelle. Michelle is a funny and witty writer who has a blog "My Kite Dream". She also must be a pretty smooth talker because I left her home also having a blog of my own. What the heck am I gonna do with a blog, I asked. You like to cook so write about food, she said. This is easy for her to say but I am in no way a writer. I am however a lover of food, friends and family. I love to comb through recipe books and find new things to make. I enjoy inviting my friends and family over for meals. If there is a holiday to be had, then I am cooking for a crew. I don't think of myself as a creative cook. Most of what I make and you'll see in this blog will be previously published recipes. I just seem to like the process. I like getting lost in my thoughts as I run through the cooking motions. I get a feeling of accomplishment when the food is served and is enjoyed by all and I hope to share a little bit of this joy with you, my readers and friends.

 Operation Hummus:

I was feeling very welcome in my friend’s home and wanted to contribute in some small way. So I offered to make some hummus as a snack.

Off to the local Safeway we went and the ingredients were purchased.

Once back at the house it was noticed that both the pita and flat bread we bought was moldy, but garlic takes awhile to be roasted, giving us the time needed to return the bread to the store. After the garlic was put in the oven we ran to Safeway for a second time to replace the defiled bread.

Again back home and the garlic now cooked, operation hummus was under way. I put the ingredients in the blender: beans, lemon, oil, Tahini, salt and garlic.

This last ingredient garlic is a tricky thing, I admittedly have a garlic addiction and it can usually be smelled a mile away. Today was no different. After adding a whole head of roasted garlic, I decided put in a little more raw garlic. (If you’re familiar with using garlic, then you will know that roasted garlic is very sweet and mild and a whole head is really not a flavor problem. However adding raw garlic is a completely different monster. The flavor is powerful, spicy and in this case was way over the top.)

Personally I like garlic, so what’s the problem with a little extra in the hummus? I was not quite aware how offensive this thought process was until Michelle's children excitedly started to taste. Autumn politely informed me it was just a bit too spicy and that she likes the taste she had gotten before I put the garlic in. Beau, not privy to a previous taste comparison took his first big bite standing behind me and was caught shaking his head vigorously no, when asked if he liked it. When I turned in time to see this response he gently said it was a little strong.

However the most passionate reaction by far came from Michelle's youngest son Chase, a picky eater to begin with we knew it would be a hard sell. Chase eagerly took a big spoonful, swallowed a bit and stopped dead. The look on his face was pure panic! He said not a word but quickly started squirming in distaste and as fast as a jack rabbit hopped out from the kitchen to the back yard. Michelle and I jockeyed for position at the window to view Chase's escape into the back yard. There before our eyes he exhaustedly leaned on a tree and spit the hummus out. Not only did he spit the hummus out but the poor child started to convulse and spasm as he purged the undesirable mater from his body. I looked at Michelle and said, I'm guessing he didn't like it.

Not to take defeat easily, it was suggested that we fix the garlic pungency by adding more of the primary ingredients. So back to the store we went for a third time. More beans were purchased, the blender was re-sullied and the hummus was now declared by ALL, (including our gagging youngster) to be of fine form and snackage. Hooray!

Here is the recipe for Hummus (with a socially acceptable amount of garlic):

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, roasted or crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:
Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).