JULY!!!

I think that I just blinked and the year is more than half way over...whoops.  I haven't been a super cook lately...honestly I have been a pretty awful cook.  It is not helping me that the Hubby works over night, and I work late.  I don't like to eat alone, so Ramen noodles or something quick has been the name of the game.  Can we say that equals boring!?!?!?!  

So I am determined...even though we are 6 days in to July that I am going to cook and blog this month.  Even if I don't get to try with the hubby I am going to do it.  July's theme is Hamburgers and Hot dogs...That is a little bit of a challenge.  But I do have the Rachel Ray Big Burger book, which I am sure I will be consulting.  I hope that you are still reading.  I hope that someone is still finding my blog interesting.  Really it just helps me.  Even though no one might be reading...well someone is I have 924 page views.  

Does anyone else go to several stores to get deals?  I feel like my shopping list is a puzzle.  This item here, these five items over there.  Luckly the stores that I go to are not far from eachother.  Lord knows that I spend enough time on the road, using enough gas.  I don't need to go all over town to get the deal.  I really should shop at food lion more, but I kindof forget that it is in town, because of where it is located.  And there has to be one HELL of a deal for me to go to the safeway in town, espically if I am shopping on my own, it is just in a weird place and NEVER has anything.  Maybe I should complain to the head office, but working in retail, I know nothing will come of it.

So for the next few days I will be on the hunt for my 5 recipes, then I will blog about them.  Please wish me luck!  Have a wonderful July!!  (Just incase I'm not back until August!!!)

Welcome May: 13 days in, 2 blogs behind, not enough time!!

May is side dishes: I'm behind.  I thought that I was being really good at getting the blog done and then getting the recipes ready, but I'm not.  

So I am going to incoroperate my last two April blogs into May blogs, and hope that I get some side dishes and such done before June.  

This month ALSO marks my one year at CI.  I am excited and Happy that I changed jobs.  It has really changed my life.  I feel like I am much happier!  I just don't have a lot of time.  I am hoping that I will be able to have a smaller work load this summer, but that means less money.  That could also mean more time for scentsy and thirty-one.  

Please for those of you reading this if you need either scentsy or thirty-one order from me!!

www.crystallstine.scentsy.us
www.mythirtyone.com/286373

thank you!!

<3

Lo Mein that turned into Chow Main: Rachael Ray

Something bad about a mag vs a cookbook: No glossy pages, if that sucker gets wet, you have to pray it is not ruined!  
I am hoping that my April issue of Rach is not ruined because I have gotten 3 really yummy recipes from it!  So, the reason this became Chow Main, is because I couldn't find a package of Lo Main noodles to save my life.  And trust me I tried!!!  This recipe is not so simple, but it tastes really good.  I think that it could have used more soy sauce, but it was good non-the-less.  I may not make it again, Im really not sure. 

With out further ado:
Chicken & Spring Vegetable Lo Main

Serves 4 to 6, Prep 15 min, Cook 20 min

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced (I used the entire thing)
2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 pkg (8oz) dried Lo mein noodles
1 small head cabbage, thinly sliced lengthwise (3 cups)
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
1/3 lb snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp toasted seasame oil
2 cups cooked chicken, sliced into bite-size pieces
salt
1/4 cup chopped peanuts for sprinkling

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Meanwhile in a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high until simmering.  Add the onion, garlic and ginger.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat.
2.  Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook according to package directions.  Add the cabbage, bell pepper, mushrooms, snow peas and carrot; cook for 30 seconds   Drain the noodles and vegetables thoroughly.
3. Turn the heat under the skillet back to high.  When the onions sizzle, add the soy sauce, sherry and sesame oil and let the mixture bubble for a few seconds.  Add the noodles and vegetables; toss well.  Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms are fully cooked and the peppers are tender but still slightly crunchy, about 3 minutes.
4. Lower the heat to medium, add the chicken and cook, stirring often, to heat through.  Season with salt and sprinkle with the peanuts.

Yum Yum!!!  Make this, enjoy this :D

Rachael Ray: What the hell is Brioche rolls?!?!?

Lesson #1: if you don't know what an ingredient is, google it before you go to the store, otherwise you still won't know what it is!!!

Lesson #2: Read all the directions before you start cooking other wise the recipe takes that much longer!!!


So burgers are really not my thing.  I like them, but it isn't something that I would go out of my way to eat.  However, for Christmas I did ask for the Rachael Ray burger book.  Why not?!?!?  I mean she is creative and I can please the Hubby by making something that he really likes.  I sat down the other day and began reading through the book.  I cam across Bloody Mary Cheeseburgers: my first thought, um a drink in a burger.  My second thought, lets give this a try.  

