My kitchen gadgets, utensils and bakeware recommendations

 Cookware, Kitchen Gadgets & Utensils, Slow Cooker Recipes, What's Cooking?  No Responses »
Oct 112011
 

I own and use most of the items on this list of kitchen gadgets, cookware, appliances, utensils, etc. Some, however, I came across during my “window shopping” and found to be interesting enough to post. I’ve only just begun to gather this list of kitchen gadgets and will be adding to it periodically, so please bookmark this page/post.

I moved to Knoxville a year and a half ago and still have a lot of things packed and stored in our garage. Every now and then I’ll think of something that I miss using and we go in search for it. The latest was my large roasting pan (11″ x 17″) that is great for baking a large pan of lasagna, a turkey, or chicken leg quarters. I was afraid I wouldn’t have room to store it but it fits nicely in the draw under my oven. I normally use my stainless steel roasting pan, but it is smaller.

I’ll give my honest opinion of these products and I’ll also try to think of items that I bought that did not live up to their expectations. This might save some people some money.

Just so you know, I’m an Amazon Prime member and the first place I look whenever I’m looking for something is Amazon.com. They usually have what I’m looking for at lower prices, and with Prime shipping I get everything in 1-2 days. Most of the items listed below were purchased at Amazon.com. I also have my Amazon Associate ID attached to the links. This means that anything you purchase after going through my links will earn me a small referral fee at no extra cost to you. These fees help me pay for my website. I don’t earn referral fees on my own purchases, so this has not influenced my purchase decisions. Please be assured that I am giving an honest and accurate review of these products.

Most of the following are items that I bought and use on a regular basis: Continue reading »

Not another meat loaf recipe!

 Beef Recipes  No Responses »
Oct 062011
 

Not Meat Loafanother meat loaf recipe, you say? Well, let’s add just one more to your collection. This recipe is the very last meat loaf recipe that I will ever try. There is no reason to ever look for another meat loaf recipe. This is, hands down, the best meat loaf I have ever made!

I admit it, I like simple and easy meals that I can defrost and put in the oven without much fuss. It’s been a couple of years since I made this recipe. In fact, I forgot how good it was until I made it again the other day. Most of the time, when I’m shopping I’ll grab a Stoeffer’s frozen meatloaf in gravy entree. It was always just enough for four of us, with no leftovers. It’s so easy to make, with no preservatives, gravy included, and quite tasty. I served it with mashed potatoes and vegetable, rolls and butter. However, it isn’t as good as homemade and I never had any leftovers. I love leftover meat loaf sandwiches.
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Oven Baked BBQ Chicken

 Chicken & Poultry Recipes  No Responses »
Sep 282011
 

This is another family favorite. If you haven’t noticed by now, almost all of my recipes have something in common. They Let's Eat!are simple and easy to prepare. Like I have said before, there’s no point in going to all the fuss of adding tons of ingredients when a jar of sauce will do. The same goes for this recipe. I use Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce. If you have a favorite, use it instead and tell us about it.

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Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with Potatoes and Garlic

 Chicken & Poultry Recipes  No Responses »
Sep 222011
 

I can never pass up a good deal in the meat department. A 10 lb bag of chicken leg quarters for $6.90. That’s only $0.69 per pound. Not bad, huh?

I browsed the cooking sites and came up with the following recipe for tonight’s dinner.

 

Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with Potatoes and Garlic

Ingredients:

    3 chicken leg quarters* (3 legs and 3 thighs)
    4 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered longwise
    3 garlic cloves, cut in half
    1 15-oz. can chicken broth
    1/2 cup olive oil
    1/3 cup lemon juice
    2 tsp oregano
    Salt & pepper
    2 tbsp cornstarch
    1/2 cup cold water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large roasting pan (mine measures 11″ x 17″ inside), lay out chicken leg quarters, potatoes and garlic. Salt & pepper. Pour half of the chicken broth over chicken. In small bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. Pour lemon mixture over chicken.

