VALENTINE'S DAY MENU ROUND-UP

Usually when we think of the word Valentine's Day, we think of cupids, chocolates, flowers, and fancy-schmancy, expensive restaurants.  And everyone loves that now and then...am I right?  BUT...what could communicate LOVE to your beloveds (especially since Valentine's Day is on a week night this year) more than a delicious home-cooked, not-very-expensive, not-very-hard-to-make meal?!  After all...time is precious, and giving that in and of itself is a gift, is it not? 

Need some inspiration for a Valentine's Menu? Here are some SIMPLE and AFFORDABLE menu ideas! I love a good gourmet meal...but I'm also often tight on time and money, so here is my solution for making LOVE DAY special at home!

 Love Shack Ribs Menu

OR
 Loverboy Lasagna Menu

AND...
 Frozen Potion #9 for Dessert

 LOVE SHACK RIBS MENU
Root Beer Ribs
Steamed red potatoes, with butter, seasoning, green onions
Garlic butter green beans

ROOT BEER RIBS:
Pork baby back ribs
Red Robin Seasoning
1 bottle favorite root beer (To keep it THM-friendly, use Virgil's or Zevia)
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (or THM--make your own from the cookbook)

Spray baking dish with non-stick spray. Rub ribs with Red Robin Seasoning. Place in baking dish.
Pour 1/2-3/4 bottle of favorite root beer in bottom of dish. Drink the rest. Hahahaha!
Cover with Foil.
Bake at 350 for about 2 hours. Check for tenderness. When tender and pliable, but NOT falling off the bone, brush on Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Put back in oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until glaze caramelizes, but doesn't burn. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before enjoying.

STEAMED RED POTATOES:

1/2-1 lb. red potatoes per person served (I usually make 5 lbs. so we have leftovers) (or to keep Low carb, use steamed cauliflower, radishes, or turnips.  Delicious!)

Butter

Garlic powder

Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute

Salt/Pepper

Green onions

Wash potatoes and cut into fourths.  Steam covered in the microwave for 7-10 minutes, checking for tenderness and adjusting.  Drain any excess liquid.  Add butter, garlic powder, salt/pepper, and TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute.  Toss together until awesome.  Cut green onions and sprinkle over the top.

GARLIC BUTTER GREEN BEANS:

2-4 Cans cut green beans (depending on family size) --or fresh...whatever you have on hand/prefer

Heat them using  your preferred method.  Add butter, garlic powder, salt/pepper to taste. Easy-peasy.

LOVERBOY LASAGNA MENU
{Lazy} Loverboy Lasagna
Italian Stallion Salad
Parmesan Garlic Bread

{Lazy} LOVERBOY LASAGNA:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 pkg. spinach/kale blend (from salad section)
2 jars Classico sauce (I combined fire roasted tomato and garlic and Italian sausage with peppers and onions)
1 box lasagna noodles (to keep it THM friendly, use Dreamfield's, Zucchini, etc.)
1 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
Parmesan cheese (I used the green lid kind)
Italian seasoning
Shredded Mozzarella cheese

LAZIEST DIRECTIONS:
Cook meats together thoroughly. Add spinach/kale blend. Turn heat down to med/med-low. Cover and steam for and steam for 3-5 minutes. You shouldn't have to drain fat, unless it was a high %age of fat in your meat. Add sauces and stir together.

FILLING:
In a bowl put carton of ricotta cheese, eggs, a healthy sprinkle (about 1/4 cup?) parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir together thoroughly.

In deep dish pan or baking dish, spray bottom and sides with non-stick spray. Layer uncooked noodles on bottom. Add a layer of sauce. Layer 1/3 filling. Add shredded mozzarella. Repeat until you run out of ingredients or room in your pan, with the top layer being sauce topped with mozzarella.

REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes+, until hot and bubbly and cheese is melty. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
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SLIGHTLY LESS LAZY DIRECTIONS:
Cook meats together thoroughly. Add spinach/kale blend. Turn heat down to med/med-low. Cover and steam for and steam for 3-5 minutes. You shouldn't have to drain fat, unless it was a high %age of fat in your meat. Add sauces and stir together.

FILLING:
In a bowl put carton of ricotta cheese, eggs, a healthy sprinkle (about 1/4 cup?) parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir together thoroughly.

Bring large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles. Par-boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Separate...

In deep dish pan or baking dish, spray bottom and sides with non-stick spray. Layer uncooked noodles on bottom. Add a layer of sauce. Layer 1/3 filling. Add shredded mozzarella. Repeat until you run out of ingredients or room in your pan, with the top layer being sauce topped with mozzarella.

