So Mom, I'm part of a biker gang now.

Creativity Break

Success!

A last minute project; make a necklace for my mother-in-law in celebration of her 70th birthday.

Hmm.  We leave on our trip tomorrow (Thursday) and, my mother-in-law has strong opinions about what she likes and doesn't like.  No pressure.

My husband picked the stone out of my small collection; one of my favorites...blue (my favorite color).  This is what I came up  with.

 

08/04/03; follow up note.  My mother-in-law really seemed to like the necklace.  When we gave it to her (at her birthday party) she took off the necklace that she was wearing and put this one on.  Then, she was wearing it every time after that we saw her.  She commented to me at the end of our trip (she had the necklace for two weeks at that point) that her friends saw her wearing it and said it suited her.  This seems to have pleased her.

At the birthday party, I was wearing another one of my own wire-wrap creations.  After she received this gift (it was one gift in a group of things made by each member of our family) she came to me and explained that she had noticed my necklace and really liked it.  She was very pleased to get one of her own.  I think we can call this 'mission accomplished'.

Creativity Time!

Dinner is a Dish

Dinner on this day needed to be quick, easy, and yield no leftovers. That's exactly what I got from this Pasta Bake.  I did use more of everything (1# pasta, 2 jars sauce, and 1/3# ham), but I still ended up with no leftovers.

It's easy to prepare, relatively quick, tastes good, and would also be good for make-ahead meals or freezer cooking.  This will definitely go into my meals-for-friends arsenal.

Solo sunset ride

Tuna Steaks

Tonight's Grilled Tuna was a nice change of pace from the usual salmon, trout, and white fish dinners I tend to lean on when it comes to serving fish.  It was a challenge finding good tuna steaks, but worth the hunt.

I followed this nice dinner with a solo motorcycle ride into the mountains to watch the sun set in the clouds.  I think I'm ready to tackle the next things on my to-do list now.

An Old Favorite

Aside from liver and onions, I don't remember a lot of the meals that my mom fixed when I was younger, but one that I *do* remember is Stroganoff.  I think she usually used rice as the base for hers, but this Stroganoff recipe uses egg noodles.  It also makes use of less expensive ground beef rather than a steak or beef tip.

I had to use a little extra starch to deal with the amount of liquid (I used more mushrooms because my family really likes them), but it's a simple recipe that cooks up pretty fast, and my kids like it (it's a little dull for my husband).

I will probably go back to my "usual" Stroganoff recipe, but now that I see how ground beef works in it, I'll definitely do that again.

Asian Flavor

Dinner tonight had an Asian flare with rice noodles and flavors common to Asian specialties.  This recipe for Spicy Asian Noodles with Chicken has a pleasing flavor of soy sauce, garlic, cilantro, and the heat of sambal oelek.

I doubled the recipe because it didn't seem like the basic recipe would be enough for our family.  I ended up having enough leftover for one adult lunch.

I grow tired of Asian flavors pretty quickly, but this recipe was so yummy that I just plain ate too much of it.   This recipe will probably find its way to our dinner table again.

Fourth of July Finale

The final moments of the Williston Fireworks show this evening.

Alton Brown Strikes Again!

Every home chef probably has their favorite "inspiration"; that TV personality, cookbook author, or recipe guru they always fall back to when looking for a good recipe, their fail-safe.  For me, that's Martha Stewart and Alton Brown.  I have a few other favorites (Emeril, Ina, and Paula to name a few), but when I'm looking for a good recipe and don't want to go the trial-and-error method, these two are my go-to sources.

Tonight's recipe for Shepherd's Pie came from Alton Brown, and it did not disappoint.

I used ground beef (locally grown, grass-fed) instead of lamb since lamb was not available at any of my local grocery stores in the days leading up to my using this recipe, but the rest of the recipe I followed as written.

My daughter is not a fan of mashed potatoes, but still ate the goodies underneath.  The rest of us devoured all but that last few small spoons of deliciousness, leaving me hardly anything in leftovers.  That's an endorsement all by itself.  Joerg thinks it could benefit from a little kick, and I think the mashed potatoes were a bit bland (I should have used more salt and pepper), but all in all it was a win.  This recipe will definitely be used again.

Turkey Joes

Tonight's dinner needed to be hot for everyone despite the fact that some ate early and some ate late.  These turkey-based Sloppy Joes fit the bill quite well.  A nice change of pace from beef-based Joes, these sandwiches work great and everyone can eat a hot meal that isn't dried out.  I don't expect this recipe to rise to the ranks of "favorite", but they definitely very good.