SCALLOPED TUNA POTATOES

Where's Mom Now That I Need Her? hit another home run with this recipe which I of course slightly altered.

SCALLOPED TUNA POTATOES

3 Tbsp butter
1/4 C minced onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
1/2 tsp Old Bay
3 Tbsp flour
2 C milk
1 (6 1/2 oz) can tuna, drained and flaked
3 large potatoes thinly sliced
Shredded cheese


Saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Stir in salt, pepper, Old Bay and flour; whip in milk to make sauce. Continue cooking, stir constantly until thickened. Add tuna and heat through. Layer potatoes in 8x8 square pan; sprinkle cheese over potatoes (I actually sprinkled the potatoes with some Lemon Pepper before I put on the cheese) then pour tuna mixture over top. Bake covered at 350 degrees for one hour then uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, or until potatoes are tender.

If you get the potatoes thin enough they will cook even faster then the 1 1/2 hours required.

I do not have a picture because in this house it is hard enough to move at a speed befitting the boys. It seems like I barely have enough time to pull my hands away from their plates.

BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING

Butterscotch Pudding found at Framed Cooks I am really not a butterscotch fan, actually kinda repulses me, but I love making homemade pudding and I have people in the house that like butterscotch so I  made this recipe I found at Framed Cooks. I ate some and I have to say it was  excellent I loved it, not as much as chocolate pudding, but hey we can't all be  as yummy as chocolate. 6 ounces butter 2 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed 2 1/2 cups half and half (I substituted evaporated milk) 10 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 cups milk or half and half 6 egg yolks 1 tablespoon vanilla Combine butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring.  Add half and half, stirring until smooth. Combine cornstarch and salt in bowl. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk or half and half  until cornstarch dissolves. Add to saucepan with remaining 3 cups milk or half and half.  Bring to boil over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Boil gently  2 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Slowly whisk  in egg yolks, stirring until smooth. Add vanilla. Return saucepan to heat and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Strain and pour into  12 custard cups. Serve warm or cold. Makes 12 servings. Original source: Wolfgang Puck via the LA Times I do not have half and half on hand usually so I substituted evaporated milk for half and half. Oh and those 6 egg whites, I saved them (divided in half) and made the Chocolate Cloud cookies.

MAC I HAVE COME HOME

It's official I'm in love, the new love of my life is sleek and brilliant. The new love of my life is my iMac, she has a beautiful LED screen that is way bigger then my old Dell and she comes with less baggage (read no tower). I have spent the past two days ogling, caressing and discovering all my iMac has to offer. It has been nearly 11 years since I have owned or used a Mac computer and I have missed it.  Microsoft is what it is I have nothing negative to say I just LOVE Mac. It is going to take me a while to get back into the swing of the Mac again. Just yesterday I sat in front of my Mac trying to figure out how to capture a picture that a friend took and posted. In a Microsoft world I would right click my mouse and either choose copy or save as depending on my intent. Let me tell you it is hard to stop right-clicking. Then I thought what is the simplest way to grab an image and I remembered why Mac is my first lover...just click on the image, grabbing it, and drag it to my desktop. Simplicity, what you see is what you get, that is why I love Mac.

A lot of things have changed while I was away, cool changes iPhoto, GarageBand and Photobooth to name a few. So forgive me my absence while I reacquaint myself with an old friend.

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN AND STRESS

I am making two meals in my slow cooker today because I am lazy and I am stressed the heck out. I have so much swirling around me that it feels like there is mass hysteria in my mind.  The 3 (nearly 4) year old does not want to potty train, while he has shown me he is quite capable of using the toilet he just does not want to and frankly I am tired of changing diapers. I have been changing diapers for nearly 8 years straight, I had a 2 month hiatus between Kaleb getting trained and the birth of Evan. I am through with changing his diapers, I have offered bribes which worked for a week now the bathroom is too much of an inconvenience again. He will just keep wetting his underware and having accidents I suppose WHATEVER!

Then Mister gets the Cub Scout den dropped in his lap coming on the end of the year. He agreed to take over the den for next year, but come to find out the previous leader is not even going to finish what was started and is just dropping the majority in Mister's lap. I got an email that infuriated me about how as a leader he would not attend the Blue and Gold Ceremony. Mister just agreed yesterday to take over now...after 2 weeks of this person not performing the duties and last minute dumping them on Mister. I am appalled that the comment was made after all the shortcomings this person has confessed.

Kaleb's teacher is a total waste of a year, she is so inconsistent and unreliable I am ready to call the principal on the lack of communication. I have not been given the courtesy of a return call that I requested twice now. I just have this feeling that she is less then enamored with Kaleb (which is whatever since you cannot like every child I suppose) and has not fostered an appropriate level of concern over his success in 2nd grade. I feel like he is being ignored and left to his own devices instead of being included in the classroom. I am seething, I feel the anger hot in my chest starting to fume.

So those being my major gripes for the time being I am lest then thrilled with making dinner. I threw 4 chicken breasts into the slow cooker, added about 2C frozen turkey stock (I made from Thanksgivings carcass) 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 medium onion sliced, half a green pepper sliced and a 4oz can of green chilies with some water to cover the chicken. Then I mixed together my own fajita seasoning as follows...

