An All Natural Deodorizing Room Spray

Yesterday, Danny came home from camp with a note from his ceramics teacher to me. In the note, she explained that she had eaten some garlic for lunch one day that week, and it was so stinky that she had to break out her room spray to cover the odor. Danny loved the spray so much that she wrote down the makings for the spray for him to bring home. So, last night we stopped at Earthfare and Target and bought some essential oils, distilled water, and a spray bottle.

Ingredients for the spray:

4 drops Lavendar essential oil

3 drops Frankencense essential oil

6 drops Rose Geranium essential oil

(we couldn't find Rose Geranium, so we used 4 drops Geranium and 2 drops Rose separately)

 

1/2 cup distilled water

1 small spray bottle

 

 

Add distilled water to spray bottle. Add drops of essential oils. Replace bottle cap, shake and enjoy!

Naan Breakfast Pizzas

A few days ago, I was running late coming home from work and running short on options for dinner. As we always have eggs and bacon in the house, and we often have garlic naan (Indian flat bread available in the deli section), an awesome idea came to me. Why not make breakfast pizzas on the naan? I've had naan pizzas before - you can get them from the Indian markets in the freezer section - but I had not made one, especially not a breakfast pizza. I made two different flavors (pictured below).

The first was bacon, egg and cheese only for the kids. The second, mine, included bacon, onions, bell peppers, eggs, cheese, and herbs. This recipe is so versatile, you can put anything you want on the pizzas. Here is the full recipe.

Naan Breakfast Pizzas

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 pieces Stonefire Garlic Naan

4 eggs

3 pieces bacon or 1/4 cup sausage, cooked and crumbled into small pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or 3 cheese Mexican blend)

Toppings like chopped onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, etc.

butter or cooking spray

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a buttered or sprayed skillet, sautee desired toppings until soft. Remove from pan. Add more butter or spray and then add eggs, scrambling until just less than firm. Remove from pan. Place naan on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle bacon or sausage onto naan. Scatter toppings, spreading over surface of the bread. Top with scrambled egg and shredded cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 

Enjoy!



4th of July/Outlander weekend

Just because the 4th was over doesn't mean that our fun ended this weekend. George and I just finished the 8th installment, Written in my Own Heart's Blood or MOBY as its fans affectionately call it,, in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (soon to be a Starz series in case you've been living under a rock), and we decided to mix it up this weekend. We started with some of our traditional summer activities like making our homemade vanilla,

and smoking some wonderful ribs paired with franks (grilled from the night before) and beans.

As George says, he smoked 'em low and slow.

While George downed his signature drink (a Boulevardiere),

I sipped a Jack Rose with one of George Washington's favorites, Apple Jack Brandy (which is mentioned quite a lot in MOBY

while baking some awesome chocolate chip cookies.

Along with the traditional activities, we threw in some Outlander-inspired things as well. We made two different batches of Cherry Bounce (another of George Washington's favorites)

I got the different recipes from a blog called Outlander Kitchen, and they should be ready in 3-6 months. I'll let you know what we think! Outlander Kitchen just recently published a Tastebook, and I got a copy. It's full of excellent recipes, and I decided during this cooking/baking spree that I would make Black Jack Randall's Lavender Fudge.

While my picture is nowhere near as good as the blog's or the Tastebook's, the fudge was delicious. The lavender gives it a unique flavor, and I even spruced it up with some of my homemade vanilla. Yummy!

Now I know you're thinking, There can't possibly be more. Oh, but there is.

Sunday after church, Danny's had a friend over to play video games and ride bikes for a while. Here they are chowing down on some corn dogs.

Megan went to a friend's house, and George and I continued our Outlander weekend by making Outlander Kitchen's Shepherd's Pie from An Echo in the Bone.

All I can say is, Oh My Goodness. I believe we'll be having another weekend soon, as George has requested this as a staple in our house now. Glad to oblige on this one.

What a fantastic July 4th/Outlander weekend!

Move over, Paula Deen

Our neighbor, Miriam, gave us a bag of summer squash this week, and I couldn't think of anything better to make with it than Squash Casserole.  My favorite recipe has always been Paula Deen's recipe from The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. It's a simple recipe, but this time I put my own spin on it, and it turned out delicious. Here's how I made it:

First I assembled all of the ingredients.

