appetizers · Fish · Meats · Uncategorized

Bang Bang Shrimp

imageLast night, my sweet hubby took me to Bone Fish Grill for dinner. We have been wanting to go back since we ate there in Ft Lauderdale, FL a few years ago and have just discovered that there is now one here. So off we went, all the while talking about the first thing we will do is order the Bang Bang Shrimp. If you have never had these, all I can say is, if you live anywhere close to a Bone Fish Grill, get there as fast as you can and order these little darlings. Your life will never be the same. As soon as we got in the car after dinner, we googled to see if there was a copy cat recipe of this and sure enough there it was. So am posting this to encourage you to make your way into this restaurant if possible, and if not, do yourself a favor and make this.

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined (smaller shrimp works great, but not the tiny ones)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Thai sweet chile sauce

3-5 drops hot chile sauce

1/2-3/4 cup cornstarch, to coat the shrimp

Mix may with sauces for coating the shrimp. Set aside.

Bread shrimp in cornstarch.

Deep fat fry the shrimp until lightly browned.

Drain on paper towel, putting shrimp in a bowl and coat with the mayo sauce.

Serve in a lettuce lined bowl, top with chopped green scallions.

 

Meats · Uncategorized · Vegetables

Pork Roast

A couple of days ago, taking a break from packing boxes, I got hungry for a pork roast!  We  texted (only old people call their kids) our kids and ask them if they wanted to come over for dinner.  I think we all know the answer to that question anytime free food is involved! So I got busy and began to look for the necessary food items that I normally use for pork roast.  They weren’t there, such as brown gravy mix, cream of mushroom soup and That brown stuff you sprinkle on meat that starts with Worches, but I can never remember the spelling and since I don’t have any in the fridge, I can’t run to check the spelling, so you will just have to guess what I’m talking about! Anyhoo since we are trying to use up all the items in our pantry and not keep buying I went with what I had in hand!  It turned out so good!  Will make this again as all four of us loved it!   I used cream of celery soup, a packet of dry French onion soup and about 4-5 shakes of Kikoman sauce!

1 (2-3 lb) pork roast

2 tables olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1 reg size can cream of celery soup

1 envelope of Liptons dry French onion soup kix

4-5 shakes of Kikoman sauce

garlicpowder to taste

pepper

in large Dutch oven heat with olive oil. Sprinkle roast with pepper and garlic powder to your liking! Because of the onion soup mix and Jimoman you  don’t need to add any salt!

brown roast and sliced onion in hot oil on both sides about 3-4 min on each side. When roast is brown sprinkle it with the dry soup mix, then cover with cream of celery soup and splash in the Kikoman sauce! add about a can or more water to roast and bake st 350 for 2-3 hours!  The last hour of baking I add cut up potatoes and carrots.  Bake until roast is tender and veggies are done!  The gravy this makes is so good!

Uncategorized

So Many Thoughts, So Little Time

This appeared on my FaceBook memories and as I reread it, it occurred to me that some of these same questions which were in my mind 2 years ago, were once again questions as we move once again to a new place. Another adventure and once again, having learned new things about ourselves, we pray that the things we have learned here will be useful to us as we move to new surroundings as God once again “enlarges our territory”. Our prayer is that we leave having fulfilled our purpose in being sent here 2 years ago and willing to be used in however the Lord desires to use us in the new place!

Chocolate Castles's avatarChocolate Castles

As we are fastly approaching moving day, Wednesday, there are just so many thoughts going through my mind. One thought is, “I DON”T WANT TO GO” and another is “HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU PACK FOR TWO TO THREE MONTHS WHEN I CAN’T GET TO CLOTHES BECAUSE THEY WILL BE IN STORAGE SOMEPLACE”…where will we go for this new adventure? Will we travel to places which hold special memories or search out new adventures in places that we have always wanted to find..where will we be living around Dallas?… where will we be going to church? Will I be living in a house or a condo? Will we be able to just fall back into the life we left 3 years ago? Will we really spend the time with family that we intend?
Only time will reveal the answers to the questions. We have been up to Big Bear…

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Chocolate · Desserts · Uncategorized

Peanut Butter Chip Brownies

These brownies are so moist and seem to be just the perfect chocolate flavor that I was looking for last night. Instead of adding the regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, I added the bag that has peanut butter & chocolate chips. Love, love, love these brownies. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top as soon as they come out of the oven and you have yourself a winner! Super easy and quick and you could be munching on them as you watch the New Hampshire returns this evening.