REFRIGERATE FOR A FEW HOURS. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes+, until hot and bubbly and cheese is melty. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.
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NOT EVEN LAZY...
Cook meats together thoroughly. Add spinach/kale blend. Turn heat down to med/med-low. Cover and steam for and steam for 3-5 minutes. You shouldn't have to drain fat, unless it was a high %age of fat in your meat. Add sauces and stir together.

FILLING:
In a bowl put carton of ricotta cheese, eggs, a healthy sprinkle (about 1/4 cup?) parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir together thoroughly.

Bring large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles. BOIL for 7-9 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Separate...

In deep dish pan or baking dish, spray bottom and sides with non-stick spray. Layer uncooked noodles on bottom. Add a layer of sauce. Layer 1/3 filling. Add shredded mozzarella. Repeat until you run out of ingredients or room in your pan, with the top layer being sauce topped with mozzarella.

Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes+, until hot and bubbly and cheese is melty. Remove foil and bake for 10-15 minutes more until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

Serve with ITALIAN STALLION SALAD and PARMESEAN GARLIC BREAD...Pics of ingredients below.  No real explanation needed, probably....

 AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST....DESSERT!

This frozen cherry-berry confection is the perfect de-LIGHT fully refreshing end to your meal!

Frozen Potion #9
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup frozen cherry/berry medley
2-3 tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend or Pyure Sweet...
1 capful of Raspberry extract
1 splash of 1/2 and 1/2

Dark Chocolate of choice

Whiz this potion together in your food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Top with dark chocolate of choice..Dove Dark Chocolate works just fine, and you get a Valentine's message to boot!  

"Walk to the beat of your own tuba"

Sounds about right to me!

Happy Love Day from our Home to yours!

"Countrified" Independence Day

This 4th of July holiday weekend was epic!  We had the blessing of both sides of the family together for America's birthday this year, and it was beyond awesome!  Casey's Mom and our nephew Nathan came out from Oregon to be with us, and we were also able to be with my parents and both my sisters and their families.  Freedom and family...two of my favorite treasures!  We enjoyed all the traditional joys of the holiday...Old Glory waving, Fireworks, and a little late night swimming...the stress just washed away, as we basked in the love of God, Country, and Family...

Forever in peace may she wave....

But of course...there was food...delicious, amazing, down-home "countrified" cooking!  My mother-in-law is originally from Oklahoma, and no one makes comfort food like she does!  How does this menu sound?  

Chicken/Country fried (a.k.a. "Countrified") steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, sweet tea, and watermelon and strawberries for dessert!! 

Heaven?  I know, right?!  Where's my front porch swing?

By the way...did you know there is a difference between "chicken-fried" steak and "country-fried" steak?  According to Food Network:  "country-fried steak is flour-dusted and usually served with brown gravy and onions, chicken-fried steak is breaded with eggs and served with cream gravy."  So, this is neither...IT'S COUNTRIFIED STEAK Y'ALL!

Here is her special step-by-step recipe, complete with photos! I hope y'all enjoy this as much as we did!  Ok...one last thing...this is a Southern Mama's recipe...passed down from her Mama and her Grand-Mama...so there are no measurements.  Just put on your apron, and embrace your inner Mason-Dixon line, and sip a little sweet tea while you listen to some George Strait.

GRAMMY'S "COUNTRIFIED" STEAK DINNER

Cube Steak (or round steak, tenderized) -- make sure you get 1 per person and at least 1 extra each for the menfolk 

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil (Bacon fat, lard, shortening, peanut oil, refined coconut oil, etc.--something with a high smoke point)

***********

Canned evaporated milk

2% or Whole milk

Directions:

1.  Heat frying pan/cast iron skillet with oil and melt on Medium heat while preparing the meat.  

2.  Cover a large baking sheet with foil and place in oven on Warm, waiting for freshly cooked steaks.

3.  Get your cube steak unwrapped and ready to go.  If your meat comes in foam packing trays, use those, nestled in plastic grocery sacks for dredging and seasoning, so it can catch the excess flour, etc., and you'll thank yourself for not making a big mess!

4.   Place some flour in an empty foam tray (the one inside the grocery bag) and begin to dredge one steak at a time with flour, patting it inside the tenderized valleys, until a fine yet thorough dusting covers the meat.  Season on both sides with salt and pepper.  DON'T THROW THE LEFTOVER FLOUR/MEAT CRUMBLES/SEASONINGS MIX AWAY!!!