Bake for 1 hour, 15 min, or until chicken is golden brown and potatoes are tender. Baste with pan juices occasionally. Remove chicken and potatoes from pan and place on platter. Remove garlic halves and pour off fat. Put roasting pan across two burners, or pour pan juices into a sauce pan, add remaining chicken broth.

Gravy:

In small bowl, add cornstarch to cold water and whisk quickly until cornstarch dissolves. Continue to whisk cornstarch mixture and add a little bit at a time to the pan juices. Continue whisking over medium-low heat until thickened.

This came out delicious! Not too lemony but with a very nice flavor.

 

 

Roasted Chicken Leg Quarters with Potatoes and Garlic

I left the chicken leg quarters intact, without splitting them apart. I split the remaining leg quarters with my poulty shears and put them in the freezer. I love my Oxo Good Grips Professional Poultry Shears from Amazon..

*Of course, you can use any combination of chicken pieces you’d like. I sometimes add bone-in chicken breasts.

Please come back and comment if you try this recipe!

Bon appétit!

Family Rating: Five Smileys



 

My Mother’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 Pasta Recipes  No Responses »
Sep 152011
 

My Mother's Baked Macaroni and CheeseThis was a satisfying meal for us when we were growing up, and I love it just as it is. However, my husband has to have some kind of meat or fish with his meals, so I either serve it as a side dish or I add browned ground beef to the macaroni. It’s great either way. It is also one of the few macaroni and cheese dishes made with American cheese. It is so good!

I know it seems like a lot of cheese, but don’t change a thing because that is what makes this dish so good. It serves 4. To double recipe, use whole box of sea shell macaroni and 12 slices of American cheese in 9″ x 13″ lasagna pan.
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My Mother’s Corn Chowder

 Soups and Chowders  No Responses »
Sep 062011
 

Another favorite of mine when I was growing up, I usually make it once a month or so. It’s a hearty soup and is great by itself, or served with BLT or grilled cheese sandwiches, crackers or warm bread and butter. Serves 4-6. I make it for three adults and always have two or three bowls leftover.

It’s a rainy day, and it’s a great time to stay in, read a good book, and have some comfort food.

Ingredients:

    4-6 slices of bacon, cut in one-inch pieces
    1 medium onion, chopped
    3-4 potatoes, peeled, cubed (bite-sized pieces), boiled*
    2 cans cream-style corn (very important that it is cream-style)
    2 cans of milk
    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

On top of stove, in large pot or dutch oven, cook bacon and onions, then drain.

Fry bacon eggsFry bacon
Cut each bacon strip in four piecesCut bacon strips in fourths
Chop one medium onionChop one medium onion
Saute onionsSaute onions in bacon grease

* I usually boil cubed potatoes separately for about five minutes to speed up the cooking process but, if you prefer, you can just add raw cubed potatoes to chowder and let simmer on low until cooked. Just make sure the milk doesn’t boil over.

Cubed PotatoesPeel potatoes and cut into cubes
Boil cubed potatoesBoil cubed potatoes for 5 minutes

Add two cans of cream style corn and two cans of milk, stir. Add bacon pieces, pre-cooked potatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer for a bit until potatoes are tender and flavors are all combined, taste to test. That’s it!

Add two cans of cream style cornAdd two cans of cream style corn
Add two cans of milkAdd two cans of milk
Add bacon piecesAdd cut-up bacon
Add cubed potatoesAdd pre-cooked potatoes

Simmer until potatoes are tenderSimmer until potatoes are tender

For those of you who think chowder must contain clams or fish:

Chowder (noun)
: a soup or stew of seafood (as clams or fish) usually made with milk or tomatoes, salt pork, onions, and other vegetables (as potatoes); also : a soup resembling chowder (corn chowder)

Printable recipe without images:

My Mother’s Corn Chowder

This has always been a family favorite, especially on a cold or rainy day.

Ingredients:

    4-6 slices of bacon, cut in one-inch pieces
    1 medium onion, chopped
    3-4 potatoes, peeled, cubed (bite-sized pieces), boiled*
    2 cans cream-style corn (very important that it is cream-style)
    2 cans of milk
    salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

On top of stove, in large pot or dutch oven, cook bacon and onions, then drain.

