Super Bowl Party For 2

I am so not happy with the entertainment choice for half time at the Super bowl. Bruce Springsteen? I mean, I know it’s cool to be fan of “the boss” but I just can’t bring myself to do it. The man yells, I’m just sayin. I will give him one thing, he’s sure is patriotic, after all, he was born in the USA. Also, at least there is no worry of a “wardrobe malfunction”. I do enjoy Super Bowl Sunday, and I love the half-time show. Do you all remember when The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince-Now-Known-As-Prince played at half time in the rain?! Wasn’t he just the coolest EVER! I have always had a special teeny tiny place in my heart for that strange man. We go way back. I can remember being a pre-teen during a summer in the early 80’s, my parents had dropped me off at the little place called CAMP BI YO CA for a week. I think this is where my fear of abandonment issues began, but, I digress. I brought my cassette tape of Purple Rain and I can remember me and Prince singing “Let’s Go Crazy” while dancing on my little cot in that fresh hell that was referred to as a “cabin”. I wish I could remember how I got that tape, certainly my parents didn’t buy it for me-Woody and Linda were pretty strict. Scratch that, Woody and Linda were oppressive, prudish and square-only because they loved me. Then why would they drop me off in that wilderness with a suitcase, a few dollars in my commissary account and a cassette tape of Prince? In retaliation, I did not take a shower the entire time I was there. So there. You guys, I really didn’t take a shower that whole week, I was terrified of someone opening up my shower door, TERRIFIED! I had never showered in a communal area before, and I still will not shower at the Y to this day.
This post is becoming very cathartic. You guys are great listeners, thanks for “being there”.

So any way, the Super Bowl. It’s just gonna be me and the Jman watching, the kids are out … and we didn’t get invited to any parties. Whatever. I’m going to make some fabulous dip. I got this recipe from my perfect friend Becky Herl. It’s probably the only fat she’s ever eaten in her whole life-and I have to say, it is delicious and it’s rather “manly” at that. Make this dip for your super bowl get together and party like its 1999.

8 oz Colby Cheese
8 oz Pepper Jack Cheese
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 can Hormel Chili-No Beans
1 small onion, finely diced

Here is a picture BEFORE:

Put all the ingredients in an oven safe dish sprayed with non stick spray. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at like 350 until everything is melted. Stir together and serve with tortilla chips.

Here is a picture AFTER:



Before you know it-it’s gone, then you will hear the sounds of doves, crying.

Quick, Easy & Cheap

Yeah, so it’s Monday.
The worst day of the week. The beginning of 5 days of work. There must be some mistake, I think to myself, when I hear that piercing ring at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am. The only thing that gets me out of bed is the thought of a nap in the afternoon. I am not a morning person.
And guys, it’s so cold here. I put sweaters on our Chihuahua’s. They hate me, but they won’t hate me for long…because of what’s for dinner! I am totally cheating on dinner tonight, there is no recipe involved. Every bite will be gone and there will be fights for the last little bit. This meal is quick, cheap and very easy. I totally want to insert a joke here…but it would be inappropriate. You’re welcome, Woody.
Here is a quick rundown:
1. Cook a pound of spaghetti
2. Grate some cheddar cheese. Yes, you could just buy some pre-shredded cheddar but, seriously, this is the hardest part of the meal. You will thank me later.
3. Open a can of kidney beans and warm them up
4. Thaw some Skyline Chili

5. Make a plate for each of your loved ones by specifically following these directions:
· First layer: spaghetti
· Second layer: chili
· Third layer: cheese
6. The following condiments should be on the table:
· Hot Sauce
· Finely Diced Onion
· Sour Cream
· Oyster Crackers
· Warm Kidney Beans
I hope you are not disappointed in me. I couldn’t bare it if you were. I promise it is delightful.


As for the bug eyed freaks, well they are still haters, but they are happy haters and they are warm.

Have a happy Tuesday from two howling and warm Chihuahua's.