5.  Turn heat up to Medium-High, and place steaks in the frying pan and cook until the bottom is browned and edges are crusty.  Don't over-crowd the skillet.  Leave a little space between each steak, so that the steaks crisp us and fry, otherwise they'll steam in the pan, instead.  

6.  Flip steaks, adding more oil as needed.  Continue cooking on side 2.  If blood/juices being to pool on top of already cooked side (side 1), turn steaks again once bottom (side 2) is browned.  Continue this process until no blood remains.

7.  Turn down heat to medium and continue cooking until no bloody juice remains when poked with a fork.  

8.  Pull steaks off heat and place on heated baking sheet in oven.

9.  Continue this process until all steaks have been cooked and are in the oven staying warm.

Regular AP flour 

 Now for the Gravy....

It's time to make the roux.

1.  Add more grease/oil until you have a total of a few tablespoons accumulated.  Let it melt until it's shimmery and hot on Medium-High heat.

2.  Sprinkle the flour/meat crumbles/seasoning mixture in the the grease, adding more flour as needed until the grease and flour mixture makes a paste.  Cook, stirring semi-continuously.  Don't add the milk yet.

3.  My mother-in-law tells me that one big mistake people make in their gravy is adding the milk too soon...she says you've got to babysit, and brown that roux until it's a nice lovely tannish-brown...kind of close to peanut butter, but not quite.

4.  Add 1-2 cans of evaporated (not sweetened condensed) milk, depending on how much gravy you want to make.  2 cans makes it awfully rich-tasting, so we stick with about 1 1/2 cans of canned milk and save the rest for the mashed potatoes.

5.  Stir the milk in, adding more milk from the jug, until you get a nice thinned-out consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking over Medium-Low heat to thicken and meld flavors.  My mother-in-law tells me that a good rich gravy should take at least 15-20 minutes of cook time.  Don't rush it. 

                                                   

                                                   

Did you make mashed potatoes?  Hope so!  This is not a diet meal!

For our big family dinner, we made 10 pounds of potatoes--we always use 50% Yukon Gold and 50% Russet potatoes...in our opinion, that combo makes the best structure and taste!

Peel, cut, and boil them taters.  Drain thoroughly and add the pot back on the same burner, but with the heat off.  Add lots of butter, some canned milk, some milk from the jug, and salt and pepper. You can add a little chicken broth if you want, too.  Up to you...

50/50 Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes

True mashed--NOT whipped--potatoes!

To keep it carby, we just went all the way with some hot buttered sweet corn, too.  If you want to get healthy, you can add something *not* in the brown/tan/yellow spectrum...something like a salad or greens, perhaps!

~Bless Your Heart and Happy Independence from our front porch to yours--and don't forget the iced sweet tea!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This time of year is so full of bombarding busyness and frantic fun.  We love all the special things that go with the holidays...and yet...Guess what next Tuesday is: NOTHING!! For the first time in I-don't-even-remember-how-long, there is NOTHING planned outside of my home! I am so-o-o looking forward to that day on my calendar!  Happy tears, y'all. Happy tears.

Sometimes I rely on my crockpot a little too much.  (Yes, I did dare utter those words!) I love the convenience of a crockpot (or two), but sometimes, there is just no substitute for the luxurious feeling of an oven-crisped slice of roast beast.  This is a fairly simple, low-maintenance, few-ingredient recipe that is busy-mama, hungry-hubby, and kid approved! (Also, it works out well when you're a step away from payday and still have a lovely piece of meat left, but hardly any fresh veggies.) It rates higher on the "gourmet-ish" taste than actual production, and I'm OK with that! ☺

HOLIDAY PORK ROAST (S)

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INGREDIENTS:

1 pork shoulder roast

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Dehydrated Chopped Onion

Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder

Herb Seasoning (I use Kirkland Organic No-Salt Seasoning)

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

Carrots, celery, potatoes, and/or onions (if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Scatter baby carrots, celery, potatoes and/or onions on foil to serve as an aromatic meat rack. Place your beautiful roast fat side up.  As this roasts, you'll get a lovely, caramelized crust, as it self-bastes while roasting.  Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle the dehydrated onion flakes, granulated/powdered garlic, herb seasoning (of choice), rosemary, sea salt, and cracked black pepper evenly over the top.  

Roast according to this chart for your size of roast.  Test meat with thermometer.  I waited until it read 162-163 when I pulled it out.  After resting, it climbed to a solid 165 internal temperature, and it was delicious, tender, and juicy!

