Valentine's Day: Not For the Faint of Heart

I’ve been through many more Valentine’s Days as a single woman than I have as part of a couple. Let me tell you, it kind of sucks.

Valentine’s Day is about love and the color red (which I don’t like), candy and flowers and (mysteriously) heart shaped pizza. It’s commercial and loud and a bit sickening even if you are in love.

My hubby and I usually buy each other gifts for Valentine’s Day. This year we got each other movies. He has sent me roses before and I like them but I don’t demand or expect them. We always have dinner at home on the big day instead of going out to an extravagant meal. We’re kind of simple like that.

I still remember though what it’s like to not have a Valentine. To be the one who works late instead of going out, the one whose desk does not have flowers or balloons on it. For that reason, I try to not be over the top about the Red Day.
So, friends, enjoy your Valentine but be respectful of those who don’t think it’s the most wonderful time of the year. And if you’re single, do something fabulous for yourself. You totally are worth it.

Super Bowl Sunday Is Here

I grew up in a family where the Daytona 500 was THE sporting event of the year. I married a NFL fan and now Super Bowl has become a holiday of sorts. We don't have room to host a huge party so we usually only have a handful of people over for the game. Every year, I start making wild plans about the array of food that I'll serve. And every year, Mother Nature rears her head and makes that "Wa-haa" sound that the bullying kid on The Simpsons makes.

Last year, it was an ice storm that left us with no power for four days. Since we had to replace most everything in the refrigerator, it was hard to justify buying a lot of food to serve for one night. This year, we were under a winter storm watch. Thankfully, the snow didn't come but it was hard to plan on inviting anyone since we had no idea what we were facing.

So, it will probably be only us and one-possibly two-other couples. Hubby suggested ordering pizza but we finally settled on making chili. I'm also doing a veggie tray, probably some chips and store bought dip and Hubby's favorite dessert-Paula Deen's Lemon Blossoms.

Unfortunately, I have a meeting at 8 AM tomorrow so I can't party too hardy. Still, I'm excited for game night and enjoy this new "holiday" that my hubby has introduced me to!

Broccoli Casserole

I'm sharing this recipe as part of the Grocery Cart Challenge's Recipe Swap. Check it out all the great recipes over there!

Broccoli Casserole is one of my favorite side dishes during the holiday season. I'm not sure why we only make it for the holidays but you know how it is. Some things are just tradition. I've seen several variations of this dish, some involving creamy soups and mayonaise. This version is the one my family has been making for years.

Broccoli Casserole

2 boxes (10 oz) of frozen chopped broccoli
8 oz Velveeta
1 stick butter
24 Ritz crackers (more or less depending on how much of a topping you want)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Warm the broccoli either by microwaving it (that's what I do) or steaming it on the stove with water. Drain well. Arrange broccoli in casserole dish. In a medium saucepan, melt half of the stick of butter. Add the Velveeta (cut it into chunks to make it melt faster). Keep stirring it until it's melted and smooth. Pour over broccoli. Crush crackers and layer on top. Melt remaining half stick of butter and pour on top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until nice and bubbly.

Pssst....go here for a $1 off Velveeta coupon.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I am looking forward to a new year. I suppose 2008 wasn't so bad but I'm ready for something new, you know?

It was a quiet New Year's Eve for us. It was just the two of us at home this year. And it was nice. We've been staying up late and sleeping late (til 9:30-very late dozing for us!). It will be hard to go back to work. The two week break that seemed so long is almost over. (Sigh).

We've gotten a lot done during our time off though. We took 4 garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill. Hubby cleaned the garage thoroughly. We've reorganized some. I've enjoyed it and I plan to save every last remaining second.

Yummy Brownie Cookies

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about making cookies from cake mix. During our last week of work, I was trying to come up with one more thing for the goodie tray I was making for Hubby's office. I had a box of brownie mix in the cabinet so I thought "Hmm..." I looked online for recipes using brownie mix and ended up just going with what was on the box. It was a recipe for brownie cookies. All you did was add a half cup of flour to the brownie mix and then follow the package directions. I did that but also added about 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips that I had leftover from my fudge making. The result was a yummy chocolate chocolate chip cookie. I like a moist and chewy cookie and these fit the bill. I used Kroger brand brownie mix-the size that makes a 13x9 pan. I think the next time I make them I'll use white chocolate chips!

