One Pot

When you are feeling a little sluggish, or are in a hurry, or just don't want to spend any more time cleaning up than you have to it is nice to have a go to meal that you can cook and serve in one pot! Here are some of our favorite one pot wonders.

Noodles and tomatoes
Ingredients
* 2 cups prepared pasta (I prefer egg noodles or elbows)
* 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (you can use whole tomatoes as well and just moosh them up)
* 2-3 tablespoons butter
* salt
* pepper

Directions
1. Prepare the pasta according to package directions and drain well.
2. While the pasta is draining, melt the butter in the pasta pot.
3. Add the pasta back to the pot, mix well.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, mix well and serve.

NEW ENGLAND BOILED DINNER
1 corned beef brisket about 2-3 lbs.
1 lg. cabbage
6 to 8 carrots
6 to 8 potatoes
boiling onions
3-4 Parsnips
Dash of salt and pepper

1. Put corned beef in large pot. Fill with water 1/2 way to cover beef and boil for one to three hours depending on size of brisket.
2. Slice cabbage into quarters and put also in pot and boil for 35 minutes.
3. Add carrots and potatoes and cook for another 35 minutes on medium flame.
4. You can also add boiling onions or parsnips if you like at the last step.

Shannon's red Chili
4-5 slices bacon
1 pound ground beef
2 hot sausages (removed from casing)
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 jalapeno
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 large canned diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 garlic clove
1 tbps. butter
2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in boiling water
1 tbps. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
hot sauce to taste

Directions.
1. Brown onions and garlic in butter over medium/medium high heat.
2. Add bacon and cook until crisp.
3. Add ground beef and sausage and brown
4. dice and add mushrooms.
5. dice and add red, green, and jalapeno peppers.
6. Add diced tomatoes and lower heat to medium.
7. Add chicken stock and tomato paste.
8. Spice to taste and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes over medium heat.
9. Serve with sour cream/ jalapenos/ cheese on top.


Chicken Soup

4 cups chicken stock
1 can chicken or 1 chicken breast, 1 full leg of chicken, or equivalent.
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup broccoli stalk
2 carrots
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup peas
evoo
turmeric
salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Soften garlic and onion in butter pot over medium heat.
2. Add chicken stock to pot and increase temp to medium high.
3. Add diced cooked or canned chicken, diced broccoli and celery. Cook for twenty minutes.
4. Add carrots and spices. Cook for five more minutes.
5. Add peas. If cook for three minutes then serve.
I am not a noodle girl but you could certainly add in the second step if you like...

Brownie Cookies
For the undecided crowd!
Brownie batter
Cookie dough
Pam Cooking Spray or butter
Pan
Directions:
1. Add brownie batter to coated cooking pan.
2. Drop cookie dough drops into brownie batter.
3. Bake per brownie directions adding five minutes or so if needed.
Enjoy!

Summer

Summer 2009 is flying by at a never before seen pace! I can't believe July is already half gone.It seems like just yesterday we headed down to Newport with the family for a great Barbecue cookout, and Margarita tasting session! We love it that Art's sis is a QC and Development person for a juice company and we get to "help" taste sometimes ;) I made some Dulce de Pina Tamales that we tasted on our trip to Mexico in May. It was great fun and we had a blast with the family as always :-)
We had yet another commercial property deal fall through in May also. But one of the others we had originally looked at (and bid) on went into receivership so we made an offer to the foreclosing bank. After much back and forth it was accepted and we once again started down the hell-path that is purchasing commercial property.Buying a house is so much easier! No lawyers, no environmental surveys, site plan and planning board approval, town approval, water protection district surveys, septic design and approvals, meetings with town planner, fire department chief, building inspector, abutters, the inspections, the dickering back and forth, the paperwork (and the lawyers...) In June we did a final series of planning board meetings and got approval for our site plan review. So after the thirty day waiting period is up we get to finally close on our new location Monday.
In June we also took a quick trip down to New York City to see our wonderful resident niece/tour guide and to go to the Fancy Food Show. We spent one day running around Central Park, and doing a bit of a pub crawl going to the oldest, and one renowned bar that didn't allow women until the 1970's. The next day we spent snacking and tasting our way through the Javits Center at the Fancy Food Show with Art's sister.
We started with coffee sampling and pastries although it wasn't too long before Art found a Tequila booth... The Mexican coffee next door hit the spot for me :-)> Loved all the chocolate with a special love for cold hot chocolate. I can't remember tasting so many yummy chocolates! Other standouts included Margarita in a bag (just add booze and freeze). It was like a big capri sun bag with a twist cap on it. I got a theme flavored lip balm at the Baconnaise booth. Everything's better with bacon! Sparkling teas were everywhere, and in the Far East section they had a jellied aloe drink that was surprisingly tasty. I had the best proscuitto I have ever had and breads, cheeses... There were a lot of rose flavored or hibiscus flavored drinks and wines. Not really for me... kind of like munching on flowers from the garden. Hot sauces, puddings, mousses, coffee, wine, juices... The hint mint people had a new flavor to introduce but no samples. Weird. The jelly belly booth had a Harry Potter's selection of weird flavors like pencil shavings, and skunk flavored beans. I didn't try those.
We topped it off by meeting up with everyone at Rockefeller Center for drinks, then off to Grand Central to home.
It rained every day with a sparse four partially dry days in June. Our pellet stove popped on July 1 it was so cold and damp. So we thought we may as well try to plan a "sunny" vaca, holiday if you will, in Ireland. We had two weeks to wait through the appeals period to close on the land and the store is quiet. It is July after all... So off we went. I patched on a couple of days in London so we flew in there before heading off to Ireland.