2 cups sugar

2 sticks softened butter

4 eggs

1 cup flour

8 tables cocoa

1 (12 oz) bag of peanut butter/chocolate chips

1 teas vanilla

Cream softened butter with the sugar. Add vanilla and eggs. Stir just until blended. Add cocoa and flour, stirring just until mixed. Add the chips and then spread into a greased 9×13″ pan. Bake for about 18 to 23 minutes, depending on your oven. I take mine out just before the knife comes out clean as I like them a little gooey. Sprinkle with granulated sugar as soon as they come out of oven.

appetizers · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Super Bowl Supplies

We all know what Super Bowl means….food, lots and lots of food; oh yes and I guess football. But for a lot of us, who don’t even really know who is playing or what a football even looks like, food is the central core of what Super Bowl Sunday is all about. I have to admit that for the last couple of weeks, I have been searching magazines, web sites, blogs and Face Book for new recipes that would make this 50th Super Bowl special. So it is with great expectation that the menu is settled. Since we are packing, getting ready to move to Arizona, our house isn’t exactly what you would call cozy right now, but due to some circumstances, we are blessed to be hosting this most significant event. Remembering the year I turned 50 brought back so many thoughts of how to celebrate, and what I would want for my celebratory meal (you know, just in case I didn’t make it to 51 due to the high cholesterol count AND extra weight AND having a consistent diet of butter, chocolate, whipping cream and cream cheese), I began to think that maybe this special 50th Super Bowl Game should be celebrated with lots of different foods. What better way than to go back through the recipe books from 50 years ago. So if you google recipes from 1966, these are the recipes which will be fun to serve this Sunday!

The Frank Blandi’s Devonshire Sandwich (you can google the recipe)

Lipton Onion Soup Dip

Meatballs with Grape Jelly

Stuffed Celery

Pigs In A Blanket

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

 

Uncategorized

Cheese Shell Tostados

imageToday in FB a recipe was posted for mini cheese shell tacos!  They sounded so good I had to try them! So we did!  I am hooked! They were so easy and so good we truly never missed a taco shell!  In fact, these are so good and easy we will be eating our tacos with cheese shells most of the time!

1/2 lb ground beef or turkey

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tomato chopped

2 green onions, chopped fine

2 teas Pace Picante sauce

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

preheat oven to 400

brown meat with chopped onion until meat is done and onion is clear! Salt, pepper & garlic as desired

Chop tomato, green onion and combine with picante sauce

using about 1/3 to 1/2 cup, pile cheese into a baking sheet in about 6 to 8 seperately piles (mounds)  place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake cheese until Cleese is completely melted and beginning to brown around the edges.

Remove from oven and using a paper towel, blot each cheese pancake to absorb any extra grease.

place cheese pancake in plate and top with a spoonful of meat mixture and then top with tomato-onion mixture   You can top with sour cream if desired!

 

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Senior Shopping Bags & Senior Moments

Randy and I began with great plans of being such proud little “going green” seniors as we headed out the back door to go grocery shopping. We had laid one of our recyclable bags out so we would not forget to get them off the hook in the garage, which is what happens each week. We always get out of the car at the store and say, “oh shoot, we forgot the reusable bags, oh well, we will be sure to get them next time.” Every week, it’s the same story. But not this week, we purposely laid one on the hood so we would be sure and grab the bags before heading out. And grab we did, we took the bags that make us look like Mr & Mrs Environment Friendly Green All The Way…you know the ones, that have sayings on them such as “Use Me to Help Give Your Kids a Cleaner Tomorrow”. So off we go and as the checker is checking us out, we visit and tell him that we don’t mind him filling the bags up, after all, we are strong and can handle more than 2 cans in a bag.

So we check out, head to the car, I take our basket and put it in the basket return and on my way back to the car, I even offer to take a ladies’ basket for her so I’m sure to get my steps in on my Fitbit. She thanks me and I am feeling ever so nice. We back out and as I am looking in the back seat to help Randy back up (you know, he needs me to help him look) there in the backseat of our car are out reusable bags. Neither one of us had even thought about the bags when we arrived.  We never even thought about them as the checker was filling up plastic bags with our groceries. What are we going to have to do to remember that even when we remember to take them, we remember to take them out of the car?