And Hubby reported it was the first thing to disappear from the goodie tray.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope your Christmas was wonderful. Mine was pretty good. And still going actually as we are going to see my folks today.

I am very disappointed with my blog. I had such grand ideas for the holidays. But then I got the snotty crud. And when that finally subsided, and I finally felt like baking and stuff I got a stomach virus which kept me in bed for two days. So even though I did get to make some stuff before getting barfy, I didn't feel like blogging it. So I suck. Royally.

But I hope to be back soon. And since Santa brought cookbooks, a new KitchenAid mixer (Santa Hubby) and a Rachael Ray cast iron pot, I have no reason to NOT cook.

Ho ho ho!

Christmas Bark

I’m trying to get back in the holiday swing by making some goodies yesterday. I made my Festive Fudge and also a new recipe (at least new for me) Christmas Bark. It was simple and it tastes a lot like a favorite treat of mine: a Heath bar!

Christmas Bark
1 sleeve of saltine crackers
1 cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
12 oz chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet (with edges) with parchment paper. Spread saltines on the paper to form a layer. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar. Cook for three minutes, stirring constantly. Pour butter/sugar mixture over crackers spreading evenly. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. When chips start to melt, spread evenly over the crackers to form a smooth chocolate layer. Refrigerate for one hour. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Can also top with nuts after spreading the chocolate but I did not since Hubby is not a nut fan and so many people are allergic these days.

I’m sharing this as part of the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap although I’m a little late.

Black Friday

It’s Black Friday! Will you hit the stores?

I probably will not. At least not until later today. Last year, Hubby and I scored some good deals at Lowes but it was late in the afternoon after the masses had gone home. I refuse to fight the crowds and the cold weather to line up for shopping. I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal!

When I was younger, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. My parents and I would load up and go shopping in a nearby town. (Our town had nowhere to shop but Wal-Mart). Now, the thought of going out early on Black Friday just makes me want to bury farther down in the blanket and sleep.

And I predict there will be good deals throughout the holiday season as retailers try to lure us into their stores. So venture out, if you must. But I’m sleeping in.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope your day is full of delicious food and the love of friends and family.

A Favorite Memory of Mine

In 2002, I was invited to a different sort of Thanksgiving dinner. It was hosted by some guy friends of mine. There were four of them who shared an apartment and they decided to throw a Thanksgiving dinner/party for all of their friends. Most of them were still in college or just out of college and they wanted to have a dinner together before everyone went home for the holiday weekend.

I only knew these guys casually at that time (I worked with one of them) so I didn’t know what to expect. I had been to a party at their place before and so my initial thought was that it would be a Charlie Brown type Thanksgiving with popcorn, beer and toast. And the only turkey I expected was Wild Turkey. Since I was already out of college and three years into the work force, I felt certain that the immature girls who hung around with these guys couldn't possibly cook anything. I was told to bring dessert so I baked an espresso chocolate cake with white chocolate glaze.

As soon as I entered the apartment, I knew I had been dead wrong. The skinny “immature” girls were whipping up casseroles and baking rolls. A couple of the guys were frying turkeys out on the deck. There was so much food the counter wouldn’t hold it all. They ran out of serving bowls so everyone had to dish up some mac and cheese so that the mac and cheese bowl could be washed and used to mash the potatoes. Almost fifty people were crammed into the apartment. We sat on the floor, the tables, the deck, the stairs, anywhere and everywhere we could find a spot. An international student who worked with us showed up and was overwhelmed by the amount of food and people and immediately retreated to the front stoop with a full plate.

After dinner, a couple of the guys who were musically inclined played the guitar and we all sang along with them. The Wild Turkey came out. Everyone had a good time.
I emailed one of the guys today and asked if he remembered. And of course, he did. It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories. I barely knew these people-some of them I’d never met-yet they welcomed me in like family. And I was thankful.

