Camping trip to the Smokies

Wow more than a month later and I will finally finish this entry. While I was trying to upload the photos from our trip my computer crashed for a few weeks and I am just now finally getting caught up with email.

Mark and Nikki in the Smokies

This is the view walking into our campsite.



Mark and Nikki by their new tent

Me making breakfast

While we were driving around and exploring we found a little dirt road that wound about 20 or 30 miles down a mountain. We stopped at a little creek for an hour to walk around and let the brakes cool off.

That is Mark (Michael's cousin) almost going over the bridge.

Michael and Mark showing off (and making Nikki and me very nervous) in the creek.

This is Wonderworks "an amusement park for your mind" no the picture is not upside down :

This is me inside a space shuttle at wonderworks

And Michael in a spacesuit.

A big sculpture, also at wonderworks.

All in all it was a great trip. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get the pictures up. Now that my computer is working again I will continue updating recipes etc.

Friday

Well its Friday so that means grocery shopping. Michael and I are going to the Mountains with some friends this weekend so no new recipes for a few days. Unless of course I tell how to make hamburgers on the grill :) open box, put hamburger on grill, eat.
I will post some pictures of our camping trip when we get back.

Manicotti

I often like to multiply my recipes when I make them and then freeze meals for later. I have found that this works very well with pasta.

While I was paging through my cookbooks the other day I saw a recipe for manicotti and it looked so good I decided I would make some. This recipe is my take on this Italian classic, I have added ground turkey to the sauce for some extra protein and adjusted the filling based on my own favourite cheeses. To save time I am using commercial spaghetti sauce, I find that Prego fresh mushroom is the best but almost any kind would work.

Manicotti

Ingredients:

filling:

7.5 oz. (1/2 15 oz. container) ricotta cheese

12 oz. (1/2 24 oz. container) cottage cheese

1 c. shredded mozzarella

1/4c. grated Parmesan

10 oz. (1 block frozen) spinach, defrosted and well drained

1/2 onion

1 tbsp. corn or canola oil

1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 eggs lightly beaten

14 manicotti

Sauce:

6 oz. ground turkey

1 tsp. corn or canola oil

1 1/2 c Prego fresh mushroom pasta sauce.

1/3 c. shredded mozzarella

1/4 c. grated Parmesan

To make the filling caramelize the onion in the oil.

Mix the cheeses, spinach, eggs, pepper and caramelized onion in a large bowl.

Put the filling in a one gallon zip top bag.

Boil the manicotti for 5 min. or until just barely soft. Remove to cold water.

Brown the ground turkey in the oil and add the sauce.

Cut a small hole in the corner of the zip top bag. While holding the manicotti noodles in one hand fill directly from the bag and place them in a casserole. I used 2 glass 9x9 casseroles.

Cover in the sauce and sprinkle on the mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 min. or until golden brown on top and creamy soft inside.

I served this with corn which while not very traditional provided a nice contrast both in flavour and in colour.

My Review:

I was very pleased with how this recipe turned out. I froze one of the casseroles when it was finished except for the cooking. I also doubled the filling and froze it in a zip top bag, it will be perfect for ravioli or any pasta dish. The next time I make this I will try adding one crushed clove of garlic to the onions before I saute them.

I would definitely recommend this manicotti recipe.

Black Pepper London Broil

I was at Bottom Dollar (a local grocery store) the other day and they had a special on London broil. $2.78 a pound! The only catch was the packages all contained at least 5 lbs. So of course I bought two. when I got home I cut them into manageable pieces (1-2 lb roasts, and stewing beef) while I was doing that I also trimmed the fat of and kept that separate for making soup. I individually bagged and labeled each roast and put them in my freezer. This is the first of many meals I will make from them.

Black pepper London Broil

serves 3-4
Ingredients

Brine:
1 c. boiling water
1 c. boiling beef broth
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. salt
1 tbsp. fresh ground black pepper or 2 tbsp. ground black pepper
2 c. ice

3 pieces of lean beef 2" x 2" x 4"

1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 yellow or white onions sliced fine
1 c. beef broth
1 c. water
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme

1 apple, any kind

To make the brine dissolve sugar and salt in boiling liquids, add black pepper and ice. Place the meat in a Ziploc bag and add the brine. Let it sit in your fridge overnight. I like to put the whole bag in a plastic bowl so I don't get any spills.

The next day remove the meat and let it drip dry on a rack while you heat most of the oil in a cast iron dutch oven (you can use another pan but this is my favourite). Brown the meat for several minutes on each side.

Place the cored and sectioned apple in the bottom of your crock pot. When the meat is brown put it on top of the apple.

Add the onions and the rest of the oil to the hot oil in the dutch oven. Cook until soft and browned. De glaze with the broth and water, add the pepper and thyme and pour onto the meat. There should be enough liquid to cover the meat, if not add a little more water.

Cook on high until it has boiled for one hour, then turn the crock pot to low and let it simmer for another 3-4 hours.



I served chopped baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese on the side

Chopped baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese.

serves 3-4

ingredients:
3-4 (approximately 2 c.) waxy (Yukon gold, red etc.) potatoes
1 stalk broccoli
1/3 c Velveeta cheese
salt

Wash the broccoli and peel the stem and cut up the florets. Add salt to taste and boil/steam in 1" water.

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into bite size pieces. Put the potatoes in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high stirring every 3 minutes until tender.



To serve put the potatoes on a plate with the broccoli on top, put one or two tbsp. Velveeta on top and microwave until melted, about 30 seconds.

my first blog post

I have been thinking for some time about starting a blog and I have finally decided to go ahead and try. This blog will be about my daily life and the food I create for my husband and myself. For this first post I thought that I would introduce myself and my family. I describe myself as a 21st century housewife. My husband and I live in a house we recently bought and are in the process of remodleing. I will occasionally post pictures of our work in progress. My husband Michael is a carpenter who works managing a construcion warehouse.

The love of my life (the man not the dog :D)

We live on nearly 2 acres in NC with our outdoor border collie Lucy and our spoiled indoor cat Isabelle.

I will be useing this blog to share recipes and my daily life with my friends and family.

To give credit where credit is due I will say that watching Martha Stewart today is what inspired me to give blogging a try. Here is a link to her blog "The Martha Blog" http://www.themarthablog.com

I have to get to the bank before it closes so I guess I better say goodbye for now.