Thinking outside the box.

As I’ve posted previously, I don’t like the idea of labeling, boxing and filing away…people that is. The same goes for ideas and techniques; just because something is done the same way all the time, doesn’t mean change is impossible. Think outside the box; the possibilities could be endless.

Take, for example, changing your hair color; products are a lot safer now than they used to be. Instead of harsh, stinky ammonia; now you have the choice of not using it. Sure, the coloring doesn’t last as long, but your hair will last on your head a lot longer. Natural ingredients are being added to help keep the hair healthy; and colors are no longer a standard black, brown, red or blonde…there are shades to please anyone. So who says you have to keep what you were born with, and not change it…it’s your hair, isn’t it?

So, let’s get to cooking, and thinking outside the box. Fettuccine Alfredo is a classic Italian pasta dish made with primarily three ingredients: fettuccine, butter and Parmesan cheese. As the cheese melts, it combines with the butter and makes a thicker sauce which coats the pasta. Simple and easy; purists don’t like to mess with the original.

I’m far from being a purist, so let’s expand on the recipe; add cream to make it richer, chicken or shrimp for an added protein; how about peas or broccoli…you now have a complete meal of dairy, starch, protein and vegetable. We won’t talk about the fat, just keep it between us, ok?
When I go out of the box, I go all out, so here’s my expanded recipe on an original idea, and it’s awesomely good!!! Never said I was humble.

Four Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (4 oz) can or jar sliced mushrooms, cut mushrooms in half
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
½ cup each of shredded parmesan, mozzarella and Swiss cheese
1 cup each heavy whipping cream and warmed milk
¼ tsp each ground black pepper and nutmeg
2 cups cooked chicken breast ( ½” cubes)
½ lb cooked penne, ziti or small rigatoni
½ cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs
3 Tbsp melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick spray.
In a small skillet, on medium heat, sauté onion in butter till softened; add garlic and cook for 5 minutes more.

In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the soup, mushrooms, all cheeses, cream, milk, black pepper, nutmeg, chicken, pasta and the onion-garlic mix. Spread evenly into the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and butter completely; spread over the mixture in casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour
February 7, 2011

Take time to do it well.

It's that time of year again; when the tax man comes a calling, and the piper wants to be paid his due. Or, if you're lucky, he ends up owing you.

My day began as any typical day, the dogs waking me up at 7am to tell me it was potty time; they know not to bother with my hubby as he sleeps like the dead. After feeding all the indoor and outdoor pets, making coffee and getting dressed; decided it was a good time to get all my papers organized for taxes.

Four hours later, all relevant papers are together for both of us; all papers that need to be stored have been gathered, put into large manila envelopes and placed in a storage box. The filing drawers in my roll top desk are less crammed; amazing how much paperwork can be accumulated during a 12 month period.

While 4 hours may sound like a lot of wasted time, I got the job done the way I wanted it done, and don't have to worry about doing more later...it's a done deal.

Sometimes, a recipe for a great meal can be similiar; taking a lot of time to prep, put together and cook; but oh, it is certainly worth the time and the waiting. For example, my "Country Beef Stew" takes 3 days to make, but is most definitely worth the wait. So, take the time to do the work, and enjoy the reward of a meal done well.

Country Beef Stew

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean roast beef, cut into 1” cubes
2 medium red onions, sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½” pieces
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup burgundy wine
1 ½ cups beef stock
cooked egg noodles

Preparation:

In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the beef cubes, onions, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, 2 Tbsp. canola oil and vinegar. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two (2) days; occasionally turning ingredients.

Remove cubes and place in a large plastic bag. Add in flour, close the bag and shake; coat cubes thoroughly. In a 12” non-stick skillet, heat ¼ cup of oil on high heat and brown the cubes on all sides. Drain on paper towels; remove to a 2-quart round casserole dish and mix in the marinated vegetables.

Drain oil from the skillet; deglaze the pan with the wine and gradually stir in the beef stock. Pour over the meat and vegetables. Cover with the plastic wrap and put back into the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 F. Cook for three (3) hours, stirring occasionally, and serve over the cooked egg noodles.

Serves six.

Mary Cokenour
February 27, 1995 (when I came up with this recipe)

Less is more, or life's little pleasures.

We try to cram so much into our lives, believing we have little time to get it all in. When we take vacations, they should be to relax, site see, maybe enjoy a show; but no, we bunch up activities to the point of exhaustion. Then we return to our homes and jobs, and wish for a vacation from our vacation.