London was great. We did the typical tourist double decker red bus tour in the morning. We stopped at the Tower of London for a tour in the afternoon. We were staying just a couple of blocks from the Gloucester tube station, Kensington Palace, and Hyde Park. We ate fish and chips, had a Ploughman's Sharer, and lots of pints. The tube is an awesome way to get around London although we did take the notorious black cab to our hotel the first night. Wicked expensive, but quite an experience. We took the tube or walked the rest of our time there. The second day we walked through Hyde Park and over to Buckingham Palace. I had dreamed of seeing the changing of the guard since I was a little girl. I was shocked at how large the palace was, and how many people were gathering. I almost wondered if the Queen would make an appearance there were so many there. Not this time, but the changing of the guard was wonderful. Like having a parade every day! It was a bit cheezy when they played Yesterday and the theme to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It was great. Then we headed over to the National Museum. Despite it's many bins requesting pounds for donation every ten steps it is a Free museum. It was like walking through my Art History class in college. Dream come true. Unbelievable really. The museum even housed my all time favorite painting by Jan Van Eyck, the Arnolfini Portrait. Often called Arnolfini's Wedding although it isn't truly a wedding picture, but a portrait of Arnolfini and his wife. Then off to Harrod's for a wild and frantic experience. Man that place is huge and packed, and huge! We had a great last dinner at a local pub before hopping the tube back to Heathrow.

We arrived late in Dublin and caught the last bus into town. We taxied from there to our hotel by Dublin Castle. We decided to hit it in the morning. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral first then headed off to Dublin Castle for a tour. Tiny compared to the Tower of London, but still spectacular. We were surprised to learn that it is still used as a government center and has never been out of commission. We even got to go down into the belly and see an old Viking wall from the year 900 or so... Then off to walk, shop, and pub crawl.
The next day we walked by the Guinness plant which hubby loves but I do not, so we bypassed the 20 Euro per person tour and headed off to Jameson. We both like Jameson and the tour was much more affordable at only seven Euro a person. We did a Jameson sampling while waiting. I liked the plain old Jameson the best, and hubby liked the special 12 year old blend the best. During the tour I was also selected to partake in a tasting panel. After the tour we tasted a Scotch (Johnny Walker), a Bourbon (Jack), and Whisky- Jameson, of course. I truly did like the Jameson best. I gave the Scotch to Art. I do not like that 'I just licked a fireplace floor' aftertaste. Then we got free samples and tottered off for a great Italian dinner.
The next day it was raining and it was also the day to pick up our rental car or as they say hire a car. We got a little Hyundai foru banger with standard shift. We zipped out of Dublin heading for Waterford driving on the left hand side of the road, hubby flicking the windshield wipers on each time he meant to signal and having a grand time! We didn't mind that it was raining but we did get off our scheduled path an had a great detour through the countryside. Going 80 km/hr on the wrong side of the road on tiny little lanes that are frequently edged by ten feet tall shubberies that have been cut back making them look like walls was quite an experience. We did decide that Green was indeed the best way to describe Ireland if you had only one word.
Waterford on a Sunday was a bust. Everything was closed. We stopped by the tourist information then headed down to bump along the Copper Coast. Beautiful drive with green pastures, sheep, cliffs, castles, and quaint little towns.
The next day we went to the Waterford Crystal plant before heading out of dodge. We headed up to Graigeunamanagh and the Cushendale Woollen Mills. I thought it would be easy to find woollen yarns and sweaters but it was shockingly difficult. It seems that they mostly import their yarn from England now, and knitting has gone by the wayside. We did pick up many skeins of yarn for what will someday be a sweater for Art, a woollen blanket, some gloves, and a sweater for me.
The prices in Ireland were an eye opener. Our cabbie in Lonon warned us that it was extremely expensive there. A pint in England being on average 4 pound, and in Ireland often twice that. It didn't take long to find that to be true. Still not sure why??
We continued on to Kilkenny. I think this was my favorite Irish destination this trip. We were a block from Kilkenny castle and right downtown. We toured the castle and walked the grounds a couple of times. They have even renovated parts of it, and still retain some of the Ormonde family art which was displayed in a spectacular hall.
We walked, shopped, an pub crawled some more. I could sit for hours an watch the ducks swim against the current and play on the Noor River that runs through town.
At some point Art wrenched his knee so we spent the second night here sipping Jameson and playing Cribbage in the room.
We headed back to Dublin for the last night. There was a convention or gathering of priests and nuns at the hotel we were staying at. I got the biggest kick when a priest and another guy walked into the bar. The guy ordered a 7 Up and the priest asked for Jameson on the rocks.
We headed back the next morning. British Midland Airways has taken the title of world's worst airline from ATA and that was no small feat. They were awful from start to finish, and the snark was unbelievable! Luckily, we were on Virgin from Heathrow back to Boston. They were amazing. They helped me check in and went to Art since he was sitting down for his knee issue. The inflight entertainment made the seven hour flight pass very quickly. The wine and lunch helped a bit too.
I am happy to be home now. I opted out of the trip to Ponte Vedra Florida next week which we were supposed to go to the Pellet Fuels Institute annual meeting. Our partner and maybe Art will go instead. Then we just have one more trip in front of us before we hunker down for stove season.
I will put pictures up and stop by your blogs soon! Hope your summer is going well :-)

