Birthday Under Construction

ConstructionCake

Originally uploaded by journeytomom.

My little boy (not a baby anymore, sniff) turned 4 this past weekend. He chose a construction theme for his little party and this is the cake I made for him. Now I didn’t think this up all by myself. Since I knew he wouldn’t eat the typical pudding recipe for dirt “cake,” I searched around for another idea. I found this idea on Kraftfoods.com (Construction Birthday Cake).

I used a boxed marble cake – Duncan Hines, I think – and baked in a 9×13 inch pan. Once it cooled enough to remove from the pan I cut about 2 inches from one end, shortening the cake. I then frosted the cake with cool-whip and dusted it with oreo crumbs. The portion I had cut off I shaped into some boulders (sprinkling more crumbs over that) and then added the backho and bulldozer, digging and buldozing bits of cake. He and his little friends loved it!

One issue with using cool whip is that the cake has to stay in the refridgerator until you are ready to display it. If it sits out too long, you’ll wind up with a cool puddle. I dare say if I, a non-baker, can do this, anyone can. It was pretty simple and fun to do.

Mae’s Pimento Cheese

This one probably doesn’t quite make it into the healthy recipe category. I had to make some finger sandwiches for Bible study this week, and decided I’d try my hand at homemade pimento cheese. First I scoured the internet for recipes, and discovered there are nearly as many ways to make this cheesy sandwich spread as there are people that make it! Then I remembered that both my mother-in-law and step-mom make it. So I asked them for their recipes.

While both are very good, I chose to try my step-mom’s recipe. No offense, Ann, but I preferred the cheddar over the velveeta. The hard part after making it was not gobbling it all up. I had to remind myself that it was for someone else. And, here’s the recipe:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 oz. jar diced pimentos
• 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

Blend all ingredients with hand mixer. Allow to season overnight in fridge. It makes about 2 cups.

Thanks a bunch to you both for the recipes!

Simple Chicken Breasts

So much in the Nourishing Traditions cook book, by Sally Fallon, leans heavily towards the gourmet, which doesn’t quite fit into my everyday life or budget. But this one, as the name implies, is simple and very versatile. I very much like things simple.

• 6 chicken breasts, with skin on
• juice of two lemons
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Trim chicken breasts and pound lightly with the small prong side of a meat hammer. Marinate several hours in lemon juice. Brush a heavy-bottomed skillet [I like my good old iron skillet] with olive oil and allow it to heat up. Pat chicken pieces dry. Cook over moderate heat on both sides, two or three at a time, for about 7 minutes to a side. Transfer to a heated platter and keep warm in the oven. Serve plain or with an accompaniment such as cilantro pesto, corn relish, chismole, curry sauce, or red enchilada sauce; or serve cold with Creole mayonnaise.

Variation: Mexican Chicken Breasts- Use juice of 4 limes in place of lemons. Add 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon chile flakes to marinade. May be grilled or barbecued.

See what I mean about versatile? Of course, recipes for each of the suggested accompaniments are also in the book. In spite of it’s gourmet leaning, there are many other practical recipes like this. It’s also choc full of valuable information on nutrition and food. It is among my very favorite cook books.

Oxtail Stew

This is another winter favorite of mine. I decided to try oxtails a few years ago when I noticed them at my local Wholefoods Market. I have several recipes printed and have tried parts of each of them until I think I’ve found my own “niche” with it. Now this is definitely a low and slow stew and I learned the hard way about trying to make it work in just an hour or two. It just doesn’t work. Plan on cooking this pot of goodness all day long.

Start with 2-3 pounds of oxtails and 2-3 quarts of filtered water – to cover. One of the recipes I have suggests simmering for a couple of hours then cooling in the refrigerator until the fat congeals on top to spoon it off. This didn’t work for me trying to do it in the same day I wanted to serve it. I’m thinking next time I will simmer the oxtails a couple of hours the night before and let it chill in the refrigerator over night. Then in the morning I can spoon off that fat, strain the broth, and add the rest of the ingredients.

• 4 potatoes, peeled & chopped
• 4 carrots, peeled & chopped
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• Another quart or so filtered water, as needed
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon each herbs of choice (I used basil and oregano last time, but think I prefer rosemary – any other suggestions?)

Slowly bring all that to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours, or as long as you have until dinner. First serving I usually serve it up bones & all – much to my husbands dislike. After that I remove any bones and return the meat to the pot. This makes a big pot and the flavor gets better after another day or two, which makes goooood leftovers.

Coming Soon . . .

. . . to a blog near you. (I always wanted to say that )

I just could not get these posted this week.

• Oxtail Stew – one of my favorite, albeit uncommon, meals during winter months.
• Simple chicken breasts – easy as pie recipe from Sally Fallon.

I made the above for dinners this week and wanted to post the recipes. We are heading out of town – hubby and I for a romantic weekend, and little mister to spend time with his grandfolks. So, will aim at next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

Valentine Cookies

I have had numerous post ideas pop in and right back out of my head lately. And here I’ve had the honor of being linked from the fabulous “My Sister’s Kitchen” and have been getting lots of visitors from over there. My apologies that it’s been so quiet around here. I have to admit that most days I do good just to get dinner on the table (not to mention those other meals) – you know, basic sustenance for my family. I guess I haven’t come up with anything very noteworthy since those fajitas over a week ago – my poor family.

Lo and behold, Valentine’s day is this week. While that’s not a real big holiday for me, I do need to take a little something to my son’s daycare class at my weekly Bible study. So, I’ve pulled out my trusty Pampered Chef  Cookie Press gun to make some heart cookies. I’m also going to make some of those cheesecake cookies for my bible study group.

Anyway, back to the heart cookies. This is the best recipe I’ve found so far to use in the cookie gun. It’s from the Southern Living 1981 recipe collection:

Melt-Away Butter Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add flour, and mix well. Stir in flavorings.

Use a cookie gun or cookie press to shape dough into desired shapes (I’ve used this recipe at Christmas, too), following manufacturer’s instructions. Place cookies on ungreased cookie sheets, and bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Store in airtight containers, placing waxed paper between layers of cookies. Yield: about 7 dozen.

It’s a simple recipe that makes yummy cookies. They can also be decorated for added fun. I would suppose one could try different flavor extracts – like almond, perhaps – instead of the lemon. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Steak Fajitas

I love Tex Mex! Gee, I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that I grew up in TEXAS. Yeah, probably. So, I had a skirt steak and wondered what to do with it. When I found that’s the typical cut of meat used for fajitas – well, what do you think? I made fajitas! BTW, I got that skirt steak from a grass fed/free range ranch. Good stuff. So, I used a recipe found on the Simply Recipes website for Steak Fajitas, for the most part.

Yeah, I’m a Texan, but I’ve lost my tolerance for jalapenos. So, I left those out. I also did not have any Cilantro on hand. So, other than those two ingredients, I followed the recipe as it is written. Oh, I had to use 2 limes. I guess I didn’t select well in the grocery story; I could barely get a teaspoon of juice from either of the limes I had. And, I marinated the steak just over 8 hours.

Oh yes. I served said fajitas with tortillas, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese and guacamole – I don’t do iceburg lettuce. Now, I adore avocados. So I prefer to keep my guacamole pretty simple and let that avocado flavor shine. I basically just mash up a couple of avocados and squeeze in some lime or lemon juice to taste, sprinkle with some salt and pepper and a dash of garlic powder. That’s it! Let’s not complicate an already perfect food, OK. Enjoy.

Side note: I did find another recipe for grilling skirt steak that was pretty good. But I’ll save that for grilling weather.