Are we the only people that do this? Feeling pretty “old & forgetful”  about ourselves, on the way home, we began to talk of some of the things that we do now that are tell-signs that we are getting just a tad bit of a “Senior”. Here are just a few, see if any of you share some of these same characteristics.

  1. We like cereal for lunch
  2. Even though a restaurant is one of our favs, we wait until we get a coupon in the mail or we don’t go.
  3. We have a hard time getting a date on the calendar for lunch with our friends, as there are very few days that some of them have free from Dr Appointments.
  4. We sleep so late, we end up just skipping breakfast and have breakfast food for dinner.
  5. 3:00 afternoon coffee is beginning to sound better and better, just like our parents did (and that is after our nap)
  6. Eating at 5:30 doesn’t sound quite as bad as it use to.
  7. Looking for restaurants which allow Seniors to eat for less, no matter the time of day.
  8. Going to Branson is sounding like it would be a fun place to go.
  9. Monday Mornings find us getting out all our vitamins to restock our pill caddy.
  10. Velcro fasteners on shoes are staring to look attractive!
And these are the ones we just thought of. There are probably more, but we can’t remember them.
Uncategorized

Chocolate Cake

image

1 DUNCAN Hines chocolate fudge cake mix

5 eggs

1 small package of instant French vanilla, cheesecake or chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 stick (1/2 cup) melted butter and 1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix altogether except chocolate chips and beat for 2 min.  Add chocolate chips and stir until blended!

pour into a greased and floured (actually I don’t flour pans when baking cakes,  I use sugar instead, gives the outside of the cake a little sparkly appearance) large bundt pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 40 min or until cake test done! Cool in pan for about 15 min then invert in cake plate   Cook and frost with chocolate glaze!

Frosting recipe is on blog.  I just make the frosting then place in microwave about 45 seconds until you can pour over cake.  It won’t take all the frosting but save the rest for later use!

 

Chocolate · Cookies · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Uncategorized

Brookies

Yesterday I had a meeting to attend and it is one I go to once a month. For some reason I have decided this past year that I cannot go unless I have dessert in my hand to pass around. After asking the friend who leads the meeting what she would like to have me bring for our enjoyment, she told me she wanted brookies. Well, I had never made brookies. It is a brownie and chocolate chip cookie combined. I admit I was in my lazy mood, so I ran to the store, thinking I had seen box mixes of these delicious looking morsels and there on the shelp were two different brands of brookies. One was Betty Crocker and the other was Nestle. I got one of each wanting to do a comparison bake.

After baking both boxes, both Randy and I decided that the Nestle was definitely the winner. The chocolate chip cookie part of the brookie tasted exactly like a homemade chocolate chip cookie.  Of course both boxes used a stick of butter, which will always make baked goods taste more like homemade, but the Nestle brand truly was the better brand. I ended up making them in cupcake pans instead of a 8×8 and then topped each one with a dollop of chocolate frosting. The recipe for the frosting is already on the blog. They were devoured and I brought 4 home which I have hidden away. I did make myself share one of them with Randy since he was so sweet to drive me to the store to buy them in the first place. Since today is cold and wind chill is in the 20’s, I am so glad I still have 2 left as a treat to have with hot tea today.

Breads · Uncategorized

Cheese & Herb Scones

I don’t know about you, but not only do I feel a little British when I eat scones, but I certainly feel a little Martha Stewartie when I make them. Just returning from grocery shopping I happened to look on the back of a bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and noticed this recipe. We are having potato soup for dinner so these will go along very nicely. A little Paula meets Martha dinner, don’t you think?

Makes 12 scones

1 lb self-rising flour

1 teas salt

4 oz butter, cold, cut in cubes

1 teas fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 (8)oz package finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese,divided

8 tables milk

8 tables waater

Preheat oven to 425. Mix together in a large bowl, the flour, salt and cold cubed butter with a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add the chopped rosemary and 6 oz of the cheese.  Add the milk and water and stir until mixture is just blended. Do not over mix.  On a floured board or cabinet top, roll out the dough to 1″ thickness.  Cut out rounds using a 2 1/2″ biscuit cutter or glass top.  Place scones on a greased baking sheet and top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake until golden brown, about 10-13 minutes, depending on oven.