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Not cooking by the book and a recipe for grilled peaches
I alter recipes right and left. I’m not a careful measurer of certain ingredients. And if I make it a few times, I don’t even bother with digging the recipe out of my box.
In short…. I drive my husband crazy.
When Brad was going to grill steaks at home for Valentine’s Day, he looked up the exact seasoning and temperature to grill at. He did the same thing for pork chops, chicken burgers, brats, corn, etc. I get it. I understand the desire to find the steps for a guaranteed positive outcome. It’s not always the way I work though.
I wanted to grill peaches since a) they’re in season and b) I’ve heard they’re good but never had them. I looked at several recipes to get ideas of how to season them and get specifics on heat/time. In my opinion, grilled peaches are a side and not a dessert so most of the recipes that included sugar, ice cream and honey got nixed. Here’s how we ended up doing the peaches (Brad is the griller… I just help):
Ingredients
- 2 peaches
- Balsamic vinegar
- Fresh pepper Read the rest of this entry
Clean Out the Fridge: Mac and Cheese Cups
When we knew we’d be replacing the fridge Brad and I decided to forgo regular grocery shopping and reduce the amount of food needing shuffled.
We packed frozen leftovers for lunches each day and using up random ingredients. Last weekend we had our friends over for crockpot beef stroganoff and I was able to use up our green beans to accompany the meal (that’s a recipe for another day).
Leftover macaroni and cheese turned into a dinner of bacon, chive mac and cheese cups that used up the last egg and we ate it with salads (emptying out a bottle of dressing). That’s the one I want to share with you. When it comes to clean out the fridge food, and my cooking in general, there isn’t an exact science.
What I used up:
- About 2 cups of leftover macaroni and cheese
- About 1/4 cup of crumbled bacon
- 1 egg
Other ingredients I added:
- Shredded cheese
- Ground pepper
- 2 table spoons of dried chives
What I did:
1. Preheated the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put everything in my mixing bowl and stirred it all up.
3. Sprayed the cups in my muffin pan with olive oil, then filled them with the macaroni mixture.
4. Baked for 20 minutes.
The cups tasted way better than just reheating the pasta, but they stuck like mad so I’ll work on that next time.
Do you have anything that you make with leftovers?
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Meal Ideas
We have some dinners at our place planned with friends so I turned to Twitter asking about the Go-To meals they make when people are coming over. I got some great responses that made me hungry… I thought I’d share the idea gold with you!
- Lasagna. This is a great idea, I’m not a fan of lasagna in general, but I’ve run across some recipes (on Pinterest of course) I think I might like. Brad loves it and it’s a nice cold weather food.
- Burgers on the BBQ. These are a K-fam favorite that we often asked for prior to becoming the owners of Monster Grill. If weather checks out, it’s top of the list along with the beloved cheesy potatoes. (Recommended with a big salad)
- Roast. Easy to prepare in the Crock Pot, no one minds leftovers either. (Also recommended with a big salad)
- Salad, pizza and wings. This was recommended by a local pizza place (that has good food at 2am… I may or may not know for a fact). It’s a great idea for food that accompanies game night or airing a sporting event on the big screen. Bonus: I wouldn’t have to cook!
- Chicken in a red wine sauce with red mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. My mouth watered at that recommendation and that’s all I have to add.
- Anything in the slow cooker. I love my crock pot, I also love being able to do a little prep and have a wonderful meal with little work. Very helpful for company because you don’t get locked in the kitchen making it.
What about you? What are you go-to meals for company?
Or for an average day?
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Twitchy Fingers
There’s something about this time of year that makes my fingers twitch and my brain start dreaming of things to create.
During the summer months this year my creativity waned… potentially because my brain was frazzled with home-buying and moving tasks. But now I’m back to the mindset of “Let’s make something!”
I’m getting inspired in the kitchen and in the “Woman Cave” (PS: My room of the house is currently being called a woman cave because I haven’t named it. I thought about calling it the sewing room, but I do more than sew in it. It needs a name, help?). Brad actually asked me to chill out on baking goodies for awhile! He was overwhelmed by having both muffins and cookies in the house at the same time. Maybe I’ve shaken loose of the cooking rut. Last week we had all sorts of fun dinners like beer cheese soup, baked sweet and sour chicken, crispy Parmesan green beans, crockpot beef and noodles. It’s easier to find motivation to make hot foods in the cooler temperatures. I also got busy with the fall wreath and catching up on my sewing projects. Yesterday I altered of my shirts to make them fit me better. I’ll share some of my projects when I take some pictures.
I find myself browsing Pinterest more during these last few weeks and reorganizing my supplies to make projects easier. I’m already thinking of new things to create for the holidays!
Is anyone else more creative this time of year? What’s on your to-make list?
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