Holy Tomatoes and a Special Guest Contribution

No, I am not being sacrilegious. It is my understanding that the word “holy” means “set apart”, I am using holy in this context.
What I am about to share with you will change your life. If you don’t ever read anything I write-JUST READ THIS.
San Marzano tomatoes. They are expensive and you may have to drive a few extra miles to get them. But please believe me when I tell you-they are worth it.
San Marzano tomatoes are considered by most chefs to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world. The world. Legend says that the first San Marzono seed was a gift from the Kingdom of Peru to the Kingdom of Naples in 1770. That seed was supposedly planted in what is now San Marzano-- in volcanic soil-- in the shadow of Mt Vesuvius. The volcanic soil is believed to act as a filter for water impurities. The flesh of these tomatoes are much thicker than plum tomatoes, but they are shaped like plum tomatoes. They are less acidic and they are almost sweet. Some people compare the taste of these tomatoes to fine chocolate. I was so excited to find them at Kroger in Englewood-I have never seen them at another Kroger! They were in the international aisle next to all the expensive imported stuff! One can of these tomatoes cost about $ 4.75. You may not think that is a lot, but compared to other tomatoes selling for $ 1.50 it is. I use San Marzano when I am making pasta sauce, pizza sauce, salsa or basically any recipe that calls for tomatoes.
Jason made some pizza dough and I topped it with San Marzanos that I pureed in the food processor, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. I like my pizza plain like that-Jason likes to pile stuff on his. He especially likes the Boars Head pepperoni that you can get in the deli and he likes loads of black olives. Whatever floats his boat.
Here is Jason pizza crust recipe; it is very simple and so very good:
2 CUPS FLOUR
1 TABLESPOON SALT
1 TABLESPOON SUGAR
¾ CUP WARM WATER
1 ENVELOPE YEAST
3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine flour, salt and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Knead all ingredients until the dough has a good consistency. Put the dough in a well oiled large bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let the dough rise for 1 hour. After one hour it should have doubled in size, punch it down and let it rise again for 30 minutes. Then roll out into desired shape on a lightly floured surface. Look how this man puts his elbow in it: The above is a picture of the unbaked pizza-is that a KitchenAid stone you ask? Why yes it is. As you can tell, Jason is pretty "free" with his flour-it's everywhere. And yes, the pepperoni is the size of coasters.
You can shape the dough however you like, square, round deep dish…it’s up to you. Pile on the toppings of your choice and bake at 425 until the crust turns a light golden brown.

Sunday night pizza is my favorite! It’s the one of the few times I don’t make everyone sit around the table and we all veg out in front TV on the couch.

The Meal That Has No Name

So my 3 followers, how are you? Especially you "Idontcaretosay". You are very mysterious. Sheila and Sonya, I love you-you guys aren't so mysterious.
You may have noticed Jason has decided to take a back seat to the blog, I felt he wasn't quite into it when I was asking him what his favorite recipe was and he was not being so forthcoming, maybe it's because the playoffs were on...so he has informed me that he is now a "Special Guest Contributor". I'm sure you all are waiting with baited breath for his contribution. :)

Now on to the meal with no name. I say that it has no name because it was so fabulous, I could not even think of what to call it - it's too fabulous for a name. It's not because of me that it was so FAB it's because it was created with fresh ingredients. Maybe it's because I've been on a diet since January 2 and food tastes so delicious but I really think it's one of the best meals I've ever made! The menu consisted of: Honey Roasted London Broil, Red Pepper Rice Pilaf and Ciabatta Bread. I would have fixed fresh french cut green beans along with it, but Kroger was out of them. Whatever.
This morning before I left for work, I put the London Broil in a large Ziploc bag, added about 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar and 1/2 cup honey. I put it in the fridge to let it marinate all day. After about 8 hours, I put it in a baking dish, marinade and all, covered it in aluminum foil and baked it for about 3 hours in a 350 degree oven. After it was finished cooking I let it sit on the cutting board for about 10 minutes, then I effortlessly cut it into thin slices. It was so tender I was afraid it was going to fall apart. This picture does not do it justice:



For the rice pilaf:
1 red bell pepper, diced small
2 cups rice - I use Jasmine rice
4 cups chicken broth
dash of crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan; add 2 cups of rice to the oil. Basically what you are doing is browning the rice, it takes a few minutes. While the rice is browning, heat 4 cups of chicken broth in a large saucepan. After the rice has cooked for a few minutes, add the bell pepper, crushed red pepper and salt. You'll notice the rice turning a brown color-don't brown it too much.This is a picture of the rice and peppers being sauteed. Is that a KitchenAid spoon rest you ask? Why yes it is. Once the rice changes color add it to the heated broth and heat until boiling. As soon as it boils, put a lid on it and reduce heat to simmer. DO NOT LIFT THE LID for about 25 minutes. People, I know it's tempting, I can hardly stand it. Anyway, after 25 minutes fluff it with a fork and you are good to go.

