I'm in Love!

.....with my new washer and dryer that is! They have arrived and I have my first load in as I blog. I am using the bedding cycle right now, for all of our bedding needs to be done! Here are a couple of pictures of all the laundry that I get to do! I just used the steam fresh cylce to get the wrinkles out of my sweatsuit and it worked beautifully!
Here they are...all new and white!

This is how I have been drying our clothes.

Dirty laundry.....

More dirty laundry....

The kids watching them unload the washer and dryer off of the truck...very exciting!


Next...a new kitchen...Yeah...and we are moving Mr. and Mrs. White (washer and dryer) upstairs by our bedroon...double yeah!

Homemade BBQ sauce

1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
8 plum tomatoes
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp dark molasses
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp cayan pepper
1 tsp paprika
salt to taste

1. Heat some canola or vegetable oil in a large sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Slice all of the tomatoes, taking out the seeds and add them to the pan. Simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes break down. When I do not have the time for that I use 2 cans of diced tomatoes, draining the liquid.
2. Add all of the other ingredients and simmer for another 20 minutes. Take off the heat and cool. Once cool, blend in a blender or food processor. It is that easy and it is very good. It is a little spicy, so if you do not like spicy, add less cayan pepper.

If I am using meaty ribs, I put them in the slow cooker with half of the sauce and keep the rest for serving with the ribs. If I am using baby back ribs I cook them in the oven on 375 degrees for 2 hours with the BBQ sauce and for the last 15 minutes I put them on the grill to get the BBQ flavor and texture.

Just a note: I always take a recipe and make it my own. If you do not like a certain seasoning, take it out or use less. I do this all of the time. By the third time making it I usually have it to our liking. Sometimes I will just use what I have in the cabinet and at times will be pleasantly surprised. Yes, I have had some bad ones too. It is fun to play with food!

Blog or not to blog.....

that is the question?

I think I will post what I am making for dinner tonight a little later. The shower is on, so I think I should shower. Here is a preview....short ribs w/homemade BBQ sauce slow cooker style. Add some pilaf to the mix and green beans and I mine as well throw in some herbed beer cheese bread. I feel like cooking today.

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken

1 cup cornflakes, lightly crushed
3/4 grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
3 eggs, beaten
Four 6 ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
5 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut into wedges

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a shallow bowl, combine the cornflakes, parmesan and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Place the eggs in another shallow bowl. Coat each chicken breast with the cornflake mixture, then eggs, then again with the cornflake mixture.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake the chicken until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Tonight's Dinner

Lasagna with the Meat Sauce recipe that I posted. I used ricotta cheese between the layers, meat sauce and topped it off with mozzerella cheese. Can't wait for dinner tonight. It melt so good when I was making it last night! I work late today, so I thought would be proactive and have hubby put it in the oven before I get home so I can come home to a yummy smelling house!

Meat Sauce with Veggies

Meat Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped pancetta or bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth
One 28-ounce can tomato puree
salt and pepper

1. In a large, heavy pot, heat the olive oil and add the pancetta or bacon and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the onion with the bacon, carrot and celery and cook until softened for 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic for another minute. Increase the heat to medium-high heat and add the beef and cook, breaking it up, until no longer pink. Stir in the wine or beef broth and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato puree and 1 cup of water; season with salt and pepper bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened for about 2 hours. Season again with salt and pepper.

This makes a big batch, so you can use it for pasta or put into pizza dough add cheese and wrap up and bake. It is really good!

Seaside Cafe and Bakery

This weekend we found the BEST place for breakfast and baked goodies. It is the Seaside Cafe and Bakery in Seaside right before Pismo off of Seaside Dr. They make homemade english muffins, homemade breads for their sandwiches, homemade bakery items...we sampled the coconut cream muffin and lemon poppy seed cake and let me tell ya, YUM-O! I also had the oatmeal with berries which was wonderful and my hubby had the breakfast sandwich on the homemade english muffin two mornings in a row. It is a small little place with big taste. So if you are heading that way, give them a try, we will be going back!