Tuesday's Tip: Cake Mix Cookies

A few years ago, I spent the night with a friend who made chocolate chip cookies using a yellow cake mix. They were yummy and easy. Later, someone passed along these cookie ideas using cake mix as your cookie base. The possibilities are endless and you can take one box of mix and make several kinds of cookies.

The Base:
1 box any flavor cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbsp water
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together in two quart bowl. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 13 minutes.

Stir in ideas:
Chips of any sort like chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, M&Ms
Chopped nuts
Make Snickerdoodle like cookies by mixing one part cinnamon and four parts sugar together in a small bow. Drop balls of yellow cake mix base into the sugar mixture and coat. Bake as directed.
Use chopped up candy bars or wrap dough around bite sized candy bars.
Zest a lemon or orange into a white mix or yellow mix base.

Recipe Substitutions

It's happened to all of us. You start baking and suddenly realize you're out of something you need. Don't panic! There's lot of substitutes out there.

If you need....

1 tsp of baking powder try 1/3 tsp of baking soda plus 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup of buttermilk try 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar (white or cider) plus enough milk to make 1 cup. Let stand 5-10 minutes.
1 cup sifted cake flour try 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
1 oz unsweetened chocolate try 3 tablespoons cocoa plus 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup of confectioners' sugar try 1 cup of sugar plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Process together in food processor.
1 cup light corn syrup try 1 cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch try 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 4 tsp quick-cooking tapioca
1 cup self-rising flour try 1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup honey try 1 and 1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup of water
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk try 1 cup instant non-fat dry milk plus 2/3 cup granulated white sugar plus 1/2 cup boiling water plus 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter. Process in blender or food processor until smooth.

Oh, Fudge!

It's not the holidays without fudge. My mom experimented with many recipes over the years before settling on this one from Eagle Brand Milk. I have adopted it as well because it's so easy.

Festive Fudge
3 cups (18 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14 oz can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT EVAPORATED)
Dash salt
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts (optional) and vanilla. Spread evenly into wax paper lined 8 or 9 inch square pan.

Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator. Makes about 2 pounds of fudge. Prep time is about 10 minutes.

Eagle Brand makes a fudge kit that includes all of the ingredients you need plus a little cardboard pan. It's kind of cool but not cheap and you don't get a lot of fudge. Stick with their recipe and ditch the kit.

This makes a great gift if you feel like sharing.

Minda's Magic Meatballs

I make a lot of meatballs during the holidays. My husband is very picky, as you have heard me say many times, and during holiday parties and potlucks he has a hard time finding something to eat. To keep him from being limited to Mt. Dew and Ritz crackers, I make meatballs as my contribution to the party. From Thanksgiving to Super Bowl, it's meatball season at our house. I passed along the recipe to my sister-in-law last year and jokingly called it "Minda's Magic Meatballs". The name stuck.

I confess to using frozen meatballs. And the sauce is very simple. Last year I read a so-so novel called The Single Wife (if you're compelled to Google, why not use my search box at top left?). One of the subplot lines was a secret meatball recipe that turned out to be this one! Small meatball world, huh?

Minda's Magic Meatballs

2/3 cup of chili sauce
2/3 cup of grape jelly
2 one pound bags of frozen meatballs

Warm meatballs according to package directions. I use the microwave but if you have the oven fired up, you could heat them there as well.
In a sauce pan, combine chili sauce and grape jelly. Stir over medium heat until jelly is melted and sauce is warm throughout.
Hint: I usually put the chili sauce in first and let it warm a little before adding the jelly. It helps the jelly melt faster.
Pour warm sauce over meatballs. Prepare for compliments.

This is a great finger food for the office potluck because you can prepare it rather quickly in the morning, put it in a crockpot and let it simmer on low all day.

Variations:
I have also seen recipes where you use cranberry sauce and chili sauce.
Bottled barbecue sauce works well in a pitch (and is Hubby approved).
I taste tested at Sam's Club a version with bottled teriyaki sauce. I haven't tried it myself but I plan to at some point.

Reindeer Incoming

I am unusually festive this year so be on the lookout for holiday recipes, tips, amusing (probably only to me) stories over the next few weeks. I've even started a new Holidays category (to the left).