* I usually boil cubed potatoes separately for about five minutes to speed up the cooking process but, if you prefer, you can just add raw cubed potatoes to chowder and let simmer on low until cooked. Just make sure the milk doesn’t boil over.

Add two cans of cream style corn and two cans of milk, stir. Add bacon pieces, pre-cooked potatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer for a bit until potatoes are tender and flavors are all combined, taste to test. That’s it!

For those of you who think chowder must contain clams or fish:

Chowder (noun)
: a soup or stew of seafood (as clams or fish) usually made with milk or tomatoes, salt pork, onions, and other vegetables (as potatoes); also : a soup resembling chowder (corn chowder)

Family Rating: Five Smileys

 

What’s for Dinner? Week 9/4/11 – 9/10/11

 Beef Recipes, Chicken & Poultry Recipes, Soups and Chowders, What's Cooking?  No Responses »
Sep 052011
 

Here’s what’s for dinner this week:

    Meal Plan for Week 9/4/11 – 9/10/11

  • Sunday – Chicken Ala King served over rice
  • Monday – Leftovers – Steak, chicken ala king, baked chicken strips with hot sauce
  • Tuesday – Hot dogs, mac & cheese, and My Mother’s Corn Chowder – Click for Recipe
  • Wednesday – Baked chicken pieces, mashed potatoes w/gravy, green beans
  • Thursday – Open House tonight, maybe McDonald’s after
  • Friday – Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings – Click for Recipe
  • Saturday – Top sirloin steak, grilled, with baked potatoes and tossed salad

Bon appétit!

Oven Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings

 Chicken & Poultry Recipes  No Responses »
Sep 022011
 

I Baked Buffalo Chicken Wingsknow there are lots and lots of chicken wing recipes on the Net, but most of them, in my opinion, call for way too many ingredients. I’m not a fan of making things from scratch if one jar of sauce will do the trick instead of a dozen or so ingredients. So, following is my recipe for medium hot Buffalo chicken wings, and they are so good!

* I have updated this recipe by adding a ginger-soy glaze to use on half of the wings. Also, I changed the cooking method slightly by tossing the wings with oil, salt and pepper, and placing on a wire rack, so the wings come out more crispy. (2/4/13)


Ingredients:

    Wings:
    2-5 lbs frozen chicken wing flats (25-60 wings)
    2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    1 tablespoon kosher salt
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    Buffalo Wing Sauce:
    1/2 cup Crystal Louisiana’s Pure Hot Sauce
    1/2 cup margarine or butter
    For variety, try this Ginger-Soy Glaze:
    1/4 cup honey
    2 tablespoons soy sauce
    3 large garlic cloves, crushed
    1 2×1″ piece of ginger, peeled, sliced
    1/4 cup water
    Optional:
    Celery sticks
    Bleu cheese dressing

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Cooking Measurements & Equivalents

 Cooking Measurements  No Responses »
Sep 012011
 

Following are a few charts that may be helpful:

Abbreviations

Abbreviation Measurement
tsp teaspoon
tbsp tablespoon
oz ounce
c cup
pt pint
qt quart
gal gallon
lb pound
fl fluid
pkg package
sm small
lg large

Other Measurements

pinch pick up between finger and thumb
1/4 stick butter 2 tablespoons
1 stick butter 1/2 cup
juice of a lemon 3 tablespoons
juice of an orange 1/2 cup

Measurement Equivalents

Measurement Equivalents
tsp tbsp fl oz cup pint quart gallon
tsp 1 1/3 1/6 1/48
tbsp 3 1 1/2 1/16 1/32
oz 6 2 1 1/8 1/16
cup 48 16 8 1 1/2 1/4 1/16
pint 96 32 16 2 1 1/2 1/8
quart 192 64 32 4 2 1 1/4
gallon 768 256 128 16 8 4 1

I found a great site for measurements, conversions and substitutes at:

    http://www.dutchovendude.com/cooking-measurement.shtml

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