What day are we on?

Not sure what day we are on... it has been a lah-hong day!!  We took the cousins for portraits.  3 hours later it was time to make dinner!!! 

DAY 5: Let me back up a bit... Wednesday night I made a great big meal that would surely make my grandma proud!  I made "Geneva Chicken", mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole.  We also had a wonderful loaf of 'everything bread' from Walmart.  I invited the bestie Natalie and her boyfriend Matt over.  We had a good ol' fashioned meal together!

Geneva Chicken--by Danny

I was running late from working out so I called Danny to get the chicken prepared and in the oven.  When I said make sure you wash it really well.  He asked, "Like, with soap?"  hahahaha... I'm pretty sure he was kidding.  Anyway, he ended up following directions well and making the whole thing himself! 

Geneva chicken: 3-4lb.fryer: Wash (w/ just water).  Salt and pepper inside and out.  Put in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Then turn it down to 350 and add 1/2 c. water to the bottom of the pan.  Cook for 1 hr. 

The white stuff--gravy, mashed potatoes and bread!

Green bean casserole

The other stuff is just basic recipes... if you really would like to know how to make green bean casserole or mashed potatoes and gravy let me know... 

The pictures is blurry b/c my camera wasn't working properly...Natalie and Matt--

Nat told Matt to dress nice so he came in his tux!! Gotta love Matt!
We decided we should now have a fancy party where we dress black tie. How fun!!

DAY 6: OK so the next night, Thursday was Fifth Night Concert at Utica and we had sandwiches (and I had 2 chardonnays from Stonehorse)

DAY 7: I've made it one week!  So Friday, today, after the loooong portrait session...I made creamy pasta primavera. My favorite meal to make!

Here's how to make it:

1 box of penne pasta
2 c. chopped chicken (from the geneva chicken the other night) or you can use canned chicken breast

2 chopped red peppers

1 bunch of chopped asparagus

1 c. italian dressing

1 box of cream cheese

1/2 lemon--juice

Mix it all together and add parmesean cheese on the top..

It is so quick, easy and good!!!

It is good hot or cold

Now we have so many leftovers I won't have to cook for at least 3 days! Yay for me! :) 

Pizza & Pork

Day 2: Frozen pizza...
It was one of those days.  I have to say though, Digourno's stuffed crust is phenomenal!  After church, we rushed home to get Jackson down for his nap so we could swim at Camp Loughridge.  We hadn't gone all summer and I was determined to go!  We got home at dinner time and it was nice to just pop it in the oven.  (The leftover mac & cheese was for lunch)

Day 3: Herb-crusted pork loin, parmesean zucchini & yellow squash, pan-fried herb potatoes--(pictures to come)Delish!
I mixed thyme, minced garlic, rosemary and basil in oil and rubbed it over the pork loin.  I think I overcooked it a bit...too dry.  I was following Paula Deen's recipe but hers was for 4 lb loin mine was a little over 1 1/2 lbs.  Its trickier than beef b/c you can undercook beef (esp. since Danny and I like rare steak)  but pork can't be undercooked.  I steamed the squash in the microwave.  (Just put a little water at the bottom of the dish) and microwave for about 5 minutes.  I added shredded parm and salt & pepper.  The potaoes were yukon gold, sliced into bite-sized pieces.  I pan fried them until golded crispy then added the herbs, salt and pepper to them.  It was a wonderful meal--with the exception of the too dry loin.  We had lots leftover, which provided

Day 4: Leftovers :)

I'm glad I didn't have to cook dinner tonight.  Jackson was something else today!!  He was whiney and super ornery with lots of tantrums today.  He dumped out his milk in Bed, Bath & Beyond, pulled my hair and stomped on my healing sprained ankle (on accident) but refused to say sorry.  He spent lots of time in TIME OUT and I was so glad when Danny got home because I was drained and needed my own TIME OUT!!!

I have to say, he was so cute this morning when I went to go vote.  He marched into the voting place and announced, "I wanna vope!" It wasn't as cute when we were leaving and he wanted "more vope" and then laid down near the door and refused to move.  I had to drag him out screaming "MORE VOPING, MORE VOPING!"  Ugh... good thing he's cute!

Long Time No Blog

Seeing that my last blog post was over A YEAR AGO... Its time I get back into it!

My new inspiration for blogging (besides the latest "Jacksonisms") is to post my cooking attempts. 2 days ago, I made a commitment to cook more often. Like, really cook--not just "out of the box" or frozen pizza every night. That is what I had come to... I'm not saying I won't have those nights--we all do!! I just want to make a real effort to cook for Danny & Jackson. I grew up with a big homemade meal everyday with my grandparents. My grandma poured her love into her cooking. I want to do the same for my family. I know how to cook. I enjoy cooking. I just need to do it.

My first meal was BBQ beef and my Grandma Stegge's baked mac & cheese. It was not as good as how she made-- I'll never get there-- but it tasted soooo good! Its amazing how the taste of something can bring back the spirit of someone! The beauty of this recipe is that you really can't follow a written recipe. She showed my Aunt Jan how she made it. After she died in February 2008, I asked that my Aunt Jan cook it in front of me. I tried to follow the written recipe many times, but it just didn't work. Once I saw it done, I understood. It gets better each time I make it. Below are the "recipes" for each part of the meal.

DAY 1:
BBQ beef
Water, bbq sauce and beef for stew in the crock pot for 6 hours. It made great sandwiches the next day, too!

Baked Mac & Cheese (I can't be too specific or my Aunt Jan would kill me!)
Boil the macaroni. Make a gravy with butter, milk cheese and flour. Pour it over the cooked macaroni. Sprinkle with cheese and bake. It makes a delicious cheesy top layer. Salt and pepper. To reheat the next day, you grill it with butter.



Jackson's response to his first bite was, "OOOOOhhh, Cheese!!" He ate about half of it and then wanted to get down and play. That's about all I can expect from Mr. Picky Eater.