Dinner Home Run!

I've made fried pork chops plenty of times, but tonight everything with dinner just came together perfectly!  Of course, tonight just happens to be the night my husband isn't even hungry.

I love to try new things.  Cooking and planning meals makes me happy.  The meal doesn't always end up as great as I'd hope, but that's the wonderful thing about having a husband who may be lacking a few taste buds (or is a really good actor).  He'll eat anything I make!  Yesterday it was Ribeye steaks with balsamic roasted broccoli and homemade mac & cheese.  NOTHING came out right.  The steaks weren't bad, but a little more medium than I like (I like it pretty rare though).  The broccoli had a bit to much bite and the mac & cheese became a little "gritty".  It was very disappointing, but I guess not all Pinterest recipes can come out perfect!

TONIGHT was perfect though, but don't ask my husband!  Some pinterest recipes that hit a home run!

HONEY TERIYAKI HOT WINGS (appetizer)
     Coutesy of damndelicious.net - though I edited mine due to some missing ingredients!

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°
2. in a small cup, mix the following:
     -1 Tbs cornstarch
     -1 Tbs water
3. In a bowl mix the following
     -1 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
     -1/2 cup honey
     -2-3 Tbs Sriracha (thanks to my husbands love of hot sauce, I actually had this!)
     -cornstarch mixture
   I completely forgot to add the garlic, but it turned out wonderful anyway!
4. Place chicken wings into a baking dish, being sure to do a single layer.
5. Cover with sauce mixture.  This should not fully cover the wings, but it will get close.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Turn half way through (I forgot that too).
7. After baking, turn the broiler on for a couple minutes to get that crispy yumminess.

Here's my finished product.  They were SO YUMMY!

Next I simply made fried pork chops and fingerling potatoes.  Both were so easy.  I just salt and peppered the the pork chops and placed in a hot frying pan with a little EVOO.
Roasted fingerling potatoes are just as easy.  I tossed them in some olive oil and used a little seasoning salt I had made.  Place in a 425° oven for 25 minutes and then broil to crisp up a bit.

Now to figure out what to make tomorrow night!  :)  Off to Pinterest I go!

A Spaetzle Recipe like Nanny Would Make

It's hard to believe that it's been over 2 years since my Nanny passed away.

I hope to have a marriage like my Nanny and Papa had.  I've heard both sides of how they met and fell in love, and both stories are so different!  My Papa worked hard to win my Nanny over though.

Some of my favorite memories involve them, and a lot involved the kitchen too.  My Nanny was a great cook, and so is my Papa, though that was always the kitchen debate.  They would make homemade pizza together, each one making a different part.  My Papa says the sauce is what makes it and my Nanny would always say it was the dough and pepperoni.  I'll let you guess who did what!  It was always the BEST pizza though, and I still look forward to when my Papa makes it.  It's a Christmas Eve tradition!  It's just missing a really special woman now.

There is one thing that I hadn't had in a very long time.  It was my all time favorite food that my Nanny would make.  SPAETZLE!  A German egg noodle that goes great with roast and gravy.  I would always go back for seconds (and even thirds if there was any left!).  I don't think I've had it since before my Nanny got so sick, and making it the other day brought back some happy memories from before she was diagnosed with cancer.  I just wish she would have been able to be here to try it.

 

Spaetzle

 



Here is how I made it:

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Milk
2 Cups Flour (all-purpose)
extra salt for boiling water

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Be sure to add a fair amount of salt to the water.
2. Mix the eggs, salt and milk in a mixing bowl.  Add in the Flour and mix until combined.  The dough is very stick and will take a little muscle to mix well!
3. Using a Spaetzle maker (I found mine here), slowly drop dough into the boiling water.  This can be done using a cutting board and dropping "noodles" into the water, but is very time consuming!
4. Once dough floats to top, remove and place in a serving bowl!

Cooking Time: Buttermilk Biscuits

It's very seldom that I actually have Buttermilk in my fridge, and I usually end up throwing most of it out! I decided to make some buttermilk biscuits tonight, so why not use ALL the buttermilk? There is no reason to have 12 biscuits for a dinner for 2.5. I hear you can freeze them though. What an idea. Homemade buttermilk biscuits when you need them!!

I can't wait to pop these suckers in the oven!

Ingredients:
-self rising flower
(Sub for self rising: 1/2 tsp baking powder & 1/4-1/2 salt to ever 1 cup all purpose flour)
-couple spoonfuls of Cisco
-buttermilk (DUH)

1. Pre-heat oven to 375*
2. Cut crisco into flour mix (make sure there are no clumps)
3. Add buttermilk till you get a wet/sticky dough
4. Flour the counter top, and place dough on top. Flip, so that dough is covered on both sides,
but don't kneed it in. You want the dough to stay "wet", but also need to be able to work with it.
5. Cut out your biscuits; reform dough to cut more. Do this until you run out!
6. Place on a greased cook sheet, with biscuits edges touching. Bake until golden brown. You
can brush with melted butter before complete done.

I LOVED my moms buttermilk biscuits growing up. It went perfectly with her homemade chicken & dumplings. Maybe I will post that recipe some day soon. It's an all-day thing! I do have a whole chicken in my fridge that needs to be cooked though. :)

(The picture is them "setting" in the freezer. If you plan on freezing them then be sure to put them in for a couple hours to harden before throwing them in a bag. You don't want to end up with a big mound of frozen dough.)