With most Rach recipes, you have most of the ingredients  and only have to buy a few things!  (Reason probably 5, why I like her!!)  This recipe was easy to make, and didn't call for lots of things to do.  I did leave off the celery because I HATE it.  Oh and these burgers were spicy (though mom and Hubby did not think so, maybe I am just a wimp!!).

Oh wait a minute, before I give you the recipe...I must google what Brioche Rolls are:

Brioche (pronounced: [bʁi.ɔʃ or "bree-osh"]) is a highly enriched bread of French origin, whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. It is "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and eggs"^[1] It has a dark, golden, and flaky crust, frequently accentuated by an egg wash applied after proofing.

Brioche is considered a Viennoiserie. It is made in the same basic way as bread, but has the richer aspect of a pastry because of the extra addition of eggs, butter, liquid (milk, water, cream, and, sometimes, brandy) and occasionally a bit of sugar. Brioche, along with pain au lait and pain aux raisins — which are commonly eaten at breakfast or as a snack — form a leavened subgroup of Viennoiserie. Brioche is often cooked with fruit or chocolate chips and served as a pastry or as the basis of a dessert with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings or toppings.

That is according to google.  This bread is made in France!!  Good to know!!!

That's what it looks like: BTW

Bloody Mary Cheeseburgers

(serves 4)

Burgers: 1 1/2 lbs ground beef chuck

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 rounded tablespoons prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Tabasco Sauce

A small handful of celery tops and leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup good-quality ketchup, such as Heinz Organic, or Heinz chili sauce

1/2 cup Ritz cracker crumbs or fine dry breadcrumbs

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper

1 tablespoon of EVOO

4 slices deli-sliced sharp cheddar cheese

Sauce:

3/4 cup good quality ketchup

1 rounded tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons minced celery tops

coarsely ground pepper

4 brioche rolls, split and toasted

Directions:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium high heat.  Make the burgers: In a large bowl, combine the beef, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, Tabasco, celery, ketchup or chili sauce, cracker crumbs, and egg yolk. Season with kosher salt (it makes a nice crust) and pepper and mix thoroughly.  Score the meat into 4 equal portions and form them into patties slightly thinner at the center than at the edges for even cooking and to ensure a flat surface (burgers plump as they cook).  Add the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, to the hot skillet.  Cook the burgers, flipping once, 10 minutes for medium (adjust the timing for rarer or more well done burgers).  Top the burgers with the cheese for the last 2 minutes of cooking, tenting the skillet with aluminum foil, if you like, to help melt the cheese.

While the burgers are cooking, make the sauce: Stir the ketchup, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco, and minced celery together in a small bowl.  Season with pepper.

Place the burgers on the roll bottoms and top with the sauce.  Set the roll tops in place.

Rachael Ray: Express Lane Suppers (supper 1)

Oh my gosh this was so yummy...I don't need to go to Chipotle for a while!!!  (Oh an my hands smell like lime juice!!)  Normally I do not eat beans (other than green beans), I just don't like the taste of them.  Tonight however I ate them :D!  Yum!!

This dish really was done in a flash.  I think that I started at 6:45 and by 7:15 or so I was ready to eat.  These flavors blend well, and I really thought that the oregano would do it no justice!!  I really do LOVE cooking.  BTW (by the way) Hubby helped me on this, which was really nice cause I love him and cooking :D.

This is what you need (in the mag you go shopping once for 3 meals but I havent made the other two yet):

Grilled Shrimp Burrito Bowls

1 cup medium-grain white rice
1 lime, juiced
1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 red onion, sliced into thin rings
5 scallions, trimmed and sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 lb thawed frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp. EVOO
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 avocado

1. In a medium saucepan, boil 2 cups water.  Add the rice, lower the heat to low, cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.  Stir in half the lime juice.
2. In a small saucepan, mash half the beans with 1/2 cup water over medium heat.  Add the remaining beans and the oregano.  Simmer for 8 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
3. Preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat.  In a bowl, toss the onion, scallions and shrimp with the EVOO and chili powder; season.  Grill the onions and scallion whites for 7 minutes, then the scallion greens and shrimp, turning once for 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
4. In a small bowl, mash the avocado with the remaining lime juice.  Divide the rice, beans, veggies and shrimp among 4 bowls and dollop with the avocado mash.


Notes: I did not have a grill pan, so I fried the veggies and shrimp on the stove.  Also I wasn't sure what "Season" meant when doing the grill thing so I didn't add anything.  

It was so good!  Yum Yum Yum!!!

Happy April!!!

So I decided that potatoes are not my thing.  I know I only made two dishes...
Honestly I lost the other two pins, I bought all the ingredients, and didn't write down the name of the pin.  So I suck.  LOL!  

