Mom's Spaghetti

I have been on a super long break from blogging.  With the holidays, family, health issues and work I've been doing well to keep my head up at times.  Although I've been missing, I have been busy cooking and trying new things in the Hitchcock kitchen.  So lets get to it.

Tonight, I made one of my "Go To" recipes, Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti.  Spaghetti has long been a staple meal.  Everyone I know has their own version and memories of this family favorite.  I know I had mine, it consisted of mom's spaghetti, nothing special but always yummy.  I had always made mom's spaghetti until I found this recipe.  I will never make any other spaghetti...

I promise you that this is just as easy as mom's spaghetti.  I love the sauce recipe so much that I've often used it for my lasagna.  Recipe calls for ground beef, but I have successfully made it with ground turkey and Italian sausage.  I'm not ashamed to say I have not purchased Paula Deen's seasonings and do not plan to.  Using your own works just as well.  Serve it with a salad, some garlic bread and family dinner is complete.  This recipe is both "fat man" and kid approved!

Crockpot Tuesday - Chili Colorado Burritos

As many of you know a couple of weeks ago I started on a new budgeting and meal planning adventure.  I planned 2 weeks of meals including lunches and quick breakfast with dinner almost every night with a $200 budget.  Not only did I come in under budget but the planning ahead has made the work week dinners so much less stressful. 

One of the things that helped was designating Tuesday as crockpot day.  Tuesdays are generally longer days for me and I found that cooking that night was always exhausting.  Letting the crockpot do all the work is the best.  So for last Tuesday I tried a new recipe.  Chile Colorado Burritos... super yummy, super easy and not expensive either.  They were fat man approved and have made it into the dinner rotation, and as always I have plans for a few changes.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed
• 1 large can mild enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz)
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• 1/2 can refried beans
• 5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
• 1 cup of shredded cheese

Directions:

• Put meat, bouillon and enchilada sauce into crockpot and cook on low for 7-8 hrs, meat should be very tender
• When beef is done and falling apart, I strain the meat, seperating the sauce but not discarding it.
• Take tortilla and spread thin layer of beans add meat then roll into a burrito.
• Line baking dish with burritos, cover with sauce and top with cheese.
• Broil in oven for about 2-4 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and cheese is melted. 
• I served with left over beans and chips.

 This was a great meal.  The sauce was not too spicy and the meat had a great flavor.  The changes I plan to make are to add onions to my beef as well as a small can of chopped green chilies.  After reading about Chili Colorado Burritos, they are supposed to have chilies... DUH!  So those are changes I plan to make for sure.  I also think I might thicken my sauce some, it was runny and slightly messy, so a little cornstarch should do the trick just fine. 

Little Man wasn't there for dinner but I think it would be kid friendly, plus he is not a picky eater.  I also think this would be good with deer meat.  I hope you enjoy, I know several of you have asked for this recipe, and I'm sorry for not posting a lot lately.  The holidays are coming so I'm sure I'll have more to post soon.  I'll also keep you posted on my meal planning and grocery budget adventures!

Have you planted your "Victory Garden"?

This week marks one the most important victories in history.  August 14, 1945 or the 15^th depending on the time zone, marked the end of a tragic time in world history.  It is the day that the Allied forces declare victory over Japan.  Most of us will not even skip a beat this week to consider this a date of importance, let alone take the time to reflect on its meaning.

But as some of you may or may not know, I’m a junkie for WWII.  I’m not sure what it is that draws me into this tumultuous era of our great country’s history.  Maybe it’s the thought of all American’s banding together with other great nations to take on and conquer the evil and unjust acts of those determined to crush all that we hold dear.  Maybe it’s the fact that I was blessed to grow up with great grandparents that lived to tell of times unlike I could even imagine.  I’ve always wanted to go back and talk one last time with my Papa and ask him how it was he managed to come home from the Philippines and how he kept his faith.

This is an odd subject to be posting with my kitchen adventures of breakfast muffins and crock pot creations.  But, during one my WWII junkie moments I pondered, what I thought was an interesting thought, what was life like living off war time rations?  Can you imagine if our fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan meant you couldn’t have that precious morning Starbucks?  Would we as a country support our men and women by giving up sugar and flour?  Not only were American’s giving up foods, but other things such and gasoline and rubber.  Can you imagine only driving 35 miles an hour to save fuel?  They called it the Victory Speed.  In today’s time of hurry up and get there we’d called it the Inconvenient Speed. 

So back to my kitchen question… how did the women do it?  How do you cook for growing kids and wounded soldiers with no sugar, cheese, eggs, milk or red meat?  Well, you get creative!  You plant a Victory Garden and you make the best of what you have or don’t have for that matter.  After thinking about his I find the daunting task of deciding what to cook each night humorous given my well stocked pantry, fridge and freezer.  While unlikely that we’ll ever be asked to give up so much for war; it does make me wonder if there isn’t more I could be doing to support those fighting for my freedom today.  It brings about a new appreciation for those serving, as they ask nothing of me but I ask them to risk it all so that I can safely drive 60mph, eat steak and have dessert with no fear.  Thank you. 

Fried Apple Pies in a Pinch

I had no intention of making fried apple pies... I was making an apple cake.  About a week ago we had a huge bag of small green apples, fresh off the farm land on our porch.  We have amazing landlords... I gave some to my mom and still had plenty left here.  It was getting time that something needed to be done with them.  My solution was a fabulous recipe I found of an apple cake.  My husband's solution... Paula Deen's fried apple pies.