I chopped the squash and onions, and I cooked them together.

The original recipe calls for cooked squash and separately cooked onion, but I always cook the squash with the Vidalia onion, as it gives the squash better flavor.  While those were cooking, my helper, Danny, crushed up some Ritz crackers.

This is where my casserole varies from the Deen recipe, as I used Bacon Ritz

to give it an awesome smoky flavor. Danny then mixed all of the ingredients together,

topped it with Ritz crumbs and cheese,

and we baked it until it became bubbly and browned on top.

I've included the full amended recipe below:

SQUASH CASSEROLE

 

 

Ingredients:

 

3 cups yellow squash, cut into rounds

1 large Vidalia onion, chopped

1 tablespoon butter, plus 4 tablespoons, melted

1 cup Ritz bacon flavored cracker crumbs, plus more for topping

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese, plus more for topping

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of onion powder

 

Sautee squash and onion together in 1 tablespoon butter until pan sizzles. Add 1/2 cup water and cover, cooking until squash is tender. Pour into a strainer, and then squeeze all of the water out using a towel. Place the squash/onions into a bowl with the 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 cup cracker crumbs, 1 cup of cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle remaining crumbs and cheese on the top, and bake at 350 F for 25-30 minutes.

 

 

 



 

More inspiration

Last night, after the house was quiet, I was trying to think of something to make for breakfast today to make use of my week-old bananas and/or blueberries before they went completely bad. I had seen Giada at Home last week, and I remembered that she made a Blueberry-Banana bread.

Perfect! I love baking at night, and I like to think the smell of baked goods gives the kids good dreams.

This morning, Megan and I made use of our leftover cajun ingredients and some others to create an Andouille, potato and egg scramble to have with the bread.

Megan was inspired to help by our "Creamer Cooking Camp" and has become an expert sausage slicer.

For the scramble, we used one Andouille link, one cup of cooked hashbrowns (we had some leftover refrigerated hashbrowns from another breakfast), 1/4 cup red onion, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 2 beaten eggs, and 3 Tbsp. shredded cheddar. First, you place 1 Tbsp. of butter in a non-stick pan, adding onions and peppers when hot. Add the sausage and cook until sausage slices are lightly browned on both sides. Add the hashbrowns and continue to cook until the potatoes are heated through. Add the egg and cheese and stir until the eggs are fully cooked. That's it! Such and easy way to use leftovers, and an easy way to continue the inspiration to create in the kids.

Buttermilk Pie

Last night, while I was trying to decide on what to make for dessert, I looked in the fridge and saw that my buttermilk was about to expire. So I decided to make a buttermilk pie.

This pie is Megan's absolute favorite, and she can usually only get it at Tallahassee Smokehouse. But I decided to give it a go, and it turned out fabulous. Here's the recipe, adapted from one I saw on Tasty Kitchen Blog (I borrowed the pic from there), in case you get inspired, too (or in case you have some left over buttermilk you need to use).

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1-¾ cup Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

⅓ cups Butter, Melted

3 whole Eggs, Beaten

1 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I use homemade, reduce to 1 tsp. if using storebought)

1 pie shell, unbaked (I used Marie Callenders frozen pie crusts, thawed)

Preparation Instructions:

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir with a whisk until well-blended. Continuously whisking, pour in beaten eggs and whisk until well combined. then pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350ºF until filling is set and top is golden brown. Allow to cool for about 20-25 minutes before slicing. Store covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

Easy Cinnamon French Toast

Have you ever tried to make cinnamon French toast, but when you make the batter, the cinnamon doesn't disburse throughout the batter, but gathers at the top in clumps? Well, the French toast I made this morning is an easy way to make cinnamon French toast perfectly every time. Here's the recipe:

Easy Cinnamon French Toast

 

1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread*

4 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla (I use homemade)

pinch of salt

Unwrap the bread and remove the ends. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Heat a non-stick skillet to Medium, and when hot, spray with non-stick cooking spray (or you can coat the pan with butter before each batch of bread). Dip each slice of bread in the batter so it soaks into each side but still remains firm. Place in the hot pan and let cook until the underside turns golden brown. Flip over, and let the other side brown. Repeat until all slices are used. Serve with syrup and fruit, or you can serve them Danny-style, with powdered sugar and whipped cream. However you serve it, the cinnamon flavor is delicious.