FAJITA SEASONING

1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

I set the slow cooker on low for 6 hours, seasoned with the fajita seasoning to taste, and I will shred it when it is done cooking. Tonight we will have chicken quesadillas and then later in the week I will use the rest of the shredded chicken to make chicken puffs (new recipe untested).

CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

2 chicken breasts, shredded
package of flour tortillas
1 can (16 oz ) refried beans
2 C shredded mexican cheese
1 medium tomato, diced
sour cream, optional

Place a flour tortilla on a cookie sheet, spread refried beans on tortilla. Personally I like a slightly thick layer of bean, maybe about 1/2 inch while the boys do not care for it at all. Then I place shredded chicken around on top of the bean, as much or as little as you want then cover with cheese, at least a cup's worth because this is what binds your quesadilla together. Quesadilla's are great because the preparer can make them to their liking with as much or as little of the ingredients as you want. Place another tortilla on top of that cheese and place in the oven 350 degrees until cheese melts about 10-15 minutes. Serve with fresh diced tomato and sour cream .

POTLUCK BANANA CAKE AND A NEW DRYER

POTLUCK BANANA CAKE from Taste of Home
This is a tasty cake, and the frosting reminds me of my mom's coffee cookies which I will post here sometime. The cake is super moist even a couple days later and everything is just as tasty.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

COFFEE FROSTING:

1/3 cup butter, softened

2-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add

eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in

vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed

mixture alternately with bananas and sour cream, beating well after

each addition.

Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for

35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes

out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For frosting, in a small bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar

until smooth. Dissolve coffee granules in milk; add to butter mixture and beat until smooth. Spread over cake. Yield: 12-15 servings.

So my dryer broke last Thursday...had 3 loads of laundry backed up that I washed Friday so when Mister got home we could just go to the laundromat down the street and dry them. EEEEWWWWWW is the best thing I can say about that laundromat. So yesterday we spent some time at Lowes. I was romancing some beautiful machines, sweet talking to this Samsung and caressing an Electrolux. Luckily common sense ruled out and we went with another Whirlpool from the scratch and dent area saving about $100 dollars and keeping the expense to a minimum without getting a cheap machine. This is after all a dryer (I keep telling myself that) and knowing that we need more room then available in this house when we get a chance to move I do not want to take appliances with me the next set will be the sexy stuff...maybe even Electrolux.

EXHAUSTED WONDER WAFFLES

These are not the best waffle I have ever made, but they are the best reheated from frozen waffle I have ever made. Truly amazing, right out of the freezer I popped it into the toaster and it came out crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, like I just made it fresh! Awesome. The recipe came from the Home Cooking magazine that is no longer being printed, so I went to see if I could find it on the Web and I ran into another waffle recipe that I HAVE TO TRY. It is a yeast recipe and I love working with yeast no matter how gross that sounds.

WONDER WAFFLES from Home Cooking Magazine

Now the waffles are not exhausted, I am. The boys have been cutting my sleep off at 6 hours most nights, and even that is to be considered sleeping in most days. I feel like I am not truly awake, but my body is moving around. Feeling like something the cat drug in made it a great morning to have some of these waffles still in the freezer. I toasted one up, drizzled on the syrup and cut up some strawberries...look out world I even got fancy and tried my hand at cutting a fan into one strawberry.
1 1/3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 to 1-1/4 C milk
3 Tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sugar; set aside. Beat egg whites just until stiff, moist peaks form. Without washing beaters beat egg yolks lightly in a different bowl. Stir in milk, extracts and oil into yolks; blend well. Stir yolk mixture into dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites. Bake waffles in waffle iron. Freeze waffles in freezer bag; reheat waffle in toaster.

Makes 10 waffles

WESTERN CHILI RICE AND ANTICIPATION

WESTERN CHILI RICE adapted from Home Cooking Magazine

I do not have many rice recipes, so anything that makes rice more exciting without having to add meat is a great find. I figure adding some chili beans to this dish would make it a pretty hardy meatless dish.

2 Tbsp butter
1 C chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 C chicken or beef broth
2 C uncooked long grain rice
1 can (10 oz) tomato soup
1 Tbsp marjoram
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
chopped cilantro for garnish, if desired


In large skillet/stock pot saute butter, onion and garlic for 3 minutes. Add broth, rice, tomato soup, marjoram, chili powder, oregano, cumin and salt. Cover and simmer until all liquid has been absorbed by rice, about 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over individual servings, if desired.

I am not-so-patiently waiting for our new computer to arrive. I am like a dorky little kid waiting for someone to come over and play; everytime I hear something that sounds remotely like a large truck I rush to the window to look out hopeful that it is my new computer. Today is the earliest possible delivery date, it could arrive as late as next Wednesday...this could be a long week. On a more positive note I began bribing Evan to use the toilet with Hershey kisses and it's working like a charm. The little angel has been using the toilet for 2 days straight...I knew the shyster could do it but just lacked the motivation. I think that once we go out and buy a new dryer, oh yeah last night the dryer took a dump, I will put him into underpants during the day. Yes underpants! I am not going to let him backslide again and knowing that there will inevitably be accidents I am not going to torture myself by having loads of laundry with no dryer to dry them.