Super Bowl Subs!

What better lunch to make than a LONG grinder (submarine sandwiches)....

This is a list of ingredients in no particular order:

deli- sliced ham (three kinds-honey, virginia, plain),
Swiss cheese, ex-sharp cheddar, american
Smoked turkey
mayo, mustard, guacamole, pesto,
Bread & Butter pickles
Jalepeno peppers
Salad stuff (from a bag)
thinly sliced red onion & tomatoes

 

Some of it I toasted in the oven (then sliced to whatever length anyone wanted), and some I left cold. I used whole wheat Italian bread... cut in half, into the top and down the middle, then slice each half in half horizontally. Really good bread.

Homemade Vanilla ice cream

Well, I asked for an ice-cream maker for Christmas, because I had a cone maker. I got two of them! So after deciding which one I'm keeping (the Cousinart- 2 quart one), I decided to make a normal recipe (from their booklet)... vanilla.

This is what the inside looked like after I made it (forgot to take prep photos), but the vanilla was the BEST I've ever had. I even used less cream than it called for! I substituted 1 cup fat-free half and half for 1 cup cream. I followed the rest of the recipe to a tea. 

YUM!

Chicken and Waffles!

WHATTT???!! 

 Yes, I said that right.... "Chicken and Waffles" is what the menu said at Corey's Catsup & Mustard, Main St., Manchester, CT.

I asked the waitress if it was any good and she smiled, "Yes, really good!" I'm always game to try something new, and the description sounded appetizing, so that's what I ordered.

Crispy Chicken breast (although I must say, pounded pretty flat), with Jack cheese on each side of it, maple mayo (that' is their great combination of maple syrup and mayonaise--they do it really well, and usually put it with sweet potato fries-- which we shared), then sandwich all that in-between two belgian waffles! Sound gross?? NOT!
 It was really good, although I couldn't finish it (doggybag), so I'll have to figure a way to reheat it (toaster oven?) tomorrow for lunch.

Hubby had his usual "Whiskey Run Burger".... it always looks good, but I haven't had more than a bite of it (sharing).
The sweet potato fries are always good....

As we trotted across the street to get to my car, I never realized how 'modern' our town is..... These are our new (not even sure how long we've had these) 'solar' trash compactors. I wished I had some trash to see if it 'did' anything. (My husband thinks they wouldn't work as it was at night. I think it might, since it must 'store' the energy in itself at night. )

I guess I won't know...tonight.

Fun breakfast with a 5-yr-old

I know it isn't much, but get some cinnamon swirl bread from Great Harvest Bread co. and watch a 5yr old have FUN eating breakfast!!

What a great smile!!!!  (the haircut is still growing on me... not so much, but it's only hair. It will change in a month or so. Many times, I'm sure. At least THIS time, he let someone actually cut/shave it (his Aunt Janet is a hairdresser). Before this, he wouldn't let you comb it, never mind get a buzzer near it!)

Good food!

Eggies! Is this really LESS work?

I impulse bought something today..... and thought I'd try it out. It was only because I was craving egg salad sandwiches this weekend. I don't mind peeling eggs (hardboiled), but sometimes I lose a lot of 'egg' with the shell. We'll see if this works.

I should have taken a photo of all the parts to this contraption. It has a base, a top, a middle 'collar' to hold the two together and then a 'lid'. They all screw together (although you can see by this photo above that I must not have screwed some part tight enough. oops......

These two I separated, they didn't really fit in the other pot (too snug to move), and I seasoned these. You will see a photo later.

Now this is the bread I got from Great Harvest Bread co. in town....They call it Stuffed Potato Bread. Yum! Ingredients are broccoli, potato flakes, chives, sour cream, onion, cheddar cheese (and possibly garlic-I didn't taste it). ( wanted to make a hard boiled egg sandwich on this.

I took the 'lid off one container that was seasoned with salt, pepper, Sylvia's secret seasoning... Looks good.



The other one, I seasoned with salt, pepper and dill.