Fire!

Between the cold wet grass, the gray skies, the fired up dog, the smoke, and of course the flames from the massive pile of sticks and limbs Blizzie decided to stay in her basket today.
Hubby has been on fire in the yard this year! He and the bobcat have two piles of ice storm debris like this, and a third yet to be compiled.
This one is clearly viewed from the house so I was delighted when I peeked out the window and saw it ablaze!
Fire is fascinating. I love my pellet stove, and the pellet fire is cool to watch, but wood fire is mesmerizing. The pops, hisses, snakes, and sizzles just add to the effect!
Hubby is the firemaster. I help move some of the smaller sticks but he just throws tree limbs about without a second thought of the heat!
Polar had a great time! He loves to hang out with us. He did wish we had hot dogs though... come to think of it so did I!
It was a perfect night for a bonfire. It was chilly and has been cold and rainy the past couple of days. Nice to hang out in the warm glow!
Impressed that hubby got it burned down by 11:00pm. About six hours- just right! The ice storm is fading into my memory.

National Donut Day!!

I thought it was a Dunkie's holiday, but Krispy Kream (sp?) is doing it, too. Maybe even Winchel's, etc...

Longest Week!

We lost our beloved Ginney this week. She was always low girl on the totem pole but she was also very sweet. She loved to be cuddled and enjoyed it when I would hand feed her or fend Elliot off. She was sick for a while and I knew that but it is still sad...
We have also been going through tough times with our now thirteen year old cat Zoi. This is the little one they told us to euthenize last fall because she would not live for more than a week or two. Well our stubborn little kitty showed them. But, she now is extremely incontinent and thus is outside or in a room lined with a tarp for her frequent mishaps. It is so frustrating when she piddles mere inches from her cat box. Her balance is a little wonky but otherwise she seems fine. She can run to the door or across the field just fine.
Then Tuesday came... After a long night with Zoi I discovered that Elliot Roo had run away. Very strange because even if he hops or is let out of the fence he stays very close to his girls and food bowl. Today he was gone. I walked all around the woods (through the poison ivy thank you very much!) to try to find him and I swore I could hear him when I called out to him, but I could not find him... Two days later I found that a neighbor had put him in their fence. So now I have the conundrum of whether I should let him stay there and let the girls live free of this tyrant or do I bring him back home?
We went through a stressful morning getting a "proper" commitment letter from the bank for our property purchase, then ran down to the store to try to finalize an advertising program with the local aaa baseball team, and then went through a six hour review with one of our guys. SIX hours! He is the second of six. This could be a long summer!
Then the bomb. Toward the end of the review Art's cell phone rang. It was his eldest sister. I told him to take it so he left the table for about twenty minutes. When he came back we wrapped up and dropped our guy off at the shop.
Art's Mom has been doing so much better this year, walking several feet at a time and feeling and looking better than she has in a long time. We were almost feeling comfortable. We weren't even thinking about Dad. My father in law had a vein burst in one eye and now he is blind in that eye. They also fear that the other eye will soon do the same. This is devastating. This man lives to carve and read. He is also very active and the primary caretaker in the house.
My Mil and I were talking last week because her driver's license is coming due. At her age she would have to take a driving test to keep it. She hasn't driven since going in a wheelchair and her eyesight is not that great anyway. So when I asked if she was going to renew she laughed at me and told me there was no way she could drive anymore.
The siblings all coordinated to see who could get them to their necessary doctor's appointments in the coming weeks. Art called to try to get them to Mass Eye and Ear for a second opinion. They stubbornly refused help or a ride down there insisting that Dad could still drive just fine with his one good eye. They also sprung on us that since Dad's other eye is in peril Mom is going to get hand controls and renew her license. What?!? This is where we are at...