Every day we should take some time to enjoy a simple pleasure. Buy a favorite candy bar, eat it bite by bite and savor each taste of it. Wrap yourself up in a warm quilt, and enjoy a long movie without worrying about the chores that need doing. They'll be there whether you've watched the movie or not; so putting it off, to enjoy a little time with yourself, won't hurt anyone.

Same with making meals; don't do the complicated if all you want is something simple.

Chunky Tomato Bisque

Ingredients:

2 (26 oz)cans of tomato soup
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Preparation:

In a large saucepan, mix together tomato soup and diced tomatoes; bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; stir in black pepper and cream; let simmer for 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

How simple and delicious is that? Serve with cheesy crackers, or even have a grilled cheese sandwich with a steaming bowl.

Mary Cokenour

Move over winter, I'm ready for smokin' and grillin'.

That's right guys, when it comes to smokin' and grillin', that's my job. My hubby's job is to sit down, eat and enjoy. Jealous? Well, you should be; and here's a little more to make you drool. We own 2 grills: one kettle style for charcoal, one gas; and 2 smokers: one upright manual and the Masterbuilt Electric. Nope, we don't fool around when it comes to barbeque.

However, the crazy winters here are kicking my butt when it comes to outdoor cooking; too much snow, and too freaking cold!!! So, I am forced to use the indoor standbys; the crock pot or the oven. (Forgive me Bobby Flay) Not the same in any way, shape or form, and especially in taste, but it'll have to do until the weather gets warmer.


So, what's for dinner tonight? Ribs:

Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

4 lbs boneless pork ribs, separated
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), chopped
1 Tbsp diced garlic
4 cups homemade sweet and sour sauce**, or Yoshida’s Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Sauce (best brand of premade)
1 cup pineapple chunks with juice

Preparation:

Place ribs, onion, bell pepper, garlic and sauce into 6 qt crock pot, set on low heat, and mix together. Spread pineapple over top. Cook for 6 hours.

Makes 6-8 servings.

**Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup white wine vinegar
½ cup ketchup
1 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Preparation:

Stir together all ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat and serve.

Makes 1 cup.

Mary Cokenour
February 4, 2011

Doing something nice shouldn't be a big deal.

Maybe people have just become jaded in life; maybe the hard financial times are making people hard; maybe it's basic overpopulation and people feel overwhelmed by dealing with so many other people. I don't know, but I do know that people are not as nice, as they should be, to each other. Nice, what a word. It means, "pleasing and agreeable in nature", and is used for almost everything. "It's a nice day", "It's nice to meet you", "That's a nice sweater", "Oh, she is such a nice person", but has it become just a habit to say the word, and not really mean it? In these days and times, kind of feels like it.

So, just maybe, if you say the word, or do the deed associated with it, try and mean it. Heck, don't try, just do it!! This just might be an addiction worth spreading.

I do nice things for folks, and I don't expect some form of payment for it, whether in words or deeds; I'm just being nice. Doesn't hurt.

Here you go, have some brownies:

Hazelnut Brownies

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 ¼ cup salted butter, softened
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
½ cup hazelnut meal**4 Tbsp baking cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter and flour a 9” x 13” baking pan, or spray with nonstick baking spray (contains flour).

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Adding one at a time, beat in eggs, then vanilla. In another bowl, combine the flour, hazelnut meal, cocoa and baking powder; gradually add to butter mixture.

Spread mixture evenly in baking pan; bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pan on a wire rack before cutting squares and serving.

Makes 18 brownies.

**How to Make Hazelnut MealPreheat oven to 400F. Place 1 cup of raw hazelnuts on baking sheet; roast for 20 minutes. While hot, place hazelnuts in clean dish towel and skins will rub off easily. Put cleaned hazelnuts in blender or food processor and grind into a meal.

Mary Cokenour

September 12, 1996 (that's when I came up with this recipe)

Men hear in a different language than women speak.

Any woman who has been in, or is in, a relationship, knows that men cannot hear the language that we speak to them. Whether your first language is English, Spanish, French, Arabic, etc; our men will hear something completely different.