*Our Publix often has a BOGO sale on their small Pepperidge Farm breads, and when they do, I always buy a few. They freeze beautifully because they're already double wrapped in plastic. When you want to thaw it for French toast the next morning, just take it out of the freezer at bedtime and leave it on the counter overnight.

Father's Day Weekend

Father's Day is always a special day for me, but this year it is even more special because George is not working this weekend. We began his Father's Day weekend with a date night at our local Publix Aprons cooking school. This was a special event night with guest chef Kevin Gillespie,

an Atlanta, Georgia-based chef who was a contestant on season 6 of Bravo's Top Chef and one of our favorites of all Top Chef contestants. It was a night of good wine and wonderful dishes, with a little humor and a bit of culinary education. We started by get him to sign our copy of his latest cookbook, Fire in my Belly,

and then it was on with the show.

Dinner's first course was a marinated turnip salad with oranges and goat cheese.

This raw starter salad was surprising in its combination of flavors, including curry and horseradish, but so delicious. The next course was Crispy Green Beans with Salsa Brava.

Oh...my...goodness. He then moved on to Stuffed Rutgers Tomatoes with Savannah Red Rice and Creamed Shrimp

and last but not least a dessert of Peach Melba Foster Jubilee,

a combination of the flavors of Peach Melba, Bananas Foster, and Cherries Jubilee. George and I were absolutely devouring each of the courses as they were delivered, as well as enjoying the different wines poured with each course, and the conversation with new friends we met there was a bonus. It was such a special evening, and I can't even describe the happiness that I felt in giving George this experience, as well as getting him to eat all of the veggies prepared!

The next day (Saturday) began with a beautiful morning walk with Harley, then brunch at Cracker Barrel. When I am super hungry for breakfast, nothing beats the Sunrise Sampler. We then spent much of the afternoon at the pool, relaxing and drinking margaritas. After a special Italian feast for dinner, we headed to the movies to see Man of Steele.

This newest Superman story is a wonderful pseudo-remake of the 1980's films starring Christopher Reeve, but this version is a bit more realistic and human. It stars one of my faves, Henry Cavill (who played Charles Brandon,

1st Duke of Suffolk in The Tudors) as Cal/Clark Kent/Superman

and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

The movie was totally enjoyable, and we all had a blast watching it.

The final day of the weekend, Sunday, has been a most relaxing Father's Day. After church, I made George these Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders, which are now tied with Croque Monsieur as his favorite sandwich, and Zachary served ice cream that he had bought for the occasion.  We relaxed for a few hours, saw Mom and Dad Creamer when they stopped by, and then we took him out for a nice steak dinner. One of the highlights was his gift from Danny, a matching t-shirt pair for them from the National Law Enforcement Memorial that had George's favorite quote on it.

Topping off the night will be the season premiere of True Blood. George said it was an "awesome" Father's Day. We hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend, filled with much love and happiness!   

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

To celebrate this day of Mexican independence, we had a Mexican fiesta for Sunday dinner. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures as I was too busy making the meal. However when I show you the pictures, please pretend that you see them as totally appetizing. Do it for me, please? Trust me, they are so good, my kids said we never have to go out for Mexican again!

Anyway, the recipes are below.

Easy Guacamole

 

Ingredients:

 

2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Serrano chile, stem removed
2 ripe avocados, preferably the black-skinned Hass
A couple of tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 medium tomato, seeds and juice removed, then diced
A little crumbled Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco) for garnish

---

Directions

Peel the garlic, finely chop the garlic and green chile (taking the seeds out of the chile if you don't want the heat), and scoop them into a bowl.

Chop the onion, and scoop into a separate bowl. Cover the onion with water. Set aside. One at a time, run a knife down through each avocado, starting at the top, until you reach the pit; continue cutting around the pit until you reach the point you started.
Twist the two halves of the avocado apart. Remove the pit and discard. Scoop the flesh into the bowl with the chiles. Mash coarsely with a potato masher.
Add the herbs, tomato and onion, stir to combine, then taste. Season with salt and lime juice. Scoop into a serving dish and garnish with cheese.

