Tormented Kitchen

Last week, my dear hubby Justin went hunting.  He left me and the kids at home. I was OK with that. I'm not much for outdoorsy activities. I'm sort of like a fish out of water when it comes to camping and hunting. I also really like the convenience of running water and electricity.  There seems to be a shortage of both when using a tent in the wilderness. I might be OK a couple days, but then...I miss all the conveniences of home. And I get a bit stir crazy. My folks came up for the weekend to help and keep me company.  It was nice to have the extra hands. Mom and I cooked up a storm. Pecan bars, goulash, muffins, and kraut chops. Mm. I rarely get to eat anything with kraut because hubby doesn't like it. And if he won't eat it, no sense in making a whole batch of this for just me. Right? Anyhow, we made this in an electric skillet. You can make this on the stove. Just make sure you have a really big skillet that can hold everything. I know, electric skill...

Did you know that children's TV channels often advertise things that are not geared toward children as well as things that are annoyingly interesting to children? I don't mean just toys, Skechers, and movie advertisements. I mean stupid thing like aluminum wallets and bacon-cooking devices for the microwave. First, ages ago, Eric was enthralled with the Baby Bullet.  Are you familiar with the Magic Bullet blender/food processor? Well, this device is the same thing aimed at mothers who would want to make baby food from scratch.  Eric insisted that I needed one to make healthy food for his baby sister. (I did not buy this already owning two food processors, a blender, a manual baby food mill and no desire to spend more $$$.) Shortly, actually perhaps a year later, he saw a puppy house-training pee pad. Since we had just brought Topaz home and he was having serious issues with going everywhere we didn't want him to go, all the time, Eric insisted that we needed...

This recipe came from  my mom.  It's been around for a long time, I'm not sure just how long. It's one of my dad's favorite ways to eat cucumber. It also happens to be one of those seasonal, summer side dishes that really hits the spot with potato salad and burgers on the grill. Ingredients ½ cup sour cream ¼ cup mayonnaise 2 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 1 large English cucumber 1 small red onion 1 sprig fresh dill (optional) Method 1. Combine sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. 2. Wash and peel cucumbers. Cut into slices 1/4" thick. Peel and slice onion thinly, about 1/8" thick. I used a mandoline slicer for this. 3. Toss cucumber slices, onion, and dill (if using) in cream sauce. 4. Cover with plastic and chill at least 2 hours, or overnight to let the flavors develop.

Let me tell you, I have been making this exact schnitzel recipe for years now. Justin and I have taste-tested many iterations to come up with this particular formula. And then one day recently, we went to lunch with Justin's mom to the nearby Olive Garden. Justin ordered their Pork Milanese. We looked at it. We tasted it. We sat there slack-jawed because it was exactly *EXACTLY* (No I'm not exaggerating) the same as I make it. Crazy huh? Usually if I want to recreate a restaurant recipe, I google it on the Internet. So anyone who loves OG's breaded pork cutlet, give this a try. PS Sorry, I have not tried to clone their ravioli that comes with the pork cutlet. Ingredients 6 cutlets of lean pork or venison, about ¼" thick 2 eggs 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. poultry seasoning 1 ½ cups plain bread crumbs 1/3 cup flour ½ cup butter or margarine 2 lemons, cut in wedges 3 T. chopped fresh parsley Method 1. Pound meat with a malle...

The puffed pancake, or Dutch baby, is one of those super simple breakfast items that seems to really wow people. I got this recipe from my mom. It's another one of those she picked up somewhere that no one can exactly remember when or how or where it actually came from. It's one of Justin's favorite breakfast foods that I make. It's tasty with cut up fruit and flavored syrup, or with my creamy fruit dip, or done up simply like reular pancakes with butter and maple syrup. Eric likes it too. So if the kid eats it, you know it's good for the whole family. Ingredients for one puff pancake: ½ cup flour ¼ tsp. salt 2 eggs 2 Tablespoons sugar ½ cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine Method: 1. Preheat oven to 425°. Place butter in a 9-inch pie dish and put in oven. Remove dish from oven when butter has melted and is sizzling, but not burned, about 2-4 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, beat other ingredients together until smooth. Pour into sizz...