As for the ciabatta rolls, buy them frozen from "The Joy of Cooking" section at Kroger's freezer.
So good, I can't even tell you.

I blew my diet tonight. Gotta go, Top Chef is coming on: GO STEFAN!!

NCIS - Quesadilla Tuesday!

Oh Mark Harmon, what is it about you that makes me look so forward to Tuesday’s?
Is it your uncanny timing ability to walk in the room at exactly the moment McGoo and Ziva are talking smack about you? Is it your stoic yet oddly likeable personality? Is it your eerily amazing capability to catch the killer of a First Class Petty Officer in less than an hour? Sigh, I just don’t know-but you make my Tuesday splendid.

You know what else makes Tuesday’s splendid? Quesadillas or as Napoleon Dynamite’s aunt would say: dang ka-sa-dilla. The Robertson household has perfected the quesadilla-for us, anyway.

I took lots of pictures, but the memory card wasn’t in the camera-so I only have a few, so sorry.
Here is a quick rundown:

8 – 12 flour tortillas any size
Olive Oil
Cooked Chicken – cubed or shredded or from a bag in your local grocer’s freezer (my favorite choice)
Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Fresh Salsa
Sour Cream

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a sauté pan that fits a tortilla in it easily; you want the oil to be very hot but not too hot so as not to scorch the tortilla

Using a pair of tongs, add a tortilla to the heated oil and fry on both sides for about 10 seconds

Drain tortillas on paper towels

Arrange the tortillas on a baking sheet; put the chicken on one half of each tortilla and then top the chicken with shredded cheese

Fold over the tortillas in the shape of a taco and then bake in a 400 degree oven until they are golden brown and crispy-no need to turn over

Sweet Mark Harmon, they are good

Serve with sour cream and fresh salsa. Yes, I realize that you cannot make good salsa this time of year, tomatoes are mealy…blah blah blah. This is why I strongly strongly suggest that you get some fresh salsa from your grocer’s refrigerated section. The difference between this fresh bought salsa and bottled salsa is astounding. Please do not make me come to your house and snatch the bottled salsa out of your hand. I’m not a violent person, but even I have my limits.

See the chuncks of onions and tomato and cilantro? Seriously-it is soooo good.
I was only able to get a picture of the fresh bought salsa and of one lonely quesadilla-and of Logan-freshly up from an after school nap enjoying his dinner.

Notice the basket of freshly laundered clothes in the dining room? Why, where else would it go?

Obsession With A Side Of Bubba

So today is Martin Luther King Day and I was lucky enough to be off work. I was however, working at home, straightening cabinets, cleaning out the fridge and cleaning other things that I generally don’t do on a daily, weekly or sadly, even a monthly basis. It was during this cleaning frenzy that I realized how much of an obsession Jason has with all things KitchenAid.
We had both lived on our own for a while before we got married, so we pretty much had A LOT of household items to combine. He warned me that while he considered most of his stuff good for a garage sale, he had very nice kitchen accessories and that he was particular about his cooking utensils. He said he would not be parting with them. As any woman would, I took this as a challenge. I was not about to give up single thing, after all, everything I had was better. I am faithful to my Tupperware lady and to all of my gadgets that I bought and still used since I was 19 and not to mention, I have fantastic taste.
I remember standing in the kitchen the week we moved in to our VA Beach house, Jason proudly carried in 2 boxes and told me we should unpack the kitchen items first. Unbeknownst to him, I already had unpacked my kitchen boxes and put them in their assigned place. I thought I would humor him and make him feel good and keep a few of his things; after all, I could make the room.
To my shock his boxes were full of everything Kitchen Aid you could ever imagine. Did you know Kitchen Aid makes an egg separator or a dish soap dispenser? I certainly didn’t. He had every gadget you could think of…and some of them he had in two different colors.
I decided to take some pictures for you today, after all, we can use them for insurance purposes should some cataclysmic event happen or there is a thief who really likes kitchen appliances.

The following pictures are just the TIP of the ICEBURG that is Kitchen Aid in my house:
I'm not even sure what some of this stuff is...

The knife set above was an anniversary present, from Jason.