Pork Shoulder Roast

Olive Oil, Spice and everything nice ☺

Holiday Pork Roast

Serve this succulent roast along with the roasted vegetables and a fresh salad.  Or, you could serve as I did with mashed "fauxtatoes" [cooked, mashed cauliflower, butter, splash of milk of choice or chicken broth, salt, pepper] (Trim Healthy Mama-style), and stuffing for a second side dish option.

THM Mashed "Fauxtatoes" (S) [a.k.a. mashed cauliflower]

Hearts of Romaine, Iceberg, and Butter Lettuce make a wonderful blend

Is it stuffing if you don't stuff something?  Is that when it's called dressing? ☺

It was such a blessing to be able to spend 5 minutes or less of prep on this roast, throw together the side dishes, and still sit down to a roasty-toasty dinner with our family at the end of a busy, snowy day!

~Hearty & Simple Holiday Meals from our Home to Yours!

COFFEE BREAK

Today is the first Monday we've had off in months!  No homeschool co-op (even though we enjoy it); no doctor's appointments (I had surgery in September); no company coming over (of course we love it when they come!); and no hubby home (again with the love, though).  In fact, I am so excited for this week, I can hardly stand it!  So much to be THANKFUL for!!  AND so much to do!!  Yet I was reminded that Being Still...Taking a Coffee Break...is not a waste of time.  It is an investment in my day.  Every time I skip this stillness of my soul in the morning, the rest of the day is often chaotic and unproductive.  Mornings are hard.  I get it.  I also know that life is short, and skipping coffee with Jesus can open the door to mistakes, regrets, and discouragement.  Nobody needs that!

This year, Thanksgiving Day will be simple and sweet.  It'll just be the six of us and Mom and Dad.  We are making the main dinner this year for the first time....Mom has been fighting breast cancer for almost a year, and chemotherapy is an unkind companion along the journey.  Thankfully, Mom has been spared many of the most dreaded side-effects, but the nagging fatigue is ever-present.  This verse continually passes through my mind, as I think of and pray for her.  We cannot heal ourselves...that job is God's alone!  But we can be still in His presence. Life is a precious gift.  And it can sometimes be short.  I am so thankful for God's fighting on behalf of my mom right now, and I don't want to take it for granted!

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After relishing a few extra moments with my pillow this morning, my first stop was caffeine.  If you know me at all, you know how much I love my coffee...even if on crazy days it takes a never-ending cycle of reheating in order to get it done! ☺

Coffee creamer...this is an area of my life that I have had a death-grip on.  I have tried all sorts of bullet-proof coffees, Trimaccinos, half & half or cream/extract/stevia combos.  So far, none of them have been *bad* but none have really floated my boat, either.

Trim Healthy Mama has two new books out!  The original book was awesome, weighing in at over 600 pages.  I love it and still have it!  However, these new books are so very user-friendly.  The plan itself is in the first book (below - left), while the cookbook (below - right) has over 300 recipes, complete with color photos!  It's wicked awesome! ♥

So today, I was finally ready to try something new (again) for my coffee.  I love peppermint mochas this time of year (I am NOT a pumpkin fan in beverages!  GAG!)  Using the new THM Sweet Blend
I made a batch of peppermint Skinny Chocolate (S) disks.  It comes together in a cinch, and I can find most of the ingredients I need from any grocery store.  Thankfully, we have a Trader Joe's nearby!  I ♥ TJ's!

 If you don't like to use coconut-flavored coconut oil, you can purchase refined (unflavored) CO at most any grocery store!

(See the Peppermint Mocha creamer in the background?  That will hopefully fade more into the distance if this can make up for the flavor!) ☺
I plopped one of these into my coffee, along with a swirl of cream and YAY!  Although I'll probably still enjoy my other coffee creamers from time to time, this was perfect today! ☺

MOCHA-MINT SKINNY CHOCOLATE (S)
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INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. coconut oil (melted)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
2-3 tsp. ground THM Sweet Blend
teensy pinch sea salt
Peppermint extract

DIRECTIONS:
Melt coconut oil until liquid.  Add cocoa powder, ground THM Sweet Blend, and salt, stirring well.  Add 2-3 drops of peppermint extract (or about 1/2 tsp), stir and taste.  Adjust to desired sweetness/flavor profile.  Pour into molds, onto lined plate, or into ice cube trays.  Freeze until solid.

~Blessings and Peace in Stillness (& a great cuppa coffee) from our home to yours!