He was so set on having these pies that he got up, after being lazy all day, got dressed and went to town to get biscuits.  Now, if you know my husband at all, you know that this is a HUGE deal.
So the recipe is very easy and simple.  They came out perfect and hubby is happy.  They are 5 start fat man approved.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced or 1 can of apple pie filling
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (8 piece) container of canned jumbo flaky biscuits
2 tablespoons water
Powdered Sugar


Directions
Filling: Add the butter to a large saute pan and melt. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool.

When the filling is cool, roll the biscuits out on a lightly floured surface so that each biscuit forms a 7 to 8-inch circle. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on each biscuit circle. Brush the edges of the circle with water. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-moon shape. Seal by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.

Preheat deep-fryer with oil to 350 degrees F.

Carefully add the pies to the oil, 1 at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies as necessary for even browning, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with powdered sugar immediately.

Whisk Me Away

My whisk broke... I know that at the very thought of your whisk breaking your heart stops, mine too.  Now granted this whisk was both cheap and old, but it had a purpose in my kitchen.  It made scrambled eggs, savory sauces and fluffy peaks of whipped cream.  Now, it has a broken wire...not sure how this crime against humanity occurred but it did.

So... I guess it's time to invest in a better whisk.  Not only do I need a better whisk but I need a cool one!  So in my internet search for "cute whisk" I found a website that I was clearly meant for me. www.modcloth.com

This site knows my heart... not only is there an abundance of retro clothes, shoes and accessories but also kitchen items!  Lunch boxes and cutting boards, measuring cups and whisks!  All with a retro twist that makes them perfect.

So here are my whisk choices...

First is the "Woodland Critter Whisk"  Notice the adorable bunny.  This whisk would be both functional and fun... how many of you make eggs with a bunny?!

Option #2  The "Stir in Some Love Whisk"  Since so much of my cooking is for those that I love dear, this seems an appropriate addition to my kitchen.

Last but not least, the third option.  This is actually an entire set "Fresh Skills Utensil Set" complete with tulip whisk.  This by far is the cutest set of utensils, too bad all my spatulas, spoons and such didn't break too.









I'm horrible at decisions and according to my Dad I come by it naturally.  But in case any of you were wanting to get me the perfect gift, I suggest this site.  The lunch boxes and coffee bugs are just what I need!

The Outcome...

Ok, so as always baking never goes as smoothly as you plan.  When planning to make the Sugar-Free Mom recipe for baked oatmeal, I was careful to ensure I had all necessary ingredients.  Even purchasing the couple of things missing.  But clearly I overlooked one important thing, baking powder!  You can imagine my frantic outcry when I had the entire batter almost complete minus this very important thing.  Luckily I was able to research and found that baking soda can be used but you must cut the amount in half.  Catastrophe averted!

The recipe is really simple and I only made a couple of changes.  First off I used the 1/2 cup of honey as my sweetener, which was great.  Second, I added a scoop of vanilla protein powder.  This made it a touch sweeter I'm sure and it added nutritional value.  The recipe was super runny as Sugar-Free Mom said it would be.  However, unlike the 18 muffins she made, my mix made 24!  Which was fine as most of them went into the freezer.  For my toppings I used pecans, chocolate chips and apples (actually mixed into batter).  All three turned out great.  The apples in the batter were great and I think I will do more fruit next time.

As for taste... which is really the most important thing, hubby has yet to try one.  He did taste the raw batter, which he said was good and he said they smelled good.  These muffins are best eaten warm!  I tried one cold and it wasn't so great, but as soon as you warm it up... way yummy and great with a cup of coffee.  I think kids would enjoy these as they can add whatever they want and personalize their baked oatmeal muffins.

So while it was fun and different I'm still searching more breakfast adventures...

Breakfast (literally meaning "breaking the fast" of the night)

I’m a firm believer in breakfast…   This has not always been the case.  In recent years I’ve experienced the great benefits of starting my day off with protein, fiber and a small amount of carbs.  However, I’ve also found it difficult to vary my breakfast menu.  So I’d thought I’d embark on the journey to discover new ways to start my day. 

Now, I’m a southern girl, growing up on biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon and fried eggs and while that will for sure fill you up, you can also feel your arteries clogging with every bite.    Lately I’ve discovered the 100 calorie English Muffins, great toasted with some light creamy Swiss cheese spread and a hard-boiled egg.  Winter time always finds me looking for a hot bowl of oatmeal.  I did smoothies for a while but they got boring, protein dinks get old fast too.  Austin loves chocolate chip waffles but I know those aren’t on my low fat, low sugar, high fiber health plan (I hate the word diet). 

So, here I am on my journey cooking breakfast for one, usually, and trying to keep it fast and healthy.  Luckily I have a Pinterest addiction, offering me a wide arranges of recipes, tips and tricks for accomplishing my goal. 

Today I’ve planned to cook up baked oatmeal muffins thanks to Sugar-Free Mom.  It promises to be diabetic friendly, easy and portable.  I’m sure to make variations along the way.  I can already tell you I plan on using some apples brought to us from our landlords in some of the muffins.  But the details of my baking will follow.  For now, take the time to consider starting your day with a bite of nutrition instead of that donut and danish.