Fondant Fun

O.K., so I live with my head stuck in a backwards time warp. We do not have TV. Well, we HAVE a TV, but we do not get basic cable, cable or satellite. No TV stations come through on our set.

We do however have Netflix. And we do log onto Hulu.com. So, through Netflix, I discovered Cake Boss. I got hooked, so I took myself down to the local Michaels, and signed up for a cake decorating in fondant class.

Tonight was my final class, and I just had to share my "masterpiece."

Ravioli Salad

Last night, I was late getting started on dinner. Really late. Like 7:30 PM late. So, what to do on short notice for something good, yet fast and filling. Solution. Rob the pantry. Here's what I came up with. It will be a regular for us.

Ravioli Salad

2/3 package Trader Joes mini cheese-filled ravioli

½ cup olive oil

6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound cooked, diced chicken breast OR 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced

2 carrots, grated

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and ground pepper in serving bowl. Mix with a whisk to emulsify. When pasta reached desired tenderness, drain and add to serving bowl, stirring to coat. Add chicken, cucumber, carrots, basil and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Eureka Spaghetti Sauce

I crave spaghetti and meatballs on a fairly regular basis. I try and try to make the spaghetti sauce I crave, but cannot achieve it--until now.

This is the spaghetti sauce I made this evening. Here's the thing, though: very rarely do I follow a recipe. I just like to cook my way. So the measurements are approximate.

Eureka Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 large cloves garlic, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

Heat a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When warm, add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes. Add ground beef, and cook until no longer pink. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through. Add oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, granulated sugar and red wine. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir in basil when ready to serve.

This is the spaghetti sauce I have been looking for. I will have to try it with meatballs, but this is IT. I think the secret of the sauce is the red wine.

Swimming upstream

Yesterday, I had a busy day planned. I was sitting at my table writing down exactly what I was going to do to accomplish my goals for the day, when I heard, “CRASH! BANG!” from my youngest child's room. I went running, only to discover complete chaos.

He had built a “fort” from blankets and chairs that encompassed almost the entire room. He was doing some rearranging by picking up a chair to move it, when the chair came in contact with his beta fish bowl. The bowl when flying. Stinky fish water drenched blankets, sleeping bag and floor. We desperately tried to locate little Razzy (the fish) to no avail. He was not among the glass rocks that covered the floor. He was not sitting in stinky fish water that stood on the desk.

What was a mother to do? I started cleaning up the disaster area. Dripping blankets were put in one pile. Toys and art projects had to be removed from the desk and wiped down to prevent permanent fishy water smell. There was water under the computer, all over the desk, and, of course, soaking into the carpet.

The seven year old? He was crying. The older two were fussing. I decided to call a family prayer meeting to pray for comfort, strength, and forgiveness for the loss of the fish.

Even after I had gotten all visible water cleaned up, there was still no sign of Razzy. I pulled the desk away from the wall to wipe down dripping, running water, and there, behind the desk was the fish. At least 10 minutes had elapsed since the accident. Surly he was a goner. I instructed my son to pick up the fish with a tissue. Crying, he decided that he should dispose of the fish in the toilet. Second later, I hear, “He's alive! He's moving!” No. He couldn't be. But, yes, he was, and he was trying to swim down the toilet.

I donned rubber gloves and retrieved Razzy from his porcelain grave. I didn't give him much hope. He wasn't swimming well. He was kind of laying on his side. My son decided to pray. He wanted me to pray with him. Trying not to verbally doubt, I bowed my head as he prayed.

More than 24 hours later, Razzy is still swimming around, and there is no lingering fishing smell!

Ice Cream Maker Giveaway

SnoWhite over at Finding Joy in my Kitchen is hosting a wonderful give-a-way of two Cuisinart automatic ice cream makers!

My ice cream maker recently died. I have to say that it died in the middle of making a batch of ice cream. We had everything mixed up, went to turn the thing on, and . . . NOTHING. I had to stir the stuff by hand. Not the most fun thing ever. It turned out O.K., but I was still down an ice cream maker. Needless to say, I am excited at the prospect of winning another.

Hop on over and visit SnoWhite's blog. You will love it!

Yummy Tummy Stromboli

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. I haven't really cooked/baked anything I felt worthy of a blog entry--until tonight.

Today was stressful. I had intended to go help in my boys' science class, but I was given the opportunity to catch my breath, so I came home to cook. Here is the result:

Yummy Tummy Stromboli

1 double recipe Quick and Easy Pizza Crust - modified as below

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast OR 5-1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons honey
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 cups white wheat flour
1-1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried basil

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flours, salt, oil, garlic powder and basil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. (This is the direction for the original recipe, and it really does make great dough this way. However, I had to go pick up the boys, so mine rose for an hour. I used the Kitchen Aid to mix it and allowed it to knead for 8 minutes before the rise.)

FILLING:

olive oil for pan
1 onion, sliced
several cloves of garlic crushed (to your taste)
1 10 oz. bag sliced crimini mushrooms (from Trader Joes--regular white mushrooms would work, too)
2 large zucchini, quartered and sliced
1-1/2 pounds chicken Italian sweet sausage
goat cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in olive oil, and cook onion until soft. Add garlic, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook, stirring often, until soft. Remove and set aside.

Brown sausage in same skillet. Add sausage to vegetables and mix to combine.

Divide dough in half and roll each half out. I used a flexible cutting mat to roll my dough, and rolled it to the dimensions of the mat.

Put half the sausage veggie mix onto half of the dough. Top with goat cheese - amount to your preference. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges. Move to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat with other half of dough and filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Allow to rest for five minutes before slicing.

Enjoy! Oh my, yummy, yummy, yummy!

Bubbie-Boy's Science Lab

My little chemist. I pray he doesn't 1) harm himself or 2) blow up our home.