I am not complaining by any means. I think his obsession is quite endearing. By the way, I ended up giving boxes of my old kitchen stuff to Goodwill.

So, I know the above post has nothing to do with recipes. Today has just flown by, I have been cleaning so much that I didn’t even plan anything for dinner. It is on days like this that I go to our freezer and pull out my favorite frozen item EVER; Bubba Burgers. I will never in my life buy another kind of hamburger.
I will tell you Bubba Burgers are expensive. We paid over $9.00 for this box of six--that is expensive to us. Bubba Burgers are in the shape of the state of Texas. They are so flavorful and juicy; they are heaven on a bun. Logan always asks for Bubba Burgers for his birthday meal, which took me a while to accept. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that once you experience these burgers, you’ll be a faithful Bubba fan too.
I pan fried them and sautéed some fresh mushrooms in butter and worcestershire sauce, slapped some swiss cheese on the burgers and BAM, dinner-in less than 15 minutes. Sorry there are no “after” pictures, but I was extremely hungry.

Honey Wheat Bread

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The first recipe we wanted to share with everyone was an easy choice, Honey Wheat Bread.
We made this on a Sunday evening and by Monday morning, it was gone. The two very picky teens couldn’t get enough, and that’s sayin’ something.
This bread is very simple and it is very delicious.
Our method may not be correct, but it sure made for some good eats!

A couple of notes about this recipe:

*We always use kosher salt.
Kosher salt usually has no additives, and it has big crystals with large surface areas. The flavor is distinct from ordinary table salt. Kosher salt is very inexpensive and you can find it at your local grocery or at Kroger in Englewood for 89 cents.

*We think the color of this bread should be darker-it doesn’t taste like it looks, if that makes sense. It seems as if it should be a rich dark brown color. Not sure what you can do about it, food coloring I guess, but we don’t want the additives.

*This recipe was adapted from a recipe using a bread machine. We don’t have a bread machine. We do however have a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook.

*We have found an unknown treasure—a little store called A Bushel and A Peck—in Clayton. It is run by a German Baptist family. They sell every kind of flour and spice you could possibly think of, and the best part is you can buy it in the amount you would like! If you would just like 2 cups of wheat flour, they will measure it out for you! They even sell the little marshmallows that you find in Lucky Charms cereal-FOR REAL! You can also make YOUR OWN PEANUT BUTTER right there in the store! Talk about fresh! We wanted to put up a link to their store, we couldn’t find one-and then we realized that being German Baptist they probably don’t have a website. We’re just sayin’….not that there is anything wrong with that…they are the nicest people you will ever meet and boy howdy do they love Jesus. Here is their address: 9515 Haber Rd Clayton, OH 45315 (937) 836-4997.

*We usually make 2 loaves of bread with this recipe, but you can make rolls, one big loaf in a bread pan or a round loaf baked on a cookie sheet, totally up to you.

HONEY WHEAT BREAD

1 1/2 CUPS WARM WATER
2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER, SOFTENED
½ CUP HONEY
2 CUPS BREAD FLOUR
1 2/3 CUP WHEAT FLOUR
1 TABLESPOON COCOA
1 TABLESPOON SUGAR
2 TEASPOONS INSTANT COFFEE
1 TEASPOON SALT
1 PACKAGE QUICK RISE YEAST
CORNMEAL FOR SPRINKLING

1. Dissolve yeast in the warm water
2. Combine the flours, cocoa, sugar, coffee and salt in mixing bowl (notice Lucy in the bottom corner)

3. Make a depression in the middle of the dry mixture
4. Pour the yeast mixture and the honey plus the butter into the well
5. This is the point where we just turn on our Kitchen Aid and let it do its thing…so if you don’t have a Kitchen Aid just mix all ingredients with your hands until it forms a dough. Knead the dough for at least ten minutes - YIKES! –until it is smooth and has consistent color (I told Lauren to look really happy as she holds her sibling)

6. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a big bowl
7. Place the dough in the greased bowl and cover (again, Lucy in the corner)

8. Allow the dough to rise, doubled in size, for about an hour
9. After the dough has risen, knead the dough again and shape as desired **see note above**
10. Sprinkle the dough with cornmeal

11. Cover the shaped dough and let it rise again for another half an hour
12. Uncover the dough and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes

We would love to know your thoughts if you ever make this bread-good or bad! If you like the bread that you get at Outback, we think you will love this!