Tormented Kitchen

Hello, dear readers! Comfort foods seem to be a no-brainer when the weather gets chilly, especially here in the mountains near Lake Tahoe. Soups, stews, casseroles, and the like come to mind.  One of my favorite comfort foods is scalloped potatoes and ham. It's also seasonal for us since we only get a big ham a couple times a year, usually near a holiday, if not for a holiday meal. My dear hubby is also a fan of scalloped potatoes although his Italian grandmother makes hers a little bit differently.  She puts whole pork chops on top of the potatoes instead of mixing in diced ham. Her way is pretty darn good too. One of the best reasons to make this is that it's easy to assemble. The second best reason is that it's kid-friendly.  Any parent of a picky eater knows how foods tend to be white and full of potatoes. So, yes, this is guilty as charged! Although who's going to argue with you for making this? Ingredients 3 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced ab...

Hi Friends! Today I'm sharing a recipe for a casserole that I learned about when I got my first real job out of college.  It was informally called tamale pie. Essentially, the original recipe consisted of a can of this and can of that layered in a pan. There was corn bread mix from a box, layers of seasoned meat, cheese, salsa or Rotel, beans, and so on. (I'm skipping details on purpose. They're boring.) Then you baked it until it was hot. Yeah, I customized my procedure and ingredients to match what we liked. I started making the mush with a little cinnamon and used regular milk instead of canned milk. I used taco seasoning on the meat and skipped the salsa/Rotel step. I added frozen corn and sliced olives. I couldn't skip the cheese since we love cheese. But it has evolved from the original can of this and a can of that. Now hold on for one second.  Have you seen other tamale pie recipes? You know, the ones that put the corn mush on TOP?  What is that about? F...

Hello again, I'm back with a new recipe. I've been ready for casseroles for a long time and now I'm on a roll.  I recently got a free jar of Ragu Sauce to test from Influenster. They asked me to use it and make up a recipe to go with it. I used some things I already had around the house. We grew dinosaur kale in the garden this year so I was already thinking about using kale in a dinner dish.  I almost always have cheese and pasta on hand, so I didn't have to buy more. I did pick up some ground turkey at the store. Then less than one easy-peasy hour later, I had a really tasty dinner ready to go. It also made a huge amount so we have plenty of leftovers. Give it a try, I think you'll like it. Ingredients 1 lb organic ground turkey 1 bunch dinosaur kale, ribs removed and chopped 2 Tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil (or regular olive oil) 1-2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes 1 16-oz box of Barilla Pasta,  campanelle, elbows, rotini, penne, or s...

Hello dear readers.  It's officially Fall!  It's casserole and soup season!  You have no idea how happy I am for the cooler weather. Being pregnant during the summer was not so fun. I had no appetite and I was not interested in cooking anything in the oven that would make the house hotter than it already was.  I think we'll get the AC serviced in the springtime because it's just not cooling anymore. Anyhow, FOOD! I've been hungry for something different than our standard, go-to meals.  I had to think back to the old days growing up and what kinds of interesting things we found at church pot-lucks. That brings me to home-cooked Basque food. I perused my old community cookbooks and got some ideas. I perused the Internet for more ideas.  Food started flying into the pot on the stove. And then bingo! Basque chicken and rice was served. Basically it all started because we took a short road trip back the old hometown to visit Grandma Rose so she could m...

Hello, my friends.  It's been quite a while since I've been in the kitchen cooking from scratch.  Being pregnant is hard work!  The baby is now almost 3 weeks old, the garden is bursting with tomatoes, and I've gotten slowly back in the kitchen. Today, I'm sharing with you, my recipe for lasagna. I made a small batch of homemade tomato sauce with bell peppers and pork to use up some tomatoes.  I used that for my lasagna sauce this time, but you can use jarred sauce from the store.  I normally use marinara or a tomato-y sauce in a jar, so use what works for you. Ingredients 1 lb ground beef 2 eggs 1 15oz container part-skim ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (for mixing into filling) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 Tablespoons dried parsley 1 box lasagna noodles (I prefer American  Beauty's Oven-Ready) 1 28oz jar Marinara or Tomato-Garlic pasta sauce, or about 3 cups homemade sauce 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup shredded ...

Hello again my readers! It's almost summer time! That means less time running the oven in the house and more time outdoors with the grill. So to wrap up something I've been working on, let's get to it. Say Hello to my delish oven-baked "fried" chicken recipe. A few months ago I tried something new and I'd been making a little tweak here and there, perfecting it. Now I 'm ready to share. But first, some back ground story. When I was a tween and learning to cook, one of the first cookbooks I got was Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual by the Klutz Press. There was a recipe in there for oven "fried" chicken that used crushed cornflakes. It became a regular thing in our house, so I've had a spot in my heart for oven baked chicken since. Now, I've gotten away from using cornflakes and wanted something flour-dredged so it was even more like real fried chicken. And I found a way to do it. I've only tried this with drumsticks...