The only bad thing I saw was that some 'leaked' and one created a 'tadpole' (as my grandson called it). I threw it in the bowl when I made the egg salad mixture.

These are what they looked like when I opened up the top halves off. I think I'd like to pour scrambled eggs in them instead of 'dropped egg' in them. Maybe with some sauteed peppers and onions, ham and cheese...hmmm, what ideas you can come up with.

They sliced really nice and worked well.
So, you ask, what was the downfall? Cleaning all the parts with a scrub brush!! Yes, I wiped veg oil inside before adding egg, but the crevasses had cooked egg stuck to them. Pain to clean up. Maybe I'll stick with the peeling. Not sure it's worth the $9.99 at Michael's.

Fun in the kitchen with my grandson....Hotdogs and pasta!

I saw a great photo posted on Facebook and decided one morning to just 'do it'!
I later did some with my grandson when I got home from work and it was WAY more fun with him.

Here's why....
This is what my plate of cut up hotdogs and pasta looked like before I cooked them (boiled them for 10 mins--the time the pasta said to cook it). I was 'uninventive' when you look at HIS hotdogs! He made them into stars, robots, aliens, etc....see?

And HE was liking them, too, until I told him that the water was ready and they were 'going in for a bath'!..."What, Gramma??"

Then we get to EAT them....! You should have seen how fast he grabbed two of his and held them tightly to his chest!! LOL... "Gramma, you CAN'T cook my guys!!"

Once he realized they would be fine, he let me do them as long as HE could make them jump 'off the plank, like the pirates'. Whoooo boy, what we don't do for fun with the kids. But this face says it all...

Good eats!!!!(We dipped them in ketchup, but I could see a fondue pot with cheese...hmmm). I figured out later that snapping the long spaghetti in half worked better. The 'legs' weren't as long. LOL

Roasted acorn squash & dinner

I really wanted to try something...

Rachael Ray talked about roasting acorn squash (my favorite) and it sounded so easy that I knew I had to try it. Of course, I had to put something else with it, so I looked through the frig and freezer and this is what I made.

 I took two acorn squash and scooped them out. On a baking sheet, (I used tin foil-- I wouldn't next time as it stuck to the squash), rub some olive oil around the top, ground some pepper and a little sea salt on it, then placed the squash face down on it. I pierced the shell of the squash to let the steam out, although maybe I didn't need to.

I put them in a 435 degree oven for 40 mins....(I think I would be able to go for 45-50 mins, or go 40 mins at 450 degrees)

 While that was cooking, I opened some cream of mushroom soup, mixed with 3/4 can of milk, some crushed (grind) pepper and the seasoning of some pasta roni box-mix thing. I'm not sure I like the flavor of the pasta roni, but it was what I had. Tasted too 'processed' for me. And really, when the rest of your dinner is so good, it kinda takes away from the meal. But, anyway...

 I also had some carrots I needed to use up before they would get too soft to use. I cut them up and used them to mix with frozen peas. Nice and colorful (photos below).

I cooked up some egg noodles, tossed it with the soup/milk mixture and put it in a cassarole dish. I had some frozen (already cooked) mesquite grilled chicken breasts that I'd bought at Sam's club warehouse, so I topped it with those (cut in half).  

 I also poured part of the soup on top and sprinkled frozen peas on it. 

Okay, the squash came out of the oven and the caserole went in for about a half hour (just to heat up/defrost the chicken).

Look how beautiful these squash looked!! YUM! They smelled so good!

I had to scoop them to a cutting board to cut them up into three wedges per half. You can even see the steam still rolling off this. I spread a little butter in them before cutting up and you could add any seasoning (I used a little of Kitchen Kick'n Maple Sprinkle'n "A Sweet Treat"- made by Tomarc's of Troy).

These could have been cooked a little longer (notice how they weren't the same color all the way down the wedge? They were still cooked enough, just some areas were softer than others.

This was how I combined the veggies... I had frozen peas and fresh carrots, so I cooked them (microwave) separately, then combined them.

I should have taken a photo of the finished dinner plate, but I was too hungry by this time.. sorry. Gotta eat! Bye.