Really???

Daughters #1 and #2 prefer Raman noodles over my homemade beef stroganoff? Sad, but true. Now these are the girls that prefer asparagus over grilled cheese. At least they liked the fresh strawberry smoothies. It was Hubby-bubs' idea to make banana milkshakes the other night with a smidge of chocolate that got us all excited about what we could try next. We tried strawberry smoothies tonight and they were fantastic...we can't wait to experiment some more with flavors. More stroganoff for me and hubby-bubs, I guess. :)

Leftover Magic

It's Super Bowl week here in Indy and my hubby-bubs is working non-stop. I have to find easy recipes to make ahead of time in order to feed the Daughters and provide Hub-bubs with something to put in his tummy during his long hours at work.

Beef stroganoff is filling and can be made ahead of time in the crock pot. Fortunately, I had some leftover sauteed shiitake mushrooms, onions and red peppers from "make your own pizza night" that I could throw into the mix with 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, a can of beef broth and 1 1/2 lbs of cube steak sliced. It's all ready to go! I'll throw that on the crock pot on low all day and boil up some egg noodles and we'll be ready to eat in no time (plus I'll have extra to pack for Hub-bub's lunch/dinner tomorrow).

Tapioca

While Chicago gets plummeted with snow, just south in Indianapolis we are awaiting this BIG winter event they keep talking about. We'll see if we get anything. In any case, it doesn't matter to me--I had a great week of pie making for various and sundry people. Chicken pot pies, mostly--I made about 6. And one cherry pie.

I've always struggled with certain pies--cherry included--where they end up runny. Tasty, but runny. I was a firm believer that cornstarch was the way to go as a thickening agent (instead of flour). But in my quest for the right consistency, I did a little research and discovered something I never knew: tapioca isn't a KIND of pudding, it is a starch that is used to MAKE pudding. For those of you who already knew this, go ahead and laugh at me.

That led me to try tapioca as my thickening agent for my cherry pie. I did tell the recipient of this particular pie that I had tried something different and I wanted full disclosure on their perception of my new discovery. I'm still waiting for the results--only because the recipients have yet to dive into the pie.

The beauty of this potentially snowy/icy weekend is that I will be able to continue my quest for the perfect pie consistency and test other recipes as well. Nothing warms you up like a warm kitchen!

Christmas in January!

We were so happy to have my mom and her Hubby-bubs in for the weekend to celebrate Christmas. It was a long-awaited affair, as they were supposed to come in Christmas weekend for Daughter #1's birthday celebration Dec 24 and stay for Christmas. Mom got really sick, and our time frame kept changing. It didn't matter that it happened on MLK, Jr. weekend, though. We were just happy to host them--and we even kept up the Christmas tree in their honor. My beautiful hubby-bubs even turned on our mini outside Christmas trees to celebrate.

So, for THIS Christmas dinner we did "make your own pasta." Take your fave pasta and then simply cook up a variety of additions. We offered two sauces--marinara and vodka cream (one of my hubby-bubs' faves--trust me the vodka cooks out). Then I sauteed up mushrooms and onions with some garlic as a choice. Orange and green peppers were also sauteed as another choice. I fried up some italian sausage and then sliced up black olives. Mom's hubby-bubs is a vegetarian and I had some lima beans for him.

We also offered up bruschetta with tomatoes and avocado and Caesar salad. It was all so YUM-O that we didn't even touch the chocolate fondue with fruit and cake for dessert.

Mostly, it was a lovely time with the people we love--and that makes ANY meal fabulous!

Crockpot Potato Soup

OK - we tried it and we like it. Now...Daughter #1 is a bit of an aficionado of potato soup and still contends that Aunt Mary Beth's recipe is the best. This homemade recipe came in a close second. Hubby-bubs and I both liked it and will have more tonight. I recommend adding salt and pepper to individual bowls to satisfy individual tastes. I also like to add a bit of shredded cheddar in my bowl.

This recipe IS super easy, but does take a bit of prep work. Once you are home and your crock pot has been working all day, you will need a couple additional, easy steps and some extra cooking time. Also, this makes a LOT, so feel free to freeze some as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

Avocado Advocate

For most of my life, I had no idea what an avocado was or, for that matter, how delicious one is. I don't remember my first encounter with this delicious fruit, but I believe it was when I was well into my 30s, probably in the form of guacamole. Over time, I've become quite the advocate of the avocado. It's good on burgers, on BLTs (which then makes it a BALT in the Duffy household), with chicken, beans and rice...and so much more.

My biggest challenge was learning how to peel and slice an avocado. My first attempt was without any directions and resulted in a green, mushy mess. Later, I learned from a master--Martha Stewart--via my subscription to her Food Everyday periodical (before her "unfortunate incarceration") It's been a piece of cake since. Here's how to do it:

Proper tools are important here. I prefer a chef's knife to make this happen with ease. With your chef's knife, take your avocado and slice it lengthwise. With two hands, twist the two parts in opposite directions, like opening the top of a pickle jar. You should end up with two halves in the skin, one half will have the pit. Next, lightly whack (such a technical term, isn't it?) your knife into the center of the pit. Twist slightly and the pit should release from the fruit. Mine usually sticks to the knife which I then whack against the garbage can to release. With a large spoon, scoop out the fruit from the skin. Viola! Cut, slice, or mash your avocado as needed.

So, the reason for this topic is because tonight we are having BLTs, not BALTs--we're saving the avocado for guacamole. Daughter #1 requested it with chips as our side. I find it interesting that my children like food that I hated when I was a kid, and hate food that I liked. I didn't know about or like avocado, they do. I loved mac and cheese--they hate it. Asparagus seemed disgusting to me, but they devour it. A grilled cheese sandwich was fabulous to me as a kid. With my daughters...not so much. And another twist to that...I despised tomato soup growing up. They love it.