Tuesday ponderings and yesterdays food...

So my sweet hubby just calls when I'm trying to finish up my Wii workout and tells me that the blog needs to be up by 9:15!  haha  He's sooooo funny!!!!   So, I finished my workout and now I'm confessing the food sins of yesterday.

First of all I'm going to confess my lunch yesterday and I'm pretty sure my mama (who actually fed me this before...many times??) and I are the only ones to do this. It's carb overload but you should try it...REALLY!!

This is a potato salad sandwhich people....I'm not crazy either :0)

and this is what happens when you start to feel bad about all the carbs you are about to consume:

See...you slice up a tomato and now you got veggies to go with those carbs. But wait, potatoes are veggies and eggs are protein so in a sense I had veggies and protein on whole grain bread. Seeee...not so bad when you look at it that way!!

Ok, please stop judging me and look at the next pictures of my new hanging baskets of double petunias and the parents of the baby birds on my back porch.

see, don't you feel a little better!

And now that we have all forgotten about the potato salad incident and enjoyed a moment of spring let's move on and talk about dinner.

First you have to go to the freezer and stand there with the door open and think about what you feel like making for dinner that doesn't require a trip to the store.  You find frozen ore-ida sweet potato fries and two hamburger patties. PERFECTAMUNDO

Thaw out those patties and then when you are ready just sprinkle on some steak seasoning and black pepper and fire up the grill.  Hubby usually does the grilling but I'm taking over tonight.  Stick those fries on a baking sheet and get them in the oven so they will be done when the burgers are.  Now while those burgers are grilling up you better get busy with toppings.  See ours below:

Feel free to modify as you see fit. If my potato salad lovin mama was here she'd insist on a big onion slice but she's in Florida so no onions.

Now those burgers probably should be flipped and grilled on the other side by now.  Also, while that first side that is done is hanging out and waiting plop a big ol' dab of bbq sauce and smear it around.  Then when the other side is cooked give them a quick flip and bbq up the second side. They only need to cook for a minute or two on with the bbq sauce or they might char and that's gross. Then you need to slap a piece of cheese on those babies, we used pepper jack cuz we're just spicy that way!

ooooo please stop drooling on your keyboard now because you know you have a burger craving all of a sudden.   When that cheese is good and gooey then take 'em on in the house and plate 'em up like so!

Then take those plates outside and sit a spell on the back porch in the rocking chairs and dinner becomes amazing!

Peace, Love and Yummies ...now go grill something it's springtime!

Monday, Humid Monday

Hey peeps!!!

Coming to you on this lovely humid Texas day!   Today was hair washing day and by the end of today money is on that my hair looks like this!

If the bigger the hair, the closer to God is true then I'm gonna be touching Angel wings soon!

So before tomorrow's edition of What The Heck is She Wearing let's go back and see what the heck we're eating around here.

Last Monday we started the week off with a Hello Fresh Meal.

Steak Salad with Blue Cheese & Griddled Onions

This was good, but I love Blue Cheese. Hubster is not a big fan of blue cheese so I didn't add the extra blue cheese to the top of his salad.  See, I can be nice.   My salad was full of that tangy flavor.  This was a good salad and one that would be easy to replicate on your own.  

Tuesday was a day of leftovers.  Sometimes we have a very full refrigerator and need to get some of it cleaned up.   I actually couldn't even tell you what I ended up eating. 

Wednesday was our second Hello Fresh meal of the week.   We had Southwest Burgers with Potato Wedges.  Listen, there's one thing that Hello Fresh is pretty reliable with and that's their burgers.  It's always fun to see what interesting combo's they come up with.   My only complaint with this meal was there was too much of the southwest fry seasoning on the potato wedges.   

I also cooked up a batch of spaghetti sauce and popped it into the refrigerator so we can have it for dinner tomorrow night. 

Which brings us to Thursday and that spaghetti sauce that I whipped together yesterday.

Let's do a quick recap of how I make my sauce, because it's easy peasy.

This is the recipe, the bottom larger page is from Hubsters mom, Ms. Janie.   The sticky not is my additions & revisions we've made over the years.   You can go here and go back in time to 2010 when I posted the recipe in detail.   

But since I'm not one to leave well enough alone...let's talk about what I do now.

This round of spaghetti got Italian sausage only instead of ground beef.  I also softened up some zucchini slices from the freezer, some yellow bell pepper with those onions and then browned up the sausage.  Some extra veggies aren't changing the taste and you know you need them!

Funny story....this is not the spaghetti we ate. This is from about 2 weeks ago when Hubster asked if we could have spaghetti one night.   I made the sauce and the whole time I kept thinking, something is "off" with this meat.   Not one to stop and reevaluate....noooo, let's just plow on through.  Turns out, the meat was bad.   I had to dump the whole huge pot of sauce out.   Lesson learned, hopefully.

Anywho, I just rolled with the pics. 