Take, for example, this morning at my home. The phone is plugged into the electrical outlet; it's digital, has caller id, and an answering machine within it. To keep all the settings safe, if the electric goes out, there is a 9 volt battery in it. The low battery light was on:

Me - hunny, the phone needs a new battery
Hubby - the phone has a battery?
Me - yeah, in case the electric goes out, we won't lose our settings
Hubby - it's electric, why would it need a battery?
Me - *frustrated sigh* so we won't lose the settings if the electric goes out
Hubby - I don't understand, if the phone is plugged into the outlet, why would we need a battery too?
Me - $%#*&^% ((*&^%$#&^ that's why
Hubby - oh, do we have any extra batteries?
Me - look in the box labeled batteries
Hubby - we have a box full of batteries?
Me - nevermind
Hubby - don't get pissed, I'll do it sometime today, or tomorrow, or over the weekend
Me - whatever

Sound familiar? Basically, while I was speaking English, he was hearing Hebrew which is weird, since he has never learned Hebrew, nor ever really heard it; and I do not know the language myself at all. Can you feel my eyes crossing in my head as I go insane?

So, in honor of foreign languages, here's a recipe for Swiss Steak:

Swiss Steak

Ingredients:

2 lbs cubed steak
1 tsp each garlic powder, ground black pepper
¼ tsp sea salt
1/ 2 cup flour
1/3 cup canola oil or peanut oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large onion, slivered
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth

Preparation:

Season both sides of steak with garlic powder, pepper and salt; lightly dust with flour. Heat oil, on high, in a large skillet; lightly brown both sides of steak; set on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Spray a 4-5 qt crock pot with non-stick spray. Place steaks in pot with garlic, onion, bell pepper and mushrooms on top. Spread diced tomatoes evenly over vegetables; pour broth over tomatoes. Set on low; cook for 6-8 hours, until meat is very tender.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Letting go can be so hard to do.

On July 29, 2010, my precious English Doberman, Bonnie, became very ill; we rushed her to the animal hospital at 2am in the morning. She had an illness we had never heard of, “Bloat”, which occurs in big chested dogs. The stomach can twist, causing necrosis, severe pain and eventually death. The vet operated on her, corrected the condition, but it was still a wait and see situation. We saw her on Saturday, she had been eating, and playing outside with the vet assistants, and the vet said she could come home on Monday morning.

Monday morning we received a call at 8am; Bonnie had passed away during the night. She was found sitting up in her cage, leaning against the wall, as if waiting for her morning meal. The vet, without doing an autopsy, felt that a blood clot had stopped her heart, so quickly that she didn’t even have time to fall down. My husband handled everything, for all I could do was scream and cry in agony. My baby Bon-Bon was gone, and I wanted to die too. But I had to get my act together, who would take care of Roy, and the other pets, if I was gone? I’m the rock of the family, and wasn’t allowed to crumble.

Since then, we have adopted a 5 year old female Doberman, named Jenna, and an adorable male Australian Shepherd mix, named Tippy (who just turned 8 months old). No, neither of them could ever replace my Bon-Bon; but the love they have brought to us makes it feel a bit better.

So why am I still feeling so sad? Of all the pets I have ever had, they have always been with family when they have passed on; whether they passed away, at home, while sleeping; or put to sleep at the vet’s due to illness; someone was always with them. Bonnie died alone, in a cold cage at the vet’s; she didn’t have any family members to hold her, tell her how much she was loved and that it would be ok, and relieve any fear she may have been feeling. That is what gets to me the most; Bonnie was alone; and with this writing, I’m hoping to come to closure with that.

I write this while watching the snow fall here in Monticello, and decide that tonight would be a good night for soup. Not only will it warm the body, but the soul; guess that will help ease the pain too. I love my Bon-Bon, always will, but now I’ve got to move it along

Meatball Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 medium onions, diced
6 cups beef broth
1 ½ cups cold water
4 medium potatoes, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 (8 oz) bag of baby carrots, cut in halves
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp each dried savory (or sage if you cannot find savory), garlic powder, onion powder
1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs (dried, fine ground variety)
3 eggs, beaten
Grated cheese

Preparation:
Heat oil, on high, in a 6 qt stock pot; sauté onions till tender, about 3 minutes. Add beef broth and water; bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium; add in potatoes and carrots.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine beef, turkey, seasoning, bread crumbs and eggs. Mix together thoroughly; form meatballs of about a 1 inch diameter; makes about 60 meatballs.

Place meatballs on baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes; just to brown the meat, not cook all the way through. Dab each meatball on a paper towel to remove excess grease before putting into the stock pot. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.
When serving, sprinkle grated cheese on top of soup.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour