What is with all the rule books?

When I turned 30, then 40, finally 50; other women were constantly telling me that I needed to cut my long hair, and not only look, but act, my age. Ummm, why? I don’t look my age; I’ve been told I look anywhere from 10-15 years younger than I am. I remember being proofed for 18 until I was 27; I was even proofed twice when I was 35. Talk about an ego boost!!! Excuse me for feeling like I’m still in my 20’s; age is mind over matter, if you don’t mind, it don’t matter.

Then there was the time I decided to trade in my station wagon and get myself a sportier car. Suddenly I’m being asked, “How do you intend on driving your son to soccer practice and games?’. Well duh, in the car of course, and was told, “A soccer mom drives a van; everyone knows that, what kind of mom are you?” Guess not a very good one in their eyes, but guess what, my son got to his practice and games on time, every time; and he thought mom’s car was cool.

You see, when confronted by people with their kind of thinking, I can’t help but ask them, “Where is the rule book?” and yes, they do look at me like I’m some sort of nut job. It makes sense to ask though, I mean how am I supposed to know what the rules are if I don’t have a copy of the rule book? Right?

Technically, it’s habit; the same old, same old, and change or doing something completely different just doesn’t enter the mind. The same can be said for the way meals are eaten. Breakfast: eggs, sausage, ham or bacon, toast or muffin, waffles or pancakes, coffee and juice. Lunch: sandwich with chips or French fries, maybe a cup of soup, coffee, tea or cold soft drink. Dinner: meat, poultry or seafood, vegetables, potato, pasta or rice, side salad, dessert, coffee, tea, cold soft drink or milk. Very few restaurants will offer breakfast items all day, or let you order lunch or dinner items for breakfast. The night shift worker must have breakfast for a dinner if they go out to eat after work. Want to have something lighter for dinner, like a simple omelet; sorry, that’s for breakfast only. What I want to know is, who made up these rules, and where is a copy of the rule book?

So I am going to share with you a recipe that can be made, and eaten, for any meal of the day. Enjoy, we certainly do…..yeah, hubby doesn’t like rule book thumpers either.

Home Fried Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
4 large red potatoes, cut into ¼ inch slices; leave skin on
2 large onions, slivered
Seasoning mix (4 Tbsp garlic powder, 2 Tbsp black pepper, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, 1Tbsp dried basil, ½ tsp sea salt, 2 Tbsp paprika)
6 Tbsp butter (or margarine)

Preparation:

Grease the bottom and sides of a 2 qt microwave safe casserole dish with olive oil. Start layering potatoes, onions, seasoning mix and 1 Tbsp butter; should make 4 layers of each total. Reserve 2 Tbsp of butter to use for frying later.

Cover dish, microwave, on high setting, for 8 minutes. Mix contents, microwave for additional 8 minutes.

In a large skillet, on high heat, melt reserved butter. Place contents from microwave dish into skillet; fry potatoes until browned, about 10 minutes.

Serve as a side dish with breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

My brain hurts!

Today is one of those days that I wished I could have stayed in bed, head under the covers, and hidden away from the world. Today is one of those days where almost everyone I spoke with made my eyes cross, and my brain hurt. Advil doesn’t help with this type of day; the synapses in the brain are just too dazed and confused.

So, I seek solace in working on updating my recipes once again. As I reread many, I wonder how in the world I was able to make ingredients listed come together and taste good. I try to think back, remember the outcome, and a choice needs to be made…discard, revamp or accept as is. While I keep many, the garbage can fills with crumpled paper as I think to myself…what was I thinking? Suddenly I realize that my brain doesn’t hurt as much as it had; the confusion had gone into the trash bin also. I wish all difficulties could be so easily solved.

With that said, I now intend on starting on a book that friend Heidi has lent me. It centers upon one of my favorite types of humans, the werewolf; for we all know that werewolves rule and vampires can only drool.

Not to forget the recipe part of this post, here’s a simple dish that uses wine as an ingredient, not just as something to drink on the side.

Enjoy!

Chicken in Port Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves
2 Tbsp crushed, dried basil
¼ tsp each salt and ground black pepper
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ cup canola or peanut oil
¼ cup port wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp cream cheese
2 Tbsp diced, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes

Preparation:

Place the chicken between plastic wrap and pound out to ¼” thickness. Season both sides of chicken with basil, salt and black pepper before lightly coating with flour.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat; brown chicken about three minutes on each side. Remove to platter and keep warm.

Deglaze skillet with port wine; add heavy cream, cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, whisk together. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour
February 15, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day; a celebration of love and affection.

Today is the day named after Saint Valentine, and while no longer considered a religious holiday, it is still celebrated round the world on February 14th. It celebrates the love and affection between partners, whether married, engaged, living together or apart, or just dating; whether the opposite or the same sex. Love doesn’t care, it doesn’t judge you and your lifestyle, love is just that…love.

Roy and I love each other above all others; that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Roy and I are deeply in love with each other; our souls are intertwined; that’s the way it’s supposed to be. People have commented on how happy we make them, just watching us together; we are examples are what a loving relationship is supposed to be. It took us both a second try at the marriage thing; both our first marriages were hurtful; but we learned from it. We took all that learning and applied it to our own relationship; NASA, we do NOT have a problem.

On the other hand, we have had people comment that it is “not fair” that we have such a relationship. They are bitter and angry that they do not have what we have. They have tried to interfere, break us up, but to no avail; and we have pushed these people so far out of our lives, we’ve forgotten what they look or sound like. We have wished them luck, but have no desire to know anymore about them.

Roy and I give each other little gifts often; we don’t wait for a special occasion. We say “I love you” often, everyday; my son would say “you guys look so cute” when he would see us hold hands. We kiss and cuddle; we sigh at the same time, finish each other’s thoughts; yeah, we’re disgustingly cute at times; and very, very happy with each other.

We decided not to go out for dinner tonight, we want something quiet. I’m going to make something very simple that can be made in the time it takes Roy to get home. No mess, no fuss, so more time for us.

So Happy Valentine’s Day, enjoy being in love.

Crab and Swiss Meltaways

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups crab meat (claw or lump – pick through to remove any loose shell pieces), or flaked imitation crab meat (readily available and money friendly)
4 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp mild hot sauce (mild will not overpower the taste of the crab)
2 Tbsp red onion, diced
1 Tbsp dill
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese plus 6 slices Swiss cheese (Sargento’s Baby Swiss is the best)
3 Tbsp butter, softened
½ tsp garlic powder
3 English muffins, split apart and toasted.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In medium bowl, combine crab meat, mayonnaise, hot sauce, onion, dill and shredded Swiss cheese.

In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic powder. Spread the garlic butter on each English muffin part (6 total).

Take crab mixture and form into 6 balls; press onto English muffins and top with a slice of Swiss cheese.

Place onto baking sheet and bake for 5-6 minutes; cheese will be melted and just starting to brown. Serve while hot.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Keeping busy, small comfort.

I get very attached to animals; they're my children, my friends, and when one passes away, it hurts...a lot. Even though Peanut lived outside with her feline family, we still remember when Momma Cat brought her kittens to us. So small they were, and eyes still closed; we built a shelter from a large Rubbermaid storage box, and an old beat up quilt we used to cover furniture in the shed. As they grew older, the kittens ventured out from under the garden shed, and began eating the food we put out for the cat family who had adopted us. Peanut had the most adorable face, so adorable, it should have been illegal. She learned the name I had given her very quickly, and came when called, even though I wasn't putting out food. She was smart, but she forgot one thing; she didn't pay attention to the lessons Momma and Daddy Cat were trying to teach her....beware the big monsters.

I am keeping busy today, so I won't sit outside and wonder where she is, or hope she'll suddenly appear. I know she is dead, and won't be back; reality sucks at times. Cleaning out closets, I wonder why I kept something, or why I didn't buy more of another; the garbage can will be full for tomorrow's pickup. Then I remember, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and wonder what to do about dinner. With Roy's job, we never know, on certain days, if he will get out at regular time, or have to work late...Monday is one of those days. He says, don't worry about it, just make something small, just enough for both of us to enjoy.

So here is the first recipe that I ever entered into a recipe contest, and it won. It appeared in the "Better Homes and Gardens" February 1995 issue, and the funniest part about the recipe...it was all made up in my head. That's right, I had never cooked the recipe before; just looked around the freezer, fridge and pantry, saw what I had on hand, and thought up how to put it together. Sometimes I amaze myself.

Thyme Chicken Marsala
(Winning recipe which appeared in Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, February 1995 issue)

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tbs. flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tbs. olive oil
1 medium carrot, julienne strips
1 small red or yellow pepper, julienne strips
2/3 cup dry Marsala
2 tbs. fresh or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 lb. cooked Linguine or Angel Hair Pasta

Preparation:

Rinse chicken; pat dry. Lightly pound each chicken breast half to 1/4" thickness. Coat breasts lightly with flour; shake off excess. Set aside.

In a large skillet heat 1 tbs. oil. Add carrot strips; cook for 3 minutes. Add pepper strips, garlic, salt and pepper; cook and stir about 5 minutes or till crisp-tender. Arrange on 2 dinner plates; keep warm.

In same skillet heat remaining 1 tbs. oil over medium heat; add chicken. Cook chicken 2 to 3 minutes each side or till no pink remains. Drape vegetables over chicken.

Add Marsala and thyme to skillet. Heat for a few minutes, scraping up browned bits from skillet. Pour over chicken. Serve with hot linguine or angel hair pasta.

Makes 2 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Can't save them all.....

I was going to wait till tomorrow to write this, but I want it off my chest now; my heart is broken, and it hurts so much.

After writing my previous post, I went outside to see if I could find the missing kitten, Peanut, and I did. She was lying in the street, a vehicle must have hit her, and she was gone from our lives. Peanut was a spirited kitten, always into something, and so brave that she would walk into the house whenever you opened the door. She was not afraid of the dogs, and would swat at them as she walked her way to the kitchen. She had the sweetest little face, and the personality to match, and now she is gone.

Her bravery was her undoing. All the other cats and kittens that have taken up residence under our garden shed, for the most part, stay on our property, or on the empty lot next door to us. But she went into the street, and a big monster got her, one she just couldn't swat out of her way.

Not knowing what had happened to her bothered me, and even though I now know, it doesn't make the pain any less. Peanut will be dearly missed; bye, bye little one; we loved you very much. 

Treasures on my shelf and I didn't even know.

This morning the dogs decided that mommy needed to get up at 6AM; sure, why not? Once I'm up, that's it, I'm up; so got busy getting laundry into the washer, feeding the indoor and outdoor pets (however one of the kittens is missing, and I'm a bit upset over that, and then tackled the cooking. By 8am I had my 2-6 qt crock pots going, one containing Beef Stroganoff, the other Chicken Cacciatore. Yes, yes, I'll post the recipes, just hold your horses cause I'm not done telling you about my morning.

Anyway, I decide to take a break, so turn on the boob tube (that means television)to see if anything interesting was on. The movie, "Julie and Julia" which had inspired me to start this blog was on; really like the movie, so figured I'd watch it again. By now Roy was up, and decided to watch it with me. I wanted him to understand the book references, so went to my cookbook collection and pulled out my copies of "Joy of Cooking", and Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", volumes 1 and 2.

How I purchased these books was by antiquing; every year, on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), my mom and I would go to Hershey, Pennsylvania and browse the various antique shops. A 1943 "Joy of Cooking" - $1.50; both volumes of Julia's books - $8 each; and then I checked the print date on them. Stunned silence, and that doesn't happen often to me; volume 1 was the 2nd reprint from November 1961; volume 2 is a first edition (says it right inside the book) from 1970. Gold, I had golden books in my collection, and didn't know until now.