So I am not onto my Rachael Ray recipes!  I am more than a little excited..I mean I have a ton of mags, cookbooks, and all that jaz to pull from!! I am soooo excited!  However there is going to be a lot of time spent on these recipes.  Rachael has a lot of people to do her prep work, I only have me unless I can convience the Hubby.

I am not about completing a meal fast, but sometimes I want to cut corners!  But then again, I really enjoy my time in the kitchen!  It is a comfort a release!  One thing I wish, is that my kitchen was bigger, mean I want more counter space!!!  Oh and a bigger fridge..but one improvement to the house at a time, and first comes the deck, then painting the living room, then hard wood floors!  Oh and can some one PLEASE hire a maid for me?  To clean up after??  That is the hardest part.  I hate cleaning.  I love to cook and make a mess, but do I really have to clean up after???  Can't I just wave my magic wand and it all be clean?

I am so ADD today!!  I'm not sure if the first recipe that I make should be a burger, or I should get one out of her mag that is shop once and have 5 meals?  Maybe I'll do that!!  I have had pretty good luck and did a big shopping trip the last time so I have been in a few weeks!  I don't miss it, that's for sure!!!  

Thanks for following me!  Thanks for hanging in there!  One day I hope that this becomes a book, even if it is just a book for me :D

Something SO simple, But, I don't know how to make

I'll admit it: I don't know how to make mashed potatoes.  Simply because it is always a guessing game.  Add but to taste, add milk TO taste, add salt TO TASTE.  There has to be one way to make it and it taste good.  I don't have time for guessing, or to taste.  So I went to google this time.  

Google never lets me down...there were a few things that I need to sort out first (well just one): no cream.  Who in the world keeps heavy cream on hand?  (Rachel Ray if you ever read this, if you are reading this I KNOW you keep it on hand, and I should know better!!!)

So now that that is taken care of...

Question number one: how do I know when the potatoes are done?!?!
Answer: when the fall apart
(lord help me please)

I was worried that hubby wouldn't like them, his only complaint: add more cream cheese :D

This is the recipe I used, but you probably already have a recipe that you enjoy, or you just make it with the "add to taste concept"!

What You Need

Ingredients
2 teaspoons salt
1 large Yukon Gold potato per person (about 1/2 to 3/4 pound apiece) 
1 tablespoon butter, or more as desired
1/2 cup milk or cream, or more as needed
1 ounce cream cheese (optional) 
Freshly ground black pepper

Tools
3-quart pot (or larger) 
Wooden spoon 
Fork

Instructions

1. Fill a pot with water and stir in 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decide how many potatoes you want to use. (I was making enough for two people, with some leftovers, so I used about 1 1/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes.)

2. Peel the potatoes. Cut them in half, then in quarters, lengthwise. Then cut the quarters into thin strips. You can chop them finer, if you feel like it; the finer they are, going into the water, the easier they will be to mash later. Slip the potatoes into the boiling water and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are falling-apart tender.

3. Meanwhile, choose and warm your dairy. Now, this is decision time. For modest weeknight mashed potatoes, a tablespoon of butter (or a little olive oil) and 1/2 cup of milk per pound of potatoes will be plenty of dairy. It will help the potatoes be creamy and smooth, and bind everything together. But if you want a more decadent experience, then by all means, dial it up! Switch out the milk to cream, and add an ounce of cream cheese or even a dollop of sour cream. It's up to you. The more fat, the creamier they will be. But whatever you choose, warm it first, before adding to the potatoes. Warm the milk or cream in the microwave, and let any cream cheese or sour cream warm to room temperature.

4. When the potatoes are quite soft, drain them completely and return them to the pan over medium heat. Add the butter and cook for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring the potatoes rapidly and vigorously to help any residual water evaporate. You also want to break the potatoes up and smash them with the spoon. You can employ a fork to help, if you like, but you shouldn't need a ricer or a masher unless you want ultra-smooth potatoes. Just cook, stir, and smash.

5. When any remaining water has evaporated, and the potatoes are quite smashed up and smooth, it's time to add the warm milk or cream, as well as any other dairy you'd like to throw in. Pour the milk in slowly, stirring constantly. Keep stirring and cooking until the potatoes are quite hot, creamy, and smooth. Turn off the heat, season to taste with pepper and salt, and dish them up! (You can also keep them warm in the top half of a double boiler.)

Additional Notes
• Once all the milk is incorporated you can use a heavy whisk, if you like, to break up the last chunks of potato.

OK, your turn! How do you make mashed potatoes? Do you ever make enough for just one person, or for two? Do you add chives or other herbs into a basic recipe like this? Or cheese, perhaps?

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-mashed-potatoes-fo-132736