Peek in Our Fridge

I love it when I see the online articles and pictures of what's in who's fridge. We try to guess who the bachelor is, who's the professional chef... Here is a snap shot of our fridge pre-shopping. A little sad but at least our egg bin is full :-)
When we travel our fridge can be barren or when we are super busy it can be loaded with leftover containers! When we are home I do try to stock up with meats a couple of times a month, and I try to get fresh fruits and veggies once a week. It has been three weeks since I last went shopping and we traveled before that so it looks like we got a lot. I am hoping that we can make it at least another two weeks before I do a big shop again!
I did a coupon experiment this week. I made my shopping list like normal, then I spent about twenty minutes online looking to see if there were coupons for any of the items on my list. I was shocked at how many I found. So I printed the coupons from the various sites- http://www.coupons.com was the best I found. You didn't have to give up any info to get the coupons. I also grabbed the doubling coupons from Stop and Shop, and printed a coupon page from Shaws. I still looked to see if the off-brand was less expensive (it was for Sudafed and Dole salad) but otherwise I used the coupons. I spent $97 and $44 ($141) at two different stores. I saved $14.50 at one, and $9.65 with club card discounts at the other. That was a total of $24.15! Just for taking a few minutes to print some silly coupons! Will I do that again? Uuummmmm... Heck Yeah!
Growing up in Utah instilled a good sense of pantry in me. What does that mean, you ask? I stock up on dry and canned goods to last through an emergency and then some! I am not as much of a pack rat as I used to be but I do stock up if they have a sale, like this week they had their canned tomatoes 10 for $10 so I got them because I know I will use them eventually so I might as well save when the saving is good!
We are lucky to have a separate bar/game room in our house. So we keep all the beverages in there, well the cold ones anyway ;-) I also use it to stash any zip-seal fruit from our garden that I couldn't cram into our regular freezer.
Hope you enjoyed the tour through my pantry! All this talk of food is making me hungry! and thirsty!! I'm going to go get a snack :-)>

Spring

Spring has arrived in New England with of it's glory! The seeds are being planted, the flowers are beginning to grow, the black flies are out in force, and new baby chicks abound! Today we ran around doing last minute errands with hubby driving right past Blue Seal which was on my list. So we went to Tractor Supply instead. Happy day! There is a farmer's market set up with all sorts of plants, new ducklings, bunnies, and chicks galore! I have had my eye on getting silkies since I got my chicks! Of course, there were many silkies at TS today! Hubby groaned when I reminded him that I did ask to go to Blue Seal and HE is the one that drove right past and decided to go to TS! We came home with two adorable new silkie beaks :) Wanting to continue our alphabet scheme of naming that left us with I and J. Inga- yikes, isla, ingrid... No. Then I thought we could break with tradition and name one Sam and one Carter (Stargate...) We settled on Isabel and Jesabel, with hubby reserving the right to call one Igor if it turns out to be a roo.
Miss Jesabel checking out her new digs.
Isabel has a set of lungs! Every time I left the coop she would hop up on her box and start peeping at the top of her lungs!
I just love fluffy hineys!
Too cute for words!
The other girls are loving the warmer weather!
Elliot is having a time out because he has been a very naughty bird lately. Pecking, attacking, bullying...
Seeds have been planted in the greenhouse and beans are beginning to sprout in the field.
We have a serious chive patch already!
We kept our tradition of starting off the summer with a drink at Poco's in Portsmouth sitting on the deck watching boats and jellyfish in the water.
Blizzy has slimmed down to twelve pounds because she runs around all day now. She loves to play with chipmunks. She missed the memo that she is supposed to eat them but loves to chase them!
Other flowers around the yard.
We even have these little daffies hanging on!
Happy Spring 2009!