Ropa Veija

Saturday tends to be a busy day around our house. The grandkids and my parents usually come visit. Dinner is often times not thought about till late in the day when I'm tired but NOT last weekend. I was on top of things. I managed to fix Chicken Tettrazini for lunch for the masses at my house and I also filled the crockpot with some dinner fix'ns for Billy Head and I. Of course when I said it was a new recipe, Billy Head automatically turned up his nose. SNOB! But to his antics.... I say HA! It turned out to be really good. Give it a try.

Ropa Veija

• 3 pounds chuck roast- ( I used a package of stew meat)
  
• 1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped (red or yellow onion)
• 1 cup chopped celery (or more)
• 2 medium green peppers, chopped
• 2 medium red peppers, chopped ( I didn't have any of these so I didn't put them in)
• 1 package sliced mushrooms (this was my addition, recipe didn't call for it.)
  
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (15 oz)
• 1 small can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 2 bay leaves ( I only used 1)
  
• 2 Tbsp chili powder ( I only used 1 Tbsp)
  
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 boullion cubes ( I only used 1)
  
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

1) Salt and pepper the meat, and brown it (** I skipped this step)

2) Layer onion and celery on bottom of crock pot (slow cooker).

3) Put meat on top.

4) Drain the tomatoes and save juice. Layer tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms over the meat, along with the bay leaves.

5) Mix the rest of the ingredients together (including the reserved tomato liquid) and pour over the rest of the food. ( ** I thought the the mixture looked rather thick so I added about 1/2 cup water. )

Cook 2 to 3 hours on high, or 5 to 7 hours on low.

I served it over penne pasta or it would be good over rice or shred the meat and fill a tortilla with the mixture.

Stew Season

The best part of our little hometown is the Brunswick Stew sold at the annual RailRoad Festival. Every year my sister and I make a hurried trip downtown to the vendors selling the "Golden" stuff. We usually wind up buying at least 4 to 5 quarts. After hearing my little grandson ask... "what's in this stuff that makes it so yummy, I knew I had to learn how to make it.

So here we go.... Yummy style Brunswick Stew

Place a small pork roast in the crockpot. Cover with water, add a small sliced onion and about 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce. Cook on high for about 4 hours. Remove meat and shred.

Boil a whole chicken till tender. Add enough water to cover it. Remove the chicken and shred the meat. Leave water in pan. (You may need to add a little more if it evaporates while cooking). Add 1 chopped onion, 3 medium potatoes, diced, and 1/4 cup diced celery. Cook till veggies are tender. Add 1 bag of frozen white corn (I used Private Selection brand from Kroger), 1 cup baby lima beans. Cook for about 10 to 15 min. Add the shredded chicken and pork and two cans diced tomatoes.

Recipe called for a whole bottle of ketchup but I only added about 1/2 cup. I added tomato juice. I just kept adding it and letting it cook down till it got the consistency I wanted. I also added about 4 to 5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, about 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce, 2 to 3 drops Liquid Smoke. I also added a pinch of sugar, some salt, pepper, Texas Pete and cayenne pepper to taste. That's about it. You really just have to play around with the spices and tomato juice to get it the way you like it. But according to my daughter and her kids.... It was YUMMY!

Move over Rachel Ray

Last night when I got home from work and took on that nightly question of what's for dinner, I opened the fridge to find smoked sausage calling my name. Now please understand this is NOT my meat of choice and I only buy it to satisfy Billy Head's craving for meat. Okay, now what? What to do with smoked sausage. And grilling was out of the question since it was cold out and I didn't feel like braving the elements. This is where the "Move over Rachel Ray" part comes in.... I grabbed that hunk of sausage, some potatoes, onions and whatever else jumped out at me and I began... my own RECIPE. Yeah, I don't have many original recipes in my arsenal but I guess you have to start somewhere, right?

1 package smoked sausage, cut into bite size pieces
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 package grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash or grill seasoning
1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sausage and veggies into a baking dish. Sprinkle with seasonings. Drizzle with olive oil (enough to coat veggies). Cook at 400 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add a splash of Balsamic vinegar and return to oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.

I wound up broiling the dish for a few minutes to get the sausage crispy. Billy Head likes his meat crispy or sometimes burnt. No problem for me. I like to burn things. He commented that this was very good. Next time I may add some cabbage wedges to the mix.

Halloween Crafts with Nana

I must be getting old.....cause for some strange reason this year I am actually looking forward to Halloween. I even decided to do Halloween crafts with the grandkids. Just so happened that Saturday Greta was not feeling well so I had the kids with me most of the day. To keep them entertained we made ghosts.


See!
Carson wanted hers to have eyelashes.....I guess those are the Girly Girl Ghosts.



And I don't know what Hunter's were.... He just wanted to mark on my place mats.

And this little gobblin, well he just wanted to eat the lollipops. What a sticky mess!!!

With the remaining lollipops we were able to make these.....

Halloween Ghosts

These are super easy to make.

Blow Pop lollipops ( or the big Tootsie Roll Pops)

1 box of tissues (2 for each ghost)

Black, orange and white curling ribbon

A black marker

Take 2 tissues and cover the lollipop, tie the curling ribbon around the neck part of the ghost. Draw a face on the ghost. I purchased some witches pots at Factory Card Outlet and put some green floral foam in the bottom. Then I placed the stick of the ghost into it and filled around the ghosts with some shiney package stuff from the dollar store.

Chicken and Spinach Enchiladas

I was rushing out of the house this morning and I decided to grab a stack of recipes I had laying on the desk. In that stack was this.... and I think it will make it to my "can't wait to try" list for this weekend.

12 chicken breast halves, skinned
1 teaspoon salt
2 (10 oz) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 cup diced onion
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
3 (4 oz) cans diced green chilies, drained
3 (8 oz) cartons sour cream
3 cups (12 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
16 flour tortillas

Place chicken in a Dutch oven; add salt and water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken and let it cool slightly, Bone chicken; dice and set aside.

Cook spinach according to directions; drain well, and reserve 1 cup spinach broth. Set aside.

Saute onion in butter in Dutch oven until tender. Stir in spinach and chicken, set aside.

Combine soup, reserved spinach broth, milk, green chilies, sour cream and half of the cheese in a bowl; mix well. Stir half of the sauce mixture into chicken mixture. Reserve remaining sauce.

Spoon chicken mixture evenly down center of each tortilla; roll up tortillas and place seam side down into 2 lightly greased 13x9x2 inch baking dishes. Spoon remaining sauce over tortillas. Bake uncovered at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, bake an additional 5 minutes.

The Finished Kitchen

Whew.... it's finally done. Well as done as it's gonna get for now. I still have to paint the ceiling. I know, I should've painted that first but I sort of have a reputation for doing things a little backwards. Just ask Billy Head. I'm sure he would be glad to fill you in on my defects.

Moving right along, this is the view which shows the new open wall plus the new position of the refrigerator. We pushed it back about 18 inches and moved the wall into the living room that much too.
This is the new living room. Almost complete. Still need to get some art work for the walls. And I need to take a picture of the new ceiling fan that Billy Head and his friend finally installed.

This is the view of the eating area. We installed new windows, floors, light fixtures, granite counters, new cabinet hardware and painted the walls and cabinets.

Oh, I forgot to mention we did a new backsplash...but maybe that's a good thing. Long story but I'll say this..... I'm NOT a Happy Camper!!! Maybe one day when my boat comes in, I'll get it redone. But for now it will have to do. I try not to look at it when I'm cooking, that way the rest of the remodel makes me smile.


All ready for dinner.... anybody want to join me? And please bring take out.... I don't want to mess up this clean kitchen.

Meatballs

I must admit, I admire people who take their blogs seriously and post something everyday. I wish I had that in me... but it seems I have commitment issues. Did I just say that.... that sounds more like something Billy Head should say. I won't go there today....instead I'll stick to the subject at hand...MEATBALLS and a new recipe. I can't remember the last time I made or ate meatballs. In fact, I don't recall ever making meatballs so I guess that's why I'm excited to post this recipe.

A co-worker loaned me a cookbook a few weeks back and this is one that jumped out at me.

Oven Porcupines

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked regular rice
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup A-1 steak sauce
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix meat, rice and water, A-1 sauce, onion, salts, garlic powder and pepper. Shape mixture by rounded tablespoons into balls. Place meatballs in an ungreased baking dish 8x8x2 inches. Stir together remaining ingredients, pour over meatballs. Cover with foil, bake 45 minutes. Uncover, bake 15 minutes longer.

You could also add some grated cheddar cheese to the meat mixture if you wish. These are good served with mashed potatoes.

P.S. Billy Head declared this a keeper.

Turning Six

Carson Elizabeth Williams is my first-born grandbaby. She arrived in September 2003 and she is my NINE baby. Her actual birthday is 9/9 and this year she added a nine.... 9/9/09 and to top it off..... she was born at 9:09. She knew her Nana needed all the help she could get.... cause as Billy Head is quick to point out..... my rememberer is BROKE!

That's okay though.... I have it all under control. At least for now.

The following are pictures from her little party. And make sure you see the cute little guy named J.T..... that's her BOYFRIEND.

Papa Grey enjoying some birthday cake!

Baby brother Caden enjoying some cake (or should I say wearing some cake)

J.T. is the one in the red shirt with the white hat on.

Carson opening her present from Nana which she just knew was a movie. But little girls don't know it all.... they just think they do. Seems it was a Wii game instead.

Mom and Caden laughing at the birthday girl.

Nanny Grey, the birthday girl and me.

The boys.... J.T., Campbell and Hunter.

Carson waiting to blow out the candle.

Caden...... being Caden.

A very hungry Hunter. The first time he had BBQ. He must've liked it cause he asked his mom could he have another one of those things he ate at the party for dinner.

Caden and pepsi..... not a good combination.

Neighbors Laurie and Grayson

Getting things ready for the party.

Chicken Pockets

A couple of weeks ago a co-worker shared with me a Church Cookbook from her sister's church in Idaho. In it was this recipe for Chicken Pockets. I copied it down and put it aside with my kazillion others I have at home. This past weekend I was in dire need of something new for dinner and decided to give these a try.... of course I had to play around with it and as it turned out... they were pretty darn good.

3 to 4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded
4 oz. Cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. chopped onion (Or grate it if you wish)
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 cans Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
¼ cup butter, melted

Soften cream cheese in a medium bowl, combine with cooked chicken, onion, cheese and seasoning. Open cans of crescents, pinch perforated edges together to seal the dough. In the center of each rectangle, spoon about 1/8 of chicken mixture. Fold over each side of the dough rectangle to form a pillow shape. Pinch both ends closed. Brush melted butter over each chicken pocket. Place on baking sheet. Bake 375 for 11 to 13 minutes.

Hunter turns 4

What does turning 4 mean? To a 4 year old it means you're not a baby anymore. As you can see this 4 year old is a BIG BOY. He told his mom she needed to put on her crying tears because he wasn't her baby anymore.

Turning 4 in the middle of July also means a outdoor party with lots of sun, water, sand, kids and pizza. What a good combination. Just take a look at his fun filled party.

Hunter arriving at the party looking so handsome and preppy. That didn't last long because something caught his eye.

And then there were two. (Little brother wanted to play too.)

Until he saw Mom fixing the goodies.

And discovered there was pizza to be eaten.

But Hunter said no pizza for me.....there's too much to do to stop and eat.

And too many presents to open.

But I managed to sqeeze in a hug.

And then there were those that tried to find shade and take it all in.

while little brother Caden was out making friends.

And STREAKING???? WHAT???? (He fell down in the sand, and I told him to "Shake it off" but I guess he thought I said "take it off" which he did without hesitation and loved every minute of it.

And when you're naked and someone is trying to catch you .... of course you run to the play house to hide....right???

And in the meantime, Big Sis Carson was becoming a daredevil on the trampoline. Leaving her clothes on. She's a good girl!

But the main attraction was....

THE SLIP n SLIDE.

which grew....
and then grew some more.

Let the slipping and sliding begin...



Uh Oh....what's a slip n slide without a pile up.

or two?



Sometimes it just sucks being the "Little Kid" when the big kids won't let you play. Don't worry Caden. You'll be big soon and then you can show them.

Oh to be a kid again and have a summer birthday. I'm JEALOUS!! Happy Birthday my sweet BIG BOY HUNTER!