Tag: recipes

Hot Toddies for All

The husband has been making great hot toddies for years from his dad’s recipe, but he’s been trying to make a new version recently. It would help if we had all of the ingredients together all at once… We do tonight! And we have three grandparents here to drink with us, too. That’s our plan- get all the grandparents smashed then send them off to the official Grandparents Day at their grandson’s school tomorrow morning, hungover. “Really early,” says mom-in-law, “don’t leave that part out!” Lol.

Assorted grandparents getting their happy on.
Assorted grandparents getting their happy on.

Hot Toddies-

Per drink, you need
4 oz boiling water
2 oz bourbon
1 Tablespoon of honey
1/4 lemon
1 cinnamon stick

It is important to put the honey in the glass first, then pour the hot water in second… the honey needs to dissolve into the water. Squeeze the lemon into the class, then pour in your booze. Stir with the cinnamon stick.

 

Former Favorite Recipe-

Leave out the cinnamon stick and honey
Use half coke and half water
Nuke for about 45 seconds

 

Broken Dishwasher and Delayed Genius Moment

This may be the only new thing I get around to today, but I had a stroke of genius about dealing with the family’s glassware issues. Wooden clothes pins clipped to the glasses sitting on the counter. I can just hear Wile E. Coyote’s voice in my head whispering “Genius, sheer genius!” Then I think that it is pretty sad how it took me TWO WEEKS to come up with this idea, and Wile E. quiets down. The dishwasher has been out of commission for more than two weeks. I don’t recommend a Samsung. Now, I’m thankful for the family; I’m grateful for the dirty dishes indicating our ability to feed the family; I’m blessed to have both my parents and both in-laws as part of our life… I just wish we could keep track of whose glass belongs to whom! Last weekend saw my parents here, next weekend we have them and the mom-in-law, the following weekend will be the in-laws. Let’s just say we are thirsty people around here (checks the tequila supply and wonders if we need more Cabernets, too)

I think I’m gonna break out the red solo cups…

But, I digress. It is Teacher Appreciation Day tomorrow and I have a couple dozen Cinnabon Knock-Offs to bake- here’s last year’s photo of my table:

Teacher Appreciation Day- The Aftermath...
Teacher Appreciation Day-
The Aftermath…

Want the recipe? I bought the book “Top Secret Recipes” by Todd Wilbur, it is in there, and all over the intertoobz:

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Cinnabon-Cinnamon-Rolls-Copycat-Recipe.html

I think you have to purchase this recipe; it will set you back a whopping 79 cents…

Wile E. says “Now go do something smart!”

Wileecoyote2

New Menu Monday- A Twofer! Bratwurst AND Enchiladas are discussed…

My mom-in-law and her golf buddy made sauerkraut recently and we scored two jars of it. Normally, she shares prepped nopales (cactus), Mexican oregano or tamales that someone in the family has made… sauerkraut is quite a different treat. My dad was excited to get a jar, too, and is looking into the steps to make his own- I predict he will abandon the project when he sees how many steps it takes to ensure well made sauerkraut. Ha.

We made enchiladas one time, and Phyllis let me snap this photo and share her recipe on Pinterest. I honestly don’t care for enchiladas any way or anywhere else now, these are unequalled:

Phyllis showing me how to make the best enchiladas. Click photo or link for recipe...
Phyllis teaching Enchiladas 101. Click photo or link for recipe…

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/18155204717714396/

IMG_5422
Left- our usual Bratwurst and corn on the cob dinner Right- Brats with kraut and potato salad

Grilled Bratwurst Dinner in our home usually will have corn on the cob, a seasonal fruit and some other vegetable… yum! It is simple, but great eats, I tell you. However, I was so glad that I (finally) tried braising the brats in the sauerkraut and beer after grilling them for about ten minutes. The potato salad was fab, too, with its big chunks of Kosher dills and the right amount of a spicy brown mustard put out by Sierra Nevada brewery. You can check out the mustard here:

http://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Nevada-Porter-Spicy-Mustard/dp/B000R1RQCW

Every time I make potato salad it turns out differently- does that happen to anyone else?

Once again, I am sure that my son will be accusing me of trying to kill him by making him try sauerkraut. The fact that his gramma made it will give me some pull, at least. I’m surprised he was able to survive last night’s Cajun Night as it is.

Recipe Swap

While paying at Trader Joe’s, the cashier and I enjoyed swapping recipes made with TJ’s ingredients-

Mine-

Chicken Won Ton Soup

1 qt chicken broth; one beaten egg; 1/2 package TJ’s Chicken Cilantro Won Tons; 1 T soy sauce; 1/2 t sesame oil; sliced green onions. Bring broth to boil, and while stirring, drizzle in the beaten egg. Add the half package of wontons and simmer according to package directions. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil, and top with some sliced green onions.

Hers-

Parmesan Potato Casserole

1 bag frozen parmesan garlic potatoes; 1 jar Alfredo sauce; 1 bag shredded sharp cheddar

Whoops- all she told me were the ingredients so I had to make up the rest of the recipe… I layered the potatoes and the jar of sauce with about one cup of the cheese. That was it! She said don’t worry about having too much sauce, it will look like too much, and it did. It was. I’d add only half the jar, next time but I probably could have used more cheese.

I guessed on the time and temp- 45 min at 350, uncovered for the last 15 minutes, and served them with baked, seasoned chicken pieces and a side of simple, plain broccoli (to soak up the cheese sauce, yeah!).

NOT light on the calories… wow. File this under comfort food! I skipped dessert and will be eating lighter tomorrow for sure. BUT, everyone liked these potatoes, from the teens to the husband!

Anyone else have any sure-fire comfort food combinations that they love? I adore recipe swapping!

New Menu Monday- Carnitas… from Heaven!!

Pulled pork is fabulous in the crock pot; sprinkle a lot of onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper on a pork shoulder butt and 4-8 hours later you have a magnificent meal. With BBQ sauce for the meat, we round it out with a baked sweet potato and maybe green beans. We all love it.

Tonight we are making carnitas with the same cut of pork and swapping out the sweet potato and green beans for a boat load of cilantro, chopped onions, pinto beans and tortillas.

I love me some Pinterest- that’s where I dug around for the carnitas recipe. This is what I found:  http://www.afamilyfeast.com/carnitas/#_a5y_p=1366830

I changed up the recipe only a bit- freshly made mini corn tortillas instead of the suggested flour, and I tossed everything together on the baking sheet- the onions, garlic and I squeezed the citrus juices and 1/3 cup of bacon grease over everything. I only used oregano, salt and pepper, too, and skipped the other spices. I don’t think we missed the one pound of lard to cook the meat in, either… the bacon grease and pork fat from the meat was puh-lenty. But read the original recipe, it looks great as-is.

It was FABULOUS!! Seriously, try the recipe, and if someone really does cook it in the lard, I’d love to know how it turned out.

This was so good, I’m going to serve it to my mother-in-law. Yep. That good.