Tormented Kitchen

Yum for broccoli! We like broccoli. I bought a seriously huge bag from Costco. I barely made a dent in it after this broccoli casserole and a couple nights of steamed broccoli. Note to self: Costco bags of broccoli are too big for normal consumption. Going back into my childhood, I liked broccoli with "cheeze."  Since processed cheese is very high in sodium (and lots of artificial weird stuff) I don't like to eat it all that often. Thankfully, my kids aren't big fans of Velveeta. However, this is one of those traditions where I have to indulge myself every once in a while. This was part of the Easter dinner feast. It was really salty and oozy and yummy. I'm pretty sure we negated any health benefits from the broccoli with all the "cheeze" and butter, but I enjoyed it immensely. Ingredients 2 lbs broccoli, chopped 1 lb block Velveeta 3 T. butter 2 T. milk 6 Ritz crackers, crushed Method 1. Microwave or steam broccoli until just tender. ...

Hello again my dear readers. It's springtime here and I'm finding more and more good produce at the stores. I found some adorable Brussels sprouts! They are essentially miniature cabbages that grow on stalks. I'm hoping to grow some in our garden this year! I wanted to try something a little bit different. I recruited my daughter to help me make dinner. I told her to help put the sprouts in the pan and that she had to watch for bugs. She was very thorough and questioned almost every brownish spot she saw. As part of this experiment, I asked her to eat one raw. She did! My picky eater ate one whole raw Brussels sprout! What an accomplishment! However, once I got out the onion, she lost interest. She did ask if I was crying (from the onion fumes) and looked deep into my eyes to see if I had any tears forming. Funny! After stuffing the pan into the hot oven, I managed to heat up some ham and microwaved a huge sweet potato to make the meal. The lemony cheesy Br...

Easter time has come and gone yet again. Now, let me tell you something. Usually, I attempt to give up something for Lent, and fail miserably 3 days later. I gave up chocolate for Lent this year. This is not the first time that I've tried to give up chocolate, but it was the most successful time! I was really trying to eat healthier. There was one birthday party with marble cake that I could not resist. For the most part, I was very focused on what healthy things I could eat instead of chocolate. That sort of impaired my inspiration to cook and blog about food.  Now that I've survived the month+ without chocolate, I've managed to put together a few thoughts. 1. I am a chocoholic. 2. I don't have to eat all chocolate all the time. 3. I should only eat the really good chocolate in small quantities. 4. Chocolate will put me into a tailspin of eating. No Chocolate means I'm in better control of what I eat later in the day. 5. I really do like fruits and veggies, b...

I got this tip from a friend who was trying Weight Watchers a number of years ago.  If you are using ground beef in a recipe that requires cooking and then combining with sauce ingredients, this is great because you will not miss the greasiness and the flavor will not be horribly reduced. Start with lean ground beef, I look for 90/10 or even 93/7 beef.  This refers to the percentage of lean meat and fat that is ground up together when raw. Now when you cook it in the frying pan, notice the puddle of hot, liquid fat. Normally I would drain the fat and return the pan to the stove. My friend recommended that you drain the fat and rinse the meat under hot water. Then also use a paper towel to wipe the fat residue out of the pan to remove as much fat as possible. Return the drained meat to the pan and season. This works really well for taco meat, sloppy joes, or chili.

 My kids love stickers. They plaster them everywhere and I really mean everywhere.They put stickers on the furniture, on the play kitchen, on the real fridge, on the doors, on the windows inside the car, and on themselves including their clothes. Well, sometimes I forget to check pants pockets for toys and money and shirts for stickers. Eric had a huge sticker on one of his shirts and it went through the drier.  I was folding clothes and noticed a big white sticky patch, front and center. Oops. Scrubbing and washing with a regular stain remover won't cut the gunk. Instead, get a spoonful of peanut butter, or soy butter if you don't do peanuts. Rub the PB into the gunk.  Use the spoon or a butter knife to scrape and rub the sticker residue off. Keep working the PB over and into the residue until the gunk just lets go. It should only take a minute. Use a little squirt of dish soap like Dawn to break down the PB on the shirt. Rub it in good and rinse it off, then l...

There is restaurant on Virginia Street that my hubby and I eat lunch at often.  Michael's Deli, if you are curious. They have fantastic salads and darn good gyros, too.  One of my favorite things they make is a peanut butter filled chocolate cookie. They only have them certain days of the week, so I don't always get them. After eating those cookies, and always wanting more, I had to make some at home this weekend.  I told my student employees my plans. They begged for me to bring some cookies to work. Unfortunately for them, the cookies didn't make it to the office. They were so good, I just couldn't bring myself to share! Ingredients 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder  1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter 1 egg 1 tablespoon milk 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla 3/4 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter ...

I think everyone has their own version of Christmas goodies. This is one of mine. We're not big pans of peanut brittle. If I substitute almonds for the peanuts, then this stuff doesn't stand a chance! Ingredients 2 cups granulated white sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup salted butter 1/2 cup water 2 1/2 cups nuts, peanuts, pecans, or blanched slivered almonds, or a combination 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda Method 1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. The color will gradually turn a nice toasty caramel color. Be sure to use a spoon that won't melt.   2. Using a candy thermometer, cook until 275F.  Stir in the nuts and heat up to 295F. 3.Remove pan from heat and stir in the baking soda. Mix well. 4. Pour onto buttered cookie sheets.  Spread it with a wooden spoon or forks to help pull it. 5. Allow to cool a few hours.  Break into pieces and enjoy.