The next recipe, for roasted tomatillo salsa, is slightly more difficult, but you definitely don't have to be a chef to make it. Here it is.



Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

 

Ingredients:

 

3 to 4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed 

1 serrano chile, stemmed
3 large garlic cloves with peels left on
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped
1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt

---

Directions

Roast the tomatillos, chile and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until the tomatillos are blotchy black and softening and turning from lime green to olive, about 5 minutes.  Flip the tomatillos, pepper and garlic over and roast the other side. 

Cool, then peel the garlic and transfer everything to a blender, including all the juice the tomatillos have exuded during roasting.

Add the cilantro and 1/4 cup water, then blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a serving dish. Cover the onion with cold water, then strain to remove excess moisture.  Stir into the salsa and season with salt.

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Breakfast time!

One of our family's favorite breakfasts is the Egg and Sausage Casserole pictured below.

Definitely not on the light side, this super-easy breakfast is great for a morning when you know you're going to be working hard and need those extra calories. The recipe is as follows:

 

Egg & Sausage Casserole

 

1 lb. pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean's Maple Flavored)

1 8 oz. package Pillsbury crescent roll dough

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp. dried oregano

 

 

1. Place sausage in a large deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until evenly browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

2. Preheat oven t 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13 inch baking dish.

3. Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with crescent roll dough and sprinkly with the crumbled sausage. In a large bowl, mix the beaten eggs, mozzarella and cheddar. Season the mixture with oregano and pour over the sausage and crescent rolls.

4. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Roasted Herbed Red Potatoes, it's what's for dinner

Tonight for dinnner, I decided to try cooking with some herbs from my front porch garden. We love red potatoes, so I made the following side for some pork chops with a white wine sauce.

Roasted Herbed Red Potatoes

16-18 New potatoes (or 8-9 larger red potatoes cut into quarters)

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. Fresh Herbs

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil, stirring to coat thoroughly. Mix in the herbs (I used the rosemary and the chives - Danny loves chives! - from my garden, but you could use any combination. If using dried, reduce to 3 tsp. as they are stronger), again stirring to coat evenly. Place in a greased (I use Pam Olive Oil spray) 13 X 9 inch pan. bake for 1 1/4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes for more even browning. Enjoy!

If you don't have any tartar sauce

Last night, while I was making some Archer Farms Pub Style fish bites, I realized I didn't have any tartar sauce. As I was reading the baking instructions on the box, I looked farther down and found the following recipe for tartar sauce:

Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. chopped dill pickles (relish or capers - but I used the pickles)

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in small bowl.

2. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I made some, and it was fantastic! If you're ever in a pinch for tartar sauce (which I'm sure happens all of the time), this is a winner. 

A lazy Saturday afternoon with comfort food, and needles?

Yesterday was a lazy day. My only trip out of the house was a trip to the vet to get Harley's nails trimmed. After lunch, the kids had a monopoly tournament

where Danny the real estate mogul kicked some butt. When that was finished, George was so excited to give Zachary a shot in the arm!

Meanwhile, I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. For me, there are no foods more comforting. For the meatloaf, I use my own recipe (which is really a modified Quaker Oats recipe) which calls for 1 1/2-2 lbs. ground beef/pork mixture, one medium onion, 1 egg, 1 tsp Worcestershire, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 cup oats, and 1 6 oz. can of V8. Mix it all together and place in a loaf pan. Mix some ketchup and brown sugar 1/4 cup of each) and slather it all over the top. Bake for 1 1/2-2 hours depending on how much meat you have.

Mashed potatoes are less difficult to make and much less messy. For the mashed potatoes, I cut up about 6 potatoes and boil them in salted water for 25 minutes.

I drain the water and add butter

I like 1/2-3/4 stick for this amount of potatoes). Mash them together until the butter is melted. Then add up to 3/4 cup of whole milk,

1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese,

and most important more salt

and pepper) to taste. Can't go wrong with this recipe. In all, it was a good, relaxing day. We all needed it.