That's my thrill for today, and don't believe anything will top that; well, except if the missing kitten(named Peanut)returns. So, here are the two recipes I promised to post; revamped for the crock pot.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:

4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
½ cup white wine
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
1 (12 oz) can tomato paste
3 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. hot pepper flakes
1 and ½ cups each of red bell and Italian frying peppers, cut into 1 inch strips
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
Cooked rice or pasta

Preparation:

Set a 6-qt slow cooker on low, place chicken breasts on bottom. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except for the cooked rice or pasta; mix thoroughly. Spoon mixture over chicken, replace lid and let cook for 6-8 hours; chicken will be fork tender. Mix occasionally; making sure the chicken gets incorporated into the sauce-vegetable mixture.

Serve over the cooked rice or pasta.

Makes 8-10 servings.

~~~~ and ~~~~

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

3 ½ - 4 lbs. lean beef, cut into ½” cubes
½ cup flour
1-12 oz bag frozen, diced onions
1-8 oz can or jar of sliced mushrooms
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 beef seasoning packets or bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1-10 ¾ oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ lbs cooked, broad egg noodles

Preparation:

Set crock pot on low, and place in all ingredients except the soup, sour cream and egg noodles. Cover and cook for 3 hours; stirring occasionally. Add the soup and cook for 4-5 additional hours; until meat is very tender. Stir in sour cream; let cook for 10 minutes; serve over egg noodles.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Aren’t we all a little obsessive-compulsive?

Think about your day; all the habits and rituals you feel the need to do each morning, afternoon and evening. Whether you chose to create your life this way, or outside factors helped to create it; we all experience it.

The Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders defines Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as an anxiety disorder marked by the recurrence of intrusive or disturbing thoughts, impulses, images or ideas (obsessions) accompanied by repeated attempts to suppress these thoughts through the performance of certain irrational and ritualistic behaviors or mental acts (compulsions). The obsessions and compulsions take up large amounts of the patient's time (an hour or longer every day) and usually cause significant emotional distress for the patient and difficulties in his or her relationships with others.

However, OCD should not be confused with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder even though the two disorders have similar names. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is not characterized by the presence of obsessions and compulsions; rather, it is a lifelong pattern of insistence on control, orderliness, and perfection that begins no later than the early adult years. It is possible, however, for a person to have both disorders.

So, we’re either OCD or OCPD, or both; lovely, why not throw a little more confusion into our lives? No wonder so many people are on some sort of medication to help them deal with everyday life in general.

This relates to cooking how you may ask; well I’m going to tell you. Take, for example, the simple sandwich: 2 slices of some sort of bread (toasted, grilled or left soft), layers of meat, cheese and vegetables; perhaps a condiment or two. The contents might be warmed up, but usually they’re cold. Basically constructed the same exact way every time, picked up and eaten with the hands…sounds boring, doesn’t it?

So, break routine; no, no, no, don’t give up sandwiches altogether, just think up ways of making them different, more exciting. Go messy and don’t worry about the neatness factor. Eat it with a knife and fork if you really, really have to, but try being daring, pick it up and make a total mess…your mouth and stomach will thank you for it.

Beef Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:

½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 lb lean roast beef (not chuck)
2 Tbsp red wine
4 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp minced garlic
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 large bell peppers (red, yellow or orange), cut into ¼” strips
2 large red onions, cut into ¼” strips
3 loaves of crusty Italian bread, cut in half, then cut lengthwise (if soft Italian bread is only available, toast bread in oven before serving)

Preparation:

In a medium skillet, high heat, sear all sides and ends of the beef; remove beef to 4 qt crock pot; set on low heat. Deglaze skillet with wine and ½ cup beef broth; scrape up any stuck bits into the liquid; pour over beef in crock pot. Add remaining broth, garlic, pepper flakes, bell pepper and onion.

Let cook for 6 hours; remove beef to carving board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice beef into ¼” slices.

To make sandwich, dip top and bottom halves of bread into crock pot liquid to let bread absorb flavorful, beefy liquid; place on plate. Layer slices of beef on bottom bread half; top with peppers and onions, top with other half.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour
January 8, 1993 (creation date)