Here's what it looks like when you dump all the spices into the sauce.

Now let's get those all stirred in and let that sauce simmer a bit.

Sauce is all done and ready to cool and go for a rest in the refrigerator.

I'll load up a big jar and pop it in the freezer for another time, then we'll still have plenty for dinner and leftovers.    

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of our plates.   We had some fancy garlic toast, you know the kind you make from old hot dog buns in your bread box?  Yep, no food goes to waste here, well unless you happen to be a bad batch of spaghetti sauce.

This is Hubsters plate from Monday evening.  We had leftovers tonight.

Trying to clear some space in that refrigerator.   It is VERY full.

Now, let's head back to 2010 again for a portion of dinner Friday evening.   The Merebear came by to visit and since it was kind of last minute we weren't really sure what to have for dinner.    I found some burgers (yes, again) in the freezer, put those out to unthaw then I headed off to the Ft Worth Botanical Gardens plant sale.   Had a little stop on the way home at Central Market to grab some other essentials and then home to get dinner going.     We had some black bean burgers for the Merebear and we just grilled up all four patties for us.  Yay....more leftovers!    Merebear had asked if I would make some potato salad some time and I obliged.    This is where that second 2010 post comes in, go here if you want the potato salad recipe. It's my mama's and we love it.     

(I put some leftovers in a bowl to grab a quick pic)

Sorry, it was late we were hungry so there are no food pics.  😩

I also grabbed an Angel Food cake at the ole' Central Market and we had a little cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

What you need to know about this picture is that as soon as I snapped the photo, it was immediately covered in whipped cream.  Like that little bit is enough.....puh-leeeeze!!!  You got cover that baby in whipped cream!

Saturday was kind of a dreary, off and on rainy day so Hubster worked on a little addition to my greenhouse.  He had the Merebear out there helping him out. 

I asked him to build the garden beds on each side of the door and he finished those up earlier in the week.  Then I mentioned that he was supposed to build a ramp going up to the greenhouse so I could roll the plants in and out easier so he got that done.  Now, those plants came from the botanical garden sale and the one on the left is a blackberry bush so now I'm going to need him to add a trellis on both sides.   I'm a delight aren't I??!!!  haha.   We have other blackberry bushes but they are on the back fence and the deer stick their heads in and eat them all.  Hopefully we might get a few blackberries this year.  

Look, there's a few little blackberries already on the vines.   

He got the new pear tree planted, it was the item he requested from the botanical garden sale.

Look at the eensy teensy little pears on the tree.

There's another, aren't they cute.   Hopefully we'll have a few this year.

Our 2 plum trees and 2 peach trees from last years sale are fruiting this year so we're pretty pleased with that.  The fig tree from last year has gotten a late start leafing out but it's chugging along now and we're thrilled the last freeze we had didn't get it.   

Merebear decided to stay for dinner so we scrounged around trying to see what we could feed our vegetarian girl and we landed on homemade pizza in the Ooni oven.   Merebear had to scoot back home after dinner but we were glad to have her pop in for a visit.   Since we forgot to get a picture again so here's a one of the glorious cherry tomatoes in my little patio bed.   They get so much sun here so they are already fruiting and growing like crazy!

I picked a big bunch this afternoon, they are yummy.   Nothing like fresh tomatoes!

Finally, we are on Sunday.   We had a lazy day because it was rather dreary.  Quick run to the ole Sam's Club for Hubsters drinks. Later we zipped down to the neighbors for a little grill out.   We took some pork chops and they had some steak, for some reason we weren't in the mood for a steak yesterday.  It was a bring your own protein kind of dinner.   Then we had baked potatoes, salad, baked beans and broccoli salad for dinner.   Sorry, we were visiting and I forgot to snap a pic again so you'll have to take my word that it was all rather delicious!

And now, you're all caught up on all the things we've been filling our bellies with this last week.

April is already half over and that's just crazy talk!   I'll try to catch you up tomorrow on my latest fashion disasters but I do have class again tomorrow so there's no telling what'll transpire!

Peace, Love, & Tomatoes!

Samma 

Mayfest Monday and BBQ fixins

Happy Monday everyone......  I'm gonna get to the BBQ fixin's recipes shortly but first I wanted to let you see decadence.  We went to Mayfest yesterday, my first, and lo and behold....FLETCHER's corny dogs!!  Just when you thought you could only get one at the Texas State Fair in October....tada  I got a mid year treat.

Also please note...this picture is a fine example of why I don't allow my hubby to take pictures of me....how unflattering can you get?????   At the moment, I was in heaven and didn't care.  

This one is a tad better of me...only after a little cropping.

I'm happy...I just ate a corny dog!!

To sum up... I like the Mayfest. Not as snooty as the Ft Worth and Southlake arts festivals and it has corny dogs  :0)

Here we go... BBQ fixins:

Cole Slaw

Baked Beans

Potato Salad

Banana Pudding

Let's go easy first:

Cole Slaw

This is so simple and it's my super secret recipe.........from the cole slaw bag! haha

Cast of characters:

1/2 cup mayo (or miracle whip)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp ground celery seed

Mix the sugar, celery seed and milk into the mayo.  Add the cider vinegar and whisk until smooth.  Add the sauce to the bowl of prepackaged cole slaw mix. Stir well and chill!

Super Easy!!  Now onto the Baked Beans.   A little harder but OH SOOOO GOOOD and worth the extra time!

Baked Beans
This is a Pioneer Woman recipe and OMG!!! 
Prepare yourselves...there is bacon and grease involved......ok, let's roll.

Cast of Characters:

8 Slices of Bacon (halved...on side note it was requested that the next time I use a little more bacon)
1 med. onion, diced small
1/2 med. green pepper, diced small ( I used a whole one..I like green pepper)
3 lg 28oz cans pork and beans
3/4  cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard

Adjust your oven rack to the lower middle position and start preheating that baby to 325 degrees.
Fry the bacon in a large pan (seriously you will need the room).  I used a big dutch oven.

Fry all the bacon until you have 1/4 cup of drippings released and the bacon is chewy cooked.  I meant to take a pic of the bacon but I actually cooked mine to crisp done.  It was ok, but next time I will take the bacon out before crispy. You'll see why in a bit.   DO NOT EMPTY THE BACON GREASE!!  

Ok, just remove the bacon to paper towels to drain and set aside.

Add the green peppers and onions to the drippins and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  I actually cooked mine about 7-8 minutes as I like my onions and peppers super tender.

This is them at about 5 minutes and this is where I let them cook too:

Just a little browner and a tad more tender.

Now add the beans and the remaining ingredients to the pot....see I told you that you needed that big pot!

Mix all this up and let's let it cook until it just starts bubbling around the edges and you get a nice simmer.  Go ahead and tast them if you like, they should be warm but not hot.

Now we are gonna take this big mess of beans and put it into a BIG ovenproof casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam or greased...I sprayed, I figured we were working the grease enough already!

Top with the bacon and slap that deliciousness into the oven! 

It's gonna bake for about 2 hours...it will be nice and bubbly and the sauce will resemble pancake syrup. Remove from the oven and let thicken and cool a bit before serving.

You can see how thick it gets here:

This post is LONG today!!   We are only halfway done!

Let's get that potato salad going:

First you need about 4 pounds of these guys all cleaned up like so:

You can see, I don't really waste alot of time cleaning up those potatoes.  I like 'em a little roughed up.  Now just dice up those potatoes and get them going in a big pot of salted water until they are tender.  Now.... I would love to tell you how long that should take, but let's just say I was "chatting" with my company and kinda forgot the potatoes were cooking... technically we had mashed potato salad as they got REALLY tender.  When those are tender but still have some shape, dump then into a colander and let them drain while we work on the other stuff.

Remaining cast:

1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup mayo or miracle whip
Squirt or two or yellow mustard
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
3/4 tsp pepper
3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1/3 cup pickle relish

opt. 
celery - cubed small pieces (I did add)
onion - diced small  (I did not add...sorry Mama- remember my Mama loves onions!)

Stir together the mayo, mustards, pepper and salt in a small bowl.  Add the potatoes, eggs, celery and pickle relish to a big bowl then mix in the mayo sauce.  Mix it up really good being careful not to make mashed potatoes like me and tada.......last side dish finished!!  Just need dessert!

BANANA PUDDING!!!

This really is my super secret recipe but because I love ya I'm gonna share it!!

Cast of characters:

1 can eagle brand milk

8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

3 cups milk  ( I do use whole milk for this)

Lg. box instant vanilla pudding

1 box vanilla wafers

3 or 4 bananas (sliced)

Lg container Cool Whip (sorry Mr.Cool Whip... I accidentally left you out of the photo)

In a large bowl whip the cream cheese and the Eagle brand until smooth.  Add the milk and the pudding, stir until mixed.  Add the container of thawed cool whip and beat until smooth.

Attempt to refrain from eating this out of the bowl....because we need to assemble the pudding.  It's hard I know and I confess, I did eat some  :0)

In a big bowl of your choice layer the cookies

then a layer of bananas, then a layer of pudding.  Then layer of cookies, layer of bananas and layer of pudding. Keep layering until you run out of room or ingredients (depends on your bowl size).

Pop that baby in the fridge to chill and then bring it out for dessert and enjoy the creamy goodness of good old southern banana pudding!

Now folks.... Let's have a look at the dinner table!

The deviled eggs were compliments of SuePoo, dinner rolls were by Sara Lee and the meat...

by Shady Oak BBQ

We had pulled chicken, sausage and sliced beef!

Whew.....Long post today but worth it!!

Peace, Love and Yummies folks!